The Producers and the Takers

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

We are one nation, with common values and principles that set us apart from the rest of the world. Or so I have chosen to believe for over 50 years.

Call me the old fashioned reactionary village idiot if you like. Go ahead, I am used to it from the progressive collectivists. The fact is I am damn proud of being given that moniker by them. Truth be known {and I don't mean Truth 101} I really don't care what progressive collectivists think of my values and principles, or the political views I hold. I'm good with them and that is all that matters.

Frankly I don't care because I,  just like each and every one of the progressive/statists know I am right. Since any rational value system must be based on objectivity, rather than emotionalism, the left always loses on purely logical and rational grounds. However, don't bother to attempt a rational discussion with them on this point because their emotionalism and altruistic inbred tendencies will of course make it impossible.

For progressive the Leviathan government is everything desirable {or needed} to take care of the needs of the people. For the statist the government IS the answer to all of the societal problems facing our nation today. They simply refuse to recognize that government creates more problems as it solves.

On the other hand the rational adult realizes the road to success is the one that is paved by personal commitment, hard work, dedication, the pursuit of excellence, individual initiative, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, the willingness to accept personal responsibility, the desire not only succeed but to be the very best at what they do, and the ability to bounce back when they fail. Above all they recognize that the Government is not the answer to their problems nor should it be considered the answer.

Unfortunately this nation has, in large share and IMHO, forgotten the principals and work ethic that made this nation what it was at it's pinnacle of wealth, power, and influence during the late 1950's and 1960s. Sadly the current leadership in both political parties lack the wisdom to even realize or understand what I am saying. And that goes for many pundits on both sides of the great political divide as well.

It is certain the ideologues and power brokers in both major parties will disagree with my analysis. As will the power brokers in corporate America, aka  the pull peddlers. For in reality there is little difference in the results each have given us of late. But, as long as the John Galt{s} of the world are willing to continue to work their proverbial asses of and continue producing we'll be okay. For a little while longer.

But... The clock is ticking... Sooner or later there will not be any John Galt{s} left. An altruistic and collectivist nation and world will have sucked the energy and life out of them.

Via:  ARI and Objectivism 101

Black Chamber of Commerce President Blasts Obama as Anti Business and a Brown Shirt

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Cknservatism

Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, tore into President Obama yesterday on The Laura Ingraham Show calling his administration anti business. Mr. Alford referred to the president as a neophyte, saying he is dangerous, and is wrecking the country. That and a whole lot more.



Indeed Mr. Alford. You are spot on.

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Via: Drudge Report
Via: Real Clear Politics

Gallup: Americans Put Deficit Blame on Wasteful Government Spending

by the Left Coast Rebel

This just in from Gallup:

PRINCETON, NJ -- The large majority of Americans say spending too much money on unneeded or wasteful federal programs is to blame for the federal budget deficit, while 22% say the deficit is a consequence of not raising enough in taxes to pay for needed programs.

These poll numbers are very hopeful but miss a key part of the deficit picture: our woes are necessarily caused by wasteful spending but that wasteful spending is given free reign because of a government that has no bearing on our founding and sensible, limited government. In order to reign in wasteful spending, we must first realign that which we expect of our government and send those to Washington DC that reflect those values (hint: Rand Paul, not John Boehner).

Until that day, the idiots in DC will argue about nibbling at the fringes of our destructive and illegitimate government-with-no-restraint but lose the big picture and put us all at the same national bankruptcy endgame. We simply ask too much of our government and have been bribed with looters that have no intention of paying the bill.

Are you willing to give up any and all the goodies to save the idea that used to be America?

I sure as hell am.

Via Memeorandum.

Obama Administration Grants Citizenship to Three Convicts with Links to Terrorists

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplaces of Independent Conservatism

Either the Obama administration is completely inept, or it is completely inept. The Government Accounting Office (GAO)recently released a report on Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs, showing the three convicted criminals with ties to international terrorism were granted U.S citizenship. After they were convicted.

This administration can't be for real. Can it? I must be dreaming this.

(CNSNews.com) -- Three people convicted of crimes as a result of a terrorism-related investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) were later naturalized as U.S. citizens by the Obama administration, according to federal auditors.

The March 2011 audit (released on April 21, 2011) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitled Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs, shows that three individuals were among “defendants where the investigation involved an identified link to international terrorism but they were charged with violating other statutes [not directly related to terrorism], including fraud, immigration, drugs, false statements, and general conspiracy charges,” referred by DOJ as Category II terrorism-related cases.

The three individuals in question can be found in a DOJ list of unsealed terrorism-related investigations conducted from Sept. 11, 2001 through Mar. 18, 2010. There are 403 defendants on that list of which, according to the GAO, at least 43 percent were aliens--both legal (26 percent) and illegal (17 percent)--at the time they were charged with crimes.

Staff members of GAO's Homeland Security and Justice team who worked on the audit told CNSNews.com in an e-mail that the three individuals were naturalized as U.S. citizens under President Barack Obama.

“One of the individuals was naturalized in late 2009. The other two were naturalized in 2010,” says the e-mail from the GAO. {Read More}

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable the rank incompentence!

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Via: Memeorandum

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplave of Independent Conservatism

America is becoming a nation whose populace is dependent on government entitlements in ever increasing numbers. The percentage of Americans that earn their income through work is declining. This is a sure recipe for the eventual collapse of our {semi} capitalist economic and social structure. The very structures that built this nation and made it the greatest and most prosperous the world has ever known.

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" was written by C. Jeffery Small. He does an excellent job of confronting the issue of entitlemnts, the ethics which they breed, the subsequent erosion of the work ethic, and the ultimate cost to society.

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." — Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

When Heinlein wrote these words, he was simply referring to the obvious fact that you cannot get something for nothing. Everything consumed must first be produced and everything bought must be paid for. For previous generations, this was a common-sense observation with which all reasonable people agreed. However, these days, that is far from the case, and whether the adage is applicable or not depends upon just exactly what type of person you happen to be.

You really cannot blame the citizens in our entitlement culture who think that they can have their lunch and eat it too. After all, look at the example that their legislators are setting as they coast along on their own free-lunch wagon, creating whatever programs they desire, and then printing paper dollars out of thin air to back them up, with no foreseeable source of revenue in sight — and all the while ignoring the looming debt, the unsustainable deficits, the unresponsive economy, and the rising outcry of protest from the remaining minority of citizens who do understand that there is indeed no free lunch and that the coming catastrophe is going to ultimately be borne on the backs of their productivity.

It's enough to make a grown person shrug.

Read the rest of the article.

