Tuesday -- April 26, 2005
 THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO AGENDA?
 Yesterday afternoon I did what I usually do after finishing my program; I checked in with the Godfather to see what was on his talk radio agenda. The Man was engaged in a riff about the partisan warfare between Democrats and Republicans and, as usual, doing a sensational job. One problem though. I could have sworn that I heard the words "The Democrats have no agenda." I'm probably mistaken there .. but just in case I wasn't driving through an area of high interference and actually heard him right .. I now offer an alternative opinion.
The Democrats most certain DO have an agenda. It's just not an agenda that they are anxious to promote. The Democratic agenda can be succinctly stated in just a few words: Make Americans ever more dependent on government, and thus dependent on Democrats. There's bandwidth to fill, however, so we'll use a few more words to explain just what the Democrats want to accomplish. A significant part of the Democrat agenda is the war on individuality. This was is no fig newton of my imagination. Master Democrat Ted Kennedy has made reference to this war in just those terms. Following a New England Patriots Super Bowl win several years ago Kennedy stumbled up to the microphone to share in the celebration, there to praise the teamwork of the Patriots, so welcome at a time that we are engaged in a "war against individuality." So ... his words, not mine. The war on individuality goes hand-in-hand with the Democrats goal of increasing dependency on government. People who celebrate their individuality are people who are far more likely to become successful and independent. They follow their own dreams, not those of the masses; and in so doing they become more self sufficient and less dependent on government. In case you haven't noticed, Democrats aren't particularly fond of the idea of people becoming less dependent on government. There's another nasty little problem with the concept of individuality ... at least its a problem for Democrats. When you recognize (dare I say celebrate?) the concept of the individual, you then have to recognize that individuals have rights. Individual rights, not group rights. This would include the individual right to life, liberty and property. Democrats haven't yet made any objections they might have to the right to life apparent, but they take a back seat to nobody on their lack of respect for concepts of individual liberty and property rights. The one property right most troublesome to Democrats? That would be the right an individual has to the fruits of his labors. More of the Democratic agenda? Look to government schools. Our children must be "educated" (indoctrinated) by the government. All possible means must be pursued to keep these children out of private schools where the influence of government is muted. Now the Democrats know that they can't attempt to outlaw private schools, at least not yet; but they certainly can make it as hard as possible for a parents to pursue that option. School choice is a dead issue with Democrats. Vouchers? Forget it. It's just not going to happen. The government gets to decide where and how your children are going to be "educated," and that's that. Our children must be taught that American is great because of its government. If these children are allowed to escape the government schools for a private education there's that chance that they will be taught the dangerous notion that America is great because of the dynamic of free people working cooperatively and competitively in a system based on individual liberty and economic freedom. The concept of individual liberty is incompatible with the goal of making people more dependent on government. More of the Democrat agenda? How about socialized medicine? This is part and parcel of the effort to make people dependent on government. Personally, I think the Democrats have one this one. Socialized medicine in the United States is inevitable. Most Americans now believe that it is either the government's or their employer's responsibility to take care of their health needs. Last week I read you a story about some young high school athlete in Canada being put on a three-year waiting list for simple arthoscopic knee surgery. I had this surgery done five months ago. My waiting period? I saw the doctor for the first time on a Monday and the surgery was performed the following Thursday. Give the Democrats a chance to bring their socialized medicine to pass in our country and the wait will be months, if not years here. Socialized medicine is vitally important to Democrats. When you control a person's health care, you control that person. Besides .. .just think of the powerful election rhetoric socialized medicine will bring to Democrat politics: "If you elect Republicans or Libertarians they are going to make you pay for your own medical care." Then there's "soak the rich" tax policies. How can you say that the Democrats have no agenda when they have made it abundantly clear that they would like nothing more than to see taxes raised on the evil, filthy, nasty, ugly rich. These government dependency programs take cash, and what better way to raise cash then to appease the gods of envy by raising taxes on the hated top 1% of income earners? Is there more? You bet. Much more than I have time to present here. - Social Security. People must not own their own retirement accounts. The government must be in control. Control retirement, control the individual.
