Real-Time Observations from John Kerry's Speech

10:11 It's obvious watching Hillary Clinton clap to the blaring Springsteen tune "No Surrender" that she has no clue how to follow a backbeat.

10:13 "My mother was a rock." That goes a long way towards explaining things.

10:16 Kerry is channelling the '60s. "The march isn't over! We're going to change the world!" Memo to self: dig up old bell bottoms and tie-dyes.

10:18 "I ask you to challenge me on my record!" Note to the RNC: GAME ON!

10:19 Let the bashing begin. Shots at Bush, Cheney, and Ashcroft all in one sentence (albeit a pedantic run-on sentence).

10:24 Kerry praises Terayza. She finally leans forward attentively, as he has seemingly found a topic of interest to her.

10:28 Kerry promises that he will never let "facts be distorted by politics." That's rich.

10:30 Back to Vietnam for at least the third rotation in 30 minutes.

10:31 Apparently Kerry thinks the French are the key to winning Iraq. Never mind that they have, in the past, been incapable of defending France.

10:32 He appears to propose disbanding the National Guard and Reserves, describing their call-up as a "back-door draft" that he will end. If you can't call 'em up, why keep 'em together, John?

10:35 Claims, without any evidence, that we are closing firehouses in America. That'll get everyone out to the polls.

10:37 Another interminable Vietnam diatribe. We know, we know!

10:38 Here come the values! "It's time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families" This means apparently (from the next sentence) that social security, medicare, and body armor are "family values."

10:40 In a strange diatribe centered around "Help is on the Way," Kerry appears to somehow solve the problems in the steel industry, cure breast cancer, end homelessness, and raise low wages. How does he do all that? Don't be a spoil sport.

10:50 I've never heard so many topics covered so quickly. In five minutes he's gone from tax cuts to tax increases to the cost of prison to the cost of health insurance to HMO reform to medicare to political privelege back to health care as a civil right to mideast oil to alternative fuels, finally ending in this rousing call to all of America: "GO TO JOHNKERRYDOTCOM!"

10:55 Time for some shameless pandering to religion, and another Vietnam remark. "We are on God's side" brings down the house. Then it's off to Kitty Hawk, the Internet, Parkinsons disease, diabetes, AIDs, science research, safe children in the afternoon (huh?), I can't type fast enough, omigod, we're back to Vietnam again! And with a pinch of good old "diversity" for good measure.

Whew! That last 10 minutes was a barn burner. I am convinced this man is so focused on obtaining the presidency he has no idea what he would do upon reaching it.

Convention Quote

Elizabeth Edwards, paraphrased from last night's Democratic Convention:

He knew if he worked hard enough, fighting for those who could not fight for themselves, he could sue the snot out of small-town country pediatricians and make himself filthy rich, while returning pennies to his clients and bankrupting the only doctor in town.

Well, that's not exactly what she said, but I don't have an editor, so what the hay.

Dispatch from the Religion of Peace

The Associated Press reports that a so-called Muslim "spiritual advisor" says that killing other Muslims is just as cool as killing infidels (although one would imagine not nearly as spiritually uplifting as killing Jews).

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A tape posted on an Islamic Web site today offers justification for killing Muslims.

The voice on the tape says the killings are okay if a Muslim's presence protects infidels and threatens revenge on Shiites.

The tape was purportedly made by the spiritual advisor to two terrorist groups, including the al-Qaida linked group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Those wacky Muslims! It seems there really isn't anybody in the world whose murder can't be justified by a "spiritual advisor" somewhere. Talk about a license to kill!

Goin' Shoppin'

For several months now I have been hemming and hawing about picking up either a Smith & Wesson 386PD or a Smith & Wesson SW99 .45 ACP to join the vintage .38 in our closet.

The internal debate has become pretty circular: the .357 Magnum has more stopping power but the .45 will chamber 3 extra rounds without reloading but the revolver is more dependable but we already have a revolver!

Now, the wife and I are both originally from The Peoples Republic of New Jersey, so the concept of "running down to the gun store" is a little alien to us. But by last night she had had enough. "Will you just go out and get one of those freaking guns!" she demanded.

Looks like a trip to Bob's Gun Shop is on the agenda. I think I'll go for the 45 pistol first. I love her so.

When Zell Miller speaks, I listen

From Zell Millar's piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal:

Today, it is the Democratic Party that has mastered the art of division and diversion. To run for president as a Democrat these days you have to go from interest group to interest group, cap in hand, asking for the support of liberal kingmakers. Mr. Kerry's no different. [...]

No longer the Party of Hope, today's Democratic Party has become Mr. Kerry's many mansions of cynicism and skepticism. As our economy continues to get better and businesses add jobs, Mr. Kerry's going around America trying to convince people that the roof is about to cave in. He talks about the "misery index" and the Depression. What does he know about either? [...]

Now Mr. Kerry wants to raise taxes on hundreds of thousands of small business owners and millions of individuals. He claims to be for the working people, but I don't understand how small businesses can create jobs if they've got to send more money to Washington instead of keeping it to hire workers. [...]

All the speeches we hear this week won't be able to hide the truth of what today's Democratic Party has become: an enclave of elites paying lip-service to middle-class values. Americans looking for a president who understands their struggles and their dreams should tune in next month, when we celebrate the leadership of George W. Bush.

Moonbat Alert I

This is Medea Benjamin, founder of "Global Exchange" and Green Party Senate candidate from California. More on Ms. Benjamin can be found here

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

The Virginian-Pilot has an article detailing the campaign of some of John Kerry's fellow swift boat veterans. (click "Ask Me Later" if you get the registration screen)Swift Boat Veterans for Truth boasts 250 members and they have this to say:

“We were there,” Plumly said. “We know what happened. And it wasn’t like he says it was.”

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth say Kerry is a “turncoat” who exaggerated his military prowess in Vietnam, received medals for minor wounds, then accused those who served beside him of committing war crimes.

Triggered by Kerry’s appearance in Norfolk today, Plumly and three other Virginia “Swiftees” came forward Monday to be heard.

“He’s unfit to be commander in chief of the Armed Forces,” Plumly said, “much less, the leader of the American people.” [...]

Members span party lines, said Mike Solhaug, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and a member of the group.

Solhaug, 59, from Virginia Beach, said politics have nothing to do with it.

“I’m concerned about this country,” he said. “That’s all I need to say.”

Solhaug, like others in the group, would love to see a Swiftee elected to the nation’s highest office.

But not this one.

“This is about judgement, truthfulness, loyalty and dependability,” said Roy Hoffmann, 78, a retired naval rear admiral who lives in Richmond. Hoffmann was in charge of swift-boat operations during Kerry’s tour from November 1968 to May 1969. “These are the tenets of command.

Kerry had none of them.” [...]

“He betrayed us,” said member Bill Collins, a Swiftee who serves as chairman of the board of supervisors of Sussex County. “Labeled us all baby-killers.”

For more than three decades, the men say, they bore the sting in silence, organizing only after “Tour of Duty” came out in January. The book, written about Kerry’s Vietnam experience, is based largely on his war diaries. The vets say it contains numerous errors and dramatizes Kerry’s service role. [...]

“He was arrogant,” Plumly said. “He despised authority. He always had something to say, like the kid in class who’s just got to raise his hand, right or wrong. We knew him as the guy who required constant supervision.”

It will be interesting to see if these guys get any traction in the mainstream media as November approaches.

Dissecting Fascism

Jon Ray has posted two pages rebutting the left's false portrayal of fascism as a right wing ideology, correctly pointing out that fascism is based rather on left wing socialism.

This page offers a partial fisking of a Geoff Price piece intended to paint 20th century fascism as a right-wing movement, followed by a series of links debunking that idea.

This page presents a Laurence Britt piece ignoring the socialist roots of fascism. Mr. Ray's counter arguement can be found at the top of that page, or go directly here.

First Pitch

John Kerry threw out the first pitch in last night's Yankees-Red Sox game. Unlike most celebrities, however, Kerry didn't throw the pitch to the home team catcher. Rather, in a gesture that transformed an obvious political gesture into a blatant political maneuver, he threw the first pitch to - I can't believe I am writing this - he threw the first pitch to a soldier in jungle camouflage wearing a catcher's mitt!

Typically, Kerry came up well short, bouncing the ball in front of home before it skipped to the backstop.

Proof of God's Sense of Irony

News from Oklahoma:

TULSA - Blake Champlin, a Tulsa lawyer and environmental activist, died Monday at his home when a tree supporting a hammock fell and crushed him.

Via Greenie Watch

So the Saudis have found Paul Johnson's head in a freezer. In a house occupied by an Islamist terrorist, his wife, and his children. Do you suppose he dragged out the head on occasion, so his family could appeciate the breadwinner's efforts? Maybe the head was used to bowl down frozen chickens in a bizarre Islamic parlor game? Or maybe these "people" are medieval barbarians and don't deserve a moment of reflection upon why they are keeping severed human heads in their freezers?!?!?

Tour de France

Up until yesterday, I had been enjoying the Tour de France without any thought to politics. The human interest story is so compelling: Lance Armstrong, having survived tesicular cancer metasticized to the brain and lungs, racing to win his sixth straight Tour. Then came this::

During Wednesday's time trial, Armstrong was booed, spat at and insulted, but shrugged off hostile sections of the crowd packing the road to win the stage - moving another step closer to cycling history.

Can't the French please just put it away for a couple hours? Can't we be allowed to enjoy a freaking bicycle race without this sort of nonsense? Can't they at least show a modicum of respect for this man and what he has overcome and accomplished?

Frivolous Lawsuit Alert

The New York Times is reporting that New York City is joining with 8 states in filing a lawsuit against utility companies:

Eight states and New York City plan to sue utilities today that they say are the country's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas that scientists have linked to global warming.

The states and the city will not seek financial penalties but, according to a draft news release, will demand "substantial cuts" in the emissions, which they say "pose serious threats to our health, our economy and our environment.'' [...]

The states are California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. [...]

The companies named as defendants in the draft were American Electric Power, Cinergy, the Southern Company, the Tennessee Valley Authority and Xcel Energy.

American Electric Power and Cinergy are based in Ohio; the Southern Company is in Georgia; TVA is obviously in Tennessee; Xcel is from Minnesota.

None of these utilities is based in any of the states suing! Why isn't New York suing its own utility, Con Ed, if it believes in the suit? Why isn't New Jersey suing PSEG?

Meanwhile, The Washington Times is reporting that so-called greenhouse gases aren't the problem the left would have us believe:

The sun is burning hotter than usual, offering a possible explanation for global warming that needs to be weighed when proceeding with expensive efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, Swiss and German scientists say. [...]

It shows that there is enough happening on the solar front to merit further research. Perhaps we are devoting too many resources to correcting human effects on the climate without being sure that we are the major contributor," he said.

An Associated Press report from Fairfax, Virginia notes that citizens are carrying weapons in compliance with the law!

In Virginia, as in many states, carrying a concealed weapon requires a permit, issued by a local court. But no permit is required to simply wield a gun in the open, a right reinforced by a state law that took effect July 1.

As usual, the lesson of the story is plainly in print, but missed by the reporter:

Crime is at 20-year lows in the county [...] even with the population soaring.

Why does nobody investigate the possibility that crime is falling precisely because many in the so-called soaring population are armed?

Never Talk Politics at Work

As I walked through the lunch room at work the other day, returning to my desk with a can of Coke, a co-worker who was finishing up her lunch stopped me.

"I just finished reading the best Molly Ivins column," she said, gushing, "she's such a great writer!"

I was in a pretty good mood, so I didn't want to get into the vagaries of Molly Ivins, particularly with someone I see every day. "She is a good writer," I agreed. Should have walked away right then. But I went on, "I don't agree with a word she says, but she writes well."

Uh-oh. My co-worker looked aghast. "Surely," she said, "you can't consider voting for Bush after what he has done."

"Well I certainly couldn't vote for John Kerry." That was apparently the last straw.

"BUT BUSH LIED," she shrieked. "About weapons?" I asked. "OF COURSE! HE LIED AND TOOK US TO WAR!" Here it was, pure undiluted Bush hatred in full fury.

"Well," I said still calm in the face of flailing arms and flying spittle, "I think if he had really lied he would have been smart enough to plant some weapons to find. To me, the fact that very little was found is proof that the President didn't lie."

Last I saw her, she was running up the stairs, unwilling to discuss it anymore.

Later that day, I sent her an email quoting Bill Clinton on the eve of Operation Desert Fox and outlining the extensive military strikes involved in that effort I asked if she objected to Bush's war based on his tactics or his success. Never received a response. I'll need to remember to tiptoe past that desk in the future.

Unbelievable

From Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic candidate John Kerry, whose campaign demanded to know on Wednesday whether President Bush read a key Iraq intelligence assessment, did not read the document himself before voting to give Bush the authority to go to war, aides acknowledged.

I am holding my breath waiting for the New York Times to pick this one up. If blogging ceases, you will know that I have passed out from oxygen deprivation.

The Richest Poor People in the World

I have been saying for years (to myself mostly, but to my wife sometimes) that America has the richest poor people in the world. Finally, along comes Arnold Kling with some statistics to back up this claim.

Of housesholds with incomes under $15,000 per year, 18% have dishwashers, 57% clothes washers, 45% clothes dryers, 23% a cell phone, 25% a big screen TV, 37% a telephone answering machine, 64% cable or satellite TV, 74% a VCR, and 75% a microwave. Kling goes on to quote economic historian Robert Fogel:

"Indeed, we have become so rich that we are approaching saturation in the consumption not only of necessities, but also of goods recently thought to be luxuries...Virtually everyone who is old enough and well enough to drive a car has one. In the case of television, there are 0.8 sets per person (2.2 per household)...The level of saturation for many consumer durables is so high that even the poorest fifth of households are well endowed with them."

I would only say the 23% cell phone number seems a little low, based on the number I see hanging on belts in the local low income housing projects. And last but not least, this 2002 conference explored how one of the greatest threats inherent in poverty in America is obesity:

For the first time in global history, poor people in post-industrial nationsespecially [sic] in the United States are more likely to be seriously and unhealthily overweight than people from more affluent communities.

That's right. Our poor people are fatter than our rich people.

Ivins on O'Reilly

Liberal columnist Molly Ivins was on Bill O'Reilly's show last night. O'Reilly was respectful, but Ivans was ditzy at best. She constantly twirled rubber bands in her fingers and chuckled nervously at every challenge of her views. If she were forced to present her columns on video, I doubt she would be as widely syndicated as she is.

On Democrats and Taxes

Thomas Sowell has a nifty column summarizing the Kerry campaign strategy.:

Senator Kerry has been busy posing for the media shooting guns, playing hockey, declaring himself as having "conservative" values, and even saying that life begins at conception.

[I am going to head in a different direction, but follow Sowell's link for the conclusion to his thoughts]

As a Virginian, I am reminded strongly of Democrat Mark Warner's recent campaign for governor, in which his most prominent promise was "I am a fiscal conservative."

Upon reaching office, Governor Warner immediately started looking for ways to raise.taxes. Blocked by a conservative legislature, Warner tried to get voters in the largely liberal regions of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to vote in regional tax increases. That thwarted, Warner claimed poverty and hardship and, with the ultimate endorsement of the congress, pushed forward a large state-wide tax increase. Today, the rebounding economy has created a surplus before the tax increases have been implimented.

The moral of the story is this: Democrats have realized that they can only rise to power by presenting themselves as "conservative." Using the Warner model from Virginia, Kerry is running to the center-right as a gun-toting, Catholic believing, centrist, his voting history be damned.

If Mark Warner, whom I consider to be far to the right of John Kerry, was able to push through large tax increases in rabidly anti-tax Virginia, there is no telling the kind of damage John Kerry could do to our tax code if put in charge of the federal executive branch.

40 Reasons To Vote For George Bush Or Against John Kerry

John Hawkins has posted 40 Reasons To Vote For George Bush Or Against John Kerry. Here are two highlights, but you really need to check out all of 'em.

15) "The average middle-class family - which he defines as people in the middle-fifth of earners - would have paid an additional $1,933 in taxes this year if Kerry had prevailed on tax votes during the first Bush term. Over the next 10 years, that same family would pay an additional $15,440."

22) "(M)any analysts are forecasting that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will grow by 4.6 percent or better this year, the fastest in two decades.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

The best line from a recent Whose Line Is It Anyway? rerun was the first line:

Welcome to Who's Line is it Anyway? the game where everything's made up and the points don't matter. That's right, the points are like condoms to a Trekkie!

I don't think I have ever watched that show and not laughed out loud at least once.

Why We Need a Contingency for Postponing Elections

There is speculation and discussion today on the wisdom of postponing the presidential election in case of a terrorist attack. Here's why I think we need to have a contingency plan to do so.

Certainly, a terrorist attack would not physically prevent most Americans from voting. But as we saw on September 11th, an attack of a certain magnitude would make it impossible for some of us to vote. So what would that mean in a national election?

For the sake of discussion, let's assume a terrorist attack in Miami. It doesn't matter what kind of attack, just that it be large enough, horrifying enough, or confusing enough to prevent people from voting. For the sake of the integrity of a state-wide election, voting would have to be postponed in all of Florida. Now let's assume an election scenario similar to that in 2000.

If the election is postponed in Florida but not nationwide, the entire remainder of the country will vote before Florida, and Floridians will know before they vote that at they alone will be electing the President. With stakes like that focused in a single jurisdiction, the possible reward for corruption, bribery, ballot tampering, disenfranchisement, and all sorts similar nonsense will be increased exponentially.

Consider the kind of shenanigans inspired by the 2000 election after the vote had been cast. Now imagine if the same powerful interests all arrived in Florida before anyone had voted.

At first blush, it seems that a temporary postponement would amount to "letting the terrorists win," but I believe the integrity of the process requires that the entire nation vote on the same day.

Update: Michael Williams posts that elections shouldn't be postponed, and states where voting cannot be completed should have their electoral votes assigned by its legislature.

My problem with this approach is that it focuses the potential for corruption to an even narrower point. And it does nothing to eliminate the corrupting influence described above in which a group of people vote with prior knowledge that their vote alone will (not could, mind you, but will) decide the outcome of an election.

You Just Can't Win

From an article by James M. Taylor at the Heartland Institute:

In the 1990s, activist groups championed natural gas as a cleaner-burning alternative to coal and oil. [...] (T)he activist groups were successful in their campaign, and nearly all electric plants built since 1998 are designed to be fueled primarily by natural gas.

Having coerced the shift to natural gas, however, the activist groups now have embarked on a campaign to ban domestic natural gas drilling.
[...]

Giving in to activist demands, the major energy companies shifted their focus to natural gas production in other countries, with the intent to import liquified natural gas (LNG) into the U.S. Now, however, the same activist groups are opposing the importation of natural gas.

So, to satisfy the greens, we have to use natural gas, but not drill for it or import it.

Daniel Henninger, writing for the WSJ Opinion page has a nifty summary of how shallow and depressing Democratic candicies have become:

They do indeed have a vision, and it's the one that has fired every Democratic candidacy since 1932. Fundamentally, nothing in their worldview has changed in 70 years.
John Edwards's "Two Americas" speech needs no introduction. The U.S. is still stuck in the same grim ditch dubbed "Two Societies" by the Kerner Commission in 1968.

Back when the Democratic idea was young and vital, a problem in America had to be truly dire to deserve federal intervention--a depression or racial segregation. Now, any need is excuse enough to enroll people in Uncle Sam's club. Visit the Kerry speeches and Web site:

"No one should have to live in fear that they are one doctor's visit away from financial ruin." "Half of all schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, such as polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation." "John Kerry will work to make early education available and affordable for every American child." "John Kerry will ensure that small businesses have all the federal support that they need to grow and thrive." Somehow all this stuff will restore our "values."

For many Democrats, the vision of a city sliding down a hill is the continuing reality of America. In the version being tried for this election, economic growth is possible in a globalized world only if the middle class gets shafted. "We're moving backwards"--John Kerry, April 2004.

Forbidden Love

Kerry and Edwards certainly have developed a strange affinity for each other. Do you suppose all this touchy-feely stuff supposed to appeal to women or gays? Here's Wesley Pruden's take on it:

The two Democratic candidates can't wait to get on stage for sessions of arm-gripping, face-fondling, knee-rubbing, neck-nuzzling, thigh-slapping and bear-hugging. This is not the political love that dare not speak its name from a closet, but the contrived warmth, born of the focus group, that shouts from the rooftop. [...]

The carefully calculated "candidate handling" is merely a pose to reassure voters that Monsieur Kerry does, too, have a pulse. All that's expected of John Edwards is that he learn to hug (but not kiss) in French. The rest of us will just have to grin and bear it, but from a distance. November is only five months away.

Photo Credit: Wonkette

Men of the People

It's interesting to compare the rhetoric of the Democratic ticket with the reality of their lives. Jon Kerry is worth in the neighborood of $600 million dollars or more, thanks to his marriages to wealthy heiresses. John Edwards is worth up to $60 million thanks to his medical malpractice law firm.

And these two men are running as populists, champions of the "working man." As a working man myself, I would prefer that the wealthy men leave me alone to pursue my fortune, rather than threaten me with higher taxes on every step of the ladder as a reward for my work.

John Kerry's Bizarre Abortion Views

The blogosphere is full of excellent posts analyzing the intellectual bankruptcy of John Kerry "nuancing" his way onto both sides of the abortion issue by claiming to believe life begins at conception, while simultaneously hiding behind separation of church and state to avoid accountability for his legislative positions.

John Hawkins writing at his Right Wing News blog is pretty typical of the shredding Kerry is taking:

Well, what sort of degenerate is John Kerry? How is it that he can believe that every abortion ends an innocent human life and yet regularly receive a 100% rating on his voting record from pro-abortion groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood?

Moreover, John Kerry's attempt to play the "separation of church and state" card doesn't wash. Trying to claim that you believe life begins at conception while almost unconditionally supporting abortion for others is like saying you wouldn't ever drown your own children in a bathtub, but have no problem with other people doing it.

In other words, you don't have to be a religious zealot in order to favor passing laws against what you view as infanticide, you only need to have a sense of common decency. That's something that Senator Kerry sadly seems to lack.

Read the whole thing

John Edwards in his Own Words

From FrontPage Magazine come these John Edwards quotes and positions:

On going to a reception for Leah Rabin:

Who's she?

Upon being told she is Yitzhak Rabin's widow:

Who was he?

On the US-EU dispute over the World Trade Organization:

I’m not sure I even know what you’re talking about.

On his Korean policy:

Something different than what the administration has

Now there's a statesman ready to lead the country in international affairs.

Kerry Demands More Government Oversight of Children

Likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts called for child-care tax creditsand an expanded national after-school child-care system Wednesday

So John Kerry wants to keep the public schools open until 6 PM to serve "working families." Here's the implied premise: it's the government's job to confiscate enough money to supervise the children of the people it is taxing to the point that it takes two jobs to support a family. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Why don't we go all the way? Open the schools 24-7 to accomodate children of night shift workers. Open the schools on weekends for those that have to work those days. Heck, why don't we just turn the children over to government completely so they won't get in the way of the blessed workers.

How about this instead: Lower taxes so that one spouse can afford to stay home and raise the kids. But the Democrats never have a solution that doesn't involve raising taxes and increasing government oversight.

Only in a Government Operation

For over 70 years since prohibition, the Commonwealth of Virginia has operated a state monopoly on the distribution, sale, and profits of distilled spirits. And for over 70 years, the Commonwealth has prohibited the sale of such spirits on Sundays.

Apparently, a border-line genius has been voted into the state house, because someone in Richmond recently realized that liquor stores in Washington DC and at military commissaries were in fact open on Sundays. The result? Lost revenue as customers availed themselves of the free market.

So the legislature voted to allow ABC stores in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and around DC to open on Sunday, starting in July 2004. (Our modern Einsteins must have skipped Economics 101, voting simultaneously to raise prices 3%).

How did this moment of legislative brilliance play out in its first weekend? Well, around Norfolk, the ABC stores were open for business for the first time on a Sunday, July 4th, Independence Day. And the same stores were closed all day on Monday, July 5th, in observance of Independence Day. Heck of a way to run a business.

If the state ever allowed any competition, they would be broke in a month.

The People's Republic of New Jersey

An article in The Trentonian outlines a taxes in New Jersey. It seems that rising property values have made it difficult for some to pay their taxes. So democratic governor Jim McGreevey came up with a plan: identify 28,500 residents, confiscate $830 million from them, and give the money to the rest of the citizens.

The wealth distribution tax increases taxes on the state’s richest residents and redistributes the cash to seniors and middle income families with incomes of $200,000 per year or less.

"We in New Jersey understand that there is a property tax crisis - every cent, every dime of this millionaire’s tax is going out to middle-class families and senior citizens," McGreevey repeated once again. "This is the right direction, this is about fairness."

It's fair, that is unless you are one of the 28,000. To them, it is communism, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need, pure and simple.

One could argue that if someone making $175,000 a year can't pay their taxes, maybe they could move to a cheaper house rather than steal the money from someone else. But McGreevey already covered that flank, raising realty transfer fees twice in the last two years. All in all, McGreevey has increased taxes and fees by $6.4 billion since taking office in January, 2002.

So, in celebration of his new wealth transfer tax, McGreevey held a rally.

(A0s Trenton’s New Millennium Drill Team and Drum Corps marched in lock-step to celebrate the new income tax increase and red-shirted senior citizens jockeyed for position, Gov. Jim McGreevey signed the largest dollar figure income tax increase in the state’s history.

RED SHIRTS?? Unbelievable.

And his message to the citizenry? "Just relax. Take a Xanax." What a pompous, condescending man. I sure am glad I got of there in the mid-80s.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure." - Alexander Tyler