Update: Cooper caves.

I retract the nice things I had to say about Congressman Cooper. I guess party is stronger than principle.

Cooper changes vote, backs final stimulus bill
Bill Theobald, The Tennessean, Saturday, February 14, 2002

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Cooper, who received national attention as one of the few Democrats to vote against the economic stimulus bill when it first passed the House, voted in favor of the revised $787 billion package Friday.

Kudos to Cooper

My congressman, Democratic Representative Jim Cooper, was one of only eleven Democratic House members to vote against the stimulus bill. While nine of the Democrats voting against the bill are from distincts that went for John McCain in the last election and potentially face tough Republican challengers in the next elections, Jim Cooper represents a safe Democratic district. It took courage to stand by his convictions and oppose the Party and do what was right.

Thank you, Congressman Cooper! I admire your courage.

The Dems who bucked Obama
By ALEX ISENSTADT, Politico, 2/2/09 8:22 AM EST

The day after his no vote, Cooper, a budget hawk and member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition, expressed frustration over what he said was leadership’s lack of outreach in the drafting of the bill.

“They really don’t care what Blue Dogs think,” Cooper told Politico, noting that he stood before a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on Monday and outlined his concerns. “There’s huge frustration.”

Cooper said he had spoken to other Democratic fiscal conservatives who said they wanted to vote no but felt they couldn’t, though he declined to specify any by name.

“We wish we could be more relevant in the discussion before they got more advanced,” Cooper added.

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“Eleven hundred pages, not one member of this body has read,”

GOP Leader Boehner Floor Speech Opposing Democrats' Trillion-Dollar Spending Bill

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The Only Thing we Have to ....

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Bill would drop travel restrictions to Cuba

By Alexia Campbell, South Florida Sun Sentinel, February 10, 2009

While most of the nation focused on the stimulus bill winding through Congress, nine representatives introduced a bill calling for an end to the 46-year-old ban on travel to Cuba. (link)

Commentary
It is past time to lift the restrictions on travel to Cuba.

Tourist can freely travel to Vietnam or China but not Cuba. What kind of logic is that? Americans are not even prohibited from visiting countries such as Iran or North Korea.

We not only need to lift travel restrictions on Cuba, we need to lift the trade embargo. During the recent campaign, Obama promised he would change our policy toward Cuba. That is one campaign promise I hope he keeps. We do not need to wait any longer.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and perhaps as far back as the Nixon opening to China, our policy toward Cuba has been wrong-headed, illogical, and counterproductive.

The embargo of Cuba began in 1960. The intent was to pressure Castro to democratize. The policy failed. Instead, it had the result of pushing Cuba further into the arms of the Soviet Union. The embargo made a martyr out of Castro and helped prop up his regime. Cuba has been able to blame all of their failings on the United States and the embargo rather than Castro’s socialist policies.

I realize that Cuba is still a Communist dictatorship but I don’t think we need to wait until Cuba establishes democracy before we lift the embargo. We did not wait for democracy to flourish in China or Vietnam before we engaged in trade with those nations. We did not demand that China and Vietnam free all political prisoners before we normalized relations. While neither China nor Vietnam are perfect democracies, neither are they orthodox Communist nations. Our engagement and trade surely contributed to the liberalization in those two countries.

Since Castro’s ill health and retirement, we have seen positive change taking place in Cuba. The government has legalized private taxicabs, it has given individuals the deed to their homes, it has allowed Cubans to own cell phones, it has permitted Cubans to stay in luxury hotels, and it has encouraged and expanded private farms. These changes are significant and encouraging.

If the US would end the embargo and travel restrictions, we would see an acceleration of Cuba’s transformation. If American dollars could flow freely to Cuba, we would see concession on the part of Cuba to accommodate investors. With opportunities to make money, we would see an evolving Cuban entrepreneurial class. With more dollars to spend, Cubans would not be dependent on the government for everything, other spheres of influence would emerge, and the socialist totalitarian mold would be broken.

Cuba is changing despite the policy of the United States. We should help accelerate the change that is taking place in Cuba by ending the travel restrictions and trade embargo. Lifting the embargo will not change us but it will change Cuba. The cold war is over. Lift the embargo now.

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Green Libs: Act Now to Stop the Nuclear Energy Stimulus Bill!

I know we on the right are doing all we can to stop this super spending bill, so I wanted to give our friends on the left a reason to join us.

To all of those people who think the only way to save the planet is for people to shiver in caves, the stimulus bill is bad news. To those who think that nuclear energy has no roll in curtailing greenhouse gas emission and think that we can replace dirty energy with nothing but solar and wind, you need to act now to stop this bill. A nuclear power plant is going to build in your backyard and you are doing nothing to stop it! I am not conning you. Here is a report from a good liberal blogger.

Why is that $50 billion radioactive antique toilet still in the stimulus bill?
By Harvey Wasserman
Created Feb 9
2009 - 9:29am

The infamous $50 billion nuke power loan guarantee package meant to use your money to build new nuke reactors has gone missing from saturation media coverage of Obama’s Stimulus Package. But it’s still in the Senate version of the bill, it could be voted on this week, and it could kill us all.

We have days---maybe hours---to stop it. While aid programs to the states, for education and the truly needy are slashed, this gargantuan boondoggle is poised to sail through with virtually no public knowledge. Published on The Smirking Chimp (http://www.smirkingchimp.com/)

If you really care about the planet read the rest of the article and act now. If you don’t act then we could become like France and get 70% of our energy from nuclear power.

