cjrian's Blog

Unintended Consequences

Everyone knows, or should know, that if you kick a mangy cur it may turn and bite back.

Quite often, altruism foments unforeseen changes.

Raise taxes to pay for more social programs.
- Oops, few additional monies come into the Treasury,
but the programs remain.

Remove the stigma of unwed pregnancy,
take care of the innocent babes.
- Oops, society supports even more children.

In order to save some abused spouses (usually female),
let's not enforce existing laws against abusers, instead,
ease divorce requirements to include "no fault - irreconcilable differences".
- Oops, the divorce rate triples, affecting every family in the country.

Treat divorced parents (usually male) as deep purses to empty
And fail to respect their rights as parents.
- Oops, deadbeat parents are on the run.

Raise the minimum wage so wage earners can support a family.
- Oops, entry level jobs disappear and the cost of goods goes up.

Allow "Social Promotion" in the schools, after all,
we don't want any child to feel like a failure.
- Oops, high school graduates leave, unable to read their own diploma.

Push lenders to relax requirements.
- Oops, lenders quit lending, even to the qualified.

Use racial criteria for matching foster children with adoptive parents.
- Oops, thousands of kids of race A remain in foster care while,
thousands of parents of race B wait for eligible children

And on, and on, and on the list goes.
All well intended, but enacted on massive scale,
with little forethought for potentially negative repercussions.
And with vast impediments to turning the tide of expectations back.
No small scale trials
No graduated implementation
Spin programs that have been tried elsewhere -
- This way works better
- We've eliminated the bugs
- The system is different
- Our society is different
Grand social experiments involving millions of individuals and families
Across disparate social groupings.

And all too often, society as a whole - loses.

More of these grand experiments are aimed our way.

In the name of "CHANGE"

Dismantle the military
- and national defense becomes inadequate
Reinterpret or rewrite the Constitution
- and forfeit accepted Rights
Bailout corporate failure
- and our "investment" may still fail
Prop up the financially illiterate
- and the illiterate will learn nothing
Massive "Make-work" projects
- and with little or no "payback"
Gay marriage
- and dismantle tried and true standards
Gay adoption
- and what effect will it have on the kids, 30 years from now?
Further denigrate religion and it's role
- humanist standards are enough
Release Gitmo detainees
- and the animals will still war with us
Climate change hysteria
- an expensive, unproven, disputed theory

Physics 101, Econ 101, Social Science 101, Every 101 has this in common
- For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

And the kicked cur bites back.

************************************************

Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy's)was interviewed a couple years before his death. Part of the interview went somewhat like this -

Q: To what do you attribute your success?
A: Good decisions.
Q: How did you learn to make good decisions?
A: Bad decisions.

It's frustrating!

All the ignorant who looked to innuendo, misinformation, and disinformation to form their opinions. They wallow in the BS and swear it's the god-awful truth. Belief in a “fact” regardless of its veracity or mendacity is validation enough. The majority of people seem to take pride in their ignorance and get feisty when actual data is presented.

Most individuals (even college educated) cannot pass a basic Civics quiz. When it's been suggested that all voters should be tested and get a RECOMMENDATION regarding their Civics preparedness prior to casting their ballot the response has been - DISENFRACHIZEMENT. Even though all valid voters would still be able to cast ballots, regardless of their score. Of course, the same people would object if elementary students were to select THEIR supervisor!

Less than 50% of Americans can name the three branches of government given multiple choices! It CAN'T get any more basic than that!

http://townhall.com/Columnists/WalterEWilliams/2008/12/
03/ignorance_reigns_supreme


71% of Americans fail the quiz. A college education often results in REGRESSION of ones score. Elected officials scored lower than the general public - 44%. Utterly, utterly shameful! Disclaimer - I scored 96.7% - I missed one. I assume this disqualifies me for elective office.

Take the quiz, it's anonymous and "simple" - 33 questions, all multiple choice.
Over 14,000 students, teachers and others at 50 schools have taken a 60 question version of the same quiz.
Remember, though, the average score for college PROFESSORS is 55%. A failing score! Should you take the quiz and score low count it as a kick in the seat - an impetus to educate yourself.

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.asp
x


Additional info regarding the test and results -

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/

The point is - SHOULDN'T we educate ourselves and encourage others to do the same PRIOR to the NEXT election (2010).

The LAST thing we need is to form some new Party to replace the GOP. There is no suitable replacement. The Party of the Right DOES, however, need to re-organize, re-entrench, re-invigorate, and re-commit itself.

Thoughts on how to do this -

1) Return to the basics. The GOP was known historically as the deliberative, fiscally prudent Party. Between 2003 and 2006 Repubs tried to outDem the Dems by throwing wads of cash at every trivial idea to come across their desks. This pimping of the public trust must NEVER be repeated!

2) Rebut falsehoods and innuendoes that have been bandied about. Confront them head on. Disprove fallacious allegations. (ex. - the Palin/Africa hoax, Gibson's "Bush Doctrine", "failed policies", "unjustified war").

3) Hold faulty Dem practices up for world examination. Dems actually encouraged lax lending standards, punished financial prudence, and obstructed responsible regulation resulting in the current fiscal meltdown, actually injuring most the very people these policies were intended to help.

4) Confront media bias and expose it for what it is. Take publishers, editors, reporters, etc. to task for slanted reporting when it happens. Don't just take it lying down, counting on the electorate to sift through the bias. Use their own tools such as the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism to expose the true colors of those with an agenda.

5) Effectively counter problematic registration, voting issues and "community organizations". Voter ID laws may disenfranchize an extremely small minority of legitimate voters; voter fraud, ballot stuffing, and discerning voter "intention" disenfranchizes the voting public as a whole. Advertize that fact. No system may ever be perfect. Irregularities introduce MORE imperfection into the system. One shows valid proof of citizenship (such as ID) and votes or not! Insist on it!

6) Use the "new" media effectively. Blogs, pod-casts, email, chat rooms, rss feeds, whatever else comes down the pike - ALL can be much more utilitarian in the next round than they were during this past election cycle.

7) Reject Federal Election Funds. With all due respects to Msgrs. McCain and Feingold, this was nice theory that turned out to be an abject failure in practice.

8) Demand timely, full disclosure. Effectively challenge problematic and potentially illegal campaign funding and endorsements as they happen and publicly DEMAND remedy.

9) Resurrect history.
a)Repubs ended slavery and enforced Brown v Board (1954). Dems, in the past, were the Party of Jim Crow and the Klan.
b)Over 90% of all workers are employed in the small business sector. Repubs encourage small business creation. Dems tend to stifle job-creating small business owners through overregulation and overtaxation.
c)Repubs are solid and steady. Dems tend toward the fickle and flighty.

10) Solid and steady does NOT mean stodgy. When a concept does not work as advertised let there be a willingness to adapt more effective methods. Throwing more money, time, and/or effort at lousy concepts does not improve them.

11) Push innovation. Listen and learn. Allow people to adapt for their own betterment. One size does NOT fit all (ex - National Health, lack of school choice, expensive mass transit).

12) Expose duplicity. The Other Party is very good in the duality arena. One standard for themselves, another enforced on the proletariat. Why else do 38.7% of Chicago public school teachers send their own offspring to be private educated?

13) Help Americans realize that self-determination and self-reliance are GOOD attributes to have and that Government should not impinge upon these. Dependency breeds additional dependency. Government SHOULD step in when and ONLY when absolutely necessary.

14) Let it be known when Government is the best and/or only tool for a task. National Defence cannot be accomplished with half an Army. Space exploration has returned far more value than it has cost. At times, blood will be shed or lives lost in a national pursuit and those putting their lives on the line should be honored; but do not pity them, for they are, or should be, fully aware of the risks they've accepted. By the same token, let it also be known when Government will only exacerbate a poor situation. "I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help" is one of the most feared statements in the world.

15) Accent the positive aspects of the Party. Repubs accept and respect all citizens. Minorities are not mere figureheads nor social groupings to be pandered to.

16) Promote capable, qualified women, latinos, blacks, and other minorities when feasible to positions of influence and visibility. Encouragment of the development of the same will show the populace that Repubs don't use others gratuitously, they talk the talk, walk the walk.

17) Respect, but de-emphasise religion in politics. Pandering to any one sect (almost) automatically alienates some other. It's a no-win proposition. Right is right and will win discerning converts of all persuasions. Don't let any one sect exert undue influence. Encourage all toward tolerance for the common good. Extremist belief systems, including atheism, may never be sated. DEMAND that extremists not impinge their radical beliefs on others, based on the First Amendment. If some are miffed, so what? Dissatisfaction is their game. Don't pander to thse who may or will never be satisfied. America, and its laws and values, are NOT based on Judeo-Christian values. They ARE based on Western European tenets, which, in turn, are based on a combination of Judeo-Christian values, humanistic values, and (un)common sense.

18) Recruitment and Education of the uncommitted, undecided and wary must be a PRIORITY. Promote the fact that Repubs are intelligent, independent, distinct, discerning individuals and not sheep being led by inane platitudes and feel-good, me-first policies. We DON't serve Kool-aid in any form!

19)Discredit the pseudo-intellectualism of the Left while encouraging true intellectuals. William Jennings Bryant(D) could eat almost any of todays media for lunch. Harry Truman(D), WITHOUT a college degree, was capable of arguing before the Supreme Court. An MA from an Ivy League school may imply an ability to be a student. It does not confer intelligence. Alphabet soup behind ones name is still just soup. Pseudo-intellectuals since the 1930's have extolled the virtues of Soviet style Socialism while entirely ignoring it's liabilities.

20)Put stock in the fact that age and experience (usually) convey wisdom. Common and uncommon sense are earned, not automatically doled out at birth. Youth has not yet made nor learned from the mistakes necessary to impart wisdom. Emphasize and support organizations at the junior and senior levels of college. Don't be condescending toward high school students, but realize that they are young and foolish and teach them that age and experience will impart necessary skill sets and that it will be an honor to fully accept them later on. From an interview with Dave Thomas (Wendy's founder) - Interviewer: "How did you become so successful?" DT: "By making good decisions." Interviewer: "How did you learn to make such good decisions?" DT: "By making bad decisions."

21) Extoll the virtues of the Free Market System. The rest of the world is, ever so slowly, coming around to this realization, not because it's "fair", but because it works. Europe is lowering tax and import/export barriers; Japan, China, and S. Korea have met resounding success when they have applied these tenets. N. Korea and other "closed" societies are and have been abysmal failures.

22) Encourage respect for Country and Flag. As citizens we should encourage all students in all schools to Pledge to the Flag daily and as is. This does NOT imply unquestioning obeyance to authority or adherence to any particular Diety. Rather, this is simply an act of communion with the Country. Respecting all our differences, we are one.


"Know thyself" - the Oracle at Delphi

"Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it." - Hardy D. Jackson

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." - Alexander Hamilton

Does This Frighten You?

Maybe my mind is on overdrive, but, combined with current events -

Suppose, for a moment, that Obama is elected (polls currently show him leading).

The Senate, already controlled the Dems, may obtain a filibuster-proof majority (60 votes).

The House is currently controlled by the Dems who set debate rules and, therefore, can end non-conforming debate.

We can expect 2 to 4 Supreme Court Justices to be replaced by Dems without any additional opposition input over the next 4 to 8 years, who may begin interpreting the Constitution with a World View, overturning precedent so as to take into account the sensibilities of Libya, France, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Panama, Fatah, etc.

ALL THREE branches of government overwhelmingly controlled by Dems!

Checks and balances become irrelevant.

Expect redistricting to massively favor Dems. Voter fraud becomes an extra insurance policy.

Dems have currently gone beyond being Leftist and are now firmly entrenched in Socialist territory.

You don't think Dems are Socialist?
Hillary Health Care included jail time for free marketers.
Nancy Pelosi's business priorities????
Barney Frank's fiscal non-priorities (Rep. Frank is the primary culprit who has quashed all attempts to reasonably regulate mortgage lenders).
The current quasi-nationalization of the Banking industry.
The desired nationalization of Energy.

I can see the Congressional committees now -

Transportation - Patty Murray, Jim Oberstar
Energy - Barbara Boxer, Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi
Environmental - Al Gore, Bob Dole
Equal pay (regardless of any and all other factors) - Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, Lois Capps
Gun Control - Patrick Kennedy, Frank Lautenberg, John Lott (until disarmament)
Armed Services - Carl Levin, Ted Kennedy (until disarmament)
Intelligence - Harry Reid, Dianne Feinstein
Finance - John Kerry, Max Baucus
Banking - Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd
Ways and Means - Charlie Rangel, Sander Levin
Rules - Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Alcee Hastings
Judiciary - Chuck Shumer, Patrick Leahy
Oversight - Henry Waxman, Dennis Kucinich
Property rights - Have already become a suggestion in Dem controlled cities. Don't expect better from the Feds.

Obamas high tax rates.
Higher tax rates for everyone. After all, using Obamas reasoning in Debate 3, we can afford it.
Obama says higher taxes will only affect the "rich" and Dems will define "rich".
If you don't think tax rates can get to astronomical levels remember that Vermont currently has a top income tax rate of 9.5%. Or California's 9.3%.
From 1932 until 1981 the top federal tax bracket ranged from 63% to 94% ('44 - '45).
Even the MINIMUM tax bracket has, since 1941, ranged from 10% to 23%.
There have been times in U.S. history where total state and federal taxes owed by those in the highest brackets have exceeded 100% of income.
Marginal tax rates are often over 50% for those in the middle income brackets.
Unsurprisingly, the highest tax rates have been enacted while Dems were in power.

The Dems are also planning on sky high Estate Taxes. You can't take it with you!
(I knew a man who died without a will nor heirs. The state (MI) buried him unembalmed in a cardboard casket in a "Potters Field" with a 2" marker because the state couldn't afford better. The state kept his $600,000 bank account and life insurance payout.

We will be ruled by Socialists within all three branches of the Federal Government.

Watch for application of equal time principles be applied to all opposition, namely talk radio.
Until they can eliminate that.
So much for freedom of speech.
Don't worry any more about those pesky firearms.
Rewrite the Constitution to eliminate all opposition.
It's what has been desired by the Socialists for quite a while.
Then all rights not explicitely granted to the states would be reserved for the Feds.

Forget the Social Democrats, they then become Statists who
make,
interpret,
and enforce the law of the land.
Answering ONLY to themselves.

Alternative points of view become Sedition.

My blood runs cold.

I PRAY the polls are wrong. (that may become illegal, too)


some references -

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Democratic_Party_Gun_C
ontrol.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_S
tates

http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.html

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/for_d
emocrats_time_to_pad_sena.html

http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2008/09/heartland-i
nstitute-on-democrat-energy.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,399342,00.html

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/091207.html

http://hoyer.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=1136&Docum
entType=Press+Release

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3720/>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_committee#Current_co
mmittees

The poll question on myfoxcolorado for 10/14/08 is:

Which political party do you think is more likely to use 'dirty tricks' to try and affect the vote count in Colorado this election?

The results at the time I completed my entry were:
21.12% Democrats
78.88% Republicans


The Party with a long, varied, and ingrained history of assisting the dead, felons, infirm, illegal, and illiterate to vote now accuses the Republicans of cheating. Chicago, Sen. Obamas latest residence and where he learned politics, has long had more Democratic voters than residents. Those who let it be known that they did not vote Democratic in Chicago could count on ostracizm, mishaps in dark alleys, police pullovers, and occasionally business or kitchen fires.

Acorn, who Sen. Obama has been affiliated with, is currently in the news for voter registration fraud. Apparently, Acorn and some other Democratic fronts have submitted many thousnds of falsified registrations. To make matters worse, Acorn is partially funded our own governments grants to the tune of Millions of dollars. That's right, WE are paying THEM Millions to screw us in the voting booth.

2004 -
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/clyne200410311142
.asp

2008 -
http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/acorn_voter_fraud/2008
/10/13/140131.html

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/13/more-left-wing-vot
er-fraud-allegations-against-acorn/

This fraud has been massive and pervasive. Currently, this is being commited primarily in so-called "swing" states; Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, Ohio, COLORADO.

Just my opinion, but, I feel Acorn, other suspect organizations, and the responsible individuals suspected of voter fraud should be investigated, tried, and if found guilty should refund OUR money, be fined, be prohibited from any registration activities, and spend considerable time in jail. Groups, like the Democrats, who, knowingly support these fraudulent activities should face some very serious sanctions.

And they have the unmitigated gall to accuse Republicans of "dirty tricks". And the unwitting pawns swallow the chum.

This reminds me of the philander who accuses their spouse of straying. So accustomed, are they, to their own failings that they expect all others to commit the same.


"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
- Queen Gertrude, Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, William Shakespeare