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Progressives

Tyranny #3 – Minimum wage isn’t about economics – it’s about “Community”, dontcha know?

“All one community…“

Of all the reasons to raise a minimum wage (leaving aside for the moment, the utter crassness of know-it-all politicians who believe they know what’s best for the health of a company, especially a small biz in this economy, than the owners do), this has GOT to be one of the stupidest:

CONCORD – The state’s business community, large and small, turned out in force Tuesday to attack two bills that would raise the minimum wage while allies with organized labor and anti-poverty programs said reinstating a state minimum and raising it above the federal standard would have an economic stimulus effect.

Both Rep. Peter Sullivan, D-Manchester, and Rep. Timothy Robertson, D-Durham, said the new Legislature should undo the work of the last one, which got rid of a state minimum wage that had been on the books since 1949.

Sure, why not – they are actively working to undo everything that the Republican supermajorities did last session.  Hey, monkey-DC, monkey-Concord as far as the Democrats are concerned.  Is this now the “new normal” – whip sawing the State simply “we’re not Republicans”?  Instead of governing well (which used to mean “do the least harm, or even better, emulating Cal Coolidge), do the Dems really want to descend to tit-for-tat eternally?  Or, again as what is happening in DC led by Obama, trying hard to erase the GOP?  Either way, that is not governance, that is elementary school playground.

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The real differences between Republicans and Democrats – Tyranny #2

I stumbled on this post over at PowerLine – where they had abstracted an entire post by David Horowitz: “How Republicans can win” that talks about the severe differences in how Conservatives / Republicans view life vs how Progressive / Democrats do.  Since Horowitz was heavily involved in the New Left in the sixties, he knows intimately how they think and how they act – and why they are starting to take the rest of us to the political cleaners in their religious zealotry in marching with Obama to “fundamentely transforming America.”  For this is no “this way is better / no, that way is” battle we face – as Progressives truly believe that they are in a political Civil War to beat and overthrow the Founders / Constitution vision of Liberty and Freedom in which WE get to decide for ourselves and replace it with the Progressive brand of socialism / “social justice” in which Government will provide for all our needs (er, but never mention the “strings chains attached” to allow that to happen).  I have abstracted a few paragraphs that point the major differences (emphasis mine):

…The Democratic Party has been moving steadily to the left since the McGovern campaign of 1972. It is now a party led by socialists and progressives who are convinced that their policies are paving the way to a “better world.”

This vision of moral and social progress has profound consequences for the way Democrats conduct their political battles. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are not in politics just to fix government and solve problems. They are secular missionaries who want to “change society.” Their goal is a new order of society— “social justice.” They think of themselves as social redeemers, people who are going to change the world. It is the belief in a redemptive future that accounts for their passion, and their furious personal assaults on those who stand in their way. When he was president, Bill Clinton once told Dick Morris he had “to understand that Bob Dole” – a moderate Republican – “is evil.” It is the same missionary zeal that allows Democrats to justify a campaign ad accusing a decent man like Mitt Romney of causing the death of a female cancer victim.

This should set the table.  Take Zandra Rice-Hawkins, Exec Dir. for Granite State Progress for instance (yes, a major Progressive parachuted in with the Colorado Model supported by major Progressive $$ – no native Live Free or Die in her!).

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Can You Choose Not to have Leukemia?

Sandra Fluke is making the case that allowing employers to deny contraception on religious grounds could just get so out of control that they (employers) might deny coverage for other things like….say…Leukemia. Hey -I just met you, And this is crazy.  But here’s my number…so Leukemia maybe? I am not quite sure what should be … Read more

Women In Combat

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” — Alexander Pope

In the  Union Leader today, and article entitled, “NH Women react to end of ban on combat.” The UL article starts out, “Combat veteran Nancy Young of Auburn was thrilled to hear other women will get the chance to serve on the front lines in the military.

“Thrilled,” you say? This article is demonstrative of how callous we as a society have become. To be clear, I take no issue with women participating in front-line combat…other than to say, “be careful of what you ask for, ladies.” But these

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The problem that Progressivism was supposed to fix is now embedded in their Government

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”

“Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

– President Obama, Inauguration (2009)

Bob Schieffer of CBS on this Inauguration Day said this that caught my eye (emphasis mine):

The fight over the fiscal cliff was so distasteful and ridiculous, it left me wondering not so much about the possibilities of the next four years, but whether our political system is so broken and our politicians so inept, that they — WE, actually — are no longer capable of solving our problems.

“that they… are no longer capable of solving our problems“.  Schieffer comes right up the point of an epiphany – and then backs down.  As with all Big Government hangers-on and media, he believes that solutions can only come from Government – thus, the conflation of “they” (meaning the politicians) and “WE” (the people) – and continues the lie that we cannot take care of ourselves (like, what goes Government have that we don’t?  Oh yeah, our money).

