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Raising oil-industry taxes would cost jobs in Texas

With unemployment at its highest in a long time (and is actually higher because of misreporting), we can not afford this legislation! – FedUpEditor

The following op-ed by Senator Cornyn was published in the Houston Chronicle, and can also be accessed here. 

The oil-and-gas industry helps power the U.S. economy, especially here in Texas. More than 300,000 Texans work in the industry. They generate nearly 7 percent of the wages in our state, despite being only a little more than 3 percent of our workforce.

More than 90 percent of the wells in our country are operated by small and independent businesses, and even the major energy companies rely on small businesses as suppliers and contractors. Together these workers and businesses help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and contribute to the diversity of energy resources that we will need for decades to come.

Leaked Email From Honduran Citizen Reveals Why Obama Supports Tyranny, not Democracy…

Our President and his loyal media drones have continued to show their unwavering support for a want-to-be dictator in Honduras. President Manuel Zelaya violated numerous laws in the Honduran constitution and was lawfully removed from office. This constitutionally-legal removal from office—for treason—has been called, and continues to be called, a coup by the mainstream media. It is a disgrace that our media perpetuates this myth and that Zelaya gets any sympathy from the international community. America’s government should be standing on the side of freedom, not a dictator on a power grab. READ FULL REPORT & EMAIL TEXT

Senate Panel Kills Government Healthcare Plan

Regardless of the headlines, don’t get too excited. Once the bill gets into conference they (Obama and Pelosi) will do their best to put it back in! We must defeat this bill in its entirety AND get rid of the plague of locusts who inhabit Congress! This must never be allowed again! So much for one party rule when it comes to Democrats. Republicans had all three branches and never considered anything as destructive as this. – FedUpEditor

NEWSMAX WASHINGTON – In a long-anticipated showdown, liberal Democrats twice failed on Tuesday to inject a government-run insurance option into sweeping health care legislation taking shape in the Senate, despite bipartisan agreement that private insurers must change their ways.

The two votes marked a victory for Montana Democrat Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, who is hoping to push his middle-of-the-road measure through the panel by week’s end. It also kept alive the possibility that at least one Republican may yet swing behind the overhaul, a key goal of both Baucus and the White House.

The developments occurred as Democrats in the House sought savings to reduce their companion legislation to roughly $900 billion over a decade, the price tag President Barack Obama has suggested.

One option under consideration would reduce the number of individuals and families eligible for federal health coverage subsidies to those earning less than 400 percent of poverty, or about $43,000 for a single person and $88,000 for a family of four, officials said, commenting only on condition of anonymity. The subsidies are designed to make insurance more affordable, and account for a significant percentage of spending in the bill.

Without disclosing any of the details of a marathon closed-door leadership meeting, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters, “It’s hard work, but we’re determined to get it (the bill’s cost) down.

If anything, the health care debate was growing more intense. According to one independent organization, television advertising around the issue has been running at a level of more than $1.1 million a day for the past week and now stands over $100 million since the beginning of the year.

Inside the Senate Finance Committee, Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said his proposal to allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry was far from the federal takeover that critics portray. “It’s not. It’s optional,” he said, adding it was designed to offer competition and a lower-priced, reliable choice for consumers shopping for coverage.

“Washington is not the answer,” countered Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Read the entire article here.

ObamaCare will make criminals of non-participants, ration care to seniors

According to a healthcare expert, the health care plan currently being debated in the United States Senate (America’s Healthy Future Act) will fine Americans up to $1,900 if they do not purchase health insurance, and if they refuse to pay the fine, they can be thrown in jail for a year or fined $25,000. And the IRS would be the government agency coming after you to collect. Dennis Smith is a senior fellow in healthcare reform at The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health Policy Studies. He says that penalty is just one of the many “hidden, unknown consequences” in the legislation. (Baucus’ proposal contains ‘hidden consequences’)

The plan will also force severe rationing of health care to seniors by penalizing the 10% of doctors who submit the most in reimbursements to Medicare. This inevitably will pressure doctors to prescribe fewer and cheaper treatments just to avoid being the one doctor in 10 whose pay will be docked.
Since there will be a top 10% every year, doctors are likely to severely restrict treatment anywhere and everywhere they can, because they will have no way of knowing where the threshold is.

