People or PC?

A Very Dangerous Game - Thomas Sowell - Page full:

In America today, that is an easy answer.

For those of you that don't read the alternative media, it is the "Knockout Game", and it is coming to a street near you if you have not heard of it already. If it is up to the BO administration and the MSM though, you won't be aware of it until the side of your face is caved in and you get a starring spot on a celebratory YouTube. Talk about your "15 min of fame".

As always, Sowell covers it so well I have little to add ... other than he is black, brilliant and totally fearless as always!

Read it and weep for the decent nation that was once America.

"Apparently political correctness trumps human lives. 

Providing cover for hoodlums is a disservice to everybody, including members of every race, and even the hoodlums themselves. Better that they should be suppressed and punished now, rather than continue on a path that is likely to lead to prison, or even to the execution chamber."

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Fake Turkey, Fake Life, Fake Nation

Media feasting on Bush 'fake' turkey claim; false story still repeated 10 years on - Washington Times:

I ran into this today after posting this yesterday.

“It’s a real theme in so many people’s minds, it’s almost got a religious aspect to it,” said Tim Blair, a columnist at The Daily Telegraph in Australia who has tracked the story over the past decade and said it has taken on a life of its own, playing on people’s perceptions of the former president. “If you’re of the anti-Bush faith, it’s a touchstone. It’s the book of turkey.”

Yes, and there is "the book" of "misunderestimated", "Mission Accomplished", "Bush Lied", and countless others. Back then, raising the debt ceiling was in the words of a certain BO "a failure of leadership" http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/debtlimit.asp ... today of course NOT raising it is "unpatriotic", "holding the people hostage", etc, etc.

... and the MSM fails to even point out the obvious hypocrisy as BO brays on. Not very likely they will be dwelling on any fake stories 10 years after the fact with BO!

I probably knew 10-20 people that were deep in the throes of "Bush Derangement Syndrome" during his time in office, and no doubt most of them still are. (the condition seems to be terminal).

The problem is that when politics is a religion, it isn't politics, as it generally is not on the conservative side because the majority of people on that side have REAL religion! ( eternally effective vs not even real at all, a wonderful trade)

The media and the left want to reduce this all to "both sides do it", but in point of fact, the whole education system, NPR, NBC, NYT, etc, etc are a lot different from a few Christian schools, NRO, a few Bloggers, Fox News and Talk Radio. More people maybe ought to treat NPR exactly like Fox News and "Harvard Studies" like "Liberty University Studies" (meaning ALL have their specific biases and axe to grind), but I really doubt that is happening anytime soon. So I keep hammering.

My thesis is that ALL people have religion, marriage and children -- and many other things, because they are wired into the species. The objects of those elements were also ordained ... God, Husband/Wife, real human children.

Modern America has so cut ties with reality that people replace God with Politics, Diet, Job, Status, Possessions, etc and claim they have no religion. Only they still do, it is just false.

And then they get Married ... to their "significant other", or their job, or their cause, or their house, and believe that they are "free of marriage". Only they are still married ,,, just not naturally so. ("Gay marriage" is just one tiny example of fake marriage.)

Then they have their pets, or their relatives kids, or their birds, or their social cause, or "the poor" on which they lavish the attention naturally intended for children.

While this all goes on the real country falls in ruin, families cease to exist, and the population of "Caucasians of European decent" falls below replacement level and withers away. Which is considered "good", and to not consider it good is "racist", since pride in your heritage is racist if your heritage is not Black, Hispanic, or American Indian. (Asian heritage seems to be OK as well ... possibly because they have seen fit to commit demographic suicide for their own reasons as well ... misery loves company).

Over half of America and greater percentages than that in Europe, China and Japan live in a Fake World. They have lost their connection with both the real and the spiritual universe -- a condition that I believe is unavoidable once the connection with the spiritual is lost. The Spiritual is more real than the material (seen by modern man as "real"), so once it is lost, the obviously UNreal material universe (see quantum mechanics) has no anchor.

