Americans are Already Under a Medicare-For-All System

Democrats are always up to the challenge of extending centralized power over our lives, no matter the cost. Their latest scheme is to abolish private health insurance in lieu of a universal healthcare system under the auspice of Medicare. The projected price tag is $33 trillion over a decade.


We shouldn’t be surprised. These Marxist have been trying to fix our healthcare system for over 50 years with disastrous results. I would say that we’ve already in a Medicare-for-all system. Because of bad policy decisions, a third-party payer system has been instituted which has distorted the market. The patient/customer no longer participates in the cost/benefit analysis resulting in the high cost of healthcare.

So, since prices are no longer determined by the free market, who or what determines the cost? Why it’s Medicare, of course. Here is an excerpt from the Mercatus Center:

Payments for Medicare benefits substantially influence the prices paid by private-sector insurers. Many private insurers simply adopt Medicare’s levels of reimbursement to providers, and those that do not still are affected when Medicare changes its rates. Although analysts disagree about whether the link leads to lower or higher private payments, Medicare’s administrative pricing system clearly cannot replicate a well-functioning competitive market. What can be done to move Medicare closer to the optimal prices corresponding to those produced by a competitive market?

A new study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University assesses the numerous problems with Medicare’s price calculations and looks at how they affect prices in commercial insurance policies. The study proposes an arrangement of competitive bidding on bundles of services as a promising alternative to Medicare’s price-fixing regime.

Need I remind everyone that this is the same government that brought us $1000 toilet seats in the 1980’s. You would’ve thought they learned their lesson, but think again. Just recently, the Air Force paid $10,000 for a toilet seat cover. And everyone expects fiscal discipline from Washington D.C.?

Source:

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2018/07/31/medicare-for-all

https://www.mercatus.org/publication/medicare-role-determining-prices-throughout-health-care-system

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/the-air-forces-10000-toilet-cover/2018/07/14/c33d325a-85df-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?utm_term=.4db990a92fa1

Who Checks and Balances the Federal Government?

We seem to be living in an age where a substantial minority believe the federal government is the country. They believe Washington D.C. and its armies of bureaucrats and magistrates can dictate whatever policy they deem appropriate. These statist have no regard for the restraints of the U.S. Constitution if it conflicts with their ideology. They believe their special brand of moral supremacy benefits the general welfare whether we the people like it or not.


Recently, General Assemblies across the country are being sued by liberal organizations in the hopes of redrawing congressional districts that favor the Democratic Party. A three judge panel just screwed North Carolina’s midterm elections by demanding our elected representatives reconfigure our whole state except one district or they will appoint a third party to do it for them. Our primaries are completely screwed and we may not have our midterm elections until next year, thanks to these scumbags.


Now who in the hell gave these three judges the authority to dictate our congressional districts? Certainly, the U.S. Constitution didn’t. As a matter of fact, Article I specifically grants that power to the General Assemblies who’re solely responsible for this outcome.


It has become quite apparent that there is no check and balance when it comes to the federal government. The States Rights doctrine of nullification and secession provided an avenue of sovereignty, but that was taken away when Lincoln invaded the South; now we are at the mercy of Beltway courtesans and their totalitarian offspring.


The Abbeville Institute published an article that pretty much sums up the mess we are in:


While the founding fathers and the ratifying conventions of Sovereign States specifically designed and endorsed a constitutionally limited federal government with the States as co-equal branches, it is clear today that we are living under the iron-rule of a supreme federal government capable of forcing its subjects to “hear and obey.” Professor Edward S. Corwin, writing in 1941, noted that there were no longer any limits to the powers of the federal government. He approvingly observed, “the National Government is entitled to employ any and all of its powers to forward any and all of the objectives of good government.” [7] And of course, the elites who control the federal government get to decide what is and what is not “good government.” Today, there is no doubt as to where supreme governmental power resides—it resides with the elites who control the federal government. All nine Federal Supreme Court Justices in Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958), “…declared the basic principle that the federal judiciary is supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution.” [8] In Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962) the Federal Supreme Court instructed state legislatures regarding the apportionment of the legislatures of the once sovereign states—clearly demonstrating that “states” had become mere provinces of Lincoln’s newly and unconstitutionally created Federal Empire. If we are courageous enough to measure the current supreme federal government by the American political metric of consent, then we are forced to admit that the federal government has been weighted in the balance and found wanting! It is an illegitimate government power.



