Here we stand, 17 months later, and economist Nouriel Roubini, who is widely acclaimed to have predicted the crash, is warning of a potential “double dip recession.”

Now, Roubini is no free-market economist.  The bits and pieces I’ve read by him suggest that he sees government spending as the cure for depression; in other words, he is an interventionist.

Frankly, I’m old-fashioned and can’t take the cult of personality around Roubini.  He’s no god; he’s only as good as his theory.  I don’t find his economic theory up to snuff, and I think he makes very poor policy suggestions. Nonetheless, it is telling that even such an esteemed interventionist as Roubini fears a second crash, despite the record levels of intervention.

As an alternative, I would recommend, for anyone who appreciates sound economic theory and the careful study of history, a brief section out of Murray Rothbard’s “America’s Great Depression.”  A taste:

If the Federal Reserve had an inflationist attitude during the boom [of the 1920's], it was just as ready to try to cure the depression by inflating further. It stepped in immediately to expand credit and  bolster shaky financial positions. In an act unprecedented in its history, the Federal Reserve moved in during the week of the crash—the final week of October—and in that brief period added almost $300 million to the reserves of the nation’s banks… Instead of going through a healthy and rapid liquidation of unsound positions, the economy was fated to be continually bolstered by governmental measures that could only prolong its diseased state. This enormous expansion was generated to prevent liquidation on the stock market and to permit the New York City banks to take over the brokers’ loans that the “other,” non-bank, lenders were liquidating. The great bulk of the increased reserves—all “controlled”—were pumped into New York… The Federal Reserve also promptly and sharply lowered its rediscount rate, from 6 percent at the beginning of the rash to 42 percent by mid-November. Acceptance rates were also reduced considerably.

By mid-November, the great stock break was over, and the market, falsely stimulated by artificial credit, began to move upward again. Standard and Poor’s stock price monthly averages, which had climbed from 56 in mid-1921 to 238 in September 1929—more than quadrupling—fell to 160 in November, a one-third drop in the course of two months. By the end of the year, stock prices had risen by several points. The stock market emergency over, bank reserves declined to their pre-crash levels…

The total money supply, as gauged by member bank demand deposits adjusted and time deposits, increased slightly—by about $300 million—during the final quarter of 1929.

President Hoover was proud of his experiment in cheap money, and in his speech to the business conference on December 5, he hailed the nation’s good fortune in possessing the splendid Federal Reserve System, which had succeeded in saving shaky banks, had restored confidence, and had made capital more abundant by reducing interest rates. Hoover had done his part to spur the expansion by personally urging the banks to rediscount more extensively at the Federal Reserve Banks.

If we change the president from Hoover to Obama, update the years and the monetary figures to account for inflation, what is so different about today?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Private-sector firms in the U.S. eliminated 20,000 jobs in February, the 25th decline in a row, according to the ADP employment report released Wednesday.

It was the fewest jobs lost since 22,000 jobs were added in January 2008.

In January 2010, a revised 60,000 jobs were lost, compared with the 22,000 originally reported, ADP said.

Month after month after month after month I’ve been blogging the unemployment numbers.  Today not only do we learn that the economy is shedding more jobs, but that the “only 20,000″ laid off last month was actually 60,000.  A rounding error at the BLS?

Unemployment as of Feb 5 was officially 9.7%.  Will it move back above 10% now?

And this trend of layoffs will continue if the president and Congress don’t start enacting pro growth policies, like cutting spending, reducing taxes across the board, and raising interest rates.  In short, extricating themselves from the workings of markets.  With 25 consecutive declines in payroll numbers, businesses are jittery.  Nobody except government officials believe in a “jobless recovery.”

Wednesday morning philosophy:

A “market” is what we call a group of individual humans who interact with the purpose of satisfying their desires through exchange.  The order arising from each individual seeking to maximize his “utility” was called by Adam Smith the “invisible hand,” and by F.A. Hayek the “extended order.”  Markets are self-regulatory by nature: that is to say, the people who engender what we refer to as a “market” are constantly shifting their tactics to attain higher levels of satisfaction.  When there is a meeting of minds between individuals or parties, a price is set, and the market is said to have “cleared.”  When government interferes with this clearing, it has positively acted against the well-being of the citizenry.

All actions in a market are necessarily subject to the law of unintended consequences because man’s faculty of reason is imperfect.  If men were angels, i.e., endowed with perfect intellect, the “market” would exist in the Biblical “fullness of time.”  Under these conditions, the consequences of every decision made would be immediately discernible, and the global market, unfettered from the feeble minds of men, would exist in perfect homeostasis.  Economists refer to this imaginary scenario (or something akin to it…, likely without the biblical reference) as the evenly rotating economy.

If it is true that one individual or one party (e.g., a business) can influence markets in ways that are impossible to completely predict, it is all the more true for gigantic entities such as governments.  Not only does the size of the typical Western government dwarf the size of even the largest corporations, but they are also not subject to the legal and ethical restrictions that markets place on their actors.  For example, what company can pay its debt to itself?  Can imprison its debtors?  Can seize property at gunpoint?  What company controls the judicial system?  Reflecting on the nature of government should make one very wary of its power, and the inevitable and dangerous consequences that overreaching by legal fiat entail.

So 25 months of declining payroll numbers?  It’s no great mystery.  The United States government’s unprecedented interventions that followed the collapse of our real estate and banking sectors have spawned a new generation of problems that we, with our weak intellect, are only beginning to recognize.  Their first warning signs are right now slowly taking shape on the approaching horizon.

It was not until 1931 that the consequences of 1929’s and 1930’s interventions became evident for all; the country then realized it had an additional set of major economic complications to sort out, without ever fully coming to grips with the prior set.  The American who in 1930 sat contemplating the ancient riddle now suddenly found it translated into incomprehensible Swahili.

Our intellect may not be perfect, but it’s functional.  And this unique trait of man will soon bear down upon the second great economic collapse in a few short years.

What the summit did accomplish, for a brief time, was to get the attention off the condition of the American economy.  For those who have not been paying close attention, there are very, very few signs of recovery.

The DJIA is stuck in the mid 10,000’s.  Gold is stubbornly high at ~$1,100/oz.  Despite mildly good news from some sectors, labor and real estate are worse than ever.   For all the billions trillions thrown at “rescue” efforts, the economy remains lifeless.  This translates to less tax receipts, more unemployment disbursements, and bigger deficits.  For example, New York faces a 5 year deficit of over $60 billion, while California has a 1 year, $20 billion problem.

The federal government’s balance sheet is in worse shape, with a record $1.56 trillion deficit for 2010.  TARP, all said and done, will lose an estimated $117 billion.  AIG, which was the recipient of more than $180 billion in tax dollars, lost $8.9 billion this quarter alone.  This was a marked improvement over last quarter’s $61.7 billion loss, but a far cry from profitability.  Meanwhile, the Federal printing presses continue to keep interest rates far, far lower than market rates, giving us citizens the historical privilege of living through a rare (and feared) inflationary depression: the seasonally adjusted, annual inflation rate for January was 2.6%.  For those readers unacquainted with the finer points of economic theory, consumer prices are supposed to drop precipitously during depressions (and this measure excludes food, energy, and healthcare prices.)

That the Federal Reserve has managed to counteract these prevailing market forces and actually drive UP prices after financial sector paroxysm is, at least in my opinion, reason for genuine concern.

It’s pretty scary to think that the United States dollar is not backed by gold, silver or anything precious or valuable. The only reason we accept its value is because enough people believe it to be worth something. This is fiat currency, a legal tender where the power and the value of the dollar is determined by the central bank that prints it.

