Note To Our Political Class: While You Were Out (Apparently Accomplishing Nothing)

Although the Federal wing of the American class has been in session in D.C. the past few weeks, they, as usual, appear to have accomplished nothing of note except to bicker. Thus, as a public service to them, while they were stuck in a state of inertia, I thought it might be worthwhile to let them know what is going on the world that is affecting Americans but which they have no clue or priority in addressing:

- Mexico continues to devolve into a lawless narco state, a condition that at some point in time very soon is will explode over the border in a violent convulsion that the political class has no contingency plan to deal with:

• The Associated Press (AP) reported on February 13, 2011 that armed men, thought to be members of a local drug cartel, opened gun fire on and threw a grenade into a crowded nightclub in Guadalajara, killing six people and wounding 37. The article pointed out that this section of Mexico had been relatively quiet until recently when drug cartel violence escalated. The U.S. State Department has warned U.S. citizens not to travel at night in the city due to road blocks set up by drug cartel members. The latest violence comes on the heels of another violent encounter last week when seven cartel gunmen were shot dead by soldiers.
• The AP reported on January 20, 2011 that Mexican soldiers captured the head of a Tijuana area drug cartel after a shootout in a coastal city. The drug kingpin has been linked to at least 50 killings. The article went on to document another shooting in another city where cartel gunmen in two SUVs with high powered weapons sprayed bullets at another car, killing five men inside that other car.
• And most recently, the AP reported that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another was wounded when assumed gunmen attacked the agents' SUV in northern Mexico. Thus, now Americans are being gunned down by the drug cartels in addition to Mexican citizens

Thus, while the political class dawdles in D.C., the Mexican drug cartel powder keg gets larger and larger and it is just a matter of time before Americans are not only gunned down in Mexico, they will get gunned down in the U.S. Is that when this issue will get their interest? Will we eventually become Mexico, with U.S. troops involved with running gun battles with drug cartels in U.S. cities? All because the political class, after more than four decades, never got around to a coherent and sane drug policy.

- And the Mexican drug cartel problem is not the only component of our failed War On Drugs initiative. In an article in The Economist from January 22, 2011, we learn that El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have three of the highest murder rates in the world. Why? Because these countries serve as the geographic bridge from Columbia, the world's largest cocaine producer, to Mexico, which is the distribution focal point for drugs into the United States. The United Nations' Narcotics Control Board is quoted in the article as saying "Central America is entering an extraordinarily critical period in which its peace and security are threatened by the onslaught of the drug-trafficking organizations." 

Thus, not only Mexico is being shook to its foundations, other countries could follow Mexico down the narco state whirlpool. All because there is such a grand demand and fortunes to be made by smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. Do we really think that the American political class can get a coherent and doable drug strategy in place before civil governments and civil life disappears in several drug infested nations?  I know how I would bet in this race.

- The USA Today reported, as summarized in the February 4, 2011 issue of The Week magazine, that for the first time in General Motors 102 year history, it sold more cars in China than it did in the U.S., 2.35 million vs. 2.21 million. You can be sure that this condition will get more pronounced as time goes by and the Chinese economy grows faster than the United States' economy. I would also bet that most of those 2.35 million cars were not produced by American auto workers. If true, then the American taxpayer bailed out GM so that it could produce more and more cars overseas without using American labor. Nice job Washington.

- The Week in their February 4, 2011 issue also reported that private financial fund managers have earned a 27% percent return on toxic assets that the U.S. Treasury Department took off the hands from financial firms. Thus, tell me again why we had to tie up and risk hundreds of billions of taxpayer money to bail out financial firms when smart managers can earn a 27% return on these same assets? Wouldn't it have  been more prudent to make these same firms mange these troubled assets for better or and not risk taxpayer wealth? Just thought you would like to know that this is just another example proving that TARP was totally unnecessary but very risky for taxpayers.

- The New York Post reported on February 16, 2011 that two Federal TSA agents had been arrested for stealing $160,000 from travelers' bags that they had been screening at Kennedy Airport. The agents have admitted to the thefts including the day they stole $39,000 from a single bag in January. Apparently the agents used the screening machinery, the same machinery that is supposed to be used to protect us from terrorist attacks, and when they saw something of value on their security screens, they would take the bag to a private screening room where they would make the swipe.

The article also reported that TSA has confirmed there was a series of serious security lapses at Newark Airport within the past month. These lapses included a knife in carry on luggage that got through the screening process, two passengers that were allowed to board their flights despite issues with their body scans, and a dead dog carcass that was loaded onto a Continental Airlines flight without being properly screened.

Note to the political class: just thought you would like to know how poorly your TSA organization is protecting the nation's travelers.

- The January 31, 2011 issue of Business Week highlighted how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are becoming larger and larger owners of foreclosed residential properties. Given that Fannie and Freddie suck up billions of dollars every month in needed subsidies, a growing pool of foreclosed properties may make them even more unprofitable and more of a taxpayer drain every month. According to the article, they now possess $24 billion in properties, they own 242,000 properties which is five times more than they owned just a few years ago, and those properties represent a third of all repossessed properties in the country. This growing volume may require Fannie and Freddie to drop prices on their properties in order to move them off of their books, a move that would further depress the housing market.

Note to the political class: any idea when you are going to get around to fixing this taxpayer drain and government embarrassment? When will you finally understand the the Federal government does not belong in the housing mortgage business?

- Saving the best for last, did you in the political class happen to notice that according to the Federal Election Commission, 76 Americans have already filed paperwork with the Federal Election commission to run for President in 2012? According to one filer, Dennis Knill: "We have a bunch of idiots in Washington. They are ruining the country and somebody has to stop it."

Very well said, Mr. Knill. Given that the political class is apparently accomplishing nothing while in session in Washington, somebody has to confront some real issues such as the failed war on drugs and the fallout from drug cartel violence from Mexico to Columbia, the fact that taxpayer wealth was spent, wasted, and risked on helping GM make and sell cars in China, the fact that there was no need to bail out the shaky financial assets of bailed out companies since some smart Americans are making a great return on those same assets, the failure of the TSA in so many ways to protect American lives and assets, and the continuing joke and incompetency that is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We did not even touch on our  failing public school issue, our non-existent integrated national energy policy, our leaky borders, our skyrocketing national debt, the failure that is Obama Care, and the loss of freedom and democracy in America. Just thought you would like to know what is going on in the real world outside of D.C.

And you should also know that Mr. Knill is not alone in his appraisel of your performance.


Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com/. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.


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http://www.repealamendment

How Illegal Immigration and The Failed War On Drugs Intersect

Over the past fourteen months, we have seen how ineptly the political class has struggled to solve one problem, rising health care costs. Their bungling and childish haggling has resulted in a potential bill that is neither effective or efficient relative to controlling health care costs and which may not even pass Congress anyway. Their fourteen months of getting nothing accomplished shows how incompetent they are when they focus, and fail, on just a single issue.

Now, imagine how long it will take for them to solve large interrelated problems, given they cannot solve a single issue. Today we will look at the first of interrelated problems and issues, namely the failed War On Drugs and illegal immigration. We will examine similar intersections in subsequent posts. Consider the following information that has recently been published:

• The March 5, 2010 issue of The Week magazine had a synopsis of an article by Gregory Rodriguez of the LA Times, "Mexicans Who Fear Mexico." According to the article, the current drug war and the resultant killings going on in Mexico may cause millions of Mexican immigrants to not return to their homeland, after working and saving in the United States, like they have done in past generations. This generation may decide that returning home, even for a visit, is just too dangerous and the risk of staying in the U.S. is well worth it. As fewer and fewer of the current illegal residents in the country decide not to go home and more and more Mexican flee to this country to both work and avoid the drug killings, we will be faced with a growing illegal immigrant situation. I am not saying this is good or bad, just that it will occur.
• An Associated Press (AP) investigation and article by Alicia Caldwell, that was published on March 1, 2010, described how the Mexican drug gangs have set up extensive marijuana growing farms on public lands out west. The gangs use armed guards and trip wire bombs to protect their growing fields, endangering U.S. citizens who might be out hiking or camping in our national forests. The DEA said that police destroyed 7.6 marijuana plants from 20,000 pot fields in 2008. The article does not say what percentage of the total crop is represented by the 7.6 million plants but it certainly appears to be a major problem with one quote from a law enforcement agent estimating that they confiscate far less than 50% of what is grown on public lands. The drug gangs also kidnap and/or force illegal immigrants to work in the marijuana fields which are highly sophisticated growing operations. And finally, their use of high concentrations of fertilizer and other chemicals have created significant pollution problems around their growing fields.
• For those of you that are no aware, there are over six thousand drug-related murders every year in Mexico. Many of these murders are often grisly and may involve Innocent bystanders to gun battles between rival drug gangs or between the authorities and the drug gangs. Thus, almost twenty people are killed every day in Mexico because of the drug trade and industry.

