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December 30, 2003
Millions of investors can't be wrong, right?
From today's Daily Reckoning:
The Dow rose 125 points yesterday. Stocks are speeding to
the finish line this year - after a fine run.Can so many millions of investors be wrong? "Clear sailing
ahead," they say."Don't forget to put on your life-jacket," we counter.
It has been a great year for stocks - if you ignore the
currency in which they are calibrated.It has been a great year for real estate, too... subject to
the same objection. In fact, it has been the best year ever
for real estate - ever in history.* A record 6.1 million homes were sold... up from 5.56
million in 2002.
* A record 1.1 million new houses were sold.
* A record $3.4 trillion in new mortgages were taken out -
equal to a third of the entire U.S. GDP.
* And the median house sold rose 9.1% in price during the
last 12 months.Of course, adjusted for the drop in the dollar, the median
house is actually worth less now than it was at the
beginning of the year.But who's in the mood for quibbles? The voters are having
their say; they want stocks and real estate to rise, while
they spend, spend, spend their way to wealth. Hold the
kvetching... stop fretting about China or gold... who cares
about the deficits, debts, or the dollar?
Posted by George F. Smith at 04:35 PM | Comments (133) | TrackBack
December 26, 2003
No Confederate Left Behind
"Confederate School Names Spur Debate" is the headline of this CNN.com story. Up to now the debate has largely centered on removing the names of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson from schools since both men owned slaves. Those names having been sufficiently expunged from the record so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of our youngsters who can nevertheless play video games in which the object is to kill as many people as graphically as possible, the sights are now being turned on schools named for Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, et. al.
The article says that "the National Center for Education Services lists 19 Robert E. Lees, nine Stonewall Jacksons, and five Davises" and adds that there are others named for various lesser figures in the Confederacy. We can't have schools named for these people because some of them not only owned slaves but fought to preserve slavery--a preposterous notion only a bunch of people who had come up through the government's schools would swallow.
On the other hand, go to Google and type in "Martin Luther King School" and see how many hits you get. It's a virtual certainty that there are far more schools (not to mention at least one street in every sizable town) named for King than there are for all Confederate figures combined. I guess it's no big deal, though, if kids go to buildings named for a plagiarist, incorrigible adulterer, communist sympathizer, and Constitution destroyer. After all, he helped build up the federal Leviathan, while the Confederates tried to escape it.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:41 PM | Comments (234)
What the USSR and US had in common
Both countries died at age 70, one peacefully, the other by total war.
Posted by George F. Smith at 09:15 AM | Comments (207) | TrackBack
December 24, 2003
The Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Iraq
The stooges of evil prepared to attack
There’s lots of dead babies, but hell we don’t care!
George Dubbya has told us, there’s oil over there!
Civilians are dying in hospital beds
While lies about weapons dance in their heads.
King George in the White House, he dances and claps,
It isn’t HIS family that’s off in Iraq!
While here in the “Homeland” our freedom is shattered,
Tom Ridge on TV blames terrorist chatter.
Our freedom and lives are gone in a flash,
So George and his cronies can rake in the cash.
The light of the truth, it clearly does show
That George and bin Laden are buddies, you know!
This whole war on terror is surely as fake
As Dubbya’s claims of uranium cake!
And if words of truth come close to your ears,
Fox News will replace them with terrorist fears.
So mindless Americans, like bumblebee drones
They follow their orders from Yale’s Skull ‘n’ Bones
Like poisonous vipers these neocons came
And life in this country was never the same.
“Now Rummy, now Condee, now Wolfee and Shrub!”
“Now Ashcroft and others, our terrorist club!”
“To the sands of the desert! To the Trade Center Towers!”
“It’s time once again for the people to cower!”
So at Christmas time, if you travel or fly
You mustn’t forget, threat levels are high!
Posted by Andy Henke at 09:25 PM | Comments (2111) | TrackBack
Time for Pre-emptive Strikes?
Believe it or not, there are actually some suckers running for the Republican nomination against Bush. Either of the guys mentioned in this Fox News story, though, sounds like a better choice. One is upset about increased federal spending, and the other is running on an antiwar platform. (What?! I thought only left-wing commie pinko anti-Americans opposed Republican wars!) Neither of these guys is likely to get anywhere, but it's nice to see some opposition from within the party just the same.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 11:53 AM | Comments (248)
December 23, 2003
Patriot Act lines India's coffers
Indrajit Basu writes:
Indians working abroad long have used the unregulated hawala channel - an informal fund-transfer system operated by moneychangers - to send part of their money back home to relatives.
