THE ENEMY WITHIN

For those interested, you can view my most recent opinion piece published in the Orange County Register by clicking on "THE EMEMY WITHIN" on the lower right portion of the screen.

Have a nice day.

DWD

THE SECOND AMENDMENT--GUNS

Not many would think that the pacifist Swiss people would pose the best argument for gun ownership--and assault weapons, no less. See for yourself.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6nf1OgV449g

BILL OF RIGHTS DAY

Today is Bill of Rights day so I could not resist posting this brief B-of-R summary with comments by Tom Lynch of the Cato Institute (please take note of the Ninth and Tenth Ammendments):

The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” Government officials, however, have insisted that they can gag recipients of “national security letters” and censor broadcast ads in the name of campaign finance reform.

The Second Amendment says the people have the right “to keep and bear arms.” Government officials, however, make it difficult to keep a gun in the home and make it a crime for a citizen to carry a gun for self-protection.

The Third Amendment says soldiers may not be quartered in our homes without the consent of the owners. This safeguard is one of the few that is in fine shape — so we can pause here for a laugh.

The Fourth Amendment says the people have the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Government officials, however, insist that they can conduct commando-style raids on our homes and treat airline travelers like prison inmates by conducting virtual strip searches.

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not be taken “for public use without just compensation.” Government officials, however, insist that they can use eminent domain to take away our property and give it to other private parties who covet it.

The Sixth Amendment says that in criminal prosecutions, the person accused is guaranteed a right to trial by jury. Government officials, however, insist that they can punish people who want to have a trial—“throwing the book” at those who refuse to plead guilty—which explains why 95 percent of the criminal cases never go to trial.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases where the controversy “shall exceed twenty dollars.” Government officials, however, insist that they can impose draconian fines on people without jury trials.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. Government officials, however, insist that a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense is not cruel.

The Ninth Amendment says that the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights should not be construed to deny or disparage others “retained by the people.” Government officials, however, insist that they will decide for themselves what rights, if any, will be retained by the people.

The Tenth Amendment says that the powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states, or to the people. Government officials, however, insist that they will decide for themselves what powers they possess, and have extended federal control over health care, crime, education, and other matters the Constitution reserves to the states and the people.

OBAMA HURTS THE POOR (& EVERYONE ELSE TOO)

Obama's class warfare economics is harming the U.S.
Here is a brief explanitory video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nvv5GBEHL9Q

SPEAKING OF PRESIDENTS

We citizens of the U.S. are better off today than we were in previous decades -- not because of our government leaders, but in spite of them. Here are a couple of videos from one leader who got it right (in my opinion).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6KXtspnYtLU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DSpoe4Zu-j8


DWD -- These videos came from the International Liberty blog.

WAR ON POVERTY: REPORT CARD

This stuff is from the International Liberty blog:

We spend about $60,000 [per year] on various welfare programs for every poor household in America [see chart below]. And what are we getting for that giant expenditure of money? Well, as the second chart shows our progress in the fight against poverty came to a screeching halt right about the time that the politicians in Washington launched the so-called War on Poverty.

This video contains more analysis, for those who want to learn about the best way of actually reducing poverty. It's important to remember, after all, that the welfare state has a human cost that is just as important as the fiscal cost.

DWD--As for the last sentence, the welfare state has needlessly created a culture of dependency for a large segment of the U.S. population.

 

THOUGHTS ON LIBERTY

The following came from Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute:

Barry Goldwater Quote --

"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. … I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is 'needed' before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents’ 'interests,' I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can."

The bad news is that Barry got his you-know-what kicked in the 1964 election. On the other hand, America did elect a president that said “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

And a 2011 poll that most Americans—unlike their European counterparts—do not believe it is government’s job to guarantee that “nobody is in need.”

DWD

MORAL PROBLEM WITH BIG GOVERNMENT

This video is about Socialism, however, it is fully applicable to big government in general--including the U.S. government. One of the biggest arguments against Capitalism is that it is immoral, but the opposite is true--it is big government that is immoral.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYeYPcougmA&feature=player_detailpage

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH HEALTH CARE

This takes a few minutes but one cannot begin to understand our health care problems in a single political sound bite. Please invest a little of your time in the video below.

Thank you,

DWD


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pl3LwMGFAFM

OF THEATERS AND LIBERTY

For those who may be interested, you can view my most recent editorial published in the Orange County Register by clicking on "OF THEATERS AND LIBERTY" on the lower right margin of this screen.

Have a nice day,

DWD

WHY IS SOCIALISM INEVITABLE

1. Voters by and large are poorly informed with respect good and bad government policy (liberals, independents, and conservatives alike)

2. Voter ignorance is rational because the cost of becoming well informed is far greater than the potential benefit received from casting a single vote that most certainly won't change the outcome of an election (this is an economic concept known as "rational ignorance")

3. Most voters consequently cast their ballots based on emotion and/or potential to receive a financial benefit from government

4. Therefore, politicians get elected by appealing to emotion (fairness, equalty etc.) and by promising government handouts or free services (healthcare, safety net, etc.) rather than by promoting policies that are for the general good or that promote personal freedom

5. Ever more programs (without limit) are needed to promote more "fairness" and provide more free services

6. Government must control ever more financial resources (i.e., increased socialsim) in order to deliver the promised benefits

There is only one remedy: voter education

The best blog that I know of to get the average voter educated about good vs. bad government policy is:  http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/ PLEASE give it a try. If you agree with me about its value, pass it on. We need educated voters!

THE MORAL CASE FOR TAX HAVENS

"Tax havens" are viewed by the average citizen as being corrupt and something to be eliminated. But that is the politically correct view instilled by bankrupt (or nearly so) nations (like the U.S.) and, of course, propogated by the media. Here is another point-of-view worthy of consideration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xf14lkyH2dM

BYE BYE EXCEPTIONALISM

Here are some words of wisdom about American Exceptionalism from Nicolas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute.

From the founding of our nation until quite recently, the U.S. and its citizens were regarded, at home and abroad, as exceptional in a number of deep and important respects. One of these was their fierce and principled independence, which informed not only the design of the political experiment that is the U.S. Constitution but also their approach to everyday affairs. The proud self-reliance that struck Alexis de Tocqueville in his visit to the U.S. in the early 1830s extended to personal finances. The American "individualism" about which he wrote did not exclude social cooperation—the young nation was a hotbed of civic associations and voluntary organizations. But in an environment bursting with opportunity, American men and women viewed themselves as accountable for their own situation through their own achievements—a novel outlook at that time, markedly different from the prevailing attitudes of the Old World (or at least the Continent). The corollaries of this American ethos were, on the one hand, an affinity for personal enterprise and industry and, on the other, a horror of dependency and contempt for anything that smacked of a mendicant mentality. Although many Americans in earlier times were poor, even people in fairly desperate circumstances were known to refuse help or handouts as an affront to their dignity and independence. People who subsisted on public resources were known as "paupers," and provision for them was a local undertaking. Neither beneficiaries nor recipients held the condition of pauperism in high regard.

The U.S. is now on the verge of a symbolic threshold: the point at which more than half of all American households receive and accept transfer benefits from the government. (DWD-Compared to about 30% in 1980) From cradle to grave, a treasure chest of government-supplied benefits is there for the taking for every American citizen—and exercising one's legal rights to these many blandishments is now part of the American way of life. ...Citizens have become ever more broad-minded about the propriety of tapping new sources of finance for supporting their appetite for more entitlements. The taker mentality has thus ineluctably gravitated toward taking from a pool of citizens who can offer no resistance to such schemes: the unborn descendants of today's entitlement-seeking population. ...The U.S. is a very wealthy society. If it so chooses, it has vast resources to squander. And internationally, the dollar is still the world's reserve currency; there remains great scope for financial abuse of that privilege. Such devices might well postpone the day of fiscal judgment: not so the day of reckoning for American character, which may be sacrificed long before the credibility of the U.S. economy. Some would argue that it is an asset already wasting away before our very eyes.

—Mr. Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. Excerpted from "A Nation of Takers: America's Entitlement Epidemic," forthcoming from the Templeton Press. To read the complete essay, go to www.templetonpress.org.

 The above quote was extracted from a recent blog by International Liberty.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE POVERTY ENIGMA

Most everyone wishes that we could eliminate poverty, but how? Here is one idea that has a strong following.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3weEy7pykPQ

HOW TO FIX CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT

There is only one real solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SovALlOhSg8&feature=player_embedded