Saturday, February 14, 2009

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff 14

Do As I Say...
During the presidential campaign, Obama told us that "we can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times." Repeatedly, he told us that everyone would have to make sacrifices. Everyone apparently, except for Obama. Since the Messiah's arrival, the Oval Office has been reportedly kept warm enough to "grow orchids", according to Chief of Staff David Axelrod.

It is very fitting that the Oval Office is uncomfortably warm, since its current occupant intends to put all of us through hell.

Voices of Reason
From an email from the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights:

Today, the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights has launched its blog Voices for Reason, where its experts will provide daily commentary on breaking news from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.

According to Debi Ghate, vice president of Academic programs, “Every weekday, we will post new commentary on current events on topics such as the financial crisis, environmentalism, foreign policy, free speech, and property rights. We will also explore the principled solutions Ayn Rand’s philosophy offers for tackling today’s political, economic and cultural problems.

“It is our goal to make Voices for Reason the go-to source for our unique perspective on the most important news of the day and the state of our culture. Our writers will share their insights, evaluating current events using Ayn Rand’s philosophy of reason, individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism as their guide.”

Voices for Reason will also carry announcements and updates from the Ayn Rand Center and the Ayn Rand Institute.


Loving Death
From Gus Van Horn I learned that Tom Daschle, the would-be medical czar, is jealous of Europeans for loving death.
He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept "hopeless diagnoses" and "forgo experimental treatments," and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

Daschle advocates a board to make the "tough decisions", that is, decide who lives and dies. Apparently Daschle thinks medical care is only for the healthy, and if one doctor (or if Daschle has his way, one bureaucrat) declares a situation hopeless, the individual is sentenced to death. His judgment and his life are irrelevant, because his treatment might cost the government (if Daschle has his way) "too much". This is where socialized medicine always leads--"free" health care, even if it kills you. And it will.


I'm Just Not That Into Her
Sheila Jackson Lee, the Houston Congresswoman who never misses an opportunity to stick her scowling face in front of a television camera, is rumored to be in line for a position as “Under-Secretary” of something in the State Department.

In some ways this would be a welcome development. Those of us in Houston might be spared her incessant whining and constant appearances on radio and television. But she would likely help make what is going to be a disastrous foreign policy more so. So I'm torn. If she stays in Congress she will be a vocal proponent of "universal health care"; if she goes to the State Department, she will help get us all murdered. It reminds of a commercial for some car repair company years ago-- "Kill me now, or kill me later."


Agree to Disagree
Speaking of women who disgust me, Eleanor Tinsley died this week. As a member of city council, Tinsley was the mother of the city's anti-billboard legislation and a leading proponent of "quality of life" issues. In other words, she a busy-body with a gun.

Years ago, when I was a regular irritant at City Hall, she sent me a letter stating that we would have to "agree to disagree". Wikipedia defines the term as a:

resolution of a conflict (usually a debate or quarrel) whereby all parties tolerate but do not accept the opposing position(s). It generally occurs when all sides recognise that further conflict is unnecessary, ineffective or otherwise undesirable. They may also remain on amicable terms while continuing to disagree.

Such a position might be justified over a minor issue, such as what kind of toothpaste is best, or whether Jeremy Brett was better as Sherlock Holmes than Basil Rathbone. But in this context, her position was intellectual cowardice and brazen dishonesty.

As a city official who wrote laws--laws backed with the power of government--she didn't tolerate anything she didn't like. She wrote a law to ban it. And if you didn't follow her commands, you could wind up in jail. I won't miss her.

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