All you'll get from strangers is surface pleasantry or indifference.
Only someone who loves you will criticize you.
Judith Crist
Facebook Corner
(Tom Woods). There is a thread over the centennial of the Fed and IRS that discussed a flurry of progressive populist amendments under the Wilson Presidency, admittedly one of the worst tenures in American history. One discussant jokes that the nineteenth amendment is what gave us the likes of Clinton and Obama; there is little doubt that women were largely responsible for helping elect two of the worst Presidents in American history, but....
Oh, come on now! A little concept of taxation without representation, equal protection. Of course, the vote is more symbolic than substantive; politicians are morally corrupt, vain creatures whom invent new ways to plunder the masses, spend the loot to sustain their tenure, and rule by arbitrary fiat.
 |
| Via Bastiat Institute |
(Lew Rockwell). References a Paul Craig Roberts' essay on how America was lost.
Among other things, we need some common sense reforms, like eliminating reelections , implementing (like Switzerland) the public's right to veto legislation, requiring super-majority votes to run deficits or raise the debt limit, and enacting accounting reforms that specifically address unfunded liabilities and require cost/benefit analyses for any proposed regulation.
 |
| Courtesy of the original artist via Patriot Post |
 |
| Via Libertarian Republic |
The point is that most young/healthy people will never spend that much out of pocket--it certainly isn't a matter of quadrupling premiums. Most of the premium is actually subsidizing the health costs of older/sicker people. My guess is the premium adjustment for an equally high deductible would be modest at best.
LFC published a sarcastic piece on government warning labels and the bureaucracies that generate them.
What is really sad is the same party which complains about the small print in consumer contracts and has created a new consumer protection bureaucracy has had to resort to hypocritical political small print to explain why you can't keep your current policy (especially if you buy your own policy) contrary to the plain English promise repeatedly made by Obama.
One discussant reproduced a form letter ObamaCare promotion from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
He's a disingenuous, politically-spinning piece of work, isn't he? The corrupt deal maker of the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and Gator-Aid found enough lipstick to put on thousands of pages of obscure legalese nobody read or understood before voting for it....He's basically arguing the same feds whom have mismanaged Medicare and Medicaid for decades have a mandate to take over what has been regulated by states.
 |
| Via LFC |
[Discussant] is correct; fraud is the issue and is a legitimate issue of contract enforcement which can be handled by a limited government. The issue of whether you realize you are the victim of fraud is another issue. But you don't need a government inspector to verify reported pump volumes are accurate; an independent institution could do the same function.
(Bastiat Institute). An op-ed by Kinsella points out America never really operated as a minarchy.
Granted, we've never had an ideal minarchy and our military was used for foreign intervention even before Wilson. But let's be clear:the sixteenth amendment and Footnote 4 vastly expanded the size and scope of the federal government.
Reason argues for the pardoning of Edward Snowden.
No. He violated a voluntary contract, he stole documents in bulk downloads, and he could have extorted people or countries. I do think some revelations to date have been in the public interest, but I would have liked to see him work more diligently under existing whisteblower protections.
Ron Paul shares some stories of vets from recent Gulf region assignments whom have started to question our military and foreign policy. There are the usual "both-sides-are-equally-bad" discussants and attempts to soften criticisms of Obama.
I don't deny Afghanistan and Iraq intervention were ill-advised from the get-go. But the reason why Obama gets singled out is because he used the Iraq intervention and his early opposition to it as a distinctive point of contrast in earning the Dem nod.
Political Cartoon
God, how I HATE the myth of Santa Claus--the idea that virtue should be rewarded, not to mention entitlement. I've outlined a rant/short story on the topic; I haven't decided whether to publish it in the blog yet.
Musical Interlude: My Ipod Shuffle Series
Savage Garden, "Truly Madly Deeply"
(Bastiat Institute). An op-ed by Kinsella points out America never really operated as a minarchy.
Granted, we've never had an ideal minarchy and our military was used for foreign intervention even before Wilson. But let's be clear:the sixteenth amendment and Footnote 4 vastly expanded the size and scope of the federal government.
Reason argues for the pardoning of Edward Snowden.
No. He violated a voluntary contract, he stole documents in bulk downloads, and he could have extorted people or countries. I do think some revelations to date have been in the public interest, but I would have liked to see him work more diligently under existing whisteblower protections.
Ron Paul shares some stories of vets from recent Gulf region assignments whom have started to question our military and foreign policy. There are the usual "both-sides-are-equally-bad" discussants and attempts to soften criticisms of Obama.
I don't deny Afghanistan and Iraq intervention were ill-advised from the get-go. But the reason why Obama gets singled out is because he used the Iraq intervention and his early opposition to it as a distinctive point of contrast in earning the Dem nod.
Political Cartoon
 |
| Courtesy of the original artist via LFC |
Musical Interlude: My Ipod Shuffle Series
Savage Garden, "Truly Madly Deeply"
