New Jersey Police Officer Allows Bellmawr Gym Defying Lockdown to Reopen ~ Video

From the Youtube page for THE BALLERS LIFE:

Police officers were met with applause and chants of “USA” after they allowed a gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, to continue operating on Monday, May 18, despite state lockdown orders.

Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith announced in a May 11 Facebook video that the facility would resume operations on May 18 “under the strictest measures.” Smith criticized the closure of nonessential businesses, saying “the danger of the virus had been largely overestimated.”

According to Johns Hopkins University, 10,363 people in New Jersey have died from COVID-19, the second-highest death rate of any US state (after New York).

Atilis Gym said new regulations include operating at 20 percent capacity, taking temperatures upon entry, and making hand sanitizer available, among other guidelines. The gym also said members in the facility must wear a mask “unless you are in the middle of your set.”

This video, filmed on May 18, shows an officer giving the OK for Atilis Gym to reopen, prompting demonstrators to cheer and break into chanting.

“Normally, you are all in violation of the executive order. On that note, have a good day, everybody be safe,” the officer says as the crowd erupts in applause.

Atilis Gym co-owner Frank Trumbetti said in a May 13 Facebook video that the reopening was planned to “fight for our rights.” An emotional Trumbetti also said in the video that his mother tested positive for the coronavirus in early May.

He said as of May 13, his mom was “nonresponsive” in the hospital and under do-not-resuscitate and do-not-intubate orders.

“Trust me when I say, I probably take this more seriously than probably almost anybody you know,” Trumbetti said in the video. Credit: @proteinnpop

This police officer deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom for what he does here!  Yes, this gave me goosebumps, especially after what I wrote and worked on this weekend, in my post, "The Independence Day I Dream Of! ~ Video by Mad Liberals."

And now, there is the judge who declared that Oregon Gov. Brown's coronavirus restrictions are 'null and void'!  Meanwhile, a Federal judge ruled that the North Carolina governor’s coronavirus restrictions violate religious expression!

Folks, it's going to be happening all across the fruited plains of this great nation.  Yes, there are people that take the Constitution and our Bill of Rights very seriously.  Americans really do not appreciate being told to lock themselves up in their homes, and not have the right to freely worship, or run their businesses, though mostly with safety precautions.

I think Mayor Lightfoot in Chicago is going to be facing some problems after some of the things she has done with restrictions on even going to church.  That little dictator Mayor, along with Gov. Witmer of Michigan, probably should take heed to Attorney General William Barr's memo that states the following:

Now, I am directing each of our United States Attorneys to also be on the lookout for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.

So, here is the video that I found, thanks to @SimonRadio1776 And many thanks to THE BALLERS LIFE for posting this video on youtube. It will definitely give you goosebumps!



UPDATE: I believe I spoke too soon in regard to this story!

Clinton ‘surprised’ to learn small businesses are struggling ~ By Sam Rolley

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, meanwhile, called Clinton out for expressing such surprise about the state of small businesses.

“At every turn, Hillary Clinton has supported top-down Washington-driven policies that have stacked the deck against small businesses,” Priebus said. “Hillary Clinton can’t possibly be a champion for everyday Americans when she doesn’t understand their most basic economic concerns and was ‘surprised’ to learn that small businesses are struggling.”

There is no way, if you are a small business owner, or if you even work for one, that you should ever consider voting for Hillary Clinton, let alone any other liberal Democrat, for any national, state or local government. This is really all you need to know in order to understand my position:

Not only was she "supposedly" ignorant about the fact that small businesses are struggling, she never mentions the key reasons: Too much government regulation, the tax preparation burden, employment taxes, the estate tax, and even something called "Operation Choke Point." It is actually a sarcastic twist to the story on her part, as the Left is all about taking away personal initiative to create a small business, and she is fully aware of that. Just sayin'...

Clinton ‘surprised’ to learn small businesses are struggling

By Sam Rolley

Posted on April 21, 2015

From Personal Liberty

In the most recent example of her extreme ignorance, Hillary Clinton said that once she “began to dig,” she was surprised to find that U.S. small businesses are struggling.

From goprapidresponse

“I want to be sure we get small businesses starting and growing in America again. We have stalled out. I was very surprised to see that when I began to dig into it,” she said during a speech in New Hampshire. “Because people were telling me this as I traveled around the country the last two years, but I didn’t know what they were saying and it turns out that we are not producing as many small businesses as we use to.”

The White House has refused to say whether it agrees with Clinton that U.S. small businesses are stalled.

“We’ll take a look at the statistics and get back to you,” spokesman Josh Earnest said.

~~~ READ MORE on Personal Liberty ~~~

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse.

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VIDEO: DOJ Goes after legitimate businesses with Operation Choke Point

So, once again, there is somebody in the government finding a way around the law to go after legal businesses that don't...

Posted by Johnny2k's America on Wednesday, March 25, 2015

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse.

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VIDEO: The end of our freedom? The segment about Operation Choke Point

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse.

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VIDEO: It's not fair!

As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse through!

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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VIDEO: Get out of the way and let the economy work

In a new feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will now be including videos that I have recently posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page!

Post by Johnny2k's America.

RELATED STORY:

• Let foreign profits come home ~ By Herman Cain

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Reagan adviser gets 9-9-9 right ~ By Herman Cain

In his column this week, Herman Cain comes out, in his OWN words, and tells it like it is: "Excessive spending, not insufficiently high tax rates, was the problem then and it's still the problem today."

I think that the whole truth is, it isn't just the 9-9-9 plan that is keeping Herman rising in the polls. And he realizes that when you rise in the polls like he has, everyone - including Republicans, Democrats, and Obama - are going to try to beat him like a pinata. As far as his detractors know, Cain's support comes only from his 9-9-9 plan, and that it is the object of all of their negative focus That is to Herman's advantage. The adversaries are missing the real BIG picture of Herman, such as his belief in free enterprise, lowering government spending and power, and empowering individuals to succeed when they put their heart and mind into it.

But in the mean time, the 9-9-9 plan is not all that bad. Actually, I see good reasons, as does Art Laffer, to support it. It would truly be a stimulant to the economy. But that's just me... I think if you have some knowledge of economics, you'll find the same thing that I have when studying this plan. And I'm not as smart as Mr. Laffer, but I get it.

"It's nice to have someone with the credentials of Arthur Laffer affirm that it can, and will, work."

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Reagan adviser gets 9-9-9 right

HERMAN CAIN

By Herman Cain

October 23, 2011 ~ 8:30 pm Eastern

© 2011

One of my favorite criticisms of my 9-9-9 tax-reform plan is the one where people indicate they would support the plan if only we could find a way to guarantee Congress could never change the rates in the future.

They must really like the plan to ask for that. Has any other presidential candidate ever been asked to guarantee that the tax rates he proposed could never be changed?

I realize, of course, that much of this owes to the introduction of a new federal tax – the consumption tax – as part of the equation. It makes people nervous because they figure politicians can't raise a tax that doesn't exist. So once the consumption tax is in place, they say, 9 percent will only be the starting point for politicians to raise it and the other taxes, and 9-9-9 quickly becomes 10-10-10, 11-11-11 and who knows what else?

That's why it's nice to have respected economist Arthur Laffer bring a little reality to the discussion in a piece he wrote last week for the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Laffer, you might remember, was the originator of the Laffer Curve, a notion in economics that demonstrates you get diminishing returns from higher marginal tax rates because they discourage investment and economic growth. Specifically, his Laffer Curve showed that you can collect the same amount of revenue from a lower marginal rate as you can from a higher marginal rate because of the impact the rates have on the economy.

READ MORE on WND.com

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Governments don't create prosperity ~ By John Stossel

John Stossel weighs in on the "government spending creates jobs" issue. After spending trillions of dollars in order to stimulate our economy, unemployment remains high and the economy remains stagnant. One of the points that Stossel makes here is how uncertainty continues to drag down our economy. Pour all the money you can into improving the infrastructure, in other words, and nothing will change if small business - the engine of the economy - is reluctant to expand. The private sector needs to be expanding in order for our economy to prosper.

Governments don't create prosperity

JOHN STOSSEL

By John Stossel

September 27, 2011 ~ 3:23 pm Eastern

© 2011

Politicians say they create jobs, but they really don't. Or rather, they rarely create productive jobs. Government has no money of its own. All it does is take resources from one group and give them to another. The pharaohs might have claimed they created work when they ordered that pyramids be built, but think how much richer (and freer) the Egyptians would have been if they'd been allowed to pursue their own interests.

It's individuals in the marketplace who create real jobs – when they have the protection of life and property under the rule of law.

Economic freedom is the key. The theory couldn't be more clear, and at this late date in human history, it shouldn't be necessary to rehearse the abundant evidence. Look at the various indexes that correlate economic freedom with economic growth. The healthiest economies are those with the most economic freedom. Unemployment is low in those places – 3 percent in Hong Kong, 2 percent in Singapore, 5 percent in Australia

