Let’s Not Celebrate July 4th

July 3, 2009 | Filed Under Founders, History, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

It is well known that John Adams had imagined that July second would be the day that future generations of Americans would remember as their day of independence from England, the nation’s birthday, if you will. It was, after all, on the second that it was proclaimed “(T)hat these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

But it was two days later that those gathered in defiance to the King declared a “Declaration of Independency” thereby adopting the famed document that carefully delineated the natural rights by which they claimed independence followed by a list of grievances that would explain why they invoked those rights.

So what are we celebrating? Is it our birth as a nation or are we celebrating the document of Independence? Early celebrations were mixed and a bit confused on that point. Additionally, celebrations on July fourth weren’t that common for a time after the Revolution was over. At first, not many felt a need to celebrate something that had happened and was over. It was time to move on from war in many American’s eyes.

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What Passes for ‘Journalism’ At HuffPo Isn’t

July 3, 2009 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Inernet, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Society/Culture, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

If you listen to the blabbers and gossipers, the Huffington Post is the talk of the town. It is claimed that Arianna Huffington’s “success” is the “new journalism,” the future of the news. TechNewsWorld proclaimed it “appropriate” that Huffington appeared in the YouTube series on journalism apparently because she personifies it. The New York Times celebrated HuffPo as “hybrid journalism” for its Iran coverage. Jeff Jarvis of The Guardian claims that Arianna is “saving journalism.” She was even just awarded the Fred Dressler Lifetime Achievement Award in journalism from Syracuse University. She even testified before a Congressional committee on journalism. And the list of accolades goes on.

But, what sort of “journalism” does Huffington Post represent? Is it the well researched sort with multiple links, named sources, or other such common journalistic practices? Most often no. In fact, those that write for Huffington Post rarely even bother with the normal journalistic practices of research, attribution, or the habit of having more than one source. Sadly, the largest bulk of what Huffington writers do is merely opine whether they have sourced information or not. And more often than not they do so from the extreme left-wing perspective.

Huffington Post is not “journalism.” It’s really just that simple.

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LATimes: Men Secretly Sympathize With Adulterers, ‘See Sanford in Mirror’

July 3, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Democrats/Leftists, Family, Feminism, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Morals/Sex, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Meghan Daum of the L.A. Times has had an epiphany. The story of adulterous South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is still in the news, she’s decided, because America’s men see themselves reflected in him. Yes, Daum apparently feels that all men are adulterers, so they sympathize with him causing the story to keep bumping along.

Daum spies some “gasp–empathy” for the governor in various corners of the Old Media and this, she has decided, must mean that there is a “tiny bit of Mark Sanford” in men across the country. One wonders if Daum spied this same lecherous “sympathy” abounding among Democrats when a certain president was wagging his finger in our faces and saying he “did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica”?

Betcha she didn’t. As a matter of fact, I’ll bet no such thing crossed her mind as the Clinton’s Monica-gate raged on and on.

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The Kicker of St. John’s Wood: A Book Review

July 3, 2009 | Filed Under Book Reviews, David Huntwork, Entertainment, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By David M. Huntwork

A rational person in a rational world should be able to say that the premise and storyline of the latest book by author Gary Wolf is silly, ridiculous, and prone to flights of fancy. Unfortunately, in the first decade of the 21st century the subject matter and conjecture found in the pages of The Kicker of St. John’s Wood is not so far-fetched and is indeed instead a remarkably accurate and reflective look at the forces, feelings and mindset of the modern-day Left.

It is a world in the not so distant future where the forces of the Left have saddled professional sports with quadriplegic referees, transgendered concessionaires and stuttering sportscasters. Now the festering forces of radical feminism have decided to launch a direct assault upon the blatantly oppressive, misogynist and patriarchal world of “maleness” that is professional football.

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Businesses Hit Hard With Obamacare, Say Goodbye to Mom and Pop Stores

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The most insidious part of Obamacare is the backdoor taxes, and defacto control of our healthcare by the nanny state that President Obama’s plan is loaded with. And here is another one that is not getting much play. Employers would be socked with requirements to pay for 72.5 percent of the cost of insurance premiums for their full-time employees under the plan being considered in the House.

They would also be required to pick up an as yet undetermined percentage of the insurance plans for part-time employees, as well. This alone will insure that part-time jobs across the nation are terminated for the destructive cost involved in having them.

Or, conversely, many full-time jobs will be eliminated if the costs of insurance is so steep and that of part-timers less so. Either way, jobs will be lost because of these new, never before seen expenses.

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Now It’s SF Chron Using False ‘90% of Mexican Guns From US’ Line

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Guns, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The San Francisco Chronicle is proving the old bromide true. That’s the one that goes: “a lie can be half way ’round the world before the truth can pull its boots on” (often incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain). Then there is another one Twain didn’t originate but aptly fits here, “there are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and statistics.” The subject of this scoffing is that factoid the Old Media has been promulgating like gospel where “90% of Mexico’s confiscated guns are from the U.S.”

The problem with this “90%” refrain is that it just isn’t true. There is no truth in the claim that 90% of the guns Mexican officials confiscate from drug dealers in Mexico are from the U.S.A. But, true or not, the Old Media use this line as if it were received truth. Suspicions are easily raised that they do so because it fits their ideological matrix perfectly and the truth of the matter does not fit the approved story line.

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If Canada’s System is So Great, Then Why…

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston, Welfare | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left continually holds up the Canadian socialized healthcare system as the best example, one we should strive to emulate. But as each week passes we find more and more reason to doubt the panacea in the Great White North.

Last week news came out that Canada forced an infant to flee its country and into our own to get life saving treatment. A baby was born 13 weeks premature in Ontario, Canada but there were no neonatal intensive care beds open for the child there.

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Ten Cost Cutting Suggestions for California

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under Ann "Babe" Huggett, Business, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes | 1 Comment

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett

Poor Kal-ee-for-nee-ah Governor Ahnold Schwarzenkennedy! He may have an “R” after his name politically but he’s been running California like a liberal for years now. However, it is finally catching up with him; as of July 1st California went from a state of great weather and fabulous scenery to one of fiscal emergency. Facing a $24.3 billion shortfall in the state’s budget, Governor Schwarzenegger called a special session of the state legislature on June 30th to close the gap but the state’s Republicans held firm against the frantic demands of the tax-tax-tax, spend-spend-spend and spend some more Democrats.

Now California’s vendors and local agencies will be getting IOUs instead of state checks We can also expect needed services and providers like police, firemen and health care workers to get the axe while Sacramento fat cats on six-figure salaries bloviate about the need to cut corners “somewhere”.
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YouTube’s ‘How To’ on Citizen Journalism Filled With Lefty Media Types, No Conservatives

July 1, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Free Speech, Google, Inernet, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston, YouTube | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently, YouTube doesn’t think that a conservative journalist has anything to say to help all you budding citizen journalists out there. A glance at the denizens of the Old Media offered up as journalism experts on the Internet video giant will show a long list of well known lefties with not a single center or center right professional in the mix.

On April 30, YouTube set up a channel dedicated to a sort of how-to instruction manual or an online media 101 class that folks interested in becoming citizen journalists can watch to help them learn some of the tricks of the Media trade. Ostensibly, this will help the average, every day blogger present his work in a more professional way. This is a great idea, by the way. Many blogs could use some tips on better writing and presentation, interview skills, and video presentation if not an occasional editor — and I should know on that last one!

But it seems that no one that represents the center-right in the world of journalism seems to qualify as an expert as far as Google’s YouTube is concerned. Going to the main page will reveal a whole bunch of lefty jurnos offering you their help. Not only do we get the advice from the heavily left-slanted Chris Cillizza, NPR or Katie Couric, but YouTube even offers “advice” from AlJazeera’s Riz Kahn, for Pete’s sake!

Imagine, AlJeazeera on journalistic professionalism!

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Talk Back: A Reply to the CNA Talking Points

July 1, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Socialism, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Unions are spearheading the attack on our healthcare system and none more so than the Service Employee’s International Union and its sister organization the CNA. The ten talking points that the California Nurses Association has put out in order to rev up its membership to support a universal, single payer healthcare system is interesting, to say the least. In this posting, I’d like to reply to each of them with a little rebuke of my own.

But first I’d like to remark on the ham-handed style in which these talking points were written. The class warfare rhetoric here is more reminiscent of a protest placard than any serious discussion of public policy. But, be that as it may, here we go…

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Union President Stern the Hand in Obama’s Puppet?

July 1, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Business, California, Campaign Finance, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The L.A. Times had a very interesting piece last week on the unusually close relationship between Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern and President Obama. The story revealed how Stern “enjoys unusual access to the White House,” and how often Stern is invited to attend meetings the administration holds on policy even as other union heads are left out of the loop.

The piece does cast some doubt on just how much clout Stern might have with Obama as several of the initiatives he has pushed hard for have yet to come to fruition — but it should also be remembered that this administration is only 6 months old. There is plenty of time, here.

Though it does not develop the theme, here is where the Times piece shows the danger that Andy Stern’s close connection with Obama presents to the country and its various governments, federal and state both.

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Obama’s Racist Judge

June 30, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, Judges, Liberals, President, Society/Culture, Supreme Court, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Soon the Senate will take up the cause of President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. In the news this week, one of her decisions that appeared before the current court was reversed. With Sotomayor in the news, then, it is time to look her over once again. It must be said, though, that any close scrutiny finds her wanting.

To begin with, it’s shocking that President Obma has nominated for a spot on the Supreme Court a judge whose decisions have been reversed or rejected in five out of the six times her cases appeared before that august body. Additionally and by her own admission, she was admitted to Princeton ahead of other law students as a result of affirmative action despite having lower grades. She once gleefully called herself a “perfect affirmative action baby,” even as her grades were “highly questionable.”

“My test scores were not comparable to that of my colleagues at Princeton or Yale,” Sotomayor once said on a discussion panel during an event sponsored by a non-profit law organization in the 1990s.

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Massachusetts Universal Healthcare System Breaking Down Already

June 30, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston, Welfare | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

When Governor Mitt Romney instituted a universal healthcare plan for Massachusetts in 2006 he proclaimed it a conservative idea. “It’s a conservative idea insisting that individuals have responsibility for their own health care,” he said. “I think it appeals to people on both sides of the aisle: insurance for everyone without a tax increase.” The plan passed and was put into practice. But has it worked? Has it been successful?

For a time, many thought it might but cracks in the system are already being seen. These cracks are instructive as a lesson on how Obamacare will crash and burn just like Romneycare is now in the process of doing.

One of the early claims that helped push Romneycare through to law was the insistence by its supporters that Emergency Room visits would fall as more and more citizens became covered under healthcare insurance. Since ER care is far more expensive than a doctor’s care, it was thought that more people with insurance would ease the overcrowding of ERs as well as lower the overall costs of healthcare.

However, a flaw in this logic has been seen throughout the state. As more people became insured, more people demanded the care of doctors. These doctors became overloaded with patients and waiting lists for doctors got longer and longer. As a result, ERs in Massachusetts have not seen a downturn in visits. On the contrary, it seems that ER visits are actually on the upswing in the Bay State. In fact, in 2007 they were higher than the national average by 20 percent.

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Did We Just See Obama Squirm?

June 30, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Communism, Dan Scott, Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Islam, Islamofascism, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, President, Race, Religion, Security/Safety, Socialism, Society/Culture, Terrorism, War on Terror | No Comments

-By Dan Scott

Two international occurrences over the past month have given us an interesting insight into President Obama. The first being his initial tepid response to Iranians demonstrating non violently in the streets over a very suspicious election result and the Basij murdering seven demonstrators in a staged attacked to make the demonstrators look violent. The purpose of the attack was to delegitimize a peaceful movement and their dissent in order to shift the focus away from a less than believable election result. One cannot count millions of hand marked paper ballots in a matter of four hours, not even in the US. No one bought the staged attack anymore than the phony election results. However, President Obama curiously refused to support the demonstrators under the rationalization that it would appear as meddling in Iranian affairs and would compromise future nuclear weapons negotiations. It wasn’t until more demonstrators were murdered and President Obama was essentially shamed into it by Congress and then being accused by Iran of meddling that he finally found his rhetorical voice to speak words of support for the demonstrators. Obama affirmed the right of peaceful dissent for the Iranian demonstrators and that the Iranian government should allow them to speak their piece without use of force. He said nothing about the legitimacy elections.

The second insight into President Obama came this week when President Zelaya of Honduras was arrested by the Army removing him from power. President Obama called for the Rule of Law in opposing the ouster of Zelaya. Interestingly, it was the Rule of Law that Zelaya broke and that nation’s Supreme Court ordered his arrest. It appears he wanted to follow in Chavez’s footsteps to become president for life by holding an illegal referendum removing term limits. It was all very democratic, except the part of not following the Constitution of Honduras and President Obama knew this.
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Democrat Says Gov’t Doesn’t Have to ‘Live Within Our Means’

June 29, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston, Welfare | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

So, as a common citizen, what do you do when you are out of money and your credit is used up? Well, you go without don’t you? Like my Mother always used to say, “What are you gonna do, buy something with your good looks?”

Well, we are all getting woefully used to feeling that government can’t seem to understand that fraud, waste, and overspending is not a good idea. In fact, we are starting to realize that government is incapable of fiscal responsibility.

But, even as we realize this truth, politicians at least pretend that they are interested in fiscal responsibility. They pretend at laws that supposedly force government into a balanced budget, they make claims that they are fully funding their new causes, and they act as if they are concerned about the budget.

Well, apparently California Budget Conference Committee Chairman Noreen Evans (D, Santa Rosa) has decided to cast away the mask of fiscal responsibility. She has publicly announced that she believes that government does not have to “live within our means.” In fact, it is a duty to spend on just any old thing that government wants to spend on.

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Time Blames Calif. Budget Mess on… Low Taxes?

