Sarah was just talking to a friend of ours who currently lives in the great state of New York. Our friend was lamenting the outrageous taxes up there. Wherever you go they want to take more of your money. I feel bad for our struggling friends but states like New York and California are perfect case studies in how big government actually accomplishes very little for its citizens. I was reminded of this quote from Winston Churchill:
"If you're young and not a liberal,you have no heart; if you're old and not a conservative, you have no brain."
It's so true. When you're young you are filled with all kinds of idealism and if only liberal ideas could be implemented more fully then all would be peachy. However, once you've experienced the real world...
Big government = oppression and inefficiency
Limited government = opportunity and liberty
It's an important lesson that many refuse to learn until they're forced to live under big government. Oh, it helps to know that democrats hold a 109-41 supermajority in the state house.
Disclaimer - Sarah did not approve of my writing this. Not because she disagrees but because she doesn't want to appear to be gloating. Which I'm not doing, by the way. I really do wish those people hadn't moved to New York. And they should know that they are always welcome back to a red state.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Financial Reform
The president is expected to sign the 2,300 page financial reform bill in a few days. Why do I feel like we're continuously being clubbed over the heads with a billy club despite the public's repeated shouts of outrage.
Admittedly, I know very little about this bill. However, I'm not ashamed to say that because I would be my life that the congressmen voting for this bill know anything about it either. After all it is 2300 pages long and very clearly not written by congress. It CAN'T have been written by them. Most of those people have NO experience in business or investing. It was written by lobbyists and 80% of Americans do not trust that this bill will solve anything. How can you blame them when the CEO of Goldman Sachs supports this bill?! Think about that, the CEO of Goldman Sachs (a company that is supposedly going to be reined in by government by this bill) supports this bill. Sounds great.
And then there's the fact that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd (the nitwits who helped create this crisis with their oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) chaired the committee that is bringing us this monstrous legislation. Congress isn't passing a budget this year and we're supposed to trust them to remake the US economy. No thanks brother.
Here's why the economy isn't improving - there's too much uncertainty. Legislation like this and the rhetoric that has proceeded it causes nervousness in the markets. Businesses aren't going to hire when they've got no idea of what kind of "reforms" are coming down the pipe and how those changes are going to affect their bottom line.
This bill will not help because it creates all kinds of new agencies whose rules and regulations aren't even laid out in the bill. No, it's the agencies' newly appointed administrators who get to set the rules. How's that for a representative republic? Individual administrators, not congress, gets to rewrite the rules of business. Until those agencies are firmly established and the rules clearly written businesses will be tentative and anxious which means little hiring and little growth.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, set up by the government to investigate the causes of the financial crisis, hasn't finished their analysis yet but we've already got the fix? How can you fix something BEFORE an official understanding of what's broken?
It's all political. Rahm Emmanuel's words keep coming back to me - "Never let a crisis go to waste." The economic crisis is being used by this bunch to remake the system in their progressive mold.
Ask yourself this question - do you have faith is this congress to fix the nation's problems? If your answer is yes I would love an explanation because you can't have been paying attention to what they're doing and, more importantly, HOW they're doing it.
Admittedly, I know very little about this bill. However, I'm not ashamed to say that because I would be my life that the congressmen voting for this bill know anything about it either. After all it is 2300 pages long and very clearly not written by congress. It CAN'T have been written by them. Most of those people have NO experience in business or investing. It was written by lobbyists and 80% of Americans do not trust that this bill will solve anything. How can you blame them when the CEO of Goldman Sachs supports this bill?! Think about that, the CEO of Goldman Sachs (a company that is supposedly going to be reined in by government by this bill) supports this bill. Sounds great.
And then there's the fact that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd (the nitwits who helped create this crisis with their oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) chaired the committee that is bringing us this monstrous legislation. Congress isn't passing a budget this year and we're supposed to trust them to remake the US economy. No thanks brother.
Here's why the economy isn't improving - there's too much uncertainty. Legislation like this and the rhetoric that has proceeded it causes nervousness in the markets. Businesses aren't going to hire when they've got no idea of what kind of "reforms" are coming down the pipe and how those changes are going to affect their bottom line.
This bill will not help because it creates all kinds of new agencies whose rules and regulations aren't even laid out in the bill. No, it's the agencies' newly appointed administrators who get to set the rules. How's that for a representative republic? Individual administrators, not congress, gets to rewrite the rules of business. Until those agencies are firmly established and the rules clearly written businesses will be tentative and anxious which means little hiring and little growth.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, set up by the government to investigate the causes of the financial crisis, hasn't finished their analysis yet but we've already got the fix? How can you fix something BEFORE an official understanding of what's broken?
It's all political. Rahm Emmanuel's words keep coming back to me - "Never let a crisis go to waste." The economic crisis is being used by this bunch to remake the system in their progressive mold.
Ask yourself this question - do you have faith is this congress to fix the nation's problems? If your answer is yes I would love an explanation because you can't have been paying attention to what they're doing and, more importantly, HOW they're doing it.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Liberal Media
Still think that all of network television and many newspapers and magazines aren't in the sack for Obama? After all, they've made his agenda their agenda. Last night Mort Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of US News and World Report and publisher of The New York Daily News, admitted during an interviews at Fox News that he helped write one of Obama's campaign speeches.
So which is worse that an "independent journalist" (I use quotes there because Zuckerman can no longer be viewed as a legitimate journalist) is writing speeches for a presidential candidate or that a presidential candidate is recruiting the assistance of the press (which is supposed to be biased) to help him campaign?
So which is worse that an "independent journalist" (I use quotes there because Zuckerman can no longer be viewed as a legitimate journalist) is writing speeches for a presidential candidate or that a presidential candidate is recruiting the assistance of the press (which is supposed to be biased) to help him campaign?
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Proof is in the Pudding
"The proof is in the pudding."
I have no idea where that phrase originates from but I do know in what context it can be used.
Let's talk Arizona immigration law. The Dept. of Justice, at President Obama's behest, filed a law suit against the state of Arizona. You might imagine that a critical component of the lawsuit would be the potential for discrimination. The DOJ, you might think, would enter the lawsuit because the law is a potential civil rights violation. That's what Obama has been telling us anyway. Remember his tear-jerking anecodte about how, now, a man and his son could be walking down the street to buy an ice cream cone and a law enforcement officer would come up and harass them about their citizenship status. Yeah, I shed a few tears over that one. Obama even stood in the White House beside Mexican president Calderon and blasted Arizona over this discriminatory law. So with all of that talk you would imagine that the DOJ is basing its lawsuit on that.
You would be wrong.
The lawsuit is based on the premise that a state hasn't the authority to enact a law that contradicts federal law in an area where the feds have jurisdiction. Well, whether or not Arizona's law DOES that is a worthy discussion. But if the issue is state and other localities enacting laws that contradict federal law then I'm sure the DOJ will soon be filing lawsuits against the following cities:
Anchorage, AK, Fairbanks, AK, Chandler, AZ, Phoenix, AZ,Fresno, CA, Los Angeles, CA
National City, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Sonoma County, CA, Evanston, IL
Chicago, IL, Cicero, IL, Cambridge, MA, Orleans, MA, Portland, ME, Baltimore, MD
Takoma Park, MD, Ann Arbor, MI, Detroit, MI, Minneapolis, MN, Newark, NJ, Trenton, NJ
Durham, NC, Albuquerque, NM, Aztec, NM, Rio Arriba County, NM, Sante Fe, NM, New York, NY, Ashland, OR, Gaston, OR, Marion County, OR, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Katy, TX, Virginia Beach, VA, Seattle, WA, Madison, WI
This is a list of America's sancturary cities. Cities that have enacted policies that override federal law. Thirty-eight cities and counties that deserve to have a lawsuit brought against them based on the DOJ's reasoning for bringing the lawsuit against Arizona. Certainly the DOJ is working on lawsuits in these cases as well.
A very astute and bold WH reporter (who will almost certainly lose his/her press credentials now) asked WH spokesman Gibbs about this inconsistency the other day:
"Now there are dozens of so‑called sanctuary cities that have their own policies that might potentially conflict with federal law supplements like Governor Brewer. To say that if Arizona's in violation of federal law, then so are these localities. So my question is why did the president then ask DOJ to look at Arizona and not everywhere?"
Gibbs's response was jibberish: "Let me — I don't know the answer to that but I will try to seek some answer on — some answer on that."
Don't bother Gibbs. You've been exposed. Your boss and his administration want to play politics with this issue instead of doing what's right for the country. This is about protecting the democrats' hold on the Hispanic vote going into an important mid-term election.
The proof is in the pudding. Or lawsuit.
I have no idea where that phrase originates from but I do know in what context it can be used.
Let's talk Arizona immigration law. The Dept. of Justice, at President Obama's behest, filed a law suit against the state of Arizona. You might imagine that a critical component of the lawsuit would be the potential for discrimination. The DOJ, you might think, would enter the lawsuit because the law is a potential civil rights violation. That's what Obama has been telling us anyway. Remember his tear-jerking anecodte about how, now, a man and his son could be walking down the street to buy an ice cream cone and a law enforcement officer would come up and harass them about their citizenship status. Yeah, I shed a few tears over that one. Obama even stood in the White House beside Mexican president Calderon and blasted Arizona over this discriminatory law. So with all of that talk you would imagine that the DOJ is basing its lawsuit on that.
