California To Violate Article I Section 10 of The Constitution of the United States

In you didn't see it, the "news" is California ready to issue IOUs

The controller's office is set to begin printing the scrip this afternoon, the first time in 17 years. Some 28,742 IOUs worth $53.3 million will be sent, mostly to residents awaiting tax refunds.

Seems to be Unconstitutional to me....

Article I - Section 10 of The Constitution of the United States reads:

Powers prohibited of States

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

The interesting item in the list seems to be "Bill of Credit" which is has a legal definition explained as:

Bill of Credit
A bill of credit is some sort of paper medium by which value is exchanged between the government and individuals. Money is a bill of credit, but a bill of credit need not be money. An interest-bearing certificate that was issued by Missouri, and usable in the payment of taxes, was thus ruled to be an unconstitutional bill of credit.

So, it seems to me at least that the government of California is breaking their oath to The Constitution of the United States. Interestingly enough, Counterfeiting is a federal felony handled by the U.S. Secret Service. In fact, according to the US Secret Service website (emphasis mine):

1865 - The Secret Service Division was created on July 5, 1865 in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief William P. Wood was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch.

So get to work boys and girls of the Secret Service, seems like you have a state full of criminals to go take down.

With that said, if anyone from California would like to send me one of these California issued IOUs, I certainly wouldn't mind using one (or more) to pay my federal and state income taxes this year... somehow I don't think that the US government would accept the IOUs as payments and taxpayers shouldn't either. If someone has written a new Constitution and we can all print legal tender again, please do let me know as I have a few rolls of toilet paper that I'd like to trade in for a Ferrari in California .

RIP. A Great Loss to America

Army Staff Sgt. Edmond Lo was killed on June 13, 2009 by a roadside bomb in Iraq. The soldier was serving with the U.S. Army's 797th Ordnance Company, 79th Battalion, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

The funeral will be held from 4pm to 8pm, Friday at Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home. The funeral service is 10:30am Saturday at Mary Queen of Peace Church in Salem, followed by burial in Pine Grove Cemetery, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

The 10 o'clock news did NOT give this brave American an hour of TV coverage. Likewise, Madonna, J Lo, Angelina Jolie nor any other celebrities commented on the passing of this fine American.

So just in case the "news" forgets to report it today, Yes, we're still at war in Iraq. Yes, we're still at war in Afghanistan. Yes the NJ legislature has increased our already high taxes, again. Yes, the NY state Senate still isn't doing their job and should all be fired by The People and replaced with competent representatives. And Yes, stupid Hal Turner, friend of Murray Sabrin, was arrested by the FBI, again.

PS. You too can stay up to date on these import issues by browsing Google Trends. You'll get to see exactly what The People care about and these stories will surely be at the top of the list all day, especially searches for "Sgt. Edmond Lo dead".

Obama takes notes from Lonegan, Razes Camden for a Park

Do you rememba' when Steve Lonegan suggested turning Camden into a State Park? Well it seems that Obama is considering Bulldozing US Cities "to tackle economic decline". Maybe Camden hasn't made the Oh-Man's list of cities to tear down just yet, but Philadelphia across the river is on the list.

From the article:

"The government [is] looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature." (bugs me when they leave out words, in this case, "is". I've done it too, not claiming I'm perfect, but, true story, I'm also not the "news" and I don't have an editor on staff for this non-sense)

So maybe Lonegan was on to something? Or maybe Uncle-O has lost his marbles. I'm sure some of The People will explain that Lonegan was no better than Uncle-O and was a RINO of some sort who deserved to lose the primary for coming up with a scheme that the democrats also came up with. Others might claim that Obama has seen the light at the end of the tunnel and has decided that following Lonegan's platform might work out to save the economy. Still others might just explain that Rs and Ds are one in the same and this is why the Ron Paul Revolution is needed. Still more of The People might just go "ehh, whatever. who cares?" and switch to watching tennis, which I have to say might be the best idea.

In any case, one thing is for sure, the media isn't going to call out the Obama team the way they would be calling out a Republican.

Reduce Dangerous Emissions - End Government Inspection of Private Property

I'm not looking forward to the displeasure of bringing my personal property to the state workers' mercy next month, mostly because the Service Engine Soon light in my 2000 TransAm has been on for nearly two years; well since the day I drove out of the DMV inspection station last.

