When will the Left come up with some fresh ideas? They're trottting out their Marxist class warfare schemes...again!
Very recently, there's been a lot of focus in the mainstream media on the class warfare concept, a term used by key Republicans to describe Obama's economic strategy.
"Class warfare" originated as a Marxist term. It was used to describe what would happen when the poor got sick and tired of being exploited by the rich. "Workers of the world unite!" In popular parlance, it refers to political rhetoric that appeals to envy and resentment.
It goes something like this:
"Joe the Millionaire pays a lower percentage of taxes than his secretary!"
"The rich have to pay their fair share of taxes, too. And they should be willing to pay more, since they're rich enough. A few extra dollars won't hurt them!"
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Class Warfare...Again?
Labels:
class warfare,
leftist ideology
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Discredit the Left Now
So you want to help people-you see the media images of the starving and destitute, read about the mass scale of human suffering in the world-and you want to "make a differance", to do something to help. That is a noble sentiment. It is something conservatives and liberals agree on.
However, liberals and conservatives do not usually agree on the means to these noble ends. As for myself, I favor addressing the root causes of these symptoms with far more resources than we use right now. Most of our time and money is spent on addressing the symptoms. We send money and food to the starving and homeless. We give those things that destitute and sick people need right away. That is good. But the problem doesn't go away, and in many instances, becomes worse.
However, liberals and conservatives do not usually agree on the means to these noble ends. As for myself, I favor addressing the root causes of these symptoms with far more resources than we use right now. Most of our time and money is spent on addressing the symptoms. We send money and food to the starving and homeless. We give those things that destitute and sick people need right away. That is good. But the problem doesn't go away, and in many instances, becomes worse.
Labels:
discredit the left,
left wing ideology,
the left
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Monday, June 13, 2011
How To Profit From the Death Panels
A Horrible Consequence of Socialized Medicine!
"How to Profit From Death Panels", by forensic psychologist Helen Smith
Dr. Smith's latest blog entry goes into chilling detail about one of the consequences of a free lunch, er uh a free health care system.
Dr. Smith's blog is interesting, well written and designed, and informative.
Seniors should take note here: the death panels will be an objective reality.
"How to Profit From Death Panels", by forensic psychologist Helen Smith
Dr. Smith's latest blog entry goes into chilling detail about one of the consequences of a free lunch, er uh a free health care system.
Dr. Smith's blog is interesting, well written and designed, and informative.
Seniors should take note here: the death panels will be an objective reality.
Labels:
death panels,
Dr. Helen Smith,
ObamaCare,
socialized medicine
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Just In: Christians are Stupid
Despite 2 millenia of having, for the most part, turned the world from barbarism and savagery to reason and faith, Christianity is still looked upon by its critics as shameful and suspect. For example, for two thousand years or more, it is has been generally accepted by the Christian community as a whole that homosexuality is a sin, which means: if you engage in this behavior, you are distancing yourself from God.
Labels:
gay marriage
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
On Music
First of all, please remember that music is marketed in the same basic process as any other product. What you see on the CD labels, commercials, advertisements and programs is designed to appeal to a specific audience. If the packaging appeals to a specific audience-if the marketing succeeds-then everyone involved in the production of the music wins. They make money, which is a good thing.
But, many times you will read a music critic blast a musician for "selling out", by which the critic usually means the musician has written music that appeals to a large number of people. This is "pop music", and a sure fire way to tell if someone's a sell out, as if the musician were a greedy charlatan instead of a true artist.
But, many times you will read a music critic blast a musician for "selling out", by which the critic usually means the musician has written music that appeals to a large number of people. This is "pop music", and a sure fire way to tell if someone's a sell out, as if the musician were a greedy charlatan instead of a true artist.
Labels:
music,
music critics,
pop music
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Social Justice
WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE? If anything, it is an abstract, vague, and ultimately, meaningless term. How can two abstract words like social and justice be linked together in any coherently objective way? They can not... "social justice" means whatever any particular individual says it means, since it is an idea in someone's imagination of how the world should be. Who decides what is "socially" just or not?
Labels:
social justice
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Man vrs State: The Proper Role of Government
by John Russell Turner
IT IS INFORMATIVE TO ASK WHY MANKIND INVENTED GOVERNMENT. It’s not a difficult question to answer: we made government because it became clear to all of us that there were some who just wouldn’t follow the rules. Some people will cheat. Some will steal. Some will commit crimes, break contracts, smoke in public places…wait a minute, smoke in public places? Is that something any government should be concerned with?
