Email, Hate Mail and Comments from Readers

Email, Hate Mail and Comments from Readers
By John Ransom
6/12/2011

Today I ask the question- and answer it: Do Liberals fact-check anything?

There is lots of Sarah-hate this week to wade through, plus we tackle Austan Goolsbee- and who doesn’t want to do that? -Paul Revere, investment and tax theory explained for liberals (we’ll use very simple arguments with gratuitous references to green jobs just to keep them interested), plus we’ll give out a gold star for the comment of the week.

Melech Ha Olam wrote: In God We Trust was inserted in our banknotes and in the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by a Republican Congress during the McCarthy anti-communism hysteria. God has no place in the government of the United States. –in response to my column The Left Hates Sarah Palin and Paul Revere.

Dear Melech,

Thanks once again for providing us with an example of liberals re-writing history to fit their ideological view. Before you do that again, though, perhaps you should look at the historical record first.

The Act you referring to inserted the words “under God,” into the Pledge of Allegiance, not “In God We Trust.” The U.S. has been using the word God on its currency for over 150 years.

According to the U.S. Treasury, the insertion of the phrase “In God We Trust” on coinage dates back to the Civil War.

In response to a letter by a minister, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P Chase directed the head of the U.S. Mint:

Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.

You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.

In 1864, Congress passed an Act, directing the motto “In God We Trust,” to be inscribed. And yes, it was a Republican Congress that passed the law and a Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who signed it.

“The use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted,” says a brief on the subject by the Treasury Department. “The motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription.”

In 1956, an Act was passed under Democrat majorities in both the House and the Senate that adopted “In God We Trust” as the national motto. It appeared on paper money one year later.

The use of the phrase has been found by the Court to be constitutional.

Further, the case of Zorach v. Clauson is often cited, in addition to the records of the Founding Fathers, to make the point that recognition of God does not establish a religion because, as the Court found in Zorach: "We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."

JRG3 wrote: Mention the name Palin and the... knee jerk, follows. Palin haters, like Malech, will criticize whatever she says and many others will criticize what she doesn't say. In this case Palin knew more about Revere than her criticizers who were probably working from a half-forgotten 12th grade American history class. . –in response to my column The Left Hates Sarah Palin and Paul Revere.

Dear JRG3,

As we see from the example above, the history cited isn’t even at “half-forgotten-12th grade” level. It’s intentionally slanted to grind an axe. Thankfully, it’s slanted so poorly that the axe remains dull.

I don’t know why the Left is so frightened of Palin. I really can’t figure it out. If she’s as dumb as they pretend she is, shouldn’t they just be ignoring her?

The best I can figure is that Sarah represents the rest of us. As she said a long time ago, she’s just a hockey mom, someone you’d see in carpool line. And the Liberal Elites hold the rest of us in such contempt that they can’t even believe that they have to account to someone like Palin and by extension the rest of us.

For that, all I can be is grateful to Sarah.

RomanLion wrote: Actually, if Revere did tell the British anything when he was captured, then that was a serious breakdown in discipline. You don't give away information when the enemy captures you, you keep your mouth shut unless they are setting fire to your 'nads or something. –in response to my column The Left Hates Sarah Palin and Paul Revere.

Dear Roman,

Spoken like someone who is several tokes over the line.

Since you are apparently too lazy to pick up a book and read about Paul Revere so you can have facts to base your opinion on, I’ll summarize an account of the event for you.

The British set out patrols of a dozen or so armed men at crossroads to capture couriers like Revere so as to prevent the alarm from being spread. The patrol that captured Revere was getting nervous and apprehensive because they could tell there was a great deal of activity going on in their front.

The Major in charge of the patrol clapped a gun against Revere’s head and told him he’d blow Revere’s head off if he didn’t answer questions truthfully. Revere answered truthfully in part because his answers aided the patriots.

A prisoner isn’t prevented from talking to his captors. He’s prevented from aiding his captors.

Revere didn’t aid his captors.

Anonymous wrote: It's really scary that most of these leftists who leave this bankrupt administration go on to a teaching job at one of our left-leaning universities. –in response to my column Obama’s Top Econ Advisor Out.

Dear Anonymous,

That’s where most to them came from. If we could get a few more to go from the administration back to left-wing teaching…well…that’s a jobs program to believe in.

Lon wrote: Does Ransom actually believe that Goolsbee is being shown the door rather than returning to his job outside the administration where he is likely to continue to advise the president? This column just seems so silly. There is nothing uncommon about people working in an administration for a while and then leaving. –in response to my column Obama’s Top Econ Advisor Out.

Dear Lon,

So your theory is that rather than be the top economic advisor to the President of the United States during the Slight Depression, a guy who has spent his adult life studying economics would rather go back to teaching kids?

As I said previously, Obama’s out of options: Tax cut acomin’. You’ll see.

Illinois Roy wrote: I'm a little confused on something. What's the difference between a guy who plays the market and makes money and a guy who goes out and digs a ditch to make money. Why should one be tax exempt? –in response to my column Palwenty: Obama’s Central Planning Fail.

Money invested in markets is the money that businesses use to create “green jobs.” When investors make money they don’t just sit on it, they reinvest it, which allows businesses to create more “green jobs.” If you tax that money, less money is available for investment, hence fewer “green jobs.”

The U.S. stock markets are where “green jobs” are created in bulk. Liberals want to demonize the stock market, but most of the innovation in the world- including “green technologies”- are commericalized because people on Wall Street are willing to take a risk.

Go try to raise money in Australia or the U.K. or in Israel for an unproven molecule to fight cancer. You just can’t do it.

I agree that the ditch digger shouldn’t be paying taxes on income they earn, but not as a moral principle that labor is superior to capital.

I think that the income tax is a corrupting influence in government, perhaps the most corrupting influence in today’s government.

If you change they way government collects taxes, you’ll accomplish quite a bit of reform.

And the Goshdarn Liberal wrote: One of the best selling cars in CA, and therefore the US, is the Toyota Prius, a hybrid. Not to mention every other hybrid out there. Mr. Ransom must be driving a Ford Excursion. –in response to my column Obamanauts Flunk Word Problem.

I drive a 2006 Pontiac and I get about 28 mpg. Before that I had a Chevy K-1500 4WD pick-up truck. I’d still have the truck, but I figured gas prices could only go up.

But, yes, besides the price of gas, I’m looking for ways to increase my own personal carbon footprint. The bigger the better, I say.

As to the Prius, it doesn’t even crack the top 20 in sales in the U.S.

The top two in sales are the Ford F series pick up and the Chevy Silverado pick up.

Do Liberals fact check ANYTHING?

Steve wrote: It now costs more than twice as much to house an inmate in a state prison than it does to educate a student in our public school system, per year, both of which are a travesty. This article deals only with state prisons. It does not take into account the county jails in all of the states, of which there are thousands, who also must operate under government mandates. –in response to my column Criminal Illegals Swamp Budgets, Prisons.

Dear Steve,

Great point.

What does it say about us that we are willing to spend more than three times the amount it costs to educate a pupil in a classroom on housing criminal illegals every year?

What about the children?

Gold star to Steve.

Have a great Sunday folks,

JR.
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