Archive for the ‘Energy’ Category

It’s time to work the phones, North Carolina conservatives!  This according to the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women.

According an action alert sent to members, legislative chairman  Joyce Krawiec wrote:

Our Republican led House and Senate recently passed S820 to allow for Hydraulic Fracturing in NC.  This technology would enable NC to harvest natural gas which would be a huge job creator for our state. The Governor had said she would be in favor of this legislation but now, it is expected that she will veto this legislation. We need to contact certain Legislators that we believe may be leaning to vote for overriding the Governor’s veto.

Call the Legislators below and urge them to vote to over ride Gov. Perdue’s veto.

Krawiec urged readers to telephone and e-mail the following Representatives.  She added that callers should be extremely polite and keep your message simple:

Don’t let Governor Perdue continue to block jobs and energy security in North Carolina.  Please override the veto of Senate Bill 820.

Rep. Pat  McElraft 919 733 6275 pat.mcelraft@ncleg.net

Rep. Dewey Hill 919 733 5830 dewey.hill@ncleg.net

Rep. William Brisson 919 733 5772 william.brisson@ncleg.net

Rep. Bryan Holloway 919 733 5609 bryan.holloway@ncleg.net

Rep. Tim Spear 919 715 3029 tim.spear@ncleg.net

Rep. Bill Owens 919 733 0010 bill.owens@ncleg.net

Rep. Marcus Brandon 919 733 5825 marcus.brandon@ncleg.net

Rep. Susi  Hamilton 919 733 5754 susi.hamilton@ncleg.net

This post was written live, as it happened. 

7:21 p.m.  Hello and Welcome to the Wake County Republican Party’s Precinct meeting.  We are at Dorton Arena this evening in West Raleigh, at the state fairgrounds.  This is the first time that the Wake County party has help the precinct meetings all in one place and the strategy has worked out beautifully.  KCC commends county chairman Susan Bryant and her entire team.

7:25 pm  Susan Bryant has welcomed Pat McCrory, Republican candidate for Governor to the stage.  He is standing alongside Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison.

It’s like a pep rally in here.  Don’t Get Fooled Again, by The Who is playing loudly and people are dancing in the aisles and clapping along.

7:36  p.m. McCrory said “we’ve already accomplished half the battle in scaring Gov Beverly Perdue out of the race.  But that’s only half the battle.”

“We won’t get fooled again, as we will get rid of the (former NC Governor) Mike Easley culture of corruption”, Pat McCrory added.

McCrory says that Democrats want to “raise the taxes at the worst time…when new graduates of our colleges cannot find jobs and are having to move back home with mom and dad….instead we need to grow our economy and a pro-growth policy,” he opined.

“We are gonna make sure that every bill that Beverly Perdue vetoed will pass, especially photo voter ID…we have to have a photo ID to get into the Governor’s mansion.  We have to have an idea to buy Sudafed.  We need an ID to vote, too”.

Second, McCrory will join the lawsuit of the states against Obamacare.

Third, McCrory will change the policy against offshore drilling.  ”We will search for oil and natural gas, both onshore and off.”

7:33 p.m.  Education is “very near and dear” to his heart.  He wants to change the way we help our children.  McCrory said he got his teaching degree at Catawba College in 1978 and he wants to contine teaching, this time the entire state.

McCrory does not believe that every child needs to go to a 4-year college or university.  He believes in “two equal paths to success”.  He believes also in a vocational path, where a child can learn to use their hands as a skill so they can innovate.

“The liberal elite tries to force us into only one path, but we need a system of productivity.”  Otherwise “people end up on welfare or in prison.”

We need to emphasize more in technology.  We need to engage these learning tools to help kids with basic skills, he added.

7:40 p.m.  The Culture of Government in North Carolina

McCrory noted that little has changed at the NC Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) since he got his first driver’s license in Jamestown, in 1973.

“We need to change this thinking.  We need to change this culture as we have some great state employees right here in Wake County”.

7:43 p.m.  The State

“No state is as great as ours”, said Pat McCrory.  ”We have fertile soil and lots of industries.  We need less government interference and allow these businesses and industries so they can expand.  Government regulations are also hurting our manufacturing and agriculture sectors.”

“With our great work ethic and our great universities, there is no reason why this state should not lead the nation out of the recession.”

“We must get out and do the hard work.  We have to LEGALLY register people and then take them to the polls on election day.    The other side is doing it.  We don’t want to be outworked.”

He then concluded his speech to the tune of “Won’t get fooled again” by The Who.

Convention Business

8:04 p.m Chairman Susan  Bryant is talking with the audience about the procedures about the county, district, state, and national conventions this year.

Chairman Bryant has announced that Wake County has more registered Republicans than our friends in Mecklenburg County.   The audience went crazy.  It doesn’t matter to this blogger.   KCC just wants everyone taking five people to the polls on election day.

8:08  p.m.  Chairman Bryant announced that over 1300 people PRE-registered to come tonight and many more registered at the door.  She asked the groups to break into House Districts and find our precinct.

9:00  p.m. After signing up for the Wake County convention and paying the fee, this blogger’s precinct business has concluded.  It was great seeing so many friends and candidates.   Thank you to the entire Wake GOP team, and to everyone who came out tonight.

This concludes our live blogging session, this evening.

Red Hat is sucking money out of Wake County taxpayers, with approval of Republican leaders on the Wake County Commission

Once again, the Republican members of the Wake County Commission have failed the taxpayers of North Carolina’s capital county.   Red Hat, one of the Triangle region’s most successful companies, came hat-in-hand, to the public trough, asking for $650,000 and the GOP lead group, came through.  This is a group that the Wake County Republican party worked tirelessly to elect and we feel certain that they won’t be happy.

Republican Commissioners Paul Coble (running for Congress), Tony Gurley (running as “the conservative candidate” for Lt. Governor), Phil Matthews, and Joe Bryan all voted FOR this measure.  Liberals Betty Lou Ward and James West also joined in.

According to Board Clerk, Susan Banks, only Erv Portman  cast a vote against.  All conservatives should drop Commissioner Portman a note of thanks for standing alone to protect the taxpayers of Wake County.

Red Hat wants to leave its longtime home on North Carolina State University’s Centennial campus, and move to downtown Raleigh into the recently vacated Progress Energy building.  Progress Energy was recently acquired/merged with Duke Power and those employees have either lost their jobs or have been relocated.

In the name of “jobs”, Red Hat deemed that the “needed” this money to bring more jobs, not only to Wake County, but to lawmakers’ precious downtown, that has already received more than its fair share of public financing.

KCC understands that Red Hat, a successful manufacturer of the Linux computer operating system, would have been fine without the money.  We like to call this effort, the Red Hat Poverty Fund.

Former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, quoted by the News and Observer in a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly article, said

politicians have become afraid to oppose the practice of luring companies with the promise of tax breaks.

It’s time to get companies off the public dole in the ole’ North State. However, it won’t be happening anytime soon. Both the State of North Carolina and the City of Raleigh are expected to vote to chip in to the Red Hat poverty fund. After all, no self-respecting politician wants to appear to oppose jobs, even in the face of principle!

Editor’s Note:  According to the News and Observer, Commissioner Paul Coble said it’s written into the policy of the county commission.  With a Republican Leadership, this policy MUST be changed!

Obama's Team is always ready and willing to help...themselves.

From a Washington Report, courtesy of Smart Girl Politics:

(WASHINGTON) – President Barack Obama recently halted the implementation of a controversial job-killing regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying he recognized the “importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty” in the economy.

While the President has spoken about, and even launched an effort to evaluate regulations that create unnecessary burdens, agencies in the Obama Administration have regulated in the opposite direction.

Spotlighting these regulatory failures and impacts on job creation is the focus of a newly released report and hearing held Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“The federal regulatory process is broken, being manipulated and exploited in ways that benefit allies of the Obama Administration such as environmental groups, trial lawyers, and unions.

Regulators have, in too many instances, been willing accomplices in the strategy advanced by outside interest groups to circumvent the oversight and accountability checks in the regulatory process,” Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said.

 The report released by Chairman Issa and the Oversight Committee documents a flawed and broken system that punishes job creators and stifles economic growth.  Key findings include:

·         The number of full time regulatory employees is expected to reach an all-time high of 291,676 in 2012;

·         The Obama Administration has already imposed 75 new major regulations that will cost more than $380 billion over ten years;

·         The Administration has 219 economically significant regulations in the pipeline right now—that, if finalized will impose costs of at least $219 billion on the economy over ten years.

In addition, the report outlines  numerous examples in the rule making process where federal agencies and regulators ignored, circumvented or openly flouted direction given by the President.

It spotlighted EPA’s sue-and-settle approach to bypass the process and avoid transparency on a recent lead paint rule with dire consequences for job creators; abuse of the emergency rule making process and use of ‘interim final rules’ regarding Obamacare, causing health plans to lose grandfathered status; and, an ‘enhanced review process’ initiated by EPA of a Clean Water Act provision in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, among others.

