Brian Wesbury: Has America Forgotten the Fruits of Freedom?

by Rossputin | 5:04 am, June 14, 2010

As strange as it sounds, even to me, I actually have a handful of friends who are some of the better-known economists in America. One of them, any my closest friend among the bunch, is Brian Wesbury with whom the only fault I ever find is an incurable optimism.

Brian’s view, which he has held consistently, is that the economic situation is not as bad as current statistics or even markets make it appear. He believes, if I can paraphrase, that while the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress are offering us only strongly anti-growth policies, their impact is in the long run as opposed to the current extremely-loose-money policies of the Fed which are here and how. Essentially, Brian’s argument is a more detailed version of the old saw “Don’t fight the Fed.”

While Brian and I often debate whether his optimism is justified, I do have to remind myself from time to time that his positive economic view does not mean he thinks that current government policies are good.

In a recent note, Brian makes an excellent succinct case for economic liberty and by extension against Progressivism and its current disciples holding the reins of power in DC. The note is important enough to republish here to get to as wide an audience as possible, and I do so below.

For those of you who don’t already subscribe to Brian’s daily (except weekends, generally) economic e-mail update, I encourage you to do so at THIS link. (I usually suggest signing up for all of Brian’s stuff except “announcements”.)

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Has America Forgotten the Fruits of Freedom? To view a PDF version of this article, Click Here
Brian S. Wesbury – Chief Economist
Robert Stein, CFA – Senior Economist
Date: 6/7/2010

Putting aside religious beliefs, nothing in life has 100% upside – nothing. But the closest thing to a guaranteed better, safer, and more fulfilling life is freedom. Freedom means responsibility. It also means failure, accidents and mistakes. This, in turn, leads to learning, which is why successes outweigh the failures. However, humans must be free to understand the consequences of their actions. Without consequences, there is little learning.

When freedom prevails, the ingenuity and inventiveness of people creates incredible wealth. This is the source of the natural improvement of the human condition. Capitalism is created by free people. Socialism, on the other hand, is what happens when people trade their freedom for the perception of safety. And when people trade in their freedom, they trade it in for a less dynamic, less safe, life.

These days, more and more people seem willing to trade in their freedom. But who can blame them? Intellectuals and politicians are telling them it’s the right thing to do. Ken Rogoff, professor at Harvard and former Chief Economist at the IMF, has written that, “The accelerating speed of innovation seems to be outstripping government regulators’ capacity to deal with risks, much less anticipate them.” In a recent opinion piece he drew parallels between the BP oil spill and the subprime financial crisis. Like a modern-day Luddite, he asks for government protection from technology.

Many political leaders, who call themselves conservative, and say they believe in freedom, have also made the same argument, albeit in a roundabout way. By supporting TARP, stress tests, bailouts, and stimulus spending, they implicitly suggest that a system of free markets cannot remain stable without government control. These “so-called conservatives” talk the talk of freedom, but do not walk the walk. George W. Bush said that he “abandoned free market principles to save the free market system.” The only thing Americans who listen to that can believe is that free markets aren’t trustworthy.

Don’t get the wrong idea. Oil gushing from a pipe a mile deep is appalling. We wish not a drop had gurgled to the surface, ruining beachfront property and fishing habitats.

But accidents happen. The good news is that we learn from them. Between 1970 and 1979, there were an average of 25 oil spills per year of 700 tons or greater (from shipping). Between 2000 and 2009, there were just 3 per year on average. Oil companies lose money, and soil their image if oil spills. They have a huge incentive to stop spills. These incentives cause them to invest in better safety controls.

The number of plane accidents has fallen significantly. The same is true of train accidents and coal mining accidents. If the government ran all the train, plane, coal, and oil companies there would still be accidents. No one can stop them. Negative events do not mean that free markets and capitalism have failed. Freedom cannot eliminate the risk from life, but neither can government.

In fact, when government does try to eliminate risk, it often creates even more. For example, by holding interest rates at 1% back in 2003 and 2004 in order to stop deflation, the Federal Reserve created the environment necessary for the housing bubble. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and other government inventions, inflated housing even more. It was these things that caused the financial panic, not freedom.

And back in the 1970s, the US government stopped the building of nuclear power plants, partially because of an accident at Three Mile Island. Today, people complain about coal and CO2 emissions – a problem made worse by the lack of nuclear power.

There is no way to take the risk out of life. When government tries, all it really does is transfer that risk elsewhere. And without the growth and advancement that freedom brings, the system breaks down and wealth creation is undermined. You can’t get something from nothing. The fruits of freedom are only available to those who are willing to take the risks of freedom. Let’s not forget that lesson.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Free Media Training for Democrats from WhoSaidYouSaid

by Kelly Maher | 4:20 am, June 14, 2010

Are you a Democrat struggling with the new media? We’re here to help. Do you lose it when people ask you on the street if you support Pres. Obama’s agenda? Do you like the credibility that comes with being “transparent” but block people with cameras from recording your remarks?

Up to 80% of small employers will be forced to drop health insurance under ObamaCare

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 10:36 pm, June 13, 2010

By 2014, almost all small employers that offer health insurance to their workers will be forced to drop those plans because they don’t meet standards for health insurance set by ObamaCare, according to report released late Friday by the White House. See page 50.
Under three scenarios,

More large employers stop offering health insurance to pre-65 and post-65 retirees

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 9:38 pm, June 13, 2010

While large employers expect medical costs for their workers to rise about 9% in 2011, they will cut their health care expenditures by dumping thousands of post-65 retirees on Medicare and forcing more pre-65 retirees to buy their own insurance. They’re also shifting more health care costs to their insured workers, according to a new report, Behind the Numbers, by PrcewaterhousCoopers LLP (PwC) Health Research Institute. In 2010, medical costs are expected to rise about 9.5%.
This means that

Romanoff Disses National Dem “astroturf” in Colorado

by Kelly Maher | 8:35 pm, June 13, 2010

Andrew Romanoff said recently he wants “to ground this campaign in the grassroots. That’s the big difference, in my view; it’s the difference between a grassroots campaign and an astroturf campaign.”

Friendly, unsolicited advice for the CO oil and gas industry

by completecolorado | 8:03 pm, June 13, 2010

Those who know me well, know I’m not a native Coloradan, but am an Okie.
As the politics and wrangling over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill grow more heated every day, I can’t help but think both the Colorado oil and gas industry, not to mention the broader oil and gas industry, could all take a [...]

Arlington’s ‘Grave-gate’ scandal could have been averted

by completecolorado | 7:36 pm, June 13, 2010

Colorado Springs renaissance man Sean Paige has a great editorial on the shame and embarrassment now happening at the nation’s most hallowed cemetery, Arlington National.
Paige, now a Colorado Springs City Councilman, and formerly of the Gazette’s editorial division says he reported on bureacratic frustrations and screw-ups back in 1998:
“Behind its tidy white rows of headstones, impeccably [...]

Romanoff disses national Dem “astroturf” in Colorado

by Kelly Maher | 5:35 pm, June 13, 2010

Andrew Romanoff, trying to knock off White House darling Michael Bennet in Colorado’s Democratic Senate primary, said recently he wants “to ground this campaign in the grassroots. That’s the big difference, in my view; it’s the difference between a gra…

Michael Bennet, Andrew Romanoff believe in taxing you, not personal charity

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 5:14 pm, June 13, 2010

Over the last 10 to 12 years, appointed Obama Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet and his challenger, Andrew Romanoff, often have not given any money to charity even though they believe in forcing middle income and upper income Americans to “contribute to society” by paying higher and higher taxes.
Their hypocrisy is remarkable.
Here are two hard left Democrats who

Governments are poor stewards of forests

by Brian T. Schwartz | 4:39 pm, June 13, 2010

From New Scientist: In the first study of its kind, Chhatre and Arun Agrawal of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor compared forest ownership with data on carbon sequestration, which is estimated from the size and number of trees in a forest. Hectare-for-hectare, they found that tropical forest under local management stored more carbon [...]

