Where Did All Our Tax Money Go?!

 

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Merry Christmas from the Obama Administration

I said posting will be light, but this is important......more Federal over-regulation that will cost jobs and stress the national power grid.  And right before Christmas.....

EPA officially releases Utility MACT rule

This afternoon, the EPA announced regulations that will require power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxics within the next three years. In other words, the rule targets coal-fired power plants. Sure, coal is a “dirty” form of energy and, yes, it is a fossil fuel, but, unfortunately, these regulations will cost the country too much to justify.

According to Scott Segal, the director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, this rule — commonly known as the Utility MACT rule (MACT stands for “maximum achievable control technology”) — is the most expensive air rule the EPA has ever proposed in terms of direct costs.

Read the whole thing.  And don't forget -- 2012 is a Presidential election year.

Irregular posting through New Years

Christmas is here, and I'm pretty busy, so posting will be irregular until New Year's.

Merry Christmas!

The EPA hearts Agenda 21

This looks to be an extension of Agenda 21 by the EPA, from Fox News:

EXCLUSIVE: EPA Ponders Expanded Regulatory Power In Name of 'Sustainable Development'

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to change how it analyzes problems and makes decisions, in a way that would give it vastly expanded power to regulate businesses, communities and ecosystems in the name of “sustainable development,” the centerpiece of a global United Nations conference slated for Rio de Janeiro next June.

The major focus of the EPA thinking is a weighty study the agency commissioned last year from the National Academies of Science. Published in August, the study, entitled “Sustainability and the U.S. EPA,” cost nearly $700,000 and involved a team of a dozen outside experts and about half as many National Academies staff.

Its aim: how to integrate sustainability “as one of the key drivers within the regulatory responsibilities of EPA.” The panel who wrote the study declares part of its job to be “providing guidance to EPA on how it might implement its existing statutory authority to contribute more fully to a more sustainable-development trajectory for the United States.”

Or, in other words, how to use existing laws to new ends.

 Read the whole thing -- this looks to be Federal over reach on a massive scale.

A 2011 Christmas Message from Israel

From Prime Minister Netanyahu:

This man is a class act, unlike President Obama.

The "Stop Online Piracy Act": more Federal government overreach

The "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) amounts to control of the INTERNET by the US Government. Granted, there is a lot of piracy taking place, but the usual problem solving approach by the government ("punish everyone to control a small group of miscreants") is something to be avoided here, as the SOPA is way over the line.

Dan Collins of the Conservative Commune offers good analysis of this legislation, currently being fought by Congressman Daryl Issa (R-CA), with the advice to contact your Federal Representatives about this bill.

UPDATE:

Hot Air offers some more thoughts on the matter.....and the bill is coming up for a vote in Congress this week.  Contact your Congressional Delegation about your concerns (links are in the side bar). 

County Commissioners seek comments on "Voluntary Stewardship Program"

Related to the Agenda 21 problems.....a story in the Sunday edition of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin concerns a meeting with the County Commissioners on the "Voluntary Stewardship Program". The Commissioners are seeking comments on this program, "...which intends to balance the needs of farmers and ranchers while protecting critical areas on agriculture lands."

(The story at the link has the full story on the WWUB site, but you will need to register to access the full story; fair use limits what I can copy&paste here.)

From the article:

According to the state Conservation Commission, the long-term goal of the program is to allow ongoing agricultural production in sensitive areas in such a way as to protect the environment, yet still allow economically viable farming and ranching.

The intent is also to avoid challenges and lawsuits between agricultural groups, environmentalists, landowners and state agencies over such rules as buffers between working farmlands and streams.

At a workshop in October, commissioners discussed the possible pros and cons of the program with staff members and representatives of farm and watershed groups. Participants agreed that while the program holds the promise to protect critical areas on agricultural lands through voluntary actions by farmers, ranchers and landowners, many questions still need to be answered.

So this is an important meeting. The idea seems straightforward, but as Commissioner Tompkins asks, "What's the catch here?"

