I think those simple three letters will constitute my sign at the tea party. It covers a myriad of my questions: WTF happened to my country? WTF are they doing? WTF have they done? and WTF are they doing NOW?
For instance, I just saw Jim DeMint on twitter: "Boxer amdt passed: 54-43. Thune amdt now being voted on to prevent increases in energy prices"
And Michelle Malkin: "The Boxer c(r)ap-and-t(i)rade massive tax amendment to Sen. budget bill just passed, 54-43."
WTF is the Boxer Amendment? I searched Google News {boxer amendment cap and trade} and found only two articles, one from The Hill and this one from the Helicopter Association International's Rotor News:
HAI reports Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leaders have provided details on their strategy on a multifaceted energy plan which begins next week. The panel Tuesday will take up three bills analyzing the impact of energy development and production on water resources; updating appliance efficiency standards; and increasing energy efficiency for manufacturers. The committee will also mark up a bipartisan draft energy research and development plan.
After the April recess, they will deal with other energy issues including, the siting of an electricity transmission network, a renewable electricity production mandate, cybersecurity related to a "smart grid," nuclear energy and coal efficiency. Later on, the committee will take up energy efficiency, expanding the authority of the Energy Department to issue green energy loan guarantees, making energy markets more transparent and expanding enforcement authority for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
A fourth markup could cover energy development, including oil and natural gas, coal, unconventional oil sources, green energy development on public lands, expanding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to include regional reserves for refined products like gasoline and diesel, and carbon capture and storage. All of this will lead to the eventual filing of one package that lawmakers hope to keep separate from a climate change strategy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has talked of combining energy and climate change and debating it on the floor before the August recess. Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-California) has not issued details or a timeline for a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a market-based cap-and-trade program, and she might defer to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman(D-California) to act first. As previously reported on HAI’s RotorNews, Waxman wants his panel to mark up a combined energy and cap-and-trade strategy by Memorial Day.
President Obama and Democratic leaders are pushing for a cap-and-trade plan, while others in both parties have tossed out other ideas, including instituting a direct carbon tax on businesses. These are issues HAI is closely tracking and analyzing and updates will be posted in RotorNews as developments occur in Washington.
And if you think that sounds complicated, try reading today's NY Times: Democrats Unveil Ambitious Global Warming Bill
"The debate on global warming and energy policy accelerated on Tuesday at two senior House Democrats unveiled a far-reaching bill to cap heat-treating gases and move the country quickly from dependence on coal and oil.
But the bill leaves crucial questions unanswered and as of now has no Republican support. For those reasons, it marks the beginning, not the end, of debate in the current Congress on how to deal with two of President Obama’s top priorities, climate change and energy....
Whoa, stop right there. The debate accelerated alright. It's accelerated to the point where there's no time for them to tell us what's going on before it's over, no time to read bills before they're passed, no time to deliberate. Just confiscate. Our money.
So WTF is the Boxer amendment? Who knows? But I can tell you that it passed already, and they're on to the "Thune Gregg amendment" (defeated).
The numbers are going up so fast and furiously, no one even knows how far in the debt this little American already is. Or how far in debt he or she will be next week, or next month or next year...
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