My Apology That We've Suffered This Apologetic Mushy Thinking

"Slavery is too serious for an apology and somebody else being a slaveowner is not something for you to apologize for. When somebody who has never owned a slave apologizes for slavery to somebody who has never been a slave, then what began as mushy thinking has degenerated into theatrical absurdity-- or, worse yet, politics.
Slavery has existed all over the planet for thousands of years, with black, white, yellow and other races being both slaves and enslavers. Does that mean that everybody ought to apologize to everybody else for what their ancestors did? Or are the only people who are supposed to feel guilty the ones who have money that others want to talk them out of?" Thomas Sowell

Know any sheepdogs?

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35832 
"One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident."

This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation.

They are sheep. I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me, it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators."
I'm grateful for the ones who run the wrong way, and remember well my time in that role. How long can one serve as sheepdog? How long should one hope to?

Krautthammer Lays It Out - VAT Or Default

"Obama set out to be a consequential president, on the order of Ronald Reagan. With the VAT, Obama's triumph will be complete. He will have succeeded in reversing Reaganism. Liberals have long complained that Reagan's strategy was to starve the (governmental) beast in order to shrink it: First, cut taxes -- then ultimately you have to reduce government spending.
Obama's strategy is exactly the opposite: Expand the beast, and then feed it. Spend first -- which then forces taxation. Now that, with the institution of universal health care, we are becoming the full entitlement state, the beast will have to be fed.
And the VAT is the only trough in creation large enough."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/26/the_vat_cometh_104936.html

Krugman Helping Economists Teach The Basics

http://www.cafehayek.com/
"Not Terribly Original of Me, but It Must be Pointed Out to the Gray Lady
Posted: 07 Mar 2010 06:12 AM PST
Here's a letter to the New York Times:
Paul Krugman says that it is "bizarre" during today's downturn to worry that unemployment benefits reduce people's incentives to find jobs - indeed, that this concern is even at odds with "textbook economics" ("Senator Bunning's Universe <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/opinion/05krugman.html> ," March 5).
Prof. Krugman must count himself and his wife, Robin Wells, among those who hold bizarre ideas - or who, when writing economics textbooks, misrepresent economists' views. Here's what they wrote on page 210 of their jointly authored textbook (note:  link removed but available at the Cafe), published in 2009: "Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux

Protectionism and Trade Imbalance Illusions

Writing to an author critiquing Paul Krugman (which I view as Krugman's best function in the world - provides real economists with softball home run fodder), Dr. Boudreaux lays it out clear and simple:
"You write as if the alleged trade imbalances between the U.S. and China are real. They are not. The Chinese sell Americans goods; we pay with dollars; the Chinese then use many of these dollars to buy IOUs issued by Uncle Sam. Although the result is a measured U.S. current-account deficit with China, there's no more any economically meaningful "imbalance" in such a result than there would be if, say, Texans lent a lot more of their dollars to Uncle Sam.
Talk of imbalances in trade diverts attention from the real problem: Uncle Sam's gargantuan debt. That fast-accumulating debt is a huge problem. It is caused, though, not by trade with China but, rather, by Washington's lack of fiscal discipline. Unless you believe that protectionism (and only protectionism) would induce Congress to be more fiscally disciplined, you should avoid all talk of imbalances in trade and instead talk of imbalances in political institutions that encourage politicians to give disproportionate weight to the demands of current voters and to ignore the resulting ill-consequences that will curse future generations."
http://www.cafehayek.com/

Classic Quotes, Burke

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Classic Quotes, Washington

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington