E-Mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "FTC Investigates Oil Firms Over Hiring, Wages. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether the world's biggest oil companies colluded to suppress managerial, professional and technical employees' wages in ways that violated U.S. antitrust laws, according to people familiar with the matter. (wsj.com)".
This is one of the few legitimate responsibilities of the Federal government. Antitrust. We generally have too many restrictive laws, which lead to poor government control. It is a pleasure to see an almost unique example of government control.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Congress and School Discipline by Paddling
E-Mail to Congress:
I was just listening to Fox News. Apparently, Congress is considering involving itself in passing a law against school paddling as a form of discipline enforcement in schools.
Congress already has a bad reputation concerning judgment on what matters to be involved in. If they get involved in this one, it would be ridiculous at its utmost. People are already at their wits end concerning government transgressions on citizens liberties. The Federal government has no justification for involvement.
The people locally elected school boards and give them the authority to appoint superintendents and other officials who will decide what forms of discipline are required. If the people don't like what is going on with respect to schools and their children, they can reelect a different school board and appointed officials.
I strongly suggest you and your associates stay out of developing additional restrictive laws concerning school discipline.
I was just listening to Fox News. Apparently, Congress is considering involving itself in passing a law against school paddling as a form of discipline enforcement in schools.
Congress already has a bad reputation concerning judgment on what matters to be involved in. If they get involved in this one, it would be ridiculous at its utmost. People are already at their wits end concerning government transgressions on citizens liberties. The Federal government has no justification for involvement.
The people locally elected school boards and give them the authority to appoint superintendents and other officials who will decide what forms of discipline are required. If the people don't like what is going on with respect to schools and their children, they can reelect a different school board and appointed officials.
I strongly suggest you and your associates stay out of developing additional restrictive laws concerning school discipline.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Iran Asking Why We Have a Military Presence in Iraq and Afghanistan
E-Mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "Iran Urges UN Inquiry Into Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran's president has urged the UN to launch an investigation into the aims of Western military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. (bbc.co.uk)".
Ahmadinejad seems to have a good idea. I too would like to add a clear answer on why we are there.
EIN News says, "Iran Urges UN Inquiry Into Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran's president has urged the UN to launch an investigation into the aims of Western military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. (bbc.co.uk)".
Ahmadinejad seems to have a good idea. I too would like to add a clear answer on why we are there.
Increased Fuel Costs Through Higher Taxes
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "U.S. to Take Close Look at Royalty Rates. The federal government launched a global review of how much energy companies pay to extract oil and natural gas from public lands in a step that could lead to higher royalties for drilling on U.S. property. (chron.com)".
Here's another tax that will be passed along to the public in the form of higher gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil prices.
Isn't there some way you can stop this and similar deceptive financial maneuvers?
EIN News says, "U.S. to Take Close Look at Royalty Rates. The federal government launched a global review of how much energy companies pay to extract oil and natural gas from public lands in a step that could lead to higher royalties for drilling on U.S. property. (chron.com)".
Here's another tax that will be passed along to the public in the form of higher gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil prices.
Isn't there some way you can stop this and similar deceptive financial maneuvers?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Kyrgyzstan Model for US?
E-Mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "Kyrgyzstan Capital Bloodied, Looted and Chaotic After Overthrow of Bakiyev. The popular revolt in Kyrgyzstan that toppled Bakiyev two days ago was so sudden and ferocious that nobody has had a chance to give it a name yet. But it would be plausible to dub it the fir tree revolution - after the presidential shrubs taken and loaded into taxis. (guardian.co.uk)".
In some ways, this reminds me of the basis of other revolutions. The French Revolution started with physical violence against the King and his Administration and extended to the beheading of all those living high on the hog and generally referred to as nobility. The various Banana Republic revolutions were again directed against existing self-serving governments, generally by insurgent groups rather than the people as a whole. The American revolution was directed against the Crown by a split populous, again for financial reasons through taxes Are the TEA parties and other rantings against taxes and government control precursors to physical violence? They may be. The American people are human like other people of the world and can be driven just so far against the wall before they emotionally react.
Congress already has a bad reputation with the American people, but it still has the power of government. It can take the people's side against the Obama Administration. The quicker it does so, the less likely that the US will fall into anarchy.
EIN News says, "Kyrgyzstan Capital Bloodied, Looted and Chaotic After Overthrow of Bakiyev. The popular revolt in Kyrgyzstan that toppled Bakiyev two days ago was so sudden and ferocious that nobody has had a chance to give it a name yet. But it would be plausible to dub it the fir tree revolution - after the presidential shrubs taken and loaded into taxis. (guardian.co.uk)".
In some ways, this reminds me of the basis of other revolutions. The French Revolution started with physical violence against the King and his Administration and extended to the beheading of all those living high on the hog and generally referred to as nobility. The various Banana Republic revolutions were again directed against existing self-serving governments, generally by insurgent groups rather than the people as a whole. The American revolution was directed against the Crown by a split populous, again for financial reasons through taxes Are the TEA parties and other rantings against taxes and government control precursors to physical violence? They may be. The American people are human like other people of the world and can be driven just so far against the wall before they emotionally react.
