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Friday, January 7, 2011
The Foundation
"The construction applied ... to those parts of the Constitution of the United States which delegate Congress a power ... ought not to be construed as themselves to give unlimited powers." --Thomas Jefferson
Government & Politics
Repeal Is the Best Medicine
House Republicans' first goal for the 112th Congress is a vote on repeal of ObamaCare. Even if that passes the House, however, it faces almost sure defeat in the Senate. On top of that, we're pretty sure the occupant in the White House would veto a repeal of his signature accomplishment. None of that means House Republicans shouldn't proceed apace.
As we have said repeatedly from the start, ObamaCare is an unconstitutional federal power grab that will result in higher costs for worse care. Politically, the repeal effort sets up the 2012 campaign, but more important, if Republicans are to abide by their oaths, they must aim for repeal on principle, not just politics.
House Republicans may find allies in House Democrats who originally voted against ObamaCare. "I have not read the language yet, but I am inclined to support the repeal," said Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK), who voted against it originally. Others have dug in. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) warned, "[T]o say that we are going to repeal is ... to do very serious violence to the national debt and deficit."
Sorry, we should've warned you to swallow your coffee before reading that howler. During her four years at the helm, the Pelosi-led Congress was responsible for adding $5.3 trillion to the national debt -- $4 trillion in just the last two years.
Pelosi and other ObamaCare apologists claim that ObamaCare itself will reduce the deficit and, therefore, repeal will do the opposite. They're using Congressional Budget Office numbers to back this up, but that, in and of itself, is deceiving. The CBO can score legislation only as Congress feeds it to them, not always as reality dictates. In this case, the CBO is offsetting a spending increase of $400 billion, which is a sure thing, with cost savings that aren't. What is worse, they are looking at 10 years of tax revenue versus six years of expenditures.
Regulations are another reason -- make that thousands of reasons -- to fight for repeal. For example, Section 1233 of a draft of ObamaCare mandated federal funding for end-of-life counseling. After critics said the section was bringing about "death panels," however, the Senate ended up leaving it out of the final bill. Yet when Medicare released hundreds of new rules last month, funding for this counseling during annual wellness visits was quietly added. As Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), author of Section 1233, put it, "The longer this [regulation] goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it." Well, so much for that. Almost as soon as it became known, the administration reversed course.
Though the White House backtracked on this stealth regulation, there are surely more to come. On Jan. 1, several provisions of ObamaCare took effect, including restrictions on medical spending accounts and taxes on drug makers, so repeal efforts come not a moment too soon.
Reading the Constitution? How Quaint.
Leftists screamed like demons splashed with holy water after congressional Republicans read aloud the Constitution to begin the 112th Congress this week. Such a reaction is understandable given that the document puts great limits on the government power leftists so cherish. Their mockery was open and widespread. The New York Times editorialized that it was "presumptuous and self-righteous" as well as a "ghastly waste of time."
Elsewhere, MSNBC's Chris Hayes asked Slate.com senior editor and legal correspondent Dahlia Lithwick, "Is there an historical precedent for the Constitution fetish on the right?" Lithwick responded, "I think so. I think the way some people rub Buddha and they think the magic will come off, I think there's a long-standing tradition in this country. We're awfully religious about the Constitution. I think there is a sort of fetishization here that is of a piece with the sort of need for a religious document that's immutable and perfect in every way."
Similarly, Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein derided the reading as "a gimmick." Said Klein, "I mean, you can say two things about it. One is that it has no binding power on anything. And two, the issue of the Constitution is not that people don't read the text and think they're following. The issue of the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done." Hmm, "more than 100 years ago," Ezra?
Thomas Jefferson thought differently: "In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
News From the Swamp: GOP Spending Plan
House Republicans hit the ground running in their attempts to bring fiscal sanity to Washington as promised in the 2010 midterms. However, it took many years and both political parties to bring us to the brink of fiscal disaster, so it's natural to be skeptical that Republicans can truly make a change. First up is the national debt, which passed the $14 trillion mark this New Year's Eve. The debt ceiling of $14.2 trillion will be reached soon.
Republicans have vowed to vote against raising the debt ceiling unless there is a concrete plan in place to reduce federal spending. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the government "shuts down" and will default on a number of loans. Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee called the idea of not raising the ceiling "insanity." What's really insane, though, is automatically raising the debt limit every time it's reached without working to reduce that debt. When Obama was a senator, he didn't think it insane to vote against raising the debt ceiling in 2006. (In 2007 and 2008, he simply didn't vote.) Then again, Obama is much happier when we do what he says, not what he does.
As for spending cuts, the new GOP proposals and rules will surely lead to a showdown with spendthrift Democrats. The GOP goal is to remove 21 percent of the $477 billion that has been approved for domestic discretionary spending this year. Republicans also want to take back $12 billion from the president's $814 billion stimulus package that has yet to be allocated. The House leadership is also developing a new set of rules that may hold spending in check.
For starters, the so-called "pay as you go" rule is history. Democrats under Nancy Pelosi lauded paygo as their plan to keep spending under control. In theory, any spending increase had to be offset by a tax increase or a spending cut elsewhere in the budget. In practice, Democrats exempted any spending increases on entitlements, which is where the biggest spending abuses exist. Besides, Democrats never actually wanted to cut anything, so they exempted everything else as "emergency" spending. Republicans have introduced a new plan where even increases in mandatory spending will require equal spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.
Republicans will also require budget projections to be reported out further than the traditional 10-year window, which will make it harder to hide deficit spending. Spending reduction accounts will also be established to hold money slashed from spending bills to reduce total amounts appropriated. In the past, money cut from an earmark or a program was merely added elsewhere in the budget, resulting in no real cost savings.
As a countermeasure, the White House is calling for true cuts to its least favorite institution -- the Pentagon. The Armed Forces will absorb a $78 billion cut over five years, including a reduction of nearly 50,000 active duty soldiers and Marines over that time. These will be the largest cuts since before 9/11.
