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3/12/2004

Torture in Cuba?

Torture in Cuba?

This guy is upset. Rightfully so. He was released after two years in Guantanamo Bay.

My question is why is he the only prisoner released who gives this sort of description of the treatment at Camp X-Ray?

I know it is not Club Med down there but most folks released have said they were treated well, all things considering, and most had gained weight, had all their medical problems treated, etc.

Why is he the only one who saw all these things happen?

Mirror.co.uk - MY HELL IN CAMP X-RAY: "
A BRITISH captive freed from Guantanamo Bay today tells the world of its full horror - and reveals how prostitutes were taken into the camp to degrade Muslim inmates.
Jamal al-Harith, 37, who arrived home three days ago after two years of confinement, is the first detainee to lift the lid on the US regime in Cuba's Camp X-Ray and Camp Delta."

Rock the Vote?

Rock the Vote?

And people still think that the economy is the premier issue in this election.

Especially when the economy is growing for cryin' out loud.

I bet that the terrorists who committed these acts (exactly 1.5 years after 9/11, that's exactly 911 days) know who THEY would prefer to see in the Wite House.

Spain's 3/11

So much for the illusion that the global war on terror isn't really a war. That complacent notion, which has been infiltrating its way into the American public mind, blew up along with 10 bombs on trains carrying Spanish commuters yesterday on their way to work in Madrid. . . .

The Madrid bombings are a reminder that terrorism remains the largest single threat to Western freedom and security. It threatens every country that refuses to cower in fear and dares to take the battle to the terrorists. We've made large strides in this war since 9/11, thanks in part to friends like the Spanish. Their current grief should inspire America's renewed determination.

Fighting Terrorism At Home

Fighting Terrorism At Home

Yep. Iraq sure is distracting us from fighting terrorists.

Yep. We sure have let down trying to protect our homeland.

Here's a laundry list of recent arrests and prosecutions of jihadists here in America.

To all of our intelligence and law enforcement folks out there: Thank you for your hard and dangerous work. Keep it up!

American Jihad Continues

Although most media attention has been focused on Martha Stewart, gay marriage, and the national waistline, the jihad continues in America.

UN Corruption?

UN Corruption?

Is this just a conspiracy theory from the right?

Kojo & Kofi

But what has to be clear by now is that the U.N. itself was either corrupt, or so stunningly incompetent as to require total overhaul. There are by now enough questions, there has been enough secrecy, stonewalling, and rising evidence of graft all around the U.N. program in Iraq, so that it is surely worth an independent investigation into the U.N. itself — and Annan's role in supervising this program. If Kofi Annan will not exercise his authority to set a truly independent inquiry in motion, it is way past time for the U.S., whose taxpayers supply about a quarter of the U.N. budget, to call the U.N. itself to account for Oil-for-Food — in dollar terms the biggest relief operation it has ever run, and by many signs, one of the dirtiest.

Dueling Economists

Dueling Economists

Here's a pair of articles. The first extols the virtue of the "Household Survey" method of calculating jobs growth. The second criticizes this method.

Debating job growth

The Establishment Survey takes into account business establishments nationwide by measuring (BEG ITAL) payroll employment. (END ITAL) "But," writes Wesbury in the April issue of The American Spectator, "payrolls are not where the action is today. The real growth is entrepreneurial. Self-employment and Limited Liability Corporations (LLC) are growing like weeds, and these types of employment do not fit into the normal payroll." They do fit into the Household Survey.

Whereas the Establishment Survey tells us that since the end of the recession in November 2001 payroll jobs have declined by 718,000, the Household Survey indicates 1.9 million jobs have been created. Naturally, Kerry, the candidate of confusion, relies on the Establishment Survey. I doubt he has ever paid any attention to the Household Survey.

Wesbury believes that he should. It not only calculates job growth more accurately than the other survey, it also has tracked a trend. For two decades, self-employment has represented an ever-larger percentage of post-recession job growth. In the months following the 1982 recession, self-employment accounted for 5.4 percent of job growth. In the months following the 1991 recession, it accounted for 9.3 percent of job growth. "Since the recession ended in November 2001," Wesbury writes, "total household employment has climbed 2.1 million, and self-employment has grown by 644,000 ... 31.1 percent of all job growth in the Household Survey."

Is it possible to have the healthy growth we now have and a decline in jobs? The understandably confused are confused by this, as well they should be. If Wesbury is right, the confusion is caused by economic statisticians' failure to keep up with our dynamic economy. The economy is growing, and so is the job market.

Here's an article by Daniel Gross over at Slate.com.

He disagrees with this analysis and give's several reasons why.

But here's his final paragraph with added emphasis. He apparently thinks that we should approach things pessimistically - always bet on the worst numbers available; especially if it would hurt their guy and help yours.

[He's also very proud of his vocabulary.]


It's the Data, Stupid

The divergence between the payroll and household figures does raise some interesting questions over which economists will surely puzzle. Has the slack corporate job market turned millions of Americans into self-employed entrepreneurs who don't get counted in the payroll survey? Have American companies simply become so ingenious at wringing productivity out of existing workers and technology that they don't need to hire? It's a debate that won't be settled for at least a year, when this year's figures get revised. It's possible the antidisestablishmentarians may indeed be right. But at this point, the official disdain for the payroll survey and the embrace of the Household Survey is more about belief than data.

The Sky Is Falling!

The Sky Is Falling!

Yesterday I heard an ABC Radio News reporter call the stock market drop "huge" (or somesuch exaggerating label - unfortunately it has been about 18 hours and I cannot remember the exact wording).

It dropped approximately 170 points. That's just over 1%. Oh no! They sky is falling!

Alarmist jerks.

3/11/2004

Al Qaeda or ETA?

Al Qaeda or ETA?

Spain became the victim of a major terrorist attack this morning. Most early speculation was that it was commited by a Basque separatist group, ETA.

Later, attention has turned to Al Qaeda after an email claiming responsibility for the bombings was received by a London newspaper office.

The claim may or may not be real. Maybe time will sort it out.

Either way, the terrorist are most likely going to end up steeling the resolve of govt's and politicians to deny them whatever it is they desire.

We'll see.

Thank god the UN is on the case.

Police search for Madrid terror bombers

But Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said authorities are investigating a van found in the town of Alcala de Henares, outside Madrid, with at least seven detonators and an Arabic tape with Koranic teachings. . . .

Referring to a statement claiming responsibility and attributed to a group affiliated with al Qaeda that was received by a London-based Arabic-language newspaper, the U.S. official said "keep in mind we often see false claims of responsibility," and that even for attacks it did commit, "al Qaeda frequently takes no public credit."

In an interview on Radio Popular in the Basque Country, Arnaldo Otegi, leader of banned radical political party Batasuna, said he did not believe ETA was responsible. . . .

The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attack "in the strongest terms."

Senate Votes to Stop Tax Cuts

Senate Votes to Stop Tax Cuts

Are you KIDDING me?

The Senate, the REPUBLICAN SENATE, voted and passed a bill that would require a 60 vote supermajority in order to confirm tax CUTS? Whiskey tango foxtrot?

Are we sure they didn't misread it, thinking that it meant it would taje 60 votes to CANCEL a tax cut or to RAISE taxes?

Nope.

Somehow the spineless jellyfish we have in DC pretending to be Republican Senators managed to actually vote to impose restrictions on tax CUTS.

Thank whomever you hold holy that the HOUSE will certainly cowboy up and stop this madness.

And, heaven forbid, if this actually made it to Bush's desk and he SIGNED it, I would seriously think about voting another way. UGH!

Senate delivers setback to GOP plans for tax cuts

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted yesterday to make it tougher for Republicans to muscle tax cuts through Congress as Democrats won an election-year struggle that could hinder some of President Bush's economic priorities.
By a 51-48 vote, the GOP-dominated Senate agreed to require 60 votes for tax cuts considered over the next five years that are not paid for with other savings.

That requirement could doom all but the most popular tax reduction plans in the 100-member Senate, which Republicans control with 51 seats. It also would complicate Republican efforts to deliver the core of Bush's plan for reviving the economy, making $1.1 trillion worth of tax cuts permanent that will otherwise expire by 2011.

Reynolds on Outsourcing

Reynolds on Outsourcing

A short lesson in economics by an economist (not some random musings by just a columnist).

More on correcting the misaprehension poeple have about outsourcing - the great bogeyman!

Outsourcing and other trivial pursuits

The unemployment rate has fallen by half a percentage point over the past six months. If it merely continues to drop at the same pace, unemployment will be 5.1 percent in another six months (August) and below 5 percent before the election. Unemployment would then be the lowest ever for any president seeking reelection -- lower than it was for Nixon in November 1972 (5.3 percent) or for Clinton in November 1996 (5.4 percent).

If Sen. Kerry had hoped to make a big political issue out of an unemployment rate that is likely to be below 5 percent by election time, he had better start trying to change the subject as soon as possible. And his never-ending wisecracks about Herbert Hoover could to backfire, too, because Hoover enacted the same policies key Democrats now recommend -- namely, higher tax rates and tariffs.

Another non-issue that is sure to grow tiresome within a few more months is the maniacal anxiety about imports of business services -- a trivial pursuit that would have gotten no attention at all had it not been deviously mislabeled as "outsourcing."

That is not what outsourcing means. Outsourcing means having business services done by specialist firms rather than inside a manufacturing or financial firm. When I was a vice president at a Chicago bank, we had an entire floor of attorneys and a few dozen economists on the payroll. The bank could have gotten better service for less money by putting legal firms and economic consultants on retainer. It often makes sense to also let specialist firms handle accounting, employee benefits and payroll. That is outsourcing.

What uninformed politicians and journalists mean by "outsourcing" is importing services. They would have you believe the United States has suddenly been importing many more services. Yet the increase in service imports last year was precisely zero.

Elder on Racist Statements

Elder on Racist Statements

Aaron McGruder creates "The Boondocks" - a comic strip about life in a black community which is sometimes funny.

You can tell from some of his strips (ok, MOST of his strips) that he does not like the Bush administration.

Fine. No problem. Puts him right up there with Doonesbury.

What you may not know is the hate-filled, wild allegations he put forward in interviews and speeches.

Larry elder sets the record straight.

BTW - if anyone wants to say that these were taken out of context, please send me a source which gives the full interview/transcript and I will happily post it here for review. But how you can say that the quotes he uses are out of context . . . jeez, I cannot even imagine the context in which these quotes would be considered non-offensive.