Historically, WE confronted the problems and WE solved them. Not politicians – us, the individuals that make up this nation. It is only since the time of Wilson, accelerated by FDR, and now launched over the cliff by Obama, that people first look to Government.  Instead, we need to look to ourselves and those around us.    It is time to take back the responsibility from a Government that isn’t working – we have overloaded it (well, Progressives have overloaded it for us) in trying to get it to do stuff that is now too complex for it to do.  Yes, such irony, isn’t it?

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“I don’t know WHY anyone NEEDS an AR-15”. Wrong premise, Progressives!

True Freedom means not having to have a Need to order justify having something

assault weaponRemember that the next time somebody demands “Why do you need that?” (unless it is your spouse or your Mother – then forget what I’m saying here.  Steve is busy and I am having another one of those “paralysis blocks” that bloggers sometimes have.  Not exactly “writer’s block” (during which you can’t think of a thing to say, and worse, if you did, can’t type two words that lie together well) but a case of “there’s too much going on – what to take on first (or best) and not sound like a me-too schmuck”.  But sometimes, when in that mode, it’s like you are the shooting guard in basketball and you go into a 0 for 20 shooting run – the only way out is to keep shooting.  So, here’s a shot in the dark.

We are, as a nation, at a cusp.  The vast majority of Americans were outraged at the tragedy in Newtown.  True to form, Progressives jumped on this crisis with both feet – hey such a chance to advance a fundamental Progressive ideal – an unarmed citizenry.  After all, their belief system demands fealty to the notion that Government is there for YOU and that their Government (and make no mistake, no limited government is any Government of theirs) will take care of you.  Thus, no guns, and certainly no guns of any consequence.  You don’t need them to defend yourself (call 911) and you really don’t have to hunt (that’s cruel to animals, and besides, we grow them in that plastic wrap).  They really don’t believe in guns, even as many of these Progressive elected officials make utter fools of themselves concerning the vocabulary concerning the descriptions of firearms and accessories (we’ll let you off the hook – we’d laugh less at you if you just said “ewww, you can’t have them because they’re ICKY” than when you can’t get the basic nomenclature right).

So, from their Olympus like heights of Enlightened Morality, they proclaim “You don’t NEED that!” – and they do mean it; they have no idea of why something would be important to you – and they don’t care to know.  In their worldview, where the rest of us need guidance, this is one of those supreme moments of applying Progressive Guidance (yes, upper-case chosen deliberately to show the height of Progressive Reaction of those that they have allowed to go astray for too long – they are done with “our foolishness”.

Any time you hear Liberal or Progressive (yes, you can be the former without being the latter but with the way that the New Left is hollowing out the Democrat Party, that person is seldom is a moderate Democrat) say that, here is your reposte:

So, Jackass, what does Need have to do with Freedom?

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Jonah caught the stupid point – ignored the far more important point

Far be it for me to correct NRO’s Jonah Goldberg, best selling author of TWO books on Progressives (“Tyranny of Cliches” & “Liberal Fascism“) when commenting on something in the news, but I think he went for the “ha-ha” and missed the “ewwww”:

 From the Washington Post’s profile of Bloomberg:

NEW YORK — Michael Bloomberg, America’s most prominent and deep-pocketed advocate for gun control, would rather rehabilitate Republicans than oust them.

 “Somebody got them the way they are now,” the mayor of New York said in a recent interview as he sat in the bullpen offices of City Hall, surrounded by a buzzing staff, blinking Bloomberg terminals and clocks telling the same time in each of the five boroughs. “Why can’t you change them?”

 Who knew that the worst part of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge is the jet lag.   I wonder if the mayor has ever said something like, “I’ve got to call the Queens Borough president. What time is it over there?”

 Hmm, what caught my eye was much worse than an ignorant reporter (the WaPo dude, not Jonah that caught him being stupid) – bringing the “ewwww” factor:

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Main Steet Republican’s Drop “Republican.”

main street repubublicans
The Main Street Republicans “Main Street”

In any good story of conquest the tyrants who rule the police state always have ‘loyalists.’  These are indigenous members of the conquered people who side with the oppressors in exchange-presumably–for less oppression.  They are turn-coats, the worst variety of the sunshine patriot, or how about members of the Republican Main Street Partnership?

How about a Republican Main Street Partnership that has dropped the word ‘Republican.’

I am trying to decide if they have done us a favor?

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“Gun Control” – that’s just so HARSH. WMUR approves of Obama Administration’s Politically Correct term: “safety”

During lunch I wanted to find out what the weather was going to be so I switched on WMUR and listened to Melinda Davenport read the update on the Presidential Gun Task Force:

Well, the gun debate continues to heat up.  VP Joe Biden kicked off his gun violence task force yesterday by meeting with gun violence survivors and safety groups.  Today he sat down with the other side of this controversial topic as he he meets with the NRA.  The task force will make recommendations for gun policy changes at the end of the month.

Note that?  Nice to see the constant slide of the Left in changing their chameleon skins – and the Media’s complicity in helping out.  Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they called themselves “Progressives*.  They so wore out their welcome with that word, they decided to alter ego themselves and merely change their names “Hey, we’re Liberals – we’re NEW and DIFFERENT”.  Yeah, so different, they had to start back using their old name “Progressive”.  Same people, different names, same regressive philosophy.  Truthfulness in advertising? No – language perversion in the cause of collectivism winning out over Liberty & Freedom.

Hardly.  They have one LARGE fundamental problem – if they called themselves, and their policies, exactly what their heartfelt policies would result in, nobody would go for them.  Their real monniker should be “Hiders” – especially amongst the Political Class Progressives who couldn’t be elected dog catcher, in many cases, if their true ends were known with ALL of the ramifications.

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And so it begins……….a thought

Cowering Woman

Remember, Progressives hate women defending themselves.  Why?  Well, Susan just posted another case of “what as bad when Republicans did it, but fine when Democrats do it” – their faux cries of “settled law” (here and here).  Here we see the regressive nature of Democrats in trying to reverse the Natural Right to defend yourself.  No longer will it be lawful to defend your home (“castle”) or yourself where ever you happen to be – even if you do not “consent” to give your Right to the State in this regard.

This case illustrates wonderfully, beautifully is the difference:

Conservatives:

You have the Natural Right (and responsibility) to defend yourself.  The State should not force you to outsource that to itself.  Remember, the lives of you and your family, loved ones, and friends might depend on it.  Gun Control: firm grip, get the correct sight picture, and keep the muzzle pointed at the evil ones.  Carry on.

Progressives:

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Heh! Just remember, NY residents – we have no income or sales taxes here. We still like guns, too

“the MinuteMen would have make “the swishing sound heard ’round the world” with the swords they would have been left with in NY”

Well, at least while we can still beat off the attacks of the transplanted Progressives now here in NH who hate people keeping their own money (that’s cheating Government, dontcha know!) and think guns are alive and evil.

SideNote: once again, I note that Progressives seemingly hardwired to NOT leave other people alone.  Conservatives: I just want to be a Conservative – just leave me be and I will leave you alone as well.  Stop trying to either convert me or absorb me into your Borg unilaterally.  You wanna be a Progressive? Great and good for you – go over there where the other Progressives are; we don’t want you and we don’t like your regressive policies enforced upon us.  Progressives: I want to be a Progressive – and that means where ever I go, you all have to be Progressives with me – and LIKE IT. I just don’t understand why you Conservatives so dislike us so – all we want to do is make life EASY for you by making all the decisions for you (that you used to do for yourself).  What, don’t you like the Utopia I am trying to put you into??

New York Times (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who spent his first two years in office establishing himself as a fiscal conservative, turned left in his third annual address to the Legislature, and sought to reclaim the state’s progressive mantle.  Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had two emotional fulcrums in his sprawling 78-minute address: gun violence and Hurricane Sandy. But most of the speech was devoted to an onslaught of proposals favored by the left wing of his party.

 Yup, I think Cuomo so dismayed the base that, given his half way point, time to go full Progressive.  After all, without them, he isn’t getting back in.  Sure, NY is a Progressive bastion, but hey, he was showing so much “practicality”, he could have almost a moderate Repub.  But, here he goes!

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Shrill Kathy Chronicles: “We Need To Take Away The Guns Now!”

“One man with a gun can control 100 without one.”  —Vladimir Lenin 

Kathy SullivanKathy Sullivan wants gun control, indeed. “We need to take the guns away now!,” She declares. Sullivan says a, “majority of Americans believe that the time has come for action.” But the anecdotes, facts, and statistics belie her assertion.

Facts are curious things. Sullivan sources Mother Jones Magazine attributing an absence of mass killings in Australia to

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An End To Presidential Term Limits?

“How come liberals never admit that they’re liberal? They’ve now come up with a new word called ‘progressive,’ which I thought was an insurance company but apparently it’s a label.” —Marco Rubio 

His Majesty, King of the United States, Barack Obama

Obstinate continuance in a particular course of action despite ongoing and continued opposition encapsulates the very definition of Persistence. Such is the case of  Representative Jose Enrique Serrano, a DemocRAT , representing New York’s 15th South Bronx District.

As Fox News Reports, Serrano proposes the constitutional amendment ending presidential term limits. The resolution dates back 15 years Serrano  bringing it forth with each foray into public life.

I would be remiss if I neglected to mention that Señor Serrano is a member of

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The true meaning of the Second Amendment – and it isn’t for sport or hunting.

Self-defense?  Yes, but not just for personal defense.  As I said here, I often run out of time in commenting on others’ posts.  Here, Kevin Williamson (whom we have interviewed in the past) talks about the real reason that the Second Amendment exists – the very uncomfortable reason, for Progressives and Big Government types that believe Government can only be for good, is that the Second Amendment is to be able to fight Tryanny – from without OR from within:

Brett, like practically every other person seeking to diminish our constitutional rights, either does not understand the purpose of the Second Amendment or refuses to address it, writing, “Gun advocates will be hard-pressed to explain why the average American citizen needs an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine other than for recreational purposes.” The answer to this question is straightforward: The purpose of having citizens armed with paramilitary weapons is to allow them to engage in paramilitary actions. The Second Amendment is not about Bambi and burglars — whatever a well-regulated militia is, it is not a hunting party or a sport-clays club. It is remarkable to me that any educated person — let alone a Harvard Law graduate — believes that the second item on the Bill of Rights is a constitutional guarantee of enjoying a recreational activity.

There is no legitimate exception to the Second Amendment for military-style weapons, because military-style weapons are precisely what the Second Amendment guarantees our right to keep and bear. The purpose of the Second Amendment is to secure our ability to oppose enemies foreign and domestic, a guarantee against disorder and tyranny. Consider the words of Supreme Court justice Joseph Story — who was, it bears noting, appointed to the Court by the guy who wrote the Constitution:

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Progressive Theology: “The State is my Shephard, I shall not want”

(H/T: Instapundit) I have never been able to understand why Progressives go apoplectic every time any one says “we need to cut the size and scope of Big Government” – no one wants anyone to diss their religion (and it certainly seems that Progressives, being amongst the most unchurched in the nation, would cling to … Read more

So, what’s the reaction been to the gun grabbers? Lots!

Once the horror of the tragedy of Sandy Hook set in, the two sets of folks I figured would appear right away, did.  The gun grabber group are certainly not letting a crisis / tragedy go to waste – tomorrow, the Chiefest one will be unveiling the details of her legislature tomorrow (via her past … Read more

So, what’s the reaction been to the gun grabbers? Lots! – Part II

Rassmussen is reporting that MORE guns in schools are the right way to go:

Fifty-four percent (54%) of American adults would feel safer if their child’s school had an armed security guard. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 26% would feel safer if their child attended a school where no adults were allowed to have guns. Another 20% are undecided.

Among parents of school-aged children, support for armed guards is even higher. Sixty-two percent (62%) of such parents would feel safer with an armed security guard at the school, while 22% would feel safer if their child attended a gun-free school.

And of course, we hear from many of the “Education Professionals” that the last thing they want to do is to disturb “the status quo” of the gun free zone (aka – “gun free victims here!!”).  But the actual Employers (aka, the parents, whose tax monies pay their salaries) are telling them otherwise).  Yet, reports are coming back that private offers of gun training for teachers and school staffs are being accepted far beyond expectations – so when you listen to “the professionals”, not all are of the mind to “lock the door and cower in the corner, defenseless.”

After all, it took the Sandy Hill police 20 minutes to arrive at that school – and they had drilled on this.  Yet, the Diane Feinsteins of the world want us defenseless even as the vast majority of us are being judged to be guilty for the acts of a few.

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Fiscal Cliff Deal? A classic case of the Left embiggining Government

Update:

  • Current tax rates would be permanently extended for singles making $400,000 or below, and permanently extended for couples making $450,000 or below
  • For singles, capital gains and dividends of $400,000 or below would be permanently taxed at 15 percent; capital gains and dividends above $400,000 would be permanently taxed at 20 percent
  • For couples, capital gains and dividends of $450,000 or below would be permanently taxed at 15 percent; capital gains and dividends above $450,000 would be taxed at 20 percent
  • The Alternative Minimum Tax would be permanently patched
  • Estates over $5 million would be taxed at 40 percent, and that tax rate would be permanently extended

Nothing on spending cuts (like, I’m surprised??)

*********************************

Or “Running out the clock always results in running out with somebody else’s wallet.”

The Corner is reporting that the AP is writing that a deal has been struck:

  • We shall punish the hardworking and successful:

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Notable Quote – Dr. Larry Arrn

Imprimis – On Progressivism and the despotism it will bring: The experts who run the modern bureaucratic state think they are architects of a perfectly rational society. They think of themselves as scientists, and of the running of government as something more like science—the science of administration—than politics. They think they can coordinate society comprehensively … Read more

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