Jane Norton’s charitable contributions show her true values; Ken Buck’s much less so

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 3:55 pm, June 13, 2010

There is a pretty good chance that one of the major reasons religious and social issues conservatives are supporting Ken Buck over Jane Norton for the GOP’s U.S. Senate nomination is that they think Buck is the most religiously conservative candidate.
Buck certainly talks a

How the Dem-controlled Legislature killed medical privacy in Colorado

by Mike Krause | 1:11 pm, June 13, 2010

It’s tough being the establishment. Sometimes you have to trash your principles for political purposes. Privacy and choice, ideals once championed by liberals and their progressive allies, have been reduced to quaint notions applicable on politically acceptable occasions now that Democrats are the ruling class.
Take health care in Colorado. Last year, State Rep John Kefalas sponsored [...]

Deep-water breath-holding base-jumping

by Rossputin | 8:56 am, June 13, 2010

H/T Mike R.

This truly amazing video is making its way around the web. Although it is phenomenal, a caveat from Guillaume Nery is never mentioned on the sites which are making the video “viral”.

Nery’s caveat:

This video is a FICTION and an ARTISTIC PROJECT, I don’t claim to have reached the bottom of the hole (202m) without rope and fins, as the world record in no-fins discipline is 95m.

We made this movie to show another approach in freediving videos. We wanted to express the strength of the elements water-earth-air and the sensations of freedom, harmony, exploration.

All the shots were made on breath hold by Julie Gautier.

Nevertheless, the video is stunning and, if I’m reading Nery’s caveat correctly, he’s saying that he did breath-hold dive down to over 600 feet with the aid of fins and rope. If I could do that to 60 feet, I’d be stunned. Furthermore, his cameraman (camerawoman, actually) also did the filming while holding her breath.

Nery and Gautier both show the artistry and physical capability that humans have within us even if most of us never realize them to a great degree.

Original article: http://www.theculturist.com/home/guillaume-nery-base-jumping-at-deans-blue-hole.html

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Obama Refuses to Take Credit for ObamaCare Provision

by PerlStalker | 10:23 pm, June 12, 2010

One of the key provisions to keep up the illusion of deficit reduction in ObamaCare was allowing the frequently postponed Medicare reimbursement cuts to happen. On June 1st, they happened. Now President Obama is calling on Congressional Republicans to …

Betsy Markey delivers — for the White House

by Kelly Maher | 5:30 pm, June 12, 2010

Joseph M. Simpson of Fort Collins, Colo., has a perfect rebuke to U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, who is eager to be seen working blue-collar shifts (such as delivering packages in a UPS uniform) in her election-year “Colorado Works Tour.”http://www.youtube.co…

Welcome Back, FaceTheState.com!

by completecolorado | 4:30 pm, June 12, 2010

After a hiatus of just less than a year, FaceTheState.com (FTS) has relaunched, and the results are worth celebrating.
April 22nd, FTS re-examined Denver’s claim that the new justice center was completed “on-budget.” An excellent work of follow-up journalism, new FTS reporter Jared Jacang Maher essentially proved that any project can come in on-budget as long [...]

Backbone Radio,June 13, 2010: Primary elections and Republican divisions

by Rossputin | 4:15 pm, June 12, 2010

Primary elections and Republican divisions

From Ross Kaminsky: On Tuesday evening, primary elections were held across the United States. The results were very interesting – and open to a wide range of interpretation – as non-establishment women did particularly well.

And on Thursday, a mini-controversy arose as the prominent social conservative Tony Perkins attacked Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels for suggesting that Republicans “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues” in order to focus on economic issues.

