Borepatch has a nice post on progressivism (hat tip to Newbie Shooter). Here’s my current summary of progressive agenda:
1. Guarantee an expansive and virtually unfettered right of individuals to pursue all the meaningless distractions that modern life has to offer.
2. Restrict and regulate the areas of life that actually have real significance (freedom of expression, [...]
A simple observation to mark the occasion of Snowpocalypse II: I received a delivery today from UPS but not the Postal Service. Both are unionized but only one has the ethos of a for-profit company.
Coming on the heels of multiple huge snow storms, with another whopper on the way (to say nothing of the ClimateGate scandal, a now steady stream of revelations of errors in the IPCC plus potential ethical and legal problems among climate priests), the geniuses in the Obama (mis)administration are proposing to create a Climate Change [...]
New Jersey is a shining example of this. And there is finally some recognition of the fact that NJ is losing many of its wealthiest residents for blindingly obvious reasons: the taxes are too high and the business climate too hostile.
The left, of course, continues to be in denial about a basic fact of the [...]
There is just nothing I can say to prepare you for this. Enjoy.
I have seen repeatedly in the healthcare debate an argument from the left along the lines of “someone who is sick and uninsured isn’t really free”. I always thought that was a bizarre assertion. Well I recently read an article on the Progressive giant, John Dewey and that very formulation played a big role in [...]
The CRU hacking case just keeps getting better. Here is a detailed discussion of how the IPCC’s chart for 20th century temperatures in Australia completely contradicts the raw data. I’ll stop short of calling it fraud because that requires knowledge of motivations.
But I think the time has come for us to demand that all climate [...]
As I was writing the previous post on the craptastic legacy media, I realized there’s a remarkable parallel with the unfolding CRU hacked email scandal. When true believers (leftwing journalists in one case vs climate researchers in the other) control the input (reporting vs climate data) and the “unbiased” check on quality (editors vs peer [...]
Alex Tabarrok, in discussing business cycles, made an interesting observation. He wrote:
In the United States, for example, sales of the top 100 firms account for about 30% of GDP. (The share is even larger in most other developed economies.)
What caught my eye was that the 100 largest corporations represent a higher percent of the economy [...]
Is it me or is the Obamaphilic left more willing to trust in the benevolent intentions of the likes of Iran, Russia and Venezuela than in American businesses.
When William Beveridge laid out his blueprint for the modern British welfare state in 1942, his goal was the “abolition of want,” to be accomplished by “cooperation between the State and the individual.”
In attempting to insulate the citizenry from the vicissitudes of fate, Sir William has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams: Want has been all [...]
At what point does it become reasonable to describe the left as adhering to an ideology that is not supportive of freedom? I think the time has long since passed but it is difficult to press the case without sounding like a bit of a lunatic.
A couple reminders of this crossed my screen recently. First [...]
In today’s Wall Street Journal is a devastating piece on the deadly ideas pushed by Obama’s healthcare advisor, Dr. Zeke Emanuel (Rahm Emanuel’s brother). Zeke is not a fan of the idea that physicians should do everything they can for their patients. He argues that society’s needs have to be factored in. In practical terms [...]
I decline to celebrate the life of a man who wanted to give away my hard earned money and take away my freedom.
As if the media’s integrity wasn’t already in tatters, they continue to repeat the official line from the left that the public option is not a Trojan horse that would lead to nationalized healthcare. Why is it that users of YouTube can find a growing list of leftwing politicians, academics and activists who say that’s [...]
For many you Europeans, Western civilization comprises little more than pop music, soccer, a sexual free-for-all, social security programs and five-week holidays in exotic places: not a strong position from which to face either the economic or the ideological challenges of the day.
Theodore Dalrymple
In reading about the increasingly angry town hall meetings that politicians are facing courtesy of the Obama agenda, I am reminded of an old B.C. cartoon where the king’s advisor says “Sire, the peasants are revolting.” The kings responds “They certainly are”.
Well, the peasants are starting to revolt and I’m sure there’s many leftwing politicians [...]
The left has tried to dismiss the idea that healthcare reform that includes a public option would lead to a national, single payer plan. Yet when they are talking amongst themselves, they often say that’s exactly what will happen. Here is Barney “Fannie Mae” Frank as the latest example.
I sent the following Senators this afternoon.
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Dear Senator,
I absolutely oppose the healthcare reform bill currently being considered by the Senate (the Affordable Health Choices Act). While I support improvements to our healthcare system, this is fundamentally the wrong approach.
For one thing, the public option combined with the employer mandate or employer fine will clearly drive [...]
As readers of this blog may be aware, I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. When push comes to shove, however, I am more likely to hold my nose and vote GOP because they are generally less wrong (not exactly a ringing endorsement to be sure). But it’s safe to say I’m no GOP [...]