On Olympics uniforms made in China

Here's Don Boudreaux of the Cafe Hayek blog, on purchasing Olympics uniforms from China:

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) – a leader of a party whose members publicly preen themselves on their alleged devotion to science and realism – throws a conniption fit because the uniforms to be worn by U.S. athletes at the 2012 Olympics were stitched together in China rather than in America (“Burn US Olympic uniforms because they’re made in China,” July 12).

Mr. Reid’s outburst reveals his ignorance of a foundational conclusion of economic science, namely, that people are enriched when they’re free to purchase from whomever they choose regardless of political boundaries. Yes, there are economists who emphasize (mostly purely theoretical) exceptions to the case for free trade – none of which are relevant here – and even a few fringe economists who reject that case altogether. But economists’ overwhelming, non-partisan, and research-based consensus today is, as it has been for years, that free trade (even when unilateral) is beneficial. Mr. Reid’s temper tantrum proves that he is either inexcusably dimwitted about matters on which he legislates, or interested, not in science and realism and truth, but in scoring political points by appealing to the uninformed emotions of constituents.

If Mr. Reid had announced that locating water in the Mojave is easily done with divining rods, that cancer is best cured with crystals, or that the Senate chamber is haunted by Daniel Webster’s ghost, he’d be laughed out of office. But let him make a similarly laughable remark about trade and he continues to be treated as if he and his opinions deserve respect.

Sad.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

Legislative maneuver of the week

Y'know, Senator Rand Paul just might be for real. 

On Wednesday, Paul, with little notice, attached an amendment to the small-business re-authorization bill. The amendment, which chastises President Obama for his actions in Libya, urges members to adopt the president’s own words as “the sense of the Senate.”


To make his point, Paul quoted, in the legislative language, from Obama’s 2007 remarks on the subject: “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” According to Paul’s office, “the measure aims to put the Senate on record affirming Congress as the body with constitutional authority on matters of war.”

GOP sources tell National Review Online that Paul’s proposal flummoxed Reid, who does not want his members to have to weigh in on Obama’s dusty quote about congressional authority, even if the vote is only to table the measure.

From Hot Air:

If you’re Boehner or Cantor or Allen West or Mike Pence, how do you vote in order to simultaneously (a) support the Air Force and Navy while they’re executing a mission, (b) protect the GOP’s hawkish credentials, (c) express your doubts about the utility of the mission and how it’s being executed, and (d) challenge Obama on his absurd hypocrisy about the president’s military prerogatives, especially given the contempt he’s showed Congress thus far? Tough vote. So tough that I wonder if Reid’s tempted to vote on a resolution in the Senate just to force Boehner to take it up and choke on it.

I'm starting to like me some Rand Paul. 

The Weekly Radley: Protectionism At Work

I saw this on Radley Balko's site.  I hope you can't read the fine print at the very bottom of the advertisement, the obligatory "this ad paid for by.....".  
But first, try to guess who paid for it !  Doesn't it look like something designed by a group of concerned citizens? 
Give up? 
Ok, think "Bootleggers Dressed As Baptists"
You can hit the label at the bottom of this post to see more "Bootleggers And Baptists" stuff. 

Ok, go here to see who paid for the ad. 
It wasn't a "Parents Concerned About Kids Gambling Online" group, was it? 
It almost never is. 
The Indian Casino monopoly opposes online gambling.  Memphis, Tennessee wine shops oppose grocery store wine sales.  California's recent failed marijuana legalization proposition was opposed by almost all marijuana growers.  The funny thing is the way they all try to posture as guardians of our virtue, when all they're doing is blocking potential competitors.   
Big Bidness loves a monopoly.  And the only way they can have it long-term is if the government helps them preserve it.

Senator Harry Reid arrives at a clean energy summit in a fleet of SUV's.

Here's a beautiful picture of Senator Harry Reid arriving to address a clean energy summit. 

Pay no attention to that fleet of SUV's in the background.  Go here and here for details. 
Irony is so lost on those people. 
I'll say it before, and I'll say it again.  NONE of our politicians believe ANY of the Anthropogenic Global Warming Horsecrap.  NONE. 
It is an easy way for them to gain power from the gullible. 

Tea Party Protesters Throw Eggs At Harry Reid's Bus ! We Need More Civility !

This troubled times require civility, not violence. 
What can we expect if those who are so passionate about Obamacare are misguided by all the harsh, shrill rhetoric from their leaders. 
Tea Party protesters have thrown eggs at Harry Reid's bus. 

Go to Moonbattery to read more about this unfortunate.............

........incident.  (Sorry about the sentence break.  All of this overwhelming nastiness from the Tea Party Movement, people throwing eggs at Harry Reid's bus, well, it caught me by surprise.  I passed out on the floor of Starbucks just thinking about what it could lead to, and my smelling salts and ammonia capsules were in the truck, and Starbucks employees have no idea how to revive someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  Like much of the American news media, I have an unfortunate tendency to pass out from The Vapors when exposed to partisan conflicts.)

Remember, get the kids out of the room, brace yourself, and go to Moonbattery for details on the vandalism.  Will keep everyone posted when Harry holds a press conference to denounce partisan violence.

Update from Monday morning.....Once again, a commenter has been punked.  Hit the links to Moonbattery.  Hit the links.  Hit the links. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Libertarians, 9-12'ers, and The Tea Party Movement. And John Spivey. And Adrian Murray. (plus Dirty Harry !)

I didn't get a chance to look through the Star-Telegram this a.m.

My friends Adrian Murray and Big Daddy John Spivey were both quoted.

Dallas-Fort Worth conservative activists focus more on Republicans

By AMAN BATHEJA

FORT WORTH — Elected officials — Democrats and Republicans — have been routinely and loudly booed at Tea Party rallies and other conservative events over the past year.
But as area activists try to turn that anger into action, they are setting their sights on fellow Republicans more than Democrats.
Members of several local conservative groups that formed last year are focusing on a handful of Republican primary races in the hope of moving the party in a more conservative direction.
"The Tea Partiers, the 9-12ers and the Libertarians all need to come together and work together," said Adrian Murray, an organizer with the 9-12 Project Fort Worth. "It’s the outcome of those primaries that are going to determine what kind of support the Republican Party gets" in November.
They aren’t endorsing candidates, but the anti-incumbent sentiment at rallies last year was palpable and is playing a role in local races. Several Republican challengers in races for Congress and the state Legislature say their appeal to those protesters fed up with the status quo will lead them to a primary win in March.
"A lot of people think that these are Republican groups, but they’re not. They’re actually as mad at Republicans as they are Democrats," said conservative activist Bill Burch, who is running against former Arlington City Councilwoman Barbara Nash in the Republican primary for the state House seat held by Rep. Paula Pierson, D-Arlington.....

Hit the link up top to read the entire article.

....While the spotlight is on the primary for now, it remains unclear what these grassroots activists will do if a Republican deemed insufficiently conservative wins the party’s nomination.
"I would think it’s a mixed blessing for the Republican Party," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "If [activists] think that the two main party candidates aren’t sufficiently conservative, they’ll mount a party challenge."
He pointed to a special congressional election in New York in November in which grassroots conservatives, unhappy with the Republican candidate, backed a third-party candidate instead. In the end, a Democrat won the district for the first time since the Civil War.

It makes me nuts, totally nuts, when journalists, political scientists, or for that matter, my relatives try to raise that particular objection to 2nd-party candidates. The Democrat in that upstate New York election was funded by the Democratic party. The candidate of the Republican establishment (Dede Scozzafava) would have voted like a Democrat, but would've been funded by the Republican party. It's more efficient when the Democrats fund their own candidates, don't you think?

Representatives from local Tea Party groups and the 9-12 Project Fort Worth say they will remain nonpartisan while encouraging voters to back candidates who support certain principles, including limited government and personal liberty.
"There’s nothing more powerful, we feel, than an informed voter," said Angela Cox, founder of the Burleson Tea Party.
John Spivey, Tarrant County Libertarian Party chairman, said many Tea Party and 9-12 Project members lean Libertarian and predicted that they will support the GOP only if Republican incumbents are replaced in the primary with "true conservatives."
"I’m looking forward to post-primary that we may see some support from them for some of our candidates," Spivey said.
Leaders with the 9-12 Project Fort Worth and the Burleson Tea Party expressed doubt that supporting third-party candidates is a viable option.

And if they can't make that an option, they will be forced to support more guys who brag about their ability to reach across the aisle, and who get pats on the head from the mainstream media for making gracious concession speeches. I went to one of Adrian's meetups tonight, and saw a very positive response to Spivey's presentation on the Libertarian Party. People are ready for a change from the false choice between Republicrats and Demoblicans. We can put aside small differences, and find a way to join together long enough to boot out some of the worst-offending Statists.

(Conservative activist Bill Burch)....predicted that conservative grassroots voters would support the Republican ticket no matter who wins the primary.
"If they make it through the primary, your choice is no longer for the individual," Burch said. "Your choice is . . . freedom or socialism."

Mr. Burch, people felt that way until the last three Republican Presidents came in and spent money like drunk cowboys. Your choice is . . . more of the same or something different. I don't know of any Libertarians who supported TARP, the bailouts, or the Porkulus plan. I can't say that about Republicans.

Come on, hold your nose, and come see what we're about. I think we're going to have an interesting melting pot in November.

Click here for the Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup.

Click here for Fort Worth's 9-12 Meetup.

Click here for the Tea Party Patriots.

