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Libertarian
Commentary on The News
Posted June 11, 2012By Nathan A. Barton © 2012 Europe's Collapse - Stupid government Spain: Five hundred years of crisis (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Spain has frittered away its chances for economic development for the second time. The first was after it discovered the Americas in 1492, and the second was after it joined the European Union in 1986. The anti-economic thinking that has dominated Spain is rooted in its history and culture. Indeed, the discovery and exploitation of the Americas by Spain (especially the shipping of tons of gold and silver) completely destroyed both the strongest economy and society in Europe AND probably the most free nation in Europe at the time. And that was a direct consequence of the 600 years of the Reconquista and the worship of the State. Today, it is the total rejection of ALL common sense and even the good features of the Spanish culture of the past that have made the last three decades a disaster and perhaps the final chapter of the Spain which began earnestly in 1492 with the final expulsion of the Moors. Europe's Collapse - Stupid government Greek elections: For Europe’s sake, save us from our saviours (London Review of Books) In the June 17 Greek elections, the electorate is likely to reject those political parties too close to the technocrats and financial bodies that preach austerity and that, many fear, are supplanting democracy. This is why the Greek people must be supported, argues philosopher Slavoj Žižek. Do you suppose that the Europeans will finally start to see that it is GOVERNMENT that is the problem? This doesn't sound like it. About three thousand years ago, there were two competing philosophies of society. One was Greek democracy and city-states and all that: the second was the rule of law and liberty given by the Creator. Those have competed with various forms of authoritarianism: monarchies and the like, for all this time. Greek democracy was corrupted, again and again and again. Today, although Greek Civilization is considered a forerunner of modern Western Civilization, that is not much to be proud of. And Greece itself is a backwater place with virtually NO world influence. The concept of rule of law and liberty became known, among other things, as a republic - and ultimately the idea that NO human-imposed government is really a good idea. That little society or "civilization" ultimately produced liberty in Christ and the flowering of freedom and technology and scientific advances that make up the bulk of what is good about Western Civilization today. It led directly and indirectly to the creation of European civilization, the British Empire, and the world as we know it. Yet, it has been constantly hampered by the idea that natural and moral law can be dictated by popular votes - by democracy and all the evils attendant thereunto. Like Spain, Greece squanders its opportunities to become a free society and an economic power at least twice: first when it gained its freedom of the Ottomans in the 1830s, and second, when it gained its freedom from the Third Reich in the 1940s. Each time it was the Anglo heirs of that other little country (Israel or Judea) that helped them gain freedom. And, each time, the Greeks opted for a version of their trademark "democracy" and the State. I wonder, does Greece deserve to be saved? Crash of 2009 - Abominable Act Why Small Businesses Aren't Using the Health Insurance Tax Credit (The American) Recent surveys suggest that though many small businesses are ineligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, even those that are elect not to pursue it... The LAST thing most small businesses want is another government program and "help" from the government. This should come as no surprise. They do not trust government, for very good reason. Stupid people - Corrupt dealings AARP: Advocacy Group or Crony Capitalists? (Capital Research Center) From 1998 to 2010 the American Association of Retired Persons spent $198 million on lobbying, according to a report by the House Ways and Means Committee... Like ACORN, like all the environmental groups, AARP thrives on trading money and power and influence back and forth with government. It is a symbiotic relationship that allows both groups to be parasites on society. No wonder groups like Generation America and the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) are gaining ground. Stupid government tricks -Theft by government College Aid Is Corporate Welfare (The Atlantic) Research shows that colleges respond to aid eligibility by reducing their own aid provided to students... Proof of the axiom, "if you want more of something, subsidize it." They got higher and higher tuition and other fees, because the student aid provides more and more money chasing the same (or fewer) educational services. Anxious to provide more and more services, the providers (the corporate interests here - better known as "educational institutions") provided poorer and poorer service: watering down the education so that they could sell more of it. It should be a textbook case for studying the damage that government money does. Abominable Act Health Care Plan Rebates Have Hidden Costs (Roll Call) The new minimum loss ratios established by the health care reform law will discourage efforts to constrain fraud by insurance companies.. This is NOT, I suspect, an "unintended consequence" of the ObummerCare programs: it is designed to pay off campaign contributors and other vested interests, who can take advantage of these opportunities to continue to rob people and companies. Theft by government Territorial Tax System Would Improve Global Competitiveness (Investor's Business Daily) Germany has had a territorial tax system for years and remains one of the world's top exporters... I admit I know VERY little about a "territorial tax system" and I generally find the articles from IBD to be well-written and generally in support of liberty. BUT. ANY tax system is far, far worse than NO tax system when it comes to "global competitiveness" and human liberty and a strong and growing economy in which we can maximize our productivity and livelihoods (except for those of us who chose to be parasites as bureaucrats or politicians). First Citizen After a rough week, Obama takes a break at his home in Chicago (Washington Post) CHICAGO — There’s no place like home for President Obama. After a fairly rotten week in Washington, the president bolted the Beltway and crashed a night at his old digs in the Hyde Park neighborhood of the Windy City for the first time in 14 months. Ah, poor baby. What, no golf, no flying (except to Chicago)? Stupid government Regulators regulate, and that's a problem (Orange County Register) "Federal regulators are keeping America from moving forward. According to recent news stories reviewed by my colleagues at the conservative nonprofit organization Engage America, federal red tape has squelched at least 736,203 potential jobs. If these positions were filled, today's unemployment