During the 5 PM hour of Backbone Radio this Sunday, we’ll discuss specific races as well as take the broader temperature of the American electorate with Andy Roth, Vice President for Government Affairs of the Club for Growth, a “national network of thousands of pro-growth Americans, from all walks of life, who believe that prosperity and opportunity come through economic freedom.”

Andy is a prolific blogger and writer and has his finger on the pulse of American politics, especially American conservative politics, at least as well as anybody in the nation.

We’ll get Andy’s take (and you’ll hear mine) on the Perkins-Daniels kerfuffle, on the topic of the broader debate between Republicans who focus on fiscal issues versus those who focus on social issues.

During the second hour of the show, we’ll get a different perspective – that of a candidate – as we’re joined in studio by Denver’s own Mike Fallon, M.D., Republican candidate for Colorado’s 1^st Congressional District, a seat currently held by ultra-liberal Diana DeGette. Mike is a physician and business owner who is running on a platform of “Healthy people, healthy economy, and healthy government equals a strong country.”

I’m particularly interested in hearing Dr. Fallon’s motivation to get involved in politics and to jump into the fray in a race that most people would consider a relatively difficult challenge, even during a year that promises to be good for non-establishment conservatives. And we’ll ask Dr. Fallon about whether he agrees with Tony Perkins or Mitch Daniels.

In the show’s final hour, we’ll discuss news of the week, including UN sanctions on Iran, South Carolina’s controversial Democratic Senate nominee, and a report that President Obama refused help in the Gulf from the Dutch government which has technology and experience which could have been valuable in minimizing the spread of the gushing oil. We’ll also talk about Senator Lindsey Graham’s partial change of heart on “climate change” legislation and explain how even when Graham gets it right, he gets it wrong.

Please join me by listening to (and calling in to) this week’s Backbone Radio program from 5 PM to 8 PM on 710 AM KNUS in Denver and 1460 AM KZNT in Colorado Springs.

If you’re not in range of the radio waves, you should be able to listen to the show online by clicking HERE.

I hope you’ll actively participate in the conversation with me: Call the studio at 303 696 1971, e-mail me at ross(at)710knus.com, or instant message from my site at http://rossputin.com or through AOL Instant messenger to screen name Rossputin.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Betsy Markey Delivers…for the White House

by Kelly Maher | 11:30 am, June 12, 2010

Michael Bennet knew White House was trying to bribe Andrew Romanoff

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 11:05 am, June 12, 2010

Appointed Obama Democrat Senator Michael Bennet has admitted that he knew before hand that President Obama was using job offers to get Andrew Romanoff to drop his campaign to unseat Bennet. The question is, did he ask for such help. Conspiracy theorists suspect he did; the rest of us just don’t know.
Republican Senate candidate, Jane Norton, e-mailed a press release highlighting Bennet’s “complicity,” which is republished after the jump:

Petitioning on to the ballot

by Al Maurer | 10:42 am, June 12, 2010

Yesterday the Colorado Secretary of State’s office confirmed that Joe G “The Stealth Candidate” for governor had failed to collect enough valid signatures to get on the GOP primary ballot for governor. To bypass the assembly process and petition on the ballot, a candidate needs a certain number of signatures in each district relevant to [...]

To lower college costs, eliminate tax-funded tuition subsidies

by Brian T. Schwartz | 10:04 am, June 12, 2010

Last week Governor Ritter signed a bill that allows Colorado’s tax-funded universities to raise their tuition. In response, “some Colorado students will see increased financial aid to offset the higher tuition, ” InDenverTimes reports. Surely some parents are rightly concerned with fast-rising tuition costs. But Capping college tuition would either degrade a school’s quality or [...]

Norton endorsement update/correction

by Rossputin | 7:21 am, June 12, 2010

In my endorsement of Jane Norton yesterday, I included an e-mail to me from Mrs. Norton which asserted that Ken Buck was not active in trying to help Republican candidates in 2008 against Barack Obama. She also wondered aloud whether Mr. Buck helped John McCain once McCain became the nominee, basically saying that not helping McCain was like voting for Obama. I have a lot to say on this particular point…and I will say it at the end of this note, so please keep reading.

I typically don’t fact-check things I am posting as direct quotes from others, especially when the subject is one that I assume the speaker/writer to be well-informed about. After all, the error would be the speaker’s/writer’s, not mine.

But it was pointed out to me quickly and repeatedly that Ken Buck was the County Chair for Mitt Romney during that primary campaign season. While this issue ranks near the bottom of what I think is most important in this race, a correction is merited.

When I brought the information to Jane Norton and Josh Penry, they both said that it was the first they had heard of it. While I take them at their word(s), I’m still not pleased. This is very basic information which I would expect one to have about a political opponent and by not having it, both Norton and (more importantly in this case) I have been made to look bad. Those of you who know me know that my reputation is extremely important to me and that this sort of thing doesn’t sit well with me.

In the interest of fairness and getting the record straight, I have asked Ken Buck if he wanted to respond. I haven’t heard from him at this point. If I do, I’ll post his comment on these pages. In the meantime, I received the following from a former Buck campaign operative whom I know well enough to take his word and post his comment verbatim:

It may be true that Ken wasnt a volunteer for the McCain campaign, I have no idea if he supported him or not but Ken certainly did not “sit on his hands” as Mrs. Norton says. Where was Ken? Ken was working his ass off to help keep Marilyn Musgrave in office as one of her campaign chairs, I know because I was there when Ken was making phone calls to donors late at night or walking precincts in 90 degree heat on Sunday afternoons. Ken had no reason to do this other then he knew that it was the right thing to do, with a Musgrave loss Ken would be at the front of the pack as the Republican nominee for the 4th CD. In 2006 Ken was working very hard for Bob Beauprez, I’d argue that he locked up Weld and Larimer county for Bob in his brief campaign against Holtzman. In 2004 Ken was helping Bob Schaffer, I was on that campaign too and saw the work Ken did. It’s not just major candidates that Ken has helped; ask Shawn Mitchell who was walking precincts with him in his last election. I’d argue that Ken is one the best campaign volunteers and operatives in the state, I’d actually say he was the very best in terms of doing everything you ever ask them to do but that title probably belongs to his wife Perry.

Finally, back to the question of John McCain. Much has been made by opponents of Jane Norton of her support for John McCain. And Norton is questioning whether Ken Buck tried to help McCain get elected after McCain won the nomination. Here’s my answer: I understand Norton’s support of the Republican nominee, namely that she (like me and many others, including, I assume, Ken Buck) realized how dangerous Barack Obama was Also, Jane has personal connections to major supporters of McCain – which I do NOT hold against her; she has been clear in differing from John McCain on many, if not most, major policy issues. And that, rather than what Ken Buck has or hasn’t done, was what inclined me to endorse her.

However, whether Ken Buck worked for McCain or not is meaningless to me because I said, and I stand by my statements, that “if McCain represents winning then we’ve already lost.” I said that the only good reason to support McCain was the Supreme Court and while that’s a very important issue, it’s not enough to support a man who has been wishy-washy on tax cuts and, more importantly, had become a member of the Algore cult of man-made global warming, the most dangerous hoax in human history. I did not work for John McCain. What’s more, I did not vote for John McCain…and I still say that proudly as I did on the radio in 2008.

As many of you know, my son’s middle name is Rand. That’s for a reason. I believe that the US electorate has become stupid and lazy and more interested in using government to take other people’s money than in working hard. You remember the famous video of the woman saying how glad she was that Obama would be president because it meant she would no longer have to pay for her mortgage. I believe the only way out of the socialist death spiral is to speed up the move toward socialism/fascism so rapidly that even the stupid public can no longer miss its devastating effects.

