Political, Social, Law and Order, Haberdashery, Sports, and Daily Life Opinion Commentary
This week I’m featuring a beautiful vintage hat. This a Dobbs & Co., “Fifteen” in a beautiful deep brown fur felt.
The “Fifteen” designation means the price of the hat at the time of production. This is beautiful and comfortable hat and I get many compliments when I wear it in public.
You can read more about the Dobbs & Co. in the link below courtesy of the Hatted Professor.
Here we are again, the third “Stimulus” package to combat the Coronavirus pandemic at a cost of $2,000,000,000,000.00 dollars, in addition to the prior $9,384,000,000.00 signed into law in the prior two pieces of legislation.
In President Trump’s own words during the signing ceremony, “this 2 trillion can easily become 6 trillion dollars before the fiscal year is over”. Even with many of these appropriations falling under Sunset Provisions, that’s a lot of money to be spent by September 30, 2020.
Unlike members of Congress, yours truly actually read the 1400+ pages of this stimulus bill, H.R. 748, The CARES Act. The legislation has lots of good things to help combat the virus and assist the medical community, but the amount of Pork Barrel spending on it would make a grown fiscal conservative cry.
I am going to summarize for you most of the pet projects and draconian regulations the Congress was able to insert in this bill. None of it has anything to do with the Coronavirus response, testing, or cure.
The following are some of the salaries and expenses of some of the Federal agencies you never knew we had. Basically, pay raises.
Probably the most egregious of all these pay raises in a time of crisis, the Legislative Branch.
Let’s continue with the Department of Education. I tried to make sense as to why The Department of Education was getting any “Stimulus” money, other than to help states with child programs, but some of the things in there are beyond helping children.
Now we are going to take a look at some of the “Bailouts”, and goodies, the legislation is going to address, via either grants or loans, or simple appropriations. This includes air carriers, railroads, airports, and the United States Postal Service.
This is just a sample, but it should be enough to paint a picture for you. Some of these options available to the airline industry are not coming without some Democratic Party intervention and strings attached to them.
In addition, the airlines will have access to $58,000,000,000.00 in loan and grants, but this assistance has several caveats to it. Twenty One billion dollars will be use to issue unsecured loans and loan guarantees. When I read “unsecured loans”, I saw the big word, “Bailout” written on the wall.
Let’s start with Environmental Protections Grants. These grants will be given to those air carriers who participate in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Development Program. This is part of the Democrats Green New Deal initiative.
This is where the Green New Deal earns its wings. The following are three sections that will be costly to the airline industry and the consumer will see the result with higher ticket prices and fees.
Section 707- Study on Certain Climate Change Mitigation Efforts. The Secretary of transportation will get $1,500,000.00 for its implementation and compliance.
Section 199998- Aircraft Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards. The EPA Administrator shall promulgate final regulations establishing emission standards for emission of greenhouse gases from both, new and in-service aircrafts, pursuant to section 231 of the Clean Air Act.
Of the three, this is, in my opinion, the most expensive and the crown jewel of the Green New Dealers. Guess who is going to pay for it folks, you!
The following are a few goodies for the Federal Railroad Administration.
Last but not least, the United States Postal Service. All the debt will be forgiven and they will have access to loans in the amount of $15,000,000,000.00.
I know this one is not going to sit well with a lot of people, after all many people see the Postal Service as an arcane and expensive institution. In addition, they are not really considered a part of the Federal government, so folks are going to ask why.
Understand this; the USPS retirement fund was destroyed by the Congress. The USPS has been used by Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, as a slush fund, with an unbearable amount of liabilities. The USPS has been paying retirement funds for people who haven’t been born yet. That’s crazy in my opinion.
The way I see it, the Congress is taking an opportunity to right a wrong, and if the Smithsonian can get some Pork Barrel money, I’ll be dammed if the USPS can’t enjoy the same benefit. I need the post office, we all do.
Among some the things that got my attention were the fact this legislation erases all the Executive Orders signed by President Trump regarding Federal employee’s collective bargaining and official time. Section 16003, nullifies all E.O.’s related to employee collective bargaining. A big win for the federal unions and the Democratic Party.
The worst thing about all this Pork Barrel spending is that it has been enacted and signed into law by using the Coronavirus as a sort of Trojan horse. Trust me, there are more hidden pork rinds on this bill, I am only showing you a handful. This is 1,400 plus pages and most of it filled with government waste.
Watching the President on television touting this $2,000,000,000,000.00 as a great victory for the American people was very confusing to me. I don’t know how adding more money, we don’t have, to the debt is a victory of any sort.
I understand the American people are hurting, but they are hurting because the same government scared the population, lockdown states and cities, and put people out of work in the process. The statistics of the Coronavirus haven’t even reached the mortality rates of the Common Flu, and most experts now agree it won’t.
In my opinion, this has been an overreaction by government, one they were not ready for. It is time for the Federal, State and Local governments to reopen businesses. The government is not going to rebound this economy, and that’s a fact, only the people will.
Extending unemployment benefits is not the answer; it only encourages able body people to stay home. Would someone want to go back to work when they are making more money sitting at home?
The United States government is going to spend $250,000,000,000.00 by sending checks to families, but this money is no good if the same government is going to keep people lockdown and without the ability to work and provide for their families. This is a onetime deal and it is unsustainable as it stands.
One piece of advice to the President, stop praising China and President Xi on national television. People are out of work and in home confinement because of China, it doesn’t sit well.
Ordering American companies, like General Motors, to produce items for the well being of the American people is fine. President Trump, you went on television and stated you were ready to help other countries with ventilators and Personal Protection Equipment. Say what? We can’t even supply our own people and hospitals! “America First”, remember!!
Also, stop calling this a “War”. It is not a war; it is a virus that we were unprepared for. I am a combat veteran, I seen war and this is not it. You are not a “War Time” president, which is fine, you are a president during a humanitarian crisis and the people need more leadership and less bravado.
Folks, I hope this is the end of the reckless spending coming out of Washington, but I have heard rumors that a 4th Stimulus package is in the works. Who’s going to finance this spending China or Russia? God help us!
One thing is for sure, if the Wuhan Chinese virus doesn’t bankrupt the country, the government will.
I understand Americans are worried, or should I say, scared to death by the Wuhan Chinese virus, but I believe this has been caused by bad federal government management, the media, and government overreach at the state and local levels.
State governors in California, New York, and now Illinois, have enacted “Shelter in Place” policies. These de facto “lockdowns” are going to destroy private businesses in those states and force thousands of hard working Americans out of the workforce with no real relieve in sight.
This policy is not only detrimental to the moral and financial well being of the citizens, but it clearly violates the United States Constitution. Reading the Constitution I can come up with several amendments that have been disregarded by these governors.
We can start with the 1st Amendment and our right to freedom of assembly. They have been ordered not to gather in public places. Their actions could also apply to the 4th Amendment and our rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. These citizens have been seized and ordered to stay in their homes without a proper warrant or probable cause. They have been told to stay home regardless if they have contracted the virus or not.
I also believe the 5th, 9th, and the 14th Amendment have also been violated by these actions. The 14th Amendment is an important one because it guarantees the citizens due process and equal protection under the law. How are these citizens been afforded due process when they have been ordered to stay home without a trial? How are these citizens been afforded equal protection under the law when other states have not adopted same restrictive measures under the same set of circumstances?
What these governors have done is clearly and action of government overreach and should be challenged in Federal Court on constitutional grounds.
Recently the President signed into law H.R. 6074, Corona virus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act 2020 and H.R. 6201, Families First Corona Virus Response Act.
I am going to give you the rundown on how much this is going to cost the country and how much it will be adding to the federal deficit. The language on these legislations is tedious and boring, so I’m going to make it easy for you by giving you figures and not mumbo-jumbo.
Federal Drug and Food Administration- $61,000,000. This amount is for salary and expenses of employees.
Small Business Administration- $20,000,000. This is to be use for the Disaster Loan Program account.
Department of Health and Human Services- $2,200,000,000. Yes, Billions, with a capital B.
National Institute of Health- $836,000,000
Public Health Services or PHS- $3,100,000,000. These are the folks in the Blue Battle Dress Uniforms you see behind the President during his press conferences.
The State Department
Administration of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Programs- $264,000,000 to cover COVID-19 expenses.
U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of the Inspector General. $1,000,000. This one smells like someone slipped some Pork Barrel spending and got away with it.
The White House
Bilateral Economic Assistance. These are funds appropriated for the President of the United States.
Global health programs- $435,000,000
International Disaster Assistance to combat COVID-19- $300,000,000
Economic Support Fund- $250,000,000. This is to cover additional expenses for COVID-19.
Now it is time for the math folks. H.R. 6074, Corona virus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act 2020 is going to cost the American tax payer a grand total of:
$7, 467,000,000.00 billion dollars. Are you feeling sick yet?
Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (WIC and SNAP Programs) – $500,000,000
Department of Defense- $82,000,000. For SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 related items. What happened to the 700 plus billion dollars in defense appropriations?
Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service- $15,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services. Indian Health Services. $64,000,000
Administration for Community Services. Aging and Disabilities Services program- $250,000,000
Office of the Secretary. Public Health Services or P.H.S. – $1,000,000,000
Department of Veterans Affairs- $30,000,000
Medical Community Care- $30,000,000
H.R. 6201, Families First Corona Virus Response Act is going to cost American tax payers:
$1,917,000,000.00 billion dollars.
Currently the Senate is working on a third piece of Stimulus legislation that nobody knows exactly what entails. They are talking about forgivable loans, bailing out the airlines and cruise industries, and I am sure a bunch of other fiscal nonsense.
One of the interesting things floating around is the suggestion of government taking a piece of those businesses. That would be the equivalent of nationalizing private businesses; the same thing socialist governments have done in places like Venezuela.
So far, we have added $9,384,000,000.00 billion dollars to the national debt that’s already at over 23 trillion dollars with a federal spending of 4 trillion and a budget deficit of over 1 trillion dollars. In the 1980’s the Federal debt to GDP ratio was a little over 34% in 2020 is over 108%.
This is unsustainable my friends. The government response to the Wuhan Chinese virus has been like a monkey throwing feces at a wall and hoping a piece will stick.
It will take decades for the United States to come out of this upcoming recession. I admire President Trump’s enthusiasm, but one doesn’t have to be an economist to know that a Stock Market who doesn’t trust the government will have a hard time convincing its investors to invest. We continue to throw money at problems without resolving the problems.
What happened here? How we arrived at this point? I wonder.
In 2009, we faced the H1N1 virus, and it took the Obama administration 6 months and over 1000 dead Americans to declare a National Emergency. We didn’t shutdown our society over it. I remember flying all over the world as a Federal Air Marshal, and I survived.
Not even after 9/11 we had this type of chaos in our country. I ask again, what happened?
The government has never been an answer, but mostly a problem. Only the private sector and the American people will be able to free this country from the dungeon the government has locked us in.
I’m starting a new weekly segment featuring some of the hats, vintage and modern, from my collection.
This week I’m going to start with an icon among hats, Stetson The Open Road. I own a few of the vintage versions and this is in the 4X Beaver category. The felt on this hat is soft and very workable for those who like to change the crown style from time to time.
The hat is suitable to wear brim up or brim down, as well as with a nice suit or a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. This is a very beautiful hat that would make a great addition to any collection or as an everyday wearable.
There are many versions of the Open Road, but I feel older models are of better quality, of course that’s my opinion.
You can read more about this piece of Americana history in the link below.
Folks, this is simple, if is not in the United States Constitution, you don’t have a right to it, nor are you entitled to it.
Socialism is nothing more than the redistribution of wealth and power for the, so-called, “Good of the People”. Unlike Democratic Socialism, Marxist Socialism is better described as governing by authoritarian rule not by democratic means.
According to the World Population Review https://populationreview.com/ there are nine countries governed by a Socialist Party, this include failed or poor states like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
In 1991, the Soviet Union, the largest socialist state of its time, failed. Although the United States was key rebuilding Western Europe, the Soviet Union was able to take government control of Eastern Europe.
Countries like Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine, to name a few, were basically seized.
Move forward to 2020. We don’t have to go back to Second World War Europe to find a couple of examples. Right here, close to home, we find the two biggest socialist failures in modern history, Cuba and Venezuela.
Let us review Cuba. Cuba has always been a very volatile country; from its Civil War in 1878, the revolution of 1895, the Batista government era, and ending in 1959 with Fidel Castro.
Although Cuba had a great agricultural revolution, mainly because its sugar production and trade, the Fidel Castro revolution pretty much destroyed the industry and the country with it.
In 2020, Socialism in Cuba has given its citizens nothing more than misery. For the longest time, over 50 years, the Cuban government has denied its citizens the right to leave the country, political parties have been banned, and freedom of speech and that of the press are nonexistent.
In today’s Cuba, prisons are filled with innocent people, mostly anti Castro political opponents and people who dare to criticize the Castro regime. It is still the Castro regime, Fidel may be gone and Raul may have stepped down, but don’t think for a minute this is someone else’s Cuba, no, it remains Castro’s Cuba.
Cuban citizens don’t enjoy material well being; they live on government rations, and barely make $50.00 a month.
In Cuba, like in Venezuela, the top remains at the top, and the bottom still cannot come up to the top. That’s the root of Marxist Socialism.
This type of Marxist Socialism, one that preaches wealth redistribution for the good of the people, but never fulfills its promise, is the end of a civilized society. It is a complete government takeover of one’s rights and dignity as human beings.
I have a thought that puts socialism in simple terms; Fidel Castro didn’t wear a Rolex for no reason.
Cuba is a failed state, one the citizens have failed to shake.
A more horrid story is that of Venezuela. Once a prosperous country it has become nothing more than a human wasteland.
From the Bolivian War in 1809 and ending up with Chavismo and the Bolivarian Revolution, Venezuelans in 2020 are forced to eat from rubbish bins, they eat trash to survive. The Venezuelan Bolivar is not worth the paper that is printed on, and the oil empire they once were, has pretty much disappeared courtesy of socialism.
The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence of 1811 gave Venezuela its independence from Spain. When you read the intention and the meaning of the Venezuelan Constitution, it almost sounds like our beloved United States Constitution, guaranteeing the rights of its citizens to equality and freedom of speech among others.
Hugo Chavez, and in a way like Castro, came into power by promising free services and a better way of life while the state provided basic social welfare to the masses. The problem with Chavez’s promises was that he could only steal from the wealthy for so long to give to the poor. Eventually Chavez ran out of wealthy people to steal and redistribute from.
Unfortunately, the Venezuelan people bought into the bogus promises of the Bolivarian Revolution and Chavismo. One of the first mistakes the Venezuelans made was to give up their right to bear arms and surrendering their weapons to Chavez’s government forces. Once Chavez confiscated the weapons, the population was defenseless.
Chavez nationalized most private industries including, probably the most important one, the oil industry. He pretty much killed it overnight by telling American companies to take a hike, which meant take with you all the people who knew how to operate this equipment. The same thing the South African government and the ANC did to white farmers in South Africa when they redistributed the land. Black South Africans didn’t know how to cultivate the land just as Venezuelans didn’t know how to drill for oil.
At one point in its history, Venezuela was the 10th highest oil producer and exporter in the world at a daily production of 2,394,000 barrels of oil. Today, they are lucky if they can produce 900 barrels a day, you do the math.
A country with oil reserves of over 250 billion barrels and people are living in the Dark Ages. Under the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has solidified their position as a failed state. Marxist Socialism killed Venezuela.
Folks, these are two brief examples of what socialism can do to prosperous societies. Is this what we want for the greatest country in the world? Are we willing to give up our rights under false promises? My friends, nothing is free in a civilized society and promises to the contrary are completely false.
Can you imagine having your hard work and industry taken from you to be given to those who don’t contribute to our society?
Waking up every day doing as the government tells you and not what you want?
Countries around the world are fighting their own oppression while waving American flags in the process. That should tell you something about the greatness of our country and our constitutional way of governance.
Socialism is incompatible with American society, and by adopting such a government controlled way of life, we would be giving away everything the United States Constitution guarantees for the citizens of this great country.
Think about this next time the millionaire Marxist Socialist Bernie Sanders tries to sell you socialism.