Harry Reid is coming to Texas for a fundraiser on Friday, January 15 at 11:00 a.m. He'll be at the Las Colinas Marketing Center at 5221 North O'Conner Boulevard, in Irving. Ask yourself....why is Harry Reid, Senator from Nevada, holding a fund-raiser in Texas?

Click here if you would like to carry some signs outside the convention center and help welcome Dirty Harry to Texas.

I bet we can all agree on that one, can't we?

Do Reid and Clinton really prefer having the light-skinned guys bring their coffee?

Several years ago, Republican Trent Lott had to resign his position as Senate Majority Leader after saying a few complimentary things about segregationist Strom Thurmond. Lott's unfortunate comments were about the era when Thurmond was either a Democrat or Dixiecrat.

"I want to say this about my state (Mississippi): When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either," Lott said at last week's party.
Thurmond ran as the presidential nominee of the breakaway Dixiecrat Party in the 1948 presidential race against Democrat Harry Truman and Republican Thomas Dewey. He carried Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and his home state of South Carolina, of which he was governor at the time.

The media outrage was deafening. Maybe it should have been.

Well, this should be interesting.

Go here for Harry Reid's analysis of Barack Obama's complexion (or lack of it) and "Negro dialect" (or lack of it).

Hold on. We aren't through yet. Go here for some comments that Bill Clinton made to Ted Kennedy, on Barack Obama getting uppity.

If this seems like excessive ridicule over a few offhand comments, go to the Democratic Party's rule book: Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals. See rule #4.

Pics came from here.

I own me, You own you, Guess what Harry Reid can do? (With apologies to Barney the purple dinosaur)

I am the owner of me.
You are the owner of you.

I don't care what you do to yourself, as long as it doesn't hurt me or mine. If I know you, and you run out of money, or need help with hospital bills, or groceries, and you call me? I'll probably help you. I really will.

I just don't care to funnel the money through a den of thieves who have proven to be totally incapable of spending money wisely.

And I appreciate your concern for my healthcare, I really do. If I were to lose my current insurance, I hope I could rely on friends, family, charities, and the long-suffering congregation at Broadway Baptist Church. Heck, I'm already working in a family-owned business..... But if you're insisting that I, or anyone else, pay for medical insurance, I'm afraid that you have some ulterior motives. I think you're on a power trip.

Imagine the outrage if Harry Reid insisted that everyone who owned their home "free and clear" owned homeowners insurance, and pushed for penalties for those who didn't pay up to his buddies in the insurance industry.

I bet you could cut medical costs in half through tort reform, by allowing more people into the medical professions, and by letting nurses perform procedures that are currently restricted to doctors.

But that wouldn't allow any rent-seekers to profit from the solution to our healthcare non-crisis, would it?

So here goes, sung to the tune of the Barney theme song.....

I own me,
You own you,
Guess what Harry Reid can do
With his great big plan
That he's trying to push through?
Go find someone else to screw.

Senator Harry Reid on our Voluntary Tax System

Many of the Comment Field discussions on this site boil down to one disagreement: Whether or not it is moral for government to take money or property by force from one group and give it to another group.

Is it ok for a government to take your money to pay a millionaire to destroy his car in order to provide another year of employment to a Union worker whose job has better benefits than yours?

Is it ok for our government to continue taking your money to provide for the continued defense of Germany and Japan ?

If you were to win the lottery and wanted to voluntarily donate your winnings to deserving humanitarian organizations, how drunk would you have to be before writing a check to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services?

If you don't give your money for these causes, though, you go to jail. It's that simple. You don't have a choice. Cooperating with these programs (at gunpoint) is not a virtue. When A and B conspire to rob C for the benefit of D, please understand that A and B aren't being compassionate, and C doesn't automatically become a great humanitarian because of his failure to resist.

This is from the Tarrant County Libertarian Party website:

At most we regard it (taxation) as a necessary evil, so that the vital functions of government can continue independent of undue outside influence. For this reason we advocate the reduction of taxation to the lowest feasible level, and the replacement of taxation with user fees where practicable.

Here's U.S. Senator Harry Reid, with a contrarian viewpoint. Senator Reid claims that paying taxes is "voluntary".



The interviewer, Jan Helfeld, is the same person who taught us How To Interview Nancy Pelosi, and he's worthy of a wider audience.

Last Sunday, The Teleprompter Jesus went on the rounds of all the Sunday morning talk shows and hit healthcare slow pitch/coach pitch softballs from David Gregory, Bob Schieffer, and some other White House Spokesmuppets.

Can you imagine the devastation and carnage if Jan Helfeld was in a room for 20 minutes with a microphone and Barack Obama?

Free Global Warming Poster !

From the Grouchy Old Cripple, often imitated, never duplicated.

Here's a poster of Global Warming Protesters.

And GOC was also kind enough to post the video of Bill Clinton having a Baptist moment....

And this picture of the current Democratic leadership:

The Grouchy Old Cripple is one of the Greatest Blogs in the world. Check him weekly.