WingRight

Well, the Germans heard from the Enlightened One today.

“The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.”

Without U.S. military power, the Soviets would have taken over Berlin. In large part because of nuclear weapons, the U.S. was a match for the Soviets. Berlin didn’t stand in the way of another world war, it was one of the many trigger points that could have caused another world war. The U.S. stood in the way of another world war when the rest of Europe was in ruins.

“Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.”

Is that the message of bullet holes? That we not forget our common humanity? Or is it the message that we must always be prepared to fight for freedom against forces that would take it away.
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Tags: Liberalism, Obama, Welfare by Publius
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Sometimes a picture is worth a zillion words.  Via Powerline.

Tags: Economy, Environment, Liberal Hypocrisy, Oil, Welfare by Publius
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Lame-duck Senator John Warner (R?!?-VA) has asked the Energy Department to investigate the potential costs and benefits of a federally-mandated 55 mph speed limit everywhere.

One of the problems with having a geriatric legislature of life-tenured incumbents is that its members spend a lot of time thinking about the good old days. From 1974-1995, an identical law was in force. This was a bad idea of Richard Nixon (who also imposed wage/price controls in a futile effort to limit inflation) designed to get the U.S. through an oil crisis.

This law was universally broken, beginning with mild violations along the Eastern seaboard and increasing as one traveled westward with the highest speeds generally present in Western states like Nevada (which “enforced” the national speed limit with a $5.00 waste-of-resources fine for a period of time).

The practical question for drivers was not whether they would drive 55 or not (everyone drove faster), but rather how much faster could they drive without receiving a ticket. 5 mph over was a safe bet everywhere. West of the Mississippi, 10 mph over almost never caused problems and 15 mph over was frequently observed.
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Tags: Economy, Energy, Environment, Liberal Hypocrisy, Liberal Quirks, Liberalism, Oil, Welfare by Publius
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Lawrence Solomon made a presentation at the Petroleum Club in Calgary and discussed the scientific consensus that global warming proponents are always talking about.

Let me tell you why most people think that global warming is a serious problem. It comes down to one number: 2500. That’s the number of scientists associated with the UN’s Panel on Climate Change that the press reports has endorsed the UN Panel’s conclusions. These are the conclusions that get released in the UN’s mammoth reports every six years or so, and that then dominate the media airwaves for weeks.

“2500 scientists can’t be wrong,” the press always says, explicitly or implicitly. Without that number, it would have no basis for the claim that they repeat over and over again — that there’s a consensus on climate change.

2500 is an impressive number of scientists. To find out who, exactly, they were, I contacted the Secretariat of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and asked for their names. The Secretariat replied that the names were not public, so I couldn’t have them. And I learned that the 2500 scientists were reviewers, not endorsers.

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Tags: Climate Change, Liberal Hypocrisy, Oil, Welfare by Publius
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And so we begin (deep breath).

This is a blog about arrogance – mine.  Actually, it’s more about liberal delusions in all their grandeur, which is still arrogance.

I graduated from college in 1969.  The transition from my freshman year – fraternities, sororities, panty raids, curfews – and my senior year – anti-war, anti-authority, anti-fraternity, anti-sorority, no need to be anti-curfew because there weren’t any – was astounding.  The college president went from being respected and feared a little (What will I say if he talks to me?) to having a nice office to occupy and live in for a couple of days.

When I graduated, I was full up of the standard liberal stuff and voted either left or far-left for a couple of elections.  Then I became more or less apolitical because what I saw of politics had become weird.  Politics was bunk.

At some time, at the end of a gradual change, I realized that left-wing politics was bunk and didn’t work.  Poor people were worse off after the War on Poverty than before.  Governments at all levels were highly likely to screw everything up.  The more important the task, the more likely it was that whatever government leaders and worker bees were responsible would fail miserably.

AFDC – Aid to Families with Dependent Children – existed before the 60’s, but no one knew about it.  Once liberals realized its potential, AFDC was the thing for poor women.  Budget a little tight?  Have another kid and your benefits will increase.  Your boyfriend wants to get married?  Forget about that because your welfare check will disappear.  Expenses still too large?  Share rent with a couple of other women on AFDC and move all those kids and mammas in together.  Watch out for overnight boyfriends because the welfare might find out and then you’ll be in trouble.

When the government pays people to do something, you get more of it.  Paying women to have illegitimate children (a quaint old term from the 50’s) means that you’ll have more illegitimate children.

It’s enough to make you question liberal politics.

Tags: Welfare by Publius
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