Alas, the United States places ninth, behind Canada, and those countries with the least economic freedom have few real jobs and no prosperity.

Unfortunately, most politicians still don't understand – or have no incentive to understand – that economic freedom, and therefore less government, creates prosperity. Well, maybe that's changing. This year is first I've heard so many presidential candidates talk about the private sector. Indeed, one candidate, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, told me he created "not one single job. ... Government does not create jobs."

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Managed economy or free markets? ~ By Henry Lamb

America has almost forgotten what a free market really is. Government's insidious expansion of control over business activity, while denying that its control is implementation of Marxist/communist/socialist/progressive principles, is steadily killing free-market capitalism in America.

It will continue under Barack Obama and a Democratic majority in Congress. If free-market capitalism is not restored in the next election, it may vanish from the earth.

When you finish reading Henry's column, I'm sure that you will know where Henry Lamb stands on capitalism and a free market economy. And by the time you read what I have to say, you'll definitely be aware of where I stand when it comes to not just free market economics and true capitalism, but also on the importance of free enterprise based on the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans that made this country great!

At my age, some events of my life are no longer coming back to me with absolute clarity. However, there was one event that changed my perspective forever, and I can actually recall enough of that time with enough accuracy to make a point. It was 30 years ago, so I shouldn't be expected to remember every detail perfectly, but I remember enough to get my point across, I hope.

I was in the USAF (U.S. Air Force). Just prior to going on leave, I had learned that I was going to be promoted to Staff Sergeant, which rarely happened with just under four years in service. It happened that I was good at taking tests, and did well in the test for my promotion. Well, that's part of the background to this story, because my transformation happened when my family and I returned back to Iowa for some well deserved R & R.

During my time back in Iowa, I took a day to hang out with my two best friends, Phil and Dave. We went up to the Mississippi river at Phil's parent's cabin. Dave, Phil and I had fun fishing, but I didn't do so well in catching anything. Well, not until I caught the entrepreneurial bug, as we talked about various business ventures to start. Well, you see, we were young and dumb, and we thought that we could actually live our dreams by someday starting our own business! We just couldn't unanimously agree on what would work for us. It didn't matter, I was infected with the desire to DREAM, to work for myself. I just didn't know what I'd do for a business.

That all changed when I returned after leave to my duty station at Eglin AFB. My boss had been out of town for several days. I found out where he went when he returned. He had just attended a huge convention of fired up people up in Washington D.C. (of all places!). He was excited to tell me about what he was doing there, and I was even more ready and excited to hear what he could tell me. Well, SMSgt Wagner found out how easy it was to recruit people when he talked to somebody like me, that was looking for an opportunity!

Yes, I joined Jim and Yolanda in the business venture, in the summer of '81. Nearly 30 years ago, I began learning about free enterprise. And I got to meet a great American patriot and entrepreneur by the name of Bill Britt, a very successful Amway distributor from North Carolina, and my upline Double-Diamond... It was his words, which I heard both at conventions and on tape, that taught me about the benefits of capitalism and the loss of freedom with socialism.

When I finished up with my commitment with the USAF, I returned with my family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was fired up! The country was still trying to recover from the four years of Jimmy Carter. The economy here in Iowa was hurting. I just knew that I'd be highly successful after showing all my friends and relatives "the business." I already had my two friends that talked about getting a business going, at least in my mind. But, while I was out of town serving my country, they got busy in their lives. Dave got a job with a jewelry store and Phil became a firefighter. Okay, so I got two immediate "no's"! Hey, that's okay. But, the story became really sad after that.

After failing at convincing so many of my friends and relatives that there's a better way to live - with a dream - I became an expert at sharing the business with cold contacts, people that I met anywhere, anytime. Despite my lack of credibility, I forced myself to discuss the business opportunity with all kinds of successful professionals: Doctors, lawyers, realtors, insurance executives, and even a former Iowa Governor that was living in Cedar Rapids! They were all kind to me, but said, "no thanks." That was when I decided to try to help people that had not been so successful in life. And that is when I found out that socialist propaganda had already infected society. That was thirty years ago!

When the successful professionals I had talked to said, "not interested," in many cases it turned out to be a time issue. Yes, I knew all of the responses to that "excuse," and they all failed to convince anyone, but it was okay. They were succeeding, and by far, exceeded anything I've been able to do with my life. But none of those people put me down for having a dream. It was a different story when I discussed the business with people that were not professionals. Of course, some of them were in unions. They had things taken care of. And believe me, many of them that I still know aren't doing too bad (except for the ones that were working in manufacturing jobs that were moved overseas). Their lifelong careers at manufacturing plants, with great union benefits, have really paid off. Many are my age, and they are comfortably retired.

And the ones I contacted that were living in mobile home parks and apartments? Do I really need to say what their response was? Probably not, but I will tell you anyway, just so I can make the point clearer: I was told that 1) They deserved a better income in their jobs, and didn't feel obligated to have to work any harder than they were already, 2) They didn't think it was right that the owners of the companies they worked for made at least 100 times what they made (though, now it is thousands of times in many cases), and 3) If they made any more money, they'd lose their government benefits or pay more taxes!

Now, let's get back to what Henry Lamb tells us in his column. The government's managed economy system is all about confirming those afflicted with class envy. That's simply what is called Marxism. Really, had it been that I would rather have free health care rather than eventually flying in my own private jet, I would have stayed in the Air Force. Free or subsidized housing? Yep, that could have been taken care of too. Oh, but no, I had to go and start believing in free enterprise and Ronald Reagan economics... and true freedom - economic freedom. That seems to be long gone. I'm just sayin'... or dreamin'....

Managed economy or free markets?

HENRY LAMB

By Henry Lamb

June 11, 2011 ~ 1:00 am Eastern


© 2011

Editor's note: Listen to this column online.

America was once the envy of the world. Even the poorest people in America had far more than most of the rest of the people in the world. Throughout the first two centuries of her existence, America welcomed people from everywhere and supported their efforts to invent, to build, to create and to produce wealth from whatever enterprise struck their fancy. Labor unions and government regulations have put an end to that era.

For at least the last 50 years, government has continually tightened its grip on the economy by imposing ever-tighter controls over the activities of all businesses. Whether to promote safety or to protect the environment, government has made it nearly impossible for American business to compete with the rest of the world. In addition to this burden, labor unions, especially public employee labor unions, have fed Democrat candidates a healthy diet of campaign contributions in exchange for contracts that a free market would never tolerate.

The housing market crumbled because of government intervention. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and subsequent revisions imposed government management of the housing industry by forcing banks to issue loans to credit risks a free market would never tolerate. To entice banks to make these unjustified loans, the government guaranteed repayment. When some of the people couldn't, or wouldn't, repay their mortgages, the government took your tax money to make good the guarantee. This is the single most important cause of the current economic disaster, and the responsibility rests upon progressive Democrats who firmly believe that government must control and manage human activity.

Environmental regulations and government-mandated comprehensive land use plans have destroyed the concept of private property rights and elevated government to be the singular authority that controls the use of all land – regardless of who owns it. There are countless horror stories in which government destroyed the lives of enterprising Americans by preventing them from using their own land and resources. Ocie Mills and his son spent nearly two years in a federal prison for dumping 19 loads of building sand on his own property. Bob Brace fought through the courts for 12 years to win the right to convert his own pasture to a cabbage field; he lost. Wendy Birnbaum has been fighting for 12 years to use her 112 Washington acres as a campground. She still has to pay monstrous taxes on her land, but cannot use it to produce revenue. There are literally thousands and thousands of these cases in which government rolled over its citizens with no thought of being limited by their consent.

Marxists/communists/socialists/progressive Democrats are absolutely convinced that if left uncontrolled by government, people will destroy the planet, kill their neighbors with faulty products and force people to work for slave wages. Capitalists know that the conditions the progressives fear most are the inevitable consequences of the very policies they advocate. The former USSR and Cuba are but two very good examples to document this fact.

READ MORE at WND.com

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I'm holding back the progression of mankind! ~ By Patrice Lewis

The depressing part is socialism spreads because people like their freebies. They like being dependent. They will passionately vote for the candidate, party and agenda that keeps those freebies flowing. If anyone objects, they are called racist, intolerant and – oh yeah – "holding back the progression of mankind."

Free people are responsible people. They have to be. And the more responsible the people, the fewer laws are needed. But when we stop acting responsibly and start relying on the government for everything, we become a nation of whining victims where nothing is ever our fault and the government assumes the responsibility that should have been ours.

Government interference and the enthusiastic redistribution of wealth will bring this nation to its knees. And it's hard to progress anywhere when you're crawling on your knees.

But socialists will never agree. They simply do not grasp that the advancement of 5,000 years will never PROgress under their form of government. Instead, it will REgress.

So to those who honestly think that socialism results in the progression of mankind, I offer the best intellectual reply I can muster:

Bwahahahahahahaha.

I was a college grad, in the Air Force, and trying to decide how to spend the rest of my life and career after I finished my 4 year commitment (which I extended for another 8 months). And then, in 1980, along came Ronald Reagan, who inspired me to understand why freedom is so important. I began to comprehend why America was the shining city on the hill. The United States was the beacon of freedom, where we had the opportunity to use our God given abilities to get ahead. Well, that was how I thought it was supposed to be. At the same time, I actually started learning about free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and capitalism, and in the same year, I joined Amway.

In the attempt to succeed at Amway, I learned about commitment. I found out that a lot of commitment was needed to succeed, no matter what vehicle you were going to use. I did all that I could to "share the plan by drawing the circles" to as many people as possible! In the process, I learned about failure despite our best efforts. Was it because I wasn't competent enough to teach people how to do the business? No. Was it because I just didn't have the charisma to lead an organization or to inspire people to do what it takes? Maybe.

But, before I explain what I think led to my failure in "the business," I need to assure you that I am not blaming anyone but myself. I'm only telling you about that experience because it fits perfectly with what Patrice explains in this column.

You see, my belief was in the American entrepreneurial spirit, and the precept that everyone has a dream, and if offered an opportunity, would do what ever it took. That was how I was raised. When I was a kid, if I wanted something bad enough, I'd mow a lawn. I did whatever it took. I had the impression that everybody knew that! So, I did my best to try to recruit (sponsor) people that didn't seem to have a way to get ahead. I knew that a lack of education or social status didn't mean that it was impossible to change our financial status if we wanted to bad enough. I believed that there were many people that just needed something that they could do (and I knew how "easy" Amway actually was!), and I was more than willing to help and teach and love them despite their current position in life, despite financial status, skin color or religion.

But when I learned how many people were thinking, it shattered my faith in the American spirit. It was disturbing how many people had lost their dream, and were "dead from the neck up." This was when I found out that if somebody was able to collect on some government entitlements, they weren't willing to even consider committing any effort toward bettering their lives. I found that their dreams were either never there, or had already been extinguished.

So, when you read this terrific column by Patrice, would you please keep in mind that if it was that way over 30 years ago, just how "progressive" are things now? Has "class envy" replaced the work ethic? Yes. And yes, it is really sad that somebody even tried to explain to Patrice why she is "holding back the progression of mankind."

So, how are we supposed to turn around a general societal attitude like that? Maybe there just needs to be a lot more Amway distributors out there, teaching a few people - or even ONE! - at a time about the differences between capitalism and socialism, and that we have to eventually choose between freedom or slavery. And that the truth is, freedom or slavery IS a choice! Nobody (yet) is holding a gun to anyone's head to make that choice. It's just about attitude and hanging out with people that will give you a hand up, rather than a hand out. I'm just sayin'...
 

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I'm holding back the progression of mankind!

PATRICE LEWIS

By Patrice Lewis

May 21, 2011 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2011

I got the funniest email this week. It seems someone found an older column of mine entitled "What is a socialist?" (I'll pause if you care to read it.) Then he sent the following: 

You're [sic] excerpt on socialism … is disgusting. Way to bend every little fact you can find to your bias. All you're doing is holding back the progression of mankind.

The sad part is the sender apparently believes what he wrote. Putting aside the amusing presumption that a north Idaho housewife is somehow responsible for arresting the development of the civilized world, I laughed heartily at his last statement.

If an aversion to socialism is holding back the progression of mankind, the corollary is that socialism will advance the progression of mankind. If this is the case, we need only to look at socialist countries, past and present, to gauge the success of how mankind is progressing under that form of government.

Let's see, there's the (former) USSR. North Korea. Venezuela. Cuba. Charming places, all of them. I can hardly wait to arrange my next vacation.

Then there are the (cough) "successful" socialist countries in Europe, which are slowly imploding because (to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher) they finally ran out of other peoples' money.

The usual progressive argument is, "Well, this time it will be different." Um, no. It can never be different because human nature never changes. Those in power will always wish to grow stronger and more in control. Those without power will, sooner or later, lose all incentive and motivation if the fruits of their labor are routinely taken from them. And those who are dependent on government entitlements will do everything they can to stay dependent, and demand more.

Ah, entitlements. That is the crux of the whole ugly scenario. Entitlements, as any sane person knows, means forcibly removing and redistributing personal wealth at the point of a gun. Far too many progressives are delighted to remove other peoples' money and pass it around. They cannot and will not admit that redistribution of wealth is a lose-lose scenario. The earner loses incentive to work harder because it only means more of his money is taken; and the receiver loses the incentive to earn his own because he is supplied with free money. Pretty obvious, right?

READ MORE at WND.com

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Entrepreneurs under attack ~ By John Stossel

