The Iranian Revolution – Powered by Twitter
by Rossputin | 6:23 am, June 18, 2009
For today’s reading, may I offer you my article for Human Events describing the tremendous power of Twitter in encouraging and organizing this nascent second Iranian Revolution.
Please see “Iran’s Twitter Revolution“, Ross Kaminsky, Human Events, 6/18/09
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32350
The unfree market in health care
by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, June 18, 2009
The greatest trick that supporters of socialized medicine ever played was to convince the American people we don’t already have it.
Save the Flies!
by Ari Armstrong | 11:46 pm, June 17, 2009
Move over, whales. Chill out, penguins and polar bears. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a new campaign: save the flies.
Yes, the flies. As in, the maggot-laying, filthy flies.
No, this is not a story from the Onion. Apparently we’re not getting punk’d. It’s not April Fool’s Day. PETA seriously wants to save the flies. Not the flies joyously buzzing about in the wild, the flies in your house. No joke.
During filming of an interview with Barack Obama on CNBC, a fly pestered the president. Obama said, and I quote, “Hey, get out of here.” The interviewer said, “That’s the most persistent fly I’ve ever seen.” Then the fly landed on Obama’s left hand, and Obama gave it good hard slap with his right hand, killing it, dead, dead, dead. The interviewer said (and again I quote directly), “Nice.” Obama said, “Now, where were we? That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker… It’s right there, you want to film that? There it is.”
Why, the heartless bastard. See the travesty for yourself:
According to the Associated Press, “PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.”
If you think this is a joke, check out PETA’s store, where you can purchase the contraption for a mere eight dollars.
As the AP reports, PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said, “We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals. We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals… [S]watting a fly on TV indicates he’s not perfect, and we’re happy to say that we wish he hadn’t.”
Okay. Let me just come out and say it. The PETA crew is insane. It is not “humane” to catch a fly and release it into the wild. It is stupid. It is pathetic. It is ridiculous. It is insulting to the humanity — and the intelligence — of actual people.
The reality is that Obama’s swift, decisive action toward the fly ranks among his most impressive moments as president. If Obama would stand up to Ahmadinejad’s Iran or North Korea with half the backbone that he stood up to that fly, I wouldn’t worry nearly as much about the threat of nuclear warfare.
Iran protest photo – trying again
by Rossputin | 8:06 pm, June 17, 2009
I hope this is real:

R Block Party Family BBQ
by elpresidente | 5:20 pm, June 17, 2009
PLEASE JOIN
THURSDAY JUNE 18
SEE ATTACHMENT FOR DETAILS
We invite you to join us at this casual event for Republican fellowship and to meet some of the candidates and elected officials including Ryan Frazier, Cleve Tidwell, Dan Maes, Walker Stapleton, Leondray Gholston and others.
This is a kid-friendly event and we hope you choose to bring our future voting block!
RSVP’s are greatly appreciated, but not necessary. Drop in anytime during the evening.
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Time: 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Place: Dekoevend Park, Shelter C near the Goodson Rec Center
See you soon,
Nikki Mata
Lori Horn
Madelaine Rohan
E-mail rsvp or questions to:
http://www.blogger.com/rblockparty@comcast.net
The Sheriff’s department without a county
by David K. Williams, Jr. | 2:14 pm, June 17, 2009
Instead of giving the Sheriff’s Department what it wants, I have a better idea: completely do away with the Denver Sheriff’s Department and put it all under the Denver Police. Eliminate overhead and duplicative administration. The people win.
Anti-Stab Knife: Progressive’s Invention of the Year
by zombiehunter | 12:09 pm, June 17, 2009
The central planning geniuses of the Progressive movement have determined yet another way to protect us from ourselves. To really appreciate this, you’ll need a little background on England and knives. Over many years of “sensible gun control laws”, the Leftist Progressives successfully whittled away a Brit’s rights to own a firearm. Any firearm. Interestingly, [...]