You would be wrong.
The lawsuit is based on the premise that a state hasn't the authority to enact a law that contradicts federal law in an area where the feds have jurisdiction. Well, whether or not Arizona's law DOES that is a worthy discussion. But if the issue is state and other localities enacting laws that contradict federal law then I'm sure the DOJ will soon be filing lawsuits against the following cities:
Anchorage, AK, Fairbanks, AK, Chandler, AZ, Phoenix, AZ,Fresno, CA, Los Angeles, CA
National City, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Sonoma County, CA, Evanston, IL
Chicago, IL, Cicero, IL, Cambridge, MA, Orleans, MA, Portland, ME, Baltimore, MD
Takoma Park, MD, Ann Arbor, MI, Detroit, MI, Minneapolis, MN, Newark, NJ, Trenton, NJ
Durham, NC, Albuquerque, NM, Aztec, NM, Rio Arriba County, NM, Sante Fe, NM, New York, NY, Ashland, OR, Gaston, OR, Marion County, OR, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Katy, TX, Virginia Beach, VA, Seattle, WA, Madison, WI
This is a list of America's sancturary cities. Cities that have enacted policies that override federal law. Thirty-eight cities and counties that deserve to have a lawsuit brought against them based on the DOJ's reasoning for bringing the lawsuit against Arizona. Certainly the DOJ is working on lawsuits in these cases as well.
A very astute and bold WH reporter (who will almost certainly lose his/her press credentials now) asked WH spokesman Gibbs about this inconsistency the other day:
"Now there are dozens of so‑called sanctuary cities that have their own policies that might potentially conflict with federal law supplements like Governor Brewer. To say that if Arizona's in violation of federal law, then so are these localities. So my question is why did the president then ask DOJ to look at Arizona and not everywhere?"
Gibbs's response was jibberish: "Let me — I don't know the answer to that but I will try to seek some answer on — some answer on that."
Don't bother Gibbs. You've been exposed. Your boss and his administration want to play politics with this issue instead of doing what's right for the country. This is about protecting the democrats' hold on the Hispanic vote going into an important mid-term election.
The proof is in the pudding. Or lawsuit.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The (Nanny) State of California
Read this as a perfect example of why California is stupid and I'll never live there. It is king of government intrusion into every stupid little decision you make.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/MN9L1EAT90.DTL
This stupid bill will never pass but only in California (paradise for animal rights and environmental extremist wackos) could such a law even be considered. This is the state that shuts off water to the central valley for the sake of a tiny fish, remember. To even consider this bill is a waste of taxpayer dollars (which California is really good at) and an affront to liberty. I'm not a pet owner, nor do I really have a strong desire to own a pet but this bill would make me WANT to get one if I lived in San Francisco. If this bill passes does anybody really believe that pet ownership will drop that significantly? Will the problems that San Francisco cites really go away? Of course not. Government thinks that regulating human behavior will change human behavior. They couldn't be more mistaken and history tells us as much. Anybody remember prohibition? Yeah, that was a real success. Another example of government trying to regulate human behavior. It doesn't work. Governments' so-called "solutions" are often a bigger problem than the problem they are meant to solve.
Make it illegal to sell pets in S.F. in order to cut down on the crowded conditions and euthanasia at area shelters? Who in their right mind thinks that the result of this bill will be the intended results? Only a fool would believe that. All you have to do is drive across the bay to Berkeley or Oakland or San Jose to buy your pet. Idiots! Sometimes I'm ashamed to consider California (and especially San Francisco) part of America. It's really not any fair that such a beautiful city is inhabited by a collection of the world's stupidest people. This is perfect evidence that it is only God's grace that spares America from the fate she would suffer if left to her own wisdom. Lord have mercy on us for we are growing stupider and stupider by the minute. You know things are getting bad when you have to double-check to make sure that what you're reading is from an actual newspaper and not from The Onion.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/MN9L1EAT90.DTL
This stupid bill will never pass but only in California (paradise for animal rights and environmental extremist wackos) could such a law even be considered. This is the state that shuts off water to the central valley for the sake of a tiny fish, remember. To even consider this bill is a waste of taxpayer dollars (which California is really good at) and an affront to liberty. I'm not a pet owner, nor do I really have a strong desire to own a pet but this bill would make me WANT to get one if I lived in San Francisco. If this bill passes does anybody really believe that pet ownership will drop that significantly? Will the problems that San Francisco cites really go away? Of course not. Government thinks that regulating human behavior will change human behavior. They couldn't be more mistaken and history tells us as much. Anybody remember prohibition? Yeah, that was a real success. Another example of government trying to regulate human behavior. It doesn't work. Governments' so-called "solutions" are often a bigger problem than the problem they are meant to solve.
Make it illegal to sell pets in S.F. in order to cut down on the crowded conditions and euthanasia at area shelters? Who in their right mind thinks that the result of this bill will be the intended results? Only a fool would believe that. All you have to do is drive across the bay to Berkeley or Oakland or San Jose to buy your pet. Idiots! Sometimes I'm ashamed to consider California (and especially San Francisco) part of America. It's really not any fair that such a beautiful city is inhabited by a collection of the world's stupidest people. This is perfect evidence that it is only God's grace that spares America from the fate she would suffer if left to her own wisdom. Lord have mercy on us for we are growing stupider and stupider by the minute. You know things are getting bad when you have to double-check to make sure that what you're reading is from an actual newspaper and not from The Onion.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Spooky
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20009642-10391695.html
Check out this freaky article. I'm not surprised. These are the things I believe are coming for all of us in the near future. In a way it's nice to see that I'm RIGHT and not crazy. But on the other hand, oh how wrong I wish I was.
I guess the question is, what exactly constitutes a "controversial opinion?" And who gets to decide? The fact that some government bureaucracy gets to make that decision for a group of other individuals is evil. This is just the beginning. At some point in the future, mark my words, the government will be restricting access for all of us to subjects that they deem controversial. Call me crazy now but don't come crying to me when they start gathering up all of your "controversial" books for a grand bonfire. You've been warned.
Check out this freaky article. I'm not surprised. These are the things I believe are coming for all of us in the near future. In a way it's nice to see that I'm RIGHT and not crazy. But on the other hand, oh how wrong I wish I was.
I guess the question is, what exactly constitutes a "controversial opinion?" And who gets to decide? The fact that some government bureaucracy gets to make that decision for a group of other individuals is evil. This is just the beginning. At some point in the future, mark my words, the government will be restricting access for all of us to subjects that they deem controversial. Call me crazy now but don't come crying to me when they start gathering up all of your "controversial" books for a grand bonfire. You've been warned.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
On this 4th of July
Putting aside my disdain for the president and our congressional leaders just for one weekend I'm going to take a moment to boast about my great country. Because it is a great country and we are so self-critical in America that it has almost become so rare to state unabashedly that America is great and that one is proud to be called an American. Progressives and liberals are so quick to point out America's flaws and mistakes. There's a disease in the progressive establishment that seeks to always villify America. You won't have to go far on the internet to find YouTube videos and websites dedicated to all of America's "atrocities". You can even find videos describing what the world might look like without America. Of course it's always a eutopia. But I, and the truth, beg to differ. The world would be a horrific place without the influence of the United States.
From America has come, if not the concept of the vaccination itself (that belongs to France), the vaccines that we use today. From America has come countless technological advances that have allowed science to discover the workings of life on earth. From America has come the Space Shuttle. From America has come fetal surgery. Voicemail. Spreadsheets. The laser. Medical advancements too many to number but which, I argue, would never have come about under a system other than a free and capitalist society. The camera. The automobile. The airplane. The internet. The computer. The optical fiber. The circular saw. The suspension bridge. Dental floss for pity's sake! It's all American. That a whole lot more. Look on wikipedia for American inventions. The list is staggering.
But as important as these things are for the advancement of humanity the most important thing that America brought to the planet was individual liberty. In the 1700s the world was most likely headed in the direction of increased freedom. But for this divine plan to be realized a new land was required. A virgin land where God could establish anew the principles of liberty and freedom to their fullest extent. He needed to gather to this land a people who were specially set aside for the very act of establishing a new freedom. These great men acted under the inspiration of God to put down in words the simple fact that individual liberty comes from God and that, as such, it CANNOT be restricted by government without that government become oppressive and removing from itself any authority that it once claimed over its citizens. When a government takes upon itself powers that do not belong to it, the people are no longer under obligation to be obedient to that government. That is the idea of the revolution. That was the spirit of '76. That is the heritage of America.
