A Conflict of Visions (Brooks)

What Republicans Think - NYTimes.com

A good one by Brooks, the following paragraph is a pretty decent summary of how conservatives see the current welfare state model:

The welfare model favors security over risk, comfort over effort, stability over innovation. Money that could go to schools and innovation must now go to pensions and health care. This model, which once offered insurance from the disasters inherent in capitalism, has now become a giant machine for redistributing money from the future to the elderly.

BO Getting Stale?

Media — and others — oddly unimpressed with presidential re-reruns « Hot Air

When it comes to light that your policies aren't cutting it, you can either "stay the couse", try the "and now for something completely different" or "triangulate" to the other guys policies.

Reagan stayed the course, and the policies started working in '83, so by '84 he had lots of success to run on.

Bush 1 made a giant political mistake. He caved to tax increases in a VERY mild recession and then got abused for a "poor economy" as those tax increases were absorbed by an otherwise strong economy. HW is a lesson in what happens when Republicans "compromise". Tax, spend and regulate policies have been proven over and over not to work, and Democrats LOVE getting a Republican enact them and then complain when they STILL don't work.

Clinton triangulated after '94 and by '96 was pretty much an "honorary Republican" -- NAFTA, Welfare Reform, "the era of big government being over".

W's issues were more military than economic -- by '02 the crash recession was over and the economy was just not that big in '04. Even bubble growth is better than no growth.

BOs problem is that he really believes that more government spending and debt = prosperity, or at least it should. That is his ideology, and he is not shifting it. Unfortunately, what he believes doesn't work, so all he really can do is try to blame others and keep saying that things are "getting better".

Stale BO soon starts to be unwelcome -- even to your friends!

It would be funny if it were not so sad has we hear BO blaming W for policies that the extremely weak lame duck W was forced into after he lost congress in '07. He had enough institutional / political power to push The Surge through and win in Iraq -- thank God. Beyond that, the economy has been on Democrat pilot since '07, and it shows.

Another ID Outrage!

Since I know that many Democrats are honestly concerned about the evils of people being forced to carry around a government issued photo ID, I include this offensive picture so they may use it as they move forward from just focusing on voting to purge the country of ID requirements.

From Drop Box

I can only imagine the horror and outrage that quakes through a Democrat as they visualize an "undocumented worker" (some would say "illegal alien"), elderly person, or apparently college student (that one always mystifies me -- most of them must not drink today) being turned away from shipping a UPS package!!

What is the country coming to!! I realize that so far, because of their many priorities,  Democrats have only focused on voting ID requirements -- but since I know they are honestly concerned, and not just trying to allow as much fraud as possible in the specific case of voting, they will soon be working hard to remove the scourge of personal ID requirements from our lives.

Alcohol sales, cigarette sales, plane travel, changing your phone from land line to cable, driving, cashing a check, checking into a hotel, mailing a UPS package -- all these are cases where the ID challenged person is blocked in  today's society -- oh, and in voting every couple years if the evil ID legislation passes.

I do realize that my understanding of the Democrat brain is limited -- it is hard to understand why they would focus so hard on no ID for voting rather than the many other more common challenges to the less ID abled person. I'd think it would be easier to ban the use of IDs for checking into a hotel, mailing a package, or even driving rather than just focusing on voting.

This is a civil country though, I believe Democrats are intelligent and well meaning people, so I'm certain they can't just be trying to enable voter fraud because they know there is a lot of it in their favor based on ACORN and other prosecutions in the past couple years.

Recalling Sanity

No Recall - NYTimes.com

The linked column gets it  mostly wrong, but the voters in WI got it right. Recalling a Governor over a matter of policy that was passed and implemented as required is anti-Democratic and would have been a strong message in the direction of even worse partisanship and gridlock. The real winner in WI was "Good Government" or "We the People". Self government can't work if the minority demands constant recalls when things don't go their way after losing regular elections.

There are a lot of "mirrored connections" between BOcare and Walker's Budget:

1. The opposition was energized -- Republicans followed the process and took over the House in 2010. Democrats and Unions in WI protested and did a bunch of recall elections. The politics of division and destruction is primarily a Democrat / MSM approach (look at all the war metaphors in the linked  column alone), it just gets reported as the reverse.
2. Walker's policies generally worked -- the WI budget is in surplus, the state economy is outdoing rival states and there has been no loss of services in the state. BO's policies have generally not worked -- we have massive deficits, a poor economy and healthcare costs continue to rise unabated. All of the claims of BOcare "saving money" to date have proven false. All the claims of "disaster" being caused by Walker's policies have also proven false. 
3. What is missing from the linked article and much of the left is Sanity/Reality. Democrats look at the "growing economy" of much of the post WWII era and believe it was due to "good government". In fact, it was due to "less government" -- less, but perpetually increasing. Like weight, spending, driving fast, gambling, drinking, etc, government is NOT a "universal good". Some is required, but more is definitely not always better.

