Category: Society & Politics

Feingold proves Washington gridlock is good, but tedious

I’m a firm believer that usually, it’s good when politicians in Washington are so divided that they can’t pass new legislation. When they’re gridlocked they can’t raise our taxes, pass ridiculous political speech laws like the Campaign Finance Reform, and the like.  There are exceptions, of course: we need swift consensus votes on important matters like lowering our tax burden and prosecuting important military campaigns.

But while gridlock is good, it can also be tedious. Take, for example, today’s news that Senator Russ Feingold wants Congress too “censure” President Bush for his management of the Iraq war. In fact, Feingold has a whole litany of political spankings he would like to see handed out, which he listed on Meet the Press today.

Gridlock is Good

Feingold proves gridlock is good, because without it, this guy might actually be able to cause some serious damage to the country. The only reason this won’t get traction is because Senate Majority Leader Reid knows that it wouldn’t get passed in the current very divided Congress.

Gridlock is Tedious

Feingold also proves that gridlock is tedious, because here we have a US Senator proposing that Congress pass utterly meaningless “censures,” which would do absolutely nothing except waste time and more tax money. Even if Feingold could corral up enough of his peers to pass these censures, they mean nothing. Bush would still be the Commander in Cheif, Gonzales would still be Attorney General, and Halliburton would still be the only company capable of coordinating civil logistics in occupied territories of the Middle East.

Feingold can’t actually think he will get anywhere with these absurd censure votes, and most certainly knows that they would accomplish absolutely nothing. Bush has proved on many occasions that his policies aren’t poll-based, and a “poll” of Congress’ opinion of Bush is just as irrelevant to him.

Feingold is just trying to score points with his liberal base at home. With gridlock, that’s really all he can accomplish.  And that’s a good thing.

Emotions Trump Reality

A brain researcher is advising Democrats that they need to focus on voters’ emotions in order to win debates.

There’s nothing surprising about this. I’ve always thought that the liberal line is based entirely on appeal to emotion, rather than a rational view of factual evidence.

What’s more cushy to say: “everyone deserves health coverage” or “the free market economy is the best system for ensuring advanced health care and coverage in the long term.” That one’s easy. If you don’t know anything about economics, research and development, and the private sector, then the guy who denies that there should be “universal health insurance” is just an evil conservative.

Or how about this: “We must raise the minimum wage so everyone can have a living wage!” or “minimum wage requirements do nothing to improve the buying power of low wage earners, since the market must adjust to compensate for the increased pay with higher costs across the board.” Again, easy: The guy arguing for higher minimum wages “cares” about the “poor,” and the guy who understands economics, inflation, and the fact that there are jobs that simply do not warrant a “living wage” is “cruel” and “detests” people who “earn” their income.

The fact is, it’s usually easier for Democrats to win the “hearts” of voters because their arguments appeal to emotional responses rather than realities. In my view, a capitalistic policy is in fact more compassionate on the whole because it rewards hard work and innovation, whereas a more socialistic approach punishes achievement and encourages mediocrity. And since people are not taught basic economics or about market forces in public school, they tend not to care about the realities of socialism verses capitalism.

And it’s easy to say “tax the rich” to pay for whatever you want to “give” voters, like “free” health care or other forms of welfare, because most people aren’t “rich.” The guy trying to argue for personal freedom and responsibility — the freedom to fail or succeed — always has the tougher fight because, well, people just don’t care. They’re not that interested in freedom, if it means they have to be personally responsible for their own welfare.

Patents Gone Wild

EBay in Patent Fight Over ‘Buy It Now’

“A small Virginia company in a patent fight with eBay Inc. asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop the online auction powerhouse from using its ‘Buy It Now’ feature allowing shoppers to buy items at a fixed price.”

And here I thought buying items at a fixed price was just the way most stores sell things! I never knew it was such a novel concept that someone could actually file a patent on it.

Obviously, there’s some absurd obfuscation involved that some patent clerk thought was good enough for a filing. This is just like the ridiculous “One click buying” patent Amazon.com had — a company being granted ownership of a concept so utterly simple and obvious.

I’m all for intellectual property rights, but this is beyond absurd.

The Many Myths of Ethanol

John Stossel exposes The Many Myths of Ethanol:

When everyone in politics jumps on a bandwagon like ethanol, I start to wonder if there’s something wrong with it. And there is. Except for that fact that ethanol comes from corn, nothing you’re told about it is true. As the Cato Institute’s energy expert Jerry Taylor said on a recent “Myths” edition of “20/20,” the case for ethanol is based on a baker’s dozen myths.

Senseless policies on immigration

My prediction: the Republican presidential candidate who gets out in front and fights against this absurd amnesty bill will take the nomination. All they need to do is make it the issue.

Here’s a good article: GOP Sellout: A senseless giveaway on immigration

I expect this kind of nonsense from the Democrat party. You know what’s sad? I’m no longer surprised when I see it from the Republican party.

And again, I point out: you’ve got President Bush, Senator “No Free Speech For You” McCain, and Senator Kennedy all on the same page here. That can only mean one thing: really, really stupid idea!