Posts Tagged ‘United States’
Walmartization?
I recently read an article that was very negative about the effects Wal-mart has had on the economy. I would link the article, however it was full of so many mis-statements and downright twisting of statistics I think it a disservice to the reader to subject them to the class warfare nonsense.
Rather, it seems better to just pose the question is Wal-Mart good for the US?
I have personal experience with the destruction Wal-Mart can have on a community, having said that destruction is not always a bad thing. My father owned a rather large sporting goods store in a small community, it was roughly the size of a Big 5 store with a mix of goods tended toward hunting and fishing. The store was very prosperous, I won’t go into the numbers because it is irrelevant but it was prosperous. That little store provided a good living for my father and three “nowhere dead-end” jobs suitable for retirees or highschool kids which I was at the time. Having said that, the only person at that store who could have been considered a “career” person would have been the owner. The rest of us were just biding our time or working for pocket cash as in the case of the “part-timers” my father employed.
That little store was put out of business by Wal-Mart, our store simply could not compete with Wal-marts buying power, and we bought “wholesale” at the same prices Wal-Mart sold retail. No matter what we did we couldn’t figure out how to go toe to toe with them, as for many items we sold price was the determining factor. So in the case of this illustration Wal-Mart was “Bad” for my father but was it bad for the community in general?
At the time I was getting paid $5 bucks an hour some of the other employees were paid more. Walmart’s entry-level pay was $9, they employed about 100 people in all skill levels along the pay curve. Many people began work there after quitting other lower paying jobs. So the net effect in our community was; several boutique style stores went out of business, hurting their owners but benefiting their employees as they were now employed by the Wal-Mart, at high wages with the option of career advancement, something that is not available in any small business.
The lower prices and higher service walmart provided raised the standard of living in the community by lowering the cost of everyday goods. Allowing their customers more disposable income. Within a year of Wal-Mart a bunch of “new” businesses opened, mainly restaurants. No doubt a result of the extra disposable income created by the savings on necessities that Wal-Mart brought.
So the net result of Wal-Mart was actually positive! Far from destroying small business Wal-Mart created opportunities for business that would not have existed without them. If you ask my dad today I think he would agree even though he is still chagrined by the loss of his store.
The Non-Socialist Pledge of Allegiance
“I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The pledge should be changed as pledging allegiance to a flag doesn’t mean anything and leaves the “pledger” open to manipulation. Symbols can mean anything you want them too. However the US Constitution, is a document which has real intrinsic meaning. By pledging allegiance to it you can read and understand what you are committing yourself too.
By pledging allegiance to the republic it established, you are aligning yourself to ITS form of government, which is clearly defined.
I hope you all agree.
4rth Amendment Funnies
The other day June 17th, I was driving through Texas, headed north out of McAllen. When I came upon a border patrol check point. For those of you who don’t live in the southwest, a border patrol check point is a road block where the US border patrol asks you where you were born and where you are going, they usually have a drug dog there to passively sniff out your car.
Generally I drive through these incident free, a typical inspection is as follows;
BP Agent “Are you a citizen?”
Myself ” Yes”
BP Agent ”Where are you headed?”
Myself ”wherever I happen to be going”
BP Agent ”Are You Alone?”
Myself ” No my wife is with me she is a citizen also”
BP Agent “OK have a nice trip”
You then drive off.
My general view of these sort of blanket inspections within the interior of the U.S., is that they violate the 4rth amendment.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
I find it hard to believe that it is “reasonable” to ask everyone driving north out of Texas whether they are a citizen or not, and where they are going. Mind you that this is “NOT” taking place at the border or at the port of entry, but rather 100 miles or so north of the border well within the US. Most of the time I look on these inspections as just a petty nuisance and nothing more, so long as the BP Agent doesn’t ball bust.
However on the 17th, the BP was in true ball busting form. My wife was with me as usual, she was sleeping in the back of the vehicle which also is typical. The agent asked me if I was alone, I responded with the typical, “No sir, my wife is in the back sleeping and she is a citizen also.”
The agent wasn’t satisfied with this and said ” Wake her up so I can verify her citizenship”
“No sir” said I ” I told you she was a citizen”
“You have to wake her up, so I can ask her” he retorted.
“I’m not going to wake her, I told you she’s a citizen”
“Ok, pull over there and sit until you decide to wake her up” he directed me over to secondary inspection spot. I pulled on over, sat there a minute, and then started to get mad. I grabbed my wallet, hopped out of the vehicle and headed over to the BP trailer, to talk with a supervisor. I was met halfway by 3 agents, one of them had Lieutenants bars, he introduced himself as the shift supervisor. As we walked back to my vehicle, I explained what had happened and told him I was not going to wake my wife, I told him she was a citizen and I was a citizen. Me saying that should be enough anyway, since the highway checkpoint violated the 4rth amendment to begin with.
He responded he didn’t want to get into a constitutional debate with me, but the check point is not a violation, agreed that the debate would be useless, since he obviously believes what he is doing is OK otherwise he would be doing it. I also added that stopping every car on the highway doesn’t seem very “reasonable” to me which is the Constitutional standard. His response was just to smile and say wake up your wife, so I can ask her if she’s a citizen and you can go on your way.
“I will not sir, I have already told you she’s a citizen and that should suffice, unless you have established probable cause or have a sworn affidavit that my wife and I are engaged in illegal activities you have no reason at all to justify having even stopped me”
He seemed surprised by this answer, told me he did not need probable cause to search but only reasonable suspicion. My response to him was that no doubt you were told that in your training,, but reasonable suspicion is not the constitutional phrasing, and in any case I would not wake my wife. He then went into a long explanation about all the drug runners they catch, and illegal aliens they catch at this checkpoint using these methods. I gave him no argument on those points, I even went on to say I totally understand his point of view which I do, but the effectiveness of these checkpoints doesn’t make them legal or proper. And in any case if his “Border Patrolling” expertise makes him reasonably suspicious, I’m doing anything “Illegal” he must be getting rusty. With this he smiled and the 2 rookies with him kind of laughed.
They seemed to be entertained by the ‘Curious’ person insisting that they are violating his rights. By this time I was so mad I was shaking, but was still measured and polite with my responses. He asked why I was shaking, I told him I thought it was adrenaline cause “I’m pissed off at being rousted”.
We went on like this for a few minutes, where he went on to say all us Vets, especially Vietnam vets go nuts when they come through one of these checkpoints, but that most of the agents were veterans so we should cut them some slack. I never told him I was a Vet, but in general military vets aren’t to hard to spot anyway so I’m not surprised he assumed I was. He then asked me again to wake my wife, I again refused. He said if I refused he would arrest me search my vehicle and wake here anyway.
I told him, I would not consent to a vehicle search under any circumstance, but if he was going to arrest me that was his call I won’t resist and in fact I was happy to be arrested. I added that I though failing to wake your wife was not a very serious charge. He turned me around asked if I had any weapons, did a quick pat down. Then he walked over to my truck, I asked him, “So am I under arrest?” he replied “Yes”. I said ok, I still do not consent to a vehicle search and as far as I knew “Not consenting to a search does not establish probable cause or even reasonable suspicion”. I guess he decided not to search but rather just slapped the side of the vehicle until my wife open the door, I was not privy to their conversation but she told me, he asked if she was a citizen and then told her I don’t know why your husband is so upset but you can go back to sleep.
He came back over to me and he again tried to explain the BPs point of view, I said I had no doubt at all what he was telling me was true but my point is not the effectiveness of what they’re doing but the constitutionality of it, which it is clearly not. As law enforcement officers and citizens it is imperative for them to be on the side of citizens and not politicians. That they should not just blindly enforce a policy they know to be unconstitutional even if it is borderline. I said I have no doubt of their good intentions, but that is not terribly relevant as I was the one who was under arrest, for doing nothing wrong or even illegal.
We talked around that for a few minutes, he then asked where I was from, ”California” I replied.
The lead agent replied, “Your from California huh, we get alot of you ‘Constitutionalist Movement’ guys complaining at us in California and Arizona, may I see your driver’s license.” He took my license and one of the other agents copied my info into his note-book.
I said, “OK I don’t know what that is, but ok.”
He then returned my license and said “Ok you can go”,
I said “alright, I have just one more thing for you guys before I leave, have you guys had a chance to read ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich‘?” they all shook their heads no. “Before Hitler, Germany was a constitutional republic, Hitler destroyed the republic by getting cops to violate people’s rights. This is not my opinion but historical fact, it was not some invading force of nazi thugs that rounded up all the jews and homos and political opposition, it was the regular police, the Berlin Police department, the Munich police dept, regular guys like you, who did what they were told even though it was illegal under German law at the time. Next thing you know 9 million people have been rounded up, and the world was at war, you guys ought to read it. Cause maybe in 10 or 15 years you will be in that position.”
They then sent me on my way.
