who's your nanny?

Karen DeCoster on the Social Costs of Inflation

From Ms. DeCoster's personal blog:

The Federal Reserve, with its money-pumping machine distorting credit markets and interest rates, along with creating piles of debt among the citizenry, is a totalitarian and destructive force. The Fed destroys time preferences because it turns people into consumption-oriented, gotta-have-it-now debt addicts. The Fed has wrecked the housing market and turned homes into leveraged bets. The Fed has sucked people into revolving debt, student loan debt, and miscellaneous personal debt, all with the promise that the boom was never going to end. The Fed perverted the stock market, baiting pension funds, 401k funds, and personal investments, and thus has wiped out much of the wealth of American retirees and the middle class. The Fed has turned the latest generation of children into a consumption-only class who do not know of the production side of the market, nor do they care. The Fed has established a financial dependency on government that has destroyed the self-sufficiency of an entire generation. Today's bread and circuses is tomorrow's lack of saving, invention, and production. The Federal Reserve is a criminal organization and the destroyer of lives.

The latest victim of this system that takes Americans captive is the man who shot his wife and three children to death before committing suicide in Middletown, Maryland. He was $460k in debt on a mortgage and credit cards on a salary of less than $100k per year. The debt, dependency, and financial disintegration drove him insane. Here is Guido Hulsmann from one of my all-time favorite articles, "The Cultural and Spiritual Legacy of Fiat Inflation."

The net effect of the recent surge in household debt is therefore to throw entire populations into financial dependency. The moral implications are clear. Towering debts are incompatible with financial self-reliance and thus they tend to weaken self-reliance also in all other spheres. The debt-ridden individual eventually adopts the habit of turning to others for help, rather than maturing into an economic and moral anchor of his family, and of his wider community. Wishful thinking and submissiveness replace soberness and independent judgement. And what about the many cases in which families can no longer shoulder the debt load? Then the result is either despair or, on the contrary, scorn for all standards of financial sanity.

Schlussel: American Parents Worse Than Al-Qaeda

Debbie Schlussel pens a nice little rant about how America is headed down the crapper because some "selfish," "irresponsible" parents allow their young children to watch R-rated movies. Following a screening of the new Friday the 13th movie, she writes:

Al-Qaeda murdered 3,000 Americans on 9/11. That was an outrage. But thousands more American parents--who are merely sperm, egg, and womb donors--are doing to this country what Al-Qaeda could never do. These American parents have voluntarily turned their kids' minds to mush--kids who will still be around, who will "grow up," and who will continue to add to America's decline.

My childhood was riddled with various iterations of Friday the 13th. From 1980 to 1989, when I was anywhere from six to 16 years old, Jason slashed his way through Crystal Lake (and apparently Manhattan), and I don't remember my parents ever "letting" me watch any of them. (Of course, when I was 13 I wasn't even allowed to watch Top Gun, which was actually rated PG-13.) But I knew plenty of kids whose parents did, so I'm not sure there's much empirical evidence to support the argument that today's families are much different than yesteryear's in this regard.

You really have to read Schlussel's entire article to appreciate it, but her flair for the melodramatic notwithstanding, it's clear from Schlussel's "Country First!" comments that the prominence of the American state should be our highest priority. Not freedom, family, or a higher being -- the state is the ultimate authority.

I'm not going to argue that the parent who drags her seven-year-old to a horror flick should be in the running for Mother of the Year, but neither will I pretend that she and her ilk could even come close to doing as much damage to this country as the powermad wingnuts in the nation's capital who drive it into the ground with their wealth-destroying "bailouts," wars for empire, calls for national conscription, and catalogs of taxes, regulations, and mandates that stifle free trade and eventually extinguish our will to take financial risks as the fiscal exsanguination continues along.

So, Debbie, you keep bitching and moaning about all the "trashy" welfare moms and dads who drag their crying tots to a free movie; I'll keep worrying about all the sharp-dressed criminals who rob us in order to encourage that lifestyle in the first place.

Further Proof...

...that if you show me the hottest chick in the world, I'll show you a guy who's tired of putting up with her shit.

(Come on, it's Friday..what are you expecting?)

Bully with a Badge

Bill Anderson explains how the unjust laws that Eliot Spitzer exploited in order to destroy other people have come full circle to consume him.

Better a Teenage Slut Than a Government Whore

A Colorado state lawmaker apparently isn't too happy with teens who engage in premarital sex.

"In my parents' day and age, (unmarried teen parents) were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are," Republican Rep. Larry Liston said during a GOP legislative caucus meeting in Denver. "There was at least a sense of shame."

Liston continued: "There's no sense of shame today. Society condones it ... I think it's wrong. They're sluts. And I don't mean just the women. I mean the men, too."

Liston defended his comments, saying that teens who can't afford to have children can have them anyway because they can expect the government to pay for them.

Yeah, I suppose it would be too hard to actually grow a sack and criticize state lawmakers for handing out welfare subsidies to any and all takers in the first place.

Big Love

Wow, they really want equality in Frisco.

Is This a Joke?

NRO's Kathryn Jean Lopez notes a White House press report today claiming that President Bush is advancing stem cell research by "encouraging scientific advancement within ethical boundaries."

Of the president she has this to say: "It's nice to have one committed to protecting the sanctity of human life."

I wonder what the families of tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians would have to say about that.

Nifong Disbarred

The North Carolina state bar has disbarred Durham County DA Mike Nifong after finding him guilty of numerous ethics violations in the Duke lacrosse case.

Before the disbarment decision, Nifong said he believed disbarment would be an appropriate punishment and that he planned to waive all rights to appeal the findings of the bar panel, his attorney David Freedman said in court Saturday afternoon.

"He hopes that in light of his accepting his punishing it will restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system," Freedman said. "You have some semblance of relief when this is all over, regardless of the outcome."

No, no. Disbarment is the absolute minimum penalty Nifong should pay. I can't believe confidence in the system will even begin to be restored until Nifong is expected to pay compensatory damages to the Duke players who will be forever tainted by his transgressions.

So, We're Losing a Sandbar...

..but residents of Stratford, Connecticut's Long Beach neighborhood are being evicted from their cottages by the local government.

This issue isn't quite the same as the one I wrote about yesterday, but it's pretty similar.

Several years ago, the federal government offered $3.9 million for the land. The cottage owners offered $5.8 million for the property, plus an additional $500,000 for purchase of emergency vehicles to be located on the peninsula.

But the Town Council decided at the time to hold onto the land and keep fighting in court.

Why would the town give up its court battle? Never underestimate the willingness of the government to fight the taxpayers when it has the power to steal your money and use it as it likes.

Much more coverage at To the People.

Culture Of Corruption

This Nate Beeler cartoon pretty much says it all.

Porky Loves You

So why are you so mean?

Paul Shapiro, director of the Factory Farming Campaign of the Humane Society, wants Maryland lawmakers to "require the pig industry to give breeding sows merely enough space simply to turn around."

Although most pigs used for pork production endure bleak conditions, factory farms abuse breeding sows in ways that are so terrible that the cruelty is among the most egregious factory farming abuses. Most of these sows — social, intelligent animals — are confined in gestation crates only 2 feet wide, preventing the animals from even turning around or walking for months on end.

Pigs confined in these crates suffer immensely, unable to exercise or engage in nearly any of their natural behaviors. The forced immobilization takes a serious physical and psychological toll, leading to both leg and joint problems along with psychosis resulting from extreme boredom and frustration.

Farm animal expert Dr. Temple Grandin said, “Gestation crates for pigs are a real problem. ...Basically, you’re asking a sow to live in an airline seat. ...I think it’s something that needs to be phased out.”

Millions of Americans live in airline seats and cramped hotel rooms for significant portions of their lives. Should the government impose arbitrary comfort regulations and costs on the travel industry?

Look, I love pigs. There aren't many people who share my level of passion for pork, bacon, and ham. Hell, in college I belonged to a fraternity named PIGS. In fact, there are probably few people who've struggled as much as I have with the contradiction of being able to love a living animal so much only because those that have come before it have already been killed.

However, I think I draw the line at forcing farms to pretend their slaughterhouses are country clubs. I don't know how competitive the pig industry is, but I'm going to go ahead and assume it works as hard as any business does to keep its costs as low as possible in order to maximize the number of its customers.

