Oversight Hearing Will Examine CFPB Director Richard Cordray

As you may know, Randy Neugebauer is the Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. On Wednesday, Mr. Richard Cordray, who was recently appointed director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by President Obama, will appear before my committee to testify on the CFPB’s budget. The CFPB currently enjoys unprecedented access to funding through the Federal Reserve Bank and can draw as much as $548 million from the Federal Reserve’s budget. There is no law, committee or person with the authority to prevent funds from being paid to the CFPB. These are funds that could otherwise be going to pay down the national debt.

This hearing will examine the CFPB’s budget to ensure that it is using public funds in a cost-effective and transparent way. They will also examine the CFPB’s policies and procedures for providing budget information to Congress. Randy Neugebauer said, “I look forward to questioning the director of the CFPB and hope you will tune in by watching from the Financial Services website.”

TIME: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 10:00 AM in 2128 Rayburn HOB 

new york times devalues the u s constitution

It is certainly no surprise for gun owners to see the New York Times run a story belittling the United States Constitution. After all, the Times has worked for decades to devalue our founding document.

“[I]ts influence is waning,” opines the Times. It is “terse and old, and it guarantees relatively few rights.” The paper faults the Constitution for being difficult to amend and reflective of the times in which it was written. While the Times does not go so far as to claim the U.S. Constitution has been bad for America, it does lament that it is of “little current use to, say, a new African nation.”

 But it was a much bigger shock when the Times reported in the same story that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a sitting associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and grande dame of the Court’s liberal voting bloc, shares the Times’ dim view of the Constitution. Ginsburg said “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.”  Her personal recommendations would instead include “the South African Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the European Convention on Human Rights.”

Obama Releases His 2013 Budget

Obama's 2013 budget, to be released on February 13, 2012, is the official start to an election-year budget battle over taxes and spending as the nation's debt tops $15 trillion. Obama's budget predicts a $1.3 trillion deficit in the ongoing budget year and a $901 billion deficit in 2013.

The president's plan is laden with stimulus-style initiatives, like sharp increases for highway construction, school modernization, and a new tax credit for businesses that add jobs. But it avoids sacrifice, with only minimal curbs on the unsustainable growth of Medicare even as it slaps a 10-year, $61 billion "financial crisis responsibility fee" on big banks to recoup the 2008 Wall Street bailout. Read More

Rep. Stearns Cosponsors Chairman Smith’s Legal Workforce Act

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) has cosponsored Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885) that would require 100% of businesses to use E-Verify within two years. The bill also requires all federal, state, and local governments to E-Verify their entire workforce.

Rep.Stearns  is serving his 12th term in Congress and represents Florida's 6th Congressional District and has earned a career A-plus grade. This Congress, Rep. Stearns has also cosponsored Rep. Steve King's bill to end Birthright Citizenship.

Chairman Smith's bill would:

• Require
  federal and state contractors, critical infrastructure employers, and
  business that employ more than 10,000 workers to use E-Verify within 6
  months.
• Require federal, state, and local agencies to E-Verify their current workforce within 6 months.
• Allow states to use its authority over business licensing to penalize business that don't use E-Verify.
• Require
  the Social Security Administration to notify employers when an
  employee's information does not match the information in their database
  and notify employees when their Social Security number is being used
  with multiple employers.
• Require ICE to respond to state reports of employers possibly hiring illegal workers within 5 business days.

Rep. Stearn's cosponsorship brings the total number of sponsors of Chairman Smith's bill to 74.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being victimized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under Attorney General Eric Holder. The politically motivated retaliation alleges that Arpaio and his department have engaged in willful civil rights violations: that his office racially profiles Latinos; bases immigration enforcement on racially charged citizen complaints; and punishes Hispanic jail inmates for speaking Spanish.

The Obama-controlled media and other far-left organizations are also piling on – in a blatant smear campaign against the ultra-Conservative Sheriff.

The latest attacks are the apparent result of his department’s tough stand on illegal immigration, and his unceasing efforts to curb crime – including immigration violations – while the President is posturing for the Hispanic vote.

Even though Arpaio has agreed to work with the DOJ, they have yet to offer specifics of their allegations.

Grassfire Nation finds this baseless, politically motivated attack on Sheriff Joe to be reprehensible, and is mobilizing a strong grassroots response to counter this effort through their “Support Sheriff Joe” letter initiative. In a massive show of grassroots support, Grassfire will hand-deliver letters from citizens across the nation to Sheriff Arpaio, The Department of Justice and key members of the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees Demanding an end to the Obama/Holder witch-hunt.

Holder continues to deny any foreknowledge of Fast and Furious

Wildmon Agrees With Palin about newt

January 29, 2012

One of the nation's most influential Christian and family leaders, the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon, says Sarah Palin is right, Newt Gingrich is being "crucified" by the Republican establishment and forces allied with Mitt Romney.

Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, has strongly endorsed Gingrich for president, and this week has been urging fellow believers to vote in Florida's primary for the former House Speaker.

Wildmon has spent decades on the front-lines of the battle to protect American families and says Gingrich is the best choice for Christian conservatives who want a president to stand against a rising tide of secularism and anti-Christian sentiment.

On Thursday, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stated on the Fox Business channel: "Look at Newt Gingrich, what's going on with him via the establishment's attacks. They're trying to crucify this man and rewrite history and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years.”

In an interview with Newsmax Friday, Wildmon told Newsmax “That’s very tough language. But I think it’s probably pretty accurate.”

Wildmon said Gingrich is up against entrenched political forces who are “absolutely” trying to dictate who wins the GOP nomination.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says that Newt Gingrich is being “crucified” by the Republican establishment, including allies of Mitt Romney, who are trying to rewrite his record with a barrage of negative attacks.

"Look at Newt Gingrich, what's going on with him via the establishment's attacks,” Palin told John Stossel of Fox Business on Thursday.

She added: “They're trying to crucify this man and rewrite history and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years.”

Palin has not endorsed any of the GOP presidential candidates, but has been enthusiastically supportive of Gingrich.

Last week before the South Carolina GOP primary Palin said she would vote for Newt Gingrich if she was voting in that state’s primary.

Palin’s husband, Todd, has officially endorsed Gingrich for president.

Limbaugh and Mike Reagan Blast Romney for Smears on Gingrich

On January 26, 2012, Ronald Reagan’s eldest son Mike Reagan has issued a statement lambasting Mitt Romney and his supporters for claims that Romney’s Republican presidential rival Newt Gingrich was a strong critic of President Reagan.

Mike Reagan says such claims are false.

Even Rush Limbaugh, shocked by the Romney claims, chimed on his Thursday radio broadcast to say, "This is obviously a coordinated attack to take Newt out here in Florida."

Rush slammed the Romney-backed smear campaign against Newt.

“That kind of stuff is why people hate Romney so much," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh added that Newt has always been a conservative from his early days in national talk radio in the 1980s.

“He was perhaps the premier defender of Ronald Reagan,” Limbaugh said.

On January 26, 2012, Mike Reagan, a respected conservative commentator, responded to the Gingrich critics with this statement to Newsmax:

“I am deeply disturbed that supporters of Mitt Romney are claiming that Newt Gingrich is not a true Reaganite and are even claiming that Newt was a strong critic of my father.

“Recently I endorsed Newt Gingrich for president because I believe that Newt is the only Republican candidate who has both consistently backed the conservative policies that my father championed and the only Republican that will continue to implement his vision.

“It surprises me that Mitt Romney and his supporters would raise this issue — when Mitt by his own admission voted for Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale who opposed my father, and later supported liberal Democrat Paul Tsongas for president.

“As governor of Massachusetts, Romney’s achievement was the most socialistic healthcare plan in the nation up until that time.

“Say what you want about Newt Gingrich but when he was speaker of the House he surrounded himself with Reagan conservatives and implemented a Ronald Reagan program of low taxes and restrained federal spending.

“Newt’s conservative program created a huge economic boom and balanced the budget for the first time in more than a generation.”

Mike Reagan concluded: “I would take Newt Gingrich’s record any day over Mitt Romney’s.”

And Nancy Reagan, Reagan’s wife, has stressed Gingrich’s close relationship with her late husband.

In a 1995 speech at a dinner honoring Ronald Reagan, Nancy said: “The dramatic movement of 1995 is an outgrowth of a much earlier crusade that goes back half a century. Barry Goldwater handed the torch to Ronnie, and in turn Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt and the Republican members of Congress to keep that dream alive.”

Senator Inhofe Rips “Reckless” Obama Over Pipeline

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has blasted President Barack Obama for siding with “radical” environmentalists and shelving plans for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The 1,700-mile pipeline would have brought oil from Canada to refineries in Texas, created thousands of jobs, and lessened America’s reliance on Middle East oil. Environmentalists claimed it posed the threat of an oil leak.

House Republicans gave Obama 60 days to approve or reject the $7 billion project, but Obama said the deadline did not allow time to assess the environmental and health impacts and squelched the pipeline plan, at least for the immediate future.

EPA Threatens North Dakota Oil Boom

Oil production in North Dakota has boomed to the point that the state now produces nearly as much oil each day as OPEC member Ecuador.

But a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could bring a halt to the boom that has virtually eliminated unemployment in North Dakota.

The state now has 200 rigs pumping 440,000 barrels of oil daily in the Bakken shale formation, according to the Heartland Institute. The state’s unemployment rate is holding at just 3.5 percent, with many oil industry jobs paying more than $100,000 a year, and “we have 18,000 jobs looking for people,” North Dakota Republican Rep. Rick Berg told The Hill.

“If our country’s GDP grew at 7 percent, as it does in [my] state, most of our problems would be over in two years.”

Daughters of Newt Gingrich Say Their Father Has Dramatically Changed

After the CNN debate the daughters of Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich spoke to Sean Hannity on his show. Jackie Gingrich Cushman and Kathy Gingrich Lubbers said they have seen a dramatic change in their father over the years and he is not the man he was years ago when married to his ex-wife Marianne.

Kathy Lubbers said, “The truth of the matter is, the people of South Carolina and the people in that room in particular — and I’m sure across this country watching that debate — knew in their hearts the reality that the American people deserve to have a president such as our father.  She also said, “He responded and he brought up the fact that you know what? The American people deserve to have real questions in the debate — not things that are not pertinent to the current situation at hand —which is what is important to the American people in regard to jobs, and the economy, and national security.”

 Jackie Cushman agreed and said, “The point is they started off on a presidential debate with a personal story from over a decade ago and we all know that, you know, terrible things happen in terms of divorce — divorce is very painful always for everybody,” Cushman also said. “He tried very hard in that marriage and it didn’t work out. And the reality is he is really running not from his personal record but on his professional record which is, you know, he is the only candidate who actually balanced the national budget four years, reformed welfare, cut taxes, and cut spending. He has an incredible record of accomplishment.”

Jackie Cushman went on to say that her father has been open about his mistakes and said, “He’s asked for God’s forgiveness — he’s reconciled himself with God — and I think that people understand that none of us are perfect,” Cushman said. “And Rick Perry today in his endorsement gave such an eloquent speech about how that  he [Gingrich] wasn’t the perfect person but he was the right person to lead this nation at this time, and I think that really resonates with people. It’s not about being perfect but it’s about who can lead at this particular time in our nation.”

New Regulations Threaten Insurance for CAM Patients

Posted By ANH-USA

There are many questions about how the healthcare act will actually work, but complex regs just released seem likely to doom the very programs that help us pay for our integrative medical treatments.

An important provision of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires insurance companies to use at least 80% of premium dollars (85% for large employer plans) on healthcare expenses and quality improvement, rather than on sales, overhead, and profits. If they don’t...Read More

It’s simply astonishing that we are moving towards the final year of Barack Obama’s first presidential term. The oath taken by Barack Obama in Washington, January 2009, to become the 44th US president has now become a distant memory, simply because of the magnitude of global issues that have faced him and the international community over the last 24 months.

 Over the last several years we have witnessed unprecedented major International Events such as the G20 Summit in London to address the incredible collapse of some of the worlds leading finance houses as well as the Copenhagen Meeting that ended in so called failure. Additionally we have also witnessed an incredible attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to build bridges with the Anglican Church by extending an olive branch to dissatisfied clergy.

 We have also seen the creation of a new post in Europe for a President of Europe, a simply unbelievable event which we believe has prophetical significance for the coming emergence of the Antichrist. We have seen the continual development of the 10 bioregions as defined by the Club of Rome in their 1973 blueprint and we have all been made aware of the significant and controversial idea that global warming is responsible for some of the bizarre weather patterns now being experienced in different parts of the earth.

 Added to that is the very serious and growing threat posed by Iran and its nuclear weapons program as well as the continuing threat of terrorism. In this article you will read about From Obscurity to President in 24 Months and Why the New World Order Changed Face! Go here to read the article as a PDF Download.

Attorney General Abbott Offers Support to Henderson County Judge Over Challenge to Courthouse Nativity Scene 

Shocker: Antipsychotic Drugs Are Being Given to Kids in Foster Care

By: ANH-USA

Want foster kids to behave? Give them harsh tranquilizers developed for schizophrenic patients!

According to a shocking new study published in the journal Pediatrics , foster children are being prescribed cocktails of powerful antipsychotic drugs, even if they’re not mentally ill and they don’t have any psychiatric symptoms. In fact, they’re given the drugs just as frequently as some of the most mentally disabled youngsters on Medicaid.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is out with a  video explaining the implications of the $15 trillion debt we have now racked up.

Not surprisingly, the Republicans are having a field day with facts and figures to highlight their argument that President Obama has presided over a fiscal train wreck. Don Stewart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s communications director, sent out a handy guide to the debt history:

$8.67 trillion: Democrats take control of Congress, January 2007

$10.62 trillion: President Obama’s Inaugural, January 20, 2009

$10.789 trillion: Stimulus bill signed into law, February 17, 2009

$12.351 trillion: President’s weekly address on the merits of “pay as you go,” February 13, 2010

$14.305 trillion: President’s weekly address where he said “I believe we can live within our means,” April 16, 2011

Likewise, Republican presidential contender Texas Gov. Rick Perry blasted away: “Today, the federal debt hit a depressing $15 trillion. This astounding debt is a heavy pair of cement shoes for our children and America’s economic future. Now more than ever, America needs leadership committed to overhauling Washington.”He then touted his latest plan for “a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, a ban on earmarks, real spending and tax relief, and a part-time Congress to bring fiscal conservatism and responsibility back to our nation’s capital.”

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, the ongoing effort to fully vindicate the fundamental, individual right to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense took a major step forward with House passage of H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.” The bill, sponsored by Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), which has 245 cosponsors, was approved by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154.

Several amendments were offered to undermine the bill’s protections.  Every one of these amendments was soundly defeated by an overwhelming bipartisan vote, and included: Read More

Hearing: Sen. Cornyn Questions Atty Gen Holder on Fast & Furious - 11-8-11

Senate in party line vote rejects measure to overturn FCC net neutrality rules

The Senate rejected a bid to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's controversial net neutrality rules on Thursday in a party-line vote.

The measure passed the House in April, but failed in the Senate on a vote of 52 to 46. It needed 51 votes to pass and was not subject to a filibuster. The White House threatened earlier this week to veto the measure if it cleared the Senate, which came as no surprise since President Obama made net neutrality part of his campaign platform.

The rules approved by the Commission in December would prevent Internet service providers from discriminating between two similar websites or content providers. Read More

On the Piers Morgan’s show on CNN, Herman Cain seemingly took the position that while he is pro-life and thinks abortion is wrong, he would not as President do anything to stop women from having abortions. Later he tries to clarify what he meant.

“Yesterday in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN, I was asked questions about abortion policy and the role of the President.

I understood the thrust of the question to ask whether that I, as president, would simply “order” people to not seek an abortion.

My answer was focused on the role of the President. The President has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey.

As to my political policy view on abortion, I am 100% pro-life. End of story.

I will appoint judges who understand the original intent of the Constitution. Judges who are committed to the rule of law know that the Constitution contains no right to take the life of unborn children.

I will oppose government funding of abortion. I will veto any legislation that contains funds for Planned Parenthood. I will do everything that a President can do, consistent with his constitutional role, to advance the culture of life.”

MORGAN: By expressing the view that you expressed, you are effectively — you might be president. You can’t hide behind now the mask, if you don’t mind me saying, of being the pizza guy. You might be the president of United States of America. So your views on these things become exponentially massively more important. They become a directive to the nation.

CAIN: No they don’t. I can have an opinion on an issue without it being a directive on the nation. The government shouldn’t be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to social decisions that they need to make.

Sen’s Hutchison, Cornyn Urge White House to Approve States Amended Federal Disaster Declaration

Sep 16 2011

WASHINGTON— U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn (R-Texas) yesterday sent the following letter to President Barack Obama urging him to approve Gov. Rick Perry’s request for an amended Federal Disaster Declaration to include additional counties and provide support for wildfire debris removal and rebuilding.

Sens. Hutchison and Cornyn wrote, “It is vital that first responders have the financial resources to support emergency protective measures to save lives, protect property and maintain the public’s health and safety. We ask that this be done now without delay.”     

More than 19,000 fires have burned over 3.5 million acres of land in Texas in 2011, according to the Texas Forest Service, and have caused at least four deaths.  In May, President Obama declined an invitation from Senators Hutchison and Cornyn to tour areas of Texas devastated by wildfires.  Read the full text of the letter.

A Federal judge in New York has upheld the State’s law concerning an individual having to show a necessity for self-protection in order to obtain a license to carry a handgun, The Associated Press reported.

District Judge Cathy Seibel ruled against the challenge to the State law because of an alleged important government interest in preventing crime. While leaders on the left applauded the ruling, Alan Gura, the attorney for the plaintiff, noted that an appeal would be filed, according to the news outlet.

She said the state's gun law fell within the limits set by Heller, did not violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and could thus not be widened as the plaintiffs wanted.

"As crafted, the statute seeks to limit the use of handguns to self-defensive purposes a use which, although in this context existing outside the home, is nonetheless a hallmark of Heller rather than for some other use that has not been recognized as falling within the protections of the Second Amendment," said Seibel, who sits in White Plains.

“The question here is whether the government gets to regulate a constitutional right or completely abolish it,” Gura said.

The five plaintiffs from Westchester County brought the suit in an effort to freeze the “proper cause” element in the permit-application process, something that they argued was a direct violation of their 2nd Amendment rights, Reuters reported.

Gura noted that they might take the case as high as the Supreme Court, as the plaintiffs argued that the threat of significant random violence is all too prevalent in New York City, reported the AP.

They sued the county and the county judges who had turned down the applications. They argued that under recent Supreme Court decisions involving gun control measures in Chicago and Washington, D.C., New York's restriction was unconstitutional.

