NOTICE: Brookfieldnow bloggers are being switched to a new software today between 9am - 5pm, so no new posts today here. Check brookfield7 for a post on upcoming meetings and events. 

Secretary Janet Napolitano ruffled a lot of conservative feathers when she released her Homeland Security report on taxpayer protest Tea Party day. It certainly got my attention. It also brought attention to the other security alerts regarding right wing ideas.

In her April 15th Homeland Security Report on right-wing extremists, she warned law enforcement about the possibility of military veterans committing acts of violence. So I should have put George Washington's picture first. Because he was a veteran of 2 wars: The French and Indian War and Revolutionary War, he would be suspect.  He is pictured later.

The intelligence assessment issued to law enforcement last week said some military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence. 

If Janet were around in 1776, we might include the following people as well. 

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents [it mentions hate groups--not Jefferson or conservatives I know], and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority... It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or [illegal] immigration.

p2 (U//FOUO) The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.

 

p5 (U//FOUO) Many rightwing extremist groups perceive recent gun control legislation as a threat to their right to bear arms and in response have increased weapons and ammunition stockpiling, as well as renewed participation in paramilitary training exercises.

These are the signers of the Constitution; George Washington is standing at the desk. Bet these guys were pro-life, better watch them too.

In the report, right-wing extremism was defined as hate-motivated groups and movements, such as hatred of certain religions, racial or ethnic groups. "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the report said.

...The same definition was included in the agency's March 26 report on domestic extremism. Both reports were marked "For Official Use Only."

Other groups targeted would be those who believe in end times prophecy (that would be Christians who believe the Bible), those who worry about economic collapse (that would include those who don't believe we can tax and spend our way to prosperity). Pretty much this p 4 (U) Economic Hardship and Extremism section group would include most of the thousands of peaceful Tea Party attendees from April 15th.

(U//FOUO) Historically, domestic rightwing extremists have feared, predicted, and anticipated a cataclysmic economic collapse in the United States. ... Antigovernment conspiracy theories and “end times” prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons.

Well, I don't pack a pistol (but I do have a few extra cans of tuna in the pantry), more than one banker has told me they don't know how to advise me or their clients about future investments, and I do believe in the Bible and the book of Revelation. Guess I am in good company though if I include our Founding Fathers and the other Tea Party attendees. For the record, I believe the founding documents of our country should still apply today.

I think it would be good to read through the entire Homeland Security report on Rightwing Extremism. You just might find some of your concerns tagged as being extremist.  

Links: 

If you have been following Governor Doyle's proposed budget at all, you know that it is filled with tax increases, unwanted new government programs, new fees, and a whole host of other overreaching legislation.

According to a JSOnline article, all of these spending measures will result in a $91 dollar or 3.2% property tax increase on the median home in Wisconsin. Since the median home assessment in the state is around $167,000, that means most of Brookfield will see tax increases greater than $91.

Republican legislators called the property tax increases irresponsible, saying they would pinch homeowners struggling to pay bills and keep their jobs while their homes lose value.

"People shouldn't have to worry over whether they can afford to live in their own homes," said Republican Sen. Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau. "Governor Doyle's budget makes it more difficult for families to afford to live in Wisconsin."

I attended the public hearing on Doyle's budget on March 25th. It was very crowded! People were lining up to address the budget committee. (At the rate they were going, they would be lucky to be finished by 9pm!) I found one familiar face though, fellow conservative blogger Randy Melchert was there video taping.

I struck up a conversation with a group of people who were independent gas station owners. They were wearing red T-shirts that said, WE ARE NOT BIG OIL. The new 3% tax would not stick it to the BIG OIL men as Gov. Doyle suggests, but harm the little guys like these--the independent gas station and convenience store owners.

They explained that the Governor's proposed 3% oil profits tax would be detrimental to station owners near the state borders because Wisconsin gas would need to be 3% higher in cost than at the neighboring out of state station. Unlike the similar tax proposed last year, this one was NOT to be passed onto the customer. If that was true, they said there was not enough profit margin to absorb a 3% cost increase for them. They would be forced out of business. According to Rep. Petersen's The Inside Scoop:

Regardless of your opinion about oil companies and profits, one must realize they sell and compete on a worldwide market. If the state charges a tax which is forbidden from being passed on to consumers, what is an oil company’s incentive to do business in Wisconsin?

The fee will only serve to discourage the wholesale distribution of fuel into the state. When supplies are short, Wisconsin will be last on a distributor’s list when surrounding states do not impose an “Oil Franchise Tax.” Due to the law of supply and demand, prices will definitely increase as the supply decreases.

By the way, our transportation fund wouldn't need shoring up if Doyle didn't keep raiding it to plug unrelated holes in the budget in the past...

Since he [Doyle] was first elected six years ago, Governor Doyle has raided more than $1.1 billion of the money you’ve paid in gas taxes and Department of Motor Vehicle fees to spend on programs other than roads. In this budget he pledges to raid another $77.5 million. 

...and the future:

Governor Doyle balanced his budget in part with $271 million in revenue generated from the [his] "oil profits" tax on big oil.

The  Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association group, or WPMCA have been running radio ads and sending out postcards urging residents to call their legislators at 1-800-632-9472. Their postcard features this stereotypical oil man and states: "They say Big Oil will pay, but experts agree Wisconsin families will get stuck with the bill."

On another front, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Jr. spoke at the public hearing urging the Joint Finance Committee to "Remove the early release provision" for prisoners. He says Doyle is not taking into consideration the recidivist factor. He also wanted to dispel the myth of the non-violent offender, saying these people who are locked up for drug offenses are mostly drug dealers from major street gangs. "It might save $24 million," but it doesn't take in consideration the expense to local communities and the 90% re-offending rate. 

But Gov. Doyle isn't concerned about local community expense or what effect a tax or a raiding of funds will have down the road; all he wants to do is prop up his budget and extravagant spending now. Stealing from funds and shifting expense to others are just 2 of his methods of funding his plans.

This one is of concern to me, possibly because I am now more familiar with the needs of the elderly and infirmed. It's the mandatory unionization of home care workers. State Senator Michael Ellis spoke about this fact on Mark Belling's show in February. He also wrote about it in a press release, The Wheel Report: (My emphasis)

A little-known provision in Governor Doyle’s proposed budget would make the state a union organizer for personal care workers and would require most people who hire personal care workers to hire only those in the union, a requirement that will certainly increase health care costs...

“This provision is shocking in its scope,” Ellis said. “The state is becoming a coercive union organizer....

“The state is requiring all home care providers to become members of the union or they won’t get hired, because the state is requiring all people who hire home care workers to hire only those workers who are on the registry and members of the union.

This law will affect any person hiring a home care worker. It is rather like Doyle saying all baby sitters must be unionized. Certainly it will impact senior citizens or anyone who depends on home care workers to help a loved one stay in their home longer. It also negatively impacts the service provider company--many of which are just mom and pop type businesses. With unionization, firing an inferior worker becomes much more difficult.

How about Gov. Doyle's backdooring gay marriage by providing Domestic Partner benefits despite 59% of the voters in our state voting to ban gay marriage in 2006?

Same-sex couples could form domestic partnerships and receive dozens of the same legal benefits as married people under a proposal by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

So Doyle's budget sticks its nose into the Domestic Partner issue but does nothing to prohibit using the state funded Madison Surgery Center to perform 2nd trimester abortions. His motives are pretty clear.

Rep. Vukmir informed me, "The first executive (voting) session for JFC is on the 16th and only a small part of the budget will be considered." So at the very least, contact the Democrat co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee with your concerns: Senator Mark Miller and Representative Mark Pocan

Here are the email addresses of all the Joint Finance Committee members if you wish to send a group email (The last 4 addresses are Republican members of the committee): Rep.Pocan@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Miller@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Hansen@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Robson@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Sen.Taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Colon@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Rep.Sherman@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Rep.Shilling@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Sen.Olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov,  Rep.Vos@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Montgomery@legis.wisconsin.gov

If you wish to call the Joint Finance Committee members, they can be found on Leah Vukmir's State Budget Hearing page.

Please register your comments with your representatives in Madison too. Both of Brookfield's Assembly Representatives Leah Vukmir and Rich Zipperer and Senator Ted Kanavas are against Doyle's tax increases.

(R) Rep. Leah Vukmir 414-759-1100, Leah@LeahVukmir.com

(R) Rep. Rich Zipperer's Boondoggle Alert page  262-264-0655, rich@richzipperer.com

(R) Senator Ted Kanavas  (608) 266-9174, (800) 863-8883, email:Sen.Kanavas@legis.wisconsin.gov

(D) Senator Jim Sullivan   (608) 266-2512, (866) 817-6061, email: Sen.Sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov

There are of course many, many more spending measures that are just a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. "High Speed Rail" to Madison's airport anyone? Raising sin taxes again? Hospital Bed/nursing home tax? Just take a look at his plan: 2009-2011 Executive Budget  These and many of the other tax increases will be discussed by the legislature in the upcoming weeks, but since Republicans are in the minority in both houses, don't expect much cutting.

Fight Back Wisconsin! Remember, The Wisconsin Tea Party Tax Rally is April 15th, 11:30 am on the steps of the Capitol on the King Street side, in Madison. You do NOT need to register to attend. There is a shuttle service if you are driving, or you can opt to take a bus, which you MUST register for, check the locations then click here for Bus Registration

CORRECTION: Can't get to Madison on tax day? How about Downtown Milwaukee at the Federal Building, 517 East Wisconsin Ave. (east of US Bank) at RED ARROW PARK at noon? (920 N. Water Street) Johnathan emailed me to say this is where he will be on April 15th instead of the Fed. Building. 

Previous Post: Public Hearing on Doyle's Budget, March 25th, State Fair Park 

Links: 

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, BetterBrookfield, Vicki McKenna, Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, Randy Melchert, Mark Levin, The Heritage Foundation, CNS News

ABC's John Stossel is having a new special on government waste Friday night, on their weekly news show 20/20. It is entitled, Bailouts and Bull. I heard John talk a little about it today, and one of the subjects he will address is 4K or universal pre-school. It sounds like it will be interesting.

I like John Stossel's approach. He usually is very logical and looks at the BIG picture. He is one of the very few sane voices in network news.

I better set the Tivo though, because I'll be at my church Friday night, attending a Prophecy Conference.  Brookside Baptist Church on Pilgrim Road is hosting it, and Dr. John Whitcomb is the speaker.

Friday night at 7pm he will talk about the Rapture of the Church, Saturday night at 7pm, the Judgment Seat of Christ, Sunday morning at 8:30am and 10:45am the Second Coming of Christ, and the Two Witnesses of Revelation during Sunday School time at 9:45am. He is finishing with the Millennial Kingdom of Christ at 6pm during the Sunday evening service time.

All of the conference subjects come from the Book of Revelation in the Bible. I admit I have never been all that interested in end times prophecy. I just figured I am good to go and it probably wouldn't happen in my lifetime. But the way things are changing in the world today, I find my curiosity is a little piqued. If you are curious too, come hear what Dr. Whitcomb has to say about it.

Links: 

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, BetterBrookfield, Vicki McKenna, Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, Randy Melchert, Mark Levin, The Heritage Foundation, CNS News

Want to weigh in on Governor Doyle's budget? You can.

My State Representative Leah Vukmir sent me the following notice:

The Joint Committee on Finance will hold a public hearing on Governor Doyle's Executive Budget

March 25, 2009, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

State Fair Park, Banquet Room #2, 640 S. 84th Street, West Allis, WI 53214

"For those who cannot attend but wish to register their opinion with the committee, we have set up a form where citizens can register their position. The information will be submitted at the hearing and will included in the official committee record.

You don’t have to live in the 14^th Assembly District to use the form. Comment Form

If you have not been following the budget, fellow blogger Randy Melchert highlighted some of the problems with the budget as being:

• Anti-Taxpayer - Over $2.5 billion in new taxes including $95 million in capital gains taxes.
• Anti-Life - No prohibitions against government facilities such as the Madison Surgery Center being used to directly provide 2nd trimester abortion
• Anti-Gun - Thousands of convicted felons will be released and citizens will be unable to carry concealed weapons to protect themselves
• Anti-School Choice - New regulations will further restrict choice schools and open the door to homeschool regulation
• Anti-Family - The bill will create an unconstitutional domestic partner registry and mandate benefits

There are many other areas that Doyle funds that go against my grain: the unionization of home care workers comes to mind, as does funding rail. (I'll save those for a later post.) 

But I am thinking about the spending right now. Doyle wants to increase the budget by $2.5 billion dollars! (That is $2,500 million dollars or $2,500,000,000.) His total budget is well over $62 billion dollars for a 2 year plan.

There are just a little over 5.6 million people in Wisconsin, living in about 2.25 million households. So Doyle is proposing increasing spending in our state by how much per household? Over $1,000.

The total per household cost to fund Doyle's budget is almost $27,900/household for 2 years or  $13,950/year. Now, not all of that pool of money is funded through our state income tax, property tax, user fees, sales tax, gas tax revenues etc. Corporations and businesses pay in to fund the state budget too.

