BluegrassBulletin.com

Update On Obama's Reaction To State Sovereignty

Yesterday I commented upon the Obama administration's request for over $1 Billion to impose gun control.  Today I was alerted to this development:

The National Guard is following a direct order — but it’s not happy with it.

All of the Guard’s AH-64 Apache helicopters are scheduled to go to the active Army, and there’s nothing its top brass can do about it. [Washington Times]

Some have interpreted this move by the POTUS to have more sinister implications.

As if the Obama administration's purchase of more than 2 billion rounds of ammunition, and nearly 3,000 urban tanks, along with their unprecedented (and highly illegal) domestic spying program was not enough to convince you that the federal government is about to suspend the Constitution once and for all, the man who once vowed to run "the most transparent administration in history" has just rather inexplicably, ordered the U.S. Army to seize every Apache attack helicopter currently in use by the National Guard.

In all, the Defense Department will confiscate 192 Apaches from National Guard units around the country and give them to the active duty Army.

In exchange for the heavily armed and highly maneuverable choppers, Guard units will receive 111 UH-60 Blackhawktransport helicopters from the Army, Defense One reports.

Last week, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, claiming that the measure will save taxpayers $12 billion, over the next three years.

So, what could be another, more reasonable explanation?

The Apache, which began service in 1986, is armed with a 30 mm M230E1 Chain Gun (with 1,200 rounds), Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and 70 general-purpose 70 mm rockets. In short, it is capable of fending-off any enemy, foreign or domestic.

Obviously, these helicopters could pose a substantial obstacle to say, a tyrant drunk on his own power, with an army at his disposal. [Washington Examiner]

Time and time again this administration gives the impression that something is afoot which has bad written all over it.

According to one group the BLM agents at the Bundy ranch were in fact supposed to engage in violence in order to incite a larger scale crackdown centered around the expected death of some of the agents after a shootout.

Where does your state stand on the growing tension between "The People" and the Federal Government?  And perhaps to my fellow Kentuckians, which candidate for the US Senate has been tapped by none other than the First Lady as a reliable vote in favor of her husband's gun control efforts?

The Crime In Crimea

Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan had this to say about Putin's move in Ukraine:

Russian President Vladimir Putin will seize even more territory if the United States isn’t “a little bit tougher” on him, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Sunday.

“He goes to bed at night thinking of Peter the Great and he wakes up thinking of Stalin,” the Michigan Republican said of Putin on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We need to understand who he is and what he wants," Rogers said. "It may not fit with what we believe of the 21st century.” [POLITICO]

Which made me think.  One huge advantage of Putin's occupation of Crimea is the delivery of natural gas to a thirsty European market. 

When Russia annexed Crimea, it seized not just the land, but also the resource-rich waters that surround it.

Crimea may account for less than 4 percent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product but is vital to developing the substantial Black Sea oil and gas that lies in its watershed. Moscow’s acquisition of the Ukrainian peninsula blocks Kiev’s physical access to those resources and is scaring off private foreign capital that seemed ready to develop them.

If the region is to stay under Russian control, as seems all but assured, Russia’s state-owned oil and gas giants will likely step in to fill the void. That would further expand Moscow’s resource leverage over Europe and again hamper Kiev’s efforts to secure its energy future. [CS Monitor]

Rogers, chair of the House Intelligence Committee says that the USA and Europe need to get tougher with Putin.

Now consider this.  We could get real tough with Putin if America found a way to export more of our abundant natural gas and destroyed him in the marketplace.  And though it occurred to me recently, others have already given it detailed thought.

The U.S. government is facing pressure from all corners to ramp up natural-gas exports as a way to weaken Russia’s hand over Ukraine. To the casual observer, this debate might have seemed to come out of nowhere.

Why are exports of natural gas such a hot topic in the Ukraine crisis, but not oil?

