OpenCongress: "Climate Change Legislation May Hit the House This Week"

It may be time to contact our US Representatives to say "NO!" to the Waxman-Markey "Cap and Tax" Bill. Let them know that you will monitor them. According to OpenCongress: Cap and Tax May Hit the House This FRIDAY!

Back on May 18, the Heritage Foundation provided a great issue analysis (with great links) titled "Cap and Trade Energy = Zap and Fade Economy", explaining how Waxman-Marxey will

• Reduce aggregate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $9.6 trillion
  
• Destroy up to 2.5 million jobs in some years
  
• Raise electric rates 90%, gasoline prices by 74%, and natural gas prices by 55% after adjusting for inflation
  
• Raise a typical family’s average annual energy bill by $1,500

Like the Smoot-Hawley Tariiff Act, Waxman-Markey would undermine the US economy. Except this time, our trading partners won't retaliate. Instead,

"... China and India will be firing up coal-fired power plants, benefiting economically, while this nation regulates itself to death."

This from the American Thinker, June 22, "Economic downside of Waxman-Markey bill".

Seems that Collin Peterson (D-MN7) and other "farm state" representatives are trading coop exemptions and alcohol subsidies for their economic scruples, as noted in OpenCongress: "Climate Change Legislation ...".

This same OpenCongress article calls attention to the Sunlight Foundation's support of the "Read the Bill" resolution, H. Res. 554, Among its conditions would be a requirement that all bills to be posted online for 72 hours prior to consideration. Its sponsor is Rep. Brian Baird [D, WA-3]. Anything to slow the MADNESS!!

Also, the OpenCongress Waxman-Markey Bill dashboard has links to many good articles and blogs, though sources and voting skews to the Left.

Contact and Monitor the US House and Senate

Contact them:
View US House Members by State and/or Contact Them
View US Senators by State, etc. and/or Contact Them

Monitor bills they are considering:
"Thomas" Database at US Library of Congress. All sites below source heavily from Thomas.

See how they voted:
US House 2009 Roll Call Index
US Senate 2009 Roll Call Index

Analyze Votes and Bills:

US House Votes at Washington Post and US Senate Votes at Washington Post The Washington Post Votes Database slices and dices, grouping by Yes-No-Present, Zodiac, etc.

US Roll Call Votes at GovTrack has pie charts, cartograms, and other analytics. Bill tracking, research, blogging, and more at GovTrack.

US Bills at OpenCongress has dashboards of status, cross-references, news, and blogs. News, tracking, commentary, community at OpenCongress by the "Sunlight Foundation".

Barone: GOP should run against the power of the center

Michael Barone, senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner, suggests that the "GOP should run against the power of the center". Essentially, the GOP should not run to the center, only to become more centrist, but should lead and grow the naturally popular anti-centralization resistance.

"... Republicans today should be less interested in moving toward the center and more interested in running against the center. Here I mean a different “center,” not a midpoint on an opinion spectrum, but rather the centralized government institutions being created and strengthened every day. This is a center that is taking over functions fulfilled in a decentralized way by private individuals, firms and markets."

"... the original TARP package was passed largely with the votes of those in both parties with safe seats and not in political peril, and that everyone is assuming that Congress won’t vote any more TARP money anytime soon. It tells us that the voting public doesn’t like this stuff."

See the rest of the article at the Washington Examiner.

Mr. Barone moved from the left in his youth (even supporting George McGovern in 1972), to consistently right in his wisdom, as noted at Wikipedia. His analyses, often calmly meshing principles and poll results, may be helpful in moving others from voting wrong to voting right.

Mr. Barone is co-author of The Almanac of American Politics 2008. He now writes daily columns for the Washington Examiner and wrote for 18 years as political analyst for U.S. News and World Report, apparently archived at WJR. He is also a Resident Fellow at AEI, the American Enterprise Institute.

Star Parker: Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation

Star Parker is a conservative columnist and former welfare recipient. This gives her a unique perspective on the "unintended consequences" of socialistic policies, despite their "good intentions". She has characterized the US welfare system as "Uncle Sam's Plantation".

From her Feb. 2009 column "Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation":

"Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems. The kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others. ...

"Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

"Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, 'Thank you, Suh.'"

Her columns are archived at Star Parker at Townhall, Star Parker at WorldNetDaily, or her at own 501c3 org, Star Parker at Cure.

Exit Or Extension?

Like many of my fellow Minnesota conservatives I haven't always been a wholehearted supporter of Governor Pawlenty over the years. But as I listened to his press conference this afternoon--where he announced that he will not seek a third term as governor--I was again reminded of some of his finer characteristics.

He was at times funny, folksy, humble, down-to-earth, witty, and for a politician refreshingly honest (at least except for the details on his future plans). He was also passionate, pragmatic, and even poignant in measured doses. And for the first time that I can recall, he sounded confident in referencing (again with little detail) his vision for the state moving forward in fast-changing times. In brief and broad outlines, he seemed to be hinting at a much different future from what the DFL or even President Obama has in mind.

The performance demonstrated again the qualities that made Pawlenty such an appealing candidate for governor in the first place, ones that may serve him well if he elects to seek national office. Besides how can you not like a guy who references hockey as much as he does? Even if he does sound like a bit of a puck hog..

New Taxpayer Watchdog Marks New Golden Hydrant

"(Tax)Man Bites, according to (Watch)Dog".

The Hennepin County Public Works building in Medina has a new $900,000 set of solar panels. Instead of being truly green, they're just another line item in the red for taxpayers. They're advertised to save only $15,000 per year in energy costs. So, by a simple value estimate, they should pay for themselves in 60 years, by about 2070. This is a Math Problem.

Jeff Johnson, the new, apparently conservative member of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners (map) has identified this "Solar Silliness" as another "Golden Hydrant" for his "Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog" website. He quotes a civil servant as indicating that the project isn't "all about the bottom line". Sounds like someone spending OPM!!*

What factors are ignored in Commissioner Johnson's simple value estimate for the solar panels? The most significant factors are (1) likely increases in energy saving, (2) money opportunity costs (mostly inflation and interest for spending OPM* prematurely), (3) depreciation, and (4) insurance.† The money costs will amply cancel the energy savings, as time has shown and will undoubtedly show again.

That leaves depreciation (3) as probably the most significant factor to improve the value estimate for the solar panels. Having no warranty for the panels in hand, we must rely on conservative industry estimates for "solar panel lifetime" of 30 years. It's easy math to see that in 30 years the taxpayer will still be about $450,000 in the red for this set of worn-out solar panels.

Finally, what fool would give Hennepin County a good deal on (4) insurance for a depreciating asset that will be worthless half-way to break-even? Only the taxpayer ... or a civil servant spending OPM.*

*OPM: "Other People's Money"
† Thanks to our own SD44 Co-Chair Glyde Burdick, Jr.

Memorial Day

A couple of pictures from this year's Memorial Day event at the Veteran's Memorial Amphitheater in St. Louis Park.