A Letter To The Editor

Daryl Schreiner has been writing letters to the editor for a couple of years now. he sent them to me, and I'll be posting them on the web site from time to time. One is up, "Letter to the Editor by Daryl Schreiner, 18 Aug 2010".

Politics versus science?

"Climate change", "global warming", whatever it's called, the "threat" the left keeps bleating about is anything but about the science, as per this article from "Watts Up With That".  The closing paragraph is most telling:

"Notice that the skeptics agree with the government climate scientists about the direct effect of CO2; they just disagree just about the feedbacks. The climate debate is all about the feedbacks; everything else is merely a sideshow. Yet hardly anyone knows that. The government climate scientists and the mainstream media have framed the debate in terms of the direct effect of CO2 and sideshows such as arctic ice, bad weather, or psychology. They almost never mention the feedbacks. Why is that? Who has the power to make that happen?".

Politics versus science?  Looks like it to me.

Bureaucratic indifference, or malicious political tactics?

Hard to say either way, from just this article.  Read for yourself, but keep an open mind:

Numerous Tea Party chapters claim IRS attempts to sabotage nonprofit status

Tea Party chapters around the nation are blasting the Internal Revenue Service after the federal agency sent them letters demanding information about their politics, contributors and even family members.

In letters sent from IRS offices in Cincinnati earlier this month, chapters including the Waco (Texas) Tea Party and the Ohio Liberty Council were asked to provide a list of donors, identify volunteers, financial support for and relationships with political candidates and parties, and even printed copies of their Facebook pages.

Read the whole thing.

Greetings!

From Martha:

Please note that the Walla Walla County GOP caucus is this Saturday!

Date:        Saturday, March 3rd

Time:       10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (closing may vary); please be there at 9:30
a.m. to register.

Location:  Community Center, Walla Walla County Fairgrounds

 There will *not* be a Presidential Primary in Washington State in 2012.
The caucus will be the only chance to vote for your preferred GOP
Candidate. *This is an opportunity for the W**alla Walla Tea Party Patriots
to make a difference.  Your attendance is extremely important!*
**
Looking forward to seeing you Saturday!

The Dem's basic philosophy on everything

But certainly as far as Obamacare goes:

“Well, basically, we’re not looking to the Constitution on that aspect of it.”

Here's a rarity.....

An honest Chevy Volt commercial (which was likely not authorized by GM).

 

Hat tip to Paco Enterprises.

Says it all, really, Part III

(Click to enlarge)

UPDATE:  

The Democrats, they live for inconsistency:

 

(Click to enlarge)

 

"Why Apologize to Afghanistan?"

Asks Andrew C. McCarthy in the National Review.  A key quote from the article:

Do you know why you are supposed to stay mum about the intentional Muslim sacrilege but plead to be forgiven for the accidental American offense? Because you would otherwise have to observe that the Koran and other Islamic scriptures instruct Muslims that they are in a civilizational jihad against non-Muslims, and that it is therefore permissible for them to do whatever is necessary — including scrawl militant graffiti on their holy book — if it advances the cause. Abdul Sattar Khawasi — not a member of al-Qaeda but a member in good standing of the Afghan government for which our troops are inexplicably fighting and dying — put it this way: “Americans are invaders, and jihad against the Americans is an obligation.”

This is yet another example of why Obama is unfit to be President.  That he was elected in the first place speaks poorly of the American voter.  If he's re-elected, we can only expect more and more of this behavior, from which America probably will not survive.

Says it all, really, Part II

Rameriz nails Obama.  Again.

(Click to enlarge)

The most transparent Administration ever, indeed.

Gas prices have been rising for months, but it's well into the election campaign season, and there's no relief in site.  Obama expected an economic recovery to aid his bid for re-election, but that's not going to happen.  Which Obama has FINALLY figured out, so now there's a coordinated campaign to paint the oil companies as evil profiteers who need to be taxed more. 

This is a crock to anyone with even a tenuous connection to reality, but that doesn't stop Obama and his flying monkeys.  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tried to do that through the Wall Street Journal.  Alas for Geither, his lies are obvious, and Jazz Shaw at Hot Air exposes them for all to see:

.....I don’t want to see the energy companies getting over-taxed, but they need to kick in a little something if they’re turning a profit. There’s just one problem with this complaint, though. Forbes has been tracking which companies are paying how much in taxes for some time now. Guess who actually pays the most?

 Do read the whole thing. 

And don't forget:  Not only must Obama go, we need gain control of Congress. 

Jake Tapper, ABC News

One of a vanishing breed: a journalist with integrity and ethics.

Tapper to Carney: Admin is “aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism”

There's a great video at the link that I can't embed here, so go watch it, and then read the analysis.  The closing line:

Conveniently for the administration, the MSM has largely ignored these scandals as well. Not Jake Tapper. Good for him for taking Carney to task.

When even the Associated Press......

......isn't supporting Obama on tax loophole "reform", you know something is wrong.

" A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT"

*Subject: **A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT!!!*
*Date: *February 21, 2012 5:47:34 PM PST

 Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, will be in the Tri-Cities this
Thursday, Feb. 23rd. The event begins at 11:00 am.

He is second GOP Presidential Candidate we will the opportunity to see this
year and from here, he will be in Spokane at 2:00 pm and then Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho at 7:30 pm. Busy day!!

I apologize that we didn't inform you about Mitt Romney's son being here
last week but we didn't get the word of his visit for his father until it
was too late – So we have been "blessed" with visits from 3 GOP
Presidential Candidates or their representatives this election season!

 The Tri-Cities Tea Party does *not* endorse any candidate because we are
an education group. The four (4) remaining GOP candidates have supporters
from our members and TCTP's job is to inform you about each one and their
stands on the issues that face the United States.

 Whether he is your candidate or not, this will be an excellent opportunity
to meet the former Speaker of the House and get questions asked and
answered.

 *Newt Gingrich* will appear at the *Kennewick Red Lion Columbia
Center*(Cavannah's), 1101 North Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick,
*Thursday**, February 23rd*, starting at *11:00 am.*

 Yours in Liberty!

 Leon Howard,
Coordinator, TCTP

A picture is worth a thousand words....

....so I won't waste any more:

 

 (Click the image  to see a larger version)

I don't know who wrote this, but.....

....it's worth passing on:

"So, with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts.

Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten - straight up, no styling.

Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don't make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification.

Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love - not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician.

They could see that from the costumes, the makeup and the entourages.

Sing "The Star Spangled Banner" with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America, not you."

McMorris Rodgers Delivers Weekly Republican Address

From Congresswoman McMorris-Rodger's official web site: 

“Hello, I’m Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and I have the honor of representing the hardworking taxpayers of Eastern Washington.  I’m also a mother of two young kids, Cole and Grace, and like millions of other moms across America, I’m concerned about our children’s future, and the economy they’ll inherit.

       “On February 23, 2009, during a fiscal responsibility summit at the White House, President Obama made a promise to the American people.  ‘I’m pledging,’ he said, ‘to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office.’

       “Well, in the budget he submitted this week to Congress, the president admitted he won’t keep his promise.  He won’t even come close.  Because of the president’s failure to control spending, the government will run trillion-dollar deficits in each of his four years in office.

More at the link.  Good stuff, but it's too bad President Obama won't listen.  Will you?

"Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as leftist media bias"

"So maybe they should take up their Second Amendment-sanctioned guns and storm Wall Street and our nation’s capitals."

And no one from the TEA Party wrote that.

Original here.

This is your "Obama Recovery"

.....with a reality check. 

A Good Summary Of A Week In Obamaland

A newsletter, via Martha, from www.inspireandignite.com, summarizing the past week nicely:

This week's best example of Obama's big government/nanny state objectives (and how far down the path he has taken us) comes from North Carolina .

A four year old pre-school student's lunch, packed by her mother, was inspected by a federal agent to ensure it met federal nutritional guidelines. The lunch was declared deficient, the little girl was given chicken nuggets to replace the lunch packed by her "derelict" mother…and the mother was told she could receive a bill to cover the government's cost of replacing the child's insufficient lunch.

The deficit lunch? A cheese and turkey sandwich, a banana, chips and apple juice.

Big Brother knows best…my guess is the mother is now on a government watch list and if her box lunches continue to fail inspection, Child Services will be at her door threatening to place her child in foster care if she doesn't start putting carrots or broccoli in her lunch. One question…who'll make the child eat the vegetables? The government's lunch room warden???

As always your feedback is appreciated. You are encouraged to post these "Thoughts" on Facebook, forward them to friends and family and visit us at www.inspireandignite.com. Your support for these political proverbs from Main Street (not from inside the beltway…or Pennsylvania Avenue) is greatly appreciated.

Enjoy "A Few Thoughts" from this past week

Everything you wanted to know.....

......about the Washington Republican caucus system.

Update:   "Caucuses For Dummies", passed around at the February meeting, is now available at the WWTPP web site, in PDF.  Click here, and select "Caucuses For Dummies".

Opening remarks from the February 2012 meeting....

.....are posted at our main website, here.  Daryl did a fine job with this, and I encourage everyone to read it.

Ron Paul to Campaign in Idaho and Washington

BELLEVUE, Washington – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul will visit Idaho and Washington in the run-up to the states’ March 3rd and 6th caucuses.

This is a partial list of Idaho and Washington visits. Information on more events in both states is forthcoming.
Below please find details of the events. Please note time zones.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

12:00 p.m. MST
Twin Falls Town Hall Meeting
Twin Falls Senior High School - Roper Auditorium
1615 Filer Avenue East
Twin Falls, ID 83301

4:00 p.m. PST
Vancouver Washington Rally*
Hilton Vancouver - Grand Ballroom
301 W. 6th Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

[*Doors open to the public at 3:00 p.m.]

7:30 p.m. PST
King County Rally
Double Tree by Hilton Seattle Airport - Grand Ballroom
18740 International Blvd
Seattle, WA 98188

Friday, February 17, 2012

12:00 p.m. PST
Tri-Cities Town Hall Meeting
Red Lion Richland Hanford House
802 George Washington Way
Richland, WA 99352

Additional Idaho and Washington events TBA.

For Immediate Release: February 14, 2012
Contact: Gary Howard, 855-563-6620

16th District lawmakers invite residents to town hall meetings

Rep. Terry Nealey, R-Dayton, and Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, invite constituents to attend three town halls the weekend of February 17 and 18. The representatives will be available to answer questions and discuss key issues of the 2012 legislative session such as the budget, agriculture, education, and public safety.

Residents are invited to participate:

Friday, Feb. 17 - 7 p.m.

Columbia Basin College, Gjerdes Center
2600 North 20th Avenue, Pasco

Coffee Roundtable - Saturday, Feb. 18 - 8 a.m

Dayton, Country Cupboard
330 East Main Street, Dayton

Saturday, Feb. 18 - 10 a.m.

Walla Walla Community College
Conference Center
500 Tausick Way, Walla Walla

For questions or information leading up to the events you can contact Rep. Terry Nealey at Terry.Nealey@leg.wa.gov or (360) 786-7828 or Rep. Maureen Walsh at Maureen.Walsh@leg.wa.gov or (360) 786-7836.

Attack Watch, Part II

Remember "AttackWatch", Obama's original on line snitch program?

Well, it's back, under the umbrella of .......... (wait for it) .........."Truth Team":

The Truth Team is a network of supporters of President Obama who are committed to responding to unfounded attacks and defending the President’s record. When you’re faced with someone who misrepresents the truth, you can find all the facts you need right here—along with ways to share the message with whoever needs to hear it.

Feel free to sign up, and let them know about all the dissenters who are not happy with Obama. Of course, they'll get your e-mail address, but everyone needs a good spam filter these days.

Representative Paul Ryan on Obama's new budget

Ryan: President’s Budget Ensures Debt Crisis and Decline

President’s budget reveals broken promises, failed leadership and a diminished future
February 13, 2012

WASHINGTON – Earlier today, President Obama introduced his Fiscal Year 2013 budget request, calling for record levels of spending increases, tax hikes, and debt. The President’s budget breaks his promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term, and it breaks his obligation to all Americans to confront the nation’s spending-driven debt crisis.

