A Blog Dedicated to Freedom, Liberty and the Rights of Man

Freedom? Yeah, right.

Former Vice President Al Gore declared that the Congressional climate bill will help bring about “global governance.”

Really?  I thought it was all about saving the polar bears from drowning.

In reality, "Cap and Trade" is potentially the largest tax since the Income Tax.  Coal and Natural Gas, two targets of Cap and Trade, are actually two of the cheapest ways America generates its electricity.  Not if the Senate and Obama have their way.   How does an increase in the cost of electricity of 62% sound over 18 months?  Go ask your boss for a 6.2% raise and see what happens, let alone 62%.  But these geniuses in Congress, in their finite wisdom, think it's a good idea to raise to costs of essentials for Americans during a recession.  Fantastic.

One question for Mr. Gore - who will be in charge of this new "global governance" scheme?  Perhaps Gore, still bitter over not becoming the President in 2000, has set his sights a bit higher...

Sotomayor Violated Judicial Ethics

The Code of Conduct for United States Judges Canon 2 (C) clearly states the following:

 Nondiscriminatory Membership. A judge should not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin.

The theory is as follows: a judge is supposed to be impartial and all people are supposed to be equal in the eyes of the law.  This is the belief behind the notion of "Blind Justice."

Despite this, Judge Sotomayor was a member of The Belizean Grove, a group that describes itself as an answer to the "old-boys network" of the Bohemian Grove:

"Having observed the power of the Bohemian Grove, a 130-year-old, elite old boys' network of former Presidents, businessmen, military, musicians, academics, and non-profit leaders, and realizing that women didn't have a similar organization, Susan Stautberg and 26 other founding members created the Belizean Grove, a constellation of influential women who are key decision makers in the profit, non-profit and social sectors; who build long term mutually beneficial relationships in order to both take charge of their own destinies and help others to do the same."

Sounds to me like it's an all-womens' group.  This in itself is not a problem - we live in a country that permits freedom of association.  But a judge should be impartial and not be a member of a group that discriminates.  Could you imagine the backlash if Justice Scalia was a member of an all-men's group?  He'd be run out of town.

Since this story came out, Sotomayor defended her membershipin The Belezian Grove and then quit the group a few days later.  This is strikingly similar to the countless other Obama nominees who did not pay taxes only to pay them after they were nominated to a high-level governmental post.  What sort of message does this send to the American people?

Global [Economic] Cooling

Late on Friday, The House of Unrepresentatives passed a 1200+ page bill without reading it.  Colloquially called "Cap and Trade," it was presented as a way to save the environment from "manmade global warming."  Essentially, if a business releases too much "greenhouse gases," it must purchase the right to do so from other, less "polluting" companies.  Coal companies seem to be one of the big targets of this bill - a coal company will have to purchase "carbon credits" from another company.  Who pays for this additional cost, in the end?  The consumer.  It's a fact that 50% of electricity in the USA comes form coal. 

Maybe it's just me, but raising the costs of necessities for Americans during a very deep recession isn't the best way to revive the economy, especially when it's in the name of the polar bears and baby seals.  Especially with the American consumer, the so-called "backbone" of the economy, spending less and saving more.

In the 3rd Presidential Debate, Obama promised the following: "I think that in ten years, we can reduce our dependence so that we no longer have to import oil from the Middle East or Venezuela. I think that's about a realistic timeframe."  Yet Obama and the Democrats blocked offshore drilling.  If we aren't developing our own offshore oil resources, where are we going to get the oil from?

OK, so coal is getting more expensive and we're not developing our own oil supplies.  What about wind power?  Not in Ted Kennedy's backyard.  Where are we going to get our electricity from?  True, there are other sources, such as solar, nuclear, etc.  But these aren't going to appear overnight. 

In the short term, things are going to cost more.  Within eleven years, Cap and Trade is currently estimated to cost a family $1870 more,just for electricity.  That assume all other things equal.  And as we all know, these estimates are usually half of what they really turn out to be.

Now, here's the kicker - who's going to make money dealing in these carbon credits?  You guessed it - our friends at Goldman Sachs, the company who made money betting against the debt products that it was selling to its customersand received billions of "bailout" money, thanks to its former CEO who was Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson.