First Principles

Congratulations to Pat Hickey – I’m looking forward to doing everything I can to help him advance the cause of liberty in AD 25 and across Nevada. I’m incredibly proud of my volunteers, supporters, and campaign staff, who helped me run a PHENOMENAL campaign.  I am honored by everyone’s efforts and faith, and will continue working as hard as I can for all of you in whatever capacity I can. [Read more →]

Today I came across this very interesting – and relevant – article in the City Journal about how California’s public employee unions have contributed mightily to the Golden State’s economic destruction.

[W]hat was once the most prosperous state now suffers from an unemployment rate far steeper than the nation’s and a flood of firms and jobs escaping high taxes and stifling regulations. This toxic combination—high public-sector employee costs and sagging economic fortunes—has produced recurring budget crises in Sacramento and in virtually every municipality in the state.

How public employees became members of the elite class in a declining California offers a cautionary tale to the rest of the country, where the same process is happening in slower motion. The story starts half a century ago, when California public workers won bargaining rights and quickly learned how to elect their own bosses—that is, sympathetic politicians who would grant them outsize pay and benefits in exchange for their support. Over time, the unions have turned the state’s politics completely in their favor. The result: unaffordable benefits for civil servants; fiscal chaos in Sacramento and in cities and towns across the state; and angry taxpayers finally confronting the unionized masters of California’s unsustainable government.

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Attorney General Cortez-Masto’s decision to ignore the Governor’s request and to not join over one third of the Union in a Constitutional challenge against ObamaCare is a travesty.  The threat to our country and to our state particularly is real and immediate, and our participation in the lawsuit is critical to the rule of law – not to mention saving Nevada taxpayers untold millions of dollars from federal mandates.  [Read more →]

This little cartoon is fantastic – all of our kids need to see it once.  Our politicians need to watch it about once a week, I think.  It was as true in 1948 as it was in 1910 and as it is in 2010.

What I really love about this video is that it shows how the core American principle of individual liberty ultimately helps everyone.  [Read more →]

If you’re new to my blog because of the campaign, welcome to First Principles!  Ever since my website was repurposed for the campaign, I’ve been missing the blog.  But thanks to many good friends, volunteers, and a great staff (who have and continue to do brilliant work getting a campaign from Full Stop to Flank III in no time flat), I’ve got my bullhorn and soapbox back!  [Read more →]

Every year my office participates in the annual St. Baldrick’s Day children’s cancer research fundraiser, and this year I’ve volunteered to be a “shavee.”  It’s a great cause (and the only way my wife will let me shave my head).  I’ve been letting my ‘fro grow especially long and curly in a shameless attempt to extend the drama, so it should be a lot of fun!

It's happened before...

The other reward is (besides helping sick children) is that I’ll be able to bond that much better with my beautiful bald baby girl, and share all those Mini-Me-esque pics with all of you!

Here’s my donation page – thanks so much for helping our team get to our goal!  Everyone is welcome to come watch the shearing – watch here for more info and some good pics.

I’m trying to imagine going back in time and asking the Federalists, “Now, if we ratify this thing, will it give the federal government the power to regulate tournament rules for collegiate sporting events?”

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Well, no big surprises.  He made the same promises that he made a year ago, and the only difference is that now we can be even more sure he won’t keep any of them.

The big takeaway from me on this was just how unserious this speech was.  [Read more →]

Last night the Young Republicans co-sponsored Reno’s first First Friday event, and local activist and candidate for State Senate (Washoe 4) Todd “Taxpayer” Bailey was on hand with his podcast equipment.  Here’s his cast, with my interview at the begining:

First Friday Podcast

Thanks, Todd!

The next First Friday is – of course – the first Friday of December (the 4th) at the Sapphire Lounge in Harrah’s in Reno starting at 5:30.  I hope to see you there!

When I heard that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, my first reaction was just to laugh.  It represents a level of absurdity beyond which no other reaction is frankly possible.  Is there anyone out there who honestly can take this seriously?

I still think it looks like a chicken's foot.

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French President Sarkozy, as reported by Breitbart’s BigGoverment.com:

“President Obama dreams of a world without weapons … but right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite.

“Iran since 2005 has flouted five security council resolutions. North Korea has been defying council resolutions since 1993.

“I support the extended hand of the Americans, but what good has proposals for dialogue brought the international community? More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe a UN member state off the map,” he continued, referring to Israel.

For once, I wish the American government would take a cue from the foreign policy pronouncements of our friends on the other side of the pond.

Today when I got home from work, the following pre-recorded message was on my answering machine:

Hello.  This is a message from Accountable America.

Why is the recession and increased unemployment dragging on?  We need to ask our Congressman Dean Heller.  He voted against spending money to put America back to work.  Congressman Heller voted against extending unemployment benefits and lowering taxes for 95% of working Americans.  However, Congressman Heller did vote for executive bonuses for the same Wall Street firms that took taxpayer bailout money.

Call Congressman Dean Heller and tell him we need to create jobs and end this recession.  Tell him to stop protecting bonuses for the well-treated executives who caused this mess.

Ridiculous, but good for a laugh.  And I know perfect blog fodder when I hear it! [Read more →]

The Wisconsin Legislature is preparing for disaster!  I wonder if they could rent out Dick Cheney’s old Secret Bunker…

The [Wisconsin] Legislature is getting ready to pass a bill that allows lawmakers to designate secret successors.  The bill would allow each legislator to name three to seven successors. They would come into play if an enemy attack leaves nine or more vacancies in the Senate or 25 or more vacancies in the Assembly.

Wow.  You lose one quarterback and everyone loses their minds…

Seriously, though, the delusional self-importance of these folks has to make one worry.  I mean honestly – if half the state legislature suddenly disappeared, and no one was told about it, how long would it take for the average citizen to actually notice?  [Read more →]

For a long time, I’ve believed that Jimmy Carter was a decent man at some point in the past who was in over his head as president, did good things for charities, and had grown bitter and stupid with age.  Certainly, I believed his behavior in the last few years has been reprehensible, but accepted the generally held notion that he was at his core a good man.  But I learned this the other day, and it’s something to keep in mind the next time this person dares to lecture us on racism.

As Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU’s Voting Project, relates in his book A Voting Rights Odyssey: Black Enfranchisement in Georgia, Carter’s board tried to stop the construction of a new “Elementary Negro School” in 1956. [Read more →]

On the one hand, you have a group of Americans spending their time and money to demand that the government give them more of other people’s money.

On the other hand, you have another group spending their time and money to demand that the government give them less of other people’s money.

Hmm.

Something to consider the next time you hear a lefty call conservatives “greedy.”

Burning Man is underway, and right now there are thousands of people partying in the desert and taking pictures of them and their friends with their own cameras of the event.  And despite their illusions of freedom, they don’t own a single one of those pictures.  Not really.

But the Government of Black Rock City has told the Burners who keep them employed that they don’t need to worry – their liberty is infringed for their own good, and they triple dog promise to never abuse this expansive authority over their denizens.  Really!

I’m sure the BM folks would bristle at the idea that they were a “government.”  But they set out to create a “community.”  They call their community a “City”.  That city has rules, which are created by the organizers of said city, and a violation of those rules can lead to various sanctions.  The denizens give money to the organizers, who then use that money to provide infrastructure (such as it is), utilities, and security – and to pay themselves.   What else do you call it?

It’s just that the Burners don’t get any say in who their government is.  Oh, and the government gets to seize property without due process.  Sounds like freedom to me! [Read more →]

I’m greatly amused over the hippy boycott of their former-favorite grocery store, Whole Foods, over WF CEO John Mackey’s Wall Street Journal Op/Ed on health care reform.  Fortunately for all the working stiff WF employees liberals claim to care about, it doesn’t seem to be hurting the company’s bottom line any.

The thing that kills me is that the hippies’ stated goals are to a) increase health care access for all Americans, b) improve the quality of that care, and c) reduce costs of that care.  Fair enough – there’s nothing wrong with any of those things as goals, and Mr. Mackey clearly agrees with his disgruntled customers that those goals are desirable.  He just has an alternative solution to meet them which he thinks (and knows from experience) will work better than the current proposals bouncing around Congress and the White House.  So why the hate?  [Read more →]

Considering the absurdity and pointlessness of some lefty protests I’ve seen, I’ve never been sure.  But a friend of mine sent me this article from the New York Times on the subject, which in its left wing absurdity (domestic terrorist Bernardine Dohrn contributes) got me re-thinking that question in terms of the Town Hall/Tea Party protests going on now around the country.

In the US, as anywhere, it all boils down to incentives.  If protests and protesters don’t threaten the folks in power, either with violence (heaven forbid) or votes, they won’t matter.  When they do, they will.  [Read more →]

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently sat down with ABC’s Jake Tapper, and the discussion inevitably turned to health care.  From that short discussion, the Prime Minister revealed two important things for us to keep in mind – one intentional, and one probably not so much.

Most important was the accident.  When asked if Canadian waiting lines were too long, the non-answer revealed much:

In Canada, health care is principally the responsibility of our provincial government.  The federal government provides some transfers.  We do some of the drug regulation, a number of other activities.

But it is principally a system run by our provincial government.  So first of all, I don’t feel qualified to intervene in the debate.

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Nancy Pelosi’s article calling the Obamacare protesters “un-American” is, of course, ridiculous.  It is beyond parody.  If I wrote it word for word under her name as satire, I would be accused of straining hyperbole to beyond all limits and beyond.  Only slightly less absurd are the “factual” claims she makes in the piece.

But that’s been talking-headed to death.  I think the point of all this is being badly missed.

The protesters aren’t trying to drown out debate.  They aren’t trying to debate at all.  They’re there to give instructions to the people who work for them.  [Read more →]