The BIG Lie
"Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go." --Nancy Pelosi
New & Notable Legislation
Before leaving town for Christmas, the Senate voted 71-26 to ratify New START, the nuclear arms reduction treaty Barack Obama secured with Russia last year. Thirteen Senate Republicans caved to join every Democrat in what will be a damaging blow to our national security in the coming years. The treaty will go into effect after the Russian Duma ratifies it, which is expected to happen later this year.
Under the pact, the U.S. must reduce its ICBM fleet and its nuclear bombers. Both sides must cap their strategic warhead stockpile, but curbs on American missile defense and research for a next generation of warheads will lead to a severe disadvantage. Some wavering Republicans were won over after pledges were made to modernize the nuclear stockpile and continue exploring missile defense options. Unfortunately, it's uncertain if Obama will follow through.
Income Redistribution: IRS Advises Early Filers to Wait
Early income tax filers will have to hold filing their returns this year because the IRS is not prepared to receive them. The bill for tax code changes wasn't signed into law until Dec. 17, leaving the IRS with little time to reprogram its processing systems to reflect the changes. Some 9 million taxpayers who itemize their deductions and file early will have to hold off for an undetermined amount of time before filing their returns. Of course, this all means that in these difficult economic times, the government keeps your money interest-free all that much longer.
New White House Chief of Staff
Barack Obama has chosen another Chicago crony as his next chief of staff. William Daley, brother of outgoing Chicago mayor Richard Daley, will replace the old Chicago crony, Rahm Emanuel, who is running to replace Richard as mayor. Call it the "Chicago Two-Step."
Two things stand out about Daley. First, he opposed ObamaCare and the extreme leftward tack of the administration, and, second, he was a senior-level banker at JP Morgan Chase. So Obama can appear to head for the center as well as reassure the banking industry that he's friendly. A two-step in more than one way.
From the Left: National Leader's Christmas Vacation
Some things truly can't be parody because the joke's on us. As many along the East Coast were drilled by an unexpectedly heavy Christmas weekend snowstorm, Barack Obama, his family and assorted staff enjoyed a balmy Hawaiian beachfront holiday. We'll grant that Hawaii is at least somewhat home to the president as he spent a significant amount of his youth there, but it's the exorbitant cost that drew our attention.
Instead of paying $3,500 daily rent for three beachfront homes for the Obamas and over $130,000 for a local hotel for his staff, the First Family could have instead bedded at an equally suitable venue in the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station just minutes away -- a place where he works out while in Hawaii. Another waterfront alternative would have been Bellows Air Force Base where Bill Clinton stayed. All told, the vacation cost more than $1.5 million.
National Security
Don't Touch Our Government Screeners, Union Says
The scanners are still in place and perhaps your junk may still be touched, but a growing number of airports are moving toward replacing government employees with personnel from private companies. Airports that already use privately owned and non-union security firms, including those in hub cities like Kansas City and San Francisco, point to improved customer satisfaction and a better bottom line as reasons to use a private contractor.
On the other hand, service is much less of a concern for the TSA, whose union complains that private screening companies are a "patchwork quilt" of security and are ineffective. These apologists also believe that the union screeners' expertise and training are "unparalleled."
Fortunately, privatization has an ally in Congress. Recently, Rep. John Mica (R-FL) wrote to 200 airports, urging them to consider changing over to a private screening service. His reasoning is simple: It would allow the TSA to focus on security while leaving the service to more customer-friendly employees. The TSA "should focus on its mission," said Mica, "setting up the protocol, adapting to the changing threats and gathering intelligence." He added that Americans are "very lucky" a terrorist plot hadn't succeeded under the current system.
Warfront With Jihadistan: Securing the Other Border
The New Year is bringing good news and bad news from the Department of Homeland Security. The good news is that DHS is beefing up security by sending agents to secure the border. The bad news is that the border in question is the one between Afghanistan and Pakistan. During a Jan. 1 news conference in Afghanistan, Secretary of (Afghan?) Homeland Security Janet Napolitano confirmed there were 25 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents in Afghanistan, and that number could increase to 65 or more by the end of this year.
Napolitano also outlined the "critical" work that these U.S. agents are performing, such as: "How do you arrange in-bound versus out-bound lanes? How do you make sure that you can check trucks? How do you employ the right kind of equipment in the right way?" One might think that homeland security agents would be better off performing these functions in America, but what do we know?
In addition to the obvious question regarding why homeland border agents are being used to secure a foreign border, this head-scratching situation brings up a number of other questions, such as: Have ICE and CBP personnel been deployed to help secure other foreign borders? When asked this question, a DHS spokesperson said that they had been, but conveniently, "security" prohibited providing details. Apparently, that security doesn't apply to Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are fighting in a war. What U.S. border stations have had their capabilities diminished by pulling these agents and sending them overseas? And what capabilities can DHS agents supply that U.S. and NATO military forces cannot? We doubt this clueless administration can answer those questions.
Iran Offers Nuclear Tour, But Not to U.S.
In the eight years since Iran's nuclear program first came to light, Tehran has used numerous tactics to delay, obscure, deny and generally avoid cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council, while also evading tough sanctions or a U.S. or Israeli air strike. Iran's most common practice has been to talk -- endlessly -- with a rotating cast of antagonists, without ever agreeing on anything except the need to hold more talks. A recent media headline following the December 2010 meeting in Geneva captures it perfectly: "Two Days of Talks Between Iran and World Powers Ended in Agreement to Meet Again."
Iran's latest ploy is an invitation to various governments to travel to Iran and tour two nuclear facilities prior to the aforementioned "Agreement to Meet Again," which will take place with the P5+1 (U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia + Germany) in late January in Istanbul. This latest ruse is intended to give Iran the veneer of international approval for the "peaceful" intent of its nuclear program, while doing nothing to satisfy IAEA concerns about Iran's real intent.
Predictably, several nations have apparently agreed to travel to Iran for this sham tour, including UN Security Council non-permanent member Brazil and permanent members Russia and China -- Iran's two most reliable patrons and protectors over the last eight years. Cuba, Egypt and Turkey will also join the fun. Look for public statements in the coming days from these nations' foreign ministers that they saw nothing amiss -- and look for Iran to go right on playing the UN like a dutar in 2011.
