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These people have our backs in Congress.

Posted by: on: January 29, 2013

The Heritage Action Committee is very busy recruiting people who will stand firm for Conservative values.  You may find this article interesting and especially the list of Senators and Representatives who have passed the test and are considered Heritage Sentinels.

I would also highly recommend to any who did not see FOXNEWS Hannity 9:00 pm either Friday or Sunday night go to his site and watch  the show on “Boomtown, America”  Washington DC is in another universe compared to the rest of the country and it is all on the backs of us tax payers in America.   Washington produces NOTHING!  and yet it is the wealthiest city in the United States and produces “millionaires and billionaires” by the gross yearly.   How is this possible?  Why are so many becoming super rich in DC?   We all know the fraud and corruption that rules Washington but even I had no idea it was so bad.  I guess this is why I like knowing there are Congress people who are not corrupted.  Unfortunately however these people have trouble getting things done because they are outnumbered by the corrupted Congress people and are kept from the corrupted leadership from influence postings.  They are however gaining in number and are at our backs.  Remember  that 2014 is just around the corner and another opportunity to add to their numbers.   BB

 

Capitol Building

CONSERVATIVE SENTINELS STAND GUARD FOR FREEDOM

CATEGORY: Driving The Day, Featured     KEYWORDS: Conservative Principles,House, Senate
 |JANUARY 29, 2013

Sentinel: A person stationed as a guard to prevent a surprise attack.

This week we announced the 29 members of Congress — 6 Senators and 23 Representatives — who achieved Sentinel status by scoring a 90% or higher on our legislative scorecard in the 112th Congress.  These Sentinels are a critical component of conservative successes, representing the “tip of the spear in Washington.”

Heritage Action CEO Michael A. Needham praised the work of these lawmakers:

Americans worried about our country’s future should sleep better at night knowing a dedicated group of lawmakers are fighting for freedom every day in Washington.  We congratulate these Sentinels who stood guard, vigilantly protecting our freedoms during the 112th Congress.  Not only did they advance the conservative cause, but they also held back the incessant tide of tax increases, out-of-control spending, and harmful policies that breed dependency on government.  In Washington, this is no easy task, which makes these Members all the more commendable.

Congressional Sentinels are not alone in their fight for freedom.

Washington’s corrosive, corrupting nature can challenge the principles of many conservative lawmakers, which is why the Heritage Action’s citizen Sentinels do the “hard work of keeping Congress accountable.”

The Washington Post has certainly taken notice of our impact in Washington, as have liberals, conservatives, politicians, and others in the media.  We have no qualms about confronting lawmakers head on, regardless of their party, if they are not upholding conservative principles.

The Post piece suggests that this is one reason why we have been able to “gain a bigger following among conservative activists” than other institutions.  They add that we’ve given “activists a new sense of legitimacy and an institutional base.”  In fact, Ginny Quaglia, a Sentinel from North Carolina said, “If you try to debate an issue and you cite as your source Heritage Action, it gives you instant credibility.”

Conservatives now have the formula for success – unifying conservative forces inside and outside the beltway.  Citizen Sentinels recognize this and our allies in Congress – especially those who have achieved Sentinel status — believe thatHeritage Action “adds institutional heft and sharp elbows to their own cause.”  Thus, we congratulate all of our Sentinels for their commitment and hard work.

Press Release: Heritage Action Announces Congressional Sentinels

See the scorecard: Heritage Action Scorecard

Senate Sentinels (6):

Jim DeMint  (R-SC) 99%
Mike Lee (R-UT) 99%
Rand Paul (R-KY) 96%
Marco Rubio (R-FL) 96%
Ron Johnson (R-WI) 94%
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 91%

 

House Sentinels (23):

Jeff Duncan (R-SC) 97%
Jeff Flake (R-AZ) 97%
Trent Franks (R-AZ) 97%
Tom Graves (R-GA) 97%
Paul Broun  (R-GA) 96%
Jim Jordan (R-OH) 95%
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) 95%
Trey Gowdy (R-SC) 94%
Doug Lamborn  (R-CO) 94%
David Schweikert (R-AZ) 94%
Jeff Miller (R-FL)  93%
Ben Quayle (R-AZ) 93%
Joe Wilson (R-SC) 93%
Joe Walsh (R-IL) 93%
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) 92%
Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 92%
Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) 92%
Dennis Ross (R-FL) 92%
Justin Amash (R-MI) 91%
Michele Bachmann (R-MN) 91%
John Fleming (R-LA) 90%
Scott Garrett (R-NJ) 90%
Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) 90%

COMMUNICATIONS DEPUTY

 @KathMaryRosario

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Constitution 101. The History and Meaning of the Constitution.

Posted by: on: April 18, 2012

I have received a newsletter from Hillsdale College for several years now and   consider it one of my favorite things.  The newsletter features a different conservative speaker each month on a topic of timely national interest.  Hillsdale College is offering a 10 week e-course on “The History and Meaning of the Constitution” that I highly recommend to any one , even those who feel they  have a fair understanding of the Constitution.  I am taking it now.  For you who may be interested below is the information that will get you started.  BB

 

Welcome to Constitution 101!

