Category: Politics

Republican Senate District convention

Yesterday I attended my Republican Senate District 16 convention.

As usual, it was mostly pep rally and preaching to the choir.

I spent a few hours in the nominations committee room because of an error on my precinct convention’s forms. It turns out that the senate district nominating committee caught the error and was already going to bump me to a senate district nominee to the state convention (instead of a precinct nominee).

The fun stuff started when the resolutions committee brought its recommendations for changes to the Texas Republican Party Platform for floor votes. (These are generally an amalgam of resolutions emanating from precinct conventions.)

I couldn’t believe how boneheaded these resolutions were. Many were profoundly nuts or useless. Examples:

  • Resolution stating that the U.S. Constitution’s Taxing and Spending Clause doesn’t authorize creation of “Federal (sic) bureaucracies, agencies and regulations” and calling for abolishment of 5 named federal agencies and “all other agencies not expressly authorized … by the Constitution…” Huh? Talk about misinterpretation! This clause’s controversy is not of the creation of federal bureaucracies but of the power of the purse, where the federal government withholds funds unless states do something, such as impose that stupid 55 mph speed limit or drinking age restrictions. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch this flaw during the discussion, so I couldn’t speak against it. Amazingly, this passed by a floor vote. A guy actually stood up and said that he thinks this will help reduce Congressional delegations of power to the Executive Branch. Um, hello, Congress doesn’t run bureaucracies! That’s the purpose of the Executive Branch!
  • A floor motion to have roll call votes to allow proxy votes. The motion’s intent was to allow remaining delegates of precincts to cast proxy votes representing members of their precinct who had already left. Had they allowed floor debate on this motion, I would have reminded how one of the planks of the 1994 Contract With America was to ban proxy votes!
  • “We desire harsh penalties … for those who publicly display or promote pornography…” I’m fine with penalties against public display of porn. No question it’s inappropriate. But question against promotion of pornography?Promotion is speech! Cracking down on unpopular speech is for Iran, China, and North Korea. Why do some want the Republican Party to mimic these despotic regimes? I spoke against the “promotion” part, but the resolution passed anyway.
  • A resolution requiring parents written permission before Planned Parenthood materials could be passed out to students. I think Planned Parenthood is a radical organization that does more harm than good. I was fine with this plank. But some kooks thought this reduced rights because it required parents to do something. Never mind that the wording clearly gave parents more control over receipt of objectionable content.
  • A resolution supporting the Social Security Fairness Act. This act would repeal provisions that reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for wealthy people. I spoke against this resolution. Social Security is not an “investment.” The concept of the Social Security Trust Fund is a hoax. Social Security is a wealth transfer program entirely funded with current tax dollars. Anything that increases Social Security spending will increase debt or taxes. Unfortunately, this resolution prevailed because some got up and mischaracterized Social Security as an investment. As long as we propagate old lies about Social Security, meaningful reform will not happen.
  • A resolution on bilingual education. I didn’t object per se, except for some silly grammatical and punctuation errors, until a supporter pointed out that the resolution really does nothing. At that point I stood up and opposed the resolution, saying if it does nothing, it’s not worth passing. I got a small ovation and laughs, and the resolution failed.
  • A resolution restricting the right of private property owners to regulate concealed, permitted gun possession on their premises. This resolution had two parts.Currently, private property owners appear to have the right to prohibit gun owners from leaving guns in their locked cars that are in a parking lot. I agree with the first part of the resolution, which said that property owners should not have this right. I strongly disagreed with the second provision, which said that private property owners should be liable for any harm coming from a gun owner not being able to carry his gun in the premises in an otherwise law abiding manner. Even though I am fine with concealed weapons, I strongly support the right of property owners to set their own standards for their premises (with the one exception provided above). I and some others spoke to this effect, and I proposed modifying the resolution to eliminate this second part. Unfortunately, my motion to amend failed and the original resolution passed.

By this time, it was 3:30 PM. I hadn’t had any lunch and was getting tired of the legalism, so I left. Other noteworthy ridiculous resolutions included:

  • A resolution adding the words “direct or indirect” to a plank about hiring lobbyists. Huh? How does stating all possible forms of an action add meaning to a statement of principles?
  • A resolution calling for the end of all earmarks. Totally nutty. The problem is the abuse of earmarks, not earmarks themselves. Without earmarks, Congress would fully delegate allocation of government resources to unaccountable bureaucracies. The problem are pork earmarks that force pointless or wasteful spending (e.g., bridge to nowhere).
  • Various resolutions calling for drastic changes to our monetary system, abolishment of the Federal Reserve System, or enactment of a commodity-based currency. Sheer whack job nuttiness. I hope these failed.
  • Immediate Iraq and Afghanistan withdrawal. Some Republicans want us to surrender to Iraqi and Afghan terrorists. I noticed a lot of Ron Paul supporters at the nominations committee meeting. I figure they were behind this.

The resolutions that passed merely trickle up to the state convention, and it is that convention that puts together the final document. The state Republican platform is already nutty enough, so I hope these resolutions get rejected.

I am proud that I helped get two planks inserted into the 2002 Texas platform concerning speed limits. Unfortunately, none of my 2008 precinct resolutions made it past the senate district resolutions committee, so I will have little impact on the Texas Republican platform this year.

The poor quality of the senate district 16 resolutions committee’s work amazed me. Far too many of its resolutions were ignorant, pointless, or rife with grammatical or punctuation errors.

We’re Republicans. Certainly we can do better?

Irving’s new pet tax

The Dallas Morning News reports that Irving, Texas just enacted a pet tax. When you pay the tax, your animal gets a record in a database maintained by a private firm. Residents with untaxed pets risk a class C misdemeanor, a real offense that goes on criminal records.

Irving’s stated rationale is “to reunite more lost pets with their owners and continue driving down the rate of animals the Irving Animal Shelter euthanizes.”

Irving has already succeeded with the euthanization problem: they plummeted 70% in the past 3 years. Now 80% of Irving’s pet shelter pets get to live. Way to go!

But the other goal, reuniting pets with their owners, is silly.

Here’s how it works: owners of fixed and microchipped pets pay the least tax, $5. Owners get taxed $10 if the pet is missing a microchip and $15 if the pet is not fixed. These sound low, but how many taxes never rise? Trust me, these are introductory period prices. It won’t be long before that $15 tax rises to Dallas’s $30 tax.

Don’t get me wrong; I’d love to reunite all lost pets with their owners. But why should a city force owners to take a specific measure to help reunification? Are pet owners incapable of managing their property?

I’ll bet a couple of dollars that 1. the vast majority of pet owners are responsible people, and 2. their pets either never get lost or, if lost, are found before they end up in a shelter.

Instead of recognizing that any problems are likely isolated to a very small percentage of pet owners, Irving has done what governments do best: harass and annoy everyone.

Pets who are not reunited are a personal problem, not a societal problem. There is no legitimate rationale for Irving to force this on its citizens. A pet tax is another piece of nanny state interference into the private matters of citizens.

Dallas Morning News article: Irving dog and cat owners must register their pets

Don’t do something, just sit there!

We were involved in a minor wreck today. Not our fault; an unobservant driver ran into our car, which was stuck in traffic leaving some parade.

The incredible part is the Dallas County Sheriff, Lupe Valdez, was in uniform and sitting in the open bed of a Dallas County Sheriff’s truck, also stuck in traffic, no more than 30 feet line of sight from us. Because of barriers, she would have had to walk about 100 or so feet to get to us.

While my head still feels shaken 2 hours later, the wreck probably was minor. An amateur investigation of the car could only find two dimples in the rear bumper from the other car’s front license plate.

Did the sheriff bother to help? Did she even acknowledge my shouted question of whether she saw the crash?

Nope. She and her non-uniformed cohorts just sat in the truck, gave a blank stare, and did nothing.

I am floored. I guess as an average citizen, I am in her “flyover country.”

I have a picture. I can’t share it yet. But I will as soon as I can.

Eliot Spitzer is shows why Democrats will lose in 2008

Oooh, what a delicious moment: a Democrat is doing what Democrats do best: screw up.

The latest case is New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. The supposed reformer, he was adored by my finance professor.

While I respected some of Eliot’s actions, I knew something was up. He didn’t “feel” right.

My suspicion is vindicated: Eliot is John #9 in a major prostitution bust. It’s doubly ironic because, as New York attorney general, he busted prostitution rings.

This is a good example for the record: Democrats are not reformers. Democrats’ fundamental belief in increasing government’s intervention in and control of the economy is an anathema to reform. Economic control is a tool of madmen, tyrants, communists, and socialists, not lovers of freedom, justice, and liberty.

And let’s talk about effectiveness: compare the 1993 Republican Contract with America to the Democrat promises for the current Congress. Many of the Contract With America’s reforms went through, repeatedly forcing Slick Willie’s hand (part of which his wife is disavowing to appease the Democrat radical left wing base). On the other hand, what happened with the latest Democrat salvo? They came in with a whine, they are leaving with a pout. They can’t even hold to promises of no earmarks! (Should the failure by tax and spend Democrats to control spending surprise anyone?)

Speaking of Democrats, look at their presidential choices: a senator with a personal and family legacy of corruption, rotten deals, narcissism, and regal demeanor of entitlement, or a radical leftist senator without substantive national experience, untested by the media.

It’s like having to choose between Satan and the Devil.

Compare to the prohibitive Republican nominee, a war hero who, despite his foibles, represents a mature, experienced alternative.

In one’s final voting booth decision, a mature, experienced alternative might look awfully appealing next to Satan or the Devil.

My stamp collection

Did you know I am a stamp collector? I started when I lived in Groves, TX in the late ’80s. I routinely biked to the post office for the latest stamps. Sometimes the postmaster would spot me change if I came up short. (I abused this privilege, so he stopped after a couple of times.)

Some of the more exotic stamps, such as postage due, official mail stamps, or just stuff that went beyond the local post office’s inventory, had to be ordered through the USPS‘s Philatelic Catalog. This catalog was neat: all stamps would be ordered at face value. The purchaser filled out a computer-read form. Shipping was reasonable. They would even cut you special portions of sheets, like plate blocks, if you ordered enough stamps.

A rare treat was a philatelic window. These were special USPS stores in certain metro areas. Catering to collectors, their stamp offerings were much more comprehensive than found at standard counters.

The only philatelic window I experienced was when my grandmother brought me to Dallas’s goofy Olla Podrida Mall. It had a large post office in the rear which had the Dallas-area’s philatelic stamp window. This post office stayed open for years after the mall closed; I recall the philatelic window being near the hallway leading to the main part of the mall.

In the 1990s, the USPS began churning out stamps much more rapidly. Additionally, the USPS phased in self-adhesive stamps that could not be separated, necessitating purchases of an entire sheet at a time. The post office would not sell just one self-adhesive stamp as it would damage the adjacent stamps. Fortunately, these days, self-adhesive stamps are separable from adjacent stamps.

Here’s one of the first self-adhesive types:
Inseparable self-adhesive stamps
Instead of being able to get one 25 cent stamp, I had to buy an entire $3 sheet. (Those tabs at the top are my homemade stamp album tabs. They are still useful this day.)

All these factors combined forced me to stop collecting new stamps in the early 1990s. But I have a nice 3 cent stamp section. More on this later.

Another turnoff was when I discovered my evil, arch-conservative leanings. Besides wanting to starve kids, tax the poor, subsidize millionaires, and deny health care to the working class, I became skeptical of the USPS.

Purchasing stamps without intent of using them voices unbridled affection of an inefficient, union-controlled, money-losing, make-work bureaucracy whose stamp subjects are carefully chosen to maximize political correctness. Don’t believe me? Look at the qualifications of the members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee; almost all are democrats, academics, or former bureaucrats.

These days, if I buy a new stamp, it is because I like it, not because I am a pinhead mindlessly collecting all possible samples of this bureaucracy’s effluence.

Back to my stamp collecting days: I had a Linn’s Stamp News subscription. A couple of times, I managed to get a letter to the editor published.

Linn’s Stamp News was a fascinating cover-to-cover read the first year, but it felt progressively more silly the longer I was subscribed. I think I finally dropped my subscription in the early ’90s.

I still have all my supplies: stamp tongs, watermarking solvent, hinges, Prinz stamp mounts, perforation gauge, etc.

For a time, I could get supplies for cheap from Dwight March Enterprises. Dwight ran a stamp supply business alternately out of a small warehouse near Lombardy Ln. in Dallas or his north Dallas home.

He got in trouble with manufacturers because he sold their stuff too cheaply. Apparently they forced vendors to sell at no less than a specific price.

The manufacturers pressured Linn’s Stamp News and possibly other stamp publications to keep his ads out of their publication.

I used the H. E. Harris Liberty stamp album. For some reason it felt better than the Scott album that my brother had. (In retrospect, there wasn’t much real difference.)

Here’s the cover of my album:

And here’s my brother’s album, which I happen to have on hand:

The insides of our albums are pretty similar; mine is somewhat better filled out than his.

My oldest stamp is Scott #11:

It’s from 1853 and is probably worth a dollar, if I’m lucky.

Yeah, that’s it! A measly dollar.

See these stamps?

I might get 10 cents for each of these unused 3 cent stamps on a good day.

I have pages and pages of unused 3 cent stamps like this.

Not long before he died, my grandfather gave me a nice quantity of unused plate blocks and plate strips, mostly from the 70s.

They don’t seem to be worth much more than face value! Actually, face value may be lucky: eBay completed auctions consistently show large lots of unused plate blocks selling for below face value!

My favorite stamps are the definitives. Brief tutor: definitives are the utilitarian stamps that provide all the goofy face values. They are typically printed for years straight. The other type, commemoratives, are the everyday stamps honoring people, events, or things that regularly rotate out.

Here’s a page of Liberty Issue definitives:

More definitives, the Great Americans series from the 1980s:

In assembling my collection, I got my father to bring me to stamp shows from time to time. They were often at hotels 5-10 miles from my house. One time my father brought us to an Adam’s Mark hotel in west Houston; that was a huge treat for my brothers and me.

I usually purchased specific stamps or small lots of unused stamps at these shows.

Over time, I assembled a lot of extras, which are now in a couple of stock books.

A stock book full of canceled (used) 3 cent stamps (utterly worthless):

Plate block definitives:

I think some of these may have a little value, especially that 20 cent plate block in the foreground on the bottom.

Transportation coil definitives:

Lots and lots of plate blocks:

I even have a small book with full sheets:

My grandfather was kind enough to give me a collection that probably came from his father. They are all used stamps, about half international, half domestic, and all virtually worthless. I’m trying to find a Scout or someone else who could use these stamps to earn a badge.

Where do I go from here?

To cut down on bulk, and to make sure I have a broad collection, I may sell off all my surplus stamps and plowing the money back into the core H. E. Harris album.

What’s my biggest lesson learned? Stamps are a terrible investment. eBay completed auctions make it all too clear that everyday stamps hardly appreciate, and when they do, it’s almost always below even insanely safe investments such as 30 year federal bonds.