This week in your failed Congress

Act 1, pizza is a vegetable!  Your Congress properly lobbied by various food industry groups and faced with some common sense from the Agriculture Department who set standards for publicly funded school lunches has declared that pizza is a vegetable for purposes of school lunch standards since it includes two tablespoons of tomato paste.  OK, Common Sense likes pizza and ate one last night.  They are tasty and are high on the comfort food list.  They are also, as anyone with any experience and a lick of common sense knows, mostly bread and when not well made starchy beyond belief.  On a positive note it's good to see that congress did something even if it's plainly stupid and not in the interest of good nutrition for school students that need good nutrition.

Act 2, a not so super "Super Committee."  Lets start with a bit of history.  Some months ago House Republicans created a crisis refusing to raise the nations debt ceiling.  After much political posturing it was raised and a Super Committee created to cut spending and raise revenues.  As anyone with a lick of common sense should have expected given the committee makeup the committee Republicans refused to raise taxes (Common Sense notes that it is NOT a tax hike when a temporary tax cut passed to soften the recession is allowed to expire on its planned expiration date) while the committee Democrats proposed a mix of tax increases and spending cuts.  The committee failed to reach any agreement.  As a consequence a number of social and military tax cuts will automatically take effect in 2013.  The House Republican response is to propose a law with would undo the military cuts.

Common Sense is beyond fed up with Congress.  Congress seems to be able to engage in "pizza is a vegetable" foolishness to support the interest of the commercial food industry, it is utterly unable to address the single most serious issue facing the United States government.  It's long past time when each of us needs to act to change Congress, particularly those Representatives that block reasonable revenue increases and expense cuts.  That's just common sense.

Related articles

• Congress pushes back on healthier school lunches (AP)
• SNL's Seth Meyers Mocks Congress for Saying Pizza is a Vegetable (crooksandliars.com)
• Pizza A Vegetable? 11 Other Things That Aren't Either (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
• USDA's healthy school lunches turn into starchy, tomato-ey... (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• Who is to Blame for the Failure of the Super Committee? (usnews.com)
• Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree (politics.slashdot.org)
• Super committee: So close, yet so far (business.financialpost.com)

Supreme Court Hears Landmark GPS Tracking Case - YouTube

Supreme Court Hears Landmark GPS Tracking Case - YouTube:

Justices to decide police use of GPS devices on suspects' cars - CNN.com:

Yesterday the US Supreme Court heard arguments on police use of GPS devices to track suspects' cars.  The case is based on the unreasonable search and seizure clause in the constitution.  Government agents attached a GPS tracker to a criminal's car without obtaining a warrant and arrested the man after tracking his movements charging drum trafficking.  Lower courts have held that the tracking device was illegal.  The government appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

This case is interesting on several grounds.  It pits technology innovation against privacy rights, which incidentally are NOT guaranteed by the constitution unless one takes a rather broad view of the fourth amendment's search and seizure provisions.

Consider first should it be legal for police to follow a criminal suspect without obtaining a warrant?  Certainly if there are exigent circumstances such as the person is seen fleeing a crime scene the answer would be yes.  But what if a person is simply driving down the street and a police officer decides to follow to see if the driver violates a traffic law?  Would that be entrapment?  How would you feel if you were the driver?  How about if the driver was a known criminal who had previous convictions and was suspected of dealing drugs as is the case here?

Consider as well traffic and surveillance cameras including both private and government deployed cameras.  They are increasingly common and the  courts have held evidence acquired from such cameras admissible.  Such materials may be used without resort to a warrant.  But if the government wants to setup a camera to monitor a specific place a warrant is required.  Is attaching a GPS tracker to a car similar in that it involves specific real property?

A warrant is required for a telephone tap.  But how about listening in on wireless phone calls?  Such calls can be monitored by anyone with an appropriate receiver.  Should privacy rights be dependent on the technology used to make a telephone call?

How far should privacy extend?  When should a warrant be required?

In its arguments the government maintained that it has the right to attach a GPS to any vehicle without a warrant.   Common Sense believes that in this case the government is entirely wrong.   Surveillance that targets a specific person, place, property, etc. should always require a warrant under the fourth amendment.  Absent such protection the government is free to adopt technical means to subvert the fourth amendment and the probable cause protections provided by warrants.

Related articles

• High Court Troubled by Warrantless Gps Tracking (maboulette.wordpress.com)
• Supreme Court Casts a Wary Eye on Tracking by GPS (nytimes.com)

Inside Job - See it and understand what the Occupy movement is all about

If you've not seen the documentary Inside Job you should!  Wikipedia provides the following description

Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson. The film is described by Ferguson as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption."^[3]In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis. Inside Job was well received by film critics who praised its pacing, research, and exposition of complex material.

Common Sense has posted on these matters previously.  This outstanding film provides a comprehensive summary of the outrageous conduct of large financial services firms, the corruption of government regulators, and the malfeasance of elected and appointed government.

If you've ever wondered what the Occupy movement is all about, this film is a must see.

Related articles

• Inside Job (scienceoftruth.wordpress.com)
• Ron Galloway: Is Your Documentary Film a Hobby? A Judge Thinks So (huffingtonpost.com)
• An Oscar-winning documentary investigates the credit crunch: We have five copies up for grabs (confused.com)

Class warfare and social inequality

Common Sense commented on class warfare in a post yesterday.  This mourning's news had Rep. Boehner nattering on about class warfare.  A bit of research lead to this very interesting and relevant presentation on Ted Talks: "Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies."  Mr Wilkinson provides some compelling data on the health of a society and inequality.  Here's the video:

Related articles

• 'How economic inequality harms societies', Richard Wilkinson (andrewazzopardi.wordpress.com)

Class Warfare

Boehner: Obama wrong to push 'class warfare'
By Tom Cohen, CNN
November 6, 2011 -- Updated 1548 GMT (2348 HKT)

Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner says he and President Barack Obama have a "pretty good relationship," but he also criticized Obama for fomenting what Boehner called "class warfare" in the political debate over spending, taxes and job creation. 

In an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program, Boehner defended Republican opposition to efforts by Obama and Democrats to increase taxes on wealthy Americans as part of deficit reduction and job creation measures.

"Come on. The top 1% paid 38% of income taxes in America," Boehner, R-Ohio, said in the interview taped Friday when asked about the persistent GOP stand against tax increases. "How much more do you want them to pay?"

Common Sense says "Really?"

Common Sense notes that class warfare isn't new.  Mr Obama certainly didn't invent it.  Don't think so?  Consider Warren Buffett's famous remark "There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."


So the top 1% paid 38% of income taxes in America.  OK, but they control 48% of the wealth.  And the fact that they paid 38% of taxes says nothing about their tax rate.  Many many Americans have total tax rates well over 38%.


Common Sense notes that the distribution of wealth has become so skewed that social unrest and class warfare is inevitable.  Consider this:

That wealth is unevenly distributed in a free market society is to be expected.  But, when it becomes this skewed as a result of long term structural inequality social unrest invariably occurs.  Common Sense thinks that ultimately that is what the Occupy movement is all about.  


Mr Boehner and many radical conservatives fail to realize that the essence of democracy is fairness, that democracy depends on the govern believing that society and government is reasonably fair.  Sadly, that is no longer the case in contemporary America.  While that remains so, class warfare and civil unrest are inevitable.  That's unfortunately common sense.

Related articles

• Boehner says his friendship with Obama has cooled (sfgate.com)
• Giuliani accuses Obama of class warfare (piedtype.com)
• Elizabeth Warren Rips GOP 'Class Warfare' Charge (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)

Candidate Cain: race v. sexual harrasment

Cain has tried to make his surprising presidential run to be about anything but race. He has chided other African-Americans for blaming their circumstances on race, has blasted black voters for being "brainwashed" for voting for Democrat, and he has garnered applause from his mostly white audiences by lighting into identity politics.

Common Sense is not so much surprised as dismayed by Mr Cain's posturing trying to shift focus from his sexual behavior to race.  While it is certainly true that sexual misconduct is not a bar to political office, note most recently Mr. Clinton's troubles, it is true that there is a difference between sexual impropriety between consenting adults and sexual harassment.  It is also true that denying conduct that is a matter of public record is beyond foolish to the point that the denial becomes an issue in one's qualification for the presidency.  To then argue that the questions aren't about one's conduct but race, Common Sense remembers that Mr. Clinton is not black, compounds the problem.  


Common Sense thinks that America deserves more, much much more, from those who would be president than sexual harassment, lying, playing the race card, and posturing so outrageously foolish as to border on wingnut stupidity.

Related articles

• Cain, conservatives look foolish blaming scandal on race (cnn.com)
• TRENDING: Cain: Black community 'brainwashed' into voting for Dems (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• A Commentary on... Herman Cain (acommentaryon.wordpress.com)

Stock market, social security, and presidential campaigns

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shares of daily deals site Groupon closed at $26.11, roughly 31% above their initial offering price in the public debut of the stock on Friday.
Groupon (GRPN) had priced its initial public offering at $20 a share late Thursday, the last step on a rocky journey to its debut. Under the ticker GRPN, Groupon began trading Friday at about 10:45 a.m. ET on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and opened at $28, 40% above the target.

Common Sense has commented from time to time on the foolishness of the stock market.  Here's yet another example.  Don't misunderstand, Groupon is OK.  In fact Common Sense has used the service from time to time.  What Common Sense doesn't understand though is how an internet company that has never made money, that has an intermediary business model that provides no value add, with very low barriers to entry, and competitors including Google and Amazon could possibly be worth $30 billion!  Common sense has clearly left the trading floor!

Of course, this kind of foolishness is nothing new and in the larger scheme not all that unusual.

Common Sense is mindful of several recent proposals by candidates who would be president to privatize social security by allowing some workers to invest in a stock market that values a company that has never made money, has a doubtful business proposition, and has strong competitors at $30 billion.  Common sense clearly need not be part of presidential campaign proposals.

Common Sense also notes that it was foolishness of this sort that lead to the collapse of the real estate market.  Perhaps we shouldn't repeat that experience.

Related articles

• Groupon IPO Cheers Valley, Wall Street (online.wsj.com)
• Groupon raises $700 million in initial public offering (oregonlive.com)
• Groupon launches IPO: Key numbers to know (cbsnews.com)

Why it doesn't matter who is president

We are once again in the midst of a presidential campaign.  I've watched with both amazement and disgust the various Republican presidential candidates and their often bizarre posturing.  Aside from campaign statements that border on lunatic ravings, I'm struck by how completely irrelevant the entire presidential election is.

Consider the issues.

The country is running unsustainable budget deficits.  Both Democrats and Republicans agree.  What they don't agree about is how to balance the budget, balance income and expenses.  Note that there are two parts to this issue, income and expenses.  The president has balanced both cuts in expenses and increases in income.  Congressional Republicans say no to increased income favoring only cuts in expenses.  Congressional Democrats, a minority in the House, are unable to change this posture.

The key point here is that the issue remains unresolved, not because of the president but because of Congress.  The country remains mired in a Great Recession not because of who is president or Presidential action or inaction but because of a completely dysfunctional Congress.

Consider if there were a Republican president.  Would things change?  I think not.  Congress would still be divided and mired in partisan inaction.  While the President's proposed policies might differ absent Congressional action the country would remain gridlocked, stuck in a protracted recession.

In this way, who is president doesn't really matter.  Changing Congress by changing senators and representatives, and changing Congressional Rules does.  It is only by changing Congress that the current gridlock can be changed.

Related articles

• Political gridlock becomes roadblock for stocks (usatoday.com)
• Could Any GOP Candidate's Jobs Plan Pass Congress? - The Atlantic (news.google.com)
• Tribal Self-Determination and Congress (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Will voters respond to a pro-gridlock message? (washingtonmonthly.com)