Friday, November 30, 2012

One Party Rule



One-Party Rule
Charlie Earl

Please allow me to apologize in advance for not having a valid attribution or link for the foundational premise of this column. I was listening to the “Quinn and Rose Show, the Warroom,” (commercial for ‘I heart radio”) on Tuesday and heard a reference about the pitiful conditions of many of our cities and some of the states. Their fiscal and financial situations are bleak with the future being no more promising. There is one constant element that ties the failing cities and states together. They are all governed by Democrats. Their political environments have been dominated by Democrats for decades. In those rare instances where Republicans have held some power, they were “moderate” or liberal Republicans … big spenders and big taxers.

Detroit is the poster child and Washington D.C. runs a close second for ruinous policies and profligate spending. The Motor City was a thriving, dynamic and wealthy metropolis as recently as 50 years ago. Detroit and its products were the envy of the globe, but Democrat politicians and their lock-step union allies have managed to destroy the dynamism and dismantle a once-grand city. Empty buildings abound and a crumbling infrastructure testifies that the former king of the industrial world is now a mere skeleton. Taxpayers have been fleeing the city in droves as its image has gone from powerful to pauper. In a frightening way… Detroit could be a metaphor for the United States. Our industrial prowess has been replaced by an entitlement state. The demands for government assistance grow faster than the private sector’s ability to fund them. While the Democrat political machines bear most of the blame for the demise of Detroit, Washington, D.C., Illinois, California and other decaying sites, they are not alone in their perfidy. They had willing accomplices.

The major cities and destitute states in our country have not always been dominated by Democrats. True, they generally held most of the cards, but Republicans from time to time shared the power. The inability of the GOP to nominate and elect true fiscal conservatives, however, has contributed to the downfall and collapse of the cities and states. The elected Republicans were often big-spending, go-along-to-get along types whose policies and practices made them superfluous. Why elect a Republican who acts like a Democrat when you can choose the genuine article? By incrementally ceding their usefulness the GOP became unnecessary in the eyes and minds of the voters. They were not a loyal opposition. They became loyal enablers.

The same has occurred with our federal government but on a lower trajectory … until now. If a party seeks to offer a viable alternate to a competing political entity, it must be different. There must be a clear line of demarcation between the two parties every time … all the time. If not, the public will be lulled into voting for the party that appears to be more committed to its basic principles. The line of reasoning is that one party is predictable and dependable while the other wavers and is irresolute. Copycat politics, policies and practices merely entrench the party whose original positions are copied. Schizophrenic positions and campaigns confuse voters, and they may choose to support the “devil they know” rather than the fickle unknown. In politics, love and faith … clarity is preferred to obfuscation and spinelessness.

One party rule has led to the demise of some once-great locales in America. Unchallenged power will eventually become corrupt. The party that rules without meaningful opposition will build a massive gravy train to cement their place in power. Eventually reality will derail it, but the train wreck might be avoided if the opposition actually offered alternatives rather than more of the same. Opposition parties must shout out with principle rather than compliantly whimper.

Charlie Earl





Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Debased Line Budgeting



Debased Line Budgeting
Charlie Earl

If you have ever wondered why public employee unions believe themselves entitled to annual raises and salary increases plus step raises, all you have to do is peruse the federal budgeting system. Yes, I know the Congress, namely the Senate, has failed to produce a formal budget in four years despite the constitutional mandate requiring one, but the automatic nature of the baseline budgetary structure insures that federal expenditures will INCREASE every year for every line item that existed in the prior fiscal year. Last year’s allocation becomes the BASELINE with a pre-determined increase for the current year’s spending. The public sector unions know this, and they want “their fair share” of the unending expansion of government’s costs. It is a nice gig if it weren’t so fiscally devastating.

From Citizens Against Government Waste ( http://cagw.org ):
          Baseline budgeting tilts the budget process in favor of increased spending and taxes. For example, if an agency's budget is projected to grow by $100 million, but only grows by $75 million, according to baseline budgeting, that agency sustained a $25 million cut. That is analogous to a person who expects to gain 100 pounds only gaining 75 pounds, and taking credit for losing 25 pounds. The federal government is the only place this absurd logic is employed.

