Month: February 2010

Contributed by: filbert Thursday, February 04 2010 @ 07:58 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

It is often said that political freedom is meaningless without economic freedom. This is true enough, but in a sense almost opposite from that in which the phrase is used by our planners. The economic freedom which is the prerequisite of any other freedom cannot be the freedom from economic care which the socialists promise us and which can be obtained only by relieving the individual at the same time of the necessity and of the power of choice; it must be the freedom of our economic activity which, with the right of choice, inevitably also carries the risk and the responsibility of that right.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Wednesday, February 03 2010 @ 07:58 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

In all this time not one of the many people who have (promised “potential plenty” have) produced a workable plan of how production could be increased so as to abolish even in western Europe what we regard as poverty–not to speak of the world as a whole. The reader may take it that whoever talks about potential plenty is either dishonest or does not know what he is talking about. Yet it is this false hope as much as anything which drives us along the road to planning.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Tuesday, February 02 2010 @ 11:39 AM CST

Section One: The Word:
An occasional comment, rant, or snark, brought on by the flow of events:
JUST SAY NO TO NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY.

OPPOSE THE OBAMA BUDGET WITH YOUR EVERY BREATH.

PUNISH ANY POLITICIAN WHO BACKS ANY PORTION OF IT.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND SENATOR AND TELL THEM: IF YOU SUPPORT THIS BUDGET, YOUR POLITICAL CAREER IS OVER.

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.

The Federal budget deficit, explained in video:

And now . . . A (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention.

I surf the Web, so you don’t have to! Section Two: Things That Amuse Me:
2.1: Simians and other aminals*:
The only animals today are the ones feeding at the trough in Washington . . .
*Yes, I know it’s “animals,” it’s just that I always found the childhood mispronunciation really, really cute . . .

2.2: Travel:
Northwest brand moves ‘another step closer to extinction’ [*1]

2.3: Sports:
Two Summit League Teams Ranked in Mid-Major Top 25 Poll [*2]
Record-setting Jacks run away from Centenary [*3] — SDSU 92, Centenary 50, women’s basketball.
K-State stays focused as schedule softens [*4]
No. 1 Jayhawks return to top perch [*5]

2.4: Science Fiction and Writing:
Leaked “Lost” episode spurs surprising fan reaction [*6] — I’ve never watched. No reason to start now. Maybe when the DVD’s come out.
Revision, and How it Changes a Fella… [*7]
Pitch Your Hook [*8]

2.5: Miscellany:
VIDEO REVIEW: ‘Avatar’ the Worst Blue Movie I’ve Ever Seen (NSFW) [*9] — Exceptionally funny, if somewhat scatological, video review of Avatar.
$173 Billion in Subsidies Won’t Solve College Affordability Problem [*10]

2.6: Science, technology, and space:
First look at NASA’s FY2011 budget [*11]
Americans Need Space, Break Up With NASA [*12]
Towards a Conservative Space Policy [*13] — Let NASA do the basic research. Let private industry build the spacecraft and exploit the resources of the Solar System. Ad Astra!
Human Space Flight Needn’t Rely on NASA: Analysis [*14]