These figures should at least give you an idea of how out of control our state spending has become in proportion to the households in our state. If we further break down the spending by population, Doyle spends around $11,200 for every man, woman and child in our state in his budget or $5,600/person/year. I think that is a lot of money!

Be sure to come to the public hearing at State Fair Park or at least submit a comment form.

2009-2011 Executive Budget 

Remember, The Wisconsin Tea Party Tax Rally is April 15th, 11:30 am on the steps of the Capitol in Madison. Register with mblock@afphq.org 

Links: 

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, BetterBrookfield, Vicki McKenna, Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, Randy Melchert, Mark Levin, The Heritage Foundation, CNS News

President Obama was out and about promoting his "stimulus" package earlier this week. The audio clips I heard of the Town Hall meeting Obama held on Tuesday in Fort Myers, Florida, however, seemed bizarre to me. It certainly was not very presidential.

Some have referred to that Town Hall meeting as a church style revival meeting. It reminded me more of the old TV game show, "Queen for a Day".

I have fuzzy childhood memories of "Queen for a Day". The show featured 2, or was it 3, contestants who each had their own heartbreaking sob story. The show gave each lady an opportunity to tell of their needs. 

The show host would then have the audience vote by applauding for the contestant who was more deserving of the prize. They would zoom in on each contestant and show a corny applause-o-meter with a needle gauge. The (un)lucky contestant who garnered the most applause, and presumably the most compelling story, would win.

The show host then brought out all the wonderful products the contestant won that would make their miserable life better, and so the unfortunate woman became like a "Queen for a Day". 

Well, Henrietta Hughes, the woman who tearfully begged the President for a car, home of her own with her own kitchen and bathroom, became "Queen for a Day" on Tuesday*. She beat out fellow contestant Julio Osegueda, the college student who complained that he has not been able to find a better job for 4 years. He pleaded with the President to in effect wave his magic wand and increase benefits for workers like him. I had to wonder if the student's inability to secure a better job had to do with his odd demeanor?  Later I found out he wanted to be a broadcaster!  Check out the video and see what you think.

Henrietta did get her wish, thanks to the kindness of State Representative Thompson's wife, Chene, who offered Henrietta a home. I might add that Mrs. Thompson was able to help Henrietta because she was wealthy enough to do it. (I am not going to speculate on Thompson's motivation for the giving or the coincidence of these two women happening to be at the meeting, or how Henrietta just happened to be at the Town Hall and able to ask a question.)

Actually, there were 3 contestants involved on Tuesday--the 3rd being the President. For weeks he has been pedaling his sob story of doom and gloom and telling how government is the only entity that can right the sinking ship of our economy.

President Obama interrupted his Town Hall to tell the audience, "By the way, the Senate just passed our recovery bill. That's good news." But even the President has no illusions of his "stimulus" bill curing our ills, for he also "warned against expecting a quick turn around. It would take a long time for the economy to recover...it wouldn't happen overnight." I have to wonder though if he thought at least for yesterday, it's good to be King for a Day!

The House and Senate versions of the "stimulus" bill now heads to the conference committee where they work out a compromise bill. Then the Senate and House vote again. (No amendments are allowed at this point.)

The only shred of hope we have in defeating this $Trillion "stimulus" is if Americans keep up the pressure on elected officials. Yup, that means more phone calls and emails. I plan on contacting the 3 Republican Senators who voted for the bill as well as my reps and urge them to vote NO on the final version. Hey, I'll throw in Joe Lieberman too. I have heard calls are running 100 No to 1 Yes. Americans are angry about the pork and waste.

United States Senate: Contact Republican members Susan Collins - Maine (202) 224-2523, Olympia Snowe - Maine (202) 224-5344,  Arlen Specter - Pennsylvania (202) 224-4254, and Independent Joe Lieberman - Connecticut (202) 224-4041.

Our Senators Herb Kohl (202) 224-5653 and Russ Feingold (202) 224-5323

United States House of Representatives:  James Sensenbrenner (202) 225-5101

*I do feel sorry for people who are homeless, it is just that I cannot ever remember a citizen begging a president in such a personal way before. It was more like a peasant coming before the king than a citizen and president exchange.

Links: 

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Vicki Mckenna, Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, Mark Levin, CNS News

UPDATE: Yes, the House Republicans did say NO. Every one of them, plus 11 Blue-Dog Democrats! Send them a BIG thank you. Next question: Will the Senate Republicans and Senate Blue-Dogs say NO next week too? (I'm praying they will vote NO.) If enough Americans squawk, loudly, they just might. (Yes, that is a longshot.)

Déjà vu. It's the TARP bailout all over again, but this time on steroids. Remember when we found out about all the pork in that emergency TARP legislation? (Hint: Tax break for wooden arrows.) Well, that pork laden bailout bill looks like a low cholesterol diet compared with Obama's "stimulus" bill.

Why do I put stimulus in quotes? Because the only thing it will stimulate is the size of government, which once expanded, rarely contracts. The TARP bill was about 450 pages in length; the Obama Stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is a whopping 647 pages! The dollar amount in the Obama Stimulus seems to have increased proportionately to the pages too. Including interest, it's at about $1.17 TRILLION. (Anyone think the House and Senate members read the entire bill?)

The Wall Street Journal gives us a glimpse into those 647 pages of outrageous spending in A 40-Year Wish List, You won't believe what's in that stimulus bill . Do take a look. If your Pepto-Bismol isn't handy, just know that only "about 12 cents of every $1" goes to anything remotely stimulating to our economy. If you can brave a bit more... (My emphasis)

This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.

We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.

Since Wisconsin is looking at commuter trains, know that:

Most of the rest of this project spending will go to such things as renewable energy funding ($8 billion) or mass transit ($6 billion) that have a low or negative return on investment. Most urban transit systems are so badly managed that their fares cover less than half of their costs.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi does not need Republican member's blessing on Obama's now nearly trillion dollar "stimulus" spending spree. The House Democrats hold the majority. But like that must pass rescue bailout bill of October, the Democrats do not want to go it alone on this bill. When this "stimulus" bill does not work, they want to be able to spread the blame.

I did not see anything worthy in the bill to warrant passage. The $4 billion to groups like ACORN should give any conservative ample reason to vote NO. Acorn's Seed Money:

The group that pushed banks into the risky loans that brought the economy down is now eligible for a huge chunk of stimulus cash. The stimulus plan does create jobs--for community activists."

Like the TARP bailout, there is an urgency to pass this one too. That is right, rush passing THE most expensive, extravagant, extensive spending proposal in American history. Do it while President Obama is basking in high approval ratings. Do it before the economy has a chance to recover on its own. (Existing housing sales were up 6.6% in December.)

