Analytics

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Post #3304 Happy Blogiversary!




Quote of the Day

Life is not the way it's supposed to be. 
It's the way it is. 
The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.
Virginia Satir  

Reflection On My Blogiversary

When I started this blog 9 years ago, little did I know that it would result in a daily post (and others published on an ad hoc or periodic basis). It was basically born within the early stages of the 2008 Presidential race. Initially I postured myself as more of a political independent, although I did have a point of view, but I was never a partisan. I had disagreements with McCain and was critical of his campaign (although I didn't want "progressives" to cite me in their political arguments). I was very disappointed by Bush's second term although for the most part I sidestepped criticizing him, particularly during the economic tsunami. In part, I wasn't outspoken against TARP, because I held the government responsible for monetary policy, implicit guarantees of GSE's, and bad public policy encouraging high-risk mortgage loans. I wasn't quite as non-interventionist (I became far more critical after reading a Woodward biography of Bush (The War Within)). I could see the writing on the wall of the campaign; McCain, Bush's 2000 rival, had largely run the primary campaign boasting of his pro-Bush voting record, as if he never considered Bush's abysmal approval ratings might sink him in the fall campaign; he makes the experience argument against Obama, only to pick a first-term Alaska governor as his running mate. McCain suspends his campaign over TARP and is used/rebuked by Reid in its passage. (McCain's no-brainer strategy should have been to oppose TARP, which would have been consistent with his populist principles, and allowed him to distance himself from Bush and Congressional Dems.) Then he ran on public financing of the general campaign, while Obama had a vast campaign fund chest which dwarfed his. McCain didn't respond as Obama ran an ad blitz in Florida and other purple states which flipped McCain's lead and never looked back. McCain could never go on offense as Obama's campaign at the end forced McCain to defend his own territory.

Of course, given high economic uncertainty in the aftermath of the economic tsunami, perhaps there was nothing McCain could have done in a change year election. I was heavily disillusioned in the aftermath of a disastrous election which left the Dems with the White House and a super-majority in Congress. There was a time during the Obama political honeymoon where I  thought that my irregular postings would become even less frequent. It was when Obama overreached with his morally hazardous policies which prompted Santelli's infamous rant that I found new inspiration. I started experimenting with a distinctive newsletter format miscellany post, which eventually involved into my daily signature blog format you see today.

How ironic is it that just the other day I called on McCain to resign, something I never considered possible when I started the blog. I am now a registered member of the Libertarian Party (although I'm mostly independent and in fact voted for McCain last fall as an Arizona resident. That, of course, was a protest against Trump's capture of the GOP nomination. Since federal Dems are mostly Statists I am more sympathetic to more conservative Republican candidates if and when I think my support will make a difference. But oddly enough, what started out as a political blog has become increasingly dissatisfied with both major political parties.


Tweet of the Day
















Meet My Favorite Congressman Amash





DiLorenzo On Corruption and the Federal Reserve





Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Chip Bok viz Reason on FB


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


 Barbra Streisand, "Funny Girl". I LOVE movie musicals.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,