Publius Podcast: The Mount Vernon Statement, A Poor Man’s Manifesto… VERY Poor

March 1, 2010 | Filed Under Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, Conservatives, Constitution, Elections, Founders, Freedom, GOP, George Washington, Government, Government, Corruption, History, James Madison, John Adams, Podcasting, Publius' Forum, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The newest Publius Forum podcast: The Mount Vernon Statement doesn’t work as a rallying cry, but here is an idea that might…

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‘I Was in the First Wave.’

March 1, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Constitution, Founders, Freedom, Government, Corruption, History, John Armor | No Comments

-By John Armor

I was at breakfast on Sunday morning at the Sheraton National, in Arlington, Virginia. I was attending a conference elsewhere, but could only find space in Virginia. Also at my hotel were the members of the Iwo Jima Association.

That Association was for survivors of that battle, and for the families of those who did not survive. At the table next to me were two, older gentleman. The younger man was in his 60’s. He mentioned at one point where his father was buried at Arlington Cemetery, just a few blocks away. Then the older man, somewhere in his 90’s said a simple statement that will follow me to the end of my days.

“I was in the first wave,” he said in a soft voice with little hint of any emotion. As he continued, he described how they were taking fire from enemy who were hidden in holes at all points of the compass.

I have seen many war movies. The first one to come to grips with the reality — which I got from books, and from talking to people who were there — was “Saving Private Ryan.” That movie showed what this elderly man, sitting a few feet away, experienced, 65 years ago this month.

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Now The Brits are Having Tea Parties!

February 26, 2010 | Filed Under Britain, Budget, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Taxes, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s just plain odd, but funny and telling all at the same time. Apparently the Brits are going to have their own tea party to protest their own plight of over taxation.

Accordingly, Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan is sponsoring a Brighton Tea Party to be held on February 27.

Hannan thinks that Brits have had enough of being raked over the coals as their government wastes tax money at a rate even higher than that of America’s profligate government.

The Tea Party Movement in the USA has demonstrated the huge scale of public opposition to excessive taxation. In the UK, tax is much higher and, in addition, British membership of the democratically unaccountable EU raises the issue of “no taxation without representation”. From the Boston Tea Party to the Brighton Tea Party, it’s time to demonstrate our opposition to excessive taxation.

Perhaps you’ll recall Daniel Hannan giving British Prime Minister Gordon Brown the what fer last year? You might also remember that he became an instant celebrity with American conservatives, too!

One of my favorite lines…
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Memo to all Conservatives: Prepare to Lose the Health Care Fight to Obama and the Radical Left

February 23, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Democracy, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Socialism, Taxes | No Comments

-By R. J. Little

“I had thought we had finally stopped the government HC takeover with the Brown election. Unfortunately, the amount of power and political control up for grabs means that the radical left will never relent on this as long as they have control of government in DC.

What we conservatives and the Republican party SHOULD NOT be doing is helping the left achieve their goal!

Recently, as part of the coverage for the upcoming “bipartisan” HC summit there has been multiple reports in the NYT, Fox, the Politico, etc that the retiring Republican Senator from NH has proposed yet another version of the rejected ObamaCare/RomneyCare compulsory insurance scheme!

I did some research today to find out what where the details of this so-called “compromise” plan.
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What James Madison said about Hope and Change

February 20, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Communism, Congress, Constitution, Dan Scott, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Energy, Federalism, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Oil, Senate, Socialism, Taxes | No Comments

-By Dan Scott

What would the Founding Fathers say about our handling of the country if they were able to comment on the current state of affairs? It is easy to put words in their mouths but fortunately, we have for posterity recorded their words and intents to refer to for clarity in times of need. Some may say that this is a new day and age, therefore what the Founding Fathers had to say is simply not relevant to our current circumstances. Those who say this do so in ignorance of human nature and for self-serving reasons. Humans over the past 5000 years of recorded history may have advanced in terms of knowledge; however, their motivations and emotions are still no different now then they were in the past. It is motivation and emotion that govern human character, not knowledge and the Founding Fathers knew well the passions that influence those in power.

We were warned 200+ years ago against fickle governments. In fact, we were warned that the point of fickleness in government was for the few to gain an advantage at the expense of the many. Here is what James Madison had to say about Hope and Change as espoused by Barack Obama when he said he wanted to remake our society:
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Where Have you Gone George Washington?

