Three Dead in Texas A & M Shooting (Expect Anti-Gun Spin to Resume)

Constable Brain Bachman, Killed in firefight in near the Texas A&M Football Stadium

The afternoon of Monday, August 13, 2012 met with another in what seems to be a national outbreak in bizarre shootings. At the Texas A & M University in College Station, TX, a gunman engaged in a battle with local police. The shootout resulted in one dead civilian, one dead police officer (Constable Brian Bachman, pictured above), and the shooter himself. At least 2 other police officers were injured, and one female bystander was last reported entering emergency surgery. Other injuries and casualties were also reported.

As of the writing of this article, not much more is known. The local police caution that the gunman may not have been operating alone and may have accomplices still at large. The nature of the incident and its cause are still not known. The motivation for the shooting is still obscure. Some of the injured have been treated and had non-life-threatening injuries. Others are in surgery. Three are currently confirmed dead, including the shooter.

What we do know is the firefight broke out when a local constable attempted to serve eviction paperwork.

What can be surmised from analyzing the pattern of the publicized, mass, public shootings over the past few years is that mainstream media pundits are itching to blame this, a shooting in Texas, as a result of relaxed infringements upon the Second Amendment. Texas is known as a rather conservative state. A.long with Georgia, citizens of Texas are stereotyped as gun-toting hicks who shoot empty whiskey bottles in their back yards during weekend barbecues.

If one watches the movie, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", one of the more startling caricatures occurs when, during a dinner party, several Savannah southerners, including one southern belle of some esteem, proudly display their firearms. Most who concealed carry are not so flagrant in displaying their firearms. The scene is truly not an honest depiction of your average Georgian gun owner.

I recently moved to Texas from Arizona. Texas is not that supportive of Second Amendment Rights. For one thing, you need a permit to carry concealed. You do not in Arizona. In Texas, open carry is still not allowed (from what I have seen in the laws -- if this is not correct, somebody please send me a link to the law stating so). In Arizona, open carry has been allowed for decades.

But non-Texans still see Texas as a state filled with gun-toting hicks. Texas Governor Rick Perry ran for the Republican nomination for President. Texas has taken steps to increase voter integrity and fight voter fraud. Texas is a "right to work" state. Texas has taken its own steps to close the border despite US Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and Presidential Executive Policies that refuse to do so. That and Operation Fast and Furious issues put Texas "on the radar".

The above will most likely be spun all over the Lamestream media and NPR over the next few days to be some other right-wing crazy. they did the same with the last two major shootings.

Recall the tragic shooting in Aurora, CO a few weeks ago. That gunman was quickly labeled as a "Tea Party Nutcase". After investigation, it was found that the shooter was not a member of the TEA Party. He also was a left-winger.

The last shooting, at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was done by a former US Soldier. That soldier was ejected from the military with a general (less than an honorable) discharge. He was not a "normal" soldier. He was booted out for having a few screws loose as well as being a bit of a discipline case. The Army, it turns out, made the right decision in kicking him many years ago. The shooter turned out to be a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi. For those who failed their basic civics classes on the political spectrum, Nazis are very much left wingers. They believe in collectivism and socialism over individual merits. Yet, the lamestream media tried to spin that kooky left-wing racist as another "right-wing gun nut". Again, they got the story wrong.

Now, in College Station, we have a dead policeman. He was shot by a criminal. The criminal was also shot and killed. So was an innocent bystander (shot by the criminal). This was not an act done by a law-abiding citizen. The arguments for stricter gun control are moot. Criminals who want weapons will pay no attention to any laws in their efforts to acquire them. If there were tougher laws, such as the UN-Proposed ATT Small Arms Treaty that is part of the Agenda-21 treaties, were in place, this criminal would have, more than likely, still had some form of weapon. It probably would have still been a firearm. He may have had to pay more for it on the black market. However, the laws and the treaty would not have stopped him.

Of course, this begs the question of how far this would have gone if law abiding citizens were allowed to concealed carry on college campuses. Perhaps one or two fewer people would be dead. Since that is not the case, we cannot know.

A Lay Look At VP Candidate Paul Ryan

The Morning of Saturday, August 11, 2012, Republican Presidential Candidate announced his running mate:  Paul Ryan, the US Representative from Wisconsin's 1st US Congressional District.

Wisconsin is a "purple" or "swing" state that was steeped in political drama over the past year. The citizens of Wisconsin challenged the results of their last regular gubernatorial election and chose to recall Governor Scott Walker. Governor Walker, along with his Lt. Governor and a few state legislators went back to the polls. They were challenged to retain their elected offices. The voters' voices made it clear that Scott Walker, his Lt. Gov. and the majority of those challenged state legislators were Wisconsin's choice. They survived the recall. In fact, Walker and his Lt. won by larger margins than they did in the initial elections.

Wisconsin remains, largely, a "swing" state, though. There is a large socialist-dominated union presence in the state. Like most states, the larger urban areas, such as Milwaukee, are filled with blue-dog democrats and socialists who oppose smaller government and fiscal responsibility.

Paul Ryan helps swing Wisconsin more towards a Republican win for the state. Along with the endorsements of Scott Walker and his Lt. Gov., Ryan on the ticket could very well secure the state for the Romney.

That leaves other swing states out there still swinging. Ohio, the largest of the swing states, could still go either way. Selecting a running mate from Ohio may have made more sense. Ryan is an effective public speaker. He goes to the podium armed with facts, logic, and reason. He is straightforward. So, he could still have a positive influence on Ohio. Only time will tell.

Florida is also still swinging, though it is starting to sway more towards the conservative end. Marco Rubio and LTC West are working diligently to assist. Ryan and Wasserman-Schultz have gone head to head over the budget, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security reforms. Each time, DWS comes out swinging blindly with made-up numbers and emotive rhetoric. When confronted with actual numbers, though, she balks and says "those aren't true" without any ability to present facts to the contrary. DWS is also deep in a battle with Karen Harrington. Her clout is waning as her lack of knowledge and reason now obvious. With these circumstances, Romney's selection of Ryan will not negatively affect the outcome in Florida. 

With the Senate failing to pass a budget during the entirety of the Obama Administration, Ryan could very well push and influence the Senate to do its job. Many people fail to realize that the primary job of the VP is to sit as the "president of the Senate". He will get a vote only in the case of a tie. However, the VP has a large say in what legislation makes it to the floor for a vote in the first place. Joe Biden has spent the past 3+ years defaulting his responsibility to Harry Reid. If challenged on his performance, Joe-boy has a hard fight ahead of him. Given his record in the House, Ryan would actually do this job.

Many Libertarians and so-called "Reagan Democrats" have some issues with Ryan. The Libertarians are not too keen on some of Ryan's stances on such things as legalizing Marijuana and national security topics. Libertarians want to have every military service member not actively engaged in a declared war to be stationed in the US. They don't believe in forward garrisons, stability support operations, and other military actions necessary to our national defense. They also feel that Ryan's various budget plans don't cut enough spending and government intrusion into private business.

On the other side, the "Reagan Democrats" and Blue-Doggers, who see that the old Democratic Party has strayed more towards the far-left in the direction of Mao, Lenin, Stalin, and Marx, may now be more difficult to sway in Romney's direction. many of them think that Ryan's budget proposals go too far. More die-hard conservatives laugh at that idea, since the plan does very little to cut spending, and is just an effort to cut spending increases. (Basically, the Ryan plan sort of says "we are going to spend more next year, but we we'll not increase that spending as much as we did last year"). However, many of those in this category are now seeing that the PPACA is not the rainbows and unicorns Nancy Pelosi promised. So, Ryan's proposals for healthcare related reforms are appealing.

Ryan was a surprising choice. However, "surprising" is not negative. A good surprise party can be a great event. A surprise gift can turn out to be one of the more sentimentally valuable ones you ever receive. Ryan was one of those surprises. Given his track record, he could do well both in the job and at the voting booth in an effort to secure that office.

Summer Recess -- Where are your Congressmen?

It's mid-August. Do you know where your congressmen and senators are?

Congress is in recess. The Senate went into recess on August 6th and will remain in recess until September 7th. The House of Representatives went into recess even earlier, on August 4th, and will remain in recess until September 9th. That leaves just over one week in-session for both houses until Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) begins on October 1, 2012. They do so without a FY13 budget passed.

Unless they pass a budget in those 8-10 days, there will be no FY13 budget. That will mean that no budget will have been passed during the entire first (and hopefully only) Obama Administration.

Fingers may be pointed at the Republican majority in the House. However, the Democrats enjoyed a majority in both houses dating back to the Bush-43 Administration until January 2011. Since January 2011, the House of Representatives has passed several budget bills. However, the Democrat-stacked Senate has failed to do so.

Obama seems fine with not having a budget. To him, that means he is left with a general power of attorney on all of Mom and Dad's finances. It means he can take out a second and third mortgage on the house, sell the cars, max out the credit cards, and empty out all savings and retirement accounts without being accountable (or responsible) for one red cent. Mom and Dad (the US Taxpayers) will still be stuck with all of the bills (and absolute bankruptcy and resulting destitution).

And where are our elected legislators? Approximately 1/3 of the Senate is campaigning. Most of the House is campaigning. The purpose for the recess is not to campaign. It is to be in their respective states, meeting with the constituents (and meeting with the governor and state legislative houses in the cases of US Senators) to work on bringing the needs and views of the states back to the US Congress.

Most constituents are concerned with the economy. Those who own businesses want to see a more stable, predictable, and responsible federal spending program. They want reasonable regulations from executive bureaucracies. They want a better taxation system. The common member of the workforce wants fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and the government to get out of the way of businesses that seek to grow, thus creating jobs or increasing income opportunities.

And many of the federal legislators are campaigning on those subjects.

One of my favorite Generals to quote is a man named Dick Formica. One of his best quips is "Talking ain't doing. Doing is Doing". That is what the legislators are violating. By being out campaigning, they are talking about what they promise to do.

Without a budget, a FY13 NDAA passed, and other key and long-overdue pieces of legislation still pending, they left their sessions without doing their jobs. Fingers need to be put in their chests. They need to justify what they have, in fact, done. They need to be held accountable for their voting records. Those ion the house who passed a budget did their jobs. Those in the Senate who voted against those budgets that passed the House did not. It does not matter whether Caesar Obamas would sign or veto the budget. If they passed it, then the picture would be clear on why we seem to be going with the first Presidential administration ever to not pass a single budget.

The President of the Senate is also the Vice President of the US, Joe Biden. In the Senate not passing a budget for what appears to now include four fiscal years, the weight falls fully on his shoulders. He should have told the Senate that they would not recess until one was passed for FY13.

If Ronald Reagan were in office, he would have directed G.W.H. Bush to do just that, even if it were a budget he may not like. If Reagan were in office today, he may have Art Laffer and Steve Moore look over the budget and FY13 tax proposals before signing them. But Congress would not be out campaigning and taking family trips to Disney World without a budget passed.

It's time to pull up those voting records for the last 6 years, for those state senators. It's time to pull up the past 2-4 years of voting records for those Representatives. It's time to meet them at their campaign events and ask them point-blank why they have failed to pass a budget since 2008 (for FY09). Then, it is time to ask those Senators why they are out campaigning instead of in DC and doing the jobs we hired them to do.

This is why we need a Balanced Budget Amendment that dictates that Congress pass a balanced budget annually, at least 90 days prior to the start of any fiscal year. There should be a clause in the amendment that states that legislators are docked pay if no budget is passed by that time.  

Ordering Chinese in Macon Georgia

Kids in Macon, Georgia will have better pronunciation when  ordering their moo goo gai pan while wearing their Feed Me Chinese Food T-Shirt . 38 Chinese as a second language teachers arrived to Georgia from Communist China. 

I remember when I was in third grade, I received a note to bring home to my parents. I was beyond excited. My grades combined with the potential indicated by test scores indicated that I qualified for a new program. The program meant I was to learn French. That day, I ran home on clouds.

Over the years, I have found that learning basic grammar and phrases in several languages essential. I have had to learn enough Spanish to communicate with Cuban refugees. Due to being stationed in Germany twice for a total of 7 years, I learned German mostly from immersion. (A couple of German friends also gave me their old textbooks, written in German, to teach German grammar much like our English textbooks in American high schools). I learned some Serbo-Croatian, Tosk (Albania), Korean, Japanese, Italian, and Arabic, all in the course of my military career. I am far from fluent in any of these, though my French and German are more than mere conversational.

If your child qualifies for a language class, I highly recommend enrolling him or her. Learning other languages enhances language skills in English and widens their view and understanding of the world. There are studies that suggest learning multiple languages can also increase a student's proficiency in other subjects such as science and math.

That brings us to the question concerning the decision of Georgia to shove Mandarin Chinese down the throats of their government school students.

In Bibb, Hall, and Cobb counties in Georgia, 38 teachers have arrived from China. The program is the brainchild of people at Kennesaw State University. 25 of these teachers will be assigned to Bibb County with the intent to teach Mandarin Chinese to government school students from pre-K through third grade. In the 2015 school year, the state plans to expand teaching the language to all government school students.

The purposes propagated supporting the classes seem to change given on the direction the wind is blowing and how good the first cup of coffee (or White Tea) was that morning. One reason given is that teaching the language will prepare the children for when a more Maoist federal government usurps our republic, the kids will be prepared. Other reasons accompany theories on how the language meshes with science and math.

The primary issues with the program stem from several other topics many may perceive as peripheral or mutually exclusive. First, the these counties have some of the lowest proficiency ratings in more essential subjects such as math and English grammar. Many of the kids graduate junior high barely able to read at the third grade level. Getting them to learn their mother tongue is difficult enough.

Another consideration is budget. While actually employing teachers who will teach rather than take union mandated days off to protest and march in some non-education related rally over saving the purple-speckled pontoon jumping gecko may seem advantageous, who is paying the bill? Tax-payers are, either directly or indirectly.

If the classes were given to the more exceptional students as both a reward and incentive, the program would contain a lot of merit. However, it is directed towards all students, starting with the youngest. If the program were truly for academic reasons, they would start the program in high schools. The purpose for going towards the youngest is for indoctrination. Along with the classes in the language will come classes in the culture, specifically the Maoist culture.

Meanwhile, education in American History and basic civics is declining. Many students cannot even differentiate between the Preamble to the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Gettysburg Address. They want the kids to learn Chinese, but do not put forth the effort to teach kids the 27 page document that serves as the supreme law of our country.

If Chinese students are learning multiplication tables in first grade, it is because the teachers are teaching multiplication at that time. It is not because they speak Mandarin. Perhaps we need to start teaching elementary mathematics earlier (as well as basic grammar such as the difference between "to", "too", and "two").

In addition to the Mandarin classes for the youngest of students, the teachers will have to undergo reprogramming to learn how racist they really are. Of course, the teachers have no idea how racist they really are. They won't know until the government comprachico wranglers tell them. They will also be telling the teachers how to inform the parents how racist they are.

So, if you live in Georgia, you are racist. The government says so. Oh, and your kids will be taught how great Maoism, Marxism, Socialism, and Communism are (and how bad capitalism is).

The bright side is that the kids in Macon, Georgia will have better pronunciation when  ordering their moo goo gai pan while wearing their Feed Me Chinese Food T-Shirt .

NASA Employs Curiosity for 98 Weeks

Conceptual Sketch of Curiosity compliments of NASA http://www.nasa.gov

 
The latest Mars Science Laboratory project has officially kicked off. The rover, codenamed Curiosity, landed in the early hours of August 6th. (2232 5 AUG 12 Pacific time, 0032 6 AUG 12 Central, 0132 Eastern) Within two hours, the rover began sending images from the Mars surface. Over the duration of the mission, you will be able to track images and progress at the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission pages at NASA's website.

Image of Gale Crater compliments of NASA

The primary mission of Curiosity and the project are to determine if Mars ever held life or will be capable of sustaining life in the future. Scientists postulate any evidence will exist closest to any found liquid water.

Curiosity is set to explore, record, image, and sample the planet's surface for the next 98 weeks. Its capabilities include 10 precision scientific instruments and 17 total cameras:  Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Chemistry and Camera, Chemistry and Mineralogy, Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons, Mars Descent Imager, Mars Hand Lens Imager, Mast Camera, Radiation Assessment Detector, Rover Environmental Monitoring Station, and Sample Analysis at Mars Launch.

98 weeks is also the length of a single Martian year. The mission is set to last just 6 weeks short of two Earth years. That is one week less than current federal laws grant unemployment handouts to those who lost their jobs.

Sky Crane and Curiosity Infographic compliments of NASA

The landing was an act of remote-controlled precision, setting the lander down near the base of Mount Sharp, just inside Gale Crater. It was lowered into position using a remote controlled sky crane, that lowered the rover, then flew away.

The cost of the project, so far, has been $2.5 Billion, $1.8 for just the development and deployment of the spacecraft.

