Save Capitalism
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 4:20 PM PT
The Environment: Wednesday's airwaves, print media, cable news shows and Webosphere will be filled with nonsense about the scourge of capitalism, corporations and humanity. All of it will ignore the real truth.
Buried beneath all the badgering and fear-mongering about lavish Western lifestyles is a reality that the stuck-on-green left won't talk about and the average American isn't aware of: The world, especially in developed nations, is a cleaner — and greener — place than it was when the environmental movement began.
Every year Steven Hayward, a scholar at the Pacific Research Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, compiles his Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. And every year, his findings contradict the alarmists' warnings that the world is on the edge of environmental cataclysm.
From evidence "that tropical rain forests may now be expanding faster than they are being cut down" to the improving health of U.S. ocean fisheries to better outdoor air quality in American cities with the worst air pollution, Hayward shows there's more to be optimistic about than there is to be troubled about.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also published its own Report on the environment. Last year's report, the most recent, indicates outdoor air quality has improved, there's been a net gain in wetland acreage, public-source drinking-water problems are uncommon and forest land is expanding after declining for a century.
Americans are actually generating no more trash per-capita than they were in 1990, our production of hazardous waste has fallen from 36 million tons in 1999 to 28 million tons in 2005, and lead levels in our blood have shown "a steady decline since the 1980s."
And then there's carbon dioxide. We are pumping out more than ever. But there's no evidence, only speculation, that this weak greenhouse gas is having any effect on the environment.
"Overall, the health of the U.S. population has continued to improve," the EPA says. "Mortality rates continue to decline, and life expectancy continues to increase."
We're not saying the Earth, or even any part of it, is environmentally pristine. It's not, it never has been and never will be. Yet there's actually more positive news to celebrate than there are problems.
Of the estimated 1 billion people who will observe Earth Day worldwide this year, few will know about the progress that has been made. Fewer still will know how it was made. The media, uninterested in looking at the real story, will simply credit the environmental movement for the improvements.
We won't discount the movement's contribution. Four decades ago, it helped show the world the value of global stewardship. But that movement is no longer interested in a cleaner world.
Filled with extremists and anti-capitalist crusaders, its primary goals have changed. Topping the agenda of today's environmentalist groups is the pulling down of market economies, the raising up of central planning for egalitarian goals, forced lifestyle changes and the vilification — in hopes of the elimination — of signs of wealth.
None of these advance the planet's environmental health. But capitalism has. Through wealth generated by the free market, we have enough resources to move beyond the subsistence economies that damage the environment, enough disposable income to fund clean-up programs, enough wealth to scrub and polish industry.
Only in advanced economies can the technology needed to recycle hazardous waste or to replace dirty coal-fired power plants with cleaner gas or nuclear plants be developed. That technology cannot be produced in centrally planned economies where the profit motive is squelched and lives are marshalled by the state.
There's nothing wrong with setting aside a day to honor the Earth. In fairness, though, it should be complemented by Capitalism Day. It's important that the world be reminded of what has driven the environmental improvements since Earth Day began in 1970
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Article I came across regarding Obama apologizing for us
Arrogant Americans, Mr. President?
Peter Heck - Guest Columnist - 4/14/2009 7:50:00 AM (AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION)
As I was sitting in church waiting for the start of the service, my grandpa came walking towards me pointing his finger. No matter how old I get, and no matter how long he's been out of the U.S. Navy, that's still an intimidating sight. As he approached me, his voice quivered as he said, "We saved that continent twice...how dare my president apologize for this country's arrogance." My grandpa is right. Americans need not apologize to the world for their arrogance; rather, Americans should apologize to their forefathers for the arrogance of their president.
Barack Obama's first foreign trip as President of the United States has confirmed the naiveté so many of us feared during the election cycle. But worse than that, it has also demonstrated that our president suffers from either a complete misunderstanding of our heritage and history, or an utter contempt for it. Neither is excusable.
Garnering cheers from the French of all people, President Obama declared, "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." Consider that Obama spoke these words just 500 miles from the beaches of Normandy, where the sand is still stained with 65-year-old blood of "arrogant Americans."
Indeed, columnist Mark Whittington observes, "One should remind Mr. Obama and the Europeans how America has 'shown arrogance' by saving Europe from itself innumerable times in the 20th Century. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars in the Balkans were largely resolved by American blood, treasure, and leadership." But all that appears lost on the president's seemingly insatiable quest to mend fences he imagines have been tarnished by the bullish George W. Bush.
If Obama wishes to continue trampling the presidential tradition of showing class to former office holders and publicly trash Bush for his own personal gain, so be it. But all Americans should make clear that no man--even if he is the president --will tarnish the legacy of those Americans who have gone before us. Ours is not a history of arrogance. It is a history of courage, self-sacrifice, and honor.
When abusive monarchs repressed the masses, Americans resisted and overthrew them. When misguided policies led to the unjust oppression of fellow citizens, Americans rebelled and overturned them. When millions of impoverished and destitute wretches sought a new beginning, Americans threw open the door and welcomed them. When imperial dictators were on the march, Americans surrendered their lives to stop them. When communist thugs threatened world peace, Americans bled to defeat them. When an entire continent was overwhelmed with famine and hunger, Americans gave of themselves to sustain it. When terrorist madmen killed the innocent and subjugated millions, Americans led the fight to topple them.
This is the legacy that generations of Americans have left. If President Obama seeks stronger relations with the world community, perhaps he should begin by reminding them of these very truths, rather than condemning his own countrymen on foreign shores.
This "obsessive need to put down his own country," has caused blogger James Lewis to call President Obama a "stunningly ignorant man" who has evidently never spoken to a concentration camp survivor, a Cuban refugee, a boat person from Vietnam, a Soviet dissident, or a survivor of Mao's purges.
Unfortunately, I can no longer bring myself to give Mr. Obama that benefit of the doubt. Not after looking at the pain in my grandpa's eyes...a man who still carries shrapnel in his body from his service to this country.
As a student and teacher of history, I recognize that America has made mistakes...plenty of them, in fact. But one of the great things about our people has been their courage and humility in admitting and correcting those mistakes. God willing, they will prove that willingness again in four years and correct the mistake that is the presidency of Barack Obama.
WELL SAID my friend, end of story.
Peter Heck - Guest Columnist - 4/14/2009 7:50:00 AM (AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION)
As I was sitting in church waiting for the start of the service, my grandpa came walking towards me pointing his finger. No matter how old I get, and no matter how long he's been out of the U.S. Navy, that's still an intimidating sight. As he approached me, his voice quivered as he said, "We saved that continent twice...how dare my president apologize for this country's arrogance." My grandpa is right. Americans need not apologize to the world for their arrogance; rather, Americans should apologize to their forefathers for the arrogance of their president.
Barack Obama's first foreign trip as President of the United States has confirmed the naiveté so many of us feared during the election cycle. But worse than that, it has also demonstrated that our president suffers from either a complete misunderstanding of our heritage and history, or an utter contempt for it. Neither is excusable.
Garnering cheers from the French of all people, President Obama declared, "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." Consider that Obama spoke these words just 500 miles from the beaches of Normandy, where the sand is still stained with 65-year-old blood of "arrogant Americans."
Indeed, columnist Mark Whittington observes, "One should remind Mr. Obama and the Europeans how America has 'shown arrogance' by saving Europe from itself innumerable times in the 20th Century. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars in the Balkans were largely resolved by American blood, treasure, and leadership." But all that appears lost on the president's seemingly insatiable quest to mend fences he imagines have been tarnished by the bullish George W. Bush.
If Obama wishes to continue trampling the presidential tradition of showing class to former office holders and publicly trash Bush for his own personal gain, so be it. But all Americans should make clear that no man--even if he is the president --will tarnish the legacy of those Americans who have gone before us. Ours is not a history of arrogance. It is a history of courage, self-sacrifice, and honor.
When abusive monarchs repressed the masses, Americans resisted and overthrew them. When misguided policies led to the unjust oppression of fellow citizens, Americans rebelled and overturned them. When millions of impoverished and destitute wretches sought a new beginning, Americans threw open the door and welcomed them. When imperial dictators were on the march, Americans surrendered their lives to stop them. When communist thugs threatened world peace, Americans bled to defeat them. When an entire continent was overwhelmed with famine and hunger, Americans gave of themselves to sustain it. When terrorist madmen killed the innocent and subjugated millions, Americans led the fight to topple them.
This is the legacy that generations of Americans have left. If President Obama seeks stronger relations with the world community, perhaps he should begin by reminding them of these very truths, rather than condemning his own countrymen on foreign shores.
This "obsessive need to put down his own country," has caused blogger James Lewis to call President Obama a "stunningly ignorant man" who has evidently never spoken to a concentration camp survivor, a Cuban refugee, a boat person from Vietnam, a Soviet dissident, or a survivor of Mao's purges.
Unfortunately, I can no longer bring myself to give Mr. Obama that benefit of the doubt. Not after looking at the pain in my grandpa's eyes...a man who still carries shrapnel in his body from his service to this country.
As a student and teacher of history, I recognize that America has made mistakes...plenty of them, in fact. But one of the great things about our people has been their courage and humility in admitting and correcting those mistakes. God willing, they will prove that willingness again in four years and correct the mistake that is the presidency of Barack Obama.
WELL SAID my friend, end of story.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My two cents worth on the New Haven Firefighters lawsuit
You know sometimes it seems like the more things change the more they stay same. Black people had a real grievance until the last 20 years, they really did. I believe affirmative action was a real need at one point in our histories time, but now, it's just an excuse to get what you haven't earned. I think racism in ANY form is morally wrong. I am not talking about just a differing opinion mind you, but true discrimation against someone because they are different than you are-Gay,straight,black,Indian, and yes EVEN white. Yes I said it,even white. It's kind of like the table have flipped and to be honest cases like the firerighters in CT are something I am hearing more and more these days. Some folks might say well now you know it feels, true, but why should I have to pay the price for the sins of my forefathers, so to speak, thats not fair either. In this particual case it is just wrong to blame the white firefighters for something that is just not their fault. If you don't do the preparation and do the work for whatever test or exam it may be, then why should you get the job or the promotion? Hiring someone in this day and age just because they are black and NOT hiring someone just because they are white is DISCRIMINATION period.
I think it seems to me, that these firefighters have every reason to be upset. You should hire someone because they are qualified for the promotion or the job, END OF STORY. If it happens that less blacks end up for a set number of postions or less whites for that matter, then perhaps they need to look at whether there was adequate study prepatation going on and not neccarily immediately chalk it up to discrimination.
I am not saying it doesn't still exist, but I am sick to death of people in general making excuses based on their skin color or sex,or sexual preference. I didn't get this job cause I am (fill in the blank). How about you just weren't qualified? What a novel concept.
So my final thoughts on this are this. IF you want a level playing field, and aren't just looking for a handout,then I think Affirmative action should be abolished. It has outlived its justifiable purpose and is now doing much more harm than good. People who are qualifed for a job aren't getting them because they are the wrong race or sex. It's ridiculous and infuriating. Just hire someone based on their qualification and experience, and if applicable their tests scores. Whoever does best should get it, whether they be white, black, gay,straight, or from Mars for crying out loud.
Martin Luther King would be happy to see the progress we have made in making his dream come true, but I think he would be somewhat sad as well. He would be sad to see how there is still discrimination in all quarters, not just against blacks. We have all been victims of it at one time in our lives, white, black, gay, straight. How we handle that is up to us. We can have a chip on our shoulder or we can just work hard, play by the rules and do our best anyway.
And that's how I feel about it. You may hate it or may love it, but I hope it makes you think just a little beyond the knee-jerk reactions I see so much of these days, frankly I am just sick of all.
In the immortal words of Rodney King "Cant we all just get along?"
I think it seems to me, that these firefighters have every reason to be upset. You should hire someone because they are qualified for the promotion or the job, END OF STORY. If it happens that less blacks end up for a set number of postions or less whites for that matter, then perhaps they need to look at whether there was adequate study prepatation going on and not neccarily immediately chalk it up to discrimination.
I am not saying it doesn't still exist, but I am sick to death of people in general making excuses based on their skin color or sex,or sexual preference. I didn't get this job cause I am (fill in the blank). How about you just weren't qualified? What a novel concept.
So my final thoughts on this are this. IF you want a level playing field, and aren't just looking for a handout,then I think Affirmative action should be abolished. It has outlived its justifiable purpose and is now doing much more harm than good. People who are qualifed for a job aren't getting them because they are the wrong race or sex. It's ridiculous and infuriating. Just hire someone based on their qualification and experience, and if applicable their tests scores. Whoever does best should get it, whether they be white, black, gay,straight, or from Mars for crying out loud.
Martin Luther King would be happy to see the progress we have made in making his dream come true, but I think he would be somewhat sad as well. He would be sad to see how there is still discrimination in all quarters, not just against blacks. We have all been victims of it at one time in our lives, white, black, gay, straight. How we handle that is up to us. We can have a chip on our shoulder or we can just work hard, play by the rules and do our best anyway.
And that's how I feel about it. You may hate it or may love it, but I hope it makes you think just a little beyond the knee-jerk reactions I see so much of these days, frankly I am just sick of all.
In the immortal words of Rodney King "Cant we all just get along?"
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Article worth noting, with an accompying editorial cartoon
Probe Yourselves
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, April 16, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Finance: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a broad "probe" of Wall Street, much like the 1932 Pecora Commission that led to sweeping bank reforms. Good idea. Let the probing begin — with Pelosi's Congress.
Named for its chief counsel, Ferdinand Pecora, the 1932 congressional commission dragged influential bankers and stockbrokers before its members for rough questioning — both of their business practices and private lives.
The Pecora Commission led directly to the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the creation of the Securities Exchange Commission in 1935 to oversee Wall Street.
Now Pelosi's calling for an encore. "People are very unhappy with these bailouts," she noted, especially the bonuses that went to executives. "Seventy five percent of the American people, at least, want an investigation of what happened on Wall Street."
No doubt, that's true. The problem is, what "happened on Wall Street" was a direct result of what happened on Capitol Hill. And we're not the only ones who believe that, by the way.
