Monthly Archives: February 2015

Huckabee, ‘Forrest Gump’ Of The GOP

Conservatism, Constitution, Elections, Neoconservatism, Republicans

A “confidence trickster worthy of a P.T. Barnum circus” was how this column captured Mike Huckabee’s appeal. It must be conceded that Charles C. W. Cooke of National Review captures even better the forced and contrived, “cornpone” appeal of the man who will be vying to stand as the Republican’s nominee for the presidency. While I reject the writer’s crass, almost bereft of principle pragmatism; and although unable to tell whether Cooke prefers Mark Levin’s worldview to that of Calvin Coolidge—perhaps our only libertarian president—I liked his depiction of The Huckster:

Among the panoply of rightward-leaning politicians who are currently flirting with running for the presidency is one Mike Huckabee, a former pastor, governor, television host, and author who has of late been preparing for office by converting himself into Larry the Cable Guy. Huckabee is touring the breadth and width of the country in support of his new book — the alliteratively titled God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy — the purpose of which seems to be to establish its author as the unparalleled down-home candidate within the 2016 primary. Unlike so many in Washington, Huckabee claims, he is firmly on the side of “Bubbaville” rather than “Bubbleville”; of the “catfish and cornbread crowd” rather than “the crepes and caviar set”; and of those who “come home tired at the end of the day” rather than those who “burn tires in the street.” Are you tired of the incumbent set? he seems to ask. Then you know what to do.

By taking this approach, Huckabee is essentially attempting to become to the Right what the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson have become to the Left: namely, a proxy figure who can be used as shorthand by the lazy and the lost to signify their allegiance to a set of cherished cultural values. “We like the simple life,” Huckabee announces in his book. “Status is a Ford 150 truck; luxury is crawfish étouffée and slaw on your pulled-pork sandwich; and privilege is front-row seats at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert.” And unlike those “misfortunate” souls in “Manhattan, the Washington Beltway, or in Beverly Hills,” we know the joy that one can get from wading “in chest-deep water to hunt mallards.” Insofar as it goes, there is nothing wrong with this. Indeed, I like many of these things too. But the self-conscious spinning of local tradition into a national political aesthetic is invariably irritating, and, typically, electorally counterproductive. There are many wonderful things about the world Huckabee is attempting to represent. But surely, just surely, it is possible for a southerner to run for high office without dressing up as Forrest Gump? …

… Whatever cultural renaissance Mike Huckabee might believe is necessary in the United States, it will be up to civil society and not to the political classes to bring it about. Unless conservatives wish to join the Left in its Wilsonian quest to glue politics to absolutely everything, our would-be emissaries really need to make up their minds …

MORE.

Have Social Security Will Travel

IMMIGRATION, libertarianism, Private Property, Taxation

Or, more precisely, have Social Security—will receive earned income credit (EIC) from the American taxpayer. The good fortune belongs to illegal aliens who, “under Obama’s new executive amnesty,” will receive Social Security numbers, enabling them to apply and qualify for the EIC.

Libertarians want individuals to keep all of their income because it properly belongs to the individual, not to government. To the extent the state returns income to any individual in the form of exemptions, deductions and credits—to that extent government is returning private property it stole. However, when given to a segment of the population, a tax credits, as part and parcel of tax policy, is usually stolen from other taxpayers. Government does not make do with less; it simply steals more from others.

Laurence M. Vance at LRC.com has a piece on libertarians and taxation:

… The libertarian view of taxes is not that taxes should be fair, adequate, sufficient, constitutional, uniform, flat, simple, efficient, apportioned equally, or low. It is not that the tax code should help the poor, benefit the middle class, and be business friendly, should not be used for social engineering purposes, income redistribution schemes, or have loopholes, and should ensure that everyone pays some arbitrary “fair share.” And neither is it that most Americans are not legally required to pay income tax, filing your taxes is voluntary, paying your taxes is voluntary, the 16th Amendment was not properly ratified, etc., etc., etc. My final reply to those arguments is simply two words: Irwin Schiff.

The libertarian view of taxes is simply that taxes should not exist in the first place. There should be no tax code because taxation is theft and violates the non-aggression principle. …

… If Congress—for whatever reason—decided to give a special tax deduction or credit to Americans named Bob, Americans who owed [sic] a horse, Americans with red hair, or Americans with green eyes it would be a good thing as long as Americans not named Bob, who didn’t own a horse, who didn’t have red hair, or didn’t have green eyes didn’t have to make up the difference. …

MORE.

RELATED:

THE INCOME TAX: TURNING VICE INTO VOTES
SIXTEEN, THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

UPDATED: Brian Williams: Member Of Media Circle Jerk (There We Go Again)

Ethics, Journalism, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim, Media, Morality

“Brian Williams: Member Of Media Circle Jerk” is the current column, now on Britain’s Libertarian Alliance blog. An excerpt:

… Not for nothing have his colleagues, left and right, formed a protective barricade around Williams. With few exceptions, the media-complex within which Gilded Ones like Williams slither so effortlessly is mired in corruption—the kind this scribe did not encounter in the structurally more conservative Canadian industry. It is anathema in Europe too, I am told.

Conflict of interest is at every turn. Major anchors—the gifted and gorgeous Megyn Kelly too, sadly—beaver at sculpting a celebrity persona. They hangout on late-night shows. They hobnob with the hosts to curry favor with them, “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central being their professional Shangri-La.

Over and over again do the celebrity journos, then, relive their moments of glory with their own fans, holding out hope for the next invitation. Lovingly—self-love being the operative word—do they track their media appearances from their respective network seats. The better-looking flaunt their assets over fashion spreads in high-gloss magazines.

