When Monkeys Attack

Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a pet attacked and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 80, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets. The bill passed by a vote of 323 to 95. The bill now moves for consideration to the U.S. Senate, where the effort to pass the legislation is being led by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La. – as quoted from the Politico.com website in an article by Ben Smith on 2/24/2009

I just want to say, "Are you FREAKIN kidding me?" The Federal government of the United States has nothing better to do? We are apparently in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and they are worried about what one chimp has done? How many dogs mauled people on the same day? Why are we not passing the Captive Canine Safety act?

2% of the population will be attacked by dogs this year, while only about 1/300,000,000 people will be attacked by chimps. Now, you tell me where the threat is.

Maybe we should stimulate some research on the subject. Here is a check for $100,000,000 signed Obama.

Antiquated Dreams of the Postmodern Capitalist

Today I was watching Larry Kudlow on CNBC. He was in the middle of a fight with four guests over validity of free markets. It struck me that I never would have imagined that I would live in a time where people in the United States would have to be convinced that Capitalism and free markets were the direction we should pursue. To me, it was like watching people argue over the color of the sky. Kudlow up there trying to convince them it is blue, and they trying to convince him that really it something different and it used to be blue. Where are we going with this?

When I talk to people all over the country – Arizona, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio - they all state that they are against this bailout. I very rarely run across a person that is vehemently for this action. People want those who have gotten themselves into this pickle to be responsible for their own actions. In fact, a favorite quote I hear is that they have worked 10 or 15 years now and yet their investment accounts are down 40% or 50%. They want to know why their investments aren't being helped out.

When I hear half the politicians say they are against the bailout, but vote for it anyway I am hit with a sickening feeling. Additionally, when every politician who voted for or even against this action realistically didn't even know what they signed into law, where do you think this will lead us?

What is an amazing anomaly in this whole process is the media. What is interesting is that the media seems to be for it in a ratio of 5 or 6 to 1. They are spouting ideas such as how free markets don't work, there is need to regulate our ways out of this. What my reason shouts inside me is that regulation got us into this mess. How is regulation going to get us out of it?

I was at a luncheon the other day with a gentleman from the fed, he was saying that he really didn't believe in what we were doing was right. He made the point that this problem was brought on by a combination of artificially-low interest rates, lax lending and one more very interesting aspect that you don't hear discussed. This last element is rooted in governmental regulation of free markets. Many municipalities enacted regulations during the big housing boom that were designed to slow growth. These regulations included such acts as limiting the amount of building permits. Whereas, in a free market, demand would have driven new houses being built and maintaining a proper level of supply. These municipalities regulated the amount of supply available and thus artificially inflated the cost to the customer. Now we are going to attempt, as a federal entity, to put a floor under these artificially high home prices. Instead of correcting this initial problem and allowing the free market to correct the issues, we are doing nothing but exacerbating the problem. During the height of the boom, only 2% of Los Angles could afford the median priced home, now as the market has dropped prices that rate is up to closer to 40%...what our brilliant leaders want to do now, is to add regulations in an effort to increase home values again…do they want to get back to a place where nobody can afford an average priced home? This is insanity.

The following data is from OFEHO – Essentially, the federal housing index. If you notice that even with the big drop in values, the index is still almost double what it was in 2000. Now ask yourself, what has your 401(k) done since then?

…this is Chewbacca…

 

Marketing

. . . As a sidebar. . . I just wanted to say that this blog is not intended to be anything other than what it might evolve into. Although, I sincerely want this blog to make some sort of difference in the way we view ourselves and our world, I do not want to give the false impression of some self-righteous know it all either. To that end, I am not looking to create some great work of writing, or some boring self-indulgent blog either. I just want to create an honest, thoughtful, exciting space for people of like mind to share ideas.

Having said that, a good friend of mine told me that the best way to stir up some interest is to state how dumb Keith Olbermann is. . . I am not sure how it works, but maybe its sort of like baseball fields in Iowa. . . I think in the spirit of the fairness doctrine, I should also state how dumb Rush Limbaugh is. . . ah yes, I believe I see the headlights make the turn around the last corn stalk.

Anyway, I hope this blog will make for good reading … Ayn Rand, Ron Paul, Barrak Obama, George Bush, Libertarian, and Socialism…=) Now if that isn't some good marketing, I don't know what is.

Heracles Pillars

It seems fitting that along the time of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, the country is again faced with a great struggle. A struggle that threatens to tear our country apart, not by the sword by a much more insidious means perpetrated by men seeking ideals such as power and influence, all at the cost of the rest of us.

We are all guilty of throwing around statement of grandeur in concern for the coming demise of this country, but it has yet to come to pass. However, it is not to say that we have not faced periods in our past which could have led down that dark path if the proper action had not been taken. These labors were successfully prevailed over only through the leadership of great men rising to the challenge and bearing the burden of the masses. These men stood poised to act to ward off impending doom, by taking up the burdens that were laid upon them without seeking any special favors or accolades for their work. Without them, and their ideas, their sacrifices and their willingness to lead we may have strayed down that wrong path.

Today, as we stand face-to-face with challenges of immense proportion, we may not be looking at the right problem. The public thought seems to be focused on the emergency of the financial catastrophe that is either here, has been here, or may be here – depending on your point of view - but I propose that the true evil that we face is that of what actions some men who portray themselves as leaders are taking to "protect us" from this awful fate. When we have Congressmen and Presidents signing into law legislation that not only the public hasn't read, but more troubling, they haven't read, we are setting ourselves up for failure not only in this crisis, but as a sovereign nation.

It seems we like to believe that we are so advanced and our struggles are so different than those of our forefathers, but I believe it is a mistake to think that way. We are still a people who, at our core, love liberty and exist in a world not so advanced that we can afford to be negligent in its defense. While we must be mindful of new problems we face, we can ill afford to dismiss age old threats to Liberty.

I am starting this blog as a very informal place for people to come and discuss ideas for our Country, protecting our Liberty, and how we might truly seek a more perfect Union.

To that end, I only view myself as a moderator, at best. I foresee myself only throwing out thoughts on current events and my few opinions in hopes that people may find them as discussion points for the betterment of a good debate on the issues at hand.

There are men whom have hoisted the heavens on their shoulders for the betterment of us all. We owe it to them, to build on their works and preserve our great nation and enable our future generations the opportunities that we still enjoy to this day.