Thoughts for the day

"Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it."
-- George Washington
(1732-1799) Founding Father, 1st US President, 'Father of the Country'

"The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad
governments. The state can be and has often been in the course of history the
main source of mischief and disaster."
-- Ludwig von Mises
(1881-1973) Economist and social philosopher

Are you a liberal or a conservative?

This is a great article for your friends sitting on the fence, for the "idealists", and for high school and college students. This article reminds me of the thought articulated by Winston Churchill that any man under the age of 30 who is not a liberal has no heart and that any man over the age of 30 who is not a conservative has no brains(a little hyperbole, but you get the point). I think this has alot to do with paying taxes and raising children. Here's the link:
http://townhall.com/content/4adee782-70ed-4fe7-992d-bcfa3baf1714

While working out at the health club today I watched the TV with incredulity as the politicians and bureaucrats were summarizing their brief meetings during the first day of the "fiscal responsibility summit". Isn't this event, associated with many of these attendees, beyond oxymoronic? After the events over the last 8 weeks, our national deficit for 2009 stands at a staggering $1.4 TRILLION or 9.6% of GDP. Many of the people in attendance just recently provided us with the 1071 page "stimulus" bill (that not one of them read before voting on it) that has you, me and future generations on the hook for over a trillion dollars ($787 billion plus interest on that borrowed money). The doublespeak today, and in the recent past, is right out of Orwell's 1984 or the Marxist playbook, i.e., touting transparency while concealing everything ("When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you, the public, will have five days to look on line and find out what's in it before I sign it, so that you will know what your government's doing"), speaking of integrity while appointing individuals with tax problems and conflicts of interest, supporting energy independence while nixing off-shore and domestic oil-drilling and nuclear power and feigning optimism while speaking on a daily basis of impending "catastrophe". Thank goodness I could read the closed caption but didn't also have to listen to this drivel. Is anyone else out there a little skeptical?

Subsidizing the Irresponsible and The Forgotten Man

Read Larry Kudlow's perspective on the housing bailout proposal. Are we rewarding irresponsible behavior?
http://townhall.com/content/a68254a6-8a57-4d31-9980-bb238697ad1b

Read Lee Cary's article from the American Thinker entitled "Awaiting the Awakening of the Forgotten Man". We are the forgotten men and women and I am heartened by the conversations I have had and emails I have received over the last month. It may take some time, but we will reach critical mass and be a force to be reckoned with.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/awaiting_the_awakening_of_the.html

A gem from a friend

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from four days to four years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.
In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Do they really want a stimulus?

I came across this article today. Conventional wisdom, common sense and many economic think tanks have argued against the "stimulus" bill. It was passed with such alacrity and with minimal scrutiny. Why the rush? The following is a very interesting and provocative perspective. Here is the link:
http://townhall.com/content/f079e836-588d-4206-a6c7-3f299c32b654

Thoughts for the day

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative
and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could
and should do for themselves."
-- William Boetcker
(1873-1962) German-born Presbyterian clergyman 1916

"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people
is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits."
-- Plutarch
(c.45-125 A.D.) Priest of the Delphic Oracle

A time for choosing

Ronald Reagan gave this speech many years ago. Imagine if Reagan were alive today and addressing the nation regarding the recent financial crisis and the congressional response to it. Imagine that his response was directed at the socialists in this country as opposed to the communist Russian and Red Chinese governments. Have faith! It took Jimmy Carter to bring this nation Ronald Reagan. This administration and this congress will light the belly of the beast in a way that they could never have anticipated. Enjoy the clip!

Historical Quotes that ring true today

The "stimulus" bill passage thru the house and senate, with little deliberation or debate, was very unsettling. Rather than utter a series of profanities, I have opted to post some relevant historical quotes. It is amazing how prescient these individuals were. Enjoy!

As Alexander Tytler allegedly wrote in 1787:
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship…The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; and then from dependence back into bondage.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with the following:
1. The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
2. It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
3. I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
4. My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government
5. To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
6. "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Obituary - the death of common sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an
unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by
his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
NB: published in the London Times

Parallels with the Great Depression

"What began early last year as a "credit crunch" and an "economic downturn" is now being characterized as a "long, severe recession." Once upon a time, such a crisis was known as a "depression" before Americans became squeamish about such stark language. As with our reluctant semantic retreat from "credit crunch" to "recession," the reality of another Great Depression will probably not be acknowledged until years after the fact. But America and the rest of the modern world, by doggedly pursuing the same mistaken policies of the 1920s and '30s, have made a full-blown depression — lasting years, not months, and featuring catastrophic failures in entire economic sectors along with chronic double-digit unemployment and monetary malaise — all but inevitable. In fact, the parallels between the run-up to the Great Depression and today's economic havoc are stunning".

If you have an interest in history, click onto this link and read about the parallels between our current financial crisis and the Great Depression
http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/28-commentary/756

"We are in danger of being overwhelmed with irredeemable paper,
mere paper, representing not gold nor silver;
no sir, representing nothing but broken promises, bad faith,
bankrupt corporations, cheated creditors and a ruined people."
-- Daniel Webster
(1782-1852), US Senator
Source: speech in the Senate, 1833

Comments from Mark Steyn

In a recent article in the Orange County Register dated 2/6/09, Mark Steyn made some observation that are worth sharing. I love his insights and his sense of humor. He wrote:
"last week, I got a little muddled over two adjoining newspaper clippings – one on the stimulus, the other on those octuplets in California – and for a brief moment the two stories converged. Everyone's hammering that mom – she's divorced, unemployed, living in a small house with parents who have a million bucks' worth of debt, and she's already got six kids. So she has in vitro fertilization to have eight more. But isn't that exactly what the Feds have done? Last fall, they gave birth to $850 billion of bailout they couldn't afford and didn't have enough time to keep an eye on, and now, four months later, they're going to do it all over again, but this time they want trillionuplets. Barney and Nancy represent the in vitro fertilization of the federal budget. And it's the taxpayers who'll get stuck with the diapers".
A second insightful paragraph follows: "The bloated nonstimulus and the undertaxed nominees are part of the same story. I'm with Tom Daschle: I understand why he had no desire to toss another six-figure sum into the great sucking maw of the federal Treasury. Who knows better than a senator who's voted for every tax increase to cross his desk that all this dough is entirely wasted? Tom and Tim Geithner and Charlie Rangel and all the rest are right: They can do more good with the money than the United States government can. I only wish they followed the logic of their behavior and recognized that what works for them would also work for every other citizen. Instead, they insist that the sole solution to our woes is a record-setting wasteful government spending spree".


"Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalistic System was to debauch the currency... Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million can diagnose."
-- John Maynard Keynes
(1883-1946) British economist
Source: The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235

US currency - printing money

Check out this video regarding the Treasury department and the printing of money since the 1920s. This should get everyone's attention.
The link is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Vsgl6SUZ0

3 articles of interest

There are 2 good articles posted on the American Thinker dated 2/6/09. Here are the postings:

1. Economics, Evidence and Enlightenment - http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/economics_evidence_and_enlight.html
2. Obama's Leninism - http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/02/obamas_leninism.html

The first article gives a historic perspective on what does and what does not work with regards to stimulating the economy.

In a future posting I hope to draw a parallel between the original Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels and our current state of affairs in the US. It is not as much of stretch as you would think.

There is also a great article on Townhall by Dan Kennedy dated 2/6/09. The address is:
1. http://townhall.com/content/64af2a7b-223e-41ea-b72f-647f92d508db

This article includes comments made by Jim Brown and Clint Eastwood about entitlements and
responsibility.