Obama Campaign Touts Job Chart

by: Ben Sherman

Sat Feb 04, 2012 at 03:37 PM CST

Of course, the Republicans are dismissing the positive growth, which makes it all the more important to share this chart with your friends.

SUBJECT: Seen our jobs chart?

On Friday, the new monthly jobs numbers came out. We've officially had 23 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, and seen 3.7 million private-sector jobs created under this President.

In response to the news, Mitt Romney cynically claimed President Obama has "prevented a true economic recovery." He's even falsely said President Obama "has not created any new jobs," and told ABC News earlier this year that the President has "lost 2 million jobs."

The Republican candidates are banking on people not knowing the truth about the President's record.

We need to get the facts out there -- so we put together this chart where you can Facebook it, tweet it, or send it on a postcard for free.

Click here to share it to your friends and family who need to see it -- this literally takes two minutes.

Tens of thousands of supporters have already shared this jobs chart online. Now, we want to make sure it's out there in the offline world, too -- in people's hands, on their refrigerators, or on a message board in a public library. You can share it either way.

We still have a long way to go, and this month's numbers are just a snapshot in time. But stats like this shouldn't be missed.

Make sure people know the truth about the President's record on jobs -- spread the word to your friends today:

http://my.barackobama.com/Jobs-Chart

Thanks,

Stephanie

Stephanie Cutter
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Obama Kills Keystone XL, But Tarsands Fight Just Beginning

by: Adam Schwitters

Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 01:00 PM CST

Environmental activists gathered in front of President Obama’s Austin campaign headquarters yesterday to applaud his decision to deny Transcanada’s bid to construct the Keystone XL pipeline which would have brought diluted bitumen, a nearly solid form of petroleum, from the tarsands region of Alberta to the Texas Gulf coast.

Adam Hammick, a volunteer with 350.org, was ecstatic, describing the decision as “the only time in decades big oil has been put in its place.” He added, “against all odds we won.” He acknowledges, however, that the fight to keep tarsands oil, which is profoundly nasty substance, out of the United States has just begun, and that there are more pipelines already planned, including the Seaway Pipeline which would bring existing stocks of tarsands oil from Oklahoma to Texas.  That there are so many new projects planned means “environmental groups can’t afford to spend this much energy on one project in the future.”

The President was forced to make this decision due to a cynical political ploy from Republicans in Congress who attached a rider on the Payroll Tax Cut Bill that stipulated he must make a decision on the pipeline within 60 days of the bill’s passage.  The State Department had previously determined that their environmental impact study for the project was insufficient, and needed approximately 18 months to fully study the pipeline’s proposed route. Congressional Republicans believe that they can use this as leverage in the November elections by painting Obama as a job killing tree hugger who killed a project that would provide energy security to America and, in the words of Transcanada’s economic review “hundreds of thousands of man-years of employment.”  Well, their math is just dead wrong.

Two non-idealogical reviews of the project, by the State Department and by Cornell University, show that Transcanada is wildly inflating job creation numbers.  The DOS review puts the total number of jobs at 5000-6000, while Cornell estimates that no more than 4650 temporary jobs would be created by the project.  Thinkprogress.org’s review of the Transcanada report showed “Among the list of jobs that would be created: 51 dancers and choreographers, 138 dentists, 176 dental hygienists, 100 librarians, 510 bread bakers, 448 clergy, 154 stenographers, 865 hairdressers, 136 manicurists, 110 shampooers, 65 farmers, and (our favorite) 1,714 bartenders.”

The notion that these pipelines would somehow improve America’s energy security is also erroneous. Tarsands oil already flows to market in the US.  What it does not do, at the moment, is reach overseas consumers in the burgeoning markets of China and India.  If it were to be refined close to major export terminals along the gulf coast, it would actually raise gasoline and diesel prices “10 to 20 cents per gallon,” according to the Cornell study. “These additional costs (estimated to total $2-4 billion) will suppress other spending and will therefore cost jobs.”

