Cooper's in a Stuper

Incumbent Congressman Jim Cooper has stooped to a new low in his newest TV ad in which he uses the recent Nashville flood and its victims for his own political gain. You can watch it here.


I stated in my July 23, 2010 blog post titled Shut Yo Pie Hole ..... PLEASE that Cooper was only concerned about the flood's aftermath because it is an election year. He has been in Congress nearly 20 years and the power, greed, and elitism has apparently put Cooper into some kind of stuper. I have voted against this man time after time and I'll be doing it again in November. In addition to this tacky TV ad :

• he voted AGAINST the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
• he voted FOR the Brady Bill.
• he voted FOR the so-called Assault Weapons Ban before voting AGAINST it on its final vote because funding to put additional police officers on the street was stripped from it.
• he voted FOR ObamaCare.
• he voted FOR Cap and Trade.
• he voted FOR TARP.
• he voted FOR the Stimulus Bill.

Therefore, in November, I'm voting to fire Jim Cooper and replace him with David Hall. If you live in the Tennessee counties of Davidson, Wilson, or Cheatham, you should, too. For more information on David Hall, please visit JustVoteHall.com. For more info on Jim Cooper's lousy Congressional career, please visit ReplaceCooper.com.

Sheepdog on the Warpath - Part 1, The NRA

As I promised last week, I'm kicking of this week's series, Sheepdog on the Warpath, today. Today the target locked onto is The National Rifle Association (NRA). As a firearms enthusiast and a firm believer in The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, it was a tough post to write and one that I really did not want to do. However, it will become evident very quickly why I did it. The NRA has lost it's way and needs to be held accountable.

I have a number of bones to pick with the NRA. However, the last straw was their involvement in The Disclose Act. Back in January, The U.S. Supreme Court overturned The McCain-Feingold Act with it's decision in the Citizen United vs. Federal Election Commission case (see my February 5, 2010 post titled "Did Obama Make A Tactical Error ?"). Afterwards, the Congressional Democrats announced very quickly that they would begin composing new legislation to re-impose the ban on corporate political speech during elections. They did so with The Disclose Act. However, the new bill contained exemptions for large organizations such as the NRA. When the bill first began making it's way through the U.S. House of Representatives, the NRA fought vigorously against it because they were firmly in the bill's crosshairs. Suddenly in mid-June, it was announced that the NRA had been given a special exemption from the bill in exchange for not openly opposing and fighting against it. In press releases and other statements, the NRA has stated that no deal was struck between them and Congress. However, in an interview with Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President, on the Lars Larson radio show (click here and then scroll down to listen), LaPierre never directly answers Mr. Larson's question when asked whether or not a deal was struck. Furthermore, LaPierre basically says that the NRA will do whatever it takes to protect The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Apparently, that includes sacrificing the First Amendment protection of free speech.

The NRA has taken a lot of heat over The Disclose Act from folks both on the right and the left (please see article on Reuters.com - Groups oppose NRA exemption in campaign bill). Some have said there was a deal and others have said there was not (please see article by Timothy P. Carney on WashingtonExaminer.com - NRA isn't the villain in free speech fight). However, LaPierre's refusal to directly answer Mr. Larson's questions settled the debate for me because it told me that a deal was made. So, on August 12, 2010, I prepared the following letter listing a number of grievances I have with the NRA and mailed it to Mr. LaPierre :

Dear Mr. LaPierre,

I've been around firearms all my life but did not join the NRA until the 1990s shortly after Bill Clinton won the White House. I resigned my NRA Membership after the passage of the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban because I felt the NRA had not worked hard enough to keep those bills from passing. Around late 2007 or early 2008, I rejoined the NRA to give it a second chance and because the Democrats were nominating an anti-gunner, either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, for the presidency. I believed re-joining the NRA was the best way to keep informed about future anti-gun legislation.

