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 [...]

Two Problems with Hate Crimes Laws

by Ryan | 6:59 am, May 18, 2009

A hate crimes bill has passed through the US House (H.R. 1913) and is now before the Senate (S. 909).  Basically, a hate crimes bill makes not only actions done against others criminal, but also the motives behind the actions.
The bill in question would make it an extra crime to commit crimes against people due [...]

The Power of the Purse and the Fed

by Ryan | 6:07 am, May 11, 2009

A significant part of the struggle for government that is both limited and run by the people was waged on our behalf by our English forerunners.  The most significant aspect of this battle was English citizens gaining the power of the purse over the Monarchy in a struggle that lasted hundreds of years.  As the [...]

Perlmutter Earmarks Ahoy!

by Ryan | 7:12 am, April 13, 2009

Unfortunately, Congressman Ed Perlmutter is on the earmark bandwagon.  His requests for my hometown of Arvada were:

$6,000,000 – Garrison St flood control
$600,000 – Wadsworth Trail
$1,400,000 – 56th Avenue bypass
$2,600,000 – Clear Creek Overflow project

These sound like fine projects that need funding, but they aren’t a federal concern.  Instead of using federal funds in this way [...]

How Much is a Trillion?

by Ryan | 6:25 am, April 6, 2009

To put a trillion dollars into perspective, I decided to do a little imagining.  Just suppose that you could use a 53-foot semi-trailer to represent 1 million dollars.  One million dollars won’t fill a trailer, but every time you see one, you know it stands for a million dollars.
Now, imagine driving 12 hours per day [...]

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