Cap and Trade

Since when did Congress get to the point where a representative voted for something they did not read? That is part of their job, to read legislation being considered, understand it, and vote. However, when it comes to major legislation, our elected officials base their votes on its title.

I applaud the House Minority Leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, for standing up against the effort of the Democratic majority in the House to ramrod a piece of legislation, The Cap and Trade Bill, that would hurt both our economy and our environment. Boehner stood on the House floor and read a 300 page amendment for an hour. The amendment, written by Representative Waxman of California, was given to the members of the House at 3 am of the same day it was to be voted upon by the full House. A 300-page amendment added to a 1500 page bill that seeks to crush our economy and ruin the environment all in one motion.

Despite Boehner’s efforts, the House passed the amendment and the bill on a narrow vote, 219-212. The Democratic majority, along with eight liberal Republicans, had enough members to allow 44 of their most vulnerable members to vote against this bill, shielding them from the political fallout of this bill. Representative Herseth Sandlin voted no on this bill, which gives an indication that she is planning to be seeking elected office next year.

This Congress will go down as the one that oversaw the biggest expansion of the power of the federal government. We are sinking ourselves into a massive fiscal hole that will take many generations to recover. Yearly deficits will be more than $1 trillion for the foreseeable future. The government owns two automobile companies that are bankrupt. A stimulus bill that nobody read and is now controlling our lives. With the Stimulus bill, Cap & Trade, and the health care reform bill coming this fall, President Obama will eventually have the power to control the lives of every person in the United States. Where is John Galt when we need him?

People need to wake up and realize that the government is taking over. We need to reverse Obama's policies before they become permanent in law and in the fabric of society.

The roll-call vote of Cap and Trade:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml


http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090712/OPINION01/907120304/-1/opinion

Earth Day

Earth Day has come and gone for another year. It's one of those days you wonder why people take this day seriously. It's not a federal holiday and its purpose to clean up the planet is a joke.

Earth Day was created by a Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, who was concerned about the planet. In 1970, the concept of Earth Day became official. Every April 22, we hear about how people are trashing the planet. Al Gore makes another bucket of cash while wasting a lot of energy in his home and using gas-guzzling jets to tour the world.

If people were really concerned about the Earth, they would clean it up on their own initiative. Creating a day of awareness and then scare people about environment doom and gloom gets us nowhere. In an economic recession, cutting our carbon emission will result in less jobs, stagnant economy, and a loss of money.

President Bush was called evil and cold-hearted for not implementing the Kyoto Protocols. However, it made sense to not sign it because our economy would suffer from limiting our production due to limits on emission, China and India were exempted, and the standards were unreasonable. No wonder the Senate voted unanimously in 1997 to tell President Clinton to not be a signatory to Kyoto. It was a good decision for Bush to not ratify Kyoto and we should be grateful.

We should get rid of Earth Day, Arbor Day, and any other holiday that is a worthless gesture for environmentalism.