Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Taxpayers File Suit To Invalidate Gregoire's Climate Change Order

A group of six taxpayers has filed a lawsuit to invalidate an executive order issued by Gov. Chris Gregoire last year.

“We believe Gov. Gregoire’s climate change executive order is an unconstitutional order,” said Michael Reitz, director of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s Constitutional Law Center, who represents the taxpayers in this case. “Gov. Gregoire violated the doctrine of separation of powers by snatching a failed bill out of the legislative process and issuing it in the form of an executive order. If the governor wants to pass laws, she’s in the wrong branch of government.”

During the 2009 legislative session, the Washington State Legislature considered a bill from Gov. Gregoire that addressed climate change issues. Despite vocal support from the governor, SB 5735 did not pass out of the Legislature.

Undeterred, on May 21, 2009, Gov. Gregoire issued Executive Order 09-05, entitled “Washington’s Leadership on Climate Change,” ordering the Departments of Ecology and Transportation to take action to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions and increase transportation and fuel-conservation options. In a press release the governor claimed the executive order would produce environmental and economic benefits: “It will protect our natural resources, while creating thousands of green-collar jobs and strengthening our state’s competitiveness in the global race for a clean energy economy.

Gov. Gregoire stressed that Executive Order 09-05 was intended to replace her failed legislation. At her press conference, Gregoire said, “What we’ve done in the executive order is everything that was in that final bill — plus. Plus. There’s more in the executive order than what was in the final bill that did not pass the Legislature.” 

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation and its clients argue Gov. Gregoire lacks authority to take the actions described in the order. “Governors are free to issue executive orders, but the order is enforceable only if the governor is expressly empowered by the constitution or by statute,” Reitz said. “For example, state law permits the governor to declare a state of emergency after a natural disaster. All other executive orders are mere policy statements or voluntary directives to state agencies and are considered unenforceable.”

Reitz continued: “We have democratic process for a reason. The people of this state expect their lawmakers and elected officials to follow the law just like anyone else. The governor shouldn’t bypass the Legislature, regardless of her objectives.” 

The individual taxpayers suing the governor are Dr. Sterling A. Hill of Kent, Pat and Sandy Tarzwell of Shelton, Cindy Marshall of Otis Orchards, Matt Erickson of Wenatchee and Jim Wolfe of Pasco. 

The complaint was filed in Thurston County Superior Court.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Brilliant Man Gives Obama Rant

It's takes a minute to get into his speech pattern, but this guy is right on the money — especially about the Democrat's and their pathetic class warfare strategy that has worked so well for so long.

Watch it here.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Plan To Build a Mosque at Ground Zero

Plans have been announced to build an Islamic Mosque on the site of Ground Zero in New York City. This should anger every American with any sense, and with any pride.

Pat Condell is a British stand-up comedian, who puts it into perspective. This Video isn't comic, but pure truth, and utterly brilliant. It's well worth 6 minutes of your time.

The Commander in Chief and the General

Obama: "Listen Stan, just because you graduated from West Point, have 33 years of military experience, and real leadership abilities, became a 4-Star General making life and death decisions daily, doesn't mean you know anything about how to fight a war and defeat an enemy. So just do what I say, Ok?"

Monday, July 05, 2010

The General and the Community Organizer

(Editor's Note: This was sent to me by a friend, and I thought it was provocative enough to share. While it mirrors my belief that General Stanley McChrystal knew exactly what he was doing when he gave that fateful interview to Rolling Stone, my reasons for thinking so differ from the author's. The author is a fairly well-known conservative writer, a member of the Civil Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Senior Fellow at the Lincoln Heritage Institute. He may be reached at PaulHollrah@aol.com. The original article was published here.)

By Paul R. Hollrah
June 24, 2010
Channel-surfing from ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN through MSNBC and Fox News, the inside-the-beltway pundits had a field day trying to get inside the heads of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, General Stanley McChrystal, and McChrystal's top aides. The one thing common to all of the analyses, by the most famous and highly-paid talking heads in the Western World, was that they are all wrong — dead wrong. What is certain is that they all owe General McChrystal and his senior aides an apology for assuming that they are lame-brained numbskulls.

The facts of the McChrystal case are not in dispute. General McChrystal and his senior officers allowed a reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine, Michael Hastings, to have almost unprecedented access during an extended stay in Paris. The extended stay was due, in part, to an excess of atmospheric ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, keeping the McChrystal party grounded for days.

In an interview with CNN, Hastings reported that he had a tape recorder in his hand most of the time and that McChrystal was "very aware" that his comments would find their way into print. He said, "McChrystal and his people set no ground rules for their conversations, although they did ask that some parts of their conversations were off the record." Hastings subsequently published a lengthy profile of General McChrystal on June 22, titled, The Runaway General.

As Hastings wrote in his profile, McChrystal thought that Obama looked "Uncomfortable and Intimidated" by the roomful of military brass during their first meeting. Of their second meeting, an advisor to McChrystal quoted the general as saying that it was "A 10-minute Photo-op." He went on to say, "Obama clearly didn't know anything about (McChrystal), who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his f_ _ _ing war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed." 

