the 7-17-14 Penny Press

Penny Press
Nevada, USA
Volume 11 Number 45 JULY 17, 2014
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 2
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Doug French
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Pat Choate
Ron Knecht
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16 PAGES
VOLUME 11 NUMBER 45
JULY 17, 2014
Government Share of GDP Over 50%
By FLOYD BROWN
Contributing Editor
Once upon a time, I wrote about
the Cost of Government Day – the
day on which the average American
had worked enough to pay his or her
Commentary
share of the government’s budget –
in June.
But for the sixth consecutive
year, that day has fallen in July. This
time, the official date was July 6, as
calculated by Americans for Tax
Reform. (The Cost of Government
Day had never fallen past June
27 before our current president’s
tenure.)
Ironically, I nearly missed
the announcement this year, as it
occurred on the same weekend
we celebrated our independence
from the high tax policies of King
George III.
And while it’s easy to
disregard this announcement, it has
significance for all of us. The cost of
government impacts us regardless
of our tax bracket, and even if we
pay no taxes at all.
You see, the economy is like
a backpacker climbing a mountain
trail.
The cost of government acts
like rocks in the backpacker’s
pack, and with each new rock (tax),
the hiker’s efforts become more
arduous and difficult, thus slowing
his progress.
Time to Cut the Fat?
In 1848, the brilliant philosopher,
John Stuart Mill, wrote in Principles
of Political Economy: “In all the
more advanced communities,
the great majority of things are
worse done by the intervention of
government, than the individuals
most interested in the matter would
do them, or cause them to be done,
if left to themselves.”
Then, years later, economist
Richard Rahn – the creator
of the Rahn curve – postulated
a connection between the rate of
economic growth and the size and
cost of government.
Rahn believes that there’s
an optimal level of government
spending as a share of gross
domestic product (GDP). When a
government is the right size, it
maximizes its rate of economic
growth. But when a government
grows too large, economic growth
becomes more difficult.
The Conservative Weekly
Voice Of Nevada
Inside:
Not Gonna Back Off
One Single Inch
See Editorial Page 6
Penny Wisdom
There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
—Will Rogers
Rahn calculated that the
optimum inflection point is when
the government’s share of GDP
is between 10% and 20%. Not
coincidentally, from the signing
of the U.S. Constitution until the
1930s, total U.S. government
spending hovered around 10%.
In 2014, however, the
government’s share of GDP has
climbed over 50%. Our backpacker
(the economy) can’t regain his
momentum, and he’s struggling to
make progress. You’ve probably
noticed that the economy has been
unable to reach pre-2008 growth
levels. Instead, we’re having
difficulty growing productivity,
employment, corporate earnings,
and personal income.
Basically, the economy is
stalled, and the main culprit is an
expensive and bloated government.
RON KNECHT
FRED WEINBERG
DOUG FRENCH
LUKE HAMILTON
AL THOMAS
MATT BARBER
CHUCK MUTH
Continued on page4
PAGE 5
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PAGE 7
PAGE 9
PAGE 10
PAGE 11
PAGE 14
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 4
Continued from page 3
Government Is The Problem
Of course, the government does have important tasks to complete.
First, it protects us from enemies of freedom, both foreign and domestic.
Additionally, the government helps us settle disputes between grieved
parties, and it regulates the maintenance of our national infrastructure.
But recently, the government has taken on many roles that it’s
incapable of handling. And after taking on so many nonessential jobs,
the government is now failing to even get the basics right. Consequently,
corruption amongst government officials is growing, and problems are
widespread.
As Ronald Reagan wisely stated, “Government is not a solution to our
problem, government is the problem.”
www.pennypressnv.com
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 5
Commentary: Ron Knecht
We’re Getting
Ripped Off
at Las Vegas
McCarran Airport
It’s not enough that vendors
at the Las Vegas airport charge us
prices that would make highway
robbers blush for things we buy at
their monopoly bazaar. Now some
of them are even charging sales
taxes on top of those inflated prices
– sales taxes they’re forbidden by
law to collect.
Fred Weinberg (publisher of the
Penny Press among other public
services) recently told me he’d been
ripped off by a McCarran Airport
vendor charging him sales tax on
a Diet Coke. So, he contacted the
airport’s concession office.
