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U.S. Supreme Court Upholds West Virginia Redistricting

Rahall, Manchin, and Rockefeller Announce Four Program Fundings

Energy Drives Economy and Elections

Manchin Demand to Address Budget and Taxes Seconded By Human Events

UN May Propose Global Taxes

Do Americans Overvalue Freedom of Speech?

Maryland Democrats Suddenly in Fear of Bartlett Win in 6th District, Smear Congressman Bartlett, Mooney

Real Refs Return

Big Trouble Brewing In China

A common theme among the great nations in history is upheaval.  Great nations are established, then led by great men or women.  Then comes the corrupt, negligent, overly wrathful, or simply bad.  The people suffer, the social systems break down, and the leaders remain unable or unwilling to make the changes necessary to right the ship.  King Ahab, King Zhou of Shang, and King George III among others all found the divine recruited against their ways.  All found decisive defeat as a result.

America's Declaration of Independence appealed equally to Nature's God and "the opinions of mankind" to justify separation from the realm of His Majesty George III and Parliament.  China has many of its own examples of poor leadership in history, the most egregious being its version of Caligula, a degenerate known as King Zhou of Shang. When a government is no longer of positive use, heaven itself will reject it for the sake of the people.  This powerful undercurrent lies beneath the political culture of the planet's two most powerful nations.  The U.S. appeases this demand through regular elections.  China's system has no such release, and this forms a major threat to the system.

China's mandate of heaven philosophy dates back to the time of Confucious.  It has four major tenets:


1) Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule,
2) Since there is only one Heaven, there can only be one emperor at any given time,
3) The emperor's virtue determines his right to rule, and,
4) No one dynasty has a permanent right to rule.

Over the past decade, China has impressed observers with its apparent economic growth.  They built the world's tallest building, connected high ridges with the world's longest bridges, and in the past year, built a 30 story building from prefabricated parts in 15 days.  Communist China, however, remains the same nation that saw the bloody repression of basic liberties at Tienanmen Square 25 years ago.  

Some of the closest Western observers have gone bearish on China's prospects.  The blog ChinaGeeks.com  noted that air pollution in major cities, notably the capital of Beijing, has risen substantially and contributed to a 60% rise in cancer rates.  One writer, filmmaker Charlie Custer says about food safety,  "Things have simply gotten to the point that it’s impossible to feel confident that what you’re eating is healthy, or even real, unless you’re on a farm."  Strangely enough, this includes reports of not only inedible pork, but also exploding watermelons.

Basic problems of health and safety go hand in hand with a regime both increasingly oppressive at home and belligerent abroad.   Failed defector Wang Lijun received a 15 year sentence for trying to escape to the United States.  A British national, Mark Kitto was quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek saying “One day they are going to run out of money, and run out of soldiers and police" to curb discontent.

Meanwhile China remains bent on escalating its problems with neighboring countries.  It deployed its first aircraft carrier, currently known as Number 16, in the face of territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.  The Japanese government reasserted its hundred year old ownership of one island group while Vietnam's National Assembly passed an act establishing a claim to islands seized by China from South Vietnam in 1974.  

This comes at a dangerous point.  China's leadership has grown factionalized and there could be a coming conflict between conservative bureaucrats and more nationalists hard-liners.

In China, however, the main issue is the population itself.  Historically, when nations with authoritarian systems also have rising middle classes, they usually must liberalize or face revolution.  The Communist system in China also faces the people's anger over environmental issues.  Air pollution is most visible, but China also has severe issues with its groundwater. Three years ago, CBS News discovered a gigantic open dump in the southern part of the country where deadly dioxin had been leaching into the ground for years.  


Just as Gorbachev's response to Chernobyl helped to usher the Soviet Union into the dustbin of history.  China's increasing oppression of liberty, unhealthy environment, and foreign brinksmanship could turn discontent into open rebellion.  The mandate of heaven principle lies in wait for the people to flock to its cause.


After revolution, however, then what?  The best case scenario lies in a simple transfer of the Taiwanese Nationalist China government to Beijing, loosely mimicking the unification of Germany in the 1990s.  Worst case scenario is an aggressive nationalist dictatorship ready to confront Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, India, Japan, and even Russia and the United States.  The goal would be regional hegemony. Only demonstrations of strength and resolve can maintain peace in the face of such a development.  Even then, war may be inevitable.

Even as violence once again threatens to engulf the Middle East, American policy makers can not afford to ignore China.

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Education Spending Higher Than Ever, SAT Scores Plummet

Leadership Uncertainty in China

Rahall Says Strong Medicare Plan Essential For Seniors

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Madonna Doesn't Know President's Religion, Or What Irony Is

NFL Officiating: An Editorial

The National Football League has made its bed.  And apparently more are lying in it than ever.

Despite the constant furor and debate over bad calls, long periods of inactivity, and basic misunderstanding of the game of football, much less the professional version, the replacement refereed games have resulted in an 8 percent rise in viewership over last season. 

Conclusion:  some people enjoy watching self-inflicted meltdowns and disasters.

The basic issue, according to the NFL, lies in the referees' union demanding pensions. 

A Bloomberg Businessweek writer argued that this made the NFL dispute much like the Chicago teacher strike.  This is a terrible analogy.  One group is employed by a heavily indebted, bloated carcass of a government run institution.  Its product is already bad and has zero credibility.  Frankly, a lot of people can meet the standards of hiring and retention of Chicago schools.  The National Football League earns tens of billions in revenue, which all estimates see rising.  Only 120 officials work for the league.  They must maintain the most rigorous standards of professionalism.  NFL officials also must have superior mental and physical attributes to even obtain a position.  Argue all you want about the relative value of teachers and professional football officials.  Only a handful of people can officiate an NFL game well.  And those that do play a huge role in making the organization profitable.

NFL officials have argued that most of its employees have no pensions.  The best answer is, so what?  A lot of people can answer the phones, sweep the hallways, make coffee, perform maintenance.  Very few people are qualified to coach, play, or officiate games.  Therefore, they deserve more consideration than the office secretarial pool.  Every business fears the obligation of pensions handed out willy-nilly.  Such a burden sank U.S. Steel.  But the NFL has no obligation to pension everyone.  Just the people who make the game run smoothly.

Beyond that, the NFL could even do as some states have and offer to give all new hires 401ks and preserve the pensions for current officials. Toss in a good raise for all of them. This would seem to be a sound compromise.

Otherwise, continue watching the game attract people who want to watch bumbling and buffoonery, instead of its peculiar kind of violent ballet.

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Rules of Engagement Endanger U.S. Soldiers: Unlike Police Officers, Cannot Fire Back Until They Know Who They Are Shooting At

Connections Between Obama Supporters and Wind Subsidies

Chinese Cyber Attacks On Japan

Iran Unveils Its Own Drones, Likely Based On Technology Seized From Downed U.S. Craft

NASA Plans Moon Base As First Step Towards Mars

Rahall Backs Pill Reclamation Plan to Stop Abuse

Rahal Statement on Water Plant Opening

Manchin, Rockefeller, Rahall Back Continued Use of Green Bank Observatory

Call to End Lockout After Improbable Seattle Win

Maryland Pro Gambling Groups Take Shots At West Virginia

Perhaps it is fitting that the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam has arrived.  An advertising border war has erupted between Maryland and West Virginia.  While one major casino company seeks to protect its stake in its operation in Charles Town, another has turned to bashing West Virginia to garner Maryland support.

The question:  whether or not Maryland should amend its law to allow MGM to build a casino at National Harbor just east of Washington DC on the Potomac River. 

The effort has pitted MGM resorts against Penn National Gaming.  Penn could benefit from the proposed law's expansion of gaming because it operates a casino in Perryville, Maryland between Baltimore and Philadelphia.  It also, however, operates the massive flagship gaming center Hollywood Casino at Charles Town.  Both sides have invested a combined $20.5 million

“We’re prepared to spend what is necessary to make sure the truth about Question 7 is not drowned out by a barrage of misleading ads put up by a company protecting its West Virginia casino,” said Gordon Absher, a spokesman for MGM.

The "Vote No on 7" website emphasizes that MGM Resorts would receive tax breaks while Marylanders have seen the state raise taxes and fees.

 In 2010, nearly $900 million was spent at West Virginia casinos. Almost a third went to the state in taxes. Maryland saw almost $30 million spent.  Understandably, they would like to cut into the Mountain State's gambling largesse.

At stake is the Montgomery County, Maryland market.  This provides the bulk of Charles Town's business. MGM wagers that it would naturally turn to an in-state casino.  Even if the measure passes, it is still much easier for residents there to travel over exurban expressways to West Virginia, rather than fight D.C. sprawl to get to National Harbor.

Some have argued that the proposed National Harbor casino will struggle to compete in other ways.  While West Virginia allows operators to keep nearly 46 percent of revenues, Maryland only allows 33.  This would put MGM at an immediate disadvantage, on top of having to deal with Maryland's stricter regulations and higher taxes.  To counter this problem, it would have to sell National Harbor as a premier convention destination, despite the problem of not being connected to the area's Metrorail.  

Another issue is the subtle undercurrent of negativity aimed at the Mountain State.  The D.C. market has seen several ads run during NFL Sunday broadcasts trying to stir Marylanders' anger against West Virginia.  They argue that Maryland gamblers going to Penn National casinos pay for West Virginia police and schools.  Some even wrongly insinuate that the Wyomissing PA  company is somehow based in West Virginia.

Marylanders will go to the polls in November to vote on a variety of issues besides electing candidates.  They also will vote on gay marriage, the drawing of a congressional district, and gambling expansion.  All of these will bring social conservative voters out, while the leads enjoyed by Democrats in the state, including Obama, will likely dampen liberal turnout.

Although the outcome remains in doubt, it is certain that MGM's house money will continue to bet that bashing West Virginia will help support its efforts.


One Minute Ad Taking Shots at West Virginia

Knock off of "Country Roads"

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Gratuitous Replay of Tavon Austin Burning Maryland Defense

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Congresswoman Capito Supports "Stop War on Coal Act"

Congressman McKinley Announces Job Fair For Veterans

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Congresswoman Capito Pleased With Outcome of Constellium Talks

Committee Debates McKinley Bill to Stop Harmful EPA Regulations

70% of Spending Supports Government Dependents

Evidence Builds of Preplanned Terror Attack in Libya

Ambassador Stevens' Diary Reveals Problems With State Department Story

New York Nanny State Will Never Be Satisfied

Auburn Student's Ron Paul Poster Censored

Is There an Alternative to the War on Drugs in Mexico?

