Obama Executive Order Gives Feds Control Over Rural Areas

Think of it...they can Kelo you now without a Kelo case....because the Prez said so....this sounds more like community planning and collectivization to me.....and more like creeping socialism and totalitarian marxism. From the blaze:

On June 9, 2011, President Obama signed his 86th Executive Order, and almost nobody noticed.

(For the record, Obama is on par to match President Bush’s 291 orders executed during his two terms in office. The National Archives defines an Executive Order this way; Executive orders are official documents, numbered consecutively, through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the Federal Government.)

President Obama’s E.O. 13575 is designed to begin taking control over almost all aspects of the lives of 16% of the American people. Why didn’t we notice it? Weinergate. In the middle of the Anthony Weiner scandal, as the press and most of the American people were distracted, President Obama created something called “The White House Rural Council” (WHRC).

Section One of 13575 states the following:

Section 1. Policy. Sixteen percent of the American population lives in rural counties. Strong, sustainable rural communities are essential to winning the future and ensuring American competitiveness in the years ahead. These communities supply our food, fiber, and energy, safeguard our natural resources, and are essential in the development of science and innovation. Though rural communities face numerous challenges, they also present enormous economic potential. The Federal Government has an important role to play in order to expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands.

Warning bells should have been sounding all across rural America when the phrase “sustainable rural communities” came up.

Well, gee, who isn't for sustaining communities? Well, when it interferes with individual property rights and national sovereignty, put me in the against column. and, look who these clowns are who are part of this group and tell me this doesn't scare you:

The third sentence also makes it quite clear that the government intends to take greater control over “food, fiber, and energy.”

The last sentence in Section 1 further clarifies the intent of the order by tying together “access to the capital necessary for economic growth, health care and education.”

The new White House Rural Council will probably be populated by experts in the various fields that might prove helpful to the folks who live and work outside of large urban areas, right? Well, Tom Vilsack, the current Secretary of Agriculture, will chair the group, but let us review the list of members appointed to serve on this new council – according to the order, the heads of the following groups have been appointed:

(1) the Department of the Treasury; Timothy Geithner
(2) the Department of Defense; Robert Gates
(3) the Department of Justice; Eric Holder
(4) the Department of the Interior; Ken Salazar
(5) the Department of Commerce; Gary Locke
(6) the Department of Labor; Hilda Solis
(7) the Department of Health and Human Services; Kathleen Sebelius
(8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Shaun Donovan
(9) the Department of Transportation; Ray LaHood
(10) the Department of Energy; Dr. Steven Chu
(11) the Department of Education; Arne Duncan
(12) the Department of Veterans Affairs; Eric Shinseki
(13) the Department of Homeland Security; Janet Napolitano
(14) the Environmental Protection Agency; Lisa Jackson
(15) the Federal Communications Commission; Michael Copps
(16) the Office of Management and Budget; Peter Orszag
(17) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; John Holdren
(18) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; R. Gil Kerlikowske
(19) the Council of Economic Advisers; Austan Goolsbee
(20) the Domestic Policy Council; Melody Barnes (former VP at Center for American Progress)
(21) the National Economic Council; Gene B. Sperling
(22) the Small Business Administration; Karen Mills
(23) the Council on Environmental Quality; Nancy Sutley
(24) the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs; Valerie Jarrett
(25) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and such other executive branch departments, agencies, and offices as the President or Secretary of Agriculture may, from time to time, designate. Chris Lu (or virtually anyone to be designated by the 24 people named above)

It appears that not a single department in the federal government was excluded from the new White House Rural Council, and the wild card option in number 25 gives the president and the agriculture secretary the option to designate anyone to serve on this powerful council.

Within the twenty-five designated members of the council are some curious ties to Agenda 21 and the structure being built to implement it:

Valerie Jarrett from the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs served on the board of something called Local Initiatives Support Corportation (LISC). LISC uses the language of Agenda 21 and ICLEI as their web page details their work to build “Sustainable Communities.”

Melody Barnes head of the Domestic Policy Council – Former VP at George Soros-funded Center for American Progress.

Hilda Solis from the Labor Dept – in 2000 received an award for her work on “Environmental Justice.”

Nancy Sutley head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality – Served on the board of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District and was one of the biggest supporters of low-flow toilets that are now credited with costing more money than expected while causing some nasty problems.

Do you want these people running your communities? I think not. Things sound pretty harmless til you get to some of the details, where we all know the devil dwells:

Let us review the mission and function of WHRC:

Sec. 4. Mission and Function of the Council. The Council shall work across executive departments, agencies, and offices to coordinate development of policy recommendations to promote economic prosperity and quality of life in rural America, and shall coordinate my Administration’s engagement with rural communities.

