Tag Archives: Alan Colmes

Democrats and Republicans: How They Are the Same

Posted on December 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last night I spent some time over at alan.com.  Alan Colmes is a liberal commentator on Fox.  He has his own radio show that I enjoy and his blog and chat room are both exceptional.  In fact, it’s because of Alan that I started TarheelRed.  Anyway, so, I was chattin’ up the locals and, as you would expect, found myself in the minority on many topics.

We discussed taxes, education, labor, Presidential politics and even Iran.  The banter was back and forth, very quick and not unpleasant.  It’s hard and frustrating, to be sure, being the only Voice of Reason in a room full of Liberals, but hey, good times.

As I left I had two takeaways:

  1. Democrats and Republicans are very nearly the same.
  2. Very few people understand Liberty

I think that all people, from the Left and the Right, want good things to happen to people.  I think all people wanna help people when they need that help.  I think all people feel that everyone should contribute to society.  I think we’re all on agreement there.  And it goes even further.

Both Republicans and Democrats want to coerce man to cast aside their wicked ways.

The vehicle for the Republicans is Religion.  Via faith and God, the Right attempts to coerce people into doing good things.  The vehicle for the Democrats is the State.  Via laws and guns, the Left attempts to coerce people into doing good things.

We were discussing education.  I tried to make the case that given we ALL want a great educational system, up to and including college, we should work towards building a system that works.  I was immediately accused of wanting to privatize education.  When I admitted that would be preferable I also ceded the argument for the sake of discussion and said we could keep it public.  Even in a public setting, we have room for reform.  For example, disband the unions and allow administrations to hire and fire based on merit.  Provide bonuses and pay increases based on performance.

The response?

I hate teachers and don’t wanna educate the poor.  Why don’t I want the whole country to be educated?  It’s for my own good.  Even evil capitalists want and need educated children and adults.

The premise?

People, left to their own devices, will not find it within themselves to provide an educational experience that satisfies the needs of the society.  And so the Leftist enacts laws, the Conservative pulls on faith, all in an attempt to coerce people into doing what is deemed to be in their self interest.

The folks felt that even college education ought to be free.

I asked them if my neighbor to the west was unable to provide college tuition for his daughter, would I be within my rights to knock on the door of my neighbor to the east and demand money and time from him, by force of gun or sword, in order to provide tuition for my neighbor’s daughter.

They laughed and considered me extreme.

I then asked what real difference is there in THAT scenario and the one where a bunch of people vote to take my eastern neighbors money via the state.  I mentioned that they had a confused sense of Liberty.

Which brings me to point number 2 and perhaps the quote of the year:

Liberty Schmiberty

Sadly, I had to acknowledge that neither the Democrat nor the Republican are interested in Liberty.  Rather, only forcing their brand of charity through their approved vehicle of coercion.

Liberty Schmiberty indeed.

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Posted in Faith, Government, Idiots on Parade, Liberty

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Took My Breath Away

Posted on December 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Taxes.

Good?  Or bad?

Does it depend?  Or does it NOT depend?

Either way, for a long time I’ve thought that we ALL saw taxes in the same way.

A method pf paying for the things we need to run a country, state, county, city or school.

Not so.

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Posted in Politics: National

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Palin: Playin With The Left

Posted on March 29, 2010 | 2 comments

She speaks with a funny little accent. She uses turns of phrases that are unfamiliar to many of us. And what she looses in technical knowledge she makes up for in “gut feel”.

And she drives the Left crazy.

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Alan Colmes: Is a Capitalist

Posted on October 11, 2009 | Leave a comment

Saturday afternoon, Alan posted on the emerging news media; citizenry media.

With newspapers folding and many denizens in the old media not understanding the new media, the young entrepreneurs at metrojacksonville.com are on the edge of the curve.  Locals, including officials, can’t wait to post there, knowing their messages will be read by an engaged citizenry.  They are using the web the way it is meant to be used, incorporating a level of interactivity that most newspapers haven’t grabbed onto.

I couldn’t help but being impressed by Ayn Rand reaching to us from the past:

Creative destruction. Even as a reliable icon like the delivered print newspaper makes it’s way into the the same museum as the rotary telephone, VCR and horse drawn buggy, we see the beautiful effects of ingenuity, creativity and the capitalist way. More and more people are finding that the old way of receiving news is no longer meeting their needs, so they “vote” with their wallets. Given the fact that news print and printing presses and journalists and editors are “rationed by price” we are seeing the release of these resources due to people purchasing other forms of news delivery.

