Reason for Optimism

by John Russell Turner

I'VE BEEN OPTIMISTIC. I've been telling people that the economy will improve after the usual post Holiday slump. The reason I am so is because the tax cuts were extended. Now people know. The uncertainty is gone-they know that their tax rates will remain the same as it was since the Bush administration enacted a reduction in taxes a few years ago. Prior to the extension of the tax cuts, there was a lot of uncertainty about just how much money people would have after the government took it's "share". Couple that with the remarkably anti-capitalist/pro-socialist sentiment coming from the White House and Capitol Hill, and most people were afraid to spend their money. No one knew how things would go-so they played it safe. Now, however, people are far more likely to spend and invest their cash-the essential factor in an economic recovery.

Let us make it easy for people to participate in the capitalist system by removing the barriers to their entry. High taxes and burdensome regulation is the single most difficult barrier most people face. If there is going to be a "war on poverty", then it must be fought to win, and to win quickly-and the only way this can be is if people are free to earn the most effective cure to poverty there is: cash.

I don't believe there should be a debate about this anymore. Socialists cannot be taken seriously in the realm of ideas, for any number of reasons. We have debated for decades now. We have seen the results of socialism in action. We know that the ideologies upon which socialism is based has ruined the societies upon which it was imposed. In fact, it could be logically deduced that this ideology-basically, that it is moral to take the property of another by force and give it to someone else who needs it-has caused more death and pain than any other cause, including disease. All of what I write here has been shown to be true over and over again. There is no legitimate doubt anymore, we all know it: socialism is a failure, capitalism is a success. Should you have doubts, imagine if you will a North Korean mission successfully landing on the moon. Imagine a Saudi Arabian discovery of a cancer cure. Or any totalitarian government doing anything but ruling. Capitalism makes it possible for individuals to realize their utmost potential, for individuals to dream and then make those dreams a reality.

Sure, money isn't everything.
Yes, but it will cure poverty.
And as a tool, it enables people to thrive.

Bea Arthur Was a Marine

I always loved actress Bea Arthur, who played the character Maude on the TV show of the same name, and who played Dorothy on The Golden Girls. I came across this article about her, and her military service.

Bea Arthur, who passed away recently, reminded me of my aunt. I loved her dry, sarcastic sense of humor and her appealing mixture of toughness and feminity. I used to watch The Golden Girls just to see her; many times she had me almost asphyxiating with laughter.

How Best To Help the Poor...and Everyone Else

by John Russell Turner



The Laffer Curve

 Liberals and conservatives usually agree on the importance of helping the unfortunate ones amongst us, the poor and downtrodden; all or most of the disagreement today is on the means to this ends. How do we help the poor?

The left wing answer is: let the government handle it. They have lots of money and other resources, so they can do the job better than any one of us can.

The right wing answer is: let private charities and individuals do what they can to ease the sufferings of others. Maintain a culture where the individual is free to earn as much money as his abilities allow him. The government should stay out of the altruism business because it must tax it's citizens in order to do anything, and this means less money in everyone's pockets-which means people will be less likely to invest. And since investing creates jobs, with decreased investment there will be fewer jobs. Let's face it, gainful employment is the cure for poverty. It will totally eliminate it, if the individual acts rationally.

These are the basics of the arguments on both sides. Some would say that a little bit of government and a little bit of private charity can't hurt. That's what we have in place today. To fully understand why such a mixture is immoral, and in the long run will lead to societal collapse, it is important to see taxation for what it really is.

Taxation is not production, it is not earned income; taxation is money taken by the government from its' citizens so the government can operate. Because it is not production, but rather a tax on production, government growth must be funded by those in the economy who make money and wealth. At certain levels of taxation, most of us can still do whatever it is we are planning; there is money left over to invest in a mutual fund, stocks and bonds, or in a business of our own...but there comes a point when the amount of taxes we pay influences our other economic activity. With less money, we are less inclined to take risks. With less money, we do not invest it anywhere but at home. Taxes risen past a certain point actually winds up sending less money to the government treasury-the famous "Laffer Curve".

