Category: Government

The nanny staters are coming for you next.

Dave Kopel is talking about the executive order Obama signed, giving Interpol some added immunities, and also says it’s no big deal. It’s a pretty thorough article that gives a good background.

Now it’s onto a secret conference committee, which has already been rigged by Pelosi and Reid. There’s still a chance to stop this. Whether you’re a progressive, and believe in universal health care, or a conservative who hates the idea, I think both sides can agree this health bill is total special interest laden garbage. Call your reps and Senators and tell them to vote no on the conference report.

Bruce responds to the notion floating around the lefty blogosphere that the country is ungovernable:

A country founded on the principles of economic freedom and individual liberty, and populated with people who believe in such things should be ungovernable by a devoted disciple of Karl Marx, raised on the tenets of radical leftism, with the raw sewage of Chicago thug politics flowing in his veins, and who finds such principles offensive and considers them an obstacle to power.

This “ungovernability” of which he speaks is a feature, not a bug.

Yep, which is why our founding fathers gave us a federal government of limited and enumerated powers. Obama and the Democrats are figuring out what our founding fathers knew 220 years ago: that that the country was too large and diverse to be controlled by an all powerful national government. If the political class feels like the country is ungovernable, that means the federal government is doing too much. Let’s get back to the original vision, and if someone wants to live in a lefty paradise, there’s always California.

I’m going to guess the Director of Industry Operations at the Houston ATF field office won’t be advancing much in his career. This would be ATF compliance division rather than enforcement, I guess depending on which side of the plywood you’re on.

I’m not sure how we’re supposed to believe the government can cut health care costs when they can’t even make money off sex and gambling. The closest we ever came in Pennsylvania to abolishing the state liquor and wine monopoly was during a period that they were losing money. It takes effort to be able to lose money selling vices, but the government is awful good at losing money, it seems.

Forget a rush to buy Christmas gifts, most folks I know in DC just started a bustling holiday season today because of Obama’s latest stunt. As summed up by a friend this morning:

Looks like Obama has decided to make today his own day that will live in infamy with the most destructive attack on the US economy ever, scheduled for launching at 1:15 pm.

Between this, health care, and all the other crap he’s pushing, can anyone on the left try to make the argument that this administration isn’t actively trying to make the economy worse?

Of course, I also view this as a warning for gun owners. How so? Consider this statement from the WSJ:

An “endangerment” finding by the Environmental Protection Agency could pave the way for the government to require businesses that emit carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases to make costly changes in machinery to reduce emissions — even if Congress doesn’t pass pending climate-change legislation. EPA action to regulate emissions could affect the U.S. economy more directly, and more quickly, than any global deal inked in the Danish capital, where no binding agreement is expected.

This administration has realized that it doesn’t need Congress to act on every major issue. He’ll need to go to Congress on some things, but not for many damaging policies. It can be the same way with the gun issue. He won’t have to worry about moderate Democrats casting votes. In fact, he won’t have to answer to Congress at all. Congress authorized these agencies to enact regulations long ago, so the Obama team is simply taking advantage of it.

So far, the Obama team has been hesitant to pick a fight on guns. However, if he decides to do it, know that those working for him have realized that they can use their regulatory authority to come after us without the messy fight & political accountability in Congress.

Looks like my number came up, and I will be serving in the beginning of February. This is one of those unfortunate things, but I do consider it a civic duty, so I will go without complaint. They will never pick me anyway, at least not for any lengthy or infamous trial, due to the fact that any jury consultant worth his salt will quickly peg me as someone who will hold the state to its burden on proof, and I don’t think any prosecuting attorney will stand for it. They’d probably also be rather appalled that I believe in jury nullification under some, limited circumstances, but that’s not something I think I’ve discussed under my real name.