China's Ghost Cities and Malls

Paul turned me on to this intriguing video from Australian Public Broadcasting.

Documentary by SBS Dateline (Australian TV) about the Chinese real estate market.  15 minutes.

http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/about/id/601007/n/China-s-Ghost-Cities

[Click “Watch.”]

This news piece builds a convincing case that China has a staggering real estate bubble – bigger by far than anything seen before.

·         China is building whole new cities, all at once, that can house millions but stand almost empty.  Watch just the first couple minutes of the video.

·         They built the biggest shopping center in the world but after 6 years it still stands empty. 

·         The average Chinese earns $6,000 a year while the new apartments sell for $100,000 and sometimes $300,000.

·         Terms in China for home buyers require 50% down and the balance in 3 years – no default problems in China.

·         Many buyers appear to be wealthy Chinese who are buying speculatively.

·         The reporters claim that China is doing all this to pump up national GDP.

·         The report also suggests that when the bubble breaks, there may be substantial social unrest.

·         The vaunted Chinese consumer economy may be propaganda.

For me the story is amazing – stimulus on steroids – and it poses more questions than answers.

·         Do we care if China pumps up its GDP?

·         What will be the effect on the West in general and us in particular when the bubble bursts?

·         Where does the Chinese government get the money for this construction?

·         Could this cause the Chinese to become cash strapped and make them “dump” US Treasuries?  That would cause enormous interest rate increases.

·         Could there really be riots, etc?  How would that affect the rest of us?

In a related but long and very esoteric story, Reuters is reporting that the Federal Reserve made changes a few years ago to control Chinese actions in government bond auctions.  We did this secretly so that China would not know that they were the focus of our “reforms”.  Does America actually have any secrets?

U.S. Caught China Buying More Debt Than Disclosed

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/us-usa-china-treasuries-idUSTRE75T2MI20110630

If you care about such things, this article is interesting reading.

Chinese entities hold at least $1.115 trillion in U.S. government debt, and are thought to account for roughly 26 percent of the paper issued by Washington. 

China's vast Treasury holdings are both a lifeline and a vulnerability for America – if the Chinese sold their Treasuries all at once, it could undermine U.S. markets and the economy by driving interest rates higher very quickly.  Scenarios of this sort have been discussed in Washington defense-policy circles for at least a year now.  

Starting in 2007, some of the 20 elite "primary dealers" – Wall Street firms authorized to bid on behalf of customers – began reporting irregularities in "guaranteed bidding" which was a way for China and other big buyers to maintain some anonymity during the frequent Fed auctions.  US auction rules limit any buyer to no more than 35 percent of a particular batch of Treasury securities at a single auction.  Allowing buyers to purchase more might lead to manipulation.  The Fed wants to avoid any repeat of the Salomon Brothers Treasury trading scandal in the early 1990s.

In order to finance American government debt, the Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt sells to investors through auctions that are held weekly – sometimes four times per week – in batches ranging from $13 billion to $35 billion at a time.

In 2009, the Treasury concluded that China was buying much more in U.S. government debt than was being disclosed, potentially in violation of auction rules, and it wanted to bring those purchases into the open – all without ruffling feathers in Beijing.  Not knowing the full extent of these holdings would make it even more difficult to assess China's political leverage over U.S. finances.  So they changed the rules regarding guaranteed bidding and kept the reasons quiet.

Now Reuters, thanks to leaks, is making the whole thing public.

Discretion - From Paul

Six retired Irishmen were playing poker in O'Leary's apartment when Paddy Murphy loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest, and drops dead at the table.  Showing respect for their fallen brother, the other five continue playing standing up.

Michael O'Connor looks around and asks, “Oh, me boys, someone's got to tell Paddy's wife. Who will it be?”  They draw straws.  Paul Gallagher picks the short one.  They tell him to be discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse.

“Discreet???  I'm the most discreet Irishmen you'll ever meet.  Discretion is me middle name.  Leave it to me.”