I know if you are good liberal you don’t want to kill this bill. The only government programs that liberals ever disapprove of are national defense. So, I am not asking you to encourage you Congressman to kill the bill; I am asking you to call your congressman and Senator and ask them to remove this offensive provision.

Now I am for nuclear energy so why would I suggest this? Because this provision does not belong in a stimulus bill just as a lot of other things to do belong in the stimulus bill. Funding nuclear power plant insurance should stand or fail on its own merits. If Democrats get enough calls about this issue, they may decide to slow down the process of approving this bill and hold hearing to determine what is really in the bill. So, Liberals, please call your congressman now. If you don’t, then when they are building a nuclear power plant in your backyard, don’t blame me.

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“The following is a paid advertisement and does not reflect the ……”

An opinion expressed in an advertisement on this blog does not imply that A Disgruntled Republican endorses the message or the product advertised.

If you look to the left you will see that there is an advertisement for “Get USA Made.” I have recently posted several essays in which I warned of the dangers of protectionism. One post of mine, Please Don’t Buy American, was posted on February 2. At the same time it was running the “Get USA Made” advertisement was also running. Several people emailed me to comment on the discrepancy. One simply commended that it was ironic and another called me a hypocrite. I figured that if several people bothered to comment, others must have noticed the discrepancy and had an opinion.

Once it was pointed out to me that the “Buy USA” ad conflicted with my editorial policy I considered deleting the ad but kept waiting, hoping that someone would simply outbid that ad and it would go away. That hasn’t happened so I am making a decision to let it continue to run. I am not endorsing the “Buy USA Made” message but neither am I endorsing “Home Laser Hair Removal” which is also advertising on this blog. I have never tried “Home Laser Hair Removal.”

I have several different resources for the publishing of ads. With entrecard I accept or decline every individual ad. With some of the other advertising services, I could have the service set so that I approve or reject each ad individually but choose not to. I have set my ad publishing services to accept all ads except “adult.” I always have the option of deleting an ad at any time. I have never thought that by carrying an ad I was giving it a seal of approval.

I don’t think I have ever rejected an entrecard ad. I have accepted all kinds of entrecard advertisements. Some are from other conservative bloggers with whom I have profound disagreement on certain issues. I have also carried advertisements for liberal blogs. My view is that if these blogs want to advertise with me, they may. That does not imply that they agree with me nor does it imply I agree with them. I know some bloggers take a completely different view. I have had my ads declined by other bloggers and they have stated they disagreed with my positions and did not want to promote my blog. That is their right. I just do not view carrying someone’s ad as an endorsement.

Part of the reason, I have a liberal advertising policy is that I don’t think it hurts to be exposed to other views and I also hope others will reciprocate and allow me to advertise with them. Surprisingly, some of my most traffic-generating advertisements have been placed on blogs where I would have initially assumed the readers of that blog would have had little interest in my point of view.

In addition to my advertising, you may also notice that I have some liberal blogs listed in my blogroll. I list blogs that I think are interesting and well written. I do not always agree with the opinion of all of the blogs listed on my blogroll. I am simply recommending you visit them.

My policy on what advertising I will accept will continue to evolve as I am presented with an ad that creates a dilemma. I would not want to carry a racist ad or an ad from a 9-11 denier or Holocaust denier. I would not want to carry an ad for an avowed Communist website or a terrorist-friendly website. I would have to think about posting an ad that featured a peace sign, simply because I find the peace sign offensive. I know I may be the only person who feels that way, but it is my blog. For now however, I will advertise almost anything, but that does not mean that I endorse it.

This blog is my hobby and I have never made any money off of it. By carrying advertising I either earn credits or money that is used to purchase advertising. Please take time to visit my advertisers. A lot of advertising is either sold or evaluated based on the number of “clicks” the advertiser generates from the ad. Please help me out by paying “Buy USA Made” as well as my other advertisers a visit.

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Petition Against the Stimulus Bill

While passage of the stimulus package looks like a done deal at this point, there is still a chance to kill it. After the Senate and House negotiate their differences the bill will have to go back to each house to be voted on again. Amendments can not be considered and the new bill must be voted up or down.

As people learn more about the wasteful spending in the bill and how it will do little to stimulate the economy, the public is turning against the bill. A new CBS poll shows that while a majority of Americans still support the stimulus package, support for the bill has fallen 12 points since January, and nearly half of those surveyed do not believe it will shorten the recession. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed support the stimulus package, while 39 percent do not. An additional 10 percent don't know. Last month, 63 percent supported the package and just 24 percent opposed it.

It House and Senate members hear from their constituents, some may switch to a “no” vote. So, stopping the Bill at this point may be a long shot, but it is possible. The pressure to defeat this bill needs to continue.

As John McCain has said, “no bill is better than this bill.” If this bill fails to pass, Congress can go back to the drawing board and pass a real stimulus bill. If you have not taken any action to express your opposition to the bill, below is a link to the John McCain PAC where you can sign a petition against it. A personal letter, phone call, or email to your congressmen is better than signing a petition, but this is quick and easy.

Click here to sign the petition: http://www.countryfirstpac.com/petition/economic.aspx

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