There is an inherent flaw with fiat currencies though. If the central bank prints dollars too rapidly, we face hyperinflation, where all perceived value of the dollar is lost. Let’s face it, Mickey Mantle rookie cards would not be nearly worth as much if millions more were discovered tomorrow. The same is true for dollars. With every extra dollar a central bank prints, the dollar in your pocket becomes less valuable because it becomes less scarce. Within the last century we have seen the value of the dollar fall 95%.

Some have even speculated that the dollar is worth less than the latest Hanson CD.

It hasn’t always been this way. Our Founding Fathers knew the flaws of a centralized banking system. Throughout history empires have fallen because of loose monetary policies brought on by central banks. The Roman Empire fell because they constantly debased their coins to pay for an over-extended military and expensive social programs.

To prevent this from happening, the Founders decided to use gold and silver pieces to trade, instead of a central bank note. This would help deter banks from running a fractional reserve system. Fractional reserve banking, or FRB, for short, has been around for centuries. Banks loan out more money then the gold they have in their vaults. When there is a fiat money regime, if banks do not have enough money to cover a customer’s withdrawal, the central bank has the ability to just print up more notes to cover the difference. This happens all too often now. If we stuck to the Founder’s system, gold and silver pieces would be inflation proof and counterfeit proof.

Through the Constitution and the Coinage Act of 1792, the Founders set up a system where they defined dollars to be gold and silver coins, and allowed only Congress the power to coin money. Only these minted coins would be deemed “lawful money,” meaning that promissory notes or demand notes (today’s version of dollars) were unlawful.

The US government was able to keep to these standards for at least a little while, even during two 10 year reigns of central banks. But in order to finance the Civil War, Lincoln reeled in coins and replaced them with the infamous greenbacks. The value of the dollar plummeted and it wasn’t until after the war, when the government began to reissue coins, that the buying power of the dollar increased.

SIDE NOTE:
In order for paper money to have value, it must be a legally binding document or contract. That’s what all the writing and funky signatures on bills are for. But when looking at a bill you should pay close attention to the wording of it.

Between the Civil War and 1914, there were several versions of paper money with several different agreements, but when the Federal Reserve Bank, a “private” central bank, opened its doors in 1914 they began printing money with this contract on it:

“This note is receivable by all National Banks and Federal Reserve Banks for taxes and public dues. It is redeemable in gold on demand at the treasury department in Washington or in gold coin or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank.”

If a note can be redeemed for lawful money, then it is not lawful money. It is a loan, a promissory note, an IOU. It is a contract that gives the Federal Reserve the full power to inflate the dollar, and does not guarantee any set amount of gold in return.

Today’s dollars have been further revised to not allow the exchange of notes for gold.

Today’s dollars have been further revised to not allow the exchange of notes to lawful money.

LET THE PRINTING PRESSES BEGIN

By the 1920s Fractional Reserve Banking was in full effect. Banks, backed by Federal Reserve notes, loaned out too much money, creating a financial bubble that would soon burst and result in many bank failures. (Sound familiar?) To stimulate the shrinking economy, FDR sent the printing presses into overdrive and confiscated all of the circulating gold coins. He believed that people were “hoarding” gold and delaying economic recovery. Under Executive Order 6102, it became illegal for citizens to have any gold coin, bullion or certificate. The seized gold which would be exchanged for dollars became the infamous gold housed in the Federal Reserve vaults.

At the time of the exchange the dollar was pegged at $21/ounce of gold. But because FDR, used the Federal Reserve to print new money to exchange for the gold, he devalued the dollar driving the price of gold up to $35 per ounce. Ironically, in the name of preventing “hoarding” the American public was duped into taking money that was 40% less valuable then the gold they had originally had.

Complete control of the gold supply was now in the hands of the Federal Reserve, exactly what our Founding Fathers were trying to avoid. World war and depression raged on throughout the globe and, in order to provide a foundation for global recovery, a conference was held in Bretton Woods, NH in 1944 by all 44 major allied powers. At the conference it was recognized that the US represented half of the global economy, and it would be for the world’s best interest to make the US dollar the global reserve currency to make trade easier between nations. This was great for the United States, because in order to trade, all countries had to buy dollars at its $35 per ounce rate, resulting in a US economic boom. But there was nothing in the Bretton Woods agreement that stopped the Federal Reserve from issuing more Federal Reserve Notes.

In only a few decades, countries began to question how we were possibly able to finance our unending overseas wars. In order to fund the Vietnam War, the US ran huge budget deficits and started flooding the economy with paper dollars. The French, under President Charles de Gaulle, became suspicious that the United States could not back the money supply with gold, and began trading in their surplus of dollars for gold.

In 1971, the United States Treasury’s gold stocks began to decline at an alarming rate and, in order to save our reserves, Nixon declared a force majeure, unilaterally breaking us from the Bretton Woods agreement. He had officially closed the gold window, and would no longer allow anyone to redeem their dollars for gold. We were now completely severed from the gold system. Without gold backing our dollar, there was no limit to how many Federal Reserve notes could be printed.

It took our country 300 hundred years, from the first pilgrim until 1973, to generate the first trillion dollars of money stock. The most recent trillion dollars was generated in the past four and a half months. Before our dollar completely crashes, we need to put an end to our out of control spending. We need to take back control of our dollar, and put it back in the hands of the United States citizens. And, above all else, we need to put an end to the Federal Reserve.

There is hope. The rules that were outlined in the Constitution still stand. There has been no amendment to repeal them. The Coinage Act is held in a state of suspension by laws that are both unconstitutional and illegal. We have ended central banks in the past and we can do it again. New currency can be phased in as the Federal Note is phased out. The introduction of the euro is proof of it. But unlike the euro, which is also a fiat currency, we would develop a new currency backed by gold, silver or any other precious commodity. We would allow this new currency to compete with the dollar on the free market and as people saw the prices in dollars inflate they would invest more in the new stable currency until eventually the dollar would be phased out.

Right now there is a bill, HR 1207, in Congress to audit the Fed. Contact your representatives and make sure that they are supporting this bill. This is the first step to change we can actually believe in.

EDITOR’S NOTE:
Please note that although gold coins deterred FRB, it did not stop it. Banks have been legally privileged to loan out “checkbook” money, which is literally created by the bookkeeper’s pen. It is the legal reserve ratio that determines this privilege, not the kind of money used. What sound money does is make it very hard to evade the consequences of fractional reserve banking – bank runs and bankruptcy for unscrupulous banks.

For more from this author go to:
Defeat Nita Lowey or The Eagle View

Hotel Info:
The Leadership Conference and Spring Board Meeting will be held at the Hampton Inn. They have granted us a special rate of $99 / night. The special rate is available by calling 518-396-3500 and asking for the “Young Republicans” rate. Reservations at the special rate need to be made by February 27th, 2010. http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=ALBHSHX

Schedule:
Friday March 12th
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tastes of Albany: Welcoming reception

Saturday, March 13th
8:30 am – 9:00 am Executive Board Meeting at the Hampton Inn
9:00 am – 11:00 am General Board Meeting & Brunch at the Hampton Inn

Speakers Include:
TBD
12:00 pm – 6:00 pm NYSYR 2010 Grassroots Campaign School
“Fundraising Towards Victory in 2010” Presentation
Presenter:
Jason Weingartner, Finance Director, NY Republican State Committee
Topics covered will include among other topics: fundraising from events, fundraising by personal solicitation, fundraising through direct mail, and fundraising through e-campaign strategies
“New Media Solutions for Victory in 2010” Panel
Participants:
Andrew Abdel-Malik, Co-Founder Gotham Management Group
Rob Willington, Rebuild the Party
“Deciphering Roberts Rules in 2010”

