Detroit files for Chapter 9!

Today, emergency manager Kevyn Orr filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy as he was unable to obtain "secure agreements with enough bondholders, pension funds, and other credits to restructure the city's debt out of court"(http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/07/18/detroits-bankruptcy-40-of-street-lights-dont-work-66-of-ambulances-out-of-service/) Governor Richard Snyder wrote (http://l.yimg.com/dh/ap/default/130718/C4208687718.PDF) to Kevyn Orr and Andrew Dillon (State Treasurer in Michigan), "I have reached the conclusion that this step {filing Chapter 9} is necessary after a thorough review of all the available alternatives, and I authorize this necessary step as a last resort to return this great City to financial and civic health for its residents and taypayers. This decision comes in the wake of 60 years of decline for the City, a period in which reality was often ignored." Gov. Snyder concluded after reading Mr. Orr's Financial and Operating plan in conjunction with a report to creditors that filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection is:"

1. Right now, the City cannot meet its basic obligations to its citizens.
2. Right now, the City cannot meet its basic obligations to its creditors
3. The failure of the City to meet its obligations to its citizens is the primary cause of its inability to meet its obligations to its creditors
4. The only feasible path to ensuring the City will be able to meet obligations in the future is to have a successful restructuring via the bankruptcy process that  recognizes the fundamental importance of ensuring the City can meet its basic obligations to its citizens."

The city of Detroit is estimated to be $18.5 billion in debt. At first thought one may ponder the thought of why doesn't Detroit raise taxes to cover the obligations. Gov. Snyder stated in his letter, reference above, "a vital point in Mr. Orr's letter is that Detroit tax rates are at their current legal limits, and that even if the City was legally able to raise taxes, its residents cannot afford to pay additional taxes." 

Unfortunately, Detroit is just a microcosm of poor management by our government officials of taxpayer money and the bloated pension funds of public union workers. In the private sector if a company files Chapter 9 and a pension exists concession are made on behalf of the pension group. Public Unions feel entitled to their pension funds despite the fact that their underfunded pension is an obligation that the city, state or country cannot meet. In Detroit, two of the biggest bond holders agreed with Mr. Orr on a plan to get some money back for the money borrowed while the Public Union gives up nothing. 

If Americans don't wake up soon, Detroit will not be the last major city to file Chapter 9. Governments need to re-tool their budgets with everything on the table. No sacred cows exist. A bailout is not an option. I as a Minnesotan do not need to bailout Detroit for their bad decisions over the past 60 years nor does any other American need to.

Jury Acquits Zimmerman on the Facts, Society?

Late last night the jury in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin 2nd Degree murder trial announced that they found George Zimmerman not guilty based on the facts of the case. In listening to the morning shows, the narrative is not about the facts rather about the social aspect of this tragic event. While the Justice system worked, many are pushing for the Department of Justice to levy criminal charges against George Zimmerman on violating Trayvon Martin's Civil Rights.

The NAACP wrote to the Department of Justice(http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/13/naacp-calls-on-obama-admin-to-pursue-civil-rights-charges-against-zimmerman/), "The most fundamental of civil rights - the right to life - was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Maritn. We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation."

Rev. Al Sharpton said on NBC's "Meet the Press"(http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/07/breaking_news_sun_rises_in_the_east_and_al_sharpton_comments_on_zimmerman_trial.html)," The trial happened. The verdict came in. It does not exhaust the legal options of this family and the bigger community of civil rights. We now have a position on the books in the state of Florida where an unarmed teenager who committed no crime can be killed and the killer can say self defense." Rev. Sharpton is accurate that an unarmed teenager was killed in Florida but Rev. Sharpton ignores the fact that Martin was seen by an eye witness of Martin atop Zimmerman throwing punches prior to the fatal shot from Zimmerman's gun. No one is denying that Zimmerman shot and killed Martin. The jury took the facts presented and made a decision based on that while part of society is not.

If the Department of Justice moves forward with Civil Right violations in this case it will be a political solution and not one based on the facts of the case.

Lunar Historical Site - WHAT?