- The United Nations. Weaken American by subjecting us to the whims of the international community through the world court and other UN institutions.
- Talk Radio: Bring back the Fairness Doctrine to browbeat radio station owners into dropping conservative and libertarian talk radio shows.
- Wealth confiscation: Levy a one-time tax on the outstanding balances in privately held retirement and pension accounts.
- Control pension fund investments through government regulations ... a ploy to reward Democrat-friendly unions and businesses.
- Shift more and more of the tax burden to the wealthiest Americans. Now that one-half of Americans have been relieved of the responsibility of paying any income taxes, give them a free ride on Social Security and Medicare taxes as well.
- Paid "Family Leave." Make employers continue to pay the salaries of employees to take the 12-week family leave for a new baby, to care for a sick relative or just because they don't like to work on Mondays.
- Government paid child care for all. Make the taxpayers pay for something that should be the responsibility of the parent.
- Repeal the Second Amendment. Only the government should have guns.
No agenda? That sounds like quite an agenda to me, and one that I'm not particularly comfortable with. All they need now is the power to enact their agenda .. and with continued Republican missteps, like their interference in the Schiavo matter, they may soon realize that goal. THE FINAL REPORT ON WMD
The Iraqi Survey Group has released its final report on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and they have concluded the following:
* There is no evidence any weapons of mass destruction were moved to Syria for safekeeping before the invasion of Iraq
* There is no evidence that Saddam Hussein tried to restart his weapons program after Gulf War I
* No stockpiles of WMD have been found in Iraq
Now, before those on the left get out their 'Bush lied, people died' signs, it's important to remember a few facts. One, just because there is no evidence any WMD was hidden in Syria before the war doesn't mean they aren't there. That just means the Iraqi Survey Group can't find them. There are other reports from reputable officials which say that Saddam did, indeed, ship those weapons to Syria in anticipation of an invation. Two, just because Saddam Hussein apparently didn't try to restart his weapons program after 1991 doesn't mean he couldn't' have. He maintained the capability, the know-how and the materials to do so. The report doesn't address what Saddam might have been capable of doing once the sanctions were lifted and the international heat was off.
Then there's this business about no WMD being found. Actually, WMD has been found in Iraq. Several chemical agents classified as weapons of mass destruction have been located, including mustard gas and sarin, enough to kill tens of thousands of people. Naturally, this was dismissed by the Bush-bashing media is insufficient. Apparently weapons of mass destructions means something different to them.
Saddam Hussein knew we were coming....and either hid or destroyed the WMD. He had weapons of mass destruction, he used them and he was capable of producing more. But that won't be how this report is covered. Nor will you hear that regime change in Iraq was the stated policy of the Clinton administration for 8 years.
The world is better and safer without Saddam Hussein, and democracy is clearly spreading throughout the Middle East. Today we will see the end of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Other Arab nations are offering their citizens more and more of a say in choosing their own governments. These things aren't happening in a vacuum.
CUTTING A DEAL ON JUDGES
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has decided he wants to cut a deal on changing the rules to end the filibuster in the Senate. Under current Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to end floor debate and force a vote. In the past, Republicans have not had those 60 votes, meaning Democrats could endlessly obstruct President Bush's judicial nominees.
But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist could change the rules. With a simple majority of 50 votes, he could change the rules so that only a simple majority is needed to cut off floor debate. With Vice President Cheney casting the tie-breaker, Frist could afford to have 5 Republicrats wander off the reservation and still get it done. For whatever reason, he has chosen not to. So now he's negotiating with the Democrats.
For over 200 years, judges have been confirmed or not confirmed by a simple yes or no, up or down vote. But Democrats, ever worried about losing their grip on an activist judiciary, started filibustering judges, even preventing a vote from coming to the floor. Republicans could stand together and stop them, but apparently they don't know how to act like a majority, and they're getting weak-kneed.
There's even a poll out that says the majority of people are opposed to eliminating the filibuster. That's ridiculous. How many people do you know that could accurately explain the arcane rules of the United States Senate, much less take a position on something that specific? Not many, so polls like that reflect nothing more than the Democratic media agenda. Besides ... just how were the questions in those polls posed?
