Ruminations From the Void



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*   Baseball season is upon us and I'm afraid my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are, sadly, already out of contention.  With the loss of ace pitcher Adam Wainwright and the addition of a Lance 'Crutches' Berkman to Right Field/DL, it could be a very difficult year for the Redbirds.  If nothing else, it should make it clear to Cardinal Nation that it takes more than one $30 million man to make a winning team.  I'm not saying Albert Pujols is not worth the money, but not at the cost of fielding a competitive team.  The new 72" 3D TV may be worth $10,000, but not if it means I stop making my mortgage payment.

*  Good news for parents and society.  Abstinence is not dead.  Recent studies show that more teens are choosing not to have sex.  From the Washington Post,

Among the findings of a sweeping federal government survey of American sexual behavior is one that may surprise those bewailing a permissive and eros-soaked popular culture: More than one-quarter of people interviewed in their late teens and early 20s had never had sex.

And the number was growing.

The latest round of the quaintly named National Survey of Family Growth found that among 15-to-24-year-olds, 29 percent of females and 27 percent of males reported no sexual contact with another person ever – up from the 22 percent of both sexes when the survey was last conducted in 2002.

[h/t Kathryn Lopez, NRO]

Perhaps this is a reflection of President Bush's push for including abstinence in school's sex education.  In the 1980's, drug use declined during Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" campaign.  The two residents of the White House can have a tremendous impact on our young people, so shouldn't the current First Lady find a more urgent message than "Eat your veggies".   The President has gone on the record to tell us to "Check your tire pressure" to help with fuel economy.  I mean, I'm really going to lose it if I hear Michelle start a "Wait 30" campaign to encourage children to wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming.

*  Obamacare may be over before it really began.  President Obama's administration asked Judge Vinson on clarification of the judge's ruling that the new Health Care Reform law was unconstitutional.  The judge explained that he failed to issue an injunction against the law's implementation because he assumed that it wouldn't be necessary.  Here's what he wrote regarding this clarification,

So to “clarify” my order and judgment: The individual mandate was declared unconstitutional. Because that “essential” provision was unseverable from the rest of the Act, the entire legislation was void. This declaratory judgment was expected to be treated as the “practical” and “functional equivalent of an injunction” with respect to the parties to the litigation. This expectation was based on the “longstanding presumption” that the defendants themselves identified and agreed to be bound by, which provides that a declaratory judgment against federal officials is a de facto injunction. To the extent that the defendants were unable (or believed that they were unable) to comply, it was expected that they would immediately seek a stay of the ruling, and at that point in time present their arguments for why such a stay is necessary, which is the usual and standard procedure. It was not expected that they would effectively ignore the order and declaratory judgment for two and one-half weeks, continue to implement the Act, and only then file a belated motion to “clarify.” [h/t Avik Roy, NRO]

In legal speak, this was a smack down on the Obama's administration.  As it stands now, Obama has seven days to get this fast-tracked for the Supreme Court or the administration will be instructed to stop implementation of the law.

*  While we are on the topic of health care, Jim Manzi comes to a dramatic conclusion after looking at the results of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment.  Jim says,

Providing people coverage of their medical costs caused no average improvement in health.

That is one very big argument against a costly universal health care program.  As we have seen all too well in our home over the past few years, more care does not equal improved health.  My daughter has had procedures, medicines, and multiple specialists while seeing absolutely no improvement in her health.  She is one very frustrated young woman. 

Just like my old car was going to drip oil no matter what I fixed, some people are more prone to getting a sinus, ear or bladder infection and no amount of money spent is going to fix that.  Well at least not unless we're in some sci-fi movie where they're changing people's DNA.  And then, it usually turns them into psychos, monsters or zombies (oh my).  It's hard to justify the cost if that's the end result.

*  Speaking of Science-fiction, a Nasa Scientist claims to have discovered alien life forms here on Earth.  Searching within a class of meteorites - CI1 carbonaceous chondrites - of which only 9 such meteorites are known to exist on Earth, Dr. Richard Hoover claims to have found alien lifeforms, some of which are similar to organisms on earth.  In his own words,

“The exciting thing is that they are in many cases recognizable and can be associated very closely with the generic species here on earth.  There are some that are just very strange and don’t look like anything that I’ve been able to identify, and I’ve shown them to many other experts that have also come up stumped.”

When another NASA scientist was questioned about Hoover's findings, he expressed a need for caution.  He stopped short of saying that Dr. Hoover often sits by himself in the corner of the cafeteria eating sugar sandwiches while talking to the ghost of Genghis Khan, but he seemed doubtful about the claim.

I don't doubt the sincerity of the lonely Dr. Hoover, but finding fossilized organisms on the surface of a meterorite that seem to bear a remarkable similarity to earth life, is a bit like finding a spot of blood on the floor of a pizza joint that tastes remarkably like tomato sauce.  He has his conclusions and I have mine.  We'll see who's right after further study from other scientists.

*  For those who think I've been too hard on the Public Employee Unions in Wisconsin, the average teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools received compensation in the amount of $101,091 - that's $59,500 in salary plus $41,591 in benefits.  As a total package that is comparable to what the plant managers at my company make.  The difference is our managers are considered Exempt employees and are not eligible to form a union and collectively bargain.  As I've said before, this isn't really about money after all now, is it? [h/t John McCormack, Weekly Standard]

*  Gas prices getting you mad.  Don't expect much relief from the White House.  Obama does not seem interested in allowing the gulf oil industry to get back into action, which along with the events in the Middle East are causing the upward shift.  I say shift and not spike because a spike implies prices falling, which I don't expect to happen.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the Obama offshore drilling moratorium will cause a 13-percent fall in domestic offshore oil production this year, which translates to a loss of about 220,000 barrels of oil a day. That means lower GDP growth for the nation, higher gas prices for all Americans, lower tax revenues for the federal government, and most importantly, fewer jobs for Americans living in the Gulf region.

[h/t Bryan Preston, PJ Tatler]

The administration may begin using some of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a short term stopgap, but as long as we are drilling less instead of more, this administration is condemning us to a large and long term increase in fuel prices.  Chevy sold less than 300 Volt electric cars in February.  Obama wants that to change.  Allowing gas prices to climb to $4 or $5 a gallon is a feature of his energy plan, not a bug.

*  Any lobster fans on a budget out there?  Sorry, but the McLobster will not be going nationwide, McDonald's announced last week.  But it does appears that my wish has finally come true.

*  Blogging may be a little short the next few days.  I am going to be in Jefferson City, Missouri meeting with state legislators discussing the issues I think are important for Missouri.  On my agenda:

• Stop the push for a Right to Work law
• Cut the corporate sales tax rate
• Fund tax incentives that make Missouri competitive
• Greater use of the E-verify system to stop the employment of illegal aliens
• Cut, cut, cut the red tape on small businesses
• Fight the implementation of Obamacare
• End the practice of funeral protests
• Discuss the different Fair Tax proposals (I'm inclined against it)
• End the practice of regulating normal household products that may be used for Meth production (bath salts? - really? Where does it stop?)
• School vouchers / school choice

If I'm missing anything important, please let me know.  Let your voice be heard.

Have a great week!

Go...go with God, but just go.

For GOP, Right To Work = Obamacare

As the battle with the Public Employee Unions in Wisconsin continues to rage, some states have taken the battle as a cue to push for Right to Work laws in their states.  But just as Obamacare became the key vote in the Democrats losses in the 2010 elections, Right to Work laws may be the GOP’s undoing.

Labor-supporters and detractors alike have historically been opposed to collective bargaining for the PEUs, but as union membership began to decline in the 50’s and 60’s, the public employees were seen as fertile ground to gain members and dollars.  In 1959, progressive Wisconsin became the first state to sanction collective bargaining rights for public employees.  While the practice has spread to other states, today 24 states still restrict or limit that right, as does the federal government.

Defining the difference between the PEUs and private-sector unions is key for the conservative viewpoint to prevail.  This is why the union leadership, Democrats and others have sought to blur that line.  But the case for PEUs is not analogous to the private-sector unions.  As The National Review's Jonah Goldberg stated in his article, Public Unions Must Go,

"Traditional, private-sector unions were born out of an often-bloody adversarial relationship between labor and management....

Government unions have no such narrative on their side. Do you recall the Great DMV Cave-in of 1959? How about the travails of second-grade teachers recounted in Upton Sinclair’s famous schoolhouse sequel to The Jungle? No? Don’t feel bad, because no such horror stories exist."

If this distinction becomes lost, the GOP cannot win this fight. 

Today, conservatives sit at the table as the adults.  They were given this place of leadership because they promised to cut spending.  In light of the budget deficits, conservatives are making bold choices.  As many see it, Governor Walker’s fight is not against the unions, it’s a fight for fiscal sanity – a fight for the taxpayers.  In this fight, the GOP has the high road. 

But in taking on the private sector unions, the Republicans relinquish their lofty position.  Ceasing to be a budget battle for the taxpayers, it becomes seen as an attack on union households.  In swing states, the GOP cannot win this fight - there are too many average households that contain current or former union members.  In these states, the fight is against their daddy or their grandpa's union?  For good or bad, unions have a relevant history for many generations, even if union membership wasn't passed down to the current generation.  If Gov. Walker and other like-minded Governors are to be successful in their fight, it cannot be seen as a fight against the long history of the private unions in this country.

When the line between the PEUs and private sector unions is drawn clearly, the battleground becomes less hazy.  In the proper light, even long standing union members can see the difference between their battles with the business owners and the PEUs fight against the taxpayers.  The case for PEUs has always been illegitimate and this argument can prevail when it is not hidden behind the private unions.

In the media, the words of former AFL-CIO President George Meany and  President Franklin D. Roosevelt in stating their opposition to collective bargaining rights for government workers were coming to light.  But no sooner were the words beginning to gain traction that the GOP controlled legislature in Indiana rose up to shoot itself in the foot.  By making a push for Right to Work laws in the private sector, they effectively blurred the line without any outside help from the unions.  The momentum in Wisconsin began to falter, as the Democrats in Indiana went on the lam in a concerted move to equate the two very different battles.  Luckily for the GOP, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels wisely chose to cut off the Republican charge against the unions before it ever started.