It must be nice to be a federal judge where one can do as they damn well please. That is one branch that doesn’t have to worry about checks and balances.


Source:

https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/nullification-and-secession-solutions-or-talking-points/

Another Article V Convention of States Myth Busted

Louisiana’s General Assembly has passed a Commissioners Selection Resolution for an Article V convention of states. This resolution provides rules and guidelines for delegate selection and participation. Here is an excerpt from the Convention of States Project:

The COS Louisiana team helped write and support the resolution, which establishes rules that will apply to any convention of states called to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution under Article V.

The resolution provides for the selection and authority of commissioners representing the state when a convention is called to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution under Article V.


This resolution says Louisiana will send five commissioners (aka delegates) to the convention, all selected by the state legislature. Three alternates will also be selected in the same way. Citizen representation will be included, because at least two delegates may not be members of the state legislature.


The commissioners from Louisiana cannot be federal government representatives, because no person will be eligible who is a member of Congress, an employee of the United States, or an employee or other representative of a contractor with the United Sates. Additionally, any Louisiana elected official holding a statewide elected office is not eligible to be a commissioner.


The resolution also provides for legislative control over the commissioners. The resolution specifically establishes “the duty to abide by instructions established by concurrent resolution of the legislature for participation in the convention.”


Publius Huldah, a convention of states opponent, claimed that States had to apply to Congress for a convention and that only Congress can pick delegates, set the rules, and approve amendments. Louisiana just proved her wrong. How can the federal government be involved when this resolution forbade its participation? 

Another myth busted.


Source:

https://conventionofstates.com/news/louisiana-passes-commissioner-selection-resolution?utm_source=Convention+of+States+Project&utm_campaign=b862324ad4-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_45196125c1-b862324ad4-216301385


http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1071629

Federal Judges Have a Union?!

Did you know federal judges have a union?  I didn’t, until I read an article about President Trump’s new policy on improving our immigration courts.  Apparently, our so-called public servants are incapable of processing this tidal wave of illegal aliens in an efficient manner.  Here is an excerpt:

The White House says it aims to reduce an "enormous" backlog of 600,000 cases, triple the number in 2009, that cripples its ability to deport immigrants as President Donald Trump mandated in January.

 The National Association of Immigration Judges called the move unprecedented and says it will be the "death knell for judicial independence" in courts where immigrants such as political dissidents, women fleeing violence and children plead their cases to stay in the United States.

"That is a huge, huge, huge encroachment on judicial independence," said Dana Leigh Marks, spokeswoman and former president of the association and a judge for more than 30 years. "It's trying to turn immigration judges into assembly-line workers."

First of all, why do we allow federal judges to have a union?  This really didn’t sink in until I read the following paragraph and then I knew unions for judges actually existed:

The judges' union says its current contract language prevents the government from rating them based on the number of cases they complete or the time it takes to decide them.

 But now, they say, the department is trying to rescind that language, and advocates say it could violate a federal regulation that requires judges to "exercise their independent judgment and discretion" when deciding cases.

This is amazing!  Shouldn’t this raise a red flag to everyone?  Exactly how are these judges supposed to “exercise their independent judgement and discretion” when they belong to a union.  Unions promote a socio-political ideology that is the antithesis of independence and free thought.  Name a union that’s not!

Come to find out this is more pervasive than I thought.  Administrative judges in Washington D.C. voted to join a union in 2014.  Here is an excerpt from a press release:

Washington DC -- Administrative law judges who work for the District of Columbia’s Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), the office which provides adjudication services for several DC agencies, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to join the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE). Eighty percent of judges voting cast ballots for the union. Judge Jesse Goode, who hears cases related to unemployment insurance, said, “This has been a long time in coming. We wanted a union because we wanted a voice in making improvements to our courts. We specifically wanted to be members of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers because IFPTE represents nearly 2,000 federal administrative law judges. Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly even for judges, but today democracy prevailed and the union was voted in.”