Gallagher goes over to Murphy's house and knocks on the door.  Mrs. Murphy answers, and asks what he wants.  Gallagher declares, “Your husband just lost $500, and is afraid to come home.”  

“Tell him to drop dead,” says Murphy's wife.

“I'll go tell him,” says Gallagher.

How Many Would Love To Have This Deal Right Now?

The Democratic governor of Connecticut where the legislature is also Democratic has a steep budget imbalance.  The state agreed to a new deal with the public employee union that would save the state $1.6 billion over two years.  Here’s the deal:

1.      Wages frozen for two years.

2.      After two years, 3 percent annual raises for three years.

3.      A guarantee of no layoffs for four years.

How many out of work people do we know?  How many folks are truly worried that layoffs are imminent?  How many people do we know that would kill for the “no layoffs for four years” part of this deal alone? 

Only Democrats could craft a deal as friendly to union labor as this one – who cares about all those workers who pay the bills?

The union rejected the deal today.  Layoff letters will now go out to 7,500 employees with surely more to follow.

We can only hope that this will damage unions everywhere as well as their Democratic Party patrons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/nyregion/connecticuts-budget-plans-are-upended-by-state-workers-vote.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=connecticut%20public%20employee%20union&st=cse

Government Helping with Gas Prices

Recently, the Administration joined with two dozen other grandstanding nations in releasing 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.  The idea is to be seen doing something about gasoline prices and the economy.  We will be releasing 30 million barrels of the total.

60 million barrels of oil represents 16 hours of global consumption.  Could this be a purely political move?

Please forgive me Mr. President and supporters;  I don’t mean to single you out;  this is SOP for any President.

But ask yourself what we might have paid for the oil in reserve and what we are likely to pay for the oil to replace it someday.  Clearly, this useless move will cost us money even if the amount is “only” tens of $millions.

When are we going to wise up and get outraged at our money being used this way?  Remember “the broken windows theory” of crime prevention?  Little things matter.

The Debt Debate

Did you know that government spending is at a record high while government revenue is at a record low?

As a nation, we are stupid, greedy and adamant – we demand less government spending, no increase in taxes and no change in current benefits.

·         The public is livid about federal debt and deficits – we demand that the fiscal house be brought back under control.

·         Experts say government debt is an imminent pending disaster. 

·         Experts and politicians – could there be a starker contrast between two groups – agree that current deficits are unsustainable. 

·         Experts agree that the problem is entitlements, specifically Medicare but also Social Security – even military spending, which must be reduced, pales in comparison.

·         The public has made it unmistakably clear that we are completely unwilling to accept any cuts in government benefits, now or for future generations.  This is doubly true of seniors – how shameful.  [Here lies an irrefutable argument against direct democracy.]

·         Given the state of entitlements and the public attitude, experts are unanimous that the solution to deficits and then debt requires both deep spending cuts and significant revenue increases.

We shall have our hands full selecting leaders who are willing to tell us the truth – right now we prefer demagogues and knaves.

For what it’s worth, government spending is at its highest percent of GDP since 1946 while government revenue is at the lowest percent of GDP since 1943.

·         Government spending in 2011 will be more than a quarter of GDP [25.4%] – mean spending since 1946 was 20% of GDP.

·         Government revenue in 2011 will be a record low of 14% - mean revenue since 1943 was 18% of GDP.

·         Got it?  “Normal” spending is up over 5% while “normal” income is down almost 4%.  Nine percent of the 2011 economy will be $1.2 trillion and then there’re the years after this one.

·         As a result of many factors, spending will increase dramatically in coming years as a result of unfunded promises in our entitlement programs.

The stories we get from lefties and the tea party are utter nonsense. 

Level heads in Congress – with a very few exceptions – are saying nothing because the moronic voting public – that’s you and me folks – will shoot the messenger.  In 2010, our radical political parties ousted every single sensible person they could.  Our angry tea party neighbors righteously took to the streets and then fired anybody who told the truth.  The guy with the bully pulpit spends his time either quiet or lying – he has to go.

