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Comment Re:beacon of freedom (Score 3, Insightful) 266

by readin (#45926283) Attached to: How Chris Christie Could Use the NSA Playbook
So you use a bunch of left-wing websites to "debunk" the news?

I don't have time to go into everything, and in fact most of the list doesn't interest me that much.

But the IRS scandal wasn't hatched a couple days before the national press finally noticed. The IRS behavior was being noticed and complained about for many many months before it became widespread knowledge. You probably heard about the IRS being used as a political weapon in spring of 2013.

From July of 2012, "Even worse, the IRS has responded to dozens of tax-exemption applications by tea-party groups with astonishingly intrusive document demands, seeking not only donor lists but also lists of volunteers." http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/310384/obama-s-sunshine-policy-david-french

Mr. French is referring to a DailyCaller article from February 2012, http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/22/congressional-investigations-sought-over-irs-assault-on-tea-party-groups/

Yes it's true that these are all conservative websites, but who else was going to cover news at that time that was negative to President Obama and wasn't already high profile?

Anyway, here is a non-conservative site debunking your debunking http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/05/14/irs-tea-party-progressive-groups/2158831/

Comment Re:three responses (Score 2, Insightful) 562

by readin (#45730145) Attached to: Police Pull Over More Drivers For DNA Tests
If you were pulled over without probably cause so that the officer smell your breath then yes, it should be only be inadmissible in court it should be recognized as an unreasonable search. Pulling me over and making me open my windows so my breath can be searched is no different than knocking on my door and demanding entry so the police can look around. Both make sense when there is probable cause that a crime is being committed. Both are unreasonable searches otherwise.

Comment Re:three responses (Score 1) 562

by readin (#45729993) Attached to: Police Pull Over More Drivers For DNA Tests

Am I being detained?

Now that you mention it, you did make an illegal lane change and you were going 5 mph over the speed limit,so yes, you are being detained while I write a ticket (with a note to the judge that you were uncooperative).

Am I free to go?

No, I do not consent to any search.

Comment Re:Minimal ghg impact (Score 1) 314

by readin (#45720591) Attached to: Lawmakers Out To Kill the Corn-Based Ethanol Mandate

There's little ghg impact to eliminating corn ethanol. It's so energy intensive to produce and there are big impacts from indirect land use change. The climate change champion in me says yawn. Cellulosic is much more exciting.

The free-market conservative in me is glad that corporate welfare ended and hopes it won't be replaced with something else.

Comment Re: red v blue (Score 1) 285

by readin (#45713909) Attached to: Census Bureau: Majority of Affluent Counties In Northeast US
So your religion doesn't have a problem with contraception and blood transfusions. Neither does mine. That doesn't mean we have the right to deny freedom of religion to those we disagree with.

I'm not removing a woman's right to contraception. I'm not a big fan of the government paying for contraception, but for me that's not an issue of my religion forbidding it. But for those people whose religion considers contraception immoral, they shouldn't be forced to pay for it.

This is a lot like conscientious objector status during the draft. If your religion has a long history of opposing something and you have a well-established participation in that religion (i.e. you didn't just make up the religion or join the religion to get out of following the law) the government should have to meet a very high standard to force you to comply. At the very least it should make reasonable accommodations.

People who opposed contraception lived their lives peacefully without disturbing their neighbors for years and years, and then one day the government got in their face and told them to go purchase contraception for someone or else!

Comment Re:red v blue (Score 1) 285

by readin (#45699441) Attached to: Census Bureau: Majority of Affluent Counties In Northeast US

That would be the idealistic "screw you, I've got mine" response that's pretty typical of American conservatives. The myth of the self sufficient poor and the self made millionaire don't hurt either.

But if you actually have worked your ass off and supported yourself and your family without taking handouts from the government or anyone else, how can someone tell you it is a myth?

Then too, the US has always had a disturbing cultural meme where people actually believe in upward mobility, and that some day they'll be rich and they don't want to screw it up for themselves. Reality is of course quite a bit different than that, as upward mobility in the US is actually among the lowest on the planet.

It used to be that America did have high rates of upward mobility compared to the rest of the world. Of course at that time we also had more economic freedom than most of the rest of the world. Now the myth is that America is still economically free. But the truth is that we are very heavily regulated, we much a huge amount of government spending, and we are no longer the free country we once were.

Reality check though: places with very large intrusive governments also tend to be very screwed up. It's almost as if (here's a thought nobody in the US seems capable of) the trick is to have the right amount of laws, regulation, and social safety nets and then people can be happy and prosperous. Oh, and don't let any one group stay in power for too long. It tends to make the inevitable corruption even worse, and it also tends to radicalize the opposition so that when they eventually do get into power, they screw things up even worse than they already are.

There is a lot truth in what you say here.

Comment Re:red v blue (Score 1) 285

by readin (#45696715) Attached to: Census Bureau: Majority of Affluent Counties In Northeast US
Take a look at the "Change in median household income, 2007-2012, by county." map in TFA, Then consider northern Virginia as an example. Conservatives ran the place and it became very successful, leading to population growth. Much of that population growth came from failing states that had been conservative and became liberal (I'm looking at YOU California). These liberal voters entered Fairfax County which in the last few years has become controlled by Democrats. Now it is nearby Loudon County that is growing and becoming rich.

Conservative policies lead to growth, which attracts liberals, which leads to liberal policies which leads to stagnation and decline.

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