U.S. Senators’ “Trust Busting”–Why?

I recently posted to Twitter an article from PCWorld.com reporting that a group of Senators have sent a letter to the FCC urging it to consider regulating device/carrier exclusivity deals in the mobile device industry. The most obvious one that comes to mind is the iPhone deal between Apple Inc. and AT&T. If you want an iPhone you need AT&T. However Apple and AT&T are not, by any means, the only companies with such a deal.

There is a term in the business world that explains what agreements like these create: a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is any inherent or created edge that a company possesses that sets it apart from its competitors. A competitive advantage may be created by partnering with another company.

First of all, the only Constitutional power given Congress that is even remotely related to business is the regulation of interstate commerce (Article I, Sect. 8, Clause 3). This enumerated power applies to commerce between states or with foreign powers. Phone/carrier exclusivity deals do not fall into either category.

On the night of Obama’s election to the presidency I wrote an article borrowing heavily from “Nineteen Eighty-Four” imagery. At the time I considered that perhaps I was too hasty had not given the new president enough time to prove himself. Well within the first six months of what is sure to be a long and grueling term, he has proven me right. And now it seems that liberals (and big government folks in general) are emboldened by the leftist presence in the Oval Office.

Federal Takeover of GM and Chrysler

Today I was pondering the possible implications of the Government’s ownership of two of this nation’s largest auto manufacturers. Part of having a realistic outlook on any situation is being able to see the possible long-term effects of a given decision. Unfortunately the Washington establishment can not learn this lesson. All they seem to care about is what works right now and screw the future effects.

First of all Obama has stated that the federal government (except when it comes to the “most important” decisions in the company) will stay out of the way of the new GM execs. I say, FAT CHANCE. Does this sound like the federal government to you? All citizens have been saying for decades is stay the heck out of our business yet the government encroachment on our lives has only grown. This is a pipe dream, Obama. Anytime the government is given an inch it will always, without fail, take a mile.

Second of all it has been promised that the $50 Billion in taxpayer dollars that has gone toward this effort will be paid back. That of course is another Obama pipe dream in itself. But this also means that the government (namely Obama because it could effect his political legacy) has a direct stake in making sure the new GM is a success. And with the U.S. Treasury backing him there is no limit to the money Obama could throw at the new GM. Our money.

And with the U.S. Treasury backing the new GM this means the company can undersell any other non-government-controlled company. And with political success hanging in the balance the government has motivation to see to it that it does. Imagine an America where Toyota, Honda, and other foreign auto makers have pulled out of the American market because they can not compete against “Government Motors.” And where domestic auto makers like Ford have been sunk for the same reason. Who will we buy cars from? Let that sink in.

I know God is in control. I am not afraid of what the future holds. I just can not understand which part of “obey the constraints of the Constitution” is so blasted hard to understand.

Becoming Cynical about Government: A Personal Journey

I love America. That’s why I study American history as a hobby. I am amazed at what unbelievable success this great experiment has had. We rose from a rag-tag group of loosely associated states to the world’s greatest and richest superpower.

I first started paying attention to America’s greatness when I was in school. I do not remember what grade I was in but it was early. I remember a particular social studies class in which the teacher began the lesson by asking “Which is the most powerful country in the world?” A few hands went up and the students offered a few answers. I could see that other students were thinking about the question. I raced through all of the great countries I could think of. Let’s see, there’s Russia. It’s really large and didn’t we have a cold war thing with them? And Japan. Like Marty McFly said “All the best stuff’s made in Japan.” England. England’s pretty important isn’t it?

The teacher eventually gave us the correct answer, “The United States of America.” It is strange to say but I was shocked. I can remember this sense of wonder as I thought “Really? My country holds the distinguished honor of the most powerful nation in the whold world?” I had never thought of it before.  And I was blessed to be born and raised here.

Ever since then I have had an extreme pride in my country. I believe the founding fathers were great and brilliant men who understand the grave task they faced in designing a government system that would insure freedom for all. After all they were pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the purpose of doing so. I have always prayed for and sought to give my opinion to my elected representatives and have trusted them thinking that they (whether or not their were on the correct side of the aisle) were interested in freedom as much as me and as much as the founding fathers.

However somewhere along the line I become distrustful of the federal government. There was a time when I would scoff at folks (usually older people) who would make wisecracks about crooked politicans. Yes, there are some bad, bad men in Washington but you can not call an entire class of American citizens corrupt. But I have begun to see what they mean. Except for a precious few it seems that every single politician is out for one single solitary goal: Not to insure freedom, not to protect liberty, not to serve Americans, but…

to get re-elected.

