Not-so Free Market Capitalism

For some time now, I've heard it said from those of a very strong conservative viewpoint that Obama would move the United States of America towards socialism if elected. In my own conservative economic point of view, but more liberal social perspective, I laughed this off as an 'extreme' statement that is being used to just scare people away from the candidate they dislike.

However, in the wake of the financial crisis that has risen on Wall Street during these past few weeks, I have started to become more and more concerned that those strong conservatives might actually have some rhyme to their reason. In listening to the first Presidential debate between McCain and Obama last Friday night, I was shocked to hear Obama suggest on multiple occassions that John's view of the "markets just working themselves out" was some type of theory that was impractical in real economics. Time and time again since last Friday, I have heard and/or read democratic leaders from the house talk about how the 'old' theory of the free market won't work on it's own....that somehow 'more' (not better) regulation is the key to economic prosperity. The post on theYreport earlier today from YBS about San Fransisco banning the sale of cigarettes in drug stores is incredibly disturbing and a great example of the democratic party governing 'socialistically'. All of this is incredibly disturbing. How can we ignore all of the economic prosperity that this country has realized as a result of the application of this theory to basically dominate the rest of the world economically for at least the last hundred years?

...And there is absolutely blame to be given to the Bush Administration for supporting this, further evidicing the fact that he has fundamentally changed the definition of what it means to be a republican. Did he seriously ask the congress to pass a $700 Billion bailout bill in like 48 hours. That is more money that has been spent on the Iraq war cumulatively.....and we need to make a decision immediately. The largest single expansion of government in U.S. history should not be taken lightly and done on a night's rest. The other thing that irks me, as the politicians panic and cause additional market turmoil, is that we have regulations that are already in place that are meant to protect citizens and business' in situations like these. These regulations may need to be modified (i.e. - raising the FDIC limit), but what is actually being restored by this bailout? I will at least give W. the benefit of the doubt that his reasoning for this bailout is based on issues that have arisen due to poor regulations that forced banking institutions to give poorly underwritten loans to those that didn't have any business getting them. He is not claiming that this is a result of the failure of the free market. If we allow the free market to play itself out, those that played risky hands will get that hand slapped and lessons will be learned.

Yes, these are crazy times and certain measures may be necessary to fix this problem we find ourselves in, but I get a real sense that there is a subtle, yet intentional message that is being sent to the general public in this crises that is saying "free market capitalism is flawed and the government is the only hope". If this is the case, we should all be scared, but maybe at least we get a new cool salute.

For additional thoughts:

1. Read "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

2. See thoughts from Hugo Chavez articulating why he thinks America needs a new constitution....great, let's listen to him.

3. Great article articulating some of these thoughts

4. This one talks about the Socialism of America via the bailout....short and good

"They just don't know where to look"

There is a staggering realization when you compare true leadership with what is currently being offered on either side. Reagan, in his first inaugural speech - before "yes we can" was in style:

Two things that caught me - his voice changes twice in this clip - when he talks about heroes, and then the ending - "We can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We...are Americans."

Why hasn't anyone else said that these past 10 days?

Revolt of the Nihilists

David Brooks today: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html?th&emc=th

The No Votes

This is a very cool graphic - the only category with more "Yes" votes were "Strong Democratic"

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/29/business/20080929-CONGRESS-VOTE-GRAPHIC.html

Gingrich: "final collapse"

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gingrich-final-collapse-of-the-bush-administration-2008-09-29.html

Paternalistic Stupidity

San Francisco bans sale of tobacco in pharmacies.

"A pharmacy is a place you should go to get better, not to get cancer," said Nathan Ballard, spokesman for SF mayor Gavin Newsom.

And apparently San Francisco is a place where people are so dumb, they need special legislation to prevent them from walking into a pharmacy, purchasing cigarettes, and believing that the product they purchased is healthy because it was found in a pharmacy.

I believe we should also ban the sale of People magazine and Milk Duds in pharmacies, because you should go to pharmacies to get smarter and healthier....not to rot your brain and teeth...

