RadioActive Chief

Consent of the governed – and the lack thereof By: Glenn Harlan Reynolds

Our Declaration of Independence observes: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” “Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is boilerplate American history, and something that Americans — and, in particular, America’s political class — have long taken for granted. But now things are looking a bit dicey. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll , only 21 percent of American voters believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed. On the other hand, Rasmussen notes, a full 63 percent of the “political class” believe that the government enjoys the consent of the governed.

Taking note of the glaring disconnect between us and our self-conflated “rulers”, Glenn goes on to amplify and extend the point:

…only 63 percent…still less than two-thirds of the political class — regard the federal government as legitimate by the standards of America’s founding document. The remainder, [the other 33%] presumably, are comfortable being tyrants.[!]

These numbers should raise deep worries about the future of our republic. A nation whose government does not rest on the consent of the governed is a nation whose government holds sway only by inertia, or by force. It is a nation vulnerable to political shocks, usurpation, or perhaps even political collapse or civil war. It is a body politic suffering from a serious illness. Those who care about America should be very worried.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: it’s well worth the read…and if it doesn’t give you some real concerns…then IMHO you aren’t worthy of having the privilege of living in a democratic republic…stay home on election day so you don’t screw it up for the rest of us who want to. The alternative?

Well, the Declaration of Independence allows for the prospect of altering or abolishing the government we have in order to get a government that’s closer to what we want. That needn’t involve anything as violent as the American Revolution or the Civil War, but the need for change — real, structural change as opposed to campaign-slogan “change” — is becoming more obvious.

In the past, America has managed to reinvent itself without transformations as wrenching as the Civil War or the Revolution. As the legitimacy of our current arrangements becomes increasingly threadbare, it is perhaps worth thinking about how this might be accomplished again.

Have Any Spare 12 Gauge Shotguns? If So, The Department of Education Would Like to Buy Them…

This is from the linked D.O.E. solicitation for bids.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) intends to purchase twenty-seven (27) REMINGTON BRAND MODEL 870 POLICE 12/14P MOD GRWC XS4 KXCS SF. RAMAC #24587 GAUGE: 12 BARREL: 14″ – PARKERIZED CHOKE: MODIFIED SIGHTS: GHOST RING REAR WILSON COMBAT; FRONT – XS CONTOUR BEAD SIGHT STOCK: KNOXX REDUCE RECOIL ADJUSTABLE STOCK FORE-END: SPEEDFEED SPORT-SOLID

Why do I doubt that they are starting a student skeet-shooting program?

So what ARE they doing with ‘em?

California watchdog sees climate policy job losses

California is likely to see modest job losses in the near term from its aggressive climate change policy due to higher energy costs and other factors, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office said. Skip related content

The budget watchdog was responding to a request by Republican state Senator Dave Cogdill to study the effects of California’s 2006 climate change law, which mandates changes to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The report goes on to note that the reason that the losses are only modest, is that California uses less energy overall, due to it’s generally salubrious climate.

Otherwise, the only surprise here is that any one is surprised. If the green stuff was really stimulative to the economy, it wouldn’t need government programs at any level to encourage it…entrepreneurs would be lining up to jump into the business on their own.

WTH?  What’s next?

Culled out: Obama moving to limit fishing access

The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is “fluid” and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn’t issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

That’s a disappointment, but not really a surprise for fishing industry insiders who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force. These angling advocates have come to suspect that public input into the process was a charade from the beginning.

This is an old strategy that was at the heart of the old Soviet system: solicit input, ignore it, impose whatever it was you were planning to do in the first place. (Since you DID solicity “input”, it is considered a “democratic” process…the people did get their say, not that it was really worth anything!)

There’s a precedent for this process:

“When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario,” said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.

“Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard working American families and small businesses are being ignored.

“In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President’s concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority.”

There is more detail in the article, and others linked from it, on what’s going on…with the usual suspects…enviro special interest groups with their collective noses up the backside of the bureaucrats who will be generating the executive order Imperial Decree that the “Dear Leader” eventually signs.

Typical progressive arrogant elitism once again. B.O. really has THAT routine down pat!

Harry Smith colonoscopy to air on `Early Show’

“The Early Show” co-anchor Harry Smith is scheduled to have a colonoscopy Wednesday, with live reports planned as he undergoes the procedure at a New York hospital.

CBS says it will be the first time an anchor has had a colonoscopy live on network television.

How unfortunate – both for them and for us.

White House land grab
Proposal to seize land would favor animals over Americans

You’d think the Obama administration is busy enough controlling the banks, insurance companies and automakers, but thanks to whistleblowers at the Department of the Interior, we now learn they’re planning to increase their control over energy-rich land in the West.

