Will the 2010 Elections be Enough?

I wonder if the 2010 elections will be enough. After all, it seems like anyone we have ever sent to Congress have all succumbed to the same disease. It’s as though power is a virus to which there is no immunity or cure. Even those that have been rejected still seek that alluring aroma of power. In addition to the great and near great, there is that whole undercurrent of real power players; the dark overlords that hold the strings of our political puppets. They live in the shadows and create grand strategies for power on a global scale using the greed of our politicians to achieve their nefarious goals. To them, Congress is but a small outpost and the Presidency is a mere pawn in a much larger game.

After all, who benefits from the legislation that this historically liberal administration has passed or proposed? The bank bailout was passed because the banking system appeared to be on the verge of collapse and that would have stalled the Progressive’s agenda for years. In fact, the banks couldn’t have been nearly as damaged as they first appeared since many of them raced to pay back the TARP money as soon as they found out that the executive salaries of companies that received TARP money would be severely curtailed. Instant liquidity…isn’t that amazing! Of course Freddie and Fanny are the exception and in fact, are seeking hundreds of billions more but then again, they have been latched on to the public teat for years.

Then we have healthcare legislation. It’s been changed at a least a half dozen times, the last two times, behind closed doors and hidden from all but a select few. Still, the proponents argue that we don’t have to debate this bill any more since it has already been in debate for months. Well the general issues may have, but the substantive changes made by Harry Reid and the President’s staff haven’t and most of our illustrious Senators had never been granted the courtesy of even seeing the manager’s amendment (Reid’s work) until after they were forced to vote on it.

The biggest winner would be the Federal government. It is no secret that the Progressives in Congress are still pursuing the utopian dreams of FDR through the socialization of America. Medicare and Medicaid were bankrupting the Federal government just as the opponents of these programs said they would back in 1965. Of course there was the “fix” in 1968 that placed Social Security “on budget” then robbed the assets from the trust fund to cover the shortages in Medicare/Medicaid and now all three of these programs are broke. If healthcare does not pass, the government may have to concede failure and admit their gross mismanagement; something that does not help the cause of the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party that wants more and more radical social programs, not fewer.

It is clear that Andy Stern and SEIU played a major part in crafting at least some of the provisions in this bill so I would have to say they are also one of the big winners if this and several other major bills pass. Under this bill, the only hospitals that are eligible to receive funds for nurse training are those that are unionized. The President already signed an Executive Order earlier this year giving union contractors preference in government contracts with a value of $25 million or more and that is clearly another bone for Andy boy. At least we know some of the reasons that Andy Stern had visited the White House nearly two dozen times since Obama’s inauguration.

There is also proposed legislation for a brand new amnesty program for illegal immigrants. SEIU has admitted that substantial portions of its membership are so-called “undocumented workers” (illegal immigrants) and “POOF”, Congress proposes legislation to make that all better for our good friend Andy. Why is it that people employing illegal immigrants are subject to fines and/or jail but unions can represent those same illegals with impunity? Andy Stern is clearly one of those people behind the scenes with global aspirations and he is using his membership’s dues to fund the political campaigns of anyone that will help him achieve those goals. Quoting a page from the Communist Manifesto, Stern said in an interview that “Workers of the world unite is no longer a slogan”, it is what Stern and the SEIU believe their future is. A global union poised to represent a global workforce in a world dominated by a global government.

One of the displaced power mongers is Al Gore. Gore was so close to becoming President in 2000 that he still has the taste of inaugural champagne in his mouth. I suspect that is what keeps Al Gore on center stage shouting about climate change while the rest of the world reads how scientists conspired to corrupt the data and hide the proof that there is no such thing as global warming.

Al Gore actually resides in both camps and in addition to his unsatisfied appetite for power, has a mercenary reason for his love of climate change. He is heavily invested in a software company that would become a key provider in greenhouse gas tracking software that would be required under cap and trade. If this draconian legislation passes, Gore and the rest of his investment group would become billionaires. Gore’s investment company is also heavily involved with the Chicago climate exchange; North America’s only private exchange for carbon credits as well as five other so-called, greenhouse gases. Gore is not alone; a certain university professor that preferred to teach Saul Alinsky theory (Barack Obama) was also involved in the creation of the Chicago exchange and so was Maurice Strong. Who is Maurice Strong?

Maurice Strong is a Canadian ex-patriot and petroleum entrepreneur who was president of Power Corporation until 1966. Strong was Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in the early 1970’s before becoming the first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Strong is also one of the world’s leading proponents of the United Nations’ involvement in world affairs and most of his recent affairs reflect those beliefs.

Strong also chaired the U.N.’s University for Peace, an international education chartered through the UN and able to grant masters and doctoral degrees. The educational programs are centered around the peace and security objectives of the United Nations so I am sure that there is a great deal of emphasis on global governance. The University of Peace also offers short courses to non-registered students on subjects that include the undeniably Socialist curriculum of Nonprofit Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector, and Educating in the 21st Century. We wouldn’t want them to miss the opportunity to co-opt the unfortunate stooges that can’t afford the regular tuition, now would we?

Strong was one of the heads that rolled in 2005 during the U.N.’s “oil for food” scandal. Oil for Food was a program that was ultimately found to be laced with corruption as U.N. officials were accused of taking bribes to mold the program to favor Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. A check for nearly a million dollars was found to have been issued from a Jordanian Bank made out to an “M. Strong” and hand delivered by South Korean businessman, Tongsun Park. The check was ultimately endorsed by Maurice Strong who was then, The U.N. Envoy to South Korea. Amid the scandal, Strong stepped down from his position saying he would sideline himself “until the cloud was lifted” but Strong was never returned to his former position.

Maurice Strong is one of the increasing numbers of people with questionable ties to the United Nations that is considered an environmentalist. Of course! After all, Socialist radicals had already identified the environmental movement as the key vehicle to achieve their goals. He began his involvement during the first Earth Day in 1970 and has been tinkering around with it ever since. In fact, Strong was one of the architects of the first UN climate conferences held in Stockholm. Titled “Only One Earth: The Care and Maintenance of a Small Planet”, the conference clearly endorsed the need for a global authority because the threat of man-made climate change is international.

Of course in 1971, the climate panels in the UN were screaming “Ice Age” and the impending crisis was that man’s pollution was cooling the globe so much so that much of the northern hemisphere would be under a mile of ice by the end of the century. One would think that the cry of “wolf” back then would have discredited the climate alarmists for good but they apparently have too much invested in this strategy to let something like a failed climate theory stop them now.

It is noteworthy that Mr. Strong never did return to Canada. He now resides in Beijing China and has been orchestrating his climate chaos from there. Another curious thing is that if the United States enacts cap and trade and the other European powers sign on to the U.N.’s treaty on climate; that would leave China in a very strong position to be the next emerging Super Power as the West’s economic situation atrophies. Naw; it’s just a coincidence that Strong lives in China now in a gated community with armed guards protecting the entrances.

Paul

Will we rediscover the tenth amendment in 2010?

2010 is finally here and now the real fun begins. I predict that Congressional Progressives and Barack Obama will engage in a full court press to force as much of their agenda through as possible before the mid-term election throws a roadblock in front of them. Expect even more underhanded, closed door sessions; more legislation crafted in the dark recesses of the Capitol building and passed on weekend nights. Expect Congressman that block Obama’s progress to face more threats and personal attacks and most of all, expect the main stream media and the White House to denigrate and dismiss any public opposition to their relentless march into Socialism.

We already know that once people have become a dependent on the State, they will vote for anyone that promises to keep the benefits coming. As it already stands, only 53% of Americans actually pay taxes leaving 47% that pay no taxes at all and many actually receive money from the government in welfare or earned income credits. As the scale tips and more Americans become recipients instead of tax payers, the prospect of an election that is actually based on what is good for the nation will dwindle as well. If the trend to socialize our nation isn’t stopped now, it will never be stopped and the United States will consume itself with the inevitable debt only to be absorbed into the growing body of formerly great western powers that are embracing Socialist policies just to avoid anarchy.

Europe’s major nations have already created the European Union to try to stave off financial ruin. They have also signed their own death warrants by becoming signatories to a ruinous climate treaty based on the premise of global warming; the same global warming that has been recently been uncovered as a hoax. The IPCC, CRU and extremist environmental groups, all under UN guidance, are apparently partners in this charade to force nations into a global cooperative that will eventually become the governing body of the planet; or at least that is what they had hoped for.

If we fall pray to the fallacy of global warming, we will face the same destructive events within our own economy and industrial base that Europe has. We have already witnessed the real agenda of the global warming crowd. Oh, I almost forgot. They renamed this created crisis “Climate Change” since the predictions of rising planetary temperatures never happened. In fact, the receding ice packs at the polar caps have recovered and the earth has been logging a drop in annual average temperatures since the year 2000. Regardless, the agenda is clear now that the third world has issued its ransom note to the tune of $200 billion a year.

