by Bob Barr | Feb 26, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.com Having recently tackled the scourge of “assault” weapons in the Commonwealth, Virginia Democrats now have set their sights on the looming major public health threat of unlicensed art therapy. Citing the risks posed by “toxic chemicals” in paint and glue, by scissors “which have sharp edges capable of causing cuts or punctures,” and with objects like clay that can be dangerous “if thrown,” Democrats are stepping up to correct what surely was an oversight by our Founding Fathers who failed to envision such dangerous implements in the hands of unlicensed civilians (consider the danger to have one’s skin punctured by a newly-sharpened quill pen!). As ridiculous as licensing art therapists may sound, it is par for the course in Nanny State legislatures across the nation; often regardless of whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans. Take, for instance, that Louisiana requires a license for arranging flowers. Oh, and do not worry about being grifted by “fraudulent” fortune tellers – they’re licensed in several states, including Florida, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Even blow-drying hair requires more than 1,000 hours of training and potentially $20,000 in education and fees, before gaining the government’s stamp of approval. But who are government bureaucrats really protecting with these insane requirements? Many of the trades regulated under occupational licensing are low-wage positions, with little risk to participants or customers. Is there actually rampant fraud and public safety concerns within these fields necessary to making the barriers to entry so prohibitive? Or, are such licensing requirements being pushed by trade groups (as was the case in Virginia) to protect their businesses from increased competition; with regulation-hungry legislators happy to be seen as the...
by Bob Barr | Feb 24, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The Daily Caller It has been less than four years, but how many voters in 2020 could name more than two or three of the 17 Republican candidates who filled the early 2016 debate stage with now-President Donald Trump? For that matter, how many Democrat voters could rattle off the names of even half the two dozen men and women who lined up on stages just last year, jostling for speaking time to set them apart from the few who now remain viable candidates for their party’s nomination? While we occasionally still see Democratic California Rep. Eric Swallwell gracing the airwaves, many of his less telegenic colleagues who were among the original Democrat retinue are all but forgotten — other than perhaps as the answer to a sports bar trivia question. Occasionally, of course, there is the self-inflicted gaffe by a candidate that sinks their nascent primary campaign like a well-aimed torpedo. Who can forget Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “oops” moment when he forgot the third cabinet-level post he had promised to dismantle if elected? By and large, political debates during Republican and Democrat primaries tend to serve as a useful process in winnowing the field of early contenders (which have been growing for both major parties in recent cycles); sometimes with results few would have predicted early in the process. For example, the manner by which candidate Trump serially eviscerated each of his GOP rivals during the primary debates in 2016, was little foreseen by the vast majority of Republican leaders, observers and even veteran pollsters. This cycle, it is likely that most Democrat Party operatives would not...
by Bob Barr | Feb 19, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.com When a young Mark Zuckerberg signed his new “Facebook” project with a video game quote — “Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master” – it was unlikely he consciously considered it a warning of how a dictatorial Chinese government could medically endanger the global population. The young Zuckerberg clearly understood that information is power; power he and other social media moguls now wield. But do they – or do people generally – even now understand or appreciate how control over the flow of information can be abused and imperil human beings in so many ways, when in the hands of unaccountable government officials? While human rights issues associated with authoritarian regimes is (or certainly should be) a constant moral concern, there is a more practical danger with the control of information under oppressive governments. I wrote last month that the tragedy with Iran’s downing of a civilian aircraft – the result of military incompetence and a breakdown of information between military and civil authorities – was a prelude to a far greater nuclear nightmare should that country ever achieve its goal of possessing nuclear weapons. Now, we see these same mechanisms in China with the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Even in the best of circumstances, controlling the spread of a previously unknown infectious disease is difficult. It becomes nearly impossible when the disease originates within a tightly controlled, authoritarian society that is image-obsessed and highly averse to having its reputation tarnished anywhere, especially on the international stage. Suddenly, the flow of information about the disease becomes a weapon not in addressing...
by Bob Barr | Feb 17, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The Daily Caller Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a number of qualities that tend to impress – including business acumen and entrepreneurship – but courage of conviction is not among them. This is an omission that should seriously concern independent voters and business leaders who might be inclined to support his strengthening presidential bid. As I opined in this publication in January, Bloomberg is a candidate to be taken seriously; but now more by Democrats in the primary than by Republicans in the general election. His wealth remains mind-boggling, as does his willingness to part with it in his quest for the presidency. Mayors, congressmen and myriad other elected officials who have benefitted from his largesse over the past two decades, already are lining up as early endorsers. The most noteworthy hallmark of Bloomberg’s overall success is his well-earned reputation for success in the financial arena. Bloomberg LP is a brand known and respected around the world and made its progenitor one of the richest men in the world. Bloomberg’s rise in the political arena, while successful, has not been marked by the same degree of consistency and stability as the trajectory exhibited by his success in business. A registered Democrat long before he decided to throw his hat into the ring to succeed Rudy Giuliani as Mayor of New York, Bloomberg exhibited no angst whatsoever in switching his party affiliation from “D” to “R” then to “Independent” and now back to “D.” The ease with which Bloomberg floats from one side of the political aisle to another appears not to trouble many Democrats. To be...
by Bob Barr | Feb 12, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.com As Rep. Nancy Pelosi stood behind President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the State of the Union address and childishly ripped his speech in half, it symbolized more than just the Democrats’ contempt for the president. It represented the party’s final break with reality — its shamelessness exceeded only by its transparent desperation for relevancy. In the blunt words of long-time Democrat guru James Carville, his party has “tacked off the damn radar.” The bizarre, leftward course now being charted by America’s oldest major political party did not start with Sen. Bernie Sanders becoming a presidential nominee front-runner, or with Pelosi throwing a series of very public tantrums. In many respects, the answer to the questions of how and why the Democrat Party reached this point starts with Twitter, the social media platform that in many respects now dominates news and politics. Democrats recognized early on Twitter’s potential for spreading their message, and party adherents quickly latched onto the social media platform as their vehicle of choice. In this, they have been joined by cadres of liberal reporters and journalists in the mainstream media, who similarly have flocked to Twitter to get the scoop on trending topics they then purport to transform into “news” stories. However, the very platform Democrats believed would amplify their message, has, in reality, become an ideologically incestuous echo chamber for extremist positions in which the party itself has become entrapped, and increasingly deaf to mainstream issues important to moderate voters. Adding to the danger of this closed feedback system are mainstream media reporters who believe the trending topics they read on Twitter — elevated by...
by Bob Barr | Feb 10, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The Daily Caller The victory by President Trump and his team over the impeachment-pursuing Democrats was complete, and devastating. However, missing from the celebratory activities last week was one of Trump’s strongest, most consistent, and most loyal supporters – Roger Stone. Stone remains silenced under a federal court gag order that prevents him from publicly discussing anything about his conviction last November, even as he awaits sentencing for up to 25 years on February 20th. His case has been described as the last “loose end remaining from the Mueller investigation.” More accurately, it is the “last travesty of the Mueller investigation.” The one thing people might remember from the government’s prosecution of Stone probably would be the massive, pre-dawn SWAT raid on his Ft. Lauderdale home on January 25, 2019. The reason this incident may be the only aspect of Stone’s case at all familiar to the public is because the government apparently notified CNN in advance of the raid so as to ensure it produced sufficient coverage to paint the 67-year old political consultant as dangerous and a “flight risk.” Stone, who has been a decades-long supporter of Trump and assisted him early in his presidential campaign, was the target of a lengthy investigation by the FBI directed by Robert Mueller’s team of mostly Democrat-supporting lawyers searching vainly for Russian connections to the 2016 campaign. No such “collusion” was found, of course, but that did not slow Mueller’s quest to nail Stone’s scalp to his crumbling prosecutorial trophy wall. Stone was never charged with any substantive criminal offenses. The best the government could do was charge him with lying to...
