Tag Archives: Obama

Commentary

Mark Steyn argues that big government means less liberty

1 Comment

ECM sent this New Criterion article by Mark Steyn, Canada’s National Treasure, along with Ezra Levant, and Stephen Harper.

Have you heard about Paul A. Rahe’s new book entitled “Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift”? I heard an interview with the author on Milt Rosenberg’s radio show, and the podcast is here. But I also found this book review by Mark Steyn, which seems to be popular in the blogosphere. It’s a long read, but you will find it stimulating – especially the citations of Alexis de Toqueville. Prescient.

Excerpt:

…the consequence of funding the metastasization of government through the confiscation of the fruits of the citizen’s labor is the remorseless shriveling of liberty.Is it, as Mark Levin’s caller said, “inevitable”? No, not quite. But it seems like the way to bet. When President Bush used to promote the notion of democracy in the Muslim world, there was a line he liked to fall back on: “Freedom is the desire of every human heart.” Are you quite sure? It’s doubtful whether that’s actually the case in Gaza and Waziristan, but we know for absolute certain that it’s not in Paris and Stockholm, London and Toronto, Buffalo and New Orleans. The story of the Western world since 1945 is that, invited to choose between freedom and government “security,” large numbers of people vote to dump freedom every time—the freedom to make their own decisions about health care, education, property rights, and eventually (as we already see in Europe, Canada, American campuses, and the disgusting U.N. Human Rights Council) what you’re permitted to say and think.

If you think you can run a Christian life in a welfare state run by secular socialists, think again. Their goals and values are not your goals and values, and they will force their goals and values on you, and on your children.

And ECM also send me this article by Mark Steyn in the National Review, regarding single-payer health care.

Excerpt:

When President Obama tells you he’s “reforming” health care to “control costs,” the point to remember is that the only way to “control costs” in health care is to have less of it. In a government system, the doctor, the nurse, the janitor, and the Assistant Deputy Associate Director of Cost-Control System Management all have to be paid every Friday, so the sole means of “controlling costs” is to restrict the patient’s access to treatment. In the Province of Quebec, patients with severe incontinence — i.e., they’re in the bathroom twelve times a night — wait three years for a simple 30-minute procedure. True, Quebeckers have a year or two on Americans in the life-expectancy hit parade, but, if you’re making twelve trips a night to the john 365 times a year for three years, in terms of life-spent-outside-the-bathroom expectancy, an uninsured Vermonter may actually come out ahead.

In Canada, you can deliver babies yourself while you wait. (H/T ECM)

And the same thing happens in the UK.

News

Democrats still silent on Iran, but Republican whip Eric Cantor takes a stand

8 Comments

UPDATE: Welcome visitors from iPandora! Thanks for the link Matthew!

Before we start, head on over to Gateway Pundit and take a look at some of the photos and videos he’s assembled. Go on, I’ll wait.

Here’s one to get you started:

Iranian women come to the aide of a man being beaten
Iranian women come to the aide of a man being beaten

Time magazine says that one protester rally drew between 2-3 million people. (H/T Hot Air)

Compare this article from the UK Telegraph about Obama’s response with the response of the Republican whip Eric Cantor.

The Telegraph article says:

The Obama administration’s response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s fraudulent election victory is cowardly, lily-livered and wrong. The White House’s refusal to officially question the result or even condemn the brutal suppression of opposition protestors, is undermining America’s standing as a global power, and is little more than a face-saving, cynical exercise in appeasement that will all end in tears.

That’s right. The world hates us. (And not just over Obama’s naive protectionism). Although Reagan and George W. Bush might have sided with freedom-lovers against tyranny, Obama prefers to free America-hating terrorists, who mocks his own country to get a pat on the head from ruthless dictators, who gives Iran a free pass on nuclear plants, and who cuts missile defense as North Korea launches missiles over Japan.

Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday’s Meet the Press:

“we’re going to withhold comment… I mean we’re just waiting to see.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement on Saturday:

“the United States has refrained from commenting on the election in Iran”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs:

“impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm this election generated.”

