Sunday Fun

Last week's answer: The French and Indian War.

How did a war that happened in 1754 lead to our Revolutionary War in 1775?

Money.

When the French and Indian War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, King George in England was hugely in debt. Not only had this war been fought on North American soil, it had been fought in Europe -- where it war known as the Seven Years War. King George had spent tons of money--and without much result, except for gaining Canada from the French--but that was so far away from England, and was so sparsely settled.

So, King George and the British Parliament felt they had defended the colonists, with success, from the threat of the the French. They also felt that the American colonists hadn't contributed very much, either militarily or financially. And the people of England were on the verge of riot because of their high taxes.

So, the answer? Tax the colonies.

And a few other unpopular changes. The American colonists couldn't move westward--it was way too expensive to fight the American native Indians. Put more British soldiers on American soil--those Americans couldn't fight very well (or at least England thought). Tax sugar, cloth, wine, certains foods and molasses were taxed. Exports from the colonies were taxed. America's currency system of paper money was abolished--only 'hard' currency could be used. And the Stamp Act taxed legal documents and newspapers. On top of all this, the tax collectors were installed in America (they had previously done their work from London) and the British Navy was sent to make all these taxes got collected properly.

The result of all this? Devastation of America's economy.

So that's how the French and Indian War could be said to result in the Revolutionary War.

Next question: What does the above picture depict? Hint: It's in Boston!

A Very Poor Response to Terrorist Threats

Well, finally.
Someone admitted that it was the decision of the Justice Department to end the FBI interrogation of the underwear bomber on Christmas Day, to give him Miranda rights, and to place him in the US legal system--with his own lawyer. Paid for of course by you, the American taxpayer.
And not surprisingly, when the terrorist was given rights reserved for US citizens--rights not to be given to terrorist enemy combatants--he then of course stopped talking. Even though he had admitted that other terrorists were heading our way.
And no one--not Defense, Homeland Security, the Directors of National Intelligence or National Counterterrorism--was invited to be part of this decision.
President Obama had specifically set up a system to interrogate suspected terrorists. It wasn't invoked.
Listen to Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine): "President Obama recently used the phrase that ‘we are at war’ with terrorists. But unfortunately his rhetoric does not match the actions of his administration. This charade must stop. Foreign terrorists are enemy combatants and they must be treated as such.....The safety of the American people depends on it."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/weekly-remarks-why-stop-interrogating-terrorists.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+topoftheticket+%28Top+of+the+Ticket%29

A Grain of Salt

Yesterday, the Commerce Department estimated that fourth quarter GDP went up a wonderful 5.7%---the biggest increase in six years.

But let's take this with a grain of salt.

Third quarter GDP estimates initially were of an increase of 3.5%. Subsequently, this estimate was revised twice, in a downward direction, ending in a very modest 2.2% increase. Which was attributed to government intervention in the market place because of car and housing tax rebates.

These fourth quarter estimates are also expected to be revised to lower levels of growth, because the supporting data just isn't there.

Personal buying in fact decreased. Interestingly, auto sales fared worst of all and actually worked to decrease the GDP. Which is what happens when you mess with the free market.

Good news is that private investing increased and that exports were actually a tiny bit on the positive side instead of on the negative side where they've been.

http://www.marklevinshow.com/goout.asp?u=http://business.theatlantic.com/2010/01/us_gdp_grew_by_57_in_the_4th_quarter.php

Also to note is that even taking into account the 5.7% increase (which may, of course, turn out to be too high) the overall GDP for the year is a negative 2.4%. As in a decrease--for the whole year.

http://www.marklevinshow.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=D9DHELNG0&show_article=1

We shall have to wait and see.

OK, Let's Talk About Jobs....

...Or lack thereof.
First, one must understand that the government--federal or state--cannot create jobs that add to our economy. Government "jobs" just keep our taxes within the government. That money isn't even spent on stuff that government should do--like build highways and protect us from evildoers (of all sorts, including terrorists). Government cannot create jobs in the private sector. That's the definition of "private sector".
So all that stimulus money that went to prop up bankrupt state government is just that--letting bloated government entities continue paying people whose jobs are not adding to the country's economic welfare.
You could indeed argue that (most) of those government jobs are hurting our economy. Big government is forever the enemy of a robust and healthy private sector.
So President Obama's declaration that the "true engine of job creation in this country will always be America's businesses” is quite true--a fact that makes his demand for a jobs bill utterly astounding. What do you believe, Mr. Obama?
And his continued contention that the stimulus bill created 2 million jobs is pure fabrication. So much so that the White House doesn't even use the moniker "jobs created and saved" anymore. So much of the stimulus money has just disappeared down rat holes --and to non-existent congressional districts and zipcodes. Mr. President, we've lost 3.4 million jobs--and 2.7 million jobs since the stimulus bill was passed.
And he wants another stimulus bill, plus a jobs bill?
Mr. President, we can't afford it, in more ways than one.

Promises, promises...

Last night President Obama promised that he cut taxes for 95% of American families.

Which is, patently, a lie.

Because, for most of us, taxes are going up. This year.

Which is NOT a cut in taxes--however you parse it. Letting taxes increase is--well--an INCREASE!

And for 40% of Americans that do not pay taxes--of course they don't have a change iin taxes! Zero is zero.

And today EVERY single Democrat in the Senate voted to raise Congress' debt limit to 14.3 trillion dollars.

That's $45,000 dollars for every man, woman and child in the United States.

And this is after just raising the debt limit in December.

Where will this money come from?

Well, there's only place a government can get money.

It's spelled --T--A--X--E--S--

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/28/us/politics/politics-us-usa-congress-debt.html?_r=1

I Won't Bother to Watch Tonight's SOTU address, but Here's Something to Watch Saturday!

I don't expect much from President Obama's speech tonight except "I" and "It was their fault", whomever "they"--Bush, Congress, we the people--might be.

But on Saturday, there's something worthwhile watching!

Hillsdale College is sponsoring a Constitution Town Hall this Saturday. You can sign up for it and watch it live over the internet, or at your convenience sometime in the future.

Here's your chance to learn about the law of our land, the Constitution, and what it really says and means.

Go to http://www.hillsdale.edu/KirbyCenter/programs/townhall/default.asp and register!

Oops, Sorry, We're Not Spending Money to Look Into the Deficit

Mr. Obama, it's really simple.

There's a deficit because Congress is spending too much money.

We don't need a special commission to figure this out, as President Obama proposed.

We elect a congress whose job is to do this. Thank you, Senators, for rejecting this absurb idea!

And while we're at it, the economy needs more than a few measly dollars cut from the budget to solve the deficit spending woes, as Mr. Obama is slated to propose in his State of the Union Address.

Please don't give us a token decrease in spending. A few percent won't do the job. Cut spending, cut taxes, cut government--THAT is what will jump-start our economy. And will increase the tax revenues overall--as Americans go back to work and start spending again.