Posted by vortican on 05/08/09

Congressman Rogers' has a good grip on the problems with massive spending, but I'm not completely convinced he understands the real issues.

May 5, 2009

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for contacting me and sharing your concerns regarding the staggering amount of spending flowing from Washington D.C. I appreciate you contacting me.

Like you, I know that the fiscal policies of Washington D.C. are out of control. Without question, President Bush, Republicans and Democrats in Congress spent too much money. However, in the past six months, through legislation such as the Wall Street "bailouts" and President Obama's budget, Congress has committed more of America's tax dollars than the equivalent cost of all of America's wars throughout the nation's history combined.

What does all this borrowing by the federal government mean for Michigan? Many experts believe it will lead to a "crowding out" of the credit market, meaning families and small businesses playing by the rules likely will have an even harder time getting a loan to buy a new home or car, start a new business or get a student loan. Experts tell us the unprecedented level of borrowing will increase inflation, making savings worth less and making everything from bread and milk to a new home more expensive.

The solutions to the economic crisis were not a stimulus and budget that shoves trillions of dollars out the door and piles massive debt on our children and grandchildren. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that President Obama's budget will force the U.S. to borrow $9.3 trillion. That equates to more than $120,000 per family of four, or 14 years worth of groceries for the same family. The U.S. will have to sell bonds, or issue IOU's, to nations like China and Saudi Arabia, effectively sentencing future generations to debtor's prison. In fact, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already traveled to China to make the case for the Communist government to continue buying U.S. debt.

These are serious times that call for serious work. Families all across our nation are doing more with less and being careful with their financial resources. It is irresponsible for Congress to turn around and borrow billions of dollars on plans that do not focus enough resources on jobs.

I know that fiscal sanity, lower taxes on small businesses and individuals and balanced budgets will lead to job creation. Please be assured that I will continue to advocate for these policies in Washington D.C.

Thank you again for contacting me regarding this issue. If you have any other questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Posted 05/29/10 Lets go Michigan Lansing, MI

Not so sure based on his past record. Another "politician" with his own agenda. Im not convinced he has the interest of his own state at heaart, just his family and bank account. NO more republicans or democrats. MICHIGAN DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE LIFETIME POLITICIANS. Thats whats gotten us to where we are now!

Posted by vortican on 05/08/09

Here is Congressman Rogers' reply on energy policy.  Although he's right about the President and Congress' plan, his is not much better.

May 5, 2009

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for contacting me regarding my recent efforts to create a clean energy economy in Michigan. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you on this important issue.

As you may know, Congress is now considering a "Cap and Tax" system that would place a new limit and tax on green house gases like carbon dioxide and trade them on Wall Street. From Michigan Congressman John Dingell, who called this plan ".a tax, a great big one" to President Obama who has said that cap and tax will cause electric rates to "skyrocket," there is a growing understanding that Cap and Tax plan will cause energy bills to rise and for manufacturing jobs to disappear. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, a cap and tax could cost Michigan as many as 121,000 jobs by 2030 and increase the price of gasoline as much as 141% and electricity by 177%. I believe a better choice is reduce green house gases by investing in new technology and innovation.

In Michigan we have the opportunity to take another path, and to lead America into a clean energy future. Michigan's best natural resource, her citizens, hold the most potential to lead into a clean energy economy. These efforts can be successful because they provide individuals with incentives to invest in clean energy, to save money by using better technology, and to take a job, a "green job," in a new clean energy economy.

That is why I support the following to reduce carbon emissions:

A cash for clunkers program that will get 2
million old cars off the road, and traded in for new, American made cars. Creating and saving 190,000 American auto industry jobs.

A new investment in nuclear energy which has zero emissions, creating over 70,000 new, permanent jobs.

New investment in wind, solar and hydroelectric power, creating over 200,000 jobs and producing at least 15% of our electricity from totally clean, renewable energy.

New tax credits so regular families can afford to install energy efficient windows, insulation and efficient appliances.

