Thomas Sowell suggested the administration’s recent effort to take credit for increased U.S. domestic energy production is disingenuous. “It’s true that there’s a lot more drilling going on now than a few years ago,” he said. “But all the drilling that’s going on is occurring on private land, under leases signed by the Bush administration and by earlier administrations. Obama himself has drastically cut back on federal leases, and on drilling on federal land.”
Sowell also believes the much-maligned gridlock in Washington, D.C., actually may be helping the economy. “What little economic improvement we’ve seen has come primarily during the period of so-called gridlock in Washington,” he said, “and I don’t think that’s accidental. I think most of the policies that have been followed have been detrimental. And now that you have gridlock in Washington and they can’t push these policies anymore, the economy is beginning to recover on its own -- as the economy has recovered on its own numerable times for the past two centuries.”
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Vulture Capitalism by Stossel
Vulture Capitalism
A Commentary by John Stossel
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Now that Mitt Romney is likely to be the Republican nominee, we can expect new attacks on his "vulture capitalism." That's how Rick Perry characterized his private equity work. Newt Gingrich's supporters ran an ad about Romney's firm, Bain Capital, that said, "Their greed was only matched by their willingness to do anything to make millions in profits."
Give me a break.
"Greed" means you want more for yourself. Fine. If you obtain it legally, without force or privilege -- say, by buying a business and making it more efficient, or shifting resources to where consumers prefer them -- that is a good thing. "Creative destruction" makes America richer.
Shifting resources does mean some people lose their jobs. That is sad for those who are fired.
But on balance, it's a good thing. Intuition tells us that it would be better if no one ever lost a job and that capitalists who close businesses are evil. But America would not be better off today if elevator operators and factory workers who made typewriters had their jobs preserved by a "compassionate" government.
America is richer today because those workers lost their jobs, because money once paid them is put to better use. In addition, most of those workers found new jobs where their skills better served consumers. Some even say they were glad that they were fired, because now they are more productive, and being productive makes people happy.
But we in the media almost never tell that story. That's because we only report what we see.
We can see, and interview, the sad people who get fired. We take pictures as they leave their jobs on that last day when the factory closes. We interview them about the hardship to their families. It's a sad and moving story. We tell it well. But we never tell the flip side, the creative part of creative destruction. That's because we don't see it. We don't see the better things that are done with capital that once went into the factory. We don't see what many of the workers do next.
None of us covered the first few weeks of Apple or Google or Staples or Domino's Pizza. We had no clue that those companies were about to produce cool new things, thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in value. Staples and Domino's, by the way, were funded by Bain Capital.
Not all bankers and private equity firms create wealth, because some make bad decisions. But if government does not bestow privileges, those that don't create wealth go out of business, and those that fund good ideas grow. Some may call that "vulture capitalism" and sneer at "hostile" takeovers, but if the takeover is not enabled by government force, it is likely to be a good thing. It makes America more prosperous.
Michael Moore says, "Capitalism has no moral core."
Is that right? Since the word "capitalism" is ambiguous, the answer depends on what we mean. If it's crony capitalism -- well, yeah. It stinks. Handouts to Solyndra and special deals for Goldman Sachs and GM are not capitalism. That's "crapitalism."
Many people hate banks, private-equity firms and mortgage brokers. In light of the last few years, this isn't totally unjustified. I resent the bankers who got rich by taking foolish risks and then, when they failed, got bailed out with our tax money.
I guess I shouldn't blame bankers. I should blame the politicians. They gave our tax money away. If someone offered me money to cover my losses, I'd take it, too.
The real evil bankers are the government cronies, like those at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They took our money by force, our taxes, then paid themselves fat salaries and promised us that none of our money was at risk. And then they squandered more than $100 billion, betting that housing prices would always rise and few people would default.
I resent them and their backers in government.
But in a real free market -- no government privileges or barriers to competition -- capitalism is great. It's the only system with a moral core because it's based on freedom, not force.
John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network. He's the author of "Give Me a Break" and of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity."
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Actor Kirk Cameron: Homosexuality is ‘Unnatural’ and ‘Destructive’
From The Blaze:
Former “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron told CNN’s Piers Morgan Friday that homosexuality is “unnatural” and “destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
Cameron, an evangelical Christian, has been back in the news lately to promote his new documentary “Monumental,” about America’s founding principles. He attended the Conservative Political Action Conference last month and appeared on GBTV.
In a sit-down interview on “Piers Morgan Tonight,” the host repeatedly pressed Cameron about his views on social issues.
“I believe that marriage was designed by God a long time ago — marriage is almost as old as dirt and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve — one man, one woman for life till death do you part.” Cameron said when asked about his gay marriage views. “I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage, and I don’t think anyone else should either so do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”
Cameron — who at first joked, “I feel like I just got imported into the Christine O’Donnell interview you did back in August” at Morgan’s line of questioning — said he does not consider being gay normal.
“I think that it’s unnatural, I think that it’s detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization,” Cameron said. Asked what he would say to his son if he announced he was gay, Cameron answered, “Just because you feel one way doesn’t mean you should act on everything you feel.”
When Morgan sounded incredulous at Cameron’s answer, he replied: “Piers, you‘re speaking to a man who’s a Christian and I believe all of us are sinful, that’s what I teach my kids. I teach them the values that I hold dear, I treasure the God that loves me and forgives me of my sin.”
Abortion, he said, is “wrong in any circumstances.”
“I think that someone who is ultimately willing to murder a child, even to fix another tragic and devastating situation like rape or incest or things like that, is not taking the moral high road,” Cameron said. “I think that we’re compounding the problem by also murdering a little child.”
In response to Cameron’s statements, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation started a petition to tell the former teen heartthrob “it’s time to finally grow up.”
“In this interview, Kirk Cameron sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character,” Herndon Graddick, GLAAD’s senior director of programs at GLAAD. “Cameron is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation.”
Some interesting comments about this:One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew
THIS said it all ““Just because you feel one way doesn’t mean you should act on everything you feel.”That, or self control, is antithesis to the liberal worldview. Their motto and life creed is “if it feels good do it and make someone else pay for it or it’s consequences”
chameleonx
How can someone say homosexuality is unnatural when it is genetic and has been observed in many animals. If I can describe Kirk Cameron in one word it will be brainwashed. Kirk Cameron has to be one the most confused people who target people who are confused. Leading people into a dark age._____
In response to the above person's writing:
OccupyWashington
homosexuality is not genetic, thats a progessive lie trying to use ‘science’ to promote their agenda!! It’s perverted!!And CAMELENOX, animals also eat each other…. So would you advocate that cannibalism is also ‘natural’?
Friday, March 2, 2012
Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abroad Read more on Newsmax.com: Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abro
Great article from Newsmax:
-President Barack Obama’s readiness to apologize for an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident is a signal of weakness that actually incites further unrest, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax Saturday afternoon, Bolton said that President Obama’s apologies are only making things worse.
“Look, you apologize when you’ve done something wrong and you want to make amends,” Bolton said. “You don’t apologize when makes you admit to a mistake that you haven’t made, and in fact in this case incites the people to do some of these things, because they think the apology is an admission of wrongdoing.
“When in fact,” he added, “I think the facts are still murky as far as I’m concerned, but I don’t think anybody set out intentionally to desecrate the Koran. I think quite the opposite is true.”
Bolton stipulated that the administration is not intentionally trying to fan the flames of religious violence in the Middle East.
“But I do think … they assume our people had made a mistake, and that I think is going to have a very negative effect on morale in Afghanistan at exactly the time when operations are beginning to decline.
“And the reaction,” he said, “shows how incorrect it is for the administration to follow this arbitrary timetable to suspend combat operations next year,” said Bolton.
Bolton also commented on last week’s remark by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey that Iran, which has been implicated in several recent assassination attempts, is a “rational actor.”
Bolton said Iran’s view of what is rational is vastly different from the U.S. definition.
He cited the death sentence handed down by Iran against an Iranian pastor who converted from Islam to Christianity.
He called Iran’s action against the pastor “a plain offense against freedom of religion,” adding, “It shows in their system, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience really does not count for anything at all.”
Despite its lack of progress, Bolton said the administration still believes Iran can be brought to the negotiating table and won’t do anything that could endanger that.
He said Dempsey and others in the administration appear to be guilty of “mirror imaging,” that is, the tendency to assume others think the way you do. The fact that an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident would touch off weeklong rioting suggests that is not the case, he said.
“You’re sitting at the table, you’re prepared to try and reach a solution, so surely the other guy is prepared to reach a solution, too,” Bolton said. “But if the guy on the other side of the table thinks that you’re a depraved representative of an immoral, degenerate, declining civilization, maybe his thoughts don’t exactly go along the same lines as yours do.”
Bolton said mirror imaging is a common problem in the State Department, adding, “But as this reveals, it’s obviously a problem at the Defense Department, too.”
One reason for U.S. misconceptions regarding Iranian intentions, he said, is that an increasingly secular America appear increasingly ill-equipped to fathom the depth of religious fervor motivating extremists.
“The left in this country, following the economic determinism of Karl Marx, thinks everything is motivated by economic factors,” he said. “And that’s simply not true.”
That the president is apologizing for the United States, rather than strongly condemning religious persecution in many Islamic countries, sends signals of weakness to America’s enemies, he said.
“I think the perception internationally, and I think particularly in the Middle East, is that the president is weak, he does not assert American interests, that he can be pushed,” Bolton told Newsmax. “And every time that he does something like this, it just simply confirms that impression.
“I think the president thinks that American strength is provocative,” Bolton said. “And in fact, it is 180-degrees the opposite: American weakness is provocative. And Obama is a very provocative president.”
Read more on Newsmax.com: Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abroad
-President Barack Obama’s readiness to apologize for an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident is a signal of weakness that actually incites further unrest, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax Saturday afternoon, Bolton said that President Obama’s apologies are only making things worse.
“Look, you apologize when you’ve done something wrong and you want to make amends,” Bolton said. “You don’t apologize when makes you admit to a mistake that you haven’t made, and in fact in this case incites the people to do some of these things, because they think the apology is an admission of wrongdoing.
“When in fact,” he added, “I think the facts are still murky as far as I’m concerned, but I don’t think anybody set out intentionally to desecrate the Koran. I think quite the opposite is true.”
Bolton stipulated that the administration is not intentionally trying to fan the flames of religious violence in the Middle East.
“But I do think … they assume our people had made a mistake, and that I think is going to have a very negative effect on morale in Afghanistan at exactly the time when operations are beginning to decline.
“And the reaction,” he said, “shows how incorrect it is for the administration to follow this arbitrary timetable to suspend combat operations next year,” said Bolton.
Bolton also commented on last week’s remark by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey that Iran, which has been implicated in several recent assassination attempts, is a “rational actor.”
Bolton said Iran’s view of what is rational is vastly different from the U.S. definition.
He cited the death sentence handed down by Iran against an Iranian pastor who converted from Islam to Christianity.
He called Iran’s action against the pastor “a plain offense against freedom of religion,” adding, “It shows in their system, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience really does not count for anything at all.”
Despite its lack of progress, Bolton said the administration still believes Iran can be brought to the negotiating table and won’t do anything that could endanger that.
He said Dempsey and others in the administration appear to be guilty of “mirror imaging,” that is, the tendency to assume others think the way you do. The fact that an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident would touch off weeklong rioting suggests that is not the case, he said.
“You’re sitting at the table, you’re prepared to try and reach a solution, so surely the other guy is prepared to reach a solution, too,” Bolton said. “But if the guy on the other side of the table thinks that you’re a depraved representative of an immoral, degenerate, declining civilization, maybe his thoughts don’t exactly go along the same lines as yours do.”
Bolton said mirror imaging is a common problem in the State Department, adding, “But as this reveals, it’s obviously a problem at the Defense Department, too.”
One reason for U.S. misconceptions regarding Iranian intentions, he said, is that an increasingly secular America appear increasingly ill-equipped to fathom the depth of religious fervor motivating extremists.
“The left in this country, following the economic determinism of Karl Marx, thinks everything is motivated by economic factors,” he said. “And that’s simply not true.”
That the president is apologizing for the United States, rather than strongly condemning religious persecution in many Islamic countries, sends signals of weakness to America’s enemies, he said.
“I think the perception internationally, and I think particularly in the Middle East, is that the president is weak, he does not assert American interests, that he can be pushed,” Bolton told Newsmax. “And every time that he does something like this, it just simply confirms that impression.
“I think the president thinks that American strength is provocative,” Bolton said. “And in fact, it is 180-degrees the opposite: American weakness is provocative. And Obama is a very provocative president.”
Read more on Newsmax.com: Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abroad
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Valerie Jarrett: Unemployment Stimulates the Economy (from Newsmax)
This is crazy!
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett argued during a speaking engagement at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett argued during a speaking engagement at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Media Matters out to get conservatives
This article makes me made at all those left wing people who are so bent on destroying free speech. Fox News has been a voice that has been fair and balanced for me and has helped me see all sides of the issues. Media Matters wants to shut anything that does not agree with them and it looks like the Obama administration is in cahoots with them. That is scary when the White House has the power to shut out other voices that should also be heard in this free nation.
Liberal Media Matters Targeted Fox News, Newsmax
By Jim Meyers
Newsmax and the Fox News Channel are among the conservative media entities targeted by an “opposition research team” formed by the left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters for America.
That eye-opening disclosure came to light in an internal Media Matters memo obtained by The Daily Caller, which lists targets including conservative websites, conservative think tanks, media outlets, and politicians.
A Media Matters memo actually went so far as to call for the hiring of private investigators to look into the private lives of Fox News employees and to harass them at their homes.
Media Matters says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” Its financial contributors include a who’s who of liberal foundations and philanthropists, including billionaire financier George Soros.
But the group has contemplated activities far more aggressive than simply monitoring, according to a September 2009 memo sent by a staffer to Media Matters founder David Brock and President Eric Burns.
“Simply put,” the staffer wrote, “the progressive movement is in need of an enemy. George W. Bush is gone. We really don’t have John McCain to kick around anymore. Filling the lack of leadership on the right, Fox News has emerged as the central enemy and antagonist of the Obama administration, our Congressional majorities and the progressive movement as a whole.
“We must take Fox News head-on in a well-funded, presidential-style campaign to discredit and embarrass the network, making it illegitimate in the eyes of news consumers.”
The memo also states: “We should hire private investigators to look into the personal lives of Fox News anchors, hosts, reporters, prominent contributors, senior network and corporate staff.”
The memo said Media Matters should look into hiring a law firm to pursue lawsuits against Fox, conduct demonstrations at News Corp. shareholder meetings, attack Fox News employees on Facebook and other social media, mail anti-Fox literature to their homes, and place “yard signs and outdoor advertising in their neighborhoods.”
Media Matters set up its “opposition research team” to target political entities and even individuals associated with them.
“We will conduct extensive public records searches and compile opposition books on individuals,” states the memo, according to The Daily Caller.
The research team “will focus on the backgrounds, connections, operations and political and financial activities of the individuals.”
In addition to the Fox News Channel and Newsmax, the target list includes The Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Fox News websites, Fox Business Network, and the American Enterprise Institute.
Also on the list are several News Corp. executives, including Rupert Murdoch; Fox News executives, including CEO Roger Ailes; Fox personalities Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity; conservative donors; and politicians, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Mitch McConnell.
The Daily Caller also discloses that Media Matters has been successful in dictating the content of liberal media, and even exerts influence on the Obama administration, thanks to “regular contact with political operatives” inside the Obama White House.
Liberal Media Matters Targeted Fox News, Newsmax
By Jim Meyers
Newsmax and the Fox News Channel are among the conservative media entities targeted by an “opposition research team” formed by the left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters for America.
That eye-opening disclosure came to light in an internal Media Matters memo obtained by The Daily Caller, which lists targets including conservative websites, conservative think tanks, media outlets, and politicians.
A Media Matters memo actually went so far as to call for the hiring of private investigators to look into the private lives of Fox News employees and to harass them at their homes.
Media Matters says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” Its financial contributors include a who’s who of liberal foundations and philanthropists, including billionaire financier George Soros.
