Feature story in the alternative newspaper SF Weekly:

In recent years, San Francisco government has passed numerous laws to make us healthier, greener, and — in the city’s eyes — all-around better people. Whether we like it or not. This includes banning the sale of cigarettes in drugstores, and, later, supermarkets; banning plastic bags in large chain stores; banning bottled water in City Hall, and the sale of soft drinks on government property; banning the declawing of cats; making composting mandatory; and forbidding city departments from doing business with companies that were involved in the (pre–Civil War) slave trade, yet haven’t publicly atoned.

The city may yet ban the sale of any pets except fish, and the sale of bottled water during events on public property. Banning foie gras, meanwhile, didn’t catch on, even here. Neither did allowing the city to prosecute anyone who depicts images of animal cruelty if they set foot in San Francisco — essentially the same niche Belgium has carved out for itself with accused war criminals.

San Francisco’s acumen for imposing bans has grown so pronounced that when an anticircumcision zealot began disseminating a petition to criminalize the practice within city limits, observers nationwide didn’t write it off as fringe lunacy but, instead, saw it as just another day at the office in San Francisco.

That ban didn’t make the cut. And San Francisco does not have a monopoly on banning things. But nowhere else can you ban so much with such ease and so little political blowback.

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In an apparent pro-business pivot, President Barack Obama promised Tuesday in a Wall Street Journal editorial eliminate those “dumb” and “outdated” regulatory regimes that hinder the nation’s economic growth.

“Regulations do have costs; often, as a country, we have to make tough decisions about whether those costs are necessary,” the president wrote. “But what is clear is that we can strike the right balance. We can make our economy stronger and more competitive, while meeting our fundamental responsibilities to one another.”

The president cemented his regulatory overture in a supplementary executive order and memorandum nudging the bureaucratic structure to soften those onerous regulations that “stifle job creation.” Enumerating the utility of a responsible regulatory system, the president’s order calls for a regulatory system in which a balance is stuck between the protection of public health and welfare and the promotion of economic growth and innovation.

But that caveat — that the Administration’s regulatory czars must use the least burdensome tools available — has ruffled the feathers of some progressive pro-regulatory organizations, who have already begun lobbying agency heads to ensure the order has minimal impact.

The groups will no doubt be busy, stirring dozens of regulatory pots: Coal, biomass, health care, education, Net neutrality, and card check. For a glimpse into havoc these groups have already wrought, BIG GOVERNMENT has laid out below those industries most affected by their iron-fisted regulatory regimes.

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Apparently oblivious to recent calls for civility, Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and teacher union boss Randi Weingarten (who the union paid more than $600,000 in 2010) gave speeches in front of a “No Justice – No Peace” banner at Al Sharpton’s prayer breakfast.

Weingarten even closed her speech in solidarity with Sharpton’s group “fight.”  Weingarten expressed her desire that the American Federation of Teachers union members become “foot soldiers” in the “fight.”

Again, a Big Labor official proved they are not in tuned with society but focused, to borrow a phrase from Weingarten, “like a laser” on making government bigger.

Weingarten said that “we are often presented with the false choice of being for the children or being for students.”  It is the teachers union itself which creates Weingarten’s false choice.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Scott Conroy, a reporter for Real Clear Politics, to talk about Sarah Palin’s early groundwork in Iowa, then by John C. Goodman, President and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, to discuss the vote to repeal Obamacare.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Palin Putting Out Presidential Feelers in Iowa
Sarah from Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar
John C. Goodman’s Health Policy Blog
The Repeal Vote
MDs fear healthcare reform: Thomson Reuters survey
26 states join Obama health care lawsuit in Florida
Ben: House Votes to Repeal Obamacare
Republican Health Reform Repeal Vote Is Just First Step
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So here we are. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The rhetoric surrounding the debate is deafening and it seems most of the volume comes from one of two points of view. In the blue corner you have “amnesty” and in the red corner you have “round’em up and throw them out”. Well what if neither of these options provides any realistic or long term solution to the issue faced by having so many people here illegally?

“Amnesty” might be one of the most divisive terms out there right now, but what’s wrong with it? For starters we tried it already, in 1986, when we had about 3 million illegal immigrants. Now we have 11 million illegals. It didn’t work. At best all amnesty does is kick the can down the road until the illegal population builds back up to intolerable levels. We were at the breaking point in the mid eighties and we’re back at the breaking point again. Only now with a lot higher numbers. This policy also creates an atmosphere of disregard for the rule of law, continues to promote entering America through the “backdoor”, and does nothing to deal with the border security issue. And of course it never addresses the economic, social or political impacts of transitioning so many unassimilated people from the shadows to the citizenry.

The “round em up” crowd is just generally mad at an array of things. They think those who came here illegally cut in line, steal their jobs and destroy American culture. They see an incompetent Federal Government that rubs salt in the wound with baskets of welfare goodies passed out indiscriminately.

The main problem with the “round em uppers” is the total implausibility of extracting and deporting 11 million people.

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For the last two years, Washington has ignored the plight of the American people and job creators. Instead, a Democratic-led Congress saddled them with policies that fostered uncertainty and eliminated jobs. Democrats’ continued pursuit of misguided economic policies and reckless spending have driven our debt to $14 trillion – a level that has cost the U.S. economy as many as 1 million jobs and that continues to undermine our nation’s economic recovery.

In January of 2009, Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, then President Obama’s chief economic advisors, put together an analysis predicting that the Democrats’ stimulus package would “save or create” at least 3 million jobs by the end of 2010. Similarly, Romer and Bernstein claimed that passage of the stimulus package would keep the unemployment rate under 8 percent, falling to 7 percent by the end of 2010. But since that time, the unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for 20 consecutive months, and there are 6.8 million fewer jobs than Romer and Bernstein predicted in their now-infamous report.

The arrival of 2011 has ended the era of the failed economic policies embraced by the Democratic Administration and advanced by unchecked Democratic Congressional Leaders. Instead, in the 112th Congress, the new Republican House Majority will pursue a contrasting agenda that creates the climate of certainty necessary to usher in a new era of private sector job creation. Congress sent a strong signal of that commitment in December by extending the current tax rates and preventing a massive tax hike on Americans and small businesses. If there is any hope of getting Americans back to work, Washington must get out of the way and let employers do what they do best and what America needs most – create jobs.

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It was as if someone was trying to send me a message. It seemed as though every radio talk show, every commentary, each political debate during the past twenty-four hours centered on the issue of individual power vs. collectivism in American society. It is my contention that individual power based on a trust in the “goodness” of man is at the heart of what made the United States great. Secondarily I believe that the difference in that trust in the ultimate intention of the American citizenry is the main issue that divides the Conservative and the Liberal/Progressive movements.

Allow me to explain, but first  please understand that for the purpose of this discussion I will be speaking in absolutes. It simply makes it easier to argue. We should all understand  that in-between the polar opposites of of which are discussed are thousands of gradients of gray. The two polar opposites of which I speak are of course Liberalism and Conservatism.

The Conservative philosophy is based on a belief in the ultimate goodness of man. That is given the choice between doing “good” and doing “bad.” Conservatives believe that when free enough to make the decision, man will do the right thing. After all man, as the bible says, was created in God’s image. Like God, man will strive to do good, either for the benefit of himself and family and/or for the benefit of the nation itself. Therefore as your beliefs move closer to conservatism along the political spectrum those beliefs will include that lesser government is needed because man can govern himself.

Conservatives focus on the individual and because that individual is born with the inclination to do well, any rights that come with that inherent goodness, come from God who also gave man that inherent goodness. Hence the belief expressed in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

In Conservative thought, government’s primary role is to protect those unalienable rights.

Thus when you understand the Declaration of Independence you also understand that the American Revolution was based on conservative principles.

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The conservative House Republican Study Committee today will unveil a rescission bill that will save $2.5 trillion over 10 years. It’s a bold proposal that returns federal spending to pre-Obama levels, eliminates remaining stimulus money and ends more than 100 specific programs.

Conservatives want their proposal to set the stage for upcoming spending fights over the 2011 continuing resolution, debt ceiling and fiscal 2012 budget. It’s as much a signal to Republican leadership as it is to President Obama that conservatives are committed to courageous ideas.

The proposal comes amid new fears among conservatives that GOP leaders are hedging on their “Pledge to America” campaign promise to cut $100 billion in federal spending by returning to fiscal 2008 levels.

Because the 2011 continuing resolution expires in March — five months into the current fiscal year — there is concern Republicans might reduce the $100 billion figure by prorating it.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is circulating a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to ensure the GOP keeps its $100 billion promise.

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Today, January 20th, is the modern date for our Presidential Inauguration. The traditional date had been March 4th, but was changed by the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The first President sworn in on January 20th was FDR in 1937.

As governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, Jeb Bush championed school choice. His first year in office he created a program that offered vouchers to students in failing schools. The program successfully boosted student achievement until it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2006. Two other Bush-supported programs — one that offers tax credits to business that help send low-income kids to private schools and another that gives vouchers to disabled students -– survived the high-court ruling. Bush also expanded the Florida Virtual School, a national model for online public education.

Since leaving office, Bush has promoted his reform agenda in other states. He founded the Foundation for Excellence in Education and serves as co-chair of the Digital Learning Council.

Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie sat down with Bush at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington, D.C., to talk about how information technology can help break the education monopoly.

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From the South Carolina Times and Democrat:

Although Congress has approved settlement funds in the Black Farmers Discrimination case, a local state legislator says making payments to claimants is still at least a year away.

State Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark, works with Strom Law Firm of Columbia, which represents 10,311 South Carolina claimants in the Pigford v. Glickman class action lawsuit. Combined with similar lawsuits, the action is known as the Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation.

“I’ve been working on this since law school,” Sellers said. “South Carolina has the third largest number of claimants in the case behind only Mississippi and Alabama.

“We now have the funding, but we have a settlement timeline we have been working since 2007. We have to get it approved by a federal judge and set up a claims process.” (more…)

From Politico:

House Republicans passed a bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care plan Wednesday, taking their first major step toward rolling back the massive overhaul that has dominated the American political landscape for almost two years.

The vote was 245 to 189, and unanimous GOP support gave the vote the same partisan feel of the March vote to pass the law, underscoring once again the hardened political lines of the health care debate. Only three Democrats backed the repeal, a smaller number than Republicans had once predicted.

The bill will head next to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised to block it. If it did receive a vote, the repeal bill would be unlikely to draw support from even a majority of senators. Even so, House Republican leaders have challenged Reid to give the bill a vote since Democrats, who control the chamber, have little to fear.

Republicans rejected a procedural maneuver by the Democratic minority to make repeal ineffective unless a majority of the House and Senate withdraw from the federal health benefits program within 30 days after passage by each chamber.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the effort was “an attempt to derail an appeal of the Obamacare bill.”

House members flooded the floor throughout the day, delivering short but occasionally impassioned speeches that echoed their party’s talking points.

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) called the law “a trillion-dollar tragedy.”

Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) described it as “job-killing” and “socialistic.”

Rep. Kevin Duncan (R-Texas) said “health care is too important to get it wrong, and Obamacare got it wrong.”

But Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) took the debate to a new level late Tuesday night, suggesting to an empty House floor that Republican rhetoric around health care reform is akin to Nazi propaganda that fed anti-Semitism during World War II.

Read the whole thing here. Apparently, Rep. Cohen didn’t get the memo about the new emphasis on ‘civility.’ Doesn’t the left get bored with the “nazi” analogies. Anything else in their book of tricks?

Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of the GOProud Board – “Andrew Breitbart is one of the most influential voices in the conservative movement today.  We are thrilled to have him as part of the GOProud team.”

Today, GOProud, the only national organization of gay conservatives and their allies, announced that conservative media mogul Andrew Breitbart will join the organization’s Advisory Council.  “Andrew Breitbart is one of the most influential voices in the conservative movement today,” said Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board.  “We are thrilled to have him as part of the GOProud team.”

“I applaud GOProud’s strong, principled conservatism and admire their courage to defy the left’s stifling demand for group conformity,” said Andrew Breitbart.  “As a fierce opponent of the cultural Marxism and political correctness that divides Americans into different identity groups, I embrace the American motto E Pluribus Unum as an antidote to the Democratic Party’s divide and conquer strategy.”

Breitbart joins Margaret Hoover, Grover Norquist and Tammy Bruce on the GOProud Advisory Council.

Andrew Breitbart is publisher of the news portals Breitbart.com and Breitbart.tv. In January 2009, he launched Big Hollywood, a group blog off of Breitbart.com on Hollywood and culture from a center/right perspective. He gained greater notoriety when his second blog endeavor, Big Government, broke the ACORN prostitution scandal. Breitbart launched Big Journalism in January of 2010 and his newest blog, on foreign policy and national security issues, Big Peace, launched July 4th. (more…)

California’s “newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, declared a state of ‘financial emergency’ for California’s schools earlier this month and asked state residents to come to the aid of the state’s public education system. “ Mr. Torlakson  moaned about class sizes increasing as school budgets have been squeezed but his rant ignored the fact that California teachers are the second highest paid in the nation.  Were California’s average teacher salary move over time to the 15^th highest position (still in the top 1/3 nationwide), student / teacher ratios would improve over 20%.

