Which is fact and which is fiction here? Can you tell them apart?

A bipartisan group of 53 Democrat and Republican lawmakers have re-introduced a bill – the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 – in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax for state and local governments, even though they lack a physical presence in the state.

It is said the legislation would allow local “Main Street” retailers to compete more effectively against out-of-state internet sellers. Local “bricks-and-mortar” retailers are looked on, by some, as having a competitive disadvantage because they must collect sales taxes at the point of sale, while out-of-state retailers give their customers an effective discount of up to 10% by collecting no state or local sales taxes.

via US Congressmen Reintroduce Online Sales Tax Bill.

Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule

The Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is passed by the National Alliance of Railroads in section 145, allegedly to prevent “destructive competition” between railroads. The rule gives the Alliance the authority to forbid competition between railroads in certain parts of the country. It was crafted by Orren Boyle as a favor for James Taggart, with the purpose of driving the Phoenix-Durango out of Colorado.

Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the “Anti-Greed Act” to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel’s promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the “Equalization of Opportunity Act” to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the “Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act,” aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn’t Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act” and the “Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.” Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.” This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion — in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of “Atlas Shrugged”…

via Atlas Shrugged: From Fiction to Fact in 52 years

In 1969, the US Supreme Court upheld the Fairness Doctrine (later abolished as unconstitutional by Executive Order of Ronald Reagan) with the following statement:

“A license permits broadcasting, but the licensee has no constitutional right to be the one who holds the license or to monopolize a radio frequency to the exclusion of his fellow citizens. There is nothing in the First Amendment which prevents the Government from requiring a licensee to share his frequency with others … It is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount.”

In the pages of Atlas Shrugged, the Equal Opportunity Act declared it unfair for one person or corporation to own more than one business; in order to give the little guy a chance. In both laws, the principle is the same: the good of society is paramount over the rights of the individual. This is especially attractive if you get to decide what’s good for society.

“But I believe I made it clear that I am in favor of it, because I am in favor of a free economy. A free economy cannot exist without competition. Therefore, men must be forced to compete. Therefore, we must control men in order to force them to be free.”

…

“The Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule was described as a measure of ‘voluntary self-regulation’ intended ‘the better to enforce’ the laws long since passed by the country’s Legislature. The Rule provided that the members of the National Alliance of Railroads were forbidden to engage in practices defined as ‘constructive competition’; that in regions declared to be restricted, no more than one railroad would be permitted to operate; that in such regions, seniority belonged to the oldest railroad now operating there, and that the newcomers, who had encroached unfairly upon its territory, would suspend operations within nine months after being so ordered; that the Executive Board of the National Alliance of Railroads was empowered to decided, at its sole discretion, which regions were to be restricted.”

If we simply replace “National Alliance of Railroads” with “Media”, “railroad” with “broadcaster”, and “Executive Board of the National Alliance of Railroads” with “Sinclair Broadcast Group”, we’re good to go.

Ed Schutlz, a host on MSNBC, at an April event organized by Al Sharpton, said that 90% of the media is controlled by conservatives. Bill Davis, a professor of Media Communications (I’m not making this up) at Webster University, says conservatives control programming in 9 out of 10 radio stations. The Washington Times agrees with the 90% figure. Some believe that Jews own 96% of the media.

Applying the Anti-dog-eat-Dog Rule, by liberal consensus, without anti-Semitism, liberals shall, henceforth, be forbidden to control more than 10% of the media.

Fair is Fair.

via Pass the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule. Fair is Fair