Now, give us your GPS coordinates so we can “forward” you a more direct reply.
Why wait for the future when the ugliness comes straight from the candidate’s mouth?
“[Social Security] is the most successful domestic program in the history of the United States,” [Hillary] Clinton said to applause from seniors gathered in Washington to push their policy agenda. “When I’m president, privatization is off the table because it’s not the answer to anything.”
Socialist Security is on the verge of financial collapse, yet Girl Marx thinks it’s the worker bee’s knees.
And of course, in Billary’s World, privatization is evil. How dare individuals make their own choices?
Related: Lest he be upstaged, John Edwards give Americans a taste of his own authoritative medicine.
A message from the not-so-distant future? You decide (via Hot Air).
P.S.: I’m back.
A commentary on the current situation, as presented by “Old Blood and Guts” (voiced by Mike Kaminsky):
231 years ago today, 56 men laid their lives on the line in a stand against tyranny and a quest for liberty.
In light of current events, what will you do to help defend our hard-fought liberties?
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
———————— The 56 signatures on the Declaration:
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George WaltonNorth Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John PennSouth Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur MiddletonMassachusetts:
John HancockMaryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of CarrolltonVirginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter BraxtonPennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George RossDelaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKeanNew York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis MorrisNew Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham ClarkNew Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William WhippleMassachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge GerryRhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William ElleryConnecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver WolcottNew Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
Bonus Material: The R-J offers today’s history lesson. Can you or others answer the questions mentioned in the op-ed with all honesty?
Just as Sheryl Crow comes up with a new way to wipe away the global warming mess (surely she “jests”), a cleansing counterpoint to “An Inconvenient Truth” has been released.
Be sure to check out the documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth . . . or Convenient Fiction?” right now, and tell your friends. Unlike Al Gore’s “carbon offsets”, it won’t cost you anything.
(hat tip: Flopping Aces & Sparks from the Anvil)
Tennessee steps forward to declare their public buildings Self-Defense Zones:
NASHVILLE — In a surprise move, a House panel voted today to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments — including parks and playgrounds.
“I think the recent Virginia disaster — or catastrophe or nightmare or whatever you want to call it — has woken up a lot of people to the need for having guns available to law-abiding citizens,” said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. “I hope that is what this vote reflects.”
Columnist Jason Whitlock sounds off:
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.
You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.
Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again. […]
I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.
I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.
But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$. […]
In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
By the way, I disagree with Whitlock on one thing: Both Jackson and Sharpton are bragged-on gold-diggas; two shameless, race-baiting man-whores pimping themselves to the highest bidder.
To make a long story short, the race warlords won’t have the I-Man to kick around anymore, and all is well in the world again. Not.
“I applaud CBS for listening to reason and canceling Imus in the Morning. Viewers and listeners sent the clear message that they would no longer tolerate bigotry on America’s airwaves,” said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America, the organization first to post on Don Imus’ racist comments of April 4th. “It is our hope that this incident will begin a broader conversation about the responsibility that news corporations, journalists, and media figures have to the American public. This is an opportunity for the media to truly raise the bar to a higher standard and return to the fundamentals of journalism.”
So, raising the bar would be to address the double-standard applied to black entertainment, where so-called “entertainers” denigrate our own and nobody holds them accountable? Where self-appointed “leaders” spew hateful ephithets, incite violence, and cry wolf ad nauseum for a dollar — but never are they called out on their blatant hypocrisy?
Oh, no. We must go after those “racists” on the airwaves. Let’s ruin their careers and take away their livelihoods. They deserve to starve!
Better yet, let’s just abolish the First Amendment while we’re at it. And anybody who dares to say anything that might offend somebody else will be stoned to death — after making a public apology and being subjected to a verbal lashing by the “Reverends” Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson — two men who themselves who are not without sin, but are ready, willing, and able to throw stones at the drop of a dime.
Related: James Hudnall also mentions that Imus is politically liberal, though the left-wing Thought Police are now trying to brand him as a conservative (to justify going after those evil, pesky, “hate radio” types, of course…). RTWT.
Update (4/13): David Brin comments.
Update (4/16): Jason Whitlock calls for Jackson and Sharpton to step down from their “leadership” positions.
Prince Charles Calls for Ban on McDonald’s Restaurants and Big Macs
The Prince of Wales told a nutritionist in Abu Dhabi Tuesday that the “key” to people eating healthily was to ban McDonald’s fast food restaurants.
Prince Charles was attending the launch of a public health awareness campaign aimed at fighting diabetes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He visited the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre and watched as a group of children chose from a selection of “good” and “bad” snacks for their school packed lunches.
Talking to Nadine Tayara, a nutritionist from the centre who had put the children through their paces, he asked her: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”
A McDonald’s spokeswoman said that Charles’s remark was “disappointing”.
Other members of his family had visited the fast-food chain, she said, and “have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us.”
It’s sad that Charles would blatantly call for the use of government to ban goods and services “for the common good”. The saddest part, however, is that his home country has been marching down that path for quite some time now. Maybe a Big Mac would change his bland disposition (the late Princess Diana tried to get him to lighten up, bless her heart…).
It’s up to the individual (or in the case of children, their parents), and not government, to choose healthy food options. While too much fast food can be a bad thing, a governmental ban just isn’t the answer. Market forces have caused Mickey D’s and other burger joints to offer healthier items on their menus, and they can do just fine without an also-ran to the British crown mucking things up.
From the Las Vegas Business Press:
New Year 2007 isn’t starting on such a happy note for bars and taverns forced to choose between smoking and selling food. Many are opting to let their customers light up, shutting down their kitchens and laying off staff as the Southern Nevada Health District gets ready to enforce the Clean Indoor Air Act (aka Question 5).
Kilroy’s is closing its kitchen on Jan. 13 and cutting about 25 jobs. Another 30 employees have voluntarily left the Inn Zone’s five restaurants after being told their days on the job were numbered, according to Inn Zone owner Mike Jacobi. Three Inn Zone kitchens closed New Year’s Day.
Jacobi expects the number of employees losing their jobs to reach 40 or 50 when the last two Inn Zone bar-restaurants serve their final meal sometime this month. “Employees have left to find other work,” said Jacobi, who co-owns the taverns with his father, Jake. “It’s hard to find people to take jobs that won’t be there in two or three weeks.” […]
Kilroy’s, a bar-restaurant that was once known for what the Food Network called the “best hamburger in Las Vegas,” will miss out on some business, especially from tourists seeking the famous burger. Kilroy’s first opened in 1991 and now has two locations. The employees were given their notices Thursday — three days after Christmas.
Co-owner Paul Lampi said the decision was made because most of his gambling customers are smokers, so he would have lost more money eliminating smoking than by cutting out food service: “Even though I do about a million (dollars) in food (sales), I am lucky if I make even a six or seven percent (margin) on it.”
I’ll miss having a burger at Kilroy’s. Whenever I dined there with friends, the dining section was mostly non-smoking, as smokers lit up in the bar. Both locations were well-ventlilated, too.
Sadly, businesses are now forced to make a decision concerning the bottom line. For most Vegas bars and taverns, drinking and gambling are the big moneymakers; the kitchens serve as a value-added option for those who want to eat without leaving to go someplace else.
As a non-smoker, I’m all for clean air. Although I’m personally not fond of smoke-filled rooms, I have the freedom to choose non-smoking venues. With the implentation of the statist Clean Indoor Air Act (which was touted as being “for the children”), tavern owners are more or less being told how to run their businesses (where no one under 21 is allowed), as their freedom to choose is being taken away. Also, smokers are being singled out for choosing to light up (which is the real motivation behind anti-smoking laws, as militant anti-smokers seek to force their views upon others through legislation).
What’s next? A ban on liquor and gaming licenses for bars that allow smoking?