A secret administration memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres from Montana to New Mexico, halting job- creating activities like ranching, forestry, mining and energy development. Worse, this land grab would dry up tax revenue that’s essential for funding schools, firehouses and community centers.

President Obama could enact the plans in this memo with just the stroke of a pen, without any input from the communities affected by it.

At a time when our national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent, it is unbelievable anyone would be looking to stop job-creating energy enterprises, yet that’s exactly what’s happening.

We’ve been there, done that, under Carter and Clinton. B.O. seems inclined to follow their evil example.

Hopefully there’s enough gumption out there to stop him from doing this.

Locking up lands with energy resources? What’s THAT about?

Hmmmm. After spending us into international bankruptcy we’ll need to do SOMETHING to re-boot the dollar…auctions of mineral and energy rights could be a way to do it. Now, who has a lot of cash and a high demand for more energy to drive a forced industrial expansion?

China.  Not a nice thought, but there it is.

Shuttle flights would continue under new proposal

The space shuttle era could get a new lease on life under a bill filed today by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

The measure would delay the shuttle’s planned retirement in 2010 until NASA is confident that a replacement spacecraft is ready or that the shuttle and its massive payload bay is no longer needed to keep the International Space Station afloat through 2020.

The 37-page bill also authorizes an additional $1.3 billion in NASA spending next year above President Barack Obama’s request of $19 billion. The extra money would help prepare NASA for as many as two additional shuttle flights per year after 2010, as well as fund new spacecraft development.

“This must not be an ‘either or’ proposition where we are forced to choose between continuing to fly the shuttle to service the station and maintain our independence in reaching space, or investing in the next generation of space vehicle. We can and must do both,” Hutchison said in a statement.

The Chief doesn’t always appreciate Sen. Hutchinson’s brand of semi-conservatism, but in this case she’s spot-on:

…the Hutchison measure emphasizes the need for NASA to have a government-run system that could lift astronauts into space. The new bill also calls for the “continuation or modification” of programs initiated under the Constellation program.

“While commercial transportation systems may contribute valuable services, it is in the United States’ national interest to maintain a government operated space transportation system for crew and cargo delivery to low-Earth orbit and beyond,” it notes.

The private spaceflight efforts need to encouraged, and have administrative hurdles lowered. At the same time, as noted above, a continuing ability for the US to directly access the orbital high-ground is absolutely critical as a matter of national security…the space station be damned!

There’s a LOT of stuff right now on this…because there is a lot happening. Follow the links for additional coverage on these…

Sen. Thune, to his credit, is leading out in the Senate opposition to Obamascare:

Thune: GOP preparing to slow or block health bill in Senate debate

Republicans are preparing to raise points of order and other roadblocks to the healthcare bill, a member of the Senate GOP leadership said Tuesday evening.

Like the African proverb says: “Any stick will do when you have to beat a snake.”

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the fourth-ranking Senate Republican who serves as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, said the GOP is prepared for a number of scenarios in which they would seek to slow down or halt passage of healthcare legislation once it comes back before the Senate.

“I still think it creates a lot of problems when it comes back to the Senate because there will be lots of points of order that will lie against the bill in the Senate, and obviously, we will, hopefully, have the opportunity to raise some of those,” Thune said of the health bill during an appearance on Fox News.

Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes

Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he’s obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson’s brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

After the “Louisiana Purchase”, the Cornhusker Kickback”, and the Union exemption one had to wonder if there was any way for the abuse of Presidential power in the interest of partisan politics could be even more flagrent. Now we know. The Answer is yes. What’s next? More of the “Chicago Way” of business:

Barack Obama: I’ll steamroll health reforms through Congress

President Obama declared for the first time yesterday that he was prepared to steamroller his troubled health reform legislation through Congress with only Democratic support; a move Republicans denounced as the “nuclear option”.

Signalling that his patience had snapped after a year-long fight, Mr Obama laid the ground for Democrats in Congress to muscle the Bill through using a high-risk legislative manoeuvre known as reconciliation, which overrides a Republican filibuster. Although he did not use the word “reconciliation”, Mr Obama made it clear that that was the route he intended to take.

Democrats will, as a result, be able to get the health reform package through the Senate with a simple majority. Mr Obama’s party ceded their 60-stong majority in the upper chamber after losing the late Teddy Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat in January.

That shock defeat was due, in large part, to growing public hostility to Mr Obama’s health reforms, which many see as too expensive at a time of soaring deficits. Ramming the Bill through Congress is, therefore, a high-risk strategy that Republicans vowed to exploit.

In short, straight out of the progressive playbook: “Screw you people…you’re obviously too stupid to know what’s good for you, so I, as the leader, will drag you into the future whether you like it or not!”

COULD NOT RESIST
Obama Caught Eyeing Up A Minor`s Backside

(Insert caption here.)

Obama, whose mouth dropped, did not notice his French counterpart Sarkozy observing him with a smile on his face.

“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” Maybe he’s catching the Bubba-virus.

A number of articles have been posted from the former leaders of the COMBLOC during the former Cold War have been coming up lately that seem like that same old deja-vu all over again.

Putin: Russia to build new strategic bomber

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia will build a new strategic bomber, a move that comes as the nation tries to upgrade its aging military arsenal.

Putin said in televised remarks that work on the bomber must follow the development of a prospective stealth fighter, which made its maiden flight in January and was hailed by the government as a big step in military modernization efforts.

“We won’t limit ourselves to just one new model,” Putin said at a government meeting that focused on military aviation. “We must start work on a prospective long-range aircraft, our new strategic bomber.”

A few things come immediately to mind.

Firstly, this development is taking place in spite of continuing bumps in the reconstruction of the post-Soviet economic and technical infrastructure. In spite of the cost, the ex-KGB Putin has decided that this is the direction to go…and logically…who is there to aim these new weapons platforms at…but the United States?

Secondly, note the comment…”We won’t limit ourselves to just one new model”, as Obamamerica lurches sloooooooowly towards the F-35 which is going to be ready at some undetermined point in the future, and is supposed to be used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in spite of the widely diverse demands from the different service branches. Combat aircraft have to do more than just fly, but the Obamamaniacal defense wonks are incapable of figuring this out.

Thirdly, and obviously, they are simultaneously going to beef up and improve their strategic bomber inventory with a new plane. Our plans? Er…what plans?
Meanwhile, there is this love note from those paragons of respecting human rights who hang out in Beijing:

China PLA officer urges challenging U.S. dominance

China should build the world’s strongest military and move swiftly to topple the United States as the global “champion,” a senior Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions.

The call for China to abandon modesty about its global goals and “sprint to become world number one” comes from a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu, who warns that his nation’s ascent will alarm Washington, risking war despite Beijing’s hopes for a “peaceful rise.”

ChiCom military rise? Like for instance their planned drive to build a 600-ship blue-water “People’s Liberation Army Navy”, complete with aircraft carriers, as just ONE example that comes readily to mind.

“As long as China seeks to rise to become world number one … then even if China is even more capitalist than the U.S., the U.S. will still be determined to contain it,” writes Liu.

Rivalry between the two powers is a “competition to be the leading country, a conflict over who rises and falls to dominate the world,” says Liu. “To save itself, to save the world, China must prepare to become the (world’s) helmsman.”

“The China Dream” does not represent government policy, which has been far less strident about the nation’s goals.

You can believe as much of that as you wish, but the Chief isn’t reassured…ever hear of the old “good cop, bad cop” game?

On a slightly different but still diagnostic note, comes this post-Olympic item from Russia:

Medvedev demands resignations over Olympic flop

President Dmitry Medvedev demanded Monday that Russian sports officials step down over the country’s dismal performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Russia, a traditional winter sports powerhouse, won just 15 medals — with only three golds — in one of its worst performances. Officials said before the games that 30 medals and a top-three finish in the medal standings was the target.

Russia placed 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal count.

In televised comments, Medvedev said if those responsible for preparing the athletes don’t resign then the decision will be made for them. He did not mention anyone by name.

…”but we know who you are!”

In nine Winter Olympics between 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union failed to top the medal standings only twice, finishing runner-up on those occasions.

Medvedev lamented that Russia “has lost the old Soviet school … and we haven’t created our own school — despite the fact that the amount of money that is invested in sport is unprecedentedly high.”

YIKES! It’s a good thing that Stalinist type purges are out of style over there (at least for now), or there might be a new GULAG Olympic Sports Center in say…Novosibirsk or someplace equally salubrious.

Food Nazi’s of various stripes often unite in condemning modern life’s relishing of so-called junk food. They have claimed that our ancestors were much closer to nature, had more healthy diets, and thereby avoided many of our health problems. Archeologists have discovered a different version of that story.

Egyptian priests lived on junk food diet

Delicious and bountiful banquets offered to the gods and eaten by Egyptian priests and their families were laden with artery-clogging saturated fat, research shows. The evidence comes from hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls and the priests’ mummified remains – which bear the unmistakable signs of damaged arteries and heart disease.

Sumptuous meals of beef, wild fowl, bread, fruit, vegetables, cake, wine and beer were given up to the gods three times a day. After making their offerings at the temple, the priests would adopt a ‘’shame to let it go to waste” policy and take them back home to their families.

Hmmmmm…did Egyptian priests cheer ‘RA! RA! RA!” as they invented the tailgate party on the back of their chariots? (Sorry…I just couldn’t resist that!)

