TAX BICYCLES?

 

Municipalities and States are broke. They need more income. Their primary source of revenue is taxation. New methods are constantly sought. It is like building the better mouse trap. Do it and get rich.

 

The taxation target this time is a tax on bicycles. The ordinary common two wheeler. A furor has arisen where it has been attempted. In the rare locations it has been adopted, the people have come to accept it.

 

The tax can take several forms. A one time tax at the time of purchase. In addition to whatever the sales tax is, of course. A set fee to be paid every year. These two are the most common. A decal or mini license is attached to the bicycle upon payment.

 

The taxing consideration has come to light because of Chicago's treatment of bicycles. Mayor Rahm Emanuel sees wisdom in bikes as a mode of transportation in a large busy city. His cry is drive bikes and not cars.

 

He has had miles of bike paths constructed. He has instituted a "grab and go" bicycle program whereby a person desiring to travel from point A to point B hops on a free bicycle at A and leaves it at B. Some one else is then free to use the bicycle.

 

Rahm believes there is less pollution to the environment, less traffic congestion, almost no wear and tear on the streets, and a healthier population.

 

Chicago even has mini plows to keep the bike paths snow free.

 

A Chicago council person recently suggested that the additional costs of plowing, maintenance and construction of bike paths should be borne by the bike riders. Her suggestion was a tax of $25 per year per bike.

 

Her words fell on deaf ears. A Chicago resident thought that if the bike tax were to become law, then the city should charge people a shoe tax to use the sidewalks.

 

Several states have tried to tax bicycles. Georgia, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont being the most recent. The attempts failed. Oregon's proposed law had a mean streak to it. Bicycles owned by children were to be taxed also.

 

Ed Orcutt is a Washington state legislator. He argued in support of the bicycle  tax on the grounds that bike riders pollute the environment. They ride hard resulting in an increased heart rate and respiration. As a result, bike riders produced more carbon dioxide than the dangerous emissions cars do. Orcutt sounds like some of our Washington, D.C. Congresspersons. Fruitcakes all. Orcutt is qualified to join their ranks.

 

In fairness, Orcutt said the tax would produce $10 million over 10 years and could be used to maintain roads.

 

Hawaii and Colorado Springs, Colorado have had bicycle taxes for years. A one time payment, the money going to bicycle infrastructure.

 

Worldwide, two nations come to mind.

 

Brazil intentionally has miles and miles of bike paths. So people can ride their bikes and view the beautiful ocean and magnificent foliage. Brazil has a one time tax at the time of purchase. The tax is 40.5 per cent of the cost of the bicycle. Wow! Automobiles sold in Brazil have only a 32 percent tax imposed.

 

The Nazis got into the act when they invaded Norway. There were many bike riders In Norway. Norway had imposed a bicycle tax in 1924 and the tax was still there when Hitler marched in. Norwegians were opposed to the tax. In an effort to win over the people, the Nazis eliminated the tax. It did them no good.

 

When I was 10 years old in Utica, N.Y., my parents bought me a bicycle. I was required to register it and get a metal license for the bike. My father took me to the fire station where the registration was done. It was a one time event. Registration was when you got the bike and never again. The cost was fifty cents. The purpose of the local law requiring the bike plate was not to raise money. It was to identify the bicycle in case of theft.

 

Some things governments should not do. Taxing bicycles is one of them. A Boston Tea Party of sorts could occur. Evidencing the wrath of an aroused people. Big trees from little acorns grow.

 

 

THEY DID NOT TELL US

My Catholic upbringing drummed into me the Jesuit difference between acts of commission and those of omission. Law school repeated the same principles.

Commission is doing an act that causes harm. Omission is failure to perform an act. Especially one that would be expected by a normal sane person in the ordinary course of events.

This column is concerned with omission. The culprit the United States mainstream media. The big guys. Television, newspapers and magazines. Those owned and controlled by major corporate conglomerates which include in their make up banks. The story to be told involves the apparent failure of the media to report news that might be unfavorable to their corporate owners.

The days of news people owning television, newspapers  and other media outlets are long gone.

Examine for example the ownership of the major television companies in the United States. NBC used to be owned by General Electric, then General Electric and Comcast, and now Comcast alone. ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Companies. CBS used to be owned by Westinghouse. It is now owned by National Amusements and Viacom. CNN is owned by Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting. Fox is owned by 21st Century Corp. and Rupert Murdoch's Fox entertainment Group.

The story to be told involves Iceland. It is a tale not heard by most Americans to this day. Only a handful were aware. I did not know.

Iceland had banking  problems of its own in 2008. The banks had inflated the value of Iceland's banks internationally. They screwed around with the numbers to make the banks look better than they actually were. Things caught up. The bubble burst. Most of the banks were heading for bankruptcy.

Does the too big to fail argument sound familiar? The government of Iceland wanted to bail the banks out. With taxpayer dollars, of course. The people of Iceland said no, emphatically no, and never.

