From the UK's Times Online
Health service dentists have been forced to go on holiday or spend time on the golf course this month despite millions of patients being denied dental care.
Many have fulfilled their annual work quotas allotted by the National Health Service and have been turning patients away because they are not paid to do extra work. This is despite the fact that more than 7m people in Britain are unable to find an NHS dentist.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Prom!
Nothing like your oldest child going to the Prom to make you realize how fast their childhood has gone by. This event was, as far as we know, the first Homeschool Prom in NH! Here she is at home, ready to go.
Here she is at the beginning of the event, when the adults gathered to take pictures of them as they promenaded (the source of the term "Prom", btw) in a circle for us. They weren't too thrilled to be doing it, but it's a small price to pay the parents for all of the time and money that went into getting them there! (Click pic for larger view)
Here is video of said stroll (click the play button):
Here she is at the beginning of the event, when the adults gathered to take pictures of them as they promenaded (the source of the term "Prom", btw) in a circle for us. They weren't too thrilled to be doing it, but it's a small price to pay the parents for all of the time and money that went into getting them there! (Click pic for larger view)
Here is video of said stroll (click the play button):
Friday, March 28, 2008
We're at number 2!
After record-breaking snow amounts in Dec, Jan, and Feb, March has been pretty lackluster. But we just got another 4 or 5 inches, putting us at Number 2 on the list of all-time snowiest winters (since they started keeping records).
(From wmur.com)
Snow Totals (10:45 a.m.)
1. 122" 1873-1874
2. 115.2" 2007-2008
3. 115" 1872-1873
4. 113.2" 1995-1996
5. 111" 1886-1887
5. 111" 1887-1888
7. 103.2" 1898-1899
8. 103" 1874-1875
9. 100" 1875-1876
10. 100" 1971-1972
The average snowfall is around 60 or so inches per winter.
Not everyone is excited to have more snow on March 28th, but since I know that we won't really have spring weather to make it all go away for another few weeks, we may as well get another coating to freshen it up a bit (old snow by the roadsides gets really dirty and gross looking) - and try to break the record, as well! For some reason, that's exciting to me. It makes one feel very hearty to live in a climate like this.
The cats are somewhat less excited - Ron-ron is the only one who ventured out for a bit. He likes it better when the surface of the snow gets icy and he doesn't sink in.
(From wmur.com)
Snow Totals (10:45 a.m.)
1. 122" 1873-1874
2. 115.2" 2007-2008
3. 115" 1872-1873
4. 113.2" 1995-1996
5. 111" 1886-1887
5. 111" 1887-1888
7. 103.2" 1898-1899
8. 103" 1874-1875
9. 100" 1875-1876
10. 100" 1971-1972
The average snowfall is around 60 or so inches per winter.
Not everyone is excited to have more snow on March 28th, but since I know that we won't really have spring weather to make it all go away for another few weeks, we may as well get another coating to freshen it up a bit (old snow by the roadsides gets really dirty and gross looking) - and try to break the record, as well! For some reason, that's exciting to me. It makes one feel very hearty to live in a climate like this.
The cats are somewhat less excited - Ron-ron is the only one who ventured out for a bit. He likes it better when the surface of the snow gets icy and he doesn't sink in.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
This has gone too far
as the line continues to blur between human and critter territory in our house.
"Oh - sorry, Ronron - did I disturb your sleep?"
"Oh - sorry, Ronron - did I disturb your sleep?"
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
FDA: Protecting us from that evil white stuff
FDA HARASSES DAIRY COMPANY EMPLOYEES
Grand Jury Investigation is Latest Government Tactic against Raw Milk
March 24, 2008: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Special FDA agents and investigators from the US Food and Drug Administration aggressively interrogated two young female employees of Organic Pastures Dairy Company, the nation's largest raw milk producer, with questions focusing on the dairy's interstate sales of raw colostrum and raw milk for pet food.
The surprise interrogations took place after work in their private homes on the evening of March 19, just hours after Judge Tobias of the Hollister Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The state court ruling blocked enforcement of California's anti-raw milk AB 1735, which mandates unnecessarily stringent standards for beneficial coliform bacteria in raw milk. The temporary restraining order represents an important legal victory for raw milk producers and consumers in California and throughout the nation.
The federal agents threatened one employee with arrest if questions were not fully and truthfully answered about Organic Pastures' order fulfillment practices. Her answers reflected information that is readily available at the company's website, www.organicpastures.com. The other employee was told FDA would "make it worth her while" to "wear a wire" and record conversations with Organic Pastures president Mark McAfee. The employee refused the offer. "We are like a family, I would never do that to a family member," she said, reflecting her close relationship with the McAfee family.
Both employees were served subpoenas to appear April 3 for a secret grand jury investigation. In 2003, Organic Pastures received a confirmation letter from Larry Childers of the FDA, which clearly stated that interstate sales of raw colostrum are not regulated because colostrum is not milk. The FDA website notes that "pet food" requires no pre-market approval and is unregulated by the FDA.
The Bronx Zoo in New York and other zoos regularly order raw colostrum and raw dairy products from Organic Pastures to save babies of endangered species and keep other animals healthy. Orders stipulate that the milk and colostrum must be raw because pasteurized versions make them ill. Many veterinarians recommend raw milk for cats and dogs.
Grand Jury Investigation is Latest Government Tactic against Raw Milk
March 24, 2008: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Special FDA agents and investigators from the US Food and Drug Administration aggressively interrogated two young female employees of Organic Pastures Dairy Company, the nation's largest raw milk producer, with questions focusing on the dairy's interstate sales of raw colostrum and raw milk for pet food.
The surprise interrogations took place after work in their private homes on the evening of March 19, just hours after Judge Tobias of the Hollister Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The state court ruling blocked enforcement of California's anti-raw milk AB 1735, which mandates unnecessarily stringent standards for beneficial coliform bacteria in raw milk. The temporary restraining order represents an important legal victory for raw milk producers and consumers in California and throughout the nation.
The federal agents threatened one employee with arrest if questions were not fully and truthfully answered about Organic Pastures' order fulfillment practices. Her answers reflected information that is readily available at the company's website, www.organicpastures.com. The other employee was told FDA would "make it worth her while" to "wear a wire" and record conversations with Organic Pastures president Mark McAfee. The employee refused the offer. "We are like a family, I would never do that to a family member," she said, reflecting her close relationship with the McAfee family.
Both employees were served subpoenas to appear April 3 for a secret grand jury investigation. In 2003, Organic Pastures received a confirmation letter from Larry Childers of the FDA, which clearly stated that interstate sales of raw colostrum are not regulated because colostrum is not milk. The FDA website notes that "pet food" requires no pre-market approval and is unregulated by the FDA.
The Bronx Zoo in New York and other zoos regularly order raw colostrum and raw dairy products from Organic Pastures to save babies of endangered species and keep other animals healthy. Orders stipulate that the milk and colostrum must be raw because pasteurized versions make them ill. Many veterinarians recommend raw milk for cats and dogs.
Fasting
Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies. Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful... Let the ear fast... by not listening to evil talk and gossip... Let the mouth fast from the foul words and unjust criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers?
St. John Chrysostom
"The Proof of Fasting"
St. John Chrysostom
"The Proof of Fasting"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
"Sub-prime" mess
As a follow up to yesterday's post...if you, like me, have had a tough time understanding what this "sub-prime" thing is, here is a great explanation from DownsizeDC.
The current housing crisis, and all that flows from it, comes from two main sources, both deriving from Washington.
First, Congress passed something called the "Community Reinvestment Act" in 1977, resulting in the creation of bureaucratic regulations designed to encourage, or even compel, financial institutions to make loans to people with lower incomes. These regulations were then amended in 1995 and 2005 to create different rules for institutions of different sizes, so that various kinds of institutions would be better able to meet the government's goals for fostering home ownership in lower income communities.
Second, the Federal Reserve starting making loans available to the banking system at extremely low interest rates.
Third, steps one and two combined to make cheap housing loans available to people who could not have afforded or qualified for them before. This caused an increased demand for housing that sent home prices spiralling upward.
Fourth, mortgage lenders managed the risk involved in making these loans by selling their mortgages to other companies, which in turn thought that they were managing their own risk because they had a wide variety of mortgages, from many different types of borrowers, in their portfolio.
Fifth, these decisions about how to manage the increased risk created by the "Community Reinvestment Act" were all in error, because the Fed's policy of easy money had falsely inflated the value of ALL homes. This meant that good mortgages could not be used to manage the risk involved in questionable mortgages, because the value of ALL homes was falsely inflated.
Sixth, as with all inflationary booms, increases in home prices finally absorbed the increased purchasing power provided by the Fed, leading to a slow-down in home purchases. When this moment arrived everyone realized that the homes they had purchased weren't really worth what they had paid for them. The defaults and foreclosures then began, along with the collapse of the financial institutions that owned these unsound mortgages.