In the meantime, anybody interested in a last hurrah of burgers and fries at Kilroy’s this weekend (in the non-smoking section)? Drop me a line.
Update (1/10): I just confirmed that Kilroy’s is keeping their kitchens at both locations open until further notice as the debate over the smoking ban continues. It looks like the nannies haven’t won yet!
I confess that I’m not into nu-metal, but I’m really diggin’ the stylings of Stuck Mojo.
Check out “Open Season” (and the slammin’ remix). And as for the overreacting PC-playa-haters, who “CAIRs” what they think?
(hat tip: LGF)
Related: CAIR dodges the tough questions (and reveals its anti-Israel bent) on CNN.
I found this rare gem of a letter in today’s R-J:
Lawmakers always want more money
To the editor:
I consider myself to be very liberal. Some might even say that I am a bit socialist. But Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen’s proposal to have the state seize funds from unused, expired gift cards is communism — or more likely outright theft (Dec. 25 Review-Journal).
Whatever the assemblyman wants to use the unused gift card money for, it’s wrong. Even if it’s for cancer research or feeding the hungry, I don’t see how Nevada government can take this money from businesses or the public.
If I buy a sweater and I don’t use it, the government shouldn’t be able to come in and take it from me and give it to someone less fortunate. It’s not the best thing, me having a perfectly good sweater just sitting in my closet, but it’s my choice.
How are gift cards different? I thought governments were going after retailers for having expiration dates on gift cards and service fees. If so, then let’s go after retailers who are making a killing on unused gift cards. But don’t make the situation worse by commandeering private property, especially when Nevada has a budget surplus.
This is the worst thing I’ve heard in a long time. Why doesn’t the Legislature do a better job of managing what they have and weed out crooks in their own midst instead of trying to take more from the public?
Tahirih Kempf
HENDERSON
Run for your life, Tahirih! Kihuen and the Confiscation Cops of Nevada’s state assembly (aka the Democrats) might come after you. To them, everything belongs to the state!
An intellectual warrior for free markets and free minds has died at the age of 94.
A statement from the Friedman Foundation:
Today, upon news of the death of Nobel Laureate economist Dr. Milton Friedman, Gordon St. Angelo, president and CEO of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, offered the following statement:
America has lost a true visionary and advocate for human freedom. And I have lost a great friend.
Milton’s passion for freedom and liberty has influenced more lives than he ever could possibly know. His writings and ideas have transformed the minds of U.S. Presidents, world leaders, entrepreneurs and freshmen economic majors alike. The loss of his passion, incisive mind and dedication to freedom are all national treasures that we mourn for today.
Milton never chose to slow down; even at 94 he kept fighting to bring educational equality to all of America’s children. And it’s this vision, this drive for educational liberty that the Friedman Foundation will continue to bring to families throughout America.
His impact on my life over the last 33 years was significant. His impact on the world was momentous. Without a doubt, few people have done more to advance civil and economic liberties throughout the world during their lifetime than Dr. Milton Friedman.
I am proud to say the I was among the many who was influenced by Milton Friedman’s passion, writings, and ideas — which led me to embrace libertarianism. Two of my favorite books, Free to Choose and Capitalism and Freedom, helped change my outlook on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for the better.
Those of us dedicated to the cause of liberty are forever in his debt.
Milton Friedman is gone from our lives, but his passion, writings, and ideals shall live on forever in our hearts and minds.
Related: Commentary from Jim Rose, Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, and Pejman Yousefzadeh
From the man who brought you “Airplane!”, “The Naked Gun”, and “Scary Movie 4″, the painful (yet funny) truth:
Also, beware of pooch-packing grannies at the airport:
Oh, by the way, enjoy YouTube while you can.
Update: GooTube: Champions of Free Expression!
Having heard the nihilistic lunacy from the comic act of Hugo & Madi performing live at the East River Playhouse, I was quite fumed along with most of the blogosphere. Then IMAO comes along with an offering of what might have been…