If Rep. Wamp was truly concerned about making Tennessee more energy independent, he should have voted yes on HR6049 on 5/21/08 which would have extended federal tax incentives to more solar power, wind and alternative fuel projects.
He also voted no on H.R. 6052, which would promote increased public transportation use, to promote increased use of alternative fuels in providing public transportation. He also voted no on HR 2016, the National Landscape Conservation Systems Act to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations.
While these resolutions passed anyway, his no votes are out of step with the majority of TN voters who care about the environment. It make me wonder, does Rep. Vamp really have the environmental concerns of TN on his priority list? His congressional rating for the 110th Congressional Session from the League of Conservation voters is 10%, which is highest among all the Tennessee Republicans. Editorials are one thing, action is another. If you are truly concerned for the future of the state of Tennessee, you would vote to take care of the environment of Tennessee rather than taking care of companies such as McDermott and AREVA who have donated to your campaign.
Timothy Latz
Sustainable Tennessee
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I find it laughable that the far left wing which is control of the Congress - Pelosi, Reid, etc. - could actually support some of the positions they do with a straight face. If we were to time warp back to the 1800s with today's politicians, California and the left coast wouldn't even exist.
Do you really think the Sierra Club and the California Tree Huggers Association would allow all of the trees to be cut down to build those railroads? Much less use them for something as trivial as firewood to heat your home and cook. How could they have possibly had the gold rush that created interest in California when you had protesters at every stream ensuring that you didn't catch a snail darter in your pan?
I really cannot understand why instead of all of the talk about what we need to do and what we don't need to do someone can't take charge of the Congress and get anything done. So far the biggest accomplishment that Nancy Pelosi can point to in the last two years of do-nothing Congress is raising the minimum wage.
Who benefits from this? Who pays for it? What if they put as much emphasis on funding public education? The Democratic Congress wants to point to the current administration for all the problems in the financial system today. How come nobody in the liberal media is pointing out the fact that it was Bill Clinton who cranked up the mandates in the Community Redevelopment Act forcing these banks and GSE's to make loans to people who could not afford to pay them back or face large fines from the government? Sounds like socialism to me. Clinton crony Franklin Raines was placed in charge of Fannie Mae and proceeded to milk the companies for $100 million in compensation while cooking the books resulting in a $400 million SEC fine. This is what happens when you let the wolves guard the hen house.
The majority of the problems in the housing market/mortgage mess don't fall at the feet of the Bush administration no matter how much Pelosi/Obama/Frank/etc. would like them to. The Bush administration could have recognized some of the issues earlier and been more proactive bringing them to a soft landing, but, make no mistake about it what is happening now is the chickens coming home to roost from the eight years of the roaring 90s with Clinton.
It was once said that there is no such thing as a free lunch, so, when you make loans and extend credit to people who have no way to repay them other than relying on prices to continue to be inflated so they can refinance out for a profit eventually someone has to clean up the mess. Warren Buffett calls it the 3 Is: Innovators, Imitators and Idiots. Every financial product is created by someone who is an innovator, they make money because they understand the risks and processes. The next group are the imitators who see them doing this understand the risks and processes and imitate them. The final group are the Idiots who see people making money have no concept of the risks or processes and simply attempt to dive right in and join them. I believe this is a pretty accurate synopsis of the mortgage mess and the CDOs and SIVs derived at sometimes up to 300-1 leverage that is now de-leveraging and causing the pain.
Mark Maynor
S. Winer Drive