The Gloves Are Off

While America enjoyed Friday evening watching transformers in the movie theater, or going out to dinner, or watching Michael Jackson coverage on every channel, they should have been watching Congress because our country is being transformed. Right in front of our eyes and nobody's watching. The house is snuck in a vote last night -- the 1,500 page Waxman Markey climate change bill.

The Cap and Trade bill passed in the House late last night (219 for, 212 against).

What is Cap and Trade/Waxman-Markey? It is a scheme that places a maximum on allowable emissions in the US and rachets that emissions cap down from 2012 through 2050 to just 17% of 2005 levels. Sounds nice right? Wrong. Because US companies are having to pay for all these emissions, and how to they pay for them? They pass the cost on to YOU and ME through our electricity bills, gasoline and diesel purchases, and everything else we buy that is impacted by those costs - which is everything we buy. This will devastate America. Just one example, El Dorado's local refinery, Lion Oil, has already said that it will have to close its doors and layoff its 1,200 employees if this legislation passes.

The next move for this bill is the Senate. Obama is taking his gloves off, saying that everyone who speaks out against this bill is "misinformed" and pressuring the Senate to pass it. How can little ole us go up against that? Well, each of us have 2 Senators that HAVE to listen to us - but we HAVE TO TALK TO THEM so they know that we don't want them to support this bill!

Call, write, visit, twitter, and facebook your 2 Senators and let them know we want a climate change bill that will really make a difference without further crippling the American economy.

Don't know how to say it? Go to http://www.fuel-america.com/ and click the Take Action link to have a letter generated for your representatives that you can edit (or not) and send by e-mail.

Headed to the tub

With all the essentials
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Consequences of 30 minutes of uninterrupted homework time

That's mascara incase you were wondering. She also painted her toenails and fingernails and fingers and my new tile floor.
Magen Parker


Want to learn what you can do to help keep fuel prices low? Visit www.Fuel-America.com

Cap and Trade Bill Bad for Arkansas

Good article in the El Dorado News Times today.
Ross: Industries could be hit hard if bill becomes law
By: John Worthen - El Dorado News Times

Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., on Thursday said that industries in El Dorado and Union County could be hit particularly hard if a proposed climate change bill aimed at reducing carbon emissions becomes law. In an e-mailed statement sent out to news media in the Fourth Congressional District, Ross said that although he agrees that carbon emissions must be reduced, he can’t support the bill in its present form because of its potential to devastate his district’s economy.

“El Dorado could be hit particularly hard if this bill passes, as it is home to Murphy Oil and Lion Oil,” Ross said in the release. “I was proud to welcome Steve Cousins, vice president of refining for Lion, to testify this week before Congress where he argued that if this bill passes in its current form, the El Dorado refinery would be forced to close its doors within a year and lay off 1,200 local workers.”

Highlights from the article:

• Under the cap-and-trade plan that is part of the bill, total carbon-dioxide emissions from large sources, such as power plants and factories, must be reduced by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by 2050.  American manufacturers must pay to emit carbon dioxide.
• Arkansas is among a group of states that stands to suffer a 1.5 percent decline in jobs by 2030 if the legislation becomes law.
• Ross voted against the bill in committee, despite lobbying efforts and phone calls he received from Speaker Pelosi and President Obama.
• While other states have an abundance of renewable energy in the forms of solar and wind, southern Arkansas does not. Instead, our area has vast amounts of biomass that under this bill’s current definition cannot be fully utilized. It also refuses to allow our state’s existing hydro and nuclear power to count toward the proposed federally-mandated renewable electricity standard.
• These limitations stand to increase the price we all pay for energy while limiting the ability of our foresters and farmers to have a leading role in producing American-made energy.
• We must be very careful in passing any climate change legislation to ensure that we do not enact policies that close our local facilities and ship our jobs and carbon dioxide emissions overseas.
• The reality is that between now and 2040, 97 percent of new carbon emissions will not be produced from the United States or Europe, but rather from places like China, India, and the Middle East.
  

Full Article: http://www.eldoradonews.com/news/localnews/2009/06/12/ross-industries-could-be-hit-hard-if-bil-33.php

This is too important to watch from the sideline - let your representatives know where you stand - www.Fuel-America.com

King Tut

Ben and I went on a G/T field trip to Dallas in May to see the King Tut exhibit and we also went to the Aquarium.  Short trip, but a lot of fun!

www.kingtut.org
www.dwazoo.com

I got a wife!!

I mentioned in an earlier post that it was really depressing to come home after a long day at work to dirty laundry and dishes, and toys and clutter as far as the eye can see (notice someone stole my blog title to write their book!).  

Well, guess what?  God sent me an angel named Anna!  Anna goes to my church, and she's home from college for the summer and is coming over 2-3 times a week to help out around the house.

Some appropriate movie quotes fit quite well in this post (adapted of course for this situation):

• Little Rascals - I got a wife, I got a wife, I got a wife, hey hey hey hey!  
• Casablanca - Anna, I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship!  
• Gone with the Wind - Of course, she'll leave me when school starts back in the fall.  But I can't think about that right now.  If I do, I'll go crazy.  I'll think about that tomorrow.

El Dorado in the news AGAIN!

This time, it was on Fox Business Network's morning show today, Money for Breakfast. Check it out at this link: www.tinyurl.com/promiseonfox

What Are Your Memorial Day Weekend Plans?

Just curious!  What are your plans for this weekend?  In light of being frugal (only because I'm getting carpet and tile installed next week), I was thinking about painting the trim in my foyer.  How thrilling!  Don't you wish you were me?  :)

What are your plans?


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Why you MUST read the next People Magazine

Run, don't walk, to your local magazine stand this Friday to get the June 1 edition of People Magazine. It will include a story about the El Dorado Promise (supposed to be a couple pages). Maybe it will be right next to the Jon and Kate scandal! :)

Kid's say the darndest things

We had just finished eating at Applebee's after church today and Jason and I were in separate vehicles. Ben wanted to ride with Jason, and Jason asked Mary Claire who she wanted to ride with. She said she wanted to ride with mommy cause daddy's truck was "scary and too louder and has toots in it."

I laughed so hard I cried, and Mary Claire had no idea what was so funny, but she started laughing with me eventually anyway. :)