Littlestuff Weekender-9-3-2011

It is a sad and happy day here at the Little Pat-Ch of Paradise. At 11:00am near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, we have the memorial service for Pat’s father. He was a WWII vet who was in the Battle of the Bulge and spent a short time as a P.O.W. until Patton’s 7^th Cav. freed them. He has been a fan of the General ever since that time. We really never knew much about Ed’s military service because like many people who have experienced actual combat, he was hesitant to discuss it. The records included with his personal effects provided an illustrative view of what he endured during his time in Europe. He went there as a 20 year old young man and came home with a different perspective.

My father passed on in 2003 so Ed has been my only father for the past eight years. Our happiness comes from two factors. I believe that he has gone to a blessed reward with our Lord, and his shattered hip, weak heart and kidneys plus the lung tumor and leaking aneurism have contributed to an agonizing week as we witnessed his becoming weaker every day. His pain has ended, but for his family and those who loved him, it will linger somewhat longer. R.I.P. Edward J. Barth, you will be missed.

The tap dancing and gamesmanship surrounding the President’s “major” jobs announcement are clear indicators that Washington D.C. is a cesspool, and the political elites are the fecal material that inhabit it. Obama announced unilaterally that he was presenting his ULTIMATE PANACEA FOR JOBLESSNESS to the Joint Session of Congress on September 7^th. After a couple of swift drinks and realization that Obama NEVER says anything new, Speaker Boehner grew a spine and said, “No…do it on Thursday the 8^th or Friday the 9^th.” A befuddled Obama bristled and responded to the besotted Boehner that “Thursday the 8^th will do.” Apparently the Prez and his flunkies were unaware that people would rather watch NFL football than listen to his teleprompter-induced B.S. They scrambled again to assure the people that His Magnificence will conclude before kickoff so that no one misses the profundity and later punditry of the august moment. Let’s see, more spending, more borrowing, more taxes and more assistance to Obama-friendly companies….time’s up! Are you ready for some football!!!!!!

Seven State Senators, all Republicans, from Ohio have introduced S.J.R. No.2 (Senate Joint Resolution number 2) calling for a national constitutional convention for the consideration of a proposed new amendment that would: 1) require a balanced federal budget; 2) give the President a line-item veto authority; and 3) require Congress submit biennial, not annual, budgets. On the face of it this appears to be a good idea and a worthy effort. It takes 38 states to call the convention. I have three critical issues with this resolution. One does not have to cut spending to balance the budget….merely raise taxes so a “balanced budget amendment” without spending caps is as worthless as lips on a chicken. That is not addressed in the resolution. Secondly, you historians know that a convention was convened specifically to address certain weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation but ended by jettisoning the entire document and beginning anew. Are we willing to entrust our Constitution to the Progressives, lefties, liberals, RINO’s, statists and lily-livered career politicians who will comprise the convention? Sounds mighty risky to me. Our Founders and Framers were principled believers in liberty and restricted small government. Our current crop loves to pass intrusive legislation just to see their names in the paper. As I scan the roster of the Ohio General Assembly, I see no Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin or George Washington. It is sad, but they are not there. The closest we have to those great men of the past are the Dolly Madison cakes that are sold in the lunch room. Third, they have been ignoring the Constitution since the beginning of the Republic. Why would they feel constrained by a limited call to convention?

Tuesday on our radio show (1370 WSPD, 6-7pm Tue and Wed.) we’ll have Ken Sharp, District 1 candidate for Toledo City Council. Ken will join us at 6:30pm.  www.wspd.com

For those of you who are ready to immerse yourself in our Founding and Framing, the Northwest Ohio Conservative Coalition, the members of the Northwest Ohio Patriot Coalition and Owens Community College are providing two days full of information and arrows for your liberty quiver. Go to www.OwensWorks.com and check out the programs for the 17^th and 18^th of September. I’ll have more details next week in the Weekender. Also, you can call (567) 661-7357 or 1-800-Go-Owens, ext. 7357. I’m honored to be a part of the Sunday luncheon lineup, and I’ll be discussing Liberty.

Littlestuff-minoosha readership continues to grow. It is humbling to realize that someone may be interested in reading what I have written. Several nations are represented in our daily audience, and I am flattered that with all the material available on the web, you choose to share some of your time to read my rants. Thank you. Never forget, Liberty is a gift from God, and if you are one who doesn’t know HIM, liberty is a Natural Right derived from Natural Law.

Go Bucks! It’s a new era in the Horseshoe. Time for the Fickell Finger to take over.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Tue. & Wed., 6-7:00pm, 1370 WSPD, Toledo.  www.wspd.com

Reform School

“Reform” is a common concept in government. My experience has been that whenever government reforms something, it will inevitably be worse. The nine-letter word “reforming” coincides with the nine-letter result: Imscrewed. Big government statists cannot resist increasing government size or power. That is one stark illustration of why the so-called “War on Drugs” has been a forty-year failure. Government and its political enablers have an addiction problem that is much more harmful for the nation than any individual’s reliance on an illicit substance. The only government program that has succeeded at any measurable level is the “War on Liberty” that was begun with little fanfare one century ago.

You may recall the “Tax Reform Act of 1986.” That overhaul was a result of an agreement between President Reagan and Speaker O’Neill. The President agreed to some tax increases in the “reform” bill in exchange for sizable spending cuts in subsequent budgets.  As usual the spending cuts never materialized and a radical transform of the tax code went forward. Prior to the 1986 tax bill interest expenses were deductible, but after passage, credit card and non-mortgage, non-business interest payments were no longer allowed as tax deductions. Personally, interest deductions are not important for me. I would rather eliminate the income tax altogether and eliminate the incessant tinkering and tweaking that costs taxpayers more money while Congress rewards its favored groups or companies.

So, as a brief summary of the prologue, reform generally represents more of the same though worse. As an example, please join me in a “quickie’ review of Ohio Sub. HB 194…of the 129^th General Assembly.

This so-called election administrative reform bill is similar to many other bills under consideration by our legislative bodies. Its provisions resemble tentacles as they weave and wind around so many facets of Ohio election law, and yet….this purportedly comprehensive overhaul ignores a gorilla in the room…a gaping intentional oversight in violation of a court order. The aspect of ballot access for minor parties was never addressed, thus allowing the existing law to stand which had earlier been declared unfair by the court. Similar to Obamacare and so many legislative initiatives, Sub. HB 194 addresses several areas of concern that could result in some unanticipated problems because of the breadth of the bill.

The Ohio bill must have some merit because President Obama’s campaign is opposed to it because of its stricter provisions regarding voter identification…..could possibly limit cheating, and thus, is not Obama-friendly. The legislation covers a broad scale of issues affecting Ohio elections such as we “cannot assume that poll workers erred.” Proof must be submitted before allegations or assumptions are allowed. Clearly the Voter I.D. provision is the lightning rod of the bill as liberals, progressives, Marxists and cheaters are fearful that a photo I.D. would minimize their opportunities for stealing elections.

An omnibus bill that purports to reform a broad swath of law is inherently doomed. Unintended consequences will cling to the legislation like flies to road kill. Opponents will target one or more aspects of the legislation and may seek judicial intervention. Forecasting what some judges would do is similar to predicting when and where a first raindrop may land. Broad based initiatives allow the dedicated public servants to crow about their major accomplishments, and at the same time, condense the heavy lifting of formulating meaningful legislation. This in turn generates more free time for lobbyist-funded meals and adult beverages.

Admittedly I am a skeptic and a cynic, but I do suspect that some omnibus bills are staff-created legislative shortcuts for elected officials. If there is a sincere intent to dramatically change the status quo, the omnibus bill does provide some cover in the sense that changes that may inspire opposition could perhaps, maybe, theoretically, possibly get lost in the weeds of a broad undertaking. In addition, a huge bill that deals with various facets of state law (elections for example) has many sponsors, co-sponsors and amendment sponsors so that disgruntled citizens or groups may find it difficult to place blame for what they believe to be an egregious legislative result. While the omnibus bill may provide a cloak of anonymity for its advocates, it may also lead to glaring oversights….legislators and staff members become so enamored with the forest that individual trees lose their identities.

