United Liberty

I swing back and forth between being happy and chagrined to see Republicans acting like Republicans again, but when I see a quote like this from Newt Gingrich, my first thought is “Say what?”

Gingrich thrashed Republicans for allowing increased spending during the Bush administration and for not doing enough to block President Barack Obama’s early initiatives.

“Remember, everything Obama’s doing, Bush started last year,” Gingrich said. “If you’re going to talk about big spending, the mistakes of the Bush administration last year are fully as bad as the mistakes of Obama’s first two, three months.”

Newt, we’re thrilled to have you on the right side, but you supported the TARP bailout.

As you may already know, there will be nationwide protests on April 15th, Tax Day, to protest spending and tax hikes by the Obama Administration. These protests, referred to as Tea Parties, have taken place nearly every week since Friday, February 27th (yours truly attended the Atlanta Tea Party and was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News about the events) and have been gaining notoriety and slowly more people are attending. The protest here in Atlanta had around 300 people, not bad for a cold, rainy day.

Contributor Jason Pye recently reported on the government report emanating from Missouri which labeled supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr as possible domestic terrorist suspects.  Because of the immense public outcry, the report has been rescinded and apologies issued.

From John Tate, Executive Director of the Campaign for Liberty-

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Although it sometimes seems that freedom is shrinking everywhere we turn, the fact is a powerful grassroots stand can still stop Big Government bureaucrats in their tracks.

We recently learned that the Federal Reserve is going to put into practice its announced plan to buy US government debt. Yesterday’s Financial Times article by Krishna Guha gives the gory details.

Everyone knows that this action by the Fed increases money supply, and most are aware that it increases the probability that at some point in the future the amount of money created will be excessive with regard to the actual needs of the marketplace, which in turn will tend to lead us towards a state of price inflation, or bubble inflation. Another article by Javier Blas on the early signs of this in the commodities markets is a fun read on the subject.

Barron’s has an article by Alan Abelson that expresses my sentiments better than I could today. Here’s the crux:

House prices, in our bloodshot view, have another 20% or so to fall before hitting bottom and, at the earliest, we’re talking sometime next year. And, possibly more important, a meaningful brightening of the current, profoundly bleak jobs picture, isn’t in the cards for certainly as long, if not longer.

A sad assessment of affairs, with which I agree.

If you click on this link, you’ll find “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding Facts and Status.”

There you will find that in 2007, Congress allotted $400 million for public broadcasting. While $400 million is not alot in the face of $1 trillion stimulus packages or $700 billion bailouts, it is a healthy sum of money. Think of how many students could get aid for their college tuition from that money or how many MRI machines could be bought for hospitals. If you don’t like that, imagine how much could be returned directly to taxpayers.

Instead, it’s going to be pay for Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! Wow, what a critical spending priority.

Obama’s address Tuesday evening contained a fascinating lesson in economics and monetary policy for the American public. Let’s review:

So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.

I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.

Tonight as I write this, given that I don’t possess a television and find live-streaming an often frustrating experience on my lap-top computer, I chose to read a prepared text of President Obama’s first State of the Union address rather than listen to it live. Reading such a text can reveal more in some ways, as one isn’t influenced by the mellifluous tones of a well-polished politician’s voice.

Big extravagant events like presidential speeches to Congress are something I find unappealing. As a writer and a bigger fan of radio than television, I tend to gravitate towards smaller, one on one human reactions. It would be preferable to me if presidents addressed the people in less ceremonial fashion, in front of a camera, where they would be less likely to get caught up in the desire for adoration, more likely to be candid and less likely to say just what will get cheers.

President Obama, like other presidents, probably has a far different disposition than myself on such matters. I imagine that someone who would run for president has a massive sense of ego and wants to be liked. Nevertheless, these massive coronations that every president takes part in seem much more like something that would occur in the Ottoman Empire or Victorian England than the Land of the Free. All the “pomp and circumstance,” as a friend called it, is mildly disgusting.

Not because I believe in bigger government, I don’t. -Obama

 

Many of you watched Obama make his first address to Congress tonight. His speech was concentrated nearly entirely on the economy. He started out by talking about the pitiful state of our economy, and how it is affecting everyone either directly or indirectly. He reiterated the point that America will prevail and recover. I don’t doubt that we will prevail and recover, but not because of Keynesian economic policies that the Democratic Party and Neocons are implementing. Not because of the spending, bailing out, and intervention of the Federal Government.