Justice Department "Enemies List"

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Medicare Fraud's Lobby

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Failure of the Cairo Doctrine

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Obama's Lifting of Work Requirements Led to Higher Food Stamp Use

Farm Bill Dies In Senate, Agricultural Subsidies to Drop Substantially

Fast and Furious Lost 1,300 Weapons

Free Speech Is Not the Problem

Congressman McKinley Supports Work Requirement in Welfare

Rahall Supports More Federal Involvement In Rural Education

Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey Support Reigning in EPA

Manchin Also Backs More Federal Involvement in Rural Education

Manchin Demands That Congress Remain In Session Until Budget Is Solved

Department of Homeland Security Continues to Face Problems With Anti-Terrorism Measures For the Chemical Industry

The chemical industry currently employs 22, 500  in Kanawha and Putnam Counties alone and has a total economic impact of over $5 billion dollars.  Regional planners, according to Vision 2030, seek to add more small to mid level chemical related firms in the region.  Clearly the industry is in the Charleston area to stay.

But so is terrorism.  According to the Heritage Foundation, of the 51 known attempts by Islamic based terrorists, three have involved chemical facilities, or an attempt to seize hazardous materials. 

This week, Congress will examine the Department of Homeland Security's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program.  CFATS stems from post 9/11 concerns about the security of chemical facilities, but took nearly six years to enact.  It did address somewhat the serious problem of prevention and, if the worst happened, containment of an attack on a chemical plant.

Critics argue that the standards in place are costly, confusing, and fail to take into account local conditions.  A federal "one size fits all" solution has created too many problems, mainly because the government refuses to give businesses the information that they would need to comply with the standards.

The foundation of CFATS is a system that rates plants based upon their potential risk.  The Heritage Foundation reported in August that not only will the DHS not tell a firm why its facility is placed in a certain tier, they also discovered that the rating process was flawed.

Additionally, every firm must provide a safety plan to the DHS.  In five years, just a single plan has been approved.  The Department has failed to hire and train inspectors equal to the task, therefore, it cannot intelligently evaluate these plans.

Department witnesses on a congressional hearing on September 11th (scheduled by coincidence) fired back at critics, stating that 2,700 facilities have eliminated, reduced, or modified stockpiles of dangerous materials.  Representative John Shimkus, Republican Chair of the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, recognized the value of the CFATS statute. But he also said "I do not support waste, fraud, and abuse -- and it seemed we had a bipartisan consensus on this point at the last CFATS hearing . . .For all the support Congress has given over the years, CFATS should have more to show than repelling ropes, hazmat suits, and delayed implementation."

CFATS is one of the priority issues Congress wants to solve prior to the election.  It is up for renewal on October 4.  Few would oppose its renewal, but many are advocating for revising implementation.

Some push for a stronger role for the EPA.  Greenpeace submitted a petition with over 60,000 signatures requesting that the agency be empowered to act.  Blogger John Deans wrote "the Obama Administration has consistently testified in favor of strong policies on chemical disaster prevention. Now it’s time for them to stand up to Big Chem’s lobbyists and implement the authority they have to prevent chemical disasters as Congress intended."  Greenpeace believes that the federal government is best suited to protect local communities from the effects of terror attacks.

Others propose a wider ranging solution, believing that if one federal agency has not done the job, then two agencies with legal authority would only be worse.  Heritage Foundation researcher Jessica Zuckerman notes that

 The security of the high-risk chemical facilities is a collaborative endeavor. Facilities that possess chemicals capable of causing catastrophic disasters might benefit from a degree of federal oversight, while private-sector facilities themselves have a vested interest in providing security for their facilities. State and local governments also have a vested interest, as any disaster or catastrophe would occur directly in their jurisdiction. The three must work together to enhance U.S. chemical security.

The collaborative approach promotes partnership between the federal government and the parties with the most vested interest, local government and the chemical industry itself.

In any event, only a few weeks remain until either an improved law is passed, or CFATS disappears.

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Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin Announce Bipartisan Anti-EPA Bill

Manchin Statement on Constellium Vote

Ex Guantanamo Detainee Identified As Ringleader of Libya Attacks

Rainfall Easing Drought Impact

Penn State Scandal Accusations Widen

How the GM Bailout Subsidized the UAW and Left Many Without Their Hard Earned Pensions

More Trouble For Eric Holder

Obama on Debt: What, Me Worry?

Rand Paul Backs Privatizing Airport Security

Coal Job Losses Become Issue In Pennsylvania Senate Election

Rahall: $1 Million For Lincoln County Water

Rahall: $3 Million For New River Community College

"Star Trek's" Patrick Stewart Tweets That Time Warner Made Him Lose "The Will to Live"

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Seven Ways to Energize Energy

Taxpayer Numbers Decline, Number of Those Supported By Taxpayers Rises

Chemical Industry Anti-Terror Measures Still Not Implemented

State Governments Best Equipped to Handle Energy Regulation

Congresswoman Capito: Obama Administration Still a Threat to Coal

Congresswoman Capito to Educate State Youth on Value of Service Academies

EPA Promotes Sale of More Polluting and Less Efficient Fuel

Troops, vets Worry About Economy

Rahall Announces Funding For Airports, Schedules Citizen Meetings For Post Office Feedback

Manchin Discusses Alpha Layoffs, Constitution Day, Beckley Airport

Manchin on Alpha Coal layoffs  "There’s a balance to be found between the environment and the economy and the EPA has worked very hard to avoid finding that balance."

Rockefeller Announces Funding For Development Councils

 Photoessay: Battle of Antietam Site Images, Then and Now

Obama Administration Angry At Judge For Striking Down Indefinite Detention

In a move supported by the CATO Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge from the U. S. Second Circuit struck down provisions allowing indefinite detention of American citizens without trial.

Obama appointee Katherine Forrest in the Second Circuit argued that the provision violated the First Amendment, as well as guarantees of due process.  The Department of Justice countered by calling the ruling "unprecedented" and  simply reasserted the 2001 act authorizing the use of force in the War on Terror.  This would seem to be less of an argument against Judge Forrest and more of a preparation for arguments in front of Republican appointed judges later on.

Forrest found the definition of who was subject to be detained frighteningly broad. According to the argument of plaintiffs Noam Chomsky and reporter Chris Hedges, any activist or reporter who is peripherally associated with a suspect group could face detention.  The government argued that neither Chomsky nor Hedges were likely to face detention in the near future. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rand Paul has observed that people storing up seven days worth of food could be considered terrorists and detained.

Indefinite detention has met with strong opposition from across the political spectrum.  Reason magazine warns that opposition to such measures must begin immediately.  Waiting until someone is actually detained gives the law a chance to become a "new normal."  At that point it would be much more difficult to remove. 

The ACLU stated at the time of passage last December that "the statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.”

NDAA provisions have some precedent in the detention of Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.  Others have pointed out the mass imprisonment of Japanese civilians in the 1940s.  Keeping Confederate soldiers in prison camps did take place during a time of recognized rebellion when the civil courts were officially non functional.  Although the Supreme Court in 1944 upheld the Japanese detentions, the Department of Justice, under Obama strangely enough, stated that the judgement was in error.  As a result, they could not use Korematsu v United States as a buttress of their NDAA case. 

Indefinite detention in one way is a very serious assumption of power by the government that violates the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, as well as possibly the 14th depending upon the application.  In another sense, however, it is so weak in potential use against American citizens that the government's zeal to fight on its behalf looks like a waste of time.

The Constitution recognizes every citizen's right to appeal to the courts for a writ of habeas corpus.  This writ evolved in England during the Middle Ages as a response to the power of the king to jail an individual indefinitely.  In 1689, only the legislative branch was recognized as having the power to suspend this writ in the specifically mandated times of invasion or rebellion.  Certainly the president can detain a person under NDAA.  And that person would be released the very next day by a judge unless a rebellion or invasion takes place.  

While is is right for CATO and the ACLU to fight this law, one should also recognize its inherent uselessness.  The Constitution already provides for legal indefinite detention in very well defined situations while restricting it under any other conditions.

See also ex parte Merryman (1861) 

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Rockefeller Recognizes Constitution Day

Rockefeller Congratulates WVU Journalism School

Nick Rahall Recognizes Constitution Day

UK Independent: U. S. Knew of Benghazi Attack Ahead of Time, Sensitive Information on Libyans Working With United States Captured

Iran Launching Cyber Attacks Against American Businesses

Chinese General Threatens War With Japan

India Moves 36,000 Troops to Chinese Border, Countering Beijing's Own Buildup

Time to Learn About the Founding Fathers

Real Time Map of Air Travel Density

Europe Bans Full Body Scanners Still Used in U.S.

Palistani Islamic Militant Killed By Smoke From U.S. Flag He Was Burning

The Economic Impact of Coal Powered Plants

Unless something happens to change the game, the Environmental Protection Agency will implement harsh new mercury standards that will make it impossible to build, or even to keep in operation, coal fired power plants. 

According to a Huntington News Net analyst, "At an estimated cost of $10 billion a year, the Utility MACT Rule is the most expensive regulation ever issued by the EPA. The rule is playing a major role in forcing utilities to close an estimated 57 to 140 coal-fired power plants."

Although court decisions have rolled back many aggressive EPA moves, the threat remains in place so long at the federal government is led by individuals hostile to coal.

These coal fired power plants have a powerful economic impact.  According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development,  the new power plant at Maidsville, in Monongalia County, was expected to 100 permanent utility jobs and 210 mining jobs in nearby Preston County.  An industry fact sheet estimated that half a billion dollars would be invested in West Virginia, as well as over 300 million in nearby Pennsylvania counties.

Multiply these numbers by all of the potential power plants built in the United States over the next decade and one sees staggering losses in West Virginia, Wyoming, and many other states.  Add to that the threat of declining reliability, which is already happening in California.

Congress and the courts can only restrain the EPA so many different ways.  The voters need to address the leviathan's master.

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 House Votes to Block Solyndra Type Loan Guarantees

New York Debates Marcellus Shale Drilling

The Case Against Wind Power Subsidies

 The Case For Wind Energy Tax Credits

Rockefeller Convenes Drug Abuse Discussion Group

Rockefeller Supports Vote on Company Proposal in Jackson County Strike

Libyan Authorities Dispute White House Claim That Attack Was Not Terrorism


U. S. Embassy In Tunis Attacked, American School Plundered

Joe Manchin Weighs In on Jackson County Strike

Black Friday News. British and German Embassies Attacked; U. S. Embassy in Tunisia Attacked

U. S. Embassy In Tunisia Attacked

Terror Threat to U.S. Universities

Jerusalem Suffers Riots

German Embassy Burned

Embassies Still Under Attack

U.S., British, and German Embassies Attacked in North Africa As Well

Marines Reinforce Yemen Embassy

News! Poverty Statistics released; EPA Loves Che; Middle East Meltdown

Energy Department Touts Solar, Ignores Coal . . . Even Though Solar Produces 0.14% of U.S. Energy

Obama Has No Evidence For Global Warming Claims

Middle East Meltdown

U. S. Census Releases Poverty Statistics

Republicans Engage Poverty Debate

Swedes Better Off in America Than Welfare State-Sweden

EPA Promotes Che Guavara

Teachers Unions' Effect on Education

Freedom of Speech More Important Than Chance of Offending

Health Tyrant's Soda Ban Passes

Rockefeller, Manchin, Rahall Jointly Announce Funding for Drug Centers

The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act's Failure Shows the Senate Is Also to Blame For Inaction

Yesterday, H. R. 5865 passed the House of Representatives 339 to 77.  This bill's vote is an endangered species of sorts, one that passed overwhelmingly with the combined support of almost all Democrats and most Republicans.  Sponsoring the bill are Democrat Dan Lipinski and Republican Adam Kinzinger.  House leaders considered the bill an easy pass, so they suspended some of the procedural rules to hurry it out the door of the House . . . where it is expected to go no further.  When the Senate considered a bill with similar language, it went straight to the morgue.


