THE RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN

ADVANCING THE CONSERVATIVE CAUSE

Vol. 6 – No. 6 August 2022

The original content of this publication is copyrighted. Requests for reprinting may be obtained by contacting the Editor and Publisher at: pyrope84045@mypacks.net

Table of Contents

Greetings ———————————————————————1

Editorial ———————————————————————- 2

Democrats’ Hopes Continue To Fade——————————-6

Anarchy is Here! ———————————————————–7

Mr. Biden’s Idiotic Energy Policies———————————10

Comments From Candidates ————————————— 15

Comments From Representative————————————16

Comments From Correspondents———————————-17

Legislative Report——————————————————- 25

Rhea County Republican Party News —————————- 39

Lagniappe —————————————————————– 39

Contact Your Elected Representatives Today! ————— 40

GREETINGS:

First, a huge THANK YOU to all Correspondents who have taken time to share their thoughts with us. Your words enlighten and entertain us on many topics.

Across the U.S. the primary season is quickly coming to a close. The states getting the most attention seem to be Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada, but each and every seat in each and every state, county, and municipality is crucially important. It has been most encouraging to hear from readers everywhere – even one in England – who have reported they are campaigning for their choices.

We must not allow ourselves to settle for electing anyone less than the most conservative candidate we can find, regardless of the office they seek!

The small town Commissioner of today might just turn out to be tomorrow’s Senator!

EDITORIAL

Kris Bancroft, Editor

Savvy American Patriots go out of their way to buy products with a “Made in USA” label. That generation of Americans who fought WWII learned the hard way that buying foreign-made goods not only weakens our economy, but it strengthens our enemies.

Unfortunately, this lesson was not taught as well as it might have been to subsequent generations of Americans, and it is for this reason that the Number One threat to American freedom – China – is on track to becoming the world’s dominant force – the Number One Superpower on Earth – within a matter of years.

But even though every foreign-made product we buy weakens our nation’s economy while strengthening our enemies, it has become difficult – if not impossible – to find the things we need that also bear the Made in USA label.

Why is that?

There are two major reasons why American-made products are difficult to find: the first is collective bargaining, which has resulted in high labor costs, and secondly; a faction in government that insists on punishing our producers by making them “pay their fair share” of taxes (most often to support those who could but won’t work).

These hindrances drove many iconic U.S. corporations to places that showed some appreciation, and a modicum of respect, toward entrepreneurs – Taiwan, Japan, Ireland, and business friendly countries.

At long last, a few in government have come to realize that transcending our country’s economy from that of being “manufacturing-based” to “service-based” maybe wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Most recently, the realization of the vulnerability of being dependent on other countries for our most crucial needs was observed in the production of computer chips – the dire shortage of computer chips has impacted a wide array of U.S. manufacturing – from the production of automobile to medical equipment and, most notably perhaps, the equipment our military must have to defend us from our enemies.

Our government responded in its typical fashion by throwing money at the problem: The shortage of computer chips has prompted the allocation of $80 billion in subsidies to move chip manufacturing back to American soil.

So, has our government finally come to realize the necessity of being fully independent? I very seriously doubt it!

But, even that iconic label “Made in USA” doesn’t mean what it used to.

While many entrepreneurs from other countries may own a significant interest in U.S. firms, it is China – an enemy of the United States – that has been allowed – and enabled – by our government to make strategic purchases of major corporations here in our country. Here are but a few examples of brands now owned by the Chinese Communist Party:

Hoover USA: bought for $107 million (£54.5m), AMC Theaters: bought for $2.6 billion (£1.9bn), Smithfield Foods: bought for $4.7 billion (£3.4bn), Motorola: bought for $2.91 billion (£2.1bn), Waldorf Astoria New York hotel: bought for $1.95 billion (£1.2bn), Legendary Entertainment: bought for $3.5 billion (£2.5bn), GE Appliances: bought for $5.4 billion (£3.9bn). But, iconic US brands are not the only ones that have been purchased by the Chinese.

The more notable Chinese investments elsewhere in the world include: OZ Minerals: bought for $1.4 billion (£989m), a modern mining company in South Australia that focuses on copper mines across Australia and in Brazil. The company was drowning in debt in 2009 when it was acquired by Chinese mineral and metals trading firm Minmetals, which now goes by the name of MMG; Rio Tinto: bought for $12.8 billion (£6.5bn), of the world’s biggest aluminum producers, is owned by the Chinese government, and; MG Rover, the manufacturer of the UK’s military vehicles, it was bought for $96.1 million (£50m), by Shanghai-based SAIC Motor. (The company ceased all production at MG’s Longbridge plant near Birmingham, England in 2016 and moved all operations to China.) Many more brands can be found at the following link:

https://www.lovemoney.com/gallerylist/60924/famous-western-brands-that-are-now-chineseowned

It’s not just American manufacturing that the Chinese Communist Party are scarfing up; they’re also buying vast quantities of farmland – you know, that dirt in which the food we eat is grown!

How much farmland does China now own: The latest data show the Chinese Communist Party now owns ~192,000 acres, and they’re buying more every day!

https://www.csis.org/analysis/foreign-purchases-us-agricultural-land-facts-figures-and-assessment-real-threats

The United States is not the only place where the Chinese are making strategic purchases. In addition to the purchases listed in the “lovemoney” link (above), China is purchasing farmland and mineral sources around the globe (especially lithium and other rare earth minerals), as well as stockpiling petroleum at the rate of 1.19 million barrels per day!

What are they preparing to do? To those who have eyes and ears, it is apparent the Chinese are sprinting toward the “Finish Line” in the “100 Year Marathon” that Michael Pillsbury warned us about?

In spite of the evidence presented in the links above, far too many in government continue to proclaim their denial about what the vast majority of Americans know to be true. Could it be the Chinese Communist Party has gained some sort of control over some people in government? Examine the links below and draw your own conclusions.

Maybe the people who could do something to protect us from such an enemy are simply naïve. Maybe they don’t understand what traits are manifested by someone who is an enemy. Maybe we should ask them whether they think a friend would do the things that China is doing. Maybe the first question would be: If China is not our enemy, why would they furnish the Mexican drug cartels with tons of fentanyl – a drug that killed more than 70,000 Americans last year, a drug that is the leading cause of death among Americans aged eighteen to forty-five years of age? Would anyone other than an enemy create and ship tons of a lethal drug to Mexican drug cartels knowing it will ultimately be distributed into a country and that it will cause thousands of the citizens of that country to die?

And speaking of questions, after the 2022 mid-term elections, if the Republicans can manage to gain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, maybe we should instruct them to ask Mr. Biden why he – the alleged leader of the world’s (current) number one superpower – hasn’t stepped up to defend the United States against China. IF the Republicans practice due diligence, we may learn that he and his family are compromised – if not totally controlled – by the Chinese Communist Party?

Will our government ever take serious and meaningful action to stop the Chinese threat? It’s a pretty good bet that if we remain silent, they will remain dormant.

In the meantime, We the People can do a lot by boycotting Chinese-made goods and refusing to do business with companies owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. It will often be frustrating and inconvenient for us to do this, but every penny of our money that we keep out of the hands of the Chinese Communist Party robs them of their power to destroy us.

Here are some sources that will help those who wish to buy American-made products:

DEMOCRATS’ HOPES CONTINUE TO FADE

Kris Bancroft, Editor

The past few weeks have been bad for the Democrats, and especially the Biden regime.

Voters – most especially Hispanics – are leaving the Democrats and coming over to the Republican Party because they are figuring out that free market capitalism is the key to freedom, and they are realizing that they’ve been played for fools. With the exception of the “limousine liberals” Democrat voter rolls are dropping precipitously.

At the state level – especially the voters in New York, California, and Illinois – have become quite vociferous in expressing their thoughts about liberal policies; their reaction: Citizens of these states are moving out in record numbers!

The responses from Democrat politicians range from denial to rage; Gavin Newsome launched an advertising campaign inviting people in Florida to move to California. New York Governor Kathy Hochul blames the exodus from her state on lack of Federal funding to “combat gun violence and reduce homelessness.” https://wskg.org/no-consensus-on-reasons-for-exodus-from-new-york/. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Hochul’s #1 toady, echoed her remarks.

Governor Pritzker (Illinois), didn’t “blame” anyone, he simply took action by imposing an extra tax on people who sold their homes and exited the state. The Mayor of Chicago, Lorie Lightfoot’s obscenity-laced rant fully agreed with her Governor that taxes must be raised (again) on anyone who may dare to try to escape. The response to Pritzker and Lightfoot has been (predictably) downplayed by the liberal media, but it has been rumored that even the dead voters in Chicago cemeteries are switching parties.

The mindset of the people trapped in other Democrat-run cities also shows increasing angst. Various reports tell us the people in Baltimore, New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Detroit, and San Francisco are also escaping. A person in San Francisco reported their dismay that crime there has gotten so out of control that the city government are posting signs warning people to be wary of criminals committing assaults and thefts.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Government spies. https://youtube.com/shorts/1zyh75cv6QU?feature=share

ANARCHY IS HERE!

Kris Bancroft, Editor

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines anarchy as “a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchy

Anarchy is here.

Those of us who have observed the evolution (devolution?) of American society have known it for some time but, on 27 July 2022, Sean Hannity (Fox News) acknowledged this fact as he spoke to his millions of viewers. The one important thing Mr. Hannity failed to tell his audience is why we have found ourselves in a state of anarchy.

When the undeniable truth finally sinks into the skulls of many of our politicians, they will (as usual) fund some group of academicians or subject matter experts to conduct a study and then report to Congress the “facts.”

The academicians and subject matter experts will spend as much time cogitating on the question as their government grants will permit and, predictably, offer the explanation that Congress wants to hear: that the advancement of anarchy was something that simply could not have been avoided.

The pragmatists amongst us already know the “no one is to blame for what could not be avoided” explanation is simply not true.

The objective thinkers amongst us know that accurate analyses of societal trends is derived by analyzing cause and effect, and the best understanding of causes and effects can be ascertained through an honest analysis of history.

In our quest for the truth, we are wise to apply the premise of Occam’s razor – that what has proven to be true in the past will most likely prove to be true in the present – or future.

The fact is: America has devolved into a state of anarchy because those in our government have permitted – and in some cases enabled – the advancement of a two-tiered justice system. Rules for thee but not for me.

We can find many lessons in which a two-tiered justice system devolved into a state of full-blown anarchy; a few of the more prominent examples include: Gaius (Caligula) of Rome; England (prior to the signing of the Magana Carta); the years leading up to the American Revolution; the French Revolution; the Bolshevik’s overthrow of the Czar; Cuba; Venezuela; Cambodia; and the list goes on.

The anarchy that erupted in all these situations took place because, first, a two-tiered justice system was allowed to grow and fester. Interestingly, in every case, the state of anarchy eventually devolved into a revolution and, in all but one case – America’s establishment of a Constitutional Republic – the end result was (significantly) less than what was hoped for.

At this time, there are two relevant questions we must consider: How and when did the two-tiered system start in the United States? What, if anything, can be done to reverse our present course?

A careful study of American History would likely reveal the two-tiered justice system in the United States started in the late 1800s, incidentally, at approximately the same time as the Progressive Movement began. Greed was the primary driving force behind it all; prominent figures in society looking for political favors that were granted by “somewhat less than ethical” politicians. (William L. Riordan’s seminal work “Plunkitt of Tammany Hall” offers a glimpse into American politics of those times).

Since those days, the two-tiered justice system has devolved to the point where, not only do politicians go free when they commit felonies (Ted Kennedy’s causing the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, at Chappaquiddick), but they go without serious challenges when the semblance of impropriety in insider trading would result in an intense investigation of a non-politically connected individual (Nancy and Paul Pelosi’s gains of hundreds of millions of dollars in the stock market).

The aforementioned are crimes of commission. There are also the crimes of omission that are being blatantly perpetrated by those who have violated their oath to uphold our laws.

The people on the street cannot cite the statutes but they know what a crime is (and what is not): They see the illegal aliens being shipped into their neighborhoods. They see the reports telling them that the human traffickers racked up $13 billion last year. They see the increases of smash-and-grab robberies that cause owners of the stores they frequent to close down. They see the reports of the captures of fentanyl shipments with a street value the millions of dollars. They hear the gunfire in the middle of the night that echoes through their neighborhoods. But, most tragically, they’re called to the morgue to identify their loved ones who were scraped up off the street after they were shot or overdosed on a fentanyl pill – produced in China – that was disguised to look like oxycodone. They see these things and they weep and they wonder why those who could and should be doing something remain silent. Since they can have no faith in the justice system, they seek their own forms of justice, and the murder rates escalate even further.

And now we have what we have: Full-Blown Anarchy.

People at all levels of society have made an accurate assessment of what they’ve seen, and some – those without ethics or self-respect or who have just given up on their government – have decided that if the laws don’t apply to the big shots, the laws don’t apply to them, either. They have decided they will get what they can get, while they can get it.

And they’re right! The liberal judges who were appointed by liberal politicians have established a cashless bail system which frees criminals charged with capital crimes. Other Liberals have defunded the already over-stressed and under-funded law enforcement agencies. The rise of these liberal politicians and judges has been financed and enabled by the enemies of our country – China, Russia, Iran, George Soros, and a host of others – all of whom who are doing all they can to make America fail.

Soon, America – like all the other failed countries and kingdoms of the past – will reach a tipping point; that Moment of Truth where we will either reverse course or end up on the ash heap of other failed countries. Everyone wonders just what that tipping point may be.

At this point, a prudent handicapper might make odds on it being the crimes of the Biden family.

In a matter of weeks we will know but, should the current investigation result in the meaningful investigation and prosecution of all the crimes discovered, then followed by meaningful punishment for all those crimes for which the defendants are found to be guilty, America has a chance – a slight chance – of clawing its way back to once again becoming the greatest nation to ever exist on planet Earth.

But the work doesn’t end there.

The President must instruct the Attorney General to ensure the FBI – and all our nation’s law enforcement agencies – to investigate without prejudice or favor all matters that are suspected to be infractions of our laws. When violations of our laws are discovered, law enforcement officers at all levels of the justice system must be instructed – and enabled as necessary – to arrest those individuals who have allegedly committed crimes.

When arrests are made, those accused of crimes must be brought to trial and accorded the guarantee inscribe above the entry portal of that building located at

1 First Street, NE, Washington, DC: “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER the LAW.”

Nothing less will do! https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/courtbuilding.aspx

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Non-governmental digital currencies, commonly known as “crypto currencies” received what might turn out to be a death blow in March of 2022, when Mr. Biden signed Executive Order 14067.

In the meantime, Mr. Biden and his regime are working feverishly to establish a cashless economy in the United States, which will mark the end of all private transactions. When our rights to conduct business without the government looking over our shoulder is codified, every last shred of Liberty will have been lost! (See articles on a cashless society published in previous editions of The Rhea County Republican.

BIDEN’S IDIOTIC ENERGY POLICIES

Kris Bancroft, Editor

[I had originally thought I should be “nice” and entitle this article “Mr. Biden’s Ill-Conceived Energy Policies,” but ultimately decided it was time for someone to report it like it truly is. I hope you can forgive my brashness. – Editor]

On day ONE of his tenure in the 0vala 0ffice, Mr. Biden endangered the stability of the United States when he issued his edict to shut down all drilling on Federal lands and cancel all leases – leases that had been paid for by the oil companies. Adding insult to injury, Mr. Biden’s edict also shut down the construction of the Keystone Pipeline – a project that had already been fully funded by the taxpayers – and sent ~17,000 American citizens to sign up for unemployment.

Within a matter of days, petroleum prices began to surge. For the first time in history, the price for a gallon of 83 octane fuel rose above $5.00 per gallon (to nearly $7.00 per gallon for diesel fuel), and, of course about $1.00 higher in California.

Many of the people who voted for Mr. Biden (and all the people who did not), became outraged. Those who commuted by car to their jobs saw their budgets wrecked, and the impacts of the inflation caused by Mr. Biden’s ill-advised decisions was sorely felt as commodity prices surged due to increases in manufacturing and delivery costs.

With the 2022 mid-term elections looming in the future, Ms. Pelosi was forced to halt her stock trading for a while and Mr. Schumer was forced to interrupt his threats against the Conservative Supreme Court Justices, in order to go and plead with “The Big Guy” to “do something” – anything – to keep from losing their useful idiots who had been foolish enough to elect Mr. Biden.

Together, Mr. Biden and his cronies came up with a gimmick to assuage the anger of his sycophants – they decided to dip into what is known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Since Mr. Biden decided to deploy this gimmick, we have seen prices at the pump decrease, but what currently appears as a significant measure of relief to the average American will ultimately prove to be a situation even worse than what we dealt with before.

At its maximum capacity, the facilities that contain our nation’s SPR will hold approximately 726 million barrels. As of May 2022, the SPR inventory was reported to be 540 million barrels.

Under normal circumstances, the United States uses approximately 19.78 million barrels of oil each day.

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=33&amp;t=6

Exacerbated by the decreases in domestic production, the United States has been forced to increase its purchases of petroleum from countries that don’t really like us very much – Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Russia. (There is some evidence to support a claim that some of the petroleum we are buying from Venezuela was actually produced in Iran – another country that “doesn’t like us very much”).

In essence, these countries have found themselves in a perfect position to leverage their petroleum sales to the United States in a way that would enable them to manipulate the Biden regime and force Mr. Biden to “jump through any hoop” they may demand. It begs the question: What might Russia, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia demand of Mr. Biden in exchange for opening their spigots again?

And speaking of questions being begged . . .

We have learned Mr. Biden has sent petroleum from our SPR to the Netherlands, India, and China. Given the pressure Mr. Putin is putting on the Netherlands just now, we might understand this move as a gesture of one ally to another.

It seems a bit more difficult to understand why Mr. Biden would allow our SPR oil to go to India, being that they don’t like us very much, either, and that they’re one of our country’s most aggressive competitors.

But, what is totally beyond reason is why would Mr. Biden send our oil to China, the one country that poses the greatest threat to our existence?

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2022/07/barrels-oil-released-biden-reserve-were-sent-china-daniel-greenfield/?fbclid=IwAR3qv8_oM8fmNsoQqfsIMFgzo-Gc9ujgwsXVV9T9FxWFEnT9uxiMs-BKmBI

Predictably, Glenn Kessler, a major apologist for the Biden regime at the Washington Post swears up and down that, just because Hunter Biden happens to have been one of the Board Members listed on the company that brokered the deal (Rosemont Seneca Bohai, generally known as “BHR Partners”) for Unipec (marketed through the Chinese company Sinopec), there’s absolutely nothing to see here.

We know better and so we must ask: Was this deal a means to further enrich the Biden Crime Family, or was it blackmail to keep Xi Jinping from spilling the beans on Hunter Biden?

This question was posed in the daily briefing at the White House on 6 July. Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre, Press Secretary, dodged giving a response.

Unless Mr. Biden admits he and his cronies were 180 out of phase with prudent energy practices and immediately reverses his ill-conceived edicts that ended our country’s position of strength as being the number one producer of energy, by October 2022, the SPR will be at its lowest point since 1986.

Our foreign sources of petroleum – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, and yes, Iran will raise their prices and gouge us for all it is worth. This will have dire consequences on our nation’s economy. If Mr. Biden should gather up enough courage and refuse to capitulate to their extortion, these countries will close their spigots to us . . . just in time for winter!

What will happen then?

In my former career I worked as a Geologist (petroleum, paleontology, and seismology), I can report that reworking existing wells whose production was halted by Mr. Biden’s fiats can take several months to bring them back on line. Drilling new wells – from the time they are “spudded” in to the time the production liners are installed – can take more than a year. Tying a new well into the pipeline system running to the “cracking plant” and then transmitting the crude and distillates to the refinery can take another month. Next, the product must be refined, and the sad truth is: Our nation’s refineries are antiquated, fragile, and inefficient – all because the EPA has imposed enduring emission standards and will not relent to allow a new refinery to be built using the “Best Available Technology.” The bottom line is this:

Mr. Biden’s energy policies have harmed the United States and its Citizens. Going forward, we must never allow ourselves to overlook the damage he has done to our country and we must remind everyone we know of the harm Mr. Biden has done to us.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Ineptocracy (in-ept-oc’-ra-see) A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society who are least able to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for with the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

If shutting down the Russian pipeline was done to cripple their economy, how about explaining Keystone again. – Robert Passons, Orlando, FL

RANDOM THOUGHTS

More revelations on Hunter Biden.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10966153/Hunter-Biden-spent-30k-prostitutes-FIVE-MONTHS-documents-reveal.html?fbclid=IwAR10g8f9GlalZwQ26iyR0oiaRg2JBo53PyPuC600ZgOBkyIqdNd5dpJI4EI

RANDOM THOUGHTS

In May of this year, the US ran a $1,049,100,000 trade deficit with Russia. It is rather shocking to think our country is doing business with a country whose leader would like to bring us to our knees but to give them such an enormous advantage causes us to question the mental state of those running the show in DC. https://arckdecor.com/america/archives/28155

RANDOM THOUGHTS

One report acknowledged that fifty individuals on the Terrorist Watch List have been apprehended while crossing our southern border. Another report acknowledged, in the past year, there have been at least 500,000 illegal aliens who escaped apprehension. The logical question is: How many of the 500,000 evaders are on the Terrorist Watch List? In truth, we simply do not know, but we do know that Mr. Biden and Alejandro Mayorkis are directly responsible for any harm that may come to the Citizens of the United States should we suffer another terrorist attack.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity. – Thomas Sowell

COMMENTS FROM CANDIDATES

Candidates for elected offices from all States and all levels of government are encouraged to share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, and announcements by emailing them to pyrope84045@mypacks.net . Your constituents want to hear from you! – Editor

Courtney Lynch seeks your vote.

I am the Republican nominee for District Attorney General for the 12^th Judicial District (Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe and Rhea counties) in the August 4^th general election.

After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama with an undergraduate degree in Business Management, I received my law degree and the Public Legal Service Award from Vanderbilt University. I practiced law in Winchester for several years before accepting a position as an Assistant District Attorney. I am proud to have served the citizens of the 12^th Judicial District for ten years by prosecuting all levels of cases including homicides.

I have been married to Brooks Lynch for 24 years and we have three teenagers: Isaac (19), Olivia (16) and Evan (16). Brooks and I are both from Winchester, and we are raising our family on a farm in Franklin County. I am the daughter of Mike and Cindy Cunningham, and the daughter-in-law of Mike and Lorraine Lynch. I have been a lifelong active member of the Winchester Church of Christ and have been involved in many community initiatives and events.

As your district attorney I will fight for the victims of crime and let criminals know we take the safety and security of our neighborhoods, schools, churches and businesses seriously. I believe in common sense prevention through reaching out to our youth and I also believe in proven rehabilitation methods for criminals to minimize recidivism.

My office will emphasize the importance of communicating empathy, respect and available resources to victims. As District Attorney I will continue to work closely with all levels of law enforcement in seeking the truth. I pledge to apply conservative principles to prosecuting crime and managing the office. I sincerely ask for your vote in the August 4^th general election.

Harriet Hageman, Fort Laramie, WY, is a Constitutional Attorney endorsed by former President Donald Trump is challenging Liz Cheney. She defeated the Clinton administration in a battle over access to forest lands and she has taken on the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to oppose mandates and usurpation of the rights of farmers and ranchers.

