It is a far, far better thing that I do,
than anything I have ever done;
it is a far, far, better rest that I go to,
than I have ever known.
Charles Dickens
Robert Bork: RIP
Familiar readers know that Bork has a place in my own political odessey. I had originally registered as a Democrat in college (I was a teenage graduate). How ironic I stood for Ted Kennedy at my 1980 Houston precinct caucus and he would be the reason for my leaving the Democrats over historically unprecedented smear/politicization of easily the most brilliant jurist nominated in my lifetime,which I see as the genesis of today's bitterly partisan politics. Granted, it was inevitable; I had transitioned to a more conservative standpoint as I learned more (ideology-free) business and economics during the early 1980's. Conservative Dems essentially had been marginalized out of power by the social liberals by the late 1980's, and others like Phil Gramm started their own migrations. Those who stayed (like Lloyd Bentsen) drifted towards the center.
And a Great Senior Associate
Time Names Obama Person of the Year
for the Second Time: Thumbs DOWN!
Talk about the mainstream media losing touch with reality:
[The Obama effect] could be measured — in wars stopped and started; industries saved, restructured or reregulated; tax cuts extended; debt levels inflated; terrorists killed; the health-insurance system reimagined; and gay service members who could walk in uniform with their partnersWars were not stopped: Obama more than doubled Bush's Afghanistan fatality count, radically expanded drone attacks, and withdrew from Iraq on Bush's schedule (having failed to negotiate a residual force). Industries were not saved: Ford did not go bankrupt and neither did foreign auto plants operating in the US. UBL may be dead, but the Benghazi attack showed the terrorist threat is intact and perhaps is being exacerbated by collateral damage from drone attacks. Government meddling in health care has only resulted in higher costs and has mucked up hiring. Gays have always worked in the service in a low-key manner.
What we've seen over the past 4 years is the publicly held debt has more than doubled, we received our debt downgrade, we have the lowest labor force participation rate in decades, unsustainable spending, politics is more divisive than ever....
The readership voted for the new North Korean leader. At least Obama trumps him.
I will publish my annual Man of the Year and JOTY as one-off posts next week. HINT: Obama is not my Man of the Year.
Spot On!
I'm starting a new aperiodic feature of well-written, colorful analytic quotes. The first installment comes from an interview of Doug Casey, an investor/libertarian (my edits):
What about the fiscal cliff?
Well, of course, fiscal cliff is really a misnomer. It's not the US economy that's facing this alleged cliff; it's the US government. The higher taxes would suck more capital out of the productive economy and divert it to the government – that's very bad. And lower government spending would help unravel distortions and misallocations of capital that spending was causing – which is good. In the process, some people would have to find new jobs, and some businesses dealing with government handouts would go bust. Painful, but necessary, and we need to see lots more of both.The only way to revitalize the US economy is a vast reduction in taxes and a vast reduction in government spending. Instead, these idiots are arguing over how much to raise taxes and how little they can cut spending. They'll just try to put off judgment day once again. They'll do it by selling hundreds of billions more in debt to the Federal Reserve – they'll have to because the Chinese and Japanese aren't buying anymore. The problem is the US dollar, which has no intrinsic value and is backed by nothing but confidence. They want to get rid of what they have. Of course it will be a disaster.
The economy would be just fine if the government disappeared. The economy grows when people produce more than they consume, and save the difference. They then have capital to put into new ventures, create new jobs, develop new technologies, and so forth.What do you really think of American politicians?
But the average American, who is completely ignorant of economics, thinks the government is a magic cornucopia. As proof of that statement, I offer the fact that Obama is president, Romney was offered as an alternative, and dingbats like Boehner, Pelosi, and Ried control the Congress..Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary?
Thumbs UP!
Chuck Hagel is a former 2-term GOP senator from Nehraska, with a variation of libertarian conservative views, particularly a forceful critique of Bush foreign policy, particularly Itaq.
Christopher A. Preble/CATO, Guest Editorial
Political Humor
A 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck, once owned by President George W. Bush, is going up for auction in a couple of weeks. All the proceeds will go to military families. President Obama should buy this truck because when something goes wrong he can blame it on Bush. - Jay Leno
[The problem is that Obama will need to drive that truck out of the ditch.]
Yesterday, President Obama and John Boehner talked about the fiscal cliff for 45 minutes, but the White House will not release a transcript of their conversation. However, they did offer to have Joe Biden re-enact it with puppets. - Jimmy Fallon
[They both agreed fiscal cliffs are dangerous and the other side is at fault.]
Musical Interlude: Christmas Retrospective
Tchaikovsky, Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy
