The Entitlement State—and Zombies: How to become a country, or a continent, of democratic serfs. Observing this situation, Americans might suppose that we are still a long way from Europe. But consider this: As of the first quarter of 2010, 48.5% of Americans lived in a household that received some form of government assistance. That's up from 44.4% when the financial crisis began in 2008, and up from around 30% just 30 years ago. In the meantime, 49.5% of Americans paid no federal income tax as of 2009, up from 34.1% when George W.Bush took office.
Once ObamaCare kicks in, the percentage of takers will move north of 50% (if it hasn't already), and we will become a nation of modern zombies—or, if you prefer, democratic serfs. Don't console yourself with the hope that things can be turned around with a different president, or once the failures of the entitlement state become manifest. Incentives matter, but not as much as habits do. And a habit of dependency, as any addict knows, will sooner drive a man to degradation than to reform.
William Kristol on Mitt Romney's short-sighted, prevent-defense election strategy: Adopting a prevent defense when it's only the second quarter and you're not even ahead is dubious enough as a strategy. But [the Mitt Romney] campaign's monomaniacal belief that it's about the economy and only the economy, and that they need to keep telling us stupid voters that it's only about the economy, has gone from being an annoying tick to a dangerous self-delusion. . . .
The economy is of course important. But voters want to hear what Romney is going to do about the economy. He can "speak about" how bad the economy is all he wants—though Americans are already well aware of the economy's problems—but doesn't the content of what Romney has to say matter? What is his economic growth agenda? His deficit reform agenda? His health care reform agenda? His tax reform agenda? His replacement for Dodd-Frank? No need for any of that, I suppose the Romney campaign believes. Just need to keep on "speaking about the economy."
Why Are Conservatives Happier than Liberals? On faith, wives & PCness ... I think there’s a far simpler explanation for why conservatives are happier than liberals; we don’t constantly worry if we’re doing or saying the politically correct thing. Walking through life on eggshells, fretting about offending a protected group or class, while constantly making sure you don’t do or say anything that a fellow liberal could criticize you for would drive me bonkers. Possessing such a worldview eventually causes one’s head to come to a point — if it doesn’t explode first. So, of course liberals are miserable. (Read it all!)
TWEETS & QUOTES
“It's a sad and stupid thing to have to proclaim yourself a revolutionary just
to be a decent man." -- David Harris
64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
Conservatives Really Need to Recognize the Top 5 Cliches Liberals Use to Avoid Debate http://t.co/Ukib69db
So Obama trying to buy us all for another year rather than proposing something meaningful ... Are we all as dumb as he thinks?
42 (Monthly) Reasons Why Obama is a Failure http://bit.ly/PCwaOp
Would You Accept Condi Rice's "Mildly Pro-choice" Views on Abortion? http://bit.ly/PCpyj6
RINO Watch! Tax cut extension announcement is huge win for Obama, Romney backfooted again http://bit.ly/NDuTm8 AND Hume: Romney campaign might be using 'rope-a-dope strategy' http://thedc.com/PB6oKh
PelosiPoodle DNC Chief Wasserman-Schultz Urges Romney to Release Tax Returns, but Won't Release Her Own http://bit.ly/PChHSH
WOW! Is there a breech in the dam? WaPo Fact Checker Gives Obama Tweet 3 Pinocchio’s http://bit.ly/RNxY5C
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