Sane Leftist Camille Paglia Explains The Palin Haters

Camille Paglia is an unapologetic Leftist, but she doesn't allow her ideology to diminish her humanity. That makes her the exception among Democrats and Leftists whose motto is "we hate therefore we are." Newsbusters highlights Paglia's attempt to explain the psychology of Palin Derangement Syndrome. Give Camille Paglia credit; her political ideology may be too far leftward, but she is a thoughtful and decent individual in terms of political debate.

Orrin Hatch: Czar of College Football

Orrin Hatch is supposed to be one of the solid, conservative leaders in the U.S. Senate, but with the a Son of Marx (Karl, NOT Groucho)leading our nation over the cliff the gentleman from Utah is worried about college football. You see, the mighty Utah Utes may (or may not) have gotten a raw deal from the Bowl Championship Series system that is currently used by the NCAA. Look, I personally find the BCS system idiotic and the automatic tie-ins to minor bowls an unfortunate change brought about by economics not better product. Ten or twelve or eighteen of the current bowls should be eliminated. Of course, a 6-6 record (a 50% grade) is seen by many as a sign of excellence these days. But, that is a sports discussion that is not worth the time of the U.S. Senate.


The point is, Senator Hatch, Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama has nationalized car companies, nationalized banks, fired executives, and vowed to continue the same practices that got those industries into trouble in the first place. Big BrObama is demanding we gut our energy system for unreliable and unproven alternatives; he is telling the world how terrible the United States is at every opportunity; he is working to destroy the world's greatest health care system in favor of a nanny-state medical system that has failed everywhere in the world; he is appointing federal judges who do not believe the U.S. Constitution has a place in the 21st century; and he is using federal programs to pay people to advance his political ideologies and priorities through propaganda campaigns. The media is in the tank for the radical Left. The entertainment and education systems are dominated by the hardcore Left. So, with all of this facing this great nation why in the name of Merlin Olsen are you ignoring all of these issues so that you can focus on college football bowl games? Geez, Senator Al Franken is more serious about the job than that.


One more thing, Senator Hatch. It's none of your business. At least it isn't in your job as a Senator. Please show me the part of the U.S. Constitution that grants the Congress the power to determine how college football will crown a national champion. If you want to appear with Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreet on ESPN and debate the subject that is just ducky. But, sir, America is currently facing the most serious internal threats in its history. You need to work on behalf of the people on things that truly matter. If you truly believe Utah Utes football is of the same importance as ObamaCare, eco-insanity, and judicial oligarchs it may be time to retire to your beloved home state and let the people send a Ute to D.C. that knows his job and knows the score.

Roanoke Independence Day Tea Party in Pictures

A crowd of approximately 1,000 gathered in Roanoke's Elmwood Park on Independence Day to express their desire to bring the government under control. The general message of the signs, the citizens and the speakers was "government, know your role!" Limited government and maximum liberty were the driving principals.

Democrat AND Republican Elites Still Do Not Get Sarah Palin

SWAC Girl posts an update from Team Sarah in which Sarah Palin reflects on Independence Day, her resignation decision and the Mainstream Media's predictable smarmy response.

The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the “politics of personal destruction”. How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make. But every American understands what it takes to make a decision because it’s right for all, including your family.

That explains the Left and the establishment Republicans to a tee. It is incomprehensible to them that a politican could make a decision that is not conceived and contrived to maximize power and advancement. They have a ladder climbing mindset that is very conventional. Of course, we have just watched the methodical and intricately choreographed rise of a man who is a lightweight in every respect to the Oval Office. He made all the right moves and the establishment does not care that there are no core values behind the teleprompter.

The media and the Democrat pundits who belittle Palin, her family and her constituency can pound sand. That constituency is made up of the people who are increasingly NOT watching their broadcasts and reading their newspapers. That goes for the establishment Republicans who will sacrifice principle for a few crumbs at the table. They are the ones who gave us Bob Dole. They are the ones who did not speak up when George W. Bush was spending like a drunken Democrat. They are the ones who gave us John McCain. They are the ones who didn't think Barack Obama was that far out of the mainstream and certainly not an extremist. How did that work out for you?

Sarah Palin is a woman of the people. She will have an impact in some way because she relates to folks and they to her. She doesn't have to fake it. That is hard for an industry full of phonies to understand.

Rush LImbaugh Jr.: "The Americans Who Risked Everything"...Powerful History For Perilous Times

This inspirational presentation about our Founding Fathers from Rush Limbaugh Jr. (father of El Rushbo) should be read in every classroom in America. The risks taken by these exceptional men should humble us all when we whine about our own situation. It should also inspire us all to do what we can to affect change that draws us closer to their principles. They gave us an effective template and we have allowed greed, self-interest and rank stupidity to shred those ideals until our liberty hangs by very thin threads. Read the Declaration of Independence. Read the U.S. Constitution. Read the piece by Limbaugh. Read Calvin Coolidge's remarkable speech on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration. Brand the words into your brain. Then, watch the actions of our 21st century government through the prism of their values and love of liberty. You will be angry. Let the anger make you involved.

Remembering Our Treasonous Founding Fathers: Thank You!

It is sickening to hear the daily bleatings of Barack Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and the Democrat party calling themselves and their ideas revolutionary. What sheep squeezze! Tyrannical government which turns the people into subjects rather than citizens is not a revolutionary idea. In fact, it is one of the oldest political arrangements. The earliest warlords understood power and how to use people's basic needs to control them. Sorry, Leftist wonks, you are only about 4,000 years behind the curve.

The Founding Fathers, dismissed as limited and unimaginative by so-called "progressives," were the true revolutionaries. The word "revolution" does not just describe the act of separation from a great power. It also describes the ideas that formed the basis of their new political system. Individually, the ideas had roots in ancient Greece and Rome and elements had been pursued in Great Britain. No nation had ever put those ideas in motion in the way these enlightened gentlemen were poised to do.

Those who consider protest and criticism of traditional values a heroic act are simpletons. What risk does one take in criticizing American institutions? As of this moment, the First Amendment is still in tact. You can chant "Bush lied, people died" til the cows come home, but don't call yourself a revolutionary or pretend that you are taking great risks.

The men who voted to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776 took risks. The lack of historical perspective causes most to see this group of "rich white men" as the establishment of that time. In fact, they committed treason. That's right. These extraordinary men risked a meeting with the noose to establish independence for the thirteen colonies. This was secession from the British Empire. Every one of those individuals lived under a death warrant after their act of defiance. Individual liberty for the American people was worth the risk. Some lost property. Some lost their freedom. Nine died of wounds or hardships during the Revolutionary War.

Please do not take them for granted. They are not simply names in a textbook or on a gnarled old document. They were genuine heroes who sacrificed their lives and fortunes for principle. They deserve our thanks, our gratitude...and our dedication to protecting the ideals for which they forfeited personal security to obtain liberty for a new and distinct people, the American people.

Calvin Coolidge's Speech On The 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

Calvin Coolidge is one of America's least appreciated and most misunderstood Presidents. The fact that he didn't love the sound of his own voice as much as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, or Franklin Roosevelt is somehow seen as a blight on his intelligence. That says more about the historians who derive this conclusion. They confuse motion and noise with intellect and comprehension. The truth is that Coolidge was one of the most astute Presidents on the 20th century and had a genuine respect and reverence for the ideals that the United States of America was built upon.

Coolidge gave a speech in Philadelphia in 1926 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that I believe is the greatest statement any President has ever made in reference to our republic's foundations. Remember, Coolidge was President in a decade that followed a questionable war and a series of federal usurpations in the name of "Progressivism." Silent Cal reminded everyone that principles do not change with circumstances and deviations from our bedrock ideals is regressive rather than progressive. This passage is from the last part of the speech:

Governments do not make ideals, but ideals make governments. This is both historically and logically true. Of course the government can help to sustain ideals and can create institutions through which they can be the better observed, but their source by their very nature is in the people. The people have to bear their own responsibilities. There is no method by which that burden can be shifted to the government.It is not the enactment, but the observance of laws, that creates the character of a nation.

About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers...

