Food, Tea, and Guns

Things are busy in our house right now, but I did have time to run across a couple interesting stories in the news. The first comes via theblogprof, and is called Scarring kids with food.

Here's an article by the Herald Tribune: What's eating our kids? Fears about 'bad' foods. From the article "SODIUM: that's what worries Greye Dunn. He thinks about calories, too, and whether he's getting enough vitamins. But it's the sodium that really scares him. Sodium makes your heart beat faster, so it can create something really serious," said Greye, who is 8 years old and lives in Mays Landing, New Jersey."

I make sure the kids get their protein and fats, plus carbs so that they can grow to their potential. What I don't do is scare the pulp fiction out of my kids about sodium or trans-fat boogeymen hiding in everything they eat. That's what I'm against.

Public schools are not helping in this regard, listing some food as good, other as bad, without understanding what the heck they're talking about. Bureaucracies are even worse. Parents: let your kids enjoy their childhood while they still have it!

Here is another good article, via the DesMoinesRegister, about how the government tried to prevent a Cedar Rapids group from symbollically dumping tea in the Ceder River by saying tea was a pollutant:

A Cedar Rapids group will do a symbolic tea dumping into the Cedar River on Saturday because state officials won’t let them use the real thing. An anti-tax group wanted to pitch in real tea like the Bostonian revolutionaries opposed to England’s tea taxes.

(But) tea, although natural and quite tasty, is considered a pollutant that can’t go into a body of water without a permit, said Mike Wade, a senior environmental specialist at the DNR’s Manchester field office. “Discoloration is considered a violation,” Wade said.

(So) although not as steeped in history, the Cedar Rapids Tea Party will dump dechlorinated tap water or riverwater from buckets labeled “tea,” said Tim Pugh, the group’s founder.

Our Founding Fathers are sadly laughing in their graves at that one. One last fun story I found on the net, this one about Obama's attempt to take away our guns:

The Obama administration’s announcement that it will push to reinstate the assault -weapons ban has stunned Capitol Hill and revived a debate that has been dormant for years.

Congress’s leading supporter of the assault-weapons ban reacted with surprise and praise after Attorney General Eric Holder indicated the administration will push to renew the ban that expired in 2004.

Gun control advocates had been waiting to see what the Obama administration was going to do on the gun front. But they had expected him to focus on repealing appropriations riders that limit data collection on gun purchases, and requiring background checks on gun purchases, often referred to as “closing the gun-show loophole.”

To rephrase what the article said, people expected Obama to be a moderate force for liberalism and socialism, and are being surprised about how radically fascist the President is in his actions. I expect that since Congress knows this issue can't be advanced legislatively, Obama will do so through executive orders and dictatorial decrees.

The world we live in- scaring our children into eating politically correct foods, protecting the rivers against symbolic tea dumps, and taking away our guns through dictatorial decrees- any it is only month into the change regime!

Personally Touched by Obama

My stocks, that is. I figured that since Obama was throwing money around like meaningless mouthings of hope, some of it would hit some of my investments. I was wrong. In spite of the fact that his latest budget spends mind-boggling and radical amounts of money on socialist agenda items, it slashes heavily national defense, softening America both from inside and outside and destroying our prosperity and security in a way that our enemies have dreamed about for years. You'd think that they may have even had a role in electing him (likely, since he accepted massive amounts of money from foreign governments and individuals and made no attempts to follow campaign finance law- see earlier posts).

Sadly, that means that my stock in Lockheed Martin took a shocking tumble over the last several days. It's not quite as bad as the tumble that Citigroup fell- it is telling when you look at how rational 'greedy' capitalists fled like liberals fleeing from God when they heard that the government was going to get more involved in banking- but it still just hurt me bad. I will continue to invest in this company though, because I have a long-term strategy- to eventually own enough stock in this company and other aerospace companies to build a rocket and flee this rock and found my own conservative dream country on a far distant asteroid. Thank you Asimov and Heinlein, you've given me happy dreams of a more distant future, one more free, prosperous, and happy than our own future looks.

A future that with the election of Obama, and once again for the record I am very unhappy with anyone who voted for this guy, looks pretty grim- stories on yahoo today include the politically-driven orders to withdraw from Iraq, increasing government support and encouragement for baby killing, massive budget deficits sure to inflate away your retirement savings and spend money on worthless projects or support terrorist groups around the world, the raising of taxes on gas and on postage stamps, and a more grim future full of crisis and depression.

On a more happy note, Obama looked good at the recent parties and basketball games he's been going to, so we've got that going for us.

Michigan Tea Party

I will not be able to go (I still have a job- one of the few people still employed in liberal-Democrat-run Michigan), but I wanted to let you all know about the Michigan Tea Party being held on Friday, February 27, 2009, where grassroots patriots from all across Michigan will join thousands across the nation in a "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party." It is from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm at the Michigan State Capitol, 100 N. Capitol Ave, Lansing.

For more information about the event, please contact Joan at 517-282-2042, apackof2@gmail.com or Wendy at 517-652-5855, wjdayhome@sbcglobal.net or click on this link.

UPDATE: A great turnout! Only the America desire for freedom was needed, since there was little time to throw together an event like this, and the turnout and energy were great! Look at the sites of the event and read more about the turnout at these good sites- RightMichigan, The World According to Me, or For a Better Day.

You will have to read about this event on blogs, since the main newspapers didn't bother covering an event that cities all over the nation participated in, and in Michigan had several hundred people show up to. Instead, the Detroit News ran a story about Obama getting a new dog and the Detroit Free Press ran an article about how evil Laura Bush missed Obama's last speech. Nice work, MSM.

Obama: Promising Everything, Delivering Nothing

Poor USA- I tried to warn you. We have a politician here in Michigan who sounds a lot like Obama- an amateur who lacked executive experience, a liberal who pushed for higher taxes and more regulation, and a Democrat who passes larger and larger budgets that benefit special interest groups while the state suffers. Granholm, our Governor, even has a bogeyman to blame like Obama- first it was Engler, than it was Bush, and if she was Governor another 10-20 years, it would always be a bogeyman causing the problems, not her. Get used to it, nation, because when I listen to Obama talk, that's the impression I get.

Okay, so I'm looking through Obama's speech, and here are some parts that jump out to me:

"That day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here."

First off, why is today the day of reckoning? Why wasn't it yesterday, or last year, or two years ago? Why wasn't it September 11, 2001, or 1940, or 1776? Why is it the election of Obama as President? Obama shows his lack of humility, and shows why people mock him by calling him the Messiah and the Anointed one- he feels that the election of him is the day of reckoning. That's interesting.

According to wikipedia, the Day of reckoning is a term used to describe the Last Judgment in Christian eschatology. Judgment Day, or Day of the Lords, is the judgment by God of all nations. It will take place after the resurrection of the dead and the Second Coming (Revelation 20:12–15). So what does Obama really believe about our times? Interestingly enough, wikipedia is a fine help- under the section "Gnostic tradition", there is this line-

some liberal theologies reject the traditional conception of the Last Judgment as inconsistent with an all-just and loving God, in favor of some form of universal salvation. They teach that all beings of the human evolution will ultimately be saved in a distant future as they acquire a superior grade of consciousness and altruism.

Obama thinks that he is more evolved than us, that he is superior in consciousness and altruism than us, and that he is the second coming of Jesus, and that the election of him will bring universal salvation to all- everyone, no matter if they are good or bad, will be saved by him, and he will provide everything to everyone.

Here is another line I like:

This plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector - jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.

Let's see if I understand the logic- 1 trillion dollars in taxpayer money, government money, sent to government agencies and bureaucracies, and 90% of the jobs are private sector? Building roads and bridges, wind turbines, solar panels, broadband, mass transit- I guess by private sector he means private sector in the sense that favored businesses will get government money, much like the Nazi's ran their economy under their fascist systems in Germany and Italy.

Next, let's look at how Mr. Bipartisanship really works:

Given these realities, everyone in this chamber - Democrats and Republicans - will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me. But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.

In other words, everyone in Congress- except Democrats- will have to sacrifice their priorities- but Democrats totally reject the worldview of libertarians and fiscal conservatives. Totally reject- entirely reject- everything that you believe in, if you are a fiscal conservative or libertarian. If you voted for this guy, you elected someone who rejects your views in the name of 'bipartisanship'.

Oh, his speech is getting better- now that he is past the flowery language, we get to the heart of the matter. He is going to cut our energy supplies, especially oil. He is going to drive our domestic auto industry out of business. He is going to put in place a Soviet health care system. He is going to give everyone free college education, especially if you volunteer for Democrat causes. He is going to lose militarily around the world and sit down and give in to all of our enemies.

Incidentally, I'm shocked by how scripted this guy is- not a single variation in anything he says. I was reading this entire speech as he was saying it- he didn't vary a single word in the entire speech. Is this really how Lincoln and Reagan did it? Is this really how FDR and JFK did it? Read a speech word for word that others had written? I don't think so.

UPDATE: I was curious about what Obama knew about Greensburg, Kansas- apparently when a tornado ripped through this city last May, Obama said that 10,000 people were killed because the entire Kansas national guard was in Iraq- in reality, only 12 people died, and very little of Kansas's national guard was gone. Opps! All this guy knows are the places he saw during his campaign- all of his education about the world has been gained in campaigning for office.

How about Dillon, South Carolina, and Obama's visit there? Well, Obama was there for a campaign stop too. Apparently it is part of the 'Corridor of Shame'? Anyways, since everyone in this school is poor and African-American, and the people in this area supported Obama, he wants to now give kick-backs to this school. Interesting. See this information here.

Guns, Gold, and Secession

Occasionally I run across a post that nicely ties together what is going on in our country, and is funny and pointed and has a lot of great lines. Over at Big Hollywood, I read such a post, and am now passing it on to you- I suggest you read the whole Guns, Gold, and Secession post, but here are the best parts:

Not too surprisingly to my Republican friends, guns sales have skyrocketed across the country since Obama was elected. A week after the election, I read that gun sales near where I grew up in north Texas had gone up 185%.

Similar sales figures have popped up all over the U.S. By mid-February 2009, an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported an 82% increase over the previous year’s gun sales, due to “customers fearing for their safety in desperate economic times and worrying that President Barack Obama might resurrect some 1990s gun bans.” The same article cited FBI background checks as surging 27% over the previous year in the last three months of 2008.

And it’s not just guns being bought and hoarded. Gold sales are skyrocketing. In January 2009, the U.S. Mint sold more American Eagle coins than it shipped in the entire year of 2007, and gold prices just topped $1,000 an ounce. You’d think people didn’t trust the markets or the dollar any more.

You’ve probably heard of Igor Panarin, the Russian professor and former KGB analyst who predicted the breakup of the United States in 2010, giving it “a 55-45% chance.” In his opinion, Russia will regain control of Alaska, which sounds like a lot of wishful thinking, given that the Russian stock market and banking system is currently in worse shape than in the United States. As quoted in the Wall Street Journal, however, his prediction that “wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union” makes a bit of sense, when one considers the fact that the U.S. will actually need to pay back the trillions it owes.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Second Vermont Republic movement? And in June of 2008, long before the election, the State of Oklahoma declared its sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Republicans Predicted Future, Democrats Predicted Gains for Themselves- Both were Right

As a reminder, last year Fox News put together a report that analyzed who warned us about the financial crisis that set off our current economic crisis, and those who worked to ignore those warnings. The record is quite clear on this issue- one party predicted the correct economic future and worked to pass legislation that would protect America- another party worked and voted to block this legislation and frequently made statements about the future of our nation that have been 100% proven to be incorrect. Sadly, America voted in the wrong party, the Democrats, who the record will show worked against the interests of our nation and hurt America with their actions. See the video to be reminded that we had a chance to avert this current crisis, and Democrats ruined that chance. Vote the right way next time.

The People's Politicians Usually Support Elitist Policies

My friend who lived over in Germany told me once that an interesting feature of a political system that preaches equality is the marked inequality that exists. The countries that push the most for their citizens to be equal have leaders who live unequal lifestyles, whether it was in East Germany or the Soviet Union in the past, or Venezuela or Cuba today. Similarly, the politicians today that push the most for equality appear to be living it up on the people's dime (Obama throwing lavish parties and remodeling limo's), or using the people's dime to implement policies that support the elite in our country. As surprising as it is to some, conservatives and Republicans and the policies they promote lead to more equality than liberals and Democrats. As an example of this, I found a really good post over at Jack McHugh's Blog:

My colleague noticed an announcement on the website of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic growth about a state government “Vibrant Small Cities Initiative” program to hand out some $6 million in federal money to subsidize “façade improvements” on downtown buildings.

She was pondering the distinction between “vibrant cities” and the “cool cities” that Gov. Granholm has touted as another government central-planners’ vision of how to revitalize Michigan. I suspect there’s no difference, that both are buzz-words describing an particular elite class’s vision of an ideal setting that in many cases they themselves do not choose.

Here’s my attempt to define the contents of that vision. (Granholm wants to give taxpayer money to support places) with high-density population that are inhabited by: older, upper-middle class singles or empty-nesters, college students who are the offspring of upper-middle class families, or unmarried or childless college grads in their 20s or early 30s from the same upper-middle class background.

(Granholm does not want to support) suburban or urban neighborhoods inhabited by: families with children (or any income level), individuals or families who prefer the privacy and space of single family homes, or working people with limited incomes and leisure time, or the poor who can't afford to live in the cities.

For all the blather about “diversity,” the inhabitants of this ideal world of Democrats and liberals is a narrow class-driven vision of elites.

Bible, Math, Politics and More!

Over at the blog Bible, Math, Politics and More! I read a really good and inspiring post about what it means to be involved with the Republican Party. Here is some of this post:

If "All politics is local," then we represent a front line in the political battles being waged in America today. I think a lot of people—especially those who complain that politicians are insular or that they, the voters, can't have any impact on what's going on—would be pleasantly surprised at their ability to interact with the people voted into office...if they would take the time and opportunity to attend GOP county meetings. Not every politician attends every meeting, but if you come to three or four of ours, you will meet most of our county elected officials in Van Buren County.

As a result of my attendance the last few years, I can say that I am friends with my state representative, most of the county commissioners, most of the county elected officials (county clerk, county treasurer, etc.), and a variety of folks who hold township-level positions. I have had the opportunity to meet a number of state-level candidates and officials, as well as senators and representatives from other Michigan districts. As an officer of the organization, I was even invited to a private meeting (along with about 50 other people in this part of the state) with John McCain in 2007. And I asked him about that nutty immigration bill he supported two years ago.

My main point is this: If you want to make a difference, get involved. Contact your county Republican Party and ask when and where the next meeting is. (Not sure how? Check out migop.org, or the corresponding website in our state.) Take a friend or two with you if you are uncomfortable showing up in a group of relative strangers...because if you want to know more, your friends probably do, also. Attend a Lincoln Day Dinner or other county event where people and politicians mingle. Join a facebook group (we have one—Van Buren County Republican Party) or other internet social network for interested people; read blogs and news stories written by the people who are doing the actual work. There is much work to be done between now and November 2010; be a part of it!

Klaus Speaks About Freedom and Liberty

Following up on my earlier post about The Horror of Disbelieving in Global Warming and Signs of the Times, Signs of Times to Come, I have to direct you to check out this speech by Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and current head of the EU. His speech is mainly about efforts to expand and strengthen the authority of the European Union- but it is also about larger issues of freedom, responsibility, liberty, choices, and the best way to build a prosperous future. Klaus grew up in a communist society, fought against these forces, and now sees these very forces growing in our midst. Thanks to Belmont Club for pointing me to this speech.

The issue of Europe and of its future has stayed with me since the fall of communism in spite of other topical issues. It is not surprising. The undergoing weakening of democracy and of free markets on the European continent, connected with the European unification process, is a threatening phenomenon especially for someone who spent most of his life in a very authoritative and oppressive communist regime. I consider, therefore, the marching towards an ever-closer Europe (which is one of the crucial tenets of Europeism) a mistaken project. The gradual shift from liberalizing and removing all kinds of barriers towards a massive introduction of regulation and harmonization from above, the ever-expanding, overgenerous welfare system, the innovative, and more sophisticated forms of protectionism, the continuously growing legal and regulatory burdens on business, the markets undermining quasicompetition policies, the Single Currency arrangements, are all very real. They weaken and restrain freedom, democracy and democratic accountability, not to speak about economic efficiency, entrepreneurship and competitiveness.

Having said that, let me turn to two other issues I consider significant. I see another big problem in environmentalism and in its currently most aggressive form – global warming alarmism. This ideology has gradually turned into the most efficient vehicle for advocating extensive government intervention into all fields of life and for suppressing human freedom and economic prosperity. I am frustrated that this ideology has not been sufficiently challenged both inside and outside of climatology. We keep hearing one-sided propaganda, but do not hear serious counter-arguments.

The third issue, I would like to mention here today, is the current financial and economic crisis. I recently spent three full days discussing this topic at the World Economic Forum in Davos and my feeling is that the rationality and the economic science have been suppressed or forgotten. The very unpleasant, day by day deeper economic crisis should be accepted as a standard economic phenomenon, as an unavoidable consequence and hence a “just” price we have to pay for the long-term playing with the market by the politicians. Their attempts to blame the market, instead of themselves, are unacceptable and should be resolutely rejected. Their activities, aiming at “reforming” the economic system, are all very doubtful and I as said in Davos: I am getting more afraid of these reforms than of the crisis itself.

Aggregate demand needs strengthening. One traditional way to do this is to increase government spending, mostly on public infrastructure projects, on condition these are available. It would be much more helpful, however, to initiate a radical reduction of all kinds of restrictions on private initiatives introduced in the last half a century during the era of the brave new world of the “social and ecological market economy”. The best thing to do right now would be to temporarily weaken, if not permanently repeal, various labour, environmental, social, health and other “standards”, because they block human activity more than anything else. In the moment of the fall of communism, almost 20 years ago, I did not expect to experience such a degree of government intervention into my own life as I face now. I am, therefore, convinced that fighting for freedom and free markets remains the task of the day. We may be, some of us, oversensitive in this respect but I am sure it is – in principle – not about our personal oversensitivity. It is about the real dangers we see around us.

The Horror of Disbelieving in Global Warming

Many people think that teachers foster critical thinking skills, open minds, and helps students to understand many diverse viewpoints. But most do not, because teachers themselves, raised by a liberal education and liberal unions, do not critically examine arguments, have an open mind on new subjects, and try to understand diverse worldviews. Oh, I know a couple do- there are a lot of good teachers out there that do this. But most (51% or greater) do not, especially in the high schools and colleges in the nation.

Today in a staff meeting, the teachers at my school were supposed to be talking about how we can use data about our students and their learning to increase their mastery of the subject material. Instead, the conversation soon drifted to the teaching of global warming. I think the reason the conversation went that way was because the educational standard the state put out, or because they felt that this sort of knowledge couldn't be measured by standardized tests, or that the projects that were done for this sort of class didn't translate into data. Regardless, suddenly I found myself and my views about global warming being openly mocked by a group of professional educators.

For a while, I held my tongue while myths were peddled and recycled by teachers- that global warming is happening, that there is no debate about it, that it is man-made, that it is bad, that government is the solution, that an all powerful government is the only solution, that markets/capitalism/business is evil and causing global warming, that people are not responsible enough to deal with it, and that personal choices and freedom are a luxury that we can't have in the face of this crisis.

For a while, I held my tongue- then couldn't any more, and destroyed each argument clinically, piece-by-piece, using logic and data to the stunned horror of my colleagues. Yes, horror- they were shocked that anyone could believe in anything other than the myth, they were shocked that I denied their religion, and they were shocked that I somehow was in a position to mold young children's minds. How did a person like ever get a degree in education, they wondered.

There was almost no thinking about my arguments- when they started on this thought, they quickly stopped, perhaps realizing the fallacy of their views, and retreated behind the comforts of mocking me, teasing me, ridiculing me, and finally ignoring me. Oh, it was done nicely, in a professional way- a little snide comment there, a giggle there, a subtle ignoring of my comments and arguments- but it demonstrated to me once again that teachers have very closed minds on the sacred subjects of the left, that teachers do not think critically about their pagan religion, and that teachers are not welcoming to a diversity of thought on issues.

And in the end, it is I who was horrified once again that they are molding young minds.

Signs of the Times, Signs of Times to Come

Although I said long ago that the election of Obama would not be good for our nation because of his fascist tendencies (before dismissing my comments out-of-hand, read my posts here and here), I really thought it would take longer for America go to bad. I was wrong.

Today, an Oklahoma City police officer pulled a man's car over for having an anti-Obama sign in the window of his vehicle, and then took the sign from the man. The sign read "Abort Obama Not the Unborn", which clearly states the fact that the man disagrees with Obama's abortion policies and wishes that he was not around, stated in a rather controversial way, but it's a free country. Or it was. The officer felt that this sign was a threat to Obama, pulled over the man, and took his sign away. Then the Secret Service were called and went through the man's home, making sure that he wasn't part of a hate group or something (apparently being conservative is now borderline hate-group status). The good thing is that the police feel that his rights were not violated with this harassment- the good citizen on the other hand has not said whether he is suing or not. This is a true story, and a sign of things to come. Read the whole thing and watch some video by clicking on this link.

Also, since I am sure you didn't hear about it on the mainstream news, did you know that Obama is increasingly unpopular and already being protested by ever-enlarging crowds wherever he goes? It is true. Yesterday, greeting the President in Arizona was a crowd of about 200 people who were there to express their views on the stimulus bill and other pieces of legislation that Obama is supporting. Read about this here.

How does Obama intend to combat the swelling groundswell against his policies? By hiring celebrities. Yes, Obama intends to use taxpayer money to pay millionaires to lecture us on why we should support Obama. Remember that ad where McCain linked Obama to celebrities, and how good it was? So do I (it's a bummer McCain stupidly didn't follow it up). The message was that Obama was a passing fad, with shallow ideas, and was only popular because he was a celebrity. And now he hires celebrities to parrot his policies. Read about this here.

Where is this all heading? Obama wanted our nation to be international- remember the people around the world loved him. Probably because he wants to turn our nation into an undemocratic and elitist project comparable to the communist dictatorships of eastern Europe, that forbade alternative thinking, violated citizens rights, and were poor and unfree. Kind of like the EU is turning into, as Czech President Vaclav Klaus told the European Parliament on Thursday. Speaking about the EU, Klaus said "Those who dare thinking about a different option are labeled as enemies"- which increasingly describes conservatives, Republicans, and libertarians in this liberal Democrat-run nation.

