By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion.
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Hans and Sophie arrested
On Feb. 18, 1943, Hans and Sophie Scholl, a brother and sister, were arrested at the University of Munich for secretly (or not so secretly) putting out leaflets calling on Germans to revolt against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Days later, Hans and Sophie, along with friend Christoph Probst, were tried, convicted and executed. In the previous year Hans had founded a group of students, who called themselves “The White Rose.” The group wrote and distributed four leaflets aimed at educated Germans. The leaflets made their way across Germany and to several other occupied countries.
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Lord Acton
There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.
You can’t get much more explicit about the desire to wield power against political opponents solely because they’re political opponents than Senator Chuck Schumer’s recent public demand, reported in The Hill (“Vulnerable Dems want IRS to step up”):
The Tea Party elites gained extraordinary influence by being able to funnel millions of dollars into campaigns with ads that distort the truth and attack government. There are many things that can be done administratively by the IRS and other government agencies — we must redouble those efforts immediately.
Set aside how Schumer lumps disregard for truth with “attacking government”; set aside the insinuation that efforts of Tea Party groups seeking redress of grievances are somehow nefarious, or that only right-leaning groups “funnel millions” into political discussion. Schumer wants government power to be exercised on behalf of politicians who are politically vulnerable precisely because of their own irresponsible policies and the consequences of those policies. He wants to squelch political debate, and not with an even-handed tyranny. (Not that he should try for an even-handed tyranny either.)
Politicians have long abused their power in order to get re-elected — one of many reasons I support term limits. But they are not always so overt about it.
Congressman Dave Camp is seeking to prohibit IRS from imposing Draconian new rules to restrict the political activity of non-profits until after the 2014 midterm elections. Good idea, except for the time frame.
The prohibition should be permanent.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
New York State is deeply blue. That’s the color mapmakers use to show Democratic control. That’s also the state the state’s economy is in, depressed by those same Democrats’ policies.
So, to lighten the mood, Governor Andrew Cuomo is splurging $140 million tax dollars for TV ads.
One spot features actor Robert DeNiro acknowledging that “some say we lost our edge,” but then claiming, “Well, today there’s a new New York State, one that’s working to attract businesses and create jobs . . . nurture start-ups and small businesses . . . reduce tax burdens . . .”
“The new New York works for business,” the ad concludes.
The New York Times reports “the governor and lawmakers are” funding the campaign by “draining money from ostensibly independent public authorities for purposes running counter to their missions” — something “common” in state government.
Cuomo told the Times, “By telling the stories of businesses that are already succeeding in our state, we can attract even more economic opportunity and jobs.” So what are these “successes”?
- Taxpayers handing Fage Yogurt $1.5 million in state incentives to build a factory in Johnstown.
- Taxpayers providing $3.4 million to help Smith Electric Vehicles build a factory.
- Taxpayers forking over $40 million to assist BAE Systems, which was hurt by flooding back in 2011.
As much as New York politicians recognize they’ve created an environment that businesses want to move away from — the state’s taxes are the least business friendly in the union — their focus isn’t on reversing the rotten business climate. Instead, they cut insider deals.
Yes, more crony capitalism.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
On Feb. 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected by the U.S. House of Representatives to be the third president of the United States, after an arduous election process that ended only 15 days prior to inauguration and included a tie vote in the Electoral College followed by 35 indecisive ballots in the House. At that time, votes were cast for president, with the second place candidate becoming Vice-President. But in the Electoral College, Jefferson tied with his vice-presidential running mate, Aaron Burr. When that sent the balloting to the House of Representatives, the Federalists opposing Jefferson initially threw their support to Burr.
On Feb. 17, 1933, a constitutional amendment to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which had established the national prohibition of alcohol, was passed by the U.S. Senate. Known as the Blaine Act, the prime author was Wisconsin Senator John J. Blaine. By the end of 1933, the repeal of prohibition was adopted as the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.
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Lord Acton
The inflexible integrity of the moral code is, to me, the secret of the authority, the dignity, the utility of history.
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Bataan recaptured, Silver Dollars are back
On Feb. 16, 1878, the Bland-Allison Act, which provided for a return to the minting of silver coins, became U.S. law. Today, the value of American money is secured only by public faith in the stability of the government, but during the 19th Century, money was backed by actual deposits of silver and gold. In 1873, when Congress stopped buying silver and minting silver coins — following the lead of European nations — a financial panic ensued.
Give people money, or services free of charge, and (shock of all shocks) they will do things with them … and even go so far as to change their behavior to keep getting more and more freebies. Click on over to Townhall.com, for this weekend’s dosage of Econ 101 — or would that be Incredulity 101? Come back here for a few links, a few more thoughts.
- Washington Post: “They quit their jobs, thanks to health-care law,” by Sandhya Somashekhar
- Washington Times: “Federal judges backs Obamacare subsidies in win for administration,” by Tom Howell, Jr.
- US News: “How New Health Insurance Subsidies Will Work,” by Philip Moeller
- Cato Institute: “Obamacare Subsidies,” by Michael Cannon
- Cato Institute: “Congress’s Obamacare Waiver,” by Michael Cannon
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Remember the Maine
On Feb. 15, 1898, the USS Maine, a battleship, exploded in the Cuba’s Havana harbor, killing 260 American sailors. An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March 1898 that the ship was blown up by a mine, without directly blaming Spain. Nonetheless, Congress declared war and, within three months, the U.S. had decisively defeated Spanish forces. On December 12, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the U.S. and Spain, granting the United States its first overseas empire with the ceding of such former Spanish possessions as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. In 1976, a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage.