The House Judiciary Committee opens an investigation into Elena Kagan’s role in crafting the defense of Obamacare
Acting on the request of Darrell Issa and 48 other members of the House, the House Judiciary Committee is launching an investigation into the role that Elena Kagan had in drafting the Obama regime’s defense of the healthcare reform legislation. At issue here is a possible conflict of interest between Elena Kagan’s role as Solicitor General in crafting the Obama regime’s defense of the legislation–as well as the possibility that she was less than honest during her confirmation hearing–and her new role as Supreme Court justice where she will hear the defense of the legislation she may have had a hand in creating.
Before she became Barack Obama’s latest appointee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan was Barack Obama’s Solicitor General. As Solicitor General she was charged with presenting the government’s arguments on any case which makes it to the Supreme Court. While she was still the Solicitor General, Obamacare was passed and the constitutional challenges began; when she was nominated to the Supreme Court she was asked about a possible conflict of interest on the pending Obamacare challenge–and whether she would recuse herself if there were–and she testified that she had virtually no role in preparing the Obama regime’s defense. It seems highly unlikely to me that the person charged with defending the government’s position in front of the Supreme Court would not also have a hand in crafting the position she would take during the defense, but that is what she claimed.
The House Judiciary Committee sees the possibility of a conflict of interest, and as stated above, has begun to investigate the matter. Read more…
In 2009 the voters in the city of Manchester voted to enact a tax cap law. This law would limit tax hikes to match the urban consumer price index, and several other towns in the state of New Hampshire adopted similar legislation in an attempt to control the out of control spending in the state.
These tax caps were challenged in the courts and eventually reached the State Supreme Court where the caps were ruled unconstitutional because the local laws violated the state law. The new Republican legislature set out to change this ruling by changing the law so that tax caps would be compliant with a new state law.
The legislature passed a bill which would put local tax control legislation back where it belongs, at the local level, and today Governor Lynch signed the legislation into law. This law also included language which stated that in all localities in which the voters already approved such tax cap legislation, the voters will would be upheld and the tax caps would immediately go into effect.
With the new Republican veto-proof legislature Governor Lynch has been dragged kicking and screaming back to a more centrist point of view, he is nothing more than a GINO (governor in name only) at this point and must govern more from the center. He realizes this and we have seen at least three examples of this in the last two weeks.
This legislation is the latest example of New Hampshire finally moving in the right direction after several years of Democrat rule and provides us with an example of how a true republic is supposed to work. The responsibility for local governance was returned in this case to where it belongs–at the localities–while th power of the state government was diminished on this issue. If only the federal government would act the same.
As if it were not bad enough that we have learned Eric Holder was actively engaged in the obstruction of Darrell Issa’s Oversight Committee investigation into Gunrunner–something which tells me he was responsible for it–a story is now breaking on Big Peace about the Kincaid Conference; they are demanding his immediate resignation for his past actions regarding terrorists and cop-killers.
This article is quite long, and I will give you a fairly large excerpt, but everyone should take the time to read the full article. Read more…
Eric Holder tried to make the acting head of the ATF–Kenneth Melson–the fall guy for Operation Gunrunner, demanding his resignation in the hopes that this one scalp would be enough to convince Darrell Issa that justice had been served in the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry.
Unfortunately for Eric Holder, and fortunately for Americans who want to see justice served, Kenneth Melson was not willing to resign and become Eric Holder’s fall guy, saying that he was looking forward to defending himself in front of the Congress. Kenneth Melson claimed that while he wanted to testify in front of the Congress the DOJ would not give him permission to do so. This news has to make people wonder what it is that the DOJ is trying to hide.
Kenneth Melson was finally granted the opportunity to defend himself in a secret meeting with Darrell Issa, and in my opinion the testimony is pretty damning toward Eric Holder and his attempt to obstruct justice in this case. Read more…
New Hampshire governor allows a second Republican proposal to become law without his signature
In late June I wrote about the New Hampshire budget: Governor Lynch claimed that he opposed the Republican led budget, but rather than veto it and fight for what he supposedly believed in, he allowed the bill to become law without his signature. I am of the belief that Governor Lynch understood the dire situation in regards to the economy and he knew that the cuts which were in the budget were necessary but he just didn’t have the guts to sign it. He let it become law while voicing his displeasure with the bill hoping to have it both ways. In my opinion this highlights a lack of leadership and commitment on Governor Lynch’s part to make the tough decisions.
Now he is at it again: During his re-election campaign, John Lynch’s opponent–and the man I supported–had a proposal which stated that all state department heads would have to submit two department budget proposals to the governor , the first being the operating budget if all current services were continued, and a second budget which cut 10% from the current department budget. Governor John Lynch assailed that proposal as simplistic and irresponsible.
Last week the Republican legislature passed a bill which implemented this very plan, and Governor Lynch allowed it to become law without his signature. The very plan he opposed during the campaign he has allowed to become law as governor.
Here is the Union Leader editorial reprinted in full about this subject, it sums it up quite well:
Gov. Lynch said the idea was “simplistic,” “somewhat reckless,” and would lead to “less services.”
Last week he let Senate Bill 146 become law without his signature. It implements Stephen’s proposal. Lynch uttered nary a peep about it.
Did he really think it was reckless and simplistic? Of course not. That was just campaign rhetoric. Last year, the governor himself proposed cutting 5 percent from all departments. That was after he criticized a previous Republican proposal similar to Stephen’s but with the alternative budget set at 5 percent instead of 10 percent lower.
So for the second year in a row Gov. Lynch has tacitly endorsed Republican proposals to reduce spending at the department level after previously attacking them. We are glad to see the governor come around to the right position, even if he won’t admit it.
The Obama regime likes to claim that the stimulus bill staved off a second great depression and while the economy is still teetering on the edge of collapse if it were not for the stimulus that collapse would probably already occurred. The Obama regime is using this angle to claim that the stimulus was a success but a look at the numbers shows otherwise.
According to a report issued by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, the stimulus created or saved 2.4 million jobs. The mere fact that the Obama regime is now laying a quantitative value on “jobs saved” in order to exaggerate the effects of the stimulus bill–after all, before the bill was passed there were estimates of how many jobs would be created, with no mention of how many jobs would be saved, once the jobs saved numbers were disappointing the Obama regime added the latter category–is an indicator that the stimulus has failed.
But those 2.4 million jobs came at a price tag of $666 billion, which means the stimulus spent $278,000 on every job that was either created or saved—WHAT A BARGAIN!
Barack Obama and his minions in the Democrat party might still be trying to tout the successes of the stimulus bill, but the American people are no longer buying what Barack Obama is selling. He can spin this anyway he wants to but at that price tag the stimulus was a failure of epic proportions.
Asian pollution has halted global warming
Global warming truthers–such as myself–contend that even if the earth is warming it is not the result of man-made activity, but rather is nothing more than the natural heating and cooling cycles which the earth has gone through since the time that man was able to measure temperature. We also contend that the global warming alarmists have an ulterior motive for pushing this agenda upon the people; we believe they are using this “crisis” in an attempt to promote a global socialistic policy including suicidal regulations and fines coupled with the loss of freedoms and liberties in an attempt to redistribute the wealth on a global scale from richer nations to poorer nations.
The global warming alarmists will stop at nothing to promote this agenda, going so far as to change the moniker for this crisis from “global warming” to “climate change” and then ultimately to “global climate disruption.” Why this change in terms? The answer is obvious, the earth is no longer warming so the moniker no longer carried any weight. So they change the name to fit any erratic environmental behavior which may occur in the future. A one size fits all crisis of sorts.
Happy Independence Day
“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
Those were more than just words, when the founders affixed their names under those words they did exactly what those words said. They pledged their lives, fortunes, and honor towards the founding of a new nation and a cause that they believed so firmly in that they were willing to die for it.
Independence was declared on that day with the words: “We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levey war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do,” but it was not won– not yet.
There would be many years of conflict to follow, there would be more defeats than victories before the war ended– but in the end victory was achieved and a new nation was born.
The war had been raging on for over a year when the Declaration was signed, but up until July 4th 1776, America was in a war which was being fought to re-establish her natural born rights as Englishmen, it was not a war for independence. This document changed that and henceforth this was a war of separation.
While people such as Samuel Adams were clamoring for independence– and while George Washington secretly hoped that America would declare its independence– it was a pamphlet called “Common Sense” which was written by Thomas Paine that finally convinced the founders and the citizens of America that independence was not only justifiable, but was proper.
Thomas Paine was the first person to actually set down in words the reasoning for American independence, and why it was a noble and worthy cause; and he is credited as the first person to actually brand this nation the “United States of America.”
When the founders signed this document they became traitors to the Crown and if captured they would have been hanged as such– losing all three pledges they had sworn to each other. They all understood this and were willing to pay the price as Benjamin Franklin famously quipped, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
While they never had to pay the ultimate price for the freedom they have given us– an estimated 25,000 men did, fighting for the cause they believed in– many of them did end up bankrupt or near bankrupt and it debt. So when they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor there was no turning back. Many of them may have lost their fortunes, but they never lost their honor.
Now it was up to the Continental Army to deliver us the freedom that the Declaration rightfully claimed belonged to Americans. The battle went on for many years and it wasn’t until October 19th in 1781 at Yorktown that General Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to General Washington– sending his second in command to surrender his sword instead of doing it himself as was considered proper in the day, a slight that George Washington was offended by and never forgave– that hostilities ended, but it was still another year before the Treaty of Paris was signed and independence was guaranteed.
The young nation suffered for the next eight years as a loose confederation of states until 1789, when the constitution was ratified and we were given the Republic that we enjoy to this very day. Through the years there have been both good times and bad, but the American spirit will never be broken, because there is an American spirit, a spirit that was born on this day in 1776, and a spirit which will live on in the hearts and minds of Americans.
But none of those events would have happened if it wasn’t for the Declaration that was signed on this day in 1776 and so today we celebrate the birth of the greatest nation in the history of the world. ”It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
I hope that everyone enjoys their Fourth of July. Let the fireworks and the grilling begin! Please take a little time during this Fourth of July holiday to think about the men and women who are serving this country today– as well as all of those in the past– who have dedicated their lives to ensure that the vision of our founders remains intact and that a ”government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I give you three videos from the HBO miniseries “John Adams,” this HBO special was incredible and is a must see for anyone interested in American history.
I have also decided to include a video of Patrick Henry’s famous “give me liberty or give me death” speech. Strangely, it was hard to find a version of this speech that I thought captured the moment, this is the best one I could find. It is only the second half of the speech and lacks the theatrical aspect attributed to Henry of simulating bondage as he appeals to God to remove the chains; breaking the chains as he shouts, “GIVE ME LIBERTY,” but it does include him simulating stabbing himself in the heart as he declares, “OR GIVE ME DEATH.”
Obamacare: 49 Representatives ask for investigation into Elena Kagan’s role in healthcare reform
Before she became Barack Obama’s latest appointee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan was Barack Obama’s Solicitor General. As Solicitor General she was charged with presenting the government’s arguments on any case which makes it to the Supreme Court. While she was still the Solicitor General, Obamacare was passed and the constitutional challenges began; when she was nominated to the Supreme Court she was asked about a possible conflict of interest on the pending Obamacare challenge–and whether she would recuse herself if there were–and she testified that she had virtually no role in preparing the Obama regime’s defense.
It seems highly unlikely that as Solicitor General Elena would have been uninvolved in the crafting of the regime’s legal defense, after all it was her job, and CNS News issued a FOIA request for all relevent documents. The Department of Justice has been less than forthcoming with the documents, but the department has released some and they raise more questions about Elena Kagan’s involvement in this case.
This day in history: Pickett’s Charge
The date was July 3rd, 1863: The Civil War had reached the north when General Lee decided to travel along the Blue Ridge Mountains and surprise the Federals with a decisive battle which he felt would clear the road to Washington and force the north to sue for a peace which would include southern independence, and in all likelihood a victory here would have achieved those results. His moves were discovered, the Federals advanced on his position, and both armies converged at the small town of Gettysburg. General Lee did not want to fight here, it was not of his choosing, but the enemy was here and he would not retreat at this point so fight them he did.
The first two intense and bloody days of battle had ended with the north holding the high ground at both Culp’s Hill and Little Round Top–positions they held when the battle began. Having failed at flanking the north on both the left and the right (due in large part to a heroic bayonet charge ordered by General Chamberlain after his men had exhausted all of their ammunition) General Lee decided that on the morning of July 3rd, he would attempt a bold attack on the Union center which has gone down in history as “Pickett’s charge.”
The battle began with a fierce artillery and cannon barrage on the Union’s positions on top of Cemetery Ridge, but the cannon overshot and was ineffective. Suddenly in mid-afternoon out of the trees below Cemetery Ridge emerged a line one mile long which began to march a distance of one mile toward the federal position–Pickett’s charge had begun. As soon as the men emerged from the trees they were within artillery range and the Union opened fire, yet the Confederates kept on coming despite the already rising death toll until they reached Emmitsburg road.
Emmitsburg road was about halfway between the Confederate starting point and the Federal position and it proved to be a huge obstacle to the Confederate advance. There was a fence on both sides of the road and as the Confederates attempted to scale both fences they came under fire from the Union for they were now within range of rifle fire. As the bodies piled up at the fences the soldiers climbed over them and the Confederates kept moving forward as the fate of the country hung in the balance. Nothing could stop them.
Against all odds the Confederate Army reached and broke the Federal line, all hope looked lost to the Federals as it appeared the Confederates would march straight to Washington. But Pickett’s charge was a two pronged attack: Once General Pickett’s men reached the federal position he was supposed to have been met by the cavalry of General Jeb Stuart, who was supposed to ride around the enemy’s rear and form a pincer movement which would have split the Union army in half atop Cemetery Ridge.
But General Stuart never made it to the rear of the Union army and was never able to reinforce the charge because he was met by a small band of Union cavalry, led by a little known newly appointed general who was eager to make a name for himself. General Stuart thought that this small band of cavalry was not serious in attacking his much larger force, but they were and they did. The Union cavalry was able to hold off the Confederate advance until reinforcements showed up, when they did General Stuart was forced to withdraw and General Pickett’s men were on their own on top of the hill.
This general was a hero at Gettysburg, but he never received the glory that he had hoped for his contribution, he would have to wait until 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn for his name to go down in history–his name was General George Custer.
Without General Stuart’s reinforcements the Confederates could not sustain the momentum after this momentous charge; the Union army regrouped and pushed the Confederates back down the ridge. At a combined cost of 50,000 lives, the battle of Gettysburg was over and the union was saved, ironically, it was on the Fourth of July that General Lee ordered his men to retreat back toward Virginia.
This was the turning point in the Civil War, while there were still many battles to be fought before the contest was decided, never again did the Confederate army invade the north.
America's Watchtower 