Right now the unemployment rate hovers around 7.6 percent, the Fed is discussing on raising interest rates, medium incomes are falling, and student loan rates are doubled while no significant new jobs have been created as promised by Obama's stimulus plan. Still no budget has been passed by Congress under the Obama administration, but Rep. Eddie Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md) have proposed a bill, HR 2617 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/page/national-historical-park-moon-19629079, called "Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act".

I cannot make this up. We cannot figure out how to maneuver money around so military bases can have fireworks for the 4th of July but two Democrat House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would preserve the landing sites of the Apollo missions on the moon. Yes, I said on the moon. Rep. Johnson and Edwards fear that with private space travel will lead to the destruction of the famous lunar landing sites.

Can you imagine our grandkids coming to the house asking for us all to buy candy bars in an attempt to raise money so their 8th grade class can go to the Apollo Lunar Landing site on the Moon! I understand that we have a lot of bigger issues going on - jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, oh did I mention jobs - to deal with but let's take up time to discuss and vote on the "Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act".

Happy 4th of July America

"It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonefires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to other from this Time forward forever more." - John Adams 

John Adams wrote the above quote in a letter to his wife, Abigail, discussing the importance of the Declaration of Independence and his vision of commemoration. While the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on July 2, 1776, it took the  Continental Congress two days to approve thus spawning July 4th as the birth of our nation. The United States of America will turn 237 years old today. Think about that for a second. 237 years old! 

The United States is but an infant when compared to the other 195, or so, countries. Egypt, which has its own issues right now, tops the charts as the oldest country in the world. King Menes founded Egypt in 3150 BC. That is over 5000 years ago! Other old countries include - India (3000 BC), Ethiopia (2500 BC), China (2100 BC), Iran (625 BC), San Marino (301 AD), France (486 AD), Bulgaria (632 AD), Japan (660 AD) and Turkey (900 AD). I know what you are thinking...Where is San Marino? I too.

So I Binged it and went to the CIA website to learn more: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sm.html. It exist in Europe. 

Despite our infancy, the United States has quickly become a Super Power. As with any nation, the United States is not without the sins of birth; yet it is among the freest nations in the world today. Our Founding Fathers, despite their faults, crafted a form of government to protect the liberties of its citizens by limiting the powers of government while ensuring the periodic change in leadership took place in a peaceful manner.

Over the past 237 years, the United States has endured growing pains. With many of America's early sins  addressed - slavery,suffrage, religious intolerance -  new sins have emerged as America transitions into adolescence. The adolescent America feels entitled, invincible and arrogant. To humble the adolescent America is not to destroy it or to pacify it; rather time is upon us to remind the adolescent America that with power comes responsibility and decorum. July 4th enables America to pause and take inventory of our responsibilities and decorum. Take time today to re-read the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Federalist Papers. Take your own inventory.

Earlier this week a poll mentioned the Supreme Court's approval rating hit an all-time low. Why I bring this up is it is important to the adolescent America taking an accurate count of inventory.

The Supreme Court's role, in our form of government, is to be a check on the actions of the Legislative and Executive Branch as it pertains to the Constitution. Unfortunately, over the past 50 or so years - perhaps longer - the Supreme Court has seen Chief Justices ego's and partisan politics override that duty of the office they hold. Justices of the Supreme Court ought check the ego and politics at the door prior to entry as they have an immeasurable responsibility to uphold the Constitution and nothing more. 

Chief Justice John Roberts, only 57 years old, last year handed down an opinion that many observers view as a defining moment of the Supreme Court under his reign. The issue at hand was the Affordable Care Act; commonly known as ObamaCare. The 5-4 decision paved the way for the United States government to mandate that every American purchase a product or face a tax for not doing so. Chief Justice Roberts in his opinion acknowledge that Congress doesn't have the power to mandate such a purchase still ruled ObamaCare Constitution based on Congress power to tax. The stretch by Chief Justice Roberts to interpret the power to tax by Congress illustrates the arrogance of the adolescent America we endure today.

As we embark on celebrating our Great nation birthday with parade's, BBQ's, parties, and fireworks - take time to reflect on our infancy and inventory the adolescence. Engage each other in conversation to the importance of handing the next generation a nation whose adolescence is in better shape then when we inherited it. Let's encourage every American to break the chains of entitlement and demand more of our society by instilling in the adolescent America the concept to prospect each other not by the nation we came from, the person we share our life with, or the exterior of our frame; rather to employ, treat and engage each other based on the merit, the word, and the fact we are all Americans. 

Immigration Bill Debacle

The "Gang of Eight" have crated and re-crafted the immigration bill full of goodies to gain votes but concentrating on debating those is the distraction the cobblers of this bill want us to focus on. When Minnesota faced a Constitutional Amendment on requiring a photo ID for voting, opponents debated from the stand point of an Amendment solving an problem that doesn't exist.

In 1986, Congress passed and President Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). The IRCA required the following:

• that employers to attest their employee's immigration status
• made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit unauthorized immigrants
• legalized certain seasonal agricultural illegal immigrants
• legalized illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously  with the penalty of fine, back taxes due, and admission of guilt. 
• increased enforcement of U.S. border

The proposed "Gang of Eight" bill re-addresses each of these points above. Why? The unofficial number of illegal immigrants, I mean those living in the shadows, is 11 million. In Harold Holzer's book Lincoln President-Elect, Holzer (p 225) writes, "Even Americans opposed to slavery were anxious about what might happen to slaves - and to themselves - if the institution died. Full integration into free society, and with it, competition with white workers for low-paying menial jobs, was not yet a political option in the Republican mainstream." 

In April of this year, on NPR, host Celeste Headlee discussed the "Gang of Eight" immigration bill with Harold Holzer and Lesley Jordan - a food industry worker in Los Angeles.  The focus of the dialogue was the impact the immigration bill would have on the African-American community. 

Headlee asked, "Well, explain to me. Have you had any incidents that occurred in which you know for sure that an illegal immigrant, for example, either got a job that would've come to you otherwise or negatively affected your ability to get a job?"

Jordan responded, "Absolutely. Because in the food services, in the restaurant, you have the back of the house, which is the kitchen area. And those are Latinos working in the kitchen. And if you can't speak the language, then why would the chef  - why would the restaurant, why would they hire you? And that's been my experience. I don't speak Spanish. I don't feel that I should have to speak Spanish. But unfortunately I don't and I've been passed over for jobs because of it. And I know this for a fact"

The concern that Lesley Jordan echoes a concern that Holzer wrote in his book of Whites prior to Lincoln taking office. The only thing the new "Gang of Eight" bill will address is the expectation that all illegal immigrants will need to learn English otherwise the rest of the bill echos the 1986 legislation. It is that echo that concerns me and should concern the rest of America.

The problem with illegal immigration is not rooted in the vast number of illegal immigrants hiding in the shadows; rather it is the lack of resources given to the 1986 bill. Currently, Congress is in search of a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. By not existing, my meaning is that America never fully completed the decree of the 1986 legislation. Instead of reinventing reform law why not just fund the 1986 legislation and stop coming down on States, like Arizona, who want to assit the Federal government in enforcing the current law on the books. 

The issue of illegal immigration is not that reform is required; rather it is enforcement of current law and freeing up resources to build the wall along the Southern border.

The Extended Patriot Act

2013 is shaping up to be an eye opener for Americans to the extent that our Federal Government and agencies have extended their look into our private lives. The IRS delay of approving Conservative and Jewish 501(c) applications while approving Liberal 501(c) groups in a timely manner - even on one instance back dating the approval several years. Over the last week, the UK newspapers broke several stories about the NSA, and other agencies, demanding phone records, email data, and internet activity of American citizens. The NSA, FBI, and CIA all claim all requests were legal and compliant under the recently extended and amended Patriot Act.

James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, defended the use of a classified program known as PRISM last Thursday by claiming that "information collected under his program is among the most important and valuable foreign intelligence information we collect, and is used to protect our nation from a wide variety of threats. The unauthorized disclosure of information about this important and entirely legal program is reprehensible and risks important protections for the security of  Americans." Part of what Clapper claims is accurate that the information obtained can be extremely valuable to defending our borders and infrastructure from any manner of foreign attack. The trouble with Clapper's claim is the program is being used to survey Americans which violates one Due Process at a very minimum.

Granted the Founding Fathers didn't foresee the internet nor a global economy as we experience today; yet they were intelligent enough to put forth broad ideas that are applicable to evolutionary forces. Societies as they mature have become more and more reliant on technology - internet, tablets, and smartphones. With this reliance comes opportunity of abuse in the form of cyberattacks, unwarranted intrusion, or mining of information. No secret exists that Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, etc...track the pages we go to, words we search, friends we make, topics we discuss all in an effort to tailor our experience and drive revenues.

The trouble now is that Big Brother is mining this data for reasons that are not legit. The 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution protects every American from illegal searches and seizures. As I stated above, the Founding Fathers didn't foresee the internet but the concept is applicable. Any American, as long as the use is legal, ought to be able to fire up the internet without fear that any branch or agency of the government is tracking their every move. Makes me wonder though, of the over 300 hits my blog posts get - how many are government agencies?

Rep. Maxine Waters stated earlier this year that, "The President has put in place an organization with the kind of database that no one has ever seen before in life. That's going to be very, very powerful. That database will have information on every individual on ways that it's never been done before and whomever runs for President on the Democratic ticket has to deal with that. They're going to go down with the database and the concerns of those people because they can't get around it And he's been very smart. It's very powerful what he's leaving in place." When Rep. Waters first stated this most Americans, and the media, presumed that she was talking about a database of Democratic donors. Take this statement, combine it with the IRS scandal and the recent revelations of NSA and FBI mining of internet activity leads one to see that President Obama's database is much more than donors.

The dots are being connected and American's need to see them. Our Federal Government has grown too big and under the current administration has expanded the Patriot Act to the point of violating every American's 4th Amendment right. Unfortunately it took the UK Guardian to break the levee, leaving American media playing catch up. I agree that we need to ensure that cyberattacks and other illegal activity is combated on the internet but it needs to be done within the context of protecting our freedoms and obeying the law of the land. 

Axelrod gets it right!

A few weeks back I asked the question - What is the proper size of Government? Those that had challenged me to answer that question have been remarkably silent - Why might that be? On May 15th of this year David Axelrod, while on Morning Joe, is talking about the IRS scandal stated, "When you are President of the United States...part of being President there is so much beneath you that you cannot know because the government is so vast..."

Really! The President of the United States is the leader of our country. The one that is suppose to set the tone. Now I could go down the path that President Obama is the "smartest" President ever and all the rhetoric the Progressives have thrown out there about President Obama but I won't because it isn't germane to the topic at hand.

The fact that a Progressive finally admitted that the size of the Government is "so vast" that no one President cannot fully understand or be in the know of every detail of government is astounding. The IRS Scandal, which now appears to have over 60 agents involved, the AP/Fox New spying allegations, and the Benghazi cover up are just symptoms of a bigger problem. Soon we will have Obamacare that will be enforced by the IRS and is driving up insurance premiums.

Government is far too big! That mantra is not a battle cry for no government; rather it is the mantra for dialogue on the proper size and scope of government. In reading the Federalist Papers, again, it amazes me to the grasps of meaningful dialogue that our Founding Fathers painstakingly undertook to ensure that a repeat of the Continental Congress didn't take place while understanding that not all ills were able to be rectified to retain the Union. Since that point of the ratification of the United States Constitution, the concept of a limited Federal Government as eroding into the mammoth that David Axelrod is referring to when speaking on Morning Joe.

The downfall of any great society is the bureaucracy choke hold and the paranoia of the populous to curry favor with said bureaucracy. We approach that abyss. Recent scandal of the Obama administration are just a microcosm of the nature of the beast. Larger issues remain  - an example of that is the untamed animal known as the Federal Reserve. The Fed, as it is commonly referred to, is an un-elected body in charge of maintaining a secure and vibrant money supply that works inside of a star chamber. Soon we will have another un-elected board created out of the 7,000 plus page mega-bill known as Obamacare that will decide our future in regards to health care directives, procedures, coverage and, yes, penalties.

We have time to reverse this course and the river runs swift in the other direction, but it takes a collective voice unafraid of an IRS audit or retribution by the Government. Time is here for American's to reclaim the ideals of the Founding Fathers of a limited government, the opportunity to live free, and retain the government of the people for the people in tact. Attempt to think outside one's comfort zone and assess the scope and size of our current government. Our Founding Fathers risked far worse than being labeled a Tea Party, a Conservative, a Progressive, a Liberal, a Socialist to ensure that United States, as imperfect the start, would be a place that freedom reigned and Government played second fiddle.