Tea Party Movement: We are the "Fringe" According to Obama
President Obama is leading the effort to marginalize and to discredit the Tea Party Movement. Why? He should take full credit for the countrys upheaval.
Now, even the Lame Stream Media leader, the Washington Post, admits the strength of the discontent across the country.
A Washington Post poll taken last week showed that more people view the movement favorably than unfavorably _ and that 62 percent believe it has either the right amount or not enough influence on the Republican Party.
(Both parties should take notice. No more polooitics as usual. Let's put the "NO" in November - go to www.NovemberIsComing.com).
Read more in this TownHall column by Jennifer Loven: http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2010/03/30/obama_takes_care_in_sizing_up_tea_party_movement
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Americans working almost 99 days to pay taxes
Tax Freedom Day® will arrive on April 9 this year, the 99th day of 2010. That means Americans will work well over three months of the year, from January 1 to April 9, before they have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.
Tax Freedom Day arrives a day later in 2010 than it did in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007. This shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors:
• The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income;
• President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008; and
• Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.
Despite all these tax reductions, Americans will pay more taxes in 2010 than they will spend on food, clothing and shelter combined.
Tax Freedom Day is April 5 for Texans, who have a lower tax burden than the average American. We in Texas get to take home four more days of our pay than other Amercians.
Tax Freedom Day arrives a day later in 2010 than it did in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007. This shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors:
• The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income;
• President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008; and
• Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.
Despite all these tax reductions, Americans will pay more taxes in 2010 than they will spend on food, clothing and shelter combined.
Tax Freedom Day is April 5 for Texans, who have a lower tax burden than the average American. We in Texas get to take home four more days of our pay than other Amercians.
Start keeping what you earn April 5
Texans Experience “Tax Freedom” on April 5
AUSTIN – Texas pay off their taxes earlier than the average U.S. taxpayer. U.S. citizens will have to work until April 9 this year to pay for the cost of government. It was April 8 last year. Thanks to the limited-government, low-tax policies of Texas’ elected leadership, Texans will begin working for themselves – and not the federal government – four days earlier, on April 5.
Tax Freedom Day refers to the number of days that taxpayers work before they pay off the state, federal and local taxes. The average American must work 99 days to pay these taxes. Nationally, Texas has the 8th lowest tax burden as a percentage of income.
“Most workers are astounded to learn that they are working more than 3 months to pay taxes, and only after that begin earning money they can spend freely,” said Peggy Venable, AFP State Director. “This is a reminder to voters that there is no such thing as government money. Every dollar government spends comes from the pocket of a hard-working American and is one less dollar that we can spend at their own discretion.”
The tax burden amounts to more than the average taxpayer pays for food, clothing and shelter, according to the national group Tax Foundation. This amount does not include the federal debt.
According to Tax Foundation, Americans have the biggest federal deficits since World War II. To eliminate the deficit, all income tax rates would need to go up 244%.
If taxes at the federal level were increased to pay for all government, tax freedom would fall on May 17 – resulting in 38 more days of work to pay the additional taxes. This does NOT include the recent taxes just passed in the Health Care legislation. That should add 2-3 days to tax freedom day.
“We are burdening future generations with this enormous debt,” Venable said. “We are leaving our children a legacy of debt, and that is not the legacy most of us want to leave. We must stop the overspending and debt accumulation so that our children and grandchildren can have opportunity to experience the American dream of home ownership and financial independence.”
(For more information on Tax Freedom Day, see http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday.html. The Tax Foundation calculated the national rankings using the latest government data on income and taxes to produce the ratios between the number of days Americans work to pay taxes and the number of days they work to support themselves. National Tax Freedom Day is April 17.)
###
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 1million members, including members in all 50 states, and 24 state chapters. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
AUSTIN – Texas pay off their taxes earlier than the average U.S. taxpayer. U.S. citizens will have to work until April 9 this year to pay for the cost of government. It was April 8 last year. Thanks to the limited-government, low-tax policies of Texas’ elected leadership, Texans will begin working for themselves – and not the federal government – four days earlier, on April 5.
Tax Freedom Day refers to the number of days that taxpayers work before they pay off the state, federal and local taxes. The average American must work 99 days to pay these taxes. Nationally, Texas has the 8th lowest tax burden as a percentage of income.
“Most workers are astounded to learn that they are working more than 3 months to pay taxes, and only after that begin earning money they can spend freely,” said Peggy Venable, AFP State Director. “This is a reminder to voters that there is no such thing as government money. Every dollar government spends comes from the pocket of a hard-working American and is one less dollar that we can spend at their own discretion.”
The tax burden amounts to more than the average taxpayer pays for food, clothing and shelter, according to the national group Tax Foundation. This amount does not include the federal debt.
According to Tax Foundation, Americans have the biggest federal deficits since World War II. To eliminate the deficit, all income tax rates would need to go up 244%.
If taxes at the federal level were increased to pay for all government, tax freedom would fall on May 17 – resulting in 38 more days of work to pay the additional taxes. This does NOT include the recent taxes just passed in the Health Care legislation. That should add 2-3 days to tax freedom day.
“We are burdening future generations with this enormous debt,” Venable said. “We are leaving our children a legacy of debt, and that is not the legacy most of us want to leave. We must stop the overspending and debt accumulation so that our children and grandchildren can have opportunity to experience the American dream of home ownership and financial independence.”
(For more information on Tax Freedom Day, see http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday.html. The Tax Foundation calculated the national rankings using the latest government data on income and taxes to produce the ratios between the number of days Americans work to pay taxes and the number of days they work to support themselves. National Tax Freedom Day is April 17.)
###
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 1million members, including members in all 50 states, and 24 state chapters. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
Permanence, Change and American Exceptionalism
We in Texas have fought – successfully – to keep the concept of American Exceptionalism in our social studies curriculum. With good reason. It is at the core of who we are as a nation. Many of us even wonder why we must fight that battle.
An article on RedState.com explains why.
Aaron Gardner wrote a piece which appeared on RedState.com after reading a National Review piece written by Richard Lowry & Ramesh Ponnuru.
We are engaged in a battle of permanence versus change, in which the object of conquest is nothing less than our national character, the idea of American Exceptionalism.
To read the entire piece, go to: http://www.redstate.com/aarongardner/2010/03/29/permanence-change-and-american-exceptionalism/
(By the way, our friend Erick Erickson has again gotten the KosKids’ panties in a wad by his new gig on CNN. And here the Left thought CNN was their station!)
An article on RedState.com explains why.
Aaron Gardner wrote a piece which appeared on RedState.com after reading a National Review piece written by Richard Lowry & Ramesh Ponnuru.
We are engaged in a battle of permanence versus change, in which the object of conquest is nothing less than our national character, the idea of American Exceptionalism.
To read the entire piece, go to: http://www.redstate.com/aarongardner/2010/03/29/permanence-change-and-american-exceptionalism/
(By the way, our friend Erick Erickson has again gotten the KosKids’ panties in a wad by his new gig on CNN. And here the Left thought CNN was their station!)
Rev. Al Sharpton’s Pants On Fire
Rev. Al Sharpton’s Pants On Fire
Sharpton Attempts to Marginalize Tea Party Movement
Last night, Rev. Al Sharpton lied.
On a segment with Bill O’Reilly, Rev. Sharpton said “I saw the tape” referring to video of some tea party attendees yelling racial slurs at Black members of Congress.
That’s right. The “Reverend” lied.
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and radio talk show host. In fact, he is a reckless demagogue.
Some would say publicity is Sharpton’s middle name. I assert is it “liar”.
His dark side hasn’t appeared to hamper his ability to serve as a liberal pundit on television. http://www.realchange.org/sharpton.htm
Should he really be able to go on television and throw out a claim that he had seen a video of racial slurs being yelled by tea party goers?
This is a serious charge, and O’Reilly “corrected” him saying there was no video. Bill should have challenged him “show me the tape” before you say another word.
Why do these liberal leaders get away with carelessly/maliciously lying?
I have been to tea parties in Washington, D.C., and throughout Texas – Austin, College Station, Bryan, Odessa, Tyler, Houston and more. Never have I seen any race issues raised.
Yet Sharpton – allowed to continue on O’Reilly’s show – later claimed that the term “our America” doesn’t include Blacks. When any tea party sign or speech includes the term “our America” it is racially motivated? Give me a break. It’s your America if you embrace it, Sharpton.
This is simply the Left attempting to marginalize and demonize the tea party movement.
The tea party movement IS America. We are Americans who are willing to champion our Constitution and hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire.
And the Left is so threatened by this they will lie. Shame on Al “Liar” Sharpton and shame on those in the media who give him a voice. That includes Bill O’Reilly.
-- Peggy Venable, PeggyVenable@Reagan.com
Sharpton Attempts to Marginalize Tea Party Movement
Last night, Rev. Al Sharpton lied.
On a segment with Bill O’Reilly, Rev. Sharpton said “I saw the tape” referring to video of some tea party attendees yelling racial slurs at Black members of Congress.
That’s right. The “Reverend” lied.
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and radio talk show host. In fact, he is a reckless demagogue.
Some would say publicity is Sharpton’s middle name. I assert is it “liar”.
His dark side hasn’t appeared to hamper his ability to serve as a liberal pundit on television. http://www.realchange.org/sharpton.htm
Should he really be able to go on television and throw out a claim that he had seen a video of racial slurs being yelled by tea party goers?
This is a serious charge, and O’Reilly “corrected” him saying there was no video. Bill should have challenged him “show me the tape” before you say another word.
Why do these liberal leaders get away with carelessly/maliciously lying?
I have been to tea parties in Washington, D.C., and throughout Texas – Austin, College Station, Bryan, Odessa, Tyler, Houston and more. Never have I seen any race issues raised.
Yet Sharpton – allowed to continue on O’Reilly’s show – later claimed that the term “our America” doesn’t include Blacks. When any tea party sign or speech includes the term “our America” it is racially motivated? Give me a break. It’s your America if you embrace it, Sharpton.
This is simply the Left attempting to marginalize and demonize the tea party movement.
The tea party movement IS America. We are Americans who are willing to champion our Constitution and hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire.
And the Left is so threatened by this they will lie. Shame on Al “Liar” Sharpton and shame on those in the media who give him a voice. That includes Bill O’Reilly.
-- Peggy Venable, PeggyVenable@Reagan.com
Monday, March 29, 2010
Personal Injury Trial Lawyers are at it again
Our friends at Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), (whose mission is to advocate for a fair and just legal system, they have campaigned for an end to abusive and frivolous litigation that hurts our economy, increases costs and delays justice for those with legitimate claims.)
CALA recently we shared testimony with members of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence opposing a change in Texas law that would allow personal injury lawyers to collect damages on expenses that never happened. It’s innocuously called “paid v. incurred” but it will result in a personal injury lawyer windfall that will increase costs for all Texans. The committee is considering the issue as part of its interim charges.
The following example demonstrates how this proposal could drive up consumer costs:
Person A is injured by Person B in a car accident. Person A presents their health insurance card at the hospital. The hospital charges are $100,000, but because of discounts associated with the health insurance contract with the hospital, the actual expenses paid by the health insurer are $75,000. Under current law, Person B's auto insurance would reimburse the health insurer for $75,000. Under this proposal, a personal injury lawyer could sue the auto insurance company for the full $100,000, an amount that exceeds the actual costs incurred. The additional $25,000 would be an unfair windfall.
We’ve been here before. Three years ago, personal injury lawyers snuck this piece through the legislature. Governor Rick Perry wisely vetoed this misguided measure.
Texas needs laws that promote common sense and fairness in our courts, not laws that create new avenues to line the pockets of some personal injury lawyers at the expense of Texas families.
Thanks, CALA for shedding light on the ambulance-chasing attorneys' latest antics to game the system!
Thank you.
Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse
CALA recently we shared testimony with members of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence opposing a change in Texas law that would allow personal injury lawyers to collect damages on expenses that never happened. It’s innocuously called “paid v. incurred” but it will result in a personal injury lawyer windfall that will increase costs for all Texans. The committee is considering the issue as part of its interim charges.
The following example demonstrates how this proposal could drive up consumer costs:
Person A is injured by Person B in a car accident. Person A presents their health insurance card at the hospital. The hospital charges are $100,000, but because of discounts associated with the health insurance contract with the hospital, the actual expenses paid by the health insurer are $75,000. Under current law, Person B's auto insurance would reimburse the health insurer for $75,000. Under this proposal, a personal injury lawyer could sue the auto insurance company for the full $100,000, an amount that exceeds the actual costs incurred. The additional $25,000 would be an unfair windfall.
We’ve been here before. Three years ago, personal injury lawyers snuck this piece through the legislature. Governor Rick Perry wisely vetoed this misguided measure.
Texas needs laws that promote common sense and fairness in our courts, not laws that create new avenues to line the pockets of some personal injury lawyers at the expense of Texas families.
Thanks, CALA for shedding light on the ambulance-chasing attorneys' latest antics to game the system!
Thank you.
Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse
Texas' economy is best in the country
Gov. Rick Perry spoke at a ribbon-cutting in North Richland Hills recently:
“Here in Texas, we have worked hard to create and preserve a job-friendly economic climate, where innovation is rewarded and employers have the best chance to succeed. We are seeing more fruits of those labors as we welcome the return of a key manufacturer to this area and the 250 jobs that accompany the revival of this facility,” Gov. Perry said.
“The jobs they are creating are part of a great overall trend for Texas, where our unemployment rate is the lowest among the nation’s 10 largest states and we produced more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the past 10 years.”
The governor credited Texas’ low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, and skilled and educated workforce with helping to attract companies that are looking to expand or relocate.
Texas was recently named the number one exporting state in the nation for the eighth year in a row, and according to Moody’s Economy, seven Texas metro areas are expected to be among the first to emerge from the recession. Forbes lists Texas as having one of the lowest debt burdens in the country, and a study conducted by Allied Van Lines found that more individuals and families chose to move to Texas than anywhere in the U.S. in 2009. Additionally, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas created more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the last 10 years, and has the lowest unemployment rate among the 10 largest states in the nation.
For more information on how Texas is #1, go to: www.LoneStarStrong.com
“Here in Texas, we have worked hard to create and preserve a job-friendly economic climate, where innovation is rewarded and employers have the best chance to succeed. We are seeing more fruits of those labors as we welcome the return of a key manufacturer to this area and the 250 jobs that accompany the revival of this facility,” Gov. Perry said.
“The jobs they are creating are part of a great overall trend for Texas, where our unemployment rate is the lowest among the nation’s 10 largest states and we produced more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the past 10 years.”
The governor credited Texas’ low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, and skilled and educated workforce with helping to attract companies that are looking to expand or relocate.
