Free Trade

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Frank Salvato - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Uncategorized - Welfare

You Say You Want a Real Solution

August 25, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

As the debate over health care reform rages on – and despite the fact that the debate should be over how to provide true health care affordability to all, if in fact the goal of the “overhaul” is genuinely about the good of the downtrodden – we hear one retort from Progressives, Liberals and neo-Marxists, both in government and out: Where is your plan if you don’t like ours? Truth be told, there are several conservative and Republican crafted plans but Madam Pelosi and Mr. Reid won’t entertain them and the agenda-driven mainstream media won’t cover them. But one thing is evident, even to the intellectually challenged. If the goal is truly to provide health care affordability to every American citizen, there are ways to do it without the heavy hand of government.

Most honest Americans agree, our health care system – the system that provides medical service, i.e. doctors, hospitals, clinics, etc. – is the best in the world. It certainly does not need reform or government intervention. If you need proof it comes in the form of the richest and most powerful people in the world coming to the United States for treatment, especially when every other avenue of treatment has been exhausted. To fall prey to the notion that the “health care system is broken,” is to be gullible to a fault.

The cog that isn’t meshing correctly in the machine that includes patients, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies is the insurance company cog. Many in our country would like to see more affordable prices, inclusionary coverage for those of us with pre-existing conditions and security in knowing that if a catastrophic medical event happens to us we won’t be driven to the poor house by increased premiums of unfunded procedures. As our health care insurance system exists today, these desirable elements are not within reach of everyone. But by including a few simple provisions and/or pursuing a few sensible avenues, Americans can have affordable, functioning health care insurance for all without creating a government-run health care entity.
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You Say You Want a Real Solution”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Stimulus a Farce in New Hampshire

August 24, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the first states to attempt to tally the “new jobs” that Obama’s stimulus created has issued its first report and the news is rather discreditable to say the least. New Hampshire’s Director of the Economic Stimulus, Bud Fitch, recently put out his report and he is asserting that the stimulus “saved” or created 796 jobs in all of the state. Naturally 700 of those jobs were government jobs.

New Hampshire Public Radio interviewed economist Brian Gottlob who warned that the supposed 700 jobs saved, nearly all were in education, were probably not jobs on the chopping block in the first place. So to say that these jobs were “saved” is a bit absurd.

Gottlob says that few of these jobs in education would have been cut because the budgets would have been found to keep them stimulus or no. It is infrequent that state jobs in education have been cut in the past, according to Gottlob, so to say that the stimulus “saved” these jobs is not very credible.
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Obama’s Stimulus a Farce in New Hampshire”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Michael M. Bates - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Welfare

If ObamaCare Wins, Obama Loses

August 24, 2009 by

-By Michael M. Bates

“It’s like déjà vu all over again,” noted philosopher Yogi Berra is credited with saying. And so it is.

A liberal Democratic president has his heart set on pushing through a proposal strongly unpopular with most Americans. Enjoying substantial Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate, he intends to win.

So it was in September, 1977 when Jimmy Carter signed the Panama Canal treaties to relinquish United States control. An Associated Press opinion poll conducted that month found that only 29 percent of Americans favored the pact. A solid 50 percent opposed it and 21 percent expressed no opinion.

Just as Barack Obama is determined to shove a government health care program down the throats of his protesting countrymen, Carter did what was necessary to get the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties. He cajoled, he promised, he threatened. It worked.
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If ObamaCare Wins, Obama Loses”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Thomas Brewton - Welfare

Obamacare: Quintessential Socialism

August 23, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

The overriding characteristic of President Obama’s National Socialist healthcare is forced equality of consumption, a major step in the direction of egalitarian distribution of income. Emphasis is upon the word forced.

As we see with the widespread town hall protests against the President’s proposed National Socialist healthcare proposals, people do not willingly surrender the fruits of many years’ labor to the government in the name of an undefined abstraction called the common good. Particularly is this true when it is liberal-progressive bureaucrats who decide arbitrarily what constitutes the common good.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed essay, Martin Feldstein, Harvard economics professor and former chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors, sums up Obamacare: it’s all about the raw power to decide who gets what treatment, while cramming everyone into identical little boxes in order to eliminate any efforts in the direction of individuality. And the bureaucratic mechanism for eliminating individuality is rationing medical care.
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Obamacare: Quintessential Socialism”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Free Speech - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Race - Selwyn Duke - Society/Culture

All the President’s Bigoted Men

August 22, 2009 by

-By Selwyn Duke

When Barack Obama said that the Henry Louis Gates affair was a teaching moment, he spoke truly. But the key is ensuring that the right things are taught and the right people learn. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen.

There is no need to rehash the events of July 16 chapter and verse. We all know about how the Harvard professor flew into a rage of racial accusations and haughty posturing after Sergeant James Crowley appeared at his Cambridge home to investigate a report of a possible break-in. We’ve heard that Gates called Crowley a “racist” and said he was being targeted because “I’m a black man in America.” We know how Barack Obama stirred the pot, saying at a press conference that he didn’t know all the facts but then averring that the police “acted stupidly.” And we also know that it’s a foot-in-mouth moment Obama wishes he could do a Groundhog Day on, and that he fancies a beer a substitute for an apology.

Moreover, the obvious points have already been made. We know that the police were simply following procedure in requesting Gates’ identification and asking that he step outside his home. It has also been mentioned that, far from the police racially profiling the man, he and Obama applied that technique in assuming that the white police officer was bigoted and/or acting stupidly. And, in keeping with last point, some of the boldest commentators even have hinted that bigotry may lie in the hearts of Gates and Obama. Yet no one has thus far dared expose the pretense.
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All the President’s Bigoted Men”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Race - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - The Law - Thomas Brewton

Multi-Cultural Amorality in the White House

August 22, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Washington Post reports that President Obama aims to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Doing so will offend hundreds of millions of heterosexual married couples in order to please a minority of voters. If one looks only at homosexual couples, that minority is probably less than 1% of the population, particularly if one takes into account the lesser degree of stability in homosexual relationships than in heterosexual ones.

Politically, the President’s opposition to DOMA is probably motivated by his need to throw a sop to his liberal-progressive-socialist worshippers, who have been irritated or outraged by his failure to deliver on many of his campaign promises.
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Multi-Cultural Amorality in the White House”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Heritage Foundation - Video - Warner Todd Huston

Four Videos Serve as Dose of Reality on Obamacare

August 21, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Heritage Foundation has four excellent videos each taking on an injurious and troublesome aspect of Obamacare that are a must view for those looking for ammunition with which to shoot down the president’s policies.

Rather than debate the substance, the White House is in full campaign mode in order to label any opposition to its government-heavy health reform agenda as “misinformation” or “myths you’ve heard.” Case in point: The White House now has a taxpayer-funded Web site to “reality check” credible criticisms and arguments. Problem is the videos “debunking” each “myth” are low on facts. See our response below.

First up is a video addressing the many millions that will lose their health insurance quite despite what the president keeps telling us. Far from being able to keep our insurance “if we like it,” the truth is that 88 million will lose their policies whether they like it or not upon the passage of Obamacare.
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Four Videos Serve as Dose of Reality on Obamacare”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Free Speech - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - Republicans - Senate - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Senate Dems Are Against Secret Ballot for Unions… But Not Themselves

August 20, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It has to be the ultimate hypocrisy, but the Democrat Party has been touting its support for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill that would eliminate the secret ballot for potential union members, but recently decided that a secret ballot for Senators on whether or not to vote in committee chairmen is quite important. The hypocrisy is stark. I say again, even as Senate Democrats have found no reason to protect the democratic right of the secret ballot for union workers they’ve decided that it is a must for themselves when voting in or out Senate committee chairmen.

The Hill newspaper reported recently that Senate Democrats were recently mulling over a new way to appoint committee chairmen.

In an apparent warning to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), some liberal Democrats have suggested a secret-ballot vote every two years on whether or not to strip committee chairmen of their gavels.

This brouhaha over the status of Democratic chairmen has been going on for a while, but that fight is not our focus here.
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Senate Dems Are Against Secret Ballot for Unions… But Not Themselves”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Assoc. Press Downplays Townhall Anger

August 19, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an August 17 piece on former DNC Chair Howard Dean’s appearance on a morning news show, the Associated Press did its best to downplay the high passions and anger showed by thousands of average citizens at townhall meetings across the country.

