Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Surprise Surprise the RINOs let us down.


When House Republicans penned their Pledge to America in 2010, they convinced American voters they would advance a conservative agenda if they regained control of the House that year. Four years later, what promises have they actually delivered?

ObamaCare is still intact, our national debt has grown by $3 trillion, and Republicans have capitulated to Democrats on every issue from the debt ceiling to the budget. Republican leaders in both the House and the Senate have failed conservatives and have failed to keep their Pledge to America.
Let’s examine how the GOP pledge has fallen flat.
Repeal the Costly Health Care Takeover of 2010 – Despite countless meaningless votes to repeal ObamaCare, Republican leaders had an actual chance to undo the disastrous healthcare law in 2013 by refusing to fund ObamaCare. Instead of putting their words into action, GOP Leaders in the House and Senate caved to Democrats, refused to fight, and allowed funding for ObamaCare to pass.
Rein in the Red Tape Factory; Rein in Government Waste and Duplication – In 2013, a Congressional Research Service report showed the number of federal rules actually increased the year after the House GOP made their Pledge to America. In 2012, $23.5 billion in new regulatory costs were caused by 25 new rulemakings. I’d call that the opposite of reining in red tape and weeding out waste.
Act Immediately to Reduce Spending; Make it Easier to Cut Spending; Cut Congress’ Budget; Cut Government Spending to Pre-Stimulus, Pre-Bailout Levels – Republican leaders can play all the games they want with spending cuts, like voting for cuts they know will never be enacted, but they can’t argue they kept these promises when our national debt skyrocketed from $14 trillion in January 2011 when the GOP regained the House to over $17 trillion now.
Reform the Budget Process – When both chambers of Congress haven’t agreed on a budget since before the iPad existed (as pointed out by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy himself) and our government has been operating off of continuing resolutions, the only reform that’s happening is for the worst. Even the newest budget from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is an utter disaster  increasing spending and caving on critical issues. Republicans even failed to publish the bad budget deal online at least three days before voting on it despite their pledge to do so.
The list of broken pledges goes on and on.

Read More: Thank You BREITBART


Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jimmy Carter wants President Obama to pick up the phone.


In an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Carter, 89, expressed sadness that Obama never asks for his opinion. Carter said that many other past Presidents have gotten in touch with him.

Jimmy Carter wants President Obama to pick up the phone.

The former commander-in-chief expressed sadness during an interview Sunday that Obama doesn’t ever call him for advice.

“Unfortunately, the answer is no,” Carter, 89, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” after he was asked whether Obama ever calls him to ask for his opinion on domestic and international matters.

“President Obama doesn’t, but previous Presidents have called on me and the Carter Center to take action,” Carter added, listing situations in which former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and even Ronald Reagan have enlisted his help or opinion.

When asked why he thought Obama refused to get in touch for his thoughts on domestic and international matters, Carter suggested that it had to do with their differing views on how to best achieve peace in the Middle East.

“That’s a hard question for me to answer with complete candor,” Carter said. “I think the problem was that in dealing with the issue of peace between Israel and Egypt, the Carter Center has taken a very strong position of equal treatment … and I think this was a sensitive area in which the President didn’t want to be involved.”

“But I can understand those sensitivities and I don’t have any criticism of him,” he added.

Carter, who was President from 1977 to 1981, also expressed fear that the federal government is “probably” spying on him.

Read More:The Daily News

Sheriff Joe says Obama's Deportation Numbers "Smoke and Mirrors"


Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Obama administration’s statistics on the deportation of illegal immigrants are “smoke and mirrors,” claiming he sees the same criminals entering his jails “six, seven, eight times” and speculating that “they’re being let out the back door.”

The Maricopa County sheriff spoke with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Friday about the Obama administration’s claim that they’ve deported 2 million illegal immigrants. Arpaio contended that the White House is “play[ing] around with statistics.”

“I always had a feeling that a lot of these people that we put on hold — turn over to ICE — really were not being deported,” he said. “I did a survey in the last three months and found out that of the over 1,200 illegal aliens in our jails, one-third, or about 400, that were released in the past have criminal records.”

“And they’re still being booked back into the jail!” he continued. “Six, seven, eight times. Keep coming back! How come they’re not being deported? That’s where they should be, they’re high-level violators.”

“They’re rounded up, they’re booked into my jails for criminal violations, we put holds on them, they’re turned over to ICE,” he explained. “And how come they keep coming back in the last several years? They should be back where they came from, or they’re being let out the back door! You can’t have it both ways. How come they keep coming back to jail?”

‘If you’re talking about the interior of the United States which is enforced by ICE, when you take the 11 million allegedly here, ICE has locked up one percent when you look at the figures,” he declared. “So it’s smoke and mirrors going on, that has been going on.”

Watch the Interview on the: Daily Caller

Thursday, March 20, 2014

High Ranking EPA Staffer Quite the Fraudster


A former high-ranking EPA staffer convicted of stealing nearly $900,000 by pretending to be a CIA spy had virtually no experience, got his job with help from a college buddy, and went on to play a key role in sweeping environmental regulations, according to a report Senate Republicans released Wednesday.

Those regulations remain in place despite John C. Beale’s lack of environmental expertise, Republican investigators said, adding that they want the Environmental Protection Agency to review the work in which Beale was involved during his 24-year tenure.

