Archive for April, 2003

Pelosi: White House Lawn Not Green Enough

Oh please. The Democrats are getting so desperate for issues, they have to resort to claiming that they could have won the war for less, and demanding that Bush kowtow to the "international community." Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of either party: while the Republicans are politicking for who gets to rebuild Iraq both parties are busily creating a socialist state in America.

(Update: I can’t spell. :-\)

Great Quotes in History

MSNBC: Roh Moo Hyun, the new South Korea president, said Kim was threatening to develop nuclear weapons because he had "no other bargaining chips … Without this bargaining chip, Kim Jong Il does not have any other means of convincing his people that they are safe."
Translation: without nukes, Kim has no means of convincing his people that he can continue terrorizing and running his slave labor camps.

"If I mention the North Korean human rights situation, it will not help to improve the human rights conditions in North Korea."
Translation: "I can’t mention the NK human rights situation becuase I don’t want to remind the world that I won my presidency by supporting ‘reunification’ with a brutal dictatorship."

"Rather than confronting or opposing them politically, it is better to have dialogue with the regime to fundamentally solve this problem."
Translation: "Appeasement worked with Hitler and Saddam, why shouldn’t it work with Kim?"

"The reason I cannot say I agree with [the possiblity of attacking NK] in public is because it would become an unstable factor for the Korean economy."
Translation: "The reason I cannot say I agree with the possiblity of attacking NK in public is because it would become an unstable factor for my presidency."
or: "The reason I cannot say I agree with the possiblity of attacking NK in public is because a communist dictatorship is obviously better for the Korean economy than capitalism."

"[The United States'] strong military presence in northeast Asia still scares North Korea."
Translation: "I like to pretend to sympathize with those who resent the US troops that are keeping my country from being wiped out by North Korean nukes."

Alexis de Tocqueville’s interpetation of “self-interest rightly understood.”

I am writing a paper on Alexis de Tocqueville’s interpetation of “self-interest rightly understood.” I will post the link to it tonight, but meanwhile, here is food for thought:

I do not think, on the whole, that there is more selfishness among us than in America; the only difference is that there it is enlightened, here it is not. Each American knows when to sacrifice some of his private interests to save the rest; we want to save everything, and often we lose it all. Everybody I see about me seems bent on teaching his contemporaries, by precept and example, that what is useful is never wrong. Will nobody undertake to make them understand how what is right may be useful?

– Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
(Update: here it is.)

‘United Nations Holds ‘Grand Re-Opening’ Event’

The New, Improved U.N: As Relevant As Ever

(2003-04-09) — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today that the United Nations will hold a "grand re-opening" event later this month to "let the world know we’re still in business."

Mr. Annan said that the unified global body is as relevant as ever, and looks forward to doing some important things.

"It’s like we’re re-launching the product," he said. "We’ve been here all along, but we may have slipped from top-of-mind awareness. We want to make the U.N. a leading brand again."

A massive advertising campaign will precede the re-opening celebration, featuring the slogan: "The United Nations: We Put the "s" in Revolution."

The event is scheduled to take place at the U.N.’s recently renovated Baghdad offices.
(Thanks to ScrappleFace)

Herbert Hoover — defender or traitor of the “American System”?

While reading Herbert Hoover’s 1934 book "The Challenge to Liberty," I discovered the groundwork of the political views held by both of the major parties today. Hoover was by no means the greedy capitalist that history professors bill him as, but rather offered the market system as a temporary excuse – because "for at least the next several generations, we dare not abandon self-interest." His defense of (mixed-economy) capitalism was not based the morality of capitalism, but on its practical necessity – at least until we could find a way to make socialism work. There are many lines I could offer, but following are quotes indicative of his approach:

"No civilization could be built to endure solely upon groundwork of greed or even upon the enlightened self-interest f the individual. It is out of the altruistic and constructive impulses that the standards and the ideals of the nation are molded and sustained."

"Proper action in relief of distress is inherent in the social vision of the true American System. No American should go hungry or cold if he is willing to work. Under our system relief is the first obligation of the individual to his neighbors, then of institutions, then of local communities, and then of State governments. The moment the need exceeds the honest capacities of the local agencies, then they must have the support of the Federal Government as the final reservoir of national strength."

"The American System holds equally that monopoly, group or class advantage, economic domination, Regimentalism, Fascism, Socialism, Communism, or any other form of tyranny, small or great, or small are violations of the basis of Liberty."

With this approach, is it any wonder that Statism/altruism has been the dominant political philosophy of the 20th century? The success of socialism was not caused by the supposed flaws of capitalism, but by the moral default of its so-called supporters. I won’t make the same mistake.

I warned you..

DON’T CLICK THIS LINK

Inflation, voice over IP, and cross burning…

The AP reports that the FED is in "uncharted territory" and is trying out "experimental moves" to stimulated the economy. How? Basically, by "lending massive amounts of money directly to commercial banks to make sure that financial markets do not freeze up."

I’m not sure if the public is so clueless about economics that they are afraid question Greenspan’s policy, or whether they are deluding themselves into going along with the Fed’s hysteria about a "deflationary cycle" but it is clear that the only solution the Fed has to offer to the depression we are now in is inflation. The "solution" also happens to be the catalyst that caused the depression in the first place. The Fed hopes to jumpstart the economy by making (virtually) interest-free money available to investors, but since there are few solid investment opportunities out there (otherwise we wouldn’t be in a depression) the funds are likely to go high-risk, politically nimble, but non-viable enterprises that will collapse just in time to wreck the real recovery. In other words, the seed of the next depression are being planted in this one. The real risk is not a "deflationary cycle" but the redistribution and uncertainty caused by the Fed’s inflationary policies.

If the government really wants to help the economy, it should do the only thing in can do for business – create a business friendly environment by moving towards real capitalism. This means ending the witch-hunt of CEO’s, ending government handouts and subsidies, lowering trade restrictions, ending anti-trust, and protecting all forms of property rights. Until entrepreneurs are not sure whether they will reap the rewards of their labor or have it stolen by some government looter or given to a competitor, they will not risk hard-earned money the investments needed for real economic growth. (Update: Frank Shostak agrees.)

Meanwhile, Japanese entrepreneur Sachio Semmoto, the founder and CEO of eAccess, one of the most successful DSL suppliers in that country is planning to offer voice over IP service, undercutting traditional phone service, and according to MSNBC, "perhaps yet another blow to the already shaky Japanese economy."

The columnist here makes the classic mistake of thinking that an improvement in technology causes workers to lose jobs by making labor more efficient. He sees Japanese telecoms firing workers because internet VOIP service can do it cheaper and with less labor. What he doesn’t see is that consumers suddenly have more money to spend on things other than phone bills, that fired telephone company workers are not only hired by the VOIP providers, but find new jobs thanks to the extra money made available by the increased efficiency of communication. The short-term loss of telephone companies is the long-term gain of everyone else.

Finally, the Supreme Court has decided that cross burning is not protected by the First Amendment because it is an "instrument of terror." This reminds me of sexual harassment law, which states that sexual harassment is anything that "feels" like harassment. Likewise, racism is now defined according to how it makes you feel, rather than actual threats or violence against certain groups. Non-objective law which based on whether you "feel" wronged, rather than the actual use (or plans to use) force is one example of the dangers of non understanding the initiation of force. Feminist groups are already planning to use the ruling against anti-abortion protesters who "intimidate" abortion clinic workers. Imagine the effect on free speech if any action that made someone "feel threatened" could suddenly land you in jail.

Comments?

British Forces suffer first major defeat…

The British Marines experience their first major defeat in the war to liberate Iraq. Better luck next time guys. I thought they trained for this sort of thing.

Also, here is a touching story about the Iraq man who tipped U.S. Marines to the location of American POW Jessica Lynch.
(Thanks to the GMU Oist Club)

Whose “peace” do you support?

CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000">

Wow

I’m writing a paper on bias in the media for my foreign policy class, and while checking out today’s comics I noticed that all thirteen comics that featured political topics were against the war, the Bush administration, or both. This makes me all the more glad that cartoonists like Cox and Forkum exist to provide a rational and humourous take on the news. I can only hope to see their comic in a mainstream news source one day…check them out!