Don't quit your day job, Mr. "Artist"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011702575_graffitiside26m.html

Executive summary:

A seattle man works odd jobs so that he can pursue his "art form": graffiti. He does this because he sees beauty in graffiti, but also because he thinks any entry into this art form has more impact on society than a blank wall. He has taken fine art classes (painting, etc.) and travels the world to leave his art on public spaces. He does not paint on private property or churches, only public property.

Opinion:

What right does this man have to be the sole determiner of what art will be featured on a public space? It belongs to "the public," not him. The article does say that he has had brushes with the law, but does he care that graffiti has been shown to increase crime, or that taxpayers must pay to have his graffiti removed from public spaces? Of course, the big question I want to ask him is this:

Do you really paint graffiti because it is "social commentary" or because deep down, you know that your artistic talents are so poor that no one, public or private, will pay you for your art?

I think I know the answer to that. I don't think he's willing to admit it.

It's liberal, but it's the same idea...

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just found a site that is sort of trying to do what I'm trying to do here---except it's overtly liberal and cares way more about entertainment and celebrity news than I do. But check it out:

www.newser.com

Obama: "I do think at a certain point, you've made enough money."

A quote from our President at a rally the other day. Yes, he does go on to say in a backhanded way that this is okay in America if you "make a good product," but the press should really be following this up with a couple of questions:

1) What is "enough money"? Have you reached that point? What about Nancy Pelosi or Matt Damon?

2) What do you, as President, want to do to people when they have reached that point?

Thoughts of the day

Borrowed and rephrased from stuff I've read or heard today:

"When you give the government more money to ostensibly lower the debt, you never get less debt. You always get more government."

"Be at least half as suspicious of government as you are of private corporations."

Our healthcare crystal ball: Massachusetts

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304198004575171782805022028.html?mod=rss_Today

Executive Summary:

In 2006, under Mitt Romney, Massachusetts passed a health care system overhaul similar to Obamacare (i.e. pre-existing conditions must be accepted, insurers must clear rate hikes with the state government, everyone must buy an insurance plan, rates for all people must be about the same regardless of health status).

A few of the state's largest insurers are suing the state government, which will not let them raise premiums on small group coverage. These insurers are non-profit entities and claim they will not have enough money to cover claims and/or operating costs if they do not raise rates. Until the case is resolved (hopefully this Monday), these insurers are not selling any new policies. The government has ordered them to start selling policies again, or face fines and other punishment.

Opinion:
This is our future if Obamacare is allowed to stand. The business model for health insurance cannot work when people will be allowed to buy insurance AFTER they get sick, and the government arbitrarily sets rates. This is also why Mitt Romney will never be the President.

Update:
The MA insurance companies lost their request for an injunction against the state to be able to cap their rates. They can still sue, but they have to do what the state says for however long that suit will take (possibly years). What will these non-profits do in the mean time to stay afloat? Anybody's guess. This article also says that rate caps are in the bill signed by Obama. Like I said in the comments, it's also anybody's guess what's actually in the bill. Bad law and bad process.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/04/19/bisc0419.htm

Great exerpt from Jonah Goldberg's latest column

"Personally, I have never understood liberalism's blind spot for liberty when it comes to taxation. A 24-hour waiting period before a teenager can have an abortion is an allegedly grotesque violation of individual freedom, but a federal government that takes vast amounts of your money — the means by which you exercise your every freedom — to distribute as it sees fit is "progressive"? The USA Patriot Act, whose threat to privacy was somewhere between entirely theoretical and non-existent for the overwhelming majority of Americans, shocked the liberal conscience. But our income tax system — made idiotically complex by both parties — demands countless hours of preparation and requires law abiding citizens to reveal (and document!) many of their most private decisions to government inspectors every year is "reasonable." Yet many liberals even think complaining about this is a sign of right-wing dementia."

Read the whole thing here: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/04/column-how-much-taxation-is-enough.html

Enough said. Now let's get to work.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/04/05/the_way_forward_for_republicans_105047.html
Executive summary:

Republicans and Tea Party activists (often, but not always the same thing) must focus on presenting our fellow citizens with the vital message of what freedom and liberty and limited government are (and support candidates that hold these values paramount) in order to save us from a total decline to a welfare state.

Opinion:
In this case, you might want to go read the whole essay. It's not that long. Some great exerpts:

"...even though compassion is a virtue of the first order, along with benevolence, honesty, and others, these are private not public virtues, and importantly they are not virtues, if not voluntary."

"...free people acting in a free market is what this country stands for, is the only ethical way to live, and happens to be the greatest anti-poverty and civil rights program on earth."

In My Copious Free Time: Open Audition: White House Press Secretary

In My Copious Free Time: Open Audition: White House Press Secretary

Nice bit of funny. Especially for politically interested Firefly fans.