Did you catch Jack Cafferty?

On Wednesday, we spoke with CNN’s Jack Cafferty, host of The Cafferty File on CNN’s daily afternoon news broadcast, The Situation Room.  We spoke with Cafferty about “Cash for Clunkers,” President Obama, and his CNN colleague Lou Dobbs’ recent comments about the fringe “birthers” movement.

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The Weekly Filibuster also welcomed Abby Walls of Albion College back to the panel as a a permanent conservative contributor to our show.  We were also joined by guest panelist Michael Worley of Barry University, the host of The Progressive Hour on WBRY-AM in Miami, and author of The Worley Blog.

Miss Sunday’s Show?

Did you catch The Weekly Filibuster Sunday night?  We spoke about the “birther” movement, the Government’s billion dollar “Cash For Clunkers” program, and new developments out of Venezuela.

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Gatesgate & Healthcare

Did you catch The Weekly Filibuster: Wednesday Edition tonight?  We spoke about the Gatesgate controversy, and the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showing the President slipping in the healthcare debate.

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Tax Man Aims to Take a Bigger Bite Out of Junk Food Junkies

(Originally published as an Acton Weekly Commentary at http://is.gd/1SOcY)

Faced with high obesity rates and big-budget health care reform bills, some government officials are pushing a proposal to tax unhealthy foods and beverages. The aim is to subsidize expanded public health care with the new revenue. Do bureaucrats and politicians pushing for new sin taxes on junk food see a solution to health care that is just too big to fail?

Melissa Healy of the L.A. Times calls it “tough love for fat people” and says a tax on unhealthy foods “could be expected to lower consumption of those foods… it would also generate revenues that could be used to extend health insurance coverage to the uninsured.” Stephanie Condon of CBS News reports that administrators at the CDC agree: “A soda tax could plausibly pay for health care reform.”

In “The Sin Tax: Economic and Moral Considerations,” the Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, has argued against the idea of taxing sins to pay for public services. If the government relies on taxes on unhealthy foods to pay for health care programs, how can it both fight obesity and maintain steady revenue? Sirico says it cannot: “Under a sin tax, the state finds itself professing to discourage certain behaviors while relying on their continuance as a source of revenue.” The government may say unhealthy eating is bad, but it would rely on it for tax money.

The problem of hypocrisy leaves aside the question of whether government is qualified to be the moral police officer of our pantries in the first place. Sirico points out that “the government’s sense of morality, especially when it is influenced by excessive power, is often at war with traditional standards and common sense.” With food taxes, eating apple pie would become more of a punishable sin in the eyes of the government than cheating on a spouse.

Gene Amondson dies

 

Preacher, Painter, Cookbook author, and the 2004 and 2008 Prohibition Party Nominee for President, Gene Amondson passed away last week at the age of 65.

Always quirky and controversial, Rev. Amondson was twice a guest on The Weekly Filibuster, discussing the passion of his life: reinstating prohibition and banning sale of alcohol.  You can listen to both of our conversations with Gene below.

As you may recall, Rev. Amondson offered our program’s Christian listeners free copies of his Illustrated Mt. Rainier Pie Cookbook.  It looks as if Amondson’s family has made the cookbook available to all faiths, now available here.

Gene Amondson’s Appearances on The Weekly Filibuster:
December 21, 2008
June 16, 2008

July 26: Senator Bob Smith

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Note: We’re on our summer hiatus July 22-26, but will be offering you special, topical “classic” Weekly Filibuster episodes that are worth a second look. 

No one was overly surprised when news broke earlier this month that Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R) reported better fundraising numbers than the more moderate former House Speaker Marco Rubio, as they battle for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Senator Mel Martinez (R).  What was so shocking was the level of support–Crist raked in $4.3 million compared to $340,000 for Rubio.  Virtually no one reported the dismal showing for the candidate with the most experience: former U.S. Senator Bob Smith.  

With word that Rubio could drop out of the race any day, could anti-stimulus conservatives flock to Smith? 

Bob Smith represented New Hampshire in the House of Representatives from 1985 t0 1990, and served the U.S. Senate from 1990 until he was defeated for re-nomination by then-congressman John Sununu.  Smith moved to Florida shortly after, and has been active as a real estate agent.  In April, he announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Smith made his experience on The Weekly Filibuster in February and spoke at length about his new home state, and what he’d do for Florida as its United States Senator.

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Wednesday Show Edition: Kerry Healey

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Note: We’re on our summer hiatus July 22-26, but will be offering you special, topical “classic” Weekly Filibuster episodes that are worth a second look both tonight, Wednesday, July 22 and this Sunday, July 26.

On Sunday, we spoke with GOP strategist Mike Murphy about new polls in Massachusetts that show Democratic Governor Deval Patrick in a dead heat with both declared Republican candidates, Harvard Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker and 2006 independent candidate Christy Mihos.  Murphy said that Bay State Republicans should go with Baker, whom he called “Romney-like.”

In November, panelist Matt Cavedon conducted an exclusive interview with 2006 Massachusetts Republican Gubernatorial nominee, Kerry Healey, who served as Lt. Governor alongside Mitt Romney from 2003-2007.  Healey spoke about the future of the future of rebuilding the Massachusetts Republican Party, and called for Charlie Baker to run for Governor.

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Filibuster Summer Break

Did You Catch Mike Murphy?

Republican Strategist Mike Murphy

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Listen to our interview with Republican strategist and NBC News analyst Mike Murphy, who served as a top advisor to Senator John McCain’s 2000 presidential bid, and served as campaign architect and top advisor to Governor Mitt Romney. We talked with Murphy about the future of the Republican Party, the Sotomayor hearings, and more.

Check out his commentary here.  He’s also on Twitter.

A Theory of Gift, Duty, and Rights Based on Caritas in Veritate

(Originally published by the Acton PowerBlog at blog.acton.org)

One of Pope Benedict XVI’s great emphases in his new social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, is the idea of gift. A gift is something that we have received without earning. As the Pope wisely notes, “The human being is made for gift,” even though man is often “wrongly convinced that he is the sole author of himself, his life and society.”

The truth is that we are not the authors of our own lives. We did not earn or create the conditions that make our lives what they are. We did not merit our genetic code, and we are not worthy of the parents that we had growing up. Neither do we have ourselves to thank for our societies and the opportunities that they hold. To some degree, hard work, creativity, and self-cultivation can enable us to better ourselves and our lives. That this is even the case is not because of our own efforts, though. We are not the reason that merit can lead to success.

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Did you catch Bob Barr?

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Did you catch our conversation with 2008 Libertarian Presidential Candidate and former GOP congressman Bob Barr?

We spoke to Congressman Barr about the ongoing Panetta-House Intelligence Committee CIA letter, cap-and-trade, and the future of the third party movement.  We also broke down the week in politics with the greatest panel in radio!

Miss Jesse Ventura & Sonny Landham?

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Join us this Wednesday night at 10pm (ET) for the summer 2009 premiere of the Wednesday night edition of The Weekly Filibuster with special guest Former Minnesota Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura (author of  “Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me!) and 2010 Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Sonny Landham (and 2008 Libertarian Senate Candidate) – to talk about what he’s been up to, and whether Obama’s policies are working for the average American.

And as always, we’ll take YOUR calls live and discuss the latest in politics with the greatest political panel in talk radio.

Stay tuned for more information on what’s shaping up to be a great episode!

International Governance in Caritas in Veritate and The Road to Serfdom

(Originally published by the Acton PowerBlog at blog.acton.org)

In his new encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI calls for an international political authority, “so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth.” He tasks it with issues like human rights, ensuring access to necessities including food and water, and managing the global economy. What might an effective international governing body look like?

The Nobel laureate economist Friedrich Hayek asked the same question in 1944 in his book, The Road to Serfdom. Seeing his beloved Europe torn apart by war and gross economic inequalities, Hayek wrote, “we cannot hope for order or lasting peace after this war if states, large or small, regain unfettered sovereignty in the economic sphere.” He was referencing World War II, but it sounds like the Pope feels the same way about hoping for order and prosperity after this recession.

