THE MOUNTAIN OBSERVER

Vol. 1                                             Issue 4                                                           05/06/01

 A FREEWHEELING CONSERVATIVE COMMENTARY DEDICATED

  TO THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM AND THE NEXT GENERATION.

                          READER DIALOG ENCOURAGED.

Produced occasionally when I'm good and ready, but probably at least 10 times a year.

                        Where the air is thin and the hunting and fishing are good

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SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES:  "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."                          (It's not about hunting ducks)

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Florida vote re-count: Every time they try it again, Bush gains votes.  It is clear now that the margin of victory hinged on the military vote and Elian Gonzales.  Florida Republicans really need to focus on the composition of the State Supreme Court and help find new people who can read the Constitution.  This is admittedly an increasingly difficult task in an age when reading is no longer a necessary requirement to graduate from high school, even college, or to vote.  Voting literacy tests anyone?   I really don't think it was the machines that were the problem although politically that will be the mantra.  What we clearly do not need is a new channel of Federal control that would inevitably follow any Federal funding of voting machine "upgrades".

Major Conservative victory: the President retrieves a long abandoned Constitutional responsibility and kicks the ABA out of the process of pre-selecting federal judicial nominees.

For want of fighter escort, 24 brave young Americans and a Navy EP-3 end up in the hands of the Chinese.  Now that we have our people back, we should provide fighter escort and make it clear to the Chinese that we will shoot to kill any of their aircraft that violate accepted international protocols with respect to approaching our surveillance aircraft.  Then, of course, it will be necessary to do it, because given the OJ Billyboy legacy, they will not believe at first that we are serious.  The expense and risks of all of this needs to be charged to the account of the Statist Democratic Politburo, which in recent years has not hesitated to take ChiCom money while dispensing secret national technology.  A constructive result should be the lesson to the American people, and the new Administration, as to whom we are dealing with.  The cheap Chinese goods at K-Mart come at a higher price than what's on the tag.

Pearl of Wisdom:   "Consensus is the absence of leadership"    -Lady Margaret Thatcher

Incidentally, with respect to our love affair with the international economy, I would suggest that the outcome of our current economic malaise is entangled with Japanese Government decisions yet to be made, regarding the reform of their banking system.  They have another new set of folks in charge now, but such changes have occurred so often in recent years that the Japanese have begun to rival the Italians.  The point is that, whoever is running the show over there, Japan holds enough U.S. Government paper to cause a real nuisance for us if they fail to come to

grips with their own problems pretty soon.  All this international kiss-ass drives me nuts.  Aside from all the thousands of shipping containers stacking up in U.S. ports for lack of freight to go in the opposite direction, the main problem on our side is a shortage of testicles in Congress.  (Trent Lott/ Hastertism).  Where is old Senator Robert Taft when you need him?   I am concerned about our own National Sovereignty and our ability to stay in charge of our own affairs.

As an American Nationalist Conservative, I share with thousands of like-minded Americans a serious frustration over our national condition and admit to be obsessive in my desire to realize some fundamental corrections.  Depending on where in history you want to drive the stake in the ground (I say 1913), it has been a long time since we lost control of the discussion.  I would suggest continued patience and perseverance to my brethren.

The collectivist train has begun to come off the track.  It took many years to gather steam, and it will take many years for a full brake application, which began in 1980.  But it will happen. The Statist Democratic Politburo is in a moral vacuum and is intellectually clueless.  Their only real assets today are the Pavlovian news media, Hollywood, which is in business of trying to fake reality and an otherwise self-absorbed obsession with the grandeur of Cum-a-lot.  While all this works on too many people, after 8 years of OJ Billyboy some ordinary non-political Americans are beginning to sense the problem.   The Statist Democratic Politburo cannot escape from OJ Billyboy because he was the necessary conclusion of their Statist Liberal logic.  Philosophically, OJ Billyboy is the tar baby of the Statist Left.  Ask Al Gor(bachev).  The ideas of substance are in the Conservative arena.  My agenda is to reverse direction and engage in the reconstruction of the Republic. We need to start by helping people re-discover the merits of objective reality and understand the need to reject the quicksand of "post-modern" relativism, always a fraud.  This, of course, will require a complete ventilation of American universities.  I believe we have time and nature on our side, if for no other reason than that we are right, but that is in the long view and may eventually require some broken furniture.  However, it is necessary to press on hard, because people have short memories and attention spans, and new generations do not understand the discussion.  A lot of voters are alive today who are unfamiliar with Torpedo 8, or Tarawa.

Bush 43 has his hands full.  He may not be as conservative as I wish but then there is no way he can accomplish what even he would prefer.  Eventually there are some fundamental differences among Conservatives that will need to be resolved.  (I have a big problem with "free trade" at the expense of our national sovereignty, in addition to some other issues.)  What is important now is that 43 is generally pointed in the right direction and that he has set some achievable goals that go further than anything RR could have been expected to achieve. The political reality today is that we are in a virtual political standoff with the Liberal Statists.  Whatever can be accomplished in the next two years must be measured against that reality.  I know it is frustrating, and there are reverses as well as victories ahead.  But I believe someday Americans will persevere and we will be able to exhibit Lynn Samuels at the Bronx Zoo.  God bless America.

I am not at all sorry to see Louis Freeh leave the scene.  He bungled the Richard Jewell investigation and helped cover up Waco and Ruby Ridge.  Unanswered questions about Oklahoma City remain.  More recently he has pushed the Carnivore program which is a direct assault on the 4th Amendment.  He was the perfect Liberal Statist Politician.

There are still about 900 missing FBI files floating around loose.

In spite of whatever diligence Mr. Ashcroft may be able to apply in the next 4 years, the copy machine and the internet are technical realities.  I expect my point will manifest itself during someone's judicial nomination process.  As they tend to do anyway, Conservatives should be circumspect about their personal behavior, and not apologize for their professional accomplishments.  Liberals, of course, always get a free pass.

The federal income tax, which we need to dispense with entirely if we are ever to salvage America, is now sucking up the resources of productive Americans at a rate far in excess of the needs of our already bloated welfare state.  Those in Congress who oppose the very modest proposals of the current Administration are playing a very dangerous game with our future.  When, in day to day operations, the Government revenue intake exceeds the bills it must pay, it has to do something else with the money.  Absent any change in direction by Congress, the only available option for the Treasury is an orderly and structured liquidation of debt, and this is

good.  The problem here is the congenital inability to maintain tight budget discipline by both the Executive and Congressional branches.  The corruption of Constitutional government has been funded and made possible by the Federal income tax (your money).  The political temptations it affords have proven disastrously subversive to the American Idea of personal responsibility, local government and the Tenth Amendment. The real problem has been the American people themselves.

The immediate issue before Congress is whether or not to apply the brakes to the Government tax collection juggernaught, and the right answer is clearly YES, to be followed immediately with reductions in spending.  This will be extremely painful for the Democratic Politburo, certain northeastern Republicans, and John McCain to accept because it will infringe on their Statist impulse to manipulate your life, and your money.

The Constitutionally authorized functions of the Federal government could be easily funded by a small flat and neutral tariff on all imports. Coupled with an enhanced repeal of the 16th Amendment, this approach would also create a market driven disincentive to the growth of big government.

Supply-siders know that tax rate reductions will tend to enhance revenue collection, which, in turn, will accelerate our ability to spend like drunken sailors, or engage in further tax rate reductions.  This speaks further to the need to disable the Statist Democratic Politburo.  Looking down the road, if significant progress is made in debt reduction, the temptations will increase to spend surplus revenues on government "investments" in the private sector.   This will signal the victory of the Democratic Politburo, pure Socialism and a true Fascist economy and culture. Goodbye America.  (It is for this reason that many Conservatives advocate a reduction in taxes and spending, but the maintenance of some debt.)  This is why I believe that the survival of our Republic demands the enhanced repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment and a total strangling of the ability of the federal government to spend money confiscated directly from your pocket.  The only way to surely kill the pig on which too many suckle is to cut off its head.  I can spend my own money more efficiently and effectively than the government can for me, and it is not my job to subsidize the operation of the New York City subway.    Ted Kennedy and his buddies in the Politburo can go straight to hell.  The founding fathers understood all this.  Remember that the IRS is the most comprehensive purveyor of extortion in the land, and it was created by Congress. It is all framed on their ability to put a gun to your head.

Bush 43 is "going wobbly", to quote Lady Thatcher, in his support for an extension of the opportunity for illegal immigrants to apply to stay here.  This is pathetic.

However, missile defense, energy policy and social security privatization initiatives: A+

The school repair business belongs at the state level.  Cancel the Department of Education.  There is no Constitutional authority at the Federal level.

With the United States no longer on the United Nations “Human Rights Commission”, we are actually better.  To quote Tony Snow on this matter, clearly now “the inmates are running the asylum”.

It has been explained to me that the left side of the brain is the focal point of emotion, a subjective process, the right side the focal point of reason, an objective process.  It has been further suggested that the correlation between emotion, many women (God bless them) and Liberalism is a function of this apparent physiological fact, most being "hard wired" to the left side.   At least this is an amusing thought to contemplate, and raises a question about the orientation of left wing (side) males.  It also suggests why many Conservative women have indicated second thoughts about the 19th Amendment.  Personally, I'm not prepared to go there, at least not yet.

A national discussion regarding hate crimes legislation, affirmative action, "reparations" and racial profiling by the police continues to unfold.  What all these matters have in common is the abandonment of a sense of personal individual responsibility and the embrace of the groupthink and collectivist culture of victimhood.

As I wrote in more detail on 11/20/00, the concept of hate crimes is a set up for the destruction of the First Amendment, the creation Federal Thought Police and a lot of Fascist mischief. 

"Reparations" are a non-starter; to whom, from whom, for what?  Ask David Horowitz.  He has also become an expert on certain First Amendment issues.

Affirmative action, more properly and accurately referred to as reverse racism, is an idea so bad it has actually suffered some reversals in our still basically Liberal Supreme Court. 

More lately, racial profiling by the police is the most recent excuse for bad behavior.  The statistics show clearly that there is frequently a racial correlation to bad behavior, and cops are there to manage bad behavior.  If you doubt this correlation, ask any black taxi cab driver in Washington D.C.  Before one wades too deeply into this pond it is first necessary to develop a consensus on the definition of "racial profiling", not to mention "racism".  Beyond that politically impossible task is the matter of motives.  The quicksand of all this gobbledygook can all be set aside by individuals being required to accept personal responsibility for their own behavior and taking charge of their own lives.  As an alternative there is a lot of unoccupied desert of the Southwest.  Maintenance is cheap.

Recent events in Cincinnati Ohio illustrate my point. I don't know at the time of this writing what actually transpired between the police and the young man who lost his life, and frankly, it doesn't matter.  The public reaction of rioting was totally uncalled for.  Black America needs to look in the mirror.  There is a Constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest. (If you choose to exercise Jefferson's recommendation of occasional rebellion, then go for it.  Make my day.)  Since the 1960's these so-called protests have morphed, in the public perception, into the utility of juvenile public tantrums against any alleged wrong done to the class victim group de' Jour.  The technique to threaten public order is on an intellectual slippery slope continuum with terrorist threats.   The train of moral relativism rolls on in the name of "Diversity", which is guaranteed to promote division.  The concept of "Diversity" is exactly the opposite of the inclusive concept of the "Melting Pot" from which a common American culture was forged and is now threatened.  "Diversity" is subversive of the common culture, sets up the perfect climate for the assumption of Statist control and is a recipe for conversion of the American Nation into a New World Yugoslavia.  Left wing Liberals either need to grow up or admit to their true Statist colors, which the political correctness (thought control) of "Diversity" requires.  Take your pick: Communist or Fascist.  Clearly not American.  The race issue in this country can only be resolved after white folks dispense with their guilt trip about slavery (are you a slave owner?) and black folks recognize that in lieu of slavery they would still be in Africa.  Perhaps we should offer one-way tickets.  We need to look forward, not backward, as Americans.  I am not optimistic.

Many friends have expressed concern to me about the role of corporations in American life, and in the midst of the national debate on taxes we need to address this issue.  To begin it is necessary to recognize what a corporation is and what it is not.  In the classical sense a corporation is a legal entity chartered by a state that, as a fictional person, is authorized to engage in business operations while affording the principal organizers and managers the high degree of legal and

financial personal liability protection necessary to justify the risks.  Again, in the classical sense, the purpose is purely economic, and serves to facilitate the raising of capital funds from investors in exchange for maximizing profit in return.  Historically, the law governing these matters emanated from the granting of charters by English kings to the great mercantile companies that accomplished the nuts and bolts of building what became known as the British Empire.  A fragment of that history is still seen on store shelves today as Lipton Tea.   In summary, the central classical purpose of a corporation is confined to the generation of profits for its investors.

From the early days of the Progressive movement, corresponding rather closely with the unfolding of the industrialization of America, there has been a continuous attempt by "reformers" to ascribe additional social purposes to the corporation.  In one form or another this reform agenda has played off the notion that big corporations are inherently evil for their focus on profits, and that both their employees and the public are special victims of corporate "greed".   Over the years this bumper sticker Marxist demagoguery has been extremely successful in manufacturing class warfare, misplaced loyalties and patriotism and general economic and social ignorance.   In the late 19th Century this Progressive response to big corporations began to evolve along two pathways.  First, there was the development of union activity. Secondly came government regulatory activity and the concept of anti-trust, which to this day has never been clearly defined.  (It was in this climate, thanks to John Marshall, that Congress developed the art of legislation that said nothing, leaving it up to lawyers and judges to fill in the blanks, which they are ever eager to do.)  Unfortunately for corporations, their own managements invited much of this through their own lack of experience with managing huge numbers of people in a non-military environment.  There was little historical precedent for this situation, certainly not in a republican democracy.  However, throughout the course of the 20th Century those management skills were developed, and have evolved to the point where many managers themselves have lost touch with, and become confused about, their own core purpose.

That purpose remains, as it was in the beginning, the maximization of return on investment.

Having had some personal experience, over the years, working in and with these management systems, I would make the following observations.  First, while many economies of scale are realized through growth and combination, there is an opposite downside in terms of lost operational nimbleness and a tendency toward the accumulation of redundant internal competing bureaucracies.  Private bureaucracies tend to behave much like public bureaucracies, and frequently the left hand doesn't know, or wish to know, what the right hand is doing.   It is enough to drive entrepreneurial capitalist nuts.  The ensuing difficulties and costs, being more difficult to measure and quantify than the presumed advantages of growth, present a dilemma that can only be resolved by marketplace performance, which is frequently reflected after the damage is done.  In addition, again based on personal observation and contrary to the popular myth, the typical corporate management is not preoccupied with "screwing" the public or their employees.  On the contrary, they are scared of the public and the politicians and are typically indifferent (while vehemently denying it) to the employees.  I would point out that Statists have been highly successful into scaring corporations into supporting left-wing social causes that have nothing to do with the business and are frequently even counter-productive.  The activities of Jessie Jackson, Handgun Control and various San Francisco tulip pluckers come to mind.  What may appear from the outside as some nefarious plot is, in reality, unintended management incompetence resulting in unintended consequences, or management jousting with government regulations.  Managers are driven in their performance by the numbers on the next quarterly statement, not conducive to strategic long-range thinking.  The repair to these problems is not additional government or legal intrusion; there has been too much of that already.  Indeed, corrections need to be found in the withdrawal of government "fixes", and, on a case by case basis, support of free market discipline.

