Tag Archives: Canada

The Dangers Of Bureaucratic Overreach

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Yesterday Mary Katharine Ham posted an article at Hot Air about Michael Arrington, a prominent tech blogger, who sold his site Tech Crunch to AOL in 2010. Mr. Arrington lives in Seattle, Washington, and recently bought a boat. The boat was made in Canada, so Mr. Arrington had to fill out paperwork with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in order to bring the boat into America.

When Mr. Arrington went to pick up his boat and fill out the forms, there was a problem with the forms. The primary form, prepared by the government, had an error. The price was copied from the invoice, but DHS changed the currency from Canadian to U.S. dollars. Mr. Arrington suggested that the DHS change the form so that the amount would be correct. Mr. Arrington points out that the form has language at the bottom with serious sounding statements that the information is true and correct, and a signature block. Since he was being asked to swear that the information on the form was correct, he thought that the information on the form should be correct.

The article then explains that the DHS agent called another agent over and stated that Mr. Arrington would not sign the form. Mr. Arrington asked to speak to that agent to give them a more complete picture of the situation. She wouldn’t allow that. The agent then seized the boat and took possession of it.

The article states:

A person with a gun and a government badge asked me to swear in writing that a lie was true today. And when I didn’t do what she wanted she simply took my boat and asked me to leave.

…Arrington got back his boat, largely he says because the company that built it went to great lengths to extract it from DHS. The company has no doubt dealt with the customs office before, knows who to call, and has more sway than a single citizen. But you shouldn’t need to know the right people to simply sail the boat you own. Arrington says it succinctly: “My point in writing this isn’t to whine. Like I said, this will get worked out one way or another. No, it’s to highlight how screwed up our government bureaucracy has become.”

And, if it’s this hard for a well-educated and well-heeled citizen who can get a lawyer to navigate the system, there are many more with fewer advantages dealing with this kind of abuse at every level about whom we never hear.

Please follow the link above and read the entire article for a very insightful perspective on American bureaucracy.

I have no idea how to deal with the runaway bureaucracy we have created in this country, but I do know that we need to deal with it before it gets worse. A law-abiding citizen had his boat temporarily seized because he tried to correct a government mistake in the paperwork. That is not the America I grew up in.Enhanced by Zemanta

Following The Money On The Keystone Pipeline

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My reason for supporting the Keystone Pipeline is that it will provide a source of energy for America that is based in North America and provided by someone that actually likes America. To me, that is a security consideration and should be considered. However, there are also some very interesting reasons for blocking the pipeline–none of which have any relationship to the environment.

John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line today entitled,”Blocking the Keystone Pipeline: Who Benefits?”

Mr. Hinderaker points out:

If the Obama administration holds firm on blocking Keystone, the big loser will be TransCanada Corporation. But who will the big winners be? American railroads:

And of them, the biggest winner might just be the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Obama supporter and Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett. In December, the CEO of BNSF, Matthew Rose, said that his railroad was shipping about 500,000 barrels of oil per day out of the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and that it was seeking a permit to send “crude by rail to the Pacific Northwest.” He also said the railroad expects to “eventually” be shipping 1 million barrels of oil per day.

Isn’t it an incredible coincidence that Warren Buffet, one of President Obama’s biggest supporters, will benefit greatly if the pipeline is stopped. Who will lose? American workers who need jobs.

The article points out that because the oil from Canada can be transported by rail (instead of pipeline), American refineries are already being built to handle the increased amount of oil. Stopping the pipeline has no impact on the flow of oil–only on the way it is transported. Therefore, stopping the pipeline has no impact on the environment–in fact the pipeline probably has a lower carbon footprint than the railroad!

This story is another example of why you should never assume that the mainstream media is actually reporting the news. That’s why we need the Internet!

 

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An Interesting Perspective On America’s Economic Future

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Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal posted an article about the role of hydrocarbons in the American economy in the future.

The article states:

Since becoming president, Mr. Obama has treated hydrocarbon production like an infectious disease to be eradicated. His administration had to commission a study to learn, as announced last week, that allowing American companies to export liquefied natural gas would be beneficial to the U.S. economy. Still, the Department of Energy says it can’t make “final determinations” on export applications until it hears from those who object. So much for property rights.

America currently has the fastest rate of growth in production of oil and gas in the world. This is happening at a time when the demand for energy in America is slowing.  However, the worldwide demand for energy is increasing, creating a market for American energy exports.

The article goes on to describe energy developments in America, Canada, and Mexico:

Three democracies, sitting on vast resources, each have their own comparative advantages to offer an integrated continental market that could lead the world. Greater North American energy supplies imply millions of new jobs, higher tax revenues, plentiful energy for continental manufacturing and the end of reliance on hostile producers like Venezuela. But to reach optimum potential, investors need the freedom to explore, exploit and refine hydrocarbons and move output at every stage of production throughout the continent. In other words, governments need to get out of the way.

We can find our way out of the economic mess we are currently in–we just need to use the resources we have.

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Fiddling While Rome Burns

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It’s nice that Congress is back to work after the election. Between expiring tax cuts and the new taxes of ObamaCare, we are facing a fiscal cliff on January 1, so it is good to see Congress back to work addressing the task at hand. Just yesterday, according to CBS News, the Senate voted 92-5 to debate a bill to ease restrictions on hunters and fishermen and allow 41 U.S. hunters to bring home polar bear carcasses trapped in Canada due to a ban on trophy imports.

The article reports:

The polar bear provision would allow the 41 hunters — two are from Tester’s home state— who killed polar bears in Canada just before a 2008 ban on polar bear trophy imports took effect to bring the bears’ bodies across the border. The hunters involved were not able to bring the trophies home before the Fish and Wildlife Services listed them as a threatened species.

The bill has bipartisan support and is backed by the National Rifle Association and the National Wildlife Federation. The White House said Tuesday that the Obama administration also supports the bill.

Anyway, I guess I am glad that Congress is back to work on something.

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Under The Radar This Weekend

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Breitbart.com reported yesterday that Guantanamo terrorist Omar Khadr has been transferred from Guantanamo to Canada.

The article reports:

Khadr was transferred from Guantanamo under a long standing agreement between Canada and the United States that allows prisoners to serve out part of their sentence in their home country. Given Canada’s lax justice system, liberal judges and light sentences, it is likely Khadr could be released soon despite his conviction for Speer‘s murder and his admission to supporting terrorism. In fact the left wing Toronto Star has already published an editorial calling for the young terrorist’s swift release from prison.

The article further reports:

The jury at Khadr’s trial recommended that he be sentenced to 40 years but before deliberations had even begun the prosecution had struck its deal to see the sentence top out at 8 years with the possibility of transfer to Canada after 1 year. The jury was never told about the plea bargain.

Omar Khadr was born in Canada. He is the son of Egyptian Ahmed Khadr, a financier for Al-Qaida who moved his whole family into the Osama bin Laden compound in Afghanistan in the years before 9-11.

I am assuming this move is legal, but it is certainly not wise. If Canada frees him quickly, we will have been part of letting another terrorist lose in the world.

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Sometimes Things Just Get Ridiculous

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Yesterday CNS News reported that the Iran‘s Foreign Ministry has warned Iranians traveling in Canada to be alert to danger.

The article reports:

“Foreign Ministry said in a statement that based on current evidences, Islamphobia and Iranphobia have not stopped in Canada, rather escalated over the past few days,” reads a report from the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), which also quoted the ministry as stating,  “Such a trend has influenced behavior of the governmental and non-governmental authorities in the country.”

The “Canadian government’s double-standard about human rights has been the focus of the world and Canadian public opinion,” said the Foreign Ministry.

Last month the Canadian government issued a statement warning Canadians not to travel to Iran. The educated guess is that this statement from Iran is a response to that statement.

The unfortunate part of this is that many people in Iran who do not have access to foreign media will believe this nonsense.

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What Happens When The Government Gets Out Of The Way Of The Economy

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Yesterday Investors.com posted an editorial reporting that Canada has surpassed the United States in household wealth.

The article reports:

According to a study by Environics Analytics Wealthscapes published by The Globe & Mail, average Canadian household net worth in 2011 was $363,202, surpassing by $40,000 the $319,970 U.S. average.

What has been going on in Canada lately that has caused this growth in individual wealth? Free enterprise spurred on by lower taxes, less government spending, and less government regulation.

The article reports:

For one thing, Canada has embraced fiscal discipline. Its federal debt is around 35% of GDP compared to the U.S. at 100%. The deficit is 2% of GDP, not 10% as here. At June’s G-20 meeting in Mexico, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told heads of state that economic growth and fiscal discipline “go hand in hand.”

There are lessons here we need to learn:

In January, its slashed its corporate income tax rate to 15%, lowest in the G-7. The U.S. rate is 39.2%, the world’s second-highest. That’s helped Canadian companies create jobs and cut unemployment to 7.2% as the U.S. remains at 8.2%. Foreign direct investment has also surged, hitting a record $26 billion in 2011, fueling even more jobs and wealth.

The article concludes:

The cumulative reality is that these policies translate into wealth for an entire country. Canadians are richer, bolder and face a brighter future because they have quietly abandoned socialism and embraced free markets and free enterprise. We obviously need to relearn the lesson our neighbors are teaching: When free markets are embraced, we all do well.

It matters how you vote in November.

The Pipeline That Won’t Die

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The Keystone Pipeline is reviving itself again. Yesterday’s Washington Times reported that TransCanada, the company seeking to build the massive Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline reapplied for a permit on Friday. Here we go again.

The good news here is that TransCanada would rather sell its oil to America and send it through the Keystone Pipeline than sell its oil to China and build a pipeline to Canada’s west coast. The bad news is that if the Obama Administration delays the approval until after the 2012 election. the Keystone Pipeline may be moot–the pipeline across Canada may have already been started.

The article reports:

“Today there is just one person standing in the way of tens of thousands of new American jobs: President Obama,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. “After nearly four years of review, delay and politics, he is out of excuses for blocking this job-creating energy project any longer. Every state along the proposed route supports the pipeline, and its builder has jumped through every bureaucratic hoop.”

Nebraska officials were split on the earlier pipeline route, but have reportedly come to an understanding over a new route to the east of the sensitive Ogalallah Aquifer.

The State Department, which has a role in the approval process because the pipeline would cross the U.S.-Canada border, said in a statement that it had received the application and would put it through “a rigorous, transparent and thorough review.”

The delay in the pipeline represents a division within the Democrat party–the environmentalists oppose the pipeline and the unions support it. If the President wants to collect money from both groups, he has to put off a decision until after the election. However, there is another theory. After the President has collected all the money he can from Hollywood (representing the environmentalists), he can go ahead and approve the pipeline in order to gain campaign donations from the unions. I am not sure I believe that because there is no danger of the unions supporting Republicans and the unions do tend to be financially involved in elections.

Approving the Keystone Pipeline would create jobs. If the people of Nebraska support the pipeline, it should be built.

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Somehow Most Of The American Press Missed This

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Yesterday Investors.com posted a story about Tuesday’s “Three Amigos” summit with President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Things, unfortunately, did not go well. Our political President has been so busy focusing on his re-election, he seems to be neglecting some other things that are rather important.

The article reports:

Energy has become a searing rift between the U.S. and Canada and threatens to leave the U.S. without its top energy supplier.

The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned Obama the U.S. will have to pay market prices for its Canadian oil after Obama’s de facto veto of the Keystone XL pipeline. Canada is preparing to sell its oil to China.

Until now, NAFTA had shielded the U.S. from having to pay global prices for Canadian oil. That’s about to change.

Prepare for even higher prices at the gas pump as this takes effect.

The article reports the reporting of the summit in the Mexican press:

Excelsior of Mexico City reported that President Felipe Calderon bitterly brought up Operation Fast and Furious, a U.S. government operation that permitted Mexican drug cartels to smuggle thousands of weapons into drug-war-torn Mexico. This blunder has wrought mayhem on Mexico and cost thousands of lives.

There is also the fact that America is blocking the entry of both Mexico and Canada into the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The article at Investors.com concludes:

In short, the summit was a diplomatic disaster for the U.S. and its relations with its neighbors north and south.

It should have been the easiest, most no-brainer diplomatic task Obama faces.

Instead, it underscored the Obama administration’s indifference to anything more than its own political interests.

It’s a shame the American media didn’t tell us. Instead we had to learn of it in the foreign press.

As Americans, we used to be able to depend on the basic media to provide us with news about the events of the day. It is becoming more and more obvious that Americans are going to have to do their own research on the Internet and other places if they are to be informed voters.

 

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Justice Is Done In Shafia Trial

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On January 13, I posted an article (rightwinggranny.com) about the Shafia family in Ontario, Canada. Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and their son, Hamed were charged with murdering three of Mr. Shafia’s daughters and Mr. Shafia’s first wife. Today’s Edmonton Sun reported that Mr. Shafia, his current wife and thier son were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder.

The article in the newspaper quotes the judge in the case.

“It’s difficult to conceive of a more heinous, more despicable, more honourless crime,” said the judge.

“The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour founded upon the domination and control of women. A sick notion of honour that has no place in any civilized society.”

I would like to point out one of the problems with a religion that embraces the concept of honor killing. We as people are not perfect and our judgements are not always objective. How convenient for a second wife to find a way to end any tension between herself and her husband’s first wife by simply killing the first wife and claiming that it was done in obedience to god. That is just sad. I don’t think I trust that god.

 

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How Many Jobs Have Been Lost During The Obama Administration Because Of Crony Capitalism ?

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The link for this article is The Examiner. The article was originally at Bloomberg.com, linked to by the Drudge Report, but Bloomberg took it down. I’m sure there is a story behind that.

President Obama has said ‘no’ to the Keystone Pipeline. It is very possible that Canada will build a different pipeline across Canada to sell the oil to China. There is also another possibility. A railroad, coincidentally owned by Warren Buffet, can transport the oil for $3 a barrel more. Either way, the American consumer is the loser.

President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone Pipeline made no sense–unions supported the pipeline, and it would have created many jobs. Now it seems to make sense.

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The Real Cost Of President Obama’s Not Approving the Keystone Pipeline

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Yesterday Hot Air posted an article about the repercussions of President Obama’s delay in approving the Keystone Pipeline. It looks as if the delay may result in the pipeline not only not being built now–if the delay continues, it may not be built at all.

The article reports:

 Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel to China next month to discuss selling Canada’s bounty to the rapidly growing nation.

The preferred initial plan was to build the $7 billion Keystone pipeline to deliver Alberta’s oilsands crude to refineries in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.

Harper reasoned that the U.S. government would prefer to deal with a friendly neighbor to help meet its energy needs while creating thousands of jobs.

With widespread opposition by U.S. environmentalists, the Obama administration has delayed its decision on whether to approve the project proposed by energy giant TransCanada Pipelines.

The new plan would market to China and Asian countries through the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline that would transport Alberta’s oil and natural gas to British Columbia for shipment by tankers.

From a strategic point of view, this is a nightmare. We are depriving ourselves of a friendly source of oil and sending that oil to someone who is building a strong military and who is not a friend. Congress needs to make sure that when the ‘Payroll Tax Cut’ comes up for debate again before February (when it is due to expire) that a significant amount of pressure is put on the President to approve this pipeline. One of the ways that pressure could be applied would be to make sure all Americans paying more at the gas pump understood that the pipeline would eventually give us cheaper gasoline. The Republicans (and the unions) need to be more effective in getting the message out that we need this pipeline.

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Some Chilling Quotes From A Canadian Murder Trial

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A website called Atlas Shrugged posted an article on Wednesday about a murder trial being held in Canada.

The article reports:

Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, is accused of conspiring with her husband, Mohammad Shafia, 58, and their eldest son, Hamed, 21, of running one of their family cars into a canal with their four relatives inside.

This was an honor killing. Some of the comments from the family members accused of the killings (I apologize for the language):

“May the devil s**t on their graves. Is that what a daughter should be? Would a daughter be such a whore?” — Muslim dad who honor killed his three daughters and wife.

“God’s curse on them for generations.  … They betrayed Islam.”

“I would do it again 100 times,” said Mohammad Shafia, who murdered his THREE daughters in honour killing for dating the wrong boys.

What kind of god leads people to kill members of their family and believe that they are doing something good?

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Congress Is Stuck On Stupid

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English: Prime Minister Stephen Harper speakin...

Image via Wikipedia

For the moment I am going to ignore the fact that the currently debated tax cut is not a tax cut but a raid on Social Security. I am not even going to comment on the impracticality of a so-called tax cut that only lasts for two months. I am going to comment on another part of the bill that is being tossed around Congress as a political football.

Please understand, the current debate over the tax bill is worth more politically to President Obama than the bill would be if it were passed. The debate over this bill is the perfect opportunity for the Washington establishment to trash the Tea Party. There is also the problem that if the bill were passed, President Obama would have to approve the Keystone Pipeline or explain why he wasn’t approving it (as opposed to his current vote of ‘present’).

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article today about the Keystone Pipeline. Prime Minister Harper of Canada is getting rather tired of the dithering of the Obama Administration on the matter.

The article reports:

 Canada could sell its oil to China and other overseas markets with or without approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the United States, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In a year-end television interview, Harper indicated he had doubts the $7-billion pipeline would receive political approval from U.S. President Barack Obama, and that Canada should be looking outside the United States for markets.

“I am very serious about selling our oil off this continent, selling our energy products off to Asia. I think we have to do that,” Harper said in the Monday interview with CTV National News.

Harper’s comments were released a day after the White House sent signals it might kill TransCanada’s oil sands pipeline if it is forced to make a decision on the project in 60 days, saying there wasn’t sufficient time to complete a new environmental review.

The Keystone Pipeline is needed–it would create jobs and put more of America’s oil supply in the hands of a country that actually likes us. With the Arab spring turning into the Muslim winter, we really need to think about where our energy comes from.

The article at Hot Air concludes:

Meanwhile, China is growing thirstier, and Canada grows impatient to sell its bountiful oil to someone who really wants it.  Maybe everyone should concentrate on the real economic benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline instead of the illusory differences between a 2- and 12-month extension of a tax holiday that produced no economic stimulus at all over the past year.

The House of Representatives is right to demand a year-long extension of the so-called tax cut, but they are going to be thoroughly slammed in the political debate.

 

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This Happened Because President Obama Voted “Present” On The Keystone Pipe Line

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Reuters reported yesterday that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has stated that Canada will move to sell its energy products to Asia after President Obama delayed the Keystone Pipe Line that would bring Canadian oil to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas.

The article states:

Harper reiterated the Canadian government’s disappointment and said he remained optimistic the United States would eventually give it the green light.

“It’s important to note there has been extremely negative reaction to this decision in the United States,” Harper said ahead of a one-on-one meeting with President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, America continues to depend on people halfway across the world who hate us to meet our energy needs.

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