Vote Converter 2009 available for sale on eBay
by Rossputin | 11:39 am, June 17, 2009
[Update: eBay has taken down the Vote Converter, but a German web site has the text of the page and a screen shot of it at http://jetzt.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/478478]
A must-have for any mullah-cracy or dictatorship!
Click HERE to see the eBay listing.
Ted Nugent on Gun Control
by Mr. Bob | 10:07 am, June 17, 2009
#tcot #guns #guncontrol
Sometimes you wish Ted would just tell us how he feels and stop beating around the bush.
Robert Higgs shreds the usual arguments for increased government oversight of financial institutions
by Rossputin | 8:36 am, June 17, 2009
Robert Higgs has, not surprisingly, written probably the single best article I’ve yet read on the folly, futility, and potential danger of going along with the Democrats’ push to increase government “oversight” of financial institutions.
See “Mommas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Report on the Government’s Financial Reforms“, Robert Higgs, The Independent Institute, 6/14/09
Get a room
by Mr. Bob | 8:19 am, June 17, 2009
#tcot #abc #media
Priceless.
click on picture for full size view
Denver International Airport Receives Nearly $500K In Farm Subsidies
by elpresidente | 11:00 pm, June 16, 2009
Over the course of 12 consecutive years beginning in 1995, Denver International Airport has managed to rake-in just under half-a-million dollars in commodity subsidies from the U.S. Federal farm program. The airport owns roughly 18-thousand acres of wheat fields adjacent to the main terminal property and runways. While the dollar amount represents a very small fraction of the overall farm subsidy program, the receipts of that money essentially constituted nothing more than a windfall for the airport, because the airport was immune to rising or falling wheat prices.
Todd Shepherd has the complete yearly break down of windfall subsidies received by DIA.
This is the type of story that will only be exposed by folks like Todd, investigative reporter at the Independence Institute and editor of CompleteColorado.com.
And if conservatives and libertarians are to regain any traction with the public they need to be doing more and more investigative reporting of this type, not just amateur punditry as is so often the case.
Liberty in the Books: Finale of the Forgotten Man
by infinity3 | 10:51 pm, June 16, 2009
Liberty in the Books just finished their second book since the club’s inception last winter; The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes. We’re gaining popularity as we increased our reading group with some new additions th…
COST would have done it for free
by Amy Oliver | 9:57 pm, June 16, 2009
COST actually agrees with State Senate President Brandon Shaffer. The Democrat legislative committee chairs desperately need some training on how to treat the public!
In an article explaining how Shaffer spent $4300 in taxpayer money to pay for a Democrats-only retreat, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports that Shaffer ”organized the retreat partly because of complaints about committee chairs being disrespectful to [...]
Seng Center 6/16 – Featuring CO Senator Nancy Spence
by Jimmy Sengenberger | 8:00 pm, June 16, 2009
The following is our June 16th show featuring our “Pink Panther Moment,” starring the Left-Wing Media, followed by our extensive interview with Colorado Senate Minority Whip Nancy Spence, who broke down for us the legislative session that wrapped up a couple months ago. We talk with her about the bills she carried, the Democrats’ $1 billion in fee and tax increases, the new law on the books declaring that no one under the age of 18 may use a cell phone while driving, and much more!
To check out Newsweek magazine’s ridiculous “Generation O” talked about in the beginning of the show, visit them online at generationo.tumblr.com.
To learn more about personal responsibility, think about what you can do for yourself and to take responsibility for your own actions before looking to the government for help.
45.45 MB Download
Comments are more than welcome! E-mailed Jimmy at Jimmy@SengCenter.com
or post on the site! As always, please be respectful in your remarks.
How to post to Twitter anonymously about the Iran election
by Rossputin | 1:12 pm, June 16, 2009
Thanks to Anthony Papillon for putting together this simple, helpful page:
http://www.openemrhq.com/resist/tweetiran.php
URGENT: Twitter, technology, and Iran
by Rossputin | 11:49 am, June 16, 2009
For those of you who have never used Twitter – and I’m fairly new to it myself – I urge you to join (it’s free) and to search/watch the #IranElection hashtag. It’s easier than it sounds.