It's no problem for me to turn the SES light off, I know exactly why it is on, and I'm sure that on the "sniffer" the car would have no problems passing inspection, but that light and a computer scan by my helpful government at my tax dollars expense equals a giant FAIL. I can turn the off with a quick computer edit, or I can turn it off by swapping a part back onto the car. Either way, the car won't produce any more or less pollution, I promise Al Gore.

But since I suspect a problem again next month regardless of what I decide to do, this story from the Memphis area really hit home. My favorite quote from the story is:

"You just drive over to one of the inspection centers where -- as part of the government's effort to reduce dangerous emissions -- you sit idling for several hours."

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If NJ really wanted to cut some wasted money from the budget, here is a short list of items that can save money:

1) Get rid of ALL of the workers at the inspection station, union or not.

2) Close the inspection station. Sell the billions in equipment to another fascist state who wants to continue annoying their taxpayers.

3) Sell the land where inspection stations sit to the highest bidder who wants to build a new strip mall, or make them new state parks.... Open Space FTW!

4) Cut the number of license plates produced in half by eliminating the front license plate requirement. The police will still be able to write plenty of tickets based on one rear plate, I promise. Less junk metal waste on the other side of turning in plates too, talk about reducing pollution!

And for what it's worth, last time I went through inspection, I failed because of some supposed problem with my car's brakes. Mind you the car was braking just fine from 100mph at the racetrack the weekend before. In fact, to add to the annoyance, a day later, with no changes made to the brakes or anything else on the car, I sat on line, again, and the car magically passed inspection, no problems with the brakes. Go figure.

In fact, the only thing more entertaining than passing a second time, without changes, was the time I drove the race car through DMV's Eatontown station after turning off all of the error codes in the ECM, removing most all of the emissions equipment, and explaining to the gentleman how to drive a full manual reverse valve body TH400 auto trans. The man did something that was some kind of inspection by checking some lights and connecting his computer to my car and then he was kind enough to put a valid sticker on the car. I guess a real muffler, real catalytic converters, AIR, EGR, and air bags aren't required after all! Oddly enough, The Man did check for a real seat belt (for my safety of course) but ignored the 5-point racing harness. In case anyone cares, I drove through for the goof, I don't really drive the car on the street (and it hasn't run in a few years anyhow) so don't go calling The Man on me just yet.

Whatever. I look forward to the day when we have a Governor and Legislature brave enough to close DMV for good, save us all the time and money of having the government check in on us and our belongings. Or maybe someone with the government would like to come inspect the furnace in our homes since that might produce some pollution, then inspect the washer and dryer, hot water heater, dish washer and the AC units... you know, in the name of making sure we don't pollute.. and for our own safety of course.

New Yorkers should Protest like Iranians

While Republicans and Democrats battle for power in the Great State of NY, Iranians are in the streets battling for their own rights.

Since I don't want to be arrested, like Murray Sabrin's pal Hal Turner, I'll word this carefully. New Yorkers, as in taxpayers and voters in NY, should be on the front steps of the state house in Albany and if/when their elected lawmakers decide to go to work, as they were elected to do, those New Yorkers, backed by their County Sheriff and State Police, should politely send those lawmakers home and refuse their services, or lack thereof while a new election for all new lawmakers is scheduled; no incumbents allowed.

It is a disgrace that these elected lawmakers, who are supposed to uphold the Constitution of the United States and that of NY, are too busy fighting over which party is in control that they cannot meet to cut taxes and unneeded government workers while they continue to cash their own paychecks and New Yorkers continue to pay outrageous taxes state wide.

If New Yorkers were to stand up and protest their sham government, would Obama and the national GOP get behind them the way they are backing the people of Iran?

Those damn Geese, again...

While browsing the worst newspaper ever to see if they've decided to cover any real news lately, I came across the story of a Manasquan man accused of fatally shooting Canada goose

Some of you might remember that I too complained about these awful creatures and noted them in my platform while running for congress last year.

Anyhow, the story is typical APP junk, BUT deep in those comments were the following two replies that made me call my girlfriend into the room to share the chuckle...

Honker wrote:
David Martens violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and be required to seek anger management counseling. Red flags are oten ignored. His intentional, malicious behavior is indicitive of a more serious underlying problem. It's hard to imagine that in a supposedly civilized society, the mere crime of living and doing what comes naturally could exact such a ruthless punishment.

(uhhh... boo for "honker")

SoSickOfMorons wrote:
Replying to Honker:
The birds aren't living up to their part of the treaty.

...my girlfriend didn't see the same humor value that I saw. 