Note to readers of this column: This has been going on for a very long time. This isn't anything that just started recently, or with the Obama administration. Local and state governments have been regulating the heck out of businesses for a long, long time. However, when a government regulation has gone too far, thankfully, some cases can be resolved in court, as John Stossel explains in this column.

However, there is more to worry about than just local and state governments and their regulations that is a threat to the small business enterprises. On the federal level, it gets even worse. Everything from what Stossel has called crony capitalism, to unions, horrible legislation and tax laws, a bad economy, the coming ObamaCare, environmental regulators, OSHA, export regulations...  All of these are further attacks on business, especially to the small business entrepreneurs. Again, these are not things that have happened suddenly under Obama, but have been incrementally put in place over many decades. But yes, it could start getting MUCH worse under Obama. See the video below:

Halt the Assault on Small Business

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k

You would think that with the economy being so bad, that more would be done to stimulate small business, the backbone of the country's economy. However, it seems that all Obama wants to do is grow the size of the federal government and help out the unions; not exactly what will get a lot of people back to work. Just sayin'...

UPDATE September 10, 2010: 
John Stossel was on Fox & Friends on Thursday a.m. and I just happened to get it uploaded to youtube:

John Stossel on Fox and Friends - Entrepreneurs under attack

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k

It's great that IJ [Institute for Justice] and some determined entrepreneurs win a few victories for free enterprise. But in a country with a real free market, such lawsuits would be unnecessary.

Entrepreneurs under attack

By John Stossel

Posted: September 08, 2010
1:00 am Eastern

© 2010



Every day, federal, state and local governments stifle small businesses to privilege well-connected incumbent companies. It's a system of protectionism for influential insiders who don't want competition. Every locality has its share of business moguls who are cozy with politicians. Together, they use the power of government to keep competition down and prices high.

The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm, works to free entrepreneurs from such opportunity-killing regulations. Here are four cases from IJ's files:

Case No. 1.

The monks at St. Joseph Abbey had to take the state of Louisiana to federal court to defend their right to make money selling handmade caskets. That's right: empty wooden boxes.

As soon as the monks started selling them, they were shocked to receive a cease-and-desist order from something called the Louisiana State Board of Funeral Directors. The funeral directors had managed to get their state to pass a law decreeing that only "licensed funeral directors" may sell "funeral merchandise" like caskets. To sell caskets legally, the monks would have to obtain a funeral director's license. That required a year-long apprenticeship, passing a funeral industry test and converting their monastery into a "funeral establishment" by installing embalming equipment, among other things.

The state board and the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association – the profession's lobbyist – say the law is designed to protect consumers. But that's what established businesses always say about absurd regulations they demand.

An unusually candid funeral director told The Wall Street Journal, "They're cutting into our profit."

Well, yes, free competition does do that. That's the point.

Another funeral director said that the law must remain unchanged because casket-making is a complicated business: "A quarter of America is oversized. I don't even know if the monks know how to make an oversized casket."

Does that even deserve a comment?

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Artistic parasites ~ By Patrice Lewis

A question for Nancy Pelosi: Do bloggers qualify as artists? Gee, I'd love to leave my work, focus on blogging, my talents and skills, and.... Oh, wait, I can do that at work... Never mind. 

I think I will go along with Patrice on this one. Seems to actually make sense to do it on my own, doesn't it? I LOVE the FREE MARKET of the blogging world. And yes, if I could eventually make it on my own in that world, I would feel much better about myself, and I wouldn't be spending YOUR hard-earned tax dollars, and it will only make what I do all the better by developing my talents and skills - on my own dime in my own time. The government should not be diminishing quality through subsidizing ANYTHING. Just sayin'...

But on an individual level, the artists I most admire are those whose art is honed in the crucible of the free market, not artificially propped up by your tax dollars. When Nancy encourages would-be artists to "leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care," she is virtually guaranteeing the output will be inferior to those who aren't subsidized. The art world as a whole is dragged down.

But hey, maybe that's her intention. After all, she's dragging everything else down, too.

By Patrice Lewis

Posted: May 29, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Recently, while attending a crafts show, I had the pleasure of meeting a regional artist named Andy Sewell. I've admired his work for years, so I broke down and bought a small print and hung it in my office. One of the reasons I admire this particular artist – besides the fact that his paintings are outstanding – is because I see him everywhere. Any time there is a craft fair or sidewalk gallery or any other excuse for artists and crafters to show their work, he'll set up his booth and display his pieces. He works hard to market himself and make a living. Isn't that nice?

This artist honed his talents and created his niche while supporting his family working in the corporate world. Only when he felt he could make an honest living did he launch himself full-time into art.