Dean was heard insisting that Obama not back down from including the “public option” in any healthcare bill, saying that such a feature is “indispensable” to its success at reforming our healthcare system. After the opening paragraphs, the AP characterized the possible removal of the public option by emphasizing Republicans and downplaying the outrage seen by citizens themselves.

Dean appeared on morning news shows Monday amid increasing indications the Obama White House is retreating from the public option in the face of vocal opposition from Republicans and some vocal participants at a town-hall-style meetings around the country.

“Some vocal participants at town-hall style meetings,” AP? Anyone watching the news accounts of the townhall meetings over the last three weeks will see far more than merely “some vocal participants” displaying their disagreement with Obamacare policies. The outrage being seen at these meetings has been the hottest news item around for weeks. There is far more than “some” vocal participants.
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Assoc. Press Downplays Townhall Anger”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Thousands Quit AARP Over Support for Obamacare

August 19, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

CBS is reporting that as many as 60,000 members of AARP have cancelled their memberships in the elder’s organization over the fact that the organization is moving to support President Obama’s healthcare plans.

CBS also reports that a conservative seniors organization, the American Seniors Association, is adding thousands of new members each week. Some of the letters asking for membership were filled with “cut-up AARP cards.”

(CBS) CBS News has learned that up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group’s position on health care.

“I think that probably the seniors are most upset with cuts in Medicare,” said ASA President Stuart Barton.

The American Seniors Association is flat-out against President Obama’s plan, which calls for $313 billion dollars in Medicare cuts over ten years. The AARP is widely viewed as supporting the President.

Of course, AARP is claiming that this is no big deal and that the loss of members is a “drop in the bucket.”
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Thousands Quit AARP Over Support for Obamacare”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Most Bankruptcies Because of Medical Debt? Uh, no.

August 18, 2009 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Early in June The New York Times was all aghast that overwhelming debt from medical bills will cause “nearly two out of three bankruptcies” in the US. Since then the White House has also used the statistic as a way to sell Obamacare policies and frighten voters into accepting a nationalized healthcare system. But is it true? Are medical bills the culprit of more than 60% of American bankruptcies?

The stark claim that medical debt is the scourge of citizens everywhere comes from a study published in The American Journal of Medicine. Its findings are certainly alarming with an outrageous rate of 62% of bankruptcies being caused by medical bill debt, such debt supposedly having risen 49% between 2001 and 2007. If true, this is a disastrous finding.

But is it true? Not according to the American Enterprise Institute’s Aparna Mathur. Mathur finds a very different story when looking over the available studies and statistics. In testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary in July, Mathur finds a far less threatening picture.
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Most Bankruptcies Because of Medical Debt? Uh, no.”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Britain - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Europe - Free Trade - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Brit Hospital Manager Warns Against Obamacare

August 18, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Who better to inform us of how wonderful a socialistic healthcare system is than one who ran the very hospitals enmeshed in such a system? Well, the Wall Street Journal gave some space to just such a fellow in its August 12 edition.

Alan B. Miller’s piece in the Journal is enlightening and a bit scary, honestly. He assures us that “we don’t want to go the government route” and be foolish enough to institute Obamacare. And Miller should know, too, as he is the chairman and CEO of Universal Health Services Inc., a company responsible for running some of Britain’s hospitals. As we know, Britain has a nationalized healthcare system and has since just after WWII.

A single-payer system may appear attractive to some. But as someone with more than 30 years of experience running a leading hospital company with international operations, I have firsthand knowledge of the hidden costs.

Miller reminds us that Medicare does not fully reimburse hospitals for costs incurred by its patients leave 7 cents on every dollar unpaid. He then says that the reason Medicare “works” to the degree it does — while still a failing concern — is because the hospitals rely on those with private insurance to make up the loss incurred by Medicare. But if the whole system becomes a government owned enterprise we will have major problems; chiefly rationing and cuts in service.

If hospitals had to rely solely on Medicare reimbursements for operating revenue, as would occur under a single-payer system, many hospitals would be forced to eliminate services, cut investments in advanced medical technology, reduce the number of nurses and other employees, and provide less care for the patients they serve. And with the government in control, Americans eventually will see rationing, the denial of high-priced drugs and sophisticated procedures, and long waits for care.

Miller then points to his experience of precisely that situation in England.

He warns us not to emulate the mess that has happened in Canada and England. Let’s hope people are listening to actual experience.
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Brit Hospital Manager Warns Against Obamacare”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Free Trade - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Security/Safety - SEIU - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Shock Troops: In God… Uh, I Mean Unions… We Trust

August 18, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Times has a great piece that coincides with several we’ve had here on the blog that shows that unions have become Obama’s healthcare shock troops. From the SEIU announcing its drive for Obamacare and sending one of its own to beat up citizens at townhalls, to the mountains of cash that unions have given to Obama and his efforts, to the AFL-CIO’s drive for Obamacare, unions have suddenly become the president’s shock troops filling audiences at townhalls and beating the streets for his policies.

Members of the nation’s labor unions have made up a hefty segment of the audiences that flocked to town halls Mr. Obama held in the past week, and they have played an even larger role in a nationwide campaign for an insurance overhaul. Financially, and with boots on the ground, unions have become the backbone of the president’s effort.

Of course, this hadn’t happened until that last week. In previous weeks, Obamacare opponents had held sway over the news cycle by protesting Obama’s healthcare ideas at townhalls across the country. But now the unions have kicked into gear.
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Obama’s Shock Troops: In God… Uh, I Mean Unions… We Trust”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Frank Salvato - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

‘You Have Awakened the Sleeping Giant’

August 18, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

One of the benefits coming from the recent congressional town hall meetings – of which there are many – is that we now know to what extent the elected class in Washington DC is cognizant of their constituents’ positions on the issues; specifically, healthcare. They aren’t, especially on the Left side of the aisle. Instead, the elected class in Washington – and it is true for an overwhelming majority on both sides of the aisle – has opted-out of their sworn duty to represent their constituents in deference to a blinding loyalty to their political party organizations and the ideologies they hold.

While many of the elected officials in question, their aides, the DNC, MoveOn.org, Organizing for America and the agenda-driven  mainstream media talk about the “angry” and “vocal” nature of the town halls, they allude to the notion that the American citizens attending these meetings are not letting the elected officials speak; that they are “shouting down” the Congressmen and Senators as they try to explain a “very complicated” healthcare plan to their constituents. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To believe that the American people haven’t heard – ad nauseam – the plethora of contorted and contrived talking points meant to sell this gigantic over-reach of government into the private sector health insurance industry is to lie, bald-faced, to anyone within earshot.

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‘You Have Awakened the Sleeping Giant’”

Barack Obama - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

National Review Posts One of Mine

August 17, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, I am happy to announce that the National Review Institute (of NRO magazine fame) has posted one of my media bias stories.

Click on over and check out “USA Today Hides True Source of ‘Church’ Minimum Wage Push .”

And now we must ask the age old question…. is my writing improving to a higher level…. or did NRO just lower itself to publish one of my scribblings?! Ha, ha.

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - John Armor - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Science - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

Column 666, about President Obama

August 16, 2009 by

-By John Armor

This is the 666th column in this weekly series. It had to be spent on an overarching subject. So it is.

President Barack Obama is the most accomplished liar I have ever encountered, and that includes several pathological liars I faced in court. The best of those I could not rattle even with a well-prepared and vigorous cross-examination. Only the weight of solid facts from other sources served to expose and defeat those people.

Pathological liars can give the impression that they are telling the truth because they are smooth, accomplished, and effective. But the most important reason is that they have learned to lie to themselves. When they tell a bald-faced lie, right to your face, they actually believe what they are saying.

I’ll use exactly one example. On the campaign trail, Obama repeatedly said that “no one earning less than $250,000 a year will pay any additional taxes.” This was his definition of the middle class, in his universal mantra of no new taxes for the bulk of Americans.
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Column 666, about President Obama”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Why Does Obama Hate the Poor?

August 13, 2009 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s cash for clunkers program will soon be materially hurting the lower middle classes that are not rich enough to be able to buy a new car or to turn their old one in for that 4,000 or so dollars off the sticker price of a new car.

How could that be you wonder? It’s that old rule of supply and demand… an economic reality that no Democrat understands.

