March 05, 2009
LINK
Also via
David, a very interesting and different type of post with thoughts on the coming century:
Forward to the past.
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This post ties in nicely with the part of Taleb's
The Black Swan that I started to read this morning, "We Just Can't Predict." Our predictions tend to be linear extrapolations of the past: in short, more of the same. But as Yogi Berra said, "The future ain't what it used to be." Taleb commented,
He [Berra]
seems to have been right: the gains in our ability to model (and predict) the world may be dwarfed by the increases in its complexity - implying a greater and greater role for the unexpected.
Posted by: Amritas at March 05, 2009 09:47 AM (+nV09)
Posted by: Sarah at March 05, 2009 09:59 AM (TWet1)
Posted by: Amritas at March 05, 2009 10:39 AM (+nV09)
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February 27, 2009
HA
A
good article about left-wing symbols like Che Guevara shirts:
These T-shirts send a message, which effectively boils down to this: I have vague left-wing sympathies but don't read history. I am educated enough to want nonconformity but not intelligent enough to avoid conformity.
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February 24, 2009
LINKS
This is the
most realistic tattoo I have
ever seen. Wow.
And I love Cracked. Srsly. 5 Ways People Are Trying to Save the World (That Don't Work)
And this makes my heart swell: Eleven States Declare Sovereignty Over ObamaÂ’s Action. Go, States, go! It's about time somebody gave a crap about the 10th Amendment.
[All links via CG.]
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Posted by: wifeunit at February 24, 2009 05:02 AM (t5K2U)
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I often get falsely mistaken as a hippie because (aside from the clothes and the penchant for attending protests) my son didn't get his shots until he was two.
Even the doctors didn't argue with my reason, though! The boy had a reaction to his first set of shots - a very nasty one.
And while I don't think all shots are necessary, I'm all for the vast majority of them. There's some nasty stuff out there!
Posted by: airforcewife at February 24, 2009 08:36 AM (Fb2PC)
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My fellow Americans,
Having just been handed the latest estimate from the N.I.E. on the number of civilian casualties in Iraq, 90 to 99 thousand, I feel the time is now to examine the war that is currently being waged in Iraq.
Like never before, except perhaps before it began, we need to discuss the situation.
The war in Iraq was begun in a manner of illegality that betrays our core American values of independence, sovereignty and a respect for the Geneva Conventions. Past generations of Americans fought and suffered to establish the Geneva Conventions. They protect us as much as they protect human rights. But recent leaders of this country, who dictated the use of torture against an innocent people, are, under the rule of law, international war criminals, and I encourage the Department of Justice to prosecute the perpetrators in a manner they see fit, and to restore a sense of legitimacy to American power.
The war in Iraq is an example of a war against a minor country from an over-reaching superpower. It has costs lives and it has cost trillions of American dollars. Let it be forever known that empire building is not an efficient or rewarding process. It is, in fact, the inevitable end to many fine, otherwise powerful nations.
America must get out of the business of war now. In the current economic crises, it is time to bring our troops home and turn to other industries that can rebuild this country, and in my greatest hope, the nation of Iraq as well.
As a nation, we must turn our attention to the production of goods, services and technologies, of which the end product is more than just a bomb, waiting to be exploded. The end product must be something lasting, that has empirical value.
In this time of economic crises, we must commit ourselves to the creation of value, not the destruction of currency and our own moral fibre.
Good night, and God bless America.
-POTUS
02/24/09
--rush transcript of barack obama's speech--
Posted by: Will at February 24, 2009 11:57 AM (+dpft)
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Awesome... I thought Cracked danced around the carbon offset scheme rather nicely while explaining it - it's a corporate plan to siphon even more money and enrich... strangely enough... Al Gore and others of his ilk.
And an ABSOLUTE ditto to you "GO, STATES, GO!!!" I hope Idaho's close; Gov. Otter wasn't the first to jump on the "we might not take your stimulus money" idea, either, but it sounds like something we (and he) would do. Same heartwarming reaction here! :-) GO, STATES, GO!!! (Now to put that in some catchy cheer...)