Certainly the impact of the loss of their jobs will be hard for those journalists, editors and print specialists, but society overall will benefit and become more productive. Net/net, everybody wins. We see a less efficient form of media fall away, we see competition in the new forms that we are allowed to choose from and, even better, they are cheaper than the $0.75 a day it costs to purchase the local fish wrapper. In short, life is good, even great.

Imagine the lack of progress if the government stepped in, stole your money right from your pocket and propped up an industry that no one wants to see succeed? I would think we would be upset that the progress of a nation would be halted in it’s steps. Impossible? Nope:

blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/09/24/how-to-subsidize-news-without-feeling-dirty/

Posted by John Galt
October 10th, 2009 at 10:56 pm

Who knew that Ayn lives?

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Posted in Economics, Economy

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Jindalcare

Posted on October 6, 2009 | 1 comment

Alan Colmes is talking about the new health care plan proposed by New Orleans governor Bobby Jindal.  Jindal outlined his plans in a Washington Post article. Now, I have been saying for a long time that the Republicans need to step up and stand out.  For sure the plans offered by the Democrats are in huge need of being said “No” too, but at some point, you simply have to bring a plan to the table.  A vibrant plan.  A plan that’s marketed and jazzed and finally sold to the public.

Jindal is doing that; or trying to.  He correctly points out that Washington’s plan is dead and going no where.  In fact the public is tired of see Obama and his administration rehashing the same old talking points over and over again.  Even The Chairman himself is no longer able to “Shine the sun of his personality” to make this problem of his go away.  So, Jindal is trying to seize the opportunity and stand out.  Announce his own plan and see if he can get the Conservatives to back him.

I’m guessing they won’t.  And hoping.

I get the fact that there has to be some compromising in this.  I understand that a world run exactly as I want is as bad a place as a world run exactly as you see fit.  It takes the best of both of us to build what we have.  Key word; Best.  Not worst.  And that’s what Jindal is suggesting.  He wants to take one of the two worst aspects of Obamacare, roll it in some Jindal speak and sell it as a better package.  It ain’t.

Require coverage of preexisting conditions: Insurance should not be least accessible when it is needed most. Companies should be incentivized to focus on delivering high-quality effective care, not to avoid covering the sick.

You can not guarantee coverage disregarding preexisting conditions.  Because if the government does that, the government  HAS to make it affordable.  And if you do THAT, you break the system and you have a plan no better than Medicare/Medicaid.  Broke and getting broker.  By the day.

According to their own auditors, Medicare knowingly overpays for almost everything it buys.

Jindal is right in a lot, but wrong where it counts.

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Posted in Health Care, Politics: National

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You Know They Are Desperate When

Posted on August 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

Check this post out over at alan.com.  In it, a commenter is responding to Alan’s post that a woman on Medicare is opposing Obamacare, or Universal Health Care.

In the post, Alan is quoting an article in The Washington Monthly, which in turn is speaking about an article in the Wall Street Journal.  In that article is a story of a woman whose mother is on Medicare and whose sister is also on Medicare.  The family is attending Town Hall meetings to express their opinion on Medicare.  Alan and Co are just shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you that someone on the government dime would protest anything the government suggested.

The reporter from the Washington Monthly saeth thusly:

Government-run, taxpayer-financed health care has kept her mother alive. Government-run, taxpayer-financed health care provides treatment and care to her sister. Based on the descriptions, it’s safe to assume the costs associated with treatments for Campbell’s mother and sister are enormous, but taxpayers and a socialized health care system pick up the tab. What’s wrong with that? Not a thing.

Except, of course, that Diane Campbell is now trying to convince people that health care reform is both radical and dangerous.

So, once a person is on government assistance, they are no longer able to, or at least shouldn’t, offer objection to further plans made by the government.  “Shut up citizen, listen and obey” is the message here.  There may be a whole host of reasons that these women don’t want this program pushed through.  Lord knows there are enough of those reason to fill a book.  But we couldn’t be bothered with those details.

But it gets even better.  See, Alan and The Washington Monthly go even further and bring up images of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

No offense to Diane Campbell, who must be suffering greatly.  But she has bought the right-wing meme that Obama is akin to Hitler and that health care reform will liken America to Nazi Germany.

So, now, not only is the Left offended that a sick grandmother would object to Obamacare, they bring up Hitler and the Nazi’s.

But the best is saved for last.  In the comments, in fact, the first one, we have a reader who claims that this woman MUST be a racist.

The only conclusion I can reach here is she’s a racist.

Awesome.  The bad news is that we have to continue to manage our way through this kind of nonsense.  The good news, when the Left resorts to this, you know we have won the hearts and minds.

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Posted in Health Care

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