There’s little doubt of what will happen later in the year as cash for clunkers expands. Many thousands of lower end, used cars will be entirely eliminated from the market place as the government destroys them after they’ve been redeemed via that cash for clunkers program.
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Why Does Obama Hate the Poor?”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Electronic Medical Records No Cure-all

August 12, 2009 by 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

McClatchy has an interesting article that warns that the vaunted “electronic medical record” is no panacea for efficiency in the healthcare field and warns that a headlong rush to digitize patient’s records is a bad move unless some far-reaching plans are made before digitizing begins.

The paper chain uses the example of the three largest hospitals in “tech-savvy Seattle” where it just so happens that none of the electronic records systems that each hospital installed can communicate with one another. The systems are proprietary and cannot be made to link up and this means that patient’s records are no more portable than they ever were. Despite all the “tech-savvy” in Seattle, these computer systems are basically a falure.

Worse, the piece warns that so-called stimulus money being sent willy-nilly into hospitals nationwide to digitize records will be wasted unless some way to assure compatibility is thought out before the money is thrown away on ill-conceived programs of digitization.

So, once again, the left throws around buzz words like “electronic medical records” and creates little thought out programs to pursue the subject and then throws fistfuls of money down a rat hole to fund them.

There are some great points in this piece that should be considered when the subject of digitizing medical records is raised.
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Electronic Medical Records No Cure-all”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Communism - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Free Speech - Free Trade - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Patriotism - Podcasting - President - Publius' Forum - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

A Journo Asks Why Can’t ‘Progressives’ Win?

August 11, 2009 by 2 Comments

A Podcast By Warner Todd Huston

The main reason why the so-called progressive movement can’t win the hearts and minds of Americans is because they are liars. And no one trusts a liar.

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Communism - Congress - Dan Scott - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Rights - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Taxes - Welfare

Hanlon’s Razor

August 11, 2009 by

-By Dan Scott

There is a lot of invective being flung around by liberals and conservatives these days regarding the each other’s motivations. We hear accusations of “un-American”, unpatriotic, astro-turfing, the police accused of acting stupidly, etc. All of these invectives are nothing more than an attempt to sidestep the legitimate concerns of people asking questions instead of properly showing leadership by addressing the concerns. It seems some people confuse leadership with salesmanship. A leader who expects people to follow them must engender trust for that to happen; clearly hurling invectives at the followers doesn’t engender trust. A salesman is expected to narrowly focus on the sales points of the product they want to sell; a leader has no such latitude. A leader’s responsibility is to explore both the positives and negatives. It’s a pretty incompetent leader who thinks they should horn swoggle people in order to persuade them. Incompetence combined with arrogance many times is mistaken for malice.

Whether it is the Federal Budget, Cap & Trade or Healthcare Reform, these issues are far more complex than the sales points and wrongly assumes everyone affected by these issues understands all the details. One of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is to assume everyone understands what the issues are, what the details are and then assign a negative motivation to those who don’t see things the same way. Given the inappropriate comments from Nancy Pelosi and President Obama towards those who disagree with their solutions and characterization of it they display their incompetence in engendering trust. They may be frustrated with the dissent, however, it is their failure the leadership to clearly articulate what they want to do and transparently write the language before Congress to implement their plans. You cannot blame people for misunderstanding your plans if you are not willing to answer their concerns by transparently CHANGING the language in the bill before Congress to address those concerns. It is not an act of transparency to presume upon people by saying, “trust me.”
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Hanlon’s Razor”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - Rights - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Union Thugs Force Members to Attack FedEx

August 10, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

UPS employees and Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are claiming that their union leaders forced them to participate in a letter writing campaign and politically motivated envelope stuffing sessions to attack their chief business rival FedEx, the Washington Post reported on August 7.

It seems that union members that work for UPS felt pressured and intimidated by union thug leaders to take their personal time to participate in envelope stuffing sessions where mailings attacking FedEx were gathered and set up for the post office.

Naturally, the union operatives claim that that all the union members that felt forced to participate in the envelope stuffing sessions were happy volunteers. However…
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Union Thugs Force Members to Attack FedEx”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Book Reviews - Budget - Business - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - John Armor - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Welfare

Cash for Clunkers, Gatesgate, Plus A Special Treat

August 10, 2009 by

-By John Armor

Let’s begin with the easiest subject to understand – economics. Last week two important events happened. The Cash for Clunkers program shut down when it burned through money planned for four months, in four days. And based on a previously passed federal law, the minimum wage went up again.

Now, the two programs are different in size. The minimum wage only increased by 70 cents an hour; whereas, the Clunker program is/was giving away up to $4,500 per transaction. So, the change was both larger and faster in the latter instance. I was on the road on family business and saw a hand-lettered sign in a Tennessee Tasty-Freeze that said, “Prices have increased due to wage increases.”

The bottom line is simple, and every student who was awake during the first day of Economics 101 knows it. When the price of anything goes up, people buy less of it. For sure, assorted studies by economists hired by labor unions have produced “academic” studies showing that raising the minimum wage does not cost anyone their jobs. But no honest studies support that conclusion.
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Cash for Clunkers, Gatesgate, Plus A Special Treat”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Health - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Welfare

Obama vs. Mathematics

August 6, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a very important article on National Review Online that explains how “the rich” don’t have enough money to pay for Obama’s spending even if they were taxed at 100%.

“Obama vs. Mathematics” informs us very well what a disaster the Obama policies are. It starts with a subtitle that warns, “Health care plus entitlements plus higher taxes only on the ‘rich’ equals disaster.”

Here is a key paragraph:
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Obama vs. Mathematics”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Entertainment - Free Trade - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Patriotism - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Welfare

Liberals Love to Write Conservatism’s Obituary

August 5, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Did you know that the election of Barack Obama means that conservatism is dead forever more? The New Yorker thinks it is anyway. Its recent piece on the authors of the “Little House on the Prairie” series not only pronounces conservatism likely dead but also imagines the same fate for capitalism itself. This is just another example of how the self-congratulatory, isolated left constantly announces the death of capitalism and conservatism as it has been doing since FDR, our second most socialist president ever, came to power.

So how does one get from talking about the beloved children’s classic of rugged individualists eking out a living in the wild, wide-open wilderness to the announcement that capitalism and conservatism are dead? It’s the sort of trick that only a left leaning publication like the New Yorker can do and it does it well here.

As it happens, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder and co-author of the “Little House” series, Rose Lane Wilder, was in her later life a high profile conservative or libertarian who hobnobbed with the likes of Ayn Rand. In the middle of the 20th century with their history of self-reliance, Rose and mother Laura shied away from the Democrats when FDR was elected because of he advocated statism. Rose Lane called FDR a “dictator” and decried the generous welfare programs that the Democrats were sponsoring.
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Liberals Love to Write Conservatism’s Obituary”

Barack Obama - Budget - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Vince Johnson

ATTENTION: ALL HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES OF 2010

August 5, 2009 by 2 Comments

-By Vince Johnson

As of August 3, 2009 each senior in High School owes me over $210,977!

If you doubt this, show these numbers to your teacher, or your Senator, or your Representative in the House. Ask them to tell you where it is inaccurate or misleading:
GAO estimate of unfunded liabilities to cover Social Security, Medicare, etc. $53,000,000,000,000. (Trillions) Add the National Debt currently at $11,700,000,000,000 (Trillions)

These add to $64,700,000,000,000 trillion.

Divide by 306,668,748 (estimated population of the US)

And you get $210,977 the amount of money Congress has borrowed directly out of your future. If there are 50 students in your class the total owed by all would be $ 10,548,850! (Millions!) It does not matter that this was done without your knowledge or permission.

What matters is that you will pay for this even if it is immoral to borrow money from kids without their approval.

What also matters is the fact that if you refuse to pay your share, you can be fined or sent to prison or both. Congress has passed laws that make this possible, so be advised: DO NOT COMPLAIN. Be prepared to do your duty and make your tax payments promptly and try to understand that this generation made a huge mistake. We elected politicians on what they promised rather than what they delivered.

