True to form, CNN breathlessly reports a slight rise in suicides among Army personnel. Implying of course, a larger problem. But they fail to see the real story within the story:
"According to a Pentagon report released last summer, the overall suicide rate for the United States was 13.4 per 100,000 people in 2006.
For all men ages 17 to 45, it was 21.1 per 100,000 people, compared with 17.8 for men in the Army.
And it was 5.46 per 100,000 for all women, compared with an Army rate of 11.3 women soldiers per 100,000."
So what this is really telling us is that the suicide rate for military men is lower than in the male population at large, while the suicide rate for military women is more than double that of the general female population.
What does that mean? I think it means exactly what most people think but may not want to admit. Women, as a general proposition, are simply not wired to thrive in a profession which depends on an aggressive (testosterone laden) culture for its success. That culture is alien to most women; especially in a combat theatre.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Pelosi Slanders Military; Credits Our Enemy
Having a Speaker from the most Anti-American district in the most Anti-American city means you get statements like this:
"Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the
political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen.
Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge
didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the
goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians."
So the surge is a failure, but any success we may have had is due to the "goodwill" of our enemies. Is the fact that Iran is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of our troops goodwill?
Is their support for their terrorist proxy Hezbollah goodwill? I guess it is since she also visited terrorist sponsor Syria over the strenuous objections of the White House and State Department.
These actions give aid and comfort to our enemies, demoralize our troops and allies and contribute directly to US deaths. Nancy Pelosi's words and actions betrays her country's efforts. That makes her a traitor. There's no other way to put it.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Fighting the Enviro-Tyrants
Finally an oil company exec has the stones to fight back over the global warming hoax that's being used as an excuse to destroy liberty and free enterprise while increasing government power over every aspect of our lives.
Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson said:
Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson said:
"My view is that this is so extraordinarily important to people the world
over, that to not have a debate on it is irresponsible," he said. "To suggest
that we know everything we need to know about these issues is
irresponsible.
"And I will take all the criticism that comes with it. Anybody that
tells you that they got this figured out is not being truthful. There are too
many complexities around climate science for anybody to fully understand all of
the causes and effects and consequences of what you may chose to do to attempt
to affect that. We have to let scientists to continue their investigative work,
unencumbered by political influences. This is too important to be cute with
it."
Congressman Ed Markey(lawyer, non scientist) is proving the point with his proposal to create a massive new tax and government revenue stream out of (literally) thin air.
"Markey said the measure would generate $8 trillion through the auctioning of
emissions allowances to polluters...Markey’s bill would not give polluters free
emission allowances, but instead immediately put a price on emissions in an
auction...“The business community that has been polluting has to accept the
responsibility that this is a price that has been paid for by the society as a
whole,” Markey said."
Replace the words "business community" with " American individual" because that's who is going to pay for this colossal transfer of wealth and power to the government. And what exactly is this price that society has paid anyway?
Additionally, The Heritage Foundation has done an analysis of the huge costs that will follow with passage of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill:
"The study, produced by Heritage's Center for Data Analysis (CDA), forecasts
severe consequences—including crushing energy costs, millions of jobs lost and
falling household income—if Congress enacts the so-called Lieberman-Warner bill."
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." P. J. O'Rourke
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Who's a Nitwit?
Mike Barnicle is yet another dinosaur media member who's whistling past the graveyard as he lashes out at bloggers.
"these nitwits at home with their computers, these bloggers, who [snorts] think they're part of the news media, can then accuse us of being soft on this candidate or that candidate."
This self proclaimed gatekeeper of news reporting should be the last person to condescend to others as to what constitutes legitimate reporting:
"In 1998, Barnicle was forced to resign from the Boston
Globe amid questions about the sources of two of his columns. The first
column, dated August 2, 1998, allegedly contained unattributed material from the
1997 book Brain Droppings by George Carlin.[1]
Review of previous Barnicle columns by the Globe revealed another
possible fabrication in an October 8, 1995 piece. The column recounted the story
of two sets of parents with cancer-stricken children. When one of the boys, a
black child, died, the parents of the other boy, a white child who had begun to
recover, sent the dead child's parents a check for $10,000 USD. When the Globe
could not locate the people in the story, Barnicle said he did not obtain the
story from any of the parents, but from a nurse, yet did not produce the name of
the nurse. When editors could not find a death that matched that of the child's
in the piece, Barnicle was asked to resign."
If this is the standards of Mike Barnicle's dying media, then I don't want any part of it. And if we're so insignificant, then why mention us at all. Doth protesteth too much Mike.
"these nitwits at home with their computers, these bloggers, who [snorts] think they're part of the news media, can then accuse us of being soft on this candidate or that candidate."
This self proclaimed gatekeeper of news reporting should be the last person to condescend to others as to what constitutes legitimate reporting:
"In 1998, Barnicle was forced to resign from the Boston
Globe amid questions about the sources of two of his columns. The first
column, dated August 2, 1998, allegedly contained unattributed material from the
1997 book Brain Droppings by George Carlin.[1]
Review of previous Barnicle columns by the Globe revealed another
possible fabrication in an October 8, 1995 piece. The column recounted the story
of two sets of parents with cancer-stricken children. When one of the boys, a
black child, died, the parents of the other boy, a white child who had begun to
recover, sent the dead child's parents a check for $10,000 USD. When the Globe
could not locate the people in the story, Barnicle said he did not obtain the
story from any of the parents, but from a nurse, yet did not produce the name of
the nurse. When editors could not find a death that matched that of the child's
in the piece, Barnicle was asked to resign."