The difference is in how they’re priced. Oil is priced on a global market, while natural gas is priced on a regional basis. Russia has used its relative monopoly—within Europe it supplies six nations with 100% of the gas they consume, and it supplies seven nations with 50% or more—as leverage over the region, and in some cases it’s gone so far to cut off gas resources to these countries when it wants to flex its muscle. In the U.S., prices are dirt cheap compared to Asia and Europe, so Europe sees the U.S. as an attractive source for natural gas. Such exports would have the added strategic benefit of reducing Ukraine’s dependence on Russia.

Why don’t we export more natural gas, since we have so much of it now?

A law dating back to 1938 restricts such exports. For the 20 countries that are free-trade partners with the U.S., such as Mexico and South Korea, the law requires the Energy Department, which has primary authority over energy exports, to automatically approve applications to export natural gas. For countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the U.S., which happen to be the ones who want our gas the most (i.e., Ukraine and other European nations) the law says the Energy Department must first determine whether it’s in the “public interest.” This means DOE must determine whether exporting natural gas to these countries serves the U.S. interests, weighing factors like the economy, environment and national security.[Wall Street Journal]

Now don't get me wrong, I'm convinced that Putin believed he was making a wise move in Crimea, but when billions of dollars in natural gas exports are involved, don't for one minute think that others haven't been tinkering with the politics in Crimea. 

The US employs many, many overseas political operatives who act in ways that, at the time, seem to benefit the USA. 

As I've always said, if something happens in politics, you can pretty well expect that somebody planned it that way.

Look for calls to export more liquid natural gas to ramp up considerably.

Celebrating Palestinians With Thomas Massie

Conservatives for Palestine is the title of the article in which certain like minded elected officials were celebrated for their anti-Israel vote.  One was a speaker at a pro Palestine summit, the other referred to as a "kindred spirit".  The speaker was Cynthia McKinney.  Her "kindred spirit" was Thomas Massie.

Now lest we forget our ally in the region is Israel.  The "summit" questioned that alliance and blamed our woes and our wars on our relationship with Israel.

"Research indicates the U.S.-Israel "special relationship" is a major factor in foreign hostility towards Americans. Some experts suggest that Israel has been central to U.S. wars in the Middle East."

One of the topics addressed at the summit was Is Israel really a U.S. ally?  

I wonder if free tinfoil hats were included in the price of admission?

Here's How To Gain The Right To Arrest Law Abiding Citizens

From the Hartford Courant:

Everyone knew there would be some gun owners flouting the law that legislators hurriedly passed last April, requiring residents to register all military-style rifles with state police by Dec. 31.

But few thought the figures would be this bad.

By the end of 2013, state police had received 47,916 applications for assault weapons certificates, Lt. Paul Vance said. An additional 2,100 that were incomplete could still come in.

That 50,000 figure could be as little as 15 percent of the rifles classified as assault weapons owned by Connecticut residents, according to estimates by people in the industry, including the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation. No one has anything close to definitive figures, but the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000.

And that means as of Jan. 1, Connecticut has very likely created tens of thousands of newly minted criminals — perhaps 100,000 people, almost certainly at least 20,000 — who have broken no other laws. By owning unregistered guns defined as assault weapons, all of them are committing Class D felonies.

"I honestly thought from my own standpoint that the vast majority would register," said Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, the ranking GOP senator on the legislature's public safety committee. "If you pass laws that people have no respect for and they don't follow them, then you have a real problem."

Any doubts as to why you need to oppose any gun registration legislation of any sort that comes down the pike?

How will Connecticut deal with all of the unregistered guns owned by the thousands of new felons they just created?

The problem could explode if Connecticut officials decide to compare the list of people who underwent background checks to buy military-style rifles in the past, to the list of those who registered in 2013. Do they still own those guns? The state might want to know.

So how would the government arrest and detain so many gun owners?  That would be a good subject for conspiracy theorists to discuss, but in reality disarming the people by making them felons isn't really all that hard.  Felons cannot own guns, legally.

In 1763 [General Thomas] Gage was appointed commander in chief of all British forces in North America—the most important and influential post in the colonies. Headquartered in New York, he ran a vast military machine of more than 50 garrisons and stations stretching from Newfoundland to Florida and from Bermuda to the Mississippi. He exhibited both patience and tact in handling matters of diplomacy, trade, communication, Indian relations, and western boundaries. His great failure, however, was in his assessment of the burgeoning independence movement.