In response to the President’s failure of leadership, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin issued the following statement:

“President Obama’s irresponsible budget is a recipe for a debt crisis and the decline of America. His refusal to honestly confront our nation’s most pressing challenges does real harm to the economic security of millions of American families. The $1.9 trillion tax increase proposed in his budget will make it harder for businesses to create jobs and for workers to spur economic growth

“This budget does nothing to prevent the bankruptcy of critical programs, threatening the health and retirement security of current and future seniors. Worse, it continues the President’s policy of letting an unaccountable board of bureaucrats cut Medicare in ways that will lead to denied care for seniors.  The broken promises and recycled gimmicks contained in this budget have dramatically widened this President’s growing credibility deficit.

“Our families, seniors, children and grandchildren deserve better than this reckless budget and this dismal failure of leadership. As Chairman of the House Budget Committee, I will continue to work with my colleagues – from both parties where possible – to advance bold solutions that lift our crushing burden of debt and ensure a future of opportunity, growth and prosperity.”

---

Key facts from the President’s budget:

• Spends Too Much:
  
  • $47 trillion of government spending over the next decade
    
  • Proposes a net increase over current spending projections
    
• Taxes Too Much:
  
  • $1.9 trillion in new taxes
    
  • Raises taxes, not to pay down the debt, but to fuel more government spending
    
• Borrows Too Much:
  
  • Four straight years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits; no plan to reduce the debt
    
  • Gross debt at the end of FY22: $25.9 trillion
    
• Budget Gimmicks & Broken Promises
  
  • Overstates new deficit reduction by taking credit for savings already enacted
    
  • Exploits discredited budget gimmick by “not spending” nearly $1 trillion that was never going to be spent
     
  A bicameral fact sheet prepared by the House Budget Committee and Senate Budget Committee:
  http://budget.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=280065  
  
  
  

"Truth Teams": George Orwell would be proud.....

......if he was alive, and hadn't renounced socialism:

Obama Campaign Launches 'Truth Teams

The Obama campaign is today beginning a new effort to enlist and educate at least 2 million supporters for a "grassroots communications team" they're calling the Truth Team.

"The goal is to ensure that when Republicans attack President Obama's record, grassroots supporters can take ownership of the campaign and share the facts with the undecided voters in their lives," the campaign said in a statement.

The teams will be first launched in 13 "swing states," including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.

And if you're looking for an example of why "Team Obama" and "Truth Team" are oxymorons, look no further than here: 

LYING ABOUT LEW'S LIE

Over at ABC News Jake Tapper passes on the White House spin on White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew’s lie regarding the Democrats’ failure to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days:.

..<snip>...

According to Tapper, “White House officials did not dispute that Lew misspoke.” But John Hinderaker had a slightly more accurate bead on Lew’s comment: “It is inconceivable that Obama’s former Director of the Office of Management and Budget does not know that by law, a budget resolution cannot be filibustered. It passes the Senate with 51 votes.”

Next November, Obama. Must. Go.

"The killing-for-organs pushers"

If you want to see where our culture may next go off the rails, read professional journals. There, in often eye-crossing and passive arcane prose of the medical intelligentsia, you will discover an astonishing level of antipathy to the sanctity of human life — to the point now that some advocate killing the profoundly disabled for their organs.

Case in point: “What Makes Killing Wrong?” an article published in the January 19, 2012 edition of the Journal of Medical Ethics. The authors argue that death and total disability are morally indistinguishable, and therefore harvesting organs from living disabled patients is not morally wrong. Bioethicists Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, of Duke University, and Franklin G. Miller, from the National Institutes of Health’s Department of Bioethics (which should really get the alarm bells ringing!) arrive at their shocking (for most of us) conclusion by claiming that murdering the hypothetical “Betty” isn’t wrong because it kills her, but rather, because it “makes her unable to do anything, including walking, talking, and even thinking and feeling.”

How do they get from deconstructing the definition of death to harvesting the disabled?

Read the whole thing.  It isn't pretty, but it's an aspect of healthcare that we all need to keep in mind.

Action Alert : Vote NO on SB 6185

TO ALL LIBERTY GROUPS THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON

ACTION ALERT: REQUEST YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION

Action Alert Topic: Vote NO on SB 6185

The Senate has passed this bill through the needed hurdles to reach the Senate floor very soon so a state wide effort is needed to voice our opinion.

Membership Action Needed:

The Tri-Cities TEA Party Board and Legislative Committee urgently request that all Tea Party organizations statewide ask there membership to contact their respective state
senators and voice their opposition to SB 6185!

As a citizen of the State of Washington we strongly disagree with SB 6185, and request that our senators vote against passage of this bill! We disagree, private insurance companies that provide maternity coverage should not be required to cover abortion services. In addition to major concerns about the underlying policy, this could put Washington's federal funding for health care and other services in jeopardy. It's also yet another mandate that will drive up the cost of health care coverage. This bill would also require private citizens to carry coverage they would never use because abortion is repugnant to them, depriving the citizens their First Amendment right of freedom of choice and religion!

 

Description: Bill SB6185 would require private-insurance plans that provide maternity coverage to also cover abortion services. In addition to major concerns about the underlying policy, this could put Washington's federal funding for health care and other services in jeopardy. It's also yet another mandate that will drive up the cost of health care coverage. Despite these serious concerns, the Senate Health and Long-term Care Committee passed the bill on to the Rules Committee and the Rules Committee has passed it out to the Senate Floor for a vote soon.

See: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/6185-S.pdf for details concerning this bill.

Please Contact the Senators in your Districts!

From the Tri-Cities Tea Party Patriots

Dear Patriot:

Yesterday it was another multi-billion dollar mortgage bailout. Today the government is mandating free contraception. What will it be tomorrow? My Blue Cross premium increased over 48% in two years. How much higher will my premium go to accommodate all the Obamacare mandates?

Are you willing to continue on this path of death by a thousand cuts? When will enough be enough? The answer is "Now!" We can no longer sit on the sidelines and allow our Constitution to be trampled on! We can't continue tolerating an administration that blatantly invokes extra executive powers and imposes its power against the will of the people.

We can make a difference! If you have been on the sidelines, it's time to attend our next Tea Party meeting on Tuesday February 14^th at 6:30 pm, WW Regional Airport Conference Room. Come and you'll learn all about the Washington State caucus process.

If we are going make the meaningful changes needed to protect the Constitution and our democracy, we must participate in the 2012 caucus and the 2012 election.

See you and all your friends on Tuesday.

Martha

Our basic freedoms are under attack again from the Obama administration!

From Martha:

A fellow patriot forwarded this article from the Weekly Standard. Please read the statement from the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops. I urge you to print this article or forward it to your pastor or leaders of your church. We must demand that all faiths stand in solidarity with the Catholic Bishops. The issue is not contraception, the issue is the state assuming more power over its citizens.

Here is the link to the Catholic Diocese in Spokane: www.dioceseofspokane.org.  According to Bishop Cupich of Spokane, the state of Washington is also considering a similar mandate that would force religious organizations to provide insurance coverage for abortions. Contact your state senator and representative and let them know of your opposition to HB 2330 and SB 6185.

========


I think it's important to realize that anti-Christian bigotry is becoming common place.  Bigotry in any form should be fought, but this is a recent trend, and it's an ugly one, regardless of how one thinks the world came to be. 

Government is it's own special interest group

Big government serves big government.  Check this out to see why:

Huh. Imagine that -- Hollywood gets something right......

....and I did look outside for swine in flight, and saw nada. Anyone else?

Actor Bill Murray to CNBC: 'I think we ought to be personally responsible'

Actor Bill Murray on Friday said he believes Americans need to be more personally responsible for their well-being.

"I think we ought to be personally responsible," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Friday morning. "I think if you can take care of yourself, and then maybe try to take care of someone else, that's sort of how you're supposed to live.

Read the whole thing here.

AGENDA: Grinding America Down

This is a documentary.  The trailer is worth watching.

Thanks to Frank for the link.

