This picture just screams "Present Administration." Despite the promised transparency, we actually are being treated more like mushrooms...kept in the dark and fed a bunch of manure. I can imagine how people during the old west felt when a snake-oil shyster promised something that would relieve their pain, and when the truth came out, only the crooked salesman profited. Filling his wallet was more important than the people he pitched to. Sound familiar?

I copied this from Michelle Malkin's blog:
Republicans and conservative groups opposed to the cap-and-trade bill that passed the House last week did their best to make sure Buchanan did not vote with the majority of Democrats.

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh, and conservative bloggers Michelle Malkin and Erick Erickson of Redstate.com all singled out Buchanan as one of the five undecided Republicans late last week. The bloggers published his office phone number to encourage readers to call him and tell him to vote no on the bill.

On the otherside, environmental groups were pushing Buchanan hard, singling him out for a television ad campaign aimed at encouraging people to call him and vote yes. The National Wildlife Federation and the Environmental Defense Fund both ran newspaper ads in the region pushing Buchanan to vote for the bill.

His office reports receiving 2,000 calls and emails on the climate change bill by the time Friday’s vote arrived.

Buchanan ended up joining all but eight Republicans in voting against the climate change bill that includes the cap and trade regulations.

I truly believe the pressure for some politicians is unbearable. Imagine being torn in two directions, one promising bribes and the other threatening your status. This is where it becomes important to create a third party interest, by calling or writing your senator and urging them not to let this Crap and Trade nightmare become a reality. You can Google your state officials and find contact information for them. I did that yesterday and sent emails to Tennessee's U.S. Senators. I hope I'm not the only one.

President Obama wants the government to have a hand in everything. Our constitution gave us rights that are bound to be stripped away until we can no longer make decisions about anything if we don't act. First, bailing out banks and establishing rules about how they're run, then getting involved in the automotive business. Next on his agenda is finding away to dictate our health care needs.

Our country is teetering on ruin, with the highest unemployment rate in decades. Does the president really thing that those on unemployment (ours is a whopping $256 a week) can afford to run out and take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers bill just passed? First, how can you qualify for a new car without a job, and secondly, if people had money, would they even be driving a clunker?

I believe our President has a very distorted image of middle-class America. Most of us rent homes because we can't afford to buy, or can't qualify, and we're making car payments on vehicles we could afford before gasoline skyrocketed. All the finger-pointing at previous administrations doesn't change a thing. The bottom line is we've sat back far too long and trust elected officials to do what is best for us. They haven't.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to drive around in a car so small I look like I'm wearing it. I want to choose, not have someone make my choices for me...like when the current President was elected. It has nothing to do with skin color, race, religion...it's about someone making bad decisions and others following blindly. When President Obama campaigned on Change, he really wasn't kidding. Someone should have asked what kind and how many! He scared me then, and he scares me now.

And...what's going to happen to the trucking industry? There are so many questions that have not been asked and answered. Change should be preceded by a plan of action and some knowledge of what the long term affect will be. I'd rather wait a few more years and have all that in place before rushing headlong into disaster. Wouldn't you.

The only people who going to profit from this bill are the Green companies and the politicians who accept their bribes in exchange for votes. We have much more to lose, and unless we speak up now...consider it lost.