To access each week’s course material, click the hyperlinked title in the schedule below.

Please email us at constitution@hillsdale.edu with any questions.

 

Constitution 101 Schedule

Each lecture is pre-recorded and lasts approximately 40 minutes. Lectures and other study materials will be released by noon each Monday according to the schedule. Once released, they are available to view at your convenience.

You will receive an email each week informing you that new material is available.

Pre-course Introductory Materials

  1. The American Mind
    Larry P. Arnn
    Monday, February 20
  2. The Declaration of Independence
    Thomas G. West
    Monday, February 27
  3. The Problem of Majority Tyranny
    David Bobb
    Monday, March 5
  4. Separation of Powers: Preventing Tyranny
    Kevin Portteus
    Monday, March 12
  5. Separation of Powers: Ensuring Good Government
    Will Morrisey
    Monday, March 19
  6. Religion, Morality, and Property
    David Bobb
    Monday, March 26
  7. Crisis of Constitutional Government
    Will Morrisey
    Monday, April 2
  8. Abraham Lincoln and the Constitution
    Kevin Portteus
    Monday, April 9
  9. The Progressive Rejection of the Founding
    Ronald J. Pestritto
    Monday, April 16
  10. The Recovery of the Constitution
    Larry P. Arnn
    Monday, April 23

 

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Nine State Attorney Generals sue Obama Administration for ignoring Constitution and breaking nation’s laws. Finally!

Posted by: on: March 8, 2012

I have been waiting for this for three years and finally  9 State Attorney  Generals step up to the plate and sue President Obama and his administration of thugs for  breaking the laws of the United States not once but repeatedly.  If this had been any other President he would have been impeached his first year in office, but being the first Black president Obama has gotten a pass because the members of  Congress are terrified of race riots.   Race has nothing to do with the issues of course but any time Obama is criticized  the person speaking up is called a racist.  The other reason Obama  has not even been  investigated let alone  impeached  is because impeachment proceedings take place in the Senate and the Democrats and Harry Reid control the Senate.

The following is a long article but please do read it all so that you understand what and why. It is also a great lesson in civics! BB

Attorneys General Join Forces to Call Into Account Illegal Obama Administration Violations

Monday, March 05, 2012

MEMO:          A Report on Obama Administration Violations of Law
FROM:           Attorneys General Tom Horne, Arizona; Pam Bondi, Florida; Sam Olens, Georgia; Bill Schuette, Michigan; Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma; Marty Jackley, South Dakota; Alan Wilson, South Carolina; Greg Abbott, Texas; Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia
DATE:            March 5, 2012

---

Introduction

As chief legal officers of the states and commonwealths, attorneys general are the last line of defense against an increasingly overreaching federal government.  Attorneys general have a duty to uphold the laws of their respective states and uphold the U.S. and state constitutions.

One of the ways in which attorneys general protect the integrity of state laws and constitutions is by carefully reviewing the actions of the federal government and responding when they break the law or overstep the bounds of the Constitution.

Federalism is the division of authority between the federal and state governments that the Founding Fathers created to provide a check on federal power so that the federal government would not become destructive of the very liberty it was instituted to protect.

While some naïvely argue that the Constitution should “evolve” due to the fact that our Founders could not have foreseen the issues faced by our country today, they forget that the Founders faced tyranny firsthand and understood it well.  This led to the creation of a Constitution that relies on limited government, precisely to protect our citizens from today’s unprecedented overstepping of the “division of authority.”

The Landscape

While each Attorney General has policy disagreements with the Obama Administration, those disagreements are not what serve as the basis for this effort.  For example, this Administration makes many decisions and takes numerous actions that Republican attorneys general find politically ignorant or flawed from a policy standpoint.  However, that does not make those decisions or actions illegal.  The purpose of this report is to outline actions taken by this Administration that are violations of law.

The obvious example is a federal health care overhaul, passed against the will of the majority of Americans and more importantly in violation of the Constitution, which is now being challenged by more than half of the states.

While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has received the most attention, it serves as a representation of a much larger picture that demonstrates the continued disdain for the Constitution and laws shown by the Obama Administration. 

Through the collective review by a committee of Attorneys General from nine of the 50 states, the group identified more than 21 illegal actions from this Administration and is highlighting the effects of the federal overreach on our citizens and states.

The Impact

Whether it is through the EPA, NLRB, Office of Surface Mining, FCC or other entities, the Obama Administration has aggressively used administrative agencies to implement policy objectives that cannot gain congressional approval and are outside of the law.

