Occupy The Truth The Lost Tapes

After twisting arms, numerous phone calls, technical glitches and various delays, I give to you without further adieu, Ralph King and Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots. They were speaking at the Occupy the Truth Rally in Cleveland, Ohio on 08-18-12.'

Ohio EPA running amok

Ohio EPA Director and Gov. Kasich need to hear from us

Governor Kasich's Ohio EPA Director is about to introduce new water regulations that are even more stringent than the Federal EPA's! This set of regulations would have a devastating effect on the coal industry, the fracking industry, municipalities and/or regional sewer districts with their own waste water treatment plants, infrastructure projects (road & sewer projects), development of any kind, etc.

The frustrating things is.... as we are out there talking about how President Obama & Senator Sherrod Brown's support of the EPA is causing our electric rates ad sewer bills to skyrocket because of over-restrictive EPA mandates ad regulation, Governor Kasich's Ohio EPA Director is trying to one-up them with stricter regulations.

Below are talking points and details about the new water regulation proposals as being discussed by the Ohio EPA. If you can take a few minutes and call Gov. Kasich's office, AND the Director of the Ohio EPA, Scott J. Nally, let them know that this rules package should be stopped in its tracks.

Scott J. Nally:

Phone: (614) 644-2782 ~ Fax: (614) 644-3184

Governor John Kasich

Phone: (614) 466-3555

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Water Quality Rules & Background Talking Points

Background:

·         Rule package has two sections, water quality standards and changes to 401 water quality certification program.

·         Water quality standards are regulations that set use designations and chemical standards for lakes, rivers, and streams. These rules contain use designations and the anti-degradation rule that set limits on certain types of discharges.

·         The 401 water quality certification program regulates filling of streams and wetlands with dredged or fill material

·         Both sets of rules have been proposed several times and discussed in depth for at least ten years

Basis for Rules:

·         Ohio EPA has never clearly stated why they are making significant changes to these administrative code sections:

·         Not mandated by US EPA

·         Not needed as part of the five year rule review

·         The proposed rules are significantly more stringent than US EPA requires under the Clean Water Act

Specific Concerns with Rules:

·         Rules propose a complicated tiered aquatic life use designation system that is overly complex, costly, and unnecessary

·         These rules unequivocally have more impact in certain parts of the state and will impact the coal industry heavily

·         Ohio EPA is grossly underestimating how many streams will be regulated as high quality waters under these rules, and consequently, Ohio EPA is significantly underestimating the impacts to Ohio's businesses

·         The testing required under rules is extremely costly and there are not sufficient numbers of qualified individuals in the State to conduct the sampling and analysis.

·         Rules add significant complexity, uncertainty and inconsistencies

·         This rule will eliminate jobs in Ohio and it will keep new investment from moving forward

·         Business Community Participation:

·         During Ohio EPA's work-group this summer, participation was very limited, and not all business groups had the opportunity to participate or have technical representatives at meetings of the work-group.

·         Ohio EPA did not consider information provided by the business community and in general summarily dismissed any input from the regulated community.

·         Ohio EPA refused to consider alternatives suggested by the business community

·         Ohio EPA assumes that it is the responsibility of the business community to prove the costs of a proposed rule.

·         Ohio EPA has not made a reasonable effort to determine the actual costs of the rules on the business community

Ohio does not need yet more government regulation.

Town Hall Meeting * Fight the War on Coal

Town Hall Meeting

War on Coal in Ohio

Are you tired of your electric & sewer Bill going up?

Please join the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots (www.clevelandteaparty.com) for a Town Hall Meeting on October 3, 2012 at 7:00pm at the Bedford Recreation Center located at 124 Ellenwood Ave. Bedford, OH. 44146

With Cuyahoga County already the 7th most financially distressed region in the United States, residents in this area are facing sky rocketing increases in their electric bills and an increase in sewer rates of over 300% because of unyielding EPA regulations and policies.

Because of these over bearing EPA regulations which are causing 4 coal-fired Power Plants in N/E OH to close in addition to 10 more across the state, and have mandated $3 Billion in sewer upgrades, your electric & sewer rates will be climbing even higher!

Join us to learn how burdensome and unyielding over regulation and, financially burdensome policies are hurting the businesses in this area hindering them from hiring more employees and how residents will be forced to choose between putting food on the table or keeping warm in the winter.

Location: Bedford Recreation Center

Address: 124 Ellenwood Ave.  Bedford, OH 44146

Date: Wednesday October 3, 2012

Time: 7pm – 8:30pm 

How Much MORE can You Afford?

We Built It Rally in Mansfield Saturday!

 From Marianne at the Mansfield Tea Party:

  

Just bumps in the road

(Image from Investors.com) Michael Ramirez knocks it out of the park. Note the details: Golf balls and clubs falling out of the cart, the empty chair knocked over, "The View" script ... all that is missing is the teleprompter! Pres. Obama's original remarks about the terrorist attacks in Libya and elsewhere here.  

