The House has adjourned for the Summer District Work Period and will reconvene on Tuesday, September 7, 2004.

Vagrant Vessel

State environmental protection laws were recently violated by a large vessel sailing through the waters of Alaska. The ship responsible for the violations failed to provide an oil spill response plan and demonstrate financial responsibility in case a damaging spill did occur. Both documents are required by Alaska state law before any ship larger than 400 gross tons can enter its waters. What was the name of this ship that so carelessly sliced and diced through the icy waters of Alaska disregarding state regulations? It was none other than the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise.

With dozens of activists on board, this green menace was planning to dock in ports along Alaska to protest logging, undoubtedly bringing chaos and difficulty to many of the state’s timber-dependent communities. Because any ship can hit a rock at any time, Alaska’s State Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the Arctic Sunrise to anchor until the ship had complied with its laws. Apparently, however, it’s ok for Greenpeace to push aside its supposed primary focus to “preserve the ecosystem for future generations” because it ignored the department’s orders and again plunged its big boat carelessly through the waters of Alaska without the necessary environmental precautions in place.

These fanatics who claim to be “dedicated to solving and preventing environmental crises” thumbed their nose at the State Department of Environmental Conservation, violated state law, and shipped off for another Alaskan port. Once again, the irresponsible radicals were stopped and this time, Alaskan prosecutors filed criminal charges against Greenpeace. The hypocrisy of these radical enviros was crystal clear when they dismissed their repeated violations as mere clerical errors. With all its talk about conservation, Greenpeace proved that when it can’t be bothered with environmental regulations, it won’t.

Donations Gladly Accepted

It seems Senator Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill are in a quandary over what to do with the money they’ve saved from the Republican passed tax-cuts. Both have commented that they feel bad because they’ve “finally made it into a tax bracket where we’re rich enough to benefit” from the Bush tax cuts. Well, in an effort to help the Clintons sleep better at night, I’d like to propose this simple solution – give it back. Just because they’ve attained millionaire status and are paying taxes at the top 35 percent marginal rate doesn’t mean they can’t choose to pay at the Clinton-era rate of 39.6 percent. As far as I know, the IRS doesn’t reject donations.

Or, as the Wall Street Journal proposed this week, the millionaire liberals could donate their “extra” money to charity in an effort to aid their ailing consciences. This would prevent millions of hard working Americans and businesses from having their taxes raised just because Senator Clinton and her wealthy limousine liberals don’t need the tax break. Penalizing small businesses and the hard working men and women of our country just so these elitists can breathe easier is not something I’m willing to consider.

Disgusting

“I Had An Abortion" T-shirts. They have finally arrived! Planned Parenthood is proud to offer yet another t-shirt in our new social fashion line: ‘I Had an Abortion’ fitted T-shirts are now available. These soft and comfortable fitted tees assert a powerful message in support of women’s rights. Order yours for $15 each.– An advertisement from Planned Parenthood, 7/26/04.