Just so we've got this straight... if you go to the book store to pick up the NYT and sip a latte then you're a smart person but if you go to work at the factory, put in an honest days work and support your family then you're an idiot? Oh, and the best part, the "urban cores" are solidly Democrat and not "stupid people." Apparently folks who make the least and depend on government the most are brilliant. Hey, they figured out how to milk the system and make a living doing nothing, right, Mark?Surprise, surprise. More evidence that the REAL party of stereotyping isn't sitting on the right side of the aisle, if any such evidence were needed. You see, sipping lattes and reading the Grey Lady...that's how life is supposed to be for the decision-making class--that is, the people who are smart enough to run society. The proles, on the other hand, just have the job of believing the promises of future prosperity and being satisfied with the lottery and food stamps. I think the Dems are taking their stereotypes about country bumpkins and illiterate factory workers a bit too seriously.
Obama defies categorization, analysts say, despite being rated the most liberal senator in 2007 by the National Journal. He presents himself as appealing to independents and some Republicans, the Post said.No questions asked in the article about what Obama's policies might or might not be. And, really, this is where it becomes clear that Obama is not only highly partisan, but also seriously dishonest with the American people. As the article quotes John McCain saying, Obama's policies are down-the-line liberal: national health care, Iraq War pullout, high taxes, plenty of new spending on social programs. Of course he isn't presenting himself as a liberal; that's political suicide in national elections. Instead, he's pronouncing himself the candidate of change--even though he harbors the same-old leftist philosophy that has been prominent in the Democratic Party since the 1970s. He's running as a unity candidate, even though his promises are far more partisan and radical than anything George W. Bush has done in the last seven years.
And hilariously/frighteningly:Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to sign a bill requiring car booster seats for all passenger kids ages 4 through 7 who are under 4-foot-9 inches tall.
Current state law requires a car seat of some kind only or children under age 4.
The state is planning a public awareness campaign for the new booster seat law, through the he Office of Highway Safety Planning.Well, I can't think of any way our state funds could be better used. We're going to pass a law restricting your freedoms for your own good. And we'll spend your money to tell you about the fact that we can now fine you $65 if we suspect you're driving down the road with an insufficiently buckled child.
Canada's minority Conservative government is moving to assure China it supports a "one-China" policy including Tibet and Taiwan, the Globe and Mail reported.You know, this gives me an idea. Guess what, Canada? We're going to annex you. Don't try to stop it; our military is far vaster than yours, even with our Iraq commitment. And why not? You're white-majority, we're white-majority. We're a former British colony, you're a former British colony. Oh, and when we come we're going to have a colonization policy by which we move Texans and Southerners into every one of your cities. Aren't you happy to be part of the Motherland? (We forgot, we'll also enforce an official Christian faith on you, of course. You don't have any small, harmless, unorthodox religious sects, do you? Because we hate people like that.)
Foreign affairs experts told the newspaper Canada has officially held the policy since establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1970 but in recent weeks, Canadian officials have stopped using couched terms regarding Taiwan or Tibet.
When the House in December voted to ban smoking in Michigan bars, restaurants and many other workplaces, the bill was assigned to a Senate committee where legislation typically goes to die.
Many Republicans said it was just more regulations on businesses during a time of economic hardship, and that the free market already is creating smoke-free workplaces. Senate Republicans could soon introduce legislation that would provide incentives for restaurants to go smoke-free, Marsden said.
The House last year passed a bill that would raise the landfill dumping fee from 21 cents a ton to $7.50 a ton. Democrats say it would discourage Canadians from shipping trash into Michigan. But Republicans oppose the bill because the same fee would be charged to Michigan businesses and residents. Senate Republicans have countered with bills that would increase inspections, limit the dumping of some materials and promote recycling.
So the Dems want increased fees for trash dumping and bans on smoking in private establishments. The GOP wants increased regulation on trash dumping and incentives (I can only assume those would be tax breaks or other financial incentives) for recycling and making restaurants smoke-free. MAN these are exciting differences; which kind of government intrusion you want? Republican, or Democratic?
Big-time profiteers and small-time cheaters are smuggling 7 million cartons of cigarettes into the state annually to evade Michigan's high cigarette taxes, costing the state about $140 million a year.Considering that we're such a well-run state, one would think that this would've been foreseen. Anyway, the Freep reasonably concludes that tobacco is evil:And some metro Detroit retailers are selling cigarette packs with sophisticated counterfeit stamps to evade a 10-year-old law aimed at thwarting smuggling.
Michigan's $2-per-pack tax, the fourth-highest in the nation, helps fuel an illicit demand for cigarettes bought in other states with much lower taxes.
So now we know another way tobacco is bad for Michigan. Not only does it cost the state health care system hundreds of millions of dollars in smoking-related illnesses, but the Treasury can show at least $140 million in lost revenue from cigarettes being smuggled into Michigan from states with lower tobacco taxes than the $2-a-pack levy here. That's a lot of money going up in smoke.We'll skip arguing over whether the state should really be involved in health care. Amusingly, commenter "buka2" writes, "Just outlaw all smoking, and then the $140,000,000 won't be available to lose." Sometimes logic stings. But Michigan doesn't lose money from tobacco; in fact, that first Freep article mentions that the state makes about a billion dollars a year from tobacco. That $140 million just represents the obvious result of black market activity from overly high product taxes. But here's the mindset, courtesy of a few Freep commenters. First, "Allycatt":
"FreedomOfSpeech, I think we would gladly pay a 6% tax on our cigarettes. Right now, state tax alone is 40%. Hell, I was even for the 61 cent increase for the SCHIP program - as a smoker, why do I not have a say in how that money is spent? They will continue to tax our cigarettes, because we are the bad guys, they will continue to funnel the money to everywhere but where it should go (health & stop smoking programs). Non-smokers should be damn happy that we are there to pick up the slack. Igor: APPLAUSE! It took me two years to get management to get my office neighbor to tone down the cologne. Headaches, teary eyes, runny nose within seconds when I'm exposed. PERFUME SHOULD BE BANNED OR TAXED TO THE MAX."We've been so dumb all these years. We should just pass a law outlawing anything that's annoying to anyone! (It'd never pass, of course; obviously, it wouldn't be in the interests of congresshumans.) Then we'd be free from anything that we don't like! Freedom! Here's some "BubbRubb" for ya:
Ty - One last thing about taxing smokers before I begin my weekend: smoking causes many diseases which we all end up paying for through loss of productivity, paying into government assisted health care, etc. I think that smokers should pick up the tab for this, as there is no common benefit for taxes we pay for this. The only fair way I think would be a sin tax.Hmm....how could we get smokers to pick up the tab for this? What about free mark--no...wait, how about eliminating socialized heal--no....I just can't think of a good idea! Whatever the heck the problem is, it definitely must call for some sort of government action. After all, anytime someone isn't as productive as they otherwise could have been, it harms me and it should be illegal. Next to go: World of Warcraft! This is an example of a doctrinaire liberal slowly following his philosophy to its logical end: state control of nearly everything in your life, for your own good.
Clashes between protesters and security forces in Tibet's main city of Lhasa have left at least two people dead, according to reports.Well, at least this time they had the decency to kill Tibetans instead of students. After all, the students wanted democracy; the Tibetans just want to have their own country. You know, like they did before China conquered it a number of decades ago. Looks like all those "Free Tibet" stickers weren't quite as efficacious as people might have wanted. Well, but it's the thought that counts. In any case, in the story, the Chinese dispute that Tibet has ever been independent. Seriously.An emergency official told AFP news agency that many people had been hurt and an unspecified number had died.
The US-based Radio Free Asia quoted witnesses who said they had seen at least two bodies on Lhasa's streets.
Rallies have continued all week in what are said to be the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years.
The report comes in response to the US State Department's annual survey of human rights across the world.
Although the report accuses China of denying its people basic freedoms, the country is not listed as one of the world's most systematic rights violators.
And...hmmm....
Evidently not widely recognized enough. But come, their victims are only crazy religious people like, you know, practicing Christians and Falun Gong members. Still, the bit about meddling in other people's affairs is a bit much, considering that not only did they ruthlessly invade and subjugate the independent nation of Tibet, they also want to take over the utterly unwilling citizens of the free nation of Taiwan. Just WHO is the imperialist aggressor here? I wonder if the "imperialist" charge is used against the United States because it deflects that criticism from the truly imperialist powers, for example the old USSR, today's Russia, and the "People's" Republic of China."Stop exercising double standards on human rights issues and wrongly meddling in the internal affairs of other countries," said ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
He added that China's achievements on human rights had been "widely recognised by the international community".
The fact that this deceptive reporting targets Israel is not much of a surprise. Many of the examples of false news reporting, photoshopping, and mythologizing (think Jenin "massacre") are merely instances of media activism against Israel designed to inspire sympathy with Palestinian murderers. The BBC itself has a notorious recent history of anti-Semitism, or at the very least hatred of the state of Israel.On Friday, March 7, 2008, the BBC’s World News with Jonathan Charles (seen in the U.S. on PBS stations as part of BBC America) aired footage purporting to show the demolition and burning of a house that belongs to the family of Ala Abu Dheim, the terrorist who murdered eight students and wounded nine others in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva (Rabbinical Seminary) .
Against footage of a bulldozer destroying a burning home, BBC reporter Nick Miles was heard in voiceover proclaiming:
But the BBC allegation was patently false.In the hours after the attack, Israeli bulldozers destroyed his [the terrorist’s] family home. Later, his mourners set up Hamas and Islamic Jihad banners nearby.
In fact, the film clip selected by BBC staff could not possibly have been of the terrorist’s family home, as it is still standing (as of March 12) and, together with the nearby public mourning tent erected by the family, serves as a shrine dedicated to the "martyred" terrorist. That such a shrine is still allowed to remain in place has, in fact, prompted public outrage among Israelis and members of Knesset across the political spectrum. On Monday, March 10 – three days after the report aired – Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik (Labor) petitioned the Attorney General to order the demolition of the public tent and the terrorist’s family home.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick lashed out at his opponents and the news media Tuesday night, accusing them of showing a "lynch mob mentality" in the aftermath of the scandal over his exchange of sexually explicit text messages with a former top aide.Well then. Of course, lynch mobs attacked people simply for being black, so I can only assume this is what Kwame Kilpatrick wishes to claim happened to him. He might consider that it could have something to do with the corruption and perjury charges he seems clearly to be guilt of.
Kilpatrick, who is black, said he and his family have been subjected to racial slurs, as well as threats.
"In the past three days, I've received more death threats than I have in my entire administration," he said. "I've heard these words before, but I've never heard them said about my wife and children," he continued, his voice rising as he wagged his fingers and gestured with his arms.
"I don't believe that a Nielsen rating is worth the life of my children or your children. This unethical, illegal, lynch mob mentality has to stop."Well, geez, no one who has received death threats should resign from the office of the mayor! Okay, more seriously, I understand that receiving death threats and racial slurs is terrible and frightening for a man with a family. And there's no serious observer of the mayor's situation that would condone those actions, including myself. But being threatened with death doesn't really absolve one from serious criminal charges. Neither does being called nasty names. And do finger-wagging and accusations of illegality really befit a man with as many ethical and legal lapses as Kwame? (Note, too, the final sentence, and remember that a mentality can never be illegal--not even those of the lynch-mob variety. Although REAL lynch mobs are correctly illegal.)
Kilpatrick said future mayors "will remember this as a time when we thought not only about us, but about the future -- a time that we put aside divisions and found a new hour of healing and hopefulness in which we joined together to transform the city that we all love."There's no real story here. Kilpatrick wants people to forget, frankly. But he broke the law in a serious way, and he needs to go. Not, of course, that most Detroit officials differ substantially in their approach to their positions; but Kwame got caught, and if Detroit needs anything, it is a display of backbone in enforcing the law.
Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian is planning a run for Congress.I'm surprised he's not running as a Democrat. After all, their policies seem to resemble his own: what to do with a state that's in significant economic pain? Put it out of its misery! I mean, as long as they ask for it--and with the Democratic gains of 2006, it looks like Michigan is asking for that very thing.Kevorkian was released from prison last year and remains on parole. But the 79-year-old told the Oakland Press for an article published Wednesday that he plans to run for office as a candidate with no party affiliation.
Kevorkian lives in Oakland County and the 9th District. That’s a seat now held by Republican Joe Knollenberg.
In many minds, the government still retains responsibility for job creation. That should not be. And how then shall we create such wealth? We return to the themes I earlier hinted at: the need to build a free market economy, in which individual entrepreneurs, who trust each other, organize in firms of all sizes, to create prosperity and jobs. We must all enter into partnerships for creating prosperity...TW2 would like to wish Mr. Akinyemi all the best in his effort. This blog certainly supports efforts to restore Detroit--a once-proud city, now beset by false prophets of race and an illiberal culture of corruption--to global prominence. Make sure and follow his efforts; his blog will from now on appear on my sidebar.
For those who believe Detroit possesses a rightful place in the world, you are wrong. Respect is earned not handed out for free. Detroit will gain long lasting credibility by building a conservative appraoch to government and open economy that challenges the norm.
Parents in Deerfield, Ill., are upset that a local high school is using books in advanced English classes this spring that they say are laced with graphic sexual content, pervasive expletives and mockery of religion.Double ugh:
Worse, the books - "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2)" - are required reading for advanced placement English students at Deerfield High School, but a parents' group wants them removed.
"Who would have ever thought that we would be handing out pornography in public schools?" asked Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of North Shore Student Advocacy, and a Deerfield parent.
Hauser noted that this isn't the first time that Deerfield High School and the school district have come at cross-purposes to parents. The district ordered 14-year-old freshmen to take a seminar that amounted to homosexual indoctrination, she said, and had them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents.The Left long ago realized that its best shot at winning the debate in America was to go after the children. Children are wonderfully impressionable, and they're a better investment in future voting cycles than people in their thirties and forties. Rush Limbaugh and others cite the the influence of Antonio Gramsci, an early 20th century Italian socialist who advocated for a gradual takeover of social institutions in order to advance the socialist agenda, and that's really where this has come from.
Last month, I urged dispirited conservatives to take an active role in supporting the candidates, officeholders, and issues that reflect our views and values. One of the campaigns I mentioned was my friend and hero Ward Connerly’s multi-state battle this fall to end discriminatory government race and gender preferences.She also gives us this lovely video of an irate woman protesting someone collecting signatures for the Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative:
While so many other false prophets preach the color-blind gospel, Connerly is, as I’ve said before, the real deal.
That $650,000 office allotment is about SIX TIMES larger than what the average member of the Michigan House of Representatives gets for the same purpose -- paying the bills of running their legislative office. And it's also noteworthy to point out that Michigan lawmakers are the second highest paid in America, while Detroit is one of the poorest big cities in the nation.The members of the Detroit City Council are protesting Kwame Kilpatrick's blatant corruption, but all politics there is a farce. Even school board members are corrupt. As Rush Limbaugh says, people get the kind of governance that they deserve. And years of race baiting and identity politics have established a pattern that does not seem to have any hope of ending soon. And the market is adjusting: people and businesses are rightly moving out of Detroit as quickly as possible.
Apparently the former senator has realized that an America filled with citizens who have to take care of themselves is superior to one in which 536 federal officials (435 representatives, 100 senators, and 1 president) try to make life smooth for everyone.Since leaving office I've written about public policy from a new perspective: outside looking in. I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.
Why do we think we are helping adult consumers by taking away their options? We don't take away cars because we don't like some people speeding. We allow state lotteries despite knowing some people are betting their grocery money. Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind. But we don't operate mindlessly in trying to smooth out every theoretical wrinkle in life.
The nature of freedom of choice is that some people will misuse their responsibility and hurt themselves in the process. We should do our best to educate them, but without diminishing choice for everyone else.
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