Vote NO for TX Speaker Joe Straus

You voice must be heard regarding this current Speaker of the Texas House, Joe Straus.  Please, contact YOUR representative!  Here are three easy steps to follow regarding the matter:
1.    Contact your state representative. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

2.    Send them a copy of the SREC resolution. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2

3.    Ask your Representative PUBLICLY to announce their support of the resolution for Republicans to select the Republican Speaker by signing on to the website provided for that purpose. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/

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I received the following letter today and had to share it.  Here is another Representative, Leo Berman, in his own words, declaring why we conservatives need to un-seat this current Speaker of the Texas House. 

STATE REPRESENTATIVE LEO BERMAN
2109 Dover Lane
Tyler, Texas 75703

November 8, 2010

FROM CONSERVATIVE STATE REPRESENTATIVE LEO BERMAN

Dear Joe:

Abe Lincoln said, “You can fool all of the people some of the time; some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time”.

As a 22 year combat veteran, this is an appropriate week for me to prove the veracity of Abe Lincoln’s wisdom in your particular case and those who compromised their integrity along with you.

At the beginning of last session you and 10 of your cohort Republicans, RINOS would be the proper term, decided you did not want my good friend Tom Craddick, a solid conservative Speaker, to preside over the session. You met and voted among yourselves as to who would be your Speaker candidate.

It fell upon you since you were the least controversial although you were the one with the least service in the House. You had 11 votes but needed 65 more to make the 76 it takes to elect a Speaker.

You decided to go to the Democrats who eventually gave you the 65 votes to win. What did you give them? You gave them a promise not to bring legislation dealing with ILLEGAL ALIENS, PRO-LIFE ISSUES, or VOTER-ID to the House floor and that is exactly what happened during the session. The Democrats loved that deal because they opposed all three issues vehemently.

When I saw that no bills on illegal aliens were coming out of the State Affairs Committee Chaired by Rep. Burt Solomons, I did notice that Democrats were bringing bills to the floor that would have funneled millions of dollars directly to illegal aliens. I started to amend those bills immediately, with simple words which said, “These benefits are for U.S. citizens only”.

Excuse the term, but the Democrats went “nuts” over my amendments and Joe, you tried to come to their rescue. You came to my desk on the House floor and asked what you can do for me (like hearing one of my bills in Solomon’s committee) to get me to stop amending the Democrats’ bills. I could not believe what I heard from you. I asked you if you took the same oath of office that I did and then requested that you leave my desk quickly before I really got angry.

Finally, you single-handedly killed the Voter –ID Bill, a bill that 96% of Republicans in the 2008 Primary election voted to have considered in the next session.

Your Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith, another RINO, finally brought out a Voter-ID Bill with two weeks remaining in the session. You allowed the Democrat Speaker Pro-Tem, Rep. Craig Eiland, to delay the session by 5 full days, which automatically killed the Voter-ID Bill.

You could have stopped that from day 1 through day 5 but you sat on your hands somewhere behind the House Chamber. Your tenure as Speaker was a disaster as far as the fact that you called yourself a Republican.

On the first day of any session, it is a custom in the House that everyone votes for the Speaker candidate with 76 votes. There was not a Red Light on the board. You received every vote according to custom.

However, you and your cohorts, who were now positioned on every major committee, punished conservative leaders like me. Most did not get any major bills out of committee even though all followed the House custom and voted Yes for your Speakership.

Now, you have changed that custom! If you survive and there is a vote on you for Speaker, my vote will light up Red meaning NO. I believe there will be many NO’s on the board since you and your remaining 6 RINOS will keep conservative legislation from the floor.

By the way, the remaining 6 RINOS are Reps. Byron Cook, Charley Geren, Burt Solomons, Rob Eissler, Jim Keffer and you. Closely affiliated with this group are Reps. Dan Branch, Todd Smith, Vickie Truitt, Lois Kolkhorst and others who have written glowing statements about your service as Speaker.

They are all looking for something for themselves and will compromise their integrity for personal gain. I will NEVER compromise my integrity by giving you a green light if it comes to that. My vote will be a strong NO.

Recently, in the days prior to the General election [Nov. 2, 2010] you supported with your presence and funds Democrats who were opposed by substantial Republican candidates. Remember you promised the Democrats that you would not personally oppose one of their incumbents.

When I announced for Speaker and you realized that you had opposition, you shelled out over $700,000 to Republicans some of whom were actually conservatives, but I believe you did so in violation of State law and I filed an Ethics Commission violation against you with both the Ethics Commission and the District Attorney of Travis County. One of your spokesman said my complaint has no merit. We shall see!

To my colleagues in the House, I say you all know what Straus and his 10 cohorts did last session. They compromised their integrity. Don’t compromise yours by voting with Straus and writing fictitious statements about the service he provided. It was a farce! My military career forced me to detest those who would compromise their integrity for personal gain. You all know what I mean!

Sincerely,

/s/Leo Berman

Leo Berman

Time for a New Texas Speaker of the House

As many of you know, Joe Straus has been the speaker of the house for the Texas legislature these past few years and he is in this position as a Republicans.  What you may not know is all the politics that went on behind the scene to get him elected.  Many democrats voted him into this seat as they knew that the speaker appoints the key positions over all the committees.  He is able to appoint all the "chairs" and he did so by giving key Democrats chairmanship over key committees.  Each committee chair sets up the docket or the agenda of bills and sets the of b
ills to be discussed.  With a liberal republican as the speaker the Democrats got their agenda in without the people being the wiser. 

Well this maybe worked when the house was sitting with 76 Republicans to the 74 Democrats as was the case in the last legislature when the "special eleven" Democrats came across the isle to "help" elect him.   These special eleven have been known to call themselves as the "cardinals" and the speaker is their "pope".  They joined together with the other liberal Republicans and with all the Democrats (who were in the minority) and together they created a working majority and elected this liberal Republican (Joe Straus) as House Speaker – that is, he was the choice of Democrats more than of Republicans.

Well now we have a 99 Republicans and YOU the voter need to be made aware of what is going on here in our Texas house and what you can do to fix it.  There is very little about Speaker Straus that would show him to be a republican except for the capital "R" that is put in parenthesis behind his name.  What better way to express my point than to show you his own voting history. 

