John Semmens

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu vigorously assailed what he labeled “the GOP’s simplistic approach to energy policy. They are fixated on the notion that increased supplies are the answer. They would have the American people believe that increased supplies will improve availability of gasoline. Well, I’ve got news for them. Americans aren’t as stupid as they think.”

Chu mocked Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s promise to roll back gasoline prices to $2.50 per gallon, calling it “an attempt to turn back to the failed policies of the past. The crux of this Administration’s efforts on the energy front have been aimed at dampening demand for fossil fuels. If we can get the price of a gallon of gas up to the $7 or $8 level that has been attained in Europe I’m confident that demand will fall to more manageable levels in this country.”

Fuel price trends seem to indicate that the Obama Administration’s efforts to boost the cost of burning fossil fuels has been at least partially successful. The price of a gallon of gasoline averaged $1.80 when Obama took office in January of 2009. Recently, the price per gallon has reached nearly double that amount. Administration experts say that a price of $5 per gallon by Labor Day is achievable if present policies can be maintained.

“It’s not as if we haven’t been trying to provide options,” Chu added. “For the near term, we’re subsidizing the Volt so people can drive responsibly. And for the long term, we’re investing in high-speed rail and public transit. Ultimately, the need to own and operate one’s own vehicle will become a thing of the past.”

The Secretary expressed confidence that “voters would appreciate the President’s vision of a future where unnecessary travel is brought to a minimum and the vast majority of Americans will rely on safe and environmentally friendly public carriers for the trips they absolutely have to make.”

Chu’s confidence was echoed by Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla). “All the Republicans have to offer is more drilling,” she pointed out. “The abundance of supplies and low prices that they preach are out-of-step with our long-term goal of weaning this nation off of fossil fuels and the unnecessary travel they enable.”

Over a Million US Families Living on Less than $2 a Day

A US Census Bureau study indicated that an estimated 1.46 million families in the United States are now living on less than $2 per day. This is more than twice as many as the estimated 636,000 families that were living at a like standard in 1996.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hailed the report as “a tribute to the affirmative steps taken by this Administration to lower the cost of living. Critics have been quick to harp on the negatives of high unemployment, declining wages, and falling home values as if that were the total picture. We’re hoping that this study opens peoples’ eyes to the other side of the equation.”

“Also, let’s not discount the environmental benefits of living on less,” Sebelius urged. “The more people we can get to live like this the less our economy will have to produce. That means fewer smoke-belching factories and less road traffic. A lower need for materials means we can stop raping nature and return more land to a wilderness status. And let’s not forget the gains in leisure time attained by every person that no longer has to work to produce the excessive amount of unnecessary stuff that a so-called affluent society demands.”

That minorities make up a disproportionately large fraction of those living so parsimoniously was held to be encouraging by the Secretary. “These are the fastest growing segments of the population,” she pointed out. “The trend foretells of a future where the majority will live as frugally as only a minority does now.”

PA Judge Rules Muslims Have Right to Assault those Who Offend Islam

A Pennsylvania man walking in a parade dressed as a zombie Muhammad next to a man dressed as a zombie Pope was physically assaulted by a recent Muslim immigrant for insulting Islam. Instead of facing jail time or being assessed for damages, the attacker was absolved by Judge Mark Martin.

Martin, himself a Muslim, brushed aside the victim’s First Amendment rights asserting that “freedom of speech does not entitle anyone to commit blasphemy against another’s religious beliefs. I am quite familiar with the Koran. Nowhere does it state that Muhammad arose and walked among the dead. For him to be portrayed that way, especially in jest, is a grave insult to members of the Islamic faith.”

The victim was informed that “he got off easy. According to sharia law the assailant was within his rights to kill the blasphemer. Consequently, his claim to recompense to cover his medical bills is unwarranted.”

Presidential Apology Fails

President Obama’s apology for the burning of Korans by US troops stationed in Afghanistan failed to stem riots that have already claimed numerous lives, including two US soldiers.

“The burning was inadvertent,” Obama insisted. “Troops ignorant of the document’s demands that Muslims have a religious obligation to kill Jews, apostates, and unbelievers thought they were burning terrorist propaganda. We have been trying to reeducate our servicemen, but it is difficult to break through to people raised to believe that ‘turning the other cheek’ represents a religious ideal. They cannot conceive that a holy book might command the faithful to slay those who offend their beliefs.”

A spokesman for the Taliban called the apology “totally inadequate. The Koran is the word of God. No one may desecrate it. The act of these unbelievers is punishable by death. We call upon all Muslims everywhere to attack, kill, or capture any American who is within their grasp in retaliation for this outrage.”

“Taxes Are what You Pay for the Privilege of Being an American” Says Geithner

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner advised taxpayers to “quit complaining, taxes are what you pay for the privilege of being an American.”

“You know, there are places in the world where the government can take everything you have,” Geithner observed. “The fact that you get to keep anything here ought to inspire a greater appreciation for your own government’s forbearance.”

