The Fourth of July weekend is a time when we Americans expect our 1400 newspapers to take a reprieve from their endless ridicules and criticisms to dutifully celebrate all that is good in our nation. We look forward those beautiful front page pictures and stories about patriotic parades down Main Street and glorious fireworks displays. We appreciates the Op Ed letters that express heart-felt thankfulness for the sacrifice of our troops serving in harm’s way; uplifting stories of the values that unite us as a beacon for freedom, and tales of rugged individualism that define our spirit. But there will always be one tabloid that will stand alone in failing to appreciate the true meaning of Fourth of July; the New York Times.

When the Times refers to itself as: “All the News That’s Fit to Print”; the paper expects all the unwashed proletariat must show subdued homage to the superior intellect. For this July Fourth weekend, they have achieved a new pinnacle of negativism and defeat. In contrast to joyous patriotic faire; the Times offers a despondent middle-aged woman bowing to a symbolically torn American flag forlornly fluttering in the total desolation of tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri.

Having established a morose mood; the Times stifles our spirit with Front Page headlines; American Folly”, “Declaration of Endurance, and “Fears of Declining”. Having sufficiently documented America as a despairing empire; Times Op Eds indict our moral decay with: “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt”, “It Gets Even Worse”, and “Corporate Cash Con”.

“The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt” introduces us to the “absurdity” of U.S. military veterans who often suffer pangs of “survivor guilt” for leaving their combat units when they return home from war. The writer analyzes “just how irrational those feelings are” with the help of 19th Century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; who is most famous for his belief in existential nihilism that confirms life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value; consequently God is Dead. Nietzsche describes such military self-doubt as due to a “bad conscience” for what “I ought not to have done.” Having thoroughly defamed our military; the Times offers no fair and balanced opposing writer to extol the virtues of our sons and daughters who risk the ultimate sacrifice to answer to the high moral callings of honor, duty, and valor.

(more…)

It is axiomatic—a given, if you will—that unions do not like workers to work overtime. Sure, they’ll do it, but if unions had their druthers, the work week would be limited to 40 hours—in some cases unions prefer 35 hours. The reasoning is simple, the fewer hours worked, the more employees an employer must employ and, in a workplace where unions can require dues, the union makes more money.

How serious are unions about restricting overtime? Consider this:

According to the constitution of the International Association of Machinists, “Members shall discourage the working of overtime, in order to further the opportunities for full employment, a living wage, and a 40-hour workweek [Art. K, Sec. 3].” Translated: More members equals more dues.

Here’s a simple example: Say a company has four employees and each works an average of 10 overtime hours per week and time and one half. If a union has the ability to restrict those four employees from working overtime, the employer has to hire one more employee (at 40 hours).

For the employer, rather than paying the four workers at time and one half, it may be a break even (depending on the other ‘loaded labor costs’ such as benefits and fringe benefits).

For the union, it is a win, as the union suddenly gets a new member, plus his dues and initiation fees (which can run in the hundreds or thousands of dollars).

For the employees who lose their overtime, they get to spend more time with their families…trying to figure out how to pay the bills. (more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. We’ll get an update on his challenge to Obamacare, then talk about the overreach of the EPA, net neutrality and how the Obama administration is killing jobs, not creating them.

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:

The EPA’s New Move
Virginia AG to sue FCC over ‘net neutrality’
Attorney General Cuccinelli’s Official Site
Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter
Follow Attorney General Cuccinelli on Twitter

In the Bizarro-world that is Washington, D.C. – and the federal government in possession thereof – the word “success” does not mean what it does here on Planet Earth.

It in fact often means exactly the opposite.

Let us take Social Security as but one example.  Social Security is the world’s largest pyramid scheme – ever.  A scam exponentially bigger than the biggest dreams of Bernie Madoff, Carlo Ponzi or any other confidence man ever to attempt a grift.

Social Security is on the verge of being trillions of dollars in debt.  There is an alleged “Trust Fund” – but the program was shifted off the government’s books by President Lyndon Baines Johnson and his fellow Democrats.

So as to allow the excess coin then being collected to be spent as general revenue – in large part so as to pour it into the then newly-minted Medicare and Medicaid.

A move President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats emulated with their 2010 heist of $500 billion from the also-on-the-verge-of-bankruptcy Medicare “Trust Fund” – so as to pour it into the newly-minted ObamaCare.

Quintessential, serial examples of the feds repeatedly rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

(more…)

When Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” was released in late 2009, people around the country stood in line for hours to meet her at book signings, and to shake her hand and ask her to run for president in 2012. And this was after the MSM had spent nearly a year and half dragging her and her family through the mud, accusing Palin of every misdeed imaginable, and going out of their way to remind us how unprepared Palin was for the vice presidency (according to MSM standards of course).

From the release of “Going Rogue” through the November 2010 elections, Palin traveled to Tea Party gatherings around the country and endorsed candidates (43 House candidates, 30 of which won, and 12 Senate candidates, 7 of which won).  Following the elections she launched a reality show – “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” – that drew historic levels of viewers and teed liberals off something fierce because it showed Palin using a gun to kill a caribou, a club to kill a fish, and more importantly, using a weekly one-hour program to show liberals how to stand up and fight like a man.

And after the media trashed her for her Tea Party speeches, mocked the candidates she endorsed, and made fun of her reality show, she launched a bus tour that began with a DC motorcycle rally on March 29, 2011, wherein crowds of people gathered round her and begged her to run for president in 2012.

By the way, Palin also endorsed gubernatorial candidates in 2010, one of which was Republican Governor Rick Perry: a true conservative and thus a Tea Party favorite.

It was he who caused all the excitement at an Austin, Texas, Tea Party on April 15, 2009, when, after giving a speech criticizing the intrusiveness of the federal government, he added: “My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that.”

(more…)

The White House and the Democrats may be at it again!  Senate Republican leaders are worried the White House will shovel a last-minute budget deal into the Congress shortly before the August 2, 2011 debt ceiling deadline. The GOP fears an “urgent” proposal on the eve of this date will give the Congress little time to review what’s in it, and the exigent nature of the deal will hamstring them into rushing it through to a vote.

They are right to worry. In all likelihood, the White House (and its willing accomplices among Democratic lawmakers) will pork-up a deal with “investments” (spending increases) and tax hikes. Both are anathema to the GOP right now, and the desperadoes of the left will see this as the only way to continue 60 years of progressive policies. Any deal from the White House is bound to be a Trojan Horse.

Then there’s the emergency nature of the offer the GOP fears, for good reason. Rahm Emanuel’s haunting advice comes to mind: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” If there were to be a corollary to his maxim, it would be: “If you don’t have a serious crisis, then create the perception of one.” That seems to be what’s been happening with the looming debt ceiling deadline.

(more…)

Today, in 1809, the Battle of Wagram began. It was one of the larger battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

“War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he will fight, nothing that is more important than his own personal safety is a more miserable creature and has no chance of ever being free unless by the efforts of greater men then himself. “

-John Stuart Mill

I read this quote in the past couple days and it struck me square in the face. The ideology of modern western thought was forged on the American continent from the effort and struggle to survive that imbued us with a fierce sense of independent thought and rugged individualism culminating with the DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE and the birth of a nation. This is what the Declaration of Independence was talking about in the first paragraphs. All people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”. It is so obvious the writers of this document had deep values precious to them and worth capturing on paper.

At this point in history, monarchies monopolized governments in countries around the world. And our colonies were ruled by leadership more than 3,000 miles away …. But everyone has their limit, right?

The early Americans had been taxed and humiliated by unjust laws and ignorant leadership. Colonial Americans knew what was being done to them was wrong and they felt ANYTHING was better than what was happening to them. So, they chose to stand for a simple notion: Man is in control of his own destiny.

(more…)

From the Associated Press:

Ronald Reagan was hailed as “a great American hero” Monday as his admirers unveiled a 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) statue of the former U.S. president near the American embassy in London.

Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser and secretary of state in President George W. Bush’s administration, joined British Foreign Secretary William Hague at the morning ceremony in Grosvenor Square.

“Statues bring us to face to face with our heroes long after they are gone,” Hague said “Ronald Reagan is without question a great American hero; one of America’s finest sons, and a giant of 20th-century history. You may be sure that the people of London will take this statue to their hearts.”

(more…)

A recent paper, published by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, claims that “exposure to Fourth of July at an early age” makes young people more likely to later vote Republican.

So before venturing out to the local Independence Day parade today, you may want to consider how your kids will cope with “exposure” to this nasty contagion.

If you’re in a red state, you should be extra wary, for as the co-authors assert (without any evidence backing their claim), “Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans.”

Turn around the minivan, and put away the hot dogs—the Independence Day parade might be “politically biased”!

If you do go, you should know that your kid will end up like Dick Cheney. Fireworks can have that effect. Don’t worry, however: Harvard’s here to help.

(more…)

From Ronald Reagan, July 1, 1981:

For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July.

I remember it as a day almost as long-anticipated as Christmas. This was helped along by the appearance in store windows of all kinds of fireworks and colorful posters advertising them with vivid pictures.

No later than the third of July – sometimes earlier – Dad would bring home what he felt he could afford to see go up in smoke and flame. We’d count and recount the number of firecrackers, display pieces and other things and go to bed determined to be up with the sun so as to offer the first, thunderous notice of the Fourth of July.

I’m afraid we didn’t give too much thought to the meaning of the day. And, yes, there were tragic accidents to mar it, resulting from careless handling of the fireworks. I’m sure we’re better off today with fireworks largely handled by professionals. Yet there was a thrill never to be forgotten in seeing a tin can blown 30 feet in the air by a giant “cracker” – giant meaning it was about 4 inches long. But enough of nostalgia.

Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the meaning of days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth.

(more…)

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. –Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

(more…)

Today, in 1776, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. Of course, actually achieving independence would take years of struggle. Also today, in 1826, on the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died.

What has happened to liberals in the past 50 years? A quick perusal of the news each day shows a clear pattern of anti-American behavior and actions by Democrats. We read of Democrat behavior today that would have appalled American liberal statesmen like John Kennedy and Patrick Moynihan. While liberals of 50 years ago stood for generous social programs and higher taxes on the rich, we never doubted their love of America. Today, it is difficult to believe otherwise!

It is clear liberals view America as evil, hateful and a problem for the world. They curse and ridicule traditional values that made America grow from once-poor colonies to the world’s greatest superpower in a few hundred years. A quick viewing of headlines today shows the hatred liberals have for our country and even the desire to strengthen our enemies. For instance:

Liberal wacko Congressman Dennis Kucinich praises Syria murderer Bashad al-Assad
Holder: Justice to Drop Investigations Into CIA Officials Involved in Torture That Democrats advocated investigating these heroes that keep us safe proves my point!

Halt to Deportation of Citizen’s Same-Sex Partner Draws Fire So much for enforcing laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Clinton!
CNN: McKinney blasts U.S. on Libya TV

U.S. shifts to closer contact with Egypt Islamists Does anyone really believe we should be doing business with the Muslim Brotherhood or Taliban?

Veterans Allege VA Censoring Prayer Would the VA have banned a Muslim ceremony with the Koran?

Dick Durbin: Illegal Alien Could Become President Instead of enforcing immigration laws, Democrats advocate changing the Constitution!

(more…)

Apparently, when no one was looking, the Jaycees became a pro-Infanticide group. I wonder about this because the United States Junior Chamber Jaycees has thrown the Palatine Area Catholics Respect Life Group out of the Palatine, Illinois July Fourth parade, preventing them from participating in this year’s celebration.

The Jaycees claim that they have done so because the pro-life group has an “offensive” photo on the banner they planned to carry in the procession. Following is a photo of the banner as seen on the local Patch story:

“They decided that an unborn baby is too offensive,” said Martin Kelley, co-founder of Palatine Area Catholics Respect Life. “It’s an ultrasound photo. It’s not a picture of an aborted baby.”

So, how is an ultrasound photo of an in utero infant “offensive”? This isn’t a gruesome photo of an aborted fetus like many pro-life groups use to shock viewers — if it were I might agree with the claim that it is an offensive display. This is simply a live baby in the womb captured through the wonders of modern technology.

(more…)

Glenn Reynolds in today’s Washington Examiner:

While Independence Day is about independence from Great Britain, today it’s also associated with more general notions of freedom — individual independence, not just political independence.

Unfortunately, America’s political class doesn’t want you independent. It wants you as dependent as possible. As the Rainmakers sang back in the 1980s, “They’ll turn us all into beggars ’cause they’re easier to please.”

So what can you do? Everybody focuses on the 2012 elections, and those are important. But why wait? Here are three things you can do now.

(more…)

Today, in 1863, General George Pickett’s division led an ill-fated charge on Confederate infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. It would prove to be the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.