If this is the standards of Mike Barnicle's dying media, then I don't want any part of it. And if we're so insignificant, then why mention us at all. Doth protesteth too much Mike.
Barack Potatoe Obama?
Give Obama the Dan Quayle treatment:
"Imagine that John McCain named a young running mate to campaign with him, and this national rookie suggested America had 58 states, repeatedly used the wrong names for the cities he was visiting, and honored a Memorial Day crowd by acknowledging the “fallen heroes” who were present, somehow alive and standing in the audience. How long would it take for the national media to see another Dan Quayle caricature? Let’s raise the stakes. What if it was the GOP presidential candidate making these thoroughly ridiculous comments? This scenario is very real, except it isn’t McCain. It’s the other fellow."
"Imagine that John McCain named a young running mate to campaign with him, and this national rookie suggested America had 58 states, repeatedly used the wrong names for the cities he was visiting, and honored a Memorial Day crowd by acknowledging the “fallen heroes” who were present, somehow alive and standing in the audience. How long would it take for the national media to see another Dan Quayle caricature? Let’s raise the stakes. What if it was the GOP presidential candidate making these thoroughly ridiculous comments? This scenario is very real, except it isn’t McCain. It’s the other fellow."
More Opposition to Environmental Tyranny
Vaclav Klaus has added his name to numerous others that have asked for a debate concerning man made global warming. More important, Klaus has lived under communist totalitarianism and sees it rearing its ugly head in the environmental movement. That's obvious to a lot, but not enough to discredit this hoax for what it is: another attempt to control every aspect of our lives by dictators and tyrants carrying a green flag instead of a hammer & sickle.
Al Gore keeps telling us the debate is over but many respected scientists and frankly anyone with a minimal amount of critical thinking skills remain skeptical at best. Al calls them "flat earthers" and chides the media for giving them any time at all. If that's the case; if the skeptics argument is as ridiculous as belief in a flat earth, then Al and his minions should be jumping at the chance to put the whole thing to rest and clear the way for his agenda. If his argument is so airtight, then why not shut us all up once and for all?
Well he can't, that's why. His entire "theory" rests entirely on emotional appeal, speculation and the complete dismissal of any contrary evidence. That's not how science works, but it is the way of demagogic politics, which is exactly what this is.
It's also why Gore has recently embarked on a $300 million dollar P.R. campaign to promote this nonsense rather than engage in definitive debate for free. One would think that after his Oscar winning movie that's been force fed to school children worldwide and a Nobel prize, his point would be made. Apparently not. But rather than take on his opponents directly, he'll spend millions to convince others to shut them up, with force if necessary. Sound familiar? It certainly does to Vaclav Klaus.
Al Gore keeps telling us the debate is over but many respected scientists and frankly anyone with a minimal amount of critical thinking skills remain skeptical at best. Al calls them "flat earthers" and chides the media for giving them any time at all. If that's the case; if the skeptics argument is as ridiculous as belief in a flat earth, then Al and his minions should be jumping at the chance to put the whole thing to rest and clear the way for his agenda. If his argument is so airtight, then why not shut us all up once and for all?
Well he can't, that's why. His entire "theory" rests entirely on emotional appeal, speculation and the complete dismissal of any contrary evidence. That's not how science works, but it is the way of demagogic politics, which is exactly what this is.
It's also why Gore has recently embarked on a $300 million dollar P.R. campaign to promote this nonsense rather than engage in definitive debate for free. One would think that after his Oscar winning movie that's been force fed to school children worldwide and a Nobel prize, his point would be made. Apparently not. But rather than take on his opponents directly, he'll spend millions to convince others to shut them up, with force if necessary. Sound familiar? It certainly does to Vaclav Klaus.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Another Oil Company Show Trial
It's becoming clear that Democrats are hellbent on destroying the US economy with their latest round of demagoguery, as they once again call oil execs on the carpet while doing absolutely nothing but stand in the way of increased domestic production. This is all to divert blame from themselves and appease their kook base with anti-free enterprise rhetoric
"Where is the corporate conscience?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked the top executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies.
How does this jerk walk around with those big brass ones clanging around? Where is his conscience in refusing to allow more drilling and exploration within our own borders while mandating that we burn 25% of our corn. By now Durbin and his cronies must know the difference between profit and profit margin, but they pretend they don't. It's more important to score points with the economic morons back home than think about the country's security and future. What's going on here is nothing less than criminal malfeasance.
Speaking of crimes, National Review makes the point that congress is violating the very law it passed last week whereby they are trying to criminalize OPEC. That law, which I'm sure has been the source of much amusement in Ryadh, says in part:
"It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act . . . to limit the production or
distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product . . . or to
otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any
petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a
direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply,
price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum product in the
United States."
That's exactly what congress is doing right now.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Fat People Have Larger Carbon Footprint
First it was smokers, then tran-fats and light bulbs etc., etc. Now all you lardbutts are in the crosshairs of the lifestyle tyrants. And they expect us to give away more liberty based on lies they know the ignorant public will swallow.
