Friday, April 24, 2009

Free Market Quote Of The Day

"What gives to the individuals as much freedom as is compatible with life in society is the operation of market economy." -Ludwig von Mises

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Oh, Go Waterboard Yourself!

Suddenly Barack Obama is open to prosecutions related to rough CIA interrogations.

Let's review: the "worst" that was done, and to only three individuals at that, was waterboarding.

Big deal.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tea And Sympathy

I've always thought that Janeane Garofalo is an intelligent woman, albeit of the flaming liberal variety.
So, when she says, "Let’s be very honest about what this is about,It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don’t know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks,” I have to believe she is being intentionally disingenuous.

In other words, I think she's a liar when she says "Let's be honest."

Of course, she has a lot of company on the left.

Most of them are liars.

Yes, most.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Bow Heard Round The World

So, the President of the United States bows to the Saudi King?

Let's be clear: all countries are not created equal.

Neither are all leaders.

As long as Mr Obama understands that his bow was a personal act and not representative of the attitudes of the vast majority of Americans, then he can bow to others all he wants.

But it's pathetic.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Of Missiles And GDP

North Korea is country that must literally be given food by other nations to prevent the starving to death of its populace.

And yet they have money to spend on ballistic missiles?

GDP per capita for North Korea is $1,700.

For South Korea its $26,000.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Nuclear Naivete

Barack Obama is turning out to be quite the ingenue.

Just after North Korea defied his threats of aggressive diplomacy, and convening an emergency buffet at the United Nations, by test launching for the purpose of eventually delivering a nuclear payload (or to put into orbit a satellite for the purpose of broadcasting Dear Leader's karaoke stylings, if you believe the Godless communists), Mr Obama called for "a world without nuclear weapons." It was as if he hadn't been paying attention.

"I am not naive," he said.

He is naive.

The history of mankind, as I see it, has been and will forever be a history of conflict, of conquering or being conquered.

Throughout history, once a Rubicon of weapons development has been crossed, that bridge has been burned.
Weapons have become obsolete not because we all learned how to sing in three part harmony, but because newer, more efficient methods of killing lots of people were devised.

This will not change simply because we have some starry-eyed dreamer in the White House.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcasting of Dear Leader reciting patriotic messages to his utterly destitute subjects.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

April 2, 2009

People will remember this day as the day the market rallied to close at near 8,000, that orders for durable goods were up, and that unemployment still had not reached double digits.

Then they will wonder how and why it went so terribly wrong.

The answer: inflation, and direct government interference in the economy.

Green Motors

Yesterday I posted that the Obama administration would force General Motors to begin producing green cars.

Then today I read that GM has the government for $2.6 billion loan so they can begin producing three..green cars!

I am disappointed in myself for not being intuitive enough to realize that the government had already ordered them to get on that posthaste.

But here's the thing: green cars cannot at present be produced and sold for a profit.

Which means that taxpayer money will be expropriated for the purpose of funding a centrally planned enterprise that is doomed to failure.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Governed Motors

General Motors is dead.

It will undergo a government managed bankruptcy proceeding.
Which means the Obama administration will determine what kind of auto manufacturer comes out the other end.

(Let's forget that GM could have filed for bankruptcy protection months ago, and without the taxpayer billions it was given.)

The government will reform GM in its image, i.e., mandate that they build small, green cars.

Rest assured: this will be a miserable failure.
It will unprofitable, as all centrally planned enterprises are.

Which is a great opportunity for the Ford Motor Company.
They have taken no bailout funds, and so are not obligated to the dictates of the central planners in Washington.
They will be free to make the cars Americans want.
They will be free to operate under the price system and the profit motive.
Let's hope they avail themselves this of this great opportunity.

Here will be great experiment: centrally planned GM v. free market Ford.

My money is on the Blue Oval!

Free Market Quote Of The Day

"It is not true that human conditions must always improve, and that a relapse into very unsatisfactory modes of life, penury, and barbarism is impossible. The comparatively high standard of living which the common man enjoys today in the capitalist countries is an achievement of laissez-faire capitalism. Neither theoretical reasoning nor historical experience allows the inference that it could be preserved still less be improved under socialism." -Ludwig von Mises