...Under a system of popular government there will always be those who will seek for political preferment by clamoring for reform. While there is very little of this which is not sincere, there is a large portion that is not well informed. In my opinion very little of just criticism can attach to the theories and principles of our institutions. There is far more danger of harm than there is hope of good in any radical changes. We do need a better understanding and comprehension of them and a better knowledge of the foundations of government in general. Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world. Before we can understand their conclusions we must go back and review the course which they followed. We must think the thoughts which they thought. Their intellectual life centered around the meeting-house. They were intent upon religious worship. While there were always among them men of deep learning, and later those who had comparatively large possessions, the mind of the people was not so much engrossed in how much they knew, or how much they had, as in how they were going to live. While scantily provided with other literature, there was a wide acquaintance with the Scriptures. Over a period as great as that which measures the existence of our independence they were subject to this discipline not only in their religious life and educational training, but also in their political thought. They were a people who came under the influence of a great spiritual development and acquired a great moral power.

No other theory is adequate to explain or comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of the people. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren sceptre in our grasp.If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped.

Even Beltway Conservatives Don't Get Sarah Palin's Appeal to Real America

This piece by Doctor Zero on Hotair.com hits the nail on the head. It focuses on Charles Krauthammer, but you could fill in the names of a number of other Republican elitists who say many of the right things, but who ultimately do not understand Real Americans in flyover country. Sarah Palin speaks to them and that is why she will continue to have an impact.

Saran Palin Resigns Governorship; Still Conservative Superstar

Sarah Palin's resignation announcement was definitely a surprise. Of course, her explanation made perfect sense. It is interesting that she had popularity numbers in the 80 percent range before she became the vice-presidential candidate for RATA (Reach Across The Aisle) McCain. They are still in the 50s despite the incessant attacks, most of which are coming from outside Alaska.

Palin is the biggest political star in the Conservative movement. There is speculation of a U.S. Senate run or competing for the 2012 GOP nomination. Some are saying she is done with politics. That still leaves some interesting possibilities.

Sarahcuda is a magnetic personality. The Left already knew her credentials before she was chosen as the VP candidate. That is why they stormed Alaska like it was Omaha Beach the next day. The attacks on Palin began immediately and have not ceased. They don't hate her because she is dense or corrupt. She is neither and they know it. She is, however, a strong and accomplished woman whose resume' is thick and who is a strong and articulate Conservative. She also does not back down from the jackals' attacks. If she were truly the flighty nobody they portray, they would not waste so much time and effort vilifying her. She is a real threat to their ideology.

Palin was the energy in the RATA McCain campaign. McCain's best selling point up to then was that he wasn't Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama. As soon as the people out in flyover country became acquainted with her, they fell in love. Not in the "hopey, changey" glazed-over manner of the Obama-bots; this was a woman who truly represents their values and point-of-view. She was not an elitist insider. These are the kind of folks who smell phony from a mile away. This woman was one of them.

Sarah Palin is not finished with public life. Dropping the constraints of public office will give her greater flexibility for her next stage. Family, of course, will be a huge part of her priorities. One need not hold public office to be a leader. As she has done her whole adult life, she will serve the public while taking care of her family. My hunch is that she will speak out for Alaska's energy resources and the need for allowing them to be tapped for America's energy future. At least in the short run, she can work on that issue which is of importance to her and her state as well as the rest of the country. From there, who knows.

One more hunch: the Left will continue to blindly hate Sarah Palin and do all they can to smear her. Unfortunately for them, the only folks buying that song are their fellow Leftist cretins. Real America recognizes a Real Woman, a Real Patriot, and a Real Leader.

Roanoke Independence Day Tea Party--Be Heard (Or At Least Seen)

Check the Roanoke Tea Party site for the latest on Saturday's rally in Elmwood Park in Roanoke, Virginia. Constituents of the 5th and 9th district should especially show their displeasure with Representatives Tom Perriello and Rick Boucher for selling out their futures to Leftwing special interests in the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade bill. If it does pass the Senate, Cap-and-Trade will have to again go through the House as a conference bill. Let Perriello and Boucher know they need to reconsider supporting the biggest tax increase in American history.

