Archive for the ‘Wordpress Political Blogs’ Category

Can Sarah Palin be trusted with our security..?

October 10, 2008

I posted a comment over at Texas Freds, and you can just imagine the response. Big Wyoming Cowboy hat tip to Texas Fred, and to WingShooter that supplied it to him. I don’t know him, but I think that I already like him!

Voting for Sarah Palin you say?? Check this out, Winghunter sent it to me…

Question: What is America’s first line of missile interceptor defense that protects the entire United States?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard.

Question: What is the ONLY National Guard unit on permanent active duty?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard

Question: Who is the Commander in Chief of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. Governor is routinely briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter terrorism?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. Governor has a higher classified security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

Bush’s War on Civil Liberties

October 10, 2008
Bush’s War on Civil Liberties
James Bovard, <!– put date below, before tag –> October 10, 2008 On June 6, 2008, James Bovard gave the following Speech at FFF’s conference Restoring the Republic 2008: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties. The speech can viewed below in its entirety.

James Bovard is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy (St. Martin’s/Palgrave, January 2006), and eight other books. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New Republic, Reader’s Digest, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and Korean.



<!– YOU MAY USE ONE OF THESE INSTEAD Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, author of Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State, and editor of The Freeman magazine. Visit his blog “Free Association” at www.sheldonrichman.com. Send him email. Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, and editor of The Freeman magazine and author of “‘Ancient History’: U.S. Conduct in the Middle East since World War II and the Folly of Intervention.”. Send him email. Anthony Gregory is a research analyst at the Independent Institute, a policy adviser for the Future of Freedom Foundation, and a columnist at LewRockwell.com. Anthony’s website is AnthonyGregory.com. Send him email. James Bovard is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy [2006] as well as The Bush Betrayal [2004], Lost Rights [1994] and Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil (Palgrave-Macmillan, September 2003) and serves as a policy advisor for The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email. Richard Ebeling is the Ludwig von Mises Professor of Economics at Hillsdale College in Michigan and serves as vice president of academic affairs at The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email. Scott McPherson is a policy advisor at The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email. Bart Frazier is program director at The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email. Benjamin Powell is an assistant professor of economics at San Jose State University and serves as academic advisor to The Future of Freedom Foundation. He conducted research on the Irish economy as a fellow with the Mercatus Center’s Global Prosperity Initiative. Send him email. George C. Leef is the director of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, North Carolina, and book review editor of The Freeman. Send him email Wendy McElroy is the author of The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival (Prometheus Books, 1998). For additional articles on current events by Ms. McElroy, please visit the Commentary section of our website. Ken Sturzenacker is a financial advisor and long-time libertarian activist residing in Pennsylvania. Send him email. Benedict LaRosa is a historian and writer with undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Duke University, respectively. Send him email. Karen De Coster is a freelance writer and CPA residing in Michigan. Send her email Laurence M. Vance teaches at Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, Florida. Send him email. William L. Anderson teaches economics at Frostburg State University in Maryland. Send him email. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Copyright 2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc. (www.creators.com). Reprinted by permission. Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Send him email. Gregory Bresiger is a business writer living in Kew Gardens, New York. Send him email. Jarret Wollstein is a director at The International Society for Individual Liberty and co-founder of the original Society for Individual Liberty in 1969. He is the author of 28 books and special reports, including Surviving Terrorism and Shadow Over the Land: The Government’s War On Your Liberty. Sam Bostaph is head of the professor of economics and chairman, Department of Economics, University of Dallas.. Send him email. END AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION SAMPLES –>

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LIVING WITH WILDLIFE PROGRAM

October 10, 2008

This is related to the post immediately preceding this one.

Living with Wildlife Program to be held in Broomfield October 22nd

Have you ever wondered why coyotes live so close to people?  How prairie dogs play a part in the ecosystem?  Or what is the best way to get rid of the smell of skunk spray?   If so, join us for a presentation on urban wildlife, conflict avoidance and urban wildlife biology and learn more about Colorado’s wildlife neighbors.

If you visit or live near open space, this is a great opportunity to hear a presentation by Broomfield’s District Wildlife Manager, Claire Solohub.  The event is sponsored by the Broomfield Open Space Foundation, Division of Wildlife, and City and County of Broomfield.  The Broomfield Nature Program will also have volunteers on hand to provide information on educational programs.

Specific species discussion will focus on coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks and prairie dogs and will address issues such as:

-Coexisting with wildlife
-Keeping pets safe
-Keeping wildlife wild
-Techniques to minimize nuisance and damage situations
-Enhancing backyard habitat to encourage/discourage wildlife

Refreshments and Q & A to follow the presentation.

WHAT:           Living with Wildlife Program

WHEN:           October 22, 2008 at 7:00 PM

WHERE:         Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library
3 Community Park Rd.
Broomfield, Colorado
Phone: 720.887.2300

HOW:             All are welcome, no R.S.V. P. necessary

If you have questions about the event, please call Dan Wilkie, President of the Broomfield Open Space Foundation at 303-466-2507 and Kristan Pritz, Director Open Space and Trails at 303-438-6335.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

Close Encounters of the cuddly kind…

October 10, 2008

It is once again that time of the year. Hat tip to the DOW for some solid information about coexisting with bears.

BEAR ACTIVITY INCREASES IN THE FALL

Autumn is when black bears become more active, setting the stage for an increase in bear sightings and possibly encounters.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) reminds residents and visitors that bears are searching for food to prepare for the denning season, which begins in early to mid-November. From now until then, bears will look for food wherever they can find it and the result may lead them closer to people or homes.

While Colorado’s bears usually run, rather than confront humans, encounters do occur and people should know a few things about how to react, or better yet, how to avoid an encounter altogether by reducing the likelihood of attracting bears in the first place.

Human injuries caused by bears are rare in Colorado.  In the few cases when people are injured, it usually involves food left where bears can find it, or is the result of a surprise encounter.

When bears become habituated to food left out by people, it can lead to conflicts, property damage, the possibility of injury and eventual destruction of the bear.

The DOW has the following recommendations to reduce the chances of having a close encounter with a black bear on a homeowner’s property:

Do not feed wild animals (It is against the law to feed foxes, coyotes, or bears in Colorado ) and play it safe if you have bird feeders in bear country.  Feeding wildlife, including birds, can draw bears into an area. Once bears become comfortable in an area where they find food, they will continue to return. Bears have an amazing ability to recall areas where food was easily available from year to year.  A “neighborhood bear” can become a real problem for homeowners and neighbors.

Tips for safely feeding birds include: restrict feeding to when bears hibernate, which is generally November through April; avoid bird foods that are particularly attractive for bears, such as sunflower seeds, hummingbird nectar, or suet; bring feeders inside at night or suspend them from high crosswires; and temporarily remove feeders for two weeks if visited by a bear.  Encourage your neighbors to do the same.

Don’t place garbage outside until pick-up day. A 1994 Arizona study discovered that putting trash cans out the morning of the pickup reduced bear visits from 70 percent to less than 5 percent.  Garbage or food items, including pet food, should be stored inside the garage or secure storage shed.  Garage doors should not be left open except for very brief periods during the day.

Keep your distance. If a bear shows up in your backyard, stay calm. From a safe distance, shout at it like you would to chase an unwanted dog.  Children should understand not to run, approach or hide from a bear that wanders into the yard, but, instead, to back away and walk slowly to the house.

Eliminate temptation. Bears that visit areas of human habitation are drawn there by food. Neighbors need to work together to reduce an area’s appeal to bears. Ask local businesses to keep dumpsters closed and bear-proofed (chained or locked shut).  Do not throw table scraps out for animals, and clean your barbecue grill regularly. If you feed pets outdoors, bring leftover food and dishes inside at night.

Bears should not be irrationally feared, nor should they be dismissed as harmless; but they should be respected as large animals with the potential to damage property and injure people if we create environments where they become dependent on human food sources.

For more information and tips on preventing conflicts with bears, visit the DOW’s “Living With Wildlife” Web page at http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/ and click on “Living with Bears in Colorado.”

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

John McCain is in trouble..?

October 7, 2008

For some strange reason I never thought John McCain was never out of trouble with conservatives. Lets run down a list of the reasons why beginning  with his ratings on gun control from GOA since 2000 he has never garnered better than a C-and more recently F- has been the case. The list against McCain is long so I will post links to those things that are the most important to me.

Those things are only a few of a very long list of why he is not good for America…

The Taliban are mad at us again…

October 5, 2008

So what else is new? We are still more than a little angry with them after all.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – The Taliban are unusually angry about the latest suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan, a sign a top militant may have died in the attack, officials and residents said Sunday amid reports the death toll rose by two to 24.

source and story

Grades & Endorsements Now Available On NRA-PVF Site!

