31 May 2010

Memorial Day 2010



As a citizen of the freest, greatest country in history, I express my gratitude for those who throughout our history, have paid the last full measure so that we, collectively, could enjoy the fruits of liberty.

Thank you also to the many men and women--among them, some of my friends--who even now defend the freedoms I hold so dear. May we, collectively, never take our liberty, or those who defend it, for granted.

Congressman Sam Johnson, Air Force vet, on what you can do (broken link) to support the troops this Memorial Day.

Via Ace, a great video of our last WWI vet. Watch & learn.

Army vet & Yale alumnus Flagg K. Youngblood (my kind of name) has a great article up at the Young America's Foundation website (also broken link) about military service. From that piece, a few interesting stats:
At last count, the Department of Veterans Affairs found 41,891,368 Americans have served in uniform during times of war since 1775.

651,030 Americans have died in battle to protect liberty at home and abroad, and an additional 539,079 Americans have died in the line of military duty.

3,447 of the United States’ bravest have been awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest tribute to military valor, since Congress authorized the decoration in 1861, per the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
At The Corner, Pete Hegseth quotes John Stuart Mill:
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse.
Remember Jason Dunham, American, Marine, Medal of Honor recipient.

There is something worse than war; there are things more important than life.


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27 May 2010

Beautiful Shot Of Qwest Field, Seattle, & The Sound

From an article about Seattle's chances of hosting a Super Bowl now that New Jersey/York get one.


(via The Tacoma News-Tribune)


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More NJ Gov. Chris Christie Goodness

Which is it, Ms. Wilson? Are you in it for the money or for the love of teaching?

Mind you, my usual caveat, I'm not anti-teacher, I'm anti-teachers' unions and, indeed, unions in general.



(via Hot Air)

I don't agree that teachers are paid too little.

I do agree that good teachers are paid too little. It's because we waste so much money paying all the deadbeats whose jobs are guaranteed by the sweetheart deals their unions worked out with the government.


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And Now I'm Jealous Of New Jersey




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25 May 2010

Michael Lewis - Inside The Collapse - 60 Minutes - The Big Short

Michael Lewis is one of my favorite authors. He has written two of my favorite books--Liar's Poker and Moneyball. I'm waiting on Matt to finish The Big Short so I can have my turn reading it.

These two videos--taken from the same ep of 60 Minutes--are interesting and entertaining.

[Caveat: I don't agree with all or even most of what Lewis says here. Hindsight and all that.]



See also this column, in the NYT, by Michael Burry, one of the subjects of The Big Short on why more people--including The Fed--should have seen the crisis coming.

(h/t Scott L.)


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24 May 2010

Just The Links, Please

Wherein I write a sentence or three about each.
  • I think the Tories missed an opportunity to win control of Parliament outright and Republicans risk doing the same. What must they do? Follow Barone's advice and propose a bold plan that cuts Fed spending to ~20% of GDP.
  • Think moderation of radical Islam is inevitable? Think again.
  • Hypocritical Democrats aren't the only ones selling American education down the river--some Republicans do it too. It will come as no surprise to most of you that these Republicans reside in Illinois.
  • That awesome European model for what America could do and be? Not so awesome. Hey Krugman, are you paying attention?
Enjoy!


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21 May 2010

Weekend Happiness: Video Compilation Of Troops Coming Home

It's nice to be missed, but nothing is better than coming home.



God bless our troops.


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18 May 2010

'War Upon Us, Or A Cycle Of Mideast Nuclear Proliferation'

Bret Stephens argues, rightly, that the failure to stop Iran's nuke dream will lead to either an Israeli strike or a nuke arms race in the Middle East.

Ronen Bergman has suggested, on multiple occasions, that Israel's historical precedent is one of preemptive action in the face of an existential threat. Barring some new twist and given that precedent and the pace of current events, my money is on an Israeli strike against Iranian nuke facilities before the end of 2010.


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17 May 2010

Inflationary Quote Of The Day

The lesson here is that without political will, fiat money in any form—be it in a monetary union, anchored to a reserve currency or run by the sovereign—is unreliable. As Messrs. Steil and Hinds note, "money untethered to a commodity gives rise to inflation when managed by corrupt, irresponsible or incompetent rulers," thereby covering Greece, Argentina and Venezuela in one breath.

Harkening back to the wisdom of a 15th century Spanish canon lawyer, the authors capture today's fiat currency problem: "The ruler's power to create value from the valueless by designating it 'money' was bound to lead to inflation."

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Vote For This Guy

I've never been jealous of Alabama before.



(via Hot Air)


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12 May 2010

Good Riddance, Bob Bennett

Another edition of bullet pointed links to articles I haven't had time to write up but which are good.
  • Meanwhile, Daniel Krauthammer reviews the Senate investigations into Goldman Sachs. I think this is a politically opportunistic show trial with little to no merit. Hopefully it also means Goldmanites will donate less to Obama in 2012. Maybe. Unless you think they'll also take advantage of any new regulatory regime to gain some advantage over competitors. That's probably what will happen. (h/t Scott L.)
  • Bob Bennett is gone and I think it's a good thing. The MFM takes the liberal line that this is an example of hysterical conservative extremists over a good, reasonable, and conservative senator. Meanwhile, when Sestak defeats Specter in PA, that--that--will be a triumph over incumbency and a renewal of core American democratic principles. Huzzah for the little guy, or something.
  • No weekly links post would be complete without at least one to my fav columnist, Bret Stephens. His column on Turkey carries extra weight for me as we recently traveled to Istanbul. I hope it doesn't turn into Iran; I'd like to go back someday.
  • Finally, modern-day hero, General David Petraeus, was recently spoke at an AEI dinner wherein he received the Irving Kristol Award. His speech is (transcript here) is great review of the power of ideas helping to propel the success of The Surge. If you read nothing else from this week's list-o-links, read this.

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