We live in a looking glass media culture. Having our politics be less divisive is important when it means letting Democrats have the policy their way. But when Walker and enough Republicans are elected to act in WI to solve the budget crisis, suddenly the more divisive the better -- including legislators fleeing, threats of violence and endless recalls. 

 

BO The Fiscal Conservative

Obama Doubles Down on Lies About Spending and Debt | Power Line

Insanity reigns -- good take down of what ought to be so obvious to all that anyone putting forward this line of tripe would never be taken seriously again.

BO is as much of a budget hawk as Reagan was pro-commie!!!!

25 Years Since "Tear Down This Wall!"

Tear Down This Wall at 25 | Power Line

Virtually everyone in his own administration "knew better", and the press thought he was completely insane. Then they thought he was insane, now they think he was lucky. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.

I'm sad for those too young to have been alive to see Reagan stand strong for America and a brighter future. His faith was in God and the American Spirit, not Ronald Reagan, and thus his strength and accomplishments far outstripped the would be leaders that have followed him. Much like today, Americans had decided that "our best years were behind us" until the Gipper launched us on a 30 year "Morning in America" adventure.

We could REALLY use a leader like Ronald Reagan again!!

Knowing Left From Right

Socialist or Fascist - Thomas Sowell - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

An excellent column, please read it.

One of the most effective propaganda moves of the left was the abandoning of Fascism when it went bad in Nazi Germany and brilliantly morphing it into an ideology of the "Right".

Since left is "State Control" and right is libertarian anarchy", this never made any sense, but when you control the schools, universities and the press it is amazing what you can get people to believe!

If Thomas Sowell had been our first Black President, our nation would be MUCH  better off today!!

Building Discord

Obama Steps on Message, GOP Steps on Economy -- Daily Intel

The assertion in the article is that Mitt Romney not being castigated for making an off the cuff claim that reducing spending in his first year would be counterproductive "proves" that Republicans are trying to slow economic growth to gain power. Thus:

So Republicans in Congress are blocking Obama’s jobs plan, in the correct understanding that this will redound to their party’s advantage. When Obama attempts to explain this state of affairs, Romney can accuse him of making “excuses.” Obama can hammer home the point that Republicans are blocking his plan, but doing so has the side effect of making him appear partisan and ineffective.

Obama was arguing, correctly, that Republicans are the ones satisfied with slow private sector growth, and he is the one trying to boost it through economic stimulus. But his argument is complicated, and theirs is very simple.

So your average NY Magazine reader, already pretty certain of the thesis finds their suspicions confirmed -- it is always easy to confirm our suspicions.

However, is that really what the discussions have been about? No.

BO wants to INCREASE spending AND increase taxes on the "wealthy". So Mitt saying he is going to hold the line on spending and saying nothing about taxes is actually significantly different than the meaning reported, and likely far less nefarious. 

Republicans just believe that the private sector tends to allocate capital better than the public. 

It is an article of faith for Democrats that GOVERNMENT spending is positive for the economy, but also that high taxes on the WEALTHY are beneficial. Having Bill Gates sell a billion worth of MS Stock so that BO can send $500 M to some Solyndra, and 500m to various folks so they can spend it as they see fit is a FAR better investment than leaving the money in MS stock. ]

A Warm Uniter vs a Cold Narcisist

How to praise your predecessor with class | Power Line

Just read it, it really doesn't get more plain. Putting up a portrait of your predecessor is not a time for political points or self aggrandizement -- it is about them.

BO is incapable of even the most rudimentary understanding of respect for others, of occasions not being about him, or of things being far bigger than him.

He needs to be shown the door.

Shut Up and Give Us Your Money

Wisconsin’s lessons for the left and the right - The Washington Post

EJ Dionne says it pretty straight. The problem with Citizens United is that only the left is really supposed to have Free Speech. As for the 1%, they are supposed to only have a right to shut up and let the lefties take their money to squander as they see fit.

The Golden Goose needs to learn how to not be honking as it is killed for those golden eggs -- the left doesn't cotton to any noise!

Of course EJ HOPES that the the right will be "arrogant" -- such would be funny if it was not so sad. I'm sure that the left is just about to foreswear the use of Hollywood stars for massive fundraising.

This is a huge problem for democracy in a post-Citizens United world. A few billionaires can amplify their voices far above those of other citizens.

Walker's Policies Work. Recall Him??

