Thousands Draw A Line On The Capitol Steps Over Health Care

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided to try to strong-arm through her plan to destroy our health care system, even in the face of overwhelming signals that she is fighting a losing battle. In the process she has continued her annoying little habit of breaking promises to the American people. She had promised to not hold a vote on the “health care reform” legislation without posting the final language of the bill online at least 72 hours prior to the vote. Apparently she is afraid that the final version of her 2000 page behemoth will further outrage the voting public.

The public has made their frustration and anger known all summer long, all the while congressional leaders have pretended to not hear them. The public outcry has prolonged the debate from something that the White House expected to be passed quickly and quietly by mid summer into an eternity for lawmakers. After the congressional switchboards were jammed with phone calls demanding that their elected representatives listen to them, the bureaucrats ignored their constituents. After millions of emails clogged the politicians’ inboxes, they sent out their canned responses claiming to represent their constituents. Tired of the unprecedented arrogance filling the Capitol Building, thousands of people showed up on the steps of the Capitol to hold a rally against the destruction of our health care system. After the rally they stood in line for hours to enter the Capitol to meet their elected representatives face to face. They wanted to ask one simple question, “Are you going to vote for this health care reform bill?” Several reports emerged showing the arrogance and superiority complex from which members of Congress are suffering. They could not spare even a few moments to “lower themselves” to the level of the common man.

It is most surprising that House leaders are pressing forward this week, of all weeks. Tuesday showed a dramatic reversal of the political leanings of the country. Democratic stronghold New Jersey saw their incumbent Governor Jon Corzine lose to Republican Chris Christie by 5 percentage points. New Jersey is a state that President Obama won easily by 20 points just one year ago. Virginia saw a political drubbing when Republican Bob McDonnell beat Democrat Creigh Deeds by 19 points. President Obama again won Virginia a year ago by 6 points. Right on cue, the White House downplayed the results saying that the outcomes had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his socialist agenda. The problem is that the President and his minions spent a lot of time and political capital in both states campaigning for both losers.

Whether or not the President or Ms. Pelosi are able to twist enough arms on Capitol Hill this weekend to pass their health care debacle is yet to be seen, but the damage has been done. The voting public has awakened to the fact that after the numerous bailouts already this year, the government now owns or controls 30% of our economy. They also see that if the power hungry bureaucrats are successful in destroying our health care, they will add another 18% of our economy. That will give them power over nearly half of our economy and they are just starting to erode our economical freedoms.

Pelosi Changes Her Story Yet Again On Torture

For the past several weeks, the media and the Democratic leadership in Congress have screamed and yelled about the enhanced interrogation techniques employed after the September 11 attacks. These techniques have been attributed to saving lives by their proponents, and have been condemned as torture by their opponents. Probably the most out-spoken opponent of the EIT’s in the past few weeks has been House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ms. Pelosi initially feigned outrage at the news that techniques, such as “waterboarding”, had been used against the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. She claimed that she did not know that these techniques were even being considered. Then the reports came out about numerous congressional briefings by the CIA, to which Pelosi responded that they never told her about any techniques. As more staffers, congressman, and CIA reports came out, Pelosi proceeded to change her story as quickly as Arlen Specter changers political affiliations.

At one point, she claimed that she did know about the interrogations but did not object at the time because she wanted to follow the “legislative process”. As the heat continued to increase, she decided to try to claim that the CIA lied to her and the rest of Congress. She now claims that the CIA deliberately misled her and Congress by withholding the information about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques. She sounds like a child caught in a lie, and instead of owning up to the truth when questioned, she continually piles lies upon lies.

With Pelosi flailing about with her myriad of stories of what she knew and when she knew it, the Democrats were having a bad enough week on national security, but then just before the 40 some pictures of the “torture” of detainees were to be released, President Obama reversed course and decided not to release them. I applaud Obama for not releasing the pictures. The only purpose it would serve would be to incite our enemies. For the record, I am not saying I am opposed to the use of EIT’s, but you can guarantee that Al Qaeda would propagandize the pictures and use them against us. Another surprising twist arose this week when the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration is considering leaving the Bush administration policy of detaining enemy combatants indefinitely intact. Can you hear the screeching from MoveOn.org?

The fate of Speaker Pelosi is still unknown, but I do believe that if she continues down this self-destructive path she will be forever politically damaged and her days as Speaker will be numbered. As for the Obama administration’s national security policy, it will be very interesting how they proceed. The calls for a defined Afghanistan policy have begun from they typical cast of characters, led by PA Representative John Murtha. Will Obama be able to hold his party’s anti-war elements in line? Will Obama choose to appease his rabid anti-war followers or choose a competent national security policy? I pray, for the sake of our country and all of our safety, that he chooses the latter.

Pelosi Returns From The Vatican Wood Shed

Last August, at the height of the political season, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the following statement regarding abortion. “I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know. The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose.” Ms. Pelosi went on to say that she understood that her opinion was at odds with what the Catholic Church teaches, but that she felt her opinion was correct because the church had changed their view over the years.

Immediately following the statements by Pelosi, several leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States issued their rebuttal to the Speaker’s assertions. "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable." (Catechism, 2270-2271)

I can hear some of your complaints already; this is old news from last summer. The reason this is news again now because the Speaker has just visited the Vatican and met with Pope Benedict XVI. This papal visit was starkly different than any other visit with dignitaries. There were no pictures taken, and the comments released by the Vatican were short and to the point. The Vatican issued the following statement, “His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.”

Of course, Ms. Pelosi made no mention of the Pope’s comments on the sanctity of life. I believe that she expected the Pope to have ignored her drastic misrepresentations of the Catholic Church’s teaching. She was undoubtedly hoping for a photo opportunity with the Pope so she could gain political capital at home. She surely did not expect to be taken to the wood shed for a quick lesson in the history and beliefs of the Catholic Church. The question moving forward for Pelosi, and all professing Catholic politicians, how does the Pope’s statement affect their political stand on abortion? Will the priests and bishops here in the United States continue to serve Holy Communion to politicians who are consistently at odds with Catholic teaching? My prediction is that the Pope’s statements will have zero effect on the abortion stance of Pelosi and other politicians. After all, for some political power is the most important thing in life.

The Return Of The Politics Of Fear

As the debate over the massive spending bill heats up in the Senate, the outrageous rhetoric has stooped to new lows. The $800 billion “stimulus” package that the Democrats pushed through the House of Representatives has continued to expand to more than $900 billion. Instead of fulfilling the promise of “trimming the fat” from government, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has overseen the addition of even more pork to already bloated spending bill.

A Rasmussen poll taken this week showed that public support for the bill has shifted dramatically over the past 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago 45% of the public favored the plan compared to 34% opposed to the plan. Now a mere 37% support the measure with 43% firmly opposed to spending billions of taxpayer money on frivolous pet projects that will do nothing to stimulate the economy.

Talk radio and Internet bloggers have combed through the proposal and highlighted numerous line items that the politicians have had much difficulty trying to justify the billions pledged. The American public clogged the phone lines at the Capitol this week voicing their displeasure over the enormity of the spending bill. The reaction to this measure is reminiscent of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of the summer of 2007. As you may recall, the Senate attempted to just push the bill through with very little debate or public scrutiny. The public outcry over the immigration bill doomed it to an early grave.

As public opinion over the “stimulus” plan has soured, the administration and congressional leaders have come out to try to scare the populace into supporting it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed this week that for every month that they do not pass their “stimulus” package, 500 million Americans would lose their jobs. That number is staggering, especially considering that the U.S. Census bureau projected the U.S. population on New Years Day to be about 305 million. I know that she misspoke, but she said it at least 3 separate times. Surely someone on the Speaker’s staff could have corrected her after the first gaffe. President Obama made the rounds to the network news shows to try to sell the need to pass the proposal now. He even claimed that if the Congress did not pass the bill now, “we may never recover”. The proponents of the massive waste of taxpayer money claim that this is the worst economy since the Great Depression. The trouble is that they are obviously lying. The economy during the Jimmy Carter presidency was by leaps and bounds much worse than it is now. We had double-digit national unemployment and interest rates. Of course, if we continue down this foolish road of frivolous spending we will surely see the return of malaise.

