Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Denninger gets it, Pelosi won't.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/2087-A-Very-Serious-Warning-To-Nancy-Pelosi.html

The Market TickerTuesday, March 16. 2010
Posted by Karl Denninger in Politics at 18:50

A *Very Serious* Warning To Nancy Pelosi
I know you're not going to listen to me.

I'm going to say it anyway, because as a concerned citizen of The United States of America, I must.

You are making a grave, perhaps nation-ending mistake.

Attempting to "deem" the Health Care bill passed when it has not actually been voted on is not Constitutional. Article 1, Section 7:

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

This is the black-letter law of the land.

There are millions of Americans who are extraordinarily pissed off right now. Some of them, like me, write scathing columns on The Internet or we rant on Talk Radio and Television (such as Judge Napolitano)

But some just smolder. Some remember the other founding document of our Republic, The Declaration of Indpendence, which says, in part:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

That doesn't sound so good. What has tempered these people is largely what always has in all nations, that is:

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

Indeed.

Neither you or I know where the line is for that cross-section of the citizens in this land. I cannot speak for them, for I am not inclined toward the sort of actions that they are, nor do I countenance them. As such I'm not exactly on those folks' "A list".

In fact I fear the day they decide to express their disgust, for while in singular number those expressions are horrifying, as a group such actions harken to a time I hope we would never revisit in this nation.

But I do understand, and see, that they are seething in anger at what has befallen this once-great country.

They have watched as thirty years of corruption in Washington DC has turned our economy and government into a bad joke.

They have watched their jobs go overseas to a Communist Nation for the benefit of a handful of corporate oligarchs, while Washington chortles.

They have watched banksters do everything in their power to imprison them in debt, including bribing Congress to remove usury laws, "reform" bankruptcy so as to render a significant percentage of the population under effective indentured servitude (allegedly prohibited by the Constitution) while the very same banksters declare bankruptcy at the drop of a hat and stick lenders with losses, and while these very same banksters peddle fraudulent securities, cook their balance sheets and generally defraud everyone in the nation - then force the taxpayers, at gunpoint (quite literally, if you remember the fall of 2008 - you were in the room with Bernanke and Paulson when they threatened tanks in the streets) to bail them out.

Finally, they have watched Health Care turn into a monstrous mess, with cost increases of 10, 20 even 30% or more a year. These costs are expanding at that rate because ambulance chasers like former Presidential Candidate John Edwards make millions while Congress has passed laws forcing Americans to eat the development expense for every advanced medical technology over the last 30 years. Congress has refused to demand that medical practitioners bill everyone the same price for the same procedures and drugs. Congress has passed laws exempting medical providers and insurers from anti-trust law, so those aggrieved cannot sue in private causes of action for these abuses. And finally, Congress has forced all of us to eat the cost of care for illegal invaders who commit their first crime with their first step over our national boundary. All of these abuses and more could be addressed, but none of them are in the bill you wish to advance, and that, Madame Speaker, is intentional.

But all of this, while it has been outrageous and even criminal, has been, for the most part, Constitutional. It may be the stuff of a Banana Republic, and it may violate equal protection of the law (a founding principle and in fact a guaranteed right), but Congress has never cared about any of that in my 47 years on this planet.

Witness all the laws you, Madame Speaker and the rest of the Government (including this Health Care plan) do not have to obey while the rest of us do under pain of fine or even imprisonment.

What you propose to do now, however, is not Constitutional.

Rather than negotiate, advance and pass something like my four-point plan that would, along with dropping anti-trust protections and ending the practice of preventing reimportation of drugs and devices, attack the problem at the source, you instead are putting forward the Senate's 2200-page monstrosity.

You are doing so because this bill is not about Health Care at all. It is about revenue, and you know it. It is about the fact that The Federal Government is running into a wall at warp speed trying to furiously cover up all the fraud and scams in the financial system while at the same time spending over $1.5 trillion we do not have to replace collapsed consumer demand.

You must raise revenues, and you know it - or this ship called "The USS Treasury" sinks beneath the waves, and the first sacrifices to go overboard will be all the Seniors on Medicare and Social Security - not by choice, but by force of fiscal insolvency.

In short, this is just another Washington scam.

But this time you're going too far, and you're taking a horrific risk.

You must not, Madame Speaker.

You must instead face this nation and tell the truth.

We cannot fund the scams and frauds any more. Those who committed them must go to prison, even if they're campaign contributors.

We cannot borrow 10% of our GDP and spend it forward, as the CBO projects we will try, in a futile and permanent attempt to replace consumer demand.

If we do not stop this idiocy we will soon be unable to fund Social Security, Medicare and Welfare in all its forms, leading to an immediate and critical breakdown of our society.

The mad reach for revenue, Madame Speaker, is why you're in such a hurry - and you know damn well I'm right.

If you succeed, we will get your tax bill now and the promised health care never.

That's a fact.

There is a bright white line for every person in this country who has taken an oath to uphold our Constitution. It is in different places for each of those individuals, but you had better believe it exists.

For some it will be crossed if you try to disarm Americans, as was attempted after Katrina.

For some it will be crossed if you try to occupy their homes.

And for some, it may be crossed if you attempt to "deem" this bill passed, when The House has not actually passed it.

I pray this evening I am wrong, and that for no material number of people - indeed, for no one person - that is where their personal line is.

But I am reasonably certain that this prayer will be offered in vain.

Therefore, the choice is yours, not mine, for all I can do in furtherance of my hopes (and abeyance of my fears) is pray.

You, Madame Speaker, on the other hand, can act to quell this idiocy.

Or you may tempt fate, you may tempt the millions of people who have swore an oath to defend and uphold The Constitution and, having done so, went to war throughout our history. Many of those people, along with millions more who never wore a uniform stand today in defense of that "quaint" old piece of parchment - but not in defense of you, nor any other person.

You may also provoke States to assert their long-dormant 10th Amendment rights for real, not in some quaint "one off" regarding intra-state weapons manufacturing. That, Madame Speaker, harkens back to a time I'd rather not revisit as well.

You will almost certainly lose your Speaker's Gavel come November, as the mortal sin against the Constitution of deeming a bill passed without actually voting on it is so inimical to a republican form of government and displays such gross arrogance that you have forfeited your right to wield that gavel by mere contemplation of the act.

I am quite certain that I stand with millions of other Americans who are willing to put forth whatever effort is necessary to see that occurs come November - at the ballot box - whether you proceed with your abhorrent plan or not.

But what I pray for this evening, as I complete my day and offer homage to God before retiring, is that your office, and those of your fellow Democrats who are about to violate your sacred oaths willfully, intentionally, and with malice aforethought - is all you lose.

13 comments:

TD said...

Bad, bad things afoot...

Review your plans, check your gear.

God bless this country.

Anonymous said...

In her house in America dead Liberty waits dreaming.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.

And with strange aeons even death may die.

--Rhett

rexxhead said...

"If we do not stop this idiocy we will soon be unable to fund Social Security, Medicare and Welfare in all its forms, leading to an immediate and critical breakdown of our society."


He says that like it's a bad thing...

Anonymous said...

A very well written letter, but alas, I fear it won't be heeded.

Anonymous said...

We are on the doorstep of civil war!!!!! I pray that I'm wrong. I want to be really wrong.

Doug
Newark, Ohio

shiloh1862 said...

It appears the progressives do indeed want a civil war. If they "deem" this travesty as passed, I can see no other way to look at this.

May God Bless Us.

Pickdog
III

B said...

Karl on fire again today. That is a sobering post.

B
III

Doc Enigma said...

If it comes to pass, and I pray God for His intervention, this may be the first true civil war we've had since two factions will be fighting for control of the government unlike the so-called 'civil war' of 1861 where the North fought to return the already seceded southern states to Northern domination....all the South wanted to do was leave in peace...and we see how that turned out.

They (the communists now controlling the legislative, executive, and judicial branches) are pushing pretty hard to start this thing.

I hope they have a moment of pause, because many, many, many people are getting ready to stand up and simply ask, "You wanna dance with me, punk?"

It might not be as easy to learn these 'dance steps' as the communists think...

Anonymous said...

You lost me on drug re-importation.
Any drug worth going to the trouble of re-importing is worth going to the trouble of counterfeiting.

How pissed off would you be if you couldn't find an effective medicine, because Walmart and Target saved money by stocking up on cheaper re-imports? It's not just theoretical, (low) thousands of cancer patients died on fake drugs.

Knowing that you are passionate and un-informed about one thing casts doubts on everything else.

Anonymous said...

Up the Republic.

Moe Death said...

You know, Rhett, you're right! our current Federal government does indeed resemble great Cthulhu... right down to the stench.

Bill
III

Dr. Richard said...

Denniger had a post today about the April 19th event in Virginia. I'll be there...

He is well aware that the country is a powder keg ready to blow and expects massive civil unrest / civil war in the very near future.

You would be surprised to realize how many capital markets / financial analyst types get it, sense total financial destruction and its follow-on political, social, geopolitical, and chaos effects, and who are prepping. This is particularly true for the independent (e.g. don't work for the big banks / players) finance types who work in investment banking and venture capital. Likewise, a lot are going Galt and effectively opting out - many of these are also 3%'ers.

Dr. Richard

Ahab said...

Anonymous said...

You lost me on drug re-importation.......

Knowing that you are passionate and un-informed about one thing casts doubts on everything else.

Well, anonymous, all I can say for your comment is you must have doggy do-do for brains. You would trash that entire and brilliant piece because you didn't understand what he was talking about when he refers to drug re-importation?

It would appear when the uprising begins, you will be on the side of what "we the people" euphemistically call the "opfor," in which case I look forward to meeting you on the field of battle. That is, if you have the guts to defend the indefensible.