The Superhighway to Serfdom

Random Thoughts - Thomas Sowell - Page 2:

A very good and wise column by Sowell. It is a crying shame he could not have been our first black president. All well worth the read if you have the time.

"With his decision declaring ObamaCare constitutional, Chief Justice John Roberts turned what F.A. Hayek called "The Road to Serfdom" into a super highway. The government all but owns us now, and can order us to do pretty much whatever it wants us to do."

'via Blog this'

Democrats, The Real Anti-Government Party

The End of Government | RealClearPolitics:



The usual case of Democrat policy is to create more of what they claim to be reducing, and less of what they claim to be increasing.



Thus, programs to decrease poverty increase it, BO has claimed that he wants to reduce income inequality, but has made a record increase in it, Democrats always claim to be the party of "jobs, jobs, jobs", yet the results of their policies show a REDUCTION of 1.5 million from the last expansion, even 5 years into the vaunted reign of BO.



So here we have this. The Ponzi Scheme of FICA plus the vote buying extravaganzas of Medicare and now BOcare are running on autopilot and consuming the entire government.

Over the next decade, all the government's projected program growth stems from Social Security and health care, including the Affordable Care Act. By 2024, everything else will represent only 7.4 percent of national income (gross domestic product), the lowest share since at least 1940, says Douglas Elmendorf, head of the Congressional Budget Office.

Even more not amazing, most Americans have no idea this is even a problem!



Thank goodness we know all about Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, etc. 





'via Blog this'

New Harley Divine Glide

Bonhams To Auction Off The Pope's Harley-Davidson - Forbes:



I thought of a number of potentials ... some get sacrilegious (maybe all?) ... "Vatican Edition", "Dyna Pope",  CCLXVI ... 266, the number of pope he is, kinda spoof on Harley's model numbers, eg Heritage Classic is an "FLSTC"



'via Blog this'

Subversion for the Rest of Us! (maybe)

Is The LEGO Movie The Most Subversive Pro-Liberty Film Ever?:

Interesting column. I'm not going to buy it as correct yet, because I've not seen the movie myself, it IS delicious to even POSSIBLY see Michael Moore getting confused about what is up here because of his knee-jerk reaction to the evil president being "President Business" is just too rich.

Yes, I really mean this: “The Lego Movie” is hilarious, smart, satirical/political (the President’s name is “President Business”) & fun. GO!

Good column, 2nd invocation of "immanentize the eschaton" in a couple weeks!

“All I’m asking for is total perfection!” bringing in “micromanagers” to help out. It was that scene’s call to immanentize the eschaton, by the way, that convinced me the FOX panelists hadn’t seen the film before critiquing it. President Business actually gives a character a choice between fealty to him or “a tea party with your mom and dad.” 

'via Blog this'

The Woven Contribution of the Collective

Opinion: Jerry Seinfeld, wrong on diversity - CNN.com:

"It's an invitation to appreciate the woven contribution of the collective."

For those familiar with the "Borg Collective" on "Star Trek the Next Generation", the other line is "You WILL be assimilated" -- which is the motto of PC, LZ Granderson, and the socialist collective in whatever form it rises up.

The often self-appointed spokespeople for the collective will FORCE you to see things their way if you are too stupid, or lack the "good sense" to cow to their demands. Assimilation is NOT a choice!

America was founded by people who were willing to risk their lives to NOT be assimilated ... into the State Church, or their assigned Class / Slot / role in a much more collective society in Europe. America was a place where you could be YOU, brands of you that just didn't exist in Europe -- fur trapper, explorer, pioneer farmer, river boat gambler, cowboy ... etc.

The fact that Seinfeld is Jewish is never mentioned by LZ. It turns out that down through the ages Jews have suffered a lot of "discrimination" as well, and still do -- often from blacks, especially Muslim blacks.

Is PC in America going to deal with that? Nope, Blacks are even even more of a reliable voting block for the collective than Jews, and while Jews will often get a pass from a lot of the collective on the PC thing, apparently LZ hasn't got that memo.