The classic bureaucratic wordy
reply from the concession manager
began:
“Thank you for taking the
time to notify us of the problems
you encountered during the time
of your recent visit to McCarran
International Airport.
Reports
such as this enable us to scrutinize
the quality of customer service
being provided to the traveling
public. McCarran International
Airport takes customer service very
seriously and it is our intent to
always provide the best service
possible to our valued customers.”
He went on to “apologize for this
incident” and say he had forwarded
Fred’s comments to the general
counsel for Host International,
the concessionaire, who he was
confident would contact Fred. To
Tips Of Our Cap
and
Bronx Cheers
The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To:
LeBron James who finally became a man last week when he made the emotional decision to
return to his hometown and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers despite his ugly and immature
departure four years ago. If he ever wondered why he was not held in the same esteem as
Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, the way he handled his move to Miami was exhibit A. He
atoned for that last week in a very classy way and we hope Cleveland is happy.
The IRS and the FBI for finally indicting Las Vegas strip joint player Rick Rizzolo who has
managed not to pay a judgment to a Las Vegas tourist who was paralyzed by Rizzolo’s goons
more than 10 years ago. This guy is the living embodiment of a Vegas scumbag and how he
has managed to avoid getting his clock cleaned is a textbook case of lawyering money can buy.
The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer
And A Bouquet of Weeds To:
Nevada Department of Wildlife officials and their hypocritical “conservationist” friends
who said that a bear had to be killed last week because it was trying to break into homes
and cars, and even wandered onto a busy private beach in a gated community before
wardens shot it with a tranquilizer dart and later killed it. The beach bear, a 3-year-old
male, “was very bold in its behavior and not showing any fear of humans at all.” These
are the same clowns who will argue all day long that ranchers need to be put out of business to protect the desert tortoise.
date, Fred has not heard from the
lawyer.
Meantime, since my work takes
me through McCarran regularly, I
decided to check this matter myself.
On July 8, I bought a Diet Coke
from Fresh Market on the Go #21,
which was listed at the outrageous
price of $3.59 for a 20-ounce bottle.
Sure enough, they added $0.29 for
tax, bringing the total to $3.88!
I checked our recent grocery
bill to see how much we pay at the
supermarket: It’s $4.00 for a dozen
twelve-ounce cans – of course,
without sales tax. That’s 2.78 cents
per ounce versus the airport figure
of 19.4 cents, or seven times as
much at the airport.
As an economist, I know the
excuses vendors will offer for the
difference. Economies of scale
#1: One bottle versus twelve cans
in a package. Economies of scale
#2: Grocery stores are much larger
operations. Time and place utility:
The vendor provides higher value
by selling you a cold one as you run
to catch your flight. Etc.
But all that together does not
justify a seven-fold differential.
No, the reason for that ridiculous
differential, besides the illegal
sales-tax collection, is that the
airport vendors have market power
conferred by their franchise from
a public entity, the airport – while
the supermarket has to operate in a
highly competitive free market.
If the airport really wanted to
“always provide the best service
possible to our valued customers”
they’d use their franchising powers
to make sure vendors charge
reasonable prices. Not doing so is
an inefficient and ineffective way to
spend our tax dollars.
Why would the airport fail to
protect the public as it should? I’m
betting it gets a share of the revenues
from the vendors, meaning it has a
stake in helping them raise the
prices as high as they can.
Now, back to the original
outrage. Nevada Revised Statutes
372.284(1) states in relevant part:
“There are exempted from the taxes
imposed by this chapter on the gross
receipts from the sales … of food for
human consumption.” While other
language provides exceptions for
restaurant meals, soda pop doesn’t
fit that exception, as demonstrated
by the fact the grocery store does
not charge the tax.
Further, some other airport
vendors also abide by the law
and don’t charge sales tax. For
example, on May 3, I bought a
Diet Coke from the Hudson News
vendor at McCarran and was not
charged tax.
Final questions: Would an audit
would show that the vendors that
illegally charged sales taxes actually
remitted those taxes to the state?
Do the franchising agreements
allow the airport to collect more
when vendors charge us taxes that
aren’t due? And how many tens
of millions of dollars yearly are
we being over-charged by all these
means?
RON KNECHT
OPINION
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 6
From The Publisher...
Take Your Best Shot. I'm Not Backing Off One Inch!
Last week, I suggested that a legitimately conservative approach to
immigration is to open our borders to most comers who really want
to become Americans sending the criminals back and making our new
residents get jobs, an education and become financially independent.
Then, we’ll talk to them about citizenship.
states because they largely decide the benefit levels for many
welfare programs, and states’ levels of ethnic diversity vary
tremendously along racial, ethnic and immigrant lines. For
instance, in 2010 only 1.2% of West Virginia’s population was
foreign-born while 27% of California’s was.
Let me repeat. We are not talking about taking on the Mariel boat
lift people. We are not talking about welfare. We’re talking about
changing the law so that we remove the bias against people coming
from the South.
Furthermore, the amount of TANF benefits also varied by states
with similar demographics. For instance, in 2010 a California
family of three received $694 a month in TANF benefits. But in
Texas, an identical family received only $260. The size of the
Hispanic population in each state is the same: 39%.
Those comments were—as are most of my columns—picked up by the
Those are the unbiased facts. They come from a think take that leans
Western Center for Journalism’s site, westernjournalism.com.
so far right the Clintons and the Obamas cross the street to avoid
And you would have thought, from the comments, that I had suggested walking in front of their building. They believe in limited government.
using the Constitution as kindling to start the American Flag on fire.
If you cling to the idea that immigrants drive up welfare spending,
I started answering some of those comments individually but I think it you’re not a conservative because you aren’t willing to deal with the
facts.
is more sensible to answer them in aggregate.
Here’s my favorite because it was short and to the point:
And then there is the common argument that they “broke the law” and
are “illegal”.
Martha
That may actually be true as far as it goes.
July 12, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Fred Weinberg, huh? I’ll remember that name and never ever click on
another article written by him. His article shows his ignorance and his But here is where that logic falls apart:
comments are sickening.
The way our Federal bureaucracy sees it, the average American
Many of those folks who wrote those comments are well meaning commits at least one felony a day. We have gone out of our way
but hypocritical nutjobs. And I don’t necessarily mean that in the to criminalize normal behavior and we incarcerate more people per
100,000 residents than nations like China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia…
pejorative. We may actually agree on most issues.
you get the picture.
Let’s look at the facts on immigration.
Perhaps prisons are good for capitalism?
There is a perception that immigrants take “our” jobs.
If we changed some stupid laws, would those people who we now call
That’s nonsense. Those jobs aren’t “yours”. This is America. We’re a “illegal” have their productivity rise simply by virtue of a change in
meritocracy. If someone else gets a job you want, than you just got status? Would it be easier to weed out and deport the criminals among
beat. Do you really think—as a conservative—that the government them? The smart money would probably back those propositions.
should step in and get your job back for you? Like a union?
What we are doing certainly isn’t working.
If you do, then you’re not a conservative.
For all I know, “Martha” is a very nice but misguided lady. Maybe she
Then, there’s the perception than “illegals” disproportionately abuse (and the rest of the commenters) genuinely believed in facts that were
our welfare state.
wrong. You know, like liberals think the Hobby Lobby decision by the
Supreme Court took away birth control from women.
First of all, we shouldn’t have a welfare state. It should be a safety net
designed to put people back on their feet. If you can live successfully But the facts are simple. Whatever we choose to do, we must do
for any length of time on “welfare” than shame on us, not shame on something. Our history tells us that we are at our best when we
you. But what are the actual facts?
welcome people who genuinely wish to be here and help them establish
themselves.
The most interesting comments along those lines come from the Cato
Institute, hardly a bastion of liberal thought:
You can, for a short period of time, act like George Wallace (“segregation
now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”) and stand in the
Since 1970, no pattern can be seen between the size of benefits door to the University. How did that work out for him long term?
a family of three gets under welfare programs like Temporary
Aid for Needy Families (TANF) and the level of immigration
FRED WEINBERG
or ethnic and racial diversity. We (Cato) compared individual
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 7
Commentary: Doug French
The Airlines Work for Uncle Sam
Anyone who’s traveled by air this year knows airfares are up,
scheduling is tight, and the seats are even tighter. You’re thinking the
airlines must be printing money, right?
