Card Check: How Unions hope for force more people to join up.

Under current law, if you or your co-workers want to form a union, as side from a bunch of rigmarole having to do with paperwork, you have to put it to a vote of your fellow co-workers.  Seems fair enough if you’re going to forcibly take a portion of their check for what usually ends up being political purposes that have little to do with the “protections” the union is supposed to provide for that money.  That vote has always been by secret ballot, as it should be since it’s nobody’s damn business which way you vote.

Well, since unions are losing members faster than the Titanic took on water, and less people are wanting to join a union, union bosses have dusted off an old stand by method of “encouraging” people to join: intimidation.

They want to remove the voting part of the process and just go to a system called “card check,” or filling out a card saying you support the idea of you and your fellow employees having a secret vote of whether or not to unionize.  Routinely a majority of employees will support their fellow employee’s desire to hold a vote on unionization but will vote against unionizing in the secret ballot portion of the process.  Under a card check regime, filling out the card in support of a vote becomes the vote, and how you filled out that card is public knowledge. 

While this ad opposing card check in support of the private ballot exaggerates the point slightly, it’s not really that far from the truth.  Guess that’s what you get when the Democrat Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of labor unions.

Al Franken: Do as I say, not as I do! Doesn’t his pay taxes but wants to raise yours.

Al Franken, former comedian and current joke of a candidate for US Senate, just can’t seem to put his past life as a complete hypocrite behind him.  First it was the fine of $25,000 for not paying workers’ compensation for his employees for nearly 3 years, now it’s not paying taxes owed in several states.

Franken owes about $70,000 in back taxes to 17 states for monies earned since 2003.  Franken, being the stand up guy he is, took no responsibility for the SNAFU and simply blamed his accountant.

“What happened is our accountant made a mistake, and all of these are repercussions of that same mistake,” said Franken. “His mistake was not understanding the law, the obligation to pay these state taxes.”

If Franken hires an idiot like that to do his taxes, an accountant that doesn’t “understand” that you have to pay taxes on money earned, just imagine the kind of staff he would have IF he were elected to the Senate. 

Let’s hope the voters of Minnesota aren’t as clueless as Franken and his “people.”

The Smuggler as Hero.

Walter Williams explains that high taxes sometimes lead to smuggling, and that this sometimes is a noble pursuit:

While it’s politically popular to impose confiscatory taxes on America’s 40 million tobacco smokers, there are a number of consequences one might consider, but let’s start out with a quiz. If a carton of cigarettes sells for $160 in New York City, and $35 in North Carolina, what do you predict will happen? If you answered tons of cigarettes will be going up I-95 from North Carolina to New York City, go to the head of the class. …Some smugglers are good people who differ little from the founders of our nation such as John Hancock, whose flamboyant signature graces our Declaration of Independence. The British had levied confiscatory taxes on molasses, and John Hancock smuggled an estimated 1.5 million gallons a year. …Like Hancock, some of today’s cigarette smugglers are providing a service to their fellow man caught in the grip of confiscatory taxation. …People in government or those in pursuit of a do-good agenda think they know better and think they have a right to use government’s brute force to hinder peaceable voluntary exchange. In comes my hero the smuggler to the rescue. …The easy solution to cigarette smuggling, and its attendant activities, is to eliminate the confiscatory taxes.

Congress At Its Best!!

The world’s oddest gang sign – shaved eyebrows.

When you think of gang signs you probably think of tattoos and/or flashed hand symbols, maybe even wearing certain colors, but they’ve taken it to the next level…so to speak.  In Portland, Oregon a new trend has emerged – shaving lines in your eyebrows.

While butchered eyebrows used to be the exclusive domain of elderly women who have plucked them beyond the point of recovery or drunks who got too close attempting to light a cigarette off a stove, it is exclusive no more.  Gangs in Portland have taken to shaving vertical lines in their eyebrows to differentiate themselves from, we can only guess, gangs that shave horizontal lines in their eyebrows. 

It’s gotten to the point that administrators at Centennial High School in Portland is sending with the lines students home until they shave their eyebrows off completely and grow them back normally.  Yeah, we know, just what society needs, gang members with a lot of free time on their hands. 

Coming next to Portland, the violent gang known as the Pink Floyds.

Worthy reads.

The Three Stooges of Statism?

Italy, Spain, and France face serious economic challenges because of bloated public sectors. But as a Wall Street Journal editorial explains, there is very little evidence that politicians intend to reduce the burden of government.

Merkel Drifts Further to the Left.

A Wall Street Journal news report explains how Germany’s Angela Merkel has given up many of her supposed free-market principles and instead is rolling back some of the good reforms of her Social Democrat predecessor.

Gordon Brown’s Anti-Democracy Crusade.

Having surrendered much of his nation’s sovereignty to the bureaucracy in Brussels, UK Prime Minster Gordon Brown came to America and suggested that the U.S. follow him down the same path and submit to global governance. Phyllis Schafly slices and dices Brown’s anti-democratic agenda.

Thank You 5-Hour Energy Drink

We would like to thank 5-Hour Energy for providing samples of their product for the May First Friday Happy Hour.  If you are not familiar with 5-Hour Energy, it is a two-ounce liquid energy shot that provides hours of elevated alertness, focus and energy that comes in berry, lemon-lime and orange flavors.

 

We also appreciate the fact that 5-Hour Energy drink maker Living Essentials has a sense of humor.  In January, President Clinton was caught napping at a service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem.  In response to President Clinton’s napping episode, Living Essentials sent a case of 5-Hour Energy to the former President.  We at First Friday would generally rather see the former President sleeping than hear him speaking, but you have to tip your hat to Living Essentials for capitalizing on President Clinton’s nap. 

 

 

Here is their Press Release on the incident:

 

Caught Napping – President Clinton’s Dream Speech

Former President Won’t Be Nodding Off Again Anytime Soon

 

NOVI, MI – Living Essentials, maker of 5-Hour Energy®, sent a case of its popular two-ounce energy shot to President Bill Clinton today, after video surfaced of the former Commander in Chief nodding off during a church ceremony commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

“Everyone needs help staying awake at times. Even former presidents,” said Living Essentials Director of Corporate Communications Carl Sperber. “5-Hour Energy helps thousands of busy people stay awake, alert and productive every day. We think it will help President Clinton, too.”

 

In an effort for political correctness during this campaign season, Clinton was sent a split case of equal parts berry, lemon lime and orange flavors of 5-Hour Energy.

 

About 5-Hour Energy: 5-Hour Energy is a two-ounce energy drink that provides hours of energy, alertness and focus with no crash and no jitters. It contains a blend of B-vitamins and amino acids, zero sugar, and only four calories. It is available at retail outlets throughout the United States and Canada.

 

For more information, please visit: www.5hourenergy.com

 

###

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board – The Supreme Court Gets It Right

On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 decision upholding Indiana’s law which requires voters to produce a photo ID before they are allowed to vote.

Twenty-five states have required at some point voters to produce some form of ID before they are allowed to vote with varying rulings being handed down by lower courts on the constitutionality of these laws.  Monday’s decision could have an immediate impact on a number of states including Indiana, Florida and Georgia.

It should be noted that Indiana made every effort possible to minimize the burden the 2006 photo ID law had on its citizens who are not in possession of a valid photo ID.  First, Indiana provides IDs free of charge to individuals who do not posses a driver’s license.  Additionally, lawmakers included a provision in their law that allows voters without a valid photo ID to cast a provisional ballot and produce a valid form of identification at a later date.  Finally, residents of nursing homes are not required to produce a photo ID if their polling location is located in their nursing home facility.

The majority opinion was written by Justice Stevens who was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy.  Justice Scalia wrote a concurring opinion and was joined by Justice Thomas and Justice Alito.  Dissenting opinions were written by Justice Souter who was joined by Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer. 

There were several questions that had to be answered before the Court could arrive at their decision:

1. Does requiring voters to produce a photo ID before they are allowed to vote impose an excessively burdensome requirement on any class of voters?

Justice Stevens writes – “The record says virtually nothing about the difficulties faced by either indigent voters or voters with religious objections to being photographed.  …In sum, on the basis of the record that has been made in this litigation, we cannot conclude that the statute imposes ‘excessively burdensome requirements’ on any class of voters.”

Justice Scalia concurring with Stevens writes – “The lead opinion assumes petitioners’ premise that the voter-identification law ‘may have imposed a special burden on’ some voters, but holds that petitioners have not assembled evidence to show that the special burden is severe enough to warrant strict scrutiny.  That is true enough, but for the sake of clarity and finality as well as adherence to precedent, I prefer to decide these cases on the grounds that petitioners’ premise is irrelevant and that the burden at issue is minimal and justified.”

2. Is the burden placed on the voter outweighed by the possibility of preventing voter fraud?

Justice Stevens writes – “Indiana’s own experience with fraudulent voting in the 2003 Democratic primary for East Chicago mayor – though perpetrated using absentee ballots and not in-person fraud – demonstrate that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election.”

3. On a side note Stevens addressed the political implications presented in the photo ID cases:

“In their briefs, petitioners stress the fact that all of the Republicans in the General Assembly voted in favor” of the law “and the Democrats were unanimous in opposing it.  … It is fair to infer that partisan considerations may have played a significant role in the decision to enact” the law and “if such considerations had provided the only justification for a photo identification requirement, we may assume” that the law “would suffer the same fate as the poll tax.  But if a nondiscriminatory law is supported by valid neutral justifications, those justifications should not be disregarded simply because partisan interests may have provided one motivation for the votes of individual legislators.”

It is now time for the states to move forward with photo ID requirements that will stand up to the Courts decision.  There are few rights our Founding Fathers gave us that are more important than the right to vote.  Photo ID requirements at worst place a de minimis burden on the voter while insuring the integrity of the votes being cast.  Requiring eligible voters to display a photo ID is a small price to pay to ensure the minimization of voter fraud.  The Supreme Court could not have been more correct in holding that Indiana’s law requiring a photo ID is a constitutional and justifiable way to protect “the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.”  

Music and topics from the First Friday Podcast

You can hear the show on our homepage, http://www.itsfirstfriday.com/ (New shows every Tuesday, unless Monday is a holiday, then the new show is posted on Wednesdays.) You can download and play all our shows on your iPod or media player and have the ability to fast forward and rewind by going to the archives here.

IF YOU LISTEN IN THE ARCHIVES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FAST FORWARD AND REWIND ALL YOU WANT WITHOUT HAVING TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW. JUST MOVE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE LINK FOR THE SHOW YOU WANT TO HEAR AND CLICK PLAY IN THE WINDOW THAT POPS UP.

A few moments with Jeremiah Wright
The Real Me – The Who

Podcast Theme
Fearless – The Bravery

Intro, recap of our night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, name dropping-ish, Newt, Kumar, Kumar, Newt, naming of the special guests, explaining the cause and rules for the May First Friday, $5 gets you in, a free drink (one of our specials) and a 5 Hour Energy Drink bottle (while supplies last), goes to the defense fund for the Jefferson 1, brief story of the Jefferson 1, thanks to 5 Hour Energy Drink and Union Pub for their help in this, why Hitchens is pissed about this arrest, the return of Jeremiah Wright, a discussion of “context” and Wright, Obama’s revolving door of radical associates, “patriotism” and Reverend Wright, the difference between a deflection and a defense, Obama gives the green light to Wright criticism, an attempt to turn attention to William Ayers? Why Ayers is more troubling for Obama, Wright at the NAACP, an attack on the black church or a bigoted preacher? Reverend Wright’s background and Obama’s defense of him, the “success guilt” phenomenon, what “leaders” like Wright end up getting people who take their “lead.”

Exit music
Do You Wanna Dance – The Ramones

Obama Fragrance Ad
1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky

The Adventures of Superdelegate
Superman 50’s TV theme

Bumper music
Army of Me – Bjork

Supreme Court rules in favor of Indiana law requiring photo ID when voting, the end of ACORN? Other things you can’t do without ID, specifics of the law and the ruling, how the Left wants to require ID, a background check and a colonoscopy to buy a gun (which is clearly spelled out in the Constitution) but go crazy over the idea of requiring one to vote, the language of the decision, Scallia’s opinion, Darth Vader Ginsberg, Pelosi and Reid aren’t happy so you should be, Kit Bond and the voting dog, the race for endorsements from Senators, does anyone really care what other Senators think? Which Democrat will be easier to beat in November? Pros and cons of each.

Exit music
C’Mon, C’Mon – Von Bondies

Sleazealis ad featuring Eliot Spitzer
Me so horny – 2 Live Crew

ACLU voter fraud ad
American Idiot – Richard Cheese

Bumper music
Low – Cracker

Two quick headlines from stories that didn’t make the cut for News of the Weird but are worthy of mention. Numbers 50-41 of the top 50 most influential political pundits. Rachael Maddow (REALLY?)

New of the Weird, News of the World, News of…Whatever!

300 pound inmate complains he’s not being fed well enough because he used to weight 400 pounds.

Man in France pulled over for driving 125 mph while watching a video.

Man given 13 years for breaking into the prison he was just released from after 6 years the day before, tried the “I was possessed by demons” defense.

Assisi, home of the Patron Saint of the poor, Saint Francis, bans begging by poor people.

Florida State Senator wants to ban “testicles for cars.”

Lawmaker known for public nose-picking retires in Taiwan.

Russian billionaire to start “Snob” magazine to help rich flaunt their wealth.

Windsor, Ontario to ban public vomiting.

Wrap-up, recap of guests for Friday and the fundraiser.

End music
A Day in the Life – The Beatles

Voter fraud loses, Democrats upset: the Supreme Court rules on Indiana case.

It just got a little tougher for liberal activist groups like ACORN to commit voter fraud, and left-wingers aren’t happy about it.  But everyone else should be.

By a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law that requires voters to produce photo ID, read: prove who they are; when voting.  While liberals complained that this would somehow disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters because some people don’t have identification, the court rightly ruled that since the state offered ID for free to those who couldn’t afford one, that argument was garbage.  Though the most liberal justices, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and Darth Vader Ginsberg still voted against it.

The ACLU is unhappy, which is reason enough to dance.

Shocker! Obama doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Barack Obama illustrates yet another bit of evidence that Democrats and liberals, in particular himself, have no idea how government really works, and do not understand the world around them.

Karl Rove was kind enough to pick up then pen for the essentially flawed candidate, and give him some campaign advice. Part of the advice is to stop bluffing. Obama went on Meet the Press way back in 2006 and advocated for electronic billing of Medicare and Medicaid.

As Mr. Rove points out in his opinion: “the Bush administration, building on the good work of the Clinton administration, already put in place in 2003 a regulation that requires electronic billing of Medicaid and Medicare. “

Obama was only three years too late in his calling for reform; but like all liberals, “he means well”. What makes this especially scary is that Obama has clearly demonstrated his lack of understanding for these programs and/or their intricacies, yet he advocates for their expansion on a daily basis.

Do you want to pick a president that does not understand how the government functions?

News Flash: John McCain obeys law, New York Times reports, but they miss the real story.

The New York Times, in an attempt to mend fences with the Democratic Party friends over their ridiculous story blaming Hillary Clinton for the negativity and lack of issues in the Democratic primary, has once again taken aim at John McCain and ended up shooting themselves in the foot.

It isn’t a baseless story about an affair that wasn’t, this time it’s about McCain obeying the law about the use of private jets.  The Times reports:

Mr. McCain’s campaign paid a total of $241,149 for the use of that plane from last August through February, records show. That amount is approximately the cost of chartering a similar jet for a month or two, according to industry estimates.

The senator was able to fly so inexpensively because the law specifically exempts aircraft owned by a candidate or his family or by a privately held company they control.

So no law was broken, but it’s worthy of reporting.  No wonder the Times is in the process of going under.

The Times reports that the FEC is missing the number of members to make rule changes:

The Federal Election Commission adopted rules in December to close the loophole – rules that would have required substantial payments by candidates using family-owned planes – but the agency soon lost the requisite number of commissioners needed to complete the rule making.

One thing they fail to mention is that the hold placed on the nomination of the commissioner needed, Hans Von Spakovsky, was blocked in the Senate by Barack Obama.  How do we know this?  We’ve spoken with Mr. Von Spakovsky, who recently withdrew his name from consideration because of the trouble getting confirmed, on the matter.  And who could benefit the most from this?  Barack Obama.  Think about it…

The State Sales Tax Cartel.

Investor’s Business Daily correctly condemns New York state politicians for trying to tax economic activity in other states. Politicians in Albany and other state capitals fear that consumers can escape harsh sales taxes by going online to buy products, but the editorial explains that the correct response is not to create a privacy-emasculating scheme among states to track out-of-state purchases, but rather to reduce the burden of government:

Passed as part of this month’s New York state budget was Spitzer’s idea to make online businesses like Amazon.com, with no physical presence in the state, pay the state’s sales tax of at least 8%. New York is turning to this because of a severe budget crunch, and the state promises it will mean an extra $50 million this year and $75 million next year. There’s only one problem: the practice is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that both the Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause require that a seller has a physical presence within the state for it to have the right to levy sales taxes. …if New York gets away with taxing non-New York businesses you can be sure other states will follow its lead. …For eight years, 44 states have taken part in the “Streamlined Sales Tax Project,” an attempt to find a way to tax online commerce. New York’s move gives it the lead in those efforts. But doing so goes a long way toward ripping up the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which declares that “Congress shall have power . . . To regulate commerce . . . among the several states.” …In the age of the Internet, trying to make out-of-state companies pay in-state sales taxes is an unconstitutional outrage; it would mean government monitoring computer use right out of George Orwell’s “1984.” Instead of mugging non-New Yorkers with illegal taxation, the Empire State should consider something Democratic and Republican politicians alike think of as out of the question – cutting spending.

Read the whole thing.

Douchebag of the Week: The Daily Kos.

Sure, Kos himself (or Duckie as we call him around here), has won the coveted DBoTW Award before, but it’s been a while.  This time, however, he didn’t win, his whole website wins.  Why?  We assume that’s a rhetorical question, but if you haven’t read it in a while, they win this week because of their ultra-leftist, racist analysis of the Pennsylvania primary.

But wait, aren’t these people Liberals?  And aren’t Liberals the most loving people in the world, tolerant of everyone and everything?  Have another sip of the Kool-Aid.

Liberals are very accepting of any and everyone who agrees with them 100%, anyone else, not so much.  That’s why they’re always pissed off, walking around with angry faces mumbling under their breath about “taking the country back,” as if people who dare to disagree with them are some sort of evil foreigners, maybe even Canadians.  But we digress.

No, what the Duckie loyalists are worked up about this week is the fact that white people, white Democrats, who didn’t vote for Obama are racists.  With their limited mental ability, they look at the numbers from Pennsylvania and see the Klan.

Writes JohnKWilson:

“Hillary Clinton’s entire margin of victory in Pennsylvania was due to racist whites who openly opposed Barack Obama because he is black.”

The whole thing was racist’s fault!  Give the victory to Obama!  This isn’t surprising considering the Kossacks have harassed Clinton supporters to the point that they’ve left the website, and to that we say good.

Oddly ignored by these lunatics is the fact that Obama managed to squeak by they just over 90% of the black male vote.  Clearly there was no racial motivation in that, so why mention it?

The fact of the matter is you should vote for the person you want to be President, man, woman, black, white, who cares?  You’ve got some issues if you would vote against someone you agree with simply because they’re a different skin tone or use a toilet differently.  Get over yourselves or don’t vote!

For this reason, the posters and those who leave comments at the Daily Kos are this week’s Douchebags of the Week!  Congratulations, you’re idiots.

And just for gits and shiggles…

China jumps the shark: suing CNN for stupid comments isn’t going to win you any friends.

Jack Cafferty (seen on the left in the photo) is moron.  There’s no way to sugar coat it, it’s just the way it is.  He’s pretty much the human version of the two old Muppets who complain about how horrible the show is throughout the show.  There are a lot of Chinese people upset over his comments about China, the government of China and some of the defective products that have come out of there in recent months.  First of all, he’s free to be a moron, and he’s free to make offensive comments, which is clearly something Chinese nationals don’t understand.  Second, not many people watch CNN any more, so by raising a stink about his statements you’re also raising the profile of those statements. 

Now CNN is being sued for $1.3 billion, a buck for everyone living in China, for insulting the Chinese people.  The suit was seemingly filed without recognition of the irony of itself. 

It’s time to go away and let this die, don’t watch CNN if you’re offended/annoyed by Cafferty, we don’t.  But suing someone for being stupid is, well, stupid.

The New York Times can’t be that naïve: Claiming Clinton isn’t engaging Obama on the issues is a joke.

Aside from the fact that the New York Times endorsed Hillary Clinton and are now attacking her, the editors there have a lot of nerve saying:

“By staying on the attack and not engaging Mr. Obama on the substance of issues like terrorism, the economy and how to organize an orderly exit from Iraq, Mrs. Clinton does more than just turn off voters who don’t like negative campaigning.”

How can you engage someone on the issues when they speak in platitudes and are fawned over by the media?  And what would a debate on the issues between the two of them look like?  “I’m most socialist than you are!”  “No, I’m more socialist!”  Give us a break!

Seems the Times has jumped into the Obama bag right next to MSNBC, that’s the only way to describe a 10 point victory, one that would be a blow-out in any rational world, as “inconclusive.” 

The harshest words for Obama?  That he takes Clinton’s bait sometimes:

“Mr. Obama is not blameless when it comes to the negative and vapid nature of this campaign. He is increasingly rising to Mrs. Clinton’s bait, undercutting his own claims that he is offering a higher more inclusive form of politics.”

In other words, “Don’t stoop to the level of the person we said would be better than you as President, Senator Obama.”  What a joke!

And to claim this campaign is anything close to the nastiest ever shows an ignorance of history not worthy of discussion.

Your tax dollars hard at being completely wasted. The TSA and Earth Day.

How many federal employees does it take to waste our tax dollars and push an agenda?

The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, is familiar to anyone who flies.  They’re the people that make you take off your shoes, your belt, conduct body cavity searches and make grandma get out of the wheel chair because she might be a terrorist.  Aside from being worthless and unionized (so they can’t be fired easily, thanks Dems), they are also pushing a PC agenda, at least in Atlanta.

One of our contributors flew to Atlanta today and sent back the pictures below of an Earth Day booth set up and manned by TSA employees, in uniform and presumably on the clock (meaning we’re paying them) promoting the global warming agenda and ways to “fight it and save the earth.”

We haven’t read the TSA manual, though we suspect these employees haven’t either because there is no way this is listed as part of their duties.  Being rude, arrogant and all-around uncooperative to passengers probably is, but pushing a left-wing agenda…not so much.

Irrational rationing: rice, starvation and Al Gore.

There is story after story after story about food shortages, rationing and people hoarding food, and it’s all thanks to Pope Goreus the VI, Nobel Laureate, Al Gore.  How?  Two words: alternative fuels.

With governments mandating more and more ethanol usage, and ever increasing amount of food that would have been consumed by humans and animals is being turned into fuel, even though it is more polluting than regular gasoline.  Just like global warming itself, this is about feeling good, not science.

Farmers grow more of what the government subsidizes because there’s more money it, what means less crops for food.  And we wonder why people are starving. 

This is an obscene joke that has gone on for too long.  It’s time for the media to take a serious look at the “science” behind climate change before it’s too late and millions of people starve to death for myth that will make Al Gore into the ultimate Jim Jones.

The issue of Net Neutrality is dead.

We’re going to go ahead and call it right now, the push by liberals to pre-emptively regulate the Internet through so-called Net Neutrality legislation is dead. How can we make this call when Google and other multi-billion dollar companies are still willing to shovel money into the cause? It’s pretty simple, really.You can always tell how effective a lobbying effort is, and how important the public views an issue as being by the stature of the celebrities involved in pushing the agenda forward. Poverty has Bono and Angelina Jolie, for example, but Net Neutrality has Ok, Go! and Justine Bateman. Yes, you read that correctly, Ok, Go! and Justine Bateman. Nothing against Ok, Go! or Justine Bateman, Ok, Go! has some good stuff and Justine Bateman is attractive, but really? That’s the best they could pull? Was Skippy from Family Ties busy, or Screech too swamped with Celebrity Fit Club?  The public simply isn’t buying into the hype.

Add to that the fact that no one anyone in the policy world takes seriously supports the idea (unless they got a big Google check, in which case…well) and the pro-regulation crowd seems to be running out of steam. That’s a good thing.

It’s always been a curious thing that uber-leftists do not support pre-emptive war, pre-emptive reform (as in Social Security, though that and Medicare are already really screwed up, we still have time to fix them (though we’d be happier were they scrapped)), but they line up to regulate something based upon the possibility that a problem may develop in the future. Government isn’t the solution, it would be the problem. The free market is the solution.

Worthy reads.

The Looming Fiscal Nightmare of Fannie and Freddie. The Wall Street Journal continues its excellent coverage and analysis of the quasi-socialist federally-chartered mortgage companies…

MIssion Creep and Risky Intervention from the Fed. George Will wisely asks why the Federal Reserve is being given carte blanche to interfere in the economy. This is particularly ironic since, as Will notes, the Fed is at least partially responsible for current market volatility thanks to its easy-money policy…

The Hidden Damage of Subsidies. Thomas Sowell gives the usual argument against subsidies by pointing out that the government robs Peter to lavish favors on Paul. But he makes an equally important point by explaining how subsidies distort prices and lead to resource misallocation. These seem like arcane issues, but they have a profound impact on whether a nation becomes rich or poor…

People die because of global warming alarmism, NOT global warming.

Every 30 seconds, a child somewhere in the world dies of malaria, according to the World Health Organization. The disease claims more than one million lives each year, although it is both preventable and treatable But the erroneous claims about the toxicity of DDT in Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1972 to ban the pesticide, precipitating the suspension of spraying in dozens of countries – and the deaths of tens of millions
of people.Tens of thousands of drivers and passengers have perished in crashes because of fuel economy standards. But a 500-pound reduction in vehicle weight increases crash fatalities between 14 percent and 27 percent annually, according to Harvard University and the Brookings Institution, among others. Moreover, cars weighing less than 2,500 pounds account for two-and-a-half times as many crash fatalities as SUVs weighing 5,000 pounds or more, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Read on at National Review about how Gore’s “cause” has caused food to go to waste, and how Greenpeace prevented the treatment of basic drinking water .

The End of the Beginning for the global warming myth?

National Review has cited a Gallup survey in which they found the number of people who are “alarmed” by global warming alarmism has declined, from 41 to 37 percent. While not a massive leap in numbers, it is a step in the right direction. Perhaps one of the greatest indicators that the great global warming scare may be over is that the fanatics are really upset that no one cares. The alarmism causing the rush to shoot ourselves in the foot may soon be over.