The amount of information coming through is staggering, particularly as the Iranian government seems unable to shut down access to Twitter while they have apparently shut down access to most text messaging as well as certain web sites like Facebook.
Also, if you “retweet”, please do NOT retweet apparent messages from Iran. If they are really from Iranian citizens, those people are risking their lives and you might give them away with “retweets.” And they might actually be Iranian government security forces trying to find electronic freedom fighters or spread misinformation.
Please read THIS important note as well:
Cyberwar guide for Iran elections
I highly recommend that once you sign up, you use the free TweetDeck application, which you can get at:
http://tweetdeck.com/beta/
Also, you can set up a “proxy” so that Iranians can access the web through IP addresses which are not blocked by their government. It is not exactly a no-risk proposition to do so, but I encourage it nevertheless for people who understand what they’re doing. Instructions are here:
http://blog.austinheap.com/2009/06/15/how-to-setup-a-proxy-for-iran-citizens-for-windows/
Obama in campaign mode for government option on Health Care
by Mr. Bob | 11:33 am, June 16, 2009
#gop #hhrs #tcot
Obama sending out campaign style letters to raise money for his health care plan.
here is the letter he is sending to folks who have sent him money before;
Last year, millions of Americans came together for a great purpose.
Folks like you assembled a grassroots movement that shocked the political establishment and changed the course of our nation. When Washington insiders counted us out, we put it all on the line and changed our democracy from the bottom up. But that’s not why we did it.
The pundits told us it was impossible — that the donations working people could afford and the hours volunteers could give would never loosen the vise grip of big money and powerful special interests. We proved them wrong. But as important as that was, that’s not why we did it.
Today, spiraling health care costs are pushing our families and businesses to the brink of ruin, while millions of Americans go without the care they desperately need. Fixing this broken system will be enormously difficult. But we can succeed. The chance to make fundamental change like this in people’s daily lives — that is why we did it.
The campaign to pass real health care reform in 2009 is the biggest test of our movement since the election. Once again, victory is far from certain. Our opposition will be fierce, and they have been down this road before. To prevail, we must once more build a coast-to-coast operation ready to knock on doors, deploy volunteers, get out the facts, and show the world how real change happens in America.
And just like before, I cannot do it without your support.
So I’m asking you to remember all that you gave over the last two years to get us here — all the time, resources, and faith you invested as a down payment to earn us our place at this crossroads in history. All that you’ve done has led up to this — and whether or not our country takes the next crucial step depends on what you do right now.
Will you donate whatever you can afford to support the campaign for real health care reform in 2009?
It doesn’t matter how much you can give, as long as you give what you can. Millions of families on the brink are counting on us to do just that. I know we can deliver.
Thank you, so much, for getting us this far. And thank you for standing up once again to take us the rest of the way.
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
___________________
Quote of the day;
We would spend a trillion dollars to achieve a net result of solving a third of the uninsured problem. We could have exceeded that by simply paying for private insurance. Assuming an annual cost of $5,000 for basic catastrophic and wellness coverage, we could purchase 20 million plans for the ten years, without overhauling the rest of the American health-care system. Ed Morrissey
The Human Cost of FasTracks: Revisited
by Jon Caldara | 10:59 am, June 16, 2009
Pro-Tint Window (14th and Wadsworth) owners and couple of 25 years Galen Foster and Kim Snyder check in with me again on last weeks episode of Independent Thinking. We wanted them to come on and discuss the latest developments in their struggle to keep their home and business. In case you haven’t been following this [...]
Socialized Medicine No Joke
by elpresidente | 10:02 am, June 16, 2009
ABC: The All Barack Channel
by Rossputin | 9:47 am, June 16, 2009
ABC News has officially become government-run media with their announcement that they’ll be hosting a “moderated” discussion of health care reform directly from the White House.
It’s a new low for American “mainstream media”, which is moving further and further from being mainstream every day.
