President Visits Oklahoma

President Obama visits Oklahoma with the pretext of approving and helping speed up approval of the Oklahoma portion of the pipeline that was to run from Canada to Texas. Just weeks ago he was calling senators on the phone trying to get them to vote against the pipeline.

Posted: 03/18/2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Pump prices on his mind, President Barack Obama says Congress should kill tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and help develop alternative sources of energy."

"Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that he expected Congress to consider in the next few weeks ending $4 billion in tax subsidies, a move he has failed to persuade lawmakers to make during his term."

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama today denied the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, finding that building the pipeline is not in the national interest.

Posted: 02/27/2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Canadian company says it will build an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas after President Barack Obama blocked the larger Keystone XL pipeline from Canada.

Calgary-based TransCanada says the new project does not require presidential approval, since it does not cross a U.S. border. The shorter pipeline is expected to cost about $2.3 billion and be completed next year.

Washington, Mar 21 - "Today, Congressman John Sullivan, Vice Chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, offered the following statement reacting to media reports that President Obama intends to announce he will expedite the permitting process for the southern portion of the Keystone pipeline during his visit to Cushing, OK on Thursday. Cushing is home to the worlds largest oil storage complex."

“President Obama claiming credit for speeding up the Keystone pipeline is like Al Gore saying he invented the internet – it is claiming credit where credit isn't due. This is clearly an attempt to deflect attention from $4 gas and his failed energy policies, and Oklahomans won't buy it. The southern portion of Keystone XL doesn’t cross international lines and doesn’t need presidential approval. In fact, this administration has done everything in their power to delay the Keystone process – just last week the President personally lobbied members of Congress to vote against it.”

“Simply put, the southern portion of keystone – from Cushing, OK to the Gulf Coast – is being built in spite of the Obama Administration, not because of them. This portion of the pipeline does require numerous permits, but those come from state authorities, army corps of engineers and fish and wildlife services, not the president.”

March 16, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – "U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today commented on President Obama's upcoming visit to Cushing, Okla. ahead of the construction of a pipeline which will run from Cushing to the Gulf. President Obama plans to travel to Oklahoma City, Okla. on March 21 and to Cushing, Okla. on March 22."

"When President Obama visits Oklahoma in preparation for a new pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf, we hope that he will learn a thing or two about the benefits of using our own domestic oil and gas resources, especially as gas prices continue to skyrocket," Inhofe said. "Unfortunately, we know his visit is little more than a campaign stop in an attempt to put a favorable spin on his dismal energy record, because current gas prices threaten his job. America has more domestic recoverable resources of oil, gas and coal than any country in the world, and developing these resources is the best way to revive our economy while bringing down prices at the pump. Yet, President Obama continues to wage an all-out attack on American fossil fuel development in his war on affordable energy. He keeps saying that oil and natural gas are the fuels of the past, but he is wrong. Oklahomans know they are very much the fuels of the present and the foreseeable future. The sooner he realizes this, the better."

Governor Mary Fallin is on vacation with her family and won't be back in Oklahoma to receive the president. The governor said she found out about his visit from the media. This only lends credit to the thought that this president has no boundaries, no limits, and no respect for others. If he had boundaries he wouldn't try to take credit for the very thing he has been working to destroy. If he knew what limits were he would know that other people have rights. If he had respect for others he would have notified Governor Fallin well in advance of his planned trip. That begs the question, "Why?" Why would he not notify a governor that he intends to visit their state? Why indeed? Is it because she would have politely told him her opinion of his policies? Why was his television audience by invitation only? Did he see the protesters in Cushing? They were wanting to tell the president that he had nothing to do with the pipeline in Cushing. Of course the media and the security that he surrounds himself with won't allow us peons close to him. Those who don't agree with his lies and suck up to him because he is president aren't allowed in him presence. The media paint a picture of a lie.

01/18/2012

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and other elected officials are blasting President Barack Obama for his decision to reject a permit to build a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that would cross Oklahoma.

Obama on Wednesday announced that he turned down the proposal for the 1,700-mile pipeline because Congress gave him a 60-day deadline that did not allow for a thorough review of the project.

Fallin says the rejection of the pipeline will cost the state an estimated 1,200 construction jobs and more than $1 billion in new investment in Oklahoma.