Since my husband and I are entrepreneurs ourselves, we admire others who pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make it on their own through talent, grit and business smarts.

Now contrast this with a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said that "thanks to the new health-care reform law, musicians and other creative types could quit their jobs and focus on developing their talents because taxpayers would fund their health-care coverage."

(see video below)

"We see it as an entrepreneurial bill," Pelosi said, "a bill that says to someone, if you want to be creative and be a musician or whatever, you can leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care."

"Creative types" in this case merely signify those members of society who produce pointless things at government expense.

This means all of us – you and me and Cousin Mabel down the street – are forced to support artists. But wait, there's more. What happens if an artist doesn't produce art you like? What if he douses a crucifix in urine and calls it art? It doesn't matter. You're forced to support him regardless. Isn't that nice?

So on one hand we have hardworking, talented folks like Mr. Sewell whose livelihood is solely determined by how well people like his artwork and are therefore willing to pay for it. On the other hand we have, let's face it, artistic parasites who are mooching off the rest of us because they can't make a living with their dingbat ideas.

As Joseph Farah pointed out, "In [Pelosi's] dream world, artists and photographers and writers have a right to lead some privileged existence free of the burdens of ordinary working people to support themselves and their families."

And from this kind of subsidization, we get artists who do not have to depend on anyone actually liking their art. This is how urine-soaked crucifixes come about.

Subsidizing artists, I suspect, has its roots back in Victorian Europe when artists found rich patrons to sponsor them while they produced their oeuvre. Let me emphasize those were private rich patrons. If the Duke of Earl wanted to keep an artist in residence, more power to him. It's his money.

But in a weird modern twist, today many artists depend on government money. That means you and me. We're all pitching in to make sure those urine-soaked crucifixes get made.

It's not just the U.S. that is afflicted with the artsy-fartsy crowd. Consider this English sculptor who came up with the brilliant idea of throwing a million handmade clay pebbles into the sea. Clever, isn't it? The aim, he said, was "to create a handmade monument to the people by the people for the people." How lofty.

He spent 16 years making these things and estimates "it has so far cost tens of thousands of pounds, with funding from the Arts Council, local authorities and sponsors." But with no more money coming in, the artist will "trudge down to the beach tomorrow and throw the last few buckets of his pebbles into the sea."

Ah shucks. My heart bleeds. (Sniff.)

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Competition, not licensing ~ By John Stossel

Free enterprise should be about a person that has a desire to use their trade skills and wants to work hard enough to start their own business. Having the government deciding whether somebody is allowed to start a business or work in a particular trade is not free enterprise, and limits competition.

UPDATE: 03/12/10 at 12:35 a.m.:

March 11, 2010 - John Stossel - Licensing or Competition?

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k

It's an old story. Established businesses have always used government to handcuff competition. Years ago, small grocers tried to ban supermarkets. A & P was going to "destroy Main Street," the grocers cried. Minnesota legislators responded to their lobbying by passing a law that forbade supermarkets to hold sales. Consumers were hurt.

By John Stossel

Posted: March 10, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

The people of Louisiana must sleep soundly knowing that their state protects them from ... unlicensed florists.

That's right. In Louisiana, you can't sell flower arrangements unless you have permission from the government. How do you get permission? You must pass a test that is graded by a board of florists who already have licenses. To prepare for the test, you might have to spend $2,000 on a special course.

The test requires knowledge of techniques that florists rarely use anymore. One question asks the name of the state's agriculture commissioner – as though you can't be a good florist without knowing that piece of vital information.

The licensing board defends its test, claiming it protects consumers from florists who might sell them unhealthy flowers. I understand the established florists' wish to protect their profession's reputation, but in practice such licensing laws mainly serve to limit competition. Making it harder for newcomers to open florist shops lets established florists hog the business.

Other states are considering adopting Louisiana's licensing law, but before any do, I hope that the law will be stricken. The Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm, has challenged the licensing in court, saying it violates liberty and equal protection, and so is unconstitutional.

"One of the most fundamental tenets of the American dream is the right to earn an honest living without arbitrary government interference. What could be more arbitrary than saying who can and who cannot sell flowers?" IJ President Chip Mellor asks.

Others states have their own sets of ridiculous licensing rules. In Virginia, you need a license to be a yoga instructor. Florida threatened an interior designer with a $25,000 fine if she didn't do a six-year apprenticeship and pass a test, at a cost of several thousand dollars. Fortunately, the Institute for Justice got that law overturned.

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Give Al Gore his due ~ By Joseph Farah