rate would fall from 8.1 percent to 7.6. While some of what regulators do is vital (such as preventing Americans from being poisoned by tap water or detonated by faulty automobile gas tanks) far more is costly, duplicative or downright destructive." (06/01/12) I realize that this piece of garbage is “opinion” - and I received it via Mary Lou Seymour’s excellent “Liberty Action News Digest” over the weekend. But I find myself anxious to comment on this deluded writer’s idea that ANYTHING regulators (particularly at the Federal level) do is “vital.” The examples he uses are factually wrong, and just one piece of the propaganda that he and others have been spouting on behalf of the state for decades. (Yes, I realize that he is part of the mainstream media, and this is standard for them.) Providers of tap water have been VERY reluctant - for centuries - to poison their customers, or even to risk doing so. They would lose too many customers that way. This no doubt is a reference to lead pipe and solder found commonly in use in water systems for millennia, until doctors found that lead is a slow-acting poison. But LONG before the FedGov or any state government’s regulations outlawed this, water suppliers - or at least PRIVATE water suppliers - had stopped using lead. Of course, since cities and other governmental providers of drinking water (including many state and federal agencies) were IMMUNE from lawsuits by people they poisoned (or their relatives or survivors) and apparently don’t care whether they kill off their citizens, it was actually GOVERNMENT that these government regulators were supposed to be protecting us from. As for “exploding gas tanks” - that actually didn’t happen very much, except of course in movies (produced by government-lovers in Hollywood, usually). And, as with poisoning your water, having your customers for future automobiles and pickups die flaming deaths is BAD for business, and so the car companies (at least the ones that weren’t owned by governments, like Trabant and Yugo) stopped making those “faulty” tanks as soon as they realized what was happening - fires, not explosions. The truth is, it is not just right NOW that government regulations have destroyed jobs. That has been happening since Caesar was a corporal. Islamic wars: Afghan front 36 Fatalities in May: Deadliest 2012 Month For U.S. Forces in Afghanistan War (CNSNEws.com) We won the war once, and then a second time: got rid of the government, got Al Queda to run and hide, got the Taleban to pull back, AND THEN WE LOST THE PEACE. Instead of teaching them they DIDN’T need to belong to a tribe or an “ethnic group” and teaching them and encouraging them to be free and productive and innovative, instead of teaching them that they could worship and love God withOUT bowing down towards Mecca five times a day just because some scumbag pedophile told them to do that 1400 years ago, instead of teaching them that God isn’t about submission and killing heretics and infidels - we ENCOURAGED them to keep on being a backwards tribal society in which you kill women for showing their face and chop off the hands of children for stealing a candy bar and believe that God DEMANDS this. Mama's Note: At the risk of being redundant... I ask again. What business is it of the US, especially the American people, what others do? What gives the US the right to decide any of this for other people? It does not take military action to "encourage" them... Missionaries can teach, but military action always involves force. Stupid nanny government Gov’t Dishes Out Advice on Preparing Healthy Meals: Always Use Bowls or Plates (CNSNews.com) Which are better for you? Bowls or plates? What brands taste best? Should you cook them or is it okay to eat them raw? Mama's Note: Aren't we so lucky to have such a nice nanny who really cares about us and can set us straight on how to eat and all that other stuff we're too stupid to figure out for ourselves... Unfortunately, just as with "warning labels," the people who make unwise choices very, VERY seldom read things like this. Theft by government Obama Called Ex-Im Bank ‘Corporate Welfare’ in ’08, But Now Lauds Federal Loans to Boeing, Dow Chemical (CNSNews.com) As long as it does not affect his ideological beliefs, he will lie about anything and switch back and forth almost as well as Bill Clinton did. Then was rhetoric, now it is self-interest; more money to corporate interests allows them to launder more back as campaign contributions. Theft by government - Congress in action Debt Up $1.59T Under GOP House—More in 15 Months Than First 97 Congresses Combined (CNSNews.com) This is a telling point when they try to tell us how different the Dems and Reps are: with a majority in the House, the GOP COULD have put a stop to this: ONLY passed spending bills that could be paid for. But they use excuses and we get this. Mama's Note: The government - being dead broke in spite of massive theft and fraud - can't actually pay for ANYTHING legitimately. I laugh when they call all this bogus "spending" a "national debt." I didn't borrow it, and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for it. Their creditors can take it out of their hides... or start breaking politician and banker knee caps. Culture wars: killing babies - Congress in action Despite WH Claim, Ban on Sex-Selection Abortion Didn’t Require Abortionist to Determine Motivation (CNSNews.com) But what matters the truth or the content of a bill? Most legislation might as well be written in Sanskrit, since no one bothers to really read them or debate what is written. All that matters is sound bites and perceptions. First Citizen - Crash of 2009 Obama Touts Jobs for Returning Service Members Amid Bad Economic News (CNSNews.com) I consider this to be smoke and mirrors. They really are such a small percentage of votes that he can ignore them as long as he doesn’t seem to ignore them in the eyes of the general public. So he pays lip service, as he does to most things. Crash of 2009 766,000 More Women Unemployed Today Than When Obama Took Office (CNSNews.com) But! The "recession is over!" No? It is, of course, all George W’s fault - well, and the GOP House and all the GOP and Libertarian and Constitutionalist nit-pickers and naysayers and women-haters: especially all those conservative and libertarian women who hate themselves. Mama's Note: Depends on who they count, and what they consider as "employment." SOME of us have decided that regular jobs are a dead end street; an exercise in futility. The gray market is alive and well. A lot of women are "working." They just no longer punch a time clock, and lots of them don't file tax forms either. Theft by government NY, CA, and CT Levy Highest State Gasoline Taxes in Nation (CNSNews.com) California adds insult to injury by imposing sales tax on TOP of the fuel excise tax. All of them (and many other states) use transportation as cash cows: the money supposedly goes for roads, but a LOT supports oversized bureaucracies and - through departmental transfers - finance a lot of other government offices as well; treasurers, revenue, auditors, environmental agencies, and so on. No wonder more and more people vote with their feet. Congress in action - Crash of 2009 House GOP Leaders Slam ‘Failed’ Economic Recovery as ‘New Normal’ (CNSNews.com) It took more than a century for the US to reconcile with the UK and become an ally: from the end of the War of 1812 (in 1815) to the US becoming a formal ally and entering the Great War on the UK’s side (in part because since France and the UK were already allies) in 1917. I guess things move faster these days. But last time I checked, Vietnam is a Communist nation: so I don’t suppose the current Tranzi administration has ANYTHING to do with this, does it? World wars - Obama's minions Panetta, in Historic Vietnam Visit, Sees ‘Tremendous Potential Here’ for U.S. Naval Forces (CNSNews.com) WHAT economic recovery? There was no recovery to fail: just the same sort of stupid actions that the Roosevelt Administration did in 1933 to 1939, which made the Crash of 1929 even worse. (Not that the Hoover Administration was exactly brilliant in THEIR actions to fight the Depression.) World wars - Stupid UN U.N. Chief Silent on Longstanding Failure to Define Terrorism (CNSNews.com) It is a real shame when UN bureaucrats are so incredibly inept and unlearned that they can’t find a dictionary or use one to look it up, eh? Of course, this is because “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Politics gets in the way because the practical, applied definition used by virtually ALL governments confuses methods with motives: wrong motive (from the state’s point of view) = terrorism. Right motive equals either “freedom fighter” or “legitimate government use of force to carry out its responsibilities.” Far as I’m concerned, terrorism is a subset of illegitimate violence; that is, violence NOT carried out in self-defense. Aggressive violence includes terrorism, just as it includes the threat of force to coerce someone into paying taxes (theft), follow regulations, etc., and any time a majority tells a minority that “you have to do this because more of us say you do than say you don’t.” Congress in action - Crime Congresswoman at Hearing on Cyber Threats Had Identity Stolen (CNSNews.com) “And over 232 million identities were stolen in 2011, including my own. There’s a Carolyn Maloney running around Maryland, so almost every American or most of us have had that really inconvenient situation happen to us,” Mahoney said. Wow. And how often does THAT happen? IF we believe her numbers (and I do NOT), that would mean that approximately 360 congressmen or senators had their IDs stolen. But 232 million out of a population of 310 million in one year? That is VERY unlikely. Which means that she is lying or sadly deluded about the truth, and so ANYthing she says about cyber threats or anyother identity threat is likely as not to be a lie. Then it occurred to me that maybe she was referring to identity theft BY THE GOVERNMENT? Nah, they'd steal EVERYONE's identity, except maybe the 1%. Nazgul - Government war on religion Judge sentences preacher to jail for advocating spanking (freedomsphoenix.com) Recently a Wisconsin judge seriously overreached her authority when she sentenced Philip Caminite, pastor of Aleitheia Bible Church to two years in prison for teaching his flock to discipline their children! ... The pastor is to be supervised for six years after serving his time and is forbidden to have any contact with his church and to have no leadership in any church. This is not confirmed, but if true shows how government’s war on religion can be done in a stealthy way that gains much support. “Of course he shouldn’t have been telling parents to use a wooden device to beat their kids,” when what he is doing is quoting scripture, however he interprets it. Does this not put a damper on little things like free speech? Rap singers can sing about rape and killing cops and beating whores, but preachers can't talk about using a wooden paddle? Stupid government - Home front Farmer panic! Crops die as gov't blocks wells (WND) Farmers in Colorado are watching their fields dry up amid one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. But just a few feet beneath them, the water is so plentiful it’s flooding basements and causing septic systems to overflow. Yet the government will not permit farmers to pump the water to save their crops. This is happening more and more. Thanks to Tom for this one. His comments: Famine, and Death is Satan's way. See what they have done in the Ukraine by the communists killing millions. Now this is taking place here. Nathan's comments (and response to Tom) I do not understand your remarks on this: (1) These people are not starving and really not panicking: the headline exaggerates (as usual). These are commercial corps and are a serious concern, but this is NOT a situation comparable to Ukraine in the 1920s in the least. (2) This is caused by men - not necessarily evil men, but men who do not understand natural systems AND have too much power. But again, the motives of the DWR and others in Denver are NOT the same as those in the Soviet Union 80 years ago. (3) This may be similar to the problems in Northern California (Tule Lake) in the 80s and the 90s, but to claim it is equal or comparable to the Ukrainian situation is to overreact and give too many people an opportunity to say that you are doing so. This does NOT win the influence and standing with people needed to win them to Christ OR to get them to reject human government that does these things. Local tyranny - Stupid tyrants Bloomberg’s soda farce (Reason) “Just how bad an idea is the plan by the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, to limit the size of sugary-drink cups (okay, pails? Buckets? Delivery devices?) to 16 ounces? Even the big-government left is lining up against the proposal.” (06/04/12) This may be political farce, but I think it more likely to be political bait-and-switch: the “good mayor” is figuring on the outrage so that he can negotiate something that would have been ALMOST as outrageous two weeks ago: like a prohibition on refills, or a new licensing and content-posting scheme: both of which would have the effect of raising prices and thus potentially reducing consumption. Mama's Note: I just can't figure out why in the world it would matter to this idiot. The city/state collects tax on each ounce of soda sold, so I don't know why he'd want to limit how much people buy. Next he'll be crying about the reduced revenue. But then, who'd notice? They all cry about that anyway. By the way... it begins to look as if we have a three way tie for the most stupid city government and outrageous mayors: Chicago, NYC and Washington DC. They just continue to attempt to outdo each other. Stupid government EPA's Pretense of Science: Regulating Phantom Risk (Texas Public Policy Foundation) Because fine particulate matter also results from natural processes, attempting to reduce emissions below natural levels will be ineffective and unlikely to save lives... In other words, these thugs are LYING to us for their own benefit and agenda. For those of us who live in places like the Four Corners (8-15 inches of precip a year), the foothills of the Black Hills (10-15 inches of precip a year) or the Permian Basin of West Texas (8-10 inches of precip every decade or so, when we're lucky!), this is self-evident. BUT the idiots who make the policy and use the EPA as a weapon of choice against business, technological advancement, and liberty, think every place is like New Jersey. Here, those huge clouds of dust and smoke are some "haze" from coal-fired power plants and aren't smog from heavy traffc - they are smoke from fires burning because of wilderness policy and the virtual destruction of the timber and lumber industry, and dust blowing across 400 miles of desert - a phenomenon that has happened throughout recorded history AND prehistory, as any southwestern archeologist can tell you. Economics Why We Will Never Run Out of Oil (Reason Magazine) "Peak oil" and general fears about the depletion of "recoverable reserves" mislead the public insofar as they fail to account for the role of human ingenuity... With North Dakota, of all places, the #2 producer of oil in the United States, and with trillions of barrels of new discoveries and in old fields available due to new techniques, you would THINK that "Peak Oil" theory would be as dead as a Flat Earth or Evolution or Global Warming. But the point Reason makes is that (barring government interference) we will inevitably find NEW and BETTER sources of energy while there is still a lot of oil left in the ground, just as there were still whales in the sea before we gave up whale oil for petroleum in the first place, and just as we did NOT denude North America of trees before we started using coal, or dig up all the easy coal before we replaced most of its uses with petroleum. But people CAN be smart, whereas government is ALWAYS stupid. Crash of 2009 Fewer Americans Draw on Federal Relief Programs (USA Today) The food stamp program grew by 47 percent over three years, but by February, the latest month available, it had dropped slightly... Oh, but the economy is improving! Our economy is getting BETTER! For the bureaucrats that issue food stamps, apparently. Not for the rest of us. Space - Stupid government America Doesn't Need NASA to Stay On Top in Space (Investor's Business Daily) Despite NASA's decades of monopolization, the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year said it expects the space tourism business to be a $1 billion industry by 2022... Only 1 billion? As usual, the FAA doesn't get it. Remember who was the founder of the FAA? A guy named Langley, who spent (in modern dollars) hundreds of millions trying to build a working heavier-than-air flying machine and FAILED while a couple of brothers figured it out in their bicycle shop. Stupid government - Theft by government Politicians and Team Owners Snooker Sports Fans and Taxpayers (Huffington Post) Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys performed an exhaustive study of sports franchises in 37 cities between 1969 and 1996 and found no measurable impact on per-capita income... Of course not! The myth about economic development being caused by cities financing professional sports franchises merely is an acceptable excuse to hide the "circuses" part of "bread and circuses" to keep the masses happy. It is no surprise that the greatest density of sports fans is found in the ghettos and barrios and slums of the big urban areas, and that dirt-poor rural communities like reservations and chronically depressed farming regions can have huge sales of sports hats, tee-shirts and other garbage. Quote of the week Sen. Proxmire: ‘If my constituents had wanted an honest representative, they would have elected one.’ Both admission and prophesy for the next 40 years! Tuesday, June 05, 2012 Home front Politics is the great divider in United States (Washington Post) It hardly took another study for people to know that political polarization in this country is deeply embedded. Still, a report issued Monday by the Pew Research Center paints a particularly stark portrait of a nation in which the most significant divisions are no longer based on race, class or sex but on political identity. In other words, on their attitude towards liberty. We have a very small number (maybe all of 3%) who truly support liberty for themselves and others, an even tinier but very powerful number (1%) who believe in liberty ONLY for themselves and slavery (more or less) for everyone else, and a vast jumble of about 96% who are middle of the road, wanting some liberty here and there (maybe more for themselves than for others) but wanting the security of being told what to do in a larger or smaller part of life. Probably 5-10% seem to be naturally born slaves, disgusting as that seems - or at least who have been raised to be slaves. Second Citizen - Stupid government Biden: 'Imagine a World in Which Hunger Is Vanquished by Crops That Don’t Depend on Soil, Water or Fertilizer' (CNSNews.com) Vice President Joe Biden told the graduating seniors of Cypress Bay High School in Florida today that they should imagine a world where hunger no longer exists because crops grow without the need of soil, water or fertilizer. That world will soon be here, Biden told the students. The vice president also said to dream of charging stations for electric cars at local high schools, "solar shingles" on the roofs of their homes--and an end to nuclear weapons. Imagine a world in which people like him are reduced to working as petty clerks or janitors in printing shops instead of being allowed to help attempt to rule a powerful and wealthy nation and run it into the ground. This kind of ignorance is deadly. Sadly, I would not be surprised to find that many of these Cypress Bay graduates BOUGHT IT HOOK LINE AND SINKER: they are the ones raised to be slaves if not born to be, the ones who believe that milk comes from a carton (or jug) and meat comes from a chiller display rack, and probably can't identify the major ingredients of most food sold in the grocery store without reading the label. Mama's Note: ....those who actually CAN read the label, of course. Stupid government tricks DHS Granted 3 Years of Expedited Border Crossing to Person With 'Close Family Ties' to Watchlisted Terrorist (CNSNews.com) Ah, but background checks are intended to be ignored at the discretion of the reviewer. Obviously there were extenuating circumstances that also popped up. What? Can't say for sure, but maybe they can cross index the background check with campaign finance reports, to name one. Theft by government employees Not Just Wisconsin: Two Calif. Cities Vote on Public Pension Cuts (CNSNews.com) And they both passed, which is bad news for these bandits, and a faint (but too late) breath of fresh air. Politics 2012 Pot Legalization Question on Colo. Ballot Could Affect Obama-Romney Race (CNSNews.com) Yes, the conventional wisdom is that pot-smokers LOVE the Messiah, but I have my doubts. Stupid people Young Americans Urged to Lobby White House Over Jobs (CNSNews.com) Practicing their