Business & Economy
EPA Oversteps (Again), Comes Under Fire (Finally)
"Rule by regulation" has become an apt motto for the current administration. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was setting new greenhouse gas emission standards for fossil fuel power plants and oil refineries. Readers will recall that cap-n-tax legislation failed in Congress last year, but apparently this president views Congress as only a minor obstacle when it doesn't go along with his agenda. "Cap-and-trade was just one way of skinning the cat; It was not the only way," Obama said. The Wall Street Journal reports, "Since December 2009, the EPA has issued four major greenhouse gas rule-makings."
Not everyone is taking this regulatory rampage lying down, but after Texas dared to become the lone state to persevere in challenging the government's tactics, the EPA seized the Lone Star State's authority to issue air permits for power and industrial projects, claiming the agency had "no choice" but to do so. Thankfully, the DC circuit court of appeals smelled a rat and suspended the EPA's rules pending judicial review.
Meanwhile, the EPA has been hit with a lawsuit by auto industry trade groups protesting the agency's determination to allow the sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol for use in vehicles built since 2007. These trade groups are (justifiably) concerned that higher blends, if mistakenly used by consumers, may damage older vehicles, and they argue that the EPA doesn't have the legal authority for its move. The EPA argues that the higher blends are needed to meet congressional requirements that 36 billion gallons of biofuels be blended with gasoline by 2022. Obviously, having lost its to-heck-with-Rule-of-Law majority in the House of Representatives, the Obama administration intends to circumvent the legislative process altogether and implement its environmental agenda via regulatory fiat.
Regulatory Commissars: FCC Moves Ahead With Net 'Neutrality'
Unable to destroy the Internet's spread of conservative thought and information through the worst Congress in history, FCC regulators for the Obama administration have ignored the will of the people and the new Congress by arbitrarily imposing vague net neutrality regulations. The FCC, which used the corrupt methods from the passage of ObamaCare as its model, deliberately kept the proposed regulations away from the prying eyes of the public while also violating a court order halting its previous attempt to regulate the Internet.
Despite its lack of authority to do so, the FCC has been trying to impose its so-called "net neutrality" regulations to restrict the ability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to manage network transmission. Even more overtly in its raw overreach for power, the FCC's own website was taken down for "maintenance" during the four days prior to imposing the regulations, preventing public access to the more than 1,900 pages of comments it had already received. Only in Obama's world does government refusal to provide public access to the government, willful disregard of the judicial system, and hiding behind make-believe system maintenance qualify as fairness, openness and transparency. The practical effect merely tells the country that leftists so fear allowing citizen participation in government that they do everything they can to keep citizens out.
Village Academic Curriculum: Why Didn't We Think of That?
Here's something you thought you'd never see: a group of Ivy League academics staging a tax revolt. Only instead of outrage over paying too much in taxes, these elites are in a tizzy about paying too little. Responding to the extension of the Bush tax cuts, three professors from Yale and Cornell are encouraging their wealthy colleagues to donate their tax breaks to charity because those "massive" tax cuts "disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans." Uh, that's because they're the ones that pay a disproportionate share. The solution, according to the profs, is for these Americans to "give what they can afford -- in large amounts or small -- back to the public, by supporting organizations that promote fairness and economic growth."
To minimize their hypocrisy, they should just give the money to the government, but, oddly enough, the site notes that donations are tax deductible and that those who join the effort "will begin to replicate good government policy, outside the government and free from the grip of obstructionists within it." How ironic. As The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto notes, "[I]f you follow the professors' method of protesting your low tax bill, you will lower your tax bill even further. Talk about a win-win!" That's not all. Taranto adds that these Ivy Leaguers have "made a profound discovery: Private, voluntary charity is far more effective than coercive federal bureaucracies at helping people in need. To be sure, this is common sense. But you don't get tenure at Yale or Cornell by being common." Or by having sense.
Culture & Policy
Second Amendment: Guns, Gangs, Guts and the Greater Good
In December we teed up an intro to what we anticipated would be the Left's warning shot toward greater government intervention into the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. True to form, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) did not disappoint in punctuating that intro with its own exclamation points.
Those familiar with the "assault weapon" paint bucket with which the Left attempts to color all semi-automatic weapons will at once recognize the obvious overstretch in this latest ploy. Asking the White House for what it terms "emergency" authority to track semi-automatic rifles and multiple purchases of high-powered rifles, the BATFE claims the measure is needed to counter violent Mexican drug cartel border crime.
Never mind that these multi-billion-dollar cartels are armed to the teeth with high-caliber military rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades and a host of other weapons that cannot be purchased in the U.S. Or that these weapons reside beyond U.S. borders. Also never mind that U.S. borders leak like a sieve because Team Maybe-We-Can't-After-All lacks the will to secure and protect them. No, apparently the politically correct solution for drug-related gun violence in Mexico is to -- wait for it -- blame America! Who would have guessed?
Notwithstanding its ostensible goal, however, the proposal has much broader, less sanguine implications for law-abiding American gun owners. For instance, BATFE defines the term "multiple" as any purchase beyond one rifle. Likewise, "high-power" means anything larger than .22-caliber. Such a widely cast net will hurt American freedoms much more than help any efforts against Mexican drug gangs, as countless guns unrelated to borderland drug gang violence also satisfy these definitions and would have to be (further) regulated by the feds.
Although BATFE claims its proposed regulation would apply only to gun dealers near the Mexican border -- roughly 8,500 dealers -- the size and scope of the plan has the unmistakable smell of "progressives" and governmental overreach. Many who defend this regulatory Hail Mary take the position that U.S. citizens shouldn't care whether Big Brother knows what they're doing as long as they're "doing the right thing," and that such a minor encumbrance on certain freedoms is simply the price of making us all safe. But they miss the point: As the Founders knew, for true Americans the "greater good" is never a sufficient reason to trample constitutionally guaranteed individual rights.