Congress already has a bad reputation with the American people, but it still has the power of government. It can take the people's side against the Obama Administration. The quicker it does so, the less likely that the US will fall into anarchy.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Sec. Napolitano Taking Correct Steps on Immigration Control
E-mail the Congress:
Congratulations to Sec. Napolitano on her new security clearance program for people entering the United States!
Sec. Napolitano has done mostly a miserable job up to now, but we must give credit where credit is due. As Secretary of Homeland Security, her job is to protect physically the people of the United States, including guarding them from terrorists entering from abroad.
The new program will involve initial questioning on race and religion, which seems to have upset a number of people. The record shows that Muslims and nonwhites have the highest prevalence for terrorist activities. Therefore, this is a logical area for questioning. The Secretary has said that people of those two groups will have special concentration on the initial interrogation, and may even go on to a second phase of interrogation, depending upon information collected in the primary instance. The Secretary is not talking about beating these people, torturing them, or jailing them. Some may be considered this profiling, but profiling is the only way progress is made on some problems.
In the 1970s, I was pulled out of line at Hawaii airport screening, for a private disrobing and body search. I was never given a reason for this action by immigration authorities, and I believe I should have had an explanation. However, I was not overly disturbed, and was especially appreciative of the diligence of immigration authorities, when I learned later that I fit the description of a person who was reported to be bringing drugs into the state.
I am on the whole a strong believer in individual freedoms but admit that some license must be taken depending on circumstances. In 1944, I was forced into the United States Army and subsequently required to do my best on uranium separation for an atomic bomb. I had no desire to kill thousands of people, but I did have an understanding that I could shorten casualties of the US military by use of this device. I felt my temporary limitation on individual liberties was justified for the good of the country.
Congratulations to Sec. Napolitano on her new security clearance program for people entering the United States!
Sec. Napolitano has done mostly a miserable job up to now, but we must give credit where credit is due. As Secretary of Homeland Security, her job is to protect physically the people of the United States, including guarding them from terrorists entering from abroad.
The new program will involve initial questioning on race and religion, which seems to have upset a number of people. The record shows that Muslims and nonwhites have the highest prevalence for terrorist activities. Therefore, this is a logical area for questioning. The Secretary has said that people of those two groups will have special concentration on the initial interrogation, and may even go on to a second phase of interrogation, depending upon information collected in the primary instance. The Secretary is not talking about beating these people, torturing them, or jailing them. Some may be considered this profiling, but profiling is the only way progress is made on some problems.
In the 1970s, I was pulled out of line at Hawaii airport screening, for a private disrobing and body search. I was never given a reason for this action by immigration authorities, and I believe I should have had an explanation. However, I was not overly disturbed, and was especially appreciative of the diligence of immigration authorities, when I learned later that I fit the description of a person who was reported to be bringing drugs into the state.
I am on the whole a strong believer in individual freedoms but admit that some license must be taken depending on circumstances. In 1944, I was forced into the United States Army and subsequently required to do my best on uranium separation for an atomic bomb. I had no desire to kill thousands of people, but I did have an understanding that I could shorten casualties of the US military by use of this device. I felt my temporary limitation on individual liberties was justified for the good of the country.
Poppies Are the Basis for Afghan/US Split
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "Afghan President Blames Western Officials for Election Fraud. Just days after a visit by President Obama, Hamid Karzai blames foreigners for last year's problems and says they 'do not want us to have a parliamentary election' in September. (latimes.com)".
Here we start to see cracks in the dike caused by increasing political pressure. The fact is that neither the Afghan people nor the Afghan government want us in their country. They know that part of our objective for drug control in the United States is to eliminate drug production at its source. The Afghan income from foreign sources is almost exclusively from poppy related products, in the form of heroin. As poor as these people are, they will be worse off without that income, and they know it is our objective to kill it. They can count on the foreign income from the presence of the US military in the short term, but know but that it is of limited duration. The market for poppy related products will continue indefinitely.
EIN News says, "Afghan President Blames Western Officials for Election Fraud. Just days after a visit by President Obama, Hamid Karzai blames foreigners for last year's problems and says they 'do not want us to have a parliamentary election' in September. (latimes.com)".
Here we start to see cracks in the dike caused by increasing political pressure. The fact is that neither the Afghan people nor the Afghan government want us in their country. They know that part of our objective for drug control in the United States is to eliminate drug production at its source. The Afghan income from foreign sources is almost exclusively from poppy related products, in the form of heroin. As poor as these people are, they will be worse off without that income, and they know it is our objective to kill it. They can count on the foreign income from the presence of the US military in the short term, but know but that it is of limited duration. The market for poppy related products will continue indefinitely.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Basis of the Afghanistan War
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "U.S. Aid Going to Afghanistan Partners. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict. (seattlepi.com)".