June 29, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

For Time Magazine, Kevin O’Leary has decided that he’s figured out why California is in such a budget mess. Is it because the state indulges over generous social programs, or always has some of the highest taxes in the nation, or because the denizens of its capitol in Sacramento are paragons of waste, fraud and theft? Nope. It’s because California has Proposition 13, a measure that prevents state government from too easily raising taxes. Yep, O’Leary thinks California is in a mess because it doesn’t have high enough taxes. And it’s all Reagan’s fault.

With some of the highest taxes in America, California is a hard place to make a living. According to the Tax Foundation, on average it takes a citizen 110 working days to earn enough money to pay his yearly tax bill. That is the fourth worst in the country. California consistently ranks in or near the top 10 worst states for its tax burdens from property taxes, to corporate taxes, to individual taxes and fees of all sorts. So, how can O’Leary imagine that taxes aren’t high enough in California?

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Dems Are Liars? Want a Example?

June 29, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Global Warming, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Representative Debbie Halvorson (D, IL) was caught at a local meeting telling her constituents that she would “never, ever, ever” cave in to pressure from President Obama to vote for the cap and tax bill last week.

You see, she knows Obama because they palled around together in the old days before he became president. She assured her constituents that she could never be so over awed that the president might call her to pressure her. Talking to gool ol’ Barack is old hat for the tough-as-nails Debster.

She’s a hard woman, dontcha know?

But, wait. It looks like “never, ever, ever” is not so long a time as we thought.

A presidential phone call helped win at least one vote: Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), a freshman lawmaker and former state Senate colleague of Obama’s, said Thursday evening that after months of indecision, she “feels great” about the bill.

“I think it’s something that I’m going to support,” Halvorson said. “It’s a thousand-page bill. It has a lot of amendments. I wanted to read it, take my time.” Later, she added: “I had a nice chat with the president this morning.”

Never, ever, ever. Give me a break.

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Michelle Thinks She Was Elected Empress

June 29, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Family, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Hillary Clinton, History, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, President, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post had an interesting article on June 25 headlined, “A First Lady Who Demands Substance.” I think it was meant to highlight that fact that Michelle Obama is more than a mere first lady but is a strong, substantive person — which is, by the way, without question. Unfortunately, though, it ended up revealing a Michelle Obama that is an angry, arrogant, martinet that isn’t aware that “first lady” is an honorary title that has no proper, Constitutional role and is not an elected position with legal, legitimate powers of its own.

The story penned by Lois Romano comes on the heels of Michelle’s dismissal of her chief of staff, Jackie Norris, who was replaced by 61-year-old Susan Sher. Apparently, this switch is supposed to mark the arrival of the new Michelle Obama, the one that will have “impact” at the “fulcrum of power and policy.” To pursue this new “power” Michelle has hired a full-time speech writer and has told her staff to think “strategically.”

Impact? Power? Strategically? I have but one question: who elected you to this “power,” Michelle? I also have an answer: no one.

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Genocide or Massacre, US Repeating Mistakes of the Past

June 29, 2009 | Filed Under Elections, Foreign Policy, Frank Salvato, Free Speech, Freedom, Government, Corruption, History, Islam, Islamofascism, Religion, Rights, Society/Culture, Terrorism, War on Terror | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

“We come here today partly in recognition of the fact that we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred…All over the world there were people like me sitting in offices who did not fully appreciate the depth and speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror.”
– Pres. Bill Clinton in his apology to the Rwandan people for his lack of intervention during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

“It is not productive, given the history of US-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling — the US president, meddling in Iranian elections.”
– Pres. Barack Obama commenting on Iran’s stolen 2009 election.

Reports coming out of Iran, limited though they are, state that a massacre took place on June 24, 2009, in Tehran’s Baharestan Square. Iranian basij, club-wielding militiamen, savagely attacked pro-freedom protesters, throwing some of them off a pedestrian bridge. They attacked them with batons, tear gas, bullets and, in at least one location, axes. What was the catalyst for this slaughter? Their desire for liberty and freedom, rights guaranteed to every human being under Natural Law.

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Meet Claude Castonguay

June 28, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

As I have done several times, an instructive way to learn about what might happen if we are so foolish as to institute a national healthcare program like the one president Obama wants is to look to those unfortunate nations that have already trod that path. To understand what could happen here we need to hear from those leaders elsewhere that once thought they had the solutions that Obama seeks.

One such man is Claude Castonguay of Canada, a man that championed national healthcare for his country when that nation first began to explore the concept. It was full speed ahead as far as Castonguay was concerned. He too thought it an emergency.

In fact, he became known ever after as the “father of Quebec medicare” for his efforts. The Canadian government agreed with him and the plan was entered into with back slaps and hearty congratulations all around.

Yet, four decades later, it was Castonguay that declared that the Canadian healthcare system was in “crisis.” Things weren’t as rosy as he first thought they might be.

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