Now they want an independent court system completely outside of the Department of Justice:

WASHINGTON — The federal immigration court system should be separated from the Justice Department and operated independently of federal law enforcement, the top two leaders of the immigration judges’ union said Wednesday.

 Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said immigration judges act as arbiters in deportation cases being argued by Homeland Security Department lawyers but judges also are treated as attorneys for the government.

This is a serious problem.

Source:

http://www.ifpte.org/news/details/DC-Judges-Vote-for-a-Union-with-IFPTE

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Justice-Department-proposes-quotas-for-12274271.php

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/immigration-judges-union-wants-independent-court/

Federal Government Pimp Ball of 2017

Welcome to the Federal Government Pimp Ball of 2017!  All you taxpaying bitches get yo asses in back of of line and let your pimp daddies through.  That’s right.  No one wants to hear your black eyed, pathetic wailing and moaning about waste, fraud and cronyism.  As Bill Clinton said, “You might want to put some ice on that.”   Now shut your mouths and let your mac daddies take their rightful places in the front of the bus.

Speaking of mac daddy!  Here comes Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae!  These two so-called GSO’s are players through and through.  How can anyone forget how these two rolled the American people in one of the biggest scams in world history.  Not only did they create a housing bubble that crashed and burned; they ended up owning or guaranteeing over 60% of all mortgages in the United States..  Now that’s a player!

But these two pimp masters aren’t through.  Now they’re financing single-family rental homes to big Wall Street financial firms and smaller, yet politically connected, businesses that specialize in landlord properties.

So all you taxpaying bitches had better get out there and make that money because your mac daddy government needs to sugar it’s teats.

Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/government-backed-mortgage-lenders-are-the-definition-of-too-big-to-fail-too-bad-we-need-them-more-than-ever/2015/10/15/781d3926-72bb-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html?utm_term=.cd9198c9cc26

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/business/dealbook/freddie-mac-fannie-mae-rental-market.html

Liberal Myth: Blue States are Donor States

We’ve all heard the braggadocious complaints from blue state progressives about being net contributors to the federal coffers.  These so-called elites resent all those ingrates in flyover country who take more from Washington D.C. then they give.  Well, we’re finding out this is just another big lie perpetuated by a band of thumb suckers.  We can thank the Trump administration for exposing this liberal myth.  Here is an excerpt from USA Today:

Trump’s new tax plan would hit blue states hardest, by eliminating the federal deductibility of state income and property taxes. That’s going to make it harder for blue states to maintain the high tax rates they’ve traditionally levied.

Right now, if you pay state property or income taxes, you can deduct them against your federal income taxes. In effect, it means that if you’re in a high federal bracket, your state taxes may be offset by that federal deduction to the tune of 40% or more.

End the federal deduction, though, and high state taxes come straight out of taxpayers’ pockets with no offset.  As economist Nicole Kaeding told The Hill, by allowing deductions for state taxes, “the federal government is essentially subsidizing high tax rates in states like California and New York.”

Whoa!  Did I read that correctly?  If I’m not mistaken, Americans are subsidizing states like California and New York to a tune of about 40% or more.  I believe it’s time for these self-proclaimed elites to get off of their high horses and forgo all of those “loopholes” they level at everyone else.  What’s that saying, “Paying taxes is the highest form of patriotism”? Time to pay up, libtards.

Source:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/05/01/trump-test-democrats-tax-patriotism-glenn-reynolds/101159082/

https://costonscomplaint.blogspot.com/2017/01/californias-progressivism-responsible.html?m=0

The Federal Government's Creepy "American Community Survey"

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Liberals love to use the preamble of the Constitution to justify stealing from their neighbors to fund projects they deem fundamental for the general welfare.  The consequences are an intrusive government that has no boundaries even to the point of wanting to know what kind of plumbing you have in your house.  I am not kidding.

These past few months, I’ve received inquiries from the Commerce Department via the Census Bureau that are outrageous and creepy.  Here is what they want to know about me as listed on their brochure:

Employment

Education

Veteran

Income and Housing Cost

Commuting habits

Disability and Health Insurance

Housing Characteristics

Owner and Renters

People and Relationships

Who in their right mind would want to divulge every aspect of their life to a bureaucrat? 

