Category Archives: politics

Tariff Relief

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Several US companies are saying that the existing tariff regime that’s applied to imports from the People’s Republic of China is hurting imports of chemicals necessary for the manufacture of disinfectants and sanitizers. Accordingly, medical supply companies and other businesses have filed dozens of applications for tariff relief/exception related to those imports.

If such relief is granted to an importing company, it should be contingent on that company acting expeditiously to move its supply chain out of the PRC. The move also must include non-PRC suppliers that import their own component supplies from the PRC. “Expeditiously” should be explicitly defined in the relief document as a time frame or a production milestone, and the relief should automatically expire if that deadline/milestone isn’t met.

Tariff relief should be granted to all Wuhan Virus-related imports from the PRC, with the same “expeditious” criterion attached, and existing relief should be modified to include the criterion.

A Federal Surveillance Law Lapse

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A fairly broad range of FISA surveillance authorities held by the Federal government has lapsed, and that

has begun to limit the FBI’s ability to pursue some terrorism and espionage suspects….

Disagreements among the House, Senate, and White House over how much to renew and the degree of additional controls to be applied to what’s renewed combined with the Wuhan Virus situation to let Congress adjourn for the season and the situation without action.

I’m undismayed by this turn of events. In the first place, when Congress returns, it’s quite likely to work out these differences and renew the FISA authorities in some form—which, if done correctly, won’t be all bad.

However, given the decision by far too many in the FBI to not bother discriminating between suspects and political opponents, the lapse isn’t all bad, either. It’ll be worth the time if only necessary authorities are renewed, proper controls are put in place, and the miscreants in the FBI are terminated for cause along with those whose miscreancy was criminal brought to trial.

Reporting To/Working For

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is going to release an Executive Order this week outlining requirements for safely beginning to reopen the Texas economy as the Wuhan Virus situation begins—begins, mind you—to start [sic] to wind down.

The details of the order were not immediately clear.

The NLMSM isn’t, yet, particularly upset by this lack of clarity at this point, and neither should they be. Still, the statement invites a remark from me (if for no other reason than that it’s my blog, and I’ll blog if I want to, blog if I want to, blog if I want to).

The details needn’t be made available to the press at all before the EO is published for the public’s consumption. That’s not a matter of withholding information from the press, it’s a matter of priorities.

Abbott doesn’t work for the press; he works for us Texas citizens. Of course he should report to his bosses before he reports to anyone else. The press is only a tool—and not the only tool—for carrying out that responsibility.

Full stop.

A Progressive-Democrat Governor’s View

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…of the intelligence and responsibility of American citizens, including particularly Kentucky citizens.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) has said he’s going to identify, track, and isolate Kentucky citizens who dare go to their church’s Easter services. His excuse—and that’s all it is, a cynical rationalization—for his government’s surveillance of a broad swath of citizens is the present Wuhan Virus situation.

It’s for the greater good, you see.

I hear people say, “It’s my choice”. Well, it’s not the person next to you’s choice….

That’s plainly not true. It was the person next to you’s clear choice to be there, also, knowing full well the nature and the proximity of the company both of those individuals, and it was the clear choice of all of the rest of the congregation.

Neither is there anything in either the Free Exercise Clause or the Establishment Clause that says “except for when a State governor thinks better.” This is simply a confluence of two Progressive-Democrat ideologies: American citizens are too grindingly stupid to make their own decisions or to act intelligently (here, to govern their own post-service behavior), and religious freedom is just a phrase that’s gone out of vogue because, after all, the Constitution isn’t binding on anything.

Senator Rand Paul (R, KY) is on the right track:

Taking license plates at church? Quarantining someone for being Christian on Easter Sunday? Someone needs to take a step back here[.]

The Progressive-Democrat Beshear has no faith in the citizens of Kentucky or their ability to act intelligently, he wants Government to identify and surveil them and then control them, and he has no respect for Law.

Kentuckians might want to remember this at the next election for Governor, in three more years.