Free kibbles

SOCIALISM:

GM may have picked up sales from the public flogging of Toyota, but Ford outsold GM for the first time since 1998.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

For a few days last year, Time Warner didn't carry one of the network stations as they negotiated a new contract. Nobody called for government to force Time Warner to carry that station. But that's exactly what net neutrality is. It's calling for the government to make sure the ISPs carry all the content of the content providers. The government has no business interfering in that. the ISPs and content providers should work it themselves.


RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS:

Cato thinks the Supreme Court will uphold the right to keep and bear arms and strike down city handgun bans but not empower the 14th amendment.

"Chief Justice Roberts expressed reluctance at having to overturn the 1873 Slaughterhouse Cases and other justices joined in concerns over how activist judges would use the Clause if the Court revived it — even if that were the path that hewed more closely to the constitution’s true meaning."

The justices seemed to have the same problem with centralized power in the 14 amendment that I do, but I don't know why. They don't mind centralized power anywhere else. I understand the justices problem. If they overturn Slaughterhouse, federal judges would begin making new laws right and left. Everything a judge personally considers important would become a constitutionally protected right. Judges would invent rights like the right to nice sheets and a bubble bath before bed, etc. That power would lead to judicial tyranny we can hardly imagine. The problem is, the court is supposed to follow the law - and the highest law of the land is the Constitution - not precedent, and let the chips fall where they may. I understand why the states passed the 14th amendment after the civil war, but it's a bad amendment because it centralizes authority in the federal government. It should have limited itself to outlawing slavery and discrimination by government.

ECONOMY:

Peter Schiff explains why our economy is not recovering. Government won't let it.

TAX AND SPEND:

Obama named SEIU chief to his tax hike panel. If you're not convinced this panel is all about new taxes and wealth redistribution, read what he has to say.

"We now have a new metric. The president says he wants to judge the new economy whether it increases the number of people in the middle class. Whether we have shared prosperity, not just growth. Which is a fundamental different philosophy then what we've seen in this country to date. Now how do we distribute wealth in this country ... clearly government has a major opportunity to distribute wealth - from the EITC, from tax policies, from minimum wages, from living wages - the government has a role in distributing wealth and social benefits. We are at historic crossroads ... in terms of what our new president is trying to do and a different way we are going to try and evaluate the economy. And so all of sudden we are witnessing the first new American economic plan led by the government, not necessarily by the private sector."

This is what Americans voted for, and this is what they deserve.


Social Security will go into the red this year. Medicare has been in the red for two years.


FEDERAL RESERVE:


Never trust the government.

""If there had been no bailout and no stimulus, it would have been a depression for sure. Hey, it's been bad, but if not for the wise men at Treasury and the Fed, we'd all be standing in soup lines or selling apples on street corners. Prices would plummet, we'd all be doomed.""

What's the difference between welfare and standing in soup lines? This gets back to what's seen versus what's unseen. Welfare is the invisible soup line. It's a way of hiding those trapped in poverty so we don't have to see them.

"While many economists and historians believe that falling prices equal bad times, that's just not true. Falling prices in the United States mean dollars are worth more. If the price of goods and services are falling, more and more people in all income brackets can enjoy the fruits that the efficiencies of free-market capitalism can provide."

Deflation is not the problem. Deflation makes us all more wealthy because can buy more stuff for the same amount of money. And in our current environment, deflation is what will weed out the zombie companies - those being propped up by government - from the profitable companies - those government is stealing from to prop up the zombie companies.

"Bankruptcies do little economic harm. The economy would return to prosperity quickly if the government would just let the markets operate and let inefficient firms go broke.

But General Motors, Chrysler, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citigroup, and of course AIG and Goldman Sachs are still with us, propped up directly with taxpayer dollars, and zero interest rates. Just last week Fed Chairman and 2009 Man of the Year Ben Bernanke reiterated that central-bank officials expect the Fed's key short-term interest rate to remain at a record low near zero for an "extended period" — generally understood to be for at least several months.

And while Bernanke believes "most indicators suggest that inflation likely will be subdued for some time," John Williams at Shadowstats.com, who measures price inflation the way they did in the old days, says price inflation is running nearly 10% per annum."

This essay, actually a speech, is a wonderful read showing how the supposed collapse of our economy in 2008 was baloney and comparing it to the crash of 1873 which, because it ran its course, led to the most prosperous decade in American history.

EDUCATION:


German family granted asylum in the US because they want to home-school their children and that's illegal in Germany. That's a victory for freedom.


HEALTH CARE:


There's a movement to pressure Democrats into reviving the public option in reconciliation even though that's clearly against the rules. I'm not providing a link.


Obama declares the debate on health care is over, he's incorporated Republican ideas, and the people want it passed. The problem is all of these are lies. Pelosi is an expert at twisting the arms of her party members to get them to vote her way, but of her main arm-twisters, John Murtha died and Charlie Rangel just stepped down from his chairmainship. The Democrats are a sinking ship, but they might get off one last deadly shot.


GLOBAL WARMING:


Britain experiences coldest winter in 31 years.

WAR:

Worrying about martial law, author reports that the Democrats extended the Patriot Act with no debate and no resistance. Remember when the Patriot Act was tyrannical and oppressive under George Bush? Apparently it's pretty and smells nice under Barack Obama. This tells us everything we need to know about the two parties. They're frauds when in the minority. The Democrats were frauds when complaining about the Patriot Act and the wars under George Bush and the Republicans are frauds complaining about big government and debt under Barack Obama. Stop drinking the kool-aid and vote third party.

POLITICS:

Charlie Rangel temporarily steps down as Ways and Means chairman. Maybe somebody's getting a clue.

Ron Paul wins 81 percent in his primary against supposed tea party candidates. The establishment Republicans went all out to defeat Paul, and he creamed them.

Boortz is mostly right when he says:

"If the American people don't do what needs to be done this November .. change the balance of power in Washington DC ... remove these dangerous Democrats from power ... then our children, our grandchildren and history itself will curse us for what we did to America in the 2008 election."

One place he's wrong is in giving Republicans credit. Their sudden appearance of fiscal responsibility is sham brought on by losing power. If Republicans take one or both chambers of Congress, they'll fall all over themselves trying to compromise our freedom away. Another place is in thinking this is some sudden event. Obama is building on George Bush's power grabs, and Bush built on 100 years of power grabs before him. Redistribution of wealth began 100 years ago with the income tax. It's been steadily increasing. Both Republicans and Democrats support it. Obama isn't doing anything fundamentally different from the Republicans and Democrats before him. It's only a matter of degree.


Naturally Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is ranked the most liberal. Good job, Ohio.

Democrat mommies and Republican daddies. I get how Republican policies ostensibly safeguard (though they don't in reality), but I don't know how Democrats policies can be said to nurture. Welfare doesn't nurture any more than food somebody scavenges out of a trash can.

If everything continues the way it's gone so far, Obama will be a one term president. But I'm not betting on it yet.

MISC:

I have no problem with government charging people for emergency services, but those services have to be used in order to charge. There should be no taxes for emergency services, just charges for using them. Of course those services would be high quality and cheaper if provided by competing private sector businesses.

Say's law of economics:

"only that which has been produced can be consumed and only that which has been saved is available to be invested."

Printing money has no effect on this law.


Organization advocates taking your money out of big banks and putting it in small banks. I love this idea. I love the idea of taking your money out of all banks and putting it in credit unions even better. Let's highlight the fraudulent banking system in America this way.