Littlestuff Weekender-1-7-2012

This is the first “Weekender” of 2012. We’ll continue them until the Mayan calendar runs out…..or until the Obama Justice Department bans them….or until we are arrested on the streets of Bowling Green, Ohio, and whisked off to Guantanamo without benefit of charges or trial….or until I die from medicine shortages as a result of misguided laws and government intervention into the marketplace….or until I get “taken out” by an irate reader or listener.

My, oh my, the “Santorum effect” has certainly stirred things up in the GOP race for the presidential nomination. His strong finish in Iowa has changed the matrix for New Hampshire and South Carolina. Defining “winning” for any candidate who gets a minority of the vote will become increasing problematic as contenders drop out. Santorum’s meteoric rise does express a deep and abiding distrust of Romney’s bona fides as a conservative. I would argue that only one in the GOP field would satisfy my definition of a conservative---someone who is committed to conserving constitutional principles and individual liberty. While I find myself personally sympathetic to most social conservative positions, I do not trust the power of government to determine what are and are not acceptable social practices. Sharia Law (Google it) merges the social, religious and political realms under one banner. Even the most ardent Christian fundamentalist can recognize that Sharia is grossly unjust. Again, I do NOT want my government choosing my social behaviors. In the area of fiscal and economic policy none of the candidates except one has a plan for reducing the size and cost of government. Most of them trim around the margins without attacking the root cause…..government is too large, and the only concrete guide we have for defining the legitimate size of government is The Constitution of the United States. Any other formula or prescription relies on preferences and guesswork.

Generally I’m not a big TV fan, but today may be the exception: NFL playoffs, OSU men’s basketball plus OSU women’s basketball back to back on the Big Ten Network beginning at 3:00pm and the New Hampshire debate. Given my history of dedicated sports viewing, I’ll probably be asked to go to the mall or Elder Beerman’s for some nonsensical reason.

It’s early, but I’ll be back on the air on Friday January 13^th (yes, Friday the 13^th) sitting in for Brian Wilson from 3:00pm – 6:00pm on 1370 WSPD, Toledo.  www.wspd.com  We’ll have author Ted Lacksonen, Ohio Director of Americans for Prosperity, Katie Eagan, and Kalin Stipe, Libertarian candidate for the 9^th Congressional District.

You may have noticed if you’re a regular reader that I rarely (except for the Weekender) discuss the immediate goings-on in the news. There are two primary reasons for this:  Facts are stubborn things and I hesitate to spring into frothy condemnation without being totally comfortable with my position, and….I prefer to ruminate and consider things before addressing them. I know my writing sometimes appears rash and flamboyant but that is merely an indication that I have been operating under a full-boil mode for several days. So with this lengthy introduction…the February 18^th Weekender will include my very first blog post. You can read to see if I’ve grown or regressed over the past three years. Probably a little of both.

If I could have a staff of dozens to assist me, I could chronicle the daily destruction of our constitutional principles. The President openly defies his constitutional limitations and ignores his constitutional duties. The Congress brazenly passes unconstitutional laws in unconstitutional ways, some of them openly,…..others behind closed doors or buried in huge pieces of legislation. The federal bench, for the most part, appears to have decided that The Constitution of the United States is no longer relevant. It’s a scary development when a determined minority of the people support the supreme law of the land, and the ignorant remainder and the elites do not. When I consider the eventual outcome of this tension, it is difficult to imagine a rosy scenario.

Had several doctors’ appointments yesterday. They must think I’m going to live a little longer ‘cause I have appointments for 90 days and 6 months ahead. It looks like I won’t have to make any major alterations in the estate plan for now.

President Obama’s “recess” appointments of his new consumer protection Czar, Richard Cordray, and NLRB commissioners is a technical violation of the Constitution, and he has acted with casual disregard for the constitutional procedure. The response from the opposition is? Bellyaching, handwringing, moaning, groaning and business as usual. Clearly, the GOP caucus has only one “pair” among them, and Michele Bachmann took them with her to Iowa. If the GOP maintains control of the House, I nominate Bachmann for Speaker and Jim Jordan for Majority Leader. We might have a chance if this could happen.

Have a great remainder of the first full weekend of 2012. Light a fire, make some hot chocolate and popcorn, then read a good book.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

  

Littlestuff Weekender-11-19-2011

The best outcome for the “Super Committee” is for there to be no outcome at all. If they devise a plan to cut the $1.2 trillion over ten years, you can wager your mule, cow and eldest child that the “savings” will be end loaded in the out years. With no plan from the lackluster 12 the $1.2 trillion in cuts will be spread evenly between Defense and Domestic programs…but again over the next ten years. So what’s the difference? The auto-cut feature defines where the so-called savings come from whereas a Committee generated plan would probably involve more wild assumptions and ghost-like savings plans. Either way they’ll lie, obfuscate and hyper-ventilate, but the automatic cuts have a smidgen of transparency.

Hungary has now jumped onto the radar of counties that are deep in economic doo-doo. Meanwhile old reliable Greece and Italy are dragging Portugal and Spain with them towards the precipice of fiscal disaster while the rest of the EU frets about whether to backpedal or jump in. The sound of clicking dominoes has become the official anthem of the European Union as they all lean on the increasingly reluctant Germans to prop them up. As you may be aware, our own Federal Reserve has been quite generous with European banks who have found themselves over-leveraged. Of course we propped them up with digital dollars….backed by nothing….so that when we release the cap on our artificially low interest rates, the fiat-based European loans can contribute to our accelerating inflation. One could complain about a conspiracy, but I find it hard to believe that any worthwhile conspirator could be so clueless and so stupid. Come to think of it, maybe a Princeton professor could be that airheaded.

Had a terrific conversation with Congressman Jim Jordan (R-4thC.D.OH) on the air yesterday as I sat in for Brian Wilson. He’s one of the few warriors consistently fighting for fiscal sanity and chairs the Republican Policy Committee….the conservative alternative to noodle-spined leadership. He resides in the Urbana area and appears to take his job and his service seriously.

The House failed to muster a super majority to pass the Balanced Budget Amendment (261-165) yesterday, but don’t fret. It was largely symbolic since the legislation had no teeth. Seems like Congress spends a lot of valuable time passing meaningless toothless legislation to give one party or the other some bragging points. Add to this wind-whistling legislation such other compelling acts as “National Earthworm Day,” or National Live-Bait Week,” and the naming of post offices and federal buildings after slimy career politicians, and you can understand why it’s so difficult for them to seriously address our national problems….there is not enough time.

Here in Ohio the Ohio Democratic Party and their union toadies have pledged to fight the Workplace Freedom Amendment (right-to-work) to the very last person. It’s nice to know they are so committed to SOMETHING since they expended massive efforts and millions of dollars to insure that our local communities and schools are caught in fiscal vises (Issue 2). It’s all about priorities….no matter how screwed up they may be.

As someone who has been a youth coach and a licensed athletic official, I should weigh in on the garbage that has confronted Penn State. First, if the allegations are true, then Jerry Sandusky should be castrated with a dull chain saw without anesthetic and tossed into the nearest hog pen. Second, if the hierarchy was unaware, they were apparently too stupid to manage an operation of that size, and if they were aware, they should get the identical treatment that Sandusky deserves. Complicity, silence and enabling are just as damaging as the original disturbing acts. It’s all about power. Sandusky had the power and the influence to bend those boys to please him, and the Penn State coaches and administrators had the power to stop it. Happy Valley was transformed into a despicable den of despair.

Have a great weekend as you prepare for Giving Thanks.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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