Professor Rosalie David, from the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences, who led the study, said: ”There couldn’t be a more evocative message: live like a god and you will pay with your health.

”It also shows that blocked arteries caused by rich diets are not just a modern malaise – the problem goes back to ancient civilisations.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Islamic radicals ‘infiltrate’ the Labour Party

A Labour minister says his party has been infiltrated by a fundamentalist Muslim group that wants to create an “Islamic social and political order” in Britain.
The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE)…

Hmmmm. Sounds like the Euro version of C.A.I.R. (Congress on American-Islamic Relations) which afflicts us with their own version of Islamisms.

…which believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state — has placed sympathisers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve “mass mobilisation” of voters.

It’s not so bad here yet…most of OUR immigration influx comes from more-or-less Catholic Latin America, which may turn out to be part of our salvation in the end.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Fitzpatrick, the Environment Minister, said the IFE had become, in effect, a secret party within Labour and other political parties.

“They are acting almost as an entryist organisation, placing people within the political parties, recruiting members to those political parties, trying to get individuals selected and elected so they can exercise political influence and power, whether it’s at local government level or national level,” he said.

“They are completely at odds with Labour’s programme, with our support for secularism.”

Of course the Islamos deny any sort of ulterior agenda whatsoever…maybe because it’s no longer ulterior…it’s right out in front: “We want your world for dar es salaam, and we want it NOW!”

Decide for yourself:

Lego enthusiast builds Airbus A380 with 35,000 bricks

A dedicated Lego enthusiast impressed fans with this painstaking replica of the world’s biggest passenger plane – built with more than 35,000 individual pieces. The 7ft-long (2.2m) and 6ft-wide (1.8m) Qantas Airbus A380 is split in half to reveal the intricate workings of life on-board a three-storey long-haul flight.

Lego enthusiast Ryan McNaught, 37, also known as the “The BrickMan”, spent more than eight months constructing the masterpiece in his garage.

His red, white and grey model boasts a range of fully automated touch screen controlled functions including front landing gear, two rear landing gear doors and airbrakes on the wing.

Ryan also fitted functioning landing lights, engines, air brakes on the wing and a tail fin on the rear wing.

Among his two-inch-high cast of crew and passengers are iconic characters from well-known films including Indiana Jones, Yoda, and the Samuel L. Jackson character from ‘Snakes on a Plane’.

There has been no comment on this technological triumph from Boeing.

Brookings, SD native James Francis has been reported safe in Santiago, Chile in the aftermath of the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the South American country early this morning.

Francis, a graduate of Brookings HS, is currently serving a two-year mission in Chile for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His mother, Madelyn Francis has received a report that all the LDS Church’s missionaries are reported safe and accounted for after the quake. She reported that her son had noted that a couple of weeks ago all of the missionaries serving in Chile were given water filtration bottles, and received contingency training for surviving earthquakes and dealing with the aftermath.

In other accounts Chile, with it’s well-developed infrastructure and more modern building codes is withstanding its heavy damage with less harm to human life than Haiti did.

Now…after getting past tsunamis and aftershocks, the task of search, rescue, and damage clearance starts and will continue.

CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens’ rights

A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.

Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government’s become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree. [emphasis added]

Apparently all that change isn’t quite what was hoped for!

According to CNN poll numbers released Sunday, Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken – though the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what’s broken can be fixed

…like, in November!

There is just too much discussion going on worthy of reply about this to let it go without additional comment.

The starting reference point is HC1009, labeled: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Calling for balanced teaching of global warming in the public schools of South Dakota.

The Chief has taught HS sciences for a quarter century…and the prevailing orthodoxy on AGW (anthropogenic global warming: you know, man made!) is junk science at best, and at worst is totally bogus intellectual fraud. After formally studying a number of relevant scientific disciplines, IMHO AlGore and the glowbull warming advocates are claiming far, far more than is supported by the VALID evidence…which looks better and better with every successive debunking of junk “evidence” that has been used by the IPCC, and other agencies like the UK Meteorological Office, East Anglia University Climate Unit, etc.

The US science teaching establishment to a large extent has drunk the AlGore Kool Aid…and has little bashfulness about promoting what IMHO is a grossly distorted pseudoscientific dogma in the classroom.

This is the backstory on HC1009…which is well intentioned, but is in need of some important correction to be credible. Some of these corrections have been noted several places in the blogosphere. Badlands Blue and Madville Times both have erupted on this to some degree at least…CAH seems to be a bit more sensible in his comments, but admittedly both have properly noted some real problems, which were also noted with a bit more specificity in a posting from SD Politics.

