The Bugs Bunny version of reality

One of the old gags in the Warner Brothers cartoon would have the nominal hero, Bugs Bunny or the road-runner, out on the end of a tree limb with a saw. Upon cutting through the limb, instead of falling, the tree would fall, leaving the pursuer out of luck.

Reality doesn't work that way.

 I ponder this as I consider the western Democratic Republic which has been bequeathed to us. The mid-to-late 20th century America in which so many of us grew up was a place of historically unrivaled wealth and freedom. A place in which people were free to advocate for nearly any position that might interest them. And so, many have chosen positions and issues on which to fight for change, for "progress." For gay marriage, and universal health care, and extreme environmental preservation, for increased redistribution of the wealth, and government support for the indigent, and strict gun control, and the cradle-to-grave welfare state.

But what if traditional marriage, and the freedom to get rich, and the financial incentives that encouraged women to marry before having children, and the fear that failing to work would result in dying in a gutter, and the right to arm yourself to protect yourself, what if those are all the foundation of the free and wealthy society? What happens when the foundation is eroded, cut away, piece by piece? In the long run, if we cut off the branch we're on, the branch will fall...

Freedom To Succeed

Thomas Peterffy, a Hungarian immigrant, believes in freedom. And is putting his money where his mouth is with this ad, which he produced and is paying to run.

I grew up in a socialist country and I have seen what that does to people. There is no hope, no freedom, no pride in achievement. The nation became poorer and poorer, and that's what I see happening here.

I have a friend who also grew up behind the Iron Curtain, in then-Czechoslovakia, and, while I haven't talked to him about this, I know that he's entirely in agreement with it. (And if you think I get worked up about the media in this country [and I do], you haven't heard anything until you've heard the people who grew up in the Pravda regimes get started on what the media in this country is doing to America.)

According to CNN,

Peterffy ... expects to spend $5-$10 million on the ad buy, depending on its effectiveness. The spot will run on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, and test markets in Ohio, Wisconsin, and possibly Florida.

The one-minute spot, which began airing Wednesday and will continue through Election Day, has no mention of any specific politician or lawmaker. It's simply a plea for an end to what he sees as growing hostility to personal success - and to vote Republican.

To which I say, God Bless You, Mr. Peterffy. This is must-see viewing...

A Modest Proposal

The always brilliant Walter E. Williams...

[T]here might be a way for California politicians to solve their fiscal mess. They can simply stop wealthy people from leaving the state or, alternatively, like some Third World nations, set limits on the amount of assets a resident can take out of the state. This would surely be within their jurisdiction and would not raise any constitutional issues, because it would serve a compelling state purpose. In other words, if California were to set up border controls to stop people, as East Germans did at Checkpoint Charlie, before they cross the state line, such action would be protected by the 10th Amendment...Were California to take such measures and have a modicum of success, one wonders how many Americans would be offended by such an encroachment on personal liberty. After all, how would forcing an American to remain in a state differ in principle from forcing him to purchase health insurance?

Yeah, that's what government's for...

Woodpecker-Saving Daughter Costs Mom $500, Possible Jail Time

Eleven-year-old aspiring veterinarian, Skylar Capo, sprang into action the second she learned that a baby woodpecker in her Dad's backyard was about to be eaten by the family cat.

"I've just always loved animals," said Skylar Capo. "I couldn't stand to watch it be eaten."

Skylar couldn't find the woodpecker's mother, so she brought it to her own mother, Alison Capo, who agreed to take it home.

"She was just going to take care of it for a day or two, make sure it was safe and uninjured, and then she was going to let it go," said Capo.

...

But two weeks later, that same woman from the Department of Fish and Wildlife showed up at the Capo's front door. This time, Capo says she was accompanied by a state trooper. Alison Capo was cited for unlawfully taking a migratory bird and now she's been slapped with a $535 fine.