Nonsense. Look at this fool's examples. Everyone one of those countries is dysfunctional and corrupt. Crop yields in free countries with private property rights have increased exponentially over the years. There is plenty of arable land in the world that could feed everyone many times over were it not for dictators and tyrants subjugating their citizens into a subsistence
existence. Does the fact that billions of people still farm with Ox driven plows and other ancient techniques enter into the pea-brains of the hysterics?
Of course not. Or they willfully ignore it because it would contradict their Luddite agenda.
"What's not a joke is that there is a finite amount of food in the world, and it
is growing
scarce. Recent food riots Haiti, Sudan, Yemen, Mexico, Egypt, and other
countries are a stark reminder that many people do not have enough to eat."
Nonsense. Look at this fool's examples. Everyone one of those countries is dysfunctional and corrupt. Crop yields in free countries with private property rights have increased exponentially over the years. There is plenty of arable land in the world that could feed everyone many times over were it not for dictators and tyrants subjugating their citizens into a subsistence
existence. Does the fact that billions of people still farm with Ox driven plows and other ancient techniques enter into the pea-brains of the hysterics?
Of course not. Or they willfully ignore it because it would contradict their Luddite agenda.
Obama Shows His Eco-Socialist Colors
From HotAir:
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
In other words, our economy and way of life should be subject to the whims of countries that are invested in our failure. Which is just fine with him. Like all big government elitists, he won't be subject to the rules he would impose on everyone else. It's about equality by taking us down, not raising everyone else up. That would require more personal liberty in the world and we can't have that.
Government Not Agressive Enough in Regulating Your Diet
From WAPO:
"The problem at first was that the problem was ignored: For almost two decades,
young people in the United States got fatter and fatter -- ate more, sat more --
and nobody seemed to notice. Not parents or schools, not medical groups or the
government.
But since the alarm was finally sounded in the late 1990s, the
problem has been the country's reaction: a fragmented, inchoate response that
critics say has suffered particularly from inadequate direction and dollars at
the federal level...Federal officials defend their record, saying they have worked "resolutely and steadily" in the past eight years to combat obesity. They calculate that the Department of Health and Human Services has spent $4.5 billion on prevention, treatment and research since fiscal 2003"Understand that the food police believe you are too stupid to decide what to eat and that you should be forced by your government mommy to obey.
TV news crew attacked at Minneapolis tax-funded Muslim school
From Michelle Malkin:
The state probe in question came to the following wimpy conclusions:
"The curriculum at a charter school catering to Muslims complies with
federal and state law, the state Education Department said Monday but it
directed other changes be made in religious areas.
The state said Tarik ibn
Zayad Academy should change its busing schedule and its handling of Friday
prayer services. The shorter prayer services on other days were found to be
acceptable, but not the 30-minute service on school grounds on Muslim's holy
day."
They don't see a problem with the fact that the school "shares a building with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota and its mosque." This radical group has ties to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood ,promotes the imposition of sharia law and advocates the usual Islamo- Fascist bilge:
Your tax dollars hard at work to ensure your destruction.
"Twin Cities readers send word that a KSTP TV news crew was attacked outside
Tarik ibn Zayad Academy, the Minnesota Muslim charter school. Looks like the
administrators were not happy with the results of a state probe of their
religious practices in public classrooms..."
The state probe in question came to the following wimpy conclusions:
"The curriculum at a charter school catering to Muslims complies with
federal and state law, the state Education Department said Monday but it
directed other changes be made in religious areas.
The state said Tarik ibn
Zayad Academy should change its busing schedule and its handling of Friday
prayer services. The shorter prayer services on other days were found to be
acceptable, but not the 30-minute service on school grounds on Muslim's holy
day."
They don't see a problem with the fact that the school "shares a building with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota and its mosque." This radical group has ties to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood ,promotes the imposition of sharia law and advocates the usual Islamo- Fascist bilge:
"As of early June 2007, the Minnesota chapter of MAS featured the following anti-Semitic, pro-jihad quotes on its website, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/www.masmn.org:
"The Holy Prophet (and through him the Muslims) has been reassured that he should not mind the enmity, the evil designs and the machinations of the Jews ..."
"In view of the degenerate moral condition of the Jews and the Christians, the Believers have been warned not to make them their friends and confidants."
"If you gain victory over the men of Jews, kill them."
"The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'"
"May Allah destroy the Jews, because they used the graves of their prophets as places of worship."
"A Muslim must always worship Allah and wage jihad until death in order to reach his ultimate goal … Regularly make the intention to go on jihad with the ambition to die as a martyr."
Your tax dollars hard at work to ensure your destruction.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Will Obama Disavow Trinity Church?
Obama has disavowed his pastor, but not Trinity church itself. There's nothing the Reverend Wright has said that contradicts the underlying racist and marxist philosophy of this faith.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Michelle Obama Hates Whitey?
From NoQuarter.com
"I now have it from two three four sources (three who are close to senior Republicans) that there is video dynamite–Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s church."
If true, this should come as no surprise. Obama gained legitimacy in Chicago with the same racial grievance politics as Al Sharpton, Charlie Rangel, Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson and other poverty pimps. His political roots are so far out in left field, it's inevitable we will see much more revealed that will shock even his acolytes.
