One Obama paragraph. Five errors.

I've been very, very busy at work, so I haven't been posting much on this site.  I've been producing things that other people want.  I produce things that people voluntarily give their money for. 

The president of the United States has been very busy too.  But he takes things by force. 

Fortunately for the nation, Barack Obama has disadvantages that I (and many others) don't have. 

You see, we're not burdened by being totally full of shit. 

Here's a recent Barack speech, in italics. 

"You'll hear if you watch the nightly news or you read the newspapers that, well, there's gridlock, Congress is broken, approval ratings for Congress are terrible.  And there's a tendency to say, a plague on both your houses. 

And I take pride in being the Point Man for Tarrant County, Texas, for many of those who say "a plague on both your houses".  Both houses spend other peoples' money like drunk cowboys.  Both sides support the Drug War, they've supported the War on Gays, the War on Brown People, etc., etc., etc.  My side doesn't. 

But the truth of the matter is that the problem in Congress is very specific.  We have a group of folks in the Republican Party who have taken over who are so ideologically rigid, who are so committed to an economic theory that says if folks at the top do very well then everybody else is somehow going to do well;

Name ONE "economic theorist" who says that if "the folks at the top" (and they're centered around D.C.) do well, then EVERYBODY ELSE is going to do well.  Name one.  Barack, I will kiss your ass on the White House steps, and give you 30 minutes to draw a crowd beforehand, if you can produce the economic theorists who claim that if the folks at the top are doing well, then EVERYBODY ELSE will somehow do well.  There will always be some losers.  Always.  In the purest libertarian capitalist system that anyone can imagine, there will be some heartbreaking losses.  Someone, somewhere, will be the last VHS cassette manufacturer. 

BTW, here's a map of the wealthiest counties in the USA.  I'll never tire of posting it.  Barack is in the middle of that radioactive orange spot. 

....who deny the science of climate change;

Well, you got me there.  Climate is changing.  It always has.  I believe that it always will.  So does everyone else.  But I'm not going to stop flying, or hauling the nation's toilet paper around in semi-tractors.  Barack, you aren't going to stop flying either.  So please, please, please drop the posturing.  We've been through four or five Ice Ages in the past, and we're blessed to live in the gap between a couple of them now.  Enjoy it while it lasts.   

....who don't think making investments in early-childhood education makes sense;

Here's an analysis of the Government Accounting Office's study that proved that investment in early-childhood education don't make sense (when government is the party making the investments).  Most caring people in America have heard of this study.  Read it, for God's sake....

who have repeatedly blocked raising a minimum wage so if you work full-time in this country you're not living in poverty.... 

If, if, if....If, if, if....  That's like saying "if you get lucky enough as a low-skilled victim of public schools and the legal system and the drug war, you're not living in poverty."  We have a horrifying number of unemployed minority teens in this country.  They are unemployed because the minimum wage is too high.  The only alternative to that view is to believe that employers are now more racist than they were 70 years ago. 

...who scoff at the notion that we might have a problem with women not getting paid for doing the same work that men are doing.

I scoff at that notion.  I repeat....  I scoff at that notion.  And if you are honest, so will you.  Think of your workplace.  Think of someone who does your exact job, with your exact experience level, and your exact output, and your exact level of training. 

Thought of that person yet?  No?  Well, you never will.  He or she doesn't exist.  That's why this segment of Barack's Inequality Crusade is a red herring.  It's a feast for lawyers and the government's regulatory munchkins. 

Also, if you adjust for hours worked and education, women make virtually the same as men.  Barack's Pajama Boys pulled that 77% number out of their asses. 

So there you have it.  One paragraph of a Barack Obama speech.  Five misrepresentations of reality.  He could've said that Republicans are superstitious homophobes.  Well, maybe.  He could've said that they're scared of people with different skin colors from theirs.  Well, yeah, but so are Democrats.  Barack could've said that Republicans are Crony Capitalists of the worst possible sort, and I woulda stood on my coffee table and cheered. 

There's so much low-hanging fruit out there, just waiting on a politician like Barack to reach up and pluck it. 

He can't even do that properly. 

Sorry for the anger in this post.  But I'm so tired of that man.  I've spent a long, long day trying to hire and train victims of our public schools who first became victims of the Welfare State, who then became victims of the Drug War, and who then later became victims of "the helping professions" in government social work bureaucracies.  The system depresses me and terrifies me. 

Good night. 

Do you remember "Schoolhouse Rock"?

Back in the early 1970's, back when Saturday morning cartoons were still popular, ABC had a series of short vignettes called "Schoolhouse Rock". 
They dealt with grammar, history, math and such. 

For everyone who remembers.....