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before," Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff. The opportunity being, moving America towards more socialistic spending such as:

Another "stimulus" secret is that some $252 billion is for income-transfer payments -- that is, not investments that arguably help everyone, but cash or benefits to individuals for doing nothing at all.

Do it before Americans wake up to what this bill won't do: stimulate the economy.

More reading: Heritage Foundation, The Pelosi-Obama-Reid Trillion Dollar Debt Plan

More ridiculous expenditures, Vicki McKenna's partial list of included items.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

It appears Al Franken has truly turned Minnesota election law into a Franken-stein of a monster recount--something the election laws were never intended to do: enable stealing an election.

If you have been following this race since election day 2 months ago, you know that incumbent Senator Coleman was 215 votes ahead of opponent Al Franken when the votes were originally counted. But after Minneapolis' director of elections remembered she forgot 32 absentee ballots in her car the following Friday, and 2 liberal precincts claimed they initially miscommunicated the vote totals, Franken picked up another 346 votes, for a total of 378 Franken votes. The oddity being that "none of the other contests recorded any changes in their vote totals" due to this supposed miscommunication.

For a while, it looked like Coleman would still keep his Senate seat, but more and more there is Funny Business in Minnesota, In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken: 

Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.

Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.

The latest travesty in the Franken recount is abusing the duplicate ballot provision. (Emphasis mine)

Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.

Another county "'lost' 133 votes" due to possible double running of ballots through the machines. (In other words, the machine stated 133 votes more than actual ballots.) The Canvassing Board decided to go with the original higher tally--helping Franken by 42 votes. An additional 37 Franken votes from another county were gathered by going with a higher ballot total than the Election Night machine total, even though the higher ballot tally was greater than voters in the precinct!

Anything goes, IF it helps Al Franken win! Do read the entire Wall Street Journal piece. Truth is stranger than fiction!

Senator Coleman is to challenge the Canvassing Board's results. His attorney "said the challenge will be filed within 24 hours. The challenge will keep Franken from getting the election certificate he needs to take the seat in Washington."

A few days ago, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas promised to block the Franken seating in the Senate with a filibuster. Good for Cornyn.

So far, Senate Democrats put off plans to seat Franken, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yielded to Republican threats and agreed on Monday not to immediately seat fellow Democrat Al Franken, whose razor-close victory in Minnesota faces legal challenges."

Republicans have dropped the ball, in my opinion, on allowing voter fraud after voter fraud to continue, until at last people just throw up their hands and accept it as business as usual.

I hope the Republicans stand firm on this one for once and grow some backbone!

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

Our state capitol in Madison has a Christmas tree (I am using last year's term), a menorah for Hanukkah, and I think something for Kwanza too. I am fine with that. They are holidays celebrated in December by people of various religions and cultures in our state.

Last year I heard they also included a Winter Solstice plaque. They have it this year too.

The Winter Solstice is Dec. 22. It is marks the point in earth's orbit that we have the longest period of night time hours and shortest period of daylight hours in our year (because of the earth's tilt on its axis.) It is a fact in our astronomical calendar. (Southern hemisphere has the summer solstice at this same time.)

It is also the day for many ancient pagan celebrations. The Romans would celebrate Saturnalia during the solstice. The Druids and Celts also had celebrations; many groups did and still do. Today, those in the earth goddess movement or atheists often acknowledge or celebrate the solstice.

OK, put up a display at the Capitol. But does it have to be this?

At this season of the Winter Solstice may reason prevail.  There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.  There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

I could go along with the 1st and 3rd sentence. It is their opinion and they have the right to it. That doesn't mean I believe it is true, but we still do have the right to free speech.

But that 2nd and last statement? That to me is negative and hate speech. There is no reason to insult those of other beliefs. I don't think this should be allowed--certainly not in a display of holiday celebration. Holiday displays should be positive.

This is a classical example of the bias against Christianity and religion in government and the media. Have you heard anything about this? I only heard about it last year and this because of talk show host Vicki McKenna. She describes herself as not particularly religious, but this hateful statement must have violated her sensibilities too.

Christians could post a Bible verse stating how those who reject God are destined for eternal separation from Him (and I believe it is true), but this would not be appropriate for a holiday celebration display. They might even post a positive verse about Jesus' birth, that He would save the people from their sins. 

But posting anything from the Bible would probably not be allowed. Why, we cannot even call what is obviously a Christmas tree a Christmas tree, and there is nothing religious about it except its adjective!

Yet the atheists can post this? "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Christians, in case you haven't been paying attention, your rights are quickly slipping away. If you don't bother to start speaking up for yourselves, expect to see more of this blatant bias against your beliefs.

Contact page for Gov. Doyle  (I asked the Governor to restore the term, "Christmas tree" and remove the Solstice plaque until a more positive statement was crafted.)

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

Last year, the State Assembly had to fight to get the Capitol Christmas tree called just that, a CHRISTMAS tree. In our culture, if it were not for Christmas, whether you celebrate it as religious holiday or secular, why else would you cut down a tree and bring it indoors?

This year? We are again calling that indoor tree something other than what it is. This year, it is The CAPITOL tree:

Yes, that silly, contrived, and seemingly interminable argument over the nomenclature of the conifer that’s erected in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda every December looked to be settled last year, at least for awhile, with the official legislative relabeling of the garlanded Tannenbaum as the Wisconsin Christmas Tree.

On Monday, though, the office of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle issued a press release dubbing it the "Capitol Tree.

This is sickening. Calling it a Christmas Tree does not violate separation of church and state in any way. Separation of church and state is one of THE most misunderstood* concepts we have. As it is interpreted today, there is nothing in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, or Bill or Rights that would prohibit any government agency from calling a tree decked out in lights and ornaments what it is, A CHRISTMAS TREE! But that is another subject for another day.

Today, it is just the absurdity of calling an this object a Capitol tree rather than what it is. But then again, it is Madison. 

So, do I wish you a Merry Capitol?

 
*The question about the separation of church and state's origin was missed by most on that Civics Test.

Fellow Blogger Tom Gehl wrote about the Church and State issue last year: Church and State - part 1 and  Church and State - part 2

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How many times do you hear that our children are so much smarter these days or that our high school and college age students are so advanced compared to our school days?

I hear it a lot, but frankly, I don't see it. Yes, they know how to use technology, but it seems most young to middle age adults are pretty ignorant when it comes to civics, economics, and history.

If you watched any of the interviews on why voters chose their candidates on Nov. 4th, you will notice how woefully ignorant the masses are when it comes to civics and politics. RedState posted some of these interviews. Most didn't even know who Barney Frank, Harry Reid, or Nancy Pelosi were!

The Red State interviews confirmed what USA Today concluded in Americans don't know civics: (My emphasis throughout)

From high-school dropouts to college graduates to elected officials, Americans are "alarmingly uninformed"USA's history, founding principals and economy about the — knowledge needed to participate wisely in civic life, says a report scheduled to be released Thursday.

..."Without knowledge of your country's history, key texts and institutions, you don't have a frame of reference to judge the politics and policies of today," says Richard Brake, head of the institute's American Civic Literacy Program.

You can take the same Our Fading Heritage Civics Quiz, and see how you compare to other average Americans. (I took it too--my score is at the bottom of this posting.) 

There was some correlation between age and higher education, but even there, the scores were still abysmal: (My emphasis)

[Across all economic and education levels] 71% earn an F; the average score was 49%. Ages 25 to 34 had an average score of 46%; ages 45 to 64 had a 52% average. Of 164 respondents who say they have held elected office, 44% was average.

Those with bachelor's degrees had an average score of 57% vs. 44% for those with a high-school diploma. The average score for advanced degree-holders inches up to 65%, or a D.

This correlation came as no surprise to me: 

Civic knowledge declines in proportion to time spent using passive media, such as TV. Reading and talking about history and current events, using the Internet and being involved in political activities has a positive effect.

I took it and scored 93.94% or 31 out of 33 correct. Most questions I knew without the multiple choice, a few I only answered correctly because of homeschooling (recently taught high school civics), some were educated guesses.

Neither of my parents went to college, although my mother went to a one year secretarial school. My father had to quit school in the 8th grade to go to work during the great depression. Yet they and others from their generation possessed a core knowledge of these necessary subjects that most younger American adults lack. They studied our nation's "key texts" in school.

Sadly, most people today do not know anything about our government or economy. If we ever want elections to be about substance instead of persona and emotion, we will have to teach the basic civics, history and economics classes again. Of course that is only if we want to ensure we have an electorate that votes intelligently.

Are you brave enough to take the basic history quiz too? Questions and how students scored in '07

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Obama wants you to spread your wealth around, but doesn't do it himself. His charitable donations are abysmal, amounting to less than 2% on average.

He wants you to contribute $845 billion to his Global Poverty Act, but he doesn't even help his own half-brother in Kenya. Guess he has no responsibility to half-brothers?

At the convention he summed up the ability to prosper in America, "Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, even if you don't have boots. You are on your own." He then contrasted that cynical view with his ideals: (My emphasis)

Our government should work for us, not against us.  It should help us, not hurt us.  It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

That's the promise we need to keep.  That's the change we need right now.  So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Obama repeated his "I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper" clip in last night's infomercial.

Well, Obama isn't president yet, but we can see how much he believes in his own words: His own Aunt Zeituni lives in a rundown tenement in Boston. Guess being your sister's keeper doesn't apply to aunties either.

Last night Obama also appeared on Jon Sewart's show. He tried to diffuse the Socialist label by quipping,

"That whole socialism argument, that doesn't fly too well,'' Obama said. "The evidence of this seems pretty thin. I said today that I think they found proof that when I was in kindergarten I shared some toys with my friends and that's clearly a sign of subversive activity. 

But there is a big difference between sharing, which is voluntary, and being coerced to share, which is involuntary. Plus, sharing toys in kindergarten doesn't even count. The toys in kindergarten were not personally owned by Obama; they belonged to the school system

When we share our own assets, that is charity. When we share our own assets with friends, that is called friendship. When we are coerced to share our bounty through taxation--to spread the wealth around--that is called socialism! 

Obama summed it up best himself when he was asked about the greatest moral failure in his life and of America at the Saddleback Forum: (My emphasis)

...And what I traced this to [his wild living] is a certain selfishness on my part. I was so obsessed with me and, you know, the reasons that I might be dissatisfied that I couldn't focus on other people. And I think the process for me of growing up was to recognize that it's not about me. It's about --

WARREN: I like that. I like that.

OBAMA: Absolutely. So -- but look, you know, when I -- when I find myself taking the wrong step, I think a lot of times it's because I'm trying to protect myself instead of trying to do god's work.

WARREN: Yeah, fundamental selfishness.

OBAMA: So that, I think, is my own failure.

WARREN: What about America?

OBAMA:: I think America's greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don't abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me, and that notion of -- that basic principle applies to poverty... There's a pervasive sense, I think, that this country, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don't spend enough time thinking about "the least of these."

Obama's selfishness and socialism is showing. If he does not do for the least of these in his own family, what makes you think he will do for you?

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Presidential candidate Barack Obama has used his skin color to his advantage in this election.  Anytime anyone brings up his past associations with Rev. Wright, terrorist William Ayers, Father Flager,  or FannieMae's Franklin Raines, etc., Obama's campaign squawks, that's racist. (Go figure, 2 of those men are white.) Referencing Obama as a community activist/organizer was deemed a code word for black too.

But in just the past few weeks, more disturbing relationships have come to light: Obama's ties and associations with The New Party socialists and Marxists.

From Gateway Pundit, Photo Discovered Of Obama With Fellow Chicago Socialist Party Members:

Bloggers New Zeal and The Big Feed discovered this photo of Barack Obama and other New Party socialists including Danny K Davis (center), from the front page of New Party News, Spring 1996:

Click to Enlarge
Winners! NP-endorsed candidates Patricia Martin (far left), Danny Davis (center), and Barack Obama (far right), celebrate with Chicago New Party members Ted Thomas and Ruth Schools after their victories in the Democratic Primary last month.

From POWERLINE: "We wrote here about Barack Obama's ties to the New Party during the 1990s. The New Party was a far-left organization founded by members of the Democratic Socialists of America and other extremists. It not only endorsed Obama in his 1996 state Senate race, but, when Obama won, wrote that he was an 'NP member.' "

And don't forget Obama's high school mentor, Communist Frank Marshall Davis.

How about the fact that the US Communist Party Endorsed Obama and Fidel Castro Endorses Obama--Again.  Need I say more?

But associations aside, all you have to do is look at Obama's platform to see where his ideology lies. The Obama tax plan is nothing but a redistribution of income, giving checks to workers who don't pay any Federal income taxes! If that doesn't scream socialism, I don't know what does.

If Obama is elected president, it would be a historical first. Not just because he would be the first Black* president in American history, but more significantly, the first Pink one. It is the Pink color that breaks my heart.

*Yes, I know the current PC term is African American, but that does not fit into the theme of color. 

Don't miss Another Communist in Obama's Orb, Meet Michel Klonsky, Obama's "social -justice" education expert.  