When the Framers presented the Constitution to the States for ratification, detractors recognized its inherent flaws.  They demanded a bill of rights to protect citizens from a government that could justify anything through the power of the purse and the elastic clauses therein.  The pseudonymous writer, Brutus, wrote the following:

 It is well known that the subject of revenue is the most difficult and extensive in the science of government. It requires the greatest talents of a statesman, and the most numerous and exact provisions of the legislature. The command of the revenues of a state gives the command of every thing in it. — He that has the purse will have the sword, and they that have both, have every thing; so that the legislature having every source from which money can be drawn under their direction, with a right to make all laws necessary and proper for drawing forth all the resource of the country, would have, in fact, all power.

Brutus later wrote about how intrusive the general government will be including sticking its nose in your bathroom which is exactly one the provisions required in this mandatory survey.  Here is an excerpt:

This power, exercised without limitation, will introduce itself into every comer of the city, and country — It will wait upon the ladies at their toilett, and will not leave them in any of their domestic concerns; it will accompany them to the ball, the play, and the assembly; it will go with them when they visit, and will, on all occasions, sit beside them in their carriages, nor will it desert them even at church; it will enter the house of every gentleman, watch over his cellar, wait upon his cook in the kitchen, follow the servants into the parlour, preside over the table, and note down all he eats or drinks; it will attend him to his bed-chamber, and watch him while he sleeps; it will take cognizance of the professional man in his office, or his study; it will watch the merchant in the counting-house, or in his store; it will follow the mechanic to his shop, and in his work, and will haunt him in his family, and in his bed; it will be a constant companion of the industrious farmer in all his labour, it will be with him in the house, and in the field, observe the toil of his hands, and the sweat of his brow; it will penetrate into the most obscure cottage; and finally, it will light upon the head of every person in the United States. To all these different classes of people, and in all these circumstances, in which it will attend them, the language in which it will address them, will be GIVE! GIVE!

Give!  Give!  Give your money and every aspect of your daily habits so the federal government can ascertain the needs of your community.  That is what the American Community Survey is all about.

A field agent from the Census Bureau kept leaving messages on my door which I ignored.  He somehow got my cell number and called me at work.  Here is how that conversation went:

Agent:  Mr. Coston, the Commerce Department has sent you a survey to fill out.  Have you received it?

Me:  Yes and I don’t wish to participate.

Agent:  Mr. Coston, by law you are required to complete this survey.

Me:  By law, I have the 4^th Amendment.

Agent:  Sir, Article I Section 2 says …

Me: I know what Article I Section 2 says and I already gave you that information in the last census. 

I then hung up.  But that wasn’t the end of it.  He kept leaving messages on my door until I finally left my own telling him to get a warrant.  He then called me again. 

Agent:  (a little perturbed) Mr. Coston, when can we set up a meeting?

Me:  I told you I wasn’t participating.  I left you a message on my door and now        I’m going to tell you what is says and that is to get a warrant.

Agent:  Oh, so you want to go to the courts?!

Me:  Bring it on!

I’ve read posts by conservative bloggers who’ve gone through this experience and they’ve handled it in a much more diplomatic way.  They’ve cited case law and all sorts of crap.  I, on the other hand, decided on a more direct manner and so far, I haven’t heard anything, yet.

Source:

http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus06.htm

http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus05.htm

American Citizens Have Been Disenfranchised of Their Birthright

Millions of Americans instinctively realize something is wrong with Washington D.C. and the federal government in general.  We have judges deciding political issues that are way beyond “judicial review” such as gay marriage, immigration and national security.  We have bureaucrats imposing rules and regulations that have the weight of law while Congress sits on the sidelines claiming oversight.

Where are the checks and balances?  Are there no limitations on what these unelected judges can do?  Why do we need Congress if bureaucrats are running the show?  And where in the Constitution does it state that the legislative branch can abrogate their prerogatives to unelected bureaucrats?

