Analytics

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Miscellany: 8/06/14

Quote of the Day
Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day

Via Libertarian Republic
Tweet of the Day
Chart of the Day: Government Bureaucrats Singing 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me'

Via Cato Institute

Via Cato Institute
My Favorite Cat Story

My reader stats are down over the past week, and in a desperate attempt to revive them, I'm telling a personal cat anecdote (doesn't everyone?) Now to set this up: my newlywed niece has a 7-year-old stepson. She recently read an anecdotal column about some of the things moms run into raising little boys. The context for this personal story is that my Dad was stationed at a Florida air base; I was the oldest of 5 (plus my baby brother was born there), in elementary school, and we had a female white Siamese cat.
My mom remembers ever fondly how I let in the cat after she was sprayed by a skunk...
Oh, your mom probably remembers, too; ask her. I think the folks remember all too well because they had to scrub her down, and I don't think the cat wanted a bath. I was typically the first one up, like 6AM on Saturday mornings and would ask permission to watch Saturday morning cartoons. I'm not sure why the cat was out. There was a strip of forest near our house/duplex on base, and apparently it had some wildlife. So I heard the cat meow to be let in; I didn't think of sniffing her first. But it didn't take long for the smell to fill the house. I'm sure the folks thought, what the hell... I think Mom was pissed, like how could you let her in the house smelling like that? I didn't smell it until after she got in. If you never smelled it before, it is really overpowering... 
Image of the Day



Via Libertarian Catholic
Celebrating the Anniversary of the First Atom Bomb in War?

I have at least one or 2 members of my family tree whom served in WWII, one of whom passed away a few months back, I'm an Air Force brat; I was in the military and got my honorable discharge. I took standard history courses and never really questioned the official story, including the talking point that the two atomic bombs saved untold thousands of US casualties necessary to mount an invasion of Japan. My Dad has always had an interest in reading or watching all he could find on WWII; Brokaw called that generation of warriors the "greatest generation".

I wouldn't say that that there was a definitive revisionist piece that flipped my perspective; but I knew enough about Japan to realize the island has few natural resources; it was clear that tide had started to turn against Japan starting with the Battle of Midway. Japan started losing key carriers, planes, and personnel that were almost impossible to replenish. By late 1944, American bombing runs on Japan had started. And here's one telling incident:
LeMay decided to try the "area bombing" that had been shunned by the U.S. in Europe. And for maximum affect he decided to use incendiary bombs. LeMay believed that two-thirds of Japan's industry was dispersed in homes and small shops, with no more than thirty employees. Blanket bombing in cities across Japan, he reasoned, would destroy Japanese industry. Civilians would be slaughtered in great numbers, but the war would be shortened. LeMay said that it made no difference how you slay the enemy. And, he said, "To worry about the morality of what we are doing – nuts."
There was the related bombing of Dresden, Germany; there were the firestorms that led civilians to collapse to the ground, unable to breathe, their corpses consumed in flames. War is hell; the ends justify the means. As I whiteboxed how FDR was looking for some pretext to justify entry into war, had imposed economic sanctions on Japan, how we had intercepted Japanese messages suggesting a preemptive attack on US forces, my doubts grew, not so much in a conspiracy theory; Robert Higgs pens a compelling case here.

When a libertarian source I've used put up a piece basically celebrating the anniversary of the first atom bomb, referencing a Forbes post reinforcing the rationalization for dropping the bomb, I snapped. It's not that I'm sympathetic to the Axis side in any way, but Russia was about to join in the assault on Japan; the economy was in the stage of collapse, raw materials were in short supply and the Allies had a blockade, air supremacy. When I read how by early Feb. 1945, FDR knew from MacArthur about Japan's discussion of surrender, I snapped. Here's a relevant excerpt about MacArthur's feeling about the bomb:
On the 40th Anniversary of the bombing former President Richard M. Nixon reported that: [General Douglas] MacArthur once spoke to me very eloquently about it, pacing the floor of his apartment in the Waldorf. He thought it a tragedy that the Bomb was ever exploded. MacArthur believed that the same restrictions ought to apply to atomic weapons as to conventional weapons, that the military objective should always be limited damage to noncombatants. . . . MacArthur, you see, was a soldier. He believed in using force only against military targets, and that is why the nuclear thing turned him off. . . . (See p. 352, Chapter 28)
Facebook Corner

(Citizens Against Government Waste). A Congressional letter signed by 47 government oversight officials claim that the Justice Department, the Peace Corps, and the Chemical Safety Board all hindered oversight efforts by limiting and restricting their access to records during investigations. The inspectors general say such hindrances caused serious challenges to their ability to conduct their work thoroughly, independently, and in a timely manner.
What actions should be taken against federal agencies who increasingly obstruct oversight investigations? SHARE your thoughts below!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/08/06/dozens-of-inspectors-general-say-federal-agencies-hindering-oversight/
One more example of lawlessness of the Obama Administration.

(IPI). From the Chicago Tribune: "Amid the economic doldrums of recent times, the fast-food industry has been one of the biggest job creators. So far this year, it has added employment at a 4% rate, which stands to make this the third straight year at that pace. If only the entire economy had done so well.
But no good deed goes unpunished."
This is a corrupt crony unionist attack on small businesses. These are not McDonald's employees; they are franchise employees. If this injustice is not overturned by the courts, basically rewriting franchise law, it will have an adverse effect on franchisees. One thing is for sure: it will not help fast food workers or those who seek work in the industry. There already is available technology to streamline the need for lower-wage employees, e.g., self-ordering kiosks and Momentum Machines.
Yeah, but let's not forget that over 50% of full-time employees of Wal-Mart and McD's are eligible for food stamps and Medicaid. So, the taxapyers are really picking up the cost of all those cheap burgers.
No, this troll is simply pointing out the social welfare net needs to be eliminated. This is an economically illiterate talking point; the retard ignores the fact that many, if not most of these workers are not heads of household, and in any event, they would be otherwise unemployed with social welfare benefits.
We need to raise the wage so we can get these workers off food stamps. Until then they are just a burden. And the fast food company is still the big winner.
Economically illiterate troll! No, the market determines the rate of compensation, which in part reflects skill levels. The fast food industry is a lower-margin business, especially at the franchise level.
(separately)
Minimum wages are a corrupt implicit tax on business above the market-clearing wage. It is really corrupt crony unions' attempts to limit higher-wage competition. They are trying to manipulate the labor pool to artificially raise their own wages.

(Libertarian Republic). Happy Anniversary! - The Nuking Of Japan Was Tactically And Morally Justified http://onforb.es/1vcrVyS
This has been debunked. "Walter Trohan, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune with impeccable credentials for integrity and accuracy, reported that two days before President Roosevelt left for the Yalta conference with Churchill and Stalin in early February 1945, he was shown a forty-page memorandum drafted by General MacArthur outlining a Japanese offer for surrender almost identical with the terms subsequently concluded by his successor, President Truman. The single difference was the Japanese insistence on retention of the emperor, which was not acceptable to the American strategists at the time, though it was ultimately allowed in the final peace terms."

 So tell me again, why was Truman morally justified killing mostly civilians? No self-respecting libertarian believes the Statist whitewash...

 http://www.hnn.us/article/129964
(response to a reply)
What's insensitive? The facts? Look at what happened in Dresden, Tokyo and other cities full of civilians. What American cities did the Axis Powers bomb? I'm not whitewashing Axis atrocities.  But we need to see the horror of war on both sides.

 "Yet as it so happens historical facts make the case for dropping the bombs in 1945 even weaker. For one thing, the supposed half-million or so American lives saved are a post-war fabrication. The government’s estimates before the bombings indicated that fewer than 50,000 Americans might die in an invasion. Second, the virtually unprecedented demand for unconditional surrender prolonged the war. Earlier in the year, the Japanese demonstrated a willingness to surrender but they did not want to give up their emperor. In the end, the U.S. let them keep their emperor anyway. Third, many of America’s top brass condemned the atomic bombings, including Admiral William Leahy, General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur, and many others. Fourth, in 1946 the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey determined the atomic bombings were basically extraneous to winning the war. The Japanese were already defeated, blockaded, starving, and neutralized." 

 http://blog.independent.org/.../terrorism-by-any.../

(Drudge Report). TEXAS PLANS OWN 'BORDER PATROL'...
This is unambiguously unconstitutional. The defense of the nation's borders is a federal issue.

(IPI). Today, 85% of all private-sector workers are covered by 401(k)s. But as it turns out, there are still some companies that struggle with leftover pension plans – and they want that risk off their books
Not real retirement. It is actually Risky Retirement.
Has this clueless progressive troll taken over while the old one is on vacation? Now tell me, troll, how has gambling on a bunch of corrupt Dem political whores paid off for you? The state bonds are among the lowest rated in the country. Average pension payouts are rising, the Baby Boomer tsunami hasn't hit full force yet, high taxes are resulting in many businesses and high-worth individuals leaving the state. What happens when the only people remaining in Illinois are fellow parasites?
(separate comment)
I want to briefly address the financial idiocy of the troll. The stock market correction started in 2000 and both the stock market crash and the 2007 recession had their starts in bad monetary policy that had nothing to do with Bush's fiscal policies. If you lost 40-50%, it's because you didn't diversify your assets. When Dems forced "investing" in past federal budget deficits, you get nothing but an IOU that must be later sold off as publicly-held debt (unless the feds run a surplus: yeah, right). You can easily assemble a diversified ETF strategy (say, using Vanguard's low-fee funds) that is safer and outperforms most actively-managed diversified mutual funds. (This has been a hot topic on Mark Perry's Carpe Diem blog.)

One of the problems we've seen since the Bush/Obama recession is that many retirement investors have sought low-income issues like bond funds yielding little; I and others have done better; my retirement accounts over the last couple of months are at all-time highs--without a penny of employer matching or vesting. Bonds are a risk I wouldn't take in this market--why? Because if and when interest rates take off, with or without the Fed, bond prices will drop wiping out the pitifully low interest income you get. But, you know,if I screw up my investments, it's on me. When the government fucks up entitlements, you're screwed. And, unlike you, when a bureaucrat screws up, he doesn't have skin in the game; it's what we call tragedy of the commons.

(IPI). According to the Daily Herald, "The average pension for a retired public employee in Illinois is quickly approaching the average salary of those still working."
Roger said it best....22 years of Republican governors under funding the pensions promised to avoid raising taxes is the problem. The workers did there part. The state failed. Nice slant on the wages....very few will be getting a higher pension than there wage. That would be true for the highest officials. The thing is the wage was not that high to begin with. Not too many state workers living in gated communities. Stop Lying.
Is this a competition to see how many clueless parasitic crony unionist trolls can level their self-serving garbage in one thread? FACT: Since 1992, only in 1995-6 was the Illinois legislature controlled by the Republicans. Effectively, only one party has had the power and responsibility for shoring up the pension system--the same political whores whom made corrupt bargains with the unions to stay in power and the same ones whom scheduled pension holidays. NO BAILOUTS FOR THE CORRUPT UNIONS!

The Case for Catholic Libertarianism



More Marriage Proposals







Did you notice he's teary as she accepts?



Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Billy Joel, "Goodnight Saigon"



Give Him Hell, Justin!
You [primary opponent Brian Ellis] owe my family and this community an apology for your disgusting, despicable smear campaign. You had the audacity to try and call me today after running a campaign that was called the nastiest in the country. I ran for office to stop people like you.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,