The bottom line is that ObamaCare will send folks who can’t afford insurance to jail and will result in rationing of care to seniors. That makes it bad for Americans of all ages.

 

Take Action!

E-mail your Senators today and urge them to vote “No” on ObamaCare. It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members.

- American Family Association

Obama and Pelosi Still Want Public Option Regardless of What We Want!

How’s that hope and change working out for you? – FedUpEditor

Americans for Prosperity - While the above headline was good news, the fight against a government takeover of health care is far from over. As Congressman John Shadegg pointed out on our national tele-town hall meeting last week, Speaker Pelosi is planning an all-out effort in the House of Representatives to pass a bill containing some form of this government-run health insurance plan. As Speaker Pelosi has repeatedly said, the Left is demanding this provision stay in the bill. They know the public plan is the fastest, clearest path to killing private health insurance and forcing all Americans into a government plan. 

President Obama and liberals in Congress are also moving forward on a number of government mandates that will over time give Washington complete control over our health care.  Under an individual mandate, politicians and bureaucrats would get to define what counts as “health insurance.”  They would decide what it takes in order to qualify for the mandate and decide, based on political considerations, what must be covered and what won’t be covered, what the reimbursement policies will be, and potentially every aspect of your health care.

Vast new government subsidies will also be required to ease passage of a bill that would otherwise slam lower-income citizens – those subsidies mean businesses and the middle class will be slammed twice – once to pay higher premiums for the now-legally-mandated purchase of health insurance, and again, with higher taxes to subsidize coverage for others.

There is now word that President Obama and liberals in Congress are secretly considering using a rare parliamentary procedure to get what they want.  Yes, the Senate is planning to attach Obama’s health care bill to an unrelated bill passed by the House.  You can expect that the Left will try to push this through without giving citizens a chance to review the bill or scrutinize it.

This is what happens when you have the Left thinking they must get their way at any cost. But you and I cannot let them. Congress is now back in session. The Obama Administration and thousands of lobbyists are squeezing members of Congress like an anaconda. The mainstream media drumbeat for doing something — anything — is in full roar. The Washington Post — not surprisingly — is running stories that push for the Washington brand of reform. The liberal special interests, and sadly the AARP and many corporate interests, have sold out and are actually running ads FOR the government health care takeover.

Defeating this monstrosity is up to grassroots Americans — like you and me.

We’ve got to maintain our momentum. This weekend in Washington, AFP will hold our “Hands Off My Health Care” town hall meeting at the Capitol as part of the 3rd annual Defending the American Dream Summit™. CLICK for DETAILS 

After our “Hands Off My Health Care” town hall meeting, we will divide up by state delegations and go hit the Senate offices in person to deliver our message once again. You should try to join us. CLICK HERE. Or, at a minimum sign the petition we will be delivering on Friday. 

On Friday evening at Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Defending the American Dream Summit™, we’ll hear from nationally syndicated radio host and FOX News contributor Laura Ingraham at the Tribute to Reagan Dinner. 

Our goal with the ”Hands Off My Health Care” Town Hall meeting is to make sure that right now – as Pelosi, Obama, Reid and Company are moving forward with their health care takeover – we have committed grassroots activists from across the nation at the Capitol showing our opposition. 

One or two thousand Americans from across the nation showing up at the Capitol on a quiet Friday at such a crucial time and then actually going into Senate offices does wonders for delivering our message!!

Here’s the bottom line: we must keep up the pressure. We’ve got to keep working and fighting.

Many years ago I saw a sign in a football locker room that said something I’ll never forget:  “to go where you’ve never gone, you must be willing to do what you’ve never done.” 

I’m sure the athlete was talking about winning championships in his sport. But I think it applies to us in defending our freedoms now at this decisive time.

You and I have to be willing to sacrifice, to work, to persevere in a way we have not done before if we want to protect our freedoms. 

We’re Americans — I believe we’re up to it. 

Tim Phillips

Al Gore attacks Chuck DeVore

A friend of our campaign just forwarded a remarkable email to us. It was from Al Gore. The email from the former Vice President was a financial appeal to Barbara Boxer’s supporters.

Al Gore says this about Chuck DeVore: “Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, is already campaigning hard across California. He voted against AB 32, the landmark global warming legislation…”

Al Gore is right, Chuck DeVore voted against AB 32 – and debated against it – and fought tooth and nail against its implementation every step of the way. Because, unlike Al Gore, Chuck DeVore understands that neither California, nor America, can solve a global issue on the backs of hard working Americans.

California’s AB 32 is one big reason why Forbes ranked California as having the worst tax and regulatory climate in America – we’re 50th. And, with 12.2% unemployment, the 4th highest in the nation, Californians are suffering under a foolish energy policy while China proceeds to build 100 coal-fired power plants per year AS WELL AS several modern nuclear power plants too. It’s a fact: we can completely shut California down in the name of global warming and ONE YEAR’S worth of economic growth in China would wipe out any supposed benefit.

Al Gore says that he and Boxer “had many chances to team up… on the climate crisis in her role as a tireless environmental advocate… She’s been a vital leader in our efforts to stop global warming, even when it wasn’t a popular position, and I can’t thank her enough for everything she’s done.”

The fact is that Boxer is trying to “solve” what she calls a climate “crisis” with a $2,000 per year tax on working families, rather than with a logical plan to build modern nuclear power plants while increasing other cost-effective sources of domestic energy. Boxer’s “solution” will only drive more American jobs overseas to coal-fired China, reducing American greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating American jobs.

California has already done this with AB 32 and it is not working – not for the environment, and most importantly, not for hard working Californians. We must stop what the Saturday Los Angeles Times quoted Chuck DeVore as saying was “a gigantic mistake” from spreading to the rest of America through Boxer’s cap-and-trade energy tax bill.

- Chuck DeVore

With Cap and Trade legislation looming which will drive up energy prices, we need a conservative in that senate seat! Boxer MUST go! – FedUpEditor

Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf

Alaska’s Offshore (A Game-Changing Energy Resource):

• At a time when the American public is crying out for more domestic energy, Alaska has enormous untapped oil and gas potential, especially in its offshore areas. The Chukchi Sea, off Alaska’s northwest coast, offers more resources than any other undeveloped U.S. energy basin, and, according to experts, may be one of the largest untapped oil and gas sources in the entire world.
• According to very conservative estimates from the federal government, the waters off Alaska’s coasts hold about 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
  • This is more than all the current total proven U.S. oil reserves (i.e. approximately 21 billion barrels).
  • Alaska would have 8th largest oil resources in the world – ahead of Nigeria, Libya, Russia and Norway.
  • This is more than all the current total proven U.S. oil reserves.
  • This is more proven oil reserves than Russia and Mexico process.
• A recent assessment by the US Geologic Survey concludes that about 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 13% of its oil are located above the Arctic Circle, with Alaska holding enough oil & natural gas to maintain production for “many years to come.”
• Alaska has the infrastructure and workforce needed to begin producing energy from these resource basins as soon as it is made available. But for that to happen, the federal government must take action.
• Alaska currently produces more than 13 percent of our nation’s domestic crude oil, and is behind only Texas in terms of production from offshore sources. Yet its potential has only begun to be tapped. There is so much more oil and natural gas to be reached in the state, and with new technologies, we can do it efficiently while at the same time protecting our environment.
• Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, along with Cook Inlet and the North Aleutian Basin, were included in that last Five-Year Program, consistent with analysis from the Interior Department showing the areas could be safely explored without inflicting undue harm on marine life or the environment.

