tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143694592024-03-13T19:42:32.054-07:00Living Large in the Permian BasinRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.comBlogger292125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-18778253152701638312011-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:002011-02-18T21:39:29.249-08:00Two Exceptional House FreshmenThe two I have in mind are not exceptional in my opinion for any special speech or special award since becoming a member. They are exceptional to me because they won election into the US House from the grassroots efforts. Neither of them have ever been elected to any city or state office, and yet they won an election to a national office. The following paragraphs are brief biographies of the two I find exceptional.<br /><br />
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Renee Jacisin Ellmers (born February 9, 1964) is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district. She is a member of the Republican Party. Ellmers defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge by 1,489 votes, confirmed after a recount. Renee Ellmers was born in Ironwood in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. When she was a child her family moved to Madison Heights, near Detroit, where her father took a job in the auto industry. He worked with General Motors until he retired.<br /><br />
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After graduating from Madison High School, needing to work her way through college, Renee trained as a Medical Assistant. For the next eight years, working full and part-time jobs, she attended Oakland University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.<br /><br />
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A year later, working as a Surgical Intensive Care Nurse at Beaumont Hospital she met her husband, Brent, a graduate of the University Of Indiana School Of Medicine.<br /><br />
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After their son was born, while visiting family in Cary, NC, Renee and her husband decided to move to North Carolina. She worked with her husband as Clinical Director of the Trinity Wound Care Center in Dunn. Renee Ellmers became involved in politics after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which she opposed.<br /> <br />
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Dan Benishek, M.D. (born April 20, 1952) is the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 1st congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Dan Benishek was born in Iron River, Michigan. His father worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps and then in the iron mines of Iron County. Dan's father died in a mining accident in 1957 and Dan’s mother, with the help of family, raised Dan and his brother, Tim.<br /><br />
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He graduated from West Iron County High School in 1970. Dan went on to earn a B.S. in Biology from the University of Michigan in 1974 and graduated from Wayne State Medical School in 1978. Dan completed a Family Practice internship in Flint at St Joseph's Hospital. He completed his General Surgery residency back at Wayne State in Detroit. He has served as a general surgeon in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in a private practice since 1983. He has worked part-time at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain for the past twenty years. Dan and his wife, Judy, currently live in Crystal Falls. They have five children and two grandchildren. Dan Benishek formally announced his candidacy on March 16, 2010. Bart Stupak's "yea" vote for H.R. 3590 fueled an outpouring of support for Benishek, who had no internet presence aside from a basic website the day the bill was passed; he received more than $50,000 in unsolicited donations in the first 48 hours after Stupak's vote for the bill on March 21, 2010.<br /><br /><br />
So you see I have picked two who are yoopers by birth and conservatives by choice. Each of them were not blessed with being born into a wealthy family. They worked hard and took advantage of opportunities no other nation has to achieve success as a surgical care nurse and as a general surgeon. The achievements would not have catapulted them into winning House seats without getting support from some good people. In Dr Benishek's campaign a friend of mine, <a href="http://www.redstate.com/rottdawg/">rottdawg</a>, assists him greatly. In Renee Ellmer's campaign another friend of mine, <a href="http://www.loriebyrd.com/byrd_droppings/blogging/">Lori Byrd</a>, assists her greatly. Now I have never met in person either one of these people, but I know them from communications on the internet. I like and respect both of them, and believe the feeling is mutual. The work they are doing for Dan and Renee has limited the time they now have to write blogs, but it's wonderful that they are doing a terrific job for them.<br /><br />
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In addition to being yoopers, they share something else in common. They both had to face some close votes that almost defeated them. There are some who believe in a set of unwritten rules that have to do with how you get accepted as an electable candidate. In my opinion these folks are elitists with a shallow view of core principles. They will tell you that only someone who has run for an office and been elected to that office in their city, county, or state need apply for any national office. Only after serving as an elected official at the local level can you acquire the proper skill set of knowing how to go along to get along, how to engage in 'pay to play' arrangements with special interest groups, and how to play 'let's make a deal.' If you disagree with their views about an electable candidate, then they mock you, suggest you are mentally ill, and accuse you of consciously choosing to get Ds elected by your support for any candidate who is a noob. As my Governor has recently wrote the attitude of elitists to the rest of us has gotten us <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rick+perry+fed+up&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=7339737219&ref=pd_sl_bf4269l6a_b">Fed Up</a>.<br /><br />
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I hope you take a moment to watch the vids below. The first one is especailly good with reminders by Dan of what kind of folks lived in Michigan UP in a bygone era. Cold Warrior may also appreciate his observation that people have and need to become more active at the grassroots level of the Republican Party.<br /><br />
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Cross-posted atRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-61261918894621253872010-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:002010-10-09T12:52:18.791-07:00That Was Then - This Is Now<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/politics/05blacks.html">Donna Brazile </a><br />
<blockquote>In 1994 and 2000, there were 24 black G.O.P. nominees. And you didn't see many of them win their elections.</blockquote>J.C.Watts OK-04 is the only black GOP to serve from Jan. 1995 to Jan 2003. This district is R+18.<br /><br />
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I do not like the condescending tone of Donna Brazile, but the history is what it is. I want this election in 2010 to be be better than the 1994 tide. I am going to be very disappointed if Tim Scott is the only black GOP candidate who is elected. This year we have 14 black GOP nominees. How many and which ones can we support and help them win their election? I do not have all the answers. Let me know what you think. I think we can write about how worthy our nominee is for the seat or write about how unworthy the incumbent is to remain in that seat. In either case when we do it often enough it will have an effect on the top links that you see with a Google search on the candidate's name. The idea is to have positive links at the top for our guy, and negative links at the top for the opponent.<br /><br />
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There is an undercurrent of sentiment among some black Republican conservatives that very few, maybe only 1, black GOP candidates are getting serious Republican support. I do not want to believe this, but perhaps each one of us needs to do what we can do in support instead of relying on the NRCC and RNC. We can't sit back and see if the NRCC and RNC make all the right moves, and then wring our hands blaming the NRCC and RNC on Nov.3 that only one black GOP candidate won the day before. I have listed below each of the 14 nominees, and a short summation of how partisan the district is and when and circumstances of incumbent's first election to the seat. I want to believe that a really great candidate can overcome some obstacles, but I do realize the obstacles are just too great in some instances.<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438257/" title="TimScottSC by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="TimScottSC" height="230" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4867438257_7dd89c6420_m.jpg" width="205" /></a> Tim Scott SC-01 (Republican Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. 4 January 2010: Announced retirement open seat) This district is R +10<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4868053786/" title="Florida congressional challenger Allen West by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Florida congressional challenger Allen West" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4868053786_fccc56865d_m.jpg" width="215" /></a> Allen West FL-22 vs Ron Klein (First elected: 2006)This district is D+1<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438335/" title="Ryan Frazier by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Ryan Frazier" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4867438335_75b5e429d8_m.jpg" width="131" /></a> Ryan Frazier CO-07 vs Ed Perlmutter (First elected: 2006)This district is D+4<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4868053694/" title="Bill Randall by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Bill Randall" height="221" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4868053694_86bc3ef457_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> Bill Randall NC-13 vs Brad Miller (First elected: 2002) This district is D+5<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438409/" title="Charles Lollar by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Charles Lollar" height="223" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4867438409_e358871abe_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> Charles Lollar MD-05 vs Steny Hoyer This district is D+11<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/5064368683/" title="Bill Marcy by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Bill Marcy" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5064368683_c6ca4e2a0a_m.jpg" width="169" /></a> Bill Marcy MS-02 vs Bennie G. Thompson (First elected in Special Election, 13 April 1993, re: resignation of Congressman Mike Espy, 21 January 1993) This district is D+12<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4868053652/" title="Marvin-Scott-cropped by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Marvin-Scott-cropped" height="200" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4868053652_3ef0e0fa14_m.jpg" width="200" /></a> Marvin Scott IN-07 vs Andre D. Carson (First elected: 11 March 2008 in a Special Election called to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Congressman Julia M. Carson (his grandmother) on 15 December 2007) This district is D+14<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438323/" title="Chuck Smith by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Chuck Smith" height="214" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4867438323_a1b9e467ee_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> Chuck Smith VA-03 vs Bobby Scott This district is D+20<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438285/" title="charlotteBergmann by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="charlotteBergmann" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4867438285_913688385d_m.jpg" width="160" /></a> Charlotte Bergmann TN-09 vs Steve Cohen (First elected: 2006) This district is D+23<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438179/" title="star_parker by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="star_parker" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4867438179_c2da07aa98_m.jpg" width="158" /></a> Star Parker CA-37 vs Laura Richardson (First elected in a special election to fill the vacancy resulting from the 22 April 2007 passing of Democratic Congressman Juanita Millender-McDonald: 21 August 2007) This district is D+26<br /> <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438307/" title="pastor-stephen-broden by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="pastor-stephen-broden" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4867438307_770ba1d15d_m.jpg" width="206" /></a> Stephen Broden TX-30 vs Eddie Bernice Johnson This district is D+27<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4868053656/" title="Robert Broadus by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Robert Broadus" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4868053656_2ec31470c3_m.jpg" width="174" /></a> Robert Broadus MD-04 vs Donna Fern Edwards (First elected in a Special Election, 17 June 2008, held to fill vacancy caused by the resignation of Congressman Albert Wynn, effective 1 June 2008) This district is D+31<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4868053634/" title="Rev_Isaac_Hayes_Republican by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Rev_Isaac_Hayes_Republican" height="200" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4868053634_ae719d4094_m.jpg" width="164" /></a> Isaac Hayes IL-02 vs Jesse Louis Jackson, Jr.(First elected: 12 December 1995 in Special Election re: resignation of Congressman Mel Reynolds, 1 October 1995) This district is D+36<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4867438225/" title="Michel Faulkner by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Michel Faulkner" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4867438225_4f1a669d6e_m.jpg" width="176" /></a> Michel Faulkner NY-15 vs Charles B. Rangel This district is D+41Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-90773520527277692012010-05-10T07:58:00.001-07:002010-05-10T08:00:27.001-07:00Almost Heaven West Virginia<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4595689202/" title="Almost Heaven West Virginia by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Almost Heaven West Virginia" height="768" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1209/4595689202_17910c30d2_o.jpg" width="1024" /></a><br />
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When John Denver penned those words in his song I am sure he was not referring to the political landscape of West Virginia. On Tuesday May 11th, West Virginia has its primary, and I intend to pay attention to the results. I have met some people from West Virginia, but I have never lived in the state so feel free to correct any errors I make. The West Virginia congressional delegation consists of four Democrats and one Republican. After this November it would be nice to have a West Virginia congressional delegation of three Republicans and two Democrats, and I think that is unlikely to happen.<br />
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I would think from previous history that West Virginia is the safest place for an incumbent to run for office of any state in the country. They have Senator Robert Byrd who was first elected in 1958, fifty-two years ago. Next we have Senator Jay Rockefeller who was first elected in 1984, twenty-six years ago. In the third congressional district we have Nick Rahall who was first elected in 1976, thirty-four years ago. In the first congressional district we have Alan Mollohan who was first elected in 1982, twenty-eight years ago. In the second congressional district we have Shelley Moore-Caputo who was first elected in 2000, ten years ago. Shelley is the daughter of Arch Moore, a former three term Governor of West Virginia.<br />
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West Virginia reminds me of United Kingdom House of Lords in the appearance of being entitled to a seat by nobility. This entitled mindset has been around for a long time, but the intent of the US Constitution is not to have membership in the Congress as a lifetime career. Every two years each member of the US House, and one-third of the Senate can be voted out of office. Membership in the US Congress is a tour of duty instead of a lifetime career. West Virginia is a very pro-union state for unions like the UMW and the teamsters. I am not so certain that the solidarity is that strong among the rank and file for the unions of the federal employee IRS and ATF agents. The folks in West Virginia do not care much for the authorities in the federal government or in the business community, and they have a Scots-Irish tendency of fighting against "the man". In normal times the UMW leaders suggest the candidate to support, and they go along with it because the issues do not affect them. These are not normal times, and the votes that make premiums for their health insurance go up, and make coal more expensive for power plants to purchase are issues that do directly affect them. The fact that these are not normal times provides some hope that Nick Rahall and Alan Mollohan will be voted out of office in either tomorrow's primary or in November.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-49000249752901352442010-04-21T13:43:00.000-07:002010-04-21T13:52:12.183-07:00Charles In Charge <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4540955573/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Hawaii District 1 111th Congress as elected 4 November 2008 by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Hawaii District 1 111th Congress as elected 4 November 2008" height="230" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4540955573_441c855cd0_t.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4540955549/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Charles Djou by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img alt="Charles Djou" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4540955549_ceba09e78f_t.jpg" width="233" /></a><br />
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Charles Djou is a Republican running for the vacant US House seat in Hawaii's first congressional District. The state Office of Elections called a Special Election for Saturday 22 May 2010 to fill this vacant seat. There is no primary. The candidate receiving the most votes in the Special Election will fill the remainder of Congressman Abercrombie's term which ends in January 2011. Actually ballots will be arriving at the state Office of Elections on May 1st because they are using mail-in ballots instead of voting sites to vote in this special election.<br />
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I encourage everyone who lives in this district to vote for Charles, and if you know someone else who lives in this district please encourage them to vote for Charles Djou. At first glance at the map it would appear the demographics of an urban Honolulu congressional district are just not good for a Republican. We really need to stop thinking like that. This particular House seat is winnable for Charles Djou because the constituents here see the same thing as everyone else sees. The Ds in Washington DC are not doing anything that is helpful to the folks living in Honolulu. More taxes are going to cause more damage to a tourist industry that is suffering enough already. Hawaiians live as far away as you can get in the US from Washington DC, and they do not want to have to give away more power to the federal government over how they live.<br />
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Jerry Burris wrote <a href="http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100421/COLUMNISTS20/4210337/Race+for+Congress+heating+up+all+over"> an interesting piece</a> in the Honolulu Advertiser about this election. Here is an excerpt of it:<br />
<blockquote>The intense interest of the national parties, most unusual for Hawai'i, is an indication of how close things are in Washington. One vote here or there can make a big difference. Republicans, particularly, are licking their chops because it would be a huge PR victory to win a GOP seat in a traditionally Democratic state and in the home state of President Obama, to boot.<br />
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Democrats are offering voters a nice choice between the generally more liberal Hanabusa and the somewhat more conservative Case. But this could be a problem, if the two split the vote (throw in another handful of votes going to other lesser-known candidates) and then Djou slips though the middle in this winner-take-all contest.<br />
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Watch for a more active presence by major Democratic figures, including Sens. Daniel Inouye and Dan Akaka, who have endorsed Hanabusa. Case, who doesn't have that kind of heavyweight backing, uses those endorsements to show he is not part of the "status quo."</blockquote>It ain't over 'til it's over, so let's support <a href="https://www.icontribute.us/charlesdjou/initiative/sidebar">Charles Djou</a>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-41286898834396733492010-04-17T06:05:00.000-07:002010-04-17T06:23:34.763-07:00Throw Da Bums Out...Or NotThere are a dozen sitting Republican US Senators running for re-election in 2010. As incumbents they have a built-in advantage of more money, more campaign support from Senate colleagues whose<br />
term are not up this year, and more support from the RNC and the NRSC than any primary challenger will have. It comes as no surprise that incumbents almost never lose in a primary or in a general election. However tea-partiers have made enough noise already to make 2010 a different kind of election year.<br />
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I don't know if they will make enough of a difference to get any of these incumbents primaried, but I suspect they might. There are some who might think that it is as simple as electing in the primary the candidate with the best voting records that keep with the core principles of keeping the size and scope of the federal government limited, keeping the size and scope of the federal debt small, and keeping the size and scope of the federal taxes small. I wish it was that simple.<br />
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Everything starts with precinct committeemen. They are the folks who determine who are going to be slated for all local, state, and federal elections. The US Senators are supposed to be the<br />
voice of their state, and to vote with the best interests of their states being their top priority. So you actually need to elect conservative Governors and state legislators if you want<br />
the US Senators that are conservative.<br />
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It's true that many incumbent US Senators are not doing what they are supposed to be doing in terms of the best wishes of the Governor and state legislators from where they are elected. They get enamored with power and their measure of success is based on how many more people call them for help. A better measure of success would be based on how many more people are no longer in need of any help. The longer that a person serves as a US Senator the more prone they are to become remote and detached from their state and more enamored with personal power. I am only aware of two of these dozen even getting challenged in the primary, John McCain of AZ and Bob Bennett of UT. It is wrong to simply be against an incumbent senator if you have no challenger who you are for. Another thing to recognize is how difficult it is to have a very conservative senator from a state that has elected a very liberal governor and state legislators.<br />
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Here are the twelve incumbent Republican Senators running for reelection.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527361423/"
title="Bob Bennett by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4527361423_7857d642c6_t.jpg"
width="87" height="100" alt="Bob Bennett" /></a><br />
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BENNETT, Robert, (1933 - ) Senate Years of Service: 1993-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992726/"
title="Richard Burr by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4527992726_cb35939271_t.jpg"
width="80" height="100" alt="Richard Burr" /></a><br />
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BURR, Richard M., (1955 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-<br />
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<a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527361449/"
title="Tom Coburn by richard12111951, on Flickr"<img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4527361449_9a19230476_t.jpg"
width="75" height="100" alt="Tom Coburn" /></a><br />
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COBURN, Thomas Allen, (1948 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992738/"
title="Mike Crapo by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4527992738_dae6214507_t.jpg"
width="79" height="100" alt="Mike Crapo" /></a><br />
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CRAPO, Michael Dean, (1951 - ) Senate Years of Service: 1999-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992746/"
title="Jim DeMint by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4527992746_725c0ca6e1_t.jpg"
width="78" height="100" alt="Jim DeMint" /></a><br />
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DeMINT, James W., (1951 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992754/"
title="Chuck Grassley by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4527992754_b465f05ef6_t.jpg"
width="79" height="100" alt="Chuck Grassley" /></a><br />
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GRASSLEY, Charles Ernest, (1933 - ) Senate Years of Service: 1981-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992768/"
title="Johnny Isakson by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4527992768_989c86d785_t.jpg"
width="69" height="100" alt="Johnny Isakson" /></a><br />
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ISAKSON, Johnny, (1944 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992782/"
title="John McCain by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4527992782_beae58ba9d_t.jpg"
width="79" height="100" alt="John McCain" /></a><br />
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McCAIN, John Sidney, III, (1936 - ) Senate Years of Service: 1987-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992796/"
title="Lisa Murkowski by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4527992796_086514c9be_t.jpg"
width="79" height="100" alt="Lisa Murkowski" /></a><br />
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MURKOWSKI, Lisa, (1957 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2002-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527361545/"
title="Richard Shelby by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4527361545_9fdffa640c_t.jpg"
width="79" height="100" alt="Richard Shelby" /></a><br />
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SHELBY, Richard C., (1934 - ) Senate Years of Service: 1987-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527992820/"
title="John Thune by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4527992820_b506cfb44f_t.jpg"
width="88" height="100" alt="John Thune" /></a><br />
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THUNE, John, (1961 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4527361583/"
title="David Vitter by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src=
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4527361583_0553b1e7ba_t.jpg"
width="80" height="100" alt="David Vitter" /></a><br />
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VITTER, David, (1961 - ) Senate Years of Service: 2005-Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-70793329607871364372010-04-13T12:47:00.000-07:002010-04-13T13:00:30.277-07:00Are We Looking In The Wrong Places?I know it is way way to early to start talking about who will be the Republican candidate in the 2012 General election. The most important elections are happening in 2010, and we need to win seats in the US Congress and win offices in the states this year. Having said that, right now is a very good time look toward a process of grooming excellent candidates to run in 2012. I do not think that we do a very good job of looking in the right places for our future leaders.<br ><br />
<br ><br />
In universities an athletic director looks at winning programs to find new coaches. The Kentucky WildCats basketball program was never going to get a head coach that had not been a successful coach elsewhere. The Republican Party should be thinking like this when they consider a presidential candidate, but they do not. They look at individual qualities a person has of making speeches and getting news written about them by the MSM. They do not consider if they came from a place that has a winning program.<br ><br />
<br ><br />
Let's take for example the latest straw poll that was taken at the SRLC. Here are the names and political places they worked.<br ><br />
Newt Gingrich District of Columbia<br ><br />
Mike Huckabee Arkansas<br ><br />
Gary Johnson New Mexico<br ><br />
Sarah Palin Alaska<br ><br />
Ron Paul District of Columbia<br ><br />
Tim Pawlenty Minnesota<br ><br />
Mike Pence District of Columbia<br ><br />
Mitt Romney Massachusetts<br ><br />
Rick Santorum District of Columbia<br ><br />
<br ><br />
The list of nine people includes four from the place with the longest losing record, District of Columbia. The state of Alaska has the worst debt level in the US, Massachusetts has the second worst debt level, and New Mexico has the ninth worst debt level. Minnesota is not a state that people are rushing to live in.<br ><br />
<br ><br />
Now before I suggest some names of people to groom, here is a list of successful states.<br ><br />
<br ><br />
Utah<br ><br />
Arizona<br ><br />
Texas<br ><br />
Idaho<br ><br />
Wyoming<br ><br />
Nevada<br ><br />
<br ><br />
I listed the fastest growing states in the US. Except for Texas, there are no sea ports and beaches luring people to move to these states. The states are attractive to people who do not want to pay high taxes and do not want to leave their children with high debts. A lot of people are waking up to realize the federal government needs to be going in a new direction where taxes and debts are not so high. Let's take each of these six states one at a time.<br ><br />
<br ><b>UTAH</b><br > Utah is fastest growing state with a 2.5% rate of increase. <br />
It ranks 38th in debt and 35th in taxes. The Governor of Utah is Gary Herbert.<br ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4516469247/" title="gary_herbert by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4516469247_7881837f6b_t.jpg" width="100" height="73" alt="gary_herbert" ></a><br >Gary is a conservative Republican who received the highest ranking yet for a Utah Governor by a local conservative group, <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/media/pdf/57026.pdf">GrassRoots</a>.<br ><br > <br />
<b>ARIZONA</b><br ><br />
Arizona is the second fastest growing state with a 2.3% rate of increase. It ranks 45th in debt and 40th in taxes. The State Treasurer of Arizona is Dean Martin.<br ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4517502067/" title="Dean_Martin by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4517502067_a6b3a5e343_t.jpg" width="83" height="100" alt="Dean_Martin" ></a><br ><br ><br />
Dean is a fiscal conservative Republican who recently said <blockquote>Unfortunately today, government defines success by the number of people they're helping. That's a mistake. Success should be defined by the number of people who no longer need our help.</blockquote><br ><br />
<br ><br />
<b>TEXAS</b><br >Texas is growing at a 2.0% rate of increase. It ranks 48th in debt and 32nd in taxes. The Governor of Texas is Rick Perry.<br ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4516469287/" title="File-Rick_Perry_in_March_2010 by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4516469287_d7d3b3f13c_t.jpg" width="81" height="100" alt="File-Rick_Perry_in_March_2010" ></a><br ><br >Rick is a conservative Republican who recently had this to say in a speech to SRLC. <blockquote>A fair tax structure, predictable regulatory structure, a legal system that doesn't allow oversuing and an accountable school system that yields skilled workers.<br />
That's it. That's it. Then get out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best. What is government's role? It's as the servant, not the master.</blockquote><br ><br />
<b>IDAHO</b><br ><br >Idaho is growing at a 1.8% rate of increase. It ranks 37th in debt and 27th in taxes. The Governor of Idaho is Butch Otter.<br ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4518037933/" title="File-ButchOtterOfficialCongressionalPortrait by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4518037933_2c8fe1018b_t.jpg" width="79" height="100" alt="File-ButchOtterOfficialCongressionalPortrait" ></a> <br >Butch is a conservative Republican who became the first governor to sign into law a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government over any such insurance mandates.<br ><br >After signing the law he said <blockquote>What the Idaho Health Freedom Act says is that the citizens of our state won't be subject to another federal mandate or turn over another part of their life to government control.</blockquote><br ><br ><br />
<b>WYOMING</b><br ><br ><br />
Wyoming is growing at a 1.8% rate of increase. It ranks 32nd in debt and 25th in taxes. The Speaker of the Idaho House is Colin Simpson.<br ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4517502087/" title="91c17f77-d2c9-572b-83be-dd445891f46e.preview-300 by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4517502087_06d3fb4e0c_t.jpg" width="78" height="100" alt="91c17f77-d2c9-572b-83be-dd445891f46e.preview-300" /></a><br ><br >Colin recently had this to say when he announced his plan to run for Governor of Idaho. <blockquote>I’m a financial conservative and understand the boom and bust cycles of Wyoming’s economy. I know the way to protect the state is to protect and build the financial reserves we’ve created.</blockquote><br ><br />
Simpson said he would challenge the federal government’s use of the Endangered Species Act to block energy development in the state.<br ><br />
<br ><br />
He said <br />
there are ways to protect wildlife without hurting the energy industry.</a><br /><br /><b>NEVADA</b><br /><br />
<br />Nevada is growing at a 1.8% rate of increase. It ranks 44th in debt and 39th in taxes. Former federal judge Brian Sandoval is running to become the next Governor of Nevada.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4517104084/" title="Brian Sandoval by richard12111951, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4517104084_ef4ec1d05d_t.jpg" width="83" height="100" alt="Brian Sandoval" /></a><br /> He was asked by a reporter recently <blockquote>What specific steps would you advocate to promote greater economic diversity and broadening of Nevada’s economic tax base?<br />
The answer to promoting greater economic diversity and broadening Nevada’s economic tax base lies in keeping our tax climate attractive and our tax burden low. I think that most Nevadans would agree that our future depends on being a state where people want to do business. We have to be as good as or better than our competitors and that is especially true when it comes to economic development and diversification.</blockquote><br />So now you have a different list of potential candidates for President than one normally sees. The only one on this list that has even been considered is Governor Rick Perry. It's OK because there still is plenty of time before we have to have a decision on a candidate. I just think we are doing it wrong when we only look at who is appearing on the Sunday morning talk shows and delivering speeches to decide. The most important factor is if the person has any experience in a winning program. All of the six people I have listed have experiences in winning programs for their state. Now we just need to apply the winning strategies that work for them at the federal level of leadership.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-31933174982404718782010-04-09T09:03:00.000-07:002010-04-09T10:18:06.742-07:00A Texas Six-Shooter and Florida Special Open Thread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79Lxr3oz3I/AAAAAAAAArs/i4wPRE4Z1CA/s1600/Texas+District+15+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79Lxr3oz3I/AAAAAAAAArs/i4wPRE4Z1CA/s640/Texas+District+15+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79NdymL_pI/AAAAAAAAAsc/gTpgmVLzgRo/s1600/180px-Eddiezamora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" name="Eddie Zamora" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79NdymL_pI/AAAAAAAAAsc/gTpgmVLzgRo/s200/180px-Eddiezamora.jpg" width="142" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Eddie Zamora</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79MLUw6UyI/AAAAAAAAAr0/cEZrHjXhLII/s1600/Texas+District+17+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79MLUw6UyI/AAAAAAAAAr0/cEZrHjXhLII/s640/Texas+District+17+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79NyLL7LDI/AAAAAAAAAsk/fr8CvhCYE5s/s1600/curnock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" name="Rob Curnock" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79NyLL7LDI/AAAAAAAAAsk/fr8CvhCYE5s/s200/curnock.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rob Curnock</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79Mf9FHUTI/AAAAAAAAAr8/SkkivbWnvDw/s1600/Texas+District+20+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79Mf9FHUTI/AAAAAAAAAr8/SkkivbWnvDw/s640/Texas+District+20+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jaimie Martinez</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79MvW-FD2I/AAAAAAAAAsE/v3n_3ygPymc/s1600/Texas+District+23+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79MvW-FD2I/AAAAAAAAAsE/v3n_3ygPymc/s640/Texas+District+23+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79OFwQA8hI/AAAAAAAAAss/FxtMv32uLGs/s1600/quico-diane+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" name="Quico Canseco" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79OFwQA8hI/AAAAAAAAAss/FxtMv32uLGs/s200/quico-diane+018.jpg" width="151" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Quico Canseco</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79M8meoURI/AAAAAAAAAsM/ySaYNanFvQ8/s1600/Texas+District+27+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79M8meoURI/AAAAAAAAAsM/ySaYNanFvQ8/s640/Texas+District+27+111th+Congress+as+elected+4+November+2008.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jim Duerr</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Steven Broden</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79f7Lj3q3I/AAAAAAAAAtU/rP_B_4FdYZA/s1600/Edward+Lynch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S79f7Lj3q3I/AAAAAAAAAtU/rP_B_4FdYZA/s200/Edward+Lynch.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ed Lynch<br />