The Sierra Club is planning a large rally on February 18 to begin the fight against future tarsands pipelines, and I will keep you up to date on these events as they near.

To read the President’s statement on the Keystone decision, and thank him for protecting our environment and economy, visit whitehouse.gov.

Class Warfare Accusations and the Math Behind GOP Tax Proposals

by: Eric Roberson

Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 07:00 PM CST

Today former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman dropped from the GOP Presidential race.  In doing so, he called the Obama administration's policies and rhetoric "Class Warfare."

The question is does that oft-repeated GOP attack stand up to the mathematical analysis?  

Let's look at the current tax proposals of the remaining GOP presidential field to see if their proposed tax policies exhibit good math skills, and what relationship those policies, and the mathematical impact of those policies on average Americans have to accusations of "Class Warfare" if any.

Summary of Proposed GOP Tax Plans

• Mitt Romney: Romney's features enormous tax cuts, larger than George W. Bush's; 57% of these reductions benefit the top 1% of Americans and 78% benefit the top 5% of Americans; and 40% of Middle Class families with children will pay higher taxes.
• Newt Gingrich/Rick Perry: Both candidates propose Flat Tax plans that lower top tax rates to 15% and 20% respectively.  Perry's plan removes tax loopholes, but Gingrich's plan does not.  So those with more than a million in income save an average $500,000 in taxes a year under Perry's plan and even more under Gingrich's plan.
• Rick Santorum: Santorum's tax plan contains a two-tiered "flatter tax" that lowers the top tax rate to 28%.  Santorum attempts to pay for it with $5 Trillion in reduced social spending.

It is important to note that 40% of our current deficit is based on the Bush Tax cuts depleting federal revenue according to an analysis of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities .

So here is my question: does standing up against these tax policies that benefit the richest 1-5% of Americans at the expense of the working poor, the middle class, and the deficit amount to class warfare?

Below the fold are the details of each tax plan.  

Is Obama Waging War on Texas? Dewhurst Give Credit Where It Is Due I Did It!

by: Arctotraveler

Sun Jan 01, 2012 at 02:36 PM CST

David Dewhurst enters the US Texas Senate campaign last month with "Tell Obama To Stop Waging War Against Texas." How can these Texas politicians be so misinformed? I say, David Dewhurst, stop giving Obama credit for my hard work!

Suffering the web for hours to find a Tea Party Sympathizer, I found an interesting article that tells the tale of  Tea Party big lie, "The second response is purely political-and Orwellian.  It is to repeat ad nauseum the Big Lie that this is the Tea Party downgrade, attributable lock, stock, and barrel to the failure of the Tea Party caucus in Congress to even countenance taxes as a part of any debt ceiling deal."

The author claims the credit rating was based on bad math calculations by the Obama Administration; however, memories are short and I wrote a valid justified complaint to the Office of the Inspector General April 2009 with concerns that the Tea Party is a Right Wing Extremist Group with one objective, to remove the first black president of the United States of America. In fact, I was specific with my concerns again last summer when our infrastructure fell apart with the BP Oil Spill, the main attraction based on discriminatory acts of hatred and narcissism in a post as follows:

In April 2009, Rick Perry succeeded from the Union founding an organized  rebellion (paid for by the state)  by posting the 'Stop' web page instructing all Texas employees to group together [Those that did not co-operate faced termination from their job] and rebel against the Constitution of the United States as members of  the  "Tea Party" rebellion, targeting not just the new presidential administration but the Honorable Barack Obama personally.

Rick Perry and his cronies, wealthy corporate owners and investors have just declared "War on the EPA" a statement just mentioned verbally in the state of Texas by a private citizens is enough to be harassed, arrested, and/or jailed by Law Enforcement for an unknown length of time waiting for Terrorist Threat charges to be collaborated by Texas District Attorneys.

Texas Steals Oil Rights 001: http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

Texas Steals Oil Rights 002: http://www.burntorangereport.c...

It is unimaginable the Governor of Texas would publicly "Declare  War" against regulating authorities that would of prevented the  Gulf disaster. Employee Whistle Blower Postings At These Operations Have The Maranda Act Printed On The Top Of The Federal Document. This is why oil clean-up workers would not talk to the press and the root cause to all the oil fires because the employees cannot say anything about safety "You Have The Right To Remain Silent, Anything You Say Can And Will Be Use Against You In A Court Of Law."

See Nobody Likes a Snitch Everybody Honors a Whistle Blower at this link:
http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

The Gulf  Disaster investigation shows hard evidence, a repeat of special interest favors that also caused the Texas BP refinery explosion in 2005 as Perry justifies his words by stating "Obama has declared War on Texas."  The 911 Patriot Act is clearly unconstitutional if the rule of law is not applied universally to those that Govern (Rick Perry) and those that are governed too.

The state of Texas has no record of any virtuous acts other than those good deeds provided by private citizens and organizations in and out of the State of Texas. Over the last eight years, government agencies such as the EPA, Transportation Department, and Office of Civil Rights have tried every form of diplomacy  to protect property and lives and seldom pursue violations by court of law against the state of Texas.

Some good local examples are Kelly AFB which is an active EPA Toxic Super Fund,  our farm burn 3 times in a five year period due to faulty oil well heads (fire from the lack of routine safety maintenance and inspections example BP), and the mass exodus of disabled students from the university of Texas because of hostile policies that segregate the disabled population from all other campus community members.

My Demands Non-negotiable at this Link:
http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

Most Texans believe that Perry's coalition is made of the few wealthy and corrupt State investors that have no regard for their fellow man or loss of human life. Countless examples of Perry's special interest policies such as the recent big pharmaceutical mortality spike of 88,000 deaths [Merck Vioxx], Vaccine legislation support by special interest cash linked to autism, drug legislation doughnut hole that deprives elderly for necessary medicines, antiquated DEA laws that aid the illegal drug trade, and finance terrorism.

In addition, burning fuel farms and oil well heads where cash buys safety certificates, academic payoffs justifying cheaper unsafe manufacturing processes, a "No Child Left Behind Law" that has filled Texas prisons with those very children the law intended to protect ad infinitum. Texas Governor Rick Perry defended his action by sarcastically apologizing for his anti-ethical behavior, to him justified his actions.

Ethics:  Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is a branch of philosophy  that addresses questions about morality-that is, concepts such as good and bad, noble and ignoble, right and wrong, justice, and virtue.

Anti-ethics: categories of good and evil do not apply

But why should Right Wing Extremist have a concern that does not concern themselves? The united States Constitution does not imply or express that fellow citizens should have a concern of the welfare of others as Rick Perry recently justified his "Anti-ethical practices" which is a true indicator that he and his coalition do not understand the term or value of 'ethics' or the destruction caused by unethical practices guarded against by the United States Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves  and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"

• in Order to form a more perfect Union:  "to improve the general well-being of the country (McGire)"

• establish Justice: "Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics (wiki)."

• insure domestic Tranquility: "One of the main goals of the Convention, then, was to ensure the federal government had powers to squash rebellion and to smooth tensions between states (US Constitution)."

• provide for the common defense: "The primary responsibility of the government of the United States of America; to ensure the nation is protected from threats both inside and outside the country, such as terrorism, war, subterfuge, etc. (Answers)"

• promote the general Welfare: All peoples of the United States rich, poor, health, sick, young, or old

Yes, empirical facts point to the struggle to get America back on its feet was defeated by Mob Tea Party Right Wing Extremist that is "political-and Orwellian" that abused the 911 patriot Act at the state level with Rick Perry's Executive Order Declaring himself God, creating a police state that created a strong market in the first quarter by inside trading of Domestic Surveillance, Security Private Firms, and Manufactures of such devices; the symptoms that were not felt until the "Orwellian Lie" news break that the 911 Patriot Act had been breach with security devices that now are used by the news media to get the inside scope to victims of the disaster that the 911 Patriot act was supposed to "Keep Us Safer."

Read Full Article: http://www.scribd.com/fullscre...

Texans have been screaming at the top of their lungs disputing the notion that the wealthy few create jobs, and can be clearly demonstrated to be false by the failed Rick Perry Tax Plan with a warning from the Texas Comptroller's Office detailing in 2006 a projected FYI budget in 2010 a 23,000,000,000 deficit, which is perfect math.

citation: http://www.window.state.tx.us/...

As predicted by the Obama administration and It is a fact, the quick fix is to Repeal the Bush Tax Relief Plan to the wealthy few who built their wealth on the backs on ordinary middle class citizens.

Compounding the problem of the debt is that we are at war declared by George Bush on Iraq as Osama bin Laden, a CIA operative, followed detailed plans that were given him, so our intelligence could devise a plan to counter such attacks.

Unfortunately, Osama was successful with the attack on New York by duping our intelligence agency. He should of been arrested for his first terrorist bombing during the Clinton Administration which would of made the attack on New York impossible and avoided the deaths of 4,000 American citizens.

My family is a victim of one his first high tech bombings in Riyadh Saudi Arabia November 13, 1993, and still wonder with the prudence and tip toeing done around the Osama bin Laden clan while it was a known fact, he attacked the United States and continued to do so before the twin towers were destroyed killing near 4000 people. [Conspiracy or stupidity? Your choice]

Citation: http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

The attack on New York mortally spike is small in comparison to the millions of deaths by deregulation of Big Pharmaceutical, conflicts of Interest with political leaders, and manufacturing of products that still kill thousands daily such as asbestos.

Let's us not forget the mass shooting on U.S. Campuses that were in fact Orwellian Big Brother protection of the wealthy few, that could of been avoided if George Bush did not obstruct justice and cull professionals from the justice department.

It does not amaze me that Texas seemed to dance with impunity as if they had a copy of the hit list of professional District Attorneys that seemed to contradict Republican ideologies or wrote the list themselves blessed by Senator Cornyn.

Citation: http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

The best indicator of economic health is the quality of care a State or Country provides for those that cannot care for themselves, and the evidence was there long before the election of Barack Obama, as seen as the abuses in Texas Protective Institutions of beatings, rape, and murder.

Graduates of these same institutions were shipped over state lines to slave farms as so called employers pocketed their social security checks while they lived in scalar. Not long after the investigation, Governor Rick Perry transfers a multimillion dollar budget from disabled care to Digital Ally for an x-ray machine that can penetrate metal to catch the human trafficking of slaves which are illegal Hispanics crossing the borders, while U.S. citizens were deported from the state of Texas over state lines in open public to slave farms in Missouri.

Amazingly, all this could be turned around in a matter of months if the Tea Party, or let's be fair, the Right Wing co-operated and supported the executive branch in a time of crisis. The Obama Administration saved the U.S. from destruction on several repeated occasions, only to be defamed by Right Wing Mob hatred!

I understand that you do not understand the value of ethics, but how about a little patriotism instead of conspiring with Right Wing Extremist such as the John Birch Society or banning together in the name of God as political day of prayer which is the "political-and Orwellian Big Lie" to 30,000 innocent people that was preplanned, premeditated, and orchestrated by the Republican party by instructing Perry to do so!

Consider a little empathy even if you have to fake compassion, now that doomsday is not just knocking on the foreclosed houses of the middle class, but making the wealthy few jump ship to off shore accounts, while the sting of consequences of Tea Party Hatred is now in your own living rooms as the result of your Mob Forced Intrusion on Congressional Legislators!

Now David Dewhurst Is Crying "Tell Obama To Stop Waging War On Texas." Don't blame Obama, give me and other Texans full credit for taking the time to report the legislatures illegal activity to the Justice Department including the EPA! That's right, I did it Dewhurst, so sue me!

If Right Wing Extremism is not addressed by the Justice Department now, history will repeat as it did on November 13, 1963 by the detonation of a dirty bomb that even shook the foundation of resident Texas Republican conspirators living in San Antonio - you know who you are.

Texas Right Wing Extremist Plan To Assassinate The President 1963 Set Off Nuclear Dirty Bomb:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ns8Z...

John Birch Society Hate Group Started A Texas Nazi Cult America's Youth just Like Rick Perry:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ejP...

Who defended the biggest funds on the defense to protect themselves that cost more to watch us than to care for us - as you have stated in your article, "Would Rather Starve Than Feed" as follows:

It Doesn't Take a Rating Agency to Tell Which Way the Debt Grows By Craig Pirrong Aug 8, 2011, 4:02 AM Author's Website

citation: http://wallstreetpit.com/81097...

"The second response is purely political-and Orwellian.  It is to repeat ad nauseum the Big Lie that this is the Tea Party downgrade, attributable lock, stock, and barrel to the failure of the Tea Party caucus in Congress to even countenance taxes as a part of any debt ceiling deal."

"The Tea Party doesn't consider raising taxes to be a constructive part of any effort to address the problem because its members believe that spending is the problem, not the way the spending is financed.  They believe that the government is too big, it spends too much, it spends badly, and that raising taxes just extends, but only for a little while, the life of Destructive Leviathan-whom they would rather starve than feed."

Oddly, there is still time for the Right Wing Mob that defeated every progressive step to restore America, to join the rest of us and support the actions of the Obama administration, even if you do not favor him, because it is no longer an ethical concern beyond your understanding. The doomsday riders are now at your front doors as a hazard to yourselves and family, no longer just a patriotic concern for the future of a collapsing United States economy!

by Texas Threatened My Family And Now Texas Pays The Price. You have yet to pay the price and I still have a full deck of cards to play and nothing to lose! Pay Up of Shut Up David Dewhurst! And stop giving Obama credit for my hard work!

Want to resolve the issue? Read this article:

http://iamnotanonymousihaveana...

Your Welcome Communications Is Key! Gregory O'Dell:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CawW...

Obama Says He Will VETO Payroll Tax Legislation if Keystone XL Attached

by: chris wilson

Wed Dec 07, 2011 at 04:09 PM CST

From today's joint press conference with President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Harper:  "If the payroll tax cut is attached to a whole bunch of extraneous issues, then it's not something that I'm going to accept."

http://thinkprogress.org/green...

Thank you President Obama!  

Big Environmental Victories this Week Against the Tarsands Pipeline and Dirty Coal Power in Austin

by: Adam Schwitters

Fri Nov 18, 2011 at 00:49 PM CST

Environmental activists scored major victories this week both locally, with Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s announcement that the City of Austin will sell its share in the Fayette Coal Power Plant in La Grange and move towards a coal free energy future, and nationally, with two major developements in the Keystone XL “tarsands” pipeline saga.

On Wednesday, Mayor Leffingwell pledged to join other major cities across the the country in moving Austin off of polluting coal fired energy production by selling Austin Energy’s share in the aging Fayette Coal Plant.  The Fayette plant is a notorious polluter that, according to the Sierra Club, “produces approximately 307 pounds of mercury each year.  Only one gram of mercury is needed to contaminate an entire 20 acre lake.”  Austin has access to viable clean energy alternatives, such as wind power, and the Fayette plant’s inability to comply with upcoming federal emissions standards will see its operational costs “rise significantly over the next few decades.”  As Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director for the Sierra Club Austin put it:

 

We congratulate Mayor Leffingwell on the renewal of his commitment to move Austin beyond coal. Today's announcement is consistent with a plan first crafted over a year ago and approved unanimously by City Council in February.  Mayor Leffingwell called for a dialogue with the community, with Austin Energy, and with the LCRA. We welcome this dialogue, and as a first step, Sierra Club has developed a plan to phase out of the Fayette Coal Plant by 2016.

