Social Economics 101 - Reagan VS. Obama

Duck!!!

I've been thinking about about the lame duck sessions for Congress and the President lately and the concept just boggles my mind. Why after an election where a majority of people decide on a new Congress or President do we allow for a sitting Congress or President to make decisions or laws?

Let's start at the beginning (the very best place to start). In the original Constitution the date which a new session of Congress begins was the first Monday of December. The date which the Presidents term was to begin was not in the original Constitution. March 4 was the date that was 30 days following the casting of Electoral College votes in Congress (February 4, 1789)for George Washington. That gave him time to travel to the capitol (New York) to the inaugural.

The first Constitutional reference to the Presidential inauguration date (March 4) was in the 12th Amendment.

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President ... if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President...

That still did not set the exact inauguration date for President. That all changed with the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. This Amendment set both the Presidential and Congressional term start dates.

The Twentieth Amendment

1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

So that is the history of the lame ducks in a nut shell. Now I will get on with my rant on why this has turned crazy.

First off, this age of communications and travel advances there is no reason to have any kind of lame duck for the President or the Congress. The lame duck Congress and President have no accountability to what is passed during the lame duck sessions. I heard it explained on the Fred Thompson Show as "It is like giving your ex-wife your check book after the divorce." It just doesn't make any since. The "ruling" party could pass (and have passed) all kinds for legislation without having to account for their actions to the people they are to represent.

For example, There was a vote for censure of the crook Charlie Rangel. During that vote our Representative, John Salazar, voted no. Charlie Rangel is a convicted criminal and our Representative said essentially that the people of the Third Congressional District think that is A-OK. I don't believe that is true. That is just a small example.

I believe that after an election, there is no reason to wait until the Third of January to swear in Congressmen. Have the new congressmen sworn in the day their election results have been verified. The "official" start date of Congress could still be in January, but the new Congressmen could already be serving. That eliminates the lame duck problems with Congress.

How about the President? I think we could actually eliminate most of the lame duck for the President. The President does have to wait until the electoral votes are cast in the new Congress. If we change the Congresses start date back to the original Third of December of the election year, that gives time for the election to be settled.

You might asking yourself  "What about the time the President needs to create a new government?" I understand that the President needs to make key appointments during that lame duck session so they can "hit the ground running" when they are inaugurated. Why does that have to be after the election?

Wouldn't it be more informational for the electorate to see who a prospective President will appoint before the election? I mean it might have changed a few votes if we knew that folks like Tim "the Tax-Cheat" Geithner and "Rahm "Dead Fish" Emanuel were going to be in key White House positions.

I believe that we should be fighting to have a Constitutional Amendment to revise the Twentieth amendment. The time has come to make a change into the 21st century.

TSA Educational Video

Safety or Liberty?

The airport "pat-down" story is getting a lot of press lately so I thought I'd put in my" two cents worth". This is the kind of story I just love to write about; it shows off government bureaucracy and doesn't directly involve me. I haven't flow commercially since about 1995 so if my details are "off" or a bit dated forgive me.

In my understanding, when you go to the airport you get a full body scan which can "peer" under your clothing. If you refuse that scan or if you fail the full body scan then you will be required to get a "pat down search" by the T.S.A. agent which involves touching "your junk" (to use a recently adopted phrase).

The government seems to be treating terrorism like it is a police problem not a war. In America, we like to fix things after there is a problem is proved, there is no planning. For example; We have a dangerous curve in a road and a warning sign doesn't get placed until after someone is killed in an accident.

Same thing with terrorism. We have the shoe bomber so now we take off our shoes in an airport. We have the 9-11 attacks so now we can't take nail clippers on the plane. We have the cargo plane bombs so now we have to get a exam, that before this date would only have been legal in a house of prostitution in Nevada, to board a passenger jet. I didn't say every action made since, they rarely do in government.

Why does the government always fight the "last battle"? In 1945, did Eisenhower say "Let's go do that D-Day thing again, it worked so good the first time." No he didn't. He planned the German's next move and advanced.  We keep planning the last move not the next move. The Twin Towers are already destroyed, they can't be hit again.

But Teesquare, shouldn't we take reasonable precautions against an attack like that? You bet. I've got an idea. Why don't our transportation officials communicate with an ally, like Israel (are we still allies?), and see how they keep from getting their airplanes hijacked. We don't have all the knowledge in the universe, we can ask for help.

How about an overwhelming show of force?  I had the luxury of traveling to England just after the first Gulf War. When we stepped off the airplane in London the first thing we saw was not a newspaper stand. It was an English soldier holding a machine gun. We are in a war people we need to protect our ports that includes airports.

How about this for a security measure to protect airports. Build a large wall with guard gates which only allow citizens and authorized, or documented people into the country. To start with we could see if it would work on our southern boarder. Just an idea. We might even use the money that was already approved during the Bush administration for such an endeavor. Oh wait, that makes too much since.

I've  seen some of the photos from these full body scanners and they are not as good as I would expect for all the hype. One thing for sure  they can only spot items on the surface of your body. Without getting to graphic, what if a terrorist placed some plastic explosives inside their body? They are already planning on "meeting Alla" I don't think they care what gets blown up first.

I also find it very interesting that they scan the pilots. What kind of mental midget thought this up? The pilot is flying a 500 mph bullet loaded with passengers and jet fuel,  do you think he is going to bring on board a bomb? Why the hell would he bring on board a bomb? Wouldn't he just fly the plane into a building?

How about this for a scenario: You are a terrorist, and they have all the latest scanning devices and pat down searches at the airport. Why would take the chance of trying to board the plane to begin with? In an airplane you have up to about 800 passengers on those big Airbus A-380s. OK, what place could you go and where there would be more people than that, all conventionally located together, and not have to pass security? How about the security line at the airport. The photo above is the security line at D.I.A.  Since they have slowed down the line doesn't that make the folks in the airport security line "sitting ducks"?


Why are we trying so hard to protect the airplane. Every commercial airplane flying is full of "air marshals". They do not carry a badge or even get paid. Normally they are called passengers. People in this country will protect this country.  They will do everything in their power to stop a terrorist. That is our best resource.  How many terrorist attacks have been thwarted  by the actions of American patriots? I imagine more than we will ever hear about in the news.

I think I will finish up this rant with a little quote (one of my favorites) that fits this situation perfectly:  "Those who would give up liberty to purchase safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."  Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Will the Democrats Ever Understand?

I look at the news stories since the election, I just keep thinking to myself; "will the Democrats ever understand or live forever in denial?" The Democrats got their collective "clock cleaned" and yet they proceed like the people never said anything, for example...

Harry Reid creates a leadership job for Chuck Schumer. Evidently more overhead was required to tell the American people they don't understand the legislation that is passed by Congress. So they made a Senator with very poor communication skills in charge of communication. Brilliant.

Nancy Pelosi creates a job for Jim Clyburn Jim Clyburn gets to be "Assistant Minority Leader" so he doesn't get his feelings hurt or his perks taken away. I wonder what an Assistant Minority Leader would do, oh I know... spend money. I wonder if Clyburn and Schumer's jobs count as two jobs "created or saved"....

Nancy Pelosi expected to retain leadership The people hate her, Democrats fled from her during the elections so who else should be the leader of the Democratic Party?

Ritter Defends Obamacare Fitting that a leaving Governor would defend a plan that he will not have to implement.


In 2012, the Senate will have 21 Democrats, 10 Republicans, an Independent (Who is a Democrat, really), and a Socialist (Bernie Sanders, who masquerades as a Democrat) that will be running for office. I would say the odds are that Democrats will lose the Senate in 2012. There will also be a pretty good chance that Democrats will lose the Presidency as well (His own party is starting not to like him). Why would Democrats keep doing the things that will get them booted from power? I think the answer is either they are stupid or they are crooked, we just get to spend the next couple of years trying to decide which one.

Epilogue - Colorado Governor's Race

The race is now over and we have all had a week or so to digest the results, now I'd like to put my thoughts down on this insane Governor's race in Colorado. First off, I will congratulate Governor-elect  Hickenlooper. We voted and you won. We can now prepare for higher taxes and more regulation. I do believe you will be a one term Governor, assuming the Colorado Republican Party can pull it's head out of it's ass. So Mayor Hickenlooper enjoy your stay at 400 E. 8th Avenue while you can because we will be back in 2014.

That brings me to the other players in the Governors race:

Dan Maes

I read Dan Maes Facebook notes on the election and the only thing I could think of while I was reading them was: "Stop your damn whining and get over it already, it's time to pull up your big boy pants and move on to another endeavor because your shot at politics is over."

Tom Tancredo

Did Tom do the right thing by jumping into the Governor's race? I think he did. He stood up what he believed was a bad choice for a Republican canidate.  About 617,000 other Coloradoans also believed an error was made in the primary.

Scott McInnis

I hope future candidates have learned a thing about ethics from Mr. McInnis. Scott made an ethical mistake and it cost him the Governor's seat.

Joshua Penry


Don't you wish you would have stayed in the race now?

Republican Party of Colorado


Maybe you should find a better method of vetting your candidates before they make it to the primary, so this crap doesn't happen again.

Coloradans

This was one of the few political races, this year, that wasn't a referendum on some policy or lack of policy. It wasn't even a race about an specific ideology. This was a race about values. The values of honesty, humility, sincerity and personal responsibility. You can debate weather the participating candidates have any those values or not but one thing is for certain, the voters in the State of Colorado do have those values and their voice was heard.

I don't believe that I will like the policies that a Governor Hickenlooper will bring to the office, but he won because he was the least questionable person in the race. In a way it was inspiring that Hickenlooper won because it means that the people of Colorado stood up for values even if it cost them an election. That is a reason to be proud.

House of Representatives - Republican Freshman Class Occupations

I thought this was very interesting and promising for the Republicans...

Business owner - 28
Attorney - 18
Veteran - 14
Business executive - 11
Doctor/Surgeon/Dentist - 6
Farmer - 5
Nurse - 3
Public office - 3
Political position (non-elected) - 3
NFL player - 2
Pastor - 1


This gives you a general idea of how the freshman class is organized. This is 94 members that are freshmen and some members are waiting recounts. I only listed one job for each member, so if a member was an attorney in the military I only listed them as attorney. I got the information from the Republican Study Committee.

Christe - "GOP Put up or Shut Up"

The People's House vs The White House

The election is over, the ads have died down before the run-up to the Presidential campaigns, where do we go from here? Realistically and Constitutionally what does that mean? Is the government going to "shut down" or just complete gridlock in Washington D.C.?

The situation...

The People have regained their "seat at the table" in government by taking back the House of Representatives. Conservatives do not have a majority (50 seats) or a super-majority (60 seats) in the Senate. We still have an extreme liberal in the White House.

What can and can't  happen...


Same-o, Same-o

The Republican house could go along with the Democrats in the Senate and pass the same kind of spending bills that have plagued the last two years, in the nature of "compromise". I don't think that will happen, but we do have to keep that in mind and carefully watch our House.

Repeal of Health Care
I don't believe this will happen...yet. The ground work can be laid for 2013. The Presidential veto pen will always stop a complete repeal. We can stop parts of the new law by not funding those (all appropriations bills must originate in the House).  This can also be a little dangerous. First off, if the House Republicans spend the next two years fighting a battle that cannot be won all we have accomplished is nothing and endanger the House elections of 2012.

Secondly if we stop funding some parts of this monstrosity of a law, what are the implications if the law can never be repealed? Do we have an "Frankenstein like" law that is worse than the current law (I know it is hard to imagine but it can happen, and does happen frequently in government). In my view the Republicans have to make a bit of noise like trying to cut out some of the more controversial parts of the law (like government funding of abortion) then let this one "simmer" until 2013. 

Spending, Spending, and Spending

The House of Representatives has the checkbook. This is where the most impact can be achieved.  The House members must send appropriations bills that cut spending. Make the President and Senate reject spending cuts.  Make House rules that stop earmarks. This will help return your reputation as fiscally responsible. Democrats have a real hard time not spending money, so any attempt by the Democrats to stop spending cuts will highlight their inability to manage a budget.


Stop the Insanity

The House can effectively stop the insanity. The crazy bills like cap and tax and card check can and should be stopped cold. Some compromise is good just do not compromise on the principles your were elected to defend. 

General thoughts

I was thinking about the election results and every election I realize how smart the American people are as a group. We elected a more conservative House of Representatives but did not elect a Senate majority. This to me seems very wise.  What I believe this does is; prevents the easy "out" by the President to say that he couldn't do something because "the Congress" wouldn't let him.  Obama is well known for his blaming everything on someone else. If the Dems still have a little power then blaming the whole Congress for a policy not being implemented is now moot. Obama will be held more accountable for his own actions.

One thing for certain is that the people have spoken and all branches of government better start keeping in mind that you work for us or you will be looking for a job.

Good Summary Why to Vote

Should We Legalize Online Poker?

This is a ReasonTV interview with David "Doc" Sands about legalizing online poker. I just thought this was interesting and I know one reader of Plumb and Square would be interested so, here you go Dad...

The Crazy Metaphor

The "ditch metaphor" is getting really old. There are many different versions surfacing. Here is one the President used in Minnesota...

"We were at a rally right before we came here and I’ve been using this analogy around the country -- they drove this economy into a ditch. And Nancy and I, we've had to put our boots on -- (laughter) -- and the rest of the congressional delegation, we had to rappel down into the ditch, and we're trying to push to get that car out of there. And the Republicans are just standing on the sidelines watching us, fanning themselves, sipping on a Slurpee -- (laughter.) They’re kicking dirt back into the ditch. (Laughter.) We're getting it into our eyes. Didn’t lift a finger to help -- all they did was point and say, you're not pushing hard enough, you're not doing it the right way.

We finally have gotten this car out of the ditch -- and it’s taken a lot of effort. And, yes, the car is banged up; it is dented, it is in need of some body work and a tune-up, but it’s moving in the right direction. We're about to go forward.

And suddenly we get this tap on our fingers and we look back and it’s the Republicans asking for the keys back. And our basic attitude is, no, you can't have the keys back. You don't know how to drive. (Laughter and applause.) You don't know how to drive.

Now, I want to be clear, they are more than happy to join us for the ride -- but they’ve got to sit in the backseat. (Applause.) Because we want America’s families in the front seat. We want them in shotgun -- not special interests, not the folks who’ve been calling the shots in the past. "

While the Democrats are off playing in the ditch, our country is going to hell. We are having our taxes raised at the end of the year. Ten percent of us are out of work. Millions are getting there homes foreclosed. We will be forced to purchase  health care which we do not want. We are told that we belong in the back seat of their little "car" and speaking of cars we became "investors" in two failing automobile companies!

We are continually told that we are not smart enough to understand Democrat policies by saying that  they (the Democrats) have not explained the issues well enough." We have been called racist, fascists, and Nazi's. Our liberty is being taken away while at the same time you allow for a flood of illegal immigrants access to our services.   We are tired of the garbage. Tired of the metaphors. These are the facts! So while you are off pushing an imaginary car out of a ditch, we are hurting. Quit blaming Bush or banks or insurance companies, or, or, or.... Now is the time pull your head out of the ditch (whatever hole it is in) and to listen to your greatest resource, the American people, and do something about the issues. 

Did You Know You Contributed to the Bennet Campaign?

I was reading the top 100 contributions to the Bennet campaign on opensecrets.org and here are some contributions that stuck out:

University of Colorado $13,800
State of Colorado $10,805
Denver Public Schools $10,325
US Government $9,700
Colorado Office of Economic Development $9,600

I am no expert on campaign finance but don't these seem a little on the unethical side? We are running in the red in Colorado and the nation and they are contributing to political campaigns? Is that some sort of yard sign stimulus? I sure would hate to tell someone I had to cut their job because we contributed to a political campaign. This is not how I want my taxes spent that is for sure.

Remember what Michael Bennet Said about the Health Care Bill?

I say we take him up on it!

Tancredo is Within 1 Point in Latest Poll

The latest poll by Magellan Strategies has the Governor's race at Hickenlooper 44%, Tancredo 43% and Maes at 9%. Time has come Danny Boy to call it quits and save Colorado from liberal insanity ....

Barney Frank Shuffle

Scott Tipton on FOX News

Salazar wouldn't show up for free national TV time and he won't show up in Grand Junction, so why should we vote for him again?

Remember! Only Four Weeks till Election

Big Government Blues

I've never had a conservative blues song on here before....

The Second Shot Heard 'round the World

In the fields of Concord
and Lexington before,
They heard the 'shot around the world'
We changed forever more.

From those days our country grew,
never backing from a fight.
We took a stand for liberty,
and what we knew was right.

Forever clinging to our rights
a gift from God above.
The blood of men on battlefields,
our family that we loved.

Again the battle lines are drawn,
this year of twenty-ten.
It's not a fight with bullets,
but one with voice and pen.

The leaders of our country,
are always quick to mock.
As people that they work for,
are made a laughing stock.

They tell us money we must spend,
to free ourselves from debt.
Prosperity we worked for,
they fly in private jets.

Avoidance is a game,
that Congress likes to play.
Every time we tell them NO,
they do it anyway.

On the Hill they divide,
with words of hate and race.
They do not understand it's them,
with ballots can replace.

They passed a bill called stimulus,
unemployment won't pass eight.
10 percent of Americans now,
outside employer gates.

Then there was the bailouts,
of things like banks and cars.
Where did all that money go?
Maybe paying for the czars?

Two thousand pages written,
and not a word was read,
when they passed the health care bill,
it slapped across our head.

Pelosi called it "AstroTurf",
a movement of the men.
Our anger builds up everyday,
our patience growing thin.

Time for battle has arrived
The choice of arms at hand.
A rifle nor a bomb is used,
a ballot will make the stand.

The eleventh month, the second day
the time of battle set.
Knowledge is our armor,
their actions we don't forget.

We do not step into the box
as D or R or I
We go into that foxhole
just tired of all the lies.

Our liberty is in danger
like it has never been before
Pick up your your shield of honor
and even up that score.

Seventy-seven Americans
were present on that day
A flintlock that was heard
a thousand miles away.

Fifty-six had signed their names,
on a letter to the king.
Millions now will make their mark
to ensure that liberty ring.
 T²