Stones Cry Out

The mantra is always that the rich should pay their "fair share". Roseanne Barr recently said that anyone with personal wealth over $100 million should send the excess to the government (and if they won’t, she deadpanned that we should send them to reeducation camps or behead them (civility watch!)). President Obama said that you don’t have any inherent right to a certain amount of profit.

Now that’s an interesting juxtaposition; Roseanne Barr has more courage of her convictions, such that she should have a more concrete dollar value than Obama’s "certain amount".

What I would like to find out is, if there are liberals who would go on the record saying exactly (or even closely) what these values should be.

• How much is the rich’s "fair share"? The only answer we’ve ever had is "more than they’re paying now".
• Should the government put a limit on how much private citizens are allowed to earn, or a limit on total wealth? If so, how much?
• Should the government put a limit on the profit a private company is allowed to make, as either a percentage or an absolute annual amount? If so, how much?

Herman Cain has his "999" plan. Rep. John Linder started a Flat Tax proposal. You know where these guys stand. But how about the Left coming out and telling us how much is too much? What’s the target they’re shooting at?

Good morning.

1. Rolling up Europe (and psy-ops in general and Iraq).
2. Ferdinand, a outraged (outrageous?) Serb and us.
3. What the high court won’t hear (and why it matters).
4. She’d be one who might know.
5. China … and the US … and Taiwan.
6. Reading Scripture the rong weigh.
7. Ugly girls have all the fun, in which “fun” alas means not going to jail.
8. Solyndra as VC (Venture Capitalism). You know … if you’re going to make the VC argument a VC investor typically invests in 10-20 things cutting losses intelligently banking on one of them being a home run. If you’re going to make the WH as VC argument, show us the intelligent pruning and the home runs. Otherwise stop making that claim.
9. On the the same topic (Solyndra) the White House strategy of lie lie lie remains intact however.
10. Slipping free.
11. Seeking the mythical utilitarian who, erhm, isn’t a psychopath.
12. Fast food is not cheap.
13. Ms Clinton re-writes history for her convenience.
14. The problem with lying when there is a clear and present paper trail.

The same people who will make excuses for Roseanne Barr’s call for the beheading of the rich — who say she’s a comedian and was just joking — also seem to be the same people to reject the idea that Rush Limbaugh is a satirist and take 100% of what he says seriously. Just sayin’.

Good morning.

1. Watching the high court …
2. Looking at Mr Cain.
3. News sources, timing and the Al-Awlaki killing.
4. Birth demographics.
5. Art and its purpose. Challenge? Where went creating beauty?
6. Fat and racism.
7. An odd conundrum. On the one hand, the left is (often) against parental rights but can’t bring itself to condemn sexual matters and the right on the other hand defends parental priority over the state.
8. Not a gymnast.
9. Democracy and coercion, here.
10. A beheading for … what?
11. Why are artists and academics fond of increased state power and economic influence?
12. And they’re not very fond of Christianity either.
13. How are theoretical astrophysics and the USGS alike? Answer, they put their error bars in the exponent.
14. Just being of service.
15. Hell is personal.
16. Hitler and the Red Sox.

When the International Monetary Fund needs bailing out, from bailing out so many others, it’s time to seriously question the socialist policies of those it’s having to bail out.

The Pope reminds Europe that moral failure usually precludes many other kinds of failure, eve economic.

A page to bookmark when someone brings up the faulty idea that billionaires are running the Tea Party.

Congress will investigate Planned Parenthood. About time.

Meryl Yourish has a keen eye for news media bias against Israel and, coincidentally, a bias for Palestinians. The latest? A Palestinian man kills an American tourist (because he thought the American was Jewish, which he wasn’t). The AP headline only say the Palestinian man was convicted of "stabbing" the tourist. (Oh, and the tourist was a Christian who happened to be wearing a Star of David.)

"Despite increases in gun sales, gun crimes continued to decrease in the United States for the fourth straight year in 2010, according to the FBI." This goes completely against the liberal narrative. The reality is likely closer to crime is down because of the increase in gun sales.

"President Obama’s jobs bill is better than doing nothing in the face of a national crisis, but it won’t have much impact on unemployment." This incredibly foolish line begins a column trying to suggest Obama’s Stimulus Jr. should be bigger. First of all, how is wasting money on something that won’t do what it purports to do better than doing nothing? That’s how politicians have gotten us into this fiscal mess. Second, the answer is always more, more, more. And yet here we are anyway. How can more pounding our heads against the wall feel any better?

And finally, a political cartoon (of sorts) of my own. Someone took a picture of tax protesters, and attempted a little irony by pointing out things around them paid for by taxes. But they missed the point entirely. Then point is… (Click for a larger version).

Good morning, double dose of links?