How much should you pay for how much government? - chicagotribune.com

We have the clearest test that could possibly be had coming up in WI on Tuesday. As this article outlines -- Walker's policies have worked to save the WI taxpayers money without cutting services. He has turned a projected deficit into an actual surplus, and business is migrating to WI from neighboring states.

Meanwhile, while outraged, the union folks are paying less for their better benefits than comparable folks in the private sector. What's more, freed from the State acting as bagman for the union and collecting dues, union membership is down significantly. When people are given a choice on paying for the services of the union, most opt out.

Will people support Walker and give us a little bit better chance to avoid the path of Greece, Italy, Spain  and California? or will they remove him from office and turn WI back to the path of union control and runaway spending?

Tuesday is a critical day for both WI and America.

BO: Drone Warrior

Barack Obama: Drone Warrior - The Washington Post

Excellent article from Charles, I heard a segment on this from NPR. We all have our biases, but there is something about the completely different reaction here that is just chilling.

 BO is completely aware that he can get POSITIVE press out of his "toughness" as he plays judge and jury to remote assassination. W weighs options, consults congress (even though some, like Pelosi try to weasel out of that), has specific legal findings on the line between "torture" and "enhanced interrogation", and is called a "war criminal" by the same folks that now have positive words to say about remote assassination.

The old question used to be "how would YOU like to be Waterboarded" ? Of course, our own SEALs are all Waterboarded during their training -- which is part of the reason it was not considered torture. There are A LOT of parts of SEAL training that are pretty much "torture".

OK, how would you like to have you and possibly your family slaughtered  by a remote drone? How would you compare THAT to you being captured and waterboarded for information -- of course with the chance that maybe you AREN'T a terrorist?

I don't have a problem with BO as president making decisions for SOME assassinations, but I do have a big problem with bypassing information and possibly killing innocents because of a primarily politically driven "we don't "torture"" policy. We don't "torture", but we do execute without any interrogation, process, etc??

I also don't understand how to really deal "civilly" with liberals on this issue when it seems that their positions are completely politically rather than good good of the country / national security based.

If liberals have some "strong humanitarian sense" that had them out protesting and screaming obscenities about W, where has that "sense" gone now that BO is in the WH if it is just not thinly veiled partisan politics??

Another Wreckovery Summer?

Q1 GDP revised downward to 1.9% « Hot Air

Seems like back in '04, the economic numbers would always come in "worse than expected" with a lot of heavy commentary, then quietly get "revised upward". Now the disappointing numbers slink in with little comment and the downward revisions are darned near state secrets.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/30/news/economy/gdp/index.htm there is a link to a decent example -- 4th qtr DOWN to 4.2% from 8.1% ...but just really not that good, with Democrats complaining about lack of jobs. Wow, they and the MSM seem A LOT more sanguine about some actually rotten economic numbers right now.

Back in the dim dark ages of '04, 250K+ jobs being added a month was a "jobless recovery" -- now there is a term one really doesn't hear much of in the MSM these days. Maybe that is because it is really tough to call it a "recovery" with a straight face even if you are staunchly in the tank for BO.

Oh, and GREAT NEWS!!! Before tax corporate profits are UP, but after tax they are DOWN!! Now there is something that the left really ought to be cheering about -- more money in the Feds coffers and less in the pockets of evil business and investors! That ought to teach them. Marvelous!

Our National Adolesence

Peter Pan vs. Wendy - HUMAN EVENTS

Very worth the read, good imagery.

One is reminded of "If you aren't a Democrat at 20, you don't have a heart. If you are not a Republican by 40, you don't have a brain".

 More to the point, you are still "wishing and hoping" if you are a Democrat ... or maybe "blaming and throwing a tantrum". Either way, there is "reality" -- we are born, we work hard, then we die, or there is "fantasy" -- life is one big joyful bowl of cherries completely taken care of by somebody else with nothing but never ending irresponsible "fun" for us.

Those that have moved to reality realize that actually we are created to find joy in reality, even (especially?) a reality that includes physical death and spiritual eternity. Fantasy? Well, it has the danger of going the way of Jim Morrison, John Belushi, etc ... "nothing really matters anymore". Rewards for actual success are really fun.  The fake world where "we are all special" turns out to be so fake that the prime objective of a lot of "fun" is merely escape.

Go Wendy!!

A BO Defector Profile in Courage

One of Obama’s Earliest Supporters Defects | Power Line

I hope Artur Davis has a Kevlar character -- mostly the MSM will try to ignore him,  but if he sticks his head up too much, they are going to do their best to DESTROY him. Can't have a former Democrat rising start, black man leaving the Democrat Plantation on BO!!

This guy has COURAGE!!