Man invented government to give a group of people the power to enforce the law, and also, to run a military force.
Labels:
capitalism,
capitalism vrs socialism,
income redistribution,
libertarianism,
man vrs state,
proper role of government,
use of force
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, March 25, 2011
David Horowitz: Opposing the Palestinian War Against the Jews
-David HorowitzLeftists operate on the basis of doctrines that were discredited over the entire course of the 20th century at the cost of 100 million innocent lives.
The link below will take you to the transcript of a speech made by David Horowitz at an unidentified college campus. This is a good place to start if you'd like to know the truth about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/03/25/opposing-the-palestinian-war-against-the-jews/2/
Friday, March 11, 2011
Alternative to the Welfare State
Click the link below to read a piece suggesting a way to continue helping the poor, but at a greatly lower cost.
http://city-journal.com/2011/21_1_income-tax.html
http://city-journal.com/2011/21_1_income-tax.html
Labels:
negative income tax
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Latest Banality
It's getting to the point where if I see the phrase "spot on", I immediately begin to feel ill, so I ignore whatever else that person has written. Could all of you spot-on people out there read Orwell's Politics and the English Language, and let the things he writes about there influence your writing, instead of slavish imitation of celebrity jargon?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Honesty and the Left
The truth does not care whether or not I like it
I AM ASSUMING THAT THE PALIN HATERS feel the way they do because she is an uber-conservative, and apparently proud of it. I've thought about it a lot. Why do Leftists hate conservatives? Is it because conservatives believe in God? No, most Leftists merely feel smug disdain for anyone who believes in a higher power. Is it because conservatives believe in individual rights and freedom? Or is it because we all have embraced what they struggle so vainly to deny, and so embarrass them in comparison?
What have conservatives embraced, and Leftists denied? Reality.
THE ESSENCE, THE CORE OF ALL CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY is an unflinching, uncompromising embrace of reality. Conservatives do not claim to have some special grasp of what is real and unreal; they are merely honest about it. That is all. That is the root of conservatism. Is this why the Leftists hate us? Because we are real, and our real-ness illuminates their pretense at everything, from self-esteem to civility?
Leftists seem to say "I wish it, therefore it is so" when they try to defend their doctrines and policies.
Honesty: leftist policies put into practice are disastrous. The experiments in socialism, for example. Can you say...(gasp!) National Socialism? Soviet Russia? Mao-ist China? Pol Pot? Despite the repeated failure of that darling of Leftist thought, Leftists continue to embrace it, explaining away the millions of people who were murdered by their government.
Honesty: we conservatives are not infallible, we do make mistakes, but what do the Leftists offer us as an alternative to capitalism? A system of government that must exile, or outright murder dissidents. A system of government that requires us to be sheep, all equal and undifferentiated, while they act as the benevolent shepherds (but the slaughterhouse is where they are leading the sheep).
I was in Seattle when the WTO riots took place there. I saw the bastards with my own eyes. They quite obviously enjoyed breaking windows at Starbucks more than they cared about their alleged agenda. Radical leftists cannot be honest, for if they were, they would have to kill themselves, because death-for themselves and for others-is at the root of their beliefs.
I AM ASSUMING THAT THE PALIN HATERS feel the way they do because she is an uber-conservative, and apparently proud of it. I've thought about it a lot. Why do Leftists hate conservatives? Is it because conservatives believe in God? No, most Leftists merely feel smug disdain for anyone who believes in a higher power. Is it because conservatives believe in individual rights and freedom? Or is it because we all have embraced what they struggle so vainly to deny, and so embarrass them in comparison?
What have conservatives embraced, and Leftists denied? Reality.
THE ESSENCE, THE CORE OF ALL CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY is an unflinching, uncompromising embrace of reality. Conservatives do not claim to have some special grasp of what is real and unreal; they are merely honest about it. That is all. That is the root of conservatism. Is this why the Leftists hate us? Because we are real, and our real-ness illuminates their pretense at everything, from self-esteem to civility?
Leftists seem to say "I wish it, therefore it is so" when they try to defend their doctrines and policies.
