From Gun Owners of America

(Springfield, VA) – Gun Owners of America applauds Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID) for his efforts to protect Second Amendment rights on National Park Service land.

Rep. Sali offered and amendment during a hearing of the National Resources Committee on H.R. 5853, a bill to expand the boundary of the Minute Man National Historical Park in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to include Barrett’s Farm.

Minutemen stashed arms and ammunition at Colonel James Barrett’s farm and turned back, and then used them to turn back Redcoat troops in the first victory for America in the Revolutionary War. It turns out our own National Park Service is also against firearms at the site.
Carrying firearms on land controlled by the NPS is currently prohibited, even if the state in which the land is located allows firearms. The Interior Department recently proposed new rules to partially reverse the gun ban, but they have not yet taken effect. If and when they do go into effect, most gun owners would still not be allowed to possess firearms on these lands because, among other problems with the rule, open carry would remain prohibited.

Rep. Sali’s amendment simply would require that state and local law govern firearms possession on the new land to be controlled by the NPS.

“The Founding Fathers fought and died for the freedoms we still enjoy today,” said Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America. “One of the foremost of those freedoms was the rights to keep and bear arms. It is sadly ironic that the NPS would disarm citizens at a site where firearms played such an important role in our nation’s history. We applaud Congressman Sali’s effort to defend the Second Amendment against the anti-self defense regulations of the National Park Service,” Pratt said.

Rep. Sali offered similar amendments today on three additional NPS bills, dealing with: the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River; the National Trails System Act; and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The Sali amendments did not prevail in Committee. Rep. Sali has not ruled out bringing these amendments up again if there is an opportunity when the bill reaches the House floor.

Larry Pratt is the Executive Director for Gun Owners of America, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

From Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance

Local political observer Adam Graham discovered that, as far as out-of-state money is concerned, things are worse for Walt Minnick than anybody realized. As Graham points out, when Bill Sali received significant support from the Club for Growth in 2006, the war cry of the Democrats was “Idaho is not for sale.” Apparently they’re now okay with the sale of the Gem State, as long as it’s to fat cats from New York. The non-partisan Open Secrets website reports that an astonishing 71% of Minnick’s campaign funds have come from out of state. Minnick has raised more money in New York City than in Boise. Minnick’s supporters have been suddenly and strangely silent about the danger out of state money represents to the purity of Idaho politics.

Open Secrets

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

From the Office of Rep. Bill Sali

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Bill Sali today spearheaded an effort calling for state and local laws to govern the use of guns on National Park lands.

At a meeting of the House Natural Resources Committee, Sali offered amendments to H.R. 5853. The bill expands the boundary of the Minute Man National Historical Park in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to include Barrett’s Farm. Minute Man National Historical Park commemorates one of the most important events in our Nation’s history. In April 1775 Colonel James Barrett’s farm was used by the colonists to hide muskets, cannons and powder in the fields, having been alerted by Paul Revere of the advancing British troops. When the farm was searched by the British, nothing was found, preserving arms that would be used later that day in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

“While the farm of Colonel Barrett will now be appropriately preserved by the National Park Service, what may be lost is our Second Amendment rights that the colonists and Founding Fathers fought for,” said Sali.

Currently, a National Park Service regulation restricts gun rights, replacing the laws of State and local governments, by specifically prohibiting the possession of fire arms in National Parks. Sali’s amendment requires that laws regarding the possession or use of a fire arm be governed by State and local governments.

“If a state or local government sees fit to impose similar restrictions, then so be it, but the National Park Service needs to stay out. The Park Service does many things well. Unfortunately the regulation of firearms is not one of them. This is a clear issue, and it affects the rights of law-abiding gun owners not only from Idaho but across the United States. The Second Amendment is a right put in place by our founders should not be abridged by the National Park Service’s anti-gun regulations,” Sali said.

Crime rates in National Parks raised concerns for Sali and he offered 3 other similar state gun rights amendments during the mark up.

“In 2006 alone, 11 visitors to National Park Service lands were murdered, 35 were raped, 61 were robbed and 16 were kidnapped. All other federal land management agencies follow state and local laws. I’m simply asking that the National Park Service follow suit,” concluded Sali.

The amendments failed in committee. The bills now await action on the House floor.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

By Richard Larsen

Over 160 years ago, a group of Americans left the heartland of America seeking religious liberty and seeking to escape the persecution bred of suspicion and intolerance. Their creed demanded of them subservience to the laws of the land, and submission to presidents and magistrates in honoring and upholding the law. Yet due to the murders, rapes and pillaging they suffered at the hands of local residents in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, they headed west where they hoped to establish communities and settlements where they could live without fear of reprisal because of their religion.

The courage those thousands of freedom-loving pioneers is what we celebrate around the 24th of July every year. On the 24th of July, 1847 the first of the LDS people arrived at the edge of the mountains overlooking the Salt Lake Valley and their leader, Brigham Young declared, “This is the place.” A monument and a pioneer village now mark that spot in the Eastern foothills of Salt Lake City.

The thousand mile trek, navigated by some on wagon and some with crudely constructed handcarts, left hundreds of gravestone markers strewn along the way, marking the final resting spot of those who were willing to sacrifice everything for their freedom and their faith, and who ultimately did. The tales of courage, sacrifice, and determination manifest by those early pioneers stand as veritable ensigns of their character to us more than 160 years later. They also stand as reminders of the traits we will need as pioneers of our own era to preserve and perpetuate the greatness of America.

The pioneers of the 19th century faced primarily physical perils of cold, disease, and exhaustion. We are pioneers of sorts in our time, as we face a new wave of perils that threaten not so much our lives, but the quality of life we enjoy in America. In our time, we face the peril of diminished freedom for questionable causes, and cynicism of the free market system that is the economic extension of fundamental personal liberty. We face the peril of secularism which seeks to remove any semblance of religion from the public square and would have us rewrite history to remove the Judeo-Christian value system from our culture and advocates pantheism centered in worship of the earth over advancement of human civilization.

We also face the peril of indoctrination by a mainstream media that advances an ideological agenda, sometimes subtly but increasingly overt. Most susceptible to such propaganda are our young people who are bombarded with subliminal and overt messages that would have them believe there is more truth and contemporary pertinence to contemporary secularists than in the words of our Founding Fathers.

We face the peril of a continued erosion of morality and propriety as any sense of right and wrong, but what is taught is couched in strictly secular terms. By so doing, morality is made relative, having no absolute values at the foundation of our collective belief system.

I relish the fact that our local observance of Pioneer Day has become an inclusive celebration. People of all races, creeds, and backgrounds enjoy the local festivities with apparently equal enthusiasm. This is truly a microcosm of the pioneering we face for future generations of Americans as we similarly unite across socio-economic and cultural lines to preserve the greatness of America for future generations.

In 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: “A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence back into bondage.”

Challenges exist for any generation of Americans, and we have our share of them. But with the same determination, courage, and fortitude exemplified by our forbears we will surmount our challenges. We will thereby not only leave a better nation as an inheritance for our posterity, but will grow in character and wisdom from the sojourn, as did previous generations of pioneers.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

From the Office of Rep. Bill Sali

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bill Sali again voted today to protect thousands of Idaho seniors from dramatic cuts to a successful Medicare program that offers greater flexibility for seniors to make their own healthcare decisions.

Sali voted to uphold President Bush’s long-expected veto of H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. While the bill prevents short-term cuts in Medicare reimbursements for doctors, it cuts $50 billion out of Medicare Advantage and does nothing to strengthen the Medicare program in the long term including far more drastic cuts scheduled for 2010. Medicare Advantage funding is used by around 2 million seniors across the country, including many in Idaho, to buy down premiums and eliminate co-pays, provide enhanced benefits such as vision and dental benefits and provide access to affordable prescription drugs. Half of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries report incomes of $20,000 or less.

“I am disappointed that Congress not only gutted the popular Medicare Advantage program but also once again missed a vital opportunity to enact meaningful legislation to improve Medicare and prevent doctors from taking bigger cuts in the near future. Even so, it would have been very easy for Congress to take up a bill that protects both doctors and their patients. Instead, Congress presented Members with a vote that pitted doctors against seniors, a dichotomy that was never inevitable.

“This bill kicks down the road some inevitable and difficult choices. The bill does not improve Medicare, does not prevent the huge, looming financial crisis that Medicare will face in the near future, and targets a program popular with rural and lower-income seniors. If this bill does anything, it sends the message that Congress is not interested in making tough decisions for the long-term and will force votes enticing Members to support policies that favor government programs at the expense of private choice and freedom.

“Our seniors deserve better than this. Our doctors deserve better than this. Unfortunately, this Congress has once again proven that it is only capable of doing what is easy instead of what is right,” Sali concluded.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

By Richard Larsen

Published – Idaho State Journal, 07/13/08
The phrase “energy independence” is used by many of us who maintain a preference for self-sufficiency in our energy needs with the corollary of increased self-determination as a nation by not being beholden to other nations. As we see with the current oil crisis, those other nations can literally hold us over a barrel in fulfilling our consumption needs.

There are many reasons why we find ourselves in this situation, but one of the most significant factors is that we have literally had our hands tied in procuring and refining oil domestically to fill our needs. Although we have ample oil reserves to meet our needs, the strength of the environmental lobby and the Democratic Congress prevent us from accessing those reserves. Many current leases for off-shore drilling by U.S. companies are not producing in existing wells because the bureaucratic requirements for permits to actually make those leases productive precludes many from being exercised.

The dirty little secret, that is not really a secret but is definitely dirty, is that the Democrats like having oil this high priced. In 2000 when President Bush took office, the price of a gallon of gasoline was about $1.44 nationally. By 2006, when the Democrats took control, it was as at $2.10. Since that time, it has spiked to over $4.00 per gallon.

The Hill, official Capital news publication, declared earlier this week, “House Democrats are in a bind on the focal point of their energy plan. Worried that a floor vote on any energy-related measure would trigger a Republican-forced vote on domestic drilling, the leadership has scrubbed the floor schedule of the energy legislation that it vowed to tackle after the Fourth of July recess.” They still, even while in control of Congress, continue to function as obstructionists to solutions for our country’s economic woes!

