Want to see real greed? Look at Greece. Economy is almost in collapse, but the people won't let go of their extravagant government pensions. They're getting theirs and now they really don't care if anyone else gets theirs. Just goes to show that greed is a part of human nature. Capitalism is the only system that channels that greed into a system whereby the only time a transaction occurs is when both parties benefit (that has been distorted by the government).
Liberals keep saying "papers" to connote some link to the Nazis or Communists. Well, what do you call having to show license, registration, and proof of insurance when you get stopped by the police?
I really like the exclusion of people who have stopped looking for work from the unemployment numbers. So if all the unemployed suddenly stopped looking for work, we would have full employment, which is ludicrous. I'm not saying it is limited to Obama or anything, but it just seems like a dumb statistic.
Government is really good at rewarding failure.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Highlights From Last Week
1. The folly of citing international standards...what if the majority of people were under Communist rule? Should we adopt those standards? The best part of the linked article, "But they ignore foreign law and world opinion when it calls into question liberal policies in the United States. One classic example is the horror that most countries’ courts have for the American practice of letting virtually unguided juries award punitive damages. In most of the world, punitive damages are forbidden. But you will never see a liberal Supreme Court justice talk about 'international law' or 'international opinion' when it comes to punitive damages, which are sacrosanct in the eyes of many liberal judges."
2. Indiana Republican Mark Souder was caught in an affair with a staffer. I am glad he is resigning. The bad thing (besides his conduct) is that it allows liberals to bring up their favorite charge, hypocrisy. I don't think, however, their problem is necessarily his conduct though, simply that he is a hypocrite. He shouldn't dare to have high standards. As Peter Schweizer points out in his book "Do As I Say, Not As I Do", when conservatives don't follow their principles, they hurt themselves and their families. When liberals do, they benefit (i.e. not using unions for the work they want done, investing in companies they publicly denounce)...and that is pointed out in the book as well.
3. Last week during the special elections and primaries, Rush had a great line. During some election nights people will drink alcohol based on what is happening. Rush said that they should definitely not drink every time someone in the media said how these elections were a referendum on anything but Obama, as they'd obviously be drinking a lot.
4. Can you imagine if conservatives had said something like "Thank God, God is a Republican" in a natural disaster, as Stephanie Miller did about the oil spill? The media firestorm would be huge.
5. Michael Posner, a State Department appointee, apologizing to China for the Arizona illegal immigration law. Yes, the Chinese who are repressive and deny rights to their own citizens.
6. A little bit older, but CBO scoring of ObamaCare will cost $115 billion more than first thought (of course, the CBO is nonpartisan and have to score what is given them, no matter how absurd or unrealistic). And of course that is still probably a low estimate.
2. Indiana Republican Mark Souder was caught in an affair with a staffer. I am glad he is resigning. The bad thing (besides his conduct) is that it allows liberals to bring up their favorite charge, hypocrisy. I don't think, however, their problem is necessarily his conduct though, simply that he is a hypocrite. He shouldn't dare to have high standards. As Peter Schweizer points out in his book "Do As I Say, Not As I Do", when conservatives don't follow their principles, they hurt themselves and their families. When liberals do, they benefit (i.e. not using unions for the work they want done, investing in companies they publicly denounce)...and that is pointed out in the book as well.
3. Last week during the special elections and primaries, Rush had a great line. During some election nights people will drink alcohol based on what is happening. Rush said that they should definitely not drink every time someone in the media said how these elections were a referendum on anything but Obama, as they'd obviously be drinking a lot.
4. Can you imagine if conservatives had said something like "Thank God, God is a Republican" in a natural disaster, as Stephanie Miller did about the oil spill? The media firestorm would be huge.
5. Michael Posner, a State Department appointee, apologizing to China for the Arizona illegal immigration law. Yes, the Chinese who are repressive and deny rights to their own citizens.
6. A little bit older, but CBO scoring of ObamaCare will cost $115 billion more than first thought (of course, the CBO is nonpartisan and have to score what is given them, no matter how absurd or unrealistic). And of course that is still probably a low estimate.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Highlights From The Last Week
1. The way liberals act, you would think oil companies wanted the oil leak to happen. 11 people died, a lot of sea life probably killed as well, I don't think anyone is happy about that. Though, in liberals' views, people in government are well-meaning and altruistic, whereas people in the private sector are greedy (wonder how they feel about those in government who once worked in the private sector).