“Economic prosperity” and a better “quality of life,” that all sounds fairly innocent and well-intentioned. But continuing deeper into the order we find the council is charged with four directives:

(a) make recommendations to the President, through the Director of the Domestic Policy Council and the Director of the National Economic Council, on streamlining and leveraging Federal investments in rural areas, where appropriate, to increase the impact of Federal dollars and create economic opportunities to improve the quality of life in rural America;

The vague language here sounds non-threatening. But, is there a hint here that a “rural stimulus plan” might be in the making? Will the Federal government start pumping money into farmlands under the guise of creating “economic opportunities to improve the quality of life in rural America?” It is difficult to discern as the language is so broad.

We continue with the functions of the WHRC:

(b) coordinate and increase the effectiveness of Federal engagement with rural stakeholders, including agricultural organizations, small businesses, education and training institutions, health-care providers, telecommunications services providers, research and land grant institutions, law enforcement, State, local, and tribal governments, and nongovernmental organizations regarding the needs of rural America;

Virtually every aspect of rural life seems to now be part of the government’s mission. And while all of the items in (b) sound like typical government speak, you should be alarmed when you read the words “nongovernmental organizations” (NGOs). NGOs are unelected, but typically government-funded groups that act like embedded community organizers. And NGOs are key to Agenda 21′s plans.

Continuing:

(c) coordinate Federal efforts directed toward the growth and development of geographic regions that encompass both urban and rural arehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifas;

Sounds like Team Obama has just signed over more of our sovereignty. And what is this Agenda 21 thing? Glad you asked:

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.

Obama and Co. want to fundamentally destroy the notion of private ownership for the supposed greater good, but what we are really talking about is the enslavement of property for the ruling liberal elites' purposes at the cost of the little guy, that is, small farms, businesses, you, me, and the old and young. Stand up against this encroaching tyranny. Check out the blaze and the links they give and learn how you can fight against this agenda 21 sovereignty grab.

Obama-Style Transparency: Van Jones

Check out this post where an "open to the public" event meant JUST US socialists. Here is the link. Go, check it out, watch the video, and see what Obama and Co. mean by transparency and freedom.

Healthcare: Better Solutions Are Out There Instead of ObamaDeathCare

From Matt's Congressman, Minority Leader, and Great American John Boehner:

With Washington Democrats’ job-killing agenda more unpopular than ever, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) outlined better solutions to tackle the immediate challenges facing the American people during the weekly GOP leadership press conference:

“It’s been a long year for the American people. We’ve seen American families and small businesses struggling all year in a very difficult economy and all that they’ve gotten from the Democrats here in Washington is more spending and more debt piled on the backs of our kids and grandkids. The American people are asking ‘where are the jobs?’ but when you begin to look at the policies being outlined by this Administration, it’s not just all the spending and the debt It’s this national energy tax which will kill jobs in America and ship them overseas. It’s their government takeover of health care.

“Republicans have offered better solutions all year long. Whether it was a budget that had a lot less spending and a lot less debt. Whether it was our ‘all of the above’ energy bill, which will give us cleaner air, cheaper energy and more energy. Our proposal on health care was a common sense way of bringing down costs and not increasing the cost of health care like the Democrats’ proposals. Our better solutions are going to continue to be brought out day after day because the American people are looking for common sense solutions to deal with the problems that they face. Republicans have been responsible in offering those policies all year and we will continue to do so in the new year.”

GUEST COLUMN: "It’s Time to Halt the Government’s Takeover of the Economy" by Rep. Turner

By Rep. Mike Turner (R, OH-03)

According to news accounts, the Treasury Department isn’t ruling out keeping the federal government’s bailout program going beyond its one-year authorization. This follows the president’s recent speech on expanding government control of financial institutions. What’s missing is a firm government exit strategy from its takeover of banks and auto manufacturers.

Ten months into the new Administration, the federal government is not only borrowing and spending unprecedented amounts of money, it is also pursuing a course of economic dominance. A September 14 story in The New York Times put it bluntly: “…the government is the nation’s biggest lender, insurer, automaker and guarantor against risk for investors large and small.”

Indeed, the Administration is actually seeking to grow its influence over the economy by advocating a government option health care plan. Interestingly, the president is justifying his push for national health care as a means to actually control federal spending. On September 13, he told CBS’s “60 Minutes,” ‘The problem I've got is that the only way I can get medium and long-term federal spending under control is if we do something about health care.’

One has to wonder how the president can claim spending $1 trillion more to take over health care is going to reduce the federal budget deficit. In fact, many Americans wonder why the Administration is spending money that we as a nation simply do not have. The president’s own budget overspends by $1.8 trillion in 2009 – nearly four times last year’s federal budget deficit.

