Sunday, February 28, 2010

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell - health care costs


Thomas Sowell

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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn - Greek crisis; Obamacare


Mark Steyn - 2-27-10

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

John Murtha; Dr. Hendricks; Atlas Shrugged; Ayn Rand; Socialized medicine

There is irony to be found in the death of Congressman John Murtha this week. Congressman Murtha was a liberal Democrat who supported government growth and government pork for decades. He provided unwavering support to the Democrat leadership in Washington as they sought to nationalize the health care system.

The irony is that Murtha died from a medical mistake during otherwise routine surgery. Murtha died from something that will become all too common for every American in the coming years if the government completes its nationalization of medical care. Medical care will degenerate like every other government "service." Today's doctors will either quit or become government bureaucrats (or will take orders from bureaucrats). The fictional Dr. Hendricks told our future in Atlas Shrugged:
Atlas Shrugged, p. 744, 35th Anniversary Edition

So what was the situation with Murtha's doctors? Did they resent being dressed in white coats as props for Obamacare? Or did Murtha get the leftover doctors after the resentful ones quit?

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Monday, February 01, 2010

Top 12 things that James O'Keefe did not do.

Click here for the James O'Keefe story and my earlier commentary.

Click here for Ben Stein's commentary on James O'Keefe.

We still don't know exactly what O'Keefe is supposed to have done that is illegal. I will add to this story only by listing the top 12 things that O'Keefe did not do:

  1. He did not falsely accuse American soldiers of purposely shooting at journalists.
  2. He did not alter a photo of Condi Rice to make her eyes appear "demonic."
  3. He did not publish a photo of an
    unrelated car to dramatize the aftermath of
    shots fired at an Italian journalist.
  4. He did not falsely report that a Koran
    had been flushed down the toilet, thus touching
    off riots and death across the middle east.
  5. He did not stage a fake canoe ride in 4
    inches of water.
  6. He did not attribute muslim riots in Paris
    to "African-Americans."
  7. He was not forced to resign after being discovered
    inventing characters for columns.
  8. He did not invent the "fake, but accurate" standard.
  9. He did not print analysis of Iraqi
    election results prior to the actual elections.
  10. He did not coach on-air guests to sound angry
    in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
  11. He did not invent a story about baby seal hunts in Canada.
  12. He did not use fake quotes, interviews and sources, forcing the resignation of his executive editor.

These are only the things that O'Keefe did not do in 2004 and 2005. This list does not include the things O'Keefe has not done since that time. The corresponding people and organizations who actually did these things are listed here (with links). They remain at large:

  1. CNN
  2. USA Today
  3. AP
  4. Newsweek
  5. NBC
  6. CNN
  7. Sacremento Bee
  8. CBS
  9. L.A. Times
  10. CNN
  11. Boston Globe
  12. New York Times


Obama attacks the Supreme Court; Mark Steyn; Hugh Hewitt; Justice Kennedy; Robert Mugabe

After last week's "State of the Union" speech (during which President B. Hussein Obama attacked the Supreme Court), Hugh Hewitt and Mark Steyn discussed Obama's attack in the context of today's politics and future decisions of the Court:



Steyn's point is that Obama made a political mistake by attacking a swing voter on the Supreme Court, which attack will adversely affect future Court decisions.

What Steyn does not mention is that Obama (and the left) does not care so much about a few decisions of the Court. He cares about destroying the institution and its ability to check and balance the other branches of government. By attacking the Court publicly in this fashion, he has helped diminish the Court in the eyes of the 40% of the poll respondents that will follow Obama no matter how badly he performs in office.

Obama has promised to transform America. He means it. He has taken many steps designed to bankrupt this country. He has taken over industries. These are transformative steps. Destroying what is left of the rule of law is another such step. Diminishing the Supreme Court is necessary to the destruction of the rule of law.

Obama and the leftist utopians envision a world where the President can give any order without worrying about a pesky court getting in the way. The left can not get to that promised land without constant attacks on the Court. Obama's 40% must be mobilized against the very institutions that stand in the way of the progressive, populist dictatorship. (Whether Obama is the ultimate beneficiary of this dictatorship is irrelevant to the "progressive" masses. There will be a dictator someday - the name of the puppet that dances on the end of the strings is irrelevant.)

Did Robert Mugabe worry about the attitude of the swing voters on the Zimbabwean Supreme Court as he was seizing farms and turning the currency into confetti? Obama and his allies have a broader agenda than bean counting votes on the Supreme Court.

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