Posts
Global Economic Slowdown Signals Sad New Year
by Brandon Smith,
Personal Liberty Digest
December 18, 2012
The markets, as most people reading this should now well know, no longer reflect in any way the true economic health of our country. If one were to measure the financial “recovery” of this Nation by the strength of global stocks, he would likely come to the conclusion that the collapse of 2008 was mere hiccup in the overall success of the worldwide economic system. However, electronically traded equities with little more to back their value than scraps of receipt paper and numbers on a screen have no bearing on what is going to happen to you and to me over the course of the coming year. The stock market is [....]
http://personalliberty.com/2012/12/18/global-economic-slowdown-signals-sad-new-year/
Crony Capitalists Endorse Higher Taxes On Their Small Business Competitors
by Daniel J. Mitchell,
townhall.com
December 21, 2012
I’m a big fan of lower corporate tax rates.
I also want to eliminate worldwide taxation so American companies can be on a level playing field when competing for market share around the world.
And I want to get rid of the double taxation of dividends and capital gains in part because these reforms will boost business investment.
Given this track record, I don’t think anybody could accuse me of being an anti-big-business activist.
But I do get very irritated when politically connected corporations use cronyism to guard their interests at the expense of other taxpayers and the overall economy.
That’s why, in this interview with Larry Kudlow on CNBC, I spend most of the time advocating for [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2012/12/22/crony-capitalists-endorse-higher-taxes-on-their-small-business-competitors-n1472511/page/full/
GOP Fairy Tale: We Came, We Saw, We Surrendered
by John Ransom,
townhall.com
December 18, 2012
The Republic is safe.
John Boehner’s no national dictator, we now know, set to ruin the economy by forcing it off the fiscal cliff in the same way that Rep. Paul Ryan did to that poor old lady in a wheel chair on TV.
No, Boehner’s got other ways to screw up the economy, ones that have the happy effect- for him- of keeping the government vortex flowing and sucking in all the money it can.
The modest, emotional, cigarette-smoking Speaker of the House, you see, uses force only against conservatives who wish to stop the vortex, not against his ideological “opponent” over at the White House who argues for an even louder sucking sound in our economy.
Outmaneuvered, outsmarted and outrageous, the new, old, white face of the GOP, Mr. Speaker Boehner, isn’t negotiating with Barack Obama on the myth called the fiscal cliff. [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2012/12/18/gop-fairy-tale-we-came-we-saw-we-surrendered-n1468858/page/full/
Invincible Ignorance
by Dr Thomas Sowell,
creators.com
December 18, 2012
Must every tragic mass shooting bring out the shrill ignorance of "gun control" advocates?
The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.
If gun control zealots had any respect for facts, they would have discovered this long ago, because there have been too many factual studies over the years to leave any serious doubt about gun control laws being not merely futile but counterproductive.
Places and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, D.C., is a classic example, but just one among many.
When it comes to the rate of gun ownership, that is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, but the murder rate is higher in urban areas. The rate of gun ownership is higher among whites than among blacks, but the murder rate is higher among blacks. For the country as a whole, hand gun ownership doubled in the late 20th century, while the murder rate went down.
The few counter-examples offered by gun control zealots do not stand up under scrutiny. Perhaps their strongest [....]
http://www.creators.com/opinion/thomas-sowell/invincible-ignorance-12-12-18.html
Limiting Government In The Age Of obama
Host: Matthew Spalding, Ph.D.,
heritage.org
December 14, 2012
In spite of the outcome of the 2012 election, Conservatives need not abandon their core project to restore limited constitutional government. Even in the age of Obama, there are still three major concrete avenues to push back against unlimited government: Congress, the Courts, and the States.
In Washington, Congress can use the legislative power to starve the administrative state and rein in some of its excesses. In the Courts, litigants can seek judgments against the Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, and other agencies as a way to push back [.... {with Video Discussion}]
http://www.heritage.org/events/2012/12/limiting-government?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email;utm_campaign=NCS12.18.12
Man Attempts to Open Fire on Crowd at Movie Theater
by Jason Howerton,
theblaze.com
December 17, 2012
Update: WOAI now reports it was an off-duty sergeant who fired a total of four shots, wounding the shooter. An Initial report by 1200 WOAI news said that an off-duty sheriff’s deputy shot the suspect one time.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says the off-duty sergeant, who was working security, heard the gunshots and came running. She saw the gunman coming out of the men’s restroom. The Sheriff’s Office says the gunman did not shoot at her, but his gun was drawn so she opened fire.[....]
That off-duty sergeant, identified as Lisa Castellano, fired four times, wounding the gunman. Only one other person was wounded, a 49-year-old man inside the theater, who was hit by one of the gunman’s shots. Both are expected to recover.
Investigators say about 30 rounds were fired. It’s unclear why the break-up with his girlfriend caused the man to go after his co-workers. Investigators haven’t ruled out a love-triangle involving someone else at the restaurant.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/man-attempts-to-open-fire-on-crowd-at-movie-theater-armed-off-duty-sheriffs-deputy-drops-him-with-one-bullet/
GOP Leaders Capitulate on Core Conservative Principles
Staff Report,
heritage.org
December 18, 2012
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Republican leaders have done it once again. Their latest fiscal cliff proposal capitulates on core conservative principles, yielding woefully inadequate concessions from President Obama in the process. Will they ever learn?
The latest GOP offer essentially ignores Washington's real problem -- spending -- and puts a $1 trillion tax hike on the table. It's so bad that conservatives are now left with only one unfortunate alternative -- passing a temporary measure that avoids a doomsday scenario until the end of March. It’s the best possible outcome with the days dwindling on the remainder of 2012.
In a city where kicking the can has become a routine course of action, it’s hardly the preferable outcome for lawmakers. But it would be better than just going over the fiscal cliff and better than the current $1 trillion tax increase offered by Boehner, which, not surprisingly, was summarily rejected by Obama, who proceeded to counteroffer with an even bigger tax hike and even fewer spending cuts. At this point, no “grand bargain” is going to result in the spending cuts that are needed to reduce the debt.
Yesterday, [....]
http://links.heritage.org/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=14034227742&ch=B6A90C47751E98CF2F542E961DC543FD&h=fdd86678fbd11d2bc34080d4789000df&ei=sC7rYikN9
No Time To Disarm America
by Sam Rolley,
Personal Liberty Digest
December 18, 2012
In the wake of the terrible tragedy that occurred last week at a Connecticut elementary school, the opinions have begun following in from both sides of the gun control debate. The debate is sure to become increasingly fallacious and nasty in coming months as people on both sides make ridiculous claims to support their case.
President Barack Obama spoke over the weekend at a memorial service for the 26 victims of Adam Lanza’s horrifying shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School. His speech, some people (gun-control advocates, no doubt) gushed, was akin to [....]
http://personalliberty.com/2012/12/18/no-time-to-disarm-america/
McNamara’s Non-War
by James Burnham,
National Review Magazine
September 19, 1967
In the form of a statement, August 25, to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense McNamara offered the most elaborate apologia yet made by the Johnson Administration for, specifically, “our conduct of the air war in Vietnam,” and, by implication, for the Vietnam policy in general. Mr. McNamara is a formidable advocate. He invariably presents his case with logical rigor, confidently uttered statistics and a notable absence of sentiment. Before trying to pass judgment on his conclusions, it is advisable to make sure we understand what he is saying.