That's why the Obama campaign and his cheerleaders in the media are so thin-skinned over any criticism of Wonder Boy. They know there's a lot about their guy they don't want to talk about beyond his far-left ideology and that beneath all the flash, Obama's just another race hustling marxist.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Immorality of Click It Or Ticket
Once again we're being treated to a condescending and threatening government ad campaign warning us to fasten our seat belts. That my tax dollars are being used for this bilge just adds insult to injury. The dictatorial busybodies claim they're "saving lives", but the government has no moral authority to tell any citizen what safety precautions they should take with their life.
I started wearing seat belts long before it was mandated by law because I felt it was a good way to preserve my life. Proponents will say that my non-compliance would cost society if I'm seriously injured. That's a problem with socialistic government policies, not a problem with the exercise of my personal liberty. If I'm not endangering anyone else's life, then it's none of the government's damn business what risks I take with my own. That argument can be used to outlaw anything the government deems to be a "cost" to society.
Cardiovascular disease kills many times more people than auto-accidents. We could mandate a limit on caloric intake and force people to exercise. New York has banned trans-fats in restaurants, so that camel's nose is already in the tent.
We could reduce drownings by requiring life vests for every swimmer and boater. Or why don't we just outlaw those activities completely? No? It's for your own good and the maternal government is just trying to save lives. You don't want people to die, do you?
Why don't we ban motorcycles too? They have a much higher accident and death rate than passenger cars. Here in Florida we have no helmet laws. It's quite possible that one could get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt while surrounded by 2000 pounds of metal, as a bare headed motorcyclist rides by legally, wearing nothing more than a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops.
If I'm not endangering anyone else's life, then it's none of the government's damn business what risks I take with my own. The problem is that there are all too many infants in this country that are willing to let others decide how they should live their lives. And there's a lot of power freaks willing to do it. Neither of them has any appreciation or respect for individual liberty or freedom.
The rest of us just want to be left alone.
Dumb Environment Predictions
In 1972, a report was written for the Club of Rome warning the world would run
out of gold by 1981, mercury and silver by 1985, tin by 1987 and petroleum,
copper, lead and natural gas by 1992. Gordon Taylor, in his 1970 book "The
Doomsday Book," said Americans were using 50 percent of the world's resources
and "by 2000 they [Americans] will, if permitted, be using all of them." In
1975, the Environmental Fund took out full-page ads warning, "The World as we
know it will likely be ruined by the year 2000."
Harvard University biologist
George Wald in 1970 warned, "... civilization will end within 15 or 30 years
unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." That was the
same year that Sen. Gaylord Nelson warned, in Look Magazine, that by 1995 "...
somewhere between 75 and 85 percent of all the species of living animals will be
extinct." More...
But this time the enviro's global warming crystal ball is working just fine. Yeah. And monkeys are going to fly out of my butt.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
This is What Passes for Academic Freedom
It would be bad enough if this were just another brain dead student. But this fool is a member of the University of Wisconsin Student Government. He screams that "the constitution gives the right to a woman to be able to have an abortion" Then he says that these protestors "don't have a right to challenge that. " I guess that free speech stuff in the first amendment only applies to future dictators like him.
I'm sure the university bends over backwards to tout the diversity of its campus. But that only applies to the shallow and easy things like skin color and gender.
Diversity of thought? That will not be tolerated unless it conforms with the leftist template. This guy is an instructive and all too common example of the intolerance and intimidation that exists in American academia.
The Truth About Oil
Is the world running out of oil? Well of course! Everyone knows that! If by everyone you mean the sheep that lap up every bullcrap sandwich fed to them, then that's true. If you want actual facts then here they are.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Killing Us with Cigarette Taxes
Incentives matter. Nowhere is this more evident than in states that have instituted ridiculously high cigarette taxes, especially New York. The Utopian socialists who believed that individual behavior wouldn't change when faced with $9.00 a pack cigarettes, have created a new profit center for organized crime and terrorists, made criminals out of law abiding citizens and succeeded in generating less tax revenue in the process.
And what is government's response to all of this? Would they lower the taxes in recognition that these schemes are endangering everyone by cracking down on a minority's use of a legal product? Of course not. They want to compound the problem by spending more tax dollars in order to further enforce these moronic policies:
New York Rep. Peter King admits:
"Officials estimate that, in total, cigarette smugglers are sending millions of dollars to dangerous overseas terror networks annually. The more than $50,000 from one contraband load would be enough to fund as many as 10 USS Cole bombings."
What's his solution?
"By collecting taxes on the resale of cigarettes at Indian Reservations, the state could stop the terrorist pipeline, cutting off the smugglers’ supply of illicit cartons. I have also called on my colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security to hold a Congressional hearing on smuggling in the United States."
And that will accomplish absolutely nothing while wasting even more taxpayer dollars trying to solve a government created problem.
Another brilliant solution is to create more federal laws and further criminalize the individual behavior these taxes have encouraged and further erode freedom:
Congress is considering bills that would increase the penalties for smuggling, bar the shipment of cigarettes through the mail, and require all tobacco products to carry a high-tech federal tax stamp that would enable law enforcement officials to spot counterfeits and identify packages that have illegally crossed state lines.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., a sponsor of one of the bills, called it a "great mystery" why New York hasn't done more to crack down on bulk purchases at Indian reservations. New York's reservations sold nearly 304 million packs last year _ nearly a third of the state's recorded total.
"You go stand in front of the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island, in the Hamptons, and you can see people loading boxes and boxes and cases into their trucks," Weiner said.