Economic Benefits (Jobs for Alaska, Jobs for the Nation):

• There are more than 108,000 Alaskan jobs tied to the discovery, production, and shipment of Alaskan oil and natural gas – accounting for more than 15 percent of Alaska’s population.
• Last February, a lease sale on tracts in the Chukchi netted taxpayers more than $2.6 billion in bonus bids. It was quite a take – especially since MMS expected to only receive $67 million before the auction took place.
• A recent study by University of Alaska’s Institute of Social and Economic Research University and Northern Economics found that new offshore energy production in the State of Alaska would produce:
  • An annual average of 35,000 jobs over the next 50 years for the state of Alaska alone, with a total payroll of $72 billion (2007$) over the 50-year period
  • OCS development could also be an important factor in reducing risks for the proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Lower 48 markets
  • Offshore development would play a vital role is keeping the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS) flowing, a critical link to America’s energy distribution
• New offshore oil & gas development in Alaska will generate thousands of new, high-paying jobs throughout the 50 states, from steel & pipe manufacturers in the Midwest to shipping on the coasts to advanced computer technology in California and Seattle, to Union Labor for pipeline construction and maintenance.

Despite Promise of Alaska Energy, We Still Can’t Access the Resource:

• Since 2005, 680 leases have been awarded to companies interested in exploring for oil & gas off the Alaska coasts. Despite years of applications for permits, community consultation, environmental studies and analysis, and over $3 billion in bonus payments to the federal government and investment in technology, equipment and personnel, not one well has been drilled in the Alaska OCS.
  • The leases were sold ONLY after an exhaustive environmental analysis.
  • When the federal government awards a lease, it has an obligation to process the permits and allow the company to move forward with potential development.
• Why?
  • The current regulatory system is overly complex and has failed to issue the permits required for Alaska offshore operations.
  • Lawsuits filed against the government on various technicalities regarding offshore exploration have kept offshore development, jobs and economic opportunity bottled-up in courts, preventing operations from moving forward (one court, for example has not rendered a decision in almost 2 years).
• Bottom Line:
  • The current regulatory and judicial structure are preventing America’s ability to access and develop some of its most promising natural resources at a time when America needs jobs, economic growth and reduced dependency on foreign energy sources.

What Can Be Done to Help?

• Help create jobs, improve the current economic situation and build an effective national energy policy by reforming the regulatory permitting system to ensure that federal agencies share resources, work cooperatively on environmental studies and develop a common structure for permit application and review.
  • Pass Congressional legislation that recognize advancements in technology and make permitting for exploration and development consistent and easier.
  • When the government issues a lease, it should have the desire to ensure that lease receives the appropriate permits in a timely manner and any court challenges are vigorously defended.
• Pass Congressional legislation requiring federal courts to render timely decisions on energy projects.
• Enact Congressional legislation granting Alaska citizens and local communities the same monetary benefits of offshore oil and gas production that the citizens of the Gulf Coast enjoy.
• Produce a robust and timely Five-Year Program for Offshore development.

Action Needed:
Join us in our effort as we build public support for offshore oil and natural gas development in Alaska. To get involved and ensure our voices are heard, tell President Obama today that you support keeping the 2007-2012 Five-Year Program Intact. Please feel free to use our sample text as seen below.

Send the letter of support now!

ALERT! Tell Governor Schwarzenegger we need E-Verify

ALERT! Tell Governor Schwarzenegger we need E-Verify.   Governor Schwarzenegger has yet to take a position on the bill passed by the legislature that would restrict usage of the federal E-Verify system in California. AB 1288 would prohibit state agencies, local governments, and special districts from requiring an employer to use E-Verify–even when that employer is a contractor to the government. Removing the jobs that attract illegal aliens is the key tool in our battle to stop illegal immigration. The E-Verify system is a simple and effective means to protect American jobs and American workers. CLICK HERE to learn more and to take action.

Daily Rant, September 29, 2009

I took a few days off from writing because I had basically run out of things to write about. But this morning, on my way to the city, I thought of a couple of things.

