How A Bill Becomes Law!

I remember growing up learning from the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons every Saturday morning. Kids today would not understand waiting for each Saturday to watch cartoons with the advent of Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. Who can forget singing along with Zero My Hero or Conjuction Junction all the while hooking up words and phrases and clauses .

This cartoon from the Schoolhouse Rock illustrates, rather simplistically, how a bill becomes a law. Even though it is rather simple it does the job on civics that is no longer taught in most of our schools today. However this whole idea of creating a law has been lost on Cruella D'Pelosi and the rest of B-Rock's band of merry men.

Somehow they think that they can take the Senate version of the Health Care Reform Bill and make it law by saying that they have voted on it without really voting on it. Add some amendments and Hocus Pokus! New laws being created without due process and without regard for a representative style of governing and without regard for the Constitution.

If they could get the Health Care bill passed through the normal means then I have no problem with the process but when they decide that they can pass a bill, call it reconciliation, add some amendments and then say they voted on it without ever holding a vote is tyrannical style of governing.

We have to stand up to this tyranny! Even this cartoon tells you how a bill becomes law and it does not say at any point the bill does not get voted on by the House of Representatives.

Long live Schoolhouse Rock!

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No Saturday Mail!

In the movie, The Postman, Kevin Costner played an post-apocalyptic letter carrier who conned people into believing that the government was still delivering mail. The movie was ironically set in 2013 which is only a few years from now. The new Postal Service had no money and no government yet they decided to resume delivering mail which ultimately led to the restoration of the United States.

Now in our current economic climate with revenue declining and losses mounting, the U.S. Postal Service wants to end Saturday deliveries in order to save $3.3 billion a year. In most free market business decisions this would be a done deal. However because the postal service is a quasi-government (so it says it is a independent entity of the executive branch) it will require Congressional approval and a change in law to do so. Which means this is only a pipe dream.

The Postal Service continues to borrow from the Federal Treasury each year to fund its deficit operations. Most businesses would have already sought bankruptcy protection to keep afloat. Raising postal rates does little to grow revenue as most free market establishments would not always seek to raise prices alone but would seek to cut costs and improve service first. But since it lacks competition in the delivery of mail there is little incentive to provide better service.

We have all waited in long lines for a postal worker to treat our presence as if we were interrupting their work. Also, to be left waiting while each of the union workers take their breaks during peak hours leaving customers frustrated and angry. Yet we wait.

What the U.S. Postal Service should do is focus on improving customer service. Turn each post office into self-sustaining profit centers. If it does not make money then close it and let another office handle those customers. It is apparent that many of the things we once used the Postal Service for are no longer needed or can be achieved by utilizing UPS or FedEX. Who both have far superior service and reliability even though their rates can sometimes be higher.

Maybe we should just allow mail delivery competition. This would force the Postal Service to improve its service levels. The Postal Service is the second largest employer in the country. It has a $1.0 billion payroll budget weekly. Yet there has not been any talk of reducing headcount to help hold down expenses. This would be silly talk because the workers are union workers and no union worker should never lose his job, not ever.

The talk of stopping Saturday delivery is a good start but the real issues are starring the postal service square in the face. With the advent of email, e-cards and more reliable delivery services, the U.S. Postal Service role has diminished. Now it is time for it to get in line with their new reality and face the paradigm shift that has already occurred. Improve customer service levels and overall satisfaction rates among consumers. Close some of the 36,000 branch offices and make them self sustaining. Either improve or go out of business. I am sure there are plenty of businesses that could be started to replace this inefficient business.

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Truth be told, I want a college football playoff system. Just like is done with March Madness for basketball. But the reality is that this will probably not happen unless the Obama administration has its way.

These guys which will not prosecute voter intimidating New Black Panther Party members will now open investigations into whether the Bowl Championship Series violates antitrust laws. This coming on the heels of granting the "underwear bomber" Miranda rights instead of sending his butt off to a military tribunal somewhere.

The BCS agreement is a contractual agreement with the schools and conferences involved. Professor Obama should know that a contract is binding if there was no evidence of fraud and if both parties involved have a meeting of the minds. Every school that has signed up to play in a conference knows what is involved and they understand what the benefits and pitfalls are by joining. But these guys want to go after antitrust violations for the BCS and force the nations colleges and universities into a bowl playoff system.

The BCS pays out close to $150 million dollars to the nations colleges and universities for having a top performing college football program. Are all conferences created equally? Hell to the naw! Just because Boise State or TCU can go undefeated in a season does not put them on the same footing or T.V. draw of a one loss University of Florida team or even a two loss Georgia Tech team. You see, its all about the money.

The major conferences get huge chunks of funds when their teams qualify for a BCS bowl game. The T.V. network benefits by broadcasting the best teams to the American public. Most of the major conferences share the money generated equally among their members. So the more teams that make it from each conference the better for the conference financially.

I do not see this as an issue that the Justice Department should be taking up considering the cases it has before it right now. Using valuable legal time trying to determine if a binding contract violates antitrust laws while at the same time granting a known terrorist full legal rights in the U.S. court system clearly shows that this administration is still out of touch with what it should be doing for the American people.

Open note to the president. Get out of the private matters of the American business and institutions. Refocus the Justice Department on legal matters that need addressing not the vagueness of how we decide who is the best college football program in the nation.

Back in the day when the college coaches voted in one poll and the sports writers voted in another we seemed to come to a conclusion of sorts and people were somewhat happy. But now that the BCS is in effect I am good with this process as well because in the end every college football fan knows that his or her school is number 1. Go 'Noles. I still love the Garnett and Gold. Enjoy your retirement Coach Bowden!

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Supreme Delight

For a Harvard trained lawyer who has not stood before a judge and tried cases it was amazing to hear our Supreme Potentate B-Rock Obama chastise the Supreme Court Justices during his State of the Union speech on a recent ruling that overturned some of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act.

This coming from a man that called himself a Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Even though the school listed him only as a senior lecturer. Yet I wonder what Constitution he lectured about.

According to Obama's fomer boss, Judson Miner, of the Miner, Barnhill & Galland law firm, B-Rock "wrote lots of substantial memos but did not try any cases." B-Rock himself admitted that he regretted that he did not do more trial work. Now because he lectured on the country's Constitution he considers himself more knowledgeable than the nine men and women who wear the robe. All the while never really working as a trial lawyer. Well Mr. President that s why we sit nine members and not one. And that is why as you indicted there is a separation of powers.

Our form of government is the best form of governing in the world because of the separation of powers. The Executive branch does not interpret law, nor does the Legislative branch which writes the laws that may end up needing interpretation as it pertains to our Constitution. The nine member panel did their jobs of taking a law and interpreting it as it pertains to the Constitution and more importantly the First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I am not opposed to the President expressing his opinion but to call the Supreme Court out as if they were an ignorant group of morons was appalling. B-Rock owes these men and women an apology and just maybe they can have a beer on the White House lawn to iron out their differences with the good professor.

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Happy Anniversary Mr. President

A year ago today this country ushered in a new era of extremism. Extreme in the way that Liberals took over the White House and months later (thanks Al Franken) the Senate. They already had control over the House of Representatives. They had everything that a fat kid in a candy store could want except self-control.

B-Rock had it made with this spending bus driving down a mountain road with two accelerators, no brakes and no steering wheel. As soon as B-Rock took his seat as our leader he immediately reminded republicans, "I won!" He went on to issue executive orders, push through trillion dollar deficit spending and had asked for and was beginning to get his beloved health care reform.

Americans were not having it. We threw tea parties, organized grass root protests at town hall meetings and made a huge amount of noise in protest of this spending bus and liberal government intrusion into our lives.

Since I did not get you a present or a cake from my favorite bakery; I hope you can find solace in the present the people of Massachusetts gave you. I am sure that you were terribly disappointed that your personal appearance alone could not guarantee a win for Ms. Coakley. But you should not have over estimated your personal appeal after the Olympic debacle even though you did receive a Nobel Peace Prize for your potential all while you escalated the War in Afghanistan. I guess the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey were not enough of a wake up call for you.

Consider this election of a Republican to a historically held Democratic senate seat your anniversary present. Congratulations to Scott Brown! Remember that this is a referendum to your policies, agenda and leadership this past year. Your transparency and open governing never happened and Americans are saying we want less government and less spending. We want more of our hard earned dollars in our pockets not being spread around.

So all I can say is Happy Anniversary Mr. President! I hope you learned a lot about the American people over this past year!

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