Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Monthly Archives: June 2009

President Of Honduras Removed From Office By The Military—Illegal Coup Or Lawful Removal?

There have been conflicting reports among former Hondurans, Spanish language news agencies and Spanish language blogs regarding the removal of President Manuel Zalaya in the Central American country of Honduras. What is alarming to me is that U.S. state-run media is reporting the removal as a “coup”. Is this a valid assessment or media spin [Article - Army overthrows Honduras president]?

If the media’s assessment of the situation isn’t enough, President Obama, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the Castro clan in Cuba all condemn the removal as being an “unlawful” action [Article - 1. Obama Calls for Order as Honduran Military Arrests President | 2. Cuba condemns Honduras coup as "criminal, brutal" | 3. U.S., Venezuela condemn Honduran coup]. Unlawful? Really? That is up for debate. It has been reported that Manuel Zalaya, a leftist idealogue, has been aligning himself with the despotic Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez. So President Obama, why are you meddling in the affairs a sovereign nation? Isn’t that what you said you weren’t going to do with Iran? Is Honduras more of a threat than Iran?

When a country’s constitution prohibits a person from serving more than a certain number of years and a sitting president wants to conduct unlawful activities in order to override the constitutional provision, what should happen? Just let it go? Look the other way and let a person ignore the constitution? Not in Honduras. They made sure President Zalaya did not overstep his authority and did so by force. Upholding constitutional law, the Honduran supreme court ordered the military to intervene [Article - 1. Honduran Attorney General: Ousted President Faces Possible 20-Year Sentence | 2. Unofficial News Source (Blog): Honduras President Manuel Zelaya Arrested By Supreme Court Order: Not a Coup! So WHY is Obama Getting Involved]? They were not going to let Mr. Zalaya ignore their constitution and just go about doing his own thing, making and imposing his own laws. That is what a dictatorship is [Article - Local Hondurans back Zelaya's ouster].

What is truly disturbing is that the same thing is happening in the United States of America: Overstepping the authority of elected office, ignoring the U.S. Constitution at leisure, shaping legislation from a judicial post, appointing agency heads without Congressional authorization, “back-dooring” questionable legislation and so forth and so on.

What’s more, why is our country’s president taking sides with tyrannical, dictatorial thugs and “Despotism Incorporated”, the United Nations? Why is he standing with those who hate America and want to see the United States removed from the “world community”? Left-wingers of a feather stick together, I guess.

Snowe Working On Bipartisan Health Care Bill

Senator Olympia Snowe wants bipartisanship, even if it means transforming the name “Republican” into “Democrat Lite”.  In an  Associated Press interview, Snowe said that a government-run plan that would take effect if the private insurance market fails to deliver affordable coverage could bridge the partisan divide that threatens to derail President Barack Obama‘s efforts to reform the system. “If you establish a public option at the forefront that goes head-to-head and competes with the private health insurance market … the public option will have significant price advantages,” said Snowe.

This is wonderful. Now we know which side of the issue so-called “neo-con”, “moderate”, flavor-of-the-month “Republicans” are on. The same old RINO behavior from Senator Snowe. She should have joined Arlen Specter in switching to the Democrat party. Senator Snowe has worked and voted against her own party more frequently than President Obama changes his mind. What should really set of multiple alarms is that Senator Snowe is working with Senator Chuck “I Love to Hear Myself Talk” Schumer to craft a bipartisan health care bill, which is slated to emerge next month [Article - AP Interview: Snowe seeks bipartisan health bill].

Let’s start melting the U.S. Capitol switchboard and filling senatorial E-mail servers because it is going to be just as much of a fight against socialist, government-controlled health care as it is against eco-Marxist, cap and trade legislation.

H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy And Security Act Of 2009 On Its Way To The U.S. Senate

This is a fight to preserve our way of life and fight blatant, unconstitutional eco-Marxism in the form of H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, ACES 2009, or the “cap and trade”, “Waxman-Markey”, “Destroy the American Economy”, “sap and degrade”,”cap and tax”, “trap and tax” bill of 2009. This bill has not been read by any member of the U.S. Congress. How could it be? It’s over 1,000 pages long! There are an additional 300 pages, which have not been read by any member of the U.S. House of Representatives, that have been inserted into H.R. 2998 by Democrat members of the U.S. House [Post - The Bill That Didn’t Exist].

