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Rent Seeking:

An example of rent-seeking is when a company lobbies the government for loan subsidies, grants or tariff protection. These activities don’t create any benefit for society, they just redistribute resources from the taxpayers to the special-interest group.

Among those industries that are most apt to seek demand tax relief for what is just ordinary business is the Entertainment business.  Film, TV; their financial crie d’acoeur always seems to be “give us monies from your Publick Treasury or we shall go elsewhere (where the Publick Officials are more likely to swoon and hand over that Key simply because of who we are)”.  Politicians may be thinking the equation of most “the giving away of our peoples’ monies will be more than compensated by the extra revenues spent by the production crew” – it hardly ever works out that way.  So it usually comes down to bragging rights: “we have them and you don’t”.

This letter to Maryland from the House of Cards production company makes it clear (with commentary): 

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Most of the folks that know me know I blog as an obsession.  As a techie, I have always tried to get to that next step that many bloggers couldn’t.  When many were just using text, we added pictures.  Then added audio interviews, then recorded video, and then finally livestreaming.  We continually added to our capabilities technically in going to events and put them all together to bring events that the MSM wouldn’t cover to those that couldn’t be there (or simply chose not to).

Then drones came on the scene – and I’ve wanted one for quite some time. Not the military type, but the pro-sumer quad or octorotator that would be safe, stable – and can have a camera that could livestream a point of view feed that I otherwise could not get – yet another tool to enhance what we do for our readers and watchers.  However, it seems like Govt is about to, once again, do a one size fits all that would preclude that next step (at either outdoor events or in large ballroom type settings).  From the Telegraph (yes, Kevin, we read you at times; reformatted and emphasis mine)

Bill to restrict drone use in NH gets panel approval

CONCORD – A move to severely restrict the use of drones to protect citizen privacy cleared a key committee Thursday.  State Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare, said he has learned from the pitfalls of a failed attempt in 2013 to ban drones from taking pictures of peoples’ houses.  And Kurk said he’s willing to keep compromising to eventually win over support from the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union and the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters, both of which have raised First Amendment concerns about his bill (HB 1620).  “We are all in agreement on what we want to accomplish but just don’t have an agreement yet on how to get there,” Kurk said.

I’m fine and dandy with protecting citizen privacy, especially at their homes.  Doesn’t matter if it is a private, commercial, or  governmental drone (especially a government drone).  But! 

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In times past, I’ve been glued to the screen watching the Olympics – this time, not so much.  TMEW has been and with the DVR, has saved off some of the events that she knows I’d like to watch a bit – short course speed skating, bobsled, bi-athalon, some of the other skiing, and snowboard.  I’m not dissing the other sports – to get to the Olympics in ANYTHING is far beyond what I could do athletically.  But those, to me, are exciting, fast moving – and the slope style and half pipe snowboard events proves two points (emphasis mine):

In a preview of the U.S. military’s planned integration of females into combat positions, female skiers and snowboarders have been wiping out at disproportionate numbers at the Extreme Park in Sochi. Unlike traditional ski runs, which vary in difficulty according to whether they are designed for males or females, the course for highflying snowboarders and freestyle skiers is largely unisex: Females are expected to navigate the same jumps as the males. The result has been an avalanche of female falls and injuries: Of the 22 accidents that either forced athletes out of the competition or required medical attention on the final run, 16 involved female skiers, reports the New York Times, even though far fewer females than males actually essay the course.

I did NOT know that the gals were getting hurt far more than the dudes.  It can’t just be the motivation to succeed and push the envelope – this is the freaking Olympics, after all!  If there is a time to put it on the line, and slam it even further forward, it’s now.  I can’t accept that the gals are trying harder – they all are.  Before finding that post at The Corner, I had repeatedly said to TMEW “Look at the difference in the height and the difficulty of the stunts and tricks”  

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Joe Kenney is running a grassroots campaign in his election against Michael Cryans in the District 1 Executive Council seat. In yesterday’s Laconia Daily Sun, there was an article regarding Cryans receiving a “2 to 1 advantage in funds raised”. For those who have been watching the political left’s ability to ‘raise funds’, it is not surprising that Cryans is 2- 1 ahead.

In NH, however, the candidate with the most money is NOT a “lock” for winning elections. In NH, the person with ideas, integrity, and a history of service can easily win with less money. In fact, the Laconia Daily Sun had a similar article on January 4, 2014 saying, “Republican Christopher Boothby of Meredith (Kenney’s primary opponent) has raised more than twice as much money…” By the way, Chris Boothby lost that race. 

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The chasm between gun owners and gun grabbers is as wide as the Classic Western Liberal (which has nothing to do with the current Democrat Party) and Socialists / Big Government / Collectivists (which is, pretty much, the Democrat Party.  The former says “*I* am responsible for me and mine – just give me the Freedom to do so and leave me alone” while the latter says “Outsource your self-responsibility to us and we will protect you – but we will take your Freedom away as well“. Anything else is political spin.  This is the underlying point that the New Castle Promise folks here in NH or the national Moms Demand Action, groups that fit into that second group, just don’t understand – and are willing to deny anyone else to be in the first group.  David French’s response to David Frum captures this well (emphasis mine, reformatted):

In my experience, those individuals who carry do so because they very consciously do not want to belong to the class of citizens that is inherently helpless — totally reliant upon the state to protect not just themselves but their family, friends, and neighbors. If the choice is between protectors and protected, they choose to be protectors.  This identity is often inseparable from the notion that there is no set of government policies — no utopia — that can eliminate from human society the need for immediate protection. People can and will try to hurt others — using whatever means immediately available — and it strikes us as utterly reckless to be unprepared for this reality.

The protected class has a different view. The protected class is a dependent class —

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Five years old – and ONLY five years old is the TEA Party movement.  Wildly taunted by the Left as being right wing extremists, racists, homophobes and any other adjectives or names they believe will denigrate or diminish its attraction and influence.  The Democrats are bolstered by their captive MSM who sometimes use exactly the same terminology or couch in finer wording but with the same underlying nuances to influence people from understanding its three Main Principles:

• An adherence to Fiscal Frugality by our elected officials
• A respect and willingness to keep their governance in line with the Letter & Spirit of the Constitution
• Move back to Free Markets

These are hardly “right wing” positions – these are common sense EXCEPT if one is Socialist / Communist / Statist in outlook and action.  These are values that traditionally made and kept America strong – so why is the Left so adamant in tearing them down (er, rhetorical question – we KNOW why they do)?  Yet, their efforts have not accomplished what they desired – each time they proclaim that they have finally killed off this Libery & Freedom movement, Obi-Wan’s words are recalled (“If you strike me down, I will come back twice as strong”).  After all, no matter the light in which it has been presented, it still occupies (heh!) a large share of the political talk.  While I disagree about the “three convictions” listed, they are concerns of many in the movement, especially the first two:

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Over at the Independent Journal Review reports on a new poll; I’ve bulletpointed the high points:

• 64% of Americans say ObamaCare would’ve never passed if Americans had known the truth in 2009.
  • 74% of Republicans
  • 68% of Independents
  • 54% of Democrats

So why do NH State Senators Jeb Bradley, Chuck Morese, Bob Odell, and Nancy Stiles think helping to implement Obama’s Medicaid Expansion is just jiffy? Why do they wish to tarnish (even more!) the Republican brand by playing into the fears of Americans as to the WHY of Obamacare in implementing this in the Live Free or Die State?

Even more troubling, 56% of Americans said ObamaCare was more about the government seizing control of citizens’ lives, versus just 40% who felt Obama’s plan was about improving healthcare.

The Republican Party was once were the Party of Freedom – it’s start was in helping to stop slavery. 

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