Steven Paul Jobs 1955 - 2011
We have lost a true American hero. Steve Jobs has passed away quietly in his sleep. He combined art with technology and gave the world a computer its users love. Now that is an accomplishment! Steve Jobs was also a rarity in that he was a corporate CEO who was universally admired by all.
Well done, Mr. Jobs.
When Sen. Dick Durbin stood up in the Senate chamber and told the American public not to do business with a bank he didn’t like, he threatened the free market system. When the President of the United States confirmed and added to the senator’s condemnation, the free market system ceased to exist.
Free is free. Half free is not free. What we have is coercive capitalism, a form of fascism where private ownership of the means of production of goods and services is allowed, but where management is not free to follow the dictates of the market. This, along with crony capitalism has been described by some as the new face of socialism in America.
John Hinderaker at Power Line has written an excellent piece that begins “Nice Bank You Have Here…, a shame if anything should happen to it… The Democrats took gangster government to a new level today…” It’s an excellent post and falls into the category of required reading. Don’t miss it.
Socialist leaders have long realized the challenge of establishing the Marxist form of socialism in a democracy like the United States is an insurmountable one. A strong and prosperous middle class would never willingly accept a government that would appropriate ownership of private enterprise. The alternatives are to employ force with a violent revolution (a very bad choice) or to allow private ownership but control it.
Control comes in many forms. Durbin-Obama coercion is just one of them. Other means of control include appointing czars to oversee various industries, misuse of executive orders, outright flaunting of established law and the passing of bills that are vague, thereby leaving the specifics to be set by the whims of the bureaucracy as dictated from above. Go along get along becomes a near necessity. Those who do more than go along, get along even better. From Solyndra to GE, this is the new face of socialism in America.
Posted in News, Opinion, Political polemics, Regulation, Videos
Tagged Bank of America, czars, debit cards, Durbin, free markets, GE, General Electric, new socialism, Obama, regulation, Sanders, Solyndra
Seventeen times in his post Labor Day speech the President said “Pass this jobs bill now” or words to that effect. Problem one – there was no jobs bill. There was just a speech.
A bill was presented a week later. It was introduced in the Republican controlled House by a Republican, Rep. John B. Larson (R CT). The bill was introduced in the Democratic controlled Senate by Sen. Harry Reid (D NV). There are 193 Democrats in the House. Not a single one has stepped forward to add his name as a co-sponsor of the bill. There are 51 Democrats in the Senate. Not a single one has stepped forward to add his name as a co-sponsor of the bill. Barack Obama has lost the support of his party.
Wall Street Days of Rage has mushroomed into Occupy Wall Street. Today it’s not enough just to demonstrate, you must also give the event a name. And don’t forget to bring the fun stuff. After all, it’s more about the Coors than it is about the Cause.
One wonders how many of the Occupy Wall Street crowd took the day off from work to occupy the bridge. Work? Did I just hear someone laugh? How much would you bet on the chance that their unemployment rate is a hefty multiple of the rate for Tea Party demonstrators? Work is about contribution; the motto here is distribution not contribution. And what was the point of shutting down the Brooklyn Bridge? One demonstrator said she thought they were welcomed by the police.
What brought the Wall Streeters out? And why now? Santelli’s Rant inspired the Tea Party. It’s Obama’s Rant that inspired the Wall Street attack. Santelli’s outburst was serendipitous, a one time event. Obama’s rants, on the other hand, are well planned out and repeated again and again in prepared speeches.
Saul Alinsky’s prime rule for radicals is strategy number thirteen, “Pick a target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it”. The President chose a perennial favorite for a target, Wall Street. He freezes it by staying on point, hammering away, hammering away. He personalizes it with “fat cat” and “corporate jet” remarks and polarizes it with a constant stream of agitation from the presidential bully pulpit. It’s one thing he does very well.
As an agitator, the man is a genius. As a president, he is a disgrace.
Posted in News, Political polemics
Tagged Alinsky, Days of Rage, demonstrators, Occupy Wall St, Rules for Radicals, Wall Street
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