Check out Tea Party Patriots for more information about Independence Day Tea Parties across the country. There are at least 12 in Virginia, so celebrate part of your Independence Day with other like-minded patriots. Maybe you can even drag a few of your mushy moderate friends along, so that they can see the Conservative grass roots in action.

Obama's EPA Repeals 1st Amendment and Transparency

The Wall Street Journal has a shocking piece on the Obama administration's silencing of a global warming heretic. The EPA is the agency at work in forcing scientists to accept climate extremist ideology over, you know, science! The global warming goons sound like the ruling classes of Medieval times who would declare a "scientific truth" and imprison anyone who dissented from their pronouncements.

EPA scientist Alan Carlin found out that you don't go against the family. Chicago rules have replaced scientific inquiry.

In March, the Obama EPA prepared to engage the global-warming debate in an astounding new way, by issuing an "endangerment" finding on carbon. It establishes that carbon is a pollutant, and thereby gives the EPA the authority to regulate it -- even if Congress doesn't act.

Around this time, Mr. Carlin and a colleague presented a 98-page analysis arguing the agency should take another look, as the science behind man-made global warming is inconclusive at best. The analysis noted that global temperatures were on a downward trend. It pointed out problems with climate models. It highlighted new research that contradicts apocalyptic scenarios. "We believe our concerns and reservations are sufficiently important to warrant a serious review of the science by EPA," the report read.

The response to Mr. Carlin was an email from his boss, Al McGartland, forbidding him from "any direct communication" with anyone outside of his office with regard to his analysis. When Mr. Carlin tried again to disseminate his analysis, Mr. McGartland decreed: "The administrator and the administration have decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. . . . I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office." (Emphasis added.)

Mr. McGartland blasted yet another email: "With the endangerment finding nearly final, you need to move on to other issues and subjects. I don't want you to spend any additional EPA time on climate change. No papers, no research etc, at least until we see what EPA is going to do with Climate." Ideology? Nope, not here. Just us science folk. Honest.

The emails were unearthed by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Republican officials are calling for an investigation; House Energy Committee ranking member Joe Barton sent a letter with pointed questions to Mrs. Jackson, which she's yet to answer. The EPA has issued defensive statements, claiming Mr. Carlin wasn't ignored. But there is no getting around that the Obama administration has flouted its own promises of transparency.

Now, there is change you can believe in. Science is now a religion or a rigid corporate doctrine. Independent thought will be punished. Big BrObama is watching.

But, never fear. You can be sure our Mainstream Media will do their job and investigate Big BrObama and the EPA's crackdown on scientific analysis. Just as soon as they finish with Michael Jackson's memorial service...Michelle Obama's garden...and Sarah Palin's relationship with Lucifer...and the attempts to overthrow a legitimate election in Iran...and America's desire to embrace illegal immigration...and the racist Conservative attacks on Sonya Sotomayor...and Chastity Bono's genitalia...and Barack looking cool...and Barack looking fit...and Barack being intelligent...and Barack saving the economy....but, eventually they will look into this thing.

Barack Obama Wins Daytime Emmy For Best Lead Role In A Drama

All politics has an element of propaganda, but Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and his gaggle of clowns have taken the phenomenon to a new level. The staging of Obama's health care "town hall" was so blatant, I don't know whether to laugh or to be frightened. This seemed like something Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro would have arranged to put a happy face on their latest usurpation of individual liberties. Of course, given the fact that Obama is of the same voice as Chavez and Castro on the Honduran president's overthrow after trying to become lifetime dictator, maybe we should be more alarmed than amused.

The emotional bang came from a lady from southwest Virginia named Debby Smith who is dealing with cancer. She is not the villain and everyone wishes her well and hopes she will get the needed treatments for a full recovery. However, she was not just someone who happened to be there. She is an employee of Obama's Organizing For America brownshirts within the DNC. The White House brought her to the event. Maybe she should ask her boss about helping her out. Of course, to her boss, Comrade Obama, Ms. Smith was simply "Exhibit A" (his words) for why all Americans should turn their health care over to the imperial federal government. The hug made for nice theatre, but she was used as a prop for further Statist usurpations of American freedom.