C. Jeffery Small blogs at Small Thoughts for a Complex World.

Artwork: Photobucket

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Trump Drops F-bomb Several Times During Speech in Las Vegas

by the Left Coast Rebel

Trump is trumping China and raising the anti-trade rhetoric (sounding oh-so presidential):

"Listen you mother f***ers we're going to tax you 25 percent"

I'm no prude; but seriously, folks? A serious candidate wouldn't have gone there.

NSFW video of Trump's speech in Las Vegas wherein he drops the f-bomb, referencing the Chinese:

It's good to see that Trump has moved on from the birth certificate to the taxing-the-hell-out-of-the-Chinese and "take-their-oil" dual platform of unconservative, unlibertarian, populist ideas. Of course it's entertaining, but serious thought and a serious platform?

Of course not.

Maximum result for minimal effort = throwing around the f-bomb during a speech. Trump is clearly enjoying himself and basking in the sunlight of his notoriety.

But, the guy is peaking already and this may be one of his last headline-grabbing hoorays.

Hat tip Memeorandum, cross posted to LCR.

Birthers, "The Donald" and Leftist Playing the Race Card

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

The use of the race card has always been a tactic of the left. Democrat progressives have employed its use for years. The simple truth is democrats in particular, and the progressive movement in general, have used the race card for purely political purposes. Rather than acting as a unifying force the democrats and progressives have used race as a divisive tool to insure the election and re-election of their politicians.

Having said the above lets move on to the birther issue.

The birthers, who are mostly conservative, with "The Donald" as their most recent spokesperson, simply refuse to accept that President Obama is a United States citizen. Even after the President released his LFBC (long form birth certificate} many still question whether it is legitimate. To make matters worse 'The Donald questioned the President's grades implying they were not good enough for acceptance to Harvard Law, absence affirmative action.

There have been some that have implied Rational Nation USA is racist. Of course it has only been individuals on progressive sights that have done so. Yesterday I was asked by someone on a very progressive sight after they read my post  if I believed the President was born here. To which I replied by simply answering  yes.

So there can be no further question with respect to my position, Rational Nation USA accepts the legitimacy of the President's LFBC and believe he was born in Hawaii. He is a citizen of these United States and as such has every right to occupy the office to which a majority of Americans elected him. It is way past time to move beyond this issue and deal with the important issues facing our country.

I have written a few articles on race in America, specifically on racism. I find racism in any and all forms reprehensible. Racism is merely a form of collectivism, and it is the most vile. Racisms intent is to define an entire race, or ethnic group, not as individuals but rather as a collective based on race, ethnicity, or some other physical characteristic rather than he character of the individual.

Two articles written during 2010,  Racism... A True Perspective, and Racism... America's Fixation express Rational Nation's views on racism in more depth. My words speak for themselves and I stand by them. As well as standing by my opposition to any form of racism and bigotry.

Now for the final point. Yesterday while simply attempting to have a reasonable discussion { to most it would be considered reasonable}on a progressive sight I was subjected to the following.

This is the kind of hypocritical bullshit that pisses me off and gets RN deleted every time:

RN: “ … nor will I allow myself to be baited by you or anyone else on the site ever again.”

Bastard! How often has RN come to -----'s forum to taunt, bait, and ridicule readers! Yet, RN won’t tolerate the same bullshit at his own site. Speaking of harboring a self-serving double standard, I suppose the village idiot never heard of the Golden Rule which states: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Maybe the words duplicity, hypocrisy and dishonesty are too big for him to understand. Yet, there is more:

RN: “I bring my link to Shaw [sic] sight [sic] not [sic] to drive traffic, but to ask you [to] read my position in response to several snippets from other sites.”

I recall giving RN at least three warnings: NO MORE BLOG WHORING; yet the village idiot ignores all previous warnings and continues to use Shaw’s forum to advertise himself.

Perhaps, more to the point, if the jackass left quality comments that engaged and interested people, perhaps more readers might feel inclined to visit his blog of their own volition … without the constant, clawing blog whoring. Pourqois pas (why not)? Shoddy scholarship and predictably shopworn polemics written on a kindergarten level in murdered English: A high opinion of himself does not translate into a blog worth visiting.

RN: “With all due respect I carry water [sic] for no [sic] one. I also do not prohibit the posting of material that may not agree with RN or the general public.”

So RN don’t carry no ‘water’ for no-one, but if you give your stage to a racist, then you are what you eat. Perhaps the irony is too advanced for a village idiot to understand. Nor can he proof read and chew gum at the same time.

For those who regularly read my blog you know I have a very liberal and tolerant comment policy. In a nut shell it is, don't use cursing or vulgar language. Regulars also know that I do not delete comments I disagree with. The right to freely disagree with anyones political views or philosophy is part of  the bedrock of a democratic republic.

What the author {Octo}of the above vulgarity did not include is that when I left the link I said that if it offended anyone to please delete it. It was not deleted. I can only believe it is because it gave him the opportunity to go on a tirade and trash a conservative. For no reason other than the perverse pleasure and feeling of superiority it obviously gives him. Progressives like the one who penned the forgoing tirade are interested in only one thing. Absolute control.

Via: Memeorandum

Who was Trump’ed?

By: Pamela D. Hart


President Obama released his long form birth certificate yesterday and said, "This issue has been going on for two, two and a half years now. I think it started during the campaign. I have watched with bemusement, I've been puzzled at the degree at which this thing just kept on going."

He’s correct, the issue has been going on since the campaign, and during that time-frame, no one, not even lawyers, have been able to get the President to release his birth certificate.

Then, Donald Trump comes into the arena and the media gobbled up and promoted him and the Birther movement because he packaged it with a pretty bow and powerful words, which gave it serious momentum, and ultimately forced the President to release that mysterious piece of paper that those Birthers were certain had invisible script which proved Obama was an alien from outer-space.

This entire Birther movement is ridiculous to me in more ways than one. First, I do NOT believe that the President wasn't born in Hawaii. Second, I am ticked that so much time and effort has been wasted on this non-issue and feel that our media and our President are partially to blame.

Obama admitted that he watched for over two years in “bemusement” and that he released his birth certificate because he doesn’t want to distract from the real issues. Um, excuse me, but haven’t we had “real” issues for the last two years? Hasn’t our economy, unemployment, two wars and a deficit out our wazoo been important?

This “issue” could’ve been put to rest over two years ago had the President just released the darn birth certificate when first asked. But no. Rather than be a leader, he participated in the dog and pony show and acted like a spoiled child. Whatever his reasons were for withholding his birth certificate don’t matter. There were citizens, whom he serves as President of the United States, who questioned something, and it’s his DUTY as Commander-in Chief, to put those citizens at ease, not divide them, not distract from the issues and certainly not add to the divisiveness. Now, whether those individuals would’ve accepted what he released is debatable, but I personally think that the delay in releasing the birth certificate only enhanced the movement.

I’m not a Birther, but there are those, starting with the Hillary Clinton supporters, who believe he’s not a citizen and even though he has now produced the official birth certificate, they will continue with their silly conspiracy theories. I have to believe, however, that had the President produced his birth certificate two years ago, this fiasco wouldn’t have the traction it has today. But delaying it only gave the Birthers ammunition—he has something to hide, blah, blah. So, in reality, the President has himself to blame.

Then our media— and you all know how much I adore them! (insert eye roll here). They not only jumped on the Birther bandwagon but helped move that wagon along. With their endless stories, interviews and, yes carnival shows. It’s been non-stop. They don’t report serious news anymore, they report what they think will give them ratings and what’s better for ratings than the President’s a closet Muslim from Kenya pretending to be a citizen! The press gobbled it up faster than pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and stumbled over each other to get to the printing presses!

The saddest thing, though, is no one learned a dog-gone thing from this. The press will still go after their carnival shows and promote non-issue stories that won’t educate the public and our politicians, including our President, will still do what’s in the best interest for themselves.

So, Obama may have been “Trump-ed”, but in the end, the American people were, too, because we still aren’t getting what we pay for—honest, responsible, caring government and a reliable media that's supposed to be our "watch-dog".

Cross-posted @ The Oracular Opinion

Rep. Allen West Tells the Truth on Medicare, Left Reacts Predictably

by the Left Coast Rebel

Tea Party Representative Allen West (Future POTUS-FL) has been in the news a lot lately, and that's a good thing.

West -- in my humble opinion -- may just one day be President of this country. Trust me, the guy has a bright future and the sky's the limit. Also, if patriots like Allen West were in the mix in the GOP 2012 hopeful field, there would be a lot more excitement than there is at this time -- and he's the real deal and not a publicity-whoring charlatan with anything but a conservative or libertarian track record.

Anyway, the congressman doesn't mince words (which is just what we need today), talking candidly about the program that has the highest unfunded liability going forward and is the ultimate third rail in American politics: Medicare.

Florida's WPTV reports:

BOCA RATON, Fla. - If those opposed to U.S. Rep. Allen West have their way, the 2012 election will be fought on his recent vote to privatize Medicare starting in 2023.

They got loud during a town hall meeting the congressman held Wednesday night in Boca Raton.

The man designated to read questions from audience members read one word a lot: "Medicare."

And if you know Congressman Allen West and what he thinks of Medicare, the program that delivers health care to 38 million seniors and that national polls say is largely supported, his response was what you'd expect.

"I gotta tell you something: if you support Medicare the way it is now, you can kiss the United States of America goodbye," said West.

Here's video:

Look for the Demonrats to demagogue the heck out of West's honest statement (check Soros-funded Think Progress for this) but West is correct: Medicare alone spells the end for the United States as we have all known, loved and cherished it (as in a prosperous and free nation, wherein one retains the majority of one's earnings and is left alone and able to pursue happiness).

Michael Tanner at Cato tells us why we are facing impending doom and her name is Medicare:

Social Security faces unfunded liabilities of more than $15.8 trillion. And while that sounds like a lot of money, it is dwarfed by Medicare's looming budget shortfall of between $50 and $100 trillion, depending on which accounting measure is used. Because of its funding mechanisms, Medicaid does face the same type of accounting shortfalls, but it will soon add hundreds of billions of dollars to federal, not to mention state, spending.

As the full force of entitlement programs kicks in, the federal government will consume more than 40 percent of GDP by the middle of the century. Half of that will be taken up by just those three entitlement programs. From there, it only gets worse.

Sobering, especially when you consider that the Tea Party and limited government movement achieved such a huge victory in November yet the fools that got us into this mess are still in GOP leadership positions and ready, able, and willing to sell their souls for a few pieces of silver.

We need more straight talk like that of Allen West, aka Mr. "you're not going to intimidate me...."

Updated: I'm not the only one thinking of Allen West in the White House, stop by this Draft Allen West for President in 2012 Facebook page. There's also a great site set up exclusively for the effort to draft Allen West for President, 2012: draftallenwest2012.com.

Via Memeorandum. Cross posted to LCR contributor sites.

Snippets From the Blogoshere.... Obama Releases His LFBC

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

So, President Obama has finally released his long form birth certificate. A day later the internet has gone into overdrive, again. Still many in our country question his citizenship. I continue to scratch my head and wonder to what end.

Some snippets from the blogoshere:

Michelle Malkin:

But while Obama complains about “distractions,” his media water-carriers have served him well by falsely and opportunistically casting every conservative activist as a fringe birther conspiracist — and by boosting celebrity big-government fraud Donald Trump at the expense of bona fide conservative candidates/issues.

Much hay will be made about the timing of the release, the authenticity of the document, who gets the “credit” for forcing Obama’s hand, etc., etc. etc., blah, blah, blah.

As I’ve said consistently throughout the entire birther circus, I have chosen to fight other grass-roots conservative/limited government/anti-corruption battles.

And that is what I’ll continue to do here.

Truthers of all stripes, feel free to wallow in the fever swamps. The rest of us have work to do — and Obama’s messes to undo.,

Indeed. My sentiments exactly, real conservatives have much work to do and "The Donald" has simply complicated matters for us.

WND:

If the document proves valid, it could answer the questions raised by those who have alleged he was not actually born in Hawaii. But it also could prove his ineligibility because of its references to his father. Some of the cases challenging Obama have explained that he was a dual citizen through his father at his birth, and they contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born citizens.

Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, the only news agency that has waged a relentless investigative campaign on questions swirling around the Obama’s eligibility for nearly three years, was elated at the turn of events.

"We're gratified that our work has begun to pay off," he said. "The certificate of live birth is an absolutely vital foundation for determining constitutional eligibility of any president. We look forward to reviewing it like so many other Americans do at this late date. But it is important to remember there are still dozens of other questions concerning this question of eligibility that need to be resolved to assure what has become a very skeptical public concerning Barack Obama’s parentage, his adoption, his citizenship status throughout his life and why he continues to cultivate a culture of secrecy around his life."

I don't think WND will accept  anything put forth. It is quite likely they will focus on other issue of distraction rather than now addressing the President's serious policy flaws and failures.

PajamasMedia::

The release of President Obama’s so-called “long form” birth certificate may convince a lot of straddlers on the issue that indeed, the president is eligible to be, well, president. But the surprise release by the White House of a document that conclusively proves that the president of the United States was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961, at 7:24 PM local time isn’t satisfying those whose standards of proof lie in the ethereal world of religious revelation rather than the more mundane plane of existence where facts and logic dominate.