It is a sad but true fact. Every government program, every photo op, every spending program, every campaign promise, it seems, is the work of men trying to stay gainfully employed. Nothing more. I can see no other reason for such wreckless dismissal of Constitutional law and principles as we see today. Therefore I have joined the lot of Americans who eye politicians suspiciously. I do want to be this way but I feel that I can not walk through life a blind dolt. And I do not think the President or any members of Congress are actively trying to institute socialism or to erode individual freedoms but their vote-buying schemes and programs lead to that end. They either do not see it or do not care.

Furthermore the modern federal government of America has destroyed the sovereignty of the individual states and governors and legislatures have stood by and let it happen! I am sorry but what is good for Massachusetts is not necessarily good for Georgia. And what is good for Georgia may not be good for Iowa. There are only a handful of issues that would need to be regulated across state lines and these are thoroughly described and outlined in the Constitution. Every other issue should be a state and local decision. If the people of Georgia vote that they do not want abortion performed here then that is the way it should be. This is not a Federal issue. If the people of the Peach State do not want homosexual marriage nor do they want to recognize it then it is their prerogative to vote it to be so and there is nothing the Federal government should have to say about it.

Unfortunately most state governors and legislators seem to be kowtowing to the almighty, all-powerful federal government. As an aside, this is why I am supporting Ray McBerry for governor of Georgia because he not only upholds Conservative Constitutional principles but he believes that a state’s governor should also be the one to protect his state from an encroaching federal government through interposition.

I still believe America is the greatest country in the world and the best place to be and live. This is why I still fight to preserve the Constitution that makes it so. Sometimes that means putting pressure on very ones who have been elected to do that!

So Obama’s Gonna Help Me Get an Auto Loan

I was just watching the President give a press conference about the stimulus package. One thing he said stood out to me among all the rhetoric. He said that part of the purpose of this package is to “help” banks (read: take over banks) to be able to loan money for autos and homes at affordable interest rates.

I wish that the President was a Smoak House reader. That way I could tell him that when the economy is down so are interest rates. I learned that in…hmmm, let’s see….Economics 101 in college. And that was at Macon State College. Obama attended Harvard!

Furthermore I would like to tell him that last week, during a recession, without his stimulus package I bought this brand new 2009 car…

Look, Ma! No Government Aid!

…and I financed it for five years at an interest rate of 5%. Not bad for the good ol’ free market, eh?

This quote by Ronald Reagan has been trumpeted far and wide but I feel I must remind you of it:

“Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.”

ps: I sure wish I had voted for Ron Paul.

Ebryonic Stem Cells Are Not in the Constitution

In August 2001, former President George W. Bush used the presidential Executive Order to restrict federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Today (March 9, 2009) President Obama issued a presidential tag-back with an Executive Order of his own reversing Bush’s Executive Order. Sounds like the White House has its very own nanny-nanny-boo-boo going on.

Why does this story stir up in me the inclination to march around Washington with a sign reading “HAVE YOU ACTUALLY HEARD OF THE 10TH AMENDMENT?” If the First Amendment is the most important amendment (which I think it is) then the Tenth Amendment is a close second:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

This wonderful statement basically means the Constitution has told all involved with the government of the United states of America exactly what is required of them. And if there is still any doubt or if any issue arises which the Constitution does not address then let the states or the people decide.

No where does the Constitution give the President or Congress the right to make laws concerning scientific research (there is also no clause giving government the right to even fund scientific research but that is a discussion for another day). And since the appropriation of federal funds concerns the use of taxpayer dollars then the people should be allowed to vote on the issue.

The issue could be stated on the ballot simply: Allow taxpayer dollars to be appropriated to embryonic stem cell research–yes or no. Voting yes means you are fine with it and voting no means that you do not want your dollars used that way. Count the votes, problem solved, constitutionally. Or if they like it can be on a state by state basis. The same ballot mentioned above may be used in this scenario as well. If a state passes the bill then taxpayer dollars from citizens from that state may be used for embryonic stem cell research funding. If another state does not pass the bill then monies from taxpayers in that state may not be used.

Instead we see President Obama and even former President Bush using the tyrannical and unconstitutional Executive Order which allows a president to be king for a day. A president may issue an Executive Order which must be carried out the same as a law and to which there is usually no Congressional resistance. If it smells like a monarchy…

This issue, along with abortion and gay marriage, should not be decided by politicians or presidents or even self-righteous judges. These federal bodies have no jurisdiction or authority in the Constitution to decide such matters. These and many other issues should be decided by the states or the people.

Politicians, for all their heartstring-plucking, We-the-People rhetoric, do not seem to know much about the most important “We the People” amendment, the Tenth Amendment.

Stimulus Bill: Isn’t Obama Supposed to Give Us Five Days?

Pop the cork on the champagne! Invite friends over for finger foods and a barbeque. No, not because the dreadful “economic stimulus” bill passed, but because we have now seen Obama break his first major campaign promise. Welcome to the White House, Barack.