Nonchalantly passing legislation from the confines of a state capital to require animals headed for the chopping block to suffer a bit less in their final weeks might seem like a humane thing to do. But "merely" requiring factories to double pen size so a pig has room to "turn around" could literally mean doubling the amount of space farms and factories must provide for Porky. This probably means buying or renting perhaps hundreds more acres of farmland, building more or at least larger facilities, and hiring more workers to man this extra space. And, ultimately, it means higher pork costs for the consumer, which in turn would likely mean less business for the providers.

I'm not trying to sound crass, but the last time I checked, the Declaration of Independence notes that unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness apply to humans, not farm animals.

What Happens to Nifong Now?

Durham DA Mike Nifong recused himself from the Duke lacrosse rape case over the weekend, but what's in store for him now? One of my ideas would include a few lacrosse sticks, a wrestling ring, and the guys Nifong screwed, but maybe that's why I don't get to make the decision.

Tom Bevan has some good stuff here.

The Ethics Issues I'm Concerned About

As Democrats and Republicans hyperventilate over the Foley scandal in the coming days and weeks, we're probably going to see enough sanctimonious grandstanding to make most NFL end zone dances look benign in comparison.

Yes, Mark Foley's improper conduct concerning at least one teenage congressional page is despicable. But I certainly hope we don't allow this whole fiasco to prevent us from acknowledging the unethical behavior that is widespread among so many more congressmen.

I'm talking about the unethical habit of stuffing appropriations bills with earmarks for special interests, the dishonorable vote to pass the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation that led to the usurpation of free political speech, the despotic gambling ban that Republicans snuck into the Homeland Security bill last week and Dems overwhelmingly supported before they all left town, the death tax, you name it. Not to mention, Congress is addicted to the unethical practice of fleecing taxpayers to provide federal funding for the public school monopoly, massive entitlement programs, and even grants to state and local police departments to fund speed traps and DUI checkpoints.

So as you listen to our congressmen wax eloquent in all their self-righteousness as the investigation into the Foley case continues, be sure to ask yourself whether you're more upset with one man who admitted to his problems and promptly resigned, or with dozens and dozens more who continue to sell us down the river to retain the advantage of a cushy lifestyle.

Foley Scandal

The Mark Foley scandal doesn't really fit the theme of this blog, but it did give me the opportunity to add another category to my sidebar -- "ethics."

I don't really have much to say, other than I don't think it's appropriate to condemn all Republicans -- or all politicians, for that matter -- over Foley's actions any more than it would be to condemn, say, all teachers when a small minority engages in inappropriate behavior with a minor. After all, there are plenty of other things many of our profligate politicians can be criticized for.

That said, I think this is going to kill the GOP's chances next month. I think way too many people -- yours truly included -- have been fed up with the Republican majority for far too long to even bother going to the polls in November. This incident may hold no implications for public policy, but it will probably reinvigorate the specter of the Abramoff scandals and effectively convince voters that the party is in shambles. And before anyone jumps in and says that we should vote for conservative or libertarian Republicans to replace those who've grown fat and happy off the taxpayer teat, sure, if they're available. But remember, Rhode Island's "Republicans" shot down Steve Laffey, and the Connecticut GOP is putting more faith in Joe Lieberman than their own friggin' nominee.

I know anecdotal accounts don't necessarily mean much, but if local midterm elections in my county were any indication, Republican candidates across the country are in for a rough ride this year. Almost across the board, Democratic voters in Calvert County, Maryland turned out in far greater numbers than their Republican counterparts, probably by 30 to 50 percent. Which is perfectly understandable, considering congressional Republicans have been drafting bills that would normally be associated with Dems (see last Friday's passage of the absurd online gambling ban, for instance).

It's a shame that so many local Joes and Janes running for commissioner, judge, sheriff, or state's attorney as a Republican are going to be tainted by the actions of the national party's representatives, but I suppose that's the price you pay when your states and localities are so damned wedded to the federal government.

If Denny Hastert was aware of the specific content of the emails and IMs and sat on this thing hoping for it to blow over, he should most definitely resign, as the Washington Times called for today. So should anyone in a leadership position who knew about it but did nothing. If not, well, leadership probably did what they reasonably could be expected to do.

But more importantly, can we perhaps finally wake up and realize that we put way too much faith in Congress in the first place?