THE RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN

ADVANCING THE CONSERVATIVE CAUSE

Vol. 2 – No. 12 – February 2019

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR – REAGAN DAY DINNER – APRIL 13, 2019

Will be held at the Rhea County High School.  Tennessee Speaker of the House, Glen Casada, will be the keynote speaker.  Tickets are on sale for $50 each or $225 for a table of six.

 

RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Keith Flatness, Chairman                                      Bitsy Gryder, Vice Chairman

Donna Taylor, Secretary                                         Larry Pendergrass, Treasurer

Linda Pendergrass, Vice Treasurer                      Marv Keener, Chaplain

Gary Drinkard, Parliamentarian                            Jim Murphy, PAC Chair

 

FEBRUARY MEETING

                                                    

The February meeting of the Rhea County Republican Party will be our annual Reorganization Meeting, and be held on Tuesday, February 12^th, at 6:00 PM, at the Rhea County Sheriff’s Training Center, 711 Eagle Ln, Evensville, TN.  Republicans will be voting to select new officers.  We look forward to seeing you there!

 

MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER MEETING

Chairman Keith Flatness called the December 6^th meeting of the Rhea County Republican Party to order at 7:00 PM.  Marvin Keener led the invocation and Joe Gryder led the pledge to our flag.

Secretary’s report was read by Donna Taylor.  The date of our last meeting was corrected in the minutes from November 11^th to November 1^st.  Joe Gryder moved to accept the minutes as corrected; Bitsy Gryder seconded the motion and the motion carried.

There was no Treasurer’s report due to the Treasurer’s absence.

PAC report:  No activity.  The balance in the PAC fund did not change.

ANNOUNCEMENTS –

• Rhea County had a very good voter turnout and the results from the November 6^th election were good. All four of our candidates received at least 62% of the vote.
• Senator Yager’s 25^th annual Chili Dinner on November 16^th at Roane State was well attended by RCRP members.
• Veterans were honored at the Veteran’s Day Salute hosted by The Herald News.
• A $600 check was presented to the Rhea County Sheriff’s Office for their Toys for Tots Christmas program.
• Marvin Keener was selected as the Grand Marshal for the Dayton Christmas Parade.

 

The Legislative Report was given by Kris Bancroft.

NEW BUSINESS –

Laura Travis reported that the State Republican Party is proposing closed primaries, according to the State Chairman, Scott Golden.

Plans for the Reagan Day Dinner are coming along.  Glen Casada is tentatively scheduled to be the keynote speaker.  Randy Ellis is going to be the auctioneer.  Still working on the caterer.  There is a conflict with the March 2^nd date and Joe Gryder is working on getting the date changed.

The Nominating Committee reported the following slate of officers for the 2019-2020 term.

 

Chairman                  Bitsy Gryder

Vice Chairman         Gary Drinkard

Secretary                   Laura Travis

Treasurer                   Larry Pendergrass

Vice Treasurer          Linda Pendergrass

 

Marvin Keener made the motion to accept the slate of officers as presented.  Laura Travis made the second.  The motion carried.

 

Keith appointed Laura to the Contest and Credentials Committee.

 

Chattanooga National Cemetery is soliciting donations for “Wreaths Across America.”  [This project is undertaken by various civic organizations to place wreaths on all graves in all National Cemeteries, each December – Editor]  Marvin Keener moved, seconded by Bitsy Gryder, that we donate $100 for them.  Motion carried.

 

Keith gave us his Joke of the Month.

 

Joe Gryder moved to adjourn, second by Gary Drinkard.

 

Donna Taylor, Secretary

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

Unless the people, through unified action, arise and take charge of their government, they will find their government has taken charge of them.  Independence and liberty will be gone, and the general public will find itself in a condition of servitude to an aggregation of organized and selfish interests. – Calvin Coolidge

 

 

BOOK OF THE MONTH

 

The Things That Matter Most, by Cal Thomas, was written back in 1994, but it is ever more relevant today than it was some 28 years ago.  Cal Thomas was awakened before any of us saw what was evolving in today’s society.  Now we realize matters have only gotten worse.  Cal Thomas warned us; he warned us of the demise of the traditional family, he illustrated how political correctness is a direct attack on free speech, he warned us of the debauchery of religious groups, he warned us that the growing drug culture would ultimately benefit the pharmaceutical industry – and so much more!

[We should have listened to you Cal, and we should have gotten busy!  Is it too late?  Only you can answer that question.  Find a copy of his book and read it.  Today!]

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

In times of change, the Patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated, and scorned.  When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot. – Mark Twain

 

 

COMMENTS FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES

 

Scott DesJarlais, US House of Representatives TN-4 provided the following comment:

 

“Weak border security and bad laws are causing a humanitarian crisis at the southern border and in our local communities. Erecting more effective physical barriers would prevent drug and human smuggling into the U.S. We need more border agents and ICE officers, too, but Democrats oppose a wall, a fence and even ICE itself. But over ninety percent of heroin crosses into the U.S. from Mexico, killing Americans, and cartels and gangs are also smuggling women and children. Illegal immigration is overwhelming our court system.

 

“In his Oval Office address, the President presented these clear facts, including his offers to sign legislation Democrats supported until he took office. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are now describing the most important issue confronting our country as a diversion and distraction. Tennesseans have been promised border security for years, and I’m 100 percent behind President Trump’s efforts to finally solve the problem.”

 

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Lieutenant Governor for the State of Tennessee announced that State Senator Ken Yager, Chairman of the Republican Caucus, has been appointed to serve on the Senate Finance Ways & Means Committee.

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

There is no difference between Communism and Socialism, except the means of achieving the same ultimate end:  Communism proposes to enslave men by force, Socialism, by vote.  It’s merely the difference between murder and suicide. – Ayn Rand

 

 

READERS ANNOUNCEMENTS & COMMENTS

 

This section is provided for our readers to make announcements about activities in their area or offer commentary on current events; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.  All comments are welcomed for so long as their substance can be verified via independent sources.  Please e-mail your announcements, comments, and opinions to pyrope84045@mypacks.net  – Editor.

 

Robin Smith, Tennessee House, District 26, commenting on HB 2315, a bill that ends state funding for “sanctuary cities” in Tennessee, shares the following:

Unlike California and other “sanctuary” states, Tennessee does not create an environment that welcomes illegal immigrants. Instead, Tennessee law protects the value of the citizenship of our great nation.

TN House Bill 2315 [Sponsored by Jay Dean Reedy (R-Dist. 74), and Dr. Mark Green (R-Dist. 22)], which will take effect . . . January [1^st], withholds state funding from local governments that enact “sanctuary policies,” including refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s attempts to verify individuals’ immigration status or to honor detainer requests made to jails and prisons to ensure someone remains behind bars until ICE can take custody.

Legal immigration works. Illegal immigration, whether by VISA overstays, crossing the southern border, etc., Tennesseans have spoken very clearly that legal immigration is the priority.

 

From a California School Teacher (shared by Ron Brown, a reader in Ascot Park, CA.)

As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title-1 school, meaning that its students average in the lower socio-economic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about are Compton, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where their students are protesting – these are also Title-1 schools.

Title-1 schools are on the free-breakfast and free-lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I’m not talking about a glass of milk and a roll. But a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make the Marriott proud.

The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (Our tax dollars at work!)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more have cell phones.

The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids (More of our tax dollars at work!)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department, or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything.

My budget was already substantial, but I ended up buying new computers for the Computer Learning Center, half of which, one month later, were carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (More and more of our tax dollars at work!)

I have had to intervene several times for young substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less than 3 months, who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them putas (whores) and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical care, free education, free food, free day care, etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled not only to be in this country, but also to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society, because they happen to like their gardener and/or housekeeper, and they like to pay less for tomatoes, I say spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the true costs. Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases, etc., etc., etc. For me, I’ll pay more for tomatoes.

Americans, we need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won’t have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by age 15, and that refuses to assimilate, plus an American culture that has become so weak and worried about “political correctness”, that we don’t have the will to do what is needed.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, share this with everyone you know including your Congressman and Senators.

Cheap labor? Isn’t that what the whole immigration issue is about? Business doesn’t want to pay a decent wage. Consumers don’t want expensive produce. Government will tell you “Americans don’t want the jobs”.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase “cheap labor” is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as “cheap labor”.

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an income tax return, he gets an “earned income credit”
of up to $3,200 free.  Also:

• He qualifies for Section-8 housing and subsidized rent;
• He qualifies for food stamps;
• He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care;
• His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school;
• He requires bilingual teachers and books;
• He qualifies for relief from high energy bills;
• If they are, or become aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI;
• Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare;
• He doesn’t worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowner’s insurance;
• Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material;
• He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits;
• Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his;
• The American taxpayers also pays for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
• Free Child Care (i.e., free babysitting from 6 AM – 6 PM)
• Free ‘mommy makeovers’ after having their children (includes: tummy tuck and breast lift.

 

Cheap labor? Yeah right! Wake up people!  These are the questions we should be addressing to the Presidential candidates for either party. We must take action or we will all go down the drain because a few don’t care.

And if you think this is bad, just wait until a Democrat becomes President and the redistribution of wealth becomes the norm in this ex-Democracy. The estimated annual cost now, for state, local and federal, is nearly $400 billion dollars a year.

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

In 100 years we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek in high school to teaching Remedial English in college. – Joseph Sobran

 

 

James Clarkson, a reader from Columbia, SC, President of RSM Energy, and an advocate for utility customers shares the following:

     It’s Time to Abolish the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

The purpose of state level utility regulation is to protect utilities from competition, assure [that they can] recover the cost of bad investments and allow domination of customers. The idea that utility regulators protect customers is completely wrong. Utility regulators protect the incumbent utilities.

If anyone ever doubted the true purpose of regulation the South Carolina Public Service Commission has offered solid proof.  In the worst decision ever made by the SC PSC the stockholders and bond holders have been favored over utility customers.  The SCANA Corporation made a huge mistake by trying to build a nuclear plant.  Customers should not be burdened by the mismanagement of SCANA.  Without the protection of regulation this huge debt could not be collected from electricity users.

In seeking approval to collect the billion-dollar debt SCANA said they would go bankrupt if they could not pass the cost of their mistakes on to the party least guilty of the financial debacle.  The PSC should have denied recovery of any cost for failed nuclear project and let nature take its course. Bankruptcy would have been a better choice.

Actually, we never needed a Public Service Commission in the first place.  City owned electric systems and electric cooperatives are not regulated by the PSC.  The Commissioners do whatever the General Assembly wants them to do.  So why bother with a middle-man PSC?

Some argue that utilities should not undergo bankruptcy like other businesses. The reason given is that default on utility debt would place restrictions on future borrowing and stock sales.  Actually, that would be a good thing if the proper parties had to bear the risk. Since the state regulators can’t stop bad investments by utilities, perhaps lenders and equity holders will enforce some market conditions on utility investments.

By eliminating exclusive territories for utilities and allowing competition to work, consumers would be much better off than depending on the phony protection of regulation.  The market is cruel regulator and severely punishes bad business decisions.  Let’s do away with this bastion of cronyism!

 

[If Jim’s observations on the SC PSC have a familiar ring to them it’s probably because you’ve realized your public utility operates pretty much the same way! – Editor]

 

Connie Rose-Straube, a reader from Kingston, IL offers the following observation:  0bama’s FBI did not break “rules” or “policies,” they broke laws.  They did not “make mistakes,” they committed crimes!

 

Joni Schmidt Hargrove, a reader from Montgomery County Tennessee shared the following:  This financial crisis is on the Democrats.  Remember our 401k when they controlled Congress?  I thank my President for the boom and will blame them if it busts. They always hurt the WORKING poor & middle class and also those who are retired who have WORKED. Key word, “work.”  Career politician Pelosi doesn’t worry about your 401k or social security because she gets her paycheck when she retires.  If the NEW Democrats in Congress really cared about the U.S. they would work with Trump, but all they want to do is cater to illegals, very rich (like them) and those who are generational welfare recipients.  I love my President, my Congressman Green, and Senator Blackburn. They must stand strong for the working poor and working middle class.  The Democrats stand for the very rich, illegals, refugees, and those who could work, but would not work tasting pies.

 

Pam Whitson, a reader from Chicagoland, IL offers the following:  Before you celebrate the legalization of marijuana, just know:  Nearly every state that has legalized it has also legislated that you lose your right to own a gun if you are prescribed it, or buy it recreationally.  Pot legalization is turning out to be a back-door way for the government to get you to give up your gun rights.  [A word to the wise is sufficient. – Editor]

 

Harrison Lapahie, a reader from Ship Rock, NM, offers the following:

In life, you are entitled to nothing. Want it? Then work hard to earn it!  That how life has been for me and most people. Want it? Then earn it!  Most will! Some do not [or cannot].

Pure Capitalism, you earn it! Life is good for the smart and creative. Most others will just have an average life. Bad luck for those who are mentally ill or physically handicap. It will be up to the good (churches, caring organizations, righteous people) to provide for the mentally or physically handicap.

Pure Communism, it doesn’t pay to work hard or be creative. It would seem that everyone will be provided the basic essentials to survive. On the other hand, those who are mentally ill, physically handicapped, or want to change the system, could be terminated. Only the bureaucrats will live a wealthy or good life.

What America has is mostly Capitalism, some Socialism. You want it! You still have to earn it! [but in today’s society, it’s starting to change to Socialism it seems] Socialism leads to Communism!

In my life time, former U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who ran for U.S. President as a Democratic Socialist, opened the tide to the current Socialism stream that is entering the current Democrat Party which may never be closed. Most Democrats, 60% of them, prefer Socialism over Capitalism. And it’s increasing strongly in California and in the Democrat leadership of today (2018-2019).

 

Rocky Silverman, a reader from Seattle, WA, brought to our attention news of President Trump’s to call a moratorium on the daily White House press conferences by sharing the President’s remarks:  “The reason Sarah Sanders is not going to the ‘podium’ much anymore is that the press covers her so rudely and inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press.  I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway!  Most will never cover us fairly & hence, the term, Fake News!”

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.  The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.  When half the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half will take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because someone else is going to get half of what they work for, that my dear friend is about the end of any nation.  You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. – Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931.

 

 

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

 

The purpose of the legislative report is to inform the reader about legislation that is currently under consideration that may have significant impact on our lives so the reader may analyze each bill’s content and become cognizant of what our representatives are proposing and (hopefully) become engaged in the process of offering their opinions – in support of or against – such legislation.  They won’t know what you think unless you tell them! – Editor

 

In Tennessee

 

Sen. Richard Briggs (R-District 7), has introduced a bill to criminalize consumption of raw milk

 

[To track bills in the State of Tennessee, you may wish to visit the following website. http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx…

Editor]                   

 

In Washington DC

 

S 3277 Space Frontier Act of 2018, (Cruz, R-TX, 56 pages), a bill to reduce regulatory burdens and streamline processes related to commercial space activities was passed in the Senate but failed to gain a 2/3 vote for passage in the House.  The bill can be introduced again.  (Scott DesJarlais voted to pass the bill.)

 

HR 4174 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policy Making Act of 2017, was passed by a vote of 356/17.  The bill addresses several recommendations from the final report issued by the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. Specifically, the bill

 

• Requires federal agencies to create evidence-building plans for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the programs, policies, and regulations of the agency;
• Establishes Chief Evaluation Officers to continually assess the coverage, quality, methods, consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance of the portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation activities of the agency; and
• Creates an advisory committee to study the Commission’s recommendation to create a National Secure Data Service.

 

The bill also incorporates the text of H.R. 1770, the OPEN Government Data Act, which requires open government data assets made available by federal agencies to be published as machine-readable data.

 

The bill has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration.

 

HR 695 Further Additional Appropriations Act of 2019, passed by a vote of 217/185, needing only a simple majority to pass, and has been forwarded to the Senate for a vote.  The bill is the vehicle for passage for government funding to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday, December 21, 2018. On December 19, the Senate passed this bill with provisions to fund the government through February 8, 2019. Subsequently, on December 20, the House added $5 billion in funding for a border wall, sending the bill back to the Senate.

 

Although most government agencies were already funded for fiscal year 2019, this bill would fund the remaining agencies for about seven weeks. According to the Senate appropriations committee, the bill would fund for that time:

 

• USDA, FDA
• Departments of Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Interior, Environment, State, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
• Programs related to science, financial services, and other agencies
• The National Flood Insurance Program
• The Violence Against Women Act
• The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• Immigration extensions (EB-5, E-Verify, Conrad 30 program for international medical school graduates, Special Immigrant Religious Workers program, and H2B returning worker authority for DHS)
• The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act
• Two expiring provisions of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act
• Medicaid Money-Follows-the-Person and Spousal Impoverishment, through March 31
• Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018

 

This bill has a complex history. Prior to the Senate’s December 19, 2018 vote, this bill was the vehicle for passage of a different government funding bill, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018, which would have funded the military through the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2018. The bill was not enacted in this form, however, and the military was given short-term funding through other legislation.

However, H.R. 695 began as a bill on an unrelated matter. It became the defense spending bill when the House voted on Jan. 30, 2018 to replace the bill’s text with the defense spending bill.

 

Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017.  This bill was originally the Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017. Our original summary, which was the Republican Policy Committee summary of the original bill, follows

 

H.R. 695 directs the Department of Justice to establish a program to allow organizations that provide services to youth, the elderly, and the disabled to obtain information from criminal background checks in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint database. Specifically, the legislation ensures these organizations have access to the FBI’s fingerprint searches in a timely and effective manner and protects privacy rights by ensuring that specific information of a criminal record is not disclosed without the explicit consent of the volunteer or employee.

 

Under current law, organizations in certain states that provide services to youth, the elderly, and the disabled have limited access to information from national criminal background checks. Currently, many organizations only have access to request state-level background check systems.

 

This legislation builds on the success of the PROTECT Act’s Child Safety Pilot which ran from 2003 until 2011. The pilot provided access to FBI fingerprint background checks for a variety of child-serving non-profits. The pilot conducted over 105,000 background checks and 6.2% of potential volunteers were found to have criminal records of concern – over 6,500 individuals. In addition, over 40% of individuals with criminal records of concern had crimes in states other than where they were applying to volunteer – meaning that only a nationwide check would have flagged these individuals’ criminal records. The criminal offenses among some of these applicants included convictions for criminal sexual conduct with a child, child endangerment, and manslaughter.