New ABC logo from Michelle Malkin:

And from Doug Powers:

Kudos to Twitter
by Ari Armstrong | 9:34 am, June 16, 2009
Google caved to Chinese censors. But Twitter is actively helping the Iranian protesters retain free speech.
As Fox reports:
Iranian Twitterers, many writing in English, posted photos of huge demonstrations and bloodied protesters throughout the weekend, detailing crackdowns on students at Tehran University and giving out proxy Web addresses that let users bypass the Islamic Republic’s censors.
By Monday evening, it had become such a movement that Twitter postponed maintenance scheduled for the wee hours of the morning, California time — midday Tuesday in Iran.
“Our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran,” wrote Twitter co-founder Biz Stone in a blog posting.
“Tonight’s planned maintenance has been rescheduled to tomorrow between 2-3p PST (1:30a in Iran),” he added.
I have signed on to Facebook, but I’ve resisted Twitter. Obviously, I may have underestimated the importance of the service.
Hugh Hewitt versus the easy (liberal) way
by Rossputin | 2:14 am, June 16, 2009
Last week, at a Leadership Program of the Rockies event, I had the opportunity to listen to (and sit next to) Hugh Hewitt, talk show host, practicing attorney, and law professor. Hewitt is one of the most well-read and highly intelligent people in media (though he claims it’s Michael Medved who is “scary smart”.) He gave a brief talk which was of particular interest to me because it focused on how to be an effective, persuasive, communicator of political ideas – something which I aspire to be.
One of Hewitt’s main points was to be an information sponge, reading as many “important” books as you can about major issues. By way of example, he rattled off nearly a dozen books he’s read about the war in Iraq and about the worldwide struggle against radical Islam (not that I believe there’s such a thing as “moderate Islam” even though there are certainly moderate individual Muslims.) If you’re interested, two of the books that he noted most prominently were “The Looming Tower” by Lawrence Wright and “America Alone” by Mark Steyn.
Hewitt talked about a reasonably well-known television newscaster (I won’t name him here) whom Hewitt heard offering some of the standard “liberal” opinions about the war in Iraq. Hewitt had a chance to speak with the newscaster and ask him if he’d read “The Looming Tower”. The answer was “no”. Hewitt asked if he’d read another particular book…again no. Hewitt asked the man if he’d read any books about the war in Iraq and the man answered no, apparently with something bordering on smug satisfaction.
Hewitt’s point was there’s no way you can adequately defend your position if you don’t have any foundation for it. And on a broader scale there’s no way you can support pro-liberty, pro-Founding Principles ideas (the fundamental purpose of LPR, which is why I’m such an avid supporter) if you don’t truly understand the history and context of modern capitalism and modern and not-so-modern political structures. That’s why Hewitt suggests studying everything from ancient Greece to the Roman Empire to the British Empire to American history – a rough line of our political inheritance.
And while my understanding of history and politics is above average, I’d have to say that Hewitt’s words made me feel somewhat ignorant and a bit lazy – which I’m taking as motivation to find more time to read.
I still had Hewitt’s guidance banging around my brain when, on Sunday, I caught the last minute of an NPR interview with Jack Murnighan, an author whose statements I found disturbing, though not exactly shocking given that it was NPR.
While the conversation was primarily about reading “literature”, by which many people including Mr. Murnighan probably mean famous works of fiction, I don’t think it’s taking his words too much out of context to consider the larger implications of acceptance of his view. (And you can listen to the interview at the link above and decide for yourself whether I’m making too much of this.) Here’s Murnighan’s view:
“I don’t feel like it’s necessary to have read a certain number of books in your life or certain books in particular. I think it’s simply necessary to read the books that you read well. And to get out of them what’s in them. I always say that I would much prefer someone to read one book twice than to read two separate books…”
My first reaction was that while I understood the point Murnighan was trying to make, I strongly disagree, but if he’s just talking about skipping James Joyce’s “Ulysses”, maybe it’s forgivable. But upon further reflection, I don’t think Murnighan’s suggestion is improved by any mitigating factor.
Even if you’re reading literature, the idea that you’ll be a better person from squeezing the last drop of intellectual juice out of a novel (or anything else) by reading it twice versus spending that same reading time delving into something new strikes me as a recipe for ignorance.
It also strikes me far too much like the horrible “new math” sort of education in the 1960’s that made students’ self-esteem more important than getting the right answer.
Another big mistake the author makes is to suggest just reading “books you read well.” That is very likely to cause people to read books that don’t particularly challenge them, either in terms of a level of intellect or in terms of a political, metaphysical, or ethical philosophy which differs from that which the reader already holds. People tend to read things which reinforce their existing beliefs but many of those things don’t adequately describe or discuss the alternatives. This is not to say people should read other things with an assumption that their views will be changed. As I like to say, “I always keep an open mind, but not so open that my brain falls out.” But even in situations where one’s views are not changed by learning what the other side or sides think, that knowledge can be extremely valuable in building your own intellectual foundation so you can better explain and defend what you believe to be right.
It will come as no surprise to my readers that I believe the left suffers frequently from Murnighan-think. How many times have been discussing/arguing issues with a liberal and learned that he’s never read any Adam Smith or Milton Friedman or Ayn Rand or anybody to the right of Doris Kearns Goodwin or Paul Samuelson. To be fair, I’ve met plenty of conservatives who haven’t read much either. (It seems to this biased observer that libertarians have usually put a little more time and effort into their political educations.) And I encourage them to read not just conservative or “classical liberal” writings, but also books which are primary or secondary sources of schools of thought with which they disagree.
I, like most people, am not the best at following my own advice. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by a “liberal” since those things usually give me a headache. It’s hard to get through anything longer than half a Paul Krugman column, for example. But having read Marx and Rousseau, among others, and having spent a lot of time studying Soviet and PRC (Communist China) politics in college, I sometimes feel like I’ve already worn that hair shirt. Still, I think I’ll pick up an “important” book by a liberal soon, and I use the term “liberal” loosely, since Jefferson and Madison certainly wouldn’t recognize today’s Democratic Party leaders as “liberal” except that they waste money liberally.
Even though he wasn’t talking about politics, I’d like to thank Jack Murnighan for the extra clarity he gave to my previously unfocused view that an essentially “liberal” view is tremendously pro-ignorance and anti-intellectual, unless you define “intellectual” as being able to quote from books which most people don’t care about and don’t understand, and which have at most minor relevance to today’s life, in an effort to make yourself look smarter than the next guy – also a trait I find most often in liberals.
This anti-information position is, however, not nearly as damaging for liberals at it is for conservatives and libertarians because our side (conservatives and libertarians, in case that wasn’t clear, dear reader) needs to argue based on principle, philosophy, and the lessons of history, none of which can be adequately understood without study, including study of the other side. Leftists, on the other side, believe that the only important yardstick by which to measure their policies and positions is their good intentions. Never mind that extremely “liberal” policies routinely do great damage to the lower strata of a society, from the USSR to the PRC to Cambodia and even within America where a credible argument can be made that the welfare state has contributed to the decimation of the nuclear family within the American black community. And I might add that the public education system is doing more than anything to “keep them down.” But for liberals, the outcome doesn’t much matter. It’s all about that they wanted good things to happen. And with that view, combined with the view that similar liberal policies could only have failed in the past because they weren’t properly implemented or implemented by the right people, it’s easy to see why liberals only care to read what they “read well.”
My advice, not that you asked for it, is to do just the opposite of what Murhighan suggests: Go read books which you don’t read “well” or easily; read books which challenge you, which make you refer to a dictionary, and which, even if they aren’t written by people you disagree with, at least offer a reasonable discussion of what those people believe. Particularly for supporters of liberty and our Founding Principles, the ability to defend your views and to explain why the statist, totalitarian views of modern “liberals” are wrong is incredibly important, including the ability to quote and take apart arguments which form the basis of their views, i.e. Rousseau’s “social contract” or Marx’s theories of history. Freedom and capitalism need competent defenders now more than ever.
