The Cap and Trade Bill Amendment sponsored by Warner, Lieberman, and Boxer will be debated this coming week.

Because of all the flawed assumptions, logic, and pseudo science, the bill is just a nightmare awaiting to happen for all consumers and capitalist alike.

Please, contact your Senators and Congress People. Yes I know that sometimes there is more common sense in a Kinder Garden Room than in the halls of Government, but if we raise our voices loud enough, hopefully, they will hear us.

On regards to the Amendment of 110th Cong., 2d Session. S. 3036, it is my purpose to call your attention to the following:

Dan Morgan, writing for the Colorado Springs Gazette, comments in an article from the Washington Post on how wheat is no longer king in the United States. Immortalized in song and in our legal tender, our Nation was called at one time the breadbasket of the world. But fraud, waste, abuse, and stupidity on part of our politicians have achieved what many believed to be impossible. The United States is no longer able to feed the hungry of the world.

Those are strong words, I know, what do you call it when our government pay farmers to cultivate fifteen million acres of wheat, the farmers received the payment, and planted other crops that where not wheat? That to me is fraud plain and simply.

You would ask, but what does this has to do with me? The answer is simple. Do you eat bagels, or do you like sandwiches, or do you like wheat tortillas, or toast with your breakfast? If your answer yes to this question, think again. The price of everything that is made with wheat is on the rise.

Ethanol plants in the United States are paying farmers $5.50 a bushel, more than ever before. Farmers received the go ahead and plant other crops than wheat by Congress in 1996. And because corn is purchased for ethanol, there is not enough corn for other purposes, like feeding people, or feeding chickens, or pigs. So guess what? Since corn is used primarily to produce fuel, those who want to feed chickens and pigs need to pay higher price for the feed. In the event that you have not gone to the supermarket lately, google the price of eggs, or chicken meat, or food in general, how about the price of corn oil? Those prices are soaring.

Why would farmers want to plant any other crop than corn, if corn is a more durable crop, easier to produce and harvest, and there is an easily available market for such product?

Lets also touch another related topic. Because we believe in free trade, and please do not take me wrong, free trade is great, other Nations of the world come here to the United States and purchase all the wheat they can. This makes sense since the dollar is worth next to nothing now days, thus making the price of our crops expensive for the American public, and cheap for the foreign buyer.

The end result is that farmers are becoming richer, and while this is normal, and our farmers deserve to reap the benefit of their hard work, we need to be smarter than that.

In a related article of the Colorado Springs Gazette, the author quotes from Science magazine concluding that greenhouse-gas emissions from corn and cellulosic ethanol “exceed or match those from fossil fuels and therefore produce no greenhouse benefits.”

My questions to our politicians is simple: when will you stop from shooting our Nation on the foot? Ethanol is a lousy substitute for regular fuel; farmers keep receiving subsidies to produce crops that are paid at a higher price than they are worth, and even worst, subsidies to produce wheat, while they are producing corn. We allow our trading partners to take all the wheat that could feed our American population, while other Nations already stopped allowing others to purchase their crops of wheat.

An inmate in Arkansas jail complaints that he went from 413 pounds to 308 pounds in eight months that he has spent in jail for apparently beating and stabbing someone along with an accomplice. So he suits the county.

I am a firm believer on the American concept of innocent until proven guilty; but I do not really believe that if you are in jail, and the jail provides you an average of three thousand calories per day, you should not complaint about the amount of food being served. You can whine with everybody else that the jail people do not cook like your mother, but that is about it.

If you weight in excess of four hundred pounds, and you loose over one hundred, you should be grateful to the authorities and as long as you are not sick, say thank you, and shut up. If on top of that you are awaiting trial for murder, and it was not self-defense, you should say thank you for having something to eat, and a lawyer provided at taxpayers expense unless you are paying for it yourself.

Capital murder criminals have in my opinion, too many rights. They took someone’s life, they left children without parents, and spouses without companion, and most of them do not care for the rule of the law. Jail is more a clubhouse than a place of punishment. Recidivism is the rampant in the United States. Most criminals that go back on the streets, end up committing the same or another crime, sometimes even more violent. They are not afraid of going back to jail.

On a snapshot of the Obama web site, taken by Little Green Footbals, it is shown that Hatem Elhady, former Chairman of Kindhearts, is a friend of the Obama campaign, and specially, of Michelle Obama.

Why is this important? Because Mr. Elhady’s charity is none other than Hamas, the terrorist group; and here is the evidence:

First is the picture. Since this picture was taken, Obama’s campaign took action to remove Mr. Elhady’s posting, and of course, evidence of Mrs. Obama’s friendship.

Second is the news from WTOL from Toledo.

Third is the Treasury Department posting of their actions against Kindhearts.

 Toledo Group Accused of Having Terrorist Ties

Updated: Jan 5, 2007 06:27 AM MST

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury Department has frozen the assets of a Toledo-based group, saying it funnels money to terrorists.  KindHearts of Toledo describes itself on its web site as a nonprofit charitable group, but the government says KindHearts was connected with the Holy Land Foundation, which is linked to Hamas, and the Global Relief Foundation, which is linked to the terrorist group Al-Qaida.

KindHearts maintains a headquarters at an office building near the Central-Secor intersection in the Westgate neighborhood. Early Sunday morning, federal investigators raided those offices.  Investigators reportedly changed the locks and took inventory.

"KindHearts denies all allegations. We don't even know if there are any allegations with regard to wrong doing," said KindHearts attorney Jihad Smaili.  "Our books have always been open we've invited the government to come in and look at our books."

Smaili says KindHearts was the subject of a US Senate investigation. "A few months ago a Senate committee cleared KindHearts of any wrong doing after looking into our finances. We are surprised and disappointed at the government action," said Smaili.

Smaili added that "Our sole purpose is to help poor and needy individuals around the world. We supply hundreds of thousands of people [with] medicine, food, and school backpacks. We also built a hospital in the Middle East," said Smaili.

The attorney also said KindHearts consented to several independent audits of its books, and has checks and balances to keep track of donations.

Hatem Elhady, chairman of the board of KindHearts, says the non-profit has raised more than $18 million since 2002 for the poor. He said, "We have food baskets, clean water projects, school supplies."

Elhardy estimates 30% of the cash stays in the US to help youth programs. The rest goes overseas, mostly to Palestine and Pakistan. He said an example of the group's charity is the $1 million they recently sent to the earthquake victims in Pakistan.

Elhady said he was shocked and angry when the US Treasury Department padlocked KindHearts' Toledo headquarters. "When this news came, we felt so bad and really everybody's reaction is this ... just absolutely has no legal basis to it," he said.

Elhady also told News 11 he believes KindHearts is being punished for political reasons because Hamas won elections in Palestine last month. He said, "Closing the organization and stopping the funds, I mean, they're hurting the poor people. They're not hurting anybody else."

Elhady said KindHearts will fight to re-open, and he tells News 11 the organization can prove it's not funding terrorists. "We have receipts of everything, where every penny is going up to the last person, the orphan or the needy. We have receipts of everything we're buying." 

Oregon resident John Shousher donated $50 to KindHearts in 2005, showing News 11 a tax receipt. Shousher watched the KindHearts investigation unfold while viewing Arabic satellite television news programs at his home. "It's all legal. As a Muslim, we're supposed to donate part of our money annually, specifically during the holiday Ramadan, the pilgrimage celebration," said Shousher.

The local Arab-American says he wants to see more proof before he believes KindHearts' alleged terrorist connection. "If they did wrong, they deserve what's coming. Why do you stop people from doing charity? It scares you. Stop you from doing your duty to God and humanity. It's not fair," said Shousher.

Donors like John Shousher hope the organization is vindicated if the government turns out to be wrong. "They have frozen a lot of assets before that have no relationship with terrorism, it was released and back to normal. I hope this will do the same thing," said Shousher.

"The only effect that this freezing of assets is going to have immediately is on the poor and needy individuals that count on KindHearts' kind heart in providing them with sustenance and medical supplies," said Smaili.

The United States considers Hamas, now the most powerful political group in the Palestinian parliament, a terrorist group.  Under Sunday's action, the government bars US citizens from doing business with KindHearts.

"KindHearts is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the facade of charitable giving," Stuart Levey, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

KindHearts was established by Ka-Leed Smiley in 2002. Prior to that, Smiley was involved with a group called Global Relief Foundation -- a group the US Government believes was affiliated with Al-Quaida.

News 11 contacted the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, for further comment, but so far our phone call has not been returned.

On the Web:
Treasury Department: http://www.treas.gov/
KindHearts: http://www.kind-hearts.org/

Now, lets see what the Treasury Department’s opinion of this so called charity is:

February 19, 2006
js-4058

Treasury Freezes Assets of Organization Tied to Hamas

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today blocked pending investigation accounts of KindHearts, an NGO operating out of Toledo, Ohio, to ensure the preservation of its assets pending further investigation.

"KindHearts is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the façade of charitable giving," said Stuart Levey, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "By utilizing this specialized designation tool, we're able to prevent asset flight in support of terrorist activities while we further investigate the activities of KindHearts."

This action was taken pursuant to E.O. 13224, which is aimed at denying financial and material support to terrorists and their facilitators.