Take note of the following quote:
"I have stated over and over again on this floor that I would refuse to put an anonymous hold on any judge; that I would object and fight against any filibuster on a judge, whether it is somebody I opposed or supported; that I felt the Senate should do its duty. If we don't like somebody the President nominates, vote him or her down."
Who said it? Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, in 1998. Frist should tell the Democrats to stick it and change the rules.
THE SAUDIS AND OIL PRICES
 Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah visited President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas yesterday. The #1 subject was skyrocketing gas prices. The administration did a nice little job of trying to show that the president was talking tough to the Saudis...getting them to raise their production capacity by a couple million barrels of oil a day by 2009 (something they were probably going to do anyway.)
It all sounds so good, doesn't it? The only problem....none of it means anything. Sure, the price of crude oil is one component of the price of gasoline. But there's no shortage...and producing more isn't going to dramatically bring the price of gasoline down overnight. The real culprit lies right here in the United States, and it's something we could fix right away.
Cars don't run on crude oil...they run on gasoline that has to be refined. That's why the price of gas goes up on the weekends and so much in the summer. The last refinery was built in the United States in 1976 in Louisiana. Since that time, all we've done is consume more gasoline, without building any more refineries. The Saudis pointed this out yesterday.
The best way to lower oil prices would be to stop sucking up to Islamic terrorist-supporting countries like Saudi Arabia and do three things: develop a single blend that meets all of the environmental regulations nationwide, start building more refineries and start drilling for oil everywhere it might be in this country.
You might want to consider whether or not the environmentalists who have lobbied for the special blends while fighting the construction of any new refineries might be more to blame for the high gas prices than the Saudi weird-beards.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Democratic obstruction to President Bush's judicial nominees has everything to do with the fact that Democrats don't want non-activist judges being appointed. Thomas Sowell says that's the only way the left can enact most of its agenda.
With Tom DeLay in the crosshairs over the payment of his travel expenses, members of Congress in both parties are in overdrive getting their records in order. No doubt cooking the books here and there, as well.
There's a scandal involving Hillary Clinton...a big one...that you're not hearing much about in the mainstream media. Dick Morris explains how The Hildabeast broke campaign finance laws.
There is a new book out about Iran's nuclear ambitions...and TV stations are rejecting the commercials for the book. Why? Because it accurately portrays the Islamic terrorists that run that rogue state. But, alsa, .it might offend Muslims. Too bad.
Tony Blair is running for a third term in Great Britain..and the election is in a little over a week. Christopher Hitchens explains why the Prime Minister deserves another shot in office.
President Bush's Social Security plan has been a disaster, mainly because he hasn't explained it well enough. So what can he do now? Fred Barnes offers a solution...and a way out of the Social Security quagmire.
We've long known that the media believes Democrats are good and Republicans are evil. What's surprising is that they're now going around saying that exact thing. The Media Research Center reports.
The real reason the left opposes the John Bolton nomination has nothing to do with whether or not he yelled at a subordinate. David Limbaugh explains the real reason: his criticism of the United Nations.
There is a protectionist bill in Congress, sponsored by a couple of Republicans, that would impose a 27.5% tariff on Chinese goods unless they sever their currency's link to the dollar. Jack Kemp calls this a pending disaster.
Forty years ago, Ronald Reagan delivered what some have called his finest speech: "A Time for Choosing," in support of Barry Goldwater. Cal Thomas says we face another time for choosing, this over the issue of judicial appointments. Morning Sickness: Brother & sister arrested after they were caught having sex in a trailer. This took place in, of course, Alabama.
Liz Sperber writes in Brown University's newspaper that she supports the Iraqi resistance. Hey, and she even included an email address for those who want to join her... On today's show, Neal spoke with Rebecca Hagelin author of Home Invasion : Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark Raving Mad. On the Information Overload hour, Jamie Dupree gave out a link to help you follow the money in Washington D.C. How could someone sell this wonderful piece of art? It's such a wonderful subject, or at least half of it is. What's wrong with people? | 
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