Dear Governor,
I write you today on a matter of urgent concern. As I am sure you are aware the Idaho House of Representatives voted today to put the State in debt by allowing the use of a Garvey Bond to purchase land between Emmett and Boise. Irregardless of the constitutionality of this type of debt, I believe this type of spending, based upon assumed future income (from Washington DC) places our state in a position of great peril.
I am sure you are fully aware of the many instances the Federal Government has threatened to withhold “Federal funds” from the state, if we do not comply with their wishes. This type of bribery/extortion of course is a very effective way for the federal government to achieve implied consent, on laws that are clearly an infringement of the Tenth Amendment. Understanding the power of the purse as used in the past, how much more effective will this tactic be if we have already spent the money as the Garvey bond system allows? To say the least we would be placed in an unfavorable position of negotiation. Perhaps I am unaware of a stipulation in the Garvey bond process that guarantees the money from the federal government without strings attached, but with our ethically subjective leadership in Washington I doubt even the most firm stipulation would hold up if the desire for state compliance was dire enough.
What makes my concern even greater today is the recent stand you and our legislators have taken against the infringements on the Tenth Amendment (Health Freedom Act). Needless to say you folks are not a great friend to the statists and tyrants in Washington DC; for that I applaud you. For these reasons, I believe going ahead with any future Garvey bonds is a tactical mistake. Please veto this bill.
Thank you,
Walt Holton
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
An Argument For Real Money
Our founding fathers Madison, Jefferson, Paine, Jay and Franklin to name a few, provided the perfect blueprint for societal and economic failure as well as a comprehensive “how to” guide for tyrants and despots. Such a blueprint can be seen on the photographic negative of their wisdom; in other words if we do the opposite of their advice we beg for failure.
Thomas Jefferson said,
“The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.
The situation Thomas Jefferson described is going on before our very eyes. Over the past couple of years, in the real estate and construction markets, we have watched one of the largest evaporations and transfers of wealth the world has ever seen. Children are waking up homeless. I think we can all agree our central bank; The Federal Reserve and the Congress of the United States are largely complicit in this melt down. They have done this by printing money out of thin air which devalues in kind the money in circulation, and by manipulating the rate the money can be let out (controlling interest rates); as consequence great fiscal moral hazard was encouraged and further supplemented by altruistic lending laws and government loan insurance i.e. Fannie May and Freddie Mac.
The very keystone or should I say ace of spades in this house of cards is the departure from the use of an universally valued and accepted intermediary good (such as gold or silver) as currency, replaced by a manipulated fiat currency; the US dollar. The manipulation of the dollar by the Federal Reserve and the efforts of the Congress to stimulate usually yield either temporary results that merely delay the inevitable, or the inverse of their goal. This leads us to two possible conclusions on the actions of our financial overlords; they are involved in devious collusion or they are incompetent, neither should be tolerated. Returning to a silver standard as an intermediary good used in trade would heal much of these ills.
The government has always been involved in our currency. The Coinage Act of 1792 defined the first American Dollar,
The money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units … of the value [mass or weight] of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure … silver.
Or .7734375 troy ounces.
Our government’s initial involvement in money was one to define a tangible standard of weight and quality, easily measured, in order to prevent fraud and establish a standard of trade. They gave the dollar no value; they left that to the free market. To this we must return.
We departed from the Gold/Silver standard, largely under FDR based upon the guise that it was a temporary and due to a national emergency. Nixon finished the job with his declaration that we had entered the Keynesian age; an economic theory of governmental control and subjective ambiguity.
It is too often the case in times of national emergency we give up bits our liberty, for safety. Sometimes Liberty is restored, sometimes exchanged for license, sometimes lost forever. Accordingly in a time of economic emergency we gave up our secure standard of wealth for an ambiguous one, the paper dollar. We lose our Liberty in times of crisis, with laws like the Patriot Act and the departure from the gold/silver standard. We lose our Liberty in times of plenty via governmental altruism. Both examples infringe upon our Inalienable Rights and break the Natural law.
The growing popularity of a not particularly handsome nor dazzlingly eloquent, Ron Paul as evidence that the message of a backed currency has hit main street; the common man is getting it. So I ask each of you to consider, who would you rather take advice from, Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geitner and Barney Frank or Thomas Jefferson. We must return to the ways of our fore fathers. We must return to a currency backed by a universaly valued durable good; gold or silver.
Thomas Jefferson said,
“The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.
The situation Thomas Jefferson described is going on before our very eyes. Over the past couple of years, in the real estate and construction markets, we have watched one of the largest evaporations and transfers of wealth the world has ever seen. Children are waking up homeless. I think we can all agree our central bank; The Federal Reserve and the Congress of the United States are largely complicit in this melt down. They have done this by printing money out of thin air which devalues in kind the money in circulation, and by manipulating the rate the money can be let out (controlling interest rates); as consequence great fiscal moral hazard was encouraged and further supplemented by altruistic lending laws and government loan insurance i.e. Fannie May and Freddie Mac.
The very keystone or should I say ace of spades in this house of cards is the departure from the use of an universally valued and accepted intermediary good (such as gold or silver) as currency, replaced by a manipulated fiat currency; the US dollar. The manipulation of the dollar by the Federal Reserve and the efforts of the Congress to stimulate usually yield either temporary results that merely delay the inevitable, or the inverse of their goal. This leads us to two possible conclusions on the actions of our financial overlords; they are involved in devious collusion or they are incompetent, neither should be tolerated. Returning to a silver standard as an intermediary good used in trade would heal much of these ills.
The government has always been involved in our currency. The Coinage Act of 1792 defined the first American Dollar,
The money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units … of the value [mass or weight] of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure … silver.
Or .7734375 troy ounces.
Our government’s initial involvement in money was one to define a tangible standard of weight and quality, easily measured, in order to prevent fraud and establish a standard of trade. They gave the dollar no value; they left that to the free market. To this we must return.
We departed from the Gold/Silver standard, largely under FDR based upon the guise that it was a temporary and due to a national emergency. Nixon finished the job with his declaration that we had entered the Keynesian age; an economic theory of governmental control and subjective ambiguity.
It is too often the case in times of national emergency we give up bits our liberty, for safety. Sometimes Liberty is restored, sometimes exchanged for license, sometimes lost forever. Accordingly in a time of economic emergency we gave up our secure standard of wealth for an ambiguous one, the paper dollar. We lose our Liberty in times of crisis, with laws like the Patriot Act and the departure from the gold/silver standard. We lose our Liberty in times of plenty via governmental altruism. Both examples infringe upon our Inalienable Rights and break the Natural law.
The growing popularity of a not particularly handsome nor dazzlingly eloquent, Ron Paul as evidence that the message of a backed currency has hit main street; the common man is getting it. So I ask each of you to consider, who would you rather take advice from, Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geitner and Barney Frank or Thomas Jefferson. We must return to the ways of our fore fathers. We must return to a currency backed by a universaly valued durable good; gold or silver.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Red Bull, Red meat and Red Policy
One of the biggest businesses in America today is the peddling of “energy drinks.” However, one thing most of them have in common is they have a very low actual energy content and a very high content of stimulants like caffeine. Energy and stimulation are two very different things. Funny enough, through clever marketing, the term calorie, has come to mean, a measurement of unhealthiness rather than what it scientifically means. The term calorie is a measurement of energy content, just like BTU, watt or horsepower. For instance a gallon of gas contains about 114,000 BTUs of energy or the potential for 44.8 horse power hr. at the rate of 100% efficient conversion. That same measurement of heat and work can be converted to nutritional calories (28,727). In the case of motive power via internal combustion engine or human power, the delivered energy (for work) is less than the input energy which is due to heat loss and combustion/digestion inefficiencies. If this type of science interest you here is a great website, http://mb-soft.com/public2/humaneff.html otherwise the point is, a calorie is the energy; marked, measured and quantified (digestibility is another factor altogether).
A stimulant however, is an un-natural compound (to the body) that usually causes a reaction in the nervous system or metabolism that gives a person the impression of energy. In certain cases an artificial stimulant may simulate a naturally produced chemical in the body (or the result of the role of the natural compound) so closely that the body may cease to produce that compound, causing many adverse and potentially deadly side effects; methamphetamine is a good example. Let’s take the product 5 Hour Energy for example; I believe this product engages in false advertising. This product claims only 4 calories yet a body at rest still uses 40 calories per hour just to maintain systems. Therefore for them to claim 5 hours of “energy” it should have at least 201 calories. This product may have other compounds that aid the digestion or conversion of stored energy in the body, but if the body does not have a reserve of potential energy to convert, and work is required, the primary functions of the body will be harmed and the body will convert muscle and bone to energy with devastating results. In our decadent society a trim and “sexy” body with low fat reserves is appealing, thus the addictions to stimulants and the untold number of side effects they bring. Stimulants have become a substitute for proper eating habits and prudent physical care.
Of course a perfect natural human would have no need for stimulants of any kind. Maintaining a balanced diet of digestible fat, protein and carbohydrate calories, and fulfilling the bodies need for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other core factors required to properly replicate DNA, maintain body temperature and produce work is all we need.
Remarkably, the natural physical order of human kind as well as the natural laws of science (the Laws of Thermodynamics in particular) are very similar if not directly analogous to economics and society in general.
First of all economically speaking we can only describe and measure the economic energy stored by goods and services. Like protein, carbs and fat have a potential energy so do goods and services have potential energy that can not be realized until digested. The digestion of goods and services is called voluntary exchange of goods and services, which requires a good or service be demanded by one party and supplied by another either in direct swap for good or service or by an intermediary good found desirable to both parties (currency). Historically, this mutually desirable intermediary good has been gold or silver because in itself it holds a recognizable value. This intermediary good allows inequitable direct exchanges, like a bushel of wheat for a cow; gold acting as the difference in value. Or the intermediary can act as a tool in exchange through a middle man who holds goods or services in inventory. This very brief and simple explanation draws a very close similarity to a healthy human eating right and converting energy to work, in the sense that there is very little energy lost in the trade due to the purity of the supply and demand and mutually acceptable (incorruptible) intermediary good.
