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Gun Control on the High Seas

April 18, 2009

This is something that needs to be addressed at the Law of the Sea Treaty meetings. Rather than the draconian attempts at taking down America they should in fact be learning from the American experience.

Written by John Velleco
Monday, 13 April 2009 15:38
Americans received a special gift this Easter Sunday with the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage for several days after his ship, the Maersk Alabama, was raided by pirates.

The raiding of the Maersk created an international crisis and an around the clock media sensation.  Millions of people around the globe were riveted to their TVs, praying and hoping for Capt. Phillips’ safety as the U.S. Navy moved massive vessels into the area.  In the end, the brave Captain freed himself and well-trained U.S. snipers took out three of the four pirates.

The obvious question that was seldom asked during the tense standoff was, “How could so few terrorists (another word for pirates) overtake a vessel crewed by five times as many people?”

After all, couldn’t the crew have just shot the invaders as they tried to board the ship?

Maybe they could have if they had firearms onboard, but container ships like the Maersk are generally prohibited from carrying firearms because of gun laws in the countries of various ports of departure and entry.  Shipping companies and crews don’t dare violate these gun bans because the penalties can be severe.

For example, in Kenya, where the Maersk was headed, the government is expected to soon make possession of an unlicensed firearm a capital offense.  Currently the offense carries a long prison sentence.

And for those who might think a foreign government would never penalize a ship that was obviously armed to repel pirate attacks, consider the case of Australian businessman and yachtsman Chris Packer.

In 2004, Packer was in the midst of an around-the-world tour when his yacht was boarded by government officials at a port in Bali, Indonesia.  On board were two pump-action shotguns, a rifle, two pistols and an inoperable antique firearm.

Indonesian authorities contemplated the charge of “gun running,” a capital offense.  Packer’s firearms, which he declared at other Indonesian ports, were purchased specifically for defense against pirates.

Packer’s friend and former America’s Cup winner, Sir Peter Blake, was shot and killed by pirates who boarded his vessel at the mouth of the Amazon River in 2001.  After that incident, Packer delayed his own planned trip to South America in order to obtain arms for protection.  Packer’s vessel was twice boarded by pirates, and he believes he would certainly be dead were he not armed.

Packer spent about three months in jail in Bali, never sure he would escape the firing squad.  Eventually, authorities in Bali convicted Packer on the lesser charge of not declaring his firearms upon entering the port and released him with time served.

Commercial shipping companies simply can’t risk violating the draconian gun laws of other countries, so they instead run the risk of being defenseless against pirates in hostile waters.

The outrageous but predicable result of laws that are intended to disarm criminals is that gigantic commercial vessels like the Maersk are vulnerable to attack from small groups of thugs in little motorboats.

The arguments for self-defense firearms possession are the same on the sea as they are on land — only at sea the need is even greater.

When a criminal attack occurs, almost always the only people present are the thugs and the victims.  On land, police are usually minutes away.  On the sea, help can be hours or even days away.  The sea-terrorists know this, and they know that mariners are normally unarmed.

Ships that are able to employ armed guards have been able to repel pirates.  Captain Kelly Sweeney of Washington State told FOX News that armed guards thwarted a pirate attack on a vessel he was on in the Dominican Republic.

Capt. Sweeney’s recipe for self-defense at sea?  Either hire armed guards to protect the ship, or else arm the crew members.

Anti-gunners will make the same arguments about arming maritime crew members as they do about arming anyone on land.  “Oh, the ships will be more dangerous with all those guns on board.”  But, as we’ve learned the hard way on both land and sea, “gun free zones” simply make easy targets for criminals.

How was Capt. Phillips ultimately saved?  By people armed with rifles.  These people happened to be on a Navy ship.  If there were no military vessels in the area, the outcome could have been tragically different.  As is often the case, the criminal attack ended when armed assailants were met with armed resistance.

While we can’t change the extreme anti-gun laws of other countries, the American government should insist that American-controlled vessels will not be unilaterally disarmed and that crew members will be permitted to carry firearms onboard for their own protection.

SOURCE

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Tea Party’s frivolouness?

April 18, 2009

From what I have seen, at least so far. The mainstream media has branded the “Tea Party’s” as being orchestrated by Washington insiders or right wing extremist hate groups, if they mentioned them at all that is.

When the reality is that they were grass roots initiated and led by people that actually do care about this nation, and the Constitution that it is based upon.

What follows is one mans response to the various accusations. Well done sir!

In response to “Tax protests were fake outrage being aimed at invisible issues” (op-ed, April 16): The April 15 Tea Parties, in which I proudly participated, were not led by Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck or any other talk radio/Fox News personalities. These were grass-roots efforts, started locally by people who are fed up with the federal government overstepping its constitutional powers, spending our tax dollars and mortgaging our children’s/grandchildren’s futures bailing out private industries that should be allowed to fail like any other business that does not provide goods or services that people want or need. Fox News simply chose to cover them, while the other networks either ignored or ridiculed them.

I am not opposed to taxes; the government needs money to perform its essential functions. However, propping up failing industries is not an essential function of government. I challenge anyone to cite the article and section of the U.S. Constitution that empowers the federal government to do this. And don’t try the old “general welfare” statement in Article I Section 8, either. As James Madison, primary author and widely regarded “father” of the Constitution stated: “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.”

As for Kelly Miller’s statement about wasting our money on military operations and hardware, the Constitution does specifically authorize these expenditures in Article I, Section 8. I agree that Bush and Cheney did waste our money and trample on the Constitution. They are not “my heroes.” I left the Republican Party long ago when it became the party of big government after Republicans took control, first of Congress and then the White House. In fact, I resent the Republicans of today who are complaining about big government and preaching fiscal conservatism now that they are on the outside looking in.

Full story here

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 2 Comments »

Global Warming, and other acts of idiocy…

April 16, 2009

Fresh from the golden dome on Colfax Avenue Greg Brophy keeps us up to date on the shenanigans of the saviors on the left that will “save” Colorado from itself…

Global Warming

A couple weeks ago the Colorado Senate passed a global warming joint resolution. It’s titled “Concerning Recognition of Colorado’s Cool Cities”, but it was really an Al Gore would be proud sop to carbon dioxide caused global warming.

As a side bar, I think Wray, Colorado (my home town) is the “coolest city” in the state. We have our own little stream running through town, nice hills and bluffs surrounding town, a couple of good places to eat, a nice swimming pool and the best coffee shop on the planet.

Back to the farce: Senator Rollie Heath from, you guessed it, Boulder, introduced the resolution.

Apparently he missed the memo from the eco-commies who changed the term “global warming” to “climate change” when it became apparent that while CO2 emissions continue to rise, global temperatures are going down. They have been for ten years.

Senators Renfroe and Lundberg had fun pointing out the facts about global warming. Senator Heath said, “I don’t want to get into an argument about global warming”.

At that point I went up and pointed out that he should at least make the case for his resolution, but I’d be voting against it because “anthropogenic global warming is a farce”.

End of debate: the resolution passed on a straight party line vote.

Blatant Disregard

We see another attempt by the Democrats to exert their will over the will of the people in HB09-1299.

It’s a bill that would lead to tossing out the electoral vote for President in return for a national popular vote.

It’s not that it would happen overnight. First more states would have to pass a similar bill; enough states to reach the magic number of 270 electoral votes have to pass bills to join the movement for it to go into effect.

So far four states have passed bills enacting this agreement into law. Colorado is poised to become a fifth.

I’m not sure if the Democrats are still sore about the 2000 election or what.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why anyone in Colorado would throw away our swing-state status in favor of a national popular vote. Right now, Presidential candidates come to Colorado because there is some question where our nine electoral votes will go and through most of the election cycle, you can draw a scenario where our nine will make the difference in determining who will win.

Take away our nine and no one will care about our votes; no one will come here to campaign. The candidates will stick to the major population centers on the coasts and ignore “fly-over country”.

It’s really a horrible idea that has so many unintended consequences that everyone on the left seems to ignore.

Just like they ignore the will of the voters. In 2004 Coloradoans roundly rejected a change to our electoral college system 66-34.

That’s the blatant disregard.

Pinnacol Raid

Here’s the problem: state revenues are down, expectations for state spending are up (sounds like my family budget situation too).

So what are we going to do? Rob a bank? No, lets seize the money in an insurance company’s accounts, after all it looks like the insurance company, Pinnacol Assurance has more assets than liabilities.

Pinnacol is a workers compensation insurance company that was originally created by the state and then finally turned loose in 2002. At the time, their liabilities exceeded their assets by about $200 million. Now, their assets exceed their liabilities by about $600 million.

