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I Will Not Comply John Hood has written a very compelling article at the Carolina Journal that sums up the health control legislation's end game. In discussing the legislative maneuvering, he makes this, I believe, accurate...

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Find The Pea The phrase that keeps popping into my head whenever I read anything about the health system takeover bill is, "how stupid do they think we are?" The rhetorical answer, sadly, is, "pretty stupid." After...

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Four Bells, Nancy Admiral Farragut Pelosi has a wonderful idea, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to back a major overhaul of U.S. health care even if it threatens...

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Polling Conservative Bloggers On Gay Marriage, Impeachment,... John Hawkins recently polled right-of-center/conservative bloggers asking questions copied from a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll. Here's why. The poll results were treated as suspect mainly because some...

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A New Day Today is going to be an adventure. If you are a regular reader you know that I don't talk a lot about my day job. While I do mention work occasionally, I seldom, if ever, mention the company I work...

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This Sounds Familiar

Posted on : 06-09-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Just Sayin', Politics, The Left

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This is going to be a bit long, so I’ll post part of it below the fold. It’s a passage from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The scene occurs just over half way through the book. It’s a conversation between Dagny Taggart and a bum who snuck on her train. He’s describing what happened at the place he was working, but see if you don’t agree that it sounds very familiar.

“Well there was something that happened at that plant where I worked for twenty years. It was when the old man died and his heirs took over. There were three of them, two sons and a daughter, and they brought a new plan to run the factory. They let us vote on it too, and everybody — almost everybody — voted for it. We didn’t know. We thought it was good. No, that’s not true, either. We thought that we were supposed to think it was good. The plan was that everybody in the factory would work according to his ability but would be paid according to his need. We — what’s the matter ma’am? Why do you look like that?”

“What was the name of the factory?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

“The Twentieth Century Motor Compay, ma’am, of Starnesville, Wisconsin.”

“Go on.”

“We voted for that plan at a big meeting, with all of us present, six thousand of us, everybody that worked in the factory. The Starnes heirs made long speeches about it, and it wasn’t to clear, but nobody asked any questions. None of us knew just how the plan would work, but everyone of us thought that the next fellow knew it. And if anybody had doubts, he felt guilty and kept his mouth shut — because they made it sound like anyone who’d oppose the plan was a child-killer at heart and less than a human being. They told us that this plan would achieve a noble ideal. Well, how were we to know otherwise? Hadn’t we heard it all of our lives — from our parents and our schoolteachers and our ministers, and in every newspaper we ever read and every movie and every public speech? Hadn’t we always been told that this was righteous and just? Well, maybe there’s some excuse for what we did at that meeting. Still, we voted for the plan — and what we got, we had coming to us. You know, ma’am, we are marked men, in a way, those of us who lived through the four years of that plan in the Twentieth Century factory. What is it that hell is supposed to be? Evil — plain, naked, smirking evil, isn’t it? Well, that’s what we saw and helped to make — and I think we’re damned, everyone of us, and maybe we’ll never be forgiven. . .

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I Pray He’s Wrong, I Fear He’s Right

Posted on : 24-08-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : 2010, Politics

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Doug Ross peers into a crystal ball and “reports” the news from the 2010 elections.

Read the post and see if you aren’t a little bit fearful of what could very easily be true.

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Living, Breathing, Inconvenient

Posted on : 07-07-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Politics, President Obama, Senate

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Our Constitution: Viewed by the left it is a “living, breathing” document full of emanations and penumbras invisible to the uninitiated. But sometimes a chimera constitution doesn’t even cut it. What do you do when the limits imposed are inconvenient? NP, as the online folks say. Just ignore them.

With the clock running out on a new US-Russian arms treaty before the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires on December 5, a senior White House official said Sunday said that the difficulty of the task might mean temporarily bypassing the Senate’s constitutional role in ratifying treaties by enforcing certain aspects of a new deal on an executive levels and a “provisional basis” until the Senate ratifies the treaty.

“The most ideal situation would be to finish it in time that it could be submitted to the Senate so that it can be ratified,” said White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control Gary Samore. “If we’re not able to do that, we’ll have to look at arrangements to continue some of the inspection provisions, keep them enforced in a provisional basis, while the Senate considers the treaty.”

Wow! Ed Morrisey gets right to the heart of this.

Uh, pardon me, but how many seats in the Senate does Obama’s party hold? Isn’t it 60? If Obama is simply moving forward with a straightforward, supportable treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear stockpiles in an effective verification system, why couldn’t he get a quick ratification? The GOP gave George H. W. Bush enough support in 1991 to pass the original START treaty, so it’s not as if ratification would be impossibly complicated.

Well, that is, if the deal actually does put in place an effective verification system and doesn’t amount to a de facto unilateral disarmament. With exactly five months to win Senate approval, the effort by the Obama White House in floating this idea now makes it sound like Obama wants to give away the store in order to score some points with his 1980s no-nukes agenda.

Wyatt Earp, Curt, and Mark Noonan have more.

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We Are So Screwed

Posted on : 27-06-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Economics, House, Politics

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I know that there is still a fight that can be won in the Senate. Let’s pray it happens, because if Crap & Tax is signed into law we are all seriously screwed. Here are my thoughts now. I may have more when I calm down some.

I’m about to fall asleep at the keyboard. More later.

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A Story Worth Following

Posted on : 27-05-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Business, Economics, Politics

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The story of Chrysler dealerships slated for closing may turn out to have a serious political component. Doug Ross is tracking down the political contributions of the majority owners of the dealerships on the list and is finding both anecdotal and factual indications that many of the marked businesses being Republican contributors.

To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn’t an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified.

Doug has a link to the lists of dealerships scheduled to close and those that will remain open. He is looking for any help that can be given to sift through the lists.

The examination is very much on going, and the possibility exists that a different conclusion can be reached. However, the early examination points to some very troubling correlations. In any case, this is a story that deserves watching.

If you can…



Here’s why.
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After the TEA Party

Posted on : 10-04-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Politics, Tea Party

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This time next week the TEA Parties will be over, but the momentum shouldn’t be. All of us need to take the message and the excitement of the TEA Parties and put it into practical application.

The Lakeland Tax Day TEA Party site will remain up and active. Of course I’ll still be blogging here at bRight & Early. But there is much more that can be done. American Majority has launched a new site — After The Tea Party — where you can discover ways to stay involved.

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BREAKING: Judd Gregg Withdrawls His Nomination

Posted on : 12-02-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : News, Politics

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There is nothing more than a headline at FOX News, not even a link.

Senator Judd Gregg Withdraws Nomination for Commerce Secretary

Sen. Gregg’s statement:

Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.

“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.

“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.

“As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine.

“Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments.

“As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.”

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Telling Words From Philadelphia

Posted on : 17-01-2009 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Politics, President Obama

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While reading PEBO’s remarks from Philadelphia, one quote stuck out to me.

That is the reason I launched my campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago. I did so in the belief that the most fundamental American ideal, that a better life is in store for all those willing to work for it, was slipping out of reach. That Washington was serving the interests of the few, not the many. And that our politics had grown too small for the scale of the challenges we faced.

My Emphasis.

The first part of the quote, “the most fundamental American ideal, that a better life is in store for all those willing to work for it, [is] slipping out of reach” is correct, but the idea that it is due to too little government, or one that has “grown too small for the scale of the challenges we [face]” is absolutely wrong.

Many, if not most, of the challenges we face are due to an abundance of government, not a lack. Business are failing, or failing to grow, from over regulation not a shortage of regulation. Individual effort, creativity, and entrepreneurship are stifled by government that has grown as large and intrusive as ours.

Several times in this account of his remarks he mentions our founding documents, saying, “What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives – from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry – an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.” There was also this:

For the American Revolution did not end when British guns fell silent. It was never something to be won only on a battlefield or fulfilled only in our founding documents. It was not simply a struggle to break free from empire and declare independence. The American Revolution was – and remains – an ongoing struggle ‘in the minds and hearts of the people’ to live up to our founding creed.

With such an emphasis on our founding documents I would like to remind him what one of them says.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

My biggest concern regarding the new congress and incoming administration is that their answer to any and every problem will be more government. I hope and pray that I will be proved wrong.

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What do you know, I’m not as dumb as I look

Posted on : 25-11-2008 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Education, Politics

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At least according to this quiz. My Score: 31 out of 33 — 93.94%

The sad report is that so many of those taking this quiz know so little.

Some examples below the fold. Don’t look if you want to take the quiz without cheating:

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Moving The Center, Not Moving Toward The Center

Posted on : 14-11-2008 | By : Jim Lynch | In : 2010, 2012, Featured, Politics

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John Hawkins examines a National Review piece by James Gimpel. Here is a bit of the flavor of Gimpel’s work:

A campaign doesn’t move toward them [centrist or moderate voters], but instead attempts to inspire them to come in the candidate’s direction. The incoherent center moves to the left or to the right, inspired by the candidate’s enthusiasm and the enthusiasm of his supporters. It is foolish for the candidate to move to the center, because the center is never a fixed position to move toward.

