There will be a New World Order
by Greg FarberFebruary 26, 2010
Jefferson to Monticello
by Greg FarberFebruary 26, 2010
“He, therefore, who is now against domestic manufacture, must be for reducing us either to dependence on that foreign nation, or to be clothed in skins, and to live like wild beasts in dens and caverns. I am not one of these; experience has taught me that manufactures are now as necessary to our independence as to our comfort; and if those who quote me as of a different opinion, will keep pace with me in purchasing nothing foreign where an equivalent of domestic fabric can be obtained, without regard to difference of price, it will not be our fault if we do not soon have a supply at home equal to our demand, and wrest that weapon of distress from the hand which has wielded it.” The Letters of Thomas Jefferson: 1743-1826. To Benjamin Austin Monticello, January 9, 1816
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” If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, and give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses;
And the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they do now, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains around the necks of our fellow sufferers;
And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on ’til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering…
And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.”
~Thomas Jefferson
Cabela’s Targeted by National Animal Rights Group
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 26, 2010
*Editor’s Note* This is the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance approach in addressing the actions of the fringe, extremist organization, Defenders of Wildlife, in lying about Cabela’s supporting “wolf-killing competitions”. My version was a bit different. I just call DOW “Pond Scum“. We each have our own style.
(Columbus) – One of the nation’s largest anti-hunting groups, Defenders of Wildlife, have taken aim at Cabela’s Inc. with a misguided and misleading public relations campaign designed to raise money to fund its efforts against outdoor sports.
According to an action alert posted by Defenders, the group accused Cabela’s of sponsoring three so-called “wolf-killing competitions” in Idaho. The group also attacked Cabela’s for the decision by the local paper in Sidney, Nebraska to not run an inflammatory ad against Cabela’s that Defenders had produced. It then went on to solicit funds to run the ad in other papers throughout the state.
The charges by Defenders are grossly misleading. Cabela’s did not sponsor any “wolf-killing” events. Rather, it provided $150 worth of products as a donation to the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife-Idaho organization. That group organized and conducted three local predator hunts in 2009. The hunts complied with all state and federal laws. Additionally, all available information indicates that no wolves were killed during the hunts.
Cabela’s has been a long-time supporter of legal hunting and fishing and has worked closely with state and federal wildlife agencies to conserve wildlife populations. They are renowned in the business world as a leader in conservation programs and ethic. By contrast, Defenders has been one of the leaders in an effort to keep the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population on the Endangered Species List despite the recovery of their population and reasonable management plans designed by state officials.
“Defenders of Wildlife is attempting to tarnish the reputation of one of the most wildlife conscious companies in the world,” said Bud Pidgeon, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance president and CEO. “Sportsmen should show their support by visiting a local Cabela’s and let them know that you appreciate their efforts and are not fooled by the antis’ propaganda.”
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MDIFW, Forest Landowners Endorse Deer Wintering Area Management Guidelines
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 26, 2010
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), along with Maine’s two leading associations representing forest landowners, have recently endorsed a set of Deer Wintering Area (DWA) Management Guidelines aimed at assisting forest landowners to enhance the quality of deer wintering area on their properties.
To survive the winter season, deer seek habitats with a combination of cover and food that minimizes net energy loss. As snow accumulates and temperature drops, deer spend more time in older conifer-dominated forest stands associated with watercourses and valleys, often returning to winter in the same locations year after year. These traditionally used areas are called deer wintering areas. Deer management in Maine involves a complex interaction of factors in addition to DWA management, such as winter severity, predation, and hunting regulations.
The guidelines were developed as a priority recommendation of the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force, which was convened in 2007 by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin in response to the public’s concerns about declining deer populations.
“Working together with landowners to develop these guidelines was a critical step in understanding landowner objectives, the winter habitat needs for deer and how the two can be compatible,” according to John Pratte, MDIFW Wildlife Management Section Supervisor. “Having these guidelines as common ground will facilitate the exchange of information between landowners and the Department. I am energized by the level of support from landowners and in the swiftness that some have demonstrated in adopting these.”
The Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC), which represents a majority of the large commercial timberland owners in Maine, and the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM), which represents a significant number of smaller woodlot owners, worked with the MDIFW to develop the guidelines through a series of field trips and meetings. The guidelines represent sound biological practices which are aimed to enhance the quality of deer wintering habitat in Maine. Although the guidelines are not intended to be mandatory for any landowner, MDIFW, MFPC, and SWOAM are all encouraging the adoption of these guidelines into landowner management plans wherever possible.
The guidelines focus on numerous considerations regarding the management of deer wintering areas: winter shelter; travel corridors; winter browse; spring and autumn food; and harvest timing.
“The process that landowners and the Department went through to develop these guidelines was healthy and collaborative, and created a much-needed open forum for discussing these issues,” said James Cote, Maine Forest Products Council Director of Communications. “Forest landowners in Maine have a strong record of wildlife stewardship, and we believe these guidelines appropriately balance the objectives of private landowners, as well as MDIFW.”
As a result of this process, the Maine Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee, of which the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is a member, also has decided to take a lead role in the process, and will be working with the Department to disseminate information to forest practitioners such as loggers and landowners, and develop collaborative training opportunities in the months to come.
The guidelines can be found on all three of the organizations websites:
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: www.mefishwildlife.com
Maine Forest Products Council: www.maineforest.org
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine: www.swoam.org
Sustainable Forestry Initiative: www.sfimaine.org
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Work Sometimes Feels So…..”Pressing”
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 26, 2010
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Black Leader Critical of NAACP Image Award for Van Jones
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 26, 2010
Washington, DC: The NAACP’s decision to bestow an Image Award on radical activist and former Obama Administration official Van Jones is drawing a stern rebuke from Mychal Massie, chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network.
“I understand that it’s their award and the NAACP can give it to whomever they want,” said Project 21′s Massie. “But an Image Award is supposed to be reserved for ‘outstanding achievement.’ Can they really justify Jones’ failed tenure in government and his continued wrong-headed views for such an honor? At this rate, I expect next year’s ceremony will honor Lil’ Wayne.”
Jones, a one-time self-avowed communist who was appointed the Obama Administration’s “green jobs” czar, left the White House in a storm of controversy in September 2009 after his radical beliefs (including past support of 9/11 conspiracy theories) and his vulgar comments about political opponents were reported in the media.
In a commentary justifying giving Jones an Image Award that posted on CNN.com, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous called Jones “an American treasure” who is “the most misunderstood man in America.”
Massie replied: “Contrary to what Jealous asserts, the real story pursuant to Van Jones is that not even the Obama White House could support his radicalism. They threw him under the bus late on a Saturday night.”
Jealous also wrote that Jones is “America’s champion for green jobs” and “Van is working to make sure that our country does not lose out to India, China or Germany in the green industrial race.”
“In this time of economic uncertainty, throwing our lot in with pipe dreams such as green jobs and cap-and-trade are suicide for the American worker,” noted Massie. “An analysis of Spain’s very aggressive green jobs program by Professor Gabriel Calzada of Madrid’s Juan Carlos University found that each green job created there came with a $774,000 price tag, destroyed 2.2 regular jobs in the process and still had only a ten percent chance of actually becoming permanent. The cap-and-trade emissions regulations the White House is still pursuing is estimated to destroy millions of jobs annually and dramatically reduce national and individual earnings. And this would be done unilaterally, guaranteeing America could not compete with India and China. Quite simply, the Jones agenda is economic suicide. This I understand.”
Brushing off Jones’ previous radicalism, Jealous justified the award by saying Americans “ultimately judge people on what they are doing today for tomorrow, not for what they did yesterday.” He cited the forgiveness of the late reformed segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace (D) and Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) for “having defended racist organizations.”
Massie responded: “Did Jealous forget that Byrd didn’t just defend racists but was a member and recruiter for the KKK? I also didn’t remember such forgiving attitudes toward Trent Lott, Don Imus and or conservative nominees to the Supreme Court in recent memory. This is all about the NAACP hitching its wagon to the political fringe and trying to make the best of what they must know in their hearts is a very bad thing.”
“There are black doctors, lawyers and captains of industry who are better suited to be held up as the best of black America,” said Project 21′s Massie. “Giving an Image Award to Van Jones is a disservice to the NAACP and to America.”
The NAACP Image Awards will be presented live on the Fox television network on February 26.
In 2004, Project 21 objected to the nomination of R. Kelly in the category of “outstanding album” at a time when he was facing charges of child pornography. The controversy led the NAACP to considering a morals clause for future nominees. Jones’ award is a special one separate from the entertainment-related process related to Kelly’s nomination.
David Martosko On Cam And Company Talking HSUS Lawsuit
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 25, 2010
The discussion in this video refers to the lawsuit described in this post.
Tom Remington
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Tiger Woods For President?
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 25, 2010
Open Air is guest hosted today by Joey “The Snake” Buttafucco, who tells us all about Tiger Woods’ qualifications to be President of the United States.