Thus Gage is chiefly remembered in the U.S. as the protagonist of the British cause while he served as military governor in Massachusetts from 1774 to 1775. In this capacity, he ordered the march of the redcoats on Lexington and Concord (April 1775), which was intended to uncover ammunition caches and to capture the leading Revolutionary agitator, Samuel Adams who escaped.

As the folks over at Truthaboutguns.com reminded us:

First they came for the ARs
and I didn’t speak out because I had other guns.

Then they came for the high capacity magazines,
and I didn’t speak out because I wanted to keep my guns.

Then they came for all semi-automatics,
and I didn’t speak out because I had a revolver.

Then they came for my revolver,
and I couldn’t speak out because I’d lost my ability to speak.

Told Jah: Washington Post Says Obama Deserves Third Term

It has been a common them on many websites, that Barack Obama wants to be president for life, or at least a dictator.  People point to his repeated use of Executive Orders to circumvent Congress, his compulsive lying and his open respect for the powers that dictators have which he does not.

Until now this concern was dismissed as nothing more than a crazy conspiracy theory.  But now the Washington Post has published an editorial suggesting that at least one more term for BO would be a good idea.

End presidential term limits

In 1947, Sen. Harley Kilgore (D-W.Va.) condemned a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict presidents to two terms. “The executive’s effectiveness will be seriously impaired,” Kilgore argued on the Senate floor, “ as no one will obey and respect him if he knows that the executive cannot run again.” I’ve been thinking about Kilgore’s comments as I watch President Obama, whose approval rating has dipped to 37 percent in CBS News polling — the lowest ever for him

Regardless of his political approval ratings, Obama could expect Republican senators such as Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and John McCain (Ariz.) to attack the agreement. But if Obama could run again, would he be facing such fervent objections from Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)?

Probably not. Democratic lawmakers would worry about provoking the wrath of a president who could be reelected. Thanks to term limits, though, they’ve got little to fear.

Oh isn't that nice?  What Jonathan Zimmerman is saying is that we need a president who is powerful enough to make people fear him and Obama could get that with a third term in office.

Nor does Obama have to fear the voters, which might be the scariest problem of all. If he chooses, he could simply ignore their will. And if the people wanted him to serve another term, why shouldn’t they be allowed to award him one?

“I think our people are to be safely trusted with their own destiny,” Sen. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) argued in 1947. “We do not need to protect the American people with a prohibition against a president whom they do not wish to elect; and if they wanted to elect him, have we the right to deny them the power?”

It’s time to put that power back where it belongs. When Ronald Reagan was serving his second term, some Republicans briefly floated the idea of removing term limits so he could run again. The effort went nowhere, but it was right on principle. Barack Obama should be allowed to stand for re election just as citizens should be allowed to vote for — or against — him. Anything less diminishes our leaders and ourselves.

Oh it would take a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the term limits and that process isn't likely to happen, but since we have a president who seems very willing to find ways by which to shred or at least ignore the Constitution, might he find another method by which to accomplish this goal?

Though the Washington Post didn't come right out and say as much, might that be what they meant when they said: "[I]f the people wanted him to serve another term, why shouldn’t they be allowed to award him one?"

Keep your eyes open.  Don't forget what I've Told Jah:  There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Conspiracy Theory Of The Day: Was SEAL TEAM 6 Set Up And Shot Down?

Take the time to watch this and enjoy the feeling of how conspiracy theories are constructed.

 

Thomas Massie's Goose Egg Cost America A Bunch

Here's what you get when a bunch of angry neophytes get elected to Congress with the help of anarchists and think that their only job is to throw a wrench in the gears of government as they act out their temper tantrums to the delight of a news media which is using their antics to splinter the GOP and help Obama.