The problem is the government has a lot of projects and programs it administers and funds. Also, a question arises: is it appropriate for the government to do anything at all except govern? When and how did it get in the business of altruism, social engineering, and such? This is a relevant question because people have property rights at birth-all of us must be free to keep what we own, otherwise we cannot survive at all-therefore, the right to property is about as important and just as equal as the right to live! People should keep as much of what they earn as possible. But when the government decides to go past its' proper role in human affairs, it is we who must pay for it, and suppose we don't want to pay (with our hard earned money) for the various government programs out there? Well, we get arrested, of course, and sent to jail-and don't think about refusing to go to jail, because they'll kill you if you put up a strong enough resistance. This illustrates perfectly what the government and an armed robber have in common, and gives a clue as to why government help programs are immoral. They are a drain on the economy, it's not the government's job to be in any kind of business except governing, they violate the property rights of others (as any wealth transfer scheme does), and they all essentially rely on the use of physical force. Finally, as more and more money is taxed away from the productive (this includes wage earners), the incentive to work is weakened, and in some cases, eliminated. The economy stagnates. People produce less, and government revenue rapidly declines. Soon, the government cannot even fund its' most basic, proper functions, and anarchy results.

The solution to poverty, therefore, is an environment of free enterprise with minimal taxation and regulations, thus creating more jobs (and more entrepreneurs), thus giving more people the ability to create wealth.

John Lennon's Last Days | Rolling Stone Music

Rolling Stone magazine's interesting article on John Lennon, including audio of his last interview.




John Lennon's Last Days | Rolling Stone Music

Free Market Education?

by John Russell Turner

The government is paying for me to go to school, therefore I must abide by the situation I find myself in. I can not control the curriculum. Either I learn the things they say I must learn, or I leave the school. If I were paying with my money, I don't know if I'd have any real control over what I study, because the educators get together and decide what shall be mandatory and what shall be elective. So I don't think my situation is caused by government funding. It is caused by educators thinking that they know what is best for me and the other students. Or, it was caused by educators wanting to maintain the credibility of their school...therefore they ensure that their students are "well-rounded", and knowledgable in their chosen major, I assume. More likely it is the personal agenda of the educators (see David Horowitz).

Better Than Me

by John Russell Turner


The most important thing I should do is  remember to never, ever indulge my natural inclination to feel superior than others. For some reason, this doesn't do well with people. They are not "sheeple", "the masses", members of the "hoi-poloi", the "mob", et al.


Imagine that, most people are alright!

Note to the Elitists out there:
I know, I know, you get that warm special glow whenever you think about how so much better you are than all those low-lives lurking in the trailer parks and bowling alleys. I also know that if it weren't for those people, you'd have nothing at all to base your self-esteem on. That's why I suggest that you be nicer to them. Stop calling them sheeple. Or whatever, because one day they might refuse to give you your sense of self worth, and then what will you do?

Burning the Midnight Oil

I'm writing this at the King County Administration Building Emergency Shelter, where I work checking in the homeless men who come here every night for a place to sleep.  It's 12:07 AM. I'll be off at 5AM, and my biggest challenge so far is keeping awake until then. A group of people came by the shelter tonight to donate some jackets and blankets, but I had to turn them away since we are not allowed to let anyone in the building except our clients. They promised to come back tomorrow night during intake.

I also had to turn away this man who couldn't speak English at all. I am required to document everyone who comes here for shelter, which includes his name, age, date of birth, the reason why he's homeless, et al. When I asked him his name, he merely looked at me with a blank, uncomprehending stare. I had to use hand signals to tell him to leave, and off he went, into the cold night. I felt like a jerk. I mean, first I had to deny these people free jackets and blankets, and then I had to throw someone out of here because he couldn't speak English (so I could do the paperwork on him). But those are the rules of the people who hired me to run this place, and I can't do anything about it. 

Leftist Art/Hatred of the Good for Being the Good

by John Russell Turner

The mocking of Christianity continues at the Smithsonian Institute. Remember the infamous "Piss Christ"? Now we have the "Ant Christ", a picture of Jesus covered in ants, displayed at the Smithsonian at taxpayer expense. Here is a link for a great story on this filth. Megan Fox, the writer of this story, makes an excellent point: although we hear over and over again how Islam is the "religion of peace", it is Christianity that is the true religion of peace. We Christians see something like the Ant Christ, says Fox, and merely get disgusted. But if a Muslim were to see a similar depiction of Mohamed, heads would (literally) roll.

Just checking in....

I've been very busy lately, so I haven't had the time to post to this blog. Tonight, however, I'm working at the King County Administration building, babysitting 30 or so homeless men who come here for shelter every night. Everyone is asleep right now-except me, which is as it should be. I bring them in, give them a mat and a blanket, and make sure everyone gets along. One of the men who came in tonight is drunk, and was bothering a few of the others, so I had to tell him to behave, or I'd throw him out. He agreed to behave himself, and fell asleep.

 It has warmed up a lot since we had that blast of arctic air three days ago-Seattle was almost completely paralyzed by the snow and ice, although near as I can tell, only about four or five inches accumulated on the ground. But the temperature dropped down to 15 degrees, and all the homeless shelters filled up quickly. It's midnight now,  about 40 degrees outside, so tonight there are fewer people sleeping here. A lot of homeless people avoid the shelters whenever they can, and sleep outside, mainly because they don't like the rules (and they also don't like the thieves and drug addicts who plague the shelters).

Funny,  the City Council just increased the parking fees...but Seattle can't get the streets cleared off whenever a snowstorm hits.

Michael Jackson: back from the dead

Michael Jackson: back from the dead

Barack Obama Talks Out Both Sides Of His Mouth

"It's your policies, stupid!"

President Obama has said, in his weekly address to the nation, that he will not support any extension of the Bush tax cuts. Here is a report from The Hill on the subject. An excerpt from the report:

In his weekly address Saturday, Obama said that Democrats and Republicans not only agree on middle-class tax cuts but the need to rein in spending, and used this to try to drive his position on the tax cuts.
"At a time when we are going to ask folks across the board to make such difficult sacrifices, I don’t see how we can afford to borrow an additional $700 billion from other countries to make all the Bush tax cuts permanent, even for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans," the president said. "We’d be digging ourselves into an even deeper fiscal hole and passing the burden on to our children."

How Leftists Argue

An amazing video. Must see.

Thanks to David Horowitz and the staff at Front Page Mag.com

Quantative Easing, A Junket to India, Big Brother Bans Food, and Indian Summer

THIS MORNING HERE IN SEATTLE is beautiful and unseasonably warm. For the past three days, we've been enjoying a most welcome "Indian Summer" (yesterday I saw a few ladies wearing shorts outside). I got to campus right at dawn as I usually do, and I spent about twenty minutes admiring the expanse of cobalt blue sky above a faint ribbon of reddish pink...and thinking about the times we have found ourselves in.

So, in the news today.....

Election Results: Republicans Take House, De Facto Control of Senate

In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. --Ayn Rand

With most of the election results in this morning, the Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans also won a majority of state governorships. As for the Senate, it appears that the Democrat bastards have kept their majority there, but I believe that they'll be more inclined to distance themselves from President Obama's agenda for fear of being voted out of office if they are perceived as being supportive of him. Here in Washington State it looks like Patti Murray will win, although as of right now only 40% of King County (Seattle) precincts have reported in.

So, where do we go from here? Well, I have some suggestions of my own, but I will let Michelle Malkin's words do the talking for me. In this article, she writes that now is not the time to make peace with the bastards; now is the time to take the gloves off and hit them some more. I agree.

Let us not forget who these people are, and what they have done. We'll forgive them once they are all out of office, and of no harm to our great country anymore. But for the next two years, we should focus on getting a solid conservative in the White House, as well as resisting every bit of the evil agenda of those bastards. I say there can be no compromise, no middle ground with the Democrats; we must defeat them utterly, and stand firm on our own principles.

Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin Call Leftists "Bastards"

In his morning update this morning, radio commentator Rush Limbaugh called partisan democrats "bastards", and just yesterday, Sarah Palin said the same thing about the leftist media (see yesterday's post).

And bastards they are. Leftists hold an ideology that has been the root cause of much of the bloodshed in the 20th century. The Soviet Union (Joe Stalin, Lenin). Mao Tse Tung. Pol Pot. Adolf Hitler. All these men were leftists, adhering to a doctrine that in consequence led to the outright murder of millions of people.

Now let me make myself clear. Barack Obama is a leftist. His words and actions make this obvious. Yes, Obama is a bastard, too, because all the narcissistic little creep can do is carry that chip on his shoulder and destroy the greatest society known to man, a society that enabled him to rise to prominence.

I hope and pray that after the votes are counted tonight, these bastards will be utterly defeated. Then, we can create prosperity for the most number of people. Then, we can keep more of the money we work so hard for.

Media Corruption in Alaska

Here is a related story about the firestorm raging up in Alaska.

Sarah Palin calls the media "corrupt bastards" in an interview with Chris Wallace.

Voting Fraud and Irregularities Increase

Power! My Precious!

