an angst filled Sports Review!

This is a new thing here at OL&L. In the past sports and pop culture frequently found their way into our posts. In the new round of posting that began a couple weeks before the midterm election, most everything has been political. And to be completely honest, we're getting a little bored by non-stop politics.

So this will be the first in what may become a "Weekly Sports Review"--a weekly survey of some of our favorite teams in sports. It will primarily deal with BYU Football and Basketball, and the Seattle Seahawks, Sonics, and Mariners. These are our five favorite teams. Occasionally the UW, WSU (Washington State, not Weber), and Gonzaga may also merit mention--usually only when the first five teams are sucking and we have to look somewhere, anywhere for a new bandwagon.

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BYU Basketball

We've stayed up till the wee hours of the morning to listen to the first two games of the season on ksl.com and have the sleep-deprived headaches to prove it. The Cougars lost the first gameon the road against UCLA and according to the Greg Wrubell and news accounts the day after, BYU had no one to blame but themselves. They stayed in the game and even went up by as many as 9 points in the first half despite attempting committing huge amounts of turnovers. The stat line at the end of the game showed BYU attempted 11 fewer field goals than BYU. This is due largely to two things: turnovers and poor offensive rebounding. The Cougars turned the ball over 23 times to 13 by UCLA. UCLA dominated offensive rebounds 14 to 3.

That's the game right there.

That said, it does not help that UCLA gets additional help from the officials. The Cougars made 7 of 10 free throws while the Bruins hit 21 of 30. In other words, officials called BYU for 3x as many fouls as the Bruins. This sort of homecooking makes winning the game nearly impossible. Probably the best example of this differential is found in the Bruins gameplan against Trent Plaisted. They went after him early and often and the officials obliged their efforts. By getting him to commit early fouls (ticky-tack or otherwise) they effectively neutralized him and in so doing, put BYU's best rebounder, post player, scorer, etc. on the bench.

Now, this game is old news but it is important because this is exactly the sort of gameplan you will see executed against BYU again and again this season. It should be familiar because it was the same one that played out all year last year. Get Mr. Plaisted out and the rest of the team falls apart. The Cougars can't control the officiating but they can rebound better and take care of the ball. And Mr. Plaisted has got to find a way to stay in the game.

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BYU Football

Is the Cougar resurgence and our absence from Provo a coincidence? We hope so. We've personally attended 5 games between BYU and Utah: '99 in Provo, 2002 @Utah, '03 in Provo, '04 @ Utah, and '05 in Provo. All of those games were losses for BYU. Well, to appease the football gods, we're staying in London for this game and limiting our participation to ksl.com internet radio. On a side note, many thanks to KSL for providing this service. To listen to Seattle area teams we had to shell out hard earned cash and listened to the Seahawks get it handed to them by the 49ers.

The 2002-'04 losses to Utah seemed to have a common thread--Utah seemed to want to win more than BYU did. Of course there were those on the BYU side who played hard--Curtis Brown is one example--but as a whole, BYU seemed to care about the game less than the Utes. This may have something to do with the fact that Utah just cares more about this rivalry than BYU does. And there may be something to this argument. As a native of the state of Washington, we don't really understand all the ins and outs of the rivalry and how it extends into local high schools and involves (or doesn't) religion and politics and on and on. There are are more Utah natives on the Ute roster. They were born and raised in this rivalry while many BYU players hailing from California, Arizona, Washington, etc., are more familiar with the rivalries in their own home states. Maybe this is the reason they don't care as much. It doesn't hold the longtime meaning for them that it does for the players from the school to the north. Players and coaches have mentioned to the media that they think that last year they were too fired up and somehow this caused them to come out flat and fall behind the Utes forcing a furious comeback in the second half. Whatever.

BYU is solid on both sides of the ball this year. Yes, the defense is improved but some of this improvement is due to the fact that they didn't face Notre Dame and the Mountain West as a whole is experiencing something of a down year. We're still bothered that BYU got beat by BCS lightweights Arizona and Boston College. We think the team is good. But what, exactly, do you point to in order to prove your point? A good record against mediocre teams in the Mountain West? Numbers inflated by playing bad defenses? Ditto for defense? The only way BYU is ever going to get any national credibility whatsoever is by pounding crummy non-conference BCS teams and then beating a decent team in a bowl game. Unfortunately this year, it doesn't look as though the Pac-10 will oblige. They have SC and Cal and then a whole bunch of teams that beat up on each other and even the Trojans and Golden Bears aren't as tough as in past years. Consider this: the Pac-10 has been so medium, it's conceivable BYU could have a rematch against Arizona. Give us a break. With any luck Oregon will fall into the #4 slot and we'll get all the inevitable drama from the Crowton vs. BYU matchup. That's about the best BYU fans can hope for this year.

Finally, congrats to Curtis Brown on the rushing record. The last two years we've called again and again for BYU to get the ball to CB and this year they did it and they've won consistently. Less noted is the fact that Mr. Brown leads the team in receptions. He is the consummate team player. He has never complained about losing carris to Fui Vakapuna and has been consistent in placing team goals (just win, baby) over personal goals like the BYU rushing record.

Last year we predicted that BYU would win the conference championship. Vindication is always nice. But that vindication will be hollow if BYU doesn't take care of business against Utah. Regardless of record, this game always seems to be hard fought. We may be in a minority of one, but we'd take pounding Utah over the conference championship.

Moving along.

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If we were the Tuesday Morning Quarterback aka, Gregg Easterbrook, and conservative (rather than liberal/populist like him), we'd insert an aside here about how the protectionism suggested by some Democrats is stupid because it hurts Americans in terms of cost of living and also job creation. We'd argue that people worried about outsourcing of thousands of jobs ignore the tens of thousands of jobs that are created as a result. But of course, Mr. Easterbrook doesn't have to fit his cute little sociopoliticaleconomic observations inside of economic reality. It's easy to criticize Wal-mart ad nauseum as he does if one simply ignores all relevant economic data regarding the positive impact Wal-Mart's business practices have on America.

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Seahawks

Thanks to the cold blooded kicking of Josh Brown, The Seahawks have a winning record. If Mr. Brown misses those three field goals, the 'Hawks could be staring 3-7 in the face and people would be talking about the curse of the Super Bowl losers. We like Bill Simmons theory better. Basically it holds that official intervention led to a Steelers win but that the football gods ignore these outcomes and curse the team that should have lost the Super Bowl--the Steelers. A quick check of their record would confirm the basic assumptions of this theory.

Mike Holmgren has a different take on the Madden Curse that seems to have afflicted Shaun Alexander, keeping him out of games until last week's loss to San Francisco. Mr. Holmgren believes that being on the cover of the game does not make one more susceptible to injuries but that being on the cover makes players higher profile and encourages every team to take extra shots at the high profile Madden coverboy--in this case, Mr. Alexander. It doesn't help that Mr. Alexander plays for a team that won the NFC and made it to the Super Bowl. That type of streak puts a big bullseye on the collective team's back and encourages everybody to take their best shot.

And the Seahawks have had the injuries to prove it. Walt Jones, all-world left tackle has been hobbled by injuries all year. Floyd Womack, starting left guard and Steve Hutchinson replacement has been out. Robbie Tobeck dealt first with shoulder surgery and then a flu that has cost him two games and lots of weight and strength. Chris Gray is old, but reliable, thank goodness. Sean Locklear was suspended one game for substance abuse and has missed the last two with a high ankle sprain. And that's just the offensive line. Matt Hasselbeck has missed four games (we already talked about Mr. Alexander), backup TE Itula Mili has been injured, Jerramy Stevens missed the first few games, came back, and promptly sucked it up. the WRs have been solid and are definitely the strength of the team. Darrel Jackson leads the league in receiving touchdowns with 8. Deion Branch, Superbowl MVP, lines up on the other side and is better than solid. They have missed Bobby Engram who is on this team because all he does is convert 3rd downs. He's not fast and he's not big but he gets open and he always, always (except for that 2004 playoff game against the Rams) catches the ball. He has been missed.

The defense has no such excuses. They were good last year and with the addition of Julian Peterson, they should have been Top 5--at least Top 10. Instead they're hovering somewhere between Cleveland and Atlanta. Seriously, there is no excuse for this defense. Rather than improving or even holding constant, they have regressed. The only good statistic for this squad is that they are second in the league in sacks with 35. All that does is tell you that every once in a while they decide they are going to play so they can get the sexy sack and the rest of the time they are just kind of there. Frank Gore is good, but the Seahawks made him look like LaDainian Tomlinson. And speaking of LT, the Seahawks better hope that one of two things happens before they play the Chargers in Week 16--either they get their act together or the Chargers have homefield advantage locked up and sit all of their starters. Even then, Michael Turner might run all over the 'Hawks defense.

Enough with the doom and gloom. Mike Holmgren remains one of the best coaches in the NFL. He has a proven track record as head coach in Green Bay and Seattle. He was an effective assistant in San Francisco. Once the Seahawks get players back from injury the offense will start the click and take some of the pressure off of the defense. Plus, on the postive side, it's not as though the defense is getting beat because they lack the talent. They are in position, they are simply not make tackles. This is an easily correctable problem.

Watch for the Seahawks to win this week against a crummy Packers team and go on a run. They will win the NFC West (not saying much, we know) and make a run in the playoffs. The elements are there to get it done.

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Sonics

Writing about our favorite Seattle sports teams gets progressively more depressing as we go down the list.

The Sonics are 5-7 in their 40th year in Seattle but face the prospect of moving to Oklahoma City at the end of the year barring some plan to build them a new arena. We've read everything we can about this problem and are convinced that the current situation at Key Arena wont work. The Sonics can't make money the way things are now. But this doesn't necessarily mean that they deserve a corporate handout. So the Seahawks and Mariners got sweet stadiums built for them thanks to the taxpayers, so what? Does this mean that Seattle (Washington really, as the taxes affect more than just King County) should build a stadium for every professional sports team that wants one in Seattle. And how long, exactly, before either of the first two teams--Mariners, Seahawks--come looking for more, for another stadium. Are the current ones good for ten years, 20?

This issues raises a whole other set of questions. Should profession sports be run like a business? If it is to be run as a business, should it be run as one that is profitable from year to year or only profitable upon sale of the team. Coffee Tycoon Howard Schultz and the rest of his ownership group insisted that they lost millions of dollars, but then they sold the Sonics for $350 million. That's $150 million more than the $200 million they spent five years earlier. Granted, some of the purchase price was an assumption of debt, but still, did they or didn't they make money on the transaction?

We believe that owning a professional sports team should fall somewhere between business and hobby. We buy ski equipment from year to year and enjoy it immensely but we don't expect to make a profit off of it. Of course professional sports aren't the same as a hobby like skiing, but we don't believe they should be treated like an out and out business either.

We love the Sonics and follow them daily. Growing up, we followed the Sonics teams of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp and unwisely bet our uncle when they played the Bulls in the NBA Championship. We attended a game versus the Kings during the 2005 playoffs and the Key Arena (the Sonics current venue) was rockin'. It is a great place to watch games. We don't want the Sonics to leave but we don't want to build the Sonics a several hundred million dollar arena at little to no cost to the team either.

This Sonics team has a lot of potential. They have Ray Allen. Rashard Lewis looks ready to be a perennial All-Star. Luke Ridnour is finally coming into his own. Chris Wilcox is ready to break out. Bob Hill seems to be a good coach. and 12 games plus his run to end the year is not enough to judge. Give the Sonics the month of December and then we'll talk about the direction of the team. They need to go on a run like the Mariners circa 1995 to have a chance at persuading the public to build them something new. We hope it happens. In the meantime, we'll be watching their games on the foxsports.com gamecast.

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Mariners

Talk about a dissappointment. We love the Mariners. But for the last three years, this love has been unrequited.

We are an admitted believer in the Moneyball approach. This wasn't a book just about the importance of OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) but a book about finding value where others didn't. That's the lesson of Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics. Ever year people say, "well, this is the year they are finally going to eat it," and every year, they win. They win because Beane is able to identify value and acquire it and because he is good at making a deal.

A few years ago the Mariners had an outside shot at getting Billy Beane. Whether it was money or partial ownership or whatever, missing out on getting him as GM was the biggest single Mariners personnel mistake in the last decade. Forget about losing Griffey (that one still hurts) or A-Rod or Randy Johnson. If the Mariners had gotten Mr. Beane they wouldn't have wasted time and money on Jeff Cirillo or Scott Spiezio. Instead of signing Carl Everett the Mariners might have gotten Frank Thomas. Seriously Bill Bavasi (current M's GM), how do you sign Carl Everett over Frank Thomas in any year? The A's paid less and got way, way more from Mr. Thomas. Mr. Bavasi is loved by the old school baseball establishment. Which is to say, he resists against the grain evaluation that might give him an advantage.

If the Mariners were smart, they would pay free agent pitcher Barry Zito whatever he wants and then get some cheap back of the rotation pitcher or promote from within. If they are serious about pursuing Jason Schmidt then Mr. Bavasi will prove himself to be the fool we think he is. Schmidt is the classic National League player who has a decent (not good) ERA and barely wins more than he loses--IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST. The NL west is baseball's worst division. One more time, Mr. Schmidt went 11-9 in baseball's worst division. Mr. Zito, on the other hand, went 16-10 with a 3.83 ERA in the American League in a division with (minus the M's) good offenses. He will be younger--28 vs. 34--and is left handed. It's important to note that of the Big 3, Zito is the one Mr. Beane kept. And he would keep him again this year except that Mr. Zito will price himself out of the A's range. But not the Mariners. The Mariners can afford him.

The issue of the Mariner's payroll is another issue that irks about this team. When they announce what they will pay their players in a given year, they say, 'well, it's going to stay about the same.' And stupid sportswriters let them get away with it. In 2001 the Mariners supposedly bumped their payroll to about $90 million. And then it stayed the same for the next four years. Is there a sportswriter in the city of Seattle who has heard of inflation?

Assuming they adjusted 2.5% per year for inflation, to keep things the same, their budget should have gone to $92,250,000 in '02, $94,556,250 in '03, $96,920,156.25 in '04, $99, 343,160.16 last year, and $101,826,739.16.

We understand that the numbers clubs release are just projected budgets, but should sportswriters at least make them be honest about those numbers. Rather than saying, "we're going to keep the same number as last year--$90 million," can't someone say, "well, that $90 million isn't the same $90 million it was back in 2001, now it's worth far less. You are, in fact, deceiving fans by telling them that your budget is the same."

Please Mr. Bavasi, spend the money to get Barry Zito.


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Best. Bond. Ever.

By Morgan Habedank, Guest Film Critic

I have never been a huge Bond fan. I think I am too young to have understood and appreciated the mystique associated with Sean Connery in Dr. No or Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me. The Bond movies of my era – the Pierce Brosnan era - have been very forgettable. Of the four titles from this era, Goldeneye is the only one that sparks any emotion. And sadly enough, this emotion has absolutely no connection to the film itself. In fact, I have never seen Goldeneye and I have absolutely zero desire to ever see it. Instead, the emotion is derived from the many, many, many hours spent huddled around a small television in a stinky dorm room with 15 other dudes playing pistols, licensed to kill, in the basement. The fondest memory being the controversial finish to a round late one evening which led to a rollicking fist-fight culminated by the arrival of BYU’s Finest.

When I first heard that MGM was releasing another Bond title my first reaction was one of ambivalence. Then I heard that Daniel Craig was attached and my interest was instantly piqued. I have had a semi-man-crush on Daniel Craig ever since seeing him in the excellent British gangster thriller Layer Cake. But even then, my interest was still just piqued. I wasn’t insisting on seeing it opening night. As the release date approached I began to hear rumblings that Casino Royale was going to be the re-birth of the franchise. Gone were the exploding watches and invisible cars. Cheesy innuendo and over-the-top special effects were being replaced by gritty action and inner turmoil. After hearing these rumors I actually began to get a little excited. I am a sucker for gritty action which involves characters with depth, i.e. Jason Bourne.

And then I saw the trailer. I was left breathless and on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t even concentrate on the actual feature at hand. All I could think about was the gritty opening sequence to the trailer. The piercing blue eyes of Daniel Craig. The haunting voice over of M. I was hooked. And I was shocked. I was actually excited to see a Bond movie.

And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. For those of you who have read my reviews in the past, you know that the key to an enjoyable viewing experience for me is to feel some sort of emotion while watching the film. I need to be “sucked in.” Well, the opening sequence was phenomenal. A gritty, emotional, glimpse into Bond’s inner psyche and how he became a double 0. The opening sequence was then followed by an excellent parkour based foot chase which was culminated by a fantastic shoot-out/stand-off. Much of this scene was stolen from District B13 and was not quite as exciting. I would have done the editing differently to ratchet up the intensity but I am not complaining. I was on the edge of my seat and locked in from that point on.

I don’t want to spoil the movie for anybody so I will simply say that this movie has a little something for both the men and the ladies. There is action and intrigue as well as gambling for the men. Also, one of the best movie villains I have seen in a long time. And for the ladies, well Daniel Craig takes his shirt off multiple times (and now my semi- man-crush is now a full-on man-crush). Plus, the story surrounding Bond and his love interest is developed very nicely. If you and that special someone are looking for an enjoyable evening at the local Cineplex then Casino Royale is the perfect choice. Neither party will be disappointed.

With that being said, the movie was not without its flaws in my opinion. With a few minor changes, one of which was mentioned above, this movie could go from a solid A to an A+ in my opinion. Without giving anything away, I would have modified the poker scenes and changed a few things about the last 15 minutes. If you would like to know what these minor modifications would have been, just shoot me an email and I would be happy to discuss them with you.

Finally, a word of caution for the faint of heart, there is a very awkward yet intense torture scene towards the end. Consider yourself warned.

Web Picks

Every week we receive numerous emails including links to interesting articles and websites. Rather than make you all spend hours surfing the web, we figured we'd make it easy on you and list a few of them here for your weekly consumption. Enjoy.

The Haka
(hat tip: SJL)

Count us among those who love to watch the BYU Football team perform the Haka before each game. The Wall Street Journal reported this week about the Trinity Trojans High School football team which performs this native Maori war dance before each football game. The article is good, but we agree with our old man who notes that the WSJ missed the extent of this story. A simple Youtube search shows that high schools and colleges across the country are performing the Haka.

Let 'em Eat Cake
(hat tip: again, SJL)

If you're in NYC or plan to visit soon, be sure to try a piece of Junior's Most Fabulous Cheesecakes.

Blend This
(hat tip: again, SJL)

This Deseret News article reports on an Orem blender-making company that developed a brilliant ad campaign that features one of its inventors blending all sorts of crazy things. Click here to see them blend coke cans, golf balls, and marbles.

We've already put in a request for one of these blenders to Santa and extracted a promise from our brother Matt to make more of his world famous malts.

Visit the UK, cheap
(hat tip: TTL)

Travel to Europe during the Fall-Winter-Spring is far cheaper than during the Summer and this website will help you find the cheapest air fares possible.

i am a WOLF!
(hat tip: Morgan Habedank)

"Do you know what a crazy deal is little boy? Yes, it's a wolf." And it's also beyond hilarious. This humorous advertisement gets funnier each time we watch it. Thanks Morgan.

Most of these web picks come courtesy of our old man, who like us, enjoys spending countless hours surfing the web. We encourage anyone and everyone to submit suggestions for this weekly feature.


If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or requests for subscription only articles, email us at lybberty@gmail.com.

Milton Friedman, R.I.P.

Milton Friedman, world renowned economist and champion of political and economic freedom passed away this afternoon. He will be missed.

We never met Mr. Friedman, but we took an economics course from one of his former students while at Brigham Young University. His course was heavily influenced by the Chicago School of economic thought and many of his ideas about markets influence the editorial opinion of this blog. We are incredibly grateful to our econ professor and Mr. Friedman.

In light of the debates about redistribution of wealth we thought it would be worthwhile to reproduce selections from some of Mr. Friedman's influential contributions to economics. (hat tip: WSJ)

**Update: Scroll to the end for video footage of Milton Friedman teaching economics, and more.

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Capitalism and Freedom

[A free economy] gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.

The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the contrary, government is essential both as a forum for determining the "rules of the game" and as an umpire to interpret and enforce the rules decided on. What the market does is to reduce greatly the range of issues that must be decided through political means, and thereby to minimize the extent to which government need participate directly in the game. The characteristic feature of action through political channels is that it tends to require or enforce substantial conformity. The great advantage of the market, on the other hand, is that it permits wide diversity. It is, in political terms, a system of proportional representation. Each man can vote, as it were, for the color of tie he wants and get it; he does not have to see what color-the majority wants and then, if he is in the minority, submit.

It is this feature of the market that we refer to when we say that the market provides economic freedom. But this characteristic also has implications that go far beyond the narrowly economic. Political freedom means the absence of coercion of a man by his fellow men. The fundamental threat to freedom is power to coerce, be it in the hands of a monarch, a dictator, an oligarchy, or a momentary majority. The preservation of freedom requires the elimination of such concentration of power to the fullest possible extent and the dispersal and distribution of whatever power cannot be eliminated -- a system of checks and balances. By removing the organization of economic activity from the control of political authority, the market eliminates this source of coercive power. It enables economic strength to be a check to political power rather than a reinforcement.

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Free to Choose
(and from the PBS series)

The two ideas of human freedom and economic freedom working together came to their greatest fruition in the United States. Those ideas are still very much with us. We are all of us imbued with them. They are part of the very fabric of our being. But we have been straying from them. We have been forgetting the basic truth that the greatest threat to human freedom is the concentration of power, whether in the hands of government or anyone else. We have persuaded ourselves that it is safe to grant power, provided it is for good reasons…

We have persuaded ourselves that it is safe to grant power, provided it is for good reasons. Fortunately, we are waking up. We are again recognizing the dangers of an overgoverned society, coming to understand that good objectives can be perverted by bad means, that reliance on the freedom of people to control their own lives in accordance with their own values is the surest way to achieve the full potential of a great society…

When the law contradicts what most people regard as moral and proper, they will break the law -- whether the law is enacted in the name of a noble ideal ... or in the naked interest of one group at the expense of another. Only fear of punishment, not a sense of justice and morality, will lead people to obey the law. When people start to break one set of laws, the lack of respect for the law inevitably spreads to all laws, even those that everyone regards as moral and proper - laws against violence, theft, and vandalism…

Self-interest is not myopic selfishness. It is whatever it is that interests the participants, whatever they value, whatever goals they pursue. The scientist seeking to advance the frontiers of his discipline, the missionary seeking to convert infidels to the true faith, the philanthropist seeking to bring comfort to the needy -- all are pursuing their interests, as they see them, as they judge them by their own values.

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On the Bush Tax Cuts
(subscription required)

The tax cuts did favor the rich because the top 1% of taxpayers pay a disproportionate amount of taxes. You can't give tax relief to those who don't pay a lot of tax. This is not a bad thing. What in fact do the rich do with their money? They can only consume a limited amount. In practice they end up either investing it or giving it away.

Some people say that those in the middle and low tax brackets are more likely to spend any tax relief they get, giving the economy a stimulus.

Well, that's a different argument and I do not accept it. It's very dubious. The tax cut may lead people to spend more, but that is offset by those who have less to spend because they buy the bonds to finance the deficit. In my opinion, we had a mild recession not because of the tax cuts but because of the Fed. Its expansionary monetary policy is the primary reason for the shallow recession. I do not believe that fiscal policy played a big role.

My support for tax cuts is not only on the supply side. I think the real problem is government spending… Where did you get the Clinton surpluses? They were the result of less legislation and less spending. When that gridlock was broken, many items had accumulated on the agenda and were put through.

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Free Lunch

I have sometimes been associated with the aphorism "There's no such thing as a free lunch," which I did not invent. I wish more attention were paid to one that I did invent, and that I think is particularly appropriate in this city [Washington], "Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own." But all aphorisms are half-truths. One of our favorite family pursuits on long drives is to try to find the opposite of aphorisms. For example, "History never repeats itself," but "There's nothing new under the sun." Or "look before you leap," but "He who hesitates is lost." The opposite of "There's no such thing as a free lunch" is clearly "The best things in life are free."

And in the real economic world, there is a free lunch, an extraordinary free lunch, and that free lunch is free markets and private property. Why is it that on one side of an arbitrary line there was East Germany and on the other side there was West Germany with such a different level of prosperity? It was because West Germany had a system of largely free, private markets - a free lunch. The same free lunch explains the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China, and the prosperity of the United States and Great Britain.

**Update: A few video links of Mr. Friedman explaining economic principles. (hat tip: Mary Katharine Ham)

Power of the Market: Parable of the Pencil
Four Ways to Spend Money

"the best case for limited government ever made" (hat tip: Allahpundit)

And finally, a link to the Milton Friedman Choir (hat tip: The American Mind)


If you have questions, comments, or requests for subscription only articles, email us at lybberty@gmail.com.

Romney Watch

In January of last year we wrote a column about the unlikelihood of Mitt Romney winning the Presidency. Much of our doubt was based on the MSM spin that the Religious Right would never vote for a member of a "cult." Most recent reports seem to contradict our conclusions that Mr. Romney would be unable to make it past the primary.

National Review, perhaps the most widely read and influential magazine on conservative thought recently hosted a cruise for like-minded conservatives. Though not a Religious Right publication, many of their readers and contributors are influential in conservative circles. As part of the cruise they conducted an informal poll.

At a 2008 panel, Kate O'Beirne asked for a show of hands from our 450 cruisers on the major GOP presidential candidates. Romney clearly did best with about 2/3 of the crowd supporting him. My impression was that Giuliani was second, and McCain and Gingrich tied in distant third.

It goes without saying that a 2/3 super majority of staunch conservatives bodes well for presidential primaries where typically only the most fervent partisans turn out to vote.

In answer to the question of whether Evangelical conservatives would support a Mormon for President, Mr. Romney recently appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club. His reception and review there were very positive. Click here to see video of his interview on youtube.com.

We haven't made up our mind about 2008, but we will certainly follow Mr. Romney's campaign with great interest.


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We Made Best of the Web!

Since the Spring of 2004 we've been subscribed to James Taranto's Best of the Web. His is a unique blog that is part survey of the web, part political commentary, with lots of humor added.

Mr. Taranto and BOTW first showed up here at OL&L in one of our now-defunct Top 10 lists. Since then we've drawn on his work numerous times.

Best of the Web draws on numerous sources for its web commentary and since our subscription (it's free!) we've submitted several suggestions, with no results. Today, while perusing One Cosmos, we came across a link to a particularly insane post by the moonbats over at dailykos. The kossacks make a living as the leading Angry Leftists so crazy stuff like this is normal fare--only this one comes from way, way out in left field.

Saddam [Hussein] had achieved almost universal adult literacy and Baghdadi meant "wealthy"in Arabic slang when his administration became a target for devastating sanctions and war. Lebanon had rebuilt a vibrant economy, drawing large numbers of sophisticated young professionals, when it was bombed back to the stone age this summer. Iran's educational progress and economic scale now invite our wrath and destruction.

Iran must be attacked soon to prevent it becoming an examplar [sic] of economic progress and a regional power, and the plan is to permanently impoverish Iranians by stealing their oil wealth. . . .

Iran has invested its oil wealth in universal education, healthcare, infrastructure bringing clean water and electricity to more than 98 percent of its people, and economic progress. . . . The social and economic achievements of the revolutionary regime in Iran in the past 25 years look quite progressive in reducing poverty and social inequalities. . . . Compared to rising inequality in the United States and Israel, ranked numbers one and two for social inequality among developed nations, the Iranians look pretty damn good.

So we copied and pasted the link into an email and shot it off to James Taranto and the rest of the Best of the Web crew.

If you look scroll down today's Best of the Web to subheading "Real or Satire," apparently Dean Barnett beat us to the punch and got the "hat tip." But if you scroll down some more and examine the credits at the end, you'll notice a name we hope becomes household--you guessed it, Jacob Lybbert.

We feel about how we imagine the assistant to the assistant to the food table preparer must feel on the set of the movie who goes to the theater only to see his name mentioned in size 6 font on the big screen after the guy who held the stunt double's cup of water.

But still, there it is. We made Best of the Web.


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Can't Get Enough Lieberman

While researching for yesterday's post, we came across an Op-Ed piece on Iraq written by Senator Joe Lieberman almost a year ago. Reviewing its contents, its amazing how prescient Senator Lieberman was in identifying some of the key issues. It should be clear from some of these quotes why we feel such a strong kinship with Senator Lieberman, despite our political differences.

On the importance of winning in Iraq:

It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al Qaeda foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern. The terrorists are intent on stopping this by instigating a civil war to produce the chaos that will allow Iraq to replace Afghanistan as the base for their fanatical war-making. We are fighting on the side of the 27 million because the outcome of this war is critically important to the security and freedom of America. If the terrorists win, they will be emboldened to strike us directly again and to further undermine the growing stability and progress in the Middle East, which has long been a major American national and economic security priority.

A year later, and these primary issues have not changed. We continue to be on the side of 27 million Iraqis. Loss in Iraq will embolden terrorists and turn Iraq into the equivalent of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Whatever opinion polls you may read about the mindset of the Iraqi people, when the vote matters, they vote overwhelmingly for democracy.

Every time the 27 million Iraqis have been given the chance since Saddam was overthrown, they have voted for self-government and hope over the violence and hatred the 10,000 terrorists offer them.

Iraqi leaders are fearful that the latest election signaled a change in American commitment to success in the Middle East. Their worst fears are founded in the aftermath of Desert Storm when President Bush Sr. encouraged the Shiite majority attempted to overthrow Saddam and then ordered Schwarzkopf to stand down. The result: Saddam slaughtered the leaders of the uprising and then tortured and killed their families. We must not once again abandon Iraq to a similar fate.

American polls are notoriously difficult to interpret. Does the decline in President Bush's approval rating mean Americans want to get out of Iraq or that they simply believe that the current strategy needs to be changed? We've argued ad nauseum that most Americans support the war, but are frustrated with the current state of affairs. This last election--notably Senator Lieberman's re-election--seem to support this conclusion. There's not much question where Iraqi's stand, again, from Senator Lieberman:

Here is an ironic finding I brought back from Iraq. While U.S. public opinion polls show serious declines in support for the war and increasing pessimism about how it will end, polls conducted by Iraqis for Iraqi universities show increasing optimism. Two-thirds say they are better off than they were under Saddam, and a resounding 82% are confident their lives in Iraq will be better a year from now than they are today. What a colossal mistake it would be for America's bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.

We know these poll numbers are almost a year old, but the recent numbers, while showing some decline, still indicate Iraqis feel better off now and are optimistic about the future.

As when Senator Lieberman visited Iraq, the Kurdish North remains free from violence as does the Shiite South. The attacks we read about are in the Sunni triangle--a relatively limited, but important, piece of land stretching from Baghdad to Tikrit to Ramadi. It may well be that the current strategies have failed there and new ideas are needed.

Or, it may be as we suspect, that terrorists and insurgents hope to exploit a weakening in American will and are stepping up violence as they did in the month leading up to the election. Either way, withdrawal before the Iraqi military and police are able to maintain security will not improve the situation. Even if you believe that Iraq was not the right fight, pulling out now will not make right your perceived wrong.

Senator Lieberman predicted that the situation in Iraq could be negatively affected by pressures of the now-passed election.

I am disappointed by Democrats who are more focused on how President Bush took America into the war in Iraq almost three years ago, and by Republicans who are more worried about whether the war will bring them down in next November's elections, than they are concerned about how we continue the progress in Iraq in the months and years ahead.

Most Republicans were "brought down" by corruption while Democrats ran on a platform that was light on constructive recommendation and heavy on "we're not Republicans." These attitudes wont be enough.

Democrats must now heed Senator Lieberman's recommendation and avoid making the next two years one large bully pulpit of criticism. We know they hate Bush and blame him and his cadre for all the worlds problems. Of course, we also remember that they too voted for the war. It's time now for them to face up to the responsibility that vote should have entailed and partner with Republicans to find a solution--one that leaves Iraq secure and America safe.


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Lieberman: Making Us Proud

An article today from the Associated Press (hat tip: James Taranto) addressed the idea of Senator Lieberman switching parties.

Lieberman on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but refused to slam the door on possibly moving to the Republican side of the aisle.

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he might follow the example of Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Republicans in 2001 and became an independent, ending Republican control of the U.S. Senate, Lieberman refused to discount the possibility.

"I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point," he said. "And I must say--and with all respect to the Republicans who supported me in Connecticut--nobody ever said, 'We're doing this because we want you to switch over. We want you to do what you think is right and good for our state and country,' and I appreciate that." (emphasis added)

Senator Lieberman recognizes, as this blog has pointed out numerous times (here, here, here, and here), that he was elected over Lamont because of his ongoing support for the war in Iraq. People in Connecticut were given a choice between two candidates who are about equally liberal with the only discerning disagreement between the two being the war. Connecticut is a liberal state that was won by John Kerry. And they voted for a Senator who supports the war. We repeat again because some of you aren't listening: last week's election was not a call to bring the troops home. It was a justified reaction to corruption and perhaps mismanagement in Iraq. But it was not a call for immediate withdrawal.

If, as voters left their local polling places in Connecticut, they told interviewers that the most important issue driving their vote was Iraq and they voted for Lamont, we would be discouraged. This would have signaled that voters were electing people they thought would bring our troops home immediately.

But that wasn't what happened. They left their polling places, and told exit poll workers that the most important issue was corruption. Iraq was a close second. So, Republicans lose because of corruption and mismanagement. Liberal, pro-war Democrats like Lieberman beat liberal anti-war Democrats like Lamont and signal to us and everyone else that Americans want a change in Congress, but they recognize the importance of winning in Iraq.

And we hope that now Democrats will engage the war in a constructive way rather than the critical posture they adopted once things started looking bad. With any luck, dems follow the example of Joe Lieberman, rather than opportunists like John Murtha.

It's unfortunate that good men like Senators Santorum (a particularly outspoken leader in the War on Terror) and Talent and Senate hopeful Michael Steele lost, but we are relieved that it wasn't because Americans want to leave Iraq ASAP.

Even then, the numbers weren't that much of a landslide, as Time magazine blogger Mike Allen pointed out on the 10th of November (hat tip: Taranto, again):

The Republican National Committee has been pointing out that a small shift in votes would have made a big difference. A shift of 77,611 votes would have given Republicans control of the House, according to Bush's political team. And a shift of 2,847 votes in Montana, or 7,217 votes in Virginia, or 41,537 votes in Missouri would have given a Republicans control of the Senate.

But you wont find us shrieking for a recount a la Angry Left circa 2000, 2004, et al.

It's enough to know that the election wasn't the tsunamitidalwavemassiveshift of a vote as sold by the spinmeisters in the MSM.


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After Action Report--don't pronounce the t

It's a busy day today but we didn't want to miss the chance to post a few links.

Leading off is a new website devoted to exploring the special relationship between Britain and America. BritainandAmerica.com seeks to explain each country's politics to the other. Because of the recent elections, the focus of the website has been on American politics. We occasionally attend a seminar on the history of Anglo-American relations. Watch for us to revisit this topic.

Yesterday while pouring over our website information at statcounter.com we came across the blog of an American clinical psychologist who opines and theorizes on American politics. From the conclusion of one of his recent posts:

One of the geniuses of the American system is that it accounts for both our civilized and our primitive natures. In holding national elections every two years, it provides an outlet for primitive anxieties that historically toppled regimes. In other words, it institutionalizes the logic of human sacrifice, which is stage four of the group fantasy cycle. Thus it is no coincidence that President Bush performed a human sacrifice and held up the head of Donald Rumsfeld to the baying MSM fantasists on the morning after the election. If you keep up with the ranting of the infantile left at dailykos or huffingtonpost, nothing less than some form of human sacrifice would have answered their homicidal rage. But one thing we can know with certainty: it won’t work, for magic is a symtom of that which it purports to cure.

We found several of his posts rather insightful but we understand that his writing wont appeal to everyone--for those of you who fancy yourselves intellectuals, enjoy!

Over at townhall.com Michael Medved (one of Raisin's favs) believes that popular assumptions about Red and Blue states are just flat wrong. He writes:

The media emphasis on regional differences always distorted reality but this election should force the permanent abandonment of the meaningless red/blue distinction. Montana, supposedly the reddest-of-red states, may well end up with a Democratic governor and two Democratic Senators. California, theoretically the bluest-of-blue states, not only re-elected its Republican governor in a landslide, but also appears poised to elevate GOP candidates (including some outspoken and cantankerous conservatives) to three or four other statewide offices. In Kansas, which gave Bush 64% in 2004, Democrats enjoyed sweeping victories, and so on. The definitive designation of an entire state as either “red” or “blue,” Republican or Democrat, ignores the impact of circumstances, personalities, and issues.

We're not ready to completely write off Red and Blue state designations, but as Mr. Medved points out, this last election does provide strong evidence supporting the erosion of these traditional political markers.

Lastly, a little humor from a man calling himself Jim Treacher. Those of you who read James Taranto's Best of the Web on a regular basis will have read this in yesterday's edition. Apologies to fans of Nancy Pelosi who take themselves too seriously; you probably wont find this funny.

Questions from a political dilettante

* Does this mean Bush is still Hitler? I'm pretty sure Hitler never let his opponents win an election, did he? Unless... this is all part of Rove's plan.

* A major concern of the last few elections has been that Republicans need to cheat to win, and the problem was going to be even worse with the new Diebold machines. What happened? Did Cheney forget his password again? That darn Cheney, always forgetting his password.

* What happened to Ned? I thought Lieberman was Public Enemy #1. Now Kos must feel like the kid on Christmas morning who's surrounded by toys... except for the one he really wanted.

* Does Nancy Pelosi ever wear a fake flower on her lapel that shoots acid? Because that would really be a surprise for Batman when he's hauling her to Commissioner Gordon's office.

* So the world likes us again, right? No more terrorism? YAY!!!

Hey wait a minute, this last question looks familiar. Didn't we end a recent post in much the same way...?

Let the Freak Show Begin!

As we begin to take stock of the recent election, our native optimism and cheery disposition is beginning to return.

And we can't help but point out the difference in response between the losing conservatives of this election and the losing Angy Left of the 2000 and 2004 elections. Where the leftists filled blogs with expletives and run on screams about election stealing, conservatives and conservative candidates recognize close elections notwithstanding, the election was lost fair and square. After all, that's democracy, right?

Conservatives must just be more optimistic than liberals.

We're especially pleased to note that, well, Bush is still President. Some headlines seem to think that Democratic control of the House and Senate meant the President would roll over and play dead, allowing liberals to completely reverse course on everything from Iraq, to lower taxes and conservative Supreme Court nominees.

As we pointed out yesterday, this election was not a rejection of the war in Iraq. More voters listed corruption and scandal as affecting their vote than Iraq. And that's fair. In many cases we supported Republican candidates despite the corruption and scandal but because of their support for the war in Iraq. That preference doesn't mean we weren't frustrated and disgusted with the Abramoff and Foley scandals.

The Lieberman win over Lamont is proof positive that the Angry Left's opposition to the war in Iraq is not a majority position. If they couldn't win with a liberal anti-war candidate in one of the most liberal states in the Union, it wont win anywhere. The win of moderate Democrats like Heath Shuler (hat tip: Morgan) further evinces this position. Hopefully Democratic control of the House and the Senate will invest Democrats in the war in a way that has not yet happened; hopefully they will take some ownership of it.

In fact, this election gives us hope that perhaps the Democratic party isn't trending as far left as Lamont's primary win over Lieberman seemed to indicate. We hope that the influx of good, moderate Democrats like Mr. Shuler helps to keep Democrats more centrist.

Again, the key will be how the large number of moderate Democratic freshmen interact with their stridently liberal committee chairmen. Speaker Pelosi may have been elected by the angryleftwingnuts in her San Francisco district, but she's Speaker because of independent voters in places like Iowa and North Carolina.

And finally, a high priority for liberals--maybe now the world will like us better!--that's what we're all shooting for, right?


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I'll trade you my Rumsfeld for your Gates--straight up

Yesterday's resignation by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was a necessary evil. Mr. Rumsfeld faced the difficult task of reforming a military built to fight set piece battles on the fields of Europe against the now-defunct Warsaw Pact. He was opposed by a military leadership that was resistent to change--a leadership that had just spent 8 years in a standoff with a President who drastically reduced their budgets, drawing down enlistment and forcing base closures. They were trained by this experience to dig in their heels and fight.

Mr. Rumsfeld was a figure powerful enough to take on an establishment that loved big armies and big ships--all things necessary for traditional warfare. He recognized that the military must evolve to combat the new threat of terrorism.

In the course of his six years of service he made a lot of enemies and became the focal point for complaints about the war. We respect President Bush's loyalty to Mr. Rumsfeld, but this was a change that needed to happen. Like President Bush, we think history will vindicate Mr. Rumsfeld.

From the Wall Street Journal's survey (subscription required. This excerpt was, in turn, taken from an excellent interview with PBS)of Secretary of Defense nominee Robert Gates comes this interesting insight into his view of the military:

One of my experiences over the years, in Washington, as I have watched different Presidents deal with the military and I worked in the White House for four Presidents and attended decision meetings under five, is that contrary to mythology, the biggest doves in Washington wear uniforms. And I think that particularly after Vietnam they are very leery of feather-merchants of civilians, greying notions of using military force to accomplish a range of objectives however sensible or justified they may be. And I think that they try, perhaps even un-consciously, not only to exaggerate the level of forces that will be required to accomplish a specific objective but the casualties as well, in the hope of forcing a sanity check on the politicians or on the civilian experts who have no concept of what it is like to sit there and watch a young soldier bleed and die. And I think that these guys also think that war in the situation room is too clinical. And that we don't have an appreciation for what it is really like, and that they would prefer to avoid the use of military force at all cost.

Some of the biggest debates that I have ever witnessed in the situation room on this problem and on dozens of others was the debate between the Military representatives and the State Department representatives. With the State Department representatives arguing for the use of military force and the military officers arguing for the use of diplomacy. So I think it is a cultural thing and I don't second guess the military on that, I think that their concerns are justified, because I have seen a lot of civilians make a lot of proposals for a lot of silly military actions that eventually did not take place. So I understand their caution.

The CIA and State Department have complained for years about Mr. Rumsfeld overstepping his bounds. In Mr. Gates they should have someone who, if not an ally, at least understands the challenges they face.


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Giving the Terrorists What They Want

Question: What does increased violence and ultimately more American soldiers killed get you?

Answer: Control of the House and (maybe) the Senate.

Al-Qaeda and Co. learned their lesson from their experience in Spain. They tried to scare Americans with another attack last August which was successfully foiled (fortunately).

Failing in their attempt to strike Americans directly, they simply hit the ones closest at hand--our brave soldiers in Iraq. And the American electorate obliged their efforts, effectively attempting to appease the terrorists in the mold of Chamberlain's Britain and France.

Fortunately we still have our Winston Churchill--President Bush, who also has elements of President Truman. When Harry Truman left office his approval rating was hovering around 20% (Bush has still got him beat by more than double). He was fighting an unpopular war and had an adversarial Congress.

Truman stood up to the threat of spreading communism and now, 50+ years later, historians and the public generally regard him as being among the top 10 Presidents in American history.

We can't see into the future and predict how history will judge President Bush. But we are going to go out on a limb and predict that it wont be as harshly as some of today's ignorant critics. They call President Bush the worst President in American history, but they can't see past Watergate (Richard Nixon) and Vietnam. If they could, they might see Harding or Buchanan.

Now, having said that, this election is not the complete repudiation of President Bush and the War on Terror that mainstream media pundits would lead you to believe. Most of the Democrats who beat incumbent Republicans were moderates. Many of them, like Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, are actually pro-life.

And this is where this election gets interesting.

Americans elected moderate Democrats over Republicans. In so doing they put in power those Democrats who had been in Congress the longest. Who has been in Congress the longest? Democrats serving in districts that are overwhelmingly liberal. Thus, though America votes moderate, they get a leftwingnut liberal in control of chairmanships. See Exhibit A: Nancy Pelosi. She's from an extremely liberal district in San Francisco. Think she's in touch with most Americans?

But there is a bright spot.

In Rhode Island, Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee lost to his Democratic challenger. Senator Chafee was notoriously anti-war. Meanwhile in Connecticut, our man, erstwhile Democrat turned Independent, Joe Lieberman (note: pro war supporter of Bush) was re-elected over Ned Lamont. Remember Lamont? He was put forward as the new generation of Democratic candidate, the kind that would win the House and the Senate for the Democrats.

Fortunately for us and the country, that kind of Democrat didn't win on Tuesday. It was the moderate, pro-war Democrat Joseph Lieberman who beat back the anti-war crowd.

On a bad day for conservatives and Republicans, we can at least be grateful for that.


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An American Student in Londonistan

We are positively thrilled with the job the Mainstream Media has done to downplay Kerry's characterization of the military as dumb. If anything, their attempt at damage control for their party of choice lays bare their liberal bias.

And it looks like the MSM has something in common with terrorists--they both want the Democrats to win. From WorldNetDaily (Hat Tip: James Taranto):

Senior terrorist leaders interviewed by WND . . . say they hope Americans sweep the Democrats into power because of the party's position on withdrawing from Iraq, a move, as they see it, that ensures victory for the worldwide Islamic resistance.

The terrorists told WorldNetDaily an electoral win for the Democrats would prove to them Americans are "tired." . . .

"Of course Americans should vote Democrat," Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, told WND.

"This is why American Muslims will support the Democrats, because there is an atmosphere in America that encourages those who want to withdraw from Iraq. It is time that the American people support those who want to take them out of this Iraqi mud," said Jaara, speaking to WND from exile in Ireland, where he was sent as part of an internationally brokered deal that ended the church siege.

We'll give terrorists this much, at least they're honest about their liberal bias.

Londonistan is both a term and a book. Last week we got a haircut at a Muslim barbershop around the corner from our flat. While sitting in the chair, al-Jazeera playing on the tv in the corner, we watched as 4-5 young Muslim men left a small room in the back. We've watched several seasons of The Unit and as a result, various terror plotting scenarios ran through our head--like the successfully foiled plot last August.

The haircut was fine, but we declined the shave with a straight edge razor. Though open to greater cultural understanding, we didn't want to push our luck.

The attacks of 7/7 in London and the response that followed did nothing to diminish our admittedly irrational fear. London is a city with a large muslim population. As with any terror act, only a few people were involved. But polls after the bombing showed a relatively large percentage of the Muslims in London were sympathetic to the actions of the 7/7 terrorists and thought they were justified. That attitude and the live and let live response of the London multiculturalists who appease them are explained fully in the aforementioned book.

Then there's this article (subscription required) describing the fertile recruiting ground that are British institutions of higher education.

Just when we were getting discouraged about the resolve of our British allies, we attended a debate hosted by the UCL Debating Union. The proposition up for debate was whether or not the the War on Terror should continue. They followed British debating style inviting first one speaker in favor and one opposed which were in turn followed by floor speeches. The floor speeches were given by members of the audience (as opposed to the more formal speeches given by pre-selected members of the debating unition) and consisted of one in favor, one opposed, and one in abstention--usually critical of both positions. They followed this format for four rounds. At the conclusion they took a vote.

When we first saw the advert for this event we assumed that it would simply be an opportunity for the Brits to badmouth Bush, Iraq, and American foreign policy. We were pleasantly surprised to hear passionate, well reasoned arguments in support of the War on Terror, America, and President Bush.

Though the proposition lost, the margin was not what one might have expected: 44 opposed, 38 in favor, and 17 in abstention. All things considered--anti-American sentiment, liberal student body--the outcome was encouraging.


And finally, a quote from a recent speech by Tony Blair.

the global struggle against terrorism... will last a generation and more. But this I believe passionately: We will not win until we shake ourselves free of the wretched capitulation to the propaganda of the enemy--that somehow we are the ones responsible. This terrorism isn't our fault. We didn't cause it. It's not the consequence of foreign policy. It's an attack on our way of life. It's global. It has an ideology. It killed nearly 3,000 people, including over 60 British, on the streets of New York before war in Afghanistan or Iraq was even thought of... If we retreat now, hand Iraq over to al-Qaeda and sectarian death squads and Afghanistan back to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, we won't be safer; we will be committing a craven act of surrender that will put our future security in the deepest peril. (emphasis added)

American war history demonstrates clearly that no conflict is easy. No war is without its setbacks and sidetracks. Mistakes have and will continue to be made in Iraq--though we hope we are learning from past ones. This much is not new.

Unfortunately, this election does not give us a choice between two different strategies on how to win the War on Terror. There is the strategy outlined by President Bush, that seeks to stabilize Iraq with the intention of withdrawal only after Iraq can protect and maintain itself. Then there is the non-strategy of the Democrats which includes withdrawal by whatever name they happen to concoct on a given day, and nothing else.

We don't know the best way to hasten the stabilization of Iraq. But we do know that retreating in an attempt to apease the islamofascists is the surest way to embolden the terrorists and hang a defenseless Iraqi citizenry out to dry.

Our recommendation: Vote to stay in Iraq.


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Another View: The Threats We've Conquered and the Threats We Face

By Mark Patterson, Guest Contributor

Staff Sgt. James Cawley’s death taught me a lot about sacrifice. Before we lost Staff Sgt. Cawley, Fox Company felt invincible. However, after the evening of his death we all quickly realized how quickly one of us could be taken away. Men like James Cawley aren’t supposed to die. Staff Sgt. Cawley was a powerful man, the type of warrior who knew everything about his profession. He was the type of man who could make his men feel invincible through his leadership. Staff Sgt. Cawley was a father, a husband, brother and son. He was a friend to many and spent his entire life serving. Cawley served a religious prosletyzing mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Japan. After giving up two years of his young life in the service of his faith James joined the Marines. Since that time until his death, Jim always wore a uniform and performed duties that placed his body and life in the way of those he defended.

I remember vividly the funeral we held for him in the mud and heat of Iraq. It all seemed so surreal. We made a temporary monument to Jim, his boots, helmet and rifle. Behind it we erected a temporary flag pole and atop it we placed the American Flag. There we were a hundred sad but determined men stuck in the middle of a hellish fight in a country that wasn’t our own. I remember staring at that flag seeking purpose and meaning.

Our flag is a symbol. In fleeting moments while we bask in blessings and realities of American life we may reflect upon that meaning, but as a twenty one year old kid I wondered what does this flag REALLY stand for. Then all of the sudden I was overcome with a powerful feeling, a surety of knowledge. Yes, the flag stood for America the land we inhabit and it stood for the family that I loved and had left, but what I realized that day in that brief calm moment of reflection in the mud of Iraq was that the flag stood for a set of beautifully simple ideals: ideals enumerated specifically in the defining document of our country, our Constitution. The Constitution contained one basic idea in it. Governments are created by the people for the people. We, “the people,” are entitled to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. These are not expectations, they are inalienable rights, rights that no government should be able to take away because they are more than government, more than mankind itself.

In a sweaty cramped room in Philadelphia, a room of full of revolutionaries, ambitious politicians, wealthy merchants and stubborn idealists drafted a document that was designed in every aspect to protect these freedoms. However, despite the ratification of the Constitution, the history of America is a history of our Constitution being threatened both from enemies abroad and irresponsibility within.

Shortly after the Constitution was ratified, it came under its first threat. In an effort to control strong pro-British sentiment in the Colonies, President John Adams drafted a series of laws in 1798 known then as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws curtailed many constitutional freedoms including freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. It might seem outrageous that one of the founding fathers himself could pass such a law. John Adams believed in the Constitution but he was facing a potentially dangerous political situation at home that would manifest itself later with the scores of American Citizens who would aid the Brittish in the war of 1812. Fortunately for the First Amendment, The Alien and Sedition Acts died with the end of Adam’s presidency. However, this only occurred because of staunch opposition and dissention from the American people.

Perhaps the largest affront to the principle of equal and inalienable rights was the institution of Slavery itself. This deplorable and despicable institution was protected by the Constitution itself that so hypocritically ignored the contradiction of Slavery and Freedom’s coexistence. In 1857, with the Dredd Scott decision, the Supreme Court upheld the notion that people could be property. It took 600,000 American lives lost in the Civil War to prove the contrary.

The 20th century would also be fraught with peril and attacks directed towards our American ideals. In 1917, President Wilson passed the Espionage Act and then in 1918 extended it with the Sedition Act which attacked our freedom of speech. Wilson’s logic at the time was that dissent in a time of war “interfered” with the ability of our Armed Forces to successfully execute a war. It was literally a crime to question the First World War or the government. Although aspects of these laws have been changed or reformed, much of it remains law to this day.

The Depression itself brought threats to our American ideals as we began to sacrifice state sovereignty, gold backed currency, and the lack of individual taxation for the fleeting benefits of government welfare. However, the Constitution also came under attack in the form a coupe attempt against our government staged by major C.E.O’s of America’s most profitable companies. These business moguls disapproved of President Roosevelt and were willing to sacrifice our fledgling democracy for sustained profits. Unfortunately for them, they did not count on the integrity of the man they chose to lead the military effort of the coupes, the then retired Marine General Smedley Butler. Butler went along with the plot long enough to finger and expose many of the conspirators before the Congress in 1934. Subsequent Congressional investigations corroborated his accusations, yet surprisingly no one was prosecuted.

A Second World War and the following Cold War also prompted us as a nation to trade freedom for security. We herded our own citizens into concentration camps simply because of their race and jailed and prosecuted American citizens simply because of their political party. Later we would endure a president who would resign in disgrace for being proven a liar and a criminal. Unfortunately, this list goes on.

The point is not that our nation has at times failed to live up to its ideals. It is that in each of these cases we, the American people, whether individually or collectively have stood up to our government to protect our freedoms. Now is no different. The threat of terrorism is a very real one. Yet, when compared to the threats and violence we have endured in the past it should not appear unbeatable. Nor should it merit the destruction of our civil rights and our American ideals. However, we are beginning to let it.

On Oct 17, with little media attention and even less scrutiny from our Congress, President George W. Bush played his part in our history of allowing our freedoms to be threatened by signing the Military Commissions Act of 2006. This law was designed to set clear guidelines for the interrogation of Terrorist suspects held by the United States Government. In the mind of Bush and others, we needed new laws that allowed for harsher interrogation and less restriction on civil and humanitarian rights than the Geneva Conventions and Uniform Code of Military Justice had previously allowed for. However, what most of us failed to recognize was that this law specifically allowed for the President of the United States to declare a citizen of the United States an “Unlawful Enemy Combatant.” This classification deprives a person of their constitutional rights and the most basic right of Habeus Corpus, which allows for an individual to only be incarcerated under a system of Due Process that affords them the ability to defend themselves. One might say that such a law is necessary to protect us from terrorism, but it would be very difficult for anyone to argue that such a law does not at least weaken our civil rights if not outright eliminate some of them.

The law states in Sec. 948 a

`(1) UNLAWFUL ENEMY COMBATANT- (A) The term `unlawful enemy combatant' means--
`(ii) a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense.

We stand now in perilous times. Although terrorism threatens us, so do our own laws as they try to protect us. No terrorist, no matter how successful, could ever destroy America because America is more than our wealth, our land or even our own lives. America is an idea, it is a belief that all men are created equal with inalienable rights, that government is subordinate to the people’s wishes and that nothing, no enemy force, no government and no threat should ever take these rights away. We cannot trade freedom for security and we cannot bow to our fear. By sacrificing our Constitutional freedoms we give terrorists a victory they could never hope for in their wildest dreams…we destroy America for them.

