View 320 July 26 - August 1, 2004 (original) (raw)
This week:
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Tuesday
Wednesday
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Sunday
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Well, the last needed work on Burning Tower is done and acknowledged, so that's one less thing to worry about.
The papers this morning are full of Edwards and his speech and the theme of "no longer two Americas." The problem is that the Democratic party isn't a party and hasn't any common principles. There may be this wish to unify the country, but it comes out hollow when expressed by an outfit that not merely includes but depends on the good graces of Jesse Jackson, the NEA, and the Trial Lawyers; the fact is that the Democratic Party resembles a bandit horde of smaller nomadic gangs, assembled and united only by the prospect of loot. The major support groups -- the core -- of the Democrats agree on nothing other than holding their turf and extracting as much from the taxpayers as they can get.
Of course the Republicans have proved to be little better. Bush and the Republicans have increased discretionary spending and "entitlements" beyond reason, beyond hope, and while the tax cuts have helped -- better spending with deficit than spending with ever higher taxes -- they haven't helped enough. The War saw to that. If Bush had his priorities right, we would have gone into Iraq and gone to each Iraqi general: "I will pay you $5.00 American per day for each man in your part of the army. You get the money, you pay the troops. If any Americans in your security area are harmed the payment are stopped for that week. If you revolt the other generals are also on my payroll and their pay won't be stopped. If you all revolt the US Marines are ready to show you why you should not have made that unfortunate decision.
"And finally, we are going to pump oil. Your payments will go up by 10 cents a barrel for every dollar/bbl decrease in the world oil price. Every incident harming oil production will result in a decrease in the payments every one of you gets. It's up to you."
Then pump oil. If Halliburton and the US military can't extract the blasted oil, fast, who the heck can?
Pump oil and put the revenue into the Iraqi treasury; but the world oil price goes to $20/bbl, the Dow goes to 12,000, US tax revenues wipe out the deficit, and we are all happy.
But that didn't happen. Why not? I do not know, but Bush ought to find out, and fire a bunch of idiot advisors.
We are in Iraq and reduced to the argument that Saddam was not a nice guy so the Iraqi are better off now. That may be true, but it is hard to see how we are better off now. No, we can't cut and run; but peace and order and flowing oil are the best things Iraq can wish for, and as it happens, that is what is best for us as well. And if the US Army and Halliburton can't get the oil flowing, what good are they?
As to domestic politics, the NEA, the Trial Lawyers, and Jesse Jackson are all no more than shakedown artists and bandits, and while some individual members of those coalitions may have more in mind than loot, the organizations themselves behave exactly as you would expect them to: producing the ghastly American education system which Charlie Sheffield and I described in Higher Education, only it's worse than we thought it would be. And it will be worse yet. The Trial Lawyers have looted the nation of billions and there is no end in sight to that. And Jesse Jackson's shakedown techniques are honed to a fine point. And of course I name only three of the groups that must be satisfied once the Democrats obtain office. There are dozens, all voracious.
Where is anyone who wants to devolve the government back to the states, and counties, and cities, and villages? Not that the Republicans have not their share of thugs: but one would have thought, at least until recently, that they were intelligent thugs who could be satisfied: parasites but at least parasites who will not kill the host. But now I am not sure.
I don't believe the Democrats can get the oil flowing again; and the last time they were in control of the military they demonstrated that they are still the Party of War (US involvement in WWI, WW II, Cold War, Korea, Viet Nam, Haiti, all started under Democratic presidents), and also that they were now interested only in wars in which there is no discernable US interest: Bosnia, and the whole Balkan affair. Republican adventures were generally short and decisive (Granada and Panama come to mind) and had some faint connection with national interest: even Iraq if we had done it right. Bush the Elder got us into Somalia but was ready to get out: staying to build nations was another President's idea. The Party of War kept us there until the Black Hawk was down. The Party of War, but never war in American interests. "What's the use of that splendid army if we can't use it to do good?"
I do think the Republicans may be able to get the Iraq oil out of the ground and flowing, and that can save us from the coming Depression; but it is a faint hope, similar to my hope that most of the Republican thugs are at least partly satiated with public pork. I have less confidence in Democrat competence: not disciplined enough and too many horde leaders to satisfy. That may be cynicism, but it is based on observation and experience.
We live in the wealthiest nation that ever was, and had until recently the best educated population that ever was: and yet we live at the edge of a precipice. Jane Jacobs' new book DARK AGE AHEAD holds many truths; one hopes she is not correct in the title.