"Government policies, especially the Community Reinvestment Act, and the affordable housing mission that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were charged with fulfilling, are to blame for the financial crisis," wrote economist Peter Wallison, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recently.
"Regulators also deserve blame for lowering lending standards that then contributed to riskier homeownership and the housing bubble." Exactly correct.
As such, Pelosi's proposed Pecora-style commission will be little more than a fig leaf to cover Congress' own multitude of sins — letting its members, the true creators of this financial mess, bash business leaders as they pose as populist saviors of Main Street from Wall Street predators.
Why do this now? Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues are feeling the heat from Tea Party demonstrations and growing voter anger over the massive waste entailed in the $4 trillion (and rising) stimulus-bailout bonanza. Again, the Democrats created all this spending. Now, as it proves unpopular, they just walk away from it.
On NPR Thursday, a reporter confronted Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, with the fact that his $300 billion "Hope for Homeowners" program, passed with much fanfare last fall, had so far helped just one homeowner. One.
Frank's response: It was the fault of the "right." And Bush.
Truth is, Frank's party has been in charge since 2006. And during that time, Democrats have presided over one of the most disgraceful and least accomplished Congresses in history. This financial mess began on their watch, yet they pretend otherwise.
What better way to take the heat off yourself than by pointing accusing fingers at those most unlikable of people — Wall Street bankers? That's what the Pelosi-Pecora Commission will do.
It won't get to the bottom of our financial crisis; it will carefully select scapegoats to be ritually shamed by the liberal media, stripped of their wealth, and exiled. Then new rules will be imposed that will no doubt make things worse. And the cycle will begin again.
We're not saying Wall Street has no blame for the financial meltdown. But Wall Street didn't create the subprime mess. Congress, through repeated interventions in healthy markets, did. And when the whole thing failed, it was Congress' fault.
We'd be happy to support a 9/11-style commission to look into the causes of the financial meltdown. But only if Congress agrees to put itself in the dock. Anything less would be a sham.
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, April 16, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Finance: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a broad "probe" of Wall Street, much like the 1932 Pecora Commission that led to sweeping bank reforms. Good idea. Let the probing begin — with Pelosi's Congress.
Named for its chief counsel, Ferdinand Pecora, the 1932 congressional commission dragged influential bankers and stockbrokers before its members for rough questioning — both of their business practices and private lives.
The Pecora Commission led directly to the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the creation of the Securities Exchange Commission in 1935 to oversee Wall Street.
Now Pelosi's calling for an encore. "People are very unhappy with these bailouts," she noted, especially the bonuses that went to executives. "Seventy five percent of the American people, at least, want an investigation of what happened on Wall Street."
No doubt, that's true. The problem is, what "happened on Wall Street" was a direct result of what happened on Capitol Hill. And we're not the only ones who believe that, by the way.
"Government policies, especially the Community Reinvestment Act, and the affordable housing mission that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were charged with fulfilling, are to blame for the financial crisis," wrote economist Peter Wallison, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recently.
"Regulators also deserve blame for lowering lending standards that then contributed to riskier homeownership and the housing bubble." Exactly correct.
As such, Pelosi's proposed Pecora-style commission will be little more than a fig leaf to cover Congress' own multitude of sins — letting its members, the true creators of this financial mess, bash business leaders as they pose as populist saviors of Main Street from Wall Street predators.
Why do this now? Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues are feeling the heat from Tea Party demonstrations and growing voter anger over the massive waste entailed in the $4 trillion (and rising) stimulus-bailout bonanza. Again, the Democrats created all this spending. Now, as it proves unpopular, they just walk away from it.
On NPR Thursday, a reporter confronted Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, with the fact that his $300 billion "Hope for Homeowners" program, passed with much fanfare last fall, had so far helped just one homeowner. One.
Frank's response: It was the fault of the "right." And Bush.
Truth is, Frank's party has been in charge since 2006. And during that time, Democrats have presided over one of the most disgraceful and least accomplished Congresses in history. This financial mess began on their watch, yet they pretend otherwise.
What better way to take the heat off yourself than by pointing accusing fingers at those most unlikable of people — Wall Street bankers? That's what the Pelosi-Pecora Commission will do.
It won't get to the bottom of our financial crisis; it will carefully select scapegoats to be ritually shamed by the liberal media, stripped of their wealth, and exiled. Then new rules will be imposed that will no doubt make things worse. And the cycle will begin again.
We're not saying Wall Street has no blame for the financial meltdown. But Wall Street didn't create the subprime mess. Congress, through repeated interventions in healthy markets, did. And when the whole thing failed, it was Congress' fault.
We'd be happy to support a 9/11-style commission to look into the causes of the financial meltdown. But only if Congress agrees to put itself in the dock. Anything less would be a sham.
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