 

She's pretty damned amazed that a bill supported overwhelmingly by Democrats and Republicans in the House even exists!

The bill, called the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, would create a 15 person commission.  One would be the Secretary of Commerce, two would be former governors, the remainder would be individuals with executive branch experience.  One of the governors would hail from each political party.  All of these five would be appointed by the president.  The remainder would come from the private sector and labor unions.

The board would meet at specified times, analyze materials, and create a draft report.  Although the bill includes

According to Congressman Kinzinger's office:

The Board will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. manufacturing sector, covering everything from trade issues to taxation, regulation, and new technologies. Based on this analysis, it will develop a strategy that includes specific goals and specific recommendations for achieving those goals. The first strategy is due in 2014 and the second in 2018.

All in all, it sounds like a good example of the federal government's shepherding role.  This brings in experienced individuals from all concerned sectors to come up with ideas on how to reduce regulation and explore other ways to help make American manufacturing competitive again.

Yes, some House fiscal conservatives hate it and voted to kill it.  They, rightfully, hold suspicions about any expansion of government even by 14 people.  One can see the logic behind their opposition.

But why would Senate Democrats oppose this?  The president has a strong voice in the composition of the commission.  Labor is represented.  Fast tracking the bill to the president's desk would actually give him a photo opportunity to look like a moderate friend of manufacturing prior to the election.  Yet the Senate remains unmoved.

Last summer, Barack Obama proclaimed that  "right now, Congress should pass a bill to prevent more layoffs."  Although that statement is pretty absurd on the surface, he is arguing that Congress has not acted on economic issues.  The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act would be at least an effort to find long term solutions to the shrinking manufacturing sector.

All the while, the media has slammed the Republican House for its intransigence.  Could it be that a listless Senate is at least as much to blame?

That all being said, setting aside the lack of a budget for a moment, America is probably better off when Congress does less, regardless of the reasons why.  But occasionally, even government can come up with some sensible ideas.

Shelley Moore Capito, David McKinley, and Nick Rahall all voted for the bill.

Rahm Emanuel Takes On the Unions

In February 2011, Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emmanuel took aim at Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's moves against the public sector unions, saying that  he should act in a "cooperative" manner while maintaining "understanding and respect."

Emmanuel promised that "We're gonna deal with our fiscal issues by being honest with each other, straight forward and on a level of respect to work out the agreements that are necessary to put our fiscal house in order so our economy can grow." Unfortunately for Emmanuel, he later found out that public sector union pursuits of self-interest at the expense of the public respect no political lines.

Now he finds himself defended and praised by the likes of Congressman Paul Ryan, vilified by other Democrats, and abandoned by the man he helped to become president.

Emmanuel asked the teachers of Chicago to accept a few major concession.  First, they needed to accept a two percent pay raise instead of  four.  Yes, you heard that.  He was going to raise their salary! Cuts would go towards addressing a $700 million debt and an overall debt of over $3 billion.  Yes, billion with a B. 

In the past few days, union leaders have shifted their focus away from the diminished pay raise towards the problem of basing job performance evaluations on standardized tests. According to Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, forcing accountability based upon standardized tests represents a "fight for the very soul of education."

Yet it is these very standards that form a major part of Obama's "Race to the Top" education initiative, embraced at one point very warmly by many liberal elected officials.

Standardized tests represent a notoriously poor way in which to evaluate schools and teachers.  Some populations score lower because of biases in the testing.  In other cases, students out of principle or spite intentionally sabotage the testing by doing poorly on purpose.  Teachers fear judgment based upon such an arbitrary measure affected by so many variables.

Then again, statistics show that schools have not done well teaching basic skills either.  1.7 million students per year, according to Complete College America, must take remedial courses in their first year of college.  Changes must occur, but teachers unions have offered few solutions outside of stay the course and spend more money.  That tactic has failed miserably.

Another issue at stake is Emanuel's desire to lengthen the  city's school day, estimated as one of the shortest in the nation.

Public sector workers should never strike because those who depend upon the services have no immediate alternative.  Rahm Emanuel should follow the course laid out by Ronald Reagan in the air traffic controller strike and give an ultimatum.  Those who do not return to work within a certain time period will no longer have a job.  Period.  Many will come back.  Some will not.  But Chicago can do without them.

The contentious strike, which affects hundreds of thousands of children and parents, has made its way into national politics.  Vice presidential nominee Ryan asked who Obama supports, "Does he stand with his former Chief of Staff Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with the children and the parents, or does he stand with the union?"

Recommended viewing:

Reason Magazine Teacher Union Video

If Rahm Emanuel was a kitten and he had just been cold-shouldered by Obama, he'd look like this

 

News! Marines Were Not Present in Ambassador's "Unsafe House" In Benghazi, Environmentalists Oppose Green Energy? W.Va Delegation Condemns Violence and Murder in Middle East

"Unsafe House": U. S. Ambassador Guarded in Benghazi By Libyans and State Department Security, Not Marines

Environmentalists Oppose Green Energy

Millenials Say News Is "Garbage"

Congresswoman Capito Condemns Libyan Murder of American Ambassador

Congressman McKinley Joins In Condemnation

Congressman Rahall Attacks "Senseless" Murder In Libya

Manchin Statement on Violence

Rockefeller Statement on Violence

Rockefeller Speaks on Senate Floor About Violence and Jobs Bill, Video Included

What Was the Motivation to Attack U. S. Embassies

Yemen Embassy Attacked, Flag Torn Down

Middle East Continues to Unravel

Congressman McKinley Criticizes Snub of Israel Prime Minister By Obama

Non-Catholic Chain Sues Federal Government Over Contraceptive Mandate

Constitutional Scholars Warn That President Undermines Rule of Law

Chicago Teachers' Union Still Defying Rahm Emmanuel

American University Professor Brings Sick Toddler to Class, Breastfeeds It While Teaching




For the Cigar Lovers

News! Obama Has No Time For Netanyahu, Plenty For Letterman, 9/11 Remembered by West Virginians and Egyptians In Their Own Way

Congressman McKinley Blasts $90 million in EPA Spending Abroad


CATO: Waste Is No Way to Fight Terror


McKinley: Drought Disaster Loans Available For West Virginia


McKinley Supports Vote to Help Veterans Get Housing

President George W. Bush Remembers 9/11


All West Virginia Senators and Representatives Expressed Condolences On the Anniversary of the Cowardly Attack on the United States 11 Years Ago

State Department Apologizes When Egyptian Mob Invades U. S. Embassy

Iran-Egypt Tighten Relations

Netanyahu Rebukes Secretary of State-Obama Refuses to Meet Israeli PM With War on Horizon

White House Snubs Israeli PM

News! Remembering 9/11, Federal Government Subsidizing General Motors

Remembering 9/11

New York Remembers

For the Families and All Americans, the Grief Continues

President and CEO of U. S. Chamber Institute For Legal Reform Discusses West Virginia's Dismal Ranking

How Lawsuit Abuse Harms State Economies

Virginia Legal Climate Praised, Maryland's Criticized

Federal Government Still Subsidizing General Motors

Israeli Capital, Which Is Jerusalem, Within Range of New Generation of Iran Missiles

A Call For Pete Rose to Be Enshrined in Cooperstown

Chicago Teachers Strike

Salman Rushdie Talks About His Life in Hiding From Islamic Extremists

U. S. Chamber of Commerce Rates West Virginia Legal Climate Among the Worst of All States

West Virginia "has a lot of good people" both in and out of state government.  But, as far as the legal climate for business is concerned, the state is "not getting any better."

In fact, according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donahue, West Virginia not only scored worse, it tumbled to the bottom of the list.

Other organizations have agreed over the past several years.  Last December, the Americans For Tort Reform labelled West Virginia a "judicial hellhole," ranking only behind Philadelphia and California for having a court system so adverse to business.

Why does West Virginia rate so low?  Donahue cites the lack of an appellate court system as the most significant problem.  Currently, lawsuits originate at the circuit court level.  No automatic appeal to the State Supreme Court of Appeals currently exists.  This means that an unjust judgment at the circuit court level could potentially stand with no review.

He also cites "ridiculous judgments."  A state jury in August 2011 awarded a wrongful death judgment of over $90 million in the death of a nursing home patient suffering from dementia.  The Charleston Daily Mail referred to it as "outlandish."  This reflects juries from other areas, such as Baltimore County, Maryland, as reported in the Washington Examiner, who lean towards plaintiffs in any case.

The Examiner also reported that seven out of ten businesses surveyed claimed that legal climate was a strong factor in determining whether or not to invest in an area.

Although Maryland tumbled to 30th on the list, Virginia held a ranking of 7th.  Maryland relies heavily on government employment and spending to boost its economy.

In any event, ranking well beneath any of its neighbors puts West Virginia at a disadvantage in attracting business.

Tom Donahue's explanation for the ranking

News! General Motors Still Not Out of the Woods, Capito and McKinley Supported by Farm Bureau, But Disappointed in Jobs Report

End the Subsidy For Wind Power Says One Critic

Chinese Stepping Up Spying on U. S. Facilities

Even After Major Transfusion of Taxpayer Dollars, GM Still In a World of Hurt

More From Mars!

Space Exploration Not a Focus of Campaign Rhetoric

Congresswoman Capito Disappointed By Jobs Numbers

Congresswoman Capito Recognized By Farm Bureau

Congressman McKinley Secures Grant For At Risk Students

Congressman McKinley Frustrated Over Jobs Numbers

Congressman McKinley Recognized as a Friend of the Farm Bureau Along With Capito

Rahall, Manchin, Rockefeller Obtain Airport Grants For Ravenswood and Other Cities

Proposed Rockefeller supported Cybersecurity Executive Order Illustrates a Government First Culture

It appeared in the Senate first.  A cybersecurity bill written up by Joe Lieberman that would use the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to coordinate internet and computer system security efforts.

Responding to fears from conservatives, liberals, and libertarians, the Senate refused to move on the bill and it died.  Now the Obama Administration wants to establish by executive order what he could not convince Congress to do.

According to The Hill:

Sponsors of Lieberman's bill have urged the White House to issue an executive order to put measures in place that ensure key infrastructure is better protected from cyberattacks. Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) both sent letters to the White House last month that urged the president to take action.

According to the people familiar with the draft, the executive order would set up an inter-agency council that would be led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Members of the council would include the Department of Defense and the Commerce Department, and discussions are ongoing about including other agencies and officials, such as representatives from the Department of Energy and Treasury Department, as well as the attorney general and the director of national intelligence.

