Update from the Heartland
No.586
4.3.13 – 10.3.13
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- All this nonsense about sequestration [585] is subterfuge and fretting about
the façade. The issue we should be
debating and focusing on is tax reform, just as Speaker of the House John
Boehner of Ohio said all those months ago [569,
577]. If we want to increase the contributions of those most able
to contribute, then elimination of the tax breaks, incentives and loopholes
that enable them to protect their income from the tax collector would be a very
good start.
-- The conclave of the College of Cardinals has been set for
the coming Tuesday to elect the successor to Pope Benedict XVI [583]. By the next Update, we may have a new pope. Given the struggles of the Catholic
Church, the selection could prove to be quite interesting.
Well, that was quite entertaining!
The
Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12 to 3 to approve the nomination of John
Owen Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday, hours
after the White House agreed to provide more information on the legal basis for
targeted killings of Americans believed to pose a terrorist threat.
Seeking
not to be ignored, Senator Randal Howard “Rand” Paul of Kentucky decided to
carry out an old-fashioned, Mr. Smith filibuster. He was protesting against the potential use of armed drones
inside the United States and maintained the floor for 13 hours until the call
of nature got the better of him.
He claimed success as the Senate received a letter from the Attorney
General stating that the president does not have the “authority to use a drone
to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil.” Shortly
thereafter, the Senate voted 81-16-0-3(0) on the cloture motion to end debate. The Senate then voted 63-34-0-3(0) on
nomination number PN48 to confirm Brennan as the next Director Central
Intelligence (DCI).
My
first reaction to the Paul filibuster was one of disgust in that his action
represented the gross dysfunction of Congress. The confirmation process is one of qualification not protest. Yet, at the end of the day, I am
compelled to acknowledge the inner-workings and hidden mechanisms of senate
procedure worked as it was intended to work, despite my opinion of Rand
Paul. I think what Paul did was
wrong, yet I staunchly defend his right to do so, as he operated within the
rules.
Sulaiman Abu
Ghaith, 47, was arraigned in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York on a charge of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. He is a former teacher, preacher, the son-in-law
of deceased, al-Qa’ida leader Usama bin Ladin, and one-time vociferous
mouthpiece of the terrorist organization.
Ghaith reportedly fled Tora Bora in 2001, along with the al-Qa’ida
leadership, and then moved from Pakistan to Iran where he was supposedly under
house arrest for several years. He
was eventually released and moved to Turkey. The Turks deported him to Jordan, where he was turned over
to the FBI. Our government
apparently decided to treat him as a criminal rather than as an extra-national,
battlefield combatant.
I
agree with Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina; bringing Ghaith to New
York for criminal trial sets a terrible precedent given Ghaith’s contribution to
the enemy’s war effort. He is not
an American citizen. He is not
even a citizen of another nation.
He is an extra-national enemy battlefield combatant and should be
treated as such. However, my
opinion on such things does not matter squat. The deed is done.
We shall have to endure a long and protracted public trial and the
obscenity of his political statements of abuse, mistreatment and justification
. . . that is unless he decides to plead guilty and claim martyrdom.
The Commerce
Clause has been the primary tool used by the Federales
to intrude upon private lives, affairs, and “Life, Liberty and pursuit of
Happiness,” thus, my concern regarding the basis and evolution of the legal
interpretation. The constitutional
authority grew from the failure of the Articles of Confederation and the
negotiations of the Constitutional Convention.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3:
“To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;”
“To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;”
The words of the Commerce Clause have remained the same since
they were settled in 1787, however, the teeth of the Commerce Clause grew from
the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden [22 U.S. {9 Wheat.} 1 (1824)] that
set the tone for subsequent and amplifying decisions.
The
story of Gibbons illustrates precisely why the Commerce Clause is
essential and vital to the public welfare and the success of this Grand
Republic.
Thomas Gibbons operated the Stoudinger and the Bellona,
steam-powered ferryboats, between Elizabethtown and other places in New Jersey,
and New York City. The State of
New York passed legislation granting exclusive licensing authority to Robert R.
Livingston and Robert Fulton for all watercraft powered by fire or steam to
navigate the waters of the state.
Gibbons claimed his vessels were compliant with Federal licensing law
[PL 2-II-008; 1 Stat. 305; 18.February.1793] and the state law violated the
Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
To make matters worse, neighboring states passed retaliatory laws like
Connecticut that prohibited any vessel holding a New York state license from
entering its waters.
Speaking
for a unanimous Court, Chief Justice John Marshall declared the New York State
law unconstitutional and extended the definition of commerce to include not
just the exchange of goods and remuneration, but also the means to
transportation including the movement on state navigable waterways.
While
I believe the later Court has extended the Commerce Clause too far, the Gibbons
Court did exactly as the Constitution intended. The freedom of commerce has been an essential, vital element
in the success and power of this Grand Republic. Just imagine if Thomas Gibbons had failed in his appeal,
states might have enacted laws to protect intra-state commerce and essentially
exclude inter-state commerce by requiring transfer of goods at state lines, or
different gauge rails, or state transit fees, creating enormous commercial
inefficiency solely for local gain.
I will argue that Gibbons enabled American economic
energy and power.
News from the economic front:
-- The European Commission (EC) fined Microsoft €561M
(US$733M) for breaking its commitment to offer millions of users of its Windows
system a choice of rival Web browsers. The EC action made Microsoft the first
company to break a voluntary EC agreement, which would have allowed 15 million
European consumers to pick alternatives to its Internet Explorer browser.
-- Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa kept the central
bank’s ¥101T asset-purchasing program unchanged, while leaving its key interest
rate near zero. The Financial
Times [of London] reported that analysts had expected policymakers to hold off
from further easing, especially January’s adoption of a 2% inflation target and
a pledge to move to open-ended asset-purchases beginning next year.
-- The U.S. Federal Reserve reported the net worth of
American families rose by US$1.17T (1.8%) to US$66.07T in 4Q2012 – the highest
level since 4Q2007, as rising home values and gains in stock holdings boosted
household balance sheets. The
Great Recession began in December of 2007 and technically ended in June 2009,
although I surmise many Americans would have a hard time recognizing the
technical definition. I wonder how
they determine such personal information.
-- According to a Federal Reserve “stress test,” 17 of the
18 largest U.S. banks could weather a sharp economic downturn with adequate
buffers against losses. Goldman
Sachs would likely lose US$20B in a financial crisis, making the bank one of
the weakest in the industry and limits its ability to pay dividends. One
smaller bank, Ally Financial Inc., scored lowest in one key measure, largely
due to its association with troubled mortgage lender Residential Capital LLC.
-- The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added
236,000 jobs in February –much stronger performance than expected – and the
unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest in more than four years.
Comments
and contributions from Update no.585:
“CMC's message to Marines about sequestration. Well said. I appreciate the common sense “Tamer” continues to display.”
CMC White Letter 1-13.pdf
My reply:
Spot
on! Semper Fidelis.
[PS: It seems the other service chiefs released similar
letters to their personnel as a cautionary alert.]
Another contribution:
“I don't know if you're interested in astronomical events
but this could be a big one. Get yourself and the youngsters out to a 'darksky'
spot and educate the little ones and the big ones too! (Not explosive like the
Russian meteor of last week).
“First sunshine of spring here [UK] today, what a relief.”
From spaceweather.com:
“NAKED-EYE COMET: Comet Pan-STARRS (C/2011 L4) is now inside
the orbit of Mercury and it is brightening as it approaches the sun. Observers in the southern hemisphere
say the comet can be seen with the naked eye even through city lights. Currently, it is about as bright as the
stars of the Big Dipper (magnitude +2 to +3). The comet could become even brighter when it moves into
northern hemisphere skies in the second week of March.”
My response:
Indeed;
always interested in space. Thank
you for the link. I’ve not seen
the comet yet, but I certainly will give it a look see.
Related URL: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130305.html
My very best
wishes to all. Take care of
yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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