Tech at Night: A few words on the Playstation 4. A Traitor and the Glenns Greenwald? I should trust THEM?

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  June 11th at 12:30 AM  | 

So, there’s a lot of hype about the Playstation 4 right now. It’s premature to get too hyped up about it though, for a few reasons:

First, Sony (RIAA and MPAA member) has a much worse track record than Microsoft does about skinning the sheep when it comes to the customers. Note that even as one hand Monday was waving the used games bloody shirt, the other hand was announcing mandatory Playstation Plus. Sony did a masterful job Monday playing to the press and the social media, but you know who else did that? Barack Obama, and we know how much of the hype he lived up to.

Second, I’m old enough to remember when Sony fanboys were outraged about Xbox 360′s paid Live account requirements, and how Playstation 3 was allegedly better because you got the full feature set built-in with a free PSN account. Well, sometime along the way, PS3 got the same paid account bonuses Xbox 360 had. Funny that. So what happens if Sony changes their mind again, this time about used games, a year or two down the line?

Third, this is a five year war. Let’s say nothing changes from now. What happens if Microsoft wins the exclusives war because of the used games feature? EA didn’t cancel online passes out of the goodness of their hearts, folks.

Fourth, I’m also old enough to remember how I was told the last generation was supposed to be a war between Microsoft and Sony, when Nintendo’s innovation won the day. Well, now Sony and Microsoft are all about motion controls, while Nintendo’s shipping a tablet and possibly going online with Pokemon. Too early to declare winners or losers. Again, this is a five year war.

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World Health Organization’s Continuing Attempts to Usurp American Sovereignty

By: Ben Howe (Diary)  |  June 5th at 09:13 AM  | 

The World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations subsidiary, appears to be gearing up for a fresh effort to undermine countries’ sovereignty in setting regulations, this time by pushing for a global, comprehensive ban on all tobacco product promotion. WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Shin Young-soo is citing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control as requiring sovereign nations to ”comprehensively ban tobacco advertising, promotion | Read More »

The Hidden Tax of the Regulatory State

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  May 30th at 09:40 AM  | 

Many of us in the Tea Party have focused intensely on the cost of big government to the federal budget.  Undoubtedly, this cost will be born directly by future taxpayers in the form of more taxes, higher interest payments on debt, and less economic growth.  While we must continue hammering home this point, we must also understand that many Americans still fail to connect the | Read More »

Big Government, small people

By: John Hayward  |  March 12th at 03:27 PM  | 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) decided to print out all 20,000 pages of ObamaCare regulations, stack them in a single pile, and photograph the result using a chair for reference.  It came out looking like this: That’s a good seven feet of regulations.  The top 828 pages, by the way, were released in a single day.  The draft application to apply for benefits under ObamaCare | Read More »

A Call to Our Brothers and Sisters in Coal Country

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  November 5th at 01:11 PM  | 

Americans often exude an apathetic attitude regarding the importance of elections.  Many people feel as if their lives will be the same the day after the elections, irrespective of the outcome.  As such, they are not enthusiastic about voting.  Well, in this case, if Obama is reelected, our country will never again resemble the Constitutional Republic that it once was and should continue to be.  | Read More »

Romney Must Cease and Desist From Ethanol Mandate

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  August 23rd at 10:51 AM  | 

Earlier today, Mitt Romney unveiled his comprehensive energy plan he will pursue as president.  Energy policy provides Republicans with their most potent weapon against Obama in this campaign.  Nothing emblematizes Obama’s socialist, anti-prosperity style of governance more than his destructive energy policy compromised of a “none-of-the-above” approach.  Well, none of the above except for green energy.  To that end, Romney’s biggest ace in the hole | Read More »

DC Circuit Tosses Out EPA’s Pollution Rule

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  August 21st at 01:12 PM  | 

Amidst Obama’s inexorable war on American energy, consumers, jobs, and prosperity, his EPA is in the process of promulgating 4 new pollution rules that will bury the coal industry and “necessarily” raise the price of electricity on American households.  They are the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Utilities (MACT), the Cooling Water Intake Structures regulation, and the Disposal of | Read More »

EPA Mandates Use of Nonexistent Fuel Blend

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  July 18th at 06:40 AM  | 

It’s bad enough that government regulations and environmental legal defense groups have prevented us from building oil refineries for over 30 years.  It’s even worse when the existing ones are forced to blend fuel mixtures that don’t exist. We are all painfully aware of the Soviet style mandate that requires 10% of petroleum to be comprised of ethanol.  This unconstitutional mandate has killed jobs, driven | Read More »

Shale Fracking: If it Keeps Moving, Regulate it

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 26th at 08:43 PM  | 

Shale technology coupled with horizontal drilling has created the biggest oil and natural gas boom in recent years.  Fracking could become the most auspicious innovation of the past decade.  It has already created thousands of jobs, and has the potential to drive down the cost of energy and reinvigorate our economy.  Unfortunately, the more successful the private innovation, the more Obama’s regulatory regime will ensure | Read More »

Why are Republicans Supporting Dodd-Frank?

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 13th at 04:02 PM  | 

If Obamacare is the worst piece of legislation passed by Obama and the Democrats, Dodd-Frank is clearly close behind on the list.  This pernicious bill, sponsored by the instigators of the financial and housing crises, will permanently alter our financial markets for the worst just as Obamacare will kill the healthcare sector if it’s not repealed.  I’ve met many small business owners who are contemplating | Read More »

Yes, Many Republicans Supported Obamacare All Along

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  May 16th at 10:38 PM  | 

Many of us have taken it for granted that all Republicans would work for full repeal of Obamacare.  After all, not a single Republican voted for it.  However, it is always important to understand the reasons why politicians support or oppose a piece of legislation. When you listen to many prominent Republicans voicing their disdain for Obamacare, you generally hear the following complaints: it raises | Read More »

Haley Barbour: ‘Let’s Get This Done’

By: Dan Spencer (Diary)  |  November 8th at 03:30 PM  | 

A year before the 2012 election, the good folks at American Crossroads released a terrific new video featuring Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to remind us of the importance of this presidential election. In the video, Governor Barbour, talks about what a second Obama term would mean for America: “[Obama’s] policies aren’t fixing our problems, they’re making them worse. And a second Obama term means making | Read More »

The RSC Jobs Plan: Jobs Through Growth

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  November 2nd at 01:30 PM  | 

One of the more positive ancillary benefits of this presidential primary season is the newfound focus on taxation, regulation, and energy production.  The prominence of the presidential election has helped jumpstart a vital discourse on long-term reforms for those three policies. The RSC, which is the most respected conservative group within Congress, has proposed a jobs growth plan today, which seeks to achieve those reforms, | Read More »

A Conservative Look at Perry’s Economic Plan

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  October 25th at 12:11 PM  | 

When Herman Cain proposed his 9-9-9 plan, many conservatives became energized, despite their misgivings with the fine print of the plan.  It wasn’t so much the details of the proposal that excited the base, as most conservatives intuitively recoiled from a consumption tax; it was the boldness of the plan that resonated with them.  Cain’s 9-9-9 brought some excitement to a race that was defined | Read More »

Let’s Replace EPA With Employment Protection Agency

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  August 12th at 12:01 PM  | 

When members of Congress return to Washington in September, they must confront the next budget challenge; a Continuing Resolution for FY 2012.  While the top line discretionary spending level has already been agreed upon through the debt ceiling agreement, the specific levels of funding for each department and agency are still up for debate (or closed-door negotiations, in this case).  Unfortunately, instead of prudently analyzing | Read More »