Browsing the archives for the government tag
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 [...]
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 [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The U.S. Labor Department’s official unemployment index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is based on a monthly survey of sample households that only counts individuals who reported looking for work in the past four weeks. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm What the Labor Department’s BLS index DOES NOT INCLUDE: Part-time [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn To see the national debt statistically visit http://www.usdebtclock.org/ To see the national debt visually visit http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/us_debt/us_debt.html WARNING: Viewing these facts may cause swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, anemia, decreased levels of potassium or sodium, dizziness, excessive bleeding, facial flushing, fainting, rapid heartbeat, heart attack, hypertension, hypotension, [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Though the sheer size of our national debt makes it difficult to grasp, perhaps the following illustration will help: NOTE: All dollar amounts are expressed in 2010 USD In 2010, the annual interest on the U.S. national debt was $414 billion. [1] To put that number in perspective, remember [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The Framers planted and nurtured these early abolitionist seeds from which the recognition of black equality and the eventual end of slavery would later blossom. This fact was further clarified by Bishop Richard Allen, a former slave from Pennsylvania who was later freed after converting his master to Christianity. [...]
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 [...]
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] [...]
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 [...]
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?
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Regardless of your personal religious–or non-religious–views, it is a historical fact that the United States of America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. The true controversy is simply that apologists argue Judeo-Christian principles are the source of our national strength, while critics argue that these same principles–if they are even [...]
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 [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The federal government is growing at a faster pace than any other sector of today’s economy.[1] [2] [3] [4] WHAT THE TAXPAYER PAYS FOR… Salaries… The federal government is the single largest employer in the United States and currently employs approximately 2.0% of the nation’s work force (4.2 MILLION [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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,” [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people.” –Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) OVERALL… From 1790 to 2010 the DJIA increased by 29,373%. From 1790 to 2010 the NYSE price of gold per fine ounce increased by 389%. From 1790 [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Perhaps the statistics cited in Parts 1, 2, and 3 should come as no surprise considering the following institutions of “higher learning” sanction general education standards that DO NOT REQUIRE the study of U.S. History/Government…[1]
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.
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn QUESTION: Considering Congress’ low approval ratings, lengthy criminal history, and profligate spending, are they actually worth their collective salaries?
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]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn If your approval rating was this low at your job…would you still have one? Congress does.
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Most law-abiding citizens acknowledge the unfortunate necessity of paying taxes, but since the Civil War era, our government has advanced decidedly unconstitutional policies that would appall the Framers, who never envisioned a tax system like the one we presently “enjoy.” “To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn …THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU THINK? “All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: its one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him. If it be aristocratic in organization, then it seeks to protect the man who is superior only [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn …ON WHAT BASIS WAS OUR GOVERNMENT CONCEIVED AND FROM WHERE DOES IT DERIVE IT’S AUTHORITY? “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of [...]
compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.”[1] The price of history…[2] [3] [4] The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) cost $101,000,000 or $1,258,000,000 (2009 USD). The Louisiana Purchase (1803) cost $23,000,000 or $324,600,000 (2009 [...]
