About rallying the troops to battle big government forces… California’s citizens are organizing to push-back on union domination of state resources. Even if you are not in California, please join us at Unplug the Political Machine/Citizen Power Campaign. We are organizing a petition drive to get the first Tea Party proposition on the ballot. The measure would ensure that money would not be taken from state employee paychecks to be used by union elites to finance political campaigns that enhance only the interests of union leadership. We could really use much help from fellow Americans.
About unions….here is a story one of our “favorites”, SEIU, that features..er, um….their version of support for fellow Americans:
Police arrested 18 SEIU Purple Shirts yesterday in San Francisco after their protest of city layoffs and budget cuts caused a traffic jam and massive headaches for other residents trying to commute to and from, you know, work..
Highlighting the power of citizen activism, our Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition President, Dawn Wildman, reports: that the Fresno, the Farmer Relay was a huge success, we raised over $20,000.00 for Central Valley farmers and thier families!! More details can be found in the Hew Hewitt piece about this event (click HERE). Below is a speech from our compatriot, Larry Naritelli, from the event:
Dear Readers: There was much news to be had through this weekend. As an apt synopsis for the totality of its meaning, this statement from Winston Churchill suits admirably:
“…now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
(Photo credit: Solar Navigator, http://www.solarnavigator.net/ )
Churchill made this statement after the battle of El Alamein in Egypt, in which the allies soundly defeated the Germans lead by General Rommel. It was one of the earliest indications that the Allies had they could beat back Axis forces. However, Churchill recognized the long road ahead (e.g., invasion of Italy, D-Day, defeat of the Japanese) and the sacrifices still to be made.
In no particular order, here are MUT’s news highlights, and the reason each demonstrates the end-stage of the initial process of Tea Party citizen activism’s push-back on the big government power grabs.
# Phil Jones writes to University of Hull to try to stop sceptic Sonia Boehmer Christiansen using her Hull affiliation. Graham F Haughton of Hull University says its easier to push greenery there now SB-C has retired.(1256765544)
# Michael Mann discusses how to destroy a journal that has published sceptic papers.(1047388489)
# Tim Osborn discusses how data are truncated to stop an apparent cooling trend showing up in the results (0939154709). Analysis of impact here. Wow!
# Phil Jones describes the death of sceptic, John Daly, as “cheering news”.
# Phil Jones encourages colleagues to delete information subject to FoI request.(1212063122)
# Phil Jones says he has use Mann’s “Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series”…to hide the decline”. Real Climate says “hiding” was an unfortunate turn of phrase.(0942777075)
# Letter to The Times from climate scientists was drafted with the help of Greenpeace.(0872202064)
[CARB Update: We have been following the "snake oil" science of the California Air Resources Board. We want to congratulate Jeff Lassle and all others involved in getting CARB to grant another extension to the "sell-thru period" for composite wood panel products (the details on CARB's hideous rules based on junk science are detailed HERE: The REAL Hazard to CA Citizens, Formaldehyde or CARB?). Jeff notes: I am not aware of anyone whom ever got CARB to cave in like this, but could be the economy or maybe this massive fight against them is working.]
But I can’t help shaking this gut feeling it was for the best (sort of)…because it drags out the debate for at least a couple more weeks. I could be COMPLETELY wrong, and I’m sure I’ll hear from a lot of you on this. But if it has failed last night, Reid would have just gone to Reconciliation…where they only need a simple majority. At least we are still in a fight where we have to make them pick off 60 votes.
What we need more than anything in this fight is to delay, delay, delay. Drag this debate out as long as possible. The polling numbers keep getting better in our favor and 2010 creeps nearer and nearer.
We are hoping to get some good intel later today to pass along to everyone. Please keep up the pressure…it disarms the opposition when we DO NOT lose heart…when we make it clear we have the stamina to take this fight all the way to the finish line…even if that means taking this cause to the courtroom.
For those citizens wishing to discuss their viewpoints on healthcare reform with the “YES” Senators in Red States directly, here below is a list (courtesy of Jumping in Pools) of these policos, and HERE is a place to get the contact information:
Alaska – Mark Begich.
Arkansas – Blanche Lincoln.
Arkansas – Mark Pryor.
Louisiana – Mary Landrieu.
Missouri – Claire McCaskill.
Montana – Max Baucus.
Montana – Jon Tester.
Nebraska – Ben Nelson.
North Dakota – Kent Conrad.
North Dakota – Byron Dorgan.
South Dakota – Tim Johnson.
West Virginia – Robert Byrd.
West Virginia – Jay Rockefeller.
(MUT Note: I have the Young Prince to thanks for the inspiration. We watched History Channel’s WWII in HD together all last week, and that is when I heard this Churchill quote).
I am in the middle of reading “Going Rouge”, and wanted to do a preliminary book report. I am about 70 pages into it, and my initial thought is “Todd Palin for President”. I think that is because, despite the fact it is an autobiogrpahy, Sarah focuses her tale on the other people in her life. It is this complete lack of self-centeredness that makes her a compelling politician, and unlike most others. For example, 10,000 people showed up at her first book signing in Michigan. Stories about the lines and bookstore game-playing abound.
* 56 iterations of “I”
* 19 iterations of “school”
* 10 iterations of “education”
* 8 iterations of “responsibility”
* 7 iterations of “country”
* 5 iterations each of “parents”, “teachers”
* 3 iterations of “nation”
Also, “Going Rogue” is written naturally, as if a good friend is telling you a story about her life. Contrast this with the over-wrought Obama tome, “Dreams of My Father”, which seems likely to have been penned by the tenured terrorist, Bill Ayers. For example, I wept when Sarah described the miscarriage she experienced during her second pregnancy. On the other hand, a passage like this from Obama’s book makes me roll my eyes:
In 1970, for instance, the 9-year-old Obama alleges to be visiting the American embassy Indonesia. While waiting, he chances upon “a collection of Life magazines neatly displayed in clear plastic binders.”
In one magazine, he reads a story about a black man with an “uneven, ghostly hue,” who has been rendered grotesque by a chemical treatment. “There were thousands of people like him,” Obama learned, “black men and women back in America who’d undergone the same treatment in response to advertisements that promised happiness as a white person.”
Obama’s attention to detail is a ruse. Life never ran such an article. When challenged, Obama claimed it was Ebony. Ebony ran no such article either. Besides, black was beautiful in 1970.
“Going Rouge” is a great read, because it is a story of a real human being, an American patriot, in which every fart is not an epic imbued with significance. Compare Sarhah’s dedication page to that noted here for Obama’s book. Sarah writes:
Dedicated to all Patriots who share my love of the United States of America. And particularly to our women and men in uniform, past and present. God bless the fight for freedom.
**ALERT: Wanted to give you all a heads up about how the next few days will play out.
This is straight from Sen. McConnell’s office:
Sen. Reid just filed cloture on the motion to proceed to HR 3590, the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act. Remember he is using HR 3590 as a “shell” to offer his 2,074 page health bill as a substitute amendment. The cloture vote on the motion to proceed will be Saturday evening at 8:00 pm. Remember Democrats need 60 votes to achieve cloture.
On Friday, the Senate will convene at 10:00 am and debate the merits of Sen. Reid’s 2,074 page bill until 11:00 pm on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the Senate will convene at 10:00 am continuing the debate leading up to the vote at 8:00 pm on cloture on the motion to proceed. Under the agreement, if cloture is invoked (they get 60 votes) all post-cloture time will be yielded back, the motion to proceed to the bill will be agreed to and the bill will be reported. Once the bill is reported Sen. Reid will be recognized to offer up his substitute amendment.
We are going to stop this Bill in the Senate and this is how; we need to keep the pressure on the Senators listed below especially Landrieu, Lincoln and Ben Nelson (NE). These three are very vulnerable, Nelson has stated that he will not vote for the Bill if it has the public option and he wants to see the abortion issue language.
The abortion issue will be a sticking point for the Senate as we have many moderate DEMS who are Pro-Life; they will not vote the bill without some sort of language to the issue.
While you are calling the Senators to vote tell them to VOTE NO to cloture please also call the Congressmen who didn’t vote for the Bill in the House as this is expected to help push them to get their colleagues from their state in the Senate to not vote for cloture.
