Glenn Beck and Harriet Parke have written an excellent book called Agenda 21. Its about a dystopian future where UN Agenda 21 has taken over every aspect of life in the name of saving the planet.
I'm loving it so far. It reminds me a lot of Ayn Rand's Anthem.
Anthem was written in 1937 after Ayn Rand escaped from communist Russia. Anthem is short enough to read in one or two sittings and available entirely free at the above link.
Agenda 21 could easily be described as the prequel to Anthem since the characters in Agenda 21 still remember how it used to be in our civilization. The character's in Anthem are generations removed from all history and science and as ignorant and primitive as Iron Age slaves.
Both are pertinent timely reads in a world going nuts.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Sight Seeing at the Fiscal Cliff
Boy its a long way down.
The neologism of the "fiscal cliff" is pretty powerful. Good(ish) economy up here. Bad economy down there. Tax cuts expire, government spending stops, and so-on to a tune of 600 billion that will be such a drag on the economy that it will seem to have plunged off a cliff.
I can't say I'm that worried about the so called "Fiscal Cliff." Obama will raise taxes. That battle was lost on election day. Republicans caved last time and extended the problem until now. Nothing has changed, so get on with it.
Unless the Republicans plan a stunning suicide move, then there is nothing to worry about. Do they think that America is better off without them? If so then by all means jump off the cliff. You could gamble that people would forget who jumped, or more likely it would give Obama his second excuse for a second term of a dismal economy.
How does it make sense to jump to stop someone from pushing you over? It must be hard with Pharaoh shouting "FORWARD! FORWARD!" Obama is king now, though I think Pharaoh suits him better (fair-O). Let Pharaoh Hussien rule this economy.
The economy is toast under Obama anyway. The Eurozone is posting negative growth and so is Japan. I know we are going down to the bottom one way or another, but still I'd prefer to take the stairs.
The neologism of the "fiscal cliff" is pretty powerful. Good(ish) economy up here. Bad economy down there. Tax cuts expire, government spending stops, and so-on to a tune of 600 billion that will be such a drag on the economy that it will seem to have plunged off a cliff.
I can't say I'm that worried about the so called "Fiscal Cliff." Obama will raise taxes. That battle was lost on election day. Republicans caved last time and extended the problem until now. Nothing has changed, so get on with it.
Unless the Republicans plan a stunning suicide move, then there is nothing to worry about. Do they think that America is better off without them? If so then by all means jump off the cliff. You could gamble that people would forget who jumped, or more likely it would give Obama his second excuse for a second term of a dismal economy.
How does it make sense to jump to stop someone from pushing you over? It must be hard with Pharaoh shouting "FORWARD! FORWARD!" Obama is king now, though I think Pharaoh suits him better (fair-O). Let Pharaoh Hussien rule this economy.
The economy is toast under Obama anyway. The Eurozone is posting negative growth and so is Japan. I know we are going down to the bottom one way or another, but still I'd prefer to take the stairs.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Another Great Green Debate
I like Alex Epstien. He thinks the same way that I do and he's working hard to change the way other people think.
This time he's gone up against Bill McKibben, a leading warmist though not a scientist. He's got the entire debate on YouTube and I'm happy to post it here. Its about 1.5hrs in its entirety.
Having watched the whole thing, I have to be fair and say that Alex lost this one. I agree with Epstien 100% on the substance of his argument, but McKibben appeared to own the subject while Epstien was visibly nervous and compensated by measuring his speaking cadence. The overall effect is to undermine the power of his message: that fossil fuels are essential to our way of life.
When I judge a debate, I try to imagine how a complete stranger to the subject would be swayed by the dialog. The average person isn't expecting isn't expecting spin and obfuscation so merely the appearance of confidence will give this debate to McKibben.
He did really well in his first debate with Greenpeace so I'm not sure what happened. Pressure can do that and McKibben is a much bigger fish than the Greenpeace guy was. I'm sure Alex will grow into it and be a regular Ezra Levant in no time.
McKibben's ideas are nonsense of course. Its simply impossible to implement what these eco-nuts talk about: a forced abandonment of civilization for the sake of some mollusks breeding in the dark.
The most the eco-nuts will ever accomplish is to seize control of our industrial society. Even the stupidest mis-educated liberal blogger would tie the noose themselves when you turned off the power for a month. The eco-nuts will be able to give the stamp of approval to those who pay tribute to them and accede to their demands. They would be become a ruling class by their power to bless one "polluter" and condemn another.
I know people get turned off by "conspiracy theories" but I'm a systems guy and this is how I see this system coalescing from the different players involved. It doesn't require a Central organizer to emerge. The various players, the activists, the politicians, even the scientists, recognize their own role and self coordinate to their own benefit. The system emerges.
Its happened before. Call them Bishops or Commissars or Lords. The environmental consultants of the future will have the same power over society as the former ruling classes.