Constitution 101

“Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution" is a 10-week online course presented by Hillsdale College.

Featuring an expanded format from the “Introduction to the Constitution” lecture series with Hillsdale College President Dr. Larry Arnn, Constitution 101 follows closely the one-semester course required of all Hillsdale College undergraduate students.

In this course, you can:

• watch lectures from the same Hillsdale faculty who teach on campus;
• study the same readings taught in the College course;
• submit questions for weekly Q&A sessions with the faculty;
• access a course study guide;
• test your knowledge through weekly quizzes; and
• upon completion of the course, receive a certificate from Hillsdale College.

You have to register and take the course on line, here.

Thanks to Dixie for the link!

Think I was joking......

.....about the last post? 

No, I wasn't:

Homeland Security: You’re All ‘Militia Extremists’ Now

A recently published “lexicon” distributed to thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) targets citizens concerned about their Second Amendment rights and the steady encroachment of the federal government, categorizing such as “militia extremists.”

The “lexicon,” marked Unclassified/For Official Use Only (FOUO), is dated November 10, 2011, and was sent out by email to law enforcement and homeland security agencies on November 14 by LaJuan E. Washington of the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

....[snip]....

Its definition of “militia extremists” states:

(U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who facilitate or engage in acts of violence directed at federal, state, or local government officials or infrastructure in response to their belief that the government deliberately is stripping Americans of their freedoms and is attempting to establish a totalitarian regime. These individuals consequently oppose many federal and state authorities’ laws and regulations, (particularly those related to firearms ownership), and often belong to armed paramilitary groups. They often conduct paramilitary training designed to violently resist perceived government oppression or to violently overthrow the US Government. (Page 2 of 3, emphasis added)

....[snip]....

And for those who would scoff that my reading is over the top and claim that DHS would never target anyone who wasn’t knowingly and willingly involved in “facilitating and engaging in acts of violence,” the DHS lexicon adds another category, “unwitting co-optees”:

    (U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who provide support to terrorism without knowing that their actions are contributing to terrorism. Such individuals may suspect that they are being used. Not all unwitting co-optees are engaging in criminal behavior.

The entire article is worth a read.  That's because one our Core Values says:

LIMITED GOVERNMENT...

because we believe that responsible citizens

make better decisions for themselves

than a distant, impersonal federal government.

The Federal Government clearly does not believe that.  We need to change the direction America is heading in, away from tyranny, and back to the America our Founding Fathers created.

Come the elections this, we need to recapture the Senate, retain the House, and, if at all possible, vote Obama out of office. 

Attention Radical Right Wing Extremists!

The FBI is watching you.  Lamely so, but still, I thought you might want want to know.

The fact that this is an election year is probably just a coincidence. 

Action Alert on House Bill 2612

ACTION ALERT: REQUEST YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION

Action Alert Topic: Vote NO on House Bill 2612

The House General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee who could vote on it at any moment - Act Now!

 
See http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2612.pdf for details concerning this bill. 

Membership Action Needed: 

The Freedom Foundation, the source most widely used by Tri-Cities TEA Party Board and Legislative Committee urgently request that all Tri-Cities TEA Party members voice their opposition to HB 2612!

If you send an email, it is recommended that the Subject line or the first line in the body of the email state: "You are receiving this because of your position on the General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee."

As a citizen of the State of Washington and a member of the Tri-Cities TEA Party, I strongly disagree with HB 2612, and request that you and the respective General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee members kill this bill! HB 2612 is not pro-minority; it's pro-lawyer and pro-election chaos! This bill would result in countless lawsuits against cities and counties, tying up elections in the courts and costing local government money they can ill-afford to spend defending election results! Election quality issues should be dealt with in the redistricting process or by the legislature, not by a judge in the middle of an election! Carving out special privileges for certain voting groups is a dangerous road to follow.America has always aspired to be a "melting pot", not a nation of fragmented and suspicious groups!

Description: Bill HB 2204 would require counties to accept voter registrations right up to 5 p.m. onElection Day. The current deadline is eight days before an election, allowing county staff time to verify both the accuracy and the legality of the registration information.

Please Contact these Legislators in Nearby Districts:

District 8 (North Benton)

Rep. Brad Klippert, R (360) 786-7882 klippert.brad@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Larry Haler, R (360) 786-7986 haler.larry@leg.wa.gov

District 9 (Franklin, Adams, Whitman, Garfield and South Spokane)

Rep. Susan Fagan, R (360) 786-7942 fagan.susan@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Joe Schmick, R (360) 786-7844 schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov

District 16 (South Benton, Walla Walla and Columbia)

Rep. Maureen Walsh, R (360) 786-7836 walsh.maureen@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Terry Nealey, R (360) 786-7828 nealey.terry@leg.wa.gov

Please contact these Legislators on the General Government Appropriations & Oversight C ommittee:

Representative District Email Address Phone Number

Hudgins, Zack (D) Chair 11 hudgins.zack@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7956

Miloscia, Mark (D) Vice Chair 30 miloscia.mark@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7898

Moscoso, Luis (D) Vice Chair 1 moscoso.luis@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7900

McCune, Jim (R) * 2 mccune.jim@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7824

Taylor, David (R) ** 15 taylor.david@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7874

Ahern, John (R) 6 ahern.john@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7962

Armstrong, Mike (R) 12 armstrong.mike@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7832

Blake, Brian (D) 19 blake.brian@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7870

Fitzgibbon, Joe (D) 34 fitzgibbon.joe@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7952

Ladenburg, Connie (D) 29 ladenburg.connie@leg.wa.gov (360)786-7906

Pedersen, Jamie (D) 43 pedersen.jamie@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7826

Van De Wege, Kevin (D) 24 vandewege.kevin@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7916

Wilcox, J.T. (R) 2 wilcox.j@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7912

WWTPP note:  I gave this bill a once-over, and I suggest that you do the same.  But, in essence, the bill sets the standards for "racially polarized voting" and "voting dilution", following from the impacts of case law from the Federal Voting Rights Act.  If nothing else, it sounds like a Federal intrusion into state matters without the Federal government lifting a finger.  If there has been any racially polarized voting in Washington, let me know here, and I'll post it on the blog and Facebook.

How is this controversial?

Oh, wait, it shows Obama in a bad light.  My bad:

Controversial Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution

Provo, Utah (CBS Las Vegas) - In front of the White House a man is sitting on a park bench in the throes of depression. He is surrounded by all 43 presidents. In the forefront, purposefully ignoring the depressed man is President Obama, whose right foot is stepping on the Constitution. James Madison is next to Obama, pleading with him to stop.

This tableau is called “The Forgotten Man”, a painting by Jon McNaughton, an artist who is known for his politically-charged work.

 The painting can be seen here, at the web site of the artist, Jon McNaughton, who has a large selection of very fine paintings.  At the time of this posting, the web site was having server issues, so check back later if you can't get through.

Next: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Sugar

From Investors Business Daily:

Food Gestapo Seek A Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Sugar

Nanny State: The food police who've targeted everything from salt to Happy Meals now set their sights on regulating sugar as a controlled substance to fight obesity. The fat we should fear most, though, is overweight government.

Once again, there's an effort to get more government oversight into our daily lives.  Big government is here, people.

The scientific article referenced  in the link was published by Nature, a highly respected scientific journal.   It isn't available to the public because it's by subscription only.  If you want to spend $32, you can get instant access to the article here.

Liberal "logic"

If finger pointing is racist,  then this [click!]

Heh!

Figures on government spending and debt

::facepalm::

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Total public debt subject to limit Jan. 30	$15,313,699
Statutory debt limit	$16,394,000
Total public debt outstanding Jan. 30	$15,356,140
Operating balance Jan. 30	$158,596
Interest fiscal year 2012 through December	$62,662
Interest same period 2011	$56,780
Deficit fiscal year 2012 through December	$321,735
Deficit same period 2011	$368,960
Receipts fiscal year 2012 through December	$555,437
Receipts same period 2011	$531,797
Outlays fiscal year 2012 through December	$877,173
Outlays same period 2011	$900,757
Gold assets in January	$11,041