*** According to an analysis conducted for this office by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, between the 106th and 110th Congress, there were 41 cases in which the Senate approved the motion to proceed to a bill that the Senate eventually held a vote on final passage. Of those 41, 40 of the bills received Senate approval (S. 1805 in the 108th Congress was the lone exception). Based on these numbers, when the Senate votes to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to a bill, that bill has a 97.6 percent chance of inevitably passing the Senate.
*This analysis excludes any bill that may have been pulled from the floor for whatever reason after the initial cloture votes or that may have passed by unanimous consent or a voice vote.
We need the Senate to Vote NO on Cloture. A vote YES for this will be a vote for the Bill. We need 41 NO votes on cloture!
We need to lean hard on the below Senators, they are our best chance of this getting this stopped in the Senate!
Dear Readers: Sorry for the silence, but I have been a flaming capitalist and actually working on some wonderful projects to earn a few dollars — to be spent on t-shirts (supporting friends Lipstick Underground and Charles Caesar), Tea Party activities, and shoes in an effort to really stimulate the American economy. Yep. I am a real patriot!
I am joining a team of Tea Party Bloggers, New Patriot Journal, to support the efforts of the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition and Tea Party Patriots. We have a conference call today, and I feel guilty for not diligently opining and reporting. So, before I take the phone call, I wanted to give a big shout-out to my readers — THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
In terms of local news, the San Diego City Council voted in the water rate hike (despite our protests). I think we need to figure out how to get this notice sooner, so we can more effectively protest. I also think W.C. Varones has a point about changing the current rate protest requirements to be more reasonable and rational.
My friend Dawn has managed to get 600 members to join our efforts at getting the first Tea Party proposition in place. To remind everyone, this proposition will stop the union elites from using member monies for political purposes. Dawn has this update:
We need to build an army of citizen-volunteers, so that when the petitions for the Citizen Power Initiative are ready in early December, we can hit the ground running. Your self-directed army strikes fear into the hearts and minds of our opposition. Your army of activists also encourages others to join, when they see us reaching critical mass so quickly.
You can act now by expanding our army. Tell 5 of your best friends to join our community and to sign our Citizens’ Declaration here. If you’ve already invited your contact list, ask your friends to invite 5 of their friends. You get the picture; that’s how we grow!
And in case you missed it, here are some links to the buzz… Forward these to your friends, too!
Lipstick Underground will be updating me on the training they are going to provide to get the petitions signed properly. We are concerned that the entrenched politicos who are associated with SEIU will make the petition portion challenging (e.g., forced use of legal paper, different petition forms in different counties) (MUT NOTE: read this piece about Attorney General Jerry Brown’s whitewash of our ACORN scandals to learn why we have this concern). I will keep you posted on the developments as I get them.
IF YOU WANT TO STOP THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL FROM APPROVING YET ANOTHER 7.75 PERCENT INCREASE IN YOUR WATER RATES, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FILL OUT A SIMPLE WRITTEN PROTEST FORM AND SEND IT IN BY THIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH.
Written protests must be received by the City Clerk before the end of the public hearing (scheduled for 10:00 a.m., this Tuesday, November 17, 2009):
1. You can mail completed protest form to City Clerk, Mail Station No. 2P, City Administration Building, 202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101, (click here to download a form to use) OR
2. bring it to the hearing at City Admin Bldg 202 C Street – 12th Floor Council Chambers AT 10AM this Tuesday, November 17, 2009.
Only one written protest per affected property will be counted towards the majority protest – email protests not accepted.
Under Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, If 50 percent plus one of the ratepayers object to an increase in writing, an agency cannot proceed with the hike. CALIFORNIA LAW PROHIBITS THE CITY FROM IMPLEMENTING THE NEW RATES IF A MAJORITY OF AFFECTED PROPERTY OWNERS FILE WRITTEN PROTESTS
OPPOSING THE RATES BEFORE THE END OF THE PUBLIC HEARING.
We hope you will do this quick and simple protest right away.
PLEASE ALERT ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME. Send them this email and the attached form.
If approved, this will be the 6th water rate hike in 2 years! This is unconscionable given the economic times and all the increases we have already endured and despite all of us cutting back successfully on water usage.
Dear Readers: Here is a thought a new friend shared with me: When California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lights up a cigar to celebrate another state-wide tax-raise, he is producing about 40 ppm (parts per million) of formaldehyde….and seems to be more in jeopardy on a motorcycle than enjoying a stogie.
In contrast, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is mandating that composite wood panels (used in a multitude of furniture products and consumer goods) be certified to eventually have 0.05 ppm of this same, naturally-occurring compound. A combination of bureaucratic hubris, regulatory power-grabs, poor science, and interstate commerce regulations endangers billions of dollars in revenue and countless jobs in California and other states in an already weakened economy.
I submit the real hazard to California’s citizens is CARB.
The new friend is Jeff Lassle. He is a former director of a forest products company that is 135-years old and reeling from forced compliance with draconian requirements under the California Air Resources Board (CARB) rules for formaldehyde.
“Businessmen and women are afraid to complain, because they are afraid they are going to be targeted for regulatory retribution,” said Lassle. “These rules killed my job, the jobs of hundreds of Californians, and the livelihood of thousands of American in other states – because, according to the interstate commerce clauses, manufacturers who make items for California must meet our state’s guidelines.”
Lassle put this act perspective: “American sports industries account for $16 billion in income annually. Its furniture and forestry products businesses account for $350 billion per year for the state (and approximately $2 trillion, when considering the national industries). Why doesn’t this type of real industry, that provides great jobs with reliable income, qualify for similar waivers and exemptions?”
Formaldehyde is a simple chemical made of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. It occurs naturally and is made within our bodies. The typical human produces 1-1/2 oz. of it every day (and you can have 2 ppm in your bloodstream at any moment). Plants and animals also produce formaldehyde; and is present in the air. The average oak tree, for instance, emits 0.009 parts per million (ppm) of formaldehyde (think of it as less that 1 cent contained in $ 1 million – and that will give you a sense of the scale). The compound is also in many fruits and vegetables; it is a byproduct of cooking some vegetables and meats (e.g., brussel sprouts, cabbage, and a tasty sirloin steak).
This chemical breaks down quickly and is metabolized to simple carbon dioxide. Our bodies readily break down the low levels to which we are exposed everyday.
Formaldehyde does present specific health hazards (e.g., it is “known to the State of California to cause cancer“, and can cause allergic properties); however, these hazards are not pertinent to the already low levels found in wood products (especially when they are coated or painted). Furthermore, the concentrations that CARB mandates to be permitted in composite panels for furniture products are net set on hard data – just the desire to be the lowest level on the globe.
Lassle offers the following overview on formaldehyde limits currently used and accepted:
• The U.S. HUD Manufactured Housing Standard is 0.20 ppm of formaldehyde (equivalent to 20 cents in $1 million).
• European standards for composite board are set to be 0.1 ppm (equivalent to 10 cents in $1 million).
• By June of this year, the California forest products industry will have to ensure any item sold here has 0.08 ppm (equivalent 8 cents per $1 million) in Phase I of compliance with the new CARB standards
• By June of 2010 after Phase II is complete, the forest products industry produced items must be certified to have less than 0.05 ppm (equivalent 5 cents per $1 million).
Lassle notes that the furniture industry lags these rules by 12 months.
“The only reason CARB set levels this low is to have the most stringent standard in the world. These levels are at the limits of analytical detection. This is nonsense, and will contribute to California economic failures.”
[I would like to note that one of the CARB officials say “there is no safe level for formaldehyde”, citing its cancer-causing status. As mentioned above, our bodies produce safe levels of formaldehyde daily. Additionally, a study conducted by three separate groups determined that the CARB over-estimated the risk of cancer from formaldehyde up to 36,000 times. A review of these studies can be found HERE.
The ignorant CARB statement also belies that it is a general rule of occupational safety in industrial settings (i.e. laboratory) to reduce all exposures to carcinogens to lowest possible levels. Furthermore, the human body is designed to handle regular exposures to toxins found in foods and nature regularly. In fact, Californians routinely voluntarily consume carcinogenic ethyl alcohol in wines often; most wine imbibers do not develop cancer, and it is thought its consumption is beneficial! Utilizing the language of industrial hygiene for fear-mongering and bureaucratic empowerment is disgusting.
As additional background, the actual potential of formaldehyde to cause nasal cancer is questionable. The American Cancer Society reports that 50, yes only 50, cases of nasal cancer are diagnosed yearly in the United States. The causes of nasal cancer are chiefly related to genetics, the HPV virus and smoking and according to the Center for Disease Control, Formaldehyde has never been directly linked to even one case of cancer to date.]
To place the significance of this “safety enhancement” in perspective, Lassle noted that a professional toxicologist (Dr. F.J. Murray, DABT of Stanford University) estimated that the extra protection provided by CARB’s punitive formaldehyde levels would protect 0.16 person per 38 million over a 70 year time. In summary, CARB’s gutting a multi-billion dollar industry critical to our state’s economy will theoretically save….1 foot on 1 person in the entire state’s 38 million population each 70 years.
Wayne Nunnally, purchasing and sales manager of Peterman Lumber Inc. in Fontana, said the new regulation, effective Jan. 1, 2009, doesn’t give hundreds of businesses enough time to sell off existing stock. The wood must be certified where it is manufactured, and so far, certified wood has not arrived from overseas mills.
Although the current products might meet the new standard, they won’t have the necessary certification to be sold in California, Nunnally said.
“We are in favor of reducing air pollution, but we want to make it so we don’t get killed,” he said. “We might have to dump it and lose money because of the inventory.”
Lassle details the current unrest in the furniture and forestry products industry: “Many people can survive a year or two without profits. However, the new CARB rules pertaining to permission will extend the losses, especially in this economy. Businesses will close, and this will prolong our state’s weak economy.”
At the present time, CARB does not appear to be receptive based on the scientific and economic counter-arguments offered by environmental professionals and experienced businesspeople. Furthermore, other state and countries are poised to benefit from our state’s ill considered regulations impact on California itself; an example follows:
Ernie Montano, vice president of a La Mirada importing company, has surveyed a sampling of California importers and has estimated that there is nearly $200 million worth of noncompliant materials in warehouses and lumberyards.
Montano, of Del Valle, Kahman & Co. Inc., said he is already getting calls from wood suppliers based in Mexico and Arizona offering to buy his inventory at prices about half what his company paid for the wood.
Sadly, the only profits that CARB seems interested in is their own. Failure to meet the draconian certification requirements can lead to fines of $10,000 per day, and in special situations $70,000 a day and 1 year of jail time. Additionally, the CARB salary levels are ASTONISHING! Specific details and analysis are HERE; a snippet is below:
Californians should be very concerned. Imagine going into a Target to by a coffee table, only to find none available or priced at levels far higher than in neighboring states. With no sales, employees from a wide range of industries will become jobless.
Dear Readers: I have an essential update in the fight for California Capitalism and our state’s prosperity. The HOTTEST news is that there is a website that will help our citizens action groups (e.g., the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition, Tea Party Patriots) organize to promote the first TEA PARTY PROPOSITION!
We really need motivated citizens for the petition drive. It seems that only if we can get massive participation and significant signature numbers will the media and politics begin to take California’s regular constituents seriously.
We are a gathering of rank-and-file citizens and taxpayers of California who understand the devastation which the Public Employee Unions are wreaking on California. The Public Employee Unions have essentially converted a big piece of their rank-and-file members’ dues into an unprecedented and oppressive political war chest, which they use to seduce and bully the politicians in Sacramento into giving away billions in indefensible pensions and benefits to their members.
The only solution is for the citizens and taxpayers to take their power back, and so we are creating The Citizen Power Campaign. This is a movement of ordinary people who are gathering together to place an initiative on the 2010 ballot to prevent the Public Employee Unions from converting taxpayer dollars into special interest political contributions to rig elections and ultimately push California into bankruptcy.
The Public Employee Unions, and their shills, will accuse us of being a front for corporate interests. Untrue! Big Business, along with Big Government, Big Labor, and Big Media, are all part of the problem. This is a citizens’ movement. Sympathizers, believers in human dignity, may join up — even if they don’t live in California. This movement is propelled in large measure by the Tea Party Patriots and determined to fight privilege and elitism wherever encountered — beginning by making the Public Employee Unions live by the same rules as the rest of us!
The Public Employee Unions will spends tens of millions of dollars opposing this.
But as Saul Alinsky once wrote, “Power has always derived from two main sources, money and people.” The Public Employee Unions have the money. This is about people. This is about Citizen Power!
We need volunteers to get petitions signed as soon as possible; only by prompt, over-whelming citizen force can we hope to push back on the thuggery of elite union leadership and its political protections. Please read this piece for details on the initiative:
The government collects dues for the unions, and the unions give as much as 1/3 right back to the politicians who gave them that right in the first place. It’s a sweet deal for the politicians and the unions. Jerry Brown himself, who started all this in California, will most certainly receive tens of millions from the public employee unions next year in his run for governor.
How much money is involved? Let’s look at round numbers for just one union – the California Teachers Association. There are 340,000 teachers, who pay approximately $1000 per year in union dues. $300 per year, per teacher, goes toward politics. That’s $100 million per year, right of the top of teachers’ salaries, collected by the government, given to the CTA and its affiliates, and then funneled right back into the political campaigns of the politicians who do their bidding, which usually means voting for more spending and higher taxes on you and me.
In short – our taxes, being used to make us pay more taxes.
To understand the power behind organized and informed citizens, please view the video from the first stop in a nation-wide relay in support of California’s Central Valley Farmers:
************************************************************** MUT News and Views:
* Ann Althouse covers the legal situation between Carrie Prejean and TMZ (a site I will never visit again). The reason for the recommendation — she also sites an Alinsky rule: Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian Church can live up to Christianity.
As I note in my “Quote of the Week”: It’s wise to study the ways of one’s adversary. Don’t you think?
However, for me, a quote from “The Hunt for Red October” came more readily to mind.
You arrogant ass. You’ve killed us!
For those of you who love Sean Connery (like myself), you may recall that Captain Topalov of the Soviet Alpha Submarine Konovalov was chasing The Red October. After a near-miss, the arrogant Topalov had the safety device on a torpedo removed to ensure it detonated when it stuck its opponent. After clever maneuvering by American Captain Bart Manusco (who was piloting The Red October), the torpedo was pointed at the Konovalov. At this point, the Konovalov’s disgusted First Mate said the above line.
The best case is that the passage has killed off the treacherous “Blue Dogs” and the GOP Congressman Cao that voted to pass this 1900 page monstrosity. Jumping in Pools as a complete list of these so-called “Blue Dogs”; below is the list that features those Democrats in Republican districts, most at threat:
Congressman Arcuri - New York’s 24th congressional district – R+2. Congressman Berry - Arkansas 1st congressional district – R+8. Congressman Carney – Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district – R+8. Congressman Cuellar - Texas’ 28th congressional district. – EVEN. Congresswoman Dahlkemper – Pennsylvania’s 3rd congressional district – R+3. Congressman Donnelly – Indiana’s 2nd congressional district – R+2. Congressman Ellsworth – Indiana’s 8th congressional district – R+8. Congresswoman Giffords – Arizona’s 8th congressional district – R+4. Congressman Hill - Indiana’s 9th congressional district – R+6. Congressman Mitchell – Arizona’s 5th congressional district – R+5. Congressman Moore – Kansas 3rd congressional district – R+3. Congressman Murphy - Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district – D+2. Congressman Pomeroy - North Dakota’s at-large congressional district – R+10. Congressman Salazar – Colorado’s 3rd congressional district – R+5. Congressman Space - Ohio’s 18th congressional district – R+7. Congressman Wilson – Ohio’s 6th congressional district – R+2.
This vote shows the political elites serve themselves before serving the interest of their constituents. Disgusting.
And let me add to your disgust! Obama plumbed Grand Canyon depths of political inanity by comparing those odious “Blue Dogs” to…..the victims of the Fort Hood Terror Attack. Ann Althouse has a summary of his statement:
The sad part is that, yes, Obama can go lower. He will go lower. There are still oceanic trench depths to explore! Then, as his level of circumspection and decorum decrease further, he can go off-world and plumb the depths of Valles Marineris, The Grand Canyon of Mars.
Here is the list of Senators that need our attention:
Mark Begich-AK- ph 202-224-3004,
email(http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;begich.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm_)
Blanche L. Lincoln -AR-ph -202-224-4843, email(http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm)
Mark Pryor-AR ph 202-224-2353
Email(http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;pryor.senate.gov/contact/)
Joseph Lieberman- CT-202-224-4041
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;lieberman.senate.gov/contact/)
Thomas Carper-DE ph 202-224-2441
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;carper.senate.gov/contact/)
Bill Nelson- FL- ph 202-224-5274
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm)
Even Bayh-IN 202-224-5623
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/)
Mary Landrieu- LA ph 202-224-5824
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm)
Susan Collins -( R ) ME-ph 202-224-2523
Email(http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue)
Olympia Snowe-( R ) ME – ph 202-224-5344
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe)
John Tester-MT ph -202-224-2644
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm)
Kent Conrad-ND-202-224-2043
Email(http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm)
Ben Nelson-NE- ph 202-224-6551
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;bennelson.senate.gov/contact-me.cfm)
Ron Wyden-OR 202-224-5244
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;wyden.senate.gov/contact/)
Robert Byrd-WV- 202-224-3954
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;byrd.senate.gov/contacts/)
Mark Warner- VA- 202- 224-2023
Email (http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact)
Bob Bennett- UT-Phone: (202) 224-5444,
Email: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff769;bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
Joe Lieberman-CT-(202) 224-4041, Fax(202) 224-9750
A state worker is recovering after a bloody brawl at a union hall. He says members of the local SEIU 1000 beat him up and sent him to the hospital all because he wanted to expose allegedl corruption within the union.
Ken Hamidi is a state worker at the California Franchise Tax Board. Last night he walked into a union hall in Sacramento for an SEIU local 1000 meeting.
I will try and add a few choice tweet reports below:
* Hearing all the entrances of the House buildings are jammed up!
* Daniel Lipinski (Ill.) UNDECIDED on Pelosicare Phone: (202) 225 – 5701 Fax: (202) 225 – 1012
* Frank Kratovil (Md.) UNDECIDED on Pelosicare Phone: 202-225-5311 Fax: 202-225-0254
* Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.) UNDECIDED on Pelosicare Phone: 202-225-2801Fax: 202-225-5823
Dear Readers: Before I get too far on the topic of today’s punditry, I wanted to direct your attention to two exceptional posts, recommended to me by friends:
The ‘House of Death’ case lends itself to a sad part of American history for the government, a low point, but now five years and a new president later the case continues to be swept under the mat.
Over the past nine months the White House has hammered away at the Bush Administration on everything from bungling the war on terrorism to the economy. How many times have we heard “We are a nation of laws?” Or “I don’t mind cleaning up the mess; just don’t tell me how to do it?” Or seen the word “transparency” used.
U.S. law enforcement certainly tweaked the laws concerning the Juarez House of Death case that ultimately cost 12 lives; 11 of which could have been prevented. So why are the recent and current White House Administrations failing to stand by the laws of America? Why look the other way? These are questions this story will attempt to answer without any help from government officials.
The goal for economists now is a model that takes account of what happens in the financial sector, yet is simple enough to apply in policy making. The quest is bringing financial economists — long viewed by some as a curiosity mostly relevant to Wall Street — together with macroeconomists. Some believe a viable solution will emerge within a couple of years; others say it could take decades.
When: Thursday, Nov. 5, Noon What: Congressional “House Calls” to House and Senate district offices (or join Rep. Bachmann on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in D.C.) What to do: Gather with friends outside the district office at noon; ask to speak with a staff member. Explain your concerns about the health care proposals under consideration and deliver your letters, stories, petitions, etc.
It seems that the elite media is essentially ignoring this event, hoping the mob and rabble stay away for lack of coverage. Speaker of the House Pelosi has shut off the live cameras around Capitol Hill, and has also substantially reduced parking to thwart citizens petitioning their representatives directly. You can understand her concern about this action — Pelosi is planning to bring the 1900 page behemoth to a vote this Saturday.
In conjunction with Operation House Call in Washington D.C. tomorrow, we here in California need to make a coordinated effort to melt the switch boards in D.C. regarding healthcare “reform” legislation:
White House Switchboard: 1:00 PM Pacific; 202-456-1414
Congressional Switchboard: 10:15 AM Pacific; 202-224-3121
Washington – We have our eyes on you!
I will monitor as best I can (blogging will be light; I have to take the Young Prince to his first orthodontics treatment AND a birthday party). Hopefully, I will be able to provide solid reports — as the Citizen Journalists are going to do the job today that the elite media will not do!
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