Poll numbers below 50 pecent in the new Rasmussen poll
Obamacare tanking
India and China laughing at his lectureas on climate change
Europe yawning
Cap and Trade in trouble
Police "stupidity.
I believe the term, gentlemen, is Schadenfreude
Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not YET sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favour; a long habit of not thinking a thing WRONG, gives it a superficial appearance of being RIGHT, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. Thomas Paine, writing from Philadelphia, February 14, 1776
Thomas Paine
Author of the best seller Common Sense (1776)
About this blog
This blog contains the common sense thoughts of three concerned Americans: Dave, Bill, and Brian. Others are welcome to post their comments.
About the bloggers
- Dave
- Carlisle, PA
- My best friend is my wife, Barbara. Though I am concerned about my country, I am at peace about our future.
Rhetorical Gold
Watch and Consider
Blog Archive
Quotes we must never forget!
"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other." John Adams
“The most effectual means of preventing the perversion of power into tyranny are to illuminate the minds of the people.” Thomas Jefferson
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents...Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." James Madison
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." Alexis de Tocqueville
"I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity. [To approve this measure] would be contrary to the letter and spirit of the Constitution and subversive to the whole theory upon which the Union of these States is founded." Frankin Pierce
"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." Abraham Lincoln
"All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such a manner as they may think expedient. This means that the citizen who thinks he sees that the nation’s political clothes are worn out, and yet holds his peace and does not agitate for a new suit, is disloyal; he is a traitor." Mark Twain
"You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation?" Ronald W. Reagan
"We have four boxes from which we can defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box." Larry McDonald
“That government is best which governs least” Henry David Thoreau
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." Norman Thomas, Socialist Party of America
"Socialism was the tragic failure of the twentieth century. Born of a commitment to remedy the economic and moral defects of capitalism, it has far surpassed capitalism in both economic malfunction and moral cruelty." Robert Heilbroner, committed socialist (for most of his life)
"To sit home, read one’s favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men doing." Theodore Roosevelt
"A word to the wise ain’t necessary--it’s the stupid ones that need advice." Bill Cosby
TJ's insight on the two universal parties
Men by there constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: (1) Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. (2) Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depository of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist; and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves.
Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee (August 10, 1824)
"Wherever there are men, there will be parties; and wherever there are free men they will make themselves heard. Those of firm health and spirits are unwilling to cede more of their liberty than is necessary to preserve order; those of feeble constitutions will wish to see one strong arm able to protect them from the many. These are the Whigs (Conservative Constitutionalists) and Tories (Liberal Democrats) of nature."
Thomas Jefferson: Misc. Notes, 1801? FE 8:1
"Both of our political parties, at least the honest portion of them, agree conscientiously in the same object: the public good; but they differ essentially in what they deem the means of promoting that good. One side believes it best done by one composition of the governing powers, the other by a different one. One fears most the ignorance of the people; the other the selfishness of rulers independent of them. Which is right, time and experience will prove. We think that one side of this experiment has been long enough tried and proved not to promote the good of the many, and that the other has not been fairly and sufficiently tried. Our opponents think the reverse. With whichever opinion the body of the nation concurs, that must prevail."
Thomas Jefferson to Abigail Adams, 1804. ME 11:52
"Men have differed in opinion and been divided into parties by these opinions from the first origin of societies, and in all governments where they have been permitted freely to think and to speak. The same political parties which now agitate the U.S. have existed through all time. Whether the power of the people or that of the [aristocracy] should prevail were questions which kept the states of Greece and Rome in eternal convulsions, as they now schismatize every people whose minds and mouths are not shut up by the gag of a despot. And in fact the terms of Whig and Tory belong to natural as well as to civil history. They denote the temper and constitution of mind of different individuals."
Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1813. ME 13:279
"The division into Whig and Tory is founded in the nature of man; the weakly and nerveless, the rich and the corrupt, seeing more safety and accessibility in a strong executive; the healthy, firm, and virtuous, feeling confidence in their physical and moral resources, and willing to part with only so much power as is necessary for their good government; and, therefore, to retain the rest in the hands of the many, the division will substantially be into Whig and Tory."
Thomas Jefferson to Joel Barlow, 1802. ME 10:310
"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee (August 10, 1824)
"Wherever there are men, there will be parties; and wherever there are free men they will make themselves heard. Those of firm health and spirits are unwilling to cede more of their liberty than is necessary to preserve order; those of feeble constitutions will wish to see one strong arm able to protect them from the many. These are the Whigs (Conservative Constitutionalists) and Tories (Liberal Democrats) of nature."
Thomas Jefferson: Misc. Notes, 1801? FE 8:1
"Both of our political parties, at least the honest portion of them, agree conscientiously in the same object: the public good; but they differ essentially in what they deem the means of promoting that good. One side believes it best done by one composition of the governing powers, the other by a different one. One fears most the ignorance of the people; the other the selfishness of rulers independent of them. Which is right, time and experience will prove. We think that one side of this experiment has been long enough tried and proved not to promote the good of the many, and that the other has not been fairly and sufficiently tried. Our opponents think the reverse. With whichever opinion the body of the nation concurs, that must prevail."
Thomas Jefferson to Abigail Adams, 1804. ME 11:52
"Men have differed in opinion and been divided into parties by these opinions from the first origin of societies, and in all governments where they have been permitted freely to think and to speak. The same political parties which now agitate the U.S. have existed through all time. Whether the power of the people or that of the [aristocracy] should prevail were questions which kept the states of Greece and Rome in eternal convulsions, as they now schismatize every people whose minds and mouths are not shut up by the gag of a despot. And in fact the terms of Whig and Tory belong to natural as well as to civil history. They denote the temper and constitution of mind of different individuals."
Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1813. ME 13:279
"The division into Whig and Tory is founded in the nature of man; the weakly and nerveless, the rich and the corrupt, seeing more safety and accessibility in a strong executive; the healthy, firm, and virtuous, feeling confidence in their physical and moral resources, and willing to part with only so much power as is necessary for their good government; and, therefore, to retain the rest in the hands of the many, the division will substantially be into Whig and Tory."
Thomas Jefferson to Joel Barlow, 1802. ME 10:310
"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
9 comments:
Bill, as you know, I'm the eternal pessimist, at least as to things of this world. However, this past week gives us some hope. I believe it is you who have been predicting that these radical leftists would overreach. Perhaps that is what we are seeing. I believe that talk radio, cable tv and the Internet are powerful media; people certainly aren't learning the details of the Obamanable health care plan from the "state-run" media. These communists have certainly shown their true colors in the Obamanable Care Plan and cap and tax. Like all communists, though, they depend on lies and deception. Perhaps in the age of information and instant communications, it's harder to pull that off than it was for the Bolsheviks.
Interesting poll on the health care question. From Rasmussen url I see this; Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat in favor of the reform effort while 53% are at least somewhat opposed. What the heck is somewhat? Why can't they ask a straigh forward question? Because they won't get the answer conservatives are looking for. i.e. Rasumussen is always biased towards the right. That's why Fox is the only major news outlet to consistently quote Rasmussen.
From Gallup where they just ask how would you advise your congressmen to vote, it is 71% for reform.
TH
Well, the leftists have the House, the Senate and the White House. Why don't they just go ahead and pass it, then?
Maybe they want to do it right? Maybe they don't want to rush in to something like they did with Iraq? Maybe some of those dems are fiscally respsonsible? Maybe this country is controlled by the banks, oil, and big pharma? Some dems are free thinkers and don't always follow their leader, unlike most republicans? Multitude of reasons....pick one. :)
PS - contrary to popular right wing beliefs, not all democrats are leftists.
I'll pick another. The correct answer: some of the Dems are balking because their constituents are raising hell with them. Their constituents don't want it, and these people have to run for reelection next year. That's their first and last concern, always.
Tom, you continue to refuse to respond to my points about the REASONS health insurance is so costly. So, what about it? If you think there's a "free" market in health insurance, you're mistaken. What do you think is going to happen to the price when the GOVERNMENT passes a LAW requiring insurance companies to cover all mental health matters, all chiropractic, and to accept all comers, regardless of their health history? Do you understand the function of insurance? Our "health insurance" concept has been distorted. Insurance functions to SHIFT RISK. I.e., you pay a premium to the company, and in return, IT TAKES ON SOME OF YOUR RISK. That's a mighty fine bargain, if you ask me. The problem is that our "health insurance" has become INDEMNITY--in other words, I incur an expense, you (company) pay it. How do you make a profit with such an insane arrangement? They have to jack up the rates. The point is that "insurance" is supposed to protect you from a significant, bad event: a car crash, a house fire, the sinking of a ship. It is NOT intended to cover your oil changes (think trip to the doctor for a physical or a cold), your tire rotations, your inspections, or even replacing an exhaust system that you know is going to wear out eventually.
So what do you say to all this? Do you think just because something is "expensive," it should be free? Do you have a car? A house? An HDTV? Who bought those for you? Are they more important than your health?
Brian,
Absolutely, reelection is number one for all politicians over the interests of its citizens. My latest health care comment is on the "This does not make sense" post.
There's a bit of misdirection at work here, which is not uncommon in the notoriously dishonest polling game. Poll results based on a question that asks about "reforming" the health care system are meaningless.
Of course the health care system needs to be reformed! Anyone who's ever had any interaction with the system in its current form knows that.
So if you ask me: Do I think the system needs to be reformed, I answer yes! But if you then ask me, do you think the government should effectively take over the nation's health care system, the answer, of course, would be not only no but hell no.
"Reform" doesn't mean dismantling the system and rebuilding it from the ground up with a bunch of government czars making decisions about your health care. For all its problems, the current system still allows me to pretty much call the shots about my health care. And the current system, in my experience, is pretty darned responsive.
Look, the last thing in the world I'm going to do is defend without reservation the practices of some insurance companies. Again, any of us who have insurance know what a hassle it can be to get a claim honored. Believe me, thnough, when the government is in charge, there won't be anyone to complain to.
For my money (literally), the nation's health care system is far better off in private hands than in public hands; it's the profit motive that keeps them honest and grounded in reality. If private companies cheat too many people too often, they simply don't stay in business. On the other hand, when government takes over the system, there will be no restraints whatsoever on whatever practices they deem appropriate. So be careful what you wish for.
FYI...the Gallup question did reference the legislation currently before Congress. I am glad to see someone else has spats with insurance companies and I still think insurance companies will survive and get their profits regardless.
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