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Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former National Security Advisor to President Carter and a frequent guest on his daughter Mika’s MSNBC program, made a series of strange statements during his segment on “Morning Joe” earlier today. Talking with the MSNBC crew about the concentration of wealth in America as motivation for “Occupy Wall Street,” Dr. Brzezinski seems to believe that publishing the names of people who make a lot of money would be helpful in redistributing wealth: Brzezinski wants anyone making a lot of money to be pointed out, but a short time later he says he does not want Wall...

- “I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets…” - From Sarah Palin’s statement announcing her decision not to run for president. Um, probably not. Sarah Palin’s political voice had dwindled well before she announced her decision not to run. Now it will sink altogether into inaudibility. She will be no kind of force in future national discussions. She will have no sway over party debates. She will retain some starpower for a little while longer. She may for another cycle or two be able to help certain candidates for certain political offices raise some money. Even...

Today the president will unveil a multi-trillion-dollar deficit reduction package, which reportedly includes hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases.  These tax hikes could top $1.2 Trillion -- a figure that includes the $800 Billion in tax increases the president's plan will propose, plus the price tag for his unpaid-for $450 Billion "jobs plan."  Careful -- these numbers should not be confused with the additional record-shattering $800 Billion across-the-board tax increases scheduled to take effect in 2013, when the current Bush rates expire.  Two daunting tax cliffs; so little time.  For a solid overview of why the president's deficit...

Ultra-rich people come in a variety of shapes, sizes and ages. But they can generally be divided into two distinct groups when it comes to what they do with their money - there are those who made it and those who inherited it. " Inheritors are far less hungry than the ones who worked for it - Raymond Goss Raymond Goss, investment specialist at Investec, says the first generation with serious money is usually inherently entrepreneurial and entirely focused on wealth creation - they are always on the alert for a great deal and are shrewd and incisive about the...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 Envy A Capital Sin When we Catholics begin our instruction in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we learn about and are given warning to be on guard against the Seven Deadly Sins, which are pride, avarice, lust, anger, envy, sloth, and gluttony. I am going to discuss the capital sin known as “envy”. Let me begin, by giving a definition of the word “envy”: wanting what somebody else has; the resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody else’s success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions. Also, here are a few synonyms for envy as well as...

Of all the characteristics of human beings that are bad, envy is the worst. It is the most unredeeming and wicked of the negative characteristics of human beings. Envy has at its root a gross and inordinate self-concept either on the side of gross inferiority or gross arrogance. A proper self-concept is vitally necessary to have a balanced and peaceful mind with contentment. However, when one has low self-esteem this self-concept breeds friction and trouble. For example, if someone comes along doing that which we believe we were the only ones qualified to do, our self-concept is threatened. This produces...

Whether in the fights over the U.S. debt limit or the rioting in Athens, the common global theme is not poverty in absolute terms, but more often fairness — as in having about the same amount of things as others do. Here in America, the months-long impasse over the national-debt ceiling continues. President Bush borrowed nearly $5 trillion in eight years. But President Obama easily trumped even that staggering figure with his plan to borrow over $6 trillion in his first four years in office. The architects of his economic policy — Austan Goolsbee, Peter Orszag, Christina Romer, and Larry...

As a woman who has spent much of her adult life lobbying for and writing about equal rights and opportunities for women, I am distressed that some candidates for the upcoming national elections make me sick to my feminist stomach. I am talking about people like Michele Bachmann and the omnipresent Sarah Palin. I want to see women in the highest offices in the country, I really do. But I feel obligated to evaluate female presidential candidates by the same standards I use to evaluate male candidates. They should be experienced, appropriate, articulate, and knowledgeable in domestic and foreign policy...

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By the time I finished reading this lengthy, plaintive missive by Richard Esko at the Huffington Post, I will confess that I’d actually begun feeling sorry for him. Observing the conclusion of the recent budget battles and viewing them as a disastrous loss for the progressive movement, Mr. Esko casts about for an answer to what seems to be the question of the day: How does the evil Tea Party keep kicking our butts when our ideas are so wildly popular and clearly superior? And he thinks he’s found some answers. Once again the unpopular views of a minority have...

three Cornell researchers [looked at] whether we can determine who is a criminal by looking at his face. Their finding: We can. The researchers gathered head shots of Caucasian males, ages 20 to 29, put them all against a white background and controlled for attractiveness and display of facial emotion. Half were photos of convicts. The criminals were on their first conviction, had short hair and little to no facial hair. About half the criminals had been convicted of violent crimes (forcible rapes, murder, assault) and half for nonviolent crimes (forgery, theft, arson and drug dealing). On a scale of...

