Sunday, October 19, 2008

I’ve often said that I’m having a delusional love affair with John Stossel in my head.  No, John, I’m not stalking you, nor will I show up at your home with duct tape and a dart gun to sedate you and kidnap you to Vegas in order to force you to marry me in a ceremony presided over by Elvis.  I promise.  But when you put out stuff like this, I seriously just want to kiss you! (Frank, don’t read that portion, OK?)

Politicians make promises. It’s election season, and promises are just par for the course. Please watch this terrific series from John Stossel and consider what it is you’re expecting your politicians to do.

The first installment explains the concept of “spontaneous order.”

You’ve heard me rail about the bailout of Fannie, Freddie and others for a long time. Stossel sits down with Walter Williams and others and explains why the bailouts are a lousy idea.

In this next installment, even Chocolate Mayor Ray Nagin admits that government “was not built for speed” and that the private sector “does it better.”

I was in New Orleans after Katrina. I’ve seen the best and the worst in people during my time there. What I can honestly agree with, however, is the fact that it is the human spirit and perseverance that rebuild and restore – both homes and faith. Bureaucrats just slow things down. Bureaucracies just stand in the way.

Remember the Constitution-shredding McCain-Feingold that was supposed to help get “big money” out of elections? Remember how McCain was so proud of himself for passing hundreds of pages of regulation taking grassroots initiatives out of our elections and destroying true political community activism? Yeah. He’d like you to forget about it.

“I’d rather not participate in the political process…” says one guy, who found the campaign finance rules to be too daunting and the paperwork too cumbersome. And you wonder why political insiders and incumbents always have the upper hand?

This next installment talks about “saving the family farm.”

Handouts to gargantuan agri-businesses – not small mom-and-pop operations are getting YOUR tax dollars!

But remember – politicians’ MO is to foment panic. Without farm subsidies, you STARVE! The country will STARVE. Farms will FAIL!

And here’s the last part. Most change in America doesn’t come from politicians. Hopey McChangitude and the Mav will do nothing to make your life better. They don’t have that power. What they DO have the power to do is make your life worse by interfering in the free markets, using YOUR earnings to reward failure and passing more and more laws that make it difficult for you to boot them the hell out of Washington.

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you already know that I’ve been ranting about this for months.  But please, do yourselves a favor and watch this 20/20 special from John Stossel. 

You won’t be sorry.

Thanks so much to the Economist’s Cookbook Blog for posting these videos.  I couldn’t shamelessly steal them without giving The Chef due credit. 

We’ve heard about the absolute insanity of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck registering to vote, as well as the entire starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team… in Nevada.  Michelle Malkin has covered this atrocity ad nauseam.  The inimitable Ms. Malkin has covered other instances of alleged voter fraud as well… all apparently in favor of Barry O’Marxist.

But the Associated (with terrorists, as my bro Misha likes to call it) Press has decided it isn’t our electoral system that is the victim here.  It isn’t the voters.  It’s ACORN.  That’s right.  According to the AP, ACORN is the victim of fraud.

Yeah, it’s ACORN that is being defrauded.  It’s all those immoral part-timers that are doing their best to collect money for doing nothing.  Those damn poor people making $8 per hour, trying to get over.   It’s happening all over the nation, and it’s happening in favor of Barack Obama, but really… it’s nothing but McCain’s and the Republicans’ fault.

Is ACORN, according to McCain, perpetuating voter fraud that could be
“destroying the fabric of democracy”? Or are Republicans trying to keep
the disadvantaged, who tend to be Democrats, from casting ballots in a
hotly contested presidential race that has drawn record numbers of new
voters?

So it’s not ACORN’s fault for either prompting their workers to fraudulently register thousands of nonexistent voters or simply not keeping a closer watch on their employees.  It’s the Republicans’ fault, because they’re trying to keep the black man down!

Can these people be any more ridiculously biased?  This isn’t a news report or even a feature.  It’s an absurd defense of the indefensible!

So it’s Sunday.  I just made a pile of chocolate pancakes for Teeny, Redhead and Teeny’s pal.  I had fun watching them stuff vast amounts of pancakes in their mouths and leave trails of chocolate on their lips.  Dishes are done, laundry is put away, and I’m surfing the Intertubez.

That’s when I come across this.  This is where Al Gore’s Greatest Invention (TM) becomes Nicki Fellenzer’s Strongest Emetic.

Two words:  Naked Clowns.

Those two words are enough to send any small child running for the comfort of the hole under his bed.  Hell, it’s enough to make ME want to hide there!  Know why?

THIS is why!

It’s a fabulous cause!  They’re trying to raise money to find a cure for multiple sclerosis.  But seriously… does ANYONE really want to see this guy naked?

I’m sorry.  There are just people out there who really need to cover up!  Something about a clown with a nipple ring that would probably make my kids vom!  EW.  It’s not that this guy is hideously ugly.  He’s actually not horribly offensive looking, but the clown nose and the nipple ring combination makes this just a little too twisted for me.