Overall, the Chief concurs with the latter of these, not so much with the former commenters. The references in the bill to “astrology(!)”, “thermography”, and “interrelativity” (which suggests some sort of warp drive travel or something) obviously (at least to me!) need to be cleaned up.

There is one additional wording change that I would heartily suggest. The passage in the bill that states “That global warming is a scientific theory rather than a proven fact;” is also incorrect in this context.

The Chief continually stressed to his students that a “scientific theory” is NOT a guess about something…it is rather a unified explanation that is able to account for a large body of related proven scientific phenomena. The idea a man-made glowbull warming is IMHO a LONG way from reaching the level of established theory. A more appropriate statement in the bill at that point would be “That global warming is a scientific hypothesis rather than a proven fact”.

In science, a hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a scientific question. The validity or non-validity of the explanation may be established by the process of experimentation. To be supported, a hypothesis must be demonstrated REPEATEDLY by experiments (or data) that are clearly and concisely defined, and are available to anyone else interested in the topic, who then is able to also demonstrate the same conclusion. If the conclusion can not be logically and unambiguously supported from a number of independent sources then if cannot be considered as being scientifically valid.

That is the current state of the hypothesis of AGW today, and as more and more cases of shoddy research, flawed and/or missing critical data, and evident “rigging” of the scientific review process comes to light, it becomes less and less likely that AlGore and others of his enviromental ilk are correct in their assertions of “estab;lished science”.

So, what’s to get exercised about concerning the scientific Waterloo being defended by the orthodox “warmists”?  It is neatly summarized in Ken’s concluding paragraph in his above- noted and linked post at SD Politics:

Climate change alarmism is in a crisis right now, for good reason. Cap and Trade legislation, a very costly proposal based on very dubious quasi-scientific ideas, is something the State of South Dakota ought to be concerned about. It is easy to make mistakes when putting a resolution together, but if we are going to weigh in on this we need to be rather more careful in our choice of words.

Hear, hear!

The CHief commented on Baraq Hussein’s concession that he is abandoning his sacred campaign promises to avoid any middle class tax increases. This extends that discussion

Obama Begins His Assault on Your Life Savings

The welfare state and your life savings are two cars heading down a one-lane road in opposite directions. One must yield, or there will be a crash.

For Americans who believe in the old-fashioned virtues of hard work, self reliance and respect for private property, the solution is obvious. The welfare state must yield.

For politicians who believe in the welfare state and redistributing wealth, the solution is equally obvious. Your savings must yield.

Barack Obama is of the latter group. In the new health care proposal he outlined this week, he suggested a series of unprecedented tax increases that would extend the greedy hands of government into the life savings of hard-working Americans.

Think this won’t have much effect here in SD?

More of the gory details are described in the article…the conclusion, referring to some of the planned revisions, caught the eye:
The new taxes Obama wants to impose on interest, dividends, annuities and rents to pay for his health care plan are in fact taxes on the life savings of the net payers — on their 401(k)s, savings accounts, paid-off mortgages and life insurance policies — to cover benefits for the net recipients. The redistributionists would ultimately need $435,000 from every full-time worker to cover the welfare state’s unfunded liabilities — even if Obama’s health care plan were never enacted.

Obama is pointing them down the road where they will find it.

Hmmmm. The Chief is a semi-retired public school teacher. Sound like one of those rich folks? (Surely you jest!)

We are living on a quarter-section that has been in the family for over a century — not eactly a land baron. Not being a professional farmer, the cropland on our homestead is rented out to a neighboring pro agriculturalist.

TA-DA! Now, according to B.O.’s reasoning, I am now suddenly by definition a wealthy plutocratic land-owner with “unearned” rental income that becomes worthy of paying extra taxes…and THIS is after already experiencing two successive years of actual tax increases due to IRS “tweaking” the rules.

With no apologies to ANYONE, the Chief has NO HESITATION to state unequivocally that anyone stating that B.O. is not going after the middle class for tax increases under the guise of the Obamacare is either (1) a total partisan hack kool-aid drinker, (2) incapable of rational analysis, (3) someone out for the extension of governmental domination as their primary policy goal, (4) a well-intentioned fool with a lack of situational awareness, or (5) some combination of the above.

Sorry folks, the proof of the puddin’ is in the outgoing increased payment checks to the I.R.S. — at the same time that income has significantly decreased!

How’s all that HOPE and CHANGE working out for YOU?

Prez’s newest idea: Simply outlaw reality

Included in President Oba ma’s latest stab at health-care reform released yesterday is one of the more astonishing admissions of political deception in recent memory.

After months of swearing that his health legislation would lower the skyrocketing costs of insurance premiums, Obama finally acknowledged that actually it would not.

So, instead, he has included a new provision that can simply outlaw premium increases his administration deems “unreasonable and unjustified.”

This, in lieu of literally years of promises and proclamations about transforming the American hospital-industrial complex in a way that would drastically lower the cost of medicine in this country and leave insurance companies scrambling to lower the premiums they charge customers.

During his campaign, Obama flatly promised to lower families’ health-insurance premiums by $2,500 every year.

Then, after he ascended to the throne, Obama repeatedly insisted without any reservations that all the health-care alchemy inspired by him would magically lower those premiums.

Even in the face of congressional accountants who repeatedly raised doubts about those promises, Obama insisted.

Now the comes the truth.

There are more gory details in the original article…

Hmmmm. Isn’t there an account of an ancient Brit king named Knut (later Anglicized to Canute) who tried to change reality by proclamation?   I seem to recall it didn’t work very well .

Read His Lips: Obama Calls for Increasing Payroll Taxes on ‘Households’ Earning Less Than $250,000 Per Year

Anyone who believed that middle class taxes would NOT be raised needs to do some work on something called “situational awareness”.

THEN:

In a Sept. 12, 2008 campaign speech in Dover, N.H, Obama said: “And I can make a firm pledge: Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase—not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your  taxes.”

NOW:

President Obama presented a new health care plan on Monday that calls for raising the Medicare payroll tax on some households earning less than $250,000, an apparent breach of his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on families earning less than that amount. The president’s plan also calls for increasing taxes on interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents.

OK already! I’m converted! I now am hoping for a change…away from Baraq Hussein & his “progressive” ilk.

H/T to an e-mail correspondent:

This was at the pull off at Hwy 385 and Sheridan Lake Rd. in the Black Hills west of Rapid City.

A deer was hit there. The couch was dumped there previously.

Day two the deer was on the couch.

Day three the end table and lamp showed up.

Day four the TV and TV stand, and the sign showed up.

Note the sign in front of the deer on the couch: “Sorry Hunters, Obama ruined healthcare. We can’t afford to have injured hunters on our conscience – Stayin home, sorry – the Deer.”

The SDHP Troopers had to call Pennington County DOT because of all the people stopping to take pictures.

One always has the choice of accepting hard truth, or not. One does not have the option of evading the consequences of that decision.

Economic Depression: A Better Definition

“How can you keep talking about a depression,” asks a Dear Reader, “when the economy is clearly recovering just as it should be.”

Ah ha! We’ll explain in a minute.

First, the latest from Wall Street: The Dow fell 18 points yesterday. We’re still not sure whether the final, fading phase of the bear market has begun or not. This bounce took the Dow back to 10,725 on January 19th. It hasn’t seen that level since. Was that it? Was that as high as it’s going to get? Is it down from here on out…until the Dow finally bottoms out somewhere south of 5,000?

We don’t know. We’ll just have to wait to find out…along with everyone else.

Now…back to that ‘recovery’….

It’s true that there are some signs of “stabilization.” The unemployment rate is not getting badder as fast as it was a few months ago. And house prices seem to have stopped falling – for the moment. It’s also true that the economy managed to register positive ‘growth’ in the last quarter…mostly thanks to government spending and inventory restocking.

The trouble is, all of these things are consistent with a depression – especially a depression that the feds are fighting every inch of the way. In the 1930s, there were several years of growth…and there were great years for the stock market too. Then, things fell apart again. The nation ended the ’30s not one penny richer than it had been when it began them.

And Japan has seen some good years and some bad years, too, since its depression began in 1990. Oddly, Japan’s population is falling…so in per capita terms, Japan’s downturn hasn’t really been so bad. Per person, the Japanese got richer over the last 10 years.

It’s also true that here at The Daily Reckoning, we use the term ‘depression’ a bit differently than most economists. Most economists believe GDP growth represents increasing prosperity. They think a depression is merely a recession, with negative GDP growth, that lasts longer and goes more deeply than normal.
Our definitions are better:

A recession is a pause during a period of growth. A depression marks the end of the period of growth…giving the economy a chance to make adjustments so that a new period of growth may begin.

THAT makes real sense, especially compared to “Hope and Change”.  Of course one can also continue to partake of the “H & C” Koolaid.  It’s your call, but don’t come ’round looking for a bail-out!

The rest of the piece has more development and illustration of this principle…it’s well worth taking a look.

Only 21% Say U.S. Government Has Consent of the Governed

The founding document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Today, however, just 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% disagree and say the government does not have the necessary consent. Eighteen percent (18%) of voters are not sure.

By way of comparison, at the time of the American Revolution, it has been estimated that approximately 1/3 of the people were in favor of the revolution, and 1/3 were loyal to the British crown.

However, 63% of the Political Class think the government has the consent of the governed, but only six percent (6%) of those with Mainstream views agree.