If Leftist Democrats were serious about health care costs, they would examine the reasons for those costs. When was the last time you heard a Democrat seriously discussing changes to policies and laws that would give greater freedom and flexibility to individuals, employers, and insurers? No, they simply beat us over the head with "turn your life over to the government and all will be well." Its about power, pure and simple. The amazing thing is that the dumb masses do not laugh in their collective faces when Democrats talk about government making an industry, any industry, more effective and efficient. The federal government is the Babe Ruth of inefficiency.

The extent of the ObamAlinsky propaganda machine has even led to antique journalist Helen Thomas snapping back at their media control. Thomas is a leftwing elitist, but even she is alarmed at the White House's tight grip on media access and staging of events. Give credit to Helen Thomas; unlike Katie Couric, Andrea Mitchell, Chrissy Matthews, George Stephanopolous, and most of the Mainstream Media she still has at least a little journalistic integrity.

One question for the DNC, Barry Vladimir Hussein Obama, the Mainstream Media, and all the front groups raising money to propagandize Americans to forfeit their bodies to government control: instead of spending tens of millions (or hundreds of millions) of dollars on spin and misinformation, why not create a free market insurance company based on the principles you want the government to impose on the folks? If you really want to provide insurance to 46 million uninsured people, you could easily get the ball rolling without involving the other 260 million people. Or could it be power, not health is the primary concern?

Mom's Beautiful Day Lilies

My mother has had a long affection for day lilies and has a huge assortment in her garden. Here are just a few of the gorgeous flowers decorating my parents' yard.

Mark Levin Butchers History Of The South And The Constitution

I love Mark Levin and his books have been important contributions to the Conservative movement. However, he got on a rant at the end of his show today that demonstrates the limits of a Yankee education. I've heard him tell his version of the North/South issues of antebellum American, so it wasn't a big shock. The misunderstanding of early American history is a big problem when it comes to truly understanding how and why our liberties are under attack now. Conventional Conservatives typically start with FDR and work forward through the Great Society and the impact of educational and media indoctrination over the last half century. Occassionally, they will venture back to Woodrow Wilson and the Progressives, though they are careful to uphold Theodore Roosvelt as a paragon of liberty even though we may well have been more of a Statist than Wilson.

Levin was on a slavery, the South and "Civil War" kick for some reason. I'll admit, I missed out on what led into the rant, but what I heard was a severe lack of historical depth. First, he was talking about how a clause to end the slave trade in twenty years was placed in the Constitution to appease the South. In fact, every Southern state except South Carolina outlawed the importation of slaves prior to 1808. When Congress passed a law to place a federal ban on slave importation in 1808, there were representatives from four states in opposition: South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont and New Hampshire (FYI, the last two are not in the South).

From there he jumped to how the North went to war to end slavery. Oh my. First, let me suggest what I believe is the best book on the subject: "When In The Course of Human Events" by Charles Adams. The refusal by so many to accept that there were any burning issues in antebellum America other than slavery is detrimental to our understanding of the earliest attacks on the Constitution.

Conservatives fall into a trap with the focus on slavery in that historical discussion. The other issue, and the one which had a bigger impact on secession, was the federal government's tariff policy. The tariff was the primary revenue source for the central government. The Whig party, and then the Republican party, favored a tariff system that favored manufacturing states at the expense of agricultural exporting states. Southern states argued that the tariff laws violated Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Now, by chance, the lineups are essentially the same. The anti-slavery states were also the pro-tariff states as they paid little in tariffs and reaped the benefits of road, canal, and eventually railroad construction grants from the federal government. The slave states opposed the protective tariffs because they paid the lion's share while receiving few direct benefits. In other words, the Whigs and Republicans were practicing the same kind of income redistribution that Leftist Democrats do today. Obviously, their abuse paled in extent to what we see today, but it was an unchecked usurpation that eroded federalism and helped feed Leviathan.

I think Conservatives are afraid of this issue, but to understand how we have gotten to this point it is vital to understand that liberty has been under attack and the State has been on the advance since the ink on the Constitution was barely dry. It is a tremendous irony that a war that did result in the ending of slavery (although that was an afterthought and not a primary purpose) also greatly advanced the war on federalism and the growth of central power. There is no denying this fact.

Being historically correct is not a defense of slavery. It was an immoral institution. However, slavery's immorality should not be used to shroud the violence done to the Constitution and federalism by the Whigs/Republicans of that time (including Saint Abraham). Check out the words of French economic philosopher Frederic Bastiat in 1850:

Look at the United States There is no country in the world where the law is kept more within its proper domain: the protection of every person's liberty and property. As a consequence of this, there appears to be no country in the world where the social order rests on a firmer foundation. But, even in the United States, there are two issues, and only two, that have always endangered the public peace.

What are these two questions? They are slavery and tariffs. These are the only two issues where, contrary to the general spirit of the republic of the United States, law has assumed the character of a plunderer.

Slavery is a violation, by law, of liberty. The protective tariff is a violation, by law, of property.

The one evil was eradicated from the United States. The other, the primary reason for the War of the Rebellion, was vindicated with the Union victory. The non-slaveowners are uncritically considered the heroes of the episode even though they did great violence to the Constitution. As Bastiat said, there were two pervasive evils. It is time we finally defeat the other one, which is unlawful plunder of man's property for redistribution by the state. An important step is admitting the genesis of the problem as we strike at the roots.

Why Is The Mainstream Media Surprised That Wal-Mart Supports ObamaCare?

Wal-Mart's announcement of its support for Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's nationalized health care scheme has sent shockwaves through the state-run media. Shocking! The eeee-vil corporate giant supporting the kind-and-benevolent Democrats' desire to mandate mediocre medical care to all Americans is reported as a surprise development in the long march toward socialized medicine. Is the mainstream media really that stupid or are they convinced that we are?

Wal-Mart already has health care for employees. They see the strong possibility of more stringent federal regulations on employer-based health care and the likelihood of a government option. Hmmmm, so Wal-Mart can be a "good corporate citizen" and support universal health care while shedding the responsibility of paying for it directly. There is a reason the company has been so successful and will continue to be. They know how to play the game.

I don't fault Wal-Mart for this action. They are acting as good stewards of their company and their stockholders. They understand what Dr. Barry Mengele doesn't want you to grasp. The "public option" is less for individuals than it is for businesses. Why should they shoulder the responsibility of their employees' medical care when the imperial federal government is willing to take their workers into a government-based system?

Here is the other inconvenient truth of most government regulations and usurpations: despite all the "evil corporation" rhetoric that the Statists spew to the dumb masses these centrally-planned schemes are a boon to Big Bidness. The math is simple. Who can more easily absorb the greater costs of regulation and taxation, as established company or one that is growing or in the start-up phase? A larger corporation can diffuse the increased costs more broadly with less of a hit to the bottom line than can a smaller company. Ultimately, the consumers will pay any increased corporate taxes through higher prices, so Wal-Mart can do that more cheaply than can Bob-Mart, Sid-Mart or Dave-Mart.

Obama's health care scheme comes from the same totalitarian desires as his nationalization of banks, car companies and the energy industry. There is precedent. Americans should look back at FDR's horrendous National Industrial Recovery Act for an example of how this works. Competition and the free market were blamed for the depression that became "Great" with FDR's help. The NRA abolished competition and forced industries into strictly-enforced rules that eliminated the dynamism of capitalism.

So, expect more big corporations to jump on board. It is clear that any company that is willing to play ball with Comrade Obama will be taken care of and those who do not will become targets. I wonder how the Leftist propagandists will square their hate of corporate America with industrial support for universal health care? Or will they even need to as the dumb masses continue to mourn Michael Jackson and prepare for the next season of American Idol?

Obama Wants California To Be The Model For America; Bill Belichek Adopts Detroit Lions Defense

Every day, the same question pops into my head. Is Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama really this stupid or is he just convinced that the American sheeple are this stupid? The People's Republik of Kalifornia is hemorraghing jobs, losing population (outside of illegal immigrants), crushing its people with taxes and regulations and Obama holds the state up as the example the rest of the country should follow. Kalifornia and its incompetent governator do not have the money to run their government. Last night, they shut down discussions on an emergency plan to keep the state afloat. The Washington Examiner provides details of Kalifornia's descent into its Statist nightmare.

In the spirit of ObamAlinsky's desire to turn all of the United States into a fiscal basket case like Kalifornia, some possible inspirations from Obama's example:

• New England Patriots coach Bill Belichek adopts the Detroit Lions' offense.
• Coca-Cola relaunches "New Coke"
• Mariah Carey takes singing lessons from Roseanne Barr
• Mark Sanford hires Larry King as his marriage counselor
• FoxNews vows to be more like MSNBC

Arizona To Impose 10th Amendment On Dr. Barack Mengele's ObamaCare

I get a tingly feeling up and down my leg when I see a state invoking the federalism component of the United States Constitution. It appears Arizona intends to do just that as a preemptive strike against Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's scheme to nationalize American health care. A measure will be placed on the ballot in November, 2010 for Arizona voters to decide whether or not they want to submit their bodies to government control. It appears the 10th Amendment is again in vogue for states trying to avoid federal encroachment.

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."

James Madison, Federalist No. 45, January 26, 1788

Richard Epstein in WSJ: Get the Court Room Out Of The Operating Room

Richard Epstein wrote an informative piece on the impact of medical malpractice lawsuits on health care costs in today's Wall Street Journal. Of course, as long as the trial lawyers are the Democrats' Sugar Daddies there will be no movement on this issue. Epstein looks at some of the factors that feed this costly problem:

Litigation in the U.S. has at least four distinctive procedural features that drive up malpractice costs. The first is jury trials, which can veer out of control and in any case introduce significant uncertainty. The second is the contingency-fee system, which allows well-heeled lawyers to self-finance litigation. The third is the rule that makes each side bear its own costs. This induces riskier lawsuits than are undertaken in most other countries, such as Canada, England and most of Europe, where the loser pays the legal costs of the winner. The fourth is extensive pretrial discovery outside the direct supervision of judges, which occurs far more readily here than elsewhere.

Even these features aren't the whole story. American judges frequently let juries decide whether honest mistakes are negligent. Judges in other nations are less likely to do so. American courts commonly think it proper for juries to infer medical negligence from the mere occurrence of a serious injury. European judges usually will not

American plaintiffs are sometimes spared the heavy burden of identifying particular acts of negligence, or of showing the precise causal connection between a negligent act and an actual injury. Lastly, damage awards for lost income and medical expenses in the U.S. tend to dwarf awards made elsewhere -- in part because governments elsewhere provide this medical care from their nationalized systems. In sum, the medical malpractice system provides incentives for plaintiffs that really do matter. Americans, for example, file claims about 3.5 times more often than Canadians.

Bernie Madoff Goes To Jail; Now Let's Get The Real Crooks

Bernie Madoff is off to jail for 150 years (give or take) and deservedly so. He is a liar and a swindler who stole massive amounts of money from trusting people. He told them one thing would be done with the money while instead it was appropriated for other uses. The public outcry was deafening and he has no defenders.

Why doesn't the country apply the same outrage en masse to the Bolsheviks in the Kremlin on the Potomac? The Madoff sentencing came three days after the House approved a multi-trillion dollar "Cap-and-Trade" bill that will add thousands per year to the energy costs of every American. Every product and service that requires energy will endure greater costs, so those businesses will be forced to raise their prices. A 1,200 page bill that no one read with an additional 300 pages dropped in at 3:00am the day of the vote. While reading this post you are committing a criminal act: breathing. As their leader Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama said of the bill, they are going after the polluters. Never mind that the air and water are much cleaner than 40 years ago and that American industry has done a lot to cut down on pollutants, Der Fuhrer is declaring war on polluters. You know, truck drivers, farmers, factories, etc. Now do you get why American factories often relocate overseas? Individual costs will soar and jobs will disappear.