What 'Facial Coding' Analysis Says About McCain, Obama Ads

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A marketing research system that studies the emotions expressed by facial muscles has been used to analyze presidential campaign ads. The system is the subject of the new book, "Face Time," by Dan Hill. Mr. Hill heads Sensory Logic, a consulting firm that has been using "facial coding" methods to study second-by-second consumer reaction to TV commercials. Its clients are normally large marketing corporations. But during the primaries, the company began analyzing audience reactions to the major candidates' ads.

Video at http://adage.com/video/article?article_id=131352

A Prolific Reader

Seen moments ago on Lou Dobbs Tonight:

Barack Obama on the Bailout: "If I am President, I will review the entire plan on the day I take office to make sure it is working to save our economy and that you get your money back."

Back on September 22, 2008, Senator Obama renewed a pledge to, once elected, "go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line" and "eliminate the programs that don't work and aren't needed."

Unfortunately, he didn't pledge to review either document PRIOR to the election. We have to elect him first, then he'll read them and let us know what he thinks. Until then, we just have to trust him.

I was thinking, since he has some time before his inauguration, perhaps he should get going on a Book It application - I mean, if he's going to do so much reading, he might as well get a free Pizza Hut pizza out of it...

Goodbye Newman

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/movies/28paul.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Swimming Naked

Bailout Fails. Stocks Plunge. Dow Loses 777 Points.

"As house prices fall, a huge amount of financial folly is being exposed. You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out – and what we are witnessing at some of our largest financial institutions is an ugly sight." -- Warren Buffett, 2007 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway

1. If you haven't read his letters, you should. 31 years of them, right here: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

2. More on Snowball: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/books/29masl.html?th&emc=th

Who's word do we Trust?

How do we react to things like this? What can we believe is truth?

"This one deserves support."

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?source=most_commented&story_id=12305249

More explanation: http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305746

What Went Wrong?

Interestingly, according to attendees, Obama was thoughtful, McCain said nothing.

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5895827

Now Hiring:

Marine Biologist at Dubai Mall Aquarium...

"Do you worry that neither of them is up to it?"

Why do I sometimes feel like Noonan can write exactly what I am thinking? This is her WSJ column from last week - and it is dead on.

The economic crisis brings a new question, unarticulated so far but there, and I know because when I mention it to people they go off like rockets. It is: Do you worry that neither of them is up to it? Up to the job in general? Is either Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama actually up to getting us through this and other challenges? I haven't heard a single person say, "Yes, my guy is the answer." A lot of shrugging is going on out there. This is a read not only on the men but on the moment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122176556077753375.html#printMode

"Fusion Man" makes historic Channel flight

Swiss airline pilot Yves Rossy became the first person to fly between France and England on Friday with a jetpack strapped to his back. Awesome! Check out the details...

Morning Reading 09.26.08 - Bailout, Shmailout

Brooks - reviving the "Text or Context" conversation - money quote - "...what disappoints me about the McCain campaign is it has no central argument. I had hoped that he would create a grand narrative explaining how the United States is fundamentally unprepared for the 21st century and how McCain’s worldview is different."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/opinion/26brooks.html?th&emc=th

Peggy Noonan piles on:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122237691191376341.html

Going green is never easy - (YOJ, notice the rec on shower length):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238422541876879.html?mod=todays_us_weekend_journal

Best movie reviewer out there - every Friday - Joe Morgenstern:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238344981876805.html

Another sign of the Apocalypse - McGangsta:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hnRDS41TT3Iy0z4ISL2-0fOVA8pQD93DOTSG2

This just sounds like a really bad idea:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/us/politics/26preach.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

And in response, I post the wise words of John Yates II, rector of The Falls Church written to his Virginia congregation Sept 14:

"There is a movement afoot to recruit pastors next Sunday to 'preach politics.' The Alliance Defense Fund wants to challenge an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code, dating back to 1954, which says non-profit, tax-exempt entities (including churches) may not 'participate in, or intervene in ... any political campaign behalf of any political candidate.' It is hoped that, in their sermons next week, pastors will not only evaluate the current political situation and what sorts of candidates are desirable according to Scripture, but will also deal with specific elections and candidates, with specific recommendations about whom to support. That would, of course, violate the law.

