Enough is Enough is Enoughr

Last year, the Federal government seized land, nearly 500,000 acres, in New Mexico for a National Monument. That land grab has hindered law enforcement’s ability to patrol the area, because nearly half of the land was set aside as wilderness. The "wilderness" designation closes off the area to vehicles, including police cars.  It also disallows most human uses, such as camping, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, etc.

The 2014 grab in New Mexico destroyed ranches that had been in families long before there was a National Park system or a U.S. Forest Service.  One of those ranches was established in 1883, when New Mexico was a territory, not a state. Hundreds, in not thousands, of ranching families are being squeezed off their land throughout the West.  By the way, the total amount of land grabbed by the Feds in 2014 was around 10 million (10,000,000) acres.

When Obama announced the grab in New Mexico, setting aside 498,815 acres of land as the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, he said, “I’m not finished." He added, “I am here to pick up a little bit of the slack because there is no time to waste to preserve precious resources and give a shot in the arm to local economies.”  What isn't said is that the acreage was nearly 1/4 of  the entire county of Dona Ana. Dona Ana supported a smaller size monument of around 60,000 acres, not nearly 500,000.  Make no mistake, this was an orchestrated grab by environmentalists, people who consider humans as an "invasive species."  It was pushed by the NM Wilderness Association, the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and other environmental protection groups.

So, the other day, I posted on my FaceBook page an article, "Obama’s designation of monuments just another ‘land grab,’ Republicans say." In response to the posting, the following was stated, 

"Weren't these already public lands? I's not as though the government came in and took the land without compensation. What this does is protect these lands from unfettered development and preserves pristine open space. Far from a "land grab". God forbid every last square inch isn't developed and ruined."

So, in response, I need to ask, when is enough enough?   The Feds already owned & controlled 650 million acres of US land before this grab. That 650 million acres was about 30% of the country. Somehow, I don't think the claim of "every last square inch" is applicable.  

The United States has a total land area of nearly 2.3 billion acres (2,300,000,000). This grab now brings the total up to 910,000,000 (910 million acres),  This is nearly 40% (39.56%) of the nation, if my calculator is correct.  That's just the Feds.  No idea how much land is owned by the states.

So, tell me, when is enough enough?

The lands seized are state lands.  In their grabs, the Feds have seized family homes. They have displaced and destroyed working ranches. The Feds have confiscated and destroyed privately owned property all in the name of "society"....  Uhm...  isn't that what happened during the Russian Revolution?  

In addition to land grabs, the Feds are also trying to seize control over all of the nation's waters by way of the Federal Water Pollution Act of 1972 and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new Clean Water Rule.

In 2012, the Feds filed suit against the State of New Mexico, asserting claims for damages to groundwater in a natural resource damage case in New Mexico involving Chevron/Molycorp. The claim seeks for those damages to be awarded in the form of future water rights management.  In other words, the Feds are seeking control over New Mexico's water. Out here, water is a big, big deal. It affects water supplies for cities; it affects land use such as ranching. Out here, water is a precious commodity and it affects every decision made.

In 2014, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) reared its ugly head again.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for clean water. However, the CWRA is another example of government overreach and how the Feds are kowtowing to the extremists. From an article published in "The Hill",

"More than 260 lawmakers, spanning both chambers and parties, have come out against the EPA’s action.

A group of 231 members of the House recently sent a letter to the EPA and the Army Corps asking them to withdraw the regulation. The group included almost the entire House Republican conference, as well as 19 Democrats.

“Although your agencies have maintained that the rule is narrow and clarifies CWA jurisdiction, it in face aggressively expands federal authority under the CWA while bypassing Congress and creating unnecessary ambiguity,” the lawmakers wrote."

You realize (I hope), if the government owns the land and controls the water, which it now does through another Presidential proclamation, it controls the people.  People cannot survive without food and water.  Do you really want government controlling it?

Ripple Effects

Everyone knows that if you toss a pebble into a pond, ripples extend outward from where it hit the water.  Other possible changes brought about by that pebble can include frightened fish from the pebble's descent; a splash from the pebble hitting the still surface of the pond; or a bird frightened by the plunk, the sound of the pebble hitting the water.  We know that our actions also affect others, ripples ever extending outwards. It is change enacted through a single and simple act...  the ripple effect.

The Democrats in Congress enacted what is erroneously called the Affordable Healthcare Act aka Obamacare. There isn't anything 'affordable' about it and it has cost many people.  The blame for Obamacare lies strictly on the shoulders of the Democrats as not a single Republican voted for it.  Nancy Pelosi's now famous comment, "You have to vote for it to see what's in it" resonates with her disdain for those people who voiced concerns about the act, those who wanted to read the massive bill before its passage.  But, no....  the Democrats rammed it through.

One PROMISE that people heard a lot from the White House, from the President's own lips was, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.  If you like your doctor, you can keep him."  We Americans have been hearing him say that for years, at least since 2009. Other highly ranked Democrats continually supported his statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Obamacare "means making sure you can keep your
family's doctor or keep your health care plan if you like it."

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told Americans, including those who were happily insured, "we are going to put in any legislation considered by the House and Senate the protection that you, as an individual, keep the health insurance you have, if that is what you want."

Harry Reid

And, let's not forget that Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray said: "If you like what you have today, that will be what you have when this legislation is passed."

They lied.  All of them.  Lies & fabrications...  An empty promise but one heck of a sales pitch and boy were Americans sold a bridge in the middle of the desert.

Now, the ripple effects from those lies and from the passage of the bill are being felt by one & all.  Here are some of the act's side effects.

1. Millions of people have lost their INDIVIDUAL health care plans, plans that they liked.  This number doesn't include those millions of people who are going to lose their insurance when the business mandates kick in AFTER the 2014 mid-term elections.
2. Obamacare taxes, mandates, regulations, and indirect costs on small- and medium-size businesses are directly impacting whether or not businesses can expand and hire. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified before the House Budget Committee that Obamacare will result in an estimated 800,000 fewer U.S. jobs. A survey of small to medium sized businesses, which was conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce showed that many businesses are already seeing increasing health care costs and, to cope, 31% of franchise and 12% of non-franchise businesses have reduced worker hours, a full year before the employer mandate goes into effect.
3. Health plans offered by colleges have been severely affected.  As of today, 9 New Jersey schools saw the cost of the health care plans they offered to students triple.  Students at Bowie State in Maryland saw the cost of their health care policies go from $100 to $1800 for two semesters. This is an increase of about 1500%.  Bowie State has dropped the plan.  Many colleges finding  have stopped offering health care policies to their students.
4. Obamacare adds 18 million people to Medicaid and it is estimated that by 2019, more than 80 million people will be on Medicaid. Taxpayers, who are already strapped by rising costs of essential goods will be footing the bill. 
5. Nearly 25% of ALL SENIORS rely on Medicare Advantage. Obamacare makes such deep cuts to the M.A. program, $455 Billion, that 50% of those seniors, who are currently covered, will lose their coverage. Where is that $455 billion going?  It's going to pay for Obamacare. 

Cancelled Coverage as of Nov 14, 2013
Article at Wall Street Journal

Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster.  The dysfunctional portal with its lack of security to our most personal information is only the 1st symptom.  It is a sinking ship and the rats are abandoning it in an act of self-preservation.  Remember who those rats are the next time they run for re-election.