It is time for the American sheeple to get over their collective case of recto-cranial inversion. Why would anyone be personally angry at Bernie Madoff unless they were one of the investors? Whether you want to or not, your are now on the hook for banks and car companies. You are responsible for over a trillion dollars worth of stimulus that is nothing but special-interest pork. Your personal energy costs will soar. Your ability to sell your house will be greatly compromised. These special interest puppets have driven more nails into the future of American industry and will send more jobs overseas. Soon, they will take your health care decisions away from you and your doctor and give them to a government oversight board. Bernie Madoff is a crook, Michael Jackson was weird, Kate Gosselin is an uber-witch and Mark Sanford is a hillbilly horndog, but none of them are going to raise your taxes or impact your standard of living. Huddled together in the U.S. Capitol are people who are working to sell you out for their temporary political and personal gain. Time to get a little angry out in Flyover Country.

Liberty Summer Book of the Week: "The Myth of the Robber Barons" by Burton W. Folsom

Burton W, Folsom has received quite a bit of attention for "New Deal or Raw Deal: How FDR's Legacy has Damaged America" released last November. Certainly, that book was timely with a new regime of Leftists who have even grander goals for growing the government and defeating freedom than did Franklin Roosevelt. However, a book that Folsom originally published over 20 years ago (and that is now in its 5Th edition) is also important to understanding the truth behind the Left's attacks on America's productive class. "The Myth of the Robber Barons" explodes the typical textbook treatment of America's pioneering entrepreneurs.

The core of Folsom's work involves case studies of the careers and innovations of a group of late 19Th and early 20Th century business icons including Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, James J. Hill, Charles Schwab, Andrew Mellon and the Scranton family. These giants of American commerce are explained and celebrated while still addressing their more troubling aspects. The book concludes with an examination of how three of America's most used textbooks portray the so-called "robber barons."

Without divulging too much of "The Myth of the Robber Barons," this book makes an important distinction between "market entrepreneurs" and "political entrepreneurs." This is a vital distinction in understanding the actions of businessmen and the impact their decisions have had on the economy. In other words, there is a difference in character and result between those who have taken risks in the free market and those who have invested in government as a conduit to fiscal success. The market entrepreneurs have a better record of success in every measure.

This book has great relevance to today's business environment. The entanglement of industry and government grew throughout the 20Th century and has picked up speed in the 21st. The most naked attempt to marry the two occurred with Franklin Roosevelt's National Industrial Recovery Act which attempted to organize most American industries into non-competitive cartels. Fortunately, the Supreme Court struck down this anti-capitalist nonsense, but Congress would not be deterred. The recent crises in the housing, banking and automobile industries are great examples of how money, power and influence are exchanged between corporate America and the Kremlin on the Potomac. It is no accident that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have exchanged executives with Democrat administrations, contributed mass amounts of money to the party's candidates (most especially Chris Dodd and Barack Obama), and were protected by Dodd and Bahney Fwank when their lending practices were called into question. Then, of course, when the house of cards collapsed it was the fault of GREEDY CAPITALISTS (who, by definition, are Republicans).

You can read the lessons of "political entrepreneurs" into the Global Warming boondoggle. Just check how many influential members of Congress are invested in energy companies. Al Gore has created a crisis that can only be solved by companies from which he profits. The government deciding which industries will live and which will die is a feature of a fascist or socialist system, not a capitalist one. There is one hard truth the anti-capitalists cannot refute: capitalism made America great. And what is capitalism? Liberty. It is a system of individuals working to achieve their needs and wants in a free-as-possible market place. There is success and there is failure, but individuals ultimately decide the winners and losers by their free choices.

There is little wonder politicians can so easily sell the "greedy rich" claptrap to the dumb masses. Folsom analyzes the treatment of the rise of American industry by major textbooks and finds a biased presentation that shows the men who built America as a bunch of greedy exploiters. Forget innovation. Forget improving the standard of living for the vast majority. Forget the expansion of the American and world economy. They were vile thugs who took advantage of the poor and built their wealth on the backs of the rabble.

"The Myth of the Robber Barons" is a short read (you could easily knock it out in one undisturbed evening even if you take notes) that will expand your depth of knowledge on the importance of the entrepreneur in growing the American economy. You will find many parts of the book applicable to the current extension of Leviathan's tentacles into the industrial world. An understanding of the real history of big business in America provides perspective to the hysterical bogeymen propped up by the education establishment, the state-run media and the political class.