Today we have moved quite far from this model of economic health. We no longer have a reliable intermediary good as we have substituted it with a “token of faith” (the dollar). Unlike gold or silver which require human effort to mine and refine, and has many uses, the dollar can be produced at will, and other than its perceived value it only holds a few BTUs of heat if burned. As we add “money” to the economy the value of all money in the market is diminished because it is not tied to productivity. From a health perspective this is like a man eating a one pound, five hundred calorie totally balanced meal and having the components of the meal gradually replaced with 0 net calorie celery. The man may still feel full but the net effect is he will die; you can’t substitute quantity for quality.
As the man’s body begins to use its reserves his appetite may increase. Feeling sickly, he just might increase his daily intake of celery; borrowing from future rations. With the increase in rations he may fell satisfied after a meal but that is merely a perception, as his body eats itself for energy. He then might try to display an upbeat attitude, rejecting reality. Being ignorant to the fact that he is not bringing any new energy into his body he would likely resort to stimulants to speed his metabolism and nervous system giving him the perception of energy, blind to the fact that he is only speeding the process of death.
Our economy acts the same way yet we are surprised with its illness. We have countless times interfered with the natural process in order to get high. As we become too proud to take certain manufacturing jobs, they go overseas; energy lost. We allow parasites to come into the country unlawfully and pack the money out; energy lost. We import far more then we export; a net loss of energy in the exchange. In the mean time we demand a more decadent lifestyle and by golly if enough people want something in an immoral democracy you’ll find a politician to promise all the bread and circuses imaginable, even while living with the highest standards the earth has ever seen. The people demand a feeling of health not knowing they are dead men walking. In absence of real energy in the economy we fake it with the placebo effect of increasing the quantity of money; which does work for a while until perception meets reality. We attempt to stimulate the economy by artificially valuing the dollar by placing non-market interest rates on the market; discouraging thrift and encouraging moral peril. We live off hopes of a better tomorrow not satisfied with our earnings of today while using our last energy to dig our own grave. We “create” jobs and production with no demand for the product; busy work, like walking on a treadmill. There are so many more examples of how we have not only strayed from, but out right shunned the natural capital market place. We are not a free market economy in America any more; far from it. But we don’t really care that we are chronically unhealthy as long as we feel good. We have made our diet meth and celery; we feel like a million bucks. In our arrogance we think we can recreate the natural process to fit our will. The process a five year old can explain over dinner. Our perception serves as our reality, in absence of the truth. But alas, the truth remains.
A stimulant however, is an un-natural compound (to the body) that usually causes a reaction in the nervous system or metabolism that gives a person the impression of energy. In certain cases an artificial stimulant may simulate a naturally produced chemical in the body (or the result of the role of the natural compound) so closely that the body may cease to produce that compound, causing many adverse and potentially deadly side effects; methamphetamine is a good example. Let’s take the product 5 Hour Energy for example; I believe this product engages in false advertising. This product claims only 4 calories yet a body at rest still uses 40 calories per hour just to maintain systems. Therefore for them to claim 5 hours of “energy” it should have at least 201 calories. This product may have other compounds that aid the digestion or conversion of stored energy in the body, but if the body does not have a reserve of potential energy to convert, and work is required, the primary functions of the body will be harmed and the body will convert muscle and bone to energy with devastating results. In our decadent society a trim and “sexy” body with low fat reserves is appealing, thus the addictions to stimulants and the untold number of side effects they bring. Stimulants have become a substitute for proper eating habits and prudent physical care.
Of course a perfect natural human would have no need for stimulants of any kind. Maintaining a balanced diet of digestible fat, protein and carbohydrate calories, and fulfilling the bodies need for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other core factors required to properly replicate DNA, maintain body temperature and produce work is all we need.
Remarkably, the natural physical order of human kind as well as the natural laws of science (the Laws of Thermodynamics in particular) are very similar if not directly analogous to economics and society in general.
First of all economically speaking we can only describe and measure the economic energy stored by goods and services. Like protein, carbs and fat have a potential energy so do goods and services have potential energy that can not be realized until digested. The digestion of goods and services is called voluntary exchange of goods and services, which requires a good or service be demanded by one party and supplied by another either in direct swap for good or service or by an intermediary good found desirable to both parties (currency). Historically, this mutually desirable intermediary good has been gold or silver because in itself it holds a recognizable value. This intermediary good allows inequitable direct exchanges, like a bushel of wheat for a cow; gold acting as the difference in value. Or the intermediary can act as a tool in exchange through a middle man who holds goods or services in inventory. This very brief and simple explanation draws a very close similarity to a healthy human eating right and converting energy to work, in the sense that there is very little energy lost in the trade due to the purity of the supply and demand and mutually acceptable (incorruptible) intermediary good.
Today we have moved quite far from this model of economic health. We no longer have a reliable intermediary good as we have substituted it with a “token of faith” (the dollar). Unlike gold or silver which require human effort to mine and refine, and has many uses, the dollar can be produced at will, and other than its perceived value it only holds a few BTUs of heat if burned. As we add “money” to the economy the value of all money in the market is diminished because it is not tied to productivity. From a health perspective this is like a man eating a one pound, five hundred calorie totally balanced meal and having the components of the meal gradually replaced with 0 net calorie celery. The man may still feel full but the net effect is he will die; you can’t substitute quantity for quality.
