From my music Blog: Making Goods in China

I try to not let politics nor religion creep into these pages about music.  Music should be a happy, non-divisive place, and both politics and religion are often tools used for both . However, something needs to be said about making  musical goods in China...

There are any number of really good arguments of why musical equipment makers shouldn't do this: patriotism, putting Americans to work, we've heard them all.  But one I've haven't heard and have been thinking about is how the manufacturers are trading short-term profit for long-term longevity.

When a company has something produced offshore, they have to specify what they want made.  That often means the American firm has to teach the Chinese company how to make it, along with any proprietary technology that company specifically developed and used in manufacturing.  Now, the Chinese are long known for industrial espionage, outright stealing of American technology.  However, by manufacturing American goods using American technology for an artificially low price, industrial espionage becomes unnecessary.  That technology is handed over to the Chinese (and other countries as well), and the American manufacturer, in buying the cheaply-made good,  pays for the pleasure of giving away his secrets.

This idea wasn't dreamed up in a vacuum.  I spoke with a bass guitar manufacturer who glowingly told me how he straightened out mistakes made on the production line in a Chinese factory. That line made instruments for nearly every major manufacturer in the US.

Eventually, I believe the Chinese manufacturing bubble will burst.  American lawmakers and manufacturers seem to be slowly coming to their senses, so more and more things will begin to be made in the USA again.  But by then, the horse is out of the barn. The Chinese will have the technology, expertise, and brand new factories with which to make these same goods on their own, without the Americans at all.  And then the fun starts...

American manufacturers will see their goods duplicated and sold worldwide for about one-tenth the price they now charge.  Only in this scenario, the difference will be that American manufacturers won't see any profit at all, only the theft of their ideas marketed globally. I suspect they'll have one hell of a time surviving.

So, manufacturer, if you're looking for quick profits, make hay while the sun shines.  And buyer: know that you're a part of it. If you don't tell the manufacturers, either directly or by voting with your dollar, you're complicit. I recently refused delivery on a bass because it was made in China (the manufacturer's website, which I researched before purchase, said differently). Eventually I bought American.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Never was, never will be.

How to Use History

If prior generations of Americans were the one who created this great country, shouldn't we take a hard look at what they did to make it so good, rather than flail in our ignorance? For example, our parents are considered the greatest generation.  How did they become that way? Maybe their parents had it right.

Common Sense

Occupy Protests Plagued By Reports Of Sex Attacks, Violent Crime | Fox News

As much as I despise the nonsense flowing from this "protest," I find there is valuable information to be had from it that we can all use. All of it ironic.

You've no doubt heard the ironies about how the Occupiers want to bring down big business, yet they use their products every moment. But there's much more.

The most important irony is the personal culture created within the camps themselves. Most of the Occupiers are some flavor or degree of anarchist, therefore it stands to reason that the camps themselves are without law or regulation. And without any such structure, reports are seeping out of violent attacks, much of it sexual in nature. Rapes seem to be happening more and more often, so much of a problem that the Occupiers have set up a separate area that are "women only." So much for a government-less society.

I am reminded of John Locke and his book Common Sense from the days before America's independence. Locke said that without adequate government "life would be nasty, brutish, and short." The Occupiers are proving that Locke had, indeed, common sense.

Occupy: Increasing the Ranks of the Poor in the Name of Equality

The Occupy protests, oh my. They have creative slogans and names for themselves, like "The 99%." I find that very telling.

They call themselves The 99% because they feel as though they are part of and represent 99% of Americans who are not uber-wealthy. I think it means more of what they are after: 99% of everything created, made and earned by the so-called 1%.

If one follows their math, the 1% are at the top of the financial food chain and make the most money - obscene amounts of money. However, the 1% are also the people whose work product are things which enrich our lives, such as iPhones used by the Occupiers, communication networks used by the Occupiers, the internet used by the Occupiers, the clothing worn by the Occupiers, the food eaten by the Occupiers, even the tents occupied by the Occupiers. In short, the 1%, because of their capitalization and the way capitalism works, created everything of value in this country - even everything of necessity. That they made it super-rich is a definitive by-product of all of it.

It's capitalism, baby; were the Occupiers stoned when they covered that in school? And this is where their attack is: not at the rich, but at the heart of capitalism. The Occupiers want it all, not just the things made by the 1%, but all their profits as well. The 1% will be among the poor. We will then have "The 100%," none of whom have anything - no product because the wealthy have no capital with which to produce things, and no wealth because they have nothing to sell. Everyone is equal; there is nothing built, there is nothing to buy. Everyone has nothing.

