Summer 2008
The Era of Irresponsibility

To quote Gomer Pyle, “Golllllie!” it’s been over two months since I posted. A busy travel schedule combined with a busier work schedule has kept me out of cyberspace. And, a lot has happened since 27 May 2008. BO has the nomination; the SCOTUS has determined that folks in Washington, DC, as well as all of us who want to can keep and bear long and short firearms; several banks have failed; the Buccos are on their way to another losing season tying a Major League record; Stiller camp has opened; and the Olympics are still on for China without boycott…so far.

I mention the last item because of the air quality in Beijing. When we were in Beijing in 2001, it was apparent that something would have to be done there to allow world class athletes perform at high levels. It was like being in a newsreel of Viet Nam. Everything was grey and hazy, the air burned you eyes and stuck in your throat and it smelled like bacon grease. This was before the games were awarded to China for 2008. Everyone was complaining about the human rights violations in the PRC as a factor for not awarding such a prestigious event to the Chinese. But, no one was talking about the air quality and we could not understand that.

Well, we see the Chinese solution now. Shut down all the factories and limit automobile traffic for several weeks before the games in the hope the air will clear. Typical of the PRC…present unreality as reality. Like the Three Peace Church…the state run church in China. It is an attempt to create the impression that there is the freedom of religion in China. But, it is not the reality of the situation. 52 weeks of every year…except this one…the Chinese people are subject to chocking pollution because there is no planning [factories and power plants are placed in the middle of residential areas] or pollution controls. This is one reason that the “global warming” cult is not going to harness man made pollution without the co-operation of China as well as India.

So, the world will appear in China and have a we-are-the-world love festival of athletic competition. Reporters from around the world will be there and shown the government approved and sponsored “highlights of China” . The protesters will be kept at bay, reporting of negative stuff will be monitored and prohibited and generally we will see on TV the Disney China. When the world leaves the human rights violations will continue, the pollution will be turned on and Bible based Christianity will continue to be persecuted. Everyone who visits, and doesn’t get snoopy, will have had a good time. The Chinese will not be responsible for what they are really doing.

But, hey, that’s where we are. Did you notice the US government is bailing out some folks from the sub-prime mortgage mess? What? Every week I see publication of foreclosures on mortgages in the Clearfield County Legal Journal. What about those folks? For as long as I have been practicing law, lenders and borrowers always bore responsibility for bad loans or bad decisions in obtaining a loan respectively. Times have changed. Now banks that should not have loaned and borrowers who should not have borrowed are being rescued by Uncle Sam…that is you and me by the way. These Ninja loans [no income no job application] were ill conceived and a predictable disaster. Who would make such a loan? Who would take such a loan? How did either party expect them to be paid?

The government is rewarding bad behavior. Oh, but the financial markets are in turmoil over this “crisis” and we must do something. More banks will fail and more folks will lose their homes. So, we are all collectively responsible for the bad decisions of a few. What a terrible precedent. Which bad decision will next be rewarded by a government rescue? This is the Era of Irresponsibility. We can’t allow anything bad happen to anybody even if it is the result of a foolish choice they made. No one is responsible for their behavior any longer…be it the PRC or the sub-prime lenders and borrowers. Let’s reward all behavior for it shows our concern, compassion and tolerance for all people. I guess I’ll call Judge Ammerman and tell him to take the rest of the week off.