Section Three: The News, featuring Liberty And Its Enemies:
3.1: Strategy and tactics for defending human freedom and liberty:
U.S. Judge Grants Political Asylum to German Homeschoolers [*15]
An alternative to laws against texting while driving? [*16]
Watch state spend wildly at new website [*17] — We need more of this . . . the watching, not the spending . . .
The Berry Test: Will GOP Voters Support Gay Republican Candidate Solid on “Tea Party” Issues? [*18]
A True Roadmap to Fiscal Sustainability: The Numbers Don’t Lie [*19] — The Republican’s new ideas that Obama says that they don’t have . . .
Governor Palin Endorses Rand Paul; Updated: Rand Paul on the Issues [*20] — Some consider this to be the Conservative Cosmic Convergence, but Palin has a fairly wide libertarian streak, as do many western conservatives . . .
You Betcha: Palin Endorses Rand Paul in Bitter Kentucky GOP Senate Primary [*21]
Reverse Scozzafava: Republicans Can Pick Up Special Election House Seat in Hawaii [*22]
We want you to start running for your local school boards [*23] — Think globally, act locally . . .
Video: Megyn Kelly Smacks Down Gloria Allred [*24]
Do We Have What It Takes? [*25] — America wants fiscal conservatism. Social conservatism, not so much. Stick to fiscal conservatism and social conservatism will naturally follow–you won’t have to enact it into law. People do what makes sense for them at the time, generally. Reduce the government incentives to behave irresponsibly, and people will behave more responsibly.
Glad That Palin Is Coming, says Illinois Democrat [*26] — And apparently not in that snarky way, either . . .
Bipartisanship and the Budget, 2010 [*27]
The Nature and Morality of Government [*28]
A Not-So-Radical Guide [*29]
Illinois showdown [*30]

3.2: The reality of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
Obama budget exposes nuclear lie [*31] — You can’t advocate more nuclear power and also at the same time shut down the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal facility. Once again, Obama does not mean what he says . . . in other words, he lies.
The Obama Budget: Higher Taxes, Higher Spending and More Debt [*32] — He’s a Democrat. It’s what they do. Oh, yeah, they lie about it, too.
Mandation [*33] — Wherein the nippers at the heels of Governor Palin get their asses handed to them . . .
Meet The New Obama, Same as The Old Obama: Tomorrow We Scrimp, But Today We Spend! [*34] — President Wimpy: “I’ll gladly pay you next Tuesday for a Waffle and All You Have today!”
Sayonara, Madame [*35]
Noted deficit hawk proposes budget, recasts FY10 deficit to record $1.6 trillion [*36]
Obama Unveils Budget: Everything Goes Up…Taxes, Spending and Deficits [*37]
1/30/10: Obama’s Nuclear Lie [*38] — From ObamaFailBlog. If you’ve got your own fail blog, that should be a hint . . .
Air Pelosi update: Speaker’s taxpayer-funded friends & family shuttle[*39]
Rep. Jeb Hensarling Stands His Ground- Thwacks Obama Again on Inaccurate Deficit Claims (Video) [*40] — In listening to Obama, there are two things you must always remember: 1) Obama rarely if ever knows what he is talking about, and 2) Obama can very convincingly and authoritatively sound like he knows what he’s talking about . . .
Obama: You Know, Now That I Think About It, The Health Care Bills Wouldn’t Have Let Everyone Keep Their Current Plan Or Kept Government Out Of Health Care Decisions [*41] — . . . or, in other words, he’s an uncommonly good liar . . . an exemplary con man . . .
Dem Senators retreat to South Beach with 108 lobbyists [*42]
You Don’t Need a Washington Task Force to Understand the Middle Class [*43] — What do the people want? Washington answer: Form a task force! Real-people-answer: Go hit a diner somewhere, or a corner bar. You’re guaranteed to get an earful, and an education, if you’re a Beltway blithering idiot . . .
With Head Start Failing, White House Proposes $9.3 billion for New Preschool Program [*44] — Thereby proving that Obama is no Einstein (“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”)
Leading Democrat: “We’ve Got to Spend Our Way Out of This Recession” (Video) [*45] — Yes, when your family is upside down on your house mortgage, that’s an excellent time to build that sun room, add-on a couple of bays to the garage, and expand the back yard deck.
Obama: ‘I Don’t Think I Said That.’ In Exactly Those Words. In That Particular Speech. [*46] — Obama caught in yet another lie.
Obama Parts Company With Reality [*47] — Actually, I think that happened a long, long time ago . . .
A Logic Error, If Anyone Cares [*48]
Obama: “We Just Can’t Keep On Spending As if Deficits Don’t Have Consequences” (Video) [*49] — So, why do you want to do exactly that, you blithering idiot?
If Music Be the Food of Love, Maestro Obama, Play On: Iowahawk Guest State of the Union Review, by T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII [*50] — From the Original Common Sense Conservative ™
We’ve Heard This Before– Obama and His Taxpayer Monopoly Money [*51] — See, the fundamental problem is that Obama and the Democrats think that money comes from the government. In other words, they are utterly, cluelessly illiterate in economics.
Pelosi’s Last Hurrah [*52]
Bill Kristol Agrees That President Obama’s Been “Doing All Kinds of Crazy Stuff That Risks Destroying America” (Video) [*53]