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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One of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes is, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

I spotted an artful new twist on that same theme on a Drudge Report ad,

"GOVERNMENT: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions."

If that sentiment made you say, yes, you can get a coffee mug, print, T-shirt, etc. with that statement on it from DESPAIR, INC. :-(   Click the link, the photo of the Capitol is spectacular.

I know nothing about the site, but from a brief look at their web pages, they had all sorts of products with negative humor, such as a pessimist's mug with a half empty mark on the side, "It makes everything taste bitter."

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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I heard both Congressmen Paul Ryan and Jim Sensenbrenner interviewed on Jay Weber's radio show this morning. (Hour 4 Part 2). Since I trust the opinion of both of these men, I was curious as to why Ryan voted YES and Sensenbrenner NO on the latest bailout bill. 

First Congressman Ryan, who does have a degree in economics. The following are some notes I took from the interview--they are not direct quotes. Listen to the podcast if you can.

Ryan said the bill yesterday was the Paulson plan with quite a bit of tweaks.

The original Paulson bill was 3 pages: Give me a blank checkbook with $700billion.

We wrote a [Republican] alternative. Ours said, Let's make the firms buy insurance.

We rewrote the bill, added stock options--warrants to taxpayers, so the taxpayer is first in line to get money back (if there are profits--that means ACORN would not be getting funding as the orig. Paulson bill stated.) Executives won't get a Golden Parachute.

This bill was $350 billion: $250b immediately and $100b later. An additional $350b would need to be voted on in the future.  

Over the weekend, credit markets went crazy. The problem is not just on Wall Street. Credit markets are shutting down. [That means cash flow for payrolls is unavailable.] There is a fear of recession.

"I'm now sincerely worried this could lead to recession."

Jay Weber: Can we move slowly or do we need to move quickly?

Ryan: Tax money goes out the door either way, this way (bailout) or from FDIC (if banks fail.) Paulson mishandled this so badly.  We added 107 pages to his bill. 

I have never seen things like this [credit freezing up]--ever. Businesses won't be able to cash flow payrolls.

Weber: There is a deep distrust of Congress.

Ryan: 2,300 calls [to my office] almost all against the bailout. [That is changing a little now.] We have to corral Wall Street so it doesn't spill to Main Street.

Weber: Why aren't Republicans hammering this?

Ryan: I am. Since 2002 I have voted against Freddie and Fannie every time.

I think Paul Ryan voted for this measure because he is genuinely worried about our economy shutting down. He knows that if businesses cannot get credit to meet their payrolls, that means workers do not get paid. With many Americans just a paycheck away from being broke, we cannot afford to let that happen. Businesses also use credit to purchase supplies and equipment for future production.

Then it was Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner's turn:

Paulson [Barney Frank] plan fatally flawed from the beginning. That money all came from taxpayers.

The word was, $700billion would not be enough.

America can't afford this. We are wealthy, but there is a limit. 

All of this is inflationary. Interest rates will shoot up. [Remember] 20% prime rates during Carter? 

We should go back to the regular order [of crafting legislation] with committee meetings, rather than Paulson saying we have to do this.

Weber: We're racing against the clock.

Sensenbrenner: When markets opened [today] they were up 200, so hopefully the markets have calmed down.

Paulson is pushing for now. It bailed out the people who caused the problem.

I'm prepared to go back when Pelosi calls us back.

This is a case of Congress serving the people. 

Weber: What angers people is Frank and Dodd in charge of the fix. Is there any mechanism to say when you failed the people, get off the committee!

Sensenbrenner: The Community Reinvestment Act was a significant factor [to what is going on.] 

The process worked yesterday. The speeches like from Pelosi need to stop. She also knew there were not the votes to pass. Why did she bring the bill to the floor? [To fix blame on the Republicans]

Weber: Would you change the Community Reinvestment Act?

Sensenbrenner: Repeal of that law should be in the new package now.

The Security and Exchange Commission dropped the ball--enforcement was not vigorous. 

The Justice Department should investigate if any fraud was committed. [Imprisonment would serve as a deterrent.]

So there you have the Yea and the Nay. Where is Solomon when you need him? 

Conservatives would hope the next version of the bailout bill would be better for taxpayers, that it keeps money from ACORN and repeals the Community Reinvestment Act. With this crew I don't have much hope.

My fear is that the next version will included ACORN funding again or worse. The Democrats will vote for it, and President Bush, who is really over a barrel here, will have to sign it.

Calls from Americans running 500 against, to 1 in favor, of the bailout might be the only thing that saving us from an UGLY pig of a bill.

Post Script: Along the lines of Sensenbrenner's request that they craft this bill carefully, 165 Economists rip bailout plan:

The economists say they are well aware of the current financial situation and agree there's a need for bold action but ask Congress "not to rush."

They urge lawmakers to hold appropriate hearings and "to carefully consider the right course of action." 

Right now the market is up 307 points from yesterday's close. You can check anytime on USAToday. (If you leave it open, it automatically refreshes.) 

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I just heard this announcement on the news: Bush to Lift Executive Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling. (This would be the moratorium his father enacted.) He will be talking about this decision from the Rose Garden at 12:30pm today.

This move will not make offshore drilling possible in itself, but it will put the pressure on the Congress to act,

White House press secretary Dana Perino says Bush is acting now in hopes of spurring Congress to act. So far, lawmakers have shown no interest in doing so.

Last week, Nancy Pelosi was still digging in her heels on domestic drilling ban, but Harry Reid and Richard Durbin showed a glimmer of interest.

But that glimmer seems to be dying in the light of Bush's probable ban lifting today,

After hearing of Mr. Bush’s proposal on Tuesday night, Mr. Reid affirmed his opposition, saying, “The Energy Information Administration says that even if we open the coasts to oil drilling that won’t have a significant impact on prices.”

This lifting of the executive ban is a step in the right direction, but it's only a step. We aren't there yet by a long shot.

UPDATE: Not only did the President lift the offshore ban, but also lifted the ban in ANWR and "on oil shale leasing in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming." (From Breitbart.com)

Tuesday, July 15: I heard Sen. Jon Kyl state on a news snippet this morning, that if we would start drilling in the oil shale deposits, we could start producing oil from there in 3 to 7 years. So much for the not for 10 years gloomy outlook. (Didn't we put a man on the moon in less than 10 years?)

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.3 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions. 

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Over the July 4th holiday weekend, the AP broke the news that 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium--" the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment"-- was shipped from Iraq to Canada. Considering how many times we heard, Bush lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, you would think that would be BIG news.