In any case, I don't know what the penalty is for a single count of animal cruelty these days but then I'm not sure that Mr. Martens did anything cruel. I mean, some birds are shot every day, others just have their heads lopped off and feathers plucked only to be filleted and put on the shelves at the local ShopRite or thrown into a vat of boiling oil at the local KFC. I don't think I should have to say it, but we're talking about a wild bird here, not someone's pet dog or cat. A wild bird was killed, not a cute, little, innocent water rat.

In other news... I stepped on 6 ants today, by accident of course. Please do not call me cruel.

Sonia Sotomayor doesn't support the First Amendment

We know Sonia Sotomayor doesn't support your 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, but who'd of guessed that this judge would also fail to support your freedom of speech rights?

Certainly not one Avery Doninger, who referred to her high school's administrators as "douchebags" and encouraged other students to take action by calling and emailing with complaints when the school administration canceled a Jazzfest in 2007.

On May 29th, 2008, a US Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the administration had acted within the bounds of their authority. The court made the ruling not so much because of the "douchebags" comment, but because her encouragement of students to contact the administration could cause a "foreseeable risk of substantial disruption to the work and discipline of the school." She had said on her blog that students could contact the Superintendent "to piss her off more." The court stressed that their decision was not an endorsement of schools regulating off-campus speech. Thomas Gerarde, representing the school district, was quick to assert that "any speech that is likely to come to the attention of administrators on campus, even though it’s off campus, will be subject to discipline if it’s disruptive."

Judge Sotomayor's opinion; schools have an obligation to impart to their students “shared values,” which include not only the importance of free expression but a “proper respect for authority”.

Odd, and here I thought schools were supposed to teach students how to read, write and do some arithmetic. I thought that maybe if there was free time between Gym class and lunch, maybe schools can even squeeze in a quick history lesson and go over the Bill of Rights, you remember, the amendment that says you have the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances? Seems like Avery was just doing the American thing. The last time I checked, public schools were still in some way, unfortunately, sort-of-kind-of the government and I can't see how a student asking other students to protest is somehow un-American.

Sonia Sotomayor: hater of youths - hater of the Bill of Rights.... I wonder what word Avery Doninger might use here, douchebag?.

New Jersey’s first candidate from the Modern Whig Party

With all of the coverage of NJ's GOP primary stealing the headlines, the "news" seems to have missed that "Gene L. Baldassari" has filed a petition to appear on the November ballot in NJ's 14th Legislative District ( Cranbury Township, Hamilton Township, Jamesburg Borough, Monroe Township, Plainsboro Township, South Brunswick Township, West Windsor Township ) representing the Modern Whig Party.

It appears that a website for Gene is in the works at http://votegene.com/

Having read the Modern Whig Party stance on the issues, I'm thinking maybe I could be a Whig.

Good luck to Gene and the other Modern Whigs.

Uniondale Students Stand-Up for their 4th Amendment Rights

Good for these students who would not comply with an unreasonable search of their belongings at school; And don't forget, it's this year or within the next couple of years, that these students turn the magic age of 18 and are legally allowed to vote. Hopefully the 40% who stood up for their rights all decide to vote against whichever board of education members, or other elected officials, who allow the most basic of civil rights of youths to be violated.

Pascrell wants Ticketmaster to look like your Verizon bill

Have you taken a look at your Verizon bill lately? If not, you might want to take a peak because chances are that your bill looks similar to mine, with about $30 in charges for some taxes and fees that are government mandated. Here is a sample of a real Verizon bill (not from my bill, but close):

Tax & FeesState tax $5.60
Video Franchise Fee $11.91
CATV Universal Access Fund $1.70
Total Tax & Fees $19.21
Tax & Fees Federal excise tax $0.19
Federal excise tax # $0.16
State tax $0.49
State tax # $0.38
State tax ## $2.08
911 Tax $0.90
Federal Subscriber Line Charge $6.29
Federal Universal Service Fee $0.71
Federal Universal Service Fee - LD $0.74
Total Tax & Fees $11.94

For a total of ($19.21 + $11.94) = $31.15 in taxes and fees.

Sure I could call Verizon and ask about each of these taxes and fees, but it's hard to blame Verizon when reps like Mr. Pascrell (D-NJ08) are the types of congressmen who just want to add more fees and taxes to every private business.