“The businesses owners and workers who bear the brunt of these regulations are not Fortune 500 executives, they are main street business owners and workers from around the country,” Issa said.  “These firms, their families, suppliers, customers and employees all bear the cost of these new and proposed regulations.  For them and businesses around the country, the price is greater than just compliance—it is a hidden tax of uncertainty on our economy,” he added.

Beyond the costs and implications for job creators from regulations, the Oversight Committee eport also pointed out that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the federal agency charged with serving as a watchdog over federal rule making, has failed to take meaningful action to address the breakdown in the process. (Editor’s Note: Your blogger didn’t even know there was such an office. She hopes our next president puts this agency on the chopping block, along with the Federal Department of Education.)

“Thus far, the rhetoric we have seen from the Obama Administration on the issue of regulatory reform has not been matched in deed,” Issa said.

A copy of the Committee’s report is here and testimony and other hearing-related information is available here.

SGP Action: North Carolina

Join Smart Girl Politics and participate in our online training events and activities.  Check out our mission statement and read the history of the group. “Smart Guys” are welcome, too.  KCC is co-chairman of the North Carolina chapter and welcomes all conservative women, of any political party, and any age, to learn more about us.  Please check our Facebook group.  Join our Ning group, too.  It’s so simple, that’s all you have to do!

Here is what is happening during the final two weeks of September:

From The Right Radio’s Thomas LaDuke will be teaching you how to get the interview, researching the interview, the right questions to ask, whether or not to use gotcha questions, and how to follow up. Please join us for an action-packed hour on interviewing.

Date: Thursday, September 15 at 9PM EST 

Register Here:   https://smartgirlpolitics.webex.com/  

President Barack Obama promised us a new style of “budget leadership” and he certainly delivered.  Only he has run the country down in the process.

This July 4th weekend, we may be celebrating our nation’s birthday, but this blogger certainly is not celebrating Obama’s leadership.  Here’s why:

Bust #1: Obama’s Latest “Budget” Is So Vague That It’s Meaningless

THEN: In 2008, Obama Promised To Go Through The Budget “Line By Line, Eliminating Programs That No Longer Work And Making The Ones We Do Need Work Better.”

NOW: CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf Says Obama’s Latest Budget Is Too Vague To Be Scored.

REP. PAUL RYAN: “The president gave a speech on April 13^th, where he outlined a new budget framework that claims $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years, have you estimated the budget impact of this framework?

ELMENDORF: No, Mr. Chairman. We don’t estimate speeches. We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech for us to do our analysis.”

Bust #2: Obama Promised To Get Serious About Reducing The Debt, He Hasn’t

THEN: In 2009, President Barack Obama Promised To Get Serious About Reducing Debt And Deficits.

NOW: Since President Obama Took Office, The National Debt Has Increased By $3.7 Trillion, the Total Debt Of The US Government Is $14.3 Trillion Dollars and Obama’s FY 2012 Budget Adds $13 Trillion In New Debt Through 2021.

Bust #3: Obama Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half, He Didn’t

THEN: In February 2009, Obama Said That He Would “Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of [His] First Term In Office.”

The Federal Budget Deficit for FY2009 Was $1.42 Trillion, Then The Highest In U.S. History until this year when the deficit is slated to hit $1.65 Trillion.

Editor’s Notes: Thanks to the poor economy, people have had to work harder and longer hours, take on a second or third job, and we feel blessed to have a job at all.

The biggest thing we will be celebrating on July 4th is that we live in the greatest nation in on earth.  We can vote out  those who do not serve us.

Please spread this information with your friends, as President Obama is NOT serving anyone but the interests of the unions, trial lawyers, Hollywood celebs, Utopian billionaires (George Soros and the like), the NAACP, the NOW gang, the radical environmentalists and the like.

Americans deserve a President who will serve us.  Currently, many people are seeking the position.   We all have our favorites.  In the end, we must unite to defeat Obama and his cronies!

(H/T: NCGOP)

Let's Veto Beverly Perdue in 2012

Here we go again. Governor Beverly Perdue continued to mark up good legislation with her red veto stamp. She ignored the will of the people of this state and ran roughshod over legislation that a bipartisan and duly elected legislature crafted together and overwhelmingly passed.

And she vetoed bills, such as the Regulatory Reform Act and the Energy Jobs Act —  an action that will kill jobs at a time when the state economy has lost 100,000 jobs over a two-year period. The Regulatory Reform Act actually hadunanimous support in the Senate because it was a common-sense bill that eliminated cumbersome and unclear regulations that had created uncertainty for businesses.

On Thursday, she vetoed 4 bills –all had passed in the House and Senate either unanimously or with very solid majorities.

She did not even have the guts to sign into law the hugely bi-partisan Tax Credits for Special Needs Children Bill and the Annexation Reform Bill – but allowed them to become law by simply not addressing them prior to today’s deadline.

It is a shame that the voters worked so hard to get real change at the legislature, begged for regulatory and tax relief and common-sense legislation—only to have Governor Perdue arrogantly use the veto 15 times this session.

You can be sure that AFP will be at the legislature building when it opens again later this summer and early fall, trying to come up with the votes to override these vetoes.

And we know you will be right there to help us – calling and emailing your legislators or visiting them on Jones Street.

Just look at some of the great, AFP-supported legislation that Governor Perdue vetoed this year:

Budget with zero tax increases         VETO Overridden

Medical Malpractice Reform              VETO

Individual Opt-out of Obamacare       VETO

Stop Government from taking union dues from teacher paycheck                                           VETO

Requiring a photo ID to vote               VETO

Regulatory Reform                              VETO

Energy Jobs Act                                 VETO

With your help, we got some good laws passed this year, too.

• Removed cap on charter schools
• Tort Reform for Businesses and Citizens
• Repealed Land Transfer Tax
• Tax Relief for Small Businessman
• Workmen’s Comp Reform
• Regulated Local Government Competition with Private Business
• Annexation Reform
• Tax Credits for Special Needs Children

The North Carolina Americans for Prosperity works for us!

However, we have our work cut out for us in trying to undo the damage Governor Perdue created with her veto stamp. We hope we can count on you to help us override these vetoes when the legislature convenes again later this summer.

Sincerely,

Dallas Woodhouse
North Carolina State Director
Americans for Prosperity

But it takes money to fight. Won’t you help the AFP NC  fight Governor Perdue and her bad policy decisions by sending $25, $50 or $100 today? The AFP needs us all.  This is your blogger’s favorite group and the one she works most closely with.  Let’s keep pushing to get the message out on radio and television. Join KCC and please donate today.

NC State Seal

Much has happened this week in the North Carolina State Legislature and Col. Brenda Formo has covered it all. Katy’s Conservative Corner cannot thank her enough for her dedication and oversight to conservative causes.

This report helps many plan their legislative activities and know when to contact their elected officials. Formo had a distinguished career in the United States Army and we thank her for her service to our nation.

Writing on behalf of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women, Mrs. Formo is the State Vice-President of the Central Region.  To find out how to join a Republican Women’s Club near you, please contact Valerie White.

The Right Online Saturday morning General Session is being streamed LIVE!  If you cannot be here, watch the fun unfold  at Katy’s Conservative Corner.  We are working with Americans For Prosperity to bring Right Online to your home and office.  The event begins at 9 a.m. Central, 10:00 Eastern.

Enjoy!

The lineup today, though subject to change, includes:

Erick Erickson of Red State Spoke to Saturday morning's General Session

Governor Tim Pawlenty (MN)
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN)
Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS)
Michelle Malkin – Author, Blogger, and Commentator
Jason Lewis – Author and Radio Host
John Fund – The Wall Street Journal
S.E. Cupp – Author and Conservative Commentator
Ed Morrissey - HotAir.com
Erick Erickson – RedState.com
Guy Benson - Townhall.com

Michelle Malkin kept the crowd laughing!

Movie Poster for The Undefeated

MINNEAPOLIS    Andrew Breitbart introduced “Undefeated: The Sarah Palin Documentary” at Right Online Friday night.  He told his audience that this film is about fighting back against the mainstream media and the hard left.  ”I am nothing compared to Sarah Palin”, he continued.

“I have been through nothing compared to what Sarah Palin has been through.”  She is strong and she can light up everything.  She can go to a town of 25,000 people and get 50,000 to show up.   I’m not a woman but when I saw this film, I felt like a woman, Breitbart continued.

Her child Trig became a target. Because she took photos with him, Breitbart told viewers that it became okay to go after a special needs child.  He added that “the RNC sat on the sidelines and let all this happen, back in 1998.”

“She took on the corrupt Alaska Republican Party and seemingly every Democrat in Alaska was behind her. Today the mainstream media won’t report it.  They don’t discuss her past and how courageous and popular she was and is.  They just kick her in the rib cage”, added Breitbart.

He’s glad that other Tea Party people like Michele Bachmann are standing up for her.