You see, the United Nations master plan for climate change involves the West’s industrial nations shutting down entire industries to cap the production of greenhouse gas while simultaneously contributing to a global fund to help developing nations create their own industries. Curiously, this is a recipe for the redistribution of not only the West’s wealth, but the West’s ability to create wealth. They haven’t been able to describe just how this benefits the environment since the ability to pollute and create greenhouse gasses is not actually curbed, but sold to the highest bidder.

Then there is the unwillingness of the Obama administration to accept that the threat of massive new taxes and government regulations is the straight jacket that brought our economy to a halt. They have proposed and passed a so-called stimulus bill to try to jump start the economy but the abject waste of money that the program is accused of has stimulated little except some cushy little projects in the States of favored Congressmen. In fact, the stimulus spending has been distributed to areas represented by faithful Democrats by a factor of three to one over areas of the country that are represented by Republicans or Blue Dog Democrats. Even though those areas are suffering higher unemployment than those of the Party faithful, they are receiving little or no assistance.

Another little surprise we can expect in 2010 is a push to pass yet another amnesty program for illegal immigrants. Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) proposed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (HR 4321). The bill is sponsored by Representative Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and is co-sponsored by 92 additional Democrats, all of which are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus or both but that really isn’t a surprise, is it?

This bill not only helps with Obama’s little problem that he lied about covering illegal immigrants under the healthcare bill (after all, they aren’t illegal anymore if they have been granted amnesty) but if passed, this bill would make the estimated 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in this country immediately eligible to apply for public education and social service programs previously restricted to American citizens or lawful émigrés. The proponents of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 don’t actually say how this is supposed to provide America with security and prosperity we are already struggling to preserve. In fact, I would bet the rent that granting amnesty to people that have already broken the law just to be illegal immigrants can only bring America additional insecurity and more financial burden.

Consider the eventuality that at least part of those amnestied millions will eventually become registered stooges for the Democratic Party. Add that to the upcoming census that will re-write electoral districts once again in the most blatant display of gerrymandering since the 1960’s and there is a clear movement in progress to stack the political deck for generations to come.

The last opportunity for the people of this nation to seize our Constitutional authority over the civilian government will be the November elections. We must wrest control of at least the House from the hands of this oligarchy or the 2012 elections may be as meaningless as the most recent elections in Afghanistan or Iran. In fact, a divided Congress would restore the intent of the separation of powers and force them to finally work together instead of rolling over each other like steam rollers.

I am not a demagogue nor am I an ideologue. I believe there can be good and beneficial ideas in all political camps of a constitutionally sound America. What I firmly believe is the partisan politics we see now is devastating to the future of our nation and when one Party controls all; nothing of value ever comes out of the monopoly of power. The best recipe to cure our ills is to eliminate the cause of the problem. Let's face it, if the Parties have to win our support to proceed, we all win.

First: career politicians have been corrupted by the D.C. machine and must be retired. We will never have the civilian government the founding fathers envisioned for us if we allow our Representatives and Senators to hold office for decades. There must be term limits imposed on Congress. The power of incumbency is too powerful and the mechanism that ensures unlimited campaign funds for those that are willing to sell their souls to special interests cannot be stopped through the electoral process alone.

Second: meetings and other communication between lobbyists and Congressmen must all be made public. It is the back room discussions and golf course deals that breed corruption and it would be very interesting to see just how much the legislative process can change when the transcripts of those meetings, e-mails and phone calls begin appearing in the Congressional record.

Third: we must elect only those individuals that are willing to prune the Federal tree; cutting away years of public neglect and eliminating the tangled mess of dead branches that have been strangling everything it comes into contact with. Our country cannot recover as long as the Federal government is allowed to grow unchecked and in fact, it must be reduced in size until it fits into the box it came in. The Federal government has exceeding its Constitutional authority in ninety percent of what it has been doing and until the States and the people can reclaim their dominance over our government, nothing good can happen. This is the year we must be clear in our goals and unified in our direction. We cannot divide the vote among factions within our own movement or all will be lost.

Paul

Ben Nelson takes to the air to calm angry Nebraskans

The Senate vote on Healthcare is over so let the backpedaling begin. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska took to the air in his home state on Wednesday to try to defend his vote for the Healthcare reform bill. Even though he does not face reelection until 2012, his poll numbers are abysmal and show him losing by a 61 to 30 margin if the election were held today against an opponent who has not even said they are running. The poll also shows Nelson with a 55% generally unfavorable rating and the Democratic healthcare plan he voted for fairs even worse with 64% disapproving of the plan nationwide.

Unfortunately for Nelson, he made his stand on principals over his opposition to the use of public funds for abortion; that is he stood on principals until Harry Reid found out how much money it would take to buy his vote. At least when Mary Landrieu of Louisiana prostituted herself to Harry Reid, her original opposition to the bill was fiscal. Ben can buy all the air time they will give him but no one, particularly Nebraskans, will ever trust a man that can place his ethics up for sale.

When Nelson had stood his ground against the bill and said he would not vote for it unless there were iron-clad protections against the use of public funds for abortion, he had an enormous amount of support back home and many more around the nation lauded his firm stance on a moral issue. After he sold his vote along with his moral objection to abortion, his numbers plummeted. He couldn’t have possibly believed that this back room deal would have remained a secret after similar deals had been made public so why would he take the bait?

Not that I will defend Nelson’s decision for one moment; after all principals are only principals if you stand by them, but there is more to this story than meets the eye. An unnamed member of the White House called Ben Nelson’s office and threatened to have Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base placed on the base closure list if he didn’t play ball. While Nelson says that he knows of no such threat, credible sources say that the threat was indeed made. Nelson was probably faced with the limited options of either voting for the bill and receiving a cash benefit of reduced Medicaid liabilities for his State or voting against the bill and having major military installations in Nebraska shut down as well as being ostracized within the Democratic Party; never being able to advance another piece of legislation in the Senate again.

Even though Nelson will have to pay the price with his constituents for folding on his convictions, we should not forget the corrupt machine that threatened him to accept the bribe that bought his vote or else. The “horse trading”, as the Washington wonks like to call it, has been brought under extreme criticism of late for the shameless way it has been used to secure the votes of Congressmen that were not even given an opportunity to read the current version being crafted by Harry Reid and the White House. The argument that this is how business in Washington has always been done is only drawing heavier fire as many more demand the President keep his campaign promise that the days of “business as usual” would be over under his administration. He promised that as President, he would not sign any legislation that was laced with pork barrel spending. Well he has already signed a number of bills saturated with pork and every indication we have is that he intends to go right on signing them as long as he gets what he wants.

What the White House and the Democratic leadership fails to grasp is that Americans are not only unwilling to accept “business as usual” from their elected “agent of change” but that they are particularly disgusted with the heavy handed tactics that this administration has used to advance its agenda. What we have witnessed in the past few months of the healthcare debate is what we would have expected if America had lost its mind in the 1930’s and drafted Al Capone as President. The administration and the Democratic leadership have been caught telling outright lies about the insane costs and negative effects of the healthcare bill. Their only strategy is to silence their opposition by any means necessary and to continue to tell the same lies hoping that if people hear them often enough, they will begin to believe them. Did I say Al Capone? Maybe I should have said Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joe Goebbels.

I would almost bet that Ben Nelson is not airing his ads explaining his vote and boasting about the benefits of the healthcare bill to boost his own sagging poll numbers but rather it is probably part of the deal he cut with Harry Reid. It seems to me that Reid would have demanded that since Nelson voiced such serious concerns about the bill that he must now publically support the bill to counter that. I guess they haven’t seen one of the more recent polls that place America’s trust in Congress lower than that of used car salesmen. They can take out all the ads they want but it will not improve the poll numbers in support of healthcare reform because an overwhelming number of Americans no longer trust the messengers.

With Congressional approval flat at 25% and a staggering 69% saying that they overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, there doesn’t appear to be a lot that Congress has done to impress anyone. In fact, the healthcare bill has an awful lot to do with those numbers as the 64% of Americans that oppose the reform legislation racing through the Congress are angry at being ignored by the people that were elected to represent them. Congress had an opportunity to not only improve their standing with the American public but of the public perception of the Healthcare bill itself and they blew it. The forced votes and closed door meetings only reinforced the idea that the bill contains little that is not detrimental to the quality or cost of care for the average American or it would have been debated and amended in the kind of public process Obama promised us.

Let’s face it; they spent nearly two months arguing over how many Americans were actually uninsured. First it was forty-seven million but then we found out that figure included millions of illegal immigrants. Once the illegal immigrants were excluded because of a public outcry, it dropped to thirty million. Even then, there were a large number of people that had access to healthcare insurance that simply decided not to obtain insurance. Some because they were young and did not see the need for it and others because they made the choice to spend that money in other areas of their lives that were more important to them at that moment. To this day, the reported number of uninsured Americans fluctuates wildly between fifteen and fifty million which only adds to the uncertainty Americans have regarding the total cost of this monstrosity.

The proponents of healthcare reform said that all must be covered arguing that the uninsured simply use the emergency room system for care and then disappear, leaving the bills unpaid. They claimed that providing coverage for those people would drive the overall cost of care down for everyone. Really? That is like trying to say that it would be cheaper to buy an entire wardrobe for someone because once in a while they may shoplift a shirt or two. I’m just not sure how to make those numbers work? A $15 dollar shirt and maybe you can add another $3 to the cost for loss prevention weighed against an annual government expenditure of $500 to $1000 for a whole wardrobe paid for by the taxpayer. Hmmm…..I still don’t see where this strategy lowers cost for the people that actually buy their own clothes. It would seem to me that the tax liability for the average American would far outweigh the price increase the store would charge to absorb the loss of that $18 shirt.

I know healthcare is far more complex than that and I am not saying that the theft of healthcare services is not a major problem; I concede that it is. I just don’t think we are looking in the right places to find those creepy thieves. Overall, the largest thief of health services is perpetrated by the Federal government. The Federal government routinely short-pays doctors and hospitals to the point where it is increasingly difficult to find a doctor that will even accept Medicare or Medicaid patients. Sure there are some uninsured that seek services in a hospital emergency room and skip out on a bill of a few thousand dollars but turn that into the systematic looting of health services by cutting the reimbursement rates government is willing to pay for the care of millions and that represents a catastrophic loss that this bill only promises to exacerbate.

Go ahead Ben, air your ads and make your case. No one believes this bill will do any of what the President has promised it will do and Nebraskans will not believe that you affected any meaningful change to the bill that suddenly made it better for your State or for the nation as a whole. The only thing we know for certain is that you sold your vote to Harry Reid along with the few remaining scraps of your integrity that were left after spending two terms in the Senate Brothel

Paul.

Obama Bin Laden?

Isn’t ironic that the Congress is focused on passing a healthcare bill which violates the Constitutional restraints on government authority, while at the same time, Congress has abdicated an area of responsibility that the Constitution clearly lists as a primary function of the Federal Government. To provide for the security and defense of the United States is one of the enumerated powers that is granted to the Federal Government and while our DC demagogues chase legislation to bring about a socialist utopia, the threat of Islamic terror has grown exponentially in the face of the perceived feebleness of the Obama administration.

On December 24th, Nigerian born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was aboard Northwest Airlines flight 253 as the aircraft prepared to land in Detroit Michigan. Abdulmutallab returned to his seat from a lengthy visit to the rest room where he covered himself with a blanket to hide his attempt to detonate the plastic explosive, PETN, hidden in pockets sewn into his underwear. Passengers reported hearing “popping” noises and began to smell what they described as a foul odor. Once passengers and members of the flight crew saw the leg of Abdulmutallab’s trousers and the wall adjacent to his seat were on fire, they pounced on the would-be suicide bomber and restrained him until the aircraft landed safely in Detroit.

Janet Napolitano, Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, assured the nation that this was an isolated incident and did not appear to have any connection to organized terror. Well Abdulmutallab had another view. In police interviews, Abdulmutallab admitted that he was in Yemen from August until early December where he received training and material support from Al Qaida in order to carry out this attack. The Al Qaida faction in Yemen has since issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attempt. In an even more bizarre statement released to the press, Napolitano praised the capture of Abdulmutallab and claimed the system “worked”.

Really Janet? What system would that be? The system that allowed a man that was on at least one government “no-fly” list to board a plane bound for the United States? The system that ignored reports from Abdulmutallab’s father to the American Embassy that his son (Abdulmutallab) had become far more radical in recent months and posed a material threat to American interests? Or maybe it is the system that forces passengers aboard commercial aircraft to provide the first line of defense for America while Federal authorities are comfortably asleep at the wheel?

Apparently the only system that worked was Napolitano’s own insistence that there are no acts of terrorism, there are only man-caused disasters. The interests of the United States have been lost under this administration and that places our nation in danger. Homeland Security is more interested in the actions and whereabouts of United States citizens that are upset by this administration’s agenda, especially if those citizens are former military. The ATF is more interested in shooting down State ballot initiatives that preserve the second amendment rights of its citizens than they are about hunting down gangs and terror groups that have been obtaining fully automatic weapons that have been banned for decades. The Justice Department has ignored the military intent of terror groups and is preparing to turn the captured militants over to the civilian courts for trial. A move that again, places our nation in jeopardy as their Al Qaida brothers plot to disrupt the proceedings.

Abdulmutallab has already declared that he is not alone; that there is an army of other Al Qaida soldiers preparing their own attacks on America interests and embassies abroad and upon the American homeland itself. The purported leader of Yemen’s Al Qaida group is Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri. Al Shihri was a Guantanamo detainee that was released and repatriated to Saudi Arabia in 2007. There was a board hearing that determined the status of Al Shihri’s detention in Guantanamo Bay. By unanimous vote, the board ruled that Al Shihri would be repatriated even though the review listed eleven primary factors favoring continued detention and only five that favored release or transfer. The board issued a report and corresponding memos on Al Shihri’s transfer but the documents were so heavily redacted that very little usable information remained that would point to a reason for their decision.

Whatever prompted the decision, the transfer placed Al Shahri in the hands of Saudi officials where he was enrolled in a rehabilitation program for former terrorists. Yep, they have reform schools for terrorists now which apparently have the same record of success that American rehabilitation programs have. Immediately upon his release from the Saudi rehabilitation program in January 2009, Al Shahri appeared in several jihadist videos, including one where he was identified as second in command of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. He also appeared in a “You-Tube” video with three other men, identified as Abu Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, Abu Baseer al-Wahayshi and Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi threatening America and American allies.

The New York Times reported that an earlier car bomb detonated outside the American Embassy in Sana was the work of the reformed and freed, Al Shihri. Now that the Yemen Al Qaida group has claimed responsibility for the attack attempted by Abdulmutallab, it is clear that Al Shihri is behind that as well.

How fortunate we are. If it were not for Janet Napolitano’s soothing assurances we might be fooled into believing that America is under as great a threat by Islamic extremists than we were prior to September 11, 2001. Even the idea that these are no longer acts of terrorism but mere man-caused disasters makes it so much better now. Yes the system indeed worked and one must wonder if it will work even better in the future as we close Guantanamo and repatriate even more of these unfortunate and misunderstood detainees.

As the new “system” under Obama’s administration continues its efforts to soft-pedal the threat of Islamic terror, it is simply charming that Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security and Eric Holder’s Justice Department are more concerned with a possible American backlash against Muslims and now Nigerians, in response to new threats of terrorism. Sorry Janet…I meant man-caused disasters. Actually, the way things have been going these days, I’m surprised the passengers that tackled and restrained Abdulmutallab were not themselves arrested for assault or even possibly, for perpetrating a hate crime against this poor man. After all, anything could have caused his pants to burst into flames so it must have been prejudice that prompted them to tackle Abdulmutallab instead of rendering assistance to him.

Hmm? Could it be that it is the attack on Abdulmutallab by fellow passengers itself that Napolitano is concerned with? Could this be part of the backlash she warned us about? It is clear to me that America under Barack Obama has become a far weaker presence in the world and it is the appearance of that frailty that has invited the renewed interest of Al Qaida. While Obama makes his world apology tour, bowing to foreign leaders and begging forgiveness for the Bush years, our security machine has been stripped of its most potent components and our enemies know it.

It would be wonderful if the world was that simple. The idea that showing fairness and kindness to Islamic terrorists would somehow change the paradigm and create an era of peace is indicative of the naivety of this President and of the left in general. The fact is that the fundamentalist roots of mid-east terror have existed for centuries and the terrorists hate for hate’s sake, not because of a detention camp in Cuba. Al Qaida does not seek dialogue with the West; they are only interested in the total destruction of America and the murder of all “infidels”. This is the first time in history that we are facing an enemy that wants nothing from us but our deaths and will stop at nothing, including the sacrifice of their own lives to accomplish that.

During the Revolutionary War, American colonists used Indian tactics and fought a guerilla war against Britain. The British Army, until then, had only fought in conventional wars against organized armies. The rigid discipline of the British Army could not adapt to this new kind of warfare and that is the real reason that the Colonies prevailed. Without the willingness of the Obama administration to admit that this is a non-traditional war and that we will have to consider brutal and unconventional means to combat the threat, we will lose just as surely as the British did.

Abdulmutallab’s attempt was close to having been a reality and if successful, would have rained flaming wreckage down upon the city of Detroit as well as killing everyone aboard that plane. We must engage these factions as relentlessly as they seek to engage us and we must fight them wherever they appear with a ferocity that will leave no doubt as to our resolve. When it comes to the defense of the United States, nothing should be "off the table".

Paul

Does the Healthcare Bill Violate the Constitution?

