Friday night videos – episode 43

Once again it’s time to see what the world of politics has to offer in the video realm, with a dash of local music thrown in and a bit of news on the tail end to boot.

I’m going to wax philosophical on you to start. One of my favorite books is Atlas Shrugged because I immediately got the point about heavy-handed government involvement in society. So this video appealed to me as well, and even though it’s over two years old I hadn’t seen it until recently.

I didn’t even know there was an Ayn Rand Institute but I do now.

Earlier this week, a special person had a birthday. Yes, Kim turned 39 again – amazing how that works! Oh, and that same day some president did too, which is the subject of this Freedom Minute.But in the spirit of bipartisanship, even Harry Reid doesn’t think all Republican Senators are bad – he really likes two of them in particular. From Americans for Limited Government and their coverage of Netroots Nation came this.

I bet this guy would have fit in quite well at the Netroots Nation. As it was, Rep. Pete Stark of California seemed awful snarky at a recent townhall meeting in his district.

Maybe this is why Frank Kratovil won’t have a townhall meeting? Come on, we’re well-behaved people.

What if the internet was like the old Ma Bell? The Competitive Enterprise Institute has some thoughts.

The internet has gotten along just fine as it stands – if not I wouldn’t be here.

Nor would this music video from Lower Class Citizens, courtesy of “the Prince of the Wind.” Like a few weeks back, this was recorded in some underground bunker but turned out well.

So you got your rock, and I can roll until next time. However, depending on availablility, you may see more videos here on monoblogue.

I haven’t quite decided how best to present these, whether as a once- or twice-a-week separate feature or devote this particular weekly space to them, but I’ve reached agreement with Julie Brewington and Matt Trenka (the moderator) on sharing the videos they have done for Right Coast here on monoblogue. While I have plenty of questions for candidates myself, future efforts of theirs will begin to integrate them and voters will be more informed if these videos are seen on more outlets. It’s a win-win for all of us.

I think these will begin next week – you’ll just have to return often to see what I decide for a regular timeslot.

Friday night videos – episode 39

Whew! After a week of political developments it’s nice to wind down this one with some good video.

Dan Mitchell of the CATO Institute takes a few minutes to come to an obvious conclusion – government is too large to sustain economic growth.

Another look at the dismal science in a more humorous vein comes from the folks at Bankrupting America.

Oh, take the earmuffs off. It helps to get the sound for the next several videos. Another way to get a message across is to walk the walk, as Matthew Perdie did – for 3,500 miles coast to coast, ending July 4th.

Something tells me this will be a movie, coming soon.

Then again, given the intelligence of some people in this country about our roots they may think the walk was to celebrate our right to watch fireworks. This is a “Jaywalking” segment regarding July 4th.

Obviously, they picked the worst offending answers out for airing, but making this into a 6 1/2 minute segment shouldn’t have even been possible.

Perhaps freedom and liberty can be best achieved at the moment by repealing Obamacare. Renee Giachino explains in this edition of the Freedom Minute.Finally, this comes from a group of Marylanders fed up with our Governor – you can add me in to the “furlough Owe’Malley” crowd too.

There’s no music video this week because my next episode of FNV will be all music videos, so be on the lookout for that!

Friday night videos – episode 38

Since I missed last week due to personal reasons, it means I have a lot more video to choose from this time.

A little over five years ago, the Supreme Court revealed its Kelo v. New London decision. The Institute for Justice took a look at the impact since in this video.

 

Hey, it was nice of YouTube to add custom sizing for websites like mine. Saves me some HTML work!

The saving of the work doesn’t just extend to me. Beltway Democrats don’t want to work on a budget.

Maybe they just want to enjoy their summer. In this edition of the Freedom Minute, Renee Giachino talks about Obama’s ‘Recovery Summer.’

Someone who can’t take the summer off is Gen. David Petraeus. But it appears Obama’s advisors blew him off when they promised a July 2011 Afghan withdrawal.

But that’s all right, because Obama staffers are blowing off transparency laws, as Americans for Limited Government reveals.

This one has a wry sense of humor to it, and in good time for Independence Day.

Musically, I think it’s time to dust off Ava Aston once again. Just as a reminder who’s in charge on Independence Day.

Have a great Fourth of July, and Happy 234th Birthday to America!

Friday night videos – episode 36

Kicking back and relaxing on a warm summer night – take your time with these videos. Perhaps you’re like me and do a lot of your web surfing outside.

You know, that Joe Sestak job offer scandal is still percolating around Washington, casting a shadow on the Obama Administration.

I know the Center for Individual Freedom generally exceeds its “Freedom Minute” but it’s worth watching.

Something that probably won’t be worth watching is an upcoming Comedy Central show called “JC.” It’s a show I wrote about for Patriot Post and begs the question – is America ready for more Christian-bashing out of a network which was afraid to portray the prophet Muhammad? (Probably NSFW if you’re there.)

Yeah, that was pretty disgusting. Speaking of disgusting, let’s have the reaction of folks on the left to this guy becoming violent at a Tea Party protest in North Carolina.

Oh, I forgot, it’s the Tea Partiers who are violent. That might be the next thing Obama blames Bush for, and the background music is priceless. (I actually used the Smokin’ Gunnz version of the song a few weeks back.)

Yeah, I got that from Eric Cantor’s office. But it was good. On a more serious note (and since Obama referred to the Deepwater Horizon spill) the next two videos feature American Petroleum Institute chief economist Dr. John Felmy discussing the effects of the Gulf drilling moratorium.

Of course, some of these jobs could’ve gone to newly minted graduates – ALG talked to some recent ones about the youth job situation and 26.4% unemployment.

As always, let’s close with a song. Local artist Bryan Russo has a jazzy flavor on this song as he takes a trip to the ‘Smokey Cafe.’ Don’t think I’ve ever embedded a Vimeo before.

With that, another episode of FNV is a wrap.

Friday night videos – episode 32

Another week, another edition of FNV for your enjoyment.

The first video may not be as enjoyable as it is tragic. Take a look at the devastation in the Nashville region from a simple rainstorm that wouldn’t move off the area. No hurricane, no tornado – just heavy rain wrought this damage.

On the other hand, we have people like General Motors who aren’t self-reliant and wait for government handouts. Perhaps a presidential candidate in 2012, Rep. Paul Ryan recently decried their ‘crony capitalism.’

We’re 1/3 of the way through President Obama’s term, and Renee Giachino of the Center for Individual Freedom points out 10 lessons of his era.Best thing is that I disabled autoplay on that one – yay me! I like their videos but didn’t like their autoplay feature, so I fixed it. Self-reliant.

It’s not as confusing as HTML code, but Arizona’s new immigration law does have its share of controversy. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies did his best to explain the ins and outs on Fox News.

Another bill explained here by Americans for Limited Government is the Dodd financial takeover bill.

Let’s take this full circle, sort of, by going from southern rain to southern rock. Recently I was at Pork in the Park and caught these guys playing some Lynard Skynard you don’t often hear.

And is Smokin’ Gunnz a politically incorrect name or what? It’s a great way to wrap up this edition of FNV.