First, Mr. McNamara states “the objectives that the bombing of North Vietnamese targets was intended to serve. . . . Our primary objective was to reduce the flow and/or to increase the cost of the continued infiltration of men and supplies from North to South Vietnam.” Second, “it was anticipated that these air operations would raise the morale of the South Vietnamese people. . . . Finally, we hoped to make clear to [....] |
Is Boko Haram More Dangerous Than Ever?
by Scott Stewart,
STRATfor.com
December 13, 2012
On Nov. 25, Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group from northern Nigeria, attacked a church in Jaji, Kaduna state, using two suicide bombers during the church's weekly religious service. The first bomb detonated in a vehicle driven into the church, and the second detonated approximately 10 minutes later, when a crowd of first responders gathered at the scene. About 30 people were killed in the attacks; the second blast caused the majority of the deaths. The incident was particularly symbolic because Jaji is the home of Nigeria's Armed Forces Command and Staff College, and many of the churchgoers were senior military officers.
In the wake of the Jaji attacks, media reports quoted human rights groups saying that Boko Haram has killed more people in 2012 than ever before. The group has killed roughly 770 people this year, leading many to conclude [....]
Is Boko Haram More Dangerous Than Ever? | Stratfor
The Real Fat Cats
Do Warren Buffett and Jay-Z pay their “fair share”?
Could both zillionaires simply have quit making money at $10 million — and thereby given their poorer audiences a break on ticket prices?Do Warren Buffett and Jay-Z pay their “fair share”?
With all the talk of raising taxes on the supposedly conservative rich who make more than $250,000 per year, why not levy a $3 surcharge on tickets for movies, concerts, and sporting events to “spread the wealth” from multimillionaires? That way, LeBron James (approximate annual earnings: $53 million) or Oliver Stone (net worth: approximately $50 million) might at last begin to “level the playing field.”
Is Michael Moore (net worth: approximately $50 million) a one-tenth-of-one-percenter? If so, why do mansion-living-grandee movie directors like Moore and Stone need [....]
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/335494/real-fat-cats-victor-davis-hanson#
Can We Make Love Not War? Sorry, No!
by John Ransom,
townhall.com
December 22, 2012
We need a new foreign policy and we need to spend a lot less money.
That’s the message stock market is telling us.
It’s a message painted in big bold letters and we’d be wise to read it.
We need a foreign policy that uses the proven lessons we learned from the Cold War; a policy that pares back our commitment of troops to combat operations.
We need a fiscal policy that we learned during the 30 years from the 1960s to 1990, when our economy only did well as we restrained government spending to an amount affordable by our GDP.
During the Cold War we fought wars by proxy, generally speaking, or we committed a limited amount of troops for a short period of time.
When we didn’t do that, we lost local wars- a tie being the same as a loss in my book.
It was called containment. It was predicated on the belief that
[....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2012/12/22/can-we-make-love-and-not-war-sorry-no-n1472515/page/full/
In Pakistan, Mixed Results From A Preshawar Attack
by Ben West,
STRATfor.com
December 20, 2012
The Pakistani Taliban continue to undermine Pakistan's government and military establishment, and in doing so, they continue to raise questions over the security of the country's nuclear arsenal. On Dec. 15, 10 militants armed with suicide vests and grenades attacked Peshawar Air Force Base, the site of a third major operation by the Pakistani Taliban since May 2011. Tactically, the attack was relatively unsuccessful -- all the militants were killed, and the perimeter of the air base was not breached -- but the Pakistani Taliban nonetheless achieved their objective.
The attack began the night of Dec. 15 with a volley of three to five mortar shells. As the shells were fired, militants detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near the perimeter wall of the air base. Reports indicate that all five militants inside the vehicle were killed. The other five militants engaged security forces in a nearby residential area and eventually were driven back before they could enter the air base. The next day, security forces acting on a report of suspicious activity confronted the militants, who all died in the resultant shootout.
Pakistani security forces came away from the incident looking very good. They prevented a large and seemingly coordinated team of militants from entering the confines of the base and thus from damaging civilian and military aircraft. Some of Pakistan's newly acquired Chinese-Pakistani made JF-17s, are stationed at the air base, and worth roughly $20 million each, they were probably the militants ultimate targets.
Another reason the militants may [....]
In Pakistan, Mixed Results From a Peshawar Attack | Stratfor
Judge Bork’s Ink Blot
His famous remark is quite defensible.
nationalreview.com
December 20, 2012
One sometimes runs across claims that Robert Bork dismissed the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as an “ink blot” to be ignored — typically from libertarians who are criticizing this aspect of his judicial philosophy, or using it to criticize that philosophy generally. That’s not quite what he said, and what he did say is more than defensible.
The controversy came out of Bork’s Supreme Court–confirmation testimony. Senator Dennis DeConcini (D., Ariz.) asked Bork about the meaning of the Ninth Amendment. Bork said that he [....]http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/336142/judge-bork-s-ink-blot-ramesh-ponnuru
The Hagel Zeitgeist
nationalreview.comDecember 20, 2012
Chuck Hagel is a very poor choice for the next secretary of defense, and there are signs that as much is becoming clear in Washington.
One of the reasons the administration is considering Hagel is surely the vestigial “R” that hangs next to his name in official capacities. It says something about Democrats’ self-esteem on military issues that two of the last three defense secretaries to serve under Democratic presidents have been Republicans. But Hagel has been drifting from the party for years. First in deed — he traveled to Iraq with then–presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008, admitted to being receptive to joining the Democratic ticket, and has served on the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board since 2009. And then in word — notably his Senate endorsements of Pennsylvania Democrat Joe Sestak over Pat Toomey in 2010, and of Nebraska Democrat Bob Kerrey over Deb Fischer in November.That Hagel’s cozying to Obama [....]
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/336136/hagel-zeitgeist-editors
Eric Holder Buries Another Fast And Furious Victim
Video Presentation,
exposeobama.com
December 19, 2012
http://youtu.be/n4o4G7qKT-o
Brian Terry,Jaime Zapata,and now Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez.
Gamez was killed on November 25. A Fast and Furious-connected AK-47 was found next to her body. She was the light of Sinaloa. Beautiful. A smile that would light up a room. Loved and cherished by the Mexican people.
Now dead.
In a regular world—not inhabited by a corrupt President—a weapon found next to a murdered woman would bring about an investigation. If the fingerprints on the weapon were traced to one Eric Holder,whether he [....]
http://www.exposeobama.com/2012/12/19/video-eric-holder-buries-another-fast-and-furious-victim/
So Long, Ike
by The Editors,
National Review Magazine
January 14, 1961
The American people will do anything for a good man. Dwight Eisenhower is manifestly that. And if it had been he running for President last November, he’d have reduced Jack Kennedy to political dust in six speeches, syntax or no syntax. Indeed, no one could have run against Ike and beaten him. It is not that the people were satisfied with his stewardship, but that they know politics is a grubby, cynical business, the meaning of which they cannot hope to penetrate — so vote for the man you trust. And such a man, to his eternal credit, is Dwight Eisenhower. A man one can trust to do the good, according to his lights.
And yet it must be said, what a miserable President he was! Said regretfully: for it is painful to use such language about so good a man. But if St. Francis of Assisi had been made president of the Chase Manhattan Bank, he too would have made a miserable president. Our enthusiasm for Francis might cause us to say the Chase Bank was not worthy of him, and the failure was really the institution’s, not the saint’s. Let us agree that the world is not worthy of Dwight Eisenhower. But the world is as it is, and Dwight Eisenhower served as one of its princes, and the world paid him no heed. None at all. And the world is worse off, by far, than when he came to power, sustained by the sentimental faith of millions of people, who thought that his goodness would [....] |
Time to Give Up or Time to Fight On?
A Radio Interview With Dr Larry Arnn, President-Hillsdale College
by Hugh Hewitt,
hughhewitt.com
November 7, 2012
Hugh Hewitt: My guest is Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College. Several weeks ago, when I was at Hillsdale, Dr. Arnn warned me that yesterday’s election might well go badly for the cause of constitutional conservatism. And I wanted to review the results of the election with him today on the radio show. Larry, welcome.