All high school seniors should be forewarned that their future is going to be radically different than it was the first 17 years of their lives. Your taxes will be an excessive burden as long as you live!
If you agree, please print and post or pass along to a high school senior.
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ATTENTION: ALL HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES OF 2010″

Barack Obama - Business - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Inernet - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Scott Cleland - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Technology

A Maslow “Hierarchy of Internet Needs”? — Will there be

August 5, 2009 by

-By Scott ClelandInternet priorities or a priority-less Internet?

A central policy question concerning the future of the Internet, cloud computing and the National Broadband Plan is whether there should be Internet priorities or a priority-less Internet?

The crux of the grand conflict over the direction of Internet policy is that proponents of a mandated neutral/open Internet insist that only users can prioritize Internet traffic, not any other entity.

To grasp the inherent problem and impracticality with a mandated neutral or priority-less Internet, it is helpful to ask if the Internet, which is comprised of hundreds of millions of individual users, has a mutual “hierarchy of needs,” just like individuals have a “hierarchy of needs,” per Maslow’s famed, common sense “Hierarchy of Needs” theory.

Briefly, renowned psychologist, Abraham Maslow, devised his common sense “Hierarchy of Needs” to explain inherent human priorities, i.e. that some human needs are more important or urgent than others.
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A Maslow “Hierarchy of Internet Needs”? — Will there be”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Family - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

In His Own Words: Barack Obama’s Healthcare Lies

August 4, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The most shocking part of this whole healthcare debate is the lies coming from the left — the leading liar being the president himself — that the “public option” or the government plan isn’t meant to destroy insurance companies and eliminate private heatlhcare plans.

Barack Obama himself has repeatedly said over the years that he wants to see a universal healthcare plan replace all private plans, one administered through government and not employers. Since 2004 Obama has been heard saying that he wants to replace all healthcare with a government run system… until, that is, he became president.

Then, all of a sudden he has eschewed his prior rhetoric claiming that he wants a government run system and decided instead to tell the nation that “nobody is saying” that a government take over of healthcare is the goal with Obamacare.

Of course, he is saying this because he knows that his nefarious, destructive plans will not get past the voters unless he pretends that he doesn’t want to destroy our current healthcare system replaced with a single payer, government only option.

So, he lies.

I wish that there were another way to say this. But this simple fact of the matter is that Barack Obama is a straight up liar about what his plans for healthcare are.

Don’t believe me? Then watch him lie and listen to is own words on the issue…
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In His Own Words: Barack Obama’s Healthcare Lies”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Shoddy Journalism at Wash. Post Claiming RIght is ‘Frightening Seniors’

August 2, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Recently in the Washington Post Ceci Connolly did a wonderful job proving that she is a member of the vast left wing conspiracy trying to protect Obamacare but didn’t do such a good job proving her legitimacy as a journalist. At issue is her story about the meanies in talk radio that she is claiming is trying to “frighten seniors” about Obama’s healthcare policies.

The main problem with Connolly’s story is that she offers little proof that talk radio is trying to “scare seniors.” But she did spend an inordinate amount of space explaining away the very Obama policies that are responsible for scaring seniors, namely the end-of-life counseling and healthcare rationing in the bill.

Connolly uses an activist’s rhetoric as if she is confronting “the enemy” right at the outset of her “report.”
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Shoddy Journalism at Wash. Post Claiming RIght is ‘Frightening Seniors’”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Thomas Brewton

Social Engineering and Price Controls

July 29, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

All government intervention in the economy distorts decision making, with bad and unanticipated results.

Classical economics, on the whole, attempts to explain how individuals behave under changing economic conditions. The implicit idea is that people, acting as individuals, collectively move an economy. But classical economics recognizes that within an economy, many different economic factors impinge upon individuals who have highly variegated economic preferences. Free market prices, changing continually in response to the changing balance of supply and demand across markets for tens of thousands of different kinds of products and services, are the signals that trigger individuals’ economic decisions.

Keynesian macroeconomics, in contrast, assumes that the economy is comprised of monolithic abstractions treated as if they were independent, controllable “things.” Among others, those “things” are consumption, savings, investment, wages, and employment. The implicit assumption is that everybody can be controlled by one-size-fits-all policies. Thus divorced from the multitude of individual aspects of real life, Keynesian economists believe that their computer models can with precision predict consumption, investment, and wages, enabling them to maintain full employment at all times.
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Social Engineering and Price Controls”