Link to the full text
There is more detail around each one and it is worth following the link to read it all. How important it is to read such things in the current world!
First, the conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent.
Second, the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity. It is old custom that enables people to live together peaceably; the destroyers of custom demolish more than they know or desire.
Third, conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription. Conservatives sense that modern people are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, able to see farther than their ancestors only because of the great stature of those who have preceded us in time.
Fourth, conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence. Burke agrees with Plato that in the statesman, prudence is chief among virtues. Any public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity.
Fifth, conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety. They feel affection for the proliferating intricacy of long-established social institutions and modes of life, as distinguished from the narrowing uniformity and deadening egalitarianism of radical systems.
Sixth, conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability. Human nature suffers irremediably from certain grave faults, the conservatives know. Man being imperfect, no perfect social order ever can be created.
Seventh, conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked. Separate property from private possession, and Leviathan becomes master of all.
Eighth, conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism.
Ninth, the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions. Politically speaking, power is the ability to do as one likes, regardless of the wills of one’s fellows.
Tenth, the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society. The conservative is not opposed to social improvement, although he doubts whether there is any such force as a mystical Progress, with a Roman P, at work in the world.
Best to just ponder with no extra comment from this quarter -- if you have extra time, go read the rest.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Did He Say How?
Obama pledges to halve budget deficit in 4 years | Reuters
BO seems to be out on the campaign trail again trying to shore up his already sagging approval ratings (-9 in two weeks). Campaigning is the only thing that he knows how to do, so I suppose he might as well do it. Unfortunately, he tends to make a lot of promises when he campaigns, and here is another one by a guy that apparently has no idea what he is saying.
So we JUST decided to spend $800 Billion, and we will be VERY lucky if next years deficit isn't in excess of $2 Trillion, rather than the $1.2 Trillion that BO is quick to point out that he "inherited". Interesting how the role of congress drops to zilch when it is a Democrat congress isn't it?
So, spending at the rates of Trillions of dollars a year is "pressing on the gas" for the economy about as hard as we possibly can. While I disagree with how much and where, the idea that the gas must be pressed in a recession seems sound.
Now we have "halve the deficit in 4 years???". Say what? How pray tell would one do that? Drastic cut in spending coupled with tax increases? Uh, but that is stepping on the BRAKES!!! Why drive with one foot hard on the gas and the other hard on the brakes? Isn't that about the most STUPID way possible one can drive???
BO seems to be out on the campaign trail again trying to shore up his already sagging approval ratings (-9 in two weeks). Campaigning is the only thing that he knows how to do, so I suppose he might as well do it. Unfortunately, he tends to make a lot of promises when he campaigns, and here is another one by a guy that apparently has no idea what he is saying.
So we JUST decided to spend $800 Billion, and we will be VERY lucky if next years deficit isn't in excess of $2 Trillion, rather than the $1.2 Trillion that BO is quick to point out that he "inherited". Interesting how the role of congress drops to zilch when it is a Democrat congress isn't it?
So, spending at the rates of Trillions of dollars a year is "pressing on the gas" for the economy about as hard as we possibly can. While I disagree with how much and where, the idea that the gas must be pressed in a recession seems sound.
Now we have "halve the deficit in 4 years???". Say what? How pray tell would one do that? Drastic cut in spending coupled with tax increases? Uh, but that is stepping on the BRAKES!!! Why drive with one foot hard on the gas and the other hard on the brakes? Isn't that about the most STUPID way possible one can drive???
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sensor Drift
Well, there was a solid NSIDC prediction that in 2008, the North Pole would be ice free! Only the evil "disbelievers" had an doubt at all. OOPS, small problem, the sensors were off and it didn't melt -- and now the ice in 2009 is tracking ahead of 2005-2008. Hmmm.
"The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has been at the forefront of predicting doom in the arctic as ice melts due to global warming. In May, 2008 they went so far as to predict that the North Pole would be ice-free during the 2008 'melt season,' leading to a lively Slashdot discussion. Today, however, they say that they have been the victims of 'sensor drift' that led to an underestimation of Arctic ice extent by as much as 500,000 square kilometers. The problem was discovered after they received emails from puzzled readers, asking why obviously sea-ice-covered regions were showing up as ice-free, open ocean. It turns out that the NSIDC relies on an older, less-reliable method of tracking sea ice extent called SSM/I that does not agree with a newer method called AMSR-E. So why doesn't NSIDC use the newer AMSR-E data? 'We do not use AMSR-E data in our analysis because it is not consistent with our historical data.' Turns out that the AMSR-E data only goes back to 2002, which is probably not long enough for the NSIDC to make sweeping conclusions about melting. The AMSR-E data is updated daily and is available to the public. Thus far, sea ice extent in 2009 is tracking ahead of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, so the predictions of an ice-free north pole might be premature."
Free Speech Lefty Style
NAACP calls for firing of N.Y. Post cartoonist - CNN.com
BO's own book is full of "how he would like to get the white blood out of his system" and the "World in need run by White Man's greed" actual line and thinking.
His new AG says that we are "a Nation of racial cowards".
I suppose we ought to be thankful -- they aren't rioting in the streets and killing folks like the Muslims did over a cartoon.
Yes, yes, white folks are bad, black folks are good. In fact, they are so good, that if they just FEEL offended, people ought to lose their jobs over it. What kind of "freedom of the press" does one have in that sort of a world?
Oh, that's right, NONE -- the whole idea of Campaign Finance, Fairness Doctine, etc is the unilateral disarmament of "speech that the left doesn't like".
That is how we get "unified".
BO's own book is full of "how he would like to get the white blood out of his system" and the "World in need run by White Man's greed" actual line and thinking.
His new AG says that we are "a Nation of racial cowards".
I suppose we ought to be thankful -- they aren't rioting in the streets and killing folks like the Muslims did over a cartoon.
Yes, yes, white folks are bad, black folks are good. In fact, they are so good, that if they just FEEL offended, people ought to lose their jobs over it. What kind of "freedom of the press" does one have in that sort of a world?
Oh, that's right, NONE -- the whole idea of Campaign Finance, Fairness Doctine, etc is the unilateral disarmament of "speech that the left doesn't like".
That is how we get "unified".
Why The Market Sinks
IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Is It Any Wonder The Market Continues To Sink?
Most of this has been covered in the Blog, but a good summary list. The picture is worth a thousand words.
Markets care very little about the past, it is the future that people (used) to invest in. The Palin nomination / McCain uptick gave them a ray of hope, but that hope is long gone now.
We desperately need some hope that is "old and real" -- responsibility, paying personal and national bills, the people that earn the money keeping the money, real risk and real rewards -- simple things like that. We are back to the 70's -- now the questions are how long, and must we REALLY go all the way back to the 30's or an even worse place before we realize the basic truth.
There never has and never will be a free lunch!!!!
Most of this has been covered in the Blog, but a good summary list. The picture is worth a thousand words.
Markets care very little about the past, it is the future that people (used) to invest in. The Palin nomination / McCain uptick gave them a ray of hope, but that hope is long gone now.
We desperately need some hope that is "old and real" -- responsibility, paying personal and national bills, the people that earn the money keeping the money, real risk and real rewards -- simple things like that. We are back to the 70's -- now the questions are how long, and must we REALLY go all the way back to the 30's or an even worse place before we realize the basic truth.
There never has and never will be a free lunch!!!!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Rant For the Ages
Rick Santelli's mortgage rant - THE WEEK
Somebody had to say it, said the Colorado Springs Gazette in an editorial. The government is sending the message that people who bought houses they couldn't afford win, and those who live within their means foot the bill. Santelli's rant was one "for the ages, full of wisdom and truth," by a man who "understands the danger of a country that rewards failure, by taxing all success."
