This was a huge news day with a lot of stories to comment on. I am going to do this posting rapid fire hitting on all the news stories that piqued my interest. I will post the headlines with a link to the story. I will provide a limited summary and my commentary on the facts presented. So here we go!
FEDS PUSH FOR TRACKING CELLPHONES
The Justice Department and FBI want to have access to track a person's cell phone calls. They want to be able to access the locations of previously made calls and to possibly track people in real time. This is gross violation of the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution. Police need probable cause (specific evidence that a specific person has committed a specific crime) to even tap a person's phone. So under what authority do they have to track us with out the same standard of proof? People want to complain about how our civil liberties were abridged under Bush; well Obama is going the same way.
IRAN GOES NUCLEAR ON REVOLUTION DAY
Today is the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran when the American backed Sha was deposed. Iran announced they have enough refined material to run nuclear power plants. There were also counter protests to this announcement by the President of Iran. It is dangerous for a nation like Iran (That has threatened to wipe Israel off the map and start a second holocaust) to have access to nuclear material. They could produce weapons grade nuclear material and create atomic weapons that could be used on Israel and any other nations, like the United States (who has been called the Great Satan by Islamic extremists). If I were President of the United States this would be my response to Iran. "Iran has the right as a sovereign nation to pursue any method they wish for their energy needs and military defense. But if any nuclear weapons created by Iran are used against the people of the world, the United States will respond with overwhelming and swift military action until the leaders of Iran and its capabilities to create these weapons are destroyed."
AIRPORT SCANNERS VIOLATE THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM
Islamic leaders around the world are in an uproar because of the use of full body scanners violate the tenants of Islamic law as found in the Quran. Personally, I think these full body scans are an unnecessary violation of a person's privacy and a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The government has no probable cause to search people before they get on the plane. I say disband the TSA and let private airlines or the airports handle their own security. It would cut down on costs since wages would be more competitive. Also it has been found private companies have found more dumbie bombs than the TSA. Also who cares what Muslims think of our methods of searching people. You don't want to submit to a search, don't fly.
FORCED UNIONIZATION IN MICHIGAN
I am not fully clear on the details of this case but the broad implications are what frighten me. To force a private company to unionize is unconstitutional and violates the natural right of anyone to contract. This is what may happen under the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The law would take away the secret ballot in the unionization process. Right now unions have to do a card check and get, I think, 50% of the current workers of a business to agree that a unions should be formed. Then they have a secret election to make the final decision. The proposed law would allow unions to be formed just by the card check system. I have many problems with unions but they are allowed to form if they want. I will deal with unions more in this blog at some future date.
OBAMA TO MAKE RECESS APPOINTMENTS
The President is mad because the opposition party is filibustering the people he is appointing to various offices inside the federal government. He says he will use his power as President to make appointments when Congress goes on its President Day recess in the next few days. Here are the key things to know about this story. First, it is the power of Congress to confirm presidential appointments because they check the power of the Chief Executive. Only the best and brightest are allowed to work for the government. If the people Obama has already appointed is any indication of who these new appointments are, then I am glad they are being held up. I don't want socialist, Marxist or other subversives in the halls of power. Second, the President has every right to make those recess appointments since the Constitution gives him that authority. It really won't earn him any brownie points with Congress, the opposition or independents, since it will seem like he is subverting the confirmation process. I felt the same way when Bush did a recess appointment of Jon Bolton to be our ambassador to the U.N. Thirdly, these appointments, if made, will be temporary. They will only be legal appointments until Congress returns to session and they will eventually need to be confirmed. Fourth, both parties are guilty of playing politics with presidential appointments, so shut up.
FIRST LADY FIGHTS OBESITY
The first lady, Michelle Obama, has made it her priority to fight obesity in the United States. The article goes into long detail of how she and the president are going to fight it. One tenant of the program is the regulate how many fast food restaurants can be in any neighborhood, specifically, low income neighborhoods. Its not the job of the government to watch my weight. They cannot tell me what to eat or drink. That is my choice. That is my freedom. I have to live with those choices with higher risks of diabetes, other diseases and possibly higher health insurance rates. It is the job of the individual and the parents, for children, to make choices about what to eat. I hate the mentality of the government knows best. Get out of my lunch box please.
BIDEN TAKES CREDIT FOR SUCCESS IN IRAQ
Vice President Joe Biden, on CNN, has claimed success in Iraq is due to President Obama's actions. This a bold faced lie at best and revisionist history at its worst. I never agreed with going to war in Iraq or the 2005 "Surge." The fact of the matter is though that any success in Iraq belong first to the boots on the ground of our military. They are the ones make any differences. President Bush is the one who took the country and made it safe again for normal citizens with the Surge tactic, recommended by General Petraeus. The Iraqi war may be finishing on Obama's watch but it was Bush that laid the ground work for the final victory.
That is all I have for today. Enjoy. I welcome all comments, questions and discussion. Have a nice day.
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