During the presidential campaign President Obama boasted that his would be America’s “most transparent” administration ever. And to that end he declared that for any major piece of legislation that comes to his desk he would allow the public five days to read and review and ask questions about that legislation before being signed. Congress passed the stimulus bill on Friday, February 13. He is going to sign it Tuesday, February 17. So I pulled out my handy-dandy calculator and that adds up to less than four days (and that includes a weekend and a holiday).

Now you and I both know that first of all that is not how our legislative system is supposed to work. The people elect folks to represent them and they are to be responsible and carry out the principles of the Constitution and self-government on behalf of their constituents. We will hold them accountable by our voting. But even still, when a man makes a promise you would hope that he has the integrity to keep it whether or not the promise was necessary. Let us not kid ourselves. Let us call this campaign promise what it really was: political hype and the tickling of gullible voters’ ears. He said it to get elected.

Of course this is not the first piece of legislation on which he has reneged on this particular promise. Remember the socialistic child healthcare bill that was signed into law a several weeks ago? Same situation. It passed and then bang-zoom it was signed into law by President Obama. But I gave him a pass on that since he did say that his promise referred to “major legislation.” I guess he gets to decide what is major and what is not. But surely by all accounts this behemoth stimulus bill would fall squarely into the “major” category.

Josh H.

Quote from Chuck Colson’s Break Point Podcast

On the most recent episode of Break Point Charles Colson quotes theologian Carl Henry and then adds his own commentary on the involvement of Christian people in the political and social processes of this country:

“‘The Christian populous fails its contemporaries if it postpones all protest until a state becomes so corrupt that revolution seems the only course of action.’

We Christians simply can not afford to fail our contemporaries by withdrawing, especially now when so many have an agenda that devalues life and weakens families. The tension to retreat into religious isolation is not new. After Jesus’ ascension some in the ealry church were ready to withdraw from the affairs of men and simply wait for Jesus to return. Paul repeatedly and sternly had to remind them to get back to work, to do good to their fellow man, and to regularly meet together. They couldn’t check out early and neither can we.”

There may be times when revolution is the only alternative but that should be a last resort when tyranny has become so oppressive and overwhelming that the state becomes the ultimate enemy to life and liberty. There is another mode of socio-political change and it is this: the message that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that He was sent to save sinners and restore them to a right relationship with God and that is something man could have never accomplished on his own.

The gospel is the greatest and most eternal revolution that can happen to any people. It can destroy oppression and crush tyranny. It can make brothers out of enemies, servants out of despots, and saints out of sinners.

Josh H.

Harry Reid Says Income Tax Is Voluntary

FYI: Harry Reid is a Democrat and the senior Senator from Nevada and the Senate majority leader.

So tell me again, Mr. Reid, why do we have auditors?  Or the 16th Amendment for that matter? Or prosecutions for tax evasion (Tom Daschle would like to hear the answer to that one)? Or paycheck withholding? And why am I paying for Turbo Tax? Voluntary? I wish.

I believe the good senator was referring to “voluntary compliance” which is really not voluntary. “Dear citizen, will you please volunteer to pay your taxes so we will not have to throw you in jail? Thanks a million.” But as you can see from the video Reid inexplicably takes issue with the “phraseology” used by the interviewer. The interviewer uses the word “forced” to describe how the government collects income taxes. Reid employs a nice little two-step to dance around the issue and attempt (for reasons yet unknown) to explain how the income earners are not really forced by law to pay income taxes.

Whatever you call it, it is out of sync with the original intent of the Congress’s power to levy taxes as described in the Constitution. The original intent prior to the 16th Amendment was for all taxes levied to be apportioned throughout the states. But in 1923 the government gave itself authority to declare a tax on our wages, to declare how much it would take, and to govern what percentage of different individuals’ wages would be taken. It is not fair and the 16th Amendment should be declared unconstitutional. Let your representatives know.

Josh H.

Fair Tax Is a Good Start, but Not a Standalone Solution

On July 14, 1999 Representative John Linder (R-GA) first introduced a bill that would spark a major grassroots effort across Georgia and the country and change the way everyday people looked at their paychecks. That bill was dubbed The Fair Tax. To help the Fair Tax gain traction Linder co-authored a best-selling book with radio talk show host and self-proclaimed talkmaster Neal Boortz.

In a nutshell the Fair Tax repeals the sixteenth amendment, abolishes all income taxes and replaces it with a 23% national sales tax. This means that even though sales tax rates across the country will double or triple, the operating expenses and manufacturing expenses that are involved in making goods will drop dramatically due to the removal of taxes in the intermediate processes. A tax will only be collected at the retail level. Furthermore this national sales tax will not apply to the “basic necessities of life” such as food and clothing. So under this system it is conceivable that would might pay no taxes at all if no purchases besides food and clothing are made.

Prior to the sixteenth amendment in 1923, the federal government had twice instituted a temporary income tax: during the War Between the States in 1861 and then again in 1890. But 1923 and the 16th amendment marked the first time that Congress was granted carte blanche to collect income taxes at any time, to any degree, and at any rate without apportioning it among the several states. The original text of the Constitution demands that all taxes be the same throughout the Union and any direct taxes was to be based on population. The sixteenth amendment made taxes on income the only exception to the Constitutional rule.

Despite being quite revolutionary, the Fair Tax is still not without its problems. One of the purposes of the Constitution is to clearly define the role of government in our lives and to limit its scope in order to prevent tyranny and encroachment on personal property rights and liberty. The Constitution accomplishes this task handily whenever it is properly followed. However in the 20th century the United States government has taken on the role of a nanny to a degree that is unmatched by any prior period in U.S. history. The fundamental problem with Linder’s Fair Tax is that it does nothing to curb the overspending and fiscal irresponsibility that currently plagues federal government. The national sales tax simply moves the overreaching power of Congress from one sphere to another. If the taxing power of the government on income is quashed, then, with the current mindset, it will simply extort funds from citizens in other ways. Big government must change the way it thinks and the voters must help it do so by only electing representatives who will tighten the reigns on the federal government and guide it back to strict adherence to the delegated powers enumerated in the Constitution.

Josh H.

Politicians Can Not Follow Their Own Rules: The Missing Principles

First there was the revelation that President Obama’s selection of Treasury chief Timothy Geitner failed to pay $43,000 in self-employment taxes in 2004 (and it is suggested that there were years prior to that in which he avoided paying taxes). He said it was “an honest mistake”. I suppose he simply forgot to pay that 43 grand. It probably would have slipped anyone’s mind. Then came the debacle of Tom Daschle who for the second time is having to leave Washington with his tail between his legs, the first time being his defeat at the polls during the last mid-term elections. He withdrew as Obama’s health secretary Tuesday when he admitted to owing $140,000 in back taxes. Finally there is Nancy Killefer who was slated to be the first “performance officer”. I do not have to tell you that she too had to withdraw because she was knee deep in tax issues.

So these are the folks that President Obama thought were worthy to lead this nation? Politicians past and present (like Daschle) have the gall to levy a complex, arcane, crushing tax system against us when they themselves can not see fit to obey it? And it is not just Obama’s recent cabinet issues. Throughout the 20th century and now the 21st century the White House and Congress have been riddled with embarrassing unnecessary scandals.

Separation of Church and State? You Wanted It, You Got It

So-called progressives never let us forget that fateful letter once written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danville Baptists concerning the establishment of a religious denomination at the federal level. Today Jefferson’s phrase “separation of church and state” is taken out of context and misused to flush all remnants of religious sentiment from government. Unfortunately integrity, honesty, and virtue have been flushed away as well. Indeed if I were in charge there are several principles from the Judeo-Christian value system that I would be clamoring to recapture.

1. Bad company corrupts good morals. It is sad that many aspiring politicians can not live up to their ideals once in office. They become corrupted. The number of back room deals and under-the-table favors is disgraceful. If I were president and any of my people were caught in any deal that was not above board then they would cease to be “my people” on the spot. That goes for staff and associates.

2. With all thy getting, get understanding. Wisdom is knowing when to change something and when to let it alone. Wisdom is also not rushing into a decision to please the impatient majority but it involves care and foresight, and the maturity to live with a decision.

3. Your sin will find you out. Geitner and Daschle have been sitting pretty assuming their tax cheating was slyly executed and undetected. I am sure it never crossed their minds that it would be made so humiliatingly public to the embarrassment of one of their own party’s shining stars, Barack Obama. It pays to simply do the right thing every time. Not even politicians are above the law.

4. The laborer is worthy of his hire. Let businesses alone to run their companies in the most efficient, profitable, and responsible way possible. A company should not be forced to pay a worker a $7.25/hr minimum wage when the worker is doing $4.00/hr worth of work. By the same token a worker has the right to leave a job for a better job at any time. Any individual has the right and opportunity to get a quality education (even if it is just a high school education) and thus find better employment opportunities,. but too many throw those educational opportunities away and expect others (such as government) to pick up the slack.

5. Ask for the ancient paths wherein is the good way. The Constitution is a good document yet is being subverted. Let’s follow it. The founding fathers sacrificed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the sake of the liberties that it protects therefore we can be sure that they poured every bit of their good sense, logic, and understanding into it. And they were no dummies. If politicians are going to claim to follow and submit to the Constitution then they had better do it. If they do not believe that it accomplishes the task then they should write a new one. But they should not parade around as upholders of the Constitution all the while ignoring the delegated powers it enumerates.

Josh H.