Not exactly. The 26 remaining domestic carriers are lining Uncle
Sam’s pockets, not their own.
The airline business never been the picture of stability. “If you look
at the last 20 years the average net profit margin for airlines in terms of
revenue is zero,” says Brian Pearce, chief economist for International Air
Transport Association (IATA).
Check out the Wikipedia page for defunct airlines of the United States.
I count 118, and that’s just the failed airlines whose names start with the
letter A.
Lots of Fliers, Few Profits
After 9/11, airlines collectively lost $55 billion. There was too much
capacity, and fewer people were willing to venture into the newly formed
TSA Maginot Line that separated the airport front door from the gates.
Now that travelers have become accustomed to the men and women in
blue, 741 million people took to the skies last year. Airline net profits were
$12.7 billion on revenues of $199.7 billion.
Unprofitable routes, empty seats, and many freebies are gone. Baggage
and change fees pad airline bottom lines. “We have every fee known to
man,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive of the travel site FareCompare.
“That tells you why there are profits now.”
Notice he said “there are profits now.” He didn’t say big profits. Jean
Medina, a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, the trade group for the
nation’s airlines, says “It’s worth noting, while finances for the U.S. airline
industry are improving, we still lag the S&P 500 average profit margin,
and face tens of billions of dollars in debt, which airlines are actively
working to pay down.”
While passenger numbers have increased, the number of flights is down
to 9.1 million from 9.3 million in 2012. That means airlines are squeezing
more passengers into fewer planes. The average flight occupancy grew
from 73% a decade ago to 83% last year. Yet profit margins are still slim.
By the way, where are these 83% full flights? Every plane I’ve been on
has been jam-packed.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Robert Wall, “Margins are so
thin that the airline industry expects to make less money [in 2014] than
the oil industry will make from selling [the airline industry] all the fuel it
consumes. IATA projects airlines will generate about $24 billion in profit
for oil producers this year, with the carriers spending an estimated $212
billion on jet fuel—almost 30% of total operating costs.”
Where Does the Ticket Price Go? Mostly to the Government
Where does the money from these expensive tickets go? Bryan Riley,
writing for The Daily Signal, tells us that the government’s cash register
rings every time we step on a plane. According to Airlines for America,
$61.49 of a $300 domestic round-trip ticket goes to federal government
taxes. That’s almost as much as fuel ($63.47) and more than labor ($51.52).
Other expenses total $123.11, leaving 41 cents for profits.
That’s right: Uncle Sam takes 20% off the top, while only 0.1% drops
to the bottom line. And by the way, that doesn’t include taxes on payroll
or jet fuel.
What’s worse than a government picking your pocket? Two governments
picking your pocket, as they do for international flights. Riley uses a
flight from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Panama as an
example. The fare was $201.34, including $90.32 to the governments on
both ends of the journey. That’s an effective tax rate of 81%, again not
including the taxes paid on fuel and payroll.
Admittedly, Panama is more heavy-handed than the US, but not by
much. The government of Panama takes $48.32, while the US government
grabs $42.
Pushing Taxes Backward
You might wonder why airlines don’t just pass on the government
taxes and fees to make a reasonable profit. In a competitive market, a
producer can’t do that. Remember, airlines compete with other forms of
transportation too… and money spent on flying is discretionary income for
most. It doesn’t take much of a fare hike for people to decide, “I’ll wait till
next year to visit Aunt Millie.”
Economist Murray Rothbard pointed out that taxation distorts the
allocation of resources, making it harder for consumers to satisfy their
wants. Rothbard explained it was a myth that taxes can be shifted forward
to consumers. “It should be quite evident that if businesses were able to
pass tax increases along to the consumer in the form of higher prices,
prices would be raised to those levels already without waiting for the spur
of a tax increase.”
Instead, industry-specific taxes, like those imposed on airlines, penalize
the industry. “The tax cannot be shifted forward,” writes Rothbard, “but
tends to be shifted backward to the factors working in the industry.”
