Wild and Dirty Politics Threaten Forests and the Constitution
As we surmised if not predicted [here], the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is not dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid allegedly intends to attach it to H.R. 146, “The Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act.”
The Omnibus Public Lands Bill was defeated in the House March 11 under emergency rules that require a two-thirds majority vote. Normal rules were suspended because nearly 100 of the bills in the 1,200-page package have never passed or have had a hearing in the House.
H.R. 146 has passed the House. Hence by attaching nearly 100 unconsidered bills to it, Dirty Harry and the corrupt Senate play the sham trick of bypassing the House of Representatives entirely. Should H.R. 146 pass the Senate laden with the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, the House will never hold a hearing on it. Instead, a conference committee will “resolve” the differences between the House and Senate versions of HR 146, and a simple majority vote will be all that is required to pass the conference report.
The upshot is that through parliamentary shenanigans, the nearly 100 of the bills in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act will never be subjected to a single hearing. Open government will be shoved under the mud again.
From the National Center for Public Policy Research [here]
Outrage of the Day: Harry Reid Tries Again
Today’s Outrage of the Day goes to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his reported intention to try again to get the monster Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (S. 22) into law without proper deliberation.
Following the bill’s defeat last Wednesday (under suspension of rules) in the House, Reid reportedly plans to try again by attaching the huge bill as an amendment to a bill, H.R. 146, “The Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act,” that has already received House approval, and is to be voted on early this week in the Senate.
As National Center for Public Policy Research Senior Fellow R.J. Smith pointed out in this extensive commentary last week, it’s likely that no one has read the bill-cum-amendment, as it’s 1,294 pages long and nine inches thick. There have been no hearings, mark-ups or floor debate about most of it.
The U.S. Congress is deathly afraid of transparency and open government. They know that shining the light of day on their machinations will result in outrage and ouster of the gang of thieves that taint our Capitol today.
For what it may be worth, please call 202-224-3121 and tell Congress to reject HR 146 with the Omnibus Public Land Management Act amended to it like a wart the size of an elephant.
From Julie Kay Smithson of Property Rights Research [here]:
This is criminal, what’s being done under the guise of “legislation” in Washington, D.C. Warm up that number, 202-224-3121, and don’t let them get away with locking up even more land! Locking up millions more acres needlessly, keeping the very people that paid for these lands from ever visiting or enjoying them — is nothing short of criminal. You know I will be making my calls first thing in the morning. Please, add your voices and make sure the mice ROAR!
by bear bait
If you want to know what it is like to be booted off public land, give us Hoosiers a call. We were “temporarily” removed from the Hoosier National Forest in 1972 and are still unable to ride there. If you give an inch they will take the whole thing and turn control over to a bureaucrat who has no responsibility to the people. We in Indiana are living proof.
Old Harry has stolen more public land for friends and supporters than anyone in Congress. He KNOWS how to do it. He IS experienced.
Las Vegas is a town founded by the Mafia when it became apparent they had to have a refuge when things got hinky in the south and Cuba. Bugsy Siegel was their guy. He hired Mormons to run the casinos because they didn’t drink, smoke or gamble. And he used the Salt Lake City Great Basin Bank to launder the loot. GW financed building the city. Symbiosis.
Harry has been the go-to guy who engineered extensive land trades with the BLM — lands that had extensive wilderness and ESA issues. Those were steamrolled, and Las Vegas and the Del Webb interests have expanded the city to well over a million souls, many now upside down on home mortgages. But they have water. Harry has been stealing water from farmers, ranchers and the US Govt the whole time in office. He has claimed undiscovered water for Clark County. Don’t wear a camelback in Washington DC, because Harry will steal it before you get out of town.
But, the real story is that Nancy “Queen” Pelosi didn’t count the votes and lost the Omnibus Wilderness Bill due to piss poor vote management and over-reaching. So Harry is not as much coming to her rescue as showing her who really runs the Congress. He is shoving this bill where only Mr. Pelosi can see it from behind the Mrs.
Either way, the Democrats have a huge majority, and some day they will learn how to use it democratically. Someday. In the meantime, just expect to see dumb stuff like this going on all the time.
Meanwhile, this whole Obama regime looks like a rookie effort and I would not expect much in the way of miracles. I would call it the SOS Administration… not in save our ship… more like same old stuff…
If the Congress can’t hear bills, they vote blind. The “stimulus” is slowly coming into the daylight, and the “blind” voting is apparent.