The McGruder award for most outrageous statement by a black public figure

Aaron McGruder -- on television's "America's Black Forum," for his savage remarks about National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice: "I don't like Condoleezza Rice because of her politics. I don't like Condoleezza Rice because she's part of this oil cabal that's now in the White House. I don't like her because she's a murderer. You know, I'm not bound by the rules of a politician or journalist. So, you know, when I say, 'She's a murderer,' it's because she's a murderer, and that's all that's necessary for me to make those statements."

Hanger

Hanger

American Arrested as Iraqi Spy

NEW YORK ? An American citizen was arrested Thursday on charges she acted as an Iraqi spy before and after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, accepting $10,000 for her work, prosecutors said Thursday.

Surely No Media Bias in this One

Surely No Media Bias in this One

If all those "ill-informed" conservative radio hosts out there could figure out that the September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows group is a hardcore partisan activist group funded (indirectly) by the Heinz Endowments?

Here's an article from a Rep consultant, Jay Bryant. Can the Left deny the facts presented here that Kerry's wife's foundation funded this proven left-wing group?

Extremists Behind Attack on Bush Ads

The outrageous attack on President Bush's television commercials was the work of an extreme left-wing group that has been in the forefront of the battle against the War on Terrorism for years, but you'd never know it from the coverage it has received in the establishment news media.

By picking up the charge, rather than reporting on its dubious source, the media have done major damage to the President's campaign, which compounded the problem by "defending" the ads, rather than exposing the hateful anti-Americanism of those who attacked them. . . .

What has Peaceful Tomorrows been up to since its formation in the weeks following 9/11? They condemned the "invasion" of Afghanistan, supported Dennis Kucinich's bill to gut the Patriot Act, and sent a delegation to Iraq to meet with Tariq Assiz and participate in a peace demonstration organized by Saddam Hussein's government. . . .

Peaceful Tomorrows is an official project of the Tides Foundation, an umbrella organization formed in 1976 to launder money to what has grown to some 350 left-wing groups throughout the world. Among the chief financial backers of Tides is the Heinz Endowments, the foundation run by Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of you-know-who. Mrs. Kerry set up a Tides franchise in Pittsburgh.

That pretty much completes the loop, doesn't it?

A right-wing organization that did what Tides does would long ago have been exposed by the media, but there are no Pulitzers for investigative reporting against liberals.

Ad Hominem Attacks: A Challenge

Ad Hominem Attacks: A Challenge

I keep hearing people say that "this campaign has gotten nasty fast" or somesuch similar statement. Usually they seem to mean that both Kerry and Bush have started negative campaigning.

Well, I don't believe that calling another person on their record is negative campaigning.

If Kerry wants to lambaste Bush on the Marriage Amendment, fine. That's part of Bush's record as a politician. Same with the deficit or immigration issues. Defense spending, the Faith Based Initiative, the tax cut . . . all of it is fair game. Some people will respond to this.

Likewise, if Bush and krewe call Kerry on his senate voting record, or his anti-war activities, or flip-flopping on issues, etc. that's fine, too.

But only Kerry has resorted to calling Bush and co. names and outright ad hominem attacks. (See the post immediately following this one.)

A challenge to the Left: find me ONE, just ONE, instance of Bush or another Senior Administration Official calling Kerry names. I don't mean saying that he did such and such as a Senator. I mean calling him "crooked" or a liar or some other ad hominem attack. Just ONE pure ad hominem attack.

Did Bush or another senior official actually call Kerry a "traitor" for his anti-war activities? Or is that just the popular Lib interpretation of when they said that his anti-war activities were wrong for such-and-such a reason?

Did a high ranking Rep actually utter the word "liar" about Kerry et al.? Or is that just what the Left believes they said because someone in their inner circle told them that's what the Reps said?

If you want to take up this challenge, you must provide a source for your quote. No just stating "Well Bush said this-and-such". You gotta provide the full quote and a source for that quote.

Something tells me that I won't receive a qualifying answer to this. Even from Media Revolution. . . . . . .

3/10/2004

Civility v. Ad Hominem

Civility v. Ad Hominem

Thank god the Dems haven't started the ad hominem attacks yet and are focusing on issues.

It IS the Reps who are doing the dirty campaigning, right? You know, the Reps who do nasty things like call the opposition to congratulate them on winning their nomination? Those bastards! Calling Kerry names like "guy who is on record for increasing taxes and spending $900 Billion to cover campaign promises."

Kerry: GOP Critics 'Crooked, Lying Group'

Earlier Wednesday in Chicago, Kerry toughened his comments about his GOP critics after a supporter urged him to take on Bush. "Let me tell you, we've just begun to fight," Kerry said. "We're going to keep pounding. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen. It's scary." . . .

In response, the Bush campaign accused Kerry of favoring broad tax increases that would affect all taxpayers.

"John Kerry has voted for higher taxes 350 times and his numbers for new spending don't add up," said Steve Schmidt, a Bush campaign spokesman. "His campaign-trail promises mean he is going to raise taxes by at least $900 billion." It is the first time the Bush campaign has put a number on tax hikes it says Kerry favors.

But We're Not Biased

But We're Not Biased

. . . they said with their hand in the cookie jar.

Of course not. Who ever said Salon.com is slanted must have been lying. Otherwise they would not have partnered with such bastions of fairness and balance as MoveOn.org, The Guardian, and Air America Radio.