job and interview skills MIGHT be a better course of action. And getting out and APPLYING for work even better! This kind of "advice" sickens me. Wednesday, June 06, 2012 Politics 2012 Gov. Walker survives recall in Wisconsin (Washington Post) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won a vote to keep his job on Tuesday, surviving a recall effort that turned the Republican into a conservative icon and his state into the first battleground in a bitter, expensive election year. Notice the language: “survived” - other headlines claimed a “narrow victory” - of 54 to 45. So the propaganda war over the Wisconsin vote continues. More telling is the fact that since Walker led the fight to eliminate automatic payroll deduction for union dues and donations, about HALF of state employees have DROPPED their union membership and financing. Together with the millions spent on this recall, the unions and their Democratic Party subsidiary in Wisconsin are clearly hurt by events even in a traditionally socialist/ collectivist state like this. Culture wars: homosexual "marriage" Proposition 8: Appeals court won’t reconsider ruling that gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional (Washington Post) A federal appeals court said Tuesday that it would not reconsider a ruling that struck down California’s Proposition 8 amendment banning same-sex marriage, another sign that the issue will soon move to the Supreme Court. I suppose it was a forlorn hope, but very, very unlikely. Politics 2012 New map, new rules shake up California primaries (Washington Post) Primary voters in California on Tuesday began to remake the face of Congress as a redrawn electoral map and new balloting rules promised a significant overhaul of the state’s delegation, which accounts for about 12 percent of the House of Representatives. Is anyone else sick of California ramming things down the throats of the rest of us? This putrid excuse of a democracy is as corrupt and threatening a regime as was ever the Soviet Union or China. Yes, there are many good people in California (but more leave every year) but they cannot overcome the power of the various cults, religious and political and economic. Is it any surprise that much of the influence in the teen-college years of the current occupant of 1600 PA was acquired in California? First Citizen - Congress in action White House skeptical of GOP student loan proposals (Washington Post) The Obama administration on Tuesday brushed off Republican proposals to pay for the $6 billion extension of the reduced-rate student-loan program, which expires July 1. Addressing reporters, Vice President Biden said the White House was open to listening to offers but suggested that he did not take the GOP offer seriously, adding that he thought Republicans were “playing games.” GOP House leaders last week sent the president a set of proposals to cover the cost of the extension that included increasing the amount paid by federal employees for their retirement and limiting the ability of states to recoup Medicaid costs through taxes on providers. I agree that they are playing games, but at least they are doing something other than spend, spend, spend. But these only delay the crash of the system, even assuming that the White House and the Senate accept them. And that seems unlikely. Congress in action Sens. Boxer, Inhofe deliver transportation proposal to House (Washington Post) In a rare conciliatory gesture, two U.S. senators — one a conservative Republican, the other a liberal Democrat — hand-delivered a critical transportation funding plan to their colleagues in the House on Tuesday. In other words, these two bitter opponents can agree on ONE thing: spending stolen money. Freedom - East Asian front China condemns U.S. gun ownership as human rights violation (From the Trenches World Report) Thanks to Scott for this one. His comments are pithy: Makes you wonder if China doesn't have designs on invading or pressing their interest here, why they would be so interested in seeing us disarmed? Communists, like their relations the Tranzis are past masters at twisting definitions and truth into exactly the opposite. The idea that people have a “right” to be disarmed, or that some people are denied their human rights because other people are armed and the people (supposedly denied their rights) have chosen NOT to be armed is insanity. My response: if only cops and soldiers are armed and people are NOT armed, THEN you have a human rights violation. Politics 2012 Barack Obama needs Bill Clinton, even if he can’t control him (Washington Post) The current president is learning that there is both an upside and a downside to having a former one — particularly one with whom he has tangled in the past — as the most prominent surrogate for his reelection bid. Couldn’t happen to a better pair: the Odd Couple indeed. The consummate politician who lived and died by the opinion poll and swung with the wind, and the ideologue. First Citizen Obama embraces gay, lesbian supporters at fundraiser (Washington Post) BEVERLY HILLS — President Obama could have been talking about Vito Imbasciani when he told a roomful of supporters at a gay-rights gala here Wednesday that seeing tears streaming down the faces of gay Americans after he repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has ranked among the highlights of his presidency. He seeks to attract votes from his “base” - although his lack of action in Wisconsin seems to have significantly damaged his base - and struck a hard blow against the union part of it (where over a third of union households voted to keep Walker). But he drives the “middle ground” away with this - there is a big difference between live-and-let-live and the domination of culture and society by this element. Politics 2012 Restrictive voting laws tied up in court (Washington Post) Stricter ID laws and other controversial voting restrictions, passed this year by several Republican-controlled legislatures, are hitting legal roadblocks that could keep many of the measures from taking effect before the November elections. All the better to eat you with, my dear, says the Tranzi Nazgul to the stupid people who think that “if we just explain it a bit more clearly, they’ll agree” - while we have to show ID to buy a can of beer, cash a check, or get on an airplane or bus, but DON’T have to show anything to vote. Shows you just where voting rates on importance of things to do in life. Thursday, June 07, 2012 Theft by government - Crash of 2009 Top Customer: Under Obama, Fed’s Holdings of U.S. Debt Have Jumped 452% (CNSNews.com) Hmmm. Does anyone recall the Templars or more than a few (now extinct) medieval banking families, when the King realized that he owed them too much and had to come up with an ingenious way to get rid of the loan-maker since he couldn’t get rid of the loan. Of course, nuking China would also be a big help. Especially since the Tranzis don’t want toys in Happy Meals: that would be the perfect excuse to do so! Politics 2012? (or twisted personalities) Dear Democrat, Feel the Excitement Surge Through Your Fingertips! (CNSNews.com) Uggh. Perverts and worse. And speaking of perverts... Culture wars: homosexual "marriage" Army Chaplain Performs First-Ever Military Same-Sex Nuptial Ceremony in Chapel at Fort Polk in La. (CNSNews.com) A spokesman for Fort Polk told the Associated Press that the event was not a marriage ceremony but a "same-gender private religious ceremony." Dr. Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Freedom, told CNSNews.com that he had been briefed about the ceremony, which took place about three weeks ago in the base chapel. A Disciples of Christ chaplain performed a “marriage-like” commitment ceremony for the two lesbian soldiers, Crews said. The Disciples of Christ is a perfect example of the big sick denominations that Mark Steyn once described as “post-Christian” and this example seems to support that. It shows that there are ALWAYS people willing to pander to perversions. And in today’s Army, there is a LOT of room for perversion, obviously. First Citizen ‘It’s Still About Hope and Change,’ Obama Tells San Francisco Donors (CNSNews.com) I guess I agree: I HOPE that we can CHANGE administrations, and that America can learn to accept responsibility for what we do (and don’t do). But it is, at best, a forlorn hope. On the other hand, it is mildly amazing that we have survived 3.5 years of the First Citizen WITHOUT violent revolution or more violent crackdown than we’ve see. Congress in action - Theft by governmn Rep. Jackson Jr: Raising Minimum Wage to $20 Would ‘By Far Surpass’ What It Was Designed For (CNSNews.com) Designed for? For destroying the economy even more effectively. Stupid people (1 and 2) - Theft by government Warren Buffett: ‘I Couldn't Get a Disease Named After Me So I Settled for a Tax' (CNSNews.com) So taxes are like diseases on mankind? Nice! Mama's Note: Warren Buffett IS a disease... Warren Buffett Calls for Lower Spending, Taxes than Obama (CNSNews.com) Well, it would be hard to exceed what the Messiah wants - which is effectively “everything you own” - and then to spend MORE than is gained in taxes. I begin to think that Buffett is a prodigy: a ultra-genius on investing and dumber than a rock on people and politics. Like the 10-year-old that can play every piece Chopin ever wrote but can't tie her shoes or use the toilet by herself. Tranzis Sen. Kerry Blames U.S for Dispute Over E.U. Airline Carbon Tax: ‘We Dragged Our Feet’ (CNSNews.com) Of course, WE should have been taxing the carbon the same as the EU does, and drag ourselves into the gutter - and the cesspool - more quickly. Tranzis Only 15 Percent of Americans Believe in Godless Evolution, Says Gallup (CNSNews.com) As compared to how many believe in Godless Communism, perhaps? “Even the demons believe and tremble,” James told us: it is whether that belief translates to anything concrete that counts: “Faith without works is dead.” Based on the way people behave and vote, I’d say a much larger percentage have DEAD faith in God.” Congress in action - Theft by government Democrats Vow to ‘Fight’ On For Paycheck Fairness Act After It Fails in Senate (CNSNews.com) Hypocritcal, to say the least, given that the Democrats in Congress seem to have a worse than average track record on paying women the same as men (they don't - not even the Democratic women!). Islamic wars: Persian front Ahmadinejad Praises China’s ‘Love and Peace,’ Says U.S. Is ‘Wolf That Wants To Swallow Up the World’ (CNSNews.com) What can I say? It was in '71 or '72 when I heard another high school student give a speech advocating a "Pax Americana." Since it was original oratory and not discussion, I couldn't challenge him (as I recall, my speech was on "God's Gift of Liberty," at least). Too many people agree with that young man (no doubt now high in the current administration). At the same time, China exhibits neither love NOR peace, at least by anything but Islamic standards. Keep in mind this is the man who says that there are no homosexuals in Iran and that Hitler's killing of the Jews is a myth. EUROPE'S COLLAPSE DEBT CRISIS: Political union: easier said than done (Financial Times Deutschland, Le Figaro) Angela Merkel wants to move towards greater federalism and is suggesting a two-speed Europe. But that presents legal difficulties in Germany and is deepening the split with François Hollande. Those troubles may not matter. Is it possible that Merkel has decided (along with the other powers-that-be in Germany) that if Germany is going to have to pay for the salvation of Europe economically, they may as well just go ahead and take over completely? Unlike 1939-1941, the rest of Europe is almost begging for Germany to come in and take control. Is the Fourth Reich nearing? EUROPE'S COLLAPSE ITALY: Beppe Grillo — floating on the eurosceptic wave (La Stampa) In local elections in May, comedian Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement won a number of town halls including Parma. Advocating an exit from the euro and the overthrow of Italy’s political class, Five Star is well on its way to becoming the second most powerful political force in Italy. I don't think they will get Italy to bail out, sadly enough. But with German help, maybe they CAN overthrow Italy's political class. Bad as that class is in the US, Italy has it enormously worse. Islamic wars: Afghan front Afghanistan: 22 killed in suicide bombings (Voice of America) "Officials in southern Afghanistan say suicide bombers have killed at least 22 civilians in an attack on a parking lot where trucks wait to supply a nearby NATO air base. Authorities say a bomber on a motorcycle set off the first blast Wednesday in Kandahar, and as people rushed to help the victims, a second bomber on foot detonated his explosives." (06/06/12) This is a highly effective technique for murderers - whether they are “terrorists” or “law enforcement” or “legitimate combatants” - it features in many accounts of combat AND many novels, including a recent Honor Harrington one. It has a double-impact: the deaths AND the fear and uncertainty it puts in the minds of those who would naturally help AND those first responders (medics or EMTs) who wonder when it will happen again. In this case, the actual perps are dead, of course; but it is the instigators and facilitators and sponsors who need to be tracked down, tried, and if convicted, subjected to the same horrible death they inflicted on others, as a deterrent to copy-cats. While it is extremely difficult to defend yourself and those around you from an attack like this, an armed population would have a bit more of a chance. Remember, THIS kind of killing will, sooner than later, come to the United States. Whether it is an Al-Qaeda wanna-be or someone dying for La Raza or a union-brainwashed activist or just someone who wants more than the usual suicide-by-cop death, some crowded American venue will see some fanatic go “boom” because they aren’t content with just wounded a half-dozen cafe patrons or fellow-postal workers; and eventually two or more will get together after being driven over the edge in a union hall or madressa (excuse me, “Cultural