Our country is embroiled in a difficult war. A war we now know was undertaken for shaky if not deceptive reasons. Yet, knowing this, I would gladly put a uniform back on, return to Iraq, and if necessary, die. I would do this because I know that my sacrifice is not for the Bush Administration and its policies, nor is it for the American people, or the land we call home. I would die because I believe that my death would be in the name of the ideals this country was based on. I know also that Staff Sgt. Cawley’s death was not in vain. I know what he died for. We owe it to him and all the other men and women who died defending our freedom to respect them by respecting the freedom they gave us instead of trading it away for the illusion of temporary security.

As we go to the polls for this watershed election, I would humbly encourage my fellow Americans not to vote Republican or Democrat, pro-war or anti-war. I would beg you all to vote for any candidate who you know respects our American ideals and believes that nothing is more important than protecting this experiment we call democracy and the American ideals we call freedom.

Go Doc and Mike!

We just spoke with our brother Matt who is in Washington State this weekend campaigning for Congressman Doc Hasting and Senate hopeful Mike McGavick. Thus far the response from targeted voters has been positive and their turn-out-the-vote efforts successful.

We thank BYU and other College Republicans across the country for their efforts in battleground states from Washington to Michigan to Georgia and Missouri. Your work will help Republicans maintain control of the House and the Senate.


The latest poll numbers as reported by the Washington Post show Republicans gaining on Democrats in every category. Of course, the article is headlined by typical liberal spin that has nothing to do with the actual numbers.

You'd expect the story to be in the news that Republicans have picked up 8 points on Democrats nationwide or that President Bush's approval rating rose 3 points or that voters now equally trust Republicans as Democrats in Iraq. It's interesting to note that this same poll--the Washington Post-ABC News Poll--in 1994 (the year of the Republican takeover) showed dems up 47%-42%. We all know how that one turned out.

As any election maven will tell you, the important thing to look at is the trend, and right now the numbers are trending in favor of Republicans. We're still hoping Republicans hold the House and Senate, but we know that historically the President's party loses seats in off year elections. If this trend can simply stem what the liberal media has been trumpeting as a Democratic runaway, we'll be happy.

**Update: The latest poll numbers from the Pew Research Center show Democrats with a 47%-43% lead among likely voters. This supports the Republican gains reported earlier in the Washington Post-ABC News Poll and reinforces our assertion that the polls are trending Republican.


Sitting in London, thousands of miles away from the action, we've been jealous of the fun our brother and his friends have been having campaigning for Mike McGavick and Doc Hastings. After a little search of the RNC website we found this option that allows you to sign up and then call voters reminding them to vote, and vote Republican on Tuesday. Thanks to Skype we've called a couple dozen and will continue tomorrow.

Looking for a way to help the Republicans maintain control of Congress? Click here.


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The First Hint of Justice

After a long wait, Saddam was sentenced to hang for his crimes against humanity. The case was primarily built around the torture and execution of 148 men and boys in the town of Dujail in 1982.

This was by no means the only crime he committed nor was it his worst, it was simply the easiest case to build. When he hangs, the literally hundreds of thousands of people he caused to be killed, raped, and tortured will get some justice.

That justice began today when a court in the country he used to rule handed down a judgement based on legal court proceedings that never would have happened under his regime. This is one example of how far Iraq has come. There may be reprisals from Batthists and Sunni supporters, but justice for his crimes will send a clear message that the rule of law has begun to take hold in Iraq.

Beyond Iraq and Saddam, this will send a clear message to tyrants around the globe that they too will someday suffer the consequences of their actions. They should consider themselves warned.

We congratulate Iraqis on what is a major accomplishment. It would have been far easier to have simply taken Saddam out back, lined him up against a wall and have him shot--as he might have done. But in these trial proceedings and the inevitable appeals process we find the key difference between tyranny and democracy: the rule of law.


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A Little Vindication

We thought Friday's New York Times front page story about Saddam's nuclear program would stop liberals from spewing "Bush lied" rhetoric. A quick check of the Seattle PI message board proved us wrong. Nonetheless, the recent revelation showed that Saddam had a nuclear program and was as close as a year away from getting the bomb.

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to "leverage the Internet" to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. . . .

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

Of course, now in hindsight, this wont be good enough. Unlike at the start of the war when some 80% supported invading Iraq this would have met the threshold of threat to America. Bush critics, who have watched too much 24 wouldn't be satisfied now unless we found some sort of WMD with a timer ticking close to zero.

For those who cared only about WMD--some vindication. But as we said, for us, this was only a little vindication. Our rationale for going to war included more than just WMD.


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Priceless

Giving our readers what they want.

This article describes the condescending liberal hubris we've referred to before.

Regarding the claim that the war in Iraq creates more terrorists and puts us in danger--Charles Krauthammer (hat tip: SJL) and this post from a year ago.

This one's for you Raisin.


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Another reason to vote Republican

Thanks

As we sit down to write this post, we can't help but be grateful for the liberals who read this blog. Their responses effectively highlight the difference between Republicans and Democrats--particularly regarding the War on Terror. They are either bored, think terrorism poses no threat, or speak condescendingly of our military--"why else would they fight if they weren't ignorant, dumb, or poor?"

We wholeheartedly reject this liberal mindset. Those who join the military are like everyone else. They evaluate their priorities and make a rational decision. If anything, what differentiates them from those who don't serve is a higher dose of patriotism. But that doesn't make them irrational. They elect to defend the country for the same reason some liberals live in trees--they truly believe in what they are doing.

We thank the men and women of the Armed Forces for their service to our country.


How about a Halloween scare?

Last week the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered their legislature to write legislation defining whether homsexual unions would be called marriages, unions, or whatever. At least they allowed the democratically elected representatives of the people of the state of New Jersey that much. They reserved for themselves the judicially activist position of mandating that the state officially recognize some sort of homosexual union.

We oppose judicial activism--legislating from the bench--in all its forms, and are opposed to homosexual marriage (we've written about it here, here, and here.) Congress exists to write legislation, the courts are to interpret (not broaden) the law--high school civics taught us that much. Unfortunately it has become the main venue for liberal activism largely because a majority of Americans don't agree with their positions and wont allow such liberal ideas to pass democratically. Rather than persuade, liberals file a lawsuit--the environment, abortion and same-sex marriage are all examples.

And we agree with the inevitable liberal chorus who will scream that this isn't the most important issue of this election, we won't, however, agree that it is not an issue at all. Thanks to the liberals on the New Jersey Supreme Court, this has become a current issue for those elements of the Republican party who care about marriage. Seriously, Republicans couldn't have asked for a better rallying cry than the one offered up by the activist New Jersey judges. William F. Buckley Jr. and Stanley Kurtz have both written good articles about this topic.

Off year elections always depend on turnout. Though most prognosticators predict a Democrat takeover of the House and maybe the Senate, all of the races are very close. So close, in fact, that an issue like same-sex marriage might be just enough to mobilize otherwise apathetic Evangelical Christians and tip the balance of the election in Republicans' favor.

We hoped conservatives would vote Republican because they were afraid that if elected, Democrats would appease terrorists from Baghdad to Pyonyang. If that's not enough of a motivator, perhaps the threat of homosexual marriage by judicial fiat is.

Why you should vote Republican

Whether anyone likes it or not, this election comes down to one question. Sure, a variety of issues are at play, but the one overriding theme is Iraq.

Make no mistake. If elected, Democrats will pull out of Iraq. They may try and play word games, calling for "redeployment" or "changes in strategy," but the net effect will be to leave Iraq.

Admittedly, things have not gone well in Iraq. We are sobered by the deaths of American soldiers. But do not kid yourselves, if we leave now, things will get worse.

Context. It's a wonderful word, but few people understand what it means. In the case of Iraq, historical context helps give us perspective and greater understanding of the struggle we face. Our experience in Japan and Germany after WWII teach us that establishing successfull, self-sustaining democracies is neither a short nor easy process. Those were never countries considered "ripe" for democracy. Conversely, we know what happens when the US pulls out before the job is finished. One need look no further than Vietnam, Somalia, and Lebanon for a cautionary tale.

These were fights the US did not have to lose. We had the military might, but the American public and its leaders lacked the will. As a direct result of that weakness of will, millions of people died and innocent people in Somalia, Lebanon, Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia continue to pay the price.

We mourn the civilian casualties in Iraq, but if we lose, if we give up now or anytime before Iraq can defend and maintain itself, numbers that can now be figured with five digits will jump to six and then seven. We wont be lamenting 30,000 deaths, we'll be outraged at the hundreds of thousands and then millions.

If we leave, various terrorist states and rogue nations will be emboldened. Rather than the voluntary disarmament we saw in Libya after Iraq, we will see more Irans and North Koreas.

We support the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq for the same reasons we outlined just over a year ago: Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror. This is not a war in the traditional sense, in which nation-states engage in set piece battles governed by the Geneva Convention. This is a war with a trans-national ideology--a war that does not recognize borders and boundaries. Worse still, it is a war in which our opponent places no value on human life. They will kill man, woman, and child and they will not negotiate. If we leave Iraq, it wont end our fight with the jihadists, it will simply force us to wage battle on a ground not of our choosing. We fear that ground will be US soil.

