Gary Johnson a candidate worth looking at

Imagine a candidate who proposes a 43% cut in the military budget (yes, nearly half), an end to the wasteful War on Drugs program, an immediate stop to the never-ending War on Terrorism, believes in true Internet freedom and actually has a chance at winning the election in 2012, albeit remote. Who is this candidate? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Ron Paul.

This candidate’s name is Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and ex-Governor of New Mexico. Johnson has successfully dented Mitt Romney’s stronghold on the “other than huge government” crowd and promises to continue fighting and striving for victory. “The idea is to win,” Johnson said in an interview with the Huffington Post.

Johnson strikes me as, well, appropriately small government. The man supports an end to these costly wars overseas and might be the only major politician who does not want to bomb Iran. He supports removing the government from the business of marriage and wants the Internet to remain free of government censors. He supports repealing the Patriot Act, which he calls an “assault on privacy” and believes in a woman’s right to abort until the fetus is viable.

The real world gives Johnson next to no chance at securing victory in 2012. But then again, the real world does not make a lot of sense either. Every day, Americans break laws that they did not even know existed. Americans have become complacent and comfortable within the confines of a so-called government “safety net”. They have become content – until something jarring enough hits them hard enough to knock them out of their own little worlds. This year, it’s health care.

Johnson’s web site says 15% support in the polls gets him a podium at the debates. Let’s find out if Americans feel that sensibility in government is worth not throwing their vote away on the “big two”.

Government to regulate credit agencies

Posted by Steve Adcock

The federal government will soon take on yet another responsibility – this time, regulating 30 of the companies that provide credit reports to American consumers. These companies include the top three, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Yet again, more government involvement in business other than national security (the government’s rightful job).

Although credit companies are required to keep meticulous records of their business practices, that was not enough for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency that will be overseeing the new watchdog efforts.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONSUMER_PROTECTION_CREDIT_REPORTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-16-14-39-45

Ron Paul to battle Bernanke … for last time

Posted by Steve Adcock

“End the Fed” author and Texas Representative Ron Paul will once again face Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in front of the House Financial Services committee, but it’ll probably be for the last time.

“It’ll be hard to think up anything brand new other than reiterating my concerns over the last 30 years,” he told The Hill magazine. But none-the-less, Paul will likely once again renew his concerns over the Federal Reserve’s involvement and influence over monetary policy in the United States.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/economy/237967-ron-paul-readies-his-salvos-for-last-showdown-with-feds-bernanke

Obama chides business owners’ success

Posted by Steve Adcock

President Obama apparently finds himself with the requisite business credibility to lecture successful business owners on how much of their success is owed to others rather than their own hard work and determination.

“There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t — look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.”

Well yes, President Obama. While certainly there is some degree of help provided by others that cannot be denied, successful businesses are rarely spawned by the brains of dumb people. Why is our president, who has nothing in his past that could even be remotely tied to business experience, lecturing the American business community about success?

“The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.”

Clever. Linking the services that our tax money goes to fund for the protection of all people and owning a private business designed to make money and hire portions of the population. The point is, Mr. President, that businesses succeed because of sheer will and determination of the business owner. It is easy to give up, but it is not so easy to remain steadfast in pursuit of bigger and better things. Help is wonderful, no doubt, but help cannot make up for laziness, and it is definitely no substitute for mediocrity.