Radio commercials I hate:

• Yellow Pages ad (Song “We make the phones ring, we make the phones [ring ring] over and over again.
• Clark Pest (not all of them, just the one with the little toddler saying, “Spiders are yucky, termites are yucky.”
• Rosetta Stone (the one with the kid who sounds like his mouth is full of oatmeal, “It’s my way to learn Russian”).
• 1-877 Cars for Kids (another cloying song that just irritates the hell out of me).
• Bugs invading California. I am not sure what this is supposed to accomplish since it is a government ad that really offers no solution, only sped up voices of people trying to talk like they are bugs. Annoying!
• Solar. This commercial will have you thinking your meter will run backwards when you get solar AND it’s free installation since the government will give you money to install it!

So why are liberals pushing the fact that there is excellent health care in Cuba? I have the answer. After Obamacare, it WILL be better!

This next item is a bad thing. With all the school indocrination videos coming out about kids being coached to sing the praises of Obama, I wonder if they know he’s planning on making school year round? He’d better keep this idea quiet otherwise he will lose his base!

- FedUpEditor

Seniors Moving Against Obamacare

America’s elderly are finally realizing that Obama’s health care changes are largely financed by cuts in Medicare and are rallying against his proposals in increasing numbers.

The latest poll by Scott Rasmussen not only shows national opposition to Obamacare rising — now it is 41-56 against — but also shows the elderly moving against it even more strongly by 33-59 or almost 2:1.

And well they should! Three-quarters of Obamacare is to be financed by slashing $500 billion from Medicare over the next ten years. That comes to an eight percent cut. Next year’s total Medicare spending, for example, will be about $500 billion by itself, so this is like having one year without Medicare at all! Obama’s fatuous claim that the cut will not affect care for the elderly is specious as any thinking person would realize. We have gone through previous incarnations of those who wanted to slash Medicare and pretended that it would not affect the elderly. Newt Gingrich tried to sell this act of alchemy in 1995 and the elderly didn’t buy it then and aren’t buying it now!

It is obviously impossible to cut Medicare reimbursement without slashing the time doctors spend with patients. It is equally obvious that you cannot cover 30 million new patients without more doctors and nurses. And the Medicare cuts in doctors’ fees will, of course, cause a decrease in the number of medical professionals. Investor’s Business Daily conducted a poll in September which showed that 45% of all doctors said they would seriously consider retiring or closing their practices if the Obama bill passes. A larger number will likely refuse to treat Medicare patients. Indeed, current law provides for a 21% cut in Medicare fees to doctors next year and a 6% cut the year after. The new $500 billion in cuts are on top of these reductions! What kind of medical care do we expect our elderly to receive when the doctor who they visit is getting $35 or $40 for seeing them!

But the Senate appears ready to ram this bill through regardless of what the public or the elderly think. They have 60 votes and they won’t listen to anyone. But we have to make them listen!

PLEASE take two steps right now.

1. I have persuaded the League of American Voters to run ten second advertisements in key states that show an elderly person saying: “Senator _________: Please don’t cut my Medicare by $500 billion. I need my Medicare.” We need to get these ads on in the key states.

Obama would like us to believe that the key issue is whether or not to have a public option, precisely because he is prepared to concede the point (and have a co-op which would be run by the government for at least the first three years instead). But we need to focus attention on the cuts in Medicare. It is slashing services to the elderly that is the key point!

So please, click here and give very, very generously. This is the key moment and you can make all the difference in the world. With pressure such as the elderly are bringing to bear, the Senate would not dare pass this benighted plan!

2. If you live in one of these key swing states, PLEASE write the Senator I have indicated. To get talking points for your letter, consult our book Catastrophe. But write today:

Arkansas – Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor
Louisiana – Mary Landrieu
Nebraska – Ben Nelson
South Dakota – Tim Johnson
North Dakota – Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad
Montana – Max Baucus and Jon Tester
North Carolina – Kate Hagan
Indiana – Evan Bayh
Connecticut – Joe Lieberman
Maine – Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins

Thank you very much. Time is running short!

- Dick Morris

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