Culled out Thanks Longknife

Public input period for federal fishery strategy has ended

By Robert Montgomery
ESPNOutdoors.com

This is a column from Robert Montgomery for ESPN Outdoors. As a Senior Writer for BASS Publications, Montgomery has written about conservation, environment, and access issues for more than two decades. It’s part of a series of articles from Montgomery on the issue. See a response from editor Steve Bowman regarding concerns with this column.

The Obama administration has ended public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

AP/Luis M. AlvarezOne sign at the United We Fish rally at the Capital summed up the feelings of recreational and commercial fishermen.

This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is “fluid” and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn’t issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

Fishing industry insiders, who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force, had grown concerned that the public input would not be taken into account.

“When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big-game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario,” said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.

“Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard-working American families and small businesses are being ignored.

“In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President’s concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority.”

Unless more anglers speak up to their Congressional representatives so their input will be considered, it appears the task force will issue a final report for “marine spatial planning” by late March. President Barack Obama then could possibly issue an Executive Order to implement its recommendations.

Led by NOAA’s Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling. As ESPN previously reported, WWF, Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, Pew Environment Group and others produced a document entitled “Transition Green” shortly after Obama was elected in 2008.

What has happened since suggests that the task force has been in lockstep with that position paper, according to Morlock.

In late summer, just after the administration created the task force, these groups produced “Recommendations for the Adoption and Implementation of an Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes National Policy.” This document makes repeated references to “overfishing,” but doesn’t reference recreational angling, its importance, and its benefits, both to participants and the resource.

Additionally, some of these same organizations have revealed their anti-fishing bias with their attempts to ban tackle containing lead in the United States and Canada.

Also, recreational angling and commercial fishing have been lumped together as harmful to the resource, despite protests by the angling industry.

Morlock’s evidence of collusion — the green groups began clamoring for an Executive Order to implement the task force’s recommendations even before the public comment period ended in February.

On Feb. 12, the New York Times reported on that “President Obama and his team are preparing an array of actions using his executive power to advance energy, environmental, fiscal and other domestic policy priorities.”

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Morlock fears that “what we’re seeing coming at us is an attempted dismantling of the science-based fish and wildlife model that has served us so well. There’s no basis in science for the agendas of these groups who are trying to push the public out of being able to fish and recreate.

“Conflicts (user) are overstated and problems are manufactured. It’s all just an excuse to put us off the water.”

In the wake of the task force’s framework document, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and its partners in the U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition again voiced their concerns to the administration.

“Some of the potential policy implications of this interim framework have the potential to be a real threat to recreational anglers who not only contribute billions of dollars to the economy and millions of dollars in tax revenues to support fisheries conservation, but who are also the backbone of the American fish and wildlife conservation ethic,” said CSF President Jeff Crane.

Morlock, a member of the CSF board, added, “There are over one million jobs in America supported coast to coast by recreational fishing. The task force has not included any accountability requirements in their reports for evaluating or mitigating how the new policies they are drafting will impact the fishing industry or related economies.

“Given that the scope of this process appears to include a new set of policies for all coastal and inland waters of the United States, the omission of economic considerations is inexcusable.”

This is not the only access issue threatening the public’s right to fish, but it definitely is the most serious, according to Chris Horton, national conservation director for BASS.

“With what’s being created, the same principles could apply inland as apply to the oceans,” he said. “Under the guise of ‘marine spatial planning’ entire watersheds could be shut down, even 2,000 miles up a river drainage from the ocean.

“Every angler needs to be aware because if it’s not happening in your backyard today or tomorrow, it will be eventually.

“We have one of the largest voting blocks in the country and we need to use it. We must not sit idly by.”

Walter E Williams on the Census

“Reconciliation” bill out & House Democrats in Disarray. Help Keep Them That Way!

CLICK HERE TO READ ALERT ONLINE & COMMENT 

House Democrats “are in disarray” according to Congressman Mike Pence and are still 5-10 “yes” votes short.

• They were forced to release an incomplete CBO analysis this morning in their desperate attempt to pass their healthcare bill by Sunday.
• President Obama has also canceled his trip to Asia set for Sunday.
• The Senate Budget Committee Chairman is openly questioning whether the Senate can pass the House reconciliation bill without any changes.
• The Slaughter Solution is seen by some key Democrats as a “poison.”
• A key Democrat, Michael Arcuri (D-NY), has switched from a “yes” to a “no.”
• Ways & Means has released a report detailing the “massive expansion of IRS power” under the pending bill.

Your calls to the Capitol are helping to keep this pressure on the Democrats. Keep calling! Yesterday call volumes were at 40,000 calls per hour.  Help keep the phone lines full! We cannot let up in our pressure to let Congress know that their plans for government-run medicine are unacceptable. Remind them that they can’t count on the deals they are promised—but they can count on voter wrath in November. Even if you get a busy signal keep trying. 

Phone numbers for the Capitol Switchboard are as follows:
(877) 762-8762 or (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121.
When the operator answers, politely tell them which office you would like to be connected to.  (SCROLL DOWN FOR LIST OF TARGETED CONGRESSMEN.)

Also citizens are gathering again in DC on Saturday for another “Code Red Rally” to kill the bill.

The 154 page House “Reconciliation Bill has also been released.

The big difference that needs to be reconciled—abortion funding—is absent. Apparently, the Speaker is just telling pro-life Democrats that they lost, tough, just vote for it anyway.

Instead, the 154 pages contains a lot about cellulosic biofuels, student loans, more taxes, more subsidies, more temporary federal funding for permanently increased state obligations, and more rules that you’ll need a tax accountant and tax lawyer to figure out. But don’t make any plans for your business, because things could change.

It looks as though Sen. Ben Nelson got betrayed; Nebraska no longer gets a permanent exemption from increased Medicaid obligations, and other states get some relief, with the amount based on whether they are “expansion” states or “non-expansion” states. (A two-tiered subsidy system?) Of course, Sen. Nelson can’t change his vote at this point.

Politico has posted a summary with at least 51 comments.

The most revealing is probably this:
“Ignore the naysayers posting here! Is this a perfect bill? No! Is it a start? Yes! Why? Once government gets its foot in the door of regulating the health insurance industry you will never get them out of it. It will grow, and grow and grow. Eventually, it will become single-payer which is what I want. Period. I don’t give a damn how many deals have to be made, etc. Just pass a healthcare bill and it’s over with. We’re on our way to joining the rest of the civilized world when it comes to how we pay for healthcare. YAY!”

In other words, the goal is to pass something, anything, and it will become single payer, once the private sector is destroyed. Maybe that’s why Sen. Kucinich saw the light while riding on Air Force One with Obama.

Unfortunately, the Democrats defeated, 222-203, the effort to force separate vote on Senate Bill.

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Targeted Congress members include: 

Rep. Charlie Wilson, Ohio 6th
http://www.charliewilson.house.gov
DC Office Number:  (202) 225-5705, DC Fax Number:  (202) 225-5907
Local Office Number: (330) 533-7250, Local Fax Number: (330) 533-7136

Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA)
http://josephcao.house.gov/
(Said he was a no, but Pres. Obama is applying pressure on him.)
(202) 225-6636
Fax: (202) 225-1988

Rep. Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 4th
http://www.altmire.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-2565, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-2274
Local Office Number: (724) 378-0928, Local Fax Number: (724) 378-6171
Voted Yes on Stupak last November
Voted No on Health Care last November

Rep. John Boccieri, Ohio 16th
http://boccieri.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-3876, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3059
Local Office Number: (330) 489-4414, Local Fax Number: (330) 489-4448
Voted Yes on Stupak last November
Voted No on Health Care last November

Allen Boyd (FL-2)
http://boyd.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-5235, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5615
Local Office Number: (850) 561-3979, Local Fax Number: (850) 681-2902

Travis Childers (MS-1)
http://childers.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-4306, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3549
Local Office Number: (662) 841-8808, Local Fax Number: (662) 841-8845

Lincoln Davis (TN-4)
http://www.house.gov/lincolndavis
DC Office Number:  202-225-6831, DC Fax Number:  202-226-5172
Local Office Number: 931-490-8699, Local Fax Number: 931-490-8675

Rep. Bart Gordon, Tennessee 6th
http://gordon.house.gov/
DC Office Number:  (202) 225-4231, DC Fax Number:  (202) 225-6887
Local Office Number: (615) 896-1986
Voted Yes on Stupak last November
Voted No on Health Care last November

Scott Murphy (NY-20)
http://scottmurphy.house.gov/
(202) 225-5614, FAX (202) 225-1168
Hudson Office p. (518) 828-3109 f. (518) 828-3985
Glens Falls Office p. (518) 743-0964 f. (518) 743-1391
Saratoga Springs Office p. (518) 581-8247 f. (518) 581-8430
Clifton Park Office p. (518) 280-1791 f. (518) 280-2268
Delaware/Otsego Office p. (607) 746-8449 

Rep. Brian Baird, Washington 3rd
http://www.baird.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-3536, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3478
Local Office Number: (360) 695-6292, Local Fax Number: (360) 695-6197
Voted No on Health Care last November

More targets can be found at: http://www.nrcc.org/CodeRed/targets/

IMPEACH OBAMA

By Jeffrey T. Kuhner

The Democrats are assaulting the very pillars of our democracy. As the debate on Obamacare reaches the long, painful end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confronting a political nightmare. She may not have the 216 votes necessary to pass the Senate’s health care bill in the House.

Hence, Mrs. Pelosi and her congressional Democratic allies are seriously considering using a procedural ruse to circumvent the traditional constitutional process. Led by Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, New York Democrat and chairman of the House Rules Committee, the new plan – called the “Slaughter Solution” – is not to pass the Senate version on an up-or-down vote. Rather, it is to have the House “deem” that the legislation was passed and then have members vote directly on a series of “sidecar” amendments to fix the things it does not like.

This would enable House Democrats to avoid going on the record voting for provisions in the Senate bill – the “Cornhusker Kickback,” the “Louisiana Purchase,” the tax on high-cost so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans – that are reviled by the public or labor-union bosses. If the reconciliation fixes pass, the House can send the Senate bill to President Obama for his signature without ever having had a formal up-or-down vote on the underlying legislation.

Many Democrats could claim they opposed the Senate bill while allowing it to pass. This would be an unprecedented violation of our democratic norms and procedures, established since the inception of the republic. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution stipulates that for any bill to become a law, it must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate. That is, not be “deemed” to have passed, but actually be voted on with the support of the required majority. The bill must contain the exact same language in both chambers – and in the version signed by the president – to be a legitimate law. This is why the House and Senate have a conference committee to iron out differences of competing versions. This is Civics 101.

The Slaughter Solution is a dagger aimed at the heart of our system of checks and balances. It would enable the Democrats to establish an ominous precedent: The lawmaking process can be rigged to ensure the passage of any legislation without democratic accountability or even a congressional majority. It is the road to a soft tyranny. James Madison must be turning in his grave.

Mr. Obama is imposing a leftist revolution. Since coming to office, he has behaved without any constitutional restraints. The power of the federal government has exploded. He has de facto nationalized key sectors of American life – the big banks, financial institutions, the automakers, large tracts of energy-rich land from Montana to New Mexico. His cap-and-trade proposal, along with a newly empowered Environmental Protection Agency, seeks to impose massive new taxes and regulations upon industry. It is a form of green socialism: Much of the economy would fall under a command-and-control bureaucratic corporatist state. Mr. Obama even wants the government to take over student loans.

Yet his primary goal has always been to gobble up the health care system. The most troubling aspect of the Obamacare debate, however, is not the measure’s sweeping and radical aims – the transformation of one-sixth of the U.S. economy, crippling tax increases, higher premiums, state-sanctioned rationing, longer waiting lines, the erosion of the quality of medical care and the creation of a huge, permanent administrative bureaucracy. Rather, the most alarming aspect is the lengths to which the Democrats are willing to go to achieve their progressive, anti-capitalist agenda.

Obamacare is opposed by nearly two-thirds of the public, more than 60 percent of independents and almost all Republicans and conservatives. It has badly fractured the country, dangerously polarizing it along ideological and racial lines. Even a majority of Democrats in the House are deeply reluctant to support it.

Numerous states – from Idaho to Virginia to Texas – have said they will sue the federal government should Obamacare become law. They will declare themselves exempt from its provisions, tying up the legislation in the courts for years to come.

Mr. Obama is willing to devour his presidency, his party’s congressional majority and – most disturbing – our democratic institutional safeguards to enact it. He is a reckless ideologue who is willing to sacrifice the country’s stability in pursuit of a socialist utopia.

The Slaughter Solution is a poisoned chalice. By drinking from it, the Democrats would not only commit political suicide. They would guarantee that any bill signed by Mr. Obama is illegitimate, illegal and blatantly unconstitutional. It would be worse than a strategic blunder; it would be a crime – a moral crime against the American people and a direct abrogation of the Constitution and our very democracy.

It would open Mr. Obama, as well as key congressional leaders such as Mrs. Pelosi, to impeachment. The Slaughter Solution would replace the rule of law with arbitrary one-party rule. It violates the entire basis of our constitutional government – meeting the threshold of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” If it’s enacted, Republicans should campaign for the November elections not only on repealing Obamacare, but on removing Mr. Obama and his gang of leftist thugs from office.

It is time Americans drew a line in the sand. Mr. Obama crosses it at his peril.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a columnist at The Washington Times and president of the Edmund Burke Institute, a Washington think tank. He is the daily host of “The Kuhner Show” on WTNT 570-AM (www.talk570.com) from noon until 3 p.m.

IRS

Republicans assail IRS provision in health care bill
By Vicki Needham – 03/18/10 03:22 PM ET

House Ways and Means Republicans on Thursday assailed a provision in the proposed health care reform bill under consideration this week.

Subcommittee on Oversight ranking member Charles Boustany (R-La.) said the IRS provision in the bill “dangerously expands, in an ominous way the tentacles of the IRS and it’s reach into every American family,” he said today during a press conference.

“This is a vast expanse of power,” he said.

Boustany said the bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care.

Lawmakers have questioned whether the IRS can handle the increased workload to oversee, administer and collect penalties for people who don’t buy health insurance.

“This is increasing tax liability and tax scrutiny,” said Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

Ranking member Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said many Americans have already rejected the call for health care reform for other reasons and an expansion of the IRS should only add to call to “kill the bill.”

Taxpayers could be required to buy insurance under President Barack Obama’s reform proposal by 2014 or face penalties of roughly $325 per individual that the IRS would collect.

Assuming it becomes law, the Congressional Budget Office expects the IRS will need roughly $10 billion over the next 10 years and nearly 17,000 new employees to meet its new responsibilities under health reform.

“We’re going to fight to the end to see that this does not pass,” Boustany said.