Moving centrists toward one’s candidacy is not a process that hinges on taking the right policy stands, either. Instead, it involves the enthusiasm and social contagion that builds around exciting candidates. We know from several volumes of political-science research that less-informed voters commonly substitute someone else’s judgment for their own. That someone else is often a spouse, workmate, or neighbor knowledgeable and enthusiastic about one of the candidates. Support for a candidate spreads through social influence processes.

I believe the case could be made that moving toward the center does nothing more than move the center. When either the left or right changes their focus those in the middle also shift so that they remain in the “center”. Conversely, moving toward your base could, I believe, move the center in your direction as well.

Here is Hawkin’s take as it relates to the Republican party:

The GOP no longer has the courage of their conservative principles and so, on many of their core principles, they offer up nothing but mush.

In other words, we’re a small government, cost cutting, law and order, party of the middle class and honest government that supports big government, ever increasing deficits, illegal immigration, tolerates corruption, and doesn’t offer much to the middle class.

People wonder why small government and cutting deficit spending doesn’t appear to be all that popular with the American people right now. Well, could it be because the same Republican politicians who are talking up “small government” have brought us large deficits, the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit, and are nationalizing our banks as part of a ridiculous, unnecessary bailout?

If the Republicans in Washington don’t even believe in their own party’s principles, is it any surprise that moderates don’t either?

No, it’s not.

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If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Smear ‘em

Posted on : 22-09-2008 | By : Jim Lynch | In : 2008, Politics, The Left

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Just don’t think you can hide your smears. In an absolutely brilliant investigative report Dr. Rusty Shackleford and The Jawa Report root out the players and the connections behind the false attacks on Governor Palin.

Extensive research was conducted by the Jawa Report to determine the source of smears directed toward Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Those smears included false allegations that she belonged to a secessionist political party and that she has radical anti-American views.

Our research suggests that a subdivision of one of the largest public relations firms in the world most likely started and promulgated rumors about Sarah Palin that were known to be false. These rumors were spread in a surreptitious manner to avoid exposure.

What they have found is highly suggestive of much more than private public support gone viral.

It is also likely that the PR firm was paid by outside sources to run the smear campaign. While not conclusive, evidence suggests a link to the Barack Obama campaign. Namely:

  • Evidence suggests that a YouTube video with false claims about Palin was uploaded and promoted by members of a professional PR firm.
  • The family that runs the PR firm has extensive ties to the Democratic Party, the netroots, and are staunch Obama supporters.
  • Evidence suggests that the firm engaged in a concerted effort to distribute the video in such a way that it would appear to have gone viral on its own. Yet this effort took place on company time.
  • Evidence suggests that these distribution efforts included actions by at least one employee of the firm who is unconnected with the family running the company.
  • The voice-over artist used in this supposedly amateur video is a professional.
  • This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with David Axelrod’s firm, which has a history of engaging in phony grassroots efforts, otherwise known as “astroturfing.”
  • David Axelrod is Barack Obama’s chief media strategist.
  • The same voice-over artist has worked directly for the Barack Obama campaign.

This suggests that false rumors and outright lies about Sarah Palin and John McCain being spread on the internet are being orchestrated by political partisans and are not an organic grassroots phenomenon led by the left wing fringe. Our findings follow.

Be sure to allow yourself the time to read the whole thing.

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Thirty Things: Part 1

Posted on : 13-05-2008 | By : Jim Lynch | In : Politics

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Uncle Jimbo posted 30 things I believe today and it is a pretty good list reminiscent of Crash Davis’s classic. I don’t have time to lay out thirty things right now, but I’ll start with 10 things I believe about politics.

Wile E. Coyote1. I believe that looking to politicians for answers is like looking to Wile E. Coyote for engineering advice.

2. Most political observers are like NASCAR fans — just waiting for the wrecks.

3. People who call themselves moderates or independents are liars. They are either liberals wanting to appear “reasonable” or conservatives who’ve been guilted into hiding.

4. Politicians who lie are as rare as fish that swim.

Protect The Pork 5. Voters claim that they are against pork, and then continue to elect whoever can provide the most.

6. Most Americans believe we live in a democracy and have no clue what a Federal Republic is.

7. People often vote against what they don’t want without having a clue about what they do want.

8. Politicians are not rock stars, geniuses, or gods. They are just people. Any attempt to make them anything more will end in disappointment.

9. Politics makes for strange bedfellows. Strange bedfellows make for a very short political career.

10. Most people who observe, comment, and critique politics would make lousy politicians. Myself included.

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