Posted by: kannie at February 25, 2009 07:02 AM (iT8dn)
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I loved the old print version of
Cracked when I was a kid. Yeah, it was a clone of
Mad, but it had the great photorealistic art of
John Severin. Severin is long gone from
Cracked, but the online version has its own appeal - a subversive edge absent from the original. Thanks for linking to it!
Posted by: Amritas at February 28, 2009 09:55 AM (Wxe3L)
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February 18, 2009
LINKS
Some links from
Conservative Grapevine before I hit the road:
5 Things You Think Will Make You Happy (But Won't)
It has everything: naughty language, cute animals, Cristal snowcones...
Breaking News: Late-night comedy shows make fun of Pres. Obama
The clip of The Daily Show is funny, but isn't it interesting how Jon Stewart makes fun of Obama for being slow and boring and then makes fun of O'Reilly for saying that Obama is slow and boring?
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"...isn't it interesting how Jon Stewart makes fun of Obama for being slow and boring and then makes fun of O'Reilly for saying that Obama is slow and boring?"
Good catch. I love the unintended self parody.
Posted by: tim at February 18, 2009 07:35 AM (nno0f)
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Can you do me a favor, Sarah? Can you claim the domain name 'trying to gork' and just have that redirected here? For some reason, i type that more often than not & it would really make visiting you via 'teh internets' easier if all roads pointed here.
Posted by: Guard Wife at February 18, 2009 02:53 PM (i0ZCx)
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February 09, 2009
WALMART
Charles Platt Goes Undercover At Wal-Mart
Interesting article about working at Wal-Mart. And this paragraph:
[An employee] was invited to corporate HQ as a guest at a management conference. "It was totally different from what I expected," he told us. "I thought it would be these fatcats talking about money, but no one even mentioned money. All they cared about was finding new ways to satisfy customers. I met everyone including the chairman of the company."
reminded me of this quote from the movie Sabrina, which I blogged about some months ago:
What's money got to do with it? If making money were all there was to business, it'd hardly be worthwhile going to the office. Money is a by-product.
And this thought bears repeating:
To my mind, the real scandal is not that a large corporation doesn't pay people more. The scandal is that so many people have so little economic value. Despite (or because of) a free public school system, millions of teenagers enter the work force without marketable skills.
(Thanks, David.)
UPDATE:
David Foster wanted to post a comment, but neither of us can figure out why it's getting rejected. So I'm just gonna stick it here:
I agree that there should be more emphasis on vocational education...but we need to be realistic that as things are, people without college degrees may do very well for a while but are eventually likely to see their progress halted by lack of the piece of paper. For instance, someone might learn to operate and program CNC machine tools and make a very good living doing so. He might even be promoted to department foreman. BUT, when it comes time to pick a new plant General Manager, the job will almost certainly go to someone with a college degree.
The education cartel exercises such a dominant influence on our society that it is hard to see how we can ever force it to relax its grip.
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Bingo. Job skills, and the market for job skills. Wal-mart does well for their people. The ones who are capable of moving upward do. Those that aren't? They are the ones that you see behind the check out counter.
Posted by: Tibby at February 09, 2009 05:57 AM (S/Fac)
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Tibby,
I wouldn't write off "the ones that you see behind the check out counter" as being incapable of moving upward. Some are just starting out, and perhaps others don't want to move upward.
Platt wrote,
This is why teenagers fresh out of high school often go to vocational training institutes to become auto mechanics or electricians.
Not often enough. The everyone-must-go-to-college mentality must end. Now. Even a university degree doesn't necessarily teach marketable skills. And as the supply of degrees goes up, their value goes down.
Posted by: Amritas at February 09, 2009 06:30 AM (+nV09)
Posted by: David Boxenhorn at February 09, 2009 06:48 AM (YRJ7N)
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If everyone who thinks every child should go to college knew how many of the first years (I do mean years) in college are spent on remedial courses they would be appalled. Technical schools should just be a part of the high school program. Dumbing down didn't just start this century, we have teachers who were not taught, we are compounding the problem in so many ways. Don't get me started!
