I Am A Warrior and This Is My Song

Last week when I first looked at this, there were a little over 2,500 views. There are now over 65,000 views. I think we need to keep this in view.

NY-23 Is the "Tipping Point"

I'm not shilling for the NRT. This is not a request for contributions. It's information to reinforce the mind-set that conservative principles and values are making a comeback.

Since Scozzafava has dropped out, the outcome of the Special Election in NY-23 seems pretty obvious. Barring interference from outside agitators like ACORN or SEIU, Doug Hoffman will be the new representative for the 23rd District of New York.

In the past 9 months, we have seen some of the most blatant attempts to sabotage and circumvent the Constitution that have ever been tried. Some are succeeding. We will need to overturn these successes in the next session of Congress, and to do that, we will need true Constitutional Conservatives.

Doug Hoffman is the beginning of the conservative movement's efforts to take Congress back to the original intent of the Founding Fathers. The "Republican" leadership in the House will be measured by how well they adapt to the new/old ideas of governing.

Its time for the conservatives in Congress to put a stop to the socialist ideas being pushed down the throats of American citizens. Its time to recognize that the Constitution tells Congress what they can and cannot do.

The Constitution is the Law.
Everything else is a regulation.

The National Republican Trust identified this race months ago as critical to conservatives and has worked tirelessly since to rally other conservatives to this righteous cause. NOW ALL EYES ARE ON THIS ELECTION!

National conservatives from across the country continue to answer the call to action by endorsing and fighting to elect Hoffman. The list includes Sarah Palin, Rush
Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tim Pawlenty, George Pataki, Michele Malkin, Fred Thompson, Rick Santorum, Steve Forbes, Dick Armey, Michele Bachmann, The New York Post, American Conservative Union, Club for Growth and many more.

We may be the underdogs but we are positioned to deliver a stunning upset to the
liberal media, radical Democrats and unprincipled GOP insiders. A win for either of the liberal establishment candidates is a win for Obama, Pelosi and their liberal allies.
A conservative victory over two liberal major party candidates will rock the political establishment and become the springboard for taking back the Republican Party and our Country from the far left and squishy Republican appeasers that kowtow to every radical, media driven whim.

A victory in NY-23 will be a victory of principle over party, and will set the tone for the remainder of the legislative cycle. Congressional members will have to think twice, and then a third time, before casting their values aside to gain short-term political favors.

An upset victory by Doug Hoffman will kick-off the conservative resurgence in 2010 and A RETURN TO THE PRINCIPLES OF RONALD REAGAN.

OOPS!!!

I saw this late last night after the FreedomWorks event, but was too tired to post it.

Washington Post -- 7 on defense panel scrutinized

A sloppy staffer for the House Ethics committee accidentally left a July report on a public server and now the committee's primary job -- providing cover for members of the House under fire for bad actions -- is in jeopardy on a number of cases.We got to see a bit about perennial problems for Reps Charlie Rangel and Alan Mollohan, but no news there (except that the FBI was sniffing around Mollohan again). But we got an eyeful on the relationship between the PMA defense contractor lobbying group and Rep. John Murtha and his merry band of earmarkers on the defense appropriations subcommittee

If you've already had your breakfast or just have a strong stomach, it's certainly must reading.

Take it away, Carol Leonnig "The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), as well as others who helped steer federal funds to clients of the PMA Group. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients.

A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.). The document also indicates that the House ethics committee's staff recently interviewed the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) about his allegation that a PMA lobbyist threatened him in 2007 when he resisted steering federal funds to a PMA client. The lobbyist told a Nunes staffer that if the lawmaker didn't help, the defense contractor would move out of Nunes's district and take dozens of jobs with him."

Kill Cap and Trade

Save the planet? Kill cap-and-trade
Examiner Editorial October 30, 2009

If members of Congress need yet another reason to kill the Waxman-Markey bill, the Obama administration's economy-suffocating, job-destroying energy program, Princeton University's Tim Searchinger and his colleagues have a humdinger: Carbon reduction laws encourage widespread deforestation as trees and other vegetation are harvested to produce energy from biomass to replace oil and gas. The problem is that in long run, this process actually increases greenhouse gas emissions, which cap-and-trade is meant to reduce, according to Searchinger.