The report said Beale led an “itinerant life” as a police officer and a physical therapist in California before heading to Princeton University in the 1970s. It was at Princeton, the report said, where Beale befriended Robert Brenner, who later would become the EPA’s deputy assistant administrator.

“Rather than recruit someone with the requisite experience, Brenner sought out Beale in what appears to be a decision based solely on their personal friendship rather than any experience or credentials,” said conclusions of the report by Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Beale advanced quickly after he joined the agency in 1989 and eventually helped the EPA implement national air quality standards.

The highest-paid employee in the EPA, Beale was a senior policy adviser earning more than $200,000 in salary and bonuses a year by the time he resigned in April 2013.

Are Electric Cars Another Green Energy Failure?


Testing by AAA has found that how far an electric vehicle can travel on one charge varies widely depending on the weather. Frigid temperatures can reduce that distance by 57%.

The research is important to the Automobile Club of Southern California because it maintains mobile recharging trucks for people who misjudge how far they can go in their electric car.

“EV drivers need to carefully monitor range in hot and cold weather,” said Steve Mazor, the engineer who manages the Southern California club’s Automotive Research Center.

The center conducted tests on a 2013 Nissan Leaf,  a 2012 Mitsubishi iMiEV and the electric version of a 2014 Ford Focus. 

The cars were tested for city driving to mimic stop-and-go traffic and to better compare with Environmental Protection Agency ratings listed on the window sticker, AAA said.

The average EV battery range in AAA’s test was 105 miles at 75 degrees but dropped 57% to just 43 miles at 20 degrees. Heat also sliced the cars' ranges but by not as much: The cars averaged 69 miles per full charge at 95 degrees, 33% less than in 75-degree weather.

The research center tested the cars following the same EPA drive cycles that provide the data for the mileage window stickers on new cars. The vehicles were charged up and then driven on a machine with rollers called a dynamometer in a climate-controlled room until the battery was exhausted.

Watch the Video at: The LA Times

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The US Green Building Council and Another Big Green Fail


Washington, D.C. may have the highest number of certified green buildings in the country, but research by  Environmental Policy Alliance suggests it might not be doing much good.

The free-market group analyzed the first round of energy usage data released by city officials Friday and found that large, privately-owned buildings that received the green energy certification Leadership in Energy Design (LEED) actually use more energy than buildings that didn’t receive this green stamp of approval.

LEED is the brainchild of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a private environmental group.
 
Washington, D.C.’s Department of Environment made the capital the first city in the nation to mandate LEED certifications in the construction of public buildings. The standards are now being phased in.

The results are measured in EUI’s, a unit that relates a building’s energy consumption to its size; the higher the number, the more energy is expended by a smaller building.

Take the Green Building Council’s Washington headquarters. Replete with the group’s top green-energy accolade, the platinum LEED certification, the USGBC’s main base comes in at 236 EUI. The average EUI for uncertified buildings in the capital? Just 199.

Certified buildings’ average comes in at 205 EUI, still less efficient than that didn’t take home the ultimate green trophy.

“LEED certification is little more than a fancy plaque displayed by these ‘green’ buildings,” charged Anastasia Swearingen, LEED Exposed’s lead researcher on the project. “Previous analyses of energy use by LEED-certified buildings have consistently shown that LEED ratings have no bearing on actual energy efficiency

Read More: The Daily Caller

Mike Rowe and his 12 Point Pledge


“The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge”

(Skill & Work Ethic Aren’t Taboo)


1. I believe that I have won the greatest lottery of all time. I am alive. I walk the Earth. I live in America. Above all things, I am grateful.

 

2. I believe that I am entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nothing more. I also understand that “happiness” and the “pursuit of happiness” are not the same thing.

 

3. I believe there is no such thing as a “bad job.” I believe that all jobs are opportunities, and it’s up to me to make the best of them.

 

4. I do not “follow my passion.” I bring it with me. I believe that any job can be done with passion and enthusiasm.

 

5. I deplore debt, and do all I can to avoid it. I would rather live in a tent and eat beans than borrow money to pay for a lifestyle I can’t afford.

 

6. I believe that my safety is my responsibility. I understand that being in “compliance” does not necessarily mean I’m out of danger.

 

7. I believe the best way to distinguish myself at work is to show up early, stay late, and cheerfully volunteer for every crappy task there is.

 

8. I believe the most annoying sounds in the world are whining and complaining. I will never make them. If I am unhappy in my work, I will either find a new job, or find a way to be happy.

 

9. I believe that my education is my responsibility, and absolutely critical to my success. I am resolved to learn as much as I can from whatever source is available to me. I will never stop learning, and understand that library cards are free.

 

10. I believe that I am a product of my choices – not my circumstances. I will never blame anyone for my shortcomings or the challenges I face. And I will never accept the credit for something I didn’t do.

 

11. I understand the world is not fair, and I’m OK with that. I do not resent the success of others.

 

12. I believe that all people are created equal. I also believe that all people make choices. Some choose to be lazy. Some choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.

 

On my honor, I hereby affirm the above statements to be an accurate summation of my personal worldview. I promise to live by them.

 

 Visit Mike Rowe's page: Profoundly Disconnected