 

HR 7277 Taxpayer Act of 2018, (Jenkins, R-KA, 107 pages) amends the IRS Code of 1986 to “modernize and improve” the IRS.  The bill seems remiss in simplifying tax returns so that American taxpayers will have an easier task when filling out their tax form and the bill does nothing in the way of moving us toward a “Fair Tax.”

 

S 2896 Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018 was returned by the House of Representatives which made modifications.  The Senate passed the bill as modified and have sent it to the President for signature.  The bill responds to the question:  Should lobbyists be forced to reveal prior convictions, in order to advocate on behalf of clients with business before the government?

Context – Jack Abramoff was the most notorious lobbyist of the 2000s, exerting influence on the George W Bush White House.  He became a national name after being sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion and conspiracy, for crimes including scamming millions of dollars from a Native American tribe.

In 2016, Abramoff re-registered as a lobbyist working on behalf of a Romanian politician and the government of Congo. Although it was common knowledge that Abramoff had previously been convicted, the fact that he was not required to report this fact upon his lobbyist registration publicized the law’s omission.  (Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA))

What the bill does – The “JACK Act” [S. 2896] requires any lobbyist to disclose any previous conviction for any of the following crimes: “bribery, extortion, embezzlement, an illegal kickback, tax evasion, fraud, a conflict of interest, making a false statement, perjury, or money laundering.”

The full name is the “Justice Against Corruption on K Street” Act.  K Street is a Washington, D.C. street where many of the lobbying organizations are headquartered. It’s also an oblique reference to the first name of Jack Abramoff.

The bill was introduced in May by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA).

What supporters say – Supporters argue the bill would provide transparency about those people who are doing so much to influence and affect Congress and federal laws.

“This idea is simple: If you have been convicted of a felony like bribery, extortion, embezzlement or tax evasion, you should have to disclose that when registering to become a lobbyist,” Sen. Kennedy said in a press release “Corrupt lobbyists need to be brought into the sunlight, even if they’re wearing $6,000 suits.”

“Political leaders and businesses need to know the backgrounds of those who are trying to influence public policy,” Kennedy continued. “These corrupt lobbyists are the worst kind of swamp creatures and they need a one-way ticket out of Washington.”

What opponents say – Some skeptics doubt that the bill would pass constitutional muster. Lobbying is essentially the professionalization of activism, which is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, so any requirements on that profession should be considered with scrutiny.

“Why are you confident this will be constitutional? The reason I say this is any American citizen can be a lobbyist, [though] there are certain rules about when you have to register as one,” Chuck Todd asked Sen. Kennedy on MSNBC, “At one point do you think that the Supreme Court might say you’re actually getting in the way of a citizen’s right to lobby their government?”

 

HR 21 Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, otherwise known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019, (Lowey D-NY), was passed by a vote of 241/190.  This was a vote on the House Democrats bill to fund the Federal government until September, 2019.  The bill does NOT include funding for a southern border wall.  President Trump has stated that he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk without appropriations for border security.  Remarkably, seven Republicans supported the bill, they are:  Fred Upton (MI), Peter King (NY), Elise Stefanik (NY), John Katko (NY), Greg Walden (OR), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), and Will Hurd (TX).

 

H J Res 1 Making further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes, (Lowey DNY), passed by a vote of 239/192.  This was a vote on the Democrat’s continuing resolution to reopen DHS in the midst of a government shutdown.  The resolution does NOT contain funding for southern border security.  Remarkably, five Republicans supported the resolution, they are:  Chris Smith (NJ), Elise Stefanik (NY), John Katko (NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), and Will Hurd (TX).

 

HR 430 To extend the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance to needy families and related programs through June 30^th, 2019.  (May be cited as TANF Extension Act of 2019)  (Neal, D-MA, 2 pages)  Redistributes money from Social Security to provide for welfare recipients who may or may not be citizens of the United States.  This bill was introduced to Congress on 10 January 2019.  The bill was passed in the House of Representatives and forwarded to the Senate for consideration!