Participants:
Daniel Tierney, Parliamentarian, Young Republican National Federation
Edward Lass, Parliamentarian, NYSYR
“Sitting YR Elected Officials” Panel

Participants:
TBD

And More…
7:00PM Annual Teddy Roosevelt Dinner
Assemblyman Marc Molinaro will accept our Assemblyman of the Year Award.
INCLUDED IN REGISTRATION!]
9:00 pm – ? Night out on the Town
Sunday, March 14th
11:00 am – 4:00 pm Day to Tour Albany

Start Date: 2010-03-12
End Date: 2010-03-14

Mr. Will Brown was there( Manhattan Republican Coalition) with much accolades to the young men of the Harlem Eagle Academy and , of course, the “Young Marines” who helped with the pledge of allegiance as it was accompanied by the voice of a lovely songstress

It was encouraging to see Martin Chicon is running for the United States Senate braving the majority of democrats and asking ‘ What are the common issues between the Republicans and Democrats? (if any).” He was accepted.

As a middle of road conservative or centrist it was encouraging to know that the Democrats were advocating
that sometimes you can’t vote all “D” in the voting booth but
a balance of both “Republicans” and “Democrats”.

The issues at hand were the raising of young black boys in single parent homes, education, mentoring for these young black boys, cooperative economics in the black community which is a congregate $89 Billion, education especially in reading at third grade and math and science competitiveness in upper grades( America qualifies 32 globally),the breakdown of the nuclear family,career shadowing by youth of their parents or mentor. and the fact that 70 percent of NYC inmates come from seven different neighborhoods or zipcodes.

The panelists agreed there is still hope for the young African-American men but it requires a long time investment.

A member of the Fugees R&B/Hip Hop band was there on the panel and he is a Yale University graduate. He was applauded for his well spokenness although still trying to protect the image of the record label industry.

Hey, people are people and contrawise there are some good conservative Democrats.

Alas, a man of the cloth, Rev.Falkner will running as a Republican candidate for Congress and he is a centrist.

(Posted by David Russell. Written by the Tea Party movement.)

 I. As the course of human events winds its way through History, it has found some paths lead to Tyranny and some to Liberty. In seeking a path to Liberty, a great and powerful movement is now rising from every corner of our land. Created by the Will of the American People, it rejects unconstitutional domination by the Government that is supposed to be its servant. This movement has arisen, in large part, because our elected officials have failed us.

For much of its history the United States has been a land of prosperity and liberty, sound policies such as fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and a belief in the free market have safeguarded this condition. In recent years however, Congress, the President, the Federal Reserve Board and the Courts have replaced those practices with profligate government spending and expansion of the government power beyond what is
constitutionally permissible.

This course, if not reversed, can only lead to economic collapse and tyranny.

Therefore, Individuals acting through the Tea Party Movement, seek to restore the policies, which are proven to safeguard liberty and prosperity for all. We will organize, demonstrate and vote until this restoration has been achieved. We will stay focused on this goal and remain INDEPENDENT from any persons or political parties who seek to distract us from this end.

Many seek to define this Movement, to use it, to lead it, to co-opt it, to channel it, to control it, to defeat it.

WE WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

The Tea Party Movement is in agreement with our Founders that the government that governs least governs best. We believe that Capitalism – NOT GOVERNMENT – is essential to the creation of wealth and a vastly reduced government provides the foundation for a thriving Capitalist system.

The Tea Party Movement of America embraces and serves people of all races, creeds, religions, and political affiliations, and we declare ourselves to be independent of all those forces that seek to manipulate our actions or control our destiny.

II. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Democrat Party and its power drunk junta in Washington DC, which is currently seeking to impose a Socialist agenda on our Republic.

We reject arrogant Left-wing politicians who furtively hide from public scrutiny, as they cut corrupt deals loaded with earmarks and pork in order to produce 2000 page pieces of legislation so purposely incomprehensible, they do not even bother to read them before foisting them upon us.

