Whatcom County Signatures for Ref. 71

On Weds. Cindy and I traveled to Olympia to turn in more than 1800 signatures from Whatcom County. Many people went to a great effort to collect signatures and we are so grateful.

Deomcrats Want to Teach You to Die With Dignity

posted by Red State

....Jay Rockefeller went on record to say that at some point the government has to decide whether or not you are allowed to receive any more medical benefits if the cost outweighs the potential benefits. Read story here.

Today's Bellingham Herald:

Whatcom Republicans Oppose Planned Changes to Rural Zoning

Before you follow the above link to the Herald article you need to know a few additional facts...

1. There is no state "requirement" forcing Whatcom County to make these rural zoning changes. However, a couple of Gregoire appointees have decided that Whatcom County is out of compliance with the State's Growth Management Plan. Need I say more?

2. In the Herald article Ken Mann is given 2 paragraphs to say almost nothing. He is trying to appease all sides because, you guessed it... he's running for County Council. But don't kid yourself, as a Planning Commission member and a far-reaching environmentalist, (endorsed and funded by a leftist group called Progressive Majority) Ken Mann has been submerged in the proposed rural zoning changes. Even though he appears to be sitting on the fence, it's a pretty easy call to discern his position on the zoning recommendations. (I call it the "Sotomayor syndrome"... candidate under scrutiny says one thing but record tells another story)

3. Mary Beth Tiegrob is also quoted in the article and she is also running for County Council (her opponent is mentioned in the above paragraph). She is apparently fully informed on the issue and is obviously concerned about the impact on landowners. She makes more sense in a few sentences than her opponent does in two paragraphs.

4. In this case the status quo is the best option. My official recomendation is "no change" and the county should leave current regulations in place. The Lynden Tribune reported on the issue here and here.

Protesting Government Managed Health Care

Today I joined a group of people to protest in front of Rep. Rick Larsen's Bellingham office. Our purpose is to defeat Barack Obama's trillion-dollar health-care reform that is being rammed through Congress by Nancy Pelosi and company.

No one can point to a single country that successfully administers a nationalized health care plan. Government control of our health care system will result in rationed cared and will cost vastly more than they will admit.

Phyllis Schlafly details why we need to defeat Obama-care. Read here.

Another good read: With This "Reform" You'll Lose Your Health Plan

This was taken with my cell phone so it's a little cloudy but this is the handful of Obama supporters who gathered across the street to promote "single payer" (read Canadian) health care.

"Gordon" is gathering signatures to recall Rep. Rick Larsen. He crossed over to the dark side and managed to gather 4 names for his recall petition.

Handsome young Bellingham Herald political reporter (Sam T) who kindly reported on the protest. Read his blog post here.

How To Win the Presidency

...with 15 percent of the popular vote.
by Tara Ross

Electoral College opponents may be nearly halfway to their goal of eliminating America's unique presidential election system. But you won't hear anything about it from the media that are understandably obsessed with health-care reform, cap and trade, and the troubled economy. And you certainly won't hear anti-Electoral College activists brag about it. The "National Popular Vote" website proclaims, more modestly, that NPV has achieved 23 percent of the votes that it needs to succeed.

Why would NPV raise the consciousness of a nation to the fact that it may be much, much closer to radical change in our presidential election system? If voters were to focus on NPV's recent legislative successes, the resulting protests might bring the whole scheme to a crashing halt. Read more.

Freedom Day Tea Party: Bellingham

The Fourth of July Tea Party in Bellingham was a great success by any standard. Hundreds of patriots, perhaps as many as two thousand, came in a festive mood to celebrate Independence Day in a unique way. All manner of signs, custumes, props and buttons displayed deep devotion for the foundational principles of liberty and love of country. Underlying the celebratory atmosphere however, was a sense of urgency and anxiety about where Congress and the White House is taking our country. The recent passage in the House of Representatives of the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade bill prompted many to come out and protest that disastrous legislation.

I spent most of my Tea Party time collecting sigantures for Ref. 71 (preserving marriage between a man and a woman in Washington State) so I didn't get to read all the clever and original signs but I did manage to take a few pictures. The Bellingham Herald reports an "unoffical count" of 700 but just like the Tea Party on April 15 they seriously understated the attendance. I imagine the Tea Party movement is a threat to the liberal elites at the Bellingham Herald. Follow this link to the BH article.

Yeah for Ferndale Ready Mix and son Jordan!

Brother-in-law and sister-in-law joined the Tea Party. You know it's bad out there when Nancy engages in protest = )

Butch and Polly came in their super cool Cobra

Banner day for signature gathering. I saw a table for "Recall Rick Larsen" and we were collecting signatures for Ref. 71

50 Things Wrong with the Cap-and-Trade Bill

NRO Special Edition

SPECIAL-INTEREST SOPS
1. Free money for well-connected business interests.
2. A little something for Goldman Sachs. Again.
3. Alcoa and Dupont get their share. The utilities, too.
4. A tree grows in Botswana.
5. Selling indulgences.
6. Protecting refineries.
7. All carrot, no stick for the farm lobby.
8. Replacing the EPA with the USDA.
9. Ignoring ethanol’s impact.
10. Buying off electric cooperatives.
11. Monsanto rounds up favors.
12. Interfering with free trade.
13. Billions for “international clean technology.”
14. Inflating union wages.

Click here to read the rest

Congress's Travel Tab Swells

Spending on Taxpayer-Funded Trips Rises Tenfold; From Italy to the Galápagos

WASHINGTON -- Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.

The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago. Read more.

Boehner's Bloodhounds