A revolution occurred. It started on the same day in 2008 when Obama was being sworn in. The people took to the streets. The rebellion was called the "Pots and Pans Rebellion." The people were banging pots and pans together as they marched.

The Icelandic people were so vocal and adamant in their position of no bailout for the banks that three months later the entire government of Iceland resigned. The President and all of Parliament. The government had been taken down.

Did you hear any of this? See it reported on TV? Read it in the newspapers? Most Americans did not. At the same time, all of the rest of the world knew and were openly discussing it. It was front page news in all European newspapers. Foreign television was rampant with the details.CNN's European group reported everything as it happened. Not America's CNN. Silence.

Credit should be given where credit is due. The New York Times provided a small handful of piecemeal stories. Not front page stuff. The Times danced around the details. It reported that the fall of the government was caused by mayhem beyond Iceland's borders.

Note again that the U.S. media failed to report the street protests, the Pots and Pan revolution, and the resignation of the entire government.

A new government was elected. No time was wasted in correcting the situation. Iceland's feeling was that what had occurred should never happen again. Corporate greed could not be permitted to rear its ugly head ever again.

Recall the U.S. position that banks were too big to prosecute. Not in Iceland. They arrested and prosecuted bank officials and politicians alike. And sent them to jail. Just last week one of the bank fraud cases came to a conclusion. Four executives of the Kaupthing Bank were sentenced to jail. Without probation. One was the Chairman of the Board. Involved financial fraud. They had loaned an individual money to buy just over 5 per cent interest in the bank. A no no.

The Icelandic people believed their Constitution was ineffective. It no longer worked for the people. They wanted a new one. They put together a large number of citizens to rewrite the Constitution. People, not politicians. It took four years, but is now the law of the land. The primary thrust was to prohibit corporate fraud. They spelled it out in the Constitution. It was clear to them that corporate greed was destroying the country and had to be stopped.

While all this was going on in Iceland, where was the U.S. media? No word was heard from them. A cover up in form and substance. Why? It is thought by some including this writer that corporate ownership of the media some how influenced the news people from reporting what was happening in Iceland. The news was not in the best interests of the corporate conglomerates. Most of whom included banks in their ranks.

This silence was going on at same time the United States was experiencing its own bank problems. The U.S. bank mortgage frauds started coming to light in 2007. Imagine had the U.S. government been of the opinion as the people of Iceland that the banks were not too big to fail nor too hard to prosecute. The U.S. people had they known of Iceland's happenings might very well have acted as Iceland did. Protest, react to a government that was not responsive to the will of the people, jail the bankers and politicians who supported them, and rewrite a new Constitution that would not be so favorably interpreted by the courts in favor of corporations. I am confident that under such, corporations would not have been deemed persons as the U.S.Supreme Court did a few years ago where political contributions were involved.

The American people share in the blame. We stood around like puppets and believed what our leaders, including the President, were telling us. We did not question. We did not act. There is a lesson to be learned here.

What galls me is the banks continue to screw around to the detriment of the American public. They do what they want, when they want. I have always subscribed to the position that if just one major bank CEO was tried, convicted, and sent to jail, the rest would back off. However, our government has told us first the banks were too big to fail and then too big to prosecute.

What can I say? The impropriety is obvious. The media turned its back on the people's right to know. The difficult thing to accept is that they got away with it.

Everyone is defecating on the 99 per cent.

OIL! OIL! OIL!

Tora is the Japanese code word used on December 7, 1941 to indicate complete surprise had been achieved at Pearl Harbor. The sneak attack had been successful.

 

Oil was the cause/reason for the attack. Since 1937, Japan had been at war with China. The war was the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan was succeeding. However, the war was eating up its reserves. Especially, oil. Japan's primary supplier of oil surprisingly was the United States. The U.S. had the capacity at the time to be a major world oil supplier. Japan had no oil its own.

 

The United States did not approve of Japan's aggression in China. Negotiations had been ongoing to convince Japan to back off. Japan would not.

 

Roosevelt decided a trade embargo was in order. The embargo was put in place. The United States stopped supplying Japan with oil and other raw materials.

 

Japan was in trouble. Oil and other materials were needed. If the United States embargo was permitted to continue, it not only would hurt Japan's war with China, but also destroy Japan's economy.

 

From the Japanese perspective, the embargo had to be lifted and lifted swiftly. The result was Pearl Harbor.

 

Here it is 2013 and there is a new Chinese/Japanese confrontation in which the United States is involved. At issue, oil.

 

I refer to the Senkaku Islands dispute. Japan has had title to the Islands based on an 1895 treaty. Other treaties have come into play over the years. Never the less, the legal concurrence is that the Islands belong to Japan.

 

The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea. They are remote and uninhabited. They are not worth spit, as the saying goes. China however has elevated their value as a result of the present dispute.

 

In reality, China does not give a damn about the Senkaku Islands. Their assertion of ownership is a tactic and pretext. Japan wants to retain the Islands because they legally belong to them. It is a matter of face. Face is important to Asians. Japan cannot permit China to steal from them.

 

The core of the despite involves oil.

 

Today's biggest energy consumer world wide is China. China needs oil and fuel badly all the time and in big doses. It is the lifeline for China's huge and constantly growing industrial complex. China needs oil independence. They do not want to find themselves in the position the United States has in recent years.

 

China's real interest lies with the South China Sea. Note again that the Senkaku Islands are in the East China Sea. Asian waters are huge.

 

The South China Sea has sufficient oil and gas reserves to supply China for 45 years. Experts claim that the South China Sea deposits are as large as the Saudi Arabia oil fields were.

 

In addition to China, several smaller nations make claim to portions of the South China Sea. China is neither concerned with nor fears these smaller entities.

 

China's game has been to create a furor over the Senkaku Islands. Which they do not want nor do they have legal claim thereto. China succeeded.The furor has been created. Japan is fearful of a military conflict. The United States based on treaty is obligated to defend Japan in case of attack.

 

China recently warned nations not to fly in Senkaku Islands air space without first notifying China. In effect, obtaining approval. An assertion of ownership. The United States immediately flew two planes over. The next day, Japan and South Korea did also.

 

All this has been happening in recent weeks.

 

War clouds have appeared. The countries involved are getting uneasy. Secretary of State Kerry has been negotiating between China and Japan to resolve the problem.

 

Note once more that China does not give a damn about the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. They want the islands and waters of the South China Sea where the oil deposits are located.

 

In the meantime, China has recently begun building a naval fleet. China has not had a navy since the 1500s. The reason for the recent construction is to protect the South China Sea which they assume they will ultimately control. China has already constructed and launched an aircraft carrier and many new submarines. Amazing! No navy in more than 500 years and now China is on a speed course in developing a world power one.

 

The United States has concern with China's navy building. The United States' naval forces in Asian waters is limited. It has been years since the United States even has had a concern  about the size and quality of its naval forces anywhere in the Pacific. Nor is money available to start building new war vessels. There is not a desire on the part of most members of Congress to authorize money for such construction. The United States is in a time of economic distress, austerity and cut backs in programs.

 

I sense another Munich in the making. Chamberlain acceded to Hitler's demands for Czechoslovakia. Japan's claim to the Senkaku Islands will be recognized by China. China in turn will be recognized as the power, controlling influence and titleholder to the South China Seas. Japan will have saved face. China will have become decidedly more powerful. The United States will be happy that war has been avoided.

 

Everyone comes out a winner. But.....What happens a number of  years from now when China is a major power or the major power and wants something else that is not really theirs. A valid concern.

 

There is a separate and distinct oil based problem in another part of the world. The Falkland Islands. Off the coast of Argentina. Argentina has always laid claim to them. Great Britain, also.

 

In 1982, Margaret Thatcher had Great Britain invade the Falkland Islands to solidify British sovereignty. It was a David and Goliath war. Argentina's military was no challenge for British military strength.

 

There was no known oil in 1982 in the Falklands. There is today. Massive oil deposits have only recently been discovered in and around the Falkland Islands. Drilling first commenced a mere three years ago in 2010. Argentina wants control of the islands and the money to be made from the oil deposits. Great Britain says no.

 

An election was recently held in the Falkland Islands. Its purpose was to determine whether the people wanted to be British or Argentine. Overwhelmingly, the people voted to remain subject to Great Britain. Argentina is paying no heed to the election results.

 

Great Britain has a major problem in protecting its interests and being the beneficiary of the oil reserves. Britain's Army, Navy and Air Force of today are no where near as large and powerful as in 1982. Britain has neither the money nor manpower to wage a war.

 

It is oil all over again. The question is will the need for oil lead to another Tora! Tora! Tora!

 

I do not know the answer. No one does. Let us hope not.

ISRAEL BISSELL

 Listen, my children,

                           And you shall hear

                           Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

 

The distinguished American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made Paul Revere famous when he penned the above opening lines to his famous poem.

 

One problem, however. It was not Paul Revere who was the hero in 1775 at the time the first shots were fired at Lexington which marked the beginning of the Revolution. It was Israel Bissell. Historians suspect that Longfellow took a bit of literary license. Bissell did not rhyme as well as Revere.

 

Paul Revere did make a ride that day. Several men did. Historians conclude Revere only rode somewhere between 1.5 and 20 miles shouting..... To arms, to arms, the British are coming.

 

Israel Bissell rode 345 miles. The trip took 4 days and 6 hours. He rode from Watertown, Massachusetts to Philadelphia. The trip was over the Old Post Road.

 

Longfellow apparently took further literary license with the actual words Bissell shouted.....To arms, to arms, the war has begun. Again for rhyming purposes.

 

Bissell carried with him a message from the colonists' General Joseph Palmer. The message told of the Lexington attack and what the colonists should do to prepare for the British invasion. The message also stated that its bearer, Israel Bissell, was charged with alarming the citizenry. He was to be given fresh horses along the way as needed.