The recent government shutdown and confrontation over the federal debt ceiling gained the Republicans nothing, at best – and may have cost them politically as a party. But it slowed the economy and undermined confidence in public finances in a way that will have a significant negative impact on future budgets of the United States. None of this should make for an appealing strategy, but Tea Party Republicans are giving every indication that they want to do the same thing again early next year. Their more moderate colleagues need to take a firmer hand.

On the political gains from recent tactics, it is hard to find any good news for the Republican side as a whole. Representative Thomas H. Massie, Republican of Kentucky, got it right when he said, “Goose egg, nothing, we got nothing,” in terms of policy changes. And opinion polls moved more sharply against Republicans than some had expected.

The shutdown and debt ceiling brinkmanship did real damage to the economy. The immediate and direct costs are nicely summarized in a blog post by James H. Stock – an academic economist on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers. His assessment is that the effect is a

0.25 percentage point reduction in the annualized G.D.P. growth rate in the fourth quarter and a reduction of about 120,000 private sector jobs in the first two weeks of October (estimates use indicators available through Oct. 12th).

Members of the Tea Party movement express concern about the longer-run federal budget – and the potential negative impact of future debt levels. But their tactics are directly worsening the budget over exactly the time horizon that they say they care about.

The major long-term issue the United States faces is rising health-care costs (not just the part that the federal government pays for), but an important part of our projected future deficits is interest costs, i.e., what the government needs to pay holders of its debt.

The United States dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency and safe haven; the asset that major investors, such as central banks and big international companies, actually buy is United States Treasury debt. In the short term, when Congress acts in a crazy and irresponsible fashion that makes the world feel more unstable, investors “seek safety” and actually buy American government debt, pushing down yields (bond prices and yields move inversely to each other).

Over a longer period of time, of course, investors get the message: United States Treasury debt is not so safe and cannot be trusted as in the past. They should look for alternative assets. The euro may bounce back. The British pound, Swiss franc and Japanese yen have all been contenders in the past. And the most real threat over the next 20 years is probably the rising international role of China’s renminbi.

In the American system, with its carefully conceived checks and balances, an organized and well-funded minority can do a lot more damage – as we have just been reminded. The only force that can rein in Tea Party extremism – and get the nation off the road to fiscal ruin – is resurgence among Republican moderates. [NY Times]

It is clear that reckless behavior like that of Massie, Amash, Cruz and others is doing harm to the United States.  Oh it might make you feel good to hear somebody echo your disdain for Congress, but in the end, which is better for you, a doctor who tells you what you want to hear or one with the skill and commitment to do what is required in order to save your life?

General Warns "War Against Citizens" Coming

From the Examiner:

On Saturday, Terry M. Hestilow, a retired United States Army Captain from Fort Worth, Texas, posted a letter on Facebook that he wrote to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, warning that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to go to war with the citizens of the United States.

He also accused the administration of "deliberately defunding, overextending, and hollowing the Department of Defense," which he said is the "only legitimate agency" with the mission of conducting combat operations.

"One needs only to look to the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his associated DHS organizations, the SA and the SS, of 1932-1934, to see the outcome of allowing an agency of government this kind of control over the free citizens of a nation," he added.

"If I live and still have a page to speak out on later this week, I will discuss a proper Constitutional response in a couple of days. Standby. Out," he wrote on Thursday.

Capt. Hestilow ended his strongly-worded letter with a simple declaration: "We refuse to surrender our Constitution or our nation!"

Radio host Michael Savage issued some disturbing warnings himself this week.  He asked why "Obama has purged the top nuclear military commanders from our military."  He then went on to question how the nation could avoid outrage over the killing of an "unarmed black woman" in Washington DC.  He raised a similar question to that which the General did, "what does that tell you about what they can do to anybody in this country?"

While such conspiracy theories continue to bounce around the Internet and get debunked over and over, nevertheless they tend to ratchet up the rhetoric of a volatile few and could lead to more social upheaval, feed the fears of the anti-government crowd and eventually trigger problems in a self fulfilling prophecy.

Just look at how some "peaceful" demonstators outside of the White House cheered the confinement of security guards.  Don't you see the pressure building?

