Category Archives: America

Update II: Sully Sullenberger: Hero Of Flight 1549

America, Bush, Ethics, Human Accomplishment

Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, III, did not walk on water after performing a perfect landing on the Hudson River, but he did walk the aisles–twice. Sullenberger was ensuring all passengers had disembarked the sinking plane before he did. I know this is what professional pilots are supposed to do, but how common is perfect professionalism and gallantry?

By now, you’ve heard of “Chesley B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, III, the US Airways pilot who today amazingly crash-landed a US Airways jet in New York’s Hudson River without any apparent fatalities. The heroic Sullenberger, 57, has worked for US Airways since 1980, and before that spent more than six years as a U.S. Air Force F-4 fighter pilot. Sullenberger, who now must be considered the front runner to replace Hillary Clinton as New York’s junior United States Senator, is also the founder of Safety Reliability Methods. The firm describes itself as providing ‘technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.'”

More on The Smoking Gun.

Images here.

“Sully” Sullenberger’s website and picture.

Update II (Jan 17): On the day a coward and a bully of a man (Bush) delivered his hyperbole and boosterism-filled Farewell Address to the Nation, a real man (“Sully” Sullenberger) stepped up.

In August 2001, Bush was briefed by a CIA analyst about Bin Laden’s plans for the US. “All right, you’ve covered your ass now,” is how Bush responded. (He did nothing else.)

This is the repulsive human being the Republicans are now vindicating.

How apropos that on the day “W” drools before the nation for the last time, we hope; on that day a silent, steely hero–a manly man– shows the pipsqueak president up.

The contrast could not be greater. The one man is spoilt, indulged, used to throwing his toys around and getting his way throughout his life, without ever having to say, “I’m sorry.”

The other, “Sully” Sullenberger, is a mensch–an ordinary man with extraordinary abilities and stellar character.

Hong Kong Named World’s Freest Economy

America, China, Economy, Free Markets, Political Economy

Give me economic freedom over overrated, so-called political liberty anytime.

There’s nothing new about the annual report released by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal crowning Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy. Hong Kong has been so honored for 15 consecutive years.

This via Yahoo News:

“The Chinese territory, known for its low taxes and looser regulations, was followed by Singapore, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, according to this year’s Index of Economic Freedom.

European countries again accounted for half of the top 20 economies considered free or mostly free, with Switzerland at No. 9 and the U.K. at No. 10.

However, the U.S. slid one notch to sixth place, dinged for increased government spending and tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, one of the survey’s authors said.

Ranking at the bottom was North Korea, followed by next-to-last Zimbabwe, Cuba, Myanmar and Eritrea. The southern African country, whose economy is in meltdown after years of state-endorsed violence and business controls, posted the biggest drop in this year’s report.”

[SNIP]

Again: Forced to choose between “political liberty” and economic freedom, I’d choose the latter, always.

As I once wrote, “freedom will have arrived when elections don’t matter. I’ll consider myself free when … I can sleep through a federal election, because, … Democrat or Republican – in a free society neither will be able to unjustly tamper with me or take what is rightfully mine.”

Hong Kong Named World's Freest Economy

America, China, Free Markets, Political Economy

Give me economic freedom over overrated, so-called political liberty anytime.

There’s nothing new about the annual report released by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal crowning Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy. Hong Kong has been so honored for 15 consecutive years.

This via Yahoo News:

“The Chinese territory, known for its low taxes and looser regulations, was followed by Singapore, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, according to this year’s Index of Economic Freedom.

European countries again accounted for half of the top 20 economies considered free or mostly free, with Switzerland at No. 9 and the U.K. at No. 10.

However, the U.S. slid one notch to sixth place, dinged for increased government spending and tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, one of the survey’s authors said.

Ranking at the bottom was North Korea, followed by next-to-last Zimbabwe, Cuba, Myanmar and Eritrea. The southern African country, whose economy is in meltdown after years of state-endorsed violence and business controls, posted the biggest drop in this year’s report.”

[SNIP]

Again: Forced to choose between “political liberty” and economic freedom, I’d choose the latter, always.

As I once wrote, “freedom will have arrived when elections don’t matter. I’ll consider myself free when … I can sleep through a federal election, because, … Democrat or Republican – in a free society neither will be able to unjustly tamper with me or take what is rightfully mine.”

How Did The US Become ‘A Proto-Soviet Surveillance State?’

America, Communism, Socialism, The Military, The State, War

Fred Reed demands to know “What Have the Bastards Done to My Country?”:

“This is the country that produced Peggy Lee and Tampa Red and the ‘fitty-sedden Chevy, the country that spits techno-whizz golf carts onto Mars just like it was even possible, that brought the hamburger to gorgeous bejuiced perfection and invented most of the modern world. It’s the home of sand-lot baseball and Little Peggy March and BB guns and Tasty Freeze. It is, in a phrase, one fine place.”

“How did it sink to being a proto-Soviet surveillance state that builds vast awful Visitor Centers in the style of a Hitlerian mauseoleum [sic]? You can’t go to the john without a photo ID anymore. Something ain’t right.”

Reeds’ “Thoughts in an Insurrectionist Vein” are “here.