 

Bissell rode two horses to their deaths on the four day trip. His first horse died 2.5 hours into the trip at Worcester. A second died further along the way.

 

Every community Bissell passed through rang Church bells and fired muskets. Many colonists supported a war with the British and were happy to know it had begun.

 

In the 1950s, two columnists writing for the Berkshire Eagle wrote poems finally giving Bissell credit for the ride. Gerard Chapman and Clay Perry.

 

Chapman's poem was appropriately titled Israel Bissell's Ride. Certain lines read as follows.

 

                                 Listen, my children, and you shall hear

                                 Of Israel Bissell's yesteryear:

                                 A port less patriot whose fame , I fear,

                                 Was eclipsed by that of Paul Revere.....

                                

Perry's poem was titled I. Bissell's Ride. Certain lines from the poem read as follows.

 

                                  Listen, my children, to my epistle

                                  Of the long, long ride of Israel Bissell,

                                  Who outrode Paul by miles and time

                                  But didn't make a poet's rhyme...

                              

Two questions arose over the years having to do with Bissell.

 

The first is whether he actually made it to Philadelphia. Documents from the time indicate an Issac Bissell who only rode to Hartford. He stayed in Hartford. He did not continue the ride. He was a less than an honorable man. He billed the new United States government for a six day stay in Hartford.

 

Historian Lion G. Miles came up with the story. He found his information in only one source. The Massachusetts Archives. All other historians and documents disagree with Miles. Issac was not Israel.

 

The other issue that arose was whether Israel Bissell was of the Jewish faith. I was amazed at how much time and effort was spent to arrive at a definitive conclusion. Israel Bissell was not Jewish.

 

A few historians believe that Bissell's ancestry was of a Norman French / Swiss source. The majority however concluded that Bissell was part of the Byshelle family who in 1639 left Birmingham, England. The family was part of a Puritan group. All Bissell's were determined to have been descended from the Byshelles.

 

I suspect Bissell's first name Israel is what caused the inquiries. Historians discussing the Bissell issue pointed out that most children born in the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries were given Biblical names.

 

So goes the story of Israel Bissell. A man almost forgotten not by history, but by poetry.

WALMART'S SHAME

Walmart is a major international corporation. Walmart is also a major internnational disgrace. Disgrace as regards what it pays its employees. A cheapo.

 

This article is motivated by the announcement this week that a Canton, Ohio area Walmart was having a food drive. Employees were asked to bring in canned goods and other foodstuffs for fellow employees who could not afford to provide for themselves a Thanksgiving meal.

 

The question arose in my mind as to why Walmart did not just give food to the employees in need. Why impose on poorly paid employees.

 

Business Week recently reported that Walmart does not pay a living wage. The article suggested that it was not an inability to pay. It was an unwillingness to do so.

 

A May Congressional Report claimed most Walmart employees earn $10 an hour. It further stated that a high percentage of Walmart employees subsist on public assistance. Things like food stamps, housing, health care, and other welfare/entitlement type programs. Millions of dollars from tax dollars to help Walmart emplyees get along.

 

An example of the preceding is a single Wisconsin Walmart store. Last year, the employees received $900,00 in public assistance. Almost $1 million of taxpayer monies.

 

It was recently reported on behalf of Walmart that its average full time employee earns $12.87 an hour. A nonprofit speaking on behalf of the employees said the amount was wrong. The average salary was between $8 and $10 an hour. In either event, nothing.

 

I read of a 13 year Walmart employee who was earning $12.40 an hour. Note this was after 13 years of loyal employment.

 

Less than 50 per cent of Walmart employees earn more than $25,000 a year. The federal poverty level for a family of 4 is $23,500.

 

By this time, the point I have been trying to make is clear. Walmart does not pay its employees enough salary dollars. In many instances, Walmart is providing a sub standard existence to its employees.

 

Lets examine why Walmart has the ability/capacity to do more. To do the right thing.

 

Walmart is the world's second largest public corporation. It is also the biggest private employer.  Over 2 million employees world wide.

 

Walmart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 2009, 51 per cent of its $258 billion in sales came from its grocery business.

 

Walmart is the most profitable retailer in the United States. Its net profit last year was $15.7 billion.

 

Walmart has 85,000 stores located in 15 countries operating under 55 different names.

 

Walmart's cheapness probably comes from its founder. Sam Walton started Walmart in 1962. His last name brings to mind the TV series of many years ago called The Walton Family. Those Waltons were poor. Never the less, they helped everyone. Even going without themselves where necessary. The Walmart Walton was rich. He did not believe in helping anyone, except himself and his corporation.

 

Under Walton, Walmart gave few if any dollars to charities. Walton's position was that the corporation was not in the charity business. Regardless of its success. Fair is fair, however. Since Walton's death in 1992, Walmart has begun donating some monies to various charities. Last year for the first time Walmart's benevolence exceeded $1 billion in the United states. At the same time, Walmart donated an additional $82 million internationally.