As General McChrystal flew from Afghanistan to Washington to face Obama in the Oval Office, the almost unanimous opinion of the talking heads was that the comments made by McChrystal and his staff were off the cuff and inadvertent. But to believe that is to totally ignore who these men are.

General McChrystal and his top officers are not simple-minded, knuckle-dragging brutes. To the contrary, they are intelligent, thoughtful, highly educated, patriots — graduates of West Point and other fine universities — who are dedicated to 'Duty, Honor, and Country.' To think that such men would be so careless as to speak unflatteringly of Obama, Biden, and other top administration figures, in the presence of a reporter for a notoriously left wing publication, defies logic — at the very least. To think that men who are trained to be careful and deliberate in everything they do, could do something so careless and so unguarded is simply beyond comprehension.

I would argue that McChrystal and his aides knew exactly what they were doing. 

From the day that he became the handpicked "Spear carrier" for Obama's unique brand of warfare — playing at being Commander in Chief while playing to his far left constituency — McChrystal's life had been one of constant frustration. After telling Obama exactly how many troops he needed to carry out his mission, Obama dithered for months before deciding to give him just half the troops he requested. McChrystal could not have been happy about that.

The Obama team insisted on new "Rules of Engagement" (ROE) designed to reduce collateral damage (civilian casualties). Obama's ROE required that U.S. troops must be able to see the enemy with weapon in hand before they were allowed to return fire. One videotape circulated on the Internet showed a platoon of Marines pinned down by enemy sniper fire. But since the enemy was firing from some distance behind the open window of a building, the Marines could not actually see the weapon being fired. Although they were taking deadly fire, they were prohibited by the ROE from putting small arms fire or an RPG through the window opening.

Under Obama's politically correct ROE, our soldiers and Marines were required to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. McChrystal could not have been happy about that.

A strict new interrogation policy, dictated by Attorney General Eric Holder, required that prisoners must be delivered to an Interrogation Center within twenty-four hours of being captured or be released. A great deal of actionable intelligence was lost as a result and battle-hardened enemy fighters were returned to the field to kill Americans. McChrystal must have found that to be incomprehensible.

But the greatest insult to our troops in the field, and to the Officers who lead them, may be a new battlefield medal designed by the Obama team. It is called the ''Courageous Restraint Medal'' and is awarded to soldiers and Marines who demonstrate uncommon restrain in combat by not firing their weapons even when they feel threatened by the enemy. Would we be surprised to learn that the preponderance of these medals were awarded posthumously?  McChrystal must have found that to be an insanity. 

I suggest that, having his best military judgments subjected to the White House political sieve for nearly a year and a half, McChrystal decided that he'd had enough. And when he announced to his senior staff that he was prepared to retire they decided to push back — to make the most of a bad situation. It was clear that, if McChrystal were to simply take off his uniform and walk away, his retirement would be page-twenty news for a day or two before the mainstream media and the American people forgot all about him.

They had to make the most of his retirement because it provided a one-time opportunity to show the American people, as well as our enemies and our allies, that the man who claims the title of Commander in Chief of the U.S. military does not command the respect of our men and women in uniform. To make the most of that opportunity they had to choose their messenger very carefully.

They knew that, by openly showing their disrespect for Obama in front of just any newsman, they may not attract the attention they desired. Like any astute observer of the MSM, they knew that most reporters would turn on their own mothers if it meant a good story. But they could not take a chance that a mainstream media reporter might suffer a rare pang of conscience when confronted with the prospect of ruining the careers of some of the most senior officers in the War on Terror. They had to fix the odds as much as possible in their favor so they chose to use Michael Hastings and Rolling Stone Magazine.

During the long hours that General McChrystal was in the air between Kabul and Washington, Obama knew that he had just two choices — both bad. He could declare McChrystal to be an irreplaceable asset in the war effort, give him a public reprimand, and send him back to Kabul. Or he could fire McChrystal, sending a clear message that, at least in his own mind, he was the Commander in Chief.

In the former case, he was certain to appear weak and ineffectual — a man not totally in charge. In the latter case, he might at least win a few rave reviews from the Kool-Ade drinkers in the mainstream media. He chose the latter of the two options.

But what is now lost in all of the hand-wringing and speculation is the fact that McChrystal and his people have succeeded in doing exactly what they set out to do. They wanted to plant the seed in the minds of the American people that Obama is not up to the task of being Commander in Chief and that he does not command the respect of the men and women of the uniformed services — from the newest Private E-1 up to the top four-star Generals and Admirals.

That seed is now firmly planted and it cannot be unplanted.

From this day forward, no one will have to tell the American people that Stanley McChrystal is a true warrior, a man's man, and that Barack Obama is nothing more than a — community organizer. Well done, General!

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Liberals 12-Step Recovery Program

(Editor's Note: A friend sent me this, and I thought it was funny enough to post. So no matter what political persuasion you are — liberal or conservative — hopefully it will bring a smile to your face. I know the conservatives are smugly grinning, but hopefully, the liberals have enough of a sense of humor to laugh at themselves a little as well.)

Are you troubled by liberalism?  Not sure why your brain works the way it does?  Fear not!   

Join Liberals Anonymous and recover your brain with this quick and easy 12-step program:          
              

Step 1: Admit that you're a liberal.

This is the first step for every liberal on the way to recovery.  It is important to understand that you're not  "moderate"  or  "enlightened." 
You're a liberal, and you need to be honest with yourself about that fact.

Step 2: Pledge to support your beliefs with facts.

Realize that truth is more important than moral superiority and is the only way to come over to reality.  You must research beyond propaganda from the Sierra Club, Hillary Clinton, Obama, MSNBC and CNN to understand things as they really exist in the world. You can no longer argue based on "feelings" or emotions. You will actually need to back up your arguments with real, accurate, and true facts. This is a difficult step because it means you can't be lazy with the truth and actutal accuracy any more.

Step 3: Love America.

This may be the most difficult step for those of you who are terrified of being envied by those who hate America for its freedom and prosperity. Admitting that America actually stands as a beacon to defend freedom throughout the world, rather than deserving of hate may make some of you physically ill. You might want to make a visit to a military cemetery to better understand that these men and women gave their lives so that you could apologize for your country's existence. Stop apologizing to every one envious of America, and start loving America and our Constitution.

Step 4: Take a college level economics class.

A Socialist is defined as someone who's never taken an economics class. Most Socialists have a hard time balancing their checkbooks, let alone explaining the simple concept of supply-and-demand. It's time to flush your complete ignorance of basic economics down the toilet and understand how the world actually functions. This concept will be very important for the next steps that involve communism, facts about corporations, and the inefficiencies of government.

Step 5: Just say "NO" to Communism, Socialism, Marxism, Nazism, Fascism and Stateism.

While this concept is obvious to most of the free world, it is an important step in your recovery process. If you have difficulty with this step, spend a month living and working in Cuba.

Step 6: Corporations are not evil.

If you're reading this article on-line or in an email, it's thanks to a corporation. If you get some kind of paycheck, you can thank corporations. If you work for a nonprofit or the government, you still have to thank corporations, because the nonprofit sector and the government wouldn't have any money to pay you without them. It is also very important that you understand that making a profit doesn't equate to "greed" or exploitation. Capitalism has created the greatest society in our world's history. Even communist countries need corporations to survive... so enjoy a nice, hot cup of corporate reality.

Step 7: The government is inefficient.

If you are one of those liberals who believe the government should tax us more in order to take care of society, you need to pay special attention to this step. You need to realize that government bureaucracy will waste most of your tax dollars, while the private sector will put your money to much better, more efficent use. Even most Democratic politicians understand this to some degree, and come to them for campaign donations and which is why Hillary's socialist healthcare proposal was voted down by a majority of both Democrats and Republicans. Go to your local post office, or call the IRS to ask a tax question if you need a reminder about government inefficiency.

Step 8: The earth is not your "Mother," and she's not dying.

The time has now come to stop your donations to Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, Futurewise, and every other EnviroNazi organization to which you belong. Face the reality that the earth, society and our environment are better off today than ever in recorded history and that they are continuing to improve. Many of you tree huggers will have a very difficult time letting go of the Douglas Fir on this one. Reading The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg will help. Mr. Lomborg is a former member of Greenpeace and is currently a statistics professor at a university in Denmark. He set out to prove the world was in bad shape and ended up surprising himself by proving the exact opposite.

Step 9: Stop smoking weed.

Okay, some of you might need to enter another 12-step program to complete this step. Marijuana is distorting your sense of reality, and you need to stop using it. Besides, you'll save a fortune on munchies, and lose some weight too.

Step 10: Eat a hamburger.

If God didn't intend for us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. You can put your sprouts and tofu on the hamburger, but get some meat into you. You'll look and feel better than you ever imagined. Remember that "vegetarian" is a Sioux Indian word meaning "bad hunter."

Step 11: Stop re-writing political history...  (revisionist history is evil.  Be honest and accurate, especially about history... American and world history)

It's now time to admit that Bill Clinton is a lying-cheating-sexist-racist-rapist jackass, Hillary Clinton is one of the worst role models for women in this country, Al Gore is full of crap about global warming and really did lose the 2000 election by every vote tabulation you attempt, Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War and didn't create the homeless problem, John McCain is not a typical Republican, and Jimmy Carter is an anti-Semite with one of the worst presidential records of any President in history.

Step 12: Be a missionary.

Once you have completed the previous steps to overcoming liberalism, it's time for you to share this awakening with others who are not as fortunate. Go out amongst the liberal sheep and spread the good word of your freedom from the chains of ignorance and the fear of being envied that once bound you.   

Congratulations, and Welcome to Reality!