Posted by: Ruth H at February 09, 2009 07:59 AM (BkiKe)
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Here's an example of the mentality I was referring to:
We believe that all students should graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.
-
Bill and Melinda Gates (emphasis mine)
Yes, prepared ... to take lots of remedial courses (as Ruth H pointed out) and be in lots of debt ... all for a sacred scrap of paper. Hooray!
In today's self-esteem society, some college graduates think they deserve 'better' than Wal-Mart. Maybe they don't even deserve to work at Wal-Mart.
Posted by: Amritas at February 09, 2009 09:07 AM (+nV09)
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Sorry, the quote should be attributed to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation.
Posted by: Amritas at February 09, 2009 10:06 AM (+nV09)
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In the years I taught, I met plenty of kids who had no business being in college. They did not know what they wanted or, worse, many knew what they wanted & could have easily started doing it without sitting in school for four years & putting themselves in debt.
There are many who have the desire, but not the ability to succeed in college. Others have all the ability in the world, but like the fire to challenge themselves. I don't worry so much about the first group b/c desire is a wonderful motivator. The second group? They are the ones, I assume, who would like for the taxpayers to care from them from cradle to grave.
Posted by: Guard Wife at February 09, 2009 12:03 PM (/nzFP)
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I, obviously, meant to type 'lack the fire' rather than like. Sheesh.
Posted by: Guard Wife at February 09, 2009 12:04 PM (/nzFP)
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I realize I'm a little late to this party, but...
I lived in NW AR for 8.5 years. For those of you not aware, this is where Wal-Mart got its start, and is where the home office is still located. My best friend's husband, a fairly smart, but not book-learned, man, started out as a store associate in one of the local retail stores. He eventually got a job in the home office, working in the department that does store layouts. He's never gone to college, but, to a certain extent, at least, Wal-Mart doesn't care, if you can do the job and prove yourself to be a dependable employee. There are things I don't like about Wal-Mart (I've been told the corporate/management culture has changed drastically since Sam died, and that he wouldn't be happy...), but someone without the means to go to college can still work their way up the ladder there.
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at February 11, 2009 09:22 PM (paOhf)
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That's a great story, Miss Ladybug. Thanks for sharing. The party never ends in the gulch!
It's sad when a company loses its founder's vision.
Are there companies that flounder at the start, but acquire a real vision (not just hype) under new management who maximize initially neglected potential? Surely they exist, though I can't think of any examples offhand.
Posted by: Amritas at February 12, 2009 06:59 AM (+nV09)
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February 05, 2009
WOW
My buddy at
Daily Koan found an awesome
aerial photo of Obama's inauguration.
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I think anyone can appreciate the photo, no matter how they feel about Obama.
I was disappointed to see that the popsci comments turned into a political debate, though I shouldn't have been surprised.
Posted by: Amritas at February 05, 2009 12:08 PM (+nV09)
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What is this? An inauguration for ants? (Sorry...Zoolander reference, for the uninitiated.)
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at February 05, 2009 12:47 PM (irIko)
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"Wow" is right! Incredible.
Posted by: Tracy at February 05, 2009 01:04 PM (v3pYe)
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Looks like someone sh*t all over the mall--literally and figuratively...
Posted by: Chuck at February 06, 2009 04:35 AM (bQVIy)
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Coolest thing--look in the top left of the photo, near the shoreline--another satellite!
Posted by: Chuck at February 06, 2009 04:38 AM (bQVIy)
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"A SOLUTION TO WHAT?"
David from
Rishon Rishon sent me a link to a Michael Totten post called
A Minority Report From the West Bank and Gaza. I thought the most interesting part was the Q&A session. Excerpt:
General Tom McInerney, Fox News Military Analyst: Is there a solution to this problem?
Khaled Abu Toameh: You Americans are always asking us that. Why are Americans always asking me if there is a solution? A solution to what?
Michael J. Totten: The whole thing.
Khaled Abu Toameh: What is the whole thing?
Anthony Cordesman: Is there anything useful that could be done this year?
Khaled Abu Toameh: Listen. Look. We must stop dreaming about the New Middle East and coexistence and harmony and turning this area into Hong Kong and Singapore. If anyone thinks a Palestinian will wake up in the morning and sing the Israeli national anthem, that's not going to happen. If anyone thinks an Israeli Jew will go back to doing his shopping in downtown Ramallah or to see his dentist in Bethlehem or eat fish in Gaza City, that's not going to happen. There has been a total divorce between Jews and Palestinians. We don't want to see each other.
I think that's good. Separation is good. Separation doesn't need harmony and coexistence. Forget about that. That's not going to happen. Let's focus on managing the conflict. Instead of talking about real peace, let's first of all try to stop the violence, reduce the level of bloodshed, and maybe that will pave the way for future peace. The only solution now is total separation between these two communities. Israel should not be involved in the internal affairs of the Palestinians, but at the same time Israel has the right to look after its own security. They should disengage from the Palestinians completely and tell them, “Listen, folks. Don't mess around with us anymore. We're going to strike back if you fire rockets at us. And if you want to have Hamas, Fatah, or whomever, go and do it over there without our help.” That's the only way. I don't see a real peace emerging over here. We should stop talking about it.
The whole thing is definitely worth reading. And it reminds me that the husband and I were talking about donating money to Totten a while back...gotta do that.
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You chose what I consider to be the key excerpt. You know that I am in favor of separationism, but on a far greater scale. I gave up the New Middle East dream four years ago.
Washington asked, "Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?"
Substitute "the world" for "Europe."
What do I want to tell jihadists? Basically what Khaled Abu Toameh thinks Israel should say: "Don't mess around with us anymore. We're going to strike back ... And if you want to have Hamas, Fatah, or whomever, go and do it over there without our help."
Note the last three words. "Without our help." Why should I fund Fatah?
Posted by: Amritas at February 05, 2009 10:27 AM (+nV09)
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LINKS
Jonah Goldberg,
Democrats are hypocrites when it comes to paying taxes:
When moralizing conservatives get caught, say, cheating on their wives or challenging stall mates to robust Greco-Roman wrestling in airport bathrooms, liberals justifiably howl at the hypocrisy of it all (even though conservative moralizing has no teeth, while the IRS has agents with guns). When liberals fail to pay taxes -- the wellspring of a just society -- it's merely, to borrow an old phrase from Daschle, "sad and disappointing," but ultimately not that big a deal.
When he was still running the Democratic Party, Howard Dean made fighting hypocrisy his top priority. "Hypocrisy is a value that I think has been embraced by the Republican Party. We get lectured by people all day long about moral values by people who have their own moral shortcomings."
Well, I hear a lot of lecturing from Democrats about why I should be ashamed for not liking taxes more because "the children" need it.
John Eberhard, The Liberal Mind, Part 1:
“An extensive survey by the Pew Research Center found that three out of four Republicans believe that people can get ahead by working hard. Four out of five believe that everyone has the power to succeed. But Democrats have much less faith in the value of hard work. Only 14 percent believe that people can get ahead by working hard, according to the survey. And only 44 percent believe that everyone has the power to succeed. This is not a case of ‘rich’ Republicans believing one thing and ‘poor’ Democrats another. Even when you compare Republicans and Democrats of the same income, the gap still exists.”
“What this means is that many modern liberals believe differences in wealth are a result of dumb luck rather than hard work and a diligent attitude. It should therefore not be surprising that according to one scientific survey, liberals are two and a half times as likely to play the lottery or gamble in the hope of getting rich.”
This fact is incredible, and very revealing. 75% of Republicans believe you can get ahead by working hard, compared to 14% for Democrats. 86% of Democrats don’t believe that hard work allows you get ahead! The book also quotes many leading liberals in stating that the idea that you should work hard is “ridiculous,” a “seductive myth,” a “profoundly conservative, if not reactionary agenda,” and that the game is “rigged.”
[both links via CG]
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It's important to note that politicians as a class benefit from higher taxes **even when they honestly erport their incomes and pay their own taxes**.
Why? Because the expansion of government, along with the taxes to support it, increases the importance of the political class, and hence (a)increases the power of incumbents, and (b)increases the moneymaking opportunities of politicians, in the form of for-pay speaking engagements, writing opportunities, consulting engagements, and after-office billing rates as lawyers/lobbyists.
Posted by: david foster at February 05, 2009 06:01 AM (ke+yX)
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When you don't bother to pay your taxes anyway, a tax cut isn't really much of a perk, now is it? [...]
And about "hope and change," best I can tell so far, it's I "hope" nobody checks my back taxes...and we'll "change" the tradition of putting patriotic people in cabinet positions.
-
Tim Fitzgerald
One may wonder why 100% of Republicans don't "Republicans believe that people can get ahead by working hard." Perhaps this quarter consists of beneficiaries of old boy privilege and hereditary Republicans who inherited an affiliation without understanding what it stands for. The latter support RINOs; they see the magic letter "R" and reflexively vote for the one-horned.
I think the survey overlooks a key distinction between micro- and macro-level advancement. I fear that Republicans will abuse the survey to claim that Democrats have a poor work ethic. Lots of Democrats get ahead by working hard. They may believe in meritocracy on one level (their own lives), but not another level (society as a whole). And indeed our elites hardly inspire confidence. There are 300 million Americans. Are Obama and Biden - or McCain and Palin - really the best of the best?
Perhaps the Republicans and Democrats in the survey saw the same glass in different ways. Republicans, looking at their own lives, saw it as half full or even full, period. Democrats, looking up at their leaders, saw it as half empty or even totally empty.
If I believe that the world is 51% meritocratic, is it really meaningful if I tell the survey that I believe hard work will get me ahead?
Some beliefs are too complex to be described in binary terms.
Posted by: Amritas at February 05, 2009 07:36 AM (+nV09)
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Oh my Obama, I actually agree with david foster about something! He is absolutely correct!
If I had to choose between power and money, I'd choose power. Money is a recent invention in the history of humyns. We progressives are the real conservatives; we want to drag humynity back to the good old days of rule by witch doctors and Attilas. This disgusting innovation of paper and metal is just a tool to help us achieve the dominance that we rightfully deserve. If some of us don't feel like paying taxes, whatever. What really matters is power - that
you pay for.
As for that silly survey, merit is overrated. Manipulate the peOple with pretty wOrds and they will wOrship you. This is the lesson of emperOr Barack I. Democrats have learned it well, unlike the braindead for Dumbya. You don't have to actually
do much to become president. Governing Alaska? Who cares?
Only Republicans are dumb enough to obsess over racist "qualifications." Fortunately, we can exploit their idiocy. They can work hard ... for us. They can fund Our prOgrams. They will make their enemies - us! - gOds. They are Atlas, and they will never shrug. It's not in their programming. They just work and work and work. Mindless drones.
We thinkers, we visiOnaries only need to LIE back and give the Orders. And you will obey. It's the patriOtic thing to do.
Posted by: kevin at February 05, 2009 07:51 AM (+nV09)
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Amen, Amritas!!! I HAAAAATE those surveys - there's absolutely no room for complexity or acknowledgment of mitigating or tempering factors; and then a response gets extrapolated to present the most disingenuous, divisive appearance. ("Are you SIMPLE?!?!" "Well, no, but the questions are...")
But they can be great fun if you throw caution to the wind, LOL... ;-)
Posted by: kannie at February 05, 2009 11:25 AM (iT8dn)
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January 24, 2009
QUOTES
Two great quotes this week from Big Hollywood.
Ari David:
I despair that Americans, concerned with the economy above all issues, chose socialist solutions to address their fiscal concerns.