February 15, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Conservatives, Federalism, Freedom, George Washington, Government, Government, Corruption, Patriotism, Society/Culture, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I don’t celebrate “President’s Day.” I celebrate the presidents individually, not the whole gaggle of them at once. But I most certainly don’t celebrate George Washington, the father of our country, as just another president. These days, George Washington has been relegated to that “truth telling guy” to be seen on the one dollar bill and on TV commercials at the end of February or that guy lumped in with Lincoln on “President’s Day.” And that is a shame, indeed, for, without George Washington, our presidency and nation might have had a far different attitude.

But, what made Washington such a giant for our times as well as his? For one thing, he knew how to act in public.

Back in the 1700’s

In the year 1759 a man named William Robertson wrote a book called The History of Emperor Charles V, a book some claim was the standard after which modern historical study and writing has come to be patterned. Mr. Robertson, who became Principle of the University of Edinburgh in later years, introduced a salient point into the era of the Scottish Enlightenment. That idea was that “Politeness” in society would result in becoming a civilized nation. And it was a politeness perpetuated and spread through capitalism that was the best avenue to achieving that civilized level.

He wrote “In proportion as commerce made its way into the different countries of Europe they successively … adopted those manners, which occupy and distinguish polished nations.” So, as the theory goes, man by his very nature craves material possession and property. To get that property he must work for it with his best skills. To make use of these skills he must rely on neighbors to get supplies to employ such skills as well as to become customers for his skills. This leads man to act in a solicitous manner of his neighbors so that they will be disposed to employ him and his abilities. This “politeness” employed by the individual inculcates the action in society at large which, in turn, enlarges that field of involved persons to counties and then the country in general, neighboring countries and, ultimately, the world and the governments they create.

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Instead of Understanding, Liberals Feel

February 14, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Book Reviews, Books, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Free Speech, Freedom, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Warner Todd Huston | 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

My recent flap with the extreme leftists in the comics community brought home once again the simple fact that liberals don’t understand the definitions of words, cannot think logically, and don’t have the tiniest ability to understand complex concepts. Despite their mental incapacities, though, they are sure they are smarter, more civilized, and more tolerant than those they hate and all this they assume while they name-call everyone that disagrees with them. To top it all off there is a surfeit of self-esteem, no doubt instilled in them boy our liberal, and failed, public school system.

Last week I wrote a critical analysis of a Marvel Comics comic book that sent these unhinged lefties off the deep end. The criticism thrown at me by these poor, Peter Pan Syndrome suffering folks is, however, a great object lesson in how badly educated, how illogical, and how distempered the left truly is.

These emails and replies to my comic book analysis really brought it home that to be a liberal you must make assumptions of your enemy so that they fit neatly into your preconceived notions of the world and you must never try to ask them any questions to determine if they really do fit into the box you’ve constructed for them. You must assume you are more grown up than those you attack. You must assume that you are more intelligent. You also must assume that people that like the same sort of things that you like must think just like you do. In other words, to be a liberal you must begin every discussion, every consideration of ideological premises, with the base assumption that all good people are just like you. Everyone else is venal, mean, stupid or low. Not just wrong, but evil.
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Anti-Robo Call Bill Introduced in Springfield

February 13, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Chris Lauzen, Constitution, Free Speech, Freedom, GOP, Illinois, Regulation, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

There was an earlier attempt to do this, but here it is again. Senators Dale A. Righter (R, Matoon) and Chris Lauzen (R, Aurora) have introduced the Electioneering-Autodialer Call bill. This bill would provide for citizens being able to sign a registry that would prevent their phone numbers from being susceptible to the ever present political Robo-call during election time.

Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act and the Restricted Call Registry Act. Provides that the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act applies to electioneering autodialer telephone calls but does not apply to other telephone calls made by an autodialer and placed on behalf of a political organization. Prohibits electioneering autodialer telephone calls to telephone service subscribers who have registered their telephone number or numbers on the Restricted Call (”Do Not Call”) Registry. Defines “electioneering autodialer telephone call” to mean any voice communication over a telephone line, through the use of an autodialer or autodialer system, that refers to a clearly identified political candidate, political party, or question of public policy and is an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified candidate, political party, or question of public policy. Effective immediately.

The bill has already had it’s first read and is now in the Assignments committee.

Well, I guess I am for this one. It doesn’t make robo-calls illegal which I think would violate political free speech of politicians and their supporters, but does provide for citizens to opt out from having to be bothered with them if they’d like.

I can get behind this one as long as it doesn’t outlaw the calls, as annoying as they are. I think this strikes the right balance between Constitutional rights to political free speech and a certain amount of an expectation of privacy.
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In Esfahan Iran Protestors Yell ‘Death to the Dictator’

February 11, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Democracy, Free Speech, Freedom, Iran, Islamofascism, Terrorism, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

The Green movement to oppose Iran’s dictators grows.

If only Barack Obama would side with these people longing for freedom. Obama is failing the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran and the world. If he backed the Iranian Green movement like Reagan backed Lech Walesa and the Solidarnosc movement on Poland we could see the Iranian dictators fall and a new Iranian democracy rise.

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Amnesty Inat’l Am Nasty for Supporting Taleban

February 11, 2010 | Filed Under Amnesty International, Anti-Americanism, Anti-Semitism, Britain, Civil Rights, Crime, Foreign Countries, Freedom, Islam, Islamofascism, Media, Media Bias, Newspapers, Terrorism, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

If it’s anti-west, anti-British, Anti-American, Anti-Israeli… well, be sure that Amnesty International supports it. Here’s another bit of proof for that bromide with AmNasty International’s suspension of human rights specialist Gita Sahgal. Why was Sahgal removed from her AI position? Because she criticized AI for supporting Moazzam Begg, Britain’s biggest supporter of al Qaeda, the Taleban and religious oppression against women.

Interesting to see the clash of political correctness here, isn’t it? They’ve booted a female, minority civil rights worker from her position because she came out against an Islamofascist that AI is in love with.

I am sure this had the PC heads at AI roiling in a tizzy. Their dilemma was do they support, a). the female, minority, civil rights worker, or b). the aggrieved Islamofascist that was once held at Guantanamo. What a dilemma for the politically correct, eh?

Tellingly Amnesty International chose to support the fanatic Muslim that supports al Qaeda and the Taleban.
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Watchdogs Release 2010 Illinois Piglet Book (Wasted Taxes)

February 10, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Socialism, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

(Chicago, Illinois) - The Illinois Policy Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book (.PDF FIle), a report finding $350 million in lost savings, challenging the myth there’s no fat in the Illinois state budget. The report reviews state spending on education, health and human services, natural resources, agriculture, the arts council and economic development. In 2008, the Institute and CAGW released a 2008 Illinois Piglet Book, which uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful spending. Two years later, the wasteful spending continues. Here are a few examples:

$6,500 for a tub of live bass. The state paid for fishing seminars and demonstrations using a 4,000-gallon, 40-foot long tank filled with live fish.
$10,000 for a Hollywood gala. Your tax dollars funded a star-studded party for “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan.
$78,066 for quail promotion. The state is funding Quail Unlimited, which is “dedicated to the wise use and management of America’s wild quail, doves, upland game birds and other forms of wildlife.”
$353,165 for car racing. The state is funding Raceway Associates, which partners with big-time races like the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, as well as a massive construction grant for Atkinson Motorsports Park in northwestern Illinois.

“The 2010 Illinois Piglet Book identifies more than $350 million in unnecessary and wasteful spending our state leaders have tucked into the budget,” said Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman. “Springfield has a spending problem, not a revenue problem - and these numbers just scratch the surface. It is clear the appetite for spending must be curtailed if we are going to solve our budget crisis.”
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Time Magazine: Hummer, Model T Some of ‘Worst Cars of All Time’

February 10, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Business, Environment, Freedom, Global Warming, Magazines, Media, Media Bias, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

When you are asked what is the “worst car of all time,” what first runs through your head? The Le Car, the Corvair, maybe the Edsel? Cars that had horrible sales records, bad safety or engineering records or were just all around failures? Aren’t these the sort of cars that first runs through your head? Doesn’t worst equal failure or unsafe?

Well apparently a common, sensible thought like that doesn’t run through the heads of the folks at Time Magazine when arranging the list of the “50 Worst Cars of All Time.” Time has its own special criteria to determine what a “worst” car is and it isn’t just sales or safety records like one would expect.

Oh, Time did have the Edsel, the Corvair, and the AMC Pacer on its list. Certainly failed vehicles, for sure. Time even had an amusing vehicle invention from 1899 where a fake horses head was attached to the front of an auto so as not to scare the other horses on the road. Fail, big time.

But there was one aspect that Time included in its criteria for determining what was a “worst car” that wouldn’t occur to a sensible person. Oddly, it seems that modern, leftist politics was one of Time’s rules of thumb. That’s right, Time decided that its own leftist politics was a proper reason to proclaim that a car belongs in the “worst” category.
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Publius Podcast: Anti-Gun Government Tyranny in Canada

February 9, 2010 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Canada, Constitution, Foreign Countries, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Guns, Podcasting, Publius' Forum, Socialism, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

A Canadian columnist has his door practically beaten down by Toronto’s stormtrooping police because he had a 30-year-old bird rifle that he forgot to re-register. America THIS is coming to YOUR door if the left gets its way in banning guns.

