A republic, if you can keep it

Here is a report on a fascinating study conducted by two economists at UCLA. It shows that **GASP** government intrusion and regulation of the free market makes things - are you ready for this? - WORSE!!!

In case you don’t want to read the whole thing, at least read the last paragraph.

“The fact that the Depression dragged on for years convinced generations of economists and policy-makers that capitalism could not be trusted to recover from depressions and that significant government intervention was required to achieve good outcomes,” Cole said. “Ironically, our work shows that the recovery would have been very rapid had the government not intervened.”

But since the vast majority of Americans won’t read this, nor take the time to try and understand, we stand a good chance of repeating what they studied. How’s this for ominous (emphasis mine)?

“This is exciting and valuable research,” said Robert E. Lucas Jr., the 1995 Nobel Laureate in economics, and the John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. “The prevention and cure of depressions is a central mission of macroeconomics, and if we can’t understand what happened in the 1930s, how can we be sure it won’t happen again?“

“In leaving Las Vegas and coming to Washington, [Harry] Reid has probably raised the average I.Q. of both locations, Nevada and the Senate Democratic Caucus.”

- GOP strategist Craig Shirley, Politico.com, 1/8/09

During the presidential campaign, the hot topic was of course the economy.  However, I talked to several Obama supporters and one reason they always brought up for supporting him was that he would get us out of Iraq ASAP.  When asked why we needed to get out so quickly, the usual reasons came up.  It was an immoral, unjust war fought against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 or terrorism, yada yada…

So, you Obama supporters who voted for him in part because he would correct the “mistake” that is the Iraq war, how do you feel after reading this article?  That doesn’t quite fit my definition of “change,” does it fit yours?

By now you have undoubtedly heard about the Russian professor who has detailed his prediction that the USA will cease to exist and break up shortly.  I think his “analysis” has been well documented and for the most part debunked, but I have a few comments to share.  Here is the map and what will happen:

Here are my observations:

1. After the dollar collapses and we have another civil war here, we will make sure to split along previously established state lines?  Right.
2. California and Utah will be in the same “nation.”  With current events, it’s a good thing that Nevada is there to keep the two separated, so when there is a chance for a realignment, they will choose to continue living together?
3. Texas - and most of the Southern States - are controlled by Mexico?!?  Maybe after all the Texans are dead.

Now, not everything he said was outrageous, for example, he predicts that the dollar will collase & civil war will ensue.  With what our elected officials are doing right now, the dollar could collapse.  If it does collapse, civil unrest - so bad that it could be considered a war - could occur, but I just don’t see America breaking up into multiple parts to be controlled by ilk from China, Canada, Mexico, etc.

Time will tell, but there is no doubt we are in for a bumpy ride.

In a perfect world, more evidence wouldn’t be needed, but on this planet, the more the better.

I came across this article during my usual Internet reading today and was quite impressed.  It takes a few minutes to read, but is well worth the time.   The author does a great job of calling out the con men who are so desperately trying to destroy our lives for the sake of saving the planet.

http://www.cfact.org/site/view_article.asp?idCategory=4&idarticle=1665

So said Steve Martin’s character Lucky Day in the classic, “The Three Amigos”
Over the last week or so, my son (who is almost 4, not 6) has had nightmares where he is being chased by “sharptooths” (tyrannosaurus rex) & “mean wolves” who want to eat him. Last night when I came home, he was excited to show me what he had done to put a stop to this problem. With the help of my wife, he had drawn a sign that said no sharptooths or wolves are allowed in his room, and taped it to his door. Of course, I smiled and thought that was quite cute, but a short time later, I realized that a large number of grown adults do and support the same thing, but with a different “monster.” The anti-gun crowd long ago decided that by placing signs and banners in areas and pronouncing them “gun free zones” or stating that guns aren’t allowed, they can keep evil guns away. What my son did & what the anti-2nd amendment crowd have in common is that the signs share the same level of effectiveness. Where they differ is that when a 3 YO child makes a sign like that, it’s cute, but when a large group of adults do it, it’s just pathetic.

I hope that you and yours all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Enjoy the holiday season.

The first thing Rush talked about this morning was how Obama & his family can’t find an acceptable place to live in DC. The place that is used by the President-elect is in use until Jan 15th, which is the traditional day that the pres-elect & his family move in. Bush offered them a place at a nearby military base, but that was declined, Obama also has an apartment for his use as a senator, but they don’t want to use that. Maybe Blago already sold it, who knows?
What I can’t believe he missed was that Obama, who is touted as the messiah, has no place to stay DC, just as there was no room in the inn for the actual Messiah. Clearly this is just another sign for the unbelievers that Obama is the real deal. He IS going to stop the ocean levels from rising, he IS going to pay our gas & mortgage bills. He will save us from ourselves and more importantly, he will save us from those eeeeeevil capitalists.

For those of us who are paying attention, we can see that our government is completely out of control.  Politicians simply will not listen to voters, and when it comes time to vote, we are constantly left with a choice between bad and worse.  They act more like a ruling class, treating us as smelly, uneducated imbeciles who couldn’t possibly grasp the complexity of the worlds problems, and therefore need a group - such as themselves - to act in our best interests and even save us from ourselves.  The simple fact of the matter is we need to be saved, but from them, not by them.

It got me thinking, how does our current situation compare to the situation that Americans found themselves in when the Declaration of Independence was written?

The Declaration contains a section that cites 27 specific reasons for breaking away from England and establishing independent, sovereign states.  For reference here they are:

1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

2. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

3. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

5. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

7. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

8. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

9. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

10. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

12. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

14. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

15. For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

16. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

17. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

18. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

19. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

20. For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies.

21. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

23. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

24. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

25. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

26. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

27. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Now, are we being subjected to any of these same injustices today?  The answer is yes, but the question is, how many?  Here are my thoughts on which ones we are being subjected to.

1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

This is a general statement, but it is safe to say that for the most part, the laws being passed today are neither wholesome nor necessary for the public good. Government interference is the norm, and as a result, we enjoy fewer liberties. Common sense laws are all but forgotten.  While not with holding their assent, they are passing laws so quickly that it makes ones head spin.  The result however, is similar.

2. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

This one may be a bit of a stretch, as it hasn’t happened in the same way, but I would argue that something similar is occurring. Little by little, we are told that if we want to make use of services provided by our tax dollars, we have to surrender some of our liberties. A perfect example is the auto bailout that is being discussed. Part of the deal that lawmakers want is that automakers – if they want money – have to make “green” cars. These are cars that Americans don’t want. Effectively, automakers forfeit their right to make cars that people will buy, they forfeit their right to run the business as they see fit. This relinquishing of the ability to make cars that will sell is similar to the relinquishing of the right of representation.

3. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

Our current leadership has done this, but has even taken it one step further. On the one hand, foreigners who have a valuable skill set – i.e. doctors, various types of engineers, etc – can’t get in without going through a lot of red tape, and even then, it’s tough to stay for more than a short period of time. However, if you have no real skill, can’t speak English or have a criminal background, you can sneak in, seek sanctuary in one of our many sanctuary cities & stay for free, with welfare and healthcare costs being covered by Joe Taxpayer. In 1776, the intention of preventing the population from growing was to keep American talent from growing.  King George was attempting to limit what would become know as the “American Spirit.” The idea was to keep America from thriving by limiting great thinkers and motivated people. Today, by not allowing educated people here, they are doing the same thing. By allowing uneducated people with limited or even no skill set to freely come here and live off of welfare and get free medical care, they not only limit the “American Spirit” that made this nation great, but they introduce a group of people that are a drain on those who do have the “American Spirit.” That makes it even more difficult for individuals – and therefore the country – to thrive and succeed.

4. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Where do I start with this one? Feel free to read through the Constitution and then tell me what parts of it justify the existence of the following agencies: EPA, DOE, the other DOE (as in education.  I believe it is pronounced in your best Homer Simpson voice: ‘Doh!), OSHA, FCC, FAA, FDA, TSA, FDIC, HUD, and on and on. The list is almost infinite. Need I say more?

5. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

Like #4, this one is easy too. Ever heard of the United Nations? I also think that with the new “messianic” administration that is coming in, we may soon find ourselves subject to other foreign jurisdictions. Two I can specifically think of are the ICC and whatever replaces the Kyoto Protocol.

6. For protecting [soldiers], by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

Really the opposite of this is what has happened. Our troops have been demonized by our politicians.  Can anyone say Haditha? The purpose is the same. In 1776, redcoats were in America as an occupying force. They were meant to keep American morale down. By badmouthing our troops at every opportunity, politicians can keep American morale down. We are told on a regular basis that Americans are hated throughout the world because of our evil, dumb troops. Our elected officials are guilty of the same offense that King George was guilty of.

7. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

Our ability to trade hasn’t been cut off, but is has been limited. It has been limited by making it increasingly difficult for companies to do business in America. As a result, they leave. Cutting off trade had the effect of limiting capital available to Americans. How often do we hear about evil corporations and their profits? How they steal from the poor to feed the rich and how they need to be taxed into submission?  Driving business out of the country via draconian and asinine legislature accomplishes the same thing.  We also have a recent comment by President Bush, that has to qualify as one of the largest piles of diarrhea ever to escape either end of a politician - quite the accomplishment Mr. Bush.  With our leaders thinking like that, how can we hope to ever have free trade or a free market?

8. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

Just how are we going to pay for the financial bailout that was passed in September? What was the ratio of calls, emails and faxes that opposed that bailout to those that supported it?

9. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

I would submit that we really aren’t a republic anymore. Our office holders don’t listen to we the people anymore. They also don’t adhere to the Constitution anymore, and openly say it is a fatally flawed, outdated document containing “negative liberties”

10. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

See #9 above.

11. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Essentially this says that King George had encouraged the Indians to wreak havoc upon the American colonies. I would submit that by allowing our southern border to remain so porous, our current crop of “leaders” have done the same. Ask a cop about MS-13. Of course, this sort of thing couldn’t ever cause any domestic insurrections. Neither would this. And there is nothing to see here.

So, of the 27 injustices that American colonists dealt with, we are dealing with 11. The first thing that tells me is that even though it’s bad for us right now, it could be a lot worse. But why have we allowed it to get so bad? I would submit that we the American people still have a tiny (and quickly shrinking) window of opportunity to right our nation. If we don’t act soon though, we will either become some sort of socialist utopia, or we will be thrust into another revolution. I guess the choice is ours.

Has our government been completely taken over?  Are our elected officials - regardless of their stunning incompetence - merely puppets for some other group of power brokers?  A few months ago, I would have - in fact I did - dismiss these sorts of statements as crackpot conspiracies, but watching how the financial bailout has unfolded, I have to wonder.

Most of you have probably read an article or email that stated that if the amount of money in the financial bailout was divided up equally among US citizens (or taxpayers, or sometimes among all people in the US), each person would receive a large amount of money.  The actual figure would vary, but it was usually a high 5 or low 6 figure number.  I remember thinking that in most of those scenarios, my household would have been able to pay off our mortgage and still have enough cash for some substantial landscaping.

A coworker forwarded this article to me today that provides an interesting read.  It explains how Wall Street brokers have stolen money from every American taxpayer, and used the useful idiots (useful to them at least) in Washington DC to legally do it.  With America now strapped with that much debt, Americans cannot be truly free.  Not only is this a huge money grab, but it is a enormous reduction of our liberty.  A person who is strapped with debt is little more than an indentured servant.  An indentured servant, while not technically a slave, is NOT a free person.  Because of our elected officials, we are all now indentured (which by the way is a violation of the 13th amendment, but who’s keeping track of Constitutional violations anymore?), and many generations of Americans will be born into this servitude.

But ultimately, who is responsible for this mess?  Since our leaders are democratically elected, who is to blame, if not ourselves?  On the other hand, many people did try to tell their congressmen that they were opposed to the bailout, yet the reports were that both the congressional switchboard and email servers were shut down.  I don’t know if that’s true or not.  I do know it was impossible to get through.  It’s tough to know who is to blame, but it appears that most people are sick of Washington elitism and simply don’t know what to do to fix the problem.

We are not in uncharted waters here.  This sort of government corruption has happened many times throughout history, and there is one way that has been successful in resolving this.  Thomas Jefferson called it refreshing the tree of liberty with its natural manure.  That has been shown to work sometimes, not always though, and it comes with a steep price.  I don’t think that Americans are willing to pay it, now or ever.  We have become too lazy and spoiled.  I know I would rather exhaust all other avenues, but what are those avenues?  Also, while persuing those avenues, we make it harder & harder to ever refresh the tree of liberty.

So what will we do?  Will we reach a breaking point, or will we as a nation go quietly into the night?  We are currently on course to go quietly into the night, is there anything that can change us from that course?