American Policy Center » 2010 » July
- CLEAR Away Your Choices (and Your Jobs)
- Ebony and Ivory: Ain’t Political Gain Just Glorious?
- Wait, So I’m Allowed to Steal A TV Then, Right?
- Join Michael Badnarik & Rep. Sam Rohrer at the Freedom Action Conference
- Obama Creates "New Math"
- A Modest Proposal… Not
- Milk: The Silent Killer?
- Freedom Action Conference Update #3
- The 10th Amendment movement is catching fire as state legislators are finding ways to add “teeth” to law rather than mere resolutions.
- Rep. Matt Shea will explain how it’s being done.
- Sheriff Richard Mack is teaching local sheriffs that they have the power to say no to federal agents.
- Local communities are learning how to expel international provocateurs like ICLEI. Michael Shaw will explain how it’s done.
- A new approach to fighting against federal and state intrusion called “Coordination,” is having tremendous success in helping regain local control. Expert Dan Byfield will not only tell of those victories but will also lead a workshop to teach how it’s done.
- Barry Sheets will lead a training workshop to teach new activists how to run campaigns on very little money.
- And Beverly Eakman will train activists how to break up the outrageous consensus meetings that are being used in public forums to enforce policy without public discussion and debate. All of these processes lead to diminishing the power of the Federal Government – all based on local action – just like the Constitution intends.
- Who’s Up For A Game Of Caveman?
- Just Plug The Leak With Dollars!
One thing that our leaders do, better than anything else, is use disaster to their advantage. It doesn’t matter if it’s George Bush or Barack Obama they all seem to be trained in this art from the earliest stages of their political careers. It doesn’t matter how horrific the disaster, they will always find a way to turn it for their gain.
George Bush’s most notable example would be 9/11. This horrible attack was still a fresh wound when he used it to rush past congress by declaring a state of emergency and never declaring war. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are now using another American disaster to spur on their green initiatives.
The Gulf oil spill was (and is) obviously a terrible disaster, but these political hacks are not above using it to get their legislation passed. Another new bill has been introduced by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) similar to Reid’s bill which I wrote about in my article “Piggy Back Tax!” same bill, different name. If you remember a land grab called CARA from eight years ago, it’s back. Only this is called “The Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal” or “CLEAR”
What this bill would do would be to auction off rights (yes, I said rights) to use power sources that create carbon emissions. Essentially what this means is that companies who have already paid their energy bills will then have to bid on whether or not they will be allowed to use that energy. If they can’t pay the price, they’ll just have to find a “greener” solution. My first question for Senators Cantwell and Collins is, when did American businesses start having to pay for the luxury to use the fuel that they bought? The “good” about this bill, they say, is that 75% of the revenue gained from the auction will go directly to the American people! This is supposed to offset the rising taxes that (even they admit) will inevitably arise on gasoline, coal and other carbon based fuels. Another “good” result of this bill is that, by raising the tax on carbon based fuels, it will give Americans the incentive to “choose” greener alternatives. What made me almost fall out of my chair laughing is that in her explanatory video Sen. Cantwell says that her bill will “harness the power of the free market, not government to find the least costly technology solutions.” This quite frankly nonplussed me. There is nothing “free” about taxing businesses to narrow the choice range for the American people. This is government manipulation of the free market, not honest use.
So to sum up this half of my argument against “CLEAR” I say:
1. Why not let the free market actually do it’s job? If your “green technology” is really the best solution the market will gravitate to it.
2. I hope I’m not supposed to jump for joy when you say I’ll be getting 75% of the revenues. This will do nothing for my wallet when you raise energy taxes and gas prices. Why not just leave the energy taxes alone? Then I won’t need your blood money.
and
3. As an American I do not appreciate government trying to limit my choices in free market, nor do I appreciate any Senator regulating what kind of fuels I or the company I work for can use once we have purchased it.
(A follow up article will be published on the negative affect CLEAR will have on the economy and the unemployment crises in America.)
Racism. That word has divided many nations and been used for all sorts of gain. But what is racism?
Those who opposed Barack Obama in 2008 were racists because they clearly did not want a black man in office. Those who oppose universal healthcare or welfare are racists because they don’t care about underprivileged children. Racism is defined as: “the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races.” However those who use it to describe political opponents seem to have a different definition. In politics: anyone who disagrees with your opinion is a racist. And when you paint your opponent as a racist it has to seem as though all you care about is minorities.
The golden rule to this use of moral high ground however is that you can only use it to attack white people. If you say that any race other than Caucasians are racists then you yourself become the worst kind of racist. If race was left out of everything entirely and no one was called a racist then true racism would die out. But it has to be kept alive for political gain.
Those who claim that they are not racists while attacking those who they say are, are the only reason race is still an issue in the United States. They have taken a serious issue, that if it had been left to die would have, and turned this country into a hot bed of political correctness. One cannot open his mouth in today’s society without having a label slapped on him, usually having to do with racism.
It’s time to expose the real racists: The ones using minorities for their own political gain
Federal land grabs. If you live out west you know all about them. No matter how they are disguised or by what organization they are sanctioned a land grab is legalized theft.
Out in Montana this is a clear and present danger. The Federal Government (or some subsidiaries thereof : ie. The House Natural Resources Committee) are trying to pass HR 5101 or “Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2010″. This is the first in a line of bills (which they hope to pass in quick succession) to culminate in the Y2Y (Yellowstone to Yukon) a transcontinental wildlife conservation corridor. Now this all sounds fine and noble. But what is under the surface of this initiative?
Y2Y would in affect take huge tracts of privately owned land and turn it into a wildlife preserve, making it impossible for the farmers and landowners to do anything with their land but sit on it until they have it bought out from under them by an environmental protection group. If this bill were passed it would take 2.5 million acres of Montanan land and turn them into wildlife preserves, with a possible 8.5 million to follow.
This is the worst kind of theft and violation of personal property rights. When theft is disguised as a righteous crusade to save the planet, and becomes federally mandated, legalized and supported by the public, something is wrong. You can bet the public wouldn’t support this bill if it involved their front yard, not to mention their livelihood.
Y2Y is a poison. A cancer that would spread and cover the entire west and more if allowed to go unchecked. This bill and others like it should be taken very seriously by us as Americans, and we should do all we can to stop them from being passed into law.
And again, these are not righteous crusaders out for animal rights. They are the worst kind of power hungry thieves. A land grab is nothing more than a show of power and outright theft.
Join us at the Freedom Action National Conference at Valley Forge, PA on August 12 – 14, 2010 | www.freedomactionconference.com
A personal note from Tom DeWeese:
The Freedom Action National Conference is like no other you have ever attended. You will not just hear a lot of speeches about how bad things are. We all know that. This conference is about how to take action to fix it. There are workshops, networking with other activists, and some of the most important and UNIQUE information on the dangers we face that you will ever hear.
I have been an activist for more than 40 years and I personally put this conference together as a tool for activists. If you want to make a difference and want to win in the battle to restore our Republic – then you need to be at the Freedom Action National Conference! Just go to www.freedomactionconference.com for all the details and to register.
Hurry, the early bird rate with major savings ends July 30th.
Here are highlights of just a couple of the incredible line up of speakers!
Michael Badnarik – Keynote Speaker
Michael Badnarik is a Constitutional scholar and 2004 presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party. He is author of the book, “Good To Be King, the Foundations of Freedom” with a forward by Ron Paul. He is one of the outstanding leaders of today’s renewed freedom movement.
I personally asked Michael to give the Keynote speech for the Freedom Action National Conference after witnessing his opening address to the Continental Congress 2009, held last November in St. Charles, Illinois. It was one of the most dramatic and defining moments of that historic event, and he will give the same address, entitled “The Charters Of Freedom” to our conference. If you want to be able to discuss and defend the Constitution in these desperate times, you must be there to hear Michael Badnarik give this address.
