Oversight Failure of Congress

The US government has 15 major departments, with over 450 supporting and independent agencies .

Since 1912, when Arizona became a state, the U.S. has added 10 new departments to the executive branch. They have also added many agencies. The FDR New Deal and the Lyndon Johnson Great Society grew the size of the U.S. government to one that is too complex to be managed.

During the first 120 years of the U.S. Government there were only 5 departments of the U.S. Government and very few agencies.

Since the growth of government began in 1913 there have been only 2 additional states to provide a small increase in the size of congress to oversee all of these departments and agencies.

Congress has the power and the duty to oversee the functions of government.

It has been said that congress failed in its oversight duty, leading to the housing and financial crisis of 2008.

The U.S. Constitution says there shall not be more than one representative per 30,000 residents. Because of population growth each representative now represents over 600,000 residents. When the country was started most representatives represented a much smaller group of people.

The House of Representatives needs to double or triple its size in order to oversee all the departments and agencies it has created. There should be a full time committee for each agency. Still, congress will fail because the agencies' employees will obfuscate as usual, and the lobbyists will seek to plunder.

Each member of The House of Representatives now represents over 600,000 people. The representatives love power. They are not about to decrease the number of people they represent. It is more difficult now for a citizen to have contact with their representative. If you want representation now you need to belong to a group that has lobbying power.

It would be a boost to liberty and efficiency if congress would downsize the government and eliminate many of the departments and agencies.

Department of State (1789)
Department of the Treasury (1789)
Department of the Interior (1849)
Department of Agriculture (1862)
Department of Justice (1870)
Department of Commerce (1913)
Department of Labor (1913)
Department of Defense (1947)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965)
Department of Transportation (1967)
Department of Energy (1977)
Department of Health and Human Services (1979)
Department of Education (1980)
Department of Veterans Affairs (1989)
Department of Homeland Security (2003)


INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Voice of America (VOA)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Corporation for National & Community Service
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Farm Credit Administration (FCA)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
General Services Administration (GSA)
Federal Citizen Information Center (Pueblo, CO)
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO)
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Selective Service System (SSS)
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Social Security Administration (SSA)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
United States Postal Service (USPS)
US Postal Inspection Service
United States Trade and Development Agency

BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC)
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC)
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
International Boundary & Water Commission
Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)
National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
National Council on Disability
National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC)
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
National Mediation Board (NMB)
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB)
Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC)
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC)
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
Dataweb (Import/export data)
White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security (Report)
Smithsonian Institution (SI)

Solar Flares, Climate Change

If you walk barefooted on a sandy beach in the summer your feet will hurt from the hot sand, sand that is warmed from the sun.

If you feel a rock on a hot day it will feel warm, warmed by the sun. The temperature of that same rock a million years ago would have felt warm, or cooler, depending upon the sun, not human activity.

If the above image of a solar flare doesn't explain global warming, nothing will.

"The explosions, called solar flares, are capable of releasing as much energy as a billion one-megaton nuclear bombs." NASA

Maybe it's not the sun after all. Maybe it's the earth's core that is heating up.Could the earth's core get so hot the earth will explode?

We know the earth has cracked before and great land masses shifted. That's called plate tectonics. When the earth explodes that will be the end times and all the faithful will be raptured up to Heaven where the temperature will be a constant 72 degrees.

Neither of these reasons for climate change satisfies the humanitarian control freaks who need a purpose in their lives. Nor will it eliminate the government scientist who make a career out of reading thermometers and other measurements, and the private scientists who receive millions in federal grant money to do the same.

Climate change, warming or cooling, is the new mantra of the control freaks. It is filled with perils that instill fear among the populace. Finally, the Marxists have the ultimate rallying cry to do evil as an excuse to promote the greater good.

Look for the control freaks to micro manage our lives, telling us what to eat, and what kind of car to buy. They will tax cows because they produce methane gas, which of course the controllers will say causes global warming. Taxing cows will raise the cost of beef, forcing us to become vegetarians. Certain days we will be required to ride bicycles to work. The controllers however will never have to ride a bicycle to work.

Charles Bah Humbug

State Incentives to Foreign Auto Makers

I've heard many proponents of the government bailout for the Big 3 decry the use of taxpayer money in the southern states to lure foreign auto manufactures.

Most of that taxpayer money was state taxpayer money, not printed money from the U.S. government that other states must help pay back. Those states that provided the incentives to the foreign auto manufactures must balance their state budgets.

I would bet those states also made the same offer to the Big 3. Those state bureaucrats could care less if the workers were union. All the state bureaucrats wanted was more jobs and more revenue from those businesses and workers who pay income, sales, and property taxes.

I'm against government interference in the market place. If however all 50 states can compete with the best incentives to lure business, then the consumer will benefit with a lower costs of goods and services.

The free enterprise system, if allowed to operate, will entice more producers when there is a profit to be made. More producers means some will have to be eliminated simply because there will be more supply than demand. This happens in all industries. It happened in housing. Now it has happened in the auto industry. There are more cars than buyers. This is good for consumers.

More producers means competition will reward the most efficient. The quality of cars has improved because of competition. Cars last longer. Consumers have had their liquidity reduced with the housing downturn. This means they will drive their current car longer before making their second largest purchase after a house, a car.

There are too many cars for the market. The government bailout enables producers to produce more of something the consumer is not buying.

Charles Bah Humbug

Too Big To Fail

J.A. Schumpeter, used to refer to progress under capitalism as "creative destruction".

If General Motors fails, there will be plenty of capitalist vultures ready to feed on its carcass. Nothing of value will be wasted.

Yes, capitalism and the free market is harsh and brutal. It is not kind and sympathetic. In its pure form, which has never existed, it is efficient, and benefits all consumers.

We are constantly hearing the politicians crying that a company is "too big to fail", and the government must confiscate some money from all the taxpayers in order to save the big companies, companies that have been huge campaign contributors, and companies like General Motors who have unions that vote in favor of the democrat party.

By the description of the pretend Cassandras in Washington and Wall Street, one could say all of the Fortune 100 companies are "Too Big To Fail".

If these corporate statists want to hide behind the excuse that they are too big to fail then I think it's time to break up these companies that fall in that category. The government should break them up for the same reason the government broke up Standard Oil in 1911.

If General Motors is too big to fail that means they have so much of the market that no one can replace them, thus they are in effect a monopoly, and they have too much political power.

The same can be said about American International Group, AIG, who the government gave over 100 billion dollars because the government and lobbyists thought AIG was "too big to fail".

I believe if these politicians were around when the steam engine replaced the sailing schooners they would have said the sail manufacturing industry was "too big to fail".

If a company thinks it is too big to fail it will become careless. It will become inefficient because it knows it will not have to compete in the free market. It knows it will have the political clout to blackmail the government. This inefficient giant will remain and be an albatross around the neck of the society that is forced to keep it in existence.

If a company goes to the government and tells the government we need a bailout because our demise would have a serious effect on the economy, then the government should force them to sell off parts of their business. General Motors should be required to spin off some of its plants and start a new corporation with the cars from those plants.

Some say the Big 3 factories are needed in an emergency to produce war material. This is not necessary. Foreign companies produce cars here and their factories could be nationalized in a war emergency.

The End of Government Education

On December 16 President Elect Obama nominated Arne Duncan as education secretary. Mr. Obama said that failing to improve classroom instruction is "morally unacceptable for our children."

Mr. President Elect, you and your wife have two children. The rest of the parents in America may not mind you claiming their children are your children, but I mind.

The pronoun "our" that you use so socialisticly is trying to give the State the right to claim my children. Please keep your governmental controlling hands off "our" children. "Our" in my use means only parents can call their children "our" children.

You mentioned the failure of education in the government schools. Many people agree with you that government schools fail. Why don't you privatize the education system? Why don't you eliminate the Department of Education?

If all education was private and had failed as much as you say the government education failed you would be saying the free enterprise system in education failed and should be taken over by the government. But when the government system fails you refuse to say it should be privatized. Instead you want more control over not only children's lives but by your words you are going to hold parents more accountable. What does that mean? Are you going to use government force on parents and make them better parents? I'm sure you can find many who will agree with you it is acceptable for the government to use force and aggression on parents in the name of the "greater good". No matter who uses force and aggression on another, it is evil.

As the economy weakens many parents who send their children to private schools will stop and place their children in government schools which the parents are already paying for in taxes.

The cost of government schools over private schools is enormous. If we eliminated all taxes for the government schools parents could afford private schools. There would be millions of volunteer pedagogues willing to teach poor children.

( "New Jersey spends more than $18,500 a year on every student when you count all local school taxes and expenses like pension and health benefits. That figure doesn't even include huge sums spent on construction. A 1 percent drop in private school enrollment will put New Jersey governments on the hook for about $55 million a year; a 10 percent swing will require $550 million more in school spending. In contrast, the national median private school tuition is just over $4,000 and a little more than $5,000 when it's adjusted for New Jersey's higher income levels.")

Mr. Obama plans to spend billions on younger children, even toddlers. (Mr. Obama’s platform, which Mr. Duncan helped write, emphasizes extending care to infants and toddlers as well, and it makes helping poor children a priority. It would also provide new federal financing for states rolling out programs to serve young children of all incomes.) The government is trying to build Plato's Republic, where the government owns all children. Many parents will happily relinquish their responsibilities as parents in pursuit of vices.

There is no reason to spend thousands of dollars for an expensive government college education. All one needs to become educated today is basic reading skills and an Internet connection. The government monopoly on education is near an end.

The Pedagogue

Update; Feb 10, 2009 Jim Cramer interviewed the CEO, Wallace E. Boston Jr., of American Public Education, http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1027946488&play=1

Wallace Boston had much to say about the new way, online, to get a college degree.

Obama and his image

The above image of President Elect Obama's stage in Chicago shows six American flags as props. Two flags are not shown. There are eight flags on stage! Why so many flags? Wouldn't one or two suffice?

When President Bush and Iraq's President Minister Nuri al-Maliki held a press conference in Iraq there were 6 American flags and 6 Iraqi flags in the background, for a total of 12 flags!

Why do politicians have to be surrounded by the flag of their country? Are they saying "I am the State. Respect me as you respect the State".

Image is so important. But images are not substances. In politics and other situations, images are the practice of deception.

Images of the State are designed to beget loyalty and submission. Without that the State has no power.

Charles Tolleson

Brainwashing Children for The State

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush hosted a Children's Holiday Reception at the White House on December 8, 2008.

It seems from the remarks that most of the children were from military families. President Bush said, "Secondly, I am glad you're here because I wanted to thank your moms and dads for serving the United States of America. We love being with our military families because it gives us a chance to express the sincere and deep appreciation of all Americans for the sacrifices that families make. So I want to thank you for standing by your moms and dads, and telling them you're proud of them, and telling them you love them."

After the president's remarks First Lady Laura Bush said, "We have a very special treat for our entertainment today. First, though, I want you to look at these Christmas trees, and you can tell by looking at them what our holiday theme is, and that's it's “A Red, White, and Blue Christmas.” Can you tell it?

CHILDREN: Yes.

MRS. BUSH: And what does that mean? What is red, white, and blue?

CHILDREN: Our flag.

MRS. BUSH: "Our flag. That's right. Those are our country's colors -- red, white, and blue. So this is a chance, on our very last Christmas here at the White House, to celebrate our country. And we're doing it by painting everything red, white, and blue. You probably saw the bunting on the garlands in the hall. And then if you looked at the big, big, blue Christmas tree in the Blue Room, you saw all those ornaments that represent every part of the United States".

I can only read and observe these proceedings as something a successful propagandist would admire. Get to the children early if you want to indoctrinate them into believe myths, lies, and dogmas. Get to them early to make them believe your government is kind and benevolent.

The reception for these children, hosted by the State employees, and paid for by the taxpayers, is designed to instill loyalty and support for those military personnel who are supporting the criminal invasion and occupation of someone else's country.

What would these children think if soldiers from another country were occupying America?

The State propagandists are preparing these children to go into another country and kill someone else's child.

Ebeneezer Scrooge

Auto Bailout

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”. Benito Mussolini

I think the United Auto Workers made a big mistakes in not granting concession to the congress on the night of Dec 11, 2008, in exchange for financial assistance from the taxpayers.

Many taxpayers are anti union. Many taxpayers are not anti union. Most taxpayers find it appalling that the auto workers can ask for charity from taxpayers when taxpayers themselves are losing their jobs and their homes are decreasing in value.

The taxpayers feel like they are making concessions on a daily basis and cannot understand why the auto workers will not make concessions.

My former company went into bankruptcy and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation took over my pension. I had a significant reduction in my pension. Now the auto workers want to use the U.S. Government to force me to save their pensions!

Today it looks like the Bush Administration is planning on using money from the bank bailout to help the Big 3. This will not save the Big 3. The Big 3 and the UAW have created a public relations blunder. They have alienated the consumers. If the American consumer was not dissatisfied with the Big 3 before, they certainly are now, which means most American consumers will not buy the Big 3 autos in the future, no matter how much the taxpayer is forced to support the Big 3.

The UAW is blackmailing the taxpayer, saying pay us above market wages, or pay us unemployment insurance and take over 700,000 pensions.

The Big 3 has an image and reputation to overcome. It will take many, many years to overcome this negative image.

In the early 80s I had an older friend who was a staunch republican and patriotic American. He served in WW II. He refused to buy an American automobile. His attitude was passed on to his children.

The UAW should have a positive public relations campaign announcing they will make huge concessions and will double their efforts to produce the best and safest car for American consumers. Their concessions will not save their companies. Increased sales is what will help save their company.

Charles Tolleson

Treasury May Force Lower Mortgage Rates

"Man is the only animal of which I am thoroughly and cravenly afraid...There is no harm in a well-fed lion. It has no ideals, no sect, no party." George Bernard Shaw

Why can't the government stay out of our personal contracts in the market place?

The housing bubble was caused by human greed, enabled by government polices that interfered with buyers and sellers determining a fair market price. The government encouraged consumption, rewarded consumption with tax deductions on mortgage interest, and rewarded lenders who made bad loans. The government should have rewarded savings, which would have made real money available for lending and investing. Instead the government created artificial book values that encouraged borrowing on undervalued assets.

The government wanted house prices to rise, while hooting for "affordable" housing for the poor. Now that home prices are "affordable" the government cannot stand it because there is less property tax revenue for the government mob. Now they are trying to do the same thing they did before, artificially inflate the value of homes by lowering the mortgage rates, thus lowering the monthly payments required of the homeowner. This ponzi scheme will have unseen consequence just like all government schemes. The government is still trying to encourage spending instead of savings.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28037936/print/1/displaymode/1098/
"The Treasury Department is considering a plan to boost the depressed housing market by easing mortgage rates on new home loans.

The plan, which is in the development stages, would bring loan rates down as low as 4.5%, a full percentage point lower than the prevailing rates for 30-year fixed mortgages.

Under the plan, the Treasury would buy securities underpinning loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie , which are temporarily under the control of the government, as well as those guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration."

Worshiping Christ and the State

In Foster City, CA they have a lighted Christmas tree on a platform in their lagoon. On top of the tree is an American Flag. This is a symbol of worshiping Christ and the State. When you worship someone or something, you are owned by the thing you worship.

Charles Tolleson

"Marriage is for women the commonest mode of livelihood, and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution." Bertrand Russell

Personality Disorders

American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines personality disorders as "an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who exhibits it".

My dog has a personality disorder. She is afraid of the fog.

A recent study shows 1 in 5 young Americans has a personality disorder. "Conclusions; Psychiatric disorders, particularly alcohol use disorders, are common in the college-aged population. Although treatment rates varied across disorders, overall fewer than 25% of individuals with a mental disorder sought treatment in the year prior to the survey. These findings underscore the importance of treatment and prevention interventions among college-aged individuals."

One must be a member to read the study, sponsored by the taxpayer. "This study is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and by the New York State Psychiatric Institute."

I suspect if one read the questions one could easily discern why a psychiatrist would think 20 percent of young people have a personality "disorder". It is also very easy to have a personality "disorder" since the APA has classified over 300 different disorders.

Science Daily has an article about the study.

The study tries to frighten parents into paying for the services of a psychiatrist. Parents are so into themselves today. They think if their children are happy then the parent's problems will go away. Parents should stop trying to make their children happy and instead try to make their children self reliant and independent.

It would be easy to estimate that more than 1 in 5 young people are unhappy, drink, have pierced ears and other pierced body parts, and have tattoos, and wish to be on American Idol. Most of these young people came from a "family" that did not have a father in the household.

Most of these young people have been indoctrinated by the government schools and their single moms that these young people are important and should be respected. These young people have inflated and convoluted egos because they know they have done little to earn respect. They also ask themselves why they are important.

Still, just because young people prefer to drink and party and pursue vices instead of virtues does not mean they have a personality disorder that requires the taxpayer to pay for someone to listen to the young person talk about themselves. The APA would like the government to pay for "treatment", (listening to young people talk about themselves). If your product will not sell to the market then get the government to force people to buy your product.

Charles Tolleson

Male Babies Killed by New Guinea Mothers

A recent news story in The Australian said frustrated women in Papua New Guinea's Highland region are killing their male babies to end a tribal fight that has warred for more than 20 years.

Throughout history men have been fighting. They fight individually or in groups. The groups can be small gangs, or large gangs called a nation.

Men are always fighting for plunder. The more plunder they have, the better chance they have to buy women.

Men also fight to eliminate other men, thus reducing the competition for women.

The women of New Guinea may have a solution, fewer males. If there were only one male for ever ten females, males would not need to fight.

China's one child policy on the other hand is going to have a negative impact on China. The one child policy has led to the abortion of female fetuses. There are millions more Chinese males than females, which has lead to desperate men seeking women. This will cause conflicts and resulting violence. China will change course when they realize a society is more peaceful if the gender ratio is higher for females.

This reduction of males to females will happen in the future, but for the present we need to reduce wars between nations because they are counter productive for the human race.

One way to reduce wars between nations is to have a world agreement between nations that no nation can use male troops to invade, occupy, or attack another nation. To attack, invade, or occupy another nation only female troops can be used. Male troops can be used only on a nations own territory as self defense.

Most national leaders would never use only female troops for a foreign invasion or occupation. Females are just too important to the male. Mother nature made it so.

Most geniuses are males. For us to go to distant galaxies, we need the geniuses, but not war.

Charles Tolleson