 

An explanation, an experiment, and a parable about Milton Friedman's Four Ways To Spend Money

Here's a chart showing Milton Friedman's famous Four Ways To Spend Money. 

Here's a 2004 interview with Friedman, in which he explains the famous Four Ways To Spend Money.  (All government spending is in that nasty bottom right quadrant, BTW.  Any project that is advertised in terms of number of "jobs created" is a waste.  I'm just sayin'....)

There are four ways to spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why you really watch out for what you're doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well then, I'm not so careful about the content of the present, but I'm very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else's money on myself. And if I spend somebody else's money on myself, then I'm going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else's money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned about how much it costs, and I'm not concerned about what I get. And that's government. And that's close to 40 percent of our national income.

Here's something from MSN Money, posted about a month ago.  It's an experiment that confirms Friedman's hypothesis about the top right and bottom left quadrants of the chart.  If you're helping someone else spend their money, or they're helping you spend yours, more money will be spent, often on silliness....

You and your friends are eating out and you plan to divide the tab evenly. Now you're faced with a dilemma. Do you splurge at the expense of your friend's pocketbook, or do you eat light, knowing you're going to end up paying for your friend's lavish meal? 

This seemingly innocuous event has caused enough consternation that a group of three scientists actually performed field experiments to see how unscrupulous people really are. 

According to io9.com, the experiment went a little like this: A group of strangers gather to eat at a restaurant. The participants are each told how they will pay for their meal. Some will pay individually, some are told they will split the check, and the remaining people are told that the meal will be free. 

The diners then ordered their meals without anyone else seeing what they had chosen.

The results of the dining experience are described by io9.com:

To no one's surprise, the people who paid individually were the most frugal, the people getting the free lunch were most extravagant, and the people who split the bill were in the middle, and therefore slightly unscrupulous.

Some diners were then told that they would have to pay just one-sixth of the cost of their individual meal. There was no difference between what those diners ate compared to those who were told they had to split the bill evenly, according to io9.com.

But what happens when you're in a large group of anonymous people?  Here's something from the immortal Russ Roberts, writing waaaaay back in 1995.  This essay, called "If you're paying, I'll have Top Sirloin", has already made it into the Libertarian Literary Canon.  The entire parable is scraped and reposted here, just to make my point....

As Congress prepares to try to cut spending, I am reminded of an evening last fall at the St. Louis Repertory Theater, our local company. Before the curtain rose, the company's director appeared and encouraged us to vote against a ballot proposition to limit state taxes. He feared it would lead to reduced funding for the company.

I turned to the woman sitting next to me and asked her if she felt guilty knowing that her ticket was subsidized by some farmer in the "boot-heel" of Missouri. No, she answered, he's probably getting something, too. She seemed to be implying that somehow, it all evened out.

I left her alone, but I wanted to say, no it doesn't even out. If it "evened out" for everybody, then government spending would really be depressing: all that money shuffled around, all those people working at the IRS, all those marginal tax rates discouraging work effort just to get everybody to get the same deal.

Here in St. Louis we recently completed Metrolink, a light rail system. It cost $380 million to build. We locals contributed zero out of pocket. It was paid for by the rest of the country. Shouldn't we feel guilty making people in Kentucky, Mississippi and Maine pay for our trips to the hockey arena downtown? No, say the beneficiaries. After all, we paid for BART in San Francisco and MARTA in Atlanta and all the other extraordinarily expensive, underutilized public transportation systems whose benefits fall far short of their costs. It's only fair we get our turn at the trough.

This destructive justification reminds me of a very strange restaurant.

When you eat there, you usually spend about $6—you have a sandwich, some fries and a drink. Of course you'd also enjoy dessert and a second drink, but that costs an additional $4. The extra food isn't worth $4 to you, so you stick with the $6 meal.

Sometimes, you go to the same restaurant with three friends. The four of you are in the habit of splitting the check evenly. You realize after a while that the $4 drink and dessert will end up costing you only $1, because the total tab is split four ways. Should you order the drink and dessert? If you're a nice person, you might want to spare your friends from having to subsidize your extravagance.

Then it dawns on you that they may be ordering extras financed out of your pocket. But they're your friends. They wouldn't do that to you and you wouldn't do that to them. And if anyone tries it among the group, social pressure will keep things under control.

But now suppose the tab is split not at each table but across the 100 diners that evening across all the tables. Now adding the $4 drink and dessert costs only 4¢. Splurging is easy to justify now. In fact you won't just add a drink and dessert; you'll upgrade to the steak and add a bottle of wine. Suppose you and everyone else each orders $40 worth of food. The tab for the entire restaurant will be $4000. Divided by the 100 diners, your bill comes to $40. Here is the irony. Like my neighbor at the theater, you'll get your "fair share." The stranger at the restaurant a few tables over pays for your meal, but you also help subsidize his. It all "evens out."

