1. While You Were Distracted

2. Republican Chaos

3. Objectivity Lost: Journalist Covering Shale Gas Sues Same Industry

4. The Implosion of Herman Cain

5. Jon Huntsman’s Poor Messaging

6. The IRS as Tax Preparers?

7. Unionized Clerical Workers Fight UAW Greed…

1. While You Were Distracted

While we’ve all been distracted by the Presidential race, there is other news out there that may give you heart burn. Way back when during a forgotten age, conservatives were treated to this:The Hill – 6/24/11 – Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday said President Obama “must lead” if the standoff over the debt limit is going to be resolved but warned that any package with tax increases “cannot pass the House.”ABC News – 6/23/11 – GOP Congressman – Tax Increases Can’t Pass The HouseThe Washington Times – 6/24/11 – “There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation,” said Cantor (R-Va.).The Washington Times – 6/24/11 -Speaker of the House John Boehner added today, “The president and his party may want a debt limit increase that includes tax hikes, but such a proposal cannot pass the House.”And now?Politico – 11/13/11 – Rep. Jeb Hensarling “we believe that frankly increasing tax revenues could hurt the economy, but within the context of bipartisan negotiations with Democrats, clearly they are a reality,” he said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Republican Chaos

Chaos: Mathematically, we see it when small changes to the inputs of a function produce large, wild changes to the outputs. I believe we’re seeing that now in the GOP primary race, as a weakened Herman Cain and a strengthened Newt Gingrich, combined with a steady Mitt Romney and a resilient Rick Perry, turn it into a four cornered brawl.Two new polls from late last week: First, ORC International for CNN polled 480 Republicans and Independent leaning Republican RVs, mobile and landlines, MoE 4.5. Ending the same day was The Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners for Politico/George Washington polled 1,036 likely voters for an MoE of 3.1. Both polls hit mobiles and landlines.A third poll has come out that ended over the weekend, later than those two in fact. PPP polled 576 primary voters, MoE 4.1. The poll was automated, which I believe means legally mobiles were excluded.Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Objectivity Lost: Journalist Covering Shale Gas Sues Same Industry

I don’t read the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. For that matter, I don’t read the closest newspaper to my home, the Charlotte Observer. I don’t read these rags for a simple reason: I find the that the objectivity that is claimed within their pages is a sham. There are plenty of polls and countless bits of anecdotal evidence and investigations that have shown a liberal bias that overwhelmingly represents the modern newspaper.I basically stick to three kinds of news: partisan news, where I can at least trust that the person speaking is fully aware of and honest about their personal bias; breaking news, which is the kind of news that often hasn’t figured out how to address the narrative that they are eventually going to apply to it; and finally, word of mouth. Word of mouth isn’t a luxury that every person has, but I know enough people and have enough contacts that I’m often able to find out what’s going on by simply talking to people I trust.Within the ever shrinking world of the newspapers I ignore is the paper of record for Denton, Texas: The Denton Record-Chronicle. Within the pages of this old world media artifact is a journalist named Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe. Peggy is the designated reporter on the Shale Gas industry which is a very important issue in the state of Texas. She also happens to be suing that industry for building a gas processing plant near her home.Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. The Implosion of Herman Cain

Anyone who saw the debate on Saturday night and observed Herman Cain’s performance clearly saw a man who was terrified of the questions he was being asked and was hoping to be noticed as little as possible. Apparently, there was a good reason for that. Herman Cain apparently sat down with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board to talk foreign policy and, well… this happened.Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Jon Huntsman’s Poor Messaging

I’m a bit shocked by this excellent Coffee & Markets interview with Ambassador Jon Huntsman.Believe it or not, outside of his crummy campaign messaging (“I believe in science”) and the debates, this is a guy who actually sounds conservative. I have to wonder if there are two Jon Huntsmans out there — the conservative and the liberal going to different events.If nothing else, he certainly sounds to the right of Mitt Romney on a number of core issues, including healthcare and the environment. Yes, I know! The same Jon Huntsman who did the pact with Ahnuld on global warming sounds to the right of Romney.This begs a serious question — is his campaign message just that far off kilter? Because in this interview, away from sound bites and debate one liners, this guy sounds reasonably conservative. That raises another question worth asking. Is it just Rick Perry who is having disastrous debate performances? They are killing Jon Huntsman with the base. His snotty one liners and bad jokes just rub conservatives (me included) wrong. But listen to this interview and you’ve got a small government, free market guy.Where’s the disconnect? Someone might want to ask John Weaver.Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. The IRS as Tax Preparers?

When conservatives and liberals advocate tax reform they are referring to radically divergent concepts. Conservatives desire a low, flat, and universal tax code, while liberals desire reform that would result in increased revenues. The obvious way to achieve that goal is to impose radical redistributive tax increases, such as the ones Obama has recently proposed. However, there is a more subtle way that is beginning to percolate into the liberal mainstream. Liberals envision a future in which the IRS would automatically pre-file your tax returns for free, sending you the bill.Please click here for the rest of the post.

7. Unionized Clerical Workers Fight UAW Greed…

Their employer has nearly $1 billion in the bank, owns a golf resort, and is a major shareholder of not one but two U.S. auto companies. Given that, one would think their employer wouldn’t treat its employees like the very corporations their bosses often do battle with. However, since 2009, the union workers have been subjected to cut backs and are now facing even more layoffs.Please click here for the rest of the post.