These geniuses are obviously immune to common sense and the lessons of history. New York had high taxes relative to price in the 60's and 70's and responded to the same problem with equally useless solutions:
"State and city officials responded with mandatory prison sentences and expanded police powers of search and seizure. But in 1973 a state commission found the crackdown to be "completely ineffective and a failure." Desperate state officials formed a special task force that proposed abolishing the city's cigarette excise. Gov. Malcolm Wilson embraced the idea, explaining: "One major incentive to organized crime is the high New York City cigarette taxes, piled on top of the state tax, which have made that city the promised land for cigarette bootleggers."
"Politicians continue to use the health of smokers as their excuse for higher cigarette taxes. This view is myopic. As Gov. Wilson argued three decades ago, high cigarette taxes are bad public policy because of their effect on the rest of us. In the 1960s and '70s, organized crime exploited high cigarette taxes at our expense. Today we face an even deadlier adversary."
That's true. It is also true that these taxes are easy to pass with the support of the short-sighted non-smoking majority, many of whom are repulsed by the habit. They fail to see that the same arguments can be used to take their freedom away. New York now has a trans fat ban. Congress is telling all of us what kind of light bulb we can buy. The common thread is a subordination individual rights to that of a collective. There's no end to the government's power to coerce changes in private behavior when you accept the premise that government has that right at all.
"The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws." - Ayn Rand
And what is government's response to all of this? Would they lower the taxes in recognition that these schemes are endangering everyone by cracking down on a minority's use of a legal product? Of course not. They want to compound the problem by spending more tax dollars in order to further enforce these moronic policies:
New York Rep. Peter King admits:
"Officials estimate that, in total, cigarette smugglers are sending millions of dollars to dangerous overseas terror networks annually. The more than $50,000 from one contraband load would be enough to fund as many as 10 USS Cole bombings."
What's his solution?
"By collecting taxes on the resale of cigarettes at Indian Reservations, the state could stop the terrorist pipeline, cutting off the smugglers’ supply of illicit cartons. I have also called on my colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security to hold a Congressional hearing on smuggling in the United States."
And that will accomplish absolutely nothing while wasting even more taxpayer dollars trying to solve a government created problem.
Another brilliant solution is to create more federal laws and further criminalize the individual behavior these taxes have encouraged and further erode freedom:
Congress is considering bills that would increase the penalties for smuggling, bar the shipment of cigarettes through the mail, and require all tobacco products to carry a high-tech federal tax stamp that would enable law enforcement officials to spot counterfeits and identify packages that have illegally crossed state lines.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., a sponsor of one of the bills, called it a "great mystery" why New York hasn't done more to crack down on bulk purchases at Indian reservations. New York's reservations sold nearly 304 million packs last year _ nearly a third of the state's recorded total.
"You go stand in front of the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island, in the Hamptons, and you can see people loading boxes and boxes and cases into their trucks," Weiner said.
These geniuses are obviously immune to common sense and the lessons of history. New York had high taxes relative to price in the 60's and 70's and responded to the same problem with equally useless solutions:
"State and city officials responded with mandatory prison sentences and expanded police powers of search and seizure. But in 1973 a state commission found the crackdown to be "completely ineffective and a failure." Desperate state officials formed a special task force that proposed abolishing the city's cigarette excise. Gov. Malcolm Wilson embraced the idea, explaining: "One major incentive to organized crime is the high New York City cigarette taxes, piled on top of the state tax, which have made that city the promised land for cigarette bootleggers."
"Politicians continue to use the health of smokers as their excuse for higher cigarette taxes. This view is myopic. As Gov. Wilson argued three decades ago, high cigarette taxes are bad public policy because of their effect on the rest of us. In the 1960s and '70s, organized crime exploited high cigarette taxes at our expense. Today we face an even deadlier adversary."
That's true. It is also true that these taxes are easy to pass with the support of the short-sighted non-smoking majority, many of whom are repulsed by the habit. They fail to see that the same arguments can be used to take their freedom away. New York now has a trans fat ban. Congress is telling all of us what kind of light bulb we can buy. The common thread is a subordination individual rights to that of a collective. There's no end to the government's power to coerce changes in private behavior when you accept the premise that government has that right at all.
"The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws." - Ayn Rand
The Selective Outrage of the Left
** The racist, marxist government of Robert Mugabe continues to terrorize it's citizenry. Is the UN the most useless organization in the history of the world or what? Where's the US Left? Silent. He may be a jerk, but he's their jerk.
"Security forces and militia groups loyal to the 84-year-old autocrat have rampaged across the countryside for the past month, targeting opposition activists and whole villages suspected of having voted against the government in the March 29 elections. In some areas, torture camps have been established where victims are taken and beaten while their homes are looted and burned."
**The left is normally hostile towards religion in general and christianity in particular. In the case of the racist, marxist Rev. Wright and the Black Liberation Theology of the Obamas' church, they're twisting themselves in knots trying to rationalize the hate away.
"Yet the left, with its healthy skepticism toward religion, has shown itself to be cynically flexible over the past few weeks in response to the utter insanities emitted from the big mouth of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor, mentor and friend of 20 years. Suddenly, some liberals have discovered a newfound love for extremists who hide behind the cloth to justify their radical views."
Actually it's not a "newfound love". They've been excusing and justifying the brutality and insanity of the Islamo-fascists for years.
** The Obama camp and its apologists are trying to distance the candidate from marxist William Ayers while portraying him as part of the Chicago "mainstream". I'd love to see what passes for radical in that town. What would be the response if a McCain supporter were shown stomping on a Mexican flag?
"That distance might be hard to maintain. First, the profile in the magazine wasn’t exactly a low-profile article in an obscure publication. Ayers had just published a memoir of his days as a fugitive for domestic terrorism in the Weather Underground, and both the book and the publicity gained national attention, especially after 9/11. Obama continued to work with Ayers after this, appearing on public panels with Ayers into 2002."
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
More Economic Ignorance from Congress
Rep Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA) has introduced H.R. 5800, which would create a three person kangaroo court called a Reasonable Profits Board, to oversee the finances of private oil companies and tax "excessive profits". Kanjorski, a lawyer and life long government hack who has never made a payroll in his life, sits on the financial services committee with Barney Frank; which is like putting Laurel and Hardy in charge of NASA.
Kanjorski apparently believes the laws of supply and demand should only apply to things people don't need and that his judgment should replace the voluntary decisions of millions of consumers and investors. For his next trick maybe he should try repealing the laws of gravity for excessive airline crashes.
That a guy who wouldn't know a balance sheet from a bed sheet is in such a powerful position overseeing American Industry is just part of the problem. The philosophy behind his proposition is the same used by tyrants on countless occasions to increase their power in the name of "fairness" with the result being less prosperity and freedom for everyone.
Kanjorski apparently believes the laws of supply and demand should only apply to things people don't need and that his judgment should replace the voluntary decisions of millions of consumers and investors. For his next trick maybe he should try repealing the laws of gravity for excessive airline crashes.
That a guy who wouldn't know a balance sheet from a bed sheet is in such a powerful position overseeing American Industry is just part of the problem. The philosophy behind his proposition is the same used by tyrants on countless occasions to increase their power in the name of "fairness" with the result being less prosperity and freedom for everyone.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Arianna Huffington: Doyenne of the Intolerant Left
Arriana Huffington is out flogging her new book Right is Wrong and gives us a synopsis of her thesis in this column. Channeling the ghost of Herbert Marcuse, Huffington scolds the media not for giving the other side equal time, (which they don't) but for giving them any time at all. Like Marcuse, she believes her ideas are objective truths, and that the airing of competing ideas is a repressive tolerance.
"It's a paradox: the political center has clearly shifted; what used to be considered "left wing" positions have now become part of the mainstream, and the views of the Right are now at odds with the majority of the American public -- and with reality."
If that's true, then what's the problem? While she doesn't say it explicitly, her entire argument rests on the notion that the American public is so gullible and bereft of critical thinking skills that they shouldn't have to or be allowed to weigh things in the free marketplace of ideas.
"Think about it: on Iraq and the exercise of American power, on economic fairness, on corporate responsibility, on the environment and climate change, on the universal right to healthcare, the progressive policies and positions long championed by the left have moved from union halls and MoveOn emails to the sidewalks, backyards, and kitchen tables of Main Street, USA."
In other words, Huffington sees her propaganda gaining traction and that the truth is whatever the majority can be convinced to believe. Let's not let facts get in the way of a good argument.
"The earth is not flat. Global warming is a fact. Evolution is a fact -- sorry Mike Huckabee. And not even Republicans still believe in the unfettered, free market. Look how they rushed to Big Government to save their beloved Bear Sterns."
Trust me, if the left thought that belief in a flat earth would serve their collectivist goals, we would have phony pictures of polar bears falling off the edge posted in every school in the country.
Global Warming theory is a fact according to Huffington, even though thousands of real experts on the subject have valid questions and doubts. Indeed, Global Warming guru and non-scientist Al Gore has also chided the media for giving his opponents an audience because the "debate is over". Gore has never had the debate despite being invited to do so by "deniers" on countless occasions. If his position is so airtight, you would think he would jump at the chance to put this to bed once and for all. He won't. Which is prima facie evidence that he can't and knows it.
Evolutionary theory is fact even though no one can explain where that first single cell came from.
The law of supply and demand? That's something to be ignored or fiddled with when politically expedient. I ignored the laws of gravity when I pretended to be Superman as a kid, and disaster was the result. Ethanol is latest example of this leftist insanity as people are now dying from the hubris of Huffington, Gore and their cohorts. And Bear Stearns never would have gone to the government had they not thought there was a taxpayer funded life-preserver waiting for them. They were right and the government was wrong to give it to them.
"Nor are there two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation's greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period. Full stop."
And here I was thinking that Jimmy Carter was and is our greatest foreign policy disaster. Go figure. The left has decided that Iraq is a disaster and if you disagree then just shut up. That free speech stuff really is a problem when it applies to everyone.
"What is behind the media's lapdog devotion to the messages and framing of the Right? It's a combination of self-loathing and abject fear. The media wear their dread like a cheap aftershave. The broadcast networks and the cable news channels live in mortal fear of a dip in the ratings, and newspapers are constantly checking their pulse -- convinced by their deteriorating profits and market share that the end is near. So they continue to offer the views of the newly marooned Right more than equal time."
Get that? Failing outlets are trying to boost their ratings and readership by presenting both sides. Ironically, this is an admission by Huffington that the MSM is failing precisely because of its left wing bias. But she sees this not as a problem with left wing positions but that the unwashed masses are being confused with contrary views. When you start blaming the customer for not buying what you're selling, then you're really getting desperate.