For the true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool, never-say-never birthers, the only thing that will apparently convince them of the provenance of Obama’s birth is a document that tells them exactly what they believe — that the president wasn’t born here and is therefore ineligible to hold office. Any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as fake or forged, or is simply ignored as not worthy of their attention.

To wit: When confronted with irrefutable proof that you have been wrong all along, concentrate on minutiae that, at least in your own mind, can keep the theory alive. Here’s a comment from Roger L. Simon’s “Teachable Moment” post on the Tatler:

A color copy, and everyone uses black ink to sign their name? 90% of pens in the world are blue.

This is an obvious forgery.

It is sad and pathetic, yes. After having gone through several hundred comments on sites ranging from Hot Air to Newsbusters, the only conclusion I can draw is the astonishing fact that not one single birther admits to error...

Yup, certainly agree with the above.

Dean's World:

So, here it is [drumroll]: The President’s long-sought ‘long-form’ birth certificate.

The question comes: why would the White House wait this long before releasing it? My bet is that Team Obama viewed the whole thing with a mixture of mirth and contempt, and when they gave it any thought at all just chuckled with glee at watching their political opponents burn energy on something so utterly pointless. But then Donald Trump started making a lot of noise about it, and it became a serious nuisance because it caused voters who rarely pay attention to politics (which is the vast majority) to take notice.

So, to shut him up, the President probably said, “oh go find the stupid thing and get it out there.”

To be fair, I will note that I have lefty friends who are trumpeting that this is is an embarrassment to right-wingers. So I will note for them that the whole thing started as a whispering campaign by Hillary Clinton supporters. Some righties latched onto it later, and in truth, most Republicans and conservatives I have known always viewed this issue with a mixture of embarrassment and contempt...

This one is makes perfect sense too.

TPM:

"Look, I applaud this release. I think it's a step in the right direction," so-called "birther queen" Orly Taitz told me in one of her many media interviews this morning. "I credit Donald Trump in pushing this issue."

But she still has her suspicions. Specifically, Taitz thinks that the birth certificate should peg Obama's race as "Negro" and not "African."

www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2011/04/theres-the-birth-certificate-tpms-best-of-the-birthers.php?img=1&ref=fpb&ref=fpblg

"In those years ... when they wrote race, they were writing 'Negro' not 'African'," Taitz says. "In those days nobody wrote African as a race, it just wasn't one of the options. It sounds like it would be written today, in the age of political correctness, and not in 1961 when they wrote white or Asian or 'Negro'."

Taitz says she's not giving up her fight. She also claims Obama isn't a "natural born citizen" because she uses a standard that requires both parents to be American citizens -- a misreading of the Constitution which if enforced would have rendered several other American Presidents ineligible.

Certainly sounds as though Taitz will continue to waste her time on a issue going nowhere rather than devoting valuable time torpedoing the President an legitimate policy and value issues.

And to wrap it up here's Mark Levin on the issue of birther-ism. Before the President released the copy of his LFBC. He was right then and he is even more right now.



So let us not concentrate on the distractions. Rather let us focus on the issues of preserving capitalism and our liberties, ending corporatism, drilling in on fiscal responsibility, reforming the Leviathan welfare state, reigning in the military industrial complex, ending foreign welfare, bringing the Federal Reserve under strong congressional oversight, reducing burdensome and business kiling regulations, and the list goes on.

We in the conservative/Libertarian movement have many important crucial issue to bring to bear on the POTUS. We haven't time to squander on distractions that may well play to his advantage. So... Lets get started!

Added Editor's note: For the lefties that apparently have difficulty grasping what is within my comments: Rational Nation accepts that BHO was born in Hawaii. To make it perfectly clear, "accept" means believe {as used here}. The fact I believe he was born in Hawaii does not alter the fact he must be defeated in 2012 on philosophical and policy grounds.

Discussions @ Memeorandum

(PHOTO) Obama's Official Long-Form Birth Certificate

by the Left Coast Rebel

As Sam Foster wrote early this morning, the White House just released Obama's official "long-form" birth certificate. Sam had a great take on the issue in that the Obama birth certificate issue has actually been the longest running Clinton scandal.

Nevertheless, the question for me -- given the ease at which the White House got their grubby paws on and released the long-form birth certificate -- is what gives and why didn't they do this before?

I smell a thick trail of rank incompetence and William Jacobson agrees:

The ease with which the White House obtained the documents demonstrates the rank idiocy of the mainstream media, which has been feeding us a steady stream of excuses as to why Obama could not obtain the document.

Professor Jacobson is on to something here: the media-led frantic discussion on Obama's m.i.a. long-form birth certificate proves just how idiotic they are. And, they played right into the publicity whore Donald Trump's hand, giving him tens of millions of dollars of free promotion and airtime (but it was entertaining to watch him use the fools in the press as he did).

We can all breathe a deep sigh of relief and bask in the glory of today's historic moment, gather together and rejoice that everything is back to normal.

America -- he actually is one of us -- even though he hates our freedoms, founding principles, rich people, is bankrupting the nation, is surrounded by communists and czars, had communist parents and a communist childhood mentor, was a racist/socialist agitator crony in Chicago, attended and had his daughters baptized in a church that taught Marxist Black Liberation Theology, taught Alinksy's Rules for Radicals, declared his candidacy in the home of a domestic terrorist...(just to name a few).

Drumroll, please...

Photo of Obama's long-form birth certificate (hat tip to Legal Insurrection, click to embiggen):

And there you have it! America is now the place that I knew in my youth...

Cross posted to LCR, Rational Nation and Proof Positive. Discussion via Memeorandum.

Truly We are Facing the Enemy Within... On College Campuses

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

The image of our American flag, with a hammer and sickle where the fifty stars belongs sickens me. It sickens me to the point of anger. What sickens me even more, just as as it should all who desire liberty and the right to prosper based on your own merit is this... There is an organized and growing effort to defeat American capitalism and the liberty that it creates.

The progressive movement, which is in reality synonymous with communist socialism, has of course been around since the early 20th century in America. And it has insidiously been working to undermine our American value system every since. Sadly, given the obvious and growing reliance on government, and the increasing socialist statism brought to us complements of "The Barry", the progressive plan for America seems to be working.

Our institutions of so called higher learning are becoming cesspools of progressive thought. A case in point, Tony Pecinovsky a Communist Party USA representative spoke to students at the University of Missouri in St. Louis advising them that the American flag is racist.

From Breitbart's Big Government.

While claiming the American flag represents racism and discussing today’s Progressive Movement’s efforts to defeat America both at home and abroad, including on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help their international “comrades,” Communist Tony Pecinovsky pulls the mask off today’s Progressive Movement in two new exclusive Big Government videos of a University of Missouri course offering, already much in the news.

While discussing “the idea that the American flag is racist,” in the video below, Pecinovsky mentions a 2005 international youth festival in Venezuela sponsored by the World Federation of Democratic Youth(WFDY).

Pecinovsky brags that the WFDY is officially recognized by the United Nations. He also defines Cuba, Venezuela, and others as genuinely ”progressive,” the very same code word today’s entire American Left uses for itself. That would include the Obama administration and today’s Democrat Party, which it has finally managed to take over. In deed, in the second video, Pecinovsky touts their linkage to such so-called mainstream efforts, including trade unions.

The Young Communist League(YCL) sent 700 young Americans to Venezuela for the event. There, claims Pecinovsky, they had to actually engage in internal debate as to whether, or not to display the American flag next to the flags of countries like Cuba and Venezuela. If they did, it would be only so as to reclaim it from representing racism and what he calls the Right Wing. That includes the Bush administration, as Pecinovsky later reveals. 

Video:


Pecinovsky goes on in the next video to describe how what he calls Progressive Internationalism can effectively isolate and defeat the right. IE: American values and what is left of capitalism.

Pecinovsky defines Progressive Internationalismin terms of how to isolate and defeat what he calls the “ultra Right” in the US. Bear in mind, to him, that term means free market Capitalism and traditional forms of liberty America has traditionally embraced, as well as the previous Bush administration. When speaking of the Left’s “Iraqi comrades,” and again in speaking about Afghanistan, Pecinovsky’s and the greater Left’s view is, they are organizing domestically to beat America abroad, as well as at home, including while we are at war.

Lest some critics want to dismiss Pecinovsky as some far Leftist fanatic, one only need look to the Peace Movement - which he also addresses, to understand how his progressivism is the very same as that of today’s mainstream Democratic Party. In many ways, it was said Peace Movement and its propaganda, circulated by a complicit media, that so tipped the scales against former President Bush, opening the way for Obama to win the WHite House in 2008.

It was former Democrat Vice President Al Gore who accused then President Bush of betraying the country over Iraq, not some minor Communist activist lecturing a class in Missouri. Those unwilling, or unable to make the very real connection between a Pecinovsky and the Democrat administration we currently have in Washington are simply putting their heads in the sand.

Video:


Indeed, as Micheal Savage so correctly has said time and time again, we are truly facing The Enemy Within. {Read More}.

Via: Memeorandum

Rep. Allan West Handles Hecklers With Class... Leftist Loony Arrested

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

As Representative Allan West {R-FL} took the stage Tuesday night at his Ft. Lauderdale Town Hall meeting progressive hecklers begin to almost immediately badger Mr. West. Their disruptive, and direspectful conduct had no affect on West as he told them, You're not going to intimidate me.

West in his typical cool and level headed manner handled the leftist lunitics with class and dignity. However, police did arrest one women who in addition to keckling the Congressman also deemed it justified to harrass his wife as well.

Video:



The leftist low lifes are simply and utterly unbelievable. Yet their method of operation has become quite predictable

Much more at the SHARK TANK and The Other McCain

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Other discussions @ Memeorandum

America's New Bingo Game

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Comservatism

Here is something to help make Obama's speeches almost tolerable. Just print this
page, distribute it to friends, and listen to his next speech. (rules are listed at
bottom)

Rules for Bullshit Bingo:
1. Before Barrack Obama's next televised speech, print your "Bullshit Bingo" card
2. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.
3. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and
shout "BULLSHIT!"

h/t: eronc63

Conventional Thinking - Possibly Wrong Again

There are basically two main theories as to how "we" got out of the Depression; 1) that the New Deal got us out and 2) that the second world war got us out. I've already addressed the first article of faith in a previous post (concluding that the New Deal was essentially a wash). In this one, I'll examine the latter................................................................................................To those who argue that WW2 got us out of the Depression, these people generally point to the significantly lower unemployment rate and the historic expansion of GDP (they also argue that this is proof-positive that Keynesian economics works). Rather than the New Deal programs (which a lot of these individuals actually saw as too anemic), these people say that it was the amped up production necessitated by the war that finally got the economy moving............................................................................................Of course, what these folks refrain from telling us is that a lot of that reduction in unemployment came from a huge increase in the number of people serving in the military. It was largely this military build-up, and not an expansion of economic activity (not that that wasn't a factor at all, mind you; the manufacturing of weaponry, etc.), that sharply reduced the unemployment rate...............................................................................................There were also other factors indicative of a non-recovering economy. 1) The production of non-durable civilian goods significantly decreased. 2) Consumption itself fell. 3) Rationing increased and increased sharply. 4) Income taxes went up FOR EVERYBODY. 5) Investment spending decreased. 6) Price controls continued and, more than likely, hid significant inflation..............................................................................................So, if the New Deal didn't get us out the Depression, and the second world war didn't get us out of the Depression, what ultimately did. According to a lot of these so-called revisionist historians, the U.S. market didn't really come back to life until AFTER the war. President Truman and the Congress a) lifted price controls and b) peeled back even further on trade tariffs. Rationing ended and a freer economic landscape emerged. Probably, though, the most important factor of all was simply the stark difference between Truman and Roosevelt. While the latter was constantly raising taxes (and/or threatening to), badmouthing the business community, etc., the former put forth a significantly more positive approach....I think that we all know the importance of that these days.

Fascism and Crony Capitalism: Feds Attempt to Oust Howard Solomon of Forest Labs

It was called fascism when Bush did it

by the Left Coast Rebel

Bear with me, this issue may seem convoluted, but it is anything but. As reported by Alicia Mundy in the Wall Street Journal, yesterday:

A government attempt to oust a longtime drug-company chief executive over his company's marketing violations is raising alarms in that industry and beyond about a potential expansion of federal involvement in the business world.

The Department of Health and Human Services this month notified Howard Solomon of Forest Laboratories Inc. that it intends to exclude him from doing business with the federal government. This, in turn, could prevent Forest from selling its drugs to Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration. If the government implements its ban, Forest would have to dump Mr. Solomon, now 83 years old, in order to protect its corporate revenue. No drug company, large or small, can afford to lose out on sales to the federal government, a major customer.

(SNIP)

A federal court made the deal final in March. Forest Labs representatives said they were shocked when the intent-to-ban notice was received a few weeks later, because Mr. Solomon wasn't accused by the government of misconduct.

Forest is sticking by its chief. "No one has ever alleged that Mr. Solomon did anything wrong, and excluding him [from the industry] is unjustified," said general counsel Herschel Weinstein. "It would also set an extremely troubling precedent that would create uncertainty throughout the industry and discourage regulatory settlements."

There are so many moving parts to this story but I think that, for the most part it comes down to one simple phrase: crony capitalism (and a government so big and intrusive that it now believes it can pick and choose "proper" corporate management).

And as we all know, crony capitalism is the incestuous stepson of a lovely form of government: fascism.

The definition of fascism from Dictionary.com:

fas·cism

[fash-iz-uhm]

( sometimes initial capital letter ) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce,and an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Well, we're not at the nationalism part, yet, given that the crony-capitalist-in-chief hates this nation so much, so we'll have to fudge the definition, just a little. The palpable hatred of business by our rulers betters, though, is a form of irrational hatred, similar to racism as well as a flaming form of collectivism.

Sadly, we live in a nation where a certain (and growing) number of the population would not mind if the hated "rich" captains of industry were thrown into a Siberia-esque prison and left to rot.

I want my country, my Constitution and my liberties back.

Via Memeorandum.

Related must watch: Congressman Ron Paul questions Ben Bernanke on the Free Market vs. Crony Capitalism (look closely when Bernanke answers with a non-answer and you will see that Code Pinko -- what's her name? -- in the crowd as well):

Updated: I wanted my tea-partying, cyclist-libertarian-vegan-populist-capitalist-pig-financial-guru buddy, WC Varone's take on the story. In the inbox:

I think this is the inevitable result of allowing the government to be such a huge buyer in the economy.

When the government is the only customer, what choice do companies have but to obey?

Same thing with Boeing and the NLRB. If they fight, Obama will punish them on procurement.

Yup.

Hey! Didn't you Know that Obama is a "moderate" Republican?

Teenage-faced useful idiot for the far-left cause
WaPo's Ezra Klein: in it so deep that rubber
galoshes are required

by the Left Coast Rebel

Via. Newsbusters:

Liberals are always trying to place themselves in the center. Washington Post business columnist Ezra Klein tried out the old saw on Tuesday that just as Bill Clinton described himself pejoratively as an “Eisenhower Republican,” Barack Obama isn’t a socialist, he’s a moderate Republican of the George H.W. Bush era:

Perhaps this is just the logical endpoint of two years spent arguing over what Barack Obama is — or isn’t. Muslim. Socialist. Marxist. Anti-colonialist. Racial healer. We’ve obsessed over every answer except the right one: President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican of the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him.

If you put aside the emergency measures required by the financial crisis, three major policy ideas have dominated American politics in recent years: a plan that uses an individual mandate and tax subsidies to achieve near-universal health care; a cap-and-trade plan that attempts to raise the prices of environmental pollutants to better account for their costs; and bringing tax rates up from their Bush-era lows as part of a bid to reduce the deficit. In each case, the position that Obama and the Democrats have staked out is the very position that moderate Republicans have staked out before.

Klein has a huge “but” in this theory – if you leave out the massive stimulus program and TARP and taking over the auto industry, he’s not a socialist.

Ezra Klein (pictured in true form at the top of this post) has thrown down the gauntlet and gotten his useful-idiot marching orders to spread this "moderate" meme but like anything out of the press these days concerning Obama, the fiction is stranger than the truth.

In all fairness, Obama's undying affection for bankrupting debt, unpaid wars, bailouts et al. just throws steroids and jet fuel on top of the legacy of another: the disaster that we are in the midst of began in earnest under the profligate-presidency of George W. Bush (who was anything but a conservative or a moderate, but in actuality a big-government progressive himself).

But Obama The Moderate?

That's just the darndest-stupid thing I have read in a while, defies any semblance of logic, and is something only capable of a liberal academic head-in-the-sand type!

Ezra Klein was the teen-aged smiling face of Journolister (the 400+ press-only club that secretly got together to figure out how to trash the right and help elect Obama, among other things), so it figures that he is pushing this right now.

It's a not-so-subtle way of him saying, "hey, look, independents and swing voters, Obama's really not a far-left, South American-esque, saber-rattling class warrior!"

Will it work?

Cross posted to Proof Positive, Libertarian Patriot, Rational Nation and Right Klik.

A Joke... "The Donad"

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

I am guessing there is the possibility as I post the following video I do so at  great peril to the health of this site. However, those that regularly read Rational Nation USA already understand the site is not a supporter of  "The Donald."  A man that is as blatantly opportunistic and as self centered an individual {in the worst possible way}, as anybody we can think of.

When the Objectivist  considers "The Donald" they certainly don't find objective and rational thought. The sooner he fades away the better.

As is proper {and right}, Rational Nation give a huge h/t to Progressive Eruptions for the following video.

The Daily Show - Back in Black - Trump 2012
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Those of independent and objective thought should seriously consider the candidacy of Gary Johnson.

Via: Memeorandum

Supreme Court Rejects Fast Tracking ObamaCare

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

The Supreme Court has correctly decided to allow the challenge to ObamaCare, the President's misguided so called health care reform law, to proceed through the federal appeals courts before hearing the case. In as much as I don't like the decision it is the proper protocol to follow.

By the Associated Press and carried by Yahoo News.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation will continue in federal appeals courts.

The justices turned down a request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a leading opponent of the law, to resolve questions about its constitutionality quickly. The Obama administration opposed Cuccinelli's plea.

Only rarely, in wartime or a constitutional crisis, does the court step into a legal fight before the issues are aired in appellate courts. Hearings already are scheduled in May and June in three appeals courts.

The case still could reach the high court in time for a decision by early summer 2012.

Cuccinelli said he asked for speedy review to end "crippling and costly uncertainty" about the law.

"Expediting our case would have been the exception and so, although disappointing, this is not surprising," he said.

Justice Elena Kagan apparently took part in the court's order Monday, as there was no announcement that any justice sat out. There had been questions about whether she would participate because she served as Obama's solicitor general when the law was passed. Kagan indicated in Senate testimony last year that she played no role in the administration's planning and handling of challenges to the law.

So far, five federal judges have ruled on challenges to the law. Two Republican appointees, in Florida and Virginia, have declared it unconstitutional in whole or in part. Three Democratic appointees, in Michigan, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have upheld it.

Cuccinelli filed suit on behalf of Virginia, while 26 states joined in a separate lawsuit in Florida claiming that Congress exceeded its authority in requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.

In December, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond declared that the individual mandate, the heart of the sweeping legislation, is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida came to the same conclusion in January in striking down the law in its entirety.

Both rulings have been put on hold pending appeals.

In the meantime, the federal and state governments have begun to put in place other parts of the law, including changes in payment rates under the Medicare system for older and disabled Americans and a provision allowing children up to age 26 to remain on the parents' health insurance policies.

It seems clear the longer the time that passes before this case makes it to the High Court the less likely Obama's {and the democratic impending disaster] will be overturned.

More at  Pajamas Media and Michelle Malkin.

More discussions @ Memeorandum

Ann Miller, Folks

The greatest female tap dancer ever (sorry Eleanor Powell fans, but it's true), and the hottest sweetness this side of Cyd Charisse. She probably should have come with a warning-label, frankly.

From the Least Likely Sources

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

Several months after the Federal Reserve initiated it's experiment to spur economic recovery by buying large quantities of federal debt The New York Times is reporting most economist now view the effort as disappointing.

But most Americans are not feeling the difference, in part because those benefits have been surprisingly small. The latest estimates from economists, in fact, suggest that the pace of recovery from the global financial crisis has flagged since November, when the Fed started buying $600 billion in Treasury securities to push private dollars into investments that create jobs.

As the Fed’s policy-making board prepares to meet Tuesday and Wednesday — after which the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, will hold a news conference for the first time to explain its decisions to the public — a broad range of economists say that the disappointing results show the limits of the central bank’s ability to lift the nation from its economic malaise. {Read More}

Of course The New York Times failed to make mention of the fact that Sarah Palin had figured out the plan wouldn't work back in November.

From the New York Sun:

The big question as Chairman Bernanke gets set for his first quarterly press conference is how Sarah Palin was able to figure out sooner than everyone else that the Federal Reserve’s campaign of quantitative easing wouldn’t work. Disappointment in the Fed’s policies is being reported this morning at the top of page one of the New York Times. It reports that “most Americans are not feeling the difference” from the Fed’s “experimental effort to spur a recovery by purchasing vast quantities of federal debt.” It reports that “a broad range of economists say that the disappointing results show the limits of the central bank’s ability to lift the nation from its economic malaise.”

It’s a terrific story, and well-timed, given that on Wednesday Mr. Bernanke will break tradition and meet with the press. It is part of the Fed’s effort to get ahead of what is emerging as a public relations catastrophe, as gasoline is nearing six dollars a gallon at some pumps, the cost of groceries is skyrocketing, and the value of the dollars that Mr. Bernanke’s institution issues as Federal Reserve notes has collapsed to less than a 1,500th of an ounce of gold. Unemployment is still high. Shakespeare couldn’t come up with a better plot. But how in the world did Mrs. Palin, who is supposed to be so thick, manage to figure all this out so far ahead of the New York Times and all the economists it talked to? {Read More}

It seems we ought to trust less the views of the so called "experts" and begin placing more trust in those folks with just good old fashioned common sense. Ya think?

More at The Lonely Conservative and Professor Jacobson's Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion.

More Discussions @ Memeorandum

Moonbats, Reporters, and MSNBC

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism


One has to wonder, I mean really really wonder about the Moonbats that heavily populate the democratic party, and the progressive movement. Author and reporter David Cay Johnston has just taken Moonbattery to new heights. I mean really new heights!

During an MSNBC segment with Ed Schultz {one of the moonbats} discussing Rep. Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity deficit reduction proposal he questioned Ryan's legitimacy because he is an advocate of Rand's views. He pointed to Rand's bestseller The Fountainhead , a story about a fiercely individualistic young struggling architect as as a reason to question Rep. Ryan's legitimacy.

Of course by condensing the entire plot to a singular event in the book, without giving proper lead in and explanation, Mr. Johnston was attempting to question not only Ryan's legitimacy, but his motive and integrity as well.

Excerpt  and video from The Daily Caller

...Johnston called in to question Ryan’s legitimacy, as he’s a fan of Ayn Rand. And according to Johnston, in Rand’s book, “The Fountainhead,” the fictional character Howard Roark blows up a building, and that means people should evaluate the possibility Ryan is a proponent of blowing up buildings.

“You know, Congressman Ryan requires his staff to read Ayn Rand, whose fictional hero, Howard Roark, is a man who blew up a building because it wasn’t built exactly to his specifications as the architect,” Johnston said. “I mean, that’s the kind of society we want where our leaders say, not only are we taking from the sick and poor but we’re going to hold out as a model people who commit felonies like blowing up buildings....

Video:


Aside from the obvious class envy and class warfare card the progressives have always played, Mr Johnston also took a very cheap shot at both Rep. Ryan and Ayn Rand, the author of a book that has sold over 6.5 million copies world wide. There has never been an incident of someone blowing up a building or a terrorist act as a result of someone having read The Fountainhead.

Now a video that actually captures the very essence of Ayn Rands novel The Fountainhead.



Beware of low flying progressive Moonbats!

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Via: Memeorandum

Ending My Week on a Cultural Note

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

There are times I feel in a more, shall we say, cultural mood. In hearkening back to my musical past, which was by and large classical, I found myself listening to the great work of a fine Russian composer, Tchaikovsky.

So, in keeping with my weekly music selection here is the 1812 Overture Finale by Tchaikovsky.



A true musical masterpiece. For those who enjoyed the finale here's the link to the complete Overture.

Have a great week!

The British Public (maybe America's too) Recognizing That Welfare Does NOT Equal Fairness

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

Having just logged into Memeorandum I came across a most interesting article written for The Telegraph by British columnist Jane Daly . I was impressed by the articles content, especially since Briton is an example of European socialism at it's best {or worst}, depending on your perspective.

Like a mythical traveller seeking truth, a think tank has asked a profound question: what is fairness? And lo, the people have answered with (almost) one voice: what "fair" means is that those who are deserving shall receive, and those who are not shall be – well, not exactly cast out, but certainly not entitled to everything that's going.

As we report today, Policy Exchange – supposedly the Prime Minister's favourite ideas outlet – has done a brave and unusual thing. Rather than polling the public just on policy and voting intention, it has put a far more abstract moral issue before them. It instructed the pollsters at YouGov to find out precisely what the public thought the most powerful term of approbation in the political lexicon – "fair" – actually amounted to.

The quite unequivocal reply that was received (with breathtakingly enormous majorities in some forms) came as no surprise to this column. To most voters, fairness does not mean an equal distribution of resources and wealth, or even a redistribution of these things according to need. It means, as the report's title – "Just Deserts" – implies, that people get what they deserve. And what is deserved, the respondents made clear, refers to that which is achieved by effort, talent or dedication to duty: in other words, earned on merit.

As I have written so often on this page, when ordinary people use the word "fair", they mean that you should get out of life pretty much what you put in. Or, as the report's authors put it, "Voters' idea of fairness is strongly reciprocal – something for something." By obvious inference, a "something for nothing" society is the opposite of fair. And this view, interestingly, is expressed by Labour voters in pretty much the same proportion as all others.

Imagine that. After all these years of being morally blackmailed by the poverty lobby, harried by socialist ideologues and shouted at by self-serving public sector axe-grinders, the people are not cowed. Even after being bludgeoned by the BBC thought monitors and browbeaten by Left-liberal media academics with the soft Marxist view of a "fair" society – from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs – they have not bought it. They do not believe that if people are poor, it is necessarily society's fault, and therefore society's duty to deal with the consequences. {Read More}

I believe poll results in America would reflect the same if pollsters were to ask the proper non leading questions. Or, perhaps it is just that Britons, having been exposed to the socialist lie longer than Americans are seeing the truth. I leave it up to you, my readers to decide.