 

H J Res 30 Disapproving the President’s proposal to take an action relating to the application of certain sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation.  (Hoyer, D-MD, 4 pages).  In 2018, the House Intelligence Committee concluded there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election while the Senate Intelligence committee concluded the opposite. The chairs of each committee for the 116th Congress will continue to investigate. This House bill would require the reinstatement of sanctions against Russian individuals involved in 2016 election interference actions.  [And the witch hunt continues. – Editor]

 

HR 648 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019.  (Lowey, D-NY, 1103 pages).  This bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 234/180, with ten Republicans supporting the bill.  A House Joint Resolution (#28) was added to the bill and passed by a vote of 229/184, which diverts more tax dollars to various pet projects as a means to obtain support by those representatives who expressed some doubts as to whether they could support the bill.  [The federal budget process occurs in two stages:  appropriations and authorizations.  This is an appropriations bill, which sets overall spending limits by agency or program, typically for a single year.  This bill is in the first stages of the legislative process.  It was introduced to Congress on 17 January 2019.  It will typically be considered by Committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House of Representatives as a whole.  The total allocated budget cannot be determined until all funds are authorized and the budget is signed by the President. – Editor]

 

HR 56 Financial Technology Protection Act.  (Budd, R-NC, 11 pages).  This bill establishes an Independent Financial Technology Task Force to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, to provide rewards for information leading to convictions related to terrorist use of digital currencies, to establish a Fintech Leadership in Innovation and Financial Intelligence Program to encourage the development of tools and programs to combat terrorist and illicit use of digital currencies, and for other purposes.

 

HR 434 To Amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve the management and administration of the security clearance process throughout the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.  (Thompson, D-MS, 7 pages).  The title of this legislation is misleading in that it seems like a reasonable bill until one looks at   Subtitle B, Section 714 (a) (4), where DHS is required to indicate the “Demographic data, including data relating to race, sex, national origin, and disability, of each individual for whom eligibility for access to classified information was denied, suspended, revoked, or appealed, and the number of years that each such individual was eligible for access to such information.”  Clearly, Rep. Thompson’s objective is to require DHS to grant security clearances based on representative numbers from all demographic sectors, regardless of an individual’s ability to pass background checks.

 

HR 714 To reserve any amounts forfeited to the United States Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera (commonly known as “El Chapo”),or of any other felony convictions involving the transportation of controlled substances into the United States, for security measures along the Southern border, including the completion of a border wall.  (Brooks, R-AL, ___ pages).  This bill was introduced on 23 January 2019, and has been forwarded to the House Judiciary Committee.  A companion bill was introduced in the Senate, by Ted Cruz.

 

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER BREAKS RANKS WITH GOP
“The Washington Post reported that Tennessee’s senior U.S. Senator, Lamar Alexander, broke ranks with Republicans and voted for the Democratic bill.

“Alexander has said on social media he opposed the shutdown and was doing everything he could to end it.

“The Washington Post said the other Republicans who broke ranks and voted for the Democratic bill are Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.”

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

When you build a wall to keep people in; that’s a prison.  When you build a wall to keep people out; that’s an expression of sovereignty.  – Charles Krauthammer

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

People have a tendency to be hopeful.

 

Even when the chips are down and life has been handing us a raw deal, we tend to try to keep a positive attitude and hope for the best.

 

Hope can inspire people to motivate themselves and others to accomplish what many would have thought could never have been accomplished.  We learned this when Barack 0bama ran for president.  His mantra of “Hope and Change” resonated with voters across the country and vaulted a first term Senator with no meaningful accomplishments into the White House.

 

I didn’t like it, you didn’t like it, but it worked!  And there is nothing like success!

 

But false hope can make us vulnerable, and one of the great misguided hopes of today is displayed in the way hopeful people fall for false stories, generated by the purveyors of fake news.

 

When the topic of fake news is discussed among conservatives, most of us envision the straight-faced liars in the liberal media who promise the information they’re imparting will be THE evidence singular piece of evidence that will bring down the Trump administration once and for all.  When the lies are revealed for what they are – lies – we conservatives have a good laugh at the expense of “all those poor bug-eyed sycophantic, dimwitted liberals who believed such tripe.”

 

Unfortunately though, there is a Yin to every Yang.

 

The internet and social media are becoming filled with fake news stories that appeal to conservatives.  Over a span of a few hours, I counted six such fake news stories making claims along the lines of:  Enough data was recovered from Anthony Weiner’s laptop to send Hillary Clinton to jail for life.  New evidence has been discovered proving that Diane Feinstein has been an operative for the Chinese government for the past twenty years.  Barack 0bama and John Kerry will be charged with treason next week. It has been discovered that Robert Mueller had knowledge beforehand about the attacks on 9/11.  Our government is spewing poison into the atmosphere that will cause next year’s crops to fail.  The government dropped chemicals that caused the wildfires in California to spread like, well, wildfire.

 

Yes, these stories are tantalizing, but if any of these stories were true do you not believe that Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, or the few remaining conservative newspapers would not have been covering them wall-to-wall?

 

Too many of our well-intentioned friends have been duped by such stories and they have wasted countless hours of their time spreading them, which wasted countless hours of their friends’ time in refuting them.  This is time we conservatives might have used for nobler purposes.

 

We have all, on occasion, allowed ourselves to be embarrassed by touting some “news story” to our friends.  We blushed with embarrassment.  So, how can we avoid being duped?  It’s easy; just remember what you were told when you were a child:  Consider the source!  If the source does not merit your trust, take the story with a grain of salt.  If you think a story is plausible, do your own research.  Generally though, if a story sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  If a story intrigues you, look for other news stories on the same topic:  Sooner rather than later, if the story we hear is true, we will hear it or read it or see it mentioned in reliable and trustworthy media outlet.

 

If we conservatives are going to defeat the liberals, we have to be smarter than they are in every possible way.  Not falling for fake news items is one way we can outsmart the opposition.

 

Finally, we should take a good dose of cynicism at the start of each new adventure into the media.  We must realize that those who spread fake news are doing us a disservice in a couple of ways; they’re wasting our time in reading and sharing those stories along, they’re wasting the time of those to whom we send the fake news stories, and this causes our friends to waste their time in trying to verify those fake news stories they want to believe.

 

Meanwhile, the authors of those fake news stories are having a laugh at those who were naïve enough to take the bait.  Don’t be anyone’s fool.

 

 

LAGNIAPPE

 

Going after Our Food Supply

 

Kathleen Marquardt

Knoxville, TN

 

Yesterday, Tom DeWeese sent out a letter about the World Wildlife Fund and beef. It reads in part:

     The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the top three most powerful, radical, anti-free enterprise, UN environmental groups in the world.   And WWF has succeeded in taking over the American Cattle industry!
The WWF has forced cattlemen to follow radical Sustainable rules through the establishment of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. They are getting away with this industry grab because the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is now under the control of the World Wildlife Fund.
And the WWF’s Sustainable Roundtable now controls the beef packing industry which in turn controls the entire beef retail market. Cattlemen either toe the WWF dictates or are cut out of the industry.
That means cattlemen must follow massive regulations in order to produce American beef.
These rules ignore that fact that American cattlemen have always produced the highest grade of beef in the world – simply by using a process that has been used by their forefathers for generations.
The real result of these rules isn’t to produce a better beef product – but to destroy small producers and drive the industry to the massive corporate farms that can afford to play ball with the World Wildlife Fund.
Eventually, the WWF goal is to destroy the entire beef industry.
The World Wildlife Fund has openly stated its opposition to beef production. They insist that to “Save the Earth it is demanded that we change human consumption habits away from beef.” 
Here is what they said in a recent WWF report:
“Meat consumption is devastating some of the world’s most valuable and vulnerable regions, due to the vast amount of land needed to produce animal feed.”
This is the growing threat of Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development and its stated purpose to “reorganize human society.”
And this is how they do it – one industry at a time.

In 1992, I wrote the following article for Putting People First, an organization I founded to combat the lies and aims of the animal rights movement. Animal Rights is a false front; it is an attack on humans while pretending to care about animals. The leaders have no use for animals other than to change our culture and control our food supply. Many environmentalists and animal rightists go back and forth across the line that might separate them. For example, Paul Watson looked into the eye of a dying whale and saw that the whale “had pity for us.” Many ALF (Animal Liberation Front) ELF (Earth Liberation Front) members are the same people; terrorism on behalf of animals is as comfortable for them as on behalf of Gaia/mother earth.

 

“ANIMAL RIGHTS” HIDES UNDER ENVIRONMENTALISM

 

During the past two years, Putting People First has reported on arsons, bombings, and attempted murder by “animal rights” activists. Our exposure of their terrorism has helped awaken the public to the true agenda of what we call the animal cult. But as the morally bankrupt ideology of animalism has been exposed, its apologists have gone to ground, seeking cover under the more publicly acceptable guise of “environmentalism.”

Most members of Putting People First consider themselves environmentalists, because we support wise use and conservation, and oppose environmental destruction (just as we support animal welfare and oppose animal abuse).

However, we also oppose attempts to remove people from the natural equation. We believe that only man can use science, reason, and common sense to husband animals and other resources to the benefit of people, animals, and our common environment.  And the difference between conservation and “environmentalism” is no less than the difference between animal welfare and “animal rights.”

Jeremy Rifkin’s new vegetarian manifesto Beyond Beef hides its message behind a pseudo-environmentalist facade. The supposedly “mainstream” Chesapeake Bay Foundation shared the podium with PETA at “Vegetarian Expo ’92.” The radical Humane Society of the United States now calls its school-infiltration arm the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education. And the terrorist manual A Declaration of War by “Screaming Wolf’ is subtitled “Killing People to Save Animals and the Environment.”

I think the clearest example of the unity of environmentalism and animalism is the close relationship between the terrorist Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the “ecotage” group Earth First! These groups have been working together at least since 1987, when arsons at a California meat processing plant and livestock facility were claimed as joint ALF/Earth First! actions.

Since then, Earth First! Journal has published several laudatory articles about ALF, including one featuring Rod Coronado, the FBI’s leading suspect in several recent arsons. The March 1992 issue carried a terrorist “how-to” article with the ALF byline. The Journal is best known for trying to recruit “terminally ill AIDS patients” for “eco-kamikaze missions.”

Earth First! founder, David Foreman, is the former chief lobbyist for the Wilderness Society. He says, “Mankind could go extinct and I for one would not shed any tears.” Regarding the Ethiopian famine, Foreman gave this advice: “The worst thing we could do in Ethiopia is give aid . . . The best thing would be to just let nature seek its own balance, to let people there starve.”

“As radical environmentalists, we can see AIDS not as a problem, but as a necessary solution,” says Foreman. “AIDS is a good thing, because it will thin out the population,” he adds. “If the AIDS epidemic didn’t exist, radical environmentalists would have to invent one.” And indeed, Earth First! Journal has solicited donations toward the development of what it calls “a species-specific virus to wipe out the human race.”

Foreman’s magazine Wild Earth recently opined that, “phasing out the human race will solve every problem on Earth, social and environmental.” Foreman is not alone in this opinion. “Somewhere along the line — at about a million years ago, maybe half that — we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the earth,” writes David Graber, a biologist with the National Park Service. “Until such time as Homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along.”

Earth First! is best known for tree-spiking, although four of its leaders were recently convicted of conspiracy to sabotage a nuclear power plant in Arizona. Two Earth First! members, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, were seriously injured when a bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in Bari’s car in Oakland, California. B­ari and Cherney’s legal fees were paid by Greenpeace, on whose board sits Earth First! co-founder Michael Roselle.

Sierra Club lobbyist David Brower openly defends Earth First! saying, “They’re not terrorists. The real terrorists are the polluters, the despoilers.” Brower argues that childbearing should be “a punishable crime against society unless the parents hold a government license.” All potential parents, he says, should be “required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing.”

     According to Brower, “I founded Friends of the Earth to make the Sierra Club look reasonable. Then I founded the Earth Island Institute to make Friends of the Earth look reasonable. Earth First! now makes us look reasonable. We’re still waiting for someone to come along and make Earth First! look reasonable.”

Just as “animal rights” terrorists and their apologists infiltrated and took over many traditional animal welfare groups and local humane societies, so have anti-human “Greens” infiltrated and taken over many traditional conservation groups.

It is time to flush these varmints out. We have had great success educating the public about the difference between animal welfare and “animal rights.” Now it is time to educate them about the difference between conservation and “environmentalism.”

In 1992, the National Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) was run by true pioneers and American patriots. Like many organizations that represent meat, milk, circuses, rodeos, zoos, medical research, wool, leather, fur, silk, and pet ownership, the NCA has been co-opted, one way or the other, to turn its back on those who they represent; those who built and feed America.

As you can see, both animal rights and the so-called environmental movement are not friends of humans, animals, or the earth. But they are double-teaming us to take away our rights and freedoms.

 

 

 

 

 

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES

 

President Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. 20500 Phone:  (202) 456-1414 Fax:  (202) 456-2461 e-mail http://www.whitehouse.gov president@whitehouse.gov	U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander 455 Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 40 – Suite 2 Washington D.C. 20510 Phone:  (202) 244-4944 Fax:  (202) 228-3398 e-mail http://www.alexander.senate.gov http://alexander.senate.gov/contact.cfm
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn B40B Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone:  (202) 224-3344 Fax:  (202) 228-0566 *	U.S Representative Dr. Scott DesJarlais 2301 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone:  (202) 225-6831 Fax:  (202) 226-5172 e-mail http://desjarlais.house.gov
Governor Bill Lee Tennessee State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone:  (615) 741-2001 Fax:  (615) 532-9711 e-mail http://www.state.tn.us/governor	Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House https://www.speaker.gov/contact Link above provides all methods of contact.   Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact
State Representative Ron Travis 301 Sixth Avenue North Suite G-3 War Memorial Building Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone:  (615) 741-1450 Rep.ron.travis@capitol.tn.gov	State Senator Ken Yager 301 Sixth Avenue North Suite G-19 War Memorial Building Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone:  (615) 741-1449 Fax:  (615) 253-0237 sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov

 

* Nearly one month into her U.S. Senate term, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., still does not have a Senate email or Senate online contact form.  No email addresses or embedded contact forms are listed under her new Senate web page or her old page on the House of Representatives website.  A member of Blackburn’s staff said the issue appeared to stem from technical difficulties in the Senate Sergeant of Arms Office, which handles Senate information security and human resources, among its many roles. – Brittany Crocker, Knoxville News Sentinel.