 

Let me stay with Walton's reluctantance to contribute to philanthropic causes for a moment. The reasoning behind his cheapness in this regard was that he considered his contribution to society was that he operated the business efficiently. As a result of which he was able to sell goods cheaper. Such made it possible for Walmart's customers to have a better way of life since he had lowered their cost of living.

 

The food drive described at the Walmart store is a disgrace. It is evidence of the one per cent attitude in this country. All for me and nothing for you. It reflects gall and arrogance. It calls for strong disapproval and condemnation.

 

GET YOUR FINGER OUT OF MY ASS!

America.....home of the brave.....land of the free. Many freedoms guaranteed. One is freedom from abuses of police power.

 

A year ago, I wrote a column titled Abuse of Power. It had to do with a 3 year old boy who had recently been toilet trained. He had to go. He pulled his pants down in his grandmother's driveway and peed.

 

The boy and his mother lived with the grandmother who owned the home.

 

A police officer observed the event. He issued the mother a ticket for her son's peeing in public. The fine was $2,500.

 

The national media picked up the event and the next day the community's Chief of Police showed up at the grandmother's home and withdrew the charge.

 

The story a clear example of abuse of police power.

 

Now comes David Eckert's story. Abusive, stupid, gross, dehumanizing. The title of this article represents a small portion of the dilemma Eckert found himself in. The abuse described in the title occurred not one time, but twice. And included other even worse abuses.

 

You may find it difficult to believe what I am about to share with you. Not in the United States, you will say. Yes, it did happen in the United States.

 

The place is Deming, New Mexico. The date January 2, 2013.

 

Eckert was leaving a Walmart parking lot. He rolled through the stop sign for vehicles leaving the parking lot. A police detective saw the incident. He went over to a police car and told the officer. He also told the officer he thought the driver was a methane user.

 

The uniformed police officer in the car pulled Eckert over. Asked for his driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. So far the stop was normal. However, instead of asking for these items through the window while Eckert was seated in the car, the police officer first had him get out.

 

The police officer described the standing Eckert as having an erect posture, kept his legs together, and clenched his buttocks.

 

The police officer decided Eckert was carrying drugs in his ass.

 

He called for Leo. Leo is a police dog purportedly trained to sniff out drugs. Leo was brought to the scene. It is claimed in the Police Department paperwork that Leo reacted when he smelled the driver's seat. No drugs were discovered in the car.

 

Eckert was arrested. Allegedly for carrying drugs in his anus.

 

There was no video of any portion of the event. Additionally, Leo's reliability is in question. He had made three errors in previous arrests where no drugs were actually found. He had not been re-certified as required by law.

 

A prosecutor obtained a search warrant from a Judge. The warrant permitted a search of Eckert "...to include but not limited to his anal cavity."

 

The police took Eckert to a local hospital to have his "anus" searched for drugs. The doctor at the hospital refused to do it. He thought the police were crazy and the procedure unethical.

 

Deming is small town America. One hospital apparently. Eckert was taken by the police to a hospital in an adjoining community. The doctors in this community apparently saw nothing wrong and proceeded to initiate the search. 

 

Thus far the only person who has shown sense is the doctor in the first hospital who said in effect get out of here.

 

Now begins the abuse scenario.

 

Eckert's stomach was first x-rayed. No drugs discovered. A doctor then digitally examined Eckert's anus. The polite way of saying he stuck his finger up Eckert's ass. No drugs discovered again. He then performed a second digital exam. No drugs again.

 

The police were directing the event.

 

The next procedure decided upon was that Eckert be given an enema. This was done in  the presence of hospital staff and the police. The doctor and police watched Eckert defecate. His stool was examined. No drugs.

 

The police were not satisfied. Eckert was given two more enemas. Defecation again in front of the doctor and police. Each time no drugs were found.

 

Eckert's stomach was again x-rayed. No drugs.

 

It gets worse.

 

At this point Eckert was given a colonoscopy. Many of us have had one to check for cancer and other bowel problems. Per the procedure, Eckert was sedated, a tube and camera went up his rectum, into his colon and large intestine. No drugs seen or discovered.

 

All of the above procedures which took place in the second hospital are substantiated by the hospital records. The anal probing in the hospital took in excess of twelve hours.

 

Besides the abuse involved, there are two technical items that come into play. First, a search warrant must be executed in the county it is granted. This one was not. The second hospital was in an adjoining county. The second is that the search warrant set forth that it expired at 10 pm. The colonoscopy was performed at 1 am.

 

Abuse can take many forms. The doctor in the second hospital who did the probing, etc. sent Eckert a bill for $6,000.

 

A person does not have to be a Supreme Court Judge or have any legal background to know something was wrong here.

 

Eckert has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking damages. He sued the Police Department, the police officer, the prosecutor, the second hospital, and the doctors and staff at the second hospital who participated.

 

He has an excellent lawsuit. It has the propensity for a big dollar award. This type conduct will not and should not be tolerated in the United States. The United States is not a banana republic. The activity here smells of actions which occur in totalitarian countries.