October 5, 2008

This year’s elections may well be the most important in your voting lifetime! The stakes are enormously high, and you need to be fully informed. For up-to-the-minute campaign information, and to see what you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, members are strongly encouraged to visit the NRA-Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) website, www.NRAPVF.org.

This official NRA campaign site will serve as your one-stop campaign reference guide this election season. The site is loaded with all of the critical information you’ll need to make informed decisions on Election Day, November 4. Included on the site are news stories, articles from NRA’s magazines, NRA-PVF press releases, and a complete listing of NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements!

Research trumps rhetoric

October 5, 2008

This is something that all the gun owners that I know were well aware of, but it is nice to have some solid research to back up your beliefs.

NEW STUDY SAYS GUN SHOWS DO NOT BOOST HOMICIDES, SUICIDES

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today applauded a new joint University of Michigan – University of Maryland study that says gun shows do not contribute to higher murder or suicide rates.

“We’ve known all along that gun shows are not the arms bazaars for criminals and lunatics that anti-gunners have claimed,” said CCRKBA Legislative Director Joe Waldron. “This important research has now confirmed that such gatherings are not connected to homicide or suicide rates. The study reinforces earlier research done for the Department of Justice that found less than one percent of armed felons get their guns from gun shows.

“Gun control lobbyists are already claiming the report is flawed,” he continued. “What else would they say about research that demolishes one of their most hysteria-driven platforms? The tide is turning on the gun rights issue, because research trumps rhetoric every time.”

The study, released Wednesday by the UM’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, compared data from Texas and California, two markedly different states. Researchers gathered crime and suicide data from the periods surrounding more than 3,400 gun shows to determine that restrictive regulations had no impact on murder or suicide rates in the month following those gun shows.

“This research punches a gaping hole in the argument by gun control fanatics that a mythical ‘gun show loophole’ contributes to crime and suicide,” Waldron stated. “Thanks to this study, the anti-gun rights lobby loses another cornerstone of its agenda. For years, no matter what the crime, gun banners have invariably reacted by suggesting that added restrictions on gun shows would somehow have prevented it.

“As our friends at the Michigan Gun Owners have noted, we wonder why it took someone this long to conduct such a study,” Waldron noted. “Our hats are off to the UM’s Prof. Brian Jacob, along with the University of Maryland’s Randi Hjalmarsson and Mark Duggan. Theirs is a significant accomplishment.”

Copyright © 2008 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved.

Comrade Barack Hussein Obama

October 4, 2008

Comrade Barack Hussein Obama

By Mark Alexander

In October 1939, a month after Great Britain declared war on Germany in that unpleasantry a few of us history buffs remember as “World War II,” Winston Churchill said of communist Russia: “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma…” In true Churchill form, he added wryly, “But perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”

In other words, if you want to decode “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” just consider the underlying “interest.”

A year ago, Barack Hussein Obama was something of an enigma, but his interests are now clear—crystal clear.

I have written at length about Obama’s worldview in a series of essays archived at No ObamaNation. These essays provide a foundational understanding of the danger Obama poses to American liberty (at least the vestigial remains of our Founders’ legacy) based on his words and deeds.

Hundreds of other essays in The Patriot Archive are, likewise, devoted to individual liberty, the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and the promotion of free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. These compositions reflect a vision diametrically opposed to that espoused by Barack Obama.

The prospect of an Obama presidency, supported by a legislative branch controlled by like-minded liberals, and only the slightest conservative margin in the judicial branch, poses a greater risk to American liberty than any domestic enemy in our nation’s great history.

Should Obama defeat John McCain in the only opinion poll that matters this election cycle, the poll on Tuesday, 4 November (merely 32 days from now), that would be a stunning offense of staggering proportions to our national heritage, an offense equaled only by the impending assault against the liberties set forth in our U.S. Constitution following an Obama inauguration.

Yes, Obama has the dubious distinction of being ranked the most liberal of the “useful idiots” in the Senate—apologist for socialist political and economic agendas. And it took him only half a term to achieve that ill repute. That puts him to the left of his primary benefactors, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. (By contrast, his running mate, Joe Biden, has taken 36 years to achieve his status as the Senate’s third most liberal member.)

But Obama is entitled to his political views.

After all, our Constitution’s Bill of Rights affirms every American’s inherent right to liberty, not just in what we say and write, or how we worship, but also in what we believe and with whom we choose to associate.

And, we know plenty about what Obama believes and with whom he associates. Here is a partial list of key associates: There is his communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis, his terrorist friends William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, his religious mentor Jeremiah Wright, the ACORN crowd, Leftists Richard Daley, Michael Pfleger, Khalid al-Mansour, Kwame Kilpatrick, Rashid Khalidi and, well, you get the picture.

The problem is that Obama and his ilk believe they are not bound by the plain language of our Constitution, adhering instead to the errant notion of a “Living Constitution,” which they have adulterated by judicial diktat to comport with their worldview. In his view, we should be “One nation under Obama.”

What informs Barack Hussein Obama’s worldview first and foremost?

Obama is the consummate “useful idiot,” a socialist who believes not only that the will of the people should be subject to that of the state, but, likewise, the economy should be state controlled through taxation and regulation.

Obama insists that our economy is “out of balance,” and our tax policies “badly skewed.” To resolve this, he says we need a “tax policy making sure that everybody benefits, fair distribution, a restoration of balance in our tax code, money allocated fairly…”

“Fair distribution”? By this, of course, he means “redistribution.”

Further, Obama asserts that free enterprise is nothing more than “Social Darwinism, every man or woman for him or herself… tempting idea, because it doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity.”

Free enterprise “doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity”? Only in the mind of a lifelong adherent of socialist doctrine could such an absurdly un-American assertion originate.

Obama’s economic plan represents a maturation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s class-warfare decree: “Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”

In fact, Roosevelt’s “principle” was no more American than Obama’s. Roosevelt was paraphrasing Karl Marx, whose maxim declared, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”

English sociologist and historian H.G. Wells, whose last work, The Holy Terror, profiled the psychological development of a modern dictator based on the careers of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler, said of Roosevelt’s reign, “The great trouble with you Americans is that you are still under the influence of that second-rate—shall I say third-rate?—mind, Karl Marx.”

That admonition is equally true today—even more so.

In 1987, Ronald Reagan commented on useful idiots: “How do you tell a Communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

While Obama and his cadre of elitists both understand and advocate socialist doctrine, their populist support across the nation is not from academic, intellectual or philosophical equals. Their adoring masses can’t begin to articulate why our nation was founded, what our Constitution sets forth, what citizenship entails, or why free enterprise is superior to socialism.

They are, by and large, good people who have been dumbed down by government schools and the Leftmedia. They are not in possession of an ethic that inspires them to put “Country First,” as John McCain and a long list of American Patriots have done. Instead, they follow Obama’s example, asking not what they can do for their country, but what their country can do for them.

They “feel” rather than “think” their way through political issues, and the consequences for future generations of Americans are dire.

Soviet despot Nikita Khrushchev observed that America’s transition from liberty to serfdom would have to be incremental: “We can’t expect the American people to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.”

Obama’s constituents are checkers players being led by chess masters, and the Democrat brew they have been drinking has been incrementally spiked with socialist booze such that they are completely intoxicated, and don’t know it. Will they sober up before the dawn?

Thursday night, after Joe Biden demonstrated his outstanding credentials as a “useful idiot” while debating Sarah Palin, who demonstrated that she is a citizen, not a Beltway politico, Biden closed with this remark: “This election is the most important of your entire life.”

On this point, and only this point, do I unreservedly concur with Joe.

SOURCE

Economic Crises, facts, fictions etc.

October 4, 2008

The current economic crises is interesting to say the least. Pointing one’s finger at someone else, who is pointing their finger at another, who is pointing their finger at you seems to be the main theme. Politics as usual? Or is there something more sinister about all this? The following is from The Patriot Post:

“[A] wise and frugal government… shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” —Ronald Reagan

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” —Ernest Benn

UPDATE FROM MARK ALEXANDER

Bailout v. Workout—The continuing crisis

If you did not catch our commentary on the current financial crisis, Bailout Basics, I encourage you to read this brief but comprehensive analysis of the current confidence deficit plaguing our financial markets.

By way of update, as we anticipated, the so-called bailout “deal for taxpayers” did not pass the House Monday.

Though the Bill under consideration had substantial support from conservative organizations like our friends at the Heritage Foundation, and other free-market advocates with trade associations, most House Republicans still objected to the bill because it involved the biggest government intervention in the market since the Great Depression, and did not include sufficient market incentives such as significant tax and spending reductions.

But, media reports to the contrary, it was the Democrats who killed this bill. Had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lined up the 95 liberal Demos who voted against this legislation, including five Democrat committee chairman, half the Congressional Black Caucus and a majority of the Hispanic Caucus, the plan would have passed.