I don't what to call these people, without sounding like a nut, but this morning there were a few stories about voting irregularities with the stink of Democratic Party operatives about them. Please see the links below, and decide for yourself. It certainly looks like there will be more and more fraud as the Democrats desperately try to hold onto their power. Be vigilant, people! If you see anything suspicious at the voting booth, tell someone!

Highly suspicious voting irregularities in Nevada from Michelle Malkin's blog, and another story at Atlas Shrugs about the same thing. Here is yet another story from Philadelphia about possible voting fraud.

Please remember that cockroaches and rats scurry and flee at the sound of a human footstep. These people's actions cannot stand in the light of day, so do not be afraid to expose them. Remember how they accused us of rigging the Bush-Gore election?

Juan Williams Fired/Workingman Fired For Wearing George Bush Shirt

Fired For Words

This week, I've not had much time to do any original writing. I am very busy these days, with my full-time job and school, but I do have time to scan the news sites that I follow, and keep abreast of current events. I've noticed the furor over the firing of Juan Williams from his job at NPR (National Public Radio). I've heard what he said that got him fired .I've seen the video clip of the things he said that got him fired, and I've listened to him speak on several occasions in the past. Mr. Williams is a thoughtful, gracious, civil man who is also a liberal. He seldom, if ever, resorts to vituperation, ad hominem attacks, or any of the several various other logical fallacies that liberals usually resort to when debating political (and social) issues. I disagree with his politics, but I admire his professional demeanor and his intellectual courage. You decide whether he deserved to be fired.

Fired For Shirt

NewsMax has the story as the lead item.

It truly seems as if free speech, for the Leftists, applies only if you agree with them. Those of us who've been paying attention to this sort of thing have noticed this for a long time, but finally something has happened that spotlights this...prejudice?...intolerance?...intellectual bigotry? and perhaps now more people will see how intellectually bankrupt the Leftists really are. And while I'm on the subject, read another story about a man who was fired for wearing a George Bush shirt at an Obama rally.

Pajamas Media » BREAKING: Judges in Geert Wilders’ Free Speech Case Removed from Trial (UPDATED)

Pajamas Media » BREAKING: Judges in Geert Wilders’ Free Speech Case Removed from Trial (UPDATED)

Water Found on the Moon

Click on the link below to go to the story about the discovery of water on the Moon. Be sure to watch the videos there.

ABC News Story on Remarkable Lunar Discovery

It's A Wonderful Life - The Ending

Dedicated in memory of Elizabeth and Erich Ferger.

Massive Civil Unrest in France: Will America Follow?

The link below will take you to an article relating the recent events in France to what is going on in this country re the policies of the Obama administration. (infowars.com)

http://www.infowars.com/will-americans-follow-french-example-of-mass-civil-unrest/

Wilders: One Step Closer to Victory

Wilders: One Step Closer to Victory

Geert Wilders, Oath Keepers, Patty Murray and The Seattle Weekly

Sunday here in Seattle is turning out to be sunny and cool, an altogether beautiful day.

In the news: I came across another article about the Geert Wilders trial: Europe needs a First Amendment. Evidently, this trial has been causing a ruckus over in Europe. David Horowitz, the Drudge Report and Pajamas Media have been following it closely.

Health Care Lawsuit Given Green Light

By clicking the link below, you can read the latest on the ObamaCare lawsuit. About twenty states are seeking to have ObamaCare repealed, and with this latest development, they are now much closer to having their day in court.

US News: Health Care Law Suit Can Go Forward

Wilders’ Trial: Win One, Lose One

Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician, has been on trial recently for "offending Muslims". I have read and listened to most of what he has said about Islam, and all of it has been based on the very words of the Qu'ran (as well as the Hadith and Sharia Law). It is worth noting here that the things Wilders has said were based not on his own interpretation of these texts, but on the literal reading of the texts.

Romans, Chapter 1/Worshipping the Creation, Rather Than the Creator

You are free to believe or not to believe the God part of what follows, but truly, the words in this passage from Romans, chapter 1, aptly illustrates what is fundamentally wrong with the environmentalists and their "Gaea" religion. I included the entire passage in order to provide context. Below is the scripture:
 ^"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Signal Detected From Gliese 581g

Fox News report on a strange signal coming from an alien planet.

I-1098: Soak the Rich

by John Russell Turner

While I was walking down 4th Avenue in the Seattle CBD today, a protest march of about 50 or so people passed me by. There were about ten Seattle Police on motorcycles, and about ten more officers on foot escorting these people in the misty rain...

