ObamaCare repeal/delay is getting a lot of attention during the August recess but don't forget they'll be back pushing amnesty soon enough.

The Democrats and their MSM wing are doing their part. In his headline post Gabe had the story of a little girl who asked a GOP Congressman about how he could help stop her father from being deported. The Congressman handled it ok. He wasn't dismissive of the little girl and complimented her on her courage to ask the question but then gave a kind of flat "the laws the law" answer. Now, there's not much you can say to a little kid in that case but in addition to talking to the kid and the people in the hall, Republicans need to realize they are talking to the whole country (or will be if they screw up) compliments of Democratic "trackers" and a compliant media.

So what should opponents say? If they are faced with a kid they should be nice and recognize that the kid doesn't care about policy. Say something nice and then make it clear they are addressing the adults.

First it's important to remind people that this isn't about singling out illegal aliens and their families. US citizens break the law and get separated from their kids all the time. There's no reason why we should feel worse for kids of illegal immigrants than we do those kids who are punished for things they didn't do.

Then remind the audience that being anti-amnesty actually means supporting other people, people who haven't broken our laws....

People who are waiting years to come here legally and be reunited with their families deserve our sympathy. The also deserve a legal immigration system that isnÂ’t bogged down by processing the claims of millions of people who jumped the line and came here illegally.

We should remember the kids of parents who have had their identity stolen by illegal immigrants or brokers who cater to illegals. It must be awful for a child when your parents are stressed by being the victim of a crime, have to spend a lot of money to get their good name back or canÂ’t buy a house or a car because someone has wrecked their credit history.

And mostly we should remember the children of Americans who canÂ’t find work or make less money than they would otherwise because millions of illegal aliens are taking jobs from their parents or driving their wages down.

So while IÂ’m not unsympathetic to this young girlÂ’s fears, sheÂ’s not the only one with skin in the game. Maybe we could occasionally remember the people her dad and people like him are hurting. It might even make people realize we are compassionate too.

On another front, Politico has a piece on the death of the GOP in California. Naturally the solution proposed by many California Republicans is...amnesty.

Considering the rise in the state's Hispanic population basically tracks with the downward spiral of the GOP there, I'm unclear on how amnesty helps the problem.

To believe amnesty will win votes now or in the future requires you to believe that on average Hispanics support the policies that are destroying their state's economy simply out of spite for the GOP's opposition to amnesty.

Personally, I don't believe Hispanics as a group are stupid. I think they vote overwhelmingly for Democrats and big government because...on average they are Democrats who support big government. Supporting amnesty is not going to change that.

If your Congressman is holding an event, go and bring up amnesty. If they are in hiding like mine, contact them.

[Update - Andy] Related: Townhall Tactic 2013: Why do you want to deport my daddy?

Posted by: DrewM at 06:48 AM | Comments (324)
Post contains 623 words, total size 4 kb.

The basic atom of society is not the individual human being; it is the family. If the family is destroyed, so is society. ItÂ’s really just that simple.

Family is society writ small, where one builds basic human capital, social capital, and skills. In Schulz’s calculation, family is a basic, vital economic unit—the X factor. Family builds empathy and self-control, which in turn shapes character. Character fosters human capital (“knowledge, education, habits, willpower”) and social capital (assets “created and maintained by relationships of commitment and trust”), which ultimately generates economic growth. You could practically build a formula out of it.

As grim as the much-touted $16 trillion of national debt is, it's nowhere near the real number. The real number is probably closer to $70 trillion dollars. For perspective, that's about 80% of the total global economic output for an entire year. Raise your hands, now: who thinks that this mind-boggling sum will ever be repaid in full?

The “foodstamps for cash” pipeline. Wasn’t SNAP supposed to end this problem?

Does it really come as any surprise to anyone who is not completely deluded that China is overstating their GDP? I've never bought into the myth that the 21st century is the "Chinese century". Chinese history is basically a long, sad tale of China almost succeeding and then finding ways to fail. I don't think this era will be any different. more...

Posted by: Monty at 04:10 AM | Comments (194)
Post contains 381 words, total size 4 kb.

Happy Monday.

To pick up a topic we discussed at length in our latest podcast, I know I was dubious about the premise that GOP congressmen shouldn't be dodging awkward town halls, but upon further consideration over the weekend, I don't think I was dubious enough.

As I wrote at the time, the NYTimes rounded up disgruntled conservative activists and asked them how they felt about congressmen foregoing town hall meetings. It was the Times, so of course, I tended to assume this wasn't getting coverage out of the paper's concern for the GOP. But my skepticism didn't quite go far enough, and now I'm thinking that we were completely had.

We bought a false premise hook, line, and sinker. I have no reason in particular to believe the Times' claim that GOP congressmen are dodging town halls. The NYTimes piece named three and implied that there were more. But, check this Roll Call tally. Plenty of town halls seem to be going on for Republicans and only one Democratic rep managed to crack the top 10. Where was the NYTimes article wondering about Democrats' lack of town halls?

Implicitly, we already knew this, right? I mean, I mentioned the two reps that were getting uncomfortable coverage because of the birthers that showed up for their town halls. Here's another one trying to navigate an answer to a little girl who says her father's going to be deported.

