Thomas Sowell: "Brass Oldies", parts 1, 2, 3

 Part One:  "One of these brass oldies is a phrase that has been a perennial favorite of the left, "tax cuts for the rich." How long ago was this refuted? More than 80 years ago, the "tax cuts for the rich" argument was refuted, both in theory and in practice, by Andrew Mellon, who was Secretary of the Treasury in the 1920s."

Part Two:  "Unemployment never hit double digits in any of the 12 months following the stock market crash of 1929. But it hit double digits within 6 months after government intervention-- and unemployment stayed in double digits for the entire remainder of the decade, as the government went in for one intervention after another."

Part Three:  "One of the brassiest of the brass oldies in the law is the notion that the Constitution creates a "wall of separation" between church and state. This false notion has been so widely accepted that people who tell the truth get laughed at and mocked."
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of The Housing Boom and Bust.

Shipping out jobs/ A myth pols find convenient  "In fact, American companies have quite valid reasons beyond any tax advantage to establish overseas affiliates: That's how they reach foreign customers with US-branded goods and services."

You Don't Have to be Crazy to be a Democrat, But it Helps

Ann Coulter "...That's not Patty Murray-stupid, but it's still pretty stupid. How many late-term abortions are you planning to get, Californians, that it's worth being represented by such a cretinous woman?"
....
 "...When the Army considered court-martialing [Colonel] West thousands of letters poured in defending West and thanking him for what he had done. Ninety-five members of Congress signed a letter to the secretary of the Army in support of West. No court-martial was ever convened.
"Liberals won't say that John Phillip Walker Lindh disgraced his country. Washington Sen. Patty Murray thinks Osama bin Laden is a swell guy for building "day care centers" in Afghanistan. But they say a hero like Allen West "disgraced his uniform" by saving the lives of American soldiers.
"Yeah, the Tea Party candidates are a real embarrassment."

Republicans, heading for big gains, ready agenda

Photo: Weasel Zippers

Google News  "The question is how much of the GOP's government-shrinking, tax-cutting agenda to advance, and how fast.
"It's certain that Republicans want to capitalize quickly on tea party-fueled anger and the antiestablishment fervor that they believe will provide momentum to accomplish an activist to-do list. It's equally clear, however, that the outsized expectations of a fed-up electorate and a crop of unruly newcomers could complicate the plans. So could Obama and fellow Democrats who will still be around after Tuesday's elections."

Herger, House Republican Leadership Introduce Legislation to Repeal Government Takeover of Health Care and Replace with Solutions that Lower Costs  "Boehner’s address [in 2009] emphasized four common-sense reforms that will lower health care costs and expand access to quality care without a government takeover of our nation’s health care system that kills jobs, raises taxes on small businesses, or cuts Medicare for seniors:"

Obama Coalition Is Fraying, Poll Finds "The poll provides a pre-Election Day glimpse of a nation so politically disquieted and disappointed in its current trajectory that 57 percent of the registered voters surveyed said they were more willing to take a chance this year on a candidate with little previous political experience. More than a quarter of them said they were even willing to back a candidate who holds some views that “seem extreme.” "  If the voters consider the candidate a "celebrity", they won't care what he or she believes.

Cal Thomas:  The Morning After   "The Republican Party must also change. The coming GOP success is not a victory of party, but of philosophy. It is the tea party movement that is making it possible for Republicans to regain power. If party leaders in and out of Congress try to quell passions and put out the fire that is burning in so many bellies, they will deservedly lose everything in 2012. "

Congressional Report Casts Doubt on Constitutionality of Obamacare's Individual Mandate

CNS News "Published on October 15, the CRS report examines the arguments both for and against the constitutionality of the individual mandate, which requires every American to purchase government-approved health insurance or else pay a fine."....
"The CRS report finds that the two primary defenses of the mandate – that it is a tax and that Congress can impose it under the Commerce Clause – to be problematic."
The report:  To date, the Supreme Court has not articulated a fundamental right to health care.78 Indeed, the words “health” or “medical care” do not appear anywhere in the text of the Constitution. Thus, rights of individuals to health care services derive from statutory rights (with a few such rights also set forth in state constitutions) and have most often concerned the provision of medical care to poor persons. In challenging a health insurance mandate on due process grounds, it is possible that one could allege a fundamental right to be uninsured, or to not purchase health insurance.
"However, this is not a fundamental right that has been recognized by the Supreme Court".

The Left’s voter fraud whitewash

Michelle Malkin   "More cunningly, these organizations are seeking to marginalize complaints about election integrity by casting citizen watchdog efforts as racist “scare tactics.” Echoing President Obama’s message to the Democratic faithful on the campaign trail, they are accusing political opponents of suppressing the votes of minorities and the poor."

Voter fraud watch: They’re at it again  "In the meantime: Vigilance plus citizen media plus the willingness to be sued for blowing the whistle equals the best defense for voter fraud. We must all be voter fraud watchers now."

The New Black Panther Party Case: Cast of Characters "And yet, the NAACP can find no time at its convention to address the antics of the NBPP. Instead, they took great pains to go after the white devils that attend the tea party tax protests.
"Apparently, denouncing those who call for the killing of “crackers” and their babies does nothing to advance the cause of African-Americans." From the Comments section.

WikiLeaks’ Selective Morality

Victor Davis Hanson "Had the public known in real time from periodic media leaks about operational disasters surrounding the planning for the D-Day landings, intelligence failures at the Bulge or Okinawa, or G.I. treatment of some German and Japanese prisoners, the story of World War II might have been somewhat different. But then, in those paleolithic days FDR and Winston Churchill did not have to be flawless to be perceived as being far better than Adolf Hitler."

Iran training Taliban fighters to use surface-to-air missiles "Such intelligence is worrisome for U.S. and NATO officials. Surface-to air-missiles supplied covertly by the United States to mujahideen fighters in the 1980s played a crucial role in the defeat of Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Coalition forces are even more dependent on moving troops and supplies through the air than the Red Army was, experts said."


Negotiations with Taliban dismay troops "The Administration and some of our military commanders are “pandering to the enemy and giving a disorganized group of criminal insurgents a power they should never be granted – we’re not going to see this through and believe me we’re making a serious mistake,” said a military official in Afghanistan."

Halloween's Sexual Trend

Rebecca Hagelin, Townhall: "Well, brace yourself. Princesses look different these days. The pre-teen and teenage girls who show up are likely to be wearing trampy costumes that say “s-e-x,” rather than “trick or treat.” We all know that girls are being sexualized by the culture at younger and younger ages in their daily wear. But Halloween costumes have taken things to a new low, making our little girls into sex objects even midst what is supposed to be an evening of childhood fun. The sad reality is that we live in a pop culture that is obsessed with trying to make our boys and girls think about sex all the time."

More RESPECT for the President, Please!

 Ken Blackwell, Townhall:  "...the words of Adams’ prayer for the White House. FDR even had it carved into the mantle of the fireplace in the State Dining Room.: “"I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it...May none but the honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
"The Washington Post’s McGrory records that when McCullough got to the “wise and honest” part, all of Bill Clinton’s closest friends looked at their shoes.
"Yet, apparently, this year’s crop of candidates would rather have the jolly, gregarious Bill Clinton stumping for them than the White House’s current occupant. One thing you have to say for Bill Clinton: He never came off as “holier than Thou.” "

Chris Muir, Day by Day

Why Socialism Breeds Racism

Ben Shapiro, Townhall:  "I've been to a lot of arenas to watch NBA games and the Yankees, and I have never heard anyone have a go at a guy because he's from Puerto Rico or the Dominican or Africa or wherever," Henry marveled. "I can understand why people in America are kind of shocked [by European racism], because that doesn't happen in their sports."

Obama to ‘Daily Show’ as Campaign Nears End

NY Times   "Mr. Obama will sit down this afternoon with Jon Stewart, the comedian-turned-activist who hosts the show, in what White House officials concede is a blatant attempt to seek out young Democratic voters wherever they spend the most time. "

Californians: Vote a straight Republican ticket

Bookworm Room "This means California conservatives may be tempted to (a) sit this one out or (b) vote for a write-in or minor candidate. Those are luxuries of ordinary elections, though. In California, this election is not about a favored conservative candidate winning; it’s about making sure the Democratic candidate loses. And the only way to do that is with vast numbers of votes for the Republican, even if that requires some nose holding."

(Updated) While We’re At It, Let’s Defund Those National Endowment for the Arts’ Cowards

Big Hollywood  "That’s right: the tax-payer subsidized NEA, now basking in the attention it’s receiving from “ The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals" has yet to proudly sponsor a piece of “art” that mis-characterizes Islam or depicts figures of various other religions (outside of Christianity), in a provocative, if not perverted, sexual posture.
"What’s up with this feigned bravery? This propounded art-above-all-else mentality that is actually nothing more than an assault directed at the one religion the NEA trusts won’t react violently?"

Museum Exhibit Portrays Jesus in Porn Pose   "The controversial piece is part of a 10-artist exhibit called, “The Legend of Bud Shark and His Indelible Ink.” The lithograph showing the son of God engaged in a sexual act is called, “The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals,” and was created by Stanford University professor Enrique Chagoya ."

Glenn McCoy, Townhall