But this outcome is a disaster. When you dine alone, you spend $6. The extra $34 of steak and other treats are not worth it. But in competition with the others, you've chosen a meal far out of your price range whose enjoyment falls far short of its cost.

Self-restraint goes unrewarded. If you go back to ordering your $6 meal in hopes of saving money, your tab will be close to $40 anyway unless the other 99 diners cut back also. The good citizen feels like a chump.

And so we read of the freshman Congressman who comes to Congress eager to cut pork out of the budget but in trouble back home because local projects will also come under the knife. Instead of being proud to lead the way, he is forced to fight for those projects to make sure his district gets its "fair share."

Matters get much worse when there are gluttons and drunkards at the restaurant mixing with dieters and teetotalers. The average tab might be $40, but some are eating $80 worth of food while others are stuck with a salad and an iced tea.

Those with modest appetites would like to flee the smorgasbord, but suppose it's the only restaurant in town and you are forced to eat there every night. Resentment and anger come naturally. And being the only restaurant in town, you can imagine the quality of the service.

Such a restaurant can be a happy place if the light eaters enjoy watching the gluttony of those who eat and drink with gusto. Many government programs generate a comparable wide range of support. But many do not. How many Americans other than farmers benefit from the farm subsidy programs? How many Americans other than train riders derive benefit from the Amtrak subsidy?

People who are overeating at the expense of others should be ashamed. That shame will return when others are forced to cut back too. This requires deep cuts and an end to the government smorgasbord where the few benefit at the expense of the many.

There you have it.  The original Milton Friedman theory, a real-life experiment, and a Russ Roberts parable, all illustrating why government spending is generally a disaster. 
If you want someone to do a better job of pulling all this together, go elsewhere.  This is the best I can do. 
Here are some more charts, extravagantly posted on my site for your benefit, because I downloaded them from elsewhere at no expense to myself (ahem). 

The Greatest Achievement In History

From the great Arthur Brooks, of The American Enterprise Institute:

The achievement shown on this chart is possibly the greatest accomplishment in history.

"What did it? The United Nations? US foreign aid? The International Monetary Fund? Central planning?
No.
It was globalization, free trade, the boom in international entrepreneurship. In short, it was the free enterprise system, American style, which is our gift to the world.
I will state, assert and defend the statement that if you love the poor, if you are a good Samaritan, you must stand for the free enterprise system, and you must defend it, not just for ourselves but for people around the world.
It is the best anti-poverty measure ever invented."

(And we did it by not really trying!  If you keep the bureaucrats, academics, government munchkins, and other trolls busy chasing their tails, there is no limit to human accomplishment.) 
 

Help crack the NSA's secret code

The National Security Administration (NSA) recently sent out the following Tweet, partially as a game, partly as a recruiting stunt, and perhaps to polish their self-image as a buncha fun-loving guys who spend their days reading your emails and logging your phone calls. 

The idea was to get amateur cryptographers to see if they have what it takes to work for the NSA.  Here's what the Tweet looked like. 

I put aside my scheduled recreation for the evening....

....Well, the book part, anyway, and figured it out in under 30 minutes.
 
Hit this link for the translation. 

The National Security Administration.  The only branch of government that really listens!!
 

The TRWD board votes to censure Mary Kelleher.

Over the years, I've burned through a few blog entries about the notorious Tarrant Regional Water District board. 

We managed to get Mary Kelleher, a decent human being, on the board last year. 

Mary has had to sue the board to get records and other info.  In a just world, in a city whose newspaper wasn't staffed by lapdogs, Mary Kelleher would be a Fort Worth hero.  That would put an end to the cronyism, the no-bid contracts for Flood Control BBQ restaurants, and the spiraling costs for projects having nothing to do with water. 

This morning, the TRWD voted to censure Mary Kelleher. 

Here's the best account of the proceedings. 

My favorite moment was when Mary basically censured the board with a litany of their extremely questionable actions. Mary brought up nepotism, cronyism, other isms I'm forgetting and most memorably Mary brought up an illicit liaison a between high ranking TRWD employee and a lower ranking TRWD employee, saying this as she sat a couple feet from Jim Oliver.

I wish I could remember exactly what it was Mary said when she got to the illicit liaison part of her censuring of the TRWD Board.

While watching this absurd meeting a couple times it was reminding me of a Simpson's episode. With Mary being Lisa Simpson, you know, wise beyond her years Lisa Simpson, usually smarter than any of the adults in the room, being totally flummoxed by the utter ridiculousness of what she is dealing with.

Here's a video. 

Here's a typical Bud Kennedy whitewash.  Please note that Democrat Lon Burnam and Republican Jonathan Stickland are both opposed to the actions of this Den Of Thieves, once again proving John Spivey's adage correct.....

"No matter what your politics, there's something for you to hate about the TRWD." 

 

My Sermon at the NORML meeting

My buddy Tristan Tucker asked me to speak at the recent DFW/NORML meeting. 
NORML is the National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws. 

I decided to take on a Southern Baptist Preacher persona and give the smokers and tokers a sermon.  It was well-received. 

BTW, only a Libertarian would selectively edit the Old Testament to improve the flow.  Yes, we really do believe we can improve on stuff supposedly written by God. 

Enjoy. 

My name is the Reverend Doctor Allen Patterson, and I bring you greetings from the First Church Of The Tarrant County Libertarian Party!!  Our text for today is from the Book of 1^st Samuel, Chapter 8.

Look it up on your phone so you won’t think I’m making this stuff up.  Way back in the day, Israel was governed by a small group of judges, and their only job was to intervene in disputes, enforce the laws of the land, and protect the borders. 

Does that sound nice?  Yeah, that sounds nice.  1 Samuel, Chapter 8. 

⁴ One day the people of Israel came to Samuel The Prophet ⁵ and said, “You are an old man.  Now we want a king to be our leader,  just like all the other nations. We want a king!  Choose one for us!”

⁶ Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it. ⁷ The Lord answered:

“They aren’t rejecting you and your judges, Samuel.  They’re rejecting me. ⁹ Do everything they ask, but warn them and tell them how a king will treat them.

¹⁰ Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the Lord had said:

¹¹ If you have a king, this is how he will treat you. He will force your sons to join his army. Some of them will drive his chariots, and some will be in his cavalry.  Your other children will have to farm the king’s land and harvest his crops, or make the king’s weapons and parts for his chariots. <sup>13 

And the people STILL said “Give us a king!”</sup> 

And Samuel said “Your daughters will have to make his perfume or do his cooking and baking.” And the people Still said “Give us a king!”

¹⁴ The king will take your best fields, as well as your vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his own officials. ¹⁵ He will also take a tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and his officials.  (Can you imagine the government taking only a tenth??)

And the people Still said “Give us a king!”

¹⁶ And Samuel said “this king will take your best young men and your donkeys and make them do his work. ¹⁷ He will also take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You will become the king’s slaves, ¹⁸ and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from the king you wanted.

^19-20 The people would not listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle.”

²¹ Samuel listened to them and then told the Lord exactly what the people had said.

And the Lord answered. “So…..Give them a king.”

Thus ends the reading of today’s word from the Lord. 

DFW/NORML, for 3,000 years we’ve known how kings and governments behave.  And yet some of us still say “Give Us A King!”  There's a little girl named Emma sitting at this front table.  She's totally innocent.  Never spent a dime in her life.  Our kings and their government and their reckless spending have put Emma $50,000.00 in debt.  If  Emma’s foolish enough to grow up to be a taxpayer, her share of the national debt is $110,000.00

Emma's share of the unfunded retirements, Social Security payments and other liabilities?  ONE MILLION DOLLARS. 

And some of us still say “Give Us A King”. 

The Richard Nixon through Barack Obama Drug War has killed 40,000 civilians in Mexico.  We have as many as 800,000 people in prison for non-violent drug offenses.  It costs 40 to 50,000 each, per year, to keep these people in a steel cage. 

And we still say “Give Us A King.”

George Bush, Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama, Al Gore, Arnold Schwarzenegger and RICK FREAKIN’ SANTORUM all affirm that they have smoked marijuana, all of them would’ve had their careers ended if they’d been busted as kids, and ALL OF THEM STILL SUPPORT THE WAR ON MARIJUANA.  And their parties still say “Give Us A King”. 

Because of the war on marijuana, Barack Obama has more black men living in cages than Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy did at the start of the Civil War.

And the people still say “Give Us A King”. 

Church family, my brothers and sisters at DFW/NORML, we are all sinners.  There is none who is righteous, no, not one.  We have all, in our sinful pasts, voted for Republicans and Democrats, the people who got us into the mess predicted in the Book of First Samuel 3,000 years ago.  We’ve all done it. 

But there is a way out.  And it’s called The Tarrant County Libertarian Party.   Are you ready to end the war on marijuana?  Are you ready to get the government out of your life?  ARE YOU READY? 

Brother Ken Stanford is waiting at the table in the back, along with the rest of our trained counseling staff.  Though your sins be as scarlet, we can make them white as snow.  Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  There is no other way, there is no other path.  If the other parties could get you out of this hole you’re in, they would’ve done it by now instead of digging it deeper. 

ARE YOU READY TO MAKE A DECISION FOR CHRIST???

So….

May the Lord Bless you and keep you, May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you.

May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short;

Grace to risk something big for something good

Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love and tolerance for all….

So may God take your minds and think through them,

May God take your lips and speak through them,  And may God take your hearts, and set them on fire. 

Amen. 

I'm not dead...

I'm just very, very busy. 
Just finished Precinct, County, District and State Conventions for the Tarrant and Texas Libertarian Parties. 
Swamped at work. 
Good things are happening. 
We've gotten our feet in the door with the "Open Carry" gun rights movement.
Our candidates have an open invitation to speak at DFW/NORML events. 
There were at least 3 obviously gay dudes at the state convention - all of 'em are sick of Team Blue. 
All of those sections of society are starting to figure out that they have a common enemy - the people who are trying to take their money, their kids, their rights and their freedom. 

The Libertarian Party is the answer !!

 

Another shooting in a gun-free zone

Here's a chart showing U.S. defense spending relative to that of other nations. 

Here's one of those cartogram things showing U.S. defense spending relative to our space on the globe. 

Here's a pie chart showing U.S. defense spending as a total of all discretionary spending. 

Go here to read an account of THE SECOND mass shooting at Fort Hood, Oklahoma.  Fort Hood is one of the largest U.S. Army bases.  This time the gunman killed 3 people and wounded 16 others. 

Look at the spending.  Read the account of the shooting.  The victims were having to call 911 (the emergency police number in the U.S.) to get help.  On a military base. 

Does this make any sense at all?  I hate that these innocent people lost their lives.  I'm not making light of this tragedy. 

But if they aren't allowed to protect themselves, what the hell are they doing for us?  Am I missing something? 

 

We have a clear, stark choice ahead of us

To all delegates to the Libertarian Party of Texas State Convention:

We have a clear, stark choice ahead of us. 

We've had these words, or similar verbiage, in our national and state platforms since the mid-1970's. 

The Tarrant County (Fort Worth/Arlington) Libertarian Party recently participated in the Fort Worth Gay Pride parade, after taking part in the larger Dallas equivalent for almost a decade. 

We were very well-received.  You can't imagine the looks of undiluted joy in the faces of the crowd when we pulled this rig through Downtown Cowtown !

We actually won the trophy for Best Non-Profit Entry. 

Contrast that greatness with this, from the new Vice-Chair of the Harris County (Houston) Libertarian Party.  Yes, this is coming from an official rep of the LP.....

The stats in this thing have been discredited more times than "The Hitler Diaries". 

Pick a side folks.  Pick a side. 

Kathie Glass For Governor !!

After long and thoughtful consideration, I've decided to support Kathie Glass for the Libertarian Party's nomination for governor of The Great State Of Texas. 

Kathie (along with her husband Tom) and I have been opposing each other, off and on, for about two years. 

So why the change of heart?  I've looked at the facts.  And when confronted with new facts, I often change my mind.  For documentation, hit the links.  You won't understand ANY of this unless you hit the links!!

*  In her previous gubernatorial run for the LP, Kathie proved that she could attract and maintain major donors to the party. 

*  As Chair of the Harris County Libertarian Party, she has surrounded herself with people who adhere to the LP's history of respect for all lifestyle choices. 

*  Kathie boldly and confidently stands up for the Libertarian Party's positions on ending the Drug War, decriminalizing marijuana use, and legalizing gambling.  She's a fighter! 

*  Kathie is aided in her campaign by her husband Tom, who, in his campaign for State Chair two years ago, conducted himself with genuine dignity and total honesty. 

* When our State Executive Committee takes actions that she believes are a mistake, she accepts our verdict and moves on. 

*  Pat Dixon, our State Chair, enjoys dealing with Kathie, as do our two Austin employees, Heather Fazio and Lauren Daugherty.  In fact, Heather and Lauren sometimes refer to Kathie as "Mom". 

*  Kathie has contributed staggering sums of money to the Texas LP over the years. 

*  As Chair of the Harris County LP, she doesn't always agree with everything done by other counties, but she always respects their process !!

*  Anyone who can create a good work atmosphere can probably create a good governing atmosphere as a civil servant.   Kathie has spread goodwill throughout our Austin offices. 

*  Unlike so many political candidates, Kathie is respectful of the political and the parliamentary process, and gracefully adheres to the rules of debate. 

*  Kathie believes that those who have worked hardest in the party deserve to represent the party!!

I hope everyone who reads this has a GREAT April 1st, with all that the date implies.  I hope you've looked at the facts in the links provided.  If you're confronted with new facts, do you change your mind?  I hope so. 

What Kathie Glass has done for the Libertarian Party of Texas, she can do for us in Austin! 

Most of the documentation for emails and quotes can be found here.  Others (unfortunately) are taken directly from emails within the Libertarian Party Of Texas. 

A Hypothetical Question on "Illegal" Immigration

I put this little hypothetical situation on Facebook the other day, and it has generated some lively discussion.  If you haven't friended me on FB yet, feel free to do so! 

Who does the American taxpayer more harm: 1) the guy from Mexico or Canada who is in the U.S. without a permission slip from Obama, who is working away mowing yards, hanging sheetrock, or pouring concrete for about $25,000 per year, and who is paying money into Social Security that he'll never be able to collect, OR, 2) the machinist or engineer at General Dynamics being paid $60,000 per year, directly by the taxpayers, to make aircraft we don't need?

(General Dynamics is a manufacturer of munitions and armaments for the military-industrial complex.) 

 

Our government is like a bad factory

Next week I'll be going to Indiana. 

My employer purchased a percentage of a company up there.  It's an 8 million dollar per year operation that somehow managed to lose 3 million dollars. 

Yeah.  3 million. 

How in the hell can that happen?

Well, here are the basic reasons....

1) The old owners were not present.  "Everyone" was supposed to own the factory.  Therefore, nobody owned it.  The inmates were running the asylum. 

2) There were no incentives to keep costs down.  They were buying things from buddies and family.  (And they're still trying to, which I will end about one hour after walking in the door.)   

3) The place has a strong union mentality.  One co-worker of mine went up there to help out for a few weeks, and he swears that they weren't going to ship $300,000.00 worth of products because they had run out of #8 machine screws.  He drove down to Home Depot and bought some freakin' machine screws, and the orders shipped on time. 

4) Everyone was getting raises like clockwork, profitability and performance be damned. 

Those are the big reasons why the factory was losing money.  We almost have the place sorted out, but there's still a lot of work to do.

Does that factory remind you of another organization?  It should.   

Here are the reasons government doesn't work. 

1) Nobody owns the government.  "Everyone" is supposed to own it.  Therefore nobody owns it.  The inmates get to run the asylum. 

2) There are no incentives to keep costs down.  Bureaucrats are actually incentivized to create bigger budgets and hire more and more people. Therefore, their pay scale goes up. 

3) Government has the strongest union mentality in our nation.  Examples abound. 

4) Everyone working in government can probably tell you, plus or minus a few percentage points, how much they'll be earning five years from now, efficiency and performance be damned. 

That's all I got.  Hope you've had a good weekend !! 

 

On the U.S. trade deficit

I'm making this argument here for the last time.  THERE IS NO TRADE DEFICIT. 

As long as a trade isn't the result of theft, deception, fraud or government mandate (pardon all the redundancies), all trade is balanced.  There are no surpluses; there are no deficits. 

I give Starbucks $2.12 and they give me a double-espresso. 

They buy no freight or warehousing services from me. 

China provides me with fruitstand components.  I provide China with pieces of paper that have Benjamin Franklin's picture on them.  It's balanced. 

And there's only one place where you can swap Benjamins for other goods and services. 

That would be in the USA, or with someone who will eventually spend them in the USA. 

It's always balanced. 

Those who claim otherwise have ulterior motives. 

Thanks for listening. 

A quick note from the author

I haven't had time to post anything on this site in the last eight days. 

I'm chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party.  We're in a bit of a struggle within the Texas LP, primarily because of Tom and Kathie Glass, Republican Carpetbaggers from Houston.  (They're married to each other, and deserve the honor....) 

Kathie hopes to win the LP nomination for governor of Texas. 

When we had our Precinct Conventions last Tuesday night, about 17 people walked in that I'd never seen before, or had seen only once.  They were obviously there to deny our long-time Libertarian activists a chance to go to our State Convention in April.  That's because Tarrant County (Fort Worth) has a lot of "lifer" Libertarians who've seen Tom and Kathie in action for the last four years or so.  Therefore, very few of us who are active will ever support either Tom or Kathie for any office.  We know them.  It's a long, tiresome story that I'll post sometime between now and our State Convention. 

I had to go into full-blown "Barbarians At The Gates" mode to keep the Glasses from taking over the County Party, and it worked.  Our slate of delegates had an overwhelming victory.  To make it better, the Glasses of Houston were there for the event.  (Don't ask me why they felt it was their business to infiltrate a Tarrant County Convention.)

I believe they had some limited success with this type of behavior in Denton County, but nowhere else. 

We had some great people show up for the first time at our County Convention.  I hope they'll come back, despite having been used as pawns by the Glasses.  If they continue to show up and help out, they can be delegates to their hearts' content.  This is the first year I haven't had to beg people to go. 