Texas was recently named the number one exporting state in the nation for the eighth year in a row, and according to Moody’s Economy, seven Texas metro areas are expected to be among the first to emerge from the recession. Forbes lists Texas as having one of the lowest debt burdens in the country, and a study conducted by Allied Van Lines found that more individuals and families chose to move to Texas than anywhere in the U.S. in 2009. Additionally, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas created more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the last 10 years, and has the lowest unemployment rate among the 10 largest states in the nation.
For more information on how Texas is #1, go to: www.LoneStarStrong.com
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Former Teacher "Ousts" Texas (anti)Freedom Network
“A Mainstream Voice to Counter the Religious Right” -- that is how Texas Freedom Network (TFN) advertises itself. TFN’s purpose in life is to lie, hound, vilify, discredit, and drive from office the elected conservative Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) members. TFN is in league with the liberal media.
I ask you parents who have children in the Texas public schools and who are concerned about what they are taught, “How mainstream do you think TFN really is?”
“Do you want TFN to have any influence over the type of SBOE members who are elected?”
“Do you want TFN to influence Texas’ education standards, textbooks, and curriculum?”
Let’s consider the answers to those questions:
Dan Quinn is the Communications Director for Texas Freedom Network (TFN). Dan “outed” himself in an article in the Austin American-Statesman (6.3.01 -- http://www.statesman.com/specialreports/content/specialreports/gaysurvey/3gaysurvey.html ).
Cecile Richards founded Texas Freedom Network in 1995. She is now the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Cecile left for Washington, D. C., Samantha Smoot took Cecile's place.
When Samantha left for Washington, D. C. in 2005, she went to work for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest homosexual organization in the country.
Another far, leftwing organization has recently been added to the TFN alliance: MEChA.
Now we have Texas Freedom Network, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign (largest homosexual organization in the country), and MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) all speaking as one voice.
On 3.25.10, The Daily Texan reported:
A UT-based group called Save Our History, an alliance between University Democrats, a Chicano civil rights group called MEChA and the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit that works to combat the radical right voice in education, staged a march and press conference on March 10. Garrett Mize, a member of the Texas Freedom Network and the coalition, said the group plans to continue its activism and hopes to expand its membership in preparation for the May meetings.
MEChA wants to eliminate the border with Mexico entirely. They honor Mexican revolutionary war hero Ernesto Zapata and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.
MEChA has held rallies to pressure the University of Texas not to celebrate Texas Independence Day on campus, and they advocate for “La Reconquista” or the retaking of the Southwestern states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah) to form an independent nation called “Aztlan.” (http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=16439)
What parent in his right mind would want the TFN alliance to have any influence whatsover over what impressionable and vulnerable public school students are taught?
I know one thing: I would not want the TFN alliance to get within a 100 miles of my precious children and grandchildren!
(this was provided by former teacher Donna Garner)
I ask you parents who have children in the Texas public schools and who are concerned about what they are taught, “How mainstream do you think TFN really is?”
“Do you want TFN to have any influence over the type of SBOE members who are elected?”
“Do you want TFN to influence Texas’ education standards, textbooks, and curriculum?”
Let’s consider the answers to those questions:
Dan Quinn is the Communications Director for Texas Freedom Network (TFN). Dan “outed” himself in an article in the Austin American-Statesman (6.3.01 -- http://www.statesman.com/specialreports/content/specialreports/gaysurvey/3gaysurvey.html ).
Cecile Richards founded Texas Freedom Network in 1995. She is now the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Cecile left for Washington, D. C., Samantha Smoot took Cecile's place.
When Samantha left for Washington, D. C. in 2005, she went to work for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest homosexual organization in the country.
Another far, leftwing organization has recently been added to the TFN alliance: MEChA.
Now we have Texas Freedom Network, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign (largest homosexual organization in the country), and MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) all speaking as one voice.
On 3.25.10, The Daily Texan reported:
A UT-based group called Save Our History, an alliance between University Democrats, a Chicano civil rights group called MEChA and the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit that works to combat the radical right voice in education, staged a march and press conference on March 10. Garrett Mize, a member of the Texas Freedom Network and the coalition, said the group plans to continue its activism and hopes to expand its membership in preparation for the May meetings.
MEChA wants to eliminate the border with Mexico entirely. They honor Mexican revolutionary war hero Ernesto Zapata and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.
MEChA has held rallies to pressure the University of Texas not to celebrate Texas Independence Day on campus, and they advocate for “La Reconquista” or the retaking of the Southwestern states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah) to form an independent nation called “Aztlan.” (http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=16439)
What parent in his right mind would want the TFN alliance to have any influence whatsover over what impressionable and vulnerable public school students are taught?
I know one thing: I would not want the TFN alliance to get within a 100 miles of my precious children and grandchildren!
(this was provided by former teacher Donna Garner)
Comal County: New Debt Bomb Coming Your Way May 8
By Douglas Kirk
We have the exact same thing going on at the local level as we do in Washington.
You don’t like Obamacare? Then why should you like a new Comal County Courthouse for $75,000,000?
We don’t need it and we can’t afford it. But we ARE going to get it.
Why? That’s because your elected officials don’t work for you. They work for themselves and they take care of their buddies at YOUR expense.
How is it any different in Washington?
You might as well not even bother to vote May 8 on this massive new bond issue. When the votes are counted, the people spending your money will prevail. They ALWAYS do.
Why should this be any different?
We are deep in a recession, on the verge of diving into a second, deeper dip.
So what does your local government do? Instead of working to create jobs, they are smoking big cigars in a back room somewhere laughing their collective asses off at how STUPID the electorate is and how FUN it is going to be to SPEND all that FREE CASH.
Funny, they were even going to do this without a vote. They tried to sneak the deal past the public with certificates of obligation. However, they got CAUGHT, and the taxpayers rose up and 6,500 people signed a petition FORCING the County Judge to call an election.
Remember how he BELLY-ACHED about that? Remember how he was soliciting affidavits from people who he said were FOOLED into signing the petition?
Out of SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED people he was able to find just three--get that--three (3), who he was able to CONVINCE to change their mind about signing that petition.
But then of course, EVERYBODY KNOWS that taxpayers won’t get out to vote to STOP this ridiculous hardened bunker, er, courthouse, from being built.
Gosh, we already have a courthouse that isn’t used to full capacity. We already have a whole bunch of buildings in downtown New Braunfels that the County owns--buildings that were either built or purchased (The Hummel Museum) and so one wonders, why do they WANT another one?
Well, the answer to that is SIMPLE. A growing bureaucracy driven by greed and expansionism just likes to gobble up new territory.
The county budget is up 150 percent in just ten years. The per capita spending is far outgrowing the actual growth in population.
Of course we NEED another courthouse. We NEED it to house all the NEW government people on the payroll as the government expands like a pregnant jackass. (Jackass is an acceptable word, by the way, referring to a male donkey. A jackass, of course, can’t be pregnant, as it is, by definition a male. So, when someone says something is expanding like a pregnant jackass he is using the expression to represent complete amazement. And while we are on the subject, a female donkey is called a jenny. So, I could have said the government is expanding like a pregnant jenny, but then, hardly anyone would have known what I meant. However, if you have ever seen a pregnant donkey, you know that it is a sight to see--the bloat is enough to make you run for cover.)
So, that being said, the government WANTS a new courthouse so that they will have a whole new structure over which to lord.
They claim it is for security but they don’t use the metal detectors we bought them for the existing courthouse.
They claim they will save money--eight million dollars--by spending this money now, not addressing the issue that we should NOT be spending it AT ALL.
They already did a good old boy deal by buying the property for twice the appraised value. Huh? Do you have to work for the GOVERNMENT to be that DUMB?
And why aren’t we building a new facility (which we DON’T need) at the COUNTY JAIL, next to where they keep the prisoners so you don’t have to haul the prisoners into the downtown tourist section of New Braunfels? Just walk them through a secure tunnel from the jail to the new courthouse on the adjacent property? DUH.
No, we are surrounded by people whose real goals are a good old boy AGENDA that involves removing money from YOUR WALLET for THEIR ENTERTAINMENT.
So stay home on May 8. Don’t Vote. You will get the NEW TAX BILL a little later and for the next THIRTY years.
Douglas Kirk
We have the exact same thing going on at the local level as we do in Washington.
You don’t like Obamacare? Then why should you like a new Comal County Courthouse for $75,000,000?
We don’t need it and we can’t afford it. But we ARE going to get it.
Why? That’s because your elected officials don’t work for you. They work for themselves and they take care of their buddies at YOUR expense.
How is it any different in Washington?
You might as well not even bother to vote May 8 on this massive new bond issue. When the votes are counted, the people spending your money will prevail. They ALWAYS do.
Why should this be any different?
We are deep in a recession, on the verge of diving into a second, deeper dip.
So what does your local government do? Instead of working to create jobs, they are smoking big cigars in a back room somewhere laughing their collective asses off at how STUPID the electorate is and how FUN it is going to be to SPEND all that FREE CASH.
Funny, they were even going to do this without a vote. They tried to sneak the deal past the public with certificates of obligation. However, they got CAUGHT, and the taxpayers rose up and 6,500 people signed a petition FORCING the County Judge to call an election.
Remember how he BELLY-ACHED about that? Remember how he was soliciting affidavits from people who he said were FOOLED into signing the petition?
Out of SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED people he was able to find just three--get that--three (3), who he was able to CONVINCE to change their mind about signing that petition.
But then of course, EVERYBODY KNOWS that taxpayers won’t get out to vote to STOP this ridiculous hardened bunker, er, courthouse, from being built.
Gosh, we already have a courthouse that isn’t used to full capacity. We already have a whole bunch of buildings in downtown New Braunfels that the County owns--buildings that were either built or purchased (The Hummel Museum) and so one wonders, why do they WANT another one?
Well, the answer to that is SIMPLE. A growing bureaucracy driven by greed and expansionism just likes to gobble up new territory.
The county budget is up 150 percent in just ten years. The per capita spending is far outgrowing the actual growth in population.
Of course we NEED another courthouse. We NEED it to house all the NEW government people on the payroll as the government expands like a pregnant jackass. (Jackass is an acceptable word, by the way, referring to a male donkey. A jackass, of course, can’t be pregnant, as it is, by definition a male. So, when someone says something is expanding like a pregnant jackass he is using the expression to represent complete amazement. And while we are on the subject, a female donkey is called a jenny. So, I could have said the government is expanding like a pregnant jenny, but then, hardly anyone would have known what I meant. However, if you have ever seen a pregnant donkey, you know that it is a sight to see--the bloat is enough to make you run for cover.)
So, that being said, the government WANTS a new courthouse so that they will have a whole new structure over which to lord.
They claim it is for security but they don’t use the metal detectors we bought them for the existing courthouse.
They claim they will save money--eight million dollars--by spending this money now, not addressing the issue that we should NOT be spending it AT ALL.
They already did a good old boy deal by buying the property for twice the appraised value. Huh? Do you have to work for the GOVERNMENT to be that DUMB?
And why aren’t we building a new facility (which we DON’T need) at the COUNTY JAIL, next to where they keep the prisoners so you don’t have to haul the prisoners into the downtown tourist section of New Braunfels? Just walk them through a secure tunnel from the jail to the new courthouse on the adjacent property? DUH.
No, we are surrounded by people whose real goals are a good old boy AGENDA that involves removing money from YOUR WALLET for THEIR ENTERTAINMENT.
So stay home on May 8. Don’t Vote. You will get the NEW TAX BILL a little later and for the next THIRTY years.
Douglas Kirk
Jobs for America bill is a job-killer
Jobs for America bill is a job-killer; a Pig in a Poke
Rep. George Miller (D-CA Dist 7) and 103 co-sponsors (all Democrats - including Texas Reps. Al Green, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sheila Jackson Lee) are working to grow government jobs.
Let’s be perfectly clear about this – government jobs equate to higher taxes for the rest of us.
The bill deceptively titled Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) is no different from the stimulus bill in providing federal funds for state and local employment schemes, and we know how well that worked.
This bill provides short-term federal funds for state and local government jobs. It supports the very opposite of fiscal responsibility by propping up old and new positions that clearly do not have the tax base to support them.
Here is the description of the bill: To provide funds to States, units of general local government, and community-based organizations to save and create local jobs through the retention, restoration, or expansion of services needed by local communities, and for other purposes.
It’s another Democratic measure to further destroy the free market, kill private sector jobs, and grow government. Let’s remember that government employees and their unions are major supporters of their benefactors – the Democratic Party officials and their candidates.
So don’t be fooled by the so-called “Jobs for America Act” as it is yet another pig in a poke.
Rep. George Miller (D-CA Dist 7) and 103 co-sponsors (all Democrats - including Texas Reps. Al Green, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sheila Jackson Lee) are working to grow government jobs.
Let’s be perfectly clear about this – government jobs equate to higher taxes for the rest of us.
The bill deceptively titled Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) is no different from the stimulus bill in providing federal funds for state and local employment schemes, and we know how well that worked.
This bill provides short-term federal funds for state and local government jobs. It supports the very opposite of fiscal responsibility by propping up old and new positions that clearly do not have the tax base to support them.
Here is the description of the bill: To provide funds to States, units of general local government, and community-based organizations to save and create local jobs through the retention, restoration, or expansion of services needed by local communities, and for other purposes.
It’s another Democratic measure to further destroy the free market, kill private sector jobs, and grow government. Let’s remember that government employees and their unions are major supporters of their benefactors – the Democratic Party officials and their candidates.
So don’t be fooled by the so-called “Jobs for America Act” as it is yet another pig in a poke.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Castro endorses ObamaCare
Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill
Dubious endorsement? Cuban leader endorses US health care reform, says it's about time
Paul Haven, Associated Press Writer, On Thursday March 25, 2010, 12:39 pm EDT
HAVANA (AP) -- It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.
"We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."
But the Cuban leader also used the lengthy piece to criticize the American president for his lack of leadership on climate change and immigration reform, and for his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, among many other things.
And he said it was remarkable that the most powerful country on earth took more than two centuries from its founding to approve something as basic as health benefits for all.
"It is really incredible that 234 years after the Declaration of Independence ... the government of that country has approved medical attention for the majority of its citizens, something that Cuba was able to do half a century ago," Castro wrote.
The longtime Cuban leader -- who ceded power to his brother Raul in 2008 -- has continued to pronounce his thoughts on world issues though frequent essays, titled "Reflections," which are published in state newspapers.
Cuba provides free health care and education to all its citizens, and heavily subsidizes food, housing, utilities and transportation, policies that have earned it global praise. The government has warned that some of those benefits are no longer sustainable given Cuba's ever-struggling economy, though it has so far not made major changes.