In Florida, a state with one of the most aggressive and innovative water quality protection programs in the country, the EPA chose to impose its own costly, unprecedented and unscientific numeric nutrient criteria.  The estimated impact the EPA’s rules would impose was dramatic, including billions of dollars in compliance costs, significant spikes in utility bills and the loss of thousands of jobs.  The Florida Attorney General’s Office sued the EPA and two weeks ago prevailed when a federal judge in Tallahassee threw out the costliest of the EPA’s rules, the one governing Florida’s streams and rivers.  In doing so, the judge found the EPA’s rules were not based on sound science and that the agency had failed to prove that its rule would prevent any harm to the environment – in other words, the EPA was found to have violated the law.

In South Carolina, the NLRB’s recess-appointed, unconfirmed general counsel threatened to sue the state for guaranteeing a secret ballot in union elections, despite 83 percent of South Carolinians voting for an amendment for such action.  When South Carolina was joined by three other states in mounting a vigorous defense, the NLRB backed down but turned their attention to Boeing, a private company and corporate citizen of South Carolina, telling the employer where they could or could not locate facilities.  Again – after a high-profile fight – the NLRB backed down in their complaint against Boeing, but only after the company and the union worked through an agreement. (In this case Boeing agreed to hiring 5000 more unionized workers in their home state of Washington in order to be able to op[en the one non-unionized plant in South Carolina employing 1000 workers.  Some deal!  BB)

In Arizona, voters passed a referendum requiring that individuals registering to vote show evidence that they are citizens.  Over 90 percent of the population can satisfy this simply by writing down a driver’s license number or naturalization number.  The less than 10 percent of those who do not have these numbers are able to register by mailing a copy of a birth certificate, passport, Indian registration number or similar documentation.  The Obama Administration argued against Arizona in the Ninth Circuit and a decision is yet to be made.  (It is a fact that people have to show ID in order to check a book out of a public library and no one complains, certainly not the Obama administration.  But, just have a state require some type of ID in order to vote and the Obama thugs go wild.  BB)

In Oklahoma, the EPA illegally usurped Oklahoma’s authority in the Clean Air Act to determine the state’s own plan for addressing sources of emissions by imposing a federal implementation plan.  The federal plan goes beyond the authority granted to the EPA in the Clean Air Act and will result in a $2 billion cost to install technology needed to complete the EPA plan and a permanent increase of 15-20 percent in the cost of electricity.  The Obama Administration is fighting Oklahoma’s appeal, which was filed in  the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ongoing fight over the individual mandate and these four state examples serve as only a representation of the more than 21 Obama Administration violations that attorneys general are fighting against.

Taking Action

What these nine Attorneys General have collectively confirmed is that this Administration repeatedly shows disdain for states, federal laws it finds inconvenient, the Constitution and the courts. 

With the release of this report, and its extensive list of transgressions, two principles are abundantly clear:

  • This group of nine Attorneys General will grow and continue to serve as a de facto “task force,” assisting when possible to defend state laws and identifying “best practices” and legal arguments to fight back against the Obama Administration’s illegalities in a more cohesive and effective manner;
  • The next election is critically important and as the states’ chief legal officers, the attorneys general will make a concerted effort to educate their states’ voters on the impacts that the Obama Administration’s legal violations have on their every day lives.

Regardless of party, when Washington politicians fail to adhere to the Constitution and the rule of law, state attorneys general become the last line of defense against an overreaching federal government.

List of Violations

  • FCC: Regulation of the Internet in the face of a court order from Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. stating that the FCC does not have the power to regulate the Internet

  • PPACA: Individual Mandate; To be heard by Supreme Court of the United States in March

  • EPA 1: GHG lawsuit; EPA’s own Inspector General reported last September that EPA failed to comply with its own data standards; Heard in Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. in February

  • OSM: Attempting to impose regulatory requirements on the 19 states with authority for exclusive regulation of their coalmines for the first time in more than 30 years

  • NLRB: Boeing; Engaged in unprecedented behavior as described by former Chairmen under both Presidents Bush (43) and Clinton; behavior is best exemplified in South Carolina where the Board tried to muzzle over 80 percent of state voters who supported a secret ballot amendment to the South Carolina Constitution and attempted unsuccessfully to tell an employer in the state where they can and cannot base manufacturing facilities

  • EPA: Florida Water; EPA’s numeric nutrient criteria pre-empted Florida standards; U.S. District Judge upheld the state’s site-specific alternative criteria for streams and rivers

  • EPA: Texas Air; TX filed lawsuit challenging Cross-State Air Pollution Rules; application rule to TX was particularly dubious because state was included in the regulation at the last minute and without an opportunity to respond to the proposed regulation; regulation was based on a dubious claim that air pollution from TX affected a single air-quality monitor in Granite City, Illinois more than 500 miles and three states away from Texas

  • EPA: Oklahoma Air; EPA illegally usurped Oklahoma’s authority in the Clean Air Act to determine the state’s own plan for addressing sources of emissions that affect visibility, by imposing a federal implementation plan; Federal plan goes beyond the authority granted to the EPA in the Clean Air Act and will result in $2 billion in cost to install technology needed to complete the EPA plan, and a permanent increase of 15-20 percent in the cost of electricity; Obama Administration is fighting Oklahoma’s appeal, which was filed in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

