Category Archives: 2010

My Favorite President: Vaclav Klaus Understands Freedom And Economics

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I wonder if the Czech people would be interested in a trade?

Klaus, a free-market economist who oversaw a wave of privatization in the 1990s after communism collapsed in his homeland, also said the world was “moving in the wrong direction” in combating the economic crisis.

“The anti-crisis measures that have been proposed and already partly implemented follow from the assumption that the crisis was a failure of markets and that the right way out is more regulation of markets,” he said.

Klaus said that was a “mistaken assumption” and it was impossible to prevent future crises through regulatory interventions and similar actions by governments.

That will only “destroy the markets and together with them the chances for economic growth and prosperity in both developed and developing countries,” he said.

The Czech president, a vocal skeptic of global warming, said the United Nations should also keep out of science, including climate change. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made fighting climate change one of his top priorities.

Video Clip: John Stossel- The Battle For The Future (part 2 of 6)

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I saw John Stossel’s special last night and it was fantastic. Here is a clip from the show:

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If you missed it, be sure to check out the rest on YouTube.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Trying To Provide Cover For Democrats Health Care Votes

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Friday the worst governor in America, Michigan’s very own Jennifer Granholm, used state IT resources (and her weekly address) to broadcast a thinly veiled campaign commercial in an effort to give Michigan’s House Democrats cover for their vote in favor of ObamaCare. Via the State Of Michigan web site:

If you have health insurance, your coverage is now stronger and better, thanks to health care reform.

Back in March, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – the single most important reform of America’s health care system in decades.

Of course, many people are starting to find out just how much their ‘new and improved’ insurance is going to cost them.

Some desert residents already feel the increased costs associated with the new benefits in the form of double-digit rate increases on their health insurance premiums.

Michael Nance, 49, and his wife Sonja Nance, 50, who own an Avis Rent A Car franchise in Palm Desert, have an individual Aetna plan for themselves and their 21-year-old son. They were recently notified their premiums will rise 17 percent on Friday — from $590 to $689.
The letter announcing the increase also came with a notice saying the Nances could change their policy to one with a higher deductible and lower premiums, but as the health care reform law continues to mandate new benefits, their premiums could rise again.

Come January, 2011 paychecks across the country will be significantly lighter after the Bush tax cuts expire* and insurance premiums increase thanks to the new ObamaCare mandates.

*You know after the mid term elections, lame duck Democrats in the Senate will not extend the Bush tax cuts.

Even In Europe People Are Catching On That High Taxes Kill The Economy

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Via Adam Smith Blog:

A few days ago the Evening Standard carried a story about Ken Livingstone’s call for an 80% tax rate. He wants those earning over £200,000 to pay a 60% rate of income tax and those earning over £1,000,000 to pay an 80% rate.

Clearly such a policy would be self-destructive. No one would pay such extraordinary rates of tax, tax takes would fall, growth would slump and tax evasion would rocket. It would mean that the government punished success and aspiration with nothing to show for it. If anything, the government should be looking to remove the 50p tax rate, which raises little extra money, damages growth and send the wrong message to Britain’s businesses.

Even worse than this economic illiteracy is the way Ken has presented the tax as an attack on bankers. In fact, the vast majority of people earning over £1 million are businessmen and entrepreneurs who invest in this country. Attacking them and the wealth they create would hurt businesses in need of investment and capital at this critical time.

Of course, for the current bunch of liberal incompetents running our government today, taxes have nothing to do with the economy, and everything to do with politics and pandering:

“Democrats believe we must permanently extend tax cuts for the middle-class before they expire at the end of the year, and we will.,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley said in a written statement that blamed the GOP for the delay. “Democrats will not allow families in Nevada and across the country to suffer or be held hostage by Republicans who would rather give tax giveaways to millionaires and corporations that ship jobs overseas. We will come back in November and stay in session as long as it takes to get this done.”

