Mar
16
2024

Maybe Doggerel Will Make Him See the Error of His Ways

Well, it's worth a shot:

My CongressCritter must have noticed that Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey, and (of course) President Dotard have been promising to "crack down" on one thing or another. All the cool kids are doing it!

The legislation Pappas is touting will declare xylazine a Section III Controlled Substance, joining a long list.

Neither for the first nor last time, I shall deploy this Thomas Szasz quote:

The FDA calls certain substances “controlled.” But there are no “controlled substances,” there are only controlled citizens.

Also of note:

  • Hey, let's tax the income you haven't actually received. Vance Ginn at AIER points out a wee issue with President Dotard's latest budget proposal: Unrealized Gains Tax is an Economic Fallacy.

    Taxing unrealized capital gains on property, stocks, and other assets is not just a bad idea, it’s an economic fallacy that undermines economic growth and personal liberty. Unfortunately, President Biden’s $7.3 trillion budget proposes such a federal tax. Vermont and ten other states have made similar moves.

    This tax should be rejected, as it is fundamentally unjust, likely unconstitutional, and would hinder prosperity and individual freedom.

    "Other than that, though, it's fine!"

    According to one of those links, going to a CNBC story, the proposal is likely to go nowhere. Billionaire Biden voter Leon Cooperman is quoted saying the plan is “DOA and stupid to boot,

    Too stupid and unconstitutional for Congress? That's an impressive feat.

  • Among the great many things government has no business doing… George Will deals with one of them: Government has no business bullying social media platforms on speech.

    Legal briefs are usually dry as dust, so delighted laughter is an unusual response to reading one. You can, however, bet dollars to doughnuts that the Supreme Court justices allowed themselves judicious private chuckles when they read one particular amicus (friend of the court) brief in the case concerning for which they will hear oral arguments on Monday.

    At issue is government behavior that is no laughing matter: secret pressure to suppress speech by, and deny access to speech by, Americans, thereby violating the First Amendment. The brief is from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which devotes much time to reminding academics of the First Amendment’s existence. FIRE notes that some people supporting FIRE’s side of the argument are “oblivious to the irony” of their doing so: Their “head-spinning inconsistencies” involve favoring state governments’ behavior that is similar to the federal government’s behavior that they are deploring.

    GFW notes the Biden Administration invoked Teddy Roosevelt's term "bully pulpit" to justify its actions. The Wikipedia page notes that TR used "bully" "as an adjective meaning 'superb' or 'wonderful', a more common usage at that time." Biden probably thinks TR was recommending today's meaning: coercion, intimidation, threatening, …

  • Also bullying… The NR editors describe a new low: Chuck Schumer Attacks Israeli Democracy.

    We are tempted to refer to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for the ouster of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition as “election interference” — but that would require the existence of an actual election. Given that there are currently no elections scheduled in Israel, what Schumer did on Thursday was nothing short of calling for the collapse of the democratically elected government of a close American ally during a time of war.

    This is stunning and outrageous. It is also an indication of just how hard it is to actively support Israel in today’s Democratic Party.

    You'd think Chuck could tell the pro-Hamas faction in his party to go pee up a rope, but no.

    Also commenting is Scott Johnson, who wants to popularize the phrase "Doesn’t know Schumer from Shinola".

    Jonathan Tobin places Schumer in the context of his career to date: “He’s been in public office continuously since the age of 25, and the 73-year-old Senate Majority Leader has spent his adult life grandstanding for the cameras and the press while always seeking some momentary political advantage as he schemed, back-stabbed and bloviated his way to the top of his profession.”

    We can infer that Schumer now approves of foreign interference in another country’s elections. Only yesterday that was a big no-no for purported thought leaders toeing the Democrat Party line.

    In this case the government Schumer seeks the replacement of a government that was democratically elected and formed by a close American ally fighting for its life under extremely difficult circumstances. That’s no way to treat a friend.

    Back in 2015, the WaPo looked at what, even back then, was a common joke:

    “The most dangerous place in Washington,” the joke goes, “is between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera.”

  • And in other broad bipartisan news… Matt Taibbi explains Why the TikTok Ban is So Dangerous. Specifically:

    As Newsweek reported, the bill was fast-tracked after a secret “intelligence community briefing” of Congress led by the FBI, Department of Justice, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The magazine noted that if everything goes as planned, the bill will give Biden the authority to shut down an app used by 150 million Americans just in time for the November elections.

    And (generally) any future President will have the power to shut down any app decreed to be dangerous. What could go wrong there?