If the GOP believes it can successfully take on all unions, they have misread their mandate.  While the Indiana lawmakers may claim they are doing what is best for Indiana, they and other state legislatures must understand that their actions are not happening in a vacuum.  As the average person sits down to watch the news, the bits and pieces from each state begin to form a whole.  Wisconsin , Ohio and New Jersey are battling public unions, while Missouri, Indiana and Michigan are battling for Right to Work.  The President says the Republicans are trying to bust the unions.  If a person weren't up on the issue, how would it appear?  Republicans can only win the debate against the PEUs by contrasting them to the private unions, but not while they appear to be attacking those same private unions in another state.

In many states, the so-called swing states, the GOP has risen to leadership only recently.  Here in my state of Missouri, Republicans lead the legislature, but we have a Democrat in the Governor's mansion.  My county voted for a Republican in the last Congressional race for the first time since I've been alive.  The GOP (thanks to the Tea Party) has made tremendous inroads into the local Democrat strongholds.  But those gains are tenuous today.  Moving Missouri into strong if not permanent red territory is within our grasp.  But with the wrong moves, Missouri could quickly swing back the other way.

In Jefferson City, GOP leaders are pushing Right To Work in order to capitalize while the opportunity presents itself.  But with Jay Nixon as a Governor, the only way forward is a ballot proposition.  As a union officer, I can say that the charge against Right to Work will be hard and heavy - it in fact has already begun.  The union media blitz will seek to overwhelm.  Winning a ballot initiative in Missouri is difficult enough.   Winning over the union machine may be a bridge too far.

In Missouri, ballot propositions turn into a Hatfield and McCoy type feud.  By the time the vote takes place, no one really knows what they're voting for and after it's over, it's not over.  The results of a hotly contested ballot initiative will soon be fought again during the next legislative session as the losing side "reloads".

In Missouri, riverboat gambling failed before it passed.  It passed with limits that no longer exist.  Recently, one of our riverboat casinos was built several blocks away from the river.  It's okay though, since the gaming floor is floating atop a small layer of water.  Those who congratulated themselves on winning the war against casinos two decades ago understand what I'm saying.  Risking the GOP gains in the state on a ballot proposition would be folly.

In early 2010, the House Democrats went through a remarkable set of events to pass President Obama's Health Care Reform law.  Today, many of them are no longer in Washington because of that vote.  Republicans now hold control of that chamber and with the gains expected in the next election cycle, they should regain control of the Senate also.  If a Republican should be elected President, the formal repeal of Obamacare would be the first order of business - even though it may have been found unconstitutional by the highest court at that point.  It would be a vivid display of what happens when one party seeks to over reach its mandate in a strict party line vote against the prevailing will of the people.  

Let the thought of such an image be burned into the back of the minds of statehouse Republicans as they risk their party's leadership for what may be a fleeting victory.  If they continue down this path, Right To Work will be the GOP's Obamacare.

* This post has been modified after it was originally published.  I accidentally included Ohio among the states seeking Right to Work laws, when it should have been listed as a state opposing public unions.  I have updated the post and it should be accurate now.

Really, Claire!!!

As some of you may know, the US House of Representatives voted to repeal the healthcare law passed a year ago (Obamacare).  Repeal passed by a larger margin than the vote to pass it last year and it came without all the drama and games that surrounded that vote.  Despite efforts to avoid it, the Senate voted yesterday on an Obamacare repeal measure which failed by a vote of 47 - 51.

Both then and today, more Americans oppose Obamacare and feel it should be repealed.  26 states have taken the Federal government to court over it.  In my state of Missouri, a ballot measure was passed in August last year to deny the Federal government authority to enforce the individual mandate contained in the law.  The individual mandate had previously been declared unconstitutional by a judge in Virginia.  Now this week, the entire law was thrown out as unconstitutional in a lower court ruling in Florida by Judge Roger Vinson.  Despite all this, not one single Senate Democrat voted to repeal yesterday.  My Senator, Claire McCaskill went against 71% of her constituents to vote against repeal. 


So with our best Seth Meyer impersonation, SAMSTOC brings you:

REALLY!!! with Sam Ritter

Really, Claire!
You have now voted twice for a healthcare law that Americans don't want.

Really, Claire!!
With unemployment sky high, you voted to keep this new healthcare law that is so bad for businesses that over 700 waivers have been issued exempting them from its provisions.

Really, Claire!!!
Despite two court rulings, you felt it best to represent the people of Missouri by voting a second time for this unconstitutional law.

Really, Claire!!!!
When 71% of your fellow Missourian voted against this healthcare law in August last year, you decided that they just "don't realize" how great it is and disregarded their wishes by voting for it again.

Really, Claire!!!!!
And still, even though you now disapprove of the individual mandate, you couldn't find the backbone to vote against your party and side with the voters of Missouri by voting to repeal this unconstitutional healthcare law.

REALLY, CLAIRE!!!  REALLY!!!

It's time for Claire to go.  Really.