Judicial Benchmarks: Cell Phones Can Be Searched at Arrest
On Monday the Supreme Court of California whittled away some of the Fourth Amendment when they ruled that the police may search an arrestee's cell phone without a warrant. The 5-2 majority, led by Justice Ming Chin, claimed that under precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1970s, defendants lose their right to privacy regarding objects in their possession at the time of arrest. Chin cited cases that, among other things, allowed law enforcement to seize and search a pack of cigarettes. But there's a far cry between a pack of smokes (which could conceivably contain drugs or a razor blade) and a cell phone that, first, is clearly not a weapon, and second, contains a massive quantity of personal information.
The legal system has not yet caught up to our ever-changing technology, and there are some judges who are using the opportunity to erode our personal freedom. This is not the first time the issue has come up, either. In 2007 and 2009, courts in California and Ohio respectively found that the defendants' rights were violated, leading experts to believe that the Supreme Court will eventually weigh in on warrantless cell phone searches.
From the Leftjudiciary: Ninth Circuit Rules on San Diego Cross
"A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a San Diego war memorial marked by a four-story-tall Christian cross on public land violates the U.S. constitutional ban on government endorsement of religion," Reuters reports. We have reported previously on the two-decades-old legal dispute over the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial, and in this chapter a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that the U.S. "district court erred in declaring the memorial to be primarily nonsectarian and granting summary judgment in favor of the government and the memorial's supporters," who want to keep the cross. This is a clear miscarriage of justice by the advocates of the oft-misused "Wall of Separation," but it's unclear whether the case will reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Faith and Family: Christian iPhone App Removed
Apple recently rejected an iPhone/iPad app that contained the text of the Manhattan Declaration, which the Baptist Press describes as "a 4,700-word document that includes basic Christian teachings and Bible verses on marriage, life, and religious liberty. Key leaders such as Charles Colson, James Dobson, Richard Land, R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Timothy Dolan signed the document in 2009, and more than 480,000 people subsequently signed it online." The document opposes same-sex marriage, abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Apple initially approved the app and gave it a 4+ rating, meaning it contained "no objectionable material."
After 8,000 homosexual activists submitted a petition requesting the app's removal, however, Apple reversed course and rejected it, claiming that "it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people" and its content is "likely to expose a group to harm." Manhattan Declaration is now running a petition for reinstatement.
Climate Change This Week: Warming Caused Blizzard
Is there any phenomenon, meteorological or otherwise, that can't be explained by global warming? Case in point, the recent blizzard and below-normal temperatures in the Northeast. According to Time Magazine, both are due to global warming.
Time reports a variety of theories, one being that a warmer Arctic may actually lead to colder and snowier winters in the northern mid-latitudes. The theory seems counterintuitive, but to Jeff Masters, a meteorologist blogger, it makes sense: "This pattern is kind of like leaving the refrigerator door ajar -- the refrigerator warms up, but all the cold air spills out into the house." Thus, the planet overall is still warming but the cold air from the far north can result in biting winter weather and major storms.
The news mag accepts global warming as a given, forgetting that many of the models and data were proven to be rigged by the Climategate scandal. Time explains away these flaws, saying, "Just because climate models predict that the planet will continue to heat up in the future as we continue to pour greenhouse-gas emissions into the atmosphere doesn't mean that warming will be a steady, even process. ... Unfortunately, that unpredictability is going to make adapting to a warmer world even tougher. As climate change appears to trigger harsher winter events in parts of the world, that's not an effect that will last forever." Under this view of the climate, when Irving Berlin wrote "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas," he was really warning about global warming.
And Last...
On Dec. 23, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) wrote a letter to Santa Claus expressing concern for his welfare because of the damage man-made global warming is doing to the ice caps on the North Pole. Apparently, Santa is receiving email via Huffington Post these days, for that's where the letter was posted. Of course, the letter is full of self-congratulatory references about how hard Menendez has worked to combat the climate change that will rob Santa of his job. He must have been hoping to get on Santa's "nice" list.
Three days after Menendez posted his letter, the Northeast, including his home state of New Jersey, was hit by the aforementioned blizzard. Perhaps Santa should relocate to Newark.
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Texas Conservative
There is another way of dealing with Obamacare:
82R561 JSC-D
By: Berman H.B. No. 297
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain federal health care legislation; imposing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) the people of the several states comprising the United States of America created the federal government as their agent for certain enumerated purposes, and nothing more;
(2) the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution defines the total scope of federal power as that which has been delegated by the people of the several states to the federal government, and all power not expressly delegated to the federal government in the United States Constitution is reserved to the states respectively, or to the people themselves; and
(3) the assumption of power by the federal government in enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590; Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872; Pub. L. No. 111-152) interferes with the right of the people of this state to regulate health care as they determine is appropriate, and makes a mockery of James Madison's assurance in Federalist Paper Number 45 that the powers delegated to the federal government are "few and defined" while those that remain in the state governments are "numerous and indefinite."
SECTION 2. Subtitle Z, Title 3, Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 392 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 392. FEDERAL PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Sec. 392.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "federal Act" means the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590; Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872; Pub. L. No. 111-152).
Sec. 392.002. FEDERAL ACT NOT AUTHORIZED. The federal Act is not authorized by the United States Constitution and violates the constitution's true meaning and intent as expressed by the founders of this country and the ratifiers of the constitution.
Sec. 392.003. FEDERAL ACT INVALID. The federal Act:
(1) is invalid in this state;
(2) is not recognized by this state;
(3) is specifically rejected by this state; and
(4) is null and void and of no effect in this state.
Sec. 392.004. DUTY OF LEGISLATURE. It is the duty of the legislature of this state to enact any measure necessary to prevent the enforcement of the federal Act within this state.
Sec. 392.005. OFFENSES; PENALTIES. (a) A person who is an official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of a corporation providing services to the United States commits an offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the United States in violation of this chapter.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony punishable by confinement for a term of not more than five years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
(c) A person who is a public officer or employee of this state commits an offense if that person enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the United States in violation of this chapter.
