The Arapahoe High School gunman was a right-wing Tea Party conservative

You've probably heard about the latest school shooting, this time at Arapahoe High in Colorado. A kid that everyone describes as totally normal walked into his school and shot two students. 

The shooter, Karl Pierson was a friendly, average kid who ran track and was on the debate team.  He did have some "extreme" political views (extreme economic conservatism) but no one dreamed he would ever open fire in a high school. 

This kid has done extreme harm to the cause of liberty and freedom. 

Here's the Denver Post:

In one Facebook post, Pierson viciously attacks the philosophies of economist Karl Marx, who through his condemnation of Capitalism pushed the notion that the Capitalist system would eventually implode and be replaced by Socialism.  In another post, Pierson describes his economic philosophy as "Free Market Libertarian."

"I'm wanting to ask all the Democrats and Leftists, why hasn't the Stimulus Package improved the economy?" he wrote. "If Keynesianism works so well, why aren't we seeing increased employment?"

Pierson also appears to mock Democrats on another Facebook post, writing "you Democrats are so cute" and posting an image that reads: "The Democrat Party: Health Care: Give us money, Climate Change: Give us power, Gun Violence: Give us power, Women's Rights: Give us control, More War: Give us spending. Is this really the side you want to be on?"

And since young Karl Pierson's economic conservatism is against everything that the mainstream media stands for, that's how the Denver Post chose to begin their story. 

WHOOPS! 

Sorry folks.  I screwed up. 

Karl Pierson was a full blown Keynesian tax-and-spend advocate.  Had he been the type of kid that shows up at Tea Party rallies wearing a Ron Paul t-shirt, that's all you would be hearing about today.  I shouldn't be politicizing this tragedy, and he was probably too young to know stimulus from strawberries, but you can bet your ass that the boy's political leanings would be all over the media had he been a right-wing economic conservative. 

Here's the legit Denver Post excerpt.  You have to read most of the article to get to these little nuggets.  

In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith, who through his invisible-hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as "Keynesian."

"I was wondering to all the neoclassicals and neoliberals, why isn't the market correcting itself?" he wrote. "If the invisible hand is so strong, shouldn't it be able to overpower regulations?"

Pierson also appears to mock Republicans on another Facebook post, writing "you republicans are so cute" and posting an image that reads: "The Republican Party: Health Care: Let 'em Die, Climate Change: Let 'em Die, Gun Violence: Let 'em Die, Women's Rights: Let 'em Die, More War: Let 'em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?"

We'll never really know what caused the Karl Pierson tragedy.  But had he been on the other side of the political spectrum, you know what they would've blamed.   

Why are journalists so liberal?

Why are journalists so liberal?

(For readers in the UK and elsewhere, I'm using the word "liberal" in the American sense, meaning that they generally support turning over the economy, education, healthcare and self-protection over to charismatic social-climbers who can win elections.) 

Why are journalists so liberal? 

They aren't.  Governments are. 

I've had a glorious time for the last couple of months supporting a trio of candidates for our local River/Water Development Board.  In my mind, the opposing sides couldn't be more starkly divided.  Our opponents are planning to take over a lot of land via Eminent Domain and make sweetheart deals with developers.  If past history is any guide, there will be plenty of no-bid contracts.  There will be restaurants and apartment buildings built INSIDE the flood plain.  There's a project we call "Lake Granger" that is so far over budget that....hell, I give up.  Go here to read about the condition of the project three years ago.  No idea how much they've blown so far, but it's huge.  The project manager, JD Granger, is the son of congresswoman Kay Granger.  He's a former Assistant D.A. and his previous project management experience was a science project in the 9th grade.   

In the meantime, the river water isn't fit for recreation, much less drinking, and the government won't allow you to eat any fish caught in the river. 

The candidates that I've been supporting just want to provide plenty of drinkable water, populated with fish that won't kill you.  They want to honor property rights.  That's it. 

The local journalists at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram overwhelmingly support the land thefts and the bloated make-work projects.  Go figure. 

But think about it....  Governments get themselves elected by giving out gifts.  It's what they do.  And sometimes, that's exciting.  The group of Barking Seals currently on the water board have already opened up a Flood Control BBQ joint, and there are plans for a Flood Control Drive-In Movie Theatre.  Fun, fun, fun.  Their supporters include most of the major engineering firms that will be involved in the boondoggle. 

Which group would you prefer to write about?  The happy-happy party crowd, slipping their Bar Tabs into the diapers of the infants?  Or the puritans who just want a clean river? 

Hey, guys, I'm trying to write a story.  Can you tell me anything about your big plans? 
Nope.  We're not going to do much.  Just keep human feces out of the Trinity River. 
Oh.... Never mind. 

Plus, the big-spending incumbents are already on speed-dial. 

And that is why journalists are generally liberal. 

Get your kids and small animals out of the room before watching this one

In which Bill Moyers gives Paul Krugman a nice, long, loving tongue-bath. Not for the faint of heart. Warning: toward the end of the video, both men praise the Depression era's WPA art projects.

See no Benghazi, Hear no Benghazi, Report no Benghazi !!

Libertarian Responses To The Dallas Morning News Voter Guide

The Dallas Morning News recently sent out its Voter Guide to all candidates running for office in the DFW Metroplex.