America is especially vulnerable because it was founded on an idea. You remember, that ALL men are CREATED equal, endowed by their CREATOR ,,,"

Other nations are founded on race, ethnicity, religion or territory. If there is no Spirit and no Creator, then there is no America, because America WAS that fundamental idea,

Since we are a nation founded on an idea, the educational system and the MSM turning away from the fundamental basis of our existence as a nation is more than just "partisan" or "divided" or "progressive". It means that vast swaths of our population truly are no longer Americans, because they no longer believe in the idea on which we are founded.

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BO Bagger, Emmerson Stupid

Obama (Allegedly) Uses ‘Tea-Baggers’ in Handwritten Response to Texas Teacher; Only Center-Right Notices | NewsBusters:

I give this story about a 50/50 or maybe slightly less of being true. The nice thing about being loved by the MSM is that most likely, BO won't even have to deny it, true or not. Where W OTH had to put up with all sorts of CONSTANT rumors and innuendo from everything to 9-11 being a Conspiracy, to "God having told him to invade Iraq", etc.

There is such a double standard it defies belief. I ran across this relative to Tim Tebow the other day .. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-vespa/2013/06/10/john-id-shoot-tim-tebow-oliver-begins-his-summer-tenure-tonight try to imagine if Tebow was Gay, or Muslim, or even Black, rather than Christian one could only imagine the outcry.

Of course, that would pale in comparison if a conservative commentator suggested that somebody defecate in Michelle Obama's mouth ... as a opposed to Sarah Palin's mouth. How civil can one get??

Oh, it is ALL OK since it is SO stupid to compare debt to slavery. Remember how stupid Emmerson was?

“A man in debt is so far a slave.”

Slavery / debt is a VERY common comparison and has been FOREVER! I'd bet dollars to donuts that if one did some looking they could find an utterance from his worshipfulness BO to that effect. Why not? When one is in debt, their treatment in the future is handed over to the one who owns the debt. Will the Chinese treat our offspring better or worse than Negro Slaves were treated in pre-Civil War America? 

One might want to look at current N Korea treatment, Japanese prisoner of war camps and current Chinese treatment of Tibetian prisoners before one started calling Emmerson stupid!

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Pushing You In Front of the Train

Good article. My title comes from its reference to the old "if you had to decide to push one person in front of a train to save 5 others, would you?" To most of us it seems obvious that the answer is "no", but to a number of people -- and I'd bet it is an increasing number, the answer is "yes".

Of course any Democrat would be happy to push "the rich, the responsible, the successful, the religious", or some other group that they dislike in front of the train in favor of some group they deem more "worthy".

The whole article is worth a read, but I really liked this paragraph:

The generation that voted in Barack Obama as president is new in American history. They were raised to mistake support of grievance-mongering for caring, special treatment for justice, and self-indulgence for sacred rights. They were taught to reject and be ashamed of our national values of freedom and responsibility. Freedom makes those who are irresponsible look bad, because they fail. Millennials mistake conservatives' love of freedom and responsibility for cruelty and racism. They have been taught people's problems are always society's fault, not that people learn from mistakes and grow strong by solving their own problems. They've bought the Big Lie that government can and should solve people's problems.

"

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We're All Democrats

“Remember boys, we’re all Democrats” | Power Line:

Or at least those in power are -- in both the executive branch and increasingly the judicial.

Why suddenly go for the "Nuclear Option" at this juncture?

Two reasons:

1). The one covered in the linked article. Because the DC Circuit Court hears the cases relative to the BO power grabs when law is made by executive fiat. As in "you can keep your health insurance for another year because **I The Supreme Ruler** have declared it!! You didn't know we had a Supreme Ruler? Well, you certainly wouldn't by listening to the MSM, but there is no other explanation for what BO did to delay the employer mandate and to suddenly declare invalid policies valid for ONE MORE YEAR!

2). A diversion from the disaster that is BOcare. We can expect a constant stream of these ... Oh! Thus just in! We have capitulated to the Iranians on their Nuclear Program and called it a diplomatic coup! Why don't you all chatter on that for awhile and pay no attention to BOcare, website promises or otherwise!

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Don't Throw Me Into the Filibuster Brier Patch?

