Memorial Day 2008

A sad irony of the legacy of human history is that we so rarely have peace unless it is forced upon us. Many a human civilization has tried to live peacefully without an umbrella of vigilance and military protection because they would not or could not provide it. All too often, the unfortunate consequence is that such civilizations become the target of predatory regimes that have no interest in peace, mercy, or justice.

Thus it is that America maintains Armed Forces and calls upon them to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Memorial Day is our opportunity to pay respect and honor to those who have gone before us in service to our nation. Whether in war or in peace, America has lost too early sons and daughters who have sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others.

While our tribute through prayers, parades, memorial services, and other ceremonies is proper and fitting, we can also honor our military personnel, both living and dead, by remembering that freedom, liberty, and peace are secured only through vigilance, hard work, and sacrifice.

CDR Gene Fluckey was among the first generation of World War II submarine commanding officers to abandon certain conservative battle tactics employed by those preceding them. Upon the return from an extremely successful first patrol as commanding officer of the USS Barb, CDR Fluckey was summoned to a visit with President Roosevelt in July 1944. After briefly discussing his patrol with the President, CDR Fluckey was told, “Battle reports like yours let me sleep, confident that peace is inevitable.” (Carl LaVO, The Galloping Ghost, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007, p. 74)

Let us honor this Memorial Day, and every day, those who sacrifice to make “peace inevitable.”

Oil Industry Profits

Thanks to all who participated in the poll.

It’s time to be the answer man. The answer to my question – “Approximately how much do oil companies profit on each gallon of gasoline priced at $4.00 per gallon?” – is 40 cents. The other figures in the multiple choice poll question break down as follows:

$2.64 is the 1950s price of gasoline adjusted for inflation alone.
$.80 is the amount of taxes paid per gallon (about 20% per gallon).
$.20 is just a bogus figure I threw in.

My source for these figures is an article, “Economics 101: The Price of Gas,” from the Ludwig von Mises Institute. I recognize that there are challenges to some of these figures, especially in light of today’s charged political environment. I did a far-from-exhaustive sampling of other sources and found that the cited article is not at any great variance from many other sources. I will leave it as an exercise to the interested reader to follow up; my technique involved googling “profit gallon gasoline.” That produces plenty of material to sift through. Informative stuff, too.

Regardless of what site I went to, it is evident that we pay more for taxes than “big oil” company profits on each gallon of gasoline. In fact, we pay taxes on each gasoline purchase at least twice. In addition to the taxes that consumers pay at the pump, the company pays income taxes. In the case of Exxon Mobile, that has been about 40% of gross profits the past three years (2007 Annual Report, p. 38. Note: 7.55 Mb pdf document, if you choose to open it). Costs, including income taxes, are built into the price structure of everything we purchase. Businesses and property do not pay taxes; people pay taxes.

Even though the profit margins of “big oil” companies have remained steady for many years in spite of the fluctuations in the price of crude oil and refined petroleum products, oil company executives are being hauled into Washington to testify before Congress for “price gouging.” Maybe it’s time for our illustrious elected officials to take a look at who is really gouging consumers. A mirror would help here.

Armed Forces Day 2008

As May 17th - Armed Forces Day - approached, I began thinking of those who fought in World War II. In particular, for some reason I began thinking of those who fought who still had not achieved and been granted the fullest rights at home: blacks, Native Americans, Japanese Americans, and others.

Even though many experienced various discriminations that continued even during their military service, they nevertheless contributed valiantly in their service as American military personnel. And, when allowed to engage in combat, they fought tenaciously.

I marvel at all of our brave American heroes who stood up to totalitarianism around the globe, but I especially marvel at those “minorities” who, in spite of the discriminations they experienced, still put their lives on the line for their country. What would motivate someone to make this decision? I offer only my personal guess.

They believed in America. In spite of injustices that probably most of them experienced, they understood the difference between liberty and totalitarianism. They stood for liberty. Even though there were still domestic issues to resolve, they put many of those on the back burner until the threat to America and the rest of the world was totally annihilated.

Americans today could stand to learn and apply valuable lessons from them.

May God bless all of our Armed Forces personnel preserving our freedom today.

(photo: Tuskegee airmen)

New Poll

I invite you to take my poll (located along the left side). Approximately how much do oil companies profit on each gallon of gasoline priced at $4.00 per gallon?

I will reveal the answer next week.

I look forward to your participation. Thanks!

The New JFK

Campaigning on change, hope, & progress, Sen. Barack H. Obama has been heralded the “new” JFK. These are heady times, folks. We have the messiah of change, hope, & progress all wrapped up in one Sen. Barack H. Obama, the “new” JFK. Typical of campaign rhetoric, one might come away with a different conclusion when we actually pay attention to how JFK excited Americans in the 1960s:

Economy:
JFK: “To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential--the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes. For it is increasingly clear--to those in Government, business, and labor who are responsible for our economy's success--that our obsolete tax system exerts too heavy a drag on private purchasing power, profits, and employment. Designed to check inflation in earlier years, it now checks growth instead. It discourages extra effort and risk. It distorts the use of resources. It invites recurrent recessions, depresses our Federal revenues, and causes chronic budget deficits.” (Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, January 14, 1963)

Sen. Barack H. Obama:
“I suspect a lot of this crowd--it looks like a pretty well-dressed crowd--potentially will pay a little bit more. I will pay a little bit more..." (response to question about letting tax cuts lapse, 1/30/2008)

“Domestically, our national debt and budget constrain us in ways that are going to be very far-reaching. And I think whoever is elected in 2008 is going to be cleaning up the fiscal mess that was created as a consequence of the president's tax cuts.” (Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.155 Oct 30, 2007)

Religion in America:
JFK: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)

Sen. Barack H. Obama: “This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” (“Call to Renewal” Keynote Address, 6/28/2006, http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/)


Cuba:
JFK: “Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up.”

JFK: “Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. And I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed-- and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets and agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbors in the Americas--and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war--the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.”

Sen. Barack H. Obama: “Our longstanding policies toward Cuba have been a miserable failure, evidenced by the fact that Fidel Castro is now the longest-serving head of state in the world. If our isolationist policies were meant to weaken him, they certainly haven’t worked. I believe that normalization of relations with Cuba would help the oppressed and poverty-stricken Cuban people while setting the stage for a more democratic government once Castro inevitably leaves the scene.” (Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization, 2004)

Enemies of Freedom
JFK: "...to prevent a Communist takeover of Vietnam which is in accordance with a policy our government has followed since 1954." (President Kennedy justifies the expanding U.S. military in Vietnam)

JFK: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more…. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed…. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)

JFK: “...It was not General Marshall's speech at Harvard which kept communism out of Western Europe--it was the strength and stability made possible by our military and economic assistance. In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings--warnings that we could not stand by and watch the Communists conquer Laos by force, or intervene in the Congo, or swallow West Berlin, or maintain offensive missiles on Cuba. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend.” (Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, November 22, 1963)

Sen. Barack H. Obama: “We must remember that the cost of going it alone is immense. It is a choice we sometimes have to make, but one that must be made rarely and always reluctantly. That is because America’s standing in the world is a precious resource not easily rebuilt.” (Senate Floor, 3/21/07)


Military Service:
JFK: PT 109 - 'nuff said.

Sen. Barack H. Obama: None.

If Americans are looking for a “new” JFK, then we already have him in the White House. At least, when we base the comparisons on actual content, we do.