Once we get the video, I'll post a few snippets of Tom Glass, the Houston interloper, slithering back and forth in the aisles, whispering instructions and passing notes to his unfortunate surrogate.   And both of them GETTING IT WRONG!!  Tom, you can't just add 11 additional delegates to a slate of 16 delegates when there are only 16 spots in the delegation !!!  Good Lord in heaven, man!!  You're a freakin' lawyer !!!

Anyway, I have a District Convention to orchestrate this Saturday.  Once that's over with, I'll be back to posting regularly.  I've missed it.  I've seen a dramatic dropoff in ad revenue from this site, and I miss that money, too ! 

I don't know who put it together, but this Kathie video is pretty funny if you know the back-story. 



Click here to return to my April Fool's Day endorsement of Kathie Glass for governor. 
 

Ballot Access - North Korea vs USA

From CNN (although I could have used numerous other sources, all mocking the idea that North Korea actually has an election process):

This Sunday, North Koreans will be required to show their assent for this political system at general elections universally expected to return the current incumbent Kim Jong Un.

 

While critics say the poll is merely a political show to legitimize the country's rubber stamp parliament -- previous elections in 2009 returned Kim Jong il (Kim Jong Un's predecessor and father) with a 100% mandate on a 99.98% turnout -- observers will be poring over the list of legislators for clues as to how Kim will govern the Communist nation over the next five years.

Kim himself is running for a seat in the Paekusan Constituency No.111; significant because the numbers are regarded as auspicious in Korean culture and because North Korea claims Mount Paektu, located in Paekusan on the border with China, to be the legendary birthplace of his father.

 

The ruling Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland holds all 687 seats within the Supreme People's Assembly and voters have only one candidate to vote for in each of the seats.

 

While the umbrella grouping officially contains four parties -- the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean Social Democratic Party, the Cheondoist Chongu Party and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan -- all candidates must be sanctioned by the party including three independents currently sitting as deputies in the assembly.

 

While it is possible for a voter to cast a ballot against a candidate, they must walk to a special booth to do so. Critics say few are brave enough to cross out the name on the ballot.

 

From The New York Holy Times (although I could have used numerous other sources, all mocking the idea that the USA actually has an election process):

 

Two Libertarian candidates were tossed from Ohio’s primary ballot on Friday by Secretary of State Jon Husted in a ruling that sparked immediate plans for a legal challenge. Mr. Husted, a Republican, said he had adopted a hearing officer’s recommendations in disqualifying a candidate for governor, Charlie Earl, and an attorney general candidate, Steven Linnabary.

 

Their nominating petitions were challenged on two grounds: that signature gatherers failed to comply with Ohio laws requiring them to be either Libertarian or a political independent and another requiring them to disclose their employer.

 

Mark Brown, a lawyer for the Libertarian Party of Ohio, said it will challenge the decision in federal court. He said the ballot protests were an extension of Republican efforts to keep second third parties off the state’s ballot.

 

Mr. Earl could draw votes from Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, in his re-election bid this fall.

 

So.... We Libertarian Party folks are accustomed to skullduggery from the Beltway Party, trying to keep us off the ballot.  (I won't deny that we sometimes stumble when trying to get over the hurdles they place before us.) 

 

But it does appear that North Korea does offer an easier process for other parties to be represented. 

 

Just go to the alternative booth to vote for someone other than those in power.   

 

I've often said that it's easier for a Southern Baptist to get on the ballot in Saudi Arabia than it is for a Libertarian to get on the ballot in Oklahoma.  Or Ohio. 

 

And we are the country that sends its army and navy all over the world to guarantee free and fair elections. 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the good old days of U.S Foreign Policy

Whose picture should be on our currency?

Our currency in the U.S. (often known in the black community as "Dead Presidents") honors people who won wars.  Andrew Jackson killed a lot of Indians.  General Grant killed a lot of Confederates.  Franklin Roosevelt killed the economy. 

We should commemorate people who spread liberty and freedom. 

Don Boudreaux (who should be on a commemorative penny, at least) has come up with a list of people who we should honor on our Federal Reserve Notes and our debased coinage. 

Here's his list.  It's greatness.... !

$1 bill: George Washington.  For all of his flaws, Washington was not as mad for power as is the typical politician.  That character trait was enormously beneficial to the early American republic.

Ok.  Agreed.  They wanted him to be king, and he declined.  Although I sometimes think we would be better off with some hereditary despots who relied on promoting freed, as opposed to the current system of beauty contests. 

$2 bill: Henry Ford, for being such a pioneering and innovative producer.

I dunno.  Towards the end of his life, he became increasingly anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-liquor, 3 concepts that I like a lot. 

$5 bill: John D. Rockefeller, Sr., for being such a pioneering and innovative producer.

He added hundreds of hours of light (via kerosene) at increasingly lower prices to the common man.  You could make the argument that Rockefeller saved the whales !!