(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by confinement for a term of not more than two years, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
Sec. 392.006. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. Any aggrieved party may bring a private cause of action against a person who enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the United States in violation of this chapter.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 11:49:19 AM
Gerald Artman
The best question for Klien on that old hard to read constitution is to pick any four pages on the PACCA, (Obamacare) bill and have a couple of 8th grades read and explain each. I surely wish this was my idea but it was a caller into William Bennett's show this week.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 11:57:16 AM
James Smith
I understand the House does not have time to read the entire Constitution every day. I think it would be appropriate for the 9th and 10th amendments to be read every morning. They are short, simple, easy to understand and too easy to ignore.
Speak Out!
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:05:39 PM
karl anglin
The tough do not go under.
They keep on being tough.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:08:28 PM
David - Boston
Global Warming caused the NE blizzard:
Yup, like - we need to pass the [ObamaCare] health bill to find out what's in it.
Jeez, these guys would be laughable, if they weren't in charge.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:15:11 PM
Gary Chambers
The libs who refuse to follow the U S Constitution as wrtten and complained of its reading at the opening of the new Congress clearly intend to continue with their foreign born Kenyan leader. They think that a document written well over 200 years ago can not be relevant today so why worry about a little piece of paper proving birth The libs feel that neither document is to be considered worthy.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:25:26 PM
Major Stu
I believe that Dahlia Lithwick of Slate should be asked to comment on the fetishization by the progressives on what they insist is in the US Constitution but simply isn't there, e.g.:
Separation of church and state
Gay Rights, e.g. sanctions for gay marriage
Women's Rights aka "Woman's right to choose"
Hate Crimes prohibitions
Hate Speech prohibitions
Freedom from offense
Freedom from religion
State-sponsored Atheism
Anchor Babies
Carbon Regulation
Health Care Insurance
Health Care Insurance Mandates
Gun ownership rights infringements
Insurance Ponzi schemes aka "Social Security"
Invasions of privacy for income tax reporting
Invasions of privacy in personal papers (reporting business transactions over $600 mandated in FPPACA - for no apparent purpose, even taxation)
The list goes on and on.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:27:23 PM
Don Broome
8,000 homosexual activists constitutes "a large group of people"? And allowing the app for the Manhattan Declaration might subject this same group to possible harm? Wait a second - 480,000 of us signed the Manhattan Declaration, with no resulting harm done to any group or individuals(Yes, Mr. Jobs, we are an extremely dangerous group), and Apple agreed to the App. Then it is all overturned because 8,000 homosexuals disapproved!! We have over 300 Million people, and the only objection is raised by 8,000???
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:38:28 PM
Marvin
The chief problem is that the vast majority of the people will not get off their dead backsides, thus letting the despots go unchecked. Until the people act things will continue to get worse.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:38:59 PM
Susan Curtis
Regarding the cross in California that was judged to be an infringement on our Constitutional ban on mixing church and state: Our Constitution reads that we have freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. I am only a lowly retired social studies teacher. Why is it that I can understand this difference, and our learned judiciary cannot?
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:41:28 PM
Brian
Ok, so over 480,000 signed the Manhattan Declaration, and 8,000 homosexuals and homosexual supporters protested, so it was removed. Have I got that right? Because, by my math, 8,000 is a little over 1.5% of 480,000. If less than two percent protest can affect Apple's decision, perhaps they should campare how many of those 8,000 have iPhones versus how many of the 480,000 have iPhones. Even assuming all 8,000 have iPhones, and only half of the 480,000 (240,000) have iPhones, it still makes more economic sense to listen to the 240,000 versus the 8,000.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:43:15 PM
Brian Moriarty
Thank You so much for the Patriot Post. It's the only thing that is a "must read" for me these days.
Brian Moriarty
New Lenox, Il
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:53:12 PM
Guy L W Hardy
I think that, instead of using "Nyquil" as the format for the relief medicine, I would have used Mylanta - or a Fleet Enema.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 12:58:08 PM
Guy L W Hardy
Why, O WHY, should Pelosi care if the GOP repeal efforts cause damage to the economy? Doesn't she see how useful that could be for her side if it actually does backfire?
She is scared, plain and simple. She knows that this would build America up - and destroy her future in politics - which is why she is now employing the same kind of fear tactics that she and the other thinly-disguised communists in congress accused the GOP of using for the last two years.
Politics-as-usual.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:02:29 PM
Jiggs
Here's another little item that the Health Care Bill contains that has not been mentioned by any of the Dems or Liberal Media people: In the Health Care Bill, for those who care to read it, there is the provision that if you sell your house after 2012, you will have to pay a 3.8% sales tax on it. Therefore, after 2013, if your home, the one you have worked for all your life is worth $400,000, you will have to pay a $15,200 tax on the sale. Now, how is that a slap in the face to us seniors? Many, many members of Congress who haven't read the bill, don't know about this either. What does selling one's house have to do with health care? Only the Democrats could come up with something like this. I suspect many of them don't know about it either. Obama has the nerve to tell us there is a big hole we need to dig ourselves out of. Yeah, right, and who put us in this hole in the first place?
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:04:39 PM
Ken Mooney
There is a telling Opinion piece by David Brooks, in today's New York Times, about the beginnings of an implosion by Obamacare/Pelosicare. In particular, Brooks cites the "false projections" used by the those who cobbled together that monstrosity of a law, and he explains why it will cost multiples of what has been claimed. It is darned good reading for anyone who wants to support the argument for repeal.
Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/opinion/07brooks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
Ken Mooney
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:12:21 PM
Kenneth Harrell
The image of pelosi lying broken upon the ground reminded me of the images of the statue of hussein being torn down in Baghdad. The only thing missing would be to see the head of the pelosi statue being pulled through the streets with small children beating upon the head. But, instead of shoes used on hussein, the children would be using copies of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution; two documents sure to bring wails of complaint from the leftists.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:12:56 PM
Matthew
I think WPost blogger Ezra Klein is correct! He states "what people believe [the Constitution] says differs ... depending on what they want to get done." Doesn't he realize that this is the problem with the people in charge?? Sometimes the best mind-farts come from the Libs trying to sound intelligent.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:26:48 PM
Frak E.
01/07/11
TEXAS CONSERVATIVE,
You are way over my HEAD,BUT I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN.
I WOULD and DO FOLLOW YOU.YOU HAVE MY BLESSING.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:35:38 PM
Matthew
Nancy Pelosi must be a dyslexic ... "It is our mantra yap-as-you-go (sic)." Well, she's gone as speaker, but still yapping ...
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:52:01 PM
JAC
Regarding repeal of Obozocare: the House refusing to fund any of the programs in the bill would be a good alternative to the inability to repeal this travesty.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 1:52:14 PM
Tom Mayo
I wish that every conservative in America would get this publication in their email.
It clearly defines our problems and our objectives in no uncertain terms!!!
Keep up the good work!!!
Posted January 7, 2011 at 2:01:01 PM
Frank E.
01/07/11
What I like hear and see,The Whitch of the WEST
and her ECHO the CREAP harry reid,Who made it
back to the SENATE are BEING BEATEN BY THEIR OWN
TATIC'S THEY USED IN 08/09/10.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 2:06:28 PM
DanD
The High Priests of the Government sponsored Religion are at it again! Now the Mother Earth religious masses are demanding sacrifice, human sacrifice! The EPA is carfully setting the stage to give its followers what they desire. When will the people wake up and realize that the EPA is nothing short of the Religion of the United States Congress and all citizens must follow all the tenents of the official religion, or now risk sacrifice! The rules that the EPA makes now and in the future will begin to allow the priests (bureaucrats) to determine who will become the sacrificial lamb to appease the masses.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 3:19:16 PM
Michael Bufis
Very interesting a 100 year old Document.
Why don't we disaprove of the more than 2,000 year old book the Holy Bible and all the other books of religions. We could rewrite them all.
MJB
Posted January 7, 2011 at 3:39:31 PM
Howard Last
The best way to cut spending abolish income tax withholding. It was put in place by Joe Stalin's best friend FDR to pay for WW II. I believe WW II has been over for some 65 years. Imagine if the people had to write a check on April 15. The great unwashed will no longer be able to say, "I don't pay income tax, I get money back." But don't hold your breath or hang by your thumbs for the republican leadership (still an oxymoron) to propose it. It would kill their earmarks.
And speaking of the Second Amendment, Aaron Zelman, the founder and head of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership died two weeks ago. Check out JPFO.ORG JPFO can say things the NRA or GOA would be called anti-jewish for. By the way, the ADL called JPFO anti-jewish. Figure that out if you have time to waste.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 4:05:49 PM
Charles E Pehl
Global warming has been dropped for Climate Change.
What a crock. Here in Texas, if you do not like
the weather, just wait it will change. Climate Gate
is the modern seven-headed hydra. Cut off one head,
seven new one spring up.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 4:20:31 PM
Rifleman
Before I retired in 2000, for many years, I taught Constitutional History.
When it comes to that Document's being "interpreted" by Liberals/Democrats/Progressives/Marxists, I remind myself that such as they base their lives on how they FEEL rather than on WHAT IS -- and how they FEEL is all that matters.
Since their feelings are mutable, so, too, are their priorities, goals, intentions, desires, goals. Their world-view is a shifting panorama of impermanence.
To them, everything is in a constant state of flux; there is no Truth, no lasting basis for judgment. All decisions are based on shades of Grey, on the mantra that "It depends."
Those of us who base our lives on certain immutable Truths -- that there is a Rational Creator; that self-control and delayed gratification are desirable goals; that personal wealth, honestly gained, is to be lauded; that people have within them a "still, small Voice" which cries out to be free; that children must not defile themselves with easy acceptance of what is popular; that husbands and wives are equally necessary and responsible for the rearing of children -- stand amazed at 60 year-old Liberals who spout rhetoric more appropriate to pubescent, irrational, twelve year-olds who act as if their emotions are the be-all and end-all.
When Liberal-Democrats control government, the inevitable consequence is chaos and a Progressive loss of freedom. Since they legislate by emotion and since their emotions have no foundation, no rational basis, the upshot is a constantly shifting legality.
As a case in point, notice that over one hundred insurance companies have already been granted exceptions and exemptions under Obamacare.
When "fairness" and "It depends" unite, tyranny is the result because those who find favor with those feeling-toned people, thrive. They become part of the Inner Circle -- to the exclusion of those who haven't been so selected.
Those who are welcomed into the Inner Circle are the beneficiaries of that selective "fairness."
Since FDR, this Nation has been evolving toward a tipping point: We are being forced to decide if we wish to be once again ruled by an Absolute Monarchy.
We are in the position of having to decide between Hobbes or Locke, George III or Jefferson.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 4:27:06 PM
Chris
Concerning the reading of the Constitution in the House of Rep. - One news report I heard on NBC, stated that this was the first time in modern history that the Constitution has been read in the House of Representatives. I wondered how many of its members read it or heard it for the first time! So sad. It should become a new congress tradition to remind them for who and what they work for.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 4:53:00 PM
Lynn
Seems like a world coming out of a ice age 12,000 years ago just has to warm up to be livable.If the world wasn't warming up, we couldn't live here. But facts never stopped the "sky is falling" crowd.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 6:02:12 PM
Marc
"Armor of God Coin"?!? You're losing it.
Posted January 7, 2011 at 6:25:39 PM
JG
I don't understand the Leftist/Progressives problem with reading. They don't want to read legislatives bills before they're voted on. They don't want to read the Constitution.
