The Daily Rations: March 16, 2009

In a time of government ascendancy and dependence on the state, these are your Daily Rations for March 16, 2009.

Recent original articles from the pages of Rational Liberty:

Thoughts on United States Citizenship

In Defense of Capitalism

Revolution? It Can’t Happen Here

Fallacies of the Green Movement

News & Opinions:

Cheney hits Obama policy on terrorism (The Washington Times) – The former vice president says Obama’s stance on the war on terror will put us more at risk of attack…and I agree. I’ve been saying this since Obama was inaugurated and immediately sent out the message that we were reverting to the 1990’s way of handling our terrorist enemies – by pretending it’s merely an issue of law enforcement. That is the exact type of policy which lead to our inability to prevent the attacks on September 11, 2001. We did not take the threat seriously and we ignored the fact that we had war declared on us, then prosecuted our end of it as if our enemies were merely petty thieves. In seven and a half years the “liberal” Democrat incompetents, like Barack Obama, have learned nothing about our enemies and our past failures to stop them. Either that or he just doesn’t care because he has an ideology to uphold. Either way, he’s absolutely inept as a leader and his policies are a danger to our national security.

Pakistan’s Weakened President Bends to Opposition (The Wall Street Journal) – Every day brings additional problems for the Pakistani government. While the two major forces are battling it out over federal control, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are running amok along the Afghan border regions and gaining more influence over local governments. It may only be a matter of time before they are able to throw the entire country into chaos – if the Pakistani president doesn’t achieve it first.

Leftist in El Salvador Claims Victory in Presidential Vote (The Wall Street Journal) – The left-wing presidential candidate running on the FMLN ticket, which is the former guerilla/terrorist group, appears to be the next leader of the Central American country. His political experience is similar to Barack Obama’s: very little. How long will it be before another Latin American country follows in the footsteps of Castro and Chavez?

AFL-CIO pledges votes for Specter (The Washington Times) – In a classic union strong-arm move, the president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO promised to support Republican Senator Arlen Specter in the 2010 primaries, if Specter votes for the new “card-check” con. If he doesn’t, then he was told that the unions will “rise the intensity” against him. Sounds like typical street thuggery – intimidation and buying politicians. But hey…unions are good for business and politics, right? We could all use more of these tactics.

What Is Marxism? (American Thinker) – That’s an easy one: A mental illness.

Obamanomics (The Washington Times) – At the end of this editorial, this question is asked: “Has the moderate Obama left the building?” Before this question, it was a pretty good editorial. But I would like to know where the author has been for the last four years. Since when had Obama ever been a moderate? His entire adult life has been spent on the far left. He was ranked the “most liberal” senator for 2007. His policies on health care, energy, and education have been well-known for at least two years. His friends, and now cabinet and advisors, consist of some of the most “liberal” people in politics today. He is statist to his core and has been for quite some time. What moderateness would have left? None ever existed.

Formerly Useful Idiots (American Thinker) – Formerly? Their ineptitude – as well as many others’ – lead to the victory of Obama in last November’s presidential election. They were very useful and they are indeed idiots.

Everyone Hates Ethanol (The Wall Street Journal) – One of the consequences from the combination of the global warming fraud and a wasteful and power-hungry federal government is the ethanol scam. This is easily one of the biggest swindles being perpetrated on the American People today. Not only is ethanol production an inefficient use of energy, it’s also a scheme that cannot be supported without massive government subsidies, mandates, and endless tinkering when problems arise – such as forcing a larger amount of ethanol into a market that is on the decline because of the recession. This is a prime example of the environmentalists’ and government’s colossal cerebral idiocy.

Obama speaks the truth (Townhall) – Astute and concise. Just listen to what Obama actually says and you’ll know what he’s all about.

From the annals of American history:

Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (The Avalon Project) – Before the Declaration of Independence, there was this. The colonists had exhausted all efforts to avoid violent conflict with the British authorities, but in the end, their requests for a peaceful solution went unanswered. One year before the more famous Declaration was written, this document officially put the open rebellion of the American Revolution in motion by candidly stating the reasons for an armed contest with the colonists’ British oppressors.

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