This is what happens when you have a dirty job and you don't want to do it yourself. You hire somebody else to do it, if you have the money. The US doesn't have the money. We are deeply in debt and continue to increase our debt through budget deficit financing.
Let's consider again why we are in this Afghanistan war. We say we are not nation building. Fine, we will take it that. We also say we are protecting ourselves from terrorists by moving the operation abroad rather than trying to control them in the US. While that sounds good on the surface, it is not necessary to have ground forces to do that job. Through a combination of intelligence and technical observations from satellites and other means, we can easily pick out training camps or the physical locations of other operations detrimental to the US, and bomb the hell out of them. That's why we have an air force. If we can't do this with conventional explosives, let's develop a nice compact atomic bomb that will do the job. We need to forget the reticence to use atomic explosives, because of promises to other countries that we would not do so. Subsequent developments of atomic explosives in many countries of the world have made this promise obsolete. We need to maintain superiority in atomic weaponry. One of the best ways to do this is to establish small atomic weapons to do specific jobs without too much ancillary killing of citizenry.
If one wants to deceive himself into thinking that our military presence in Afghanistan is favorable to the Afghanistan people, we need to think again. Perhaps we think we are protecting the Afghanistan people from the Taliban. It should not be our business to do that, if the people want the Taliban. Consider also that Afghanistan is a great area for production of poppies, leading to heroin, which has great acceptance on the world market. This is a substantial portion of the Afghanistan GDP, and it is well known that the US desires to wipe it out. If you were an Afghanistan citizen, would you welcome a foreign military operation, whose intention is to reduce your standard a living from an already poor state? If we are there to eliminate poppy production, let's be clear about it and maximize our use of herbicides to do so. We are likely in this operation to reap the wrath of the Afghanistan people, but so be it.
I have mixed feelings on drug use. There will always be individuals who will choose that route, but most will not. The Dutch program works on that basis. It is not possible to stamp out drug use, but it is also not desirable to promote it. A Mexican official has said that it is not Mexico's fault that the US desires marijuana. If the market were not there, there would be no need to produce it. I believe our government should spend considerably less time and money on controlling the influx of drugs and also on rehabilitation of drug addicts. Most addicts are there because they took a risk and failed. It is not the responsibility of the remaining public to bail them out of their situation. As unemployment remains high, there will likely be a greater increase in drug addiction, because these people have nothing else to do. Whether we support them as unemployed or as drug addicts makes little difference economically. In either case, they are nonproductive.
EIN News says, "U.S. Aid Going to Afghanistan Partners. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict. (seattlepi.com)".
This is what happens when you have a dirty job and you don't want to do it yourself. You hire somebody else to do it, if you have the money. The US doesn't have the money. We are deeply in debt and continue to increase our debt through budget deficit financing.
Let's consider again why we are in this Afghanistan war. We say we are not nation building. Fine, we will take it that. We also say we are protecting ourselves from terrorists by moving the operation abroad rather than trying to control them in the US. While that sounds good on the surface, it is not necessary to have ground forces to do that job. Through a combination of intelligence and technical observations from satellites and other means, we can easily pick out training camps or the physical locations of other operations detrimental to the US, and bomb the hell out of them. That's why we have an air force. If we can't do this with conventional explosives, let's develop a nice compact atomic bomb that will do the job. We need to forget the reticence to use atomic explosives, because of promises to other countries that we would not do so. Subsequent developments of atomic explosives in many countries of the world have made this promise obsolete. We need to maintain superiority in atomic weaponry. One of the best ways to do this is to establish small atomic weapons to do specific jobs without too much ancillary killing of citizenry.
If one wants to deceive himself into thinking that our military presence in Afghanistan is favorable to the Afghanistan people, we need to think again. Perhaps we think we are protecting the Afghanistan people from the Taliban. It should not be our business to do that, if the people want the Taliban. Consider also that Afghanistan is a great area for production of poppies, leading to heroin, which has great acceptance on the world market. This is a substantial portion of the Afghanistan GDP, and it is well known that the US desires to wipe it out. If you were an Afghanistan citizen, would you welcome a foreign military operation, whose intention is to reduce your standard a living from an already poor state? If we are there to eliminate poppy production, let's be clear about it and maximize our use of herbicides to do so. We are likely in this operation to reap the wrath of the Afghanistan people, but so be it.
I have mixed feelings on drug use. There will always be individuals who will choose that route, but most will not. The Dutch program works on that basis. It is not possible to stamp out drug use, but it is also not desirable to promote it. A Mexican official has said that it is not Mexico's fault that the US desires marijuana. If the market were not there, there would be no need to produce it. I believe our government should spend considerably less time and money on controlling the influx of drugs and also on rehabilitation of drug addicts. Most addicts are there because they took a risk and failed. It is not the responsibility of the remaining public to bail them out of their situation. As unemployment remains high, there will likely be a greater increase in drug addiction, because these people have nothing else to do. Whether we support them as unemployed or as drug addicts makes little difference economically. In either case, they are nonproductive.
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