It's just an ugly smear campaign that people say Salon is left/lib. No truth to it.

I especially like the "independent news organization" bit. Perhaps it is not beholden to AP or Reuters, but it surely isn't trying to claim objectivity, is it?

Salon.com Announces Election-Year Initiative With MoveOn, The Guardian and Air America

NEW YORK, March 9, 2004 -- Salon.com announced Tuesday night a series of ambitious election-year initiatives, including the opening of a new Washington D.C. news bureau as well as strategic partnerships with MoveOn.org, The Guardian of London and the new progressive radio network, Air America.

The Website, which bills itself as "the largest independent news organization in the country" will also make the announcement via an email to MoveOn.org's 2-million plus members, MediaChannel has learned from a memo sent on Monday to Salon board members from company editor and founder David Talbot. . . .

Salon, founded in 1995, has established a solid reputation as a credible journalistic voice on the Web, though as a business it has never been profitable. In recent years, the company has experimented with multiple revenue models. It now focuses on a "Salon Premium" subscription model supplemented by advertising revenues from companies including Visa, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, HBO, and Microsoft.

Drug Helps Users Lose Weight, Stop Smoking

Drug Helps Users Lose Weight, Stop Smoking

The perfect pill! =)

I heard about this stuff a year or so ago. Nice to see that they are moving it toward the market. (As if there were a chance that they would not. Ha!)

Pill Helps People Quit Smoking, Slim Down

Especially important, Anthenelli said, is that those on the drug gained little or no weight, and a third of the successful quitters actually took off pounds at the same time. Ordinarily, smokers gain six to 10 pounds when they quit.

Some people had minor digestive side effects at first, but they usually went away.

"This is good news. The drug shows promise," said Dr. Sidney Smith, cardiovascular chief at the University of North Carolina. "However, I strongly believe lifestyle changes should be the foundation of what we do. I would not want to see patients turn to a pill as the first approach."

In all, seven large studies with rimonabant are in the works. They involve 6,600 volunteers who want to lose weight and 6,500 who want to quit smoking.

Hamburger Bill

Hamburger Bill

Here's one that should pass.

You know what? I weigh too much. Why? Because I eat more than I should and I don't get enough exercise.

Is it Pizza Hut's fault that I do this? OF COURSE IT IS.

They should pay ME! Then I could afford more of their delicious pizza. MMMMMMMMM!!!!

(That's just a joke, folks. ;-)

Dems rightfully say that this is a swipe at the trial lawyers and their frivolous lawsuit practices . . . but they say that as if it were a bad thing. 'Sup wi' dat?

BTW - what is the #1 thing I would do to make this country better if given the opportunity to pass one law?

Move us to a loser-pays legal system.



If the lawsuit you bring if found to be frivolous when you lose, you pay the other guys legal fees. If you can't afford it, your lawyer, who was working for a 30% contingency fee to begin with, has to pay it. If no one can pay it, jail time may be required.

This would reduce the cost of most everything in the US. Plus it would force people, like people who are overweight or people who smoked for thirty years after being told it would kill you for example, to take responsibility for themselves.

It would lower insurance costs, too. Doctors would return to the practice they love. OB/GYNs would return to underserved communities which they left for fear of being blamed for congenital birth defects.

Companies could hire more and better people at higher salaries because the cost of offering benefits would go down significantly.

It would be Utopia and we would never have any problems ever again.

(Another joke, folks.)

But it would help us to live our lives again rather than fear doing ANYTHING because we can get sued for it.

House Takes Up 'Cheeseburger Bill'

The same people who sued Big Tobacco (search) are suing fast-food companies but some lawmakers in Congress are pushing for a law to put the lawsuits on a starvation diet.

The House of Representatives is considering what has been nicknamed the "Cheeseburger Bill" (search) on Wednesday.

If the bill ? officially called the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act ? becomes law, it would prevent what it describes as "frivolous lawsuits against the manufacturers, distributors or sellers of food or nonalcoholic beverage products" arising from obesity claims.

The measure basically says it's the consumer's problem if his greasy-eating habit adds to his bulk and would protect companies like KFC and Wendy's from fat-related lawsuits. But it wouldn't prevent civil suits stemming from tainted foods or mislabeling.

Coming up for a vote a day after health officials announced that obesity was on the verge of surpassing tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, the bill is expected to easily pass the House.

But it may hit some obstacles in the Senate, which has often blocked House-passed measures that would cap legal damages or protect certain industries from lawsuits.

At a news conference Wednesday, bill sponsor Rep. Ric Keller (search), R-Fla., said the bill is about "common sense and personal responsibility."

The White House issued a statement backing Keller's bill, saying, "food manufacturers and sellers should not be held liable for injury because of a person's consumption of legal, unadulterated food and a person's weight gain or obesity."

But Democrats called the bill a Republican political ploy aimed at hurting trial lawyers and helping the multibillion-dollar food business.

Malkin On Lib Compassion

Malkin On Lib Compassion

Thank god we have conservatives, else there might not be any compassion left.

America, land of the Ashcroft-haters


Those oh-so-compassionate liberals could hardly contain their glee upon hearing the news that Attorney General John Ashcroft is suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis.