I always thought it was possible and probable that Sadaam had, or would like to have had, nuclear or chemical weapons. After all, he showed no restraint after the Gulf War on his own people. Seems I wasn't mistaken. Monday's Investor's Business Daily editorial states,

It's a little known fact that, after invading Iraq in 2003, the U.S. found massive amounts of uranium yellowcake, the stuff that can be refined into nuclear weapons or nuclear fuel, at a facility in Tuwaitha outside of Baghdad. 

...But yellowcake wasn't all they found at Tuwaitha. According to the AP, the military also discovered "four devices for controlled radiation exposure . . . that could potentially be used in a weapon."

By the way, this should put to rest the canard peddled by the American left and by former Ambassador Joseph Wilson that "Bush lied" about Iraq seeking yellowcake from the African country of Niger.

Given what we know, including comments by officials in Niger's government, Iraq did make overtures to buy uranium. And it's quite possible all or part of the 550 tons came from there.

What's more, if Bush hadn't acted, we might today see a nuclear Iraq, an Iran on the way to having a weapon, Libya with an expanded nuclear program, and Syria — with its close ties to Saddam — on the way to having a nuke.

I was busy over the entire 4th holiday weekend, so I really don't know how much news coverage this story received. Evidentially, the uranium move was in the works for some time--about a year. Considering the sensitive nature of the operation (there was concern that the convoy might be attacked), I certainly appreciate this story was kept quiet before and during the transfer.

Some might say Saddam had no intention of using the uranium for weapons but just had not gotten rid of it. But since the AP article stated the yellowcake uranium was worth "tens of millions of dollars", it is hard for me to believe he had no further designs on it. IBD speculated that "Saddam held onto it for more than a decade...[because] he hoped to wait out U.N. sanctions on Iraq and start his WMD program anew. This would seem to vindicate Bush's decision to invade."

It will be interesting to see politicians reaction to the shipment. 

"Hear about the 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium found in Iraq? No? Why should you? It doesn't fit the media's neat story line that Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed no nuclear threat when we invaded in 2003," The IBD stated.

I feel better knowing the yellowcake is now in Canada and will be used for fueling power plants. How about you?

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS.  domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.3 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions. 

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Oh, this is a new low (H/T Drudge): Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever today:

This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job.

Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

...Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.

Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.

What I find so puzzling is that according to the pundits, an increase in Congressional seats by Democrats is predicted for this November.

We are at an all time low in voter approval with the Democrats in control, but polls show Democrats are still favored? From Rasmussen:

Despite these negative attitudes towards Congress, Democrats continue to enjoy a double digit lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The Rasmussen survey hit the nail on the head,

Most voters (72%) think most members of Congress are more interested in furthering their own political careers. Just 14% believe members are genuinely interested in helping people.

The blame can be spread over both parties, but being a conservative, I find some Republicans more tolerable. It must be very frustrating to be one of the 14%. 

I think we should just let the Congress take longer vacations. It is the only time I don't have to worry about what they are up to in Washington! If voters don't wake up soon, that may be the best solution. ; )

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS.  domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.29 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions. 

Links: 

Sunday we returned from a few days in Dearborn Michigan touring the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and The Rouge Ford Factory. The Rouge Factory Tour was new to us. There was Bill Ford, the great grandson of Henry, up on the BIG screen telling us how Ford created this new Rouge factory to be friendly to the environment.

Much like our proposed Fountain Brook Crossing, The Rouge Ford Factory* has Gone Green. The roof is a garden roof, planted with sedum plants to absorb the rain water. They are increasing plantings wherever possible on the grounds; nets are strung up on the factory exterior for climbing vines.

Even their parking lots are water permeable. No more run-off. The paving material looks like asphalt but is a porous material that has sand and gravel below. The guide said that the water that runs through the pavement is filtered and very clean. It requires vacuuming twice a year to keep pores open and calcium chloride must be used instead of sodium chloride in winter.  The porous pavement is more expensive to install and maintain but lasts twice as long as conventional asphalt. Plus, no detention pond is needed...and it's good for the environment.

It seemed everything about The Rouge Factory was good for the environment or good for the employees. You could watch some of the assembly line in action. The workers were poetry in motion each doing their specific little jobs. While they are always under the time constraint of the moving line, it did not seem any were really hustling to keep up the pace. Some workers were on the cell phone, playing a hand held game, or even had newspapers there to catch a snippet of an article.

I asked a tour guide how much money these people made. She did not know specifically but said from what she read in the paper, it was around $20.00 per hour for new hires. Workers with more seniority were higher.

Another guide told us that Ford recently closed 2 other factories in other states, I believe, and now consolidated all of the work here at The Rouge. That sounded efficient. The Rouge's specialty was trucks**. Wonder where the other cars are made?

Monday's Investor's Business Daily answered part of that question: Movin' To Mexico!:  (My emphasis)

Ford's investment of $3 billion in two auto plants near Mexico City is the largest foreign company investment ever in Mexico. As oil prices soar and new climate-change rules are readied in Washington, Ford must shift from its reliance on trucks and SUVs to lighter, more energy-efficient vehicles.

This should be something that workers in Michigan and other Midwestern states with decades of automaking experience should excel at doing. Instead, Ford and other automakers are pushing more and more investment abroad — especially to Mexico.

The editorial cites reasons for an auto sales slump and the US losing jobs--mainly the UAW forcing higher wages and benefits--but increasing climate change rules and higher oil prices aren't helping the industry.

Like a coyote caught in a trap, U.S. automakers have been desperately gnawing off a leg to escape certain death. They're closing plants and slashing jobs in Michigan, Ohio and other U.S. union havens, in favor of non-union, foreign places. Like Mexico and China.

Meanwhile, foreign companies have no problem making cars here. They do it in the non-union South, where the UAW is weak.

So foreign companies can get around our high wages by being non-union, but even they and their products are subject to U.S. emission standards for factories and cars.

You would think that with our ailing auto industry our government would be doing all it could to help encourage instead of hinder. Yet Washington continues to hamper oil exploration and increase auto emission standards (i.e. new diesel emissions will be cleaner than intake air.) 

Add to automakers woes, both U.S. and foreign made here, the latest millstone around the neck: Cap-and-Trade, and I think we have the recipe for outsourcing more industry of all kinds.

Ford may have greened up its Dearborn plant and created an ideal work environment, but if more industry follows suit in exporting jobs to countries that don't care about workers or the environment, what good paying jobs will be left in America?

This was written before Tuesday's post Kohl, Feingold, and Doyle's reaction to GM closing Janesville plant

Related articles: Toyota workers in Kentucky plant made more than UAW members last year

More handwriting on the wall, GM closing Janesville assembly plant by 2010 

*The Rouge Factory was named for the Rouge River in Dearborn. The banks of the river were red clay, hence the name Rouge (French for red). 