  • HHS: Religious Liberty; HHS mandated religious entities such as Catholic, Baptist and Jewish schools and churches be required to provided medical services they find unconscionable to their employees; President attempted to compromise with an “accommodation” in name only that required insurance companies to provide the services for free to the religious organization employees; Accommodation made matters worse as many religious-base hospitals and schools are self-insurers; Seven Attorneys General filed suit to protect religious liberty and oppose the HHS mandate

  • DOJ: South Carolina & Voting Rights Act: Rejecting voter ID statutes that are similar to those already approved by the Supreme Court of the United States; DOJ ignored section 8 of the Voting Rights Act which calls for protections against voter fraud, and used section 5 to administratively block measures to protect the integrity of elections passed by state legislatures in preclearance states including South Carolina; South Carolina voter ID law merely requires a voter to show photo identification in order to vote or to complete an affidavit at the pain of perjury if the voter does not have a photo ID

  • DOJ: Arizona & Voting Rights Act: Rejecting voter ID statutes that are similar to those already approved by the Supreme Court of the United States

  • DOJ: Arizona Immigration; In violation of 10th Amendment, federal government to sue to prevent AZ from using reasonable measures to discourage illegal immigration within Arizona’s borders; Affects Arizona because state has a large percentage, compared to other states, of illegal immigrants and need to be able to act to reduce the number

  • DOJ: Alabama Immigration; The DOJ challenged Alabama’s immigration reform laws after parts were “green lighted” by a federal judge; DOJ appealed the ruling; parts of the AL case have been struck down in various federal courts; specific provisions of the law include collection of the immigration status of public school students, businesses must use E-Verify, prohibition of illegal immigrants receiving public benefits; the provision requiring immigrants to always carry alien registration cards; allowance of lawsuits by state citizens who do not believe public officials are enforcing the law

  • DOJ: South Carolina Immigration; DOJ challenged South Carolina’s immigration reform laws that are very similar to the AZ which is scheduled to appear before the United States Supreme Court; SC case will be heard by the 4th Circuit soon there after as the 4th Circuit granted SC motion to extend the filing time until after the US Supreme Court issues an Opinion in AZ

  • Congressional: “Recess” appointments to NLRB (three) and CFPB (one)

  • EEOC: Hosanna Tabor (MI); Sought to reinstate a minister who was discharged for her disagreement with the religious doctrine of the church

  • DOE: Yucca Mountain; In 2009, Administration arbitrarily broke federal law and derailed the most studied energy project in American history when DOE announced intent to withdraw 8,000 page Yucca Mountain licensing application with prejudice; SC and Washington State filed suit, as a result, contesting the unconstitutional action; American people have paid more than $31 billion (including interest) through percentages of electric rate fees towards the project and taxpayers have footed an addition $200 million in legal feeds and over $2 billion in judgments against the DOE for breaking contracts associated with Yucca Mountain

  • DOI: Glendale Casino (AZ); Glendale is a violation because the Federal Government is forcing a family-oriented town, Glendale, to become another Las Vegas against its will.  Essentially, the Federal Government has granted ‘reservation status’ to a 54-acre plot in the same town, where the Tohono O’odham Nation plans to build a resort and casino.
Home of the Republican State Leadership Committee
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Posted by: on: October 27, 2011

Two messages from The Patriot Network you may want to read and some great quotes from great men.  Would that we had them with us today.  BB

“ONE MAN WITH COURAGE IS A MAJORITY” Thomas Jefferson

A message to all members of Patriot Action Network

It’s rainy, cloudy and over-cast here in K.C. …and the news reflects it.

 

STOP this Marxist March toward depravity or…

http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/groups/usa-military-defense/forum/topic/gay-and-lesbian-service-members-sue-government/

 

 

What?!! Reward the CRIMINAL and punish the Law-Abider?!!

http://borderwatchmen.patriotactionnetwork.com/2011/10/27/wife-of-border-agent-sentenced-to-prison-for-rough-cuffing-a-drug-suspect-speaks-out/

 

“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do NOTHING.”

      -Edmund Burke.

 

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without The Bible.”

      -George Washington.

 

“America is either one nation under God or we’re a nation gone under.”

       -Ronald Reagan.

The Real S&P Story

Posted by: on: August 9, 2011

The Market is going DOWN in triple digits and the politicos are beating at each other  while the real story is a “pox on both their houses”.  Especially egregious is the MSM and Democrats demonizing and blaming the Tea Party for this whole mess, AND BEING BELIEVED!  How a newly elected 67 freshman law makers  in one part of a three part legislative process can have been to blame for anything is beyond me, but the ladies and a few gentlemen in my swim class  are blaming the Tea Party.  So just in case the story is the same out there perhaps you all need the real story from the horse’s mouth so to speak.  Please read the Standard and Poore’s own report.  it isn’t long.  Here is an excerpt:

Rationale
We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the
prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related
fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the
growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an
agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and
will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal
consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week
falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the
general government debt burden by the middle of the decade.
Our lowering of the rating was prompted by our view on the rising public
debt burden and our perception of greater policymaking uncertainty, consistent
with our criteria (see “Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions
,” June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S.
federal government’s other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes,
which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.

I sincerely hope in all of thi9s you understand that the House Republicans sent no less than two bills to the Senate to solve this Debt Ceiling Crisis (beside the 2011 Budget!) and  Harry Reid wouldn’t even allow it to reach the floor of the Senate for discussion let alone vote.  All the Democrats and the creature in the White House could call for was a compromise so a compromise is what we got:  instead of the debt going up by 10 TRILLION over 10 years it will only go up by 7 TRILLION.  Remember the definition  of a compromise: A camel; is a horse designed by a committee by compromise.  Yes, Dear Reader, We the People got a camel from our federal government.  BB

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While We the People have been distracted by the Debt Ceiling Debate much has been happening behind the “fray”.

Posted by: on: July 26, 2011

Obama and his minions have always and ever used distraction to push their more horrific project, and this debt ceiling distraction is a real winner for them.  See what has been going on in the background while we and TV news has been watching elsewhere.  Or maybe you have been like me and tuning it all out!  BB

On the floor: Meanwhile, the full House continues to debate the 2012 Interior and Environment appropriations bill, which Democrats say is the worst environmental bill to come before the House — ever. The bill contains 39 riders limiting the ability of the EPA to regulate; Democrats are attempting to strip out as many as possible.

Reviewing regulators: The Senate Banking Committee will be getting its vet on tomorrow, welcoming three nominees the White House wants to put at the center of the government’s financial regulation.

The trio scheduled to be on hand are: Martin Gruenberg, tapped to replace Sheila Bair at the top of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Thomas Curry, the choice for next comptroller of the currency; and Roy Woodall, the pick for insurance expert on the new Financial Stability Oversight Council. Financial regulatory nominees have had a rocky road in confirmation battles lately — here’s looking at you, Peter Diamond and Richard Cordray — so keep an eye open to see if these three fare better.

Consumption!: Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate, is one of a deep bench — nine witnesses overall — talking consumption taxes at House Ways and Means tomorrow.

Huckabee and two others will discuss the Fair Tax, the idea of replacing federal taxes with a sizable national sales tax. The rest of the panelists will discuss the Value Added Tax, a consumption tax that has sparked skepticism from both the right and the left in this country. All that said, the VAT is quite popular in much of the rest of the industrialized world — where, perhaps not coincidentally, most countries also have a lower corporate tax rate.

If at first you don’t succeed … Senate Finance is going back to the well for a hearing on deficit reduction, three weeks or so after the debate over the pending trade deals caused the postponement of a previously scheduled discussion. Peter Orszag, the former White House budget director, is not scheduled to testify this time around, but Finance will hear from liberal and conservative experts.

Speaking of which: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is taking its case on those trade deals — with South Korea, Panama and Colombia — to Capitol Hill, holding a rally to help push for their passage. The agreements remained stalled due to disagreements over whether they should be linked to the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

The briefing room: A more conservative group of congressional Republicans will be gathering tomorrow to unveil legislation that would tell the president what bills to pay if the government hits the debt ceiling. Under the bill, the administration would have to prioritize payments for debt service, Social Security and military pay before attending to other obligations. The RSC’s Jordan, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and others will be on hand to roll out EFFCUSPASSA — that’s the Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America’s Soldiers and Seniors Act, for those of you scoring at home.

Fed fulminating: Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will return to the fertile grounds of Federal Reserve bashing on Tuesday, with his House Financial Services subcommittee exploring how the central bank’s monetary policy affects the economy.

Specifically, the panel will discuss inflation, unemployment and the potential for a third round of “quantitative easing.” The Fed has said it is prepared to pump more stimulus into the economy if needed, but Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, has emphasized that nothing is in the works immediately. Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and no fan of the last QE experience, will be on hand to testify.

Risky renting: A second House Financial Services subcommittee will train its sights on the rent-to-own industry Tuesday, as lawmakers explore what regulators should or shouldn’t be doing as they monitor the agency.

Preparing for the floor: The House Rules Committee will meet to set up a bill that wades in to the spat between Boeing and the National Labor Relations Board over whether the aerospace giant shifted work to a South Carolina plant to punish union action in Washington state.

Last week, the House Education and the Workforce Committee marked up legislation sponsored by Rep. Tim Scott  (R-S.C.) that not only bars the NLRB from shifting Boeing work back to Washington, but prohibits “ordering any employer to close, relocate or transfer employment under any circumstance.”

Quick hits:

— Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has a briefing of his own planned, titled “Eliminating the Debt and Creating Jobs without Raising Taxes.”

— Christine Lagarde, the new IMF chief, headlines an early morning Council on Foreign Relations conference call on the world economy.

— A Senate Judiciary subcommittee looks at the economic case for and against immigration reform.

— And dozens of religious figures head to the Hill for a prayer vigil on ensuring the poor don’t have to shoulder the burden of a debt deal.