Doug TenNapel:
To conserve implies that something important is being lost that is worth holding on to. ItÂ’s also why we arenÂ’t terribly interested in future utopias, new forms we can evolve into, we donÂ’t dream a lot because there can be no hope for the future if the true things of the past are rejected or forgotten. So something must be conserved for there to be conservatism.
What we seek to conserve are not buildings, environments or kingdoms, but the true things the great men of old discovered. Notice, I didnÂ’t say these things were invented, because our values werenÂ’t invented, they were discovered, revealed and learned.
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I despair that Americans, concerned with the economy above all issues, chose soci@list solutions to address their fiscal concerns.
Would earlier generations of Americans have made the same choice? They chose soci@lism in the 1930s. Will they choose it again in the 2030s? Is falling back on the collective part of human nature, or is it an implant of the 19th century? To defeat soci@lism, we must understand the nature of its appeal.
What we seek to conserve are not buildings, environments or kingdoms, but the true things the great men of old discovered.
The key word is "true." I have no desire to conserve the false: the myths, the lies, the racism, the sexism, the homophobia ...
Once I would have been called a "liberal." Now I am a "conservative."
I oppose jihadism because it threatens to destroy those "true things" and replace them with blind faith and brutal force. Freedom and sharia cannot coexist.
Posted by: Amritas at January 24, 2009 01:54 PM (y3aIN)
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To defeat soci@lism, we must understand the nature of its appeal.
That's easy. Soci@lism is rooted in fear. People are afraid they will not succeed, and rather than try and fail, they would much rather settle for mediocrity or sub-mediocrity and a guarantee of some sort.
Let's face it, the only people going hungry in America - truly - are those people who do not bestir themselves to make use of the resources that are out there. Most churches in our area have pantries, and there are multiple soup kitchens. There's a food bank, and for goodness sake Atlanta Bread Company throws out their day old stuff - and will give it to you free if you ask! The government gives food stamps, free cheese, and free canned goods.
Children are eligible for free breakfasts and lunches at schools.
There is simply no excuse for anyone to claim they are starving in America. NONE.
There are organizations and churches and charities abounding whose purpose is dedicated to getting people into houses if they are homeless or facing homelessness.
People would rather be guaranteed a government check and government house - shitty though it may be - than face their own blame for their life's circumstances.
Americans are so busy comparing themselves to their neighbors and complaining about what they don't have (a Wii, a bigger house, a flatscreen tv, gourmet food every night) that we often forget to be grateful for the bounties that even the poorest among us have.
Just ask refugees from Somalia about our plenty here. Their ideas of what is "poor" are far different than ours
Posted by: airforcewife at January 24, 2009 03:51 PM (Fb2PC)
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AFW,
Thanks for your answer. I think fear explains not only soci@lism but the irrational atmosphere of the eOn. Capitalism is about risk. Not every business can succeed. Science entails failure. Not every hypothesis will work out. But soci@lism promises "equality" - mediocrity by force. And belief in witch doctors and Attilas - Great Leaders - is much more comforting than facing the reality of uncertainty - of sciences that don't have all the answers. We are afraid to say "I don't know." We would rather hope for change. Follow, not stop and think. Keep our eyes shut, confident that we'll be taken care of by the gOvernment.
I'll admit it. I am afraid. I read
the seven reasons. But I'm not afraid to say I don't know. I'm not afraid
to doubt.
Doubt is the greatest gift we can give to each other. It is the gift of enlightenment. Doubt will set us free, will advance knowledge, and will unravel the mysteries of this universe.
- Iranian ex-Muslim Ali Sina
If a close friend believes something, and you have counterevidence, are you doing your friend any favors when you hide it from him? Or would your "gift"
poison your friendship? (
Pun intended.)
Posted by: Amritas at January 25, 2009 02:37 PM (y3aIN)
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January 13, 2009
LINK
'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years
No excerpt needed.
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I'm glad Ayn Rand didn't live to see this.