Finally, at least SOME people are starting to awake to the disaster that we have brought upon ourselves with 2 years and running of "change"! The core of Democrat change is always "Punish those that do good, and Reward those that do evil!"
BTW, the Republican version of that is not "the opposite", but rather "Man is a poor judge of good and evil -- seek God, markets and other higher powers".
Somebody had to say it, said the Colorado Springs Gazette in an editorial. The government is sending the message that people who bought houses they couldn't afford win, and those who live within their means foot the bill. Santelli's rant was one "for the ages, full of wisdom and truth," by a man who "understands the danger of a country that rewards failure, by taxing all success."
Finally, at least SOME people are starting to awake to the disaster that we have brought upon ourselves with 2 years and running of "change"! The core of Democrat change is always "Punish those that do good, and Reward those that do evil!"
BTW, the Republican version of that is not "the opposite", but rather "Man is a poor judge of good and evil -- seek God, markets and other higher powers".
Friday, February 20, 2009
Hey, It is Possible to Fail on All Fronts!
RealClearPolitics - Articles - 'Kick Me' Diplomacy
The left found it very unimpressive that post 9-11 we didn't have a single attack on US soil, and until a year after the Democrats took over Congress, we generally had markets that were rising.
Well, now are markets are in the tank and the world is treating us like a weak skinny kid with big ears and broken glasses. Of course, our MSM is unwilling to even acknowledge the vote of "no confidence" from the markets, but they are completely silent on the decline in the American position abroad.
Sorry folks, it is VERY possible to be broke AND be attacked by foreign powers. One just needs to vote in a clueless and generally unsuccessful community organizer from Chicago as president, and the outcome is all too predictable.
The left found it very unimpressive that post 9-11 we didn't have a single attack on US soil, and until a year after the Democrats took over Congress, we generally had markets that were rising.
Well, now are markets are in the tank and the world is treating us like a weak skinny kid with big ears and broken glasses. Of course, our MSM is unwilling to even acknowledge the vote of "no confidence" from the markets, but they are completely silent on the decline in the American position abroad.
Sorry folks, it is VERY possible to be broke AND be attacked by foreign powers. One just needs to vote in a clueless and generally unsuccessful community organizer from Chicago as president, and the outcome is all too predictable.
BO Agrees with ... Bush???
Obama administration keeps Bush view on Afghanistan detainees - CNN.com
Wow, What is up with this?? Here we have Bush, the "worst President in US History", and BO, the "greatest US president ever" -- and what? The best agrees with the worst on a critical issue relative to the War On Terror??
How surprising!
Wow, What is up with this?? Here we have Bush, the "worst President in US History", and BO, the "greatest US president ever" -- and what? The best agrees with the worst on a critical issue relative to the War On Terror??
How surprising!
Democrats For Truth!
The Case for a Truth Commission - TIME
Patrick Leahy leading the charge for "truth and non-partisanship" is like Teddy Kennedy leading the charge for "temperance and respect for women" (or maybe teaching young women to swim, at night, out of a car under water).
How can you be more reasonable than this?
First, you get "fair minded folks" (like Pat I suppose) that have "no axe to grind". Simple! Their only "straightforward mission" would be to "find the truth"!! How could anyone be against this? Why, couldn't Pat just lead it up himself? He certainly seems like a "fair minded guy, with no axe to grind, only interested in the truth"? Isn't that what ALL Democrats really are?? I mean NONE of them are partisan in any way, right?
Now, there is a real news item -- "during thelast several years". What would "several" be? The past two years when we have had a Democrat Congress and a Republican in the White House? The previous 4 when we had very slim Republican majorities in Congress and a Republican in the White House? Maybe from 2001-2002 when we had Democrats with a one seat majority in the Senate and the rest Republican? Golly it just isn't stated. I wonder why that is?
It seems like there really couldn't be much better than a good old "truth commission" to help bring this nation of ourse together!
Patrick Leahy leading the charge for "truth and non-partisanship" is like Teddy Kennedy leading the charge for "temperance and respect for women" (or maybe teaching young women to swim, at night, out of a car under water).
