Tuesday Night Open Mic for August 31, 2010

Tuesday night has again crept up on me. I offer some more good articles for discussion this week, including one sent to me by a friend. I included it because it really did kind of speak directly to how I was feeling about Beck’s rally this last weekend. It is the first article below, so thanks for sending that over. Elsewhere we have UCLA firing a scientist because his scientific results didn’t match their political opinions, the possibility that the Republican party could embrace gay rights, and absolute impotency of the federal regulatory agency that always lets us down, the SEC. I will be posting a guest commentary on Thursday night but will be largely unavailable this weekend, as my sister is getting married. JAC, if you could bring the topic forward that I mentioned would be good for open mic, I would appreciate it greatly. Still taking applications for regular contributors to the site as well! Enjoy your Tuesday everyone. I will be weighing in all day when possible.

Government Meddling or Necessary Regulation?

News came down last week that the President, in his haste to shift the focus away from a quickly diminishing chance at health care reform, will now re-focus on regulating the big banks in an effort to prevent them from becoming “too big to fail” again. I have already written on the fact that, despite the fact that the banks were too big to fail before TARP, they have comntinued to get even bigger. You can read about that HERE . I also shared a banker’s perspective on what regulations need to happen that I had found on the Huffington Post. You can read that HERE . So this isn’t a new subject. But the President was pretty strident in stating that he was going after these regulations, even going so far as to say if they (the big banks) are looking for a fight, he is ready and willing to give them one. Now, I know that you are all aware of where I stand on the idea of government regulation of private businesses. But I am willing to report what I am reading and keep an open mind to the fact that I could be wrong in some way.

March Towards Socialism Part 3

So we have finished with the War between the states. A quick summary statement there was that this was one of the big moments in our march towards socialism, as it showed the power of the federal goverment to control the states, to the point of levying tariffs and not allowing states to secede from the union when they felt that tyranny was coming. However there is still much to cover before we get to the current administration and the moves happening today. Now, admittedly, I am able to cover the Civil War era fairly well. As I said, I grew up right next to Gettysburg, and a photographic memory coupled with annual field trips and reading can sink in quite well.

Blaming Republicans For the Economic Crisis is a Partisan Mistake

I spend a fair amount of time on other blogs and news websites, reading comments and finding out what people are saying. I have noticed a pervasive falsehood that continues to be a mainstay in political discussions. It is that willingness to blame one party for the mess that we are in. Every time I read someone saying that, I want to scream at them for 1) being so stupid as to not realize the truth, and 2) falling into the strictly partisan game that the politicians are doing their best to make sure they fall into. Time for a little reality check you partisan children…