Next thing you know,, it will be considered 'patriotic' to never question the government, pay more in taxes, and bow to the increasing authority of the state... oh wait, several Democrats already think this...

Auto Bailouts, Porkulus Bills, and an Endless Power Grab- All on Obama

Some days I feel like I must not be normal, that my thinking doesn't quite fit, because I arrive at the opposite conclusions as other people. Today's post might be more accurately a rant.

I'm reading an article in the Detroit News about the auto bailout- about how General Motors and Chrysler asked the government for $21 billion more in taxpayer money to 'stave off bankruptcy', which raises the tab for the auto industry's rescue above $40 billion. As I am reading this article, there are a couple things that jump out to me. Take a look at this line from the article-

Yet since the government extended the first emergency loans in December, the already weak U.S. auto market has collapsed to its lowest level since the 1980s.

Here is how I am different- in my mind, I think that that the already weak market collapsed BECAUSE the government started bailing out everyone. The bailouts caused the public to panic, caused confidence in these products to decline, and damaged our economy, all of which further hurt the auto companies, and the solution is no more bailouts, no more government money. Or take a look at this line

Politicians have criticized Detroit's automakers for running sloppy businesses and producing gas-guzzlers that consumers don't want to buy, but the severity of this downturn is hobbling even the world's strongest automakers.

Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Daimler AG have all reported losses for the October-December quarter. "There has been an unprecedented decline in the automotive sector," since early December when Chrysler first requested $7 billion in loans, Chairman Robert Nardelli told reporters.

Follow me on this one- if it was just a Detroit or a domestic thing, it would only affect Detroit or domestic auto companies. But it isn't- it is a United States thing as all companies selling in the US are being hurt. Why? Especially troubling is the line 'unprecedented decline'- why is it unprecedented? Did something radical happen in the US lately? Yup- the government stepped in, raised environmental standards, raised CAFE requirements, radically changed the nature of the government in the economy, etc. The reason why the auto industry declined in the US was not 'greed,' or 'bad Ford executives,' but the United States federal government. Blame that institution- blame the Democratic Congress, the moderate Bush, and the radical Obama. They are to blame, not good Americans working hard in a free economy.

In other news, one day after Obama signed into the the Destroy America Act (see post below), an act that spends an unprecedented $787 billion, an act that likely wastes money like nothing else in the history of spending, our President announced that this act isn't enough, and that we need another bailout of $75 billion 'to tackle the foreclosure crisis'. This act is meant to bailout people speculated in the housing market bubble, leveraged those profits into investments and a nice lifestyle, and now have to pay the piper, and bribe banks to continue lending to risky individuals in an effort to put every person in the Soviet America into a square block house. One wonders how much of this money will flow into the pockets of politically connected Democratic donors.

This type of government spending, whereby inefficient and irresponsible individuals are propped up at the sacrifice and hard work of efficient and responsible individuals, leads no where. What it leads to is the bankrupting of America. If you want to see what these liberal policies create, look at Detroit- a liberal Democrat dream town, designed by liberal Democrats and controlled by them for years, and now the 2nd most desolate city in the country. Democrats want to turn America into that.

And what is Obama doing, other than throwing unheard of amounts of money at the problems of America? Is he in Washington, working on creating effective public policy? Is he using his Harvard trained mind to creatively solve the problems facing our nation? Nope- he is doing what he does best, and campaigning for office. This Presidency is going to be marked by ceremonies, palaces, dances, and a continual spin campaign of the likes that you have never seen (unless you lived under soviet or fascist leaders).

Yes, the President is making good on his promise to continually get in touch with the people of our nation- provided that they are donors and they only donate to Democrats. He continued his Presidential campaigning today in swing states like Virginia and Florida, meeting with rich donors and promising to give them more taxpayer money in the form of further bailouts. What a joke.

Lastly, just to prove that the joke is on all of us and not just Republicans, Obama also announced that in the name of peace and to bring our troops home from conflict and protect them from harm, he is increasing our presence in Afghanistan by 17,000. The article says that he is radically changing the course of our foreign affairs by surging troops to combat terrorists- something that apparently Bush never did? Really, this is how the media covers for this guy, who now is backstabbing his own peacenik supporters and proving that he is only after one thing and one thing only- more power for himself.

The Liberal Bias of Government Mandated Tests

A friend of mine does some work for the Michigan Department of Education, and he let me know what some of the questions on the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) are about. Now, I'm not going to tell you what the questions actually ask or what standard or information is being tested, but I think it's okay to tell you the general liberal thrust of the questions that your taxpayer money is paid to write.

There are several questions about why Wal-Mart is bad written in the guise of economics questions. The questions pretend to ask questions about economic principles that students are supposed to learn, but the correct answer to every question is 'Wal-Mart is evil.' Since students are usually taught this instead of economics principles, I guess it's okay for them, but I think that these types of questions are wrong to put on this state-mandated test. Besides, Wal-Mart isn't as bad as it is made out- see my earlier post Undercover at Wal-Mart.

It's surprising how economic questions rarely ask about supply and demand, and yet there are several questions on saving gas and helping the environment disguised as 'supply and demand' questions. Seriously, the correct answer to several questions on the MME test is 'save the environment, drive green cars, save gas, and vote Democrat' (okay, I added that last part). Although saving gas might be good for the environment, are these concepts really fundamental to education in Michigan? Never mind, they probably are- my students can repeat the liturgy of global warming to me, but know few economic concepts.

Oh, and for those of you who believe in a religion other than global warming- according to the state-mandated, taxpayer funded MME test, you are a barrier to progress. Yes, several questions on world history can be answered with the correct answer of 'church is barrier to progress.' I guess that's not exactly wrong- conservative values have been standing in the way of Progressivism for many years, fighting to make sure that the values of men are protected and respected and we don't progress to a tyrannical inhuman society. Still, I hope students aren't being taught that the church is bad- I know schools have interpreted the 1st amendment to mean they can't talk about religion, but I hope they haven't interpreted the 1st amendment to mean that they can't talk about religion in a good way.

Just thought some of you would be interested in what the state is producing. Imagine all the great things it will produce now that it has forcibly appropriated massive amounts of your property in the form of a 'stimulus bill.'

Democrats Openly Defy Constititution and Voters and Name Washington DC a State

Things are spiraling out of control now- apparently, in spite of the fact that voters have several time stated that they don't consider Washington DC a state, the Senate does, and is going to award full voting rights to Washington DC- AS IF IT WERE A STATE. The Constitution clearly says in Article I, Section 8 that DC is not a state, and is simply "the seat of the government of the United States."

In 1978, the District's advocates sent to the states a constitutional amendment requiring that "for purposes of representation" the district would be "treated as though it were a state"- but only 16 states ratified it, 22 short of the required number. Now, advocates shrug their shoulders and poop on the Constitution, changing it by 'informal means' and with the D.C. House Voting Rights Act will give the District a full voting member in the House of Representatives. This is in clear violation of the Constitution.

What is this country coming to? On February 12, 2009, Senate committee voted 11-1 Wednesday to give the District a full voting seat in Congress- that means that 11 Senators voted to disregard our Constitution and act in clear violation of it. Voting rights only go to states- if our country wants to make DC a state, then it gets full voting rights- but if voters don't, then it doesn't- you can't take the law into your own hands and just do it- that's illegal and unconstitutional.

