Monthly Archives: July 2008

Quote of the Day:
:::”This Bill fundamentally adjusts the relationship between the citizen and the state. How could it be otherwise when it will put the state in possession of an unprecedented, consolidated file of information about every individual which it did not have before?”
:::– Lord Holme of Cheltenham
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:::Subject: 21st state rejects the REAL ID Act
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:::The number of states that have rejected the REAL ID Act now stands at 21. The latest to do so is::::::

Many who oppose the inflationary actions of the Federal Reserve nevertheless favor it as a “lender of last resort.” Of course, by definition, there would always be a lender of last resort even if there were no Federal Reserve. Just as any item you’ve misplaced is always found in the last place you look, the lender of last resort is simply the last entity willing to provide a loan, so clearly something else is meant by the term “lender of last resort.” What it means is this . . .

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T. Boone Pickens (isn’t that one of the greatest names ever) seems to be trying to give us a private, voluntary solution to three interrelated problems: the need for energy, the cost of energy, and the air pollution created by the dominant sources of energy we use today. Tacked onto this is the issue of energy independence, but do we really need energy independence? At the very least it would be nice to send less money to the despotic regimes that control much of the world’s oil supply.

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Quotes of the Day:
:::* A failure will not appear till a unit has passed final inspection.
:::* New systems generate new problems.
:::* To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.
:::– Three corollaries to Murphy’s Law (“If anything can go wrong, it will”)
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:::Subject: Mr. Murphy Visits DownsizeDC.org
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:::We need your help! Let me explain . . .
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:::In my first full-time management job I learned an important lesson: The first time you do anything there WILL be problems — it’s not optional. All bits of progress contain within them unseen difficulties. Progress is usually two-steps forward, one step back.
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:::That’s not particularly insightful on my part — not new. In 1949, Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on an Air Force project, in that fit of frustration we’ve all experienced when our best laid plans go awry, cursed the technician responsible and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”
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:::Murphy’s Law was born. Murphy’s Law stipulates that, “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
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:::I’ve also learned that perfection is the enemy of good enough, that the paralysis of analysis is deadly, and that there’s genius in getting started. So last week, we launched our new and improved website. I expected some bumps, and bumpers there are. 
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:::One problem in particular is a big one. It will::::::

Quote of the Day: “Ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that govern them.”
::: — Hans Sennholz
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:::Subject: Great news on the “Enumerated Powers Act”
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:::The “Enumerated Powers Act” (H.R. 1359) would compel Congress to identify their Constitutional authority for every law they pass. It wouldn’t stop them from passing bad laws, but it sure would highlight the fact that most of what they do has no Constitutional authority at all.
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:::We pretty much know what they would do. They would have to invoke the so-called “general welfare clause,” which is really just the preamble to the Constitution, or the “commerce clause,” which was really intended to foster free trade between the states. It would become very embarrassing very quickly, and we could pound them about it constantly.
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:::When we last reported to you the “Enumerated Powers Act” had 47 co-sponsors in the House. Well, now it has 52. But there’s even better news . . .
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On today’s Downsize DC Conference Call (2-hour radio show), which starts at 3:06 PM Eastern (2:06 PM Central, 1:06 PM Mountain, and 12:06 PM Pacific) I’ll be joined by another candidate for Congress who pledges to sponsor (or co-sponsor, as the case may require) Downsize DC Agenda items. . .
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:::* The Read the Bills Act
:::* The One Subject at a Time Act
:::* The Write the Laws Act
:::* The Enumerated Powers Act
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:::His name is David Krikorian and he’s running in the 2nd district in Ohio. What’s special about David?
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The New York Times reports today . . .

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“Catfish farmers across the South, unable to cope with the soaring cost of corn and soybean feed, are draining their ponds…. Corn and soybeans have nearly tripled in price in the last two years, for many reasons: harvest shortfalls, increasing demand by the Asian middle class, government mandates for corn to produce ethanol and, most recently, the flooding in the Midwest.”

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:::Quote of the Day: “My policy has been, and will continue to be, while I have the honor to remain in the administration of the government, to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth. To share in the broils of none. To fulfil our own engagements. To supply the wants, and be carriers for them all: Being thoroughly convinced that it is our policy and interest to do so.”
:::– George Washington, from a letter to Gouverneur Morris
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:::Subject: A Congressman changes his mind on Iran resolution
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:::House Concurrent Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 both urge President Bush to blockade Iran. President Bush could also view these resolutions as a green-light to attack. Either a blockade or an attack would remove Iranian oil from the world market, and potentially close the straights of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil supply flows.
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:::The loss of any oil from the Persian Gulf would send oil prices soaring and potentially plunge the entire world into an economic depression.
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:::Your life and your future, are hanging by a thread. Congress could

It says something about the world we live in that the best news and analysis is constantly provided by comedians, such as “The Daily Show” and “The Onion.” Here’s “The Onion” hitting the nail on the head . . .

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“A panel of top business leaders testified before Congress about the worsening recession Monday, demanding the government provide Americans with a new irresponsible and largely illusory economic bubble in which to invest.

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“What America needs right now is not more talk and long-term strategy, but a concrete way to create more imaginary wealth in the very immediate future,” said Thomas Jenkins, CFO of the Boston-area Jenkins Financial Group, a bubble-based investment firm. “We are in a crisis, and that crisis demands an unviable short-term solution.”…

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