Special added bonuses! First, immediately following his keynote address, Michael will be signing copies of his book, “Good To Be King.” Second, he will be presenting his very popular class “Introduction to the Constitution” on Sunday, immediately following the conclusion of the Freedom Action National Conference. You can attend both events at the same hotel.
Rep. Sam Rohrer – How States Have Become Enslaved to Federal Money
One of the central messages of the Freedom Action National Conference is the dire need for states to reclaim their sovereignty under the Constitution’s 10th Amendment. Pennsylvania State Rep. Sam Rohrer will show why it is so difficult for the states to take that action. The answer – follow the money. The states have allowed themselves to be so tied down by federal grants that they don’t dare stand up for their Constitutional rights and responsibilities.
Rep. Rohrer is a nine-term state representative in the PA state house and ran a determined race for PA governor this year. He is a rising star in the freedom movement and has become a recognized spokesman in the battle to stop the enforcement of an international biometric tracking system over the American people.
Join Us! www.freedomactionconference.com
Watching President Obama is like watching a robot programmed to one word: Green. No matter the problem the solution is always to “go green”. Not enough jobs? Go green! Oil spill? Go green! No matter the crises the cry is always the same. Go green. Well according to the Washington Post perhaps “going green” is not the answer on creating jobs in Michigan.
This article explains all about how Obama plans to save our struggling economy, and create new jobs with new factories that will produce batteries for electric cars. The article also includes the information that Major manufacturers have not sold any electric cars in the U.S. and that Hybrid vehicles make up less than 1% of the 250 million vehicles on our highways. But most interestingly to me, the article explains that the only announced customer of this new factory is the Chevrolet Volt, a new line of electric cars being produced by none other than government owned General Motors! So Obama’s only customer is essentially, himself.
The numbers: The factory is slated to produce 15 mil. battery cells per year. GM is slated to produce 30,000 new Volts in the coming year, which will each (supposedly) require 288 battery cells. That is a demand of 8,640,000 battery cells. This is less than 60% of the supply coming out of the factory each year. Apparently Obama has created “new math” this will not only allow him to oversupply his demand, but it will also help him to keep factory workers in their jobs even when they’re not selling any of the product they are producing!
In short if the demand is less than the supply, all 300 of the new jobs created by this factory will be gone in a year.
In a recent article in the Washington Post, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid’s newest energy bill is dubbed “modest”. Now I’m unsure as to what criterion they have used to call this a modest bill, but if this is the norm now I’m afraid American standards of modesty have tanked in recent years. There is nothing “modest” about this bill.
I have written in less detail about this bill before in my June article Piggy Back Tax. In that article I focused on the fact that Sen. Reid is trying desperately to sneak a new Cap and Trade initiative through with his Gulf of Mexico response bill. This cannot be allowed to happen.
What the Washington Post refers to as a “modest bill” would wreak havoc on the businesses of America and put an unnecessary load on the taxpayers. At one point in the article I almost laughed out loud. It said: “By gradually increasing the cost to companies of the carbon dioxide they produce, the United States can generate revenue and marshal market forces to encourage businesses to invest in greener technology.” This may sound all well and good on the surface, however the “United States” would not gain revenue from these tariffs but rather the United States Federal Government.
A more fitting name for Cap and Trade is a Blackmail Tax. Essentially the government is blackmailing people into making their business “greener”, and they will tax all those who do not comply.
This tax (for Cap and Trade is a tax) has no place in a free market. It places restrictions and fines on private companies for the gain of the Federal Government.
Over the past years it has been becoming harder and harder to go into the business of agriculture because of three simple letters: EPA. The EPA is the worst enemy of anyone attempting to become an Agricultural entrepreneur. Their latest strike has been against the dairy industry. Recently the EPA classified milk (yes, the kind you drink) as oil (yes, the kind they spilled in the Gulf).
The negative impact that this has on the dairy farmer is not immediately apparent until you understand the kind of regulations and sanctions placed on those who store oil on the premises of their business. They must all have special spill proof storage tanks in place. The EPA stipulates that anyone who stores more than 1,320 gal. of milk at a time must have these containers.
Let’s talk numbers: It would cost approximately $2,500 for a certified engineer to secure the milk plus whatever the cost may be to actually build these containers (this cost will vary based on the amount of milk you store). With 2,299 dairy farms in the state of Michigan alone it would cost $5.1 billion to safeguard all the milk there. This is $5.1 billion that the state of Michigan cannot afford to spend.
The entire agricultural industry will be destroyed by regulations if we do not stop the madness and control the EPA and other radical environmental agencies. We have to understand that the food on the shelves of the grocery stores does not get there by magic. It is supplied by the agricultural industry of America. That is one industry we cannot afford to destroy with regulations.
New developments for the upcoming Freedom Action National Conference
Radio Row: Several national radio shows will be broadcasting live from the Conference, including Sam Bushman’s Liberty Round Table, Laurie Roth’s the Roth Show, Kaye Beach’s AxXiom for Liberty and Ernest Hancock’s program “Declare Your Independence.” More will be announced shortly.
Reception for Tom Woods: Friday night’s banquet speaker is best selling author Tom Woods (“Meltdown”, and his latest, “Nullification”). There will be a special reception in his honor, where conference attendees will have the chance to talk with him personally. Also present at the reception will be conference Keynote speaker Michael Badnarik, (2004 Libertarian presidential candidate and author of the book, “It’s Good to be King.”) and Sheriff Richard Mack (author of “From My Cold Dead Fingers”). There will be book signings from these and other authors throughout the Freedom Action National Conference.
Special screening of the film “Don’t Tread on Me:” Film maker Gary Franchi is pleased to announce there will be a special screening of his new film, to take place on the first night (August 12th) of the Freedom Action National Conference. Immediately following the screening, several spokesmen who are featured in the film will be on hand to discuss it and answer questions from the audience.
Michael Badnarik will present his popular Constitution Class: On Sunday, August 15th, the day after the Freedom Action Nation Conference, the class will be held in the same room as the Conference. Attendees will have a special opportunity to attend both in the same weekend. To sign up for Michael’s class, go to his website http://www.constitutionpreservation.org/constitution-preservation-class-schedule/king-prussia-pennsylvania
The Freedom Action National Conference is sponsored by the American Policy Center and The DeWeese Report and 23 co-sponsoring organizations. The conference will take place August 12 – 14, 2010, at the Dolce Hotel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Local action, from strengthening State 10th Amendment rights, to exposing the efforts of UN-based organizations in our local communities, like the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) will be the focus of the Freedom Action Conference.
The Freedom Action National Conference will teach you several ways to do that.
You will learn from leading spokesmen, legislators, and activists. And you will have a chance to learn in special work shops, and to network with leaders from around the nation.
You will focus on the vital issues of the day, including the dangerous policies like Sustainable Development; biometric surveillance and the growth of Fusion Centers; violations of Second Amendment rights; violations of Constitutionally-guaranteed state sovereignty; the growing government takeover of health care and the use of natural supplements and cures; the reasons why a Constitutional Convention now is the wrong solution at the wrong time; and how many of these bad policies are being enforced through the power and wealth of organized labor.
Tom DeWeese and Laurie Roth will serve as co-hosts for the event. Featured speakers will begin with a keynote address by Constitution expert Michael Badnarik, followed by an extensive lineup of experts and national spokesmen, including: Sheriff Richard Mack; Washington State Rep. Matt Shea; Oklahoma State Rep. Charles Key; Pennsylvania St. Rep. Sam Rohrer; Larry Pratt; International ID expert Mark Lerner; Constitutional Convention experts Chuck Michaelis and Larry Greenley; IRS experts Steve Hempfling and Tom Cryer; Illegal Immigration expert Jeff Lewis;Global Warming expert Marc Morano; United Nations Expert William Jasper; Sustainable Development/Agenda 21 experts Dr. Michael Coffman, Tom DeWeese and Michael Shaw; Property Rights champion Dan Byfield; Health Freedom experts Dr. Jane Orient, Scott Tips and Dr. Jeff Marrongelle; Education expert and author Beverly Eakman; Local campaign expert Barry Sheets, grassroots activist Amanda Teegarden, and alternative media experts George Shepherd, Gary Franchi and radio personality Sam Bushman.