The public has been told that government bailouts and the economic stimulus (which together pile on another $1.5 trillion in deficit spending) were necessary to save the economy and jobs. Washington’s control of General Motors and Chrysler has not stopped job losses within those companies and in some cases it has actually encouraged the curtailment of worker health benefits as we have witnessed with many former GM employees in Ohio. What’s more, the taxpayers will ultimately lose money from their $81 billion investment in Chrysler and General Motors according to a report released in mid-September by the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Since the passage of the economic stimulus in February, over 2.4 million jobs have been lost and the national employment rate has steadily risen to 9.7 percent - its highest level in a quarter century. Yet, Vice President Biden told The Wall Street Journal last week, “In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would work this well.”

I voted against the $700 billion bailout of our nation’s financial industry, and in February I also opposed the $800 billion economic stimulus. In each case, these bills were ill-considered, did not help those who’ve suffered the most due to job loss and home foreclosures, and lacked details as to how tax dollars would be spent. I also voted against the president’s $1.8 trillion deficit spending budget as well as the Administration’s Cap and Trade energy bill which burdens Ohio’s manufacturing base and fails to meet our energy needs.

In June, I introduced a constitutional amendment to protect our private enterprise system from government intrusion by prohibiting federal ownership of private corporations. The Preserving Capitalism in America Amendment, H.J. Res 57, has 103 cosponsors, nearly a quarter of the membership of the U.S. House.

As we approach the first anniversary of the passage of the federal bailout bill, it is unfortunate that the Administration continues to press for more control over our economy. It’s time for a government exit strategy.

Is Colin Powell a Bigot, or Did He Just Vote That Way?

I think this is a fair question. I mean, the Left tells those of us who didn't vote for His Holiness the antiChrist One that we are bigots and racists. If we have disagreements with Obama's ideas, we are labelled bigots who just like white people. However, in the case of Colin Powell, we have some interesting evidence. His own words....

First, from the 1996 Republican National Convention:

I became a Republican because I believe, like you, that the federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our lives. We can no longer... (applause) We can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run them, and fewer results to show for it. (applause)

Hmmm....let's see...Under Obama, the federal government now has a phalanx of 'czars' who are out there usurping power from other agencies and the legislature....that means the federal government has grown...and under Cap and Tax, it is going to grow more...and let's see....More entitlements? Isn't a national healthcare idea another entitlement? Hmmmm.....Well, let's see what Powell said recently when interviewed by John King. Here is the question, based on the quote above--When it comes to spending and the reach and the role of government, has the president met the test laid out by Colin Powell in 1996?:

Well, first, let me say, that was a pretty good statement, I thought. And I believe in all those things.

Atta Boy Colon Colin! Pat yourself on the back! Didn't Ronald Reagan, whom you claim to admire, have a plaque that said you can accomplish anything as long as you don't care who gets credit? Hmmm...guess that is another thing you just thought was words....But wait, here comes the rest of what the Small Intestine has to say:

But I also believe that we should have a government that works. I don't like slogans anymore like "limited government." That's not the right answer. The right answer is, give me a government that works. Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people. The people want their problems solved. And very often, it's government that has to do that.

Really, Small intestine? How has government solved that poverty problem? How has government solved the donut hole in the medicare gap? How has the EPA worked anytime recently? How efficient is the USPS? The License Bureau? People want solutions that work and are efficient, not solutions that just make you feel good and wind up killing the country! Government is not the solution. Never has been. Ingenuity, entrepeneurship, ideas. Those are where solutions come from, not bureaucracy. But wait, Small Intestine really gets going here in a minute:

So let's have good government, effective government, whether you call it limited or not. Now, I think one of the challenges that President Obama has now is that he's got so many things on the table, and these are issues that the American people find important, health care and so many other issues. But I think one of the cautions that has to be given to the president -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all. And we can't pay for it all.

Aha, I sense a caveat....

I never would have believed that we would have budgets that are running into the, you know, multi-trillions of dollars -- and we are amassing a huge, huge national debt that if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have to pay for it. So I think the president, as he moves forward with these initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is and how much additional bureaucracy -- and will it be effective bureaucracy? -- be needed to make all this happen.

KING: So it's early but you're a little worried?

POWELL: Huh? Yes.

KING: That's a fair way to put it?

POWELL. Yeah. I'm a little concerned. "Concerned" would be a better word. I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs, and the additional government that will be needed to execute them.

But wait, Small Intestine, I thought that you wanted "government that works." Now you are concerned about additional government. And I thought you said when you endorsed Obama that the American people wanted higher taxes. Gee, Small Intestine, you really are all clogged up with...um....well, what flows out of the small intestine....