The Secretary warned those he called the “one-percenters,” that “government is the only thing preventing the other 99% from murdering you and looting your property. The protection we offer ought to be worth whatever it costs. Quibbling over the price of this protection may be an unwise course.”

DC Resident Fined for Not Recycling Newspapers

D.C. resident Patricia White has received fines, totaling $2000 for not recycling old newspapers. The Department of Public Works levied the fines after rooting through her trash and finding old newspapers in it.

White tried explaining that she didn’t recycle the papers because she had used them in her cat’s litter box. “It’s not that I don’t support the idea of recycling,” White said. “I recycle plenty of other stuff. But I thought who wants to sort through cat sh*t. For health reasons alone I figured it would be better to just trash the newspapers I used in the litter box.”

Judge Audrey Jenkins denied White’s appeal of the fines. “Ms. White’s notions as to what might be healthy have no bearing,” Jenkins insisted. “The law says newspapers go in the recycle bin. It is her duty to get them there. Her selfish desire to save money by creating her own kitty litter is denying legitimate businesses the right to sell her commercially appropriate kitty litter. And the fines help fund the city’s trash inspection system.”

Lest Ms. White opt to start dumping her cat’s litter box full of shredded newspapers into the recycle bin in an effort to comply, the Judge cautioned her that “it is Ms. White’s obligation to separate out any non-recyclable components. She must not allow any cat feces to make it into the recycle bin. Inspectors will be watching.”

White House Refuses to Comply with Another Subpoena

Citing what it called a key precedent recently established by a Georgia case, the Obama Administration declined to submit documents subpoenaed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the loss of over $500 million of taxpayers’ money on the Administration’s Solyndra loan guarantee.

“If you will recall,” Press Secretary Jay Carney told Committee Chairman Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich), “the Administration’s refusal to provide documents or even to appear in answer to a subpoena was upheld by Judge Milihi’s decision in the President’s favor.”

“It’s a separation of powers issue,” Carney explained. “The president was independently elected by the American people. He is answerable only to the American people. No judge, no congressman, no one, has the standing to challenge anything he does unless he deigns to acquiesce in the inquiry. If Mr. Upton isn’t satisfied he can try to convince his peers to use the only Constitutional option available to Congress and impeach the President. Then the President might respond.”

A Satirical Look at Recent News

John Semmens Archives

Gov. Brewer, don’t go! Don’t take the bait!

Invite him down here on our turf to explain why Congress has done next to nothing protecting our border and our citizens from the border invasion and easy influx of harmful drugs. Senator Schumer’s baiting you for a public roasting. He and his friends will pile on and try to make you look bad. They will interrupt you and not give you a fair hearing. It’s a set-up. Don’t fall for it!

Turn it around on him and invite him to Arizona. Put him on the hot seat for doing NOTHING the entire time he’s been in Congress. Take him down to the border he’s never seen. And if he won’t come down here, gov, call a press conference and give a state of the border invasion speech. Expose Congress’s failure to act!

Please take our advice.

The National Pray for Marriage Day is this Sunday, February 26. Please tell your pastor and your friends and refer them here for more information.

Praise God for the impact of Marriage:

• Thank Him for how marriage refines our character, creates stable community for the birth and nurture of children, and unites men & women in an enduring whole-life union.

• Thank Him for giving the distinct, irreplaceable gifts a mom and a dad each uniquely bring to children, through marriage.

Pray for the marriages in your community:

• For healing, restoration, and divine protection over the relationships between husbands and wives in your church, neighborhood, and among your friends and family.

• That Christians will hold fast to the Biblical truth about marriage and boldly stand up for children, who are most protected and impacted by marriage.

Pray for the future of Marriage

• For the nation to uphold the truth that marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation of society and the best environment for raising children.

• For Americans to remember the damage already done to marriage in our society, and how that has hurt children.

Pray for God’s design for sex and sexuality in Marriage:

• Pray for sexual purity; that sex will be reserved for marriage, and celebrated in marriage.

• Pray for those hurting and suffering from going outside of God’s plan for sexuality.

• Pray for sexual fidelity and faithfulness between husbands and wives.

• Pray for children’s innocence to be protected from false sexual indoctrination in schools.

Pray for victory in the lawsuits and legislation that threatens to undermine Marriage:

• Perry v. Brown – a lawsuit to redefine marriage by creating same-sex “marriage.”

• Bishop v. United States – a lawsuit to overturn our nation’s highest law about marriage.

• Brown v. Utah – a lawsuit to legally recognize polygamy.

Keynote speaker and presidential candidate Rick Santorum easily out-distance his opponents by capturing 64.2 percent of the vote.

In the Arizona race for U.S. Senate, Wil Cardon carried 50.9 percent to defeat Jeff Flake, who garnered 38.2 percent.

Flake did win  dubious distinction, however. In the Least Acceptable category, Flake led the way with 46.3 percent of the attendees’ votes.

New polling shows both Cardon and Flake beating Democrat rivals in the General Election.

President George Washington, Born February 22, 1732

From the Heritage Foundation blog …

The true Washington still has much to teach us, in particular when it comes to the presidency, foreign policy and religious liberty. Although much has changed in the past two centuries, his sage advice and conduct in office have lost none of their relevance, anchored as they are in the timeless principles of the Founding and a sober assessment of human nature.

Washington, like every President after him, swore the following oath upon taking office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Unlike many presidents in the past 100 years, however, Washington took the oath seriously and did not try to place himself above the Constitution.

He understood himself to be the President of a Republic in which the people, through their elected representatives in Congress, make laws–not some visionary leader who must define what Progress requires and lead the unenlightened masses there.

Washington took care “that the laws be faithfully executed,” as when he quashed the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. He did not try to make the laws himself, either by issuing executive orders that circumvented Congress or by regulating what could not be legislated. He left behind no “signature” legislative accomplishments as we would say today. He only used his veto twice–once on constitutional grounds and once in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief.

Washington gave, on average, only three public speeches a year while in office–including the shortest ever inaugural address. And, of course, he had to be persuaded to serve a second term.

As a president who took his bearings from the Constitution, Washington devoted considerable attention to foreign policy. Our first president sought to establish an energetic and independent foreign policy. He believed America needed a strong military so that it could “choose peace or war, as our interest guided by justice shall Counsel.” His Farewell Address remains the preeminent statement of purpose for American foreign policy.

No survey of Washington’s legacy would be complete without acknowledging his profound commitment to religious liberty. Many today seem to have lost sight of the crucial distinction he drew between mere toleration and true religious liberty. As he explained in the memorable letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport:

All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.

On this day, as we celebrate our greatest president, let us remember why he–and not Polk or, heaven forbid, Wilson–deserves a national holiday.

Flake joined with a virtual who’s who of left-wing radicals, including some in the Republican Party, in supporting this dangerous bill. Extremists supporting ENDA include:

Human rights campaign

ACLU

NEA

Cong. Nancy Pelosi

Sen. Chuck Schumer

Sen. Harry Reid

Cong. Barney Frank

Cong. John Conyers

Cong. Raul Grijalva

Cong. Henry Waxman

Cong. Ed Pastor

Sen. Patty Murray

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Cong. Sheila Jackson-Lee

Sen. Tom Harkin

Cong. Debby Wasserman-Schultz

Sen. Richard Durbin

The late Sen. Ted Kennedy

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Sen. Patrick Leahy

Sen. Al Franken

Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Do we really want our next U.S. Senator voting with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, Raul Grijalva and agreeing with the ACLU?

No!

This past Friday (January 20th) an article appeared in this paper about the mismanagement that has taken place in Paul Babeu’s department. This, in and of itself, should be troubling to taxpayers who will ultimately foot the bill for the $3.1 million that Babeu’s office overspent their budget.

However, later in the article it was indicated by Babeu’s official spokesperson that he was in D.C. doing what his spokesperson referred to as “his job as Sheriff.” He then went on to say that Babeu’s trip to Washington D.C. had nothing to do with his campaign for Congress.

That’s simply not true.

There is ample evidence that Babeu was in fact doing work on his Congressional campaign. Amongst this evidence was a news article in the Politico newspaper where Babeu met with a reporter for that paper while in DC and talked exclusively about his campaign for Congress. In addition, it is apparent that Babeu did in fact meet with at least one other group about his campaign for Congress.

Now, I have no problem with a candidate going to Washington D.C. and meeting with reporters and groups who have interest in the race. However, I do have a problem with a candidate having a spokesperson claim that his visit had nothing to do with his Congressional race, when it is apparent it did. And I suspect voters do too.

Mixing official and campaign business may be the norm in Babeu’s former state Massachusetts, where Babeu ran for office at least four different times and worked in a political patronage job for the Massachusetts state treasurer, but it doesn’t make it right.

It is this kind of lax attitude and sense of entitlement that taxpayers and voters despise. They expect those of us elected to office to do our job and do it to the best of our abilities.

I don’t know how Babeu paid for his trip out there. It is logical to assume that if, as his spokesperson stated, he was out there doing his job as sheriff, then it was probably paid for by the taxpayers. If it wasn’t, then good for Babeu.

But if taxpayers paid for it, then Babeu had no business conducting campaign business while on trip paid for by taxpayers.

Coming on the heels of reports that Babeu authorized expenditures in excess of $50,000 to take what can fairly be called a junket to a sheriff’s convention, Babeu needs to explain to voters what he was really doing in Washington.

State Sen. Ron Gould is a candidate for Congress in Congressional District 4. Babeu and Cong. Paul Gosar are all contending for the Republican nomination for that seat.