I could only cringe when I saw the February 16, 2009, cover of Newsweek, “We Are All Socialists Now”. Count me out. The 20th century was the Century of Socialism, and it’s high time we dispose of that horrific philosophy forever. At least 120 million innocent people died at the hands of their own socialist governments. Millions more, both military and civilian, died in two world wars and countless smaller conflicts with socialist/communist/fascist governments. While we avoided outright socialism here, socialist experiments from the New Deal to the Great Society held millions of Americans in poverty in a land of plenty and of opportunity. That centerpiece of FDR’s legacy, Socialist Insecurity, may soon bankrupt us as a nation. Socialism has proven an abject failure every where and every time it has been tried. Individual liberty and private property rights lead to peace and prosperity. Socialism leads inevitably to destitution and death. So NEVER call me a socialist. Many cling to the false promises of socialism with the best of intentions, but the proof is in and it is incontrovertible. I will fight the scourge of socialism until I draw my last breath on this earth.
February 11, 2009
February 6, 2009
NO Stimulus
Writing to politicians is not how I usually spend my time, but today I wrote to both of my senators, pleading with them to vote NO on the mis-named “stimulus” bill currently under discussion. This bill is nothing more than an accumulation of some 20 years of old, bad ideas for pork barrel spending. Most of these proposals are so bad, in fact, that they were never able to slide through in some earlier pork-laden bill in Congress, which has been passing pork barrel spending at record levels for years. These proposals would never stand a chance of passing on their own merits, so they have been accumulated and dumped into this disastrous hodge-podge of bad ideas being rushed through when people are frightened enough to swallow almost anything. I know Rahm Emmanuel says “never let a crisis go to waste”, but this bill is far worse than a waste. This bill is using a crisis to do serious damage to our economy for generations to come. I have 5 granddaughters; I do not want to saddle them with this catastrophic burden. While real stimulus might be helpful, our economy would be far better off if the government did absolutely nothing, rather than pass this bill. And if you still think we need a stimulus package, please watch this video for a lighter take on the topic.
January 21, 2009
Thought for the Morning After
In his Inaugural Address yesterday, Barack Obama said:
“The time has come to set aside childish things.”
Perhaps if the government stopped trying to be our Nanny State, we would be a little less childish.
December 20, 2008
December 2, 2008
Auto Industry Thought for the Day
How many times have you heard politicians accuse the Big 3 automakers of “not making the cars that people want to buy”? I, for one, am tired of hearing it. I’m not an apologist for bad management decision making in any industry, but nobody in Detroit ever wanted to build cars that wouldn’t sell. Unfortunately, the titans of industry wannabes in Congress think that they know what cars people want better than industry management. Indeed, they think they know better than the people themselves! In a nutshell, Detroit would be delighted to build cars you want to buy, it’s the politicians who want to tell you what you can drive. So the next time you hear some politician say Detroit doesn’t make cars that people want to buy, paraphrase it this way: “Detroit can’t make money building cars designed by Congressional committee that nobody wants to buy”! Think of that marvel of German engineering/central planning, the Trabant. Or the Yugo. If Nancy Pelosi has her way, Detroit will get a bailout all right, but it will come with so many strings attached that you’ll be wishing you could buy a Trabant!
November 5, 2008
November 4, 2008
October 28, 2008
Liberty for all, or power to the few?
Chicago Tribune readers were treated to a rare commentary on liberty Sunday morning (October 26). John Kass, (who does excellent work exposing Illinois corruption) wrote a great column exposing how we baby boomers, the anti-establishment movement of the ’60s, have fallen hook, line and sinker for the siren song of big government. It’s a great story, read it here. His analogy to wild pigs is entertaining and appropriate, although probably too kind for We the Sheeple. As Benjamin Franklin said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
September 24, 2008
Thought for the Day
I used to think that government was a necessary evil. But after years of thoughtful consideration, I’ve concluded that I was only half right. Government is not necessary.
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