While John McCain was also a Bjg Government guy, there was no doubt that he was less of a Big Government guy than Obama. Yet America cast him off in favor of Big Big Government on steroids.

The poll shows that, as usual, there is that hard core leftist block (26%) who distrust big business.

Just 8% said Big Labor was the biggest to the country. This does not mean that people see Big Labor as a lesser threat, only that having to pick one they chose big Government. Big Labor and Big Government are in such an incestuous relationship that they are inseparable at this point.

So how about, seeing these results, we deal Big Government a blow in 2012? Well?

Today, Obama’s Justice Department decided to block a deal between AT&T and T-Mobile for the most frivolous of unconstitutional reasons. Reason number one is that competitor Sprint did not like the deal. Boo freaking hoo. Reason number two is that the Justice Department thinks that the merger will reduce competition and raise prices. Too bad there is no power given to the Feds to care about either such thing.

What is really weird though is that the Justice Department’s reasoning for blocking the deal might actually be actually moot. It might be moot because T-Mobile has already expressed concern that they cannot compete against the larger carriers and their parent company is not seeking to invest any more money in the venture. So, basically, T-Mobile might go away anyway thus reducing competition and raising prices because of that anyway.

Don’t try and understand the liberal mind. It is an impossible task.

One thing I repeatedly have warned about is how the one thing government does, without fail and very well, is make criminals out of citizens who are bothering no one.

Case and point; Andrea Fornella Abbott. She was arrested because she was adamant that her daughter not get groped at an airport security check point and did not want her to be seen naked by a full body scanner. Because she was adamant at not being searched without probable cause she got thrown in the slammer. The audacity of some people. Of course the situation was not helped by her trying to document what was happening with a video. Oh what a villain!

Heaven forbid that our government officials be subjected to the same sort of standards by we the people that they want us to abide by. They can video tape us and have for years everywhere from airport security points to traffic stops. But it seems any time a citizen wants to videotape them back all Hell breaks loose and someone gets a stern warning at best and arrested at worst.

So here’s the real question though regarding this latest TSA incident. Did they find anything? Doesn’t look like it. That sounds to me like you might have a strong case for unlawful detainment and harassment. And the only way the TSA agents should, in a sane world, be able to avoid jail time would be to show conclusively that they had a good reason to suspect this woman’s daughter was a serious threat to the airline she was planning to board. Yes, we still have a concept known as innocent until proven guilty to uphold here. Don’t count on it coming into play though. The government has an agenda and they will be damned if some uppity citizens are going to get in their way.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, on the PLAN system we Americans will get three types of texts.  The first type will be missing children Amber Alerts.  The second will be texts that warn us about life threatening situations in our local area.  The third, however, is the most disturbing as it is just simply described as messages from our dear leader and President, currently Barack Obama.

I can see it now.  Had this system been in place just a few weeks ago maybe we would have gotten a fevered text from an excited President Obama along the lines of:

“Hello, this is your President.  I just wanted to remind you that everything that has happened since I was elected was George Bush’s fault.  Except for recent capture of Osama bin Laden.  That was all me baby!”

What else would President Obama perhaps send to us, the lowly peons who he sees as blessed to simply have him as our President?  Thanks to knowing liberals as well as I do, I can now reveal planned text messages from President Obama all coming soon to a cell phone near you.

There will be the natural disaster exploitation text:

“Greetings citizen!  Because of the recent (insert natural disaster here) experienced in (insert city here) which has devastated your region, we have authorized an extra $500 billion in emergency funds to be made available to help you out through this troubling time.  Just proceed to your election office and either prove you are a registered Democrat or switch your registration to Democrat if you are not already one, sign a binding pledge to vote for me on Election Day 2012 and get your fair share!  People in Texas need not apply.”

How about the golf score update:

“Sup Dawgs!  Just letting you all know I shot a 65 on the course this morning.  Gotta get off to a $2,500 per plate fundraiser now.  Peace out!”

There will be the big brother is watching what you eat text:

“STOP!  Michelle sees you are getting ready to eat a Snickers bar.  Don’t ask how we know.  We just know.  Are you sure you want to do that?  Are you really, really sure?”

There will be the Soviet style report text:

“Today’s news.  Everything is wonderful.  The country is in great shape.  Would I lie?”

There will be the free money text:

“URGENT!  URGENT! I’ve opened my stash!  FREE OBAMA MONEY!”

There will be the anti-corporation/pro man of the people text:

“Just wanted to let everyone know that despite taking huge amounts of money from Big Oil and Wall Street for my re-election campaign, I am still committed to getting those evil bastards!”