The truth is that Americans must pay more into government and demand less service.  We have to find representatives that will tell us that and then act that way in concert with “the enemy”.  Crikey, our leaders will have their hands full – if we can find any.

Spending data.

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=1902_2015&view=1&expand=&units=p&log=linear&fy=fy12&chart=F0-fed_F0-total&bar=0&stack=1&size=m&title=&state=US&color=c&local=s

Revenue data.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=205

Religion in Politics

There were two interesting threads in this column about Romney and Mormonism.

'Mormon Issue' Still Handicaps Romney

By Michael Smerconish  -  The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun. 20, 2011

http://www.thestate.com/2011/06/20/1866549/mormon-issue-still-handicaps-romney.html#ixzz1QE01KKoK

The first was Romney’s excellent response to whether his religion will be an issue for him as a candidate for President.

“I can't judge the politics.  I don't know the answer to that," he said.  "My experience so far, in Massachusetts running as a Mormon guy in a state that's overwhelmingly of other faiths, is it didn't seem to get in my way there.  But most people in the country recognize that, in fact, the nation itself was founded on the principle of religious tolerance and freedom."

I was surprised to find that the Evangelical Protestants were the group most troubled by his religion because I automatically assumed it would be the Catholics.

The writer gives a nice lead in to his second thread with the story of "Sean," a self-described Catholic from Indianapolis who said, "I'm in that group that won't vote for a Mormon because I think it implies poor judgment and critical-thinking skills."  How’s that for an unintended belly laugh?

Smerconish takes this as an opportunity to delightfully smirk at the religious glass house in general.  He found a religion professor at the University of Pennsylvania who said, "Most Americans don't know the basic history and beliefs of their own faith, let alone any of the major religious traditions.”  Ain’t that the truth?

·         Who could believe, as Mormons do, that founder Joseph Smith was visited at age 14 by God the Father and Jesus, who instructed him not to join an established church?  A few years later, Smith would use a "seeing stone" to read inscriptions on gold plates buried in the ground and translate them into the Book of Mormon. 

·         Not to be outdone, Scientology is predicated upon events of 75 million years ago when an intergalactic warlord released millions of soul-like beings into Earth's atmosphere.  Those beings, called thetans, harbor confusion and conflict, which they use to wreak havoc on the individuals they come to inhabit.  

·         Just imagine what the Buddhists say about the Scientologists.  These thetans were reincarnated from what, exactly?  When did they go through their cycles of birth, life, and death?  And how did they learn to release their attachment to desire and the self so they could attain Nirvana?

·         Islam's holy text includes reference to Allah's creating man from a clot of blood, not to mention angels adorned with as many as four pairs of wings.  Muslims believe jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah.  The Qur’an mentions that jinn are made of smokeless flame or "scorching fire".  Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent.

·         Jews readily understand that the Earth was created in six days (and that God rested on the seventh).  And they appreciate Noah's survival of a great flood after building an ark big enough to hold two of each animal, the drowning of the oppressive Pharaoh's army after Moses parted the Red Sea, and the conquest of Canaan, complete with walls toppled by shouts and the sun standing still in the sky.

·         In addition to these Jewish beliefs, Christians also accept the virgin birth, complete with a star over Bethlehem that served as a marker to three wise men, not to mention how decades later, this son of God would walk on the water of the Sea of Galilee, convert water into wine, and rise from the dead after being crucified in front of scores of witnesses.

Critical thinking is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.  Any questions about the Separation of Church and State imperative?

If you need a little more on the dangers of religion in government, we have the ongoing saga of I’m-a-damn-nut-job, president of Iran, and their Divine Leader. 

Mr. Ahmadinejad has a vision of an Iran less dominated by clerics – more like pre-Islamic Persia – that would contain an ongoing role for him.  The clerics are outraged.

Predictably, clerics have fallen back on religion to fight their popular but heretical opponent.  Several aides arrested in recent weeks have been charged with evoking djinns, or secret spirits, and dabbling in other dark arts.  One Ayatollah declared in a May interview that the president was bewitched by his chief of staff.

How’s that for enlightened government in the 21^st century?  And, these guys are building a bomb.

A Divine Wind Blows against Iran’s President

By NEIL Macfarquhar      NYT, June 22, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/middleeast/23iran.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=divine%20wind&st=cse

Defense Secretary Robert Gates

In case you don’t watch this nightly program, here is a well worthwhile interview of Gates by Jim Lehrer on PBS Newshour.  The various factions are busy misrepresenting the issues facing the nation regarding our wars so this is refreshing insight into Administration thinking.  [Wouldn’t everyone like to see Gates run for President?  Would anybody care which Party he chose?]

An interview with Jim Lehrer and outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates      June 23, 2011  -  16 ½ minutes

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june11/gates_06-23.html

In comparison with interviewers everywhere these days – particularly on cable –  the semi-retired Jim Lehrer is a shining example of a dying art. 

You can still see Lehrer on Fridays interviewing Brooks and Shields about the politics of the week.  Compare that to the way Christiane Amanpour conducts herself each week on her Sunday political show or the way Charlie Rose conducts his interviews every weeknight.  With Amanpour, it’s about her and her views and with Rose, it’s a little about his views and a lot about his lack of preparation and lost opportunity.

I’ve watched Lehrer for decades and I have no idea what his politics might be.  In every interview I’ve seen him conduct and every news story I’ve seen him narrate, I came away both informed and without anxiety about a list of unasked questions.  Lehrer should teach but then nobody today would attend.

Going back to Gates, he raised two issues beyond our wars, recession and debt that ought to get serious attention. 

1.      Give returning vets a job – protect the jobs of called up reservists.  How simple and how important.

2.      The nation should consider mandatory public service.

Sending food and money to the needy at home and abroad gets us little reward and evidence mounts that the net result of aid programs may be negative.  Meanwhile, people on the ground make a major difference and are quickly accepted and appreciated by the people being served. 

America is hated in many places in the world despite our aid efforts while even in war zones our people are accepted – even soldiers.  It’s easy to hate the distant America because it’s anti-Muslim or anti-something but the kid who dug me a well or built us a school will always be remembered and respected – certainly not hated anyway.

My grandchildren have no opportunity to go out and work before they enter college.  These kids are entering the work force at ever older ages with no work experience and except for teachers, no experience with that boss vs worker thing.  I bet parents would prefer two years of service and four years of college over six years of college.

Underclass kids and high school dropouts are a growing demographic with little probability of looking for employment, let alone finding it.  We used to send troubled kids into the service and many people have said, “The military made a man of me.”  Public service would not have to be military only.

More than a few leaders want to bring back the WPA – the 1935 FDR New Deal, Work Projects Administration.  Well, not on my watch.  However, why not mandatory public service?  A million or two unemployed would become employed and for two years a couple million entry level private sector jobs would need to be filled by others.  The left would have to accept that the program is for two years rather than a lifetime and the right should be happy to take dropouts off food stamps for two years.

Serious adjustments would have to be made for the underclass – there is no federal program today, including the military, that will take those kids.  A program would have to be created from scratch and as a nation we’d have to sign up for the discipline that would be required of the inductees.  Just as in the days of the draft, individuals who fail to conform would have to face consequences.  Certainly, all lawsuits would have to be blocked.  

We spend money teaching African and other foreign kids to read – why not American kids?  What would happen to the kids born into a world where nobody works and nobody has a father, if they spent two years in national parks or on construction crews in ordinary middle class towns?

Mandatory service aside, we are going to miss both Gates and Lehrer, not just as individuals but as the end of an era.

The Wise Vet – From Paul.

The only cow in a small town in Arkansas stopped giving milk.  The people did some research and found they could buy a cow in Oklahoma for $200.00.  They bought the cow from Oklahoma and the cow was wonderful. It produced lots of milk all of the time and the people were very happy.

They decided to acquire a bull to mate with the cow and produce more cows like it.  They would never have to worry about their milk supply again.  They bought a bull and put it in the pasture with their beloved cow.

However whenever the bull came close to the cow, the cow would move away.  No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he could not succeed in his quest.  The people were very upset and decided to ask the Vet, who was very wise, what to do.

They told the Vet what was happening: "Whenever the bull approaches our cow, she moves away.  If he approaches from the back, she moves forward.  When he approaches her from the front, she backs off.  An approach from the side and she walks away to the other side."

The Vet thought about this for a minute and asked, "Did you buy this cow in Oklahoma?"  The people were dumbfounded, since they had never mentioned where they bought the cow.

"You are truly a wise Vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow in Oklahoma?

The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye, "My wife is from Oklahoma.”

Why We Need the Marketing Department

Walmart Class Action Denied by SCOTUS

In a major victory for common sense, consumers and the national economy, SCOTUS ruled that there is no basis for a class action suit against Walmart for discrimination against women.  This decision was unanimous and it rebukes the 6-5 ruling by the awful San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Supreme Court Rules for Wal-Mart in Massive Job Discrimination Lawsuit

By Bill Mears, CNN - June 20, 2011

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/20/scotus.wal.mart.discrimination/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

The basic claim by greedy litigation lawyers is that since 70% of Walmart employees are female but only a third of store managers are female, that is indisputable proof of discrimination.  Having proved that there was discrimination, the ambulance chasers want back pay and punitive damages on behalf of 1.6 million women.  Does that make sense to anyone beyond those intent on eating the Golden Goose?

The Walmart system leaves decisions about pay and promotions to store managers but the company’s official policies bar gender bias. 

"On the facts of the case," wrote Justice Antonin Scalia, the plaintiffs had to show "significant proof that Wal-Mart operated under a general policy of discrimination. That is entirely absent here.  In a company of Wal-Mart's size and geographical scope, it is quite unbelievable that all managers would exercise their discretion in a common way without some common direction."

The nation has a mechanism to protect workers from employer discrimination – it’s called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC].  If you have ever been a manager in a company you groan at the quality of the average employee discrimination complaint.

In 2003, 27,000 sex discrimination claims were resolved nationwide by the EEOC;  numbers that were little changed from the prior decade – that’s all claims, not just those against Walmart. 

·         More than 57 percent of the claims were ruled to have "no reasonable cause" and were dismissed.

·         Of the rest, just over 10 percent were judged to have merit after due process, resulting in a total of $94.2 million in settlements.

It is despicable that this case was ever allowed to proceed.  Why should we think that lawyers and courts are wiser than the EEOC?  But if we do believe in the courts over the government, then why don’t we abolish the EEOC?

Women are still allowed to complain about discrimination and they can always sue if they are unhappy with a decision by the EEOC.  Justice and common sense have been served in a way that all of us can understand.

The SCOTUS split came from the liberals lining up behind a detail so esoteric that only liberal lawyers can understand it.

"Wal-Mart's delegation of discretion over pay and promotions is a policy uniform throughout all stores," said Justice Ginsburg, arguing the plaintiffs' claims had some validity.  Establishing that delegation of discretion "would be the first step in the usual order of proof for plaintiffs seeking individual remedies for companywide discrimination."

Cue the Aflac Duck, “Whaaaaaaaaa”?  Laws, court decisions and contracts should be written such that we can all understand whether we agree or not.  If we can’t explain it, we shouldn’t do it.  We need to get progressives back in their box and reform the tort system.

Groaner with a Cheap Shot - from Bud

A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.  At a morning press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement.  He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

“Al-Gebra is a problem for us,” the Attorney General said.  “They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values.”  They use secret code names like “X” and “Y” and refer to themselves as “unknowns” but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.  As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, “There are 3 sides to every triangle.”

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, “If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes.”  White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President.  It is believed that another Nobel Prize will follow.

New Cell Phone from Paul

He claims he can operate this one.

Photo Manipulations by Erik Johansson

Bud sent me this.  Can you do this with Photoshop?

More shots here:

http://www.funspill.com/photo-manipulations-erik-johansson/

A Digital Kaleidoscope – From Bud

This is cool – be sure to run your mouse over the screen slowly.

http://inoyan.narod.ru/kaleidoskop.swf

What Are We Thinking?

David Brooks says that Bob Gates is the greatest Secretary of Defense in the nation’s history.  It is certain that we are going to deeply miss one of the last true statesman and public servants left in government today.

Robert Gates Wary Of 'Wars of Choice'

UPI, June 19, 2011

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/06/19/Robert-Gates-wary-of-wars-of-choice/UPI-78541308461400/#ixzz1PjzJXuMh

How in the world did we reach a point where American conservatives advocate for making war?  How in the world did we reach a point where the American left would forgive a President that not only started a war but did so without the permission of Congress?  How ironic is it that we could elect two men in a row – from opposite political extremes – who both engaged in the worst of the neo-con’s twisted philosophy [installing Democracy by force]?  Where in the world is the outrage over Libya from the media?  Cue the theme from Twilight Zone.

I wish the 2012 election issue would be to select a better President but historically, our politics do not provide that opportunity.  Libya is just one of the many reasons that we must reject President Obama no matter who we get next and then prepare to continue firing these guys until they get the message and work for the greater good rather than their radical Party.

Ever Hardening Partisanship

I thought this short piece of fluff was interesting.  It is depressing that Americans, particularly Midwestern Americans, might have become so polarized by the awful people in today’s politics that they will no longer engage in discourse about solutions or might even divorce friends and family over their differences.

Public Union Strife Redefining Wisconsin's Identity

by NPR Staff - June 19, 2011 - 4 min 32 sec

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/19/137278493/public-union-strife-redefining-wisconsins-identity?ft=1&f=1001

Ever since I took up my current hobby, I’ve found increasing numbers of ordinary people who have political, social or policy opinions that are so strongly held that they will not [cannot?] discuss them – this is true left and right.  [No, this is not just because I’m singularly good at pissing people off.]  Friends and relatives with different views might once have been a moderating influence but now they get divorced.  It’s much more than sad.

Folks, we are not the enemy;  the enemy is the dysfunctional political class and the new American industry of professional agitation.  We are, however, the problem.  We must stop drinking their Kool-aid and start voting for real leaders who tell us the truth. 

There is hardly a single politician left that can ever publically advocate for an idea or explain the causes of a problem;  they can only spout the Party line propaganda and point out the flaws in the propaganda of the other side.  This.is.not.leadership.  We continue to follow these bums at our peril.

Dream Home

N read the first paragraph of this story and refused to read any further.  We were like two kids after that with me reading the story out loud while she held her hands over her ears and chanted.  You have to hand it to Jessie Bonner, she could write a good horror movie.  You have to read this, I dare you.

Idaho Couple's Dream Home Was Infested With Snakes

by Jessie L. Bonner - Associated Press

Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2011

http://www.thestate.com/2011/06/15/1859634/idaho-house-infested-with-snakes.html

A clip from the Animal Planet show "Infested" about the Sessions house.   15 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWtrzR0nE-I

Young Ben Sessions must be one tough hombre.  After finding snakes everywhere in the yard, collecting them by hand and hearing them in the walls and soffits, he removed siding and found dozens more.  And then … he crawled on his belly into the dark tight space under the house in order to discover the den of thousands of snakes.

·         Can you picture yourself signing a document that states that the house you are buying is infested with snakes? 

·         Shouldn’t someone be in jail for inspecting this house and finding “no live snakes or nests”?  How about not finding fouled water?  Tell me that the realtor wasn’t committing some kind of fraud in this deal. 

·         Two years before the Sessions, different home buyers sued because the house was full of snakes.  They lost;  how could that be?  But more importantly, how could the house be sold again?

·         What kind of water well could both taste of snake musk and pass inspection?

·         From at least 2009, if not before, everyone in this tiny town knew that the house was infested.

·         How could the county fathers not step in and condemn this place?  How about condemning it now?

·         How could any human being let alone a major corporation put this house on the market without fixing the problem? 

·         How could any realty firm agree to list this property?  How could any local realtor agree to show it?  The only redeeming aspect of this story for Homo sapiens is that neighbors have begun to stop and warn anyone they see looking at the house.

·         The Sessions were told that the fix would involve an entire new foundation under the house – over $100,000 of work.

The only thing creepier than the snakes in this story are some of the people involved.  Sometimes I fear for our future.

Enforce the War Powers Resolution

George Will offers another excellent column today on our Libyan misadventure.  This is worth a read.

Libya and the Potemkin Alliance

by George F. Will - Washington Post

Friday, Jun. 17, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/libya-and-the-potemkin-alliance/2011/06/17/AGdQ2UZH_story.html
   

It seems to me that we are daily presented with reasons to dismiss, with prejudice, both of our political Parties and their leadership. 

On foreign policy and war making, perhaps all sides might finally agree that American leadership has failed us in recent decades and it is time that we punish politicians for recklessness and misadventure but most especially for using foreign policy and the military for political gain.  It’s disgusting.

It will take scholars many decades beyond our lifetimes to measure the consequences of our three current wars as well as the consequences of the alternatives available before hand.  Never the less, we should be able to agree that our leaders have botched everything about these commitments.  They have made America look weak and foolish.  Surely we can expect better and if we are to get better, we must hold leaders accountable – we must stop excusing the inexcusable simply because the bum is on our “side”.

Congress should enforce the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. 

Naturally, there are morons who try to argue otherwise but the Constitution specifically gives the power to make war to the Congress, not to the Executive Branch.  The Founders used the Constitution to spell out who has authority for what – anything left out is for the states to decide, not the feds – and the Founders never gave the same power to more than one branch of government.  Checks and balance, remember?

Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution says:  “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” 

Article 1, Section 8 reads:  "The Congress shall have Power To … declare War …”

Congress, not the President.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

Presidents with few exceptions have flaunted this bit of law ever since George Washington.  Therefore an angry Democratic Congress – having discovered the depth of lies told to the nation by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson – imposed the War Powers Resolution on President Nixon.  Nixon promptly ignored Congress, the Constitution and the WPR as have all but one of his successors.  The exception, to the horror of “conservatives”, was the universally despised George W. Bush who obeyed the law.  The beloved progressive Obama has blithely ignored the law and invaded Libya.

The hypocrisy and naked political expedience of both sides regarding war making is breath taking.  Do we still believe in the rule of law?  Don’t we all agree that the nation via Congress should decide about war and not just one man?  Is it isolationist for citizens to demand that Congress approve invasions and other war making?  [And by the way, shouldn’t we demand that Congress pay for wars?]

If Congress were to take back its Constitutional responsibilities, it would certainly become harder to start wars.  How bad would that be? 

Congress gave Bush permission to invade Iraq – they try to deny it but they did with the October Resolution.  Somehow, we blame Iraq on Bush – who obeyed the law – rather than on the Democratic controlled Congress;  now Obama has gone to war in Libya illegally.  How do we allow these guys to get away with this crap?

The Iraq October Resolution [Section 3a and 3c1] states:  “The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate … Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.”

http://hnn.us/articles/1282.html

What if Congress had said no to Iraq, as clearly many preferred?  What if Congress said no to Libya, as it seems clear would have happened?  Would the nation be any worse off?  If things did get worse, wouldn’t Congress authorize intervention then?

Most people are upset with the cost of Iraq in blood and money.  Most people are discouraged with the costs and prospects of Afghanistan.  Most people have trouble understanding why we are attacking Libya.  Most folks fear that if Libya was necessary then now we’ll be forced to attack Syria and Yemen and who knows what other failed states and despots.  Americans do not want to be the world’s policeman and certainly not now.

The fault folks, lies with Congress and neither Party have shown any responsibility, competence or leadership.