EPA - Follow the Money

Congress originally set up the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA, similar to all agencies of the Federal Government, is operated by the Administration, which is basically Pres. Obama.
The intention of Congress was apparently to control environmental pollution by industry to the benefit of the American public. While this is a notable objective, the process, with the EPA as with most agencies, has gotten out of control, and is basically a political football. Since the Director of the EPA reports to Pres. Obama, it is obvious that the policies and practice of the EPA will conform to the dictates of Pres. Obama.
President Obama has also had considerable financial support from environmental organizations, which have been hijacked by socialist/communistic influences.
With that background, it is apparent that the EPA, with unlimited power and obligated to pursue the ideologies of the President, will essentially over-control in most instances. The EPA has passed thousands of regulations, some of which are advantageous to the American public, but most of which are inhibitory to the development of business interests.
In order to maintain a legitimate operation of the EPA, Congress later set up for it a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to broadly advises the EPA on scientific and technical matters. It is here where we need to concentrate on "follow the money".
Members of the SAB are appointed by the EPA and those appointments almost invariably include university professors who receive substantial monetary grants either directly from the EPA or other federal agencies. It is apparent that because of this tie-in, the SAB members will almost invariably comply with any suggestion made by the EPA itself. If the EPA says to the board, "stoop", they will stoop.
It is said that this is not necessarily so, because the SAB board members do not receive directly any financial aid from the EPA. While that is true, consider the fact that the EPA makes grants to universities who employ the professors. The professors obviously know where their bread is buttered, with respect to their advancement and facilities made available to them by the universities.
I have advocated for some time more strict controls of EPA operations by Congress, and the above information supports my claim. The EPA is using the SAB is a charade to augment its power and impose unnecessary regulations as dictated by the President. It is up to Congress to investigate this matter and take corrective action. (Ref. C&E News 4/1/13)

Federal Regulatory Process

Open email to Sen. Cornyn (Texas):

Dear Sen. Cornyn,
    Thank you for your form letter on oversight of the federal regulatory process.
    I appreciate your involvement in cosponsoring the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2013, which would require congressional approval for each administrative expenditure of $100 million or more. You say that you hope this important legislation will be brought to the Senate floor for debate during the 113th Congress.    Based on the recent track record of such bills, I predict it is extremely unlikely that the Senate will even take it up. Under these circumstances, I see several options; forget about it, wait for the next election in anticipation of a more agreeable member change, find some other mechanism by which to control Administrative spending.
    It is my understanding that all spending appropriations must come from and be approved by the House of Representatives. However, I am at a loss to understand what happens when the Administration will continue to spend money without Congressional approval. The Federal Reserve prints money and gives it to the Treasury Department for spending as desired by the President.
    If I am correct about this, it seems that the founding fathers did not take into account a rogue President, when they developed the Constitution. In other words, will the President have the opportunity to become a dictator as did Hitler prior to World War II, when the Reichstag had no control over Hitler's action?    I think this is the nuts and bolts of the situation that now exists, and I would like to hear your comments on how we can avoid the disaster of developing another Nazi operation.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

Open email to Sen. Cornyn (Texas)

Dear Sen. Cornyn,
    Thank you for your form letter on reforming Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
    I do not recall having contacted you previously on this subject.
    However, we agree that it is of utmost importance.
    The prime difficulty in addressing these items of concern is that we get wrapped up in miscellaneous detail.
    With respect to Social Security, the obvious answer is to increase the retirement age to be consistent with the longevity increase of workers.
    The Medicare problem can be solved by eliminating Obamacare and increasing the co-pay of individuals so that they have more incentive to shop for service at reasonable cost.
     Medicaid requires a change in attitude. That is to primarily understand it is a welfare operation and should be reduced to second-class service. This would give recipients an incentive to get off the program.

