Here's some Ludwig Von Mises, explaining why Economic Nationalism is a philosophy of war.
I've long believed that Economic Nationalism (quotas, tariffs, price supports), like most other forms of tribalism, was outright racist but I couldn't quite articulate it.
You've gotta love this quote:
Imagine a world in which the principle of private ownership of the means of production is fully realized, in which there are no institutions hindering the mobility of capital, labor, and commodities, in which the laws, the courts, and the administrative officers do not discriminate against any individual or group of individuals, whether native or alien. Imagine a state of affairs in which governments are devoted exclusively to the task of protecting the individual's life, health, and property against violent and fraudulent aggression. In such a world the frontiers are drawn on the maps, but they do not hinder anybody from the pursuit of what he thinks will make him more prosperous. No individual is interested in the expansion of the size of his nation's territory, as he cannot derive any gain from such an aggrandizement. Conquest does not pay and war becomes obsolete.
Go here to read the whole thing. It's hard to declare war when your soldiers (and their money) and the citizens in "enemy" territory (and their money) are free to move elsewhere.
Last night, the President of The United States appeared before us to say that he was asking Congress to delay a vote on his proposal to carry out a military action that is "incredibly small" and whose timing doesn't matter, against an enemy who is also fighting other people who are our enemy, with no defined objective, no follow-up, and no defined goal.
In other words, within two weeks we could be working as Al-Qaeda's Air Force*
I've had a glorious time ridiculing the Occupy Wall Street movement for the last few months. They have no idea what they want, no idea about the root cause of their complaints, and their problem with homeless people mooching the food that was donated to THEM ONLY, well, that makes me wake up in the middle of the night with fits of The Giggles.
But now they're getting somewhere. See the chart below. Bear in mind, this is only the "discretionary" spending.
We're responsible for more than 40% of the world's military expenditures. We have 6% of the world's population. We have a massive % of the world's debt.
Isn't it time for this sacred cow to get slaughtered? Or at least put on a reasonable diet?
Where the hell did the Peace Movement go? Are we going to have to elect a Republican before we hear from those people again? Where's the freakin' outrage over Libya and Pakistan?
p.s. - We really shouldn't spend this much on the other stuff either.
One of those laws states that Congress alone has the power to declare war. If there's an emergency, the President can use the troops and planes and boats and bombs and nukes all he wants, but he has to get Congressional approval for anything lasting longer than 60 days.
We've been bombing the crap out of Libya for longer than 60 days. If this had been done by anyone but a Nobel Peace Prize-winning, warm and fuzzy, anti-militaristic Democrat, the calls for impeachment would be on the front page of every newspaper.
John Boehner, under some pressure from people who wonder why we're getting involved in war number 4 or 5, depending on how you count, finally sent The Teleprompter Jesus a letter demanding to know why we were still involved without Congressional approval. Here's what he got back:
The initial phase of U.S. military involvement in Libya was conducted under the command of the U.S. Africa Command. By April 4, however, the United States had transferred responsibility for the military operations in Libya to NATO and the U.S. involvement has assumed a supporting role in the coalition's efforts. Since April 4, U.S. participation has consisted of: (1) non-kinetic support to the NATO-led operation, including intelligence, logistical support, and search and rescue assistance; (2) aircraft that have assisted in the suppression and destruction of air defenses in support of the no-fly zone; and (3) since April 23, precision strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles against a limited set of clearly defined targets in support of the NATO-led coalition's efforts.
Where to begin, where to begin.....
Let's start with this: We are NATO. Just like we were with The Allies in the war against The Axis. Just like Superman is a member of the Justice League. If the Justice League fights together as a team, Superman is still fighting. Having Aquaman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Captain Marvel by his side doesn't negate the fact that he's still fighting.
Whenever Allen Patterson pounds something really stupid into the internet, he can't blame it on The Whited Sepulchre when he sobers up. In the words of the Beatles....
"I am he as you are he as you are me as we are all together."
The United States is 75% of NATO. It wouldn't exist without us.
Moving on, let's get to the business about providing "non-kinetic" support. If Mexico were to invade Texas, and Cuba was supplying the Mexican navy with "non-kinetic" support, we would sink the Cuban supply ships that were providing Mexico with "non-kinetic" support. We wouldn't think twice about it.
If we shot down a Mexican Air Force plane over San Antonio, and Cubans were aiding the Mexicans in search and rescue, we would try to stop the Cubans. We would consider them as hostile combatants.
Okay, about that "no-fly zone".... If Mexico declared Texas to be a "no-fly zone", and Cuba helped "suppress and destroy" our air defenses, we would see it as an act of war on the part of Cuba, not the incident result of a non-kinetic military action.
Regarding Obama's last point about "unmanned aerial vehicles".... If you're getting bombs dropped on your head, I don't think you care if it's being done by the pilot in the plane, or an Air Force kid with a joystick at a base somewhere in Wisconsin. The result is the same. We're dropping bombs on Libya.
Barack Obama needs to ask Congress for a declaration of war against Libya, because we're at war with Libya.
Congress needs to man up and demand it. Then vote it up or down. That's how it is supposed to work.
Speaking of "I am he as you are he as you are me as we are all together", here are The Beatles doing "I Am The Walrus".