The Princeton researcher's paper, published Oct. 23 in Science, points out that almost all prior global warming studies failed to take into account the carbon emissions that result from converting cropland and forests to energy production. This accounting error treats all bio-energy as carbon-neutral, the authors say, despite the fact that burning wood and clearing land actually releases quite a large quantity of carbon into the atmosphere.

"By using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land-use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years," the Princeton authors say. "Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions by 50%." Neither the Kyoto Protocol, the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nor existing European cap-and-trade programs have taken into account widespread deforestation as farmers worldwide respond to the new economic incentives, Searchinger added.

FreedomWorks Virginia

Thursday, October 29, 2009

FreedomWorks in Richmond With Dick Armey and John Taylor
Cross-posted on UCV and The Talon

Revised and extended

The first official FreedomWorks Virginia event went off without a hitch tonight down at Europa Italian Cafe on E. Cary St. I highly recommend this resturant. Its easy to get to, plenty of parking less than half a block from the door. Go spend money and tell 'em FreedomWorks sent ya'.

We had about 100 folks in attendance, and some of those folks drove from as far as Rockbridge and Shennandoah County to hear Dick Armey, John Taylor from Tertium Quids, Nan Swift from FreedomWorks, Tabitha Hale from SmartGirlPolitics, and Josh Eboch newest member of the FreedomWorksVA team, speak on issues near and dear to the hearts of Virginians.

FreedomWorks, and Virginia, are very lucky to have such talented, intelligent, motivated individuals.

Doc Thompson was under the weather, but one of the best stand-ins ever filled in for him. Scott Lee from The Lee Brothers did the Emcee duties and he was, well, he was Scott Lee.

There may be an addition to a segment on the Lee Brothers radio show on Saturday mornings. Seems Scott is a huge fan of good BBQ sauce, and since I happen to know where to get some primo, Scott came up with an idea. I'll let him develop it as he sees fit, but stay tuned. This may get sticky. ;)

Be sure to listen to Doc on Friday. He's going to have a film crew from the BBC in the studio with him. I met them tonight. A lot of Britons are going to get introduced to some real Americans when this documentary on Cap and Trade gets broadcast in England on BBC2.

Once the Virginia election is over, and we have a conservative majority back in charge, the real work begins. The mission is the re-affirmation of the sovereignty of the several states and the rights of those states to conduct business without unneccessary government regulations.

We'll be directly involved working to protect the jobs and the standard of living of the citizens of the Commwealth by encouraging the passage of legislation that enhances domestic energy production and promotes self-reliance and personal responsibility.

We need to stop cap and trade in its tracks. We need to protect the people who provide us with uninterrupted power. We need to drive a stake through the heart of restrictions on domestic energy production. We need to push hard for the House of Delegates and the VA Senate to recognize that the federal government does not have the final word on the welfare of the citizens. The Commonwealth has the right and obligation to defend the rights and property of its citizens.

The 10th Amendment is law. It is clear.

Josh is moving to Richmond and will be the point man for FreedomWorks Virginia. If you have something you think FreedomWorksVA can help with, please leave a comment here and we'll do what we we're allowed by law or you can hit him from the FreedomWorks site.

It starts here. It starts now. In Virginia. Where it began the first time. Its time for Virginia citizens to once again mark their place in history.

The Constitution is the Law.
Everything else is just a regulation.

Heritage Foundation and Prince Harry's Healthcare

MyHeritage.org
If you don't get MyHeritage, you are under-informed, my friend.

October 28, 2009 By Amanda Reinecker

'Gigantic, unintelligible, unaffordable, over-regulatory, federal legislation'

After 13 days of secret, closed-door negotiations on health care legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Monday that he had reached an agreement with Senators Chris Dodd (D-MT) and Max Baucus (D-CT), and three top administration officials. Unfortunately, Senator Reid did not tell the American people much else.

Even many lawmakers remain in the dark regarding the outcome of this "secret deal that Senator Reid wants to get passed and signed into law 'this year,'" writes
Heritage Senate Relations expert Brian Darling.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, summed it up: "It will be a thousand-page, trillion-dollar bill that raises premiums, raises taxes and slashes Medicare for our seniors to create new government spending programs. That's not reform."

Even as some of the final details of the bill do go public, it is likely that lawmakers won't know in advance entirely what it is they are voting on. This is because the legislation the Senate Finance Committee "agreed" to -- all 1,502 pages of it -- is the most massive piece of legislation ever introduced by Congress.

But length isn't the only record the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009" claims, as Heritage health policy analyst Ed Haislmaier notes. "For the first time in fifteen years, [Congress] has set a new all-time division record for gigantic, unintelligible, unaffordable, over-regulatory, federal legislation."

What we do know about Reid's 'secret deal'

Although Senator Reid did not go into great detail about the health care "reform" legislation, he did mention that bill includes a government-run health insurance "option" that would "compete" against private health plans.

In an attempt to gain much-needed support from skeptical moderates in both parties, liberals have added a new twist to the "public option": a provision allowing states to opt out of the program. This would require states to pass legislation by 2014 rejecting participation in the federal government run plan.

But this new wrinkle is really more of the same, warns Heritage health policy analyst Nina Owcharenko. "This latest Senate ploy creates the illusion of an 'option' rather than making any fundamental changes to the controversial proposal."

Owcharenko explains why this "opt-out" model is just another government-run plan that is guaranteed to fail:

States can only opt-out of the government-run plan, not the entire bill. But the rest of the bill contains hundreds of provisions, such as the expansion of Medicaid, which will place major financial burdens on the states.

It is still a government-run plan because the government will require non-participating states to meet federal conditions. These government-determined conditions could include the creation of state-level public options that mirror the federal plan.

States will likely select the public "option" because of the bureaucracy and enormous administrative complexity required for a state opt-out. Federal conditions will limit states' ability to create alternatives.

State innovation will suffer under the massive health care proposal's employer and individual mandates, and government micromanagement of an industry that represents one-sixth of our economy.

So even though the states would be able to "opt out" of the government-run health insurance program, the federal government will make it very difficult to do so. And for the few states that do succeed in withdrawing, the government will still dominate their health care systems.

A true state "opt-out" provision would allow states to opt out of the bill in its entirety, argues Owcharenko. "Any other opt-out is just another shell game that is intended to appear as a concession but in reality provides for greater federal control and blocks much needed structural changes."

Drill Drill Drill

Virginia stands to be a leader in the development and use of domestic energy, if the soon to be newly elected Republican majority in the General Assembly, the Senate and the Governor's Mansion have the cajones to stand up to the EPA and government regulations and reaffirm State Sovereignty. Its about states' rights. Its called the 10th Amendment.

We have the right as a sovereign state to take care of our citizens first, and I would expect nothing less from the other 56, ahm, I meant 49 states. The federal government has no authority to impose restrictions or mandates which diminish, or restrict the ability to improve, the standard of living of any citizen, regardless of what the law or regulation was intended to do when enacted.

Family Security Matters has a piece posted today, part of which is excerpted here:

Our future prosperity and freedom are at risk. This is because we have a current energy policy that puts them at risk. We are also contemplating a new energy policy, commonly termed “cap and trade” which could very well push our nation’s economy of a cliff, (my conclusion, not that of Chevron). Mr. Watson started his remarks with a plea that we start with some “facts,” what President John Adams called “stubborn things.”

Over the horizon, we will need to invest some $26 trillion in energy production, transportation, and efficient utilization technology. The U.S. population is growing and so is that of the world. The U.S. and world economy also need to grow to raise the standard of living of people everywhere – to secure the “heat, light and transportation” that we all take for granted said Watson. But over eighty percent of the natural gas and petroleum reserves in the world are in the hands of governments. And 85 percent of such U.S. reserves are off limits to exploration and development.

Watson further noted the U.S. oil and gas industry is responsible for 9 million American jobs and 7.5 percent of our GDP. The challenge of providing an affordable energy supply for more than 300 million Americans is being made all the more difficult by the regulatory ambitions of the U.S. government and its growing debt. Yet most Americans want to be less dependent on foreign supplies of oil that can be manipulated to harm our economy. And they believe we need a stable but diverse energy supply. And they also want to do their responsible part for ameliorating any negative impacts on our climate and environment.

/snip

....the current restrictions on the exploration and development for U.S.-owned fossil fuel resources make so little sense. U.S. oil production has declined by 4 million barrels a day over the past 25 years while demand has grown by exactly that amount – 4 million barrels a day. Thus, although we are the number 2 or 3 producer of coal, natural gas and oil from domestic resources, when we import 8 million barrels of oil daily, (the combined drop in production coupled with the increase in demand), it is at a cost that approached some $450 billion a year when oil hit $147 a barrel.

Yet the U.S. Geological Survey is forbidden by federal law from actually doing an accurate assessment of how much oil and gas we have off of our coasts and on Federal land. And we still propose to tax those oil and gas resources we do produce at a rate far greater than other resources. Add to that the prohibition on exploration, and it is easy to understand how oil exploration and development was pushed overseas and with it the complimentary run-up in U.S. oil imports. Reasonable estimates are that at least 30 billion barrels of oil are readily available off our shores or in places such as Anwar. While we cannot “drill for independence,” said Watson, we can and should “drill for more energy security.”

.

I take exception to the remark that we cannot "drill for independence". Once we start extracting our own reserves and refine those resereves into a marketable product, we become independent. We can sell it, or keep it. Either way, its ours, we own it and we'll do with it as we please.

Missles of October Deja Vu?

My cynical paranoid conspiracy nature is in full blown red alert. The scenarios that could be extrapolated from this event are just scary. Bad stuff. REALLY bad stuff.

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
Deja vu! Russians arming Cuba's military
Plans include sensitive electronic eavesdropping station 90 miles from U.S.

"We inspected the condition of this equipment, and outlined the measures to be taken to maintain the defense capability of this country," Makarov said. "I think a lot of work needs to be done in this respect, and I hope we will be able to accomplish this task."

Makarov pointed out that during the Soviet era, the Russians delivered considerable military equipment to Cuba. After all these years, he said, most of the weaponry has become obsolete and needs repair.

Then in August 2008 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared that Russia needed to rebuild its links to the Cuban island.

He was careful not to say that Russia was establishing bases in Cuba, even though Moscow apparently intends to use the Caribbean island as a potential refueling stop for its nuclear-capable bombers and for ports of call for its warships.

Then Russian Air Force chief Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev in March 2009 had made it clear that Cuba, as well as Venezuela, could be used to base Russia's strategic bombers, although the Kremlin was quick to add at the time that such a development was "hypothetical."

"We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries," Putin said.
The moves have been developing for some time. In December 2008 a group of Russian warships, headed by the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, visited.

And In 2007, Putin began to focus on Cuba in response to the Bush administration's plans to install a permanent missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. He said that such action was analogous to the time in 1962 when the then-Soviet Union deployed rockets on Cuba and provoked the Cuban missile crisis.

The Hammer-Weekly Standard Blog

Lieberman Public-Option Push-Back Brings Out Snowe and Lincoln

Lieberman:

Mr. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told reporters Tuesday that he would vote in favor of a procedural motion allowing debate of the bill. But he said that, unless the bill changes substantially, he would vote with Senate Republicans against a motion to allow a vote on final passage of the bill.

"I think that a lot of people may think that the public option is free. It's not," Mr. Lieberman said. "It's going to cost the taxpayers and people that have health insurance now, and if it doesn't, it's going to add terribly to our national debt."

Then, moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, whose vote Democrats on Senate Finance worked so hard to earn on the committee vote for an earlier version of the bill:

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe says she would vote with fellow Republicans to block the Democratic health care overhaul if changes are not made to the version Majority Leader Harry Reid outlined this week.

Another moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins:

Meanwhile, Maine Republican Susan Collins, who had earlier indicated interest in trying to pass a bipartisan bill this year, issued a statement underscoring her opposition to "a taxpayer-subsidized, government-run health insurance company."

And, moderate Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln:

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Tuesday she still can't support a government-funded insurance option, a day after legislation was unveiled that would give states the choice of whether to participate in the program.

"Creating another government-funded option is not where we're going. We don't need to go there," Lincoln told members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau during a video conference. "A government-funded option is something that I think is not the way to go."

Phil Klein on the defections:

The problem Reid faces is that if he pulls back support for the government plan now, it will enrage liberals who will believe he's sold them out to win the support of a few moderates. But if he charges ahead with the government plan proposal, he risks derailing the entire health care effort.

Sen Jim DeMint Supports Doug Hoffman

GOP Sen. Jim DeMint supports Doug Hoffman
By Michelle Malkin • October 27, 2009 03:01 PM
RedState has the scoop.

It’s way past time for the spoiler radical leftist Republican Dede Scozzafava to get out of the race.
Dana Loesch is keeping tabs on all the latest NY-23 developments at Dump Dede.

Krauthammer On Domestic Energy

Krauthammer On Domestic Energy
Weekly Standard via DCExaminer

There are, of course, major threats to the American economy. But there is nothing inevitable and inexorable about them. Take, for example, the threat to the dollar (as the world's reserve currency) that comes from our massive trade deficits. Here again, the China threat is vastly exaggerated.

In fact, fully two-thirds of our trade imbalance comes from imported oil. This is not a fixed fact of life. We have a choice. We have it in our power, for example, to reversethe absurd de facto 30-year ban on new nuclear power plants. We have it in our power to release huge domestic petroleum reserves by dropping the ban on offshore and Arctic drilling. We have it in our power to institute a serious gasoline tax (refunded immediately through a payroll tax reduction) to curb consumption and induce conservation.

Nothing is written. Nothing is predetermined. We can reverse the slide, we can undo dependence if we will it.

There are things to be done. Resist retreat as a matter of strategy and principle. And provide the means to continue our dominant role in the world by keeping our economic house in order. And finally, we can follow the advice of Demosthenes when asked what was to be done about the decline of Athens.

His reply? "I will give what I believe is the fairest and truest answer: Don't do what you are doing now."

This article - condensed from The Weekly Standard - is based on syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer's 2009 Wriston Lecture delivered for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York on October 5.

Labels: chares krauthammer, dcexaminer, domestic oil production, drill here drill now, energy independence, national security, offshore drilling, weekly standard

VoteVets, Soros, and Moveon.ogre

“Any veteran lending their name to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in the U.S. economy, through cap-and-tax type policies, is a traitor to the oath he or she took to defend the Constitution of our great nation. If someone is advocating for our government to make statutory or regulatory changes in policy or enter into treaties that violate our Constitution, and they have taken an oath to uphold and protect that same document, then they are traitors to that oath."

Pennsylvania State Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler County)

In Memory Of and In Humble Appreciation For the Sacrifices Made

We will not forget.

Featured Video: "Remembering SGT Joshua Brennan
KIA 26 October 2007
Korengal Valley, Afghanistan

Open Letter To The President From A Soldier

H/T Blackfive
Mr. President

In the scheme of things I am but one voice among many, to include the former Vice President who are speaking out against what I feel is a travesty in the making; our potential defeat in Afghanistan.

I do not speak as someone who has no idea what I am talking about. I have walked the ground and carried a rifle up dangerous mountain roads and lain awake in ambush positions at night in the high mountains of Eastern Afghanistan

I have fought with our Afghan partners; our NATO Partners (Some of them not so willing) and I have buried comrades, both Afghan and American, and saluted comrades who come home for the very last time.

Your continued dithering on the essential issues surrounding Afghanistan that you promised in your campaign has led me, and many Americans, to disregard the veracity of your claims and your will to protect the American People. Your unease with the word “Victory” speaks a great deal to your beliefs about what you think of America and shows how much you do not respect American Soldiers.

In a word sir, you are not credible. And leaders without credibility really aren't leaders at all.

Soldiers see things in very definable terms. Words like "good" and "evil," "victory" and "defeat" have concrete and definable meanings to us. Things in our world are fairly cut and dried. This is because the nature of our business has a great deal of finality to it and because we, the men and women in the fight write the check for the indicated price of victory. We are glad to do it without asking for a bargain on the cost. We are the first to see the cost of defeat in comrades wounded or killed. The price of freedom is etched in the faces and hearts of my brothers and sisters as they salute the flag draped casket of the friend who might have only moments before imparted some nugget of wisdom, told a funny joke, shared their fears and when the going was tough, stood with them shoulder to shoulder on the field of battle.

You dishonor the memories of the fallen and disrespect the families of those who continue to fight on by your continued excuse-making and endless consultation that serves no other purpose than to appear as if you are doing something, while searching in vain for what you perceive to be a better answer.

Mr. President, deciding to do nothing is still a decision.

I demand, decency demands, Americans who believe in victory demand, and most importantly, the American families with family members in the fight, who certainly have the most invested and unquestionably the most to lose demand that the politics, excuse making and dithering end and that you give the necessary support to the men and women who are bearing the battle and taking the fight to our enemies. I am not asking, I am telling you to listen to those with the knowledge and skills that can turn the tide of this rapidly resurgent enemy we face and to give them the resources they ask for.

As an American, I demand that if the leaders that I freely elect are going to commit blood and treasure to the defeat of our enemies, then we do not go about it in vacillating half measures following incoherent policies that lead to indefinable outcomes spread over generations.

We fight to win, or we don’t fight at all.

If you are unwilling or you are unable to fulfill your role as Commander in Chief, then you should tender your resignation.

Many veterans will not forget what was said by many in your party about our efforts to defeat this enemy nor your failure to fully support our soldiers on the field of battle.

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way….

Deebow

Net Neutrality = Federal Control of New Media

From Americans For Prosperity
Phil Kerpen
Director of Policy,
Americans for Prosperity
Chairman,
The Internet Freedom Coalition

The net neutrality movement is an outgrowth of the larger so-called media reform project of radical left-wing activists like Robert McChesney who seek to destroy private control of the country's communications systems.

McChesney and the so-called media reform movement was discussed Monday night on the Glenn Beck show, and you can watch that clip here. [Mr Kerpin] will be on with Glenn again Tuesday night to discuss net neutrality specifically.

The push for a Washington takeover of the Internet is coming from the White House. It includes Susan Crawford, the so-called Internet Czar, who told The Wall Street Journal in April that the $7.2 billion of stimulus money for broadband she is helping spend is a "down payment on future government investments in the Internet." She went on to say: "We should do a better job as a nation of making sure fast, affordable broadband is as ubiquitous as electricity, water, snail mail or any other public utility."

Here's what you should already know if you're reading this: none of this is neccessary. The internet ain't broke and anyone that wants to get online, can, if they have a job or a reliable source of income to pay for the service. The internet ain't free, just as water and electricity ain't free.

Connecting to the internet is as easy as flipping a switch or turning a faucet, if, IF you have the equipment and the provider. It is as ubiquitous as any utility you already pay for and have the equipment to utilize.

Once the government has control of this media, we have lost.
Best advice right now: buy a ham radio.

VA-05 Needs A New Representative

National Museum of Americans In Wartime

I'm getting amped about the Open House at the National Museum of Americans in Wartime.
I get to help and hang out with two of my favorite, very hot, lady bloggers.

NMAW is auctioning off helicopter rides and chances to drive big hulking armored stuff.


SPECIAL SILENT AUCTION:
If you've ever dreamed of driving an armored vehicle or flying in a helicopter, this could be your best chance.

On Saturday, October 24, the National Museum of Americans in Wartime will conduct a silent auction at our Open House event for seven separate opportunities to drive an armored vehicle that day and for three one-hour helicopter rides offered by American Helicopters, Inc. (flying time to be scheduled).

On Sunday, October 25, the Museum will have another silent auction for seven separate opportunities to drive an armored vehicle that day and two one-hour helicopter rides offered by American Helicopters, Inc. (flying time to be scheduled).

The silent auction begins at 11:00 AM and ends at 2:00 PM both days. Driving begins after 3:00. The helicopter rides will be scheduled with American Helicopter, Inc.

Proceeds from the auctions directly support the Museum's mission to honor those who serve(d) our country at home and abroad in times of war.

If you haven't registered to attend the Open House yet, it's not too late. Just click here.

For more information about the National Museum of Americans in Wartime, please visit our website www.nmaw.org

Coal, National Security and Virginia Jobs

Coal, National Security and Virginia Jobs
We have a petition opposing the Wacky-Marxist legislation.It goes like this:

We, your constituents, have signed this petition against the passage of the Waxman-Markey bill and the Senate version of the Cap and Trade Bill and the trillions of dollars and the 100’s of thousands of jobs it will cost the Commonwealth and all of America.

This legislation will increase the cost of energy in the Commonwealth at a time when every feasible source of domestic energy should be explored and used, and at a time when Virginians can afford it least.

Virginia is a coal state. There are thousands of Virginians whose livelihood depends upon the production and use of coal; hard working, tax-paying Virginians who deserve better.

Coal is a reliable source of energy.

It is plentiful.

Clean coal technology works.

The theory of so-called “global warming”, or “climate change” is junk science.

CO2 is not a pollutant.

Ya'll know how I feel about domestic energy production and specifically, the use of coal. You know I help build clean coal facilities for Dominion Power. I've told people over and over, clean coal works its viable, and its cheap.

This is, IMAO, a states' rights issue. A 10th Amendment Issue. Its Virginia's coal. We should be able to use our resources as we see fit, within the guidelines of good sense and economic viability.

The current crop of new candidates seeking election to the House of Delegates and VA Senate would be well-served to address this issue now. Do not allow the radicals and outside agitators to dictate Virginia's economy. The future of Virginia jobs and her citizens depend on you for protection.

Thanks to one of my Facebook friends I found a link to a website supporting coal production in Appalachia.

Go and sign the letter, please.

From the website:

Coal energizes our communities and the nation. It fuels our economy and powers our homes and businesses. It provides good jobs and an economic future for our families. But radical activists are determined to end coal in Appalachia. They don't care about our jobs, our communities or our future.
Without coal, our thriving communities will not survive. Sign the letter today.

Dear Elected Officials,The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has arbitrarily decided to halt for further review 79 pending coal mining permits in the Appalachian states. These permits have been reviewed and approved by both state and federal regulatory authorities, after the EPA had commented, or chosen not to comment, on each of the permit applications.

Only when the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals wholly rejected the challenges by outside environmental activists, did EPA decide to intervene and reassert the same arguments the courts had already rejected.

EPA's action, or inaction, is threatening more than 100,000 jobs and further destabilizes communities that have been battered by the recession. Moreover, millions of Americans depend on coal for affordable electricity, and the Appalachian states depend on coal for tax revenue that keeps their budgets afloat.

When nationwide unemployment is at its highest level in years, the government should not stop Americans from going to work.

When states are facing major budget shortfalls and even bankruptcy because of the weak economy, the federal government should not kill significant sources of revenue.

The consequences of the EPA's actions will be severe. Please take action today to pressure the EPA to lift these bureaucratic roadblocks. The future of families across Appalachia depends on you.

Thank you,

Labels:
Carbon, Carbon dioxide, carbon offsets, Carbon Tax, clean coal, coal, electricity, electricy costs, jobs, national security, Soveriegn States, State's rights, Virginia economy

Free Speech Under Attack...in Canada, Brazil, Great Britain

Free Speech Under Foreign Assault
Robert Spencer - Oct 09, 2009 Front Page Magazine

Does the United States Constitution protect the freedom of speech of American citizens, or does it not? In this era of globalization, the answer is becoming increasingly muddled. Thursday, an American citizen, Paul Williams, went on trial in Canada. He is charged with violating Canadian libel laws in charges he made in his book The Dunces of Doomsday about a jihad terror cell at McMaster University in Ontario.

Likewise in Brazil, an American business writer, Joseph Sharkey, is on trial for what he wrote about Brazilian air-traffic controllers after he survived an airplane crash in Brazil.Williams and Sharkey both live in the United States, which guarantees that its citizens’ freedom of speech not be infringed. Should Canadian and Brazilian libel laws apply to them? Williams has already had to pay enormous amounts of money for his defense, and Sharkey is likely to be found guilty and given a $500,000 fine. McMaster University wants a cool two million dollars from Williams.

Shouldn’t the United States government protect American citizens from such bullying by foreign powers?

If nothing is done, the problem is certain to get worse - for Williams and Sharkey are not the first American victims of the tactic that has come to be known as "libel tourism."

The late Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz sued Rachel Ehrenfeld, founder and director of the American Center for Democracy, several years ago. Bin Mahfouz was upset about Ehrenfeld’s book, Funding Evil, in which she wrote that he was involved in funding Hamas and al Qaeda – a charge for which there was abundant evidence from Western intelligence agencies.

Nevertheless, taking advantage of British libel laws that place the burden of proof on the defendant, rather than the plaintiff, bin Mahfouz sued not in the United States, where Ehrenfeld lives and published her book, but in Britain, where neither he nor Ehrenfeld lived and where his entire case depended upon a handful of copies sold in that country mostly through special orders from Amazon.com, and the appearance of one chapter of the book on the Internet, where could have been read by British readers. A British court awarded bin Mahfouz $250,000, and Ehrenfeld had to devote the bulk of her time for years to fighting this judgment.

Robert Spencer is a scholar of Islamic history, theology, and law and the director of Jihad Watch. He is the author of eight books, eleven monographs, and hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran, is available now from Regnery Publishing.

More Video From The 9/12 March

As the head of the Security Team for FreedomWorks at the 9/12 March, all I can say is I am proud of each and every American who took the time to come to DC and make a statement. (Except for the LaRouche idiots. I could have done without them.)

Plans are already underway to duplicate the remarkable success next year.

Operation Clean Sweep 2010 is in production.

"Buckle up, Buttercup." ;)