Dig the well before you are thirsty.
Chinese proverb
Liberty Quote of the Day
As many have warned in the past, freedom is unlikely to be lost all at once and openly. It is far more likely to be eroded away, bit by bit, amid glittering promises and expressions of noble ideals.
Thomas Sowell
Trayvon Martin Death:
George Zimmerman Charged With Murder
in the Second Degree
I was initially very sympathetic to the cause of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenage boy of color whom was returning to a parent's significant other's home after buying some snacks at a local convenience store when he was gunned down by an aggressive neighbor watch coordinator George Zimmerman, whom reportedly had been advised by the dispatcher to stand down. We later heard Zimmerman's side of the story: at some point he had lost sight of Martin and had gotten out of his car (allegedly to get a better look at the street sign for the dispatcher), when Martin ambushed and repeatedly beat him, bashing his head against the ground or sidewalk. At some point, there was a struggle for Zimmerman's weapon, and Zimmerman maintains that he shot Martin in self-defense.
At that point, several things have happened to modify my perspective, especially a lynch-mob mentality and death threats against Zimmerman. The media have given a largely one-sided account. For example, I've read that the police tended to Zimmerman's head wound(s) before arriving at the station, but most news accounts have simply reported in the context of an alleged conflict that Zimmerman arrived at the police station without any appearance of bleeding (other than one policeman appearing to glance at the back of Zimmerman's head). The progressive web media are in full attack mode trying to undermine Zimmerman's credibility: they have raised allegations of violent incidents in Zimmerman's past and reported that the funeral director had claimed that Trayvon's body showed no obvious signs of a fight, e.g., bruising of the knuckles. (It's a muddled picture; the progressives seem to be trying to be simultaneously denying an altercation took place, but claiming if it did, it was the fault of an aggressive Zimmerman picking a fight with the much taller teen.)
The special prosecutor is choosing to charge Zimmerman second-degree murder, an intermediate charge between first-degree/premeditated murder, which manifestly doesn't apply, and manslaughter. As the cited article mentions, second degree murder usually involves a fight and related subsequent death. Many legal experts think there must be some compelling evidence we don't know about because of the higher burden requirements of the medium charge.
I believe that it's going to be difficult to get a conviction, based on what I've heard to date. George Zimmerman is only of average height, while Trayvon was 6'3" and 180 pounds. We know Trayvon had a cellphone with him and knew that he was being followed but didn't seem threatened. We have some eyewitness report of a struggle between two men; it's difficult to believe that Zimmerman would have initiated or prevailed in a fight with a much taller, healthy weight range teen. If Zimmerman's intent was to kill the teen, why would he have tipped off the police or not shot him earlier?
I agree that Zimmerman should have ceased and desisted following Martin. I agree that Martin's death was a tragedy. But so far, based on what what I've heard from both sides so far, it's hard to believe that Zimmerman will be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The $4B Question: Oil Subsidies (Tax Breaks)?
There are few things that disgust me more than the blatant hypocrisy of Barack Obama when it comes to energy subsidies. His energy "policy" is to tax oil companies to give subsidies to alternative energy. From my standpoint? DEAD ON ARRIVAL. Not a chance.
Here is a guy whom has the audacity to run consecutive trillion dollar deficits (for a fourth consecutive year) but goes around saying the one things we can't afford are $4B in oil company subsidies and another $70B in Bush-era marginal tax rates for top income earners. I want to eliminate tax distortions and energy subsidies (e.g., for ethanol producers), period.
Scott McNally has a typical conservative response (I'm using my terms, not Scott's):
- the progressives are knowing demagogues on this issue because they are targeting Big Oil, but they know the breaks really go to smaller, independent energy companies
- these are deductions, not subsidies
- the two types of deductions, domestic manufacturing and percentage depletion, are used by other industries and in the context of other natural resources (e.g., mining) respectively. You have to be consistent: either maintain or eliminate the deduction across and within industries
My response? McNally is making protectionist arguments in favor of retaining the two types of deductions, which I, as a free marketer, naturally reject at the outset. The real argument is lowering our unsustainable high business income tax rates, not perpetuating protectionist tax gimmicks; we need to strip the same deductions (and more) across the board. But I want to go further and say that as far as I'm concerned, until the Democrats are intellectually honest and likewise cut out the tax breaks for their favored special interests (like alternative energy companies), this hypocrisy will go nowhere.
Walter Williams, "Let's Blame Speculators": Thumbs UP!
From Genesis 41 (NIV, my edits):
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.”
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, seven years of famine will follow them...The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt.”
So Pharaoh put [Joseph] in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.No doubt Joseph (son of Jacob) himself would find himself being called to testify before the Senate
In the commodities market, a critical mass of speculative transactions provide useful liquidity and early information about expected supply/demand. Let us recall there are two sides to every transaction; a commodity is like any other product--if the price is high, alternative higher-costing supplies become feasible, stored or recycled commodities are brought to market, substitute, cheaper commodities may be purchased instead, etc. The seller is convinced that the risks of a loss from current prices outweigh the benefit of further price increases.
To give an alternate example, consider one of the hottest topics in investment over the past year or two: rare earths. China is currently the dominant supplier, over 90% of current global supply. Rare earths are used in a variety of high tech goods and defense technologies, electric/hybrid car production, etc. China decided to cap its exports; developed nations were in a near state of panic, and American, Canadian and other suppliers seemed to materialize overnight (even though it might take some time for some of those supplies to come online: this is very similar to Williams' refutation of the progressives' typical but fatally flawed excuse against more aggressive exploration, insisting it would take years for new supplies to hit the global market). A funny thing happened to Molycorp (52 week high 79.16, closing price today 31.68) and related suppliers.
According to Bloomberg:
Prices of rare earths, used in Boeing Co. (BA) helicopter blades and Toyota Motor Corp. hybrid cars, have tumbled 46 percent from the third quarter as makers of electric cars and wind turbines sought to reduce use of the metals and slow global economic growth sapped demand. China has curbed output and exports since 2009, when quotas were set at 50,145 tons, to conserve resources and protect the environment.
China, the world’s fastest growing major economy, exported only 14,750 tons of rare earths in the first 11 months of [2011], or 49 percent of the full-year limit, “leaving a huge amount of export quota unutilized,” the ministry said.
Political Humor
"Today in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum officially dropped out of the Republican race. Gettysburg was a great choice because he should've dropped out four score and seven years ago." - Jimmy Fallon
[Supporters from the Deep South states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi were there to mourn their war dead and to offer him the top spot on the Confederacy ticket.]
"Because Mitt Romney is a Mormon he can actually have several vice presidents. Did you know that?" - David Letterman
[Dave, you know so little about the LDS Church: they outlawed polygamy generations ago! However, the LDS Church has multiple Presidents: the President of the LDS Church, the Mission President, the Branch President, the Relief Society President,... Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich want to be Mitt's co-Presidents, not his Vice Presidents....]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Doobie Brothers, "What A Fool Believes"
