The grand essentials of happiness are:
- something to do,
- to love, and
- something to hope for.
Once Again, Readership Anomalies
I wouldn't say my weekend readerships were back to normal, but they were improved over late last week, unusually light over several weeks; unusual periods of quiesced blog activity: it is just a coincidence that I was discussing what I termed the 'war on privacy' in yesterday's post?
Incidentally, you won'r hear me lionize Manning (WikiLeaks) or Snowden (NSA). I myself have never discussed, and never would, anything of a sensitive nature about my experiences for the government or any other client or employer. (I have written anecdotes about experiences, but the only sensitive thing about those is the other party's ego, and I don't even list their names.) I have never held a secret clearance (at least as a civilian in my post-academic career). I respect confidentiality as part of professionalism. Unlike Beck, I don't see Snowden as a "hero". Do I admire whistle-blowers? I think when the government lies to the American people as in the case of the Benghazi cover-up, they are indispensable. However, there's a line between whistle-blowing and treason, and both individuals pushed it. I do think the American people have a right to know how the government is compromising their privacy, but I have reservations about the nature and extent of what was disclosed
Sunday Talk Soup
I haven't discussed Face the Nation in a while, primarily because for some time I was running into podcast download issues via iTunes. So over the weekend, I downloaded more recent episodes. There was the usual, tiresome political spin by the likes of Dan Pfeiffer and Sen. Durbin; I have zero interest in hearing the Democrats trying to excuse Hillary Clinton over her botched handling of Benghazi. Notice that Obama is trying to spin the resource denials as a matter of his Administration's spending priorities as yet another excuse to raid future taxpayer pockets for his profligate ways. The correct decision is not to staff a consulate if you are not confident in local security, not to reward Obama for his incompetent handling of the matter. The British withdrew their staff after attempts on the life of the British ambassador.
I was not happy with Bob Gates' attempts to defend the military decision to stand down in the face of the Benghazi terror attacks. It was clear from context that he was not aware of the prior year of security issues in Benghazi. The same tactical issues Gates identified also existed during the ill-advised NATO intervention during Qaddafi's overthrow, and the Benghazi attacks spanned hours.
I'm not sure why the press spent so much time covering a gay NBA player coming out of the closet. Is there a television show which has not featured at least one sympathetic gay character? But apparently Obama considered the private sex lives of pro athletes merit special Presidential attention (if there's one thing Obama knows, it's symbolism.) Meanwhile, it's the taxpayers getting screwed, and Obama isn't interested...
Finally, Schieffer had a group of politically correct climate change guests and was unduly solicitous of practical advice. Note that practical guidelines generally don't have a lot of science behind them. I'm a profound skeptic about the wisdom of related public policy. For example, Obama and Dems want to claim credit for improved fuel efficiency. Gas at over $3/gallon in a slow income growth economy provides a natural incentive for consumers to look for fuel-efficient models; also engine technology improves over time. It has little to do with cracking the policy whip on automakers. Right now, for instance, Ford is selling boatloads of trucks, not exactly fuel sippers. Do you think a policy with de facto vehicle quotas will stand if it means laying off workers? It's probably easier for companies with knowledge workers to accommodate flexible commute/remote work schedules than for workers to relocate from more affordable suburbs.
My Take on the Economy and Stock Market
Could baseball hitters not on the juice sustain 60-odd home run seasons? Of course not. Ever since Bonds improbably beat McGwire's 70 homer record, nobody has reached 60. We had pent-up demands for auto and home purchases--home ownership is at the lowest rate since 1995, as buyers waited for the market to bottom out. After a brief market correction, the stock market seemed to recover with mixed news on the job front: slightly higher than expected but under 200K additions to payrolls. It seemed to be a Goldilocks mentality for the market; maybe the Fed will keep the stock market on the juice, i.e., QE. Yet when S&P raised its outlook on T-bills to stable vs. negative outlook, no doubt due to an improving fiscal deficit, in part due to expiration of the payroll tax holiday, the restoration of Clinton class warfare tax hikes, and a limited amount of sequester cuts, the market yawned. In fact some take expanding yields on Treasuries as indicative of higher, more robust demand for economic growth. (E.g., Treasuries have to compete, say, with corporate debt.)
I'm not a doom-and-gloom person; I'm not a gold bug. But I'm seeing China in a bit of a rut, Europe and Japan are struggling, and we aren't seeing the long-term unemployed joining the workforce. The Fed has maintained ZIRP now for about 5 years; if this was a "real recovery". I once used the metaphor of trying to restart a fire; the Democrats, instead of stripping down job-killing regulations, double-downed on them with so-called healthcare and financial reform--two sectors of the economy that government has bloated to disproportionate GDP shares with undue meddling. We need to get government out of the private sector's way and allow the free market to work its magic.
Some will see this as a contrarian sign, but currently I'm more of a skeptic on the market. I think the easy money has been made, dividend plays are saturated. I don't see enough money coming into the market to propel it higher. I'm still in the market but right now (I've taken some off the table) I think we are in more of a stockpicker's market. This advice and $5 will get you a cup of joe at Starbucks; invest at your own risk.
Domestic Oil > Foreign Imported Oil For the First Time Since 1997
I don't think Mark Perry has posted this story; it seems every other day he has some blurb about the oil shale revolution.. This should help shore up our trade deficit and the dollar.
Ron Paul's Post Audit on Iraq: Thumbs UP!
We must learn the appropriate lessons from the disaster of Iraq. We cannot continue to invade countries, install puppet governments, build new nations, create centrally-planned economies, engage in social engineering, and force democracy at the barrel of a gun. The rest of the world is tired of US interventionism and the US taxpayer is tired of footing the bill for US interventionism. It is up to all of us to make it very clear to the foreign policy establishment and the powers that be that we have had enough and will no longer tolerate empire-building. We should be more confident in ourselves and stop acting like an insecure bully.Imperialism Predates and is Inconsistent with Capitalism
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez and Townhall |
Political Humor
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups Redux
Simon and Garfunkel, "The Boxer". I had a college roommate back in Austin, a Republican law student, a big CCR fan, but he also owned an album of Bob Dylan, which included a cover of "The Boxer". I don't know when Simon knew that he had made it as a singer/songwriter (3 consecutive self-penned Top 5 hits is probably enough), but when an icon of the 1960's and a gifted songwriter in his own right covers your songs, it's a huge tribute to your craftsmanship.