They are paying big dividends and have cut premiums by 42% over the past four years.

So the Democrats in Colorado (and two Republicans) have decided to take their “extra” money. That’ll teach them for being successful.

Two other states have tried the same thing in very similar situations and the courts in those states have sided with the insurance company. No telling what our activist Supreme Court will do, but I am positive the insurance company won’t just write the check because the Governor signs the bill that steals their money.

Expect a long protracted battle so ensue. The majority party has no plan for dealing with the defeat, except to close have of the colleges in the state.

I expected more from them.

The Budget

The Colorado Senate will pass a budget on Monday.

For the first time in my memory, it will be a pure work of fiction.

Colorado’s Constitution requires a balanced budget for each year. This one will be balanced by taking money $500 million from an insurance company. Money that will never show up because the insurance company won’t just hand the loot over.

I won’t bug you with all the details of the budget. It’s really a mess with Constitutionally mandated spending increase requirements in some areas, Constitutionally protected revenues in other areas and everyone wanting more.

The key take away is this: the money from the insurance company (Pinnacol Assurance) is never going to materialize. They aren’t just going to hand it over and I don’t think the court will let the state take it. Ultimately, we’ll have to come back and balance the budget again and this time truly hard choices will have to be made.

The immediate fall back provision is to cut colleges by another $300 million. That’s on top of the $100 million reduction in the rate of growth that they’ve already taken. A $300 million dollar cut would be a real cut and would probably lead to the closure of several schools. That’s completely unacceptable; we offered rational alternatives, but the other side turned them down.

This won’t be over for a while.

I have decided to join the world of FaceBook. I am not the most professional politician in the world, so I am actually using mine as it was intended – almost strictly for social purposes. If you want to “friend” me, search FB for Greg Brophy. I think this link will work: http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1192617444&ref=profile

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Posted in Domestic Violence, Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Humor, Immigration, Law, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, mysandry, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 5 Comments »

Disinformation: Stupid is as stupid does redux

April 15, 2009

Ah, the better than thou crowd. At least they are consistent; Stupid is as stupid does on steroids, or crack, or maybe both? Such is the logic!

This week’s “Leftmedia Buster” Award: “David Shuster, filling in for MSNBC loose-cannon Keith Olbermann on his April 13 broadcast, and his writers probably thought they were pretty clever when they pieced an item denigrating the tax protests by using the [dirty] term ‘teabagging.'” –Jeff Poor of NewsBusters (to read the text of Shuster’s puerile dirty jokes if you dare, click here — Warning: Graphic puns.)

Doesn’t get it: “Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people.” –New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on the tea parties taking place across the country today

Poor (but accurate) choice of words: [I]t’s fair to give the new kids on the block a chance to get their learner’s permits first.” –CBS’s Katie Couric on the Obama administration

Capitalism? Oh my!: “I’m worried if you think if [Goldman-Sachs paying back its federal loan early is] a good thing. Are they doing this because of financial stability or might they be talking about that, simply to get out from under the thumb of the federal government and be allowed to go back to running the business the way they want to run it as opposed to the way the government wants them to run it?” –NBC’s Matt Lauer to Christina Romer on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers

Twisted blame: “That weekend tragedy [of the murder of three Pittsburgh police officers] involves a man who allegedly shot and killed three police officers in cold blood. Why? Because he was convinced, after no doubt watching Fox News and listening to right-wing radio, that quote, ‘Our rights were being infringed upon.'” –CNN’s Rick Sanchez

Oddly enough!: “If anything, the recent shootings have inspired more Americans to buy guns, recession or no recession. In fact, all over the country they are stocking up on as many pistols, rifles, and shotguns as possible before the Obama Administration bans or taxes them. … Interestingly, however, violent crime rates have at the same time been falling in Los Angeles, New York and other big American cities. The experts are at loss as to explain why this should be happening.” –London Times Los Angeles correspondent Chris Ayres

SOURCE

And then we have:

We Blame Global Warming: “Thaw Seems Near for U.S., Cuba” –St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Breaking News From 1980: “Thousands Demonstrate Against Georgian President” –The New York Times

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: “Cows With Gas: India’s Global Warming Problem” –Time.com

News You Can Use: “Obama Not the New Messiah: Archbishop” –ABC News Web site (Australia)

Bottom Stories of the Day: “Fewer Disney Employees Whistle While They Work” –CNN.com

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

More on taxes

April 15, 2009

From today’s Patriot Post. (See sidebar) Some commentary on taxation as it is today, and a few ideas having to do with the subject.

“I say let’s have Election Day on tax day. Let’s get what we’re paying for. Sign the check — for the full amount — and write in your preferred candidates on the back of the same check. Abracadabra … smaller government, here we come.” –columnist Jonah Goldberg

“Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government’s natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law.” –columnist George Will

“Inflation also means that all the talk about how higher taxes will be confined to ‘the rich’ is nonsense. Inflation is a hidden tax that takes away the value of money held by everyone at every income level.” –economist Thomas Sowell

“[W]e need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation.” –columnist Chuck Norris

“Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies — dubbed ‘tea parties’ — to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org. So who’s behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize.” –author Glenn Harlan Reynolds

“[I]s there any limit to this administration’s intentions to interfere and perhaps control large swaths of our economy? … That’s the real message of the homegrown Tea Party revolt against bailout nation and the higher taxes, deficits, and debt being used to finance it. Folks are trying to tell Washington on Tax Day, April 15, that enough is enough. They can’t take it anymore.” –economist Larry Kudlow

“The cry at these tea parties should be ‘not a penny more’ until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state.” –columnist Cal Thomas

“President Obama’s own budget numbers show that Social Security this year will take in $654 billion in payroll taxes and dole out $662 billion in benefits and expenses — a negative cash flow of $8 billion. Uh oh.” –columnist Stephen Moore

“Today is tax day, and across America, taxpayers are holding tea parties to protest out-of-control government spending. Their concern is no tempest in a teapot. The tax burden on American families is growing increasingly heavy. According to the Tax Foundation, tax-freedom day came on April 13 this year. That day marks the point of the year when taxpayers have earned enough money to pay off their federal, state and local taxes. It takes Americans about 3 1/2 months of labor to cover their tax obligation. That time will increase as government continues to grow. President Obama’s current budget proposal admits to plans to raise taxes by almost $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) estimates that hundreds of thousands will turn out to protest this tax servitude. … Today’s tea parties are carrying on a noble American tradition of protesting unfair taxation. Mike Allen, co-author of ‘A Patriot’s History of the United States,’ explained to us: ‘America was born out of hatred of a strong centralized government. The Boston Tea Party (and a half dozen other concurrent tea parties from New York City to Charleston) protested government subsidies to create monopoly status for a corporation, the East India Company. From that point onward, tax protests have peppered American history.’ The first tea party to protest taxes occurred on Dec. 16, 1773, when patriots called the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. Other colonials followed the lead of Sam Adams and his fellow Bostonians by tossing tea into the sea. Today’s tea-party movement is building steam because taxpayers are steamed. As ATR’s anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist explained … ‘These are real people with real lives taking the time and effort to do this in reaction not to a tax increase yesterday, but in reaction to too much spending that will lead to tax increases and inflation years from now.’ These modern Mohawks are angry because they fear the future is being poured down the drain. This kind of activism is our cup of tea.” —The Washington Times

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Science is beyond dispute?

April 15, 2009

Fake “scientists” are still at it. Seems they have always been around though actually. Don’t allow facts to get in their way though! They will have a hissy fit and go off on their politically correct agenda’s. This is in fact the norm for to so-called “soft sciences.” Sociology, Psychology, and the like. Not from fact based sciences, such as geology or climatology. At least that is not the norm. Remember global cooling..? I do, and no to the Chicken Little’s of that bygone time, the sky has not fallen. I would say the same to the alarmist’s of today…

Read on.

“President Obama has said that the science of global warming is ‘beyond dispute,’ and therefore settled. This is the justification for the imposition of a carbon cap-and-trade system that will cost $2 trillion. But Obama does not understand science. ‘Settled science’ is an oxymoron, and anyone who characterizes science as ‘settled’ or ‘indisputable’ is ignorant not only of science, but also history and philosophy. Aristotle, who lived and wrote in the fourth century B.C., was one of the greatest geniuses the world has ever known. He invented the discipline of logic, and founded the sciences of ecology and biology. Aristotle’s physics were accepted as correct for nearly two thousand years. … Aristotle taught that heavy objects fall faster than light ones. Over the centuries, a few unreasonable persons expressed skeptical concerns. But the consensus was that the physics of motion were described by Aristotle’s dicta. The science was settled. Around the year 1591, an irascible young instructor at the University of Pisa demonstrated that Aristotle was wrong. He climbed to the top of the tower of Pisa and dropped cannonballs of unequal weight that hit the ground simultaneously. Aristotelean professors on the faculty were embarrassed. The university administration responded by not renewing Galileo’s contract, thus ridding themselves of a troublemaker who challenged the accepted consensus. … President Obama, a lawyer and politician, would now have us believe that the process of history has stopped. For the first time, scientific knowledge is not provisional and subject to revision, but final and settled. Skepticism, which has been the spur to all innovation and human progress, is unacceptable and must be condemned. But in fact, it is our awareness of what we do not know that determines our scientific level. … Knowledge begins with skepticism and ends with conceit.” –University of Oklahoma geologist David Deming

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Kitchen sink politics; It’s not just about a tea bag

April 15, 2009

“Tea Party’s” will be held across the nation today, and the issue is not just about taxes either. My good friend and fellow blogger Texas Fred really hits the nail on it’s head, and no, he didn’t even touch on Second Amendment issues. Be sure to watch the video of Texas Governor Perry. It is very inspiring, to say the least. At least to all of us that still believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Supporting the things that at one time made this a great nation involves more than boiling some water, placing it in a sink, and tossing in a few bags of Earl Grey or Lemon Lift. One needs to stand up for our core beliefs in the strongest way that the person can. If you can make it to a march today then be there!

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Some Victories Last Week During The First Budget Skirmish

April 9, 2009 
But the most important battles are still to come

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Thank you for your activism last week on the budget resolution,
especially given the short notice.  (Please realize that GOA has no
control over when votes are scheduled, so sometimes we have to alert you
with little time before the vote takes place!)

While the budget resolution for fiscal year 2010 has now passed the
Senate and the House in different forms, we were able to secure some
significant victories in the Senate.

First, with 64 favorable votes, the Senate passed an amendment by Sen.
Roger Wicker (R-MS) to force the federally subsidized Amtrak to allow
passengers to carry  firearms in checked bags.

In addition, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator James
DeMint (R-SC) to prohibit any system of nationalized health care which
would prevent Americans from being able to select their doctors and
insurance companies.

This amendment could make it more difficult to institute either
socialized medicine or a Massachusetts-style insurance that requires
everyone to purchase [government approved?] insurance.

This is good news for gun owners.  A "mandated" insurance 
system could
not only cost you up to $1,000 month, but could also result in your most
sensitive personal information being placed in a medical database --
information that could easily be used to put more names on the gun
prohibition list (NICS).

The budget resolution now goes to conference committee, where
anti-gunners are expected to strip out both of our pro-gun amendments.
But these amendments did pin senators down on important issues early in
the budget war, which was an important strategic objective.

It is unclear when the conference report on the budget resolution will
be sent back to the Senate and the House.  One possibility is that the
resolution will be held in conference until September.

The Democrat leadership has ominously threatened to produce a bill that
would require mandatory health insurance.

They are not talking about this openly, but as a recent editorial in The
Washington Post confessed:  "Though only some of the players [on Capitol
Hill] will say so now, the [health care] plan will ultimately include a
mandate requiring everyone to have insurance." (April 6, 2009)

You see, the power players on Capitol Hill are not admitting this openly
because the American people oppose it. But if they set in motion a
process to help sneak such a "mandate" into law, then gun 
owners will
only have a few weeks to stop it in September.

This is why we need to keep the pressure on liberty-leaning Senators
during the ensuing months.  Please stay tuned.

****************************

Olofson Update

David Olofson continues to languish in prison for a malfunctioning
rifle.  GOA attorneys made oral arguments before the federal appeals
court in Chicago on January 23.  They pointed out that the government
withheld from the jury that the Supreme Court itself, along with a
government training manual, has made it clear that a gun functioning
like Olofson's was not a machine gun but simply a malfunctioning gun.

If this decision is not overturned, any owner of a semi-automatic
firearm could find himself sitting in jail next to David Olofson.

Generous individuals have made monthly commitments of $10 a month (or
more).  This has enabled Candy Olofson to take care of their three kids
and keep her job as a nurse without having to get a second job.  The
Olofson Relief Fund has been making the monthly payments of
approximately $1300 combined for the family car and mortgage.

Understandably, some have had to stop making their monthly
contributions.  Can you step up to the plate and take their place?  If
so, please go to http://gunowners.org/olofson.htm  and use your favorite
credit card to make an automatic monthly donation of $10 (or more).

If you can't commit to a monthly charge, that same page accepts one-time
donations... every little bit helps.

****************************

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From the Left: More Lousy Obama Nominees

April 5, 2009

And there are still those that think the impostor in chief isn’t all about destroying America? Read on…

According to Harold Koh, Obama’s nominee for the State Department’s legal adviser and considered a possible future Obama Supreme Court pick, Shariah law (i.e., Islamic law) may properly be used to determine certain court cases. That’s just one of Koh’s off-the-wall positions. A former dean of Yale Law School, Koh is a proponent of what’s called a “transnational legal process,” which equates our constitutional process with laws instituted in other nations. That’s akin to accepting the currency of Zimbabwe (where a loaf of bread can cost billions) at a 1-to-1 ratio for our dollar — discounting the administration’s best efforts to match Zimbabwean hyperinflation. Koh believes that it’s “appropriate for the Supreme Court to construe our Constitution in the light of foreign and international law” in its decisions, regardless of the will of American voters. Think same-sex marriage, affirmative action and detainment of terrorists.

Koh has also claimed that together North Korea, Saddam-era Iraq and the United States compose an “axis of disobedience” because each “flagrantly” has disobeyed international law. But as far as disregarding the law himself, in 1994 he said, “I’d rather have [former Supreme Court Justice Harry] Blackmun, who uses the wrong reasoning in Roe [v. Wade] to get the right results, and let other people figure out the right reasoning.” In light of his obvious hostility to America and its Constitution, how can Koh take the oath to support and defend them?

In other nomination news, yet another Obama pick fessed up and paid back taxes this week — and it’s not an April Fool’s joke. Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius, who replaced tax cheat Tom Daschle, amended three years’ worth of returns and paid nearly $8,000 to the IRS for “unintentional errors.” Asked for his thoughts, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said, “I think she should be confirmed.”

SOURCE

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Hope ‘n’ Change: The (Toxic) Elephant in the Room

April 5, 2009

What follows is an article that points out the utter failure by the current administration to understand fundamental principles of economics, and just about every other aspect of governing.

The nation’s Kommissar of Economic Cheerleading, a.k.a. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, unveiled his plan to save our ailing economy this week — the so-called Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). The announcement was punctuated by a much-ballyhooed 500-point surge in the Dow, an indication that the market, at least, likes PPIP. But why wouldn’t it? Investors tend to appreciate “free” money.

At its core, PPIP provides investors with mega-leveraged government financing. Patterned roughly after the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) thrift bailout plan of the late ’80s, PPIP is composed of two parts: The first part addresses “legacy” loans; the second, “legacy” securities. “Legacy,” incidentally, is the new kinder-gentler buzzword for “toxic,” as in “toxic assets,” the former nom du jour for radioactive financial instruments like subprime mortgages and mortgage-derived securities.

PPIP offers private investors enormous amounts of cheap, taxpayer-backed financing for every dollar they put up of their own money. Under the program, government lends up to 85 percent of investor funding, with the Treasury “investing” one dollar of taxpayer money for each private capital dollar to cover the remaining 15 percent.

From an investor’s standpoint, of course, there’s no personal downside. Investors leverage government money at a 6-to-1 ratio and the lion’s share of any losses generated are absorbed by taxpayers. Thus, if a borrower defaults on his mortgage, the government would only be able to seize the real estate — private investors walk away relatively unhurt.

Independent of taxpayer liability, however, the program is not without risk. As indicated by Vincent Reinhart, American Enterprise Institute resident scholar and director of the Monetary Affairs Division of the Federal Reserve, PPIP assumes that “assets are troubled because their true values are obscured by irrational self-doubt and market illiquidity, and not by fundamental problems in the prospects of repayment. It also assumes that the solution to problems created by excessive leverage is for government to encourage more leverage.”

Apart from PPIP, our strategic issue, the elephant in the room, is one of accountability. Helped by a willing media, the central focus has been shifting from Congress and the Executive branches to business. Still, for all the finger pointing at banks and insurers, and for all post-hoc economic crater repairing, we hope those as yet unenlightened Americans who have been blinded by the Obama media will soon learn the origins of this mess: government.

SOURCE

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