You may have noticed something similar to "posted by philmon" at the end of that last post ... "posted by jeffmon". Brother Jeffmon (yes, he is actually my brother) is now a contributor to this blog! Whenever he feels the urge.
And yes, I shamelessly heisted the rastafarian suffix from "jeffmon" when I started this blog back in .... eh? Aught Three! (makes me sound real old timey, doesn't it?).
Check out his post on Term Limits. He is right. I have been against term limits on principle myself. They're tempting, but it ultimately only masks one of the symptoms. It doesn't address the cause of the disease. Would I be sad to see them? No. But the lack of them isn't what got us where we are today.
They could certainly help the situation.
Friday, April 30, 2010
On Term Limits
What makes a career politician? Reality in the United States of America is that in order to be elected (and more importantly, re-elected), you have to bring home the bacon to your district or state. An altruistic legislator might get elected, but won't be re-elected unless he digs into the slop trough and passes out goodies to the voters. He will make the argument that he has to participate in pork in order to serve his constituents.
It is an unfortunate weakness that keeps us from simply voting the bum out. We keep our man in office to try to recover our 'fair share' of goodies from the government trough. We get career politicians.
So are term limits the answer? It seems like we need them, because it's clear that an entrenched legislator becomes corrupt. The voters in those other states (it's never 'our guy') just keep re-electing the same ones. How did it get this way?
If we look at the Constitution as ratified at our nation's founding, there is no provision for bacon distribution. Article I Section 8 does not establish a pork system for the use by the legislature to ensure their re-election. That didn't come along until the sixteenth amendment, ratified in 1913. It allowed the federal government to lay taxes without regard to census or enumeration. It allowed the government to skim money from the productivity of its citizens for its own purposes.
The same year, the seventeenth amendment destroyed the Senate, which was intended to equally represent the states and to act as a damper to the more populist House. Now it is elected by the people, not by state legislatures. This makes the Senate more populist. It makes the composition of the Senate subject to more influence by the nation as a whole, especially when the federal government has the ability to collect and distribute money. It is no longer the less volatile, more staid body of the legislature. It is another House (where revenue bills are supposed to originate).
[What else was going on around 1913? Probably nothing relevant to this discussion...]
Two later amendments attempted to rein in some adverse effects of the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments. In 1951, the twenty-second amendment attempted to curb the excess brought about by FDR, who was elected to four terms as president. Roosevelt was a flagrant bacon distributor. It was an attempt to treat the symptoms, and did not go far enough to have a meaningful effect.
Then in1971 1992, the twenty-seventh amendment prevented legislators from voting for themselves a pay increase that took effect before their next election. No big deal if you can just buy another term.
Term limits are not the solution. To cure the fundamental problem, the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments should be repealed. There should be no earmarks, pork barrel projects, appropriations or any other vehicles for the legislature to use in order to buy votes. Term limits would be unnecessary, because the mechanism for corruption in the legislature would be dramatically reduced.
However, term limits could be a useful tool to help achieve the repeal of these amendments. If there is less pressure to be re-elected, good senators and representatives will be better able to resist corruption. No one dares try to cut off the bacon supply now, but with nothing to lose, the legislature could repeal laws and amendments to do just that. After the damage caused by the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments is reversed, term limits will become irrelevant.
Can we do this overnight? Nope. It took a hundred years to get this way. It's a physical addiction. We have to have good, honest men with the courage to begin the process. And we have to elect them.
It is an unfortunate weakness that keeps us from simply voting the bum out. We keep our man in office to try to recover our 'fair share' of goodies from the government trough. We get career politicians.
So are term limits the answer? It seems like we need them, because it's clear that an entrenched legislator becomes corrupt. The voters in those other states (it's never 'our guy') just keep re-electing the same ones. How did it get this way?
If we look at the Constitution as ratified at our nation's founding, there is no provision for bacon distribution. Article I Section 8 does not establish a pork system for the use by the legislature to ensure their re-election. That didn't come along until the sixteenth amendment, ratified in 1913. It allowed the federal government to lay taxes without regard to census or enumeration. It allowed the government to skim money from the productivity of its citizens for its own purposes.
The same year, the seventeenth amendment destroyed the Senate, which was intended to equally represent the states and to act as a damper to the more populist House. Now it is elected by the people, not by state legislatures. This makes the Senate more populist. It makes the composition of the Senate subject to more influence by the nation as a whole, especially when the federal government has the ability to collect and distribute money. It is no longer the less volatile, more staid body of the legislature. It is another House (where revenue bills are supposed to originate).
[What else was going on around 1913? Probably nothing relevant to this discussion...]
Two later amendments attempted to rein in some adverse effects of the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments. In 1951, the twenty-second amendment attempted to curb the excess brought about by FDR, who was elected to four terms as president. Roosevelt was a flagrant bacon distributor. It was an attempt to treat the symptoms, and did not go far enough to have a meaningful effect.
Then in
Term limits are not the solution. To cure the fundamental problem, the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments should be repealed. There should be no earmarks, pork barrel projects, appropriations or any other vehicles for the legislature to use in order to buy votes. Term limits would be unnecessary, because the mechanism for corruption in the legislature would be dramatically reduced.
However, term limits could be a useful tool to help achieve the repeal of these amendments. If there is less pressure to be re-elected, good senators and representatives will be better able to resist corruption. No one dares try to cut off the bacon supply now, but with nothing to lose, the legislature could repeal laws and amendments to do just that. After the damage caused by the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments is reversed, term limits will become irrelevant.
Can we do this overnight? Nope. It took a hundred years to get this way. It's a physical addiction. We have to have good, honest men with the courage to begin the process. And we have to elect them.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Incredible Display of ... uh....
Click on the pic for the link to the story.
Riot police. Sent to a Tea Party Protest. I think ahead of the President's visit. Hilarious footage.
Riot police. Sent to a Tea Party Protest. I think ahead of the President's visit. Hilarious footage.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
On Puerto Rico & HR 2499
I heard about this this morning through the Tea Party Network I'm a part of. And not surprisingly, they heard about it through Glenn Beck.
Now I like Glenn quite a lot. I think he's on the right track. Sometimes he gets off on things where I think he's barking down a side-trail, but he eventually comes back and continues in the right direction with (mostly) the right arguments.
At first, it sounded like the argument being made was that the bill had stuff in it to allow illegal aliens and felons to vote. Which wouldn't shock me considering all the crap stuffed into "teh" Health Care Bill that didn't have anything to do with Health Care.
But when I read the bill ... and it's a short, sweet one ... I wasn't too alarmed. And I'm not sure how alarmed I should be about this bit in particular. After all, I think if Puerto Rico wants to vote to be a state... well then let 'em vote. Deal is, they already can. So why this "non-binding" bill? Why now?
So I decided to let Glenn make his case and do some followup research on my own. And this is what I came up with.
There’s nothing in the bill about illegal aliens voting, or felons or prisoners voting. And Glenn didn't say that there was. He was putting this bill in a larger context.
There has been a push in the past to allow Washington DC and Puerto Rican representatives to vote in Congress.
There are also progressive organizations working with the Democratic party to get illegal aliens the vote, because they figure those votes will break their way. And you’ve got progressive organizations like the Center for American Progress … all a part of the Obama coalition … working to get felons the vote. It’s a massive community organizing effort to get votes behind the progressive party. Which right now for the most part is synonymous with the Democratic party.
But it’s not all a part of the bill. Getting statehood for Puerto Rico is just one part of a strategy to secure a permanent majority for the progressive movement. It’s just one prong, and I don’t see where we should be fighting against admitting another state to the union. I don’t have a problem with that.
Of course, none of this would matter if we still went back to the Constitution as to what role government is to play in our lives. But the general Cloward-Piven plan is to get enough people on the government dole that they 1) continue to support the government dole, and 2) would support a move to a different form of government that would guarantee their place on the government dole if an “emergency” came up. You know. Like the insolvency of the country or something.
Right now, at this moment, Puerto Rico is largely run by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP). So it’s a good chance that if they seated congressfolk, they would add to the US’s current supermajority. So they want it NOW because they like the probable result. They wouldn’t be pushing for it if it were some conservative party in control. So it’s not wrong … it’s just a danger to our republic at this time because of the current dynamic, and the current dynamic is in favor of a Fundamental Transformation.
But if they have a progressive majority long enough, they can increase the number of people on the government dole. We’re (as a country) about half and half progressive/conservative in the last several elections. They only need to push it a little.
This is why I think the answer is to speak up calmly, firmly, and rationally and convince our friends, one at a time if need be, to at least question their premises and understand what our founding ideals were and what was good about them. We have a cultural crisis -- one that has been nurtured by progressives. And it manifests itself at the polls. We have to convince actual voters, not politicians and government officials.
Now basically, the danger of the bill according to Glenn is that it is designed as part of a plan by the NPP. He’s saying that currently in Puerto Rico there’s about 43% who want to be a state, 20% want to be independent, and about 27% who like things the way they are.
Which means over 60% want …. wait for it …. “Change”.
So the bill lays out the voting this way …
Do you want to stay the way we are, or do you want ‘change’? Vote … 60/40 – “Change”.
Now status quo is off the table.
Next question.
Do you want to be independent, or do you want to be a state?
Well now you split the status-quo vote, and it’s a choice between losing the sweet deal of being a United States Commonwealth … they’re betting they can get at least 8% of the remaining 27% (probably a lot more) to vote “State”.
