Don't Follow -- Go To Jail

Rhetorical Tax Evasion

The IRS says it will fine or jail you for not paying Obama's mandate levy.

Wall Street Journal Online -- September 29, 2009

President Obama's effort to deny that his mandate to buy insurance is a tax has taken another thumping, this time from fellow Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee.

Chairman Max Baucus's bill includes the so-called individual mandate, along with what he calls a $1,900 "excise tax" if you don't buy health insurance. (It had been as much as $3,800 but Democrats reduced the amount last week to minimize the political sticker shock.) And, lo, it turns out that if you don't pay that tax, the IRS could punish you with a $25,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both.

Under questioning last week, Tom Barthold, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, admitted that the individual mandate would become a part of the Internal Revenue Code and that failing to comply "could be criminal, yes, if it were considered an attempt to defraud." Mr. Barthold noted in a follow-up letter that the willful failure to file would be a simple misdemeanor, punishable by the $25,000 fine or jail time under Section 7203.

So failure to pay the mandate would be enforced like tax evasion, but Mr. Obama still claims it isn't a tax. "You can't just make up that language and decide that that's called a tax increase," Mr. Obama insisted last week to ABC interviewer George Stephanopoulos. Accusing critics of dishonesty is becoming this President's default argument, but is Mr. Barthold also part of the plot?

In the 1994 health-care debate, the Congressional Budget Office called the individual mandate "an unprecedented form of federal action." This is because "The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."

This coercion will be even more onerous today because everyone will be forced to buy insurance that the new taxes and regulations of ObamaCare will make far more expensive. Too bad Mr. Obama's rhetorical tax evasion can't be punished by the IRS.

Support the Honduran Coup

All fiscal cons and neocons should love and embrace Honduras. We can learn something from their commitment to democracy and capitalism.

The automatic response condemning President Zelaya’s removal by many political leaders in the region reveals the appalling degree to which they have ceased defending democracy. As Roberto Micheletti, chosen by the Honduran Congress to complete Zelaya’s term, observed, “What was done here was a democratic act. Our constitution continues to be relevant, our democracy continues to live.”

What happened in Honduras was not a standard coup. The Supreme Court ordered the army to remove Zelaya from office. The Congress, albeit after his detention and exile, voted unanimously for his removal and confirmed his constitutionally mandated successor to fill the remainder of his term in office.

Kudos to Honduras and the constitutional leaders of its' coup! Unfortunately, the President and the rest of the Administration do not feel a similar sense of solidarity with the patriots of Honduras. Amidst a region of Che Socialism and Anti-American sentiment, one would think the President of the 'free world' would embrace this beacon of freedom and democracy. However, one would be wrong with this thought. It is now quite apparent that the appeasement of Chavez and Cuba, and meeting with tyrants in Iran, is much more important to this President. With a collective voice our newly crowned ruler proclaims "America is sorry."

I respectfully, disagree Mr. President. America should never have to apologize for anything it does. This is the greatest empire in world history, thus far. Julius Caesar could only have imagined this kind of power in his dreams. The sitting President of the United States does not apologize for its actions. The U.S. may learn from mistakes, but looking forward the United States is the torchbearer and leader of freedom for the rest of the world. Where is the respect for a leader that admits they don't know the directions? The ends may be unclear but the justification of the means in the United State's possession.

Not Quite A Reaganite But We Do Miss You George

YRP Joke of the Day

The POSITIVE news from "Cash for Clunkers":

Its taken 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road...

YRP Daily Recommendation

The Neocons Make a Comeback
Brett Stephens
Wall Street Journal Online

The other day I was asked by a writer for a mainstream French newspaper to say something about the "return" of the neoconservatives. His thesis seemed to be that the shambles of Barack Obama's foreign policy had, after only nine months, made what was thought to be the most discredited wing of an ostensibly brain-dead conservative movement relevant again. And France—no longer straining at the sight of Michelle Obama shopping in Paris's 6th arrondissement—is taking notice.

My answer was that the neocons are back because Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il and Vladimir Putin never went away. A star may have shone in the east the day Barack Obama became president. But these three kings, at least, have yet to proffer the usual gifts of gold and incense and myrrh.

Instead, the presents have been of a different kind. North Korea claims to be in the final stages of building a uranium-enrichment facility—its second route to an atomic bomb. Iran, again caught cheating on its Nonproliferation Treaty obligations, has responded by wagging a finger at the U.S. and firing a round of missiles. Syria continues to aid and abet jihadists operating in Iraq. NATO countries have generally refused to send more troops to Afghanistan, and are all the more reluctant to do so now that the administration is itself wavering on the war.

As for Russia, its ambassador to the U.N. last week bellyached that the U.S. "continues to be a rather difficult negotiating partner"—and that was after Mr. Obama canceled the missile-defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Thus does the politics of concession meet with the logic of contempt.

All this must, at some level, come as a surprise to an administration so deeply in love with itself. "I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world," Mr. Obama told the U.N.'s General Assembly last week with his usual modesty. He added that those expectations were "rooted in hope—the hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in bringing about such change."

Yet what sounds like "hope" in, say, Toronto or Barcelona tends to come across as fecklessness in Warsaw and Jerusalem. In Moscow and Tehran, it reads like credulity—and an opportunity to exploit the U.S. at a moment of economic weakness and political self-infatuation.

For those much-scorned neocons, none of this comes as a surprise. Neoconservatives generally take the view that the internal character of a regime usually predicts the nature of its foreign policy. Governments that are answerable to their own people and accountable to a rule of law tend to respect the rights of their neighbors, honor their treaty commitments, and abide by the international rules of the road. By contrast, regimes that prey on their own citizens are likely to prey on their neighbors as well. Their word is the opposite of their bond.

That's why neocons have no faith in any deals or "grand bargains" the U.S. might sign with North Korea or Iran over their nuclear programs: Cheating is in the DNA of both regimes, and the record is there to prove it. Nor do neocons put much stock in the notion that there's a "reset" button with the Kremlin. Russia is the quintessential spoiler state, seeking its advantage in America's troubles at home and abroad. Ditto for Syria, which has perfected the art of taking credit for solving problems of its own creation.

Where neocons do put their faith is in American power, not just military or economic power but also as an instrument of moral and political suasion. Disarmament? The last dictator to relinquish his nuclear program voluntarily was Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, who did so immediately following Saddam Hussein's capture. Democratization? Contrary to current conventional wisdom, democracy is often imposed, or at least facilitated, by U.S. pressure—in the Philippines, in the Balkans and, yes, in Iraq. Human rights? Anwar Ibrahim, the beleaguered Malaysian opposition leader, told me last week that "the only country that can stand up" to abusive regimes is the United States. "If they know the administration is taking a soft stance [on human rights], they will go on a rampage."

None of this is to say that neoconservatism represents some kind of infallible doctrine—or that it's even a doctrine. Neocons have erred in overestimating the U.S. public's willingness to engage in long struggles on behalf of other people. They have erred also in overestimating the willingness of other people to fight for themselves, or for their freedom.

But as the pendulum has swung to a U.S. foreign policy based on little more than the personal attractions of its president, it's little wonder that the world is casting about for an alternative. And a view of the world that understands that American power still furnishes the margin between freedom and tyranny, and between prosperity and chaos, is starting to look better all the time. Even in France.

Real Choice -- Real Responsibility

This is an Edit and Update of an original article I wrote

A Fiscal Conservative on Choice

I hear a lot of people talk about Choice...their Freedom of Choice, their misnomer Pro-Choice, their misguided Choice, their un-American Choice. Most I observe, or talk to, seem to have such passionate feelings about their Choice. I wonder if they even know what it means. The ‘pro-choice’ sect sells it as personal freedom. This is nothing but a rouse, perpetuating the national endorsement of irresponsibility and pure selfishness.

In America...

We all make choices everyday. Some are very significant cognitive choices and many insignificant to the conscious mind. For example, I have a choice to go out and get wasted. I also have a choice to get in my car and drive home. If I hurt myself or God forbid anyone else, I do not get to raise a defense that I wasn't ready to deal with this decision. I will be responsible; I don't get a do over.

The ability to choose the right path when faced with a fork in the road does little to define the human character. It is natural to choose, many animals choose. The mark of the individual is their ability to recognize the right choice. Unfortunately, our kind has proven we more often recognize and justify the wrong choice. However, we have the wonderful ability to learn from our past choice. This makes us better, this makes us stronger, and this makes us evolve.

Like most, actually everybody (except Obama, he is perfect, do not question his glory), I have made many wrong choices in my life. I made a choice to max out my credit cards, and take out massive loans so I could attend law school. Even if I am not ready to deal with the consequences of those choices...In America I am responsible. There is no easy way out. Like a Bailout. Well, we could just create a Constitutional interpretation and abort irresponsibility. It is only fair…I was not ready.

