Common Sense Missing in California
December 31, 2009
Americans for Prosperity -
Dear friend of AFP,
It’s hard to believe, but 2010 is almost here. AFP California was hard at work in 2009. While the state continues on its track towards fiscal ruin, AFP has become the voice of reason in Sacramento and throughout the state.
As we reflect back on 2009, Americans of Prosperity of California decided to compile a list of the top 12 examples of the lack of common sense in California government. The video we put together displays some of the worst examples of government mismanagement.
It may be frustrating to be reminded of these instances of a complete lack of common sense in our state government, but they should spur us on towards reclaiming the Golden State. In 2010, AFP California will continue our fight to bring common sense to Sacramento.
You did it!
December 31, 2009
Thank you!
And let’s make 2010 even better by retiring Barbara Boxer!
All the best for a Happy New Year
Well, you did it. We raised more than $60,000 online this month, our best online fundraising month ever. Over 20,000 people have contributed to our effort to unseat Barbara Boxer with an average contribution size of just over $50.
This is an uncommon effort. Typically, campaigns for federal office are driven by the big donors and special interests. Not so with our campaign. I thank you for your support and for your interest in our race.
The next five months will be formative, as we first seek to secure the Republican nomination on June 8th, then move forward to beat Boxer with our message of liberty, Constitutional governance, jobs, water, and domestic energy. I’ve appeared at 220 events in the past year, driven 21,700 miles, flown 30,100 miles, and met with over 36,000 concerned citizens. I’ve worked hard because I know what is at stake.
I know a lot of our supporters are in a bind financially because they have lost jobs. If a donation is beyond your means right now, please consider referring at least one of your friends to our campaign. Fill in at least one name and email address for us so we can keep in touch with one more potential voter and donor.
Again, thank you for your support. It means much to me and to my family.
Chuck DeVore
Larry Greenfield to Appear In Marin County, California
December 31, 2009
Hello Friends, Associates and Fellow Conservatives:
You are all invited to attend one of the most exciting events in the history of Marin County.
- Event: Obama vs America: One Year Later
- January 20, 2010, 7 – 9 PM
- Sheraton Four Points, 1010 Northgate Dr.
San Rafael, CA. 94903.
PH. 415-755-6140
Open to the public & free admission.
Bio: Larry Greenfield.
Larry Greenfield is the Executive Director of the Reagan Legacy
Foundation and a Fellow at Claremont Institute in American Studies.
Larry is an expert on Islamo-Fascism, and has proven to be one of
the most sought after speakers nationally and internationally.
Come to hear this dynamic speaker share about the November 9,
2009 Celebration in Berlin Germany highlighting the 20th anniversary
of the Berlin Wall being dismantled.
OBAMA VS AMERICA “One Year”
www.Claremont.org
**************
RSVP: 415-789-5281 or Email: info@marinconservativeforum.com
A donation at the door is appreciated to cover costs
Congress says it’s Constitutional. Do you agree?
December 31, 2009
The Enumerated Powers Act (EPA) requires that every bill must specify its source of Constitutional authority. This would prove very embarrassing to Congress, because there is no Constitutional authority for most of what they pass.
Good news!
Two more House members have co-sponored EPA over the past month, bringing the toal to 56. Sadly, the Senate is still stuck at 22 co-sponsors. You can find . . .
* The House co-sponsors here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-450
* And the Senate co-sponsors here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1319
Let’s flood Congress with letters demanding that every member co-sponsor the Enumerated Powers Act. https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/87
Here is what I wrote in my letter . . .
An example of a tortured justification for an unconstitutional bill is found in Section 1501 of H.R. 3590. It tries to explain the Constitutionality of forcing individuals to buy health insurance.
I suggest you read Cato’s Robert A. Levy and Michael F. Cannon commentary on this. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11042:
As well as economist Fred Foldvary’s commentary. http://www.progress.org/2009/fold643.htm
Congress asserts it can compel Americans to purchase health insurance because NOT purchasing health insurance impacts interstate commerce.
* But for decades Congress has allowed states to bar their residents from purchasing health insurance from another state.
* Which means Congress never previously believed that the purchase (or non-purchase) of health insurance was interstate commerce.
* The decision to NOT purchase a good or service is NOT commerce, let alone interstate commerce.
* But under the absurd logic of this bill, if I choose to take a nap rather than go to a movie, I’m engaging in “commerce” and Congress can compel me to either go to the movie or pay a tax penalty.
In any case, the Commerce Clause is limited by other provisions in the Constitution, such as the Ninth Amendment. As Foldvary states, “the Ninth Amendment recognizes there are moral and common-law rights that exist prior to and apart from the U.S. Constitution.” An individual who chooses to NOT purchase health insurance is NOT harming others. He may be making a rational estimate that the costs of insurance will be larger than the cost of the care he will expect to receive. Whether we agree with his assessment or not, he certainly has a right to control his own body and money. His decision to not purchase insurance does not constitute a violation of anyone else’s rights. Forcing him to purchase a service he does not want, however, is a clear violation of his rights.Moreover, the tax penalty in the bill is unconstitutional. As Levy and Cannon state, it is not an income tax or an excise tax, but “is a fixed amount based on family size. That means it’s levied per person and therefore a ‘direct tax’ under the Constitution, which requires that such taxes be apportioned among the states according to their population, as determined by the census.”
And Levy and Cannon conclude, “Congress’ attempt to punish a non-act that harms no one is an intolerable affront to the Constitution, liberty, and personal autonomy. That shameful fact cannot be altered by calling it health-care reform.”
Any judge or informed citizen should find the reasoning of Section 1501 laughable. That’s the very reason I’m glad it’s in the healthcare bill. Please oppose the unconscionable and unconstitutional healthcare bill. And then please pass the Enumerated Powers Act and force Congress to try to justify other unconstitutional bills.
END LETTER
You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System. https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/87
And share this Dispatch with your friends. http://tinyurl.com/y9wm9je
James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org
Candidates face ultimatum: Kill Obamacare, or else
December 31, 2009
From WorldNetDaily: Tea-party leaders are delivering a bold ultimatum to all congressional candidates in 2010: Pledge to repeal the health-care reform bill in its entirety if it passes – or you will be booted from office.
Find out the latest right now at WND.com.
Editor’s note: Why wait? Any state whose congressman or senator who voted against the wishes of the majority of their constituents need to be RECALLED!
Ben Nelson’s Poll Numbers Collapse
December 31, 2009
From Senate Conservatives Fund: Judging by this recent poll, pork-barrel politics may not be as effective as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) thought. After he traded his vote on the health care bill for an earmark — now known as the Cornhusker Kickback — his popularity at home has collapsed.
If Governor Dave Heineman challenges Nelson for the Senate job, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows the Republican would get 61% of the vote while Nelson would get just 30%. Nelson was reelected to a second Senate term in 2006 with 64% of the vote.
The only good news for Sen. Nelson is that he isn’t up for re-election until 2012. But don’t worry, we won’t forget.
Editor’s note: Why wait until 2012? Nebraska citizens need to look into a recall of Nelson for his obvious sell-out on the unpopular government health care legislation. What a slut!
Top encyclopedia: Farah a ‘twit, Jew-loving pig’
December 31, 2009
Editor’s note: Wikipedia has continually shown it is NOT an encyclopedia at all, but a left wing propaganda. With the uncovering of the Climate Gate scandal, it has been reported that Wikipedia allowed scientists to change historical information that supports their case. Do NOT support Wikipedia if you are a conservative. They are part of the left wing liars!
In the latest of a years-long Wikipedia campaign of hurling smears at WND’s founder, Joseph Farah was characterized as a “Zionist Twit and Jew Loving Pig” on the site that claims to be an online encyclopedia.
Find out the latest right now at WND.com.
Week’s events show we’re in big trouble
December 21, 2009
Sacramento Bee -
You have to string together a series of seemingly unrelated events to see it, but this week painted a powerful picture of California’s chronic inability to govern itself.
As the week began, a legislative committee heard state Treasurer Bill Lockyer describe, in blunt terms, why the state finds it increasingly difficult to market its bonds. Briefly, its budget is chronically unbalanced, it has floated too much debt, and it’s now forced to pay higher interest rates on its debts than many Third World nations.
Counterintuitively, state schools chief Jack O’Connell a day later urged the Legislature to approve a big new bond issue for school construction, followed quickly by a warning from economists at California Lutheran University that the state may have to default on some of its existing debt.
State officials quickly and vehemently rejected the notion of default, of course, but their credibility is not high these days. A new poll found record-low approval ratings for the governor and the Legislature, who had just enacted an $11.1 billion bond issue for water.
About a fifth of the nearly $50 billion in unsold state bonds would finance a proposed bullet train, but that $9.95 billion bond issue is less than a fourth of the train’s projected costs, a newly released “business plan” said.
The document raised project costs and lowered ridership estimates – but still insisted that it’s economically viable. However, ridership numbers still appear high, and the projected fare structure is based on airline fare data that don’t square with what airlines actually charge.
Meanwhile, a commission that hands out stem cell research money from a $3 billion bond issue tripled the salary of its part-time vice chairman, former Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres, to $225,000.
Later in the week, The Road Information Program, an advocate of transportation spending, released data indicating that California is falling nearly $11 billion a year short on rehabilitating and maintaining its highways, bridges and public transportation systems. We have the nation’s most congested highways, and we’re second only to New Jersey in having its roughest roadways – a plight that was underscored by a legislative hearing into mysterious metallurgical failures on the Bay Bridge.
Finally, the state issued new population numbers, declaring that California has 38.5 million residents, 4.6 million more than the 2000 census counted. Although growth has tapered off, it’s still likely to be 5 million for the decade, and California is heading toward 50 million residents circa 2030.
So we’re squandering our limited debt capacity on nonessential things such as stem cell research and bullet trains while our existing infrastructure is crumbling, demand from an increasing population grows, politicians’ credibility is almost nil, and bankers deservedly treat us like a Third World country.
Way to go, California.
Schwarzenegger’s Costly War on Climate Change
December 21, 2009
Americans For Prosperity – As the United Nations Climate Change Conference enters its second week in Copenhagen, California will send a delegation to showcase the state’s own climate change policies. Since his election to office in 2003, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made global warming and climate change a cornerstone of his gubernatorial legacy. When he addresses conference delegates this week, Schwarzenegger will boast that under his watch the state has implemented some of the strictest and most comprehensive environmental regulations in the world. But delegates won’t be presented with the true cost of Schwarzenegger’s war on global warming.
Getting serious about shale
December 21, 2009
From Consumer Energy Alliance - Exxon Mobil this week announced plans to buy the independent gas producer XTO Energy for $41 billion – by far the largest deal for the company since the merger between Exxon and Mobil a decade ago.
Clearly this purchase signals a deeper commitment to developing natural gas: XTO has about 14 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. But it also shows a clear focus on producing gas from shale. A large portion of XTO’s reserves are located in so-called unconventional sources, such as shale rock. Shale has long been recognized as a major source of oil and natural gas, but the technological challenges of getting to it have left much of that fuel untapped.
The New York Times offers a good overview of the Exxon Mobil’s systematic strategy in recent years to accumulate unconventional natural gas sources including shale. By adding XTO to its mix of existing properties, the company shifts shale gas production from a niche business to a core one.
In all likelihood, the acquisition will probably set off a race among many oil producers to develop natural gas and oil from shale on a much larger scale. Already, there are many sizable shale development projects underway, such as Range Resources’ Marcellus Shale project in Pennsylvania that produces 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day – enough to power about 500,000 homes. Chevron has hinted that it is interested in making an acquisition that would give it a base of shale gas reserves large enough to make development economically feasible.
The importance of shale to the global energy industry and to domestic energy independence can hardly be overstated. Recent estimates suggest the world’s supply of shale oil resources exceeds its supply of conventional oil reserves. And the largest deposits are right here in the U.S. Of course, accessing more of that oil, and natural gas, will depend on finding technologically and economically feasible ways to do so.
As more money is committed to this promising source of domestic fuel, the technology used to develop it will inevitably improve, putting more volumes of shale oil and gas on the market. This steady supply tends to lead to greater price stability and that, in turn, increases demand. It’s a cycle by which a commodity comes to be mass produced and all signs suggest that for shale rock, that moment has come.
