When I return to the land of the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix paper, I’m always struck by the liberal bias and the low-level of editorial intellect. Not that the Chicago Tribune doesn’t have a liberal slant, but at least they tend to use plausible arguments to defend those positions. Must be tough publishing a far left newspaper in a Republican state. I guess we all enjoy crossword puzzles, Sudokus, and jumbles with our coffee.
Here’s an example of the Republic’s trash, all in one day on two facing pages. First article headline : “Like Vegetables? Then back Immigration reform” This genius tells us Obama’s immigration reform will empty the fields of migrant workers and we will be unable to pick the crops. He says if illegals get status they will leave the fields for better jobs . He wants Republicans to pass a better alternative with a guest worker program large enough to accommodate farm harvest needs. There are more than a few holes in this plan. If it was as simple as enforcing a guest worker law, we wouldn’t be where we are. Guest workers today just disappear into the system along with those who snuck into the country. Now, per Obama, we’ve once again said:” come on in and stay, eventually we will give you permanent status”. We will always have the” pick the crops excuse” for not sending anyone home. Those are just a couple of flaws. This is like a prison warden who has prisoners breaking out all the time saying, “what I really need is more prisoners”.
Next headline: “Blame parks, not waistlines, for the city’s low fitness rating” this one might take the prize for the year for bad judgment. Isn’t it cute how liberals always suggest spending more as the solution to every problem. It seems Phoenix rates near the bottom in the list of fittest cities. Using a list like that to justify anything is the first problem . The same paper ran a list that identified Cleveland as the favorite vacation spot for families. The first premise, never documented, then says this list doesn’t mean you look fat, you just need more parkland. Interesting thought. Scottsdale abuts Phoenix and I’ve never seen more fit people anywhere. Yet, I see few parks in Scottsdale. People can be outside doing outdoor activities all year-long. Bicycles are everywhere screwing up traffic daring motorists not to hit them. They had to close the trailhead at Camelback to increase parking. There are fewer MacDonald’s outlets in Scottsdale than anywhere I’ve been. You rarely see a family with everyone needed a diet like I see in droves in Chicago. There are more fitness places than anywhere I’ve traveled. This is a parent of a morbidly obese kid weighing 750 pounds saying” if Johnny would have had that embarrassing wart removed from his ass, he would be at a normal weight”.
Hey, Arizona Republic, it’s a mindset, it’s a lifestyle. I could tear down half the buildings in Phoenix and build parks in their place and nothing would change. I could build on the few parks in Scottsdale and the residents would find places to exercise. It’s like Michele Obama trying to make kids eat healthy in school. .
The last two articles attack the lack of funding for education. Again, it’s a cash problem. We spend more per student than any country in the world but student test scores keep dropping vs. other countries that spend less.
So, the paper wants to let more immigrants in to provide fruits and vegetables . We get less healthy without more illegals. We need more parks in Phoenix since some ranking says we have less fit people. And schools need more money to educate the kids properly. Maybe we could start a student loan program for high school students and give high schools more money than they need , like colleges. Start the little buggers in debt in junior high.
Somehow I believe the crops will get picked, the people of Phoenix will remain less fit, and the schools will always need more money and if they get it, test scores won’t improve over countries that spend far less.
Throwing taxpayer cash at problems has created a 17 trillion debt and Detroit. Detroit has lot’s of open space for parks with more to come. Anyone in Detroit putting a bogus fitness ranking on the front burner?
This is how we get this:
As 2014 comes to a close, it is enveloped in red tape. From the breakfast table to the night-light, government regulators invaded nearly every moment of our lives. Here’s our take on the 10 worst examples of the past year:
10. Federal Censorship Commission. The FCC began considering a petition to revoke the broadcast license of a Washington, D.C., radio station for using the name of the city’s football team, the Redskins. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler declared the moniker “offensive” and urged owner Dan Snyder to change it “voluntarily.” The agency has yet to rule on the petition.
8. The Environmental Protection Agency’s power grab. In its quest to replace cheap and reliable fossil fuels with costly and unreliable “renewables,” the EPA in June unveiled new restrictions on so-called greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. These hugely expensive regulations are all the more maddening for accomplishing virtually nothing to affect the climate or protect human health.
7. Uber regulation. The popular ride-sharing service Uber is changing the way Americans get around town. Its fleet of independent drivers offers an efficient alternative to traditional taxis. Yet Uber faces significant hurdles as local regulators try to stop its expansion, claiming that the service is “unfair” to the excessively regulated cab drivers. So far, though, Uber and its loyal customers have fought off those opposing competition, but many hurdles remain.
6. Choking Justice. Woe to any business disfavored by the Department of Justice. Under “Operation Chokepoint,” federal regulators have been leaning hard on banks to end ties with enterprises that the government doesn’t like, including payday lenders, firearms dealers and credit repair services. These businesses are perfectly legal, but the DOJ’s efforts to close them down are not.
5. Halting home financing. New regulations on mortgage financing took effect in January, compliments of Dodd-Frank. Virtually every aspect of financing a home – including mortgage options, eligibility standards, and even the structure and schedule of payments – is now governed by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Alas, critics’ predictions about the restrictions are proving correct: Mortgage lending is running at its lowest level in 13 years, and 2014 will be the worst year for mortgage volume since 2000.
4. Force feeding calorie counts. Knowing the number of calories in various food products does not change our menu choices, several studies have shown. But in keeping with government’s insatiable appetite for control, the Food and Drug Administration in November finalized rules requiring calorie counts to be posted on restaurant menus, supermarket deli cases, vending machines and even in movie theater concessions. Compliance will require tens of millions of hours each year, which is sure to thin consumers’ wallets.
3. Forgetting free speech. In one of the worst public policy decisions in European history (and that’s saying a lot), the European Union ruled in May that links to embarrassing information that is “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant” must be scrubbed from the Internet. Thus, Google must take down that 1975 picture of you dancing in a leisure suit as well as reports on child pornography arrests that regulators deem “irrelevant.” This “right to be forgotten” is a massive violation of free expression in Europe. And it could get worse: The EU is considering applying this gag order worldwide.
2. Polluting the economy. Ozone levels have dropped significantly during the past three decades, reflecting the overall improvement in air quality. Nonetheless, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed more stringent ozone standards that would cost tens of billions of dollars, making it perhaps the most costly regulation ever imposed. (President Obama pulled a 2011 version for threatening the economy – just as the election neared.)
1. Regulating the Internet. The FCC proposed new rules to require Internet carriers to deliver all online content in a “neutral” fashion. Defining such neutrality is, of course, easier said than done, and doing so without harm to the Internet would be virtually impossible. President Obama recently upped the ante by urging regulators to impose 1930s-style public utility rules on the net. But the Internet is too important, and innovative, to be treated like the local water company.
