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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A Dying Day of Dignity for American Liberty: Congress stoops low to give President Power to declare Martial Law


Tuesday marked another day in dying dignity for Americans.  The Senate, everything short of wisdom and sanity voted nearly unanimously for the Defense Authorization bill.  Known primarily as a fiscal bill—a bill to allocate funds for the next couple years for defense measures, it also modified the procedures for handling terrorism. 

Confusion abounds about the intent of the bill: Does it rob liberty and due process from American Citizens or does it not? The answer is actually both.  Well, sort of.  The truth is that the bill does indeed take Constitutional rights from Americans.  Robs them blind, actually. But the wording of the act cleverly disguises this stripping.

In Sections 1032 to 1037, which defines the requirements of military custody—that would be another name for martial law—one paragraph states that a future paragraph is exempt; they call it “waived” from the exempted status it seeks to list.  What is that paragraph?  The one that says Americans are exempt from martial law. You are reading correctly:  The latter paragraph is an exemption, along with another one exempting lawful resident aliens, from detainment of custody by military, but the waiver that comes before it reverses that exemption in any situation the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State says warrants it.  This is suspect, particularly because the “lawful resident aliens’” rights remain in tack—escaping the waiver of the exemption—meaning their exempted status against detention and so forth, remains, even when American status does not.  This is just insultingly bad math to Americans who have been betrayed wholesale by the very people in whom they put their complete trust for their liberties.  

To make matters worse, the Senate and House are attempting to reconcile their differences between each house’s versions of the latest Defense Authorization bill.  Given that the House version has none of the liberty robbing clauses in it, that fact that they are working with the Senate on a compromise indicates a willingness to give up some of American’s inalienable and constitutionally enumerated rights for the sake of this compromise.  A compromise on liberties is in violation of the Constitution that both houses are sworn to protect. Giving any part of any of them away is tantamount to a breach of our Contract with them in that document.  Clearly the Federal government has an obligation to protect the states from insurrection and invasion and to preserve liberty in this country.  Any measure, however, that takes one from the other is not well thought out policy.  This nation has and always will be the land to covet.  Absolute security is not reasonable, nor expected.   A police state, which in theory is the only way to preserve absolute safety—at least from all other threats besides the government itself—is wholly against the intent of the Constitution, Colonial America, and the vast understanding of the Founders on the principles of freedom.
Unfortunately, the two Houses of Congress met to work out a compromise on their differences. Note, first, however, that the House version contained no such insults to liberty. Their version on the bill was strictly an allocation of funds. So, exactly what compromise were they intending? A compromise of liberty? Indeed. Today, the House passed a "compromise" version of the Defense Authorization bill. And what was the compromise? The House of Representatives added the precise text in question, including the so-called "waiver" of the "exclusion". The one difference is that the call of national security no longer is decreed by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of State, which was bad enough. This bill, however goes one step further into the twilight zone of American Horror: This bill gives the president--that would be paranoid Obama--the power to declare such a national security threat to call up Martial law. This power goes to the same man who in November 2011, said it is necessary to provide indefinite detention of people suspected of planning a crime.

To make matters even worse, the Library of Congress is now keeping a complete record, going back to Twitter’s inception, of all tweets.  That is right; Twitter is now under the auspices of the Library of Congress.  This would be a ridiculous, nearly laughable sight to the Founders of this nation, were they not pained by the sharp barbs from constant rolling over in their graves from such a gross departure from the Constitution on a daily basis; and here, of the purpose of the Library of Congress.  To wit: the Library of Congress’s purpose is in support of one of the enumerated duties of the Federal government, to protect the property rights of those who produce and invent: trademarks, patents, and copyrights. The catalogue system we have is derived from and then stored in the Library of Congress.  Never was there a thought or purpose to cataloguing comments or statements publicly posted on a private site.  The LOC is celebrating their intentions by claiming that they will be seeking the most informational and beneficial comments.  To what end? 

One can only wonder.  But then, too much wondering could be construed by this Administration as spying, and we know from Sections 1032 to 1037 of S1867 where that will land us.
[Another form of this article first appeard in USDailyReview.com on Dec. 13, 2011]

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

REMEMBERING BARNEY FIFE: OBAMA SPEECH AFTER ASIA-PACIFIC SUMMIT

(Published in US Daily Review 11.14.11 by Sheryl Devereaux)


Barack Obama reminds me of Barney Fife.

Fife was ready to pull his unloaded gun, hands trembling, from his holster in a minute if he could look like the hero.  When his boss and best buddy Andy Taylor was looking, he was especially brave; at least he was hoping he could convince others he wasn’t the skinny-cat coward he truly didn’t want to be.  But then Andy, in his wisdom, would let his pal look the part of the hero.  Fife was especially funny when he talked tough; in a no-nonsense authoritarian voice that everyone but him knew was empty of authority, “Nip it. Nip it in the bud.”  These days, when President Obama speaks he sounds so much like that icon of idealic society, Barney Fife, that I can close my eyes during one of his speeches and see the face of Barney lip syncing Obama’s words.  True to form were his comments on Sunday to America—the perfect “nip it” speech—not his first, but clearly in his classic form.

He told China to “grow up”:

"Most economists estimate that the renminbi is devalued by 20 to 25 percent. That means our exports to China are that much more expensive and their imports into the United States are that much cheaper," Obama said.

"There has been slight improvement over the last year partly because of U.S. pressure but it hasn't been enough. It is time for them to go ahead and move toward a market based system for their currency."

Right.  This is from the President who topped every past President in generosity to China by giving them an absurd –even treasonous amount of high technology—an amount no other President, left or right of the line dared—in sane or insane moments—to give China.  These were not the traditional gifting to China of past presidents, but technology that our capitalist companies created by private enterprise ingenuity designed to improve lives across all spectrums of the industry but are held as top secret even to their competitors. When combined they forge unyielding military power—“sensors, optics, and biological and chemical processes, all of which are identified as having inherent military application." This is from the President that has made history for the number and amount of government take overs of private industry, the largest interferences in the capitalist system. Even Democrats fear his competency.   This is from the President who has created policies that have increased the government’s debt and spending to an incomprehensible amount.—all definitely not signs of “a market based system”.

Obama said America welcomes “the peaceful rise of China”.  What?  Clearly this is more evidence that Obama is out of touch with Americans.  Obama used the word, “rise”, not any words such as “improvement of living standards,” or, “its peoples’ success,” etc.   The use of the word, “rise” is chilling.  A Barney Fife style faux pas—the kind that happened when Fife was schmoozing with jailers or kibitzing with disguised thugs.

Some of the funniest Fife moments were when he was caught in the act of doing something tremendously stupid:  Most comical of Obama’s statements was this remark, "We're going to continue to be firm that China operate by the same rules as everyone else," Obama said.  Continue?  Apparently Obama is confident that Americans didn’t see his overtures of tech giving, or that he ordered NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, to China to begin “negotiations” last year on giving NASA technology away to them.  

Thanks, “Barn”.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Resurrecting the Voice of the American People


The Primary and General elections of 2008 have come and gone. And the Voice of Reason lies in state. It went down with a solemn and overwhelming vote for a promised cleanup of this country. What has become of this nation between then and now can only be described as utter confusion. This, in part is caused by the People--not the President.  Sadly, voter turnout continues to display a shameful lack of either patriotism or civic duty. Where other countries--such as those where we are willing to lose our lives to defend their sacred right to vote--have citizens willing to risk all to state their opinion about who their leaders should be, we, for the most part, couldn't care less. In fact, we leave the decision to the very few to decide for us our leadership, yielding our responsibility and our interest to others. What if those who vote on our behalf have values that are opposite to ours? Apparently it doesn't matter. What if those who vote in our stead know little or nothing about how our government works?  Oh well.  What if they are connected to all the things we claim are the problems in our system?  What if they need a translator to read the ballot? Too bad.


It is frighteningly too bad.  In Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation, less than 13% turned out to vote in the November 2011 election.  It was a "sleeper" by anyone's definition.  But sleeper or not, the act of speaking one's mind should never be considered optional. To Houston’s mayor, an incumbent who just won her second term, the sleeper was to her benefit.  After spending millions on her campaign and despite having relative unknowns for competition, she narrowly squeaked out a win.  What would have happened if the other 87% had turned up at the polls? Or, even 50%?  Surveys from before the Primary race showed Parker’s popularity dropping like an anvil—just above 30%, a statistical sign that she would lose the election.  Instead, the low voter turnout may have favored her.  This example is not the exception.  Across the nation, elections have dwindled to virtually nothing.


 In 2008, an election in Utah was won by 8% of the registered primary election voters, which retired one of the most statistically conservative Congressmen in the nation--Chris Cannon.  Excepting James Hansen, Cannon's record included the highest number of passed legislation in the history of the state of Utah. But 87% of the state's eligible voters said "so what?" by not showing up to voice their opinion.  So a minute cross section of society decided for the bulk of that district's citizens who was going to be their Congressman.  While the winner of that race, Jason Chaffetz often boasts winning by more than 60%, it was 60% of the 8% that showed!  Bluntly put, it was The Chaffetz People who decided for the rest of their district who would win because the rest blew off the importance of that election. As Congressman Cannon said it, "Chaffetz people came out and mine didn’t, the people have spoken."  But that is, as they say, history--a history that continues to repeat itself as Americans have yet to recover from their apathy. The operative word is "yet".


While the numbers voting in primaries across the nation in 2008 were still extremely low--a pattern over many previous elections--an undercurrent was building. The Obama administration, liberals and the liberal media (meaning, THE media) act as if that undercurrent is a deadly rip-tide caused by the Tea Party movement. News of their contempt for the Tea Party people is also history.  But a careful look around, across all political sectors, shows much more than a single movement emerging. Indeed, within the Tea Party movement itself, there is a diverse cross section of political perspectives that have come together with one force and one objective--reduce the size of the Federal Government.  Translation: cut the spending, cut the control of states, cut taxes, cut the crap. But outside the movement, splinter movements, and other conservative movements have emerged. It is a focus that has proven to scare the bejeebers out of liberals.  The obvious answer is to label (or libel) the Tea Party movement as a specific kind of people--"Bigots" to divide and conquer, "white" to split the vote, "paranoid" to divert attention from constitutionally destructive maneuvers, "extremists" to prove they are not normal, and "Republican, or former-Republicans" to put a party label on them. Nice try.


If anything, those attempts have only spawned the growth of American activism.  Thus, a new strategy must be implemented to calm the grassroots rip-tide.  That new strategy happens to be the oldest: Fight fire with fire.  Now comes, Occupy Wall Street--the antithesis of anything Tea Party in a movement. Well, sort of.  The movement has yet to be defined. In fact, watching a clip from Steven Colbert, who interviewed, with his classic sarcasm intact, two Wall Street Occupiers(OWS), should put to rest any questions about the legitimacy of this so-called (counter) movement's ability to define itself, produce any viable solutions, or prove it is anything different than the same 'ol, same 'ol in political griping and having a cause without actually having one. To be fair, OWS and past "anti-" protests are not the same.  The Tea Party is actually an "anti-" protest. But even the radical protesters of the 60's--despite communes, and communism, "free love", and free drugs, as horrific as those "changes" were--would not have defecated in public for attention, or stepped in front of moving vehicles so they can claim to be victims, or create riots then innocently look around as if they had done nothing to start the conflagrations. Even the rioters of the 60's, and 70's had the strength of character to claim their role in them. –And despite their liberal and outlandish living--had a sense of dignity. So, while Soros, who funded Adbusters, whose president, Kalle Lasn (a Canadian), started Occupy Wall Street as a social experiment, expected this latest strategy to take down the insurgence of activism from regular Americans a notch or two, it will fail as well. The differences are far too glaring for the public to not easily promote conservative activism over the OWS mess.  Another nice try.


Exercising our voice is the most important check in the Constitution and the most challenging to maintain. The fact is that there are people from all walks of life emerging from the ground sick and tired of an acid reflux government.  The people may not see the ulcers forming, but they sure feel it in the gut!  Unfortunately, there are still far too many Americans willing to blindly go their way without a single care about what is actually happening to their society. It is a frightening paradigm.  Milk of Magnesia has been, at least up until now, readily available and pretty cheap.  


This kind of American is like the cat, who believes that because its head is hidden--and it can see nothing--that its backside is safe when it remains openly and fully exposed. For this American, slowly but surely becoming extinct, their rude awaking is still at hand.  Benjamin Franklin warned that apathy will destroy this Republic as our country's system will not survive if we are careless and cowardly.  That has turned out to be prophetic with our current President.


Interestingly, rip-tides are caused from two opposing forces crossing over and under each other.  One creates a strong push forward from the top while a vacuum-like suction from below pulls everything out to sea.  Thus, riptides are the cleanup crews of beaches and shorelines.  "Rip-tide" may be an apt and flattering description of the Tea Party and subsequent activism of the general population--cleaning up the system. It is no wonder apathy is the worst fear of Founding Fathers such a Franklin.  Without it there is no rip-tide to clean up collusion, corruption, cronyism and so forth. It is also no wonder those involved in the latter fear the upswing in American activism. Instead of fearing the rip-tide, let us help it along with more water to increase the tide for the coming election.

Our survival as the Republic we were designed to be depends on our activism at the polls and in our daily opportunities to speak up and out.

Monday, October 17, 2011

QUIT TINKERING WTIH AMERICA


“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” GEO.WASHINGTON



One of the foremost geniuses of the Founding Fathers was their understanding of America as the place to come to, leaving behind the place people came from. This was and still is a distinctly different paradigm than prevailed then—and even prevails now—the world over. The prevailing idea then was to conquer another land. While the colonies were originally of that design---to bring England elsewhere—the kind of people who actually came to America ended up being a breed apart. They wanted to establish a new land free from everywhere else—not an appendage to another land.

That has made America the most independent of all countries, which in turn had made it the most fertile for putting ideas into concrete reality, the most ingenious at creating something apparently starting with nothing—which we now coin as the “American Dream”, and inventing from imagination rather than from a world-view cheat sheet. In short, the United States was and still is the land to covet for its distinctly unique characteristics.

The Founders were not unaware of this. Even in that day, countries would have picked off this fledgling nation had the founders not reorganized the need for a stronger protectionist federation of states we now call the Constitution of the United States of America. This built-in fortress system  designed to proliferate that original independent mindset naturally led to a high standard of immigration policy. “Who are you and why are you here? And if you are not here to build America you are not welcome,” was the basis for immigration policy of the Federal government. It demanded that people have a purpose aligned to the purpose for which the United States was founded. If people were not in America to visit, nor invest in its mission, nor to become a productive citizen, they were not here. Period. Surprisingly this standard actually drew people from all over the world here to propagate the original intent. Moreover if foreigners intended on becoming citizens, they were required to create their own job—not take one from already existing Americans; to be of sound mind and body—yes, they had to have a general physical upon arriving here; and sign a docking list, identifying who they were, and from whence they came. They also had to have a sponsor--someone to vouch for their character.  This provided mechanisms to safe guard America’s character.

To be clear, this is not an immigration discussion. It is a discussion about the reliance upon the unique relationship between two American characteristics, independent thought and why we left our roots behind. The former required then and still does require now, an indifference to other countries’ policies and a surrender of them, while still allowing individuals the right to carry on their familial traditions within the larger content of their state and the nation. Hence, the phase, “melting pot” came to describe America as a fusion of many different backgrounds to one solidarity of purpose—freedom.

With a watchful eye upon intruders designing to covet America—either its land, people, industry, innate observance of freedoms, or any combination--that left only one viable hole for infiltration and destruction of American principles and ideals. Clearly America’s strength has always been in its ability to provide a view to the world of what works to the promise of freedom, thus inspiring other countries to that path.   But once America looks to follow, it is done in. The latter requires an eye on the very places of origin generations of Americans and future Americans have so willingly forsaken for purist freedom.  Moreover, when Americans become illiterate enough of their own grand system, the inherent differences between ancestral homelands and here becomes muddy. Therein lay the hole allowing for destruction of the Land of Liberty.

This settles us squarely on the present day dilemma. Our President looks to Scandinavian countries for a health care model; to the Middle East for a moral model; and to the UN for a social and model. But he fails to look to our own model—that created by the Founding Fathers—with any sense of value. Unfortunately, irrespective of whether the society agrees with a leader’s political sense, they are still, on some level, persuaded by it. Years of persuasion lead to generations that are either guided or misguided but it. It makes one wonder then, when a group protesting what the president himself also vilifies, how much of the groups energy or impetus is either driven or orchestrated by the leader. When that leader, in this case, Obama, looks for cues outside the country he is supposed to be leading, it naturally draws others from inside the country there are well.

To be fair: Mr. Obama is not the only, nor the first, president to drive his constituents off course. But he is the most profound example, having what appears to be no vision of America from inside America. His answer to America’s problems is for the Federal government is to tinker with and twist every avenue of American life. And if that doesn’t net the results he promises, tinker some more.   Americans have been persuaded over time to look elsewhere for instruction primarily because they haven’t been instructed in the principles of government that made their country not only unique but more powerful among nations because it was much different than anywhere else.  Illiteracy in the original design of our nation is taking a severe toll. In our ignorant state, we are subject to all sorts of ideas, themes, paradigms, principles and policies contrary to how our system works. This supplanted instruction pervades so long as the proper buzz word is attached.—Words such as freedom, democracy, liberty, right or rights, and the most abused of them all, fair.


First of all, contrary to popular misunderstanding: Democracy and liberty are not synonymous.  Secondly, we are not a Democracy.
Here is a case in point about our present state of illiteracy: To a group just entering the political arena is the anti-banking, anti-capitalism group staging obscene and incoherent rallies in, especially, New York City,—but not excluding other places. The rallying cry of this mob of variants on not one, but many themes, is fairness. This is the so-called “Occupy Wall Street” protest. Sadly this is a group of mixed agendas, most of them having nothing to do with a real cause, but simply an opportunity to display antics, and the baser side of humanity. These do not represent the vast majority of Americans; and their objective—whatever that may be, nor is it finding a voice of persuasion among most Americans. With no affection, they have been dubbed the “Flea Party”. But to the slender remainder of those protesting, the invisible minority who are there beyond antics—at least as the media is portraying them—their participation is simply evidence of the lack of understanding to the way our system was designed to work and how to fix problems in our society. They are relying on misinformation and a lack of training that assumes they will accomplish something from the antics, but are more than likely to only fester the problem.

Regardless of their objectives or cause, this body of protesters probably has no idea who is connected to this movement. One of the richest men in the world, and admittedly the mastermind in destroying markets the globe over, manipulating them for his own gain, says he is sympathetic to their cause of bringing down Wall Street and banks. That is George Soros. But making a statement of sympathy is not the same as involvement, until it is discovered that Soros is financially connected to the organization that initiated the movement, Adbusters. (One has to wonder whether Soros has made maneuvers of the market, particularly with banks, as he attempts another financial coup d’état of some sort.)

Adbusters CEO and Founder Kalle Lasn is the man behind “Occupy Wall Street”. His intent is fuzzy, other than to get a buzz from the power of inciting riots with predominantly irrational behavior. To promote the project, Lasn produced an ingenious advertisement—a tiny ballerina graciously poised atop the bull statue of Wall Street, amidst a background of angry invaders rushing toward the central objects in the ad poster. His purpose and what message he planned to convey? In his own words, Lasn boasts,
"There's some idea there, and the power of it comes from the fact that most of the time you'll never be able to answer what it is. It's just there. It's just a magic moment that you can feel in your gut that it's there, and you're willing to go there and sleep there and go through the hardship and fight for it. Once you start answering it too clearly then the magic is gone."


In less poetic and more direct words, Lasn, a Canadian, living in Toronto, Canada, is admitting to doing nothing more than manipulation for manipulation sake—or his entertainment, whichever is most poignant for him. The only cause is actually the movement itself: The movement itself supports only emotion. In fact, if one used any amount of intelligence, as Lasn readily admits—Lasn calls it, “answering it too clearly”—the cause disappears. This manipulation of public emotion is being demonstrated with prophetic precision. The protests are a gathering of unlike minds, but for one cause—to demonstrate that someone can harness American passion without any intelligible purpose or intent. The number of issues oozing forth from this pustule of demonstrations is numerous. Some complain they are out of work. Some claim banks are corrupt. Some say they pay too much for college tuition. Others claim unions should rule over businesses, and still others have so much disdain for services such as police, they defecate in public atop service vehicles. In a nutshell, Lasn is just tinkering with Americans, like marionettes.

Sadly, there are some who will attend these protests, tolerating the inane in hopes that their genuine issue is going to be solved through these anarchical outbursts. They are being duped.

Striking workers protesting outside their workplace will, to some extent or another, convince their employer to provide their demands: But Wall Street is not an employer.

When no businesses can be found hiring, some will create their own business: But Wall Street doesn’t create businesses for anyone, nor hire employees.

Citizens will head to city, county, state or even federal meetings to testify of improper, inadequate, or unjust public services with the hope that it will create legislation or eliminate the same, to remedy the problem: But Wall Street is not a depository for any such civic meetings, a provider of such services, nor a legislative body that can rectify the problem.

Wall Street is nothing more than an exchange system of owners of businesses. The only way to protest Wall Street is to not go there. The only way to protest Wall Street is stop investing in it. One who wants to stop banking corruption should turn their business elsewhere AND complain through their elected officials to stop tinkering with the system through excessive and sometimes downright weird regulations. The “Occupy Wall Street” protests are nothing more than symbolic antics given purpose by outside parasites piling high on the heap of anti-American paradigms. Anti-Wall Street is code or anti-Capitalism. Anti-banks is actually code for anti-property, which is actually pro-Marxist, pro-communist. Pro-public education funded by the government is again rooted in socialism, and most predominantly communism. Indeed, nearly every want implied from the collection of protesters ‘Occupy Wall Street” comes, not by way of Constitutional solutions already built in to our system—would we oblige them—but in ideals and practices—historically failed practices—from elsewhere, most notably from socialist and communist countries. The latest news is profound: The National Socialist Party and the American Nazi Party—both oxymoron of Americanism—have endorsed “Occupy Wall Street”.

The blame for the protests cannot go to Kalle Lasn. He is as much exonerated as the cause of the problem as Obama. Like Obama, he is feeding off the problem, but didn’t create it. Lasn may be a somewhat disturbed, manipulative puppet-master looking for ways to entertain his friends like Soros but the blame goes to two completely different but related sources. According to the Founding Fathers, Americans must focus their attention, first, to the cause of Americanism by protecting the liberties as originally designed, and secondly, to the propagation of the capitalist market that supports those liberties. But many of the protesters are crying that America should be copying the Scandinavian, former Soviet, East German, Cuban, Canadian, and Euro countries’ way of handling social services, the economy, governmental systems and every other aspect of American life. This is an indication that these Americans—and nearly all other Americans—have no idea that the source of our problems lay in abusing and flat out ignoring the system of government as originally designed. Many of the problems with our economic, scientific, societal, judicial, and other systems has directly to do, not with too little tinkering with the system, but too much of it.

Any protest worth defending with the first amendment will be one by literate, educated Americans who know when someone is tinkering with then or not.

Solutions lay in an honest resurgence of learning from the roots sources how our country is supposed to work. The more government involvement in fixing problems, the deeper into the abyss we go in the problem. A government solution to all of life’s problems draws Americans away from their roots, not toward them. This is the very scenario the covetous of America are hoping for. The solution is to reverse course. Don’t like Wall Street? Tell the federal government to get its fingers out of the pie. Don’t like Banks? Tell the Federal government to stop telling banks what to do. Had the federal government not tinkered with the mortgage standards, the bubble they created that subsequently burst would not have needed any further tinkering by the government. Don’t like being out of work? Look around at opportunities to create a new business. Don’t like the expense of a college education? Understand that anything of worth requires a sacrifice. Want more democracy—more direct control by the people? Then we are foreigners in our own land. We are a Republic designed to disdain mob rule. And above all, want more fairness? Then we don’t want more equality. They are not the same, and are in fact, opposites: The former requires an arbitrator, someone to decide what is fair, a subjective decision for us. All governmental systems claiming to produce fairness are those who will decide what that means. They are then our master.

Americans were designated to be our own master. Indeed, America herself was designed to be a country free from any world taskmaster, designed to provide the most independence from government.  So quit tinkering with America.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Greece’s Misfortune: A Contrast to American Government the People Must Recognize

Greece’s misfortune provides numerous teaching moments for America. Their circumstance is nothing to ignore: Greece is in dire trouble.

There is no question that the nation cannot survive on its own and will need money from another country in order for its own government to continue running. Plain capitalist economics provides very few options for an entity that is so flat broke. There are three options that I see: bankruptcy is one, or a merge with another entity, either voluntarily or in a hostile takeover by another. There is, actually the very rare third option, that Uncle George or Aunt Gertrude donate the money to their “nephew” in trouble with no strings attached.

While Greece is a country and not a business or person, its options are not too different. And while there is time for serious professional or light advocational speculation over their debacle, and which route—or combination of routes—they will choose, let’s put that aside for a moment to recognize a positive application. Greece is doing America a favor here. It is a lesson in both economics and government. Their situation reminds us that Democracies are no more immune to wobbly social economics than any other country’s government using socialism as its economic machine —all governments are susceptible but one—ours.

In all of history, socialism has proven to collapse the society it feeds off as money runs out over time. Without doing any math, history shows it to be so. The length of time before it does depends upon the combination of acts and controls but the end game is still the same. Monarchies, Dictatorships—regardless of style, Democracies, and Communists, by definition have no specific market preference. But America stands as the one lone exception. If was specifically designed to work with Capitalism.

American government, a constitutionally constructed Democratic Republic, is so custom-made that comparing the rest of the world to the U.S. is like comparing a Flintstone’s car to the first James Bond Austen Martin. If the people of America would adhere to the system, custom-created for them, and listen to the original group of coaches and referees who designed it, they would recognize whenever rouge elected officials try to destroy their economic system, Capitalism and interfere in their rights of freedom in tandem, or not.

There is no way to separate Capitalism from the two sets of liberties stated in our Constitution. To do so is to change the nature of our government. The first set, recognizes liberties that neither man nor government can interrupt or usurp without our permission. Those are the inalienable rights derived by none other but Divinity. The second set is vetted through that document, the Constitution and its companion predecessor, the Declaration of Independence, in order to provide states and the federal government power—not equal in relation to each other—to protect the first group of liberties. Any switch from Capitalism to Socialism in our government is an automatic erosion of either set of constitutional rights.

To be clear, the Founders never intended the Federal government to be completely disassociated from monetary discretion. But there is a whopping difference between monetary implementations and economic ones. The government needs money to run. But it is used on behalf of the people, not despite them. From the start of this government, there was debate on the role of government in relation to money and the economic system. The first controversial act of the Duo was in creating a bank. Oddly, that debate started over the issue of canals.

Their concern was whether it was appropriate for the Federal government to incorporate. Of course, the serious concern was that as a corporation the federal government would become a monopoly—the end game of socialism—thus controlling the economy. After passionate debate on both sides, Pres. Washington decided that it was in the best interest of the people for the government to find any and all ways possible to reduce the taxpayer’s burden from debt by creating streams of revenue through investment. –Hence the bank. In the end, his decision went to the intent of the Constitution to protect the people from the effects of government spending and borrowing and he incorporated to institute a national bank.

But the Founders also knew how fragile such an act was. It would take constant vigilance and control by the People to protect the bounds between monetary policies that leverage the people’s public money but also protect capitalism. The national bank was designed not to dominate other banks, but to one of many. The founders knew money policies must remain a matter of intent as they defined it, in order for government to stay out of the people’s business—literally. One turned head, one long blink, one sneeze by the people and their freedoms could be washed away if the economic system of socialism penetrating the protective shell of the Constitution.