Here are the issue-specific questions, along with what I think are the ideal Libertarian responses:

Why should voters choose you over your opponent?

Our opponent(s) are affiliated with the Republican and Democratic parties. Those two organizations have led our nation into undeclared wars, failing schools, and a $16 trillion dollar debt. Those two organizations are not going to reform themselves. As a Libertarians we understand that we’ll have to overcome considerable resistance from voters concerned about “wasting their vote”, plus a large amount of media bias. But liberty-oriented, small-government candidates are our only hope for extricating ourselves from the wars, the inefficiency, and the debt.
(Please note that this question assumes only one Democrat or Republican opponent, not multiple opponents from multiple parties offering other choices. Shame on you, Dallas Morning News!)

The Legislature cut billions of dollars from the state budget in 2011. Are there areas where lawmakers went too far? Not far enough? How would you change that in 2013? Please be specific.

The Legislature didn’t go far enough. They could save billions more by extending retirement ages of government employees, and offering less generous benefits, benefits that would be in line with those offered by the private sector. State employees could be given 401K accounts instead of pensions. Parents should be allowed to personalize their children’s education through a voucher plan. This would encourage competition and improved efficiency in the Texas school system.
The Legislature should immediately shut down the Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise fund. These programs are corporate cronyism at its worst.
A simple Google search reveals that we’re spending $750,000.00 per year on a Department of Agriculture “Egg Quality Program”, which is supposed to prevent consumers from buying cracked eggs. Kroger, Wal-Mart, HEB, and Albertson’s can handle that responsibility. The list of other savings opportunities is almost endless.

The state’s business tax has not raised enough money to offset local property tax cuts. What changes, if any, do you favor?

The correct way to phrase this question would be as follows: The state’s spending has exceeded taxes. What spending reductions, if any, do you favor? We should continue to cut taxes and find new ways to reduce even more spending. The Texas Public Policy Foundation has produced excellent lists of logical spending cuts and ways to reduce government waste. The difficulty lies in having the political will to do so.

Texas’ business climate is touted as a jobs magnet for the nation. Are there areas where business regulation is too lax or too tight, and what changes would you make?

Even with the current level of wasteful spending by the state, Texas has found itself leading most of the other states in job creation. We should examine our current levels of regulation, taxation, and bureaucracy as compared to, say, California. Ask new businesses why they chose to locate here, and continue to ensure that red tape and financial disincentives are eliminated.
We should also work to give consumers the right to choose between “government regulated” and “unregulated” products, since the regulations put in place by retailers and distributors are generally more effective and sensible than those put in place by 3rd parties in Austin and Washington.

The governor informed the federal government that Texas will not participate in certain parts of the Affordable Health Care Act. Was this a wise decision, and what should the state’s course of action be today?

1) This was a wise decision.
2) Nullification. If something is expensive, it is because it is scarce relative to demand. ObamaCare does nothing to eliminate the scarcity of doctors, nurses, hospitals, medical equipment, or pharmaceutical supplies. It does, however, eliminate the scarcity of IRS agents, and mandates that 16,000 more be hired. ObamaCare is an ill-conceived, poorly written, disastrous piece of legislation.

Critics have questioned the benefits and oversight of the Emerging Technology Fund and Texas Enterprise Fund, both administered by the governor’s office. Would you continue to put tax dollars into these economic development funds?

No. These are slush funds for political contributors and cronies. Government agencies have a horrible track record for predicting successful “Emerging” technologies. If an entrepreneur can’t attract private capital, chances are that his idea will fail. Socializing risk while privatizing profit should not be a function of the Texas government.

Some regulators worry that environmental restrictions on power plants might compromise the state’s ability to keep up with electricity needs. Do you agree, and how should the legislature respond?

All environmental restrictions are the result of a compromise – we make small compromises in the air quality in exchange for not having to chop firewood for our stoves. The legislature does have a role as referee in any disputes arising because of these trade-offs. If an individual has been directly harmed, he or she should be compensated by the business or individual responsible for the damage.

State officials have fought a number of federal air-quality regulations, arguing that they’re bad for business. Is this the right strategy, or should Texas comply with the EPA? How should the state weigh environmental concerns against industry protests?

See previous question. EPA overkill has been well documented. There is a point where safety cannot be improved by another order of magnitude without ridiculous expense or inefficiency. We should demand that all new regulations by all regulatory bodies be subject to a vote in the Texas legislature, rather than being automatically implemented by unelected bureaucrats.

What is your view on the science of man-made climate change? Do you support legislation that would reduce the output of greenhouse gases, and, if so, what approach would you take?

If AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) is a science, it has been a poorly administered one. The East Anglia “ClimateGate” emails have revealed a pattern of deception, fraud and mismanagement embarrassing to science. Researchers have actively worked to keep dissenting views out of peer-reviewed journals. Editors who published dissenting views on climate have suddenly resigned.
And it is puzzling to see how many of the leading Anthropogenic Global Warming advocates have gargantuan carbon footprints. We should believe that AGW is a problem only when those who stand to benefit most from regulation start acting as if AGW is a problem.

We’ve yet to see a real debate (as opposed to competing blog posts) between the leaders on both sides of the AGW debate. Perhaps Texas should offer to host such an event?

