Tag Archives: Politics

Differentiating Characteristic: Open Thread

What is the difference between this:

And this:

To me, it might be that one guy campaigns on family values and the other doesn’t.  That makes it irony or hypocrisy. Or it might be that one guy actually think that family values are meaningful enough to run on and that what we have is a Tragic story in the failures of mankind.  Or maybe its that one guy knows enough to resign and the other doesn’t.

Open thread- What do YOU think?

Home Values: Government Regulation Doesn’t Work

Government has no place in the market.  In so much that the government needs to spend money on things that constitute the proper role of government, there is nothing that the State does that is expressly efficient.

The State is unable to address the needs and/or wants of the populace well enough to signal an efficient use of scare resources; resources that have alternative uses.  The government can, by force of gun or sword, dictate where money is spent, to be sure.  But that government has neither the ability or will to intuit that “will of the people who is the mark of a dynamic market.

What does this mean?

It means the government is incapable of spending your money better than you are.

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Role Of Government: Open Thread

For my liberal friends:

What is the characteristic of “a thing” that requires the State enact that thing rather than make sure that thing simply occurs.

For example, the State should be concerned with feeding its people, yet the State doesn’t participate in feeding the people.  However, the State should be concerned with educating its people AND the State feels IT has to do the educating.

Why?

Barack Obama And His Toast To The Queen

Okay, so check it out.

A million miles a day.  A ton of people a minute.  Crisis after crisis.

I get it.  A man gets tired and is often not at his best.

But this is England.  And she is the Queen.  And he should know better.

He didn’t.

And the sad part?  It’s not his fault.  Any more than it’s the fault of a relief pitcher playing linebacker when his coach asks him.

Obama’s not a President; he’s a court fool to the rest of the world.

Politics Republicans Democrats and Awareness

For a long long time I resonated with a “team” more than I resonated with a concept.

I mean, I grew up pullin’ for the Vikings, so, naturally, they are the coolest team in the whole world and the Packers just suck.

And the Cowboys [Drew Pearson—shiver]

And the Steelers

And the Falcons

I digress.  Anyway, teams.

My dad liked Reagan, but not until later in life, much later, did I learn that dad was a democrat, and pretty hard core too.  We would often argue and debate and each of us left the conversation seriously considering the voting tendencies of the milkman.  I wonder how much of that was due to the fact that I grew up THINKING dad was a Republican?

Weird.

I’m pretty convinced that I’m a Christian because I grew up in a Christian family in a Christian town in a Christian nation.  I think that’s pretty clear.

However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to try and back away a little bit and see things…twice.  It’s an old Billy Joel song, “Things I didn’t know before I learned by doin’ twice….”

Anyway, its awareness, being able to see and focus and count the things going on around you.  Sometime they happen so fat, ya miss ’em.

Try it:  See if you can count —

See what I mean?

Peak Oil? We’ll Never Burn Our Last Drop Of Oil

Long before we get to the very last drop of oil, we;ll have identified another form of fuel for our society.  It may be another form of fossil fuel, it may be solar or it may be wave.  In any event, the idea that the work will run out of oil and the implication that our society will wither and fade away is ridiculous.

As people who make money on oil begin to realize that were close to running out of oil, they’ll raise the price of said oil.  And when THAT happens, that new fuel will be found.

Fortunately, we may already have taken a step in that direction:

Sanford, N.C. — Geologists have wrapped up research on natural gas deposits in central North Carolina and are awaiting an assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey in July.

North Carolina Geological Survey chief Kenneth Taylor says his assessment shows that Lee, Chatham and Moore counties could produce enough natural gas to power the whole state for 40 years.

40 years.

Of power.

No oil.

What could prevent this awesome resource from being utilized?

Government:

But state law would have to change to allow horizontal drilling and a process known as fracturing that uses chemicals and water to force natural gas from shale.

Figures.

North Carolina Unemployment Benefits

It’s tough.  It really is.

There’s a ton of us out there without work; we all know someone who’s looking for a job, a shot.  And as long as they’re out there, shouldn’t we do what we can and give ’em the support they’ve worked for all these years?  Isn’t that the right thing to do?

No.

And I’ll tell ya why.

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Rand Paul, Right To Health Care And Slavery

What does it mean to have a Right?  What is Liberty?

The answer to that question is fundamental to our nation; to how we see ourselves not only in this world, but in this creation.

What is it that we have a Right to?  What thing, what state of being, do we own simply by being alive?  What is it that is ours BEFORE the state? What is that thing, or group of things, that belongs to us not because of the state, but in spite of the state?

For me, that answer is simple.  It’s me.  My own self.  THAT is mine before the state.

And who would argue that defending myself, legally or forcefully, is not my right?

I am sovereign to myself.  I belong to me and my labor belongs to me.

Men erect governments not to reduce this natural or divine state of being, but to protect it.  We create relationships to assist in that protection.  We do not enter into a bond to reduce those things, but to enhance those things.  In short, it is the role of the state to maximize my sovereign right to myself; my Liberty.

In that context, I do NOT have a right to running water.  Rather, I have the right to expect water to be provided in the event I enter into a legally binding contract to procure that water for an agreed upon price.

So, know that we know what the state Ought do, does this make better sense?

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So How Is Obama Doin’ With The Economy

We all wanna compare; we wanna know.  How is one team vs. another?  How am I compared to my peers?  So, it’s only natural that we do the same thing for the economy and how we’re managing our way out of it.

So.  How is Mr. Obama doing?

Well, let’s look.

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Regulation – Private Sector Style

So, this past weekend my wife informed me that we were going to buy a new washer and dryer.

Fine.

Then she told me that she would appreciate it if I conducted some research and came up with a make and model before we went to the store.

Fine.

The entirety of my research was this:

google.com

“Do front load washers work”

When I found out that the stink and break, I went to step 2:

consumerreports.com

“Top Load Washers”

Sort – Price

I found the top rated set in the price range I wanted.  I looked to make sure there was more than a dozen reviews.

Then I wrote it down on my paper.

Total time invested – 7 minutes.

Confidence – High.

My point is that there aren’t any written rules that document how a manufacturer should create a well made and quality machine.  Rather, they have to answer to the market.  It is CRITICAL to these folks that they are rated high in Consumer Reports.  If they aren’t rated well, I don’t buy.

And neither do you.

Why that wouldn’t work for milk is beyond me.