More facts, figures, numbers, data, and mission information is available in .pdf format.


Here is NASA's official video of the landing and deployment:

American Outsourcing and Relocation

"Within the next 5 years, we'll be bringing outsourcing companies to the moon."

 Above is a picture of Texas Governor Rick Perry with part of the XCOR Aerospace team. Behind them is XCOR's Lynx spacecraft. The caption was written by the author of this article and is not from either XCOR or Gov. Perry.



American companies are outsourcing. They are moving. They are relocating. Some myopic individuals blame the companies and corporations doing so for much of the economic stagnation we've experienced over the past 3 1/2 - 5 years. With a little bit of a common sense look at the facts, however, you really cannot blame the companies that are doing so. Some day soon, they may start relocating to the Moon or to Mars. It's not just science fiction anymore. It is a distinct future possibility.



Clark Howard is a consumer and financial talk show host (as well as television personality). Clark is not overly political. He is about saving people money and protecting people's credit. Recently, Clark recommended an online company for discounted eye glasses. The issue people have with the company Clark recommends is that the glasses are assembled in China.

China is a socialist/communist country. In many aspects, they are a oligarchic tyranny that we, as Americans, ideologically oppose. However, on the global scale, in the world market, they operate with a much more capitalist model than we do. They offer lower capital costs and lower taxes on capital. They offer lower regulatory fees. They offer fewer costly regulations.

So, many US companies are now outsourcing their manufacturing to China. The labor costs (human capital) are lower. However, that alone isn't the draw. It is just part of it. If the other taxes, fees, and other associated costs were lowered here in the USA, paying higher labor costs would be offset, bringing those jobs back to the US.

So, where do all of these additional sums of overhead originate? They come from two places. The first is the unions. Unions force wages to be above fair market value. In addition, they force companies to pay into multiple benefit funds, usually ones charging above the fair market value, as well, for the same services through other companies. But the union organizers get kick-backs from the insurance companies, etc., that they set the retirement funds and medical insurance group policies through.

However, the bulk of the overhead costs come from over-regulation. The federal and many state-level EPAs have regulations set for manufacturers that require employment of technologies that do not yet exist. It isn't just that the technologies are new and expensive, they don't exist. In the few cases they do exist, the technologies are still in experimental stages and not yet proven to work (much less work efficiently and effectively). Then you have this regulatory fee and that inspection fee and this re-inspection fee and that compliance fee and this licensing fee... . Add them all together. Then add in the fact that the US has the highest capital gains tax rates and highest corporate income tax rates in the world.

On a national scale, several states are seeing their companies flee to greener pastures. One recent example is XCOR Aerospace. XCOR was a California business set in the Mojave Desert. Recently, they had enough with the high regulatory fees, taxes, and ridiculous paperwork requirements in California. They pulled up their tent stakes and moved to Midland, TX. Midland even paid $10M in local, public funds to assist XCOR in the move. XCOR is increasing their workforce in addition.

Here is another great little bit for Xcor Aerospace  employees. XCOR can actually cut their salaries by 4.3% and the employees end up netting a raise. How could this happen? California's state income tax is 9.3%. Texas's state income tax is 0.000%. There is none. So, even with a pay-cut of 4.3%, the employees will get a raise greater than the current inflation rate. These numbers are just demonstrative. There is no indication that XCOR is reducing any salaries at all. So, the employees are actually getting that full 9.3% raise in take-home pay, at a minimum.

Texas not only has a 0.0% income tax rate, but is also a "right to work" state. That means that XCOR's employees cannot be forced to join a union and pay union dues against their wills in order to have their jobs.

Xcor Aerospace just might be hiring. What is their business? They build spaceships. They want to be the first private space shuttle company in the world. They are well on their way to becoming just that. "Houston, we have a problem. The problem just moved to Midland and is making money while we, NASA, are broke."

Is XCOR evil for relocating to Texas, even though they get a better deal for their business, better deal for their employees, lower costs of living for their employees, and a better work environment? Are they evil for bringing more jobs to Texas, which is comparatively booming in contrast to the state of California, which is going bankrupt?

Some may say this argument is moot since XCOR stayed in the US. The concept is the same. California's failing policies and "progressive" tax model are murdering business and citizens alike. Federal regulations, taxes, restrictions, and obvious hatred of prosperity, growth, and achievement are doing the same to our nation's companies, forcing them to relocate on the global level.

We shouldn't blame them. We should ask them what wrongs we're doing to them and what it will take to get them to move back.  Instead of blaming the companies for finally ending the abuse, turn that finger around and point it at those abusing them into leaving.

Looking Past The Unemployment Spin

For the short version with less commentary, please read The End of July Unemployment Spin at Torradical.com.

At 8am EST on August 3rd, 2012 the July Unemployment (U3) and Workforce Participation statistics were released. Given the trend over the past 3 and 1/2 years, they should come as no surprise. there were small changes, and none of them positive when the situation is taken in aggregate.

Some will attempt to spin the numbers with the "good news" of the lethargic increase of 163k or so "new jobs created". However, over the last two weeks over 722K more people lost their jobs. That is a net LOSS of 559,000 jobs. That is hardly an increase.

To top it off, they revised the June numbers. The "jobs created" in June was originally reported at about 80k. The revised numbers are significantly lower at 64k. So, they lied in July when they released the June report. Of course, this is the trend from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They report the less pessimistic report, then revise it to be more accurate (and dismal) a month later.

The average pay for non-farm, non-supervisory jobs increased by $.02 an hour from $19.75 to $19.77. Given  an inflation rate over 3%, that does not even cover cost of living increases. The mainstream media will most likely report that as positive, since that 2 cent raise means that a worker will be able to buy an additional pack of gum at the end of his work week (averaged at 34 hours a week).

The U6 numbers remained largely unchanged, indicating that the real unemployment rate and underemployment rate (people stuck with part-time jobs who have been seeking full-time employment) is closer to 15%. The U3 rate normally reported in the news is up, increasing to 8.3%.

If you couple the U3 rate increase with yet another drop in workforce participation, the numbers get sickening. Currently, 58.4% of the population is of working age. Of those of working age, currently only 63.7% are working or looking for work. 5 years ago, that workforce participation was closer to 70%. What this means is that of our population, 311,591,917, only 181,969,680 are of working age. Of that 181,969,680 only 115,914,686 are willing to work. Only 106,293,767 are actually employed. That means only 38.2% of Americans are working or looking for a job. That means only 38% of citizens are willing to make a wage, pay taxes, and support the 62% who aren't. THAT is dismal.


Long-term unemployment also increased slightly. Those are people who have been employed over 27 weeks. However, as many of them approach 99 weeks, when the handouts end, they apply for SSDI claiming anxiety and depression for being unable to find employment. At that point, they are no longer part of the workforce. They also get a monthly paycheck averaging $1110 that is paid for by those 34.1% of the US Population who are actually working.

No matter which stats the politicians want to draw your attention to, the aggregate numbers display bad news. You will hear that those people that bust their butts to become "top earners" need to pay more in taxes. In the same diatribe, you will hear that they need to pay their "fair share". If you want to talk about the real fair share, you need to ask the 49% of the US population that are receiving government subsidy handouts when they are going to stop being parasites, produce, earn, and pay their fair share. 

That point is moot until the government gets out of the way. Interference in the market, unpredictable changes in regulations, restrictions, fees, hidden taxes, and not knowing from day to day what tomorrow's tax rate is going to be cause stagnation in business growth. A company is not going to expand in an unstable environment. The Government is creating that unstable environment. If they did away with the ridiculous and unnecessary regulations instead of increasing them (many without constitutional legislation), companies may be more willing to expand, thus hire more workers. Those wishing to start new businesses may actually take the chance rather than look at the economy and think "I'll have to work 3 years just to pay off the fees and regulations for the first operational year".  

More Overdue House Cleaning

"You need to pay more taxes so I can go to Paris next spring."

Within the Obama camp we have more and more ethics and corruption scandals coming to light.

First, we have the still ongoing investigations into Eric Holder and the DOJ's cover-ups concerning the breach of public trust known as Operation Fast and Furious. Fast and Furious has led to over 300 deaths of innocent Mexican nationals and the death of at least one US Citizen, Border Patrol SRT Agent Brian Terry. Others probably exist but have not yet been publicized or have been covered up. In fact, it would not surprise many southern Arizona residents if it were discovered that the weapons used to assassinate rancher Robert Krentz were tied to Fast and Furious. However, no evidence either way is yet available.