Economic indicators:

— Standard & Poor’s is scheduled to release its Case–Shiller 20-city home price index for May.

— The Commerce Department is slated to circulate its report on new privately owned one-family houses sold and for sale in June, as the housing market struggles to show any improvement.

— And the Conference Board is set to drop its consumer confidence index for July, a way to examine potential spending habits of consumers, which represents 70 percent of the economy.

BREAKING MONDAY:

It’s not just in Washington: Concern about debt is everywhere. A new Associated Press/GfK poll found that one in five are worried about debt practically all the time, and more than one in three say they won’t be able to pay off their credit card bill.

And a break from the debt ceiling: Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), Ways and Means member and Senate candidate, has introduced her own bill to allow U.S. multinationals to bring offshore profits home at a reduced tax rate, Bloomberg reports.

The lowest possible rate in the bill, 5.25 percent, matches the rate in a previous holiday and the one called for in another House proposal in this area. But a company’s rate could be as high as 25 percent under the plan, depending on its hiring practices.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

On the Money’s Monday:

— Jim DeMint on Reid/Boehner plans: They’re both no good.

— IMF: The debt ceiling must be raised.

— The White House turns its head toward criminal syndicates.

— The IRS reverses course on its innocent-spouse policy.

— Joint Economic Committee: 32 states added private-sector jobs in June.

— House Oversight set to take a look at excess federal property.

— And audit finds the IRS needs to tighten up on homebuyer credit.

Feedback, etc., to bbecker@thehill.com

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Government Stupidity – Gov’t insanity: You won’t believe whatthis former Obama economic advisor just said

Posted by: on: July 20, 2011

Government Stupidity – Gov’t insanity: You won’t believe whatthis former Obama economic advisor just said.

From Economic Policy Journal:

Greg Mankiw points to this Larry Summers comment on the Charlie Rose Show:

Never forget, never forget, and I think it’s very important for Democrats especially to remember this, that if Hitler had not come along, Franklin Roosevelt would have left office in 1941 with an unemployment rate in excess of 15 percent and an economic recovery strategy that had basically failed.

Economist Robert Higgs has ripped apart the notion that war is good for an economy. And in particular, he has focused on World War II. On release of Higgs’ book, Depression, War, and Cold War: Challenging the Myths of Conflict and Prosperity, the publisher wrote:

[Higgs] provides clear evidence FDR’’ New Deal actually prolonged the Great Depression and that World War II did nothing to create prosperity…

Go to the site and read the entire article.  This is an eye opener.  Sometimes I am just too upset to read an article all at once and this was one of those times.  BB

 

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Is the Soros-Sponsored ‘Agenda 21’ a Hidden Plan for World Government? (Yes, Only it Is Not Hidden) | The Blaze

Posted by: on: June 14, 2011

Is the Soros-Sponsored ‘Agenda 21’ a Hidden Plan for World Government? (Yes, Only it Is Not Hidden) | The Blaze.

I have blogged in the past on this United Nations plan to strip the United States of it’s wealth and  give it to poorer countries.  It’s Obama’s plan!  His “spreading the wealth around” world wide agenda.  I don’t think there are many Americans who have not gotten the idea finally that  Obama cares more for almost any nation except the United States.  He was clear about his agenda and his interests long before he was elected but no enough of us were listening.  One question?  If you planned to rob the riches family in the neighborhood what is the best way of going about it?  GETTING INSIDE THE HOUSE AS A TRUSTED GUEST OR EMPLOYEE OF COURSE!  And that is what Obama was able to do.  And we are seeing this being played out right now as he and his cohorts use the unions to accomplish his plans.  The  National Labor Relations  Board-union vs.Boeing building a plant  in South Carolina is a blatant step in this direction.  I will bet anyone that no such action would have taken place if Boeing had chosen to move out of the United States!  The EPA Environmental Protection Agency is another of Obama’s instruments; the United States can not drill in our waters but our tax dollars are being given to Mexico and Brazil to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.  BB

Read this article carefully because We the People have to know the plan in order to save ourselves.  Also be sure and listen to the videos and go to the sites suggested.  Spread the word so that others know how to turn the tide on these thieves.  BB

Is the Soros-Sponsored ‘Agenda 21’ a Hidden Plan for World Government? (Yes, Only it Is Not Hidden)

What is Agenda 21?  If you do not know about it, you should.

Agenda 21 is a two-decade old, grand plan for global ’Sustainable Development,’ brought to you from the United Nations. George H.W. Bush (and 177 other world leaders) agreed to it back in 1992, and in 1995, Bill Clinton signed Executive Order #12858, creating a Presidential Council on ‘Sustainable Development.’ This effectively pushed the UN plan into America’s large, churning government machine without the need for any review or discussion by Congress or the American people.

‘Sustainable Development’ sounds like a nice idea, right?  It sounds nice, until you scratch the surface and find that Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development are really cloaked plans to impose the tenets of Social Justice/Socialism on the world.