I just finished reading Stolen Sovereignty by Daniel Horowitz and it is an eye opener.  I’ve written about the abuses by the federal courts and bureaucracies in this blog.  I’ve also written about Congress's dereliction of duty.  But I didn’t know the extent of their betrayal.  This federal government has systematically disenfranchised the American people of its birthright and they’ve done it by conferring power upon the unelected branches of government.

What I didn’t realize is that Congress has plenary powers over the federal judiciary.  They can decide the extent of its appellate jurisdiction as dictated in Article III Section 2.  They can tell the courts they no longer decide issues pertaining to immigration and naturalization, gay marriage, or even abortion for that matter.  The courts can only decide cases where they have original jurisdiction as defined in Article III.

This book also details how illegal immigration has disenfranchised American citizens of their birthright and the damage they’ve done to our electoral process.  You’ll be extremely pissed when you discover the lie that illegal aliens have due process rights and that the courts ignored 90 years of precedent.

What I got out of this book is the extent Congress has abrogated their constitutional responsibilities.  But that shouldn’t be a surprise when we have representatives like Nancy Pelosi.  I’ll never forget when she declared she’s not a constitutional scholar when pressed upon an issue.  Well, if you’re not well versed upon the Constitution, then what in the hell are you doing in Washington D.C.?

 

Source:

https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Sovereignty-Unelected-Transforming-America/dp/1944229299

The Twelve Days of Trump-mas

It’s looking a lot like Christmas in late January.  I haven’t been this excited since I was a kid.  What will President Trump give the citizens of the United States tomorrow?  I can’t wait.  I almost want to put it to song, but that would be too difficult.  So, I'll  just outline it.

On the first day of Trump-mas, the president gave to We the People: A freeze on regulations; a freeze on hiring federal government employees and beginning a rollback of Obamacare.

On the second day of Trump-mas, the president gave to We the People: Authorization of the Keystone Pipeline; stopped funding overseas abortions, and taking TPP off the table.

On the third day of Trump-mas, the president gave to We the People:  preparation of executive orders to defund the United Nations; rescinded Obama’s illegal $221 million gift to the Palestinian Authority; orders to build the wall and stripped funding to sanctuary cities.

It’ll be interesting to see what the 12 days of Trump-mas will bring.  For years, conservatives waited for someone to deliver us from the bullies in Washington D.C. and their transnational puppet masters. 

So far, President Donald Trump is checking off our wish list and restoring our faith in some semblance of a constitutional government.  Do we dare believe?  

Source:

http://time.com/4641565/donald-trump-president-first-day/

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2017/01/23/trump-signs-slew-of-executive-orders-n2275640

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/united-nations-trump-administration.html?_r=0

https://worldisraelnews.com/state-department-freezes-obamas-221m-gift-palestinians/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-border-wall_us_5888a9c3e4b0441a8f71f08e?section=politics

Federal Government Funds 1/3 of California's State Budget

I heard an amazing statistic on Fox News.  The federal government funds over 1/3 of California’s state budget.  This state is heavily dependent upon taxpayer monies.  This doesn’t include direct grants and other monies cities like Los Angeles get.

Most of these federal funds support health and human services. 

More than 7 in 10 federal dollars that flow through California’s state budget — $69.3 billion in 2016-17 — support health and human services (HHS) for children, seniors, and many other Californians (see chart). Most of these federal dollars, roughly $58 billion, go to Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program), which provides health care services to more than 13 million Californians with low incomes. The second-largest share of federal funding for HHS programs — $7.7 billion — goes to the state Department of Social Services. These funds support child welfare services, foster care, the CalWORKs welfare-to-work program, and other services that assist low-income and vulnerable Californians.

How much of that money funds illegal aliens?  California’s illegal alien population is reputedly at around 2.4 million.  I believe that number is seriously low-balled.  No one knows how many illegal aliens reside in the United States, not alone California.  However, in 2015 less than half of all non-commercial drivers’ licenses were issued to “undocumented immigrants” who amounted to 1.4 million applicants.  We should also take into consideration some 720,000 non-citizens that are housed in California’s prison system.

We are financing California’s lawlessness.  I do believe we have a lot of leverage considering they’re dependent upon the U.S. taxpayer for a 1/3 of their budget.

I do hope President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress makes use of this leverage.  We have these scumbags by the balls. It’s time to squeeze. 

