Tax Day Protests All Over, Especially In Washington DC

Tax Day Tea Party in Washington, D.C.

Fron FreedomWorks in Washington DC

Join us this April 15th by the Washington Monument

FreedomWorks has agreed to host the 2010 Tax Day Tea Party for Washington, DC. On Tax Day, April 15th, hundreds of thousands of Americans will protest big government around the country. They will protest in big cities and small towns, from Los Angeles, California to Burlington, North Carolina.FreedomWorks will be hosting the DC Tax Day Tea Party, at The Washington Monument, in view of the White House.As we put together the details of the event, check back here for updates if you are planning to attend. Just so you know, we are planning to have an evening event with speakers, music and lots of rowdy protesters.

*********************************************************************

Try to find a protest somewhere if you have free time. Almost 15,000 appeared yesterday in Boston to listen to Sarah Palin and other speakers.

The image above came from that event, courtesy of Stacey Higgins, Tea Party activist extraordinaire.

Capito Speaks on Energy, Once Again Defends West Virginia and Its Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: AshLee Strong(202) 225-2182 or (202) 450-9695 ashlee.strong@mail.house.govApril 14, 2010 Capito on the Coal Industry’s Role in the ‘New Energy Age’Opening Statement at Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming WASHINGTON—Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., made the following opening statement at today’s Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming’s hearing titled, “The Role of Coal in the New Energy Age”:
“Mr. Chairman, thank you for hosting today’s important hearing. “Even though today’s hearing focuses on the role of the coal industry in the new age, I think it is important for us to recognize the sacrifice miners make to provide the energy and power so many of us take for granted. “Last week’s mine disaster at Montcoal, WV that killed 29 miners was the worst in the U.S. coal industry in 40 years. “Just four years ago, 12 people were killed at the Sago Mine disaster in my district. With the investigation underway and as further details are available on the cause of the accident, we must continue our commitment to keep our miners safe. “The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster only furthers people’s poor image of mining and has led many to discuss the future of coal. “Coal is a prime energy source throughout the world. Fast-growing countries such as China and India rely on the low-cost fuel to meet their electricity demand. “Here in the United States, coal is our nation’s most abundant domestic energy resource with recoverable reserves sufficient to last 250 years. Coal currently fuels more than 50% of all electricity generation in the United States.
“In my home state of West Virginia, 98% of our electricity comes from coal. “It provides 125,000 direct high-paying jobs for U.S. coal miners and supports hundreds of thousands of additional jobs throughout the supply chain. “When considering the future of coal in the global warming debate, the first thing that we need to remember is that climate change and energy policies are inextricably connected with economic, environmental and social issues. “Last year, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. I did not support the legislation because I believe it stood to push energy prices upward and threaten an economy that is already in trouble. “A tax increase on carbon dioxide emissions will come directly out of customers’ pockets in the form of higher electric rates. “Manufacturing output would also fall considerably. Manufacturing firms who have traditionally relied on low and stable electric rates in our states will be subject to massive cost increases, likely forcing them out-of-business or to relocate their operations overseas.
“Instead, we need to do much more accelerate the development of advanced clean coal technologies, including and most importantly, carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS). Carbon capture is important to West Virginians and ensuring our national energy independence. Without it, we deprive ourselves of the most effective tool for addressing CO2 emissions from coal. “We need to provide sufficient funding and incentives to accelerate the development, demonstration and broad commercial deployment of CCS technologies. “The American Electric Power Mountaineer Plant located in New Haven, WV represents an important milestone in our efforts to bring CCS online. The facility began operations last fall and captures and stores approximately 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The Mountaineer Plant is the first demonstration of CCS from an existing coal-fueled power plant.
“The implementation of CCS technology will not only benefit a state like mine with jobs and revenue, it will also benefit our nation by making clean coal a reality. “In addition to climate change, coal has been the subject of continued federal scrutiny for its impact on water quality. “Recent action by the Obama Administration and the EPA to further scrutinize mining permits only confirms their anti-coal agenda. “The Minority Staff of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works initiated an investigation into EPA’s handling of Clean Water Act Section 404 permits for coal mining in Appalachia and found that in 2009, EPA froze 235 coal mining 404 Permits, claiming that additional time was needed to assess the environmental impacts of mining operations.
“Since the initiation of the investigation, EPA issued 45 of the 235 permits. To date, there are 190 permits that EPA continues to hold for operations including surface, underground and refuse operations. “Furthermore, decisions being made by federal environmental regulators are not focused enough on the importance of coal to the economy. In my conversations with Lisa Jackson, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, she said that she explicitly omits economic considerations from her decision-making process. “I find this particularly troubling. The EPA’s delays in handling these permits will jeopardize jobs in Appalachia and weaken energy security for the nation.
“Even more disturbing, on March 26, the EPA announced their intent to veto the existing Spruce Mine permit. The Spruce permit is the most scrutinized and fully considered permit in West Virginia’s history. The 13-year permitting process included the preparation of a full environmental impact statement. “In the course of the permit’s review, EPA had ample opportunity to review and comment on the mine’s decision. The EPA also had the chance to use its veto authority at the time the permit was issued instead of waiting until production had started. "The decision by the EPA to veto the Spruce permit brings into question the reliability of the entire permitting process and shows their complete disregard for the impacts it will have on West Virginia’s economy. “I look forward to hearing the testimonies from the panel.”

