An idea for the Tea Party

The GOP is the party of no, as president Obama claimed, and no "No!" has been louder than that of Tea Party evangelists. It is their way or no way, you have religion, or you are a traitor to the cause that must be rooted out. Etcetera and so on.

One of their beliefs is that government should be smaller. Another is that Americans should have more personal freedom. The trouble is, their path to making government smaller is to cut at it stupidly with broad brush-clearing strokes. This is akin to cutting down a forest without regard to where you are standing in relation to where the trees are falling. You  might get a field or you might get hit over the head by a falling tree. These two outcomes are not equally desirable, except maybe from the point of view of the trees.

Here is an idea that both cuts government and increases personal freedom and which would have political allies on the left and the right. Here it is, decriminalize non-violent drug use and make the law retro-actively apply. Then, follow this up with targeted cost-cutting to eliminate everything drug-chasing from government. That would accomplish both goals and it would put a halt to unnecessarily oppressive and expensive laws.

What's wrong with that approach?

"Nothing!", sez I.

Rotten apple

We all know that US companies use every tax-dodge there is, profiting billions while tucking vast sums of money in speck-island banks. Apple is just one such corporate looter:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/business/making-companies-pay-taxes-the-mccain-way.html?pagewanted=all&gwh=C5380FB4EFBCD8B358D840FB0768DCF0


But, that doesn't stop these same companies from turning loose an army of lawyers and tying up our court rooms at great expense every time the wind tussles their hair:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/09/us-apple-samsung-patent-idUSBRE9780QP20130809


Taken together how are companies like Apple anything but a drain on the US economy? Shouldn't we say that without taxation there is no representation, and that if you want to shirk all of your responsibilities we will shirk all of our duties?

Moe Shrugged

Here is my synopsis of Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand


An 1100-page tedious fantasy novel in which Russian-born Ayn Rand envisions a totalitarian final solution that rids the technocratic elite of the "looters" (loosely defined as everyone else, but particularly the compassionate).

Here is a link to a more thorough crucifixion:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222482/big-sister-watching-you/flashback

One cannot help but note the similarities between Mitt Romney's use of "takers" and Ayn Rand's use of "looters". When today's GOP embraces this beast-ethic it countenances fools gladly.