Of course... I'm assuming they know how. Perhaps that's been the problem all along.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 1:04:27 AM
Bill Hoffman
I take the strongest possible exception with your comments on global warming. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Too many authorities have been muted by "Goober Gore" and his cronies not to be recognised. The Earth IS cooling and the ice cap IS increasing. Warming cannot cause a blizzard. Cooling DOES.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 1:14:05 AM
Carl Buchmann
A Nationally published News Magazine recently published the fact that Congress members are "exempt" from Federal insider trading laws.In other words,the insider trading laws passed by the House and Senate do not apply to the legislators who passed them. I have tried, unsuccessfully to confirm that information from three Congress persons, with no success.
Can you lead me to an independent source I could use? Thanx,
Carl Buchmann
Posted January 8, 2011 at 2:25:32 AM
Leonidas
@Bill Hoffman
You do realize the writers were arguing *against* Al Gore and the believers of the global warming religion, don't you? I'm not sure why you're taking "the strongest possible exception" to something you proceed to agree with. Unless you completely missed the mockery and sarcasm in the articles...
Posted January 8, 2011 at 7:23:55 AM
Mart Staggs
I woke up to the sound of Pelosi's voice on the radio saying she wanted friendship with Baynor and my stomach turned. She is such a horrible person and a lier; I will pray for her. She is blinded on what the American people want. We want honesty in Our government officials and we want our country back.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 9:14:49 AM
John Roche
>>refrigerator warms up, but all the cold air spills out into the house.
Except that doesn't happen either, as the heat drawn out of the box is dumped into the room. Opening the door does not change that one bit. I guess meteorology education doesn't include the Laws of Thermodynamics?
Posted January 8, 2011 at 11:50:46 AM
Franslaw
Texas should secede and form an alliance with Australia. I really miss Texas. If every state did this (or even just the "red ones"), what are they going to do? Attack Kansas? The liberals on the coasts never saw a "war" they felt like fighting and this would be no different.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 12:42:06 PM
Raj
"This pattern is kind of like leaving the refrigerator door ajar -- the refrigerator warms up, but all the cold air spills out into the house."
anyone with a grade skewl education in science should know that hot air moves towards cold not the opposite. When you open the door on a cold winter day your warm air rushes out, just as when you open the door on a hot summer day the warm air rushes in. GEEZ!
Posted January 8, 2011 at 1:50:33 PM
RAB
The state of the Union, Mr. President, is truly depressing.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 4:20:02 PM
joe f.
If you're really interested in American competitiveness, small and medium businesses and a host of other things, you have to support net neutrality. You should be screaming that what the FCC did didn't go far enough, not chastizing it for the half-hearted effort it made. If the cables and telcos can discriminate between one type of bit and another, they will favor the bits headed to their properties over the bits headed to other properties, such as Facebook and Google. They are on record saying as much. Or they may charge more for "premium" service. Even that would be fine if they had any track record of success. But they don't. Look at their search engines, web mail services and news portals. It's big news if one makes it all the way to third rate. Most languish unused because there are at least a half-dozen better alternatives out there. The reason is that once they get a de facto monopoly on a market they turn into the same kind of beast as any other utility company. Their business is milking the status quo, not innovating. Again, that would be fine if it the market allowed for us to be competitive and let that happen. It doesn't.
So they will strangle the next Facebook or Google in its crib. That small business won't turn into a medium one, which won't become another American global powerhouse. But in the global internet economy the idea won't die. It'll just get done in the China or Korea or the Ukraine or wherever there is not an entrenched interest to get it killed.
An easy analogy: through smarts and hard work you develop a way to grow the best, say, bamboo boards in the world. You can grow them regardless of location in any way that people want them: straight, curved, thick, thin, shaped like portraits of their pets -- whatever. All you need is to get it from your factories to the ships and airplanes and railways. But the local trucking business is a near monopoly, with one good option and a second that's just OK, and doesn't even service all the areas where your factories are (which is pretty much the cable and DSL markets in a nutshell). It just so happens that both of those companies are also in the lumber business. Trucks either aren't available to you in a timely fashion, or they price their service so high their lumber is a better option. So your company folds, right? Or do you take your location-independent idea to Australia or China or Brazil or Canada and make your billions there? Either way, the cable companies and telcos won't care as long as they still control their markets -- until the new company goes global and is big enough to muscle its way into their markets, of course.
I's a global market, folks, especially on the internet. If we don't safeguard that source of innovation we will become Mexico -- someplace people outsource their low-paying work. The answer is the best solutions coming through the free market. That means net neutrality. Every minor-league monopoly we coddle is a helping hand to its global competitor.
Posted January 8, 2011 at 6:06:44 PM
S Rubicon
Gosh! So Senator Menendez wrote a letter to Santa. Sounds a bit strange to me. After all, do liberals believe in God or Jesus Christ? Oh wait. Santa is a commercial enterprise, not religious. Oops, wait again. Seems Santa is based on religion & faith.
Oh well, just so long as Al Gore & his buddies get to impose taxes on us all using the force of law, so they can rake in the extreme profits they will get by selling this snake oil. Now, imagine a conservative doing anything even remotely close to this!!! Sure the left would stay silent. Sure they would!
Posted January 8, 2011 at 10:52:21 PM
Robert
So reading the US Constitution at the opening of congress is a "ghastly waste of time." Yukking it up with Colbert at a congressional hearing is what.... productive?
remember, this was brought to you by the morons who pass 2,500 page bills before even reading them.
Posted January 9, 2011 at 12:15:21 AM
Mike McGinn
"All told, the [President's] vacation cost more than $1.5 million."
Of course Obama paid for that out of his personal funds, right? I mean, when I go on vacation with my family, I don't bill my employer for it!
Posted January 9, 2011 at 5:55:26 PM
Matt S
Here is an update on who is affected by the late passage of the income tax law:
Tax Season Starts on Time for Most Taxpayers; Those Affected by Late Tax Breaks Can File in Mid- to Late February
IR-2010-126, Dec. 23, 2010
WASHINGTON — Following last week’s tax law changes, the Internal Revenue Service announced today the upcoming tax season will start on time for most people, but taxpayers affected by three recently reinstated deductions need to wait until mid- to late February to file their individual tax returns. In addition, taxpayers who itemize deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A will need to wait until mid- to late February to file as well.