Two more Progressive senators and another progressive congressman or two.
It’s a numbers game. Divide, conquer. Get the result you want. Then do what you want and claim a mandate. It’s been done before, at least the accellerated congressional seating plan. Twice. The Tennesee Plan. Not saying it’s wrong or right. But it gets them the results they want, and they don’t feel constrained by the Constitution. They want to … fundamentally transform it. And that's been done before, too. Generally in places that elected people who ended up being dictators.
Mr. Beck says tonight he's going to show some of the NPP campaign ads from Puerto Rico and show that the Tennesee Plan is, in fact, the plan. We'll see.
Now I like Glenn quite a lot. I think he's on the right track. Sometimes he gets off on things where I think he's barking down a side-trail, but he eventually comes back and continues in the right direction with (mostly) the right arguments.
At first, it sounded like the argument being made was that the bill had stuff in it to allow illegal aliens and felons to vote. Which wouldn't shock me considering all the crap stuffed into "teh" Health Care Bill that didn't have anything to do with Health Care.
But when I read the bill ... and it's a short, sweet one ... I wasn't too alarmed. And I'm not sure how alarmed I should be about this bit in particular. After all, I think if Puerto Rico wants to vote to be a state... well then let 'em vote. Deal is, they already can. So why this "non-binding" bill? Why now?
So I decided to let Glenn make his case and do some followup research on my own. And this is what I came up with.
There’s nothing in the bill about illegal aliens voting, or felons or prisoners voting. And Glenn didn't say that there was. He was putting this bill in a larger context.
There has been a push in the past to allow Washington DC and Puerto Rican representatives to vote in Congress.
There are also progressive organizations working with the Democratic party to get illegal aliens the vote, because they figure those votes will break their way. And you’ve got progressive organizations like the Center for American Progress … all a part of the Obama coalition … working to get felons the vote. It’s a massive community organizing effort to get votes behind the progressive party. Which right now for the most part is synonymous with the Democratic party.
But it’s not all a part of the bill. Getting statehood for Puerto Rico is just one part of a strategy to secure a permanent majority for the progressive movement. It’s just one prong, and I don’t see where we should be fighting against admitting another state to the union. I don’t have a problem with that.
Of course, none of this would matter if we still went back to the Constitution as to what role government is to play in our lives. But the general Cloward-Piven plan is to get enough people on the government dole that they 1) continue to support the government dole, and 2) would support a move to a different form of government that would guarantee their place on the government dole if an “emergency” came up. You know. Like the insolvency of the country or something.
Right now, at this moment, Puerto Rico is largely run by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP). So it’s a good chance that if they seated congressfolk, they would add to the US’s current supermajority. So they want it NOW because they like the probable result. They wouldn’t be pushing for it if it were some conservative party in control. So it’s not wrong … it’s just a danger to our republic at this time because of the current dynamic, and the current dynamic is in favor of a Fundamental Transformation.
But if they have a progressive majority long enough, they can increase the number of people on the government dole. We’re (as a country) about half and half progressive/conservative in the last several elections. They only need to push it a little.
This is why I think the answer is to speak up calmly, firmly, and rationally and convince our friends, one at a time if need be, to at least question their premises and understand what our founding ideals were and what was good about them. We have a cultural crisis -- one that has been nurtured by progressives. And it manifests itself at the polls. We have to convince actual voters, not politicians and government officials.
Now basically, the danger of the bill according to Glenn is that it is designed as part of a plan by the NPP. He’s saying that currently in Puerto Rico there’s about 43% who want to be a state, 20% want to be independent, and about 27% who like things the way they are.
Which means over 60% want …. wait for it …. “Change”.
So the bill lays out the voting this way …
Do you want to stay the way we are, or do you want ‘change’? Vote … 60/40 – “Change”.
Now status quo is off the table.
Next question.
Do you want to be independent, or do you want to be a state?
Well now you split the status-quo vote, and it’s a choice between losing the sweet deal of being a United States Commonwealth … they’re betting they can get at least 8% of the remaining 27% (probably a lot more) to vote “State”.
Two more Progressive senators and another progressive congressman or two.
It’s a numbers game. Divide, conquer. Get the result you want. Then do what you want and claim a mandate. It’s been done before, at least the accellerated congressional seating plan. Twice. The Tennesee Plan. Not saying it’s wrong or right. But it gets them the results they want, and they don’t feel constrained by the Constitution. They want to … fundamentally transform it. And that's been done before, too. Generally in places that elected people who ended up being dictators.
Mr. Beck says tonight he's going to show some of the NPP campaign ads from Puerto Rico and show that the Tennesee Plan is, in fact, the plan. We'll see.
Evil Toys and Big Government
Happy Meals. Come with toys. Little kids love them. Parents use them as rewards sometimes, or a treat for their kids.
