For myself, losing is not coming second.
It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better.
For myself, I have won every race I've been in.
Ian Thorpe
Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day
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| Via LFC on FB |
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| Courtesy of Heritage via John Stossel |
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| Quick! Do you have the green light? What would we be without local traffic laws? Via Lew Rockwell |
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| TRUE democracy: People get to freely purchase products and services with their own money via LFC on FB |
LFC reprinted an anti-capitalist cartoon (I'm not going to embed it here) for reaction.
In real capitalism, fishermen make or purchase their own rods, boats, etc., and pay a competitive wage to attract deckhands. Under planned economies, you have shortages of fish in the supermarket, no plumbers when you need them, and you don't need poorly maintained roads when you can'r efficiently manufacture or affordably purchase vehicles.
This is not capitalism, but corporatism. There is a huge difference.
Corporatism is what we have now. We have not had a free market since 1913 and the creation of the Fed. Res. A free market doesn't act like corporatism, but is the basis of freedom. Without economic freedom, none can exist.
No, we have economic fascism--government-dominated economy. It's an artifact of government of scale. Although creation of the Fed and the IRS in 1913 greatly handicapped our economy, it was FDR's assault on SCOTUS and Footnote 4 that really killed the essence of economic liberty and enabled centralized government empire-building. Remember--corporatism requires a corrupt government. A limited government operating by the rule of law would not provide dysfunctional favors.(Comment to Congressman Amash.) Stop hurting the country and stop the shutdown. Now.
Only fascists feel a desperate need for government funded by our grandchildren's tax dollars.
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| Courtesy of Wales News Service and Daily Mail |
This is all about individuals not knowing their place under the fiefdom of Statist bureaucrats.
(On a Politico piece wondering whether enough young/healthy people will enroll in ObamaCare via LFC):
The "success" of ObamaCare depends on uninsured young people willing to buy overpriced insurance relative to their risks; it's what's needed to subsidize older or sicker people that the progressives are forcing insurers to carry below cost. It's an implicit tax. If young/healthy people realize they are being scammed, they'll opt for the lower penalty/tax. But then again, given the dismal state of public education..
So SOCIAL security isn't socialism? The train is long gone; it's just too little too late y'all... Orwellian endless war is already under way. We already pay an unconstitutional INCOME tax. [There is an extensive thread that follows.]
Oh, for crying out loud, people! Socialism is about the collective owning the economy--the industries, etc. Social spending is on what we call "positive rights", what the government or others must do on your behalf. The Constitution focuses on "negative rights"--what other people or government can't do to impede your liberties, property, etc., without due process. That is why FDR wanted to pass his Second Bill of Rights. We live in a government-dominated economy, particularly in certain sectors, like healthcare; we are living in a weak form of economic fascism.
To [original commentator]--the income tax is not unconstitutional--the 16th amendment made it constitutional. That's not the same as saying it's good economic policy, particularly in its perverse progressive variation.
Sweet Deal for Producers, Sour Deal for Consumers and Taxpayers
In an effort to protect consumers from lower sugar prices:
The USDA said Thursday that processors had forfeited an estimated 85,000 tons of sugar put up as collateral for the loans, marking the first defaults for the U.S. sugar industry since 2005. The defaults are a setback for the USDA, which has spent $53.4 million buying sugar this year to reduce a glut of the sweetener that has sent prices tumbling.GOP, Dems Collude in Ohio to Restrict Ballot Lists of Third-Party Candidates: Thumbs DOWN!
I expect to support the reelection of Gov. Kasich, but not the effort to raise the barrier of entry onto the ballot. No doubt major parties remember things like Nader polling enough liberal votes in the disputed 2000 Florida Presidential election; Gore partisans think that Nader probably cost Gore the election (because obviously someone who didn't vote for Gore would have if there were fewer other names on the ballot).... I've never had a problem in picking out my favored candidate from a long list. Consistent with my economic views, I believe in a more open voting process.
Cool Science
Cato Institute has spun off a new website called HumanProgress.org. In this sample video, a man whose brain/nerves have been rewired to control a robotic leg is shown walking all but effortlessly and flawlessly with his new leg. (The piece says that he kicks a ball in the video, which I don't see but don't doubt that he could do based on the video. Progress in science is very possible and desirable; "progress" in politics--not so much.
Political Humor
Nobody’s happy about the government shutdown. In fact, the Taliban just issued a statement where they criticized Congress for putting themselves before everyone else. You know things are bad when Americans are saying, “Yeah, gotta go with the Taliban on this one.”- Jimmy Fallon
[It sounds to me like business as usual in the Congress..].
We seem to be getting along just fine without a government during the shutdown. I just pray that when the shutdown is over, all nonessential employees — about 800,000 of them — will be back at their nonessential jobs. - David Letterman
[Don't forget the other employees already back at their nonessential jobs...]
DC Cops Manhandle Conservative Protesters at White House
While A Radical "Progressive" Spendthrift Continues Operation "Occupy Oval Office"
Military Reunion Videos
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Bob Gorrell and Townhall |
Jimmy Ruffin, "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?". One of my personal favorites....