But the U.S. has identified these hawala channels as the preferred method of "terrorists" to move money without leaving a trace. Hawalas also make it hard for governments to tax the fees paid for transfering funds. The Patriot Act comes to the rescue and forces people who transfer funds out of the country to register with the federal government, creating a windfall for the global money transfer and financial services companies in India, as well as India's government:
"Most of our customers are those who used the hawala channel. We are now eating into that clientele," said V K Soni, who runs a Western Union - a US-based world leader in global money transfers - outlet in Mumbai.
Isn't it wonderful how government can make us all safer and richer? Terrorists who previously would have opted for halwala will now despairingly use Western Union -- and when they do, Ashcroft will nab 'em.
Posted by George F. Smith at 07:35 PM | Comments (365) | TrackBack
December 22, 2003
Alien Nation
Here's a story to go along with my previous entry. Tom Ridge wants us to trust "the professionals" to provide security for our country, but the INS tells a cop who's caught up with 13 illegal aliens that they're "not interested in Mexicans." The cop rightly complains that they could be potential terrorists; but even if they aren't, isn't it the INS's job to make sure that people who enter the country illegally are caught and deported?
"Government security" is an oxymoron. If you believe in it, please consider yourself the same, only without the "oxy."
Posted by Mike Tennant at 04:31 PM | Comments (247)
Just Plane Crazy
Tom Ridge says that terrorists have a "preference or desire to use aircraft as a means of attack," so I guess we can safely rule out airplanes as a terrorist weapon. Besides, with "random vehicle searches" and all the other security measures our government has in place (we're "far more secure traveling by air than we have ever been," says Ridge), there's no way a terrorist could sneak anything dangerous onto a plane--right, Nathaniel Heatwole?
The terrorists used airplanes once. The odds that they'll do that again are pretty small. The cops are always fighting the last battle because they don't have the imagination--or the motivation to imagine--that the bad guys do. Anyway, as I said, if the government says the terrorists are going to use airplanes, it's a pretty safe bet that they won't. This is, after all, the same government that couldn't foresee or stop 9/11 and that insisted Saddam had mountains of WMDs. What are the chances they're right this time?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 03:35 PM | Comments (104)
December 21, 2003
Oil and Logic Don't Mix
Let's see now . . .
According to the Bush administration, the following statements are all true:
1. The war on Afghanistan made us safer.
2. The war on Iraq made us safer.
3. The capture of Saddam Hussein made us safer.
4. As of December 21, 2003, "the threat indicators are 'perhaps greater now than at any point' since Sept. 11, 2001." Hence, the terror alert is being raised to orange, the second-highest level.
Is it just me, or is there some disconnect in the logic here?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 05:08 PM | Comments (133)
December 18, 2003
The LA Times and Big Brother
For about as long as I can remember, the LA Times (Online) has been one of those few very annoying news sites that asks for personal information before one can read any articles. In the past, I've dealt with this the same way I deal with similar sites and simply supplied bogus information. My reasons for this are twofold: One, it's really none of their damn business, and two, given the abundance of recent news stories about private companies "mining" this kind of consumer data and selling it to the federal government, I figure the less accurate these things are, the better.
Earlier this evening I discovered that my little ploy no longer works at the Times' website. Now you MUST provide, at the very least, a vaild email address, as a "confirmation email" must first be received and acknowledged before one can gain access to any articles. Further, In addition to your first and last name, your home address and telephone number are listed as "required fields" in the signup form. Why does the LA Times need to know my address and phone number? "To serve me better," right? Thanks, but no thanks.
What's silly about all this is that one can still provide false information and gain access to the site by means of signing up for any one of the infinite number of free web-based email services out there. Personally, I don't consider it worth the effort, and I'll be scratching the LA Times off my list of sources to use when I'm guest-editing Strike the Root. That's a considerable amount of lost traffic for the Orwellian news site. I hope others follow suit.
Posted by Andy Henke at 05:07 PM | Comments (176) | TrackBack
Your tax dollars at work!