Filibuster Rope-a-Dope? | Power Line:

An interesting angle. Since the "Progressives" succeeded in changing election of Senators from being a function of the Governors and State Legislators as the founders intended, to being direct statewide election in each state, the Republicans have never had a 60+ advantage in the Senate.

The Senate is the chamber most likely to end up in Republican hands from time to time given "land power" vs population power of each state having two Senators ... BUT, it is likely their advantage will be by a NARROW MARGIN rather than the full 60 vote trump card.

So the Democrats may have just blasted their own foot! Those that don't bother to read a history book or think for a bit can hardly complain.

Oh, I can only imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth if the Republicans repeal BOcare with 51 votes and do a rule change to appoint a conservative to the SCOTUS at some point!

So am I a hypocrite? YES, that is why doing the the power grab was a mistake of epic proportions as I covered here.  We are ALL hypocrites! Short sighted, limited in our appreciation of the complexities and subtleties of changes we make in law, society and institutions like the Senate.

The "Progressives" rip out the very cornerstones that were the common ground that allowed us to live civilly, and then lament the loss of civility!

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Free Speech For Me, Not for Thee

2013: Year of the Left-Wing Billionaire | Power Line:

Good article that covers some extra detail on the simple facts of money and politics.

1. The Democrats always have more total money and more rich people giving them money. 
2. The Democrats constantly complain about money in politics and try to make it illegal for any Republican Donors to make political contributions (eg. "Citizens United") 

In a nation of over 300 million people, it takes money to "speak". Democrats are STRONG believers in one party rule(theirs), and freedom of speech that espouses their position.

Other political parties and people who are not in agreement with them should follow a simple rule. 

SHUT UP! 

... and if they fail to do as they are told, the Democrats are perfectly willing to FORCE them to shut up! Via, auditing their taxes (their way, "wrong" political view = criminal!), prosecuting them on some odd law about "whatever" (maybe they have a toilet that uses too much water), releasing some embarrassing personal information that they either found or made up, or simply finding the disagreeing speech to be "offensive" or "hateful" (words that have come to mean "disagrees with Democrat position). 

We live in simple times, and they keep getting simple. Be a Democrat,  OR ELSE!

Losing Children to the Left

Conservative Parents, Left-Wing Children | RealClearPolitics:

This one is way way too close to home. The seminal paragraph to me is this:

As a father, my purpose is not to pass on my seed, but to pass on my values. Just about anyone can biologically produce a child. That ability we share with the animals. What renders us distinct from animals is that we can pass on values. As the Latin puts it, animals only have "genitors;" humans have "paters." Or as the Hebrew has it, parent (horeh) comes from the same root as teacher (moreh). That is why Judaism puts teachers (of religious/moral values) on the same plane as parents.

Typically for conservative parents, that goes double or triple. God, Church, Family, Personal Responsibility, Morals, Tradition -- all these are dear to conservative parents, and in fact, had they not believed that they were good enough parents to be able to transmit their values rather than just their genes, they would likely have never had children. Things like children tend to not "just happen" to conservatives -- they had very high hopes and took a tremendous amount of responsibility to do all they could for their kids to successfully receive the values that they believe to be crucial to a good life on earth and eternity to come.

The article covers the obvious leading cause. Caring parents pay thousands and tens of thousands of dollars to have their child indoctrinated by the left wing educational system at a time in their life when human nature demands they break away from home. The godless, humanist largely socialist educational system just gives them an extra large shove in areas that one would argue they have no business even touching.

The destruction of western civilization through the corrupting of the youth goes at least back to "The Abolition of Man" by C. S. Lewis, published in 1943. The rather short book does a very superb job of showing how modern education produces "men without chests" ... or to put it another way, "without a heart". No proper/beneficial sentiments ... those must be learned (and not removed by the schools and the culture). Things like honor, awe, humility, compassion, reverence, etc.

The proof of the heart removal is in the callous manner in which they trample on the faith, the values and the traditions that they know to be as dear as life itself to their parents -- in fact of eternal significance. As Christian Parents are faced with the heartbreak of godless children, they possibly experience a minuscule sliver of the loss Christ felt has he hung on the cross and was forsaken by God.