So the hypocrisy of the left is rich once again. Let's take everything that the rich have, and give it to everyone else, and expect the formerly-rich to continue to make the things that make us happy, then strip them of their profit once again. That's even if they have any remaining capital to create anything.  Capitalism is the the goose that laid the golden egg, and will be long dead.

If you did that to my dog - if you took away his bone - you'd have stitches.

As it should be.

The Politics of Filmmaking

So I'm watching a documentary on PBS just now. America Beyond the Color Line: Hollywood.  A major producer (I didn't catch the name) is being interviewed.  It being PBS, of course they pursue a racial angle in which whites and males are bad. Especially, the producer says that a film with black stars will gross half as much as white stars. "Why"  Producer says: "I don't know... Hillbillies?"  A black star complains that women are not respected and therefore not paid as much. Tell all this to Oprah, who by the way is both black and female, and is the the highest paid person in the industry. And Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and on and on.

It all pissed me off, major.

1st thing: the psychology of film teaches us that watching a film creates a dream-like state; it's the reason we are able to suspend disbelief as much as necessary for a film to work in our minds. But in particular, a film requires the viewer to identify with some aspect of the film, hopefully the lead characters. In our subconscious, it's just not feasible to ask our minds to identify with a character outside of what we look like, and how we behave. Some call this racist, I call it reality; so would Freud.

2nd thing: those hillbillies are the guys who made that producer a billionaire. And he wants to denigrate them?  But yes, he denigrates his customers.

Remember this the next time you go to the movies:
1. That the people making the film don't think much of you
2. They are happy to make the thing they think you want, irrespective of what they themselves think; a question of integrity, maybe?
3. They are happy to take your money and complain about you all the way to the bank.

Why Overseas Manufacture Makes Better Sense

It's because the American government is the enemy of American manufacturing. Read below, and you'll see why it just makes for an easier row to hoe for storied American companies like Gibson Guitars to fire all the American employees and build in India.

According to the Indian government, fingerboard "blanks" -- the wood that will eventually become a guitar's fretboard -- are legal to export.

"Fingerboard is a finished product and not wood in primary form," Vinod Srivastava, India's deputy director-general of foreign trade, stipulated in a letter dated Sept. 16. "The foreign trade policy of the government of India allows free export of such finished products of wood."

The U.S. government disagrees. In its affidavit to search Gibson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers fingerboard blanks to be raw materials, not finished product -- illegal to export from India and, therefore, illegal to import into the United States.

What's more, according to the complaint, the Gibson wood was imported with an incorrect tariff code, which was off by one digit from the correct code. Luthiers Mercantile International, the company that imports the wood for Gibson, claims that was a simple clerical error. The difference in the codes refers to the thickness of the wood -- more than or less than six millimeters in thickness.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/05/after-gibson-raid-other-guitar-makers-at-risk-breaking-law/?test=latestnews#ixzz1a0W9ZIfg

The Freedom of Common Sense

I've posted a few things that are political, but I want to be clear why I do it: It's not to promote one side or the other, but instead to point out how outrageously crazy - a bizarre mix of simultaneously overreaching and ineffective - our government has become. It's like all government programs - the mantra is "grow or die." It just keeps doing things out of control in an order to justify its existence.

So IMO the only way to brings thing back to some form of normalcy is to cut the size of government. This will force them to focus on things that are relatively important (nothing will ever make them efficient, it's not in government's nature).

For example, most of what happens at the DOJ is ideological nonsense; they pick and choose the laws to enforce. So cut their budget and make them defend why they are doing what they want to do. Stop them from suing states that are trying to deal with local issues. Keep them in check by not funding their excesses.

Ergo, cutting taxes = cutting the size and scope of government, which in turn allows the freedom of the common sense of the American people to flourish.

Repercussions for Rioters

The British are facing horrendous riots at the hands of opportunists who are piggybacking their desire to steal goods on the outrage of those protesting actions by the London Metro Police. Businesses have been stripped of their wares, and nearly entire blocks of businesses have burned to the ground for no other reason than thieves want the things for sale in the shops. Gangs - a perennial problem in London - have emerged as a major problem in the looting. The British police have responded in good order.

