"What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long. "
Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Truth
Press Release: Libertarian national media appearances for the week of June 22
2008 Libertarian vice-presidential nominee Wayne Allyn Root will be making national media appearances this week on the following programs:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
5 p.m. ET
“Glenn Beck”
Live in studio with guest host Judge Andrew Napolitano
Fox News Channel2:00 p.m ET
“Freedom Watch”
Live in studio with host Judge Andrew Napolitano
FoxNews.comTHURSDAY, JUNE 25
4:00 p.m. ET
“Your World with Neil Cavuto”
Live in studio with host Neil Cavuto
Fox News Channel
Local Artist Meredith Rounsley Website Is Up
Local Singer/Songwriter Meredith Rounsley has her website up and running. Please check it out and make note that on Thursday, June 25th she will be at Common Grounds Fair Trade Coffee House at 6:30pm. Her CD Release Party will be on Friday, July 17th at the Java Hut Cafe.
meredithrounsley.com
meredithrounsley.com
Libertarian Quotes
"Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him. "
Charles DeGaulle
Revolution by cell phone in Iran
by Bob Barr
as published in The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 8:30 AM
In early 1968, North Vietnam launched a series of military offensives across South Vietnam that became known as the Tet Offensive. Military experts agree that by the end of the offensive in April, the United States and South Vietnamese had beaten the North, which suffered significant casualties. Paradoxically, however, the offensive was widely perceived as a defeat for the U.S., and in fact precipitated a protracted decline in popular support for our involvement in Vietnam. The reason for this anomaly lies in the fact that television was bringing real-time images of the street fighting directly into the living and bed rooms of millions of American viewers.
This was the first example of the manner in which commercial visual communication dramatically influenced the outcome of a military conflict; a nightmare scenario in which military victory was turned to political defeat. Read More
as published in The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 8:30 AM
In early 1968, North Vietnam launched a series of military offensives across South Vietnam that became known as the Tet Offensive. Military experts agree that by the end of the offensive in April, the United States and South Vietnamese had beaten the North, which suffered significant casualties. Paradoxically, however, the offensive was widely perceived as a defeat for the U.S., and in fact precipitated a protracted decline in popular support for our involvement in Vietnam. The reason for this anomaly lies in the fact that television was bringing real-time images of the street fighting directly into the living and bed rooms of millions of American viewers.
This was the first example of the manner in which commercial visual communication dramatically influenced the outcome of a military conflict; a nightmare scenario in which military victory was turned to political defeat. Read More
CBS, New York Times engineer poll to create pro-ObamaCare majority
A recent CBS/New York Times poll showing a majority of Americans wanted to pay higher taxes to fund a government takeover of the health care system clashed sharply with a multitide of polls showing Americans opposed the plan.
The independent, non-partisan Media Research Center reports on why -- CBS and the Times radically oversampled the polls with pro-Obama respondents. While Obama defeated Republican nominee John McCain by only a 53 percent to 47 percent margin, the poll had twice as many Obama voters as it did McCain voters.
Real polls don't lie. Americans agree with the Libertarian Party that the best way to guarantee affordable, quality health care for all is to foster competition in the system, remove unneeded regulations (supported by industry lobbyists) intended to freeze out competitors, allowing people to shop across state lines for insurance and allowing individuals to deduct the cost of their health insurance from their taxable income.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"A concern for states rights, local self government and regional identity used to be taken for granted everywhere in America. But the United States is no longer, as it once was, a federal union of diverse states and regions. National uniformity is being imposed by the political class that runs Washington, the economic class that owns Wall Street and the cultural class in charge of Hollywood and the Ivy League. "
Michael Hill, professor of British History, University of Alabama
Monday, June 22, 2009
Barr: Federal regulatory burden hits $1.17 trillion
posted by Donny Ferguson on Jun 20, 2009
Over at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website, 2008 Libertarian presidential nominee Congressman Bob Barr draws attention to one of the major hurdles facing our economic recovery -- the $1.17 trillion cost of complying with government regulations that must be carried by every American citizen and employer.
Removing unneeded and unnecessary regulations would be an important first step toward creating jobs -- and more effective than the Obama approach of throwing borrowed money at the problem.
Click here to read Barr's blog.
Health Care Catastrophe
Health Care Catastrophe
By: Daniel Murdock
Even though working Americans would pay trillions more in additional taxes, Washington continues to press forward with plans for health care reform. There are numerous proposals on how to raise the necessary funds, but Senator Max Baucus’ (D-Mont.) plan to “limit allowable tax free health benefits” has garnered the most attention.
According to congressional documents, the federal government would apply extra taxes on Americans who make over a $100,000 or whose health tax benefits exceeded a specified amount. Such a tax would not only apply to health insurance premiums, but would also affect supplemental insurance and health savings accounts. Tens of millions of taxpayers, from single workers to families, would face significantly higher tax bills.
While the proposal to tax health benefits could face tough opposition, Senator Baucus’ scheme includes blatantly unfair loopholes to appease his traditional supporters. His plan would place union workers, who have won generous health benefits through hard fought collective bargaining, in a favorable health tax bracket. This is in comparison to all other Americans who would feel the full force of a new tax.
The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation believes that taxes on health benefits could supply the necessary revenue to support Obama’s health care plans; however, the voting public should be extremely skeptical about the administration’s claims to be able to fix health care. Veteran health care, controlled and managed by the federal government, has been a complete failure. Similarly, government run Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are on the path to total collapse. While the Obama administration may categorize government insurance programs as necessary, such intrusion is unlikely to reduce costs or provide better coverage. Instead, government insurance programs will extinguish competition. Taxes on health benefits would also provide an incentive for companies and individuals to reduce the value of their health care benefits, resulting in less tax revenue than anticipated. Consequently, the federal government would have to find additional revenue sources. These proposed changes to the health care system are neither necessary nor affordable.
By: Daniel Murdock
Looking Forward to This From Michael Swartz
Michael Swartz is hard at work on his accountability project, where he rates every vote from all 188 members of our General Assembly. Here is a link to his post with some good news.
I am really looking forward to his report. As I have frequently stated, Michael's website Monoblogue is one of my favorite sites, even though he is a Republican. I certainly do not hold that against him because he frequently operates with common sense. He is also a big Shorebirds fan which over shadows any flaw in his political affiliation.
I am really looking forward to his report. As I have frequently stated, Michael's website Monoblogue is one of my favorite sites, even though he is a Republican. I certainly do not hold that against him because he frequently operates with common sense. He is also a big Shorebirds fan which over shadows any flaw in his political affiliation.
Libertarian Quotes
"The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality is the Constitution itself and not what we have said about it. "
Felix Frankfurter, Graves vs. New York; 1939
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Those who take the most from the table, teach contentment. Those for whom the taxes are destined, demand sacrifice. Those who eat their fill, speak to the hungry, of wonderful times to come. Those who lead the country into the abyss, call ruling difficult, for ordinary folk. "
Bertolt Brecht
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday Truth
"The welfare state reduces a citizen to a client, subordinates them to a bureaucrat, and subjects them to rules that are anti-work, anti-family, anti-opportunity and anti-property … Humans forced to suffer under such anti-human rules naturally develop pathologies. The evening news is the natural result of the welfare state. "
Unknown
Saturday, June 20, 2009
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
2.0 Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.6 Self-Defense
The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the right to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.5 Crime and Justice
Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property. Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm. Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to themselves. We support restitution of the victim to the fullest degree possible at the expense of the criminal or the negligent wrongdoer. We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally accused. The rights of due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty, must not be denied. We assert the common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the justice of the law.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow citizens."
Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations"
Friday, June 19, 2009
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.2 Personal Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property. Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes" without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.4 Abortion
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
Gay critics say 'too little, too late' from Obama
CNN reports that Obama's attempt to buy off gay activists with federal benefits, after the White House compared them to pedophiles in a legal brief opposing gay marriage, is "too little, too late."
CNN reports in part:
President Obama's decision to grant some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees is seen by some as his attempt to extend an olive branch to the gay and lesbian community, but critics say it's "too little, too late."
"It seems to me at least to be a nice gesture, but a disappointment," said Richard Kim, a senior editor at The Nation magazine.
The memorandum Obama is signing Thursday is not expected to grant health and retirement benefits to same-sex partners, as that is prohibited under the Defense of Marriage Act...
...The rancor threatens to disrupt a big Democratic National Committee gay fundraiser in Washington next week.
Vice President Biden is the guest at next Thursday's DNC's LBGT Leadership Council 10th Annual Dinner in Washington. Critics are calling for Frank and other gay congressional leaders to boycott the dinner, for which tickets go for $1,000 to $30,000 a plate.
Activist David Mixner and blogger Andy Towle, two well-known gay rights advocates, announced that they were pulling out, citing disappointment with the DOMA brief...
...Given the support Obama received from the gay community during the campaign season, Kim said so far, the Obama administration has let gay and lesbian rights activists down.
Obama got 70 percent of the vote from those who identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, according to CNN exit polls.
"I think there is an overwhelming feeling that he has not lived up to expectations on these matters," he said.
Unlike the Obama administration, the Libertarian Party opposes DOMA and is working to repeal it. DOMA's original author, Congressman Bob Barr, is now working to overturn the legislation and was the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nominee.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.3 Personal Relationships
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the rights of individuals by government, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships.
Gay Democrat donors boycotting DNC bash over Obama admin gay bashing brief
Outraged over a legal brief filed by the Obama administration comparing gay and lesbian Americans to pedophiles and people committing incest, gay and lesbian donors to the Democrat Party are pulling their support of a June 25 Democrat National Committee fundraiser with Vice-President Joe Biden aimed at the LBGT community.
ABC News reports former Clinton advisor David Mixner has withdrawn from the event, blasting the Obama brief as a "sickening document" that "could have been written by the Rev. Pat Robertson."
"Using the worst of stereotypes, it intimates that we don't have constitutional guarantees, invokes scenarios of incest, of children and advocates that we don't have the same rights as others who have struggled for civil rights," said Mixner. It "undercuts every conceivable argument that the LGBT community would use to fight for the repeal of DOMA. Right-wing nut cases can now just simply quote horrible stuff from this hateful brief and proclaim loudly it was filed by the Obama Justice Department.”
Along with Mixner, other major Democrat figures like gay blogger Andy Towle and Alan van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda are also boycotting the event.
The origial author of DOMA, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, is former Congressman Bob Barr. Now a top opponent of the legislation, Barr was the 2008 Libertarian presidental nominee.