Following the December 2001 asset freeze and law enforcement actions against the Hamas-affiliated Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and the al Qaida-affiliated Global Relief Foundation (GRF), former GRF official Khaled Smaili established KindHearts from his residence in January 2002. Smaili founded KindHearts with the intent to succeed fundraising efforts of both HLF and GRF, aiming for the new NGO to fill a void caused by the closures. KindHearts leaders and fundraisers once held leadership or other positions with HLF and GRF.

Support to Hamas in Lebanon

KindHearts officials and fundraisers have coordinated with Hamas leaders and made contributions to Hamas-affiliated organizations. Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) Usama Hamdan, a leader of Hamas in Lebanon, reportedly phoned a top fundraiser for KindHearts during a September 2003 KindHearts fundraiser. During the call, Hamas leader Hamdan reportedly communicated to the fundraiser his gratitude for KindHearts' support. The KindHearts fundraiser reportedly also provided advice to Hamdan, telling him not to trust the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Information developed from abroad corroborates connections between KindHearts and Hamas in Lebanon. As of late December 2003, KindHearts was supporting Hamas and other Salafi groups in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Haytham Fawri was identified as a KindHearts official who reportedly collected funds and sent them to Hamas and other Salafi groups. Haytham Fawri is believed to be a reference to Haytham Maghawri, who has served as KindHearts' manager in Lebanon, and is one of a number of HLF officials indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas, Texas on charges of providing material support to Hamas. From 1998 -2000, during his tenure as Social Services Director for the HLF, Maghawri approved fifty wire transfers by the HLF in the amount of $407,512 USD, to nine zakat committees identified as being owned, controlled, or directed by Hamas.

According to the information source from abroad, KindHearts began working secretly and independently in the camps in Lebanon after the closure of the offices of the Sanabil Association for Relief and Development (Sanabil), a Hamas-affiliated entity in Lebanon that was named an SDGT in August 2003. KindHearts reportedly attempted to maintain a distance from Hamas to avoid drawing attention to its support for the terrorist organization. In early 2003, KindHearts president Smaili complained that scrutiny by U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials was making it almost impossible for KindHearts to assist Hamas.

Between July and December 2002, KindHearts sent more than $100,000 USD to the Lebanon-based SDGT Sanabil, according to information available to the U.S. Financial investigation revealed that between February 2003 and July 2003, KindHearts transferred over $150,000 USD to Sanabil. KindHearts deposited the funds into the same account used by HLF when it was providing funds to the Hamas-affiliated Sanabil, according to FBI analysis.

Support to Hamas in the West Bank

In addition to providing support to Hamas in Lebanon, KindHearts reportedly provides support to Hamas in the West Bank. An individual identified as integral to assisting KindHearts deliver aid to Palestinians in the West Bank, also reportedly was responsible for dividing money raised by KindHearts in the U.S to ensure that some funds went to Hamas. KindHearts founder and president Smaili told a Texas-based associate that his organization was raising funds to support the Palestinian Intifada.

Cooperation with U.S.-Based Hamas Leader

Mohammed El-Mezain, who coordinated KindHearts' fundraising, is a former HLF official indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas, Texas on charges of providing material support to Hamas. Information indicates that SDGT Khalid Mishaal, Hamas' Secretary General based in Damascus, Syria, identified El-Mezain as the Hamas leader for the U.S. At the time, Mishaal advised that all financial contributions to Hamas from individuals in the U.S. should be channeled through El-Mezain.

Following the closure of HLF, U.S.-based Hamas leader El-Mezain transferred his fundraising skills to Kindhearts. El-Mezain assisted other KindHearts senior leaders in directing the coordination of KindHearts' fundraising strategy. During a 2003 Islamic conference, KindHearts leaders, including Smaili, met with El-Mezain to discuss KindHearts fundraisers. The leaders concluded that there would be only two fundraising dinners for KindHearts in September 2003 and thereafter, all fundraising efforts would target Friday prayers at mosques and Islamic centers throughout the U.S.

At a September 2003 KindHearts fundraising event, a KindHearts fundraiser spoke and encouraged the crowd to appreciate the efforts of the terrorist group Hizballah in supporting Hamas. The fundraiser then encouraged the crowd to give money and manpower as support against Israel. El-Mezain also spoke at this KindHearts fundraiser, encouraging people to donate to KindHearts.

In October 2003, El-Mezain spoke at an event held in Baton Rouge Louisiana where $500,000 was pledged. Though El-Mezain's speech reportedly focused almost entirely on raising funds for a new mosque in Baton Rouge, only a small amount was to be retained locally and the vast majority was to be sent to Hamas overseas.

Today's action freezes any assets KindHearts may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with the NGO.

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