**CLICK HERE -  H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 – CLICK HERE**

H.R. 2998  is an America-killing disgrace! It was written based on information taken from theoretical, faulty science and false assumptions. If it is allowed to pass the U.S. Senate, the policies contained in the bill therein will absolutely destroy the United States of America! It will do nothing but economically enslave the average American citizen for generations to come. It is nothing but eco-Marxism disguised in so-called “good intentions” and in the name of “saving the planet”. It is neither intended for the good of anybody, nor is it going to save the planet by any stretch of the imagination. It will line the pockets of statist, elitist, leftist politicians, lobbyists, special interests and corporate robber barons.

It has been confirmed that the Environmental Protection Agency intentionally suppressed information effectively eviscerating the global climate change theorem and any efforts to curb global climate change [Post - Coincidence OR Cover-Up? Environmental Protection Agency Prevented Scientific Report Against CO2 Regulation From Surfacing]. Of course, state-run media outlets have been MIA on this cover-up and potential scandal [Article - 1. Carbongate | 2. Media Ignore EPA Suppressing Skeptical Global Warming Report]. It would appear that Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) was correct in stating that the EPA and by extension, the Obama Administration, are ramming cap and trade down America’s gullet for no more than political reasons [Post - Letter To Senator Barrasso].

PLEASE CONTACT your state’s senators and tell them to vote against any kind of cap and trade bills or legislation based on the global climate change theorem. We cannot allow devastating, freedom-diminishing legislation packaged in alluring, pretty wrappings to reach President Obama’s desk.

Here is the phone number for the U.S. Capitol’s switchboard:

(202) 224-3121

Here is the link to the Web page listing each state’s U.S. Senator:

U.S. Senate’s Senator Directory

Let’s flood the U.S. Senate’s phones and each senator’s E-mail server. We need to send a message to them that we don’t want the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 to be passed into law. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Famous TV Pitchman Billy Mays Dead

Famous TV pitchman Billy Mays who promoted products like OxiClean, Mighty Putty and Awesome Auger, died on June 28. He was 50 years old. On the morning of June 28, medical response personnel found Mays unconscious in his Tampa, Florida home. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Mays was declared dead by a fire rescue team [Article - Billy Mays dies at 50; boisterous TV pitchman].

There has been talk that Mr. Mays may have died from a subdural hematoma stemming from a very rough landing Mr. Mays’ USAirways flight experienced on June 27, in which he received a blow to the head from a falling object. “All of a sudden as we hit, you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping,” said Mr. Mays. “It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head,” Mays joked. Mr. Mays did suffer from heart disease; therefore, if Mr. Mays took anti-coagulants that are used by heart disease patients, those drugs can weaken arteries and veins and can cause intracranial bleeding in those who may receive a blow to the head that does not appear to be serious. The true cause of Mr. Mays’ death will not be determined until after an autopsy has been performed.

Condolences to Mr. Mays’ family. He was certainly a very energetic and enthusiastic man who firmly believed in the products he promoted.

UPDATE

Autopsy analysis is in (though not conclusive, mind you) that Mr. Mays most likely died as a result of advanced arteriosclerosis (atherosclerosis) and not from a blow to the head. In any event, a tragic death amidst a week of tragic deaths. RIP Mr. Mays.

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Discrimination Ruling

The Connecticut firefighters’ discrimination ruling in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed, was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 ruling. The usual suspects were among the four dissenting opinions. The usual suspects were among four of the five favorable rulings, with Justice Kennedy’s ruling being the “swing” ruling [Article - Supreme Court Reverses Firefighter Discrimination Ruling].

In Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion, he stated the following:

“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions.” I would agree with Kennedy’s analysis of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling. If everybody feared litigation from a hiring decision they made or from qualification testing that anyone could view as discriminatory, nothing would get done. Qualification testing would be so watered-down that one would be wondering why there should even be a qualification test. Positions simply wouldn’t be filled in a timely manner or they wouldn’t be filled at all.

In Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg’s opinion, she stated the following about the white Connecticut firefighters:

(The white firefighters) “…understandably attract this court’s sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them.” Okay, so Justice Bader-Ginsburg is saying that it is not a “right” to get a promotion at work. Correct. The U.S. Constitution does not guarantee job promotions as a “right” (hello to the health care is a “right” argument). However, what is the purpose of testing for an open position if it is not to qualify for the position? Is not such an examination taken to determine how much practical knowledge and technical experience the examinee has in whatever field he or she is employed? So should the city of New Haven have gone ahead and accepted somebody who got a low score on a critical civil service position, all for the sake of affirmative action? Instead, they chose to throw out the test results, hanging the firefighters who took the examination out to dry.

If a person with a low score was promoted, made a decision that resulted in the death(s) of an individual or individuals and by the way, it was discovered that a similar decision-making scenario was introduced and covered in the qualification exam and the examinee got the answer to the question wrong, how much money does one think the city would have lost in a negligence lawsuit? My point is, no matter what the city of New Haven would have done, the possibility of a lawsuit still existed; ergo, the reverse discrimination lawsuit.

The city went out of their way to make sure the test was constructed in such a way that the language and structure of the test did not appear to favor one race over another or be less understood by one race as opposed to another. How much more does a test need to be made less discriminatory? To the point where it insults the intelligence of the exam takers?

The issue of the Supreme Court decision was not whether one who passed a qualification exam had the “right” to a promotion. Neither was the decision based on who received what promotion, when did that person receive the promotion and where did that person receive it. It was that if a required examination was taken before a person could get a promotion, the one who got the highest score on the exam would be the most likely person to get the promotion, regardless of race, age, gender, etc. If there were tied scores, another exam could either be taken or the determination could be based on years of service, experience and so forth and so on.

The fact that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling was overturned does not in any way disqualify Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a position on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has had other rulings overturned before this one.

Regardless of the arguments for or against the Supreme Court’s ruling, it is what it is. It’s time to move forward with the next case.

A Hero Passes On

No, not the famous/infamous singer with one glove. I mean a real hero.

CLACKAMAS (AP) — Retired Marine Corps Col. Kenneth L. Reusser, called the most decorated Marine aviator in history and was shot down in three wars, has died at age 89.

Reusser flew 253 combat missions in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and was shot down in all three, five times in all.

His 59 medals included two Navy Crosses, four Purple Hearts and two Legions of Merit.

–snip–

Reusser died June 20 of natural causes. He is survived by his wife, Trudy; and sons, Richard C. and Kenneth L. Jr. Interment was Friday in Willamette National Cemetery.

Godspeed, Colonel.

The Bill That Didn’t Exist

By the way, Wapiti, did you know that those eight Republicans, as well as all those Democrats, voted last night for a bill that does not exist (at least in finished form)?

Texas Republican Reps. Joe Barton and Louie Gohmert have just asked the chair whether there exists a complete, updated copy of the Waxman-Markey carbon-cap bill.

“If a bill for which there is no copy were to actually pass this body,” Barton asked, “could the bill without a copy be sent to the Senate for its consideration?”

Through a series of parliamentary inquiries, the Republicans learned that the 300-plus page managers’ amendment, added to the bill last night in the House Rules Committee, has not even been been integrated with the official copy of the 1,090-page bill at the House Clerk’s desk, let alone in any other location. The two documents are side-by-side at the desk as the clerk reads through the instructions in the 300 page document for altering the 1,090 page document. But they cannot be simply combined, because the amendment contains 300 pages of items like this: “Page 15, beginning line 8, strike paragraph (11)…” How many members of Congress do you suppose have gone through it all to see how it changes the bill?

Makes one wonder how those who voted for this monstrocity are going to answer tough questions from their constituents when they get home on the 4th of July recess, doesn’t it?

Coincidence OR Cover-Up? Environmental Protection Agency Prevented Scientific Report Against CO2 Regulation From Surfacing

During a week when H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was being “pimped” by every leftist, eco-Marxist politician, lobbyist and environmental special interest group, it has been discovered that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prevented the surfacing of a scientific report refuting CO2 regulation as it relates to global climate change.

Adobe .pdf document (A Must-Read):

Alan Carlin – GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CONTROL: IS THERE A BETTER STRATEGY THAN REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS?

