A Moment of Frustration

Listening to the news today about the Debacle in Detroit a question crossed my mind, at first I thought it was in the spirit of the cynic, but the more I listen to current events the more I think that it's a valid question:

Does Barack Obama hate capitalism, or is he just incompetent?

Ammo and Components Continue to be Scarce

This is an article based on my personal experience and experience gathered from conversations in real life and from around the intertubes. I've been shooting on a regular basis about a year and a half now. Just this past month I finalized my first reloading set-up for my .45 and began the saga of searching out components with which to reload. I was very fortunate that a gentleman at our local USPSA club loaned me 1000 moly-coated rounds to try for myself before I decided to invest in them. So far I'm happy with them. I grabbed a pound of Titegroup at a local shop for what I once thought was a rediculous amount of money - approximately $25.00 However, once I did the math in my head -- the cost of ordering one pound of powder online is actually more expensive because of shipping and haz-mat charges. If I were interested in buying more at a time I could see how buying online would be advantageous. At the moment, I've barely noticed my powder supply being depleted, and there's still an adequate supply of powder available, for the moment.

However, the crux of the whole problem seems to be primers. Primers are available in a much better per-unit price online than they are in the store. However primers are are no where to be found in the on-line market at the moment. The only place I've been able to find them locally is at the same local shop I found my powder, at the cost of $4.95 / 100 or $44.95 per 1000. Which is about a 30% mark-up from online prices. As of right now it's my only supplier of primers. I've been hesitant to buy in any kind of bulk in hopes that the supply situation will change, however at this moment it seems my best bet.

What is the explanation for this shortage? Fear and subsequent hoarding. With an administration and congress that seems dangerously anti-firearm many people are not only hoarding as much ammunition as they can, but components as well. Couple this situation with the fact that this same instability has prompted many people like me to enter the reloading market in search of lower ammunition costs. What has happened in a relatively short amount of time is that the demand has exploded and supply has remained relatively static.

What's the solution? Well the ultimate issue is supply and demand...increased demand for a moderately elastic good like pistol primers with no increase in supply results in higher prices. This demand is driven by hoarding, and the hoarding is driven by fear. Fear that the Obama administration and congressional Democrats will turn away their efforts to outlaw firearms onto ammunition. Fears are they will seek to make ammunition prohibitively costly through lead-free provisions, through microstamping, or through direct taxation.

Until these fears are allayed to the satisfaction of the firearm community, the ammunition bubble will continue.

Financial Giant Issues Sell Order

Today major financial firm Morgan Stanley issued a sell order on US stocks following the rallies in US markets that saw the DJIA recover 20% and the S&P 500 index recover 23% since 9 March 2009. This news coupled with news from GM that CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to resign by the Obama administration and continuing fears about stability of US financials resulted in a major sell-off in the markets today.
Not a few days ago I had shared my fear with colleague Greg at fr33agents.com that a fast, significant rally could spark brokers to advise clients who had already lost significant amounts of investment value to sell off their holdings in the US market. Today it seems my fears are coming to fruition. If other investment firms follow suit that could spell disaster for US markets.

What the Other Hand Is Doing

While the mainstream media and politicians have been jumping up and down outraged over $165 million dollars in bonuses that AIG executives collected this week, the Fed announced Wednesday that it would be buying debt and mortgage securities from the US Treasury to the tune of 1 trillion dollars. (In case you forget what $1 trillion looks like - check here.)
With Fed interest rates hovering at or just above 0% this strategy is the equivalent of printing money with no backing, out of thin air. This strategy also is a sharp divergence from the Fed's past strategy of buying short-term debts in order to control the money supply. It makes the Fed a large owner of long term US bonds. This announcement seems like a last ditch effort to capitalize loaning institutions and puts the US dollar in poor position against other currencies. Throughout history printing money has never ended positively. If you need examples, look at the histories of The Weimar Republic, Argentina, and Zimbabwe.

This is the stuff we need to be worried about, not what some executive is getting in his contract.

AIG Bonus Clawbacks Set Dangerous Precedent

Decrying the recent AIG executive bonuses as a waste of public funds the US House passed Thursday night a plan to tax back 90-100% of bonuses at the financial giant AIG and other similar bailout recipients. This legislation is in response to outrage on capitol hill over news this weekend that executives at the company received over $160 million in contract-promised bonuses.

This legislation should trouble everyone who works and pays taxes. It sets dangerous precedences that could be the beachhead the .gov needs in the future to leverage unheard of taxes out of the populace in the future. A laundry list of my concerns would include:

1. It undermines the sanctity of contracts. Contracts are the foundation of agreements between government, businesses, and individuals alike across the United States and the world. The fact that the .gov can legislate these contracts into essential nullification is ludicrous. If the government was unhappy with the terms of these contracts that these executives held they should have sued to have these bonus provisions removed. They didn't choose this route, however, because they knew they didn't have a leg to stand on legally.

2. It encourages retroactive enforcement of legislation. This tax bill essentially takes something that was legal yesterday and makes it illegal today, and then punishes the "transgressor" for something that was perfectly legal at the time of the "transgression". While at this point in time it's not dealing with criminal laws - but tax laws - there's nothing stopping this from spilling over into criminal law. At that point this precedent becomes dangerously oppressive.

3. Where does it stop? While this particular bill only targets bonuses of executives at bailed out firms at this point in time - it is not a stretch of the imagination that this policy of bonus taxation could be expanded to any company that the government has partial ownership of as "a waste of public funds" whether they've received bailout / stimulus money or not. From there the possibilities are endless. What about anyone's bonuses at these firms whether they are an executive or not? What is the definition of a bonus? What type of income can be legislated into "bonuses"? How about a nationwide "bonus tax" at that draconian rate? Crazy? The precedent is already there.

4. It's essentially a play on class envy to placate the masses for the sake of political expediency. What's really depressing is that most people don't realize that the irony of all of this is that if AIG had been allowed to file Chapter 11 instead of being bailed out they could have restructured these bonuses out of these contracts. Of course if our .gov had been that patient and had been responsible with taxpayer money and allowed that to happen we wouldn't be in this giant cluster anyway. However it is a world of "do something, anything" politics where some businesses are "too big to fail." Something had to be done, and the .gov used class envy to justify the wholesale piracy of contract-promised money from "those greedy, taxpayer-money-wasting bastards."

The enraging tail to this story is that all this indignation and outrage on capitol hill may very well be feigned. Several mainstream outlets are now reporting that members of the Obama Administration knew about the AIG bonus situation and remained silent. Over the course of the past few days it has come to light that Chris Dodd (D-CT) wanted to initially place an amendment in the stimulus plan to tax or remove these bonuses, and at pressure from the administration he removed them. The Obama administration in turn, has fingered the Treasury as the source from this suggestion, and Tim Geithner in turn pretends to not know what's going on.

All I know is someone sure as hell is lying.

Elements of US Army Patrol Alabama Streets, Enforce Laws

CNN has coverage of events following the mass slaying in Samson, AL in which elements of the US Army were dispatched to Samson from nearby Ft. Rucker to aid in directing traffic and containing the crime scene.

While this sounds harmless enough it on first glance this action is in direct violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878:

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

"Execute the laws" is a broad term and appropriately so for the protection of the populace from the military. Army MPs being used to enforce traffic laws to preserve a crime scene are in direct violation of the Posse act. What's more terrifying is that no one seems to know who ordered these army MPs into action. Governor Bob Riley's office hasn't taken credit for it, the White House hasn't taken credit for it. Did the Army magically mobilize MPs on no authority other than their own?

This sets a dangerous precedent for the future when the Army can mysteriously mobilize itself and the order cannot be traced back to the primary issuer. US Army officials say that the investigation is ongoing, and Somewhat Intelligent will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Out of mothballs!

Well, after being bumped by my colleague and friend Greg, who writes for the blog fr33agents. I have to start posting again. It's probably a good thing because I've been keeping up with all the goings-on, but I just have been busy with other stuff: family, reloading, finally getting into USPSA, dogs, and the ever present slaving to fill the government coffers. Now I have to push aside the excuses and write a little bit again.

Anywho, I brought 45superman's article to Greg's attention this morning, and he forwarded it on to his Cato buddies. For my part, as an educator I felt a need to write a letter to The College Preparatory School Administration decrying this situation. Anywho, here 'tis:

Good morning,

It has come to my attention your intent to indoctrinate students in Ms. Razeq's class. Apparently she is doing a unit on the proposed concealed carry law in Illinois. This is to be commended because students need to be aware of the arguments for and against this important piece of legislation. I understand a colleague of mine was asked to come speak to to Ms. Razeq's class in favor of this legislation but was later told he would not be allowed to come because your administration would not allow it. It's good to know that your administration is intent on indoctrinating students into a belief system that will terrify them of a very important defensive tool, and possibly cause them to seek to undermine the constitutional rights of others later in life becaue of this irrational fear.

As an educator myself I'm always interested in the opposing viewpoints on issues. Students often know what my opinion is and I will often make an effort to bring in an opposing viewpoint to keep me honest or argue against me. It makes me think - it makes me decide for myself. It makes the students decide for themselves. It keeps their minds sharp. I've had my mind changed before -- so have my students. It's clear your administration is not interested in intelligent, free-thinking students, but regurgitation machines that will spout back whatever social agenda you have set out for them - set in the guise of education

Education is not about indoctrination, even though it seems more and more every year it is just that. You may choose to revise your decision and allow this speaker to extoll the merits of a concealed carry permit program in Illinois - and all the benefits society reap from having concealed weapon carries among the populace - or you can continue to run your indoctrination machine on it's current course.

As an educator I know what my decision would be.

Regards,

CC