Focus on what is funny? That is like focusing on quality, or the product, or making a product, or winning games. America isn't about that any more, America is about "fairness", "diversity", "PC" ... sure, if a few products of some sort happen to fall off some line somewhere, that is OK, but that is NOT our focus! No, we are BETTER THAN THAT!



'via Blog this'

Failing the 11th Commandment

Articles: Memo to Conservatives: Republicans Aren't Your Friends:



and Reagan said: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican".



The linked article completely fails at that commandment, as are MANY failing that on all sides in the current Republican party. We need a "Luther" to tell us "What does this mean"?



The article rightly points out that there is a lot of dissension in the Republican party right now, this is correct, but it is NOT new! Republicans are the party of "Conservatism", which means basic fundamental PRINCIPLE .. rule of law, the carrying on of the culture and tradition so that men are more than "the flies of summer" in Burke's words.



To be conservative is to "put principle above politics", BUT, it is ALSO to understand the extreme limitations of politics. Politics is "war by other means" ... the "other means", selling, cajoling, forming coalitions, and yes COMPROMISE. Republicans are to be BOTH principled but also very pragmatic, just like Christians. The situation of conservatism int he world is much like Paul expounds for us in 1 Corinthians 9



19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.



"We serve a higher power". In the US, that used to be The Constitution (and it's under-girding wisdom and documents), the Truths that we once ALL agreed were "self evident". Conservatives still do believe that. 



The Democrat Party are not "our enemies" as the article says, although we are often THEIR enemies. Conservatives believe in "first do no harm", and the humility of understanding that no one person, no group, no generation, or even no small set of generations contains anything CLOSE to the "wisdom of the ages", and that is WITHOUT taking the Divine into consideration -- which a large majority of conservatives also believe to be critical as well.

Democrats are perfectly willing to do what they see as "short run harm", with BOcare being only one of a whole myriad of examples. Indeed, their signature modern program, Social Security, was put in place as a known Ponzi scheme to buy the votes of the present with the sweat of future generations. 



The MOST dangerous path at this time is for people that want to think of themselves as "conservative" is to demand "drastic change RIGHT NOW", even if that change would be in "the correct direction". As in life, we can't turn the nations clock back to "1900" and "restart". A number of very erroneous changes have been made, but they can't be UNmade via short term politics, and it isn't conservative to believe that they can. 



There is no other way but "forward" in time, which is TOTALLY different than "progress", which is FAR from assured. It is the meaning and understanding of cultural, religious, political and even artistic wisdom that conservatives use to temper the hubris of "change". Time will pass without our help, and it definitely will "wound all heels" as well as at least partially "heal all wounds". Let's not be heels. 



Conservatives need and should encourage strong and open discussion of what the basic principles of economics, human nature, real science, history, etc mean in the current context, and make CORRECT predictions of what the errors of hubristic strident "liberal" policies will result in. Reagan calling the end to the USSR and turning us from an economic situation nearly as bad as the current BO hole to a period of boom did more for the standing of conservatives than any current words or fighting will. BUT, he had to WIN politically to be able to do that! 



We now need to "call the ball" as to what current policies are and will result in. This is relatively easy -- the principles don't change, so the "change agents" always screw up. We will have continued economic flat-line to decline, the continuation of the disaster that is BOcare, the continued decline in the family and the social fabric due to "gay marriage", abortion, and other destructive policies.

We need to provide sober reality based CLEAR statements of REAL AND OBSERVABLE consequences of the current failed policies AND the alternatives. This ought to be "easy", the Reagan example is only 20-30 years old. Within the lifetime of MUCH of our population, and in the lived memory of many. The principles never changed, we just failed to follow them.



It is easy to "lose faith" so that the Republicans in power move to "Democrat lite", forgetting that principles really matter even on the timid side, and others "go zealot" as the Tea Party is wont to do, DEMANDING an entire loaf of IMMEDIATE change or they are going to take their votes and go elsewhere. The linked article thinks it is a "good time for civil war" in the Republican party, but right now, I don't see it as a time that we can WIN the war!



The South fired the first shots in our Civil War. Had they not, and had they not made the aggressive but failed advance that ended at Gettysburg, they would likely have "won" ... in that secession would have happened, they would have probably controlled a lot of at least Mexico and South America, and a whole other raft of "maybes". Slavery would still be gone as the dying institution it was, but States Rights would still be alive!



"Democrat Lite" is WAY less damaging than "going zealot" and LOSING a war. Going zealot exposes conservatives to the same failings as "progressives" -- the supposedly brilliant "quick fix", "big change". Countries and cultures are most successful with incrementalism IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!



With limited humans acting in the limited domain of politics, "the lesser of two evils" is OFTEN (if not ALWAYS, which I virtually never say) is the best that can be hoped for. Shoot for "pure best", and one gets Slick Willie over HW, BO over McCain, and BO over Romney. Significant movement in the WRONG DIRECTION over potential "holding the line", or incremental change in a positive direction. 



YES, we need to "police our own" ... if Chris Christie wants to hug BO a couple weeks before the election, he is either a RINO at heart, or so narcissistic, clueless, or Machiavellian that we certainly don't want him as a presidential candidate even if he can win ... the bridge just seals the deal. Not going to war with your fellow Republicans is not the same as having no standards as long as there is an "R" on the label. The conservative life, like the Christian life is not simple -- it is a constant battle of reference to principle, thought, meditation, considered action, and yes, prayer!



It is "D" that means that you sign up explicitly to have NO STANDARDS other than total and completely firm D loyalty, no matter how hypocritical or inconsistent the position.  Thus, human babies, kill them all whenever for any reason, ... snail darters, owls, etc, preserve them at all costs; deficit under R, scandalous, destructive, "unsustainable ... 5x the deficit under D, too small, great policy; Guns, terrible, destructive, ought to be banned ... Drugs? Doesn't the Constitution declare a CLEAR right to them in the prenumbra of the privacy clause right next to abortion? ... and on it goes. 



"Thinker" needs to do some more studying and THINKING relative to their views in the linked article. As we all do, always. The "D" way is the human way, into which we fall without prayer and grace. 







'via Blog this'

EEEK, Seinfeld Puts Comedy Ahead of PC!

Liberals Still Aren’t Funny: Seinfeld Feeds Buzzfeed to the Buzzsaw | Power Line:

Jerry may need a bit of diversity training. When I was at IBM, we got that every year, because PC **WAS** (and still is AFAIK) more important than customers, products, profits, etc at IBM. It is easy to look at the recent level of success at IBM to see how well that went.

Jerry certainly doesn't get it. Just because he is Jewish isn't likely to exempt him. PC "equality", "diversity", the whole schmo is WAY more important than "funny", quality, products, profits, production, money, and all that other "stuff".

PC **IS** one of the big things that counts as modern "morality" and BO and company have done a great job of shaping the heads of Americans as to what is important and what isn't.

A half hearted glance at BOcare gives a good idea of how important BO and his minions hold competence and actual product quality to be!

'via Blog this'

Billy Destroyed After Self Awareness

F-35 Delayed After Fourth Prototype Becomes Self-Aware And Has To Be Destroyed:

At least it is only going to take a few billion on an unknown schedule to fix this. No doubt extremely cheap compared to trying to fix BOcare!

I'm thinking that if they actually put in an extreme striving for each plane to be prettiest, that ought to keep them very competitive and devious, but allow them to be quickly subdued just by throwing some stuff on their hangar floor.

If someone can come of up with the aircraft equivalent of hairstyle and makeup, they would take a few hours to "scramble", but at least they wouldn't be a general threat.

'via Blog this'

The American Dream of Not Working

The Jobless Care Act - WSJ.com:

Good column on the CBO report. Negative effects of the delayed employer mandate are not included yet, they will likely more than double this bad news. This kind of news is as exciting as "gravity still works", which I can only imagine would be a shock to BO and his cronies.