In recent speeches, Raul Castro has singled out medicine as an area where the government needs to be spending less, but he has not elaborated.
While Fidel Castro was initially positive about Obama, his essays have become increasingly hostile in recent months as relations between Cuba and the United States have soured. Washington has been increasingly alarmed by Cuba's treatment of political dissidents -- one of whom died in February after a long hunger strike.
Cuba was irate over the island's inclusion earlier this year on a list of countries Washington considers to be state sponsors of terrorism. Tensions have also risen following the arrest in December of a U.S. government contractor that Havana accuses of spying.
In Thursday's essay, Castro called Obama a "fanatic believer in capitalist imperialism" but also praised him as "unquestionably intelligent."
"I hope that the stupid things he sometimes says about Cuba don't cloud over that intelligence," he said.
Dubious endorsement? Cuban leader endorses US health care reform, says it's about time
Paul Haven, Associated Press Writer, On Thursday March 25, 2010, 12:39 pm EDT
HAVANA (AP) -- It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.
"We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."
But the Cuban leader also used the lengthy piece to criticize the American president for his lack of leadership on climate change and immigration reform, and for his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, among many other things.
And he said it was remarkable that the most powerful country on earth took more than two centuries from its founding to approve something as basic as health benefits for all.
"It is really incredible that 234 years after the Declaration of Independence ... the government of that country has approved medical attention for the majority of its citizens, something that Cuba was able to do half a century ago," Castro wrote.
The longtime Cuban leader -- who ceded power to his brother Raul in 2008 -- has continued to pronounce his thoughts on world issues though frequent essays, titled "Reflections," which are published in state newspapers.
Cuba provides free health care and education to all its citizens, and heavily subsidizes food, housing, utilities and transportation, policies that have earned it global praise. The government has warned that some of those benefits are no longer sustainable given Cuba's ever-struggling economy, though it has so far not made major changes.
In recent speeches, Raul Castro has singled out medicine as an area where the government needs to be spending less, but he has not elaborated.
While Fidel Castro was initially positive about Obama, his essays have become increasingly hostile in recent months as relations between Cuba and the United States have soured. Washington has been increasingly alarmed by Cuba's treatment of political dissidents -- one of whom died in February after a long hunger strike.
Cuba was irate over the island's inclusion earlier this year on a list of countries Washington considers to be state sponsors of terrorism. Tensions have also risen following the arrest in December of a U.S. government contractor that Havana accuses of spying.
In Thursday's essay, Castro called Obama a "fanatic believer in capitalist imperialism" but also praised him as "unquestionably intelligent."
"I hope that the stupid things he sometimes says about Cuba don't cloud over that intelligence," he said.
Broken Promises: www.NovemberIsComing.com
Just days after the president signed his massive $2.5-trillion health care bill into law, we are just beginning to discover the many payoffs, exceptions and special interest deals hidden in the 2,700 pages of legislation.
In keeping with the spirit of the process thus far, which has been plagued with broken promises and corruption, the new health care bill exempts top Congressional staffers and leaders from ObamaCare. This runs completely counter to the promise by Congressional Democrats and President Obama that the American people would receive the same health care as those in government.
Secondly, one of the president's main talking points is that his new plan prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions. It now appears that the new law does not protect children from being denied for this very reason, according to a spokesperson for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This makes you wonder: what are the benefits of this new law?
This is only the tip of the iceberg. There will be many more surprises in store for us as we discover what President Obama's government-run health care will really look like. And since the people who wrote the legislation can't live with it themselves, this is not very promising.
Unfortunately, the attack on our liberties continues. The so-called "fixer" bill to the government takeover bill (H.R. 3590) just passed both chambers of Congress yesterday and will be sent to the President today. Amazingly, in any other year, this bill alone would qualify as the worst bill of the year with all its faults. It's a sad statement but this is turning out to be the most devastating year for freedom that we've had in a long time.
In short, it raises taxes on savings and investment when they're already scheduled to increases this year. It takes over the student loan industry, replacing private employees with government bureaucrats. And it increases the fine from $750 to $2,000 per employee for employers who do not provide health insurance to all of their employees. None of this will make our health care system more secure or affordable.
We aren't going to sit by while our liberties are snatched. Please visit www.NovemberIsComing.com right now and send a blunt message to your member of Congress: If you voted yes to this health care takeover, I'm voting NO on you this November.
In keeping with the spirit of the process thus far, which has been plagued with broken promises and corruption, the new health care bill exempts top Congressional staffers and leaders from ObamaCare. This runs completely counter to the promise by Congressional Democrats and President Obama that the American people would receive the same health care as those in government.
Secondly, one of the president's main talking points is that his new plan prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions. It now appears that the new law does not protect children from being denied for this very reason, according to a spokesperson for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This makes you wonder: what are the benefits of this new law?
This is only the tip of the iceberg. There will be many more surprises in store for us as we discover what President Obama's government-run health care will really look like. And since the people who wrote the legislation can't live with it themselves, this is not very promising.
Unfortunately, the attack on our liberties continues. The so-called "fixer" bill to the government takeover bill (H.R. 3590) just passed both chambers of Congress yesterday and will be sent to the President today. Amazingly, in any other year, this bill alone would qualify as the worst bill of the year with all its faults. It's a sad statement but this is turning out to be the most devastating year for freedom that we've had in a long time.
In short, it raises taxes on savings and investment when they're already scheduled to increases this year. It takes over the student loan industry, replacing private employees with government bureaucrats. And it increases the fine from $750 to $2,000 per employee for employers who do not provide health insurance to all of their employees. None of this will make our health care system more secure or affordable.
We aren't going to sit by while our liberties are snatched. Please visit www.NovemberIsComing.com right now and send a blunt message to your member of Congress: If you voted yes to this health care takeover, I'm voting NO on you this November.
Daily Texan - 1; Texas Tribune - 0 in the TX Textbook Reporting War
The left-leaning Texas Tribune has gotten it wrong again. In a recent post, the author suggests that Texas isn't so important after all, after
referring to the State Board of Education:
"...15 politicians in Texas (or at least the rightest-leaning half of them)"
And they fail to mention that Texas' curriculum standards are more stringent than national standards, and 13 states are moving to or have adopted the Texas standards when they wrote:
"...Texas remains one of only two states that has shunned the national standards movement being pushed out of Washington, which, if it progresses as expected, would no doubt dwarf the market influence of even giant states."
Then they make the admission:
"...Most history textbooks are not written by historians, self-respecting or otherwise. "
If the SBOE is at least half right-leaning, are the others "left-leaning" and why not point out what earns these elected the "right-leaning" label. They want to teach American Exceptionalism? Hardly right-leaning.
It's clear the Daily Texan has done a better job than these high-powered reporters gathered to funnel left-leaning material to policymakers in Austin. Is the Texas Tribune the online-voice for the Texas (anti-)Freedom Network?
referring to the State Board of Education:
"...15 politicians in Texas (or at least the rightest-leaning half of them)"
And they fail to mention that Texas' curriculum standards are more stringent than national standards, and 13 states are moving to or have adopted the Texas standards when they wrote:
"...Texas remains one of only two states that has shunned the national standards movement being pushed out of Washington, which, if it progresses as expected, would no doubt dwarf the market influence of even giant states."
Then they make the admission:
"...Most history textbooks are not written by historians, self-respecting or otherwise. "
If the SBOE is at least half right-leaning, are the others "left-leaning" and why not point out what earns these elected the "right-leaning" label. They want to teach American Exceptionalism? Hardly right-leaning.
It's clear the Daily Texan has done a better job than these high-powered reporters gathered to funnel left-leaning material to policymakers in Austin. Is the Texas Tribune the online-voice for the Texas (anti-)Freedom Network?
Texas Watchdog exposes Aggie waste
Texas Watchdog - March 26, 201
FREQUENT FLIERS ON PUBLIC PLANES: TEXAS A&M OFFICIALS RACK UP MILLION-DOLLAR BILL ANNUALLY ON SPECIALLY HIRED FLIGHTS
To make a meeting on the morning of May 27, 2008 at Fort Hood, then-A&M President Elsa Murano boarded the university's Hawker Beechcraft King Air B200 at Easterwood Airport in College Station for a flight of 113 miles and a roundtrip cost of $1,466. Two days later, to attend a scheduled hearing, Murano got on the same plane for a 106-mile morning hop to Austin. The cost was $1,173. That fall, a department head and two associate directors used a school plane to get to El Paso for an agriculture meeting. The roundtrip flight was billed at $5,685 or $1,895 a person.
Read it here: http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/03/frequent-fliers-on-public-planes-am-officials-rack-up/1269445557.story
So the Aggies are jetsetting at taxpayer expense??
Bottom line: while student tuitions are skyrocketing and taxpayers are tightening their belts, Aggies are in la-la land jet setting the state at taxpayers expense. This is outrageous!
FREQUENT FLIERS ON PUBLIC PLANES: TEXAS A&M OFFICIALS RACK UP MILLION-DOLLAR BILL ANNUALLY ON SPECIALLY HIRED FLIGHTS
To make a meeting on the morning of May 27, 2008 at Fort Hood, then-A&M President Elsa Murano boarded the university's Hawker Beechcraft King Air B200 at Easterwood Airport in College Station for a flight of 113 miles and a roundtrip cost of $1,466. Two days later, to attend a scheduled hearing, Murano got on the same plane for a 106-mile morning hop to Austin. The cost was $1,173. That fall, a department head and two associate directors used a school plane to get to El Paso for an agriculture meeting. The roundtrip flight was billed at $5,685 or $1,895 a person.
Read it here: http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/03/frequent-fliers-on-public-planes-am-officials-rack-up/1269445557.story
So the Aggies are jetsetting at taxpayer expense??
Bottom line: while student tuitions are skyrocketing and taxpayers are tightening their belts, Aggies are in la-la land jet setting the state at taxpayers expense. This is outrageous!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Daily Texan reporter nails it: Jefferson remains in curriculum
Looks like the Daily Texan has done some good reporting here. It exposed the group “Save Our History” as a front group for the University Democrats, MEChA, and the Texas [Anti-]Freedom Network. Remember, MEChA is an organization of wackos that does not want UT celebrating Texas Independence Day on campus and would like to send the Southwest back to Mexico.
The report went to the sources, and reported without bias...refreshing!
Here’s the article: http://www.dailytexanonline.com/content/groups-address-highly-contested-curriculum
The report went to the sources, and reported without bias...refreshing!
Here’s the article: http://www.dailytexanonline.com/content/groups-address-highly-contested-curriculum
Welcome to ObamaCare
We’re only two days into ObamaCare and we’re already finding out it’s not as advertised. President Obama lauded the bill for immediately barring health insurers from taking children’s preexisting conditions into account. However, it turns out that the bill doesn’t actually do that. Insurers will still be able to refuse coverage to new child applicants, although insurers cannot refuse to pay for children already on their plans. The White House and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius quickly pledged to fix the flaw with new regulations.
This incident offers a window into our new existence under ObamaCare.
Once President Obama signed the government takeover of health care into law, medicine became a permanent fixture in our political discourse. I have no doubt that over the next ten years as the bureaucratic health care superstate emerges we will learn about countless typos, mistakes or mischaracterizations in this legislation. But never fear, we’ll be told, just a few alterations in the statute and all will be well.
Not only will ObamaCare have to be constantly rewritten as we learn what’s really in the bill and as bureaucrats actually try to implement it, but every excruciating decision will be played out in the media and through the political process. Even worse, the Department of Health and Human Services will make many of these decisions without a vote of Congress. This is what AFP and conservatives have been fighting against all along.
House Democrats passed health care because they were weary and wanted the issue to go away. It’s never going away. The rancor, the divisiveness and the politicization of medicine will never go away. This is just the beginning.
Welcome to ObamaCare. - Americans for Prosperity, www.AmericansForProsperity.org
That's right. The ink isn't wet, and not only do we have "buyers remorse" but most Americans didn't want to buy the plan in the first place. It is time we Take Back America - go to: www.NovemberIsComing.org
This incident offers a window into our new existence under ObamaCare.
Once President Obama signed the government takeover of health care into law, medicine became a permanent fixture in our political discourse. I have no doubt that over the next ten years as the bureaucratic health care superstate emerges we will learn about countless typos, mistakes or mischaracterizations in this legislation. But never fear, we’ll be told, just a few alterations in the statute and all will be well.
Not only will ObamaCare have to be constantly rewritten as we learn what’s really in the bill and as bureaucrats actually try to implement it, but every excruciating decision will be played out in the media and through the political process. Even worse, the Department of Health and Human Services will make many of these decisions without a vote of Congress. This is what AFP and conservatives have been fighting against all along.
House Democrats passed health care because they were weary and wanted the issue to go away. It’s never going away. The rancor, the divisiveness and the politicization of medicine will never go away. This is just the beginning.
Welcome to ObamaCare. - Americans for Prosperity, www.AmericansForProsperity.org
That's right. The ink isn't wet, and not only do we have "buyers remorse" but most Americans didn't want to buy the plan in the first place. It is time we Take Back America - go to: www.NovemberIsComing.org
Thomas Jefferson remains in Texas curriculum
Bill White, former Houston mayor and Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate: PANTS ON FIRE. He has claimed the SBOE has taken Thomas Jefferson out of our curriculum. Shame on you, Bill White!!!
Here are the facts, straight from the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE):
March 19, 2010: Thomas Jefferson remains in social studies curriculum
After hours of public testimony and more than 100 amendments offered to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, the State Board of Education last week gave preliminary approval to the curriculum standards that will be used in Texas public schools.
One amendment in particular has garnered a lot of attention, after some media outlets erroneously reported the State Board of Education was dropping Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum framework.
“The only individual mentioned more times in the curriculum standards than Thomas Jefferson is George Washington,” said Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the 15-member board. “We expect students at the elementary level, in middle school and in high school to study the Founding Fathers and to be well versed in their contributions to our country. That includes Thomas Jefferson and his legacy,” she said.
In fifth grade, designed as an introductory survey course of the United States from 1565 to the present, students are expected to “identify the Founding Fathers and Patriot heroes, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, the Sons of Liberty, and George Washington, and their motivations and contributions during the revolutionary period.”
In the eighth grade, in which the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction is presented, the TEKS framework requires students to “explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Abigail Adams, John Adams, Wentworth Cheswell, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, James Armistead, Benjamin Franklin, Bernardo de Galvez, Crispus Attucks, King George III, Haym Salomon, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine and George Washington.”
The U.S. Government course required for high school graduation states that students will “identify the contributions of the political philosophies of the Founding Fathers, including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, George Mason, Roger Sherman and James Wilson on the development of the U.S. government.”
In addition, students must “identify significant individuals in the field of government and politics, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.”
Although Jefferson had been listed in a World History standard, the board removed his name from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers that included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” said Lowe of the World History proposal. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said Lowe.
Lowe continued, “Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion,” she said.
The social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills will be finalized in May when the board holds its last public hearing and final adoption of the standards
Here are the facts, straight from the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE):
March 19, 2010: Thomas Jefferson remains in social studies curriculum
After hours of public testimony and more than 100 amendments offered to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, the State Board of Education last week gave preliminary approval to the curriculum standards that will be used in Texas public schools.
One amendment in particular has garnered a lot of attention, after some media outlets erroneously reported the State Board of Education was dropping Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum framework.
“The only individual mentioned more times in the curriculum standards than Thomas Jefferson is George Washington,” said Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the 15-member board. “We expect students at the elementary level, in middle school and in high school to study the Founding Fathers and to be well versed in their contributions to our country. That includes Thomas Jefferson and his legacy,” she said.
In fifth grade, designed as an introductory survey course of the United States from 1565 to the present, students are expected to “identify the Founding Fathers and Patriot heroes, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, the Sons of Liberty, and George Washington, and their motivations and contributions during the revolutionary period.”
In the eighth grade, in which the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction is presented, the TEKS framework requires students to “explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Abigail Adams, John Adams, Wentworth Cheswell, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, James Armistead, Benjamin Franklin, Bernardo de Galvez, Crispus Attucks, King George III, Haym Salomon, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine and George Washington.”
The U.S. Government course required for high school graduation states that students will “identify the contributions of the political philosophies of the Founding Fathers, including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, George Mason, Roger Sherman and James Wilson on the development of the U.S. government.”
In addition, students must “identify significant individuals in the field of government and politics, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.”
Although Jefferson had been listed in a World History standard, the board removed his name from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers that included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” said Lowe of the World History proposal. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said Lowe.
Lowe continued, “Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion,” she said.
The social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills will be finalized in May when the board holds its last public hearing and final adoption of the standards
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
ObamaCare
With passage of ObamaCare, Americans may be required to purchase health insurance, but you won't have access to timely heath care. One sacrificed the other.
AFP launches Regulation Reality Tour
Carrying signs reading “No Regulation without Representation” and wearing “Carbon Cops” T-shirts, with green-rapped SmartCars, the tour is rolling through Arkansas and will be traveling the country.
The effort is to stop the EPA from broadening its reach and using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. The EPA has moved to determine greenhouse gases, including CO2 which we exhale, as dangerous.
Since the US Senate has failed to pass cap and trade legislation (which would cap our prosperity and trade our jobs to China), President Obama is at it again, trying to force intrusive global warming regulations on the American people by circumventing Congress and our Constitution.
The Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction White House Climate Czar Carol Browner, is ignoring the public outrage against the unpopular cap-and-trade tax scheme and is trying to impose even more intrusive energy regulations on the American people by ignoring the entire democratic process altogether.
Stand up and fight back! Join Americans for Prosperity’s Regulation Reality Tour at a location near you! See the future under EPA regulations…a future that might very well include Carbon Cops.
They look silly driving the Smart Cars across the country and issuing “citations” at our events for everyday tasks like mowing your lawn, filling your gas tank, or driving a truck. But this could be a frightening reality if we don’t urge our senators to stop the EPA before it’s too late. There will be countless permits and fees to enforce these arbitrary regulations, and you can bet they’ll send government bureaucrats to penalize you for simply living your life. With badges, caps, and flashing cop car lights, we hope our Carbon Cops wake citizens up to what a future might look like if we don’t act now.
We are planning the tour will come to Texas. Texas has sued the EPA to stop the regulation of greenhouse gases and global warming skeptics are demanding a full vetting of the issue in Congress.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the EPA's greenhouse gas findings are laced with 'cover-ups, and the suppression and destruction of scientific evidence.'
Related links:
Texas has sued the EPA:
http://americansforprosperity.org/021610-press-statement-texas-takes-epa-court-global-warming-regulations
Learn more about the Regulation Reality Tour: http://regulationreality.com/
Americans for Prosperity has launched its Regulation Reality Tour in Arkansas:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/032410-regulation-reality-tour-rolls-through-arkansas
The effort is to stop the EPA from broadening its reach and using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. The EPA has moved to determine greenhouse gases, including CO2 which we exhale, as dangerous.
Since the US Senate has failed to pass cap and trade legislation (which would cap our prosperity and trade our jobs to China), President Obama is at it again, trying to force intrusive global warming regulations on the American people by circumventing Congress and our Constitution.
The Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction White House Climate Czar Carol Browner, is ignoring the public outrage against the unpopular cap-and-trade tax scheme and is trying to impose even more intrusive energy regulations on the American people by ignoring the entire democratic process altogether.
Stand up and fight back! Join Americans for Prosperity’s Regulation Reality Tour at a location near you! See the future under EPA regulations…a future that might very well include Carbon Cops.
They look silly driving the Smart Cars across the country and issuing “citations” at our events for everyday tasks like mowing your lawn, filling your gas tank, or driving a truck. But this could be a frightening reality if we don’t urge our senators to stop the EPA before it’s too late. There will be countless permits and fees to enforce these arbitrary regulations, and you can bet they’ll send government bureaucrats to penalize you for simply living your life. With badges, caps, and flashing cop car lights, we hope our Carbon Cops wake citizens up to what a future might look like if we don’t act now.
We are planning the tour will come to Texas. Texas has sued the EPA to stop the regulation of greenhouse gases and global warming skeptics are demanding a full vetting of the issue in Congress.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the EPA's greenhouse gas findings are laced with 'cover-ups, and the suppression and destruction of scientific evidence.'
Related links:
Texas has sued the EPA:
http://americansforprosperity.org/021610-press-statement-texas-takes-epa-court-global-warming-regulations
Learn more about the Regulation Reality Tour: http://regulationreality.com/
Americans for Prosperity has launched its Regulation Reality Tour in Arkansas:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/032410-regulation-reality-tour-rolls-through-arkansas
Reconciliation Act is a tax hike - a terrible bill
We suffered a huge setback in the fight for freedom when the president signed the Democrats' massive health care takeover bill into law. But we don't have time to rest, because the Senate is poised, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, to add a chaser to that bill that will make things much, much worse. The so-called reconciliation bill is so bad that in any other year, it would be the worst bill of the year. I know we're all tired, but we can't let the Senate get away with passing this bill without a public uproar.
Please click (or cut and paste the link) now to tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the disastrous reconciliation tax hike bill. http://www.capwiz.com/americansforprosperity/issues/alert/?alertid=14857531&type=CO
This is how bad the Reconciliation Act of 2010 is. It includes:
1. A disastrous tax hike on capital gains and dividends. That’s the most anti-growth tax hike possible. The Reconciliation Act creates a new 3.8-percent Medicare tax on single filers over $200,000 and married filers over $250,000. The rich? Not quite. This slams business owners and makes it harder for them to raise capital for needed equipment purchases, expansion, and job creation. And there is no inflation indexing, so it will directly hit more and more taxpayers over time.
2. An increase in the health care penalty tax on employers from $750 per uncovered employee to $2,000.
3. A total takeover of the student loan industry, putting tens of thousands out of work in the private sector while building up a big new student loan bureaucracy.
4. A "fix" to the Cadillac tax that actually makes it worse, not better. Under current law the exemption amount is indexed to CPI plus 1 percent. That is not enough to keep up with medical costs. The reconciliation bill delays the start of the tax by five years, from 2013 to 2018, but it cuts the inflation adjustment to plain CPI. The lower inflation adjustment means that once the tax starts it will hit more people faster.
5. A Nebraska "fix" (the only one of the infamous and corrupt deals Obama signed into law yesterday that’s actually revisited in the reconciliation) that is actually a much worse deal for taxpayers. Nebraska no longer gets special treatment, but the new Medicaid funding formula puts federal taxpayers on the hook for 90 percent of the cost of expansion for all states, with special funding increases for 17 states and the District of Columbia. This is welfare reform in reverse; we should be building on the AFDC block-grant model of state control and innovation that worked so well in the 1990s, not federalizing Medicaid.
Please click now to tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the disastrous reconciliation tax hike bill.
We lost the first round of the health care fight, which was tragic. But we can't sit by shell-shocked while the Senate follows it up with this disastrous tax-hiking reconciliation bill.
Thanks for all you do,
Please click (or cut and paste the link) now to tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the disastrous reconciliation tax hike bill. http://www.capwiz.com/americansforprosperity/issues/alert/?alertid=14857531&type=CO
This is how bad the Reconciliation Act of 2010 is. It includes:
1. A disastrous tax hike on capital gains and dividends. That’s the most anti-growth tax hike possible. The Reconciliation Act creates a new 3.8-percent Medicare tax on single filers over $200,000 and married filers over $250,000. The rich? Not quite. This slams business owners and makes it harder for them to raise capital for needed equipment purchases, expansion, and job creation. And there is no inflation indexing, so it will directly hit more and more taxpayers over time.
2. An increase in the health care penalty tax on employers from $750 per uncovered employee to $2,000.
3. A total takeover of the student loan industry, putting tens of thousands out of work in the private sector while building up a big new student loan bureaucracy.
4. A "fix" to the Cadillac tax that actually makes it worse, not better. Under current law the exemption amount is indexed to CPI plus 1 percent. That is not enough to keep up with medical costs. The reconciliation bill delays the start of the tax by five years, from 2013 to 2018, but it cuts the inflation adjustment to plain CPI. The lower inflation adjustment means that once the tax starts it will hit more people faster.
5. A Nebraska "fix" (the only one of the infamous and corrupt deals Obama signed into law yesterday that’s actually revisited in the reconciliation) that is actually a much worse deal for taxpayers. Nebraska no longer gets special treatment, but the new Medicaid funding formula puts federal taxpayers on the hook for 90 percent of the cost of expansion for all states, with special funding increases for 17 states and the District of Columbia. This is welfare reform in reverse; we should be building on the AFDC block-grant model of state control and innovation that worked so well in the 1990s, not federalizing Medicaid.
Please click now to tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the disastrous reconciliation tax hike bill.
We lost the first round of the health care fight, which was tragic. But we can't sit by shell-shocked while the Senate follows it up with this disastrous tax-hiking reconciliation bill.
Thanks for all you do,
How many errors are in the ObamaCare bill?
It has come to public attention that children with pre-existing conditions cannot have coverage which kicks in this year due to "drafting problems", considered a glitch.
And some senior drug coverage has been misconstrued.
Did they really read the bill? They claim they did - so did they understand the bill?
What has the Democratic congress done to America's healthcare and health insurance industry?
We don't know - untili they read the bill (carefully).
And some senior drug coverage has been misconstrued.
Did they really read the bill? They claim they did - so did they understand the bill?
What has the Democratic congress done to America's healthcare and health insurance industry?
We don't know - untili they read the bill (carefully).
Entitlement Rip-Off bigger than Madoff's scheme
John Stossel calls it an entitlement rip-off.
Bernie Madoff took money from people who thought he'd invested it, gave some to others who thought it was a partial return on their earlier investments and kept much for himself. That's called a Ponzi scheme, and his $50 billion fraud was called the biggest ever. But it wasn't the biggest. Social Security and Medicare are much bigger ones.
These are trillion-dollar scams. Medicare has a $36 trillion unfunded liability. Social Security's is $8 trillion. There's no money to keep those promises.
read more here: http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2010/03/24/entitlement_rip-off
Bernie Madoff took money from people who thought he'd invested it, gave some to others who thought it was a partial return on their earlier investments and kept much for himself. That's called a Ponzi scheme, and his $50 billion fraud was called the biggest ever. But it wasn't the biggest. Social Security and Medicare are much bigger ones.
These are trillion-dollar scams. Medicare has a $36 trillion unfunded liability. Social Security's is $8 trillion. There's no money to keep those promises.
read more here: http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2010/03/24/entitlement_rip-off
Texas Beats Other States out of Recession
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Texas, the second-most populous U.S. state, is among the first to emerge from the recession that began in December 2007 as job growth returned sooner, Comerica Inc. said in a report.
The Texas economy followed other states into the worst economic slump in the U.S. since 1930s, bottomed in September 2009 and the Texas economy began growing, five months before job growth hit bottom for the rest of the country, according to the report today by Dana Johnson, the chief economist at the Dallas-based bank.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aV5B8K80bQaU
Good policies have produced prosperity in Texas - stay tuned for more information on how Texas is Number One and deserves the designation "Lone Star Strong"...www.LoneStarStrong.com
The Texas economy followed other states into the worst economic slump in the U.S. since 1930s, bottomed in September 2009 and the Texas economy began growing, five months before job growth hit bottom for the rest of the country, according to the report today by Dana Johnson, the chief economist at the Dallas-based bank.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aV5B8K80bQaU
Good policies have produced prosperity in Texas - stay tuned for more information on how Texas is Number One and deserves the designation "Lone Star Strong"...www.LoneStarStrong.com
The Top 5 Disasters in the Democrats' Reconciliation Bill
Don't be fooled. The bill before the Senate today does not clean up or complete the new health care law.
By Phil Kerpen - FOXNews.com
The Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a disastrous, anti-growth tax hike bill. If this were any other year, it would be by far the year's worst piece of legislation. This bill is once-a-decade bad, but unfortunately overshadowed by the all-time bad affront to personal freedom and fiscal sanity the president signed into law yesterday.
First and worst, the bill hikes the investment tax on capital gains and dividends. That’s the most anti-growth tax hike possible. The Reconciliation Act creates a new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on single filers over $200,000 and married filers over $250,000. The rich? Not quite. This slams business owners and makes it harder for them to raise capital for needed equipment purchases, expansion, and job creation. And there is no inflation indexing, so it will directly hit more and more taxpayers over time.
Investment taxes are especially inappropriate as a “pay-for”; that’s because every capital gains hike has actually lowered revenues due to the economic damage and behavioral changes it caused.
Second, the reconciliation bill makes the business assault of the new health care law much worse. It raises the penalty on employers from $750 per uncovered employee to $2,000.
Third, the bill takes over the private aspects of the student loan industry, putting tens of thousands out of work in the private sector while building up a big new student loan bureaucracy. And this is supposed to happen by next semester, so you can expect lots of headaches for students in the short term as well the long-term costs of bigger government.
Fourth, the "fix" to the Cadillac tax actually makes it worse. Under current law the exemption amount is indexed to CPI plus 1 percent. That’s is already not a high enough inflation bar to keep up with medical costs. The reconciliation bill delays the start of the tax by five years, from 2013 to 2018, but it cuts the inflation adjustment to plain CPI. The lower inflation adjustment means this tax will hit more people faster.
Finally, the Nebraska "fix" (the only one of the infamous and corrupt deals Obama signed into law yesterday that’s actually revisited in the reconciliation) is now a much worse deal for taxpayers. Nebraska no longer gets special treatment, but the new Medicaid funding formula puts federal taxpayers on the hook for 90 percent of the cost of expansion for all states, with special funding increases for 17 states and the District of Columbia. This is welfare reform in reverse; we should be building on the AFDC block-grant model of state control and innovation that worked so well in the 1990s, not federalizing Medicaid.
The bottom line: the bill does not clean up or complete the new health care law. It should be judged on its own extremely dubious merits and the Senate should vote no.
Mr. Kerpen is vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity. He can be reached on Twitter, Facebook, and through www.PhilKerpen.com.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/24/phil-kerpen-obama-health-care-reconciliation-senate-nebraska/
By Phil Kerpen - FOXNews.com
The Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a disastrous, anti-growth tax hike bill. If this were any other year, it would be by far the year's worst piece of legislation. This bill is once-a-decade bad, but unfortunately overshadowed by the all-time bad affront to personal freedom and fiscal sanity the president signed into law yesterday.
First and worst, the bill hikes the investment tax on capital gains and dividends. That’s the most anti-growth tax hike possible. The Reconciliation Act creates a new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on single filers over $200,000 and married filers over $250,000. The rich? Not quite. This slams business owners and makes it harder for them to raise capital for needed equipment purchases, expansion, and job creation. And there is no inflation indexing, so it will directly hit more and more taxpayers over time.
Investment taxes are especially inappropriate as a “pay-for”; that’s because every capital gains hike has actually lowered revenues due to the economic damage and behavioral changes it caused.
Second, the reconciliation bill makes the business assault of the new health care law much worse. It raises the penalty on employers from $750 per uncovered employee to $2,000.
Third, the bill takes over the private aspects of the student loan industry, putting tens of thousands out of work in the private sector while building up a big new student loan bureaucracy. And this is supposed to happen by next semester, so you can expect lots of headaches for students in the short term as well the long-term costs of bigger government.
Fourth, the "fix" to the Cadillac tax actually makes it worse. Under current law the exemption amount is indexed to CPI plus 1 percent. That’s is already not a high enough inflation bar to keep up with medical costs. The reconciliation bill delays the start of the tax by five years, from 2013 to 2018, but it cuts the inflation adjustment to plain CPI. The lower inflation adjustment means this tax will hit more people faster.
Finally, the Nebraska "fix" (the only one of the infamous and corrupt deals Obama signed into law yesterday that’s actually revisited in the reconciliation) is now a much worse deal for taxpayers. Nebraska no longer gets special treatment, but the new Medicaid funding formula puts federal taxpayers on the hook for 90 percent of the cost of expansion for all states, with special funding increases for 17 states and the District of Columbia. This is welfare reform in reverse; we should be building on the AFDC block-grant model of state control and innovation that worked so well in the 1990s, not federalizing Medicaid.
The bottom line: the bill does not clean up or complete the new health care law. It should be judged on its own extremely dubious merits and the Senate should vote no.
Mr. Kerpen is vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity. He can be reached on Twitter, Facebook, and through www.PhilKerpen.com.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/24/phil-kerpen-obama-health-care-reconciliation-senate-nebraska/
Democratic Coup d'etat: Where to begin?
After millions of citizens marched on Washington, spoke out at town halls, and contacted their representatives, it appears Congressional Democrats wore earplugs. Do they need hearing aids, or will the November election improve their hearing?
“The United States of Pelosi and Obama is a society of ants industriously toiling in order to hand over to government most of their “unneeded” resources so that government, with its superior wisdom, might distribute those resources for “the larger good.”
Read my favorite columnist, William Murchison: http://townhall.com/columnists/BillMurchison/2010/03/23/democratic_coup_detat
“The United States of Pelosi and Obama is a society of ants industriously toiling in order to hand over to government most of their “unneeded” resources so that government, with its superior wisdom, might distribute those resources for “the larger good.”
Read my favorite columnist, William Murchison: http://townhall.com/columnists/BillMurchison/2010/03/23/democratic_coup_detat
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
ObamaCare: It’s voodoo economics, corrupt, dishonest and shameful
Ten inconvenient truths about Obamacare:
Here are 10 inconvenient truths that could dog the President as he attempts to sell his health care plan to the country:
1. The cost of coverage will rise for the middle class: A family earning $100,000 would end up spending nearly a quarter of their net income on health care.
2. Health insurance premiums will go up for nearly half of Americans: 57% get subsidized while 43% pay higher costs.
3. Health reform is unlikely to create new jobs: new taxes would kill 690,000 jobs per year.
4. Federal funding may cover abortion: The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says
5. Four million people will lose their employer-based plans due to federal mandates – and those will be forced to go on the new government plan.
6. Medicare will cut services along with costs…to the tune of $528 billion.
7. The bill will not pay for itself because eliminating the “doctor fix” which they will enact later – at a cost of $209 billion, makes the 10-yr deficit exceed $560 billion.
8. Higher Medicaid costs will gradually shift to the states…phased in but mandated!
9. Doctor shortages could lead to rationing…46% said they would quit or retire.
10. The bill raises taxes for many individuals and businesses…as much as 40%!
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Ten-inconvenient-questions-about-Obamacare-88853462.html
Here are 10 inconvenient truths that could dog the President as he attempts to sell his health care plan to the country:
1. The cost of coverage will rise for the middle class: A family earning $100,000 would end up spending nearly a quarter of their net income on health care.
2. Health insurance premiums will go up for nearly half of Americans: 57% get subsidized while 43% pay higher costs.
3. Health reform is unlikely to create new jobs: new taxes would kill 690,000 jobs per year.
4. Federal funding may cover abortion: The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says
5. Four million people will lose their employer-based plans due to federal mandates – and those will be forced to go on the new government plan.
6. Medicare will cut services along with costs…to the tune of $528 billion.
7. The bill will not pay for itself because eliminating the “doctor fix” which they will enact later – at a cost of $209 billion, makes the 10-yr deficit exceed $560 billion.
8. Higher Medicaid costs will gradually shift to the states…phased in but mandated!
9. Doctor shortages could lead to rationing…46% said they would quit or retire.
10. The bill raises taxes for many individuals and businesses…as much as 40%!
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Ten-inconvenient-questions-about-Obamacare-88853462.html
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Health Care Bill Will Not Stand
This weekend, Congress took action in defiance of public opposition to socialized health care. That action will fan the flames of opposition.
As Texans were among those patriots outside the Capitol waving their Texas flags, we are reminded of those who fought valiantly at the Alamo. They lost that battle, but ultimately won the war.
President Obama says it's time to end the debate. Our response must continue to be that of John Paul Jones, "I have just begun to fight!"
We are here today clinging to our religion and our guns, vowing to fight at the ballot box – go to www.NovemerIsComing.com
The health care bill WILL NOT STAND.
We will fight it in the courts, and at the ballot box.
Together, We WILL TAKE BACK AMERICA!
Peggy Venable - Texas Director of Americans for Prosperity - is speaking tonight (Monday, March 22) in Houston at the King Street Patriots tea party -
• Meeting Location: King Street Patriots Office
• Meeting Address: 9562 Hempstead Hwy., Houston, TX 77092
• Time: at 7 pm.
You are welcome to attend and be a part of taking back America!
As Texans were among those patriots outside the Capitol waving their Texas flags, we are reminded of those who fought valiantly at the Alamo. They lost that battle, but ultimately won the war.
President Obama says it's time to end the debate. Our response must continue to be that of John Paul Jones, "I have just begun to fight!"
We are here today clinging to our religion and our guns, vowing to fight at the ballot box – go to www.NovemerIsComing.com
The health care bill WILL NOT STAND.
We will fight it in the courts, and at the ballot box.
Together, We WILL TAKE BACK AMERICA!
Peggy Venable - Texas Director of Americans for Prosperity - is speaking tonight (Monday, March 22) in Houston at the King Street Patriots tea party -
• Meeting Location: King Street Patriots Office
• Meeting Address: 9562 Hempstead Hwy., Houston, TX 77092
• Time: at 7 pm.
You are welcome to attend and be a part of taking back America!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
This Fight is NOT over
Great comments by my Congressman - Cong. John Carter:
This Fight Is NOT Over
Watch Carter address the constitutionality of the healthcare plan with Neil Cavuto of Fox by going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9v9c7orRt0
(Washington, DC) - Democrats may have succeeded in passing what is likely the most unpopular and unconstitutional bill ever approved by Congress through illegal procedures and deception, but the fight to kill the proposal is far from over, says House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (TX-31).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tonight rammed through the House the healthcare takeover bill passed last December by the Senate, which is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cause 8-9 million Americans to lose their workplace health coverage, and an undetermined number of individual plans to cancel coverage as well. The bill also provides full federal funding for abortions, while cutting $500 billion from Medicare and raising taxes another $500 billion.
"An unconstitutional bill passed illegally will not stand as law," says Carter, a former Texas judge. "Not only did President Obama and Speaker Pelosi act with utter contempt towards the voters by pushing this horror of a bill against the wishes of the majority of public, they violated House and Senate rules repeatedly to do so. This was the most convoluted, disingenuous, and deceptive legislative process in the history of Congress. This place is now truly a swamp of corruption."
Carter is immediately engaging in talks with state attorneys general to mount a constitutional challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of the scheme, on grounds of multiple constitutional violations. Carter is also exploring the opportunities for a Constitutional Convention by the states.
"This bill is not just unconstitutional, but un-American at its core, and violates not just the law but basic human rights and liberties," says Carter. "As Conference Secretary I will now move to enlist support against every House Member who voted for this outrage. With a new House in January we can at minimum strip the federal government of the ability to implement any part of this bill. With enough seats we can override a veto, or by winning the Presidency in 2012 we can repeal it outright."
-- Peggy Venable (I thank Cong. Carter for his leadership and his standing firm for our Constitution and for his constituents.)
This Fight Is NOT Over
Watch Carter address the constitutionality of the healthcare plan with Neil Cavuto of Fox by going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9v9c7orRt0
(Washington, DC) - Democrats may have succeeded in passing what is likely the most unpopular and unconstitutional bill ever approved by Congress through illegal procedures and deception, but the fight to kill the proposal is far from over, says House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (TX-31).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tonight rammed through the House the healthcare takeover bill passed last December by the Senate, which is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cause 8-9 million Americans to lose their workplace health coverage, and an undetermined number of individual plans to cancel coverage as well. The bill also provides full federal funding for abortions, while cutting $500 billion from Medicare and raising taxes another $500 billion.
"An unconstitutional bill passed illegally will not stand as law," says Carter, a former Texas judge. "Not only did President Obama and Speaker Pelosi act with utter contempt towards the voters by pushing this horror of a bill against the wishes of the majority of public, they violated House and Senate rules repeatedly to do so. This was the most convoluted, disingenuous, and deceptive legislative process in the history of Congress. This place is now truly a swamp of corruption."
Carter is immediately engaging in talks with state attorneys general to mount a constitutional challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of the scheme, on grounds of multiple constitutional violations. Carter is also exploring the opportunities for a Constitutional Convention by the states.
"This bill is not just unconstitutional, but un-American at its core, and violates not just the law but basic human rights and liberties," says Carter. "As Conference Secretary I will now move to enlist support against every House Member who voted for this outrage. With a new House in January we can at minimum strip the federal government of the ability to implement any part of this bill. With enough seats we can override a veto, or by winning the Presidency in 2012 we can repeal it outright."
-- Peggy Venable (I thank Cong. Carter for his leadership and his standing firm for our Constitution and for his constituents.)
November is coming -
Following the Congressional action taken tonight to pass the almost Trillion-Dollar bill which will ruin health care in this country, voters need to remember November is coming.
Go to: www.NovemberIsComing.com to sign the petition!
Go to: www.NovemberIsComing.com to sign the petition!
Tonight's vote pits Congress against the voters
This is a sad night. 219 Democrats in the U.S. House put blind adherence to a radical government-first ideology ahead of the wishes of the American people. We will be less free tomorrow than we are today. Bureaucrats and politicians will stand between patients and doctors. And our health care will now be permanently politicized, subject to the whim of our often out of touch political class.
At least I know that we did everything we could. Every AFP activist put his or her heart and soul into this fight, and we stopped this steamroller for a year. In the end, they just didn't care. They were going to vote for it no matter what the people wanted.
Thank you everyone. We fought the good fight and we will see this through November and beyond, in the fight for real health reform that reverses this disaster and moves us toward real reform that gives us more choices and more control.
I wish I could say we can rest now, but we can't. Even if this partisan display blows up the Congress for the rest of the year. As our www.ObamaChart.com shows, this administration is pushing its extreme agenda on all fronts.
Go to www.ObamaChart.com and sign up now!
At least I know that we did everything we could. Every AFP activist put his or her heart and soul into this fight, and we stopped this steamroller for a year. In the end, they just didn't care. They were going to vote for it no matter what the people wanted.
Thank you everyone. We fought the good fight and we will see this through November and beyond, in the fight for real health reform that reverses this disaster and moves us toward real reform that gives us more choices and more control.
I wish I could say we can rest now, but we can't. Even if this partisan display blows up the Congress for the rest of the year. As our www.ObamaChart.com shows, this administration is pushing its extreme agenda on all fronts.
Go to www.ObamaChart.com and sign up now!
www.NovemberIsComing.com - sign up now!
Following the House vote on socialized health care --
‘This Fight Is Not Over,’ Says Americans for Prosperity; Praises Unprecedented Grassroots Outpouring
‘Today we lost in Congress, but we won with the American people’
ARLINGTON, Va. – Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips issued the following statement after the U.S. House passed the health care takeover bill:
“Today we have seen a critical setback for freedom in our country. The fight over this health care takeover has been long and brutal. But something hopeful has risen out of its ashes: millions of active, passionate Americans who are aware of the many threats to our freedoms and who are willing to fight.
“This battle has indeed awakened the sleeping giant, and Americans for Prosperity’s members – one million strong – will continue to put the pressure on our elected officials. More than 320,000 Americans have signed our November Is Coming petition, sending a message to their members of Congress that their days in Washington are numbered. I think we will see some historic changes in our country at the hands of these hard-working people who are taking time away from their everyday lives to start tea party groups and commit themselves to preserving liberty. This fight is not over. Today we lost in Congress, but we won with the American people.”
Go to: www.NovemberIsComing.com
‘This Fight Is Not Over,’ Says Americans for Prosperity; Praises Unprecedented Grassroots Outpouring
‘Today we lost in Congress, but we won with the American people’
ARLINGTON, Va. – Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips issued the following statement after the U.S. House passed the health care takeover bill:
“Today we have seen a critical setback for freedom in our country. The fight over this health care takeover has been long and brutal. But something hopeful has risen out of its ashes: millions of active, passionate Americans who are aware of the many threats to our freedoms and who are willing to fight.
