January 28, 2012

Hall remarks on president’s address

By JAMES BRIGHT
Herald-Banner Staff

ROCKWALL — Congressman Ralph Hall responded this week to the president’s State of the Union address with scorn.

“Tonight, President Obama laid out his blueprint for rebuilding the economy – but unfortunately the current state of our nation is in large part due to his failed economic and over-reaching regulatory policies. The unemployment rate has remained at or above 8 percent for 35 months and our deficits have more than doubled,” he said. “The president’s record speaks for itself, and it has been a failure.”

Hall said although jobs should be a major priority in Washington both the president and the Senate have made poor efforts at job creation.

“Currently, 28 House jobs bills are awaiting Senate action. We need to give small businesses the incentives to create jobs. We need to rewrite the tax code, reduce the deficit, and provide the economic security that hardworking taxpayers need and deserve,” he said.

The president made many promises according to Hall, but the congressman is not putting faith in any of them.

“The president talked about energy independence, which is vital to our economic and national security,” Hall said. “Though his message appeared supportive of encouraging all forms of energy, his policies over the past three years do not coincide with tonight’s rhetoric. I take the promises in tonight’s address with a grain of salt.”

Hall said the opportunity for job growth and energy independance are both readily available.

“America must move towards energy self-reliance. We need a comprehensive strategy that expands our infrastructure and increases domestic production – including nuclear and alternative fuels,” he said. “The Keystone Pipeline, an opportunity for 20,000 new jobs and an estimated economic benefit of $20 billion, was unfortunately denied by the president less than a week ago.”  

Poor judgement based on bad scientific information is hurting the president’s decision making process according to Hall.

“From blocking energy exploration and production to the EPA’s regulatory assaults on U.S. industry, the President and his administration are making domestic energy more expensive and less available,” he said “Much of the regulations supported by the president are based on shaky science, and as chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee I will continue rigorous oversight to ensure these regulations are developed in an open and transparent manner and based on sound, balanced science.”

Hall said the president’s policies have failed and it is time for Obama to move in a new direction.

“Big government is not the answer,” he said. “America is at a crossroads. It’s time for real solutions that provide good jobs for hard working Americans. It is important to keep in mind that we are all in this together with the same goal. We all want a positive future not only for ourselves, but also for our children and grandchildren.”

53% Favor Fingerprinting Requirement For Food Stamp Applicants

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is aiming to end New York City’s policy of requiring food stamp applicants to be fingerprinted, a policy the city’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, wants to keep in place. A new survey shows that a majority of Americans nationwide favor requiring food stamp applicants to be fingerprinted in order to be eligible.

Man Voted for Obama - Now sees the Consequences

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heath Mayor John Ratcliffe Not Seeking Re-Election in May Heath, TX, January 31, 2012…

Heath Mayor John Ratcliffe announced today that he will not seek re-election after his fourth term ends in May.

 Mayor Ratcliffe was first elected Mayor of Heath in May 2004, winning nearly 70 percent of the vote in a three-way contested race. Ratcliffe was re-elected without opposition in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

The City of Heath does not place term limits on elected officials.

Mayor Ratcliffe expressed that one factor in his decision not to seek re-election was the increased time and travel demands for the strategic legal and consulting services provided by the company he founded in 2009 with former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Mayor Ratcliffe, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas under President George W. Bush, cited his expanding role in support of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign as another factor.

Under Mayor Ratcliffe’s leadership, the City of Heath tax rate never changed from .3433 cents per $100 valuation during eight consecutive budgets. Heath is the only municipality in Rockwall County without at least one or more tax rate increases over that eight-year span. Over the same period, the City’s financial ratings rose significantly to “AA” (“Very Strong”) status through multiple upgrades from all three of the nation’s leading bond rating agencies—Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors and Fitch Ratings. “Not raising taxes during my tenure as Mayor was something that we’ve worked hard to achieve, and I am pleased for our citizens that we were able to accomplish this goal despite challenging economic times in our country,” said Mayor Ratcliffe. “Heath’s future has never looked brighter, and after almost eight years, I am ready to look forward to new challenges. But, I will always remain incredibly grateful and forever indebted to the citizens of Heath for allowing me to serve as their mayor.”

The filing period for municipal elections begins on February 4, 2012, and ends on March 5, 2012. Election day is May 12, 2012.

Because the word ‘God’ is mentioned…..
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached …….

AND GOT AN A+ GRADE FOR THE PAPER

 Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God’s name is prohibited by the state.
We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks…
They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the ‘unwed daddy,’ our Senior King.
It’s ‘inappropriate’ to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught that such ‘judgments’ do not belong..
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles ..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It’s scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

You might be a Rockwall redneck if you feel Good by voting.

You might be a Rockwall redneck if your a law abiding citizen.

You might be a Rockwall redneck if you hear a earth quake

 in America an know its our founding fathers turning in their

graves each time 0bama has a ideal.

Price Statement on 1000^th Day Without A Senate Budget

Washington, D.C. – House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA) issued the following statement on the 1000^th day since the Democrat-led Senate passed a budget. Yesterday the White House announced it would again miss its deadline and fail to submit the president’s budget to Congress by the first Monday in February.

“Trillions of dollars in debt are being added to the bill our children and grandchildren will have to pay, and Senate Democrats just refuse to do their job,” said Chairman Price.  “A sound fiscal foundation is essential to building a secure economic future where more Americans can prosper.  In order to avoid a future of debt, doubt, and despair, we need a plan to cut spending while strengthening vital programs – like Medicare – so they are actually still around for current and future generations.  House Republicans put together such a plan but our colleagues in the Democrat-led, Do-Nothing Senate have failed to join us in these efforts.  For a thousand days and counting, Senate Democrats have neglected to fulfill a core responsibility of governing, and their lack of leadership comes at a time when we so desperately need folks willing to make tough decisions rather than political calculations.”

With pressure mounting to balance the US books, President Barack Obama’s administration sought a nine percent cut in the 2013 budget compared with last year’s request by retiring older ships and planes and pulling back two brigades from Europe.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, offering a budget request preview, said he was seeking to reduce the number of active US Army soldiers from 570,000 in 2010 to 490,000 by 2017. The Marines would be cut from 202,000 to 182,000.

Panetta proposed a $613 billion budget for the year starting in October — a $525 billion base spending plan and $88.4 billion for combat operations, primarily in Afghanistan. The total request was $671 billion in the current year.

Panetta vowed to maintain US power in the Middle East and Asia — where China’s growing military has concerned the United States and its allies — including by modernizing submarines and funding a next-generation bomber.

Panetta called for funding to station littoral combat ships in Singapore and patrol craft in Bahrain, part of the US strategy of forward-deploying its military to such small and strategically placed US allies.