Democrats voted it down because it did not include enough largesse for their constituents, including billions for Leftist organizations, unions, etc. (For example, read “The Meltdown’s Acorn.”)

Responding to the dysfunction on the Hill, there was a significant selloff in the financial markets on Monday. However, indicating that there is still plenty of rational thought in the market, securities rebounded Tuesday as investors went bottom fishing for stocks that were selling well under their earnings potential.

However, there is real danger that the markets will continue to sell off, threatening the livelihood of many Americans.

As President George W. Bush said Tuesday morning, “As much as we might wish the situation were different, our country is not facing a choice between government action and the smooth functioning of the free market. We’re facing a choice between action and the real prospect of economic hardship for millions of Americans.”

Unfortunately, the “deal” that failed on Monday, may have been the best deal possible for House Republicans.

The Senate will convene Wednesday night to consider a similar plan, which also includes a temporary increase in FDIC insurance for large depositors and extensions of expired business tax reductions. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell described the Senate plan as “one of the finer moments in the Senate.”

However, now that House Democrats and their media lemmings have falsely blamed their impasse on Republicans, they are likely to come roaring back Thursday with a proposition “to save America,” including all the largesse they originally wanted. Like pigs at an open trough, nothing attracts big spenders like a crisis requiring emergency spending.

Senate deliberations notwithstanding, Democrats can pass that legislation (as they could have passed the bill Monday) without a single Republican vote, and all their shenanigans have been calculated to ensure the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama and the Democrats have been playing the “economic fear card” for the past four years, using the economy as political fodder for their campaigns. As Demo-gogue Nancy Pelosi framed it: “For too long, this government, in eight years, has followed a right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation.”

As for all the Leftmedia economic fear card play, rest assured, ads like those produced and paid for by MoveOn.org blaming John McCain for the meltdown and now running on Leftwing media outlets like CNN and NBC are nothing more than fabrications wrapped in deceptions embedded in lies.

If there is not an amenable solution by Friday, and if the Republicans have it in them—surely John McCain does—it is time for them to put forward a bold plan of attack and force the Democrats’ hand. We deserve serious debate about the future principles that will guide our economy, and let the people voice their opinion on Election Day, 4 November 2008.

For information about the origins of this financial crisis, I refer you to the following Web pages:

From The New York Times in 1999: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending “Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people…”

From the New York Post: Alarms and Denial

Bloomberg Financial News: “How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis”

YouTube: Democrats in their own words

YouTube: Burning Down the House

YouTube: Obama Ranks Second In Freddie/Fannie Contributions

And a timely endorsement from the Boston Herald: McCain for president: A certain leader for uncertain times

White House: Three page Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets

House of Representatives: 109 page LPTAPMR Discussion Draft

Contact President Bush—http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact your Senator—http://www.senate.gov/

Contact your Representative—http://www.house.gov/

House and Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121

UPRIGHT

“It’s incredible how generous you can be with other people’s money.” —Star Parker

“So, yes, our recent financial turmoil does suggest failure—a failure to truly practice capitalism and a failure to accept and believe in the value, appropriateness and morality of a limited government and maximum personal responsibility.” —Larry Elder

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not deserve to be bailed out, but neither do workers, families and businesses deserve to be put through the economic wringer by a collapse of credit markets, such as occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Neither do the voters deserve to be deceived on the eve of an election by the notion that this is a failure of free markets that should be replaced by political micro-managing.” —Thomas Sowell

“Treasury Secretary Paulson, asked about conservative complaints that his rescue program amounts to socialism, said, essentially: This is not socialism, this is necessary. That non sequitur might be politically necessary, but remember that government control of capital is government control of capitalism.” —George Will

“It is an affront to the nation that some of the people who brought on the crisis (and financially and politically benefited from the status quo) were asking the questions at the Banking Committee hearing. They should have been in the witness chair. [Sen. Chris] Dodd said the crisis was ‘entirely foreseeable and preventable.’ Then why didn’t he try to prevent it? He should have been answering questions about the PAC contributions he received from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (according to opensecrets.org, he’s the Senate’s no. 1 recipient of campaign contributions, $133,900, Barack Obama is no. 3, $105,849), his sweetheart Countrywide Financial mortgage rate and whether they influenced his inattentiveness to the growing mortgage crisis.” —Cal Thomas

Economics, the art of making something utterly simple into something astoundingly incomprehensible…