'via Blog this'

BOcare Hits Mayo Employees

Mayo Clinic revamps benefits: Employees to shoulder more health-care costs - PostBulletin.com: Local:



Have heard of a few Mayo employees that are likely to add to the CBO reported drop in number of people working  at the end of 2014 in order to stay on a group plan. The CBO projects the workforce will drop by by 2 million or so over the next 10 years. The report also indicates flat economic growth projected into the future -- and usually these reports are on the optimistic side.



"Progressivism" is simply the idea that human nature is changeable by social technologies and education. The USSR, Nazi Germany, and the declines in Japan, Europe and the US should have shown us by now that it us not, but "Progressivism" is a religious faith like "Climate Change", not something affected by facts or actual results. When a nation becomes "progressive", millions die. So far those millions are primarily unborn babies, minorities, and others easily affected by the social engineering pathologies here in the US, but the trend that we see with IRS, NSA and attempts to confiscate guns is in line with  including those not willing to cow to the "progressive" religion in the future.



Sane people respond to reality and incentives. If it is hot we try to get cool, if it us colder we try to get warmer. When people look at the economic climate, they decide if they want to work at all, how much, at how hard a job, etc. I personally know a large number of people (myself included) that would be very employable, but given their age (late 50's) level of assets, pension, etc, have decided that we had no interest in being 50% government workers (add Fed-State, FICA and AMT).



We are seeing a GIANT growth in the number of non or "under" workers at the other end of the work force. People in their 20's to 30's keeping incomes low to maximize government benefits, living together vs marrying, etc. In Europe, super high unemployment and never moving out of home has been an epidemic for 20 years or more -- we have now copied a lot of their system, so we are seeing more and more of their results.



The old Star Wars "is the Dark Side stronger" question is never really settled. Certainly if good people refuse to stand up, evil will prevail.



'via Blog this'

Dana Milbank, Through the Looking Glass

Then

Now

A quick perusal of Milbank then and Milbank now is rather fun. Seriously? We were not "divided" when W was in the WH? Did the media not ask tough questions, interrupt him, and obsessively focus on his body language at a point he is trying to help construction in New Oleans? Of course the media found that to be "fake" ... but W still helps build homes at various placed around the country today, and AFAIK he isn't running for much. What are the odds of BO would such activities after he leaves the WH ... since he doesn't do them now.

We are ALL biased. **I AM BIASED" ... so I'm certain that I have blind spots as well. Doesn't Milbank have editors, assistants and maybe some readers with a memory longer than 20 min though?

When your bias consumes you, don't you just become an object for entertainment rather than "news"? Could  Milbank REALLY have forgotten when the entire MSM was rabidly in W's face 24x7, and "Scooter Libby" and "outing" Valeria Plame, a "secret agent" that drove from her suburban DC home to CIA headquarters each day was 24x7 national news? Complete with a "Special Prosecutor"
Sometimes it feels like we have fallen through the looking glass.

So Bill O'Reilly doesn't lick BO's boots -- should "the one" be COMPLETELY unopposed?

'via Blog this'

The Way of the RINO

Republicans to the Rescue? | RealClearPolitics:

RINO -- Republican In Name Only

The Republicans are Charlie Brown and the Democrats are Lucy. (or as I sometimes like to say "Luci", the female persona of Lucifer).

Let's spend some more money today and agree to "bigger cuts down the road". The R's always go for it, and then when the "bigger cuts down the road", show up -- as in the "sequester", Ryan and the rest of them cave on the "bigger cuts", and throw in some extra spending. (the football gets pulled away, to continue the Peanuts analogy).

Why do they do it? Because they want to be "liked". Because they get scared and think it is an "easy win" to "appeal to the middle". Because the MSM says that the ONLY "reasonable thing to do" is raise taxes more on more successful Americans and business and provide more "temporary assistance" to the growing set of less to non-productive Americans, while passing a larger and larger bill to future generations. Anything else is "extreme", "mean spirited", or "partisan". Nobody likes to be labeled with those words!