We have also had Nancy Pelosi (among others) involved in accepting IPO shares for pending corporate stocks as payoffs from lobbyists. Though not illegal, they were extremely unethical at the very least.

Now we have other corruption investigations drudging up more ethics violations as Obama's first (and hopefully last) administration winds down towards its final 170 days.

Representative Laura Richardson of California's 37th US Congressional District has been found guilty of ethics violations and officially reprimanded by US Congress. Ms. Richardson, like other socialist-minded people, believe that the hard-earned tax dollars allocated to her congressional office were for her open use without accountability. She used those funds to pay for her campaign as well as to finance personal affairs that had nothing to do with the office she was elected to fill. The six volumes of the investigation report area available on the House Ethics Committee website. She also attempted to avoid the investigation by refusing to provide documentation. In addition, she attempted to influence witnesses into submitting false testimony. The US House of Representatives is issuing Richardson a formal congressional reprimand. Cuba and Cambodia need more "leaders" like her.

The House Ethics Committee is continuing an investigation into the conduct of Congressman Robert Andrews, Democrat, representing New Jersey's 1st Congressional District. the committee findings are expected to be completed by August 31, 2012. 

As November approaches, it is more an more obvious that the house is undergoing an intense cleaning. It's time for citizens to pick up the Bissell Proheat 2X Select Pet Upright Deep Cleaner and add their elbow-grease to the efforts The Senate and White House need to follow suit.

Hope: Malaise or Worse Leaves Nothing Else

With the housing market bubble bursting and a bear market, Obama campaigned on hope and change in 2008. In 2009 he stepped in and took over. He asked Bush to release funds he was withholding in an effort to keep the deficit down. Obama spent those funds, increasing the deficit. Obama supported the Fannie and Freddie programs that gave mortgages to people who could not afford to pay them. He and the leftists then blamed the banks for asking people to actually repay their loans.

Since then, we have seen the auto-industry for all intents and purposes go bankrupt because of unions. We have seen gasoline prices skyrocket. We have seen good money thrown after bad for so-called "green energy producers", most of which have gone bankrupt since.

Hope is all Obama has left us with. We have hope that we will get back on track and prosper DESPITE his loyalty to a failed economic hypothesis (Socialism/Fascism). And we are going through our sofa cushions again looking for change that may have fallen there just so we can buy a gallon of milk.

Looking at the past two weeks unemployment numbers, it looks as though we are on the verge of yet another dip in this recession. First, the media proclaimed that new unemployment claims were not as dismal as anticipated. They tried to spin it as good news for the commisar-in-charge. 353k new claims may not have been as bad as anticipated. However, they were about 253k higher than anything near good news. Then, as usual, when last week's numbers came out, they also revised the previous week's numbers. After counting the ones they always seem to attempt to ignore, plus completing claims that the bureaucracy took too long to finish, the numbers turned out to be closer to 357k.

Then we look at last week's numbers. Given the pattern the Obama administration has set, they will be revised upwards next week when this week's claims are tallied. Last week's unrevised (low-balled) claims are at 365k. The anticipated numbers were over 370k. The media is calling it "good news" that the new claims jumped only 8k. However, if the numbers adjusted into the previous week's numbers were added into last week's instead, the jump was over 12k. In any case, in the last 15 days of July 2012, over 722k more people are unemployed than were on the 4th of July.

Hope, the one thing left after Pandora let all the other good stuff out of the box. The only changes made have been to interfere with the normal fiscal cycle, prolonging the recession, causing it to dip again. Now, it looks like it is about to take its third dip.

Then we have one little shiny spark, one glimmer. The US House of Representatives has voted to extend the "Bush tax Cuts". Instead of extending them, perhaps they should be made permanent. In fact, anybody who has taken the time to actually study some economics may want to look at Art Laffer's little curve and consider cutting some of those taxes even more, especially on the middle and higher tax brackets. In addition, they may want to help cut the deficit by increasing the tax base. 49% of Americans now have a 0% marginal effective tax rate.