Could Andrea Mitchell possibly be more snide and condescending toward Sarah Palin? On her MSNBC show today, here's how Mitchell introduced her interview with Jeanne Cummings of Politico concerning Sarah Palin's current trip to India and Israel: "Well. Heh-heh. Where do you start?" Dismissive as was the language, only the video does justice to the derision in Mitchell's tone. View clip here.

This past Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. a MoveOn union rally was thrown together to protest Gov. Scott Walkers union legislation in Wisconsin. After the rally was held, a MoveOn coordinator was caught on tape saying the Tea Party is fueled by “class envy” and “racism.” The following is a partial transcript. We’ll call the person who wished to remain anonymous ‘Condor‘ for transcript reasons: MoveOn: My opinion is that, first of all, Tea Partiers tend to be in a wealthier category so even if you don’t currently benefit from it, people don’t want to tax millionaires because everyone believes,...

Mob Robbers And Rampant Looting: Is This The Future Of America?Feburary 26,2011 Have you ever heard of mob robberies? What happens is that dozens of young people storm a store at the same time, take whatever they want, and then storm out as powerless store clerks watch helplessly. Most of the time these "mob robbers" end up getting caught, but unfortunately "group crime" is a trend that is rising. Is it a sign of the times that large groups of people are starting to recklessly invade retail establishments? Is this the future of America? As I have written about...

Wednesday Sarah Palin responded to the vicious blood libel leveled against her and millions of right-thinking Americans by the army of destroyers. The ferocious, relentless attacks on Sarah Palin are a testament to her greatness, proof of how deathly afraid of her they are, like Dracula to the silver cross. It’s envy. Ayn Rand said it: “Envy is regarded by most people as a petty, superficial emotion and, therefore, it serves as a semihuman cover for so inhuman an emotion that those who feel it seldom dare admit it even to themselves….That emotion is: hatred of the good for being...

Ah, the prodigal son of the Bible passage Luke 15. He was tired of being around the house. He wanted his inheritance right now. He got it, he spent it, and he regretted it. Embracing humility, he went home hoping he could at least be a hired hand. Instead, he was welcomed by his father, embraced, returned to a place of honor, and a party was thrown for him. Big brother wasn’t too pleased about the situation. He had been doing all the right things. He had served without disobedience for years. Yet, he never got a party.Recently, a 53...

What is the reason why the ruling class, including the GOP establishment, hates Sara Palin so passionately? The left and its propaganda machine have always looked down on conservatives, but the attacks on Sarah Palin are unprecedented for sheer malice, scope, and decibel level. Everything about her incenses the left -- her bubbly personality, her high-pitched voice, her lively manner of speech and facial expressions, her colorful biography and way of life, her large family, her unabashed loyalty to Christian and conservative values. She is ridiculed mercilessly by hordes of comedians who, plumbing new depths of vulgarity, make a nice...

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is making a name for himself. He wants taxes raised on wealthy Americans and is one of the more vocal opponents to the deal that would retain current tax rates for everyone. “An estate tax cut for millionaires adds exactly zero jobs. A tax cut for billionaires – virtually none,” says the congressman. But what does Weiner know about job creation, about work, about being an entrepreneur? Looking over his resume, you see he’s never held a private sector job. Right out of college, he went to work on the staff of then-Congressmen Chuck Schumer,...

ehudgins@atlassociety.org The first great post-election policy decision facing the lame-duck, Democrat-dominated Congress is whether or not to allow taxes to skyrocket. Usually referred to as the “Bush tax cuts,” the rates that have been operative for most of this decade will expire at the end of 2010, reverting to much higher levels. Even President Obama and his Congressional allies agree that a return to the past rates would harm most Americans, forcing them to pay $150 billion or more annually in taxes as they struggle in a depressed economy. The debate is whether to allow higher rates to hit households...

It’s a very subtle ploy, that statement, ”already making more money than most will earn in a lifetime.” Does it make you feel good? Glad for those billionaires, and proud of their enterprenurial spirit? Or does it make you feel slightly envious that these young kids will make more than you’ll ever see in your life? Yeah, me too. The ongoing repetition (only slightly unpalatable in single instances) permeates society these days. It’s in the press, on television, online… all the time. Captialism is evil; tax the rich; make the rich pay their fair share; they’ll make more than you’ll...