Author: Redactor

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Today

Congress on Time

On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time. Arguably the first is a classic example of beneficial legislation under the Constitution, and the second a classic over-step.

Two years later the U.S. Senate rejected, for the second time, the Treaty of Versailles.

March 19, 1979, was the first day the United States House of Representatives began broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.

This day marks the 423rd anniversary of the birth of William Bradford, English settler in the New World, politician, and chronicler of his people’s struggles.

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Today

Apartheid ends

On March 18, 1992, South Africans voted against the color bar by electing a new government. “Today we have closed the book on apartheid,” Mr de Klerk said in Cape Town as he also celebrated his 56th birthday.

White electors had not only voted by a 2-1 majority to abolish the racial exclusion policies and double standard, but also to lose their own power.

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political challengers term limits

Land of Limited Terms

It’s baaaaaack.

The issue that won’t go away: Term limits.

I predict that Bruce Rauner, a businessman who has never before held public office, will win the GOP nomination as a result of today’s Illinois Republican Party Primary for Governor, besting three career politicians sporting 60-plus years in office, total.

I’m no soothsayer; Rauner leads in the polls. The key issue driving support for him is his support for term limits.

“Term limits should apply to all politicians,” he proclaims in a TV spot, “and not just when they go to jail.”

It’s not just a cute line. Four of Illinois’ last seven governors have ended up in prison . . . so have a number of congressmen representing [sic] the Land of Lincoln.

Rauner’s term limits advocacy includes actual deeds. He is helping, financially and organizationally, to gather half-a-million voter signatures on a petition to place a constitutional amendment imposing eight-year term limits on state legislators before the electorate this November.

Polls show a whopping 79 percent of Illinois voters favor those term limits.

Still, powerful folks amongst the state’s other 21 percent are not pleased by Rauner, who has also called for reforming Illinois’ pension systems, ranked worst funded in the nation. Public employee unions funded a month-long TV ad blitz making baseless charges against the businessman.

With incumbent Governor Pat Quinn facing no significant opposition in the Democratic Primary, the unions are also organizing Democrats to crossover to vote for State Sen. Kirk Dillard in the Republican Primary.

But I think Dillard, the 20-year incumbent Republican officeholder, will be no match for the guy who supports term limits.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Thought

Frédéric Bastiat

We cannot feel the wants of others—we cannot feel the satisfactions of others; but we can render service one to another.

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general freedom media and media people property rights too much government

Naked Truth Up North

In the U.S., broadcasters and savvy consumers worry about the behavior of the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the electromagnetic spectrum not by defending property rights, but by licensing segments of the spectrum within locales. The FCC even regulates content to some extent, by threat of withdrawing licensure.

But it could be worse. We could be in Canada.

How so? Well, Canadian politicians have long picked at a cultural scab: their identity crisis, their fear of being overshadowed by the U.S. So, up north, regulation of broadcast content centers on the promotion of “Canadian” artistry and talent in place of programming generated elsewhere, chiefly America.

Yes, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has quotas.

And like all quota systems, it has long ago embraced absurdity.

The latest nonsense?

The demand that two Canadian porn channels provide more home-grown pornography. In addition, the channels have been charged with not been providing enough closed captioning. (Just what adult movies need, careful transcription.)

AOV XXX Action Clips and AOV Maleflixxx are on notice, and their respective licenses are under review:

The X-rated specialty channels are supposed to air 35 per cent Canadian programming over the broadcast year and 90 per cent of its content should have captioning.

As part of proposed licence renewals, the commission plans to hear evidence on the apparent non-compliance.

It might be awfully funny to horn in on those hearings, listen to what people will say about upping Canadian porn production to meet standards that encourage, uh, national pride.

But the dirtiest truth is that most regulation of the airwaves is just as ridiculous, if not quite as nakedly so.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Today

Holiday for Irish Solidarity, March 17

On March 17, 1780, George Washington granted the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”

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Today

Madison born on March 16

On March 16, 1751, James Madison was born. He went on to architect the Constitution of the United States, wrote as “Publius” in The Federalist Papers, and served as the fourth President of the United States, where his administration’s record was marred by the war with Great Britain, in which Washington, DC, suffered conquest and conflagration.

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Thought

Frédéric Bastiat

Not that Political Economy is without its poetry. There is poetry wherever order and harmony exist.

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links

Townhall: Targeting Self-Defense

The foundation of a free society? The rights of the people in that society. Chiefest of these? The right to self-defense.

And that’s under attack these days. For the latest example, check out the column this weekend at Townhall. And then come back here, for more reading.

The third citation, above, briefly and concisely states the classical republican argument about self-defense as the basis of government.

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video

Video: Is Britain Cowardly Caving in to Radical Muslim Bullying?

Pat Condell is a well-known YouTube ranter. He does this very well. One doesn’t have to agree with everything he says to admire his method, and to heed his more persuasive points. In this video he very forthrightly charges his nation with caving in to bullying by the violent amongst the Muslim population in Britain.

It is not quite so bad in America as it appears to be in Britain, but we catch whiffs of it here. Even now, liberals scornfully laugh at conservatives who worry about the establishment in America of Sharia law. But it is simply the case that, in Europe and elsewhere, the Muslims who easily take offense and threaten violence are successfully bullying others into silence and worse. It is something to worry about, and consider:

There are points in the above rant where Mr. Condell lashes out at Islam in general. He talks about “secular Muslims” (whatever they may be) so he is obviously not trying to imply that all Muslims are violent. But that is perhaps too easily inferred by some of his rants. I know that not to be true.

And I find it offensive.

Indeed, caving in to the violent threats and trumped-up umbrage of some Muslims does harm to the vast majority of Muslims who are peaceful. That, alas, is not Condell’s message. But the one he delivers is, still, worth thinking about.

We must not be cowards about our freedoms. And one of the most important is: civilized people have free speech, not ears and eyes protected from any perceived slight by state or private terror. Taking offense is not an excuse to undermine freedom. It is “Harm to others” that gives us standing to consider a lawful process to abridge a person’s freedom; not “offense to others.”