Here are a few of the bills that this current speaker has supported:

• SB 419 - vote 672 in 2005:  A bill that would make it easier to perform late-term abortions.
• SB 6 - vote 327 in 2005:  A bill regarding homosexuals as foster parents.
• HB 10 - vote 929 in 2007:  A bill regarding expanded casino gambling.
• HB 2265 - vote 749 in 2007: Increased gaming and gambling.
• HB 168 - vote 357 in 2005: Increased sale and consumption of alcohol during Sunday morning church hours.
• SB 1626 - vote 852 in 2005: Making it easier to sell alcohol without community approval as is currently required.
• SB 1 - vote 946 in 2005: Increasing the state budget spending by an amazing 19% over only two years.Groups that supported the speaker:
• In the 2007 session he received a 100% voting record from the radical pro-abortion group NARAL.
• The pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood contributed to his re-election campaign.

Here are some of the bills he opposed:

• HB 2685 - votes 384, 437 and 1407 in 2007: Using statistically-proven methods to strengthen marriage and reduce divorce by encouraging premarital counseling.
• HB 2136 - vote 592 in 2007:  Parental rights, opposing a bill to let parents kno w the service-referrals that school counselors are making for their children.

Some additional facts regarding the Speaker and Bills that were killed:

• Voter ID - which had a 90% support rate among Republicans and had passed the Republican Senate and Governor Perry was ready to sign but it was killed in the house by him and his liberal group of politicians.
• A popular pro-life bill which had 70% support among Republicans and had passed the Republican Senate and Governor Perry was ready to sign but was killed in the house by him and his liberal group of politicians.
• An independent political science professor (Dr. Mark Jones of Rice University) has now statistically proven just how successful the Democrats have been under this Republican Speaker and has authoritatively documented that the Democrats passed more of their agenda under Republican Speaker Joe Straus than they did when Democrat Pete Laney was their Speaker.

So with 99 Republicans elect this year, this issue is resolved, right?  WRONG!!
The following information came from David Barton (former Vice-President of the Republican Party of Texas)and rather than re-writing his entire letter, I thought I would just copy it here for you...

The State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) of the Republican Party of Texas just passed a resolution calling on Republican members of the State House to select their Speaker in Republican Caucus and then carry that selection to the floor of the House and pass it there. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/
In this manner, Republicans rather than Democrats will select the Republican Speaker of the Republican-controlled House. If the Republicans in caucus choose Joe Straus as their Speaker, that is fine; at least the decision will have been made by Republicans rather than Democrats.

Regrettably, however, following the passage of that common-sense resolution by the State Party, Speaker Straus' liberal Republicans called the State Party and threatened to withhold $170,000 they had pledged unless the Party rescinded its call for a Republican Speaker to be chosen by Republicans.

Republicans have worked too hard to allow a handful of liberal Republican State Representatives to give the House over to Democrats. In fact, in this election, there will be a significant increase in the number of conservative Republicans elected to the House, making it even more important that the Speaker be chosen by Republicans. In order for our last decade of hard work in electing conservative Republicans to not go to waste, I urge you to:

1.    Contact your state representative. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

2.    Send them a copy of the SREC resolution. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2

3.    Ask your Representative PUBLICLY to announce their support of the resolution for Republicans to select the Republican Speaker by signing on to the website provided for that purpose. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/

Texas has become the envy of the nation by enacting conservative economic and social policies in the legislature. Let's not let liberal Republicans join with Democrats to stop that progress. Please act today to contact your state representative. After all, what is controversial about Republicans simply meeting together, deciding who will be the Speaker candidate, and emerging with a single voice?  What could be more unifying?

Please act today. And please share this information with your conservative friends.

---end of letter from David Barton.

There are 150 State Representatives in our Texas House so 76 is the magic number.  Speaker Strauss has already announced that he has more than enough support to win re-election as the chamber's leader as he has 122 lawmakers (more than 4/5th of the House membership) who promise to vote for him when the Legislature convenes in January.  Immediately after the elections newly elected Republicans were being "wined and dined" regarding all the "opportunities" that would be available to them if they would "pledge" their support.

With redistricting as one of the many items on the upcoming agenda for this legislature, we NEED a Conservative Speaker MORE than ever before. Voter ID and Pro-life agenda were already stopped under his leadership.

Finally,  here is a list of the 25 members of the Texas House (listed below) who have NOT pledged (this number is now less than 25 as some have now pledged) to Straus.  Look for YOUR representative and see if they have pledged support or not.  Either way (if your rep's name is here or not), contact them and express YOUR opinion and then make the phone call and send them a copy of the resolution that David Barton stated above.  Ask them to PUBLICLY state their support of the resolution and while you have them on the phone voice your outrage if they support Straus!  What we saw in this last election is that WE THE PEOPLE need to continue to SPEAK UP!  We need to make our ELECTED officials HEAR US!

25 Members (Number is the District and the "X" = new member):

• 2 Flynn
• 3 Cain X
• 6 Berman
• 7 Simpson
• 9 Christian
• 12 White X
• 26 Howard, Charlie
• 30 Morrison
• 45 Isaac X
• 61 King
• 66 Taylor, Van X
• 74 Gallego (now has pledged to Straus)
• 82 Craddick
• 83 Perry
• 85 Landtroop X
• 88 Chisum
• 96 Zedler X (he withdrew his initial pledge to Straus)
• 101 Burkett X
• 106 Anderson X
• 107 Sheets X
• 117 Garza (now has pledged to Straus)
• 134 Davis X
• 136 Woolley

Here are the names of the infamous eleven: (as published and distributed at the State Republican Convention in Dallas 2010).
BEFORE the primaries and the elections, these were the remaining ten of the original eleven...Reps. Jim Pitt,s Rob Eissler, Byron Cook, Edmund Kuempel, Jim Keffer, Burt Solomons, Charlie Geren, Tommy Merritt (lost his primary), Delwin Jones (lost his primary) and Brian McCall (resigned to take an appointment to head a Texas college).  If Speaker Straus would have been "elected" among only Republicans, he would never have won this seat.  There were only 10 liberal Republicans who joined Democrats to elect him and he rewarded these ten with choice assignments and committee chars.  The gang of 10 was now down to the gang of 7 (again BEFORE this November election).

A Final List of Reasons Why We Don't Want Joe Straus as our Republican Speaker: (as published and distributed at the State Republican Convention in Dallas 2010).

• He joined John Sharp (D) to host a fundraiser for Patrick Rose (D-incumbent) to defeat conservative challenger Jason Isaac (R - who WON!)
• Texans for Economic Development (TED) is a pro-gambling PAC run by the former head of the State Democratic Party.  Last cycle TED spent $3000,000 in their attempt to defeat conservative House members including Reps. Betty Brown, Nathan Macias, Bill Zedler and Rep. Phil King.  Three of these conservatives lost because the Straus family gave $80,000 to TED. Rep. Phil King was the lone survivor.
• TED ran large amounts of its money through Parent PAC, whose consultant is Roy Fletcher - a business partner with Bil Clinton campaign strategist James Carville.  Like TED, Parent PAC also targets conservatives in the Texas House (and on the State Board of Education), having spent almost $1 million to remove Conservative Republicans.  (Several of Straus' Republican lieutenants also wrote out large contributions to Parent PAC.)
• Speaker Straus' political director is Gordon Johnson, a Democrat who ran TED.  Straus chose as his original Chief of Staff former Democrat State Rep. Clyde Alexander; his new Chief of Staff is Denise Davis, who was a central figure in the House coup to overthrow former conservative House Speaker, Tom Craddick.
• In the spring primaries, Speaker Straus used his resources in attempts to defeat the more Conservative candidate (such as as Van Taylor, Charles Perry and David Simpson) running against a liberal Republican House member.
• This year, 64 Conservative state legislators formed GOPAC-TX in "increase the number of Republicans serving the Texas Legislature by recruiting, training and funding conservative candidates."  After an excellent and effective beginning, Austin lobbyists report that the Speaker put out the word they were to give NO more money to GOPAC-TX; hence, funding has dried up for this outstanding conservative organization committed to defeating Democrats.
• Conservative State Senator Dan Patrick formed Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas (ICROT) for a purpose similar to GOPAC-TX; ad while 90% of House and Senate Republicans joined the group as charter members, Speaker Straus and six of his lieutenants refused to do so.
• Rene Oliveira is a big tax and spend Democrat House member, receiving an abysmal 35% rating from Texas for Fiscal Responsibility.  Nevertheless, Speaker Straus made Oliveira Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee with the responsibility of handling all tax policy; Oliveira has announced that he is seeking $3-4 billion in new tax revenues.
• Speaker Straus made lieutenant Todd Smith Chairman of the Elections Committee and Smith was able to prevent the Voter ID bill from coming to a vote, even though that measure had received the support of 93% of Republican voters in the primary.
• Speaker Straus made Republican lieutenant Burt Solomons Chairman of State Affairs Committee and Solomons kept the pro-life sonogram bill as well as all immigration legislation from coming to a vote.  Incidentally, as a reflection of his philosophy, Solomons had previously even objected to teaching that American is a blessed and unique nation (i.e., American Exceptionalism) and he also adamantly opposed a house bill to have Texas students recite portions of the Declaration of Independence.
• Speaker Straus made Republican lieutenant Edmund Kuempel Chairman of the Licensing Committee and while Straus' other lieutenants kept measure such as Voter ID, immigration and the pro-life sonogram bill from coming to the floor, Kuempel did get pro-gambling bills to emerge from his committee.  (The Straus family owns racetracks and gambling interest across the state and supports gambling and VLTs).
• Control of redistricting for the next ten years and Texas is expected to gain 4 new US congressional seats as well as draw improved prospects for Republican  state legislative districts, Speaker Straus made Delwin Jones (former Democrat and most liberal Republican in the House) Chairman of the Redistricting Committee.
• Speaker Straus inexplicably appointed Democrats Mike Villarreal and Aaron Pena to head redistricting hearing in cities such as San Antonio, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Lubbock, etc. (The testimony collected in those hearings will unquestionably be used in lawsuits filed by Democrat and liberals to contest the redistricting lines that will be drawn next year by Republican leaders and Speaker Straus is aiding this inevitable Democrat challenge.)
• Straus' Republican lieutenants were dispatched into primary races to work against conservative candidates; and in seats where conservative Republican members were retiring (e.g., David Swinford, Frank Corte, Joe Crabb, etc.), they worked to replace the retiring conservative with moderates and liberals.
• Straus Republican lieutenants Charlie Geren, Jim Keffer and Byron Cook aired radio ads supporting Democrat Mark Homer over conservative Republican Kirby Hollingsworth, helping the Democrat to a narrow win.
• Straus Republican lieutenant Jim Keffer did mail pieces for Democrat Mark Strama to help him defeat his Republican opponent.
• Straus lieutenants Dan Branch and Jim Pitts are helping Democrat Ellen Cohen against her Republican challenger, doing events with her in her district.
• Power Houston Democrats Sylvia Garcia (Democrat County Commissioner in Harris County) and Elyse Lanier (wife of the former liberal Democrat mayor Bob Lanier) sponsored a Democrat fundraiser for Speaker Straus with numerous Democrat officials and high ranking union officials.

There are additional examples, but these are sufficient to affirm tat the greatest threat to the conservative Republican gains in the Texas State House is not from Democrats but instead may be from Speaker Straus and his "Republican" lieutenants.

In closing, "Once...I said, 'This is a wonderful time to be alive,' and I meant that.  I meant that we're lucky not to live in pale and timid times.  We've been blessed with the opportunity to stand for something - for liberty and freedom and fairness.  And these are things worth fighting for - worth devoting our lives to.  And we have good reason to be hopeful and optimistic.  We've made much progress already!  So, let us go forth with good cheer and stout hearts - happy warriors out to seize back a country and a world to freedom!" - Ronald Reagan's words from March 8, 1985.

In America - become American!

Being that I grew up in Minnesota I am always interested in stories from back home, but this story was a bit hard to hear and quite sad to me.  This is ridiculous that a group (in this report it is Somali's) are given the right to discriminate (not giving rides to "infidels" in their cabs or handling bacon as a cashier) based on their religion yet other religions (Christian churches for not hiring homosexuals or couples living together or stating that marriage is between a man and women to name a few) can't enforce their convictions as that would be discriminatory?  My dad used to say, "That you have the right to swing your arms, until you hit someone in the nose." See my rights (to swing my arms) end when I enfringe upon your rights (of hitting your nose).

I don't have to work for a church if I don't like their policies just as I don't have to work as a grocery clerk if I have convictions about handling "unclean" meat.  The choice is the individuals NOT to work there, not the company's policies to be set to make all employees happy.  Don't like it, don't work there!  If you start a company servicing the public, than you must service the public...ALL those in the public.  Don't like it, don't start a business servicing the public!  Whatever happened to common sense?  People have the choice of where they work and for that matter, what business they start.  This is America and what we  have always stood for...the American Dream = Capitalism!

When I go to other countries, I have to "fit-in" if I want to enjoy the good graces of their country.  In America, we are inclusive. We allow others to come in but they are not allowed to come here and make this country a satalite of their homeland.  They can not take over and impose their rules and cultures on us.  Before you get on the band-wagon that I am intolerant, I am speaking from my own families personal experience!  My mother was an immigrant and she became an American.  She had to forsake ALL allegiances to her homeland.  She learned the language of English and had to use it and speak it.  She became and American citizen and even exercised her right to vote.  This is how it works!  If you want to be here, become one of us!

To quote Theodore Roosevelt, "In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes and American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.  But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here.  Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all.  We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." -1907

How can one religious group have freedoms while another is targeted as raciest or intolerant?  Seems we have dual standards that are developing in this country and we need to get back to the basics as outlined by Roosevelt...one flag, one language, one loyalty!  The founders were tolerant of other religions even though most of them were Christian by faith.  They understood that the govenment does not dictate religion and that people need to have the right to choose their faith.  With that, they also knew that without God for us, we would never make it!

I totally understand some of the reporters closing words, "There is such a thing as carrying politeness too far."

Minnesota,  Next Somali? - Posted July 2, 2007

Somali Pirates in St. Paul, Minnesota - Posted November 18, 2009

US Capitol Tour by David Barton

The first Bible printed in America was printed by U.S. Congress in 1782 for Public Schools and done for the inhabitants of the United States.  This is an INCREDIBLE video of a Capitol Tour by David Barton showing how our nation IS and WAS founded by Christians and that faith was very important to their personal testimony.  They were so into their faith that they allowed ALL to have their faith but the majority of the founders were Christian.

My family personally knows David Barton and we have been blessed to hear him speak on several occasions and each time I learn something new.  If you ever have the opportunity to take a tour with David, you will never be the same as you watch our history come alive as you hear about the faith of so many of the founders and how many of them were even pastors.  Did you know that 29 of the original 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had Seminary Degrees?  Again, this in INCREDIBLE and you haven't heard this in your public schools but he has the documentation and the evidence to show you the truth!

Hedge Funds and Global Economic Meltdown

To understand the current economic situation a person would have to go back in time to March 11, 2008 and when Bear Stearns (a 158 year old company) shares were bought with some interesting effects.  It appears that somebody was betting that they would not be going to make their upcoming financial promise even though there was NO indication that the company (Bear Sterns) was in trouble as they still had several billion dollars on hand.

This risk taken by those buying would be comparable to someone buying something like $1.7 million dollars worth of lottery tickets.  When they bought these shares it gave them the right to sell $5.7 million worth in shares at a future date for $30 a piece.  Here is what is curious...at the time Bear was selling for about $65 a share and that future date was just 7 days away.  This was so irrational that people commented that someone must have known something inside to make this deal happen.

These videos are really informative and I encourage you to watch them.  Someone was involved and we may never know WHO caused this meltdown, but we do know someone gained and incredible profit from it.  The SEC needs to be re-vamped...seems like the fox is guarding the hen house to me.  Wonder what some of these regulator's bank accounts and investments look like?  They (the SEC) are NOT doing their jobs and ENFORCING the penalties that are necessary for people who break the laws.  The SEC has not done a THING about this issue to date!

Hedge Funds and the Global Economic Meltdown (Part 1).
Hedge Funds and the Global Economic Meltdown (Part 2).
Hedge Funds and the Global Economic Meltdown (Part 3).

Hedge Funds are who are responsible for this.  What are Hedge Funds?  Some of these people are the richest people in the nation.  Dan Loebo, Jim Chanos and Steven Cohen are just a few of the names of these ultra-rich who are just getting richer!  My mother used to call the group of people who are the puppeteers of the financial markets, "the money lords".  Seems we may have some names now.

What can we do about this?  Write your Representative! Send a note to your elected Representative and demand that the process of hedge funds must be dealt with.  They (hedge funds) must be put as an observer.

Hedge Funds - What are they?  Did you know that Hedge funds can make money when other funds (mutual) are lossing money?  Interesting...hmmm.

HR 875 - Outlaw Organic and Homegrown Foods?

This is another version of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 and is in this version HR 875 will effectively make personal gardens subject federal inspection and regulation.  The speculation on the why to this is because individual home gardens are cutting into the profit of multinational food, herbicide and pesticide producers.  This bill has many outrageous infringements and it is just another reason why people need to wake up and see what their congress is up to and change up those with these radical agendas by voting them out this November!

This bill has been quietly pushed through the processes by those in special interest groups representing the money behind manufacturing of larger farms and industry where regulation already exists.  If local and small facilities are included in this final bill and it becomes law, then those who violate it will subject to a $1,000,000 for any perceived violation.  The bill was rendered dead on March 11, 2010 but was amended and moved forward again by these big lobbyists and was sitting in committee back in April without having been read because the lobbyists are telling the congress what THEY want them to know.  Because of the outcry of people this bill is still sitting in committee and yet there have still been some modifications to it.

This bill will override states rights and cause federal regulations to be imposed on all states and local farmers.  The attack against "organic" farming is not spelled out clearly but infers that it affects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it by only consuming it.  It would also affect anyone producing meat of any kind including the processing wild game for personal consumption.  This law as now written would also allow federal authorities to seize records, products or produce as they see fit as part of the inspection process.

Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation.
Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities.
Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment. There are many more that you need to check out for yourself!  HR 875 as it is written, could mean the end of the vibrant and growing local foods movement, the demise of farmers markets, road-side farm stands and small family-run farms altogether.
Ironically, HR 875 fails miserably in promoting food safety as it pretends; on the contrary, it promotes it. Rather, than promoting true accountability and proper farming techniques that minimize the risk of introducing pathogens into the food supply, it simply will create greater barriers for our already struggling small farms and farmers markets. It will give a few huge companies total control on the food we eat, which will be their food -- food that has bio-genetically engineered and laced with toxins, carcinogens and poisons that they call pesticides. Food, seed-stocks, herbicides and pesticides that will be owned by these companies.

A Muslim Girl

This is a troubling video, so be warned.  It totally grieved my spirit regarding the extent of hate that is held in some people's heart and how they are teaching that to their children. 

This 9/11 may we never forget that we have an enemy to our very existence and that enemy is the devil, not a group or an individual but evil itself.  The Word says in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  May we PRAY for the peace that ONLY the Lord can bring and yet may we stand watch to protect our very liberty!  We have to be willing to fight to defend our freedoms!

This little Muslim girl looks so precious and then she speaks during an interview and she reveals what she has been taught.  Lord, please forgive the hate that we as children of God have against our brothers!

"Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2010 Top Ten Anti-Israel Lies

The Simon Wiesenthal Center recently released the 2010 TOP TEN Anti-Israel Lies and I felt this was worth passing along.    The Simon Wiesenthal Center, according to its mission statement is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time".  It is located in Los Angeles, California and was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi hunter. 

Rather than re-writing the whole document, I am only listing the "lies" as they published in their document.  Click on this link to read them all:
2010 TOP TEN Anti-Israel Lies Brochure.

• Lie #1  - Israel was created by European guilt over the Nazi Holocaust.  Why should Palstinians pay the price?
• Lie #2 - Had Israel withdrawn to its June 1967 borders, peace would have come long ago.
• Lie #3 - Israel is the main stumbling block to achieving a Two-State solution.
• Lie #4 - Nuclear Israel not Iran is the greatest threat to to peace and stability.
• Lie #5 - Israel is an Apartheid State deserving of International Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns.
• Lie #6 - Plan to build 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem prove Israel is 'Judizing' the Holy City.
• Lie #7 - Israeli policies endanger U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Lie #8 - Israeli policies are the cause of worldwide anti-Semitism.
• Lie #9 - Israel, not Hamas, is responsible for the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza.  Goldstone was right when he charged that Israel was guilty of war crimes against civilians.
• Lie #10 - The only hope for peace is a single, bi-national state, eliminating the Jewish State of Israel.

At the closing of their brochure was the following sentence:  It is up to us to help disseminate the facts about Israel -- to our Nation's leaders, to world governments, to our media outlets, to all who will listen.  Please stand up today and do your part.

One thing I would add to the following "check list" of people to call and contacts to make is for us to pray!  God has a heart for Israel and has required us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  After we have covered them with prayer, then I agree, we need to contact the media outlets and those in govering authorities to speak out against any anti-Israel moods that manifest in this country.  They then listed these numbers:

UNITED STATES :
President Barack Obama
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
202.456.1111

Vice President Joe Biden
www.whitehouse.gov/contact-vp
202.456.1111

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
www.contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state
202.647.4000

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx
703.571.3343

National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
202.456.1111

To reach your Senator or Congressman
http://www.senate.gov/  OR  http://www.house.gov/
202.224.3121


CANADA:
Prime inster Stephen Harper
pm@pm.gc.ca
Canada F:   613.941.6900

Foreign Minster Lawrence Cannon
Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
Candad:  613.992.5516


MIDDLE EAST QUARTET:

Quartet Representative Tony Blair

info@quartetrep.org


UNITED NATIONS:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
www.un.org/en/contactus/
contactform.asp


COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN UNION:
eeas.europa.eu
011.32.2.281.56.50


MEDIA:
CNN
cnn.desk@turner.com
404.827.1500

Fox News Channel
yourcomments@foxnews.com
888.369.4762

MSNBC
www.msnbc.com/id/10285339
212.664.4444

New York Times
letters@nytimes.com
888.698.6397

Washington Post
letters@washpost.com
202.334.6000

Los Angeles Times
letters@latimes.com
213.237.5000

Wall Street Journal
swj.ltrs@wsj.com
212.416.2000

Globe and Mail
newsroom@globandmail.com
Canada:  416.585.5000

National Post
queries@nationalpost.com

CBC
ombusman@cbc.ca
1.866.306.4536

iACT CAMPUS OUTREACH:
Rabbi Aron Hier
iact@wiesenthal.com
310.772.2478

the Elana Kagan, Obama Connection

Seems there is some controversy surrounding this newly appointed justice to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan.  It seems to becoming quite clear why she was Obama's choice for the recently vacated seat and the reasons for their connection are in the least, very interesting.  You see, Ms. Kagan was the Solicitor General for all the suits that were filed against Obama with the Supreme Court regarding Obama's proof of natural born citizenship.  Some are saying that this was a "payment" for all of her hard work in helping him with all his legal issues.  See, all the requests that came across Kagan's desk were denied and never heard by the court.  The American people were totally kept from the truth regarding all of this as even Congress didn't bring up these facts during the confirmation hearings on Kagan. 

David and Barbara Mikkelson are the couple behind Snopes and they have posted on their site that, "No, Virginia, There is No Obama/Kagan Connection."  They are still saying that they are "correct" in posting that this "rumor" is "false" but they have never explained all the United States Supreme Court dockets (listed below) that are all signed off by ELana Kagan.

World Net Daily (WND) has posted that Kagan's name is on at least nine dockets involving Obama and his eligibility to be President and Snopes has a link on this as well, yet  Snopes still concludes there there is NO connection.  Not sure I am following the math on this one.  Snopes lists the dockets too and even highlights Kagan's name on them, yet they say there is NO connection?  I don't understand their reasoning as all of this seems pretty obvious to me.

I have included all the links in this blog for you to check it out for yourself.  After reading all this, I would hope you have ONE more reason to vote this November.  Not only am I upset about the conflict of interests and total disregard for the process that has permeated this administration, but I am also upset at those in Congressmen and women who did NOT expose this and stop this nomination. 

Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08M38     November 25, 2008
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09A381
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-8145   January 12, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-1234   April 7, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-10382 May 15, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-6790   October 1, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-581     November 13, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-724     December 22, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-8857   January 29, 2010

Remember that all of this "controversy" is swirling because there are still so many questions that have not been answered regarding the birthplace of Barack Obama, Jr.  There is still no birth certificate stating that Obama was born in Hawaii among the passport documents for Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro that were recently released by the State Department on July 29, 2010 regarding Obama's Citizenship. In these recently released documents, Dunham's husband, Lolo Soetoro petitioned the Immigration and Naturalization Services of the State Department in 1967 to obtain a waiver to return to the United States to rejoin his wife and her infant son, Barack.

An Indonesia timeline was recently compiled by World News Daily (WND) created from information gathered from the State Department's July 29 Freedom of Information Act.  This information shows that Lolo Soetoro returned to Indonesia on July 20, 1966, after completing his studies at the University of Hawaii.  Soetoro was required to complete a mandatory two-rear residence requirement in Indonesia before he could be granted a visa to return to the US.

There is a document dated September 14, 1967, as an apparent attempt to establish the nationality of Barack Obama Jr. by a person named Mix who submitted a poorly typed and difficult to decipher memo to the file but failed to identify their official position with the State Department at the time.  This memo was written pursuant "to inquire from Central office regarding the status of the aplicants' spouses' child by a former marriage." (sic)  The next paragraph reads:

"The person in question [Barack Obama, Jr.] is a united states citizen by virtue of his birth in Honolulu, Hawaii Aug. 4, 1961. He is living with the applicants' spouse in Honolulu. He is considered the applicants step-child, within the meaning of Sec. 101(b)(1)(B), of the act, by virtue of the marriage of the applicant to the childs' mother on March 15, 1965."

The person writing the document does not indicate that they ever SAW any birth-certificate document to establish the citizenship of her son, Barack Obama, Jr., but instead, it suggests that is was written as a result of conversation, possibly with the mother, and was accepted as is without documentary verification.

In contrast, various forms in the Freedom of Information Act release clearly indicate when corroborating documents have been presented. For instance, an examining Immigration and Naturalization Service and State Department official filing a particular report had examined the divorce decree between Barack Obama's mother and his father, Barack Obama Sr., to establish that the parents were legally divorced.
In the two separate releases of Freedom of Information Act documents July 29, what should have been a clear opportunity to see a birth certificate for Barack Obama Jr. was lost when the State Department destroyed any and all passport documents that may have existed for Dunham prior to 1968.  The released State Department documents make clear that Barack Obama Jr. was listed on his mother's passport. However, as WND has previously reported, the State Department claims Dunham's application for her 1965 U.S. Passport No. 777788, issued July 19, 1965, was destroyed at some unspecified time in the 1980s, apparently pursuant to a General Services Administration directive.

Lacking Dunham's application for her 1965 U.S. passport, it is impossible to determine what documentation, if any, she submitted to the State Department to establish her son was a U.S. citizen. WND has reported that in a passport amendment submitted Aug. 13, 1968, Obama's mother identified her son with an Indonesian surname and asked the State Department to drop him from her U.S. passport, bolstering evidence Barack Obama Jr., became a citizen of Indonesia when he moved to the Southeast Asian nation with his mother and stepfather in the late 1960s.
Since 1961, the Obama family has always maintained that Barack Obama Jr., was born in Hawaii. However, as WND has reported, the family has changed its story about his hospital of birth, first claiming it was Honolulu's Queens Medical Center then changing it to Kapi'olani Medical Center.  What has yet to be produced is a long-form certificate of birth that lists the hospital where Obama was born and the doctor that attended the birth.

In, June, Tim Adams, a senior elections clerk for the city and county of Honolulu in 2009 made the claim that Barack Obama Jr., was definitely not born in Hawaii and that a long-form, hospital generated birth certificate for Obama does not exist in that state.

The birth address reported in the Honolulu newspapers in 1961 announcing the birth of Barack Obama Jr. was the address where his grandparents lived, suggesting the grandparents may simply have applied at the Hawaii Department of Health for a short-form Certificate of Live Birth. WND has also reported that newspaper birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers in 1961 did not necessarily indicate a baby was born in the state. Hawaiian law in 1961 allowed "an adult or legal parent of a minor child" to apply to the health department and, upon unspecified proof, be given a birth document in the form that is known as a short-form Certification of Live Birth.  Under Hawaiian law at that time, a family wishing to register the birth of a baby outside Hawaii was permitted by the Hawaii Department of Health to list a family residence in Hawaii as the birth address, even if the mother was residing outside Hawaii at the time the baby was born.  Moreover, WND has reported that being a U.S. citizen does not by itself fulfill the requirement under Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution that the president be a "natural born citizen."

Information used above from WND - No Birth Certificate.
CHECK IT OUT FIRST...here are some sites to use:
Snopes.com
FactCheck.org
urbanlegends.about.com
PolitiFact.com - Obama White House Fact Check

EPA Considers Banning Lead Bullets

According to the Weekly Standard, Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to make a change to existing rules before the November 2 elections.  What is she up to?  Well, she is considering banning lead bullets and shot as well as lead sinkers that are used for fishing.  Several environmental groups [including Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)] are petitioning the EPA to rate these above products under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

EPA is currently barred by statute from controlling ammunition, CBD is trying to have these banned further up the marketing line.  Non-lead alternatives are available but they are much more expensive.  This ban would force sportsmen and hunters to buy the non-lead ammunition that has been twice the cost of regular ammunition.

I then found this link that I thought was most pertinent to this discussion from the National Rifle Association Institute of  Legislative Action (NRA-ILA).  It seems that the EPA has denied a petition by the CBD and the other groups trying to ban the use of lead bullets.   There still is an open comment period until September 15 however to the EPA on the other part of the petition regarding the lead sinkers.

Those Voices Don't Speak for the Rest of Us!

This is a great video that is at times UNBELIEVABLE in the audacity of the plan of some liberals.  When Representative Alcee Hastings of the Florida's 23rd District says that, "we make 'em up as we go along" referring to "rules", I felt chills run down my spine.

With the mid-term elections less than 60 days away now, we NEED to remember what these politician have said and what their motives are toward their agenda against the people's desires.  Here is Ronald Reagan speaking about Those Voices many years ago and here we are again today, battling the same fight for our American Dream.

Please share this link with friends and family members as to the importance of voting these radicals out of office.  Their vision of America is NOT representative of my values or desires.  I pray that you vote, encourage those you love to vote and help get the vote out!  WE have a role to play in our destiny...we still have the RIGHT to vote.  Your vote matters and it CAN bring about the change we all desire.  This past administration offered "hope and change".  Many people believed he would bring good forth for our country but all we have gotten is more debt, more government and more problems.

"The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing." - Ronald Reagan

"Your telling me that we gotta go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?  The answer (is)Yea, I'm telling ya." - Vice President Joe Biden.

“But the truth is that outside of its legitimate function, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.” - Ronald Reagan

"I think are a lot of rich people out there whom we can tax at a, at a point down the road and recover some of this money."  Representative Barney Frank of the Fourth Congressional District of Massachusetts.  Well then, let's start with those in Congress, Mr. Frank.  According to CNBC the top 10 are listed below (and note that only two are "RICH Republicans":

01 - Darrell Issa (R - California) $251.03 Million (Greene Properties) Ranks 1st in House
02 - Jae Harman (D - California) $244.80 Million (Harman Int.) Ranks 2nd in House
03 - Herb Kohl (D - Wisconsin) $214.57 Million (Ranch Blgs/Horse Breeding) Rank 1st -Sen.
04 - Mark Warner (D - Virginia) $209.70 Million (Not Avail.) Ranks 2nd in Senate
05 - John Kerry (D - Massachusetts) $208.80 Million ((Dryfus Prime Mgmt) Rank 3rd in Sen.
06 - Jared Polis (D - Colorado) $158.17 Million (Goldman Sachs) Ranks 3rd in House
07 - Vernon Buchanan (R - Florida) $142.43 Million (VB Motor Yachts) Ranks 4th in House
08 - Jay Rockefeller (D - West Virginia) $94.31 Million (Wachovia Bank) Ranks 4th in Senate
09 - Frank R. Lautenberg (D - New Jersey) $74.74 Million (Not Avail.) Ranks 5th in Senate
10 - Dianne Feinstein (D-California) $72.38 Million (Clariton Hotels) Ranks 6th in Senate

There have been many in last few decades saying that we can eliminate poverty if only the poor would be given more.  My father used to tell me that no one appreciates what is given to them.  When you earn something you cherish it.  The solution for America is to get ALL Americans working again.  We have given too much to too many for far too long and it times for people to get back to basics.  If you can't afford it, you can't buy it.  Today in America we have 40% of Americans paying 86% of the Federal taxes.

Press One For English

With all the turmoil in this country about immigration and all the discussion regarding the same, this is an up-beat song to get it all back into perspective.  Press One For English is a good reminder to those coming in to become a part of THIS country.  My mother did.  She left her homeland, her language and her citizenship behind and became an American.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes and American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.  But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here.  Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all.  We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." - Theodore Roosevelt 1907

If we would just live up to what Theodore Roosevelt stated, we would not have the mess that we have today.  "Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all."

Seems pretty clear to me.  Wake up America!!!  This is MY country and these are the rules!  This is not just my opinion but also the opinion of President Theodore Roosevelt.

the Preamble to the Constitution

Do you remember the Andy Griffith Show?  They just don't make television like they did.  Here is a clip of Barney Fife reciting the Preamble to the Constitution, with a little bit of help from Andy.

Sad thing is back in these days, EVERY child had to learn the Preamble.  Today, I bet most children of school age don't even know where the Preamble is found.  A bit discouraging to think about and how little of our important history is being taught to our children today.

Stimulus was spent on what?

So we have all read and heard about the stimulus money and how we needed to pass the legislation to allow the spending of this money to spur on the economy toward a recovery.  Right?  Well what I bet you didn't know exactly what that $862 Billion (yes that is a "B") American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  taxpayer money in 2009 was spent on, did ya?  I found this list and just had to share it as people need to get more involved with their government.

I am a parent of more than the average number of children compared to the average medium family size in America and I for one know that if I assign a task or duty for my children to do, I have to follow-up with some investigation to be sure the task or duty was completed per the directions.  This is how it is as the authority.  You have to follow-up and hold people accountable.  So, if "We The People" aren't taking OUR responsibility seriously should we be surprised that those who work for us are not doing what they should be doing?  We need to follow-up.  There is NO easy way to be a parent or for that matter a constituent.  America WAKE UP!

We have gotten too comfortable passing the buck and not paying attention because we don't like politics or we don't like politicians or we would rather be reading a book, driving a boat or watching a movie.  We have become lazy and it is costing us our country.  Well, when the cats away, the mice will play.  Let's take a look at where all those dollars were spent.  Remember they were spent to "stimulate the economy" and we were told with assurance that it would help stop the loss of American jobs and keep the economy from floundering.  One of the best ways to stimulate the economy is by creating jobs - right?

Well, here is 18 months later and millions of jobs are still gone and the economy is as uncertain as ever.  The National debt is growing through as it helped push it 23% higher to $13.2 TRILLION...a NEW record!  Remember that the creation of jobs was the goal as you read on.  Summertime Blues is the PDF of the list below.

Top 100 Stimulus Projects That Actually COST America Jobs!

by Senator Tom Coburn, MD and Senator John McCain

• Forest Service to Replace Windows in Visitor Center - Closed in 2007 (Amboy, WA) - $554,763   Despite having no plans to reopen a shuttered visitor center at Mount St. Helens in Washington state, the U.S. Forest Service is spending more than $554,000 to replace its windows. One government official likened it to keeping a vacant house in good repair,” while another official noted that there is hope to find some purpose for the building in the future, whether as a hotel, science camp or restaurant. Despite those efforts, there are no current plans to use the empty space.

Spending $11.5 million in 1993, the Forest Service opened the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center to provide visitors to Mount St. Helens a “sweeping view of the volcano”4 through the center’s soaring windows. In 2007, however, the Forest Service closed down the visitor center after just 14 years in operation. Former USDA official, Mark Rey, said at the time regarding Mount St. Helens, we have more visitor center capacity than the public can reasonably use.”Officials are hoping to maintain the facility so that another use can be found, such as a lodge or educational facility. But the Forest Service has been criticized in the past for poor facilities management, especially within the Mount St. Helens National Monument, and there is no sign that an economically viable use for the center is close to being found.

• The University of North Carolina (Charlotte, NC) Developed An Interactive Dance Software for $762,372 

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte received more than $750,000 in stimulus funds to help develop a computerized choreography program that its creators believe could lead to a YouTube-like 'Dance Tube” online application. The grant says UNC-Charlotte will “define an evolving system that assists in the design and production of interactive dance performances with real-time audience interaction.”

A device is attached to each dancer, which will be recorded on video, and their movements will be logged and analyzed. “This will allow choreographers to explore interactive dance without always having a full cast of dancers present,” the grant states. One day, dance performances may enjoy the popularity of YouTube hits like “double rainbow” or “dramatic-look prairie dog.” States the grant:
“The system will be extended into a Web-based 'Dance Tube’ application that will allow the public to engage in interactive dance choreography.”

Administrative expenses are unusually high for this project, however. The project’s lead researcher noted that the university is taking a 44 percent cut to cover “overhead expenses.”

• A rail extension is to be built to get to professional sports stadiums and a casino (Pittsburgh, PA) for $62 million

In February 2009, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell called Pittsburgh’s North Shore Connector “a tragic mistake,” leaving taxpayers wondering why the project recently received a $62.5 million windfall from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The project would allow the Port Authority of Allegheny County to extend the city’s light rail under the Allegheny River to the new Rivers Casino, as well as to its two professional sports arenas, PNC Park (home of the Pirates) and Heinz Field (home of the Steelers). Unfortunately, the North Shore Connector has been plagued with problems since its inception, making it seem in this case that federal officials are throwing good money after bad.

Almost immediately, the North Shore Connector went over budget, blowing through cost projections at alarming rates. Original estimates put the final tally at approximately $390 million, but quickly ballooned. Pennsylvania auditor Jack Wagner noted in a 2007 audit that, “In mid-2005, the [Federal Transit Administration] directed the Port Authority to solicit bids for construction of the [North Shore Connector] under the Allegheny River. Three firms responded - the lowest of the three bids was 24 percent higher than the engineer’s previous estimate” (original emphasis).

To deal with the cost overruns, officials dropped plans to extend the rail to the convention center, reducing costs by $85 million. Despite that, current estimates put the final cost at $529 million, far exceeding the $435 million total estimated just last February. Even after removing the convention center portion, project costs are more than a third greater than original estimates. State auditor Wagner blamed the cost overruns on “poor planning,” adding later that it is “a waste of taxpayers’ resources".

• The construction of two Texas fire stations is delayed for more than a year, and it increases costs (San Antonio, TX) - $7.3 million

The City of San Antonio is hoping that there aren’t any fires for at least a year in the vicinity of two planned fire stations, thanks to “help” from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA awarded $7.3 million to the city for construction of fire stations #50 and #51, but the projects have become so mired in red tape it is not clear when they will be built.

Before the stimulus award, San Antonio was set to fully fund the two new stations with its own money, having even gone so far as to hire private contracting firm, Bartlett Cocke to begin work. After the stimulus, however, the city found itself unexpectedly navigating complicated and expensive federal regulations, requiring environmental and historical considerations—all delaying the project significantly. The result was an estimated $2.2 million overall increase in the cost of the two stations,and Bartlett Cocke losing its contract, which in turn had to lay off employees. In an email between employees of the City of San Antonio, they discussed the delays and that FEMA officials had informed them that “‘shovel ready’ was not a term in their lexicon.”

• An abandoned train station is to be converted into a Museum in Glassboro, NJ) for $1.2 million
  
  
  
  Taxpayers may not be happy to learn that they are paying for one broken down train station twice. The Glassboro train station was built in 1860 and closed in 1971.45 Unused for nearly 40 years, it now sits boarded up and riddled with graffiti. In 2002, the Borough of Glassboro, New Jersey received nearly a quarter of a million dollars from the U.S. Department of Transportation to purchase the train station from Conrail. At that time, officials hoped to incorporate the station into the regional NJ Transit system. But those plans fell through, and since then local officials have been looking for a way to fund renovations to put the building to some use.
  After eight years of failure and further deterioration of the building, the effort has been saved only by the availability of federal stimulus dollars.Local officials lobbied hard for additional stimulus money.They are hoping to spend the more than $1 million for the project “interpreting local history in its proper setting and make it a museum, public meeting space and welcome center.”

• 
  
  An analysis of exotic ants is to cost $1.9 million (San Francisco, CA)
  
  The California Academy of Sciences is receiving nearly $2 million to send researchers to the Southwest Indian Ocean Islands and east Africa, to capture, photograph, and analyze thousands of exotic ants. The photographs of the ants – over 3,000 species’ worth, according to the grant proposal – will be posted on AntWeb, a website devoted to organizing and displaying pictures and information on the world’s thousands of ant species.
  
  The project’s goals are, to the lay person, both laudable and arcane: In addition to “foster[ing]…a large pool of ant taxonomists,” it also strives to document “the vast majority of ant species known from [Africa].”“[Ants] give us back the most data on the environment than any other group. Their life cycle is shorter, they change very quickly,” says the project’s Principal Investigator in a promotional article on the Academy’s website. “Everyone has run into ants . . . now we need to listen to them.”

• A $1.8 million road project threatens a pastor’s house (Newark, OH)

An Ohio road project received $1.8 million in stimulus funds, despite the threat it poses to the residents of over two dozen homes next to it. Pastor Greg Sheets of Newark, Ohio’s Truth Tabernacle has already lost his front yard to the project, and could lose his entire home.

The house – which has sheltered three generations of Sheetses – has suffered cracks in its foundation and damage to its front porch from the work, Sheets says. His neighbors, some of whom have hired lawyers, have had windows break and walls crack as a result of the construction.

• An old abandoned iron furnace is to be renovated for $357,710 after money was squandered on same project years before (Fitchburg, KY)

Once considered ahead of its time, the Fitchburg Furnace in Kentucky was abandoned after just five years in service—it then sat unused for nearly 140 more. Now it is getting a $357,710 makeover to repair stonework on the old structure and allow historians to conduct research. Much of the damage to the structure occurred more than half a century ago when a local moonshiner loaded the structure with dynamite and tried to blow it up. In 2004, however, the federal government provided $661,000 for restoration of the building, though “much of which was lost” due to “bad stewardship of money,” according to Skip Johnson, current treasurer of the Friends of Fitchburg.

The work was performed by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Historic Architecture and Preservation (CHAP), which has since disbanded, but it did not accomplish much. Remarked Johnson, “They did stabilize that corner and put a roof on it, but that’s about all there is to show for $670,000.” At one point, the director of CHAP asked the Forest Service to consider finding another contractor because it was “without staff suitable for overseeing the project.”

• A power plant construction awarded $308 million won’t start for at least two years (Kern County, CA)

BP may have found itself staring down huge financial losses over the past several months, but executives can take solace knowing that a stimulus windfall will help offset them. On September 28, 2009, Hydrogen Energy California, LLC (HECA), owned largely by BP, was awarded $308 million in stimulus funds to “generate more environmentally friendly electricity by capturing carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.” HECA is a joint venture of BP Alternative Energy North America and Rio Tinto subsidiaries. Stimulus funds “enabled continued development of the HECA project which otherwise would have been cancelled.” Construction is not expected to begin until December 2011, nearly three years after the passage of the Recovery Act, raising serious questions about whether it is anywhere near “shovel-ready.”

The clean coal power plant would convert raw materials into a gas that would be scrubbed for pollutants like sulfur and carbon dioxide. The leftover gas would be used to power turbines that create electricity. Any leftover carbon dioxide would be transported via pipeline to the Elk Hills oil field approximately four miles away from the power plant for underground storage and enhanced oil recovery. Originally, the project was to be located at BP’s Carson refinery, but was moved to Occidental Petroleum’s Elk Hills enhanced recovery site. Notably, in 2005, the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California won a record $81 million settlement from BP, which regulators had “accused of illegally spewing toxic gases from its Carson refinery for nearly a decade.”

• A town replaces for $89,298 new sidewalks with newer sidewalks that lead to a ditch (Boynton, OK)
  
  People around Boynton, Oklahoma were left scratching their heads after the town was awarded nearly $90,00096 to replace a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk that was replaced only five years ago.
  
  One longtime resident of Boynton, Ray Allen, said the project “had been the talk of the town recently, and none of it positive,” because it is “100 percent a waste of money.” Another resident, Mike Lance, noted that “the best indication of the absurdity of the project is what the contractor did with a section of sidewalk at the north end of town – one that fronts no homes or businesses, and leads directly into a ditch.” Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation defended the project as necessary to bring the sidewalk into conformity with federal guidelines.

There were just the top 10.  You can read all about the rest of this baffling list at: Summertime Blues.