Star Spangled Banner

This is an essay written by the late Isaac Asimov, in March 1991.  Asimov, a prolific writer of science and science fiction, was born in Russia, and emigrated in 1923 with his parents when he was a young child. He became an American citizen in 1928.   The essay begins:

I have a weakness — I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult, and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower, I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time. I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem — all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said. "That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff."

I explained the background of the anthem, and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before — or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But, it was not me; it was the anthem. More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem, and sang all four stanzas. Again, there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem, and not me. So, now let me tell you how it came to be written.

 Please read the whole essay -- it's excellent prose from a master author.

Young Tea Party Patriots and Caroling

From the Young Tea Party Patriots of Milton-Freewater!  Please read.

New site, part 2

Good evening! 

We're getting the new web site up and running!  In case you've forgotten, it's at:

http://www.wallawallateapartypatriots.com/

The site is designed for information sharing, on a larger scale than Facebook or the Blog allows.  Both will continue to function, but for short or immediate announcements.  The new web site allows for the long term storage of references, and commenting as well. 

You must be registered to comment on discussions (blog format), and authorized to post files in addition to that.  If you are interested in commenting, click on the CONTACT tab, and send a message to that effect.  If you want to post files, say so, and we'll discuss what topic(s) you might be interested in.

Given that this is the INTERNET, and everyone can see you, we have site rules at:

http://www.wallawallateapartypatriots.com/?q=node/13

Or, click on "Topics", and then on "Site Rules".  We want to keep this open and informal, but there are a lot of people who disagree with our core values, and want to take down the TEA Party.  So we need some standards.  The site rules try to provide that.  If you have problems or concerns with them, please use the contact form, and we'll discuss them.


We'll eventually wean ourselves off this blog; it has served its purpose, but I'll keep up for a while, just so there's less confusion.

In any event......Merry Christmas!  Enjoy the holidays, because 2012 looks to be a rambunctious year.  At the very least.

New web site coming on line!!

Mark is cranking up our web site nicely. Not the blog, but our own web site. He's done a nice job, allowing us to post more information in an organized fashion. The blog and Facebook sites are nice for one-off contacts, but not so if you want to find something again.

He's started the "Topics" page, beginning with Agenda 21. Check it out!

If you are interested in becoming a contributor, contact myself or Mark Perkins through Facebook, or use the nifty contact page on the new site.

Just so you know....there will be rules. Sorry, but they are necessary. Not onerous, but I like to have things said clearly and up front. I'll post them at the web site, once Mark gives me the permissions......(hint hint!) :-D

A taste of sanity

I dropped a line to Senator Mike Hewitt, one of Walla Walla's representatives in Olympia. He returned with a good response, which I will quote a small part here:

Budgeting around the expectation of voter approved tax revenue is a very poor, failed idea, and one we’ve already seen from Olympia.  I simply don't think that we can tax our way into a balanced budget, or into prosperity, as suggested by the majority.  The legislature has tried that before, and it only served to delay and exacerbate the deficit problem, perpetuating the real problem of overspending. Remember, we still have sustained, record levels of unemployment.

Spot on, sir. Well said.

If you want to contact Senator Hewitt, or another of our representatives in Olympia, you can find their official State page (and an e-mail link) here.

(Federal government + National Education Standards) * Washington State = $300 million

From the Washington Policy Center: 

...Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction now admits that the cost of implementing the national Common Core Standards Initiative here will exceed $300 million.

Read the whole thing.

Governor Gregoire might want to look at this in lieu of her proposed "temporary" tax increase.  Just a thought.

The flavor doesn't matter, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth

From the "It's only Federal money" department:  Snow cones to improve national security.

Deficit?  What deficit?

(Thanks to TheD Man.)

Meeting schedule, 2012 version

Plus the 2011 edition: no meeting this month!   Enjoy the holidays.

As for 2012: our group meets on the second Tuesday of the month, in the conference room at the Walla Walla Regional Airport.  There is a business meeting at 6:30 PM, and the regular meeting starts at 7:00 PM, and generally lasts for an hour.  Topics will be announced here, and on our Facebook page.  The meeting dates for the first 6 months are:

• 10 January
• 14 February
• 13 March
• 10 April
• 8 May
• 12 June

Merry Christmas!