Monthly Archives: February 2009

Ignorance or Intentional Lying?

This entry was posted in Economics on by

When I’m out in the car on a Saturday afternoon I usually check into the discussion on Ring of Fire for a while. Kennedy and Papantonio often have interesting interviews although Papantonio reminds me of a lefty Hannity.
I tuned in this afternoon and landed in the midst of the two hosts touting the supremacy of the European economic models over the failed soviet model and, I paraphrase closely, the just collapsed/failed American laissez-faire capitalism model.
Kennedy repeats the mantra, failed laissez-faire captalism many times, apparently wanting his listenners to pick this up as a phrase to be repeated.
Unfortunately, the laissez-faire thing did not collapse, did not fail; has not existed in years, if ever. The thing that has recently failed, that is causing so much havoc around the world, is yet another iteration of state capitalism.
I do not believe Kennedy is so ignorant as to not know the differences. Therefore I can only conclude that he is simply lying.
Otherwise, he would be reporting that both the republicans and the democrats do little other than continue to support variations on the plans and programs that brought us both the first great depression, the current mess and most, if not all, the failures that so-called progressives love to rant about.
An honest speaker would tell us that there may be some programs, some stimulus, some spending, that might reduce some of the symptoms for a while but that until the entire system is unraveled and rebuilt we will not cure the disease.

Until that happens we will continue to get change that is more of the same.

Friday Ark #229

This entry was posted in Cat Blogging Dog Blogging Friday Ark Invertebrate Blogging Pet Blogging Pets Vertebrate Blogging Weekend Cat Blogging on by

We’ll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and….?

Visit all the boarders, Link to the Ark and check back for updates through Sunday afternoon!

You can board the Friday Ark by submitting your post here, leaving a comment or a trackback to this post or emailing fridayark AT themodulator.org.

You can find previous editions at the not quite up to date Arkives page.

Cats

Birds

Dogs

Other Vertebrates

Invertebrates

In Memoriam

  • x

Didn’t Make It

Exceptions (inclusion not guaranteed)

  • x

Extra, Extra: All Ark boarders are invited to shout out at the Friday Ark Frapper Map.

Cat folks: remember to submit your links to:

Birders: I and the Bird: A Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers is published every 2 weeks.

For the spineless: Circus of the Spineless. A monthly celebration of Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs, Crustaceans, Worms and most anything else that wiggles.

Dog folks: remember to submit your links to:

  • The Canine Carnival hosted by Pamibe last year is on hiatus an looking for a new sponsor
  • The Carnival of the Dogs hosted by Mickey’s Musings

    • has been out of operation since July 2007

For other current carnivals check out The Blog Carnival and The TTLB Uber Carnival

Duh….

This entry was posted in Economics on by

Cisco’s John Chambers finally gets it:

“It is now clear that we are in a global economic slowdown,” Chief Executive John Chambers said Wednesday in a call with analysts. He said …

I wonder where he has been for the past 2 years.

That quote is taken from a Wall Street Journal article only partially available to non-subscribers. There is a longer story available at the New York Times but it does not have the above quote in it.

Benefits of the Financial System

This entry was posted in Economics Government on by

The Economist summarizes the opening of Martin Wolf’s, Fixing Global Finance, as follows:

Finance allows the creation of vast enterprises out of the combined capital, supplied at modest cost, of millions of people. It permits upstarts to launch companies, challenging the power of incumbents. It allows people to smooth their spending over a lifetime. It facilitates risk sharing and insurance. Empirical studies confirm that these advantages are real.

I take it those empirical studies did not take into account the current economic crisis wherein we are all benefiting from the facilitated risk sharing.
Yes, those vast enterprises, governments and large businesses, have done wonders: count the wars, count the environmental destruction, count the devastated indigenous peoples, notice the vast income and wealth discrepancies.

We do need a financial system but perhaps one that does not facilitate disasters.