Savage Republican

I’m a WWII history buff. Have been for years. In 1942, the USS Yorktown was heavily damaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea. She set sail for Pearl Harbor for extensive repairs. When she arrived, it was estimated that she would require at least three months of repair. As she was needed for the Battle of Midway, she was alloted 72 hours in port for repairs. She set sail three days later and fought at Midway where she was sunk. But, instead of being in dry dock, she helped mortally wound the Japanese Navy.

Last August, the 35W bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. It’s a bridge I had been across thousands of times. A socialist friend of mine kept repeating that the reason the bridge collapsed was because Gov. Pawlenty vetoed a gas tax increase. He went on to say that it would take at least five years to build a new bridge. I said, “No. We could do it in a year if the government gets out of the way!” The bridge is controlled by a number of jurisdictions: the city of Minneapolis, the federal government, Hennepin County, the State of Minnesota, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard (the Mississippi is a navigable waterway) to name a few. Then throw in the EPA, OSHA, MN Dept. of Natural Resources and a few others just for giggles.
Well, as the 35W bridge was/is critical to business all across the state. So, it was agreed to “fast track” the bridge and suspend a bunch of the regulations and just get on with it. And the new 35W bridge is set to be completed in under a year from the time the bids were let. And it will come in under budget. Not 5 years and $300,000,000 +. Newt Gingrich forcast that fast build possibility just days after the collapse.

So now, I keep hearing that it will take 5-10 years to bring new oil fields online. Nah. Well, yes it will with all the crap BS regulations from a myriad of alphabet soup agencies. However, get the Congress out of the way, kill all but absolutely essential regulations (and there precious few of those) and I’d bet the farm that we could bring oil fields online in under two years. Do something like telling oil drillers/oil companies that they get a 100% tax write-off for all their expenses. And only a 10% tax on oil revenue. Then, suspend all those crap EPA/OSHA regulations and tell the Exxon/Mobil/Chevron/Shell/ etc that they get the same deal to build 20-30 new oil refineries. 100% tax write off for all expenses. Nah, better yet, make that a 100% tax credit instead. Yah. That’s the way to go. And a 10% tax on all oil revenue. And if they keep all that oil in America, the tax drops to 5% or less. just an incentive to keep the energy here.
Same type of deal for oil shale, natural gas, coal, nuclear. Cheap energy and the country hums and purrs along.

I was shocked to read about Tim Russert’s passing today.
While I don’t believe we agree politically, he was a very gracious man.

I had the privilege of spending some time with him on the media level at the Republican National Convention in New York.

He took the time to talk to anyone who would stop him and even waited to take a picture with myself and Ella (the little elephant).

Losing him days before Father’s day is a reminder to enjoy each moment you have with your family.
My Prayers are with his family this weekend.

OK kids. Today Uncle Amendment X is going to do a lame imitation of a Dr. Walter E. Williams type economic lesson.
Now, we all know that the average price for a gallon of gas is $4.05 nationally. And the Dumbcrats want you to believe many reasons are behind this price rise. All their reasons are wrong. Dead wrong. They want you to believe that:

1. Very evil oil company executives are drooling at the thought that Grandma has to select between Alpo or Purina Dry dog food as those nasty executives are going through her retirement check with higher oil prices and therefore higher prices on everything. Well, they reckon that Granny can set fire to her table to keep warm this winter. And besides, when Grandma dies, well, less worry about that Social Security/Medicare thing you know.
   
2. “Speculators” are driving up the cost of oil because they are greedy bastards and were also spawned from the same malevolent, vile, recalcitrant, sinful seed that produces oil company executives.
3. Republicans- well, just because.
4. OPEC- well worth a lawsuit, they say!
   
5. Global warming. Sorry. Climate Change! (Hard to keep up with the changing terms you know). Brought on by all the above.
   
6. YOU! You vile consuming prigs! Hurting Gaia while little children someplace are starving. And polar bears are drowning. How dare you think you have freedom to drive, eat, keep warm! WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH FOR YOU?!?!?

Please notice who is not on the list-Congress. Please remember that Congress includes both houses: House of Representatives and the Senate.
Now, whenever there is an increase in gas prices, as surely as the sun rises in the east, Congress hauls oil company executives into a hearing room, screams at them then commissions yet another study about collusion and price fixing within the industry. Well, review the following graph (compliments of Powerline):

Now, click on the above image. Go to the titles on the x axis and read across. Let’s see, we have NIOC (the national oil company of Iran), Aramco (the Saudi Arabia national oil company) and Kuwait, Iraq, PEMEX (controlled by Mexico). Notice number 14- Exxon/Mobil. To finally come across a publicly traded (meaning private citizens own the company) you have to go to the company that is 14th on the list of how much oil/gas they control. As the chart says, 94% of all the oil and gas in the world is controlled by national oil companies. Exxon/Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron, Conoco/Phillips are all owned by schlubs like you, me, Grandma and Grandpa, pension funds. Not tyrants like Hugo Chavez or a thousand princes from the House of Saud or the Royal Family of Kuwait.
Exxon/Mobil, Chevron and the others are more correctly called oil refiners, or gasoline/diesel refiners. These companies buy the oil they refine from the Aramcos/PEMEXs of the world. They are caught in a squeeze because their cost of materials has increased. So, when the trolls in Congress haul the execs from Chevron, et al before them and scream about gas prices, well, this makes as much sense as screaming at Coca Cola for high Coke prices when the price of corn goes up (high fructose corn syrup is the most expensice ingredient in Coke. And Pepsi, etc.). Or screaming at bakers for the high price of bread when there is a wheat bust and the price of wheat goes through the roof. Go here to read what I wrote about Congress and oil/gasoline two years ago. And yesterday, they, the Dumbcrats, refused to allow drilling 50 miles off shore on the continental shelf.
Save us from Congress!