We are living in a time when it seems everyone is looking for the easy way out. Our banks, auto industry and idiots who bought more house than they could afford want someone else to bail them out. Our choices are no longer personal; they are now society's problems. A country based on individual freedom can not exist with a current situation like this in America. We are losing any and all sense of personal responsibility and self-respect. Work ethic and individual ambition are becoming foreign to the rule of entitlement. Whether it’s from the government or society; nothing is owed to us in life, NOTHING. We are all responsible for ourselves.

The left – purveyors of misguided Choice, free love, and a denigrated generation

We have I lot Choices in this country. One of those choices is to have sex. We all know, we have known since sex education in elementary school, where babies come from. Here is a Life opinion from a secular fiscal conservative. This debate is much simpler than religion v. choice. It comes down to taking responsibility for our actions.

When a woman and a man CHOOSE to have sex, EVERYONE knows that a possible outcome of that choice is a child. This is where the choice lies. Everyone knowingly accepts all responsibility for this Choice. (Outside of rape/incest) The choice no longer exists after the act is done...it was already made. It is that simple. All choices have an outcome, whether it is a negative or a positive, and it is never a negative when a life is created. If a woman and a man are not ready for the responsibility than choose Adoption. Or, here’s an idea…keep your pants on. The argument that the state can't take care of these children or foster care has problems or some kids don't get adopted is MERE speculation at the time of choosing Adoption or taking a stand and raising the LIFE you created. Abortion is a getting out of jail free card. The selfish way out. Carrying the child for 9 months is the outcome of the initial choice to have sex in the first place. Be a human, a responsible human, and deal with the choices you have made.

Last summer I did not think I was near ready to be a father. I did not think I was near ready to be a husband. I had two years of law school left. Student loans higher than most of you reading this will ever make in one year of work. I had a plan and at the time a child was not part of it. I still chose to have a relationship with someone I loved more than anything in the world. We could have waited but we are young and we made the Choices we made. Regardless, I knew what could happen by making this choice. And yes, In July I found out that I was going to be a father. And yes, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean a child was not part of my plans. I realized at that moment, whatever my selfish self-serving plans were for my life have now changed. I was going to be a father. Then, that August we went to the Doctor...I heard and saw my son for the first time. I heard and saw his heart beating. He was 8 weeks old...THIS IS NOT A CHOICE ANYMORE...NOT A CHOICE...this was my son. My personal plans are out the window, they do not matter, and my son is now my plan, being a great father is my job.

I am not a medical doctor, a scientist, or hold myself out to be an expert on human reproduction. However, the argument that an embryo or fetus is not a child until a certain point in gestation is truly ridiculous. Yes, I concede an embryo could not exist outside the womb on its own without the proper development. (Many Americans can not exist outside the womb independently without assistance or further development…they must not be human either). The point is the embryo, the fetus, the child, THE LIFE is human, and it was created when mother and father came together.

For those who see a Life as a burden or a negative consequence then please don't have sex. You know, we all know life happens. It really makes me sick that Abortion is used as another form of contraception, and a pseudo-Bailout for the irresponsible. Yes, a child will change your social life. Yes, a child will change your career or educational goals. Life is difficult at times; it should make your resolve stronger. If you are too weak you are a poor excuse for a human, and you shouldn't have sex in the first place. If you can not take responsibility for your actions, you should not be reproducing. Your gene pool is weak! I mean it.

Sex is the choice...the Child is not.

Deal with the choices you make.

Obama the Great (or Not)

Another Failed Presidency
By Geoffrey P. Hunt

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency
since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed
presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one
strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of
course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming
traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet
his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant
overture to China.

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Failing fast. And failing
everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in
forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy
Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing
because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed
loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because
he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of
American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is
failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his
intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president
riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his
tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are in free
fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point
advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about
himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised
or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't
connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the
rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American
character that intersects with their own where they display a command of

history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that
resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We
admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who
seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are
aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our
own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing
about economics, is historically illiterate, and woefully small minded for
the size of the task-- all contributory of course. It's that he's not one
of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like
a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he
doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense..
His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't
add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in
don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this
man, he's dissed just about every one of us--financiers, energy producers,
banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital
administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green
job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: "For
those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not
offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second
term, I could have offended you too."

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a
useful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both houses of
the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get
voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of
legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after
that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl
but the wagon train keeps rolling along.