Must read from John Stossel about Obama's "green jobs" horsepuckey

As many of you know, I love John Stossel. Not only does he rock the 'stache, he is the only Libertarian on TV. Check out his column on Barry's constant claims about creating "green jobs."

Politicians always promise that their programs will create jobs. It's used to justify building palatial sports stadiums for wealthy team owners. Alaska Rep. Don Young claimed the infamous "bridge to nowhere" would create jobs (http://tinyurl.com/6jq623).

The fallacy is the same in every case: Even if the program creates jobs building bridges or windmills, it necessarily prevents other jobs from being created. This is because government spending merely diverts money from private projects to government projects.

Pure, unadulterated brilliance. Another excerpt is something that I've thought for a long, long time.

One reason decentralized markets are preferable to government central planning is that human beings are fallible. Mistakes are inevitable. Some investments will be errors. Mistakes in the market tend to be on a comparatively small scale. If one company invests in plug-in hybrids and it goes bust, only a relatively few people suffer. The assets of the bankrupt firm pass into more capable hands.

But decisions by government, especially the federal government, affect all of us. When government makes a mistake, the bureaucracy can't go bankrupt. Instead, it will use its failure to justify increased appropriations in the next budget.

That about covers the difference between government control (socialism) and market control (free markets). Nicely done.

The reaction to Palin shows her importance

The Looney Left is going out of their gourds trying to pile dirt on Sarah Palin, McCain's inspired choice for V.P.
When they bring out the heavy artillery, you can smell their fear of a strong woman, a standard bearer for the Rest of Us, not those elites of San Francisco, Seattle and NYC.

They're running scared. Just ask 'em! The Palin bounce has got them shaking in their Birkenstocks.

“My concern is that I see them as totally reactive right now as opposed to getting out there on their own and saying what the hell they are about,” said Leon Panetta, a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton who has advised Mr. Obama. “They seem to be intimidated by the Palin pick. They seem to be intimidated by how the Republicans are coming at them on change. And you cannot win if you are constantly on defense.”

Mr. Panetta added, “As president of the United States you are going to have to learn how to deal with people you may not particularly like, because if you are trying to get things done, you have got to use everything and everybody that you can to get it done. I do think that they absolutely in this race have got to make use of the Clintons in every possible way, because they need them. He has clearly got some problems out there.”

Read the rest here.

Anybody that the Left is that afraid of is definitely good for America. No doubt about it. Reminds me of the vitriol for another great American, Ronaldus Maximus.

Palin Power!

Never forget

I remember the first day that I arrived in NYC to my post on the CGC Dallas on Governor's Island, where the towers commanded the Manhattan skyline. Walk around the island and you got a great view of Lady Liberty herself.

Then, fast forward, to 9-11-01. I was in my first year at the University of Alabama. I woke up that day, as any other, turned on the TV and saw this:

I was horrified beyond the ability to react. And in that moment, without a doubt, I knew this was NO accident. It was an act of terrorism.

And then the skies, where one could see a jetliner streaking across the contrail belt at any given second, were silent for days afterward.

I still haven't forgotten that day or the dread I felt. I still remember that extremists plotted and are still plotting against us. Don't forgot. Don't take a dip in the River Lethe as our friends on the left have done. Don't forget those lives lost that day. Don't forgot the bravery of Flight 93's passengers who took the first steps in a long war that will be going on long after most of us leave the world.

Don't forget.

Random thoughts from a helluva trip

My sister and I covered 2470 miles on our journey throughout the Midwest. We trekked through three museums in ONE day (Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Art Institute of Chicago). We walked countless miles through the Windy City and ate the world's finest Chicago-style deep dish pizza near the Sears Tower at Giardanos. We saw the Cubbies and Yo-Yo Ma in one day.

Here are some more random thoughts from our journey:

1. No matter where you are in the country, somewhere, a .38 Special song is playing. Trust me, I know this through experience. Our ipod cable was cut and we had to rely on the radio. Every time we turned on a station it seemed, there was that band from Jacksonville. Who the hell likes .38 Special? What made them part of the classic rock format and its same 150-song boring format? Was there an a great wailing of teeth for "Hold on Loosely?"
2. St. Louis really must like Huey Lewis and the News. Every station it seemed during rush hour played one of their songs.
   
3. Chicago is the bluest of blue states, as judged by the Greenpeace folks and all of the freaking Obama stickers. I even saw a poor child with a t-shirt that said "My mama is for Obama." Gimme a friggin' break!
   
4. Speaking of our friend Obama, what a stinker of a choice for his V.P. Joe Biden is a tempermental, ultra-liberal senator who has a penchant for plagiarism. And blowing his top. Guess his flattery got him somewhere!
   
5. The lardification of America is stunning to behold. I'm now starting to realize that much of America is too fat and out of shape to fight a great war or any war for that matter. When eating said deep dish pizza (which we walked off a few minutes later), I saw a group of four folks whose combined weight was near a ton. Folks, you're the last people needing to be dining on this horrifically fatty fare! Everywhere I look, I see so many folks grossly overweight. Stop eating all of this junk! Walk rather than ride in your flabby, gas-guzzling SUV. Do something active, anything!
6. The Air Force Museum is worth a trip unto itself. Going there was like going to Disneyland for me, anyway. To look into the gigantic bomb bays of the world's largest ever bomber, the B-36 (only four are still around) was an experience I'll never forget. I must go back!
7. I hate the Cubs. I really, really do. I hate their obnoxious, drunk frat boy fans. But the worst is hearing "Go Cubs Go" after every win. God, that song sucks! Long live the Goat!

Day one in Chicago

We visited the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and Giordanos, where we got some deep dish pizza and hiked about 20 miles around the "Magnificent Mile." The pizza was as good as I remember it and the views were awesome from the top of what was the world's tallest building, until those Malays took the crown a few years back.

Navy Pier is mega-touristy and pricy, but the fireworks display is as good as any Independence Day display I've ever seen in my hometown.

Just arrived in Chicago

I'll see you in St. Louis.

Funny, that's exactly what I did with one of my dear friends today as he showed my sister and I around the Gateway of the West. First we walked along the river heading to the Arch (we parked for free, how many big cities can you do that in?) and we spotted a historic ship heading upriver. The chances of spotting this one-of-a-kind floating monument were slim to none, yet there it was, LST-325.

This valiant tank landing ship, sailed across a stormy Atlantic from Greece by an intrepid crew of WWII vets, now sails throughout the Midwest as the last remaining ship of her kind, a class of ships that landed the tanks and vehicles on Normandy's beaches. She was restored in Mobile and now is homeported in Evansville, Ind. Who wouldn't thought we'd spot this floating treasure?

The Arch was as I imagined it: spectacular! You can't imagine how amazing it is, a seemingly thin strand of metal that seems to defy the laws of physics. According to our tour guide, my good friend Kevin, no building in the STL can be any taller than the Arch.

We saw Busch Stadium II and it looked far better in person than on TV, where it is a gem of a baseball park. It's a shame the Cardinals weren't playing on Monday, because a game there would have been nice.

Even if I'm a Braves fan. And yes, they suck right now!

We ended our trip to STL at Union Station, an old train station that has been converted to a great mall and food court. It is gorgeous, the art work, the stained glass, but the coolest part was the whispering arch. Speak into one end of this large arch and you can hear the voice clear as a bell 40 feet away! Gotta love acoustics.

I hated to say goodbye to my good friend, but we're in Chicago now and looking forward to visiting Sears Tower and Navy Pier tomorrow.

Miles travelled so far: 1085

Coke Zero Vanillas consumed: 4

U-turns: 4

Day 1 of our little trip

My sister and I are in the land of the Arch, the Gateway of the West, St. Louis. It's been a good trip up this way so far. Even if Arkansas off I-55 and southern Missouri are as but ugly as terrain could be.

We're going to tour St. Louis and see the Arch and all that jazz with my friend whom I worked with in Florida. But tomorrow night, we'll be in the Second City, the Windy City, Chi-town!