DHS would be responsible for the overall management of the program, but the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would work with industry to help craft the framework for it. The agency would work with the private sector to develop cybersecurity guidelines and best practices.

DHS would receive the guidance from NIST and work with so-called sector coordinating councils to identify which industry sectors would be considered critical infrastructure, as well as determine what cybersecurity best practices and standards the industry participants in the voluntary program would follow.

So private sector cybersecurity is so important, that we want to let the sorority Delta Eta Sigma (that's DHS to you and me, Rusty) take charge?  The group that will be on double secret probation for relentless sexual harassment of men?  That's who you want making critical decisions?

The involvement of Senator Jay Rockefeller is suspect as well.  He rarely met a big government program that doesn't meet his hearty approval.

Frankly, sexual harassment aside, the government is not very good at  these things.  Government action these days means convening a billion dollar conference in a swank resort, listening to a few papers, drinking free booze, and going home. 

The proper role of government here would be to, without any orders or laws, suggest that appropriate private sector entities get together and do it themselves.  Lend expertise if necessary, but otherwise butt out. Government is not the solution to these problems.  It can help top facilitate the private sector, but control and coordination are a bad idea.

America has become a country that thinks of government first when it wants solutions to problems.  That is bizarre, considering that the private sector has given most of the country's greatest benefits.  Government is not capable of effective and efficient action unless it is collecting taxes. Business operates from motivations and incentives that are more imperative.  They have more reason to work harder to do the job right.

After all, private companies do not want to wake up one morning  to see all their data fried as their computers belt out "Rockin' the Cazbah" or something like that.  There is motivation here that can spawn innovation and solutions that can be effective and even profitable.

But government needs to help get the principals together, then step out of the way.  Some may be as suspicious of business as others are of government.  The difference is that business can be held to account if they fail or do not function properly.  Bureaucrats are never truly accountable.

News! Dismal employment numbers, Apple sees a setback, West Nile Virus is back

The Department of Justice Has No Idea How Many Terror Cases It Has Handled

Democrats Coming After Your Guns

Apple Slapped Down For Price Fixing On Ebooks

West Nile Virus Strikes Washington

Maryland Casino Revenues Dropped in August

The Difference Between Regulated and Constrained

State Department Backs More Foreign Aid

U. S. Employment Statistics Drop

Photoessay on Abandoned Asylums

Rethinking Regulation: Sobel and Dove Present New Ideas on Making Regulation Less Costly

Efficiency and government regulation are nearly antonyms.  Even advocates of expanding government admit that bureaucratic rules and guidelines often end in fiasco and confusion.  Strangely enough, until this summer, no scholars ever closely examined regulatory methods in every state to identify problems and to propose solutions.

George Mason University Mercatus Center scholars Russ Sobel (a former West Virginia University economics professor) and John Dove have done just that.

The entire report can be read here. 

Sobel and Dove examine first the origin of regulation.  Government enacts regulations with the idea that they will improve some aspect of society.  These most often interfere with the actions of businesses and individuals attempting to enjoy their property or conduct commerce.  By definition, according to the report, regulations are built-in inefficiencies.  They interfere with the conduct of individuals to promote some perceived common good.

Problems usually can and do pop up, even with those enacted with good intentions.  Every addition to law codes or government regulations causes unintended consequences.  The report cites an incident where the federal government planned to declare a certain species of bird protected.  When landowners in the bird's habitat got wind of it, they cut down all the trees out of fear that they would lose control over their property.  Cities with zoning ordinances that limit property owner rights to prune or remove nuisance trees almost certainly prevent the planting of new ones. 

Some regulations come from less than good intentions.  Although they are often pushed by small businesses who seek to limit the impact of national chains, zoning laws often do the opposite.  Big business can afford to "work the system."  They are also magnets to consumers wherever they build.  Major chains can better absorb the constantly shifting sands of community business patterns.  When market attention geographically shifts, big business can handle it while the zoning laws restrict the movement of small business.

In other words, big business loves regulations because they limit and sometimes kill off the competition.  Sobel and Dove refer to "Baptist and bootlegger" coalitions where apparently opposing special interests unite to promote commerce curbing regulation.

The researchers do not argue against all regulations on these grounds.  Instead, they seek to make them more effective by introducing the element of competition.  All regulations should come with a sunset provision.  Like elected officials themselves, a regulation should have to justify its presence and influence every so often.  Only the best and most reasonable regulations would survive in the long term, while the public could more easily chuck bad ones.  

State legislatures, county commissions, and city governments should study these ideas.  Good regulations do protect the welfare of communities.  Bad regulations, however, unnecessarily stymie commerce.  This leads to a loss of liberty, jobs, innovation, and, eventually, tax revenues.

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Companies Must Swallow Strict Magnet Regulations

Washington Area Airport Authority Still Struggling to Get Past Corruption and Cronyism

Hero to Ravens Fans, Devil to Browns Fans: Art Modell Passes Away

Dutch Apparently Were Enslaving People in New York City in 1898

Revising the History of Herbert Hoover

State of Texas Overwhelmed By Border Instability

News!

EPA Expected to Become More Aggressive If Obama Wins

If You Drive to D.C. Be Extra Careful

Enron: How Government Subsidies Led to Disaster

The Problem With Teachers' Unions

Ominous: Will the U. S. Supreme Court Expand Treaty Law to Include Local Cases?

As Democratic Party Opens Convention, U. S. Debt Hits $16 Trillion (yes, trillion with a "t")

Congressman McKinley Supports Spending Cuts to Reduce Debt

Democratic Party: You Belong to the Government
Usually try to stay away from political themes, but this is downright creepy.  The government is our obedient servant, not the other way around.