“Having grown up on my family’s ranch near Fort Laramie, I have Wyoming in my DNA. I’ve been fighting for the constitutional rights of the people of Wyoming in my professional career and it’s a battle I’ll continue to fight in Congress. We only get one member of the House in Wyoming, and we have to get it right. The people deserve a congresswoman who represents the ideals and values of our great state.

“Our only member of Congress has completely lost the ability to represent us effectively. She continues to wage her own personal war against President Trump and his supporters as Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked member of the January 6th commission. The Republicans in Congress want nothing to do with her, and the Democrats see her as a temporary but useful tool. She is squandering our lone congressional seat and we need someone in there who will use it to protect our state from the disastrous Biden administration.”

COMMENTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES

Elected Representatives from all States and all levels of government are encouraged to share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, and announcements by emailing them to pyrope84045@mypacks.net . Your constituents want to hear from you! – Editor

Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) shared some good news for Tennesseans:

“Save on back-to-school shopping by taking advantage of the sales tax holiday at the end of the month. Tennessee families will save July 29-31 with the state’s traditional sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers.

“With the help of the General Assembly, we’re taking a bite out of rising food costs.”

This August, a 30-day grocery tax suspension led by Gov. Lee will provide direct financial relief to Tennesseans amid surging inflation nationwide. The month long tax suspension begins August 1.

US Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) responded to an email:

July 29, 2022

Dear Kris,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Biden Administration’s sale of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I always appreciate hearing from Tennesseans.

The Biden Administration announced the sale of 30 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in April 2022. 950,000 barrels were sold to the trading arm of the China Petrochemical Corporation, Unipec America, Inc., a Chinese Communist Party owned entity.

I, along with my colleague Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), introduced S.4515, the No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act. This bill ensures that reserves sold from the U.S. SPR are not exported to nations that are adversaries of the United States.

Thank you for your message. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind on future issues involving U.S. energy.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you would like regular updates on my work for Tennessee, please sign up for my weekly newsletter or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sincerely,

Marsha Blackburn

United States Senator

COMMENTS FROM CORRESPONDENTS

You are invited to become a Correspondent and share thoughts, opinions, ideas, and announcements with subscribers to this newsletter. Please state your city, state, or country in your submissions and email them to: pyrope84045@mypacks.net . Your fellow Conservatives want to hear from you! – Editor

Jim Clarkson, President of Resource Supply Management, in Columbia, SC, starts us off with a bit of satire with his vignette: “Return to the Future”

Captain’s Log: Star date 5823.7. The Enterprise is coming back from delivering supplies to a scientific outpost in sector D. We have just received news from the Federation Information Center that a message is being beamed from Earth. This means civilization on that planet has returned to a level that uses electricity and advanced communications. Our starship is now moving at warp speed toward that obscure part of the Milky Way where colonists left centuries ago to settle the far corners of the universe.

The computer is bringing up Earth’s history for us. Earth and its inhabitants were fairly advanced until about a thousand years ago when their leading civilization went into a dark age where technology regressed, while ignorance and superstition prevailed among what were its most advanced peoples.

Earth and some of its fellow planets, Mars, and Jupiter, experienced their periodic cycles where temperatures increased slightly. Misunderstanding and fear spread to key institutions. On Earth at that time, governments, for some curious reason, had the power to dictate energy policy. This was quite unlike our voluntary associations. Earth’s political elites leaped at the chance to increase their power over the people in their jurisdictions. Conventional sources of energy were destroyed while the accumulated wealth of generations was exhausted on impractical and expensive sources of energy. Even as the temperature cycles swung lower, the new powers of governments continued to increase with ever more disastrous results.

We are getting close to Earth now, and their message is coming through. It says:

“We wish to contact other beings intelligent enough not to have central authority over energy.”

Ah, it seems our distant cousins on Earth have learned their lesson.

Dr. Merrily Salyer, PhD, Sterling, VA has forwarded a video clip on the current status of a “Woke” America. It is very well worth your time!

https://youtu.be/TQIL7bJ51mk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQIL7bJ51mk

Frank Calciano, Oyster Bay, NY remarked on the “J6 Stalinist show trial.”

I’ve been saying this since the start of the phony hearing.

Most of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony this week in front of the Jan. 6 Committee would not be allowed in court, according to Pennsylvania Republican trial attorney Wally Zimolong.

Hutchinson, 25, is the former aide to President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows. She testified that Trump protested in a car when a Secret Service agent told him they would not take him from the site of his speech to the Capitol where people were gathering. Trump lunged for the car’s steering wheel and then toward the agent, she told the committee.

But Hutchinson was not in the car. She relayed a story she heard about the car ride.

“None of that would ever be admitted in court. It’s classic hearsay,” Zimolong told The Epoch Times. “An attorney would get up and say ‘Objection, hearsay,’ and every single judge in America would say ‘Yeah, you’re right. You can’t testify to what someone told you, or what someone said.’ It’s the first thing you learn in evidence class in law school.”

This illustrates the larger problem with the Jan. 6 hearing, Zimolong said: There is no cross examination so only one controlled side of the story is being told.

Robert Fleischer, Atlantic City, NJ shared the following:

LYSENKOISM was a political campaign led by Soviet biologist Trofim Lysenko against genetics and science-based agriculture. The term has come to be identified as “any deliberate distortion of scientific facts or theories for purposes that are deemed politically, religiously or socially desirable.”

This phenomenon has happened many times throughout history and has ruined many lives. Modern example: Al Gore, et al, and the lie known as human-caused global warming.

David Farmer, Derby, KS, submitted the following:

In the June issue of [The Rhea County Republican], you published an article entitled “Thoughts on Going Cashless.” I wanted to share some information I read recently that confirms what was said about facial recognition software. An article in the summer issue of AAA Living stated “While facial recognition technology has raised privacy concerns for some, its acceptance has also grown during the pandemic. In 2019, an International Air Transport Association survey found that only 46% of passengers were willing to share their biometric data. Two years later, the number had risen to 73%.”

What this tells me is people are becoming more willing every day to trade in their right to privacy in exchange for a little convenience. All the warnings we’ve heard through the years about how the Overton Window is used to condition us to accept what we would have, at one time, considered totally unacceptable should be foremost in our awareness but, instead, humans are becoming more like lemmings and Pavlov’s dogs every moment. I don’t know what would wake them up but I sure as heck appreciate the fact that you’re at least trying.

Harriett Lublin, Atlanta, GA on the elimination of private automobile ownership:

FTA: The “green” vision is not a world in which everyone has their own electric car. It’s one of collective transport, of buses, light rail, and car-pooling through shared rides and roving self-driving cars. The only vehicle the average consumer is supposed to own is a bicycle.

While the Biden administration is still pretending that it’s out to “encourage” electric car ownership by making actual cars too expensive for much of the country to afford, others are saying the quiet part out loud.

“Car-lovers will doubtless mourn the passing of machines that, in the 20th century, became icons of personal freedom. But this freedom is illusory,” an Economist article predicted.

“There will be fewer cars on the road—perhaps just 30% of the cars we have today,” the head of Google’s self-driving car project predicted.

“The days of the single occupancy car are numbered,” Brook Porter at G2 Venture Partners, a green energy investment firm, thundered in an article titled, The End of Cars in Cities.

Dan Amman, the former president of GM, claimed that “the human-driven, gasoline-powered, single-passenger car” is the “fundamental problem” in a post titled, “We Need to Move Beyond the Car”. He has since gone to work for Exxon-Mobil.

Predictions are cheap, but car bans are expensive and all too real. The European Union voted to back a ban on the sale of non-electric cars by 2035. California is also pushing for a similar 2035 ban on the sale of new actual cars in the state. Officials noted that the ban would push more than half of mechanics out of work and leave much of the state unable to afford cars.

Canada has its own 2035 car ban. Last year, Governor Newsom and Governor Cuomo, along with 10 other governors, urged Biden to impose a 2035 car ban on all Americans.