But ... we can't have that.
The newscaster asked "is this another example of Big Government telling us what we can and can't do?"
Ummmmm .... let me think here for a second, because that's a toughie.
At any rate ... I think maybe we should change the wording. It is an example of a special interest group (the food cops -- often fronts for animal rights groups) trying to use the coercive power of the Government to force us do do or not do what they want us to do .... or not do.
And we have gotten away from a government that gives them a big "hell no" when they try.
But ... we can't have that.
The newscaster asked "is this another example of Big Government telling us what we can and can't do?"
Ummmmm .... let me think here for a second, because that's a toughie.
At any rate ... I think maybe we should change the wording. It is an example of a special interest group (the food cops -- often fronts for animal rights groups) trying to use the coercive power of the Government to force us do do or not do what they want us to do .... or not do.
And we have gotten away from a government that gives them a big "hell no" when they try.
Overheard on the News
On the local news this morning:
Because ... you know ... as it stands .... it's not a crime to be in the United States ... illegally.
Riiiiiiiight.
"The new law would make it a crime to be in the United States illegally."All I could do was look at the television and do a John Stewart blink.
Because ... you know ... as it stands .... it's not a crime to be in the United States ... illegally.
Riiiiiiiight.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Mark Steyn on The New Front on the WOT
Sorry to throw links at you right and left. But life's been busier for me lately... and there's no way I could top this in a million years.
Mark Styen's blisteringly funny take on a topic that is most decidedly not funny at all. But ... ridicule is man's most potent weapon, as I believe Saul Alinsky put it.
What's good for the goose is also for the gander and such. And Mark Steyn gives as good as anyone can.
The Left's logic is left in a smoldering heap on the floor, and you are nursing a cramped diaphragm muscle.
Mark Styen's blisteringly funny take on a topic that is most decidedly not funny at all. But ... ridicule is man's most potent weapon, as I believe Saul Alinsky put it.
What's good for the goose is also for the gander and such. And Mark Steyn gives as good as anyone can.
The Left's logic is left in a smoldering heap on the floor, and you are nursing a cramped diaphragm muscle.
New Rights
Do yourself a favor and go read this, and perhaps follow the link(s) when you get there as well. But at least read the excerpt.
Another Battle in the Fight for America
These are the kinds of things we have to do. Fight the misinformation by challenging the misinformed.
Co-worker mentions something that brings up socialism. I mention we're getting closer and closer to it.
Answers:
1. The Communist Party
2. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Yeah. They're totally different.
Co-worker mentions something that brings up socialism. I mention we're getting closer and closer to it.
She: "But socialism isn't the same as communism."One thing I like to do to these people is this... two questions. The most famous example of Communism so far has been the Soviet Union. What party ran the Soviet Union? And what was the official name of the Soviet Union?
Me: "For all practical purposes, they are. They're based on the same misconceptions. They're both forms of Statism."
She: "Ooooh, pullin' out the fancy words. 'Statism'. Well so is Democracy."
Me: "Socialism and Communism are top-down Statism."
She: "Bottom-up."
Me: "It's always sold that way, but it's definitely top-down."
She: "I guess I just missed that whole 'Bolshevik Revolution' thing."
Me: "That was because it was sold as bottom up, so the movement was popular. But it never works out that way in the end."
Answers:
1. The Communist Party
2. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Yeah. They're totally different.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I Made a New Word
Ok... a new "term".
Not unlike buttons on a TGIF waiter are meant to make one appear "fun".
intellectual flair /ˌɪntlˈɛk
Not unlike buttons on a TGIF waiter are meant to make one appear "fun".
Live Simply
So on my way in this morning, I'm behind this car with a "Live Simply That Others May Simply Live" bumpersticker.
Irony much?
Of course, the person driving the car wants to be in charge of just how simply they will live, which is probably not far below where he or she could afford to.
I'm thinking of a boy in a grass hut in Africa. Dirt floor. Some grubs and grains gathered. Watching the car with the "Live Simply" putting smugly off down the dirt road with her ipod blasting out some eco-folk rock. And he cocks his head. Shrugging. And eats another bug.
*(yes, I realize "thought" is not the word Ben Folds used. I cleaned it up for my blog here, and it really doesn't change the meaning).
Irony much?
Of course, the person driving the car wants to be in charge of just how simply they will live, which is probably not far below where he or she could afford to.
I'm thinking of a boy in a grass hut in Africa. Dirt floor. Some grubs and grains gathered. Watching the car with the "Live Simply" putting smugly off down the dirt road with her ipod blasting out some eco-folk rock. And he cocks his head. Shrugging. And eats another bug.
Son look at the people lining up for plastic
Wouldn't you like to see them in the national geographic?
Squatting bare-assed in the dirt eating rice from a bowl
With a towel on their head and maybe a bone in their nose
See that asshole with a peace-sign on his licence plate
Giving me the finger and running me out of his lane
[..]
They give no thought*
They buy as much as they want
They give no thought
Just as long as there's enough for them
*(yes, I realize "thought" is not the word Ben Folds used. I cleaned it up for my blog here, and it really doesn't change the meaning).
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Best Rock Comes from Nerds
Caught this on Morgan's blog the other day. I know, it happens a lot. After I listened a few times, I put it on my MP3 player.
The cool progressive kids who are the new "frat boys" ... they don't like it. They call us names and try to make fun of us. But we don't care. We have jobs. ;-)
Ok, that was cheap. It's a little stiff in places (probably too much emphasis on diction for the style). But it's catchy and it grew on me. Plus the chick in the gym and the one doing backup vocals ... tres cute.
Anyway.... too much fun not to post. And there's more after the video.
I saw the arch in the video. Suspected Missouri roots. I was right. And it turns out Ambassador Tom really was a US Ambassador at one point, and was Chief of Staff for a UN Ambassador. Lawyer. Wash-U Professor. He is Tom Shweich, and he's currently running for Missouri State Auditor.
So I'll get the opportunity to vote for him. Hey. I'm fer 'im.
The cool progressive kids who are the new "frat boys" ... they don't like it. They call us names and try to make fun of us. But we don't care. We have jobs. ;-)
Ok, that was cheap. It's a little stiff in places (probably too much emphasis on diction for the style). But it's catchy and it grew on me. Plus the chick in the gym and the one doing backup vocals ... tres cute.
Anyway.... too much fun not to post. And there's more after the video.
I saw the arch in the video. Suspected Missouri roots. I was right. And it turns out Ambassador Tom really was a US Ambassador at one point, and was Chief of Staff for a UN Ambassador. Lawyer. Wash-U Professor. He is Tom Shweich, and he's currently running for Missouri State Auditor.
So I'll get the opportunity to vote for him. Hey. I'm fer 'im.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Nazi Austria
This is how they buy you.
A personal story from WWII Austria. Must read. With a mighty hat tip to Morgan.
A personal story from WWII Austria. Must read. With a mighty hat tip to Morgan.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
November
Went to a local 9-12 Project meeting friday evening. Good group of people. A group of about 25 or so adults from I'd say late 20's to 80 years old. Motivated, well informed, decent people. My faith has been reinforced.
Sombeody brought up a sign they had seen at one of the Tea Parties. Went out to Makestickers.com to mock it up as a bumpersticker. May have to try to have it made.
Turn their gleeful ridicule right back at them. I love it! She's still here, and probably the biggest thorn in their collective side. And right now, November is not something they're looking forward to.
Sombeody brought up a sign they had seen at one of the Tea Parties. Went out to Makestickers.com to mock it up as a bumpersticker. May have to try to have it made.
Turn their gleeful ridicule right back at them. I love it! She's still here, and probably the biggest thorn in their collective side. And right now, November is not something they're looking forward to.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Don't Do This
I was immediately suspicious -- 'cause -- folks, come on. These people aren't "dumb". You don't get to be President of the United States and be dumb. You can't get there. And yes, I am fully aware that this applies to George W. Bush as well -- which would send howls of protest up from those on the left.
Just because you disagree with a person's worldview doesn't mean they're dumb. And, of course, intelligent people with incorrect worldviews are the most dangerous of all.
Anyway, I was skeptical I had to check it out and if I found it not to be true, I had to debunk it. We try not to pass along instructions to believe here at the Clue Batting Cage and we humbly suggest everyone do the same.
First thing I thought was … this could be a mirror image. It’s easy to flip a picture and reverse left for right and right for left.
The rings … I would almost lay money that Michelle has a nicer ring than that. Hers looks sloppy. His looks convincing enough.
I went google searching for a snopes article on it, but couldn’t find one in the avalanche of links. But when I searched for Michelle Obama’s wedding ring to compare, I accidentally ran across the snopes article.
What made me suspicious was you don’t get to this level by being that dumb about basic protocol like that – plus … they have handlers.
Naturally, I don’t do this out of any love for the Obamas, but out of love for the truth and fairness. It does us no good to use the same tactics they use to discredit us … to discredit them. We have to remain honest. So when I see stuff like this I’m suspicious about, I tend to check it out.
There's nothing worse than getting caught with your pants down on something like this. To be called on something you have said that isn't true discredits you, even if you didn't know it wasn't true. It's very difficult to recover from such a position in an argument. Read. Get your facts straight. Question even your own biases. And arrive at the truth.