Professor Jacobson over at Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion addresses the same issue from an American perspective. Visit his sight and check it out.

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Discussions @ Memeorandum

As Our National Debt Crisis Looms...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism

Remember David Stockman, a former Republican representative from Michigan and the director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985 during the first Reagan term?

I caught the following at Memeorandum this morning. Mr. Stockman presents a case worth considering as he analyses both sides in the debt/deficit issue.

IT is obvious that the nation’s desperate fiscal condition requires higher taxes on the middle class, not just the richest 2 percent. Likewise, entitlement reform requires means-testing the giant Social Security and Medicare programs, not merely squeezing the far smaller safety net in areas like Medicaid and food stamps.

Unfortunately, in proposing tax increases only for the very rich, President Obama has denied the first of these fiscal truths, while Representative Paul D. Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has contradicted the second by putting the entire burden of entitlement reform on the poor. The resulting squabble is not only deepening the fiscal stalemate, but also bringing us dangerously close to class war.

This lamentable prospect is deeply grounded in the policy-driven transformation of the economy during recent decades that has shifted income and wealth to the top of the economic ladder. While not the stated objective of policy, this reverse Robin Hood outcome cannot be gainsaid: the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent of households has risen to 35 percent from 21 percent since 1979, while their share of income has more than doubled to around 20 percent.

The culprit here was the combination of ultralow rates of interest at the Federal Reserve and ultralow rates of taxation on capital gains. The former destroyed the nation’s capital markets, fueling huge growth in household and business debt, serial asset bubbles and endless leveraged speculation in equities, commodities, currencies and other assets.

At the same time, the nearly untaxed windfall gains accrued to pure financial speculators, not the backyard inventors envisioned by the Republican-inspired capital-gains tax revolution of 1978. And they happened in an environment of essentially zero inflation, the opposite of the double-digit inflation that justified a lower tax rate on capital gains back then — but which is now simply an obsolete tax subsidy to the rich.

In attacking the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent of taxpayers, the president is only incidentally addressing the deficit. The larger purpose is to assure the vast bulk of Americans left behind that they will be spared higher taxes — even though entitlements make a tax increase unavoidable. Mr. Obama is thus playing the class-war card more aggressively than any Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt — surpassing Harry S. Truman or John F. Kennedy when they attacked big business or Lyndon B. Johnson or Jimmy Carter when they posed as champions of the little guy.

On the other side, Representative Ryan fails to recognize that we are not in an era of old-time enterprise capitalism in which the gospel of low tax rates and incentives to create wealth might have had relevance. A quasi-bankrupt nation saddled with rampant casino capitalism on Wall Street and a disemboweled, offshored economy on Main Street requires practical and equitable ways to pay its bills. {Read More}

On balance Stockman acknowledges that we are in serious trouble, we are one the verge of class warfare, and that a combination of spending nuts and tax increases on both the wealthy and the middle class will be required. His point that Washington has kept dodging the looming debt crisis by apply quick fixes and pushing the problem off into the future is spot on.

I certainly do not agree with everything Mr. Stockman says, but perhaps President Obama and Paul Ryan, as well as Congress ought to consider employing him as they work out a hopefully successful budget/spending cut/tax process.

After all, in all reality our nation's economic future depends on it. And that means the economic future of each and every one of us.

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Discussions @ Memeorandum

California Handing out Money for Booze and Cigs: One News Story that sums up the Entire Welfare State Disaster

California: A beautiful place destroyed by socialism

by the Left Coast Rebel

I hate to admit this but for the most part, I really don't follow California politics any more. Sure, my Once Golden State is a shining rusted-over and decaying example of what liberalism/progressive policy and the entitlement mentality does to a once-thriving society but the argument against further destruction is a useless enterprise. Their comes a day -- as with the parent of a spoiled child -- where one throws up his hands and says ''to hell with it, he has to learn by his own mistakes!"

It's simply disgusting and even more disgusting is that the fools that inhabit this place want more of it because they have yet to pay the price! Remember, there was only one area of the country that didn't say Hell No! to the Obamanation agenda last November.

And you know what? These people vote -- and outnumber productive earners twofold -- and they send fools to Sacramento that think "assistance" dollars should go to those who don't (and in many cases, choose not to) work and instead opt to live the Life of Riley while you and I and the dwindling percentage (a tad over 30% of the population, according to the 2010 Census) that work here haven't yet fled and pick up the tab with the highest taxes and lowest quality of life to show for it in the entire nation! (sighing as I catch my breath).

Good news, though: The Life of Riley now officially includes a taxpayer-supported buzz:

On a straight party-line vote California lawmakers gave the green light for welfare recipients to purchase alcohol and tobacco products using taxpayer money. The insanity in the Golden State continues despite the state’s $23 billion deficit and double-digit unemployment.
[…]
The Golden State doles out welfare benefits through the CalWORKS program. In the past welfare recipients were not allowed to buy beer and cigarettes, but compassionate state lawmakers decided it wasn’t fair to stop TAXPAYER money from being used to subsidize non-essential bad habits.

“You would think a simple common sense reform like trying to make sure taxpayer money is not used for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco would find bi-partisan support,” said GOP State Senator Bob Dutton.

No such luck in California, Dutton, SB417’s sponsor saw his legislation to save taxpayer money fail on a straight party-line vote.
[…]
“These funds are designed help the neediest in California meet their basic requirements of providing food, clothing and shelter,” Senator Dutton quipped. “I doubt there’s not a taxpayer in this state who believes purchasing alcohol or tobacco with welfare money constitutes a basic need and should be allowed.”

Senator Dutton also explained that more than half of welfare beneficiaries are parents who are no longer eligible for state aid, but still receive cash assistance on behalf of their anchor baby children.

What's next? Food stamps for medical marijuana?

Love him or hate him, Ron Paul has been warning Americans of incrementalism like this for decades: government programs (like welfare, assistance, food stamps, et al.) start out with "noble" intentions but end up becoming a beast that devours the individual soul, creates giant swaths of dependant classes, squeezes creative, productive earners and eventually creates the precise opposite of the purported intended consequence.

In other words: welfare checks paying for booze and cigs, rubber-stamped by statist fools in Sacramento.

California is the nation's canary in the coal mine and the White House is inhabited by moonbats that think the Once Golden State model is the model for the nation.

Hat-tip to Full Metal Patriot. Cross posted to Proof Positive, Libertarian Patriot and Rational Nation.