Electric cars aren’t actually “cleaner”. The mining processes that produce “green” technologies are as dirty, if not dirtier, and trade dependence on oil for dependence on rare earth metals, and dependence on the Middle East for dependence on Communist China. The one thing that they decisively accomplish is to make it impossible for ordinary Americans to own cars.

And that is what environmentalists really want. But not just them.

The Obama administration pumped billions in taxpayer money into battery and electric car manufacturing, the majority of which failed, on the theory that enough government subsidies would lower battery costs. Not only was much of that money lost, but currently electric battery costs hover around the $160 kilowatt-hour mark. Green boosters cheer that’s far down from over $1,000 per kWh a decade ago, but that still adds up to the reality that an electric car capable of traveling for even short distances needs a battery that alone costs thousands.

The Nissan Leaf, which approaches $30,000 once the reality of MSRP in the current sales market is taken into account, is one of the cheapest electric cars around, and has a range of only 149 miles. Replacing its battery can set back car owners $6,500 to $7,500. And that’s even when you can manage to find one or someone willing to replace it. In less than 3 years, Leafs lose 20 miles of range. By the fifth year, they have lost 30 miles. And it’s all downhill from there.

The Nissan Leaf was initially a hit, but car manufacturers quickly realized that anyone willing to overpay that much for substandard performance had money to burn. The electric car market is now thoroughly dominated by luxury vehicles subsidized by taxpayers. And the Leaf went from 90% market share to less than 10%. The EV market is now a taxpayer-funded status symbol.

The dirty truth about the “clean” car market is that it consists of traditional car companies and Tesla frantically trying to unload a limited share of luxury electric cars on wealthy customers to cash in on the emissions credits mandated by states like California. Tesla makes more money reselling these regulatory credits to actual car companies than it does selling cars. Taxpayers and working class car-owners pick up the bill for the entire luxury electric vehicle market.

[And now, you have a glimpse into the “long game” which is to force ALL people to use public transportation, which restricts their movements, which make them easier to control. – Editor]

Norman Bobo, Lookout Mountain, TN shared a comment on the absence of fiscal restraint in Tennessee State Government.

From my true conservative friend, John Harris: “When the GOP took control in 2010, the state’s budget was approximately $28 billion a year following the wild and reckless spending by Democrats. That was at a time when the Republican incumbents and others were claiming that if Tennesseans elected them into a majority that they would reduce taxes, reduce government and have more fiscal accountability.

“So, Tennessean’s gave Republicans the office of governor and gave them a super majority in the Legislature.

“Were the promises kept? No, No NOOOOO!

“Republicans Haslam and Lee and Republicans in the Legislature under the leadership of Harwell, Ramsey, Casada, Sexton and McNally have increased the state’s budget in only 12-13 years from $28 billion to over $53 billion – and budgets are comprised of one thing – tax dollars taken from citizens.”

[A comprehensive report naming the RINOs in Tennessee government was recently published in The Tennessee Conservative, by Brandon Lewis; it can be found at the following link: https://tennesseeconservative.lpages.co/2022-rino-report-freedom-caucus-awards/. This link has been found to be virus-free, using McAfee virus detection software. Concerned citizens will be informed. – Editor]

Jim Hice, Cleveland, TN shared some Social Security trivia:

Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn’t know this. It’s easy to check out, if you don’t believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what’s what and it doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.

Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes.

Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION message was removed.

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. His promises are in black.

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary [No longer voluntary],

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program [Now 7.65% on the first $90,000, and 15% on the first $90,000 if you’re self-employed],

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year [No longer tax deductible],

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program [Under Johnson the money was moved to the General Fund and Spent], and

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income [Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed].

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month — and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put away’ — you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

AND MY FAVORITE:

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

Now, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it! If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe changes will evolve. Maybe not, though. Some Democrats are awfully sure of what isn’t so — but it’s worth a try. How many people can YOU send this to?

Actions speak louder than bumper stickers.

Val Adejo, a friend from Washington, DC shared some comments on the subject of the coming Economic Crash:

Do you want to know how the economy is tanking into a super recession and America is going into a great depression soon.

Elon Musk. The smartest man in the world.

He knows that inflation is out of control and that is why he is bailing on Tesla. First laying off workers to increase cash at hand. Putting off projects such as his phone service. He’s getting cash Space x with government money and Star Link. But his prize….Twitter he’s letting it go.

Why? Cash flow. He will need that money to survive. Dividends for Twitter would take years to stand for a profit. He needs cash now because he knows the end is near. The banking system will crash and our economy will fail.

Elon Musk Formally Notifies Twitter of His Intent to Cancel His Purchase of the Company.

We just got a warning of this yesterday. Elon Musk may soon walk away from his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter because he believes he does not have enough information to determine the level of fake accounts, according to published reports Thursday. The world’s richest man claims Twitter’s spam accounts are not verifiable, even after the social media giant in early June gave in to Musk’s demands to provide info on hundreds of millions of daily tweets.

Musk has made it clear he believes the economy is tanking. He’s trimming his own revenue-producing businesses. An article I [read] some weeks ago made a persuasive case that all the tech companies that don’t make any money have been kept alive only by constant re-infusions of capital — new loans, basically — and the cost of loans is becoming too expensive to keep doing this. So many of these companies are going to “disintegrate,” as that article said. A company like twitter will probably survive, but its value might be cut in half, or worse. And Musk came in and offered more than its market value, pre-recession. Pre-disintegration.

I think all of his squawking about bots is his way of trying to connive some kind of legal justification to get out of a bad deal, or at least pressure Twitter’s board into giving him a steep discount on this loser company’s price. He wants to start cashing out where he can to have access to cold hard cash when our country ceases to exist financially. It’s about having the capitol to reinvest when the time is ready in the future without having to borrow from banks.

The Dow Jones is crashing. Investments are taking hits in the hundreds of thousands for the layman’s personal accounts. Many lost over $100,000 alone this year. There is no real estate market because no one is building. The banks are struggling with debt and foreclosures. Pension debts is on the rise and they will soon collapse. Thousands of companies have already left America and we are paying more into unemployment and welfare than all the nations on Earth combined. We cannot continue to print money because 30 trillion of American currency is not backed by gold….just the paper it’s printed on.

Save your cash and hide it in your mattress because whatever you have in investments, savings and checking will be gone soon when the economy and banks collapse. Are you ready for the apocalypse? If you think I’m wrong just keep up with the fed and interest rates. See what not being traded in the markets. Do you think all these companies moving to Mexico is just to save money? It’s about all out survival because they know the American banks will soon fail taking down the rest of the country with them. Good luck!

Frank Calciano, Oyster Bay, NY

Voters of all stripes have a pretty favorable view of the Constitution, but “more Republicans (76%) than Democrats (42%) or independents (56%) have a Very Favorable view of the Constitution.”

That said, there is one large fly in the ointment:

57% of Democratic voters [claim] it “is a document rooted in racism,” and 64% think our Constitution ”is a sexist document that gives men advantages over women.” Nearly half (49%) of Democrats believe the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.”

These numbers confirm that the myths propagated by Critical Race theorists and feminists have taken deep root in the Democratic Party. Among other things, it is hard to understand how the Constitution “gives men advantages over women,” since no clause of that document makes any distinction between men and women, and qualifications for voting were left to the states.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Farmers everywhere are complaining about the dire shortage of fertilizer. Judging from what’s coming out of Washington DC these days, I find that very hard to believe! – Kris Bancroft

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

The Legislative Report provides information on some of the more remarkable bills that have been introduced in Congress. Its purpose is to provide the reader with information about pending legislation that may prompt the reader to contact their representatives to express their views.

In the emailed version of the Legislative Report, you will see markers + and + on certain bills. The red icon is placed to encourage the reader to contact their representatives and ask them to vote against the legislation. On bills marked with the green icon, the reader is encouraged to contact their elected representatives and ask them to support the legislation. The reader is always encouraged to keep informed about all legislation from other sources so they may be aware of bills that affect our lives. Decide today that you will make your voice heard. If you remain silent, your representatives will never know your thoughts! – Editor

Addendum: Since June we have seen what I call “the season of throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.” Essentially, the Democrats know beyond doubt, if the mid-term elections are free and fair, the “Giant Red Tsunami” will usher in significant majorities of Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Democrats will have lost their control over both the House and the Senate, and they’re using their current advantage to move us as far Left as possible.

As for the Conservatives, we have once again learned that bitter lesson: Elections have consequences! (Will we have to learn it again at some time in the future? Probably!)

From here until the beginning of Fiscal Year 2023 we will see all manner of appropriations bills for various Departments and their agencies, offices, bureaus, etc. Most of the bills will be monstrosities and will be filled with “pork.” I don’t like it, you don’t like it, but this is the way the “game” is played.

In the coming months we will see all these bills come slithering out of Committee and come up for a vote. Again: Please be warned that the Democrats know what’s coming and they want to get everything they possibly to Mr. Biden’s desk for signature. It is up to us to make ourselves aware of the bills that do damage to our country and then MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD like never before! I hope you’ll join me in doing just that!

HR 7900 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Adam Smith, D-WA, 1316 pages).

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

A cursory review of this bill (most notably the Funding Tables in Division D) indicates apparently reasonable and appropriate modifications and expenditures. The NDAA is one funding bill that, in the past, has seemed to escape much of the customary twisting and contorting and amending found in other major funding bills. This year’s version was different; at least eighteen amendments were considered, fourteen of which passed, twelve of which passed on a party line vote. The more noteworthy amendments (“pork”) that was added include to the bill that is supposed to fund our military included: #284 (Joe Neguse, D-CO), to fund his Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act and the Grand Canyon Protection Act; #285 (Diana DeGette, D-CO), to fund her Cerro de la Olla Wilderness Establishment Act; #286 (Dwight Evans, D-PA), to fund his legislation to provide restoration of the Delaware River Basin;

That said, HR 7900 literally sailed through the House of Representatives (329/62), and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration. Will the Conservatives in the Senate trim away the pork?

HR 8295 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, 210 pages).

Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

Department of Labor is scheduled to receive $4,597,632,000 of which $105,000,000 is earmarked for migrant workers, but only $10,000,000 is allocated for veterans.

Job Corps, which is separate from the Department of Labor is to be allocated $1,627,325,000 which shall be available for the period July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations will receive $3,184,635,000 and it appears disbursements will be keyed on the cost of living in various states and the amounts will be disbursed in accordance with the number of unemployed persons on a state-by-state basis.

The Department of Health and Human Services will receive $1,946,772,000 to cover normal operational expenses in the way of providing healthcare at no cost to its approved recipients plus an additional $1,543,566,000 to operate its “Health Workforce,” $1,201,296,000 for maternal and childcare, $2,694,776,000 to fund its HIV/AIDS programs (with an additional $1,463,556,000 to the Centers for Disease Control to fund their STD programs, $99,009,000 for stem cell research.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) will receive $62,944,354,000.

[You may recall, out of their previous budget, the NIH allocated $708,466.00 to a research group in London, to conduct research that involved hooking Zebrafish on nicotine. – Editor] https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/wastereportwednesday?__eep__=6&__cft__[0]=AZUyNF7Sjm69RwsvtT0gU1g38s0T4ZnlcaNF6YzqlXvpHfLbndgD6VEIRJ1yiv7dqpM2RlH9AQreN1dD0Wa6SH0NPwcbetLMZK7X3gkeW2XsSzvhWuxs9enPj5HIOilN6DnsSBtGoJCtRsr8xF7JlKv6Ei475X6nqDGhlxQWRrvwKHoiXqMPREB2lpQoQZNcVQyRhYYdVTgX2guBWuGhJ2j3&__tn__=*NK-y-R [You may also recall that, according to an article in National Review NIH funded “gain of function” research projects at China’s Wuhan laboratory – the source of COVID 19. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/americans-deserve-the-truth-about-gain-of-function-research-and-the-wuhan-lab/

The Department of Education will receive $21,260,551,000.

Ancillary funding is estimated to be less than $13,000,000,000.

HR 8294 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (David Price, D-NC, 124 pages).

Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

One of the more notable budget items among the $17 billion allocated to DOT was found in its $2.03 billion allocation for salaries and operating expenses. The plan is to “invest” $11,000,000 to purchase a fleet of electric vehicles.

This bill passed on a party line vote 220/207, and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration.

HR 8239 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Sanford Bishop, Jr., D-GA, 116 pages).

Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

The authors of this bill are very clever in the way of weaving proposed allocations into the text of the bill so as to obfuscate their various little boondoggles but they did reveal a proposed donation of $37,595,000 to the Office of Civil Rights.

HR 8238 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-FL, 88 pages).

Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

The bill text is laid out in such a manner that appropriation amounts are readily visible.

HR 8254 Financial Services and General Appropriations Act of 2023 (Mike Quigley, D-IL, 192 pages).

This bill contains the allocations for operational expenses of the White House and Executive Branch Departments.

HR 8262 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Chellie Pingree, D-ME, 178 pages).

Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior (DOI), environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes. The Department of the Interior includes:

Bureau of Land Management
US Fish & Wildlife Service
National Park Service
US Geological Survey
Bureau of Indian Affairs

DOI coordinates with many other Departments and Agencies providing scientific expertise, fire suppression on public lands, and many other services.

HR 8257 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023 (Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-CA, 98 pages).

In a brief review of the text it is noted that $14 billion would be allocated to fund US Customs and Border Protection but there is no mention of funds to be allocated to build a border wall. Meanwhile, more than two million illegal aliens have entered our country this year, more than 500K “got-aways” are reported, and 50 individuals whose names appeared on the International Terrorist Watch List have been captured. One must question how many individuals who are known terrorists have escaped capture!

HR8282 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023 (Barbara Lee, D-CA, 298 pages).

Making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes. At ~$46.4 billion, the State Department has one of the larger budget requests.

HR 8255 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Marcy Kaptur, D-OH, 66 pages).

Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

A reasonably straight-forward bill to fund the US Army Corps of Engineers in their co-assigned projects with the Department of the Interior, and other governmental agencies at all levels of government.

HR 8256 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 (Matthew Cartwright, D-PA, 132 pages).

Making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.

It appears the government entities funded by this bill have met the approval of its sponsor. It is especially noteworthy that the Bureau of the Census is allocated $1.5 billion in a non-census year, while the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (soon to be renamed the “Bureau of Human-Caused Global Warming” is set to receive $4.97 billion.

HR 8367 To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes (Adam Schiff, D-CA, Text not available)

S 4503 Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Mark Warner, D-VA, 138 pages).

A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Intelligence Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.

++HR 8285 Vehicle Innovation Act of 2022 (Debbie Dingell, D-MI, 20 pages).

The stated purpose of Ms. Dingell’s bill is to support research, development, and other activities [emphasis added] to develop innovative vehicle technologies, and for other purposes.

In short, Ms. Dingell has gone all in on the Green New “Steal” in the way of proposing to allocate $1,698,379,000 to the Department of Energy with instructions to: develop United States technologies and practices that improve the fuel efficiency and emissions of all vehicles produced in the United States; support domestic research, development, engineering, demonstration, and commercial application and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, engines, and components . . . ; ensure a proper balance and diversity of Federal investment in vehicle technologies, and; strengthen partnerships between Federal and State governmental agencies and the private and academic sectors.

In short, Ms. Dingell’s bill would force the taxpayers to fund the research that the private sector should foot the bill for and her bill tips the scales to the advantage of electric vehicle manufacturers.

It is important for the reader to note the Department of Energy has never fulfilled its mission statement and should have, long ago, been defunded.

HR 7337 Access to Records for Veterans Act (Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, 4 pages).

To require the Archivist of the United States to submit a plan to Congress to eliminate the records backlog at the National Personnel Records Center, and for other purposes.

HR 8334 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the use of automated telephone equipment to send unsolicited text messages, and for other purposes (Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-IL, text not yet available).

HR 8272 REEShore Act of 2022 (Elissa Slotkin, D-MI, 22 pages).

To encourage the extraction and processing of rare earth elements and critical minerals in the United States, and for other purposes.

The text of the bill lists 28 minerals that are used in a wide array of industrial and scientific applications, all of which are crucial in various ways.

The text of the bill states: “The quantities of rare earth elements, covered critical minerals, and rare earth or covered critical mineral products stockpiled under this Act should be sufficient to sustain the United States Armed Forces and the defense industrial and technology sectors of the United States for a period of not less than 3 years during a national emergency situation that would necessitate total mobilization of the economy of the United States for a sustained conventional global war of indefinite duration.”

While Representative Slotkin clearly recognizes the prudence of maintaining stockpiles of certain materials, it is probable that she also understands it is less expensive to obtain and process raw materials today than it will be in the future. In this way, her bill is better than perhaps most of her colleagues realize.

++HR 8285 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for a credit against tax for rent paid on the personal residence of the taxpayer (Danny Davis, D-IL, text not yet available).

It will be interesting to read Mr. Davis’ justification for allowing renters to deduct their rent from their income.

S 4527 A bill to amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit immigration officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security from wearing clothing or other items bearing the word “police” (Cory Booker, D-NJ, text not yet available). Go figure!

HR 8246 Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act (Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-IA, 2 pages).

To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to clarify a provision relating to certain contents of registrations under that Act.

HR 8249 Don’t Block LGBTQ Act of 2022 (Bradley Schneider, D-IL, 3 pages).

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit schools and public libraries that receive universal service support from blocking internet access to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer resources, and for other purposes. The bill lacks language that guarantees children will not be able to access materials that may be considered pornographic.

HR 8240 Military Energy Security Act of 2022 (Don Bacon, R-NE, 6 pages).

The purpose of this bill is to “combat” [eliminate?] military reliance on Russian energy.

Currently, and as a direct result of Mr. Biden’s energy “policy,” the US is now importing several million barrels of petroleum per day from Russia – one of our country’s two major enemies. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-imports-russian-oil-refined-products-2022-03-08/. Mr, Bacon’s seeks to eliminate that dependency, to wit:

It shall be the goal of the Department of Defense to eliminate the use of Russian energy on each main operating base in the area of responsibility of the United States European Command by not later than five years after the date of the completion of an installation energy plan for such base, as required under this section.

HR 8247 Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act (Joseph Morelle, D-NY, 14 pages).

This bill provides funding to community colleges, colleges, and universities intended to be disbursed to students who are experiencing – for whatever reason – “financial difficulties.” The disbursement amounts are allocated in accordance with the number of students in attendance who are most likely to have some financial difficulty.

HR 8242 National Debt is National Security Act (Scott Franklin, R-FL, 4 pages).

To establish limitations on the amount of debt issued by the United States which may be held by foreign governments, entities, and individuals.

++++HR 8271 ATF DATA Act (Adam Schiff, D-CA, 11 pages).

Mr. Schiff’s bill poses a direct violation of a Citizen’s rights (allegedly) guaranteed by the 4^th Amendment. Specifically, this bill would require the collection and publishing of data covering the legal sales and transfers of firearms.

++++HR 2814 Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act (Adam Schiff, D-CA, 3 pages).

To repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and provide for the discoverability and admissibility of gun trace information in civil proceedings.

In other words, if some thug breaks into someone’s home or vehicle and steals a Glock 17, and then goes out and shoots someone with it, Mr. Schiff’s bill would enable the shooting victim to sue Glock for damages. You guessed it; it’s the same ol’ Schiff.

Note: H.R. 5768, H.R. 2814, H.R. 1808, and S 4606 are anti-2^nd Amendment bills that were introduced on July 25^th and are advancing through the House of Representatives and the Senate.

++++HR 8051 Assault Weapons Excise Act (Don Beyer, D-VA)

The Assault Weapons Excise Act would institute a 1,000% excise tax on assault weapons. That includes any phase of the process, including manufacture, production, or (if applicable) importation.

For context, the current federal excise tax on firearms is 10–11%. Since its original implementation, that tax has never been raised.

The bill also contains an exemption for law enforcement, so that publicly-funded law enforcement expenditures wouldn’t suddenly balloon by 10x.

The bill would not apply retroactively, so the tax wouldn’t apply to any of the estimated 20 million existent civilian assault weapons.

Last year, the Democrats introduced a bill to ban assault weapons and it had 210 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 37 co-sponsors in the Senate, but the bill stalled. This bill is a workaround measure to impose an exorbitant tax which, in effect, would make it impossible for a citizen to own an assault weapon. What is even more worrisome is the definition of “assault weapons” that, apparently, Mr. Beyer wants to change which would include semi-automatic pistols with magazine capacity greater than ten rounds.

Opponents counter that the bill would likely be unconstitutional. After the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, enacted a $1,000 tax on handguns, federal District Court Judge Ramona V. Manglona struck it down.

“The Second Amendment protects the right to armed self-defense, which includes the right to acquire such arms. The reason is simple: without the arms, the right would be useless,” Manglona wrote in 2016’s decision Murphy v. Guerrero. In 1983’s decision Minneapolis Star and Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue, Manglona noted, “the Supreme Court struck down a tax on newspaper ink and paper because it burdened the First Amendment freedom of the press.”

“The power to tax is not just the power to fund the government; it is the power to destroy,” Manglona continued. “And what the [government] cannot do by ban or regulation, it cannot do by taxation.”

[Source information: https://govtrackinsider.com/assault-weapons-excise-act-would-institute-1-000-excise-tax-on-assault-weapons-raising-prices-by-80958cd1a673 – Editor]

HR 8277 Conspiracy to Obstruct the Electoral Count Act (Ritchie Torres, D-NY, 3 pages).

To amend Title 18, United States Code, to impose criminal penalties on the President for engaging in actions to interfere with the determination of electoral votes in a presidential election, and for other purposes.

Mr. Torres needed to get his name printed in some tabloid circulating in Manhattan’s lower east side so he came up with a “nothing burger” of a bill based solely on prevarications.

+++ HR 8329 To require a public report on the military capabilities of China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia (Don Bacon, R-NE, text not yet available).

We need to know what we’re up against!

++++S 4528 A bill to establish a Government-wide approach to improving digital identity, and for other purposes (Kyrsten Sinema, D-AZ, text not yet available).

Imagine, if you will, a nation-wide system of facial recognition software that tracks the time, date, and location every time you exit your dwelling. This link gives the reader some idea of what the passage of Ms. Sinema’s bill means to your freedom and right to privacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

HR 7025 Advancing Human Rights-Centered International Conservation Act of 2022 (Raul Grijalva, D-AZ, 14 pages).

To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from funding entities that commit, fund, or support gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes.

This is a “good” bill but not for the reasons Mr. Grijalva has intended. In truth, a rational Citizen would find it difficult to understand why the US Fish & Wildlife Service should ever provide funding to a foreign country. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is, after all, a bureau of the Department of Interior.

This bill passed by a vote of 379/43 and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration.

HR 8472 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit employers from paying employees in the garment industry by piece rate, to require manufacturers and contractors in the garment industry to register with the Department of Labor, and for other purposes (Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, text not yet available).

Ms. Maloney’s bill will be well-received by the garment industry trade union lobbyists as it relieves garment workers of the initiative to produce more goods in exchange for higher wages. Ultimately, this bill – if passed – will drive even more textile producers out of the United States and then, the rest of the taxpayers will be on the hook to support those who lost their jobs.

+++ HR 8464 To require certain agencies in the executive branch of the Federal government to conduct a study on duplicative functions, and for other purposes (Madison Cawthorn, R-NC, text not yet available).

