House Passes Obama's Spending Spree

Well, they shaved $6 Billion, but the U.S. House of Representatives just passed President Barack Obama's government stimulus bill by a vote of 244-188.

"Stimulus" Vote Expected Wednesday

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on President Barack Obama's $825-Billion "stimulus" bill on Wednesday. The bill is one big unConstitutional spending spree on items like Digital TV Coupons and tax "credits" for people who don't pay income taxes.

Even worse, the so-called stimulus can't boost long-term economic growth. Every dime that the government blows on this spending spree would have to be taxed from today's workers or borrowed from tomorrow's. In other words, in order to put money into the economy, the government would first have to take that money out. And when government takes money out of the economy, it takes that money away from investment, suppressing business building and job creation. That means that the "stimulus" package would actually diminish--not boost--prosperity.

The only thing that President Obama's "stimulus" plan would stimulate is government growth.

Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote against the stimulus bill. If you do not know how to reach your Representative, click here.

Willie Lawson Show

Yesterday, I had the privilege of talking about hope for America on the Willie Lawson Show. You can listen here:

"22Weeks"--GRAPHIC and DISTURBING

This is a trailer for the film "22Weeks", a 30-minute film telling the true story of a baby aborted alive in Orlando in 2005.

WARNING: THIS CLIP IS GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING.

"Slaying Leviathan" Available on Amazon

I'm happy to announce that my book, Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Update

As many of you know, I'm working on the final draft of Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform. I'm quite happy with the way the book is shaping up, but the exercise has been grueling. Between revising my book and working on projects for clients, I don't have much time right now for blogging, so posting at this blog will continue to be light for at least another week. Thank you for your patience and your support.

Best European Blog

Two of my friends are finalists for Weblog Awards for Best European Blog (Non-UK), and they're from two of my favorite countries. Please check out Italy's Wind Rose Hotel and Norway's RennyBA's Terella and cast your vote.

2008 Weblog Awards

I'm thrilled that two of my treasured SamSphere friends are finalists for 2008 Weblog Awards.

Thurber's Thoughts has been nominated for Best Political Coverage, and Blue Collar Muse has been nominated for Best Conservative Blog.

Please visit these outstanding blogs and vote for them.

A Special Christmas

Christmas was extra-special this year because it was the first one I spent with my now two-year-old niece.

And it was worth trying to drive up to my parents' Massachusetts home between snowstorms. I didn't quite meet that challenge; the snow started up again while I was in Connecticut, but I managed to slide my way uneventfully to the small suburb where I'd spent most of my teenage years.

By the next day, it was still snowing, and my parents' yard looked like this:



But the following day, the sun came out; my niece arrived, along with my brother and sister-in-law, and the yard was much brighter:



My niece had a blast playing in the snow, and we enjoyed watching her. Then it was more fun indoors, "playing" the piano and singing classics like "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!" and "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer". She's very sweet, well-behaved, and entertaining, and she really seems to enjoy singing, even if she sometimes reworks the lyrics:

"Old McDonald had a one-horse open sleigh."

Christmas itself went smoothly. My niece seemed happy with the Legos I gave her, though she couldn't have been less impressed with the Christmas board book:

"Do you want to read your new book and learn about Christmas?"

"No."

Okay, then.

But I think her favorite gift was the teddy bear sporting a Red Sox jersey that she received from her Grandpa. From the moment she first saw him, she was never long away from "Red Sox Bear".

On Boxing Day, we drove into Boston to visit the Museum of Science. One of the first displays we saw was a Naboo fighter. (At least, my brother told me it was a Naboo fighter; I wouldn't know a Wookie ornithopter from a Coruscant air taxi.)



One of the special exhibits was a butterfly garden, basically a greenhouse with several of the bright winged insects flitting about:



And, of course, there were the displays that you'd find only in Boston:



My niece took a particular interest in a map exhibit. She knows the name of the state where she lives and can find it on a U.S. map. I tried to teach her that she was in Massachusetts and show her how to recognize it by hook-shaped Cape Cod, but the pop quiz I later administered was too vague to reveal whether the lesson took:

"Where do Grandma and Grandpa live?"

"At Grandma and Grandpa's house."

Which is were we headed as dusk settled over Boston.



The next day, I had the sad duty of taking them to Logan Airport for their flight home, and the following day I headed back to Virginia, a journey that I'm thankful went much better than last year's.