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These are maps of the US House congressional districts in Texas with a runoff election, and the US House congressional district with a special election. I provided the maps, photos, and names of the candidates that I want to see emerge victorious on Tuesday night April 13, 2010. All of these seven seats are currently held by incumbent Ds that I want voted out of office.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-52200612216144425702010-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:002010-04-07T15:19:47.209-07:00What shall we do with the capitalist?<span
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
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class=Apple-style-span><img class=pc_img border=0 alt=Charles_Koch
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4500407619_82fb68b217_s.jpg" width=75
height=75> <img class=pc_img border=0
alt=File-Nancy_Pelosi
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/4500434891_83987b8f6d_s.jpg" width=75
height=75> <img class=pc_img border=0 alt=imgres
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4501069938_329b92b297_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
Charles Koch took over his father's moderately successful oil company, Rock Island Oil and Refining, in 1967 and over the next three decades transformed it into Koch Industries, a diversified petroleum products and trading company that, with an estimated $40 billion in annual revenues, is the second-largest privately held company in the United States. Koch companies include Flint Hills Refineries, which processed 600,000 barrels per day of crude oil in 2003; Koch Minerals, which traded about 20 million tons of mineral and fertilizer products in 2003; and Koch Ventures/Genesis, which invested nearly $185 million in technology-based startups between 1997 and 2003. Koch is known for his "Market-Based Management" (MBM) style of leadership, in which employees are encouraged to act as entrepreneurs within Koch Industries. He is also one of the leading contributors to conservative politicians and think tanks, having founded the prominent libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.<br />
<br /><br /><br />
In the banquet hall of a hotel in San Francisco, he delivered a lecture.<br />
<blockquote>What shall we do with the capitalist? Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are wormeaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature's plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the capitalist cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! If you see him on his way to school, let him alone, don't disturb him! If you see him going to the dinner table at a hotel, let him go! If you see him going to the ballot- box, let him alone, don't disturb him! If you see him going into a work-shop, just let him alone,—your interference is doing him a positive injury. Speaker Pelosi's "preparation" is of a piece with this attempt to prop up the capitalist. Let him fall if he cannot stand alone! If the capitalist cannot live by the line of eternal justice, so beautifully pictured to you in the illustration used by Mr. Ayres, the fault will not be yours, it will be his who made the capitalist, and established that line for his government. Let him live or die by that. If you will only untie his hands, and give him a chance, I think he will live.</blockquote><br /><br />
Actually this did not occur. I took part of a <a href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=495">speech</a> that Frederick Douglass delivered in 1865 at a meeting of the abolitionist society in Boston, MA. The only change I made is to replace the word Negro with the word capitalist. I also changed the abolitionist member names he addressed in his speech, politician <a href="http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000116">Nathaniel Prentice Banks</a> and radical <a href="http://www.concordma.com/magazine/autumn02/slavery.html">Wendell Phillips</a>, with Speaker Pelosi and radical Bill Ayres. I find it very interesting that the minor changes I made do not take away from the strong argument.</SPAN></SPAN> <br />
<img class=pc_img border=0
alt=File-Frederick_Douglass_portrait
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4500434861_d263d5d682_s.jpg" width=75
height=75> <img class=pc_img border=0
alt=File-Nathaniel_Prentice_Banks_-_Brady-Handy
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4501069884_2ea104e72e_s.jpg" width=75
height=75> <img class=pc_img border=0 alt=File-Wendell_Phillips_by_Brady
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4500434827_2a1c7fba9f_s.jpg" width=75
height=75>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-81526330776531295552010-04-01T14:55:00.001-07:002010-04-01T18:11:36.335-07:00Special Election in April - Why Not The General Election in April?<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4482088685/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/4482088685_28cbb39d4b_m.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px;" />Florida district 19</a></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4482650500/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4482650500_eb5f1e2c1c_m.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px;" /></a><br />
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<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20790755@N03/4482650500/">Edward Lynch</a><br />
</span></div><br clear="all" /><br />
There is a special election on Tuesday April 13th, 2010 for the US House in Florida's District 19. This is not a primary, and the winner of this election will become a member of the US House. The Republican is Edward Lynch, and if you or anyone you know lives in this district, that is the most important piece of information you need. Vote for this guy with the (R) after his name to send the current leaders in Congress a message. Tell them if they don't care what you think about what they are doing, then you don't care to send anyone back to the House to vote to keep them in the leadership. It really is that simple, and it really doesn't matter how nice the man with (D) looks. He is not going to look so nice once he gets to the US Capitol, so just don't send him there.<br />
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Another important piece of advice is ignore anyone who advises you that your vote will not matter because there are more registered Ds than Rs in this district that always have elected a D for this seat. Don't allow them to discourage you from voting for Ed Lynch. For some encouragement about voting for Ed Lynch read <a href="http://biggovernment.com/author/elynch/">this</a>.<br />
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For the second part of my title ask yourself this question. What is the one day of the year, every year, when the government really gets in your face? The answer is April 15th. This is the one day you are required under penalty of law to file your taxes. I know in the past many folks have allowed the government to withhold extra money, and then they use e-file ASAP to file the tax return and get the refund of that extra money long before April 15th. That is in the past. With states like California unable to immediately send out refunds many now are nervous and less confident in having the government keep all that extra money for them like they used to. If the general election was held on the 2nd Tuesday in April it would fall on the 8th thru the 14th day right before the day you must file your taxes. I believe the close proximity of the general election day to tax day would have an impact on the mood and engagement of folks to go out and vote.<br />
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While Ds simply ignore the US Constitution, I chose to actually check what is now written in there about elections. I also checked what is in the US Code for statutes on the subject. I am more concerned with avoiding any needs for additional amendment to the Constitution to implement the change. From what I have found I believe no amendments are necessary.<br />
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<blockquote><b>U.S. Constitution - Article 2 Section 1</b><br />
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:<br />
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Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.<br />
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<b>The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.</b><br />
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No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.<br />
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The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.<br />
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Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:<br />
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"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote><b>U.S. Constitution - Amendment 12</b><br />
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;<br />
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The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;<br />
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The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.<br />
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The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote><b>U.S. Constitution - Amendment 20</b><br />
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1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.<br />
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<b>2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.</b><br />
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3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.<br />
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4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.<br />
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5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.<br />
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6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote><b>US Code Title 3 Chapter 1 Sec. 7. Meeting and vote of elector</b>s<br />
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The electors of President and Vice President of each State shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their appointment at such place in each State as the legislature of such State shall direct.<br />
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(June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 673.)</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote><b>Bills and Resolutions, House of Representatives, 28th Congress, 2nd Session</b>, Read, and committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. Mr. Duncan, by leave of the House, introduced H.R.432: A Bill To establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors of President and Vice President in all the States of the Union.<br />
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December 4, 1844</blockquote><br />
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H.R.432 initially set the national day for choosing presidential Electors on "the first Tuesday in November," in years divisible by four (1848, 1852, etc.). But it was pointed out that in some years the period between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December (when the Electoral College met) would be more than 34 days, in violation of the existing Electoral College law. So, the bill was amended to move the national date for choosing presidential Electors forward to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a date scheme already used in the state of New York.<br />
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So you can see how one member of the House can introduce a bill to establish a uniform time for holding the general election as well as the time for the electoral college. One thing that may look at first blush like a problem could actually be an improvement. The date for the term in office to expire is noon on January 20th for President and Vice-President and noon on January 3rd for members of Congress. So a newly elected President and Vice-President will have 8 months, and newly elected members of Congress will have 7.5 months to transition into office from the general election held on the 2nd Tuesday in April. This extra time in transition will be an improvement if they are smart enough to get A Chance to organize the new operations. (pun intended)<br />
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There are a lot of National Political Party Leaders and current officeholders in Washington DC who will not like a general election so close to Tax Day at all. Tough. It hurts to be you. Instead of getting depressed over the messes they have already gotten us into, we need to stay focused on electing a new crop and putting the old timers out to pasture. As Larry the Cable Guy says... <blockquote>GET ER DONE.</blockquote>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-72993041968558903842010-03-24T09:14:00.001-07:002010-03-24T09:24:15.841-07:00A Huge Entitlement Was Repealed in America OnceThere has been a lot of feelings of doom and gloom lately among conservatives after the health bill that was passed by the Congress and signed by the President. People think that since it is a new entitlement this will never go away. All entitlements have grown and expanded. Entitlements are here forever, because once people start receiving a benefit they will never give it up. This is simply not an historical fact. A huge entitlement was repealed in America once. This is an entitlement that existed even when we were colonies. Just like today, these entitled folks were very concerned about health care, education, and protecting the environment.<br />
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The entitled had to have complete control over how and how much medical care and education were delivered. They had to have a lot of individual mandates with respect to not having guns get into the wrong hands, and not having outside agitators have contacts and influence that might disturb the existing environment. There was an important need for the entitled to be convincing in explaining the limits of just how much one can improve their station in life, and any limited improvement is completely dependent on how loyal, faithful, and respectful that one is.<br />
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Promiscuous sex was not discouraged, and increases in population were welcomed instead of discouraged. The strong family ties were found to be a problem, and it was better for maintaining a discipline and devotion to the work to have families split apart.<br />
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There were moderate politicians during this period that tried to reach across the aisle and make compromises over where the entitled folks could live and operate. There were factory owners in states where the people strongly opposed and banned the entitlment, but these owners did not object to the raw materials the entitled people were providing them. These factory owners wanted the materials, and worried they would drop off with any changes to the system.<br />
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Legal challenges were made to this entitlement that went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the decisions rendered by the Supreme Court did not repeal this huge entitlement program. A major political party was created by people who opposed this entitlement.<br />
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I think by now most of you know what I am talking about, and there are certainly new wrinkles and nuances in entitlement programs today compared to this earlier entitlement. The entitled were private citizens then, and they are public elected officials now. The entitled lived in a mansion then, and they occupy a federal building now. The descendants of those held captive then are willingly and voluntarily giving up liberty for goods and services they don't have to pay for now. The descendants of those held captive then are told by the entitled now that there are rich conservative over-achievers who will be in bondage to paying the money they will not receive for their labors so that they can give out all the goods and services they have promised to them.<br />
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THE ENTITLED THEN<br />
<img class=pc_img
border=0 alt=justinlamotte
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4460091420_a5ca761737_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><img class=pc_img border=0 alt=scarlett2
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4459307325_c4bfb33d9f_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
<br />
THE ENTITLED NOW<br />
<img class=pc_img border=0 alt=hags
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4460066440_abda7a3384_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
<br />
THE PLANTATION THEN<br />
<img class=pc_img border=0 alt=pix1
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4460066374_e95096f572_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
<br />
THE PLANTATION NOW<br />
<img class=pc_img border=0
alt=281721387_35203b779e
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2742/4459303279_d938d4d9a8_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
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THE SLAVES THEN<br />
<img class=pc_img border=0
alt=antebellum_cotton_picking2
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4460066550_3e22bcf95a_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
<br />
THE SLAVES NOW<br />
<img class=pc_img border=0
alt=bankers_art_257_20090211123738
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4459286865_984f05fc5d_s.jpg" width=75
height=75><br />
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One final meme to dispel is that idea that our elected leaders do not hear us. This is also simply not true. They have not only heard, but they have replied.<br />
<br />
<span
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span><span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; COLOR: rgb(59,59,59); FONT-SIZE: 13px"
class=Apple-style-span><blockquote>...we have always been and I believe continue to be, in <br />
too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.</blockquote>Eric Holder <br />
A.G.<br />
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<blockquote>BIG EFFING DEAL.</blockquote>Joe Biden V.P.<br />
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<blockquote>I WON.</blockquote>Barack Obama Pres.</SPAN></SPAN><br />
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I hope the repeal now is not as bloody and violent as the repeal then. It was a big problem then the entitled were private citizens who had lived on their private land and built an economic system around their entitlement. It is less of a problem now that the entitled are public officials who are occupying public buildings. We can vote them out of office, and we must.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-81890220999421903502010-03-07T21:43:00.000-08:002010-03-07T21:48:34.707-08:00Will, Reich, Daniels, and Health InsurersGeorge Will, Mitch Daniels, and Robert Reich have all spoken and written recently about the health insurance debate. It reminds me a little bit of three blind men and an elephant. One touches the elephant's foreleg, another touches the elephant's tail, and the third one touches the elephant's trunk. They each can write truthfully about what an elephant is really like to them, and yet the actual elephant is a lot more complicated.<br />
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Let's start with George Will who <br />
recently wrote a column, <a
href="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will011410.php3">That rock in the <br />
health-care road? It's called the Constitution</A>. an excerpt: <blockquote>Would it be constitutional for the government to legislate compulsory calisthenics for all Americans? If not, why not? If it would be, in what sense does the nation still have constitutional, meaning limited, government?<br />
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Supporters of the mandate say Congress can impose the legislation under the enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce. Since the New Deal, courts have made this power capacious enough to include regulating intrastate activity that "substantially affects" interstate commerce.<br />
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But if any activity, or inactivity, can be declared to have economic consequences, then anything can be regulated or required. Furthermore, judicial review and the Constitution itself is largely nullified by a doctrine of virtually unlimited judicial deference to Congress's estimates of what is "necessary and proper" for the regulation of commerce.</blockquote><br />
George Will makes an additional argument in another column, <a href="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will012910.php3">A divided brain in Washington</a>. an excerpt: <blockquote>Obama's leitmotif is: Washington is disappointing, Washington is annoying, Washington is dysfunctional, Washington is corrupt, verily Washington is toxic yet Washington should conscript a substantially larger share of GDP, and Washington should exercise vast new controls over health care, energy, K-12 education, etc. Talk about a divided brain.</blockquote><br />
I like what Will is saying about the slippery slope of growing the government way too much based on Congress's estimates of what is "necessary and proper" for the regulation of commerce. I also appreciate the truth in what he says about a divided brain about claiming that something is broken and therefore should exercise vast new controls over health care. What I find missing in George Will's writings is an acknowledgement that a few health insurance companies do get their way with state legislators and insurance commissioners. These companies have even been known to press states to limit how many other health insurers they license. If he acknowledges this, then he can accept that Congressional oversight is needed under the enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce to undo these abuses.<br />
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Next we have Robert Reich who recently wrote a column, <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/409222040/bust-up-the-health-insurance-trusts">Bust Up the Health Insurance Trusts</a>. an excerpt: <blockquote>They were created in part by hospitals to spread the costs of expensive new equipment and facilities over many policy holders. Collaboration was the point, not competition. The 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act made it official, exempting insurers from antitrust scrutiny and giving states the power to regulate them, although not necessarily any power to regulate rates.<br />
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With size has come not only market power but political clout. Big for-profit insurers deploy enough campaign money and lobbyists to get their way with state legislators and insurance commissioners. A proposal last year to allow California's Department of Insurance to regulate rates, for example, died in committee. These companies have even been known to press states to limit how many other health insurers they license.<br />
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And when they can’t get their way, insurers go to court. In Maine, one state that aggressively regulates rates, WellPoint's Anthem subsidiary has sued the insurance superintendent for reducing its requested rate increase.<br />
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Antitrust is no substitute for broader health care reform, but it's an important prerequisite. If a handful of giant health insurers are allowed to dominate the industry, many of the other aspects of reform (establishing insurance exchanges, requiring people to have insurance, even allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines) won’t bring down the price of insurance.</blockquote><br />
Reich provides a somewhat correct history, but I do not appreciate his use of big, for-profit, and giant as adjectives to cast insurance companies in a negative light. Insurers do not get their way with state politicians writing regulations to limit other insurers because they are big, giant, and for-profit. They do it because it costs less money to pay off state politicians than to compete for customers in a large market. Another solution that Reich gets wrong is the idea that the federal government must set the minimum standards for all the insurers because the customers are not smart enough to purchase what they can afford and need.<br />
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Finally Gov. Mitch Daniels recently wrote a column, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704231304575091600470293066.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines#articleTabs%3Darticle">Hoosiers and Health Savings Accounts</a>. an excerpt: <blockquote>In Indiana's HSA, the state deposits $2,750 per year into an account controlled by the employee, out of which he pays all his health bills. Indiana covers the premium for the plan. The intent is that participants will become more cost-conscious and careful about overpayment or overutilization.</blockquote><br />
Everything in that excerpt is true. There are things that are not mentioned in this column about the state of Indiana HSA plan that are also true. The $2,750 per year from the state is not deposited until the employee has deposited $2,750 of his own money into the account. An employee will pay all his health bills out of the HSA account, and then pay health bills out of one of his personal accounts if prescription drugs, doctor visits, and medical tests early in the year deplete the money in the HSA account toward the end of the year. The state of Indiana HSA plan for state employees is an excellent plan for some people but not for everyone.<br />
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Health insurance is complicated, and some folks may strongly disagree with my ideas more than any disagreement they might have with Will, Reich, and Daniels. Nevertheless I will offer some of my own ideas about health insurance, and try to defend them against any criticism.<br />
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I think the US Congress should provide oversight as one of its enumerated powers to regulate interstate commerce and remove the antitrust exemption for health insurers. The US Congress should require states to allow competition from health insurers across state boundaries. The state insurance commissioners and state legislators should limit the rules and regulations to insurers that only require them to meet the same better business practices required of all other businesses.<br />
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The US Congress should create a special high risk health insurance pool for folks who live in federal districts and federal territories and are not able to obtain health insurance from any other insurers. Folks must provide a written proof of being denied coverage and proof of residence in a federal district or territory to qualify. A federal tax on transactions occurring in the federal districts and territories will fund it.<br />
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Ten regional districts should be created to manage high risk health insurance pools for folks who live in the state of the region and are not able to obtain health insurance from any other insurers. Folks must provide a written proof of being denied coverage and proof of residence in a state within the region to qualify. States in the regional districts will each provide money to fund it.<br />
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The increased competition and relaxation of regulations should increase the number of different plans a customer can choose between which will in turn increase the number of people who choose to buy an insurance policy. I do not think any individual should be forced into buying health insurance. There should be oversight and record-keeping of folks going to emergency rooms with no health insurance.<br />
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For me a baker and health insurer should both let the free market determine what ingredients are in their products, how much to charge, and how much profit they acquire. The only role I want for government is to have the oversight of a referee and keep somebody from using political clout instead of the market to pick winners and losers.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-87210998458493854232010-03-03T18:17:00.000-08:002010-03-03T18:17:58.568-08:002010 US House Pickups in TexasTexas has 32 House seats, and 12 of these are currently held by a D. There will be a run-off GOP primary on April 13th for six of these twelve. We have a name for a GOP candidate in the 2010 general election for the other six seats. Below is a table where I list these House seats and order them by what I consider the degree of difficulty in winning from least difficult to most difficult. I'd love to see the Rs pick up all 12 of them, but that is not realistic. If the Texas Republicans can unite after the April 13 run-off primary behind the winners I truly believe four of those candidates could defeat the incumbent in the general election.<br />
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I've only lived in Texas since September of 2009, and I expect a lot of posters that are more informed than I am can correct any errors in my analysis. No matter what district a voter lives in he needs to remember the first vote any D takes is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker. That fact alone should make anyone hesitant to vote for a D for House in 2010.<br />
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<table border="1" width="100%"> <tr>
<td>House CD</td>
<td>Incumbent</td>
<td>2008 vote pct</td>
<td>Challenger</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 17</td>
<td>Chet Edwards</td>
<td>53.0 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 23</td>
<td>Ciro D. Rodriguez</td>
<td>55.8 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 27</td>
<td>Solomon P. Ortiz</td>
<td>58.0 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 15</td>
<td>Ruben E. Hinojosa</td>
<td>65.7 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 25</td>
<td>Lloyd Doggett</td>
<td>65.8 %</td>
<td>Donna Campbell</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 28</td>
<td>Henry Cuellar</td>
<td>68.7 %</td>
<td>Bryan Underwood</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 20</td>
<td>Charles A. Gonzalez</td>
<td>71.9 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 29</td>
<td>Gene Green</td>
<td>74.6 %</td>
<td>Roy Morales</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 18</td>
<td>Sheila Jackson-Lee</td>
<td>77.3 %</td>
<td>John Faulk</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 16</td>
<td>Silvestre Reyes</td>
<td>82.1 %</td>
<td>Tim Besco</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 30</td>
<td>Eddie Bernice Johnson</td>
<td>82.5 %</td>
<td>TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CD 9</td>
<td>Al Green</td>
<td>93.6 %</td>
<td>Steve Mueller</td>
</tr>
</table>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-8670826243439572712010-02-23T17:26:00.000-08:002010-02-25T09:39:00.403-08:00The Wizard to the Cowardly Lion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S4R7GKdreUI/AAAAAAAAArk/8AnxmoYres0/s1600-h/John+McCain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S4R7GKdreUI/AAAAAAAAArk/8AnxmoYres0/s200/John+McCain.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S4R6Tb_sRMI/AAAAAAAAArc/rXBm3191cTI/s1600-h/Jim+DeMint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S4R6Tb_sRMI/AAAAAAAAArc/rXBm3191cTI/s200/Jim+DeMint.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><blockquote>You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom.</blockquote><b>--The Wizard to the Cowardly Lion</b><br /><br /><br />
<br />
There are different types of wisdom. One of them, conventional wisdom, can sometimes be neither wise nor conventional. I am not saying that the four-term Senator from Arizona is a wizard or that the one term senator from South Carolina is a cowardly lion. I guess I just used the quote because the wizard of Oz used "my friend", an annoying phrase used often by John McCain.<br /><br /><br />
<br />
The reason for writing this diary about these two Senators running for re-election in 2010 has nothing to do with the horse-race aspect of the election. As much as I detest McCain and admire DeMint both of them are going to be re-elected. My reason for writing this diary is to focus on the money that these two men have raised for other people in 2010. Winning support for a position of leadership has a lot to do with how much campaign support you have provided to your colleagues. John McCain has a PAC, Country First, that has contributed to four candidates for the US Senate. Jim DeMint has two PACS, MINT and Senate Conservatives Fund. The tables below indicate the names of the recipients, and the amount of dollars they received. The Florida US contest is extremely important for determining if Sen. DeMint is rising in the US Senate and Sen. McCain is dropping in the leadership department.<br /><br /><br />
<br />
The real comparison between these two men is a choice between having leadership that is authoritarian and progressive (McCain) or libertarian and conservative (DeMint). I am personally rooting for the latter.<br />
<br />
The early 20th century progressives were authoritarian in prohibiting booze, and the early 21st century progressives are authoritarian in prohibiting lobbiests campaigning, and consumers buying incandescent light bulbs. As a progressive they know they are smarter and must decide for all of the rest of us what is in our best interest. They lost the argument with the passage of the 21st amendment then, and they are losing the argument incrementally with Supreme Court decisions now. We always need to remain vigilant against these authoritarians. They may go off and hide for a while, but they will be back when they think they see an opening.<br /><br /><br />
<br />
I recently watched the movie, Fountainhead. I recommend this movie especially two main characters, Ellsworth Toohey and Howard Roark, for showing the authoritarian progressive vs the conservative libertarian. a Cliff-Notes excerpt: <br /><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Toohey knows that a Fascist or Communist state requires a citizenry willing to obey. He can establish a dictatorship only if the majority of individuals are willing to give up personal autonomy - to surrender their minds to a leader. This is the two-pronged goal that he attempts to reach: destroy the independent thinkers like Roark, and, by convincing individuals to surrender their judgment and values, turn them into followers like Keating. A dictator requires a flock of sheep; he cannot hold power over a citizenry of independent men.<br />
<br /><br /><br />
Toohey has a clear vision of his role in the collectivist state. He himself is not the brute of physical force who gains dominance by unleashing a reign of terror. His role, rather, is to be the intellectual advisor behind the throne. The brute will hold physical power over the masses, and Toohey will hold spiritual power over the brute. Toohey is a behind-the-scenes puppet master, who surreptitiously wields the real power - and this will be his place in the totalitarian state he seeks.</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/Character-Analysis-Ellsworth-Toohey-page-2.id-111,pageNum-94.html">source</a><br /><br /><br />
Country First PAC John McCain<br />
<font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial"><br />
<div><table width="100%" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr valign=top>
<td>Senate Candidates <br /><br />
</td>
<td>Amount<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Crist, Charles J Jr (R-FL)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$5,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Portman, Rob (R-OH)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$7,400<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Thune, John (R-SD)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$5,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Coburn, Tom (R-OK)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$2,400<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table><br /><br /><br />
MINT PAC Jim DeMint<br />
<font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial"><br />
<div><table width="100%" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr valign=top>
<td>Senate Candidates<br /><br />
</td>
<td>Amount<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Thune, John (R-SD)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$5,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Burr, Richard (R-NC)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$5,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Isakson, Johnny (R-GA)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$5,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table><br /><br /><br />
