Browsing the archives for the The Politicians category

Latenight laughs?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Since politicians are such easy targets for our derision, it almost makes you feel bad pointing out their numerous shortcomings…almost. After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself, make fun of other people. From Jay Leno… “Energy Secretary Stephen Chu testified before Congress yesterday that he thought it was [...]

Share

Neither snow, nor rain?…

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Proving that not everything gets better with age—especially the U.S. Post Office—consider this article from 1985… James Bovard, “The Last Dinosaur: The U.S. Postal Service” http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa047.html Then compare it to this article from 2010… Doug Bandow, “Postal Bankruptcy” http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/postal-bankruptcy And then try to figure out what has changed since 1985. Consider [...]

Share

Mental slavery?, Part 3

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Note these additional examples of the anti-slavery positions resolutely embraced by several influential American figures: JOHN WITHERSPOON (1723-1794)… Founding Father… Signatory Declaration of Independence & Articles of Confederation… President of Princeton University [6th] (1768-1794)… Delegate to Continental Congress [NJ] (1776-1782) “[I]t is certainly unlawful to make inroads upon others [...]

Share

Mental slavery?, Part 2

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Moreover, until the Revolutionary Era, no serious effort had EVER been undertaken to dismantle the vile institution of slavery. Consider the following: JOHN JAY (1745-1829)… Founding Father… President of Continental Congress (1778-1779)… U.S. Ambassador to Spain (1779-1782)… Co-author of the Federalist Papers (1788)… Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court [1st] [...]

Share

Playing favorites?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Presidential approval ratings since 1950:[1] George W. Bush…was rated a HIGH of 90% and a LOW of 29%. George H. W. Bush…was rated a HIGH of 89% and a LOW of 29%. Harry S Truman…was rated a HIGH of 87% and a LOW of 23%. John F. Kennedy…was rated [...]

Share

Money well spent?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Since 2001, the Los Angeles Unified District (LAUSD) has spent $1.2 billion (2009 USD) to “educate” 8,400 students at a cost of $142,857.14 per student. [1] [2] [3] [4] $578 million to build the Robert F. Kennedy Community School which houses 4,200 students and opened in 2010. $377 or [...]

Share

Worth considering?, Part 2

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The media has enjoyed a lengthy love affair with the conflicting theories of global warming and global cooling. NOTE: A few of the headlines even manage to contradict the “conventional wisdom” of the times. FROM THE 1860’s TO 1920’s…GLOBAL COOLING?

Share

Worth considering?, Part 1

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Although going “green” has been extremely lucrative for Al Gore as he is poised to become the world’s first “carbon billionaire”, [1] he is better known for his Nobel prize-winning documentary (An Inconvenient Truth, 2007) [2] advancing the theory of global warming. The Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) theory embraced [...]

Share

How government “works”?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Once upon a time, the government owned a vast scrap yard in the middle of the desert. But Congress grew concerned that someone might steal from it at night so they formed a Scrap Yard Oversight Committee to determine what should be done. After several drafts and numerous revisions [...]

Share

WWJFKD?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn [What would JFK do?] President John F. Kennedy appeared to have an excellent grasp of fiscal reality and perhaps ALL members of Congress would do well to heed his advice concerning the immutable relationship between raising taxes and ruining the economy.

Share

Buying influence?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “The legislature, like the executive, has ceased, save indirectly, to be even the creature of the people: it is the creature, in the main, of pressure groups, and most of them, it must be manifest, are of dubious wisdom and even more dubious honesty. Laws are no longer made [...]

Share

An “agreeable” debt?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Given our nation’s precarious financial condition, I hope that ALL Americans can agree with the following… “Mr. President, I rise today to talk about America’s debt problem.” “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a [...]

Share

“Big labor”?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn In reviewing the “Top 100 All-Time Donors, 1989-2010″, it is interesting to note that several of the top donors are unions. [1] Just follow the money… [2] [3]

Share

Got energy?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The U.S. Congress bears sole responsibility for artificially increasing oil prices since it is OUR oil that remains largely untapped beneath OUR deserts, OUR forests, OUR swamps and OUR oceans. These politicians that we have freely elected…and re-elected…and then re-elected [sigh] are preventing OUR oil from being drilled by [...]

Share

If the shoe fits?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Judge for yourself how successfully the planks of the Communist Party platform have been grafted into the tree of American liberty. On 10 January 1963, the following was entered into the Congressional record [1] by U.S. Representative Albert Sydney Herlong, Jr. (1909-1995) [D-FL] who served in Congress from 1949 to [...]

Share

From the horse’s mouth?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Successful coaches reward their most productive players with additional playing time and do not punish their productivity by benching them. Likewise, successful governments reward their most productive citizens with tax cuts and do not punish their productivity by oppressive taxation. After all, the more the government takes, the less [...]

Share

Take me out to the ballgame?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Once upon a time, 50,000 people went to a baseball game, but sadly the game was rained out. A refund was then due. The home team was about to mail the refund checks when Congress intervened and suggested that they send out refund amounts based on the federal government’s [...]

Share

A fable for our time?, Part 2

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER (classic version) Once upon a time, there was an ant and a grasshopper that lived in a beautiful meadow. The ant worked hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thought the [...]

Share

A fable for our time?, Part 1

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn THE LITTLE RED HEN Once upon a time a little red hen called all of her neighbors together and said, “If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?” “Not I,” said the cow. “Not I,” said the duck. “Not I,” [...]

Share

Fiscal Promiscuity?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn With a seemingly insatiable appetite for taxpayer dollars, it would appear that Congress has forsaken their solemn obligation to the People to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and in particular, the sections that restrain their spending.

Share

You get what you pay for?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn QUESTION: Considering Congress’ low approval ratings, lengthy criminal history, and profligate spending, are they actually worth their collective salaries?

Share

Foxes guarding the henhouse?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Comedian Dennis Miller once remarked that, “Politicians are people whose deepest, darkest secrets should prohibit them from seeking higher office.” In fact, as the inestimable Mark Twain wryly noted, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”[1]

Share

Congressional ineptitude?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn If your approval rating was this low at your job…would you still have one? Congress does.

Share

Mainstream media bias?

compiled and edited by Daniel Hagadorn “If you have a long enough lever, you can move the world.” –Archimedes (c.287 BC – c.212 BC) One of the most powerful “levers” of our modern era is the influence currently wielded by the mainstream media, whose political bias will be examined below…[1]

Share

An article worth re-reading…

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Charley Reese, “Looking for someone to blame? Congress is a good place to start,” Orlando Sentinel Star (7 March 1985)[1] Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are [...]

Share