HT: Vox, John Wright finds the G K Chesterton/C S Lewis/Allan Bloom unified theory of Leftist Asininity.
He begins with the proposition:
...The theory must explain, first, the honest decency of the modern
liberals combined with their astonishing indifference, nay, hostility to
facts, common sense, and evidence; second, it must explain their high
self-esteem (or, to be blunt, their pathological narcissism) combined
not merely with an utter lack of accomplishment, but with their utter
devotion to destructiveness, a yearning to ruin everything they touch;
third, it must explain their sanctimoniousness combined with their
applause, praise, support, and tireless efforts to spread all
perversions (especially sexual), moral decay, vulgarity, and every form
of desecration; fourth, their pretense of intellectual superiority
combined with their notorious mental fecklessness; fifth, it must
explain both their violence and their pacifism; sixth, the theory must
explain why they hate the very things they should love most; seventh,
the theory must explain why they are incapable of comprehending an
honest disagreement or any honorable foe....
And he proceeds to the answer, which you'll have to read on your own. It's worth it.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Gay "Marriage" Surge? Not Really
Charlie Sykes thinks that the culture war is lost.
He shouldn't be so fast to call this "decided."
He shouldn't be so fast to call this "decided."
From the MU poll under "for gay couples":
Favor Marriage, 48
Civil Union 24
No Legal Status 24
Don't know 3
Refused to answer 1
First off, "civil unions" are very different in both law and praxis than are "marriages." A civil union allows some property- and visitation- matters to be handled as though the couple is legally "married."
Frankly, those results are not an overwhelming endorsement of gay "marriage." In fact, gay "marriage" is still not favored by a majority in Wisconsin.
And that's before taking a close look at the cross-tabs.
Liberals: "Everything Not Forbidden Is Compulsory"
Very nice catch by Kevin Williamson at NRO.
He reviews the 20-year history of homosexual "rights", and his graf ends thus:
...the matter already has progressed to the point at which we as a nation, having only recently legalized gay marriage, are debating the question of whether bakers and photographers should be locked in cages if they decline, for their own moral or religious reasons, to participate in gay weddings....
Indeed.
And now, coming late to the Liberal party, mandated abortion payment.
...It is not enough for religious conservatives, such as the ones who own Hobby Lobby, to tolerate the legal sale and use of things such as the so-called morning-after pill — rather, they are expected to provide them at their own expense. Abortions are not to be legal, but legal and funded by the general community, with those funds extracted at gunpoint if necessary....
(That is the case in Wisconsin, by the way; taxpayers here are--at the point of a gun--required to fund abortions for public "servants" employed by the State of Wisconsin. This could have been changed, but for the reprehensible, self-serving Sen. Scott Fitzgerald. Never thought of him as a wannabee Nazi, eh?)
"Thought crime" used to be a bad one-liner leveled at the Commies of Russia.
Now it's not a joke; it's the Liberal theology.
He reviews the 20-year history of homosexual "rights", and his graf ends thus:
...the matter already has progressed to the point at which we as a nation, having only recently legalized gay marriage, are debating the question of whether bakers and photographers should be locked in cages if they decline, for their own moral or religious reasons, to participate in gay weddings....
Indeed.
And now, coming late to the Liberal party, mandated abortion payment.
...It is not enough for religious conservatives, such as the ones who own Hobby Lobby, to tolerate the legal sale and use of things such as the so-called morning-after pill — rather, they are expected to provide them at their own expense. Abortions are not to be legal, but legal and funded by the general community, with those funds extracted at gunpoint if necessary....
(That is the case in Wisconsin, by the way; taxpayers here are--at the point of a gun--required to fund abortions for public "servants" employed by the State of Wisconsin. This could have been changed, but for the reprehensible, self-serving Sen. Scott Fitzgerald. Never thought of him as a wannabee Nazi, eh?)
"Thought crime" used to be a bad one-liner leveled at the Commies of Russia.
Now it's not a joke; it's the Liberal theology.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
How Things Get Done in Texas
Seems like a convicted child molester moved into a house in the DFW area and shortly thereafter was seen walking a puppy-dog and chatting with a couple of 6-y.o. kids.
...Within two minutes of this creep showing up and talking with a couple of six-year-olds in the front yard of our across-the-street neighbors on that Saturday afternoon, he found himself looking down the barrel of a Mossberg 500 (mine), a 1911 .45 ACP (the ex-Army dad of the two kids), an AR-15 (newly married young couple at the end of the cul-de-sac) and a snarling Doberman (ours).
It was explained to him in very brutal, graphic terms what would happen the next time he was even seen anywhere in our entire suburb, let alone our neighborhood. Nobody was smiling and nobody was kidding. Three loaded guns with trigger fingers itching to pull and an infuriated eighty-five pound German dog with an attitude and the angry faces behind them got the message across.
Two of us escorted the creep down to where he was living with his parents. We informed them that they had seventy-two hours to "get the hell out of Dodge" or they just might find themselves experiencing a similar fate as the scumbag son they raised and were protecting. For the record, these parents were not the Cleavers and had the attention of law enforcement as well. How they managed to afford the rent on the house was beyond all of us. Didn't matter and we didn't care. Get the hell out of the house or we'll burn the sonofabitch to the ground. A call to the property management company sealed the deal. They were aghast that not only had the property been sublet, but done so to convicted criminals....
The creep and his family left. Quickly.
HT: Peter
...Within two minutes of this creep showing up and talking with a couple of six-year-olds in the front yard of our across-the-street neighbors on that Saturday afternoon, he found himself looking down the barrel of a Mossberg 500 (mine), a 1911 .45 ACP (the ex-Army dad of the two kids), an AR-15 (newly married young couple at the end of the cul-de-sac) and a snarling Doberman (ours).
It was explained to him in very brutal, graphic terms what would happen the next time he was even seen anywhere in our entire suburb, let alone our neighborhood. Nobody was smiling and nobody was kidding. Three loaded guns with trigger fingers itching to pull and an infuriated eighty-five pound German dog with an attitude and the angry faces behind them got the message across.
Two of us escorted the creep down to where he was living with his parents. We informed them that they had seventy-two hours to "get the hell out of Dodge" or they just might find themselves experiencing a similar fate as the scumbag son they raised and were protecting. For the record, these parents were not the Cleavers and had the attention of law enforcement as well. How they managed to afford the rent on the house was beyond all of us. Didn't matter and we didn't care. Get the hell out of the house or we'll burn the sonofabitch to the ground. A call to the property management company sealed the deal. They were aghast that not only had the property been sublet, but done so to convicted criminals....
The creep and his family left. Quickly.
HT: Peter
All You Need to Know About Obozo & Co.
Front Page magazine interviews Paul Kengor, Ph.D.
One excerpt says it all:
...Obama and David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett all have common political ancestors who knew and worked with each other in communist activities and fronts in Chicago in the 1940s. The ancestors are, respectively, Frank Marshall Davis, the Canters, and Vernon Jarrett and Robert Taylor. We are today being governed by ghosts from Chicago’s Communist Party haunts of the 1940s....
(Yes, of course, the font is Red.)
....and where did Saul Alinsky emerge from the ooze? One guess...
One excerpt says it all:
...Obama and David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett all have common political ancestors who knew and worked with each other in communist activities and fronts in Chicago in the 1940s. The ancestors are, respectively, Frank Marshall Davis, the Canters, and Vernon Jarrett and Robert Taylor. We are today being governed by ghosts from Chicago’s Communist Party haunts of the 1940s....
(Yes, of course, the font is Red.)
....and where did Saul Alinsky emerge from the ooze? One guess...
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The IMF and RoJo
Sen. Ron Johnson is circulating fund-raising materials.
Maybe he should ask the IMF for money--after all, he voted to DOUBLE the money we ship into that black hole.
I remember when RoJo ran as a "conservative."
Maybe he should ask the IMF for money--after all, he voted to DOUBLE the money we ship into that black hole.
I remember when RoJo ran as a "conservative."
Monday, March 24, 2014
Teh Stupids: Obozo/Pelosi
It's becoming comical.
In May 2012, when the Internal Revenue Service proposed its rules for Americans to get government subsidies for health insurance, officials acknowledged that a legal quirk needed to be fixed: The Affordable Care Act was written in a way that inadvertently denied such help to some people who live apart from spouses who abuse them, are in prison or are on the cusp of a divorce.
The problem is that the law’s authors, in creating tax credits to help pay for health plans bought through the new insurance marketplaces, had overlooked the fact that some married people file their tax returns separately. --WaPo quoted at HotAir
The Bozo Club also makes it impossible for families with twin chilluns to sign up.
The MasterMinds, eh?
In May 2012, when the Internal Revenue Service proposed its rules for Americans to get government subsidies for health insurance, officials acknowledged that a legal quirk needed to be fixed: The Affordable Care Act was written in a way that inadvertently denied such help to some people who live apart from spouses who abuse them, are in prison or are on the cusp of a divorce.
The problem is that the law’s authors, in creating tax credits to help pay for health plans bought through the new insurance marketplaces, had overlooked the fact that some married people file their tax returns separately. --WaPo quoted at HotAir
The Bozo Club also makes it impossible for families with twin chilluns to sign up.
The MasterMinds, eh?
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Walker's Presidential Politics
Gary Bauer has been around for quite a while and he doesn't like the Walker game.
...Walker’s downplaying of abortion has been more than rhetorical. Walker now seems to be backing away from support for several pro-life bills that may soon reach his desk. One would ensure that state taxpayer funds are not used to fund abortions for state employees and exempt religious entities from having to pay for health insurance coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs; another would outlaw sex-selection abortions; and another would allow for voluntary purchases of Choose Life specialty license plates, like those available in many states.
Having already passed the state assembly, these bills are being held up in the Republican-controlled Senate. The consensus from Wisconsin political observers is that Walker could easily get them passed in the Senate and to his desk for signing — if he made them a priority.
But there is persistent speculation that the governor’s office has issued orders to Senate leaders to keep the bills from moving. In fact, in early February, Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, reversed course and announced that he would not bring legislation to the floor that would stop state tax money from funding abortions through state health insurance plans....
If it's true, it's disgusting. Fitzgerald evidently doesn't have too many principles (either way). Walker--despite the title of his book--is quite obviously "intimidate-able."
...Walker’s downplaying of abortion has been more than rhetorical. Walker now seems to be backing away from support for several pro-life bills that may soon reach his desk. One would ensure that state taxpayer funds are not used to fund abortions for state employees and exempt religious entities from having to pay for health insurance coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs; another would outlaw sex-selection abortions; and another would allow for voluntary purchases of Choose Life specialty license plates, like those available in many states.
Having already passed the state assembly, these bills are being held up in the Republican-controlled Senate. The consensus from Wisconsin political observers is that Walker could easily get them passed in the Senate and to his desk for signing — if he made them a priority.
But there is persistent speculation that the governor’s office has issued orders to Senate leaders to keep the bills from moving. In fact, in early February, Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, reversed course and announced that he would not bring legislation to the floor that would stop state tax money from funding abortions through state health insurance plans....
If it's true, it's disgusting. Fitzgerald evidently doesn't have too many principles (either way). Walker--despite the title of his book--is quite obviously "intimidate-able."
Sunday, March 16, 2014
HooplaBS Over "Rising Public Transport"
Nothing like real numbers to pop the Leftoid balloons.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) argues that a 0.7 percent increase in annual transit ridership in 2013 is proof that Americans want more “investments” in transit–by which the group means more federal funding. However, a close look at the actual data reveals something entirely different.
It turns out that all of the increase in transit ridership took place in New York City. New York City subway and bus ridership grew by 120 million trips in 2013; nationally, transit ridership grew by just 115 million trips. Add in New York commuter trains (Long Island Railroad and Metro North) and New York City transit ridership grew by 123 million trips, which means transit in the rest of the nation declined by 8 million trips....
Woopsie!!
HT: Coyote
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) argues that a 0.7 percent increase in annual transit ridership in 2013 is proof that Americans want more “investments” in transit–by which the group means more federal funding. However, a close look at the actual data reveals something entirely different.
It turns out that all of the increase in transit ridership took place in New York City. New York City subway and bus ridership grew by 120 million trips in 2013; nationally, transit ridership grew by just 115 million trips. Add in New York commuter trains (Long Island Railroad and Metro North) and New York City transit ridership grew by 123 million trips, which means transit in the rest of the nation declined by 8 million trips....
Woopsie!!
HT: Coyote
Why Lerner's Fifth Plea?
Popehat, an attorney, has some useful reminders on The Fifth.
...You take the Fifth because the government can't be trusted. You take the Fifth because what the truth is, and what the government thinks the truth is, are two very different things. You take the Fifth because even if you didn't do anything wrong your statements can be used as building blocks indishonest, or malicious, or politically motivated prosecutions against you. You take the Fifth because if you answer questions truthfully the government may still decide you are lying and prosecute you for lying....
(Quoted at Coyote)
Coyote has another "must remember" observation:
If you want to get bent out of shape about something, you are welcome to wonder why Lerner is being investigated, apparently, by the hyper-partisan civil rights division of Justice rather than the public integrity section. That, combined with President Obama's pre-judging of the DOJ's conclusions, is more of a red flag than Lerner's taking the Fifth.
Interesting, indeed.
...You take the Fifth because the government can't be trusted. You take the Fifth because what the truth is, and what the government thinks the truth is, are two very different things. You take the Fifth because even if you didn't do anything wrong your statements can be used as building blocks indishonest, or malicious, or politically motivated prosecutions against you. You take the Fifth because if you answer questions truthfully the government may still decide you are lying and prosecute you for lying....
(Quoted at Coyote)
Coyote has another "must remember" observation:
If you want to get bent out of shape about something, you are welcome to wonder why Lerner is being investigated, apparently, by the hyper-partisan civil rights division of Justice rather than the public integrity section. That, combined with President Obama's pre-judging of the DOJ's conclusions, is more of a red flag than Lerner's taking the Fifth.
Interesting, indeed.
History Education, G K Chesterton, and Reality
HT Jos. Pearce who mentioned this GKC quote in a brief essay on history.
“Teach, to the young, men’s enduring truths, and let the learned amuse themselves with their passing errors.”
Pearce indirectly slams "Common Core", but directly attacks what passes for "history education" these days. Not that he's the first; GKC, Belloc, Waugh, and C S Lewis all saw this, too.
...three distinct facets of historical reality are absolutely necessary, namely historical chronology, historical mechanics and historical philosophy, i.e. when things happened, how things happened and why things happened. The last of these, though it is dependent factually on the other two, is the most important. If we don’t know why things happened history remains devoid of meaning; it makes no sense. As such, historians must have knowledge of the history of belief. They must know what people believed when they did the things that they did in order to know why they acted as they did. They must have empathy with the great ideas that shaped human history, even if they don’t have sympathy with them....
For someone to understand wars (e.g.), it is a paucity to understand them only in terms of "power" or "territory". Some were decidedly not "just about" those matters. Any understanding of Western civilization is horribly deficient without an understanding of the Judaeo-Christian/Aristotelian ethos.
Think "Common Core" will remedy that?
“Teach, to the young, men’s enduring truths, and let the learned amuse themselves with their passing errors.”
Pearce indirectly slams "Common Core", but directly attacks what passes for "history education" these days. Not that he's the first; GKC, Belloc, Waugh, and C S Lewis all saw this, too.
...three distinct facets of historical reality are absolutely necessary, namely historical chronology, historical mechanics and historical philosophy, i.e. when things happened, how things happened and why things happened. The last of these, though it is dependent factually on the other two, is the most important. If we don’t know why things happened history remains devoid of meaning; it makes no sense. As such, historians must have knowledge of the history of belief. They must know what people believed when they did the things that they did in order to know why they acted as they did. They must have empathy with the great ideas that shaped human history, even if they don’t have sympathy with them....
For someone to understand wars (e.g.), it is a paucity to understand them only in terms of "power" or "territory". Some were decidedly not "just about" those matters. Any understanding of Western civilization is horribly deficient without an understanding of the Judaeo-Christian/Aristotelian ethos.
Think "Common Core" will remedy that?
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Why Federalism Is Crucial
Daniel McCarthy essays on The Clan. Along the way, he makes the case for the 9th and 10th Amendments--which our Federal masters really, really want to forget about.
...The paradox of rule is that to secure one’s rights, one must participate in government, but participation in government means wielding power that can—and inevitably will—be used to oppress others. Participation in government necessarily has an illiberal dimension, even though it is also indispensable for securing liberty. This would be true even if individuals could directly wield power; in the real world, in which power is always wielded by groups, the peril is amplified.
This is why decentralization and division of power—not only according to the legal framework of a written constitution but also as played out through the conflicts of competing clans—are as crucial for liberty as are a sense of the common good and a state strong enough to act as arbiter. Liberalism itself owes a great deal more, even today, to struggles between clans than is commonly recognized. Historically, liberal practices certainly did not emerge chiefly from reformist efforts on the part of benevolent leaders wielding power for the good of all humanity....
McCarthy bolsters the case with a few interesting historical notes on Rome and England.
...The paradox of rule is that to secure one’s rights, one must participate in government, but participation in government means wielding power that can—and inevitably will—be used to oppress others. Participation in government necessarily has an illiberal dimension, even though it is also indispensable for securing liberty. This would be true even if individuals could directly wield power; in the real world, in which power is always wielded by groups, the peril is amplified.
This is why decentralization and division of power—not only according to the legal framework of a written constitution but also as played out through the conflicts of competing clans—are as crucial for liberty as are a sense of the common good and a state strong enough to act as arbiter. Liberalism itself owes a great deal more, even today, to struggles between clans than is commonly recognized. Historically, liberal practices certainly did not emerge chiefly from reformist efforts on the part of benevolent leaders wielding power for the good of all humanity....
McCarthy bolsters the case with a few interesting historical notes on Rome and England.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Compare and Contrast
There's no question as to who is the most crooked, slimiest, and most obnoxiously smug.
HT: PowerLine
Boehner the Weak
This is the sort of thing that Boehner should have said 6 years ago.
....“If a president does not faithfully execute the law… what are our remedies?”
[Gowdy] then argued that Congress should do exactly what then-Sen. Obama suggested before he was president of the United States: “To go to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court say once and for all: ‘We don’t pass suggestions in this body. … We don’t pass ideas — we pass laws. And we expect them to be faithfully executed.”....
Frankly, in the governance drama in DC, Obozo is playing the part of Putin while Boehner plays Obozo. No small irony.
....“If a president does not faithfully execute the law… what are our remedies?”
[Gowdy] then argued that Congress should do exactly what then-Sen. Obama suggested before he was president of the United States: “To go to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court say once and for all: ‘We don’t pass suggestions in this body. … We don’t pass ideas — we pass laws. And we expect them to be faithfully executed.”....
Frankly, in the governance drama in DC, Obozo is playing the part of Putin while Boehner plays Obozo. No small irony.
“And
if a president does not faithfully execute the law, Mr. Speaker, what
are our remedies? Do we just sit and wait on another election? Do we use
the power of the purse, the power of appeasement? Those are
punishments, those are not remedies,” Gowdy declared.
“The remedy is to do exactly what Barack Obama said to do, to go to court, to go to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court say once and for all we don’t pass suggestions in this body, Mr. Speaker, we don’t pass ideas. We pass laws, and we expect them to be faithfully executed.”
- See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/rep-gowdy-uses-obama-s-own-words-against-him-response-veto-threat#sthash.TyFCQZ0X.dpuf
“The remedy is to do exactly what Barack Obama said to do, to go to court, to go to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court say once and for all we don’t pass suggestions in this body, Mr. Speaker, we don’t pass ideas. We pass laws, and we expect them to be faithfully executed.”
- See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/rep-gowdy-uses-obama-s-own-words-against-him-response-veto-threat#sthash.TyFCQZ0X.dpuf
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Obozo Did What McConnell Wouldn't
The oleaginous insider-cretin McConnell couldn't stand up for repeal of ObozoCare.
So Obozo's doing it himself.
...This makes three major rule changes to the core components of ObamaCare in the past month alone: On February 10th, the White House delayed the employer mandate for small businesses until 2016, and then, 10 days ago, it extended for two more years the rule allowing insurers to un-cancel plans for consumers who want their old, cheaper coverage back. Little did we know until now that, on the same day, they also all but suspended the individual mandate until 2016. And like Levin says, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever bring it back. Why would the next president, eager to begin his/her term on a strong note, want to reinstate a harsh financial penalty for noncompliance with O-Care when the guy who signed the law was unwilling to? The mandate is dead. Obama’s repealing ObamaCare himself, piece by piece. And he’s creating a two-tiered, less sustainable health-insurance system in the process....
Wonder what RoJo thinks of this, eh?
So Obozo's doing it himself.
...This makes three major rule changes to the core components of ObamaCare in the past month alone: On February 10th, the White House delayed the employer mandate for small businesses until 2016, and then, 10 days ago, it extended for two more years the rule allowing insurers to un-cancel plans for consumers who want their old, cheaper coverage back. Little did we know until now that, on the same day, they also all but suspended the individual mandate until 2016. And like Levin says, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever bring it back. Why would the next president, eager to begin his/her term on a strong note, want to reinstate a harsh financial penalty for noncompliance with O-Care when the guy who signed the law was unwilling to? The mandate is dead. Obama’s repealing ObamaCare himself, piece by piece. And he’s creating a two-tiered, less sustainable health-insurance system in the process....
Wonder what RoJo thinks of this, eh?
A Racine Hack Pol Tries Again
Seems like the (allegedly) (R) Racine candidate is just another hack.
Wanggaard doesn't deserve a second chance to wreck Wisconsin.
Wanggaard doesn't deserve a second chance to wreck Wisconsin.
Sunday, March 09, 2014
It's the Culture, Not the Senate
Following on the Deneen essays (and Solzhenitsyn, for that matter) we have this from Claes Ryn. Ryn's rather provocative essay argues that politics is a distinct second to the Culture--that is, that hearts and minds are won because of the Culture and politics simply flows from that driver. It was written in '06, by the way.
...Conservative politicians and policy wonks have failed to reverse any of the main deleterious social trends of the last half-century not because they have lacked financial resources but because efforts like theirs have limited efficacy in the first place. While they have gobbled up millions and millions of donated dollars, the activities that shape the deeper sensibilities and desires of Americans have continued to be dominated by people trying to dismantle what remains of traditional American and Western civilization....
To Deneen's point:
...Today “conservative” often means leftist, as in wanting to reshape the world in the image of a single ahistorical model (“democracy”). Many so-called conservatives are better described as Jacobins. Most neoconservatives are ideologically intense universalistic liberals. Needless to say, what Americans call liberalism has long been difficult to tell apart from European social democracy.
Thus,
...the conservative movement did not direct its main efforts toward a revitalization of the mind, imagination, and moral-spiritual life....
The One Great Fail of Limbaugh, Hannity, Belling and Sykes, not to mention the Conservative Barbie, Coulter.
...Without a major reorientation of American thought and sensibility, conservative politics was bound to fail. The neoconservatives reinforced the preoccupation with politics and public policy. They claimed that before their coming to the rescue American conservatism had been intellectually feeble, but, in reality, it had exhibited far greater scope and depth prior to their arrival. Mentioning just a few thinkers of the 1950s and ’60s proves the point: Friedrich Hayek, Russell Kirk, John Lukacs, Thomas Molnar, Robert Nisbet, Peter Stanlis, Wilhelm Röpke, Peter Viereck, Eliseo Vivas, Eric Voegelin, and Richard Weaver.
Dreher, who brought us this essay, is of the opinion that this society will fail, and soon. Rod's kinda pessimistic.
...Conservative politicians and policy wonks have failed to reverse any of the main deleterious social trends of the last half-century not because they have lacked financial resources but because efforts like theirs have limited efficacy in the first place. While they have gobbled up millions and millions of donated dollars, the activities that shape the deeper sensibilities and desires of Americans have continued to be dominated by people trying to dismantle what remains of traditional American and Western civilization....
To Deneen's point:
...Today “conservative” often means leftist, as in wanting to reshape the world in the image of a single ahistorical model (“democracy”). Many so-called conservatives are better described as Jacobins. Most neoconservatives are ideologically intense universalistic liberals. Needless to say, what Americans call liberalism has long been difficult to tell apart from European social democracy.
Thus,
...the conservative movement did not direct its main efforts toward a revitalization of the mind, imagination, and moral-spiritual life....
The One Great Fail of Limbaugh, Hannity, Belling and Sykes, not to mention the Conservative Barbie, Coulter.
...Without a major reorientation of American thought and sensibility, conservative politics was bound to fail. The neoconservatives reinforced the preoccupation with politics and public policy. They claimed that before their coming to the rescue American conservatism had been intellectually feeble, but, in reality, it had exhibited far greater scope and depth prior to their arrival. Mentioning just a few thinkers of the 1950s and ’60s proves the point: Friedrich Hayek, Russell Kirk, John Lukacs, Thomas Molnar, Robert Nisbet, Peter Stanlis, Wilhelm Röpke, Peter Viereck, Eliseo Vivas, Eric Voegelin, and Richard Weaver.
Dreher, who brought us this essay, is of the opinion that this society will fail, and soon. Rod's kinda pessimistic.
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Obama, the Massive Fail
Don't need much more than this to get it:
“Since 2007, the population has grown by 15 million," he pointed out. "Yet there are 1 million fewer Americans who are working. The result is a shrinking workforce and expanding welfare rolls. Even over the last year, there were 13 percent more workforce dropouts than job gains, and 1 in 5 households are now on food stamps. The economy has consistently produced too few jobs to keep up with population growth, and did so again this month, falling 20,000 shy of the 195,000 jobs just needed to stay even." Sen. Jeff Sessions
PajamaBoy Obozo is a Massive Fail.
“Since 2007, the population has grown by 15 million," he pointed out. "Yet there are 1 million fewer Americans who are working. The result is a shrinking workforce and expanding welfare rolls. Even over the last year, there were 13 percent more workforce dropouts than job gains, and 1 in 5 households are now on food stamps. The economy has consistently produced too few jobs to keep up with population growth, and did so again this month, falling 20,000 shy of the 195,000 jobs just needed to stay even." Sen. Jeff Sessions
PajamaBoy Obozo is a Massive Fail.
What Connecticut and ObamaCare Have in Common
Several months ago, the Connecticut authorities passed a law which requires registration of certain firearms and magazines. Failure to do so makes one a felon, and as of January 1st this year, there are lots and lots and lots of newly-minted felons in Ct.
About 80% of Connecticut gun-owners have flat-out ignored this "law".
Several months ago, the Democrat Party rammed through Congress a "law" (which turns out to be infinitely malleable) requiring all Americans to be covered by health insurance. Failure to obtain coverage will result in tax penalties.
About 90% of the uninsured have flat-out ignored this "law."
That's not a co-incidence. It's a pattern: you can stuff your "laws" where the sun don't shine.
About 80% of Connecticut gun-owners have flat-out ignored this "law".
Several months ago, the Democrat Party rammed through Congress a "law" (which turns out to be infinitely malleable) requiring all Americans to be covered by health insurance. Failure to obtain coverage will result in tax penalties.
About 90% of the uninsured have flat-out ignored this "law."
That's not a co-incidence. It's a pattern: you can stuff your "laws" where the sun don't shine.
Friday, March 07, 2014
Big Gummint Ryan, Again
Yesterday Ryan released a good report on incentivizing poverty.
And he went back to his Big Gummint comfort zone, too.
Yeah, he's just another politician.
And he went back to his Big Gummint comfort zone, too.
Yeah, he's just another politician.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
"We Don't Need Your Steeeenkin' Constitution..."
It gets tiresome to report on all the ways in which President Girlypants undermines the Republic.
Although this is an old story, Professor Singer's analysis is worth reading.
Using Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review, issued by President Bill Clinton back in 1993), the White House Office of Management and Budget (WH-OMB) has published numerical estimates for the 'Social Cost of Carbon' (SCC). In Public Comments, we have challenged these OMB numbers in three respects: use of outdated climate science; internal inconsistency; omission of CO2 benefits. These miscalculations -- whether politically inspired or innocently overlooked -- could end up costing the American public hundreds of billions in higher dollar costs, as well as millions of lost jobs.
... I strongly suspect that the real purpose of the White House is to establish a de facto carbon tax. Such a scheme would usurp the authority of Congress and likely violate the US Constitution, since all tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives.
Well, that's antiquarian, Professor! With this regime, the "law of the land" is whatever His Nibbiness wants it to be. Obviously, you're just a bitter clinger.
....With a minimum of notice, and without publicity, OMB assembled an Interagency Working Group (IWG), which arrived at a cost of about $12 per ton of emitted carbon, based on a Technical Support Document (TSD) of Feb 2010. This TSD was updated in May 2013, upping the SCC to about $36 per ton -- and rising over time. The Dept of Energy (DOE) then promptly used this figure in setting an efficiency standard for microwave ovens....
The entire article is short, but dense, and doesn't allow for excerpt easily. But the upshot is as reported above: the Constitution is the enemy of Obama and he treats it as such.
Oh, by the way: you get treated exactly the same.
Although this is an old story, Professor Singer's analysis is worth reading.
Using Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review, issued by President Bill Clinton back in 1993), the White House Office of Management and Budget (WH-OMB) has published numerical estimates for the 'Social Cost of Carbon' (SCC). In Public Comments, we have challenged these OMB numbers in three respects: use of outdated climate science; internal inconsistency; omission of CO2 benefits. These miscalculations -- whether politically inspired or innocently overlooked -- could end up costing the American public hundreds of billions in higher dollar costs, as well as millions of lost jobs.
... I strongly suspect that the real purpose of the White House is to establish a de facto carbon tax. Such a scheme would usurp the authority of Congress and likely violate the US Constitution, since all tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives.
Well, that's antiquarian, Professor! With this regime, the "law of the land" is whatever His Nibbiness wants it to be. Obviously, you're just a bitter clinger.
....With a minimum of notice, and without publicity, OMB assembled an Interagency Working Group (IWG), which arrived at a cost of about $12 per ton of emitted carbon, based on a Technical Support Document (TSD) of Feb 2010. This TSD was updated in May 2013, upping the SCC to about $36 per ton -- and rising over time. The Dept of Energy (DOE) then promptly used this figure in setting an efficiency standard for microwave ovens....
The entire article is short, but dense, and doesn't allow for excerpt easily. But the upshot is as reported above: the Constitution is the enemy of Obama and he treats it as such.
Oh, by the way: you get treated exactly the same.
Pot, Kettle, Obozo
Our little Lord Fauntelroy can see himself in the mirror of Putin.
"I know President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations, but I don't think that is fooling anybody...."
Ummnnnhhhh, yah.
"I know President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations, but I don't think that is fooling anybody...."
Ummnnnhhhh, yah.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
....And Reince Expects You to Vote (R)....
Being a craven jackass is not necessarily identical with being a (D).
In 2012 the GOP actually managed to pass a bill to reform the outdated and heavily in debt flood insurance program. Less than two years later they are desperately trying to undo the market oriented reforms they've already passed.
With only 1/2 of 1/3 of the Gummint, they manage to give away the seed corn, too!!
HT: AOSHQ
In 2012 the GOP actually managed to pass a bill to reform the outdated and heavily in debt flood insurance program. Less than two years later they are desperately trying to undo the market oriented reforms they've already passed.
With only 1/2 of 1/3 of the Gummint, they manage to give away the seed corn, too!!
HT: AOSHQ
Ryan: Not Entirely Disappointing
Paul Ryan has managed to be disappointing more than a few times lately, while whining about "1/2 of 1/3rd" and rolling over for the Obozo/Reid/McConnell Leviathan.
But he continues to put out good stuff. Yesterday he produced a report which establishes as fact the notion that the "War on Poverty" is largely bullshit. No surprise: that "war" was begun by a hyperpartisan jackwad with the expressed intent of keeping black Americans in.......ahhh.......slavery.......... to the Feds.
Here's the AmSpec's take:
...Plenty of Republicans have decried government spending on welfare, but Ryan, as usual, has made the effort to compile data to back up his arguments. His desire to see people “helped” sounds very Democratic; the left loves to claim their mission is all about improving the lives of the poor. However, his intent to do this without excessive or ineffective spending is exactly what fiscal conservatives want to hear....
The reality is that Fed (and most State) "anti-poverty" programs improve the lives of only one entity: government workers. They have jobs shuffling papers and tax-dollars.
Poor folks? Not so much.
But he continues to put out good stuff. Yesterday he produced a report which establishes as fact the notion that the "War on Poverty" is largely bullshit. No surprise: that "war" was begun by a hyperpartisan jackwad with the expressed intent of keeping black Americans in.......ahhh.......slavery.......... to the Feds.
Here's the AmSpec's take:
...Plenty of Republicans have decried government spending on welfare, but Ryan, as usual, has made the effort to compile data to back up his arguments. His desire to see people “helped” sounds very Democratic; the left loves to claim their mission is all about improving the lives of the poor. However, his intent to do this without excessive or ineffective spending is exactly what fiscal conservatives want to hear....
The reality is that Fed (and most State) "anti-poverty" programs improve the lives of only one entity: government workers. They have jobs shuffling papers and tax-dollars.
Poor folks? Not so much.
Monday, March 03, 2014
"We Don't Need Our Steeeeenkin' Law!"
President GirlyPants' "law" is punched in the face again.
...HHS said state residents who were unable to sign up because of technical problems may still get federal tax credits if they bought private insurance outside of the new online insurance exchanges.
The federal policy change is significant because . until now the administration has stressed that the only place to get taxpayer-subsidized insurance under President Barack Obama’s health law is through the new online markets, called exchanges. Previously, people who bought outside the marketplace were not eligible for subsidies,...--quoting AP
Naturally, Wisconsin taxpayers will pay for those Oregon benefits.
...HHS said state residents who were unable to sign up because of technical problems may still get federal tax credits if they bought private insurance outside of the new online insurance exchanges.
The federal policy change is significant because . until now the administration has stressed that the only place to get taxpayer-subsidized insurance under President Barack Obama’s health law is through the new online markets, called exchanges. Previously, people who bought outside the marketplace were not eligible for subsidies,...--quoting AP
Naturally, Wisconsin taxpayers will pay for those Oregon benefits.
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Rita Ferrone, the New Pope?
We have mentioned Rita Ferrone before.
She has progressed from mere harpy to a one-gal-court of star chamber--in her own mind. So much so that she is now issuing declarations of 'anathema.'
All over something of a resigned sigh issued by Fr. Kocik.
Her ultra-feminist rants have apparently caused a fever. Sad.
She has progressed from mere harpy to a one-gal-court of star chamber--in her own mind. So much so that she is now issuing declarations of 'anathema.'
All over something of a resigned sigh issued by Fr. Kocik.
Her ultra-feminist rants have apparently caused a fever. Sad.
No Evidence, No Proof: Globaloneywarming
This guy was a Greenpeace mainstay for 15 years. Now AlGore's money-making machine hates him.
There is no scientific proof of man-made global warming and a hotter earth would be ‘beneficial for humans and the majority of other species’, according to a founding member of environmental campaign group Greenpeace....
...He told The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: ‘There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years. If there were such a proof it would be written down for all to see. No actual proof, as it is understood in science, exists.’
He said: ‘There is some correlation, but little evidence, to support a direct causal relationship between CO2 and global temperature through the millennia. The fact that we had both higher temperatures and an ice age at a time when CO2 emissions were 10 times higher than they are today fundamentally contradicts the certainty that human-caused CO2 emissions are the main cause of global warming.’
Yup. Correlation is not causation. Never has been, never will be. But AlGore's umpty-zillion dollar fortune IS caused by lies and deceit.
Hmmm. He must'a been a politician.
HT: ColdFury
There is no scientific proof of man-made global warming and a hotter earth would be ‘beneficial for humans and the majority of other species’, according to a founding member of environmental campaign group Greenpeace....
...He told The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: ‘There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years. If there were such a proof it would be written down for all to see. No actual proof, as it is understood in science, exists.’
He said: ‘There is some correlation, but little evidence, to support a direct causal relationship between CO2 and global temperature through the millennia. The fact that we had both higher temperatures and an ice age at a time when CO2 emissions were 10 times higher than they are today fundamentally contradicts the certainty that human-caused CO2 emissions are the main cause of global warming.’
Yup. Correlation is not causation. Never has been, never will be. But AlGore's umpty-zillion dollar fortune IS caused by lies and deceit.
Hmmm. He must'a been a politician.
HT: ColdFury
Deneen and Solzhenitsyn
A few days ago, we mentioned an essay by Deneen which pointed out that Liberalism is at the root of both (R) and (D) politics, albeit more virulent in the (D) iteration.
Deneen's line of thinking is not unique. Solzhenitsyn's Harvard address (1978) says the same thing.
...Solzhenitsyn claims that the comfort and ease so enjoyed by the West as a result of our market driven economies, and our dependence on the rule of law as the arbiter of all right and wrong has softened us to the realities of the world. The former has led us to believe that material possession is the chief end of human happiness, and that the latter is absolute, so we need to dig deeper than the laws that we ourselves have written....
“… We turned our backs upon the Spirit and embrace all that is material with excessive and unwarranted zeal. This new way of thinking, which has imposed upon us its guidance, did not admit the existence of intrinsic evil in man nor did it see any higher task than the attainment of happiness on earth. It based modern Western civilization on the dangerous trend to worship man and his material needs… Merely freedom does not in the least solve all the problems of human life and it even adds a number of new ones.”
"Adding new ones" such as lawyers and their uncles in black robes.
Who'dathunkit?
Deneen's line of thinking is not unique. Solzhenitsyn's Harvard address (1978) says the same thing.
...Solzhenitsyn claims that the comfort and ease so enjoyed by the West as a result of our market driven economies, and our dependence on the rule of law as the arbiter of all right and wrong has softened us to the realities of the world. The former has led us to believe that material possession is the chief end of human happiness, and that the latter is absolute, so we need to dig deeper than the laws that we ourselves have written....
“… We turned our backs upon the Spirit and embrace all that is material with excessive and unwarranted zeal. This new way of thinking, which has imposed upon us its guidance, did not admit the existence of intrinsic evil in man nor did it see any higher task than the attainment of happiness on earth. It based modern Western civilization on the dangerous trend to worship man and his material needs… Merely freedom does not in the least solve all the problems of human life and it even adds a number of new ones.”
"Adding new ones" such as lawyers and their uncles in black robes.
Who'dathunkit?
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Socialist = Communist = Nazi
Not news, of course, but these days it bears repeating.
...Goebbels never doubted that he was a socialist. He understood Nazism to be a better and more plausible form of socialism than that propagated by Lenin. Instead of spreading itself across different nations, it would operate within the unit of the Volk....(quoting Hannan)
By the way, Fascist = Progressive, too.
...And I’ll also violate what appears to be an emerging consensus among some of my more-polite confreres out there, including Hannan–namely, that we must bend over backwards not to give too much offense to Leftists on this issue–and go ahead and say it: there is little meaningful distinction to be made between Progressivism and fascism. They are in fact closely related, and descended from the same political and ideological impulse. And to say that fascism is somehow “right wing” in either origin, practice, or effect is nothing more than a brazen lie....
So let's just call a spade a spade, shall we?
...Goebbels never doubted that he was a socialist. He understood Nazism to be a better and more plausible form of socialism than that propagated by Lenin. Instead of spreading itself across different nations, it would operate within the unit of the Volk....(quoting Hannan)
By the way, Fascist = Progressive, too.
...And I’ll also violate what appears to be an emerging consensus among some of my more-polite confreres out there, including Hannan–namely, that we must bend over backwards not to give too much offense to Leftists on this issue–and go ahead and say it: there is little meaningful distinction to be made between Progressivism and fascism. They are in fact closely related, and descended from the same political and ideological impulse. And to say that fascism is somehow “right wing” in either origin, practice, or effect is nothing more than a brazen lie....
So let's just call a spade a spade, shall we?