The NRA has blown its second chance as I'm upset with it again for several reasons. First, why does the NRA continue giving good grades and endorsements to my Congressman, Jim Cooper (TN-5) ?? The NRA-PVF website gave him a B- in 2002, a B and the endorsement in 2004, a B+ in 2006, and an A and with the endorsement in 2008. Cooper voted in favor of the Brady Bill and for the Assault Weapons Ban before he voted against it. He only voted against the Assault Weapons Ban after the funding to put additional police officers on the street was stripped from it. He was fine with stripping gun owners of their God-given rights as protected by The Second Amendment as long as additional cops were on the street. Apparently, he did not believe gun owners were capable of protecting themselves so he supported less freedom and a bigger nanny state. Tennessee's gun owners were so angry over these votes that we gave him an "F" and voted him out of office in 1994 as the NRA should have done. Unfortunately, Tennesseans voted him back into Congress in 2002. In 2008, Cooper's Republican challenger for re-election, Gerard Donovan, was a gun rights supporter and a Tennessee concealed carry permit holder, but the NRA backed Cooper. It's only a matter of time until Cooper WILL betray you and gun owners again. Since his 2008 re-election, he has voted in favor of ObamaCare, the bailouts, and the stimulus bills. He's part of the reason the country is falling apart. Thanks for nothing. Strike one NRA.

Secondly, I'm upset with the NRA over The Disclose Act. This law's purpose was to infringe on the political speech of various organizations. On June 15, 2010, I received an e-mail from the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) stating that the NRA had struck a deal with Pelosi, Reid, etc. to exempt it from the bill's provisions as long as the NRA did not publicly oppose the bill. Did they promise no future gun control bills, too ? If you believe there will not be any, I've got some ocean front property here in hills of Tennessee that I'll make you a great deal on. Maybe Congressman Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd can help you get a great, low rate on the mortgage, too. I've done my homework by reading all the NRA press releases and e-mails claiming that no such deal was struck. I've listened to your interview with Lars Larsen on his radio show and read your comments elsewhere which basically state that the NRA will do anything to protect The Second Amendment. I do not believe the NRA's denials no deal was made. Apparently, the NRA took notes from Sen. Ben Nelson and Sen. Mary Landrieu selling out the First Amendment thinking it would protect the Second. You've let down the American people and we expect better. One part of The Constitution and our freedom can NEVER be sacrificed in order to protect another. Such a deal will only result in us losing all of our freedoms. Strike two NRA.

Thirdly, I've got a big problem with your "Friendly to Incumbents Policy." The NRA endorsed Congressman Jim Cooper in 2008 (see above) in accordance with this policy. The same policy was applied this year in the Republican Primary for Tennessee Senate District 17. The NRA endorsed the incumbent Mae Beavers over State Representative Susan Lynn. Both of them have been rated A+ by the NRA on numerous occasions. Some would say they have an identical pro-gun record. However, that is not true. While a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Mae Beavers voted in favor of Rep. Jimmy Naifeh being Speaker of the House on four occasions. During his gun-hating career, Naifeh has single-handedly killed numerous pro-gun bills, including ones that would have expanded Tennessee's carry laws. Yet the NRA endorsed Beavers anyway. Rep. Lynn, on the other hand, has always supported gun owners. In fact, my first contact ever with Rep. Lynn was to ask her to oppose, which she did, an anti-gun bill working its way through the Tennessee Legislature. In regards to the "Friendly to Incumbents Policy," the argument could be made that both were incumbents in this race since both were holding seats in the Tennessee General Assembly at the time. In this race, the NRA should have given them both A's or A+'s and issued a statement to the effect that gun owners would have been safe voting for either. Beavers definitely should not have been given the endorsement and I would argue that her grade should have been lowered due to her support of Naifeh. Any vote(s) supporting an anti-gun colleague for Speaker of the House, as Beavers did, should earn you an F every time. Strike three. The NRA is out.

Lastly, you have been hypocritical in the letters I have received from you. For instance :

• In a March 30, 2009 letter offering the membership in the Golden Eagles, you wrote, "And, the NRA's Golden Eagles are leaders who see the big picture - that, in the long run, the biggest danger we face is the gradual chipping away of our rights bit by bit in what our friend Charlton Heston long ago called a 'cultural war'.
• In a December 4, 2009 renewal letter to me, you said, "And the one organization in America today that can defend not just the Second Amendment, but freedom itself is the NRA."
• You also said in that December 4, 2009 that, "Your (membership) card says that you're part of one of the most powerful armies of freedom-fighters that the world has ever seen. An army that takes no prisoners ... An army that stands up for its friends and relentlessly attacks its enemies ... An army whose highest allegiance is not to any individual or any political party but only to the cause of freedom."

I have pointed out, above, how the NRA has contradicted the quoted passages above by not fighting for freedom (The Disclose Act Deal), not attacking its enemies (endorsements of Jim Cooper), and not stood up for its friends (withheld endorsement from Lynn and gave to Beavers). The NRA has also aided in "the chipping away of our rights" by not standing for and proclaiming it's 100% opposition to ANY infringement of free speech in regards to The Disclose Act. For these reasons, I am giving my resignation, effective immediately, in the NRA as a member and as a Golden Eagle. I have previously done so via telephone but felt it should be done in writing, too. I will also be encouraging all of my blog readers, Facebook friends, family, and others resign, too. There are other Second Amendment advocacy groups locally and nationally that fight for and support our rights fairly and without sacrificing any part of The Constitution. I am also requesting a full refund of my Golden Eagles dues for this year. The check can be mailed to my address above.

The NRA's policies, grades, endorsements, and backroom deals have betrayed mine and other Americans trust and damaged our Republic and Constitution. Please do NOT send me any more magazines, renewal notices, or other solicitations. If you do, they will be marked " REFUSED - RETURN TO SENDER" and returned to you. The NRA is as out of touch with everyday Americans, such as myself, as Congress. Charlton Heston has to be rolling over in his grave after The Disclose Act deal. Your failure to adamantly oppose that bill was a slap in the face to our military men and women. They sacrifice time with their families and often their very lives to protect and defend our freedoms and the very Constitution that the NRA shredded with The Disclose Act deal. Your organization is no better than Obama and the other Socialists, Marxists, and Communists in D.C. The NRA is a hypocritical joke.

Sincerely,

Johnny Black,

Patriot and ex-NRA Member

Since mailing the letter to Mr. LaPierre, I have found a website by the name of NRAwol.net which details even more "indiscretions" of the NRA. I have not had the time yet to go through and confirm the site's claims, but I plan to. I encourage everyone, especially gun owners, to do your own homework and research these issues for yourself.

In my opinion, the NRA is caught up in the same lust for power and money that is infecting others in D.C. I have given them two chances. They have failed both times. I will continue to advocate for The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. However, it will not be as a member of the NRA. I'm encouraging gun owners to get involved locally instead of giving your hard earned money to the NRA anymore. Most states have some sort of gun owners association and there are at least two other national associations that I'm aware - Gun Owners of America and National Association for Gun Rights. Do your research on them and then consider joining.

P.S. The Disclose Act was voted down and failed to become law. However, rumor has it that it will come back up and be snuck into law as an amendment on another bill. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. The NRA sold it's soul to the devil (Reid, Pelosi, Schumer, etc.) on this one. Scuttlebutt is that they are considering endorsing Harry Reid for re-election, also. Pathetic.

Shut Yo Pie-Hole ...... PLEASE !!

U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper (top left) and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (bottom left) are currently investigating possible lapses during the May floods that raged havoc in Middle Tennessee. They're holding hearings to figure out whether the Corps. of Engineers, The National Weather Service, God himself, or somebody else should be blamed for the disaster. They're trying to make us think they're just humble public servants looking out for their constituents.

The truth is they're just trying to score political points with voters. Cooper is currently embroiled in the fight of his political life. The people are ticked at him, Obama, and the rest of the worthless Congress and he knows it. He has not been challenged this strongly in an election she he got his tailed kicked in 1994. So, he's doing what any good politician does in an election year - he's kissing up to his constituents and trying to make them think he actually cares about them. This from the same man who thumbed his nose at voters during the summer recess and refused to hold town hall meetings. He even locked the doors to his office to keep outraged voters from coming to his office to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and redress of grievances.

As for the Progressive Alexander, he's already trying to score points for his re-election bid in 2014. However, I'm hoping it's too little too late for this bum. After his votes against allowing carry permit holders to carry firearms to protect themselves and their families in National Parks, his "yea" vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the other times he's sided with the Liberals and Progressives, it's past time for him to go.

The fact is, gentlemen, there is no one to blame for the horrible flooding that ravaged Middle Tennessee back in May. SO SHUT YO PIE-HOLE !! The approximately 20 inches of rain received that weekend just had no where to go. Millions and millions of gallons of water dumped on any land mass in that little time is gonna go where it wants. That's why it's called a "natural disaster." If the dams had not been opened after holding the water back for awhile, it's possible there would have been a worse disaster. The dams theoretically could have burst. I'm just hoping that Tennesseans see this hearing fiasco for the circus it is. Then, we need to find good conservative candidates whom can give Cooper his pink slip this year and Alexander his in 2014.

Cooper's Crap

On March 21st, The U.S. House of Representatives passed ObamaCare. A few days before, I sent Jim Cooper, who supposedly represents Tennessee's 5th District, the last of my multiple e-mails to him requesting that he vote NO on ObamaCare. Furthermore, I laid out my reasons for feeling the way I did. Mr. Cooper voted YES in favor of ObamaCare along with 218 others in what will go down in U.S. history as another moment that "will live in infamy." Mr. Cooper's response to my e-mail hit my inbox on March 23rd. I have posted it below for all to see :

Dear Mr. Black:

Having heard from tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans like you on all sides of the issue, and having spent months studying the various bills, I know that America must improve its health care system because it is unsustainable. I voted for health reform legislation because it will make it better.

Any decision of this magnitude must be made very carefully, after weighing every concern. We Nashvillians are proud of our outstanding health care community that makes us "the nation's health care industry capital." Every Nashville hospital strongly supports the legislation, whether it's St. Thomas, Vanderbilt (both University and Hospital), Centennial, Meharry Medical School, Nashville General, Summit, Skyline, or Southern Hills. The largest senior organization, AARP, supports the legislation. A majority of physicians who contacted me support the legislation. A majority of local nurses support the legislation. Despite media controversy regarding abortion, the Catholic hospitals, and groups representing 59,000 Catholic Sisters support the legislation.

Let me make clear that I respect the advocacy of those who are opposed to the legislation. They actually help me make sure that more people in Congress do their homework and pay attention to America's financial problems. They are strengthening our democracy with their voices.

The bottom line is that this legislation offers the only realistic hope that most Americans have for getting a fair deal in today's private health insurance markets. This is not a government takeover, but a way to encourage better private-market competition. Tens of millions of Americans will benefit immediately and thousands of lives will literally be saved due to the greater affordability of health insurance.

Although CBO claims that the legislation will reduce deficits in the first ten years by over $100 billion, and by over $1 trillion after that, you don't have to believe CBO to realize that, even if you assume zero deficit reduction, this is a huge improvement in the policymaking of recent years. This legislation does not do enough to contain medical inflation, but it makes a good start because it contains the largest proposed savings in health costs in history, $600 billion over ten years. In plain English, this bill is paid for, and may even save big money.

I encourage you to visit my website at http://www.cooper.house.gov to read my full statement on health care reform and find answers to your questions on the bill.

Sincerely,

Jim Cooper

Member of Congress

I was very perturbed with Mr. Cooper's response. Therefore, I fired back the below response on March 24th :

Congressman,

I appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to reply to my message. I also would like to congratulate you for being chosen as one of the Top 10 Congressman to be fired in November on Fire the 219 blogspot. In fact, they were nice enough to rank you number 3. What an honor for you !!!

I would also like to inform you that nearly everything you have written in your response (below) to my original e-mail is false. As a transplant recipient, I have talked to each of my doctors and nurses about this bill. NONE of them support it - NONE, NADA, ZILCH. Furthermore, the polls show that about 75% or 3 out of every 4 Americans do NOT want this health care takeover. In addition, this bill is NOT paid for, as you say. That's unless, of course, you are already counting the massive tax increases that Mr. Obama and your Socialist cronies will eventually place on ALL Americans to pay for this unconstitutional boondoggle in the future. If we had wanted Canadian or British style health care, we would have moved there !!

Lastly, some have said that this bill will save lives. That could be true at the outset. However, in the years to come, when this program and this country go broke, which most economists say is coming, due to out of control spending for which you are partly responsible, it will cost lives. Why ?? Because rationing WILL occur. The elderly, the disabled, chronically ill Americans, and ones such as myself whose maintenance care is expensive WILL be denied care and left to suffer and die. When that happens, our blood will be on your's, Mr. Obama's, and the other 218 Socialists hands. The good part is all of your firings WILL be on ours the very next time we go to the polls. It's gonna be fun, too !!! That's of course, if we don't impeach all of you first.

Sincerely,

Johnny Black

The puzzling thing is that I have not received a response back from Mr. Cooper. I wonder why. It's almost like ...... I hurt his feelings or offended him in some way. Surely I didn't do that ...... or did I ??

Dang ..... I hate that.

It's on !!!

I received an e-mail yesterday from Tea Party Nation about a new blog page they have set up called Fire the 219. It identifies the Top 10 of the 219 members of The House of Representatives that voted for the Health Care Takeover Bill who need to be voted out a.k.a. fired this November. I was glad to see the "gentleman" (Jim Cooper) who is supposed to represent Tennessee's 5th Congressional District third on the list. This low-life weasel has needed firing for a long time. I'm sure you're wondering what else he has done to piss me off besides voting for The Takeover. For starters, he was one of only 20 members of the U.S. House cold-hearted enough to vote against the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Yes, he voted against a bill whose purpose was to end discrimination against Americans with disabilities and improve their access to jobs, buildings, parks, and other facilities across the country. Do I really need another reason ??

The video below states exactly what many Americans are feeling after Sunday. I can't say it any better. Enjoy.
Watch it here.

"Fundamental Transformation" of U.S. health care system now a reality

Last night, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats achieved their goal. By a margin of 219-212, including Tennessee District 5 Congressman Jim Cooper, the Constitution-disregarding-Socialists voted to began the complete overhaul of the best health care system in the world. For months, Obama, Pelosi, and the Sociali-crats have been blaming the Republicans and others for being the party of "No." All of that was nothing but spin. The responsibility for the health care and economic boondoggle that will follow this vote lies completely upon the Democratic party. Why ?? Because the Republicans have no power. They are significantly in the minority and had no voice in this debacle.

The roll call as to how each member of the House voted is available on The New York Times website.

Even though George W. screwed some things up, I think I can honestly answer this question with a resounding YES !!

Cap and Trade

What's cap and trade ?? It's a way for a government to control emissions by capping the amount of pollutant a company can emit. Permits are sold for a fee (basically a tax) which allows the company to emit the amount of pollutant on the permit. Companies that do not use all of their allowance may sell / trade their remainder to companies that have gone over their allowance. Some refer to it as a "Carbon Tax". Cap and trade came about based upon global warming / greenhouse gas emissions concerns. However, depending on which scientist you talk to on a given day, global warming may or may not be a problem. Some claim it is a scam for making the so-called "green industry" investors rich. Recently, we learned an EPA report disputing the effects of so-called "greenhouse gases" on global warming was suppressed by the Obama Administration. The report said the earth's temperatures are no longer rising, are stable, and may even be falling (read it http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10274412-38.html). A few countries have already implemented Cap and Trade with disappointing results. Australia is scrapping their carbon tax proposals because of what's happened in Spain and Germany. One of the reasons the Obama Administration is pushing this legislation is because they claim it will create millions of "green jobs" which will be good for our bad economy. However, since Spain implemented their own cap and trade, the country's unemployment rate has climbed to over 18%. For every 1 "green job" created, 2 jobs have been lost. Germany has seen emissions drop 18%. However, according to The Washington Post half of that has been due to a dramatic fall in it's industrial output. In other words, it's due to a decrease in manufacturing NOT an actual decrease in emissions. At the same time, German homeowners have seen their utility bills increase 25% while the electric companies are enjoying record profits.

In late June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (also know as the Waxman-Markey Bill) by a 219-212 vote (see how your Respresentative voted http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml). It would implement cap and trade in the U.S. The U.S. Senate is to take up the legislation soon. Mr. Obama has stated that "under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." Estimates are the average American home's anuual electricity bill would increase $150 to $3000. However, these numbers vary depending upon which "expert" you listen to. The $3000 number seems to be the worst case scenario. If the increase were to be $3000, that equates to about $250 per month. Why ?? Because cap and trade will lead to increased costs for the electric companies as they pay the cap fees (tax). They will pass that on to us the consumers. Can you afford an extra $250 per month on your electric bill ?? Also, under this plan, the cost of a new car is estimated to increase by $1300 due to new increased fuel mileage standards. However, the increased costs don't stop here. Think about it. All prices in the U.S. economy are driven by energy prices. Remember how the cost of everything shot up when fuel prices skyrocketed - same thing will happen due to this legislation. ALL U.S. businesses will see their costs of doing business increase. Who will they pass that along to ?? Yep ..... you guessed it - the sheep a.k.a. you and I ?? So, we know the sheep are gonna pay for this. Now - who are the wolves a.k.a. the money makers in this deal ??

1) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House - has $50,000 -$100,000 invested in Clean Energy Fuels Corp. She could make a ton.

2) Rep. Edward Markey - author of the bill has $51,000 - $115,000 invested in Firsthand Technology Value Fund (solar energy manufacturers). The solar energy industry stands to make huge profits from this bill.

3) Al Gore - has a venture capital firm that is highly invested in a new software company that's making software that helps companies track emissions. He, too, will make a fortune.

Does anything about this group jump out at you ?? I believe these the same people that cried "Foul" and said the Bush Administration was corrupt. Does this sound like a conflict of interest to anyone but me ?? These and others in the "green industry", including General Electric, stand to make millions possibly even billions on this deal. They will get rich off our backs. What can we do about it ?? The U.S. Senate still has to vote on this bill. So, I want to encourage you to go to this link (http://www.senate.gov/) to find the contact information for your two Senators. Call or e-mail them and tell them to vote NO in opposition to the The American Clean Energy and Security Act. Why ?? Our economy is in one of it's worst recessions in history. This is not the time to be increasing energy costs. It will only make the economy worse. We can NOT afford it. Besides, global warming may or may not be an issue. Why spend billions on something that may not even exist ?? Well, obviously you would not. Unless of course your name is Pelosi, Markey, or Gore.

Oh yeah, there's one other thing in this bill that you need to know about. If it passes, it will give the Federal Government the authority to tell us what we can set our thermostats on. This bill is not about combating pollution and global warming -it's about control and greed. I actually called my Congressman, Jim Cooper - D, to get his office to explain why he voted for this bill. The guy that answered the phone stammered uncontrollably and transferred me to another staff member's voice mail. She hasn't returned my call. If I was a betting man, I'd bet she won't.

Monday's post will discuss Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination. Her Senate hearings begin next week. You will not want to miss it.