These efforts can be successful because they provide us all with incentives to invest in clean energy, to save money by using better technology, and to take a job, a "green job," in a new clean energy economy. Please know that I will never stop fighting for Michigan jobs.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity to contact you. Should
you have any questions or concerns in the future, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Posted 08/22/09 fred007 East Lansing, MI

I have asked Mike Rogers to publicly denounce Al Gore's global-warming hoax. In addition, I sent him the following commentary: "CO2 is not a poison gas. It is essential for life. If there were no CO2 in our atmosphere, we would run the risk of hyperventilation panic syndrome, or, worse, death from apnea (not breathing), which is how many of the victims of the 1918 flu died. They were given pure oxygen to breathe by mask. Doctors now have sense enough to add a little CO2 to the oxygen because it stimulates the respiratory centers in the brain stem. CO2 is nourishment for plant life. Greenhouses sometimes add CO2 to their air to increase crop yield. The CO2 content of the earth’s atmosphere has varied widely in the course of millions of years, compared with the tiny fluctuations that have been measured since the beginning of the Industrial Age. There is no scientific evidence that the raised levels of CO2 in the history of the earth has ever been other than beneficial to life forms. Global temperature fluctuations in the history of the earth are related to periodic alterations of temperatures on the surface of the sun, and have very little to do with the so-called “greenhouse gasses” added to the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Gore’s global warming hoax is beginning to peter out, as evidence suggests that we may be entering a new Ice Age. The Earth’s last GLOBAL WARMING AGE (about 1100 A.D.) made it possible to grow crops in thousands of acres of Greenland. How was that a harmful, man-made event? Other emissions from coal combustion, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, hydrocarbon distillates from coal tar, soot, traces of assorted minerals, and especially mercury, are relatively toxic. Coal is mainly an industrial fuel. Industries have been forced to ‘scrub’ emissions in the interest of public health, and that technology has room for improvement, naturally with an increase in production costs. Mercury, as toxic it can be for some people, is a ‘milder’ toxin for most people (according to research on the amalgam fillings for dental caries); in the history of medicine millions of people survived massive doses of it in the care of nineteenth century “scientific” doctors, perhaps with only a “little bit” of brain damage. Mercury ore miners used to get a little loopy before they began wearing masks. And the expression "Mad as a hatter" is related to mercury toxicity. I believe that a responsible politician should feel an obligation to oppose and counter dysinformation when it is fed to his constituents, instead of mindlessly going along with popular opinion like a disc-jockey. Our survival depends on that. The framers of our Constitution recognized this aspect of government by the people, for the people, and did the best they could to avoid ‘democratic’ empowerment of the clueless. We owe our future generations no less." Please speak out against the global-warming hoax.

Posted by vortican on 05/08/09

Here's Debbie's somewhat laughable response to my email about the federal budget.

May 5, 2009

Thank you . . .

. . for contacting me about the federal budget. I understand your concerns.

The middle class in America, and especially in Michigan, has suffered as a result of the economic policies of the last eight years. The Budget Resolution, passed by Congress, invests in America's future with job creation, energy independence, health care and education.

Every day, families are struggling to weather this economic crisis and still pay their energy bills, health care costs, and education expenses for their children. The federal budget is not unlike the budgets being written at kitchen tables all over America. It recognizes the difficult situation we find ourselves in and keeps our focus where it needs to be right now: on creating and protecting American jobs.

This budget calls for increased funding for job training, advanced manufacturing, and the infrastructure needed to support new and emerging technologies. It will also provide grants to revitalize closed plants, by repurposing that space and creating new jobs.

The budget also invests in one of our greatest national treasures, our Great Lakes. I worked to include $475 million to help fight invasive species, non-point pollution, and contaminated sediments. Cleaning up the Great Lakes is not just good for the environment, but will also generate up to $24 billion in long-term economic growth for our region and create good-paying jobs.

Finally, this budget helps hard-working Americans by cutting taxes by $764 billion over the next five years. This includes extending the 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts for Americans making less than $250,000 a year and extending the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief. This budget also includes estate tax reform, business tax relief and provides three years of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief.

I believe that the budget passed by Congress begins the process of rebuilding our economy and investing in America's future. As Congress continues to debate federal spending bills in the future, I will be sure to keep your strong views in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator

Posted 08/22/09 fred007 East Lansing, MI

from Fred007 That "Cash for Clunkers" is to be pronounced dead as of August 24, 2009, is good news. I wonder who, in the Obama heirarchy, endorsed that lame idea for inclusion in the Cap-and-Tax bill? Could approval have come from over Obama's head? It had to appeal to someone determined to wreck our national economy, as a great way to waste capital. Who, but a Trilateral, would find that idea appealing? Oh, the mindless Progressive Liberals, of course! I think Debbie Stabenow should take credit for the idea.