2. Rush mentioned something, that the left wouldn't even oppose it if the illegal immigrants came across the border with illegal cigarettes (hence not principled opposition to either). Now, I wouldn't go as far as saying the same thing about drugs, but liberal and even compassionate conservative border policies have blurred the distinction between those who legitimately do want a better life and those who are coming here to commit crimes or traffic drugs. I don't favor amnesty for either, though once we enforce existing laws I might be a little more lenient with the former category (specifying they do learn English, getting rid of the baby anchor law, etc.)
3. A recent advertisement on the radio with President Obama speaks of 30% of high school students not graduating. The success of public education! Of course Obama's solution would likely be even more centralized control of education.
4. I notice environmentalists rarely speak of China and India when including those nations that are destroying the planet (usually the U.S.). I recently found out that China has 300 million smokers, which amounts to about 1/3 of total smokers in the world. Where is Michael Bloomberg when you need him?
5. Hopefully we are getting a new breed of Republican that favors principle over politics. The old Republicans, uncomfortable even in the majority, seemed to think getting something done is better than standing on principle. Which fully explains compassionate conservatism. Democrats want an outrageous amount of x, Republicans don't really want x at all, so they compromise at some of x...right where Democrats wanted. It's like buying a car. The sticker price at 15000, you offer less than what you would settle for.
6. Is it just me, or does it seem like with all the Tea Party movements and conservative uprisings, that the media and Democrats are praying for an actual racist event so they can blame all Republicans for being racist against Obama?
7. Obama says he won't tolerate finger-pointing, of course unless it is he pointing the finger at BP, auto companies, Goldman Sachs, capitalism in general, etc. Amazing how arrogant Obama is. He also blamed government on part of this, but just exactly who is going to pay in government? Likely no one.
8. Ever notice how anything bad that happened in the economy, foreign policy, etc. was always Bush's fault according to the media, but our media would never blame Obama for anything that happens on his watch (probably still Bush's fault).
9. I hear liberals scream about conservatives want to regulate the bedroom, but it is them constantly forcing the rest of us through the power of government to adopt the morality they see fit.
10. I genuinely do not like lawsuits. Do they help some victims? Sure. But they hurt many more. Why? Government doesn't produce anything. Take pharmaceutical companies. One lawsuit might help some grieving families, but it makes it less like those companies will produce the next great drug, or if they go out of business, the drug they made that made peoples' lives better. The problem...all of these are unseen consequences. Few bemoan the benefit that would have been seen because it is unquantifiable. Imagine the whole economy like that.
2. Rush mentioned something, that the left wouldn't even oppose it if the illegal immigrants came across the border with illegal cigarettes (hence not principled opposition to either). Now, I wouldn't go as far as saying the same thing about drugs, but liberal and even compassionate conservative border policies have blurred the distinction between those who legitimately do want a better life and those who are coming here to commit crimes or traffic drugs. I don't favor amnesty for either, though once we enforce existing laws I might be a little more lenient with the former category (specifying they do learn English, getting rid of the baby anchor law, etc.)
3. A recent advertisement on the radio with President Obama speaks of 30% of high school students not graduating. The success of public education! Of course Obama's solution would likely be even more centralized control of education.
4. I notice environmentalists rarely speak of China and India when including those nations that are destroying the planet (usually the U.S.). I recently found out that China has 300 million smokers, which amounts to about 1/3 of total smokers in the world. Where is Michael Bloomberg when you need him?
5. Hopefully we are getting a new breed of Republican that favors principle over politics. The old Republicans, uncomfortable even in the majority, seemed to think getting something done is better than standing on principle. Which fully explains compassionate conservatism. Democrats want an outrageous amount of x, Republicans don't really want x at all, so they compromise at some of x...right where Democrats wanted. It's like buying a car. The sticker price at 15000, you offer less than what you would settle for.
6. Is it just me, or does it seem like with all the Tea Party movements and conservative uprisings, that the media and Democrats are praying for an actual racist event so they can blame all Republicans for being racist against Obama?
7. Obama says he won't tolerate finger-pointing, of course unless it is he pointing the finger at BP, auto companies, Goldman Sachs, capitalism in general, etc. Amazing how arrogant Obama is. He also blamed government on part of this, but just exactly who is going to pay in government? Likely no one.
8. Ever notice how anything bad that happened in the economy, foreign policy, etc. was always Bush's fault according to the media, but our media would never blame Obama for anything that happens on his watch (probably still Bush's fault).
9. I hear liberals scream about conservatives want to regulate the bedroom, but it is them constantly forcing the rest of us through the power of government to adopt the morality they see fit.