The plaintiffs, in their rejected applications, had cited reasons including the threat of random violence, the desire to get involved in competitive shooting and being "a transgender female subject to a higher likelihood of violence," the judge said.

Today, President Obama sent a message to Congress with the American Jobs Act of 2011 and a section-by-section analysis of the legislation. The American Jobs Act is composed of the kinds of proposals to put Americans back to work that both Democrats and Republicans have supported. That's why President Obama is urging Congress to pass the bill right away to get the economy moving. As the President stressed this morning, this is not a time to play politics:

 It’s not okay at a time of great urgency and need all across the country. These aren’t games we’re playing out here. Folks are out of work. Businesses are having trouble staying open. You’ve got a world economy that is full of uncertainty right now -- in Europe, in the Middle East. Some events may be beyond our control, but this is something we can control. Whether we not -- whether or not we pass this bill, whether or not we get this done, that’s something that we can control. That’s in our hands.

Read the Bill

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) sent the following letter to the White House today requesting the text of the legislation proposed by President Obama in his address to Congress. House leaders intend to have the legislation scored by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) so that Congressional committees can begin examining its impact on private-sector job creation and economic growth, paving the way for potential legislative action. Click here for a printable PDF version of the letter: Read More

California Passes Bill Barring Local E-Verify Mandate

The California State Senate passed A.B.1236 earlier this week, sending the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. The bill would prohibit counties and local municipalities in the state from requiring businesses to use E-Verify, furthering the need for House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act that would require all business in the U.S. to use E-Verify.

“California has the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S., yet elected officials in Sacramento just sent a bill to the Governor’s desk that will further diminish job opportunities," Chairman Smith said. "California’s E-Verify opt-out bill shows exactly why we need a federal E-Verify law.  Without a federal law on the books, some states—including those with the largest illegal immigrant populations, such as California—will be free to hire illegal workers.

“That’s why I have introduced the Legal Workforce Act," he added. "This bill requires all U.S. employers to use E-Verify to check whether prospective employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S.  This program is free, quick and easy to use – those eligible to work are immediately confirmed 99.5% of the time. This bill is one of the most significant steps we can take to put millions of Americans back to work and curb incentives that drive illegal immigration.”

“Illegal immigration cost Californians a net of more than $20 billion in 2010 in services and incarceration costs," California Representative and House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Elton Gallegly said. "Yet California continues to provide magnets to draw illegal immigrants to the state. That includes free education for illegal immigrant adults, sanctuary cities and – soon – an opt-out for E-Verify.

“Illegal immigration will not subside until we remove the magnets, including the largest one, a job," Gallegly added. "California’s bill to prohibit cities and counties from requiring employers to use E-Verify is one of the reasons I am working with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas to pass a federal law to make it mandatory for all employers in the United States. It has a 98 percent accuracy rate, which is far better than the antiquated I-9 forms now used.”

In June, Chairman Smith introduced the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2164). Chairman Gallegly is an original cosponsor.  This bill could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

A federal E-Verify law for all U.S. employers is essential to protecting jobs for American workers and reducing the jobs magnet that encourages illegal immigration.  Only 17 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia have an E-Verify mandate in place. And unfortunately, these state laws are only applied in a limited way or are rarely enforced. 

Texas Employee Parking Lot Protection Bill Takes Effect September 1!

NRA-backed Senate Bill 321 takes effect this Thursday, September 1.  This measure, authored by state Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) & state Representative Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington), and signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, prohibits most employers from enacting and enforcing bans on employees transporting and storing firearms in their locked, private motor vehicles while parked at work.  This important new law recognizes that hard-working Texans' right to self-defense does not end when they drive onto their employers property, and it honors the strong sporting culture of the Lone Star State where employees often hunt or visit the local gun club before or after work. 

SB 321 applies to both public and private employers, as well as all lawfully-owned firearms - not just firearms in the possession of Concealed Handgun Licensees.  However, SB 321 does not authorize an employee to possess firearms on any property where such possession is prohibited by state or federal law, and the provisions of the bill do not apply to the following:

• Vehicles owned or leased by the employer and used by the employee for work purposes;
• School districts, open enrollment charter schools, and private schools as defined in Section 22.081, Education Code;
• Property owned or controlled by a person, other than an employer, that is subject to a valid, unexpired oil, gas, or other mineral lease that contains a provision prohibiting the possession of firearms on the property; or
• Property owned or leased by a chemical manufacturer or oil and gas refiner permitted by TCEQ and on which the primary business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage or transportation of hazardous, combustible, or explosive materials; however, employees at  these facilities who are CHLs may store firearms (including rifles or shotguns) in their private motor vehicles in parking areas located outside of secured and restricted areas which contain the physical plant, are not open to the public and which are constantly monitored by security personnel.