"Over the years our policy here has been never to analyze individual candidates or to speak directly about political issues from the pulpit or in any other public forum. Candidates have visited us and attended worship, but we have refrained from singling them out in any way. I've always felt that our membership is extraordinarily well-informed on political matters and needs little encouragement from me to participate fully in the electoral process.

"But this law has always troubled me. I'm skeptical about the government's authority to dictate to the church in this way. There is a cultural elitism in America that would like to keep religion privately comforting but publicly irrelevant! But if our biblical faith does not inform and shape our thinking on public policy and guide us in whom to vote for, we are simply failing in our responsibility as followers of Christ. We won't always agree with one another, but it is unthinkable that followers of Christ wouldn't evaluate candidates policies in light of the Word of God. I don't plan to break the law next Sunday. But I could envision a time arising when I would feel that I would be disobeying God not to speak to you about some political issue or election."

Sorry Paul!

The moon is right

The spirits up

Were here tonight

And thats enough

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

This Christmas favorite by Paul McCartney may not get quite the airtime it has in years past.  Why you ask?   Hip hop superstar Kanye West, albeit a little self-absorbed, but who is actually pretty much a musical genius, will be releasing his new album right in the middle of the holiday season this year.  The album is scheduled for release in mid-November.  

If the new album were an IPO that I could put money in, I think i'd bet the farm it's going to be a homerun.  Get ready for "808's and Heartache" coming to ipods and airwaves soon....can't freakin' wait.

Richard Epstein on the bailouts:

"The moral of this story is that bad regulation metastasizes. Short term heroics are no substitute for dispassionate deregulation, which won’t happen so long as our political leaders are fixated on greed. Taking steps to prevent financial meltdowns is more likely to hasten their unwelcome arrival, so says the libertarian."

Read it all on Forbes.com.

I promise one day, I'll post thoughts on something other than the bailouts. One day...

I Just Called To Say I Love You

So I'm working in my office as iTunes plays in the background...and then...what's that I hear? "I Just Called To Say I Love You."

WHAT?..there's no way I could have downloaded that...oh no, is there?

No, I did not. It came on Stevie Wonder "The Definitive Collection" I bought and imported a while ago.

And that it made me think of one of my favorite scenes in a very good movie (if you're offended by questionable language, stop at 0:39 - don't say I didn't warn you):



Leading to this exchange:

"What did he ever do to you?"

"He offended me with his terrible taste...and I'm going to tell you this for you own good, that's the worst f---ing sweater I've ever seen. It's a Cosby sweater!"

OhMyGodSocietyIsCollapsing...

Morning Reading 09.25.08

Mike Allen - money quote - SCOOP 1 -- FORBES.com’s Brian Wingfield and Josh Zumbrun , on how Treasury got the $700 billion: “It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

I don't know about you, but now I feel much better - http://www.politico.com/playbook/

Well, maybe I actually do feel better. We could make money on this thing:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122230704116773989.html

Bush and Candidates to Meet on Bailout:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/business/economy/25bush.html?hp

From CHANGE to CONVENTIONAL:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13892.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/us/politics/25assess.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Cue Obama - "I thank the Clintons for their support...wait...what support?":

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/bill-clinton-do.html

Ham, Shem and Japheth take a walk down memory lane...yes, this really exists:

http://www.pbase.com/paulthedane/noahs_ark

Politico.com Playback:

Starbucks vs. Wal-Mart Customers' Voting Preferences

Even though the two candidates are viewed favorably by about the same number of people, there are some big cultural splits. Of people who get their coffee at Starbucks, 52 percent favor Obama while 39 percent prefer McCain. Of people who frequent Wal-Mart, 58 percent favor McCain while 33 percent prefer Obama.

More at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94973392

Get Shorpy

Shorpy: The Hundred Year Old Photo Blog. Enjoy.

Thoughts on Energy....

A few interesting notes on alternative energy and energy independence.....

1.  The Chevy Volt.  Chevy is working on an electric car that will go 40 miles each day on pure electricity.  Once you hit 40 miles, it will switch to fuel.  Vice Chairman of GM, Bob Lutz claims that 80% of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day.  See this informative and entertaining clip with further details with Vice Chairman Lutz and his guest appearance on "The Colbert Report"

2.  T Boone Pickens and the Pickens Plan.  I've seen the commercials, but it was quite interesting to read up on the plan.  The basic tenants are as follows:

a. America is addicted to foreign oil

b. America is the Saudi Arabia of Wind Power (see cool wind maps)

c. Building wind facilities in the corridor that stretches from Texas to N. Dakota could produce 20% of the electricity for the US at a cost of $1 trillion.  It would take another $2oo billion to build the capacity to transmit that energy to cities and towns.  That's a lot of money, but it's a one time cost.  And compared to the $700 billion we spend on foreign oil each year, it's a bargain.

d. Building this corridor of wind power across middle America would stimulate the economy of rural America

e. America has an abundance of a cheaper, cleaner fuel for transportation....natural gas.   98% of the natural gas used domestically is from North America compared to only 30% of petroleum.  Natural resevoirs of natural gas are twice that of petroleum and prices per 'gallon' are at less than $1.  

f.  We currently use natural gas to produce 22% of our electricity.  By harnessing the power of wind to generate electricity we can shift natural gas away from electricity generation and put it to use as a transportation fuel.

The Pickens plan believes it can reduce dependency on foreign oil by more than one-third in less than 10 years.  

Not being an energy expert by any means, my humble take is that it sounds pretty realistic (not too grandiose) and the facts / financials make sense.  And I just feel like I'm supposed to agree with T. Boone Pickens.  For more details, visit The Pickens Plan

Raising the Stakes

McCain Seeks to Delay First Debate Amid Financial Crisis

New Deal: Prolonged (?) the Great Depression

Liveblogging from the dentist's chair....

Jonah Goldberg cautions that the New Deal is what made the Great Depression 'Great'...

Less Cow(bell)

PETA urges Ben & Jerry's to replace cow milk with human breast milk in its ice cream.....gag!

http://www.wptz.com/news/17539127/detail.html

End of road for Broadcast Legend

Due to faililng health, after 43 seasons of calling games, Larry Munson has announced his immediate retirement. Munson was the long time "Voice" of the University of Georgia football program.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-1-453/Glory--glory-to-Larry-Munson.html

Whether you liked the Bulldogs or not, Munson was incredibly entertaining to listen to. If you have never heard Munson call a game, you've missed something special. A few classc calls.....

From the closing seconds of the GA-TN game in 2001:

"10 Seconds, We're on their 6. Michael Johnson turned around asked the bench something. And now, Greene makes him lineup on the right in the slot, we have 3 receivers. Tennessee playing what amounts to a 4-4, Fake, and there's somebody Touchdown! My God a Touchdown! We threw it to Haynes. We just stuffed them with five seconds left! My God almighty, did you see what he did! David Greene just straightened up and we snuck the fullback over! Haynes is keeping the ball! Haynes is come running all the way across to the bench. We just dumped it over 26-24. We just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their faces!"

From GA-FL in 1980:
"Run Lindsay, 25, 20, 15, 10, Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! ... Well, I can't believe it. 92 yards and Lindsay really got in a foot race I broke my chair. I came right through a chair. A metal steel chair with about a 5 inch cushion, I broke it. The booth came apart. The stadium... well the stadium fell down, now they do have to renovate this place... they'll have to rebuild it now. This is incredible. You know this game has always been called the World's Greatest Cocktail Party, do you know what's gonna happen here tonight, and up at St. Simmons and Jeckyl Island, and all those places where all those dawg people have got those condominiums for 4 days. Man is there going to be some property destroyed tonight! 26-21, Dawgs on top. We were gone. I'd gave up, you did too. We were out of it and gone. Miracle!"

But all of these are so much better with "the voice"...listen to clips here

http://www.larrymunson.com/audio.asp

To commemerate the legend of Munson, in true Georgia fashion, farmers in Georgia carved his face into their corn field. As interviewed by the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, the leader of the pack just happens to be one of my old fraternity brothers. Nice work Jake and thanks Larry!