Fund Your Utopia Without Me.™

11 August 2012

Paul Ryan: “Give Me Thomas Aquinas…Don’t Give Me Ayn Rand”



 


 Those things which some possess in excess of reasonable needs are owed by natural law to the sustenance of the poor.






"Is all that “daring”? Well, Thelma and Louise were “daring” too, but they ended up at the bottom of a canyon. If the Democrats handle this situation properly, that’s where this ticket will end up too, and then the rest of us—the people who don’t want federal policy to be based on Atlas Shrugged—can finally and fully press the case to the right that America is not behind you, and please grow up.....and then the rest of us—the people who don’t want federal policy to be based on Atlas Shrugged."

- Michael Tomaksy, Romney’s Stunning, Terrible Choice of Ryan for VP, The Daily Beast, 11 August 2012




“Give me Thomas Aquinas…don’t give me Ayn Rand”

- Congressman Paul Ryan, The Catholic World Report, 26 April 2012




 Paul Ryan disavows Rand’s “atheist philosophy”; cites Pope Benedict



By Catherine Harmon

In an interview with National Review Online’s Robert Costa, Rep. Paul Ryan denies that he is, as Paul Krugman claimed in the New York Times, “an Ayn Rand devotee,” calling such descriptions of his political philosophy “an urban legend”:


“I, like millions of young people in America, read Rand’s novels when I was young. I enjoyed them.  They spurred an interest in economics, in the Chicago School and Milton Friedman, but it’s a big stretch to suggest that a person is therefore an Objectivist.

I reject her philosophy.  It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas, who believed that man needs divine help in the pursuit of knowledge. Don’t give me Ayn Rand."


Ryan also mentions Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on global economics in defending his proposed budget:

Ryan cites Light of the World, a book-length interview of Pope Benedict XVI, as an example of how the Catholic Church takes the global debt problem seriously. “We are living at the expense of future generations,” the pope says. “In this respect, it is plain that we are living in untruth.” Ryan takes those words seriously. “The pope was really clear,” he says.

Today Ryan delivered a high-profile lecture at Georgetown University—after being criticized by more than 90 members of the university’s faculty for his “continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few.”

The letter from the Georgetown faculty also links the Ryan budget with Randian thought, stating “In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.”

At the National Catholic Register, Ryan gives a detailed defense of his budget, particularly against charges that it is contrary to Catholic social teaching:


Our budget ends welfare for those who don’t need it, but strengthens welfare programs for those who do. Government safety-net programs have been stretched to the breaking point in recent years, failing the very citizens who need help the most. When solidarity and subsidiarity are in balance, civil society is revitalized, not displaced. We rightly pride ourselves on looking out for one another — and government has an important role to play in that. But relying on distant government bureaucracies to lead this effort just hasn’t worked.

   

Our budget averts the looming debt-fueled economic crisis, which would hurt the poor the first and the worst. It lifts the debt and frees the nation from the constraints of ever-expanding government. And it promotes economic growth and opportunity, with bold reforms to make the tax code fair and equitable and a credible, principled plan to prevent a debt crisis from ever happening.

Our budget has been criticized for giving tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the poor. It does no such thing. Instead of taking more and more from the paychecks of working Americans, the House budget proposes a comprehensive reform of the tax code to make it fair, simple and competitive. We would lower rates for everyone across the board. But revenue would still rise every year under our budget because our economy grows and because our budget proposes to eliminate special-interest loopholes that go primarily to the influential and well-off. Washington should not micromanage people’s decisions through the tax code. Basic economics and basic morality both tell us that people have a right to keep and decide how to spend their hard-earned dollars.


I AM an unabashed Randian.  Paul Ryan, to my dismay, is not.  So, please, do not label him as a disciple of Ayn Rand.  He is an Austrian, but he is not a Randian.  Anyone to the right of Marx is a Randian in the eyes of The Ferret.  Do not be fooled. 

If he were a Randian, he wouldn't be trying to "save" Medicare and Social Security. He would END them and do it immediately. If he were a Randian, he would not have voted for Part D, DHS, TARP, to raise the debt ceiling, to increase the size of the Federal budget, etc.

I wish that he would govern by the rules of Atlas Shrugged, but he will not.

Sophie






“Distributive justice does not render to the human being the totality of his due.'  Man seeks for something much more– for salvation– which can only come through Christ and his Church.  EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGH THE FORCE OF HUMAN LAW CANNOT SUCCEED.  THE RADICAL IMPULSE TO ELIMINATE ALL OPPRESSIVE STRUCTURES, HOPING THEREBY TO BRING A JUST AND EQUAL SOCIETY, IS DOOMED....Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil.  We have experienced in collapsed socialism where this thinking can lead to."

- Pope Benedict XVI


"Hence, it is clear that THE MAIN TENET OF SOCIALISM, COMMUNITY OF GOODS, MUST BE UTTERLY REJECTED, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonwealth. The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property."

- Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum


"To remedy these wrongs the socialists, working on the poor man's envy of the rich, are striving to do away with private property, and contend that individual possessions should become the common property of all, to be administered by the State or by municipal bodies. They hold that by thus transferring property from private individuals to the community, the present mischievous state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch as each citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there is to enjoy...They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community."

- Leo XIII


"It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own...Socialists, therefore, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of individuals to the community at large, strike at the interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources and of bettering his condition in life."

- Leo XIII


"NO ONE CAN BE AT THE SAME TIME A GOOD CATHOLIC AND A TRUE SOCIALIST."

- Pius XI


"Most important, the Christian faith recognizes that all human institutions are flawed, and that sinful men are likely to misuse their power....Is capitalism Christian? No. It neither advances existing human virtues nor corrects ingrained personal vices; it merely reflects them. But socialism is less consistent with several Biblical tenets for it exacerbates the worst of men’s flaws. BY DIVORCING EFFORT FROM REWARD, STIRRING UP COVETOUSNESS AND ENVY, AND DESTROYING THE FREEDOM THAT IS A NECESSARY PRECONDITION FOR VIRTUE, IT TEARS AT THE JUST SOCIAL FABRIC THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD SEEK TO ESTABLISH."

- Pius XI


"The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency."

- John Paul II


"Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much.  Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes, not divine, but demonic."
     
- Benedict XVI, Truth and Tolerance


"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (II Corinthians 9:7)

Now, people like Allidunce can continue with their moonbattery that Christ was a Socialist and Paul Ryan is the anti-Christ, but the "experts" most definitely disagree.


Pic of the Day: The Ferret & Kitteh Are Crushed




Paul Krugman is sad. Its hard even for an economist to get Paul Ryan’s attention these days. Although the real Paul Krugman probably doesn’t want to cuddle.



Sunday Funnies


Political Cartoons by Bob Gorrell

Political Cartoons by Michael Ramirez
Political Cartoons by Henry Payne

Political Cartoons by Chip Bok

Political Cartoons by Bob Gorrell

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson 

Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy

Political Cartoons by Henry Payne 


Political Cartoons by Chip Bok 


Political Cartoons by Chuck Asay

Political Cartoons by Michael Ramirez 

Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson 

Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler


Political Cartoons by Dana Summers 


Political Cartoons by Michael Ramirez

Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley 

Political Cartoons by Glenn Foden

Political Cartoons by Henry Payne 


Political Cartoons by Henry Payne

Political Cartoons by Bob Gorrell

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson 

Political Cartoons by Michael Ramirez

Political Cartoons by Ken Catalino 
Political Cartoons by Eric Allie


Political Cartoons by Ken Catalino

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson

Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel 

Political Cartoons by Chuck Asay


Political Cartoons by Robert Ariail 

Political Cartoons by Henry Payne

Political Cartoons by Steve Breen 

Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley


Political Cartoons by Chuck Asay 
 4 July 2012




See also:

Funnies For The Day 

 

Obama Depression Era Pictures: "Happy Days Are Here, Again!"



M2RB:  Chic






Good times
These are the good times
Leave your cares behind
These are the good times
Good times
These are the good times
Our new state of mind
These are the good times

Happy days are here again

The time is right
For makin' friends
Let's get together
How 'bout a quarter to ten
Come tomorrow
Let's all do it again




The First in the Obama Depression Era Series....











Smart Democrats Should Be Worried



M2RB:  Judas Priest




 

 You've got another thing comin'



 



By John Fund

Liberal pundits are already fanning out in force to attack and discredit Paul Ryan. Michael Tomasky, who recently wrote a Newsweek cover story calling Mitt Romney a “wimp,” has now decided that Romney’s bold move is “a terrible choice” because Ryan has proven himself to be an extremist on budget issues.

No doubt there are many Democrats rubbing their hands in glee in contemplation of reviving some version of the ad that featured an actor playing Paul Ryan pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair off a cliff. But the smarter ones are worried.


First, if Ryan is an extremist and his proposals are so unpopular, how has he won election seven times in a Democratic district? His lowest share of the vote was 57% — in his first race. He routinely wins over two-thirds of the vote. When Obama swept the nation in 2008, he carried Ryan’s district by 4 points. But at the same time, Ryan won reelection with 65% of the vote, meaning that 20% of Obama voters also voted for Paul Ryan.


Ryan has pointed out to me that no Republican has carried his district for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984. “I have held hundreds of town-hall meetings in my district explaining why we have to take bold reform steps, and I’ve found treating people like adults works,” he told me. “All those ads pushing elderly woman off the cliffs don’t work anymore if you lay out the problem.”