As the man’s body begins to use its reserves his appetite may increase. Feeling sickly, he just might increase his daily intake of celery; borrowing from future rations. With the increase in rations he may fell satisfied after a meal but that is merely a perception, as his body eats itself for energy. He then might try to display an upbeat attitude, rejecting reality. Being ignorant to the fact that he is not bringing any new energy into his body he would likely resort to stimulants to speed his metabolism and nervous system giving him the perception of energy, blind to the fact that he is only speeding the process of death.
Our economy acts the same way yet we are surprised with its illness. We have countless times interfered with the natural process in order to get high. As we become too proud to take certain manufacturing jobs, they go overseas; energy lost. We allow parasites to come into the country unlawfully and pack the money out; energy lost. We import far more then we export; a net loss of energy in the exchange. In the mean time we demand a more decadent lifestyle and by golly if enough people want something in an immoral democracy you’ll find a politician to promise all the bread and circuses imaginable, even while living with the highest standards the earth has ever seen. The people demand a feeling of health not knowing they are dead men walking. In absence of real energy in the economy we fake it with the placebo effect of increasing the quantity of money; which does work for a while until perception meets reality. We attempt to stimulate the economy by artificially valuing the dollar by placing non-market interest rates on the market; discouraging thrift and encouraging moral peril. We live off hopes of a better tomorrow not satisfied with our earnings of today while using our last energy to dig our own grave. We “create” jobs and production with no demand for the product; busy work, like walking on a treadmill. There are so many more examples of how we have not only strayed from, but out right shunned the natural capital market place. We are not a free market economy in America any more; far from it. But we don’t really care that we are chronically unhealthy as long as we feel good. We have made our diet meth and celery; we feel like a million bucks. In our arrogance we think we can recreate the natural process to fit our will. The process a five year old can explain over dinner. Our perception serves as our reality, in absence of the truth. But alas, the truth remains.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Generation WE
This is my response to the George Soros funded Generation WE propaganda seen here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vknHKTy1MLY I hope some of the WE will get with it.
WE the generation of Americans born between 1978 and 2000, children of the Baby Boomers, will have a chance to make right what has gone horribly wrong with our country.
WE, have watched our parents live in the now and become complacent to the erosion of freedom and liberty.
WE, have watched their fortunes come and go and seen them remain silent as the Federal Reserve printed money out of thin air; money with no value; but they played the game; they got theirs. WE have witnessed the fantasy world of play money, false interest rates and governmental regulations that give advantage to some businesses and cripple others, created by politicians in trade for money. WE demand a real dollar with real market interest rates, and a fair playing field absent of governmental cronyism.
WE have watched our parents and grand parents get taxed heavily for education only to pass our education off to the government monopoly of thought. Don’t they care? Don’t we deserve the best? Shouldn’t they demand the money used to educate us be used in the most efficient and free manor possible? WE demand choice in education for our children!
WE, have watched our Presidents go to war and call it a police action, knowing full well The Constitution does not give this power to the President. WE have seen our nation go to war and men die because we do not have a picture of what victory looks like. WE know war is hell and it must not be entered into for light reasons and when fought, WE must win quickly and decisively with all of our resolute nature to bear.
WE have watched money and clever slogans manipulate our democratic method of election. WE have watched them become lazy on history, complacent on The Constitution, and vote not with their mind but with opinions based upon sensational advertising. WE know a democracy without reverence and diligence is no better than a lynch mob. WE know the power of the vote and we must and will not treat that freedom; purchased in blood, lightly. WE will think with our minds and give and love with our hearts.
WE have watched them trade liberty for security; freedom for government control. WE know America did not become great by accident nor by government planning, but by a design endorsed by WE THE PEOPLE, that preserves liberty, and restrains the government; The Constitution. WE believe each man in his own choosing should be free to seek out and work for his wildest dreams without interference, and a man should also be allowed to live in sloth if it be his choosing. WE must not be forced to live for our brother nor he for us, but retain the convictions of our soul and help not because we are forced but because we love.
Finally, WE have watched our parents allow more and more of their money to be taken from them, to fund a government growing like a disease; one that is giving money, money they do not have as gifts to other countries around the world…it’s not yours to give! A deficit means WE are the ones footing the bill, perhaps our children as well. WE believe taking from one man against his will and giving it to another is theft and that the principal of theft does not change just because a group of people vote for it.
Generation WE, swear a pact, to restore our nation to its former greatness when The Constitution was honored; a man's property was respected and charity was given from the heart, and received with humility. WE will learn the lessons of history, and recognize the gradual erosion of liberty at each baby step, so that WE can again be the Land of the FREE and the home of the Brave
WE the generation of Americans born between 1978 and 2000, children of the Baby Boomers, will have a chance to make right what has gone horribly wrong with our country.
WE, have watched our parents live in the now and become complacent to the erosion of freedom and liberty.