This time, with the phone bill running our of room for more charges, Mr. Pascrell and company are targeting Ticketmaster, who already has several extra charges on the bill. For example, here is what ticketmaster charged me for tickets I purchased to a Broadway show just this week:

Ticket Charge US $XXX.XX

Convenience Charge US $7.25

Building Facility Charge US $1.50

I opted to have my tickets printed mailed to me "free of charge", otherwise I would have paid an extra $2.50 per ticket for the convenience of using my own ink and paper to print my own tickets on my own time, the irony.

And my complaint here is not that I want to continue seeing ticketmaster and the like ripping off consumers, it's that I want Congressman Pascrell, Pallone, Holt, Smith and everyone else down in DC to take a long hard look at all of the fees, taxes, surcharges and charges that consumers pay so that the government can meddle in the free market. Pascrell suggests that ticketmaster and the like purchase some "seal" from the FTC in order to be allowed to sell tickets, which means we can look forward to a "FTC Seal Charge Recovery Fee" on our future tickets.

To every politician who claims that they are going to "cut taxes" (Christie and Lonegan included) - getting the fees, taxes and other BS charges off of our phone bills might be a good way to start and build some faith in your claims.

Now don't forget to go vote today... and feel free to share what taxes, fees, etc you might be paying on your own bills...

A look back to 2005 with GM

A link to read and think about:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10138507/

Note the dates: Mon., Nov . 21, 2005

General Motors Corp. will eliminate 30,000 jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand and position the world’s biggest automaker to start making money again after absorbing nearly $4 billion in losses so far this year.

From that same story, in 2005:

Last week, after the automaker’s shares fell to their lowest level since 1987, Wagoner sent an e-mail to employees saying the company has a turnaround strategy in place and has no plans to file for bankruptcy. Wagoner repeated that Monday, and added that he continues to have the board’s support and hasn’t considered stepping down.

And don't miss (from 2005):

GM also is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting errors.

Strap in taxpayers... the ride will be a rough one.

Equality.

I'll just provide the link:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/29/charges-black-panthers-dropped-obama/

Sorry to the lack of blog entries, I've been very busy with work and some personal responsibilities.

Don't forget to go vote next Tuesday, June 2.

Where's Tommy D on AI's Adam Lambert vs Cali's Carrie Prejean?

I haven't seen someone brave step up yet and say it, but the liberals are upset that some dude Chris beat some gay kid Adam on some fake TV reality show because Americans hate gays and voted against Adam ruining his dream.  But isn't that what happened to Mrs. California Carrie Prejean when pageant judges who hate straight women voted against Carrie ruining her dream?

Where's the brave sole who will get on TV and say it? Maybe someone like Tommy D? I wonder if he'll post on the topic or what he'll have to say?

Because I'm a car guy... like Joe Biden

This story about Joe Biden in the Onion makes me laugh something fierce.

(http://www.theonion.com/content/news/shirtless_biden_washes_trans_am_in)

The pictures make the story EXTRA funny. 

So check out this awesome picture of me in my TransAm, vroom vroom! :-)

In "real" news, good news for Gun Owners today.

RIP Ruth Townley Lawson, Long Branch

For those of you who remember, and have asked about my neighbor Ruth, who I wrote about here, here and here I am sorry to tell you that Ruth has passed away at the age of 85. Her obituary was in the Sunday APP and can be found here.

Ruth Townley Lawson
(Asbury Park Press)

RUTH TOWNLEY
LAWSON
AGE: 85 LONG BRANCH
Ruth Townley Lawson, 85, of Long Branch, died Saturday, May 16, 2009, at Sunrise Assisted Living, Wall Township. She was a communicant of St. James' Episcopal Church, Long Branch. Mrs. Lawson was born in Long Branch and lived there all her life.
She was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth K. Lawson; and a son, Robert K. Lawson. Surviving are two sons, Richard T. Lawson, Eatontown, and Keith C. Lawson, Ocean Township; a daughter, Kimberly R. Gibson, Charleston, S.C.; and her grand and great grandchildren.
The visitation will be Tuesday evening from 7 until 8:30 p.m. at the Woolley Funeral Home, 10 Morrell St. at Broadway, Long Branch. The Requiem Mass will be 10 a.m. Wednesday from St. James' Episcopal Church, 300 Broadway, Long Branch. The interment will follow in Woodbine Cemetery, Oceanport. You may light a candle of remembrance by visiting www.woolleyfh.com.

