Liberty Maven

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Quotes of the Day: “No doubt we all could have been Rhodes scholars if only we hadn’t sucked on our pens, drawn hearts on our hands, and read our pre-1985 books. It is a miracle we survived thus far.” – blogger Deputy Headmistress

“When kid’s dirtbikes are outlawed because of lead content, only outlaw kids will ride dirtbikes, er something like that.” – Tom Pearson

Subject: Pointing Fingers

If your preteen child aspires to be a dirt bike racer, safety concerns may race through your head. That’s understandable.

But would lead poisoning be one of them?

Incredibly, youth ATV’s and motorcycles have been banned by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) because of lead content. The Motorcycle Industry Council says this could mean losses of $1 billion in 2009 alone.

That’s because “some parts, that youth would not ingest, unavoidably contain small quantities of lead in excess of the CPSIA limits, such as the valve stems on the tires, aluminum in some brake components, and the terminals on the batteries.”

Also, as we anticipated, thrift stores are pulling children’s coats and clothes from their shelves all across America. Libraries are combing through their stacks to pull children’s books published before 1985. And businesses are closing.

Even ballpoint pens decorated with cartoon characters could be banned.

The CPSIA is a disaster. It’s forcing poor families to pay more for clothes. It’s creating more unemployment in a weak economy. It’s even making dirt bikes less safe because replacement parts are unavailable.

What is Congress doing about it?

Canceling hearings.

And pointing fingers.

Senators such as Amy Klobuchar, Jay Rockefeller, and Mark Pryor claim that the CPSIA allows the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to make “common-sense exceptions.”

Except, it doesn’t. As Joe Martyak of the CPSC says, “The language of the law does not allow us to focus on the significance or extent of the risk and that’s the issue. The exclusion clause is written very, very, very narrowly. If you can touch any part — any, A-N-Y — that can lead to lead absorption, leaving us hard-pressed to find an exclusion.”

These Senators want the CPSC to selectively enforce the law, but the bureaucrats’ hands are tied: if they enforce the law too rigidly they’ll get blamed for hurting the economy; but if they’re too lax, and some freak incident of lead ingestion occurs, they’ll be blamed for incompetence. Read More »

In our continuing series on how Congress is wasting time and money, keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution is the document that founded this nation and our government, and is the Supreme Law of the Land.  This founding document spells out 18 “enumerated powers” that are granted to the Federal Government, and according to the 9th and 10th amendments, all else is left up to the states.  Therefore, at least 95% of what Congress does these days is unconstitutional.

Congress continues its misdeeds, indeed.  Sixty-three new bills introduced on Tuesday, March 17th.  Some of the most egregious are:

• S-626 – A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in the Lower Mississippi River Area in the State of Louisiana as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• S-625 – A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas.
• S-624 – A bill to provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis by 2015 by improving the capacity of the United States Government to fully implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.  [Keep in  mind that while we all want everyone to have safe drinking water, such an effort is not authorized to the Federal Government by the Constitution.  If Congress is going to tax me and spend my money, I personally would prefer they spend it on something here in the United States.  This bill is aimed at helping poor, undeveloped countries.]
• S-623 – A bill to amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, title XXVII of the Public Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit preexisting condition exclusions in group health plans and in health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets.
• S-622 – A bill to ensure parity between the temporary duty imposed on ethanol and tax credits provided on ethanol.
• S-621 (also HR1570) – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to coordinate Federal congenital heart disease research efforts and to improve public education and awareness of congenital heart disease, and for other purposes.  [See ensuing "discussion" below.  A legion of mothers with children suffering from this terrible disease attempted to overwhelm us with heartfelt pleas to "understand" where they're coming from.  What they simply don't understand is that even if a bill has the most noble of intentions, it doesn't necessarily make it legal/constitutional.   This country is already in a fine mess because everybody wants to get "theirs" when that's not how it was set up to run in the first place.  Once again, please read Davey Crockett Vs. Welfare.]
• S-619 – A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to preserve the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics used in the treatment of human and animal diseases.
• S-618 – A bill to improve the calculation of, the reporting of, and the accountability for, secondary graduation rates.
• S-617 (also HR1562) – A bill to provide compensation to the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Sioux Tribes of South Dakota for damage to tribal land caused by Pick-Sloan projects along the Missouri River.  [We have to pay for unconstitutional projects, and then we have to pay to clean up the mess they make.  Anyone see a problem with this pattern?  If Congress honored their oaths of office, the Sioux Tribes would not have been harmed in the first place.]
• S-616 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize medical simulation enhancement programs, and for other purposes.
• S-613 – A bill to prohibit the use of Federal funds to approve certain biologics license applications by the Food and Drug Administration.  [It's sad that bills like this are deemed necessary.  Isn't it already clear that there's no provision in the Constitution for the Federal Government to be involved in this  type of thing in the first place?]
• S-611 – A bill to provide for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy, HIV rates, and other sexually transmitted diseases, and for other purposes.
• S-609 – A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a Nonprofit Capacity Building Program.
• S-608 – A bill to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to exclude secondary sales, repair services, and certain vehicles from the ban on lead in children’s products, and for other purposes.
• S-607 – A bill to amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture regarding additional recreational uses of National Forest System land that are subject to ski area permits, and for other purposes.
• HR254 – Recognizing the designation of March 2009 as Irish American Heritage Month and honoring the significance of Irish Americans in the history and progress of the United States.
• HR255 – Expressing support for designation of the month of September as “National Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month” and supporting efforts to educate the public about atrial fibrillation.  [I have to wonder if Congress realizes there are only twelve months in a year.]

Read More »

Ron Paul appeared on CNN American Morning today to talk about the recent AIG tax on bonuses bill and his own remarks on the House floor yesterday. As usual Dr. Paul tells it like it is to the CNN viewing audience.

At one point he says that there is a lot of blame to go around, including some blame for the American people for not holding their representatives to the fire for supporting such misdirected legislation. I couldn’t agree more, but I worry about his comment sparking up the idiotic “Ron Paul blames America”  crowd again.

Hopefully it is understood by the masses that Ron Paul is right and we need to start becoming more active in contacting representatives on specific legislation.

I did enjoy how they showed Ron Paul’s own words regarding the stimulus bill back in February on the program and implied he predicted the mess. Check out his appearance below.

Ron Paul’s HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act now has 33 co-sponsors. They are listed below. If your representative is not on the list then contact them and ask them to support the bill. Ron Paul is fighting for you with this legislation. Why not fight for him in getting this important bill brought to the floor for a vote?

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [D, HI-1]
Rep Alexander, Rodney [R, LA-5]
Rep Bachmann, Michele [R, MN-6]
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [R, MD-6]
Rep Broun, Paul C. [R, GA-10]
Rep Burton, Dan [R, IN-5]
Rep Chaffetz, Jason [R, UT-3]
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [D, OR-4]
Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. [R, TN-2]
Rep Foxx, Virginia [R, NC-5]
Rep Garrett, Scott [R, NJ-5]
Rep Grayson, Alan [D, FL-8]
Rep Heller, Dean [R, NV-2]
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R, NC-3]
Rep Kagen, Steve [D, WI-8]
Rep Kingston, Jack [R, GA-1]
Rep Marchant, Kenny [R, TX-24]
Rep McClintock, Tom [R, CA-4]
Rep Petri, Thomas E. [R, WI-6]
Rep Poe, Ted [R, TX-2]
Rep Posey, Bill [R, FL-15]
Rep Price, Tom [R, GA-6]
Rep Rehberg, Denny [R, MT]
Rep Rohrabacher, Dana [R, CA-46]
Rep Stearns, Cliff [R, FL-6]
Rep Taylor, Gene [D, MS-4]
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [D, CA-6]
Rep Young, Don [R, AK]
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN-7] – 3/16/2009
Rep Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-13] – 3/17/2009
Rep Castle, Michael N. [R-DE] – 3/17/2009
Rep Fleming, John [R-LA-4] – 3/18/2009
Rep Wamp, Zach [R-TN-3] – 3/16/2009

Keep on pushing for more!

Penn Jillette appeared with Glenn Beck on Beck’s TV show earlier today to discuss the accusations of domestic terrorism / militia movement warned about in the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) report released recently. The report profiles those “types” of people likely to be involved in anti-government militia groups. It specifically states that supporters of Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin are suspect.

Once again Glenn Beck shows support for the Founders’ version of America. He even dons a Gadsden “Don’t Tread On Me” flag T-shirt during the clip.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m on a super secret anti-government list for the things I’ve stated here on Liberty Maven over the past couple of years. I had a Ron Paul bumper sticker on my car. I had a Bob Barr bumper sticker on my car. I attended rallies and meetups. I’m an enemy of the state I guess. Oh well. Of course, I’m also a happily married tax-paying, upstanding citizen with two young children with a good job (for now).

If I’m on the list then I’m honored to be there. If I’m not, it must be due to government ineptitude. Lovers of liberty should look at such a list as a petition to sign rather than something to be avoided. Where do I sign?

Watch the free, patriotic, and entertaining goodness below.

Ron Paul spoke from the house floor today regarding the AIG tax on bonuses bill that was later passed because we need to do “something” about a few million instead of focusing on the real problem of a few trillion.

He’s quite disgusted as you can tell by the tone of his voice. Every American should be disgusted at this. Hopefully, people will begin vomiting en masse soon like those of us paying attention right now. Disgusting.

Watch Ron Paul do what he does best below. Incidentally I like how he again ties his speech to the Fed transparency bill he proposed.

Yesterday afternoon the Federal Reserve printed over a trillion dollars out of thin air. Gold subsequently shot up about $50 and the dollar tanked. Earlier today Glenn Beck did a wonderful piece on this news.

He picked apart the Fed move and put it in terms anyone can understand. He educated the masses. The lesson was the very same lesson that Ron Paul has been giving for many years.

Watch Beck below sounding very much like Ron Paul. Our children have just been robbed. When our children get mugged like this, our country gets mugged. In the clip Beck claims the Fed wrote an I.O.U.

In my mind it is more like an I.O.F.U.

Judge Napolitano’s show today was another great one. His guests included Alex Jones, Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, Lew Rockwell, Cody Willard, and Mark Skousen.

The show opened with Alex Jones cross-broadcasting the show on his own radio show for the first 10 minutes. The Judge then ranted for about 4 minutes regarding the Constitution and applying it to contract law (posted earlier).

Then Lew Rockwell enters the discussion about AIG and their bonuses. They bring in Peter Schiff and Dr. Ron Paul for the final 30 minutes.

I found the discussion very interesting because they all did not agree about whether or not the AIG bonuses should be returned and/or taxed.

I really hope the show is eventually added to the FOX News TV lineup.

Watch the full hour below.

NOTE: If the playlist doesn’t work properly please go here to watch all 6 videos. Sometimes the embedded Youtube playlist misbehaves.

Today on Freedom Watch Judge Andrew Napolitano delivered an exquisite rant on natural law and freedom of contract in the Constitution.

He rips the Obama administration for trampling on the Constitution. It is a must see. Watch it below. Video for the entire show will be posted a bit later once it is posted at FreedomWatchOnFox.com.

Yesterday Glenn Beck put together one of his better monologues complete with a rotund Barney Frank white board drawing. He had Judge Andrew Napolitano sitting by for backup.

Beck explains why Obama and Democrats (like Frank) are using the art of political misdirection to push us away from the real problems we are facing. He does it in an entertaining and informative way.

Beck shows the history of AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the connections they have to the housing bubble assisted by the very members of Congress that today are crying foul.

I found myself earlier today yelling at my car radio that Obama and the Feds have no right to tell AIG to return their bonuses or tax them especially high. First of all, it’s unconsitutional (as the Judge points out). Secondly, where does the interference end? Apparently, once the bailout/nationalization door is pushed open it stays open. The government is the gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately, the gifts that are being given are owned by us, not the government. There is another word for that: theft.

Watch Beck at his best below. It is in two parts (the embedded playlist should play both for you).