As Glenn Beck repeats ad nauseum (and I mean that in a good way), we must remember who we are, and this is what he means. Fair and honest, decent people. If the truth is on your side, you will win people over with your reputation for these things. People can tell the difference between a rabid ideologue and a thoughtful, fair, honest person.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Fill In The Blanks Constitution?
Geoffrey R. Stone argues that judicial activism is consistent with our founders' intent.
I disagreed.
I disagreed.
Fill in the blanks Constitution? What a load of baloney!
Of course, this is what progressives believe. It allows them to make up the rules as they go along. But it is not so.
The Constitution wasn't written in a vacuum, and we have the historical documentation that puts very well into content what the framers intended.
This editorial is so permeated by the progressive worldview that I imagine the author can't even see it.
Clearly the Constitution upholds the right to free association -- private organizations should be free to include and exclude whomever they want to on whatever basis they want to. And yet the author holds a judicial ruling saying just that concerning the Boy Scouts of America as an example of conservative judicial activism?
It is a huge overstatement to say that the Heller decision says that the Constitution prohibits any regulation of guns. It just says you can't outlaw them or regulate them to the point of being useless.
Affirmative Action clearly violates the ideas of free association and of equal protection. Everyone is to be TREATED equally under the law. But to progressives, unequal outcomes proves unequal treatment. It's equal outcomes they are after, and they seek it by restricting liberty and property rights to those who they perceive as having an "unfair" advantage. In this, they anoint themselves the arbiters of "fair".
If a judge undoes a ruling that was handed down through judicial activism -- by following original intent, that doesn't make the judge an activist judge. It means the judge is a good judge.
Now to the point that there certainly CAN be judicial activism from the conservative side -- the fact that there has been doesn't justify more of the same from either side.
Laws get passed by Congress, and judges interpret that law and they are required to take into account the lawmakers' intent. They have access to the congressional record. Laws aren't made in a vacuum and it was never intended that judges make up what they think the law should be. That is not their role. At least not in the original design.
Al "Motel 6" Gore
I know everybody and his dog already blogged this, but part of the purpose for this blog is my own personal bookmarking service.
So, here goes.
Apparently, according to Gore, "Earth Hour" is for the unwashed masses.
So, here goes.
Apparently, according to Gore, "Earth Hour" is for the unwashed masses.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Mr. Sowell puts it succinctly
Thomas didn't think much of John Paul Stevens. And he backs up his case rather well here.
If and when the Republicans return to power in Washington, we can only hope that they remember what got them suddenly and unceremoniously dumped out of power the last time. Basically, it was running as Republicans and then governing as if they were Democrats, running up big deficits, with lots of earmarks and interfering with the market.
But their most lasting damage to the country has been putting people like John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
It's About the Role of Government in a Free Society
There seems to be a lot of confusion on the part of the intelligensia in the media about the Tea Party.
I would like to clear a lot of that up here.
The Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
Different Tea Partiers have different beliefs. It is not a monlithic crowd. A lot of people in the Tea Party support offshore drilling. But the Tea party is not about offshore drilling. Most people in the Tea Party are not happpy about illegal immigration. But the Tea Party is not about immigration. A majority of people in the Tea Party probably supported Republican candidates in the last election. But the Tea Party is not about the Republican party. A large portion of Tea Partiers probably support or at least admire Sarah Palin. But the Tea Party is not about Sarah Palin. Most Tea Partiers happen to be white. But the Tea Party is not about race. Yes, some Tea Partiers are "birthers". But the Tea Party is not about Obama's birth certificate. Practically all Tea Partiers are opposed to Barack Obama's vision for the United States. But the Tea Party is not about Barack Obama. A lot of Tea Partiers oppose gay marriage, but the Tea Party is not about gay marriage. I'd wager most Tea Partiers are Christian, but the Tea Party is not about Christianity. Republicans are in a position to benefit greatly from the Tea Partiers. But the Tea Party is not about Republicans. Democrats have a lot to fear politically from the Tea Party at this time. But the Tea Party is not about Democrats. Most Tea Partiers probably supported the Iraq war, and most were probably against TARP under the Bush Administration. But the Tea Party is not about George W. Bush.
The Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
It is about our Founders' vision and how far we have strayed from it. It is the one thing that ties us all together. We can argue among ourselves about our beliefs and how they fit in to the common vision, but the common vision remains. It is what sparked the movement and it is what brings all of these disparate groups together.
Every day I see attacks on the Tea Party movement over one or more of the issues above, trying to paint the whole thing with a broad brush as something it isn't at its core.
One last time, the Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
It's high time we had that conversation.
I would like to clear a lot of that up here.
The Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
Different Tea Partiers have different beliefs. It is not a monlithic crowd. A lot of people in the Tea Party support offshore drilling. But the Tea party is not about offshore drilling. Most people in the Tea Party are not happpy about illegal immigration. But the Tea Party is not about immigration. A majority of people in the Tea Party probably supported Republican candidates in the last election. But the Tea Party is not about the Republican party. A large portion of Tea Partiers probably support or at least admire Sarah Palin. But the Tea Party is not about Sarah Palin. Most Tea Partiers happen to be white. But the Tea Party is not about race. Yes, some Tea Partiers are "birthers". But the Tea Party is not about Obama's birth certificate. Practically all Tea Partiers are opposed to Barack Obama's vision for the United States. But the Tea Party is not about Barack Obama. A lot of Tea Partiers oppose gay marriage, but the Tea Party is not about gay marriage. I'd wager most Tea Partiers are Christian, but the Tea Party is not about Christianity. Republicans are in a position to benefit greatly from the Tea Partiers. But the Tea Party is not about Republicans. Democrats have a lot to fear politically from the Tea Party at this time. But the Tea Party is not about Democrats. Most Tea Partiers probably supported the Iraq war, and most were probably against TARP under the Bush Administration. But the Tea Party is not about George W. Bush.
The Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
It is about our Founders' vision and how far we have strayed from it. It is the one thing that ties us all together. We can argue among ourselves about our beliefs and how they fit in to the common vision, but the common vision remains. It is what sparked the movement and it is what brings all of these disparate groups together.
Every day I see attacks on the Tea Party movement over one or more of the issues above, trying to paint the whole thing with a broad brush as something it isn't at its core.
One last time, the Tea Party is about the role of government in a free society.
It's high time we had that conversation.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
I Heart Janine Turner
She was at least half the reason I watched Northern Exposure. Fortunately, my wife loved the show as well. :-)
But of course, she's also another libertarian celebrity. Even better.
And she has a foundation to reconstitute America, too.
Oooh, Guy LIKE This Blog
(for those who didn't get it, that was an MXC reference)
Ran across this blog when it linked to us. It's a bevvy of tasty brickbats. Fun, and pretty hard hitting, all at the same time. Chok full of linky goodness.
And you've got to love the tagline.
I give you: Dyspepsiageneration
Ran across this blog when it linked to us. It's a bevvy of tasty brickbats. Fun, and pretty hard hitting, all at the same time. Chok full of linky goodness.
And you've got to love the tagline.
I give you: Dyspepsiageneration
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Eye Opening
‘Nothing can be more offensive than to be lectured about what you know by someone who clearly does not know.’ — Robert Stacy McCain (hat tip to dyspepsiageneration)Just spent an evening with family, and one of the progressive ones was among them. She and my step-son got into a discussion on politics that wandered through basically the limited government arguments -- it went on for quite some time.... anyway eventually it got around to Tea Partiers, and she said something about Tea Partiers killing a policeman in Indiana, and that it was happening "all over".
I'd been pretty much biting my tounge up to that point, which I tend to do in the name of family harmony. But of course, this is the same person who triggered the "Stop an Echo" post.
I had not to this point mentioned I was a Tea Partier, but I decided that it was time for me to "come out" to her as such. I told her that cop killing is so far removed from what the Tea Partiers stand for that it just wasn't even plausible. I said she needed to send me the article.
Well I know she can't find it - not because such an article doesn't exist, but because she just can't. But then I vaguely remembered a policeman killing in Indiana or Ohio a while back that I think the MSM tried to tie to the Tea Parties.
I haven't found that one yet, but I did find the Pentagon dude (John Patrick Bedell) and the attempt to tie it to the Tea Parties. Of course, all just speculation due to some general anti-government screed. Naturally, everybody knows that nobody on the left ever made an anti-government screed, and clearly everybody on the right is a "Teabagger" and therefore hateful, racist, crazy, and violent -- or so the story goes.
Also found similar attempted connections with Joseph Stack, the kamakaze dude.
But no direct connections were made to Tea Partiers in the two stories I read about. They just used the term "right-wing". Apparently anyone with any gripe against any government agency means "right-wing" to her. And, again, to her, "right-wing" = "Tea Party".
A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square. Trapezoids are four-sided objects as well. But they're neither rectangles nor squares. That's a thing I know. I should add that.
On the way home she was talking to my wife about "these Tea Partiers" and all their "violence" and how I was going to end up just like my dad (who believes you shouldn't pay your taxes and that 9/11 is an inside job and that the U.S. Government has a machine that can cause hurricanes ... but I digress).
At any rate, I guess I should scour the net for that story about the Indiana/Ohio guy.
What got really funny is she's always going off on Fox News, then of course does the oh-so-open-minded "well they're all biased". She was apparently quite concerned that my step-son would discuss politics especially with someone he disagreed with, and seemed proud that she never discussed politics with anyone who didn't agree with her.
So my wife asked her how she ever got the other side of the story.
"Oh, I read."
"What do you read?"
"Newsweek. Time."