Thus, two major issues facing America today, the failed War on Drugs and illegal immigration, are highly related. Current illegal immigrants will not go home because of the drug trade murders, many illegal immigrants are brought into the U.S. to work in the illegal marijuana fields, and we are seeing a major battle underway just below our southern border with the possibility that if the government loses its battle with the drug gangs, we will have a lawless narco state right next door.

Now, honestly ask yourself: given the bumbling of the political class in trying to solve the single issue of health care reform, what chance do we have that they can solve the interrelated issues of drugs and illegal immigration? I would say that even if they ever get around to it, the chance of them effectively and efficiently solving these joint issues is next to nothing. These are the same people running our government who significantly overran their budget and schedule in just trying to build a visitor's center in D.C. No way they can come up with a policy and legislation that is effective in the drug and immigration areas.

That is why Steps 26 and 29 in "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" are so important. Using the model of citizen, expert panels that this country has successfully used in the past (e.g. Manhattan Project, Apollo space mission, the Grace Commission on government waste, the military base closing commission the 9-11 Commission, etc.), the government should impanel separate but conjoined panels to investigate and analyze all of the options relative to the war on drugs and illegal immigration. We can not afford to go slow on these issues and waiting for the political class to finally address them and then fail to do anything is not an option. These panels would be comprised of experts from a diverse set of fields and would bring their knowledge and experience to bear on the problem. They would then put together a set of different options for addressing these interrelated problems and the American public would vote on the options they want to see implemented.

This would bypass Congress and the President altogether, but given that Congress and the President have proven impotent relative to solving any issue, we need to take the initiative and solve it ourselves. The clock is ticking, as Mexico comes closer and closer to a narco state, our illegal immigrant population grows, and our woods and streams are polluted by illegal marijuana fields, we can not wait while the political class bumbles along like it has on health care reform.

Our new book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Our Lost War On Drugs

In the late 1960s, President Nixon declared war on drugs. In the early 1980s President Reagan declared war on marijuana. Today, it appears that neither effort and the less famous efforts of other administrations have had much of an effect on drug usage. Drug usage has gone through cycles but has not diminished much at all. We have a narco nation developing along our southern border and narco ghettos in many of our cities. The political class never got a handle on this problem.

Thus, it was so refreshing to come across a country, Portugal, that has taken a mature and logical approach to curb its drug problem. In the July, 2009 issue of Reason magazine (www.reason.com), an interview with Glenn Greenwald of the Cato Institute (www.cato.org) laid out how Portugal did what the American political class could not. They established a nonpartisan group of experts who took a zero-based approach to answer the basic question: "How can we best limit drug usage and drug addiction?" They studied a range of options and recommended what they believed what was optimal policy. In a nutshell, the decriminalized drug possession (not the same as drug legalization) which enabled the authorities shift more resources from law enforcement activities to treatment activities. The net result was a significant drop in drug usage in the country.

This exact same approach is laid out in Step 26 of "Love My Country, Loathe My Government." Given that the political class is no closer to solving this country's drug problem today than when Nixon declared war, why not follow Portugal's lead from a process perspective? Let some very smart Americans from a variety of fields (law enforcement, medicine, economics, sociology, etc.) get together and come up with a plan. They obviously could not do any worse than what we have gotten out of Washington since the late 1960s.