Sen Chris Dodd, D-CT, told reporters, “I think there are strong views being held. I, for one, subscribe to the notion that we ought to have a vote to extend the tax cuts for those that really need them and stop those for the ones who don’t,” Dodd said, but he quickly added, “There’s a mixed view. Tax policy is not our strongest political argument with the national public. We know that. It’s a divided caucus. That’s not uncommon.”

Several Democrats advocated for a delay, saying it is the one way to ensure politics does not enter into the equation. Republicans want to extend all of the tax cuts and are poised to pounce on any bill that falls short, as well as any member who does not support their position.

They should cut all taxes, across the board. It is telling that you have Liberal Democrats such as Harry Reid and the ethically challenged Chris Dodd stating they want to let people and organizations whom they deem worthy and “need” a tax break receive one while punishing others with confiscatory tax rates.

Vote For Thaddeus McCotter (R), Michigan’s 11th Congressional District

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Given the Rasmussen data regarding Americans’ rejection of more spending and bigger government, why do the Democrats persist in pushing this trillion-dollar hat trick of horrific legislation that will increase Washington’s record spending and its dictation of citizens’ decisions?

Because, feeling they are smarter than you, this Democratic president and his compliant Democratic Congress don’t want to control spending. They want to control you. And they are spending (and borrowing) your money to do it.

Thaddeus McCotter

Republican Thaddeus McCotter, Representative from Michigan’s 11th district, is one of the more eloquent conservative voices in Congress:

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And is not a big fan of Cap and Trade:

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Thaddeus supports lower taxes:

Today, under the Industrial Era’s progressive income tax a full 50% of the lowest earning tax filers provide 3.5% of federal tax revenues. Soon, most Americans will deem increased taxes and spending as a bargain, if not a boon. This doesn’t bother the Left, who regard taxpayers as the government’s ATM. Liberals scheme to soak your family budget and bloat the federal budget, because they crave control over Americans’ economic decisions. If nothing is done, liberals will replace free enterprise and property rights with envy and wealth redistribution as the basis of our economy.

So, if you live in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District (like me) be sure to vote for Thaddeus McCotter!

My MCT Virtual McCotter Yard Sign

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Wants To Indoctrinate Kids To The Green Agenda

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Nothing like indoctrination to the progressive left’s green agenda:

Educators “have a central roll” in that plan, Duncan said. And “well-educated” citizens, such as teachers, know that we must “teach students about how the climate is changing.” In addition, such citizens “explain the science behind climate change and how we can change our daily practices to help save the planet.”

He also revealed that “for the first time, we are proposing that environmental education be part of [a] well-rounded education.” That new curriculum will be part of the administration’s “Blue Print for Reform” — the administration’s “proposal to fix the No Child Left Behind Act.” According to Duncan, the president has proposed funding of $265 million for the project in the 2011 budget.

“Right now, in the second decade of the 21st century, preparing our students to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work any of us can do,” Duncan said.

“We must advance the sustainability movement through education.”

Please explain how the ‘climate is changing’ in my back yard:

Or in the geographic center of Michigan:

Of course this really all about indoctrination of our kids to the progressive / socialist agenda of the left. The environmental angle is only a tool to achieve the goal.

Getting To Know Your Michigan Candidates: Gary Peters (D) 9th Congressional District

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All you need to know about Gary “I thought I was voting on a jobs bill” Peters can be summed up with one picture:

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Democrat Gary Peters is continually, as most Democrats do, couching his economy killing votes with the empty claim that they will create jobs: The Stimulus, ObamaCare and particularly Cap and Trade (this one will create ‘green’ jobs) all included the empty promise that they will create jobs.

The federal or state government can’t create jobs. All it can do is take money from us and give it to someone else. Nothing more.

Oh, by the way, Peters also voted in favor of Financial Reform.

And, aside from the economy killing votes and re-distributive economic policies, Gary Peters is no fan of the Tea Party:

Democratic Congressman Gary Peters let his hate and disgust for the Tea Party movement show at an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority candidate forum when he referred to his Republican opponent Rocky Raczkowski as a “tea-bagger.” He later went on to say that those who attend Tea Party rallies are “close-minded” and guilty of “creating a polarizing rhetoric.” The forum was held at the Bloomfield Township library and most of the crowd were women.

Of course, there is something you can do if you live in Michigan’s 9th congressional district. Vote for Rocky Raczkowski!



A Whole Lot Of Preemption Going On

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There are a lot of Sarah Palin opinion pieces in the news in the last 24 hours. It seems the left is spending a lot of energy trying to raise Sarah Palin’s stature (after two solid years of vicious attacks) in an effort to soften the hit Dem’s are going to take in 2010 mid-terms. A hit that Sarah Palin is playing a significant role in delivering.

As you look through the news today, you will notice story’s like:

William Jefferson “Bubba” Clinton (the true leader of the Democrats) leads off with a left handed complement:

Former President Bill Clinton advised Democrats today not to underestimate the possibility that Sarah Palin could be a powerful candidate in the 2012 presidential elections, citing her resiliency and calling her a “a compelling, attractive figure” who knows how to appeal to her conservative base.

“It’s always a mistake to underestimate your opponent,” Mr. Clinton said, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I do think she’s a resilient character. And we may be entering a sort of period in politics that’s sort of fact free, where the experience in government is a negative.”

Mark Halprin writing a ‘fictional’ memo to the leftists warning against underestimating Sarah Palin:

But the mistake you are making is to assume that Palin needs or wants to play by the standard rules of American politics. Or that it even occurs to her to do so. Trash her all you want (even you Republicans who are doing it all the time behind her back) for being uninformed, demagogic and incoherent, and brandish the poll numbers that show fewer and fewer Americans think she is qualified to be President. Strain to apply political and practical norms to Alaska’s former governor. You are missing the point.

Jacob Weisberg @ FT.com thinks Sarah Palin is putting pitchforks before party:

The primaries have ended with a clear winner: Sarah Palin. In seven Senate contests, the Tea Party candidates she championed defeated more moderate, better funded and experienced Republicans. Having positioned herself at the head of this decentralised, populist movement, the former Alaska governor has become a bigger object of fascination – and a greater threat to the political status quo – than ever.

Ms Palin, who spent last weekend at a gathering of rightwing activists in the first-to-vote state of Iowa, now looks in every respect like an unannounced presidential candidate set for running in 2012 as an anti-establishment outsider. Having installed a television studio at her home in Alaska, she shuns “lamestream” media and speaks directly to followers via Fox News. Having mastered Twitter and Facebook she does not need to leave her moose-hunting grounds to make her presence felt on an hourly basis.

Christina Lamb in The Australian has a little less over the top take on things:

It also showed the momentum generated by Mrs Palin, who has secured victories for seven of the nine candidates she endorsed. “The news from Delaware is crystal clear,” said Democratic senator John Kerry in an email to supporters. “It’s Sarah Palin’s party now.”

Yet she is a highly polarising figure. The latest CBS poll found 46 per cent of Americans viewed her unfavourably, compared to 21 per cent with a positive opinion. The Obama administration makes no secret of the fact it would like Mrs Palin to stand.

One problem with the poll numbers Ms. Lamb cites. Via Rasmussen:

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters say their own views are closer to Sarah Palin’s than they are to President Obama’s, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

I think the left is hearing footsteps…

Obama Lecturing Us On Responsibility

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After Obama and his cohorts piled on the deficit, banned off shore drilling, created uncertainty across the economy,  partied up a storm and signed into law the largest unfunded entitlement in our history Obama is lecturing us about responsibility:

President Barack Obama said it would be “irresponsible” for Congress to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and voiced support for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Chairman Lawrence Summers.

“I can’t give tax cuts to the top 2 percent of Americans” and “lower the deficit at the same time,” the president said during an hour-long town-hall discussion on jobs and the economy on CNBC television from the Newseum in Washington.

To give “tax relief primarily to millionaires and billionaires” would be “ an irresponsible thing for us to do,” Obama said. “Those folks are least likely to spend it.”

How about cutting spending…