Washington Times: ‘The Left’s War On Rednecks’

Source:The Washington Times- Real Time With Bill Maher.

Source:The Daily Post

“In their own minds, liberals are open-minded and promote diversity – unless they’re talking about a white, southern, conservative believer. In that case, it’s open season for intolerance.

Tuesday’s Republican primaries in Mississippi and Alabama brought out the worst in some liberal commentators. HBO’s Bill Maher added to his recent difficulties by tweeting “Toothless Tuesday too tight to tally! We’re gathered around the magic picture box with a bowl of grits watching the returns come in!” This was a mean-spirited dig based on cartoonish stereotypes of the South.

Mr. Maher’s defenders might point to Jeff Foxworthy’s brand of humor, listing the alleged characteristics of rednecks. Mr. Foxworthy – who last week endorsed Mitt Romney for president – always delivers his lines with a wink, whereas Mr. Maher has developed a permanent smirk. Mr. Foxworthy’s blue-collar fans might nod and admit that some jokes ring a little true; Mr. Maher’s privileged left-wing devotees are already certain that the people in those states are illiterate hillbillies. To paraphrase Lynyrd Skynyrd, southern folk don’t need them around anyhow.”

From The Washington Times 

I agree with The Washington Times (which is a big city, Mid-Atlantic newspaper, in the heart of Blue America) as far as how the American-Left defines rednecks and Southern-Anglo-Saxon-Protestants in America. But similar to how making fun of ghetto people and hip hop culture or left-wing elitist culture is not bigoted or racist, neither is making fun of SASP (Southern Anglo Saxon Protestants) either.

Both sides have their faults and their strengths. I’m not comfortable with either group, because I tend to see urban leftists as snobs, bigots, and even at times as racists towards European-Americans, or at least English-Protestants. And I tend to see political rednecks as bigots who seem to be stuck in some 1950s time warp and never got the memo (perhaps because they can’t read) that America has moved past Ozzie and Harriet’s, Beaver Cleaver, John Wayne’s 1940s and 50s America.

We’re just a lot more diverse as a society now and not just ethnically and racially, but culturally, with all sorts of new, mainstream lifestyles and definitions about what the American Dream is and what it means to be a real American today.

Rednecks or the Christian-Right has been revolting against the Cultural Revolution since the 1960s and again wants to take us back to the 1950s culturally and politically. Urban hipster-leftists, would try to erase redneck or (SASP) culture and force their way of life onto everyone else. Which is why you have this modern culture war going on between these two political fringes.

Commentary Magazine: Alana Goodman: 'Rick Santorum Wants to Ban Gambling'

Source:Commentary Magazine columnist Alana Goodman.

Source:The FreeState

“National Review’s Jim Geraghty wonders whether there might be a business-related reason behind casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s reported opposition to Rick Santorum. Take a look at what the former Pennsylvania senator had to say about gambling during a recent interview with Jon Ralston:

I’m someone who takes the opinion that gaming is not something that is beneficial, particularly having that access on the Internet. Just as we’ve seen from a lot of other things that are vices on the Internet, they end to grow exponentially as a result of that. It’s one thing to come to Las Vegas and do gaming and participate in the shows and that kind of thing as entertainment, it’s another thing to sit in your home and have access to that it. I think it would be dangerous to our country to have that type of access to gaming on the Internet.

Freedom’s not absolute. What rights in the Constitution are absolute? There is no right to absolute freedom. There are limitations. You might want to say the same thing about a whole variety of other things that are on the Internet — “let everybody have it, let everybody do it.” No. There are certain things that actually do cost people a lot of money, cost them their lives, cost them their fortunes that we shouldn’t have and make available, to make it that easy to do.” 

From Commentary Magazine 

“Rick Santorum completely self-destructs in an interview with Neil Cavuto” 

Source:Fox News- anchor Neil Cavuto interviewing Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, about Mitt Romney. 

From Neil Cavuto 

I’m thinking about starting a brand new blog about Rick Santorum. I’m going to completely dedicate it to the former member of Congress who’s benefited greatly since leaving Congress, as so has the rest of the country. I might call it the World of Big Government Courtesy of Rick Santorum. The beauty of it would be, that Senator Santroum would provide me with all the material on his big government position of the day. I might even pay the former Senator royalties, for his contributions to this blog.

The problem with this potential blog, is that it would take up all my time. Forget being a political junky, I would end up becoming a Santorum junky. All Rick 24 hours, seven days a week all the time. Because Rick comes up with a new big government position basically everyday. Stick around and I’ll go through them with you. 

In the last two weeks, Rick Santorum has come out of favor bf banning heavy metal music, which is why Dave Mustaine endorsed him. (Perhaps Dave Mustaine is losing his nearing now thanks to all of his head banging) Trying to suck up to the Senator with a straw and has lost so many brain cells from heavy metal, which is why he endorsed Rick Santorum and why Rick wants to ban heavy metal. The distinguished Senator came out in favor of banning pornography, trying to lure Michele Bachmann wing of the nut house to endorse him. Condoms, birth control, and now today gambling. 

Calling Rick Santorum a Conservative is like calling a midget a giant or a cow a horse, a dog a cat, water, fire, it doesn’t past the laugh test, unless you don’t have a sense of humor. And if that’s the case you shouldn’t read this piece either.

Rick Santorum would give any Socialist you want to name a great run for being in favor of big government: David McReynolds, Bernie Sanders, and Dennis Kucinich have nothing on this guy. They would all be midget’s compared with Rick. (Not just Dennis Kucinich) And every time he finds a new way in how to protect people from themselves, lovers of liberty need to call him out on it.

Bad Lip Reading: Rick Perry For President

Source:Bad Lip Reading- Governor Rick Perry (Republican, Texas) does not approve of this message,

“Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry shares a few poignant thoughts via some very Bad Lip Reading. Original video here:Rick Perry For President." 

From Bad Lip Reading

When you’re trying to appeal to the farthest fringe flank in your party, the most ignorant of the ignorant, people who believe Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Abraham Lincoln, or homosexuals were behind the 9/11 attacks, Barack Obama is an African Muslim who wasn’t born in the United States, the ignorant of the ignorant, to get their votes, because you want to win a Republican caucus to win the Republican nomination for president, you know your presidential campaign is in sad shape.

This is the state of Governor Rick Perry’s presidential campaign: “I can’t win this thing by appealing to the best in you, which is what Jack Kennedy and Ron Reagan did. So I’m going to appeal to worst in you the most ignorant people in the country. To get their support for president.”

When you have to go to the Far-Right for their support this early on and it backfires winning 10% in the Iowa Caucus only toppling Michele Bachmann as far as candidates who ran hard in Iowa, you know, if you understand politics, you know your presidential campaign is basically over. Win South Carolina or move back Texas and actually do your job as Governor there for good. Thats Rick Perry for President 2012, he’s preying he can have someone’s support, who’s actually eligible to vote.

What gets me is that Rick Perry is one of the leading fundraisers in the Republican Party right now. He has the money to go far as far as campaigning. He could probably make it to Super Tuesday in February financially without winning one state. But who are these people who are supporting him and still supporting him. Talk about a bad investment or business decision: it would be like thousand shares in Enron back in 2001-02, the day it filed for bankruptcy and then trying to get your money back. Or investing a million dollars in a store that sells snow mobiles in South Florida: who needs a snow mobile on the beach?

Rick Perry is a guy who gets mouth tied in a debate when asked which three Federal agency’s he would eliminate, which is supposed to be the centerpiece of his fiscal plan. Which would be like someone singing the national anthem, a professional singer use to performing in front of big crowds, performing at a football game, can’t remember the first three lyrics of the national anthem. Or a taxi driver not knowing the speed limit. Or running in the State of Florida on eliminating Social Security and Medicare. Or coming out for the destruction of Israel in New York.

When you think of the term “not ready for prime time”, it fits in with Rick Perry for president. Like fries fit in with cheeseburgers. He’s clearly unprepared and had no idea what he was getting into. Like the media actually paying attention to what you say, asking tough questions, running negative advertising. I believe he was expecting that he’s Rick Perry he’s going to unite the Tea Party with the Religious-Right. And have a cakewalk to the Republican nomination for president and it just didn’t work out for him that way. 

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Professor Milton Friedman: Free To Choose (1980) ‘How To Stay Free’

Source:Invest Bliguru- a House Agriculture Committee hearing in 1980.

Source:The FreeState

“The Great Depression of the 1930s changed the public philosophy regarding the appropriate role of government in American life. Before the Depression, government was not assumed to have special responsibilities for individual or business welfare. The severity of the economic tragedy of the 1930s resulted in a dramatic change in public attitudes.

Many believed the Depression represented a “failure of capitalism.” Because of this alleged failure, government has ever since been expanding its power and the scope of its control. Government growth has resulted in waste, inefficiency, and a loss of personal freedom. Intended to serve the interests of the people, many governmental programs have been revealed to serve primarily the interests of the bureaucrats.

Many government programs serve at cross purposes. For example, different agencies attempt, on the one hand, to discourage use of tobacco as potentially dangerous to good health and, on the other hand, to encourage production of tobacco through subsidies to tobacco farmers. The list of government inconsistencies and inefficiencies goes on and on. Dr. Friedman, however, says that there is reason for optimism. Today, he notes, the public is better informed about these matters and is increasingly willing to take a stand against further unnecessary expansion of government services. He suggests the most fruitful approach is to remove discretionary budget power from the government. Friedman favors passage of a Constitutional amendment limiting the government’s budget and forcing government to work within that budget.

But this is only the first step. As Dr. Friedman points out, “What we need is widespread public recognition that the central government should be limited to its basic functions: defending the nation against foreign enemies, preserving order at home, and mediating our disputes. We must come to recognize that voluntary cooperation through the market and in other ways is a far better way to solve our problems than turning them over to the government.” 

From Invest Bliguru 

If you look at the lobbying industry in America and why it’s so large and why they’ve become so powerful and have dominated Washington politics, preventing both good and bad things from happening and becoming law, it’s because as the famous bank robber Billy The Kid once said to why he robs banks, he said,: “Because that’s where the money is.” 

Why do lobbyists lobby Washington, because that’s where the power is. We now have a Federal budget of 3.7T$ and now have a public service of eight-million workers including Congress and their staffs. So of course they are going to lobby the Federal Government so much to represent their interests, because that’s where the power is.

If you look at the Washington skyline, especially downtown Washington, you’ll see a big beautiful city with lots of big beautiful buildings that take up a lot of space. Most of those buildings paid for by Federal tax revenue and most of those buildings are Federal property to house the thousands of Federal agency’s we have and thousands of Federal workers who work there. Do we need Federal campaign and lobbying reform, of course we do. But campaign finance and lobbying reform in America is not a silver bullet to fix the corruption in our Federal Government.

But as long as the Federal Government is as big and powerful as it is, lobbying will always be an issue in the Federal Government. Members of Congress will always be looking for the easiest way to get reelected and the fastest way to move up in the House and Senate and be planning their post Congressional careers. Well, the few members who actually leave Congress will be doing that. The others will concentrate on the easiest way to get reelected, move up in Leadership, perhaps land a sweet cabinet position or look to run for President themselves.  

If you want less lobbying and corruption in Washington, get the government power out of Washington and send it back to the states, localities, and the people themselves. As well as full-disclosure on all Federal lobbying and political activities in America. 

Dennis Miller Live: 'Bill Maher & Dennis Miller on Free Speech vs Political Correctness'

Source:David Gagnon- Real Time With Bill Maher on Dennis Miller Live, in 2002.

"Bill Maher & Dennis Miller on Free Speech vs Political Correctness" 

From David Gagnon

As Dennis Miller said, America is a playground of ideas, not a marketplace ideas. The idea that someone can't express themselves and say exactly what they think is as Un-American as slavery, communism, theocracy, everything else in the U.S. Constitution that we as a country don't believe in, because we as individuals tend to believe in the right to be free and be able to think for ourselves and make our own decisions in life. Communist states and theocratic states are the places you go if you are too afraid to think for yourself, hear something that you disagree with, or make your own personal decisions, not America. 

