Quotation of the Day

Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the supreme law. It is sometimes sneeringly said by those who do not like free government, that here we count heads. True, heads are counted, but brains also. And the general sense of 63 millions of free people is better and safer than the sense of a favored few, born to nobility and ruling by inheritance.

-- William McKinley (1891)

And the general sense of free people is better and safer than the sense of a favored few ruling for the benefit of large contributors.

More on Climategate

Stephen Hopkins has compiled in his blog Aude Sapere an impressive listing of mainstream and other media reports about the Climategate scandal, which is the revelation that data were being altered to support claims of global warming.

Somehow

Carol Moore is a passionate secessionist and libertarian. While she can hold some rather unusual positions, her heart is in the right place, especially when it comes to anti-war issues. I thought this piece from Nov. 8 was particularly appropriate:

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith*, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

* Carol, there is a worldview that reconciles faith and reason within Christianity; but that is a discussion for another day.

Okay, now do you believe me?

It appears that "Climategate" * is going to sink the Copenhagen Treaty, which has to be good news for freedom-loving people everywhere. Of course, references to it are scarce in the mainstream media, perhaps because they're having trouble figuring out how to spin it.

Or maybe they can't spin it. The theft of some 3,000 e-mails from scientists critical of global warming (and who showed that the data were manipulated) is a serious offense; especially when so much pressure was being put on the world to adopt strict carbon-emissions rules.

I have been stating for some time that the scientific data led to considerable doubt that global warming was anything other than a hoax. But then truth is easy to ignore until something like this happens.

The fictional Perry Mason was famously quoted as having said "The truth will out." Unfortunately, those with a totalitarian political agenda don't usually let that get in the way.

* Our link is to Michelle Malkin, but it's all over the blogosphere.

A blessed Thanksgiving to you

This blog expresses much discontent over the state of affairs; but there is much to be thankful for -- enough (and usually too much) food, a solid roof over our heads, and enough (and usually too many) clothes to wear. I hope you will take time this day to thank your Creator for the material blessings, but also for the liberty and opportunity we still have, and for your family and friends.

I would also encourage you to follow this link to send encouragement to the troops in Iraq. While I strongly disapprove of this war, I respect the sacrifices being made by the armed forces as individuals. They are fighting for the ideals we believe in; even though the output of their effort may not support them as well as we would like.

Top ten reasons the Founding Fathers would do it over again today

From Matt Bianco's blog, The Bound Dragon:

Some of the same reasons Thomas Jefferson enumerated in his Declaration of Independence and for which the Founding Fathers who signed it declared independence from Great Britain and King George III’s rule in 1776 apply today to the current United States Government. And for these, the Founding Fathers would again declare independence, they are: [The Declaration of Independence is shown in roman, Matt's comments in italic.]

1. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. The U.S. government has forbidden the States to govern as their citizens demand by withholding Federal funding which was unnecessarily taken from the States to begin with.

2. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. It passes the laws it wants, against the desires of the people and the mandates of the Constitution, and it does so by promising money to specific bodies of people at the expense of the rest.

3. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. It has attempted to manipulate the employment market by preventing Foreigners from migrating hither and competing for jobs; thereby preventing Employers, in the employment of their private property, from freely entering into contract with Employees as they choose. [I partially disagree with Matt here. Society has the right to protect its institutions from cultural change resulting from immigration of persons having contrary values].

4. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. We have a multitude of Offices that are unconstitutional and used to harass our people, including but not limited to the Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and the Internal Revenue Service.

5. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. Standing Armies are a natural part of our society since World War II, and the result, predicted by the Founding Fathers, is that we have troops stationed in over 150 countries without the Consent of their legislatures in some, and have been involved in numerous wars, conflicts, nation-building projects, and peacekeeping missions since then.

6. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation. We find ourselves subject to the whims of the United Nations, NATO, and a variety of other treaties; not yet among them but coming soon: Copenhagen.

7. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world. American free trade is hampered, not helped, by treaties like GATT and NAFTA; additionally, we find our government furthering harming our trade with protective tariffs against items like sugar and Chinese tires.

8. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent. Taxes aren’t just imposed on us without our consent, like the up and coming Cap and Trade tax, but hidden from us through inflation and raised without our consent.

9. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury. This is especially true as the Writ of Habeas Corpus has been suspended, and not only foreigners but Americans with them have been held without a trial in the name of national defense.

10. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Americans, upset with the current course of his nation, have petitioned our government through signatures, rallies, protests, telephone communications, e-mails, faxes, and most recently through their own state legislatures with the passage of tenth amendment resolutions only to be answered by repeated injury: acts which define a Tyrant.

Going rogue?

Sarah Palin continues to fascinate and confuse me. On Monday, I watched part of her interview with Bill O'Reilly. I don't understand why she resigned as Governor of Alaska, other than to fend off some frivolous and very personal lawsuits against her (which the Alaska Attorney General is legally barred from defending). I still don't know whether in her heart she is secessionist or unionist. I don't know her current agenda, and I am troubled that she is beginning to spout the accepted dogma on foreign policy, particularly on Afghanistan -- which suggests to me that, far from "going rogue", she is really going Establishment; in which case she should be treated as very dangerous to the future well-being of this Republic.

Last Saturday

The Southwest Ohio Liberty Conference in Beavercreek was lightly attended, but those who were there were energized by the three speakers. In addition to myself, Jason Rink spoke about Honest Money, and Kevin Cullinane of the Freedom Mountain Academy in northeastern Tennessee spoke about psychological techniques that are being used by those in power to keep us compliant with their schemes.

Organizer Andy Myers shot this photo of me in the midst of my presentation. His timing was impeccable: that slide wasn't up more than 30 seconds...

The Pledge of Allegiance controversy continues (*sigh*)

Scott Piepho, publisher of Pho's Akron Pages, cites a story from the Youngstown Vindicator about a high school student in Hubbard who conscientiously objects to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance:

Roxanne Westover, 17, of Elmwood Drive, had been reprimanded by the school for refusing to stand during the pledge, which is recited each morning. She said it contradicts her beliefs and she elected not to participate. “I’m an atheist, and I believe the pledge isn’t something toward our nation,” she said.

“It’s more like a religious oath, and I believe that if I stand I’m still participating in it.” Westover said she had been written up and sent to the principal’s office multiple times for her refusal over the course of the past few weeks. The ACLU sent a letter requesting the school to stop requiring students to say the pledge.

Ironically, following a complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union, a review of school policy showed that recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was not required. Forced recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).

I have not recited the Pledge of Allegiance in nearly 20 years, because I choke on the word "indivisible." The right of secession is essential as a final guarantee of liberty to the people of a state when the federal government has crossed the line into tyranny. The requirement to recite a loyalty oath is contrary to the spirit of a free people -- and the United States of America did just fine for 117 years without one (the Pledge was written in 1893).

One of my earliest posts offers some additional discussion on the subject.

Field of dreams

... is how Zach Jones describes secession of American states in his article in the oddly named Australia.to news site. (I say "oddly named" because the .to designates a site in Tonga's domain).

He calls it a "field of dreams" to evoke the Kevin Costner film of that name where the farmer is told "If you build it, they will come." Mr. Jones believes that if a state has the courage to secede,* it may lose some loyal Americans, but will gain others and many business interests wanting to live and work in freedom.

Mr. Jones is shocked that he came up with this observation:

Never in my 55 years on this earth have I thought that I would seriously consider the idea of secession from the United States of America. I guess I was wrong. Personally, I will be waiting to see if America can be set again on its path under the Constitution through the electoral process in 2010.

If America can’t be righted to its course, it may be prudent for all freedom loving Americans to be reading up on secession.

He is welcome to wait for the results of the 2010 election, but one reason we have secessionists, is that we are tired of waiting. We looked for change in 1992, in 2000, and in 2008, and where did it get us? Mr. Jones himself gives the reason why waiting longer is likely to prove fruitless:

Today Congress is acting like a mule; and like a mule, sometimes the only way to get its attention is to hit it between the eyes. As we (a majority) all know, the Obama Congress is running America’s balance sheet, value of her dollar, and entire economy over the cliff. Most of us also know that it’s only drastic action can get the attention of this Congress that appears hell bent on ushering in a new socialist nation. Ordinary Americans are trying with massive Tea Parties, but one certain way to get Washington’s attention and possibly prevent the coming economic and social disaster (annihilation) is for one state or two to say ENOUGH! The proverbial two by four between the eyes may be what is called for to save the futures of all Americans.

Still, even great ideas take some time to catch on. Secession is a radical change in thinking, and it will take some time for people to get used to the idea.

* Please note, people, that secede is the correct spelling for the verb, not "suceed" or "seceed". The corresponding noun is spelled secession, not "sucession". Though I once did a play on words on the similar-sounding word with a speech title of "If at first you don't succeed, secede!"

Bill O'Reilly v Judge Andrew Napolitano

This exchange was posted today on the LewRockwell.com blog. In the midst of a discussion of the upcoming trial of Khalid Shaikh Muhammed for 9-11, Judge Napolitano (at 1:51) attempts to explain the Constitution to Mr. O'Reilly, for which he was rewarded with this: "I don't care about the Constitution. Don't be a pinhead." Prior to this, I had never watched O'Reilly. Now I'm thankful I haven't.

The letter from Tennessee

The Tenth Amendment Center has published the letter from State Rep. Susan Lynn of Tennessee calling for a "joint working group between the states to enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government."

This is the letter that The Tennesseean and Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish think is a waste of time.

This is the letter that may provide the last best hope of holding the Union together on its original principles.

Goldman Sachs + Andy Stern = ?

This little bit of Hegelian dialectic contains relatively few words, but if you read the links, you will see that it packs a punch.

Thesis: The Obama Administration is owned by Goldman Sachs.

Antithesis: The Obama Administration is owned by the Service Employees International Union under Andy Stern.

Synthesis: It doesn't matter -- both are working the same agenda.* The end game is to have the slaves people of the world standing in a circle singing Kumbayah while the Supreme Council of the revised United Nations calls the shots "heals the earth" with a New World Order. (Here is their detailed plan for the "Americas Union").

* This is the only way I can think of that the New York bankers, who plowed millions of dollars into the Obama campaign, and the SEIU, which plowed more millions, could be working toward the same end. Please convince me that I'm wrong...!

Why Christians should embrace liberty

My friend Matt Bianco is a Christian pastor, a Libertarian, and a freedom activist. His blog, The Bound Dragon, gives ten reasons that he is a libertarian Christian. I have some qualms about #4, but otherwise agree heartily. He backs up each of his points with Scripture.

Nashville newspaper considers state sovereignty resolutions "a waste of time"

The Tenneseean, a newspaper published in Nashville, doesn't think much of state sovereignty resolutions. Yesterday, it published both an editorial and a guest editorial critical of them.

In the editorial, entitled "'State sovereignty' movement distorts Constitution," The Tennesseean argues that the state sovereignty movement is only a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the current administration in Washington. The paper is embarrassed that Tennessee has become a "leader" in this movement, because, pursuant their HJR 108 (which was enacted), the sponsors have invited legislators in other states to "create a 'working group' to 'enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government and to seek repeal of its assumption of powers.'''

The editors charge that these accusations have descended to the level of partisan attacks on President Obama. Instead, they see state sovereignty proponents as failing to acknowledge that "economic steps taken may have, in fact prevented a depression or acknowledging that these controls are not permanent." First of all, there is plenty of evidence, such as this report from the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Analysis, that the economic steps taken are likely to worsen a depression. Secondly, may we remind the editors that the federal income tax and the USA PATRIOT Act were sold to us as "temporary" provisions? Power taken by the federal government is not easily given up. Rather, the Federal Government finds justifications for making "temporary" measures permanent.

Of course, they say it is "unsettling" when the resolutions attempt "to paint the federal government as antagonistic to the average American when, in truth, it was the American electorate that put those federal officials in charge. If Tennessee voters are unhappy with Washington's attempts to come up with, for example, health-care reform, they can talk to, or vote out, the senators and representatives whom they elected to make these decisions. The key is to have a constructive, common-sense discussion, in which state and federal officials come together to hammer out what is best for their constituencies."

Apparently, it doesn't matter that President Obama has behaved in the opposite manner from what he promised in his campaign, particularly with respect to banking, defense, and foreign policy. And yes, we still need to talk to our Congressmen and U.S. Senators. But too often, Washington becomes a brick wall when we talk to it.

State sovereignty resolutions, while of limited value, do open up a "constructive, common-sense discussion." When Administrations of both parties, over a period of twenty years, fail to listen to the needs of the American people, we need to consider an alternative approach. State sovereignty is one such alternative. And if that fails, secession is yet another.

The guest editorial, "Movement a waste of time," is by Chip Forrester, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party (consider the source):

How in the world can she [State Rep. Susan Lynn] justify such a lame-brained piece of legislation when the state's unemployment rate exceeds 10 percent and some hard-hit counties' jobless rates hover near 20 percent? Working Tennesseans fear they may be the next ones in the unemployment line. Accordingly, many of us are cutting back on our spending, which is having a drastically adverse impact on the state's revenue.

One would hope that Rep. Lynn and like-minded lawmakers would have matured beyond this divisive, meaningless grandstanding. But it's obvious that's not the case, as too many far-right politicians and pundits are spewing alienating rhetoric daily.

Maybe because federal taxation, mandates, and NAFTA have choked our corporations and entrepreneurs so much that they can't create jobs? And who is "spewing alienating rhetoric?" We have shown that state sovereignty has benefits and potential benefits for the Left, for example, in California. The 14 Democrats in the Michigan Senate didn't have a problem with it. The French Left and many non-Marxist socialists don't have a problem with it, either.

Mr. Forrester then asserts that "most scholars and legal experts have debunked the 10th Amendment/state sovereignty movement as nothing more than a fringe group of right-wing zealots who want to disband the Internal Revenue Service and severely curtail the powers of the federal government." Such as? Of course, his assertion cannot be disproven – after all, he would not consider Walter Williams or Thomas DiLorenzo to be scholars, nor Andrew Napolitano or Robert Bork to be legal experts.

I'm all in favor of putting aside partisan politics in times of crisis – but state sovereignty is non-partisan. So, Mr. Forrester, let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

California Territory?

Oh, come now. But California's budgetary situation is desperate, as reported by David Dayen in the FDL News Desk blog:

“I looked as hard as I could at how states could declare bankruptcy,” said Michael Genest, director of the California Department of Finance who is stepping down at the end of the year. “I literally looked at the federal constitution to see if there was a way for states to return to territory status.”

This quote comes within a piece explaining that states will face continued fiscal pressures, particularly once the stimulus aid to them runs out in 2011. While not sufficient to stave off major reductions in state spending during the recession, the stimulus money did save tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in the states, particularly in education...

The Pew Center on the States released a study this week, concluding that ten states – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin – will face near-term budget crises, necessitating either major spending cuts or tax hikes.

In a separate news briefing Wednesday, Iris Lav, a fiscal policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warned that state budget cuts could cost the economy 900,000 jobs in 2010...

Notably, in five of the ten states – Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada and Oregon – constitutional statutes or state ballot measures have limited the ability of legislatures to raise taxes or cut certain types of spending. That fiscal straitjacket makes finding
solutions in the absence of federal aid almost impossible.

Interestingly, one of the commenters to this post suggested the solution:

There is an alternative that will work fiscally although I am loath to suggest it. We could leave the union. This would end the vast annual tax transfer – our huge transfer of business and income tax to shore up lesser developed and inevitably red regions of the US (CA is, even in it’s crisis, a net donor state). Of course this would threaten their fiscal stability, but, to be blunt, I no longer care. We’ll lease back our land if the US still wants their military bases and stuff, on our territory. We’ll have a dynamic, technology-focused economy, we’ll be able to commit to a green and renewable energy transformation, we’ll be able to enact universal healthcare, highly progressive taxation policies, we’ll have ethnic toleration, and, since American lobbyists like the NJ Knights of Columbus and NOW will be foreign entities and
thus subject to regulation, we might even be able to enact gay marriage.

This comment proves that secession need not be the sole province of so-called "right-wing wingnuts." Those who like California the way it is, with same-sex marriage and all that, could have their Republic the way they want it. And however much some of us may disagree with the way they would run it, it is their right; just as it is our right in Ohio to run our future Republic the way we want.

No, California, returning to a territory is going backward, and that's not like you. Move forward and declare your independence! Then fix your problems your own way!

Virtual buckeye to Gary Flomenhoft at Vermont Commons.

The case for Ohio independence: consider the Feds' track record

This by Russell D. Longcore, who writes the secessionist website DumpDC.com, via LewRockwell.com. Reprinted in full because I couldn't decide where to cut it, except for a little redundancy.

If you can’t think of reasons that state secession is a better solution for liberty than working within "the system," consider the record of the Federal Government of the United States.

Sure, you can ultimately lay the blame on all of us, since we are the ones who allow the atrocities of Washington to continue. But for now, let’s look at Washington’s record of achievement over the last 150 years.

War of Northern Aggression – 1860s: The North wages war on a confederation of seceding states who left lawfully. Over 600,000 men died on both sides.

Reconstruction: 1860s–1870s. The North plunders the South...

Spanish-American War – 1898: "Remember the Maine?" A complete lie told by newspaperman WR Hearst, bought by the public and Washington to go to war.

Federal Reserve: established in 1913. For 96 years, it has mismanaged the economy and counterfeited currency.

IRS and the Income Tax (16th Amendment): 1913. What starts out as a small tax becomes a leviathan. What starts out as a small division of the Treasury becomes the most feared weapon of Washington.

World War 1: 1914–1918. 117,000 dead Americans, 205,000 wounded. The US had no business in a European family war but President Wilson had other ideas.

Depression I: 1929–1940s. The Federal Reserve caused it.
New Deal: 1933–1936. FDR’s massive government jobs program, plundering the wealth of the USA. Fascism by another name.

World War II: 1941–1945. Another European war, we had no dog in this fight. FDR baited the Japs into attacking Pearl Harbor, giving him political cover.

Cold War: The US and the USSR escalate preparations for war to new heights, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

Korean War: 1950–1953. 36,000 Americans dead, 96,000 wounded.

Viet Nam: 1950–1975. 58,000 dead Americans, 303,000 wounded.

Creation of three letter agencies: HEW, HHS, CIA, FDA, FCC, DOA, DOD, EPA, and the list goes on...

New Cabinet bureaucracies: Energy, Education, Homeland Security, etc.

Grenada invasion: 1983. 19 Americans dead, 116 wounded.

Panamanian invasion 1989: 23 Americans dead, maybe 3,000 civilians killed.

Bosnian War: 1992–1995: US sends troops under UN flag, millions of civilians made refugees.

Gulf War: 1999. President George HW Bush commits a massive force to Kuwait. 379 Americans die, 776 wounded in a 100-hour war.

Iraq: 2003–present. About 5,000 Americans dead, over 35,000 wounded (that they’ll admit to). That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

Afghanistan/Pakistan: 2001–present. About 1,000 Americans dead, over 4,500 wounded. That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

TSA: 2001–present. Domestic airline travel done "the government way."

Let’s not forget...
Counterfeiting, bailouts, nationalization and massive inflation: Just another way that Washington says "you belong to me."

Regulation of every facet of human life: Try to think of a second of your life that is not regulated in some way by Washington. Quick answer: that second does not exist.

Two-party political system: two sides of the same coin, both Washington cheerleaders and sycophants. Both want to spend unconstitutional money. Out of control military, bases in 130 nations.

Here is the point to this litany of tyranny. The government of the United States of America has screwed up the entire planet through their actions over the last 150 years. The events of currency collapse and inflation in our not-too-distant future will reverberate throughout every nation on earth.

States of the United States that choose to secede will certainly be affected by the implosion of the Washington government. But, could any new nation ever match the "Hall of Shame" listed above?

New American nations, formed from the seceding United States, would be little pinpoints of light and liberty. If their only guiding principle was to not make the same mistakes that the US government made over the last 150 years, they would be destined for success.

How could they fail?

Quotation of the day

It appears that "Constitutional Convention" is again raising its ugly head. Gregg Rumpff wrote this in a Facebook comment that displays some real Midwestern horse sense:

"There's a reason the [U.S. Constitution] has been standing so long with only very minor tweaks. How about we try actually following the thing again for about 8-12 years and THEN see if anyone's still talking ConCon?"

Reminds me of the old G.K. Chesterton quotation: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried. "

Too bad "contempt of the Constitution" isn't a crime

... so this woman could be hauled in. Walter E. Williams reports that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi answers reporters' questions about the Constitutionality of health care with statements that the reporters' questions are not serious -- then proceeds to ignore them.

Prof. Williams then asks:

Suppose Congress was debating a mandate outlawing tea-party-type protests and other large gatherings criticizing Congress. A news reporter asks Nancy Pelosi where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to outlaw peaceable assembly. How would you feel if she answered, "Are you serious? Are you serious?" and ignored the question. And what if, later on, someone from her office sent you a press release, as was sent to CNS News, saying that Congress has "broad power to regulate activities that have an effect on interstate commerce," pointing out that demonstrations cause traffic jams and therefore interferes with interstate commerce?

Prof. Williams then notes that Speaker Pelosi's constitutional contempt, perhaps ignorance, is representative of the majority of members of both the House and the Senate.

Their comfort in that ignorance and constitutional contempt, and how readily they articulate it, should be worrisome for every single American. It's not a matter of whether you are for or against Congress' health care proposals. It's not a matter of whether you're liberal or conservative, black or white, male or female, Democrat or Republican or member of any other group. It's a matter of whether we are going to remain a relatively free people or permit the insidious encroachment on our liberties to continue.

It is patently obvious to anyone who has studied the Constitution that forced health care, at least on the federal level, is patently unconstitutional. Dang. And she'd look great in an orange jumpsuit.

Virtual buckeye to Rebellion.

The Ohio House isn't working hard enough

... says Rep. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) in today's Columbus Dispatch, in an article written by Jay Siegel.

Instead of holding full voting sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as has been common in recent years (Thursdays were also used pretty regularly 10 years ago), both the House and Senate have canceled half of their session dates this year, rarely meeting more than once a week. When Democrats took control of the House, the legislature became politically divided for the first time in 14 years, contributing to the gridlock.

“We should be here a heck of a lot more than we are. When things are going poorly in this economy, it’s begging us to step in and provide solutions where we can," said Rep. Hottinger. House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) argues that the legislature has been productive, pointing to a number of initiatives placed into the two-year budget.

Hottinger said Budish has been in the legislature only since 2007. “When he says we’ve been quite productive, he has noting to compare that to.”

And when the House does work, it isn't concentrating on the right issues.

Status table on Ohio resolutions added

I have added a new table displaying the status of state sovereignty and nullification resolutions within the Ohio General Assembly. It appears directly under the general listing of state sovereignty resolutions just beneath the masthead. I hope this will be helpful to my fellow Ohioans as we press for greater freedom within our home state.

Justice Department demanding IPP addresses

CBS News reports that indymedia.us, a liberal reporting/advocacy site, has received a subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department demanding "IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information," including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers' Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on."

Indymedia was also ordered by the Justice Department "not to disclose the existence of this request," which CBS dryly notes "poses a quandary for any news organization."

According to Justice Department regulations, news media are not supposed to receive subpoenas without the express authorization of Attorney General Eric Holder, whose office denies having received such a request. The request was later withdrawn -- the Justice Department had no comment about either the nature of the investigation or the reason for withdrawal.

Meanwhile, the Indentured Servant Girl has some advice for those who wish to resist this kind of intrusion...

Virtual buckeyes to the Indentured Servant Girl and Rebellion.

Will Mr. Obama be a one-term President?

Not a chance, says Craig Hill. In his insightful analysis of Mr. Obama's Presidency, Mr. Hill describes him as "the [black] overseer keeping the peace for the smooth running of his master's plantation." He is carrying out, and giving political cover to, President Bush's military and foreign policy agenda, and taking virtually none of the flak.

What alternatives do the Republicans offer him in 2012? Mr. Hill thinks none: "The Republicans are guaranteeing themselves nothing but disgust in 2012 from the average Republican, even, let alone the average American."

So how will Obama lose in 2012?? There is no acceptable opposition to him for his masters. He neuters Peacenik America into docile complicity. There is none of the opposition to Bushism, American fascism, that plagued Bush. Note how he just yesterday essentially pulled the plug on abortion rights by agreeing with blue dogs and Republicans it not be covered in guaranteed health reform, and will suffer nary a whimper of protest from it!. No Republican could get away with that giant step backward. He is the Republican agenda's essential man. He can not lose. He will not lose. He will leave office with the country in even greater shambles than Bush left it, with high honors, in 2017.

Assuming, of course, that the United States of America remains in one piece that long.