To extend this illogical madness even further… consider that all the stimulus spending from the past has been integrated into the baseline, thus accelerating the unsustainable spending curve. If we were living in the 18th Century, our political “masters” might be forced to languish in debtors’ prison. Wistfully I yearn for the reinstatement of some lost traditions. If our nation has any tiny glimmer of hope for controlling our excessive spending, massive deficits or suffocating debt, we must jettison irresponsible baseline budgeting.

For all his faults Jimmy Carter pledged to initiate a “zero-based” budgeting process. He failed with the concept just as he did in so many ways. The zero-based system operates with the premise that every budgetary line item begins anew every year. The expenditure must be justified, effective and approved by Congress every year. Unfortunately our federal budget has grown too large with too many line items for Congress to have the sufficient time to sensibly provide oversight. Rather than cope with the merits of the myriad of budget items, Congress makes a leap of faith that all are necessary and worthy thus insuring their continuation and their growth. Congress is either incompetent, lazy or evil … or all of the above.

Baseline budgeting is a cowardly scheme by government officials who are unable or unwilling to do their sworn jobs. It is both a major driver of our fiscal mess and a glaring example of our immoral profligacy. We cannot avoid a catastrophic default unless we eliminate this costly curse from our national scene. Consider that we cannot find 218 House members and 60 Senators who care enough about our nation, its integrity and our future to eliminate this budgetary abomination. How is this possible? Just the knowledge that there aren’t enough sensible souls in Congress to repeal this mortally toxic gimmick should be enough to undermine your faith in the future of our republic. Spending must go down (preferably for only constitutional functions), indebtedness must go down, regulation fever must go down, and the politicians and the citizens must wise up. Baseline budgeting is a honey trap for fools, and we must extricate ourselves before we are inextricably trapped … if we aren’t already. Our people and our political leaders resemble the illegitimate offspring of Winnie the Pooh and Honey Boo Boo. We are in a sticky mess, my friends.

Charlie Earl

Monday, November 26, 2012

The Second Level



The Second Level
Charlie Earl

As a football aficionado and former mediocre running back, I’m aware that a solid ground game is usually necessary if a team is to succeed on game day. An effective running game requires the offensive linemen to do more than merely handle the defensive line. They must attack and neutralize the linebackers as well. Their efforts downfield can alter the game from a series of short plunges into a devastating yard-swallowing ground game. Consequently … when the running attack is successful, the defense is more vulnerable to the pass. Play action involves the quarterback faking a handoff to a running back, then looking downfield for an open receiver as the defensive backs hesitate because their first reactions are to lend run support. The bottom line is that a good offense is a result of running and passing complementing one another, and line blocking at the second level is a vital component for offensive success.

The time has arrived for liberty-loving people, patriots and constitutionalists to move to the second level if we expect to move the ball of freedom and gain ground versus the statists. When engaged in a make-or-break contest such as a playoff game or the future of the nation, scoring a shutout by totally dominating one’s opponent is desirable but highly unlikely. The key or purpose is to win. Tea Partiers, Liberty groups, 9-12 committees and their cohorts gained ground in the 2010 elections but not enough, however, to demonstrably change the American landscape. To continue our analogy…. we are stuck on our own 35 yard line with a positive but insufficient ground game. The liberal/progressive/socialist/statist cabals are our opponents, and they never become discouraged when we have small gains. They become more resolute and dangerous. Their linebackers, the second level, are people and politicians whom we have mistakenly assumed to be our allies. Their failures and weaknesses, their spineless acquiescence, and their “conservative rhetoric but statist actions” have provided cover and back-up for the progressives. That is why they are the second level.

Until the John Boehners, Eric Cantors, Kevin McCarthys, Mitch McConnells and others of their ilk are defeated by true libertarian constitutionalists, all patriot gains will be minimal and ineffective. I would attack the second level of Democrats, but I suspect the fiscally responsible ones have already left the party for the GOP or independent status. It is within the Republican Party that the greatest obstacles to constitutional self-determination now reside. Their “second level” enabling of the status quo allows us to have minor gains but no true victories. Their nefarious and unprincipled leadership has corrupted a once-grand party into an established mass of self-serving, ego-driven political tools. The kind of tools that the left enjoys exploiting and co-opting. The Republican “second level” has the backs of the leftists who are intent on tyranny.

If freedom loving people do not attack the second level with determination and vigor, many of our allies will grow weary of the fight. They will tire of small gains with little reward. They will lose hope and retreat into personal affairs and concerns. They will “go Galt” in the mental and psychological sense. They will not surrender, but they will disappear. Liberty, sweet Liberty must seize the moment and the momentum. We must advance to the second level and crush the opposition. We must exercise discipline and complete our assignments fully and effectively. We must defeat the second level to open the lane for big gains … and scores. We have no choice. We have no options. To engage in a continual slugfest while consistently losing the final score is a game plan for disaster. We must engage and control the second level to achieve victory. Just like a finely oiled offensive line, we must begin the assault simultaneously and coordinately. The scoreboard clock indicates that we are beginning the fourth quarter. Let’s break the huddle and let’s go.

Charlie Earl



Friday, November 23, 2012

Dark Shadows



Dark Shadows
Charlie Earl

This day, the one following Thanksgiving Day, has become the largest consumer-oriented shopping day of the year. In many respects that is not a good thing. Clearly our sluggish economy can use a boost, but at what price? Is it wise to add huge sums of consumer debt to our precarious public and private debt totals? Also our economy has become so reliant on consumer spending that producers and retailers feel compelled to cram nearly a year’s worth of productivity, income and profits into a short five-week period. There are many businesses and industries that are seasonal in nature, but it seems to me that having such a huge portion of our retail sales concentrated in a narrow time frame is rather risky.

Next year our nation will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Thanksgiving Day as an official national holiday. The joyful activity will probably begin with door-busting sales at Best Buy, Target and Sears as the Black Friday phenomenon takes over Thursday. While Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation was issued in the midst of the War Between the States to seek and praise the guidance of God, the sesquicentennial version will be glitzy, less thoughtful and generally void of spiritual introspection. Sadly, some people will spend their day of thanksgiving in pup tents and on air mattresses while securing a favored spot in the line of humanity waiting for a store to open. Others will gorge themselves with copious amounts of food and drink, and many will be watching NFL football.

Confession is good for the soul so I must admit that I’m a football fanatic. At 5 feet 8 inches tall and a svelte 155 pounds it is difficult to understand my infatuation with the game, but I do appreciate the mano y mano aspect when merged with the overlying strategic chess match. Even I, though, am somewhat taken aback by the wall-to-wall array of games. Back in the day (crotchety old man’s voice) there was one game…the Detroit Lions, then the Cowboys muscled in, and now there are three .. or more with college games added. In addition… the Ohio State Buckeye seniors experienced their traditional “Senior Tackle” on Thursday. Too much football and too little giving thanks.

Just like many of our special days (Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Christmas) Thanksgiving Day and the following weekend has been transformed from its original purpose into a time for eye-bugging, belly-busting consumption. The spiritual, the sacred and the sentimental have been sacrificed on the altar of acquisition and avarice. The dark and overbearing clouds of Black Friday have overwhelmed our days of reflection. The title of this column, “Dark Shadows,” springs from the television program of the late 1960’s. One of the leading characters was “Barnabus,” a vampire. In my warped world view I see Black Friday and its attendant repercussions similar to Barnabus. The consuming acquisitive mentality has corrupted that which should have a deeper meaning, and is sucking the blood from our national life. Thanksgiving Day was intended to be a time for prayer, for giving thanks and for praise. Because we do not do those things as we should, perhaps we may discover that we have become unworthy. We truly are living in the dark shadows. Let’s pray that we do not linger too long or it may be too late. Have a bright weekend.

P.S. I must confess … for the first time in my life I left home at 11:30pm last night to attend 2 midnight store openings. After standing in line for 20 minutes with some well-mannered, happy people, I made my purchases (Plus one “rain check”) and was home by 1:30am. Been there, done that, never to be repeated. Now my rigid routine is totally out of whack.

Charlie Earl

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Frosty's Thanksgiving



Frosty’s Thanksgiving
Charlie Earl

Frosty, as you may know, is my beloved Golden Retriever. He is sweet and intelligent but lacks common sense (assuming, of course, that some semblance of sense is common among canines). Although he is loyal and obedient to his constitutionalist master (me), I suspect that Frosty is a latent liberal/progressive/socialist. Frosty, I fear, is a “Forty-seven percenter.” He is a moocher, a beggar and an entitlement mind-dweller. In his defense … he is not a looter. Frosty does not steal food from people or other dogs. He expects it to be given to him as a matter of course.

Frosty’s courtesy may be a result of cowardice or fear (he lacks certain essential man/dog parts), or it may spring from an innate confidence that what he needs or desires will be provided by others … namely me. He is a nearly perfect metaphor for a large portion of our U.S. society (and global, as well). Frosty is nice. He is polite and loving, but he never hunts for his own food. He rarely barks or growls when potential danger approaches. He merely eats, sleeps and expects to be fed. I love Frosty, and I love many people whose attitudes are similar to his. I long, however, to b*tch slap the living crap out of them if I believed that it would do any good. I think of my approach as a “survival-based intervention.”

Most of us are familiar with the concept of intervention. We see a loved one tumbling into the depths of addiction and despair, and we must confront them, correct them and support them without enabling their destructive lifestyle. Sadly…although Frosty has a rather large reservoir of words that he seems to understand, a discussion of the harsh realities of dog life seems to spin him into a fearful depression. The ideas that I promote during the danged doggy down-and-dirty intervention seem absurdly alien to him. He cannot agree with my observations because he doesn’t understand the reasoning supporting them. His entire life with me has been one of reliable dependence. He cannot imagine that the gravy train has a terminus, therefore a discussion of his need to be more self-reliant and independent strikes no chord. I may as well discuss the merits of the Tooth Fairy riding a unicorn to Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole located just past the Shangri La exit on the intergalactic freeway. He doesn’t get it and never will.

And so … I must face the stark reality that Frosty is, and always will be, my dependent … despite his talents and potential. Alarmingly, I understand that my benign and undemanding treatment has caused Frosty to settle comfortably into his cushy life of “gimme.” My failure to say “No” has fostered his sense of entitlement. My weakness has led to his inability to fend for himself. My misplaced kindness has morphed into cruelty because Frosty cannot survive through his own wiles and effort. I have vowed, therefore, to begin the fateful path of leading Frosty back to self reliance. He must stay at home on Thanksgiving Day.

Pat and I will be traveling to Carey, Ohio, where my sister is hosting (hostessing? Twinkie-ing?) our family dinner. If time allows, we will also go to Heather and P.J.’s where they are entertaining Heather’s clan, but Frosty must stay behind. His expectant look and drooling lips will not be present as we consume our tasty meals. His subtle little whines will not intermingle with the chatting and laughter of the family conclaves. His wagging tail and eager little hops will be absent as we thank God for our blessings and each other. No … Frosty will spend the holiday of thanks alone … although he’ll probably be comfortable while snoozing on my bed. Hey! It’s a start. I’ll incrementally wean him from his dependent life. Eventually generic dog food and fresh self-caught game will replace the “Beneful” and the tasty treats. A pile of straw in the barn will have to suffice in lieu of my bed, his comfy pillow and the sofa.

It will happen. Soon. Someday, but not right now. After all … Christmas is coming, and what kind of cold hearted person would make someone he loves and who loves him … sleep in a barn. Really?

Charlie Earl