We reject the endless creation of myriad federal government agencies that drown free enterprise and local control in the swarms of education, energy, ecology, and commerce bureaucrats who style themselves “czars” sent to harass us. We reject the creation of federal govern­ment regulations and agencies which demand the States pay for unfunded Federal mandates.

We reject a Democrat Party which refuses to give credence to our demands for just redress of grievances and which insults and seeks to demonize our legal right to peacefully protest the unjust laws it inflicts upon us.

We reject a profligate Government that is spending TRILLIONS of dollars on worthless socialist schemes designed to bankrupt us and put the American people in a position of dependence on the State, as peasants begging for their very sustenance from self-styled “educated classes” and so-called “experts”.

We reject a foreign policy which bows and scrapes and apologizes before the world for America.

We reject an Attorney General of the United States who offers succor and rights to vicious terrorist murderers and seeks to protect them with a mock civilian trial when such enemy combatants, captured on the field of battle, should be tried in secure military courts.

We reject the claims of an un-elected Federal Judiciary to violate the separation of powers by demanding its decisions be enforced by the other coequal branches of government, regardless of how unconstitutional the other branches of government may think those decisions are.

We reject all acts that ignore or diminish the 2nd and 10th Amendments to the US Constitution and we seek to have all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution to be reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

III. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Republican Party, which has in the past manipulated its Conservative Base to win election after election and which then betrays everything that Base fought for and believed.

We reject the idea that the electoral goals of the Republican Party are identical to the goals of the Tea Party Movement or that this Movement is an adjunct to the Republican Party.

We reject the Republican Party professionals who now seek to use the Tea Party Movement for their corrupt and narrow political purposes.

We acknowledge that standing on our principles does not mean throwing out our common sense; we will NOT abandon our principles in the name of a nonexistent bipartisanship or a misguided devotion to an illusion of “pragmatism”, which disguises a desire to betray us in its name.

We reject the scare tactics of the Republican Party, which seeks to herd us into voting for candidates who supposedly represent the “lesser of two evils” in the name of fealty to the principle of small government and then having to suffer such candidates as they betray that principle.  We are not well served by parasites whose livelihoods depend on the very State whose power to reward or sanction we elected them to limit and proscribe.

We insist that the Tea Party Movement does NOT consider the election of Republicans in and of itself to be necessarily beneficial to our goals.

We demand the Republican Party understand that we reject its attempts to co-opt us.

WE WILL WORK AGAINST THEM when they oppose our views by trying to force Repub­licans In Name Only (RINO) on us. When Republicans are in accord with their Conservative Base as well as the Independent voters who align with it, IT WINS; when they are NOT in accord with the Conservative Base and the Independent voters who align with it, IT LOSES.

We reject RINO money; we reject RINO “advice”; we reject RINO “professional experi­ence”; we reject RINO “progressivism”; we reject RINO support of Big Government; we reject RINO back room deal making; we reject RINO pork spending; we reject false RINO profes­sions of Conservative views and we reject the RINO’s statist subversion of the principles of small government for which the Republican Party is supposed to stand.

Republican Party attempts to ignore the will of the Base, as it did in 1976, 1992, 1996, 2006 and 2008, resulted in disaster; when it embraces the will of the Base, as it did in 1980, 1984 and 1994, it wins historic victories.

We demand the Republican Party recognize that while the Tea Party Movement cannot guarantee their aid will help them win elections, it is very likely WE CAN MAKE THEM LOSE if they are disdainful of our goals.

IV. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Media, which has proved itself to be anything BUT a fair and balanced enterprise and which focuses more on entertainment, fear mongering and shock value than investigation and unbiased fact.

We reject the fiction that an unbiased media still exists; there is friendly media and there is unfriendly ENE-media. The Tea Party Movement refuses to give false credence to the self-aggrandizing, self-deluding lie that ANY PART of the Fourth Estate is free of the self-serving agendas of those who own them.

V. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of self-styled “leaders” who claim to speak for the Tea Party Movement. This movement is not a brand name to be used to sell product; nor is it a logo to be used to justify profiting off its name.

We reject those who seek to personally capitalize on our popularity and momentum by trying to asso­ciate with our cause.

We reject the idea that the Tea Party Movement is “led” by anyone other than the millions of average citizens who make it up. The Tea Party Movement understands that as a Free People, we need to SAVE OURSELVES, BY OURSELVES, FOR OURSELVES.

The Tea Party Movement is not “led.” The Tea Party Movement LEADS.

VI. We are united in our common belief in Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets. This threefold purpose is the source of our unity in the Tea Party Movement.

We reject the idea that the Tea Party Movement must all be unanimous in our specific policy views in order to win.  We recognize that the current situation requires we come together in confederation to achieve the MANY MUTUAL GOALS we all seek to accomplish.

We recognize that the current situation requires that we concentrate on the many things we have in common rather than those few things about which we may disagree.

We are the Tea Party Movement of America and we believe in American Exceptionalism.

We believe that American Exceptionalism is found in its devotion to the cause of Liberty.

We believe that Liberty is based in rational self-interest, in freedom of thought, in free markets, free association, free speech, a free press and the ability granted us under the Constitu­tion TO DIRECT OUR OWN AFFAIRS FREE OF THE DICTATES OF AN EVER EXPAND­ING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH IS AS VORACIOUS IN ITS DESIRE FOR POW­ER AS IT IS INCOMPETENT AND DANGEROUS IN ITS EXERCISE.

We believe that either fate or history has chosen this Country to be a beacon of freedom and prosperity to the whole world because of America’s belief in and vigorous defense of political and economic Liberty. The United States has been the instrument of Liberty against the many tyrannies that have threatened the people of this world.

The Tea Party Movement rejects the idea that America has to apologize to a far guiltier world that has been largely unappreciative of the sacrifices made on their behalf by the brave and noble members of our Armed Forces, whose sacrifice and patriotic service in our defense makes all else possible.

The Tea Party Movement rejects the imposition of “transformational change” performed on our Nation by smug elites who call themselves the “educated class”.

The Tea Party Movement understands that our Nation is NOT the same thing as our government and that America is much more than simply a militarily and economically powerful State.

The Tea Party Movement sees America as something exceptional, as something unique, as something that came into existence to fulfill the hope of all previous generations that longed for freedom.

It came into existence because it is more than simply a country with land and population and riches and armaments. America came into existence because LIBERTY is an eternal con­cept in the mind of both God AND Man.

The United States of America came into existence because Mankind needs freedom the same way it needs food and air and property and security and love.

And what is freedom other than the RIGHT to be free of the tyranny of Government and the elitist, self-styled aristocrats who seek to run it at our expense and to our detriment?

The Tea Party Movement will fight this danger to our Liberty as long as its members have breath in their bodies.

When America didn’t exist men and women were compelled to invent it, BECAUSE MANKIND CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT FREEDOM AND STILL BE FULLY HUMAN.

To this goal we mutually pledge to each other, as our Founding Fathers did over two centuries ago, our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Horrendous numbers for Congress are nothing new.  As far back as Real Clear Politics’ polling goes, Congress has a negative spread.  The transition from Republican to Democrat majorities has done nothing to help the perception of this once venerable institution.

President Obama, post-partisan in campaign rhetoric only, fairs better with a razor thin positive spread of 1.9%.  But bear in mind that he was elected with great fanfare; and in him many people, on the left and right, had pinned their hopes for a courteous and constructive future political.  His overreaching statist ambitions for cap and trade and healthcare, as well as equity-takeover of American banks, de facto control over the nation’s largest insurer, and increased regulations on credit card lending lifted the (in my opinion, naive, possibly delusional) veil of bipartisan rhetoric.  The arrogant government reach from Congress and the Executive branch, after Bush had already bailed out the insolvent banks, Fannie and Freddie, and used TARP funds to lend to the car companies, spawned the “Don’t tread on me!” Tea Party movement.  The president and Congress are severely weakened, and face the choice of compromise or complete dissolution of the Democratic party as we know it.