For those wondering, Ruth was moved into the Sunrise Assisted Living Facility in early November of 2008, just days after election day. In fact, to fill in some back story, the last time I saw Ruth was the night of November 5th, 2008. I recall Ruth stopping me on my way out to work early in the morning; she got up early to go vote; problem being, of course, that she was a day late. Not having the heart to explain to her that Obama had already won and it was too late to vote, I suggested that she wait for Joy, the nurse, to take her, hoping Joy could explain.  When I came home for lunch that day, Joy had not arrived, and Ruth was at the bottom of my driveway; she came to ask me for a ride to the polls. I walked her home and explained that she was a bit late to vote. After Ruth berated me for not taking her the day before, I went home to eat my lunch. 

Fast forward a half hour and as I was leaving to go back to work, Ruth was now standing in the middle of the street with her cane and sample ballot, unable to proceed towards my house or back to her house. I walked her home and she again told me that she had to go vote and I promised to take her there, I don't recall ever making such a promise but maybe I should have knocked on her door and asked her if she needed to go vote on Tuesday. Regardless, the information I had passed along just minutes before was long forgotten and I knew it would be a rough day for Ruth.

When I returned home from work around 6:30 that night, November 5th, several Long Branch police cars (a total of 5 if I recall) were idling away gasoline as the officers crowded around Ruth on her front porch. From the looks of the scene, I figured Ruth had either robbed a local bank, been hit by a car or called to report me for not taking her to vote, the nerve I have.  Turns out that another neighbor saw Ruth standing in the middle of the street again and called the police to help her. After about two hours (with all of the police cars still just burning gasoline away on the street), three of the officers left and an ambulance was called. Ruth begged and pleaded with me to not let them take her away to prison, but there was nothing I could do. 

Around 8:30pm, Ruth finally agreed with the officers to go in the ambulance. Being the strong woman that Ruth was, she refused help and walked out of her house, cane in hand, for the last time. Knowing this might be the last time I'd see or hear from Ruth, I gave her something like a hug (was scared I might hurt her if I actually hugged her) and watched helplessly as the police and EMS took her away, for the most past against her will.

While I'm sure that cases like Ruth's are common, I believe that it demonstrates many problems in society worth thinking about. First, Ruth did NOT want to die in a nursing home. Although she couldn't remember the day, date or where she lived, there was one thing that was consistent in her memory and it was that she did not want to go to a nursing home, who really does? Ruth allowed herself to be taken to "prison" that night. She didn't want to go, but was convinced that she had to go because the police was present. The police did nothing wrong, they didn't coax her into going, and they didn't force her to go, and in fairness, based on her condition that day, she needed some form of help, but in my opinion she needed the help of her family and friends, not the police or a doctor. Her family never showed up, despite several calls from the police department to the home and cell phones of her children. If nothing else, I find it sad that Ruth could not die peacefully in her own home. In her mind, she was indeed kidnapped and taken away to prison even though she did nothing wrong. I do hope that someday, I'll be able to die peacefully in my own home or at least be able to accept, or deny, healthcare as my wishes are at the time. I hope that I am never forced to accept care I do not want although the story of a child with cancer who is being ordered to accept medical care he doesn't want makes me think that someday, I too will be taken away from my own home to be "cared for" by someone else. Scary.

Anyhow, for over two hours, the police patiently waited for her family, who lives no more than minutes way, to arrive to help her, they never showed. In contrast, as I washed my cars in my driveway early Sunday morning, I watched as her two sons finally stopped by her house, mowed her lawn, trimmed the shrubs, threw out some junk and cleaned the place up. I'm sure their mother, Ruth, would have liked to see such actions by her children while she was alive - but in the years I've lived in my house, I never once saw her children spend so much time in that house, it never stopped Ruth from telling me about her children, she always loved them and she sat on her porch everyday waiting for them to come home, as if her children didn't have children of their own and were still young school children. Again, if there is one thing I can hope for, it is that when I'm old, or otherwise unable to care for myself, my family will be there to care for me, stop in every once in a while for a coffee and cake, ensure that I have some food in the fridge and maybe a clean and working toilet, if I can still use one at that point. While I understand that, especially in these tough economic times, we all have our own lives to worry about, I still want to believe that family comes first and humans should be caring for other humans, family, friends, neighbors or even the stranger whose car is broken down on the side of the road. Most of us have no trouble complaining about taxes, but then so many of us expect the government our taxes pay for to provide everything for us. The police to care for our elderly parents, or the broken down car on the road; Social services to check in on mom. It's quite sad in my opinion.

In any case, RIP Ruth Lawson, you were a great neighbor and a friend and I'm sure your mother is happy to finally have you "home".