On Freedom and Liberty (May 24, 2010)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Energy, Gas/Fossil Fuel, Government Regulation, Less Government Regulation Series, On [Traits/Characteristics] on May 24, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

F          “Freedom and liberty are easy to define and difficult to protect and balance.  Assign Mill on Liberty.  That is the run of the mill solution.  Yet freedom and liberty are much more complex in practice.”

L          “Who constrains your freedom and liberty?  If prices are controlled by the government, are you free?  If prices are controlled by a private monopoly, are you free?  Monopolies from Microsoft to Monsanto are greater threats to our freedom than the not infrequent bumbling actions and inactions of incompetent and officious government officials.”

F          “I have a beef with four beef producers controlling the price and quality of beef.  From what I read, every major industry in America is monopolized.”

L          “Which constrains our freedom and liberty.  The chance, albeit slight, of restraining the monopolies and protecting our freedom requires government involvement.  That realization is the beginning of frustration.”

F          “And a few private sector monopolies own Congress and thwart any possibly effective legislation.”

L          “A generation ago, then-Senator Philip Hart of Michigan worked to break up monopolies and confronted Texaco, the oil company, who asserted in ads:  ‘We’ve been working to keep your trust.’  They worked hard and kept their trust.  Those oil companies have their own special charm.”

F          “How do we regulate the financial institutions that are ‘too connected to fail’?  They limit our freedom and liberty.  Lehman deserved to fail and was allowed to fail in part because Paulson did not like Fuld, the President of Lehman.  Washington Mutual deserved to fail and was allowed to fail in part because a West Coast bank is not among the East Coast players.  The other institutions deserved to fail and yet were bailed out.”

L          “It is not pretty or easy.  Why not limit the size of every financial institution to 100 billion dollars?  There are no economies of scale above that limit and many benefits from more players.  Any financial institution with more than 100 billion in assets is a direct threat to our freedom and liberty.”

F          “Great, but the financial sector will veto it.  And regardless of what Congress directs, the regulatory agencies are captured by those who are intended to be regulated.  Investment banks and others realize that no investment pays a greater return on investment than purchasing a piece of a politician.  Money invested in R&D or in HR or in PR does not come close to providing such a handsome return.  Purchasing an entire government agency is cheap and tax deductible as a business expense.”

L          “It is not easy or pretty.  You are doomed if you do and doomed if you don’t.  On the other hand, when the invisible hand begins to backhand the people, the heavy hand of the government is often the only recourse.”

F          “On the other hand, it seems that the government comes around when it is not needed and is not around when it is needed.”

L          “It is not pretty or easy.  I have worked for years with some agencies that are useless.”

F          “Need I say more.”

L          “I would like to see private sector initiatives such as the Young Americans For Freedom allying with the Innocence Project to protect freedom and liberty.  The white boys are too fixated on limiting taxes on their greens fees when they should be concerned about freedom and liberty for those who are black, brown, red, yellow and ivory.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” dated Mar. 26, 2007 titled “Who Is Your Big Bad Bogeyman?” and dated Sept. 4, 2009 titled “The Meltdown Continues, Subtly.”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Freedom is not free so pay your taxes and shut up

Boycott Arizona

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Drill, Baby, Spill (May 17, 2010)

Posted in Antitrust, Energy, Gas/Fossil Fuel on May 19, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“Long before the oil tanker EXXON VALDEZ ran aground in 1989 in Prince William Sound, the maritime pilots and local fishermen knew and protested that a tanker would run aground.  No doubt about it, they warned.”

“The tanker was caught between a rock and a hard piece of ice.  The rock was less forgiving; the rock did not forgive.  There were also warnings about deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  The damage may be far worse than suggested.  And the by-product of the same arrogance.”

“Arrogance and avarice are the two companion killers.  Oil companies are so diabolically ironic.  Exxon once was called ESSO, the ‘Eastern Subsidiary of Standard Oil’ or the phonetic pronunciation of the letters ‘S’ and ‘O’, so that no one would forget that it had been part of the great oil monopoly Standard Oil.  Before that, the company was known as ‘Humble Oil’ to remind the public of its humble manner.”

“BP had been doing an effective job of appearing green.  Although if you think about it, it looks like the British Polluters made all the decisions to maximize the green.”

“I am also afraid that we need to continue exploring for dead compressed dinosaurs in the short term.  Drilling on American land or in American waters does make the country less vulnerable to foreign suppliers.  Drilling within an American jurisdiction is more likely to result in the oil company being compelled to internalize the ‘externalities’ which are all of the costs of production.”

“Externalities?  I’m not quite with you.”

“The company may be required to pay for anti-pollution safeguards and the actual cost of labor including safety measures and the like.  Foreign operators are even worse because they can totally disregard health and safety concerns.”

“Except when domestic operators have enough stroke to avoid paying and complying.”

“There are no guarantees.  O’Bama’s recent statements about opening coastal areas to drilling are also ironic.  He is trying to develop a realistic and balanced energy policy.  The oil industry did not do much to help the case.  And look at you.  And me.  Before this day is concluded, I will drive my car with the ‘Support the Terrorist Tax’ bumper sticker on a trip that may not be necessary.  I am voting on drilling.  If not here, then there will be drilling somewhere.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

Drill, baby, spill.

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Republicans are Enemy Combatants? (May 10, 2010)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Military Commissions Act on May 10, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

U          “I noticed on the Internet a few minutes ago that all registered Republicans have been deemed enemy combatants and will be rounded up on Tuesday at 3:00 a.m. and taken to undisclosed locations.”

R          “No way.”

U          “It’s your call.  I believe that I’m safe.  I am registered as Unaffiliated.  But who knows today.”

R          “I’ll call my lawyer.”

U          “You don’t get to call your lawyer.  That quaint right protected by activist liberal Democrats has been expunged.  Your cell phone has been disabled and will be confiscated.”

R          “It isn’t working, . . . but they are installing a new tower.”

U          “Assume that you are able to contact a lawyer.  Then what?”

R          “I know a judge who owes me.”

U          “Owes a terrorist what?  That is bad press for him.  At best, you might get an answering machine and no answer.  What would he do for you?”

R          “Get me out.  Habeas corpus me.  It’s a legal way to get me released.  It means that the authorities must deliver the body to the court.”

U          “The authorities might oblige and deliver your body to the court.  The Republicans have you covered.  They suspended habeas corpus.  At least one Republican did.  Recall our good friend Abraham Lincoln who suspended habeas corpus.”

R          “What about Democrats?  They could be deemed enemy combatants.  They could be confiscated.”

U          “They could.  And they could.  And they might.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

I wasn’t using my civil rights anyway.

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Rating The Rating Agencies And The Courts That Should Berate Them: FFF (May 3, 2010)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Conflicts of Interest, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Perjury, Perjury/Dishonesty, Rating Agencies on May 3, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

NNN          “The ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch knew or should have known that third parties would and did reasonably rely on their ratings.”

OOO          “Exactly.  They intended for third parties to rely on their ratings.”

NNN          “Didn’t some court reach the preposterous conclusion that the ratings agencies are protected by the First Amendment?”

OOO          “The free speech rights of the rating agencies are protected against government interference.  The government did not interfere with their right to free speech.  That ends the First Amendment inquiry.  The ratings agencies are not immune from civil and criminal prosecution.”

NNN          “But the court used the First Amendment to provide complete immunity for the rating agencies.”

OOO          “Keep in mind that there are thousands and thousands of incompetent and marginally competent judges in America.  And thousands of dishonest ones.  The judge may have seen his stock portfolio decline and decided to take action.  In the end, if the decision is patently incorrect, do not follow it.  Disregard the decision as a perverse anomaly.  Law books are littered with dishonest decisions.”

NNN          “The ratings were patently false and fraudulent.  The rating agencies intended for others to rely on the ratings.  Ordinary citizens reasonably relied on the ratings.  Ordinary citizens were damaged by the fraudulent ratings.  So the only issues for an honest judge in a civil action are the amount of damages and the amount of punitive damages.”

OOO          “Exactly.  And the heads of the ratings agencies lied under oath before Congress.  They were advised by their attorneys not to ‘tell the whole truth’ to Congress and they did not ‘tell the whole truth’ to Congress.  That is perjury.  Except in the land of perjury.  Their attorneys suborned perjury.  Combine perjury and obstruction of justice and conspiracy and RICO charges.  The sentence for four felonies is much stiffer.  A summer law clerk could handle the prosecution.”

NNN          “The biggest question is also easily answered.  There are no prosecutions because the ratings agencies and their friends on Wall Street own the government and the prosecutors.”

OOO          “Talk about systemic failure.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” dated Jan. 14, 2008 titled “The ‘R’ Word, The ‘D’ Word or the ‘S’ Word?” on the rating agencies and the “e-ssay” dated May 2, 2005 titled “Ohio – Not Forgettin’ Ohio; The Battleground State Battles On.”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Better to know the judge and the prosecutor than to know the law.

Spill, baby, spill.

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The Dow Is The Canary (April 26, 2010)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Economics, Uncategorized with tags on April 26, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“You don’t buy it.”

“I concede the Beige Book presents a rosy picture of the economy.  Consumer spending is up.  But the rising Dow is not a sign of economic recovery.  The rising stock prices are not a function of sound economic fundamentals, they are a result of far too much free money in the hands of a small circle chasing comparatively few stocks backed by an implicit government guarantee in an economic universe without other viable investment options.  The stock market is the leading economic indicator of the coming inflation.”

“They call it productivity.  Companies/employers are reporting greater earnings resulting from firing more employees.  However, the current price/earnings ratios are somewhat more in line with historic averages.  Although there may be no one left to buy the products or use the services.”

“Inflated stock prices today, bread at a $100 a loaf in the next few years.”

“However, if there are fewer consumers with less disposable income, the economy should enter a deflationary period.”

“That seems plausible.  Consumers always consume even if they don’t have money.  The dislocations in the economy may not produce enough goods to meet growing demand from individuals, albeit individuals without the wherewithal in their pockets to fund their demands.”

“So there may be deflationary prices then inflationary prices?”

“Citizens will discover that the market will decline precipitously in due course leading to more now inevitable bribes/bailouts from the government for those at the top.  Some say that the American people simply will not tolerate another engineered decline.  What will they do if they don’t want to tolerate a decline?”

“Vote out the incumbents?”

“Or self-medicate?  The economic performance this summer will significantly impact the outcome of the elections this fall.  If the Wile E. Coyote Economy does not drop for the next six months and those who gave up searching for work also give up voting and drop out of the debate, the Democrats may not drop in the polls.  However, there may be a bad turn particularly if the financial virus made in the USA that spread to Europe infects Europe or if the Black Plague in the Gulf of Mexico engulfs the East Coast.  This could be a hot summer.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Trust me.  I’m a banker.

Trust me.  I’m an investment banker.

Trust me.  I’m an investment adviser.

Drill, baby, drill.

Boycott Arizona

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April 19 (April 19, 2010)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Guns, Oath Keepers, Race on April 19, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C          “April 19 is joining July 4, September 11 and December 7 among the freighted dates in our national experience.  The first shots of the Revolutionary War fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775 echo today and have taken on almost religious significance.”

D          “You have got to love it.  Rallying in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the Federal City on the fifteenth anniversary of McVeigh’s bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building and the seventeenth anniversary of the end of the FBI/ATF siege at Waco could not be more felicitous.  And telling.”

C          “The Oath Keepers also celebrated their first year on the national scene.  Reaffirming one’s oath to protect and defend the Constitution seems harmless.  When a person takes the oath, however, there is no term limit.  There is no swear to protect and defend ‘till death do us part’ limitation.”

D          “They almost seem like they might have an idea with a hint of merit if the message did not get hijacked and distorted so easily by the nut cases.”

C          “What is unsettling is that the message is laced with both racism and hints of violence, at least among some of the members.”

D          “Their sense of timing is not impeccable.  Our civil rights and civil liberties were threatened far more in the first eight years of this century than they are today.”

C          “The founder of Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, is an engaging advocate.  He wrote a few pieces in opposition to some of the Cheney/Bush transgressions years ago; these things called blogs leave a readily accessible record.  He also observed that a guy who is part Hispanic and Native American is not a poster child for white supremacy.  And he worked for two years as a public defender which is a career move that too few members of the Supreme Court pursued, to our detriment.  But listen to the discussions of others when the cameras and microphones are off.”

D          “It is there in black and white.  Nothing in the Constitution states or suggests that the legal pronouncements of an African-American President are unconstitutional because he is part Black.  For too many, that is the animating fear.”

C          “That is the heart of my misgiving.  It was a balmy almost warm DC day, yet there are clouds on the horizon.”

. . .

C          “And the Park Police, paid with tax dollars, kept everyone cool.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Hate – The Only Growth Industry In America

O’Bama – Giving Back America To Americans

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Celebrate Virginia’s “Celebrate Slavery Month” (April 12, 2010)

Posted in Boycott Series, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Less Government Regulation Series, Race on April 12, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“Virginia declared April to be ‘Celebrate Slavery Month.’  What a concept.  Thirty days dedicated to the celebration of the degradation and subjugation of one’s fellow human beings.  They plan to burn crosses, made in China, in all major cities.  They are sneaky because they manage to celebrate it without mentioning it.”

“Leave it to Virginia.  Aren’t they the ones with the official state motto:  ‘Virginia Is For Haters.’”

“Leave Virginia.  Boycott the place.  Boycott everything tied to Virginia in April.  Conventions should cancel any events currently scheduled in Virginia during April and not book any events in April in the future.”

“Why does the government get involved in this foolishness?  Tax money funded this folly.”

“Individual action in response to inane government action is the way to go.  That is the virtue of a boycott.  And yet, three years ago, they looked like they were on track with the dignified apology.”

“There is not much common sense in the Commonwealth.”

“Leaves you wondering whether it is in the water, in the air or in their genes?”

“Hey, . . . wait . . . did they announce it on April 1?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” dated Feb. 26, 2007 titled “Looking Back.  With Regret.  With Respect,” the “e-ssay” dated Nov. 12, 2007 titled “Vet’s Day; Slavery And Due Process” and the “e-ssay” dated Mar. 14, 2005 titled “’Strict Construction’ Strictly Construed.”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Virginia:  Celebrate Slavery Month

Virginia Is For Haters

Take A Slave To Work Day in Virginia

Boycott Virginia In April

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On Passive Aggression; The Virtue of (April 5, 2010)

Posted in On [Traits/Characteristics], Society on April 5, 2010 by e-commentary.org

“I never even thought about it not working out.  I wasn’t even thinking.  Everyone is smiling and happy in the pictures.  Now our life is a stand off, a percolating feud.  I can’t fight and I can’t flee.  I go to my 10 by 10 foot cubicle every morning and yet feel lucky that I have a cubicle to go to every morning.  Then I go back to my other prison cell at night.  It’s like a work release program and, don’t get me wrong about the work, if I get released from work I’m a goner.  A friend let things get out of hand and found his hands tied.  By the police.  Power move.  He couldn’t get released over the weekend.  So now he sports the dv charge and vd.  I’d like to get in the car and drive until I run out of gas, money or road.  But I can’t.  So we fight passively.  She takes a shot and then I take a shot and then we flee to our corners and call a short truce.  The kids perceive everything.  Staying together may be better than separating.  When you think about it every day, it’s passive but it’s aggressive and it’s the only workable response.  I hope this isn’t too heavy.  You don’t need this.  If I didn’t get out here now and then, I’d explode.”

Bumper stickers of the week:

Marriage is grand; divorce is one hundred grand.

The Family – The Backbone Of A Community

A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth . . .  Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.

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The “Contract with America”; The Congressional Reform Act of 2010 (March 29, 2010)

Posted in Conflicts of Interest, Congress, Health Care, Pensions, Term Limits on March 29, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“They need to be treated like us; we need to be treated like them.  It’s that simple and that difficult.  The only mechanism to deal with the conflict of interest between elected officials and ordinary citizens is to put them in the same bed and on the same boat.  That is the real ‘Contract with America.’”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

1.         Term Limits.  12 years total pursuant to one of the three options below:

A.              Two six-year Senate terms.

B.              Six two-year House terms.

C.              One six-year Senate term and three two-year House terms.

2.         No Tenure / No Pension.  A Congressperson collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when he or she is out of office.

3.         Congresspersons, past, present and future, participate in Social Security.  All funds in the Congressional retirement fund transfer to and all future funds are deposited with the Social Security system immediately.  Congress participates with the American people.

4.         Congresspersons can fund their own retirement plan just as all Americans do.

5.         Congresspersons will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6.         Congresspersons lose their current health care system and participate in the same health care system as the American people.

7.         Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people without exception.

8.         All contracts with past and present Congresspersons are void effective 1/1/11 absent some compelling reason.  The American people did not make these contracts with Congresspersons.  Congresspersons concocted these contracts for themselves.

(For some variations on these big bumper ideas, see the “e-ssays” dated March 5, 2007 titled “Congress Should Increase Congressional and Judicial Pay; Shareholders Should Reduce CEO/CFO/COO Pay,” dated May 14, 2007 titled “Term Limits,” and dated February 25, 2008 titled “’American Medicine’ Not ‘Socialized Medicine.’”)

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On The Digital Revolution (March 22, 2010)

Posted in Cyberactivities, Economics, Entitlements, Estate Tax, Kleptocracy, Society, Water on March 22, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“Most, if not just about all, of the fortunes amassed in the last ten to twenty years were stolen.  Nothing was created.  Much was destroyed.”

“Jobs created some jobs.”

“And to his credit he is still creating a few.  There are a few others who are producing and contributing, yet they are the rare exceptions.  Scrutinize the “Forbes 400” list.  Some have family money.  Some made some contribution.  Few of them have done much to produce a product or provide a service.  The companies they overleveraged will soon overwhelm the economy.  At best they structure affairs to shift risk to others or to the taxpayers.  Successful businesses are dismembered and destroyed not created.  That is the fundamental difference between the robber barons of olde and the robber barons of new.”

“No dispute here.”

“Taxing some of the stolen money is impossible when the government can be and has been taken over and overtaken by the small cabal that owns and runs the kleptocracy.”

“No dispute here.”

“Today we hold electrons not dollars.  For a few seconds one afternoon, my computer indicated that there was nothing in my retirement account.  All 000s.  All goose eggs.  That caught my attention.  Seemed like a true harbinger of what will happen in the future.  The system refreshed in a few seconds and reported familiar figures.  What about a Digital Revolution that simply eliminates from all records ownership of any assets over five million dollars by any one person?”

“Cyberactivities are the real weapons of mass destruction.  They are also the weapons of mass creation.  Sort of like nuclear technology that is creative when harnessed for positive ends and destructive when deployed for harmful ends.  A five million dollar threshold will not impact me.”

“After the Digital Revolution, when you log onto your computer, you discover that you have no more than five million per person and ten million per couple including a personal residence, a vehicle, savings, golf clubs, polo saddles, etc.  As a rough gauge of worth or value to the individual, the algorithm will treat assets within a class such as a residence, cabin, car or boat that has been owned the longest as the most valuable and will remain with the individual.  The other assets will be randomly assigned to others.”

“No impact here, yet imagine the surprise one morning when someone wakes up to discover that he owns a fractional interest in a fractionally-rigged 76 foot sloop with rod rigging and a full complement of complimentary sails.”

“That only creates another travesty.  Individuals who did not create an idea, work late at night or take a risk should not be rewarded gratuitously.  The scheme would only contribute to the entitlement mentality that is such a defining part of the problem in contemporary America.  No one seems to be producing good goods or undertaking productive activities; no one deserves any reward.  However, the Digital Revolution would make a great novel.  ‘Coming to a theater near you.’”

“Don’t worry, the Chinese will trigger the Digital Revolution, although the outcome will be far less equitable than your proposal.  Perhaps you should worry.”

(World Water Day)

(Stewart Udall 1920 – 2010)

Bumper stickers of the week:

Golden Rule:  He who has the gold makes the rules.

Carnegie made steel; today’s barons steal.

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