How can you be more reasonable than this?
One path to that goal is to appoint a truth-finding panel. We could develop and authorize a person or group of people universally recognized as fair-minded and without an ax to grind. Their straightforward mission would be to find the truth. People would be invited to come forward and share their knowledge and experiences, not for purposes of constructing criminal indictments but to assemble the facts. If needed, such a process could involve subpoena powers and even the authority to obtain immunity from prosecution in order to get to the whole truth.
First, you get "fair minded folks" (like Pat I suppose) that have "no axe to grind". Simple! Their only "straightforward mission" would be to "find the truth"!! How could anyone be against this? Why, couldn't Pat just lead it up himself? He certainly seems like a "fair minded guy, with no axe to grind, only interested in the truth"? Isn't that what ALL Democrats really are?? I mean NONE of them are partisan in any way, right?
During the past several years, the U.S. has been deeply divided. This has made our government less productive and our society less civil. President Obama is right in saying that we cannot afford extreme partisanship and debilitating divisions. As we commemorate the Lincoln bicentennial, there is a need, again, "to bind up the nation's wounds." Rather than vengeance, we need an impartial pursuit of what actually happened and a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past.
Now, there is a real news item -- "during thelast several years". What would "several" be? The past two years when we have had a Democrat Congress and a Republican in the White House? The previous 4 when we had very slim Republican majorities in Congress and a Republican in the White House? Maybe from 2001-2002 when we had Democrats with a one seat majority in the Senate and the rest Republican? Golly it just isn't stated. I wonder why that is?
It seems like there really couldn't be much better than a good old "truth commission" to help bring this nation of ourse together!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Dems to New Orleans, Drop Dead
Power Line - That Was Then, This Is Now
Anybody that doubts that the whole idea of some "Katrina Debacle" caused by supposed incompetence and insensitivity in the Bush administration can be certain it was only politics now. In the first major spending bill by our first Black President, after YEARS of howling of the "inadequacy of spending for New Orleans" -- on dikes, repair, etc, how much is there for New Orleans in the greatest Porkfest in history? Not one thin dime.
Katrina and New Orleans served their purpose, and then some. Now they can drop dead for all the Democrats care. Time to pay off some new constituencies!
Anybody that doubts that the whole idea of some "Katrina Debacle" caused by supposed incompetence and insensitivity in the Bush administration can be certain it was only politics now. In the first major spending bill by our first Black President, after YEARS of howling of the "inadequacy of spending for New Orleans" -- on dikes, repair, etc, how much is there for New Orleans in the greatest Porkfest in history? Not one thin dime.
Katrina and New Orleans served their purpose, and then some. Now they can drop dead for all the Democrats care. Time to pay off some new constituencies!
Dukes of Moral Hazzard
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123500760093118475.html
I love the title. One of the things that was very clear from both Buffet's and Greenspan's books was the extreme danger in the "loss of moral hazard" -- in other words, what happens if people and businesses no longer suffer the losses of poor luck, decisions, lack of work, etc and conversely if they are unable to realize the gains of good luck, good decisions, solid work, etc. They both discussed it, and realized that previous government actions (which they both generally supported) were "pushing the envelope" on the topic.
Any doubts that we are well over the edge now? I find this paragraph captures it well:
"By wasting 4 years of your life in school PAYING good money, while I went out and got a good union job, I got a great head-start on you college boys. All the "stuff" just keeps going up in value (houses, cars, toys, etc), and our union makes sure that our salaries do as well. When you get out of school, you will start at a lot lower pay level and everything you buy will be way more expensive. Going to college is for losers!"
At the time I started my career, my salary was $15,500 in 1978 with 2 weeks vacation, which was a good salary, and a GM Union Autoworker in Janesville was starting out at $25K with a month off and a lot better benefits. A 25+ year veteran, still on the line was making over $50K with 6 weeks+ off and retirement at 30 years at something like 75% of base pay. Had the Democrats remained in power, they would have likely been right on the foolishness of college.
