What is the right to Bear arms?

It seems to me that, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed [in order to maintain] a well regulated Militia, [a well regulated Militia] being necessary to the security of a free State. So the right to bear arms, protected by the constitution, means the people must be a member of said well regulated Militia. Then gun owners must be active service men/women in the National Guard, our present day well regulated Militia.

Fire Departments can change and remain safe

 In response to the Article in the Mercurial

Using a smaller vehicle to respond to calls for help is not, on its surface a dangerous thing. It is a matter of best use of limited resources.

In Volunteer companies the firefighters are not always at the firehouse but coming from other locations in response. One member gets the truck, as chauffeur, a few join him/her and the rest begin their duties at the incident. It is not as efficient as all leaving the station together; coordinating the plan and being able to start as soon as they arrive but it is a method that has worked for more than a hundred years. And in Danbury’s case the firefighters are not coming from other professions but just from some other location in the City, with equipment and two way communications and coordinated training.

If there was a magic money tree and all of the men, women and resources could be picked off of it at will, then responding with the best would be the best. But in life compromises must be made. In light of public safety, caution must be on the side of people, however safety comes in many forms. Often the way to be the most safe is to share all of the resources across all of the citizens. Not everyone gets to have what they perceive they NEED. We cannot be ‘perfectly’ safe from fire emergency if that means pot holes in all of our streets stop the firetruck’s advance.

If the Fire Department got all of its personnel and equipment needs fulfilled, and the Police department got the same and the Board of Education could pay teachers what they deserve for their hard, demanding jobs, we, the citizens would be staggering under the cost and we might not be any better off.

With Chief Herald’s response plan there will be times when equipment and personnel are out of place. Other companies will have to cover, from career or perhaps volunteer or out of City companies. This has happened as a regular course of action since the beginning of fire departments. Anecdotal stories should not be the foundation of policy making. They simply point to the necessity of reviewing this new response plan, to ensure it is delivering the desired effect. If it is, then good for the Department on finding a way to extend the life of valuable equipment with a minimum of  risk to citizen’s and firefighter’s lives. If it is not and they return to the dispatch of a full engine company, then good for the Department for trying to find a solution and knowing when to retreat and revaluate, (that is a mark of a superb incident commander).

I had been a fire fighter and Chief, in Newtown for 20 years. I fully understand the demands on time, talent and resources. Volunteers have to beg twice, once at town hall and again at the public’s door. Yet our training and commitment to safety is the same as our career brothers. We all had, and have, to learn to do what needs to be done given the tools at hand. Nobody wants to to put lives or safety at stake. We all want the best for everyone we are sworn to serve. When the financial well begin to run dry. brave, creative officers rise to the occasion to meet the issues. Danbury has that officer in Chief Herald.

Give the plan a chance to succeed and then discuss the merits of the situation.

On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain. Much has changed since then, much is the same.

As we celebrate this historic event we must remember that this republic needs our participation. Civil discourse is a requirement of a democracy. We don't have to agree but we have to talk about the issues. Then, after the discussion, we must act. When these steps are discarded the country will languish.


The declaration of independence-Read by John F. Kennedy July 4 1960


Make noise to celebrate this great day. Go see some fireworks and have a beer or two, (drink responsibly). But most of all, honor this country by getting and remaining involved in running the government. We the people are in charge, if only we "can keep it".

The fastest, easiest way to collect sales and use tax from internet sales

Rather than having the vendors collect the tax, have the vendor send notification of shipping to a Connecticut address to the state Department of Revenue Services. As each purchase is sent to a Connecticut address a tally of the sale would be registered in to the tax payer's ledger at the DoRS. All tax payers residing at the same address, as declared on their last tax form, would be consolidated for the purpose of determining the tax owed.

We already have a Use tax for most goods and services. Honest tax payers already pay for all of the items they purchase from internet stores. Anything less is stealing. But in case there are some dishonest people the state could use some verification to ensure compliance with the law.

A problem with having the vendor collect the tax is national and international companies will have to incur the expense of maintaining multiple tax tables and the accounting of receiving funds and then dispersing them back to the State. If they only had to electronically tell the State that a purchase was made the state would then know to look for the tax from the consumer directly. At tax time, quarterly or yearly (as it is today) the tax payer would reconcile their purchases with any exemptions and credits in their ledger entry. There is no need to add a new internet sales type to the code.

All other tax law remains in place including failure to comply. Vendors have only to e-mail to a 'special' address which will direct the sales information to the correct account automatically. When the tax return is reconciled on April 15th the amount paid will equal the amount due. This system is inexpensive to set up and maintain. The burden for compliance is removed from the vendor, over which the state has no control, to the citizens who are using the services the taxes provide.

Living with consequences

Automakers should not get government loans. If they have made choices and those choice proved to be bad... then the business may use Chapter 11 to re-organize and go on. That is why we have bankruptcy laws.

When the regional retail market collapsed for Caldor nobody came running up with cheep money. They went into Chapter 11 and reorganized. Ultimately the reorganization failed and everybody was out of work. But soon after Walmart and Kohls came in to fill the vacuum and the 'store' employees were hired. (I know some people who worked in the Brookfield Caldor and are now in the same building working for Kohls.) The point is regional retail could not compete and went away.

So too with any industry, when it is past usefulness it goes away. Those parts which have value are carried forward by the replacement but those parts which are not needed fall away. This is true progress, and is less expensive in the long run.

If we have money to give away how about giving every registered auto owner a credit for a new 'qualifying' car? You go to a dealer, pick out the car you want and it is paid for by this 'bail-out' fund. The dealer gets the money he/she needs to stay open. The automaker gets paid for building 'qualifying' cars, which includes all the suppliers and supporting businesses. An added benefit is older gas guzzler auto are replaced by more efficient vehicles. Percolate up economics. And reward those who innovate.

Images from: http://tinyurl.com/67rtd5 and http://tinyurl.com/6nf28y

It's the Economy Stu... Percolate up

Friday's news included Wells Fargo bank offering to take over Wachovia bank. This offer was 'sweeter' than the previous Citi Bank offer. This is what happens when the government (that is We, the people), step in and promise to pay for all bad debt. I see this takeover offer as the first in a long line of mergers in which the profits go to the executives and share holders of the banks and the debt goes to the tax payer, me.

There is no apparent down side to taking on another bank's bad debt. H.R. 1424 puts the full faith and credit of the United States of America behind absolving the debt. A bank can assume, and then write off, the poorly performing loans keeping the profitable ones for themselves. As part owners in these banks We the people have some stake in those profits, but the 'bad' debt will most likely siphon off any gains. And on top of these undesirable conditions We the people will need to foreclose on the bad loans in order to obtain our best return on our investment. We the people will be forced to throw our neighbors out of their homes so we can gain at least some return. And the beneficiary of the sale of the foreclosed houses will be the 'rich' people who have the money to invest in real estate. This is a foundation of "Trickle Down" economics.

Advocate "Percolate Up" economics. Put the money in the hands of those who need it, by forgiving mortgagee obligations and let that additional cash, flow into the private sector in the form of new purchases of real and durable goods. The resulting surge of purchases will jump start the global economy. The money will quickly get from the bottom and percolate up to the wealthy. The purchasing power of the American consumer will swell the treasury when additional tax revenue from income and sales begins to flow, by this December.

Someone can always point out deficiencies in a theory. But we have tried 'Do nothing' and 'Trickle down'. Let's try 'Percolate up'. Give this theory a chance for 20 or so years and if it isn't working out we can adjust, just as we need to to day. But Albert Einstein said to do the same thing over and expect different results is a definition of insanity. I, We the people, are not insane.

Percolate up!

How to save the United States of America's economy

The answer to the current economic problem is to pay the mortgages of people up to $700,000,000,000 dollars. Rather than trickle down the money from the top percolate the money up from the bottom. This solution will solve the immediate problem of home owners loosing their homes, and put the much needed cash into the hands of the banks.

From what I have read of the proposed solution We the People will guarantee loans which are in great chances of default. By guaranteeing the loans the banks are free to loan additional money to new clients and the economy continues to operate. But the home-owner still cannot pay his/her mortgage and when the loan fails he/she and family become homeless. To make matters worse We the People are the bank owners and are responsible for evicting those former owners.

In my proposal We the People, (the government), gives the money to the [struggling] home owners by paying off our mortgage. That way the bank get the money, and is free to make additional loans. And now that the home owner is released from the burden of the monthly mortgage payment he/she is able to make purchases like cars, major appliances, home improvements. These purchased are an instant economic stimulus. Major money begins to flow through the system through the thousands of small businesses in local communities.

If the largest banks fail in this scenario, too bad. The executives should have thought of the consequences when they approved their business plans. The economy will be fine because the 'little' guy will be in a position to spend and that money will percolate up to the banks which had always done the right thing. This plan puts the people ahead of business and saves the family. Small business benefits and by extension all economic sectors see huge gains. This is the 'real' help the government, that is We the People, can provide to help each other out of this greedy mess.