"God and Man at Yale" from Buckley in the '50s and "The Closing of the American Mind" in the 60's from Bloom further document the disease that is destroying all of value in Western civilization.

The article talks of the sadness, which is unavoidable and terrible.

For Christians though,  through a lot of tears and despair, it is yet another prod to realize that ultimately God is in charge and having done all that we were able to do as parents, it is time to "let go and let God" -- all be it with MUCH prayer for his intervention. 

Family is important, but God is to be TRULY FIRST. Our primary joy is not be from earthly things, and that sadly includes even our children. 

Martin Luther leaves us with "A Mighty Fortress is our God" 

The Word they still shall let remain
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone,
They yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

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Nuclear Ratchet to Tyranny

The Most Comical Hypocrites of All, the New York Times | Power Line:

All people are hypocrites, that is why we once had the Bible, Classical History and the Constitution.

"Progressives" are required to be both liars and hypocrites ... since they ascribe to the obvious fantastical and known to be incorrect belief that "historical progress is always positive". They share this with Marx -- for whom the arc of history toward Communism was a "given". Even though the 20th century saw more human lives snuffed out by godless Socialist or Communist states than all the previous wars of history, "Hopeful Change" is still viewed as a guaranteed path to earthy nirvana by the brand of hypocrites that call themselves "progressive".

So now the Filibuster is dead in the Senate and we see what Democrats really think of "respect for the minority". Oh we are told it is "only for certain Presidential appointments". Oh really. BOcare was passed with < 60 votes in the Senate under the rubric that "it was a budget measure". No, the seal has been broken, America's headlong descent to mob rule as clicked another large tooth on the ratchet of doom as we slide farther into tyrannical rule by the mob, no doubt to be followed by "rule by THE PARTY".

On NPR yesterday the hosts were chortling with joy, and when they talked to a Republican Senator that was in disbelief that this had been done, they kicked their derision up another notch with, "well, if you don't like it, you can change it BACK if you are ever in the majority!" ... ha, ha, ha!!

There is the rub. Since all humans are hypocrites, non-totalitarian civilization demands that we all bow to SOME "higher power" that we ALL agree we will HONOR and hold SACRED. Formerly that was Judaeo-Christianity that allowed Western Civilization to be built. Then there were Constitutions -- largely based on the Bible and the Magna Carta, along with Greek and Roman knowledge about limiting the power of Leviathan (the government) and the proper relationship of all the classes of society. Yes, we once knew that there were just increments in the status and capability of people. We still do, we just claim we don't these days.

"Change it back". Indeed, the myth of Pandora, or the touching rendition of same in Disney's "Sorcerers Apprentice" is completely lost to the promethean narcissistic monsters that currently rule both our political and popular culture. Agreed to limits?? Ha!! Why don't you foolish "conservatives" follow your own foolish rules IF you ever gain power again!

Constitution? God? Rules? Tradition? To hell with all of them! Like Lucifer in the Garden, GIVE US POWER!!

And so it slips away, click by click, drip by drip, and when it is completely gone they will say "how could this have happened".

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Incorrect Promises

The Obamacare Ten-Step Self-Help Program | National Review Online:

As we watch 1/6th of the economy implode under the malfeasance and incompetence that is BO, it is worthy to do a bit of slow-mo on the sleight of hand of the this combination 3-card monty swindle and healthcare demolition derby.

One thing this article, and nearly all I have read.completely leave out is that "if you like it you can keep it for ONE YEAR LONGER"!!! Although I see it before my eyes, I'm unable to really accept that Americans have gotten so short sighted that the new promise from a proven liar is even considered.

But BO has assistance in his subterfuge. In the tradition of "Fake but True" previously applied to the memos "proving" that W wasn't a great fighter pilot 30 years ago, and "White Hispanic" a new racial class containing only George Zimmerman, the NYTs has created  "incorrect promise"!

The split between lawmakers and the White House reflects the dilemma the president finds himself in as he seeks to follow through on last week’s acknowledgment about his incorrect promise on health care coverage. Hundreds of thousands of people have received cancellation notices from health insurance companies because their plans do not conform with minimum standards set by the new law.

Lie. How easy it was for the press to ascribe that word to W, Nixon and even Reagan, yet when BO is totally exposed, we get a new linguistic creation as opposed to the facts. 

The entire linked article is well worth the read, but item #1 is the clincher. When future generations marvel at the rapid decline, this is what killed the American experiment. On retirement, healthcare, and increasingly all aspects of life, responsible behavior is punished, irresponsible behavior is rewarded.

One is the idea of fairness, or rather everyone’s indebtedness to the state: those who budgeted for health care, either through individual plans, or obtained at work, got some sort of silent automatic benefit from the state, an advantage usually without much credit due to themselves. In contrast, those without insurance are all assumed to be victims of the system, who either were long ago dropped, or could not afford formal coverage, and were both without recourse to health care (such as walk-in clinics, emergency rooms, federal and state clinics), and were in that position due to someone else or nefarious forces beyond their control. Whiners who complain that their premiums go up are really the selfish who do not wish to pay “a little more” for their less fortunate brethren.

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Reality Bites, Early BOcare Edition

Obama in Bind Trying to Keep Health Law Vow - NYTimes.com:

Much like the only thing wrong with incest is the relatives part, the only thing wrong with Liberalism is reality.

Sure, it would be great if everyone could sit at home, get stoned, watch Oprah and live off a government check while the Chinese and future generations of immigrant and single mom raised kids covered the tab, but then reality intrudes.

So BO and the Democrats promised;  "We will force evil insurance companies to cover you even if you only show up AFTER you have been diagnosed with cancer ... and oh, yeah, will get the same rate as a Mormon marathon runner your age. Hell, EVERYONE, the chain smoking alcoholic single mother of 6 of the same age included will get the same rate, and it will be LOWER THAN TODAY!!! "

One would think that after listening to inane sales pitches of "$19.99 today only! Guaranteed not to rust, bust, collect dust, chip, crack or peel, or your money back" for year after year, there might be some skepticizm.

But no, the nation fell for the equivalent of the Nigerian Bank 10's of million dollar check and all you have to send is a few thousand!



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Tall People Reach Higher Shelves

Jumbo mortgages now carry cheaper rates than traditional loans - Nov. 12, 2013:

Wine costs less by the case. Government services cost less than private services ... eg Space Shuttle $450M per launch, Spaceship2 $150K.

And now this breathtaking article ... oh, and the little kicker

Jumbo loans have also gotten comparatively cheaper. As the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie and Freddie, seeks to boost the two agencies' reserves against losses from mortgage defaults, it has raised fees and other costs for borrowers, according to Terry Francisco, a Bank of America spokesman.
Since Fannie and Freddie don't back jumbo mortgages, those fees don't apply and therefore aren't passed on to borrowers.

Things that make you go "duh".

From "Is" to "Period", Parsing With Democrats

Parsing Obama’s Promise | Power Line:

The last Democrat showed us the definition of "is". BO is showing us new nuance in the parsing of the english language relative to "period".

Remember when we heard "Bush lied" over and over? (and over and over and ...)

So W not finding WMD in Iraq when every western government and the UN was convinced he had it was a "lie", but it is very hard for the press label BO claiming not to know that 10's to over 100 million will lose their health insurance because of his signature program as even "misleading"??

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Penalizing Marriage Again

Decoding the Obamacare 'marriage penalty' - Nov. 7, 2013:

The particulars of this column are just a tiny example. State control and redistribution ALWAYS has to penalize marriage! It has been  known for thousands of years that marriage is the best way for men and women to live their lives and raise families. If you are a Christian, you know this because God said it. If you are an atheist, you could learn it through observation of income, both physical and mental health, wealth creation, etc.

Marriage is an adaptive positive behavior, so under the laws of liberalism/statism/collectivism it MUST be penalized in order to achieve "equality". Since marriage is a net benefit, in order to "equalize" the married with the unmarried, you MUST penalize the married. That is the essence of "redistribution" -- penalize successful / adaptive behavior, reward behavior that is not successful.