It occurred to me while driving how odd it was to be accused of being in the “Constitutionalist Movement”, I had never heard that before. Now that I think about, I’m sure Napalitano over at homeland security has anybody who invokes their rights labeled as a “Constitutionalist” and part of a subversive movement. The BP Agent, said it like it was something they had been briefed to look out for. My wife’s brother is a sheriff deputy in Fl, so she called him to relate the story, he told her he was aware of the “Constitutionalist Movement” that there were a bunch of them in Fl. He thought they basically believed in ignoring laws and doing what they wanted under the guise of the constitution but he wasn’t sure.
This conversation confirms my suspicion about Homeland Security flagging people as constitutionalists, if they invoke their rights. So I guess I’m part of a movement I was ignorant of until I was told I was in the movement. It is also strange to me that he didn’t ask to see any ID, until he mentioned the “Constitutionalists”, I have no doubt now that I am enshrined on some list of subversives hidden in Napalitano’s drawer. It’s a good thing I don’t fly.
Herman Cain – Best At Debate
I have long been a fan of Ron Paul, at heart I am a libertarian.
I am baffled by Americans who are not, our founders were libertarians. If I thought Ron Paul could win I wouldn’t be making this post. Having said that, it is so refreshing to have a Non-Politician who is actually qualified for the office. Our country needs a businessman at the helm, that means either Donald Trump or Herman Cain. As for Donald Trump I am suspicious on his conservative bona fides, also as a Christian myself I find it hard to believe that a man in the public as much as Trump is just now revealing his Christianity. It seems to me that if Trump had real “Christian” values it would not come as a surprise announcement, it should have been widely known. Also Trump is a Pro-Business Progressive, which is better than Obama but not better than Herman Cain who I view as a pro business libertarian who is actually qualified for the office.
If Ron Paul gets the nomination I will support him. If Herman Cain gets the nomination I will support him. I was not particularly impressed by the other candidates at the debate. The other leading Candidates in the field are weak GOP progressive sleepers. Mit Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich these guys may be good Americans but they are in fact progressives, I’ve had enough of progressives. As for the others who were at the debate many I have supported in the past but nothing they said tonight did much to make me think “This is Refreshing”.
Herman Cain actually gave me hope, if we support him he’ll kick Obama’s socialist ass!
In closing, I just made a donation to Herman Cain, please support him.
He’s not a politician, he is a successful businessman and a clear leader with real conservative bona fides.
Osama Bin Laden dead: Obama took 16 hours to make up his mind | Mail Online
Osama Bin Laden dead: Obama took 16 hours to make up his mind | Mail Online.
Imagine you’re the President,
for 15 years your country has been on the trail of a known mass murderer. A person who has been at the top of the FBIs most wanted list for a decade, a person who admitted on video tape about planning the deaths of 3000 innocent people, just for the shock value, and then carried out the plan. Part of your campaign to get elected was to “Go out and get the guy”. . . You promised to refocus efforts to punish the mass murderer. Then one afternoon you are told “We have him. . . We can get him, do you want precision bombs or a seal team infiltration”?
What is your response; Tell me more, maybe, what do you guys recommend? Bear in mind the US has a long history of dealing with guys like this, there is plenty of precedent, Che Guevara, Bonny and Clyde even John Dillinger, so there is no question it is legal to kill the guy. Also the man publicly declared war on the US in 1996 and had been actively wagging that war.
What would you say?
Bill Clinton said let him go I’m not interested in him, allowing the 9/11 attack. George Bush and Don Rumsfeld both said “Damn it . . . go kill the guy what are you calling me for”? However, he escaped because the CIA didn’t act, I don’t have proof but I suspect this is the real reason the CIA chief was later dumped.
So now we come to you, what do you do?
I know what I would do, ” Go kill him! Do it however you think most effective but do something now. . . we don’t want him to slip away again!” isn’t that reasonable?
What did B. Obama do “Gee guys 15 years on the most wanted list isn’t enough time to decide. . . Give me another 16 hours” he said and then he went to bed, “To sleep on it.”
All I can say is WOW.
Why do we not hear about this in the US press, he is our Un-Decider in Chief. This should be the focus of the story not what a hero B. Obama is for deciding to kill Osama Bin Ladin, but what a weak waffler he is for needing an additional 16 hours. At least Bill Clinton made a decision quickly turned out to be wrong but you can’t fault him for indecision, in Clinton’s defense he didn’t campaign on killing Bin Ladin. B. Obama made getting Bin Ladin his primary attack on the Bush administration, he said repeatedly the focus should be in Afghanistan and on getting Osama Bin Ladin. When he finally gets a chance to be Presidential he has to “Sleep on it”.