Yesterday we discussed the Constitutional issues that have become cause for alarm when one State is exempted from a tax that all others must pay. Today I wish to raise question with the Constitutional authority Congress claims to possess to enact healthcare reforms in the first place. When the question of Constitutional authority was posed to the members of Congress we got some very interesting answers. Nancy Pelosi would only ask rhetorically “Are you serious?” Mary Landrieu said “We have some very talented Constitutional lawyers on staff that can answer that.” which in the language of politics means “I don’t know”.

The closest thing to an answer we got from a member of Congress on this very serious issue came from Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC). Representative Clyburn said that “most of what we (Congress) do here (in Washington) is not authorized in the Constitution.” I can only take that as an admission that they know they are in direct violation of the Constitution and mean to keep violating the supreme law of the land in order to advance their agenda.

The Tenth Amendment states:

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The Constitution also clearly spells out, or enumerates, the powers that were delegated to the Federal government by the Constitution under Section Eight. That section reads:

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

1- The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
2- To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
3- To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
4- To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
5- To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
6- To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
7- To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
8- To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
9- To constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
10- To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
11- To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
12- To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
13- To provide and maintain a Navy;
14- To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
15- To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
16- To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
17- To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
18- To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

For years the Congress has been forcing legislation upon us claiming to promote the “general welfare, taking their authority from the first paragraph of Section Eight. They have similarly misused the commerce clause which gives the Congress the authority to “regulate” commerce between the States (item 3 above). While that seems reasonable, at least to them, it does require an examination of what those phrases meant to the men that drafted the Constitution before Congress can derive authority from those clauses.

To “regulate” was a very specific term at the time the Constitution was drafted. It meant exactly what it says; to make regular. The commerce clause was intended to provide Congress with the tools it needed to inure that the conduct of business between the states was uniform. It was intended to allow businesses in any state, free and unfettered access to markets anywhere. It was never meant to give the Congress authority to license, impose regulatory control or provide federal oversight of American businesses.

The term “General Welfare” is responsible for more unlawful impositions by the Federal Government than any one phrase in the Constitution. To understand it, one must read it literally. Since the architects of the Constitution had taken great pains to use the words States, citizens and people in other areas of the document, to “provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States” only gives the Congress authority to provide for the “General Welfare” of the United States as a governmental entity; the United States as a body of states and not the people that reside within those states.

In the Federalist Papers, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

“To lay taxes to provide for the general welfare of the United States, that is to say, "to lay taxes for the purpose of providing for the general welfare.” For the laying of taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised. They are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts or provide for the welfare of the Union. In like manner, they are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase, not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please, which might be for the good of the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless.

It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please.”

We can clearly see by Jefferson’s text that the “General Welfare” that Congress has been charged with providing for is the Welfare of the Union and not of its citizens. He adds further that to interpret the clause as the Congress is now doing, is dangerous and if allowed, could use that interpretation to do as much evil as good. I think it is fair to say that we have reached the point where the interpretation is being used by Congress to do great evil and this bill is only one example. A healthcare panel that will determine your care options in place of your doctor is about as evil as it gets. Oh your doctor can still provide the care he believes you need. He just can’t expect to get paid for his services if he strays from the mandates of the Health Benefits Panel.

Paul

Is Senate Prostitution Constitutional?

Now that we have had the opportunity to digest the magnitude of the Senate vote on Healthcare Reform taken in the early morning of December 24th, the television has been ablaze with heated debates between factions of both pro and con camps. I couldn’t help but notice how many Democratic Strategists appear on these programs and some shows have a new one every week. The problem with strategists is that their job is to advance an agenda; in essence, to create a winning strategy and not necessarily to tell the truth.

Of course winning is everything to a strategist and the truth tends to get lost if it is not complimentary to the strategy. Despite the authoritative assurances of the strategists, every independent review of the bill says the costs have been understated and that it will add to the deficit and the debt. Recently, even the CBO accused the Congress of showing the savings achieved from the cuts in Medicare twice; once to reduce the general cost of Medicare and then a second time, as a revenue source for a new entitlement to subsidize the purchase of health insurance for low income individuals and families.

When an average citizen writes two checks using the same money that is called check fraud and eventually, there are criminal charges levied for that. When the Congress does it, the strategists hit the news channels and tell us it is a misrepresentation of the facts by zealot Republicans. Well, the CBO is neither Republican nor Democrat; it is supposed to be a non-partisan arm of Congress. When the CBO showed the deficit reduction in the healthcare bill, the White House used that as proof positive of the financial benefit of the bill. When the CBO unveiled this corrupt scam of using the same money twice, the very same people in the administration said that was just ridiculous and unworthy of comment. Either the CBO is impartial and honest or not, they are going to have to pick one or the other.

Curiously, the main debate has now shifted to the means by which Congressional leadership secured the sixty votes they needed to move this bill forward. In a move now called “Cash for Cloture”, the leadership used your money to bribe Senate members into voting for a bill that 61% of Americans do not want. The out and out prostitution witnessed by America as one member after another sold their votes (Hi Mary!) to Harry Reid in exchange for some sizeable payoffs is just another example of the culture of corruption in Washington.

No less that ten States have their Attorney Generals looking into the legality of certain States being exempted from damaging increases in Medicaid liability promised by this bill, leaving the rest of the States to cover the full impact of the increases of not only their own state, but of the exempted states. The Constitutionality of which is brought into question by both Section eight of the Constitution as well as the fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;


Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights.

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It is clear that Section Eight, which grants Congress the authority to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, also states quite clearly that those Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. But how can there be Constitutional required uniformity if certain States are exempt leaving the non-exempt States to carry the full burden?

The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the people equal protection under the law but there is nothing equal about a Federal tax on one segment of the population that residents of a neighboring State do not bear. Additionally, the Fourteenth Amendment not only prevents the States from passing any legislation that would abridge the Constitutional rights of its citizens, but prevents them from enforcing Federal law if that law would abridge those same rights.

There are clear Constitutional issues with the deals that were cut to obtain passage of this bill. Perhaps some of our brilliant Constitutional lawyers in Congress would have realized this if they weren’t so insanely intent on achieving cloture before the Holiday break but Harry Reid was not going to risk giving the general public access to their Senators and upset the process. After all, if one of these sequestered Congressmen found out just how unpopular this bill is at home they might not have voted for it.

Unfortunately, there are many members of Congress that have seen the poll numbers on healthcare reform and thanks to our friends, the Democratic Strategists, they have dismissed the unpopularity of this bill as a result of the massive amounts of “disinformation” that has been distributed to the public by the opposition. It is not disinformation that has caused the loss of support for this bill; it is the actions of a Congress that seems determined to pass it at any cost that has given the public good cause to reject it.

The idea that the final Senate version was crafted behind closed doors with no Republican and very few Democrat Congressmen present is a point of concern. That Harry Reid negotiated with Senators to obtain a commitment on their vote before they were even allowed to read the final version sounds off alarms to any thinking person. Most disturbing is the disparity of claims among the supporters of the bill. This proves that the Senators that just voted for it have no idea what it says in its entirety.

What a difference a week makes. Now that they have concluded the vote in the Senate, the music has changed quite a bit. Just last week supporters of the bill said that it would reduce the cost of healthcare insurance by bringing much needed competition into the system. This week the “strategists” are saying that health insurance would climb even higher without the reforms in this bill. Last week they said that this bill will not destroy the private healthcare insurance system, this week they say that without reform your employers wouldn’t be able to afford the increases in cost and you would lose that insurance anyway. Last week anyone that said there would be care rationing and death panels was just plain crazy but this week they say that insurance companies have been making those life and death decisions for decades.

So what are they saying? Yes you will pay more but less than it would have been? Yes this bill will bring about the loss of your private coverage but at least it will provide you with an alternative? Yes there will be bureaucratic panels deciding what care you will and will not receive but at least it’s the government and not the evil insurance company making that choice?

Since this change in heart is only one week after the Senate vote, what will we find out in two or three or four weeks? This was the argument on the part of those that wanted the pace slowed so that everyone had a chance to read and understand what we were actually doing with one sixth of the United States economy. When you see the difference between what the proponents said last week compared to what they are saying this week, it is clear there was a lot of misinformation given to the public about healthcare reform. Unfortunately for the Democratic Strategists, it appears that the misinformation came from the President, his advisors, Democratic members of Congress and the cadre of special interests that stand to make billions after the passage of this national lie.

Paul

Merry Christmas

On this Christmas Day with so much sadness and worry in the world, it compels me to speak of the true meaning of Christmas. I was watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with my grandchildren where they pitted the modern reality of worldly commercialism against the remembrance of the birth of Christ; the sadness of human existence against the hope of eternal salvation.

I see no need to expand on this and I would prefer to just quote young Linus who used the stage of the Christmas play to explain the true meaning of Christmas to a weary and troubled Charlie Brown. It is simple, child-like and heartwarming. As you read these words, may you find the comfort of your faith and embrace the divine gift of this miraculous birth and find the wealth of spirit that it brought to all mankind. I wish all of you a merry and blessed Christmas.

"And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid ... And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

Linus Van Pelt