Source:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dmv-698896-licenses-undocumented.html

http://population2016.com/population-of-california-in-2016.html

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/illegal-immigration-California/2015/09/14/id/691462/

http://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/federal-funds-comprise-one-third-californias-state-budget-supporting-broad-range-public-services-systems/

Food Stamp Fraud Committed by Children and the Dead

Sometimes you come across a story that is so outrageous that you can’t believe it’s true.  I’m not talking about this Donald Trump golden showers nonsense.  I’m talking about scams that are so brazen that you can’t help but laugh. 

It seems like every big caper comes at the expense of the taxpayer.  The latest involves stores owned by children and the dead.  Here is an excerpt from the Free Beacon.

We found that 3,394 authorized SNAP retailers (retailers) used Social Security Numbers (SSN) that matched SSNs of deceased people,” the inspector general said. “Additionally, 193 retailers listed owners who were not at least 18 years of age. While FNS did have some controls to edit or verify SNAP retail owner information, these controls were not adequate to ensure owner information accuracy.”

Between October 2013 and June 2015, the inspector general identified 3,394 stores owned by 1,819 people who were using SSNs listed on the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.

“These 3,394 retailers redeemed about $2.6 billion in SNAP benefits,” the inspector general said. The 193 businesses that reported child owners redeemed $41 million in food stamps.

“Without accurate retail owner data such as birth dates and SSNs, [the Food and Nutrition Service] FNS has little assurance that retailers are who they say they are,” the inspector general said. “This could leave the program open to abuse by disqualified individuals and others wishing to hide their identity for possible fraudulent purposes.”

“If indeed some of these retailers are wholly owned by deceased persons or persons under the age of 18, this situation could leave FNS with little recourse other than disqualification in the event that adverse action needs to be taken against a particular retailer,” the inspector general added

I remember the Weinberg Medicaid scandal in the late 1980’s.  This family owned a couple of clinics where they engineered a $16 million theft.  It was the biggest case of fraud in the 22 year history of Medicaid.

The Weinbergs should have had children registered as owners.  You can’t prosecute minors.

Source:

 http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/19/nyregion/tv-ends-flight-of-biggest-medicaid-thief.html

http://freebeacon.com/issues/dead-people-doled-2-6-billion-worth-food-stamps/

The Federal Government Has Not Yet Conquered the American People

What does it mean to be an American?  I believe if you asked that question to a modern day citizen he would be perplexed.  Most wouldn’t know what to say.  Some would be scared and decry that you’re violating their safe space.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we have a serious indentify crisis.

Last week’s presidential debate is indicative of how far we’ve fallen as a people.  No longer do we contemplate the Constitution of the United States and the principles for which we stand.  Instead, we have central planners proposing government solutions, usually for problems they caused, by pandering to the wants of others.

 

Free stuff is not an American ideal.  However, that seems to be the prevailing sentiment in the Age of Obama.  That kind of attitude is sentient with the seven deadly sins which undermines self-respect and community spirit. 

 There is such a thing as American exceptionalism despite what Democrats say.  Alexis de Tocqueville stated the following:

In America, not only do institutions belong to the community but also they are kept alive and supported by a community spirit.

The New England township possesses two advantages which strongly arouse the interest of men, namely independence and authority. Its sphere of action is indeed restricted but, within that sphere, its movements are unlimited. This independence alone guarantees it real importance even though its populations and size would not warrant it.

It is best to realize that men’s affections, in general, come down on the side of authority. Patriotism does not long prevail in a conquered nation. The inhabitant of New England is devoted to his township, not because he was born there as much as because he views the township as a strong, free social body of which he is part and which merits the care he devotes to its management.

In Europe, governments often bewail the absence of this community spirit, for everyone agrees that it is an ingredient in public order and tranquility, even though they do not know how to create it. By making the township strong and independent, they are afraid they might disintegrate the social fabric and expose the state to the forces of anarchy. Once you remove the strength and independence of the township, you will reduce the citizens to administrative units.

Democrats have reduced local communities and states to administrative units.  These central planners demand our undying loyalty while undermining the institutions that made this country great.  Our patriotism is not to the Federal Government of America.  We are not yet a conquered people.