Again as Dennis Miller who I don't agree with on everything also made the perfect point in his monologue when he said the answer to hate speech is free speech. Just like the answer to ignorance is education. You don't want assholes in your country, make the case why they're assholes and make the case for why they're wrong and you are right and educate the rest of the society. Or close your ears and eyes and pretend you live in a perfect world or utopia and that no one you disagree with and dislike hasn't even been born yet, let alone able to express themselves in a free society. 

Firing Line With William F. Buckley: ‘That if You Want More Jobs, the Government Should Get Out of the Way’

Source:Firing Line With William F. Buckley- Leon Botstein moderated this debate.

Source:The FreeState 

“As Mr. Botstein frames the question, “We are in a recession. Some people consider it a contained depression, perhaps the worst economic period since the Great Depression. And we don’t really know what to do about it.” Mr. Buckley thinks he does: “Bring back full employment by getting government out of the way.” After all, “A lot of people say they can’t build houses; they can’t afford the interest. Why is interest so high? Because of inflation. Who causes inflation? Only the government can cause inflation. The private sector has never discovered how to do it.” Mr. McGovern is equally sure that, say, the savings-and-loan crisis “is not the result of too much government intervention … Rather it is the opposite: the result of too little regulation and monitoring that permitted irresponsible S&L managers to rob that industry and the American public.” Mrs. Schlafly takes up the cudgels against overreaching legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the latest Clean Air Act, and we’re off on a vigorous exploration of what government can and can’t reasonably do.” 

From the Hoover Institution 

“Episode FLS112, Recorded on March 26, 1992

Guests: Richard K. Armey, Phyllis Schlafly, Herbert Stein, George S. (George Stanley) McGovern, Robert Eisner, Michael E. Kinsley, Hyman P. Minsky

For more information about this program, see:Hoover Institution." 

From Firing Line With William F. Buckley

This looks like a debate between economic libertarians and people who would be called Social Democrats or Democratic Socialists everywhere else in the developed world, but since America is so special, they are called Liberals here. Because Americans leftists tend to be scared to death of the s-word. 

On the Right, you get government is already doing too much and what we need to do now is cut government, regulations, and taxes, and expand free trade in America. 

On the Left and actual Left (not liberal) you get government isn’t doing or taxing nearly enough and should be doing a lot more of that to meet the needs of the people and expand the economy. 

This is sort of a traditional left-wing vs right-wing debate in America about the role of government, that was brought to you by Firing Line With William F. Buckley.  

Talking Points Memo: 'Sarah Mania! Sarah Palin's Greatest Hits'

Source:Talking Points Memo- Governor Sarah Palin (Republican, Alaska) at her best or worst (depending on your perspective) in 2008.

"All the best moments of Sarah Palin interviews, starring Sarah Palin, Charlies Gibson, Katie Couric, Sean Hannity, and special guest appearance from John McCain himself." 

From Talking Points Memo

If there's one political campaign as well as the record that has followed their post-political campaign that has determined the rest of their political career its Sarah Palin's 2008 campaign for vice president and just about everything thats come after that campaign following 2008. And why Sarah Palin will never be President of the United States and may never run for President of the United States. Because even though it's only been three years since Governor Palin has come onto the national scene, there's already a library of material that could be used against Palin. Making her look like Mrs. Not Ready for Prime Time.

Seeing Russia from her backyard making her an expert on foreign policy, was just the opening act that kept people in the theaters. And wanting to see the movie again, renting the movie when it comes out, buying their own copy, giving the movie to people for gifts, selling the movie to people. Standing in waiting lines or making reservations to see the movie.

And three years later because of the success of the Sarah Palin Movie, The World According to Sarah Palin, a real life comedy, there have been sequels to this movie. That if anything are more popular and have also won awards for Comedy of The Year as well. 

The reason why Sarah Palin is not running for President right now, well Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry beat her to it. So she would have to compete with two other people and they are already showing America how not to run for President. So that would be one lesson in how not to run for President that Sarah Palin wouldn't be able to teach the country.