I saw them coming, so I decided to stop and take a look. It was an anti-war (in Afghanistan) protest march, and it seems that they were using the war there as a pretext to argue for passage of Washington State Initiative 1098, the infamous "soak the rich"  initiative.

KOMO 4: "State Income Tax Initiative Steps Closer to Ballot" - July 1, 2010

Seattle News Coverage of I-1098

The Green War on Children

More on the Environmental Front/The Green War on Children

Click the link above to read Michelle Malkin's report on the video that has gone viral all over the conservative blogosphere. There's a link to the video here, but be warned: it's very disturbing, and depicts realistic, graphic violence.

And this was done to convice people to reduce their "carbon footprints", whatever that is. Side note: I get a print out every time I print at my school, telling me how my print job has impacted the environment.

Panel: Feds blocked worst-case Gulf spill figures

They Lied

Of course, we knew this all along. What angers me here is that the bungling and ineptitude of the Obama administration made a bad situation worse. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Lousiana, had a definite plan to fight the oil spill, but was blocked by the Feds. And now it's common knowledge that the bastards lied.

English Pundit Defends Eugenics, "Mercy" Killings

The True Motives of the "Compassionate" Left

Warning: the video is disturbing.

A British pundit, Virginia Ironside, displays disturbing psychological nudity here. She asserts that a loving, compassionate mother would take a pillow and smother a suffering child. This reminds me a lot of the noted animal rights advocate Peter Singer, a eugenicist who has said openly that deformed babies should be killed. Ironside and Singer represent a fairly common radical leftist viewpoint based on the "quality" of life versus the sanctity of life. Some of my readers have expressed concern over my strong feelings about leftists-here is one of the reasons why I feel as I do about them.

Eco-fascism jumps the shark: massive, epic fail! – Telegraph Blogs

Read about a truly hideous campaign of the Greens to convince people to reduce their carbon footprints. I posted this link to illustrate the true nature of these people.
Eco-fascism jumps the shark: massive, epic fail! – Telegraph Blogs

On Trial for Telling the Truth

Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician known for his stand against Islamization, is on trial for hate speech. You can click on the link below to read the news story, and/or go to my "People in the News" section to read about this courageous man.

Geert Wilders hate speech trial starts.

Related link to anti-immigration movement in Europe

Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch

On Morality

by Joan Didion

As it happens I am in Death Valley, in a room at the Enterprise Motel and Trailer Park, and it is July, and it is hot. In fact it is 119°. I cannot seem to make the air conditioner work, but there is a small refrigerator, and I can wrap ice cubes in a towel and hold them against the small of my back. With the help of the ice cubes I have been trying to think, because The American Scholar asked me to, in some abstract way about “morality,” a word I distrust more every day, but my mind veers inflexibly toward the particular.

Power is the Opiate of the Left

I have been told a few times that I should be tolerant of opposing points of view. Such tolerance is hardly appropriate when the opposing point of view is designed to enslave, plunder, or kill you. There should be no tolerance of leftism in any form, for it is a murderous, evil doctrine that at best reduces all of humanity (except the ruling class) to mediocrity, and at worst, kills us by government.

 Much has been said about how the Leftist allegedly begins his career: he sees poverty and human misery, and wants to help. He can't afford to help on his own, because he dreams of ending all human suffering. The thought of finding just one man and helping him directly apparently never occurs to him. Instead, he gets the idea that the government, with it's enormous treasury, can do the job. Ending all poverty is difficult for one man to accomplish.  Well, why take the weight of the world on your shoulders? Just go out on the street, find someone in dire need, and help that person directly, with your own money, and with your own compassion. Why force others to do so?

The Floating Fortress

Someone had left a Popular Mechanics magazine in the lobby of my bank, and my attention was drawn to the cover.

For those of you who've read Orwell's 1984, you might recall the "floating fortresses" of that fictitional world. It looks like the floating fortresses will become a reality soon. Read the article.

The Spring is Silent on DDT - Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. - Mises Daily

The Spring is Silent on DDT - Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. - Mises Daily

I should point out that the ban of DDT is also responsible for the "comeback" of bedbugs, which have become a big problem in American major cities now. Read the above article and discover how the environmentalists are responsible for the deaths of millions of people where malaria has made a comeback, too.

Music page added

Please be sure to check out my music page, where I've placed some really good music videos.