Archive for the Congress Category

Revisiting “Does Any Institution In America Function? Oh, And Happy Friday The 13th! (December 9, 2019)” Four Years Later (December 11, 2023)

Posted in Academia, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Federal Reserve, Journalism on December 11, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “In the last four years?  Too many institutions are failing with each passing year.”

K          “Since our last discussion, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone off the rails and opted to fail.  Yet they have maintained their defense of some civil liberties.”

. . .

K          “The courts are increasingly militarized and weaponized war zones.  The major political crime families prosecute and persecute their opponents in the name of ‘Le Law’ before hand-picked and cooperative judges.”

J          “It depends on the court.  Count me a fan of the recent Colorado Supreme Court decision.”

. . .

J          “I agree the Federal Reserve is failing faster and may now have undermined all credibility and lost control of the economy.  That frank recognition does not inspire confidence.”

K          “End the Fed, they said.  Mend the Fed, I said.  End the Fed, I recently said.”

J          “A lawyer is heading the Fed.  I am uncomfortable with a lawyer heading the Fed.  I am also uncomfortable with a lawyer heading the Department of Just-Us.  And I am uncomfortable with an economist heading the Fed.  An English major should head the Fed.  Calculated obfuscation and willful misdirection should be eschewed and verboten, I say.” 

. . .

J          “You still nurturing your cavil with the MSM.”

K          “Still deeply troubled by the wholesale lack of integrity and independence.”

. . .

K          “For decades, I gave Academia a pass.  Academia has earned a failing grade.  I noted to someone recently that Harvard is ‘half a hedge fund and half a hustle’.  Think Eric Hoffer.  Are they going to refer to it as the Harvard Zuckerberg College of Arts and Sciences or the Harvard Gates College of Art and Sciences.  To distinguish their graduates.  Or warn others.”

J          “All of the profitable universities adhere to the same business plan.  There is not much difference.  Massive bloated bureaucracies of useless administrators pursuing petty grievances and protecting patches of turf rather than developing and analyzing doctrines, notions, ideas, hypothesis, and tentative conclusions and challenging others to do the same.  Some of the mascots are clever.”

. . . 

[See the e-commentary at Fourth Annual Noble Prize In Jurisprudence (October 21, 2019) awarding the Noble Prize in Jurisprudence to the ACLU.  See the discussion of the ACLU’s failure in the face of a fundamental challenge to civil liberties in Korematsu Two; And The ACLU Endorses It! (September 6, 2021).  The state of journalism is discussed at Read, But Don’t Read (June 26, 2023), Is Tucker Carlson The Walter Cronkite Of Our Day? (July 17, 2023), 2024 Pulitzer In “Breaking News Reporting” And “Investigative Reporting News”:  Jeff Gerth And The Columbia Journalism Review / Kyle Pope (March 13, 2023) and Eighth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2023 (May 8, 2023).  The courts  are discussed at Weaponizing The Judiciary: Democratic Prosecutors + Democratic Judges; Republican Prosecutors + Republican Judges:  Bad Math, Very Bad Math (December 4, 2023) and The Government Stumbles; The Judicial Legislature Rumbles (October 2, 2023).  Academia was discussed years ago at “Adjunktification” In The S.I.C. (Schooling Industrial Complex) (March 13, 2017) and The “Intellectual Infrastructure Investment Act” (“III”)  Oh, And Happy Valentine’s Day! (February 11, 2019).E-con-omists and e-cono-omics are discussed at Wandering E-con-omists:  The Travels And Travails Of E-con-omic Sciences (November 4, 2019).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy.”  Chris Hedges

“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  Eric Hoffer

DNC = RNC = WWP

Does Any Institution In America Function? Oh, And Happy Friday The 13th! (December 9, 2019)

Posted in Academia, Banks and Banking System, Congress, Democrats, Federal Courts, Federal Reserve, Institutions, Jurisprudence Award, Kleptocracy, Law, Medicine, MIC, MICAC, Military, MSM, Noble Prize in Jurisprudence, Pushitzer, Pushitzer Prize In Commentary, Republicans, Supreme Court on December 9, 2019 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “I need one more day.”

. . .

K          “You don’t have to name three, just nominate one.”

J          “One institution after the other after the other after the other after the other after the other after the other has failed and continues to fail.  And that is even after lowering the standards to the point that the bar is on the floor.  One more day, I need.”

. . .

K          “The legal system at every level is a fraud and a racket.  We live in a country with many, many, many rules and many, many, many laws, but we do not live in a country that believes in or adheres to the rule of law.  There is no law, there is only ideology.”

J          “The medical and health care / sick careless system is a racket and a fraud.  I drive by the health insurance company skyscraper and reflect that not one person in the monolith has ever applied a band aid to a patient.  There is no care, there is only profitability.”

. . .

K          “The economic system is rigged at every step and turn to loot every last dollar from the people for the benefit of the Kleptocrats.  What is the end game for the expendable consumers who soon will have nothing left to bleed?”

J          “The MSM media is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kleptocrats.  The message is tightly controlled by obedient droves of stenographers.  As a first step, everyone should skip ‘The Wall Street Journal’ and jump over to ‘Wall Street On Parade’ produced by Pam Martens and Russ Martens.”

K          “Academia is a substantially owned subsidiary of the Kleptocrats.  The message on the critical issues is also controlled and shaped by the corporate sponsors.  The campus buildings are all named for brigands; their kids and grandkids are admitted to skip the classes conducted in the namesake halls.  The hallowed halls are hollow holes.  The MIC is now expanded to include Congress and Academia in the MICAC.”

. . .

K          “Every agency from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) – in the air and on the sea – is corrupt and incompetent.  Regulatory capture exists at just about every regulatory agency.”

J          “Furlough the ‘L’ out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (B“L”S).  To determine the real rates of unemployment, a citizen must search in the shadows at “Shadow Government Statistics” prepared and analyzed by the dedicated and informed John Williams.”

K          “And then there is the Federal Reserve.  Probably no other institution, less one and perhaps two, has inflicted more grief and despair on the ordinary citizen with less publicity and notoriety than the Federal Reserve.”

J          “And related agencies such as the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are pernicious because they fool the citizen into believing that someone is watching out for him or her.”

K          “And the Department of Defense (DoD) exists primarily to spend money, drop bombs, and kill people but not to provide for the common defense.”

. . .

J          “The CIA and the FBI are a threat to every citizen at home and abroad and now may be affiliated with and advancing the interests of one political party.”

K          “The police in every burg and borough are paramilitary forces occupying the city and the county and the country.  Very few understand that the real Occupy movement in America grinds on.”

. . .

K          “Even many of the vaunted NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) surreptitiously serve the government’s interests.  The  Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a front for the MICAC and shielded by the MSM that advances the propaganda.”

. . .

J          “Local EMTs and fire departments are generally contributing to the public good.”

. . .

J          “The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a credit worthy institution administering its duties dutifully.”

K          “Despite unrelenting opposition from the White House, Republicans and industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is doing what it can to reduce the plundering and the pummeling of the Planet.” 

. . .

K          “The ACLU is fighting the good fight.”

J          “Planned Parenthood is improving our plight.”

. . .

[See “Journalist:  Newsweek Suppressed OPCW Scandal And Threatened Me With Legal Action” and other articles in “caitlinjohnstone.com” by Caitlin Johnstone, the 2019 recipient of the Pushitzer Prize In Commentary, dated December 8, 2019 and the discussion of e-con-omics in “Against Economics” in “The New York Review of Books” by David Graeber dated December 5, 2019.]

[See the e-commentary at “Here Comes Da Judge; Dere Goes Da Justice (August 31, 2015)”, “The FBI File:  The American Imprimatur Of Success (January 18, 2016)”, “Suing Law Schools; Suing Gun Makers.  Oh, And Happy Law Day! (April 30, 2018)” and “Clinton, Inc., Trump, Inc., Bush, Inc., Kennedy, Inc., O’Bama, Inc. (October 24, 2016)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  Eric Hoffer

America is a racket not a republic.

“If the misery of the poor not be caused by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.”  Charles Darwin 

There is nothing you can do to make any material change of any kind in any way today.

“Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can.”  Arthur Ashe

Senate Repeals Constitution.  Oh, And Happy Presidents’ Day! (February 18, 2019)

Posted in Congress, Courage, Democrats, First Amendment, Freedom / Liberty, Law, Law School, Republicans, Rule of Law on February 18, 2019 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “They cannot do that.  It’s treason.”

K          “Treason is not a good enough reason for them.  They did do it because they proclaimed themselves above the law and unbounded by the United States Constitution.  It’s the American political way.”

J          “They clearly violated their oath to support and defend the United States Constitution.”

K          “There is that.”

. . .

K          “In a grand irony, Senate Bill 1 purports to repeal United States Constitutional Amendment 1.”

J          “There is something surreal and unreal about it.  We need to generate public interest in moving America toward considering the adoption of the Rule of Law.  Like that is going to happen.”

. . .

K          “The Supreme Court already addressed the issue in an unanimous opinion in National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982), with Marshal obviously not participating and Rehnquist obviously only concurring.  The decision reaches the not surprising conclusion that the government cannot prohibit the peaceful advocacy and conduct of a politically motived boycott.  No one has even thought to question this established bedrock of Constitutional law.”

J          “Some of the senators actually have a flickering scintilla of integrity, except when it really counts and character is revealed.”

. . .

K          “Following the criminal indictment of each Senator and as a consequence, the law degrees of the lawyers among the pack also should be revoked.”

J          “Law schools do whatever advances their economic interests.  Bar associations do whatever advances their economic interests.  Some bar associations consider treason to be a reason to revoke a law license, but not all of them.  Placing graduates in the Senate is great for the law school’s financial bottom line.”

K          “Someone should tabulate a list of the law schools that spawned these critters.  Someone observed that American-trained lawyers are only concerned with whether they can get away with something, whereas European-trained lawyers are concerned with whether an action or decision comports with the law.”

. . .

K          “The judges who will be asked to review the treasonous repudiation of the Constitution are by-products of the same law schools that spawned the criminals and the criminality.”

J          “The feedback loop is bleak.  The prospects are terrifying.”

K          “Four Justices support the First Amendment and five Justices support the First Amendment when they like who the person is and what the person is saying.”

J          “Bleak and terrifying.”

. . .

K          “The vote provides much valuable . . . and free . . . insight and information.  Rubio along with Cruz, Graham, Klobuchar and Romney announced that they are unfit to be Senators and unqualified to be President.  Booker, Brown, Gillibrand, Harris, Hirono, Kaine, Sanders and Warren announced that they may be worth additional consideration for the top slot.”

. . .

K          “Yes, and Rand Paul who is the only Republican who voted to uphold the Constitution.  He is the only Republican qualified for the top slot.”

J          “Or fit for the Senate.  An entire political party less one is unconstitutional per se and all of its members less one should be impeached and indicted.”

K          “And half of the other political party is unconstitutional and those members should be impeached and indicted.”

. . .

[February 23 – No War on Venezuela Day]

[See the e-commentary at “At War With The First Amendment (February 27, 2012)”, “The Supreme Court On Drugs (June 25, 2007)” and the e-commentary under the Category “First Amendment”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Senate Bill 1 > United States Constitutional Amendment 1  United States Constitutional Amendment 1 > Senate Bill 1

Treason is treason.

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”  Maya Angelou

“To know who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”  Voltaire

A few years ago, the original vote card tallying the Senate vote on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that passed in 1964 was displayed at a National Archives exhibit.  For all time, there are check marks under “No” next to Ernest Gruening’s name and next to Wayne Morse’s name and under “Yes” is the name of every other Senator then in office. 

77 Senators Voted To Repeal The First Amendment / Constitution:  

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blackburn (R-TN)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Braun (R-IN)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Capito (R-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Cotton (R-AR)
Cramer (R-ND)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Daines (R-MT)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Enzi (R-WY)
Ernst (R-IA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Gardner (R-CO)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hassan (D-NH)
Hawley (R-MO)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (R-WI)
Jones (D-AL)
Kennedy (R-LA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McConnell (R-KY)
McSally (R-AZ)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Perdue (R-GA)
Peters (D-MI)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Romney (R-UT)
Rosen (D-NV)
Rounds (R-SD)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sasse (R-NE)
Schumer (D-NY)
Scott (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Shelby (R-AL)
Sinema (D-AZ)
Smith (D-MN)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sullivan (R-AK)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Toomey (R-PA)
Warner (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)
Young (R-IN)

23 Senators Voted To Uphold The First Amendment / Constitution: 

Baldwin (D-WI)
Booker (D-NJ)
Brown (D-OH)
Carper (D-DE)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Harris (D-CA)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Hirono (D-HI)
Kaine (D-VA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Markey (D-MA)
Merkley (D-OR)
Murphy (D-CT)
Paul (R-KY)
Reed (D-RI)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Udall (D-NM)
Van Hollen (D-MD)
Warren (D-MA)

Government Shutdown: Shutdown Congress (January 22, 2018)

Posted in Class, Congress, Gender, Race, Term Limits, Women's March on January 22, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Shut down Congress.”

J          “Vote them out.”

. . .

K          “One word.  Term limits.”

J          “If Congress does not limit its term, we must limit their terms.”

. . .

K          “We need 20/20 vision in the upcoming 2018 elections.”

J          “Hindsight is 20/20, but only if you want to see things clearly.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Marching For Science And Momma (April 24, 2017)”, “Women’s March On Washington (Woodstock With Conviction) / Coronation (January 23, 2017)” and “Debt Ceiling Dilly-Dallying?  Term Limit Amendment = Balanced Budget Amendment (December 11, 2017).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Throw the bums out

We need 20/20 vision in the upcoming 2018 elections

Women’s March 2018 signs courtesy of Doonesbury:

Make America Smart Again

First We Marched, Now We’re Running (For Office)

Does This Ass Make My Country Look Small?

Grab ’em By The Midterms

Super Callous, Fascist, Racist, Sexist, Braggadocious

Women Are The Wall And Trump Will Pay

Too Much Bulls*** For One Sign

They tried to bury us.  They didn’t know we were seeds.

Elect A Clown, Get A Circus

Without Hermione, Harry Would Have DIED

I know signs.  I make the best signs.  They’re terrific.  Everyone agrees.

“Trumpi Care” v. “Romney – O’Bama Care”:  Who Cares? (March 27, 2017)

Posted in Congress, Health Care, O'Bama, Romney on March 27, 2017 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “O’Bama had a bad plan, few ideas, and fewer clues.”

J          “Trumpi has no plan, no idea, and no clue.”

K          “And the Republicans have no plan, no idea, and no clue.”

. . .

K          “For the past seven years, House Republicans have taken meaningless vote after meaningless vote after meaningless vote after meaningless vote to repeal or roll back provisions of the Unaffordable Care Act.  Now that they control all three branches of government, they are unable to conduct even one simple vote to do what they have done these innumerable times in the past.”

J          “That is what happens when you actually get what you want.”

K          “Seems to me that you can’t always get what you want, but if you try and try and try and try sometimes, you do not get what you do not need.”

. . .  

K          “The ACA versus the AHCA.  Our own national March Madness.  Both are losers.”

J          “The syllogism of health carelessness is so obvious.  ACA = Insurance Company Control; AHCA = Insurance Company Control; ergo ACA = AHCA.”

K          “And we are the losers.  Could you report the score by reporting that it was an upset with both sides each scoring less than zero points.”

. . .

K          “As a country, every industry is more monopolized than at any time in American history.  That includes the health insurance industry.” 

J          “The few providers increase premiums which lowers participation rates which results in a deterioration of the risk pool which leads to an increase in premiums which lowers participation rates which results in a deterioration of the risk pool which is then repeated and repeated.”

K          “The death spiral is increasing.  The only way to force participation will be to provide a mechanism to impose increases in the penalties from not participating tied to increases in the premiums for participating.  The premium soon will be $5000 a month for a $50,000 deductible policy and thus the penalty for non-participation must be $5000 a month.”

. . .

J          “Sixty years olds do not need maternity coverage and sixteen year olds do not need mammograms.”

. . .

K          “What about H.R. 676, the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act, that provides for a single payer?”