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Joseph Farah Posted: February 03, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2010 I never thought Al Gore was very bright, but you've got to give the guy his due. He's got the whole world trading carbon credits and measuring carbon footprints. He has turned the economic order of the world upside-down. He's whipped up more apocalyptic hysteria than the Mayan calendar. Al Gore did all that with his invention of manmade, catastrophic global warming. And, make no mistake about it, unlike his claim to birthing the Internet, Al Gore really did invent climate change out of nothing more than computer models, a fertile imagination and political necessity. People like Al Gore actually don't like America. They want to change it in fundamental ways to make it more to their liking and so that America serves their interests rather than the interests of the American people. Think back 20 years if you are old enough. Do you remember what people like Al Gore were pushing back then – before he invented "global warming"? For one thing, they were telling us we had to produce smaller cars and drive them. Before carbon dioxide was the menace that was going to destroy the planet, it was other auto emissions. Back then it was poisonous, toxic emissions that were the problem. And Al Gore used the coercive power of the state to force automakers to reduce those emissions. When no one could rationally argue that those emissions still posed a threat to the quality of life, a new argument to change lifestyles was needed. Leave it to Al Gore to come up with the notion that carbon dioxide and water vapor emissions now threatened to destroy the world. You see, it was never about cleaner air with Al Gore in the first place. It was never about health or the environment. It was always about attacking American industry, prosperity and the free-enterprise system. So he came up with a threat that could never be solved – a phony threat that could never even be measured. READ FULL STORY >

For Haiti: Aid now, then liberty ~ By Roger Hedgecock

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Roger Hedgecock Posted: January 18, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2010 The death and destruction in Haiti has fixated the world on this poor country. Aid is pledged from private and public sources in the U.S. and from many other nations. The American people, the most generous people on the planet, are pouring forth a torrent of aid. But beyond burying the dead, treating the injured and comforting the grieving, indeed, beyond the immediate food, water and shelter needs of the survivors, is the longer term question: Independent since 1804, why is Haiti still so poor, so corrupt, so desperate – and so vulnerable to disaster? Putting aside answers like Pat Robertson's "the Haitians made a pact with the devil" and Danny Glover's "the earth retaliated for the failure of the Copenhagen Conference," why did so many Haitians have to suffer now when another 7.0 earthquake centered in the San Francisco Bay during the World Series in 1989 killed just 63 people? The standard answer is that Haiti is poor. That's pretty obvious. Per capita GDP is less than $1,300 a year. The real question is: Why is Haiti so poor? Many other small independent countries in the area have prospered. Next-door neighbor Dominican Republic is a thriving democracy with a growing economy generating about $8,600 per person per year. Barbados and the Bahamas are small island countries nearby with primarily black populations that enjoy many times the per capita income of Haiti. Barbados boasts a thriving democracy and economy – with its own stock market – and per capita GDP of about $19,000 per year. The Bahamas do even better with per capita GDP of about $28,000. Some point out that these successful countries were all ex-colonies of Britain, while Haiti had the misfortune to be colonized by France. It could be something to that – but the influence of colonization is a distant and receding memory. There must be other, more recent, reasons for the wide disparity of experience between these nations. READ FULL STORY >

Meteorologist predicts global cooling

From WorldNetDaily The CIA has been been involved in climate research before, as you will learn from this column by Jerome Corsi. Be sure to see the related video at the bottom of this post.

Fears of imminent ice age to replace warming alarm? By Jerome Corsi Posted: January 09, 2010 ~ 12:00 am Eastern © 2010 WorldNetDaily Fears of a new ice age not seen since the 1970s are arising in the aftermath of the "Climategate" scandal that has cast doubt on the legitimacy of scientific research forming the basis for the theory that mankind is causing an ultimately catastrophic rise in temperatures worldwide. Accuweather meteorologist Joe Bastardi has produced a video suggesting the current frigid conditions in North America, Europe and Asia are very similar to the weather patterns in the 1970s that produced fears a new ice age was imminent. In the video, Bastardi explains his theory that "weather goes in a lot of cycles, and we're going to see a lot more of the cold trending here over the next 20 or 30 years." WND previously reported President Obama's science czar John Holdren was among the scientists who predicted 1 billion people would die in "carbon-dioxide induced" famines in a coming new ice age by 2020. In the 1970s, Holdren's theme was that government-mandated population control was essential to prevent "eco-disasters" such as the forecast ice age. Today, Holdren urges immediate passage of the Obama administration's cap-and-trade legislation to control carbon emissions before it is too late to save the planet from "global warming." READ FULL STORY >

RELATED VIDEO: January 07, 2010 - Lord Nigel Lawson says, "Let's go to Plan B, Humans can adapt"

Exactly. Keep energy costs low, allow humans to adapt, mostly by searching for cheaper energy sources. Allow our ingenuity to find solutions, as we always have, and as we have gotten better at over the last 200 years. Quit taking away the incentive that Free Enterprise offers us. We will adapt. We always have.

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k