**A guide told us this was the last year they would be making Mercury trucks. 

Links:

Last night I heard Senator Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) on the Mark Levin Show.  They were discussing S. 2191, the Senate "Lieberman/Warner Global Warming Bill and the disastrous effect this would have not on just the country as a whole, but the individual." (My emphasis throughout post.)

Wall Street Journal referred to Cap-and-Trade as Cap and Spend

As the Senate opens debate on its mammoth carbon regulation program this week, the phrase of the hour is "cap and trade." This sounds innocuous enough. But anyone who looks at the legislative details will quickly see that a better description is cap and spend. This is easily the largest income redistribution scheme since the income tax.

The Washington Post said, Just Call It "Cap-and-Tax" 

"...One of the bad ways [to control greenhouse gas] is cap-and-trade. Unfortunately, it's the darling of environmental groups and their political allies.

The chief political virtue of cap-and-trade -- a complex scheme to reduce greenhouse gases -- is its complexity. This allows its environmental supporters to shape public perceptions in essentially deceptive ways. Cap-and-trade would act as a tax, but it's not described as a tax. It would regulate economic activity, but it's promoted as a "free market" mechanism. Finally, it would trigger a tidal wave of influence-peddling, as lobbyists scrambled to exploit the system for different industries and localities. This would undermine whatever abstract advantages the system has.

...Call this "environmental pork," and it would just be a start. The program's potential to confer subsidies and preferential treatment would stimulate a lobbying frenzy. Think of today's farm programs -- and multiply by 10.

After listening to Senator Inhofe, I think we could also refer to it as Cap-and-Raid! If it passes, it will raid every worker in America's wallet!

Senator Inhofe said, Senator Barbara Boxer insists this is not a tax bill. But if you have looked into the bill itself and at the linked articles, it is difficult to understand how this could not be considered a tax bill.

Inhofe then quickly listed some points to ponder. He mentioned the Wall Street Journal referring to it as the most extensive reorganization since the 1930s. He called it worse than the Kyoto Treaty for the economy. Cap-and-Trade will need 45 more Big Government Bureaucracies to enforce the standards.

Using Boxer's figures, Inhofe pointed out that Cap-and-Trade would collect $6.7 Trillion dollars from industry (those costs will be passed onto us!). The maximum rebate to customers is $2.5 Trillion dollars. Do the math: That means $4.2 Trillion goes where?

That sounds like a tax to me!

He went on to remind us that the Democrats have killed every domestic drilling bill. The US relies on coal for 53% of all of its electricity production. Cap-and-Trade will tax coal fired electricity production. Consider that China "cranks out a new coal electric plant" every 3 days (?). (I think he said 3 days, which fits with this - certainly between India and China it would be true.)

Manufacturing jobs will go where there is (cheap) energy/power, Inhofe said. This is also what Congressman Sensenbrenner talked about at his Town Hall Meeting when he called Cap-and-Trade "Catastrophic for Wisconsin". I would add that manufacturing jobs will also go where environmental regulations are more lax.

Senator Inhofe suggested people take a look at Liberman-Warner Opposition Resource Center; Impacts of Costly Climate Bill Exposed  It is chock full of quotes, links and articles.

The Senate is debating this bill this week. While some say the bill will not pass, as you know, once the foot is in the door, the issue will not go away.  Considering all 3 Presidential candidates support the concept of Global Warming, I would just say, the bill probably won't pass...yet.

Our Senators' response to my emails: Not much hope of a NO vote here--unless they feel the heat from constituents.

This is important! Please contact them both: Senator Kohl (Phone: (414) 297-4451, (202) 224-5653) and Senator  Feingold (Office of Senator Russ Feingold | 202/224-5323) and let them know what you think about this bill.

More reading:

George Will's Cap-And-Trade: A Devious Tax Plan

Good chart of key players and terms explained at end: Senate taking up key climate-change bill 

The Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell: Carbon Capping in Bizarro World 

Links:

If you've ever planned a road trip, mapping your route ahead of time makes a big difference: which way will allow you to travel with the least amount of traffic, major city rush hours, or road construction? Often a little planning ahead can save hours being stuck in a traffic jam. Certainly there is no sense to chart a course leading to a bridge closed for repairs. No reasonable person would say, the only bridge ahead is closed, but we'll make such good time before the bridge, we'll pick that route anyway.

Yet this is what our government is doing by ignoring the coming Social Security/Medicare crisis. Politicians don't want to deal with that reality. They know it is going bankrupt, but their attitude is, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. "There is a growing, bipartisan consensus about the greatest threat to our nation's long-term economic prosperity: the explosion of entitlement spending." (Ryan)

Last week, Congressman Paul Ryan proposed his "Roadmap for America"--a very practical and pretty painless way to shore up Social Security, Medicare, and the tax code. Ryan is planning the future path for America that allows us to make good time and still cross that bridge in the future, and he does it without massive tax increases. He said in an interview:

I am raising the same rate of tax revenue as today, but I am preventing them from doubling in the future. I am proposing to tax 18.5 cents out of every dollar to run the government as opposed to 40 cents out of every dollar. Spend the money more intelligently. The 1st $39,000 (after deductions) for family of 4 is tax free. After that, the first $100,000 is taxed at 10%.

Ryan also bravely addresses Health Insurance and Medicaid in addition to Social Security, Medicare, and Tax Reform. Simply ignoring these pending problems will not make them go away. Ignoring these entitlements just increases the problems and costs. Hopefully Ryan's route will Not be A Road Less Traveled:

There is no threat to our nation’s fiscal health greater than the coming deficits from unrestrained growth in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Already Social Security and Medicare consume 7.5% of our GDP. Unless changes are made that figure will jump to 13% by 2030.

Bravely stepping in to offer a policy solution, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has introduced a plan he calls “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” 

Read through Congressman Paul Ryan's plan in the Wall Street Journal: How to Tackle the Entitlement Crisis for Health Insurance, Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security, and Tax Reform.

We cannot afford to ignore this any longer. Our children are the ones who will pay for our failure to deal with these growing problems. Ryan writes:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the rest of government will consume nearly 40% of the economy by the time my [Paul's] three young children reach my age (38). This will require more than doubling the average tax burden of the past 40 years just to keep the government afloat. Continuing down this path will eventually strangle our economy.

Once we come to that "bridge", there is no easy way to cross it. The time to deal with it is NOW! The question is: Do we have any politicians brave enough to do the right thing?

Congressman Paul Ryan is a member of the Congressional Budget Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.

Don't forget the Music Concert to Benefit Chinese Quake Victims, Saturday, May 31st, 10AM - 1PM, Brookfield Civic Plaza

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