Larry P. Arnn: Thank you, Hugh, good to be with you. And it did indeed turn out to be a terrible election from the standpoint of constitutionalism. Its results will bring about hardships and set back the time frame for reviving the kind of government our Founders bequeathed to us. I do agree with that. But I very much disagree with the idea that this election marks a decisive event in our politics, or a point of no return.
HH: That’s what I want to discuss, because there are a lot of people who are close to saying “game over,” who are tempted now to retreat from politics—to go do missionary work, for instance—and give up on the republic. But you have made your life’s work the studying of leaders who have refused to do that.
LPA: That’s right. And the reason you can’t do that, by the way—the reason you can’t retreat into private life and give up on politics—is that the cost of doing it is overwhelming. If you don’t live under good laws, life becomes truncated and less happy, injustice becomes customary, civilization is compromised. And one cannot acquiesce in that. One has to be involved. And since politics is natural to us—man is essentially political, as Aristotle says—and since we do live in the greatest modern country—founded that way at least—we owe it a lot. And many of the people who have seen the republic through to where we are today have gone through things that are worse than this. So first of all, it’s a duty not to give up. But second, there are good reasons to know that the game isn’t over.
HH: What are the reasons?
LPA: One of them is that the election is shot through with contradictions. The obvious contradiction is that we have a divided government. The presidency and the Senate are in the hands of one party, and the House of Representatives and most governorships are in the hands of the other. A second contradiction is that a large majority of people continued to say in the exit polls that they were against raising taxes in order to cut the deficit. One might be cynical and put that down to an irresponsible refusal to pay for existing benefits—to get more and more “free stuff.” But for a long time now, opinion polls have pointed towards the existence of a broad majority of Americans who favor smaller government. This obviously contradicts the re-election of the president and the Democratic gains in the Senate. The country is still a house divided against itself, and that’s dangerous. But it doesn’t mean [....]
http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis.aspConflict Resolution 101, obama-Style
Author Unknown,
exposeobama.com
December 22,012
Accommodating is the preferred style of conflict resolution often used by the Obama Administration to resolve a crisis on the diplomatic stage. Today’s Democrats are too willing to put the needs of terrorists before this country,our allies,or any other democracies. In fact,the only people they see as enemies are American conservatives. Obama will surrender victory in order to maintain peace with people whose only goal is to wipe America off the face of the earth. This White House refuses to do or say anything that might upset America’s enemies;they only want to placate them. In simple terms for the low information voter,Obama wants all Americans to surrender and beg for our lives like a poor animal begging for food,hoping the bad guy won’t kill us.
Army Manual
A new handbook for American service members being deployed to the Middle East,currently being reviewed,orders the troops to not make derogatory comments about the Taliban or pedophilia,among other Islamic things. Obama doesn’t want the American troops to insult the sensibilities. The proposed draft blames American troops’ignorance of the region’s backwards culture as the reason for the murders of Americans and allies in Afghanistan. No longer can American Troops think of “Afghan forces to be “basically stupid” thieves,“gutless in combat,” “profoundly dishonest” and engaged in “treasonous collusion and alliances with enemy forces.” It might hurt their feelings,so we must accommodate them. In this way,the Taliban will do a better job of accommodating Afghanis after the Americans leave.
Fort Hood
Col. Gregory Gross,a military judge,was removed from trying the Fort Hood Massacre trial (or,in conflict resolution language,“Work Place Violence”. His offence:Col. Gross violated the defendant’s sensitivities by ordering Maj. Nidal Hasan to shave his beard. The Army was forced to accommodate the shooter by firing judge Col. Gross and letting the Army Colonel know that it was not his place to enforce Army regulation. The beard issue must not have been [....]
http://www.exposeobama.com/2012/12/22/conflict-resolution-101-obama-style/
Until Next Sunday....
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