Second, Democrats know that Ryan has Reaganesque qualities that make him appealing to independent, middle-class voters. Take the cover story on Ryan that the Isthmus, a radically left-wing Madison, Wis. newspaper, ran on him in 2009. “Ryan, with his sunny disposition and choirboy looks, projects compassion and forcefully proclaims dedication to his district,” the story reported. “And he’s proved he is not unyieldingly pro-corporate, as when he recently joined in condemnation of AIG ‘retention’ bonuses.”

Third, Ryan’s ideas aren’t that novel or scary. The idea of “premium support” for Medicare, which would change the program’s one-size-fits-all policy to a private-insurance model with public options, was endorsed by a bipartisan commission appointed by Bill Clinton back in the 1990s. Late last year, Ryan announced a new version of his proposal with a new partner signing on: Democratic senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who first achieved political prominence as an advocate for seniors.






Four, Ryan puts Wisconsin and its ten electoral votes in play. Polls have shown that President Obama holds a five to seven point lead in Wisconsin — significant, but much less than Obama’s 14-point margin in 2008. With Ryan on the ticket, polls show the race is dead even.

Five, if Republicans were looking for a superior candidate, they’ve found it in Ryan. His maiden speech as the GOP vice-presidential candidate was perfectly pitched:

We won’t duck the tough issues . . . we will lead!
We won’t blame others…we will take responsibility!
We won’t replace our founding principles . . . we will reapply them!

Echoes of Ronald Reagan at his best.

Ryan was judged to have already had the better of President Obama in televised exchanges on Obamacare. His debate with Joe Biden this October might well be remembered as cruel and unusual punishment for dim vice presidents. Recall that Sarah Palin fought a much more engaged Joe Biden to a draw in their 2008 vice-presidential debate.

Six, as Democratic consultant Joe Trippi acknowledged today on Fox News, Ryan will bring in a flood of donations from overjoyed conservatives and tea-party members. Romney had a problem with energizing the GOP base. That problem is now solved, and that will make it easier to pump up conservative turnout.

Democrats will no doubt try to make Paul Ryan into a younger version of the devil they’ve tried to paint Mitt Romney as. But they should worry about fighting a campaign on fundamental issues in a weak economy. That’s precisely how Jimmy Carter, the last Democratic president to run for reelection during hard times, wound up losing so badly that it not only cost Democrats control of the U.S. Senate but damaging the liberal brand for years afterwards.



You've Got Another Thing Coming - Judas Priest

One life I'm gonna live it up
I'm takin' flight I said I'll never get enough
Stand tall I'm young and kinda proud
I'm on the top as long as the music's loud

If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by
You're thinkin' like a fool cause it's a case of do or die
Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had
You think I'll let it go you're mad
You've got another thing comin'

That's right here's where the talkin' ends
Well listen this night there'll be some action spent
Drive hard I'm callin' all the shots
I got an ace card comin' down on the rocks

If you think I'll sit around while you chip away my brain
Listen I ain't foolin' and you'd better think again
Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had
You think I'll let it go you're mad
You got another thing comin'

In this world we're livin' in we have our share of sorrow
Answer now is don't give in aim for a new tomorrow

Oh so hot no time to take a rest yeah
Act tough ain't room for second best
Real strong got me some security
Hey I'm a big smash I'm goin' for infinity yeah

If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by
You're thinkin' like a fool cause it's a case of do or die
Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had
You think I'll let it go you're mad
You've got another thing comin'


The Dems Have A New Magazine: Dems' Epic Smears









By Superkommissar Maksim


The Party™ plans to remedy this with a new magazine that will deliver a full spectrum of korrekt information about Romney to the oppressed masses - and much more! That's not to say that the NYT, WaPo, NBC, CBC, ABC, and CNN are not doing a fine job of this already, but an extra $3 contribution to Obama's campaign will not hurt. And this is exactly how much you must pay in order to get the first issue absolutely free!!!

Inside you will find:

- Drugs-and-sex-crazed GOP convention
- Dependent-of-the-Month centerfold
- Capitalist vampires living on virgin blood
- Cher: Ghost of Republican Sonny Bono is forcing me to have a baby
- Lead story - Mitt Romney's Nazi torture cult: only a woman's screams can make him smile.






Obama's Favourite Tax Study Undercuts One Of His Favourite Tax Arguments


M2RB:  The Beatles






 Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
  



 



In 2009, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bottom 20 percent of taxpayers actually had an average individual income tax rate of -9.3 percent (that's right, negative 9.3 percent), whereas the top 1 percent paid an average of 21 percent.



By Phillip Klein


Obama has long argued in favor of raising taxes on higher earners. And as the debt debate gathered steam in Washington, Obama increasingly tried to point the finger at wealthier taxpayers for failing to pay their "fair share." He went on repeatedly about tax breaks for corporate jet owners and hedge fund managers, and of course about Warren Buffett.

"Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households," Obama said during this year's State of the Union speech. "Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary."

In some of the most debated lines of this year's campaign, Obama said at a campaign stop last month that, "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." Much of the dispute centered around whether or not he meant that entrepreneurs didn't build their businesses, or that they didn't build roads and bridges. But even assuming that he was simply referring to the fact that government helps create the conditions for entrepreneurs to succeed, we're still left with the fact that Obama made the argument in the context of calling for higher taxes on wealthier Americans. He praised those wealthier Americans who wanted "to give something back."

The suggestion is that under the current tax code, wealthier Americans aren't giving back enough to cover all of the benefits government has bestowed upon them.


By hammering out such arguments, day after day, Obama is leaving Americans with the impression that the tax code is rigged in favor of the wealthy. He's promoting the idea that those with money receive huge handouts from the government, as middle class Americans are left to pick up the tab.


Enter the Tax Policy Center. 

Last week, the think tank (a joint venture of the liberal-leaning Urban Institute and Brookings Institution), released a study poking holes in Romney's tax plan. The proposal calls for cutting individual tax rates by 20 percent across the board and recouping lost revenue by getting rid of various loopholes and deductions within the tax code.


Though Romney hasn't identified which provisions he'd eliminate, the Tax Policy Center made certain assumptions and concluded that it would be mathematically impossible for him to achieve his plan without instituting an effective tax hike on lower income Americans -- which would violate another Romney pledge.


Though conservatives have presented a number of critiques of the study, assume for the sake of argument that it is accurate. 


The study's conclusion rests on the fact that middle and lower income groups benefit greatly from tax loopholes, deductions and credits. Its headline finding is that taxpayers with incomes of under $200,000 who have children would pay an average of $2,000 more in taxes for Romney's plan to work.


How is this possible? First, because Romney's tax cut doesn't go as far for lower earners, who have a relatively low income tax liability to start with. But more importantly, it's the lower earners who benefit from provisions such as the earned income tax credit (which is refundable) and the per-child tax credit.


In this way, the tax code is stacked in favor of lower earners. In 2009, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bottom 20 percent of taxpayers actually had an average individual income tax rate of -9.3 percent (that's right, negative 9.3 percent), whereas the top 1 percent paid an average of 21 percent.


If Obama is going to make the Tax Policy Center study a major part of his campaign, he should stop pretending that the current tax code is rigged against the lower-income Americans to the benefit of the wealthy.






Taxman - The Beatles

Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

(If you drive a car ), I’ll tax the street,
(If you try to sit ), I’ll tax your seat,
(If you get too cold ), I’ll tax the heat,
(If you take a walk ), I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman.

‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for
(Haha! Mister Wilson!)
If you don’t want to pay some more
(Haha! Mister Heath!),
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me.
(Taxman)

Funnies For The Day

Political Cartoons by Henry PaynePolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Dana SummersPolitical Cartoons by Gary McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Bob GorrellPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Nate BeelerPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Eric AlliePolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Lisa BensonPolitical Cartoons by Glenn FodenPolitical Cartoons by Glenn FodenPolitical Cartoons by Gary McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Chip BokPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Gary VarvelPolitical Cartoons by Steve BreenPolitical Cartoons by Eric AlliePolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Jerry HolbertPolitical Cartoons by Robert AriailPolitical Cartoons by Bob GorrellPolitical Cartoons by Glenn FodenPolitical Cartoons by Henry PaynePolitical Cartoons by Dana Summers
Political Cartoons by Nate BeelerPolitical Cartoons by Lisa BensonPolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Henry PaynePolitical Cartoons by Chip BokPolitical Cartoons by Bob GorrellPolitical Cartoons by Chuck AsayPolitical Cartoons by Eric AlliePolitical Cartoons by Steve BreenPolitical Cartoons by Chip BokPolitical Cartoons by Lisa BensonPolitical Cartoons by Glenn FodenPolitical Cartoons by Henry PaynePolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Nate BeelerPolitical Cartoons by Gary McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Bob GorrellPolitical Cartoons by Gary McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Eric AlliePolitical Cartoons by Gary VarvelPolitical Cartoons by Chip BokPolitical Cartoons by Michael RamirezPolitical Cartoons by Lisa BensonPolitical Cartoons by Glenn McCoyPolitical Cartoons by Ken CatalinoPolitical Cartoons by Glenn FodenPolitical Cartoons by Robert Ariail