Natural gas production has been a boon industry in Texas, but regulators have cited it for adding to air pollution and contaminating groundwater. How should the legislature balance the benefits against environmental concerns?

The gas companies have indeed been good for Texas, but if gas companies have done harm, they should be held accountable. The legislature, along with the courts, should act as referees in any disputes or claims, but should not be in the business of favoring one form of energy over another. We should also bear in mind that the form of energy that is most harmful to the environment is the use of firewood. That’s what most of us were using for energy 100 years ago.

With dozens of school districts suing the state, lawmakers might have to contend with another court order to find a new way to finance public education. What would be a fairer, longer-lasting method of paying for schools?

We should implement the fairer, longer-lasting method that we use to provide for groceries, televisions, garden hoses, and most other commodities.  We should give parents a choice. Open the school system to competition by giving parents vouchers.
Since 1970, inflation-adjusted spending per student has tripled while test scores have remained flat. Give kids a ticket out of underperforming schools !
Also, there is no rational excuse for teachers to be working in a tenure system, or being given extremely generous retirement packages while in their early 50’s. No system that pays for more years of retirement than work is sustainable.

What changes, if any, do you advocate in certification, evaluation, or pay for teachers?

In an ideal system, certification, evaluation, and pay for teachers would be left up to the private institutions that employ them. In the current public school system, however, the two criteria that least influence effectiveness (certifications and # of years spent teaching) are the ones used to determine teacher pay.

Test scores for black and Hispanic students have traditionally lagged their white counterparts in public schools. How should the legislature address this?

By giving them educational choices besides those public schools. Give the parents a real choice. If people were assigned grocery stores based on their zip codes, you would also see a decline in the performance of grocery stores.  Give minority students a choice !! 

State universities have been challenged to ensure the productivity of professors, be more efficient and boost graduation rates. What measures are appropriate, and should they be tied to tax support?

In the age of the internet, there is little or no reason to bring students into one classroom to hear one professor. We have the opportunity to introduce every student in the nation to some of the greatest professors who have ever lived, and at a minimal cost. With the exception of a very few “lab” courses, some disciplines that require one-on-one instruction, and a few group activities, the cost of a university education could be slashed by a massive percentage simply by taking advantage of the internet. This is a "solved" problem.  All we lack is the political will to change the system.

Privatizing the college system and giving the right of 3rd Party Educators to issue certifications of competence in various areas of study would open up the world to a far greater number of students. 

The state should not be in the business of boosting graduation rates.

The drawing of new legislative and congressional maps was nothing short of chaotic, for voters and candidates. Would you support the formation of an independent, bipartisan commission to draw new districts after the next census?

No. There is no such thing as an independent, bipartisan commission.

Also, if the voters are going to tolerate racial gerrymandering from judicial appointees, then we are getting the system that we deserve.

Should Texas abolish its system of allowing straight-ticket voting in state and local partisan elections?

Yes. We should also abolish the system of putting party affiliations beside the names of candidates. A system of “Approval Voting” could eliminate the need for expensive primaries, run-offs, and final elections.

Texas has a 50-year water plan but no specific way to pay for it. What steps should the Legislature take to make sure the state has long-term water supplies?

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” The idea that we’re going to plan for an adequate water supply for the year 2062 puts a lot of faith in the flawed souls who make up the Texas Legislature.

The state has relied on new ways of tolling and borrowing to pay for road and bridge projects. Most major new highways in North Texas are being built as tolled or partially tolled roads. Is this acceptable, or is it time to raise the gasoline tax for the first time in more than 20 years?

This is acceptable. In these cases, the roads are being primarily funded by the users.

Should the Legislature enact laws to help combat illegal immigration? If so, what would you advocate?

Increased illegal immigration from Mexico is a direct result of our war on drugs. We should decriminalize recreational drug use and possession immediately, and totally legalize them as soon as politically feasible. We have turned Mexico’s justice and law enforcement system into a cruel joke. The drug lords don’t fear the Mexican military, police, courts, or the U.S. military. They don’t fear confiscation of their drug shipments, as these only cost them pennies on the dollar to produce. The drug lords in Mexico fear legalization. Let’s help give our Mexican friends their country back.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved eyewitness ID reforms and other measures in 2011 in response to troubling DNA exonerations. What other steps do you favor to improve the justice system?

We should discourage plea bargaining. We have tens of thousands of prisoners languishing in jail who have never been given a trial, but feared our ramshackle courts system more than they feared prison.

What additional safeguards, if any, are needed in the capital punishment system?

Capital punishment should be ended immediately. Most of us don’t trust the U.S. mail system with important documents. We avoid V.A. hospitals. We return from trips to the DMV with stories of waste and inefficiency. “Good enough for government work” is now a cliché. Why should we trust the government with taking someone’s life?  Texas has released 35 prisoners from Death Row because of shoddy DNA work. 

Texas homeowner insurance rates continue to rank among the highest nationally. How should the Legislature respond?

The Legislature should merely enforce contracts between homeowners and businesses, while working to remove any barriers keeping additional insurance companies from competing in Texas. We have more hailstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes than the rest of the nation, and acts of the Legislature won’t change this.

Should the Legislature let voters decide whether to expand gambling by licensing slot machines or casinos in Texas?

No. Gambling is none of the Legislature’s business. It’s none of the voters’ business. If you choose to wager money on the performance of a slot machine, a deck of cards, Tony Romo, or a horse, it should be between you and the person/business with whom you are placing the wagers.

Should the state impose additional regulations on payday loan operations? If so, what should those rules include?

No. The typical payday loan operation charges $17.50 per $100.00 borrowed. The typical bank charges as much as $30.00 for a single bounced $5.00 check. Which organization is charging extortionate interest? Plus, the payday loan operations provide a service to many people that traditional lending operations often turn away.

That’s all of the questions. Hope this was interesting.

On Objective Journalism

“So much for Objective Journalism. Don't bother to look for it here--not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.” - Hunter S. Thompson

Go here for additional proof.  It's pretty funny. 

On the Sunday morning political talk shows

Here's a sampling of the Sunday morning political mess my TIVO is recording while I'm typing this, compliments of Hot Air:

NBC’s Meet the Press: David Axelrod, Obama campaign chief strategist; Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Peter King (R-NY); E.J. Dionne, Brookings and Washington Post; David Brooks, New York Times; Helene Cooper, New York Times; Chuck Todd, NBC

ABC’s This Week: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME); Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); Keith Olbermann; George Will, ABC; Donna Brazile, political strategist; Matthew Dowd, political strategist; Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal

CBS’ Face the Nation: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Tom Comburn (R-OK); Norah O’Donnell, CBS; Stephanie Cutter, deputy Obama campaign manager; Eric Fehrnstrom, senior adviser to Romney campaign; Melinda Henneberger, Washington Post; Major Garrett, National Journal; John Dickerson, CBS; Cornel West, Princeton University; Tavis Smiley, talk show host

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN);

CNN’s State of the Union: David Axelrod, Obama campaign chief strategist; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Dana Bash, CNN; Jeff Zeleny, New York Times

I watch this junk so you don't have to. 

I can sometimes predict what those folks are going to say long before they say it. 

Ughhhh. 

Believe it or not, Meet The Press usually includes David Brooks of the New York Holy Times because he's an economic conservative and will provide "balance". 

You might remember Brooks as the guy who called the ouster of Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett "a damned outrage". 

Please note that the Court Eunuchs Of The ObamaMedia give Teleprompter Jesus programmer David Axelrod a slot on both CNN and Meet The Press. 

ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" is one of the most astounding examples of media bias you'll see this year.  Truly astounding. 

First of all, can you get drunk enough to imagine ABC airing a program called "This Week With Karl Rove"?  I can't either, but the two Stephanopoulos and Rove essentially had the same White House job.
George's guests this week include Susan Collins of Maine, one of only three Republicans to vote for Obama's Porkulus Bill. 
He's got Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who once took to the podium in Congress to complain of the National Weather Service giving hurricanes nothing but "lilly white" names, and proposed giving hurricanes names like "Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn".  She has also described the Tea Party as racist. 
Keith Olbermann, so left-wing rabid and so afflicted with all the logical symptoms of that condition that even Al Gore won't give him any more money, is on board this morning. 
George Will is actually an interesting guy and is worth listening to.  Will came out in favor of weed legalization last week. 
Staphanopoulos has another Clinton Senior Advisor dropping in: Donna Brazile.
Matthew Dowd used to work for Texas Democrat Bob Bullock.  Then he worked for Texas Republican George W. Bush.  After that, he gained some notoriety by writing long pieces apologizing for the harm he did to Democrat John Kerry.  Matthew Dowd used to be a flip-flopper, but then he changed his mind. 
Rounding out the discussion with George is Reagan Speechwriter and Republican journalist Peggy Noonan.  Four years ago, Noonan endorsed Barack Obama.
Is anyone at ABC even pretending that they aren't in the tank for Obama and rank Statism of the worst sort????

Out of the entire unholy lot of Talking Heads broadcasting this Sunday morning, hosts and guests, Mitch Daniels is the only one of the bunch who comes within missile-launch distance of being a libertarian. 

Here's a modest proposal for the Fox Business channel, the closest thing we have to a libertarian-ish network (they cancelled Napolitano's show, but still air John Stossel).  It would be called "What The Hell Were You Thinking?"  Here's a sample lineup:

Fox Business "What The Hell Were You Thinking?"  John Jay Myers (Libertarian - TX); John Stossel, Fox Business; Gary Johnson (Libertarian - New Mexico); Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine; David Axelrod, Obama campaign chief strategist;  Four libertarians strap David Axelrod into a chair and review the Obama record on the economy and civil liberties while asking "What the hell were you thinking?"  Next week's guest: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. 

I don't know about you, but I'd watch it. 

The media brainwashing picture came from here. 

All you need to know about the Republican establishment

Steve Jobs - R.I.P.

"Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as “bad luck.” - Robert Heinlein

“I don’t know what Steve Jobs’s politics were, I don’t much care, and in any case they are beside the point. The late Mr. Jobs stood for something considerably better than politics. He stood for the model of the world that works. . . . That old Motorola cinderblock would cost about $10,000 in 2011 dollars, and you couldn’t play Angry Birds on it or watch Fox News or trade a stock. Once you figure out why your cell phone gets better and cheaper every year but your public schools get more expensive and less effective, you can apply that model to answer a great many questions about public policy. Not all of them, but a great many. . . . I was down at the Occupy Wall Street protest today, and never has the divide between the iPhone world and the politics world been so clear: I saw a bunch of people very well-served by their computers and telephones (very often Apple products) but undeniably shortchanged by our government-run cartel education system. And the tragedy for them — and for us — is that they will spend their energy trying to expand the sphere of the ineffective, hidebound, rent-seeking, unproductive political world, giving the Barney Franks and Tom DeLays an even stronger whip hand over the Steve Jobses and Henry Fords. And they — and we — will be poorer for it.” - Kevin Williamson

From the CBS News website Gift Shop

Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Kennedy. 

'Nuff said. 

Die quickly, Mainstream Media.  die quickly. 

Jon Stewart nails it. In Orwellian terms, Ron Paul is an Un-Person

Jon Stewart nails it.
There's something weird going on in the Lamestream Media coverage of Ron Paul.
Enjoy.

The Mainstream Media's bias against Libertarians

A few days ago, Mark Halperin created this chart for Time magazine. 

Ok, it's his chart.  He doesn't have to include anyone that he doesn't want to. 
But he's got Newt on there, along with Palin and Bachmann. 

At the time this was published, Newt was polling at 10%.  So was Ron Paul.  Where is Ron Paul on the chart?  Where is Gary Johnson? 

I watched Meet The Depressed last Sunday.  All sorts of Republican long shots were mentioned during the panel discussion, but with little or no mention of Paul or Johnson.  I noticed the same thing on The McLaughlin Group.  I think Eleanor Clift mentioned Paul in passing, saying something like "Ron Paul is in there, but he's really a libertarian". 

I could list dozens of other examples of an anti-libertarian bias in the media, but I'll go ahead and get to the point. 

The Mainstream Political Media, as a general rule, cannot stand libertarianism.  IMHO, here's why:

To make it to the top in political journalism, one must cultivate contacts in government, and guard and cherish those contacts above all else.  
Political reporters have to understand the political system, and how things get done in government.  The better their understanding, the better their salary, prestige, and status. 

But here comes a group of people who think electing a new president should be no more important than choosing a new lawncare service.  If libertarians were elected in large enough numbers, government wouldn't be nearly as important.  Therefore, political media wouldn't be as important. 

After the initial spending cuts of 55%, and the bulldozing of various Federal buildings, and the closing of overseas military bases, and the decimation of the bureaucrats, and the release of our Drug War POW's, and the public flogging of Paul Krugman, the Mainstream Media would have very little to write about.

Imagine the following fantasy news article.....

Washington (CNN) -- A group of military contractors, lobbyists, and manufacturing trade associations met with Senator John Spivey (L-Texas) to secure funding for a new BR549 bomber, a defense program guaranteed to create jobs for working Americans, help our economy, and protect our border with Canada. 
Senator Spivey said "No".
The group then met with Senator John Jay Myers (L-Texas) who told them "Not just no, but HELL no."   
Not much happened after that. 

Imagine you're a professional typist/reporter.  What had you rather type and report about? 
Government leaving people the hell alone? 
Or Obama's efforts to save the economy, Libya, Egypt, Social Security, education, the dollar, and everything else the government has screwed up? 

A modest wager about NPR funding

Ok, unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard something about this video.

James O'Keefe posed as a potential NPR donor, and extracted the following from Ron Schiller (then president of the NPR Foundation and senior vice president of development):

The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved in people’s personal lives and very fundamental Christian. I wouldn't even call it Christian; it's this weird evangelical kind of move.


The current Republican Party is not really the Republican Party, it’s been hijacked by this group; that is, not just Islamaphobic but really xenophobic. I mean, basically, they are, they believe in sort of white, middle American, gun toting — I mean, it's scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.

Besides bashing the Tea Party movement, Schiller also advanced the bigoted stereotype that the media is Jewish-owned and/or has a pro-Israel bias. He and Betsy Liley, another NPR executive at the lunch, both reveled over the joke that NPR stands for “National Palestinian Radio.”

Oh, I forgot to mention....O'Keefe was posing as a donor from the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Ok, all of this skullduggery merely confirms what anyone with one eye and half-sense already knows.  NPR is a seriously biased news organization.  Big deal.  CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, and the Sunflower County News are all seriously biased news organizations.  Bias is what happens when you sit down and start typing. That's why governments should never be allowed to fund journalism.  

The point of all this is to get the Republicans to defund NPR.  NPR recently fired their only remotely "conservative" commentator, Juan Williams.  One of the money shots from the O'Keefe video is when Schiller affirms that NPR would be better off without government funding. 

NPR has totally crapped in the punch bowl.  They are the leading Statist propaganda tool. 

And the Republican Party will NOT defund them.  Republicans don't cut programs.  They just talk about it. 

I repeat....The Republican Party is going to continue funding NPR.  I'm betting $20.00 to the first commenter that NPR will still be getting government funds until the 2012 elections. 

Any takers? 

The Old Media is not happy with The New Media. Government must intervene.