Why did it take up to yesterday of all days, for this news to break? Is this just a coincidence or is it a cleverly-orchestrated cover-up? Why did the EPA not release the report? Was it because it would have thrown a monkey-wrench into the “sap and degrade”, “destroy the American economy”, “tax Joe (or Jo) public until he (or she) turns ‘green’” plans of President Obama and eco-Marxist members of the U.S. House of Representatives? Who directed the EPA to suppress information that would have had the potential to poison Obama’s so-called “green” “cap and trade” dreams? I will once again link to a previous ACW post on the EPA and the subject of CO2 regulation [Post - Letter To Senator Barrasso].

I strongly urge you to contact the office of the President of the United States and your state’s congressman or congresswoman to demand answers regarding the suppression of information by the EPA, especially when the information could have been pivotal in swaying certain members of the U.S. House to submit a “NO” vote on H.R. 2998.

Important reading:

[Article - 1. EPA Suppressing Report That Questions Global Warming | 2. Updated with EPA response: Is the EPA suppressing or withholding information on global warming?]

Eight Republicans In The U.S. House Voted For H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy And Security Act Of 2009

For you Republicans who were against passage of H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, here are the names of the eight Republicans who voted for the trash (I’ve linked their names to their official Web sites):

Bono, Mary (R-CA)

Castle, Michael (R-DE)

Kirk, Mark (R-IL)

Lance, Leonard (R-NJ)

LoBiondo, Frank (R-NJ)

McHugh, John (R-NY)

Reichert, David (R-WA)

Smith, Chris (R-NJ)

Contact them and express how much you (sarc-on)appreciated(sarc-off) their votes.

H.R. 2998 (Formerly H.R. 2454) – American Clean Energy And Security Act Of 2009/”Waxman-Markey” Bill—You Are Making A Difference! Contact Your Congressman Or Congresswoman For A NO Vote!

You are making a difference! Millions of Americans are calling the U.S. House of Representatives at a furious pace. Phone lines to the U.S. House’s main office are flooded to the point that they are shutting their phone system down. If you can’t get through on (202) 224-3121, please continue to contact your congressman or congresswoman by going to his or her official Web site and urge them to vote “NO” on the passage of H.R. 2454 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

Interesting piece of information:

Although they’re not doing it for the reasons that libertarian and conservative H.R. 2454 opponents are, Greenpeace is even opposing H.R. 2454 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 or the “Waxman-Markey” bill [Article - Greenpeace Opposes Waxman-Markey].

UPDATE

H.R. 2454 is now H.R. 2998. Behold, House Democrats have just introduced a 300-page amendment to H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 or as I like to call it, “H.R. 2998 – Destroy The American Economy Act of 2009″. No, no, no! That wasn’t done intentionally! It appears the pro-cap and trade or pro-”sap and degrade” politicians in the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to pull a fast one. This is an outrage! The continuing underhanded tactics of leftist, statist eco-Marxists are truly appalling. Nobody, at the very least those who are against the whole pile of trash bill, have even read the 300-page amendment to H.R. 2998! This is skullduggery on the part of leftist Democrat eco-Marxists [Press Release - An Unprecedented Filibuster in the U.S. House: Why Can't We Read the Bills We're Voting On?]. Start calling or E-mailing your congressmen and congresswomen NOW and express your anger at this blatant disregard of the will of the American people!

This socially and economically destructive bill has the full support of President Obama! He will sign it into law, if it passes through the U.S. Senate!

Information from H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 opponents:

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann – Deal of No Deal on Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax?

Congressman Mike Pence – PENCE REMARKS PRIOR TO VOTE ON NATIONAL ENERGY TAX BILL

UPDATE

H.R. 2998 – American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 passes 219-212! [Article - House Narrowly Passes Landmark Climate Bill]. Eight Republicans voted for the bill and 43 Democrats voted against it. To the eight Republicans who voted for the bill: YOU ENABLED PASSAGE OF THE BILL!!! WE HOPE YOU HAVE PLANS AFTER POLITICS!!! To the Democrats (excluding those who thought the bill didn’t do enough) who voted against the bill: WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!! As soon as the identity of the eight Republicans who voted for the “sap and degrade” bill are known, I will post them for everybody to see.

This is a sad day for the United States of America. Now we have to work on the U.S. Senate. Please, it is URGENT that you contact your state’s senators and tell them to vote “NO” on passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009! If the bill is allowed to pass, it will be a huge nail in the coffin of the American economy and the American people.