Everyone has heard the question whether the BP oil spill is becoming, or has become, President Obama’s version of President Bush’s Katrina disaster. Both of these events show the duplicity and partisan politics of the two old political parties. There is no difference in the willingness of the conservative talk shows and talking heads to criticize President Obama than the same political class that lamented Bush’s handling of Katrina. What cannot be found is a real fair analysis of what people should reasonably expect our Federal Government, and the President, to do when faced with like situations. (more…)
Commentary
June 19, 2010
May 18, 2010
Unlimited Federal Detention Expanding
Recently, the United States Supreme Court decided in United States v. Comstock, that the federal government can retain sex criminals indefinitely after their prison terms have been served. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1224.pdf. Certainly there is very little simpathy for convicted sexual predators who are actually guilty of their crimes. However, we are expanding the number of classes of individuals subject to unlimited federal incarceration once again. The Federal Government now detains indefinitely accused terrorists and now those sex criminals deemed to be dangerous. Thus far the classes of individuals subjected to this treatment are not going to generate any public outcry on their behalf. Who wants to be seen as the defender of terrorists and child molesters? As Michael Cloud said the problem is “not the abuse but the power to abuse.” In this case, if the Federal Government has the power to arbitrarily decided whom it can detain indefinitely, we are all at risk even if we have not yet been targeted. (more…)
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March 11, 2010
February 23, 2010
February 22, 2010
February 10, 2010
Free Speech Protected in Citizens United Decision
According to the press and many Democrats, one would have to assume that our country is now lost because corporations are now free to spend money on political campaigns. The Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, recently rejected portions of the McCain-Feingold prohibitions against independent expenditures intended to influence elections. Those opposed to the ruling would have us believe that the floodgates are now opened and all elections will be determined by corporate campaign expenditures. A little bit of logic and deductive reasoning would quickly quite the fears of most rational people. (more…)
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January 19, 2010
Scott Brown vs. Martha Coakley
Once again the Republicans and Democrats have convinced the electorate that rooting for one team or the other will make any difference. We may as well be picking between the Lakers and the Celtics for all of the difference the winner makes in our government. In fact, most of us act like sports fans and simply approve or disapprove based upon whether our favorite team won or not. Specifically, we have today the apparent win of Scott Brown over Martha Coakley. The Republicans are elated that the Democrat 60 vote majority in the Senate is now supposedly broken and therefore the federal takeover of healthcare is supposedly doomed. (more…)
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September 16, 2009
On the Passing of Ted Kennedy
On August 25, 2009 Ted Kennedy passed away. He was one of the longest serving United States Senators, having served from November 7, 1962 until his death. Numerous articles and commentators have claimed that he was a “standard bearer for the Democrat Party” the “heart and soul of the Democrat Party” and the one who fought for those without a voice. These statements presumably applied to his service and legislative record on issues such as poverty, education, and people with disabilities.
Since Ted Kennedy is given such accolades for his service to the poor, and the Democrat Party is supposed to be the party of the average person and particularly the strongest advocate for the poor, this short essay will examine how the poor have fared economically under mostly Democrat control of the United States Congress during the span of Ted Kennedy’s service. In order to do so, it is first necessary to define who is poor. According to Wikipedia, the poverty threshold set by the Federal Government is the most common measure used for poverty.[1] (more…)
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October 21, 2008
LPSC Recommendations for Upcoming Ballot Initiatives
The Libertarian Party of Seminole County makes the following comments and recommendations on the Constitutional Amendment proposals on the ballot: (more…)
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September 6, 2008
Mortgage Crisis the Product of Government Intervention
By now, everyone reading this will have heard something about the mortgage crisis. Chances are that all have hear some of the alphabet soup labels relating to the mortgage business such as CDO, ABS, FHA, OFHEO, and others. What has not been commonly discussed is just how we ended up in this “crisis” in the first place. There are many references in our new coverage to overleveraged investment firms, greedy investors, irresponsible management, overly aggressive marketing, false or exaggerated appraisals, and a series of other potential culprits, all of whom are in the private sector. What really happened is that the government tried to help more people buy houses and ended up creating what may be the greatest financial meltdown the world has seen to date. (more…)
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