In other words, like the “boiling the frog” metaphor, the slow path to socialism is the path that gets us to socialism because it happens so incrementally that people don’t notice. But when it goes fast, under a radical un-American leftist like Barack Obama, people do notice. They notice health care being taken over. They notice unemployment rise rapidly and stay persistently high. They notice discussion of carbon taxes which will wreck the economy in pursuit of eliminating what is essentially just plant food. The notice the destruction of liberty; at least they notice it a little bit, which is a lot more than they usually do. The only thing that can save our Republic is the public finally recognizing “Progressivism” for what it is. And the only way they recognize is to step on the Progressive accelerator by giving the people Barack Obama. John McCain would get us to the same place, only slower. And slower means more surely.

Therefore, I repeat: I proudly voted Libertarian in 2008. I very much wanted to vote Republican. I supported Rudy Giuliani. When he dropped out, I caucused for Mitt Romney. I could have supported Fred Thompson. But John McCain? No way.

Therefore, to the extent that I have pope-like authority, I hereby issue to Ken Buck and every other Republican who didn’t work for John McCain a political absolution and indulgence. If Ken Buck worked to help John McCain, that’s fine, and I’m sure many of the GOP establishment types would be happy with that. As for me, I’d be at least as happy with Ken if he decided he just couldn’t support the man out of principle.

While this may sound like talking from both sides of my mouth, I would add that I don’t begrudge Jane Norton from having reached a different conclusion. I have asked her about this very topic and essentially she felt deeply that John McCain, while a “flawed candidate” was much better than Barack Obama. She recognized the damage Obama would do and thought it was unacceptable to sit by and allow that damage. I respect and understand her conclusion even though I reached a different one. Indeed, far far more Republicans agreed with Jane’s analysis than with mine and I took a lot of heat for mine on my web site and from people who called in to the radio shows during which I made my argument. (90% of the callers were against me and essentially in agreement with Jane.)

To Ken Buck, I apologize for having unwittingly been a conduit for something which at least borders on misinformation. This even though I believe the error on Jane Norton’s part was unintentional. Perhaps Mrs. Norton and I will both learn a lesson from this little episode. But in any case, I want Ken Buck and his campaign to know that I support the truth first and foremost.

I would add that I expect Ken and his campaign and supporters to live up to the same high standards of truthfulness that they rightfully demand of others. So far, supporters of Ken have not done a great job living up to that standard, particularly with their trying to claim Norton to be a female version of John McCain. It’s simply false and it’s a claim that Buck supporters should object to if they want to object to claims by Norton supporters that Buck supported Bill Clinton simply because he held a federal job during the Clinton Administration. It’s time to get out of the gutter.

[I will add, as long as we’re talking about playing hardball, that I expect only the worst from Jon Hotaling if he is involved, officially or otherwise, with the Buck campaign. A Buck spokesman has denied any involvement by Hotaling or his brother, but I’d bet a beer that Hotaling is working unofficially to get Buck elected. Hotaling will dive into the deepest part of a sewer, perhaps even into gray legal areas, to get someone elected. I’ve seen myself what a despicable character this man is during the GOP primary in the 5th CD a few years ago.]

[UPDATE: A commenter on these pages said correctly that I “endorsed Norton because of her response to you that made two points", implying that the issue about Buck’s past support or non-support (as Jane mistakenly asserted) of GOP candidates was one of the two issues. It wasn’t. This was and is my response to the comment: “Therefore, you say that I endorsed Norton because of two points, and that’s right: 1) That she decided to run before McCain spoke to her and 2) that she thinks McCain is wrong on many important issues. The stuff about what Buck had done before was all but irrelevant to me and remains so and would never have been talked about again if Jane hadn’t made a mistake on that part…. As I explained, I spent at least some time writing and on the air arguing AGAINST McCain AFTER he became the nominee. So why would I hold it against Buck if he did the same thing? Now, like anybody who can’t make a real argument on an issue, you want to focus on Jane’s error on the least important part of the conversation."]

