TOPICAL GUIDE TO AMERICAN POLITICS 

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05/29/06  Ah, yes.  We are back to one U.S. Representative William Jefferson D-LA of Katrina fame.  I did not specifically address his questionable behavior at the time out of a concern of seeming to be over piling on the local politicians, and sounding petty, at a time of great stress.   Go to Katrina.    It seems, however, in an age of scandal, campaign funding abuse and super heated congressional hypocrisy over the cause of much of it, that Rep. Jefferson caught the eye of the FBI.   This lead to an FBI raid, with warrant, on Rep. Jefferson's place of business in search of certain specific evidence.  So now congressmen of all shapes, sizes, sexual orientations and political persuasions have joined in a course of concern about "separation of powers".  This is absolutely pathetic.  The argument would have it that if one of their own were to commit murder and stuff the body in their office closet, they would be immune from investigation.   I have no way of knowing whether or not Rep. Jefferson is guilty of anything, but I expect the same system, designed and funded by Congress, which can come after me as instructed by laws, designed and funded by Congress, to due its assigned duties, designed and funded by Congress, with respect to Congressmen, and Senators too.  It is curious to many in the heartland that Congressmen and Senators need to have this explained to them.   JES

01/06/06  Powerful Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty on January 3rd to federal charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion, particularly involving Indian tribe casinos.   In exchange, his cooperation with authorities was obtained in their ongoing investigation of a number of members of Congress into possible charges of corruption, both Democrats and Republicans.    With less than a year to go before election day, lots of folks are headed for the tall grass.   You see, the alleged misdeeds may or may not be, technically, violations of the law, and nothing that hasn't gone on for decades involving Democrats and Republicans, simply difficult to explain to folks back home in terms of the now stressed mores on Main Street.  In an age of billions of government (yours and mine) dollars afloat in DC, it has not been that hard to slide favors to individuals who have, shall we say, been aggressively supportive in great measure of those who dispense what counts, or to misrepresent the actual value of your services.  Again, technical violations of the law may be elusive; after all, the culture now under investigation wrote the laws, and while they may be crafty, they are not necessarily stupid.

Now all this brings me to a central point of this web site.   It is the long standing belief of The Mountain Observer that the gravest error in American politics throughout the entire 20th century was the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment, explicitly authorizing the income tax.   This took place in the context of a period when the Supreme Court had already been, at least partially, cut loose from its Constitutional moorings.   Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, cynical existential product of the War Between the States, was clear early on with his observation (I paraphrase) --"that the Constitution means only what nine Justices says it means on a particular day".    With the creation of the income tax system, the tools of chicanery were at hand.   Add FDR, top down collectivism, and a legal system run amok.  Congress learned early on the fine art of vague legislation, details to be left to bureaucrats, regulators, lawyers and judges.  From this petri dish of power and influence grew politicians drunk on self importance and influence; by way of example I am reminded of a certain fellow from West Virginia by the name of Byrd, the perfect prototype of the legal thief in the public till, possible only with the willing complicity of his constituents.  But then, by now, the private sector has been well trained in the art of paying ransom to, and seeking the favors of, a government enabled to point guns and threaten jail to those otherwise unwilling to pay a "fair share" of their taxes.  The art of forcibly taking from some to distribute to others, for the right price, under the guise of high minded public policy has been well tuned.  Inevitably this witches brew of easy money and easy morals gave birth to the Lobbyist, legal and registered, of course, and some wonder why today we have a federal system self obligated to trillions of dollars in debt and financial liability exposure.

So it is that certain congressmen, Senators in particular, advance notions of "campaign reform", with the announced purpose of getting "money and influence" out of politics, inevitably at the expense of the First Amendment.  (It seems to work well on camera).   Hypocrisy aside, The Mountain Observer finds this notion to be something on the order of instructing all the cows in the world not to fart.  Elsewhere on this web site I have gone into a greater level of detail about what, and how, to deal with the Sixteenth Amendment (Get rid of it, and all forms of direct taxation).   Meanwhile, we should eliminate all laws and regulations that attempt to restrict the financing of political parties and campaigns while at the same time requiring full and immediate exposure and publication of donations above a very low arbitrary limit.  A free press, including the internet, can take it from there.  However, all of this is a "band-aid" on the real problem, which is big central government run amok, made possible by an income tax that is an octopus about the throats of the citizenry.  What we need to do is to find our way back to the Constitution, and it's original intent.  It is possible that this will someday require bankruptcy, lots of it, public and private.

Now as for Mr. Abramoff, I have no feeling of sympathy for him, except that I would insist that the justice system should proceed according to the law, where ever that might take us.  I am more concerned with the thoroughness and completeness of justice in these matters than I am about whose political ox gets gored.   Let the chips fall where they may.   JES

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