My wife said "well, they're a little biased."
"No they're not."
What are ya gonna do?
Barack's Home Country in Kenya?
Why now? This video is almost 2 years old, from a speech in front of an LGBT Democratic Delegate luncheon.
Now those who follow my blog know that I have an open mind about this. I know it was the Clinton campaign that first brought this issue up. I know there is suspicion about it, and I won't say "you're wrong!". It is possible that we've been duped. But as for me I buy that he was probably born in Hawaii. I also think, in the end, that it's irrelevant at this point anyway. The time to clear that up would've been before the election, and it was cleared up to the satisfaction of the vast majority of Americans.
I also agree with Glenn Beck that, regardless, this is a losing issue. About 90/10, people buy that Obama's a natural born citizen. Which is why I have to wonder, along with him, why this tape from a Democratic event filled with avid supporters ... loyal Obama delegates ... was released at all, let alone just now in the midst of a concerted effort on the part of Democrats to paint the Tea Party Movement as Racist, Violent, and Crazy.
After seeing two major (but unsuccessful) attempts at provocation ... the black caucus march and the Nancy Pelosi march -- through the throng of Tea Party Party protestors right before the vote on the health care bill... the continuous needling from Obama and other Democrat leaders and their allies in the press ... it is very easy (especially after reading Alinsky) to imagine that this was a calculated leak to get a reaction of "see, told ya so!!!!" out of the Tea Party to use as a broad brush to paint us as a bunch of nutballers.
They need us to react in a manner that will repulse average Joe America (although ... they probably still don't get that the Tea Party is filled with Average Joe Americas. But it only takes a few idiots.)
There are other explanations for Michelle's slip, crowd-pandering not being the least. "Look how worldly my husband is. He will solve all of your problems."
And it is in that context that I link this video.
Now those who follow my blog know that I have an open mind about this. I know it was the Clinton campaign that first brought this issue up. I know there is suspicion about it, and I won't say "you're wrong!". It is possible that we've been duped. But as for me I buy that he was probably born in Hawaii. I also think, in the end, that it's irrelevant at this point anyway. The time to clear that up would've been before the election, and it was cleared up to the satisfaction of the vast majority of Americans.
I also agree with Glenn Beck that, regardless, this is a losing issue. About 90/10, people buy that Obama's a natural born citizen. Which is why I have to wonder, along with him, why this tape from a Democratic event filled with avid supporters ... loyal Obama delegates ... was released at all, let alone just now in the midst of a concerted effort on the part of Democrats to paint the Tea Party Movement as Racist, Violent, and Crazy.
After seeing two major (but unsuccessful) attempts at provocation ... the black caucus march and the Nancy Pelosi march -- through the throng of Tea Party Party protestors right before the vote on the health care bill... the continuous needling from Obama and other Democrat leaders and their allies in the press ... it is very easy (especially after reading Alinsky) to imagine that this was a calculated leak to get a reaction of "see, told ya so!!!!" out of the Tea Party to use as a broad brush to paint us as a bunch of nutballers.
They need us to react in a manner that will repulse average Joe America (although ... they probably still don't get that the Tea Party is filled with Average Joe Americas. But it only takes a few idiots.)
There are other explanations for Michelle's slip, crowd-pandering not being the least. "Look how worldly my husband is. He will solve all of your problems."
And it is in that context that I link this video.
Monday, April 05, 2010
A Shift in Coverage?
Gallup finds Tea Partiers are fairly mainstream in their demographics
Letterman softens his tone toward Tea Partiers in Late Show interview
A recent poll found that the "angry white men" -- are actually more women than men.
Even Chris Matthews threw the Tea Party a bone a couple of weeks ago, saying he agreed with one Tea Party goal -- reducing the deficit.
What's going on here? Inquiring minds, etc.
As an aside, I noticed that the Kossacks are already trying to rationalize why 55% of Tea Partiers are women so it will fit back in their narrative.
Letterman softens his tone toward Tea Partiers in Late Show interview
A recent poll found that the "angry white men" -- are actually more women than men.
Even Chris Matthews threw the Tea Party a bone a couple of weeks ago, saying he agreed with one Tea Party goal -- reducing the deficit.
What's going on here? Inquiring minds, etc.
As an aside, I noticed that the Kossacks are already trying to rationalize why 55% of Tea Partiers are women so it will fit back in their narrative.
Friday, April 02, 2010
Farmer Barack
Obama goes on with his smug tone.
Mocking the political doomsayers, Obama went on:I don't think anyone is saying "look! nothing's happened!" We just know what you planted, Mr. President. We're not afraid it won't come up. We're afraid it will.
"Can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm? You planted some seeds, and they came out the next day, and they looked, and nothing's happened! There's no crop! We're going to starve! Oh, no! It's a disaster!"
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