This shifting is how airlines are surviving while making less than $6
per passenger. CNN’s Dean Irvine writes, “The profits the industry has
made are mainly because of cost-cutting in the industry through improved
efficiency and consolidation, plus the way that airlines package their
products, most notably through giving passengers more choice in what
kind of options they want with a flight.”
The onerous taxation of airline travel has restricted its supply and
raised its price. The lack of adequate long-term returns keeps capital from
supporting more production that would benefit consumers.
So when traveling by air this summer, don’t blame the airlines for
high ticket prices and cramped seats. Given government’s heavy-handed
interference in this market, entrepreneurs who continue to buck the odds
and provide this service—that adds so much to our mobility and quality
of life—are heroes.
www.pennypressnv.com
DOUG FRENCH
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 8
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 9
Rush Was Right, Krauthammer Was Wrong
By JOHN J. KIRKWOOD
Special to the Penny Press
“He has made judges dependent on his will alone…He has erected a
multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our
people and eat out their substance…For imposing taxes on us without our
consent...For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury…
For establishing an arbitrary government…For altering fundamentally
the forms of our governments…He has plundered our seas, ravaged our
coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people…He has
excited domestic insurrections amongst us.”
Do these charges ring familiar? I listed them on my blog in the days
following Independence Day and one of my readers confessed that he
thought I was railing against Barack Obama until he realized that I was
quoting our Declaration of Independence and the charges made of George
III.
And this is exactly what Rush warned us about before the inauguration
when he said “I hope he fails.” Rush, in the same way that Patton knew
Rommel, knew what Obama would do because he had read his book. It
wasn’t rocket science, Rush had done his homework. He had listened to
Obama’s own words, studied his background, and broken the code.
Those in the “conservative intelligentsia” are in the awkward position
of having to admit either that Rush was right or feign surprise at the new
realization that the Emperor is buck naked and therefore incompetent.
No beltway nabob will ever admit that Rush was right - that the President
is an Alinsky Marxist implementing a Cloward/Piven coup to transform
Uncle Sam into a tranny with an “I ♥ Antonio Gramsci” tramp-stamp
emblazoned above her hot pants.
The truth is that leading Republicans and “conservative” journalists
know that this president is not incompetent. They even know “what” he’s
doing and “why,” but they don’t have the guts to tell the truth.
Bill Kristol, George Will, and Charles Krauthammer would rather
commit ritual Seppuku than admit that Limbaugh has been right from the
start. And to tell the truth now is to admit their own incompetence. So
the party line will be that the President is illustrative of the Peter Principle.
He isn’t following a recipe that he once taught to ACORN operatives out
of Rules for Radicals, he’s merely “Jimmy Carter’s second term.”
Even my guy, the great Ted Cruz, on the Kelly File the other night,
called Barack Obama “An absentee President,” who is not focused on the
people “who are paying the cost for his failed policies.”
Sorry Ted, but that’s hogwash and you know it.
Maybe Senator Cruz has determined that the truth won’t sell or that
Democrats will use that kind of rhetoric to their advantage, but wouldn’t
it be refreshing to have a voice or a pen that communicated with the same
clarity that Thomas Jefferson did against George III?
Obama is purposely destroying the American way of life. He is not
governing, he’s ruling by sabotage. He doesn’t respect the Constitution,
he flanks it. He doesn’t revere our Institutions, he batters them. And
just because he’s golfing, clubbing, and playing pool doesn’t mean that
he’s failed and incompetent any more than Al Capone getting a manicure
or a lap dance meant that he was distracted from ruthlessly ruling and
expanding his influence.
“The whole aim of practical politics,” said H.L. Mencken, “is to
keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by
menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
Obamacare was destined to fail from the start because it was meant to
issue in “single payer.” Run guns to Mexican cartels to foment a backlash
here against the 2nd Amendment. Create chaos at the border to get
amnesty. Gin up Global Warming hysteria to take control of energy. The
goal is to control every aspect of American life and they are well on their
way without nearly a peep out of the opposition party or the lapdog press.
As a friend wrote to me this week, “I don’t think Obama has ever
really worked a day in his life. He’s the spoiled child of an unstable single
mother who, along with his grandparents, pampered him. He is a white
boy who made it through the ranks of the radicals because of his dark skin
and Good-time Charlie attitude. He is where he is because the Alinsky
radicals knew they had The Guy for the job even if it meant they would do
all the work. So yes, his actions are deliberate even if he is just the pretty
face whose rhetoric distracts the sheep while his more competent policy
makers prepare the slaughter.”
