The Song of the Syren

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?" --Patrick Henry

si⋅ren [sahy-ruhn] syren (alternate spelling)

Classical Mythology, one of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing.

Throughout history, civilizations have been seduced by the Song of the Syren. Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Amin, Saddam, Franco, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Ngirumpatse, on and on and on. What these despots had in common was a song that was very soothing to their population. Typically, these monsters raise their heads at a time of economic collapse or civil unrest, or both.

The song is always the same: a promise to bring their respective country/state/region back from the abyss, a firm commitment to be a leader for the people. The lyrics reflect a sort of hope to these people who have none. The tune always begins with a melodic, yet hypnotic tempo that sets their collective minds at ease. One could imagine a symphonic largess filled with strings and woodwinds. Now that the new “leader” has the attention and support of the crowd, the tempo begins to change.

It speeds up, with more percussion, a marching band in motion. He selects his most ardent supporters to stand firm by his side, the volume of the music increases, the cadence much more distinct, but the theme has morphed into a much darker and sardonic one. Cello and bass overtake the violins and flutes. The Song of the Syren ends abruptly, every time, with a staccato-like finality.

As the director leaves the stage, the scenes unfolds with timeless duplicity; thousands of bloated corpses floating down the Kagera River in Rwanda, mountains of rotting bodies at Auschwitz, fields filled with the skulls of intellectuals in Cambodia, millions starved to death in the Ukraine, countless dead during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. And so it goes.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant -- and free ... it expects what never was and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson

The song is always the same. Those that are in need or in a state of despair hear the seductive notes as a solution that they perhaps did not hear the day before. The messiah has come. Never again will they have to worry about war and famine, disease and pestilence for the savior has arrived and sings the song of salvation up until the point when the realization of oppression and genocide appears. By then it is too late.

We have had the good fortune here in the U.S. to have had a group of men who studied and understood the ramifications of what such regimes had to offer its citizens. After years and years of debate, the U.S. Constitution was born, and has outlived countless dictators and despots. Why? Personal freedom and the right to choose our own individual destinies. It all boils down to choices we are permitted to make on a daily basis. The decisions we make are either right, wrong of indifferent. Some can impact our lives in such a negative fashion that we may never be able to dig out. These choices are being taken away bit by bit.

"Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."--Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

Today my toilet allows me one gallon per flush. I’m not supposed to fill up my car until after 6:00 PM if the air quality index is in the red zone. I can’t decide whether to smoke or not smoke in the bowling alley because the state has decided I cannot. My guns must be registered or deemed to be illegal. I don’t have choice which assault rifle to purchase, or whether or not I can smoke a Havana. My insurance company chooses for me what doctor to see and where to go for treatment. I can’t make a decision to carry shampoo on an airplane. I’m not allowed to make a choice on whether or not my Federal government spends us into oblivion.

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." --Thomas Jefferson

We, as a country, could fall into that same hypnotic state, like sleepwalkers. Lack of due diligence on the part of the rest of us could be deadly. We must stay focused, keep our eye on history, and to be forever committed to the cause, and that is the restoration of government to its rightful owners; we the people. If we lose sight of that, the U.S. could become the Late, Great United States.

The Ukrainians or Jews or Cambodians or Rwandans didn’t see it coming either. They listened to the song. They were attracted to the lyrics. They loved the beat. It was easy and pleasant to dance to. What separates us from them is a unique document, firm resolve, and commitment to turn our ears from the music. At least I hope we still have enough Americans that believe to maintain the necessary diligence to turn back any attempts to further degrade the freedoms we take for granted, for, after all, the song remains the same.

“There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream "Oppression!"
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights.

"The oaks are just too greedy;

We will make them give us light."

Now there's no more oak oppression,

For they passed a noble law,

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet, axe, and saw.”-

Neil Peart (Rush)

Happy Bill of Rights Day

“We the people.........” three words that changed the course of human history as none had done before.

As a group of forty two delegates sat in Philadelphia, all from different regions of the American colonies, from different cultures and ancestry, in what would become Independence Hall, they had but one purpose: to draft a document that would redefine government as the world had known it since the dawn of civilization.

The founders and framers understood through painful lessons of history that the monarchies and kingdoms and papal edicts were a study of what not to do. By the very nature of their existence, these forms of governing were inherently tyrannical and oppressive. By the whims of kings and queens and clergy, freedoms could be erased if those in power “felt like it.”

The Church of England had the power to arrest, detain, imprison, and execute those who spoke or wrote anything contrary to the mandates of the

church.

The Spanish Inquisition is a stark and frightening example of what Papal decree wrought on the populace.

Commoners paid enormously for the right to feed their families, for the kings of the time took whatever they felt they needed or wanted.

“.....In order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility........”

The Constitution was written in direct defiance to the traditional European form of government. Self government was just a theory, as it really hadn’t been attempted on the scale in which the founders proposed. Imagine a government “by the people”, a government which “governs by the consent of the governed”. What a concept to consider. John Locke’s vision of a “social contract”,

considered empirically radical in the late part of the 17th century fanned the flames for the revolutionaries in the American colonies. Voltaire, Rosseau, and Locke were a few of the forward thinkers the founders relied on to draft the Declaration of Independence.

“Bills of rights are in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects, abridgments of prerogative in favor of privilege, reservations of rights not surrendered to the prince. Such was "Magna Charta", obtained by the Barons, swords in hand, from King John"– Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton, being a Federalist, relied on British Common Law which did not define or quantify natural rights. He felt the Bill of Rights was unnecessary as it would limit the freedoms of the people. Federalist held the belief that the government knew what was best for the people, and the Bill of Rights would stifle central power.

During the drafting and finalization of the U.S. Constitution, there were those involved who felt the Constitution did not protect the basic liberties of the citizenry, and therefore should not be ratified. At the convention of 1787, James Madison proposed a “Bill of Rights” to ensure the freedoms that were not enumerated in the original text of the Constitution. The anti-Federalists, on the other hand, felt that a “Bill of Rights” was an absolute necessity to guarantee the freedoms not delineated in the Constitution. As Thomas Jefferson relayed in a letter to Madison:

"Half a loaf is better than no bread. If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can."

So as politics go, an honest compromise was reached to include the Ninth Amendment:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

In essence, it was a win-win for the people. Both “parties” achieved the result they were looking for, and strangely enough, good and just.

Today we celebrate the 218^th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. These ten amendments essentially expanded the liberties we all enjoy today. Without these amendments, the Federal government had the flexibility to enumerate “freedoms” in such a way to be advantageous for the power of a central government. Jefferson and Madison were correct in pushing for the inclusion of these rights. Although our contemporaries may have forgotten that they exist at all, the Bill of Rights does indeed live and thrive in our daily lives.

“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences” – Thomas Jefferson

Conceal and Carry laws, which covers the 2^nd and 10^th amendments are a good example. The fact that there are countless religious sects and denominations takes care of the 1^st. Illegal search and seizure is questionable at best. Due process and trial by jury are another good example of rights observed on a daily basis. Cruel and unusual punishment is always a topic of contention.

By and large, the Bill of Rights was an historic addition to an already historic document. We the people need to get busy and emphasize the importance of the 10^th amendment that is to give back to the states the rights we were guaranteed, and push back on the extortion and oppressive nature of the Federal government who has methodically centralized the power that was intended to be ceded to the states.

As Libertarians, we understand that our ultimate goal is to return the government to its rightful owners. “We the people....”

As Libertarians, we understand the time is now, and the goal is just. We know this is a marathon and the journey will be long and arduous. Think about the enormity of the Bill of Rights, the effort undertaken to make it a reality, the sweat and the blood spilled to protect it, and the battle we are engaged in to maintain its relevance.

“The Bill of Rights is a born rebel. It reeks with sedition. In every clause it shakes its fist in the face of constituted authority... it is the one guaranty of human freedom to the American people.” – Frank Cobb

Regulatory Extortion

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan,
April 6, 1816

Thomas Jefferson was most certainly not born with the gift of prophecy. I’m fairly sure he did not consult an ancient seer residing in some cave far up in the Blue Ridge mountains. He did not read tea leaves, depend on Tarot cards, or employ an astrologer to assist him in day to day decisions.

Jefferson was born with the gift of forward thinking based on personal experience and more importantly, the historical significance derived from the decisions and policies of our predecessors. He may have been referring to what had already transpired during the young and brief history of our nation.

Alexander Hamilton feared anarchy, and as a result took a very liberal view of the U.S. Constitution, most notably granting broad powers to the Federal government. Jefferson, on the other hand, felt that the Constitution’s 10th Amendment was very clear, granting powers not specified to the states. This disagreement led to the formation of the two-party system which we know so well today. Hamilton, Adams, John Jay, et el, were “loose constructionists”. There political philosophy dictated more power to the central government for the “Greater Good”; hence the party was called the Federalists.

Jefferson couldn’t have disagreed more with this thinking. The U.S. Constitution was written with the express purpose of granting the central government with a very limited roll in governing, while allowing each sovereign state to decide what would be more advantageous for them. Jefferson’s party was called the Democratic Republicans.


Jefferson could see very clearly what would and could happen if the Feds were granted expansive powers to usurp the rights of each sovereign state. Fast forward to modern America, and we have the Feds doing exactly what Jefferson feared. For example, The Uniform Drinking Age Act (1984) gave each state a five year window to change their laws to the minimum age of 21. If not, interstate highway funding would be cut off. Another example is to pay off states with a highway slush fund that lowered the legal alcohol blood limit to .08.




How about the “Tobacco Settlement”? The Feds blackmailed the tobacco companies through regulatory extortion by “allowing” them to stay in business if they paid a few hundred million dollars to lawyers, plaintiffs, federal, state and local governments.



The Mother of All Shakedowns may be the Community Reinvestment Act, in which the Feds mandated private banks to loan mortgage money to those who had no intention of repaying it. For those banks who declined to participate, the Feds would regulate them out of business. The CRA has brought us to this point in history where we all face an uncertain future, largely because of our leaders in Washington using political muscle and employing figurative leg breakers to apply pressure to those in private industry who really didn’t want to play the game. Did I mention Microsoft?


There are many more examples of Federal Blackmail, but I think you get the point. Jefferson saw this as a possibility 200 years ago, when Hamilton wanted to start a national bank. Since then, the two party system has morphed into essentially one enormous political machine where right is wrong and wrong is right. We live in a country where 65% of the citizenry believe our current administration is on the right track. We live in a society that would allow for the redistribution of wealth, “because it’s the right thing to do”, where the clever and industrious are punished, where those who go to work everyday to provide for family are penalized. Complacency is the rule, so long as we are “provided for”.

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." – Samuel Adams

Pulpit Politics

“I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged.” -1816, Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Mrs. H. Harrison Smith



Here in Ohio we had Issue 3, which was a statewide referendum on casino gambling. The issue passed, and, (4) cities in Ohio will be granted a license to build Las Vegas type casinos. The cities are Cincinnati (my hometown), Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus. I count (25) states with casino gambling. The impetus for this post is that the Catholic Church issued a press release a couple of weeks ago condemning the ballot initiative. The reason? “Moral, social, and economic reasons”. Being a recovering Catholic, I seem to recall festivals, Monte Carlo nights, weekly Bingo, on and on. The church would have us believe that these activities are not “gambling”, but righteous fund raisers for the salvation of a multitude of souls archdiocese would say the “Vote No on Casinos” stance had nothing to do with the possible diversion of funds that otherwise would end up in the coffers of the church. No hypocrisy here.

Throughout our country’s history, Pulpit Politics has attempted to shape public policy all the way back to pre-revolution, Tory dominated Boston, to the split of the Methodist Episcopals prior to The Civil War, and the current Roman Catholic stance that makes us scratch our collective heads. The heart and soul of the American Revolution which was Boston, was fairly evenly divided on allegiance to the crown and the complete independence from England.

Anglican churches preached fire and brimstone sermons opposing independence, with had nothing to do, once again, with the business of religion. Since the Anglicans were really just an Americanized version of the Church of England, this really was no surprise. The Roman Catholics, however, were accustomed to a huge power base for centuries in Europe, and, in actuality, were responsible for that political structure. So for the Archdiocese to preach from the pulpit about the evils of previously mentioned Issue 3, should not be a big surprise either.



Likewise, the Methodists in the southern states could not agree with their counterparts in the northern states about slavery. Sermons on Sundays were riddled with talk of the moral absurdities of the “peculiar institution” on the north, and spirited speeches about secession in the south. Granted, slavery was a very real and serious moral issue, there was no resolution that was going to come from a pastor, preacher, priest, or any other clergy. This issue was to be settled politically, and no sermon written was going to serve as a replacement for public policy.


Once again, none of this had anything to do with biblical themes or the business of salvation. Publicly, the founders professed no membership in a particular religious denomination. Privately, it may have been a different matter, but based on the First Amendment, religion was intended to be a private matter, that is, not public.

“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.”

The founders had it right. Religion is and should be a personal issue. Religious doctrine should be about religion, not public policy. Political matters are for governments at all levels to determine, and the First Amendment should preclude Pulpit Politics. This guarantees us the right to worship as we please, or not at all. The founders knew that morality was based in human nature. They felt that by allowing us to choose our faith, this would be a means to the end of religious intolerance that was prevalent in the Church of England and the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The freedom is there, but so is the intolerance. Let’s go to the Town Hall to listen to politics, and church for the religion. OK?

“One man's religion is another man's belly laugh.” Robert Heinlein

Healthcare and Hypocrisy

“The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” ~Voltaire

As a child growing up in the 1960’s, I remember trips to the doctor’s office, along with my (5) siblings and my mother and father. Doc Krone would line us up, with a tray full of syringes, and give us shots, one by one. My dad would pay the bill, drive to the pharmacy, pay for the medicine, and we would go home. There were no co-pays, prescription cards, forms to fill out, HMO’s or any other kind of “managed care”. There was no such thing as HSA’s, MSG’s, PPO’s, PPG’s, PPA’s, EPO’s, or BHP’s. We didn’t have HBO, CNN, ESPN, or MSNBC. Our esteemed elected officials in Washington are very close to voting on a comprehensive healthcare reform bill that I call a POS.


Back in the days when a physician’s primary procedure was “bleeding”, the medical knowledge base was very limited. In the surgeon’s tent after a battle, they relied on whiskey as an anesthetics, and musket balls for the patient to bite down on during amputations and removal of shrapnel. These tools of the trade were readily available, and were a good way to keep costs down. At the advent of the industrial revolution, and the technological advances associated with this period led to rapid advancement in medical care and procedures. Chloroform and ether replaced whiskey and muskets balls as the preferred pre-surgery anesthetic. Although this provided an improved level of comfort for the patient, there was a certain amount of increased cost associated with it. As with any technological discoveries and inventions, life becomes easier, healthier, but the component of cost is driven upwards.


The first insurance plans came to the fore during the Civil War, and only to protect those that worked on railroads and steamships, and only in the event of an accident on the job not unlike disability insurance in today’s world.


As urban centers became more populated, families were living in more confined spaces, and an alternative was needed to care for the sick. By the 1920’s there was an advisory board to establish some standards for the practice of medicine. By the 1930’s, a non-profit know as Blue Cross and Blue Shield negotiated discounted pricing on a “fee for service” basis. This system worked quite well for decades. Strong union influence in the 1940’s and 50’s created employer paid insurance plans.



Government programs to cover health care costs began to expand during the 1950s and 1960s. Disability benefits were included in social security coverage for the first time in 1954. When the government created Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, private sources still paid 75 percent of all of the health care costs. By 1995, individuals and companies only paid for about half of the health care with the government responsible for the other half.

"Of several remedies, the physician should choose the least sensational." -Hippocrates

As the cost of healthcare rose dramatically in the 70’s and 80’s, “fee for service” was replaced by “managed care”. Which brings us to 2009. Speaker Pelosi proudly announced the long awaited Healthcare Reform bill, all 1,990 pages of it. At first blush, after perusing some random pages, it would appear that attorneys across the nation would be smacking their lips. Endless litigation, page by page, section by section is the likely outcome of this behemoth. The fact that nobody really knows what is in the bill, including most members of Congress is seemingly irrelevant. That the “cost” is “only” a trillion dollars or so over (10) years is only a detail. When was the last time the CBO accurately predicted anything (10) years out? I recall we were to have a balanced budget by now. The stimulus package was to have a profound and positive impact on the economy and unemployment. I digress. Oh, yeah, the U.S. Constituion was only (8) pages or so.

"I find medicine is the best of all trades because whether you do any good or not you still get your money." (Moliere: "A Physician in Spite of Himself," 1664)

The fact that there is no interstate competition for health insurance, is, on the surface a huge part of the problem. In order to make this happen, states are going to have to waive some laws and regulations already in place. Each state has their own policies and laws regulating the healthcare industry, and this makes is difficult to compete across state lines. Once we get by this barrier and allow true, free market price shopping, I believe the market can and will allow the price of doing business to come down. Once the Federal government gets more of her greedy and power hungry paws in the mix, the more difficult it will be to repair the damage; free markets have always worked when left to run their course. Over regulation and government interference only serves to stifle, and ultimately strangle whatever course the markets would direct. Once it is deemed to be “free”, Katy bar the door.

“You can't fix stupid.”- Ron White (Comedian)