More Liberty

Libertarians for Authoritarianism?

Rudy Giuliani is atracrting support from certain libertarians who believe that his support for abortion and "gay rights" indicate some libertarian tendencies.  However, Rudy is one of the most authoritarian figures in America politics today.  He attempted to turn New York City into his own personal fiefdom complete with police brutality.  Giuliani's alleged "tolerance" consists of using the power of the state to force people to associate with homosexuals against their will.  Of course, Giuliani is a cheerleader for the neocon policy of "perpetual war for perpetual piece."  Giuliani is also a big proponent of gun control, his record shows no respect for what Jefferson called the "guardian of every other right."  Far from being a libertarian dream candidate, Rudy makes John McCain look like Ron Paul!

"Two parts hubris, one part paranoia", Cintra  Wilson, Slate

Richard Wilkins

GOP Congress: Good-bye and Good Riddance

Twelve years ago the GOP assumed control of Congress promising to reduce the size and scope of government and reform the way Congress conducted business.  On 3:06 a.m., December 8, 2006 the House of Representatives had the last roll-call vote that will be conducted under GOP control.  So did the GOP Congress fulfill its promises?  A look at the  subject of that last vote, and the circumstances under which it was held, give us some answers.

The bill itself, S. 3546, attacks consumer freedom to use dietary supplements by setting up an "adverse event reporting system" guaranteed to make supplements seem dangerous.  For example, cases where someone taken both prescription medicine and supplements has a health problem, the government will likely record this as a result of the dietary supplements not the prescription medicines!

S. 3546 was opposed  by many health freedom advocates, some of whom where assured by the GOP leadership that the bill would not come to the floor that week.  But a last-minute, backroom deal set the charge for the GOP to take one last bit of liberty away from us on their way out of town.  My sources tell me the bill was rushed to the floor as part of an agreement to facilitate the movement of legislation reauthorizing the (unconstitutional) National Institutes of Health through Congress.  Most members of the House where not informed that they would be voting on S. 3546 until 12:45 a.m. -- less than three hours before the vote!

So the Republicans failed to either reduce the size of government or reform Congress.  Instead they grew the welfare-warfare state to unprecedented proportions and set a new standard of congressional corruption, abuse of power, and arrogance.  The Democrats might not have deserved to win control of Congress, but the Republicans certainly deserved to lose control.

Richard Wilkins

Nice Work If You Can Get It

One former GOP capo who won't be dinning on egg noodles and ketchup is retiring U.S. Representative Michael Oxley, former chairman of the Financial Services Committee and co-author of the infamous Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  Sarbanes-Oxley, a congressional overreaction to the Enron and Worldcom scandals, did to the financial services industry what the PATRIOT and military tribunals acts did to all of our liberties.  Sarbanes-Oxley is a major reason why many small companies are refusing to list on the American Exchanges and why large companies are leaving Wall Street for London. 

Yet, for the past two years, Oxley turned a deaf ear to calls for reform of this bill.  Now Monday's Roll Call reports Oxley might take a high-paying job with a DC law-lobbying firm that works to roll-back...Sarbanes-Oxley! 

When the mob does it it is called extortion, when politicians do it it is called democracy.

Richard Wilkins

Beltway Libertarians

There is something terribly wrong with (Beltway) libertarians.

The CATO Institute has a new study on corruption in Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, which calls for Chavez's removal from office.  Now, I have no doubt that Chavez is a crook and a thug, but why, out of all the many politicians around the world is Chavez worthy of a CATO study highlighting his offenses?  This would not be an attempt to curry favor with the neocons by lending support to the attempts to  remove Chavez from office?  Again, I am sure Chavez deserves the scorn of any friend of freedom, but for a libertarian think-tank to explicitly call for the removal of a foreign leader seems to at least raise questions about that institution's commitment to a non-interventionism. 

Instead of criticizing the neocons latest hate figure, perhaps CATO should spend more time on the US government's assault on liberty.  As James Bovard pointed out recently, CATO all but ignored the controversy over the US use of torture.  CATO was also largely silent in the recent debate on the bill authorizing military tribunals, suspending habeas corpus, and allowing the president to designate American citizens as enemy combatants.  Maybe they'll be more outspoken when Hillary designates all opponents of socialized healthcare "enemy combatants." 

"The Torturous Servility of Washington Think Tanks"  James Bovard, 11/17/06

Richard Wilkins

Gingrich: Trading Freedom for Security

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's service on the infamous "Continuity of Government" commission showed he had no respect for the structure of republican government created by the drafters of the Constitution.  Now Newt reveals he has no respect for the Bill of Rights either.