So, if Colin Powell is now concerned about what all Obama is doing, especially when Obama announced all this is his books and his rhetoric, then WHY did Powell endorse Obama? Did he like the stolen Pepsi logo? Did he like the church Obama frequented? Does he like Bill Ayers? Or, could it be, Colin Powell aka Small Intestine Powellyp, is nothing more than a Sonia Sotomayor bigot?

From Russia with Truth--Even Pravda Sees our Descent into Marxist Facsism

Wisdom can come from some weird places...today, from Pravda...presented is an editorial with some comment and corraborating links and evidence, if you will.....

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

The people who blindly follow Obama are sheep, and it seems more Americans are jumping lemminglike into this category, or at least being lazy enough not to care, going into the abyss with a shrug of the shoulders. Of course, there are crazies like this:

And, it appears there is a growing psychosis among those who still buy what Obama is selling....from Powerline blog:

It has long been noticed that Obama's slipperiness had been accepted by the left during the Hope-and-Change campaign when He took positions, for example and notably, NAFTA and foreign trade generally, on both sides of an issue. They were willing to cut Him slack in most cases precisely because they just assumed that, of course!!...He was lying....to someone...about the issue. Since each side could reasonably assume this --- the unions that when He made free-trade noises when He assured Canada (and then lied about THAT!) that He wasn't protectionist, and the rational liberals when He pandered to the unions on NAFTA in Ohio, for example --- they could all support Him thinking He was lying....but to the other side!...."Don't worry....we can trust Him because He's lying" was, in effect, left-wing Hope.

This has been particularly noticeable with the gay marriage issue....Carrie Prejean being exactly right when noting that her position is identical to that of His Oneness. But Obama gets a pass, of course, from the homosexual activists because they just assume He is lying!!!...to the conservative blacks, for example, 70% against gay marriage in California....

So, they are either sheep, or are outthinking themselves thinking Obama will work for them if only they believe, no matter how many lies about abortion laws or gay reform or whatever else trickles from his forked tongue there are. Sheeple. The Russians are calling this one down the middle and we have evidence...The old adage, if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything...well, we are falling for socialist fascism...Back to Pravda....

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Don't think Americans have lost sight of their important rights? Even as Obama is taking away the rights of people and businesses to determine their own pay schedules and such, we have Americans who think not getting their precious happy meal food is a crime...From the Smoking Gun:

MARCH 3--Angered that her local McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets, a Florida woman called 911 three times to report the fast food "emergency." Latreasa Goodman, 27, last Saturday called police to complain that a cashier--citing a McDonald's all sales are final policy--would not give her a refund. [To listen to Goodman's 911 calls, click here, here, and here.] When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." Goodman noted, "I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," according to the below Fort Pierce Police Department report. That logic, however, did not keep cops from citing Goodman for misusing the 911 system. Even after being issued a misdemeanor citation, Goodman contended, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency."

Then there is this story involving Burger King. What is wrong with people? The answer is simple. As a teacher I see it all the time. Even as we are parroting about critical thinking skills, we are not teaching them. We are teaching less than the basics. We are more concerned with who is getting their feelings hurt than in teaching and having high standards. People are more concerned with the notions of pleasure and easiness than in the notions of ethics and rights. We are no longer an educated citizenry and so we are losing our freedoms in pieces, with eminent domain cases, freedom of expression being tossed out for Christians, and many other examples. Check out this article on the dumbing down and phasing out of judgment from education. Without judgment, how can we proceed with what is good and bad, what is profitable or not? Wait, the Obamessiah is there to tell us, right? The ol' "enlightened despot." You think I am engaging in hyperbole? Look back at the previous article from power line and then this one from the American Spectator. We are becoming dumb enough to just trust our leadership. Our founders were not about that. We needed to stay engaged to keep an eye on them. Sadly, our citizenry has left this to the self interested and sociofascist state run media to do this for them, sacrificing their own work ethic and their own drive to stay informed in the process. However, ask anyone who was the latest to get kicked off the island, or who McDreamy is doing on Grey's and everyone knows that. Pathetic.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

Check out these articles and videos about the US and the disastrous Wiemar Republic Hyperinflation...Thanks Dubya and Obama!
The Weimar Hyperinflation? Could it Happen Again?
A Comparison of Events from Wiemar and 21st Century America....check it out..troubling. Scary
Video from Glenn Beck on Hyperinflation, the US, and the Wiemar...

And folks, remember what happened when the Wiemar collapsed? Hello, uncle Adolf!

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

Yes, let's let Tax Cheats like half of the Obama Cabinet dictate our tax code.....

However, people are beginning to awaken. Obama's numbers are falling gradually, even with the propping up by the state sponsored and controlled media (General Electric owned NBC and Co. especially!)

