State of the Union

President Bush could save himself and Congress a lot of time and trouble if he would just wear one of these shirts when he delivers the State of the Union address. Just stand there and keep quiet.

Get your shirt here: O Shit

Are you an idiot to keep paying your mortgage?

Kathleen Pender

Should you keep paying your mortgage?

If you don't, it's getting harder to answer that question, especially when our government keeps giving people who owe more than their homes are worth so many reasons not to pay.

Last week, the government announced a program that will substantially lower payments for many homeowners who have little or no equity, but only if they are at least 90 days delinquent.

Critics say the plan, which applies to loans owned or guaranteed by government wards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac among others, could encourage people to suspend payments.

But what about the moral obligation to pay off a debt?

Elected officials have been chipping away at that by blaming the foreclosure crisis largely on predatory lenders. In a campaign fact sheet, President-elect Barack Obama says he "recognizes that the real victims in the subprime mortgage crisis are not the lenders, but the millions of borrowers who followed the rules and whose only crime was taking out mortgages that lenders told them they could afford."

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Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs

By Karen McMahan

November 04, 2008

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.

Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.

The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

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Nanny State Extends Smoking Bans to Private Homes

Ten years ago, California became the first state to ban smoking in bars. Since then, numerous states and thousands of cities have passed similar laws. And now, as a new Reason.tv video shows, smoking bans have stretched into private homes.

The city of Belmont, California, has outlawed smoking in all apartments, condominiums and other multi-unit houses that share walls, ceilings or floors. What’s next? To ensure a smoke-free environment, some cities are banning outdoor grilling and barbequing.

“You may like it when politicians ban something you hate, but sooner or later they will go after something you like,” Reason.tv editor Nick Gillespie says. “Smoking bans in bars and restaurants set the stage for a proliferation of bans that have now reached into our homes.”

The Reason.tv video shows life is imitating an old Denis Leary stand-up routine, in which the comedian asks, “What’s the law now? You can only smoke in your apartment, under a blanket with all the lights out?” Nope, even that’s now illegal in Belmont.

“I actually like smoking bans—I just don’t like it when the government does the banning,” says Gillespie. “Thousands of apartment owners, hotels and other businesses have voluntarily said no to smoking in their establishments, because their customers prefer a smoke-free environment. Others allow smoking because their customers want a choice. In a free, tolerant society, nobody needs politicians to tell them what to do.”

Full Video Online

The Reason.tv video, Just Can’t Quit, is online at Just Can’t Quit

The Broadscale Political View Test

This test is an attempt to gauge as accurately as possible what your views are.

It's called the broad scale political view test because this has absolutely nothing to do gay marriages and fetuses, but rather is an attempt to gauge your more general views on different forms of government and economics.

Broadscale Political View Test

Ron Paul comments on the election

Robert's note: Listen for Dr. Paul's "getting rid of the nanny state" comment.

Ten Reasons to Be Happy About This Election

Source: Copious Dissent

In no particular order:

1) Democrats now must take responsibility for every mistake and downturn in our society;

2) Daily Kos and the Huffington Post will have nothing to write about;

3) Republicans will need to go back to their roots of cutting spending and limiting the size of government;

4) Students who have been indoctrinated by Leftists professors will get the best education of their lifetime on why Big Government doesn't work;

5) The arguments for Affirmative Action are dead;

6) The argument that America is a racist Country is now dead;

7) We will no longer be forced to defend indefensible RINOs, including John McCain;

8) Republicans may have a filibuster;

9) Al Franken lost, Norm Coleman won and we kept Michele Bachmann (well, I think so...but I'm not waiting up any longer to find out);

10) John McCain will not be President.

Copious Dissent

American socialism won't work

By DENNIS CLAYSON

If there is anything to be learned in this election cycle it is that many Americans, perhaps the majority, want the government to take care of them. They not only tolerate a Nanny State, they want a Nanny State.

I find this development troubling.

Nannies are employed to care for children. Children are not expected to act, think or react to logic the same as adults. Even in minor emergencies, they are expected to run to their nanny for protection.

Where the nanny gets her resources, or her information, is of no concern to the child as long as she is taken care of and protected from anything in the world that may be threatening, either real or imaginary.

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If it redistributes like a duck ...

By David Harsanyi
Denver Post
Staff Columnist

Barack Obama is going to fix the economy by "spreading the wealth around"?

Now, I'm not attempting to demonize Obama, God forbid. It's just that, as we all know, that's what Obama told Joe the Plumber.

Obama laughs off the charge of socialist behavior — and to be fair, socialism isn't the precise term to affix to his ideas. It's more like Robin Hood economics. On a recent campaign stop, Obama joked that, by the end of the week, McCain would be accusing him "of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten."

A funny line. But, of course, Obama's lofty intellect must comprehend the fundamental difference between sharing your G.I. Joe with a friend and having a bully snatch your G.I. Joe for the collective, prepubescent good. It's the difference between coercion and free association and trade. In practical terms, it's the difference between government cheese and a meal at Ruth's Chris.

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