America has done more for the advancement of the human race, more for the good of humankind, and more to promote freedom and liberty than any other nation in history. We have had the help of good allies along the way but America has always been at the forefront. It is to America that the world turns in time of crisis. We are a great nation because we have been a good people. We fear God. We love liberty. And so far as we continue to fear God and love liberty we will always be a great nation. America has a unique role to play in the world. I don't think God is done with America yet. I hope that America isn't done with God. And I hope that America hasn't forgotten how tenuous our liberties are. Freedom doesn't survive a people who don't also feel a deep sense of great responsbility to keep that freedom safeguarded.
So on the fourth I'm glad to be living in the USA. I'm proud to be American and I'm very proud of our rich history. For the amazing things that God has used America for in such a short period of time.
From America has come, if not the concept of the vaccination itself (that belongs to France), the vaccines that we use today. From America has come countless technological advances that have allowed science to discover the workings of life on earth. From America has come the Space Shuttle. From America has come fetal surgery. Voicemail. Spreadsheets. The laser. Medical advancements too many to number but which, I argue, would never have come about under a system other than a free and capitalist society. The camera. The automobile. The airplane. The internet. The computer. The optical fiber. The circular saw. The suspension bridge. Dental floss for pity's sake! It's all American. That a whole lot more. Look on wikipedia for American inventions. The list is staggering.
But as important as these things are for the advancement of humanity the most important thing that America brought to the planet was individual liberty. In the 1700s the world was most likely headed in the direction of increased freedom. But for this divine plan to be realized a new land was required. A virgin land where God could establish anew the principles of liberty and freedom to their fullest extent. He needed to gather to this land a people who were specially set aside for the very act of establishing a new freedom. These great men acted under the inspiration of God to put down in words the simple fact that individual liberty comes from God and that, as such, it CANNOT be restricted by government without that government become oppressive and removing from itself any authority that it once claimed over its citizens. When a government takes upon itself powers that do not belong to it, the people are no longer under obligation to be obedient to that government. That is the idea of the revolution. That was the spirit of '76. That is the heritage of America.
America has done more for the advancement of the human race, more for the good of humankind, and more to promote freedom and liberty than any other nation in history. We have had the help of good allies along the way but America has always been at the forefront. It is to America that the world turns in time of crisis. We are a great nation because we have been a good people. We fear God. We love liberty. And so far as we continue to fear God and love liberty we will always be a great nation. America has a unique role to play in the world. I don't think God is done with America yet. I hope that America isn't done with God. And I hope that America hasn't forgotten how tenuous our liberties are. Freedom doesn't survive a people who don't also feel a deep sense of great responsbility to keep that freedom safeguarded.
So on the fourth I'm glad to be living in the USA. I'm proud to be American and I'm very proud of our rich history. For the amazing things that God has used America for in such a short period of time.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Stupidest Woman on Earth
Sound harsh? Well I'm actually being kind because there are no words to describe how big an idiot Nancy Pelosi is. If you thought her suggestion to quit your job in order to focus on your dream and let the government take care of you was stupid wait until you hear the most recent display of her stupidity.
In addressing yet another month of dismal employment numbers Nancy had this to say about unemployment checks:
"This is one of the biggest stimuluses to our economy.. economists will tell you this money is spent quickly it injects demand into the economy and is job creating.. it creates jobs faster than almost any other inititative that you can name."
Uh.....How is an intelligent person supposed to respond to that? Unemployment checks are a stimulus to the economy because the patriotic recipients of those paltry benefits are out there pumping the money into the economy? Nancy Pelosi you are stupid and that is such a desperate attempt to try and make unemployment numbers look good. Now she was also saying this in an attempt to defend an extension of federal unemployment benefits from the current level of 2 years to I think about 3 years. This is the best she's got? This is her best argument FOR extending benefits? That more unemployment checks for longer periods of time are a recession-fighter? That's your best argument? Wow. This is American leadership in the 21st century folks. Stupid is the new brilliant I guess.
In addressing yet another month of dismal employment numbers Nancy had this to say about unemployment checks:
"This is one of the biggest stimuluses to our economy.. economists will tell you this money is spent quickly it injects demand into the economy and is job creating.. it creates jobs faster than almost any other inititative that you can name."
Uh.....How is an intelligent person supposed to respond to that? Unemployment checks are a stimulus to the economy because the patriotic recipients of those paltry benefits are out there pumping the money into the economy? Nancy Pelosi you are stupid and that is such a desperate attempt to try and make unemployment numbers look good. Now she was also saying this in an attempt to defend an extension of federal unemployment benefits from the current level of 2 years to I think about 3 years. This is the best she's got? This is her best argument FOR extending benefits? That more unemployment checks for longer periods of time are a recession-fighter? That's your best argument? Wow. This is American leadership in the 21st century folks. Stupid is the new brilliant I guess.
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