The Justice department bullies Gibson without filing charges

The Federal Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.) This action was taken without the support and consent of the government in India.

On August 24, 2011, around 8:45 a.m. CDT, agents for the federal government executed four search warrants on Gibson’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. Gibson had to cease its manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day, while armed agents executed the search warrants. Gibson has fully cooperated with the execution of the search warrants.

• Raid shut down Gibson factories and cost company money
This is the second time that federal agents have raided Gibson facilities and disrupted production – this time causing lost productivity and sales.

• Wood seized was Forest Stewardship Council Controlled
The wood the Government seized on August 24 is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier and is FSC Controlled, meaning that the wood complies with the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, which is an industry-recognized and independent, not-for-profit organization established to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC Controlled Wood standards require, among other things, that the wood not be illegally harvested and not be harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights. See www.fsc.org for more information. Gibson has a long history of supporting sustainable and responsible sources of wood and has worked diligently with entities such as the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace to secure FSC certified supplies. The wood seized on August 24 satisfied FSC standards.

• Nearly two years later, no charges have been filed
In 2009, more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons invaded the Gibson factory in Nashville. The Government seized guitars and a substantial amount of ebony fingerboard blanks from Madagascar. To date, 1 year and 9 months later, criminal charges have NOT been filed, yet the Government still holds Gibson’s property. Gibson has obtained sworn statements and documents from the Madagascar government and these materials, which have been filed in federal court, show that the wood seized in 2009 was legally exported under Madagascar law and that no law has been violated. Gibson is attempting to have its property returned in a civil proceeding that is pending in federal court.

The Justice Department has asked the judge to stop the court case indefinitely.

• Information sought in raid was already made available
Since 2009, Gibson has fully cooperated with the Government’s investigation of wood and has provided substantial documentation regarding Gibson’s wood-buying activities over the years. Yet, the Federal Government raided Gibson’s facilities on August 24, 2011, without warning or communication of any kind. Had the Government simply communicated with Gibson, Gibson would have cooperated without having to stop its production and send workers home.

• Not about illegal logging, not about conservation, not about the environment
The U.S. Lacey Act does not directly address conservation issues but is about obeying all laws of the countries from which wood products are procured. This law reads that you are guilty if you did not observe a law even though you had no knowledge of that law in a foreign country. The U.S. Lacey Act is only applicable when a foreign law has been violated.

• Gibson is innocent and will fight to protect its rights
Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of ANY wrong doing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence.

According to AP news reports laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security's disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency. 

Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can't find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs. The stampede for benefits is adding to a growing backlog of applicants many wait two years or more before their cases are resolved and worsening the financial problems of a program that's been running in the red for years. 

New congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money by 2017, leaving the program unable to pay full benefits, unless Congress acts. About two decades later, Social Security's much larger retirement fund is projected to run dry as well. Much of the focus in Washington has been on fixing Social Security's retirement system. Proposals range from raising the retirement age to means-testing benefits for wealthy retirees. But the disability system is in much worse shape and its problems defy easy solutions.

 The trustees who oversee Social Security are urging Congress to shore up the disability system by reallocating money from the retirement program, just as lawmakers did in 1994. That, however, would provide only short-term relief at the expense of weakening the retirement program. Claims for disability benefits typically increase in a bad economy because many disabled people get laid off and can't find a new job. This year, about 3.3 million people are expected to apply for federal disability benefits. That's 700,000 more than in 2008 and 1 million more than a decade ago.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, illegal aliens will be eligible to receive work permits if their deportation is deferred through the Obama Administration's new policy. On August 19, 2011, the Administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security will review all deportation cases on a case-by-case basis and only deport illegal aliens who have been convicted of crimes.

The Administration has come under scrutiny from pro-amnesty groups for its record number of deportations, despite its policy of focusing on only criminal illegal aliens. Still, half of last year's 400,000 deported illegal aliens had not been convicted of a crime other than entering the country illegally. But several states, including Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Arizona, have increased efforts to arrest individuals in the country illegally.

"The Obama administration should enforce immigration laws, not look for ways to ignore them," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), head of the House Judiciary Committee.

Illegal aliens living in the United States typically don't apply for work permits for fear of deportation, but under the new policy, they could apply for work permits if granted deferred action or parole and compete with 22 million Americans who can't find a full-time job.

For more information, see the Wall Street Journal.

One of the richest men in the world, George Soros isn’t just pumping billions into influencing politics; he is actively co-opting the news media -- funding nearly every major left-wing media source in the U.S, and reaching more than 332 million people every month!

Soros’ global reach is both unprecedented and frightening – especially, considering the entire population of the U.S. less than 310 million.

His goal: Use his media empire to manipulate the news and use that control to implement his far left political agenda.