As often as certain folks like to remind me not to buy into media spin -- actually, they frequently tell me not to even link to mainstream media websites -- these same folks were certainly eager to buy this particular claim.

Oh, one bit of non-politics news (if there is such a thing) that deserves highlighting this morning is a scientific breakthrough that allows plants to fix nitrogen from the air, not just obtain it from the soil. A very big deal.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:53 AM | Comments (170)
Post contains 328 words, total size 2 kb.

• Obama Admin Has Missed Half Of Obamacare's Legally Imposed Implementation Deadlines
  
• Muslim Brotherhood Ambushes And Kills Egyptian Policemen
  
• Al Jazeera America Can't Find Any Advertisers
  
• Steyn: Consensus In Egypt
  
• Forever 21 Cuts Full Time Workers
  
• VDH: Don't Know Much About Geography
  
• 81% Of San Diegans Think Filner Should Resign
  
• Jews In Europe Past Their Expiration Date
  
• Biden Confident He Can Beat Hillary In 2016
  
• Deeps Thoughts From Susan Sarandon
  
• Chicago Tribune: Time To Delay And Rewrite Obamacare
  
• Glenn Greenwald's Boyfriend Detained For Nine Hours At An Airport
  
• Bambi Meets Godzilla In The Middle East
  
• Rules Don't Apply To The Governing Class
  
• Scott Brown Exploring 2016 Bid
  
• The Rise Of 'Co-Parenting'
  
• Project West Ford
  
• University Fires Professor Who Has Sex With Student...In Public
  

Follow me on twitter.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:35 AM | Comments (246)
Post contains 134 words, total size 3 kb.

Update: Miss Korea 2013 Contestants Not All Clones After All

You've probably all seen this gif showing how similar the Miss Korea contestants were thanks to the quest for a certain look along with plastic surgery:

Well maybe not so much after all. Here are the before and after photos of the contestants and apparently most of the similarity was due to the miracle of perfectly adjusted lighting, hair, and makeup (and possibly Photoshop by Lancôme):

Crossing of the Internet Memes

Yes this is Boxxy and Overly Attached Girlfriend together in real life.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:53 PM | Comments (419)
Post contains 927 words, total size 12 kb.

An abbreviated edition of the weekly astronomy post, with the full moon washing out deep sky objects for the week and a much more extensive equipment-related edition coming next Sunday.

After last week's spectacular Perseid meteor shower, the next big heavenly event will be Comet ISON, which should be visible in amateur telescopes by early September.
Unfortunately, it is about two magnitudes dimmer than it ought to be, so the proclamations of "Comet of the Century" earlier this year seem a bit premature. However, it is still months away from it's closest approach to the sun, so there remains plenty of uncertainty about how bright it will actually get. The Comet ISON tracker is online now, and currently pegs it's brightness at +13.20 which is much too faint to see with all but more advanced amateur telescopes.

So what can we look at this week with the fattening moon? more...

Posted by: CAC at 05:27 PM | Comments (42)
Post contains 251 words, total size 2 kb.

Posted by: CAC at 01:03 PM | Comments (222)
Post contains 3167 words, total size 26 kb.

There is a proposal being discussed in California and other states that would effectively force citizens to hand over a certain percentage of their salary to the government so that it can be saved. The rationale for this plan -- called the “Ghilarducci plan” after its most vocal proponent -- is that left to their own devices, too few people save enough of their own money for their old age. This means that citizens must lean more heavily on welfare programs on their dotage, which in turn puts extreme pressure on these government programs. The thinking goes that if citizens are forced to save at least some portion of their salary during their working years, then this will both reduce the pressure on government welfare programs and provide the citizen with another source of guaranteed income after retirement.

IÂ’m not going into any detail on these public pension proposals: they are authoritarian, badly flawed in design, and paternalistic in the worst sense of the word. I could devote a book-length treatment to the subject of why these public pension plans are silly, but right now thatÂ’s not the question that interests me.

The interesting question is: why arenÂ’t people saving enough of their own money for retirement? ItÂ’s not a phenomenon restricted to poor people, either; even comparatively well-off middle-class people go into retirement with hardly any money saved. What gives?
more...

Posted by: Monty at 09:14 AM | Comments (274)
Post contains 1356 words, total size 8 kb.

I know, its a real shocker that proponents of these schemes might grossly low-ball their actual costs.

The study by the Institute of Economic Affairs warns the scheme’s cost has been dramatically underestimated and says it “defies economic logic”.

It will bluntly call for it to be cancelled and will suggest ministers are pursing the project to “buy votes” in Labour’s northern heartlands.

The verdict of the report is the latest blow to the troubled scheme and comes after the Department for Transport admitted its own official estimate of the cost was wrong...

In other completely unrelated news, a BBC Australia correspondent is making a move to New York to become their NY/UN correspondent.

His "goodby Australia" and "hello NY" columns are worth a read. This is a "full Weiner" thread -- let it all hang out. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 01:34 PM | Comments (301)
Post contains 173 words, total size 2 kb.

Health insurance is a right?

I thought it was a tax.

Posted by: andy at 03:27 AM | Comments (175)
Post contains 19 words, total size 1 kb.