Framing the Dialogue

Posts Tagged ‘government’

Parsimony – Taxing Effort

I find it very interesting that a good number of these posts use an Associated Press story as the baseline for my commentary. I don’t seek out AP stories, but it often seems like their reporting often shows the bias of the mainstream media.

First the headline (with a link to the original story)…

GOP moves toward slashing, nixing states’ income tax

…Now the story

OKLAHOMA CITY — A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative’s dream: the steep reduction or elimination of state income taxes. [So far so good]

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As The Debt Turns

For those of us that lean fiscally conservative the following headline was meant to give solace to the frighteningly steep rise in our nation’s debt;

House votes to deny Obama more borrowing authority

The borrowing refers to the need to yet again raise our debt ceiling and allow politicians the ability to spend more by borrowing more.  I, unlike the article’s author, used the term “politicians” rather than just Obama when referring to the one(s) doing the borrowing.  This story is should be primer on how the political class (both right and left and middle) play the game to ensure that they stay in power while seeming to play to their bases.

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Inflexible (in-flek-suh-buhl)

The dictionary defines Inflexible as:

  1. not flexible; incapable of or resistant to being bent; rigid: an inflexible steel rod.
  2. of a rigid or unyielding temper, purpose, will, etc.; immovable: an inflexible determination.
  3. not permitting change or variation; unalterable

Synonyms: unbendable, stiff, rigorous, stern, unrelenting, unremitting, stubborn, obstinate, intractable, obdurate, unbending, adamant,Inflexible,relentless, implacable, inexorable

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Executive Power

The framers wrote the Constitution to provide for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government. Each has its own responsibilities and at the same time they work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed. This is done through checks and balances. A branch may use its powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a balance of power among the three branches of government. The three branches of the U.S. Government are: Legislative, Executive, Judicial

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A Liberal Walks Into A Bar…

…And lowers it!

Lowering the bar gets A+ at city schools

Demonstrating the importance of a good education the City of Pittsburgh Public School Board decided that grades were so important that they would accept nothing less than a grade point average of 1.5 for any student wishing to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities (That’s D+ for those of you who grew up when I did).  We cannot have any football players ineligible because of low grades.  The “lowering the bar” part is because prior to this the bar was a full “C” or 2.0 grade point average.  That requirement must have decimated the ranks of the chess club and the forensics team.  Lest your heart (and mind) be too troubled by the lower standards any “students who are at a 1.5-1.99 GPA must take part in a probationary program aimed at getting them to a 2.0. If they haven’t achieved this in two semesters, they would be ineligible for activities including sports, band and club activities” unless there is a chance that a city football team can capture a state championship.  We wouldn’t want to deprive any kids of that honor.

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Nature’s A Mother

Last Friday there were four tragic deaths in the City of Pittsburgh due to a flash flooding incident.  A mother, her two young daughters were killed when trapped in their van and another woman is believed to have been swept away as she fled her vehicle.  Everyone empathizes with their families and our hearts go out to them as these stories bring back tragic thoughts of loved ones that we have lost. 

Image and data from USGS StreamStats

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Parsimony – Edison Deconstructed

In “Parse-imony” I break down current news stories with my pithy, running commentary…

First the headline:

Bill fails to overturn light bulb standards

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Tuesday failed to stop the enactment of new energy-saving standards for light bulbs they portrayed as yet another example of big government interfering in people’s lives. [“portrayed” is incorrect as the new standards are an example of government interfering in people’s lives by mandating what kind of light bulb will be available for them to use – taking choices away is interfering!]

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Phrase-e-ology – Our Fate

Many times as I read an article I find a few sentences that capture the essence of the piece.  In “Phrase-e-ology” I’ll post some thought followed by key phrases.  As always I’ll have a link (in blue) to the original article.

It is hard not to grab some great phrases from an author like Walter Williams.  His recent article asks the question of whether we (America) deserves our fate (still avoidable at this point).  Pointing out that our culture is following in the footsteps of some historical empires like that of the Romans, Spanish, French, and English where…

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Past As Preview

I was struck, yet again, by a move by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency.  They are looking to ban the sale of most rat poisons to consumers claiming that the move will,

“to reduce the thousands of accidental exposures of children that occur every year from rat and mouse control products and also to protect household pets.”

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Update – Up In Your Business

A few months ago I wrote about how government likes to all up in your business. They just cannot help themselves. One of the examples was how the City of Pittsburgh through its Urban Redevelopment Authority used eminent domain to seize a local theatre in Pittsburgh. The Garden theatre had suffered from the decline of city theatres and the proliferation of suburban multi-screen venues. They somehow survived by catering to the XXX movie crowd. I obviously don’t know the details of their finances, but they stayed in business for decades screening those flicks. That is until the City of Pittsburgh decided that the area would be better suited to a retail development.

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