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Obama Health Plan Would Lead to Public Option
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 25, 2010
Report Concludes President Obama’s Health Proposal Would Lead to Public Option
Washington, D.C.: President Obama’s new health care plan will all but guarantee the elimination of private insurance and lead to a single payer government-run health care system, says a new report, “White House Health Care Plan Contains Back Door to a Public Option” by policy analyst Matt Patterson of the National Center For Public Policy Research.
Among the findings:
* The President’s plan would create a new federal agency charged with monitoring health insurers to make sure that proposed premium increases are not “unreasonable” or “unjustified.” This agency could compel private insurers to lower premiums, offer rebates or “take other actions to make premiums affordable.”
* The President’s plan would also dictate that health insurers cover those with pre-existing conditions and saddle them with billion in new taxes and fees.
* Health insurance is one of the least profitable industries America. In terms of profit margin, in 2009 it ranked a dismal 87th out of 215 industries; their overall profit margin was a mere 3.4 percent.
* The President’s proposed combination of new taxes and price controls would cause a wave of health insurer bankruptcies, devastating the industry and reducing health insurance options for consumers.
* Eventually, the shrinking pool of private insurers would force the government to enact a single payer system to provide the insurance that Congress mandates that all Americans have.
Patterson calls Obama’s ploy “breathtakingly audacious,” noting, “Far from being able to keep the plan you like, the President’s health care plan seems designed to make sure you end up with only one option for your health care – the government.”
“White House Health Care Plan Contains Back Door to a Public Option,” by Matt Patterson is available on the National Center For Public Policy Research website at http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA603.html.
CEO Challenged Over Cap-and-Trade Support
by Tom RemingtonFebruary 25, 2010
John Deere Executives Challenged Directly Over Company Support for Cap-and-Trade
Challenge Part of a Comprehensive “Pro-Liberty” Strategy to Combat CEOs Who Seek to Profit from Big Government
Washington, D.C.: John Deere executives were challenged at its annual stockholder meeting by representatives of the National Center for Public Policy Research Wednesday. The confrontation came over John Deere’s membership in the pro-cap-and-trade lobby group the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), and John Deere’s support for cap-and-trade legislation.
Tom Borelli, director of The National Center’s Free Enterprise Project, and Deneen Borelli, a full-time fellow of the National Center’s Project 21 leadership group for conservative African-Americans, asked John Deere CEO Samuel Allen to justify the company’s lobbying for climate restrictions that would hurt the company’s customers, stockholders, and the U.S. economic climate generally.
They also warned Allen that in light of new SEC guidance on disclosure of climate change-related risk, a failure to fully disclose the business risk of cap-and-trade legislation could expose the company to lawsuits.
Allen defended the company’s involvement, claiming farmers could benefit from cap-and-trade. (The Obama Administration argues farmers would benefit from federal government “allowance revenues” under cap-and-trade, while others, including the anti-cap-and-trade American Farm Bureau, say cap-and-trade “will mean higher fuel and fertilizer costs, which puts [U.S. farmers] at a competitive disadvantage in international markets with other countries that do not have similar carbon emission restrictions.”)
Deneen Borelli sees the risk of a “green bubble” even if some farmers were to profit from government emissions credits as the Obama Administration argues: “I’m outraged by Allen’s justification of the trading aspect of carbon credits where farmers could potentially benefit. Given our current economy, the last thing we need is to expose farmers and the country to another Wall Street risky derivatives trading scheme.”
Tom Borelli adds: “Allen dismissed the American Farm Bureau’s opposition to cap-and-trade by glibly saying other groups support the legislation. It’s a bad sign for investors when a CEO is so out of touch with his customer base.”
The Borellis have attended the stockholder meetings of other USCAP members, getting Caterpillar CEO James Owens to admit to his stockholders that his company had not done a cost-benefit analysis of the costs of cap-and-trade before lobbying for it.
The National Center for Public Policy Research in 2007 organized a letter signed by some 70 national organizations and prominent individuals, including a former U.S. attorney general, calling on Caterpillar to withdraw from USCAP.
Caterpillar withdrew from USCAP this year.
An audiotape of the Borellis’ questioning of General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt during GE’s 2009 annual stockholder meeting drew significant cable and print media coverage after GE cut off the microphone of Deneen Borelli and a likeminded questioner. In the hubhub that followed, LA Weekly reported that GE’s Immelt “personally issued a GE ban” on advertising with the parent company of the Hollywood Reporter, which had covered the stockholder meeting story extensively.
In an article published by FoxNews.com on Wednesday, Tom Borelli explained the National Center’s strategy in challenging these and other CEOs directly: “CEOs see big bucks in big government… Because CEOs can represent as much of a risk to liberty as elected officials, limited government advocates need a voice in the boardroom.”