I asked Mr. Torlakson about this at Governor Jerry Brown’s “Budget Briefing” at UCLA last month.   One of the Governor’s presentation slides showed that California Teachers are at the top of the pay scale at an AVERAGE salary of $68,000 BEFORE BENEFITS & RICH PENSIONS COSTS.   Watch below and see his response…

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A few months ago a Big Government stringer confronted Rep. Sanford Bishop on Capitol Hill before the House voted to fund Pigford II – adding another $1.25 billion to the Pigford pot.

We asked if Rep. Bishop, a longtime advocate of the Pigford settlement, thinks it’s appropriate that there be an investigation into credible reports of widespread fraud and corruption in the Pigford Settlement:

Rep. Bishop’s non-response before the vote is especially illuminating now that we have heard from discriminated-against-by-the-USDA black farmers and Pigford whistleblowers Eddie Slaughter and Willie Head.  Earlier today we posted video of Mr. Slaughter describing how Rep. Bishop advised him not to mention Pigford fraud because “they’ll shut this thing down” and a clip of Mr. Head confirming Bishop was aware of fraud allegations but wouldn’t investigate them.

Below is Congressman Bishop’s February 2010 statement upon the Justice Department’s announcement another settlement in Pigford II:

Today is an historic day for African American farmers who once found themselves victims of an unjust system. While the Administration and Congress are moving forward to bring a brighter future to people in rural America, we must also do everything possible to correct past injustices. Today’s decision by the Justice Department and the White House to award an additional $1.25 billion to settle all claims stemming from the original Pigford litigation is a significant milestone.

In Georgia, farming is a proud tradition and I am honored to represent farmers of every color and background. Therefore, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to expedite the funds for this settlement and to bring closure to those who suffered from the USDA’s discriminatory practices.

Do note that the Big Government report shows that Pigford I and II is not just wrought with fraud, but it has hurt the actual farmers who were used by greedy class action lawyers and craven politicians to enrich themselves monetarily and electorally. (more…)

Yes, this is in regards to the Arizona shootings but, to be fair to Michael Moore, he’s basically been saying this same thing his entire career. You can check out his full line of reasoning, if you can call it that, here. But basically he starts off his brilliant diatribe by claiming that most guns in the US are in areas with very little gun violence. This is, of course, true. However, Moore takes no time to stop and consider exactly why this is true.

You see, to Moore this is true simply because these areas are suburban or rural or something. I guess. He can’t fathom a connection between gun ownership by law abiding Americans and reduced crime rates. It’s astounding.

Anyway, pointing to the low crime rates Moore then asks why people in areas like Tucson want guns? After all these places with all these guns are super safe so why would you want to own such an incredibly dangerous thing like a gun in any of these completely safe areas with lots of guns since, you know, guns are crazy dangerous and stuff.

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In this video clip, Willie Head discusses his dealing with Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) including the meeting that Eddie Slaughter describes in an earlier post.

Is there a new Cold War developing between China and the United States? That’s a question hovering over President Hu Jintao and his entourage as they come to Washington to discuss military, trade, and financial flash points with the Obama administration.

President Hu told the Wall Street Journal that “we should abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality.” But is he to be believed?

Everyone agrees that this is a new, muscular, and more aggressive China. The more the Chinese strengthen economically, the more rambunctious they become with their foreign policy. Americans are increasingly irritated by this arrogance.

Just last week — and just as the Pentagon plans to cut back on the modernized F-22 stealth fighter — China insulted Defense Secretary Robert Gates by test-flying its own J-20 stealth bomber during his visit. Admiral Mike Mullen, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wondered out loud why China is boosting its high-tech weaponry. He said, “Many of these capabilities seem to be focused very specifically on the United States.”

Surely the J-20 flight was a snub to Washington. Surely China’s whole military buildup is aimed directly at us. And surely China is of no particular help when it comes to the nuclear operations of North Korea and Iran.

Then, of course, are the numerous trade violations being committed by China.

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By now you’ve probably heard that the president has gotten religion on the economically damaging effects of the regulatory state. Today, I argue wait and see is still the rule with this government as there are major rolls of red tape that President Obama would need to address coming from his own administration.

Specifically, consider the cases of how regulation impacts the ability and cost of hiring people. I point to OSHA overreach, the Davis-Bacon Act, new requirements that will have Americans chopping down entire forests to print 1099 tax forms, EPA regulation of carbon dioxide, and FCC regulation of the Internet.

And as they say in infomercials, “But wait, there’s more!” There’s oh-so-much-painfully-more regulation threatening jobs and the economy. Several groups track this sort of stuff, but take for example: Associated Builders and Contractors has offered a list of regulations that threaten the beleaguered and job-shedding construction industry. Take a look; it’s an eye-opener!

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