The Collectivist News … excerpts from today’s issue of The Union News.
Blame Collectivism … Capitalism is not to blame for this economic mess. Government involvement is largely to blame. Whenever business decisions are made on the basis of political considerations, the result is bad business. The mortgage crisis was largely caused by government coercing lenders to loan money to unqualified borrowers. The lenders sought ways to lower their risk and developed financial instruments to share that risk with other investors and insurers. When auditors raised flags about the level of exposure at Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, congressional overseers looked the other way because of political considerations. Even when economic reality set in and those who make risky decisions were about to fail, the government decided who can fail and who should continue operating. This perpetuates bad business and increases the bill when we finally have to pay the piper. Thus, much of the pain we are now suffering is due to government intrusion into the private sector. It has been a long time since we have seen “unrestrained capitalism.” Collectivism (or communism) is not a solution. Compare our standard of living to any country that embraces collectivism, and the choice is obvious.(fredericksburg.com)
Alinsky pulls Adminstration’s strings from the grave … Recently, Homeland Security came out with a report titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” At first, I thought, given the incendiary nature of the report, that it seemed like a really asinine thing for Janet Napolitano to disseminate throughout the world of law enforcement. She had to have known that such a widespread report would be leaked to the public. Consequently, I started questioning whether Janet Napolitano’s “asinine” dissemination was asinine or not. Could it be that the whole thing was intentional, with a more insidious purpose – one more gradual and cumulative in its effect? As soon as the report was leaked, it quickly garnered intense scorn from just about everyone who felt unjustly tarred by the Department of Homeland Security as someone who could be or might become a domestic terrorist. Was Janet Napolitano surprised by the leak? Nope, I don’t think so. If she had been, it would certainly mean that Ms. Napolitano is a naïve airhead, and that she’s not. To me, it feels more like an intentional attempt to tarnish the very idea of having thoughts and beliefs that are different from those of the Obama administration. Janet Napolitano and Obama are making it personal and trying to implant the idea that it is okay to make those who oppose Obama’s policies the object of ridicule. On closer inspection, this action looks remarkably similar to something straight from Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” playbook: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.”(australia.to)
Union-backed, tax-funded, voter-fraud shock troops get another $5.7 billion … The AmeriCorps program started by President Bill Clinton will triple in size over the next eight years, and tens of thousands of other Americans will soon see new opportunities to give back to their communities. It’s all part of a $5.7 billion national service bill President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign Tuesday to foster and fulfill people’s desire to make a difference, such as by mentoring children, cleaning up parks or building and weatherizing homes for the poor. Bolstering voluntary public service programs has been a priority of Obama, who credits his work as a community organizer in his early 20s for giving him direction in life. The White House said Monday that the president “will call on people across the country to serve their communities and work together to tackle the nation’s tough challenges.” (cnsnews.com)
No limits: Special interests go wild, expose post-Constitutional Era … The real-world answer imposed by the New Deal and its progeny turned out to be special interest capture on steroids. Control comes to rest with those with the greatest interest or the most money at stake, and the result was the creation of a polity called “the Special Interest State” or, in Cornell University Professor Theodore Lowi’s terms, “Interest Group Liberalism.” Its essence is that various interest groups seize control over particular power centers of government and use them for their own ends. It is this combination of plenary government power combined with the seizure of its levers by special interests that constitutes the polity of the current Third American Republic. The influence of “faction” and its control had been a concern since the founding of the nation, but it took the New Deal and its acolytes to decide that control of governmental turf by special interests was a feature, not a bug, a supposedly healthy part of democratic pluralism. And so the Special Interest State expanded, blessed by the intelligentsia. And it feeds on itself; the larger and more complex the government becomes, the higher the costs of monitoring it. This means that no one without a strong interest in a particular area can afford to keep track, which leaves the turf to the beneficiaries. And as existing interests dig in to defend their turf, new interests require continuing expansions of governmental activity to stake a claim on. Lack of any limiting principles. There is no limit on the areas in which special interests will now press for action, nothing that is regarded as beyond the scope of governmental responsibility and power. Furthermore, special interests are not limited, cynically trying to get an undeserved economic edge or subsidy. Would that they were! Inevitably, special interests try to convert themselves into moral entitlements to convince others to agree to their claims. The problem is that many have convinced themselves, which means that no half loaf satisfies. The grievance remains sharp, and compromise immoral. (american.com)
News, actor unionists turn away customers … Just when you think the mainstream media has debased itself as much as possible, along comes some new example of further debasement, like when CNN’s Anderson Cooper used a term for a homosexual act to describe the protesters. Proving it can be just as sleazy and disgusting as CNN, MSNBC picked up the slur and used it. What a horrible lesson for budding young journalists. This reprehensible episode reflects, perhaps better than any so far, just how biased mainstream journalism is, and how unprincipled and unprofessional its purveyors have become. Is it any wonder major newspapers are on the brink of bankruptcy and viewers are leaving the networks and major cable channels in droves? On the aforementioned MSNBC, one guest said: “Which, let’s be very honest about what this is about. It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes … This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of [homosexual act] rednecks. And there is no way around that.” That analysis was offered by someone named Janeane Garofalo who is reportedly a comedian and former co-host for an unsuccessful radio talk show on the failed Air America network. If you’ve never heard of her, perhaps these comments explain why: She isn’t funny and hasn’t a clue what these tea parties are all about. A typical left-winger, she cannot imagine that intelligent individuals don’t agree with her, and she doesn’t know how to deal with it, except by insulting them. The behavior of liberals like Ms. Garofalo and the inappropriate and dishonest reporting of the media say far more about them than about the protesters and their concerns. (bdtonline.com)
Related video: Jackass Janeane
U.S. catches on … Inspired by his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Americas Summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez declared on Sunday that Venezuelan socialism has begun to reach the United States under the Obama administration. “I am coming back from Trinidad and Tobago, from the Americas Summit where, without a doubt, the position that Venezuela and its government has always defended, especially starting 10 years ago, of resistance, dignity, sovereignty and independence has obtained in Port of Spain, one of the biggest victories of our history,” Chávez said. “It would seem that the changes that started in Venezuela in the last decade of the 20th century have begun to reach North America,” he added. Chavez made the comments Sunday to a crowd gathered for the 199th Commemoration of the Independence Declaration of Venezuela. “In one year we will be celebrating 200 years of ‘April 19,’ the day that … initiated this revolution that is underway 200 years later at the forefront of the people of our America, at the forefront of change, at the forefront of a new world, at the forefront of a new century that will construct Bolivarian socialism,” said Chávez. (cnsnews.com)
Blame Collectivism … Capitalism is not to blame for this economic mess. Government involvement is largely to blame. Whenever business decisions are made on the basis of political considerations, the result is bad business. The mortgage crisis was largely caused by government coercing lenders to loan money to unqualified borrowers. The lenders sought ways to lower their risk and developed financial instruments to share that risk with other investors and insurers. When auditors raised flags about the level of exposure at Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, congressional overseers looked the other way because of political considerations. Even when economic reality set in and those who make risky decisions were about to fail, the government decided who can fail and who should continue operating. This perpetuates bad business and increases the bill when we finally have to pay the piper. Thus, much of the pain we are now suffering is due to government intrusion into the private sector. It has been a long time since we have seen “unrestrained capitalism.” Collectivism (or communism) is not a solution. Compare our standard of living to any country that embraces collectivism, and the choice is obvious. (fredericksburg.com)
Alinsky pulls Adminstration’s strings from the grave … Recently, Homeland Security came out with a report titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” At first, I thought, given the incendiary nature of the report, that it seemed like a really asinine thing for Janet Napolitano to disseminate throughout the world of law enforcement. She had to have known that such a widespread report would be leaked to the public. Consequently, I started questioning whether Janet Napolitano’s “asinine” dissemination was asinine or not. Could it be that the whole thing was intentional, with a more insidious purpose – one more gradual and cumulative in its effect? As soon as the report was leaked, it quickly garnered intense scorn from just about everyone who felt unjustly tarred by the Department of Homeland Security as someone who could be or might become a domestic terrorist. Was Janet Napolitano surprised by the leak? Nope, I don’t think so. If she had been, it would certainly mean that Ms. Napolitano is a naïve airhead, and that she’s not. To me, it feels more like an intentional attempt to tarnish the very idea of having thoughts and beliefs that are different from those of the Obama administration. Janet Napolitano and Obama are making it personal and trying to implant the idea that it is okay to make those who oppose Obama’s policies the object of ridicule. On closer inspection, this action looks remarkably similar to something straight from Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” playbook: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” (australia.to)
Union-backed, tax-funded, voter-fraud shock troops get another $5.7 billion … The AmeriCorps program started by President Bill Clinton will triple in size over the next eight years, and tens of thousands of other Americans will soon see new opportunities to give back to their communities. It’s all part of a $5.7 billion national service bill President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign Tuesday to foster and fulfill people’s desire to make a difference, such as by mentoring children, cleaning up parks or building and weatherizing homes for the poor. Bolstering voluntary public service programs has been a priority of Obama, who credits his work as a community organizer in his early 20s for giving him direction in life. The White House said Monday that the president “will call on people across the country to serve their communities and work together to tackle the nation’s tough challenges.” (cnsnews.com)
No limits: Special interests go wild, expose post-Constitutional Era … The real-world answer imposed by the New Deal and its progeny turned out to be special interest capture on steroids. Control comes to rest with those with the greatest interest or the most money at stake, and the result was the creation of a polity called “the Special Interest State” or, in Cornell University Professor Theodore Lowi’s terms, “Interest Group Liberalism.” Its essence is that various interest groups seize control over particular power centers of government and use them for their own ends. It is this combination of plenary government power combined with the seizure of its levers by special interests that constitutes the polity of the current Third American Republic. The influence of “faction” and its control had been a concern since the founding of the nation, but it took the New Deal and its acolytes to decide that control of governmental turf by special interests was a feature, not a bug, a supposedly healthy part of democratic pluralism. And so the Special Interest State expanded, blessed by the intelligentsia. And it feeds on itself; the larger and more complex the government becomes, the higher the costs of monitoring it. This means that no one without a strong interest in a particular area can afford to keep track, which leaves the turf to the beneficiaries. And as existing interests dig in to defend their turf, new interests require continuing expansions of governmental activity to stake a claim on. Lack of any limiting principles. There is no limit on the areas in which special interests will now press for action, nothing that is regarded as beyond the scope of governmental responsibility and power. Furthermore, special interests are not limited, cynically trying to get an undeserved economic edge or subsidy. Would that they were! Inevitably, special interests try to convert themselves into moral entitlements to convince others to agree to their claims. The problem is that many have convinced themselves, which means that no half loaf satisfies. The grievance remains sharp, and compromise immoral. (american.com)
News, actor unionists turn away customers … Just when you think the mainstream media has debased itself as much as possible, along comes some new example of further debasement, like when CNN’s Anderson Cooper used a term for a homosexual act to describe the protesters. Proving it can be just as sleazy and disgusting as CNN, MSNBC picked up the slur and used it. What a horrible lesson for budding young journalists. This reprehensible episode reflects, perhaps better than any so far, just how biased mainstream journalism is, and how unprincipled and unprofessional its purveyors have become. Is it any wonder major newspapers are on the brink of bankruptcy and viewers are leaving the networks and major cable channels in droves? On the aforementioned MSNBC, one guest said: “Which, let’s be very honest about what this is about. It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes … This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of [homosexual act] rednecks. And there is no way around that.” That analysis was offered by someone named Janeane Garofalo who is reportedly a comedian and former co-host for an unsuccessful radio talk show on the failed Air America network. If you’ve never heard of her, perhaps these comments explain why: She isn’t funny and hasn’t a clue what these tea parties are all about. A typical left-winger, she cannot imagine that intelligent individuals don’t agree with her, and she doesn’t know how to deal with it, except by insulting them. The behavior of liberals like Ms. Garofalo and the inappropriate and dishonest reporting of the media say far more about them than about the protesters and their concerns. (bdtonline.com)
U.S. catches on … Inspired by his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Americas Summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez declared on Sunday that Venezuelan socialism has begun to reach the United States under the Obama administration. “I am coming back from Trinidad and Tobago, from the Americas Summit where, without a doubt, the position that Venezuela and its government has always defended, especially starting 10 years ago, of resistance, dignity, sovereignty and independence has obtained in Port of Spain, one of the biggest victories of our history,” Chávez said. “It would seem that the changes that started in Venezuela in the last decade of the 20th century have begun to reach North America,” he added. Chavez made the comments Sunday to a crowd gathered for the 199th Commemoration of the Independence Declaration of Venezuela. “In one year we will be celebrating 200 years of ‘April 19,’ the day that … initiated this revolution that is underway 200 years later at the forefront of the people of our America, at the forefront of change, at the forefront of a new world, at the forefront of a new century that will construct Bolivarian socialism,” said Chávez. (cnsnews.com)