What a surprise: Sotomayor isn’t very smart
by Rossputin | 1:32 am, June 16, 2009
I’ve written before that in my view Sonia Sotomayor’s record clearly points to a weak legal mind. Apparently that’s consistent with her academic history, despite having been a “affirmative action baby” let into fancy schools because she’s Hispanic.
Here’s a great article about that in the Canada Free Press:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12012
The major flaw in “man-made global warming” theory
by Rossputin | 12:29 am, June 16, 2009
Thanks to Greg Staff for bringing this very important article by Dr. Roy Spencer to my attention. It’s the best simple explanation I’ve seen yet on the discussion of “feedback” assumptions in climate models and why assumptions of positive feedback in ALL of the UN’s models make it very likely that their conclusions (i.e. we’re in for serious global warming) are absolutely wrong.
See “A Layman’s Explanation of Why Global Warming Predictions by Climate Models are Wrong“, Dr. Roy Spencer, 5/29/09
Sandstorm In Iran
by Ari Armstrong | 11:48 pm, June 15, 2009
With all the bad news at home, I was inspired to see a photo of mass demonstrations in Iran, posted by Fox.
There are also plenty photos of blood and fire. Police forces have brutalized many and killed some. So the news is also tragic and frightening.
And yet, people are marching, people are speaking out, and — sometimes — for the right reasons.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is doing as little as possible to support reform.
Obviously, the protests are much larger than the presidential elections in Iran. Yet Mir-Hossein Mousavi is better than the tyrant Ahmadinejad. For example, Mousavi wants privately owned media, rather than state-owned propaganda machines. He has his serious problems; for instance, he pledged to “not suspend uranium enrichment,” and he says he does not recognize Israel. Yet he also says, “I also believe that the abolition of the religious police is possible.”
So Iran is hardly on the brink of a resoundingly pro-liberty revolution. And this could end very, very badly; some speculate that Ahmadinejad left the country so that escalated violence “would not reflect on him.”
Still, it’s good to see that many Iranians have the heart for something better. What can ultimately save Iran is the same thing that can ultimately save the United States and the world: a philosophy of reason and individual rights.
Here’s my favorite line from the protests: “Ahmadinejad called us dust, we showed him a sandstorm.”
Nile Gardiner: Barack Obama’s Cowardly Silence
by Rossputin | 12:22 pm, June 15, 2009
A GREAT article:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/nile_gardiner/blog/2009/06/15/the_iranian_election_barack_obamas_cowardly_silence
Is it too much to hope for a revolution in Iran?
by Rossputin | 11:59 am, June 15, 2009
Probably, but what’s going on there is encouraging. I hope we don’t witness an Iranian version of Tienanmen Square…
These two web sites are great sources for keeping up to speed on what’s happening in Iran. I suggest you check them frequently as we could be watching history in the making, for good or for ill:
http://niacblog.wordpress.com/
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/
The “Public Option” and the People’s Government
by Ryan | 7:00 am, June 15, 2009
I (Ryan, not Ben) haven’t had too much time to write up political thoughts recently, but here are a couple musings:
Nutshell argument against the “public option” being touted by President Obama in the area of health care reform:
As Hugh Hewitt and Congressman John Campbell were explaining as I drove home from work on Friday, if [...]
Clear The Bench Colorado Director featured speaker at CRBC (Colo. Republican Business Coalition) luncheon Friday, 19 June
by CTBC Director | 5:55 am, June 15, 2009
Appearing as the guest speaker at the next Colorado Republican Business Coalition (CRBC) luncheon Friday June 19th at Brooklyn’s (9th & Auraria) from 1130-1:00, Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold will discuss the grassroots movement to vote “NO” on retaining the four Colorado Supreme Court justices (Mullarkey, Bender, Martinez, and Rice) facing voters in 2010…
Matt will explain how the four [...]
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