J          “What we have now in most states is a ‘single exploiter’ system.  A ‘single payer’ system does not heap wealth on the health insurance companies.  It is doomed.”

K          “We as a country cannot afford it, but we as a people cannot not afford it.”

. . .

J          “Until someone challenges all the theft forced and enforced by the government from the people to the insurance companies, nothing will improve and everything will get worse.”

K          “But who really cares?”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at the Category titled “Health Care.”]

Bumper sticker of the week:

ACA = Insurance Company Control; AHCA = Insurance Company Control; ergo ACA = AHCA.

“Romney – O’Bama Care” In Practice (February 9, 2015)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Congress, Federal Courts, Health Care, O'Bama, Romney, Supreme Court on February 9, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

T1          “One of the biggest misrepresentations of our generation is the statement by President O’Bama that a person could keep his or her insurance policy.  That ‘executive summary’ of the legislation by the Chief Executive led me to believe that the legislation was at least neutral if not benign.”

T2          “The legislation moved so fast that only a few on the inside knew what would transpire.”

T1          “The Federal Courts uniformly reject the doctrine that there is estoppel against the President or any federal official.  One of the great things about being on the inside of the Federal Government, for Republicans and Democrats alike, is that lies are not actionable and are blessed by the Federal Courts.”

T2          “No one cares.  And everyone on the inside gets a regular paycheck and a gilded pension.  And free health care.”

. . .

T1          “It was X dollars last year and then 2X dollars in December and then 3X dollars in January.  February brings a new number and a new nightmare.”

T2          “Before passage, a citizen filed bankruptcy after receiving health care.  After passage, a citizen files bankruptcy before receiving health care.”

. . .

T1          “Boehner does not have to navigate the mine field of ‘Romney – O’Bama Care.’  Pelosi does not have to navigate the mine field of ‘Romney – O’Bama Care.’  McConnell does not have to navigate the mine field of ‘Romney – O’Bama Care.’  Reid does not have to navigate the mine field of ‘Romney – O’Bama Care.’  They are all covered at no cost.”

T2          “No one cares about health care for the people.”

T1          “The Republicans are wasting tremendous money with all the repeated and futile votes to repeal ‘Romney – O’Bama Care’ without providing any alternative legislation.  The Supreme Court is not the forum because bad policy is not necessarily unconstitutional, it is just bad policy.”

T2          “The doctors and nurses have the most insightful perspective and provided the answer years ago.  A single payer system would work for them and their patients.”

T1          “The Republic cannot afford a single payer system and cannot afford not to have a single payer system.  The current schemes are so grindingly inefficient and unfair and only enrich insurance companies.”

T2          “No one cares.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at The “Contract with America”; The Congressional Reform Act of 2010 (March 29, 2010).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Stay healthy then die quickly

“Bail Ins” Are Globalized; “Bail Outs” Are Bailed Back In; No Bail For Bankers (December 29, 2014)

Posted in Bail In, Bailout/Bribe, Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Congress, Dodd-Frank, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, Volker on December 29, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “Dodd-Frank (July, 2010) said ‘no’ to more ‘bail outs’ by the public for the ‘too-big-to-fail-and-too-big-to-jail’ Banks and then the Federal Reserve (December, 2012) said ‘yes’ to ‘bail ins’ by the depositors and then the G20 Nations (November, 2014) said ‘heck yes’ to ‘bail ins’ by the depositors and then Citicorp-Congress (December, 2014) said ‘hell yes’ to more ‘bail outs’ by the public for derivatives and other junk.  So many Christmas gifts, so little time.”

K          “Back to a ‘bail out’ of the Wall Street Bankers including all the junk bonds . . . that fuel the American shale oil boom.  That did not take long to cover them for their exposure in the Great Gas War.  The people, the pensioners and the depositors will suffer existential losses when the derivatives collapse.”  

J          “Citicorp-Congress also delayed implementation of the ‘Volker Rule’ that would provide for increased capital ratios and mark-to-market valuations.  Citicorp-Congress gave the ‘one-two punch’ to the public.”

K          “K.O.’d for Christmas.  All I got for Christmas is my two front teeth.  Knocked out.  By Congress.”

. . .

J          “The plaque proclaims that your deposit is insured up to $250,000 by the FDIC.  Everyone is fooled, yet no one is protected by the plaque in a serious financial plague.  When the Big Banks and their partners in crime on Wall Street fail, the FDIC will not be able to provide insurance for the depositors who are now on the hook.  Line and sinker.  Now on the line, the bottom line is that the depositors must ‘bail in’ the Big Banks and the public must ’bail out’ Wall Street.”

. . .    

[See the e-commentary at Bailouts: Out; Bail Ins: In; Slowly Boilin’ The Frog (April 15, 2013) and Globalizing The Bail In (July 8, 2013).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

We should be doing something to make the bankers worry about getting bailed out.

18 T Debt; 18 K Dow

Plus 4 T “Federal Reserve Debt” = 22 T “Federal Debt”

Plus 9 G (Gazillion) in Derivatives = some trouble

The Capitol Building on Jenkins Hill is now renamed the “Citicorp Dome”

And then take a look at the National Defense Authorization Acts of 2012 and 2014. 

Financial History:

1998:            Banks/Wall Street bail out Long Term Capital Management

2008:           Federal Reserve bails out Banks/Wall Street

201_:            International Monetary Fund bails out Federal Reserve; Taxpayers bail out Banks/Wall Street

201_:            God bails out the International Monetary Fund; No one bails out Taxpayers

201_:            God files Chapter 11 Reorganization; Taxpayers file Chapter 7 Liquidation

So, help us God, so help us God.

The Federal Government, In Practice (September 15, 2014)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, CIA, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Federal Reserve, Judges, Judicial Arrogance, Judiciary, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, Presidency, USA PATRIOT Act on September 15, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

S          “So the Founding Fathers are blamed for and credited with many things.  Everyone agrees they were inspired by Montesquieu’s notion of the separation of powers providing for executive, legislative and judicial functions.  The division of labor and duties seems so clean and elegant in your civics class.  Yet, in practice, the process is so tainted and untidy.”

T          “In my class, I try to tidy up the mess.  I present this outline of the grand plan on the board to spark discussion:

Post 1787:          Theory:     Practice:

President            34%           30% (implement laws)
Congress             33%           60% (make laws)
Judiciary             33%           10% (interpret laws)
National Bank      0%             0% (inspire debate)

The judiciary was little more than an administrative agency with possibility until the Supreme Court developed the doctrine of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison in 1803.  The political plate tectonics shifted and now we have:

2014:

President                             44% (determines most major domestic and foreign policy initiatives)

Congress                              21% (drives economic activities via substantial ad hoc spending largely for defense, interest and entitlements)

Judiciary                              35% (makes laws)

Federal Reserve                 33% (the private bank with the misleading name establishes monetary policy and directs fiscal policy by default because of Congressional grid lock and thus effectively runs the economy, with little public participation)

National Security State    39% (shapes domestic and foreign affairs via a motley and myriad montage of agencies, contractors, sub-contractors and others with little oversight)

S          “So sixty-eight percent of government policy is imposed by federal judges and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors/Big Bankers who are not elected.”

T          “The Founding Fathers are said to have been anti-democratic.  I know they would be surprised at what has emerged in practice in America.”

S          “So thirty-nine percent of domestic and foreign surveillance and activities are determined by unknown and unaccountable agents and operatives.”

T          “Who knows.”

. . .

S          “So we need to track the federal Debt which is now over 17 Trillion dollars and also the Federal Reserve Debt which is now over 4 Trillion dollars.”

T          “While you are at it, try to fathom the 100s of Trillions of dollars in derivatives that were never on the Founding Fathers’ radar and are off the public radar today.”

S          “That fraud will doom the Republic some day.”

. . .

S          “So the Big Bankers favor war because it is so profitable, so the large number of Big Bankers in power results in an over-production of war.”

T          “Accord.”

. . .

T          “Republicans want a powerful ‘unitary’ President when a Republican is in the White House and an effete President when a Democrat is in the White House.”

S          “And everyone agrees that federal judges are politicians in black robes.”