WE, have watched their fortunes come and go and seen them remain silent as the Federal Reserve printed money out of thin air; money with no value; but they played the game; they got theirs. WE have witnessed the fantasy world of play money, false interest rates and governmental regulations that give advantage to some businesses and cripple others, created by politicians in trade for money. WE demand a real dollar with real market interest rates, and a fair playing field absent of governmental cronyism.
WE have watched our parents and grand parents get taxed heavily for education only to pass our education off to the government monopoly of thought. Don’t they care? Don’t we deserve the best? Shouldn’t they demand the money used to educate us be used in the most efficient and free manor possible? WE demand choice in education for our children!
WE, have watched our Presidents go to war and call it a police action, knowing full well The Constitution does not give this power to the President. WE have seen our nation go to war and men die because we do not have a picture of what victory looks like. WE know war is hell and it must not be entered into for light reasons and when fought, WE must win quickly and decisively with all of our resolute nature to bear.
WE have watched money and clever slogans manipulate our democratic method of election. WE have watched them become lazy on history, complacent on The Constitution, and vote not with their mind but with opinions based upon sensational advertising. WE know a democracy without reverence and diligence is no better than a lynch mob. WE know the power of the vote and we must and will not treat that freedom; purchased in blood, lightly. WE will think with our minds and give and love with our hearts.
WE have watched them trade liberty for security; freedom for government control. WE know America did not become great by accident nor by government planning, but by a design endorsed by WE THE PEOPLE, that preserves liberty, and restrains the government; The Constitution. WE believe each man in his own choosing should be free to seek out and work for his wildest dreams without interference, and a man should also be allowed to live in sloth if it be his choosing. WE must not be forced to live for our brother nor he for us, but retain the convictions of our soul and help not because we are forced but because we love.
Finally, WE have watched our parents allow more and more of their money to be taken from them, to fund a government growing like a disease; one that is giving money, money they do not have as gifts to other countries around the world…it’s not yours to give! A deficit means WE are the ones footing the bill, perhaps our children as well. WE believe taking from one man against his will and giving it to another is theft and that the principal of theft does not change just because a group of people vote for it.
Generation WE, swear a pact, to restore our nation to its former greatness when The Constitution was honored; a man's property was respected and charity was given from the heart, and received with humility. WE will learn the lessons of history, and recognize the gradual erosion of liberty at each baby step, so that WE can again be the Land of the FREE and the home of the Brave
Friday, January 22, 2010
Uncle Samta Claus, I want a Pony
It’s Christmas Eve and Jimmy has just been tucked snugly in bed. The anxiety for the day to come has him plum tuckered out. As he drifts off to sleep the last vision that passed across his mind is a photographic memory of the crayon written letter he sent to Santa,
Dear Santa,
It’s me Jimmy. I have been a very good boy this year and I got all A-s on my report card. All I want for Christmas is a pony; a brown pony with white spots is what I really want but any pony will do if you can’t find one with spots.
Thanks,
Jimmy
As the first light of dawn broke through the mini blinds in Jimmy’s room he was up like a shot. To the window he went, expecting a pony to be tied to the old elm tree in the front yard. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he looked again; more closely this time, bumping his head on the cold glass trying to look straight down. With a deep sigh, his warm breath obscured the view through the glass. Striking his finger through the haze on the window, the thought to himself, no pony! Perhaps the back yard! He thought with a revived spirit. Again, no pony. With sorrow and disbelief he made his way towards the Christmas tree, his bare feet slapping the hardwood floor in gait of discouragement. Down he plopped, sideways on his father’s worn recliner. Just then, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a red envelope placed thoughtfully at the base of the Christmas tree. On the envelope was his name JIMMY. With restored hope he hurriedly opened the letter.
Dear Jimmy,
I am so glad you have been a good boy this year however, due to the small number of ponies available; I am unable to grant your wish. I also expect the supply of ponies to be small next year as well. With that knowledge, only the very best children will be awarded a pony next year. Trevor Johnson next door was given a pony this year based upon his very complete letter to Santa. Please use his format and documentation as an example of a winning letter (see enclosed).
Thanks for believing,
Santa
Jimmy opened Trevor’s letter to Santa; all twelve pages worth. The front page- cover sheet, the second page- left blank intentionally, the third page- the table of contents; all pages type written. His parents helped him Jimmy thought as he thumbed through the pages. Every good deed was well documented. What’s this!!! “Shoveled snow at old man Lincoln’s house.” I did that! he fumed. Passing by that page in disgust he also noticed Trevor’s grades were not as good as his, but with each poor grade was a type written reason for his poor performance….
Exit fiction, enter reality
This morning on my way to work I heard a news story that at first did not sink in. The story was. “The State of Idaho is in the running for a Federal education grant.” My first thought when I heard the news was, cool we could use the extra money to help out in a short budget year, but my second thought was a bit deeper.
Why must we apply to Santa errr Uncle Sam (both old, white bearded guys) to have the same money that was seized from our citizens granted back to us? The answer is strings; both purse and puppet. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution grants all the power not given specifically to the Federal government, in the Constitution, to the States and the people. Public education is not a power reserved for the Federal government, therefore the duty falls upon the State or the People. The catch however, lies in the Sixteenth Amendment.
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”
Boy howdy does the Feds use that Amendment to the fullest! They take as much as they wish ((lawfully so (a legal injustice)) and impose their will by withholding funds from those do not comply, or rewarding those who comply; bribery and pandering to be blunt. This affective nullification of the Tenth Amendment via the Sixteenth has been gradual erosion that is transforming The United States of America into the Administrative Oligarchal of Puppet States of America (AOPSA).
This Federal grant for education that Idaho is in the running for is just a small example of the Federal governments “soft persuasion tactics.” The Department of Energy, the EPA, Dept. of Homeland Security and many more practice this Santa-esque tactic. But it does not stop there. The Feds have used much stronger tactics in the past; threatening to withhold directly budgeted money from our state if we did not conform to their will.
With the apparent wholesale rejection of Obama Care things are looking up for freedom loving Americans. In the past we as conservative Americans have been content to play defense, against, the would be tyrant; giving a little ground each time we proclaim victory. With this most current election in Massachusetts, we must prepare to go on the offense for once and not squander the opportunity like we did for the Bush years. As Winston Churchill once said,
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
As we prepare to retake the once golden beaches of liberty, we must consider in advance the genesis of this increasingly less soft tyranny we endure. We must fight monumental battles of direct principal rather than a thousand small skirmishes. I would offer for consideration of the patriots an action plan.
The Tenth Amendment couldn’t be clearer, yet it is impotent. We must repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and replace it with something like this.
The Congress shall have the power to levy a tax on each State based solely upon census. The amount of the tax will be restrained to the actual expense of administration and execution of duties described in the Constitution specifically.
In such a consideration the states would pay a tax directly to the Federal government rather than the citizens individually. Each state could decide how to most efficiently and equitably procure the funds from the people at the state level. Each state could decide which services and programs are the duty of the government. Just as Santa is an un-necessary, redundant, convoluting, inefficient, intermediary between parent and child, so is the Federal government in most affairs. The power must be closer to the people.
Dear Santa,
It’s me Jimmy. I have been a very good boy this year and I got all A-s on my report card. All I want for Christmas is a pony; a brown pony with white spots is what I really want but any pony will do if you can’t find one with spots.
Thanks,
Jimmy
As the first light of dawn broke through the mini blinds in Jimmy’s room he was up like a shot. To the window he went, expecting a pony to be tied to the old elm tree in the front yard. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he looked again; more closely this time, bumping his head on the cold glass trying to look straight down. With a deep sigh, his warm breath obscured the view through the glass. Striking his finger through the haze on the window, the thought to himself, no pony! Perhaps the back yard! He thought with a revived spirit. Again, no pony. With sorrow and disbelief he made his way towards the Christmas tree, his bare feet slapping the hardwood floor in gait of discouragement. Down he plopped, sideways on his father’s worn recliner. Just then, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a red envelope placed thoughtfully at the base of the Christmas tree. On the envelope was his name JIMMY. With restored hope he hurriedly opened the letter.
Dear Jimmy,
I am so glad you have been a good boy this year however, due to the small number of ponies available; I am unable to grant your wish. I also expect the supply of ponies to be small next year as well. With that knowledge, only the very best children will be awarded a pony next year. Trevor Johnson next door was given a pony this year based upon his very complete letter to Santa. Please use his format and documentation as an example of a winning letter (see enclosed).
Thanks for believing,
Santa
Jimmy opened Trevor’s letter to Santa; all twelve pages worth. The front page- cover sheet, the second page- left blank intentionally, the third page- the table of contents; all pages type written. His parents helped him Jimmy thought as he thumbed through the pages. Every good deed was well documented. What’s this!!! “Shoveled snow at old man Lincoln’s house.” I did that! he fumed. Passing by that page in disgust he also noticed Trevor’s grades were not as good as his, but with each poor grade was a type written reason for his poor performance….
Exit fiction, enter reality
This morning on my way to work I heard a news story that at first did not sink in. The story was. “The State of Idaho is in the running for a Federal education grant.” My first thought when I heard the news was, cool we could use the extra money to help out in a short budget year, but my second thought was a bit deeper.
Why must we apply to Santa errr Uncle Sam (both old, white bearded guys) to have the same money that was seized from our citizens granted back to us? The answer is strings; both purse and puppet. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution grants all the power not given specifically to the Federal government, in the Constitution, to the States and the people. Public education is not a power reserved for the Federal government, therefore the duty falls upon the State or the People. The catch however, lies in the Sixteenth Amendment.
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”
Boy howdy does the Feds use that Amendment to the fullest! They take as much as they wish ((lawfully so (a legal injustice)) and impose their will by withholding funds from those do not comply, or rewarding those who comply; bribery and pandering to be blunt. This affective nullification of the Tenth Amendment via the Sixteenth has been gradual erosion that is transforming The United States of America into the Administrative Oligarchal of Puppet States of America (AOPSA).
This Federal grant for education that Idaho is in the running for is just a small example of the Federal governments “soft persuasion tactics.” The Department of Energy, the EPA, Dept. of Homeland Security and many more practice this Santa-esque tactic. But it does not stop there. The Feds have used much stronger tactics in the past; threatening to withhold directly budgeted money from our state if we did not conform to their will.
With the apparent wholesale rejection of Obama Care things are looking up for freedom loving Americans. In the past we as conservative Americans have been content to play defense, against, the would be tyrant; giving a little ground each time we proclaim victory. With this most current election in Massachusetts, we must prepare to go on the offense for once and not squander the opportunity like we did for the Bush years. As Winston Churchill once said,
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
As we prepare to retake the once golden beaches of liberty, we must consider in advance the genesis of this increasingly less soft tyranny we endure. We must fight monumental battles of direct principal rather than a thousand small skirmishes. I would offer for consideration of the patriots an action plan.
The Tenth Amendment couldn’t be clearer, yet it is impotent. We must repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and replace it with something like this.
The Congress shall have the power to levy a tax on each State based solely upon census. The amount of the tax will be restrained to the actual expense of administration and execution of duties described in the Constitution specifically.
In such a consideration the states would pay a tax directly to the Federal government rather than the citizens individually. Each state could decide how to most efficiently and equitably procure the funds from the people at the state level. Each state could decide which services and programs are the duty of the government. Just as Santa is an un-necessary, redundant, convoluting, inefficient, intermediary between parent and child, so is the Federal government in most affairs. The power must be closer to the people.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
To The Matter of Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson said, "...since then (the pact with the Devil) the Haitian people have been cursed with one thing after another; desperately poor."
Pat Robertson did not say this earthquake was a divine retribution. He did imply however, the economic state of Haiti was a result of past decisions. I am not a big Robertson fan, but the press has stuffed a lot of extra words into Robertson’s mouth, and that is not right.
Here is my take on curses and blessings. God has given us much wisdom in which to rule our affairs, personally and as a nation. Through out the Bible many blessings and curses are described. If you do this, good things will happen, if you do that, bad things will happen. However I do not think God is up there with his Scepter sending down curses and blessings via invisible ray. The laws of God are like the laws of nature; they can't be broken and an attempt to do so results in calamity...simple cause and effect. Our Nation was founded upon the Laws of God and we have been "blessed" because of it, yet the further we stray from those principals the more tribulation we experience. Haiti won its "freedom" based not upon the Laws of God but an agreement with the Enemy of God. Whether the Devil actually showed up to shake hands with them is irrespective; their departure from the known Laws of God and intentional separation from him brought their society a natural cause and effect reaction, or "curse" if you please.
Now, consider this. If Haiti was a nation that was founded upon the same principal as ours, would the poverty and corruption be the same as it is today? Would the damage to the infrastructure be as great had the nation managed its wealth better over the past 100 years? Would the internal governmental response to the suffering be quicker and more compassionate if they were under a 1787 US Constitution? Blessings and Curses are cause and effect. God did not create us to destroy us, but as an object of His love. His expression of the principals to a blessed life and nation are a perfect example of that Love. As witnessed not just in Haiti but in almost every culture the result of ignoring this Loving advice is chaos and corruption.
Pat Robertson did not say this earthquake was a divine retribution. He did imply however, the economic state of Haiti was a result of past decisions. I am not a big Robertson fan, but the press has stuffed a lot of extra words into Robertson’s mouth, and that is not right.
Here is my take on curses and blessings. God has given us much wisdom in which to rule our affairs, personally and as a nation. Through out the Bible many blessings and curses are described. If you do this, good things will happen, if you do that, bad things will happen. However I do not think God is up there with his Scepter sending down curses and blessings via invisible ray. The laws of God are like the laws of nature; they can't be broken and an attempt to do so results in calamity...simple cause and effect. Our Nation was founded upon the Laws of God and we have been "blessed" because of it, yet the further we stray from those principals the more tribulation we experience. Haiti won its "freedom" based not upon the Laws of God but an agreement with the Enemy of God. Whether the Devil actually showed up to shake hands with them is irrespective; their departure from the known Laws of God and intentional separation from him brought their society a natural cause and effect reaction, or "curse" if you please.
Now, consider this. If Haiti was a nation that was founded upon the same principal as ours, would the poverty and corruption be the same as it is today? Would the damage to the infrastructure be as great had the nation managed its wealth better over the past 100 years? Would the internal governmental response to the suffering be quicker and more compassionate if they were under a 1787 US Constitution? Blessings and Curses are cause and effect. God did not create us to destroy us, but as an object of His love. His expression of the principals to a blessed life and nation are a perfect example of that Love. As witnessed not just in Haiti but in almost every culture the result of ignoring this Loving advice is chaos and corruption.
Monday, January 18, 2010
New and Current Tax Evaluation Checklist
Understanding that some taxes are required in order to administer and maintain assets of the people in union, we must also consider carefully the equitability of each tax, fee and money generating regulation. The scope of the duties of government vary from state to state, as do the general philosophical characteristics of people based upon the geography, economic culture and general moral order. This geographic uniqueness of governments as allowed by and specifically reserved for the states in the 10th Amendment, is considered by some a brilliant act of our Founders, by others pure Providence. However, as we are warned by the past countless times, even the finest forms of government left to the hands of man, whether tyrant, aristocrat, altruist, or simply a complacent or distracted man, will eventually grow far beyond its intended purpose. The metamorphosis starts as a government for and by the People, to the inverse; the people for and by the Government. Often over many generations the change from servant to lord is nary noticed by the citizens.