Now, you might think that Germany, led by Dr. Angela Merkel, might be worse than Obama. But you’d be very wrong. Merkel is a conservative – she believes in freedom, and her statement shows that Germany has elected someone a backbone, someone who cares about what goes on in other nations.

…the Germans, who shamefully happen to be Europe’s biggest exporters to Iran, strongly denounced the crackdown on protestors, as have a number of European governments. Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier condemned the “brutal actions” against demonstrators, and summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Berlin in protest.

UPDATE: France piles on. FRANCE! But Sarkozy is a conservative, not a radical leftist like Obama. (H/T Gateway Pundit)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday branded Iran’s election result a fraud as the international outcry over the security forces’ crackdown on the opposition in Tehran intensified.

Governments from Asia to Europe voiced concern about the violence that erupted Monday during rallies protesting the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election, with US President Barack Obama saying he had “deep concerns” while also not wanting to meddle in Iran’s affairs.

But while some governments tried to avoid taking sides, Sarkozy said the unrest was a direct result of Ahmadinejad’s failings in his first term.

“The extent of the fraud is proportional to the violent reaction,” said the French leader.

MUST-SEE: Brit Hume calls out the Democrats on their moral equivalence and hypocrisy: (H/T Hot Air)

What do you expect from a party of godless hedonists? They want “free” health care… who cares about other people’s human rights? They were never interested in helping others… they just want to steal what other people worked for. It’s all about the money.

Hot Air links to a Fox News poll in which 66% of respondents said that Obama was not being tough enough on Iran. Presumably the blame-America-first crowd who voted for him will be pleased with his inaction. What do they care about liberty? George W. Bush push liberty harder than any president since Ronald Reagan. Now we have to watch pro-democracy protesters die, while President Pantywaist dithers over health care.

Republicans speak out against tyranny

Let’s take a look at Eric Cantor’s statement in The Hill. (H/T Gateway Pundit)

“The Administration’s silence in the face of Iran’s brutal suppression of democratic rights represents a step backwards for homegrown democracy in the Middle East,” Cantor said. “President Obama must take a strong public position in the face of violence and human rights abuses. We have a moral responsibility to lead the world in opposition to Iran’s extreme response to peaceful protests.

“In addition, Iran’s clerical regime has made clear that its nuclear program will move forward,” he said. “The United States cannot trust the aspirations of a nation that is a state-sponsor of terrorism, and the Administration must work with Congress to do everything in its power to deny Iran nuclear weapons.”

He’s the House Republican Whip.

News

Democrat health care bill requires 600 billion dollar tax hike

1 Comment

Welcome visitors from 4Simpsons! Thanks for the link Neil!

Bloomberg reports:

Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.

Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. The measure’s cost is reaching well beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a 10-year down payment for the policy changes.

Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.” Some Senate Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, say the costs will likely exceed $1.5 trillion.

…That won’t be enough to cover the overhaul costs. Obama said this week he plans in the coming days to disclose more proposals for raising “additional sources of revenue.” In a letter last week to Senate Democrats drafting legislation he said he will be proposing between $200 billion and $300 billion in further Medicare and Medicaid cuts.

If you think that tax hikes on “the rich” won’t affect you, you’re naive. The rich are the people you work for. If Obama starts confiscating your money, they will ship your job overseas where taxes are lower. That’s just the way it is. The most productive people in the world are not just going to hand over their money to Obama to redistribute to unions, bureaucrats, the United Nations, ACORN and Planned Parenthood.

Stem cells in India

Meanwhile, here is a neat health care story so you will know where to go for medical treatment (India) after Obama tells you that you will have to wait two years behind people who voted for him.

“It was the first time in eastern India that such a transplant was being performed on a child,” he said….Pramita’s bone marrow, which contain stem cells, was collected from her spinal cord. It was successfully transplanted in her body in April 2009. The entire process took two months during which she was kept isolated in a sterilised room with high efficient particulate air (HEPA) filter. “We will do a follow-up on her health for the next six months since she may contract infection during this period and so has to follow some restrictions. But after that she can lead a normal life and can resume her dance lessons without any problem,” Dr. Mukhopadhyay said.

For more on stem cell research, see this post.