Speaking in New Hampshire on Monday, Newt proposed creating a "different set of rules" regarding free speech in order to stop terrorists from using the Internet to find new recruits.  However, plotting terrorists acts or recruiting "volunteers" to join terrorists groups are already illegal and are not considered constitutionally-protected speech.  So why does Newt think we need to change the First Amendment?  Perhaps a clue is found when he says the Internet can be used by potential terrorists to "get their message out."  Thus, Newt appears to be saying the government should have the ability to censor political speech that is associated with terrorist organizations.

The potential this gives the government to silence critics of government policy is staggering.  Under the Newt doctrine, critics of the Iraq war could be silenced since terrorists also oppose the war.  A future liberal administration could also use this to silence pro-lifers on the grounds that criticizing abortion helps bombers of abortion clinics ("domestic terrorists") gain new recruits. These concerns are all the more valid considering the PATRIOT Act's broad definition of "terrorism" could easily encompass peaceful political activities and how federal authorities have been spying on anti-war protesters. Ironically, Newt's remarks where made at a dinner celebrating champions of the First Amendment!

Looks like the "groundswell" Gingrich hopes to create to propel him into the White House will bury what remains of our liberty and constitutional government.

"Gingrich raises alarm at event honoring those who stand up for freedom of speech"  Union Leader, 11/28/06

Richard Wilkins

P.S.  Separated at birth?

      

Quote of the Week

The quote of the week comes from former House speaker and possible 2008 presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich:

"I'm going to tell you something, and whether or not it's plausible given the world you come out of is your problem," he tells Fortune.  "I am not 'running' for president.  I am seeking to create a movement to win the future by offering a series of solutions so compelling that if the American people say I have to be president, it will happen."

This is far from the first time Newt has shown traces of megalomania.  Remember when it was discovered he made drawings meant to depict the future of Western civilization which featured him at the center as the transformational figure who would save civilization?

"Gingrich '08:  The stealth candidate"  Fortune,  11/21/06

Richard Wilkins

Conservatively Correct

Conservatives have criticized and mocked the left for attempting to silence views that did not meet the litmus test of "political correctness."  Yet, a form of political correctness has invaded the Heritage Foundation, one of the major pillars of the modern conservative movement.  Instead of the left's obsession with race and gender, a desire to silence all criticism of President Bush and the neocons is the animating feature of this right-wing PC. 

First, Heritage fired foreign policy analyst John Hulsman for writing a book questioning whether the neocon crusade for democracy was either good for the nation or representative of a true conservative approach to foreign affairs.  Then, last week, Heritage reneged on a commitment to host the November meeting of the Prosperity Caucus when it leaned the featured speaker was Ryan Sager.  Sager, a moderate libertarian journalist has written a book criticizing the Bush administration for neglecting the libertarian wing of the conservative collation in favor of pandering to the most extreme faction of the Christian Right and attempting to buy votes with new welfare programs and pork-barrel spending.  Finally, it appears Heritage refused to invite Bruce Bartlett to a dinner commemorating the 25th anniversary of Reagan's tax cuts, even though Bartlett worked for Jack Kemp at the time and thus played a major role in the tax cut, because of Bartlett's criticisms of the Bush Administration.  Bartlett's outspoken criticisms of the Bush Administration already cost him his job at the National Center for Policy Analysis. 

To be fair, Heritage is a private organization that can hire and host whoever they please. However, Heritage bills itself the center of conservative thought in DC, a place where conservatives of all stripes can come to together and debate the issues of the day.  For them to continue to claim to be open to all conservatives while attempting to silence those who criticize Bush from the right is a case of false advertising and something Heritage's principled donors might be concerned about. 

Heritage was also outspoken in their criticism of the Bush's Medicare prescription drug plan and his fiscal irresponsibility.  However, opposing the biggest opposition of the welfare state since the Great Society should be a no brainier for conservatives, not a sign of valor.  However, Heritage was also a major source of inspiration and intellectual support for Bush's other major expansion of the welfare state:  No Child Left Behind.   

Considering how political correctness turned the left from a significant force in American politics into a brain-dead national joke the rise of a similar phenomenon on the right does not bode well for the future of the conservative movement.  Especially since this right-wing PC is devoted to denying a platform to conservative and libertarian critics of an increasingly unpopular president. 

The Conservative Thought Police

"Sager BANNED at Heritage?"  Alabama Liberation Front, 11/21/06 

Richard Wilkins

Egg Noodles and Ketchup

Murray Rothbard famously urged people to view the state as a "criminal gang."  In fact, we should view the American political system as a rivalry between two criminal families fighting over who gets to control the loot gained from their criminal activities.  Of course, the gangs will collaborate when necessary to protect the welfare-warfare state that enables their systematic plunder.  This cooperation among thieves is the real meaning of the "bipartianship" the establishment media is always clamoring for. 

The behavior of many GOP "elected representatives," staffers, and lobbyists certainly bears a closer resemblance to a gangster movie than the idealized picture of government presented in high school civics.  In return for free meals, sporting tickets, and trips members and staffers allowed lobbyists to shape the legislative agenda and even write the bills.  I have heard from reliable sources that the Republican staff of the House Financial Services Committee regularly showed lobbyists draft legislation weeks before the committee even bothered informing the average members that the legislation has been added to the committee's agenda.  The committee staffers also used government resources to promote briefings by their favorite lobbyists on the pretext that members and staffers needed the perspective of the "business community." 

The Financial Services Committee also took the "K Street" project to new, thug-like heights when they threatened an industry with unfavorable treatment unless they hired a Republican lobbyists. 

I can think of no better eulogy for the GOP Congress than Henry Hill's lament on leaving the gangster lifestyle for the wittiness protection program at the end of Goodfellas:

Everybody had their hands out.  Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over...After I got here I ordered spaghetti with marina sauce..and I got egg noodles with ketchup....I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of schnooks.

For more on culture on Capitol Hill see:

"K Street grumbles about an entitlement culture"  The Hill, 06/27/05
"The Road to Riches Is Called K Street"  Washington Post, 06/22/05
"K Street Faces Changing of the Guard"  Capitol Hill Blue, 11/16/06

Richard Wilkins

Goodbye GOP

Longtime libertarian-conservative activist and former GOP candidate for the Maryland statehouse Mike Griffin, has had it with the GOP and is making his disgust public with a letter to the editor of the Aegis in Bel Air, Maryland.  I suspect Mike speaks for a lot of people who may wish to take Mike up on his "leaving the party party" or his other activities for disgruntled supporters of limited government instead of voting Republican on November 7.  Here is Mike's letter:

Dear Editor,
     For years, conservatives have put up with an appeasing RNC leadership, with GOP elected officials and party leaders who renege on key principles to satisfy their obsession to get re-elected.  Since the Republican Party has left me by moving to the left, I have registered independent.  As a conservative, I have expended more energy fighting Republicans who believe big government can be run better by them than by liberals.
     For example, Harford county executive Harkins and county council raised taxes, TWICE--during boom revenue years!  GOP Governor Ehrlich has quietly squelched my gun rights, appointed Democrats to key positions and inflicted a brand new "flush tax."  President Bush and the Republican leadership have: 1) reneged on a pledge to veto the campaign finance bill, 2) created another Great Society prescription drug program while Medicare and Social Security are scheduled to go broke, 3) frozen any further advance of our gun rights, 4) tried to buy votes with porkbarrel earmarks, 5) devoted record spending on federal education mandates which are being cheated on by the states.
     We are tired of Party leaders lecturing that we must vote for the lesser of two evils.  That things will get better under more government intrusion.
     Therefore, I have put together a list of Things Conservatives Can Do While Staying Home On Election Day:

Monster Stories and Moral Values

Andrew Sullivan listens to David Walker's horror story and draws the appropriate moral:

"Here's what i [sic] consider a basic moral value.  You do not leave your children and grandchildren the debt that you have accrued to buy yourself a few votes.  That is what this administration and Congress have done.  The debt the next generation had to pay off - the unfunded future liabilities of the federal government - was $20 trillion in 2000. After four years of Bush Republicanism, it is $43 trillion.  Bush won't face the consequences.  He never has.  But he is immorally shunting the costs of his profligacy on the next generation.  It is profoundly immoral and dishonest.  Which is why values voters among Republicans and Democrats need to demand reform and honest debate about the real fiscal trade-offs we need to confront.  The current GOP leadership won't do that.  Because they are immoral and corrupt.  Which is why change in this election is essential. the [sic] longer we wait to deal with this, the more brutal the reckoning."

"Real Moral Values" by Andrew Sullivan, 10/30/06

Richard Wilkins

American Horror Story

Below are excerpts from the article "GAO chief warns economic disaster looms" by Matt Crenson.  The Government Accounting Office (GAO) chief is David M. Walker.  In that position, Mr. Walker is our nation's chief accountant.

If the United States government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation.  That's almost as much as the total net worth of every person in America -- Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and those Google guys included.

A hole that big could paralyze the U.S. economy; according to some projections, just the interest payments on a debt that big would be as much as all the taxes the government collects today. 

And every year that nothing is done about it, Walker says, the problem grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion.

But that's about to change, thanks to the country's three big entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicaid and especially Medicare.  Medicaid and Medicare have grown progressively more expensive as the cost of health care has dramatically outpaced inflation over the past 30 years, a trend that is expected to continue for at least another decade or two. 