In our hierarchy of political priorities, we place the most value on a candidate's position on Iraq. When we fill out our absentee ballot thousands of miles from our home district in Washington, we will ask ourselves one question: does this candidate want to fight the jihadists in the homeland or in Iraq?

College Roundup

In the last year we've called out students at several institutions of higher learning. BYUSA, --the student government association at BYU with soviet-style elections--felt our wrath in this piece and later in this follow up. We also rang up our friends at the University of Washington for their misguided anti-war protest. Rounding out our history of college critique was a vague mention of the Berkeley's role in giving "academic" credence to attacks on Wal-Mart and a hilarious poem by a Berkeley grad student dedicated to Hezbollah.

Call this, credit where credit is due.

In a recent article about the growth of conservative groups at universities nationwide, The Wall Street Journal covered (subscription required) some of the unique ways College Republicans are striking back at demonstration-happy leftist student groups. Among their more successful stunts, an anti-anti war rally (well attended), an affirmative action bake sale (one price for whites, cheaper for african Americans, even cheaper for latin Americans), and finally a hot dog giveaway, protesting PETA. It seems the College Repulicans now boast more members than the College Democrats. This is due, in part, to a splintering of leftist groups into various anti-globalization, anti-war, pro-choice and on and on, ad nauseum, and well, you get the idea. We're glad to see they are mirroring the grown-up members of their party.

In not-so-recent news, two thumbs down to Columbia students. This other bastion of really really left leaning students recently protested a Minuteman delegation who had been invited on campus to discuss immigration issues. Maybe "protested" isn't a adequate adjective. Calling the Minutemen's views "hate speech," the Columbia student mob used violence and the threat of violence to force the Minutemen from the stage. Bravo, ignorant Columbia students.

It seems "hate speech" consists of anything with which Columbia students don't agree.

Finally, kudos to BYU students. In the next couple of weeks, hundreds of BYU students will travel to battleground states across the country to campaign for congressional candidates. We wish them a safe and productive trip. And may they campaign especially hard for Mike McGavick in our home state of Washington.

Historical Ramifications

Writing about Wal-Mart in Wednesday's post we addressed, almost as an afterthought, the impact of negative views of business in popular history. It wasn't the first time we'd written about Wal-Mart, but it was the first time we'd made the connection between antagonistic business history and its impact on the national agenda.

High school students and college students take few, if any, American history courses. The ones they do take are necessarily limited to surveying huge amounts of history. Compounding this is the beaten-to-death issue of students' general disinterest in history. If they are awake, they usually only capture the bold headlines--of which robber barons is one of the boldest and most oft-repeated. Students can't help but believe that if their history teachers says it so often, it must be true.

We recommend, therefore, Forrest McDonald's Recovering the Past. This superb memoir cum historiographical critique challenges accepted notions of history that have been put forth by a mostly liberal history professoriate.

The one advantage historians have on a liberal press that peddles the same anti-business slant, is that they are somewhat more self-conscious. The onset of post-modern theory has brought a certain awareness to the presence of bias--conscious and subconscious--in everything. Most historians, even the liberal ones, make some attempt at impartiality while realizing that true objectivity is impossible. Mainstream media is almost completely unaware of even the possibility of a bias. They live in an insular world where 70% of their ranks voted for John Kerry in the last Presidential election. To them, that's not bias, that's just the way the world is.

It isn't the conscious bias that harms the telling of "just the facts please, ma'am" news, but the unconscious bias. This unconscious bias is fed in this case by the anti-business entente of leftist- marxist-influenced historians who set the stage, Democrats angling for union support in upcoming elections (especially Presidential), and a press eager to follow in the footsteps of their forbears the muckrakers. Only with Wal-Mart, there isn't any muck to rake.

Isolationists and protectionists, ignorant of even the most basic economic principles (they slept through econ as well as American history) love to hate businesses that aren't mom and pop. They ignore abundant economic data showing the positive effects of capitalism, free trade and Wal-Mart's low prices. They see Tom's Hardware shut down on mainstreet with his three employees and overlook the hundreds employed by Wal-Mart with hundreds more clamoring for those jobs (see recent Wal-Mart in Chicago). But wait a minute, did Tom's go out of business because employee healthcare costs made it so they couldn't compete with Wal-Mart? Oh that's right, they pay their employees minimum wage too. Truth is, the average Wal-Mart employee makes $10 per hour.

As for healthcare, Wal-Mart has no responsibility to provide it. We understand where universal health care advocates are coming from--and it's not Great Britain. Over here there is constant debate and discussion regarding how in the world to reduce queues (Brit-speak for lines) for health services from ridiculous numbers like 40,000 down to more manageable numbers in the next 10 years. Just because they're called entitlements doesn't mean one ought to be entitled to them. Socialized medicine is inefficient and ineffective. In America we have Medicare for seniors, Medicaid for the poor, and Health Savings Accounts for everyone else. As we wrote in this article a few months ago, company managed health care contributes to, not helps, the problem of rising health care costs.

Apologies. This ended up being much longer than we intended.

Summary: anti-business history has tainted Americans' view of business and capitalism as a whole. Democrats pander to unions whose very existence is threatened by innovative, competitive businesses like Wal-Mart. A mostly liberal press parrots the company line. And otherwise intelligent Americans ignore the relevant economic data and irrationally lash out at Wal-Mart.

Got it?

Wal-Mart-O

It's a testament to our (speaking for the collective American people, rather than the collective here at OL&L) love of bandwagons that Wal-Mart bashing has spilled over even into such popular web networking sites as Facebook. Facebook's new option allowing for members to virtually support candidates and issues has taken this darling of a Democratic (big D) issue to the screens of student's computers. We love the angst filled "notes" (for entertainment purposes) populated with anti-Bush diatribes literally (click if you have a facebook account) parroted from Keith Olbermann, as much as the next guy. We do wish, however, he would have stuck with sports. Politics, it goes without saying, is not his forte.

This mixing of sports and politics is getting as bad as Hollywood and politics. It used to be that we could sit down and read our favorite sports blog without getting an earful about how much things suck in Iraq. Seriously. You'd think the Tuesday Morning Quarterback would stick to Tuesday's, mornings and for the love of football--quarterbacks. But he's not alone, everyone from Dr. Z to our favorite columnists at the Seattle PI and Times feel duty bound to weigh in on the evils of the Bush regime (right up there with Hitler and Stalin, or didn't you know?). If it doesn't say "Sports - Politics - Pop Culture - History - Literature" across the top of their blog or article, then they should stay away from anything that isn't exclusively sports. We read the sports page to escape politics. Heaven help us when we start doing it the other way around.

And of course they are all critical of Wal-Mart. Even Gregg Easterbrook, the aforementioned Tuesday Morning Quarterback got in a little jibe at Wal-Mart in one of his recent articles. This coming from a guy who prides himself on challenging the accepted wisdom, who writes off-the-wall articles that make sense because he backs them up with statistics and evidence. What evidence did he cite in abusing Wal-Mart? None.

Today, The Wall Street Journal outed the group responsible for most of the anti-Wal-Mart slander--unions. It really shouldn't come as a surprise. Wal-Mart is threatening the domain of a group that has become an ancient fixture in American politics. But like some other things ancient, unions deserve to go the way of the dinosaurs. As The Wall Street Journal explains, the two major and supposedly grass root, citizen led groups are actually born of an unholy affair between two major unions and are almost wholly funded by them. And their major source of "academic" material to support outlandish claims of economic damage by Wal-Mart? Why, a couple of unbiased bastions of academic ethics itself--the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the University of California at Berkeley Labor Center. For their efforts they received at least $100,000 and $43,550 respectively from the involved unions.

We're sure there was no cooking of the books in these studies.

The truth, ma'am, is that as a study from Global Insight shows, Wal-Mart "saves American households an average of $2,300 a year through lower prices, or a $263 billion reduction in the cost of living. That compares with $33 billion savings for low-income families from the federal food stamp program."

So much for taking advantage of America's poor.

Bashing Wal-Mart is becoming as American as apple pie. But it shouldn't be. In addition to Democrats, unions, and Berkeley, we have some historians to blame. Their treatment of business throughout history has been less than favorable. For years, marxist influenced historians have been peddling stories about the "robber barons" of the early 20th Century who took advantage of Americans. These stories have filtered down to nearly every history textbook in every high school across America and are as accepted as the widely accepted notion that people thought the earth was flat when Columbus sailed (they didn't).

The implication is that historians, in taking an anti-business position on history, have contributed to anti-business sentiment in America. Popular memory tells us that business has always taken advantage of Americans and Wal-Mart is just the latest iteration of those 20th C robber barons. Of course, popular memory also tells us that America won the War of 1812. My British professors are quick to squash that misconception.

If they are leftists, who don't like capitalism, and write history, is it possible they might have an anti-business bent to their writing?

We are unapologetically pro-business and generally pro-Wal-Mart. When we visit Mexico with our family, and crave good old American foods like Peanut M&M's, we have no problem asking the locals for directions to "Wal-Mart-O," where we know we'll get good quality at a good price.

We'll Be Back

On the 4th of October 2005, we posted our first bit of writing here at On Life and Lybberty. We regret not celebrating our 1st Anniversary, but even more than that, we regret the dearth of posts over the last month and a half.

Fear not, faithful readers (we know some of you still check the blog, statcounter.com tells us so). Now that we've settled into our grad program here in London, we'll soon return.

Stay tuned.