$10 bill: Gustavus Swift, for being such a pioneering and innovative producer.

Ok.  Good choice. 

$20 bill: Norman Borlaug, for saving countless millions of people from starvation.

Excellent choice.  He developed new strains of wheat (and was harshly criticized by many on the left, because it would increase population!) and probably saved a billion (with a "b") lives. 

$50 bill: Sam Walton, for being such a pioneering and innovative retailer.

Wouldn't that make the Statists go just absolutely batshit crazy?  Sam Walton helped bring one million people per month out of bone-grinding poverty in China.  He did more than anyone in history to hold down inflation in the era of the Fed.  He's the reason the jeans I'm wearing now cost less than they did in 1977.  Here's why he deserved a Nobel !!

$100 bill: Benjamin Franklin, for his scientific achievements and his bourgeois wisdom.

Meh.  Interesting guy, but I'd rather see Calvin Coolidge (greatest president) get a spot. 

One-cent coin: Richard Sears, for being such a pioneering and innovative retailer.

Ok.  He changed the world. 

Five-cent coin: Steve Jobs, for being such a pioneering and innovative producer.

Well, he did more good than Roosevelt. 

10-cent coin: John Bogle, for inventing the indexed mutual fund.

Ok. 

25-cent coin: Milton Friedman, for teaching not only the general public, but fellow economists, economics.

HELL TO THE YES.  YES, YES, YES!!

50-cent coin: Gail Borden, for being such a pioneering and innovative producer.

Ok. 

$1 coin: Andrew Mellon, a productive financial genius

And the opposite side of the Andrew Mellon coin should show Franklin Roosevelt burning in hell.  Read Amity Shlaes great account of The Roosevelt-induced Depression "The Forgotten Man" for details of how FDR persecuted this great man. 

That's Don Boudreaux's list.  You probably have your own. 

Libertarian Leadership Training Conference - Saturday, March 1 !!

The Libertarian Party of Texas has a Spring Leadership Conference this Saturday ! If you are a candidate, candidate supporter, liberty lover, potential convention delegate or county chair, this is the meeting for you! You can pay at the door. Twenty-five bucks is all it takes for a full day of training, teaching, and hanging out with good, like-minded folks who are fighting for your freedom.

Here's a link....

DFW Airport Marriott South 4151 Centreport Drive Fort Worth, TX 76155Saturday, March 1, 2014 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (CST)

This conference is designed to be INTERACTIVE. Please bring your laptop!
Lunch is included in the very low, $25 registration. Please do your part to spread the word and invite all the Libertarians you know who are ready to join the revoLution here in Texas. NOW is the time!

8am - Registration (Breakfast available at Cafe)

9am - Welcome*Convention Process Overview

10am - Breakout Stations (Attendees choose three and rotate every hour)

*Creating a Facebook Page

*LPT Resources/Navigating the LPTexas.org Website

*District Research for Block Walking and Voting Trends

*Convention Chair Training/ District Convention Planning

*Delivering the Message (Role Play, Q&A, etc.)

1pm - Lunch (US Senate Candidate Forum)

2pm - Delegate Training

3pm - Mock Convention (FUN!)

 

The Progressive Art Of Single-Entry Bookkeeping

Dan Mitchell, at the International Liberty Blog, has written the best summary I've ever read of the failures of Keynesian economics. 

Go here. 

A slice....

To explain how this works, let’s briefly digress and explain Keynesian economics. This is the theory that you can jump-start a weak economy by having government borrow a lot of money and then “inject” this money into the economy. And that’s precisely what Obama did with the stimulus, mostly with more spending, but also with some tax cuts for favored constituencies. According to the theory, the money that is being spent by the government (and the recipients of tax cuts) will goose growth and create a ripple effect as producers hire people to deal with the increase in “aggregate demand.”

The Keynesians basically assume that there are no “opportunity costs” when government borrows money and spends it. That’s a bit of economic jargon, but it’s simply a way of saying that Keynesians think that money, for all intents and purposes, will sit idle and gather dust during an economic downturn in the absence of government.
 

This is a very nice theory…but only on a blackboard.
 

In reality, there is an “opportunity cost” when government borrows money and spends it. Resources are diverted from the productive sector of the economy. This might not be a problem if government spent money wisely, but stimulus schemes tend to reward interest groups with the most political clout. So instead of outlays for physical and human capital, which at least theoretically might improve the economy’s productive capacity, the White House directed the bulk of the stimulus to redistribution programs and handouts to state governments.

Yeah.  What he said.  Everything looks rosy as long as you restrict your analysis to what Kevin Williamson recently called "The Occult Art Of Single-Entry Bookkeeping".