As the kind trusting person that I am, I will assume that the “too-broad, glaring-omission” explanation is the logical one for the failure of Sub. HB 194 to address the issue of minor party ballot access. Clearly, the elected members of the Ohio General Assembly believe in the Republic and the rights of citizens to freely elect their representatives. Obviously the members of the Ohio House and Ohio Senate would do nothing that intentionally enables a continuing duopoly of power, thought and avarice. After all, the two old parties have shared power, meals and drinks for more than 150 years so it cannot be possible that third-party competition would be seriously challenging to them. Right?

Intentional self-serving denial of opportunity in a republic is just as loathsome as a poll tax or a literacy test. When two parties hold absolute control of the election apparatus, logical reasoning would lead one to believe that power will be misapplied. Because the two old parties have controlled the election apparatus across the nation for so long, they have not been seriously challenged to account for their malfeasance, misfeasance and misdeeds. We have all been losers because of the lack of electoral accountability. Reform? Yeah, right.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com   

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Tue & Wed, 6-7pm on 1370 WSPD, Toledo   www.wspd.com

The Oath of Faith

·         The Oath of Allegiance:

"I hereby declare, on oath,

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

One of my fondest memories surrounding a formal occasion is from the Naturalization Ceremony held at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia on July 4^th, 1976. President Gerald R. Ford administered the “Oath of Allegiance” to nearly two dozen people who wished to be citizens of the United States of America. It was a thrill to witness an event so inspiring on the Second Centennial Anniversary of the “Declaration of Independence” at Thomas Jefferson’s home. Later that afternoon my little family and I stood curbside on a street in Charlottesville watching a parade which featured Queen Elizabeth as the honoree. It has been more than 35 years since that memorable day. My two children are adults with children of their own, but I continue to recall many aspects of that day. Pomp and ceremonies however are not enough to preserve the essence of a nation. The country those new citizens pledged to support and defend no longer exists.

The new citizens lived in various lands around the globe, but they knew about America. Perhaps a family member had preceded them to our land, or they watched and read the news for their impressions of our country. Maybe the rumors and gossip that floated through their villages, town and cities filled them with hope and a dream for freedom and opportunity. They found a way to come here. After several years of laboring and studying they took the test and swore the oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America.....their NEW country that they chose.

When they left their native lands, they stepped out on faith. They chose to pursue freedom and opportunity. They tore up their roots and followed their dreams for liberty. A few years after that 1976 ceremony President Reagan described America as a “shining city on a hill.” He described a place where the glowing embers of liberty could be nourished to become the fires of freedom. It is so different now. The government that the Constitution of the United States brought forth has become a dangerous threat to our liberty and an enemy of our personal prosperity. The shining hill described by President Reagan has been perverted and converted to a new Mount Olympus for the political elites and their favored friends.

In theological circles when someone distorts the faith, we call it heresy. When self-serving career politicians, their corporatist sycophants, and statist fellow travelers twist their oaths of office and their constitutional obligations to their own benefit and power, we must call that treason and corruption. Neither God Almighty nor the Constitution of the United States invests them with the power or the authority to micro-manage my life....or yours.

The elitists who believe that they know more than we do about how our lives should be lived are corrupt and flat out wrong. Our liberty has been submerged beneath a tide of too-big government, and our freedom is drowning in a sea of regulation and legislation. Because of their oppressive meddling, our nation is at the brink of collapse. Because of their insistence that they know best, we are struggling to survive. Because of their cupidity and our stupidity, we may have squandered our chance for that shining city on the hill.

Thirty-five years ago a young man, his young wife, their six-year-old daughter and their infant son observed a monarch from a nation from which our country declared its independence two hundred years earlier. The majesty and power of her throne and her country has dwindled over the centuries to become little more than a memory. I pray that my children and grandchildren can someday stand on a curbside in an American city and witness the formerly powerful symbols of those who have stolen the dream. Maybe I should say....those who have mortgaged the dream. The faith and hope of those new citizens from 1976 must be restored again. The shining city on the hill must glow again. Liberty and freedom must rule again.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com    

 www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings-6:00pm to 7:00pm on

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Charlie's One-year Plan

According to data from the World Bank, the 2010 Gross Domestic Product for the United States of America was 14.5824 trillion dollars. By the end of 2011 the national debt for the U.S.A. will roam in the neighborhood of $16.8 trillion. As you probably know, the GDP represents the value of every product and service generated in the country for that year. So, it is obvious that our debt exceeds the value of everything produced in our country by every company and person for an entire year. Clearly this is not an economically healthy situation unless you are a scofflaw who intends to default. There are numerous plans floating in the air that purport to deal with our abysmal debt situation so I thought….”Why not me?”

Every other plan that has been suggested has some glaring flaws. They may enter a “glide path” to solvency which means, in fact, more debt, increased spending and larger government. Even the golden-boy guru of the GOP, Paul Ryan, introduced a plan that includes all of those weaknesses. Senator Pat Toomey has the sanest approach from among the political class. His proposal would have generated a small surplus by the tenth year of its enactment. The profligate Senate with the uninspired leadership of Harry Reid voted to reject the Toomey measure. That figures. Why endorse a serious attempt to remedy the situation? It would be totally out of character for the “greatest deliberative body of the world,” and for a gaggle of 100 self-serving ego maniacs.

Charlie’ One-Year Plan

As with most plans that have some legitimacy, mine has more than one step. The first is to dedicate the entire national GDP to debt retirement for one year. This plan would include the shared sacrifice that President Obama continually demands because there would be NO resources for food, fuel and other staples available to any citizen, any resident or any visitor in the United States of America. So if we can tough it out for one complete year, we will have nearly enough money to pay off the entire debt. But wait, there’s more.

How do we operate the government if our entire production income is dedicated to debt you might ask? It’s simple. The first thing we do is categorize all government beneficiaries and recipients as “employees.” In one swift blow we have eliminated every entitlement, welfare and subsidy program in the federal portfolio. We then tax our new employees just like the government loves to tax everyone else, and we create a new revenue stream for operating the overgrown glob of government. Of course, we’ll need more money to pay our new “employees.” Isn’t it great that government works so well?

Annexing Canada would be the next logical step in my one-year plan to fiscal solvency. The Canadian GDP of $1.574 trillion would cover most of our essential government services. Our friendly neighbors to the north would have to share in our 52-week sacrifice because if we absorbed their entire national product, no one could eat, drive or participate in normal daily life. Everyone knows that a robust United States is oh so good for Canada’s well being so asking them to share in our mutual misery shouldn’t be too difficult. Obviously, our obligation to the environment and the health of the planet would require that we shut down Canadian oil production. That would have a negative impact on GDP so we must seek another source for generating the income to operate the government.

Invading Mexico may seem extreme at first blush, but it is the most logical piece of our fixit puzzle. There is an amazing symmetry to our invading Mexico because many of their citizens have been invading us for decades. Also by absorbing their GDP of $1.040 trillion, we may recover a portion of the funds that have been systematically sent to Mexican residents by their relatives in the United States. Again, we would prohibit petroleum extraction which would diminish the GDP significantly but the remainder would provide just enough with our previous amounts to fund the government.

Some might argue that my plan would lead to a starving and impoverished country after one year, but I would counter with “all the other plans would yield results that are similar and would take ten years! My plan would also eliminate most of the debt whereas ALL the other proposals increase it.” My plan provides the statist’s dream that the career politicians have been so diligently seeking. Only big government is funded, all energy production is eliminated and the people are totally dependent on government “compassion” and government jobs for their existence.

Satire, sarcasm and cynicism have been tools that I have used in the past, and I may have employed them again. It’s up to you to decide. The nature of your reactions or responses will determine for me the height of your discernment and the depth of your intellect. This one-year plan is as sensible and as realistic as the ones proposed by the career politicians….and the pain wouldn’t last so long.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com or www.littlestuff-minoosha.com