I do have a couple of concerns with the announcement that I will look into further in the coming days.  The first is that the electric grid in Texas is run by Ercot (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas) an organization that was first created in 1941 to help industrial production along the Gulf coast.  Under deregulation, Ercot is the sole authority to determine how power flows across the “nodal system” that exists in Texas, for, unlike the other large regional power grids in the US and Canada, Ercot is contained within the borders of Texas and therefore not subject to Federal interstate commerce regulations.  In Texas, if a plant near Dallas has excess capacity, and Waco experiences a power surge, then Ercot determines how much power moves between the two cities.  Even though Austin would sell its share in the Fayette plant, it is not clear whether the city would have a say on which plants were providing power generation to Austin Energy customers.  For more on Ercot, read this extensive PDF.  Also, LCRA (the Lower Colorado River Authority) has stated that they are “proud” of the Fayette plant and have "no plans to close [the plant] and will not support any plan to shut down the plant."

It is also significant that Leffingwell made his announcement at press conference kicking off his re-election campaign.  When Randi Shade lost her seat to Kathie Tovo in June, Leffingwell lost a strong pro-business ally, and needed support from the generally left leaning council for his big pet project, a $500 million water treatment plant.  It is critically important for Leffingwell to hear from his constituents just how important Austin’s clean energy future is.  

Please contact the Mayor and tell him that you support his decision and want to see Austin powered by clean technologies.  You can easily write him here, or you can attend the Sierra Club’s Town Hall meeting:

 

Sunday, December 4, 2011

TSEU Office at 1700 South 1st Street, Austin, Texas

3:00-5:00 PM

Nationally, the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring dirty, “tarsands” bitumen from Alberta, Canada to Houston and Port Arthur hit two major obstacles this week.  First, President Obama decided to delay a decision about the pipeline for up to 18 months as the State Department re-evaluates the enivronmental impact of the pipeline route which would take it through at least seven states and over several critical aquifers including the vast Ogalalla Aquifer in the Sand Hills region of Nebraska and the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Texas.  Any spill in these areas would be a disaster for millions of farmers, ranchers, and would pollute municipal water systems.  The initial State Department environmental impact statement was written by a paid contractor of Transcanada, the very company that is trying to build the pipeline.  An independent EIS drafted by professionals who are not employed by Transcanada will show how dangerous this pipeline really is.  The administration’s own Environmental Protection Agency has already issued two statements condeming the pipeline, but under an obscure Johnson administration executive order from 1968, they do not have jurisdiction over pipelines that cross international borders.

Obama’s decision is definitely about the 2012 presidential election.  In 2008, Obama ran a progressive campaign, pledging to provide good governance, end the wars, fix the economy, provide health care, and protect the environment.  The results of his first term have been suspect, at best, on all of these issues, and he needs the support of his progressive base to win his re-election.  As Ian Davis, of the Sierra Club, put it, “if he caves on [the pipeline] he will lose his volunteer base,” because this is “a litmus test issue for young people.”  In practice, this delay enables anti-pipeline advocates to increase pressure on the administration from multiple angles, and hopefully make it politically unfeasible for the pipeline to be built.  In Texas, this pressure comes in the form of 391 commissions.  These 391’s are “super governments” formed when any number of mayors or city councils vote to form one and are able to “join and cooperate to improve the health, safety, and general welfare of their residents.”  391’s were instrumental in defeating Rick Perry’s hated Trans Texas Corridor, and are the basis for pipeline opposition in Texas.

Nebraska, which had been the center of anti-pipeline activism, scored its own big victory against the pipeline this week when Transcanada announced it would reroute the pipeline around the state.  The initial route passed through the sensitive Sand Hills region, the primary recharge zone for the vast Ogalalla Aquifer that provides water to a huge area in multiple states across the southern great plains.  In some ways, the success in rerouting the pipeline away from Nebraska will make it more difficult for activists in other states (given the strong, bipartisan opposition to the pipeline in the state); however, the mounting costs associated with the delays will eventually force Transcanada to find an alternative route, or non at all.  The company’s stock as already fallen 9.1% since October 4, and the delays are projected to cost them up to $1 million per day.

I will continue the discussion next week on both issues, and provide more ways to help get Austin off of dirty coal, and keep the US free of dirty Canadian tarsands oil.  

Again, contact Lee Leffingwell here to show him your support for Austin’s clean energy future.  And visit stoptarsands.org for information on how you can help stop this looming environmental disaster from taking place.

Moving Forward In South Central Texas

by: Arctotraveler

Sun Jul 03, 2011 at 05:19 PM CDT

Living in one of the hardest hit districts from the economic collapse of Fall 2008 in South Central Texas, a ride in the country side makes one's head hang low to avoid the view of every other farm an empty house with broken windows that once had children playing and a big yellow school bus that was forever in the way of traffic.

Taking a family ride south of San Antonio, the view out the window is of ghost towns in the Old West including an occasional tumble weed that rolls across "farm to market" roads in need of immediate maintenance.

These small Texas "farm to market" roads are the Royal Highways that makes mineral resources accessible and the trading routes of food producing farms trigger economic prosperity of Texas City States of the new millennium.

All Rural Roads lead to American prosperity including our South American neighbors. Not too long ago, one could drive safely from North San Antonio on the Pan American Freeway all the way to Chile in 1995.

Reference: http://www.facebook.com/pages/...

I have seen this down turn before when the strength of the American dollar put travelers on airplanes that ruined 1000s of miles of the passenger rail all the way to Mexico City.

Not long ago, I could hop on train in one of two railway stations in Old San Antone with a backpack and a few hundred dollars in my pocket. The scenic view by rail was worth the few extra hours to visit friends living near ancient city ruins of the Aztec empire deep and safely in to what has become a DMZ zone 500 miles wide between our border and the main metropolitan areas of the Republic of Mexico.

You ask for my ideas to keep America moving forward. I can tell you that heads are up and people standing tall with the bustle of rough neck oil workers filling once empty cafes in small South Central Texas towns with just a dream-  The American Dream!

Economic recovery may be years down the road, but you cannot tell it now on the faces of locals after the permitting opened for the Eagle Ford Shale drilling operations.

If we want to keep moving forward in South Central Texas,  is to go back in time of conservative spending by state, government, and citizens. Invest some of the profits of oil wealth back in passenger rail that will make Argentina accessible to the average middle class family and heal relations with war torn Mexico which will strengthen our border security better than a battalion of Army Soldiers, Squadron of Surveillance Drones, or an impenetrable wall twenty feet high, stretching from Del Rio to Matamoras.

Some would say that would take a miracle, or a goal that is not obtainable within reason.  While others before us such as Friar  Bartolome de Las Casas wrote in his letters to the King of Spain "Apologética historia de las Indias" about the same Royal Highway made without heavy equipment or metal tools as follows:

"Then, there is that miracle -- such it may be called for being the most remarkable, singular and skilful construction of its kind, I believe, in the world -- of the two highways.... across the mountains and along the coast. The finer and more admirable of these extends for at least six and perhaps eight hundred leagues and is said to reach the provinces of Chile....In Spain and Italy I have seen portions of the highway said to have been built by the Romans from Spain to Italy, but it is quite crude in comparison with the one built by these peoples...."

Citation: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/e...

A miracle is a positive event in our lives that seem to oppose the laws of physics or the natural order of things. We do not need to wait for a miracle, reinvesting in passenger rail, Rural Road maintenance, and Freight Lines from Del Rio, Laredo, and Eagle Pass, would just take an investment of profits paid by oil resources. The return on investment would not only save Billions is wasteful sending on border control but regain trusted relations with our South American Neighbors and a balance in economic trade.

The construction and new routes of roads and freight train rail are already in the works by oil companies to gain access to Eagle Ford Shale in South Central Texas. Why not keep on moving forward with rebuilding by laying new track where once the old systems lay, infrastructure lost by inexpensive fuel consuming air travel over the last 30 years in South Central Texas.