Posted by vortican on 04/08/09
Last updated 04/08/09

The precedent set by the TARP program has reverberated through all sectors of the economy and predictably, has had many unintended consequences. From the flawed premise that some companies are simply "too big to fail", politicians have opened up the floodgates for a massive infusion of government welfare into our economy. This shows no signs of ending and in fact is now being expanded. Not only did financial service companies, banks, and nvestment firms receive billions on the taxpayer dime, with no guarantee of repayment, but also automakers and key national industries. The justification for these bailouts of the Big Three were that these companies were critical to US infrastructure and that their descent into bankruptcy would cripple the US manufacturing sector. That may or may not be true, but the GM monster ceased to be purely an auto manufacturer long ago. GMAC finance claims to be the largest automobile insurer as measured by revenue, and is a financial services firm. When GMAC needed TARP money, it restructured into a bank holding company owned by Cerberus Capital Management. In January, GMAC was given $5B in bailout money by the US Dept. of Treasury, which it used to finance loans for car buyers. This is not included in the billions given to GM directly both before and after this money.

Clearly, lawmakers have been deliberately flexible with their interpretation of the kinds of companies which qualify for TARP money. Now, CNN reports that life insurers are next on the list of firms which are requesting bailouts. Treasury is reviewing the applications and may approve some from larger firms like Prudential and Hartford. Even if Treasury doesn't decide to open the TARP funds to life insurers, these firms could do exactly that GMAC did and restructure as bank holding companies to qualify. Already, several large life insurers are purchasing banks in order to start this process, which indicates that they are preparing for the any eventuality which would allow them to gain access to TARP bailout money. It seems as though Treasury doesn't mind if companies which don't qualify outright make acquisitions specifically for the purpose of receiving taxpayer dollars appropriated originally under the presumption that only the "most critical" financial institutions would receive these taxpayer-financed bailouts.

This disturbing trend is only confirming what many skeptical of corporate bailouts believed all along. Like most government programs, TARP has gone far beyond its original purpose and continues to expand. Loans to AIG, GMAC, and federal stimulus funds are simply steps on the road to a culture of corporatism and dependency on the government. The administration and Congress appear willing to expand government welfare to any sector of the economy, if they deem it crucial enough. Who knows what criteria they are using to determine the relative strength of these firms, or if there are any types of businesses which are off the table? There are more to these loans as well, since the government has no problem ousting CEOs and hijacking wage rates if they deem it appropriate to do so. When the government hands over taxpayer dollars to struggling businesses, it therefore becomes the de facto chairman of that corporation until the loans are repaid, regardless of whether those funds came with conditions or authority which has the force of law. Our leaders are willing to ignore the technicalities in how these funds are distributed and demand conditions later. Woe be to the corporate peons who refuse to play by the government's rules.

How much further will these bailouts go? Will they extend to any industry or business suffering under the weight of the economic trouble which the government caused in the first place? Soon, will automobile and home insurers also be recipients of TARP funds? The government has already made demands of automakers as to what kinds of cars they must produce and what their profitability plans must include in order to satisfy the lawmakers in Washington. These decisions are made by a select few men and women, most of whom have no experience in the particular industries to which they are loaning our money. The idea that the government could come up with a better plan than these companies themselves, or if it would even recognize a sound plan, is ludicrous. Yet still, hundreds of billions of dollars are lent to an expanding caste of businesses which become totally dependent on the US government to survive. Without officially nationalizing these companies, without officially dictating change, without officially making a decree, our government has taken control and demanded results, or place a death sentence upon them.

If this continues, the government will soon be in the business of determining what kinds of cars are available for purchase in the US, what kinds of insurance products are offered, and what payscales and wage rates will be like in these sectors. The federal government has granted itself the power to force out employees, rescind compensation unilaterally, and effectively save or destroy entire corporations. Every dollar loaned or given to these businesses is created by selling debt or printing money out of thin air, reducing the purchasing power of every dollar in the marketplace. As government power expands, our financial power retracts, and our debt grows. On the backs of this, the President and his congressional allies seize the opportunity to ram complex and far-reaching legislation on energy and healthcare which can transform this nation. They are trying to use procedural tricks like reconciliation to cut off debate so that the American people don't have the time or opportunity to analyze the likely consequences, cost, and possible side effects of these programs. The people are deprived of their right to transparent, open, and honest government. We are robbed of opportunity and choice as the government extends its hand further into the market and gobbles up financial titans with its bailout money, dumping the debt onto the citizens.

Paranoia is defined as baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others, or extreme, irrational distrust. There is more than enough evidence to support the conclusion that the bailout phenomenon will not only continue but expand. It is also obvious and all but acknowledged that opportunistic lawmakers are using the financial crisis to enact sweeping legislation as quickly and with as little debate as possible. We are poised for a dramatic restructuring of the entire US economy, and deeper government involvement at every level. This was not what was originally stated by the previous administration, nor the current, as the motivation or goals of TARP. What TARP has become is akin to a legislative fishing pole, designed to reel in companies with the promise of temporary financial assistance and get in the government hooks. The feds make the decision whether to catch and release or fry the fish. Bankruptcy would devour the corporate pike cleanly, and deposit the bones for scavenger companies to pick up and reuse or leave to decompose, but apparently the federal government believes this is a rare breed, to be mounted on its wall. For years, the federal government has consumed much more resources than was necessary to sustain itself, and fattened its belly on the public trough. The conclusion to this analogy can only be a gluttonous government which becomes so fat, bloated, and unhealthy that it inevitably regurgitates the remains of the industries it has consumed, dissolved, or otherwise decimated, along with expunging the fecal matter of debt onto the plates of American taxpayers. Our menu choices are limited, prices get higher, and cover charges skyrocket as the power of our dollars diminishes, giving way to a massive smorgasboard of international regulation and a new super-dollar, which we will be forced to use if we want to eat.

If this is not stopped, for us, the days of a healthy and satisfying variety of affordable cuisine will be long gone, but the kings will feast on our bones.

Posted by vortican on 04/01/09

Barney Frank is at it again. As leader of the House Financial Services Committee, he presided over a vote which passed the Pay for Performance Act of 2009, which amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This act gives Secretary of Treasury powers to set standards for executive compensation and salaries for every employee in every company which receives or has received money from the government. This could apply to any bank which receives or has received TARP funds, or any other capital injection, including every financial services corporation which has done so thus far. In effect, it gives the government complete power to determine salaries and modify existing compensation agreements and prohibit corporations from paying their employees if it so chooses. This is under the complete discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury with no oversight to any other body in the federal government.

This a blatantly unconstitutional and therefore illegal act for the following reasons:

1) Congress is forbidden to do this by the US Constitution. Article I, Section 9 states:

"No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."

A Bill of Attainder is any law which targets a specific group or person with negative consequences. This bill directly targets a broad group of corporations and modifies their compensation agreements if judged to be excessive as defined by the government. It is also ex post facto because it examines an action done prior to passage of this legislation and makes it illegal. Since it applies to any company previously receiving government money, it is clearly ex post facto and therefore unconstitutional.

2) The federal government is not delegated the authority to modify private contracts. The Tenth Amendment states:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Beyond being obviously illegal, this is an attack on private industry and a power grab by the federal government. In its insidious attempts to further gain control of the financial system, the government has effectively nationalized these companies without having to take the step of codifying it into law. By controlling the compensation of employees, the government can force out any individual it wishes, exactly as it did to Rick Wagoner of GM. It is a clear violation of the employer-employee relationship and is so fascist in its philosophy that it can not be tolerated in a free society. Even beyond this, it's plainly vengeance on the part of the government, taking advantage of those who feel that AIG should somehow be punished for its role in causing economic instability. Certainly there are those who agree with this, but there is a clear problem with the government acting on these desires when there has been no crime committed, no trial, no judgment of guilt, but sentence handed down. AIG and its employees are presumed guilty until proven innocent. It is nearly inconceivable that we would tolerate such a targeted attack against a private business and those who work there. This outrageous and deplorable precedent must be stopped immediately.

Here is a link to both versions of the bill circulating the House.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1664:

Barney Frank and those on his committee who voted for this have graduated from arrogance and presupposition to outright thuggery. For this, he should be brought up on charges for violating his oath of office, removed from his House seat, and prohibited from holding any public office ever again. Individuals with so little respect for the citizens of this country, and the laws which govern them, are not individuals who should be representing anyone in our government. I strongly hope that President Obama will see this for what it is and totally and public reject this abomination before it ever crosses his desk.

Posted 04/01/09 cassandtim Vancouver, WA

Didn't know if you saw this clip of Neil Cavuto ripping Rep. Grayson (Chief sponsor of the bill). I especially enjoy Rep. Grayson's extensive citing of the Constitution. It's fairly obvious that he's clueless. For a good chuckle, check it out here: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITq19ezj_Xg[/url]

Posted 04/04/09 vortican Haslett, MI

Holy crap, dude. Great clip, Cavuto really nailed him and I've found him very fair in the past. I loved it when Grayson tried to tell him not to use profanity on the air when he said "damn." Guys like this are pathetic.

Posted 04/04/09 vortican Haslett, MI

Holy crap, dude. Great clip, Cavuto really nailed him and I've found him very fair in the past. I loved it when Grayson tried to tell him not to use profanity on the air when he said "damn." Guys like this are pathetic.