She is not a national joke, but rather a national icon and an American Icon!

“This film will hit the media like a nuclear bomb because it is the truth. People tried to correlate the Gabby Giffords shooting to Sarah Palin, in yet another nutty attempt to bring the Governor down.”

Undefeated Shows How Sarah Palin took on the establishment and won.

Director Steve Bannon added, “This version is not the final version.  The version going to theaters will be PG-13 but this is the Unrated version.  The music will be different.”

The opening montage is fast paced and disgusting, filled with liberal rants from Hollywood icons using the “f” word as Gov. Palin’s middle name.  The term “retard” is used by supposedly tolerant liberals about young Trig,  and she’s further deemed a “media whore”.

The unrated version is truly shocking in its first few minutes.  Prior to the screening, children and all under 18 were asked to leave the room.

Opening credits state that the film is inspired by her book “Going Rogue“.

She starts out by discussing the Exxon Valdez.   It was a night mare scenario she says. Her husband, Todd, used the word “heartbreaking” as the land and the sea are sacred to the state’s natives.  It was an economic and social disaster and would change Alaska forever.

Palin said, “Banks reposed scores of commercial fishing vessels.  Divorces, alcohol abuses and suicides soared.  I was a young mother to be.   I hadn’t planned on running for office but looking back, I could see how that tragedy planted a seed in me.”

The film then turned to the corruption that was rampant in the Republican party, especially in leadership positions in the 1980s and 1990s.  The filmmakers documented the history of corruption in politics since then,  until Palin changed everything.  Then-Oil and Gas Commissioner Palin went public with this corruption, standing up in the face of opposition in her own party, she took on powerful people.  The film calls her “right and courageous”.

According to the film,

she gave up her six figure salary in the process and earned praise from everyone but those in the Republican high command.  She even took on corrupt Governor Frank Murkowski who didn’t take kindly to being crossed.

The two-term Wasilla mayor tossed her hat into the ring and took on Gov. Murkowski and his machine.  The film once again used the term courage as she worked hard to get her message out in the primary election.  It was “I can get things done”.  She knew a lot about oil and gas and she wanted to take care of Alaskans and their constitution.  Further, she knew how to pull “from both sides of the aisle”.

At 42, she became Governor. Her inaugural speech was an “Alaska first” speech interweaving spiritual metaphors with God’s blessings into verbal imagery about the state’s beauty and greatness.

She took on big oil, like ExxonMobile and other oil giants.  Their M.O. is to tie up the state with litigation by threatening to sue, Palin stated in the film.

Palin continued “We know our way to the courthouse, too.”  Palin forced companies with drilling rights to actually drill.   She took the popular term “drill, baby, drill” to heart.  In short, Mrs. Palin wanted to make sure Alaskans got a fair shake.

Undefeated continues into much more detail, which viewers will enjoy in their local theaters.

Though it sounds like a cliche’, Palin is certainly a maverick.  She is tougher than most men and has the admiration of many, including this blogger.  Before the screening, KCC had no idea of all the “stuff” that Palin had been through.

Mrs. Palin has been a great help to her constituents in Alaska with her expertise in energy.  She says that “People in this country don’t have an energy problem.  We have an energy crisis.”  The film interviews people who believe it is important where our oil and gas comes from.

60% comes from overseas in often unfriendly nations.  Producing our own oil helps create American jobs.  Palin believes in the Natural gas pipeline, that would run from Alaska to the lower 48.  Apparently Alaska is loaded with natural gas.  She says the nation will look to Alaska and away from dirty burning coal.

By this time, her approval rating in Alaska had soared to 80%, a number, the film says, is unheard of among statewide officials.

The final portion of the film deals with her selection for Vice President by nominee, Senator John McCain.

Many conservatives needed a reason to vote for the ticket.  Instead of holding their noses to vote for McCain, they rationalized it as casting a vote for Sarah Palin for Vice President.

She declared she was just an average hockey mom who signed up for the PTA.

Check out reviews here and here.  Check out what Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood has to say. It will shock you.

This woman deserves better.  It’s tough standing up, often alone.  Sarah Palin is an inspiration to this blogger, whether or not she runs for President!  Meanwhile, try to catch her on her national tour, if you can.

NOTE: RightOnline, now in its 4th year, is a conference sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity.  It is held yearly in the same city as its liberal counter part, NetRoots Nation.  Right Online teaches newbies and veterans alike how to be more effective online.

Your blogger loves the Americans for Prosperity and enjoys being active with them in North Carolina and nationally. Be sure to check out the AFP in NC.