Two Must Reads

Today's Wall Street Journal had two items that are must reads:

Values Inequality

and

Art Laffer on Taxes.

Remember, with Socialism, eventually you run out of other people's money.

Boom!

The RNC is out today with a tremendous video called Familiar Rhetoric, Failed Record. This is tremendous. Send some money to the RNC for this ad.

The Texas Economy

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has launched a great website for all the world to see.

From the website:

The Texas Economy strives to provide you with the latest news, trends and analysis on issues affecting the state’s economy. Our mission is to present hard-hitting data, information and insights on a wide variety of topics of concern to Texas policymakers, businesses and taxpayers.

Take a look, tour the site and see what intrigues you. Every state, city and municipality should be finding ways to be much more transparent and open about their governing processes.  These locales should also be open to feedback and ideas from the public.  Take Houston for example: a city with 2 million people and with 5 million people in the surrounding area.  The city of Houston now elects 17 members to the city council, which includes the mayor.  I doubt these 17 people have all the answers for 2 to 5 million people.  Opening the doors and shining a light on the business of government will help is spend less and get more.

Obama's Failures Continue

From The Hill today via email, by Erik Wasson:

President Obama will release his 2013 budget one week late, an administration official said Monday.

Under the law, the budget is to be released on the first Monday in February, but the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be releasing the 2013 budget on Feb. 13.

The Obama administration also delayed the release of the budget last year, waiting until Feb. 14.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the delay is symptomatic of a fiscally reckless administration.

"I am deeply disappointed in this President’s abdication of leadership when it comes to prioritizing Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. The decision to delay the release of his budget again could not come at a more precarious moment for our fiscal and economic future," Ryan said.

Score another one for Paul Ryan.

Perfect Description

Take a look at this tv description for Hussein Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday. This appeared in the January 27 edition of Entertainment Weekly. Thanks to K (she knows who she is) for sending this along.

Newt Takes South Carolina

Here were the first screen shots from Drudge:

then....

Jan 20, 2013

One year from today, a new President will replace the disaster that has been Barack Hussein Obama of Kenya.

Perry Out, Endorses Newt, South Carolina Votes Saturday

Governor Rick Perry is set to remove himself from the Presidential race today and endorse Newt Gingrich. The line in the sand is being drawn. The race is between Newt and Romney, and Saturday's election is the last stand. Newt must win in South Carolina to remain the top choice for those opposed to Romney's brand of conservative politics.

Is Your Community Worth Saving

My friends over at Ruraltopia have an interesting new post Is Your Community Worth Saving. I suggest you join me in following these guys, they are quality writers about some issues important to communities. Most pressingly, I hope you will answer their question, "How would you answer an outsider when asked, “Is your community worth saving?”.

Newt Educates Race-Baiter, Race-Hustler Juan Williams

The Reorganization Man

Heading into a three day weekend, Saturday's Wall Street Journal has a tremendous editorial, The Reorganization Man. Below are a few of the better tidbits from the editorial.

There he was in the East Room, explaining that "the government we have is not the government we need." That's for sure, and Mr. Obama even added the Gingrichian theme that "We live in a 21st-century economy, but we've still got a government organized for the 20th century. Our economy has fundamentally changed—as has the world—but our government, our agencies, has not."

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Proposals for government reorganization are the elevator music of politics, always present but never leaving much of an impression. Newt Gingrich says he's running in part to apply Lean Six Sigma best practices to the bureaucracy. Al Gore famously drew up a scheme for "reinventing government" in the late 1990s. He abandoned it after the airline unions revolted amid his attempt to reinvent the Federal Aviation Administration.

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This is a President who last year promised a review of all regulations while riding the greatest rule-making wave in American history. Now he's calling for leaner government without mentioning ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank, which create so many new boards and commissions that government auditors (literally) can't even count them. We suspect many in the White House were laughing themselves when they came up with this one.

Starbucks Blonde - The Verdict

I tried the new Starbucks blend today. I really liked it. I know others do not, but I felt it was smoothe and not too acidic. At least for now, it's a nice break from the Pike Place Roast. If you've tried, I'm interested in your thoughts.

It's Almost Here

Dodgers pitchers & catchers report to camp on Feb 21, the rest of the squad reports on Feb 27, with the first full team workout on Feb 28.

Newt Discusses "Pious Baloney" on Hannity

Are you folowing Newt on twitter? @NewtGingrich

Are you following me on twitter? @SteveParkhurst

What's Next For Michael Bloomberg

I recently read this article in Fast Company from the August issue about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his philanthropic endeavors. Even though the article is dated, it's well worth reading.

Romney

The lead editorial in today's Wall Street Journal, Iowa's Opening Skirmish, was interesting. But, here is the takeaway line worth noting and sharing:

The real issue is that Mr. Romney is a cautious, conventional politician in a year when many GOP voters want someone willing to fight for bolder change. On the economy in particular, Mr. Romney is offering the least ambitious plan for growth. Mr. Romney unveiled his 59-point jobs plan in September, and if you can remember two of them you'll win most family trivia contests. His refusal to rule out a value-added-tax is also troubling, especially if Democrats ever won the House during his Presidency.

Also, be sure to look at the Daniel Mitchell piece, Will Republicans Hand the Left a VAT Victory?.