Following Statist prescriptions, these problems can also be papered over and ignored by a partnership with big government.  Enter fascist economics, but I will defer that discussion to later letters. 

Another option for individuals is to go to work for yourself and grow your own garden.  More and more people seem to be giving this some thought.  In the meantime it should be recognized that any taxation of corporate earnings is recovered by higher prices on the product.  Corporations, as a practical matter, do not pay taxes at all. The retail customer ultimately pays those taxes in the form of higher prices.  (Plus tax, of course.)  Nothing here should be interpreted as hostility on my part toward corporations.  My purpose is simply to describe the way things work.  These things are critical to understand when proposing fixes to perceived problems; e.g. a collectivist will complain about jobs going overseas and call for a strike.  A conservative will look at the same set of facts and conclude that the strike threat certainly demands that management consider sending more jobs overseas.  I believe that many of our problems with multinational corporations today are traceable to this dynamic, and that it has tilted in favor of the Statists for a very long time.  Corporations are left with the options of either fleeing elsewhere or attempting to co-opt their tormentors.  It is generally cheaper to flee.

We also need to start discussing the so-called war on drugs

Personal Note:

As a matter of personal policy, I have avoided and will continue to avoid talk about myself.  As an individual, I consider who and what I am irrelevant to the purpose of this publication.  I prefer that the focus of the reader should be on the substance of the ideas presented, and judged accordingly, without reference to authorship.  I am not a flak for anyone.  I am registered as an Independent for that reason.

However, there may be moments of exception.  This is to explain that I am currently in the midst of a major change with my contractual relationships in my trucking business.  This has and will be somewhat disruptive till things settle down, hopefully for the better, including my efforts here.  It is my intention to improve and expand my efforts with this letter, and being closer to home should enhance the effort.  Your patience and understanding is appreciated.  Feel free to write and take shots.

CURRENT READING RECOMMENDATION:

1.) THE BELL CURVE: INTELLIGENCE AND CLASS STRUCTURE IN AMERICAN LIFE

                        RICHARD J. HERRNSTEIN & CHARLES MURRAY

                        THE FREE PRESS         845 PGS                       XXX

NOTE: THIS BOOK GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CENTER OF THE DISCUSSION ON OUR FUNDAMENTAL DOMESTIC PROBLEMS, AND IS A NECESSARY READ AND STUDY.

            2.) THE CHINA THREAT: HOW THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC TARGETS AMERICA

                        BILL GERTZ

                        REGNERY                     280 PGS                       $27.95

            3.) HATING WHITEY AND OTHER PROGRESSIVE CAUSES

            DAVID HOROWITZ

            SPENCE                                   XXX                             XXX

It is the purpose of this writer to promote the end of the Welfare State and to re-capture the American Republic, and I will not hesitate from slapping some people up along side the head if that's what it takes to get their attention.  I am not a politician.  I expect to go to my grave being laughed at.  That's of no concern to this old goat roper because history will ultimately prove me to be correct, and the Statist Hell that threatens would not be pleasant.  The American Idea is worth dying for, and sadly I suspect that's what my children and grandchildren could be in for.

God Bless America

JIM

            JIM SOHMER

            AMERICAN NATIONALIST CONSERVATIVE

            JEFFERSON, CO 80456

           IN GOD WE TRUST                                                                                    

                                                                      SPECIAL APPENDIX

Recommended yard sign copy for gun control advocates.  If they seriously mean what they say then they will eagerly erect the following in their front yards or hang it on the front door.  Next to the flowers, of course:          

THERE ARE NO FIREARMS

  OR AMMUNITION

          ON THIS PROPERTY.

OWNER PREFERS

      PEACE AND HARMONY.

(Can’t we all just get along?)