Saturday, June 27, 2009

Numbers are Changing



I saw this video on The Rebelution Blog and thought it worth sharing. It is about how prayer is changing this country. It is put on by an organization called Bound for Life. They promote prayer and fasting to end abortion.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

People Are More Important Than Fish

I will probably have more to say about this when I have more time. I am angry that some court has the right to turn off the livelihood of thousands of people. For those of you that haven't heard, a court in California turned off the irrigation water that allows many farmers to grow their crops in order to save the delta smelt. You can read more about it here. I don't believe that God intended for animals to take precedence over people. The people are trying to be cooperative. Here is a quote from Fox News.

How I got involved is simply because there was no water coming to our farm, and the problem here is that there isn't a drought. There's plenty of water. We've tried everything from doing bubbles and lights to prevent the fish. We've asked for a peripheral canal. They closed all these ideas.

I think that when the Endangered Species Act was put on, they didn't take human — humans into consideration.

I don't know what they want us to do. We tried to get the attention of the administration. Mr. Salazar was gracious enough to fly over our valley but didn't land. I don't know why. There's plenty of places to land, you know, because there's no farming going on. It's pathetic.

Cap and Trade

I got two e-mails this morning about a massive (1200 pages) cap and trade bill that the Democrats in Congress are trying blast into law without giving committees time to read it or even see it before a vote.

One e-mail was from my congresswoman, Kay Granger. Here are the opening paragraphs to her constituency:

Last night, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat majority surprisingly announced that this Friday will be the day the House considers landmark energy and climate legislation known as “cap and trade.” “Cap and trade” means the government would set artificial limits on the amount of emissions businesses, utilities, farmers, and others can have, forcing them to severely alter the way they operate. If they can’t operate within their emissions limit, they would have to pay the government or other parties to get a higher limit. This is essentially a tax on these groups, and it is most certainly going to be passed on to all of you.

This bill is still being written as we speak – no one has seen or read it, and the bill is being crafted completely behind closed doors and as it stands now it is rumored to be 1,201 pages long. Normally, Members draft legislation, and then submit it to congressional committees for consideration. Only after it has received the support of the committee can the legislation be considered for a vote. However, this bill is going straight from the drawing board in Speaker Pelosi’s office to the House floor with no input from anyone except the small group of Members drafting the bill.

This makes me mad. How can you vote on something you haven't read?! I hate all of this sneaky bull corn. WHAT HAPPENED TO TRANSPARENCY?

The second e-mail was from the Cornwall Alliance. Here are some clips from it:

Right now, Congressional leaders are pushing hard to pass a global warming “cap-and-trade” bill that the Heritage Foundation estimates will result in $9.4 trillion in lost GDP through 2035 and a loss of nearly 2.5 million jobs.

How much more damage can our economy take at the hands of our government?

The costs of ill-conceived climate change legislation may soon come home to roost. Likely to raise the average family’s annual energy bill by more than $1,200, the current climate bill would be not only the largest tax in history, but a regressive tax because the poor spend more proportionately on energy than do others.

As someone who already pays about $270/month in heating and cooling costs. I can't really afford another $100 a month. And we keep our house at 77 in the summer and 65 in the winter. What about businesses that need to keep customers happy at 72 all year?

So call your Congressmen. (You can find yours by searching in the upper left corner on The House of Representatives' site.) Let them know (politely but firmly) that we won't stand for it.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Disenfranchised in Arizona

HT: Needs to Be Said

Apparently a woman from Arizona wrote an open letter to Glenn Beck, that has caused quite a stir. In it she outlines how she feels neither party cares about what she cares about. Here is a list of her issues. To read the whole letter, go here.

One, illegal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision.
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no.
Nine, charitable contributions. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending
If you agree with these things, there is an online petition about them here.

After this list of wrongs, there are some great quotes I had to share as well.

Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face.

I would favor a bill saying that everyone who votes on a bill must have read it before hand.

This whole paragraph was so good, I am putting the whole thing in. I added the bold.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
You go sister! I hope she is right and the People give the government a good kick in the pants. Maybe this lady should run for office. I hope she is right.

Monday, June 22, 2009

National Education

There are those out there who think that they can not only decide what everyone should know, but they are also willing to force it on you. For starters Arne Duncan of the DOE would like national standards for reading and math (for now, expect more subjects to follow). Forty-six governors and DC are getting on board and trying to help draft these standards. I am proud to say that Gov. Perry of TX and Gov. Palin are not on board. (The other two are Missouri and South Carolina which makes me kind of disappointed in Gov. Jindal.)

Anyway, Tammy at Education Conversation has some great thoughts on the subject. For example, she suggests that we test the governors on the stuff that they think everyone should know. Any guesses as to how many would pass? And what about successful business men and women? What did they need to know to get where they are and is it the same as the stuff in the standards? As she says, "Who knows how many people are running around conducting life without adequate knowledge, but the ones with power over us are the ones we need to worry about most."

And what about the track record of these politicians and experts. Let's see. Arne Duncan was CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Hey that is where over half of the kids failed the eighth grade.

Hm. I think I will keep homeschooling.

Huckabee on Daily Show

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorJason Jones in Iran


This was a good interview by Gov. Huckabee. You can watch all of the parts here.

I thought the host's comparison saying that telling a woman that they can't have an abortion was to much control over her sovereignty was rather ludicrous. He made is sound as though pregnancy and childbirth were so horrible that no one should have to endure it under against her will. Good grief.

HT: HucksArmy