"He has it coming. He is utterly sub-human and evil. Suffer, bastard," gloated an Internet user on the DemocraticUnderground.com Web site. "(T)he world would be better off without him," responded another writer on the forum. "I hope he is in the most severe pain a human being can suffer, and after that, I hope he remains in constant pain with no hope of relief," chimed in yet another bleeding-heart Democrat. Out in Hollywood, comedian Bill Maher echoed these unsparing sentiments during his HBO talk show monologue, speculating that Ashcroft contracted his unimaginably painful and potentially deadly illness from "wiping his (expletive) with the Bill of Rights." The audience roared with laughter.

Goldberg on a Silly Outrage

Goldberg on a Silly Outrage

Jonah has it right. People get upset about a "don't vote" joke, but don't care about a shirt for 13 year-old girls that says "porn star".

As Yakov might say, "What a country!"

If voting is for old people, irony isn't

But this astoundingly stupid controversy does get to the heart of why I think the cult of "youth politics" is so contemptible.

First there's the cynicism of Democrats like Dan Glickman, Clinton's secretary of agriculture, who obviously love youth voting because they think the youth will vote Democratic.

This in turn highlights the muddle-headedness of "youth advocates" who insist that you can't stereotype "the youth" but who also insist that there are a bunch of issues and concerns (i.e. liberal ones) that unite all young people. Um, which is it?

But what bothers me the most is the cart-before-the-horse logic that says it's fine for young people to be lazy, scummy, ignorant and immoral, but it's an outrage against God and man if those same kids don't vote.

Urban Outfitters' Web site features dozens of T-shirts with slogans that would be truly offensive if they were to be taken with a fraction of the literalness of Glickman & Co. A girl's shirt reads: "I did Justin three times." A boy's tee says: "I rock Catholic girls." Another: "American rat race: Drop out." Another: "Beer: It's what's for dinner."

I understand these are jokes. But it's not clear that Glickman & Co. do. Isn't it interesting that they don't care if kids get the message to be lazy, slutty drunks - so long as they vote?

Outsourcing Outsourcing Outsourcing!

Outsourcing Outsourcing Outsourcing!

Oh No! A traitor in their midst!

Robert Reich, Clinton's own Secretary of Labor, says that outsourcing is not the bogeyman it has been portrayed to be.

And that's in addition to the other major economists who understand that trade (and outsourcing IS tradE) is a good thing.

Economists Defuse Outsourcing Angst

Bush has an unusual source on the same side of the issue with him — Robert Reich (search), a Democrat who served as secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton. Reich said the number of IT jobs moving overseas is small, and many more are expected to be created in the next 18 months.

Outsourcing and Minimum Wage Issues

Outsourcing and Minimum Wage Issues

From the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative thinktank.

Look at the big picture here folks. As American companies become more profitable and competitive, they are able to hire more people at higher wages.

As a quick aside, a note on Kerry's "raise the minimum wage" bit. You do realize, don't you, that every time you raise the miniumum wage there is a concurrent rise in the price of goods and services?

Let's suppose that I own a burger joint. Let's look at a table of my costs, prices, and profits.

Min. WageBurger PriceProfit
Current$5.15$3.00$1.00
Kerry 1$6.00$3.00$0.15
Kerry 2$6.00$3.85$1.00

Which scenario do you think is more likely to come about?

Yep. You got it. You're burger now costs $0.85 more. Now expand that to cover almost everything you buy.

Alternately, I could simply let one of my 5 burger flippers go and leave the price at $3.00 and require each of my remaining flippers to work harder.

Not to mention that I have to let one of my supervisors/shift managers go since they all want higher wages as well.

As another alternative, I could simply cut back on everyone's hours and use fewer employees per shift. Of course, this could lead to lower customer satisfaction since I don't have enough people to cover all the jobs and that would mean lower overall profits which would mean less money to pay my employees who cost more now which leads to layoffs again . . . . . . . . .

Plus you can be darn sure that I won't be expanding and hiring more people like I was planning to do. Maybe I could get an automated burger flipping machine . . . hmmmm . . . . . .

Best case scenario: they earn more per hour but work fewer hours so as to keep my costs, your costs, and their earnings stable.

And do you really want to bring up the increased difficulty faced by young, inexperienced workers trying to get that first job? Now that employers would be forced to pay even more for entirely unskilled, untrained, untested workers?

Which do you prefer? Higher prices, fewer hours per employee, or fewer jobs?

Eventually, those jobs would come back . . . as the economy makes its inexorable moves upward and outward. But, if those in favor of the minimum wage point to this as a saving grace, why won't they allow that, eventually, outsourcing also brings back more and higher paying jobs?

The Real Benedict Arnolds

Sen. John Kerry is fond of calling CEOs who employ foreigners ?Benedict Arnolds,? after the despicable Revolutionary War turncoat.

But look at H.J. Heinz & Co., the family business of Kerry and his wife, Teresa. Of the 79 factories that the food-processor owns, 57 (a felicitous number!) are overseas. According to its website, Heinz is making ketchup, pizza crust, baby cereal and other edibles in such countries as Poland, Venezuela, Bostswana, China, Thailand and India. . . .

The real Benedict Arnolds are Kerry and his colleagues in Congress, like Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ), who understand enough economics to know that outsourcing is trade and that trade--as David Ricardo figured out 200 years ago and as Hillary?s husband articulated in the 1990s--benefits both parties.