No Internet Sales Tax

Open email to Congress:

    I am aware that Congress is considering online sales tax legislation.
    I strongly and respectfully suggest that you make every effort to see that this legislation does not come to the floor in either the House or the Senate. If you are unable to stop that, I strongly suggest that you make every effort to see that any bills involving such tax are defeated.
    My main reason for this is based on our objective to reduce the size of government at all levels. Any tax increase only increases the size of government and counteracts our major objective.
    I understand that large retailers, with physical facilities for their sales, pay local real estate taxes and are presumably at a disadvantage compared to Internet suppliers, who do not have physical sales outlets. However, that is the choice they made for their sales efforts, and they have the option of reducing those outlets, if they believe such action will improve their profits. It should also be noted that those same organizations with physical sales outlets operate as well on the Internet. I can purchase goods from Macys, Sears, and Target from my computer, even though many have local stores.
    A little history also puts this into perspective. When I was a boy during the depression, most hard goods was obtained by catalog purchase through the mail. Our main suppliers were Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. Through subsequent years, Sears Roebuck followed the policy of establishing local retail sales outlets. The practice was effective and put Montgomery Ward out of business.
    The situation is now reversed. New technology has again changed opportunity for retail marketing. Those companies who cannot compete, perhaps because of high costs of physical outlets and local real estate taxes, should go out of business. The sales world is a jungle. Only the fittest survive, and those same fittest almost invariably supply better products and service to consumers. There's no reason for Congress to interfere with this process.
    This then returns us to the main point. We do not want increased revenue to any branches of government, which would tend to increase the size and power of those government branches.

Why Do We Not Learn? West, Texas Explosion

    Most people are aware that there was a recent explosion in the town of West, Texas, which killed a number of people and devastated the town.
    The explosive material was ammonium nitrate being manufactured by the West fertilizer Company.
    A little recollection or minor investigation of history, would have easily shown that the employees and town people were sitting on a ticking time bomb.
    Wikipedia lists 26 instances of ammonium nitrate explosions from 1918 to the West, Texas incident n 2013. Quantities ranged from 23 tons to 4000 tons.
    Other than the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building by Timothy McVeigh, using ammonium nitrate, the most notable US incident was the Texas City Disaster in 1947. It originated with a mid-morning fire on board the French registered vessel SS Grandcamp, which was docked in the Port of Texas City. Its cargo of approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated, with the initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil storage facilities, killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department.
    Last year it was known that the West Texas Fertilizer Company was storing 270 tons of ammonium nitrate.
    Laboratory quantities of ammonium nitrate are not dangerous explosives. For explosion to occur, the quantity must be considerable (have a critical mass) and an initial external energy source must be provided. One combination of factors is to have several tons of material in bulk form, not in separate barrels, and submit the mass to the heat of an external fire. This is what caused the detonation at the West Fertilizer Company.
    The West, Texas deaths could have been minimized by evacuating the plant and the town, as soon as it was recognized that the plant fire could not be immediately controlled.
    The Chemical Safety Board is investigating the cause of the explosion and will also come up with procedures on how it could have been avoided. However on first appearance, the Texas State Department of Health was aware of the large quantity of ammonium nitrate storage and took no action to immediately have it reduced to the acceptable limit of 400 pounds.

Second Amendment Gun Rights

Open email to Sen. Cornyn (Texas):

Dear Sen. Cornyn,
    Congratulations on your offering legislation that would allow Americans with concealed handgun licenses issued by their own states to exercise those rights in other states whose state law authorizes the issuance of a concealed handgun license.
    This is a step in the right direction of returning to citizens their rights as provided by the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. It recognizes US Congressional responsibility of controlling state actions, where those actions are inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. The federal government has been extremely deficient in adhering to limitations imposed on itself by the U.S. Constitution, but in the case of the Second Amendment, we have seen a reversal with a dereliction of duty.
I see one difficulty with your legislative proposal. Even if passed, your legislation does not cover the case of a person with a concealed weapon permit from one state traveling through another state, which has no concealed weapon permit allowance.
  Notice that I have also said it is a step in the right direction, because in order to abide by the U.S. Constitution, we should be eliminating any restrictions on gun carry, including permits, in any state. It is the direct responsibility of the U.S. Congress to develop any necessary process to remove states from infringing the Second Amendment.

Gun Control

Open email to Representative Neugebauer, Sen. Cornyn, and Sen. Cruz (Texas):

: Congratulations for defeating Pres. Obama in his efforts to establish further gun control! However, you have heard his rantings and ravings. He does not accept defeat easily and will try to piecemeal restrictions through executive order, for which you must be alert and subsequently take appropriate counter action
    May I also remind you that our Second Amendment rights to bear arms are already infringed, so long as we have any restrictions on where we can carry firearms and any permit requirements for such carry. These restrictions need to be removed.