Thematic
That tax increase for affluent Americans would account for the bulk of the revenues that Mr. Obama counts in his $1.1 trillion of net deficit reduction. The rest includes $46 billion over 10 years from eliminating a dozen tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies to offset the costs of clean-energy initiatives. (NYT, 2/14/11)
Obama returns to his overarching themes. First, punitively tax those who are successful. Next, punish oil/gas/coal companies for providing cheap energy to all Americans. Finally, write a big check to that guy working in his basement on the windmill-powered car.
History, Evidence and Logic
Governing ought to be about making wise choices. What's disheartening about the Obama administration's embrace of high-speed rail is that it ignores history, evidence and logic. The case against it is overwhelming. The case in favor rests on fashionable platitudes. High-speed rail is not an "investment in the future"; it's mostly a waste of money. Good government can't solve all our problems, but it can at least not make them worse. (Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post, 2/14/11)
Fellow Travelers
Today, everyone and his cousin supports the "freedom agenda." Of course, yesterday it was just George W. Bush, Tony Blair and a band of neocons with unusual hypnotic powers who dared challenge the received wisdom of Arab exceptionalism - the notion that Arabs, as opposed to East Asians, Latin Americans, Europeans and Africans, were uniquely allergic to democracy. Indeed, the left spent the better part of the Bush years excoriating the freedom agenda as either fantasy or yet another sordid example of U.S. imperialism. Now it seems everyone, even the left, is enthusiastic for Arab democracy. Fine. Fellow travelers are welcome. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 2/11/11)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Castles in the Sand
You Think?
The Montana House of Representatives voted Thursday to repeal the state’s six-year-old medical marijuana law. And although party line positions have defined the issue in Montana, with Republicans mostly lined up in favor of restriction or repeal, there is widespread agreement among legislators and residents that medical marijuana has become something very different than it was originally envisioned to be. (NYT, 2/10/11)
Let’s be honest now. Did anyone really think six years ago that every stoner with a hangnail was NOT going to get his prescription for dope? Or, for that matter, that every entrepreneurial dope peddler was NOT going to set up a storefront clinic?
House of Pain
The Obama administration on Friday proposed raising fees for borrowers and requiring large down payments for mortgages in an effort to reduce the government's outsize footprint in the housing market. It also proposed three options for eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but warned that abolishing the mortgage giants without replacing them could have "particularly acute costs in its potential impact on access to credit for many Americans." (Washington Post, 2/11/11)
Sounds pretty good to RedStateVT. But what is Barney Frank going to say?
The Montana House of Representatives voted Thursday to repeal the state’s six-year-old medical marijuana law. And although party line positions have defined the issue in Montana, with Republicans mostly lined up in favor of restriction or repeal, there is widespread agreement among legislators and residents that medical marijuana has become something very different than it was originally envisioned to be. (NYT, 2/10/11)
Let’s be honest now. Did anyone really think six years ago that every stoner with a hangnail was NOT going to get his prescription for dope? Or, for that matter, that every entrepreneurial dope peddler was NOT going to set up a storefront clinic?
House of Pain
The Obama administration on Friday proposed raising fees for borrowers and requiring large down payments for mortgages in an effort to reduce the government's outsize footprint in the housing market. It also proposed three options for eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but warned that abolishing the mortgage giants without replacing them could have "particularly acute costs in its potential impact on access to credit for many Americans." (Washington Post, 2/11/11)
Sounds pretty good to RedStateVT. But what is Barney Frank going to say?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Behind with the Rent
Religion of Peace
A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl allegedly raped by a much older cousin has died after being publicly flogged for adultery, media reports said. Hena Begum was sentenced to receive 100 lashes by a village council made up of elders and Muslim clerics in the district of Shariatpur, about 35 miles from the capital, Dhaka, the BBC said today. (AOLNews.com, 2/3/11)
Coming soon to America – Sharia!
Broadside
Some will argue that public broadcasting should not be funded by the government it needs to hold accountable. But CPB's role as a buffer has worked remarkably well. The Pew study found that 72 percent of Americans feel that "most news sources are biased in their coverage." But they don't feel that way about public broadcasting - among the most trusted news sources anywhere. (Laura R. Walker and Jaclyn Sallee, Washington Post, 2/3/11)
Written by two people anxious to keep the public spigot flowing in their direction, we had a good laugh at the finding that public broadcasting is “unbiased.” Have you ever listened to NPR?
Cloudy Lens
Obama looks at the Egyptian drama through an unusual lens. He has experienced dictatorship firsthand, a world where "the strong man takes the weak man's land," as he quoted his Indonesian stepfather in his autobiography. The president came of age reading Frantz Fanon and other theorists of radical change. He is sometimes described as a "post-racial" figure, but it's also helpful to think of him as a "post-colonial" man. (David Ignatius, Washington Post, 2/3/11)
Dinesh D’Souza was widely criticized by the Left for theorizing about Obama’s deeper motivations (The Roots of Obama’s Rage). No doubt they will do the same as it relates to Ignatius’s psychoanalysis. Just kidding!
A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl allegedly raped by a much older cousin has died after being publicly flogged for adultery, media reports said. Hena Begum was sentenced to receive 100 lashes by a village council made up of elders and Muslim clerics in the district of Shariatpur, about 35 miles from the capital, Dhaka, the BBC said today. (AOLNews.com, 2/3/11)
Coming soon to America – Sharia!
Broadside
Some will argue that public broadcasting should not be funded by the government it needs to hold accountable. But CPB's role as a buffer has worked remarkably well. The Pew study found that 72 percent of Americans feel that "most news sources are biased in their coverage." But they don't feel that way about public broadcasting - among the most trusted news sources anywhere. (Laura R. Walker and Jaclyn Sallee, Washington Post, 2/3/11)
Written by two people anxious to keep the public spigot flowing in their direction, we had a good laugh at the finding that public broadcasting is “unbiased.” Have you ever listened to NPR?
Cloudy Lens
Obama looks at the Egyptian drama through an unusual lens. He has experienced dictatorship firsthand, a world where "the strong man takes the weak man's land," as he quoted his Indonesian stepfather in his autobiography. The president came of age reading Frantz Fanon and other theorists of radical change. He is sometimes described as a "post-racial" figure, but it's also helpful to think of him as a "post-colonial" man. (David Ignatius, Washington Post, 2/3/11)
Dinesh D’Souza was widely criticized by the Left for theorizing about Obama’s deeper motivations (The Roots of Obama’s Rage). No doubt they will do the same as it relates to Ignatius’s psychoanalysis. Just kidding!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Working on a Building
All Things
“I appreciate the question," he (Al Gore) writes. "As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now, and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming." (AOLNews.com, 2/2/11)
The beauty and wonder of global warming is that it can be used to explain just about everything: hot, cold, no snow, a lot of snow, rain, drought, sun, no sun. You name it and the answer is global warming.
On the Run
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed sweeping changes on Wednesday to New York’s costly pension system, seeking to save billions of dollars by fundamentally altering long-established rules that have awarded generous retirement benefits to municipal workers and have deepened the city’s financial hole. In trying to control soaring pension costs, Mr. Bloomberg is taking aim at retirement rules considered sacrosanct by the city’s powerful municipal unions and their political allies. (NYT, 2/2/11)
It says something when even a namby-pamby like Bloomberg is willing to take on the unions.
“I appreciate the question," he (Al Gore) writes. "As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now, and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming." (AOLNews.com, 2/2/11)
The beauty and wonder of global warming is that it can be used to explain just about everything: hot, cold, no snow, a lot of snow, rain, drought, sun, no sun. You name it and the answer is global warming.
On the Run
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed sweeping changes on Wednesday to New York’s costly pension system, seeking to save billions of dollars by fundamentally altering long-established rules that have awarded generous retirement benefits to municipal workers and have deepened the city’s financial hole. In trying to control soaring pension costs, Mr. Bloomberg is taking aim at retirement rules considered sacrosanct by the city’s powerful municipal unions and their political allies. (NYT, 2/2/11)
It says something when even a namby-pamby like Bloomberg is willing to take on the unions.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Hip Shake
No Man-up for Manning
A mental health specialist recommended that Bradley E. Manning, the Army private accused of leaking classified material to the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, not be deployed to Iraq, but his immediate commanders sent him anyway, according to a military official familiar with a new Army investigation. That decision, and commanders' failure to properly discipline Manning, may have contributed to one of the most high-profile classified military network breaches in decades, an Army investigation has concluded, according to the official. (Washington Post, 2/2/11)
The evolution of the defense for suspected U.S. traitor Manning. First, we had the “he’s being tortured in prison” canard. Now his lawyers will seize upon this report and employ the “it’s all his commanding officer’s fault” excuse. Last we checked, you serve in the armed forces on a voluntary basis. A reasonable person who enlists might assume that he will be sent to Iraq.
Four Strikes
Obama's economic program is in ruins. His healthcare bill is unconstitutional. His financial regulation bill (Dodd-Frank) has so harassed small and community banks that they have stopped lending to small businesses. And, on top of all that, he is losing Egypt to radical Muslim fundamentalists. What a presidency! (Dick Morris, 2/2/11)
Succinct summary from RedStateVT’s 2010 Cheney Award winner.
Alchemy
Cars that can run on sunlight and water. A million electric cars on the road by 2015. High-speed rail. A faster, more accessible Internet. Renewable technologies paid for by eliminating subsidies to oil and gas companies. These, all mentioned by the president in his address, are just a small sampling of what awaits an America that rededicates itself to scientific pursuit over the next decade. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post, 2/1/11)
Heck, if America rededicates itself to scientific pursuit as vanden Heuvel urges, perhaps we can change lead into gold!
A mental health specialist recommended that Bradley E. Manning, the Army private accused of leaking classified material to the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, not be deployed to Iraq, but his immediate commanders sent him anyway, according to a military official familiar with a new Army investigation. That decision, and commanders' failure to properly discipline Manning, may have contributed to one of the most high-profile classified military network breaches in decades, an Army investigation has concluded, according to the official. (Washington Post, 2/2/11)
The evolution of the defense for suspected U.S. traitor Manning. First, we had the “he’s being tortured in prison” canard. Now his lawyers will seize upon this report and employ the “it’s all his commanding officer’s fault” excuse. Last we checked, you serve in the armed forces on a voluntary basis. A reasonable person who enlists might assume that he will be sent to Iraq.
Four Strikes
Obama's economic program is in ruins. His healthcare bill is unconstitutional. His financial regulation bill (Dodd-Frank) has so harassed small and community banks that they have stopped lending to small businesses. And, on top of all that, he is losing Egypt to radical Muslim fundamentalists. What a presidency! (Dick Morris, 2/2/11)
Succinct summary from RedStateVT’s 2010 Cheney Award winner.
Alchemy
Cars that can run on sunlight and water. A million electric cars on the road by 2015. High-speed rail. A faster, more accessible Internet. Renewable technologies paid for by eliminating subsidies to oil and gas companies. These, all mentioned by the president in his address, are just a small sampling of what awaits an America that rededicates itself to scientific pursuit over the next decade. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post, 2/1/11)
Heck, if America rededicates itself to scientific pursuit as vanden Heuvel urges, perhaps we can change lead into gold!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Torn and Frayed
Dis-Ingenue
Democrats now say that repealing health care is a mistake because it diverts concern from the economy and jobs. We said this all along — that Obama and Congress were pursuing health care at the expense of the economy, when the recession was at its worst. For the Democrats to use that argument now is disingenuous, and the American people are not fools. (Patrick H. Caddell & Douglas E. Schoen, Politico.com, 1/28/11)
Honest Democrats know.
Goal Line Stand
“Why aren’t governors standing up and saying, ‘In our state, we’ll devise a system where nobody will ever get into a classroom who isn’t competent’?” said Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association. “Instead they are saying, ‘Let’s make it easy to fire teachers.’ That’s the wrong goal.” (NYT, 2/1/11)
Background: The teachers unions are upset with (mostly) Republican governors who are questioning tenure, benefits, and accountability. So Van Roekel’s complaint is students who are not “competent.” Wait a minute! Whose fault is that? Could it be incompetent teachers?
All the Gay News, All the Time(s)
Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will endorse same-sex marriage on Tuesday, publicly breaking ranks with a father who, as president, pushed for a constitutional amendment banning such unions. (NYT, 2/1/11)
This is the lead story in the U.S. Section of the New York Times website.
Democrats now say that repealing health care is a mistake because it diverts concern from the economy and jobs. We said this all along — that Obama and Congress were pursuing health care at the expense of the economy, when the recession was at its worst. For the Democrats to use that argument now is disingenuous, and the American people are not fools. (Patrick H. Caddell & Douglas E. Schoen, Politico.com, 1/28/11)
Honest Democrats know.
Goal Line Stand
“Why aren’t governors standing up and saying, ‘In our state, we’ll devise a system where nobody will ever get into a classroom who isn’t competent’?” said Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association. “Instead they are saying, ‘Let’s make it easy to fire teachers.’ That’s the wrong goal.” (NYT, 2/1/11)
Background: The teachers unions are upset with (mostly) Republican governors who are questioning tenure, benefits, and accountability. So Van Roekel’s complaint is students who are not “competent.” Wait a minute! Whose fault is that? Could it be incompetent teachers?
All the Gay News, All the Time(s)
Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will endorse same-sex marriage on Tuesday, publicly breaking ranks with a father who, as president, pushed for a constitutional amendment banning such unions. (NYT, 2/1/11)
This is the lead story in the U.S. Section of the New York Times website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)