It is the attitude that is being shown that shocks me- it's as if our country has become totally unmoored, and our government now acts in clear violation of the laws as it sees fit. It is a tyranny and lawlessness not seen in this nation since the Founding Fathers, and it is beginning to scare me.

You were Warned

At this fine blog comes this blast from the past- long ago, America was given a vision of the future, and it wasn't the vision of hope and change and bipartisanship that produced the most un-bipartisan same-old big government spending Stimulus Bill that people hope won't destroy America. No, this warning was different-

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed... when the roar of the crowd fades away... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot... what exactly is our opponent's plan?

What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger... take more of your money... give you more orders from Washington... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy... our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight... he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big... he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much... he promises more. Taxes are too high... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

(He) plans to raise income taxes... raise payroll taxes... raise investment income taxes... raise the death tax... raise business taxes... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.

America had a chance to listen, and choose instead to mock the person who gave this speech as uneducated and backwards. America choose to laugh at this person- sadly, no one is laughing in this country anymore. Thank you Sarah Palin, for trying to warn us about Obama- sadly, we didn't heed your advice, and now have a growing government focused on growing government more.

A Partial List of Spending in the Destroy America Act of 2009

Via Tom Coburn, here's the latest list of wasteful spending in the bill just passed by the House (via The Corner):

Wasteful and Non-Stimulative Spending in the House-Senate Conference Report (Note: Most of these items are already fully funded through the regular budget process, which already increased spending dramatically last year. This is just adding silly money to the already flush coffers of government agencies).
• $8 billion for high-speed railway (including an earmark for an Los Angeles to Las Vegas MagLev)
• $1 billion for the “FutureGen” not-ready-for-primetime near zero emission plant in Illinois
• $53.6 billion for the “state stabilization” slush fund
• $1.3 billion for Amtrak
• $24 million for USDA buildings and rent
• $176 million for renovating Agricultural Research Service buildings
• $290 million for flood prevention activities
• $50 million for watershed rehabilitation
• $1.4 billion for wastewater disposal programs
• $295 million for administrative expenses associated with food stamp program
• $1 billion for the 2010 Census
• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
• $650 million for the DTV converter box coupon program
• $360 million for construction of NIST buildings
• $830 million for NOAA research and facilities
• $2 billion for Byrne JAG program
• $10 million to combat Mexican gunrunners
• $125 million for rural communities to combat drug crimes
• $1 billion for the COPS program
• $1 billion for NASA
• $300 million to purchase scientific instruments for colleges and museums
• $400 million for equipment and facilities at the NSF
• $3.7 billion to conduct "green" renovations on military bases
• $375 million for Mississippi River projects
• $10 million for urban canals
• $5 billion for weatherizing buildings
• $2 billion to develop advanced batteries for hybrid cars
• $3.4 billion for fossil energy research (possibly including an earmark for FutureGen)
• $5.1 billion for environmental cleanup around military bases
• $5.5 billion for "green" federal buildings
• $300 million for "green" cars for federal employees
• $20 million for IT upgrades at the Small Business Administration
• $200 million to design and furnish DHS headquarters
• $210 million for State and local fire stations
• $125 million to restore trails and abandoned mines
• $146 million for trail maintenance at National Park Service sites
• $140 million for volcano monitoring systems
• $600 million for the EPA Superfund environmental cleanup program
• $200 million to clean up leaking underground storage tanks
• $500 million for forest health and wildfire prevention
• $25 million for the Smithsonian Institution
• $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
• $1.2 billion for "youth activities" (for "youth" up to 24 years old)
• $500 million earmark for NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
• $1 billion for Head Start
• $32 million for home-delivered nutrition services
• $160 million for volunteer programs at the Corporation for National and Community Service
• $500 million earmark for the SSA National Computer Center in MD
• $220 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico

Just a couple comments to this insanity. Why would a fully funded Census Bureau need an additional billion dollars- what kind of a game is this hiding? I thought Amtrak and Smithsonian were going privatized- how did they suddenly get back on the nationalization path? It's interesting how many palaces government is building itself- 'green' buildings I imagine are very beautiful to look at. Am I correct in seeing that $10 million is going to build 'urban canals'- what the poop is that about? Seriously, they should just include an item for "$10 billion just to piss away" and stop with the pretend items. This makes me very angry seeing this list- anyone who reads this blog who did not vote Republican for Congress and President should go bang your head violently against a wall- this is partly your fault.

Top Conservative Movies

Interesting- over at The Corner on National Review, they are counting down the top conservative movies. I know this is a partial list, and I will update it as I get to it, but so far I see:

#1 The Lives of Others, #2 The Incredibles, #3 Metropolitan, #4 Forrest Gump, #5 300, #6 Groundhog Day, #7 The Pursuit of Happyness, #8 Juno, #9 Blast from the Past, #10 Ghostbusters, #11 The Lord of the Rings, #12 The Dark Knight, #13 Braveheart, #14 A Simple Plan, #15, Red Dawn #16 Master and Commander, #17 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, #18 The Edge, #19We Were Soldiers, #20 Gattaca, #21 Heartbreak Ridge, #22 Brazil, #23 United 93, #24 Team America: World Police, #25 Gran Torino

Honorable mention goes to Mars Attacks, where in one scene the hippies start an intergalactic war by releasing the "dove of peace". Interesting notes- Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and Bill Murray are all over this list, war movies are heavily represented, and oddly enough, a lot of these are movies that I show in one of my classes. The top 3 are a surprise to me- I haven't seen most of those, and I am very disappointed that Serenity wasn't in there.

Undercover at Wal-Mart

Ah, to go undercover and explore the heart of that evil capitalist enterprise, Wal-Mart. The very symbol of what makes America bad, right? Charles Platt did go undercover at Wal-Mart, and has some pretty surprising insights in his article. To be honest, this was one of the most intesting things I've read in a while. I've pulled out the best pieces- the full article is much better- seriously, check out the full article here:

The company is rebuked and reviled by anyone claiming a social conscience, and is lambasted by legislators as if its bad behavior places it somewhere between investment bankers and the Taliban.

Considering this is a company that is helping families ride out the economic downturn, which is providing jobs and stimulus while Congress bickers, which had sales growth of 2% this last quarter while other companies struggled, you have to wonder why. At least, I wondered why. And in that spirit of curiosity, I applied for an entry-level position at my local Wal-Mart.

Getting hired turned out to be a challenge. The personnel manager told me she had received more than 100 applications during that month alone, chasing just a handful of jobs. Thus the mystery deepened. If Wal-Mart was such an exploiter of the working poor, why were the working poor so eager to be exploited? And after they were hired, why did they seem so happy to be there? Anytime I shopped at the store, blue-clad Walmartians encouraged me to "Have a nice day" with the sincerity of the pope issuing a benediction.

I was called in for an interview. I sat at a table that was covered in untrimmed fabric under a protective layer of sticky transparent vinyl, like a couch cover. I'd seen better-looking decor at firehouse bingo evenings. Was Wal-Mart going out of its way to emphasize its commitment to cost-cutting? I guessed that the utilitarian ethic was so deeply embedded, it was just taken for granted.

A friendly lady in her 50s, wearing the Wal-Mart Smile, sat opposite me and started asking questions from a printed form. I managed to satisfy her expectations, and then went through two additional interviews, followed by a drug test, before I received formal approval. It may have been one of the most intense hiring processes I've been through; hardly the schedule of a company that didn't care who it hired, or employees who didn't care about getting a job.

A week later, I found myself in an elite group of 10 successful applicants convening for two (paid) days of training in the same claustrophobic, windowless room. As we introduced ourselves, I discovered that more than half had already worked at other Wal-Marts. Having relocated to this area, they were eager for more of the same.

Why? Gradually the answer became clear. Imagine that you are young and relatively unskilled, lacking academic qualifications. Which would you prefer: standing behind the register at a local gas station, or doing the same thing in the most aggressively successful retailer in the world, where ruthless expansion is a way of life, creating a constant demand for people to fill low-level managerial positions? A future at Wal-Mart may sound a less-than-stellar prospect, but it's a whole lot better than no future at all.

In addition, despite its huge size, the corporation turned out to have an eerie resemblance to a Silicon Valley startup. There was the same gung-ho spirit, same lack of dogma, same lax dress code, same informality - and same interest in owning a piece of the company. All of my coworkers accepted the offer to buy Wal-Mart stock by setting aside $2 of every paycheck.We were given only a handful of outright prohibitions. No swearing in the store, for instance - not even the word "damn," because some people might be offended. No funny-colored hair or blatant skin piercings, because some people might be offended. In fact almost all the rules devolved to the sacred principle of never, ever offending a customer - or "guest," in Wal-Mart terminology.

The reason was clearly articulated. On average, anyone walking into Wal-Mart is likely to spend more than $200,000 at the store during the rest of his life. Therefore, any clueless employee who alienates that customer will cost the store around a quarter-million dollars. "If we don't remember that our customers are in charge," our trainer warned us, "we turn into Kmart." She made that sound like devolving into some lesser being - a toad, maybe, or an ameba.

And so we came to the Wal-Mart Pledge. Solemnly, each of us raised one hand and intoned: "If a customer comes within 10 feet of me, I'm going to look him in the eye, smile and greet him." Having pledged ourselves, we encountered the aspect of Wal-Mart employment that impressed me most: The Telxon, ronounced "Telzon," a hand-held bar-code scanner with a wireless connection to the store's computer. When pointed at any product, the Telxon would reveal astonishing amounts of information: the quantity that should be on the shelf, the availability from the nearest warehouse, the retail price, and (most amazing of all) the markup.

All of us were given access to this information, because - in theory, at least - anyone in the store could order a couple extra pallets of anything, and could discount it heavily as a Volume Producing Item (known as a VPI), competing with other departments to rack up the most profitable sales each month. Floor clerks even had portable equipment to print their own price stickers. This was how Wal-Mart detected demand and responded to it: by distributing decision-making power to grass-roots level. It was as simple yet as radical as that.

We received an inspirational talk on this subject, from an employee who reacted after the store test-marketed tents that could protect cars for people who didn't have enough garage space. He was invited to corporate HQ as a guest at a management conference. "It was totally different from what I expected," he told us. "I thought it would be these fatcats talking about money, but no one even mentioned money. All they cared about was finding new ways to satisfy customers. I met everyone including the chairman of the company."

My supervisor reminded me unfailingly to take my mandatory two (paid) quarter-hour breaks during each eight hours of working time. I was cautioned never to abbreviate my lunch hour. Most of all I was encouraged to educate myself using instructional videos on computer terminals at the back of the store.

These videos served Wal-Mart's self-interest by teaching skills ranging from customer service to the art of lifting heavy boxes without hurting your back. I was paid to view them, and was rewarded with an increased hourly rate when I finished the course.

In our free-enterprise system, employees are valued largely in terms of what they can do. This is why teenagers fresh out of high school often go to vocational training institutes to become auto mechanics or electricians. They understand a basic principle that seems to elude social commentators, politicians and union organizers. If you want better pay, you need to learn skills that are in demand.

The blunt tools of legislation or union power can force a corporation to pay higher wages, but if employees don't create an equal amount of additional value, there's no net gain. All other factors remaining equal, the store will have to charge higher prices for its merchandise, and its competitive position will suffer.

To my mind, the real scandal is not that a large corporation doesn't pay people more. The scandal is that so many people have so little economic value. Despite (or because of) a free public school system, millions of teenagers enter the work force without marketable skills. So why would anyone expect them to be well paid?

Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It's the best friend we could ask for.

Keep on Engaging- the Fairy Tale is Over

Right now I'm listening to Obama try to scare us into giving him more power, and I'm shaking my head in sad laughter- did I understand correctly that he said that the debates about the role of government in general and the role of government in the Great Depression were settled long ago? Did I black out or did he say that there are no earmarks in this pork bill? Did I blink into bizzaro world or did he say that government is the only option available to create jobs and that capitalism has failed? Poke me in my eye- the failed theories of the last 8 years have horribly failed and so we're going back to the failed theories of communist Russia?

Even though Obama claims we can have a 'respectful debate,' he immediately dismisses entirely with my philosophical ideas and uses his power to try to shut me up- that isn't respectful to me, and so my tone isn't going to be respectful here.

Moving on, it is quite obvious that the fairy tale is over with this guy- midnight struck and this guy has been shown to simply be a dangerous pumpkin. As Charles Krauthammer writes in the Detroit News this weekend:

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe." -- President Barack Obama, Feb. 4. Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

And yet more damaging to Obama's image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama's name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination.

It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

It's the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus -- and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress' own budget office says won't be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama (said he) came to Washington to abolish.

Not just to abolish but to create something new -- a new politics where the moneyed pork-barreling and corrupt logrolling of the past would give way to a bottom-up, grass-roots participatory democracy. That is what made Obama so dazzling and new. Turns out the "fierce urgency of now" includes $150 million for livestock insurance.

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington. By the time the stimulus bill reached the Senate, reports the Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were lobbying furiously for a new plan to repatriate overseas profits that would yield major tax savings. California wine growers and Florida citrus producers were fighting to change a single phrase in one provision. Substituting "planted" for "ready to market" would mean a windfall garnered from a new "bonus depreciation" incentive.

After Obama's miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell -- and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

Who voted for this moron? Did people really just imbibe the silly juice for a couple of months, and elect this inexperienced left-wing blather because the wool was pulled over their eyes, or am I missing the hope and change here?

Look, to be perfectly honest, I'm going to continue in my bad habits of the past and think logically through things and vote Republican- my philosophy is screw the new age of Washington where they throw you in the gulag for disagreeing with liberal Democrat policies. Obama is talking right now about how it is so awful that he inherited a trillion dollar deficit- he is doubling it in a week! What a hypocrite- who can respect this guy? I can't. I can't. Why do you?

Extreme Times Call for Extreme Measures

I spotted this over at theblogprof- it's ironic that liberals are opposed to waterboarding terrorists in order to protect our country, and yet they are not opposed to drowning America in red ink. Out of curiousity- I know ACORN is getting money, but I wonder how much the terrorist groups like CAIR will get- I bet there is $10 million or whatever for 'improving Islamic studies' or some such.

Michigan Businesses Battle Government Regulations in Struggle to Remain Profitable

As reported in Crains Detroit Business comes this story of Michigan's continual attempt to drive every business out of Michigan, this time by putting in place petty 'ergonomic standards':

Michigan businesses aim to prevent a long-discussed state ergonomics standard from taking a key step forward this week.

A Wednesday joint meeting of the General Industry Safety Standards Commission and the Occupational Health Standards Commission could move ahead development of rules governing how employers must identify and address conditions that could put workers at risk for job-related injuries caused by repetitive motion, force and other factors.

Here, businesses argue that: There is no proven need for the mandatory standard; ergonomics-related workplace injuries have been dropping; Michigan's workers' comp system gives incentive for employers to have safe workplaces; and compliance would be costly. “Employers that don't have a single injury on their books would possibly have to reconfigure workplaces, work stations, to address this.”

Those supporting a rule say employers can reduce injuries and costs by instituting ergonomics programs that can lead to more productive and healthy employees... organized labor groups support the rule.

Michigan should be fighting tooth and nail to keep every job here, and to make it easier on every employer to do business here. Having an uncomfortable desk or back pain from picking up a paycheck is probably preferable to not working and losing your house, car, and food, and it is silly actions like this BY government that cause businesses to leave our state. Government is not the solution to the problem- it is the problem.

The Failure to Teach Economics in Schools

Here is a thought- the real reason why our country might be on the decline and we elect legislators who are economic morons is because our school system is run and staffed by those people who have no experience in business, work in an industry severed from economic reality, and frequently have ideologies that oppose capitalism and free markets. The reason why this country elects people who think any sort of spending is a stimulus (Obama) is because the very people who are training and teaching our students about economic principles are the worst sort of people to do so.

This is not just an off-hand comment- I'm a little ticked off today about a conversation that we had in our department meeting about the teaching of economics. The MME test expects students to know basic principles about economics, and yet the students who graduate from our school don't have the foggiest notions of supply and demand, and when I talk about inflation and investment, they get blank looks in their eyes. So in our staff meeting, I tried to bring this up, and got lectured by two 'veteran' teachers about how economics should be taught- these two teachers thought that scientific principles were beyond students comprehension, so instead spent class time debating such things as minimum wage, CEO compensations, buy-American policies, and low pay for teachers.

Yes, that's right, rather than teach students economic principles, we are teaching them how to think and vote like a liberal Democrat (since liberal Democrat's usually also have no idea on how basic economic principles work). I tried to battle back, pointing towards the curriculum, and mentioned how an example like the Great Depression could be a good opportunity to connect economic principles, history, and modern day together, and suddenly most of the department was against me- they were upset that the curriculum attempted to be balanced when dealing with the Great Depression, and they phrase "capitalism caused the Great Depression and there is no arguing it" was thrown around once or twice.

If any of you are in business, if any of you are conservative economists, or even if any of you have read a good book in economics, I suggest you contact your local school and find out if you could come in one day to explain the book or an economic principle to these students. If you can't get in to the schools, at least make sure that you teacher your own students about economic principles, because they sure aren't going to learn about them in public schools.

Raining on the Motowon Motion Pictures Parade

In Democratic Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's speech, she touted that Michigan is growing and that there is opportunity here in our state. As evidence of this, she pointed to Motown Motion Picture Studios LLC as an example of how the government can help create new industry and business in a state. Although having a movie studio in the area would be really cool, and I love the fact that jobs and opportunity is being created, let's look a little bit more at the details of the deal, reported on by WWJ news:

Motown Motion Pictures LLC – The new business venture, which will be both a film studio and a production services company, plans to invest approximately $70 million in a 600,000-square-foot development with nine sound stages in Pontiac. The project is expected to create 5,139 new jobs, including 3,600 directly by the company. The MEGA board Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years to help bring the project to Michigan. In addition, Infrastructure Development Film and Digital Media incentives totaling $12.9 million have been approved to help support the project. Job training assistance through the MEDC and Renaissance Zone designation by the city of Pontiac are also under consideration.

Let's do a little math- 5,139 jobs created at the cost to taxpayers of 113.9 million dollars. That is $22,163 a job. That's about $127 a person- not much, but if you let every person in our state keep that money and spend it on goods and services or invest it, it would multiply many times over, and create more jobs and economic benefits than some pie in the ski scheme like this one. For those trying to do more research on this, according to the Oakland Press, here are some more details:

"It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Republican Oakland Couny Executive Patterson said Tuesday. The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.

Notice how the number of jobs this is going to bring to Michigan has dropped considerably now, and that several major players who are receiving this funding from Michigan citizens are from California. This company will likely receive the full amount of funding- but I wonder if taxpayers will receive anywhere near the full benefit from this venture.

Granholm's State of the State: No Surprises- A Plan for a Less Free, Less Prosperous Michigan

Yesterday Michigan Governor Democrat Jennifer Granholm gave her State of the State address- let's take a look at what she said.

First, she announced that she is going to continue her policy of attempting to personally direct the economy of Michigan by focusing the state on new industries like 'green energy' and film-making. Granholm has no major experience or success at any level in starting and running new businesses, yet in spite of this, she is going to use the power and force of government to take money from you and me and then invest it in businesses that she thinks will be successful. I have no problem with her doing this with her own money- but using the power of the state to gamble in supporting risky business ventures is not sound public policy, and our state should not be engaged in it.

Next, let's take a closer look at how she is going to lower energy prices in our state, make energy more affordable to citizens, and lower the overall cost of doing business here- she is going to ban the building and running of coal-powered electric plants in Michigan. Not only will that make energy more expensive and raise the cost of business in our state, she is essentially telling companies that want to invest in Michigan and hire workers here "no"- that Michigan is not open to new businesses if they aren't the state favored 'green' businesses. A government that can pick and choose winners in the marketplace and one that can disallow certain businesses to be built just because it doesn't like them is not a free government in charge of a prosperous society- it is a tyranny that makes society more poor, and you can see that in Michigan, as our government becomes more arbitrary, more corrupt, less responsive, and society becomes poorer as a result.

Continuing on, I would like to announce that I will not be paying my utility bills, house payments, or car insurance any more, since it appears that these are voluntary payments, and the state will use its power to keep the energy on and even provide insurance for me, or at least that is what Granholm is proposing. Once the moratorium expires, I might pay then. She is removing personal responsibility from individuals, and society will be less because of this- these programs will increase economic inefficiencies and drive up taxes, making society poorer, and ultimately as society becomes poorer people will be less able to pay their bills, which the government will have to pay, etc, etc. It doesn't make logical sense, although it is nice, and saying nice illogical things gets you elected now days (Exhibit A: Obama). As a side note, since I brought up Obama, I am also considering no longer paying my taxes, since those are optional as well, at least until you are nominated for public office, and then campaign donors pay the bill.

Lastly, I would just like to comment that this is exactly what you get when you elect a Democrat who promises to improve funding for the arts, provide jobs, keep the cost of education low, and protect the environment- a politician who says nice things, but reality is much different, as we can see now that Granholm- elected to do those things- is now cutting the state fair, turning over wetlands protection to the federal government, cutting the Department of Humanities, Arts, and Libraries, and overseeing skyrocketing tuition increases and unemployment rates. If you want low cost education, jobs, a protected environment, and everything else a Democrat promises to do- vote Republican in the future. Results matter, not words, Granholm.

The information from this post was taken from her speech yesterday, covered in this story in the Detroit News.

UPDATE: On the way in to work today on 760AM, there was a debate between Granholm's guy and an insurance guy, and they were debating the Governor's proposal to make car insurance more fair by increasing regulations and oversight of the insurance industry.

As I understood it, the government is upset that when deciding rates insurance companies rate people based on occupation/race/income, that insurance rates have gone up by 69% since 1989, and that our insurance rates are some of the highest in the nation.

The insurance industry's reply is that basing insurance rates on such factors is established as valid under actuary practice, and that such factors are good predictors between good risks/bad risks, that the increase in rates since 1989 works out to be 3% a year, which is the rate of inflation and is pretty good considering the sharper rise in health care costs, and that the reason why our insurance rates are high is that the government demands a no-fault system with unlimited medical compensation.

Honestly, this debate works out to a typical debate between a Republican and a Democrat- the Democrat wants the best coverage in the world, free from cost, and everyone paying in equal, while the Republican wants to give people choices on what kind of coverage they think is best for their needs, that the cost is based on the benefit gained to the consumer, and that the reason why it costs so much is because of government involvement. It's pretty clear that this insurance proposal of Granholm's is like most of the rest of her ideas- bad for Michigan.

Obama Isn't Palpatine- Who is really calling the shots?

Over at the Khaki Elephant, the question is asked- Who is the President?

Those of us who didn't follow the kool-aid drinking Obots into their mindless worship of Barack Obama were always stunned by the difference between the Barack Obama who delivered scripted speeches and the one who answered unrehearsed questions (like the one delivered by Joe the plumber). It was as if they were two different guys. Well , now that he is President he can no longer hide behind scripts and 3 days into his presidency we are already seeing signs that have me wondering if there are men behind the curtain directing a charismatic guy who may just be a figurehead for the radical left.

Recently Barack Obama, or whoever is leading this country, displayed his (or their) priorities by signing an executive order to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year . . . admitting during the announcement that they are doing so without yet having a plan concerning what to do with the detainees. But what I found most interesting is that this was supposed to be an executive order from the President, Barack Obama, but, as seen on video, you'll find that "the President" doesn't really seem to understand his own executive orders. Not only does he stutter and "uh" his way through his explanations, but he has to call out to the off-camera Greg several times to explain what he is actually signing. Now that's something I've never seen before. And democrats spent years claiming that George W. Bush was just a figurehead for a government run by Dick Cheney?

I agree- who exactly is calling the shots in this mockery of a Presidency? Say what you like about Bush, Clinton, Carter, or Reagan- the truth of the matter is that at least we knew what we were getting with these people- at least we knew that they were real people who were making the decisions. Voters have elected an empty suit, who speaks in wonderful empty words that say nothing, and has no friends, a history that is hidden, and mysterious campaign donors. Obama is no Palpatine- who exactly is pulling the strings

The Rooney Rule

As America descends into tyranny and communism, I am increasingly finding solace watching the gladiatorial bouts in the Coliseum- or, in modern day words, watching professional sports. The Emperor might make me pay more taxes, worship at the alter of the Green God, and increasingly control free businesses, but he can't alter the fact that there is real competition, there are winners and losers, that life isn't always fair- and you can see that by watching sports.

Incidentally, since conservatives and libertarians are usually banned from the media, a lot of them have found their way into sports commentary, and so even though this article is about sports, I think there is a larger moral in it. From the Detroit News, by John Bacon, is this article, called "Rooney Rule has been a super formula":

The Super Bowl. Just three words. One game. And the two dumbest weeks in journalism. With all the buildup, the waiting, and the unbelievably idiotic interviews, the game is almost always anticlimactic. But if you get past the hype and hysteria, there's something happening here -- and what it is, is exactly clear.

In 2002, just two of the NFL's 32 head coaches were minorities -- or 6 percent. That's higher than most industries could claim -- including college football, which has only 3 percent minority head coaches. It's a sad state of affairs when America's colleges, those bastions of open-mindedness, can't compete with the cut-throat capitalistic NFL for minority hiring. But the figures were even more embarrassing for the NFL because fully 70 percent of its players are African-American.

Well, what to do? The league considered affirmative action, but rejected it because it often stigmatizes those who get hired. So, the NFL actually engaged in some original thinking, and came up with the Rooney Rule -- named for Dan Rooney, the second-generation owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the best-run franchises in sports.

Here's how it works. Whenever a coaching position opens, that team is required to interview a minority candidate. Not hire, just interview. Yes, this does result in some token interviews. But it far more often allows good candidates to get past the old boy network, make their pitches when it matters most, and get jobs they might not otherwise have been considered for. It gives them a chance -- that's all.

It reminds me of the classic scene, 40 years ago, when Bo Schembechler first told his Michigan players he would treat them all exactly the same -- like dogs. The white guys got scared ("This guy is crazy"), while the black guys said, "Cool -- now we've got a chance."

Only one team has violated the Rooney Rule: the Detroit Lions, under former team president Matt Millen. They were fined $200,000, but were further punished when their last three coaches, all white, all bombed. Which gives us the Millen Rule, which goes like this: If you own a pro football team, never hire Matt Millen. Ever. That's the rule.

Under the Rooney Rule, minorities don't get stuck on the outside looking in, but they don't get a free pass, either. They just get their chance. After that, they're on their own. But they know that if they get the job, they got it on their merits -- and everyone else does too. In other words, the candidates get to keep their dignity, while the owners get to keep their autonomy.

It's worked out better than even Rooney had hoped. Just four years after the NFL introduced the Rooney Rule, the number of minority head coaches more than tripled, from two to seven. They've done even better on the job. Of the last six coaches to lead their teams to the Super Bowl, half have been African-Americans. That includes Tony Dungy, who won Super Bowl XXI, and Mike Tomlin, whose Pittsburgh Steelers will play Sunday.

Even if the Steelers win this weekend, Dan Rooney's six Super Bowl rings might be overshadowed by the simple rule that bears his name. The rest of the nation should take note.

Liberals are poised for a long reign

Just want to warn you- this post might not cheer you up too much. The always good Nolan Finley has this article in the Detroit News today, reproduced with some edits:

These must be glorious days to be a liberal. A stunning confluence of events has rushed the left to the political mountaintop and promises to keep it perched there for a good, long time.

Voters have placed in the White House the first truly liberal president in nearly 30 years, and he begins his tenure as no less than an Olympian god. His election is hailed as the dawn of a new age of enlightenment for America. He's expected to do everything from cooling the earth to curing our warts.

Barack Obama takes the field with no credible opposition. The botched Bush presidency destroyed the Republican Party and turned conservative into a pejorative. He can do what he wants.The nation is tenderized for his vision. The sudden collapse of home values and retirement plans and the greed of some CEOs have shaken Americans' faith in the free markets that form the foundation of America's prosperity. They're persuaded that only Big Government can spare them from living their grandparents' Depression horror stories.

The recession works in perfect tandem with the green movement's triumph over global warming skepticism. Green is now the fastest growing religion, and its followers are prepared to sacrifice their quality of life and individual freedoms for the collective good.

Columbia's Jeffrey Sachs explains in the Guardian that the convergence of the recession and global warming will destroy traditional capitalism. In the name of the environment, Sachs writes, "Obama is already setting a new historic course by reorienting the economy from private consumption to public investments.

That's the mission in a nutshell: Move from an economy based on free choice to one controlled by the government. And it is marching forward without critical review. The media is too heavily invested in Obama's success to even nip at his heels.

But the Obama children won't retreat to indifference, nor are they likely to abandon him when his policies collapse. That, for the left, is the greatest gift of all- Obama can't fail. When all his spending doesn't restore their jobs and saving accounts, Americans won't blame him- they'll blame Bush. It's Pavlovian.

The field is wide open for liberals to finally bring to America European-style socialism, with its low productivity, high unemployment, crushing taxes and subjugation to government. Successful or not, going back will be impossible. By moving more people from the tax rolls to the dependency rolls, the constituency for reform will disappear.

Liberals have won a great victory, indeed.

These are the very same thoughts that I have been thinking- that there will come a time when the vision is lost, when more students learn communist values than capitalist ones, when safe tyranny is desired more than liberty and freedom, and when the United States will lose that greatness, lose that special feeling, and become like most other nations of the world. And like Finley, I think that time has come- my tax dollars are now subsidizing groups like ACORN, who perpetrate voter fraud, and then judges okay it- the system might have been broken this time around. I know that conservatives and America survived Carter, but I think that this time around, this time liberals have achieved the permanent victory that will result in the total destruction of the United States of America.