There will be the suggested reading list text:

“Please find attached to this text a free copy of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals” and Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book for you to read.”

There will be the slam Republicans text:

“Republicans are evil.  That is all.”

There will be the vote for me or else text:

“Just a reminder, my homies in the New Black Panther Party will be at your local polling precinct on Election Day to make sure you don’t have any problems voting for me.  And if for some reason you won’t vote for me these fine, upstanding citizens will help you change your mind.”

And of course there will be the help me please text:

“Hey, anyone seen my teleprompter?  I have a big speech to give in five minutes and I can’t go on without it!”

Boy, I sure cannot wait!

Yes, here we are once again. We are watching the federal government stick its weenie in the punch bowl again, stir it around and tell us to drink up afterwards. As disgusting as that visual is, it happens every day. The AT&T/T-Mobile merger is just the latest example.

Remember the economic crash a few years ago? The one where the nation was dragged down into the depths of despair by millions of Americans defaulting on mortgages no reasonable person would have ever signed off on? Yep, that was government meddling too. The Community Reinvestment Act and a cadre of other federal government mandates prompted banks to put every Tom, Dick and Harry into a home whether they could reasonably afford it or not. The government even used the enticement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which would buy these bad loans, no questions asked, to poke and prod lenders into compliance. And what if lenders would not comply? What if they still defied the government and chose to not act in an economically stupid manner? Well, all sorts of things from as their access to federal money being curtailed to threats of audits were wielded against them.
Yep. That worked out so well didn’t it? Sure, let’s let the federal regulators tackle regulating capitalism in the cell phone service provider realm too!
Dear God in Heaven help us.
Understandably some of AT&T competitors are a little anxious over this deal. Sprint Nextel Corp is already kvetching and complaining that the deal would hurt its own bottom line [1]. An executive with Sprint, Fared Adib, whined, “When one competitor has that much buying power they can determine the fate of different products.”
Well, golly gee! I was not aware that AT&T should be concerned about the fact that its competition is not able to deal with a changing business environment and whether products it competitors may want do not become profitable. And why should AT&T worry about Sprint’s ability to adapt? It certainly is not in AT&T’s best interest. Mr. Adib is of course hypocritical. He would not be bellyaching about a company gaining leverage in “buying power” if it were his own company. That is a guarantee. In fact, I guarantee you that Sprint is out there every day looking for ways to leverage its own “buying power” to lower its own costs and increase its profits.

And what if they are not? Well, then I would suggest never investing in Sprint stock for sure!

Henry Ford, as I have previously discussed, often said that many people who run businesses have no idea how to run those businesses and how economics works on its most basic level. Obviously, Sprint Nextel Corp. is one such company whose ownership and management structure falls into that category.
Other providers, that are small in nature, are also sure to get very antsy about the merger as it would hamper their ability to gain market share. Some of these companies may even think that they should go to the government and convince those in Washington to act outside of their Constitutional authority on this matter and stop the merger.

Verizon is also no doubt very concerned about this, considering when it comes to cell phone services in the United States they and AT&T are the big cocks on the walk.

One report I have seen talks about how in order for AT&T to curry favor with the federal government and gain approval for the deal, it would have to divest itself of assets [2]. Say what? Wait a minute here! I am flipping through my pocket Constitution looking for where in it the federal government is given the power to break up companies and dictate what they must do in order to buy out other companies. But that is not all. Apparently some are also having discussions about how, in order to get the deal done, AT&T not only has to sell off parts of its company, but it may even be forced to expand services to places where it is obviously not profitable to do so. Because if it was profitable AT&T would be doing it already! You know how it goes. Some aggrieved group thinks that they are owed better cell phone service access and they are going to make sure they get it by hook or by crook.

Nope. I cannot find anything regarding that power of our government in the Constitution either. So it seems logical that the federal government does not have it. Sorry for introducing facts into this discussion. I know it will upset some people.

Listen, whether you like AT&T is not the issue here. And it should have absolutely no bearing on how you feel about this deal. Personally I have AT&T as my cell phone service provider. Are they flawless? Nope. But I do get a big hoot every time someone with Verizon, Sprint, Boost Mobile, Cricket, or whatever company you can name tells me how great their coverage is and how crappy AT&T’s is. Within minutes what usually winds up happening is they are sitting around, looking for a signal while I am able to pop out my iPhone and talk almost anywhere I have ever been.

Do I think AT&T over charges for services? Yep. Have I left them yet? Nope because I have a signal just about everywhere I have ever been. Does their customer service pretty much stink? Oh, yeah. So I just try to not use it.