What Huffington really wants is the near monopoly of ideas that exists in academia and Hollywood by supression of the opposition through intimidation and derision. They can't win their arguments on the merits, so the next best thing is to knee-cap the competition.
As of today, Huffington's book is still behind Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism, which was published over four months ago. She would argue that hers would be number one if books like Golberg's weren't sold. That no one would buy it is irrelevant. Huffington wants you to pay attention to her or pay attention to nothing. By force if necessary. This is what the the orwellian fairness doctrine is really about.
What she should do instead is read Liberal Fascism while standing in front of a mirror.
"It's a paradox: the political center has clearly shifted; what used to be considered "left wing" positions have now become part of the mainstream, and the views of the Right are now at odds with the majority of the American public -- and with reality."
If that's true, then what's the problem? While she doesn't say it explicitly, her entire argument rests on the notion that the American public is so gullible and bereft of critical thinking skills that they shouldn't have to or be allowed to weigh things in the free marketplace of ideas.
"Think about it: on Iraq and the exercise of American power, on economic fairness, on corporate responsibility, on the environment and climate change, on the universal right to healthcare, the progressive policies and positions long championed by the left have moved from union halls and MoveOn emails to the sidewalks, backyards, and kitchen tables of Main Street, USA."
In other words, Huffington sees her propaganda gaining traction and that the truth is whatever the majority can be convinced to believe. Let's not let facts get in the way of a good argument.
"The earth is not flat. Global warming is a fact. Evolution is a fact -- sorry Mike Huckabee. And not even Republicans still believe in the unfettered, free market. Look how they rushed to Big Government to save their beloved Bear Sterns."
Trust me, if the left thought that belief in a flat earth would serve their collectivist goals, we would have phony pictures of polar bears falling off the edge posted in every school in the country.
Global Warming theory is a fact according to Huffington, even though thousands of real experts on the subject have valid questions and doubts. Indeed, Global Warming guru and non-scientist Al Gore has also chided the media for giving his opponents an audience because the "debate is over". Gore has never had the debate despite being invited to do so by "deniers" on countless occasions. If his position is so airtight, you would think he would jump at the chance to put this to bed once and for all. He won't. Which is prima facie evidence that he can't and knows it.
Evolutionary theory is fact even though no one can explain where that first single cell came from.
The law of supply and demand? That's something to be ignored or fiddled with when politically expedient. I ignored the laws of gravity when I pretended to be Superman as a kid, and disaster was the result. Ethanol is latest example of this leftist insanity as people are now dying from the hubris of Huffington, Gore and their cohorts. And Bear Stearns never would have gone to the government had they not thought there was a taxpayer funded life-preserver waiting for them. They were right and the government was wrong to give it to them.
"Nor are there two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation's greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period. Full stop."
And here I was thinking that Jimmy Carter was and is our greatest foreign policy disaster. Go figure. The left has decided that Iraq is a disaster and if you disagree then just shut up. That free speech stuff really is a problem when it applies to everyone.
"What is behind the media's lapdog devotion to the messages and framing of the Right? It's a combination of self-loathing and abject fear. The media wear their dread like a cheap aftershave. The broadcast networks and the cable news channels live in mortal fear of a dip in the ratings, and newspapers are constantly checking their pulse -- convinced by their deteriorating profits and market share that the end is near. So they continue to offer the views of the newly marooned Right more than equal time."
Get that? Failing outlets are trying to boost their ratings and readership by presenting both sides. Ironically, this is an admission by Huffington that the MSM is failing precisely because of its left wing bias. But she sees this not as a problem with left wing positions but that the unwashed masses are being confused with contrary views. When you start blaming the customer for not buying what you're selling, then you're really getting desperate.
What Huffington really wants is the near monopoly of ideas that exists in academia and Hollywood by supression of the opposition through intimidation and derision. They can't win their arguments on the merits, so the next best thing is to knee-cap the competition.
As of today, Huffington's book is still behind Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism, which was published over four months ago. She would argue that hers would be number one if books like Golberg's weren't sold. That no one would buy it is irrelevant. Huffington wants you to pay attention to her or pay attention to nothing. By force if necessary. This is what the the orwellian fairness doctrine is really about.
What she should do instead is read Liberal Fascism while standing in front of a mirror.
Friday, May 2, 2008
More Green for Al
Venture capital is flowing into "green" technologies even though most of them are too inefficient to compete in the free market. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said Thursday it will invest $500 million in green technology companies. However:
"Although Silicon Valley will benefit, Europe is also a promising area because of eco-friendly government policies,..."
Translation: "No one would use this crap on their own accord, but since the statists across the pond are forcing their citizenry to buy this junk, we're going to take advantage of it."
They should change their names to Venture Opportunists. They sure as hell aren't capitalists.
And what else do we learn?
"The Green Growth fund will collaborate with Al Gore's Generation Investment Management, which is based in London. Gore is also a partner in Kleiner Perkins."
And I thought it was the global warming "deniers" who were well funded? Poor Al. He's too much of an incompetent boob to make money honestly, so he has to resort to cajoling governments into buying into his hoax and force people to give him money; as long as he keeps sharing the loot. Actually, it doesn't take any cajoling since the EU and UN kleptocrats are always looking to make a buck through raw power.
But Al still has his eye on the big prize: The U.S. We are witnessing the genesis of the largest fraud in human history.
"Although Silicon Valley will benefit, Europe is also a promising area because of eco-friendly government policies,..."
Translation: "No one would use this crap on their own accord, but since the statists across the pond are forcing their citizenry to buy this junk, we're going to take advantage of it."
They should change their names to Venture Opportunists. They sure as hell aren't capitalists.
And what else do we learn?
"The Green Growth fund will collaborate with Al Gore's Generation Investment Management, which is based in London. Gore is also a partner in Kleiner Perkins."
And I thought it was the global warming "deniers" who were well funded? Poor Al. He's too much of an incompetent boob to make money honestly, so he has to resort to cajoling governments into buying into his hoax and force people to give him money; as long as he keeps sharing the loot. Actually, it doesn't take any cajoling since the EU and UN kleptocrats are always looking to make a buck through raw power.
But Al still has his eye on the big prize: The U.S. We are witnessing the genesis of the largest fraud in human history.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Fun With Mortgage Bailout Protesters
"On April 16 in Washington, D.C., the Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Evictions & Foreclosures organized a demonstration outside a meeting of the Mortgage Bankers Associaton at the Washington Court Hotel.
reason.tv's Dan Hayes and Michael C. Moynihan checked out the demonstration and talked with some of the activists, who quickly changed the subject from home loans to Castro's Cuban paradise, the need to free Mumia Abu Jamal, forgiving student loans, the Rothschilds (!), Haitians eating a mixture of dirt and oil (!?!?), and much, much more. " LINK
reason.tv's Dan Hayes and Michael C. Moynihan checked out the demonstration and talked with some of the activists, who quickly changed the subject from home loans to Castro's Cuban paradise, the need to free Mumia Abu Jamal, forgiving student loans, the Rothschilds (!), Haitians eating a mixture of dirt and oil (!?!?), and much, much more. " LINK
A Windfall of Idiocy
Hillary Clinton has is the latest entrant in the stupid economics tricks contest with her own version of a windfall profit tax on oil companies. Caution: If you don't know the difference between profit and profit margin, stop reading and go educate yourself. You'll be doing a great service to the country.
Hillary correctly counts on the fact that most people don't remember how this same policy not only didn't work in the 1980's, but reduced domestic production and increased dependence on foreign oil.
But she doesn't stop there in her demagoguery disguised as policy. She also wants to crack down on mythical price gouging and further regulate commodities markets with Soviet style command and control economics that have such a long record of failure that only fanatical collectivists and democrats fail to recognize it.
Remember folks: Every tax and regulation imposed on anyone is ultimately paid by individuals one way or another in the form of higher prices, shortages or any number of other costs. In short it means less freedom and more government.
Of course, no Democrat proposes to increase our own production in ANWR, the outer continental shelf or the Gulf of Mexico, where the Cubans and Red Chinese are exploring right now. Build our first new refinery in 30 years? Forget it. How about cutting down on the dozens of special blends required for dubious environmental reasons that cause refineries to shut down and drive up prices every spring and fall? No way. Expand nuclear power? Don't make me laugh. More coal production and gassification? You must be kidding.
No, The left's only solution to supply is the government mandated use of inefficient alternative sources of energy. That subsidized and tariff protected ethanol thing is working out great isn't it? There's a reason why no other civilization in history has burned its food for fuel. Because it's a really dumb idea. When an alternative fuel can replace oil on a level playing field, I'll be the first to use it. When they are forced on people artificially, you get what we have now. Higher food prices, starvation, riots and yes, deaths.
Related Note: The Fed reduced interest rates again yesterday, which will raise the cost of oil imports further as our dollars buy even less on the world markets. If the dollar was worth what it was five years ago, oil would be at least a third cheaper than it is now.
Hillary correctly counts on the fact that most people don't remember how this same policy not only didn't work in the 1980's, but reduced domestic production and increased dependence on foreign oil.
But she doesn't stop there in her demagoguery disguised as policy. She also wants to crack down on mythical price gouging and further regulate commodities markets with Soviet style command and control economics that have such a long record of failure that only fanatical collectivists and democrats fail to recognize it.
Remember folks: Every tax and regulation imposed on anyone is ultimately paid by individuals one way or another in the form of higher prices, shortages or any number of other costs. In short it means less freedom and more government.
Of course, no Democrat proposes to increase our own production in ANWR, the outer continental shelf or the Gulf of Mexico, where the Cubans and Red Chinese are exploring right now. Build our first new refinery in 30 years? Forget it. How about cutting down on the dozens of special blends required for dubious environmental reasons that cause refineries to shut down and drive up prices every spring and fall? No way. Expand nuclear power? Don't make me laugh. More coal production and gassification? You must be kidding.
No, The left's only solution to supply is the government mandated use of inefficient alternative sources of energy. That subsidized and tariff protected ethanol thing is working out great isn't it? There's a reason why no other civilization in history has burned its food for fuel. Because it's a really dumb idea. When an alternative fuel can replace oil on a level playing field, I'll be the first to use it. When they are forced on people artificially, you get what we have now. Higher food prices, starvation, riots and yes, deaths.
Related Note: The Fed reduced interest rates again yesterday, which will raise the cost of oil imports further as our dollars buy even less on the world markets. If the dollar was worth what it was five years ago, oil would be at least a third cheaper than it is now.
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