ledeagenda.com

As reported in the Statesman:

The House voted 51-15 Wednesday to simplify Idaho elections after a late-session deal revived a bill that failed last month in a Senate committee.

The bill would limit most elections to May and November beginning in 2011. Public schools could schedule levy and bond elections on alternative dates in March and August.

The Legislature would provide $4.1 million annually to pay for elections, as well as $1.5 million extra to help counties buy new voting equipment. The previous, failed measure included just $3.1 million in funding and required schools to pay for elections on alternative dates, something to which senators objected.

Idaho Republicans, in particular, contend the state’s current system, under which as many as 450 elections can be held on multiple dates, creates “stealth” votes at obscure polling places with few taxpayers even knowing something is on the ballot.

Libertarian and constitutionalist Republicans haven’t gotten much of this session- more regulations, more taxes and an increasing dominance to the size, scope and authority of State government.

However, the Election Date Reform bill has the power to implement the most significant changes to empower the voter in quite some time. No more will school districts be able to hide their bond elections on obscure dates, no more will unknown tax districts be able to hide from the public. True accountability to the taxpayers begins with standardized election dates.

But we need to get the Senate to sign off on this bill first. They are planning to head home this week, the House has already done so.

Click Here to get your Senator’s phone number. It’s too late to write or email. You must call. If you’re one of the lucky ones who has your Senator’s cell phone number, send them a text message. Don’t rant, just say Pass the Election Date Reform bill please.

Remember- the Founders intended for all Government to be answerable to the people, we must make sure that our tax elections are consistent with the principle of transparency that they set out for us.

So a RINO comes out of the closet. I hope more of them do. Perhaps they can take John McCain and Arnold with them.

After all, Specter only serves as a reminder for the Libertarian and constitutionalist wing of the Republican party that the GOP has wandered dangerously off course from it’s stance as the “limited government and smaller taxation” party. One needs to look no further than John McCain’s suspension of his miserably failed Presidential bid to vote in favor of the bailouts as anecdotal evidence.

We can wallow in despair at the tempest in Washington realizing that Congress in now effectively controlled by socialist-nationalists. We can mourn the loss of representation and accountability to the Constitution. We can go about making self-fulfilling prophecy’s of doom and gloom. But do we need to?

First,  we need to admit that it is we who failed; we need to admit it is we who enacted the legislation that Barrack Obama, POTUS, will now use to garner unprecedented Executive control over the nation. Second, we need to repent, for liberty and freedom are given to us by God. And third, we need to saddle up and fight as if our nation’s very survival depends on our ideas, because it does.

I would like to submit to the most ardent and staunch Republicans that a new grassroots campaign is now sweeping the nation and that the Republican party really has only two choices: take it or leave it. I would like to submit to the Republican party that in the wake of the Ron Paul’s failed Presidential bid, in the wake of the banker bailouts, in the wake of the massive nationalization of our economy a new political movement has been born.

Liberty. Freedom. Adherence by Congress to the constitutional limitations placed on it. These are the ideals people are speaking of now. These are the values people will vote for.

There really isn’t an option here: The Republican party has hit bottom. We have lost the House, the Senate and the  Presidency. We have less than half of State Governorships. We are missing key fund-raising goals. For the Republican Party to return to a  party with any significant national power we will have to admit that we have failed, and failed miserably.

But the path ahead need not be hard-fought or gained through further compromise. A brushfire of Liberty has been birthed, the Republican party needs to merely claim it as it’s own. One needs to look no further than the Tax Day Tea Party protests, the Campaign for Liberty or our Founding Documents to restore legitimacy to the party of Reagan, the party of Lincoln.

It’s really that simple. No more reaching out to moderates, no more targeting everyone but the conservative voter. You either legitimately seek to shrink government, taxes and regulations or your lose all status as a national party. After all, waiting in the wings of failure by the Republican party lies the Libertarian Party, who proudly proclaims their main principals at the header of their own website: smaller government, lower taxes, more freedom.

We Republicans certainly could use a little more of that.

For a real treat to those in the Boise area, gather up the kids and head on down to Kathryn Albertson Park.

My wife and I went on Saturday; the goslings are on the move. It was quite fun to watch the baby geese move around and feed. Kids will love seing the soft and fuzzy goslings.

Most of the birds are quite accustomed to people, you will be able to see nature up close. Later in the year, smaller song birds will also fill the park. It also sports great walking paths, plant exhibits and nature displays. It is just a great way to kill a beatiful spring afternoon with the family.

For those new to the Boise area just head south on Americana. It will be off to your right hand side before you go up the hill.

Kathryn Albertson Park is a 41 acre reserve designed to be a native home for migratory birds and waterfowl. The land was donated to the City Of Boise by Joe and Kathryn Albertson, Joe being the founder of the Albertsons food chain. On a sunny spring or summer day you really couldn’t ask for a better spot for a picnic in the park.

As a side note, don’t bring the dog. Prohibited.

If you’re near one of the Federal Reserve Branches tomorrow, why don’t you head on over and support sound currency?

If you’re not, then call your Representative and tell them to support HR1207 (Audit The Fed) and HR833 (Repeal The Fed).

Remember: The Fed caused the economic collapse!.

More info: endthefed.us

End The Fed on Facebook

From Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama says credit- card issuers should be prohibited from imposing “unfair” rate increases on consumers and should offer the public easier to understand terms for credit. 

“No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions,” he told reporters today after meeting with executives from the industry, including representatives from Bank of America Corp. and American Express Co. “We want clarity and transparency from here on out.”

 Obama demanded that credit-card issuers “eliminate some of the abuse” in the industry, citing sudden rate increases on cards and changes in fees. He also called on credit-card companies to make available “a plain vanilla” account with simple and easy to understand terms.

Oh, you mean like the TARP Legislation?

From Wall St. Journal:

The banking industry is aggressively lobbying the Treasury Department to make it less costly for financial institutions to get out of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. 

The move could prove controversial for the banking industry, which is busy deflecting criticism about higher fees it is charging consumers for credit cards and other products and services. At issue are “warrants” the government received when it bought preferred stock in roughly 500 banks over the past six months as part of TARP.

The warrants allow the government to buy common stock in the banks at a later date so taxpayers can receive more of a return on their investment when the banking industry recovers.

Many banks want to return their TARP money and, as part of that effort, want to expunge the warrants. To do that, banks must either buy them back from the government or allow the Treasury to sell them to private investors.

Today, most of the warrants are essentially worthless, because their exercise price is higher than where most banks’ stocks are trading. But the government believes the warrants still have value, since they give the Treasury the right to buy common stock at a set price for 10 years.

Bankers say it is unfair to charge what amounts to a “prepayment penalty,” which makes it additionally onerous to escape TARP. Bank representatives say the cost of buying back the warrants could be equivalent to paying 60% annual interest on short-term loans. That, they argue, would exacerbate banks’ existing problems.

More “do as I say, not as I do” from The High King Barack.

It seems to me that the REAL endangered species on this planet is freedom, liberty and representative government.

Exactly as other conservative bloggers and myself have been warning of since the conceptual idea of these bailouts were announced: government assistance means government ownership.

From the NYTimes:

In a significant shift, White House and Treasury Department officials now say they can stretch what is left of the $700 billion financial bailout fund further than they had expected a few months ago, simply by converting the government’s existing loans to the nation’s 19 biggest banks into common stock.

Converting those loans to common shares would turn the federal aid into available capital for a bank — and give the government a large ownership stake in return.

While the option appears to be a quick and easy way to avoid a confrontation with Congressional leaders wary of putting more money into the banks, some critics would consider it a back door to nationalization, since the government could become the largest shareholder in several banks.

The Treasury has already negotiated this kind of conversion with Citigroup and has said it would consider doing the same with other banks, as needed. But now the administration seems convinced that this maneuver can be used to make up for any shortfall in capital that the big banks confront in the near term.

Each conversion of this type would force the administration to decide how to handle its considerable voting rights on a bank’s board.

Taxpayers would also be taking on more risk, because there is no way to know what the common shares might be worth when it comes time for the government to sell them.

Do you trust your government? It really boils down to that question. Do you trust the current political leaders on both sides of the aisle with this ownership? With this power? Once the government owns the banks, they own society. It is through finance that all things are gained.

The same government that wants to regulate cow emissions will now have the power to dictate the rules for the ease and liquidity of auto, home, and business loans. Anything from Washington comes with strings attached. In this case government ownership will be used for social engineering.

Don’t like the new High Efficiency twisty light bulbs? Too bad: it’s now a requirement of your mortgage, despite the safety issues.

Don’t like letting your power company regulate your air conditioning during peak usage hours? Too bad, a home energy audit is now required for a HELOC, irrespective of comfort.

Don’t like driving hybrid or eco-friendly cars? Too bad, that’s all you can get for a vehicle loan, despite the need for utility.

Don’t like having your workforce unionized as an employer? Too bad, if you want a small business loan you must consent to a unionization vote, in spite of employee desire.

Consider this: this may sound like a horror story to you, but think of how often Congress goes against the will of the American people. Countless times they have ignored the vast wishes of the American public to suit their own agenda. For example, consider the issues of the banker bailouts themselves. The vast majority of Americans stood against bailing out of private corporations. And yet, Congress did it anyway.

Those same politcans are now co-owners of many banks and will have a say in how that business operates. I guess it comes down to this: do you want your bank to be like the Department Of Motor Vehicles or the Internal Revenue Service?

That, I fear, is what is coming down the pike.

I have come to the conclusion that Janeane Garofalo must be a plant by Fox to kill off ‘24′.

I am a racist for opposing socialism? I am a racist for demanding that the Federal government stick to its enumerated powers? I am a racist for pointing out that the Federal Reserve is actually the main culprit of the economic crisis?

Not that there aren’t bad apples in every crowd, but I am 100% certain that my opposition to the TARP funds, the bailouts, and socialist nationalization of our economy is rooted in freedom and liberty, in the Constitution.

I find it so unbelievably offensive that the media has chosen to carte blanch ignore the reasons behind the Tea Party movement. I will say it again: I attended and supported the Tea Party protests to oppose the unconstitutional spending found in the Stimulus and TARP legislation. I attended the Tea Party protests because I oppose the socialist takeover of our free markets. I oppose government ownership and control of any industry.

Given the massive political shift that took place on November 4th, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fox executives made the decision to kill off ‘24′ in favor of a new show with more targeted political themes. What really galls me though, is the manner in which Fox chose to do it. For the fans of Fox’s ‘24′ to be stabbed in the back by one of the most successful shows on the Fox network, one can only wonder how serious Fox ever took the ideas they claimed to favor.

It seems that like with most corporations nowadays, there is no two-way loyalty. As soon as the winds shifted for the product that Fox offered, they moved quickly to make a self-imposed destruction. In this case, they deliberately chose to introduce Jeaneane to the show to offend the show’s core audience.

Mark my words: very soon we will see their newest project unveiled and I am willing to bet it will be  based on the benefits of a Big-Brother state in a post-modern economically collapsed world. In other words, much as ‘24′ was tailored to the Bush administration, very soon the winds will shift to a new show showing the virtues of an Obama rule.

We have only one real choice: it is time to turn off our TVs. This time for good.