Efforts Increase To Stop "Patent Trolls"

The Internet Association is launching an ad campaign in targeted states and districts urging Congress to take action to stop patent trolls. The Internet Association is collaborating with the National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation and Food Marketing Institute (which represents grocers) on these ads.

This broad coalition shows that the issue of patent trolls is affecting business across a variety of industries. And as a result, the coalition calling for a change in law to stop the trolls is broader than it has been in the past.

“Patent trolls use bad patents to bully companies of all sizes, in every economic sector, from coast-to-coast,” said Michael Beckerman, President and CEO, The Internet Association. “This is essentially legalized extortion, forcing hard working businesses to go to court or write a check—money they can’t spend on hiring and growth.”

Patent trolls are draining the economy of $80 billion every year and are targeting an increasingly broad array of businesses—moving on from just technology companies and start-ups—to Main Street businesses like supermarkets, restaurants, and retailers. Even charities have been victimized by patent trolls.

EDITORIAL: Red Line, What Red Line?

EDITORIAL:

Whether you know it or not there are a lot of people out there who study your every move.  Not just your buying patterns and your taste in music, but how news and information moves you individually and as part of the community of all people.  In otherwords, the study of how to train humans is ongoing, and very real.

Of course the government and others want to know what you are thinking and doing in private.  All they have been able to measure until recently has been "public reaction" to external stimuli.  The real worry then became "What if people are reacting differently to our subtle commands in private than in public.  Could they then mobilize a reaction contrary to the desired outcome?"

Take a look at the Syria problem.  Where is it on your radar screen today?  It was the hot button issue of discussion just a week or so ago.  The Russians who began the study of people control long before the West did, then jumped into the fray, rattled a sabre with one hand and offered an olive branch with the other.  They not only won over a lot of pacifists (the easy target) but they also proved that they could train the current president of the United States to sit, stay and roll over on command.

Then a shooter at the Navy Yard suddenly takes over the top news spot and the dogs all go running to fetch a ball that was never actually thrown.  Was it terrorism?  Was there an AR-15 used?  Was the guy a gun nut?   Red line, what red line?

Coming up in a few days will be a hot and heavy effort by a few in Congress to de-fund Obamacare by linking it to the "continuing resolution" debate with the boogey man of a government shut down lurking in the shadows.  Red line, what red line?

But there is nothing to worry about.  After all the debt clock has stopped running. 

According to the Daily Treasury Statement for July 26, which the Treasury released this afternoon, the federal debt has been stuck at exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 70 straight days.

That is approximately $25 million below the legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 that Congress has imposed on the debt. [CNS News]

As a trial lawyer my training barely touches the tip of this iceberg.  I am very aware that juries are made up of people who have a variety of pre-sets by which they absorb new information.  Some learn by hearing, others by seeing and others only by a combination of those two methods.

I am aware that certain mannerisms and facial expressions, uses of the hands and other body language can communicate to me and to others much more than the words being spoken reveal.  I am aware that certain words are more powerful than others, that some images and descriptions convey more in fewer words than others. 

But for those people who have spent decades studying human reactions to various stimuli with the goal of ultimately being able to train, control and manipulate human beings, far more has been learned, and practiced than you and I might ever know, or ever believe.

That is why I spend so much time studying, evaluating, analyzing and commenting upon the news.  I am aware that some events don't "just happen".  Sometimes the explanation gets painted as a "conspiracy theory" which is a designation intended to cause most people to dismiss the idea out of hand.

Other times the explanation for certain events or happenings or trends might be easily dismissed in the beginning, but over a period of time, or with repetition we can finally learn to stop hunting in the tall weeds for the ball that was never thrown and perhaps not fall for the fake arm movement so easily next time.

But just as we begin to sense that we are being fooled, those who study humans for the purpose of manipulating us are getting better at predicting when we are about to wise up to the fakery and have already planned their next move to get us into the crate.

Where are we on Syria?  What happened to that week John Kerry gave Assad to comply with the shell game offered by Putin?  Where is that red line now?

Want to know what we look like to those who are playing this game?  About like this:

Stay alert my friends.