Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Will 6/30/09

The Legal Thicket of Race


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: If the federal government is prohibited from racial discrimination, then isn't it prohibited from enacting laws requiring third parties to racially discriminate, too? While it may be constitutional to do so, it is surely not logical.

Quote:
The nation shall slog on, litigating through a fog of euphemisms and blurry categories (e.g., "race-conscious" actions that somehow are not racial discrimination because they "remedy" discrimination that no one has intended).

My Views: I note that not all the firemen were white. Wasn't one of them hispanic? Anyway, it does not matter because they all did belong to the most important racial category there is: the human race. The most important aspect of this case and stories like this one is that the Civil Rights leadership is undermining the movement's most important asset: their moral imperative. Since the 1970's, their policies have become increasingly lacking in both logic and morality.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Will 6/28/09

You Will Regret Health Care Reform


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: He argues that the rise in health care costs is alright because the quality of health has gone up. He seems to be saying, without coming right out and saying it, that health care is okay and we should leave it alone.

Quote:
As market enthusiasts, conservatives should stop warning that the president's reforms will result in health-care "rationing." Every product, from a jelly doughnut to a jumbo jet, is rationed -- by price or by politics. The conservative's task is to explain why price is preferable. The answer is that prices produce a rational allocation of scarce resources.


My Views: What was significant to me was what Will did not put in: the components of health care costs. How much of the price increase is due to quality increase and how much is due to other factors? Factors like government regulations. Factors like legal liability - I'm looking at you, trial lawyers.

I read that almost of a third of health care costs are due to legal liability concerns. - The costs of malpractice insurance, for one. - The costs of defensive medicine, for another.

And this is my developing concern. With the Democrats in control, the lawyers get a pass, while the insurance agents take the hit.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Krauthammer 6/26/09

Iran's Revolution Needs a Leader


My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Like Boris Yeltzin, for example. The protesters won't be able to maintain themselves without one.

Quote:
Revolutions are dynamic, fluid. It is true that two months ago there was little difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. But that day is long gone. Revolutions outrun their origins. And they transform their leaders.

My Views: I doubt that there's anything the outside world can do. We can give the opposition verbal support, however.





Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

He wrote a book which is pictured at the right. I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Will 6/25/09

Tilting at Green Windmills


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Green jobs may save the planet but do they improve the economy? Environmentalists can forgo the latter belief in favor of the former, especially since the evidence supports this.

Quote:
It is, however, hardly counterintuitive that politically driven investments are economically counterproductive. Indeed, environmentalists with the courage of their convictions should argue that the point of such investments is to subordinate market rationality to the higher agenda of planetary salvation.

My Views: There does seem to be a lot of political prejudice precluding rational discussion of the cost/benefit of global warming issues. The left's insistance that green jobs initiatives won't cost the economy just does not make sense. Just like the right's insistence that carbon emmissions are not effectivg the atmosphere. Carbon emmissions must be costing us environmentally; green measures to neutralize them must cost us economically. That only makes sense.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

France's Wars: The Crimean 1854-1856

** THIS POST STILL BEING DEVELOPED **
Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: the war between Russia versus France and Great Britain.

Summary:

Background:

Major Players:
. 1) France:

. 2) Other Countries:

. 3) The Leaders:

Narrative:

Pictured is a part of a large diorama of the Siege of Sevastapol, the main objective of this war.

Aftermath:

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia



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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Will 6/21/09

Sneaking in Single-Payer


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: This is about the public option. That means that the government will provide health insurance.

Quote:
Insuring the perhaps 20 million persons who are protractedly uninsured because they cannot afford insurance is conceptually simple: Give them money -- (refundable) tax credits or debit cards (which have replaced food stamps) loaded with a particular value. This would produce people who are more empowered than dependent. Unfortunately, advocates of a government option consider that a defect. Which is why the simple idea of the dependency agenda cuts like a razor through the complexities of this debate.