Some may ask how they have a 0% marginal effective tax rate. The answer is simple:  they pay taxes, but receive government hand-outs, rebates, etc. in amounts that are equal to or greater than the amount of tax they pay on the last dollar they earn. To cut the deficit, you need two things. You need to cut dumb spending. If you are taping your saving each month and living paycheck to paycheck, you start cutting luxuries in your home. You use coupons, you eat out less, and you don't rent as many movies (or don't go to the theater as often). Well, the federal government needs a budgeting class. The second thing you need to cut the deficit is to increase the tax base. You need more funds to pay what you already owe. In your home, that may mean working extra hours (overtime), getting a part-time job, or a spouse going back to work. For the government, it means taxing people who are not being taxed. The top 10% are taxed, and taxed, and taxed already. It's that 49% that need to pay their fair share.

With more people unemployed, that also means fewer people paying income taxes. If you couple that with the steady increases of people who claim SSDI for depression and anxiety after being unemployed for 99 weeks, it means a heavier burden on that 51% who are actually paying a marginal effective tax rate. When you look at it, though, those claiming SSDI for those "ailments" have lost all that hope Obama promised.

Now our only hope is to change administrations to one that understands and appreciates and encourages American Exceptionalism instead of hamstringing and cursing it.

Second Amendment vs. the UN

Earlier this week, the UN announced that it was "shelving" the Small Arms ATT Treaty, at least for the time being. This rings in good news for the TEA Party, US Constitution loyalists, Second Amendment advocates, and American Citizens.

The summit and conference concerning the treaty met in New York City last week. Several member countries, to include the US Ambassador to the UN, expressed deep concerns over Iran being among the countries named to oversee the enforcement of the treaty if ratified. Thus, international support for the treaty waned.

Here in the US, the treaty threatened our national sovereignty as a blow against the Second Amendment. If the treaty had been agreed to and ratified, it would have circumvented our constitutionally protected rights.

Why do we have the Second Amendment in the first place? Don't we have the police to protect us? Guns kill innocent people, don't they? Why do you need a gun? These are several questions domestic supporters of the treaty have uttered. Well, let us go to that first question for the most important reason to own firearms. Our forefathers were subjected to King George's standing army confiscating private property and forcing colonists into servitude at the barrel of several muskets. In addition, the Red Coats tended to confiscate any arms the colonists possessed. They did so for two reasons. The first reason was to leave colonists defenseless and unable to protect their own property. They sought to disarm all colonists so they did not have the means to resist tyranny. The second reason for the confiscations was to further arm the tyrants, using the colonists' own weapons.

After the War for Independence, during the days of the Articles of Confederation, the early Americans feared a strong government that controlled a standing army. Though the Articles permitted the national government to draft and enlist soldiers from the various states, they had no means to tax the states in order to equip, arm, and pay the soldiers. States were asked to donate funds. Those that did usually gave less than what was perceived as their per capita share. Most did not, however. This was their means of keeping the national army from becoming too strong and a vehicle design to assert another tyrannical oligarchy upon the citizens.

In attempting to draft the US Constitution, the individual states would not do so. The base document allowed for taxation in order to fund, equip, pay, train, house, and maintain standing Naval and Ground forces. However, there were no provisions that allowed the states and the individual citizens a means of protection in order to prevent a tyranny. Thus the Second Amendment was added to the US Constitution. Its wording is clear. Because the federal government and the state governments were allowed to maintain militias to protect the nation and the states (state police are considered a militia), the rights to own and carry arms (firearms) by individual citizens are not to be infringed, ever. That includes requiring a permit to own or to carry (even concealed).

Those Second Amendment rights are necessary to our sovereignty. The ATT would infringe upon them. However, the argument made most emphatically during the summit was against Iran, a country known for its disregard for individual rights, being a part of the UN committee. In reality, Hillary Clinton could care less about Second Amendment rights.

The treaty is not gone. It needs to not be forgotten. As long as it remains a possible proposal, it is a threat against out national sovereignty. Other treaties within the Agenda 21 collection remain threats to our sovereignty. Among those is a treaty concerning the care of "the disabled". Another is a treaty concerning international educational requirements (including granting the UN taxing powers to pay for them). Others restrict our ability to conduct preemptive actions, counter-attacks, or defense operations without first garnering a majority vote from the UN. That treaty would take away our US Congress's power to declare war. Then we have the LOST treaty. The LOST treaty has been around for decades. It has been resurrected among the Agenda 21 treaties. Now that the ATT has been "shelved", you can expect it to re-emerge in the future, like many of the other Agenda 21 treaties are repackaged versions of past poor treaties.

Stay Alert, stay alive.