T          “Accord, young scholar.  See why this is so much fun.”

. . .

[T:  Teacher; S:  Student]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The Declaration of Independence is America’s Original Organic Poem.  The Constitution is America’s Owners’ Manual.  Signed on September 17, 1787.

There is no law.  There is only ideology.

Law Is Politics ; Politics Is Law (July 7, 2014)

Posted in Congress, Courts, Judges, Presidency, Supreme Court on July 7, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L1          “Based on tradition, Justices are seated by seniority from the center outward on both sides.  Based on current practice, Justices should sit on each side of the political aisle.  The five Republicans should sit on the right wing and the four Democrats should sit on the left wing.”

. . .

L1          “The right wing majority of the Supreme Court reinvigorated its campaign to undermine abortion rights, fox hole by fox hole.”

L2          “They are sly as a fox about it.  When notes are later released, someone may discover that the left wing minority was either intimidated by the right wing or made a concession to the abortion opponents to avoid an even more dishonest opinion by logrolling their votes for less damaging language.”

L1          “Logrolling.  You have got to love it.  Politicians behaving like politicians.”

. . .

L1          “The right wing of the Supreme Court reaffirmed the two-part First Amendment test:  ‘1) Who is making the expression? and 2) What is being expressed?’  That is not what the Founding Fathers intended.”

L2          “The left wing may have used ‘Substantive Due Process’ to shape policy in the past.  The right wing is using the First Amendment to advance its political agenda and silence its critics.”

. . .

L2          “In some cultures, hypocrisy is the greatest crime.  The Supreme Court strikes down a reasonable 35-foot barrier between abortion protesters and those going into a facility after imposing a more than 200-foot buffer around the Court and enforcing it with the Court’s own private army paid for with public funds.”

L1          “What if protestors stood outside Scalia’s house and shouted that he is a ‘fibber’?”

. . .

L1          “The right wing of the Supreme Court underpins its decision on recess appointments on separation of powers doctrines and yet undermines the most fundamental separation of powers.  The Supreme Court – the judicial branch – defined and delineated legislative activities to undermine executive power.”

L2          “Would the Court have reached that decision if the President were a Republican.”

L1          “Maybe not.  Look in the footnotes of the decision for an exception for a Republican President.”

L2          “Look at Bush v. Gore for precedent.  Law is all politics today.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Do gay corporations have the constitutional right to engage in mergers and acquisitions or merely civil unions?

There is no law; there is only ideology.

The Supreme Court – The Legislature on the east side of First Street

 

Past Time: Exercising The “New Clear Option” (November 25, 2013)

Posted in Blue States / Red States, Civil War, Congress, Courts, Filibuster, Hypocrisy, Judges, Law, O'Bama, Presidency, Race on November 25, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

P          “It is about time.”

Q         “It’s way past time.”

P          “After stepping on your neck for years, they promise to step on your neck even harder if you try to wrench their foot off your neck.  It may be past time.”

Q         “They have used the logic embraced by the oppressed to oppress the patient and mature legislators.  It’s way past time.”

P          “Why not try to wrench their foot off, because when they get in power, they will be no less vindictive.  Now the oppressed legislators can compel the Senate to adhere to the constitutional duty to advise and consent rather than to delay and deny.”

Q         “Delaying legislation is a legislative prerogative.  The fight today is about denying executive branch appointments and undermining the executive branch.  At core, the fight is over separation of powers and the independence of the presidency.”

. . .

Q         “The war also is being fought over another branch – the courts and the judiciary.  Everyone in the know knows that there is no law, there is only ideology.  They are fighting over which ideologues get to don the wigs and dictate policy from the bench.”

P          “The vote is another skirmish in the continuing Civil War in America.”

Q        “That national experience provides historical perspective and ironic understatement.  Yet the war today isn’t civil.”

P          “At core, the clan of confederates is furious that a Black man is in the White House.”

. . .

[See the article titled http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/us/politics/reid-sets-in-motion-steps-to-limit-use-of-filibuster.html?hp&target=comments&_r=0#commentsContainer.]

[The benchmark price of .22s in November is not available because .22s are not available.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Mind your Ps and Qs