Liberty
Matters News Service
August 28, 2007
Democrats Push for Expansion of Wetlands Power
House Democrats, led by Rep. James L. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, are backing a bill that would place every puddle of water under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Environmentalists are pressuring passage of H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007, introduced in May and appears Oberstar will bring it up for discussion when Congress returns from its August recess. Since 2001, the environmental community has wanted Congress to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that placed limits on federal government power. The Court ruled the Corps does not have Section 404 jurisdiction over isolated, non-navigable intrastate waters that can be used by migratory birds. In 2006, the Court muddied that ruling when it ruled "navigable waters" could include waters that share a common nexus "to perform important functions for an aquatic system incorporating navigable waters." Oberstar and his 168 co-sponsors intend to overturn the Supremes with H.R. 2421. "This bill is designed to restore the authority of the Clean Water Act so it has the same effect it had prior to the Supreme Court's rulings," Oberstar said in a May 22 interview. "This legislation will not create onerous new rules or regulations." The legislation states in part: "Sec. 5. Conforming Amendments. The federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended (1) by striking 'navigable waters of the United States' each place it appears and inserting 'waters of the United States'; (2) in section 304(1)(1) by striking 'NAVIGABLE WATERS' in the heading and inserting 'WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES'; and (3) by striking 'navigable waters each place it appears and inserting 'waters of the United States.' If passed, the bill would put the federal government in control of every drop of water in the U.S. allowing the government to regulate all activities affecting those waters. Richard Baker (R-LA), ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, has called the bill "the largest-ever expansion of federal powers over private property."
House Bill Aims to
Circumvent Supreme Court on Clean Water Act
Earth to Houston
The major network stations have been strangely quiet concerning the latest on the man-caused global warming issue. For over a decade, the media and public figures have been predicting the earth is doomed to go up in flames or perhaps melting glaciers will cause oceans to inundate the world; all due to rising temperatures brought on by the use of fossil fuels. Al Gore recently gained rock-star status as Hollywood types embraced his film "An Inconvenient Truth," and honored him with an Oscar for his chilling documentary of Earth's fate unless drastic measures are taken to reduce CO2 emissions. Now another "inconvenient truth" has been revealed and the global warming fear mongers are silent. The darling of the global warming crowd, NASA scientist James Hansen, fueled the cause with his claim that the warmest year ever, was 1998. The truth, however, is quite different. H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) revealed that Hansen's claim was based on a serious math error. "Hansen's conclusions that the majority of the 10 hottest years occurred since 1990 are false," Burnett said. The hottest year on record in the United States is The Dust Bowl year, 1934. The third hottest year was 1921, not 2006. Three of the five hottest years occurred before 1940; and six of the top 10 hottest years occurred before 90 percent of the growth in greenhouse gas emissions during the last century occurred. Hansen routinely claimed to have been censored by the Bush administration, but "now that NASA has cleaned up his mess" said Burnett, Hansen has been silent - I guess we can chalk this up to self-censorship."
NASA Backtracks on
1998 Warmest Year Claim
Truth Stripped
Naked
North American Leaders Meet in Canada
President George W. Bush, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper, met at the posh Canadian resort, Montebello, this week to discuss issues surrounding the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). The meeting was closed to press and only a chosen few were allowed entry. Crowds of protestors were held back from the gates of the mansion by police brandishing clubs and spraying the protestors with pepper spray at times. "The SPP is pursuing an agenda to integrate Mexico and Canada in closed-door sessions," said Howard Phillips, the chairman of the Coalition to Block the North American Union. "We are here to register our protest, along with…thousands of Americans who agree with us that the SPP is a globalist agenda driven by the multi-national corporate interests and intellectual elite…" After the three leaders presented their report on the meeting to reporters, President Bush was questioned about the rumored North American Union. "Can you say today that this is not a prelude to a North American Union, similar to a European Union? Are there plans to build some kind of superhighway connecting all three countries," asked Brett Baer, Fox News Correspondent. Bush evaded answering the question directly, and instead ridiculed the concerns by saying: "…there are some who would like to frighten our fellow citizens...I believe it is in our interest to trade; I believe it is in our interest to dialogue; I believe it's in our interest to work out common problems for the good of our people. And I'm amused by some of the speculation, some of the old - scare tactics. So I appreciate the question. It's quite comical, when you realize the difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about." A day earlier, David Wilkins, the U. S. ambassador to Canada, also denied any skullduggery surrounded the meeting. "While conspiracy theories abound," Wilkins wrote, "you can take it to the bank that no one involved in these discussions is interested in, or has ever proposed a 'North American Union,' a 'North American super highway,' or a 'North American currency.'" The big three did what all politicians do when they wish to conceal the truth from the public and the public would be wise to take their reassurances with a grain of salt.
Bush doesn't deny
plans for N. American Union
On the eve of
Montebello
USDA Ordered to Iron Out NAIS Wrinkles
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to look into USDA's plan for a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) with an eye to its efficiency. Sen. Harkin asked GAO for a report in November 2005, after concerns were raised that the system was not performing as promised. The report confirmed that USDA has a lot of work to do to implement the controversial program. A major complaint, according to GAO, is that USDA had not developed a method to keep producers informed about costs affiliated with the program. USDA is working to correct that problem. USDA has not prioritized the ID system relative to the value of each species or for those most at risk from diseases. USDA's ID plan duplicates existing animal disease eradication programs, thereby piling unnecessary costs on producers. USDA has spent $35 million on 169 animal ID cooperative agreements, but failed to find out how the money was spent. Additionally, the agency has not tested the animal tracking devices to see if they work. And finally, USDA has no idea if there is sufficient participation to make the program work. As usual, the government has devised an expensive, time-consuming, program to fix a problem that doesn't exist.
Tom Harkin: GAO Finds
WEaknesses In USDA's National Animal Identification Plan