BRILLIANT! Can’t have an inflation induced business cycle if the market is too regulated to function and the people too taxed to invest.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/…
Here is the second. Like the first batch, they are well-considered and interesting throughout; they will surely make many readers continue to wish fervently for a Paul presidency.
Thanks again to Rep. Paul for his time and insights, and to all of you for the good questions.
Q: What is the first thing the country should do about its monetary policy?
A: We should immediately audit the Federal Reserve. I am the ranking member of the Monetary Policy subcommittee in the U.S. Congress, yet I can get more information about the internal workings of the C.I.A. than I can about our central bank. This secrecy is fundamentally wrong, and I believe that people from all over the ideological political spectrum can agree on that.
Bloomberg News this month has gone to court compel the Fed to disclose securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for trillions of dollars of loans to banks. Expanding transparency is critical and could be done very quickly.
Q: What are your expectations for the next four years under an Obama administration? How might President Obama’s interventionist economic policies impact our lives?
A: Unfortunately, I don’t expect many good things. I do expect a lot of spending and even more debt. To really cut spending and balance our budget, we need to change foreign policy. Obama’s rhetoric on foreign policy is better than what we have gotten recently, but don’t expect any real change.
He may be more likely to wind things down in Iraq, but he’s still planning on keeping troops there for a least 16 more months. He wants money for Georgia and more troops in Afghanistan. He isn’t going to bring home our 30,000 troops from Korea or our 50,000 soldiers in Germany, and he won’t close any of our 700 foreign bases. At the same time, he is planning even bigger spending here at home. I hope I’m wrong, but if this spending and debt continue, the dollar is going to crash and we will see the middle class in this country take a grave hit.
Q: Do you deny global warming? Is Obama right to invest money in green technology? If you don’t deny it, and don’t think Obama is right, what is your solution?
http://www.littledemocrats.net/Obama.html
It’s… it’s not even good. Not even close. What’s with the third rate Dr. Suess crap? That’s a story?
H/T LRC
Follow up to New York Times a little more to the left this morning: Yes Men release special socialistic edition
November 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT:
writers@nytimes-se.com
917-202-5479
718-208-0684
415-533-3961“SPECIAL” NEW YORK TIMES BLANKETS CITIES WITH MESSAGE OF HOPE AND CHANGE
Thousands of volunteers behind elaborate operation
- PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
- Ongoing video releases: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
- The New York Times responds: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/
Hundreds of independent writers, artists, and activists are claiming credit for an elaborate project, 6 months in the making, in which 1.2 million copies of a “special edition” of the New York Times were distributed in cities across the U.S. by thousands of volunteers.
The papers, dated July 4th of next year, were headlined with long-awaited news: “IRAQ WAR ENDS”. The edition, which bears the same look and feel as the real deal, includes stories describing what the future could hold: national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for CEOs, etc. There was also a spoof site, at http://www.nytimes-se.com/.
“Is this true? I wish it were true!” said one reader. “It can be true, if we demand it.”
“We wanted to experience what it would look like, and feel like, to read headlines we really want to read. It’s about what’s possible, if we think big and act collectively,” said Steve Lambert, one of the project’s organizers and an editor of the paper.
“This election was a massive referendum on change. There’s a lot of hope in the air, but there’s a lot of uncertainty too. It’s up to all of us now to make these headlines come true,” said Beka Economopoulos, one of the project’s organizers.
“It doesn’t stop here. We gave Obama a mandate, but he’ll need mandate after mandate after mandate to do what we elected him to do. He’ll need a lot of support, and yes, a lot of pressure,” said Andy Bichlbaum, another project organizer and editor of the paper.
The people behind the project are involved in a diverse range of groups, including The Yes Men, the Anti-Advertising Agency, CODEPINK, United for Peace and Justice, Not An Alternative, May First/People Link, Improv Everywhere, Evil Twin, and Cultures of Resistance.
In response to the spoof, the New York Times said only, “We are looking into it.” Alex S. Jones, former Times reporter who is an authority on the history of the paper, says: “I would say if you’ve got one, hold on to it. It will probably be a collector’s item.”
Think big and act collectively? I’d like to name some others who did that to great success. Hitler and the National Socialist Party, Lenin and later Stalin and the Russian Communist Party, Mao and the Chinese Communist Party, Castro and the Cuban Communists… I’ll stop my predictable list of state socialists who thought big and murdered millions in the name of “collectivism.”
“Massive referendum on change”? “We gave Obama a mandate”? Define massive. To me it means more then 52.7% of the votes. A lot more actually. Upwards of 65 or 70 percent at least. And who is we? Those who voted for him? That’s 66,354,771 people. Or 30.5% of the voting population. Is that really a mandate? Is that a massive referendum. Is it okay for 30.5% of the voting population to control the other 69.5%?
I wasn’t much of a fan of those groups mentioned who are involved in this project. This solidifies my dislike of them.
November 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESPECIAL TIMES EDITION BLANKETS U.S. CITIES, PROCLAIMS END TO WAR
- PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
- For video updates: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
- Contact: mailto:writers@nytimes-se.com
Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had come to an end.
If, that is, they happened to read a “special edition” of today’s New York Times.
In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.
Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the war.
The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. There is also a timeline describing the gains brought about by eight months of progressive support and pressure, culminating in President Obama’s “Yes we REALLY can” speech. (The paper is post-dated July 4, 2009.)
“It’s all about how at this point, we need to push harder than ever,” said Bertha Suttner, one of the newspaper’s writers. “We’ve got to make sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do. After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start imagining heaven.”
Not all readers reacted favorably. “The thing I disagree with is how they did it,” said Stuart Carlyle, who received a paper in Grand Central Station while commuting to his Wall Street brokerage. “I’m all for freedom of speech, but they should have started their own paper.”
Is Ms. Suttner claiming Carter wasn’t hell? What about LBJ? I’m not so sure I can be “all for freedom of speech” for individuals who have no desire to extend me freedom of speech (pretty sure they support campaign regulation), or freedom of association (CEO pay, lobbying), or freedom from aggression by the majority (mandatory national healthcare.) The Yes Men are state socialists / anti-big business. They aren’t concerned with individual freedoms. They don’t bother reading history. They likely have little understanding of economics or how these plans of theirs would work in theory or practice. They have an incredibly shallow view of the world and it’s problems, ignore human tendency, and prescribe solutions equally as shallow and ignorant. Their proposed solutions however are far worse then the existing problems.
The one thing I hope comes from acts like this is that the participants get so worked up that when Obama fails to deliver their faith in their all powerful god Government will be diminished. Unlikely, but possible. Maybe if more bridges are built between the anarcho-capitalist and anarcho-socialists these state socialist types can be more easily convinced.
UPDATE:
Since their servers aren’t very responsive here are the PDFs: Without spreads | With spreads
I don’t recall why but I’m on the moveon.org’s mailing list. The other day I received this email:
Dear MoveOn member,
We wanted to say “thank you” to all of you who worked so hard in this historic campaign, so we joined with Shepard Fairey — the acclaimed artist who designed the iconic Obama “Hope” poster — to create a special piece of art commemorating this historic, people-powered victory.
Today, you can get a FREE sticker of Shepard’s “Yes We Did — Victory!” design to remember this moment. To order one now, just click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/shepstickers
We really want to make sure everyone who helped make this day possible gets a “Yes We Did!” sticker. So please pass this on to anyone you know who might want one — we’re happy to send them one, free.
And thanks again — really — for all you do.
–Nita, Daniel, Peter, Laura and the rest of the team
I’d recommend the no donation, free sticker option. If you are going to spend money on Obama merch I recommend something laur made.
 |
|
|
|