But the group has contemplated activities far more aggressive than simply monitoring, according to a September 2009 memo sent by a staffer to Media Matters founder David Brock and President Eric Burns.
“Simply put,” the staffer wrote, “the progressive movement is in need of an enemy. George W. Bush is gone. We really don’t have John McCain to kick around anymore. Filling the lack of leadership on the right, Fox News has emerged as the central enemy and antagonist of the Obama administration, our Congressional majorities and the progressive movement as a whole.
“We must take Fox News head-on in a well-funded, presidential-style campaign to discredit and embarrass the network, making it illegitimate in the eyes of news consumers.”
The memo also states: “We should hire private investigators to look into the personal lives of Fox News anchors, hosts, reporters, prominent contributors, senior network and corporate staff.”
The memo said Media Matters should look into hiring a law firm to pursue lawsuits against Fox, conduct demonstrations at News Corp. shareholder meetings, attack Fox News employees on Facebook and other social media, mail anti-Fox literature to their homes, and place “yard signs and outdoor advertising in their neighborhoods.”
Media Matters set up its “opposition research team” to target political entities and even individuals associated with them.
“We will conduct extensive public records searches and compile opposition books on individuals,” states the memo, according to The Daily Caller.
The research team “will focus on the backgrounds, connections, operations and political and financial activities of the individuals.”
In addition to the Fox News Channel and Newsmax, the target list includes The Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Fox News websites, Fox Business Network, and the American Enterprise Institute.
Also on the list are several News Corp. executives, including Rupert Murdoch; Fox News executives, including CEO Roger Ailes; Fox personalities Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity; conservative donors; and politicians, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Mitch McConnell.
The Daily Caller also discloses that Media Matters has been successful in dictating the content of liberal media, and even exerts influence on the Obama administration, thanks to “regular contact with political operatives” inside the Obama White House.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Government rules getting in the way of family
N.C. Food ‘Inspector’ Sends Girl's Lunch Home After Determining It’s Not Healthy Enough
(read full story at Carolina Journal)A North Carolina mom is irate after her four-year-old daughter returned home late last month with an uneaten lunch the mother had packed for the girl earlier that day. But she wasn’t mad because the daughter decided to go on a hunger strike. Instead, the reason the daughter didn‘t eat her lunch is because someone at the school determined the lunch wasn’t healthy enough and sent it back home.
Yes, you read that right.
The incident happened in Raeford, N.C. at West Hoke Elementary School. What was wrong with the lunch? That’s still a head-scratcher because it didn’t contain anything egregious: a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice. But for the inspector on hand that day, it didn’t meet the healthy requirements.
See, in North Carolina, all pre-Kindergarten programs are required to evaluate the lunches being provided and determine if they meet USDA nutrition guidelines. If not, they must provide an alternative.
But that’s not the worst of it. Instead of being given a salad or something really healthy, the girl was given chicken nuggets instead. On top of it, her mother was then sent a bill for the cafeteria food.
Sara Burrows from the Carolina Journal explains:
The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.
The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.
When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.
The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.
“I don’t feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County, reports the Journal.
“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told the Journal. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”
The Journal provides a copy of the state regulation:
“Sites must provide breakfast and/or snacks and lunch meeting USDA requirements during the regular school day. The partial/full cost of meals may be charged when families do not qualify for free/reduced price meals.
“When children bring their own food for meals and snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the specified nutritional requirements, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements.”
But what was so wrong with the lunch the mother provided? Nothing apparently. A spokesowman for the Division of Child Development explained that the mother’s meal should have been okay.
“With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that’s the dairy,” Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division, told the Journal. “It sounds like the lunch itself would’ve met all of the standard.”
It‘s unclear from reports who determined the lunch wasn’t healthy enough. The Carolina Journal refers to the person as a “state agent,” while the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the person a “state inspector” who was checking lunches that day. In an email to The Blaze, Caroline Journal reporter said the inspector was “an employee of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education.”
The school denied knowledge of the incident and said it’s looking into it.
“While I share concerns about childhood obesity, I still remain uncertain of the right role for schools,” writes the Journal-Constitution’s Maureen Downey. “This story clearly exemplifies the wrong role.”
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