1. When you choose to go to war, there is one outcome to seek (hint: win) (HT)
2. A book noted (two actually).
3. Obamacare was to “bend the cost curve” … and guess what? It is, but there is a reason why the supporters of that act aren’t touting that fact.
4. Uhm, ouch?
5. One  really really good reason to go to liturgy (or else?).
6. 1.6 per? Gosh.
7. An interesting reflection on SSM and religious freedom.
8. Oh, on the topic of religious freedom, will this man be a martyr or a confessor?
9. A foreign policy question.
10. Well, that might be interesting grist for the Google-as-monopoly charges … but Opera already compresses web pages for their mobile browser.
11. Well, the tea-party=racists runs into the Cain Florida results.
12. Well, there’s cool and then there’s Gandalfy cool.
13. Liberty is an unstable equilibrium, and unlikely after much “Hulk smash” activity.
14. Speaking of liberty.
15. Zoom zoom.
16. Well, 25 years ago, I recall remember reading a study that mice fed a diet BHT lived 30% longer. So eat your cereal boxes!
17. Depends on the car buddy! For yesterday’s 350 miles of driving I got 87 mpg.
18. The real unConstitutional part of Obamacare.
19. Well, it’s likely the pilot got out OK.
20. Somebody really really hates mutual funds.
21. Vader meets teenage angst.

We’re interested in seeing what social networks are readers typically use, so there’s a new poll up. Choose all that apply to you, and if I’ve missed one (and that’s easy to do), just check Other and let us know in the comments.

What exactly qualifies as a social network is often in the eye of the beholder. But let us know what you think qualifies as well. Thanks.

"Baby Joseph" was mere hours from being pulled from life support at a Canadian hospital in March, when he was rescued to the US by Priests for Life. The parents wanted to ensure their child got whatever life-extended care they could, but since the Canadian government pays the bills, they get to call the shots, and the courts backed them up.

Joseph was moved to St. Louis where doctors at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital performed the tracheotomy that would allow him to breath without the respirator, and thus move back home to Windsor, Ontario.

His condition was always terminal, but he lived until Tuesday and died at home.

There is no doubt that keeping him alive cost money, and the Canadian government is correct that it would have been cheaper to just take him off the respirator in March and let him die. No doubt at all. But is that any way to make medical decisions? More specifically, is that any way for a disinterested 3rd party to make medical decisions for someone else? When you turn control over to the national government, that’s the only way decisions get made.

Good morning.

1. Bertrand Russell and some suggestions (commandments?) for teachers.
2. Transcription of voice to text.
3. But not to Taiwan, eh?
4. Taking the game very very seriously.
5. Press and politics and relationships.
6. Mr Bush.
7. Missing missiles.
8. American church and it’s reflective view of itself. (HT)
9. Changing a phrase.
10. Be afraid, very afraid … or not. 😀
11. There are probably knuckleheads who think remembering Traveler is racist. Just keep in mind they are knuckleheads.
12. Obama and his PR.
13. Art meets math.
14. And a book noted.
15. The real source of the term “green energy.”

Should a campus group dedicated to abortion rights be allowed to ask one of their leaders to resign if it is found out they are anti-abortion? Should a group trying to combat racism be allowed to remove membership from someone who, it is found out, actively belongs to racial hate groups? Should a Muslim student group be allowed to set a rule that their group leader not be Jewish?

And, should a Christian fraternity be allowed to require that its members adhere to, at least, very widely held Christian beliefs, or at least a set of beliefs that the fraternity itself affirms? Vanderbilt University says, maybe, but maybe not.

It‘s a case of religious freedom versus one university’s nondiscrimination policies.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, is making headlines after a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi, asked an openly gay member to resign. Upon leaving the group, the young man filed a discrimination complaint and now college administrators are trying to figure out whether the campus organization violated the school’s nondiscrimination policy.

Of course, this incident has grown into a much larger controversy in which university administrators are reviewing all student-led organizations. As a result, officials are concerned about specific clauses that five Christian campus groups have in their constitutions.

These clauses require members of the groups to share their religious beliefs, something that didn‘t concern campus administrators until the student’s complaint was made. Now, the school wants the constitutions amended and the controversial clauses dropped.

If the Christian groups refuse to comply, they may lose their official affiliation with the campus, be denied access to facilities and equipment and potentially lose funding from student fees — all major losses that would severely impede their operations and existence.

It will be interesting to see how this is resolved. Not that it should be an issue at all, since I’m sure my initial examples wouldn’t raise much of an eyebrow at all at the university. But when you start treading on liberal values, all of a sudden freedoms that we take for granted wind up on shaky footing (at least in their minds).

A special interest group dedicated to a particular issue or belief is, by definition, discriminatory. To then file a discrimination complaint is silly.

We’ve all heard about the rich guys who asked for Obama to tax them more. But in that same townhall meeting, there was a small businessman who complained about the burdensome taxes and regulation. Did you hear about that?

