Daily Archives: January 29, 2019
OUTRAGE: Democrats Remove “So Help Me God” From Key Congressional Oath
Democrats on The House Committee on Natural Resources have made a controversial proposal to remove the words “So Help Me God” from a key congressional oath.
According to Fox News, “a key committee in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is moving to eliminate the words “so help you God” from the oath administered to witnesses testifying before the panel, as part of a new rules package expected to be approved this week, according to a draft obtained exclusively by Fox.”
VOTE NOW: Should Nancy Pelosi be removed from office?
The new Oath would read “Do you solemnly swear or affirm, under penalty of law, that the testimony that you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? [so help you God],” with the ending of the oath in blocks removed.
Per reports, the committee will vote on the decision to remove the wording from the rules this week. The change would take place immediately if passed.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming criticized the move to remove the phrasing from the committee’s rules in a statement to Fox News.
First, the Democrats booed God out of their party. Now they have kicked him out of the oath. It is now utterly impossible for a Christian in good conscience to vote for a Democrat. https://t.co/Mm7YRpGcPi
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) January 29, 2019
“It is incredible, but not surprising, that the Democrats would try to remove God from committee proceedings in one of their first acts in the majority,” she said.
Adding, “They really have become the party of Karl Marx.”
Fox also Noted:
The proposed rules change was not the first time Democrats have sought to strike references to “God” in official party documents. In 2012, the floor of the Democratic National Convention erupted over a sudden move to restore to the platform a reference to “God” and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital — after heavy criticism from Republicans for initially omitting them. Democrats, though, were hardly in agreement over the reversal.
What are your thoughts on the attempt to remove the language [so help you God] from the committees oath? Let us know in the comment section below.
VOTE NOW: Should Nancy Pelosi be removed from office?
Trump Blindsides Congress, Finds All The Border Wall Money Needed And BILLIONS More
President Donald Trump just blindsided Congress and found all the border wall money that he needs — and billions more.
In a column from The American Thinker, conservative author Rovvy Lepor reveals that Congress has over one trillion dollars sitting in what he calls “unobligated balances.”
Lepor cites a former GOP lawmaker in his piece, who stated that the “unobligated balances” would give Trump the ability to very easily build the entire wall along the southern border between the United States and Mexico.
While President Trump is correct to remain committed to building a border barrier and has asked all Cabinet agencies for wall funding, he can fund the entire barrier without having to declare a national emergency.
Instead, he can draw full funding for a complete border barrier from unobligated balances. Unobligated balances “are the amounts of budget authority that have not yet been committed by contract or other legally binding action by the government.”
Former senator Tom Coburn described unobligated balances as “essentially money for nothing.” While in 2012 there was an estimated $687 billion in unobligated balances, unobligated balances in federal and trust funds in FY 2019 is estimated to be a whopping $1,156,136,000,000.
In a recent article, Scot Faulkner advises that President Trump should mine the available funds from unobligated balances to fund the border wall. Faulkner notes that “reallocating unused federal funds” for building the border wall could be done with “the stroke of President Trump’s pen – and a push of a button from the Office of Management and Budget.”
According to Faulkner, unobligated balances were used by President Lyndon Johnson to help fund his Great Society, by both Johnson and Nixon to help with funding for the Vietnam War, to assist with Carter’s expanding domestic programs, to go toward Reagan’s work to bring down the Soviet empire, to help fund both Iraq wars by Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and by President Clinton to help him stay within Republican congressional budget limits.
President Obama never used a budget sweep, allowing $914.8 billion in unspent, unobligated balances to continue to accrue. As a result, there will be an estimated $1.156 trillion in unobligated balances by the end of F.Y. 2019 if these balances are permitted to languish.
Any funds that President Trump can reallocate to building the border barrier without the need for approval to reprogram those funds from the Democrat-controlled House should be allocated for the barrier. However, if President Trump can take the unobligated balances and have the Treasury reclaim that money, it can be used to fully pay for a border barrier, additional border security personnel, and accompanying technology.
Further, other funding can be used to fund other critically important initiatives that would not receive Democrat support. Much of the over $1 trillion in unobligated balances could be used toward paying down the national debt that is currently close to $22 trillion.
This plan would certainly work on multiple levels.
It would not only fully fund the entire wall, but it also appears that there’s nothing Democrats could do to stop Trump.
On top of that, a president using the unobligated funds to finance a project is hardly unprecedented, as detailed by Lepor in the piece above.
It appears all Trump would need to do is order the Treasury Department to reclaim the funds, and then he can use a portion of the $2 trillion in unused federal and trust funds to build the entire wall.
Urgent Alert Regarding Ending Wildlife Killing Contests in Wisconsin Take Action by Friday February 1st, 2019
There is hope in the form of bill circulating through Wisconsin State Senate written by Senator Fred Risser and he is Seeking Legislators for Co-Sponsorship of LRB-1453/1 Prohibiting Contests for Killing Wild Animalsand providing a penalty. Advocates must contact their Wisconsin State Senators (click here) in order to get formerly introduced LRB-1453/1 needs co-sponsorship. Well advocates we are “the power of the storm.”
“Every human being is a raindrop. And when enough of the raindrops become clear and coherent they then become the power of the storm.” John Trudell
Every winter across Wisconsin we see hundreds of these wildlife killing contests, where there’s no limits or regulations.
While fishing tournaments in Wisconsin are regulated, special hunting tournaments of this type are not says Todd Schaller, Chief Conservation Warden for the DNR.
He describes the rules regarding these tournaments…
“…Hunting tournaments, coyote, rabbits I think are another one that we…
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Frigid Cold Weather Hitting The US Again
Please… if you see an animal stuck out in the cold…talk to the people, encourage them to bring them in or call your local humane society!
I hope everyone is safe and warm…❄️
Ben & Jerry’s to Phase Out All Single-Use Plastic Utensils Worldwide!
onegreenplanet.org
By Sharon Vega
In the last few years, Ben & Jerry’s has released many dairy-free ice cream flavors. And they continue making more, just recently adding another flavor to their line of dairy-free ice cream. Given that the dairy industry is harmful to the environment, this was a progressive move in the right direction. Now, they will be doing even more for the environment and setting an example for other companies by removing all single-use plastics from their Scoop Shops.
Ben & Jerry’s has more than 600 stores worldwide. They will phase out single-use plastics from their stores one step at a time. In August 2018, they made plastic straws available by request only with many of the shops having plastic alternatives, but the first step of the new plan is to no longer offer plastic straws or spoons beginning early this year. On April 9, 2019, Scoop Shops will complete the transition to wooden spoons and paper straws will only be available by request. The ultimate goal is to find an alternative to clear plastic cups, plastic-lined cups, and plastic lids by the end of 2020.
Source: Shutterstock
“Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops currently hand out 2.5 million plastic straws a year, and 30 million plastic spoons. If all the plastic spoons used by Ben & Jerry’s in the US were placed end to end, they’d stretch from Burlington, Vermont to Jacksonville, Florida,” explained Ben & Jerry’s Global Sustainability Manager, Jenna Evans. She said, “We’re not going to recycle our way out of this problem. We, and the rest of the world, need to get out of single-use plastic.”
Ben & Jerry’s is a very well-known brand and their analysis of their own contribution to plastic pollution and plan to make a change is just the example the world needs right now. As Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group said, “Across the globe, discarded plastics are choking our environment and threatening wildlife. The only solution is to stop using them.”
For more information on plastic pollution and why the elimination of single-use plastic is such an important and necessary change, check out 5 Realities About Plastic Pollution That Won’t Go Away Until We Do Something and These 5 Marine Animals Are Dying Because of Our Plastic Trash… Here’s How We Can Help.
Sign Petition: Seals Didn’t Evolve to Survive the Threat of Plastic
thepetitionsite.com
The seals of Waxham Beach in Norfolk are facing a deadly new predator. It attacks when they least expect it, wraps itself around their necks and slowly but surely strangles them to death.
This threat is so fatal precisely because evolution never prepared them for it. What is it, you ask? Plastic.
According to Friends of Horsey Seals — a local seal rescue charity — plastic waste on UK beaches have hit record levels. Thus there’s a growing number of seals that have come to shore recently with plastic material wrapped around their bodies. Whether it’s an old frisbee, fishing line, netting or a plastic bag, once the plastic gets around the animal’s body, it slowly tightens as the animal grows, cutting deep into its skin, hindering its mobility, causing infections and resulting in a slow and painful death.
That’s what would have likely happened to Pinkafo — the female seal pictured above. If Friends of Horsey Seals hadn’t rescued her in time, she would have eventually died an agonizing death, painful and unrelenting as the frisbee slowly dug into its skin. Luckily, she is now being nursed back to health, although it will be months before she is completely healthy.
Despite being ahead of the pack in terms of anti-plastic policies, UK beaches are still inundated with plastic debris. Debris that often ends up around the necks of marine animals. So while last year, the government announced that they were banning single-use plastic items like drink stirrers, straws, and cotton buds and have implemented a 5p bag charge that has reduced plastic bag usage there is still more they can do to help end their plastic addiction.
One thing they could do is ban single-use plastic bags altogether. Over the past several years governments as disparate as Rwanda, Kenya, California and Washington D.C. have implemented plastic bag prohibitions with stunning results. It’s now time for the UK to do the same.
Tell the government you want them to take action to fight their plastic addiction. Sign the petition and tell Parliament to #banthebag.Photo credit: Matthew Perring and the RSPCA
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/297/760/032/seals-didnt-evolve-to-survive-the-threat-of-plastic/
Rest in Peace Kayla
Kayla was only 30 years old when she died today, which is normally far too young for a female orca to die (average lifespan is 50 years in the wild) but not at SeaWorld. Kayla’s mother Kenau at the age of 15, her father Orky died at age 26, and her only calf Halyn died at age 2
But at SeaWorld all they lost was money… Please do not support the cruelty!
Sign Petition: No More Animal-Killing Contests on Federal Land!
thepetitionsite.com
by: Joel Boyce
recipient: US Fish and Wildlife Service
93,866 SUPPORTERS – 95,000 GOAL
State land commissioner for New Mexico, Stephanie Garcia Richard, wrote an executive order putting an end to New Mexico animal-killing contests. This has saved hundreds or thousands of coyotes from wanton slaughter each year during disgusting contests of piling up dead animals for cash or prizes.
The commissioner calls these events an exercise in animal cruelty, and she’s right. But they are not unique to New Mexico by any means, nor are they limited just to coyotes. Eliminating these kinds of gratuitous killing contests is absolutely a win for conservation and the humane treatment of wild animals, but does not interfere with ordinary, small-scale hunting. It’s an important step which should also be a non-controversial one.
Legislation similar in language and purpose to the executive order of New Mexico’s land commissioner should be applied across the country, starting with all federal lands. It’s well past time for killing contests, of any animal species and in any state, to become extinct.
Sign Petition: No More Animal Killing Contests on Federal Land!
Petition: Legal Loopholes Are Giving Poachers Permission to Hunt Protected Birds
by: Margherita B
recipient: Malta
Thousands of birds fly over Malta during the migratory season.
And thousands are killed, both legally and illegally. Illegal killings amount to more than 200,000 birds per year — and these are only the documented ones.
Legally, birds that are protected worldwide (including storks) can be shot and caught in nets in Malta, by taking advantage of loopholes that allow hunters to collect birds for “traditional” and “cultural” practices. The black stork is an extremely rare bird and people have been shooting them, using these loopholes.
Although not as screen-worthy as the slaughtering of dolphins in other countries, what happens in Malta is no different. There is no need to hunt these protected species — they are protected for a reason!
These loopholes must be filled and Malta has to abide by the rest of the EU’s laws. Currently, Malta is considered a true sinkhole for migratory birds — this has to change. Malta, stop this slaughter now!
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/790/699/070/
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Sign Petition: This Imperiled Bumble Bee Can’t Wait Any Longer for Help
thepetitionsite.com
The rusty patched bumble bee, which can be identified by a rust-colored patch on its abdomen, was once a commonly seen pollinator from the midwest to the east coast.
Unfortunately, scientists believe that they have disappeared from 87 percent of their historic range since just the 1990s and that their population has declined by more than 90 percent.
While conservation organizations have been working for years to help them, it wasn’t until 2016 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) agreed that protection was warranted, and it wasn’t until 2017 that they were actually protected.
The listing marked the first time in history a bumble bee species has been federally protected, and the first time any bee has received federal protection in the continental U.S.
Still, this little bumble bee has continued to wait for the help it desperately needs. Under the Endangered Species Act, the FWS is legally required to designate critical habitat for protected species within one year of their listing, but has still managed to miss that date for this bumble bee – even with a one-year extension.
The agency is now facing a third lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council on behalf of this bumble bee, which seeks to compel it to take action to protect their home from further destruction.
You can show your support for protecting the rusty patched bumble bee by signing and sharing this petition urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take immediate action to designate critical habitat for them.
Sign Petition: Stop Bird Hunting on the Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge
thepetitionsite.com
To be delivered to Jeffrey Stoddard, Program Manager, Charlton H. Bonham, Director, Governor Gavin Newsom, The California State House, The California State Senate.
We the undersigned request that California Department of Fish and Wildlife end hunting on the Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge. Hunting defeats the purpose of a tax payer supported wildlife refuge.
As grounds for this petition we request the state of California to take notice of the following:
1) Prior to 1971, Lakeview Drive, formerly known as Lake Earl Road, did not dead end at the lake, resulting in a walk of more than 1,000 feet. The exercise of the county’s easement to the lake has significantly increased hunters, fisherman, and crime.
2) Little if anything that is killed along the lake is ever taken home and a number of pictures proving this are in the possession of the originator of this petition.
3) Residents along Lakeview Drive have had to contend with an ongoing traffic problem from hunters and fisherman who use the lake, as well as those who visit the lake after dark to do their drug deal.
4) The whole concept of hunting on a taxpayer supported Wildlife Refuge defeats the purpose of having the wildlife refuge and the California Dept of Fish and Widlife has a conflict of interest because they receive money from hunting licenses which support staffing and officers to visit the lake.
- Some of the dead animals in the piles surrounding the lake include endangered species which is not surprising since a hunter can’t tell the difference as to what he is killing when the bird is almost completely out of visual range.
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With respect to over fishing, because of salt water contamination caused by incompetent breaching, the only fish that is capable of living in this lagoon (formerly a lake) is sturgeon who’s numbers have dwindled so much due to overfishing that the fish’s presence in the lake is almost extinct. Fisherman will commonly kill every sturgeon they can get their hands on, gut the fish for the eggs, and the leave the rotting fish carcasses on the side of the road at the entrance to Lake Earl.
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A number of hobby farmers around the lake have reported hunters killing their geese in front of their homes.
For these reasons we the undersigned request that hunting and fishing be permanently banned on Lake Earl.
BACKGROUND
Hunting on the Lake Earl Wildlife Preserve, particularly off of Lakeview Drive destroys the natural serenity and peace of this community. Visitors around the lake wake up to the sound of gunfire which is hardly inviting to people who come here to vacation and enjoy the redwoods and natural beauty.
Additionally since the county exercised its easement on Lakeview Drive, formerly Lake Earl Road, the number of hunters, fisherman, and people using the Lake Access area has increased exponentially to where there is nothing less than a big crowd. The resulting humanity has left trash in the streets, increased crime, and a steady parade of traffic all night long that is disturbing the residents on this street.
Other factors are that most of the dead animals the hunters kill are left on the street and rarely taken home, and I have pictures to prove it. This includes dead dear, big piles of dead birds. Yet the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is defiant and will not change their position.
And still another factor is that a number of endangered species have shown up in the dead piles of animals and it isn’t possible for the hunter to determine what species a bird is when it is more than 100 feet higher than where he is standing.
And most importantly it is completely ludicrous for the California tax payers to pay for a Wildlife Preserve when the state is making money from hunting licenses on this property. It defeats the whole purpose. As the record stands, the state would be better off giving the property back to the Tolowa Indian Tribe who’s land was taken away from them by force during a big massacre.
"OUR WORLD" 