The phrase “poor situational awareness” comes to mind for the case of our government “leaders”.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of all voters now view the federal government as a special interest group, and 70% believe that the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors. [emphases added]

So much for change we can believe in!

Signers: Conservative manifesto is call to action

Leaders of major conservative groups on Wednesday signed a manifesto vowing to push the country to return to constitutional principles, saying they’ve grown tired of having to accept government expansion at the hands of liberals.

“It’s our turn. We’ve had about enough of you. We’re going to take you on, and it’s time to defeat you,” said Mark Levin, a talk-radio host and president of the Landmark Legal Foundation.

Hoo-rah!

…the manifesto – labeled “the Mount Vernon Statement” because it was signed near the first president’s home – is designed to update a 1960 declaration issued by conservatives that heralded the rise of 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater and, eventually, President Reagan.

The new statement, signed by dozens of leaders of conservative lobby groups, is more a declaration of battle than a list of ideas. It says the ideas of the Founding Fathers are under attack and must be defended, and says calls for change are “an empty promise or even a dangerous deception.”

For the full text of the statement itself, go here.

DISCLOSURE: The Chief has already signed on via the web site.

It is the first major statement of conservatives’ goals since 1960, when conservative intellectuals gathered in Sharon, Conn., at the home of William F. Buckley Jr. to write down the principles that became the founding document of Young Americans for Freedom. That effort provided the seed that led to the conservative movements twin peaks of political success: the Barry Goldwater factions overthrow of the liberal Republican establishment in the early 1960s and Ronald Reagans political triumphs of the 1980s.

Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, said he would sign the statement and said politicians who can’t agree to the basic precepts “are part of the problem and should be replaced.”

One would presume that fellow-Carolinian Lindsey Grahamnesty and the rest of the McCainiac wing of the GOP is not exactly enthused by this. Oh well.

Doing business The Grateful Dead way

The Grateful Dead was famous for letting their fans tape their live shows….

The Dead recognized that allowing fans to record for free widened their audience and the band became one of the most profitable groups in history. The band’s lyricist, John Perry Barlow, went on to become an Internet guru.

Barlow wrote in Wired in 1994 that in the information economy, “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.” He explained to Joshua Green of the Atlantic: “What people today are beginning to realize is what became obvious to us back then–the important correlation is the one between familiarity and value, not scarcity and value. Adam Smith taught that the scarcer you make something, the more valuable it becomes. In the physical world, that works beautifully. But we couldn’t regulate [taping at] our shows, and you can’t online. The Internet doesn’t behave that way. But here’s the thing: if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced. That was the value proposition with the Dead.”

The Chief has always liked the Grateful Dead from the time of his first acquaintance with them at the time he first entered active Naval service at the (then) Treasure Island Naval Station in the middle of the ‘Frisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 1967. This is one more reason to appreciate how they operated.

SciFi publishing house Baen Books has gone in the same direction, with a “free library” on many titles available for free download in Mobipocket and other handy e-book formats, with no DRM or restriction on free distribution. On their site they explain their reasoning which runs much the same as Barlows. They also noted that after they put books by an author into the free download library, there was inevitably an distinct increase in sales for that author. They also have very reasonable prices on titles for paid download ($5-$6 typical), especially compared to other sources of e-titles. The Chief uses them on his PDA…who needs a Kindle?

The idea of nullification – states exercising their sovereignty to “opt out” of subjection to what they consider to be inappropriate, usurpatory, or improper acts or programs of the federal government – has been around since the late 1790’s (see: the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions).

The laws in Montana and Utah exempting intrastate manufacture, sale, and use of firearms from federal regulations, as well as the state authorizations for “medical” marijuana in contradiction to federal drug laws are current examples of the same principle being applied today.

59% Favor Letting States Opt Out of Federal Programs

Voters strongly believe that a state should have the right to avoid federal programs it doesn’t like, but they draw the line at states seceding from the union.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of likely voters say states should have the right to opt out of federal government programs they don’t agree with. Just 25% disagree, while another 15% are not sure.

Looks like a good part of the concern deals with the considerable financial burden that many federal programs shift to the states through imposition of administrative regulations and program requirements.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters also think states should have the right to opt out of federally mandated programs if the federal government doesn’t help pay for them. Seventeen percent (17%) say states should not have the right to opt out of federally mandated programs.

In this, there is a distinct partisan bias that pits a Republican and independent majority in support of the right to opt-out against a Democrat minority:

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans and 67% of voters not affiliated with either major party say states should have the right to opt out of federal programs with which they don’t agree. Just 37% of Democrats agree.

The 10th Amendment is still alive: 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.

No, this does NOT have to do with texting behind the wheel!

Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Ever worry that that gadget you spend hours holding next to your head might be damaging your brain? Well, the evidence is starting to pour in, and it’s not pretty. So why isn’t anyone in America doing anything about it?

Gue$$ why not?

This is a somewhat lengthy article, and unfortunately the science looks to be pretty reasonable, and gives something to think about.

This IS worth some thought – read the article for yourself.

Personally, I DO use a cell phone, and will continue to do so…but it is not heavy use by any standard, and at this point that may be all to the good, so I can preserve a few more surviving veteran brain cells that made it through the 60’s and early 70’s.

The words of classic comedian Oliver Hardy: “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into” could be Dr. Phil Jones’s lament to himself, as he fires another torpedo into the listing hulk of Glowbull Warming.  The Chief will always refer to Dr. Phil Jones, or Dr. P.J., not just “Dr. Jones”, to avoid demeaning the original “Dr. Jones” (Indiana Jones)

Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995

The bullet point highlights:
* Data for vital ‘hockey stick graph’ has gone missing
* There has been no global warming since 1995
* Warming periods have happened before – but NOT due to man-made changes

The academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information.

Dr. P.J. should note that it’s easier to do this when telling the truth…that way one only has to remember the ACTUAL facts, not the always more complex web of phony “facts”.

Colleagues say that the reason Professor Phil Jones has refused Freedom of Information requests is that he may have actually lost the relevant papers.

This must be the upper academic version of the traditional “My dog ate my homework!” excuse

Professor Jones told the BBC yesterday there was truth in the observations of colleagues that he lacked organisational skills, that his office was swamped with piles of paper and that his record keeping is ‘not as good as it should be’.

But…he can pull together “data”, supposedly going back thousands of years in some cases, and use it to project global climate patterns for hundreds of years into the future…but we can’t accurately predict climatic conditions for this year or the next.

The data is crucial to the famous ‘hockey stick graph’ used by climate change advocates to support the theory.

The Glowbull Warmists need to use that hockey stick to make like a goalie and “Get the puck out!”

Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.

Wonder what his first clue was…no doubt the discovery that medieval times was deficient in SUV’s.

And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming.

This gives a whole new perspective on the term “junk science”!.
Of course the boneheads in the Baraq Hussein administration are still genuflecting at the Great Gaean Altar, and proclaiming their determination to pursue “cap and tax” by hook or by crook.

This is from the Times of London, not exactly noted as being a wild-eyed stronghold of the VWRC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy).

World may not be warming, say scientists

The United Nations climate panel faces a new challenge with scientists casting doubt on its claim that global temperatures are rising inexorably because of human pollution.

In its last assessment the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the evidence that the world was warming was “unequivocal”. It warned that greenhouse gases had already heated the world by 0.7C and that there could be 5C-6C more warming by 2100, with devastating impacts on humanity and wildlife.

That was then, this is now:

However, new research, including work by British scientists, is casting doubt on such claims. Some even suggest the world may not be warming much at all.

“The temperature records cannot be relied on as indicators of global change,” said John Christy, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a former lead author on the IPCC.

The doubts of Christy and a number of other researchers focus on the thousands of weather stations around the world, which have been used to collect temperature data over the past 150 years. These stations, they believe, have been seriously compromised by factors such as urbanisation, changes in land use and, in many cases, being moved from site to site.

DUH – d’ya think, maybe?

Christy has published research papers looking at these effects in three different regions: east Africa, and the American states of California and Alabama. “The story is the same for each one,” he said. “The popular data sets show a lot of warming but the apparent temperature rise was actually caused by local factors affecting the weather stations, such as land development.”

This article goes on to detail problematic temperature monitoring sites; things like location next to air-conditioner exhaust vents, trash incinerators, and in the path of jet-blast from airport runways.

Unbelievable! Check it out for yourself.

TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE – A Declaration

This is one of the neatest videos I have seen in a LONG time: U.S. History meets MTV!

Lyrics:

Halfway across the globe
And we’re standing on new ground
Screaming ‘cross the waves
You can’t hear a sound
There’s no fair trials, no trade, no liberties
No tea
We’ve colonized America; we won’t stand for tyranny,
Oh king

And it’s too late to apologize
It’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize
It’s too late

We’ve paid your foolish tax, read the acts
And they just won’t do
We want to make it clear, we believe this much is true
All men were created with certain

Unalienable rights
Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
Of happiness

And it’s too late to apologize
It’s too late
I said It’s too late to apologize
It’s too late

It’s too late to apologize
It’s too late
I said it’s too late apologize
It’s too late

I said it’s too late to apologize, yeah
It’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize, yeah

Halfway across the globe
And we’re standing on new ground

H/T to E3 Gazette