Monthly Archives: November 2010

Little L Libertarian vs. Big Government vs. Corporate Greed

I like Little L Libertarian the best. If it was the choice before us, then I would choose it. However, that is not the choice before us. The choice before us is between Big Government and Corporate Greed. Corporate greed has more tendency toward evil than Big government.

Health care is an example. The insurance companies were absolved of responsibility, based on the claim that the high cost of litigation was driving up costs. The result is that they have no responsibility and health care costs continue to shoot up. Health care costs can only be controlled by supply and demand, that is by increasing supply. Limiting liability only gives the insurers a free ride, while they price based on the supply / demand curve and pocket the profits saved from not having responsibility. The result forces more regulation to prevent greed from competing with good health care. Big government is not good, but I would rather have government making a health decision, rather than someone whose bonus is dependent on not giving me care.

This is not fixable while bribery is considered free speech based on the lack of wisdom of the Supreme Court.

The most important political issue is controlling contributions to politicians. As long as bribery is allowed and even protected as free speech, then every decision will be warped and regulations will be needed. A constitutional amendment may be needed to take back our government. No good decision can be counted upon on any issue as long as bribery is permitted. Little L is impossible as long as bribery is permitted. The elimination of protected bribery is now the most important issue of our time, as resolution of all other issue depends upon it.

The cause is urgent. The budget cannot be controlled and the US will head toward its own destruction, if legalized bribery cannot be eliminated.

I hope that this helps.

Regards,
Mark Mangone

Mangone, Mark (MC1977)

[JR: Please don't distinguish between the Gooferment and "Corporations". They are really one and the same. Like fingers on a hand, they give the illusion of a difference. Just like the Democans and the Republicrats. It's all illusion. Designed to keep "We, The Sheeple" unaware of how badly we are being <synonym for the act of procreation>! Sorry, but it just aggravates me that I was deluded for so long. Now it's too late for me to do anything about it. Maybe a subsequent generation will "take back the American Dream". Argh!]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-29 18:29

Hey John. Those iPhone wallpapers from the 11/28 issue can be downloaded as jpeg files and used on other smartphone brands as well. They look great on my BBerry Curve. Thanks!

Bob Insull

[JR: Good, thanks for passing it along. Some us are too poor for them there fancy mobily phoney thingies. :-) Glad it works for you.]

Insull, Bob (MC1963)

# # # # # posted 2010-11-30 12:35

Hello John,

I have some comments about the death penalty.

I am philosophically opposed to the death penalty for the catholic reason that all life comes from God and we should not second guess God. However, I find that it may be a necessary evil in some extreme cases. I agree that the death penalty is used way too much. The legal system is often like playing a game, so that the outcome depends more on the skill of the players, rather than the truth. The death penalty is often not justice , but a means of revenge, which is almost as bad as the original crime. I believe that it should be reserved only for serial killers like a Ted Bundy.

However, there is a problem with life without parole. Life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment. This is a difference between US and European thought. Original American thought considers permanent loss of freedom as worse than death. Patrick Henry says “Give me liberty or give me death”. The license plates in New Hampshire say “Live Free or Die”. Death is more merciful than life without parole. The one advantage with life imprisonment is that it is reversible if new evidence is found that exonerates the defendant. Moving toward life imprisonment without parole devalues liberty.

Just my opinion.

Regards,
Mark A. Mangone

[JR: I kinda like the Devil's Island approach. Put the convict on a dessert island and airdrop some minimum level of supplies in. Society has to protect itself; however even Bundy has a right to life. And, what's more important, the Gooferment has no authority to kill anyone "in cold blood". Just my opinion.]

# – # – #

Mangone, Mark (MC1977)

# # # # # posted 2010-11-29 18:18

I wonder if Professor Zia ever knew how many people quoted him through the years and how many versions of that quote are floating around. The version I heard often around the ROTC department was “You build bridge upside down. Bridge fall down. Noooooo partial credit.”

June Trizzino ’75

[JR: Funny how EVERY Jasper knows that Zia quote. That probably puts him right behind Brother Jasper as the most well known MC character. Good thing Brother had the Seventh Inning Stretch; else he might be in second place.]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-29 17:33

Dear Jasper John

You say that blacks were better off before the war on poverty. – again we seem to have been living in different worlds. In northern New Jersey I saw segregation and anti-black discrimination everywhere during the 1950′s. For class activities like swimming trips we had to go to New York State if there were any black students in our class. New Jersey swimming pools were privately owned and denied all blacks entry – whites had to worry about getting too tanned or they would be banned. Many towns (boroughs they were called) were completely segregated and some effectively banned blacks from living within their borders. Only government action at the federal and state levels curtailed these horrific policies.

Most blacks in the Southern United States had no freedoms and effectively lived in terrorist KKK run societies. Saul Alinsky’s book “Reveille for Radicals” (1946) quotes an American black woman’s response to the question “What would be suitable punishment for Adolph Hitler after WWII.” Her answer was that Hitler should be forced to live the life of a black man in the United States. It doesn’t seem black people felt they were well off.

Lyndon Johnson’s efforts led to a much greater degree of political freedom for black Americans and attempted to improve their economic lives through the “war on poverty”. Unfortunately the Republican party deserted the principles of Abraham Lincoln and implemented a “southern strategy” aimed at fomenting white hatred and undermining the advancement of black people. This strategy unfortunately met with some degree of success and limited the effectiveness of antipoverty efforts. I shudder as their political descendants assume power in Congress in January- God help us.

Even with Republican obstructionism the poverty rate fell after the war on poverty began. For example, after Johnson’s declaration of the ” War on Poverty” in 1964 , the Black poverty rate decreased from 41.8 percent in 1966 to 30.3 percent in 1974. However, the numbers went back up until 1995, when the Black poverty rate again began dropping from 29.3 percent in 1995 to a low of 22.5 percent in 2000.

Sincerely yours,
Donald M Stebbins
BS 1961

[JR: <1> I gave you specific facts that the Black Community has been destroyed by the supposed War on Poverty and the "(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs". I didn't say that their lives were a bed of roses. And, that there were not problems. Terrible problems. But, I'd also assert that Gooferment, with its monopoly on the use of force, causes or exacerbates EVERY problem. <2> "Gun Control", aka victim disarmament, was introduced specifically to disarm the masses. Hard for the KKK to lynch anyone that can fight back. The NYS "Sullivan Law" was specifically aimed at the "Saturday Night Specials" in "****** town". <3> LBJ is the hero of the Civil Rights movement, but they forgot that it was the R's that dragged him kicking and screaming to sign it. Old Abe was the worst President ever and his legacy should be abandoned. <4> Poverty can't be "defeated" like an opponent in a football game. Our "poor" aren't. I'm reminded of the TV interview in Africa when they found this starving fellow on line at the US Embassy for a visa who was asked why did he want to come to the USA. Without hesitation, his answer was perceptive: "You have fat poor people." Poverty is an interesting Gooferment measurement. Like unemployment, to quote one of the "judge shows", "Wouldn't believe him if his tongue was notarized.", I don't believe the Gooferment's statistics. If we could get the Gooferment out of the "charity business" and give the money back to the people, then true charity could get in and help those who really need help. <5> I know I'll never convince you that Gooferment is the problem. And, it's the meme that kills us. We'll have to just to agree to disagree agreeably.]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-28 21:13

Dear FJohn,

Again, thanks for all you do with JJ

RE: JEMAIL: Zuccaro, Rich (MC1974) remembers the origins of “bridge fall

I have to agree with you that Professor Zia’s “no partial credit” comment was related to mistakes with sign. I had him for two looong semesters in my sophomore year of EE program.

[JR: Yes. Semesters with Zia were like water-board-ing without the board or the water.]

RE: JEMAIL: Stebbins, Donald M. (MC1967) thinks we’re better with “big government”

RE: seriously not recognize “regulatory capture”? OSH “regulates” safety;

While I agree with Jasper Stebbins about the need and benefits of a larger government than you support – I am in agreement with you that there should be a new business construction replacing the limited liability corporation. It is just wrong to assign the qualities and rights of a living person to a corporate entity. What are your suggestions for its replacement?

[JR: Unfortunately an even larger Gooferment will not satisfy the need or provide the promised benefits. It never ever does. "War on Poverty" yields more poverty. The "Big Dig" runs on and on and over and over budget. NASA crowds out private space travel. The FED is supposed to eliminate boom 'n' bust cycles, preserve value, and induce full employment; the value of the dollar is eroded 97%, cycles galore deeper 'n' more frequent, and unemployment galore. Sorry, but Gooferment IS the problem.]

[JR: Why replace the "corporation" with anything? A corporation is like a hand puppet to disguise the Gooferment's fist. Let's just have people in business. Government should be the referee to prevent violence by force or fraud. You're personally responsible for any damage that you cause; so's everyone else. There's no need for limited liability. Insurance companies will price risks. "Shareholders" will be more like Lloyds of London stake holders. How about if we just have people in commerce. Ray Kroc can own McDonalds with partners as opposed to stockholders.]

ENDNOTE: Yet Another CINO politician

As you know, we disagree on the subject of abortion, “ensoulment”, and the beginning of human life. I would like to know the genesis of the $619 million figure… ??

[JR: Ahh, I still love my fellow Jaspers even when they don't see things my way. You'll probably disagree with Stebbins too if he wrote more. I MIGHT be wrong. But, I don't think so. I believe the 619 is the value of projects appropriated for his district by the Democratic leadership after he "sold his soul". It was chump change; so it sailed by "under the radar". Unfortunately, I'm a simple soul -- there is a right 'n' wrong; life begins at conception; killing is always wrong; politicians are morally challenged despicable dishonest worse than used car salesmen human beings; and Jaspers are the Salt of the Earth.]

mike toner
bee ’72
buffalo, ny

[JR: If Jasper Jottings drives you crazy, you should read my opus. It's got all my wackaloon ideas in it. LOL, thanks for reading and writing. It's hard to fill the weekly issue without help.]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-28 20:31