And with the first baby boomers becoming eligible for Social Security in 2008 and for Medicare in 2011, the expenses of those two programs are about to increase dramatically due to demographic pressures.  People are also living longer, which makes any program that provides benefits to retirees more expensive. 

Medicare already costs four times as much as it did in 1970, measured as a percentage of the nation's gross domestic product.  It currently comprises 13 percent of federal spending; by 2030, the Congressional Budget Office projects it will consume nearly a quarter of the budget. 

Economists Jagadeesh Gokhale of the American Enterprise Institute and Kent Smetters of the University of Pennsylvania have an even scarier way of looking at Medicare.  Their method calculates the program's long-term fiscal shortfall -- the annual difference between its dedicated revenues and costs -- over time. 

By 2030 they calculate Medicare will be about $5 trillion in the hole, measured in 2004 dollars.  By 2080, the fiscal imbalance will have risen to $25 trillion.  And when you project the gap out to an infinite time horizon, it reaches $60 trillion.

Trick or treat!

Richard Wilkins

There Is Something Terribly Wrong

There is something terribly wrong with the DC-based leadership of the conservative movement.  These folks have spent the better part of the last two years defending the House leadership against charges of corruption and are now frantically trying to convince conservatives and libertarians not to abandon the GOP on election day, so as not to give control of the House to the dreaded Democrats.  While I am not one of those who looking forward to a Democrat Congress, in large part because I don't expect this president to veto many of the economically dangerous items the Democrats will pass, it is hard to say a defeat for the current GOP leadership will be a setback for the cause of liberty.

These are, after all, the same people who extended the voting time of the Medicare prescription drug bill for three hours so they could threaten and bribe (allegedly) defenders of limited government to vote for the greatest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ.  In blatant violation of House rules and tradition, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert left the podium to twist arms for the bill, accompanied by then Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.  Leaders of the official conservative movement (and their Beltway libertarian allies) may have think their marriage with the GOP is a love like Romeo and Juliet's, but in truth the relationship DC-conservatives and libertarians have with the GOP hierarchy is more like OJ and Nicole's.

Richard Wilkins

They Did it Again!

Senator Patrick Leahy exposes another executive power grab snuck into major legislation rushed through Congress before adjourning for the election: 

Not only does this Conference Report unfortunately drop the Empowerment amendment entirely, it adopts some incredible changes to the Insurrection Act, which would give the President more authority to declare martial law.  Let me repeat: The National Guard Empowerment Act, which is designed to make it more likely for the National Guard to remain in State control, is dropped from this conference report in favor of provisions making it easier to usurp the Governors control and making it more likely that the President will take control of the Guard and the active military operating in the States. 

The changes to the Insurrection Act will allow the President to use the military, including the National Guard, to carry out law enforcement activities without the consent of a governor.  When the Insurrection Act is invoked posse comitatus does not apply.  Using the military for law enforcement goes against one of the founding tenets of our democracy, and it is for that reason that the Insurrection Act has only been invoked on three - three - in recent history.  The implications of changing the Act are enormous, but this change was just slipped in the defense bill as a rider with little study. Other congressional committees with jurisdiction over these matters had no chance to comment, let alone hold hearings on, these proposals.

Senator Leahy gives yet another reason why Congress should pass Congressman Ron Paul's Sunlight Rule.

Richard Wilkins

GOP and the Super-Sized State

Kent, you are not the only one turning his back on the "neoconned" GOP.  Richard Viguerie, a "founding father" of the modern conservative movement and a pioneer of the direct-mail techniques responsible for so many conservative-libertarian victories, is advocating that conservatives sit this election out.  Joining Viguerie in supporting a GOP defeat this fall are former GOP Representative Joe Scarborough, and former Reagan economic advisor William Niskanen. Viguerie makes a good point that GOP losses sometimes lead to conservative-libertarian gains, e.g. Ford's loss in 1976 set up Reagan's 1980 victory, while George the First's 1993 defeat set up the "Revolution of 1994."

"Distraught Republicans lambasting one another" San Francisco Chronicle, 10/08/06 

Richard Viguerie's "Conservatives Betrayed"

Richard Wilkins

Helen Chenoweth-Hage, Champion of Liberty, RIP

Former Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage died in a car crash on Monday.  Congresswoman Chenoweth-Hage was a member of the "revolutionary class of '94" and one of the few who lived up to the hype.  She was the first member of the House to join Congressman Ron Paul's Liberty Caucus.  She was a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights, private property, sovereignty, and the Constitution.  Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage came to Congress to make a difference, not a career.  She stepped down in 2000 honoring the term limit pledge she made in 1994. 

Jim Bovard writes about Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage.

"Former congresswoman dies in Nevada"  Las Vegas Sun, 10/02/06

Richard Wilkins

Doing the People's Business

Kent, I noticed the House spent a grand total of less than two hours the other day debating the military commissions bill.  Good to know the members of the "people's house" will not let a trivial manner like the giving the president the authority to declare American citizens "enemy combatants," and thus subject them to indefinite detention, distract them from the important task of naming post offices. 

Richard Wilkins

Dr. Frist's Late-Night Surgery

Gambling with Port Security

What does a ban on Internet gambling have to do with port security? If you said "nothing" than you haven't been following the goings on in Congress.  Late Friday night/early Saturday morning, the House and Senate passed an important bill increasing security at our nation's ports.  However, the bill contained an unrelated provision banning the use of credit cards for most forms of Internet gambling.  Highly-placed Hill sources have informed yours truly that the gambling provisions were placed there because of a last-minute demand by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. 

According to my sources, First walked into the House-Senate Conference Committee Friday night as they where completing work on the bill and demanding that they insert the gambling provision in the bill or else he would block it from consideration on the Senate floor.  Most representatives and senators probably had no idea the gambling provision was in the bill. 

Congressman Ron Paul's Sunlight Rule would put an end to these type of late-night shenanigans.

Richard Wilkins

Government: The Problem Solver

This could be the new motor of the GOP, judging by George Bush's speech to the United Nations yesterday.  In addition to reiterating the promise to bring democracy to Iraq (even if if we have to kill all the Iraqis, decimate our military, and bankrupt the country to do so), Bush promised that the US government would bring peace to  Darfur, resolve the Israeli-Palestinian problem; and end AIDS, world hunger, and global poverty.  So much for a "humble foreign policy." 

The domestic counterpart is found in the GOP's "suburban agenda," which promotes federal solutions to all the problems facing America's families, from Internet perverts to the need for more "green" spaces. This is a far cry from the Republican agenda of the 1994 revolution, which promised to scale back excessive overseas commitments and pare down the welfare state so American families could control their own lives and solve their own problems. 

Text of President Bush's Speech to U.N.

House GOP Launches Electoral Agenda Aimed at Life in Suburbia

Richard Wilkins

Happy ADHD Day!

September 20th will enrich the pharmaceutical companies, oops, I mean ADHD awareness day.  Thank goodness for the pharmaceutical companies, which, out of the goodness of their hearts (because the profits form increased sales of Ritalin are the furthest thing form their minds) are making sure all parents and teachers know that if their children behave like, well children, they can be fixed with a simple pill. If you want your congressman to stop the latest scheme to label millions of children as ADHD and keep them from getting pumped full of Ritalin, make sure your congressman supports Ron Paul's Parental Consent Act.

Richard Wilkins

GOPtopia

Conservative giant Stan Evans once quipped that many conservatives come to Washington thinking it is a swamp, but end up confusing it for a hot tub.  The New Republic article "GOPtopia" gives us the latest example of this phenomenon:  the ex-revolutionaries-turned lobbyists who have turned McLean, Virginia into the new home of the country's elite.

The modern Republican brand of corporate conservatism, embodied in the capital by Tom DeLay's K Street Project, cultivated a climate of unprecedented access--and therefore profit--for lobbyists.  If the Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham scandals didn't tell you everything you need to know, consider some statistics: Between 2000 and 2005, the number of registered Washington lobbyists doubled to about 35,000--and overall spending on lobbying grew by 30 percent, to $2.1 billion.  A well-connected congressional aide can easily win a $300,000 starting salary on K Street.  When John Boehner became House majority leader last winter, watchdog groups pointed out that a whopping 14 of his former aides had gone on to K Street lobbying jobs.  Meanwhile, where it was once considered tacky for former members of Congress to lobby, they now routinely cash in their access and know-how for seven-figure earnings.  In Washington, the spirit of public service has been overtaken by the profit motive.

Much of that profit has followed the maturing conservative establishment into McLean. "You're seeing now what I call the Gingrich Republicans, the revolutionaries--all the staffers are in their early forties now, and they're married; they're moving off Capitol Hill," says one former House GOP aide-turned-lobbyist.  "And they're deciding, OK, where am I going to be for the next 20 years.  And, three-to-one, people move to McLean." That helps to explain why McLean's median income is among the highest in the country--topping such ritzy enclaves as Greenwich, Highland Park, and Malibu.

This all reminds me of the last scene in Animal Farm where the pigs have become indistinguishable from the farmers they once sought to overthrow. 

GOPtopia by Michell Crowley of The New Republic, 9-13-06 reproduced here courtesy of Common Ground blog. 

Richard Wilkins

The "Freedom" Commission?

Karen DeCoster has a few comments on the Big Pharma-financed scheme to subject all children to mental health screening through programs such as Teen Screen.

Her comments provide plenty of reasons why Congress should pass Congressman Ron Paul's H.R. 181, the Parental Consent Act.

Richard Wilkins

Democrats Plan for Statism

The criticisms leveled at the GOP by myself and other contributors to this blog should in now way be taken to suggest the Democrats are in any way on acceptable alternative.  For proof of this, look no further than Ram Emanuel's new book The Plan.  Mr. Emanuel is the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a former advisor to former President Bill Clinton.  The Plan outlines a proposed Democratic agenda for 2006 and 2008.  (Thanks to Karen DeCoster at the LewRockwell.com blog for bringing this to my attention.)

Among the items in Emanuel's plan are universal citizen service (draft), free college tutition, more war, more Patriot Act-style crackdowns on civil liberties, new government spending to promote hybrid vehicles, and, of course, more socialized medicine.

Norm Singleton points out that the leading contender for the GOP's 2008 nomination could easily endorse most of Emanuel's plan.  Will there even be a penny's worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans in 2008?

Richard Wilkins

"Worst" Follower?

Congressman Ron Paul was voted "worst follower" in Washingtonian Magazine's annual rankings of Congress.  Of course, Congressman Paul is actually the best follower in Congress. The best follower of his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Richard Wilkins

Lifestyles of the Powerful and Immoral

Michelle Cottle of the New Republic looks at the phenomenon of politicians dumping their first wives for younger, prettier and more savvy second wives.  The ideal wife will either have political ambitions of her own or a successful career as a Hill staffer or lobbyist.  While this might seem to be of little more than prudent interest, it should be of concern for several reasons.  First, there is the obvious hypocrisy in men who have abandoned their family for a younger, more politically savvy second wife while lecturing the rest of us on the need to strengthen the traditional American family.  Also, do we really want people who live in such a dysfunctional environment to have such power of our lives, liberty and property?

Finally and most importantly, if we can not trust the men we elect to Congress to honor their vows to their wives, how can we trust them to remain faithful to their oath to uphold the Constitution?

Richard Wilkins

What's the Real Federal Deficit?

Well, that depends on which set of federal books you look at.  According to the "official" figures, the deficit is "only" $318 billion, but according to the government's audited financial statement, the deficit is actually $760 billion.  The audited financial statement is produced using standard accounting rules.

Perhaps members of Congress should be forced to comply with Section 404 of the infamous Sarbanes-Oxley Act which would require them to personally certify the accuracy of the government's financial information or face civil and/or criminal liability if the financial information realized to the public was found to be inaccurate.

Richard Wilkins

Wacky Republicans

Last week, the GOP leadership rammed a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank through the U.S. House.  This reauthorization will spend $500 million in the next five years to help corporate interests do business with countries like Red China and Saudi Arabia.  It passed on a voice vote after the House leadership used procedural tricks to thwart Congressman Ron Paul's attempts to call for a recorded vote so House members would have to go on record in favor of giving your tax money to the Fortune 500.

Then, at around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, the so-called free-market Republican Congress passed a 40% increase in the minimum wage.  All responsible economists agree that an increase in the minimum wage harms those at the bottom of the economic ladder by pricing them out of the labor market.  But what does an increase in unemployment matter compared to the need of the GOP to pander to swing voters as "compassionate conservatives?"

Richard Wilkins

Bolshevik Republicans

Last Friday, the House Republicans passed a resolution attacking the media for daring to inform the public about the government's efforts to spy on them.  Early this year, the GOP House leadership pushed a bill through the House outlawing "price gouging."  Now they are attacking the press.

First economic crimes, now attacks on the media for displeasing the State.  Maybe GOP really stands for Grand Old Politburo.

Richard Wilkins

Help Me! I Can't Stop!

Recently, the U.S. House voted to give line-item veto power to the president.  This would alter the separation of powers by making the president into a super legislator.  It would also give the president another tool to "convince" reluctant legislators to vote for presidential priorities, such as future expansions of the welfare state or new legislation giving the president new powers to spy on Americans.

This new grant of executive power was justified as necessary to crack down on pork spending, yet many members of Congress who voted for the line-item veto have been voting against Liberty Caucus member Jeff Flake's efforts to remove some of the more egregious pork projects from the appropriations bills.  In other words, these House members would rather give the president new power than responsibly exercise their own constitutional power to reduce spending.

Richard Wilkins

New Dynamic Duo

If you thought Newt and Hillary made a cute couple when they teamed up to promote more government control over health care and attack medical privacy, then you'll love the dynamic duo of ex-HHS secretaries Tommy Thompson and Donna Shalala.  Despite their partisan differences, both ex-secretaries agree that our medical records should be stored in a national database.  They also praised Massachusetts' new government health care program.  They also both support a federal tax on "unhealthy" foods.

It is not surprising to find Shalala endorsing the fax tax, but Thompson is suppose to be a conservative Republican who opposes this type of social engineering...unless compassionate conservatism is nothing more than Hillaryism dressed up in GOP garb.

Richard Wilkins

TCS Daily, 05/05/06

Who Needs Congressmen?

Who needs Congressmen when lobbyists write legislation?  For example, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist sneaked a provision preempting state liability laws to ensure vaccine manufacturers are not held responsible for any harm done by their products into the defense appropriations bill.  He did so in the middle of the night.

A new report from Public Citizen reveals that vaccine-industry lobbyists essentially wrote the provision themselves.  The Tennessean reports:

Vaccine industry officials helped shape legislation behind the scenes that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist secretly amended into a bill to shield them from lawsuits, according to e-mails obtained by a public advocacy group.

E-mails an documents written by a trade group for the vaccine-makers show the organization met privately with Frist's staff and the White House about measures that would give the industry the protection from lawsuits filed by people hurt by the vaccines.

The final language of the provision was exactly what the vaccine manufacturers requested in their e-mails and meetings.

How did the industry get such VIP treatment from Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert?  Generous campaign contributions always help.  But what was also helpful was the lobbying team that represented the vaccine manufacturers.  That team included three former Frist staffers and Dennis Hastert's son, Joshua Hastert.

Frist and the lobbyists got away with this because they could put the provision into the defense appropriations bill shortly before the bill finalized and rushed to House floor for a vote.  Most House members did not even realize that this controversial vaccine liability provision was added to the appropriations bill before they voted on it in the early morning just before leaving town for the Christmas break.

Congressman Ron Paul's proposed Sunlight Rule would ensure that members of Congress could not sneak provisions (many of which are controversial or favors for special interests) into legislation in the dead of night.  The Sunlight Rule would also stop congressional leaders from ramming such monumental legislation, such as the PATRIOT ACT and the Medicare prescription drug bill, into law before most House members, and the public, had a reasonable chance study the legislation.

Source:  Think Progress, May 8, 2006

Richard Wilkins

Bolshevik Republicans

Only 32 Republicans (including, of course, Ron Paul) and one Democrat voted against creating new federal penalties for "price gouging" by oil companies.  Making it a crime to sell a product above the state-approved price is right out of the Bolshevik playbook.  Lenin and Stalin would feel right at home in today's GOP.

Richard Wilkins

Related item:  "Congress Tells FTC to Define Price Gouging"  The Washington Post, 05/06/06

The Conservative Crack-Up

Bruce Bartlett, who lost his job when his criticism of Bush's Big Government ways angered his employer's funders, addresses the growing fear that Bush represents a disaster for conservatives and whether Bush can fairly be called a conservative.  Bartlett sees resemblances between Bush and another "Big Government" Republicans who conservatives supported to their detriment.

Bartlett says, "With George W. Bush's popularity down to just 33 percent in the latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, liberals like Paul Krugman are starting to salivate at the possibility of bringing down not only the Republican Party, but conservative ideas, as well.  Conservatives, too, are becoming concerned about the prospect, and some now are looking to distance themselves from the looming Republican crack-up.

"Those most concerned about this are conservatives old enough to remember when the conservative movement's attachment to the Republican Party was much more circumspect than it is today.  They remember too well the viciousness of the Republican establishment's attacks on conservatives like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.  Although these men eventually became viewed as pillars of the party, it greeted them initially as wreckers.

"Older conservatives also remember Richard Nixon, with whom they made a fateful alliance in 1968, even though they knew he was never really one of them.  But the imperative of getting Democrats out of the White House and his electability caused them to united behind him.  In the end, Nixon proved a disaster for conservatives and the Republican Party, as well."

Bruce Bartlett quotes leading conservative thinker (and advisor to The Liberty Committee) Professor George W. Carey's criticism of Bush.

"Is a crack-up coming?" by Bruce Bartlett

Richard Wilkins

A Party Divided?

Several weeks ago while appearing on the ABC Sunday morning program "This Week,"  House Majority Leader John Boehner said he thought the House should debate the Iraq war and even said he would put a resolution allowing debate on the House floor if it passed committee.

The GOP conference seems unaware of Boehner's comments, since they have put out a document denying the need for additional debate on the war.  The conference also portrays the resolution calling for more debate as a "democratic" initiative, even though its leading proponents are Ron Paul (REPUBLICAN-Texas) and Walter Jones (REPUBLICAN-North Carolina), two men no one has mistaken for Teddy Kennedy!

Richard Wilkins

Remember When

Remember when Republicans wanted to shut down the Department of Education?  Instead, they are making it bigger.