Now, the complicated, multi-part scenario described above has been simplified in popular reporting to just two words: sub-prime loans. These two words, combined with the idea that lenders took advantage of poor unsuspecting customers, are supposed to explain everything. But this explanation is both simple and simply insufficient.
A study by the Mortgage Bankers Association tells the true story. In the third quarter of last year fixed rate mortgages accounted for 45% of foreclosures, while sub-prime ARMs accounted for only 43%.
Read the rest here.
The current housing crisis, and all that flows from it, comes from two main sources, both deriving from Washington.
First, Congress passed something called the "Community Reinvestment Act" in 1977, resulting in the creation of bureaucratic regulations designed to encourage, or even compel, financial institutions to make loans to people with lower incomes. These regulations were then amended in 1995 and 2005 to create different rules for institutions of different sizes, so that various kinds of institutions would be better able to meet the government's goals for fostering home ownership in lower income communities.
Second, the Federal Reserve starting making loans available to the banking system at extremely low interest rates.
Third, steps one and two combined to make cheap housing loans available to people who could not have afforded or qualified for them before. This caused an increased demand for housing that sent home prices spiralling upward.
Fourth, mortgage lenders managed the risk involved in making these loans by selling their mortgages to other companies, which in turn thought that they were managing their own risk because they had a wide variety of mortgages, from many different types of borrowers, in their portfolio.
Fifth, these decisions about how to manage the increased risk created by the "Community Reinvestment Act" were all in error, because the Fed's policy of easy money had falsely inflated the value of ALL homes. This meant that good mortgages could not be used to manage the risk involved in questionable mortgages, because the value of ALL homes was falsely inflated.
Sixth, as with all inflationary booms, increases in home prices finally absorbed the increased purchasing power provided by the Fed, leading to a slow-down in home purchases. When this moment arrived everyone realized that the homes they had purchased weren't really worth what they had paid for them. The defaults and foreclosures then began, along with the collapse of the financial institutions that owned these unsound mortgages.
Now, the complicated, multi-part scenario described above has been simplified in popular reporting to just two words: sub-prime loans. These two words, combined with the idea that lenders took advantage of poor unsuspecting customers, are supposed to explain everything. But this explanation is both simple and simply insufficient.
A study by the Mortgage Bankers Association tells the true story. In the third quarter of last year fixed rate mortgages accounted for 45% of foreclosures, while sub-prime ARMs accounted for only 43%.
Read the rest here.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Economic turmoil
Of course, this dramatic and distracting economic news had to happen at the beginning of Great Lent. It's challenging to figure out how to pay just enough attention to things like this, without getting completely absorbed. If you are interested...here are a couple of articles today on some of the historic economic events going on right now...
"Why aren't we furious?" by William Norman Grigg
and
"Musings from the Titanic" by Steven LaTulippe
"Why aren't we furious?" by William Norman Grigg
and
"Musings from the Titanic" by Steven LaTulippe
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Forgiveness, by Fr. Tom Hopko
The first commandment is that you love God with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and the second is that you love your neighbor as yourself. The only way you can prove you love God is by loving your neighbor, and the only way you can love your neighbor in this world is by endless forgiveness. So, “love your neighbor as yourself.” However, in certain modern editions of the Bible, I have seen this translated as, “you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But that’s not what it says.
I once had a discussion with someone on a Sunday-morning television program about this. We were asked what we thought was most important in Christianity, and part of what I said was that the only way we can find ourselves is to deny ourselves. That’s Christ’s teaching. If you try to cling to yourself, you will lose yourself. And of course, the unwillingness to forgive is the ultimate act of not wanting to let yourself go. You want to defend yourself, assert yourself, protect yourself, and so on. There is a consistent line through the Gospel—if you want to be the first you must will to be the last, and so on. And the other fellow, who taught the psychology of religion at one of the Protestant seminaries, said, “What you are saying is the source of the neuroses of Western society. What we need is healthy self-love and healthy self-esteem.” And then he quoted that line, “you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” He insisted that you must love yourself first and have a sense of dignity. If one has that, however, forgiveness is then either out of the question or an act of condescension toward the poor sinner. It is no longer an identification with the other as a sinner, too. I said that of course if we are made in the image of God it’s quite self-affirming, and self-hatred is an evil. But my main point is that there is no self there to be defended except the one that comes into existence by the act of love and self-emptying. It’s only by loving the other that myself actually emerges. And forgiveness is at the heart of that.
As we were leaving we saw a very old, venerable rabbi with a shining face. He called us over and asked if he could say something to us. “That line, you know, comes from the Torah, from Leviticus,” he said, “and it cannot possibly be translated ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ What it says is ‘you shall love your neighbor as being your own self.’ “Your neighbor is your true self. You have no self in yourself.
After I heard this I started reading the Church Fathers in this light, and that’s what they all say. They say, “Your brother is your life.” I have no self in myself except the one that is fulfilled by loving the other. The Trinitarian character of God is a metaphysical absolute here, so to speak. God’s own self is another—his Son, to use Christian evangelical terms. The same thing happens on the human level; so the minute I don’t feel deeply that my real self is the other, then I’ll have no reason to forgive anyone. But if that is my reality, and my only real self is the other, and my own identity and fulfillment emerges only in the act of loving the other, that gives substance to the idea that we are potentially God-like beings. Now, if you add to that that we are all to some degree faulty, weak, and so on, that act of love will always be an act of forgiveness. That’s how I find and fulfill myself as a human being made in God’ s image. Otherwise, I cannot. So the act of forgiveness is the very act by which our humanity is constituted. Deny that, and we kill ourselves. It’s a metaphysical suicide.
(Excerpted from: Parabola: The Magazine of Myth and Tradition, “Forgiveness,” Volume XII, Number 3, August 1987, pp. 50 - 59.)
I once had a discussion with someone on a Sunday-morning television program about this. We were asked what we thought was most important in Christianity, and part of what I said was that the only way we can find ourselves is to deny ourselves. That’s Christ’s teaching. If you try to cling to yourself, you will lose yourself. And of course, the unwillingness to forgive is the ultimate act of not wanting to let yourself go. You want to defend yourself, assert yourself, protect yourself, and so on. There is a consistent line through the Gospel—if you want to be the first you must will to be the last, and so on. And the other fellow, who taught the psychology of religion at one of the Protestant seminaries, said, “What you are saying is the source of the neuroses of Western society. What we need is healthy self-love and healthy self-esteem.” And then he quoted that line, “you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” He insisted that you must love yourself first and have a sense of dignity. If one has that, however, forgiveness is then either out of the question or an act of condescension toward the poor sinner. It is no longer an identification with the other as a sinner, too. I said that of course if we are made in the image of God it’s quite self-affirming, and self-hatred is an evil. But my main point is that there is no self there to be defended except the one that comes into existence by the act of love and self-emptying. It’s only by loving the other that myself actually emerges. And forgiveness is at the heart of that.
As we were leaving we saw a very old, venerable rabbi with a shining face. He called us over and asked if he could say something to us. “That line, you know, comes from the Torah, from Leviticus,” he said, “and it cannot possibly be translated ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ What it says is ‘you shall love your neighbor as being your own self.’ “Your neighbor is your true self. You have no self in yourself.
After I heard this I started reading the Church Fathers in this light, and that’s what they all say. They say, “Your brother is your life.” I have no self in myself except the one that is fulfilled by loving the other. The Trinitarian character of God is a metaphysical absolute here, so to speak. God’s own self is another—his Son, to use Christian evangelical terms. The same thing happens on the human level; so the minute I don’t feel deeply that my real self is the other, then I’ll have no reason to forgive anyone. But if that is my reality, and my only real self is the other, and my own identity and fulfillment emerges only in the act of loving the other, that gives substance to the idea that we are potentially God-like beings. Now, if you add to that that we are all to some degree faulty, weak, and so on, that act of love will always be an act of forgiveness. That’s how I find and fulfill myself as a human being made in God’ s image. Otherwise, I cannot. So the act of forgiveness is the very act by which our humanity is constituted. Deny that, and we kill ourselves. It’s a metaphysical suicide.
(Excerpted from: Parabola: The Magazine of Myth and Tradition, “Forgiveness,” Volume XII, Number 3, August 1987, pp. 50 - 59.)
Interesting numbers
From DownsizeDC:
In 2007, over 53% of the federal budget went to mandatory entitlements and welfare spending, and 20% to the Department of Defense. About 9% went to interest payments on the national debt. And just 18% went to Everything Else, from the FDA to Homeland Security to foreign aid. Source: Congressional Budget Office
To clean up America's fiscal mess, we will have to think about entitlement reform and a new, more efficient national security strategy. Steep budget cuts for Everything Else will help, but only a little. There's a better reason to cut Everything Else: these departments and programs tend to do more harm than good. A lot more.