But I wonder what the Brandens and others in her inner circle think of the eOn.
But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.
Atlas is popular and yet fifty years of readers couldn't stop it from coming true.
To paraphrase
the Thing, it's shruggin' time! To the gulch!
Posted by: Amritas at January 13, 2009 07:26 AM (+nV09)
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"We don't need to make a movie out of the book," Mr. Kelley jokes. "We are living it right now."
Problem is, there's no John Galt in sight.
Posted by: Pamela at January 13, 2009 09:03 AM (k56m9)
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If you can't see him, be him.
Posted by: Amritas at January 13, 2009 10:31 AM (+nV09)
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Amritas...you are bad. It's been a while since I read Atlas Shrugged, guess I need to go back for a refresher.
You really get around, I've been reading Big Hollywood for the past few days and I've noticed several comments by you (or someone pretending to be you).
P.
Posted by: Pamela at January 13, 2009 06:48 PM (otMPg)
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Pamela,
That's me at Big Hollywood. Accept no imitations. I've known James Hudnall for ten years and you can find me on occasion in the comments section of
his blog.
I used to comment a lot on blogs including Sarah's between 2002 and 2004. Then I went into lurking mode until she helped me get out of the closet and back into the gulch. The eOn's begun. I can't hide any longer ...
Posted by: Amritas at January 13, 2009 09:25 PM (y3aIN)
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December 31, 2008
December 30, 2008
December 23, 2008
LINKS
Times vs The White House
Popularity IsnÂ’t Everything
Another Great Depression?
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We don't have to go back as far as FDR to see the future. Just last night I was looking at a 1965
World Book Encyclopedia yearbook article on Congress, which in LBJ's own words
"... enacted more major legislation, met more national needs, disposed of more national issues, than any other session in this country or the last."
He
... asked Congress on Jan. 8, 1964 ... to declare "all-out war on human poverty and unemployment" ... All this and more could be done without an increase in spending, the President said.
So how's that war going, nearly 45 years later? Was "a $947,500,000 offensive" enough? Is any amount ever "enough"? That Congress
authorized spending in excess of $200,000,000,000 - more than any other Congress, in peace or in war.
How much will be spent in the near future, and how much will be lost?
I recommend the comments beneath Sowell's article. My favorite lines:
Let he who is without wealth cash the first check!
"What should the government do?" someone asked Ludwig von Mises. He replied, "Nothing ... sooner."
Posted by: Amritas at December 23, 2008 10:15 AM (miOrm)
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December 22, 2008
BEING APART
So I have to leave my husband this morning and go back to work to build a foam pirate ship. I wish I were kidding.
A link for this morning: The Politics of Everyman
Posted by: Sarah at
03:53 AM
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I hope you have decent instructions this time!
Maybe the ship will take you to foam heaven ... unless it goes down the foam river Styx. And if it does, say hi to the foam Cerberus for me.
On a more serious note, thanks for linking to John O'Sullivan's balanced assessment of Bush. O'Sullivan does a better job of criticizing Bush than I ever could without demonizing him.
Should the president be an everyman or a superman? Many believe Barack Obama is the latter. Will they still believe that in four or eight years?
Posted by: Amritas at December 22, 2008 07:23 AM (miOrm)
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Too bad it's not something ninja because then it would be invisible and you could tell them you already did it and stay home...
BTW, congrats on getting back to normal.
Posted by: Code Monkey at December 22, 2008 04:18 PM (WUbYJ)
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December 18, 2008
HORSES
First, it was Michael Crichton's
linking horse manure to predicting the next century.
Now it's Thomas Sowell:
For thousands of years, horses had been the way to go, whether in buggies or royal coaches, whether pulling trolleys in the cities or plows on the farms. People had bet their futures on something with a track record of reliable success going back many centuries.
Were all these people to be left high and dry? What about all the other people who supplied the things used with horses-- oats, saddles, horse shoes and buggies? Wouldn't they all go falling like dominoes when horses were replaced by cars?
Unfortunately for all the good people who had in good faith gone into all the various lines of work revolving around horses, there was no compassionate government to step in with a bailout or a stimulus package.
If there's a bad analogy involving horses at the turn of the century, I haven't heard it!
Posted by: Sarah at
03:51 AM
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One problem with the horse analogy is that horses and buggies have become obsolete throughout the industrialized world, whereas American cars are not obsolete. The technological gap between American and non-American cars is not equivalent to the gap between a buggy and a horseless carriage.
But acknowledging those facts still would not justify a bailout. Obsolescence is not relevant; it's a distraction from the real issue.
Fast food restaurants are certainly not obsolete. Two neighboring shopping malls near me each have a restaurant belonging to the same chain, offering identical menu items at identical prices. Suppose one restaurant is successful and the other is ailing. Should the latter restaurant be allowed to go under, its employees "to be left high and dry?" People will protest that it's not fair that one of the twins is dying. They want
cosmic justice.
But isn't failure itself a kind of justice? If the second restaurant is poorly run or in a bad location, does it deserve to be bailed out? Must others pay to shield it from the consequences of bad decisions?
As programs like
these proliferate, people will grow up believing that there never will be a "day of reckoning," as Sowell put it. They tell themselves "reality is optional." They confuse the subjective with the objective. They conflate "I want" with "it is." They don't question the assumptions underlying their desires. They should follow Ayn Rand's advice and "check their premises." But they don't know how. And we all fund their ignorance with our tax dollars.
Idiocracy, here we come. Believing in electrolytes won't make crops grow.
Posted by: Amritas at December 18, 2008 07:47 AM (+nV09)
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December 10, 2008
LINKS
This
Stossel article is exactly what I'm scared to death of...
And this
Boortz article would be awesome but will never happen...
(Both links via Conservative Grapevine)
Posted by: Sarah at
04:17 PM
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I have a question about knitting and crocheting. I don't know how to do either, but I was wondering if you could do both and which you think is easier. If I were going to start, should I start with one or the other. I am shopping for crocheted hats on Etsy.com and I was wondering, in your opinion, how difficult something like this would be:
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=12408502
Thanks
Posted by: Sara at December 11, 2008 04:29 AM (Iwnkf)
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December 04, 2008
NEW EXPRESSION
I have never heard the expression "That just rips my knitting" -- which apparently is Scottish for "chaps my hide" -- but I totally want to start using it.
Learned here, in an excellent post by Wendy Sullivan at Ladyblog. Which they describe "Like Fight Club, but with better hygiene." Heh.
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December 03, 2008
LINK
I intended to link to this last week but just didn't. My brain came back to it today. I think it's worth reading and thinking about:
Black Friday and Love
Posted by: Sarah at
07:23 AM
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That was an eye-opening read. Thanks.
I once actually saw two women quarrel over an item, just like in the movies, while Christmas shopping.
Until today, I would have written off this behavior as mindless consumerism. An appalling act can have multiple possible motives, and some may not be as bad as others.
Posted by: Amritas at December 03, 2008 02:11 PM (zc9j7)
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November 30, 2008
READ
I have been off doing my own thing this weekend, so I haven't been online. But there is one article that you simply must read.
Thomas Sowell's Ivan and Boris Again:
It may tell us something painful about many Americans today, when so many people are preoccupied with the pay of corporate CEOs. It is not that the corporate CEOsÂ’ pay affects them so much. If every oil-company executive in America agreed to work for nothing, that would not be enough to lower the price of a gallon of gasoline by a dime. If every General Motors executive agreed to work for nothing, that would not lower the price of a Cadillac or a Chevrolet by one percent.
Too many people are like Ivan, who wanted BorisÂ’s goat to die.
Posted by: Sarah at
10:49 AM
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Those who cannot create demand that others control the creators. Such control leads to destruction ... and demands for more control.
How many Americans know what happened to millions of Ivans and Borises after 1917?
Posted by: Amritas at November 30, 2008 03:40 PM (gO06s)
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