It's Still On!

The Michael Jacksonathon, that is. Arrrrrrgh!

Stuttering Stimulus

During the campaign, Obama and Biden termed the economy the "worst since the Great Depression." Now Biden claims the reason the stimulus hasn't been effective is because they underestimated how bad it was.

Of $157.8 billion "made available" under the stimulus, only $56.3 billion has been paid out — or 7% of the total $787 billion. And according to ex-Treasury Department economist Bruce Bartlett, "just 11% of the the discretionary spending on highways, mass transit, energy efficiency and other programs involving direct government purchases will have been spent by the end of this fiscal year."

Based on this, there are only two possible conclusions: One, the stimulus has been the most inept public waste of money in history. Or two, it was a cynical attempt by the Democrats to vastly expand the scope of government during a time of crisis. Or maybe it's both.

After all, how else could a government seize major parts of a once-private economy with nary a peep? How else could it boost spending to record levels, then blame earlier administrations for their fiscal incontinence? And how else could they add $10 trillion to the nation's debt in just 10 years and still claim fiscal prudence?

Yet, faced with this, economist Paul Krugman and others on the left argue that a second stimulus is needed. Asked about it, Biden — who oversees the stimulus, by the way — refused to reject it.

This is a little like a medieval barber bleeding his patients to improve their health, then bleeding them again when they fail to improve. At some point we'll all wake up and use modern medicine. Until then, why double-down on failure?

Because, while sold to the public as a means to provide "stimulus" to boost us out of the recession, it was never intended to do that. As the WSJ reported back in January

This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.

[...]

This is supposed to be a new era of bipartisanship, but this bill was written based on the wish list of every living -- or dead -- Democratic interest group.

The stimulus was never intended to stimulate the economy - and, as such, it has succeeded. Unfortunately, the American people are paying the price - and will continue to pay the price - for this deception.

"Anecdotes" Are Not Evidence; But "Stories" Are

Jonah Goldberg and Mark Steyn trade anecdotes on failures in the British health care system. Steyn comments:

When we quote stories like these at NRO, we get a lot of e-mail saying these are just "anecdotes". And yes, if you look on yourself as being part of a government health system of millions of people, getting a bedsore and dying in hideous pain is no big deal in the scheme of things. But I look on myself as being part of the Mark Steyn health system. So if I get a bedsore and die, as far as I'm concerned, that's a 100% systemic failure. The difference between government health care and a private system is that, under the latter, you're free to say, "This dump's filthy. I'm going to the state-of-the-art joint five miles up the road." You may have to get out your checkbook, but ultimately the decisions are yours.

In a government system, the decisions are the bureaucrats', and that's that. My father is currently ill, and the health "system" is doing its best to ensure it's fatal.

Dismissing these as merely "anecdotes" is also one reason that conservatives have had limited success in halting the advance of government. Every time there is a discussion of cutting some program - no matter how inefficient, wasteful or unnecessary - the proponents of big government trot out Susie Singleparentworkingtwojobs whose 4 children are going to be forced to do without if the cuts are made.

They are going to be putting on a full-court press to push for their version of health care reform. Organizers at the Organizing for America health care forum I attended passed out this flyer. (Click to enlarge)



They've already begun actively recruiting volunteers willing to share their "anecdotes", ahem, I mean "Health Care Stories". Note the three checkboxes at the bottom of the form:

• Yes, I will talk to other volunteers in my community about my story
• Yes, I am willing to share my story on the Organizing for America website
• Yes, I would be willing to talk to the press about my story

Over the next couple months we are going to be bombarded with "stories" of people who were denied coverage or whose insurance refused to cover a certain procedure. Anyone who dismisses the effectiveness of these types of stories in influencing opinion hasn't been paying attention.

Trying to counter them with facts is going to have only limited effectiveness. Even if it can be shown that 90% of people are happy with their health care, Fred whose insurance didn't cover a treatment is going to trump that 90% in the eyes of a lot of people. The more faces and names we can put to the failures of single-payer (and make no mistake, that is the end game, any "reforms" are just steps along the path) or to highlight the successes of market-based care the better we'll be able to withstand the barrage.

Thanks to PowerLine for pointing me to the Corner posts.

July 4 Tea Party in Reno

Orrin Johnson has the scoop.

On This Fourth of July

We pause to honor those who have left behind their homes and families to fight and, too often, die defending our liberty and liberating others. We also pause to honor those, such as the people in Iran, who risk their lives in the hopes of liberating themselves from tyranny.

Gateway Pundit has a couple of posts regarding Iran that are well worth your time. Please go read them and watch the videos, we'll be here when you get back.

Done? Good. I used to be a huge U2 fan. Although I still enjoy their music, my politics have drifted far from theirs in many areas - but not all. It used to be that liberals and leftists supporting the people against a theocratic, fascist regime would be a no-brainer. Not so much anymore. It certainly makes me feel good to see Bono and the gang supporting the Iranian people.

I wish I could say the same for the Obama administration. While President Obama speaks often of restoring our standing in the world, the administration's wavering response to the protests reveals that he has no idea what this actually means. America's standing has always been at its highest not when we've played nice with the world's tyrants and despots but when we have stood steadfast, at times virtually alone in the world, in support of the liberty of their victims.

Today, of all days, comes news that the administration is prepared to block sanctions against Iran so as not to jeopardize negotiations between the regime and the UN Security Council. Sanctions are not always the most effective means of punishing a regime, especially one that will allow its people to suffer to preserve itself. But this is simply another case in which it appears the administration is prepared to appease the mullahs, at the expense of the Iranian people, to get them to the bargaining table.

During the campaign when I spoke with friends many expressed reservations about Sarah Palin's lack of experience in world affairs, especially when compared to Joe Biden. I countered that I would rather have someone with little experience but with principles grounded in a recognition of America's unique role in the world and a desire to provide support (if only rhetorical or moral) the aspirations for liberty of other people than someone with experience but lacking those principles.

Happy 4th of July!

Desert Sunset

Some sunset pics from a couple nights ago. Just because.

Why The Tea Parties Are Important

Especially in Nevada. 'Cause We're Number 1.

Las Vegas Tea Party

Had a great time at the Tea Party. It was a beautiful day - a little hot but what do you expect for July in Las Vegas? Lots of people out to express their displeasure with bailouts, stimulus, spending, high taxes and incumbent politicians of both(!!!) parties. Click pictures for larger images.

The turnout was good. People were still arriving when I took my crowd shots. There were a lot of flags.



And other interesting attractions.



Capitalism was alive and flourishing. As was disaffection with politicians, both donkeys and elephants.



Of course, some politicians came in for much greater criticism than others.



There were lots of signs.



The Young Voters of Nevada were there...



as were other young voters, of Nevada,...



as well as many who are still too young to vote.



There is another Tea Party planned for tomorrow morning (July 4) at 10:00 am at the Downtown Federal Building (600 S. Las Vegas Blvd.). I won't be able to attend but if anyone has pictures I would be glad to post them here.

UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers! While you're here, I'd be honored if you'd check out some of my other posts, especially this one. And there are some very good bloggers, including some Nevada bloggers you may not be familiar with, on the right sidebar.

UPDATE 2: Thanks for linking also to MidnightBlue. I'm not the greatest at deciphering my referrer logs so if you link me and I don't credit you, leave a comment or drop me an email letting me know.

July 4 UPDATE: Orrin Johnson has a report from Reno's Tea Party today.

Las Vegas Tea Party Today!

The 4th of July weekend Tea Party for Las Vegas is today (7/3) at 10:00 at Desert Breeze Park (Spring Mountain & Durango). I'm taking my camera and the girl. Hope to see you there!

Washington Is Never In Recession

While you're enjoying your staycation, you can rest easily knowing that your Congressperson is probably flying to some exotic locale on your behalf.

Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.

The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.

[...]

The Journal analysis, based on information published in the Congressional Record, also shows that taxpayer-funded travel is a big and growing perk for lawmakers and their families. Some members of Congress have complained in recent months about chief executives of bailed-out banks, insurance companies and car makers who sponsored corporate trips to resorts or used corporate jets for their own travel.

Merely another example that the members of Congress nearly always hold themselves to a different standard and create a different set of rules than those they set for everyone else. From health care to employment rules to travel the standards they set for themselves are always more lax than those they impose on the rest of us.