en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1502158 Comments by bobby_bobby http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/02/14/obama-war-on-philanthropy-charitable-giving/#IDComment293372986 It's so much more efficient to gather in (through taxation) all of the money that might otherwise go to poorly chosen charities, and then distribute it all in a coordinated, well-aimed charitable program of government design. When you put all of that individual charity money into one big pot, there's less overlap, there's more leverage with the charities themselves, and there are fewer ill-informed choices made when poorly-prepared people try to identify the proper charities. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:20:06 +0000 http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/02/14/obama-war-on-philanthropy-charitable-giving/#IDComment293372986 http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2012/01/alarming_though.php#IDComment276483165 Democrats have done more for the dead than any other political party. It's no wonder that they have the Dead vote sewn up. Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:18:35 +0000 http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2012/01/alarming_though.php#IDComment276483165 http://bigpeace.com/dfriedman/2011/11/21/hezbollah-rolls-up-cia-operation-in-lebanon/#IDComment225848737 So, what are the chances that these newly-captured unfortunates are NOT connected with spying in any manner? That the CIA, with all of its real spies quietly standing by, sees potential gold here, and manages to get quoted, quickly and to substantial circulations, that "dang, they done busted us!", , and "yep, that's my guy Bill there", because if the mullahs think Gawd has given them the US spy ring as a gift, they'll be easier to continue spying on. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:15:10 +0000 http://bigpeace.com/dfriedman/2011/11/21/hezbollah-rolls-up-cia-operation-in-lebanon/#IDComment225848737 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9QEBKTG1&show_article=1#IDComment209173415 See, when they say "the science is settled", it's really code for "the judge accepted the donation!" (Ask the Alaskans - if polar bears are endangered, it's because of overcrowding.) Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:27:24 +0000 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9QEBKTG1&show_article=1#IDComment209173415 http://biggovernment.com/jbradley/2011/08/18/spare-us-the-lecture-mr-president/#IDComment184306597 What is it with Rove and circular firing squads? He seems to do this frequently. He'll be working on behalf of some Republican looking to run for an office. In that role, he makes gratuitous and denigrating comments about other Republicans, like his comment about Perry. If Perry ends up as our candidate, we'll be able to enjoy lots of DNC commercials showing Rove saying, over and over and over, how Perry isn't presidential, and shows poor judgment. Great job, Karl. We weren't really all that serious about wanting Obama unelected anyway. Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:31:26 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jbradley/2011/08/18/spare-us-the-lecture-mr-president/#IDComment184306597 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2011/08/17/after-failing-with-recalls-big-labor-spams-state-employees/#IDComment184302331 Most e-mail systems - even internal corporate and public-entity networks - allow the user to designate originating internet addresses as spam sources. Wouldn't THAT make for a funny headline: "68% of Wisconsin teachers designate AFT-W e-mail as spam." Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:20:00 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2011/08/17/after-failing-with-recalls-big-labor-spams-state-employees/#IDComment184302331 http://tv.breitbart.com/dem-pundit-comes-unhinged-on-hannity-shoves-hugh-hewitt-on-air/#IDComment178338006 1. Hugh's point was correct. 2. Hugh's lack of civility - interrupting Caddell to the point where he couldn't make any comment - should have gotten Hugh booted from the show. Why didn't Hannity take control? There's no "debate" when one side just screams over the other. Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:01:37 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/dem-pundit-comes-unhinged-on-hannity-shoves-hugh-hewitt-on-air/#IDComment178338006 http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View#IDComment175345501 Thankfully, an accumulation of wealth here in the USA remains safe through the Rule of Law. Thus, investors who are willing to invest for a smaller-than-usual return in exchange for safety of their investment can opt for the low-risk bonds sold by, say, a national automobile manufacturer instead of shares of stock in that same company, knowing that, in the event the company fails, they will stand higher in priority for repayment than do the stockholders. The Rule of Law keeps those investors out of the reach of the rank cronyism of any existing "ruling class." Similarly, highly productive workers who are able to earn higher-than-usual incomes are encouraged to do so here, since everyone understands that they actually do produce the rising waters that lift all of the boats, whereas in the more lawless short-term-thinking locales, people who do not earn large incomes sometimes band together and appropriate that person's wealth while reciting platitudes regarding "fairness" and "duty". As well, people in the USA are free to use their accumulated wealth as they see fit; they can spend it or invest it according to their own judgments, and they need not fear that bands of people will decide that their investments are not popular enough to be allowed to remain whole. Indeed, in some areas of the world, investors in some segments of production - notably in energy-related areas such as oil and gas production and electrical generation - have found themselves demonized for their "excess profits", and shortly thereafter usually find that the mobs have taken those "excess profits" for their own uses. Far worse, of course, are those Third-World pits in which ruling warlords claim to act "for the good of the people" by expropriating most wealth, ostensibly to be used wisely by the warlord for the benefit of the "contributors" as one would see in a normally-governed nation-state that taxed its citizens so that it could pay for common needs, but in reality those warlords simply ensure that all monies pass through their hands so that they can rake off some percentage with which to enrich themselves and their supporters. In such countries, any money left after the initial distribution to the warlord and his henchmen would sometimes actually be spent on the peoples' needs, but instances where any money remains after the first rake-off have been rare. Thank God we're Americans, eh?! Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:17:15 +0000 http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View#IDComment175345501 http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/2011/07/give-obama-what-he-wants-everything-he.html#IDComment175032136 "Things getting worse" isn't an abstract, philosophical-discussions-over-a- beer sort of occurrence. Things are bad right now, but in economic systems, if they get too bad - if the get bad enough to cross some lines - then it's like they start rolling down a steep hill, going faster and faster, and they can do some very real, very bad damage to real people when that happens. If things get much worse, business closings are going to skyrocket, which means jobless people are going to stay jobless for quite a few years. Homes will be lost, marriages will end, and lots of kids are going to skip right past that "time to go to college" stage. Food production will drop as farmers can no longer buy as much good fertilizer. As business shut down, so will business travel, and several airlines and hotel chains and car rental companies will turn turtle and sink. People are going to be hungry, because there will be less food, and it will cost more, and they'll have less money. Yeah, some people are going to starve - something this country hasn't seen in decades. So, I'm hoping that he backs down and realizes that he's being - and looking like - an ass. Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:20:57 +0000 http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/2011/07/give-obama-what-he-wants-everything-he.html#IDComment175032136 http://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2011/07/12/not-guilty-seiu-thugs-cleared-in-brutal-gladney-beatdownupdate-gladney-reaction-video/#IDComment172935748 The city assigned this to a new prosecutor who had never once handled a jury trial. It's tough enough for a prosecutor to meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard with a jury. It appears the city threw this one for its union ties. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:53:09 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2011/07/12/not-guilty-seiu-thugs-cleared-in-brutal-gladney-beatdownupdate-gladney-reaction-video/#IDComment172935748 http://bigjournalism.com/dloesch/2011/07/12/no-justice-gladney-attackers-found-not-guilty/#IDComment172933804 This was a criminal case, so it would have been handled by the city (or county) attorney acting as prosecutor. Anyone see any info concerning how well that person handled this case? My pre-trial worry was that they were going to throw the case. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:44:28 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/dloesch/2011/07/12/no-justice-gladney-attackers-found-not-guilty/#IDComment172933804 http://bigjournalism.com/aworthing/2011/06/29/fourteen-clear-factual-errors-in-richard-stengels-essay-on-the-constitution-and-i-am-looking-for-your-help/#IDComment168265809 Fourteen mistakes? I doubt it. I'd lean towards fourteen intentional lies, placed in a formerly-bigtime national news magazine as its cover story for its Tenth Anniversary History Issue, by an author who, simply looking at his resume, undoubtedly has more knowledge of our Constitution than the average person. Here's why I think they did this: The Dems have always profited greatly from The Big Lie. They've learned that, if you can hold your nose and subsume all of your ethics and simply repeat, over and over and over, through all of your outlets and talkers and writers and lunatics, complete bald-faced fabrications that help your party, a certain significant percentage of the American citizenry will come to hold those lies as the truth, no matter how often others attempt to refute your lie. Remember "Bush lied". Well, no, he didn't lie - even Bill Clinton came out and said he didn't lie - but huge numbers of people, from all parties and philosophies, now sincerely believe that Bush lied about WMD's in Iraq. It's become a cultural truth of sorts. Remember "Bush stole the election along with the Supreme Court." Well, no, he didn't - First, it was Gore who took it to court to try and reverse the first count, and, after all was over and the ballots were actually counted, Bush had more votes. But you'll hear this as a statement of faith from millions of people, because it's been parroted so many times. Remember "Bush is stupid." Well, again, no. Bush had an Undergraduate and Master’s Degree from Yale, and his college-reported IQ, IIRC, was higher than John Kerry's. But the lie remains. How about "Fox is biased, ABC/NBC/CBS/PBS are neutral"? I'll just leave that one there without explanation - I think y'all will understand what I mean. So, I'm seeing this as the first shot in the Dems' war to get that dang pesky interfering-with-all-of-their-really-good-plans Constitution marginalized and ignored and ridiculed. Because imagine all of the Hope and Change Baraq could accomplish if he wasn't unfairly and stupidly constrained by that old, out-of-date list of rules from the big white guys of 200 years ago! Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:19:12 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/aworthing/2011/06/29/fourteen-clear-factual-errors-in-richard-stengels-essay-on-the-constitution-and-i-am-looking-for-your-help/#IDComment168265809 http://bigpeace.com/jxenakis/2011/05/20/obama-and-netanyahu-in-sharp-disagreement-after-speech/#IDComment154558246 "And, a short time later, Sharon was neutralized by an anuerysm." So, we should expect to see BO hospitalized quite soon? Or do we need to get some prayer circles going first? ("No, Barrack, THIS is what a real Executive Order looks like!") Sat, 21 May 2011 05:03:19 +0000 http://bigpeace.com/jxenakis/2011/05/20/obama-and-netanyahu-in-sharp-disagreement-after-speech/#IDComment154558246 http://bigjournalism.com/fross/2010/08/26/unbiased-politico-acting-as-muscle-arm-of-democratic-media-complex-inc/#IDComment95536722 "I like how the media has adopted the debate persona of unhinged bloggers in the 2002-2006 era... of presenting up any argument and calling a “case closed”". - - - Give them some credit. For the past ten years, they've been claiming Consensus for most everything, and so it's damn near killing them now that, having managed to discredit the word so completely in their Best Supporting Speaker roles behind Bad Science, their editors have quietly let them know that the word has been deleted from the style manual. There'll be some confusion until someone comes up with an acceptable substitute. " . . . what are the_objectives_ of both sides of the debate? Is it for the other side to recognize the error of their ways and publicly recant? Is it to force a change of heart on people who are probably laughing all the way to the mosque about how their little project can redefine american politics in this crucial period? " - - - - I think it's more visceral, more basic, more . . . personal than your choices. "You're stupid!" No, YOU'RE stupid!" "Nuh uh! You're stupid!!" "Shuttup! You're SO stupid!" "Omigawd you're so stupid you could run the Stupid Marathon!" " . . . . ??" Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:08:27 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/fross/2010/08/26/unbiased-politico-acting-as-muscle-arm-of-democratic-media-complex-inc/#IDComment95536722 http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/08/26/new-york-targets-bagels-to-fill-budget-hole/#IDComment95480875 Remember the good old days, when a tax was levied against the sale of a product because the use of that product imposed costs on people other than the users, and it was more fair that the user paid those costs? Back when gasoline taxes and automobile registration taxes went to road repair, when airplane ticket taxes went to pay for airport upkeep, when property registration was taxed to pay for the process of property registration . . . . back when The People expected government to ask what the people wanted, not tell the people what they needed? Long gone. Those days won't be reappearing anytime soon. Impossible. Know why? Because we won't demand that they return. Because we've allowed our hired city clerks to make decisions about social philosophies and economics, about race relations and building codes, about air quality and polite speech, and (surprisingly) all of their announced decisions seem to have started with " . . . and we'll need 320 new clerks to staff the new department in charge of your sleep schedules and automobile valuation . . ." I suppose we could begin making those decisions ourselves again, but we'd probably need the clerks' permission, which would probably entail a whole entire new department of Requested Permissions with the requisite 540 new clerks . . . . Naw. Nevermind. At least the bagel tax will be imposed on the group that has fought so hard and for so many decades to impose large taxes on the products and activities enjoyed by the rest of us. If too many New Yorkers complain about this new tax, we may see the first sinking of an island by irony. Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:33:47 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/08/26/new-york-targets-bagels-to-fill-budget-hole/#IDComment95480875 http://biggovernment.com/tsteward/2010/07/28/minnesota-communities-go-on-spending-spree-funded-by-stimulus-bonds/#IDComment89515623 How long until we no longer consider SEIU to be a union, but instead, a party? Excuse me - I mean, a Party? We can joke all we want about how these losers will be voted out in the next election, and we can pretend amongst ourselves that it might matter or not if they are, but the sad truth is that they've already done tremendous damage to our society, and they've set us far, far back into the "progressive" swamp. They've already looted all the money that was available to loot. Once that was gone, they marched us to an ATM machine, made us give them our card and passcode, and took out loans in all of our names that we couldn't afford to pay back in fifty years. They gave all of that money to their friends and helpers, of course, so we can't even chase them down and get it back. It's gone for good, it's spent on new cars for SEIU members, vacation homes up north for teamsters, houses for the lazy, kickbacks for the political set . . . But we're still the Account Debtors for the entire amount, and the monthly payment is going to be staggering. On top of that, they've killed a medical system that worked quite well for most of us, but quite badly for the lazy and unambitious, because the lazy and unambitious deserve to have everything that you and I have. It's only fair, right? Even as the medical system gives out its last gasps, he's opening the borders to let in millions of jobless, assetless people who, although they are for the most part good, lawful, bent-on-improving-their-lives sorts, will be on public assistance programs for years as they go through the initially-poor stages endemic to illegal clothes-on-your-back immigration, and he's coincidentally just now stripped us bare of any money we might have had to put INTO those public assistance programs. We're already screwed. If you have a job right now, you might as well go buy the tee-shirt that says "Kulak", 'cuz that's what we are. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:21:54 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/tsteward/2010/07/28/minnesota-communities-go-on-spending-spree-funded-by-stimulus-bonds/#IDComment89515623