10. I genuinely do not like lawsuits. Do they help some victims? Sure. But they hurt many more. Why? Government doesn't produce anything. Take pharmaceutical companies. One lawsuit might help some grieving families, but it makes it less like those companies will produce the next great drug, or if they go out of business, the drug they made that made peoples' lives better. The problem...all of these are unseen consequences. Few bemoan the benefit that would have been seen because it is unquantifiable. Imagine the whole economy like that.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
List of Stuff
1. George Soros saying the current financial crisis was a result of his life's work.
2. If Congressmen actually knew the private sector and were capable of regulating it, wouldn't they be in the private sector making 10-20 times more?
3. The current enviro line (even peddled by Obama) is that oil companies are to blame for the oil spill. For one thing, does Obama think companies make an evil profit by letting their oil leak out?
4. Contessa Brewer hoping the Times Square bomber wasn't a Muslim. If it was a Tea Partier, would she feel the same way?
5. Michael Bloomberg recently said that the would-be bomber had to be someone dissatisfied with Obama's health care plan. (Judgment seemingly made against Tea Partiers and conservatives in general). Once we find out it is a Muslim (something our media strangely avoids), Bloomberg is worried about a possible backlash against Muslims. How about condemning a Muslim for starters? I have yet to hear of a single example (even after 9-11) of Americans targeting innocent Muslims. I would be glad to hear of one.
6. Speaking of which, the media seemed to be overly joyed to find out the bomber was a Tea partier. Once it wasn't, yawn (the NYT even saying it was an SUV owner...SUVs are evil and cause global warming, except in the case the driver was a Muslim, in which case the Times is silent).
7. Obama and HHS secretary rightly praise the guy who turned in the terrorist. But what if the guy was wrong? Wouldn't Obama and Napolitano both condemn the guy for racially profiling? So of course, it seems like the only criteria between racial profiling and preventing a terrorist attack is being right that the person is a terrorist. Who would turn people in when, in all honestly, the chances of person X being a terrorist are very small vs. the alternative of being publicly labeled a racist?
8. One response also from the media is how the suspect was an amateur. (I think I have mentioned this before too). But, especially in the case of suicide bombers, aren't they amateurs until they succeed?
9. Jon Stewart, who is usually a pretty big leftie but still with some common sense remarked on how the media is filling in, in detail, about how the bomber failed. Why? Wouldn't it be more likely that an amateur bomber might succeed where this guy failed (if you get a video of it, please let me know and I will pass it out).
10. With the oil spill, the big push is for us to not drill at all. But in the same token, enviros oppose nuclear technology as well, so it is hard to escape the conclusion that they simply want to oppose any new energy technology (even the French are doing it, and normally liberals look to France and Germany for solace).
11. Finally, the big announcement from the administration about how airlines are required to refresh the no-fly list every two hours rather than 24 hours (why not every minute). My beef is that it seems a way to pass the buck off to the private sector while appearing to be a bystander (my guess is checking the list isn't as straightforward as the administration would have you believe). But just think of a free market. Had a terrorist committed a terrorist attack, airlines would beef up security and many people would pay more for such security (i.e. 10 guys with M-16's) for the comfort rather than pointless screening of 99% of citizens who are not committing terrorist attacks. Checking the no-fly list would be an advantage different companies could tout and compete over.
2. If Congressmen actually knew the private sector and were capable of regulating it, wouldn't they be in the private sector making 10-20 times more?
3. The current enviro line (even peddled by Obama) is that oil companies are to blame for the oil spill. For one thing, does Obama think companies make an evil profit by letting their oil leak out?
4. Contessa Brewer hoping the Times Square bomber wasn't a Muslim. If it was a Tea Partier, would she feel the same way?
5. Michael Bloomberg recently said that the would-be bomber had to be someone dissatisfied with Obama's health care plan. (Judgment seemingly made against Tea Partiers and conservatives in general). Once we find out it is a Muslim (something our media strangely avoids), Bloomberg is worried about a possible backlash against Muslims. How about condemning a Muslim for starters? I have yet to hear of a single example (even after 9-11) of Americans targeting innocent Muslims. I would be glad to hear of one.
6. Speaking of which, the media seemed to be overly joyed to find out the bomber was a Tea partier. Once it wasn't, yawn (the NYT even saying it was an SUV owner...SUVs are evil and cause global warming, except in the case the driver was a Muslim, in which case the Times is silent).
7. Obama and HHS secretary rightly praise the guy who turned in the terrorist. But what if the guy was wrong? Wouldn't Obama and Napolitano both condemn the guy for racially profiling? So of course, it seems like the only criteria between racial profiling and preventing a terrorist attack is being right that the person is a terrorist. Who would turn people in when, in all honestly, the chances of person X being a terrorist are very small vs. the alternative of being publicly labeled a racist?
8. One response also from the media is how the suspect was an amateur. (I think I have mentioned this before too). But, especially in the case of suicide bombers, aren't they amateurs until they succeed?
9. Jon Stewart, who is usually a pretty big leftie but still with some common sense remarked on how the media is filling in, in detail, about how the bomber failed. Why? Wouldn't it be more likely that an amateur bomber might succeed where this guy failed (if you get a video of it, please let me know and I will pass it out).
10. With the oil spill, the big push is for us to not drill at all. But in the same token, enviros oppose nuclear technology as well, so it is hard to escape the conclusion that they simply want to oppose any new energy technology (even the French are doing it, and normally liberals look to France and Germany for solace).
11. Finally, the big announcement from the administration about how airlines are required to refresh the no-fly list every two hours rather than 24 hours (why not every minute). My beef is that it seems a way to pass the buck off to the private sector while appearing to be a bystander (my guess is checking the list isn't as straightforward as the administration would have you believe). But just think of a free market. Had a terrorist committed a terrorist attack, airlines would beef up security and many people would pay more for such security (i.e. 10 guys with M-16's) for the comfort rather than pointless screening of 99% of citizens who are not committing terrorist attacks. Checking the no-fly list would be an advantage different companies could tout and compete over.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Random Stuff
1a. The United States has 71 million unused flu vaccines. No private entity could ever make it overproducing by that much (obviously in this case, where government buys it...if it were private citizens, these firms would have to estimate how much of the vaccine to produce and their bottom lines may depend on it.
1b. A federally chartered organization flunks an independent audit of how it conducts business.
What do both of these have in common? Obviously debunking the liberal myth that government ever plays by the same rules as private entities.
2. Rush happened to mention he thinks that deporting 12 million illegals is impractical. On this I actually disagree with Rush. No one says we have to deport them all tomorrow (which obviously would be impractical...if you mean by impractical that neither side would deport all of them, well neither side has shown a lot of effort by securing the border, so is that impractical). Of course deporting all of them would take time. And of course the first step would be securing the border, so those we deport don't just come back over (2nd step would be to eliminate the anchor-baby law). The biggest problem of course is policies for the last 20 years doing absolutely nothing to weed out criminals and those who don't want to assimilate vs. those who actually would like the become American citizens and adopt the American way of life. Liberals continual argument on this subject (other than their default position of accusing us of being racist) is that they are just looking for a better life (well certainly the drug dealers and other criminals are doing better in America). Well isn't everyone? I'd like to be retired by 30 but that doesn't mean I get the benefit of breaking laws to achieve that goal. If we let just anyone in (but we don't even...just the ones likely to vote Democratic), America stops being America.
3. Great point by Rush today...liberals think that we are powerful enough to stop global warming but by God, we just can't stop people from crossing our borders.
1b. A federally chartered organization flunks an independent audit of how it conducts business.
What do both of these have in common? Obviously debunking the liberal myth that government ever plays by the same rules as private entities.
2. Rush happened to mention he thinks that deporting 12 million illegals is impractical. On this I actually disagree with Rush. No one says we have to deport them all tomorrow (which obviously would be impractical...if you mean by impractical that neither side would deport all of them, well neither side has shown a lot of effort by securing the border, so is that impractical). Of course deporting all of them would take time. And of course the first step would be securing the border, so those we deport don't just come back over (2nd step would be to eliminate the anchor-baby law). The biggest problem of course is policies for the last 20 years doing absolutely nothing to weed out criminals and those who don't want to assimilate vs. those who actually would like the become American citizens and adopt the American way of life. Liberals continual argument on this subject (other than their default position of accusing us of being racist) is that they are just looking for a better life (well certainly the drug dealers and other criminals are doing better in America). Well isn't everyone? I'd like to be retired by 30 but that doesn't mean I get the benefit of breaking laws to achieve that goal. If we let just anyone in (but we don't even...just the ones likely to vote Democratic), America stops being America.
3. Great point by Rush today...liberals think that we are powerful enough to stop global warming but by God, we just can't stop people from crossing our borders.
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