PLEASE call your representatives today!!!

PEOPLE . . . THIS IS SERIOUS.

As someone else said this morning, they are not likely to bring this up for a vote UNLESS THEY HAVE THE VOTES TO PASS IT.

We need to administer all of the pressure we can, as this equates to the LARGEST TAX HIKE IN HISTORY ON EVERYONE . . . not just the amount we will all pay for fuel, but also the INCREASES IN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BECAUSE OF THE INCREASES BUSINESS WILL PAY FOR FUEL.

So, I'm including a message I receive last evening from another group . . . which is good information. It appears below.

ALSO, you can use this site to identify specific House members:

And, some specific targets . . . .

Friends,

Friends, as it currently stands below is a list of 10 Republicans who so far have not declared whether they are voting NO tomorrow (included are their direct office phone numbers):

Vern Buchanan (FL-13): 202-225-5015
Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05): 202-225-1002
Joseph Cao (LA-02): 202-225-6636
Vern Ehlers (MI-03): 202-225-3831
Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11): 202-225-5034
Jim Gerlach (PA-06): 202-225-4315
Tim Johnson (IL-15): 202-225-2371
Mark Kirk (IL-10): 202-225-4835
Chris Smith (NJ-04): 202-225-3765
Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01): 202-225-4806

And below again are some undecided Dems' who could use a strong push yet today to also vote NO tomorrow:

Jason Altmire (D-PA-04)
Bobby Bright (D-AL-02)
Frank Kratovil (D-MD-01)
Walt Minnick (D-ID-01)
Frank Kratovil (D-MD-01)
Chet Edwards (D-TX-17)
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN-08)
John Boccieri (D-OH-16)
Travis Childers (D-MS-01)
Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA-03)
Mark Schauer (D-MI-07)
Gary Peters (D-MI-09)
Larry Kissell (D-NC-08)
Lincoln Davis (D-TN-04)
Chris Carney (D-PA-10)
Steve Driehaus (D-OH-01)
Harry Teague (D-NM-02)
Joe Donnelly (D-IN-02)
Ciro Rodriquez (D-TX-23)
Harry Mitchell (D-AZ-05)
Betsy Markey (D-CO-04)
Alan Grayson (D-FL-08)

This is so important, please see if you have the time to contact these individuals. It is the only way we can hopefully ensure a NO vote on Cap & Trade tomorrow and send Nancy Pelosi a strong slap in the face.

Thank you all very much,

James Koerner, Director & CEO
Organization of Conservative Americans
www.OCAmericans.org

* * * * *

GO GET 'EM!

Embryonic Stem Cell Research - "It's Probably The Beginning Of The End For That Controversy"

The quote above is from Dr. James Thompson, also known as the father of embryonic stem cell research. That's great news! The debate regarding the ethics behind embryonic stem cell research has been going on for years (probably ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned). Science is proving to us over and over again that embryonic stem cell research is not only not necessary, it is the underdog in stem cell research.

Adult stem cells come from wisdom teeth, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, and other various tissues. The research on these stem cells has resulted in 73 successful treatments for different diseases including Alzheimer's, Type I Diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, and various forms of cancer.

What makes these adult stem cells superior is that they can be reprogrammed to function exactly like their embryonic counterparts. Yes! Who needs embryonic stem cells anyways?

The reprogrammed adult stem cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). They can do everything an embryonic stem cell can do PLUS a human embryo does not have to be destroyed in the process. The best part about iPS cells is that they can be derived from our very own cells, reducing the risk that they will be rejected by our bodies.

Let's go back to embryonic stem cells for a moment. Despite millions of dollars in research, not one embryonic stem-cell trial has resulted in the successful treatment of a human patient. Not one.

So why in the world did President Obama sign an executive order to lift the ban on the use of federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research? (Private funding has never been banned). Why do federal dollars need to be spent on an unproven research that destroys human embryos when there is an even better science behind the iPS cells? Maybe it has something to do with several of the major companies involved in embryonic stem cell research. The day Obama lifted that ban, their stock value increased as much as 88%.

Political actions always seem to come back to pay-offs. If there were some way to fix that, maybe we wouldn't have such a screwy political system...but that's another blog for another day.

Any Similarities Here?

I was reading Luke last night and have a New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible, which I LOVE. I learn so much from the footnotes but it takes me an hour to read one chapter with all the footnotes and the notes I take. Last night, one footnote reminded me of someone...can you guess who? Just wondering if anyone else sees any similarities...

"This was Herod the Great, confirmed by the Roman Senate as king of the Jews. Only half-Jewish himself and eager to please his Roman superiors, Herod expanded and beautified the Jerusalem Temple - but he placed a Roman eagle over the entrance. When he helped the Jews, it was for political purposes and not because he cared about their God. Herod the Great later ordered a massacre of infants in a futile attempt to kill the infant Jesus, whom some were calling the new "king of the Jews".

2009 Tennessee Pork Report

What better way to start this blog than by examining the 2009 Tennessee Pork Report? This annual report is published yearly by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research and raises awareness about costly state projects that waste tax payers money. Let's get started!

• In the past 2 years, Governor Bredesen has spent over $28 million on renovations to the governor's mansion, which was appraised at just over $900K before the renovations began. Expenditures included $321K in upgrading the kitchen, $11K for a wet bar upstairs, and $53K to add accent lighting throughout the house. But, the real cost of this renovation was the 14K sq. foot underground ballroom and entertainment complex which can host 500 guests. The price tag for this night club is already over 10 million and still rising. Wouldn't you love to party there? Too bad, you just get to pay for it. Bredesen recently announced that he plans to lay off 717 state employees. While I'm for reducing the size of our state government, I wonder if he feels a tad guilty considering the cost of his renovations could have paid those employees for another year.
  

• In 2007, TDOT decided to fund a barge service that would ferry passengers across the Tennessee river between Benton and Houston county. Initial costs were over $1 million and it costs $511K to operate every year. TDOT Officials predicted the ferry would transfer 200 cars per day and set a fee of .75 cents per car. Even after 2 years in service, there are less than 17 cars per day transported by this ferry. That means that we are paying $48,000 per car EVERY YEAR to operate this ferry. We could buy all of these people a nice new boat ever year! The worst part is that even after 2 years of this data, a subcommittee recently voted 7-0 this to keep the ferry in service.

• In case you're not aware, the state of Tennessee is in the golf course business. Why does our state need to run golf courses? Who knows. That's like asking why is the White House running GM right now? There is just no logical conclusion. In 2008, these courses operated at a negative $2.3 million dollar loss. The author makes a great point that I have to include here... Unfortunately, state lawmakers continue to defend what most Tennesseans would agree is indefensible spending on golf courses as the state’s poorest residents subsidize vacationing golfers when paying sales tax on a loaf of bread or shoes for their children.
  

In all, the report uncovers over $500 million in wasted spending in the last year. I've highlighted some of the more interesting pork, but there are many in the report. Take some time and read through it. You will enjoy it, but don't eat too much.

http://tennesseepolicy.org/media/2009_Pork_Report.pdf