Life improves slowly and goes wrong fast,
and only catastrophe is clearly visible.
Edward Teller
Chart of the Day
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| Via Cato Institute |
Via LifeNews.com:
A terminally ill father made his 11-year-old daughter’s birthday one to remember by walking her down the aisle in a surprise ‘wedding.’
Sadly, Jim Metz (62) was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and won’t be alive to make it to his daughter Josie’s actual wedding.
For another story of a dad, T.J. Oshie, a Team USA's hockey star from the recent Olympics, whose beautiful newborn daughter was born with a serious health condition, see here. (I tried to embed the video, but it would not show in Blogger Preview mode.)
Equal Opportunity Jackasses
From Capitol Fax (HT IPI):
[Illinois state] Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia was trying to make a point about minority parents. “So, listen to me minorities,” she said turning toward the Democratic side of the chamber. “I’m over here because we’re all over on this side, right?” The Republicans erupted. They have an African-American member, Rep. John Anthony. Responding to the HGOP outburst, Chapa LaVia said, “Wait,” and then, pointing her finger at the other side of the aisle, said “We have a half. We have a half.”For playing the race/ethnicity card in a debate over her anti-charter school legislation and taking an unprofessional shot at a black Republican state representative, LaVia wins a nomination to this year's tongue-in-cheek JOTY.
Facebook Corner
A follow-up on my response to the Reason thread on Jeb Bush, immigration policy:
Perfect. Glad someone gets it
Did that same government create the massive welfare state and government dependency that helps generate lazy and uneducated people? I have less of a problem with nearly open borders when all welfare goes away (individual and corporate). Watch existing lazy people step up or move out.
Not getting your point here. Liberalized immigration is part of the concept for free markets, which require less government intrusion and costs. It's government prohibitions--against alcohol, drugs, and/or immigration--which unleash organized crime and corruption, never mind the futile sinkhole of enforcement costs. Is it any wonder drug lords have found a profitable sideline transporting people, whom can't find a "legal" alternative, across the border? I also oppose unsustainable, morally hazardous social welfare programs, but why don't you see the same dysfunctional Big Government behind Big Welfare and Big INS? Stop blaming aliens for failed social programs. We need downsized government across the board, but let's face it: the Dems fought even a modest sequester tooth and nail and threw every populist trick in the book at maintaining, even extending unprecedented spending.
In the meanwhile, what do we do? In an economy with anemic growth, we continue to maintain the status quo restrictive immigration policies? Why are we throwing more money on fences and border personnel (treating symptoms) than liberalizing immigration policy (treating the disease)? Restricting immigration is anti-economic growth, abysmal economic policy.
(IPI). Rep. Chapa LaVia doesn't like bad press. And she's refusing to meet with us because we called her out for her war on school choice. Read about Chapa LaVia's war on school choice: http://illin.is/QMgb3X
Why do you advocate wasting taxpayer money on charters when they don't do a better job of educating kids? Do you hate teachers unions so much that you'd rather pay more and get less just to hurt them? "In fact, in 2013, CPS schools had a higher percentage of elementary students who exceeded the standards for state tests for reading and math than the schools that are privately run with Chicago taxpayer funds." There only thing that has proven effective at educating kids better is smaller class sizes. There's no magic bullet and "competition" doesn't change that fact. Instead wasting money on gimmicks school districts ought to be put their money into making that happen.
The resident "progressive" troll is as ignorant as usual in his predictable attempt to spout crony teacher union propaganda. In fact, if you look at our international competition, they spend LESS money on education, often have BIGGER class sizes, and yet our students do WORSE on educational achievement. I bet it doesn't have anything to do with the fact it's almost impossible to fire a bad, never mind mediocre tenured teacher or that our most talented college students generally don't major in education. Yes, idiot troll, competition does matter, and a number of studies show that Catholic school students on the whole outperform public school students, although up to a third or more cheaper (including lower-paid teachers), despite drawing kids from the same local community.
(IPI) It's ironic that Community Renewal Society, the group that protested our Springfield office yesterday, says taxes are too high. After all, they were a part of the coalition saying “raise my taxes” in 2010. They are now a part of the union-backed coalition led by A Better Illinois, which is pushing for tax hikes on the middle class.
Darn those union workers for making a living wage. All our problems have been caused by those evil union workers that had the nerve to expect a pension and a living wage. OH WAIT! What is that I see? Could it be something else that has contributed to our fiscal mess? Why yes, yes it is! http://www.dailykos.com/.../-U-S-Corporations-hold-2-1...
Daily Kos--the Toilet Paper of the Internet. Not good enough to line my birdcage. Economically-illiterate trolls can't distinguish fact from leftist propaganda. Public sector pensions are chronically underfunded, an artifact of bought-and-paid-for Dem politicians that made more commitments to other special interests than money stolen from productive Americans; they underinvested despite the retirement tsunami of Baby Boomers, living possibly decades in retirement. Most businesses saw the writing on the wall by the 80's and converted to more sustainable defined contribution/401K programs. Parasitic government thought that future generations would bail out head-in-the-sand public employees whom are undoubtedly the dumbest, most gullible people in the world to believe in anything a politician had to say when they likely will have retired from public office before the shit hits the fan. If "living wage" means paying workers more than the market price relative to their productivity, you're in a state of denial. You are not going to grow the economy with bad tax and regulation policy, and the best chance to grow jobs and better-paying jobs is by growing the economy. It has SQUAT to do with corrupt union monopolies.
It would extend this post to explain why a territorial tax system (where a company pays taxes only on the national/local income where it is earned) is far superior to the status quo. The biggest problem here is that US/state marginal income tax rates on corporations are uncompetitive among the world's largest economies. The US government charges effectively a deferred surfax on foreign-generated income--not that it provides any services for foreign operations. This makes foreign investment (and global growth) less feasible because a corporation has to earn more for that investment to pay off. This doesn't translate into more American investment, which reflects existing market saturation and costs (including high domestic taxes). But back-office expansion reflects global growth prospects.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Nate Beeler and Townhall |
Eric Clapton, "Layla". Not the lame unplugged version, but the one of the rock god with screaming guitar, all over a woman, of course.
