The only way to have a friend is to be one.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day
Well, if classical liberal Don Boudreaux bristles at trolls calling him 'conservative', I intensely dislike social liberals or "progressives" calling themselves liberals. Today's "liberals" in their sacrifice of your individual sovereignty for paternalistic Leviathan don't know the meaning of liberty.
 |
| Via Drudge Report |
Image of the Day
Obama Fairy Tale
Clinton was wrong; Obama has told bigger fairy tales. Sheldon Richmond here unpacks the Pandora's box Obama opened by contrasting Putin's annexation of Crimea with Bush's Iraq decision (which I should note Richmond condemns in the harshest terms; there is little doubt with my current perspective I would have opposed the Iraq intervention, but I will note that intelligence on Iraq was flawed across the board and Saddam Hussein misplayed his hand):
The war indeed ended in 2011. But let’s not forget that before (most of) the troops left, Obama begged al-Maliki to let U.S. forces stay beyond the deadline set in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Al-Maliki — who didn’t need the United States when he had Iran in his corner — demanded conditions so unacceptable to Obama that most forces were withdrawn as scheduled. (SOFA was signed by Bush, but that doesn’t stop Obama from claiming credit for “ending the war.”) The U.S. government continues to finance, arm, and train al-Maliki’s military, which represses the minority Sunni population.Imagine Hearing Your Mother's Voice, Your Child's Laughter, the Beauty of Classical Music For the First Time
Facebook Corner
(Cato Institute). School choice programs consistently produce similar or better results for much less money.
Having two involved parents helps.
That's not sufficient to explain the difference unless you are arguing that parents of private school students are intrinsically more involved. Certainly they are committed to a more competitive education marketplace, but the typical excuse you hear from the education monopolists is that private schools cherry-pick the "best students". This does not explain the success of, say, Catholic schools operating in urban areas, drawing from the same neighborhoods, at a fraction of the cost of public monopoly.
Sure they do , they can select the students that attend, public schools take everyone who comes to their door.
This is self-serving, defensive crap, typically made by those vested in the public school monopoly. Public schools, of course, can expel students and there are analytical ways to adjust for outlying data points. And let's not forget that some private schools, like Catholic schools, do enroll students from the same disadvantaged neighborhoods (including non-Catholic youth). And the plain fact is that private-school parents pay for their children's education twice--and it would cost taxpayers far more if private schools had to close, and most state and federal government money is not available to private schools. But the bottom line is that many consumers are choosing to forgo "free" education which wouldn't make sense if public schools were truly competitive.
But notice how the crony unionists always distort the argument. They don't mention the bureaucratic overhead associated with public education, the top-heavy administration, and the anti-competitive teaching cartels (just to mention a few points). Let's not pretend our best and brightest mathematicians and scientists are pursuing education degrees, for instance. But, say, if an engineer wants to pursue a second career as a math/science teacher, the fact is that he would probably find a more welcoming transition through a private school.
(Reason). "You should be able to control what goes into your own body. You should be able to control what your family eats." -Congressman Thomas Massie
Only if insurance isn't required to cover those who get sick drinking raw milk. So answer me this mister anarchist, how are you going to make sure that industry maintains its current sanitation practices? And what happens when corner cutting by industry leads to the death of your children?
This Statist rubbish is truly IDIOTIC. Why would any dairy sell a defective product? They would still be legally liable for selling an unsafe product; they would lose their reputation, their customer base. It isn't a government imprimatur that makes milk a safe food product. Many dairy farmers and their families drink it themselves. It's a natural product that has been consumed for thousands of years; do you think our ancient ancestors would have used a dangerous food when pasteurization has only been available for a short time in human history?
(Illinois Policy Institute). Illinois has the second-worst jobless rate in the nation, and remains the only state in the Midwest with a higher jobless rate today than when Gov. Quinn took office.
Let me guess: The Legal Plunderer in Chief will argue that he inherited a collapsed Bush-induced economy, and he needs another 4 years to finish his plans for an Illinois comeback--in other words, imitate The One's 2012 campaign strategy.
Sorry, Chris, but, this is an IL problem and is caused by Democratic leadership, and too many giveaways. If we don't pay $s to illegal immigrants, and correct some other state items, we could balance our budget and move forward. By the way, I am an Independent and my contributions to this state tax wise are ridiculous. I also fully financially support my adult challenged son.
Stop this anti-immigrant madness. Immigrants tend to migrate where the economy is doing better, not worse. It's true that Illinois' spending needs to be cut across the board, and Illinois needs to get its unsustainable unfunded pension liabilities under control.
(Illinois Policy Institute). We took a look at the counties that would be hardest hit by Madigan's latest tax hike scheme. On net, these communities would send funds to other areas of the state even after accounting for the new money for schools.
Time for progressive taxation because a guy making 25 k pays a larger share of his income than an asshole making 100 million
Parasite. We don't have millionaire prices on eggs, bread, oil changes, etc. The idea you are entitled to steal more out of someone else's pocket vs. share the burden of your own state-provided benefits is self-serving and morally bankrupt.
(Tom Woods). I am a heretic on the "old movies are awesome" question. I find old movies unwatchable.
(1) Plot twists are exceedingly rare. It'll be a courtroom drama, and the defendant looks clearly guilty. Oh, you think, there'll be some twist and he'll turn out to be innocent! Nope. He's guilty.
(2) The acting is wooden. I am supposed to like Humphrey Bogart, but did he ever utter a line the way a real human being in that situation would have?
(3) Turn off that racket while people are speaking! I don't need violins playing through the whole movie.
I also find the characters are more stereotypical, shallow and without nuance, and the dialogue often simplistic, predictable and annoying.
(Drudge Report). SUIT: Man Arrested, Searched For Marijuana In Idaho Solely For Having CO License plate...
State residency does not constitute probable cause for violating the man's right to travel, a fundamental aspect of liberty. You cannot convince me the reason a cop followed a driver, say at the speed limit, whose eyes seemed "glassy" while driving past him. It sounds to me like a contrived line to justify a vehicle search. What's next? If I have a Nevada license plate, can they search for a hooker in the car because I have a relaxed look on my face?
off an IPI thread:
FACT : Since 2009 the RAUNER family has given Illinois Policy Institute over $900,000 so who really controls this organization
when one person gave them a third of their budget this from your own web site and Wikipedia look up has you as a think tank but you act more like a political action committee controlled by Rauner. This organization is so adamant about government pensions and on their own web site they proclaim we better not bail any of them out but the tax payers can bail out big business and Wall Street giv tax breaks everytme one cries Were moving to the tune of almost a Trillion dollars yes almost a trillion and still counting! This organization is a advocate of for profit charter schools and abolishment of minimum wage, quote " anybody who wants to go to work should back lowering minimum wage " so what will people live on welfare? I am not a backer of any Democrats or most Republicans but have some common sense these people paid for their pensions every week out of their pay they earned and already paid for their pensions and for minimum wage they will spend if they have it what's better welfare or work, right now in some state welfare is more per month than minimum wage pay so why go to work! Everybody is entitled to their free opinions and who to support in elections but you have billionaires now controlling pac's and charitable organizations to control who and how you should vote since the Supreme Court said they can contribute unlimited sums
First of all, you don't know squat about pro-liberty folks, including IPI. Pro-liberty people differ individually on a number of issues (e.g., abortions), Probably some of the most vicious attacks on Rand Paul come from libertarians whom don't consider him pure enough on the issues. The idea that you can buy off a libertarian is laughable; they are more likely to start their own think tank (consider the recent past squabble between Cato Institute and a key sponsor, the Koch brothers).
Second, pro-liberty folks don't believe in bailouts of any kind, whether it's a failing automaker or unsustainable corrupt public pension promises made by Democratic elected officials bought off by their special-interests. If you know anything about pro-liberty positions on taxation, you know we prefer low, flat, universally applied taxes and preferably those which don't penalize investment and productivity. It's the "progressives" whom try to bribe individuals and businesses with tax breaks, subsidies and guarantees, try to impose higher-cost perks for their special interests (like "buy American" or union-only labor).
Third, IPI's positions are ideologically consistent. Take, for instance, public pension reform. Every taxpayer, not just the rich or Big Business, has a vested interest in paring down unsustainable burdens which in time will crowd out expenditures for essential services. Arguing that the state employees and the state have paid for potentially decades of pension payments pegged off career-high earnings is a departure from reality. The state skimped on contributions allowed by unrealistic assumptions on pension fund returns and to instead spend on other budget priorities; those expenditures are gone, spilled milk. Yes, state employees are guaranteed a pension, but don't expect future legislatures to make up the difference of underinvestment by state and/or employees or underwhelming pension returns.
Fourth, the Citizens United decision was based on an unconstitutional ban on corporate speech; the idea that corporations will "buy" elections is little more than an urban legend. Cronies are political agnostics; they follow the likely political victors, just like Wall Street supported Obama in 2008. Don't forget: the TARP legislation in 2008 was passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress. In fact, a large percentage of political donors since Citizens United are the unions--not that they have a vested interest in corrupt pension deals, do they?
Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series
Madonna (with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland), "4 Minutes"