At risk from Agenda 21;

  • Private Property ownership
  • Single-Family homes
  • Private car ownership and individual travel choices
  • Privately owned farms

The Agenda 21 plan openly targets private property.  For over thirty-five years the UN has made their stance very clear on the issue of individuals owning land;

Land cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice; if unchecked, it may become a major obstacle in the planning and implementation of development schemes. The provision of decent dwellings and healthy conditions for the people can only be achieved if land is used in the interest of society as a whole.

Click here to find out more!

Source: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I),Vancouver, BC, May 31 – June 11, 1976. Preamble to Agenda Item 10 of the Conference Report.

There are two more, very good reasons to be wary of Agenda 21 and the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) that supports it: George Soros and the United Nations. Soros money has been tracked to funding parts of ICLEI ;

In 1997, George Soros’s Open Society gave ICLEI a $2,147,415 grant to support its Local Agenda 21 Project

As regards the UN, that organization‘s problems with America’s appreciation of freedom and self-determination is one that needs no explanation.

Currently in California, Agenda 21 is working to implement plans to create plans for sustainable management of ‘open spaces.‘ The definition of what is to be considered an ’open space’ has sparked some heated exchanges between those directing the planning meetings and citizens who want private property rights to be respected and protected. (The East Bay Tea Party video featuring a Liberal Democrat arguing against ICLEI can be seen at the end of this article.)

This type of global plan could not be implemented without a large and well-funded group pushing through its priorities. For that, Agenda 21 has the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). And ICLEI is deeply entrenched in America;

ICLEI USA was launched in 1995 and has grown from a handful of local governments participating in a pilot project to a solid network of more than 600 cities, towns and counties actively striving to achieve tangible reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and create more sustainable communities. ICLEI USA is the domestic leader on climate protection and adaptation, and sustainable development at the local government level.

Over six hundred cities,towns and counties in America are members of ICLEI? Do you support your local government agreeing to rules and regulations set up by a UN-based organization that wants private property transferred to government control? If you would like to see if your community is a member of ICLEI, you can visit their website.

Austin, Texas is one city that seems to have fallen for the ICLEI/Agenda 21 and was heavily consuming the ‘Communitariasm’ Kool-aid. A local group called Texans For Accountable Government saw what was happening and attempted to stop the Austin City Council from adopting some Agenda 21-friendly initiatives. One of TAG’s members, John Bush, delivered a succinct presentation on ICLEI and Agenda 21 that was virtually ignored. Watch his short argument against the proposed local law immediately followed by the lopsided vote adopting the plan.

In the world of business Agenda 21 is not a free market friend, preferring PPPs or Private Public Partnerships where the government decides which companies will receive tax breaks and are allowed to stay in business. In light of this realization, the cozy relationship between the current administration and GE (a company that paid no tax in 2010) should raise eyebrows. And the WH efforts to tell Boeing in which state they can operate seems to further bolster the belief that Agenda 21 ideals are already making headway in America.

The seeds for Agenda 21 were planted back in 1987 when the writings of Gro Harlem Brundtland (a woman who at the time was Vice President of the World Socialist Party) caught the eye of the UN.  Dr. Brundtland wrote a report for the UN called, ‘Our Common Future’ eventually got into the business of environmentalism as a tool to control all the people of the world and establish a global government. The growth of ICLEI and the framework being put in place by supporters of Agenda 21 appear to be bringing Dr. Brundtland’s ideas closer to reality

In recent months, citizen groups across the country have organized and become involved in the removal of towns and cities from membership in ICLEI. The Roanoke, VA Tea Party is holding a rally this week in an effort to have ICLEI removed from their local government.

For a better understanding of Agenda 21 and ICLEI we suggest: The American Policy Center offers a one-page primer on Agenda 21.

From the Bay Area Tea Party we offer a long-form video covering Agenda 21;

The featured speaker at the Tea Party meeting, Rosa Koire, is a liberal Democrat who understands that Agenda 21 will destroy America as we know it. Rosa’s website, DemocratsAgainstAgenda21.com is also worth a visit.

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National Curriculum Battle Joined. How the brain-washing of our children is proceeding.

Posted by: on: May 9, 2011

National Curriculum Battle Joined | Cato @ Liberty.

The Progressives are pushing hard for their take over of our schools and our children’s minds.   Education of children is rightly a  parents  duty and right.  This is why education MUST BE LOCAL!  When the Texas Text Book Selection committee outed the Progressives in determining what  content  would be in Texas text books it was a loud and clear call for the Progressives to become more aggressive (read this: underhanded!). (You may want to look this battle up because the video was a fun watch as the Progressives finally just left the meeting.)