Probably not. CNN seemed to have forgotten about it. That’s why we need the Media Research Center. Here’s the whole story.

Good morning.

1. A father’s pride and a little wood tape. (HT)
2. He was “too nice?”
3. This is not unrelated.
4. UC Berkeley Republican bake sale. Whaddya think?
5. More on Solyndra.
6. Inhaler bans and alphabet bureau confusion.
7. Remember the Tea Party=racist theme the left tried selling? Herman Cain and the Florida straw poll anyone?
8. Red State/Blue State and divorce rates.
9. North Korea and soldier rations.
10. Ooh, look more parasites.
11. Off to the top court … for political reasons of course.

Good morning.

1. What did Archimedes say, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth?” These guys need to do a few more calculations before setting their lever down.
2. Perhaps that’s why the Admin has such problems sorting out Intra vs Inter state commerce?
3. Of boots and drones.
4. Mr Obama’s bridge and why it isn’t fixed.
5. Well, will one of these goofy cars get out of prototype? I wants one. 😀  150+ mpg would be cool.
6. I was most struck by watching effect of time on the body.
7. OOoohh. I can play that game. One can claim affirmative action was designed with the intention of keeping certain minorities ‘down’ (and lo’ and behold, it’s working).
8. The love of a parent noted.
9. Well, if any administration needs a clue on how to create jobs, this is a good primer.
10. Systematic theft.
11. Too the winner go the spoils.
12. Pedagogy gone wrong.
13. Our progressives will explain that excessive waiting lines are good for you, it’s “progress.”
14. And our generation downloads them on to our ebooks … and doesn’t read them. 😀

Herman Cain scored a big win yesterday coming out on top in the Florida Presidency 5 Straw Poll. Interestingly enough, every winner of the straw poll has gone on to win the GOP nomination. It’s a huge victory especially considering that he was not one of the front runners in national polls.

How did he manage to win? Some credit his debate performance last Thursday especially his answer on healthcare. Others credit his speeches during the convention. Consider this remark from Byron York in his wrap up of the straw poll:

One other factor should not be underestimated. Yes, the delegates liked what Cain had to say.  But how he said it was just as important.  With his deep, booming voice and a style that any motivational speaker would envy, Cain can give a rousing speech, and he gave several of them during four days in Orlando.  No other candidate, frontrunner or back of the pack, could match him.  It’s not an exaggeration to say that his power as an orator sealed the deal for hundreds of delegates.  They believed Cain was speaking to them from the heart, and they were carried away by it. As with the Democratic primary contests of 2007 and 2008, never underestimate the power of a stirring speech.

Mr. York gets this half right. Yes, Mr. Cain has a terrific speaking style. But more importantly, he knows what he believes and communicates his ideas clearly and concisely to his audience. That sets him apart from the rest of the field (as well as our current President). His last speech before the straw poll was a terrific statement on why he should be elected. Many delegates at the Florida convention came in supporting Perry but switched their votes based on what they saw and heard from Cain.

The media has tried to make the race for the GOP nomination a head-to-head race between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. But Herman Cain makes a great case that he deserves to be considered as well. The race is not over by any means.

Planned Parenthood keeps breaking all its previous records in abortions performed.

Chavez is running out of people/things to blame for socialism’s failure. "[I]n a remarkable volte-face, for the first time this week Hugo Chávez admitted that the government was, after all, largely to blame for the electricity shortages and rationing that are hampering the economy, having previously tried to blame it on a drought, which dried up Venezuela’s hydroelectric reservoirs. That argument didn’t work so well this year, with torrential rains flooding much of the country."

Down’s Syndrome death panels are getting setup.

The debt crisis in Europe threatens to tear apart the EU. That’s not some conservative think tank talking, it’s the EU itself.

"If you love me, pass this bill!" Apparently, Mr. Obama has lost a lot of love in his own party, as Dems pick apart his jobs bill.

We spend more and more on public schools — in absolute dollars and per student — and yet SAT scores continue to fall. There are proven ways to deal with this, but Democrats are against all of them (predictably).

If poverty leads to crime, why is the crime rate falling during this recession (and the decade before it)? Is it because, perhaps, we’re actually keeping criminals behind bars?

Talk about over-regulation, here’s a CEO who was fined for hiring too many people and required to stop hiring altogether. When government calls the shots, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing (or even that there is a right hand).

Palin Derangement Syndrome: Joe McGinniss wrote an expose on Sarah Palin that was essentially (according to the publisher) filled with unproved “tawdry gossip” and rumors that lacked “factual evidence.”

The new 2011 version of the New International Version of the Bible strives for gender-inclusivity. Mary Kassian gives her 10 reasons why this is bad for women.

And finally, never mind abortion, Michelle Obama thinks you should have parental consent before getting French Fries. (Click for a larger version.)