As a remedy to this culturally debilitating governmental illness an intersession must take place before the tenants of Liberty, Industry and Thrift are forgotten or worse yet considered a fanciful ideal, unattainable by man. If this intervention is possible, the people must draw a personal connection to the government purse. They must understand and accept the full value of their monetary sacrifice for the government, and with that knowledge approve the expenditures thereof as a prudent substitute to their otherwise eminent higher economic condition. Sadly, the direct connection of he who fills the purse and he who demands it filled has been broken. Taxing structures once simple and direct, are now convoluted, confounding and take much effort on behalf of the benefactor to calculate with accuracy. Taxes become hidden in the gradual maturity of a product or service, from raw good to finished product, leaving no hand un-slapped. The result in many cases is a finished product, which caries a price largely a representation of the taxation and mandated regulation generationaly; yet the consumer is none the wiser. Would it not be in the best interest of the people to know how much of their bounty the government actually seizes? Might this encourage a new found desire to encourage accountability and thrift? Would the People take more ownership of their government if they paid a $.20 sales tax rather than the equivalent masked in the shadows? Following is a simple question and answer list each lawmaker should consider before any new tax is designed. Additionally, to simplify our existing tax code we must ask this of our existing laws. As long as the government by and for the People is broken it is not too late to fix it, but when Liberty is gone so is the last hope of repair.
1) Does the tax impede commerce?
2) Is the tax aimed at a specific industry or product?
3) Is the tax aimed at a specific people group; racial, religious, economic or otherwise?
4) Is the tax designed to discourage a specific behavior?
5) Are the revenues needed to support a specific government function as defined in the Constitution of the State?
6) Will the revenues of the tax directly, positively impact those who pay the taxes?
7) Is the tax or fee based upon usage of a publicly owned asset?
8) Does the tax place state industry at a competitive disadvantage?
9) Does the tax place business in a border town at a competitive disadvantage, based upon tax laws across the state line? If so is there a plan to make those effected businesses whole?
10) Has the tax or fee been used in other states, successfully and equitably?
11) Does the tax or fee require an additional logistical burden on a business or person(s) to collect?
12) Is the tax likely to be passed on to others as a cost of goods? If so how many generations of sales will the tax likely be passed?
13) Is this tax designed to be disguised from the end payer?
14) If the tax is designed to fund a specific service, has the private sector been give a fair opportunity to bid or compete on that service?
As a remedy to this culturally debilitating governmental illness an intersession must take place before the tenants of Liberty, Industry and Thrift are forgotten or worse yet considered a fanciful ideal, unattainable by man. If this intervention is possible, the people must draw a personal connection to the government purse. They must understand and accept the full value of their monetary sacrifice for the government, and with that knowledge approve the expenditures thereof as a prudent substitute to their otherwise eminent higher economic condition. Sadly, the direct connection of he who fills the purse and he who demands it filled has been broken. Taxing structures once simple and direct, are now convoluted, confounding and take much effort on behalf of the benefactor to calculate with accuracy. Taxes become hidden in the gradual maturity of a product or service, from raw good to finished product, leaving no hand un-slapped. The result in many cases is a finished product, which caries a price largely a representation of the taxation and mandated regulation generationaly; yet the consumer is none the wiser. Would it not be in the best interest of the people to know how much of their bounty the government actually seizes? Might this encourage a new found desire to encourage accountability and thrift? Would the People take more ownership of their government if they paid a $.20 sales tax rather than the equivalent masked in the shadows? Following is a simple question and answer list each lawmaker should consider before any new tax is designed. Additionally, to simplify our existing tax code we must ask this of our existing laws. As long as the government by and for the People is broken it is not too late to fix it, but when Liberty is gone so is the last hope of repair.
1) Does the tax impede commerce?
2) Is the tax aimed at a specific industry or product?
3) Is the tax aimed at a specific people group; racial, religious, economic or otherwise?
4) Is the tax designed to discourage a specific behavior?
5) Are the revenues needed to support a specific government function as defined in the Constitution of the State?
6) Will the revenues of the tax directly, positively impact those who pay the taxes?
7) Is the tax or fee based upon usage of a publicly owned asset?
8) Does the tax place state industry at a competitive disadvantage?
9) Does the tax place business in a border town at a competitive disadvantage, based upon tax laws across the state line? If so is there a plan to make those effected businesses whole?
10) Has the tax or fee been used in other states, successfully and equitably?
11) Does the tax or fee require an additional logistical burden on a business or person(s) to collect?
12) Is the tax likely to be passed on to others as a cost of goods? If so how many generations of sales will the tax likely be passed?
13) Is this tax designed to be disguised from the end payer?
14) If the tax is designed to fund a specific service, has the private sector been give a fair opportunity to bid or compete on that service?
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