Diversity Center”) and after the first one goes “boom” and the ambulances and fire trucks and volunteers and cops all show up, the second one will pull the fuze igniter or touch the wires together and “boom” - 10 dead becomes 20, 20 dead becomes 40. East Asian front - Good ideas Australian minister defends comm security in China (Palm Beach Post) "Australia's defense minister said Wednesday he was protecting the confidentiality of government communications after a newspaper reported he left his delegation's laptop computers and cellphones behind before flying to mainland China. Defense Minister Stephen Smith took precautions against Chinese espionage by leaving computers and phones in Hong Kong before flying to Beijing for a goodwill visit, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. His staff were given fresh phones in China with new numbers." (06/06/12) Sounds like a good idea to me: and I note with a bit of joy that Hong Kong is still separate from China, de facto at least. Actually, this may be a very good practice for Americans to follow, both going oveeas AND flying domestically. For as little as $15 plus tax, you can buy a simple cell phone with 50 to 100 minutes of talk time (additional time costing as low as 5 cents a minute) at WalMart or Walgreens or Aldi, paid for with cash or a gift card, and your anonymity increases trememdously. Donate the phone to charity at the end of the trip. Self-defense California: Suspected intruder shot while coming through child's window (News 10) "A man suspected of trying to break into a home on the 300 block of Berkshire Ln. in Stockton on Sunday was shot by the homeowner while trying to enter the house.Stockton police reports indicate the homeowner was awoken around 3:00 a.m. by strange noises at the property. Upon investigating, he saw 23-year-old Yobenrico Well coming in through his child's bedroom window. Fearing for the safety of his family, the homeowner shot Well who fled on foot, according to police reports." (06/05/12) Not particularly good shot, if the guy got away. I mean, if there was ever a time for a headshot... Self-defense? AL: Man, 72, shoots intruder (Tuscaloosa News) "The man told investigators that he was awakened by a 27-year-year old man pounding on his back door at 2 a.m. The younger man knocked him to the ground and forced his way inside when he opened the door, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Capt. Loyd Baker. The suspect ran back into the yard when he realized another person was inside the home, Baker said. The resident retrieved a gun and fired a shot at the suspect." (06/04/12) The homeowner was not thinking straight, to open the door at 0200. But was it really self-defense to shoot AFTER the man left the house? Mama's Note: No, and really stupid. I simply can't imagine opening the door if I didn't know who was out there... and that's during the DAY! It would even be more important at night. I have a very strong porch light, motion detectors and solid metal doors. The best self defense is convincing the would be attacker that it's too much trouble to bother with you. Theft by government Dedicating Tax Revenue: Constraining Government or Masking Its Growth? (Mercatus Center) New research indicates earmarking has inherently deceptive qualities that, among other things, work to expand the role of government... Very likely, this study confirms exactly what many people thought. It is the same thing with fees. Too often, fees just go hand in hand with taxes, and are for mandated items. As long as fees are for VOLUNTARY services, I have no problem with government being supported by fees. But otherwise, they are just another kind of targeted tax. Abominable Act - Theft by government Health Reform's Tax on Medical Devices (Pacific Research Institute) The excise tax on medical equipment and devices could reduce investment by $2 billion per year and result in the loss in expected life years of about 1 million annually... All matters which COULD have been examined and determined BEFORE Congress passed this piece of garbage. Which to me means that was the intent. What can save government the most money of all possible scenarios? Having old people die off more quickly, before they suck up Medicare and Social Security money. That million-life-years lost could amount to TENS of BILLIONS in government savings. (So much so, it is amazing someone hasn't floated the idea of a "special bonus" if you agree to off yourself at a specified age. Maybe one or two years of retirement with lots of money and travel, then report to a certified abortion and euthanasia provider on your 65th birthday? Get a medal as "Hero of America" and say your goodbyes. A quarter-million for two years and the government would make out like a bandit on this deal.) Crash of 2009 Flat U.S. Wages Help Fuel Rebound in Manufacturing (Wall Street Journal) Manufacturers' labor costs were 2.7 percent lower in the first quarter of 2012 than in 2005, when the economy was stronger and unemployment lower... Imagine the impact ELIMINATING the minimum wage would have on strengthening the economy and lowering unemployment? Friday, June 08, 2012 Abominable Act - First Citizen’s Minions HHS Secretary: If Supreme Court Rules Against Obamacare, Many Benefits Would Cease to Exist (CNSNews.com) Hmmm. Could it be that none of the ones she named are really “benefits” anyway - at least not benefits that a free medical-care market would not provide WITHOUT the stinking corpse of an albatross around the neck of the nation? In a free market, someone WOULD offer insurance that includes anyone in the family regardless of age; someone WOULD offer insurance that charged men and women the same price (perhaps with different services, but then, how many men get mammograms or pelvic exams or need prenatal care, and how many women need prostrate medication or treatment for testicular cancer? And when health insurance isn’t a government-mandated de facto monopoly, I will even bet people can get health insurance even with pre-existing conditions, AND get their essential medical needs taken care of. Freedom of Speech Next Six Months Could Determine Fate of the Internet, FCC Commissioner Warns (CNSNews.com) “During the treaty negotiations the most lethal threat to Internet freedom may not come from a full frontal assault, but through insidious and seemingly innocuous expansions of intergovernmental powers,” McDowell told the [congressional] panel. He warned that “subterranean efforts” to expand intergovernmental powers were already underway. He cited the ITU leadership’s insistence that the ITU does not plan on expanding regulatory powers, and that if any regulations are implemented as a result of the meeting they should be of “the light touch variety.” He may be right, because we were stupid enough to allow government to have ANY say-so whatsoever. Stupid government - war on religion State Department Purges Section on Religious Freedom from Its Human Rights Reports (CNSNews.com) And soon more will be purged, I’m sure. The only “religious” freedom the State Department is concerned about is