“This battle has indeed awakened the sleeping giant, and Americans for Prosperity’s members – one million strong – will continue to put the pressure on our elected officials. More than 320,000 Americans have signed our November Is Coming petition, sending a message to their members of Congress that their days in Washington are numbered. I think we will see some historic changes in our country at the hands of these hard-working people who are taking time away from their everyday lives to start tea party groups and commit themselves to preserving liberty. This fight is not over. Today we lost in Congress, but we won with the American people.”
Go to: www.NovemberIsComing.com
Friday, March 19, 2010
Media punditry at Legislative Conference in New Braunfels
Christi Hoppe (DMN) said Gov. Perry is probably the best politician Texas has produced, and that includes LBJ.
Harvey Kronberg (Quorum Report) - Perry is in a position to virtually ignore Bill White. Aside from Tommy Merritt losing, the tea party folks didn't do much.
Ross Ramsey, mg editor Texas Tribune - Republican primary drew 1.5 million because there was a fight. Downballot voters numbered 900,000. It didn't change the Congressioal delegation, and the Democrats ave a very narrow window to take the state House.
Bill White chances in November?
Hoppe - starts out as 7 point underdog, would have to run flawless campaign. Perry's campaign hits on all cylinders and White's hands on managing of a campaign may not work.
Kronberg - White has a political base in Houston, he has money and the capacity to raise money, and he has new voters after the Obama election. White is ignoring Perry's demands for him to release his income taxes.
Ross - White starts with a disadvantage. Were White to win, it would be an upset. Perry would have to make a mistake, and voters are unhappy with Democrats. Usually the larger the R primary turn-out, the more center they are, but not so this time - Perry doesn't need to run to the middle. The larger turnout was conservative.
Victor Carillo losing as Railroad Commissioner?
Hoppe - Republicans are on borrowed time unless they learn to elect Hispanics. The leadership does well to appoint and bring in leaders.
Culture war at the SBOE?
Hoppe - It is said that for some positions, when you are in the news, it is bad. If too many people know what is going on at the SBOE, you are inn trouble. We saw moderate conservative Republians she said were moving to the "religious right."
Kronberg - When Republicans talk about smaller government, they tend to win elections. Marginal voters don't agree with the SBOE conservatives.
Ramsey - We asked recently if humans and dinosaurs lived on the planet at the same time "like the Flintstones was a documentary." When the SBOE makes a spectacle of itself, it goes too far - perhaps they should be appointed.
Kronberg - Some D's will be running against the SBOE.
(Sorry, Pundits - it is clear you just don't get it!)
Harvey Kronberg (Quorum Report) - Perry is in a position to virtually ignore Bill White. Aside from Tommy Merritt losing, the tea party folks didn't do much.
Ross Ramsey, mg editor Texas Tribune - Republican primary drew 1.5 million because there was a fight. Downballot voters numbered 900,000. It didn't change the Congressioal delegation, and the Democrats ave a very narrow window to take the state House.
Bill White chances in November?
Hoppe - starts out as 7 point underdog, would have to run flawless campaign. Perry's campaign hits on all cylinders and White's hands on managing of a campaign may not work.
Kronberg - White has a political base in Houston, he has money and the capacity to raise money, and he has new voters after the Obama election. White is ignoring Perry's demands for him to release his income taxes.
Ross - White starts with a disadvantage. Were White to win, it would be an upset. Perry would have to make a mistake, and voters are unhappy with Democrats. Usually the larger the R primary turn-out, the more center they are, but not so this time - Perry doesn't need to run to the middle. The larger turnout was conservative.
Victor Carillo losing as Railroad Commissioner?
Hoppe - Republicans are on borrowed time unless they learn to elect Hispanics. The leadership does well to appoint and bring in leaders.
Culture war at the SBOE?
Hoppe - It is said that for some positions, when you are in the news, it is bad. If too many people know what is going on at the SBOE, you are inn trouble. We saw moderate conservative Republians she said were moving to the "religious right."
Kronberg - When Republicans talk about smaller government, they tend to win elections. Marginal voters don't agree with the SBOE conservatives.
Ramsey - We asked recently if humans and dinosaurs lived on the planet at the same time "like the Flintstones was a documentary." When the SBOE makes a spectacle of itself, it goes too far - perhaps they should be appointed.
Kronberg - Some D's will be running against the SBOE.
(Sorry, Pundits - it is clear you just don't get it!)
Texas lawasuit against the EPA - if determined on the science, Texas will win
American Thinker has run some excellent articles on the EPA action to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. From this article:
Texas has filed two petitions in federal court. The first is a request for review of the endangerment finding, which is intended to examine the science behind global warming. The second is a petition for reconsideration of the finding. These court cases were brought about in the wake of the Climategate scandal. Climategate has revealed that significant portions of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) were based on fraudulent science.
The crux of the matter is that the EPA based the endangerment finding on the now-discredited IPCC report. To date, the IPCC have admitted to two significant erroneous claims. First, they admitted to the fact that the Himalayan glaciers are not melting away, and secondly, they have stated that the claim of the trends of natural disasters attributed to global warming is overstated. Subsequently, the IPCC have been prompted to publicly state that they are reviewing their own quality assurance procedures in light of these admissions.
But now all of this is going to be examined in a court of law. It should be noted that the laws of governments and the laws of science differ very significantly. For example, governments can repeal laws, like in the case of prohibition. By contrast, science cannot repeal the law of gravity. It is this kind of cold, hard fact that lawyers typically are not used to dealing with. If the case of Texas versus the EPA is decided on the scientific facts, as it should be, then the EPA will lose.
Read it all here: http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/global_warming_on_trial.html
Texas has filed two petitions in federal court. The first is a request for review of the endangerment finding, which is intended to examine the science behind global warming. The second is a petition for reconsideration of the finding. These court cases were brought about in the wake of the Climategate scandal. Climategate has revealed that significant portions of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) were based on fraudulent science.
The crux of the matter is that the EPA based the endangerment finding on the now-discredited IPCC report. To date, the IPCC have admitted to two significant erroneous claims. First, they admitted to the fact that the Himalayan glaciers are not melting away, and secondly, they have stated that the claim of the trends of natural disasters attributed to global warming is overstated. Subsequently, the IPCC have been prompted to publicly state that they are reviewing their own quality assurance procedures in light of these admissions.
But now all of this is going to be examined in a court of law. It should be noted that the laws of governments and the laws of science differ very significantly. For example, governments can repeal laws, like in the case of prohibition. By contrast, science cannot repeal the law of gravity. It is this kind of cold, hard fact that lawyers typically are not used to dealing with. If the case of Texas versus the EPA is decided on the scientific facts, as it should be, then the EPA will lose.
Read it all here: http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/global_warming_on_trial.html
More from the Legislative Conference in New Barunfels...
We cannot have homeland security if we don't have border security. Discussed the cartels and the gangs, child prostitution. From a law enforcemtn standpoint, terrorists can be moved into this country as easily as illegal workers. 31% of the people in TX prisons are illegal immigrants.
-- Steven McCraw, Director, Texas Dept of Public Safety
-- Steven McCraw, Director, Texas Dept of Public Safety
Ten Facts Every American Should Know About Democrats’ Final Government Takeover of Health Care
Illegal immigration might be a federal issue, but it is our problem. The people of Texas expect and demand us to take care of it. Texans' security is job #1. If we don't do that, there is no #2. We need to secure our border and need to secure it. I have declared war on political correctness. A nation is more than just a spot on the map, but is a shared culture and vision. We are a melting pot, but we come together as Americans, speaking English. It is a blessing to be bilingual, but it is a curse for a nation to be divided among multiple languages. Our schools have 100 languages, I remember when there was no hyphenated America. We need to be Americans. I am a grandmother of 10. This is a problem we need to deal with, take it head on and fix it.
-- TX State Rep Debbie Riddle
-- TX State Rep Debbie Riddle
10 Facts about ObamaCare bill in Congress
Ten Facts Every American Should Know About Democrats’ Final Government Takeover of Health Care
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
· $569.2 billion in tax increases
· $523.5 billion in Medicare cuts
· $48 billion more for Medicaid
1. A Job-Killing Government Takeover of Health Care. No amount of changes or legislative tricks can hide the true destructive nature of this bill: $17 billion in new taxes on Americans who do not comply with the individual mandate, $52 billion in new taxes on employers that do not provide health coverage deemed “acceptable” or “affordable” by government bureaucrats, and new taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest that will further stifle economic growth and job creation.
2. New Tax on Capital Formation and Job Creation. The Medicare tax on capital gains, dividends, and other investment income gets bigger, magnifying the destructive power of this new tax. The bill increases the tax from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent, pushing the top capital gains rate to 23.8 percent and the top rate for dividends to 43.4 percent in conjunction with tax relief expiring at the end of this year. As The Wall Street Journal editorialized this week, this tax will “permanently skew the incentives to work, save and create jobs.”
3. Democrats Continue to Say ‘I Do’ To Marriage Penalty. The bill leaves in place a massive marriage penalty, which will mean higher premiums for those that tie the knot. As highlighted in January by The Wall Street Journal, “the disparity comes about in part because subsidies for purchasing health insurance … are pegged to federal poverty guidelines.” The final bill leaves this unfair penalty on married couples in place.
4. Lower Wages and More Unemployment. The final bill imposes $52 billion in new taxes on employers, including small businesses, that cannot afford to provide health coverage or that don’t offer coverage. The effect of this type of tax, similar to a payroll tax increase, would ultimately fall squarely on workers in the form of lower wages or reduced employment. In fact, the Tax Policy Center concluded that “economists generally believe that the burden of payroll taxes is borne by workers in the form of lower wages, regardless of whether the tax is levied on the employer or the employee.” The tax proposed in this bill will likely have the same effect.
5. Employers Targeted By Even Higher Taxes to Enforce Employer Mandate. The final bill incorporated President Obama’s suggestion to rake in a little more cash to pay for a massive government-takeover of health care by nearly tripling the job-killing mandate tax on employers who do not offer health coverage to $2,000 per employee. Sure enough, the President’s suggestion raises an additional $25 billion on the backs of American employers, according to CBO.
6. Individual Mandate Tax Reduced? No, Not Really. Democrats are highlighting their generosity by lowering the amount of the tax for not complying with the mandate. But just how generous are they? Not very. Democrats propose to reduce the individual mandate tax flat payment amount by a scant 14¢ a day. And, while Democrats “reduce” the individual mandate tax flat payment amount, they actually raise $2 billion more by making other alterations to the individual mandate, according to CBO.
7. The Power to Tax Our Health Care. The Democrats’ final bill doesn’t just tax individuals and employers if they don’t comply with the complex mandates in the bill. The bill sends the IRS out to tax the very products Americans use to maintain and restore their own health. New taxes on medical devices, on prescription drugs, and on health insurance itself are all targets of the bill. And, with $10 billion in new enforcement resources, you can bet the IRS will be taking its full share out of the pockets of every American who uses any of these products or services.
8. Even More Subsidies, Even Greater Threat to the Economy. The bill increases the subsidies provided under the bill from those provided in the Senate bill by $65 billion, a significant and unsustainable increase. In fact, the Associated Press reported a warning from Massachusetts’ state treasurer, who stated that Congress will "threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years" if it adopts a health care overhaul modeled after the Bay State's.
9. Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Coverage. The final bill does not include the Stupak amendment language that would prohibit federal funds from being used to fund elective abortions. Instead, states are given the option to opt-out of providing insurance coverage of abortions. Still, taxpayers in a state that opts-out would still see their federal tax dollars fund elective abortions in other states. Additionally, each state through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) can provide access to two multi-state plans, and only one of them will exclude abortions. OPM’s current health care program – the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) – does not include any plans that cover elective abortion. For the first time, a federally funded and managed health care plan will cover elective abortions.
10. Medicaid Rolls And Waiting Lines to Swell Even More. CBO estimates that as a result of the Democrats’ bill, one million more Americans will get their coverage from Medcaid, which is plagued with financial woes and wreaks all kinds of budgetary havoc on cash-strapped states. The Democrats’ bill, as the New York Times highlighted, will push even more Americans into a program where they will have trouble finding doctors and have to wait for potentially months to receive care. That’s not meaningful reform by any measure.
BONUS: Republicans have proposed a health care bill based on common-sense reforms that, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, would reduce premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. It is not too late to start over.
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
· $569.2 billion in tax increases
· $523.5 billion in Medicare cuts
· $48 billion more for Medicaid
1. A Job-Killing Government Takeover of Health Care. No amount of changes or legislative tricks can hide the true destructive nature of this bill: $17 billion in new taxes on Americans who do not comply with the individual mandate, $52 billion in new taxes on employers that do not provide health coverage deemed “acceptable” or “affordable” by government bureaucrats, and new taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest that will further stifle economic growth and job creation.
2. New Tax on Capital Formation and Job Creation. The Medicare tax on capital gains, dividends, and other investment income gets bigger, magnifying the destructive power of this new tax. The bill increases the tax from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent, pushing the top capital gains rate to 23.8 percent and the top rate for dividends to 43.4 percent in conjunction with tax relief expiring at the end of this year. As The Wall Street Journal editorialized this week, this tax will “permanently skew the incentives to work, save and create jobs.”
3. Democrats Continue to Say ‘I Do’ To Marriage Penalty. The bill leaves in place a massive marriage penalty, which will mean higher premiums for those that tie the knot. As highlighted in January by The Wall Street Journal, “the disparity comes about in part because subsidies for purchasing health insurance … are pegged to federal poverty guidelines.” The final bill leaves this unfair penalty on married couples in place.
4. Lower Wages and More Unemployment. The final bill imposes $52 billion in new taxes on employers, including small businesses, that cannot afford to provide health coverage or that don’t offer coverage. The effect of this type of tax, similar to a payroll tax increase, would ultimately fall squarely on workers in the form of lower wages or reduced employment. In fact, the Tax Policy Center concluded that “economists generally believe that the burden of payroll taxes is borne by workers in the form of lower wages, regardless of whether the tax is levied on the employer or the employee.” The tax proposed in this bill will likely have the same effect.
5. Employers Targeted By Even Higher Taxes to Enforce Employer Mandate. The final bill incorporated President Obama’s suggestion to rake in a little more cash to pay for a massive government-takeover of health care by nearly tripling the job-killing mandate tax on employers who do not offer health coverage to $2,000 per employee. Sure enough, the President’s suggestion raises an additional $25 billion on the backs of American employers, according to CBO.
6. Individual Mandate Tax Reduced? No, Not Really. Democrats are highlighting their generosity by lowering the amount of the tax for not complying with the mandate. But just how generous are they? Not very. Democrats propose to reduce the individual mandate tax flat payment amount by a scant 14¢ a day. And, while Democrats “reduce” the individual mandate tax flat payment amount, they actually raise $2 billion more by making other alterations to the individual mandate, according to CBO.
7. The Power to Tax Our Health Care. The Democrats’ final bill doesn’t just tax individuals and employers if they don’t comply with the complex mandates in the bill. The bill sends the IRS out to tax the very products Americans use to maintain and restore their own health. New taxes on medical devices, on prescription drugs, and on health insurance itself are all targets of the bill. And, with $10 billion in new enforcement resources, you can bet the IRS will be taking its full share out of the pockets of every American who uses any of these products or services.
8. Even More Subsidies, Even Greater Threat to the Economy. The bill increases the subsidies provided under the bill from those provided in the Senate bill by $65 billion, a significant and unsustainable increase. In fact, the Associated Press reported a warning from Massachusetts’ state treasurer, who stated that Congress will "threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years" if it adopts a health care overhaul modeled after the Bay State's.
9. Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Coverage. The final bill does not include the Stupak amendment language that would prohibit federal funds from being used to fund elective abortions. Instead, states are given the option to opt-out of providing insurance coverage of abortions. Still, taxpayers in a state that opts-out would still see their federal tax dollars fund elective abortions in other states. Additionally, each state through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) can provide access to two multi-state plans, and only one of them will exclude abortions. OPM’s current health care program – the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) – does not include any plans that cover elective abortion. For the first time, a federally funded and managed health care plan will cover elective abortions.
10. Medicaid Rolls And Waiting Lines to Swell Even More. CBO estimates that as a result of the Democrats’ bill, one million more Americans will get their coverage from Medcaid, which is plagued with financial woes and wreaks all kinds of budgetary havoc on cash-strapped states. The Democrats’ bill, as the New York Times highlighted, will push even more Americans into a program where they will have trouble finding doctors and have to wait for potentially months to receive care. That’s not meaningful reform by any measure.
BONUS: Republicans have proposed a health care bill based on common-sense reforms that, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, would reduce premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. It is not too late to start over.
New Braunfels Legislative Conference - tidbits of info from...
Wind power and transmission: we have 9,500 mgwt of power now via wind, but we have gone through permitting and we should have 13,000-14,000 mgwt in the next five years. - Phil Wilson, Luminant
If we are going to compete in the global economy, we will send some jobs overseas. Our output in mfg has set a new record, and we make it with fewer people because we hahve greater productivity. We have been moving to get rid of lower-wage jobs and move to higher-paying jobs, wwith the world economy some countries will pay less than Americans make. Companies don't sned low-paying jobs to the US. It is part of creative destruction that outsourcing happens, but the insourcing is a net plus for workers and our economy. Our balance of trade reflects we are a net exporter of services. - economist Ray Perryman
If we are going to compete in the global economy, we will send some jobs overseas. Our output in mfg has set a new record, and we make it with fewer people because we hahve greater productivity. We have been moving to get rid of lower-wage jobs and move to higher-paying jobs, wwith the world economy some countries will pay less than Americans make. Companies don't sned low-paying jobs to the US. It is part of creative destruction that outsourcing happens, but the insourcing is a net plus for workers and our economy. Our balance of trade reflects we are a net exporter of services. - economist Ray Perryman
New Braunfels Legislative Conference - tidbits of info from...
J. Darren Rogers, President - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas
with the large number of uninsured, we need to determine policies that help get more into the market, particularly the young and healther.
When asked if insurance companies are gounging the consumer, he said: insurance is expensive because health care is insurance - hospitals and doctor costs have gone up. It is a problem with health care cost containments. Health care costs increase in a recession. Physician utilization is higher.
When asked how many jobs will be lost under Obamacare (question):
Ray Perryman, economist - The Perryman Group, there are things in this bill whcih will make insurance more expensive. But insurance companies have small profit margins. This bill reduces productivity in the economy and will have adverse effects in the economy (ObamaCare). The concept of this bill got highjacked - it does not address the real issues in health care.
with the large number of uninsured, we need to determine policies that help get more into the market, particularly the young and healther.
When asked if insurance companies are gounging the consumer, he said: insurance is expensive because health care is insurance - hospitals and doctor costs have gone up. It is a problem with health care cost containments. Health care costs increase in a recession. Physician utilization is higher.
When asked how many jobs will be lost under Obamacare (question):
Ray Perryman, economist - The Perryman Group, there are things in this bill whcih will make insurance more expensive. But insurance companies have small profit margins. This bill reduces productivity in the economy and will have adverse effects in the economy (ObamaCare). The concept of this bill got highjacked - it does not address the real issues in health care.
New Braunfels Legislative Conference - tidbits of info from...
A nucear power plant costs $15-20 billion to build two units - need a grant to build it...it should not cost the taxpayers, but it is a federal loan. We are working to build more in Tx - and it takes 5-6 years to build. But now, it is emission-free technology and the fuel costs are minimal. It is economically sustainable for 50-some-odd years.
Texas has more wind generation than any other states, but the problem with wind is volitility and storeage. Wind blows at night and in W TX but it blows when demand is the least. The challenge for the legislatuer and PUC is to create the right incentive programs for storeage, and the right storeage.
We have a huge opportunity for renewable in Texas.
- Phil Wilson, SVP, Public Affairs, Luminant (on panel "Outlook for the Economy"
Texas has more wind generation than any other states, but the problem with wind is volitility and storeage. Wind blows at night and in W TX but it blows when demand is the least. The challenge for the legislatuer and PUC is to create the right incentive programs for storeage, and the right storeage.
We have a huge opportunity for renewable in Texas.
- Phil Wilson, SVP, Public Affairs, Luminant (on panel "Outlook for the Economy"
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
SEE HOW RONALD REAGAN SHAPED THE 1980's
With the Social Studies curriculum and Texas textbook wars raging, most conservatives are eager to make sure young people are taught about American Exceptionalism and the virtues of free enterprise.
Written by Peggy Venable, director of the 1984 Republican National Convention, one way to teach about America's virtues is to study the Reagan era.
Venable's presentation takes a deep and detailed look into Ronald Reagan's years as president of the United States. Examine the man who led the country throughout the 1980s and delve into the policies, strengths, and weaknesses of the Reagan Administration. Includes a detailed biography of Reagan as well as an overview of 1980s pop culture. Written for high school students. Purchase at Teachers Discovery ($31.95)
http://www.teachersdiscovery-socialstudies.com/item_details.php?item=171+1800+E000310S&SBJ=SocialStudies
Written by Peggy Venable, director of the 1984 Republican National Convention, one way to teach about America's virtues is to study the Reagan era.
Venable's presentation takes a deep and detailed look into Ronald Reagan's years as president of the United States. Examine the man who led the country throughout the 1980s and delve into the policies, strengths, and weaknesses of the Reagan Administration. Includes a detailed biography of Reagan as well as an overview of 1980s pop culture. Written for high school students. Purchase at Teachers Discovery ($31.95)
http://www.teachersdiscovery-socialstudies.com/item_details.php?item=171+1800+E000310S&SBJ=SocialStudies
Monday, March 15, 2010
Anticipation - America Unplugged
We are here at the Americans for Prosperity booth hearing the song "Anticipation" in our heads as we prepare for the 2,000 citizens to storm the Eismann Center in Richardson to hear the magical Mike trio -- Michael Reagan, Michael Medved and Mike Gallagher talk about the difference between the first of the Reagan Administration and the Obama Administration. And as if thaht weren't enough to moderate the event - TX Gov. Rick Perry, hot off his primary victory against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina.
AFP-Texas is pleased to be a co-sponsor and look forward to seeing hundreds of our members here and singing up others.
Richardson is THE place to be tonight for Reaganites and other conservatives.
Stay tuned and we'll be posting updates. - Peggy V.
AFP-Texas is pleased to be a co-sponsor and look forward to seeing hundreds of our members here and singing up others.
Richardson is THE place to be tonight for Reaganites and other conservatives.
Stay tuned and we'll be posting updates. - Peggy V.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Global Warming debate cools
On Thursday of last week, I spoke at a Chamber of Commerce meeting outside Houston and talked about AFP’s major federal issues – health care reform and the EPA’s attempt to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. One judge there wanted to start a debate – he challenged me, asking if I had read the Houston Chronicle on Sunday. I didn’t live in Houston but read it online and asked what article he was referencing from the Holy Grail of the Left. It was an article which claimed the university scientists in the Houston area all claimed that – surprise -- global warming is happening.
I said I had ead the article, and that there are scientists and climatologists who don’t agree. As long as the debate is raging, we should not allow the EPA to end-run the public debate and regulate greenhouse gases under the CAA. Nope, Congress needs to do its job.
Houston – the Houston Chronicle is open enough to allow the debate – shouldn’t Congress and this Administration?
Climategate: You should be steamed
By NEIL FRANK
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 2, 2010, 4:28PM
Now that Copenhagen is past history, what is the next step in the man-made global warming controversy? Without question, there should be an immediate and thorough investigation of the scientific debauchery revealed by “Climategate.”
If you have not heard, hackers penetrated the computers of the Climate Research Unit, or CRU, of the United Kingdom's University of East Anglia, exposing thousands of e-mails and other documents. CRU is one of the top climate research centers in the world. Many of the exchanges were between top mainstream climate scientists in Britain and the U.S. who are closely associated with the authoritative (albeit controversial) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Among the more troubling revelations were data adjustments enhancing the perception that man is causing global warming through the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other atmospheric greenhouse gases
Particularly disturbing was the way the core IPCC scientists (the believers) marginalized the skeptics of the theory that man-made global warming is large and potentially catastrophic. The e-mails document that the attack on the skeptics was twofold. First, the believers gained control of the main climate-profession journals. This allowed them to block publication of papers written by the skeptics and prohibit unfriendly peer review of their own papers. Second, the skeptics were demonized through false labeling and false accusations.
Climate alarmists would like you to believe the science has been settled and all respectable atmospheric scientists support their position. The believers also would like you to believe the skeptics are involved only because of the support of Big Oil and that they are few in number with minimal qualifications.
But who are the skeptics? A few examples reveal that they are numerous and well-qualified. Several years ago two scientists at the University of Oregon became so concerned about the overemphasis on man-made global warming that they put a statement on their Web site and asked for people's endorsement; 32,000 have signed the petition, including more than 9,000 Ph.Ds. More than 700 scientists have endorsed a 231-page Senate minority report that questions man-made global warming.
The Heartland Institute has recently sponsored three international meetings for skeptics. More than 800 scientists heard 80 presentations in March. They endorsed an 881-page document, created by 40 authors with outstanding academic credentials, that challenges the most recent publication by the IPCC. The IPCC panel's report strongly concludes that man is causing global warming through the release of carbon dioxide.
Last year 60 German scientists sent a letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel urging her to “strongly reconsider” her position supporting man-made global warming. Sixty scientists in Canada took similar action. Recently, when the American Physical Society published its support for man-made global warming, 200 of its members objected and demanded that the membership be polled to determine the APS' true position.
What do the skeptics believe? First, they concur with the believers that the Earth has been warming since the end of a Little Ice Age around 1850. The cause of this warming is the question. Believers think the warming is man-made, while the skeptics believe the warming is natural and contributions from man are minimal and certainly not potentially catastrophic à la Al Gore.
Second, skeptics argue that CO2 is not a pollutant but vital for plant life. Numerous field experiments have confirmed that higher levels of CO2 are positive for agricultural productivity. Furthermore, carbon dioxide is a very minor greenhouse gas. More than 90 percent of the warming from greenhouse gases is caused by water vapor. If you are going to change the temperature of the globe, it must involve water vapor.
Third, and most important, skeptics believe that climate models are grossly overpredicting future warming from rising concentrations of carbon dioxide. We are being told that numerical models that cannot make accurate 5- to 10-day forecasts can be simplified and run forward for 100 years with results so reliable you can impose an economic disaster on the U.S. and the world.
The revelation of Climate¬gate occurs at a time when the accuracy of the climate models is being seriously questioned. Over the last decade Earth's temperature has not warmed, yet every model (there are many) predicted a significant increase in global temperatures for that time period. If the climate models cannot get it right for the past 10 years, why should we trust them for the next century?
Climategate reveals how predetermined political agendas shaped science rather than the other way around. It is high time to question the true agenda of the scientists now on the hot seat and to bring skeptics back into the public debate.
Neil Frank, who holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University in meteorology, was director of the National Hurricane Center (1974–87) and chief meteorologist at KHOU (Channel 11) until his retirement in 2008.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6795858.html
Houston Chronicle - March 11, 2010
LETTERS: Cool to global warming
Dr. Neil is right
The university professors seeking government grants by being politically correct must not read the Chronicle. To support their case, they make the statement, “To the best of our knowledge, there are no climate scientists in Texas who disagree with the mainstream view of climate science.” The Chronicle published a very good article in January by Neil Frank, distinguished meteorologist, who vigorously disagreed. Obviously they did not read it, or else they are using the common ploy to state there is no disagreement when there is actually an abundance from concerned scientists.
The believers use Earth history for the last 100 years as a temperature baseline. Why not the last 100,000 or 100,000,000 years? The reason is obvious. These alternative years show that the earth is cooler now than it was throughout most of its existence. The warming case is not supported by the history of the earth. They completely ignore the fact that the Earth's temperature has cycled from cool to warm throughout its history,
The true fact about greenhouse gases is that they are 95 percent water vapor. Of the remaining 5 percent, approximately 4.6 percent is from natural sources and only 0.4 percent is from human activities. So how much can we actually affect this even with draconian measures that will impoverish the entire world?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6909341.html
I said I had ead the article, and that there are scientists and climatologists who don’t agree. As long as the debate is raging, we should not allow the EPA to end-run the public debate and regulate greenhouse gases under the CAA. Nope, Congress needs to do its job.
Houston – the Houston Chronicle is open enough to allow the debate – shouldn’t Congress and this Administration?
Climategate: You should be steamed
By NEIL FRANK
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 2, 2010, 4:28PM
Now that Copenhagen is past history, what is the next step in the man-made global warming controversy? Without question, there should be an immediate and thorough investigation of the scientific debauchery revealed by “Climategate.”