Ezekiel, a prophet of Israel, once described a true leader as a
“Watchman on the wall.” His description was of a sentry manning a post
on a wall of a fortified city whose one job was to watch the horizon and
if he saw trouble approaching, to blow his shofar. If he alerted the people
and they didn’t respond, their blood was on their own hands, but if he
didn’t blow the alarm then the people’s blood would be on his hands.
Back in 2009, while George Will was hosting Mr. Obama at an off the
record soiree and handing out finger sandwiches to fellow “conservatives”
- Peggy Noonan, Charles Krauthammer, Rich Lowry, Paul Gigot, David
Brooks, Larry Kudlow and Michael Barone, Rush Limbaugh was blowing
the shofar. When Limbaugh wished that this president failed, he meant
that he hoped that he failed in carrying out his sabotage of the last bastion
of freedom on planet earth.
Incompetence may only be negligence but sabotage is treasonous.
Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, and Sarah Palin are
the lone voices of truth calling this what it truly is – a conscious, premeditated, well-organized coup. And they act as Maximus calling out the
treachery of Commodus but in this case there isn’t even a single Senator
with the brass to join them. I have long thought that there would be a
group of generals and admirals who have been summarily purged from the
Pentagon who would stand up for freedom. I was wrong.
Sharpen your pitchforks, it’s up to us.
www.pennypressnv.com
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 10
Commentary: Al Thomas
PERCENT people are being forced to try to pick winners in the stock
market.
Folks, I have been trading for decades and I will tell you it is NOT
Many months ago I wrote to my subscribers that I felt that the DOW easy to pick winners. Furthermore, stay away from mutual funds unless
17000 was the objective for the stock market move. Well, here we are.
you check out what that fund did in 2008.
The “experts” in Washington and about 98% of economists think the
Professional traders know the secret of the market. It isn’t buying; it is
economy is in good shape which means the stock market will go higher. knowing when to SELL. Without an exit strategy the investor will never
Maybe. They don’t say how much higher, of course. If you have read my make money in the stock market.
book you know what I think of the ‘98%’.
Every broker will say you can’t time the market. That is a flat out lie.
The government is reporting unemployment at 6.1%. The real number You better learn or you will die broke.
is about 13%, probably more that now includes a huge number of part
The stock market is being forced up. This is the magician who wants
timers.
you to watch his right hand while he manipulates what is really happening
Those same geniuses say inflation is only about 2%. The shadow with his left. The investor must keep an eye on his money.
number is 6%. Geeze, how do they get 2%? Oh, they left out food and
The best way to do that is with an Open Stop Loss Order. You will
energy. Forget the cost of gas for your vehicle and electricity for your need to determine how much risk you are willing to take - 10% - 15%
home or business.
- 20%. When your equity drops to that level you don’t want to hit the
But don’t worry. Janet Yellin (you remember her, the head of the snooze button. You want to run for the exit with your money.
Federal Reserve) says, “I am creating extra money for everyone. I just turn
AL THOMAS
the crank and another 100 million dollar bond pops out. Then I give it to Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!”, 3rd edition, has
the banks and they loan the money to you via your company as it expands helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his
and hires more of your neighbors.” And pigs can fly.
simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at mutualfundmagic.com and
Yes, the Fed is creating new money with only paper and ink, but where discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
is it going? With short term Treasury Bills paying a fraction above ZERO
No Time To Hit The Snooze Button
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 11
Commentary: Matt Barber
Left Moves to Outlaw Christianity
The mask is off. All pretense has been dropped, and the anti-Christian left’s
boundless depth of hatred for individual liberty, our First Amendment and the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is now on full display.
I wrote last week about the Supreme Court’s recent Hobby Lobby opinion,
a rather tepid acknowledgement of every American’s non-negotiable right to
religious free exercise (yes, that includes Christian business owners). I observed,
among other things, that “the secularist left’s utter meltdown over having but a
small measure of control over others wrested away is highly instructive.”
The meltdown continues. This week brings two new developments: 1)
Democrats in Congress have readied a legislative “Hobby Lobby fix” that stands
exactly zero chance of passing and would be struck down as unconstitutional
even if it did, and 2) The ACLU, AFL-CIO, National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force, Lambda Legal and a hodgepodge of other left-wing extremist groups have
withdrawn support for the ironically tagged “Employment Non-Discrimination
Act,” the crown jewel of homofascism, because the bill’s paper-thin “religious
exemption” does not adequately outlaw the practice of Christianity.
The Hobby Lobby ‘fix’
Addressing the high court’s Hobby Lobby decision last Tuesday, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., fumed, “We have so much to do this month,
but the one thing we’re going to do during this work period – sooner rather than
later – is to ensure that women’s lives are not determined by virtue of five white
men.”
To which Justice Clarence Thomas replied, “Say what, honky?”
“This Hobby Lobby decision is outrageous,” continued Reid, “and we’re
going to do something about it.”
Well, “do something about it” they shall try. TalkingPointsMemo.com
reported on legislation Democrats introduced Thursday that would do away with
religious liberty protections altogether:
“The legislation will be sponsored by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and
Mark Udall, D-Colo. According to a summary reviewed by TPM, it prohibits
employers from refusing to provide health services, including contraception [and
abortion pills], to their employees if required by federal law. It clarifies that the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the basis for the Supreme Court’s ruling
against the mandate, and all other federal laws don’t permit businesses to opt out
of the Obamacare requirement.
“The legislation also puts the kibosh on legal challenges by religious
nonprofits, like Wheaton College, instead declaring that the accommodation
they’re provided under the law [there is none] is sufficient to respect their
religious liberties.”
This reactionary response to the Hobby Lobby ruling is, of course, little more
than an election year fundraising scheme for the Democratic National Committee.
Withdrawn support for ENDA
The Washington Post reports, “Several major gay rights groups withdrew
support Tuesday for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would bolster
gay and transgender rights in the workplace, saying they fear that broad religious
exemptions included in the current bill might compel private companies to begin
citing objections similar to those that prevailed in a U.S. Supreme Court case last
week. …
“But the groups said they can no longer back ENDA as currently written
in light of the Supreme Court’s decision last week to strike down a key part of
President Obama’s health-care law. The court ruled that family-owned businesses
do not have to offer their employees contraceptive coverage that conflicts with
the owners’ religious beliefs,” concluded the Post.
Gary Glenn is a candidate for the Michigan State House. He’s also president
of AFA Michigan. Glenn has been a national leader in defense of religious liberty
for well upon two decades. In an email, Glenn wrote, “The extremely limited
religious exemptions typically included in discriminatory homosexual and crossdressing ‘rights’ laws have always been mere window-dressing with no real
protection or effect, as witnessed by the ongoing persecution and discrimination
under such laws against Christian business owners and community organizations
such as the Boy Scouts, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, and even the United
Way.
“But now that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision threatens to
give real teeth to such exemptions, the AFL-CIO’s in-house homosexual activist
group has announced it will no longer support discriminatory ‘sexual orientation’
legislation that includes even limited exemptions for religious institutions.
“If this zero tolerance stance spreads to larger groups such as the Human
Rights Campaign and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force [it now has], this
could become the sticking point which hamstrings future attempts to pass
federal, state, and local homosexual ‘rights’ legislation. These supposed religious
exemptions, which the AFL-CIO’s homosexual lobby at least now says it will
no longer support, have been a key propaganda point in blunting the opposition
of churches and citizens concerned about the obvious threat such laws pose to
religious freedom.”
According to its leftist proponents, ENDA would merely insulate people who
choose to engage in homosexual conduct (sexual orientation) or those who suffer
from gender confusion (gender identity) against employment intolerance. In
truth, however, this legislation effectively would codify the very thing it purports
to combat: workplace discrimination.
Though in its current form ENDA contains an extremely weak religious
exemption that might – and I mean might – partially protect some churches
and religious organizations (until they’re sued by “gay” activists), this so-called
exemption would leave most others, such as Bible bookstores and many Christian
schools and para-church organizations, entirely unprotected. It would additionally
crush individual business owners’ guaranteed First Amendment rights.