It looks like "we have returned". Education, savings, prudence, etc now appear to be for chumps, and the rewards are for those that "live for today" -- the chumps are going to be required to bail out the folks that ought to be going through bankruptcy.
In a "rational world", the guy that forgoes pleasure today, saves, and in the future buys a home, has the advantage of being able to pick up the foreclosed McMansion for 50 cents or less on the dollar, while the guy that purchased too much home ends up in a flea bitten appt.
In the BO world, the spendthrift stays in the McMansion and the saver sits in the flea bitten appartment and subsidises the spendthrifts habits -- or so BO hopes. As Ayn Rand pointed out long ago, that isn't a very motivational structure, and the worker bees tend to stop working.
Shocking.
I love the title. One of the things that was very clear from both Buffet's and Greenspan's books was the extreme danger in the "loss of moral hazard" -- in other words, what happens if people and businesses no longer suffer the losses of poor luck, decisions, lack of work, etc and conversely if they are unable to realize the gains of good luck, good decisions, solid work, etc. They both discussed it, and realized that previous government actions (which they both generally supported) were "pushing the envelope" on the topic.
Any doubts that we are well over the edge now? I find this paragraph captures it well:
Let's focus on the plan's effect on the individual borrower. Anyone with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to refinance to lower rates if his mortgage is between 80% and 105% of the value of the home. This is a sweet deal that is not available, for example, to many renters looking to buy homes now. Sadly for those who deferred the gratification of homeownership, the 20% down payment has now become industry standard. But at least their taxes will allow other people to stay in homes they can't afford.Prior to Reagan, there really was some sense that folks that went to college trying to "get ahead" were kind of "chumps". I remember more than one high school or other person explaining it to me. It went something like this:
"By wasting 4 years of your life in school PAYING good money, while I went out and got a good union job, I got a great head-start on you college boys. All the "stuff" just keeps going up in value (houses, cars, toys, etc), and our union makes sure that our salaries do as well. When you get out of school, you will start at a lot lower pay level and everything you buy will be way more expensive. Going to college is for losers!"
At the time I started my career, my salary was $15,500 in 1978 with 2 weeks vacation, which was a good salary, and a GM Union Autoworker in Janesville was starting out at $25K with a month off and a lot better benefits. A 25+ year veteran, still on the line was making over $50K with 6 weeks+ off and retirement at 30 years at something like 75% of base pay. Had the Democrats remained in power, they would have likely been right on the foolishness of college.
It looks like "we have returned". Education, savings, prudence, etc now appear to be for chumps, and the rewards are for those that "live for today" -- the chumps are going to be required to bail out the folks that ought to be going through bankruptcy.
In a "rational world", the guy that forgoes pleasure today, saves, and in the future buys a home, has the advantage of being able to pick up the foreclosed McMansion for 50 cents or less on the dollar, while the guy that purchased too much home ends up in a flea bitten appt.
In the BO world, the spendthrift stays in the McMansion and the saver sits in the flea bitten appartment and subsidises the spendthrifts habits -- or so BO hopes. As Ayn Rand pointed out long ago, that isn't a very motivational structure, and the worker bees tend to stop working.
Shocking.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Welcome to Ruin
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Slow Drip of Financial Ruin
Couldn't have said it better myself -- put a bunch of Democrats in charge and the MSM cheering them on, and you have a recipe for ruin, and that is what we have!
Couldn't have said it better myself -- put a bunch of Democrats in charge and the MSM cheering them on, and you have a recipe for ruin, and that is what we have!
Senator after Democratic senator stood to disgorge this dishonest rhetoric during floor debate, repeatedly proclaiming the lie that Republican opponents had nothing of their own to offer. But you didn't have to search far to find examples of GOP solutions, such as the one on House Minority Leader John Boehner's Web site. You don't have to agree with his more moderate and targeted package of immediate tax relief for working families, more help for the small business sector (the nation's biggest job producer), no tax increases to pay for spending, jobless assistance and home price stabilization.