Sometimes it not how you win or lose, but how you play the game.

In this era of steroids, me first and gotcha politics – sometime it takes a game of ball to reminds us of the good that is America.

Better to fight the good fight with honor, then to win not on your merit but by taking advantage of your opponents weakness.

And she just keeps getting re-elected.
Do you think ratings for Congress can possibly get any lower? You bet they can.
Just watch.
Remember, what Congress has done for gas and food prices they’ll do for health care.

Needed to update.
Don’t feel like being serious, so a fun song from one of my favorite groups.
If you have kids – you should have these guy’s CDs.

Her name is Marie. She is 32. She is the mother of three boys. She is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. She has not seen her children after they were taken by CPS (Child Protective Services) in Texas. The mothers and children were taken from the church’s estate, by force, under the pretext of “protecting the children”. The “probable cause” was a single phone call, from an as yet undiscovered female caller that said she was sixteen and had been abused. Again, the caller has never been identified nor has she come forward nor has she been located.
Now, let me be clear: I do not support polygamy. I do not support or adhere to LDS. That being said, this situation reeks of Waco, 1993.
CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said of the operation”It’s a difficult process“. Yah, for the children and mothers! What was difficult for you?
The mothers are clear that the CPS lied to them:”Brenda and others were critical of CPS, saying the agency misled them as to what was to happen Monday, weren’t told why the children were removed from the compound and given inaccurate messages about opportunities to meet attorneys.”We got to where we said, ‘We cannot believe a word you say. We cannot trust you,'” she said.” Wow. Can’t trust the government! Who da thunk?
The Lew Rockwell site has an excellent analysis of the constitutional issues that this huge government intrusion exposes.
There is a quote from the article that links well with one from Prairie Pravda:”Hundreds of women from the sect voluntarily followed the children…” You mean the mothers didn’t have to be compelled to follow their own children into the tender jaws of the Beast?” And from PP:” Meisner said the situation was explained and, while there were tears, the operation went smoothly.” Went smoothly. Anyone wonder why the women followed their children and Miesner thought the operation “went smoothly”? How about the clue in this picture:

Now, I may be way off base here, but I bet the operation “went smoothly” and that the women followed their children because, oh, maybe there were big men with bullet proof vests and with guns on their hips herding them into buses? I don’t know, but maybe.
And this screamer from Meisner on why the children were separated from their mothers:”the separation was made Monday after they( the omnipresent “experts” who provided the “advice” that “justified” this abuse of power) decided that children are more truthful in interviews about possible abuse if their parents are not around.” Right. Of course. Anyone remember the horrendous McMartin Day Care Center case(in the link pay particular attention to the Country Walk , Florida case that was prosecuted by one Janet Reno. Yes, the same Janet Reno who also supervised the Branch Davidians fiasco where over eighty men, women and children were burned to death. Interestingly enough, there were also charges of child abuse within the Branch Davidians that have never been proven or even corroborated)?
Again, another case where the state knows best, the Constitution be damned. And as the government does it “for the children” they always end up “doing it to the children” and others. Always.

Update: The Daily Mail has an article where the mothers speak out

For your perusal, the original tax rates from 1913 and as compared to 2005 dollars
And these are tax rates that people today would fight and die for.

Figure 1:1913 Personal Income Tax System

Figure 2:1913 Personal Income Tax System in 2005 Dollars

Figure 1:
Tax Rate- Income Level
1%- up to $20,000
2%- $20,000 – $50,000
3%- $50,000 – $75,000
4%- $75,000 – $100,000
5%- $100,000 – $250,000
6%- $250,000 – $500,000
7%- over $500,000

Figure 2:
1913 Tax Rates Adjusted for 2005 Dollars

Tax Rate – Income Level
1%- up to $382,189
2%- $382,198 – $955,495
3%- $955,495 – $1,433,242
4%- $1,433,242 – $1,910,990
5%- $1,910,990 – $4,299,727
6%- $4,299,727 – $9,554,950
7%- over $9,554,950

(Figure 1:A $3,000 exemption for single filers
and $4,000 for a married couple.)
(Figure 2:A $44,776 exemption for single filers
and $59,701 for a married couple.)

The original marketing campaign for the 16th Amendment was that only the rich would pay taxes. Under the old rates, this would mean that today the first $382,000 would be free from taxes. But note that even in 1913 class envy and warfare was rampant. The rich still paid taxes. And only the rich. The more you made, the more you paid as a percentage and certainly as an amount. This is in direct opposition to what the founders wanted, and with good reason. The founders wrote that taxes were to be apportioned. An example of apportioned taxes: the entire budget of the United States is about $3,000,000,000,000. The population of Minnesota is 1.7% of the total U.S. population. That would mean that Minnesota is responsible for paying 1.7% of the budget or $51,000,000,000 (which means on average every Minnesotan [not every taxpayer] would owe about $10,000). Now, how Minnesota decides to collect that amount would be up to the state legislature. But, that would also mean that people could move to a state that collect that bill in way that they thought was fair. Welcome to federalism.
We’re not quite where the Founding Fathers wanted us to be.
My idea: eliminate tax withholding. Move Tax Day from April 15th to the first Monday in November. Hey, wait a minute. That would mean that within twenty-four hours of having to write a large check people would vote in the General Election.
Hhhhmmm…do you think writing that check might impact the vote?
Happy Tax Day.

For years I’ve tried to understand how left wingers came up with policies that have always failed. There was no reason, logic, sound economic or any Constitutional underpinnings that I could ever find in their judgments and resolutions. I have now discovered how all decisions are made by the left:

I should have known.