A College Education?

Good news: Study confirms that college is pretty much a total waste of time « Hot Air

But at least the students leave college fully indoctrinated with Leftist agendas!

The Emerald City: A Surprisingly Mild Place to Be

It is not the perfect climate, nor is it much of a tourist draw, but Seattle, Washington has a climate you would not expect for being so far up North. The latitude here is 47 degrees north, the same latitude as northern France. We are about a two and a half hour  drive from the Canadian border-yet even so, snow fall in Seattle is rare (some seasons it doesn't snow at all), and the average temperature the past few days has been in the upper forties-lower fifties (I am writing this on January 17). But don't get me wrong-ever once in a while, the temperature drops into the twenties. Also, with the prevalent rain here, winter can be cold, damp, and dreary-but rarely as cold as, say, Chicago or even New York City. Temperature-wise, it's a bit like Memphis, Tennessee in the winter time. Except for one crucial fact: in Memphis, it rains occasionally. It Seattle, it rains constantly.

Seattle has such a mild climate because of it's location in a huge valley, with the Cascades to the east and the Olympcs to the west. Running through the center of this valley is Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific. Just off the Pacific coast, a warm current moderates the temps, and the mountains block cold Arctic air from having much of an effect.

A tropical paradise it's not, but Seattle's climate is remarkably mild. The only trouble is the rain. Anyone visiting the Emerald City should take an umbrella.

As for the character of the city itself, it is marked by an astonishing prevalence of courtesy and friendliness-Seattle is quite civil, unusually so. The setting of this city is spectacular; downtown rests upon a  hill overlooking Puget Sound, and when the sky is clear, Mt. Rainier, perhaps the most perfectly shaped volcano on Earth, looms over all like an ominous stone idol.

Beautiful, clean, high-tech, space age, and  über-liberal, Seattle is unique and distinctive.

The Politicization of Tragedy

The recent massacre of several people in Tucson, AZ has been used by many on the Left as an excuse to vilify the Right. The link below is an excellent expose of the hypocrisy of such a claim, and instructive, as well:

Michelle Malkin » The progressive “climate of hate:” An illustrated primer, 2000-2010

Revolution: The Great Depression II

by John Russell Turner

"Most disasters are politically understandable."

 -Dr. Thomas Sowell

The root cause of the present economic depression?
Left wing ideology put into practice.

The cure for the present economic depression?
Free market capitalism.

The chances that this will happen, i.e., that Congress will start the lengthy process of cutting back on the size and continued growth of government-and removing most of the regulations on the free market-are anyone's guess. The emergence of the Tea Party Movement is encouraging, for they support  a free market, limited government agenda.

But the opposition is fierce, well funded, and well organized.

Dutch leader tests free speech - Campus News - Terrorism Awareness Project

Dutch leader tests free speech - Campus News - Terrorism Awareness Project

The Root of Left-Wing Ideology

"I do not have a monopoly on the truth, the truth has a monopoly on the truth."

by John Russell Turner

LEFT-WING: A BRANCH OF POLITICAL THOUGHT THAT HOLDS THE BELIEF IN THE ULTIMATE SUPREMACY OF THE STATE.  The power of the state should be used to help the poor. And this is how it is currently done: take(tax) the property of others in order to have money to give to those whom the state deems poor.

Thus we see clearly that violence is at the root of all Left wing social policies, for what recourse does the State have if an individual would prefer to keep his money, rather than have it given to someone else? The money must be taken by force, and most certainly will be. The ends (helping the poor) can not and must never justify the means (theft, euphemistically called taxation), for if that is so, then anything goes if the ends are sufficiently compelling.

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.