Any “religious exemption” is meaningless. Last year Harry Reid promised
homosexual pressure groups that Democrats would remove all protections for
Christians and other people of faith on the flipside – after ENDA passed. The
homosexual news site Washington Blade reported that homosexual activist
Derek Washington of “GetEqual” confirmed Reid’s promise. In a conference call
with homosexual activists, Washington admitted that Reid vowed, as goes any
religious exemption, “the main thing to do was get the vote taken care of, and
then deal with it later. As oftentimes happens, you don’t get something perfect the
first time around, you go back and fix it later, so that was basically his take on it.”
According to the Blade, “That account was corroborated by Faiz Shakir, a
Reid spokesperson, who said the Democratic leader understands the concerns,
but wants to get the bill passed first, then go back and address the exemptions.”
They’ve stopped pretending, folks. This is about criminalizing Christianity.
The Hobby Lobby decision has merely made secular liberals forget themselves
momentarily. It’s blown back the propagandist curtain to expose their truly
sinister aims. Hobby Lobby hasn’t put the “culture war” to rest. It’s taken a gavel
to the “progressive” hornets’ nest.
Break out the popcorn and Jujubes. It’s about to get interesting.
MATT BARBER
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com. He is an author,
columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law.
Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken
his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).
www.pennypressnv.com
THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 12
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Commentary: Chuck Muth
Crony Crapitalist-opoly: Where the Odds
are Stacked Against the Little Guy
The beloved board game Monopoly has spawned all manner of themed
spinoffs. There’s Dog-opoly, Chocolate-opoly, KISS-opoly, Muppetopoly, Elvis-opoly and even Las Vegas-opoly.
There isn’t yet a Nevada-opoly, but if there was, the rules of the game
would have to be changed significantly to be realistic.
First, there would be two competing businesses. Biz #1 would own
Boardwalk and Park Place and have a hotel/casino on each space. Every
other property would be owned by Biz #2, with just one little neighborhood
tavern on each space.
Naturally, the Government would control all of the Railroads and
Utilities and also serve as the Banker and Jailer.
Forget the dice. When it’s their turn, the players would simply
announce how many spaces, between 2 and 12, they wish to advance. Biz
#1 and Biz #2 would offer incentives to get the players to visit one of their
properties. When they do, the player spends the listed amount while on
that space.
Now a player with a lot of cash might be enticed to go to a Biz #1
property in return for dinner for two and a show. Players with less cash
would likely settle for patronizing Biz #2 properties for nothing more
than convenience and an occasional free drink for playing the video poker
machines.
Different strokes for different strokes. Free market competition. But
here’s the twist.
Let’s say a lot people like to go to Biz #2 properties and Biz #1 doesn’t
like having the competition. So in the middle of the game Biz #1 goes to
the Government and gets the Government to force Biz #2 to retroactively
make major operational changes and expensive upgrades to its properties.
To make matters worse, after Biz #2 completes the forced upgrades,
let’s say Biz #1 comes back to the Government and demands that Biz #2 be
forced to make even MORE expensive upgrades and redesigns. A neverending competitor-inspired/government-imposed business nightmare.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a game. It’s exactly what’s been going on
the last couple of years - with Station Casinos being Biz #1 and Dotty’s
Neighborhood Taverns being Biz #2.
Dotty’s is a great Nevada business success story. In 1995, founder
Craig Estey opened six Dotty’s neighborhood taverns in Nevada. At the
time, all the so-called experts predicted his business model would fail.
Instead, Dotty’s took off, and now has dozens of locations all across the
state.
So in 2011, Stations and other Big Gaming operators started agitating
state and local governments to screw with Dotty’s successful business
model and inhibit the small business’s ability to expand and compete
profitably. Outrageous, real-life crony capitalism.
Oh, and get ready to play the newest spin-off version: Taxi-opoly. In
this game, the Government will team up with the state’s taxicab industry
to crush ride-sharing competitors such as Uber and Lyft.
CHUCK MUTH
(Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a conservative grassroots
advocacy organization. He can be reached at www.MuthsTruths.com)
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THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 15
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THE PENNY PRESS,JULY 17, 2014 PAGE 16
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