Virtual buckeye to Ethan Allen at Vermont Commons.

A qualified defense of Islam

First the disclaimers: (1) If Maj. Hasan did the shootings, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. (2) This writer is a Christian, not a Muslim. (3) I believe in protecting our national interest when it is attacked.

I will not speculate on Maj. Hasan's motives -- the mainstream media are doing a good enough job of that. Regardless of what they are, we cannot justify a wave of hysteria directed against an entire religion, that in fact is nearly as diverse as Christianity.

The problems Americans associate with Islam are actually confined to a few ethic groups. Iran has a dictatorship with a figurehead President (Mahmoud Ahmedinejad), but its people are not actively hostile toward the United States (toward Israel, yes, but not toward the United States). European Muslims (Bosnians and Albanians) are not easily distinguishable from neighboring Christians, with whom they lived in peace for a thousand years, until Milošević and Karadić stirred things up. We have long maintained very friendly relations with Turkey, Morocco, Malaysia, and Indonesia, all heavily Islamic nations; not to mention the Kurds in Iraq, whose autonomy we have protected.

There is even a reformation of sorts taking place among some imams in Egypt and Muslim laypeople in the United States, that could help the faith find a peace with modernization that has eluded the others.

Our issue is not against the Islamic religion, it is against the cultures that use their religion and jihad as an excuse for aggression. Our efforts (military and persuasive) should be focused against them; because we can safely leave the rest at peace.

The health care bill - a prescription for tyranny

Please link here to an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal by Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant Governor of New York, analyzing the health care bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. Among other things, it appears that the "premium" for this health care insurance will consume 15-20% of your income, especially if you have a high one; and it will drastically revise the Medicare program, a successful if unsupportably expensive, program.

Fort Hood: Let's get down to the root causes

Russell D. Longcore at LewRockwell.com suggests that we need to peel back a few layers to understand how the murders at Fort Hood were possible. Neither he nor I condone what occurred there; but Washington should be held accountable, at least for this:

- We know now that the Bush Administration lied to us about the reason for going to war in Iraq. President Obama campaigned for withdrawal; but we're still there, with withdrawal at least two years in the future. Please explain the morality of this.

- If military bases are weapons-free zones, perhaps they shouldn't be. A soldier carrying a sidearm could have put a stop to it much sooner. (Mr. Longcore notes that military bases, like government buildings, public schools, and universities, are "open fire zones" for mass murderers).

- Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicides in the military are aggravated when troops are sent for multiple tours to the front. Engaging repeatedly in death and destruction is bound to wreck one's mental health!

Mr. Longcore's conclusion (emphasis added):

Washington’s leaders and minions set the stage for this tragedy. But don’t look to them to take any responsibility for the toxic environment that our military personnel are forced to live under. Isn’t this akin to abusing a dog over years, and then feigning surprise when the dog attacks someone? Should we not treat our fellow humans better than our pets?

Think about this. Do you believe that any military personnel, constitutionally deployed within the borders of the Unites States of America in a purely defensive status would ever have reason to react in this manner?

Does this have anything to do with state secession? Yes, it does.

[Maj. Nidal Malik] Hasan's actions are what is commonly referred to as "blowback"...the unintended consequences of government policy. Nations that don't invade other nations don't have these kinds of tragic events as a rule. And states that eventually secede from the US, and keep their militias within their own borders, defending the new nation from invasion, won't have them either.

Amen. This isn't about "Islamic terrorism". It is about a tragic crime, one for which Maj. Hasan should be prosecuted; but it is also about a government that engages in senseless wars and mistreats its employees (the military) in the process.

Ohio jobs: a shocking view of the numbers

The Kasich for Governor campaign blog has published an internal memo giving the unemployment statistics in Ohio over a period of years:

MEMO
TO: John Kasich

FROM: Ben Kanzeg, Deputy Policy Director

DATE: October 21, 2009

SUBJECT: Latest Jobs Numbers

Just an update on Ohio’s jobs numbers for September.

Notice that while the unemployment rate went DOWN to 10.1%, Ohio actually LOST 5,900 jobs in the month of September.

September Numbers

UNEMPLOYMENT- U.S. Unemployment was 9.8% in September, up from 9.7% in August.- Ohio’s unemployment rate was 10.1% in September, 12th highest in the nation, down from 10.8% in August, and up from 6.8% in September of 2008, one year ago- Ohio’s unemployment rate of 10.1% is the highest it’s been in 25 years (Jan 1984)- The number of unemployed workers has increased by 190,000 in the past 12 months.

JOB LOSS/GAINS AS OF OCTOBER 21, 2009- Ohio lost 5,900 jobs in the month of September:
- Ohio lost 155,000 jobs in 2008
- Ohio has lost 174,600 jobs so far in 2009
- Ohio has lost 258,100 jobs over the last 12 months.
- Ohio has lost 329,600 jobs since Ted Strickland became Governor.
- Ohio has lost 388,900 jobs since the last national recession ended in November of 2001. Twenty-two states lost jobs during this period, and only Michigan fared worse than Ohio.
- The last national recession ended in Nov 2001, the most recent recession started in Dec 2007. During this period of time Michigan lost 250,000 jobs and Ohio lost 58,000 jobs. Every other state added jobs to their economy.

At this writing there were 28 comments to this entry, most of them very thoughtful. Five of them are worth reproducing here (Emphasis added):

Mike Slone:

The numbers above indicate that most of the 2008 jobs loss occurred in the last couple months of the year.It would appear that much of this loss was due to the failed work of our congress and senate over the last several years, despite many warnings from people like Senator McCain our country refused to direct financial responsibility towards wall street. Now our country is actually encouraging fiscal irresponsibility to the American public asking them to take out loans on cars they can not afford, and then encouraging finance companies to make those loans. Our government is also taking a role in the private sector, and closing more auto plants than ever in history. Easy fix, get Gov out of Business and make them do their jobs.

Mark:

The problem with jobs in Ohio is serious, but it is not going to be fixed with political pablum. Until the legislature and governor get away from the pervasive attitude that it is the government’s role to take care of the citizens, there will never be enough will to cut the unnecessary spending and overburdening control that hamstrings the Ohio economy. The same is true for the US economy – every “stimulus” bill puts us further in debt, further down the road to ruin. If you’re serious about fixing Ohio, then quit trying to make government be the fix. Instead, just get rid of the burdens government places on the economic engine – people and their businesses.

Nate:

If you consider just central Ohio and ask what has made it prosper over many years you would have to conclude that the area has witnessed the start of a lot of small companies which ultimately became large employers. The Limited, Worthington Industries, Cardinal Health, Wendys, Bob Evans, Bank One, Huntington Bank to name a few.

The one thing that all of these companies have in common is that they were brought public by little local firms with capital that was raised, for the most part, from the local community. In short, the local community raised equity to support local employers. Now ask yourself, when was the last time that a central Ohio company came public?

Becasue of excessive government regulation the companies that did this work have all sold out to major, primarily New York, investment houses who are not interested in Central Ohio. We need a governor who will lead us back to what works, the same thing that has worked in the past. Lets not look to Washington for help. A governor needs to get the government out of our way.

Carol Bensing:

One of the main things each state has to do is fight for its sovereignty against the Federal government. Number two is a balanced budget done by going through every state pay out and eliminating any programs that are redundant and especially those that are pure pork payouts for votes. Instead of getting casinos to take up the slack in revenue the state should be cutting spending across the board. If public schools aren’t educating our children we should be using vouchers, Many states have successful programs that could be copied instead of starting from scratch.These are in addition to some of the great comments already posted here.

Dr. Thomas Pampush:

Ohioans are so oppressively taxed that I have urged the younger members of my extended family to flee as soon as they graduate college. If they want to engage/start up in business, do it elsewhere. (this is, of course, true of the whole US. Taxes make our goods so expensive to make here that, to remain competative, industry must move offshore.) * ...

Eschew “hands across the aisle.” This is just Republican capitulating to Dems.

I really think that Ohio could be made an economic oasis by reducing taxes to a realistic level. Our present government attitude kills the goose that lays the golden egg.

Thank you, Kasich campaign, for sharing the memo with us; and to the commenters. Ohio has always had a wealth of practical wisdom -- the problem lies with those who would ignore or suppress it. I know the idea of independence runs against the grain of many good, practical, people; but reading the above, what better solution exists for the excesses of government? What else hasn't been tried and failed?

* If that isn't a call for independence, I don't know what is!

Traitors to the American Revolution

Thomas DiLorenzo, author of Hamilton's Curse, has posted a long, but very interesting article at the Tenth Amendment Center showing how some of the Founding Fathers desired the kind of centralized government we have today -- which ironically would have nearly duplicated that of Britain at the time of the American Revolution.

In it, he cites a long forgotten author, John Taylor, whose New Views of the Constitution of the United States (1823) was long considered an authoritative reference on the intent of the framers.

I encourage you to read it, to gain an better understanding of the truth, so you may better refute the claims of the "living Constitution" crowd.

SCR 13 apparently dead in House committee

A source close to the House Democratic leadership has advised us that there are no current plans to hold additional hearings for the Ohio state sovereignty resolutions (HCR11 and SCR13). The source gives two reasons:

First, President Barack Obama issued an official memo affirming the state-federal partnership in May of this year. In his statement, the President recognized the role individual states play in our bureaucratic system. He believes it is important to maintain a balance of power between the states and the federal government. His comments reinforce the role of state laws in the federal system, while discouraging future agency preemptions of state laws without a sound legal basis to do so. This ruling by the Obama administration can be reviewed in its entirety here.

Note, however, that the memo was issued as a press release, which would not have the authority of an Executive Order.

The second reason is that House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) believes that during this time of economic hardship, we should be focusing our efforts on job creation, economic development, healthcare and education. He does not support putting forth symbolic resolutions to the Federal Government on any subject. Speaker Budish believes that, since House Concurrent Resolutions do not become law he does not support the concept of resolutions.

The second reason would be more persuasive if we were, in fact, seeing some substantial work from the House of Representatives on job creation, economic development, healthcare, and education. In reviewing the Status Report of Legislation as of Oct. 30, I found 20 bills that were reported out of committee or passed by the House in September and October. Of those, I could identify six that dealt with these subjects.*

Some of the bills considered in the last two months include creation of Prince Hall Freemason license plates, a regulation for contract carriers transporting railroad employees, a state tax exemption for retirees of NOAA and the Public Health Service (both Federal agencies), designating I-680 the Korean War Veterans' Memorial Highway, revised education and experience requirements for county sheriff candidates, a bill defining instant bingo ticket dispensers for charitable use. and one authorizing a Dec. 10 special election for municipal tax levies.

A few did deal with such important subjects such as penalties for harming judges, reforms to divorce and domestic violence law, and general regulatory reform; but please don't tell us that the House is focusing on job creation, economic development, healthcare, and education.

Obviously, standing up for the freedom of Ohioans clearly is not a priority -- an omission for which House Democrats should be held accountable next year.

* To conserve space, I shall not enumerate them, but their bill numbers are HB87, HB122, HB185, HB206, HB215, and HB318.

$99,200,000,000,000.00

... the correct amount of unfunded liabilities of the United States, as exposed by Richard W. Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank in a speech in San Francisco May 28, 2008.

He breaks down the obligations in this excerpt from his speech, which has the interesting title "Storms on the Horizon:" (Emphasis added)

The infinite-horizon present discounted value of the unfunded liability for Medicare A is $34.4 trillion. The unfunded liability of Medicare B is an additional $34 trillion. The shortfall for Medicare D adds another $17.2 trillion. The total? If you wanted to cover the unfunded liability of all three programs today, you would be stuck with an $85.6 trillion bill. That is more than six times as large as the bill for Social Security. The infinite-horizon present discounted value of the unfunded liability for Medicare A is $34.4 trillion. The unfunded liability of Medicare B is an additional $34 trillion. The shortfall for Medicare D adds another $17.2 trillion. The total? If you wanted to cover the unfunded liability of all three programs today, you would be stuck with an $85.6 trillion bill. That is more than six times as large as the bill for Social Security. It is more than six times the annual output of the entire U.S. economy.

Why is the Medicare figure so large? There is a mix of reasons, really. In part, it is due to the same birthrate and life-expectancy issues that affect Social Security. In part, it is due to ever-costlier advances in medical technology and the willingness of Medicare to pay for them. And in part, it is due to expanded benefits—the new drug benefit program’s unfunded liability is by itself one-third greater than all of Social Security’s.

Add together the unfunded liabilities from Medicare and Social Security, and it comes to $99.2 trillion over the infinite horizon. Traditional Medicare composes about 69 percent, the new drug benefit roughly 17 percent and Social Security the remaining 14 percent.

I want to remind you that I am only talking about the unfunded portions of Social Security and Medicare. It is what the current payment scheme of Social Security payroll taxes, Medicare payroll taxes, membership fees for Medicare B, copays, deductibles and all other revenue currently channeled to our entitlement system will not cover under current rules. These existing revenue streams must remain in place in perpetuity to handle the “funded” entitlement liabilities. Reduce or eliminate this income and the unfunded liability grows. Increase benefits and the liability grows as well.

Let’s say you and I and .. every U.S. citizen who is alive today decided to fully address this unfunded liability through lump-sum payments from our own pocketbooks, so that all of us and all future generations could be secure in the knowledge that we and they would receive promised benefits in perpetuity. How much would we have to pay if we split the tab? Again, the math is painful. With a total population of 304 million, from infants to the elderly, the per-person payment to the federal treasury would come to $330,000. This comes to $1.3 million per family of four—over 25 times the average household’s income.

The United States Government consequently has only two choices, both bad. Repudiate the obligations, or print money to spark a hyperinflation. If the U.S. dollar had been backed by gold, this could not have occurred.

The idea of secession is gaining ground

The blogosphere is increasingly discussing not whether we should consider secession from the United States, but when. Here is a post by Sticomythia in Vermont Commons, quoting Russell Longcore at DumpDC.com (The article also appeared in LewRockwell.com). I am recommending the Vermont Commons post because of the additional comment.

The essential point of the article is that secession will not make sense until an event triggers it; but that event could occur very soon. High unemployment, tight credit, and a tanking currency are a recipe for revolutionary change. A United States weakened by a depression incorporating these elements might find itself unable to prevent states from seceding -- and we have a very recent precedent. Note how the Soviet Union, even with the Red Army and nuclear weapons, was unable to prevent itself from dividing into 15 countries. The old saw about secession being settled in 1865 will not cut it this time around.

Ohio needs to prepare for independence now -- and preparations have begun.

The Bilderberg Group

This report, by the Canadian Centre for Research on Globalization, is six months old, but which I just rediscovered. For those who think the activities of the Bilderberg Group (Wikipedia article) are just a "conspiracy theory", here is a report that should establish that they are quite real, quite active, and ... quite controlling.



If the defenders of freedom do not watch what is going on at this level, we may fail in our timing, which is likely to result in defeat.

Jack Ohman, The Oregonian

They do. It is the right of secession.