This bill should have been enacted 100 years ago! Along with the typical waste, fraud, and abuse perpetrated by most government entities, there is a systemic trait where their stated “essential functions” and mission statements overlap, and this duplication wastes taxpayers’ dollars. The only (possible) fault with the bill is that it would not require audits to be conducted by independent auditors. Perhaps a phone call to our representatives might urge them to include such language.

HR 8460 & S 4582 To remove obstacles to the ability of law enforcement officers to enforce gun safety laws, and for other purposes (Donald Beyer, D-VA, and Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, respectively; text not yet available on these companion bills).

“Obstacles?” Do you mean things like the 2^nd and 4^th Amendments Mr. Beyer and Mr. Van Hollen? Why yes, I’ll be you do!

HR 8461 To prohibit agencies of the government from soliciting or entering into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the property or website of the agency or from using Federal funds to carry out activities directed under Executive Order 14019, and for other purposes (Ted Budd, R-NC, text not yet available).

S 4227 A bill to streamline the oil and gas permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes (John Hoeven, R-ND, 2 pages).

There are those who complain about the problems we face and there are those who do something to solve them. Senator Hoeven is the latter.

++HR 8393 Puerto Rico Status Act (Raul Grijalva, D-AZ, 58 pages)

To enable the people of Puerto Rico to choose a permanent, nonterritorial, fully self-governing political status for Puerto Rico and to provide for a transition to and the implementation of that permanent, nonterritorial, fully self-governing political status, and for other purposes.

In other words, Mr. Grijalva wants to keep sending BILLIONS of our tax dollars to the dysfunctional third-world style government of Puerto Rico, and take away all oversight over their decisions as to how they might use it. Way to go Mr. Grijalva, you’ve done much to illustrate why a Democrat should never be permitted to touch even one penny of the money you and your pals confiscate from American citizens!

HR 8152 American Data Privacy and Protection Act (Frank Pallone Jr. D-NJ, 119 pages).

To provide consumers with foundational data privacy rights, create strong oversight mechanisms, and establish meaningful enforcement.

++++HR 1808 Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 (David Ciciline, D-RI, 126 pages).

To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.

I cannot think of a polite comment to make about Mr. Ciciline’s bill.

+HR 7132 Safe Connections Act of 2022 (Ann Kuster, D-NH, 18 pages).

To preserve safe access to communications services for survivors of domestic violence, [trafficking,] and other crimes, and for other purposes.

So, basically, Ms. Keester is proposing to use an unspecified amount of tax dollars to provide smart phones to people who claim without showing proof that they have been the victims of unspecified threats or abuse (physical or mental), whether or not anyone has been charged with such an act against them.

++HR 1368 Mental Health Justice Act of 2021 (Katie Porter, D-CA, 8 pages).

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States and political subdivisions of States to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in emergencies involving one or more persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability, and for other purposes.

Fundamentally, Ms. Porter’s bill seeks to federalize the practices that have made today’s California such a . . . no, I’m not going to say it! What her bill proposes is to compel every law enforcement agency in the United States to hire a bunch of “Shrinks” (and “Assistant Shrinks”), to be dispatched when some nut case, or suspected nut case, goes off their meds and starts threatening, or causing, a ruckus.

So, picture this if you will: It’s three o’clock in the morning and 911 gets a call advising that “someone” is hacking people to death with a machete. Our girl Katie thinks sending a shrink to the scene whose mission it is to talk the “alleged (mentally) troubled person” out of killing more people is a viable option to summoning the SWAT Team, and letting the pros resolve the problem.

HR 8496 To prohibit the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General from cancelling student loans except as specifically authorized by law (Glenn Grothman, R-WI, text not yet available).

One of the current goals of the Democrats is to write off the $1.2 Trillion in student loans, and put the taxpayers on the hook for paying them back. This bill is intended to prevent the write off from happening.

++HR 8519 To promote competition in the area of digital energy management tools, enhance consumer access to electric energy and natural gas information, allow for the adoption of innovative products and services to help consumers manage their energy usage, and for other purposes (Peter Welch, D-VT, text not yet available).

Sometimes, when you read the purpose and text of a bill, it pays to consider the source. This is especially true when a bill is introduced by someone from the state of Vermont. Today, Mr. Welch proposes a bill to provide gadgetry that would enable energy users to constantly monitor their utility usage on the premise that the energy user would reduce their usage when the rate approaches a level that is too high. Tomorrow, Mr. Welch (or one of his fellow travelers), would introduce a bill requiring energy users to constantly monitor their utility usage, and impose a fine or imprisonment upon those who fail to do so. Can’t we all be trusted to just turn out the lights when we leave a room and close the windows and doors when the HVAC system is running?

S 4626 A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide loans to manufacturers of energy grid products and components (Marco Rubio, R-FL, text not yet available);

Crucial equipment used in our country’s electric grid – transformers, capacitors, insulators, etc. are no longer manufactured in the United States. Much of this equipment is manufactured in China. Should there occur a catastrophic event such as an electromagnetic pulse, or should relations with those countries that manufacture this equipment deteriorate, the security of the United States would be seriously jeopardized.

+++++S XXXX Inflation Reduction Act (Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin).

The bill has (apparently) not yet been numbered, however: according to a Democrat website, the stated purpose of the bill is as follows:

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will make a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030. The bill will also finally allow Medicare to negotiate for prescription drug prices and extend the expanded Affordable Care Act program for three years, through 2025.

The new proposal for the FY2022 Budget Reconciliation bill will invest approximately $300 billion in Deficit Reduction and $369 billion in Energy Security and Climate Change programs over the next ten years.

Additionally, the agreement calls for comprehensive Permitting reform legislation to be passed before the end of the fiscal year. Permitting reform is essential to unlocking domestic energy and transmission projects, which will lower costs for consumers and help us meet our long-term emissions goals.

https://www.democrats.senate.gov/inflation-reduction-act-one-page-summary

This bill is a regurgitation of the “Build Back Better” bill that was (thankfully) stricken down last year. However, it is still a bill that will wreak serious damage on our nation’s economy. The most egregious part of the bill is its utterly false premise: The Democrats are proposing to spend $700 Billion to . . . reduce inflation!

https://nypost.com/2022/07/28/democrats-high-spending-inflation-reduction-act-will-do-the-opposite/

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Have you ever noticed that when a Democrat introduces a bill for the purpose of “improving” something, it invariably imposes more government control over our lives and demands increases in the amount of taxes we pay?

RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY NEWS

The Rhea County Republican Party Monthly Meeting

The next meeting will be held on 11 August 2022, at 7:00 PM, at the Sheriff’s Training Center, 711 Eagle Lane, Evensville, TN 37323.

JOIN US & BRING A FRIEND!

Thank You Candidates

To all the candidates who have attended our various meetings and gatherings over the past months, THANK YOU for letting us hear your voices. We wish you the best in all your future endeavors and we hope you will become regular attendees to all our future meetings, gatherings, and events.

NOTE: Those wishing to read the Minutes from previous meetings may visit the Rhea County Republican website and click on the tab “Meeting Minutes.” – Editor

LAGNIAPPE

Brandon Lewis, CEO of The Tennessee Conservative, published an item on a matter closer to home. It seems those who run Chattanooga are all in on plunging a city that was once the world’s ninth largest producer of cast iron into the sewer of globalism. This is the ultimate fate of electing Liberals and grifters.

https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/chattanooga-agrees-to-adopt-world-economic-forums-smart-city-technology-roadmap/

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TODAY!

Regardless of where you live in the United States, you can find your elected representatives at any level of government by visiting the following link. Remember: While they might be fairly bright, none of them can read your mind, so it is your obligation as a citizen to express your thoughts (and to urge all your friends and family and like-minded folks to do the same!)

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

https://heritageaction.com/scorecard

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2019/house/ideology

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2010/02/26/the-most-conservative-and-most-liberal-members-of-congress

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Here’s a handy guide for Tennesseans in the 4^th Congressional District:

Joseph Robinette Biden (a.k.a. the “Big Guy”)

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C. 20500

Phone: (202) 456-1414

Fax: (202) 456-2461