View the cartoon as a larger image here. 

Oh, Whoa, Ohio

Steven Hayward at Power Line reports on Romney, Ohio, and the polls:

The media line right now is that Obama is pulling away from Romney in the all-important state of Ohio, which, as all political junkies know, is not just a swing state—it is the swing state, as no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio.    (The Wall Street Journal‘s lead story today is “Electoral Drama Shifts to Ohio.”)  I spent Monday and Tuesday in Ohio, and most everyone I spoke with—admittedly a small and skewed sample mostly of the very good people of Ashland—says these poll numbers and media analyses just don’t feel right.  But what do we know, anyway? 

Everyone seems ready to hit the Panic Button like we’re under “launch on warning” conditions of the late Cold War—everyone’s worried about pushing it in a moment of panic, but it never really happens because. . . well, in a political campaign, the metaphor means what, exactly?  Bring in James Baker!  Never mind that he’s 145 years old by now, and isn’t even on Twitter. 

A few observations.  First, generally speaking nail-biting elections have become the new norm for Republicans for a while now.  I recall vividly early September back in 2000 when people were fretting that George W. Bush was faltering against Al Gore.  Something must be done!  Panic buttons must be pushed!  No, an old sage said to me; it’s up to Bush.  He has to do it.  No one can help him much from the outside.  The “experts” say debates don’t really change the course of elections, but I remain skeptical of this.  The Nixon-Kennedy debates surely made a difference; I think it made some difference in 1980, perhaps in 1976 (when Ford liberated Poland), and probably in 2000, when Gore’s erratic debate performances underscored doubts about the guy—well-founded doubts, as Gore’s subsequent madness has made clear.  George W. Bush’s faltering performance in the first debate against John Kerry in 2004 sliced into his steady lead at the time.  So let’s stay tuned; there’s a still a lot of time between now and November for things to change. 

Second, everyone should have a look at this post on BattlegoundWatch.com from “keithbacker” that weighs the situation in Ohio.  It notes that Romney suffers from the lack of a clear or forceful message, and that the auto bailout is popular in Ohio.  He leaves out one other factor: the natural gas boom, which is helping to revive Ohio’s economy, may be rescuing Obama here.  “keithbacker” notes that Governor Kasich is giving a mixed message, as his celebration of improving conditions in the Buckeye State help Obama there.  It would be the most bitter of ironies if hydrocarbon energy, which Obama hates and would like to kill, turns out to have been his lifeline. The mention of Kasich raises one other item—the large loss as the polls last fall of the referendum on public employee union reforms.   I listened to the radio spots last fall and thought the unions were going to win.  Kasich and the Ohio Republicans clearly overreached and didn’t bring the same calculating prudence that Scott Walker showed in Wisconsin.  This loss should have been a warning sign to the GOP that Ohio is tricky terrain.Third, “keithbacker” notes that the Romney campaign has a strong ground game in Ohio, and this might make the difference.  Back in 2004, while Democrats were publicly boasting about their ground game, the Bush campaign quietly went about building and executing a much better one, and it made a huge difference.  If there’s one thing I’d expect a Bain Capital-style presidential campaign to do well, it would be the election day get-out-the-vote ground game.

The Romney stops in Ohio must have been well-attended, since it was impossible to find a news story (here or here) that reported the size of the crowd. 

Update: Stop The War on Coal Act

Here's an update by Jazz Shaw at Hot Air on the administration's War On Coal and the HR 3409 (Stop The War on Coal Act):

In the ongoing effort to protect jobs and affordable energy, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.3409, the Stop the War on Coal Act. The legislative package passed the full House with bipartisan support by a vote of 233 to 175. This important jobs and energy package, sponsored by Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), includes key measures advanced by the Energy and Commerce Committee: the Energy Tax Prevention Act, the TRAIN Act, and the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act. The legislation also includes important measures advanced by the Natural Resources Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

“Today, the House took a stand for jobs, families, and affordable energy. On Tuesday this week, we learned of Alpha Natural Resources will be closing 8 mines and laying off 1200 workers. I met with the Alpha CEO shortly after the announcement, and he lamented the administration’s regulatory assault on coal. Sadly, the list of layoffs goes on because of the administration’s ‘all of the above, but nothing from below,’ energy policy,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). “Coal is the cornerstone of our economy – estimates suggest that every mining job creates an additional 3.5 jobs. We are electricity independent – and we want to stay that way.”.... 

The sad truth is that the Stop the War on Coal Act has no chance of getting through the Senate and the president would simply veto it anyway. (At least with the current occupants of the White House and the Senate leadership.) So the layoffs currently taking place at Alpha Natural Resources and their subsequent losses on the market will still take place. This pattern is being repeated across places like Ohio and Pennsylvania, but if there is help in sight, it’s not coming soon.

The roll call vote is here. Among the No votes: Fudge, Kaptur, Kucinich, and Sutton.