The government needs to butt out of the free markets. We have seen the wreckage they have left in their wake when they interfere. I dread the day I wake up and see the headline proclaiming how the government manipulated cell phone service market crashed and millions of Americans who bought unaffordable phones and service plans have started to just walk away from their contracts.

Yeah, it sounds silly. So did the thought that millions of home owners would walk away from their government incentivized mortgages too not that long ago. The government needs to simply pull up its pants and back away from the punch bowl.

[1] http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20110323&id=13203397
[2] http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20110321&id=13189647

People also forget that banks are heavily regulated by government. Their compliance costs are huge. They have to pay a small army of people just to make sure that every move they make, every breathe they take, is in compliance with thousands of pages of legal mumbo jumbo.

People forget that government orders the banks to do a lot of things. It tells them how much cash they must have on hand and how much they are allowed to leverage their deposits. The government also meddles with lending practices and woe be to the bank that adopts a sound fiscal policy of weighing risks versus rewards. And double woe be to any bank that in so doing runs afoul of political correctness!

This sort of game was what contributed to the recent housing market collapse. People who could not afford their homes, but were given loans by banks under government pressure, started to default. The government enticed this sort of activity by buying up years worth of bad paper so that banks could unload these bad loans and not deal with the fiscal insanity they represented. Then … BOOM!

The chickens, as someone once said, came home to roost.

But instead of blaming the government, the hatred of the banks just intensified. Government’s hand was hidden so well that the front men (ie the banks) took the fall.

And what was the result? People demanded more rules and regulations on banking. As for the power brokers in government? Well heck, they were all too happy to comply.

And once again the unintended consequences are piling up! The latest are a series of reports that banks are looking to possibly limit debit card purchases to not more that $50 or $100. Why? Because they are now being limited on what fees they can and cannot charge. So the bean counters have crunched the numbers and figured out their risk levels.

These risks tell the banks that they have to consider limiting these transactions in order to cover their butts in case of fraud. And people, many of whom still do not understand that government meddling is involved, are railing even more against the banks than before.

These people are upset that they are not able to do what they had been doing (paying for certain sized purchases with debit cards) and are all huffy about it. They think the banks are trying to stick it to them and push them to use credit cards instead which are often not covered under many of these new rules. They think the evil bankers are just out to stick it to them.

Meanwhile the invisible hand of government is unmolested. And when the public cries loud enough, it will be all too happy to manipulate some more and continue the cycle.

Maybe, just maybe, if people would stop ignoring basic economics, accept the banks should be allowed to make money because they are assuming vast amounts of risk and stop running to government every time life shows them a reality check we could survive. But since that does not look overly possible right now, I suggest buckling up for the rough ride over the cliff and hope and pray that you survive the fall.

Here are the twenty-five (call them twenty-six through fifty) items that did not quite make the cut the first time around.

26)  While waiting in the queue for your turn to be screened, constantly touch yourself all over your body.  When the TSA agents asks you what you are doing, tell them that you do not trust their enhanced pat down and just to make sure you are not a threat you are giving yourself a pre enhanced pat down enhanced pat down.

27)  When instructed to remove all items from your pockets and place them into the little plastic bins, ask the nearest TSA agent if gerbils shoved in one’s rectum should also be removed.

28)  Swear repeatedly and loudly during the entire screening process.  When told to stop, tell the TSA that you suffer from Tourette Syndrome and to go BLEEP themselves.

29)  If you opt to transit through the full body scanner, smile and perform a proud front double bicep or Atlas pose even if you are not the most physically fit person in the world.

30)  Ask the TSA agent how much extra they charge for them to release your “chakra.”

31)  Take the hamburger you bought half an hour before hand, which is now cold, and ask the TSA if you can use the backscatter x-ray device to reheat it.

32)  Ask if the frisking procedure currently in place has been personally tested and approved by Representative Barney Frank.

33)  If you are selected for an enhanced pat down try to stick a dollar bill down the pants of the TSA agent afterwards.

34)  After receiving your enhanced screening, ask if you are now cleared to see the alien bodies stored at Area 51.

35)  When a TSA agents kneels down to feel your crotch, thrust it forward into his or her face.  You know, just to make sure they get a good look.

36)  Whenever the TSA agent gives you instructions, repeat them word for word in a mocking falsetto.

37)  Any time a TSA agent speaks to you, wave your hand in front of your nose and recoil as if their breath smells horrendously bad.  Then offer them a Tic-Tac.

38)  When put into the full body scanner, touch yourself in your private areas repeatedly.

39)  Ask the TSA agent assisting you if after passing through the backscatter x-ray machines whether or not after it will prevent the invisible, giant squirrels that have been chasing you from following.

40)  After going through an enhanced pat down and having your groin groped, whip out a pack of cigarettes and ask the TSA agent responsible if they would like a smoke.

41)  If the waiting queue at your local airport has the style of barricades with those belts that pull out and attach to the next pole in line, stand around and rearrange the entire entrance into a vast maze that snakes around the front of the security check point.

42)  Pretend not to speak English any time a TSA agent tries to communicate with you.  You could even just talk with a thick German accent to make them feel at ease.  Even better, completely make up your own language or, if you a fluent in Tolkien’s elvish, speak that and only that.

43)  During the enhanced pat down sing the “Touch-a, touch-a, touch me,” song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

44)  Inquisitively ask what the “official” TSA designation for the male genitalia is.  You know, just for future reference.

45)  Wear at least three layers of clothes to make the pat down process difficult.  If the TSA agent asks you to remove some of your clothes to make the process easier tell them that it is either all or nothing!

46)  Before going to the airport, consume any food that gives you gas.  When you get to the security check point toot to your heart’s content the foulest smelling gas this side of Saddam’s chemical weapon stash.

47)  Go to the airport with duct tape over your mouth.  When the TSA agent asks why you have your mouth covered with tape, have someone traveling with you respond with, “We’ll he figures if he says what he is thinking about the TSA he will only get in trouble.  So he’s preemptively nipping the problem in the bud.”

48)  Refuse to make eye contact with any TSA agent you come across.  When they ask you why you won’t look them in the eyes tell them you are afraid that they will steal your soul if you do.

49)  While being patted down when the TSA agent grabs your private parts yell loudly, “Let go my Eggo!”

50)  When you step into one of the x-ray machines call out loudly, “Beam me up Scotty!”

My source in the TSA said the directive came right from her direct supervisor and that it was clear that the screeners under her control were to scale back.

[S]he added that the TSA warned of “troublemakers” looking to exploit the “wholly endorsed” enchanted pat-down process for those opting out of the full body scanners.

She explained the reasoning for this command as, “obviously necessary because even before the busiest days of the year for airports too many of the enhanced pat downs had been caught on tape and been an embarrassment to the TSA.”. She also stated that, “the TSA though that it would be easier to spot people taking such videos but devices such as iPhones have proven too small for screeners busy with other tasks to see.”

In parts of that email that I did not quote she said what was clearly insinuated was that there were to be no gropes unless the passenger was clearly a suspicious sort or else her job would be in jeopardy. She further said that this was completely a “180″ from what they had been told in the past where they had been told to grope any “troublemaker who did not want to go through the x-rays”.

Oddly, wouldn’t you know it, that yesterday seems to have gone off without a hitch. Despite the large number of travelers have we heard of new outrageous incidents on the scale of the past couple days? Part of this however might be due to people who find the new procedures offensive “opting out” by demanding refunds for their tickets from their airlines and making alternative plans.

Several readers have emailed me and claim to have, sometimes with quite a fight, received refunds from various airlines when they became offended by what they might have to endure. Some who were unable to get refunds emailed that they were simply going to eat the price of the ticket often with a vow to never fly on the airline who refused to refund the ticket price ever again. It seems that those who had the most success getting refunds were frequent flyers (more than once a month) on a particular airline or those who are involved in travel planning for businesses.

One reader, Jenny, wrote me that, “At first we were not able to get a refund on my non-refundable ticket. The airline told us that the ticket was non-refundable. But once I told them to look up out business account and they saw that the company I work for books $10,000 worth of tickets on their flights each month and that I was the person placing these bookings their attitude changed fast. I got my full refund.”

Jenny did not mention with which airline she had this success but it is troubling. I have heard from representatives of various airlines that they do not give refunds unless you have a refundable ticket.. Other have said that they give them only on a case by case basis on nonrefundable tickets. Apparently that, “case by case basis” is based on what you do for the airline’s bottom line. If you are not a frequent flyer they will just blow you off.

But with regards to the claims of my TSA source, look at this post which an alert reader found a link to on Drudge. “Fliers Claim TSA Have Deactivated Body Scanners”

According to tweeting travelers, many backscatter and millimeter-wave AIT scanning machines at airports are not in use at all, making opting out impossible. We’ve asked DHS/TSA for comment, but you can help us confirm.

You can see a screen shot of tweets confirming this at least at some airports. At the end the TSA is quoting as denying if there was a policy to not use the scanners yesterday. However considering all this I would say that my source’s claims look very well confirmed at this time.

The TSA is running scared and they are trying to do some image control.