Source:

http://costonscomplaint.blogspot.com/2010/04/destruction-of-community-spirit.html

The Federal Government is Financing a Monstrous Student Loan Bubble

Last week, Frontline featured a documentary on subprime student loans.  The premise being for-profit colleges were bullying students into their programs and financing their education with federal loans.

I have to admit, Frontline did a good job on showcasing this outright fraud by some of these unaccredited schools.  But they glossed over the real cause for this outrage.

A famous gangster was once asked why he robbed banks.  He replied, “That’s where the money is at.”  Today’s grafters are more sophisticated.  They rob the taxpayers. 

The housing bubble wouldn’t have happened without the federal government easing lending restrictions and guaranteeing subprime mortgages through GSA’s.  Banks wouldn’t have taken on the risk.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the engines for that economic disaster.

Now we have another bubble that’s ready to burst thanks again to easy money.  The Obama administration’s hostile student loan takeover is creating another economic disaster just waiting to unleash holy hell.  David Stockman wrote the following:    

Now we get to the subprimiest of subprime debt – student loans. Student loans are not officially classified as subprime debt, but let’s compare borrowers. A subprime borrower has a FICO score of 660 or below, has defaulted on previous obligations, and has limited ability to meet monthly living expenses. A student loan borrower doesn’t have a credit score because they have no credit, have no job with which to pay back the loan, and have no ability other than the loan proceeds to meet their monthly living expenses. And in today’s job environment, they are more likely to land a waiter job at TGI Fridays than a job in their major. These loans are nothing more than deep subprime loans made to young people who have little chance of every paying them off, with hundreds of billions in losses being borne by the ever shrinking number of working taxpaying Americans.

Student loan debt stood at $660 billion when Obama was sworn into office in 2009. The official reported default rate was 7.9%. Obama and his administration took complete control of the student loan market shortly after his inauguration. They have since handed out a staggering $500 billion of new loans (a 76% increase), and the official reported default rate has soared by 43% to 11.3%. Of course, the true default rate is much higher. The level of mal-investment and utter stupidity is astounding, even for the Federal government. Just some basic unequivocal facts can prove my case.

Frontline interviewed the usual suspects such as Sen. Dick Durbin who will never take responsibility for the disasters they cause. It’s much easier for a politician to blame for-profit businesses that take advantage of easy money spewing from Washington D.C. than to admit they’re the cause for all this misery they manufacture.

Source:

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/the-student-loan-bubble/

Obama Administration's Endemic Aversion to FOIA

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act.  President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this bill into law on July 4^th 1966 in an attempt to placate the citizenry into thinking their government is transparent and accountable.  Well, it was a nice attempt.

Past administrations have been recalcitrant in abiding by this law, but none have been as obstinate and deceitful as Obama’s.  Hillary Clinton willfully set up a private server and used her personal email to circumvent FOIA.  She’s not the only one.  Does anyone remember EPA administrator Lisa Jackson?  She used multiple non-governmental emails.  You might ask, to what purpose?  It should be obvious.  She was trying to skirt FOIA, as did Obama’s assistant attorney general Tom Perez. 

Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez used his private email account to leak information about official business while he was assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a Wednesday letter to Perez.

Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) said it appears Perez used his personal email account almost 1,200 times since 2009 to conduct official department business, including communicating with organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the New York Times, and Talking Points Memo.

It doesn’t stop there.  The secretary of Health and Human Services also used her private email to conduct government business.  And who can forget Lois Lerner from the IRS?  She used hers to plot against Tea Partiers.  This behavior seems to be endemic.  The Daily Signal published a survey that revealed 33% of federal government employees use their personal email to conduct business.

Isn’t it ironic that FOIA, the very law the Obama administration is trying to circumvent, is what revealed their duplicity.  If it weren’t for watchdog groups like Judicial Watch, we wouldn’t know what’s happening in Washington D.C.  They are doing the job the mainstream media refuses to do.

Source:

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article87239527.html

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/06/04/transparency-obamas-top-brass-use-private-email-to-avoid-turning-over-information-n1612526

http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/08/high-ranking-federal-officials-history-using-personal-email-government-business/