A Republican Warns … Two Years Late

America, Debt, Economy, EU, Europe, Republicans, Socialism

Since the crowning of Obama, Republicans have begun to cultivate a convenient awareness of the weight of the federal debt on the American economy.

Penned in February of 2007, my “Inflation 101 For Women Pundits And Other Tyrants” put the burden Dubya’s “national debt of $9 trillion” had placed on “America’s $12.98-trillion economy” in perspective:

As the American national debt stands, we would not be admitted into the company of socialists: The European Union. The EU expects member nations to hold debt below 60 percent of GDP.

Two years later, in March 26, 2009, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) claims the same, and makes headlines in The Hill.

A little late, don’t you think?! (Where do you go for the truth years ahead?)

Updated: Blame Local Yokels

Crime, Criminal Injustice, Drug War, Hillary Clinton, Homeland Security

Republican loyalists protesting Hillary Clinton’s latest antics should spare us their righteous indignation. Bush would have said and done exactly as Madam Secretary of State has—he too would have blamed American tokers and dopers for the fact that Mexican murderers are killing one another, and, while at it, are throwing into the mix an American or two.

It’s business as usual:

An “insatiable” appetite in the United States for illegal drugs is to blame for much of the violence ripping through Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

Clinton acknowledged the U.S. role in Mexico’s drug cartel problem as she arrived in Mexico for a two-day visit where she will discuss U.S. plans to ramp up border security with President Felipe Calderon. …

“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton told reporters during her flight to Mexico City.

“I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility.”

We’d expect nothing else from Clinton–blaming peaceful members of society for the savagery of criminals. Ever ask yourself, Madam, why Mexicans are more likely to run drugs, while Americans are more inclined to consume them?

Update: And could it be, Madam, that these societies–Mexican and American–are fundamentally different in some real and material way worth investigating and perhaps even preserving? Perish the thought!

The Death Of The Mighty Dollar

China, Economy, Federal Reserve Bank, Foreign Policy, Individual Rights, Inflation

The trashing of the dollar by Bush/Barack is worrying those to whom we’ve been exporting our inflation. The US’s relationship with China is another fiasco. We’ve relied on that country to finance our debt, but kept up the sanctimonious preaching. (Search BAB’s “China” archive for details.)

How do you like that for hypocrisy, to say nothing of a performative contradiction? Preaching about human rights and individual rights while simultaneously fleecing your own people without flinching!

The patient Asians took what we dished, but now, they’re getting nervous about their finances.

From the FT.com:

China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund.

In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”.

Analysts said the proposal was an indication of Beijing’s fears that actions being taken to save the domestic US economy would have a negative impact on China.

“This is a clear sign that China, as the largest holder of US dollar financial assets, is concerned about the potential inflationary risk of the US Federal Reserve printing money,” said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist for HSBC.

Although Mr Zhou did not mention the US dollar, the essay gave a pointed critique of the current dollar-dominated monetary system.

Guess Who’s Pooh-Poohing Tea Parties & Touting The Political Process?

Elections 2008, libertarianism, Liberty, Media, Politics, Taxation, The State

Mr. Neal Boortz is a big fan of the political process, which is why serious libertarians consider him a serious statist par excellence.

Boortz admonished irate Americans to:

“Use your tea bags to make tea and do something meaningful. Go around your workplace or neighborhood and register voters who actually produce and contribute to our society. Trust me, there are enough people out there registering the parasites, find the producers who don’t vote – convince them that their vote is needed and would count – and sign them up. Then take a copy of their voter registration, put it with the other copies you’ve already collected, and send them to your congressman.”

The palsied haters of the liberal press are not covering the Tea Party movement. When they do, it is with the toffee-nosed contempt they reserved for Sarah Palin, the Moose hunting mama.

Newsweek’s latest cover, “The Thinking Man’s Guide To Populist Outrage,” could just as well have read “Those hick rubes are at it again.”

I’ve protested the diffuse, directionless nature of the rage animating the masses. The eruption of civil society, however, is a good thing; far better than registering people to partake in a rigged charade. (Presumably, Boortz wants society’s producers to vote for a Republican.) But, right now, with the exception of a few pockets, the populist uprising is a bit of a headless chicken.

In any event, like the liberals, Boortz seems to need to show that he’s wiser than the yokels.