A stimulus bill is needed to turn our sluggish economy around, but it needs to be a measure that will put more of our own money back in our pockets. It should not be a bill that steals more of our money to fund the pet projects of politicians. Action just for the sake of action is folly. I believe that this current bill should be defeated in it’s entirety and Congress should start over with more focus on actual economic stimulus vice more unnecessary spending.

How Low Will Congress' Approval Go?

The Rasmussen Reports latest congressional approval tracking data has shown that paltry 9% of Americans believe that Congress is doing a good job. A closer exploration of the numbers reveals that the Democrat controlled Congress is getting abysmal marks not just among Republican voters and independents, but also among their own party loyalists. A mere 13% of those identifying themselves as registered Democrats are willing to give the Congress high marks. The Democratic Party leadership will surely attempt to shift the blame upon the Republican minority or the President, but a cursory examination of their legislative accomplishments sheds the light of truth on the real reasoning behind the historic congressional dissatisfaction.

While Congress has passed a few pieces of legislation that have made headlines this year, they have become increasingly belligerent on even attempting anything of substance on the climbing price of oil. The American voting public is most concerned about the high cost of energy. Poll after poll has shown that the citizenry are demanding that something be done to curb the rapid increase in energy costs. While virtually every credible expert on energy has pointed to the ever-increasing demand for oil from countries like China and India, congressional leadership has chosen to play partisan politics as usual. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that there is no shortage of oil and that drilling for oil will not solve anything. Yet she proposed releasing the equivalent of 3.5 days worth of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. If drilling off our own oil will not solve anything, how will sending 3.5 days worth of oil on to the market solve anything? Pelosi is gambling that the vast majority of the public will hear her sound byte on the evening news and discount that the price at the pump never changes.

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, alluded to the fact that the Democratic leadership would like to use the current high price of gas to move us away from the use of oil. The Democratic Party has decided that the high price of gas is good for us as a country because we will drive less and push for alternative energy sources. The problem with this logic is that the alternative sources are not viable right now. They claim that even if they allowed us to drill in ANWR and offshore we would not see that oil for at least 5 years. At least we would be drilling for our own oil and not be held hostage to the whims of some third world dictator. We would be increasing the supply to meet the increasing demand.

We need to be working on alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, but we also need to be building more nuclear power plants to meet our own demands. We need to be building new refineries in our own country. It makes virtually no sense that there has been no refinery built in the United States for the past 30 years. It makes no sense that we do not tap into our own wealth of oil in our own country, when we are importing more than 70% of our oil. We have, by some estimates, as much or more oil within our own country than in all of the Middle East. Is it any wonder why we have $4 a gallon gas? The opponents scream about the potential for accidents and the potential damage to the environment, but how much oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina blew into Louisiana and Mississippi? After the worst hurricane in history to land in the Gulf States, there was not one drop of oil spilled due the devastating storm.

A few months ago, Senator John McCain proposed a summer hiatus from federal gas taxes, which is currently about 18 cents a gallon. Most in Congress called it pointless because it would not affect the price at the pump significantly. This week a congressional commission, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, released their recommendations to Congress. Included in their recommendations is a 40 cent a gallon increase in the federal gas tax to help pay for our bridges and highways. Does anyone actually believe that the increase in taxes will ever make it to the bridges and highways? Did the tobacco lawsuit money ever make it to help those afflicted by smoking? While most on the panel do not believe that this will ever come to fruition, it is just another example of why the public does not approve of the job that Congress is doing.

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi Can See the Future!!!!

Now I know why the democrats took back Congress. Their two brave leaders can see the future!!

This is great news.

I know you are confused, so I will explain.

June 13, 2007. Nancy and Harry sent a letter to President Bush explaining to him that the surge in Iraq was a failure.
"As many had forseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results," the two leaders wrote.
"The increase in US forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation.
"It has not enhanced Americas national security. The unsettling reality is that instances of violence against Iraqis remain high and attacks on US forces have increased.
"In fact, the last two months of the war were the deadliest to date for US troops."

Somehow, these two great leaders managed to predict the outcome of a surge that HAD NOT EVEN BEGUN.

I know, you are still confused. I will now waste a huge amount of time by directing your attention to some Lt. General Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Forces, Iraq. Again, this is a huge waste because as we all know, the generals in Iraq have no freaking clue about what is going on in that country. Pat Dollard posted a video of an interview Lt. Gen. Odierno gave to CNN. Be warned, this idiot general tries to give the impression that US troops are actually winning in Iraq, so his word doesn't mean much. As we all know, the war is lost. Harry Reid predicted this loss long ago and he knows lots more about the Iraq war than those dumb people who are actually fighting in it.

This idiot tells us in the CNN interview that the surge really began June 15th. This means that Harry and Nancy were able to declare the new strategy to be a complete failure a full two days before it began. This is amazing. It is good to know that we have these two people running our country who can tell us that a strategy that has not yet been used is already failing.

I plan on contacting my own elected officials tomorrow to get some stock market predictions.

The Culture of Corruption Strikes Again

Washington, Jun 5

After shutting down the House Ethics Committee investigation of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) all year, today House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) finally appointed 10 members to serve as part of the Democrats’ ethics “pool” – more than five months after she promised to lead the most “open and ethical” Congress in history.

Following are 10 facts everyone should know about how House Democratic leaders have dragged their feet on the Jefferson matter and shut down the Ethics Committee investigation that was underway under the Republican-led, 109th Congress:

1) During the Republican-led Congress last year, the Ethics Committee announced the formation of an investigative subcommittee to examine the Jefferson matter.

2) At the end of the 109th Congress, the Jefferson inquiry expired, and action was delayed for more than five months by the new Democratic majority in the 110th Congress.

3) House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was READY in January to appoint his 10 members to the ethics pool so the Jefferson investigation could continue.

4) As a courtesy, Leader Boehner waited on Speaker Pelosi to name her members so that both pools of members could be announced at the same time.

5) In February, the House Democratic Caucus unanimously approved Jefferson’s selection to the Homeland Security Committee, which would have given him access to highly sensitive top secret information.

6) The months of January, February, March, and April passed with no appointments from Pelosi – only stalling the ethics process and the Jefferson investigation.

7) On May 1, after waiting some four months for Speaker Pelosi to name her ethics pool members, Leader Boehner officially made his 10 appointments and they were printed in the Congressional Record.

8) Those 10 GOP appointments include Reps. Rob Bishop (R-UT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Phil English (R-PA), Tom Latham (R-IA), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Sue Myrick (R-NC), Mike Simpson (R-ID), and Greg Walden (R-OR).

9) Because Speaker Pelosi refused to name her members for more than five months -- per clause 5(a)(4)(A) of House Rule X, and per Rule 19 of the House Ethics Committee -- the Ethics Committee failed to re-establish an investigative subcommittee to review this matter further.

10) Leader Boehner’s privileged resolution requires the Ethics Committee to do its work and requires a resolution in a timely manner.

Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have spent the past five months breaking nearly every pledge they’ve made to the American people – from ethics reform, to earmark reform, to fiscal responsibility, to fairness in operation of the House to any number of other hollow promises.

The American people have a right to ask. When will the Democrats live up to their promises?

And what does Nancy Pelosi have to say about all of this?

September 28, 2005“The criminal indictment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people.”

June 05, 2007
“The charges in the indictment against Congressman Jefferson are extremely serious. While Mr. Jefferson, just as any other citizen, must be considered innocent until proven guilty, if these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power.

Thanks to GOPbloggers for the info.

Pelosi Has Seen Global Warming

From Yahoo

BERLIN - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) said Monday she led a congressional delegation to Greenland, where lawmakers saw "firsthand evidence that climate change is a reality," and she hoped the Bush administration would consider a new path on the issue.

The good news is that she didn't tell Global Warming that Israel wanted to have peace talks.

I'm wondering if the Speaker has any ideas on how to fix this?
Study: Sun's Changes to Blame for Part of Global Warming
Sun's Output Increasing in Possible Trend Fueling
Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds
The truth about global warming - it's the Sun that's to blame

Maybe she wants Bush to blow up the sun? But then how would we get solar energy? We need solar energy to cut down on greenhouse gases, remember?

Impeach Bush? Go For It

Impeachment proceedings against President Bush would be better for Republicans than for Democrats, which is precisely why Nancy Pelosi has taken impeachment off the table despite the demands of the hard left and voters in her own district who voted in 2006 for a nonbinding referendum that called for Bush's impeachment.

read more digg story

Bush's Approval Rating at 33%, Congress 29%

For the past several months we have listened to the breathless reports of the news media of the President’s low approval ratings. Bush’s numbers as of Tuesday of this week are at a dismal 33% according to a recent Gallup poll. His numbers have hovered between the 30% to 40% range for the past year or so. Bush’s problem is obvious, the war in Iraq. One thing missing from the news reports about Bush’s approval numbers is the approval rating of the Congress.

In the same Gallup poll, the Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi run Congress have lower approval numbers than the President does. A staggering 29% of Americans believe that Congress is doing a good job. We have to look at the numbers a little differently than we look at the President’s. Control of both houses of Congress was handed over to the Democrats in January of this year. In January the numbers jumped from 21% before the takeover to 35% after Nancy Pelosi became the first woman Speaker of the House. In the four months that the Democrats have run the legislative branch of our government, the independent and Democratic voters have lost faith in the ability of the Democrats to get the job done.

I believe that many in the Democratic party are upset that their leaders have not ended all funding for the war, and they have not brought impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush. The independent voters are upset because they voted for a change in Washington, and they see that the Democrats are not fulfilling their promises of fiscal responsibility.

In the four months since the changeover, what major legislation has been passed? What has been accomplished? They passed a supplemental war funding bill that was laden with pork and a timetable for surrender in Iraq. They knew that the bill would never be signed by the President, but they passed it anyway to appease their far left wing supporters.

This week the House was working on another supplemental funding bill, also loaded with pork and a surrender date, and Speaker Pelosi made speeches about needing to work on a bipartisan resolution to the stalemate. I have noticed that whenever any politician speaks of bipartisanship, they really mean that the opposition needs to agree with all of my points. The Senate rejected their version of the bill with bipartisan support against the bill. I guess that isn’t the type of bipartisanship the Ms. Pelosi and Harry Reid were looking for.

The Congress and the administration were able to work on a bipartisan bill this week. The new and improved immigration bill that both the Congress and the administration worked on all week does have bipartisan support, but only when it comes to the politicians. Illegal immigration is one issue that the majority of the voting public agrees on. Most Americans want to see something significant done about the illegal immigration problem, but both political parties want some form of amnesty and are afraid to do anything about securing our borders.
I believe that both Congress and the administration would see a significant jump in their numbers if they stopped patronizing to a perceived voting block of people and actually accomplished something on illegal immigration and securing our borders. The Congress would see a change in their numbers if they stopped their sophomoric attempts at ending the war and just passed something definitive. If they believe that we have lost the war, as Harry Reid said a few weeks ago, then they should pull all funding for the war and take an actual stand for something. Congressmen are voted into office to do what is best for their constituents and for the country. I believe it would be the wrong thing to do, but if it is what they believe is best than go ahead and do it.

We Win They Lose