In our exclusive Media Research Center special report, our analysts document the tentacles of the Soros media empire like none other. We expose his multi-faceted scheme to influence and reshape the news with his billions and confront his long-term goal of manipulating unwitting Americans into embracing his socialist worldview.

Soros influence over the media is undermining our nation... Continued

GOVERNMENT vs ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCERS

Introducing the NRA ILA Legal Update!

To give NRA members and gun owners the latest information on Second Amendment cases filed or supported by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (www.nraila.org), NRA-ILA is pleased to announce a new online newsletter, the NRA-ILA Legal Update.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, hundreds of Second Amendment cases have been litigated in federal and state courts.  The pace of litigation has only increased since the Court’s 2010 decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago, holding that the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental and protects all Americans.  Continued

A Great Texas Senator Announces Her Retirement in 2012

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson announced last Thursday that she will not run for re-election in 2012. Texas has been blessed with many great Senators and I consider Senator Hutchinson to be one of the best. She and her staff have worked long hours to help the Lone Star State, and I always value her advice and counsel while performing my duties representing the people of the 19th District. I know all Texans join me in wishing her well with her future endeavors.

A summary of the center's map for Obama's next two years is listed on the group's website. The center states it is offering "just some of the many possible actions the administration can take using existing authority to move the country forward."

On energy, the center recommends Obama use executive power to:

• Reduce oil imports and make progress toward energy independence.
• Progress toward reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 17 percent by 2020.
• Conserve federal lands for future generations.
• Manage public lands to support a balanced energy strategy.
• Convene and engage hunters and anglers in the development of a fish and wildlife climate adaptation plan.
• Generate solar energy on U.S. Air Force hangar roofs.

continued

In hopes of making it easier to visit government websites and improve consumer trust in Internet shopping sites, the federal government has proposed an identity-authentication system for the Internet. But Craig Parshall, who oversees the communications and media efforts of NRB, does not foresee the system reaping positive effects.  

"I see this as one more example of massive federal overreach to control and regulate not only the Internet, but the way in which Americans can get in and out of websites, e-mail, and every other platform on the Internet," the Christian attorney and author explains. Listen to Audio 

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act had more twists and turns than a big-city sewer system.  Unexpected passage of the legislation at the very end of the lame duck Congress does not bring the story to a close. The fight goes on.

Regulations will need to be developed, which the FDA will try to do out of sight, but which we will monitor closely. The FDA will need funding to do the work, which means more legislation. And there may be other legislative opportunities to help pull back this seeming victory for agribusiness, factory faming, and its allies in Washington.

We have to keep educating Capitol Hill about the dangers of CAFOs, the main source of food contamination, and about the benefits—both to our health and our economy—of small farmers and especially local organic farmers. We need, in short, to keep the government from destroying what’s best about agriculture in this country. Big Food may have won this round, but they have most certainly not won the war.

Before we turn to the future, it’s also worth reviewing the story of what actually happened with this legislation. There has been a great deal of confusion about what took place, and it’s important to set the record straight. We also need to remember that natural health and family farming won some concessions along  the way, concessions that kept this legislation from being far, far worse than it is. All of these concessions were won by a broad coalition of tireless health freedom advocates, while some of them-especially in the areas of potential CODEX regulation and supplements-were won specifically by ANH-USA, and we’re proud of those accomplishments. This is more proof that when we all work together, we can move mountains. Read More

Cap and Trade Cover Up Makes Wall Street Rich

RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative) is our nation’s first cap & tax entity. States that have implemented RGGI include New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland.

So far, RGGI has pulled in $777.5 million dollars from selling carbon permits. Who exactly is bidding on these permits? Wall Street! Firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase are all hoping to make a killing on speculating on the price of carbon permits.

NASA Must Fund Canceled Rocket Program

NASA's Ares I rocket program is defunct but because of congressional inaction the space agency must continue to fund it until March, officials said.

The requirement will cost NASA almost $500 million as the agency battles with the costly task of replacing the space shuttle program, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Sunday.

About $165 million will go to Alliant Techsystems as part of a $2 billion contract to build a solid-fuel first stage for the Ares, which was supposed to be part of the Constellation program to fill the space shuttle's role of launching astronauts to the International Space Station.

The money to Alliant is part of what NASA will spend on the canceled program from Oct. 1 through March.

Most of the rest will go to Lockheed Martin, which is building the Orion capsule intended to take astronauts into space aboard whatever rocket NASA ultimately builds.

The federal government's 2010 budget contains language that barred NASA from shutting down the Ares program until Congress passed a 2011 budget.

That should have been done before the Oct. 1 start of the federal fiscal year but Congress was unable to pass a 2011 budget and instead voted this month to extend the 2010 budget until March -- meaning NASA still must abide by the 2010 language.