 

Police abuses do occur. I sense with increasing frequency. The reason why is that the American people have permitted their legislators and courts to eat away at basic rights over the years. Especially since 9/11. Police feel empowered to do what they want. They expect the courts to back them up, which they generally do. Search warrants are a problem. They are signed by Judges who do not pay as much attention to the contents of a supporting affidavit as they should or did in the past.

 

Eckert's case and other similar abuses represent an erosion of basic American liberties. People must recognize that abuses are happening. And, where possible, express their disagreement and disgust with such conduct.

 

Otherwise what happened to Eckert could happen to you. Do not think it could not.

 

THE DOOLITTLE RAID

Today, a step back in history.

 

I am 78. I have found that many younger than me do not have an awareness of history. They know neither names nor places. I  assumed one learned history in school. I am beginning to think it is not taught with the same attention to detail as in the past. On the other hand, perhaps it is the individual himself who may not care to know or remember.

 

It bothers me. One reason is because we learn from history. History does repeat itself. Another reason is because historical fact on occasion can impress one with a sense of pride..... Look what my country did!

 

I share with you the Doolittle Raid.

 

It was early 1942. Pearl Harbor had occurred on December 7, 1941. The American people were despondent. The Japanese started World War II with a bang and were experiencing continued success. We were getting our asses kicked. Guam, Wake Island, Singapore and Hong Kong had fallen. The Philippines were close to being lost. American soldiers were making a valiant stand at Corregidor. They shortly would lose. Survivors would then participate in the Bataan Death March following which they would spend four years as Japanese prisoners of war.

 

American morale was at a low ebb. Japanese confidence high. President Roosevelt sensed it. He called his military team together and said come up with a plan to bomb Japan.

 

The Doolittle Raid was that plan.

 

The Raid is named after its leader, Jimmy Doolittle. A lieutenant colonel at the time. Prior to the War, Doolittle had been a famous civilian aviator and aeronautical engineer.

 

Navy Captain Francis Low was of the opinion that bombers could fly off of a carrier and bomb Japan. It was the only way American bombers at the time could reach Japan.

 

Doolittle was given the task of carrying out such a mission. It was decided the plane to be used was the B-25, a middle class bomber. Eighty volunteers were sought. All they were told was that they were volunteering for an "extremely dangerous mission." They would not learn of their mission till they and their bomber planes were on a carrier and on the way to Japan.

 

Training took only three weeks. Lines were painted on a runway which exactly set forth the length of a carrier. Repeated landings were made till the 80 were proficient in taking off within a very limited space. No bomber had ever flown off a carrier before. The bombers too large and a carrier too small.

 

The USS Hornet was the the designated carrier. The Hornet would carry the planes and men till they were a certain distance from Japan. The planes would then take off and bomb Tokyo and other places. Thereafter, the planes would fly to selected landing sites in China. China was part free and part Japanese occupied at the time.

 

Six hundred miles off the coast of Japan, the Hornet was sighted by a small Japanese patrol boat. The Hornet sunk the boat. However, there was no certainty whether the boat had had time to radio Tokyo of the existence of the Hornet.

 

Doolittle therefore decided that the bombers had to take off immediately. The Hornet was still 170 miles from the designated take off spot. Which meant, the planes would have that much less fuel to get to China.

 

The men were undaunted. Bombing Tokyo was their primary consideration. Not whether they would safely make It to a Chinese landing field.

 

The bombers had been stripped of any extra weight. Stripped literally to the bone. Including guns. Only 2-3 guns were permitted. The rest too heavy. They would cause a plane to would burn too much fuel. In their place were erected broom handles painted black to fool enemy planes. Whereas the B-25 had been configured to carry 646 gallons of fuel, the strip down version permitted the planes to carry 1,141 gallons.

 

Each plane carried only four bombs. Three 500 pound bombs and one incendiary bomb. Weight was the consideration here also. The fewer and lighter the bombs, the less fuel required to carry them to Japan.

 

The object of the mission was more mental than physical. The purpose was to show the enemy that they were not invulnerable to attack. That what happened to the United States at Pearl Harbor could happen to them on their homeland.

 

Normally bomber flights have a fighter plane escort. Not these planes. Where were the fighter planes to come from? Again, too far.

 

The bombers flew wave height to avoid discovery.

 

The 16 bombers reached Japan. Tokyo and surrounding cities were bombed. There was little significant damage. However, the enemy know knew they were vulnerable. With vulnerability came fear.

 

None of the planes had sufficient fuel to reach the Chinese air bases. Fifteen crash landed or the crews bailed out. One plane made it to Russia. Two crews bailed out over Tokyo. Of those who bailed out over Tokyo, two were shot by a firing squad. The remainder imprisoned for the balance of the war. Some died of malnutrition while so imprisoned.

 

Sixty nine escaped capture or death. Many, including Doolittle, made it out of China with the help of the Chinese people.