The latest Republican expansion of the Department of Education is President Bush's new Mathematics Partnership Council which will "evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching math and in so doing, create a research base to improve instructional methods for teachers."  This is part of Bush's plan to improve math education.  The budget fiscal year 2007 includes $10 million to carry out Bush's program, and another $250 million for something called "Math Now" program.

Thanks to Norman Singleton at LewRockwell.com for this bit of smaller-government news and for this observation:  "Good thing the Republicans control the government, because if the Democrats where in charge they would expand the budget and power of the Department of Education!"

Richard Wilkins

Charity a Crime

Norman Singleton at LewRockwell.com highlights David Devine's piece in The Washington Times on how doctors are reluctant to provide charity care for fear of being accused of fraud.  To quote Dave Barry, I'm not making this up!

Richard Wilkins

Federal Reserve for Kids

Thanks Kent for your post on the Fed's new website for kids.  I agree that the Mises Institute and LewRockwell.com are excellent resources for anyone wishing to learn about monetary policy.

Another excellent source is the writings and speeches of Congressman Ron Paul, founder of The Liberty Committee.  Congressman Paul is not only the most consistent upholder of constitutional government and individual liberty in Washington, but he is an expert in monetary policy and free-market economics.

In order to make sure the American people are informed of how the Federal Reserve is affecting our economy, Congressman Paul recently introduced H.R. 4892.  This bill would require the Fed to resume public reports on the growth of M3 which is the most comprehensive monetary aggregate.

Richard Wilkins

Sunlight Rule

Lewis Seiler and Dan Hamburg recount how the congressional leadership snuck a provision protecting vaccine manufacturers from being held accountable for any damage done by their products in the Defense appropriations bill last December.  The provision was added just hours before the bill was rushed to the floor and voted on in the dead of night.  Most members probably did not even realize the vaccine provision was in the bill.

Congressman Ron Paul's Sunlight Rule would ensure that major pieces of legislation are not rushed through Congress before representatives and the American public have had a chance to learn what they contain.

Richard Wilkins

Do-Nothing Congress

Friends of liberty might want to cheer Congress' decision to be in session only 97 days this year, and might want to let out an another yell when they learn some of those days will be spent renaming post offices and declaring August National Sunflower Month, instead of creating new ways to take property and liberty.  However, the downside is with Congress spending so few days in Washington, it lessens the already slim possibility that the legislative branch will perform effective oversight of the executive branch, thus increasing the chances that the IRS, BATF, EPA, OSHA, FDA, etc. will abuse our freedoms without being held accountable by Congress.

Richard Wilkins

Nancy Pelosi: Champion of Free Markets?

Both the Democrats and the Republicans have unveiled "competitiveness" plans in recent weeks.  Both plans propose to increase America's competitiveness by giving the federal government more money and power.  Of course, we should expect this from the Democrats, but the Republicans are supposed to understand the way to increase competitiveness is to reduce governmental power.

However, the "big government" Democrats' competitiveness agenda reduces government's power over the economy in a significant way.  It includes reform of Sarbanes-Oxley, the most costly "accounting reform" law rushed through Congress in wake of the Enron scandal.  Sarbanes-Oxley does to our economy what the PATRIOT ACT did to our liberties.  The supposed "small government" Republicans are silent on reforming Sarbanes-Oxley.

Here is the Competitive Enterprise Institute's press release on the Democrats' support of reforming Sarbanes-Oxley.

Not surprisingly, the leading opponent of Sarbanes-Oxley is Congressman Ron Paul who calls not for reform, but repeal.

Richard Wilkins

The Fed's Next War

House Minority Leader Nancy confirmed what we have always suspected about Congress' view of the American people when she recently described her work in politics as "an extension of my role as mother" which makes the American people Congress' children.

Good parents would take action if their children were gaining weight, so the federal government is preparing to wage war on obesity.  Legislation has already been introduced (Childhood Obesity Reduction Act, HR 4860) to create a federal council to deal with childhood obesity.  One justification being used to justify federal involvement is that fat people make poor soldiers, so America's growing waistlines is a national security issue!

Richard Wilkins

Scarier Than Stephen King

This week's Economic Snapshot from the Economic Policy Institute examines the skyrocketing amount of US debt held by foreigners.

Richard Wilkins

The Fed's War on Health

Karen De Coster had an interesting post at LewRockwell.com regarding bodybuilding pioneer Bob Hoffman.  Mr. Hoffman was persecuted by the federal government for informing the public about the benefits of his health products and telling people how protein can build muscles and improve health.  Hopefully, Congress will protect future Bob Hoffmans by passing Congressman Ron's Paul's Health Freedom Protection Act.

Richard Wilkins