Imagine if U.S.computer companies were forced to make all their components at home. The cost of computers would be higher, so U.S. business could not enhance productivity, grow and hire workers. Plus, U.S.computer makers would be priced out of the market and forced to fire workers.

So far, legislation backed by Clinton, Corzine and the rest has been fairly benign. But they have fanned the flames of protectionist anger, and the fire is raging out of control. One result could be a reversal of the global movement toward open trade, which has been a boon to America.

This is a good time to remember the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act, which touched off a tariff war that cut global trade by more than two-thirds in five years. Smoot-Hawley, in the view of many economists, intensified and prolonged--and perhaps even caused--the Great Depression.

But there?s more immediate way that the outsourcing hysteria hurts American interests: It is antagonizing India, one of our most important allies.

Indians are angry and bewildered by what?s happening here. India had been the world?s most prominent example of autarky, a backward policy of protectionism. Partly because of pressure from the United States--and partly from observing the economic success of smaller countries like Singapore and South Korea--India has eased that policy in recent years.

Imports and exports have soared, and India?s growth rate has doubled to 8 percent. The world?s largest democracy, with a population of one billion, is getting more prosperous, creating what could ultimately become the best market in the world for American goods and services.

Meanwhile, India has been critical to American foreign policy. The war against terror forced us to lavish aid on India?s arch-rival, Pakistan, and a nuclear war between the two countries over disputed Kashmir seemed possible. But peace is now closer, and despite provocations, India has proven a steadfast ally.

Now, many Indians feel they are the scapegoats for America?s cyclical economic downturn in what they see as a racist campaign. Isn?t this the way trade works? "On the one hand you talk about opening up our markets. On the other, you want to ban . . . outsourcing,? said India?s deputy prime minister.

On Smaller Gov't

On Smaller Gov't

Mark Steyn on preferring MOST things to gov't interference.

Here's his take on what happened to Martha Stewart and some other stuff.

An outstanding column of conservative reflection and humor. (Yes, folks, the bit about hookers was a joke.)

BTW - for all those crowing over her seeming demise . . . I hope everyone who has invested in her company, not to mention the hundreds of people she employs, don't hear you.

But thank god that b. . . person was taught a lesson, eh? Boy are we a better place now that THAT'S settled.

Beware of the fruitcakes in government

It's the same with Martha Stewart. Martha may, indeed, be a bitch, though she's always been rather droll and charming to me (I once baked her a cranberry pecan pie with lattice crust). But, even if she were as mean as she's painted, even if (as the government of Nova Scotia might argue) her use of fruitcake is hurtful to the domestically feeble, I'll take her and her entrepreneurial energy over some deadbeat regulators any day. Martha, it seems, will be going to jail for telling a lie. Not in court, not under oath, not perjury, but merely when the Feds came round to see her about a possible crime. They couldn't prove she'd committed a crime, so they nailed her for lying while chit-chatting to them about the non-crime. And for that they're prepared to destroy her company. . . .

Well, I'm a conservative, and I don't need any qualifying adjectives. My objection isn't to the deficit, it's to the big wasteful government programmes that lead to the deficit. If the Dems wanted to balance the budget by cutting the spending, I'd be the first to dance up and down shaking my pom-poms. But they don't. They want to balance the budget by raising taxes, which is no help either way. I think deficits are morally neutral. If I go to the bank and ask them for a loan to buy a house, they'll look kindly on me. If I ask for a loan because I fancy a three-in-a-bed sex romp with two high-class hookers, they'll suggest I wait till I get my Christmas bonus. The portion of the deficit caused by Iraqi reconstruction is analogous to the house loan. Most of the rest - Bush's prescription drug plan for pampered seniors, the mohair subsidy, funding for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland - is analogous to the hooker blow-out. This spending has no plausible claim on the Federal Treasury: it would be objectionable even if Bill Gates personally wrote a cheque to cover the entire deficit. It's the expansion of the state that's wrong. The funding of it is secondary.

Which brings us to foreign policy. This last week has offered studies in two approaches to nation building. In Iraq, an interim constitution was signed yesterday. It's not perfect, though it's a good deal less imperfect than the European constitution and for the Middle East it's a remarkable document. But it's amazing to me the way the western media interpret disagreements as a bad sign. Wouldn't it be a worse sign if there were no disagreements? If Bush just faxed over the final draft and everyone signed it? The haggling and the stalemates and the trade-offs are the healthy sign.


3/09/2004

Morris offers Campaign Strategy for Bush

Morris: Campaign Strategy for Bush

It will be very interesting to watch how this unfolds and see if Dick Morris has it right. I wonder how closely Karl Rove and pals will listen to the strategy in this article. Or, assuming that Karl is equally adept at politics as Dick is, how closely Morris is reading the mind of Rove.

As I have said before, love him or hate him, Mr. Morris is an incredibly astute political monster.

HOW 'FLIP-FLOP' KILLS KERRY

The obvious goal of the Bush attack is to discredit Kerry and make it hard for anyone to believe in him or anything he says. But this round of flip-flop attacks is just the precursor of the main Bush offensive. Attacking Kerry for reversing himself on many key issues will weaken the Democrat, but the real point is to soften him up for two more deadly attacks likely to follow. . . .

The flip-flop attack is also designed to prevent Kerry from responding to the other key line of Bush attack - that Kerry is too liberal for mainstream America. . . .

Now, when Bush moves in for the kill and accuses Kerry of opposing the Defense of Marriage Act or appropriations to fund the Iraq War, the Democratic candidate will find it harder to spin his positions and to move to the middle on these issues. When he tries, voters will repeat to themselves the Ronald Reagan criticism of Jimmy Carter: "There you go again."

By showing Kerry to flip-flop, Bush sets him up for the real charges - that he is too weak and too liberal to be president.

Call the Label Police

Call the Label Police

Strangely, nowhere in this story do they mention Ms. Oliphant's party affiliation. Thank god there's no such thing as media bias!

Former Florida Election Worker Charged

A former Broward County elections supervisor who oversaw a 2002 primary marked by bad ballots and uncounted votes has been charged with 55 counts of violating election laws.

Miriam Oliphant, already facing a Senate trial for her conduct in office, is accused of not opening polls on time and not keeping them open late enough during the primary.

3/08/2004

Stop Judicial Activism NOW

Stop Judicial Activism NOW

Vote for Bush and help end the Left's assault on our system. If they can't get it done by legislating, they'll do it in the courts. This makes it SO important to put people on the bench who support strict constructionism.

SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE: 'CAN’T HELP BUT THINK ABOUT RETIREMENT'

NBC's 'TODAY SHOW' SCORES EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST... TO AIR WEDNESDAY.

THE CHIEF SUPREME FUELS SPECULATION ABOUT WHETHER HE’LL STEP DOWN WITH CRYPTIC COMMENT: 'YOU CAN’T HELP BUT THINK ABOUT RETIREMENT.'

HE SAYS THE DISPUTED 2000 ELECTION 'INSPIRED' HIM TO WRITE HIS LATEST BOOK, ABOUT THE CONTRELECTION OF 1876!

HE ALSO REFUSES TO CRITICIZE SCALIA IN CHENEY RECUSAL CASE!

California lawmakers propose lowering voting age to 14 for state elections

14 yEaR oLd VoTeRs

Gee . . . I wonder what party Sen, Vasconcellos belongs to. That's a toughie . . . . . . . .

California lawmakers propose lowering voting age to 14 for state elections

A proposed amendment to California's constitution would give 16-year-olds a half-vote and 14-year-olds a quarter-vote in state elections.

State Sen. John Vasconcellos, among four lawmakers to propose the idea on Monday, said the Internet, cellular phones, multichannel television and a diverse society makes today's teens better informed than their predecessors.

The idea requires two-thirds approval by the Legislature to appear on the November ballot.

"When we gave the vote to those who didn't own property, then to women, then to persons of all colors, we added to the richness of our democratic dialogue and our own nation's integrity and its model for the world," Vasconcellos said, calling it time to further extend the vote.

A Republican colleague said it was "the nuttiest idea I've ever heard."

Said Assemblyman Ray Haynes: "There's a reason why 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds don't vote. They are not adults. They are not mature enough. They are easily deceived by political charlatans."

Student supporters said the idea could give them a say in issues such as education funding and bring new voices to the California electorate.

"If we could vote, politicians would see us as votes, not just kids, and they would take our issues seriously," said Robert Reynolds, a student at Berkeley High School.

Kerry's Foreign Supporters

Kerry's Foreign Supporters

Is Kerry bragging about the report that North Korea wants him to win?

Kerry Predicts Character Attacks, Foreign Support

CITES ENCOURAGEMENT FROM UNNAMED LEADERS

Without naming anybody, Kerry said he had received words of encouragement from leaders abroad who were eager to see him defeat Bush on Nov. 2.

"I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy they look at you and say, 'You've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy,' things like that," he said.

MRC: Media Biased in Coverage of Bush Ads

MRC: Media Biased in Coverage of Bush Ads

An extensive and damning report by the conservative Media Research Center.

Why is it so damning? Because the MRC uses their own words to demonstrate how major media figures twist the coverage of the Bush campaign ads. Direct quotes from their own coverage are pretty tough to argue with.

A second article, found immediately after this one on the same page, questions whether the media will be upset with John Kerry using Vietnam in his ads. The prediction: no, they will simply say that it is part of his experience and thus fair game to tout his ability to be CinC.

Bush Has $100M, But Kerry Has Media to Discredit Bush TV Ads

NBC’s Katie Couric avoided distorting the firefighter’s upset as something independent from the Kerry campaign, but Couric, like the other morning hosts, ignored the quotes in the New York Daily News from 9-11 victim family members who found the ads perfectly fine and quoted only from those who attacked the Bush campaign: "One September 11th widow told the Daily News this morning she was offended by the use of 9-11 images in these ads saying quote, 'After three thousand people were murdered on his watch it seems to me that takes an awful lot of audacity. Honestly, it's in poor taste.' What's your response to that?" . . . .

After her taped piece concluded, Woodruff added what should have undermined the day’s media agenda: “But we also want to note that many 9/11 families apparently support the President, and apparently are comfortable with his new ad campaign. The New York Post quotes one woman who lost her brother in the attacks as saying that the ad is 'tastefully done,’ and quote, 'speaks to the truth of the times,’ end quote.”

Outsourcing Issues

Outsourcing Issues

Two articles in this one. One by Friedman, one by Bartlett.

For those folks out there who are truly upset about the "outsourcing problem" in America, I have one question for you:

Why do you want me to lose my job?