 

The Chinese were made to pay a dear price for their assistance. It has been reliably reported that 250,000 were killed by the Japanese in an attempt to capture crew members or punish those Chinese who assisted them. The Japanese retaliation included germ warfare.

 

Doolittle was convinced the mission was a failure. He had lost all 16 planes and the damage done to Japan was minimal . He was wrong. He was welcomed home as a conquering hero by Roosevelt and the American people. Roosevelt immediately made him a Brigadier General, jumping him over the Colonel rank. He also awarded Doolittle the Congressional Medal of Honor.

 

Some interesting tidbits.

 

Five crew members were jailed in Japan. One died of starvation. The other four claim they received comfort from the lone copy of a Bible they had. They read it every day.

 

One crew member was killed when he bailed out over China. He was buried by the Rev. John M.Bircher, a Chinese missionary. Bircher is the same Bircher after whom The John Birch Society was named many years later. Bircher also personally assisted Doolittle and his crew and helped them escape China.

 

One crew member was Jacob DeShazer. He returned to China in 1948 and served there as a missionary for thirty years.

 

Each member of the Doolittle Raid were forever considered heroes.

 

Doolittle arranged for a yearly gathering of the survivors. A cognac toast was drunk to those departed. There was a special bottle of cognac provided by Doolittle. It had been bottled the year of his birth. It was intended to be drunk in toast by the last two survivors.

 

The years have passed. There are now four of these men left. They enjoyed their last reunion last week in Dayton, Ohio. Three could make it. The fourth was too ill to travel. All four are in their nineties.

 

The four decided not to wait till their number was down to two. There might never be two remaining. They opened that special bottle of cognac last week and drank a toast to their Raid brothers departed.

 

Hollywood made several movies surrounding the event. The best from my perspective was Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. The movie starred Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson. Even the movie was a long time ago. Tracy played Doolittle.

 

A true to life story. A moment of great pride in American history. An event every one should know.

 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WORKS TOO HARD///

The U.S. House of Representatives works too hard.

 

A blatant misstatement. A lie. A joke. The American people would be lucky if the House of Representatives merely worked. Not even hard.

 

I was watching television last week and there was a news report that the House of Representatives were going home for several days. The comment further was that the House would not be working more than eight days each month in November or December. They would return sometime during the first week in January.

 

The video accompanying the story showed Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner leading some Republican members out of the House.

 

The smile on Cantor's face bothered me. Pompous and disconcerting. Like look at the sweet deal we have and screw you.

 

What disturbed me even further is that shutdown time and the debt ceiling await us again in mid December and early January. The obvious thrust of the story was such did not seem to concern Cantor and Boehner or their followers.

 

My curiosity was tickled. How can these people take so much time off? I dug  a bit. This is the story.

 

Cantor is in charge of the work day schedule. He published the 2014 one on Twitter last week. He also published one the year before for 2013.

 

In 2013, the House worked a total of 124 days. In 2014, they are scheduled to work even less. One hundred thirteen days. This abbreviated working schedule began with the Republicans elected to the House in 2010. That is when they regained the majority.

 

By the way, House members are paid at least $174,000 a year regardless of how many days they work.

 

Cantor claims House members require extensive time off. They need to be back in their home districts. It is necessary for them to keep in touch with the people who pay them. Their constituents.

 

Cantor says a short House work schedule is required ".....to ensure that we never lose touch with the constituents we each represent while completing our work in Washington."

 

Bullshit! How stupid he and his cronies must think the American people are.

 

Keep in mind that Cantor and his buddies are the same House members who gave us the recent government shutdown.

 

The numbers are telling.

 

2013 saw the House working 126 days. The base salary per member is $174,000 a year. Plus all kinds of benefits and perks. However, I am only concerned with direct  salary. One hundred twenty six working days amounts to $1,380 per day. In 2014, the House will work fewer days. It appears they needed two weeks more off. One hundred thirteen working days amounts to $1,540 per day.

 

Lets view the time worked and dollars paid from another perspective.

 

The average American works 2,080 hours per year. Average pay $29,000. $111 dollars per day. A far cry from what House members make. I refuse to use the term earn. A House member makes in effect 13 times the salary of the average American.

 

Tea Party success returned control of the House to the Republicans in 2010. The years since are the poorest production wise in modern times. The 112th House passed 283 bills that went to the President for his consideration. The present 113th House only 46 bills. Prior to the 112th and 113th Houses, the range of bills going to the President per session was 300 plus to 700 plus.

 

I have some observations.

 

If the House wants to work part time, the members should be paid part time. If the 425 members work only one third the year, they should receive one third pay. If House members need more time off, I suggest 20 years to life in a federal maximum security facility.

 

Let's continue with the numbers.

 

The House only works one week on and two off. I believe it shows a contempt for the American people.

 

I have been harping on governmental waste in recent weeks. Brought on by Republican sought cuts in food stamps, Social Security and Medicare. The House's working schedule is a perfect example of government waste and one where a $50 million per year savings could be accomplished.

