The START of a Bad Thing

After reading Arms Agreement Gets 2011 Off to a Bad START by Christian Whiton, I've realized that the Obama Administration has a long list of things to do and is focused on checking things off of the list rather than how well they are doing them. Quantity over quality. How juvenile.

T

Government Favoritism Creates Bubbles

I think the biggest reason why government should not vary from its short list of enumerated powers is the inevitable unintended consequences. Keynesian economics is nothing but a bubble machine. Every time the government pushes on the economic system, something ugly pops out somewhere else. If the government gives some group an advantage, this costs some other group. Generally, these consequences cannot be accurately forecast. To me, this is reason enough that the government should not take excursions beyond the boundaries of its enumerated powers.

T

Low Taxes Lead to Growth

A concept that is so obvious to so many, but so opaque to so many others: Apparently low taxes lead to growth.

T

The Horrors of the Great Leap Forward

The New York Times' article Mao's Great Leap to Famine discusses some of the horrors that are becoming more and more known about the Great Leap Forward. The "Great" must only be in size, not quality. As a father, the story of the fate of the little boy who stole a bit of grain particularly affects me. How anyone can justify any goal when events like that occur on the way is beyond me. Excuse me if I see communism, socialism and western liberalism as just degrees of the same thing. Government by good intention is nothing but evil.

T

You Don't Own Your Property

I don't even understand this decision:

http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfisher/2010/12/13/supreme-court-rebuffs-costco-in-copyright-challenge/

This doesn't even seem to be a liberal or conservative thing. Just crazy.

T

Conservatives Need to Stop Apologizing

David Limbaugh suggests that Conservatives need to quit apologizing and suggests that it is Liberals who are most guilty of hyperbole in this article:

http://www.newsmax.com/Limbaugh/conservatives-capitalism-Obama-Christians/2010/12/14/id/379877?s=al&promo_code=B4DF-1

Knowledge is a Waste of Time

Apparently it is nothing more than a "political stunt" for legislators to actually know what is in the bills they are voting on:

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/demint-democrats-bill-start/2010/12/15/id/380053

Interpreting the Constitution

I have a friend who doesn't like getting into arguments about the meaning of the Constitution. He accuses me of not being a Constitutional lawyer. I simply don't believe that the Constitution was written with the intention that one would not only have to be a lawyer to understand it, but a certain type of specialized lawyer. I think a Maker mindset is more appropriate. It really is that simple. And that infuriating if you want to change things.

What's a Name Anyway?

"Politics with Beer or Bourbon" is the best name my friend Jeremiah and I could come up with for our political blog. I helped come up with the name, but I'm not excited about it. Now, I'm not apologizing about it either, but just saying that I don't think the name really matters anyway. The point we are trying to get across in the name is that we're going to state some opinions here, which we obviously believe, but when discussing politics, one should sit back and make any responses measured. Have a beer or sip a bourbon. Heck, have milk and cookies. Anything to give time to think before giving a response. Of course, urgency is required if thugs are marching through your town killing people or shipping them off to gulags, but fortunately we haven't degenerated to that in the USA.

We hope you enjoy our posts. We'd love to get comments if you agree with us or even if you disagree with us. Either way, sit back, sip your favorite adult or not so adult beverage, and think clearly before you chime in. Consider what we say and why you feel the way you do about it. If we're wrong, let us know why in Constitutional terms.