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Climate Change Bill Hits Senate Headwinds

After reading this article on FiveThirtyEight.com, it seems as though Senate Democrats have an uphill battle in trying to pass the Climate Change Bill which barely made its way through the House about two weeks ago. According to the site, Democrats have 50 votes that are likely, and 3 votes as a “Maybe-” and two of those “maybes” come from the Republican Senators of the Pine Tree State, home of Ben Goodman. Six of the nine Democratic Senators on the “Problematic Democratic Votes” list  represent the states of West Virginia, Arkansas, and North Dakota. This isn’t coincidental, of course, seeing as those three states are among the largest per-capita emissions producers in the country. Basically, Majority Leader Reid is going to have to sway (or twist the arms of) seven of those Democrats in order to get to the 60 vote threshold needed to break any filibuster attempt. So much for a mandate.

The State at Fault: Why No-Fault Divorce is Wrecking Marriage

(Originally published by UWIRE at http://uwireforum.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/the-state-at-fault-why-no-fault-divorce-is-wrecking-marriage/)

Matt Cavedon is working for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty this summer. Attending Acton University 2009 was his first assignment, where for four days nearly 400 participants from almost 50 countries came to Grand Rapids, Mich., to learn about natural law, economics, religious morality and other essential elements of a free and virtuous society. This is the final column in a three-part series of columns related to Acton U.
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Why is marriage falling to pieces in America? A seemingly unrelated question sheds some insight: Why does the state protect private property rights?
Property is the way that people create wealth, and it demands time, resources and effort from its owners in order to bear fruit. Only when people know that they will be able to reap the rewards of their work will they invest themselves fully in their property. The state honors this commitment between an owner and his property because it is good for everyone when people get the most out of their property that they can and work as hard as they can to make things that other people want.

This is elementary economics, but the way that the state protects property in order to make sure that people get the most out of it is analogous to why the state has traditionally protected marriage and establishes legal structures to hold married people loyal to one another.

Only when there is a guarantee that people will be able to reap the rewards of a shared life will they give themselves entirely to each other and to their children in love. Property demands work and ingenuity; marriage demands fidelity and commitment. These are all serious investments, and it is in the best interests of the state to see that the rewards of each are fully enjoyed by society, either in the form of desirable products or in the form of family stability and good environments for children.

Marriage is once again becoming a hot-button political issue in light of the decisions of courts and legislatures in Iowa, California, New Hampshire and Connecticut to legally recognize same-sex marriages. Activists on the Left argue that it is time to expand legal rights to same-sex couples in the name of fairness and equality, while voices on the Right say that society needs to defend traditional marriage and deny the state the ability to change a natural institution.

Both arguments have merits and can be debated elsewhere, but is there more to say about fairness, tradition and marriage in the political sphere? It is hardly ground-breaking for me to say that marriage is in bad shape in America. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Only one-third of these divorces come out of high-risk situations, such as domestic violence or substance abuse. More and more people are opting to remain uncommitted even years into their relationships, meaning children have no guarantee that the union between their parents will be permanent. Single-parenthood is increasingly common and, while single parents are certainly competent, giving a child the attention she needs while working full-time to pay for her needs is extremely difficult. President Obama himself acknowledged this on the campaign trail when he and Michelle promised to help parents find ways to balance their work and family lives.

Marriage is not just another agreement of convenience that people make in their lives. Its very nature is to foster lifelong, total love, self-giving, and commitment between two people. It is also meant to let children love their parents fully and permanently. A sense of security is meant to pervade marriage, which is ultimately a united relationship that cannot simply be broken down into its members at any given time. To see marriages falling apart so much — and even being avoided by many Americans — ought to give concern to anyone interested in commitment, stability, and the fullness of love in private life. Is the decline of marriage an inevitable consequence of a changing culture, or are there institutional reasons for why marriage isn’t what it used to be?

Starting during the cultural revolution of 1968, state governments began to fundamentally change the institution of marriage by adopting no-fault divorce. By letting people freely break apart marriages and families for any reason whatsoever, the state redefined what marriage is. Instead of demanding permanent commitment and patient adaptability on the part of both partners, marriage became a status symbol in the eyes of the law. This mindset treats marriage like a contract between two individuals for a subjective set of purposes, instead of as a transforming union that forms the bedrock of the family and that is the way that people give themselves to each other and their children.

Marriage needs help in America, and repealing no-fault divorce laws should be at the top of the list. Marriage is not for everyone, like perhaps the eight-time wife Liz Taylor, and certainly the question of same-sex marriage shall continue to fuel debate for years to come. Cutting down on divorce rates, providing more stable family structures for children, and strengthening the expectations of commitment in marriage by mandating that people give valid reasons for dissolving their marriages, though, might just make the marriage debate worth having in the first place.

Miss Alaskan GOP Chair Ruedrich On Palin?

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The chair of the Alaskan Republican Party Randy Ruedrich joined us, and provided new details on Gov. Palin’s decision to step down from office.

We also discussed Vice President Joe Biden’s comments on Israel, Meghan McCain’s role in a new Republican Party, and what John Dickison contributed to America.

“Our cause is just, our union is perfect.”

John Dickinson

Of all the figures that intrigue me in American history, John Dickinson has always fascinated me the most.   Widely known for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, Dickinson helped to raise awareness and colonial sentiment against unfair taxation practices by the British.  Dickinson would go on to be a signer of the Constitution, and serve as the President of both Delaware and Pennsylvania.

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IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Pay it Forward: Transforming the way we do welfare

(Originally published by UWIRE at http://uwireforum.wordpress.com/)

Matt Cavedon is working for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty this summer. Attending Acton University 2009 was his first assignment, where for four days earlier this month nearly 400 participants from almost 50 countries came to Grand Rapids, Mich., to learn about natural law, economics, religious morality and other essential elements of a free and virtuous society. This the second of a three-part series of columns this week related to Acton U.

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This year, the economy imploded. Every American was hurt, but as is always the case, the poorest people in our country were hit the hardest. Now that Congress is back in session, proposals are afloat to help the poor by expanding public health insurance, building more public housing and increasing funding for public education.

These measures identify the very real problems facing poor Americans, but they are not the best way to help. Subsidizing poor people to make their own choices in the marketplace is a far more effective and fair way to help.

Venezuela’s New Man Has No Old Rights

(Originally published at the Acton PowerBlog at blog.acton.org)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that “the world needs a new moral architecture.” He also has a clear idea of what that morality ought to look like. Speaking at a conference on socialism in May of this year, he said that “every factory must… produce not only briquettes, steel, and aluminum, but also, above all, the new man and woman, the new society, the socialist society.” If Chavez manages to convince enough people that socialists are a new breed of humanity, a breed that has evolved beyond the old ideas of liberal democracy and individualism, then there is no compelling reason to acknowledge the rights of anyone else. Rights in the “new society” are not based on humanity, because the socialists are part of a new humanity. Rights are based on conformity.

Henrique Capriles is not a conformer.

Save Africa by Not Saving Africa

(Originally published by UWIRE at uwireforum.wordpress.com)

This month, I attended Acton University 2009 in Grand Rapids, MI. This summer, I will be working for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and attending Acton U. was my first assignment. For four days, nearly 400 participants from almost 50 countries came to this city to learn about natural law, economics, religious morality, and other essential elements of a free and virtuous society. The article below is based on a conversation I had with a Ghanaian student of international development during Acton U, and is the first of a three-part series of columns this week related to Acton U.

An addiction is denying an entire continent the ability to escape the worst conditions of poverty on Earth. Governments use it as an excuse to maintain their corrupted regimes. It has torn the attention of voters and politicians in that continent away from developing their economies, even in times of such dire need. The worst thing about this addiction is that no amount of medicine or rehab can cure it.

Western foreign aid is killing Africans.

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