No, I am not in India. I am in the good ol' US of A.

What I mean is that I an a consultant. That's just a fancy word for contractor which is just a fancy word for long-term temp.

I work because some company decided to oursource some of its jobs. In turn, I make money and support my family, spend it in the community, help lower my company's cost, saving you money, letting you spend it elsewhere, supporting your family, etc. etc. etc.

If outsourcing were not allowed, I would be unemployed until I found a company willing to hire a full-time employee with all of it's related expenses. On the whole, I would rather be working for less money NOW than getting a full-time job in 6 months as the economy improves even more. This way, I can STILL get the full time job in 6 months, but I have made more money AND not been feeding at the public trough in the meantime.

Yep. You're right. Making outsourcing illegal would be better.

Many companies are using outsourcing to increase their output. To raise their profits and, thus, raise the investment value to their stockholders. This helps keep money flowing in and through our economy.

Imagine paying 20% more for every technology-related thing you buy. From diskettes, to CDs, to hard drives, to Microsoft programs, to the myriad other technological things you use every day. Your stereo? Add 30%. Your TV? Ditto.

How about your food? Wanna see meat prices climbing faster than gas prices are currently? Just tell American companies that they cannot use labor and resources from outside the US.

But I see the logic in your position. You're right: Outsourcing is evil.

What about the company that was going to shut it's doors, laying off 50 people in the process, until it learned it could outsource to India and stay afloat? Yes, 20 of the 50 employees lost their jobs, but the 30 that were left are certainly NOT blaming outsourcing for helping them keep their jobs. Not to mention the 10 of the 20 that were rehired within 8 months because the company was able to turn itself around. Not to mention that everyone still at the company started earning more money because htey were doing higher level jobs. Not to mention that after three years, the company actually had a larger workforce than it had initially and had increased revenues by 215%.

Yep. Making outsourcing illegal would have been the better option.

Outsourcing is not the enemy, folks.

The jobs we "lose" to India are made up for. Maybe not immediately, but eventually, in not too long, we end up with more, and higher paying jobs, than before.

The Secret of Our Sauce (Link requires registration)

There is a reason the "next big thing" almost always comes out of America, said Mrs. Narayanan. When she and her husband came back to live in Bangalore and enrolled their son in a good private school, he found himself totally stifled because of the emphasis on rote learning ? rather than the independent thinking he was exposed to in his U.S. school. They had to take him out and look for another, more avant-garde private school. "America allows you to explore your mind," she said. The whole concept of outsourcing was actually invented in America, added her husband, Sean, because no one else figured it out.

The Narayanans are worth listening to at this time of rising insecurity over white-collar job losses to India. America is the greatest engine of innovation that has ever existed, and it can't be duplicated anytime soon, because it is the product of a multitude of factors: extreme freedom of thought, an emphasis on independent thinking, a steady immigration of new minds, a risk-taking culture with no stigma attached to trying and failing, a noncorrupt bureaucracy, and financial markets and a venture capital system that are unrivaled at taking new ideas and turning them into global products. . . .

That is so right. As Robert Hof, a tech writer for Business Week, noted, U.S. tech workers "must keep creating leading edge technologies that make their companies more productive — especially innovations that spark entirely new markets." The same tech innovations that produced outsourcing, he noted, also produced eBay, Amazon.com, Google and thousands of new jobs along with them.


Outsourcing reality


There is a growing backlash against outsourcing--sending domestic work to foreign businesses--that erupted in the Senate last week, where anti-outsourcing legislation was adopted on a 70 to 26 vote. Opponents of outsourcing cheered, but investors are becoming aware that these actions threaten profits and stock prices.

There is very little real evidence that outsourcing has caused significant job losses in the U.S. All of the data showing job losses in the millions come from consulting firms like McKinsey & Company, Forrester Research and others, which make money by helping companies do outsourcing. It is in their interest to make potential clients think that all their competitors are doing it, so they must, too. . . .

On March 4, the Senate adopted a measure that would bar federal contracts to companies that outsource any job previously done by an American. Additionally, it would prevent state and local governments from using federal funds for outsourcing.

While it is unlikely that this amendment will become law and is probably unenforceable even if it does, it sends a bad signal to the rest of the world. U.S. Trade Representative Bob Zoellick has warned that it will endanger relations with India and undermine world trade talks. It would also invite retaliation from other countries and reduce foreign investment in the U.S.

But even if the legislation is defeated this time around, undoubtedly it will be back in some other form shortly. Democrats have decided that pandering to the unemployed by railing against outsourcing is their ticket to success on Election Day. Although their proposals wouldn't do much good--the Washington Post calls them "1 percent solutions"--they get people worked up and put the Bush Administration on the defensive.

Cavuto on Greenspan

Cavuto on Greenspan

Al, how do we love thee

Here's why: Al is odd. There, I said it. I don't think he's that wise or his calls on interest rates that prescient. I don't think his observations are especially astute, nor do I find his warnings on the economy particularly clairvoyant.

But like I said, that's just me. And clearly I'm out of touch with the masses, especially the "in" masses. Official Washington loves Al. And Wall Street has practically canonized Al. Never mind he started raising rates too early the last cycle and started easing them too late in this cycle, investors and pros still cycle and recycle his economic musings as if he were the Delphic oracle.