June 02, 2010
 
Crisis in the Gulf grows along with outrage at government inaction.  After more than a month of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate some have estimated to be 100,000 barrels a day, outrage is growing at how the Obama Administration continues to leave BP officials in charge of trying to stop what is almost certainly the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The Bush Administration was dogged for the rest of its time by accusations of incompetence at their slow response to the Katrina Disaster, but that response now seems like a heroic effort by comparison. Just 5 days after Katrina the military was on the ground and brought swift order to the chaos. We are now well into the second month of what could be a disaster even worse than Katrina, and to date the Administration continues to just sit passively and follow BP’s lead. Now even Democrats and the most liberal media are beginning to show outrage. 
 

Is the Gulf oil catastrophe of biblical proportions?  In Rev.8:8 the apostle John declares,“And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood;and a third of the creatures, which were in the sea and had life, died….” If you think about what this huge oil platform on fire would have looked like to John, the one who wrote this in the first century, it was larger than many of the places that are called “mountains” in Scripture. The oil in the Gulf also looks remarkably like blood in the water, but could this really have the potential to kill a third of the life in the sea? It could.
 
      Though we are not saying this is the fulfillment of that prophecy, even if this leak was stopped today the environmental impact will likely be the worst of any disaster in history. It is soon expected to catch currents that will ultimately carry it into the Atlantic. Because much of the oil is not rising to the surface, but settling on the bottom, the ultimate toll of this tragedy could be far worse than any are willing to even consider at this time.


Healthcare Reform Bill, the Times Square bomber, the Gulf Oil Disaster and The Constitution. What could these possibly have in common? A great deal. One reason why the Founders made the powers given to the Federal Government in The Constitution so specifically limited was so that it would not be overly burdened trying to legislate what could be much better handled by the State and local governments, allowing the Federal government to focus on what it should, and alone, could do.  Because of the Administration’s overreach into so many areas there does not seem to be any mindshare left for a catastrophe like the Gulf Oil Disaster.

     The way that the Constitution gives very specific and limited power to the Federal Government the Founders Fathers are looking more brilliant every day. This is stated, “…the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” It is now more crucial than ever that this basic tenant of our government be recovered.
 
     The first good reason why this was so clearly established by the Founders was that history bears witness repeatedly that corruption and oppression are the inevitable results of consolidated power. “Inevitable” is the right word here because to date there is no case in history where this has not proven true.
 
     A second compelling reason for limiting the power of the Federal government has to do with competence. The more power and authority that is centralized in the Federal Government the more over-stretched it becomes, and the more incompetent it becomes even in its designated responsibilities such as the defense and protection of the people. It is now being demonstrated almost daily that the more the Federal Government tries to become engaged and controlling in what it should not be involved in the less competent it becomes in doing what it should be focused on. 
 
     The number one priority of the Federal Government is defense of the territory and citizens of the United States. Our government did not protect us from the recent Times Square bomber—a hotdog vendor did! We also need to ask why our Federal Government is refusing to call terrorists “terrorists”, or to acknowledge that they are Islamic extremists. It is not possible to defeat an enemy you cannot see, and “connecting the dots” is basic to even elementary law enforcement. Why would our own government try to cover up the fact that the Fort Hood Massacre, the DC snipers, and the man who drove his SUV into “the pit” at Chapel Hill were all Muslims, who were all very forthright about the fact that they believed, because they had been taught, that killing Americans was their religious duty?
 
     Right after our President inferred that the Times Square bombing attempt was “a random act,” we found out that the plot had originated with the Pakistani Taliban, who are also planning more chaos for us. Again, the most basic principle of warfare is that you have no chance to defeat an enemy that you cannot identify—so why are we refusing to identify those who are attacking us when it is absolutely clear and irrefutable?
 
     Remember the infamous Department of Homeland Security Memo put out after Obama took office that names Christians who believed in the end-time prophecies of The Bible, and veterans as potential terrorist threats to America? That memo that identified what this Administration thought was the biggest potential terrorist threats to our country did not even mention Islamic extremists! When was the last time there was a Christian suicide bomber? When was the last time a Christian flew planes into buildings? Why are those who have never done this kind of thing on the list, but those who have been the source of virtually all terrorist attacks around the world for the last half century, the Islamic jihadists, who have made it very clear that their main goal are to kill Americans and destroy America, did not even make the list of potential terrorist threats? This demands an answer.

     It now seems that the best thing we can do to protect America is disband DHS and hire an army of hotdog vendors! It seems ironic that this hotdog vendor who saved Times Square was a veteran.
 
     
The Financial Reform Bill passes U.S. Senate.  Like healthcare reform, most Americans believe that financial reform is needed, but like the Healthcare Reform Bill “the devil is in the details.” Along with some needed regulation others are saying this bill will destroy community banking in the U.S., which will have a major and devastating impact on small business in America. What is the truth?
 
     The Oak Initiative, and associated organizations, will be examining every detail of The Financial Reform Bill, and we will not make assertions until we’ve had time to examine its contents, but this is the time to understand the issues, or reasons for this bill. 
     
     First, let’s look at the good reasons for Financial Reform, and there are some. The Obama Administration is right that the exotic financial instruments such as derivatives are a major reason for the financial chaos we are still in. To limit banks from creating, or investing in such instruments does seem prudent. Because these instruments are virtually unregulated now, to bring some regulation to this market is important for the safety of everyone who would invest in them, or be hurt by executives who would invest their deposits in them. It is also possible for derivatives to jeopardize our whole financial system.
 
     Derivatives are financial instruments such as mortgages that have been bundled together, and then put on the market for sale to the highest bidder. It is interesting that when the Chinese government was asked to buy into the derivatives market, they refused because they could not understand why these bundled mortgages would be worth anymore than their underlying collateralized real estate. This caused the French and others to start asking the same question because it was exactly right, and thus began an unraveling of the sub-prime residual mortgage market.
 
     This is a little oversimplified, and there were other factors for the economic upheaval of the last couple of years, but some of the biggest potential problems are still in front of us. There remains somewhere between 600 and 1,000 trillion dollars in derivatives on the world market. Much of this is being held by banks that are using it for collateral for loans, much of it for commercial real estate. Most of the recent sub-prime crash was the residential market. Because the value of these derivatives has been set mostly by a speculative market who knows what the real value is, and what the real collateral therefore is. If there is a commercial real estate shakeout like there was in the residential market virtually every major bank in the world could actually be insolvent right now.

     To keep from causing a world-wide banking collapse we do need to gently back away from this situation, especially the bank’s addiction to derivatives. Most unfortunately, most of our government leaders and lawmakers don’t really understand the markets or the economy, and it was the laws passed that forced banks to take on sub-prime mortgages that actually gave birth to the derivatives market. Banks have mathematical tables that can very accurately forecast their losses from sub-prime loans, and they were forced to come up with a way to make money on these mortgages or potentially go out of business. The whole sub-prime mortgage crisis was caused by the misguided policies of Congress forcing lenders to take on sub-prime mortgages, as well as the mismanagement of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac which was under their committee’s oversight.
 
         This begs another interesting question, and one major question that is being raised about the present Financial Reform Bill—why have the biggest culprits in the whole sub-prime meltdown, Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, been virtually excluded from this Financial Reform Bill when they obviously need it the most?
 
BOTTOM LINE:
The world economy is now so delicately intertwined that if a country like Greece sneezes the whole world catches cold. The cords holding it all together are stretched to the breaking point. If our government, or virtually any government, reacts too strongly, or wrongly, it could all unravel. Right now the U.S. economy is still the linchpin propping most of the others up, and the U.S. economy could be the most devastated if the lines begin to snap. Careful action is needed, but an overreaction could be devastating. The devil could be in the details of the Financial Reform Bill, but let us not condemn it until we see what’s in it.
 
     In general, with crises cascading down upon us by the dozen, we are in desperate need of a Federal Government that is on its game, and focused on what it is supposed to be doing, and not meddling in what it is not supposed to be doing, wasting its time and energy, our money, and most of all, jeopardizing our safety. We also need to get those in our government who know how to say the words “Islamic extremist,” jihad, and other terms that clearly identify the greatest threat of all to our country.
 
 
In His Service,
 
Rick Joyner