3.3: The reality of the Republican leadership as blithering idiots:
Shocker: Palin buys books to incentivize donors [*54] — Yeah, I’m shocked. Are you shocked? I’m shocked. And amazed. No, really. Shocked, I tell you. Soon, somebody will tell me that the sun rises in the east. That would shock me, too.
An Empire, If You Can Keep It [*55]

3.4: Opposition Research: The enemies of human freedom and liberty:
High wire Democrats [*56] — Wasting a good crisis?
Hollywood’s Leftist Standard on Biographies [*57]
Our Obama Saga. Part One—Chapters One to Four [*58] — I’m not entirely sure where VDH is going with this . . .
The Deficit of Trust [*59]
Lila Rose assaulted by Planned Parenthood escort [*60] — I’m not exactly an abortion activist, but I do oppose thuggery, wherever found and by whoever does it . . .
From a Nudge to a Shove? Will Behavioral Economics Become a New Form of Coercion? [*61]
Deficit to Hit an All-Time High [*62] — The Democrats, of course, blame everyone but themselves (who was the party of the New Deal again?)
The Differences Between Government and Industry [*63] — In short: Industry: accountability, competition, and persuasion; Government: ass-covering, monopoly, and force.
Subsidizing the Golden and Sunshine States [*64]
The Age of Obama: Anno Domini 2 [*65]
Big Government: The cultural issue [*66] — GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM. PERIOD.
Do Liberals Ever Admit They’ve Lost*? [*67] — Not that I’ve noticed . . .
U.S. Attorney Steps Down From O’Keefe Case [*68] — This thing is starting to smell like a setup . . .
U.S. Attorney Recuses Himself from O’Keefe Case; Updated with Video of O’Keefe on Hannity [*69]
Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel? [*70] — Of course not, Sarah. He’s a Democrat. They have evolved above such base concepts as “decency.”
Does Arrested Guerilla Filmmaker James O’Keefe Deserve Due Process? And is He Getting it? [*71]
Dangerous Lessons of 1937 [*72]
Obama’s “Plan B” for Organized Labor? [*73]

3.5: Media bias–and incompetence:
New York Times Stuck in the Cold War[*74]
Video: Chris Matthews compares the GOP to the Khmer Rouge [*75] — Why does this guy have a job? Why does MSNBC have space on your cable/satellite channel guide? It’s not balancing Fox News, it’s balancing . . . idunno . . . Alex Jones or something . . .
The Dangers of Subsidized News, Continued [*76]
Andrew Breitbart, master of the rope-a-dope [*77]
The Fat Lady Sings for Keith Olbermann [*78]
James O’Keefe and the Fourth Estate’s Double Standards [*79]
Global Warming “Science” And The Media [*80]

3.6: Fear The ‘Cuda–A spotlight on Citizen Palin, who really needs to find a better phrase than “Common-sense conservatism” to describe her philosophy:
Conservatives 4 Palin [*81] –Semi-permanent link for Palinmania . . .

3.7: “Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?”:
Rapidly Melting Credibility [*82]
The Death of Global Warming [*83] — It may be dead, but its ghosts (“Cap and Trade,” etc.) will haunt us for years, I fear . . .
Super Awesome Climate Scientists Caught Using Non-Scientific Reports. Again [*84]
Evidently There Was A Lack of Evidence [*85]
Leaked climate change emails scientist ‘hid’ data flaws [*86] — This is from the U.K.’s Guardian, people, not the usual “right wing denier” sites. Start paying attention, folks. Something is rotten in the science of “climate change.”
Climategate intensifies: Jones and Wang apparently hid Chinese station data issues [*87]

3.8: Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
Outside the Beltway: States Consider Prohibiting the Individual Mandate [*88]
Your Government-Run Healthcare At Work [*89]
Learn from Britain’s Mistakes: Don’t Centralize Health Care in Washington [*90]

3.9: The Economy:
We Need a Real Spending Freeze and Tax Cuts [*91] — We need more than that. Whatever happens, is going to hurt. A lot. And it will hurt worst the people who can least afford it. Such are the wages of collectivism. Thanks, FDR, for the final disastrous insult of your wildly ill-conceived New Deal.
Construction spending drops sharply in December [*92]
DST Systems Inc. to cut 7 percent of workforce [*93] — Good thing Obama wants to raise taxes on those evil Wall Streeters . . . who are . . . um . . . DST’s customers . . . oops!
Tacks n’ spend [*94] — The Democrats really, truly believe that the way to get out of debt is to spend more money. Weep for this country . . .
Hearings This Thursday on Proposed Comcast-NBC Deal [*95]
Budget Fun with Fannie and Freddie [*96] — Yeah. Remember these. They’re basically “off-budget.” Which means the deficit and the debt are even worse than advertised. We Are So Screwed.
Obama’s deficits: Quite the rosy scenario [*97] — Unless we all rise up and stop the Obama budget the way we stopped Cap & Tax and Health Change, we will really be screwed.
$1 Trillion Obama Will Never See [*98] — Rich people are not stupid. Tax them too much and they will figure out ways to avoid the tax. Always have. Always will.
Why Obama Is an Even Bigger Spender Than Bush [*99]
No tax left behind [*100]
Added Risk [*101] — Bailouts add risk, says the U.S. Treasury Department. Why do them, then? Oh, yeah, to pay off Wall Street backers of Democrats. Of course.
When you say nothing at all [*102]
Rising FHA default rate foreshadows a crush of foreclosures [*103]
FHA faces the music [*104]

3.10: Foreign affairs and National Security:
Leave Mideast, End Terrorism [*105] — We should (always) be re-thinking our approach, but until the world kicks its petroleum habit, the Middle East will be the concern of the entire world, not just the unfortunate people living there under their despots and dictators . . .
Oldest Air Force in History Asked to Do More than Ever Before[*106]
Obama seeks record $708 billion in defense budget [*107] — But are we spending on the right things?
Beat to Quarters [*108] — I’ve mentioned that Richard Fernandez’ “Belmont Club” writings are always worth the time, haven’t I?
Ahmadinejad Predicts the ‘End of American Civilization’ [*109]
US Marine: “The Rules of Engagement Prevent Me From Doing My Job” [*110]
China: The Next “Necessary” Enemy? [*111] — We have all the enemies we need . . . in Washington . . .
South of the Border, the Cult of the Presidency [*112]

Contributed by: filbert Tuesday, February 02 2010 @ 07:57 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

It is significant that the confusion prevailing on all these subjects that it should have become a cause for reproach that in a competitive society almost everything can be had for a price. If the people who protest against having the higher values of life brought into the “cash nexus” really mean that we should not be allowed to sacrifice our lesser needs on order to preserve the higher values, and that the choice should be made for us, this demand must be regarded as rather peculiar and scarcely testifies to great respect for the dignity of the individual. That life and health, beauty and virtue, honor and peace of mind, can often be preserved only at considerable material cost, and that somebody must make the choice, is as undeniable as that we all are sometimes not prepared to make the material sacrifices necessary to protect those higher values against all injury.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Monday, February 01 2010 @ 07:56 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

Although the professed aim of planning would be that man should cease to be a mere means, in fact–since it would be impossible to take account in the plan of individual likes and dislikes–the individual would more than ever become a mere means, to be used by the authority in the service of such abstractions as the “social welfare” or the “good of the community.”

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.