for Muslims and Atheists in the US and homosexuals abroad (and, I realize, at home as well). Church bombings in Nigeria? Selling “christian” children as slaves in Sudan? Pakistani preachers being martyred? Nothing that SHE needs to pay attention to. Mama's Note: Actually, the only people who have any effect on rights, religious or otherwise, are the people involved. When people are empowered to stand up for their rights, and stop trying to destroy the rights of others, everyone wins. First Citizen's minions Holder Claims Emails Using Words ‘Fast and Furious’ Don’t Refer to Operation Fast and Furious (CNSNews.com) Attorney General Eric Holder claimed during congressional testimony today that internal Justice Department emails that use the phrase “Fast and Furious” do not refer to the controversial gun-walking operation Fast and Furious. Under questioning from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who read excerpts of the emails at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Justice Department oversight, Holder claimed that the phrase “Fast and Furious” did not refer to Fast and Furious but instead referred to another gun-walking operation known as “Wide Receiver.” Ah, now I understand. It is like the scholarly argument that it was not William Shakespeare that wrote all those plays, but ANOTHER guy named William Shakespeare. Or did Holder wave his hands like Darth Maul or Obi Wan Kenobi, “You don’t see any droids here...” This man continues to lie - is the next story also a lie? First Citizen's minions Holder: Justice Department Will ‘Vigorously Use’ Voting Rights Act Against States (CNSNews.com) Why bother with the legal fiction and loin cloth and just use pure naked force? It would be a lot more fun for Holder, wouldn’t it? Imagine, this man was depressed because he was isolated. But he really knows how to win friends. Tranzis - Abominable Act Pelosi: Public Opposes Obamacare Because ‘Understanding of it Has Been Jeopardized by Misrepresentations’ (CNSNews.com) Like hers, maybe? “You’ll have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it?” Tranzis - War on religions Pelosi: Catholic Archdioceses Were Not ‘Speaking’ for Catholic Church When They Sued Administration (CNSNews.com) Umm, actually, I don’t think that the Archbishops were speaking for the Catholic Church, I think (though I disagree with them) they think that they were speaking for the HEAD of the Church, a certain Nazarene carpenter who got nailed to a cross one day by a bunch of puling politicians leading an angry mob that THEY organized, claiming to be the voice of the people. First Citizen - Homosexual activists Obama Praises LGBT Heroes Who 'Bent the Arc of the Moral Universe Towards Justice' (CNSNews.com) He sure does talk pretty. I don't quite know what he means, but it surely sounds nice. Culture Wars Boy Scouts Not Changing Membership Policy That Bans Openly Gay Scouts and Scout Leaders (CNSNews.com) It was claimed earlier this week that 250,000 signatures on a petition would FORCE the BSA to change, but morality is not about popularity and votes. Mama's Note: I just don't understand why people who don't like the rules of the BSA (or any other private club) don't just go and form their own club. Islamic wars: Asia Minor and Canaanite fronts Hamas-Supporting Turkey Calls for No ‘Complacency’ in Fight Against Terror (CNSNews.com) Almost as hypocritical as DC, eh? Home front Hannity Urges Fellow Broadcasters to ‘Protect Freedom of Speech’ by Opposing Politicized Boycotts (CNSNews.com) A good point, but one unlikely to be followed. Too many people have bought into the idea that a boycott serves any real purpose, perhaps because of claims that boycotts brought down South Africa’s government. It was not the cause, but modern myth persists. Home front Talk Radio’s Barry Farber Praises ‘Divisive’ Radio Hosts' (CNSNews.com) Yes, even the likes of Ed Schultz, who shows what REAL hatred is - screaming from left field, he shows that even Hannity is pretty mild. These people drag things out and beat them to death, so that people can see how insanely stupid government (especially democracy) is and acts. Culture wars: Homosexual "marriage" Conservatives 'Cautiously Optimistic' Supreme Court Wil Uphold California’s Prop. 8 (CNSNews.com) I would not count on it, myself. It is not just government power we are dealing with here, but the need to force people to change their morality and mold society into something very different. Stupid government U.S. DOT Testing Cars That Avoid Crashes (CNSNews.com) ... by talking to each other. I don’t really think I can trust a government-developed car - but that robot a group of inventors and Google are testing in Nevada this summer is of great interest. Politics 2012 - First Citizen Analysis: Obama’s private-sector comment is likely to haunt him (Washington Post) It would be hard to imagine a greater gift than the sound bite that Barack Obama handed to Republicans on Friday: “The private sector is doing fine.” At a moment when the president is struggling to connect with the economic anxieties of the American public, that statement is likely to show up again and again in attack ads, conservative commentary and Republican stump speeches between now and November. The WaPo is right for once. Obviously the First Citizen is spending too much time around Joe Biden. Congress in action Pelosi marks a quarter-century in the House (Washington Post) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, is celebrating 25 years as a member of Congress on Saturday and the celebrations and commemorations of the milestone have been epic. There have been million-dollar fundraisers and lectures with former presidents; San Francisco streets have been named after her and there were concerts with rock star Bono and the remaining members of the Grateful Dead. And what a disgusting 25 years it has been. Obviously one of the 1% - the demi-gods who condescend to live on earth. Come to think of it, sometimes she DOES remind me of the ditzy Aphrodite in the Hercules and Xena TV series - if much older and not nearly as pretty. **************** Your comments and feedback are welcome! Now PoL has its own forum at The Mental Militia! Check it out Nathan Barton Written from the Four Corners, a land and community which has some (but not much) freedom left, but where even that liberty hangs by a thread. Nathan is a christian, a free-market anarchist, military officer, engineer, and writer. Feel free to contact him through The Price of Liberty. Special Feature! Add your signature to the NEW Declaration of Independence By Robert Greenslade To Read previous Commentaries, go to the archives page and click onto the link for the week. The commentaries are linked from the weekly front pages. Please note: Information about readers is never given or sold to anyone for any purpose. Remember, however, that many people can read and recover anything posted to web sites or email unless it is carefully encrypted. Please take personal responsibility for what you post anywhere. MamaLiberty) |
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