When a liberal/statist/collectivist sees "success" they immediately think "redistribute" ... which is implemented as penalize, tax, prohibit, regulate, etc. It is a knee-jerk non-negotiable reaction. The effect of redistribution is like spreading out a fire ... the fire goes out. Redistribution is PRECISELY penalizing success! Whatever behaviors are successful MUST be penalized in order to achieve equality of result! How else would you do it?

Why do they think this way? Because they have a vision of the world as perfect, but it requires the removal of most all the behaviors that have proved adaptive to build the western civilization we see today. Religion, truth, morality, self-control, liberty ... all must go. To attempt to thwart their actions is evil in their eyes because it denies their perfect world -- heaven on earth.

At their core they believe in a way even stronger than an Arab flying a plane into the WTC that man is good and that left to his "natural state", each short human life can be "heaven on earth", and there is NOTHING else of worth than that short life of sensual enjoyment! While the specifics of their view of this utopia are very foggy, they KNOW that it is good, and they KNOW that it requires the removal of all of the things that can be tied back to God / religion / existing civilization /tradition/ etc.

This dichotomy is as old as Adam. Is there a "better way" outside of the law and gospel given in the Bible?  Liberals believe that there certainly is, and so things like marriage have to be penalized, re-defined, weakened and finally destroyed so that all may be finally "equal". We will not reach their state of perfection until all are "equal" in our corporeal  existence.

I too believe there is an ultimate state in the physical world of equality -- death. Death of people, death of nations, death of civilizations and eventual death of the entire physical universe. I however believe there is an ultimate spiritual reality that is greater.

Mat 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." 



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In Praise of Income Inequality

Opinion: The most unequal place in America - CNN.com:

I grew up "lower middle class" and ended up "high middle or lower "rich"".  I've seen friends and relatives make the same transition and I've seen some go the other way. It is pretty easy to go from up to down ... I would not be at all surprised to see it happen to me. A bit of government confiscation, a stock market crash, sickness, etc. It always has and always be a lot easier to lose it than to make it.

The only perfectly "equal" place is one where everyone by law has ZERO. The old USSR came close. Of course the top 5% or so were MUCH more equal than the rest -- the Politburo the party chiefs, etc. ... but heh, they were "servants of the people" wink wink.

The other option is where America is fast heading ... and most third world nations already are. The vast bulk of the people lose their will to work and lose any sense that they could ever "get ahead" ... as what is encouraged by this article and the BO administration and my family as a youth. "The system is rigged, you don't have a chance, you have to have connections, it is all the big guys, etc".

Once the idea of upward mobility is destroyed, the culture becomes one of envy. "We need to take more of what the other guy has". So those that have been successful and those that have not given up on work hide out ... their assets are in metals, guns, land, equipment, offshore, etc. The net productivity of the financial and capability assets of the people drops precipitously and even worse, because the successful are hiding out, the models that prove that success is possible are at least nearly invisible.

The higher the standard of living possible the greater the income inequality! Guys worth 10's of billions really skew it, as do many people in the 10's of millions range.

It is interesting to note the "dream" of the person in this column. Not a newer trailer that didn't leak, not a car newer than her Taurus, but a giant home with servant quarters where she did no work at all! Unrealistic dreams are just one more way to fail to face reality and make better decisions day by day.

The article is founded on the absolute lie that somehow the folks that are wealthier are causing her to be poorer. The OPPOSITE is true ... go to other nations with far less wealthy, and the Taurus, the trailer with the leak goes away and she lives without power, toilet and clean water.

BUT they have lower income inequality!!!

Lovely, income equality or inequality is NOT a "basic good" ... in fact, it is essentially NOISE ... their are great countries with more income equality and there are great countries with less! By and large, more liberty means a higher standard of overall living, greater wealth of the nation AND greater income inequality.

Less liberty, lower general standard of living (compared to what would have been had with more liberty), less wealthy, and less inequality.

Give me Liberty and Income Inequality!

I loved the joke that went around about running a Democrat Home on Halloween ... take 1/2 the candy from the kids that came to the door and take it to kids that were too lazy to go out and trick or treat!


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