"Joanne Webb, a former fifth-grade teacher and mother of three, was in a county court in Cleburne, Texas, on Monday to answer obscenity charges for selling the vibrator to undercover narcotics officers posing as a dysfunctional married couple in search of a sex aid."
"Webb, a saleswoman for Passion Parties of Brisbane, faces a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if convicted."
Why in the WORLD are your tax dollars paying for government police to initiate undercover stings to catch dildo dealers?
Posted by Andy Henke at 09:14 AM | Comments (102) | TrackBack
Clinton officials sentenced for taking bribes
From the Washington Times:
Two former senior Pentagon officials each were sentenced yesterday in Alexandria to 24 years in prison for taking more than $1 million in bribes and accepting prostitutes from government contractors.
Robert Lee Neal Jr., 51, of Bowie, and Francis Delano Jones Jr., 51, of Fort Washington, also were ordered to jointly pay $1.75 million in restitution. The two men were convicted in U.S. District Court in July of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
Neal was appointed by President Clinton in 1996 to serve as director of the Pentagon's office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (SADBU), which helps minority-owned businesses obtain defense contracts. Jones, his top assistant, joined the office in 1999.
Federal prosecutors said the men demanded bribes as high as $100,000 in certain cases and received $1.1 million in bribes and other illegal funds.
Posted by Rob at 12:22 AM | Comments (157) | TrackBack
December 17, 2003
Treating Airplane Pilots Like Barney Fife
Perhaps the only good thing in the seven bills President Bush recently signed is a provision to allow cargo plane pilots to carry guns. Of course, allowing pilots in general to carry guns is one thing; allowing specific pilots to carry them is quite another.
Apparently, the adminstration has dragged its feet when it comes to allowing specific passenger plane pilots to be armed, and now the concern is that the same thing will happen with cargo plane pilots. "Pilots' groups say that at the current rate of arming pilots, it will take 15 years to arm all pilots who wish to carry guns," according to Gun Owners of America.
Bush throws a bone to the Right every now and then so as to keep them on his side, but he's obviously not serious about it. Instead of taking sensible steps like allowing pilots to be armed--since steps like these, after all, reduce the government's power and prestige--let's just strip-search Granny at the airport and prosecute wars which will incite more terrorist attacks against the U. S. All along they've told us they're fighting the War on Terror, but that's a typo. It's really the War of Terror, directed at us.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 02:02 PM | Comments (110)
Proposed Iowa Drug Restrictions Nothing to Sneeze At
If you live in Iowa and catch a cold, be prepared to show your government-issued I. D. card and sign a log--not to mention driving for miles to find a pharmacy, if you happen to live in a small town--if you want to buy NyQuil, Tylenol Flu, Actifed, Sudafed, or Robitussin. Yes, medicines that do good for people and have been regarded as relatively harmless for years are now under scrutiny because people purchasing them just might extract pseudoephedrine from them to use in meth labs. The Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy is going to recommend to the Legislature that a photo I. D. and signature be required for purchasing these medicines. In addition, only a licensed (by the state, of course) pharmacist will be allowed to sell them, meaning small stores in small towns will be out of luck, meaning in turn that sick people will have to drive for miles to get their medicines--and sick people, in general, are less alert and less fit to be driving. See how much your government cares about you?
By the way, Congress passed a law in 1996 requiring retailers to report on anyone buying Congress's arbitrarily set amount of medicine containing pseudoephedrine. (This, of course, is entirely constitutional.) Cagey retailers have gotten around it by limiting the number of packages a customer can buy at one time, but that's not good enough for the state of Iowa because, after all, a cagey customer could just go to multiple stores or go to the same store on multiple days.
Big Brother must control everything! (Yes, that link is a shameless plug for one of my own columns on this very subject.)
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:50 PM | Comments (456)
How FDR saved capitalism
Official mythology holds that the Great Depression of the 1930s represented a failure of laissez-faire. How does a guy like FDR save the country from freedom? He orders people who own gold to turn it in for government paper.
In April, 1933, Roosevelt issued an executive order:
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5(B) of The Act of Oct. 6, 1917, as amended by section 2 of the Act of March 9, 1933, in which Congress declared that a serious emergency exists, I as President, do declare that the national emergency still exists; That the continued private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to the peace, equal justice, and well-being of the United States; and that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the interests of our people.''Therefore, pursuant to the above authority, I herby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price, in the legal tender of the Government. All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed, pending action in the due course of the law. All sales or purchases or movements of such gold and silver within the borders of the United States and its territories, and all foreign exchange transactions or movements of such metals across the border are herby prohibited.
''Your possession of these proscribed metals and/or your maintenance of a safe-deposit box to store them is known to the Government from bank and insurance records. Therefore, be advised that your vault box must remain sealed, and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of The Internal Revenue Service.
''By lawful Order given this day, the President of the United States.''
It reads like a passage from a Nazi novel.
It would hard to find a more legitimate reason for overthrowing the government. But the people complied and hailed Roosevelt as their friend.
Posted by George F. Smith at 11:40 AM | Comments (245) | TrackBack
Is Bush Grand Design in jeopardy?
Someone, and unfortunately I don't know who, made the following observation about the Bush Administration's strategy before the American military rolled into Iraq:
The de facto strategy of the Bush administration is now evident.Remake the world with the military while promoting a welfare state at home, while tossing an occasional bone to taxpayers.
The current arguments in the media about lack of WMDs or other sufficient condition for invading a sovereign country we helped make are beside the point. Bush wants to go to war. The Grand Design of his neocon advisors is to use the military and economic power of the US to reshape the world. Data is to be sifted until some version of it can be spun to rationalize attack mode, then the tanks start rolling.
Given all the chest-pounding over the capture of "another wayward client," it looks like the only hope for peace and liberty is the fall of the dollar.
Posted by George F. Smith at 10:05 AM | Comments (214) | TrackBack
December 16, 2003
Enola Gay Rights
"Thomas K. Siemer, 73, of Columbus, Ohio, was charged with felony destruction of property" for "spilling a red liquid supposed to resemble blood near the [Smithsonian] Enola Gay exhibit and throwing an object that dented the airplane."
And just how much property (and how many lives) did the Enola Gay destroy?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:55 AM | Comments (285)
'Musharraf faked bid on life'
"ISLAMABAD: Contrary to claims made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that a bomb blast at a bridge near Rawalpindi was directed specifically at him, highly placed sources here say that he may have engineered the incident to retain Washington's support as a key ally in the war against terror and to strengthen his hold on power. "
"The sources on conditions of anonymity further went on to say that it was ironical (sic) that no one had as yet claimed responsibility for the blast. It was also inexplicable that the incumbent establishment was continuing to maintain a stoic silence about who may have been behind the so-called assassination bid."
"On Sunday, Musharraf described the explosion that occurred after his presidential motorcade had passed as a "terrorist act."
Surely a government leader wouldn't fake or engineer a "terrorist act" for political purposes!
Posted by Andy Henke at 07:17 AM | Comments (523) | TrackBack
December 15, 2003
And in Other News...
(from Progressive Review): After spending tens of billions of dollars, stretching its military readiness to the limits, and engaging in two wars and a lengthy embargo that left a million dead, the United States has captured the former dictator of a country with a population roughly that of Texas, a size twice that of Idaho, military expenditures 0.36% those of the US, and a GDP roughly the size of the annual revenues of Sony and one-third those of Wal-Mart. The Washington Post devoted 16 pages to the incident.Posted by Rob at 11:43 PM | Comments (133) | TrackBack
December 14, 2003
Students say Mock Drill caused Injuries
"At least four teens say they were injured when police fired paintballs at them during a hostage drill."
Quoth the local police chief, "We made some mistakes we made mistakes that we would do different next time."
Next time? Looks like these are rotten times to be in high school in this country.
Posted by Andy Henke at 01:37 AM | Comments (271) | TrackBack
December 13, 2003
$2.64 per gallon for gasoline in Iraq??
Your government is paying [Halliburton] more than twice what others are paying to bring in fuel from Kuwait, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
Halliburton's defense of its pricing - that it's a costly, dangerous undertaking and that the company can only negotiate a 30-day contract for fuel - isn't convincing.
Not when the United States is paying Halliburton an average of $2.64 a gallon to import gasoline from Kuwait while Iraq's state oil company pays 96 cents a gallon and the Pentagon's Defense Energy Support Center pays $1.08 to $1.19 a gallon.
Halliburton has an exclusive contract. Vice President Dick Cheney is the former chief executive officer of the company. This may well be legal, but that doesn't mean it is proper.
The article fails to mention that Mr. Cheney still holds stock options in Halliburton.
These bastards are getting rich(er) off of YOUR tax money, and the blood of YOUR sons and daughters.
Posted by Andy Henke at 12:16 AM | Comments (110) | TrackBack
December 12, 2003
The truth comes out on another Bush phony photo op.
Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon-authorized newspaper of the U.S. military, is bucking for a court-martial. When last we checked in on Stripes, it was reporting on a survey it did of troops in Iraq, finding that half of those questioned described their units' moral as low and their training as insufficient and said they did not plan to reenlist.
With the Pentagon just recovering from that, Stars and Stripes is blowing the whistle on President Bush's Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad, saying the cheering soldiers who met him were pre-screened and others showing up for a turkey dinner were turned away.
Posted by Andy Henke at 11:58 PM | Comments (241) | TrackBack
Debate over the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights has stalled complete government takeover of our lives for -- what? 212 years? The anniversary of the Bill of Rights is Monday, December 15. It represents an attempt to uphold liberty against the greatest threat to it, government. You can read Gary Galles' account of the Hamilton - Brutus debate over the Bill of Rights here. I've always wondered what would have happened at the Constitutional Convention if Jefferson hadn't been in France.
Posted by George F. Smith at 07:03 PM | Comments (178) | TrackBack
Serving: a Cop's Ticket Out of a Job
Assault captive high school students - no problem. Actually try to help an entertainer who's harmed no one and adds joy to millions of people's lives, and you're in trouble!
Posted by Robert Jackson at 01:16 PM | Comments (249) | TrackBack
A New Deal for Iraq
Need more proof that the warfare state and the welfare state go hand-in-hand?
Republican Congressman Mac Collins of Georgia has written a column entitled, not surprisingly, "America Is on the Right Track in Iraq." Amid all the expected blather about terrorists' hatred of freedom and our military's wonderful liberation of Iraq comes this juicy tidbit:
"A WPA jobs program similar to America's during the Great Depression is needed in Iraq. It would put people to work rebuilding their nation, put money in their pockets, energize their economy, make them tired at night[!] and turn them against those who threaten their well being. . . .
"A strong WPA jobs program will lead to a strong economy, investment, and stability."
War is just another big government program. Why conservatives continue to support it, other than out of sheer partisan loyalty, remains a mystery.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 10:03 AM | Comments (261)
To serve and protect?
Check out the decal on these Sheriff's Dept. cruisers.
Nice, eh? Incidentally, what do you think would happen if one of the "officers" driving those vehicles saw me wearing a t-shirt that said "George Bush (or the Sheriff) is an ass" ??
Posted by Andy Henke at 01:02 AM | Comments (256) | TrackBack
December 11, 2003
Empire State Building
Don't read this while you're trying to eat. Alan Caruba, of the National Anxiety Center, gives us something about which to be anxious: his sickening paean to the American Empire.
It isn't bad enough that Caruba, writing for the "conservative" CNSNews.com, seems to be authoring a press release for the White House. ("It will be a world in which America doesn't merely participate in great issues and events, but dictates them. It will be a world in which the hope for worldwide democracy is no longer a sterile US foreign policy, but an active, militant one.") On top of that, he actually has the gall to cite George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in support of his beloved empire!
Conservatism as previously understood no longer exists among the ostensibly conservative thinkers and writers of the day. In its place is the welfare-warfare state, which is nothing more than an extension of Woodrow Wilson's and FDR's policies, neither of which could be considered conservative. Thank goodness for (the not perfect but much, much better) Pat Buchanan and the numerous libertarian and anarchist websites, including, of course, our own STR.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 10:55 AM | Comments (145)
December 10, 2003
The cost of "freedom"
WASHINGTON - December 9 - A little-known provision buried within the omnibus federal spending bill that the U.S. House of Representatives approved yesterday would take away federal grants from local and state transportation authorities that allow citizens to run advertising on buses, trains, or subways in support of reforming our nation’s drug laws.
Posted by Andy Henke at 11:43 PM | Comments (201) | TrackBack
Tit for Tat
So now six more Afghan children die at the careless hands of US military thugs. This, just a couple days after nine innocents were taken out during Operation -Bush-Head-Up-Ass.
Since US military ruffians are now taking occupation lessons from the IDF in Iraq perhaps those methods can be shuttled on over to Afghanistan to help with that invasion. Which method, in particular, am I thinking of? One word- bulldozers.
Most would agree that a “terrorist” is defined as one who kills civilians or innocents. I think this accurately describes the above incident. The killing may not have been intentional but the result is the same- guiltless people die. When Israeli innocents are killed their government’s response is to bulldoze the offending party‘s family home. Why not execute the same act of justice against A-murr-ic-an villains? Fire up the dozers in Jersey, Kentucky, Oklahoma, California, and wherever, throughout the land, the murders’ families reside. Topple those shotgun shacks and double-wides. Let payback be the order of the day and allow justice to be carried out in the name of the deceased.
Posted by Roger Young at 10:29 PM | Comments (248) | TrackBack
Some Victims Are More Equal Than Others
There are enough people willing to sink money into white guilt projects to build over 3,000 slavery museums in the U. S., including the new U. S. National Slavery Museum (see my blog post of Dec. 4), but the organizers of a museum dedicated to the millions of victims of communism can't scrape together enough money to do anything but put up a statue and start a website. Seems victims of leftists' favorite governments just aren't as worthy of remembrance as victims of other governments, such as the Nazi (which, of course, stands for "National Socialist," meaning it's just as left-wing as the communists) holocaust, the Vietnam War, etc. There's plenty of money to go around when it comes to browbeating white people over slavery or erecting temples to statists like Lincoln and FDR, but nobody wants to contribute to the defamation of communists. Even the New York Times retains the Pulitzer Prize awarded to Walter Duranty for his knowing repetition of Soviet propaganda at the expense of victims of the Ukrainian famine in 1932.
If asked to name the top ten villains of all time, how many Americans would even think to put Stalin on the list? We all know Hitler would be number one. Anyone suspected of Nazi sympathies these days is immediately ostracized, but communist sympathies can get you a tenured teaching position at an Ivy League university.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 11:53 AM | Comments (234)
Sobran on Lewis
LewRockwell.com links to an appreciation by Joseph Sobran of C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite writers.
Lewis, according to Sobran, saw that the trend of modern governments, whether democratic or autocratic, was to deny any natural law that transcended the interests of the State:
"For modern man, Lewis pointed out, law is nothing but human will, and the state is free to make law as it pleases, without moral limits. Older traditions had believed that human law must conform to a higher law, but that sense was being disastrously lost in the modern world. The modern state was therefore 'incessantly engaged in legislation.' Old inhibitions on politics were gone."
Lewis's The Abolition of Man is an indispensable guide to the consequences of denying the reality of natural law.
Posted by Lee McCracken at 08:55 AM | Comments (117) | TrackBack
We're Here to Help You
From a column by Ivan Eland: "And Capt. Brown’s boss, Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman, the battalion commander who oversees one village gulag, also came up with some condescending and counterproductive comments for the Times reporter. He succinctly summarized the American administration’s twisted thinking in Iraq by saying, 'With a heavy dose of fear and violence and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them.'"
Posted by Rob at 12:29 AM | Comments (222) | TrackBack
December 09, 2003
Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Dubya
Remember Bush's flowery speeches about "liberating" the oppressed around the world and no longer coddling dictators for the sake of stability? Well, the following two news items wilt those flowers in a hurry:
So much for liberating the oppressed and standing up to dictators. Next thing you know, Bush will start signing spending bills like crazy and creating new entitlements, in direct opposition to his self-proclaimed conservatism. Oh, wait . . .
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:25 AM | Comments (276)
December 08, 2003
How Come the Vaccine Flu Away?
Why is there a shortage of flu vaccine this year? We never seem to have shortages of shoes, refrigerators, watermelons, or cars. Then again, those things aren't given away for free or at reduced cost due to government subsidies. Who knows how many people get flu vaccinations even though they don't really need them just because they can get them for practically nothing (and because the government pushes them every year)? Subsidies increase the demand for the vaccinations but do nothing for the supply. What else would we expect but a shortage?
Of course, the eeeeevil pharmaceutical companies will get the blame for obeying the laws of economics, which will lead to demands for more government intervention, which will bring about further distortions in the market.
It's enough to make you want to shoot up with something else.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:59 PM | Comments (176)
December 06, 2003
A chunk the size of New Jersey
Bill Bonner, co-author of Financial Reckoning Day, warns of coming financial disaster and what it could portend:
We weren't aware that the U.S. Constitution was still in force, but we read that retired General Tommy Franks told Cigar Aficionado magazine that another terrorist attack like Sept. 11th would bring it to an end. We wondered how Americans would bear up under the strain of a financial disaster. . . .We worry what will happen when American hearts are squeezed harder...when the miry clay of disappointment, bankruptcy, depression, inflation, and national humiliation have Americans entrapped, struggling to stand up straight. . . .
The U.S. dollar cannot be called stable. A dollar today will buy only about 5% of what it would have bought a century ago. Compared to gold, too, it has lost more than 90% of its value since Franklin Roosevelt devalued it in the '30s. . . .
The dollar does not drop at a steady rate, but at a jerky one. Like a melting polar ice cap, it tends to lose a little every year...and then, suddenly, a large iceberg falls off. . . .
With no telling entrails in front of us, we cannot know what will happen. But we take a guess: a chunk the size of New Jersey is about to fall off.
If "New Jersey" goes, government will rush in with vast new controls because people will demand that it "do something" -- demanding for the cure that which was the cause.
Posted by George F. Smith at 10:35 AM | Comments (210) | TrackBack
December 05, 2003
Treat People Equally, Get Sued for Civil Rights Violations
Did you know that not judging people on the basis of their skin color constitutes a violation of their civil rights? It does according to the various leftist black politicians who are asking for a federal civil rights investigation into Texas A&M's decision to stop giving blacks preferences in admissions.
Some choice quotes from the public leeches:
"'Race was used in Texas over a long period of time to keep people of color, especially African-Americans, out of the higher education system,' [state Senator Rodney] Ellis said. 'It only seems appropriate that race could be used as a factor, just as legacy is used.'"
"Ellis and and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said they will pursue legal action if they are not satisfied that Gates' proposal will increase diversity at A&M, which is 82 percent white, 2 percent black, 9 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian-American."
"'This is an enormous insult and a smack in the face," said Jackson Lee. "What are we doing, going back to the 18th century?'"
Posted by Mike Tennant at 10:25 AM | Comments (228)
December 04, 2003
The Curator for White Guilt?
If you want to "heal racial rifts left by centuries of human bondage," what better way than to keep hounding white people about how they are uniquely responsible for slavery? Better yet, build a "U. S. National Slavery Museum", no doubt paid for in part by the tax dollars stolen from those same white people.
"'One of the reasons the story of slavery in America has not been told is because there is so much guilt about it. . . .' Chien Chung Pei said after the [groundbreaking] ceremony."
The "story of slavery in America has not been told?!" Where has this Chien Chung Pei guy been for the last fifty years--China? All we've heard for the last half-century is how white people are responsible for an institution that has existed for most of human history and how they have to make up for it by giving their lives, liberty, and property to the descendants of people who were enslaved. The article even states that, believe it or not, "[t]here are approximately 3,000 slavery museums in the United States." It is impossible to grow up in America and not know the "story of slavery."
You can be sure the National Slavery Museum will conveniently omit the salient facts that (a) white people are the ones who ended slavery (although almost certainly "Honest Abe" will be lionized and the South demonized) and (b) slavery exists today primarily in Africa and the Middle East, both places where white people do not dominate.
Why don't they just get it over with and pass laws giving everything in the West to blacks and making whites their slaves?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 02:04 PM | Comments (223)
Joe Labelman for President
As if we needed any more reasons not to want Joe Lieberman as president (not that he appears to have much of a chance at this point), here's another one: He wants to force "junk food" ads to include warnings, require restaurant chains to post nutritional information, and have the Agriculture Department regulate food sold in schools.
Methinks ol' Joe has been eating too many "junk" matzo balls, and yet this is just the kind of thing that the conservatives in the country would support if a Republican were pushing it.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:40 PM | Comments (208)
Who is to Blame for 9-11?
Everyone but the federal government, of course. A federal judge has ruled that families of victims can sue United Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing (for making a defective product), and the port authorites of New York and New Jersey. One of the sharks leading the attack is Mary Schiavo, former DoT inspector general under Clinton.
Posted by George F. Smith at 09:50 AM | Comments (211) | TrackBack
December 03, 2003
A Nation of Mostly Christians
Enlightening comments from a historian about the country's alleged Christian roots. Are we a Christian nation -- or a nation of mostly Christians? (Of course, we were once a federation of states, not a nation as such, but that's a different issue.)
Posted by George F. Smith at 05:01 PM | Comments (195) | TrackBack
December 02, 2003
Killer Inflation
If you think inflation is our friend, look what it did to Germany back in the 1920s. Unbelievable. Of course, our central bank would never do anything like that because it's not politically-motivated.
Posted by George F. Smith at 11:02 PM | Comments (214) | TrackBack
What? Doesn't Everyone Pray to Dubya Three Times a Day?
This is news? I guess if you're a neocon, Fox News type, it is. Gee, who could possibly hate our beloved leader, who has protected us from evil terrorists (who attacked and succeeded on his watch), given us a (piddling) tax cut, and instituted wonderful government programs (which we would oppose if Democrats wanted to institute them)? Even Rush Limbaugh, of all people, today insisted that the level of hatred directed at Bush is vastly greater than the level directed at Bill Clinton during his presidency (and, if you read NewsMax.com, to this day).
Come off it, folks. Every president gets criticized viciously, and deservedly so in most cases. Even to think that somehow Bush is above criticism and that he is being attacked worse than any other president in history is to live in a dream world. Clinton complained that he'd had the worst press in history, and conservatives pooh-poohed it. Now they say Bush, who has gotten roughly the same (or even better) press, is being unfairly demonized. Why, we should all just bow down and lick his boots and praise the Lord for the day George W. Bush became our exalted leader!
Emperor worship is sickening, not to mention idolatrous for the Christians among us, who seem to worship Dubya more than anyone else.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 04:13 PM | Comments (169)
'Tis the Season to Enact Folly, FAA La La La La
The federal government continues to meddle. The FAA wants to force airplane manufacturers to make their planes quieter, even though these rules "would likely involve expensive engine or other retrofits and take years to accomplish."
I work, and previously lived, near both an airport and an Air National Guard base, and I can tell you from personal experience that the only planes whose noise bothers me belong to the government. I hear the commercial jets, but it's the military planes that drown out everything else. What do you suppose are the odds that the FAA will force government planes to be quieter?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 03:04 PM | Comments (233)
Washington Tackles Another Weighty Problem
The War on Fat, which is bound to be as successful as the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, and the War on Terror, continues apace. The "U. S. Preventive Services Task Force," another highly constitutional federal bureaucracy, is now "recommending" that health care workers "screen all adult patients for weight problems and suggest intensive counseling for those who are obese."
How long before this becomes mandatory?
The feds want to trim everyone else's fat. Why don't they set an example by trimming some of their own?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 02:55 PM | Comments (249)
The Empirates of D. C.
Who died and made Uncle Sam (who is looking more and more like "our old Uncle Joe," as FDR affectionately referred to Stalin) king of the world?
The U. S. government is now claiming the authority to stop ships they claim are carrying those dreaded WMDs and seize the weapons. So now the U. S. owns the oceans, too? Of course, this is only directed at "rogue states," meaning states that don't kowtow to Washington. If, say, Great Britain or Russia or Israel wants to ship WMDs, that's fine. If Iran wants to do it, no dice. The nice thing about this, too, is that there are no constitutional niceties that have to be observed (not that they observe them much back in the U. S. S. R.--I mean U. S. A.-- either); the U. S. can just claim a ship contains weapons, stop it, and take whatever the emperor wants.
Where is Luke Skywalker when you need him?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 02:44 PM | Comments (245)
December 01, 2003
Frittering Away the Fourth Estate
Need more proof that the media are nothing but propaganda organs for the State? CNN today has an online poll that asks the question: "Who is behind this weekend's attack on convoys carrying new Iraqi currency?"
The only two options are "Saddam Hussein" and "Foreign fighters." What about, say, Iraqis resisting occupation by a foreign power? There isn't even an "Other" option, which could have provided CNN with a little cover if they were afeared to offend the almighty federal government by suggesting that any fighters were indigenous resisters.
Who needs Pravda when you can get your propaganda disseminated by an ostensibly independent media?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 04:36 PM | Comments (237)