In the Obama brief, called "gratuitously homophobic" by gay Democrat activist John Arvosis, the Obama administration repeatedly compares gay and lesbian citizens who want to marry to pedophiles, stating in part:
Both the First and Second Restatements of Conflict of Laws recognize that State courts may refuse to give effect to a marriage, or to certain incidents of a marriage, that contravene the forum State's policy. See Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws § 134; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 284.5 And the courts have widely held that certain marriages performed elsewhere need not be given effect, because they conflicted with the public policy of the forum. See, e.g., Catalano v. Catalano, 170 A.2d 726, 728-29 (Conn. 1961) (marriage of uncle to niece, "though valid in Italy under its laws, was not valid in Connecticut because it contravened the public policy of th[at] state"); Wilkins v. Zelichowski, 140 A.2d 65, 67-68 (N.J. 1958) (marriage of 16-year-old female held invalid in New Jersey, regardless of validity in Indiana where performed, in light of N.J. policy reflected in statute permitting adult female to secure annulment of her underage marriage); In re Mortenson's Estate, 316 P.2d 1106 (Ariz. 1957) (marriage of first cousins held invalid in Arizona, though lawfully performed in New Mexico, given Arizona policy reflected in statute declaring such marriages "prohibited and void").
Unlike the Republican, and now Democrat, parties, the Libertarian Party is committed to marriage equality and overturning DOMA.
Free Market Hero: William Brody
The independent, non-partisan Institute for Justice announced Tuesday it successfully negotiated a settlement with the Village of Port Chester, New York in the wake of a 2008 federal court victory by local businessman William Brody. Brody, represented by IJ, has been engaged in a nine-year eminent domain battle with the village, which took Brody’s property for a private development project. (The village bulldozed his small businesses to make way for a parking garage for a Stop & Shop.)
Last year, a federal judge ruled on the long-running dispute, holding that the village violated Brody’s due process rights when it took his property on South Main Street to make way for a shopping mall. In a formal apology issued last night as part of the settlement, the village announces that it “sincerely apologizes for violating the constitutional rights of local businessman Bill Brody . . . and regrets the hardship it has caused Mr. Brody for the years he has had to fight to vindicate his rights.”
In addition to apologizing to Brody, the village will also erect a sign at the corner of William Street and South Main Street, across from where Brody’s building once stood, renaming that corner “William Brody Plaza,” memorializing Brody’s successful battle. The village will also issue Brody a check for the nominal damages awarded by a federal judge last year to recognize the violation of his rights, as well as paying an additional sum for the loss of his due process rights and a portion of the attorneys’ fees in the case.
“I’ve been saying for years that what the village was doing to me was unconstitutional,” said Brody. “I’m glad everyone finally recognizes that I’ve been right all along.”
Brody’s case caused the New York legislature to rewrite portions of its eminent domain procedure laws to require the government to notify property owners of their opportunity to challenge the government’s use of eminent domain. The 2004 change in the law was a direct result of Brody’s litigation and his personal efforts to persuade the legislature to protect other property owners.
The case is especially timely given the nomination of Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. In a separate case, Didden v. Village of Port Chester, Bart Didden and Dominick Bologna, who owned a property in a Port Chester redevelopment district, approached the village with a proposal to build a CVS pharmacy on property they own.
The developer appointed by Port Chester to run the district demanded Didden and Bologna either pay him $800,000 or grant him a 50% partnership interest in their business. When Didden and Bologna refused, Port Chester quickly took their property from them.
They sued. Sotomayor sided with Port Chester, ruling the village did nothing wrong in taking private property from owners who refuse to give cash or part ownerships to private developers acting on behalf of government. Sotomayor's ruling in Didden, and her long-standing hostility to individual rights, are expected to be key issues in her confirmation hearings.
Friday's 2nd Amendment Quote
"Switzerland is a land where crime is virtually unknown, yet most Swiss males are required by law to keep in their homes what amounts to a portable, personal machine gun."
Tom Clancy
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would you replace it with?" When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with?"
Thomas Sowell
Thursday, June 18, 2009
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.1 Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of expression and oppose government censorship, regulation or control of communications media and technology. We favor the freedom to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. We oppose government actions which either aid or attack any religion.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
1.0 Personal Liberty
Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government. Our support of an individual's right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices.
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
Statement of Principles
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely, (1) the right to life -- accordingly we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action -- accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property -- accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.
Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."
Henry David Thoreau
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
National Platform of the Libertarian Party
Adopted in Convention, May 2008, Denver, Colorado
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.
We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.
Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.
In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles.
These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Why Not Stick With The Establishment?
"Given the low level of competence among politicians, every American should become a Libertarian."
-- Charley Reese, Alameda Times-Star (California), June 17, 2003
The politicians in Washington and our state capitals have led us away from the principles of individual liberty and personal responsibility which are the only sound foundation for a just, humane, and abundant society.
Government at all levels is too large, too expensive, woefully inefficient, arrogant, intrusive, and downright dangerous. Democratic and Republican politicians have created the status quo and do not intend to change it.
Libertarian Party Website
Wednesday's Hump Day Bonus Quote
"What's *just* has been debated for centuries but let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn *belongs* to you – and why? "
Walter Williams
LNC Chairman statement in response to President Obama's AMA address
Proposed government takeover of health care means higher costs, less effective care and rationing
WASHINGTON -- Libertarian National Committee Chairman William Redpath issued the following statement Tuesday in response to President Obama's address to the American Medical Association:
"There is no question our health care system is broken and in need of serious reform. Americans deserve health care that is affordable, effective and universally available. However, President Obama’s $1 trillion government takeover of hospitals and doctor’s offices is not the answer.
The Obama plan makes health care more expensive, less effective and less accessible through rationing and bureaucratic inefficiency. The fact is government-run health care systems are more expensive and less effective than systems run by doctors and health care professionals.
When President Obama told the story of Laura Klitzka, a Wisconsin mother suffering from breast cancer, he conveniently neglected to tell the audience that in nations with a government-run health care system much like the one he proposes, breast cancer is deadlier than in the United States.
According to health care policy expert Dr. John Goodman, among women diagnosed with breast cancer, like Laura, only one in five die in the United States. That death rate escalates to one in three in France and Germany and nearly half in the Britain and New Zealand. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2004 the deaths from cancer in the United States were 157.8 per 100,000 people. In Canada the rate was 169.0 and in the United Kingdom it was 175.6. Allowing more women to die from breast cancer is hardly the kind of reform we need in the United States.
The main causes of those increased deaths are the long waiting lists for treatment, the decreased amount of time a doctor can spend with the patient and the shortages of advanced medical equipment that are a hallmark of rationing – the method by which government-run systems attempt to cut skyrocketing costs.
The White House brushed on that topic in an April 19 appearance on “Meet The Press” in which economic advisor Lawrence Summers promised a government-run health care would cut costs by simply denying treatments and procedures to patients until the government decided it was acceptable.
President Obama once again touched on the promise of rationed health care in yesterday’s speech, blaming the rising costs of medical care not on government interference, but on the claim that Americans get too many medical tests and procedures.
For too many breast cancer patients in nations like Britain and France, the Obama model of government control and rationing has already a deadly failure. Doctors, not politicians and government accountants, should decide what tests a patient needs.
We need health care reform and we need it now. But the Obama plan – a federal government takeover – isn’t reform. It’s simply a plan to take the worst aspects of our current problems, namely the high costs and increasingly limited access, and magnify them. The Obama plan for a federal takeover of the health care system cuts costs, not through innovation or improved care, but by rationing access, putting the sick and suffering on waiting lists and denying Americans the medical care they need.
Libertarians have a better idea. Cut the costs of prescription drugs, insurance and technology by removing barriers put up by health care lobbyists in the form of protectionist laws and unneeded FDA regulations intended to price out the competition and block competing drugs and technologies from the market.
It is no coincidence that America’s health care system, once the best in the world, has become more unaffordable and ineffective as government has seeped further and further into it. The only way to make health care affordable, effective and universally available as the many other services we enjoy in the United States is to defeat the Obama plan for a government takeover and restore a competitive and efficient health care system."
Bill Redpath is the Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee
Government takeover of health care to cost $1 trillion over 9 years - for just one part
The Congressional Budget Office released a report Monday outlining the projected costs of just part of the Democrat plan for a government takeover of the nation's health care system, and it isn't pretty.
posted by Donny Ferguson on Jun 16, 2009
Initial estimates have taxpayers forking over $1.07 trillion dollars between 2010 and 2019 for just part of the Democrat plan. Costs will escalate if Congress expands government-run insurance plans, as Obama promises.
"The 10-year cost of reform could approach $2 trillion if the projections are made from the date that proposals are fully implemented. While the projected cost for a new system may reach $1.5 trillion for 2010-2019, it could run significantly higher for 2013-2022, as healthcare costs rise steadily each year," The Hill, a non-partisan newspaper serving Congress, reports Tuesday.
Democrat leaders in Congress are expected to deal with the unaffordable cost projections by simply ignoring the numbers and intead using projections compiled by the White House that are intended to sell the program and not find true costs.
Somewhere Ken Lay is smiling: Report likely shows Obama healthcare takeover unaffordable. Congress to simply change the report.
posted by Donny Ferguson on Jun 15, 2009
In a move that would have made Ken Lay proud, Democrat congressional leaders are expected to deal with the huge price tag of Barack Obama's government takeover of health care in a unique way -- ditching the estimates prepared by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and replacing them with the nunbers prepared by the politically-appointed White House Office of Management and Budget.
That would be the same White House that prepared numbers showing Obama's hugely unpopular "stimulus" package would keep unemployment below eight percent. It has since grown to a 26-year-high of 9.4 percent.
"The unusual option would give Democratic leaders hundreds of billions of additional dollars to work with as they draft their plans," The Hill reports today. Keep in mind the hundreds of billions of dollars do not actually exist and were invented out of thin air to help sell Obama's increasingly unpopular government takeover of doctor's offices.
"We are going to look at OMB and CBO and make our own decision as to who is right," said California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer. In other words, the decision as to who has the "right" numbers -- the non-partisan watchdog or the political office trying to sell the program they're studying -- will be made by the same people who thought the bailouts were a great idea.
Democrat promises to throw out non-partisan fiscal studies and replace them by political reports from the White House reminds many of the accounting procedures employed at Enron, the energy giant brought down in a 2001 scandal after is was revealed accountants used shell companies and falsified reports to make the company appear more profitable than it actually was.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"The government is good at one thing. It knows how to break your legs, and then hand you a crutch and say, "See if it weren't for the government, you wouldn't be able to walk". "
Harry Browne
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Leave Me Alone
"The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom. "
Justice William O. Douglas
Interesting Facts on Government Legislation
"The Ten Commandments contain 297 words. The Bill of Rights is stated in 463 words. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains 266 words. A recent federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words. "
The Atlanta Journal
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Government does not grow by seizing our freedoms, but by assuming our responsibilities. "
Michael Cloud
Monday, June 15, 2009
Fall Elections and Redistricting for Salisbury
Several have contended that I have copied others who have publicly called for this. Actually I have been talking about this for some time. At several events during the campaign I brought this up as an issue that needed to be fixed.
I have also called for redistricting in Salisbury. We need to have five districts and one at large. These should be looked at together.
I have also called for redistricting in Salisbury. We need to have five districts and one at large. These should be looked at together.
LP Press Release: Libertarians say “cancel stimulus spending”
New polling shows 45% agree with Libertarians that stimulus spending should be canceled
WASHINGTON -- America’s third largest party Wednesday called on Congress to terminate the remainder of stimulus spending citing new polling data showing a plurality of Americans now believe what Libertarians have said since January – Obama’s stimulus package is too big, too expensive and doesn’t help the economy.
“Despite a Jan. 10 White House report that the Obama spending explosion would keep unemployment under eight percent, it instead grew to 9.4 percent,” said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman, citing both a January White House report selling the "stimulus" package, and new Labor Department statistics released last week placing unemployment at a 26-year-high, with 14.5 million workers now jobless.
“It’s no surprise that 45 percent of Americans now agree with the Libertarian Party. They know Big Government cannot create wealth and they want the stimulus spending canceled,” said Redpath.
The independent, non-partisan polling firm of Rasmussen Reports released data Wednesday morning showing 45 percent of Americans say the rest of the new government spending authorized in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan should now be canceled.
Thirty-six percent (36%) disagreed and 20 percent were not sure. Fifty-five percent (55%) want the tax cuts preserved, a position they share with the Libertarian Party. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say the increased spending will be good for the economy, but 44% say it will be bad.
“The best way to create the jobs Americans need is to cut taxes for families and employers, cut or eliminate taxes on savings and investments and begin to repeal the twisted jungle of federal regulations that employers had to spend $1.17 trillion to comply with in 2008,” said Redpath.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
Libertarian Quotes
"There's another major hurdle to a new year of prosperity: our tax code. No human being understands it. The current code, which runs over 8,000 pages and countless thousands more pages of IRS rulings and interpretations, is beyond redemption. ..Incalculable amounts of the nation's intellectual brainpower are devoted to the dead-end task of coping with the current tax code. Over one-half million people in the U.S. make their living off it, whether in lobbying, lawyering, tax preparing, or accounting. … Americans spend five and one-half billion hours a year filling out tax forms … and spend between $100 billion and $300 billion to comply with the current code."
Malcolm S. Forbes,
LP Press Release: Libertarians condemn Obama’s still-skyrocketing unemployment numbers
Jobless rate explodes to over 9%, highest in 26 years as 14.5 million Americans jobless
Tax and regulatory relief would create “the jobs Americans need”
WASHINGTON -- With unemployment exploding to 9.4 percent in May instead of decreasing as Obama promised with passage of his “stimulus” package, America’s third-largest party urges Congress to instead consider tax and regulatory relief to give the nation “the jobs Americans need.”
“There is no doubt our economy will recover. Americans have always overcome adversity with our tenacity, creativity and optimism,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. “But as unemployment continues to rise when it should be falling by now, it begs the question of how long will recovery be delayed by Obama’s Big Government agenda?”
“The Libertarian Party seems to be the only party promoting a smart program of tax and regulatory relief aimed at freeing up capital,” said Ferguson. “History shows it’s the most effective way to give those 14.5 million unemployed the jobs Americans need.”
“Sadly, Obama instead chose to exploit this tragic situation to advance his personal agenda of bigger, more expensive government – which has unemployment now skyrocketing to its highest levels in a quarter-century,” said Ferguson. “Because of Obama, our economic recovery has been seriously stunted and delayed.”
Figures released Friday by the Labor Department show unemployment rose to 9.4 percent in May from 8.9 percent in April as the number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million. Unemployment is highest among blacks (14.9 percent) and Hispanics (12.7 percent.) The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 268,000 over the month to 3.9 million according to the Labor Department.
“Unfortunately, it looks like the Libertarian Party was proven right when we said back in January that Obama’s explosive growth of government and out-of-control spending would delay our economic recovery. We should be further along in our recovery, but Republican and Democrat spending and bailouts are delaying that,” said Ferguson.
“History has proven time and time again that decreasing the size of government, cutting taxes and freeing up people to create jobs and business are the best way to stimulate growth,” said Ferguson. “Libertarian urge Congress and the White House to take these real, proven measures, instead of exploiting people’s misfortune to inflate the size of government.”
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or email DonnyFerguson@gmail.com.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"When the mass media in some foreign countries serve as megaphones for the rhetoric of their government, the result is ludicrous propaganda. When the mass media in our country serve as megaphones for the rhetoric of the U.S. government, the result is responsible journalism. "
Norman Solomon
Daily Times Agrees With Municipal Election Change
City elections belong in fall
Best hope for increased voter turnout is return to tradition
Over the past couple of decades, Salisbury's municipal elections have been moved from the fall, when primary and general elections are traditionally held, to spring, then to fall and finally back to spring, where they remain. All was done in an effort to increase voter turnout in city elections. Anemic turnout indicates or results in a lack of civic engagement on the part of city residents, which can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and lack of any sense of ownership in community affairs, establishments, institutions and life.The theory behind the springtime election date is that divorcing municipal campaigns and voting from the sometimes more-compelling state and national elections might encourage residents to focus on local issues and candidates instead of addressing them as an afterthought, especially in presidential election years. There was also the opinion that spring weather is less likely to deter people from the polls than sometimes chilly or otherwise unpleasant late fall forecasts. Read Whole Article
Interesting that they are keeping this out front. If you remember this was a small snippet in my editorial last Sunday.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday - Voices of Libertarian Prophets
"The Social Security system did not begin as an attempt to sabotage people's ability to plan for retirement, but it has worked out that way. The politicians who originally planned the system probably had no idea how it would turn out. But today's politicians know the system is rotted, and yet they refuse to make the changes necessary to free the American people from it. Instead, they make it worse. "
Ed Clark 1980 LP presidential candidate, A New Beginning
Ed Clark's statement ring truer today as we watch a Social Security System closer to it's death bell. Medicare programs where businesses are refusing to accept it and government trying to force them to accept it.
It is time we as American demand this program be eliminated. We wish to opt out and choose how we wish to invest all of our retirement, not a bureaucrat in Washington.
Ed Clark's statement ring truer today as we watch a Social Security System closer to it's death bell. Medicare programs where businesses are refusing to accept it and government trying to force them to accept it.
It is time we as American demand this program be eliminated. We wish to opt out and choose how we wish to invest all of our retirement, not a bureaucrat in Washington.
Sunday Truth
"I fear for our nation. Nearly half of our people receive some kind of government subsidy. We have grown weak from too much affluence and too little adversity. I fear that soon we will not be able to defend our country from our sure and certain enemies. We have debased our currency to the point that even the most loyal citizen no longer trusts it. "
A Roman Senator in A.D. 63
Will we follow in the footsteps of Rome? The Federal Reserve cranks up the printer causing the dollar to become worthless because it is based on credit. A generation of people depend on the government for food, shelter, and pocket change. If the power went out across America, how many could survive on their own?
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"[During the 20th century] … 170 million men, women, and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed, or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed, or killed in any other of the myriad ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners. "
R. J. Rummel, Death by Government
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Liberals want the government to be your Mommy. Conservatives want government to be your Daddy. Libertarians want it to treat you like an adult."
Andre Marrou
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday's 2nd Amendment Quote
"[We] should not blame a gun itself for any crime or any acts of violence, any more than we can blame a pen for misspelling a word."
Senator Wallace F. Bennett (R-UT), Congressional Record, 5/16/68
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"The usual road to slavery is that first they take away your guns, then they take away your property, then last of all they tell you to shut up and say you are enjoying it."
James A. Donald
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Difference Between Government & The State
"We should distinguish at this point between "government" and "state" … A government is the consensual organization by which we adjudicate disputes, defend our rights, and provide for certain common needs … A state on the other hand, is a coercive organization asserting or enjoying a monopoly over the use of physical force in some geographic area and exercising power over its subjects. "
David Boaz
Funny Money
"While the feds … leave Social Security off their books, the government's obligation to make benefit payments to current and near-term Social Security recipients is certainly no less real than its obligation to pay interest on its Treasury bonds. "
Laurence K. Kotlikoff, Harvard Business Review, "From Deficit Delusion to Generational Accounting", May-June, 1993
Scary Quotes
"We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we may have. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest."
Stephen Schneider, environmental activist, in "Discover", Oct. '89
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"This country is a one-party country. Half of it is called Republican and half is called Democrat. It doesn't make any difference. All the really good ideas belong to the Libertarians."
Hugh Downs (1997)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wednesday's Hump Day Bonus Quote
"In 1940, teachers were asked what they regarded as the three major problems in American schools. They identified the three major problems as: Littering, noise, and chewing gum. Teachers last year were asked what the three major problems in American schools were, and they defined them as: Rape, assault, and suicide."
William Bennett (1993)
Expansion of My Position on City Elections: Part 1
There were some good discussions Monday Evening at the Salisbury City Council meeting on a wide range of issues. It was also good to finally see an even wider variety of concerned citizens speaking up. One individual, Bob Taylor who is a local attorney, spoke in response to my editorial in Sunday’s Daily Times, though he did not mention me specifically.
Mr. Taylor slightly disagreed with my reason on moving the elections to November, as he felt local candidates will “get lost in the shuffle” as voters juggle national, state, and local issues. Mr. Taylor eluded he would rather have a low voter turnout elect candidates than a larger turnout where all the voters may not have a complete grasp on the important local issues. I’ll touch on that viewpoint later.
Tuesday followed with an article in the Daily Times by Laura D'Alessandro in response to my editorial in Sunday’s paper. It was a very good article with a wide range of viewpoints. Harry Basehart a political science professor from Salisbury University had a similar opinion to Mr. Taylor. Professor Basehart said in the article, “There's no doubt that if we elected the mayor and council members at the same time we have state elections, the turnout would increase but the downside is people will focus on local issues and local candidates, while they're also trying to focus on state candidates and state issues."
I certainly understand where they both are coming and I don’t totally disagree with them. I just felt we needed to bring this issue to the forefront, as this was one of the constant questions citizens were asking me during the campaign. Certainly there are other issues, crime, taxes, the WWTP, among other that are important, as is the important step in how and when we choose the individuals who will be making those decisions.
Now where I disagree with Mr. Taylor and Mr. Basehart is the assumption that voters cannot handle the Municipal elections at the same time as the Gubernatorial elections. I believe the voting population is smarter than most people think. Many abstain from voting but pay attention. Many don’t pay attention and vote. Some vote for a name they recognize, there are those that always vote against incumbents, and you always have Mickey Mouse receiving a few write-ins. That is Democracy.
I believe there are more advantages to moving the election to November. First, it is the traditional time to vote, we are programmed to vote in November. Second, in Salisbury the ones that go south for the winter will not be gone yet. When they return in the spring, many have missed the primary and are not up to speed on all the candidates. Third, the transition of power will not be in the middle of the budget session for a new mayor or council. They will be able to assimilate into their positions better if elected in the fall and avoid a “baptism by fire.”
Hopefully this debate will continue. My next post will be about creating voting districts within the city.
Mr. Taylor slightly disagreed with my reason on moving the elections to November, as he felt local candidates will “get lost in the shuffle” as voters juggle national, state, and local issues. Mr. Taylor eluded he would rather have a low voter turnout elect candidates than a larger turnout where all the voters may not have a complete grasp on the important local issues. I’ll touch on that viewpoint later.
Tuesday followed with an article in the Daily Times by Laura D'Alessandro in response to my editorial in Sunday’s paper. It was a very good article with a wide range of viewpoints. Harry Basehart a political science professor from Salisbury University had a similar opinion to Mr. Taylor. Professor Basehart said in the article, “There's no doubt that if we elected the mayor and council members at the same time we have state elections, the turnout would increase but the downside is people will focus on local issues and local candidates, while they're also trying to focus on state candidates and state issues."
I certainly understand where they both are coming and I don’t totally disagree with them. I just felt we needed to bring this issue to the forefront, as this was one of the constant questions citizens were asking me during the campaign. Certainly there are other issues, crime, taxes, the WWTP, among other that are important, as is the important step in how and when we choose the individuals who will be making those decisions.
Now where I disagree with Mr. Taylor and Mr. Basehart is the assumption that voters cannot handle the Municipal elections at the same time as the Gubernatorial elections. I believe the voting population is smarter than most people think. Many abstain from voting but pay attention. Many don’t pay attention and vote. Some vote for a name they recognize, there are those that always vote against incumbents, and you always have Mickey Mouse receiving a few write-ins. That is Democracy.
I believe there are more advantages to moving the election to November. First, it is the traditional time to vote, we are programmed to vote in November. Second, in Salisbury the ones that go south for the winter will not be gone yet. When they return in the spring, many have missed the primary and are not up to speed on all the candidates. Third, the transition of power will not be in the middle of the budget session for a new mayor or council. They will be able to assimilate into their positions better if elected in the fall and avoid a “baptism by fire.”
Hopefully this debate will continue. My next post will be about creating voting districts within the city.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others?"
Thomas Jefferson (1801)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"The threat posed by humans to the natural environment is nothing compared to the threat to humans posed by global environmental policy."
Fred L. Smith (1992)
Monday, June 8, 2009
True Patriotism
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man and brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
Mark Twain
Libertarian Quotes
"If I were a Brazilian without land or money or the means to feed my children, I would be burning the rain forest too."
Sting
Ron Paul Says.....
"The most important element of a free society, where individual rights are held in the highest esteem, is the rejection of the initiation of violence. All initiation of force is a violation of someone else's rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state, for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals, even if it's supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals. Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense."
Congressman Ron Paul, (R) Texas
Wisdom
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
Plato
Sound Familiar?
The Nazi agenda from years past sounds well intentioned. It's familiarity however sounds more recent.
"We ask that the government undertake the obligation above all of providing citizens with adequate opportunity for employment and earning a living. The activities of the individual must not be allowed to clash with the interests of the community, but must take place within its confines and be for the good of all. Therefore, we demand: … an end to the power of the financial interests. We demand profit sharing in big business. We demand a broad extension of care for the aged. We demand … the greatest possible consideration of small business in the purchases of national, state, and municipal governments. In order to make possible to every capable and industrious [citizen] the attainment of higher education and thus the achievement of a post of leadership, the government must provide an all-around enlargement of our entire system of public education … We demand the education at government expense of gifted children of poor parents … The government must undertake the improvement of public health – by protecting mother and child, by prohibiting child labor … by the greatest possible support for all clubs concerned with the physical education of youth. We combat the … materialistic spirit within and without us, and are convinced that a permanent recovery of our people can only proceed from within on the foundation of the common good before the individual good."
From the political program of the Nazi Party, adopted in Munich, February 24, 1920
Sounds so much like what is being worked on today by our government.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"We must have government, but we must watch them like a hawk."
Millicent Fenwick (1983)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Editorial in Daily Times
Salisbury has two issues that need to be addressed in the near future. They are compensation for elected officials and reviewing the municipal election cycle. Common sense and levelheaded discourse will bring consensus on a solution.
With the recent controversy over Health Benefits for elected officials the problem is, this is not included in the Municipal Code as a part of the compensation package. Historically this has been offered to elected officials and was simply added in the budget, hence the precedent and policy argument. The problem is the Municipal Code and the Salary Review Committee never offered Health Benefits as part of the compensation package.
The benefit as used by Council Members is worth over $7,000 making total compensation for those who use it at $17,000. The Salary Review Committee should review it this year and make a recommendation that is codified if they opine it should be added to the compensation package.
Next, I believe the Municipal Election Cycle should be returned to the fall with the national and state elections. First this will increase voter turnout and reduce another election cycle. Second this will allow a newly elected Mayor time to settle in and execute priorities with his/her own budget in the spring when that is submitted.
This was changed several years ago due to concern local candidates were lost in the shuffle, the consequence has been less participation at the polls.
With the recent controversy over Health Benefits for elected officials the problem is, this is not included in the Municipal Code as a part of the compensation package. Historically this has been offered to elected officials and was simply added in the budget, hence the precedent and policy argument. The problem is the Municipal Code and the Salary Review Committee never offered Health Benefits as part of the compensation package.
The benefit as used by Council Members is worth over $7,000 making total compensation for those who use it at $17,000. The Salary Review Committee should review it this year and make a recommendation that is codified if they opine it should be added to the compensation package.
Next, I believe the Municipal Election Cycle should be returned to the fall with the national and state elections. First this will increase voter turnout and reduce another election cycle. Second this will allow a newly elected Mayor time to settle in and execute priorities with his/her own budget in the spring when that is submitted.
This was changed several years ago due to concern local candidates were lost in the shuffle, the consequence has been less participation at the polls.
Thomas Jefferson Quotes That Ring True Today
"The care of every man's soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or his estate, which would more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills."
Thomas Jefferson
Wal-Mart Workers on Welfare? Let's Look for the Spin.
This was posted on the Great Divide.
Wal-Mart Workers on Welfare? Let's Look for the Spin.
This has been a hot topic over the past few years and specifically when Maryland passed legislation to require companies with over 10,000 employees to spend a certain amount on Health Benefits. The Law was of course targeted at Wal-Mart which already exceeded the requirement. Surprising the Maryland General Assembly would an unnecessary law.
Many of these individuals that are on state assistance come to Wal-Mart already on it. Expecting to people to make $60,000 a year off the bat at new job is ridiculous. You have to work your way up to get the proper promotions and raises, just like any other job.
Posted using ShareThis
Wal-Mart Workers on Welfare? Let's Look for the Spin.
This has been a hot topic over the past few years and specifically when Maryland passed legislation to require companies with over 10,000 employees to spend a certain amount on Health Benefits. The Law was of course targeted at Wal-Mart which already exceeded the requirement. Surprising the Maryland General Assembly would an unnecessary law.
Many of these individuals that are on state assistance come to Wal-Mart already on it. Expecting to people to make $60,000 a year off the bat at new job is ridiculous. You have to work your way up to get the proper promotions and raises, just like any other job.
Posted using ShareThis
Sunday's Libertarian Sermon
"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."
Daniel Webster
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."
Winston Churchill (1903)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Delaware's Medicaid The Future for Heathcare?
Walgreens has announced they will no longer accept Medicaid for prescriptions in their pharmacies (which also include Happy Harry’s), citing the payout from the State of Delaware is not cost effective for filling prescriptions. This has put many citizens in Delaware in a situation where they have to find a new pharmacy to fill their prescriptions.
Now that national health care appears to be the next big issue, is the Walgreens situation going to be a precursor to a struggle between the private sector and government? Businesses need to have a certain gross profit margin to successfully pay employees, taxes, bills, and maintain cash on hand to successfully manage other aspects of their business. When the government on one hand demands you pay your taxes, yet with other hand gives you the short end of the stick when they do business with you. One could understand why a business would end that relationship with the government.
Could this be the situation if Health Insurance in Nationalized? A situation where businesses will not honor prescription cards from the government because they will lose money could be the future in America. Would legislation require and force businesses to accept the government health insurance and prescription cards? Will they institute price controls, production requirements, and other tedious mandates to hinder businesses? Why not just open up government pharmacies beside the future government doctor offices and eliminate the need for the private sector to worry about offering these services?
The most important thing is to first get government out of health care. When legislators and bureaucrats feel their relevance hinges on how complicated laws and regulations are, indicates to me that we no longer need those individuals.
Now that national health care appears to be the next big issue, is the Walgreens situation going to be a precursor to a struggle between the private sector and government? Businesses need to have a certain gross profit margin to successfully pay employees, taxes, bills, and maintain cash on hand to successfully manage other aspects of their business. When the government on one hand demands you pay your taxes, yet with other hand gives you the short end of the stick when they do business with you. One could understand why a business would end that relationship with the government.
Could this be the situation if Health Insurance in Nationalized? A situation where businesses will not honor prescription cards from the government because they will lose money could be the future in America. Would legislation require and force businesses to accept the government health insurance and prescription cards? Will they institute price controls, production requirements, and other tedious mandates to hinder businesses? Why not just open up government pharmacies beside the future government doctor offices and eliminate the need for the private sector to worry about offering these services?
The most important thing is to first get government out of health care. When legislators and bureaucrats feel their relevance hinges on how complicated laws and regulations are, indicates to me that we no longer need those individuals.
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"When important issues affecting the life of an individual are decided by somebody else, it makes no difference to the individual whether that somebody else is a king, a dictator, or society at large."
James Taggart (1992)
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday's 2nd Amendment Quote
"I say that the Second Amendment doesn't allow for exceptions – or else it would have read that the right "to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, unless Congress chooses otherwise." And because there are no exceptions, I disagree with my fellow panelists who say the existing gun laws should be enforced. Those laws are unconstitutional [and] wrong – because they put you at a disadvantage to armed criminals, to whom the laws are no inconvenience."
Harry Browne, meetings with NRA's EVP, Wayne LaPierre and other panelists at a gun rights rally in Hot Springs, AR, 8/8/2000
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as "caring" and "sensitive" because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. Well, who isn't? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money – if a gun is held to his head."
P.J. O'Rourke
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Libertarian Quote of the Day
"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
Mark Twain
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
D-Day for Health Care | Red County
Michael Swartz does it again. Check out his article on Healthcare.
He also got featured on Red County.
D-Day for Health Care | Red County
Shared via AddThis
He also got featured on Red County.
D-Day for Health Care | Red County
Shared via AddThis
Wisdom from Milton Friedman
"Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion . the technique of the army and of the modern totalitarian state. The other is voluntary cooperation of individuals . the technique of the marketplace."
Milton Friedman
Wednesday's Hump Day Bonus Quote
"First they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for the socialists, but I did nothing because I'm not a socialist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I did nothing because I'm not a Catholic. Finally, they came for me, but by then there was no one left to help me. "
Pastor Father Niemoller (1946)
They Sure Do Make Things Like They Used To
A couple of months ago I purchased this Bluetooth Headset. It is the Plantronics Explorer 233 and it cost me $30.00. I have been very happy with it and works much better than a Motorola I purchased last year for twice as much.
This past Sunday I had it with me and after I finished using it I put it in my shorts cargo pockets. I changed clothes and placed my shorts in the hamper and when my wife washed clothes on Monday, my headset was still in my shorts. She discovered it and apologized to me.
Later that evening I thought I would try just to see if it still worked. Low and behold it works perfectly fine. This Bluetooth Headset was washed and dried and still works. I could not believe it, I still don't believe it.
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