Sunday, May 31, 2009

On...Great Slogans


Shock and Awe Statism

Coined by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and reiterated in George Will's Sunday column, Shock and Awe Statism is a great phrase and hopefully has some legs.

Check out Will's column HERE. It is very interesting regarding the status of former GM CEO Rick Wagoner as well as the Indiana teachers and police pension funds. Looks like those two groups were part of the "speculators" Obama smeared.

Also The Economist lays out the pitfalls that could be lying in wait as the POTUS gets a little too zealous in his robust statism.

Friday, May 29, 2009

On...Worry

Plenty of stuff to pick from but...

Shouldn't we all be a tad worried about this number?

$68.3 TRILLION

I mean, wow. We are amazingly nonchalant about all this debt.

AND we want to add to this pile.

As much as people lambasted Bush for a spending spree (and rightly so) we elected a guy and a Congress who are going to make Bush look like a small time crook compared to the heist that's coming.

On...North Korea, Ya Gotta Love These Guys

56 year hiatus of the Forgotten War May be Over

Probably not, but I love the North Koreans. They are so sad and lonely. They are like the fat fifth-grader in the corner of the room desperate for attention. He breaks pencils and flicks them when the teacher steps out of the room. He farts and laughs like a hyena. He picks fights with second-graders and hides when eighth-graders stroll by. As long as he's sane there is nothing to fear, but if he's mad, well then get ready for a big mess. Their grand leader is mad, but hopefully everyone around him knows what consequences lurk around the corner.

The USA must protect South Korea and Japan, but we don't want a war. We have been playing a nice balancing act in the Pacific since 1945. We need to keep it that way. North Korea with nuclear weapons is a reality. That's a done deal, but threatening neighbors can not be allowed. And most importantly selling any such nuclear or missile technology cannot happen. If so we need to sink every ship out of North Korea. We need to let China know they need to get ahold of their leash.

Here's a bunch of ARTICLES on this subject.

Dan Blumenthal and Robert Kagan from WSJ: What to do About North Korea

David Sanger from NYTimes: Tested Early, Obama Has Few Options

Fred Kaplan from Slate.com: First, Take A Deep Breath

Robert Kaplan from Atlantic: North Korea, the Next Iraq?

Christian Science Monitor: Why Obama Can't be Soft with (You know who)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

On...GM, The Future, and Michigan's Great Depression

I would say this article [Big Three Confront Rough Road] on the future of the Auto Industry by the Detroit News is a must read, especially for those who live in Michigan. The authors ask a lot of important questions that I hope the folks in DC are asking themselves and trying to get the answers to. Unfortunately, I think they are ignoring too many of them.

Addition:

Richard A. Posner in Atlantic Monthly has another fine blog piece on GM and Government Take Over. You can find it HERE

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

On...Getting Fired Up

Want to know what really fires up a Conservative?

Read this essay by Andrew Ferguson in the Weekly Standard. By the time you get to the end a conservative will be shaking his/her head and pacing around the room or stomping their feet or putting a fist through a wall. It boils the blood. But whatta ya goin' to do?




Then you think that Newsweek is dying, The New York Times will get bailed out or die, and no one watches CBS news anymore. Ah, the market works.

Oh, yeah and Helen Thomas will eventually kick the bucket. By the way, doesn't she (and I use she lightly) look like Emperor Palpatine in a bad wig?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

On...I'm A Believer

Seeing the Light

Has David Brooks finally seen the light? Or has he merely opened the curtains a smudge? Now the light I speak of is not *THOCATCOH. I think he started to spray a bit of that on himself last November, but I think the bottle is now used up. I can't believe he's really abandoned his Centrist Eden, but I do believe he knows no matter how he talks it up Obama is not a centrist outside of teleprompter speeches. He's a Chicago-style socialist with a smile. That or he's a man who believes in the hope of fairytales. [See North Korea/Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran/Israel for deeping Foreign Policy ogres.]

Brooks realizes that if all these programs go through and they areonly half as disastrous as they appear to be, he will never see the centrist changes he longs for be a reality.

At least now he can hammer away like Krauthammer. Too bad they don't reach more of the silent (or deaf) majority.

* The Hope Of Change And The Change of Hope

Thursday, May 21, 2009

ON...What Do California and Iceland Have in Common?

Well, we're about to find out.

Probably. Maybe. Unless Superman, I mean our POTUS, comes to save the day. But not even Bill Maher believes Superman can help. And by save the day I mean takes over California just like he's annexed (Or Sudentenland-ed) the auto industry, the banks, and anything else he must own, possess, or fix under his rules. I still find it hard to believe this is the change people wanted. Close Guantanamo! Close Guantanamo! But the Senate votes 90-6 to keep it open. I know Bush was growing like mold on everything, but really, this is all becoming a joke.

California and its multi-decade lunancy is finally paying off. Call me a Mid-Westerner but they got what's coming. To Quote HL Mencken "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." That's California 2009.

Here are a few fun articles floating around out there. Hopefully, you have the time this Memorial Day Weekend to read a few and spread the debate. And find time to enjoy friends and family and remember all those Americans who paid the ultimate price for our Golden Age.

ATLANTIC BLOG Megan MacArdle On...Is California Too big to Fail.
Real funny piece and I think pretty realistic.

GEORGE WILL On...The Coming California Bailout
Will disagrees with MacArdle on California actually getting bailed out.

DAVID HARSAYNI On...Coming to Your Garage: Le Car
A really hilarious farce on what our auto-unindustry has becoming, racketeering and all.