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Start Over on Healthcare: Now I Give John Boehner a Pat on the Back

February 9, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, John Boehner, Liberals, Republicans, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The other day I was slapping Congressman John Boehner (R, OH) around for his absurd claim that there was no difference between the Tea Party movement’s principles and the GOP establishment’s principles (or lack thereof). Well, today I have to give our Congressional Minority Leader a pat on the back for his letter to Obama about healthcare.

For those unaware, Obama has offered to come have another one of his odious “summits” with the GOP. Obama is claiming he wants to “listen” to the Republican’s ideas and that its time to work together. It’s all a sandbag, though. Obama is a liar and doesn’t intend to “listen” to anyone. It’s a move for show, a bright shiny bauble that the Old Media wonder at like the lap dogs they are.

Obama’s played this lie out many, many times in the past. It was his common mantra when he was a State Senator here in Illinois. He’d make all sorts of soothing noises about “listening” to all sides and “working together.” Then he would ignore all offers of collaboration and all ideas offered as he would go on to propose a strictly, down-the-line socialist styled liberal agenda. He’s never once in his life ever included any ideas from the other side in anything he’s ever done in politics. The man is simply a liar. There just isn’t any other way to say it.
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Some Letters Beating Me Up Over My Tea Party Articles

February 9, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Harry Reid, House of Representatives, Jobs, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Nancy Pelosi, President, Rahm Emanuel, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Society/Culture, Taxes, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well I’ve now written six — this makes seven — articles criticizing certain failures of the Tea Party movement thus far. They are all meant to be constructive criticisms, though, not dismissive nor derogatory of them. It’s measured introspection I employ in each of these articles. No name calling, no laughing, no hate. There is just no logical way to construe what I’ve written thus far as hate against the Tea Party movement. But this whole Tea Party thing reveals several things to me. First of all it shows that there is still a lot of passion for them and that is a very good thing. I want the Tea Party groups to succeed and I want them to become a force that can teach the GOP a lesson. The other main thing it shows me is that too many people can’t read for comprehension these days.

The sad thing is that these days even the slightest criticism of a thing is seen by too many as outright hostility. Everyone is so hypersensitive that even a mild criticism meant as an exercise in introspection is seen as an over-the-top attack. It doesn’t just happen on the right, either. Look at what happened to all those Hillary Clinton supporters during the run up to the 2008 presidential elections. The constructive criticism that Hillary fans offered the Democrats was pounded down so hard by the left that many Hillary supporters found themselves aligned — and some permanently — with the side they thought they opposed; the Republicans.

Naturally there’s the name callers and nay sayers always floating around out there. I had one guy, for instance, say, “who asked you for your opinion” of the Tea Parties? This same guy then went on to give me HIS opinion of them evoking the obvious rejoinder of just who the hell asked him for his opinion, anyway? Obviously he wasn’t bright enough to “get” that concept!
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Marvel Comics: Captain America Says Tea Parties Are Dangerous and Racist

February 8, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Books, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Free Speech, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Taxes, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | 73 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

** UPDATE ** BELOW Marvel Apologizes

Marvel Comic’s Captain America is the mightiest soldier with the super powerful secret soldier formula that makes him a super man. Sadly, this muscle bound hero that took on the whole Nazi army during WWII seems to be afraid of those American people who’ve joined the Tea Party movement. Not only is Cappy quaking in his little red booties, but he’s sure that the Tea Party folks are dangerous racists, too.

Isn’t it wonderful that a decades old American comic book hero is now being used to turn readers against our very political system, being used to slander folks that are standing up for real American principles in real life — and one called “Captain America” at that?

In issue number 602 of Captain America, a new story line has begun called “Two Americas.” In it the current Captain (there have been a few of them, apparently) is on the trail of a faux Captain America that is mentally deranged and getting chummy with some white supremacist, anti-government, survivalists types going by the name of “the Watchdogs.” While investigating this subversive group, Captain America and his partner The Falcon — a black super hero — have decided to try and infiltrate the secretive organization.

In preparation for the infiltration, Marvel Comics depicts the two super heroes out of costume and observing from a rooftop a street filled with what can only be described as a Tea Party protest. The scene shows crowds of people in city streets carrying signs that say, “stop the socialists,” “tea bag libs before they tea bag you,” and “no to new taxes.” Naturally, the people in these crowds are depicted as being filled with nothing but white folks.
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Illinois Shows Limitations of Tea Party Movement

February 3, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Cook County Board, Economy/Finances, Elections, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | 14 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Tea Party folks keep getting mad at me for saying that in the end they might prove ineffective in races at levels higher than local because they aren’t organized enough. They puff up their chests proudly proclaiming that they intend to resist being organized and they claim that being organized is precisely what they are fighting against. I understand the feeling, even sympathize quite a lot, but there is a problem with this obstinacy. It means they won’t win on a statewide ballot very often. The Illinois primary just proved me correct, too.

Let’s take the race for Senate in Illinois as exhibit “A.” Of course the good old boys in the state party went with Mark Kirk, the center left candidate from a northern suburb of Chicago. He was the he-can-win candidate and the establishment choice. Not one Tea Party group, though, wants Kirk and for good reason — and I heartily concur with them, as it happens. So who was the “Tea Party candidate,” the one meant to beat out Kirk, the one backed by the newly found power of the Tea Party movement? There wasn’t one. There was three.

Sadly, the Tea Partiers in Illinois split their vote all up. Some Tea Party Groups went with Don Lowery and some went with Patrick Hughes. A few even went with John Arrington. Hughes, of course, was the only one that had even a remote chance as far as voter polls were concerned. Hughes at least registered in the polls, Lowery and Arrington barely showed up at all.
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A Tea Party Patriot Responds to a Ruling Party Pundit

February 3, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Norvell S. Rose, Taxes, Tea Party | No Comments

-By Norvell S. Rose

It wasn’t until the election of Barack Obama that I ever really considered myself a party person. Okay, I was a registered Republican, and I tended to vote for (R) candidates. Not because I truly believed in any set of guiding GOP principles, and especially not in recent years. But more because of a general feeling that Democrat contenders were, like termites, almost always more likely to eat away the foundations of the America I love.

Now, though, it’s different. The termites are swarming. They are more voracious than ever. And because we must engage in serious pest control, I passionately proclaim, “Party on!” Now that Obama defiantly pursues his relentless assault on liberty in order to fundamentally transform the United States of America, I am a party animal. A Tea Party Patriot and proud of it!

Thus, when her highness of highbrow punditry, Eleanor Clift, pens another of her catty columns for Newsweek, I accept her invitation to party. Entitled “Weak Tea (Party)” (www.newsweek.com/id/232794), Ms Clift’s commentary provides an ideal opportunity to clarify just what the Tea Party movement is all about. Here, thanks to the blinding hubris of the ruling class, Eleanor unwittingly offers an incredible party favor - the chance to blunt and even bury a number of key points the liberal media elite use to try to define who the Tea Party is.
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Not Just In Germany

February 2, 2010 | Filed Under Children, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Freedom, Germany, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Society/Culture, State Government, Temnessee, The Law, Thomas Brewton, Western Civilization | No Comments

-By Thomas E. Brewton

In Germany and California the secular, socialist political state is attempting to crush parents who teach Judeo-Christian moral principles to their children.

Shades of Bismarck’s kulturkampf and Hitler’s pogrom to impose Aryan purity.

Germany has criminalized home schooling, demanding that parents place their children in state schools, where they will be suitably indoctrinated in the religion of socialism.
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Heritage: Unions Ate Your Raise

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Rights, SEIU, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

James Sherk has a very good post over at the Heritage Foundation’s The Foundry blog about how unions have hurt us all by fighting for tax increases.

Unions almost never go on strike anymore. Instead, they fight to get more for their members by lobbying for tax increases. Unions spent tens of millions of dollars last year campaigning for higher taxes across the country: Illinois. California. Minnesota. Washington State. Arizona. In many cases they have succeeded.

Nearly every day now we are visited with more proof of how public employees unions are a danger to this country and Sherk has shown us yet another example.

Sherk reports that in Oregon the public employees unions spent $700 million dollars to increase taxes on the people of Oregon. The unions wanted higher taxes to protect their undeservedly high salaries and rich benefits while the regular folks of the Beaver State lost jobs, had their pay cut, and were generally finding hard times — like the rest of normal, non-government worker America.

Not only are unions working against the best interests of the voters, but they are also working to allow out-of-control spending and irresponsibility in government to grow.

Unions are not only antithetical to good government, they are dangerous to our individual prosperity.
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