However, simple honesty should compel the Reids and Pelosis to refrain from saying the opposition has no plan. Democrats, of course, were able to get away with this slander because few in the media challenged it or bothered to report it. The media also have failed to challenge the economic methodologies that are the basis for claims that the stimulus will produce millions of jobs.
Reason is the facility of the mind used to intelligently form judgments, make decisions and solve problems. Emotions are feelings, desires, fears, hates and passionate drives—all of which are the tools that Obama deployed to sell the stimulus package to a gullible public. Endeavor to go through all 1,100 pages of this stuffed piggy and you'll find little rational connection between the nation's problems and its solutions—other than if we throw enough money out there, some of it will stick to the wall.
Obeynomics
Obeynomics
Nice little article ... the leadoff:
Ya suppose?
Nice little article ... the leadoff:
So the people that have a choice of "invest or not" seem to think that a political regime that is anti-business, anti-investment, and has an unknown economic plan makes for the wrong environment in which to sink a lot of capitol into things you expect to make money on?The results are clear. The market hates Obama’s stimulus package and just about everything related to Obamanomics. Or shall we call it Obeynomics? (I'll explain in a minute.) Stocks are down 27% since the Nov. 4th election. Stocks have plummeted more than 40% since Obama sewed up the Democratic nomination in June.
Capital is on strike. And why wouldn’t it be? Private capital has no idea what the future holds in terms of taxes, regulation, trade, deficits and the value of the dollar. None whatsoever.
Capital has figured out one thing, however. The politicians in Washington most hostile to private investment are running the show. Example: David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. From Wikipedia: “Obey is one of the most liberal members of the House; he considers himself a progressive in the tradition of Robert La Follette.”
Ya suppose?
Headless Body, Gutless Press
The caption on this picture was "happier times" -- meaning before good old Muzzammil beheaded his wife. In the "truth is stranger than fiction" camp, he founded "Bridges TV" 5 years ago to combat "the negative image of Muslims". Go figure.The reason that our media provides very little coverage of this story -- say as opposed to some nowhere Southern ministers wife that kills her hubby with a shotgun, or some preacher that has an affair of some sort, is because they are "unbiased and like to avoid sensational stories".
Hmm, MIGHT there be another reason?
Havard Killed Wall Street
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_hassett&sid=a_ac69DqFutQ
There is an interesting hypothesis here that bears some thought -- especially with a proud Havard Grad as President. I love books, I love book knowledge -- but I also grew up on a farm, fish, hunt, shoot and have engaged in real business and investing. Bottom line; reality isn't in a book or a computer model.
A lot of what has been loosed on our nation is the idea that we are in a "post common sense world". Reaganomics was pretty much just "common sense" -- set people free to create and take risks, allow them to keep (and lose) the results of that freedom, and "on balance", things will be better.
No longer. Those simple ideas are now "incompetent" we have PHD Nobel Prize winners like Paul Krugman making pronouncements of what MUST be done and what WILL happen after it is done. Maybe. I've seen a lot of very smart and well educated people be wrong, and a lot of not so well educated but much more humble folks be right.
There is an interesting hypothesis here that bears some thought -- especially with a proud Havard Grad as President. I love books, I love book knowledge -- but I also grew up on a farm, fish, hunt, shoot and have engaged in real business and investing. Bottom line; reality isn't in a book or a computer model.
A lot of what has been loosed on our nation is the idea that we are in a "post common sense world". Reaganomics was pretty much just "common sense" -- set people free to create and take risks, allow them to keep (and lose) the results of that freedom, and "on balance", things will be better.
No longer. Those simple ideas are now "incompetent" we have PHD Nobel Prize winners like Paul Krugman making pronouncements of what MUST be done and what WILL happen after it is done. Maybe. I've seen a lot of very smart and well educated people be wrong, and a lot of not so well educated but much more humble folks be right.
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