Beyond Obamacare Every day brings new word of the damage Obamacare has inflicted on our healthcare system. As long as this law is on the books, it will diminish the quality, affordability, and choice of healthcare for everyday Americans. In the seven years since Obamacare became law, the promises made by its creators have been broken. President Obama told us that we could keep our doctors. You can’t always. President Obama told us we could keep our insurance if we liked it. You can’t. Instead mi...
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Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) was named Vice Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “I am honored to be named Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,” said Congressman Griffith. “In this position, I will be able to lead efforts to ensure that the laws falling under the full Committee’s jurisdiction are being faithfully executed and upheld. I look forward to working with Chairman Walden, Chairman M...
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Israel; Better Process Means Better Policy Recently, President Obama oversaw the failure of the United States to veto a United Nations resolution against Israel. John Kerry then gave a speech lasting more than an hour blasting Israel regarding peace talks with the Palestinians. It is my opinion this was wrong. It is hard to reach a peace accord recognizing a new nation-state (Palestine) when the Palestinians and many of their Arab supporters refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist. If y...
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Celebrating All Twelve Days of Christmas “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is one of the most popular carols for this time of the year. Its alliteration like “swans a swimming,” outlandish gifts like “twelve lords a leaping,” and repetition make it an enjoyable song to sing and hear. Artists from Perry Como to John Denver and the Muppets have recorded their own versions that are played during the Christmas season. The exact origins of the lyrics have been lost to time. Some theories suggest the son...
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A Christmas Message The Christmas season is a time to gather to celebrate. The Nativity story is familiar to most, whether Christian or not: Mary and Joseph with Jesus in a manger, where shepherds and kings came to honor him. For over two thousand years, we have celebrated this event and pondered its meaning. The Christmas story celebrates the promise of redemption for our world. While I respect those of all faiths, as a believer, Christmas is most important to me and to many in the Ninth Congre...
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Clearing the Air at the EPA President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is welcome news. As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt has strongly pushed back against many rules and regulations coming from Washington, DC. In particular, he has led states in suing to block the EPA’s overreaching policies. Many in the media report this news with shock. They wonder how someone “CURRENTLY SUING” the EPA could possibly be fit to lead it. I wi...
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A Date Which Will Live in Infamy? Seventy-five years ago, on the morning of December 7, 1941, the United States of America was “suddenly and deliberately attacked.” At the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes destroyed eight massive battleships and more than 300 airplanes and killed 2,000 Americans. One ship, the USS Oklahoma, was hit with torpedoes and capsized with 400 men trapped inside. In a horrifying scenario, the men trapped under the wate...
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Words of Thanksgiving At Thanksgiving, it is good to remember our history for which we give thanks. Throughout American history, Presidents have spoken on America’s good fortune and given thanks to our Creator. In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday, November 26, as a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” dedicated to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, and that will be.” Later, President Lincoln design...
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Reasons for the Electoral College Every four years, American news is dominated by the presidential election. Pundits and analysts play up the drama, predict the outcome of the Electoral College, and endlessly analyze the results. Discussions of this year’s results are unavoidable. Since the Republican candidate won the election, yet lost the popular vote by less than one percent, speculation has started on the purpose of the Electoral College. Only five times in our nation’s 228 year history of ...
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Midnight Regulations In the popular fairytale of Cinderella, the Princess has a golden carriage and a fancy ball gown, only until the clock strikes midnight. After midnight, it turns back to a pumpkin and she becomes the house maiden once again. Similarly, after presidential elections conclude, the outgoing President has a limited number of days remaining with control of agencies that can produce new regulations. Historically, as the President’s clock ticks closer to midnight, a flurry of new re...
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