 

Again, the basic salary of a House member is $174,000 a year. If they only work 126 days a year, they should be paid for 126 days. That would drop their salary to $60,065 per year. An annual savings of $113,935 per member. Multiplying the 425 members by that number evidences a savings of almost $50 million a year. That is, If House members were paid only for days worked. Like everyone else.

 

Perhaps politicians are all cut from the same cloth. Perhaps not. The Senate works significantly more days per year than the House. The Senate is off approximately 70 days a year.

 

You would assume there is much written on the issue. There is not. My research discovered only two articles of any substance. Both excellent. If you are further interested, I suggest you read them.

 

One is Congress Announces It Will Be In Session Fewer Days In 2014. Written by Mike Krumbotz October 31, 2013 for the Yahoo News Sideshow.

 

The other is House To Be In Session Only 126 Days In 2013. Written by Robert Longley December 12, 2012 for About.com/USGovernmentInfo.

 

The House of Representatives is a national disgrace. They must be voted out. It will not be easy. Americans have to get so mad at being fleeced that they will not take it anymore. Otherwise, the status quo will prevail.

MINISTRY OF SUPREME HAPPINESS

The title of this column sounds like something out of a Pearl Buck novel. Wrong time, wrong country. It involves not the China of yesterday, but the Venezuela of today.

 

President Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela announced Friday the creation of a new Venezuelan ministry. The Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness which already is being referred to as the Ministry of Supreme Happiness. Its stated purpose is to enforce happiness.

 

Sounds good! About as good as President Carter telling American citizens during the oil/heating fuel shortages  to wear sweaters.

 

I doubt the new Ministry will be successful in permeating a feeling of supreme happiness. Things have gone too far and are too bad.

 

Hugo Chavez preceded Maduro as President. Chavez died from cancer several years ago. Things were extremely better under Chavez.

 

Venezuela is blessed with the largest oil reserves in the world.  Chavez took advantage of the blessing. He nationalized the oil industry and made Venezuela a major exporter of oil  Add to this Chavez's keen political judgment and it is easy to understand why Venezuela was a success under his rule.  .

 

Maduro has succeeded in screwing things up in his time in office.

 

Chavez upon taking office, nationalized other industries. In effect, screwing foreigners and capitalists. Venezuela for Venezuelans. As a result, Chavez was able to fund health care and education for the masses. He made significant reductions in poverty, constructed thousands of free medical clinics for the poor, and enacted programs to provide food and housing subsidies. Literacy was a problem. Chavez was responsible for more than one million adults becoming literate.

 

During Chavez's tenure, Venezuela had sufficient supplies of toilet paper, toothpaste, powder, milk, and meat. These same items are in short supply today.

 

I have commented on my television show and blog of Venezuela's acute shortage of toilet paper. Much needed and not appreciated till a person is without.

 

Maduro has screwed up. He faces election in six months. His solution.....the Ministry of Supreme Happiness. Sell Venezuelans a bill of goods. Let them think things are better when they are not. Lie, in effect.

 

One thing is successful under Maduro. The stock market. The Caracas Stock Market this year is the most successful stock market in the world. Returns of over 300 per cent.

 

The rich keep getting richer. Very rich. The poor poorer. Sound familiar?  In a fashion similar to what has been occurring in the United States. Record high stock prices, yet 99 per cent of the people suffering economically.

 

Maduro also devalued the currency.

 

Venezuelans have lost purchasing power.They suffer from increased poverty.

 

Whatever money people have buys little. There is little to be bought.

 

Inflation is near 50 percent. The U.S. dollar is seven times the official rate on the black market.

 

Venezuela is a sort of democracy. Elections are held. The President is king pin in actuality, not in name alone. The government is referred to as a Presidential democracy.

 

Physical beatings have become common place under Maduro. Big time. Generally by the police. The situation is reportedly out of control. Opposition party members and journalists are frequently subjected to the beatings.

 

Maduro must have figured that when there was nothing he could do, the creation of a Ministry of Supreme Happiness was the answer. Such genius! Do not put toilet paper, milk and food back on the shelves. Do not correct the economy so Venezuela's 99 per cent could afford these commodities. Merely tell the people they are happy and that the government is working to keep them  happy. It suffices.

 

Hopefully, they will believe Maduro and he will be reelected in six months.

 

Good luck!

 

By the way, the United Nations did a recent study regarding happiness. The title consisted of many words. Shortened, it was the U.N.'s Happiness Report for 2013. Venezuela was listed as the happiest country in Latin America. World wide, Venezuela was listed 20th.

 

My concern with the Happiness Report  is two fold.

 

First, how can Maduro make an already happy people happier? Is the Report really valid? With all their problems, how can the people of Venezuela be happy?

 

Second, the United States is listed 17th world wide. Are we that happy or unhappy?

 

If Obama or his successor establish a Cabinet department of Supreme Happiness, it will be a sure sign we are in trouble. On the other hand, the U.S. has no need for any type happiness ministry/department. Our Founding Fathers spelled it out for us in the Declaration of Independence. The right to "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."