Happy 65th Birthday, U.S. Air Force

Today is the 65th birthday of the U.S. Air Force.

On July 26, 1947, while aboard the presidential C-54 aircraft, Sacred Cow, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, officially establishing the United States Air Force as a separate service under the National Military Establishment (renamed in 1949 the Department of Defense). The Act set out requirements for the Air Force that "it shall be organized, trained and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the air forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs of war."

On the same day he signed the National Security Act, President Truman signed Executive Order 9877 assigning the primary functions and responsibilities of the armed forces. The United States Air Force was charged to organize, train and equip air forces for air operations including joint operations; to gain and maintain general air superiority; to establish local air superiority where and as required; to develop a strategic air force and conduct strategic air reconnaissance operations; to provide airlift and support for airborne operations; to furnish air support to land and naval forces including support of occupation forces; and to provide air transport for the armed forces except as provided by the Navy for its own use.

Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force by Chief Justice Fred Vinson on Sept. 18, 1947, establishing the United States Air Force as truly an independent arm of the U.S. military.

President Obama sent along some birthday wishes of his own:

I send greetings to all those celebrating the 64th birthday of the United States Air Force.

As president, I have no greater honor than serving as commander in chief of the greatest force for peace and security the world has ever known. Performing their duties with impeccable gallantry and excellence, members of the United States Air Force embody the highest ideals of our nation.

Since America's earliest forays into flight, brave patriots have answered the call to defend our way of life from the skies above. Serving in times of war and peace, these guardians of freedom and justice have kept our people safe and strengthened our security at home. Our Airmen have also exemplified our spirit of compassion abroad, from bringing hope to a divided Berlin to aiding a recently devastated Japan.

Today, we pay special tribute to the 9/11 Generation -- the more than 5 million Americans who have worn the uniform over the past 10 years. These service members have contributed immeasurably to the excellence and professionalism of the United States Air Force. Tour after tour, they have borne the extraordinary burden of a decade of war. They have written their own remarkable chapter in the narrative of America's armed forces and earned a place among our greatest generations. It is with unending gratitude that we pledge to serve them and their families as well as they serve us.

On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you for your service. May God bless and protect you and your families, and may God bless the United States of America.

Signed,
President Barack Obama

My husband served in the USAF during the Vietnam war. The astronauts at NASA come from the USAF.

In January 1968, Helen O'Day became the first woman promoted to colonel in the USAF. She died this year at the age of 98 years old.

Our nation is grateful to all who serve.

Ted Cruz Wins Garland Tea Party Straw Poll

With a victorious 64.5%, Ted Cruz, Texas candidate for U.S. Senate won the Garland Tea Party straw poll taken on September 15, 2011. Compare this margin of victory against that of David Dewhurst at 1%.

The last straw poll of note was taken by the Kerrville Republican Women on August 19, 2011 and the results were similar:
Ted Cruz – 61% David Dewhurst – 2.7%

I compare the two candidates in the poll results because it is a common thought in Texas Republican politics, especially that of grass roots level politics, that the real battle is between Cruz and Dewhurst in the GOP U.S. Senate primary race.

It is to be noted that Lt. Governor Dewhurst did not attend the event. To date, he has missed nine such events despite being invited to all of them, along with the other candidates.

Ford Ad Blasts Auto Bail-Outs

Meet Chris, the American auto buyer featured on the latest Ford commercial. He has a message about the auto bail-outs for you:




He's not an actor. He is a Ford owner. Apparently, the story is that these are his own words.

Good ad.

Boehner: Trouble Not with Tea Party, But with GOP Establishment

Speaker John Boehner delivered a jobs speech at the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday morning.

In a speech at the Economic Club of Washington, Boehner prodded the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to set the groundwork for tax reform that would lower the corporate rate and close loopholes — the preferred GOP method for cleaning up the nation’s tax system. Tax increases, Boehner said, are not an option as they seek to close a gaping $14 trillion budget hole.

“The Joint Select Committee can tackle tax reform, and it should,” Boehner said. “It’s probably not realistic to think the Joint Committee could rewrite the tax code by Nov. 23. But it can certainly lay the groundwork by then for tax reform in the future that will enhance the environment for economic growth. The committee can develop principles for broad-based tax reform that will lower rates for individuals and corporations while closing deductions, credits, and special carveouts in our tax code. And I hope it will.”

The speaker also threw his weight behind entitlement reform, something that House Republicans did in their own budget, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee.

After delivering his jobs speech, Speaker Boehner answered questions from the audience. He is reported to have loosened up and enjoyed the give and take. Speaking about the 87 freshmen who are largely identified as Tea Partiers, Boehner said they are not the "headaches" that are portrayed media as such for him as Leader. He said, in fact, it is the longtime Republican Representatives that are a thorn in his side. "Nothing I do is ever good enough. I understand that. There's always some...They stir up problems. It's just to be expected."

That's the headline - Boehner works well with the Tea Party wing of the party. Despite the best efforts of the administration and the DNC to proclaim that it is the Tea Party freshmen who are throwing Boehner off the GOP agenda, Boehner refuses to play that game. This narrative is deliberately employed to divide the party. Boehner is a savvy negotiator and puts in the time to find the best solutions.

Boehner re-affirmed his belief that tax increases are off the table. He said that tax increases are jobs killers and the twelve person super committee is a jobs committee. He encourages them to be bolder than in their original parameters.

Congressional Oversight Investigations Begin on Solyndra Failure

Some $36 billion doled out of taxpayer money. A paltry 3500 jobs have resulted in green energy jobs. The Obama administration's shiny example of the future of green energy jobs? Solyndra.

Now that Solyndra has filed for bankruptcy and the House committees involved are holding hearings, what's the White House plan to cover for their epic failure here? Why, blame the Bush administration, of course.

It is true that the green energy initiative began during the Bush years. So, the cover-uppers are trying mightily to pin the blame on Bush.

In prepared testimony released ahead of the hearing before the House Energy and Commerce committee, the director of the Department of Energy's loans office, Jonathan Silver, emphasizes that the program that eventually granted a $535 million loan guarantee to the troubled firm was created during the Bush administration.

The problem with this defense is that now there is a trail of emails that clearly show that the Bush administration raised many red flags about the potential for success from Solyndra and slowed the process. It is clearly the Obama administration that took over upon taking office in 2009 and making it all about political photo ops.

Rep Cliff Stearns isn't having it.

But Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., chairman of the oversight subcommittee that is conducting the Solyndra investigation, said that there's a problem with that version of events. "In reality, on January 9, 2009 -- at the end of the Bush administration -- the DOE Credit Committee voted against offering a conditional commitment to Solyndra, saying that the deal was premature and questioning its underlying financial support," Stearns said in his opening statement. "Only after Obama took control, and the stimulus passed, was the Solyndra deal pushed through."

The emails point to the micro-managing from the White House in its desire to use Solyndra as political fodder in the push to funnel big bucks into green energy projects.

The company's solar panel factory was heralded as a centerpiece of the president's green energy plan -- billed as a way to jump start a promising new industry. And internal emails uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee that were shared exclusively with ABC News show the Obama administration was keenly monitoring the progress of the loan, even as analysts were voicing serious concerns about the risk involved.

Some of the 1100 employees who lost their jobs will no doubt have stories to tell the media now. One called into a radio talk show and voiced this opinion:

While we were out there, while we were building it – cause it is a half a billion dollar plant – everyone already knew that China had developed a more inexpensive way to manufacture these solar panels. Everyone knew that the plant wouldn’t work. But they still did it. They still built it.

That was spoken by a woman who described herself as low on the totem pole of the company, yet she knew what was going on.

The Treasury Department is opening an investigation into Solyndra, too. The loan was arranged for by the Energy Department but the Federal Financing Bank made the loan. That loan falls under the Treasury Department as the Federal Financing Bank is a government lending institution.

Chairman Upton(R-MI) expects to have testimony from Solyndra in hearings next week. On CNN's John King USA program, Upton responded to revelations that former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanel wanted to help speed up the OMB side of the process so that Vice President Biden could get press for the initiative on behalf of the administration.

Well, we've got now - you know, we tried to get the documentation early on. We scheduled hearings and the administration literally didn't show up. They promised us that they were going to provide documents. They never came.

Finally, we resorted to the last resort and that was a subpoena, and in mid-July we served a subpoena on the administration. It still took more than a month to get a lot of the stuff that was there. And as we're examining now a lot of the stuff that we finally got, we're now finding these e-mails that nobody knew about before.

So, we're going to see exactly where this takes us, how did this thing get approved, and how - who made the decision to restructure the loan so that, in fact, at the end of the day because they did go belly up, in direct contradiction to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, did someone make the decision to put the taxpayer last instead of first when they filed Chapter 11.

Was AttackWatch Meant To Be So Funny?

Here's the beauty of Twitter - a completely cynical move by a paranoid and desperate White House can be turned into a joke in no time. What began as a shockingly bad move into over the top damage control is now a fun game on Twitter.

By taking the idea presented by the White House, aka the Barack Obama re-election campaign, as a quick response exercise and giving it a hashtag on Twitter (#AttackWatch), conservatives are making great sport of it all.

"Get the Facts. Fight the Smears" is the mantra of the new campaign launched by the White House. You can follow it on Twitter - @AttackWatch - and you can go to the website, too. Beware though, you are being tracked as a visitor to the website. Remember, paranoia reigns supreme in this administration.

As the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, President Obama’s campaign team has set up a new Web site, AttackWatch.com, to challenge negative statements about the president made by Republican presidential candidates and conservatives.

Obama for America national field director Jeremy Bird told ABC News that the site’s goal is to offer “resources to fight back” against attacks. Mostly, that means fact checking statements from the likes of GOP presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Rick Perry and conservative commentator Glenn Beck and offering evidence to the contrary. The site is designed in bold red and black colors, and uses statements like “support the truth” and “fight the smears.”

This appears to be the first tweet: @AttackWatch:False allegations and smears about the President are only going to pick up as we get closer to next year's election.

There is something really creepy about this. The website is black and red, for a beginning. Ominous. Even the Washington Post notes the strange totalitarian move, more obvious than the "Fight the Smears" website during the 2008 campaign.

It’s safe to say that in its 24 hours of existence, Attack Watch has already backfired, becoming a tool for conservatives to use against Obama 2012. A tweet by conservative author Brad Thor summed it up: “Wow, not only are Obama & Co. incredibly thin-skinned, they're paranoid.”

Social media is a great equalizer.

"If You Love Me, You'll Help Me Pass This Bill"

"If you love me, you've got to help me pass this bill." That off-the- teleprompter remark was said by President Obama as he spoke in North Carolina about the jobs bill in a re-election campaign style event. Sadly, I am not joking.



I'm beginning to long for the days of Bill Clinton, if we are to be under the rule of a Democratic president. I thought he was self-obsessed. Now he's looking like a fairly humble man.

It is hard to imagine another president who would equate himself into absolutely every thought and action. The numbers are bad for President Obama and he is desperate for some love. From watching the video, it would appear the silly lemmings in the audience may have filled the vacuum for him today.

See, it's tough to be Barack Obama. The man who was not vetted properly by the press, the man with no executive experience either in politics or in business, the man who had no legislative success of his own, the man who voted "present" well over 100 times in the Illinois state legislature, is now finding himself in mightly lonely territory. A majority of Americans have no faith in the jobs bill President Obama recently presented to a joint session of Congress - another grand exercise of ego. So, he doesn't even have the bounce in the polls in his favor that presidents often get after a major speech.

That is the real problem. Barack Obama is accustomed to delivering speeches but not real policy. Americans are catching on.

The thin-skinned Barack Obama is incapable of following his own pleas. He beseeches politicians to perform in a bi-partisan manner, yet he is incapable of such behavior. He is incapable of delivering a speech or just some remarks without taking a shot at the opposition.

Barack Obama fancies himself a cerebral man. He employs Chicago style politics as his way of governing. If he were unable to use straw man arguments in speeches, he'd be mute. He is nothing without class warfare.

The days of chanting hope and change are long gone. The phony narrative about Barack Obama has faded into thin air. The ego is all that remains.

Ted Cruz Speaks to United Republicans of Harris County

It is important for a political candidate to have an actual record of walking the walk as he/she talks the talk. A proven record speaks louder than promises and proclamations of agreement with party principles. How many times have you listened to a politician say one thing only to act differently once he/she is in Congress?

Aren't we just plain tired of that?

Most candidates running for political office have an "issues" page on the campaign website. This is the place where a candidate repeats the same talking point assurances as all candidates do during speeches - for Republican candidates, it is an affirmation that they have a commitment to the Second Amendment, states rights, etc. The problem is, once this candidate gets to Washington, D.C. suddenly the strong backbone that was on the campaign trail transforms into that of a jellyfish in Congress.

You can go to www.tedcruz.org and find a different kind of website. Instead of an "issues" page, there is a "proven record" page. This is where Ted Cruz, running for U.S.Senate, actually points to proof of his political philosophy convictions. Fight for U.S. sovereignty? There's a link for that. Fighting voter fraud? There's a link for that, too. The page lists 15 different issues and the links take the reader to the document proving Cruz's record of working on that issue.

Ted Cruz is a happy warrior. He is calling for Republican voters to elect candidates who will be best prepared to stand up and lead the fight against the Obama agenda. He told a group of Republicans Tuesday evening that the next senator from Texas must be a fighter, a strong conservative. He said all too often the Republican response to the liberal agenda in Washington is "ready, aim, surrender". He said while that may be fine in some instances, "It's not fine right now."

While speaking of the audacity exhibited from President Obama as he blamed the Tea Party for the nation's near economic default, he said that was "like Charlie Sheen blaming his problems on the Betty Ford Clinic."

Of the recent jobs speech delivered by President Obama, Cruz said it was like Ground Hog Day. He explained his 12 step initiative for economic recovery. A video on this is taken from his website below:




A happy warrior with a proven record as a conservative fighting the good fight.

Sound good?

The Tea Party/CNN GOP Debate in Tampa

Some quick thoughts about the GOP Tea Party/CNN debate Monday night:

Rick Perry clearly has everyone unnerved as he was the man with the target on his back.

Mitt Romney held his own and enjoyed the rewards of the attacks on Perry by the others on the stage. He wasn't the clear winner but he definitely tied with Perry for that spot.

Newt is still the smartest guy on the stage. He continues to focus on attacking President Obama versus attacking other Republicans and that is always a crowd pleaser. Newt got in some well-deserved criticisms about GE and corporate taxes and Immelt's relationship with Obama. He also said he isn't concerned with Perry or Romney scaring voters over subjects like social security when Obama scares everyone every day.

Herman Cain cannot get over speaking in short, clipped sound bites. He sounds like a CEO giving marching orders to his team instead of fleshing out his ideas on any given subject.

Michele Bachmann is way down in the polls so she is determined to look tough on Governor Perry, her strongest competition for Tea Party votes. She obnoxiously pats herself on the back for taking the Tea Party movement as her own and it doesn't sit well with anyone but the most strident of Tea Partiers. If I were a member of the Tea Party I would be aggrevated that a politician was inserting herself proclaiming herself a leader in that movement. Plus she continues to point to legislation she co-sponsored yet has not been passed. It's repetitive and tiresome.

Jon Huntsman is a clear loser in this event. He made some really tasteless "jokes" at the expense of the others and he began to show a crack in the highly tanned emotionless face he normally presents.

Ron Paul is beginning to devolve into no man's land. It is clear he will hang in there until the bitter end yet he sounds excessively snarky and out of touch with what voters are looking for in a candidate. It would be hard to win a GOP primary bashing the country's "militarism" and proclaiming that the government has no role in anything at all. Extremism is not appealing from any side of the political landscape.

Rick Santorum comes off as swarmy. He won't last much longer and doesn't deserve to, as he hasn't risen to the challenge of his competition. He fails to explain how a candidate who lost his last statewide race so soundly could win at a national level.

Rick Perry was pounced on for his views on illegal immigrants and education in Texas. He was pummeled for his mistakes made during the HPV vaccine debachle with pre-teen girls.

Romney was taken to task over Romneycare again and some quotes from his book, especially after Romney went after Perry's quotes in his book.

The next GOP primary debate is scheduled for September 22.

Jobs Bill Nothing But Obama Tax Hikes

President Obama staged a campaign re-election scene in the Rose Garden Tuesday morning to announce he was submitting a jobs bill to Congress. That's right, a press conference to announce he was submitting a bill to Congress. You know, the jobs bill he has been demanding Congress pass immediately for days though he is only submitting the bill to Congress today.

Obama surrounded himself in the Rose Garden with "workers" to look upon him approvingly and nod at appropriate spots in the speech. Some were in jobs uniforms. Parts of the speech was almost verbatum of one issued in September 2009. No new ideas here folks, just move along.

Here is the letter President Obama sent to Congress on submitting his jobs bill. You can also read the bill there.

Remember this while Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, complain about Republicans in Congress - Republicans control one half of one third of the government. That is all. That is a fact.

Obama is offering up more of the same old same old and if Republicans don't fall in line behind it all, he has made it clear he will paint the GOP as partisan and uncooperative. So be it then.

In a sharp challenge to the GOP, President Barack Obama proposed paying for his costly new jobs plan Monday with tax hikes that Republicans have already rejected, and he accused them of political motives if they still refuse to go along.

"The only thing that's stopping it is politics," Obama declared.

The president's proposal drew criticism from House Speaker John Boehner, who'd previously responded in cautious but somewhat receptive tones to the $447 billion jobs plan made up of tax cuts and new spending that Obama first proposed in an address to Congress last Thursday.

"It would be fair to say this tax increase on job creators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past. We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn't appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said.

Then Obama went on to ask for politics to be kept out of the debate. Amusing if not so obnoxious. The Chicago pol who has politicized the White House to a level not seen in decades now wants to lecture others to keep politics out of passing this nothing burger of a jobs bill.

President Obama and his team in Washington have run out of ideas on turning around this economy so they are falling back on all they know - class warfare and raising taxes. You may notice that some of the targeted groups set to reap the benefits of increased federal spending are the same who received stimulus money in 2009 and have now run out of said monies. The state workers, teachers, etc who received tax money to keep their jobs, so we were told, are now still in danger of losing their jobs as that stimulus money runs out. Now the states are in the same spot they were in in 2009 and the stimulus money pumped in for a false sense of solvency is not there and didn't work as a long term solution.

Make no mistake, this is simply politics as usual for Barack Obama. He is desperate for some good news in the polls for his re-election bid.

And even as Obama was accusing Republicans of playing politics, he and his Democratic allies were marshaling an aggressive political response of their own.

Obama was traveling to Boehner's home state of Ohio Tuesday to promote his jobs plan, and following that with a trip Wednesday to North Carolina, a traditionally Republican state he won in 2008.

He was getting back-up from the Democratic National Committee, which announced a television ad campaign starting Monday to promote Obama's jobs plans in key swing and early-voting states and to call on voters to pressure their lawmakers for support. The ads urge viewers to "Read it. Fight for it. ... Pass the President's Jobs Plan."

The back-and-forth was taking on elements of a political campaign, with high stakes for both sides as Obama heads into his re-election fight with the economy stalled, unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent and polls showing deep public unhappiness with his leadership on the economy.

Tax hikes are not going to create jobs. It is time for a new leader with fresh ideas. Ideas that work.

On the Irrational Discontent with Jon Huntsman

I have been struggling with what exactly it is that sets conservatives into hissy fits over the candidacy of Jon Huntsman. Otherwise smart people suddenly speak of the man as though he were the lowest of creatures to walk the face of the earth. It just doesn't make sense.

Is he a Tea Party kind of guy? No, but he is a fiscal conservative which is what the Tea Party is suppose to represent. Is he a social conservative? Yes. He is pro-life, a Second Amendment advocate and a pro-family kind of guy. He and his wife are adoptive parents of children of color.

Has he made mistakes in office? Yes. Who hasn't? He says he was wrong to push cap and trade legislation in Utah and notes that it wasn't put into place. On climate change, I think most people will agree that human beings have at least a small part in it. Honest people will agree to that. No, not sole responsibility for climate change, not Al Gore hysterics for profiteering, just some common sense. To hear some speak, Jon Huntsman is Al Gore.

By serving in Barack Obama's administration as Ambassador to China, Huntsman picked up some valuable experience with an emerging world leader. He said he puts country over party. Isn't that what the Tea Party supporters say, too? Aren't they fond of saying that they are neither Republican or Democrats and they are willing to work against either party in elections?

I don't have any illusions that suddenly Jon Huntsman will take off in the polls and secure the nomination. I happen to think his positions are more Republican than others in the race and certainly more appealing than Romney. With Huntsman's health care reform in Utah, there was no individual mandate. There would be no comparison to Obamacare hanging over his head.

I just find it counter-productive to demonize one candidate over another in the primary season within the same party. It is important to move forward with a candidate that will win the election while holding most of the principles of the party. No one candidate will be 100%. It is hypocritical to look the other way for some candidates, whether it is Governor Perry's mistakes in office or Mitt Romney's while accusing others of making bigger mistakes, mistakes that cannot be forgiven.

It is interesting to me that those who demand private sector experience of their candidates now turn a blind eye to a candidate like Rick Perry who has none. He is a career politician, which is a no-no to most Tea Party folks, under normal circumstances.

The purists that could not find it in themselves to vote for John McCain in 2008 are responsible for the election of Barack Obama. These same conservatives knew that Obama was far worse for the country than McCain would have been, yet their own false sense of superiority as conservatives allowed them to put their own egos over the best interests of the country.

How's that hopey changey thing working out for you now? Let's pull together and pick the best person to beat Obama in 2012.

White House Bombards Press with Emails After Jobs Speech

A number of hours after the much anticipated jobs speech delivered by President Obama, a bit of reality is setting in.

Here is a response to the Obama speech by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. She takes his speech bullet points and explains a common sense Republican reasoning for agreeing or not with them.



The most incredible aspect of all this is that there is no bill on paper. Despite the constant demand by Obama during the speech to "pass the bill now", there is no bill to pass and he will only lay out how he plans for the bill to be paid for in a week or so.

The White House, aka the Obama re-election campaign, went into overdrive and sent out an unusually large number of "supportive" emails to journalists and news organizations. The supporters of the President's speech? Unions, liberal advocacy groups and politicans.

The White House Press Office sent nearly 50 e-mails to reporters overnight with statements of support from the president's allies, including The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Democratic lawmakers, The Center for American Progress, the mayor of San Francisco and members of Obama's own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Even the Obama cheering section, aka the American press, weren't amused.

The White House Press Office has vomited all over my inbox," wrote Talking Points Memo's Callie Schweitzer.

"White House Press Office says Malia and Sasha support Obama's jobs plan," cracked Washington Examiner opinion columnist Phil Klein.

Obama will travel to Ohio (swing state) to pump up support for the American Jobs bill. The problem? There is no bill. Nothing has been written down on paper. No soaring speech has been delivered on how this all is to be paid for by the taxpayers. Though Obama said over and over again that Congress must pass this bill immediately, there is no such bill.

It was just another speech from a guy running for re-election with really bad polling numbers.

Senator Cornyn's 9/11 Message

Live a life worthy of their sacrifice. A 9/11 message from Senator Cornyn:

On the Tenth Anniversary of September 11, 2001

Now is when we collectively verbalize reflections of our memories of the day our world changed - September 11, 2001. I think most of us reflect privately, personally, at other times throughout the year, each year, since that day. But this is when we all acknowledge our united, common experiences as our country was attacked.

Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite writers, wrote an interesting piece explaining that this is a grief we should not get over.

They tell us to get over it, they say to move on, and they mean it well: We can't bring an air of tragedy into the future. But I will never get over it. To get over it is to get over the guy who stayed behind on a high floor with his friend who was in a wheelchair. To get over it is to get over the woman by herself with the sign in the darkness: "America You Are Not Alone." To get over it is to get over the guys who ran into the fire and not away from the fire.

You've got to be loyal to pain sometimes to be loyal to the glory that came out of it.

And, she wrote of small things that stay in our memories that didn't seem so memorable at the time. I know exactly what she means. It is the small moments that stay with us as we try to move past those images of very tall buildings falling to the ground. Or of the poor souls jumping to their deaths from those buildings in utter desperation.

Various moments come to my memory from out of the blue, it seems.

I remember the mom who told me of the first plane hitting as we waited in our children's school's parking lot, seeing them off for a four day camping trip at Enchanted Rock - a part of their outdoor education cirriculm. She said, "we are a nation at war now." I thought she couldn't be right. I thought she was overstating the incident.

I remember shivering at the news that one plane left from Logan Airport in Boston, only hours after my husband left from that airport on a trip overseas.

I remember going to the school's library, where I was a regular volunteer, and sitting there for a few minutes to collect my thoughts and gather any information I could from other parents.

I remember one school library votunteer telling me that the school's internet capability for the library computers was shut off so the children wouldn't be exposed to it all yet.

I remember my walking into my house and my mom asking me, "have you heard?" and then we turned to the tv screen to see the second plane hit the World Trade Center tower.

I remember the scattered feeling as I thought of my husband in Hong Kong and my son on a bus with his classmates.

My son's bus was eventually turned around and the children arrived back in Houston that afternoon. I had to explain the day's events to him, why his trip was being postponed. He was in fifth grade.

I remember my husband calling from Hong Kong asking questions about what was happening. He was sleeping in a hotel on a layover and had been awakened by a collegue telling him to turn on CNN. He was leaving for S. Korea later that day to commission the rig that would be known as the Deepwater Horizon and its sister rig, the Nautilaus.

I remember the French newspaper headline - We Are All Americans Now.

I remember feeling numb. And horrified. And then crying for days. The human stories were unbearable. I subscribed to The New York Times for the series on the lives of the victims.

I remember seeing and hearing the military jets patroling the air space here in my city, Houston, and learning that this city was one that had been on the terrorists target list. It was a familar sight and sound for weeks afterwards.

I will never forget the gratitude I felt as I watched the Super Bowl half time show just a few short months after the events of Sept.11, 2001. U2 was the entertainment and Bono was singing "Beautiful Day". During that song, he opened his leather jacket and the lining was patterned after the American flag. I was awash with pride seeing that famous Irish man express his solidarity with Americans that day.

A few days ago, I read an article that proclaimed Bono would be a "proud American" on 9/11/11 as we reflect on the ten year anniversary of that awful day.

As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks draws near, U2 frontman Bono admits he's "a very proud American on 9/11."

He says "it's just too big a moment in all our lives. Even if you're not American, everyone became an American that day."

I may love him forever.

I am grateful for the leaders we had in place that day. President Bush, NYC Mayor Guiliani, especially, proved to be up to the task. The unity of people was a saving grace, for the bit of time it was in place.

Senator Cornyn Recognizes the Heroes of Sept 11, 2001

Recognizing The Heroes Among Us

By U.S. Sen. John Cornyn



On September 11, 2001, America experienced the worst terrorist attacks in our nation’s history. This year, we mark the 10th anniversary of that tragic day and remember the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives. As we join the families of the fallen to mourn for those we lost, we also pay tribute to the many who rose to the occasion that day—and since then—to protect their neighbors and defend the freedoms we hold dear.

I’m reminded of the wise words of former President Ronald Reagan, who said, "Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes—they just don't know where to look.” As Americans, we need only look to the thousands of men and women – the fire-fighters, first responders, service members and ordinary citizens – who risked their lives to save others on the day that changed our nation forever.

This call to duty was answered not only on September 11, but in the days following and throughout the past 10 years. In Texas, we’ve seen thousands of heroes answer the call of duty by serving in the military, joining the intelligence or law enforcement field, or becoming fire-fighters and first responders. These men and women have sacrificed daily to keep their fellow Texans safe – whether it has been on the front lines in Iraq or Afghanistan, or here at home, securing our schools, communities and businesses.

On this somber anniversary, I challenge all Texans to keep these heroes in your prayers – our troops, intelligence professionals, law enforcement officers, first responders, and all those who have dedicated their lives to keep us safe and free. They understand the sacrifices they and their families have to make. Let us never leave them in doubt of our gratitude.

Let us also remember those who lost loved ones on 9/11 and in the days that followed. Ten years may seem like a long time to many of us, but for others the memories are all too vivid –and the personal pain all too real.

Finally, the greatest honor we can give to those we lost is to live lives worthy of their sacrifice; to relish the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution; and to remember that our birthright includes the pursuit of happiness.

May God Bless Texas, and may God Bless America

Conservatives of Texas UT Chapter Honor Victims of 9/11/01

The Young Conservatives of Texas UT Chapter hopes that no one will forget the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. In keeping with their annual memorial, YCT-UT will be on the South Mall of the UT campus at 5:30 am on Saturday, September 10th to place American flags, one for each of the 2,977 victims of that days terror attacks.

Jenna White, Chairman of the UT chapter, explains why YCT chose to create the memorial and why Americans should never forget the events of that day: “On the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, it’s as important as ever to remember that day. I hope the memorial serves as a sober reminder to all students and passers-by of the people who lost their lives and of the heroism that first responders displayed when they sacrificed themselves to save the lives of people they would never know.”

All members of the UT community are invited to join in installing the memorial and are encouraged to come by the South Lawn to see it on Saturday and Sunday.

Kudos to young conservatives coming together and paying tribute to those lost on 9/11/01 in their community.

Obama Presents the American Jobs Act

The President asked to speak before a joint session of Congress so we were to believe that he had a serious and thoughtful plan for job creation and economic growth to lead us out of this mess we are in, right? So what happened?

Speech tidbits began to leak out to the press as the Obama re-election team working in the White House began to manage expectations. The important nugget emerging was that Team Obama was setting the GOP up so that if this plan isn't immediately acted upon, no matter however poorly written, then it is GOP obstructionism at work. See, Obama doesn't want politics in this thing, just his re-election.

After reading the speech transcript and listening to those pundits on panels after the speech, it is said by economists that the Obama plan might work somewhat if it was passed intact. Not enough to get the economy straightened out, though.

As Charles Krauthammer said of the speech, "This isn't a speech, it's a set up" to blame Congress - Republicans - when this fails miserably.

By Barack Obama bringing the theatrics of a joint session of Congress for this speech that could have been delivered anywhere and any time, he admits he has failed in previous stimulus actions. This will be the third round of stimulus spending. The first happened right after he took office in 2009, with a Democratically controlled House and Senate who rammed through the horrendous deficit exploding stimulus bill and then at the end of 2010 when he renewed Bush tax cuts.

Just two years ago, Barack Obama admitted that raising taxes in a recession is a really bad idea. So, Thursday night he called for raising taxes on the "millionaires and billionaires" he loves to target. He used the worn out example of Warren Buffett paying taxes at a lesser rate than does his secretary. The fact is, Buffett uses every loophole and tax shelter available just like everyone else does. If Buffett was truly serious about paying a "fairer" share of his wealth in taxes, then he can write a check any day to the U.S. Treasury, as can any taxpayer.

How about Barack Obama? He is a millionaire now and likes to say he doesn't need the tax breaks. Does he pay extra to be "more fair"? Of course not. They are huge hypocrites.

As John McCain said, "it's old wine in new bottles", this speech. And, he is making another speech in another week or so to tell us how he proposes we all pay for this agenda.

And, the White House stagecraft was magnificant - instead of a 45 minute speech which was orginally said this speech would be, the speech was only 33 minutes. The GOP didn't make a televised response to the speech, thinking that it would interfere with the beginning of the opening NFL game. No politician wants to interfere with football. So, the White House either lied about the speech length or simply manipulated the evening events so that the GOP didn't give a response. There was time, after all, for a televised GOP response before the big game.

Chicago style thuggery rears its ugly head again.

So, the venue was way too big for the substance of the speech. Some of the President's thoughts will be worked with by the GOP. The President has finally come around to the idea of extending more tax breaks to small businesses after 3 years of the GOP asking for it and they can come together on that. Everyone can agree that military veterans deserve breaks for jobs and employers should be able to hire them easily.

House Republicans have produced plans for job growth and economic recovery. Now the Senate GOP has, too. The Frontiers Plan is available. Now maybe the President will acknowledge that the GOP has been working on the economic troubles in this country all along, even as he says otherwise, and truly begin to work with them.

Otherwise it was all just another campaign speech from Barack Obama.

End Drilling Moratorium and Create Jobs, Mr. President

Tonight we will learn of the new jobs plan from President Obama as he addresses a joint session of Congress. I have a suggestion for him: Mr. President, if you want to create immediate jobs and promote our country's energy independence, end the backlog of useless paperwork and bureaucracy created under the guise of a oil and gas drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico.

HERE

is a simple explanation of the current environment faced in the oil and gas drilling industry trying to work in the Gulf of Mexico.



The President of the American Petroleum Institute is confident in the claim that lifting the moratorium will result in thousands of jobs and billions in revenue.

All he has to do is say the word and I promise you this industry will immediately go to work,” said API President Jack Gerard, speaking at an Energy Jobs Summit hosted Wednesday by the Hill newspaper.

Mr Gerard put forth some action that President Obama can take immediately.

Mr. Gerard outlined steps that President Obama can take on his own, without waiting for energy legislation to work its way through a gridlocked Congress. They include: an expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico; opening up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); allowing companies to tap reserves in some sections of the Rocky Mountains; and embracing the vast natural gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale, which stretches from upstate New York as far south as Kentucky and contains trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.

The bottom line is this - the moratorium hasn't been lifted because the oil and gas drilling companies have complied with the unnecessary burden of excessive paperwork and now the bureaucracy created to handle that excessive paperwork can't handle it at all. Government paper pushers are not a substitute for experts in the field.

If the Obama administration would stop trying to deliberately destroy the oil and gas drilling industry in our country the jobs creation and economic growth would be immediately felt. It's time for common sense, not strident and inefficient ideology.

GOP Debate at the Reagan Library

The winner of the GOP debate Wednesday night from the Reagan Library? Newt Gingrich. Why? The old, firey Newt emerged in addressing a question on health care. The moderator hoped for Newt to chose which was better - Gov Perry's Texas model or Gov Romney's Massachusetts model - and Newt wasn't having it. He quite firmly told the moderator he was not interested in helping the media force fights amongst the candidates. He said he was not interested in helping the media re-elect Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich said, "Whoever is the nominee, we are all committed to defeating Barack Obama".

Go HERE and watch.

His response was spot on.

Needless to say, the GOP debate from the Reagan Library was all about bashing Governor Perry, the new person on the stage. To hear the moderators - Brian Williams of NBC and John Harris of Politico - speak, the state of Texas is a hell hole inhabited by uneducated, poor, and uninsured people. Governor Perry did well by making a good showing. He is not known for strong debating skills and I was pleasantly surprised at how strong some of his answers were and of his willingness to take on Mitt Romney.

Romney and Perry were positioned standing next to each other. Both were prepared to go one on one with each other. It is clearly a two man race at this point. Governor Perry definitely held his own and that was all he needed to do as he introduced himself to the country.

Michele Bachmann is now a second tier candidate. Whatever rise in stock she experienced in early debates is clearly gone now. She is not ready to move from Congresswoman to President.

Ron Paul proved he is rapidly losing favor with just about everyone but the most ardent supporters. He comes off as the grumpy old man yelling at the neighborhood kids and it is grating, to say the least. His strong suit is on economics and even on this topic he sounded off Wednesday night.

Rick Santorum is a nuisance at this point. He is a one theme candidate on the social issues when the country clearly needs and wants fiscal issues to take the forefront. He comes off petulent.

Herman Cain had a good evening with some strong answers but still falls prey to using too many rehearsed lines. He talks in sound bites and that doesn't come off too well when a more relaxed manner is required.

Newt is still not going anywhere with his campaign but it is interesting to listen to his informative answers. He is the professor and he reminds us of why we like him. He's smart and he's patient enough to teach us.

Jon Huntsman was stronger than in the past but still falls short. He wants to be the smart diplomat up on the stage and sometimes he pulls that off. Other times he sounds out of touch and in his own bubble.

So, the final tally is in and its a tie. Both Romney and Perry came out on top. Romney because he looks presidential and kept cool as he was attacked from other candidates. Perry because he took the fight to Romney without hesitation - plus he tweaked Ron Paul over some Reagan remarks - and he held his own. That was all he had to do for his first debate appearance.

The next debate is just days away.

Cruz for Senate Campaign Releases 12 Step Economic Plan

The Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate campaign released today a Growth and Jobs Agenda

Note that the twelve steps of this agenda reflect a specific twelve steps to rehab a government bogged down with addictive spending. The first six steps are defensive - aimed at stopping the Obama war on jobs. The second six steps are proactive steps which will jumpstart the national economy and provide an environment friendly to job creation.

The federal government is addicted to regulation and spending. No domestic policy matters more than stopping the Obama administration’s war on jobs, and unleashing the private sector to create growth and new jobs.

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate, I propose twelve specific steps. The first six are defensive, stopping the Obama war on jobs, and the next six are pro-active, unleashing the private sector:

1. Repeal Obamacare. This administration, over the vocal opposition of a large majority of the American people, jammed through a 2,000-page bill that puts us on the path to government control of one sixth of the economy. If Obamacare stays in place, it will wreak havoc in the healthcare industry, reduce care levels, increase scarcity, and put government bureaucrats between patients and their doctors. And, the massive cost and uncertainty it has imposed on small business is crippling job creation. My first bill in the Senate will be to repeal every word of Obamacare.

2. Kill Cap and Trade. The Obama administration has relentlessly pushed, in cap and trade, the largest energy tax in history, which would take thousands of dollars from every family in America. Unable to pass it through Congress, the EPA is attempting to bypass Congress and force cap and trade on Americans by adopting back-door regulations. We must stop both efforts now.

3. Stop the National Labor Relations Board from Attacking Jobs in Right-to-Work States. Currently, the NLRB is trying to force Boeing to fire thousands of workers from its factory in Charleston because South Carolina is a right-to-work state. Incredibly, the NLRB’s position is that, if Boeing closed the plant and moved all the jobs overseas, that would be fine, but it cannot employ U.S. workers in manufacturing jobs unless they are subject to union bosses and pay mandatory union dues. This makes no sense, and must stop.

4. Revoke the Offshore Drilling Moratorium. The Obama Administration unilaterally imposed a blanket moratorium on drilling, which a federal court subsequently found was contrary to federal law. Nonetheless, a de facto administrative moratorium remains, killing thousands of high-paying jobs and hindering economic growth in Texas and the entire Gulf Coast. It’s time to end the moratorium.

5. Restrain Abusive Environmental Enforcement. Currently, the Obama Administration is using the alleged presence of a lizard to try to stop oil and gas exploration in West Texas. Even more ominously, the EPA has launched “investigations” into hydraulic fracturing, a long-used drilling process that has recently unlocked vast new reserves in both natural gas and oil. These new American energy reserves are poised to create countless new jobs and drastically reduce our dependence on foreign energy supplies. But if the Obama administration succeeds in banning hydraulic fracturing, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost and America will be left even more dependent on foreign dictators for our energy needs. We can and should vigilantly protect clean air and water while aggressively developing these new resources and new jobs.

6. Repeal Dodd-Frank. A law of massive complexity, Dodd-Frank does nothing to prevent future financial bailouts, but instead subjects the financial sector to costly new regulatory burdens — the cost of which invariably will be passed on to consumers. And its impact hits small community banks hardest. Reasonable government regulations are needed to protect the soundness and integrity of the marketplace, but they should not empower bureaucrats to micro-manage private sector institutions to the detriment of consumers.

7. Slash Corporate Tax Rates. Right now, U.S. corporations face the highest tax rate in the developed world, and they face double taxation if they invest their profits in America. As a result, American companies are today keeping over $2 trillion overseas. With over 25 million Americans out of a job, a tax policy that punishes new U.S. investments and factories is utterly nonsensical. We should cut corporate tax rates — to 15% immediately — to spur new investment and create new jobs in America.

8. Champion Tax Reform. The tax code is too complicated, the IRS too powerful, and lawyers and accountants too expensive. We should dramatically simplify the tax code and move as close as possible to a flat tax or to the Fair Tax.

9. Cut the Federal Budget and Reform Entitlements. Our federal budget is out of control, and broken entitlements are the largest portion of that budget. Under President Obama, federal debt has grown by over $4 trillion. At this pace, Obama will dump more debt on the American people than any other President in history. We need serious federal spending cuts — real cuts, not just decreases in the rate of growth — and fundamental entitlement reform to resolve the ever-growing debt crisis.

10. Rein in the Fed and Ensure Sound Money. Congress should pass Rep. Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve — so that it is subject to basic principles of accountability and transparency. We then should restrain the Fed’s “quantitative easing” — a fancy term for printing money — so that our currency isn’t further debased. Since 2008, gold has skyrocketed and the value of the dollar has plummeted creating a cruel tax on every consumer, saver, and investor. For long-term growth, we need sound money and a strong dollar.

11. Allow Small and Medium Companies To Opt out of Sarbanes-Oxley. Today, American businesses spend twice as much complying with needlessly burdensome regulations than they spend on income taxes. Complying with the audit requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley alone costs nearly $100,000 per business per year, a crushing burden for privately held startups seeking to go public. Since Sarbanes-Oxley, new listings on American stock exchanges have plummeted. We should at a minimum exempt small and medium-businesses from the unnecessary audit requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, to restore an historic pillar of America’s prosperity: access to affordable public capital to expand businesses and create jobs.

12. Pass a Strong Balanced Budget Amendment. President Obama knows that nothing will have a greater long-term impact on limiting the size of the federal government than a Balanced Budget Amendment — so he pledged to veto any attempt to pass one. In 2013, with a new Senate and a new President in the White House, passing a strong Balanced Budget Amendment — with strict spending limitations (18 percent of GDP) — is absolutely vital.

The Texas Senate primary is all about insuring the continuance of a free market economy in America.

Having been victorious in a bit of a sub-primary race earlier this year against Michael Williams, now running for a newly formed U.S.Congressional seat, the second phase of the campaign is now in place. A grassroots army has gathered in support of Ted Cruz and endorsements from most of the conservative leaders in Texas have been received. Nationally, Senator Jim DeMint has endorsed Ted Cruz, as have Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul.

To date, $1.8 million has been raised, which includes donations from all 50 states and 250 Texas cities, from about 3,000 donors. This is a race with national interest. A U.S. Senate with a Republican majority is a top priority for conservatives in 2012.

The campaign has a county leadership team in place which includes 101 counties in Texas with strong grassroots conservative support.

Dewhurst Releases New Video for Senate Campaign

Frequently heard in groups of Republicans talking about the U.S. Senate race is the question of where is David Dewhurst? He has not participated in the slew of forums as other candidates and his roll out of his announcement was criticized as boring and not much for capturing enthusiasm among potential supporters.

Today the Dewhurst for Senate campaign released its newest video.



It's a more interesting mix of Obama quips and a bit of Dewhurst's bio.

Note the Obama statement that "Texas has always been Republican". Wrong. But, no one ever said that Barack Obama was a student of American history.

Perry Returns to Texas to Monitor Wild Fire Response

With central Texas beset with quickly spreading wild fires, Governor Perry cancelled his participation in a forum in South Carolina for GOP Presidential candidates and returned to Texas.

Firefighters are struggling to contain more than a dozen wildfires sweeping through Texas, which have led to the death of a 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter as well as the destruction of at least 38 homes. More than 20,000 acres have been burned by the blazes fueled by drought conditions and wind systems sparked by Hurricane Irene.

Perry canceled the rest of his South Carolina schedule and withdrew from Monday’s Palmetto Freedom Forum, sponsored by the American Principles Project. Participants in the forum, which was scheduled to be broadcast on CNN, will appear on stage one at a time for a question-and-answer session with South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Robert George, the founder of the American Principles Project and a Princeton University professor.

“Gov. Perry’s first priority is to the people of Texas during this natural disaster,” Perry’s communications director, Ray Sullivan, said in a statement Monday. “The governor is in close communication with emergency operations officials regarding fires in Texas, including discussions with emergency management leaders over the weekend and this morning.”

Governor Perry urged caution from Texans.

“The wildfire situation in Texas is severe and all necessary state resources are being made available to protect lives and property,” Perry said in a statement. “I urge Texans to take extreme caution as we continue to see the devastating effects of sweeping wildfires impacting both rural and urban areas of the state.”

Palin Promotes Unity in New Hampshire

Sarah Palin continued on with her maybe I'm running and maybe I'm not running tour with another Tea Party rally appearance. This time it was in New Hampshire, an early voting state of great importance to Presidential candidates. Still no announcement for the crowd.

This is how Palin does it, this staying in the headlines. She is quite the pro at garnering press attention. More power to her, I say.

Sarah Palin rallied a Tea Party crowd here Monday with strong anti-Obama rhetoric, but denied them the thing many had come to hear.

“I appreciate your encouragement,” she said midway through her prepared remarks as the crowd broke into a chant of “Run, Sarah, run!”

She quickly returned to script, advocating what she called a “pro-growth agenda,” although pausing for a moment, in mid-sentence, as if the crowd’s message had made her think.

Later, she said she was “encouraged” by the number of candidates in the race and encouraged the crowd to see the candidates for themselves and not through “the filter of the media.”

It is commendable that Palin is calling for unity among conservatives - Tea Party and GOP alike - as it will take everyone working together to defeat Barack Obama in November 2012. That is the ultimate goal and everyone must rally around one candidate to accomplish that.

It should be noted that the conservative grassroots activist organization, FreedomWorks, organized a protest against Mitt Romney the day before. FreedomWorks has worked to co-op Tea Party groups as they gathered political clout. The organization is led by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a longtime politico.

The real question is this - if Palin decides to sit this race out as a candidate, will her most ardent supporters be able to rise above their disappointment and work to elect the GOP candidate?

Obama & Biden Use Labor Day to Declare War on GOP/Tea Party

It is beginning to be old news, really. Another rally with union supporters, another call to war against the GOP and Tea Party who oppose the Obama agenda. The President was in Detroit at a GM plant, touting the government rescue of the auto industry - though the results are clearly not complete yet. This event was billed by the White House as a non-campaign event so you know it was all about the campaign.

I guess President Obama and VP Biden don't understand that conservatives and Tea Party members work, too. Some even have to join a union to work. In the land of liberals, sweeping generalizations live on.

Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. took to the stage to declare war on the GOP/Tea Party and his fellow Teamsters cheered him on.

Hoffa declared war on opponents and told Barack Obama that the union members were his "army".

Hey, what ever happened to the new tone in politics? War on political opponents? Foul language against political opponents as speech content? That is the desperate tone of the left as they realize what deep trouble their agenda is in today, as the majority of Americans reject it.

President Obama spoke after Hoffa, Jr.'s declaration of war on opponents of the big union agenda. He was all about "shared prosperity" for those on the union benefits gravy train.

"Now, the fact is our economy is stronger when workers are getting paid good wages and good benefits. Our economy is stronger when we have broad-based growth and broad-based prosperity. That's what unions have always been about, shared prosperity," President Obama said to a union crowd in Detroit, Michigan.

And, Vice President Biden got the memo, too. He wanted to let the AFL-CIO know that Obama agenda opponents are no laughing matter.

In front of an audience of AFL-CIO members, Vice President Biden called those who oppose the Obama agenda "the barbarians at the gate". Nice, coming from the Vice President of the United States. He is suppose to be the Vice President of all of us, not just his own party. Sounds as though he has been around Barack Obama a bit too much lately, what with the hyper-partisan rhetoric he spouts to gin up the audience.



We'll remember in November 2012.

Leppert Presents an Economic Plan in Texas Senate Race

Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert recently released a strong, common sense conservative economic plan to take to the U.S.Senate, should he win the GOP primary race.



Here are some bullet points of his plan:

Institute Fundamental Tax Reform. America must reform its tax code. We need to simplify, flatten and broaden our tax code by having one low tax rate for everyone rather than targeting America's job creators with new taxes. Under my plan, families will face a reduced tax burden and will no longer be confronted with double and triple taxation on what they earn We must also reduce our corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the world. This has only served to push jobs overseas. And while big corporations find loopholes and lobby for favors, escaping taxes all together, small companies are hit hardest of all.

Allow America's Small Businesses To Grow. Helping small businesses jump start our economy is about more than ending the economic uncertainty created by Washington's proposed tax hikes. There are well over 150,000 pages of government regulations that hit businesses, both small and large. Small businesses, however, face 36% greater compliance costs or an average of $10,585 per employee. Congress should force government agencies to evaluate and roll back burdensome regulations that tie up businesses in compliance concerns rather than job creation. Agencies and government boards are changing the rules and working against the very people who are trying to get America moving. This must stop.

Give All Americans The Right To Work. Here in Texas, we give all workers the choice of whether they want to join in a union. In other states, that's not the case. They have forced unionization. Texas and 21 other states guarantee this right, and studies show these states have all seen stronger job growth, income growth and population growth than states that force workers to join unions as a prerequisite for employment. One economist found that 4.8 million people left their forced unionization states in favor of right-to-work states between 2000 and 2008. Further, we risk the continued loss of jobs overseas. Right-to-work states also have better-educated workforces, and even as healthcare coverage in other states dropped by 5.7% between 1999 and 2009, coverage in right-to-work states increased. We must pass this same right to work at the federal level, protect businesses and workers from the overreach of the NLRB, and repeal the Davis-Bacon Act to save taxpayer money.

Put American Energy First. Energy is one of the great strengths of Texas' economy, and this resource is vital for both our national security and national economy. We have some of the greatest energy resources in the world, but the federal government has held our country back from developing them, instead forcing us into dependency on foreign production. This must stop. We need to immediately open our domestic energy resources to production so we can bring down our energy costs and become energy independent. I believe we must expand the use of natural gas and end the drilling moratorium and restrictions that have held back production here at home.

Reduce The Role Of Government In Our Lives. My plan will get our fiscal house in order, and it directly confronts Washington's ballooning bureaucracy. I believe we have fundamentally mortgaged our future, and we must take immediate steps to cut our debt. I began my campaign for U.S. Senate by calling for two important reforms. First, I believe we must pass a Balanced Budget Amendment combined with a spending cap of 18% of GDP to prevent tax hikes. Second, we must institute zero-based budgeting for all federal departments. This would force agencies to justify why they need funding rather than sending them money every year, regardless of whether they need it, which is what Congress does now. We must repeal Obamacare, and I offer my proposals for reducing the costs of healthcare. My plan will also rein in the Federal Reserve, privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reform our welfare system, reduce the federal workforce, bring its outlandish taxpayer-funded benefits in line with those of the private sector, and institute term limits to replace career politicians with fresh faces.

Save Our Entitlement Programs. I will never shy away from any issue, even the so-called "third rail" of entitlement reform. Talk to any young person today, and they will tell you Social Security and Medicare won't be there for their generation. To preserve these vital programs, we first and foremost must not change anything for those ages 55 and older. These folks rely on their benefits and we've made a promise to them. But for younger workers, we need to provide Medicare subsidies for the purchase of certified private plans, raise the retirement age, encourage greater retirement savings, and launch an initiative of Personal Retirement Accounts to allow every American, not just the wealthy, to save and invest toward their retirement. Make no mistake—if we don't act now, these programs will go bankrupt. The simple fact in this debate is that people who oppose reform are the ones who want to destroy our entitlement system. The leaders calling for reform are the ones working to honor our commitment to seniors.

Most importantly, Leppert presents a solid plan for economic growth while stating that it is necessary to get beyond the finger pointing and state a plan. It is easy to blame President Obama and the past administration. It is easy to claim to be the challenger to the "establishment" GOP. The real test comes when the question is finally asked of all the candidates: What is your plan for economic recovery?

The GOP will win in November at all levels of government if we accept the challenge and offer voters real plans of action, not just complaints. Leppert is now leading the way in the arena.

Palin Speaks at Tea Party Rally in Indianola, Iowa

Will Sarah Palin decide to jump into the fray and declare a run for the GOP nomination for President? She claims she is still thinking about it.

Saturday a Tea Party rally in Indianola, Iowa provided a venue for a non-announcement speech before a large audience of Sarah Palin supporters. The audience braved a dreary rain before she took the stage to speak. The audience was said to have folks from across the country. They were clearly there for her.

As the keynote speaker, Palin knew what the audience wanted to hear. Lots of Tea Party rhetorical red meat was delivered. Palin hit on the themes of national despair, a national debt too high, crony capitalism, and saying no to the status quo. She noted the she was speaking on the three year anniversary of her speech accepting the nomination as the party's Vice President candidate.

Consistent with her 2008 message, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee reminded Americans today of the danger of politicians who follow a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do motto. Palin, whose record features persistent and successful efforts to tackle a corrupt political class, articulated the necessity of challenging the status quo in order to battle corruption and effectuate genuine reform. She shared the frustration of many Americans with regard to business as usual in D.C. Most importantly, she offered real solutions, including a plan that serves as a stark contrast to our president’s perpetual empty rhetoric: repeal Obamacare, uphold the Tenth Amendment, rein in overregulation, prioritize significant and legitimate spending cuts, cancel unused stimulus money, “own up to the debt challenge that is entitlement reform,” tap into our God-given energy resources and make America “the most attractive and competitive place to do business” by eliminating all federal corporate income tax, corporate welfare and loopholes.

There was no announcement that she was running for the GOP nomination.

She is a competitive person, though, and it is entirely possible that she is simply demanding that the current field keep on its toes.

Still, when asked by a member of the crowd what she thought about the current crop of GOP candidates, Palin replied: “Happy with the field of candidates, I always think that there’s room for more though because spirited debate and more competition will allow an even better discourse, a more rigorous discourse that the public deserves.”

I watched the speech as she delivered it on C-SPAN. Frankly, the pride I felt as a Republican woman when she delivered that speech before the Republican national convention three years ago has mellowed a great amount. I still smile when I remember her hockey mom joke. I supported her addition to the McCain ticket before he chose her. She was a fresh face, new blood, energetic and a fighter. She brought a badly needed infusion of enthusiasm from base of the GOP.

Her speech in Indianola Saturday, though, didn't capture my enthusiasm as it did for her audience there. It wasn't the best speech I have ever heard her deliver. I continue to think she will stay out of the race. I hope she does, anyway. This is not her race, not this year.

I welcome her continuation of support GOP candidates and Tea Party candidates. I hope she learned a bit from the failed Tea Party candidates who were clearly not up to the task. Supporting a candidate simply because that person is not the long time incumbent is a necessary lesson to learn. The candidate has to be electable.

Sarah Palin is now a wealthy woman. She is a known brand. She can draw large audiences and earn a very comfortable living for the foreseeable future with her large speaking fees. She can raise lots of money for the Republican party.

Soon we will know if she is a candidate. The sooner the better as she risks appearing as a bit too cute with the tease of running. This election is too important to appear less than serious.

Labor Dept Report Points to Crisis of Confidence

We have a crisis of confidence. The crisis of confidence is not only felt by the consumer but also by business executives. The ones making hiring and firing decisions are uncertain on how to proceed. The dismal jobs numbers from the Friday Labor Department report of August statistics is proof of the existing crisis.

The jobs report was the worst in a year.

The Labor Department released its August jobs report and the news was dismal, to understate it. For the first time since 1945 no new jobs were created. Zero. Doesn't get much worse than that. But wait, there's more - the last two month's jobs growth reports were revised down by thousands. This has definitely not been a summer of recovery, as last summer was dubbed. It also was not.

There is no doubt that the fruits of the stimulus plan put into place in Barack Obama's first year in office has now failed miserably. The money accepted by companies and states to hire and make payrolls has run out and now everyone is back to where everything was a year ago. The outlook is not bright with items from the President's anticipated speech coming forth - more stimulus money and more of the same.

President Obama headed off to Camp David for the Labor Day weekend - ironic, yes - without a peep to the press about the report findings. For the past few weeks he has been out in front of the jobs reports with attempts of silver lings and blaming Republicans for the nation's economic woes. So today's silent treatment from the President was a change of pace.

Maybe Team Obama is trying to downplay the high expectations they have promoted over the upcoming speech on job creation next week to be delivered before a joint session of Congress by President Obama. My playing coy about the plan, by going off to vacation on Martha's Vineyard and golfing for ten days as the jobs situation continued to spiral down, by repeating he would deliver a plan, he has built up unrealistic expectations. A run of the mill speech before Congress offering no specific actions, only vague 'hopes' and criticism of Republicans again will further produce a disgruntled public.

Though the Obama campaign strategy is to paint the GOP as the meanies who will not jump on the Obama economic train to nowhere, even DNC Chairwoman Rep Debbie Wasserman-Schultz admits that the Democrats "own" the economy.

We own the economy. We own the beginning of the turnaround and we want to make sure that we continue that pace of recovery, not go back to the policies of the past under the Bush administration that put us in the ditch in the first place,” Wasserman Schultz told Mike Allen at POLITICO’s ‘Playbook Breakfast.’

The economy, she said, “has turned around” since President Obama took office, with steady job growth evident even if the pace leaves something to be desired.

Speaker Boehner will deliver his own speech on job creation on September 15 at the Economic Club of Washington. It is noted that this is the same venue where Boehner spoke of the conditions necessary for his vote to raise the debt ceiling in May.

The fear of a double dip recession is real now. The economy is stagnate.

Maybe there is one bright note - Obama has asked the EPA to ease off its unrealistic air quality requirements until after the election in 2012. Convenient for him, sure, but still a bit of good news for companies who were facing the added expense of meeting unnecessary mandates.

Obama today said that he would oppose the regulations “at this time.” He went on to explain: “Work is already underway to update a 2006 review of the science that will result in the reconsideration of the ozone standard in 2013.” In other words, Obama still plans to pursue this disastrous regulation, but not until after the next election.

The dismal jobs report was just too much writing on the wall, it would appear.

“When someone finds himself trapped into a hole, the first step to getting out is to quit digging. On a day when the nation’s ghastly jobs picture has been captured in stark detail, President Obama’s withdrawal of the EPA’s draconian, costly, and unnecessary new ozone standard is a rare bit of good news.

“By the EPA’s own admission, the proposed ozone standard would have imposed costs as much as $90 billion – making it the most expensive environmental regulation to date. Organized labor, the business community, leading scientists, many states, and members of Congress from both parties sharply oppose this rule.

“Though this single action is welcome, Washington, D.C.'s, unelected federal bureaucrats continue to unleash an avalanche of more than 4,000 other job-killing rules that would undermine the nation’s electric power supply, increase energy prices, and send U.S. business and jobs to other countries. Most notably, the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule still threatens the stability of the Texas electricity grid next year.