And so it goes with "immigration reform". Republicans MUST make an amnesty deal today, in exchange for "tightening the boarders tomorrow" ... "for the innocent children". As Sowell points out, billions of others of which are sadly born outside of the US as well, "through no fault of their own". They however are less likely to grow up to be Democrats than the ones in Mexico, so the "caring" of the Democrat party is not evident for them.

This is not new! Democrats are the party of "democracy", better stated as MOB RULE! They proudly presided over slavery for 100 years because it was a political winner. Then pivoted to Jim Crow, for another hundred for the same reason. Then they shifted to being "the party of the little guy", buying votes by transferring money from the pockets of the more successful to the pockets of the less successful and taking their cut.

Their currency is Political Power and bad checks written on the bank accounts of the successful. They are the party of the TAKERS or in the case of FICA, the "future taker wanna bees".  Their morals consist of "win baby, win", because it is all a zero sum game to them based on government power. Being in power in national hell is infinitely superior to being on the back bench in a successful growing, thriving nation for them. They have no "rule of law" other than what they make up in the moment which they expect to use for political advantage.

We are fast running out of MAKERS, and RINOs are not the party of makers anyway. Makers need to build things, compete, produce, defend, make the reality based hard decisions. They are "the goose that lays the golden eggs", but the Takers have pretty much started hacking away at the magic egg laying capability of the makers, and that part of our once proud system is either close to gone or gone.

Why do great nations decline and die? Because they turn from their ultimate Maker (God) and his Law, then promptly turn against their earthy Makers and consume themselves.

'via Blog this'

Worshiping Entropy

Capitalism vs. Democracy - NYTimes.com:

As BO calls "inequality" the "defining problem of our time", and a new book has lefties nearly panting about the evils of "Capitalism", it seems time to take our eyes off our navels and glance around at a bit larger picture.

There are two primary forces in the universe. First -- creation, innovation, order, light, energy, LIFE, growth, existence, truth, purpose, Love. We Christians (and many others) give these the ultimate name of GOD.

The other primary force is called destruction, stasis, chaos, darkness, entropy, DEATH, decline, oblivion, lies, meaninglessness, hatred. The lord of these is sometimes known as "Satan".

Science has named these the 2nd law of thermodynamics - "the entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium—the state of maximum entropy."

Humans always worship. For thousands of years we had "many gods", St Augustine in City of God spends a LONG time discussing the vast number of Roman and Greek Gods, and why only worshiping one God in through the person of Christ Jesus is far superior. "City of God" is one of the foundational works of Western Civilization, but today few even know of it. We have lost our moorings, but our basic nature is unchanged.

We DO "worship", but we currently often call it something else "belief, political ideology, opinion, science, etc".

Those that worship the first force believe that SOMETHING (God to me, maybe "the great random accident to you") defied "the not" and not only set in motion, but in some way sustains growth of which LIFE is just one aspect. GOD is the ultimate inequality, being supremely unequal to all else, but his power engenders infinite diversity of energy, intelligence, types, classes, and dimensions so great that the human mind can't approach imagining it all.

However, if you worship entropy, actual diversity with a difference is one of your most horrible enemies. You believe in a return to some sort of eternal sameness. Nullification, the end, death, meaninglessness become your goals. You strive to turn truth and light to "50" or ideally THOUSANDS of shades of gray, eventually arriving at total darkness. Very "fair", and very "peaceful", just like a tomb should be.

At the point of maximum entropy, all is equal, all is undifferentiated, all is at "peace". A very simple and easy to understand peace of negation,  as opposed to Gods Peace "the peace that passes all understanding", the peace of eternal life, light and bliss.

Democracy itself is a mechanism and an idea that says "everyone is the same", so it is therefore nihilistic in nature. Our nation was founded as a Democratic Republic in an attempt to prevent the corrosive effects of pure democracy, but like all corrosives, we continue to slide to "pure democracy" or "mob rule", one of the worst of the tyrannies.

Capitalism is much more like gravity than it is like democracy. Newton didn't invent gravity, he "discovered" it or more exactly, explained how it operates. Likewise, Adam Smith didn't invent capitalism, he just told us some things about how it works. Essentially, it is just competition -- which will go on by one means or another no matter what sort of system one attempts to set up. Set up a socialist system and the unions and other special interests compete to gain larger portions of the economic pie by the mechanisms of socialism.

Capitalism ... as in people exchanging goods and services in a competitive way to try to "get ahead" is going to go on. It can be somewhat "controlled", but not to the extent that democracy can. Democracy can be entirely cancelled, and has been many times in history ... though typically not by capitalism.

What is REALLY interesting in the article is the chart. I have no idea if it is factual or fanciful, but it gives one pause. For 1800 years capital returns 4.5-5%, then it's return plummets to 1% by 1913, then slowly starts to rise back to it's historic mean. Productivity meanwhile rises at an increasing rate for 1800 years, then flattens at the same time capital falls, then jumps for a mere 50ish years until being projected to fall back to 1820 levels by 2050.

Capitalism didn't show up in 1820, but the rise of increasingly bureaucratic governments, fiat currency, unions and other methods for large groups of people to increasingly vote themselves benefits from those more powerful governments did show up and grow on roughly that timetable.

So "who's zoomin who?"  Have we seen a giant increase in the power of "capitalists" in the past 100 years? or of large bureaucratic state governments, fiat currency, taxation, regulation and massive public debt?


'via Blog this'

The Bourne Equilibrium! (Must Read)

Bret Stephens: Kurt Vonnegut's State of the Union - WSJ.com:



I'm completely converted. Equality of result is for me!



Don't put it off, read it right now and you can be free as well!



and then, if you REALLY want to live dangerously, read this http://www.tnellen.com/westside/harrison.pdf !



'via Blog this'

Immanentizing the Eschaton

You Stay Classy, Paul Krugman - Ricochet.com:

I often run into things that make me feel like a complete and total idiot for having not been aware of them. At one time NRO put out T-SHIRTS! with the title phrase on them, and yet up until 10 min ago, I had never heard of it! As a Christian and a Conservative, I need to put on the dunce cap and sit in the corner for a few hours!

Eschaton - The final Christian heavenly state. From "The New Science of Politics", yet ANOTHER book that I had never even heard of, so I am now VERY behind on my reading again! This is nearly as horrible a situation as when I am yet again required to get the Ranger out and plow snow! ;-)

Nice short little article covering a recent emanation from the eminent and no doubt highly caring "economist" (and former Enron adviser) Paul Krugman. I don't like to cover a lot about Krugman because I agree with this NRO article that he intellectually died sometime around the point at where he took $50K from Enron, wrote glowingly about them, and then promptly wrote columns excoriating them, the W administration relative to them, AND "their advisers" while while conveniently forgetting he was on that list himself!

When you find it necessary to attack a person going in for their 4th round of cancer treatment on any topic, let alone their statement relative to losing their oncologist, people (as opposed to leftist Golems) tend to just say "I'll pick other battles").

But not Paul ... let me charge in and attack the cancer patient Krugman. Yes, "I'll break you in half like a boy" is bad behavior for a back benching congressmen, akin to the usual output of George Clooney, or Matt Damon, or Alec Baldwin, or ... well, you get the picture, While we are on the topic, if there is breaking to be done, it seems Justin Bieber might be a decent place to start ... but I digress.

But one might expect a higher standard from the NYT. How pray tell  do they still have a guy that is this crass and out of touch writing a regular column for them? It is a testament to the selective reporting of what passes as American "journalism" that this goes on! In this case, I don't even care one whit what the actual facts of the Coburn case. I PERSONALLY know of one person that lost their coverage under BOcare (because it "wasn't good enough), and their wife had a stroke in the fall. So now their new coverage is over $10K more than their old, PLUS it has close to a $10K deductible!!!

But now I better understand why ... if you can Immanentize the Eschaton (in the LEFT sense of "end times"),  you get Luciferian dispensation!

'via Blog this'