Long passed turned heads, blinks, and sneezes, the people and their states are now gazing, eyes bulging, and mouths dropped at the changing nature of this country’s government through a full-on, complete move to socialism.

It is critical for Americans to study the nature of their uniquely custom made government to understand and recognize economic policies that go contrary to that design. Specifically, it is critical for us to see the relationship between Capitalism and our liberties. We are not Greece. We are not a Democracy. We have the only custom designed government system, that when followed, will never collapse from too much government, because both the federal government will remain small and therefore un-intrusive on the people’s economy.

It is both unfortunate and very clear that liberals, who by definition move away from the foundation of the country—as much as Colonial liberals moved away from their country’s foundation—together with this President , Mr. Obama, does not either have a foundation in American government and her history, or they do not care one iota about it. Most would believe the latter, but it is neither here nor there. The net result is the same. Mr. Obama’s newly submitted “jobs bill” is profoundly indicative of this lack of thought to the kind of country this is. This bill adds as many taxes in the form of “offsets” as it supposedly releases. Where Corporate businesses are provided the benevolence of no, or little corporate taxes they will lose credits in lieu of deductions and those deductions must take seven years rather than a little as two before. This allows more revenue to be taxed even though that money has actually already been spent on capital expenses such as autos, machinery, and in one clause, to planes purchased in the aviation industry; or failed drilling in the case of the oil and energy industry. This is horrifying economics as it stifles growth, rather than encouraging it. You might wonder why there are offsets in the first place. Where is that money going? To pay down the debt? No. That would be the only thing that would make sense of this. No, it goes to the jobs, Obama spoke of in his remarks to the Congress.

The 199 page bill provides improvements to over 35,000 schools, enlarges bridges and stretches of highway that, albeit more crowded than their early days, but they are not crumbling. One has to ask two compelling questions: First an economic one. Is it appropriate for the government to expand its projects in a depression, when money from all and to all sources is frightfully tight? Secondly, is it appropriate for the federal government to be doing school districts’ and states’ jobs? Indeed not! There is absolutely no clause or enumerated duty of the Federal government to do this. It is, in fact, the sole responsibility of the states’, according to Art.I Section xviii and the 9th and 10th amendments that clearly state all powers not specific to the federal government in Section 8 belong elsewhere. This bill is another major example of the detriment caused to capitalism when fundamental elements of the constitution are violated.

Conversely, the bill by the same name, filed four days prior to Obama’s bill that was produced by conservative representatives in the House simply removes corporate taxes. That is all. It is two pages—actually one and a half if one only read the text of the bill. There are no lists of jobs determined by the government to be filled; and no dictation of what schools districts and cities, counties and states should improve. There are no taxes configured elsewhere to regain what was lost in removing corporate taxes. The beauty of a bill of this nature, which will be extremely difficult for Democratic liberals to wrap their heads around, is that by leaving the plan as lacking in stipulations as this one does, it actually says volumes more on what it intends to tell American businesses. “Go. Do what you, as the ones in control of the economy, need to do in order to create your unique dreams, inventions, and help your companies grow.”

Contrary to current illiteracy, liberalism (in the form of socialism), in America, is not supportive of our extraordinary system. It would be if we were actually a Democracy–hence the confusion and the justification toward government involvement and intervention. But upon evaluating the differences, one must ask: Who would ever want to ride Fred’s car, when they could have their very own custom designed Austen Martin?

Friday, September 16, 2011

911: Commemorating that part of America that cannot be extinquished

A survey of what the tragedy demonstrates about the American spirit.

9-11 reminds me of some unique and powerful qualities of America that exist nowhere else in the world.

One of the most important of those is dominantly overlooked, and quite honestly, underestimated by the rest of the world. The American people have a fiercely independent spirit that is the fuel that feeds our creativity, our ingenuity, and our determination to win at whatever we put our minds to. But most importantly, that fierce independence is what fuels the ability of Americans to defend another’s life before our own—sometimes standing up to anyone who wrongs us or our friends.

We have always been that way—as far back as this nation was conceived, and even in early Colonial days. Kind George also greatly underestimated that quality, not realizing until too late that those who came here from England were distinctly different from their countrymen. Japan, Germany, China, and many other countries have underestimated our fierce independence and what its produces, when after being attacked by them, we not only didn’t surrender but defended ourselves and all our friends. And one further: after overcoming our attackers, we have, without exception, rebuilt those countries.

I am reminded that Americans think nothing of sacrificing their lives for the greater cause. But Americans who sacrifice their lives do so to save other lives—not to take them. I am reminded that we as a people value life and liberty and that they don’t just go hand in hand, they are one and the same.

Tears still well up for me, when I recall—as if it were yesterday, the voices of unwitting heroes who willingly grounded their jet after they discovered it was to be the tool used to target the White House in an act of terrorism. They went to their deaths protecting their country as much as any soldier. Americans have that spirit of protecting each other and the whole! And our children grow up renewing that spirit.

I see that spirit just about every day in America. Just a couple days ago, two people announced over the internet that they would offer their ranches, with stalls, barns, and land to those needing a place to take their livestock, horses and any other animals caught up in the deadly fires of Texas. My children and I have had the humble opportunity to cook up turkeys, bake gourmet cookies and delicious pies and then trek downtown to feed the homeless in subzero temperatures on Thanksgiving Day. We were not alone. Scores of other families were there, sacrificing the comfort and warmth of their homes to give others a reason to be grateful. Americans flourish in making life better for someone else.

9-11 did not cripple America—nor stop our independence and spirit of taking care of each other. It renewed it! We’ll always commemorate that part of America that cannot be extinguished! The rest of the world may never understand it. But we do. They may look at us as consumed with worldly goods—and perhaps rightly so. But in the final analysis, Americans understand in their subconscious, that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not found in shopping malls and luxury cars, but in the ability to help others, in our own way, not because we were told to by the government, or forced by anyone, but because our deeply independent wills desire to look beyond ourselves to someone else’s welfare.

That is what I see in 9-11.

(Originally published in US Daily Review.)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

A LETTER FROM THE NATIONAL TEAPARTY ALERT.COM: Boehner 2, Obama 0

Reprinted from a email newsletter, sent Sept.3, 2011, I received, I have but few words to say:
I laughed audibly for more than a few minutes over this. I love the Constitution, don't you?!

Boehner 2, Obama 0

Such is the scorecard after their latest skirmish, when Mr. Obama, former professor of Constitutional Law, ignored the basic concept of three separate and equal branches of government and demanded to give an address before a joint session of Congress. Speaker Boehner, former tavern-owner and night-school graduate of the University of Cincinnati, refused permission and forced the president to slink away with his tail between his legs.

Not surprisingly, the liberal media was outraged by Speaker Boehner's upholding of a very basic Constitutional provision. The New York Times could barely hide it's disdain:

Any hopes that a kinder, gentler bipartisan Washington would surface once Congress returns after Labor Day were summarily dashed on Wednesday when President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner clashed over, of all things, the date and time of the president’s much-awaited speech to the nation about his proposal to increase jobs and fix the economy.

In a surreal volley of letters, each released to the news media as soon as it was sent, Mr. Boehner rejected a request from the president to address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday at 8 p.m. — the same night that a Republican presidential debate is scheduled.

In an extraordinary turn, the House speaker fired back his own letter to the president saying, in a word, no. Might the president be able to reschedule for the following night, Sept. 8?

For several hours, the day turned into a very public game of chicken.

By late Wednesday night, though, the White House issued a statement saying that because Mr. Obama “is focused on the urgent need to create jobs and grow our economy,” he “welcomes the opportunity to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8.”

Liberal commentator Cenk Uygur was nearly apoplectic, writing (spelling isn't changed):

President Obama has now changed the day of his address to Congress to accommodate the Republicans. They were having a GOP presidential debate on the original date he picked. So, Boehner told him to move his speech. He is the president for Christ's sake. Of course, they should have accommodated him, not the other way around. But as usual, President Obama bowed.

So, this leads to the eternal question of whether Obama is just weak or if he is a brilliant strategist who has been playing rope-a-dope all along. I am so silly that I still had hope. My hope this morning was that Obama was laying a trap for the Republicans. He picks a day for his speech that is the same as the GOP debate. Then if Boehner says he won't let him give the speech on that day, he seems so petty and harsh.

That way, either the president gives his big speech on jobs and bigfoots the Republican contenders or the Republicans look disrespectful and petulant for turning down the president. Well, if you're playing rope-a-dope, that's not a bad manuever. But it turns out that's not what he was doing at all. He just stumbled into this problem and then stumbled out when he let Boehner dictate when he could and could not have his speech. That looks so sad.

You see, if you're playing rope-a-dope, at some point you have to actually swing. When your opponent has worn himself out knocking you around the ring -- you counter-attack. But that counter-attack is never coming. We're holding our collective breath in vain.

In other words, Liberals can't decide whether Obama is a brilliant strategist by caving to Boehner's demands or if he might actually be as weak as Conservatives have been saying from the beginning. Either way, Speaker Boehner has done a masterful job of exposing Obama's lack of savvy and leadership experience. Yet another round goes to the Speaker.
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Address:
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #260
Washington, D.C. 20003-4303