And on a further note, I usually can't stand Bill Maher. I can't listen to him. But his article post above was actually really good and I think on target.

Final Note on my 33rd Birthday:
I'm not even mad anymore about the election and all the ensuing nonsense. It's all turned into a wonderful dystopian comedy--think Terry Gilliam's Brazil or Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. You can't write all this stuff. Not even Tom Wolfe could. This is so amazing and so many people don't even know it's happening. I'll do my best to keep you informed on the theater (or farce) that is our America.

I feel like HL Mencken was never more right when he wrote, "Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."

On...Living in Disney Land

This is so fitting.

I doubt this bill by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) has a chance to become law, but it is so fitting when it comes to 2 things: 1) parochalism and 2) Liberal Fantasy. And there is no better place for this politician to have an A-HA! moment. The most magical place on earth. MAGICAL as in it does not and will not exist.

SEE ARTICLE HERE

The idea that all Americans can be kings is so Soft America that I could scream if I wasn't too busy laughing. Wonderful good intentions, that defines the Democrats (and too many W Republicans). Wouldn't paid vacation, manditory by the Federal Government be fantastic? Of course it would. Why do we have to really try at all? But where does it end? Why can't an owner (property rights anyone?) make their own decisions and their workers can work there or not? Has anyone checked out France's labor-policies lately? 30 days paid vacation a year? What are they all? Teachers? (Ah, sweet irony) I know we are not France yet but give it time. Give it time.

And I love the "It will stimulate the economy" bit everyone is using these days. It is so self-serving.

I love this country. Everything that made this nation the greatest in the world is being undermined by the Good Intention Brigade who always ignore the Cult of Unintended Consequences.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

From...Why Government Can't Run a Business

I've linked a new editorial from John Steele Gordon, a very keen economic historian who've I featured here before. He gives a very tight rundown on why Government and Business operations always fail in the long run. I would love to revisit this piece say ten or twenty years from now and see how GM or Chrysler are doing. It is amazing how people are so afraid of things doing what they are designed to do (The Market that is). His point about politicians & headlines is very strong. "We must do something!" "They want to do nothing!" "How dare they!"

WHY GOVERNMENT CAN'T RUN A BUSINESS

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

On...Waffle House

Sorry, not really about that famed greasy-spoon

In fairness here is a positive clip from Jon Stewart. Yes, he is still hitting the torture topic for "laughs" but he's doing it in the manner he and his show is built for. Not intellectual discussion but by playing clips showing politicians caught in lies and nonsense. In this case House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her major hedging on when she knew about torture.

Also there's a shout out to Chuck (the NBC show)

LINK

Monday, May 11, 2009

On...The Simpsons & Ayn Rand


Mediocrity Rules!

Sunday's The Simpsons was a four segment episode about women in history. The first was Queen Elizabeth, which was really funny. Snow White and Lady MacBeth had their moments. The fourth was a nod (and a poke) at Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. It's called "Mediocrity Rules" and features Jodie Foster. A minute clip is here from HULU.COM

The whole episode can be view HERE

Enjoy

Can you believe The Simpsons has been on for 20 years!!

Also, new Simpsons stamps are coming out too.

On...Republican Reform

The New Right

Brand-names are very useful. The GOP is far from ruined as many wishful thinking wags would like to suggest. Diminished under Bush/Cheney? No doubt. In hibernation? Yes. In need of new blood and new vision? Definitely.

Included here are 3 essays all dealing with this theme.
Hopefully the GOP can be molded along these lines.

And more importantly, Dick Cheney can shut up and go back to Wyoming. When did he get so talkative? Even when he's right about something it seems dirty and cold.

Time to revist my old doctrine of convervative virtues. On...Principles. Always good for a refresher.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

ON...Stuff in General

What a world

I've been a bit busy lately preparing my students for the big AP US History test tomorrow so I haven't had much time to post. Here are a bunch of articles that I thought interesting the last day or so.

The first is a follow up of my BLOG on Jon Stewart. It's nice to see that he commented later on his mistake. See HERE

The second is from Slate in regards to The Case for Colorblindness

The third is a trio about the foolishness of the UAW/GOV take over of dying Chrysler from The Economist, George Will, and Michael Barone. All sound minds.

The Economist: Mismanaging the Collapse
Sunbeams from Cucumbers by G Will
White House puts UAW before Property Rights by M Barone

The fourth is by Newsweek's David Ignatius on The Baby Boomers, The Whining Will get Louder (My Title) Good Stuff.

The Fifth is by Victor Davis Hanson on our modern obsession with Having it Both Ways.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

RIP: Jack Kemp


RIP Jack Kemp

I still have my Dole/Kemp Poster somewhere in the basement. Ah, the naivety of youth.

OBITUARY
From Richard Brookhiser
Kemp's VP Acceptance Speech

Saturday, May 2, 2009

On...The Hangover

As summer comedies go this one looks like a real winner.

The Hangover Trailer Can be Viewed Here.

Between the 2 trailers I laughed outloud real hard.

From...Jonah Goldberg, Ned Flanders, McCain, and Others


Just a collection of articles that I wanted to share.

Jonah Goldberg continues the argument about Obama's comments that Great Britain and Churchhill didn't torture Nazis during WW2

Reuters UK discusses the growing power of the POTUS and how Obama is loving every minute of it. Funny how when W expanded power he was a tyrannt and when Obama does it he's promising hope. Such delightful hypocrisy.

God is back: How Ned Flanders won the evangelical crusade


and

McCain's Moment