J.S.Mill - Comments On Liberty Today

The Czars - A Thought from the Leadership Czar

Ha, I really have made nothing of this until now, but I think it is time for the Obama admministration to appoint an official leadership Czar, and since I am am already The leadership Czar, it seems to me that I am the one and only candidate qualified to hold that title.

But then, I started to think about the idea and realized that I would probably be the only one so appointed who actually was qualified to hold the title. Obama, like his last two predecessors, seems convinced that the best way to execute their policies is to have Czars appointed by them, who are accountable to nobody but the President. The beauty of the Czar strategy is that no Czar is approved (through advice and consent) by the Senate as the Cabinet officers are. Indeed, these czars work out of the ever expanding White House staff, and have no responsibility to either manage or be accountable to anybody but the President. The poor Cabinet Officers are the "political front men" for the President, but are increasingly without "Policy portfolio." This is not just an Obama illness, it has been developing for some time. The "thinking" is being done by people who have nothing else to do, but think, and have absolute open access to the Oval office. On the other hand, the Cabinet officers have the spralling beurocracies to manage, and all the public "fly the flag" responsibilities, with essentially no time to think. Further, they are weighed down by the government employees who are "lifers" and have nothing more to do but wait until the administration changes so they can start all over again, doing nothing.

I am actually sympathetic to the Presdidential tendency to have these White House staff people available so that they can actually have some control over policy formulation, but the tragedy is, it is an other example of how the huge government just gets bigger, and more complex. The tragedy is further compounded by the fact that these inner circle people have no responsibility to defend their policy positions against alternative opinion, because the White House staff is picked inevitably to mirror the political bias of the Commander in Chief. Hence, the Congress, the second leg of the governmental balancing act, gets no input into the process and thinking. Even the members of the President's party are unable to provide input into the policy process. That is tragic, because it means the the White House is inevitably even more isolated from the core values and positions of the broad constituents they are expected to serve.

Now that I have thought about this, I am not likely to be appointed the Leadership Czar for the White House, but you all know that I am the Leadership Czar, and that it would be a great deal of fun to see how the insular Obama White House would deal with somebody who actually respectedthe word leadership, as opposed to the transformational and essentially revolutionary concepts of Rules for Radicals.

The Babe lost to the Bear

Sorry, but President Obama, you are No Ronald Reagan! Your negotiations with the Russian "duo" resulted in a virtual complete sell out. The plain fact is, you were out bullied by the master. Putin is still in charge, and the absurd statement by George Bush that he looked into Putin's soul and saw a good man, is now amplified by his successor's pathetically weak and sloppy negotiations.

What scares me is that the next step will be an Obama capitulation on the installation of a missile defense system, for Poland. Right after their meeting, Putin issued a press release that said that the US position on defense was a barrier to any success. So, for Obama to have a victory, he will be tempted TO COMPROMISE ON MISSILE DEFENSE. Ha, compromise would be capitulation to the bully. At least george Bush realized the absurdity of his view of the soul, and backed off; I fear Obama will not have the courage to tough it out. 

What did you Expect General?

Well, I am afraid that the "statesman" has made another turn. The "former" Republican, turned Obama supporter, now is expressing concern about the size and impact of the Obama agenda. So, the General, who many believe attempted to regain his "blackness" by turning on his long time close friend, John McCain, and supported a Democrat who had little to recommend him except his rhetoric and his ethnicity.

I am certain that there are many who will now pander and accept the General as a thoughtful statesman who speaks his mind and walks a true balanced line. I do not agree. I think that he either, made a huge mistake supporting Obama, or he is truly a RHINO. Candidly, my vote is Republican in name only.

Happy Fourth

I could not let this day go by, without making a clear statement asserting that we are the greatest, free society in the world; and that we all should not just be proud of that fact...We must constantly be vigilant about preserving that freedom. 

Our founders did not create this nation with a goal to have the government be free to do what it could do. They created the nation's organization and structure to preserve our individual freedom to do what we want to do. Freedom (Liberty) is an individual and God given right; it is not the right of government to decide what liberty they will allow us to have. Worse, it is not government's responsibility to give me what I need or want; it is government's responsibility to prevent others from taking away my liberty to have what I need or want. The true value of government is to provide the support to assure the citizens that they will be free to achieve their goals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Our way of life is dependent on the state avoiding intrusion, not maximizing intrusion into the lives of its citizens. It is my great hope that we can find enough citizens who believe as I do, that we can fight the current dramatic and comprehensive intrusion of government into the lives of our citizens. This is the greatest threat to the core values of our society since the inception of our republic. This threat to our liberty and to the core values of our society, must be stopped before we arrive at the "point of no return."

State Bailout

Well, the next stage of the Obama White House conversion of the Republic to a centralized, national government, may be on its way. I know that the states in financial trouble are also some of the most populated, but they are also the most "progressive," hence, most out of control on spending. The best examples of California, New Jersey, New York and Michigan are all places where the Obama administration will be worried about the loss of government jobs in those states as they try to balance their budgets.that It is very possible that the administration  will try to find a way to "bail them out" in order to avoid the further job loss. 

Yesterday that talk started and it should concern every citizen. The only political entity today that can make decisions that cause the money supply to be increased, by simply printing money, is the US Federal government The states do not have currency, but if the Obama administration moves to "provide bailout money" to the states, the net result is that the spending patterns of the states will now drive the money supply. So, now the out of control, welfare state, spending patterns of California, will become the debt obligation of all US citizens. In a strange way, the out of control government in California will be a taxing authority over all the states. This will create the modern day version of "Taxation without representation." 

The arguments against a state bailout are compelling, but will have a serious consequence for the Obama administration. State employee job loss will be hard for him to ignore, but that is exactly what must happen. These states must cut back on all those social welfare and excess spending programs. In California, the people are always highly resistant to tax increases (as well they should since they are very highly taxed) but they never seem to be able to send legislators to Sacramento who will control spending, so the deficit has continued to grow as the economy has slowed. There are only two actions they can take that will balance the California budget, spending cuts or tax increases. The bitter pill must be swallowed. If it is not, the "IOUs" will be simply paper with no value. 

But, if the Obama administration steps in and "bails out the state" then the IOUs will be "monetized debt" and will add to the money supply again. Hence, more inflationary pressure, more US deficit, and more centralized control of entities, now state sovereignty is dramatically eroded. In short, the Federalist model is destroyed. That is clearly "Change you can believe in." I just abhor the belief.