They have asked for help from America (the British government, not the looters); they'd like to know how we handle these things. But it seems to me that they're doing a mighty good job on their own, even better than us. Here in America we have problems from gangs that defy solution, yet the British seem to have come up with one approach that will at least cramp the gangs' style: eviction.

The Brits are arresting everyone with even a suspicion of looting. And now they're developing a series of repercussions that will punish those - and their families, if the looters are found to be minors - convicted of rioting. The first step is to remove them from public housing, and it seems the next step will be to also evict them from private housing, causing them to move elsewhere. The thinking seems to be that if individuals are found to be involved in gang-related activity, then breaking them up and forcing them to move to other locales might disrupt the gang activity too. It's a plausible scenario; make it tougher for the gangs to assemble, and you make it tougher for them to do their gang-related crap.

I sure wish lawmakers in the US had this sense of social duty. But in America we have too many rights - for example, "rights" to public housing, etc, and the politicians and lawmakers here would never have the fortitude (AKA, balls) to take such action. Such is a pity, to cater to the lowest class in favor of the voter. And the voters here seem to know no difference.


BBC News - David Cameron back councils planning to evict rioters:

Corruption by Design?

I'm pretty well sick of government in general and politicians in particular. I ain't alone. There are lots of reasons, but the one that gets me is the corruption that is tolerated as normal business for Washington.

What do I mean by corruption?  Most Americans imagine backdoor deals and envelopes filled with cash.  There's certainly enough of that (right Spiro?). But I mean more of the regular sort taken beyond the pale by the likes of Rod Blagoevich.

Blago tried to use his position and influence to enrich himself personally - not with cash, but with power.  Even though disgusting, what he did was somewhat common; but he went to extremes, and was stupid in his being overt in his actions.  But being so overt means one thing: He didn't fear any repercussions if he was caught; it's just the way he knew politics is conducted.

Would it be shocking to consider that the same is true in national politics (Blago was using a US Senate seat, after all)?  Enter what the left likes to call "special interests." There are enough of those to go around on all political sides many times over, but why do we tolerate it? Why don't we see it in the same light as Blagoevich, as the corruption that it actually is?

It's clear how the mechanics of this type of corruption work: one interest uses it's power (money, position, whatever) to put in office it's "guy," who then effects all sorts of laws tailored to benefit that interest. As an example, look at the AFL-CIO; they donate heavily to a lawmaker's campaign, and push it's members to do likewise. They say it's in their long term interest.  Millions of dollars in campaign donations fall from heaven, and then at some decent interval post-election, the union's lawmaker acts on the behalf of "labor" (they always try to elevate their corruption using general terms like that), and the subterfuge is complete.  The union guys themselves even are fooled by it, deluded by union propaganda into thinking it's good for the country, when in reality the only people it benefits are the union leaders (they get to keep their jobs with enormous salaries), and the politicians (re-elected based on the ruse that they are acting on behalf of "the little guy").

A specific example: CardCheck, designed by the unions to enlarge their base, and pushed by the Democratic party who was put in power by the unions.

And the question remains: why can't we see this as corruption? It's because we are desensitized to it, and come to accept it as the way of Politics.  But it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be.

In evaluating legal ethics and best practices, there is the notion of recusal: if one is too close to an issue, they remove themself from any decision-making part of the issue that might taint it with a conflict of interest.  The Supreme Court does it.  Judges do it.  But it seems to stop there - because in politics, there are no repercussions.

My answer in Harryland: I'd love to see a law where a politician was forced to recuse himself from any action of any kind on any matter involving anyone who donates money to him or his campaign.  Can you imagine? It would be honorable, but I suspect that nothing would get done - much like it is now. The Senate, for certain, would never reach a quorum. However, at least it would be moral, and probably cost taxpayers a lot less, too. It might not fix the problem entirely, either - other lawmakers voting on behalf of their pals is one way they might work around it.  But that, too, could be made illegal. Then we ask: Do we have enough jail space? Or would they just vote for better jails for themselves? That, I'd vote for!

I don't think the world will end any time soon because of corruption. However, this idea of politicians not voting for their political donors might cause the earth to explode. 

hd

Rating the Liar in Chief

I don't like being lied to, nor do I like being treated like an idiot. Obama did that last night. He does it to the American people often, but I never thought his notion of transparency would extend to seeing through his lies. Last night was a real pip; he obviously does not understand the problem, nor what what the voters want; he only understands what he thinks he can get away with to get re-elected. Liberal presidents can be fine, but it's reached a point where it's glaringly obvious that Obama is incompetent.

Don't Bore Him with the Numbers

Maybe we have an explanation for why the country is in a financial mess.

During the campaign in 2007, Obama referred to the US as having 52 states. Now he can't keep his daughter's age straight. So if he can't even get those numbers right, how can anyone expect him to manage the $14-plus trillion deficit?

Maybe next time we should elect someone who passed arithmetic in the third grade.


Oops! Obama messes up his daughter’s age - TODAY People - TODAY.com:

"WASHINGTON —In a news conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama twice referred to his oldest daughter, Malia, as being 13 years old.

Not quite. She's 12.

Pulitzer-Winning Journalist Admits He's an Illegal Immigrant - but what about the citizens?

Ok, it's a nice story. Americans are a heartfelt people, and no warm-blooded American could turn a cold eye on it. But...

When I read about Vargas' educational scholarships and multiple high-level internships, I couldn't help but wonder about the other young and talented American citizens who worked equally hard, dreamed of these placements, and would have availed themselves of these opportunities. It's not like the guy is the only person who could have come up through the ranks to win a Pulitzer - it happens all the time. But this guy was an illegal alien - about which he was fully aware and didn't keep secret - who was abetted in evading federal law by a lot of people along the way.

So here we have a story that tugs at the hearts of all Americans - not because he's an illegal, but because he came from humble roots to become a success through hard work. But to read the story, the melodramatic tone ignores the fact that there are many other citizens, born in America or legally naturalized, who have the precise same story.

What pulls on my heart even more is how diminished has become the American Tale. Our great story of optimism and opportunity it is now used to push the idea that America's rightful desire to protect it's citizens through immigration law is somehow "evil," because it would not promote the efforts of those in country illegally.

Something doesn't add up there.

Pulitzer-Winning Journalist Admits He's an Illegal Immigrant - FoxNews.com: "- Sent usin Google Toolbar"

Oops: White House Corrects Job Creation “Laughter” Line in Transcript

I don't recall who said it, but the saying, "There are no accidents," seems particularly appropriate:

At a fundraising event Monday night, Obama said, according to the White House's official release sent a couple hours later, this line that was noted to be apparently funny to the crowd:

"Over the last 15 months we've created over 2.1 million private sector jobs. (Laughter), " the release stated.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/06/21/oops-white-house-corrects-job-creation-laughter-line-transcript#ixzz1Py6zzXWE

Who's up for Slavery?

OK, so we all knew the Obama Traveling Socialist Roadshow was trying to get everyone into the dance by making them dependent on gumment handouts, but man, this one is a real pip! MediCaid for everyone! That's better than a chicken in every pot! And we know how that chicken turned out - his goose was cooked before he was even plucked.

Or maybe it's a turnaround ploy about slavery - making white middle class America enslave itself to the government, without as much as a shot fired or a whip cracked.

AP Exclusive: Medicaid for the middle class? - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed.

The change would affect early retirees: A married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still get Medicaid, said officials who make long-range cost estimates for the Health and Human Services department.

After initially downplaying any concern, the Obama administration said late Tuesday it would look for a fix.

Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly. That's because, in a major change from today, most of their Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility. It might be compared to allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps.

Matthews Calls Conservative Women ‘Broads’ - Chris Matthews - Fox Nation

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me about liberals is their treatment of women. To them, it seems the only women worthy of treating with respect are those who share their ideology. But if a woman utters a single sigh of conservatism, she is treated with the same disdain, disregard and outright misogyny usually reserved for 1%er biker gangs toward their women.

Matthews Calls Conservative Women ‘Broads’ - Chris Matthews - Fox Nation: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Obama's 'Shovel-Ready' Joke Draws Criticism, Corrections - FoxNews.com

Obama's 'Shovel-Ready' Joke Draws Criticism, Corrections - FoxNews.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

YouTube - Trumka reveals unions are about Progressive agendas; not wages

What your union dues actually pay for - a Progressive agenda and social change. Trumka said it.

ouTube - Trumka reveals unions are about Progressive agendas; not wages: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Zero-tolerance policies criticized - baltimoresun.com

More about the stupidity at the top levels in our schools. Imagine handing out a suspension for a girl having pepper spray in her purse. You suspend for USING it indiscriminately, not having it. Idiocy.

This was in the article: ""...It goes against the objective of schools, and that is to graduate students." Well, I thought the objective was teaching/learning, not to simply graduate them? If this is the case, just teach them the GED test in 9th grade and be done with it.

And MD citizens could correct this through voicing their opinions, but it never happens. We may get the government we deserve, but with teachers so stupid, do our children - who can hopefully make a better world - get the education they deserve?

Zero-tolerance policies criticized - baltimoresun.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Obama Crackdown on For-Profit Colleges Faces Stiff Resistance - FoxNews.com

Why is he doing it? Elitism. The schools in question are vocational training schools, not intellectually-based, meaning they teach the people who actually do some work the skills they need to actually do the work. Obama is an intellectual with zero experience in the real world. He eyes these schools and their graduates with contempt. The question I ask: With our president such an intellectual, how's it working for ya?

Obama Crackdown on For-Profit Colleges Faces Stiff Resistance - FoxNews.com: "

It's just too hard to resist.

Anthony Weiner Jokes: "

"It turns out that one of the women Congressman Anthony Weiner was communicating with was a porn star. When asked how it was possible to get involved with someone in such a sleazy business, the porn star said, 'I don't know.'" —Conan O'Brien

Weiner Stands Firm

The material writes itself.

Delusional Superhero Anthony Weiner Liked Telling The Ladies About His Cape, Tights | The Smoking Gun: "In private Twitter messages last month to a Delaware high school student, Weiner told of butting heads with Republican congressional opponents. Describing how he returned fire at his political foes, Weiner told the 17-year-old girl, “I came back strong. Large. In charge. Tights and cape shit.”

..:| Stranger By The Day |:..: Weiner Stands Firm

..:| Stranger By The Day |:..: Weiner Stands Firm: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Superman Renounces His U.S. Citizenship in 900th Issue of Action Comics - FoxNews.com

Superman Renounces His U.S. Citizenship in 900th Issue of Action Comics - FoxNews.com: "Superman even questions his longtime motto: 'Truth, justice and the American way.'

In-State Tuition-Federal Violation

WBFF FOX45 - Top Stories - In-State Tuition-Federal Violation Debate-Jennifer Gilbert

The debate continues over in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

Advocates argue that higher education leads to better paying jobs.

But there's a big problem with that theory, it defies federal law.

Atlas Shrugged

Important stuff, and I bet most educators haven't read it. It's interesting that this is now a major film, about how a world is doomed in which the individual is not free to create, that civilization cannot exist where men are slaves to society and government, and that the destruction of the profit motive leads to the collapse of society. Sound familiar?

Ayn Rand: probably the most important intellectual mind in politics in the 20th century.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123146363567166677.html

Obama: Gas Price Solution Lies in Renewable Energy Sources

Let's see, we can either A) develop new energy sources not yet created, much less proven, but what we know about them is that they're expensive and made overseas, or 2) drill for resources we know we have and know are proven, and have them in the near-term.

If it's gasoline for cars that Obama's talking about, how can we revolutionize the entire industry and make everyone buy new cars in the near term, when we can't afford what we have now?

The man doesn't understand the first thing about economics. Hell, he doesn't understand HOME economics and household budgeting!

The answer is to drill for oil at home in the near term as a stopgap while we develop those new energy sources.  The pie in the sky mentality of liberal politicians is taking us broke.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says one answer to high gasoline prices is to spend money developing renewable energy sources.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/23/obama-gas-price-solution-lies-renewable-energy-sources/#ixzz1KLvkc4AT

Subject: Next Amendment to the Constitution

I received this in my e-mail inbox today and it blew me away.  YES!  yes yes yes!

Subject: Next Amendment to the Constitution

 The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months&  8 days to be ratified!  Why?  Simple!  The people demanded it.  That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

 Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

  I'm asking you to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on your address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

  In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message.  This is one idea that really should be passed around.



 Congressional Reform Act of 2011



  1. Term Limits.
            12 years only, one of the possible options below.
             A. Two Six-year Senate terms
             B. Six Two-year House terms
             C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms


  2.  No Tenure / No Pension.
               A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.


  3.  Congress (past, present&  future) participates in Social Security.
                All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.
            All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.


  4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.


  5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.


  6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.


  7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.


  8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/2/12.

 The American people did not make the current contract with members of Congress.
 Congressmen made all these contracts to benefit themselves.


 Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.
 The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

 If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message.


 MUCH OF WHAT WE FACE IN TERMS OF PRIVILEGE AND SELFISHNESS IN THIS COUNTRY MIGHT BEST BE CHANGED STARTING FROM THE TOP DOWN.
 If you agree with the above, pass it on.   If not, just delete


 You are one of my 20. I INVITE YOU TO KEEP IT GOING. WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE -- THANKS!

Senate gives initial approval to in-state tuition for illegal immigrants - Baltimore Sun

How does one reconcile the need for documentation for one class who is in legal compliance with the law, when it is not needed for another who is breaking the law? Will MD citizens lose their place in MD-supported colleges if they don't have the proper documentation - such as a birth certificate? You bet they will. This is not fair, and places undue burdens on legal citizens.

It creates an unlevel playing field for college entry, with legal citizens at a disadvantage.

The MD legislature is requiring Maryland citizens to pay for things they do not support. And I can't for the life of me understand why politicians go down this road, especially at time of such bad financial crisis.

It's just not fair.

Senate gives initial approval to in-state tuition for illegal immigrants - Baltimore Sun: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Idaho Votes to Phase Out Teacher Tenure, Restrict Collective Bargaining

This wasn't in the news, but seems more than reasonable to me. The education and its product should be the issue, not whether or not public teachers have "rights" - not enumerated anywhere in the law, btw.

Idaho Votes to Phase Out Teacher Tenure, Restrict Collective Bargaining - FoxNews.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

What to do when the law fails?

We Americans hold the Constitution's first amendment as if it came down from the mount... but I assure you, had this happened in the day of our founding fathers, it would not stand.

I'm shocked that somehow the Supreme Court has correlated freedom of speech with freedom of action. This will later come home to roost as we deal with many other problems, including that of Islamic terrorism. In the short term, the ruling will lead to violence. With people on both side now knowing that they can no longer depend on the law to stop these vile protests, they'll take matters into their own hands. Just as the founding fathers would have.

Justices rule anti-gay church can protest at military funerals - Baltimore Sun: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Regarding US Trials for Combatants

I ran across this interesting historical tidbit today: A report about what the US did when it captured a WW2 German sabotage team operating within the US. These days, if this happened, they'd have been tried by the Justice Department and their legions of morons, then sent back to their home countries. Liberals would go to bed happy. But back in the day, when people knew how to do things and stuff actually mattered, that's not what happened.

"All eight German agents were tried, convicted by the Military Commission, with six men sentenced to death. President Roosevelt approved the sentences. The constitutionality of the military commissions was upheld by the Supreme Court in Ex parte Quirin and the six men were executed by electrocution on August 8."

http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Duquesne+Spy+Ring
http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Attacks+on+North+America+during+World+War+II

Shocking Level of Influence: Trumka Talks to White House EVERY DAY and V...

The American Labor Movement as Extortionist

This picture sums up what has become of American labor unions: People have no right to work, unless it's with the approval of a labor union. Here in Maryland, and across the country, laws were enacted that required unions be paid by the individual employee regardless of whether he was a member or not; the reasoning was that he would be the beneficiary of collective bargaining no matter what, therefore he should pay. But isn't that tantamount to extortion - pay me or you can't work?

It seems the unions have truly come full circle. This is how mobs and gangs operated in large cities in the 19th century. Even the film, On the Waterfront, illustrated the control unions exert.  Governments and laws, however, were supposed to counter that kind of blackmail.  Now governments condone it, have even become the unions' enforcer. In the 21st century, Americans have no right to work with themselves as their sole representation.

No wonder American businesses look overseas for jobs.

Amid Union Protests, More Democrats Go On the Lam -- This Time in Indiana - FoxNews.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Funding Health Care Expansion

When Obama took office and the Democrats went wild over the opportunity to "reform" health care, they really went off the rails.  They became so entrenched with side issues, that they lost sight of their goal: providing health care to the poor.  Suddenly, everything became "insuring the uninsured," rather than "giving healthcare to the poor." In case you didn't notice, there's a big difference; who among us wouldn't defer health insurance costs in lieu of paying - even out of pocket - reasonable health care costs? Had this been a Republican action, every liberal from here to Timbuktu would swear it was a conspiracy involving Cheney and Halliburton to enrich the insurance companies. But this was Democrats, not Repubs, and the insurance companies are certainly poised to be enriched. So now what?

There are lots of ways to skin that cat of providing health care to the poor, and here's one of them:  Make all non-profit hospitals treat the uninsured for free.  

After all, non-profits already operate tax-free, and most of them are flush with cash because of philanthropic donors. Indeed, they have entire departments operating to solicit donations to their operations  And if you think these hospitals are the bottom of the barrel, be informed that none other than Johns Hopkins is a tax-exempt nonprofit.

So if the goal of health care "reform" is to deliver health care, then do it.  Otherwise, stop trying to get everyone else to foot the bill for insurance that the poor can neither afford, not even necessarily want to have to manage.

Tolerance and Virtue

“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.”
- G. K. Chesterton

When Judgement is Missing

There are so many things to say about Obama's pick for the new commerce secretary; just a couple of easy ones since I haven't had coffee yet:

• Obama chose one of the ilk that they seem to hate - executives who make millions and billions while driving their companies into the ground, requiring taxpayer-funded bailouts. Didn't the white house complain about these execs getting the golden parachutes even when they don't perform?
• Someone from the banking industry that's in part responsible for the economic mess we all are bearing right now.
• More Chicago politics in and around the White House. It didn't work in the first 2 years, why should it work now?
• All of it resurrects the notion that Obama doesn't have the experience and in particular, the judgment, to be President.

So there, my quick thought of the day.

Source: Obama May Tap Daley for Top Job - FoxNews.com: "Daley, an executive at JPMorgan Chase, has extensive private sector experience, an attractive profile for a White House trying to counter the notion that the president is antibusiness. Obama aides have been discussing naming an executive to a top job as a way to give the business community more of a voice in the administration.

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Politics of Buying a Car

Soon, I will be in the market for a car. I've looked over the specs, prices, and decided on a color. But I never thought I'd have to decide which one to buy based on union tactics. In short, the quote below has pushed me over the edge to to buy non-American for the sole reason that they are unionized manufacturers. See, if I do so, I am then putting money into the unions pockets.

Why don't I like unions? First I'll overlook that the unions nearly brought down the American auto industry single-handedly. Putting this crudely, but in the most accurate way I know possible, It's because they're assholes; nothing but self-interested assholes.

I mean, if a shop is unionized, a worker is forced to join them based on the idea that union collective bargaining benefits all workers. Let me tell you, it doesn't. The worker loses all latitude and freedom in being able to negotiate with his superiors because the unions do it. And if a worker tries, usually management will simply hold up the union contract, point to it, and say, "It says here you get no more."

When I was in a union shop, and also in the union, the quality of my work advanced me to a position and salary where I could not advance any further. A call to the union for a promotion and raise got me nowhere. They told me they were, at that time, in negotiations with my employer for the whole of the workforce and couldn't take on the interests of a single individual. Great. Welcome to Communism.

What did I do? I dashed off a letter to the head of my company explaining my problem. And you know, he gave me a raise. He increased my salary not because of the union, but because he knew I was a dedicated employee and was good at my job. He wanted me to be happy so I would continue to produce the high-quality things which made me proud on a personal level. He did the right thing on his own, because I did the right thing on my own.

Union workers are lazy. Maybe not so much lazy at their jobs (although I've known many, many who were), but they're lazy in dealing with their own self-interest. It's bad to allow someone else to negotiate for you if you are a good employee; you'll never get what you're worth that way. But unionized employees don't seem to want to be bothered with doing their own negotiations, instead paying others - the unions - to do it for them.

There is no more expensive option available to a worker than to "hire" someone else to toot your horn for you. You also lose all your freedom in the workplace, opting for not just one boss in the form of the company, but then union also tells you what to do. Jesus, all I want to do is go to work, do my job as best I can, collect my pay. Drink beer.

So back to cars. I'm not going to support the unions. I'm buying a car from a non-union shop. VW looks pretty good to me right now. They treat their workers right, the workers are happy. And together, the workers and the company make one hell of a product.

As it should be.


United Auto Workers Sets a Strategy on Foreign Car Plants - WSJ.com:

"Mr. King said he will tap the union's strike fund of more than $800 million for the push, calling it the best way to protect his current membership. 'We have, in many ways, pretty deep pockets in terms of what we're willing to spend,' said Mr. King, adding that the union already approved spending $60 million on organizing at its convention in June. 'We have really unlimited resources to devote to this. It's unlike anything that's been seen in the UAW in many, many years.'