Senate Conservatives Fund Jim DeMint<br />
<br />
<font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial"><br />
<div><table width="100%" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr valign=top>
<td>Senate Candidate<br /><br />
</td>
<td>Amount<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign=top>
<td>Rubio, Marco (R-FL)<br /><br />
</td>
<td>$10,000<br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table></div></font><br />
<br />
</div></font><br />
<br />
</div></font>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-39392764471557807902010-02-09T10:45:00.000-08:002010-02-09T10:59:06.469-08:00Sarah Palin - A 21st Century Duchess of Devonshire?In September 2008 the movie, <a href="http://www.flixster.com/movie/the-duchess">The Dutchess</a>, was released. <blockquote>A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, duchess of Devonshire, an ancestor of Princess Diana who was alternately celebrated and reviled for her extravagant political and personal lives.</blockquote><br />
Now I have not yet actually seen this move, but I have read <a href="http://mises.org/story/3763">a review of this movie</a> that has moved me to ask the question in my title. I encourage you to read the review and draw your own conclusions. I also do not presume that the author of this review intended any comparison, so just blame me for the suggestion. I will provide some excerpts of this review that I think bolster my suggestion.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I did not expect that, amid the romance, costumes, and drama, I would strike libertarian gold!<br />
It was one pivotal scene in particular that piqued my curiosity. When Charles Fox (played by Simon McBurney), who was <b>Georgiana's mentor and the leader of the Whig party, argues for the importance of "freedom in moderation," Georgiana responds quickly and firmly that there cannot be scales of freedom. Rather, the "concept of freedom is an absolute."</b><br />
<br />
The Duchess of Devonshire lived in a time that bears striking similarities to our own. In the late 18th century, England was rife with tensions between an increasingly powerful state and a swelling grassroots opposition. The frustrated Whigs were becoming increasingly radicalized in their defense of liberty against the corrupt, ever-expanding powers of King George III.</blockquote><br />
I think you could replace the word Whigs with Republicans and replace the words King George III with President Obama and it would describe early 21st Century US.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>But Georgiana was not a shrinking violet. She was fiercely passionate about her party's ideals. Her favorite book was Vertot's Revolutions of Sweden, which is about, as she put it, a "[h]ero fighting for liberty of his country and to revenge the memory of an injur'd friend against lawless cruelty and oppressive tyranny."<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Georgiana recognized that liberal ideals could only be spread through dedicated organizing and savvy marketing.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Georgiana was a marketing genius, one of the first to refine political messages for mass communication. She was an image-maker who understood the necessity for public relations, and she became adept at the manipulation of political symbols and the dissemination of party propaganda. She was simultaneously a public figurehead for the Whigs and an effective politician within the party.<br />
To keep morale alive, she held vibrant, theatrical parties, dinners, and rallies.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Georgiana was a powerful asset for the Whigs, serving as campaign manager, strategist, advisor, inspiration, and symbol of the movement. She brought Whig ideals back into fashion with her costumes, balls, and events. She helped shape the strategy and direction of the party, and she charged along when her comrades lost steam.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Driven by strong convictions and a fervent belief in freedom, Georgiana was a master political propagandist, a powerful negotiator, an impassioned orator, and a keen political strategist. In many ways, she was the woman behind the men of the Enlightenment.</blockquote><br /><br />
So that's it. These parts of this review are what made me think of Sarah Palin. I know some people think that Sarah Palin can do no wrong while other people think she can do nothing right. The truth is somewhere in between. This is not a pro-Palin nor an anti-Palin diary. It is just my personal observation that Sarah Palin can refine political messages for mass communication, and Sarah charges forward when her political comrades lose steam.<br />
<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S3GifdZxc5I/AAAAAAAAArE/T-U24KFvtxQ/s1600-h/the_duchess09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S3GifdZxc5I/AAAAAAAAArE/T-U24KFvtxQ/s200/the_duchess09.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S3Ginf_azGI/AAAAAAAAArM/Uqk6drax3CQ/s1600-h/sarah_palin_piper_45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S3Ginf_azGI/AAAAAAAAArM/Uqk6drax3CQ/s200/sarah_palin_piper_45.jpg" width="127" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-21221151397464777182010-02-06T07:10:00.000-08:002010-02-06T09:39:29.709-08:00The Blue and Gray - Then and NowThe Blue and Gray comes from the colors of the uniforms worn by the union army (blue) and the confederate army (gray) during the war between the states. The confederate states were all in the southeast quadrant of the US, and the union states were the northern states and Oregon and California. The confederate states had less freedom for its inhabitants which included slaves. That was then.<br />
<br />
Now, William P. Ruger and Jason Sorens have published <a href="http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/publication/Freedom_in_the_50_States.pdf">a paper</a>, Freedom in the 50 States. This document just about flips the map on the states with less freedom(gray) and states with more freedom(blue). The following is a summary of their findings.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>We develop and justify our ratings and aggregation procedure on explicitly normative criteria, defining individual freedom as the ability to dispose of one’s own life, liberty, and justly acquired property however one sees fit, so long as one does not coercively infringe on another individual’s ability to do the same. This study improves on prior attempts to score economic freedom for American states in three primary ways: (1) it includes measures of social and personal freedoms such as peaceable citizens’ rights to educate their own children, own and carry firearms, and be free from unreasonable search and seizure.<br />
<br />
We find that the freest states in the country are New Hampshire, Colorado, and South Dakota, which together achieve a virtual tie for first place. All three states feature low taxes and government spending and middling levels of regulation and paternalism. New York is the least free by a considerable margin, followed by New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, and Maryland. On personal freedom alone, Alaska is the clear winner, while Maryland brings up the rear. As for freedom in the different regions of the country, the Mountain and West North Central regions are the freest overall while the Middle Atlantic lags far behind on both economic and personal freedom. Regression analysis demonstrates that states enjoying more economic and personal freedom tend to attract substantially higher rates of internal net migration.</blockquote><br />
The authors of this study have put the data online, and one is able to adopt their own weights to see how the overall freedom rankings change. <a href="http://freedom.robocourt.com/?0.0833333333333333,0.0833333333333333,0.166666666666667,0.0833333333333333,0.166666666666667,0.0833333333333333,0.166666666666667,0.0555555555555555,0.416666666666667,0.416666666666667,0.222222222222222,0.111111111111111,1,0.352941176470588,0.0392156862745098,0.0392156862745098,0.117647058823529,0.117647058823529,0.117647058823529,0.176470588235294,0.0392156862745098,0.16,0.16,0.16,0.16,0.16,0.04,0.16,0.333333333333333,0.0833333333333333,0.0555555555555555,0.0555555555555555,0.0277777777777778,0.333333333333333,0.0277777777777778,0.0833333333333333,0.037037037037037,0.222222222222222,0.185185185185185,0.111111111111111,0.111111111111111,0.111111111111111,0.111111111111111,0.111111111111111,0.0363636363636364,0.0545454545454545,0.363636363636364,0.545454545454545,0.0909090909090909,0.0909090909090909,0.0909090909090909,0.0606060606060606,0.121212121212121,0.121212121212121,0.0606060606060606,0.0303030303030303,0.0606060606060606,0.0909090909090909,0.0909090909090909,0.0454545454545455,0.0454545454545455,0.0833333333333333,0.166666666666667,0.0416666666666667,0.125,0.0416666666666667,0.5,0.0416666666666667,0.31578947368421,0.0394736842105263,0.368421052631579,0.0526315789473684,0.0526315789473684,0.105263157894737,0.0526315789473684,0.0769230769230769,0.153846153846154,0.153846153846154,0.0192307692307692,0.0192307692307692,0.0192307692307692,0.0192307692307692,0.0384615384615385,0.0384615384615385,0.0192307692307692,0.0384615384615385,0.0192307692307692,0.384615384615385,0.333333333333333,0.333333333333333,0.333333333333333,1,1,1,1,0.5,0.5,0.952380952380952,0.0238095238095238,0.0238095238095238,0.0909090909090909,0.181818181818182,0.181818181818182,0.181818181818182,0.181818181818182,0.0909090909090909,0.0909090909090909,0.45,0.075,0.15,0.15,0.15,0.0125,0.0125,0.0131578947368421,0.125,0.125,0.05357142857142857,0.05357142857142857,0.03571428571428571,0.044642857142857144,0.03571428571428571,0.017857142857142856,0.008928571428571428,0.06666666666666667,0.058333333333333334,0.041666666666666664,0.041666666666666664,0.03333333333333333,0.025,0.03333333333333333,0.016666666666666666,0.025,0.041666666666666664,0.08333333333333333,0.03333333333333333">LINK</a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<a href="http://votepia.com/">Pia Varma</a> is a candidate for the US House seat in Pennsylvania's 1st district, and she has some excellent thoughts on the subject of freedom.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Freedom! That word once started revolutions. There was a time when people pretty much understood that freedom was so precious that nothing and no one should have the power to take it away. America was founded on that basis. No matter your race, gender, religion or social class, as a human being no one could take your freedom without your consent. But individual freedom cannot exist without individual responsibility. That means you own the consequences of your choices: profit and loss, success and failure, happiness and sadness. But that was then, this is now.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Today, millions of Americans have been led to believe that they can have the good without the bad. They never bothered to think about the costs though. Like eating in a fine restaurant, we never see the bill until the meal is over. Even better if someone else is paying. So we vote for nice sounding policies and the people who promote them all because the costs cannot be seen or they are supposedly paid by someone else. But any immediate benefit we get will fade and at the next election cycle we are back at that table begging like Oliver Twist, Please Sir, May I have some more.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Every day, more and more Americans are lulled into relying on the government to solve their problems. They never realize that the cost of doing so is their freedom. No matter how bad the government makes their lives, they still trust that someday it will get better. The sad part is, they genuinely believe that they are safer under that false blanket of protection.<br /> <br />
<br /><br />
In a free market businesses are forced to provide product and services demanded by the consumer. The consumer controls the quality, quantity and costs. If he does not like the services at one company, he simply fires them and goes to a competitor. But when the industry is in the hands of a monopoly, as is the case with education, the consumer, in this case parents and children, is forced to accept what is offered. Sure you can opt for private school but this option is only available to a select few.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
A private business competing in an open market has to listen to its customers or risk closing its doors. Public schools don’t have this problem. Incentives matter.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Government has a duty to prevent those things which can be prevented, but we as individuals have a duty to ensure that we do not become the victims of our own security. More government, more agencies, more money has not, cannot and will not make life perfect.</blockquote><br /><br />
The two maps below are what the US looked like in 1861, and what, according to the report, the US State Overall Freedom Ranking reveals today. I colored the 17 most free states blue, the 16 least free states gray, and the 17 states in the middle light green.<br />
<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S22BIPZR5tI/AAAAAAAAAq0/bzmthRKHQi8/s1600-h/usmap2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S22BIPZR5tI/AAAAAAAAAq0/bzmthRKHQi8/s200/usmap2.gif" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S22BRX0wrrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/5vf1wND0l5g/s1600-h/usa_blank2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S22BRX0wrrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/5vf1wND0l5g/s200/usa_blank2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-33766722694874653172010-02-04T09:11:00.001-08:002010-02-04T09:11:51.919-08:00Who Wrote Your History Textbook?<p>I recently wrote about the <a href="http://www.redstate.com/pilgrim/2010/01/21/us-history-what-is-and-is-not-taught/">US history that is not taught</a> about some famous American market entrepreneurs. That really is just the tip of the iceberg. In every period of our history there are statist biases being taught to students in classes. Larry Schweikart has written <a href="http://www.hebookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c7268">a book</a> that includes a list of lies that can lead to a bitter attitude about this country being formed by the students. It is important to know who wrote your history textbook, and what kinds of bias are evident.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.historytextbooks.org/">American Textbook Council</a> is an independent national research organization established in 1989 to review the history and social studies textbooks used in the nation's schools. Since its foundation, the Council has achieved a prominent place in national discussions and exchanges about history textbooks and the social studies curriculum through its many bulletins, studies, and reports. The Council's many projects, evaluations of history textbooks and social studies curricula, and efforts to educate the nation about the civic implications of multiculturalism have earned it a reputation for integrity and fairness.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.historytextbooks.org/adopted.htm">Council endorses textbooks</a> that embody vivid narrative style, stress significant people and events, and promote better understanding of all cultures, including our own, on the principle that improved textbooks will advance the curriculum, stimulate student learning, and encourage educational achievement for children of all backgrounds.</p><p>To give some guidance to educators who need quick assistance and a place to begin, the history textbooks listed below that have been adjudged in content and design satisfactory or superior to their competition in previous Council bulletins and studies are marked with a plus (+). Textbooks that have been adjudged grossly deficient or inaccurate in reviews are marked with a minus (-). Unmarked textbooks are of mixed quality. Each of the following textbooks is identified alphabetically by publisher, first designated author, and abridged title. BL denotes a book that has been backlisted, i.e., it is no longer actively sold as "new" yet is for sale as inventory. Such books are gradually being retired or may be niche sellers with enduring popularity.</p><table border="1" width="100%"> <tr><!-- Row 1 -->
<td>Publisher</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Author</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Title</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>Rating</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 2 -->
<td>McGraw-Hill/Glencoe</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Joyce Appleby</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>American Journey</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td></td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 3 -->
<td>McGraw-Hill/Glencoe</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Gary B. Nash</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>American Odyssey</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>-</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 4 -->
<td>Houghton Mifflin/McDougal</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Jesus Garcia</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Creating America</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td></td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 5 -->
<td>Houghton Mifflin/McDougal</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Gerald Danzer</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>The Americans</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td></td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 6 -->
<td>Pearson/Prentice Hall</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>James West Davidson</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>The American Nation</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>-</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 7 -->
<td>Pearson/Prentice Hall</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Daniel J. Boorstin</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>A History of the United States</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>+</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 8 -->
<td>Pearson/Prentice Hall</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Andrew Cayton</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>America: Pathways to the Present</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>+</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 9 -->
<td>Harcourt/Holt</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Edward L. Ayers</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>American Anthem</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td></td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 10 -->
<td>BL Harcourt/Holt</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Sterling Stuckey</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Call to Freedom<br />
</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td></td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 11 -->
<td>BL Harcourt/Holt</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Paul Boyer</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Boyer's The American Nation</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>-</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
</table><p>The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has on its web site <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/doc/AmericanHistory[FINAL].pdf">a link</a> to reviewers' findings of some of the textbooks listed. Instead of ranking the textbooks with a (+)or(-) these reviewers assigned a letter grade ranging from C+ to F for the textbooks. The table below shows their results.</p><table border="1" width="100%"> <tr><!-- Row 1 -->
<td>Publisher</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Author</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Title</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>Rating</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 2 -->
<td>McGraw-Hill/Glencoe</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Joyce Appleby</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>American Journey</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>C+</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 3 -->
<td>BL Harcourt/Holt</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Paul Boyer</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>Boyer's The American Nation</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>C-</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 4 -->
<td>Pearson/Prentice Hall</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Andrew Cayton</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>America: Pathways to the Present</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>C-</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 5 -->
<td>McGraw-Hill/Glencoe</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Gary B. Nash</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>American Odyssey</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>D</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
<tr><!-- Row 6 -->
<td>Houghton Mifflin/McDougal</td><!-- Col 1 -->
<td>Gerald Danzer</td><!-- Col 2 -->
<td>The Americans</td><!-- Col 3 -->
<td>F</td><!-- Col 4 -->
</tr>
</table><p>The meager research I have done on this subject leads me to thinking that the choices for schools in choosing history textbooks are between barely acceptable and completely unsatisfactory. The direction in education in the US is to move toward more uniformity and standardization, and less control by each state. I think that this is a very bad idea, and I applaud Alaska and Texas for refusing to take federal dollars in exchange for losing control of education standards.</p><p>There are progressives in both the Republican and Democratic Party who want to attack anyone opposed to the national takeover in education as being someone who doesn't care about all the children getting an excellent education. This line of attack should be answered by informing them that the more local the government the more caring exists. There are so many programs and plans that are talked about in Washington, DC that have absolutely nothing to do with duties and enumerated powers that are listed in the US Constitution for the federal government. They will attack anyone who opposes their programs as someone who just does not care about things that are very important to people. They miss the point of the opposition. Opposition is not because something is not important or because we don't care about people. The opposition is because the local government has the authority to run programs not listed by the US Constitution. The tenth amendment does spell this out fairly well.</p>The bottom line for me is that I would want my history lessons to come from <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=J5X_PgAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:Joyce+inauthor:Oldham+inauthor:Appleby&cd=10">American Journey</a>.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-2073014275083071032010-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:002010-01-29T13:11:19.263-08:00My Take on Lame Duck Senators Casting Votes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S2NLmnjkn0I/AAAAAAAAAqs/UpEjnsmbmDc/s1600-h/lame_duck_bw__2_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S2NLmnjkn0I/AAAAAAAAAqs/UpEjnsmbmDc/s320/lame_duck_bw__2_.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />
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Lane Kirk is a lame duck. There has been an election for the Massachusetts US Senate seat, and Scott Brown won the election. There is a lot of outrage that Lane Kirk is continuing to cast votes. I understand that outrage. My take on this is different from others that I have read. I want to take into account ALL lame duck US Senators, and not just Lane Kirk. The heat that I can catch for this kind of accounting may be huge, because it does not necessarily reward one political party over the other one.<br />
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I do not favor imposing mandatory term limits on congressmen. We already have a market-driven set of term limits. They are called general elections. They occur every two years for the House and 1/3 of the Senate so the voters can remove any House member after two years in office and any Senate Member after six years in office. This is the check on power that the founders had the wisdom to put into the constitution, and I am good with that. The check is that any judgement made by a congressman's vote is that he has to face the voters in the next election, and defend his vote. Now the problem with this particular check comes into play when you have a congressman who is not going to run in the next election or whose seat just got won in the previous election by another person. What I have described is a lame duck who has no concern for accounting for his vote to the voters in his state.<br />
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My take is that the US Senate can make their own rules with a 3/4 majority vote required. I would like to see them come up with a Senate Rule that a lame duck member will recuse himself, and not vote on key major votes. If Supreme Court Justices are allowed to recuse themselves, then why shouldn't a lame duck US Senator?Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-67283448876072504772010-01-26T11:57:00.000-08:002010-01-26T13:13:26.679-08:00Purity Test - Don't Play the Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S185USCH8WI/AAAAAAAAAqk/rDDHvWYcYi8/s1600-h/wargames.don%27tplay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S185USCH8WI/AAAAAAAAAqk/rDDHvWYcYi8/s400/wargames.don%27tplay.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
</div>For those who are wondering, the pic is from the movie War Games (1983).<br />
<br /><br />
There has been some talk about a purity test for candidates. Some people are in favor, and some are opposed. Put me in the camp that says Do not play this game! I recently read an article at Politico,<br />
<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31991.html">Dem plan: Split GOP, tea party</a><br />
From the article:<br />
<br /><br />
<blockquote>Menendez and his staff will distribute a memo Tuesday advising Democratic campaign managers to frame their opponents early and to drive a wedge between moderate voters and tea-party-style conservatives.</blockquote><br /><br />
<blockquote>The memo urges Democratic candidates to force their opponents to answer a series of questions on health care, taxes and some of the favorite causes of the far right:</blockquote><br /><br />
<blockquote>Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen? Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards? Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place? Do you think President Obama is a socialist? Do you think America should return to a gold standard?</blockquote><br /><br />
<blockquote>If a Republican candidate says no to any of the questions, the memo says Democrats should “make their primary opponent or conservative activists know it. This will cause them to take heat from their primary opponents and could likely provoke a flip-flop.</blockquote><br /><br />
This is not anything new. Saul Alinsky included this in his <a href="http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/communism/alinsky.htm">Rules for Radicals</a> Rule #7 Tactics point 4<br />
<br /><br />
<blockquote>4.Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.</blockquote><br /><br />
The MSM will try to trap a GOP candidate or GOP officeholder in this same manner. I recently read a book written by William F. Buckley, The Reagan I Knew. There is a chapter titled Stockman and the Budget. An excerpt<br />
<br /><br />
<blockquote>Reagan was pleased to find in Washington a 34 year old congressman, David Stockman. He had done graduate work at Harvard, where for a period he was in the divinity school. Reagan duly named him Director of OMB and put him in charge of the administration's grand plan to cut tax rates and the budget and the deficit simultaneously.<br />
<br /><br />
Reagan's confidence in Stockman came to a soggy end when The Atlantic appeared on the stands in November 1981. In an extended interview Stockman put forward his views of the Reagan program. <blockquote>It's kind of hard to sell 'trickle down.' So the supply-side formula was the only way to get a tax policy that was really 'trickle down.' None of us really understands what's going on with all these numbers.</blockquote><br /><br />
In the months ahead, administration representatives had to labor hard to finesse the objections raised by Stockman. Stockman went to the president, apologized, offered his resignation, was 'taken to the woodshed' and then forgiven, and went back to work. But although Stockman was kept on as head of OMB until 1985, the skepticism had hardened.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Stockman enjoyed the arts of explication. His conservative instincts brought him to criticize mostly the sheer size of the government President Reagan had inherited. It took Stockman a very long time before he discovered that the Reagan administration, for instance, simply stopped thinking about Social Security as a malleable budget feature. If he had known that, he says, he would not have engaged in the struggle to begin with.</blockquote><br /><br />
I think WFB sums up what happened fairly accurately, and I also think President Reagan would have been served better by someone who was not such a conservative radical ideologue.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-28152913504004400652010-01-25T07:57:00.000-08:002010-01-25T08:51:40.349-08:00Seven More 2010 US House Freshman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I earlier wrote <a href="http://www.redstate.com/pilgrim/2009/12/16/2010-us-house-freshman-class/">a diary</a> about new House Republicans replacing House Democrats in 2010. My list projected a net increase of 51, and this would change the number of House Rs to 228 and House Ds to 207. Since that time my confidence has grown, and I believe it is now possible for House Rs to number 235 and House Ds to number 200. There is a growing sense of courage in the country that is stirring people to campaign and fight to win seats that had always seemed unlikely to them before. Incumbents have got a large amount of money compared to challengers, but that money they have is not deterring people any more. I use <a href="http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2010/01/28-house-seats-move-toward-gop.html">Stu Rothenberg</a> as a reference for my 58 selections, but I am more optimistic than he is about the 58 D seats that are in play.<br />
</div><br />
I included wins in five additional states, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia. I included an extra seat pickup in Colorado and Illinois.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I realize that some may have another individual to win in a GOP Primary than I picked, and it is not my intent to argue with you about that primary. I want, and I would hope, that you want a GOP candidate to win the General Election. I also did not include any new Rs replacing incumbent Rs, and I certainly suspect this will occur as well.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">Photos of the seven from top left to bottom right include: Scott Tipton CO-3 Vickie Hartzler MO-4 Dick Green IL-10 Paul Schaffner ND Mick Mulvaney SC-5 Blake Curd SD and Dan Swisher WV-1</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S126lMshzhI/AAAAAAAAAps/MAOoYUgycfI/s1600/CO-3+Scott+Tipton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S126lMshzhI/AAAAAAAAAps/MAOoYUgycfI/s200/CO-3+Scott+Tipton.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S127bViFfBI/AAAAAAAAAp8/iKYvY3jHqBc/s1600-h/MO-4+Vickie+Hartzler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S127bViFfBI/AAAAAAAAAp8/iKYvY3jHqBc/s200/MO-4+Vickie+Hartzler.jpg" width="173" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1263kHo-dI/AAAAAAAAAp0/4Fr8qYviT7E/s1600-h/IL-10+Dick+Green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1263kHo-dI/AAAAAAAAAp0/4Fr8qYviT7E/s200/IL-10+Dick+Green.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1279F36UdI/AAAAAAAAAqE/WrGviojrrLQ/s1600/ND-1+Paul+Schaffner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1279F36UdI/AAAAAAAAAqE/WrGviojrrLQ/s200/ND-1+Paul+Schaffner.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S128fSTaOSI/AAAAAAAAAqM/-AkxPQgDU5s/s1600-h/SC-5+Mick+Mulvaney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S128fSTaOSI/AAAAAAAAAqM/-AkxPQgDU5s/s320/SC-5+Mick+Mulvaney.jpg" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1282m4TZzI/AAAAAAAAAqU/nQ0HbTaIMUM/s1600-h/SD-1+Blake+Curd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1282m4TZzI/AAAAAAAAAqU/nQ0HbTaIMUM/s320/SD-1+Blake+Curd.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S129KgND1II/AAAAAAAAAqc/UtNkinsWd74/s1600-h/WV-1+Dan+Swisher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S129KgND1II/AAAAAAAAAqc/UtNkinsWd74/s320/WV-1+Dan+Swisher.jpg" /></a><br />
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</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-21725993817286426542010-01-23T15:46:00.000-08:002010-01-24T06:29:43.855-08:00Take the Cap Off Entering the HouseMost of the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (and the states that ratified them) expected that the following principles would always apply:<br />
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The size of the congressional districts should remain relatively small. Instead, the average district size is approximately 700,000 and growing.<br />
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The number of federal Representatives should grow proportionately with the general population. Instead, Congress has fixed the total number of Representatives at 435 ever since 1913.<br />
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The Congressional districts should be equivalently sized across the nation pursuant to the one-person-one-vote principle. Instead, some House districts are currently nearly twice the size of others.<br />
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Melancton Smith, New York Ratifying Convention 20--21 June 1788 selling points<br />
<blockquote>We may approach a great way towards perfection by increasing the representation and limiting the powers of Congress. The great interests and liberties of the people could only be secured by the State Governments.<b> If the new government was only confined to great national objects, it would be less exceptionable; but it extended to every thing dear to human nature. That this was the case could be proved without any long chain of reasoning:--for that power which had both the purse and the sword, had the government of the whole country, and might extend its powers to any and to every object. By the true doctrine of representation, this principle was established--that the representative must be chosen by the free will of the majority of his constituents: It therefore followed that the representative should be chosen from small districts.</b> Would they be possessed of the requisite information to make happy the great number of souls that were spread over this extensive country?--There was another objection to the clause:<b> If great affairs of government were trusted to a few men, they would be more liable to corruption. Corruption was unfashionable amongst us, but Americans were like other men; and tho' they had hitherto displayed great virtues, still they were men; and therefore such steps should be taken as to prevent the possibility of corruption.</b> We were now in that stage of society, in which we could deliberate with freedom;--how long it might continue, God only knew! Twenty years hence, perhaps, these maxims might become unfashionable; we already hear in all parts of the country, gentlemen ridiculing that spirit of patriotism and love of liberty, which carried us through all our difficulties in times of danger.--When patriotism was already nearly hooted out of society, ought we not to take some precautions against the progress of corruption?<br />
</blockquote><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20090925.DC82089&show_article=1">Complaint For Declaratory and Injunctive Relief</a> On the grounds that the United States government's current practice of apportioning representatives according to 2 U.S.C. § 2a is unconstitutional, a lawsuit was filed in district court on September 17, 2009.<br />
<br />
The five plaintiffs in the case each represent the five most under-represented states in the House of Representatives. The plaintiffs are:<br />
<br />
John Tyler Clemons<br />
Jessica Wagner<br />
Krystal Brunner<br />
Lisa Schea<br />
Frank Mylar<br />
<br />
Mr. Clemons is a registered voter in the state of Mississippi; Ms. Wagner is a registered voter in the state of Montana; Ms. Brunner is a registered voter in the state of South Dakota; Ms. Schea is a registered voter in the state of Delaware; Mr. Mylar is a registered voter in the state of Utah.<br />
<br />
Scott Scharpen has written about<a href="http://www.apportionment.us/Root_Cause_of_House_Ills.pdf"> the root causes of ills in the US House</a> , and here are some highlights from this article.<br />
<br />
<b>INCREASED competition</b> – the principles of free markets tell us that when competition is present, we get increased quality at a lower cost. With a House of 1,761 members, the supply will increase by over 300% while the demand remains the same. <b>The example of the New Hampshire state house (consisting of 400 members for a population of less than 1.5 million) shows that competition produces a much higher turnover rate (over 30%) each election cycle. In dramatic contrast, California’s embarrassing lack of competition (the state assembly has only 80 members for a population of over 36 million) has produced a 100% incumbent success rate for the past 4 election cycles, even though the state is being driven into bankruptcy. In effect, competition creates market-driven term limits when needed, rather than legislatively-forced term limits that are advocated by so many. With appropriate competition, long tenure will depend on strong performance rather than who holds the most power and money.</b><br />
<br />
<b>DECREASED cost of running for office – the average winning campaign for a U.S. House seat in 2008 was approximately $1.5 million. This enormous financial barrier to entry prevents ‘average’ citizens from entering national politics, and gives incumbents a great advantage. If the average district size were reduced by 75%, the cost to win a House seat would also be cut by 75%. Also, we would see special interest money playing a much smaller role in the outcome of elections.</b><br />
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Here is a thought experiment: consider how few people are required to get a major federal government program started. In a country of about three-hundred million residents, a US President only needs 283 people to get what he wants. Let’s take Obama’s health care initiative and break down the numbers. Any revenue generating program needs to originate in the House and get 218 votes - done Next, the Senate has got to have 60 votes to pass something out of the Senate - done. The House can accept with no changes what passed out of the Senate with 218 votes - not done yet. The President signs the bill received from the Congress - not done yet. Five Supreme Court Judges rule the new program is constitutional - not done yet. So a president needs 218 + 60 + 5 = 283 for mission accomplished.<br />
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There is a significant correlative relationship between smaller district sizes and increased freedom. Moreover, this is a causal relationship; that is, as the legislative districts become larger, the government becomes increasingly oligarchic and statist.<br />
<br />
I support this effort, and wish that people would work to fix the statist problem our country faces with the elected officials in DC in this manner. I do not think that term limits and campaign finance reform address the core problem that arose in 1913 with creation of the Fed and the 16th and 17th amendments as well as no longer increasing the total number of congressional districts. I know the Congress we have has no interest in doing any more than having federal districts and territories get representatives instead of delegates. I do not support that at all.<br />
<div><br />
</div>Below I have a couple of charts to illustrate that the total number of congressional districts was increased every ten years from 1790 to 1910 (with a single exception). These increases were a direct result of the growth in total population as was intended by the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. <br />
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The second chart shows the different ways that state governments operate their state houses. You can see states like California, New York , and New Jersey have larger district sizes. States like New Hampshire, South Dakota, and North Dakota have smaller district sizes. Guess which states have increased freedom.<br />
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</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1uKIWXwbYI/AAAAAAAAApc/8OOR9AuGO8M/s1600-h/District_Sizes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1uKIWXwbYI/AAAAAAAAApc/8OOR9AuGO8M/s320/District_Sizes.png" width="320" /></a>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-11228935685660198312010-01-21T08:20:00.000-08:002010-01-21T15:08:56.350-08:00US History - What Is and Is Not TaughtOne reason for studying history is to learn from it. The problem is that the history lesson we are being taught has a statist bias to it. While it is true that some industrialists took huge government dollars, erected shoddy enterprises, and ran them into the ground, there were also those who risked their own money, overcame strong foreign competition, and pushed American industries to become world leaders. History books are written that lump the political predators and innovative builders as one. The narrative that is written is:<br />
<blockquote>Entrepreneurs cut costs and made many contributions to American economic growth, but they also marred political life by bribing politicians, forming pools, and misusing government funds, and engaging in risky stock speculation. Therefore, we needed the federal government to come in and regulate them.<br />
</blockquote>This historical narrative does not help one to learn the right lessons from history. It gives people the foolish notion that increased involvement and increased regulations by the federal government is always the appropriate remedy to any economic problem.<br />
<br />
One example of an appropriate federal government intrusion is the Supreme Court case of Gibbons v Ogden.<br />
The New York legislature gave Robert Fulton the exclusive privilege of carrying all steamboat traffic in New York for thirty years. Gibbons, a New Jersey steamboat man, decided to challenge this arrangement and hired Cornelius Vanderbilt to run a steamboat from New Jersey to New York. For sixty days in 1817, Vanderbilt defied capture as he raced passengers from Elizabeth, New Jersey to New York City. In 1824 Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that only the federal government, not the states, could regulate interstate commerce.<br />
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The real value of removing the Fulton monopoly was that the costs of steamboating dropped. Passenger fares, for example, from Albany to New York City immediately dropped from seven to three dollars after Gibbons v Ogden. Fulton's company couldn't compete, and soon went bankrupt. Vanderbilt adopted new technology, cut costs, and earned $40,000 profit each year during the late 1820's.<br />
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Cornelius Vanderbilt left Gibbons to start his own shipping business. He never got anymore Supreme Court decisions in his favor, but he continued to compete against others who were getting money from the US or British governments and best them in water travel and later railroad travel.<br />
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History books also do not teach, but in some cases make excuses for, the government intrusions that were not appropriate and caused more harm than good. For example, the history books describe that the transcontinental railroads building for companies like Union Pacific run by Jay Gould, and Northern Pacific, run by Henry Villard, were so costly and risky as to require lavish federal dollars. For the boondoggles and corruption that accompanied all this federal money largesse, they blame not the federal government for making the federal aid available, but the greedy railroad tycoons for receiving it. James J. Hill built the Great Northern transcontinental railroad without a cent of federal aid and without boondoggles and corruption, but the history books don't point out this stark difference.<br />
<br />
Another example is the way the Interstate Commerce Commission and Sherman anti-trust and Hepburn Acts were used not to hurt a political entrepreneur like Gould, or Villard, but instead to punish efficient market entrepreneurs like Hill and Rockefeller. The history books don't mention the unintended consequences of loss of exports to Japan by punishing Hill. Hill had grown US exports to Japan from $7.7 million to $51.7, and then he mostly abandoned the Asian trade after the Hepburn Act became law in 1906. The history books don't mention the international competition between John D. Rockefeller and the Russians for winning the largest share of the global oil market. This competition had been going on since 1885 when the Sherman Act ruling in 1911 forced the break-up of his company.<br />
<br />
Another example is the plan concocted during the Wilson Presidency to have the federal government build and operate armor-plate factory with federal funds. Charles M Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel, told them that the federal government would not be able to make armor plate cheaper than he could. A government factory would waste the taxpayers' money.<br />
<br />
Construction began in 1917 on the new factory. The war delayed the building, but it was continued later. There was an overrun of several million dollars in post-war construction costs. By 1921, the plant was making armor at prices much higher than that of Bethlehem Steel, and the plant was shut down within a year to never run again.<br />
<br />
I was able to obtain the history that is not taught from a book,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Robber-Barons-Burton-Folsom/dp/product-description/0963020315"> The Myth of the Robber Barons</a>, written by Burton Folsom, Jr. Some of you have listened to Glenn Beck talking about a lot of problems going back to the Wilson Presidency, but I think the human condition toward statism and elitism goes back much farther.<br />
<br />
Adam Smith cautioned about this in his book, Wealth of Nations. It is just as applicable today.<br />
<blockquote><b>The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it.</b><br />
</blockquote><br />
<b>19th Century American Industrialists fall into two categories:</b><br />
<b>Market Entrepreneurs</b><br />
<b>Cornelius Vanderbilt</b> <b>James J. Hill</b> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h6-YE5AsI/AAAAAAAAAoE/nQADiUOk5pw/s1600-h/Cornelius+Vanderbilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h6-YE5AsI/AAAAAAAAAoE/nQADiUOk5pw/s200/Cornelius+Vanderbilt.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h7FXiuIEI/AAAAAAAAAoM/LI0aEySsG-s/s1600-h/James+Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h7FXiuIEI/AAAAAAAAAoM/LI0aEySsG-s/s200/James+Hill.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h7JxqP3DI/AAAAAAAAAoU/l7agk-DxdMQ/s1600-h/Charles_M_Schwab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h7JxqP3DI/AAAAAAAAAoU/l7agk-DxdMQ/s200/Charles_M_Schwab.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h_5RSRCPI/AAAAAAAAApE/UKAy6IQI_EI/s1600-h/John+D+Rockefeller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h_5RSRCPI/AAAAAAAAApE/UKAy6IQI_EI/s200/John+D+Rockefeller.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b> John D. Rockefeller</b><br />
</div><b>Charles M. Schwab</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Political Entrepreneurs:</b><br />
<b>Robert Fulton Jay Gould</b> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h8_30gTMI/AAAAAAAAAok/SQsVQH0g464/s1600-h/Robert_Fulton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h8_30gTMI/AAAAAAAAAok/SQsVQH0g464/s200/Robert_Fulton.jpg" width="165" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h9Hjp6GBI/AAAAAAAAAos/LiWKklD--B4/s1600-h/jay_gould.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S1h9Hjp6GBI/AAAAAAAAAos/LiWKklD--B4/s200/jay_gould.jpg" width="136" /></a> <br />
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<b>Henry Villard Elbert H Gary</b>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-31106588019305221022010-01-14T13:53:00.001-08:002010-01-18T10:06:20.935-08:00Recarving Rushmore - a book review<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0-T77VT7DI/AAAAAAAAAns/0fE0fCOXBvo/s1600-h/Rutherford-B-Hayes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426718733753379890" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0-T77VT7DI/AAAAAAAAAns/0fE0fCOXBvo/s200/Rutherford-B-Hayes.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426717589932678530" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0-S5WRNHYI/AAAAAAAAAnk/wMflDbx7NnU/s200/Grover_Cleveland.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 198px;" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426718808329108130" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0-UARJjOqI/AAAAAAAAAn0/bToXb00QwAg/s200/John-Tyler.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 150px;" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426717376115109650" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0-Ss5vH7xI/AAAAAAAAAnU/apSmbESab-8/s200/Martin_van_Buren.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 162px;" /><br />
In Ivan Eland’s world, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the US President images carved into Mount Rushmore are van Buren, Tyler, Hayes, and Cleveland.<br />
<br />
<br />
The author wrote this book in 2009, and based his ranking of each President by the degree to which each one upheld the founders’ original concept of a restrained foreign policy and a limited federal government with an appropriately constrained executive. This sounds good, except the author has a Ron Paul view of a restrained foreign policy. Every war could have been avoided, and every attack on the US is because we did something to deserve it.<br />
<br />
I completely reject this view, and believe that the principle of peace through strength is elementary and essential. Consider an elementary child who gets his lunch money taken from him by a bully. That child will not have any peace by avoiding the bully, nor does this child deserve to be attacked. The bully will have that child’s lunch money until the day comes that the child is stronger than that bully. Through strength peace will finally come.<br />
<br />
I do not recommend this book, especially if you suffer from hypertension and believe in peace through strength. However, I do not regret reading an analysis of Presidents that uses different criteria than what historians have traditionally used. I also think some of these views resonate with some who are participating in Tea Party events. There are war protesters who also support a limited federal government and less spending and takeover by the federal government of car companies, banks, health insurance companies, etc. We can use their votes for electing folks who will shrink the federal government, and we can let them pound sand when it comes to providing a common defense of the US.<br />
<br />
The author writes about some of the biases with how historians rank Presidents. He mentions the “effectiveness bias” where the political skill to get his policies implemented is considered. The problem the author has is that this factor does not take into account if the policies yield positive or negative consequences. The author has a similar problem with the “charisma bias” that how much charisma a president possessed should be a rating factor. The author rejects the idea that you can’t be a great President unless you are an activist presiding during a major national crisis.<br />
<br />
The author grades each President assigning a number from 0 to 20 for how well he did in peace, prosperity, and liberty. In the introduction he writes that after he finished the rankings were surprising even to him. I think before he even started that any President who believed in peace through strength was going receive a bad grade. I actually agree for the most part with the grades he gave on the prosperity component. There were two Presidents that received a 0 on this component, FDR and LBJ. That seems about right to me.<br />
<br />
I created a table of the 16 US Presidents who were reelected, because I do have this bias that getting reelected is a key to how good of a job a President is doing. Compare different rankings for 16 of 40 Presidents from the conservative Federalist/Wall St Journal, the more liberal Siena Research Institute, and the author. The first number in each column is the rank and the second number in the Ivan Eland column is the Prosperity score.<br />
<br />
<table border="1" bordercolor="#7f7f7f" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="height: 205px; width: 405px;"><tbody>
<tr><td height="2" width="21%"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;">Wall St Journal Rankings</span></span></span><br />
</td><td height="23" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;">Siena Rankings</span></span></span><br />
</td><td height="23" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #6699cc; font-family: 'Engravers MT'; font-size: x-small;">Ivan Eland</span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George Washington (1)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">FDR (1)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Grover Cleveland (2) (18)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Abraham Lincoln (2)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Abraham Lincoln (2)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Dwight Eisenhower (9) (17)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">FDR (3)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George Washington (4)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">U.S. Grant (19) (16)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Thomas Jefferson (4)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Thomas Jefferson (5)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Bill Clinton (11) (15)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Ronald Reagan(6)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Woodrow Wilson (6)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George Washington (7) (12)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Dwight Eisenhower (8)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Monroe (8)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Monroe (25) (10)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Jackson (10)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Madison (9)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Jackson (27) (10)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="18" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Woodrow Wilson (11)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="18" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Dwight Eisenhower (10)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="18" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Madison (28) (8)</span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Grover Cleveland (12)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Jackson (13)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Thomas Jefferson (26) (7)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">William McKinley (14)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Ronald Reagan (16)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Ronald Reagan (34) (5)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Monroe (16)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Bill Clinton (18)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Richard Nixon (30) (4)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">James Madison (17)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">William McKinley (19)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George W Bush (36) (3)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George W Bush (19)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Grover Cleveland (20)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Abraham Lincoln (29) (2)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Bill Clinton (22)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">George W Bush (23)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">William McKinley (38) (1)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">U.S. Grant (29)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Richard Nixon (26)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="20" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Woodrow Wilson (40) (1)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">Richard Nixon (32)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="21%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">U.S. Grant (35)</span></span><br />
</td><td height="21" valign="top" width="58%"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Medium Cond'; font-size: xx-small;">FDR (31) (0)</span></span><br />
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</tbody></table>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-53429461322429755882010-01-11T16:27:00.000-08:002010-01-13T06:45:14.793-08:00Same Play - Different Cast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0vD5ETYrUI/AAAAAAAAAnE/rY0Q9uRSoYg/s1600-h/barack-obama1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 189px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0vD5ETYrUI/AAAAAAAAAnE/rY0Q9uRSoYg/s200/barack-obama1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425645561272905026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0vDx6pZGtI/AAAAAAAAAm8/1Zb_PQfazQQ/s1600-h/28.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0vDx6pZGtI/AAAAAAAAAm8/1Zb_PQfazQQ/s200/28.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425645438421768914" /></a><br /><br />There are some similarities between the 1928 and 2008 election. In both cases there was no incumbent President or VP running from either party, and one party won control of both chambers of Congress and the WH. Herbert Hoover won 40 out of 48 states and 444 to 87 in the electoral college. In the House the Rs had 270 seats and the Ds had 164. In the Senate the Rs had 56 seats and the Ds had 39.<br /><br />March 4, 1929: Herbert C. Hoover became President of the United States. Herbert Hoover was from the Teddy Roosevelt wing of the Republican Party, and the leader of the “Efficiency Movement.” The Efficiency Movement was a major dimension of the Progressive Era in the United States. It flourished 1890-1932. Adherents argued that all aspects of the economy, society and government were riddled with waste and inefficiency. Everything would be better if experts identified the problems and fixed them. Does any of this sound remotely familiar to you?<br /><br />1929 laws with dire consequences<br /><br />1. The Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act was an act that raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. The ensuing retaliatory tariffs by U.S. trading partners reduced American exports and imports by more than half and according to some views may have contributed to the severity of the Great Depression.<br /><br />The House passed a version of the act in May 1929, increasing tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods alike. As it passed the House of Representatives in May 1929, boycotts broke out and foreign governments moved to increase rates against American products, even though rates could be increased or decreased by the Senate or by the conference committee. By September 1929, Hoover's administration had received protest notes from 23 trading partners, but threats of retaliatory actions were ignored. October 29, 1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929: Three multi-digit percentage drops wipe out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (10 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government).<br /><br />2. Under the administration of Herbert Hoover, the Agriculture Marketing Act of 1929 established the Federal Farm Board with a revolving fund of half a billion dollars. The original act was sponsored by Hoover in an attempt to stop the downward spiral of crop prices by seeking to buy, sell and store agricultural surpluses or by generously lending money to farm organizations. The Act was not beneficial; as the inflation ran deeper than the value of the money, it started sinking and the losses of the farmers were getting bigger and bigger.<br /><br />The Act was the precursor to the Agricultural Adjustment Act.<br /><br />3. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 (ch. 28, 46 Stat. 21, 2 U.S.C. § 2a, enacted June 18, 1929) was a combined census and reapportionment bill passed by the United States Congress that established a permanent method for apportioning a constant 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives according to each census. The bill neither repealed nor restated the requirements of the previous apportionment acts that districts be contiguous, compact, and equally populated. Thus the size and population requirements, last stated in the Apportionment Act of 1911, expired immediately with the enactment of the subsequent Apportionment Act.<br /><br />A reapportionment in 1921 in the traditional fashion would have increased the size of the House to 483 seats, but many members would have lost their seats due to the population shifts. The Reapportionment act of 1929 did away with any mention of districts at all. This provided a solution to the problem of threatened incumbents by allowing the political parties in control of the state legislatures to draw districting lines at will and to elect some or all representatives at large.<br /><br />The Smoot-Hawley tariff ended in the 1940’s with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) coming in the 1950’s.<br /><br />The Agriculture Marketing Act became the Agricultural Adjustment Act under FDR. The farmers were paid subsidies by the federal government for letting a portion of their fields lay fallow. The money for these subsidies was generated through an exclusive tax on companies who processed farm products. The Supreme Court declared the Act unconstitutional in 1936 for levying this tax on the processors only to have it paid back to the farmers. Regulation of agriculture was deemed a state power. Farm subsidies are still being paid out.<br /><br />The Reapportionment Act of 1929 is an incumbent protection act in much the same way as the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002. The difference is that this Act has never been challenged in court. You can learn a lot of history at the website <a href="http://www.thirty-thousand.org/">thirty-thousand.org</a><br /><br />Established in 2004, thirty-thousand.org is a non-partisan and non-profit organization which conducts research on, and educates the public about, the degradation of representative democracy in the United States resulting from Congress' longstanding practice of constricting the number of Representatives relative to the total population.<br /><br />Contrary to popular belief, the Bill of Rights document drafted in 1789 contains twelve articles of amendment. Article the second was not ratified until 200 years later as the 27th Amendment which finally limited Congress’ ability to increase its own compensation. However, Article the first the very first amendment proposed in the Bill of Rights was never ratified. Article the first would have required there be at least one Representative for every 50,000 people at larger population levels. The Senate’s version required one Representative for every 60,000.<br /><br /> Our Constitution does not prescribe such a minimum (other than one Representative per state); referring to this omission, James Madison stated that he had "always thought this part of the constitution defective." He also believed that an amendment establishing a minimum number of Representatives -- in proportion to the total population -- was necessary "to secure the great objects of representation."<br /><br />In the absence of such an amendment there is nothing to prevent Congress from permanently freezing the number of Representatives or even making the House much smaller than it is now. "It is clear from the historical record that a majority of the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights wished to prevent the establishment of an oligarchy in our House of Representatives.<br /><br />I support this amendment. Of all the things I have written diaries about recently this most definitely would be the most difficult thing to get done. There is a long list of powerful institutional forces that will oppose this amendment: multinational corporations, most industry trade groups, labor unions, the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the federal executive branch and last, but not least, most foreign governments. These disparate forces, which normally do not collaborate with one another, will be united in defending the oligarchy in the federal House of Representatives.<br /><br />In one respect I hope and pray that history does not repeat itself in 2012 like 1932. I do not want a new Republican President to continue any policy of the current administration the way that FDR continued Hoover’s progressive policies. I would like to see history repeat itself in 2010 like the 1930 midterms. In the House the majority party became the minority losing 53 seats. In the Senate the minority picked up 9 seats to tie with 48 the majority who still had the President of the Senate as the one vote majority.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-29066292760856187792010-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:002010-01-07T13:23:34.446-08:00Repeal the 17th Amendment?<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0YpKMisVnI/AAAAAAAAAm0/xzfX3vkolYg/s1600-h/Repeal-Day.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 114px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/S0YpKMisVnI/AAAAAAAAAm0/xzfX3vkolYg/s200/Repeal-Day.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424068056356509298" /></a><br />1. What is the solution? the government or the market? There is no third solution.<br><br /><br><br />2. How can we use market democracy and other means to help tame political democracy as our Founding Fathers did in 1776, or will we willy-nilly let it slowly but surely snuff our civilization, our future, our very well-being?<br><br /><br><br />3. How can we tie the free-market idea to a moral code based on virtue, honor, dignity, and wisdom?<br><br /><br><br />No question that capitalism, the politically-wise idea of market democracy, is America’s true democracy. Its opposite: the bipartisan Welfare-Warfare State via coercive winner-take-all "democracy," is a case of planned chaos, of a nation chasing its tail for an end-of-rainbow pot-of-gold. <br><br /><br><br />Progressivism was not the domain of just one political party, as both Republicans and Democrats vied with each other to see who could more thoroughly expand the state. Republicans, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Sen. Robert LaFollette of Wisconsin, pushed for high tariffs, government ownership of natural resources, antitrust legislation, and imperialistic adventures abroad.<br><br /><br><br />Democrats, on the other hand, led by William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, pushed the income tax, inflation through debasement of the money supply, and the internal protectionist device known as Jim Crow laws, which attempted to shield white workers from competition from blacks. Both parties favored expansion of voting rights to women. What is clear is that neither party had any intention of honoring the U.S. Constitution.<br><br /><br><br />In fact, the Progressive Era would not have had its social and legal effect had it not been for its reworking of the Constitution through the amendment process. The 17th amendment reworked the political landscape and greatly expanded the scope of the central government, one of the main goals of progressives.<br><br /><br><br />In the original design by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution, there was an effective check on Congress through the state legislatures' power to appoint (and remove) United States Senators.<br><br /><br><br />As such, the core of the problem with state's rights issues lies in the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, which abrogated the state legislatures' right to appoint United States Senators in favor of popular election of those officials. This amendment created a fundamental structural problem which, irrespective of the political party in office, or the laws in effect at any one time, will result, over time, in expanding federal control in every area.<br><br /><br><br />The 17th Amendment caused a failure in the federalist structure, federal deficit spending, inappropriate federal mandates, and federal control over a number of state institutions.<br><br /><br><br />The amendment has also caused a fundamental breakdown in campaign finance issues with respect to United States Senators. As to United States Senators, campaign finance reform, a hot topic in Congress now, can be best achieved by repealing the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It should be readily apparent that United States Senators, once appointed by the state legislature, would have no need for campaign financing whatsoever.<br><br /><br><br />The 17th Amendment should be repealed. This would reinstate the states' linkage to the federal political process and would, thereby, have the effect of elevating the present status of the state legislatures from that of lobbyists, to that of a partner in the federal political process.<br><br />The state legislatures would then have the ability to decentralize power when appropriate.<br><br /><br><br />It would give state legislatures direct influence over the selection of federal judges and the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary and much greater ability to modify the power of the federal judiciary. This structure would allow the flow of power between the states and the federal government to ebb and flow as the needs of our federal republic change.<br><br /><br><br />The existing relationship, combined with the effect of the Supremacy Clause, is guaranteed to concentrate power into the hands of the federal government with little or no hope of return. The resulting issue surrounding the fracas between the states and federal government is whether the states or the federal government should be exercising a particular power. There are no amendments in the US Constitution that enumerates power to the federal government to take care of poor, sick, and elderly.<br><br /><br><br />The 17th Amendment took power of appointment of U.S. senators from the state legislatures and and placed it in the hands of voters. This further helped make the states subservient to the national agenda of progressives.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14369459.post-64929528934011978342010-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:002010-01-01T20:24:48.193-08:00A Huge Problem Requires a Bold Solution pt. 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/Sz7KEseoNYI/AAAAAAAAAmk/L1ZRp8HW1qk/s1600-h/entitlements_08-850.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 144px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Oi1eliQFb5M/Sz7KEseoNYI/AAAAAAAAAmk/L1ZRp8HW1qk/s320/entitlements_08-850.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421993183408567682" /></a><br /><br /><br />ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM - A federal program that guarantees a certain level of benefits to persons or other entities who meet requirements set by law, such as Social Security, farm price supports or unemployment benefits. It thus leaves no discretion with Congress on how much money to appropriate, and some entitlements carry permanent appropriations.<br /><br />Since 1970, the historical ratio between defense spending and entitlement spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security has flipped. In 1970, total defense spending was 8.1 percent of our economy or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — more than twice the 3.8 percent of GDP spent on the big three entitlement programs.<br /><br />Today, the core defense program has fallen to 3.9 percent of GDP, while entitlement spending has more than doubled to 9.6 per cent of GDP. By 2030, the big three entitlements will absorb roughly 81 percent of all federal revenue if taxes are rightly held at historical levels. This crowds out defense and homeland security spending and threatens the historically low-tax, high-growth U.S. economy.<br /><br />I do not think the entitlement mindset can be changed in the US citizenry. It is a pipe-dream to imagine privatizing social security and medicare. A more local government can take on these responsibilities, and be acceptable to the citizenry. It has to be a government with the taxing and mandating authority. A private business can only set fees and rules for their business. It does not have any authority to tax an individual.<br /><br />Break up the responsibilities for SSI, MediCare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and Food Stamps into ten independent entities plus the US HHS that will be limited to only responsibility for DC and federal territories. The existing revenue is divided per population size of each entity. This is not privatizing current federal programs. It is putting the control of these programs out of the hands of the US Congress and into the hands of a more local government. This would get the US Congress to adhere to the intent of the Tenth Amendment. I suggest ten instead of fifty to allow the less populous states to band together and get an adequate revenue stream for this kind of undertaking. This also allows additional discretion for each of these ten entities to decide what is the best for their region independently of each other. If the revenues are not in the US Treasury General Fund, then the US Congress can’t get their greedy paws on it.<br /><br />I devised a list of new HHS departments and the percent of the US Treasury dollars currently marked for these federal entitlement programs. Each of these ten departments could independently determine eligibility and tax rates for the citizens in their region.<br /><br />Earlier I wrote about the need to scrap the current labyrinth of US tax code to protect the US economy. That would be an easier task than completely scrapping entitlements. This is why I suggest a solution of putting the command and control of entitlements in the hands of a more local government instead of the federal government. Let me know your thoughts and opinions, and offer your own solution if you hate mine.<br /><br />Southern Pacific HHS<br />CA<br />HI = 10.5%<br /><br />Northwest HHS<br />AK<br />WA<br />OR<br />NV<br />ID<br />MT<br />WY<br />UT<br />ND<br />SD = 8.5 %<br /><br />Southwest HHS<br />AZ<br />CO<br />NM<br />TX = 10.5%<br /><br />Great Plains HHS<br />NE<br />KS<br />OK<br />MN<br />IA<br />MO<br />AR = 9.5%<br /><br />Great Lakes HHS<br />WI<br />IL<br />IN<br />MI = 10.5%<br /><br />Deep South HHS<br />LA<br />MS<br />AL<br />GA<br />FL = 11.5%<br /><br />Mid-South HHS<br />KY<br />TN<br />SC<br />NC<br />VA = 9.5%<br /><br />Mid-Atlantic HHS<br />OH<br />WV<br />PA<br />MD = 9.5%<br /><br />New York - New Jersey HHS<br />NY<br />NJ = 7.5%<br /><br />New England HHS<br />CT<br />DE <br />RI<br />MA<br />VT<br />NH<br />ME = 7.5%<br /><br />US Federal HHS<br />District of Columbia<br />Puerto Rico<br />Northern Mariana Islands<br />US Virgin Islands<br />American Samoa<br />Guam<br />US Minor Outlying Islands = 5%Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760677270884017243noreply@blogger.com0