Solyndra Takes Stimulus Money Before Filing for Bankruptcy

Once upon a time there was a big ole stimulus check delivered to a company in California called Solyndra. This company was held up as the role model for "investing" taxpayer monies into green energy development programs. That was way back in 2009. President Obama even made an appearance at the plant and touted it as the way forward for our energy needs in 2010.

Today it is 2011 and the company is set to file for bankruptcy. More than $500 million taxpayer dollars down the drain. Enter some oversight, thanks to the House Commerce Committee and the House Energy Committee. These investigations into the loss of taxpayer money have met resistance in the White House. Rep Fred Upton (R-MI) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) are leading the investigations in the House of Representatives.

“It is clear that Solyndra was a dubious investment,” Representatives Fred Upton of Michigan and Cliff Stearns, of Florida, said in a joint statement yesterday. The company “is just the latest casualty of the Obama administration’s failed stimulus.”

Turns out some large campaign money bundlers for Barack Obama are investors in the company. Investigations into the process of the stimulus money distribution for Solyndra show several people within the administration raised red flags on the viability of the company, even with the cash infusion of the stimulus money.

Here's a list of some lobbyists in the mix. Lots of revolving door profiles there.

The House Commerce Committee is continuing on with its investigation into the stimulus funding for Solyndra, a green energy company specializing in solar panel technology. Friday a letter was sent from the committee to counsel to the President.

The full text of the letter from the committee can be read HERE :

From the press release, a bit of background:

Commencing in February 2011, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has been investigating the Department of Energy’s $535 million loan guarantee that was awarded to Solyndra in the spring of 2009. Committee Democrats have continually refused to cooperate, instead protesting investigative efforts at every opportunity. The Committee was forced to issue a subpoena to the Obama OMB on July 14, 2011, for documents related to approving the Credit Subsidy Costs of all DOE loan guarantees. Every Democrat on the Oversight Subcommittee opposed issuing the subpoena.

Despite missing the subpoena’s July 22, 2011, deadline, OMB has since produced, and continues to produce, hundreds of pages of documents relating to the Solyndra loan guarantee and the restructuring of that agreement just this year. The Committee expects OMB’s continued and timely compliance with this subpoena.

The President stands by his cheerleading for the company:

“While we are disappointed by this particular outcome, we continue to believe the clean-energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said today in an e-mailed statement. Obama visited the Fremont, California-based company in May 2010, and said the U.S. was in competition with China and Germany for supremacy in renewable energy.

The Energy Department’s portfolio of dozens of other government-backed investments “continues to perform well and is on pace to create thousands of jobs.”

Solyndra is likely to file for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Sept. 7, as it evaluates options including selling itself or licensing its technology, David Miller, a spokesman for the Fremont, California-based company, said in an e-mail. About 1,100 full-time and temporary employees have been dismissed. The company didn’t say how much it owes creditors.

The GAO states that something similar can happen with other green job initiatives, too. Proper vetting has been missing in the process, thus poor results.

The solar panel industry seems to be having a run of bankruptcies on your dime:

SpectraWatt Inc., a solar company backed by units of Intel Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 19, and Evergreen Solar Inc. did so Aug. 15.

SpectraWatt of Hopewell Junction, New York, received a $150,000 grant in June 2010 from the National Science Foundation, and a grant of $500,000 in June 2009 from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Stay tuned.

Obama Will Use Joint Congress Address for Campaign Boost

This is the e-mail sent out to Obama supporters following his request for a joint session of Congress. The purpose of the request was for a forum to present his jobs plan speech:

Today I asked for a joint session of Congress where I will lay out a clear plan to get Americans back to work. Next week, I will deliver the details of the plan and call on lawmakers to pass it.

Whether they will do the job they were elected to do is ultimately up to them.

But both you and I can pressure them to do the right thing. We can send the message that the American people are playing by the rules and meeting their responsibilities—and it's time for our leaders in Congress to meet theirs.

And we must hold them accountable if they don't.

So I'm asking you to stand with me in calling on Congress to step up and take action on jobs.

No matter how things go in the weeks and months ahead, this will be an important challenge for our organization.

It's been a long time since Congress was focused on what the American people need them to be focused on.

I know that you're frustrated by that. I am, too.

That's why I'm putting forward a set of bipartisan proposals to help grow the economy and create jobs—that means strengthening our small businesses, giving needed breaks to middle-class families, while taking responsible steps to bring down our deficit.

I'm asking lawmakers to look past short-term politics and take action on that plan. But we've got to do this together.

I will deliver this message to Congress next week, but I'm asking you to stand alongside me today.

More to come,

Barack

Nice touch - he signs off as "Barack", because you know, he's just one of your pals. And, he's "frustrated"? What about the frustration of the unemployed who cannot find work? What about the frustration of average Americans longing for true leadership?

Why did he send this out to his supporters via the campaign website? He did it because of the immediate and forceful blowback he received for asking for the venue - to be televised nationally - on the same night as the next GOP presidential debate. He deliberately chose to pick a fight with Republicans and sent his press secretary out to feign innocence. The reasoning from the administration was, well gosh, there are lots of GOP debates scheduled so what's the big deal of conflicting with one?

The big deal, of course, is that this debate will be held at the Reagan Presidential Library. Does Barack Obama think he is any match for a scorned Nancy Reagan? Maybe in the mind of a narcissist (Obama) but not in the mind of regular voters. For a Democrat who fakes allegiance with some of Reagan's political philosophy in order to bring Republicans to his reasoning on policy, he sure exposes himself for the phoniness of his strategy.

The President of the United States, we would assume, has the calendar of Congress readily available. As Speaker of the House Boehner pointed out in his response to the joint address on Wednesday night, Congress would only be coming back into session and would not have the adequate time necessary to call such a vote. He asked that the joint session be scheduled for Thursday.

That President Obama would pick this fight now is perplexing, even to his own supporters. Not only is it a punk move, it is a battle he can't win. Obviously he wants to paint Republicans as uncooperative. But, in the bigger picture, he fails again to realize what voters are screaming for - grown up behavior in their elected officials. Voters are turned off by the blatant political games, especially at a time of dire economic conditions.

Joint addresses to Congress are rare. Usually saved for State of the Union addresses and for addresses by foreign leaders, this is nothing but campaign fodder. President Obama is delivering a policy speech. Period. This is touted as a jobs speech, something to show us the way forward to get the economy going again. There is no doubt it is for campaign re-election showmanship. There is little hope that the speech will live up to its hype.

So once again, the President who proclaims his desire for bi-partisan cooperation to get this country moving again pits one party against the other. Maybe it is because he is receiving such fire from his party's base who want him to "fight harder". Maybe in his mind this was a way of showing more "fight". And once again he will make a speech and toss it off to Congress to do the the work.

There will be nothing new in the speech. President Obama will miss another opportunity to lead.

The joint session of Congress will be held Thursday. Football fans will note that is the beginning game of the season. This was a silly, unneccesary kerfuffle brought on by an unserious and incompetent President Obama.

Joint Session of Congress and GOP Debate Collide

President Obama has requested a joint session of Congress to convene on the evening of September 7. He plans to roll out his highly anticipated job creation plans.

So? What's the big deal with that, you ask? Well, in what was solely a coincidental move on their part, no doubt, that evening just happens to be when the next big GOP debate is scheduled. It has been advertised for weeks, especially on the White House's favorite cable channel - MSNBC, as they are a part of the sponsorship. So, it's not like the fine folks in the White House scheduling office didn't know there was a calendar conflict.

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Leader:)
Our Nation faces unprecedented economic challenges, and millions of hardworking Americans continue to look for jobs. As I have traveled across our country this summer and spoken with our fellow Americans, I have heard a consistent message: Washington needs to put aside politics and start making decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for each of our parties in order to grow the economy and create jobs. We must answer this call.

Therefore, I respectfully request the opportunity to address a Joint Session of Congress on September 7, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the Middle Class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order. It is our responsibility to find bipartisan solutions to help grow our economy, and if we are willing to put country before party, I am confident we can do just that.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yeah, just a tad bit on the cynical side, wouldn't you say?

It appears that the televised GOP debate will go on after President Obama's speech/campaign rally to Congress.

I hope that Speaker Boehner accepts the opportunity and answers with a resounding "yes!". Obviously this is a ham handed political maneuver - Chicago style politics - and the GOP can use it to their advantage. All of the GOP debate participants will have the opportunity to respond to this jobs speech with ideas of their own.

This is a perfect opportunity for the GOP candidates to offer up their own solutions and not fall into the trap of just bashing President Obama. Voters are begging for leadership in Washington. Voters are searching for candidates who will step up, accept the challenges, and offer viable solutions.

Step up, Republicans.