“Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.” Ronald Reagan [Reader Post]

If the government does not tax you on something, is it giving you a subsidy? Many politicians and the general public often answers yes. The premise underlying this Marxist view is that government owns all wealth and property, and only through its benevolence may you be allowed to use some of it. Liberal politicians often imply that a tax break is the same as a subsidy. However, a tax break is an instance of government taking no action, when the government keeps its hands off your property. A subsidy, by contrast, occurs when the government actively distributes tax money. Subsidization is a positive and destructive action taken by government.

Obama code switches [Reader Post]

Harry Reid once observed Barack Obama’s ability to shift between common English and what Reid called “Negro dialect.”

“He [Reid] was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama — a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ ” Halperin and Heilemann say.

Reid was right, but he was dunned into apologizing for it.

The Chris Christie Candidacy?

Is he running or isn’t he? A NY Post article today suggests he may be leaning towards running:

After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run — and could make his decision next week, The Post has learned.

The announcement may come as soon as Monday, said sources familiar with Christie’s thinking.

Palin or Cain and a government Americans deserve [Reader Post]

In a free society citizens deserve the government they vote for. As much as I might despise the everything the liberals stand for and are doing to this country, the truth of the matter is that they did not seize power in some coup d’état… except for maybe Stuart Smalley. Nor did they come to power legally and then change the rules once they got there as Hitler did. No, they were by and large voted into power promising to do exactly what they have done. The fact that most of America is unhappy with the way things are going says more about Americans in general than it does about the politicians themselves.

Life Isn’t About Waiting For A Storm To Pass; It’s About Learning To Dance In The Rain.

During the Renaissance and up until the late 19th Century, the Straivarius violin was the standard of the industry. A model by which all others were judged. The Stradivarius and fine sailing ships were built by employing Pythagorean mathematics, a keen knowledge of various woods, and a sense of artistic proportion. The result was an aesthetic marvel that would be admired by generations

Lars used the same Pythagorean mathematics, his love of exotic wood, and an artist’s sense of form and proportion to build his double ended ketch over thirty years ago. Wood makes a sail boat seem alive. The steel cable stays that brace the masts play their own music in different winds and the wooden vessel comes alive and sings beautiful songs on the high seas, but you needed to speak the language of sailing to understand the music of the songs of the sea.

Economics for Politicians Chapter Six: – You are Greedy – This is a Bad Thing [Reader Post]

It was either after the 2006 or 2008 elections (I can’t recall which) that House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed her incoming Freshman class and advised them something to the effect of, “You’re number one priority is to get re-elected.” Her reason for this makes sense from a beltway perspective – in order to push grand changes your party needs to gain and hold power. Obamacare and how it was passed is a perfect example of this. Government takeover of the health care industry has been a holy grail for leftists for some time (Apparently the rest of us are too unenlightened to want to emulate systems that will bring 18 month standard waiting periods for surgery or turning family doctors into an endangered species ), and the majorities that the 2008 election provided were the perfect opportunity.