Here are just a few examples. Ethanol subsidies increase the price of food. Non-violent drug offenders waste away in federal prison when they could be in the workforce. Public education has deteriorated greatly as the federal government has assumed more and more control. And then there's the cost of regulation . . .
As Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute wrote last year, federal regulations cost the economy $1.14 trillion in 2006. That is more than what individuals paid in income taxes that year. It was more than total corporate profits. And it cost the federal government just $41 billion to administer and police the regulatory state. Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute
That is to say, for every $1 the federal government spends writing and enforcing regulations, it destroys $25 that could have been generated in the economy. The cost of regulatory compliance hurts small businesses especially, destroys competition, and drives up prices.
But the worst part is, "we the people" generally have no say. In 2006, 321 bills were passed by Congress and signed into law, whereas unelected bureaucrats in regulatory agencies issued 3,718 final rules and added almost 75,000 pages to the Federal Register.
The Constitution requires that Congress, not executive branch agencies, make the laws. If the people's representatives in Congress can't or won't sweat the details of writing complicated regulations, then why should the people have to sweat the details of complying with them?. If Congress had to write all laws and regulations, only the most necessary would pass, and the number of unnecessary and burdensome regulations will drop dramatically. To restore the Constitutional Separation of Powers, increase the freedom of the people, and revive the economy, DownsizeDC.org has introduced the Write the Laws Act.
In 2007, over 53% of the federal budget went to mandatory entitlements and welfare spending, and 20% to the Department of Defense. About 9% went to interest payments on the national debt. And just 18% went to Everything Else, from the FDA to Homeland Security to foreign aid. Source: Congressional Budget Office
To clean up America's fiscal mess, we will have to think about entitlement reform and a new, more efficient national security strategy. Steep budget cuts for Everything Else will help, but only a little. There's a better reason to cut Everything Else: these departments and programs tend to do more harm than good. A lot more.
Here are just a few examples. Ethanol subsidies increase the price of food. Non-violent drug offenders waste away in federal prison when they could be in the workforce. Public education has deteriorated greatly as the federal government has assumed more and more control. And then there's the cost of regulation . . .
As Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute wrote last year, federal regulations cost the economy $1.14 trillion in 2006. That is more than what individuals paid in income taxes that year. It was more than total corporate profits. And it cost the federal government just $41 billion to administer and police the regulatory state. Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute
That is to say, for every $1 the federal government spends writing and enforcing regulations, it destroys $25 that could have been generated in the economy. The cost of regulatory compliance hurts small businesses especially, destroys competition, and drives up prices.
But the worst part is, "we the people" generally have no say. In 2006, 321 bills were passed by Congress and signed into law, whereas unelected bureaucrats in regulatory agencies issued 3,718 final rules and added almost 75,000 pages to the Federal Register.
The Constitution requires that Congress, not executive branch agencies, make the laws. If the people's representatives in Congress can't or won't sweat the details of writing complicated regulations, then why should the people have to sweat the details of complying with them?. If Congress had to write all laws and regulations, only the most necessary would pass, and the number of unnecessary and burdensome regulations will drop dramatically. To restore the Constitutional Separation of Powers, increase the freedom of the people, and revive the economy, DownsizeDC.org has introduced the Write the Laws Act.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
A Sign of Spring
When you see the "Frost Heaves" signs go up, you know spring is just around the corner. A humongous corner that takes a couple of months to get around, but we do eventually get to the other side.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hard money, inflation, and your wallet
Economics can be dry to some people, but there is a serious economic crisis that has been brewing for some time and is rapidly coming to a head, and it already affects us tremendously. Here are a couple of good youtube clips of Ron Paul speaking with the Fed Chairman this morning. He briefly covers some of the concerns that we should all be aware of.
Getting Buried
It's not even March and NH has already had more snow than we've had for over 100 years - nearly 100 inches. (Average is more like 45 inches per year.) Here are a few pics:
I guess it'll be awhile before we can use this door.
The swingset is disappearing!
And the boys are clearing the deck for the umpteenth time.
I guess it'll be awhile before we can use this door.
The swingset is disappearing!
And the boys are clearing the deck for the umpteenth time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Stagflation
From an AP article:
Worries grow for worse 'stagflation'
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - It's a toxic economic mix the nation hasn't seen in three decades: Prices are speeding upward at the fastest pace in a quarter century, even as the economy loses steam.
Economists call the disease "stagflation," and they're worried it might be coming back.
Already, paychecks aren't stretching as far, and jobs are harder to find, threatening to set off a vicious cycle that could make things even worse.
The economy nearly stalled in the final three months of last year and probably is barely growing or even shrinking now. That's the "stagnation" part of the ailment. Typically, that slowdown should slow inflation as well — the second part of the diagnosis — but prices are still marching higher.
The latest worrisome news came Tuesday: a government report showing wholesale prices climbed 7.4 percent in the past year. That was the biggest annual leap since 1981.
But nowhere in the article is there a discussion of one of the fundamental problems: the government's ability to print money out of thin air, rather than have it backed by gold. Yet another issue that Ron Paul stands alone in talking about.
Update (2/28/08): Pres. Bush and Fed. Chairman Bernanke assure us we are not headed for a recession or stagflation. Phew! Okay, everybody go back to watching American Idol. But seriously...I hope they are right, but I'm not comforted by the government's track record on being right.
Worries grow for worse 'stagflation'
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - It's a toxic economic mix the nation hasn't seen in three decades: Prices are speeding upward at the fastest pace in a quarter century, even as the economy loses steam.
Economists call the disease "stagflation," and they're worried it might be coming back.
Already, paychecks aren't stretching as far, and jobs are harder to find, threatening to set off a vicious cycle that could make things even worse.
The economy nearly stalled in the final three months of last year and probably is barely growing or even shrinking now. That's the "stagnation" part of the ailment. Typically, that slowdown should slow inflation as well — the second part of the diagnosis — but prices are still marching higher.
The latest worrisome news came Tuesday: a government report showing wholesale prices climbed 7.4 percent in the past year. That was the biggest annual leap since 1981.
But nowhere in the article is there a discussion of one of the fundamental problems: the government's ability to print money out of thin air, rather than have it backed by gold. Yet another issue that Ron Paul stands alone in talking about.
Update (2/28/08): Pres. Bush and Fed. Chairman Bernanke assure us we are not headed for a recession or stagflation. Phew! Okay, everybody go back to watching American Idol. But seriously...I hope they are right, but I'm not comforted by the government's track record on being right.
Monday, February 25, 2008
It's not a test!
The way many people describe voting, it's like they think it's a test. Somehow it's wrong to vote for someone who doesn't look like they "have a chance" to win.
From LewRockwell.com:
More Political Inanities
Posted by Butler Shaffer at February 25, 2008 04:20 PM
A network news channel was interviewing a Texas voter the other day. This man was very troubled by the current state of politics and thought it was time for a change. When he was asked about voting for Ron Paul, this man replied that he really liked what Paul had to say but that he wasn't going to get elected president. Because McCain had the nomination all sewn-up, he added, he concluded that he would be voting for McCain - even though he would have to hold his nose to do so.
This is the kind of mindlessness that politics generates. If this man doesn't like McCain, and prefers Paul, but then concedes that McCain will get the nomination anyway, why on earth vote for McCain? Does this man feel such a need to have voted for the winning candidate that he must "hold his nose" to do so? If so, what's the point? What better opportunity for him to express his criticism of present conditions - as well as his support for Ron Paul - than to vote for Ron Paul?
From LewRockwell.com:
More Political Inanities
Posted by Butler Shaffer at February 25, 2008 04:20 PM
A network news channel was interviewing a Texas voter the other day. This man was very troubled by the current state of politics and thought it was time for a change. When he was asked about voting for Ron Paul, this man replied that he really liked what Paul had to say but that he wasn't going to get elected president. Because McCain had the nomination all sewn-up, he added, he concluded that he would be voting for McCain - even though he would have to hold his nose to do so.
This is the kind of mindlessness that politics generates. If this man doesn't like McCain, and prefers Paul, but then concedes that McCain will get the nomination anyway, why on earth vote for McCain? Does this man feel such a need to have voted for the winning candidate that he must "hold his nose" to do so? If so, what's the point? What better opportunity for him to express his criticism of present conditions - as well as his support for Ron Paul - than to vote for Ron Paul?
It's Not Dead Yet!
This picture was taken this past weekend at a rally in Austin, TX
Most in the mainstream media would have you think that Ron Paul's campaign is over, but the funny thing is people keep giving money and showing up in droves to cheer him on.
Most in the mainstream media would have you think that Ron Paul's campaign is over, but the funny thing is people keep giving money and showing up in droves to cheer him on.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Prescient
"Under the pressure of fanaticism, and with the mob complacently applauding the show, democratic law tends more and more to be grounded upon the maxim that every citizen is, by nature, a traitor, a libertine, and a scoundrel. In order to dissuade him from his evil-doing the police power is extended until it surpasses anything ever heard of in the oriental monarchies of antiquity."
H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1920
H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1920
Monday, February 18, 2008
Presidents' Day
Here's an excerpt from a different and interesting look at the institution of the Presidency by Anthony Gregory:
Americans shouldn’t look to the president for their self-respect, patriotism and cultural identity. The presidency in its current form is entirely too powerful and thus an inherently corrupting and inhumanely destructive thing. The presidency as it supposedly should be, under the Constitution, is a relatively humble office overseeing the executive branch, one of three composing a radically restrained government with very limited enumerated powers. Today, the presidency overshadows the other branches, the states, and all Constitutional and statutory limits on its power. In any event, why should 300 million people, and to a great extent the rest of the world, have to live under one all-powerful law enforcement official? The whole idea seems like some kind of insanity. How did this become the American way? If we are to restore our freedom, we need our compatriots to snap out of this trance. The silver lining in the Bush administration has been the disgust he has elicited so universally, especially among the left and center. This has constrained his actions somewhat. I am not looking forward to the many Americans turned off by the obvious horrors of the Bush administration once again respecting and trusting the president.
Here's the whole article.
Americans shouldn’t look to the president for their self-respect, patriotism and cultural identity. The presidency in its current form is entirely too powerful and thus an inherently corrupting and inhumanely destructive thing. The presidency as it supposedly should be, under the Constitution, is a relatively humble office overseeing the executive branch, one of three composing a radically restrained government with very limited enumerated powers. Today, the presidency overshadows the other branches, the states, and all Constitutional and statutory limits on its power. In any event, why should 300 million people, and to a great extent the rest of the world, have to live under one all-powerful law enforcement official? The whole idea seems like some kind of insanity. How did this become the American way? If we are to restore our freedom, we need our compatriots to snap out of this trance. The silver lining in the Bush administration has been the disgust he has elicited so universally, especially among the left and center. This has constrained his actions somewhat. I am not looking forward to the many Americans turned off by the obvious horrors of the Bush administration once again respecting and trusting the president.
Here's the whole article.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Shiny Trees and the Icicle of Damocles
(Note: These pictures are much more impressive if you click to see the larger view!)
Whenever we have freezing rain followed by a sunny day, we are treated to some particularly beautiful "shiny" trees!
And we had this mighty impressive icicle.
I say "had" because after this photo the kids threw ice chunks at it to break it off.
Whenever we have freezing rain followed by a sunny day, we are treated to some particularly beautiful "shiny" trees!
And we had this mighty impressive icicle.
I say "had" because after this photo the kids threw ice chunks at it to break it off.
More Gratuitous Kitten Stuff
This just never gets old for us.Bubba is no longer the boss of his bed.
Blatant, pt. 4
Ah! Here's someone addressing this directly (see my previous 3 "Blatant" posts about the main-stream media's treatment of Ron Paul's campaign).
From a National Public Radio interview with Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, in response to a caller's question about the media blackout of Ron Paul -
"It raises obviously one of the fundamental questions: is press coverage a self-fulfilling prophecy? Can a candidate who doesn’t get press coverage win votes, or do you need the exposure, the oxygen of attention? Last week, the week before Super Tuesday, the coverage that ended Feb. 3, Ron Paul was a significant or primary figure in zero percent of the stories that we analyzed, 600 stories across 48 different news outlets.
Andrew [the caller] is correct in suggesting that the press has discounted the chances of Ron Paul having any success. The fundraising success that he’s having is one of the traditional metrics that journalists use to test viability. If someone is raising money, usually that translates into some attention.
For a variety of reasons, some of them are obvious and some of them are mysterious, Ron Paul gets less coverage than he does raise money, and he gets less coverage than he gets votes. We can go on and on about this. There is no doubt, it’s an objective fact, that the press has decided Ron Paul is not a viable candidate."
From a National Public Radio interview with Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, in response to a caller's question about the media blackout of Ron Paul -
"It raises obviously one of the fundamental questions: is press coverage a self-fulfilling prophecy? Can a candidate who doesn’t get press coverage win votes, or do you need the exposure, the oxygen of attention? Last week, the week before Super Tuesday, the coverage that ended Feb. 3, Ron Paul was a significant or primary figure in zero percent of the stories that we analyzed, 600 stories across 48 different news outlets.
Andrew [the caller] is correct in suggesting that the press has discounted the chances of Ron Paul having any success. The fundraising success that he’s having is one of the traditional metrics that journalists use to test viability. If someone is raising money, usually that translates into some attention.
For a variety of reasons, some of them are obvious and some of them are mysterious, Ron Paul gets less coverage than he does raise money, and he gets less coverage than he gets votes. We can go on and on about this. There is no doubt, it’s an objective fact, that the press has decided Ron Paul is not a viable candidate."
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Making Good Friends Around the World
Using our military to "spread democracy" or any other "positive" goal is crazy, in my opinion. The military is good at two things: killing people and breaking things, and should be used only when necessary in our nation's defense.
More than three decades after we left Vietnam, and our impact is still felt:
"Not only are Vietnamese still maimed from treading on unexploded bombs, they are also victims of this insidious scourge that poisons water and food supplies, causing various cancers and crippling deformities. Eighty million litres of Agent Orange were sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam, destroying swathes of irreplaceable rainforest through massive defoliation and leaving a toxic trail of dioxin contamination in the soil for decades. The legacy of this chemical warfare can even be inflicted on the unborn, with Agent Orange birth deformities now being passed on to a third generation."
(Rest of the article is here.)
More than three decades after we left Vietnam, and our impact is still felt:
"Not only are Vietnamese still maimed from treading on unexploded bombs, they are also victims of this insidious scourge that poisons water and food supplies, causing various cancers and crippling deformities. Eighty million litres of Agent Orange were sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam, destroying swathes of irreplaceable rainforest through massive defoliation and leaving a toxic trail of dioxin contamination in the soil for decades. The legacy of this chemical warfare can even be inflicted on the unborn, with Agent Orange birth deformities now being passed on to a third generation."
(Rest of the article is here.)
Evangelicals and Ron Paul
Ron Paul has had the poorest showing in the bible belt states, even though he is a pro-life Christian! Here's an interesting piece by a Christian talk show host about why.
And here's another article about how many Christians are considering supporting the Constitution Party because they are so unhappy with McCain's probable nomination. Ahem - what about Mr. Constitution himself, Ron Paul?!? I suppose they don't approve of his unwillingness to force his morality on others (at home or abroad) using the force of government.
And finally - a bit from Anthony Gregory (who is pro-life and anti-state) in reference to some people's criticism of Ron Paul's stance on the Federal govt's role re: abortion:
"Ron Paul thinks the first step the president should take in his official capacity on abortion is to admit he has no say on it, no jurisdiction — it should not be up to the emperor of the "free world" to eradicate sins even as egregious as Ron views abortion. And yet he does speak out against it — which is an appropriate and completely non-invasive way for politicians to try to influence popular opinion and, thus, change society. And he's indeed the only candidate proposing a way to actually circumvent Roe v. Wade -- through simple Constitutional congressional action -- rather than holding it out as carrot to keep the religious right supporting his campaign. If conservatives were really pro-life, and pro-Constitution, his would be the only candidacy they could back. Of course, they aren't."
And here's another article about how many Christians are considering supporting the Constitution Party because they are so unhappy with McCain's probable nomination. Ahem - what about Mr. Constitution himself, Ron Paul?!? I suppose they don't approve of his unwillingness to force his morality on others (at home or abroad) using the force of government.
And finally - a bit from Anthony Gregory (who is pro-life and anti-state) in reference to some people's criticism of Ron Paul's stance on the Federal govt's role re: abortion:
"Ron Paul thinks the first step the president should take in his official capacity on abortion is to admit he has no say on it, no jurisdiction — it should not be up to the emperor of the "free world" to eradicate sins even as egregious as Ron views abortion. And yet he does speak out against it — which is an appropriate and completely non-invasive way for politicians to try to influence popular opinion and, thus, change society. And he's indeed the only candidate proposing a way to actually circumvent Roe v. Wade -- through simple Constitutional congressional action -- rather than holding it out as carrot to keep the religious right supporting his campaign. If conservatives were really pro-life, and pro-Constitution, his would be the only candidacy they could back. Of course, they aren't."
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