Recently while on the stump, Senator Obama was asked about the high price of oil. He didn’t object to it being high priced, his consternation was that it “rose this quickly.” His solution: “We need to do what I called for months ago and pass a second stimulus package that provides energy rebate checks for working families, a fund to help families avoid foreclosure, and increased assistance for states that have been hard hit by the economic downturn.” In other words, he wants a band aid to buy votes instead of addressing the causes of the oil crisis.
Recall four years ago, John Kerry, while running for the Presidency, declared that the Federal Government should impose an additional 50 cent tax on gasoline to help curtail consumption. They want prices to be high!

In Oregon last week Obama said, “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times whether we live in the desert or in the tundra, and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. You guys keep on using 25% of the world’s energy even though you only account for 3% of the world population, you go ahead and we’ll be just fine.” Karl Marx would be so proud.

To liberals like Obama, economics are zero-sum gains. If we’re doing okay, someone else is not because of us. And since we Americans enjoy such a high standard of living, we’re culpable for all the suffering in the world because we’re taking from the others. For anyone who understands the dynamics of market economics, this is pure gibberish. But from the perspective of socialistic, centralized control economics, it makes sense. So to liberals, what Obama is saying is like gospel, but to those who have even a modicum understanding of economics and common sense, it is idiocy.

Plus his facts are wrong (as usual, like the 58 United States), and lacking some key insights. Americans constitute 5.6% of the world population, and with our 20% of the world energy consumption, we produce over 25% of the global GDP, according to World Bank data.

I’m convinced that the underlying reason the Democrats oppose any viable solution to increasing the oil supply is that they see America as the problem not only with our consumption, but also because it ties so nicely into their notion of global warming. They want us to not use oil, and the higher the price is the less likely it is that we will continue to use it at current levels. That means fewer carbon emissions and all the irrational “end of the world” conclusions they draw from their fallacious ideological premise.

It is unfathomable to me that we would send “leaders” to Washington who condemn our standard of living and preach a form of minimalistic egalitarianism. What we need are solutions to our current challenges to facilitate our continued growth, not defeatist, effete denunciation of our American way of life!

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

From the office of Rep. Bill Sali

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bill Sali today led a national debate on forest fires, saying Congress needs to do more to actually prevent forests and rangeland from going up in flames – as is happening now across the county. Sali, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, served as the Republican debate “manager,” allocating speaking time to his colleagues as they debated a bill to dedicate funding for wildfire suppression. During the debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi complimented Sali for his leadership.

“Each year in Idaho the skies fill with smoke from fires. Last year alone more than two million acres burned in Idaho, threatening lives, homes and communities,” said Sali, a leading voice in Congress for sound forest management. “Real solutions to these deadly and growing wildfires must be found.”

While recognizing that the proposal under consideration was an attempt to address Forest Service issues, Sali lamented that the legislation, “fails to address the more critical issue – forest management. The greatest obstacle our pubic land managers face in preventing catastrophic wildfires isn’t dollars; it is having the ability to overcome mountains of red tape and lawsuits filed by extremists. The laws that Congress has created in an attempt to ‘save’ our forests, have now become the biggest obstacles to saving them from wildfires.”

H.R. 5541, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act) is aimed at dedicating funds for suppressing large wildfires. The bill passed on a voice vote. The Forest Service used to provide a source of revenue by managing federal lands and selling the harvested timber. Today, in most areas, active harvesting and forest management is non-existent resulting in less money generated by the Forest Service while there are growing fuel loads on federally managed lands.

“There is no question that there are budget issues that must be addressed. But we must address the cause of the fires as well, the increasing and unchecked fuel loads in our national forests that surround our homes and communities. We will continue to have larger and larger fires until we reduce fuel-loading,” said the Congressman. “Until we provide the tools for pre-fire forest management to reduce fuel-loading, the western United States will continue to see homes burned, watersheds destroyed and even lives lost.

“Providing tools to communities to protect their homes, livelihoods and very lives from these devastating fires is something we can and must do when addressing long-term funding to suppress these fires. This is precisely what I suggest we do in my bill, the Saving American Lives and Investing in Protecting Land and Nature Act, H.R. 4245, which I urge the House of Representatives to take up. This is a non-partisan issue about public safety and sound forest management that will benefit millions of Americans,” Sali said.

During debate, Speaker Pelosi praised Sali for his bipartisan leadership. Pelosi also echoed Sali’s call for treatments as a necessary element of a comprehensive approach to fire management. “We need prevention; we need the treatment that was described by our colleague. A long term strategy is needed…” Pelosi said during her comments today.

Sali’s bill, H.R. 4542, speeds up projects to reduce hazardous fuels and reduce risks from wildfire, insect damage and disease. Such projects help protect communities and private lands adjoining federal forest lands by reducing the risks on those lands. The bill would allow a shortened environmental review process – a categorical exclusion – as allowed under the National Environmental Policy Act. The bill would keep in place the environmental safeguards stipulated in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, would provide old growth and endangered species protections and comply with forest management plans and environmental laws.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.