The start of the 2011 filing season will begin in January for the majority of taxpayers. However, last week’s changes in the law mean that the IRS will need to reprogram its processing systems for three provisions that were extended in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 that became law on Dec. 17.
People claiming any of these three items — involving the state and local sales tax deduction, higher education tuition and fees deduction and educator expenses deduction as well as those taxpayers who itemize deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A — will need to wait to file their tax returns until tax processing systems are ready, which the IRS estimates will be in mid- to late February.
“The majority of taxpayers will be able to fill out their tax returns and file them as they normally do,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We will do everything we can to minimize the impact of recent tax law changes on other taxpayers. The IRS will work through the holidays and into the New Year to get our systems reprogrammed and ensure taxpayers have a smooth tax season.”
The IRS will announce a specific date in the near future when it can start processing tax returns impacted by the late tax law changes. In the interim, people in the affected categories can start working on their tax returns, but they should not submit their returns until IRS systems are ready to process the new tax law changes.
The IRS urged taxpayers to use e-file instead of paper tax forms to minimize confusion over the recent tax changes and ensure accurate tax returns.
Taxpayers will need to wait to file if they are within any of the following three categories:
* Taxpayers claiming itemized deductions on Schedule A. Itemized deductions include mortgage interest, charitable deductions, medical and dental expenses as well as state and local taxes. In addition, itemized deductions include the state and local general sales tax deduction extended in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 enacted Dec. 17, which primarily benefits people living in areas without state and local income taxes and is claimed on Schedule A, Line 5. Because of late Congressional action to enact tax law changes, anyone who itemizes and files a Schedule A will need to wait to file until mid- to late February.
* Taxpayers claiming the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction. This deduction for parents and students — covering up to $4,000 of tuition and fees paid to a post-secondary institution — is claimed on Form 8917. However, the IRS emphasized that there will be no delays for millions of parents and students who claim other education credits, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit.
* Taxpayers claiming the Educator Expense Deduction. This deduction is for kindergarten through grade 12 educators with out-of-pocket classroom expenses of up to $250. The educator expense deduction is claimed on Form 1040, Line 23, and Form 1040A, Line 16.
For those falling into any of these three categories, the delay affects both paper filers and electronic filers.
Posted January 9, 2011 at 6:57:09 PM
Kathryn Murphy
The armor of God coin is nice. I am not sure whether this has been done but it would be nice if it was made into a pin one could wear.
Posted January 10, 2011 at 9:31:11 AM
Howard Last
John Roche, you mean BHO and company have not repealed the the laws of thermodynamics? You mean they still apply the same as when I received by BS in Mechanical Engineering in the 1960's. Who would have thunk it? And are the other laws of physics still valid? Issac Newton call your office.
Posted January 10, 2011 at 11:30:05 AM
Frank E.
01/12/11
The Corrupt OBAMAHEALTHCARE ledgislation that was
PASSED illegaly,Because BRIBERY offers were made
an excepted by the DEMO-CONTROLED CONGRESS an
SENATE.ALSO againist the wishes of the AMERICAN
PEOPLE {60%].When OBAMAHEALTHCARE is REPEALED it
there will be no BRIBERY.
Posted January 13, 2011 at 3:26:54 PM
wayne
I consider myself to be objective -- neither extreme left -- nor extreme right. As such, I feel The Republicans need to get their heads out of the sand; and try to come up with something positive to contribute to the health care crises we have in this country.
All they have ever done is criticize the Democrats for trying to come up with a plan to afford 45 million Americans to have health care.
They currently believe the status quo is just fine -- as long as they have theirs, screw the other 45 million.
Posted March 25, 2011 at 3:33:07 PM
Bob Davidson
Now the side show, as BHO and his ilk takes credit for the demise of Osama. When in fact his ending was an on going correographed military operation gone array so many times,thanks for finally bring it to fruition.
Posted May 2, 2011 at 7:52:05 AM
RICHARD BASTIAN
How grateful we should be for the far right for speaking up against our president, for without their words of wisdom how else would we ever know what true hypocrites are!
Take away from those who are in need the most and give more to those who need it least, so their motto go's.
They talk about supporting the troops, this while giving Halaburton, Blackwater and other self serving entities great amounts of wealth, while the enlisted are paid pintents,where is the fairness in that, and look and see who now sits as CEO's on their boards, yes, former White House brass,
Now if that's not bad enough, look and see how the banks are bundling up all the home loans and selling the contracts to the Wall Street gang causing for closures in droves throughout the land, making homeless those who trusted and worked for the American dream.
All that people want is a fair playing field with referees that can't be bought off by changing the rules in mid stream.
When those who are given contracts to oversee the medicare program use those funds for their own means, thus creating less money for the health care providers so those who the program was designed to help can't get health care, so now where do they go?
Can't go to the powers to be, for they don't seem to care, after all it's all about how much one can obtain without getting caught, it's the game that is now being played, but the ones getting played the most are the common folks, those who are without a voice any longer are now being left hanging and chocked as they dangle at the end of the hopeless rope of hope.
The far right is far wrong, and they dare to say God is on their side.
Thankful yes we should be for what we have, and shamed if we have more while others go without, this when we could be sharing fairly, is this truly not the Godly way that life should be!
Awe! just words, who cares anyway, it's now late in the day and the game is about to end.
Posted July 27, 2011 at 1:17:29 PM
Don Pennington
Please don't send this issue of The Patriot Post (January 7, 2011) anymore--I have read it and deleted it about a dozen times. I'd rather have just the current issues, if at all possible.
Don Pennington
Posted October 26, 2011 at 8:31:03 PM
Don
Not ANOTHER January, 2011, issue of the Patriot Post. This makes number 13.
Posted November 1, 2011 at 8:35:12 PM
Ed Irby
The quote from Nancy Pelosi" Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go." Is not a lie it is just incomplete. Along with it she meant to say, "we plan to pay as you go by taxing the United States out of existence which will naturally reduce any deficit to zero.
Posted January 2, 2012 at 2:31:27 PM