If you have not heard, hackers penetrated the computers of the Climate Research Unit, or CRU, of the United Kingdom's University of East Anglia, exposing thousands of e-mails and other documents. CRU is one of the top climate research centers in the world. Many of the exchanges were between top mainstream climate scientists in Britain and the U.S. who are closely associated with the authoritative (albeit controversial) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Among the more troubling revelations were data adjustments enhancing the perception that man is causing global warming through the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other atmospheric greenhouse gases
Particularly disturbing was the way the core IPCC scientists (the believers) marginalized the skeptics of the theory that man-made global warming is large and potentially catastrophic. The e-mails document that the attack on the skeptics was twofold. First, the believers gained control of the main climate-profession journals. This allowed them to block publication of papers written by the skeptics and prohibit unfriendly peer review of their own papers. Second, the skeptics were demonized through false labeling and false accusations.
Climate alarmists would like you to believe the science has been settled and all respectable atmospheric scientists support their position. The believers also would like you to believe the skeptics are involved only because of the support of Big Oil and that they are few in number with minimal qualifications.
But who are the skeptics? A few examples reveal that they are numerous and well-qualified. Several years ago two scientists at the University of Oregon became so concerned about the overemphasis on man-made global warming that they put a statement on their Web site and asked for people's endorsement; 32,000 have signed the petition, including more than 9,000 Ph.Ds. More than 700 scientists have endorsed a 231-page Senate minority report that questions man-made global warming.
The Heartland Institute has recently sponsored three international meetings for skeptics. More than 800 scientists heard 80 presentations in March. They endorsed an 881-page document, created by 40 authors with outstanding academic credentials, that challenges the most recent publication by the IPCC. The IPCC panel's report strongly concludes that man is causing global warming through the release of carbon dioxide.
Last year 60 German scientists sent a letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel urging her to “strongly reconsider” her position supporting man-made global warming. Sixty scientists in Canada took similar action. Recently, when the American Physical Society published its support for man-made global warming, 200 of its members objected and demanded that the membership be polled to determine the APS' true position.
What do the skeptics believe? First, they concur with the believers that the Earth has been warming since the end of a Little Ice Age around 1850. The cause of this warming is the question. Believers think the warming is man-made, while the skeptics believe the warming is natural and contributions from man are minimal and certainly not potentially catastrophic à la Al Gore.
Second, skeptics argue that CO2 is not a pollutant but vital for plant life. Numerous field experiments have confirmed that higher levels of CO2 are positive for agricultural productivity. Furthermore, carbon dioxide is a very minor greenhouse gas. More than 90 percent of the warming from greenhouse gases is caused by water vapor. If you are going to change the temperature of the globe, it must involve water vapor.
Third, and most important, skeptics believe that climate models are grossly overpredicting future warming from rising concentrations of carbon dioxide. We are being told that numerical models that cannot make accurate 5- to 10-day forecasts can be simplified and run forward for 100 years with results so reliable you can impose an economic disaster on the U.S. and the world.
The revelation of Climate¬gate occurs at a time when the accuracy of the climate models is being seriously questioned. Over the last decade Earth's temperature has not warmed, yet every model (there are many) predicted a significant increase in global temperatures for that time period. If the climate models cannot get it right for the past 10 years, why should we trust them for the next century?
Climategate reveals how predetermined political agendas shaped science rather than the other way around. It is high time to question the true agenda of the scientists now on the hot seat and to bring skeptics back into the public debate.
Neil Frank, who holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University in meteorology, was director of the National Hurricane Center (1974–87) and chief meteorologist at KHOU (Channel 11) until his retirement in 2008.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6795858.html
Houston Chronicle - March 11, 2010
LETTERS: Cool to global warming
Dr. Neil is right
The university professors seeking government grants by being politically correct must not read the Chronicle. To support their case, they make the statement, “To the best of our knowledge, there are no climate scientists in Texas who disagree with the mainstream view of climate science.” The Chronicle published a very good article in January by Neil Frank, distinguished meteorologist, who vigorously disagreed. Obviously they did not read it, or else they are using the common ploy to state there is no disagreement when there is actually an abundance from concerned scientists.
The believers use Earth history for the last 100 years as a temperature baseline. Why not the last 100,000 or 100,000,000 years? The reason is obvious. These alternative years show that the earth is cooler now than it was throughout most of its existence. The warming case is not supported by the history of the earth. They completely ignore the fact that the Earth's temperature has cycled from cool to warm throughout its history,
The true fact about greenhouse gases is that they are 95 percent water vapor. Of the remaining 5 percent, approximately 4.6 percent is from natural sources and only 0.4 percent is from human activities. So how much can we actually affect this even with draconian measures that will impoverish the entire world?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6909341.html
Friday, March 12, 2010
Cong. Jeff Flake - One Principed Leader
To provide some historic perspective on the earmark reforms passed by the Republican caucus.
It is a story of how one principled elected leader can make a difference.
Cong. Jeff Flake from Arizona forced earmark vote after vote in 2005 and 2006 and 2007. His own party hated him for it and the then Speaker of House Hastert stripped him of his best committee as punishment. But he did not quit. Sometimes only 10 or 20 members would vote with him but he kept fighting. He shined a light on this practice more than anyone. Loneliest place in Congress was the seat next to Flake in the House Cafeteria.
Cong. Flake was fighting to keep taxpayers like you and me from having to pay for things like the Teapot Museum in North Carolina and other pork-laden "bacon" which Congressional members could tout in their districts. It is a system fraught with corruption.
Thanks to that light of public scrutiny, the House GOP came around and the Republican caucus passed earmark reforms...something the Democrats had promised to do as they were draining the swamp in D.C. (remember that promise?) It appears that on the way to draining the swamp, Democrats rememberd why they benefitted from wallering in the murky, stinky swamp.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation had traveled the country cheering Cong. Flake on. AFPF held the 50-stop Ending Earmark Express RV tour hitting 37 states.
Congratulations, Cong. Flake (and thanks, AFP Foundation) but the real winners will be the American taxpayer who deserves for any spending measure to be fully vetted.
It is a story of how one principled elected leader can make a difference.
Cong. Jeff Flake from Arizona forced earmark vote after vote in 2005 and 2006 and 2007. His own party hated him for it and the then Speaker of House Hastert stripped him of his best committee as punishment. But he did not quit. Sometimes only 10 or 20 members would vote with him but he kept fighting. He shined a light on this practice more than anyone. Loneliest place in Congress was the seat next to Flake in the House Cafeteria.
Cong. Flake was fighting to keep taxpayers like you and me from having to pay for things like the Teapot Museum in North Carolina and other pork-laden "bacon" which Congressional members could tout in their districts. It is a system fraught with corruption.
Thanks to that light of public scrutiny, the House GOP came around and the Republican caucus passed earmark reforms...something the Democrats had promised to do as they were draining the swamp in D.C. (remember that promise?) It appears that on the way to draining the swamp, Democrats rememberd why they benefitted from wallering in the murky, stinky swamp.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation had traveled the country cheering Cong. Flake on. AFPF held the 50-stop Ending Earmark Express RV tour hitting 37 states.
Congratulations, Cong. Flake (and thanks, AFP Foundation) but the real winners will be the American taxpayer who deserves for any spending measure to be fully vetted.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Republicans reveal who the real reformers are
House Republicans adopted an earmark reform. That's right -- House Republicans went further than Democrats when they promised Thursday not to stuff any of this year's spending bills with pet projects for their districts. Didn't Pelosi promise to drain the swamp?
Ending earmarks has been a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Federal spending should go through the appropriatios vetting process and we need to end the practice of "buying" votes by providing pork for congressional members to "bring home" to their districts.
We must change the culture of corruption in Congress -- remember that rallying cry?
Send to Arizona newspapers and Townhall and other places
Pelosi - poor baby (as she said on Charlie Rose today) -- poor baby indeed. `
Ending earmarks has been a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Federal spending should go through the appropriatios vetting process and we need to end the practice of "buying" votes by providing pork for congressional members to "bring home" to their districts.
We must change the culture of corruption in Congress -- remember that rallying cry?
Send to Arizona newspapers and Townhall and other places
Pelosi - poor baby (as she said on Charlie Rose today) -- poor baby indeed. `
Monday, March 8, 2010
Taxpayer-funded lobby league grows -- at your expense
Frank Sturzl, who has headed the lobby association Texas Municipal League, is joining a binaries lobby firm – Hillco Partners. He will be director of municipal practices.
Yes, taxpayers, our opposition to taxpayer-funded lobbying has resulted in firms beefing up their gravy train practice. Taxpayers – you are funding this effort.
Hillco Partners is only one of a number of lobby firms along with individuals who lobby using your tax dollars...often lobbying to raise your taxes.
Hillco Partners last session earned as much as a million dollars or more lobbying the state legislature on behalf of local governments.
AFP has a solution -- rely on your elected officials at the local and state levels to communicate with one another and act in your best interests. We should not be paying lobbyists from public funds. Period.
BTW - Frank Sturzl is the individual who referred to Americans for Prosperity's taxpayer tour as an "Anti-City Jihad".
Yes, taxpayers, our opposition to taxpayer-funded lobbying has resulted in firms beefing up their gravy train practice. Taxpayers – you are funding this effort.
Hillco Partners is only one of a number of lobby firms along with individuals who lobby using your tax dollars...often lobbying to raise your taxes.
Hillco Partners last session earned as much as a million dollars or more lobbying the state legislature on behalf of local governments.
AFP has a solution -- rely on your elected officials at the local and state levels to communicate with one another and act in your best interests. We should not be paying lobbyists from public funds. Period.
BTW - Frank Sturzl is the individual who referred to Americans for Prosperity's taxpayer tour as an "Anti-City Jihad".
Forget Reconciliation - the fight is in the House
Never matter what the ObamaCare addicts call it -- reconciliation, nuclear option, or "a simple majority", the Senate isn't where the action will be. The action will happen in the House.
As AFP Policy Director Phil Kerpen wrote on FoxNews.com:
Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether or not the Senate passes changes to its health care bill via reconciliation. That's because the reconciliation process cannot even begin until after the House passes the Senate bill exactly as it passed the Senate on Christmas Eve. That means it must pass with the abortion language already rejected by Rep. Bart Stupak and others still intact. It also must pass with the outrageous pork barrel spending deals cut for Nebraska, Louisiana, Connecticut, and others. In other words, the bill must pass the House with everything in it that the American people have already made clear they hate.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/04/phil-kerpen-obama-health-care-reconciliation-house-senate-fight-vote/
As AFP Policy Director Phil Kerpen wrote on FoxNews.com:
Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether or not the Senate passes changes to its health care bill via reconciliation. That's because the reconciliation process cannot even begin until after the House passes the Senate bill exactly as it passed the Senate on Christmas Eve. That means it must pass with the abortion language already rejected by Rep. Bart Stupak and others still intact. It also must pass with the outrageous pork barrel spending deals cut for Nebraska, Louisiana, Connecticut, and others. In other words, the bill must pass the House with everything in it that the American people have already made clear they hate.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/04/phil-kerpen-obama-health-care-reconciliation-house-senate-fight-vote/
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Good Policies result in Good Politics
Gov. Rick Perry walked away with the Republican nomination without a run-off as he captured over 51% of the vote. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison graciously conceded and threw her support to Perry. KBH garnered 30% while Debra Medina got over 18% of the vote. Gov. Perry ran on Texas’ good job growth and on his support for government spending limits. It appears good policy results in a good economy and makes for good politics!
No surprise, former Houston Mayor Bill White walked away easily with the Democratic nomination for Governor. However, Houston’s over $5 billion debt may prove a detriment to his bid for Governor in November. White claimed to have lowered tax rates 5 times in Houston, but has any Houston taxpayer seen lower tax bills?
Republicans had five ballot initiatives which are not binding, but provide a gauge for support. Photo ID for voting, controlling the growth of government and cutting federal income taxes were all winners with over 92% but the biggest winner was public acknowledgement of God, which garnered 95%. The sonogram initiative got 69%. Legislators would need to enact laws before any of these measures would be binding.
In a real upset, Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo lost to challenger David Porter who got over 60% of the vote. Porter will face an opponent in November.
In the spirited race for Texas Supreme Court Place 5, former legislator Rick Green and former Reaganite Jim Mosley head to a runoff.
The State Board of Education had some surprises as former Chairmen lost their bids – Don McLeroy in place 9 and Geraldine “Tincy” Miller in place 12. McLeroy lost to a lobbyist.
Two more surprises: trial lawyer and teacher lobby-funded Lance Gooden beat incumbent Betty Brown in the Republican House Dist 4 primary race. He ran saying he may want to raise property taxes, but has not paid property taxes himself. There is no Democrat in the November election. What were the voters thinking there?
Republican Tommy Merritt lost his bid for re-election to David Simpson who has no Democratic opposition on the November ballot.
No surprise, former Houston Mayor Bill White walked away easily with the Democratic nomination for Governor. However, Houston’s over $5 billion debt may prove a detriment to his bid for Governor in November. White claimed to have lowered tax rates 5 times in Houston, but has any Houston taxpayer seen lower tax bills?
Republicans had five ballot initiatives which are not binding, but provide a gauge for support. Photo ID for voting, controlling the growth of government and cutting federal income taxes were all winners with over 92% but the biggest winner was public acknowledgement of God, which garnered 95%. The sonogram initiative got 69%. Legislators would need to enact laws before any of these measures would be binding.
In a real upset, Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo lost to challenger David Porter who got over 60% of the vote. Porter will face an opponent in November.
In the spirited race for Texas Supreme Court Place 5, former legislator Rick Green and former Reaganite Jim Mosley head to a runoff.
The State Board of Education had some surprises as former Chairmen lost their bids – Don McLeroy in place 9 and Geraldine “Tincy” Miller in place 12. McLeroy lost to a lobbyist.
Two more surprises: trial lawyer and teacher lobby-funded Lance Gooden beat incumbent Betty Brown in the Republican House Dist 4 primary race. He ran saying he may want to raise property taxes, but has not paid property taxes himself. There is no Democrat in the November election. What were the voters thinking there?
Republican Tommy Merritt lost his bid for re-election to David Simpson who has no Democratic opposition on the November ballot.
Cong Hensarling and Pence call for spending controls
At a time when Texas Republicans call for controlling the growth of government, Texas Cong. Jeb Hensarling and Indiana Cong. Mike Pence call for federal controls in spending also. Their article appeared in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704231304575091622911663494.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion One portion of the article reads:
The situation is dire, but don't take our word for it. "U.S. fiscal policy is on an unsustainable path to an extent that cannot be solved by minor tinkering," Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf said recently. Former Comptroller General David Walker called the rising costs of government entitlements a "fiscal cancer" that threaten "catastrophic consequences for our country."
The situation is dire, but don't take our word for it. "U.S. fiscal policy is on an unsustainable path to an extent that cannot be solved by minor tinkering," Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf said recently. Former Comptroller General David Walker called the rising costs of government entitlements a "fiscal cancer" that threaten "catastrophic consequences for our country."
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