From The New York Times, via Reason magazine's Hit & Run blog:

Google says it only tweaks its algorithm to improve its searches. Some Web sites that have accused Google of unfair placing are merely collections of links with next to no original content of their own, precisely the kind of sites that Google’s search algorithm screens out to better answer queries....Still, the potential impact of Google’s algorithm on the Internet economy is such that it is worth exploring ways to ensure that the editorial policy guiding Google’s tweaks is solely intended to improve the quality of the results and not to help Google’s other businesses....

Full disclosure, before I go any further into this rant.  Google owns Blogger/Blogspot.  It doesn't cost me a dime to use Blogger/Blogspot.  And when I put Google ads on my site, my traffic from Google searches increased by about 50%. 
In my arrogant opinion, that's nobody's business but mine and Google's. 
For reasons that I don't understand, this site is now one of the top search results for pictures of Macaulay Culkin.  Do I have the best pictures of Macaulay Culkin?  I don't know or care.  But people are using Google to find them here.  If they don't like what Google and I provide, they can use Yahoo.  Or Bing.  Or Dogpile.  I don't think anyone has ever put a gun to anyone's head and forced them to use Google. 

Now, let's continue....

Some early suggestions for how to accomplish this include having Google explain with some specified level of detail the editorial policy that guides its tweaks. Another would be to give some government commission the power to look at those tweaks.

Oh God.  Some idiot wants a government commission to look into the problem. 
And finally....

....if Google is to continue to be the main map to the information highway, it concerns us all that it leads us fairly to where we want to go.

Reason magazine's Peter Suderman, of course, politely suggests that The New York Times and The United States government butt the hell out of Google's succesful business model. 
Mr. Suderman doesn't take it far enough. 
Let's re-write that last sentence from the NYT:

....if The New York times is to continue to be the biggest newspaper in the Dead Tree Media, it concerns us all that they give us balanced information, or at least an admission of Statist bias, in everything they publish. 

We need a government commission to look at the statist, lefty bias of the New York Times.  We need to be sitting in on their editorial board meetings.  We need the power to preview every article they publish, with an eye toward detecting favoritism toward their preferred politicians, causes, and advertisers. 
Granted, nobody forces anyone to purchase The New York Times.
But that's not the point.  They're successful.  If they're successful, they're powerful.  If they're powerful, we need to be able to control them. 

Dammit, somebody, somewhere is reading things that somebody else doesn't like. 

Government must intervene. 

6 suggestions for creating jobs

On Meet The Press yesterday, I watched former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the Republican National Committee’s Ed Gillespie, and New York Times typist David Brooks.  The sat in a circle and lamented the current failure of the Statist dream.


They were trying to decide how to create jobs and “grow” the economy. It would have been funny had it not been so depressing. Some level of government pump-priming was assumed by all to be necessary. Needless interference from Washington munchkins was a given. No one really questioned the level of harm caused by the recent Porkulus, TARP, Detroit and Wall Street bailouts. Even ideas about tax cuts were presented as “for small businesses only”, as if the janitors at General Electric weren’t worth a raise, but the millionaire owners of a Mom’n’Pop enterprises should automatically get a tax break.

(One important thing to remember: Corporations don’t pay taxes. People do. Corporations merely aid the government in collecting taxes from people - they funnel money to Uncle Sam from their employees, their vendors, customers, and their owners.)

Ford, Maddow, Gillespie and Brooks, along with their lords and masters in government, are like the folks whose only tool is a hammer. Everything looks like a nail. The only remaining solution in their toolbag is to take away everything, and then parcel it back out to the people whose behavior they like.

Imagine that you are a small business owner, one of the ones now beloved by politicians everywhere. Or imagine that you are one of Obama's greedy mega-business owners and that you have difficulty speaking because of all the steak and lobster stuffed into your cheeks and the multiple cigars in your mouth that you lit with $100 bills stolen from the savings of orphans.

Imagine that you’re either one of those types of guys. There’s really no difference between the two, except for lobbying power. What would encourage you to hire more people? More speeches from The Teleprompter Jesus? “Investments” of more of your tax money into green “energy”? (Note the scorn quotes.) Would you feel better about hiring more people if the government passed another Porkulus Plan to spend even more money on….government?

I think not. Ask yourself if the following proposals might be more effective:

1. We currently have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Cut that tax rate in half. Let businesses keep the money that they’re earning and let them spend it as they see fit. They can spend it on themselves, on employees, on equipment, on paying vendors, or giving the savings to customers. Either way, it will still get spent or invested. Letting Bill Gates or Mark Cuban or even Jerry Jones spend the money is always a better choice than letting Obama, Reid and Pelosi give the money to their constitutents. If that means there’s less money to be squandered by the Richland Hills Texas City Planning Department, well, so be it.

2. The teen unemployment rate is hovering around 40-50%. We just had a minimum wage increase from $5.25 to $7.25 an hour. Statists are always, always, always surprised when these arbitrary price-fixes hurt teen employment. I have teenagers show up every day looking for work, and some of them might already be worth $10.00 or $12.00 an hour to my employer. Some of them are worth about $3.00 an hour, if motivated with cattle prods. Some of them aren’t worth the amount of CO2 they pump into the environment every day. I would be willing to take a chance on hiring trainloads of these kids if I could do so at around $4.00 an hour. Some of them would be making $12.00 within a year. Most would not. Others would quit within the first week. The only way to find out who is in which group? Hire a bunch of them. But I’m not taking that chance at $7.25 an hour.

3. The black unemployment rate is now at 15%, as compared to a nationwide rate of 9.6%. Why is this? It’s because if I hire a black guy and he doesn’t work out, I’m going to have to spend countless hours with our Human Resources department proving that I’m not a racist who discriminates against black people. The black employee that I let go will automatically be given unemployment compensation, whereas we usually fight those claims filed by someone in a non-protected group. If employees couldn’t sue employers who didn’t want to employ them any longer, just like grocery stores or lawn services can’t sue me when I stop employing them, we might again see minority employment once again pass white employment levels. (Do a bit o’Googling to find out when that was last true. Hint: use the key words “Davis Bacon Act”.)

4. When you hire a babysitter, do you look forward to withholding and paying her taxes? Do you feel obligated to provide for her health insurance? Do you believe that babysitters should be unionized, without benefit of a secret ballot election, and that you should then be forced to hire ONLY union babysitters? Would collecting taxes, providing healthcare, and paying more for union babysitters cause you to hire more or less of them? Please be brief with your response.

5. Our president delights, absolutely delights, in demonizing successful large businesses and employers who want to hang onto the money they earn after they take the risk of hiring people. Could whoever programs his teleprompter change the script and get that idiot to stop doing that? He’s scaring people.

6. Central banks are starting to look at dollars as if they were hand-grenades dipped in HIV vaseline. These people know that the current regime isn’t going to stop throwing money to its constituents as if every day is Mardi Gras, and billions are beads. They know that the Obama/Bernanke/Pelosi Axis Of Inflation is about to start firing up the printing presses. Could we encourage them to stop spending, since dollars are the only currency we can use in the U.S., and we don’t want the market to be flooded with them?

I don’t have an economics degree, and I will never, ever be selected as a talking head on Meet The Press. But I do hire people. Or don't.  It just depends on the incentives, doesn't it?

Who Wants "Newsweek"?

The Boston Post asked the "Who Wants Newsweek?" question in a recent article about the once-great weekly magazine being put up for sale after years of declining readership. 

Newsweek's editor, Jon Meacham, is a good writer, but he suffers from a blinding affection for The Teleprompter Jesus, along with the typical inconsistencies that go with joining that cult.  Here's a pic from the cover story that Meacham wrote shortly after the bailout scam:

Later on, Meacham managed to make light of the Tea Party bunch who claimed Obama was some kind of "Crypto-Socialist". 
Go figure.  According to Meacham's cover story, I though we all were. 

Here's the closing paragraph of the Boston Post article:

It would be a mistake to argue that Newsweek’s center-left stance and Obama worship did it in. U.S. News and World Report converted to a monthly two years ago. No one can fault Newsweek for trying a new course. But maybe the world already has a surplus of must-see analysis and opinion.

Well, I disagree.  If you give your readers a steady diet of Barackaganda, you're going to lose readers.  Lordy, if I want a center-left stance, complete with "Obama worship", I can turn on Meet The Press.
.

 

 So goodbye, Newsweek.  You got me through many a dull Study Hall at North Sunflower Academy, 1974 - 1979.  And one other thing, compliments of these folks:

Our extremist rhetoric is causing a violent ripple across America

Like many of you, I am troubled.  Deeply, deeply troubled.
 
Other people find it troubling also, and that's why we should dial it back a bit. 

Our extremist rhetoric is causing a violent ripple across America. 

Political party headquarters have been vandalized, and the President and a senator have been burned in effigy.  Police called it "a planned and orchestrated event". 

Drive-by shooters have attacked a campaign headquarters.  Thank God no one was inside.

Protesters in Florida ransacked another campaign center, stating that they "wanted to send a message". 

Dial it back, people.  Dial it back.  It's just a new law requiring you to spend your money with certain favored healthcare compnies, nothing more.  Maybe we can find a way to get past it. 

Remember: If the American news media ever start giving these violent incidents a lot of attention, it will hurt the cause.

Update from Friday, March 26th.....It amazes me when I look at my hit-counter, and see that there are SO many people out there looking at this post but not hitting the links.  Maybe I shoulda made the links sexier in some way.  Hit the links above for some hot, steamy, anti-Statist violence, people !  Get outraged !  Hit the links to see the scorn that the people now have for their superiors !  

Why I love watching MSNBC, part 397

Just out of morbid curiosity, has anyone ever gone to a Tea Party event and seen someone holding a sign that says "I want to kill blacks and Jews"?
Especially when some of the featured speakers at the event were black?

I have to admit, watching MSNBC is always entertaining.  Entertaining.  Addictive.  Their ratings are totally in the tank, but I can't imagine why. 

Enjoy this display from someone on the Keith Olbermann farm team:



Notice the reference to Nazis?  Always, always, always remember:  That abbreviation stood for the National Socialist German Worker's Party, and they were almost the biggest of the big government outfits of the previous century. 
Remember:  National Socialist German Worker's Party.  As left wing, and Big Government as they come. 

I don't think the Tea Party movement has much in common with the National Socialist German Worker's Party. 

Doesn't anybody read any more? 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and whether dissent is treasonous

From Dennis T. Avery, of Pajamas Media:

Where are the American journalists who should be covering the collapse of the man-made warming scare — the biggest hoax in human history? The public, shoveling snow amid blizzard winds, wants to know. The stock market, laboring under the threat of trillion-dollar energy taxes, urgently needs to know. Even the Columbia Journalism Review, complicit in fostering the global warming scare for 20 years, is prodding America’s mainstream media to finally do their duty.

The press in England, Australia, and even India is already breaking the story:

– “The Professor’s Amazing Climate Change Retreat,” London Daily Mail, Feb. 13. “Professor Phil Jones of East Anglia University confesses on the BBC that the world hasn’t warmed since 1995, and the Medieval Warming was perhaps warmer than today.”

– “World May Not Be Warming, Say Scientists,” Sunday Times of London, Feb. 14.


– “The Hottest Hoax in the World,” Ninad Sheth, India’s Open Magazine, Jan. 30.


– “The Great Global Warming Collapse,” Margaret Wente, Canada’s Global & Mail, Feb. 20.

Also eagerly awaiting the media confessions is that little band of hardy souls who have been telling us for years inconvenient truths about gaps in the greenhouse theory while insisting that “the science isn’t settled” by a long shot. They’ve been accused of treason, likened to Holocaust deniers, and threatened with jail and with death for telling us that the evidence didn’t stack up.

Go here to read the rest of Mr. Avery's piece.  It's worth the trip.  But speaking of accusing skeptics of treason and threatening opponents with jail and death....Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is speaking at TCU tonight.  Here's one of Kennedy's memorable quotes from the Live Earth concerts:

“Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington D.C., who are nothing more than corporate toadies for companies like Exxon and Southern Company, these villainous companies, that consistently put their private financial interest ahead of American interests, and ahead of the interests of all humanity. This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors,”

If any of you are going to hear RFK Jr. tonight, please wade through this collection of con-artistry first.  The climate scam is unraveling like a knit sweater inside a cotton gin.  As best I can tell, Saint Albert, The Goracle Of Music City, Tennessee, hasn't granted an interview in about a month.  His Co-Nobelist might be going to jail.   Tonight's event at TCU might be your last chance to see a Warmist before the next artificial panic begins. 

Please thank Mr. Kennedy for waiting a couple of months before executing CEO's for treason. 

Whew, that was a close one. If the hackers had waited a few months longer to pry open the East Anglia CRU emails, could we have saved the Exxon CEO from the RFK Jr. lynch mob?
I think not.
RFK Jr. is at TCU tonight.  Bring a bullshit detector with you. 

The picture of the appropriately green-tinted electric chair came from here.  The RFK Jr. pic came from the TCU Daily Skiff. 

Why I love watching Keith Olbermann

I was telling a friend of mine the other day about discovering the wonderful world of MSNBC, but I couldn't really explain why I'm drawn to that network.  It's like looking in on a sophisticated culture that developed without ever discovering the wheel.  Nestled in there next door to FOX Business, it's like a sitcom about Amish farming families trying to make it in Manhattan.  MSNBC is like a space shuttle staffed by The Flat Earth Society.  They don't, or can't, acknowledge the world that the rest of us live in.
 
This is why I LOVE watching Keith Olbermann.
In a recent rant about the Tea Party/9-12 movements, Olbermann says "Let me ask all of you who attend these things, how many black faces do you see at these events? How many hispanics? Asians, gays? Where are these people? Surely there must be blacks who think they're being bled by taxation. Surely there must be hispanics who think we should have let the auto industry fail...."
And he goes on and on and on in that vein.  
I don't know who the guy is that vandalized this video of Olbermann's rant, but he did a heck of a job. 



Well, Mr. Olbermann, you can go here and check out the pictures from my post about Fort Worth's 9-12 rally.  Hispanics, if memory serves, were possibly over-represented.  African-Americans were probably under-represented, especially women, but the men were there in fairly large numbers.  (Mostly older guys, ex-military, and wearing their camo/caps/etc. with insignia to designate their branch of service.) 

And please indulge me for indulging in this stereotype: I've NEVER seen Asians at these events, probably because they're too busy working.  You can go here to see that the Asian vote is almost evenly split between Republicrats and Demoblicans.  So far, they've resisted left-wing victimization programs.

I didn't take these pictures with the goal of filling racial quotas, as Olbermann seem to advocate, but the random sampling I posted kinda indicates that the 9-12 rally was a lot more diverse than (ahem) Mr. Olbermann's employer.

If anyone is interested, here are some interesting videos from Dallas Pastor Stephen Broden, speaking at the 9-12 event.  Do I agree with everything Pastor Broden says?  No, and I don't have to.   Do I like listening to him?  Yeah. 
Those of us who have united against The Teleprompter Jesus have something that MS-DNC seems to lack.
It's called "diversity". 


Maybe Keith Olbermann just needs to get out more and get a clue about what he's reporting.  That might help. 


Yet another coat of Whitening goes to Ed Driscoll for the first video link.

Update from 2-20-10....BUT WAIT ! ! !   There's more ! ! !    Where is all this video coming from that doesn't fit the preferred narrative ?