These experts will not only educate on the vital threats Americans are now facing, but will also focus on action all of us can use to fight back.
The Freedom Action National Conference is shaping up to be the finest lineup of speakers and leaders assembled for any conference of this size anywhere in America.
Be there!
Sign up today and get the $60 early bird savings – The early bird rate has been extended until July 30th. And for the first time, there is a special “couples rate” for full registrations. There are special rates for every budget – student rates, day rates, dinner rates – designed to fit your budget.
Go directly to the web site at www.freedomactionconference.com to see the full conference schedule and to register. Or call the American Policy Center at 540-341-8911.
The conference will also be live-streamed and a full DVD set will be available. If you can’t attend, you don’t have to miss anything. For all the details and registration to www.freedomactionconference.com
In Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” there is a villain named Ellsworth Tooey. In the book he has a niece who has been brainwashed into his socialist/altruist viewpoint. Her main goal throughout the story is to help her community, and once she starts she feels so incredibly good about it that she goes to her uncle and explains her feelings. Well Tooey immediately kicks up a fuss, and says that she must not feel good because community service is a duty not a pleasure. His niece, confused by her feelings commits suicide.
Upon reading an ad in the Washington Post entitled “Not Easy Staying Green?” my mind immediately jumped to Ellsworth Tooey. The ad was set up with a check list that included questions such as:
> Do you drive a gas-guzzling SUV to Whole Foods?
> Do you do a good deed and then treat yourself to something splendid at the mall?
> What drives people who consciously seek to lead a greener life to then turn around and behave in ways that seem to contradict their good deeds?
The whole green movement is designed to appeal to human guilt. We are all steeped in a society that promotes guilt in all forms every day. Advertisers abuse guilt and make us feel horrible whenever we eat anything with sugar in it. They use guilt to sell everything from exercise equipment to Bead Necklaces hand made by American Indians. Since this strategy has been so successful in advertising and selling merchandise Environmentalists decided to adopt this strategy. And boy has it worked.
Every other car on the road today is a Prius and everyone recycles. As noted in this particular advertisement it is a sin to drive an SUV. Who knew you could make the American mom into an enemy of the baby seals? Of course shopping at the mall is out of the question. (Part of the deal with the Polar Bears is that we don’t get to do anything fun). And heaven forbid that our “less-idealistic instincts” get in the way of our “eco-friendly ideas” and “good deeds”.
Environmentalists were smart at the outset of their campaign and immediately grabbed up the moral high ground of this debate, turning all those who did not subscribe to Climate Change into “Enemies of the Ocean”. The trap that they lead you into is one of crushing guilt which in turn gives them complete control over your life. If you feel guilty enough you will do whatever they say to help out and get the guilt off your chest. And you must not take joy in it because it is your duty to repair the damage that you have done to the earth.
Good stewardship is important and we shouldn’t throw garbage out of our car windows. But the truth is that these Environmental lobbyists don’t give a damn about stewardship or the environment. No matter how many “Clean Air Initiatives” we pass it will never be good enough for them. Their goal is not a greener earth. Their goal is control. We must not take for granted the planet we have been given and do our best to take care of it. We cannot however tie ourselves into knots over it. We cannot put human development on a back burner. If they had their way Environmentalists would have us all back in the caves wondering what fire is. And the god they would place over us would be themselves.
The APA (American Power Act. I know scary name) deserves another look. It has been addressed many times recently (including here) but deserves to be put down once and for all.
National crises have been used before to power otherwise unpopular government legislation into law and it’s happening again. Barack Obama is using the fear for the environment that has awoken in American’s hearts since the BP oil spill to push new Cap and Trade legislation. Let me emphasize: This legislation will destroy the economy. Our economic situation is precarious at best and this new spending legislation would send it over the edge. It will raise fuel prices and only hurt the people.
We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated by fear any longer.