Tea Party Gearing Up and So Are Saboteurs

From the "some people have too much time on their hands" department.

Jason Levin has established a site called Crash the Tea Party. It intends to recruit left wingers to join Tea Party protests. Their mission is to say and do things publicly to make the Tea Party activists look racist, secessionist, violent, or unacceptably radical in a variety of ways. This brazenly open attempt must rely on the mainstream media to ignore its existence if something does happen.

Since its inception, libertarians have themselves infiltrated the infiltration movement. Most likely nothing will happen.

***************************************************************

A large number of Tea Party events are planned for April 15th, known to most as Tax Day. Close to us is Washington DC's event at the White House. Obama will probably have somewhere else to be that day.

*****************************************************************

Many liberals and leftists have tried to paint the Tea Party movement as racist, anti-gay, Nazi, and a long list of things that it is not. The Tea Party is libertarian in nature. Their motto, if they were to agree on one, would be "Leave me the #@!! alone." Most Tea Partiers break with social conservatives on issues such as gay marriage. It is different in some ideological features from the Republican Party and seems to regard its organizational structure as evidence that it is too moderate and too willing to compromise with big government. However both movements share the conviction that the current administration is dangerous to the general welfare of the nation and our posterity. It is essential that Republicans and Tea Partiers join forces and combine efforts this fall.

Confederate History Month in Virginia

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell made some cardianl sins in the left wing world recently.

First, he stated that there at one time in history was a Confederate States of America.

Second, he implied that there may have been popular support for it.

Third, he did not preface those statements with some sort of disclaimer saying that every Confederate was the equivalent of Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Judas Iscariot rolled into one.

Fourth, he dedicated a month to the history of the Confederacy and those who fought for it.

You would have thought that Governor McDonnell had raised the Nazi flag above the Virginia statehouse.

The Confederacy was not created for the purpose of maintaining slavery. That may not be the politically correct thing to say, but it it the truth. From the time of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, southerners had expressed deep concerns about the advancing power of the federal government and the northern states. As northern populations and wealth grew, Southerners grew terrified at the prospect of a federal government in which they had little say.

What was the role of slavery? It retarded the South economically. It prevented immigration, because immigrants could not compete for unskilled labor jobs. It prevented innovation because societies with slaves are less interested in reducing costs of labor. It inspired some strange radicalism among some of the South's dominant thinkers; some arguments for slavery argue for it as a type of feudalistic communism. Slavery created conditions that led to the political fears of shrinking southern influence. But slavery was not the reason for war.

States' rights concerned the South from the 1790s until the 1860s. It came up in debates over the Sedition Act of 1798, and the Tariff of Abominations of the late 1820s and early 1830s. Southern states wanted reassurances that the federal government would not expand its power to the point that it could overwhelm the states.

The hundreds of thousands that fought for the South certainly did not fight for slavery. Few of those in uniform owned slaves and would have bristled at the notion that they fought for a wealthier man's property. They fought to defend their states. They fought out of fear that an invading army might arrive on their farm one day. Robert E. Lee himself repeatedly expressed disdain for slavery. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson faced heavy criticism, even ostracism, before the war for illegally establishling schools to teach slaves to read. They did not see themselves as fighting for slavery either.

And it is they that deserve the month. Countless thousands of Virginians fought and died for their state. Many more enlisted in Virginia state forces or the Confederate Army itself. The Confederate battle flag is the controversial symbol, but it is the one least associated with slavery historically speaking. The battle flag represents the small farmers and others who rallied to the Southern cause that never owned anyone. Perversely, by the end of the war, the letter of the Emancipation Proclamation resulted in a situation where slavery remained fully in place in several Union states, but was nearly eliminated through most of what was the Confederacy.

And racism was not exclusive to the South. New York City rioters massacred blacks in the streets in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation killed much of the support Lincoln enjoyed in the early part of the war. Only victories in the Fall of 1864 from Grant and Sherman saved Lincoln's chances. West Virginia statemakers pondered whether or not they could legally exclude free black movement into the state.

I'm not a "South shall rise again" type of person. There are a lot of problems with choosing to secede from the Union. One should want to fight for this country the Founding Fathers established and bring it back to where it ought to be. However, I understand that they fought for political principles over and above slavery. They fought out of fear for their liberties, while slaveowners both black and white unfortunately continued to oppress the natural rights of slaves.