Just like peak oil, population threats, Y2K, and all of the other famous scam-scares of the world, global warming seems to be falling in its rightful place.

Sit back and grab the popcorn as the world watches Europe and the UN try to pry their feet out of their mouths over this one.

As Winston Churchill once said, “It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Let’s hope that applies here.

Flat Tax Vs. Fair Tax: What’s the difference?

There is also a reminder of how our current tax system sucks.

Michael Moore is for Obama (as if you needed another reason to oppose him)

Michael Moore, affectionately called Jabba the Commie ’round these parts, has finally given marching orders to his flying monkeys: vote for Obama.

Calling Hillary Clinton “disgusting,” Moore uses his typical diversion tactics to draw attention away from Obama’s short-comings and problems such as Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and everything else the media has yet to even bother to investigate. 

He (surprise, surprise) pledges his undying support for any Democrat, saying,

“I (and most people I know) don’t give a rat’s ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there’s a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word “Democratic” next to the candidate’s name.”

Exactly the kind of rational thinking we’ve come to expect from Jabba, though it’s also a lie.  Could you imagine if that Democrat were Joe Lieberman?  Pretty sure he’d be a Ralph Nader fan again if that were the case.

And quite a shock that a multi-millionaire socialist would hang out with other multi-millionaire socialists in their gated community in Traverse City, Michigan. Go to his neighborhood and you’ll see what we mean.

Liagra, the new drug from Hillary Clinton.

Snowfall gets in the way of Earth Day/Global Warming events.

You really have to hate it when all you want to do is bring attention to how the world is getting warmer thanks to humans and mother nature doesn’t help you out with some sun. 

In Edmonton, Alberta, a bunch of hippies ready to complain about how global warming is going to kill us all unless we convert to Socialism were forced into a tent due to extremely cold weather. 

That’s a shame.

Colombia blasts Pelosi for free trade lies.

The Speaker of the House in Colombia has blasted the Speaker of the House in the United States for her unprecedented move to change the rules that govern Congress when dealing with trade agreements in order to please her extreme base.

On the issue Democrats claimed as one of the largest for not moving forward was the violence against trade unionists in Colombia. Speaker Palacio acknowledges the problem, points out how the number of murders have dropped from 196 in 2002 down to 26 in 2006, and that’s for the whole country, not just one city. He continues:

“In order to reach those goals, generate legitimate employment, and strengthen our economy, Madam Speaker, we require the decisive support and cooperation of our largest trading partner.”

That is true, but Speaker Placaio hits the nail on the head earlier in the letter about why this happened in the first place, and why, even though it is in the best interest of both nations, it probably won’t go anywhere:

“The Democratic Party’s decision to involve Colombia in an internal electoral process is unfair, as national policy should rightly be placed above partisan considerations.”

If only that were true…

Here is the whole letter.

Finally someone says it – It’s time to move past Reagan.

There is no doubt Ronald Reagan was a great president, he was able to pull the country out of the Jimmy Carter nosedive and defeat the Soviet Union, cut taxes, bring the idea of smaller government into the mainstream (though it was later abandoned by his own party), but that was a while ago.  The challenges and issues Reagan faced are not the challenges of today.  Learn from his principles but it’s time to get over looking for “the next Reagan” because there isn’t one, and we don’t need one. 

Kudos to Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana for having the courage to just come out and say it, unlike the Republican debates where all the candidates were falling all over themselves to say they were the second coming of what we’d already had.

What we need is the first someone else.  No one said Reagan was the next Goldwater, they were their own people, they created and energized a movement, and that’s what we need again.  Someone to pick up the ball where it is and move it forward…

Sleazy Attack on Health Savings Accounts.

Statist politicians want people to depend on government for health care, which is why the left is reflexively opposed to vehicles, such as health savings accounts, that allow people to control their own health care dollars and make their own health care decisions. In an effort to make HSAs less attractive, the Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee have concocted a new set of regulations. This is typical inside-the-beltway shenanigans.

The sleazy part of the story is that a private company is lobbying for the provision since it would make money enforcing the regulation.

The Wall Street Journal opines on the unseemly alliance of statist ideology and special-interest deal making:

This week, the House passed legislation that included a provision to require every HSA transaction be reviewed and verified as a legitimate medical expense. Democrats say this is to ensure that consumers are using their tax-free withdrawals for a knee replacement, rather than a new iPod. In reality it adds a layer of bureaucracy that could sharply reduce the appeal and cost savings of HSAs. A key player here is Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark, whose main purpose in politics is to give the U.S. a government-run health-care system. He is a known opponent of HSAs – once comparing them to “weapons of mass destruction” – because they introduce more individual choice into the health-care marketplace. Pushing for the provision was a company called Evolution Benefits, which has patented a system for the substantiation of health-care expenses.

Read the whole thing and be outraged!

Music and Topics from this week’s First Friday Podcast.

You can hear the show on our homepage, http://www.itsfirstfriday.com/ (New shows every Tuesday, unless Monday is a holiday, then the new show is posted on Wednesdays.) You can download and play all our shows on your iPod or media player and have the ability to fast forward and rewind by going to the archives here.

IF YOU LISTEN IN THE ARCHIVES AND ARE USING INTERNET EXPLORER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FAST FORWARD AND REWIND ALL YOU WANT WITHOUT HAVING TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW. JUST MOVE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE LINK FOR THE SHOW YOU WANT TO HEAR AND CLICK PLAY IN THE WINDOW THAT POPS UP.

Obama at the “Compassion Forum” felt picked on
I Believe – REM

Podcast Theme
Fearless – The Bravery

Welcome, introductions, learning more and more about Obama, the media dared to ask questions about things having to do with him as a person (SHOCK!), Hillary’s prospects for Pennsylvania, McCain sitting back and enjoying it all, McCain on This Week, the many Obama scandals that the media had been ignoring, William Ayers and the Weather Underground, is it a valid issue? How much time has to pass before someone is “cool” to associate with? The Washington Post’s idea of “bi-partisan,” it’s not about Obama when he was 8, it’s about his judgment now, the media hasn’t really even begun to scratch the surface of Obama and we’ve already got so much, the Obama family’s tax returns, McCain’s tax returns, Cindy McCain – Beer Wholesalers (we want to hang out at the McCain pad.

Exit music
It Takes Two – Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock

Live like a Democrat Tax Accountants
Money – Pink Floyd

Obama Helmet Ad by Ronco
Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before – The Smiths

Bumper music
Everybody’s working for the weekend – Loverboy

Obama starts to wine about everything, the way Hillary is being mean to him, the treatment he got from ABC’s Charlie Gibson and George Snuffalufagus, the in-fighting on the Left and how much fun it is to watch, Keith Olbermann’s outrage over Snuffalufagus asking a question first posed by a Republican, Obama on the trail crying about how long it took before they could take about how socialist they are, there are people out there who care about the fact that Obama is “friendly” with someone who wishes he’d bombed more, can you really ever be a “former” terrorists? You can’t be a “former” alcoholic, Bill Clinton steps up to defend Hillary and makes matters worse, Dick Cheney on Hillary Clinton in Kosovo, Obama’s Marxism, Coward, er, Howard Dean wants the superdelegates to decide in early June now, Hillary pulls nearly even in national polls, are the stories about Obama starting to sink in to the public’s mind? Predictions for Pennsylvania, Phil says Hillary by 6-8, El Presidente (by proxy) says Hillary by 10, The Dude says Hillary by 12. Will anything from Pennsylvania mean anything down the road? Can she do anything about North Carolina? The special election in Mississippi. Jimmy Carter: American Disgrace, meeting with Hamas, the self-glorification of Jimmy Carter, worst President in modern times, and worst former President. A horrible Jimmy Carter impersonation.

End music
I’m an adult now – The Pursuit of Happiness

Democrat Party Monopoly
Roll with the changes – REO Speedwagon

Hope Energy Drink ad
I’ll Buy – The Replacements

Bumper Music
She Bangs the Drums – The Stone Roses

News of the Weird, News of the World, News of…Whatever!

Old fashioned baby names are supposedly making a comeback but the names they consider as “old fashioned” really aren’t. Not many Jedidiahs rolling around, locking a kid into butler-hood by naming him Chauncey, Freakonomics on names.

Polish guy decides to pull 3 wheel cart for 1,800 miles for no real reason.

A non-drinking Irish story, airline computer glitch lets people buy $8 trans-Atlantic business class tickets, forced to honor them. Why do we always find out about these sorts of things after it’s too late to take advantage of them?

Italian man given a suspended sentence for staring at a woman for “too long.”

Man steals rare coin collection, takes them to a bank to put them in a safety deposit box, turns out the man helping him at the bank was they guy he robbed.

A Japanese high school baseball team pleas for game to end after giving up 66 runs in first 2 innings, pitcher throws more than 250 pitches, was not pulled for reasons unknown.

Goodbyes and special guest tease.

End music
A Day in the Life – The Beatles