I hope we have a good, clean fight, a real debate about the issues between these two candidates. And I still wonder aloud about the question of “electability” and would welcome comments/discussion on that topic.

I would close this note with these thoughts: I do believe that Jane is a person of utmost integrity. More than one person for whom I have great respect and who know Jane well give me a consistent message about her, one which is consistent with my personal experience with her: She is principled, intelligent, a true conservative, and – for what it’s worth in this brutal game of politics – a truly good person. Despite this tempest in a teapot about Ken Buck’s prior political activities – which is not the most important thing by a longshot – I continue to believe these good things about Jane and continue to support her candidacy.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold discusses the Colorado Supreme Court, retention elections, and Chief Justice Mullarkey’s retirement on the Richard Randall Show Saturday

by CTBC Director | 5:56 am, June 12, 2010

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold discusses the impact of Colorado Supreme Court rulings leading to a massive expansion of government power (at the expense of YOUR constitutional rights) and vastly increased taxation (such as the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” property tax increase, the “Dirty Dozen” tax increases and of course the Colorado Car Tax (er, “vehicle [...]

Backbone Radio,June 13, 2010: What did this week’s primary elections mean?

by Rossputin | 4:39 am, June 12, 2010

What did this week’s primary elections mean?

Andy is a prolific blogger and writer and has his finger on the pulse of American politics, especially American conservative politics, at least as well as anybody in the nation.

Please join me by listening to (and calling in to) this week’s Backbone Radio program from 5 PM to 8 PM on 710 AM KNUS in Denver and 1460 AM KZNT in Colorado Springs.

If you’re not in range of the radio waves, you should be able to listen to the show online by clicking HERE.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Free trade: the great prosperity machine

by Brian T. Schwartz | 11:04 pm, June 11, 2010

Tom Palmer narrates an excellent video explaining the virtues of free trade. Read more about great economist and writer Frederic Bastiat. (Via Reason.tv)

Old and Broken: Students Cheat; New Hotness: So Do the Teachers

by PerlStalker | 10:07 pm, June 11, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, the Denver Post had a story about how students are turning to their cell phones, mp3 players and other gadgets to cheat on their tests. What I found most interesting about the story was the reaction of the teachers.

“A lot of …

President Obama tries to shift BP oil spill blame to small government Republicans

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 8:04 pm, June 11, 2010

President Barack Obama’s failure to marshal government and private resources to fight the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown voters that he can talk about “kicking ass,” but that is not making up for his incompetence and lack of leadership experience.
In an interview with

Mike Coffman proves that government spending is not a bad thing for CD-6

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 7:29 pm, June 11, 2010

Lots of Republicans are like Mike Coffman in Colorado’s sixth congressional district. They want to cut government spending until the government cuts spending that will affect jobs in their districts. Then they write letters to the White House pleading that the president protect jobs in their district. This self-serving hypocrisy is what has independents so suspicious of Republicans. When it comes down to protecting the Republican’s career and working for the country, the politician always looks out for number one, himself. The Denver Post summarizes the situation:

Joe Gschwendtner fails to make ballot; Mark Hurlburt fails in SD-16

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 3:21 pm, June 11, 2010

Joe Gschwendtner has failed to petition on to the Republicans’ Aug. 10 primary ballot for governor, and Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlburt did not turn in enough valid petitions to make the GOP primary ballot in Senate District 16, an official in the Secretary of State’s office said.
Scott McInnis and Dan Maes will be on the GOP’s gubernatorial primary ballot. Tim Leonard will be the GOP’s candidate in SD-16.

Andrew Romanoff alienated the wrong Washington Post columnist in college

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 2:53 pm, June 11, 2010

Andrew Romanoff obviously alienated a young reporter on his college paper, and that reporter, the Washington Post’s sarcastic and bitter left wing columnist, Dana Milbank, is using his perch at WaPo to get even in a column, Why is Andrew Romanoff playing the ‘corruption’ card? Read the whole thing.
Here are a few choice graphs from Milbank:

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