U.S. Foreign Policy: “Might is Right” Doctrine Potentially at Play in Iran; States that Administer it Are Playing with Fire

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a 32-year-old nuclear scientist in Iran, was assassinated with a bomb that was magnetically attached to his car by a motorcyclist. The whole event seems to be a professionally targeted hit. (How many common criminals use a magnetic bomb?) The United States condemned the Roshan’s killing. Regardless, the assassination was quite unwise as the nuclear knowledge already present in Iran will not be gone because Roshan is not there.

States using with terroristic methods ultimately play with fire. If it were a Western scientist assassinated under nebulous circumstances would be soundly condemned as terrorism against Western ideals (for example, academic freedom) with fiery calls for vengeance. How, then, can today’s assassination of a young scientist be even thought of as a success?

The United States continues to grieve the attacks of September 11; it should avoid provoking (in any way) backlash-inducing catastrophes.

Note: Nuclear weapon states.

U.S. Judiciary: Chief Justice John Roberts Issues 2011 Year-End Report

John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States, issued a 2011 year-end report on the judiciary.

Overall, the Chief Justice explained that the Judicial Conference’s Code of Conduct for United States Judges is an general reference tool for addressing ethics questions. However, the Chief Justice noted that other reference sources are available for judges with ethics questions-judicial opinions, treatises, scholarly articles, and disciplinary decisions. Moreover, the Chief Justice explained that judges can consult the Supreme Court’s Legal Office, the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct, and other judges.

Additionally, the Chief Justice states that the Supreme Court has not addressed the issue of whether the Congress could require the judiciary to comply with financial disclosure and gift regulations and with recusal rules. I think that it is institutionally easier for the judiciary to continue to follow those rules. If the Supreme Court were to rule that there is a separation of powers issue, the citizenry of the United States would reasonably expect the judicial branch to provide the same level of information regarding financial disclosure and gift rules as well as rules on recusal that is provided presently.

Judges work ultimately for the taxpayer-citizen of the United States. Given the power of the judges to make rules without being elected and with lifetime tenure, the taxpayer-citizen has to be assured that all judges are faithfully executing the judge’s oath in all of their professional responsibilities. Transparency in finances and gifts as well as proper recusal is just one step to preventing improper use of judicial authority.

[Note 1: Judicial pay is the same as for 2010. See Executive Order 13594, schedule 6 (http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/2011/2012PAY_Attach1.pdf).]

In the appendix to the report, the Chief Justice provides and explanation of the workload of the judiciary. I will focus on the Supreme Court’s workload.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Filings	8521	8857	8241	7738	8159	7857
In forma pauperis	6846	7132	6627	6142	6576	6299
Paid docket	1671	1723	1614	1596	1583	1558
Cases:
argued	87	78	75	87	82	86
disposed	82	74	72	83	77	83
signed opinions	69	67	67	74	73	75

WordPress Stats: 2011 in review for ADCObserver

This blog is mainly a hobby, and a way for me to keep up with my writing. Most of the visits to the blog occur through search engine searches. I wish all of my readers a wonderful 2012!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,600 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Federal Employees: 2011 Executive Order for Early Dismissal for Christmas Seems Unlikely

In an update to my post from last year, I don’t think that there will be an Executive Order for an early dismissal.

It seems to be more likely these decisions will be made at the agency level.

“Occupy” Demonstrations: Nonviolent Protests Sometimes Provokes an Unjustifiably Violent Police Response

I have observed the slow growth of the Occupy Wall Street movement and its offshoots over the past several weeks. I do not camp out in a park, but I do understand the frustration and support their efforts as a result of the startling presence of long-term unemployment, paucity of jobs, and sense of financial instability (if you are not part of the top income brackets).

The Occupy movement has generally been a nonviolent demonstration. Recently, some city governments and their police departments used health and safety concerns to break up the camps (for example, New York City, and Oakland).

UCDavis is an institution of higher education, and the people who were sprayed appeared to be college aged (18 through 20s); perhaps given the educational environment, the UCDavis Police Department and the protestors could have discussed their way out of the confrontation. Instead, the video of the discharge of pepper spray is on display along with the fallout.

In these days in which law enforcement officers have been tasked with anti-terrorism projects, where does responding to nonviolent domestic demonstrations fit? In the District of Columbia, the OccupyDC movement seems to be working with the D.C. police department.

At University of California, Davis, in contrast,the response was the use of nonlethal violence (pepper spray) in response to anonviolent demonstration. The officer sprayed the chemicals into people’s faces without any compassion; the police could have simply arrested the folks (who were apparently sitting in an act of civil disobedience).

While the video provoked a reaction, the event should be a lesson for all about how, when, and why law enforcement agencies should use differing levels of force. Pepper spray is not appropriate in all circumstances.

Barack Obama: President Delivers Debt Reduction Plan to Joint Congressional Deficit Committee

As I suspected, in part, President Barack Obama delivered his deficit reduction plan to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction.

I have yet to read all of the contents, but one thing I did notice is that the proposal for federal employees to “contribute” more to their pensions is really a giveback of salary (because of the operation of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund). I guess “Third Way” got its way in part (1.2% rather than 5.8%). But knowing how this town works another time that the media whips up the public about federal employees, watch for the so-called contribution to increase. [With all of the givebacks and pay freezes, federal salaries may never keep up with the cost of living in this expensive country.]

Will the plan get a majority vote and get a expedited vote in Congress? I do not know. Maybe some of the very bitter provisions can be tolerated if  (very big “if”) every income class participates in addressing the lack of revenue problem.

Barack Obama: Obama Administration Releases its American Jobs Act Proposal

The Obama Administration provides a statement to Congress, section-by-section analysis, and text of the bill at the White House website.(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/12/message-president-congress-sectional-analysis-and-text-american-jobs-act)

September 11, 2001: Hard to Believe Ten Years Has Passed; Still Remember the Events of the Day

A decade ago, September 11, 2001, the day was at first a very beautiful late-summer day. I was downtown in an office. As I started to work (about 8:45), I noticed that I could not get on the Internet. The management of the business did not inform the employees of any external problems, and so I figured something was wrong with the company’s Internet connection. It was not until mid-morning that a colleague had said planes had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. I later found out that the Pentagon was struck by an airplane as well. There were rumors that another plane was in the air heading for another target, rumors of other places that were hit, and other confusing rumors.

It was an unusual feeling; the workday was over. I was able to get in touch with family (some of whom lived in the New York City metropolitan area), and I e-mailed friends who had just moved to the New York City area (they were fine).

Later in the morning, I was able to get on the Internet and was able to see the terrible extent of the damage done by the airplane hijackers that day—people jumping out of the top floors of the burning World Trade Center towers to certain death, damage to the Pentagon, a plane crash in Pennsylvania, workers at the Capitol running out of its buildings. Rumors lessened and facts increased. I was dismissed from work at about 1:00 p.m.

When I left the office, the roads were tranquil. (I had missed the earlier traffic jams as people sought to leave the city at the same time.) As I took the subway (basically empty), I was able to see the smoke from the Pentagon from the windows of the subway car.

Ten years on, many things have happened, yet I still remember the events of that day relatively clearly.

FICA: President Barack Obama Seemingly Is Using the Payroll Tax Cut as a Way to Weaken Support for FICA-Funded Programs; President Should Use General Funds to Provide Needed Economic-Crisis Assistance

President Barack Obama’s proposal to extend the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax cut harms the idea that FICA is a special-purpose tax to fund Social Security and Medicare. I feared the President’s proposal last year, knowing that his further proposals to extend would happen. Currently, the Congress requires the Treasury to arrange for an equivalent amount of cash to go to FICA-funded programs, which makes up for the “loss” due to the FICA tax cut. [P.L. 111-312, sec. 601(e)]. This tax cut seems to be a neat way of having the increase (not much ($934 on yearly average)) of cash to the citizenry, while having the Treasury ensure that the contributions to the FICA-funded programs are not reduced.

However, what the President has done is introduce the idea that the FICA tax is not a special-purpose tax for Medicare and Social Security, but rather the notion that FICA can be used for general current-revenue purposes. This change is subtle but very dangerous. While the current President can be said to support Social Security and Medicare, this very same FICA tax cut could be used to force cuts or substantially change both programs (by a future President who can be said to be opposed to FICA-funded programs). Therefore, I became seriously concerned when the so-called Democratic President used a GOP talking point to attempt to shame GOP congressional members to support an extension of the FICA tax cut (emphasis below mine).

Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut next year.  Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your pocket will go into your pocket.  This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans already passed for this year.  If we allow that tax cut to expire — if we refuse to act — middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time.  We can’t let that happen.  I know that some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live.  Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away.  (Applause.)

The President is seemingly using the economic crisis as a way to begin the process of breaking the overwhelming popular support of the FICA-funded programs. The issue that some wealthy politicians face is the enduring support of FICA-funded programs. Because of how the U.S. manages its cash–using FICA funds in general revenues and issuing a nonmarketable Treasury bond (a promise to repay) in exchange for the cash–general revenues that are artificially low (due to the FICA borrowing) will have to be increased in order to pay the bonds redeemed by FICA-funded programs when the number of beneficiaries exceeds the proceeds collected from the FICA tax.

The President, when he deals with FICA-funded programs, must be carefully observed.

Deficit Committee: Sunlight Foundation, Half in Ten Publish Information about Members of Deficit Panel

I think that it is beneficial to get as much information about the politicians elected to represent the citizens of the United States. I have used information from the Open Secrets website to see the net worth of the members of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction (JCDR)  and other members of Congressional leadership.

Now the Sunlight Foundation has added another piece of information on fundraisers; the website, www.halfinten.org, has published demographic information about the congressional districts of the individual members of the JCDR.