So NASA and its contractors are required to keep building Ares I, even though President Obama effectively killed it when he signed the new NASA plan that canceled the Constellation program begun under President George W. Bush.

Now that the dream act has been voted down we can get to other business at hand or can we?  The Dream Act in name only has been voted down but there are other bills that will be on the agenda of the Progressives. We must watch for these back door bills; we must make sure that the Dream Act is put out of our misery once and for all. The new congress said that they would be against “Ear Marks” in any bill. WE THE PEOPLE must keep them to there word. Here are some other bills that are laying in wait: DREAM Act S.3962, S.3963, H.R.5281, H.R.6327, H.R.6497. Watch for these bills and tell your elected officials that you are against these bills. They are still active and could and will be brought up for vote this coming session. 

GLOBAL GUN CONTROL

Barack Hussein Obama is determined to see the proposed UN Small Arms Treaty ratified. He knows if he doesn't get the job done by 2012, the task will likely fall on the next social progressive president. The left has been talking about global gun control since the 1960s.

They've been talking about it for so long, in fact, that when people hear it, most of them shrug because they believe the 2nd Amendment will prevent its implementation in the United States. That's wrong thinking because the moment you ignore any threat that threatens your security, the threat becomes reality. read more

Individual Mandate Unconstitutional: Government Doesn’t Know Best

From the start, the people around the nation did not want a government takeover of health care. Almost nine months later, a federal judge in Virginia confirmed that portions of the law are also unconstitutional. The ruling found that the individual mandate – the piece of the new health care law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance – is unconstitutional and oversteps the authority of Congress. This is just further proof that Washington cannot dictate your personal health care decisions.

The health care law expands the power and scope of the federal government. It contains the first ever federal mandate to require individuals to purchase health insurance. The federal government should not have the authority to force Americans to buy health insurance they do not want. The bottom line is that this new health care law is severely misguided. While the Supreme Court has the final say on this decision, I am encouraged by today’s findings in favor of individual rights.

This is just one battle, the war has just begun. But it was an important battle to win.  All the states Attorney Generals need our support. They’re fighting this war for the freedom of all Americans. If the Obamacare don’t get nullified We The People won’t recognize this country as we know it now. So keep telling your Representatives that you don’t want Obamacare. We must keep fighting because Obama and the DOJ are. Remember We The People are the government the elected officials work for us we don’t work for them.    Read the Judges decision

Food Safety Bill Language Has Been Resurrected

On December 8, the House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) H.R.3082. A CR is supposed to provide temporary, stopgap funding for the government while budget bills are worked out.  But this CR included the language of the Senate food safety bill—language that will still affect small food producers (organic farms, small farms, mom-and-pop roadside stands, etc.) most of all. It will completely transform the food and farming industries—for the worse. Read Full Article

Big Food on the Attack!

Railroad passengers on Amtrak should soon be able to once again transport firearms in checked baggage.  The change is slated to begin on Dec. 15, the effective date of the amendment by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., that forced Amtrak to accommodate gun owners.  The new service will only be available between stations where checked baggage service is currently available.             Read more

Sen. Sessions Urges Fellow Senators to Oppose the DREAM Act

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who also serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressed a letter to his Senate colleagues urging them to oppose the DREAM Act. In his letter, Sen. Sessions criticized the Leadership's decision to bypass committee markup of several different versions of the bill and their unwillingness to have the costs of the bill scored by the Congressional Budget Office.  Read full article

George Soros Pulling The Strings Behind The DREAM Act

ACORN and Soros are back in business after suing the United States Government claiming the "Defund ACORN Act" passed by the House and the Senate was "unconstitutional." This even after a video caught three ACORN employees allegedly telling a couple pretending to be a prostitute and her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her money?

Statement by the President after Meeting with Bipartisan Leadership

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  By the way, for those of you who are curious, we're using this room because we've got about a hundred volunteers decorating the White House.  So we're spending a little more time in the EEOB.

I just wrapped up a meeting with leaders from both parties. It was our first chance to get together face to face since the election to talk about how we can best work together to move the country forward. Read Full article

The healthcare takeover bill rammed through Congress in 2010 will have profound consequences for years to come – not just in regard to healthcare, but for the economy and taxes as well. Especially vulnerable under the newly imposed chains of Obamacare are small businesses.  READ FULL ARTICLE

IRS Set to Begin Monitoring Internet Transactions

Inserted directly into the housing bailout package signed by President George W. Bush was a provision requiring that records of merchant credit card transactions be sent directly to the IRS. “In the past, when IRS wanted to get information from banks and merchant accounts, it required going to a judge and getting a subpoena,” notes IRS enrolled taxpayer representative Eva Rosenberg. “With this new law in place, IRS can now step in and audit at any time – with little or no notice.”  READ FULL ARTICLE