Obama Handed a Royal Flush

by: Robbins

Sat May 07, 2011 at 09:23 PM CDT

Never the less, Obama received a winning hand that has boosted his approval rating 11 to 12 points just because he stepped forward and claimed responsibility for Osama's demise. Did he deserve this claim to fame, probably not?

All who have observed Obama since the beginning of 2008 know without a doubt that he didn't approve of this mission and that is what makes this story is so intriguing. The person or persons in charge of this mission didn't need Obama's approval. But, obviously some of his Administration knew that Obama had just been handed a winning poker hand and they showed him how to play it.

Looking back at his campaign speeches in 2008, it's easy to understand that he absolutely didn't agree with Bush, Cheney or Americans about our stance on terrorism or the methods of interrogation.

In fact his anti - Iraq war position the first part of the 2008 campaign must be credited for his early popularity. Towards the end of the 2008 campaign, the "flip flop" man took another stance in attempt to secure voters by saying two of his priorities were, (1) Beefing up the war in Afghanistan against terrorists, and (2) The nuclear problems with Iran.

Obama's Education Policy an Attack on Families

by: Pattinson

Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 10:26 PM CDT

Shortly after I began classes, I found out I was going to be a father. I faced the difficult decision of whether I could both stay in school or leave to help provide for my newborn child. In the end, I didn't have to choose, Herzing helped me to find a job at a local factory after my classes, and helped me schedule for work and school. When my son's mother's substance abuse problems left me as a single father, I had to take on another part-time job to make ends meet. Even then, Herzing helped me design a course program that allowed me to work both jobs, attend school and spend time with my infant son. The administration frequently checked in with me to see how I was doing, and my instructors helped me in any way they could.

Texas College Democrats Applaud Senate Vote to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

by: TexasCollegeDemocrats

Sat Dec 18, 2010 at 04:08 PM CST

Austin, TX - Texas College Democrats President Ryan Lofton Payne released the below statement today, following a vote in the U.S. Senate to move forward on critical legislation that would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  The legislation would allow Americans to serve in the military regardless of their sexual orientation.

"The Senate did the right thing today for our country and our military by voting to move forward with legislation that would repeal the outdated and discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.  President Obama pledged to overturn this policy when he campaigned for office, and today, US Senators cast critical votes to move toward achieving this goal.  The repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' which is supported overwhelmingly by the American people, will ensure that brave men and women who wish to serve in the military can do so regardless of their sexual orientation.  It is the right thing to do, will be a boost to our national security, and would be a major victory for equal rights in America."

Other members of the Texas College Democrats board had this to say:

"The repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is a victory for all Americans who believe no soldier, or anyone for that matter, should have to hide who they are."
-Vice President Garrett Hall

"Our military exists to protect our nation and all its citizens. It's only fair that our armed forces reflect the American spirit of unity, equality, and tolerance."
-Secretary Oscar Boleman

"This is great news! It's about time! This is a historic step towards an inevitable full breadth of equality in all facets of life for gays in America."
-Development Director Dallen Terrell

"Finally! The repeal of DADT was long overdue."
-Programs Director Dancey Glover

"By ending this unjust law, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer be discharged for being true to themselves and living lives of integrity. This is a triumph not only for civil rights but also for national defense."
-Communications Director Alexander Clark

"The repeal of DADT marks a turn in LGBT relations. Just a half decade ago, the Senate was voting whether to discriminate against the LGBT community in our Constitution and now at the end of the decade we see our military become truly open to all Americans."
-Political Affairs Director David de la Fuente

"The repeal of DADT, which has cost this nation hundreds of millions of dollars stands as a true victory for fiscal conservatism within our federal government and further allows our nation to stand as champions for our brave, selfless men and women in uniform."
-Membership Director Kendall Scudder

"This courageous action by the Senate allows so many to continue to serve their nation. DADT repeal continues our nation's tradition of expanding equality for all."
-President Emeritus Andy Jones

The fight for civil rights, a struggle that continues, will no longer include this one. While we celebrate, there is still much to do.

Let's get to work,

Texas College Democrats

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