It is clear that our government at all levels is not working for, but actively against, the interests of the people.  Too concerned with tomorrow’s election results, they prefer not to notice the impending fiscal crisis: a result of their profligate spending, borrowing, and inflating.  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker summed it up well on a recent CNN interview (approximately 1/4 down the page).  Asked by host Fareed Zakaria: ” … can the world’s greatest power be the world’s greatest borrower?” said Volcker: “I hate to give you this answer, but the crisis I most worry about is the crisis in governance.“  He added, “this is more dysfunctional than I’ve seen it.”

When Democracy works, it does so by limiting its sphere of governance; in other words, it remains within its constitutional adumbration.  Once the elected officials lose all sense of constraint due to hubris, stunning ignorance, or disdain for their fractious constituents whom they deem unsophisticated, Democracy in devolves into mob rule accompanied by the self-serving  flattery of pomp and circumstance. The language of liberty is cheaply used to provide cover for politicians who abuse their elected power and carve out more and more of the private sector for special interests.  What was once noble self-governance becomes the means for ever-more competitive lawful plunder.  Instead of serving the general welfare, roughly defined by our Constitutional, officials run a racket of political favors for their most influential constituents. Volcker’s comments suggests that he senses our Republic being blown off course by these dangerous political winds.

Americans, in spite of all our technology and cultural insularity, are still people, flesh and blood.  Recognizing that human nature is unchanging, it would do us well to recall the storied falls of past Democracies and Republics.  Although not taught in public schools, Athens, the archetype of majority politics, tarnished democracy’s name for centuries after its desperate citizens continually approved more and more grotesque tactics during the Peloponnesian War, including genocide.  (I should say here, explicitly, that I am not implying the American populace or military is anything like the Athenians.  The point is to exemplify the extremes that democracies can be driven to in times of desperation; the tyranny of the majority is not necessarily any less baleful than the tyranny of a Caligula.)  The waning years of the Roman Senate were marked by character assassination and physical assassination, intermittent despotic rule in the city of Rome, and dispossession of private property.  It was this degenerate behavior by the political class that softened up a proud, self-governing people for the rule of Caesar.  These are meant as warnings, not to illustrate an American fait d’accompli.

Which brings us to present-day America… The Obama administration and the Democratic Congressional majority have been shaken deeply by gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, and most recently the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate, taking the seat of the “liberal lion” Ted Kennedy.  Obama’s home state of Illinois, a Democratic stronghold, is flirting likewise with political rebellion.  These defeats have taken their tole on the confidence of the ruling majority, and given hope to millions of disaffected Americans.

In what amounts to the first positive economic development from this administration the Obama has pledged $8.3 billion pledge of funding for nuclear power.  Now ideally, Congress would let the private sector handle the production of power.  But present attitudes and prejudices being what they are, this is as good as it gets.  If the administration is serious about this project and does not hinder progress by attempting to pacify the Greens, it may be the first step in the right direction for revitalizing American industry and subsequently our economy.  A vibrant nuclear power industry would cut capital energy expenditures, attract manufacturing, and make the American worker comparatively cheaper (less $ to energy bills means more available to “human capital,” i.e. labor).

Being familiar with his radical/socialist background, I have many doubts Obama will meaningfully move to the center.  Still, if he is serious about nuclear energy, and does not use it as a bargaining chip for nationalizing healthcare, it will be a salubrious sign for a government-weary people.

Can he at least have the decency to ban winter with the stroke of his mighty pen, and help out the eastern seaboard?