Liberty Matters News Service

September 15, 2003  

No Land Trust Hijack of H.R. 7

H.R. 7, the Charitable Giving Act of 2003, sailed through the House Ways and Means Committee without any amendments favorable to land trust organizations. According to Washington insiders, influential House members promised a fierce fight on the House floor if the committee adopted an amendment to give a 50% capital gains tax break to landowners who sold property to wealthy land trust organizations. Property rights lobbyist, Mike Hardiman praised the Committee action saying, "It was a good day. The taxpayers were saved $950 million that were not given to the land trusts." The bill is expected to come to the floor of the House for a vote next week, but it is not expected to undergo changes. The difference between H.R. 7 and its companion, S. 476, is that the Senate version (which has passed the Senate) provides for a 25% tax break for land conservation. Unless added to the House bill, a conference committee will iron out the differences in a few weeks and that will have to be monitored closely. President Bush, who has advocated the 50% level, is keen on having a final version on his desk before the end of the current session. Property rights advocates need to contact their representatives to keep this amendment off H.R. 7 during floor debate.

Sierra Club Campaigns to Defeat Bush

In a recent memo to Sierra Club staff and volunteers, Executive Director Carl Pope outlines a concentrated effort to defeat George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. The campaign is in response to what the Sierra Club's leadership terms "environmental assaults from the Bush administration and the Congress unlike anything we have witnessed." The memo also states; "The Board of Directors and Conservation Governance Committee have resolved that this campaign should be the highest priority in the months ahead. To carry these programs out we have adopted three primary strategies: raising people's sights by promoting visionary solution to environmental problems; building community by establishing one-on-one, personal relationships with our friends and neighbors; and using guerilla warfare to stop attacks on the environment." While the memo explains the get-out-the-environment-vote effort, no further mention of the guerilla warfare is made. Top staff members are being pulled off regular duties to oversee what is called the "Stop Bush/ Beat Bush Campaign." "We do not believe we will be able to defend the environment from Bush's policies or ultimately beat Bush unless we do coordinate and align our various programs in a completely unprecedented way. Each of our activities must be designed and coordinated to the maximum extent possible to work together to stop Bush." Efforts to verify this information have gone unanswered.
Sierra Club Global Message

Eco-Terrorism Harms Environment

Finally, the recent increase in arson and vandalism attacks attributed to radical environmentalists have received the attention of lawmakers. Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA) plans to re-introduce the Eco-Terrorism Prevention Act calling for a federal database of attacks committed by covert groups like the Earth Liberation Front. ELF has claimed responsibility for last month's arson fires that caused millions in damage to SUV dealerships and destroyed a high dollar apartment complex. Lawmakers say ELF has set back the environmental agenda in Washington. "They are doing tremendous harm to the environment. How am I supposed to fight for a (fuel economy) standard if I get lumped in with these lunatics," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) said he sees little difference in domestic terror attacks and those committed by foreigners. "What's the difference between this and somebody going in and blowing up a building?" Not all lawmakers agree the federal government should become involved, however. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) said, "It's a local law enforcement thing, and local law enforcement is dealing with it." Apparently he hasn't heard the FBI is investigating the matters. U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) says although she agrees the incidents are "wrong and criminal," she doesn't believe "there is currently a role for Congress in investigating the incidents or the organizations."
Arson Sparks Call For Action

Last Time, There's No Global Warming

Dennis Avery, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues, writes that the so-called global warming has been going on in some form for thousands of years and is nothing to lose sleep over. New science has emerged that reveals there have been at least nine global warmings and nine global coolings over the last 12,000 years. Climate researcher John Christy points out that official thermometers show a temperature rise of 0.7° F for the last 24 years, far less that the greenhouse theory projected. Nonetheless, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) continues to warn the Earth will burst into flames if the U.S. doesn't adopt stringent measures to curb flagrant use of fossil fuels, aided and abetted by European interests that want the U. S. economy to flounder. Based on this new information, the Bush administration has directed the EPA to rewrite its global warming report to emphasize the uncertainties involved in predicting climate change. If SUVs are not the culprit, what will the little eco-twerps firebomb next?
Natural Global Warming