Honesty: leftist policies put into practice are disastrous. The experiments in socialism, for example. Can you say...(gasp!) National Socialism? Soviet Russia? Mao-ist China? Pol Pot? Despite the repeated failure of that darling of Leftist thought, Leftists continue to embrace it, explaining away the millions of people who were murdered by their government.
Honesty: we conservatives are not infallible, we do make mistakes, but what do the Leftists offer us as an alternative to capitalism? A system of government that must exile, or outright murder dissidents. A system of government that requires us to be sheep, all equal and undifferentiated, while they act as the benevolent shepherds (but the slaughterhouse is where they are leading the sheep).
I was in Seattle when the WTO riots took place there. I saw the bastards with my own eyes. They quite obviously enjoyed breaking windows at Starbucks more than they cared about their alleged agenda. Radical leftists cannot be honest, for if they were, they would have to kill themselves, because death-for themselves and for others-is at the root of their beliefs.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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!
Labels:
college,
university
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Monday, January 17, 2011
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.
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.
Labels:
Puget Sound,
Seattle,
Seattle climate
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Monday, January 10, 2011
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:
Labels:
Tucson Massacre
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Revolution: The Great Depression II
by John Russell Turner
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.
"Most disasters are politically understandable."
-Dr. Thomas SowellThe 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.
Labels:
defeat Leftism,
free market capitalism,
good versus evil,
second Great Depression Great Depression II,
Thomas Sowell
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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.
Labels:
left wing ideology
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
capitalism
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, December 10, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
Bea Arthur,
Maude,
The Golden Girls
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Thursday, December 9, 2010
How Best To Help the Poor...and Everyone Else
by John Russell Turner
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.
The Laffer Curve |
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.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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
John Lennon's Last Days | Rolling Stone Music
Labels:
John Lennon,
Rolling Stone Magazine
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
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).
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).
Labels:
education,
indoctrination of students
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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?
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?
Labels:
elitism,
elitists,
legitimate self-esteem
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
Ant Christ,
Christianity,
Piss Christ
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, November 26, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
Seattle homeless
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Michael Jackson: back from the dead
Labels:
Michael Jackson,
music marketing
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
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."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
How Leftists Argue
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.....
So, in the news today.....
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
bastards,
leftists,
Rush Limbaugh,
Rush Limbaugh calls democrats bastards,
Sarah Palin,
Sarah Palin calls leftist media bastards
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Monday, November 1, 2010
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.
Labels:
Alaska election,
Joe Miller,
Sarah Palin
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Voting Fraud and Irregularities Increase
Power! My Precious! |
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?
Labels:
Democrat Party thugs,
voting fraud
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Juan Williams Fired/Workingman Fired For Wearing George Bush Shirt
Fired For Words |
Fired For Shirt |
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.
Labels:
free speech,
Juan William's remarks on the Bill O'Reilly show,
Juan Williams,
Liberal hypocrisy,
liberal intolerance,
NPR
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
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
ABC News Story on Remarkable Lunar Discovery
Thursday, October 21, 2010
It's A Wonderful Life - The Ending
Dedicated in memory of Elizabeth and Erich Ferger.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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/
http://www.infowars.com/will-americans-follow-french-example-of-mass-civil-unrest/
Labels:
civil unrest,
civil unrest in America,
civil unrest in France,
consequences of socialism,
French riots 2010
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Wilders: One Step Closer to Victory
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
anti-Islamisation,
free speech,
Geert Wilders,
Oath Keepers,
Patty Murray,
The Seattle Weekly
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Friday, October 15, 2010
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
US News: Health Care Law Suit Can Go Forward
Labels:
ObamaCare,
repeal ObamaCare,
socialized medicine
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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.
Labels:
freedom of speech,
Geert Wilders
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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.
"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.
Labels:
Gaea worship,
paganism,
Romans 1
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Signal Detected From Gliese 581g
Labels:
Gliese 581g,
life on other worlds,
SETI
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
I-1098,
income redistribution,
Seattle,
Seattle politics,
soak the rich,
Washington State,
Washington State politics
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
KOMO 4: "State Income Tax Initiative Steps Closer to Ballot" - July 1, 2010
Seattle News Coverage of I-1098
Saturday, October 9, 2010
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.
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.
Labels:
anti-life,
Michelle Malkin,
radical environmentalism
Thoughts inspired by reason, objectivity, and faith!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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.
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.
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