The following article gives background on what is happening now and some push back.    Be sure to read carefully the Related Articles also.  these are your kids and our future.  Please don’t allow them to be lot any more than they have already been compromised and brain-washed.   It is up to ALL parents to demand the right to choose the schools their children attend and not to be herded into what the bureaucracy either national or local dictates to us.   School choice and vouchers are the answer to a free and good education.  BB

National Curriculum Battle Joined

Posted by Neal McCluskey

Remember several weeks ago, when the Albert Shanker Institute released a manifesto calling for the creation of detailed curriculum guides to go with the national standards and tests being pushed and pulled through the back doors of states across the country? Apparently, that was the last straw for a lot of education analysts and policymakers, especially folks like Williamson Evers of the Hoover Institution (and Bush II Education Department); one-time Fordham Institute state-standards evaluator Sandra Stotsky; and Foundation for Education Choice senior fellow Greg Forster. Those three, along with a few others, organized a counter-manifesto being released today, a 100-plus signatory reply which, according to the group’s press release, declares that:

  • These efforts are against federal law and undermine the constitutional balance between national and state authority.
  • The evidence doesn’t show a need for national curriculum or a national test for all students.
  • U.S. Department of Education is basing its initiative on inadequate content standards.
  • There is no research-based consensus on what is the best curricular approach to each subject.
  • There is not even consensus on whether a single “best curricular approach” for all students exists.

These points certainly sum up many of the major problems with the national standards drive, a drive that has been shrouded in half-truths about “voluntary” standards adoption; shorthand pleas for federal coercion; and what appears to be a camel’s-nose-under-the-tent strategy to ultimately impose a detailed, de facto federal curriculum. There is more to the problem than the summary points above cover — for instance, the Constitution gives the federal government no authority whatsoever to meddle in school curricula — but for a consensus-driven document, this new and desperately needed cannon blast against national standards is very welcome.

For a great explanation of why the anti-manifesto ringleaders did what they did, check out Greg Forster’s entry on the Witherspoon Institute’s blog. He hits lots of important points — especially that nationalizing curricula is a surefire way to fuel all-encompassing social strife — and I would quibble with only one thing:

My own view is that the root of the problem is the government monopoly on schools. Governmental monopolization of the education of children guarantees that all our religious and moral differences will be constantly politicized. School choice, in addition to delivering better academic performance, seems to me to be the only way to end the scorpions-in-a-bottle cultural dynamic and create space for shared citizenship across diverse religious and moral views.

But that’s an argument for another day.

Here’s where I think Greg is incorrect: Choice is not an argument for another day. It is the argument for this day.

Until all parents have real, full choice they will have no option but to demand that higher levels of government force intractable lower levels to provide good education. It won’t work — thanks to concentrated benefits and diffuse costs all levels of government are dominated by teachers’ unions and administrators’ associations that will never let tough accountability and high standards rein – but it is all that parents can do absent the ability to take their children, and tax dollars, somewhere else. That means choice is essential right now, because it is the only way to take power away from special-interest dominated government and give it to the people the schools are supposed to serve. In other words, it is the only option that will actually work, obliterating the special-interest hammerlock, imposing accountability to customers, and when coupled with freedom for educators unleashing competition, specialization, innovation, and constant upward pressure on standards. In other words, it will do all those things that national standardizers emptily and illogically promise that their reform will do, and much, much more.

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Posted by: on: May 2, 2011

Just a few little factoids from Cato to get your week off to a good start.  BB

This Week in Government Failure

Posted by Tad DeHaven

Over at Downsizing the Federal Government, we focused on the following issues this week:

  • A lot of Americans are aware that their tax dollars subsidize cotton farmers. However, it’s unlikely that many Americans are aware that their tax dollars are now supporting cotton farmers in Brazil.  ( So why not!?  We are now also subsidizing the oil drilling industry in Brazil and building oil refineries in Venezuela.  This while oil drilling in the United States has been brought to a slamming halt even tho Obama tells us every time the topic comes up that drilling permits are being handed out (all of one this year so far).  As for oil refineries not a one is being built but 15 ethanol  refineries are going up near Chicago!  BB)
  • Chris Edwards released an updated version of his Plan to Cut Spending and Balance the Federal Budget. No sacred cows are spared. Defense, domestic, and so-called entitlement programs are all cut.  (Our Old Dog Republicans in the House are talking a good game but the so-called “cuts” they are making only sound good on paper and not in real life.  The Education department which is one of the most useless of federal programs is spending $70 billion this year but the Republicans could only cut less than $1 billion.  BB)
  • The good news in a new Deloitte survey of members of the U.S. business community is that optimism is on the rise. The bad news is that the heavy hand of government is still a dark cloud hovering over the recovery.  (The culprit is the  Dodd-Frank Bill that was 800+ pages long and so far the regulations to make this bill stick are 3500 pages long.  That is 7  copies of War and Peace.  I got bogged down in that novel but would rather have 10 of War and Peace to one of Dodd-Frank!  The House has 5 bills now pending to delete or curb portions of Dodd-Frank but not to expect much from the House or Senate until the Old Dogs are removed.,  BB)
  • In her budgets, in her speeches, and in her strategic plans, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says that her “vision” for federal action is “Good Jobs for Everyone!”
  • Some good news for once: President Obama’s dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead.  (State like New Jersey and Florida are refusing the money Thank Goodness!  BB)

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