My Views: There's one thing here that Will does not go into. If the health insurance companies were so bad, if they made such "obscene" profits, and if their policies were so poor, then why don't some of those rich liberals form their own health insurance companies? They could take less executive compensation, less profits, and provide better insurance. So, profits were less than obscene; They were only spectacular. In just about any other business situation, that would be acceptable (that's being laconic).

Is this public option business really about providing better insurance, or is it about more government control?




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Krauthammer 6/19/09

Obama Stands For Change,

Just Not Particularly For Iran


My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Obama missed an opportunity to take a stand for freedom and also to side with the people in the Middle East when he ignored the election protests in Iran.

Quote:
And where is our president? Afraid of "meddling." Afraid to take sides between the head-breaking, women-shackling exporters of terror -- and the people in the street yearning to breathe free. This from a president who fancies himself the restorer of America's moral standing in the world.

My Views: There is very little chance that this policy will get Iran's masters to end their nuclear program. What is the President getting from this policy? Legitimacy with the Arab peoples? Respect from the region's rulers?

The really sad thing is that this policy does not even have the asset of being principled. George Bush's policy at least had that.





Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

He wrote a book which is pictured at the right. I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

France's Wars: Napoleon's 1800-1815

** THIS POST STILL BEING DEVELOPED **
Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: France's last bid for European domination under Napoleon.

Summary:

Background:

Major Players:
. 1) France:

. 2) Other Countries:

. 3) The Leaders:

Narrative:

Pictured is Napoleon's inspection of the Grand Army, August 14, 1804. This image (probably imaginary), with the ships in the background guarding the sea, shows the ultimate reason for his eventual defeat.

Aftermath:

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia



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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Will 6/14/09

How the Chrysler Deal Hurts the Credit Markets


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Quote:
... conservatives are warning against "judicial activism." But the Chrysler and GM bailouts and bankruptcies are reasons for conservatives to rethink the usefulness of that phrase and to make some distinctions.

Of course courts should not make policy or invent rights not stipulated or implied by statutes or the Constitution's text. But courts have no nobler function than that of actively defending property, contracts and other bulwarks of freedom against depredations by government, including by popularly elected, and popular, officials. Regarding Chrysler and GM, the executive branch is exercising powers it does not have under any statute or constitutional provision. At moments such as this, deference to the political branches constitutes dereliction of judicial duty.

My Views: When government acts without authority in statute or constitutional law, then there is no "judicial activism" for courts to rule on the legality of that action. This seems to be to be obvious and should cause no qualms about judicial activism. The phrase is not applicable.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Krauthammer 6/12/09

Obama's Lack of Middle East Perspective


My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Obama went to Egypt and gave a speech where he tried to make bad practices in the Middle Ease equivalent to bad practices in the U.S. The problem is that the differences are so great that he diminishes America's progress in human rights while justifying the Middle East's lack of it.

Quote:
Obama undoubtedly thinks he is demonstrating historical magnanimity with all these moral equivalencies and self-flagellating apologetics. On the contrary. He's showing cheap condescension, an unseemly hunger for applause and a willingness to distort history for political effect.

My Views: Examples of false equivalency:

1) On women's rights: in the Middle East women get murdered for going to school - or for even having the wrong boyfriend (honor killings).

2) On religeous freedom: in the Middle East the law prescribes the death penalty for leaving the Muslim religeon.

3) On Iran, the U.S. inspired a coup in the 1950's while they are supporting terrorism since the Carter years - and building a nuclear bomb to boot.

One can go on. But at the end of the day, if our two society's wrongs are equal, then all that religeous intolerance and violence are not so bad, and all our efforts to protect ourselves from them are not so noble. The problem is with the premise: the two society's wrongs are not equal.





Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

He wrote a book which is pictured at the right. I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Will 6/11/09

Recovery, Meet Sobriety


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: This time we can sum up the entire essay in just two quotes from Calvin Coolidge (included in Will's column).

Quote:
"If all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves."

"It is a great advantage to a president, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man."

My Views: Part of the push for greater government control is the idea of those in power that they are great people. Thus, economic decisionmaking is made politically, instead of through a more rational decisions of the markets. I like Will's phrase "creative destruction" of inefficient companies.

And there's this section on the health care front: if people were to live better, the major diseases would become rare:
  • treatment of wounds caused by violence;

  • - caused by vehicle accidents ;

  • AIDS caused by irresponsible sexual behavior;

  • corony artery disease caused by a number of bad behaviors ;

  • lung cancer caused by smoking;

  • Type 2 diabetes caused by obesity.;

Just listing these constitutes an indictment of society's misplaced dependence on government.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

France's Wars: The French Revolution 1793-1799

** THIS POST STILL BEING DEVELOPED **
Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: the attempt of the great powers of Europe to crush the revolution.

Summary:

Background:

Major Players:
. 1) France:

. 2) Other Countries:

. 3) The Leaders:

Narrative:

Pictured is the Battle of Valmy, September 20, 1792, where the revolutionary army first demonstrated it's superiority over the combined armies of the rest of Europe.

Aftermath:

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia




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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Will 6/7/09

The Auto Industry's Government Takeover


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: The auto industry takeover is a government takeover despite the denials of President Obama.

Quote:
"What we are not doing -- what I have no interest in doing -- is running GM," says the president who, when not firing GM's CEO, purging its board of directors and picking new members, is designing new products (imposing fuel economy requirements that will control size, weight, passenger capacity and safety).


My Views: Most of this column compares government's actions in managing General Moters versus the denials of doing so. The most telling point comes at the end. Why take over GM at all? It's Market Valuation was the size of Pizza Kitchen and 1/11 that of Harley Davidson. The GM brand is part of the popular culture, but less historic companies are bigger.

Where is the cut-off point for this too big to fail policy?






George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Krauthammer 6/5/09

The Israeli Settlements Myth


My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Obama demanded Israel's settlements on the West Bank stop expanding - at all. This is extreme and it is extreme on many different levels.

Quote:
Israel is ordered to freeze all settlement activity. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton imperiously explained the diktat: "a stop to settlements -- not some settlements, not outposts, not natural-growth exceptions."


My Views: Would that the Democrats could be as firm with America's adversaries as they are with America's friends. How about making demands of Iran, for instance - with the same hauter as of Israel?





Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

He wrote a book which is pictured at the right. I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Will 6/4/09

Global Warming and Journalistic Professionalism


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Global Warming has degraded beyond scientific discussion, even below rational discussion, and has become just a culture choice.

Quote:
In the history of developed democracies with literate publics served by mass media, there is no precedent for today's media enlistment in the crusade to promote global warming "awareness." Concerning this, journalism, which fancies itself skeptical and nonconforming, is neither.


My Views: It is difficult to believe that all this carbon emmissions could not be affecting the atmosphere somehow. My problem is what Will describes in this column: belief in (Manmade) Global Warming has become part of left wing ideology. It's like trying to talk to someone about abortion. Reasoned discussion is no longer possible. And that's too bad - because there are a lot of people in the middle (like me) who could be persuaded either way.

By the way, what is the news about Mars experiencing Global Warming mean? - And the stuff about the Sun going through periodic cycles, the sunspots, for instance? What's up with that? Are we really sure that all these news stories have no bearing on Global Warming? - That the Earth would not warm up even without man-made emmissions?




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

France's Wars: The American Revolution 1775-1783

** THIS POST STILL BEING DEVELOPED **
Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: the war between the U.S.A., France, and other allies against Great Britain that launched America.

Summary:

Background:

Major Players:
. 1) France:

. 2) Other Countries:

. 3) The Leaders:

Narrative:

Pictured is Washington and Rochambeau issuing their orders at Yorktown, October, 1781. In this combined-operations campaign, the French provided a fleet and an army. This campaign won the war.

Aftermath:

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia



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