A TransCanada official said last week that if approved, the next phase of the project was to build a large pipeline from the oil storage center in Cushing, Oklahoma, to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

I just heard on the local news that President Obama did get to see the people and their signs in Cushing. Signs read, "Go Home", "Keystone Yes", "Socialists not welcome here", and it was reported by local radio news that some of the protesters waved a special finger at the president.

Joe, My Hero

My hero, Joe. I'm sure he never thought that yelling "lier" at the president would make him an instant hero but it did to millions of Americans. I emailed Congressman Joe Wilson the following letter.

Honorable Rep. Joe Wilson,

You must have been reading the minds of millions of Americans when you burst forth with the truth that the president is a lier. Millions of Americans wanted to yell that very thing at him. Millions of Americans have been yelling, "Lier," at their televisions for many months. It felt so good when I heard you yell the truth. You have nothing to apologize for.

Congressman Tom Cole was interviewed on a local radio station by a local talk show host and was asked his opinion of your truthful outburst. He used other words to call the president a lier but never came out and said that word. He was very diplomatic in his answer. He has angered a lot of his constituents who will not be voting for him next election. They wanted Congressman Cole to speak up and defend you. Right or wrong they feel strongly that the left is not bound by the same rules they want to bind Conservatives to. Millions of Americans are sick of being lied to and kicked in the teeth. We want a John Wayne who calls things like he sees them. Someone not afraid to jump up and defend his countrymen from a communist take over of the government, businesses, banks, schools, medicine, food, money, and commerce.

Your truthful outburst gave Conservatives hope there are men and women that we can trust to tell the truth even if it is not the "politically correct" time or place to do so.

Thank you so much. May God bless and keep you and yours.

Open Letter to Congress and the President

Friday, February 13, 2009

Hat tip to Bear to the Right

This is an open letter sent out today by the Heritage Foundation.

An Open Letter to the Congress
and the President of the United States

For the last 35 years, educators and analysts at The Heritage Foundation have been intimately involved in the nation’s great public policy debates. In all that time, we have never encountered legislation with such far-reaching and revolutionary policy

implications as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act currently before Congress. And never have we seen a bill more cloaked in secrecy or more withdrawn from open public exposure and honest debate.

In addition to being the single most expensive bill ever proposed, this measure calls for a massive expansion of the federal government’s reach into the day-to-day life of virtually every citizen, business and civic organization in the nation. That, in itself, should be the subject of an extensive public conversation and thoughtful debate. Instead, we have seen Congressional leaders schedule snap votes on a 1,434-page bill that no one-repeat, no one-has had a chance to read in its entirety, much less digest and deliberate.

This bill has been advertised as an economic stimulus bill-despite the fact that the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will actually weaken our nation’s long-term economic growth. While the stimulative utility of the bill is, at best, questionable, it would unquestionably rewrite the social contract between the American people and their government. For example:

* The bill reverses the bipartisan and highly successful welfare reforms of 1996 and drastically expands the welfare state. For instance, it will start rewarding states for adding people to their welfare rolls, rather than for helping them find gainful employment. And contrary to long-established practice, it will entitle able-bodied adults without children to receive cash assistance.

* It does extreme violence to the concept of federalism-bailing out states that have spent irresponsibly at the expense of taxpayers in states that have been fiscally prudent.

* It greatly shifts the responsibility and power over health care delivery and decision making from individuals to government. Among other things, it would create a new federal health board to decide which medical services are “effective” in America, paving the way for government effectively to overrule the clinical decisions of private physicians.

* It deliberately censors religious speech and worship on school campuses by prohibiting use of any “stimulus” funds for facilities that are used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school of divinity.

The list goes on. These and similar provisions will mean fundamental changes in our society. In many instances, the bill would establish policies that directly challenge widely held American values.

We are appalled that Congress is even contemplating such profound changes with so little openness and due diligence. In the past, major policy changes in our welfare system, or health care, or trade policies, etc., were always, quite properly, preceded by extensive public conversation and full debate. That is how a democracy should make important decisions.

The failure of Congress and the Administration to allow that debate is damaging to our democracy. Both chambers of Congress suspended their budget rules to push it along. And both the President and the leaders of the House and Senate have violated their solemn promises that the bill would be available for several days of public review prior to voting, so that the American people might have a chance to learn what is in the bill and to make their views known to their elected officials.

This reckless approach to governance can only undermine public faith in our elected officials and our government as a whole. We call on Congress and the Administration to live up to their promises and stated ideals, and give the democratic process a chance to work.

Sincerely,

Ed Feulner Signature

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President
The Heritage Foundation

Congress Passes $787B Stimulus Bill, Sending It to Obama for Signature

The House approved Obama's economic stimulus bill - a massive, $787 billion package of tax cuts and federal spending - and the Senate started the vote late Friday afternoon and is expected to be held open for several hours.

FOXNews.com

Friday, February 13, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Congress passed the final version of a $787 billion economic stimulus plan aimed at jolting the slumping U.S. economy, sending the legislation to President Obama's desk for his signature.

The bill passed the Senate late Friday night after Democratic leadership held the vote open for several hours to allow one member, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, to return to Washington to cast the deciding vote. He had flown back from Ohio, where his mother died earlier in the week.

The bill passed in the Senate with 60 votes. The House approved the measure earlier in the day by a vote of 246-183, with no Republican "yes" votes and one member voting present.

House Republicans remained united in their opposition to the package despite concerns among GOP leaders Thursday that at least a handful of Republicans would vote for it. Democrats picked up three of the 11 members who jumped ship to side with Republicans on the previous vote two weeks ago.

Obama, addressing a White House group, noted that lawmakers had a "spirited debate" and said the legislation is "only the beginning" of what he considers necessary "to turn our economy around." The president did not get all he wanted out of the bill.

The 1,071 page measure -- eight inches thick -- was posted on an overburdened congressional Web site late Thursday, giving lawmakers just a few overnight hours to read it before debate resumed in both the House and Senate Friday morning. Just on Tuesday, the House voted unanimously to recommend that lawmakers and the public have at least 48 hours to read the legislation before a vote.

The plan, freshly estimated at $787 billion by the Congressional Budget Office, combines $281 billion in tax cuts with $308 billion in outlays funded by the appropriations committees and about $198 billion in spending for benefit programs such as unemployment assistance, $250 payments or millions of people receiving Social Security benefits, and extra money for states to help with the Medicaid health program for the poor and disabled.

Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax cut would be scaled back from $500 for most workers to $400, with couples getting $800 instead of $1,000.

Obama said Friday that "passing this bill is a critical step." He plans to announce a new housing initiative soon, perhaps as early as next week.

"We have a once in a generation chance to act boldly, turn adversity into opportunity, and use this crisis as a chance to transform our economy for the 21st century," the president said.

Click here for our video coverage about the Stimulus Package.

The plan is the signature initiative of the fledgling Obama administration, which is betting that combining tax cuts of just a few dollars a week for most workers with an infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars of government spending over the next few years will arrest the economy's fall.

But the inclusion of a $70 billion tax break to make sure middle- to upper-income taxpayers won't get hit by the alternative minimum tax forced a reduction of Obama's signature tax break for 95 percent of workers.

Republicans pointed out a bevy of questionable spending items that made the final cut in House-Senate negotiations, including money to replace computers at federal agencies, inspect canals, and issue coupons for convertor boxes to help people watch TV when the changeover to digital signals occurs this summer.

"This measure is not bipartisan. It contains much that is not stimulative," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Obama's rival for the White House. "And is nothing short -- nothing short -- of generational theft" since it burdens future generations with so much debt, he added.

Obama economics adviser Larry Summers cautioned against raising expectations too high.

"I think this is a key part of what's going to be a multipart strategy to contain this decline," he said. But Summers added that the problems "weren't made in a week, a month, a year. It's going to take time to fix." He said it should not be considered a "silver bullet," or panacea for deeply rooted business woes.

Much of the spending won't be delivered this year or even next, and Republicans pointed to studies by the Congressional Budget Office that say that adding so much to the national debt would cost the economy by the end of the decade.

Republicans, lined up to vote against the bill, piled on the scorn.

"This is not the smart approach," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. "The taxpayers of today and tomorrow will be left to clean up the mess."

It was clear that the measure was the result of old-fashioned sausage-making. Pet provisions were coming to light that had not been included in the original bills that passed the House or Senate -- or that differed markedly from earlier versions. Some appeared to brush up against claims of the bill's supporters that no pet projects known as "earmarks" were included.

FOX News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

20th Amendment of The Constitution

AMENDMENT XX

Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.

Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.

Section 1.
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3.
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4.
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 5.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.