Rahall Quotes Union Figure At Water Plant Project

The United Nations Remains Determined to Undermine the 2nd Amendment

While Constitution supporting Americans rightfully celebrate the bipartisan defeat of the U.N. promoted Arms Trade Treaty, the international organization remains devoted to attacking "civilian possession" of arms under international law.

According to the Heritage Foundation:

Today marks the second week of the 2012 Review Conference for the U.N.’s “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects,” commonly known as the PoA.
Unlike the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which collapsed for the time being in July, the PoA is not an effort to negotiate a legally binding treaty. But also unlike the ATT, it clearly and explicitly promotes gun control by developing supposedly binding norms.

The Heritage Foundation also cites statistics that show that civilians own 60 percent of the world's legally held small arms.  One legal gun owner is Earl Jones, 92, of Boone County, Kentucky.  He lives alone on his 500 acre farm with the firearms that likely saved his life.

Here is an excerpt from the Daily Mail story on his harrowing day:

“It was simple. That man was going to take my life. He was hunting me. I was protecting myself.”
Jones, who served in army during WW2, was alone at his 500 acre ranch in Verona, Kentucky, when he heard noises outside.
Police do not expect to charge Jones with a crime as Kentucky as the state has a "stand your ground law" that allows householders to use deadly force if they are in fear of their lives.
Jones is adamant that he was within his right to shoot the intruder at the home he has lived in since 1955.
The break-in was the third he has experienced in this year.
'I didn’t go to war for nothing. I have the right to carry a gun. That’s what I told the police this morning.” according to the Enquirer newspaper.
Police said Dalton, 22, and Inabnit, 20, were arrested later.
The pair called police to report their friend had been shot. They later admitted to taking part in the raid on Jones's home.
Dalton and Inabnit, both from Dry Ridge, have been charged with second degree burglary and tampering with evidence, but Mr Jones may yet escape conviction thanks to Kentucky's 'castle doctrine' which is enshrined in law.
Nationally the killing of criminals by individuals trying to defend their property has increased in recent years, from 196 in 2005 to 278 in 2010, according to FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics.

The United Nations and its supporters care about civilian control, not individual safety.  Without his weapons and full knowledge of their use, Earl Jones might be dead today by the hands of those who would plunder him for his valuables and medication.  The FBI's statistics prove that law abiding citizens remain one of the best deterrents of crime in the United States.

Make no mistake, the U.N. sees civilian control of any weapons as illegal in itself.

What good does it do American citizens to continue to support the U.N.?

The Failure of Zoning Regulations: Comparing Allegany County, Maryland to Mineral County, West Virginia

 

A tale of two counties.  Since 2005, Mineral County, West Virginia has increased its private sector workforce by over 1/5.  Its neighbor to the north, Allegany County, Maryland, with much better access to the national transportation infrastructure, has shed over three thousand jobs.

F. A. Hayek, an Austrian economist, published his most important work in the years after World War II.  In his book Road to Serfdom, he demonstrated how increasing economic planning stifles economic growth and undermines freedom.  Economic statistics in these neighboring counties support his theory.

Look up Allegany County Maryland Zoning Law.  Google takes the user straight to a long set of rules and definitions.  The reader can also see a zoning map.  A glance at Mineral brings up a You Tube video of a planning commission session from four years ago.  Zoning has been brought up in Mineral time and time again.  The failure to enact zoning laws helped to lead to relatively robust improvements in employment even as the national economy tanked.

Meanwhile Allegany County experienced dismal drops in its economic performance.  Manufacturing jobs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, dropped from 4,322 in 2005 to just under 2,500 in 2010.  The total payroll declined almost as significantly.  The private sector workforce declined by over 3,000.

This came despite the development of multiple prison complexes near Cumberland, which also disproves the idea that government spending promotes economic growth in the private sector.

Hayek argued that every government is seduced by the idea of planning.  Advocates argue that planning leads to more productive and desirable growth, if government can only find the right experts to guide it.  History shows that economic planners often fail, at least when it comes to sparking private sector growth.

Another problem with economic planning is that it reduces the role of democracy in decision-making.  Experts get appointed to powerful posts, or are part of unelected bodies like planning commissions.  They make decisions on who gets approved, what gets built, and how things get done.  The more rigorous the rules, the more difficult the burden on the private sector to build and develop.  Hayek points out that bureaucrats with more and more power have more opportunity to act arbitrarily.  In other words, tick off the bureaucrat and face obstacles to permits and heavy fines. 

Fauquier County, Virginia last month was the scene of zoning run amok.  Its Byzantine permit ordinances were used to fine a family run winery for holding a relative’s birthday party on site.  The festivities were for an eight year old.  A power mad bureaucrat enforced economic tyranny in the Commonwealth of Jefferson.

Government proves daily that, whether by abusive bureaucrats or incompetence, that it cannot be trusted to do well or right except under voter oversight.  Allegany County’s economic decline relative to Mineral’s, even with substantial advantages, demonstrates the veracity of Hayek’s ideas on planning.

 

News!

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Celebrate Innovation, Not Just Labor

Rahall Announces $1.6 million to Convert Houses Into Homeless Shelters
We may want to keep an eye on this one.  A lot of potential for waste with this grant.

Senator Manchin Remembers Fallen Troopers

Manchin Announces Grant to WVU to Study Energy Grid

Rockefeller Announces Grant to Marshall University

Manchin and VA Grant

A LOT of governmentg grants announced in the past week.  Must be election time!