An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Archive for House of Representatives
Remember Those “72 Hours”?
The Most Ethical Congress….EVAH!
Handy Dandy Guide To Big Spending Votes
Yep, it’s finally here. A guide to every member of the House of Representatives’ voting record on HUGE spending bills. Take a look at how your state’s rep is voting on the bills a vast majority of folks have decried for the past two years.
Since we live in Tennessee, I have a screen shot of those from our state. (Go look up your own state. 
)
I found this useful little guide through this story from World Net Daily.
You asked for it! The big-spender scorecard
Find out right now which ‘bums’ supported bailouts, cap and trade, health ‘reform’
Tea partiers now have a new, simple guide for when they have questions about how their lawmakers voted on controversial measures such as the TARP bill, auto bailout, cap and trade, food regulations and health-care reform bill.
A new congressional scorecard details votes by House members on key measures, many of which have been cited by the tea-party movement as evidence of growing federal government control and excessive spending.
The scorecard, created by Army Reserve veteran Dave Kittley using information from Govtrack.us, also features a red label next to each member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, or CPC, the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in Congress.
I, for one, appreciate all the work that must have gone into pulling this chart together. Puts thing is a much clearer perspective, IMHO.
CPC was set up in 1991 by then-Rep. Bernie Sanders, in conjunction with Democratic Socialists of America and the far left Institute for Policy Studies. Its statement of purpose reads:
“The Progressive Caucus is organized around the principles of social and economic justice, a non-discriminatory society and national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and the powerful.
Our purpose is to present thoughtful, practical solutions to the economic and social problems facing America. Our people-based agenda extends from job creation to job training, to economic conversion, to single payer healthcare reform, to adequate funding for the AIDS crisis, to environmental reform, and to women’s rights. …”
The CPC promotes a strong “progressive agenda,” what it calls “The Progressive Promise – Fairness for All.”
So, what we have here is a “congress” inside the Congress, pushing socialist agendas? Note that “in conjunction with Democratic Socialists of America” part. Want a REAL “education, check out their ‘youth’ newsletter, THE RED LETTER. And these are the people PUSHING the agenda? Anyone else want to tell me there is no socialist take over going on??? Lock and load!
You can read the rest of the piece here, and come to your own conclusions. There is a pretty good round up, touching on what each of the bills in question covers.
Tennessee’s 8th
I got an email this morning, from someone who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. 
I found it extremely interesting, to say the least. Now, granted, I have no dog in the hunt when it comes to the TN’s 8th Congressional district, but sometimes, ya just gotta share things. Such a colorful way of sharing.
West Tennessee Patriots,
I’ve always had a distaste for negative campaigning but in reality a candidate for U.S. Congress creates a scandal if he forgets to brush his teeth. Problems with candidates certainly need to be exposed during the primaries, if not they most certainly will be in the general election and that could have the disastrous effect of causing a screaming liberal like Roy Herron to be elected.
These hogs who claim to hate the feed have been busy rooting in the trough. You might say that both little piggies went to market. These supposedly conservative candidates competing for our 8th Congressional district seat could be badly damaged in the general election by their claim to be against the economic stimulus yet have had their hand out to get a piece of the action for their special interest purposes. In Dr. George Flinn’s case it’s 1.6 million for a “head start” program and for Dr. Ron Kirkland’s case it’s for his medical organization, the AMGA. If I understand it correctly it’s $18,000 for every participating physician, potentially 95,000 of them. GeMaNe if my ciphering is correct that’s 1.71 Billion for Kirkland and only 1.6 Million for Flinn. Poor George Flinn is a light weight indeed compared to good ol Ron Kirkland when it comes to bringing home the pork or at least bringing Doctors home the pork.
Link to Dr. George Flinn and his “Head Start” program. Bless George’s little heart. We do so badly need some more social programs.
In this link watch the video titled “Government Grants” George will teach you how to get your very own pork but honestly I’d rather take lessons from Dr. Ron Kirkland.
Here is Dr. Kirkland’s website, in case you are interested.
Also, in this email, was an interesting tidbit concerning one of the Democrat candidates for the 8th, state Senator Roy Herron, who, apparently dropped out of the gubernatorial race on 12/2/09, and dropped in to the Congressional race on 12/4/09. Or something like that.
Bill Summary
Present law authorizes qualified voters to register to vote at the county election commission office at any time the office is open, except that no voter registration applications are processed for 29 days before an election; provided, that a qualified voter is authorized to file a mail registration form by postmarking the registration form or submitting the form 30 days before an election.
This bill creates a new mechanism for qualified voters to register to vote. This bill authorizes an individual who is eligible to vote to register on election day by appearing in person at the polling place for the precinct where the individual maintains residence, completing a registration card, and providing proof of residence. For purposes of this bill, an individual would be authorized to prove residence by:
(1) Showing a driver license or identification card issued through the Tennessee department of safety;
(2) Showing any proof of identity and residence that would be satisfactory proof of identity to vote if the person was already registered;
(3) Showing a current, valid student identification from a post-secondary educational institution in Tennessee accompanied with a current student fee statement that contains the student’s valid address in the precinct together with a picture identification card; or
(4) Having a voter who is registered to vote in the precinct sign an oath in the presence of an election judge vouching for the residency of the individual. A registered voter would only be eligible to vouch for one registrant per day. A voter who registered on election day would be prohibited from signing a proof of residence vouching for any other individual on that election day.
Lucky for the folks in Tennessee, this bill hasn’t gone anywhere. So far. And I pray it never will. Seriously, do we need more people in Washington, D.C. promoting voter fraud?
Letter From Marsha
If you are in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, you may have received one too.
Friends,
Today the EPA announced that they would postpone the implementation of their proposed carbon regulations until next year. As you know, I believe those regulations would have a devastating effect on the economy-especially in the 7th District of Tennessee.
I believe that their decision is directly related to growing bi-partisan opposition to the idea that the EPA could regulate carbon emissions without the authorization of Congress. That is why I introduced H.R. 391 to stop them, and why so many of my colleagues from both parties have joined me in the fight.
America needs new, clean, domestic sources of energy. Allowing unelected bureaucrats to punitively cap carbon emissions from cars, farms, and factories won’t get us there anymore than taxing Americans out of house and home will.
It is important to note that the EPA has only given us a temporary reprieve. Unless we continue the push to pass H.R. 391, they can resurrect these regulations at any time. That’s why we’ll continue to fight.
My best,
Marsha
Not only should the EPA postpone, the EPA should be shut down. Completely. They are taking liberties that don’t belong to them.
The bill mentioned here, H.R. 391, has been floating around in committee for way too long. It’s co-sponsored by 152 representatives, all Republicans, of course.
A BILL
To amend the Clean Air Act to provide that greenhouse gases are not subject to the Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION UNDER CLEAN AIR ACT.
Section 302(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602(g)) is amended by adding the following at the end thereof: ‘The term ‘air pollutant’ shall not include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride.’.
SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE NOT REGULATED BY CLEAN AIR ACT.
Nothing in the Clean Air Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming.
This seems pretty cut and dry to me.
1. No one should be able to regulate your ability to exhale.
2. Hello??? Water evaporates. Learned that in elementary school.
3. Do they have enough butt plugs for cows? Didn’t think so. Ever heard of mud volcanoes?
4. I wonder how many people will stop going to the dentist? Bad teeth can cause other health issues. Ooops! Must have Obamacare. 
5. If your frying pan catches on fire, I would think it would be a good idea to be able to put the fire out.
6. Eye surgery? MRI? Ultra-sound? Yep! Come in real handy.
And….
7. I’ve always thought it was a real good idea to insulate anything high voltage, don’t you?
Marsha Came To Visit
This morning, I had the pleasure, along with about 45 or 50 other folks, to have a chat with our U.S. Rep, Marsha Blackburn. State Senator Delores Gresham and State Representative Vance Dennis rounded out the ‘party’.
Marsha brought along a very large pile of paper, and I do mean a LARGE pile of paper! This wasn’t even the entire bill, just a portion of it. Which bill? Why the budget of course. You thought that pile of health crap bill was big? I’d really hate to see that little bitty woman try to lug the WHOLE budget from meeting to meeting. This “budget” is a $3.8 trillion dollar pile of paper. Shall I repeat that? THREE POINT 8 TRILLION DOLLARS…..$3,800,000,000,000.00! Of OUR money! Why is Washington so dead set on destroying the future of our children and grandchildren? It made no sense to raise the debt limit to $14 trillion when these people can’t figure out how to manage, efficiently, or effectively the funds we have allowed them in the past?
The biggest concerns of the folks in attendance were jobs and the ever increasing taxes, as are the concerns of the majority of Americans. With no jobs, there is no money. No money, no taxes. No taxes, well….hey…wouldn’t that be a good thing? 
Yes, we do have to have some taxes in order to pay the military, provide ‘post roads’, and the few other items that the federal government was limited to in the U.S. Constitution.
There were a variety of statements and questions posed, from the tax issues, to foreign debt, to the NEA (education). All were reasonable concerns of the average American.
Just a few of the topics covered, in no particular order:
1- Education – return control of the money for public education to the states, and allow the state legislatures to deal with their educational systems. There were a couple of teachers who brought up some extremely valid points, like passing students who could barely read or write to the next grade. This may help the teachers pass the problem on, but it doesn’t help the kids at all. With Tennessee ranked at 45th in education, you’d think that there would be more parents concerned, but unfortunately, there are 1.2 million adults who are functionally illiterate, in a state of only 6 million people.
2- Jobs – the cost of doing business has gone up dramatically. The biggest problems are labor costs, taxes, and regulation. Unions pushed the cost of products up to pay for their fat benefit packages. The government taxes businesses so it’s difficult to expand. Then comes the regulations. The EPA and OSHA want to regulate every single aspect of your business. Why even bother? The paperwork alone would discourage any entrepreneur from even considering starting up and provide a few jobs for their community. If the EPA is able to shove through Cap and Trade, you can pretty much guarantee that even more jobs will be lost.
3- Health Care – this is a huge concern for all of us. There were several health care providers in the crowd who expressed even greater concerns with the direction of Congress than us non medical types. Did you know that in 2006, the House actually passed an insurance reform bill that addressed the biggest problems (TORT, portability, pre-existing conditions) that has caused the costs to rise? Unfortunately, the Senate only had 54 votes, not the required 60. Makes ya wonder if the Dems really want reform, or just power. Hmmmmm…… One problem that could be solved quite easily is paperwork. 30% of the cost of insurance is paperwork. Does this make sense? Why don’t the insurance companies use the same form, instead every company has their own. The February 25 “look at me, I’m Bi-Partisanship Obama” isn’t going to solve a single thing. Oh, and the consensus? NO OBAMACARE!
4- Federal Mandates – of the unfunded variety. The federales say you have to do this, we demand it, but we won’t provide the funds for it. Well, they don’t have any funds anyway, so how can they make such demands? 
Considering they don’t have the authority, how has it gotten so out of hand?
5- Illegals – H.R. 2406: Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act was introduced by Marsha last year. “To provide for enhanced Federal, State, and local assistance in the enforcement of the immigration laws, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, to authorize appropriations to carry out the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and for other purposes.” Which is great, as far as it goes. There are at least 1,000,000 criminal illegal aliens in this country, that they know of, but what about the ones who still broke the law coming in? Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to ask why the Border Patrol was being cut.
6- TV – a local issue. Living out here in the boonies, we don’t get weather alerts that are essentials to the safety and well being of the community. Why this has to be addressed in Washington, D.C. is beyond me, but I guess there are other areas that have the same problem.
7- Tea Party – Marsha stated she believes the movement is a good thing. It has brought out people from all walks of life, fed up with the direction of the federal government. She and Michelle Bachman had no choice but to pull out from speaking at the convention in Nashville. Personal opinion, the ethics committee (and I use that term loosely when it comes to Congress) makes up rules as they go along. It’s time for ALL of us to take a good hard look at the candidates, and not just the party affiliation. And yes, she does like Sarah Palin.
A pastor is extremely upset at the direction the nation is heading. What was once shameful in the eyes of God, and society is now accepted as the norm. I tend to agree with him.
A great many topics were covered in a relatively short period of time. I believe if more in D.C. would come out and talk to the REAL folks, a great many problems could be solved for a lot less money in a shorter period of time. I really need to get one of those little tape recorders, so I can cover more. Taking notes is great, but ya tend to miss some things.
Marsha (middle) and a couple of the folks.
If I Lived In Tennessee’s 9th……
… I would seriously consider voting for this young lady! Charlotte Bergmann is running as a Republican for the seat currently held by Steve Cohen. Cohen is being challenged, for the Democrat nomination, by the former Mayor of Memphis, Willie Herenton. That’s gonna be an interesting race. Willie doesn’t have a website, at least not that I can find, so I can’t link one.
Ok, back to Charlotte. I don’t know much about her, other than what is on her website, but from what I’ve read, it will be very interesting to watch her progress. She seems like a very bright young lady, who would do the district proud. Heaven knows, with Memphis smack dab in the thick of things, the district desperately needs a new face, with new ideas!
Gee, Y’Think??
Perhaps next time, Newt will actually look a little deeper at the candidate, instead of just at the “R”! Not all R’s are for Right!
“They were right. At the time, as a party builder and someone who has always been trying to help build the party, it struck me that she was the local nominee. She turned out to be a huge disappointment. And she turned out not to be frankly a loyal Republican.”
“And I think that those folks have the better of that argument.
“It’s very important, though, not to get into a business where if you’re not exactly perfect, I can’t be for you. Scott Brown has been an enormously important victory, but the fact is Scott Brown, on many issues, would not meet a 100 percent purity test. But his victory was stunningly important for all of us.”
“In the case of Scozzafava, she is an enormous disappointment. She had some positions that were far more radical than I realized at the time. And I think in retrospect, it was probably a mistake.”
Probably? Pfft! How ’bout BIG time mistake!
Queen Nanny Speaks
Pelosi: “We will have healthcare — one way or another”
Given what looks like the impending loss of the party’s Senate supermajority, Democrats have reason to be down in the dumps about healthcare reform. But if that’s the way House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s feeling, she’s not showing it publicly.
“Let’s remove all doubt, we will have healthcare one way or another,” Pelosi said during an event in San Francisco on Monday. “Certainly the dynamic would change depending on what happens in Massachusetts. Just the question about how we would proceed. But it doesn’t mean we won’t have a health care bill.”
Dear Lord! The arrogance of that woman is just astounding! When at LEAST 56% of the voting public say no, and 44% are saying HELL NO, wouldn’t you think an elected official would listen to their bosses? If your boss, you know, the one that pays your salary, tells you not to do something, would you just go right on ahead and do it anyway? Odds are, no…. unless you wanted to get fired.
Well, Mzzzzzzzzz Pelosi, as far as I’m concerned…..YOU ARE FIRED! I will be working really hard to ensure a Democrat defeat come November, and your position as Speaker of the House will, hopefully, go to someone who has the good sense to remember just WHO he, or she, works for, and you, my dear, will crawl back under that rock where you belong!
PLEASE, San Fransisco! Make It Go Away!
Speaker Pelosi’s Job-Killing Agenda
The Foundry
After a three-week holiday break, the House of Representatives returned to session yesterday, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) marked the occasion with an op-ed detailing her “record of achievement” and outlining her agenda for the rest of the 111th Congress. Pelosi writes: “At the halfway mark in this Congress, our priorities are clear: strengthening the security of the American people and building a new economy that offers our families lasting prosperity.” But the 111th Congress is not the first Congress Speaker Pelosi has presided over. When Pelosi was first handed the gavel in January 2007, the U.S. economy employed 137.3 million people and our nation’s unemployment rate stood at 4.6%. According to the Labor Department’s most recent report, the U.S. economy has shed 6.3 million jobs since then, and 10% of our workforce is now unemployed.
The Skewed Priorities Of D.C.
Happy Tax Year!
Morning Bell
While millions of Americans are more than ready to put 2009 behind them, they should know that Congress failed to reauthorize dozens of tax breaks for individuals and businesses before the Members scurried home for the Holidays. These “expiring provisions” affect every American in one way or another as individuals or businesses. By allowing them to lapse, Congress has enacted tax increases at time when these taxpayers can least afford it.
Get Out Of OUR House!
A Moment of Silence
Today, at noon eastern, 11 central, please take a moment to pray for those in Washington, D.C. Pray they will remember who gave them their job, and who can take it away. Pray they will read the Constitution and remember their oath of office. Pray they will remember who they work for, We, The People. Pray they remember those who fought and died to preserve our freedoms. Pray they will not be in such a hurry to destroy those freedoms. Pray we will remain the United States of America, and all it stands for. Pray they will see the Light!
Decisions
Pelosi Rejects War Surtax Proposal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has all but killed a proposal by senior House Democrats to levy a tax on nearly all Americans to pay for the Afghanistan war.
Pelosi, speaking at her weekly press briefing Thursday on Capitol Hill, said she was “not in support” of the war surtax idea – adding that when Obama requests more funding for the war in Afghanistan, then Democrats will decide how to pay for it.
I have NO problem with the Queen rejecting such a reckless idea. I DO have a problem with her stating that the “Democrats will decide how to pay for it”. There are are no others in Congress? There are only Dems? I was under the impression that there were still a few Republicans sitting up there in The Swamp as well. Shouldn’t this be a collaborative decision?
Just askin’.
H.R. 4127
Unless you have been on another planet the last few weeks, no doubt you are aware of the Obama administration’s plans to bring 5 murderous animals to New York, for the express purpose, supposedly, of trying them in a civilian court. Thankfully, there are a few people left in The Swamp with a bit of sense!
Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) has introduced a bill, H.R. 4127: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide that alien unprivileged enemy belligerents may only be tried by military commissions if tried for alleged conduct for which a term of incarceration or the death penalty may be sought.