This article has been receiving a lot of response. Here is one sent to pravda:

I must confess that when I was a kid, during the Reagan years, I was among those Americans that condemned Russia's communist government. Back then, of someone had told me that Russians would become free and America would become communist, I would have questioned their sanity. Today, I'm dumbfounded as I watch it all unfold.

Stanislav isn't the first to make this point. I have heard people here in America, former Soviet citizens, warn that we're heading in the same direction as the Bolsheviks. There are plenty of Americans who don't worship at the alter of the "Obamessiah" and hopefully we'll be able to put this brakes on this downward spiral in our future elections (provided we still have elections). May God help us all.

I'll close with a quote from an American socialist. "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of 'liberalism,' they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened," - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948.”

Let's hope we can put the brakes on this and come back to real liberty and freedom in America, where we care for liberty and not mcnuggets.

However, the Republicans and conservatives have got to stop playing "let's pick the best candidate and not the best person" game and get people who actually believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, limited government, and all that. The party and the thinktanks have to engage as never before in education tours, not listening tours, that tell people what conservatism really is and is not. That is what Goldwater did. That is what Reagan did. Reagan did not go around just listening. Sure, he would listen, but then he would educate. The problem with the Republican party and the Conservatives today is we too are products of this modern society. We have grown lazy. We also want people to like us. The GOP is now the PLM party..."Please like me."

Principles should not shift with the wind, and they need to continuously be defended and extended to the people. That is how you defend and expand liberty. And with how our country is going now, that should be our goal, even above and beyond "winning elections." Of course, getting the powers that be in the RNC and the ORP to see that and understand that, well, it may take some more of us Chicken Littles saying the sky is falling, and also providing the chunks to show proof. We need to stand firm and stand fast, and not be concerned with being liked as being understood and having people know what we stand for. Only then can we come back from the precipice we are nearly falling over. It takes much work. The questions remain: are we too late? And, given the sheepish and squeamishness of the RNC, who is going to do the leading? As usual, it must begin with us, the grass roots. Stand fast, and fight to the finish.

Food Stamp Case

I wish I could say that I didn't believe stuff like this didn't happen very often, but I am afraid that it actually does... What you are about to see is an actual email from a source in the business. I want to assure everyone that there were no names attached with this, but I trust the source.

Subject: Food Stamp Case

One of the workers here just approved an onoing food stamp case where the family have over $80,000 in bank, own a 2001 Toyota and 2006 Mercedes Benz, and a $311,000 home that is paid for. Monthly benefits of over $500 in FS, received over $300 in expedited.

3 household members--husband, wife and child. Wife recently lost job, husband receives SS benefits.


THERE'S SOMETHING BAD WRONG WITH THIS PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS A FAMILY THAT KIND OF RESOURCES AND STILL GET FOOD STAMPS.


................................................................

This is where things have gotten to. I would think the world would want to know about this.

And people wonder why I get all in a tizzy over the Farm Bill...

Insta-Update: Here's more...

When [the] County runs out of State money to give people Food Stamps, we will have to supplement the Food Stamp Account from the General Fund. The same fund that pays for the people issuing the Food Stamps. When the General Fund runs out of money, [the county] will have to lay off the people issuing the Food Stamps.

Last one out – Turn out the Lights!

This stuff is just unbelievable...

RSC: Concerns on the Comparative Effectiveness Research Provision in Porkulus

This just in from the Republican Study Committee:

In addition to many other provisions of concern to conservatives, the Democrats’ so-called “stimulus” package establishes a Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). This new health board lays the groundwork for a permanent government rationing board prescribing care in place of doctors and patients.

Conservatives may believe that a board made up of 15 presidentially-appointed bureaucrats that is removed from the people with no input from patients and providers is not the correct way to gather and disperse CER information. This can and should be encouraged in the private sector to help doctors and patients if they so choose.

While the Senate version made some “improvements”, they are not enough. In the Senate bill the term “clinical” was inserted before “comparative effectiveness research” to try and limit what the board can consider and unlike the House, the accompanying language does not say anything about using the board to determine “cost effectiveness”.

While the conference committee has not yet come to an agreement on CER, unfortunately, many outside groups believe that Rep. Obey and his staff, who oppose inserting the “clinical” language and believe that the end game is to make cost effective decisions (ration care), will win out, as this isn’t necessarily considered a significant provision in the bill.

While the Democrats continue to argue that this board is simply a way to collect and disseminate information, their true intentions are clear through various statements including:

Draft report language accompanying the Appropriations health portion of the bill:

“By knowing what works best and presenting this information more broadly to patients and healthcare professionals, those items, procedures, and interventions that are most effective to prevent, control, and treat health conditions will be utilized, while those that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed.”

Jeanne Lambrew (Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform) at last week’s Health Policy Conference:

“There is a bipartisan – I should be careful about the bipartisan, working the bipartisanship in the Senate. The House isn’t quite as bipartisan as we would like but there has been support for investing about $1.1 billion in this economic recovery act for over two years for ARC and partly for NIH and partly for under agency activities to begin to try to say how do we get at the relative costs, excuse me, the relative effectiveness of the different services.”

Tom Daschle in his book Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis:

“The Federal Health Board wouldn't be a regulatory agency, but its recommendations would have teeth because all federal health programs would have to abide by them…Congress could opt to go further with the Board's recommendations. It could, for example, link the tax exclusion for health insurance to insurance that complies with the Board's recommendation.”

However a big surprise and disappointment for patients everywhere is that members, including Reps. Pelosi, Hoyer, Waxman, and Dingell, who previously fought so hard during the Patients Bill of Rights to disallow insurance companies from making care decisions, are now pushing this same idea.

Auto Bailout Survey

We are currently conducting a two-question survey on the proposed auto bailout and would appreciate your participation.



NOTE: If you are unable to see the survey (it is a pop-up that should appear when you enter WMD), please feel free to take the survey over in the sidebar (it is the same questions with the same responses).

Voinovich Supports Socializing the Auto Industry

Reports had been coming in all day long yesterday. Check them out here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I especially want to highlight this one because the difference between Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- and the Perennial Back-Bencher Senior Senator -- George Voinovich -- can clearly be illustrated in the first two paragraphs of the piece:

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner on Thursday blasted the Democrats' plan to advance legislation next week earmarking $25 billion from Treasury's financial rescue package for struggling U.S. automakers.

Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican from Boehner's home state of Ohio, breathed life into the plan on Thursday by agreeing, in principle, to an infusion of federal funds for Detroit's Big Three auto manufacturers.

Boehner = "blasting the plan"

Voinovich = "breathing life in to the plan"

It doesn't get any clearer than that, my friends...

YOU. DO. NOT. INTIMIDATE. GEORGE. VOINOVICH! UPDATE: Maggie Thurber has a real good idea... Flood him...it worked for shamnesty, it will work for this too. Let him know how you feel about bailouts in general and the Auto Bailout in particular. Be gentle, though, we wouldn't want him to cry...

The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist

Rough Transcript:

Senator Obama, you are Number One.

Your 2007 voting record makes you the most liberal member of the US Senate. Left of Hilary Clinton, Left of Ted Kennedy, and even Left of your running mate, Joe Biden -- Barely. He was Number Three. You, Senator Obama, are Number One.

What happens when we elect America's most liberal Senator to the White House? Please America, let's never find out.

Paid for by Let Freedom Ring, which is responsible for the content of this ad.

It is actually worse than the ad makes it sound. Obama isn't just a liberal, he's to the left of the only declared socialist in the US Senate!

Last week, Ohio Senator George Voinovich was quoted saying that Barack Obama was to the left of Ted Kennedy and that Obama was, in fact, a socialist. Governor Mitt Romney, an actual McCain-Palin surrogate, might have a problem with that (see clip) but I think that the evidence exists to make a pretty strong case that Obama is a socialist.

What shall we use as a measuring stick? How about a politician who is a declared socialist? There is one in the United States Senate and his name is Bernie Sanders. The National Journal has Sanders ranked #4 in 2007. Barack Obama was top of the class. But it might interest you to know who else was "to the left" of the socialist. Barack Obama chose him to be his running mate: Joe Biden finished third. Even George Voinovich gets this one:

"There's a guy in the senate, Bernie Sanders" said Voinovich, "who brags about being a socialist. And if you compare Barack Obama's record with Bernie Sanders' record, they're not too far apart."

Obama's response to Joe the Plumber's question about why Obama wanted to punish him if he were to achieve the American Dream and achieve success was that he wanted to "spread the wealth around." If that isn't a restatement of the socialist doctrine of redistribution of wealth, I don't know what is.

Let's not find out, America...

Hawaii Realizes What Liberals Don't--Socialized Medicine Doesn't Work

Hawaii is not just home to Magnum PI or the guy who books people, Dan-O. They had the only true socialized healthcare program in the country....Until now:

Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched.
Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."
State officials said Thursday they will stop giving health coverage to the 2,000 children enrolled by Nov. 1, but private partner Hawaii Medical Service Association will pay to extend their coverage through the end of the year without government support.

"We're very disappointed in the state's decision, and it came as a complete surprise to us," said Jennifer Diesman, a spokeswoman for HMSA, the state's largest health care provider. "We believe the program is working, and given Hawaii's economic uncertainty, we don't think now is the time to cut all funding for this kind of program."

Imagine what would have happened if those idiotic SChip provisions had fully gone through? Imagine the cost and the levels of craziness that will result if we get Obamacare. Don't buy the hype. He wants socialized medicine. He wants to take control. This is a bad idea, and it is against free market principles, against human nature, and against all of what America was founded on.

Obama: If it Walks Like a Socialist, Talks like a Socialist...Then...

....well, it must be a Socialist....or the Obamessiah.

We have this exchange between Barry and a small business owner, a plumber, in Ohio, this week:

Plumber: Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?

Obama: It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got the chance at success too … I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.

Here is a link to the video of this exchange.

So Obama has basically shown the canard of his supposed middle class tax cuts and his claims to help small businesses. It is all about the redistribution of wealth, disincentivizing individual achievement, and making us all devoted sheep of the Beloved Leader.

Thursday Energy

The focus on energy issues continues today... Item #1: Here is an AP News Alert that came in last night/early this morning:

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) Royal Dutch Shell shuts down production at 200K barrel-per-day oil field after militant attack.

Another reduction in supply... Worry not, though, because Democrats have a plan...well, sorta... Maybe I should Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) explain himself:

“Should the people of the United States own refineries? Maybe so. Frankly, I think that’s a good idea. Then we could control the amount of refined product much more capably that gets out on the market…”

“So if there’s any seriousness about what some of our Republican colleagues are saying here in the House and elsewhere about improving the number of refineries, then maybe they’d be willing to have these refineries owned publicly, owned by the people of the United States, so that the people of the United States can determine how much of the product is refined and put out on the market.”

“To me, that sounds like a very good idea.”

This was at a press conference so there were plenty of witnesses and cameras around. Once again, the Democrats solution isn't about increasing the supply, but rather expanding their own power. Not to mention it won't work...

I'll also point out that Hinchley isn't the first Democrat to suggest this route. Here is Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) from two weeks ago:

“This liberal will be all about socializing, uh, uh . . . would be about . . . basically taking over and the government running all of your companies.”

So, we the American people are left with a few questions...

What other House Democratic leaders support Washington bureaucrats taking over our nation’s oil refineries?

Does Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) support it?

Does Majority Leader Hoyer (D-MD)?

Does Democratic Caucus Chairman Emanuel?

When will Democrats begin to take real steps to bring down the cost of gasoline by working with Republicans to increase the supply of oil instead of playing games?

Item #2: In response to calls from Democrats for Rep. Jean Schmidt to apologize for claiming that China is drilling for oil in Cuba, chief of staff Barry Bennett says this:

"We think it's stunning that the Communists in Cuba know more about the laws of supply and demand than the Democrat party," Bennett said. "China is indeed drilling for oil in Cuba -- on land, not at sea - and seven other country's companies are now in the water drilling exploratory for oil, while the Democrat party ties our hands and prevents us from doing the same."

Emphasis added.

This is the first time that I have heard this line... Preliminary investigation reveals this AP story which seems to confirm the assertion.

In May, with much fanfare, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, introduced twin bills to the House and Senate that would exempt Big Oil from the embargo.

Before introducing his legislation, Craig told a reporter that “prohibition on trade with Cuba has accomplished just about zero.” Ominously, he added: “China, as we speak, has a drilling rig off the coast of Cuba.” (The senator failed to mention that the Chinese are working in shallow water near Cuba’s shore, and possess neither the technology nor the expertise to tap Cuba’s promising deep-water reserves.)

Emphasis added...and no, I'm not paying $2.50 a word... I'm not digging any deeper than this because when you add "China" to the search on Cuba and oil you get the usual suspects decrying Republicans and no real information...if somebody can prove or disprove the assertion that China is or is not actually drilling for oil on land or near the shores of Cuba, feel free to drop a comment or send in an email.

Item #3: AP News Alert:

BEIJING (AP) State media says China will raise prices for refined oil products and electricity.

Subsidies by countries like China is another factor in the demand for oil...

Item #4: Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- has a question (updating Item #1):

“With House Democrats calling for a Hugo Chavez-style takeover of American energy production, the American people deserve to know: does Barack Obama support a government takeover of American energy companies?

“Families and small businesses are being pummeled by gas prices that have soared past $4 per gallon -- who really believes they’d be any lower if Washington bureaucrats were calling the shots?

“This out-of-touch proposal was announced at a press conference yesterday where House Democrats said it would be a ‘very good idea’ for politicians – the same politicians who just voted for the largest tax hike in history – to ‘control’ American energy production. These are the same Congressmen who proposed raising the gas tax by 50-cents per gallon. The same beltway insiders who keep billions of barrels of oil under lock and key. Is this Speaker Pelosi's 'commonsense plan' to lower gas prices?

“High fuel costs are the result of failed policies long advocated by Democrats and their allies on the Left, and exacerbated by their love of red tape and repeated calls for higher taxes. House Republicans have a real energy reform plan that would increase our energy supply while investing in the development of alternative fuels. If Obama wants to prove he’s a different kind of Democrat, he’ll denounce his colleagues’ socialist scheme and support House Republicans’ plan to help lower fuel costs and liberate America from its dependence on foreign oil.”

If there was a signle objective journalist left in the 527 media, Barack Obama would get this question...assuming of course, that Team Obama allows the media anywhere near him anytime soon.

Item #4A: In the comments, blogger Mark McNally asks a good question:

Does Zach Space agree with Hinchey? Freds people should be asking already.

I might get a press release on that in mid-October...unless there is a cowboy story in it.

Item #5: There are two paragraphs out of a long post by Larry Kudlow over at The Corner that I want to highlight:

One reason for all this is economic growth and jobs. A Wharton Econometrics study (hat tip to Mark Perry at Carpe Diem) shows that total employment at full production in ANWR would come to 735,000 new jobs created across the country, not just in Alaska. So not only would offshore drilling and ANWR and other domestic sources of energy reduce prices, they would also be huge job creators to spur the economy. This is something McCain should push.

Finally, President Bush made a very strong statement today to lift the moratorium on domestic and offshore production. In his statement he emphasized the oil-shale fields in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. There is the equivalent of 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in this area, more than three-times larger than the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.

Emphasis added... 735,000 jobs just for opening ANWR...how many jobs would be created by doing all of the offshore drilling and the oil-shale too?

Item #5A: More Kudlow from that same piece:

That oil shale could create another million jobs, bringing oil prices back down to about $75 a barrel and pushing gas pump prices way down as well.

Detractors can feel free to take on Kudlow by emailing him (and please copy me) at lkudlow - at -kudlow.com.

Item #6: CQ Politics has an article about upcoming legislation (read "timewasters") that the Demcorats want to put up this week:

Pelosi, D-Calif., estimated that enactment of one of the bills — aimed at closing the so-called Enron loophole passed eight years ago that effectively deregulated oversight of sophisticated energy investments — could cut the price of oil by one-third by removing much of the "speculation premium." Aides said several proposals have been floated on changing the law and no decision has been made on the legislation’s final form.

A second bill will embody Democrats’ proposal that companies who already have leases on 68 million acres of federal land "use it or lose it." Pelosi said that before any thought is given to opening offshore areas to drilling, current leases should be exploited. And she blasted oil companies for not drilling on land they have already leased.

A third bill would provide federal funds to help pay for transit fares and the fourth would comprise anti-price gouging legislation that the House has already passed, she said.

Democrats are just not serious about this issue...

Item 6A: This (from the same CQ Politics piece) is just dumb!

Pelosi reiterated her position that Republican calls for more offshore drilling represent another chapter in a failed policy that has left the United States more reliant on energy imports.

The Democrat playbook needs to be updated... "Fill-in-the-blank is a failed policy" is just standard boilerplate and in this case it is total nonsense.

Item #7: A million signatures for Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less...

Item #8: AP News Alert:

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's Chavez threatens not to sell oil to EU nations that adopt new immigration rules.

Well now, isn't that interesting...

DEVELOPING...

Rep. Tancredo Blasts Dem SCHIP Bill for Funding Illegal Immigrant Healthcare

( WASHINGTON , D.C. ) – U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today criticized Congressional Democrats for eliminating a requirement that anyone applying for Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) services provide proof of U.S. citizenship. The new Democrat plan would raise taxes and make it easier for illegal aliens to obtain taxpayer-funded medical benefits.

“Again, the Democrats have proven their loyalty to illegal aliens over American citizens,” Tancredo said referring to the failed Senate Amnesty plan. “Rather than help middle class families as they promised, Congressional Democrats are squeezing tax dollars out of Americans in order to benefit those who have violated our laws.”

Congressional Democrats, still sore from the failed Amnesty bill, came up with the new provision which opens the door for “free” healthcare for illegal aliens funded by American taxpayers and small businesses.

Tancredo concluded, “This socialistic plan only encourages more illegal immigration. When will these out-of-touch Democrats realize that Americans do not want to subsidize illegal aliens?”

We've been getting our collective butts kicked on this SCHIP business and I think it is because we're having a hard time telling this story like it is. Not only does this SCHIP legislation expand the rolls of potential patients to 75% of American kids, covering a good deal of the middle class kids; but now we're supposed to accept SCHIP paying for illegal aliens too. I'm all about paying my fair share and all that, but a line must be drawn somewhere and this socialist piece of garbage is about a good of a place as any. SCHIP is not about government providing a safety net for children in need; but rather about advancing the liberal goal of socialized medicine. This must be opposed most vigorously.