Almost all—your favorite opinionators, too—attend the annual Sycophant’s Supper, where they cozy up to Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé Knowles. (Kudos to the few, such as former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, who’ve excoriated the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, or who’ve refused to attend, irrespective of the political affiliation of the man ensconced in the White House.)

The annual White House Sycophants’ Dinner is where the most pretentious people in the country—in politics, journalism and entertainment—convene to revel in their ability to petition and curry favor with one another, usually to the detriment of the rest of us in Rome’s provinces.

Those gathered at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, or its Christmas party, are not the country’s natural aristocracy, but its authentic Idiocracy. The events and the invited say a great deal about the press, its ethics and code of conduct.

Like nothing else, the Sycophant’s Supper is a mark of a corrupt politics and press, as the un-watchful dogs of the media have no business frolicking with the president and his minions. This co-optation, however, is the hallmark of the celebrity press, in general. The days following these glitzy events, the Gilded Ones spend genuflecting to … themselves.

What else? Celebrity journalists marry their sources and hop right back into their roles as reporters. Their colleagues in this circle jerk are none the wiser. Examples: CNN and ABC’s Claire Shipman who wed Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney. Campbell Brown, formerly of CNN, is hitched to Romney adviser Dan Senor. “Meet the Press’” Chuck Todd is married to and gives an occasional shout-out to Democratic strategist Kristian Denny Todd.

The presstitutes straddle the fleshpots of D.C. with the skill of a Department of Justice that bestrides the roles of defender in court of the Infernal Revenue Service, as well as the agency charged with investigating the tax collector. All of them ride us like the asses we are. …

Read the rest. “Brian Williams: Member Of Media Circle Jerk” is now on Britain’s Libertarian Alliance blog.

UPDATED (2/13): THERE WE GO AGAIN. Just as this column went to press, Megyn Kelly (who I like a lot) put into practice, again, the improper habit of using her perch to help peddle the product of a friend, a wife of a colleague, etc. Formerly of CNN, Kyra Phillips is married to John Roberts of Fox News. Kelly ended last night’s show with this shout-out to Phillips:

John Stossel has promoted the book of Scott Stossel (his nephew) on his Fox Business broadcast. I think his son—is it Max?—was on dad’s show too to hawk his business.

Unseemly.

Muslims Are Targets; Jews ‘Random’ Victims

Anti-Semitism, Islam, Judaism & Jews, Media

CNN’s Brooke Baldwin is reliable and unremarkable in channeling her network’s all-too predictable double standards. Yesterday, before an investigation into the motive for their murders had been concluded—Brooke was celebrating the lives of 23-year-old Deah Barakat, his wife, 21- year-old Yusor Mohammad; and her sister, 19-year-old Razan Mohammad, while also privileging the theory of a hate crime.

The three young Muslim students had been “shot and killed” in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, area, over what seems to be a dispute over a parking bay.

One of the biggest questions here, as this man has been taken into custody, and one of the questions is, was this a hate crime. We’re they targeted based on their culture and their religion? They father of these young women seems to think so based upon a number of instances in the past with this individual you’re looking at on the screen.

AND:

KHAN: You know, we live in a time of intense individualism [prick] and consumerism and these three served as shining examples to youth all over the world of the hearts that they have, the importance of serving others. They lived for something greater than themselves.

I met Deah many years ago. Him and his wife, Yusor, helped launch the United Muslim Relief Triangle Chapter. The younger sister, Razan, was a current officer in our chapter at the UMR Triangle Chapter in Raleigh/Chapel Hill and Durham. And her job was monthly feedings for the homeless. And she would set up feedings where our students and young volunteers would go out every month and serve the people of Raleigh. And that should tell you everything you need to know about the characters of these people. These were the best of the best. These are the kind of people, characters, the kind of children that every parent dreams for. And it’s a tragic, tragic loss for the community.

BALDWIN: I’m so glad you pointed out the monthly homeless feedings. I’ve seen pictures on the Internet. I mean it’s not just that Deah was going to go to Turkey this summer, but this is something they did daily, weekly, monthly. Can you talk to me a little bit more about Deah’s trip, though, to Turkey this summer? I mean why was this so important to him?

KHAN: You know, Deah was following in his brother’s footsteps also. His brother, Fatis (ph), served with us and served Syrian refugees in Turkey before. This is a family that has inspired many people in the community. It’s not just – it wasn’t just Deah. It was the brother and the sister. And what Deah was doing was getting together — help to get dental – meet the dental needs of Syrian refugees. And this is something that no one really discusses or talks about. It’s really, really hard to inspire people to get them involved for something like dental relief, but it’s something that’s so important that we don’t realize. And he picked up something that was so tough and went after it and did a great job. And if you – and I really hope this mission continues and it will be fulfilled. And we’re going to do our best to hopefully support them and make sure that this is recorded on his good deeds.

BALDWIN: The – I read a quote a moment ago from “The Raleigh News and Observer,” from the two women’s father saying that he feels absolutely that the three of them were attacked because of their religion, because of their culture. And when you look at the suspect’s FaceBook page, and I’m not wasting anyone’s time reading any of it, but it’s clearly very anti-religion. And I’ll just leave it there. I was looking at Deah’s Twitter feed and one of the tweets I just

At first, it sounded as if the students, who were fine kids, had been singled out for their faith, the giveaway being the women’s attire. However, from his Facebook postings (so many know-nothings; so many unabashed opinions) it would appear that the perpetrator was an atheist zealot who hated religion with a passion and often defended Muslims with reference to Christian hypocrisy.

What I would like to know is where are Baldwin’s eulogies and accolades for “Yoav Hattab, son of Tunisian chief rabbi,” who was incidental collateral, if one is to believe Barack Obama, in the attack in Paris on “a Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket?