An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 20 June 2010
Surprising?
Not one single bit!
Obama spill panel big on policy, not engineering
The panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is short on technical expertise but long on talking publicly about “America’s addiction to oil.” One member has blogged about it regularly.
Only one of the seven commissioners, the dean of Harvard’s engineering and applied sciences school, has a prominent engineering background — but it’s in optics and physics. Another is an environmental scientist with expertise in coastal areas and the after-effects of oil spills. Both are praised by other scientists.
The five other commissioners are experts in policy and management.
Read the entire article.
I’m about as qualified to run this show as those bozos are! This is nothing more than another fat government bureaucracy, and as useless as teats on a boar! I don’t know about you, but I am sick of this whole incompetent administration, and it’s minions in Congress! The political agenda to destroy the country marches on.
The Draking Point
Dad’s Day
I miss my dad. He’s been gone since 1981, and I still miss him. I guess I always will. He was an older man, born in 1907, so wasn’t exactly a spring chicken while I was growing up. I missed some activities that most dads would be involved with that are younger, but looking back, it didn’t really matter in the long run. I knew he loved me. Who else would go to an orphanage, and pick out a kid that wasn’t his, biologically? This made him head and shoulders above all other dads, in my book. I got chosen, not foisted. 
My dad was a character, and could tell some tales. Most were based in truth. Some? Well, he was a dad, after all. LOL
Yep, I miss my dad.
Zach Wamp
I haven’t said much about the upcoming primary for TN governor. I already knew who I would NOT be supporting, but wasn’t going to be negative on the guy. I’ll be perfectly honest, the one and only time I met Zach Wamp, I got the willies, BEFORE I knew that’s who he was. He just reminded me way too much of Russ Feingold. Not in looks, but in manner. Smarmy is the word that comes to mind when I think of Feingold. I’m sure Wamp’s a real nice guy, once you get to know him. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told he is actually terrific by some who DO know him very well. I’m sure Feingold is too. But when it comes to politics, nice in personal encounters, and the type of person I’d want running the show, are not the same thing. I needed more info about Wamp’s votes in Congress, and now, I have it (via email, without me doing all the work ):
A few of the items he Voted FOR, that I disagree:
Cash for Clunkers Funding – (H.R. 3435) The vehicles traded in were destroyed, meaning cars not ready for
the junkyard would be taken off the road, reducing the stock of used vehicles and inflating the prices of used cars. Subsidizing the car industry is unconstitutional and wasteful.
Energy-Water Appropriations – (H.R. 3183) The funds would provide $27.1 billion for the Energy Department, $5.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, and $1.1 billion for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation. The Department of Energy is not authorized by the Constitution.
COPS Funding – (H.R. 1139) The funds authorized would aid in the hiring of law-enforcement officers. Providing federal aid to local law-enforcement programs is not only unconstitutional, but it also further federalizes the police system.
Supplemental Appropriations – (H.R. 2346) The Fiscal 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill would provide an additional $96.7 billion in “emergency” funding for the current fiscal year over and above the regular appropriations. Some of the spending (e.g., foreign aid) is unconstitutional.
Bailout Bill – (H.R. 1424) This bill authorizes the Treasury Department to use $700
billion of taxpayer money to purchase troubled mortgage-related securities from banks and other
financial-related institutions, on terms set by the Treasury Secretary, who now has authority to
manage and sell those assets.
Economic Stimulus – (H.R. 5140) The stimulus has no offset and thus increases the federal deficit by the amount of the stimulus because the government must borrow the rebate money. A realistic long-term stimulus can only be achieved by lowering taxes through less government and by reducing regulatory burdens.
Thought Crimes – (H.R. 1955) Critics charge that the bill is a thinly disguised attempt to criminalize dissent,
based on the bill’s vague and open-ended language that could be used to trample basic rights to
free speech and assembly, and turn legitimate dissent into thought crimes. This bill threatens legitimate dissent.
Minimum Wage – (H.R. 2) Though many people believe that raising the federal minimum wage is a solution
to national poverty, allowing the market to dictate wages allows entry-level workers to get the
experience and job training they need to get higher paying jobs.
Foreign Aid – (H.R. 5522) Though foreign aid is supposed to help the poor and suffering in other countries, it instead has served to prop up economically deficient socialist regimes and to transfer wealth from American taxpayers to third-world elites.
Oman Trade Agreement – (H.R. 5684) These so-called free trade agreements have historically failed because they encourage the relocation of U.S. jobs to foreign countries so that the companies can get cheap labor. Meanwhile, they don’t provide the United States with trade benefits — largely because the people in those countries cannot afford to buy our products — thereby harming the U.S. economy. The agreements also
put our economic destiny in the hands of unelected foreign bureaucrats, such as those at the World Trade Organization.
Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations – (H.R. 3010) This massive social-welfare appropriations bill would provide $601.6 billion in fiscal 2006 for the Labor Department ($14.8 billion), the Education Department ($63.5 billion), the Health and Human Services Department ($474.1 billion), and related agencies.
Well, you get the idea. There are many such examples since he has been in Congress. It appears that Rep. Wamp has way too much fun spending other people’s money, as does the majority of Congress. I honestly do not want a governor that has no problem with reckless, and mostly unconstitutional spending.
What did he vote AGAINST? Not much, and few he should have vote FOR.
Ban on UN Contributions, not funding Mental Health Screening, Online Freedom of Speech, overhaul U.S. Treasury Borrowing, Defunding the NAIS, eliminate some Katrina Funding, bar funding of Iran Military Operations, specific congressional approval for Iran Military Operations, Iraq Troop Withdrawal.
So, now it’s come down between Ron Ramsey and Bill Haslam. Honestly, I’m leaning toward Ramsey, but if Haslam or Wamp wins the primary, I suppose either would be better than another Democrat. 
Thanks Jerry.