This is why I believe Alex Epstien and the Center for Industrial Progress among others are doing important work to keep us all free. Remember that the concept of individual liberty is an aberration in Human history. Powerful natural human tendencies are at work to stratify society into distinct impermeable classes once again.
This time he's gone up against Bill McKibben, a leading warmist though not a scientist. He's got the entire debate on YouTube and I'm happy to post it here. Its about 1.5hrs in its entirety.
Having watched the whole thing, I have to be fair and say that Alex lost this one. I agree with Epstien 100% on the substance of his argument, but McKibben appeared to own the subject while Epstien was visibly nervous and compensated by measuring his speaking cadence. The overall effect is to undermine the power of his message: that fossil fuels are essential to our way of life.
When I judge a debate, I try to imagine how a complete stranger to the subject would be swayed by the dialog. The average person isn't expecting isn't expecting spin and obfuscation so merely the appearance of confidence will give this debate to McKibben.
He did really well in his first debate with Greenpeace so I'm not sure what happened. Pressure can do that and McKibben is a much bigger fish than the Greenpeace guy was. I'm sure Alex will grow into it and be a regular Ezra Levant in no time.
McKibben's ideas are nonsense of course. Its simply impossible to implement what these eco-nuts talk about: a forced abandonment of civilization for the sake of some mollusks breeding in the dark.
The most the eco-nuts will ever accomplish is to seize control of our industrial society. Even the stupidest mis-educated liberal blogger would tie the noose themselves when you turned off the power for a month. The eco-nuts will be able to give the stamp of approval to those who pay tribute to them and accede to their demands. They would be become a ruling class by their power to bless one "polluter" and condemn another.
I know people get turned off by "conspiracy theories" but I'm a systems guy and this is how I see this system coalescing from the different players involved. It doesn't require a Central organizer to emerge. The various players, the activists, the politicians, even the scientists, recognize their own role and self coordinate to their own benefit. The system emerges.
Its happened before. Call them Bishops or Commissars or Lords. The environmental consultants of the future will have the same power over society as the former ruling classes.
This is why I believe Alex Epstien and the Center for Industrial Progress among others are doing important work to keep us all free. Remember that the concept of individual liberty is an aberration in Human history. Powerful natural human tendencies are at work to stratify society into distinct impermeable classes once again.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
I Remember
I'm lucky not to remember any wars personally. I'm lucky because of the people who, even now, have put themselves harms way for me.
For a time these great citizens give up thier freedoms to serve the Crown and project our national will wherever it leads. For some it leads to the ultimate sacrifice. Our debt to them is too great to describe. All these noble heroes ask in return is we honor them and thank them.
Thank you.
What I remember on Rememberance Day are Rememberance Days past. I remember the cold rainy ones in front of Cenotaphs where only Legion members, Cadets and thier Officers would show up. Seeing those old veterans there in the weather with thier medals dripping and their eyes dry and alert; the memory gives me great comfort. There is deep and enduring strength in the people of this land.
Parents, put your kids in Cadets. I can't tell you enough what a great experience it was for me. Rememberance Day is just one example of the invaluable life lessons that a Cadet is exposed to. Citizenship, athleticism, and skill building are a few of the benefits to a teen in the Cadets. They can learn to fly, sail and shoot. They learn self confidence and pride. They are sent to far flung corners of Canada.
Myself, I spent many fine summers at RMC learning to sail. I went to Greenland, and Resolute Bay and Iqaluit with the Coast Gaurd. I was on the Range Team, the First Aid Team, Both Drill teams, Sheer-legs team, the Band, became Chief of the corps. What a fantastic time it was. All of it paid from donations and the government.
My parents were immigrants and didn't have any extra money for hockey or whatever. I went farther and did more in my than many others my age on a shoestring budget.
It shaped who I am: A Canadian Citizen and Patriot. That is how I remember on November 11th. I remember how good this country has been to me and that it cost some heroes everything so I could live in it.
For a time these great citizens give up thier freedoms to serve the Crown and project our national will wherever it leads. For some it leads to the ultimate sacrifice. Our debt to them is too great to describe. All these noble heroes ask in return is we honor them and thank them.
Thank you.
What I remember on Rememberance Day are Rememberance Days past. I remember the cold rainy ones in front of Cenotaphs where only Legion members, Cadets and thier Officers would show up. Seeing those old veterans there in the weather with thier medals dripping and their eyes dry and alert; the memory gives me great comfort. There is deep and enduring strength in the people of this land.
Parents, put your kids in Cadets. I can't tell you enough what a great experience it was for me. Rememberance Day is just one example of the invaluable life lessons that a Cadet is exposed to. Citizenship, athleticism, and skill building are a few of the benefits to a teen in the Cadets. They can learn to fly, sail and shoot. They learn self confidence and pride. They are sent to far flung corners of Canada.
Myself, I spent many fine summers at RMC learning to sail. I went to Greenland, and Resolute Bay and Iqaluit with the Coast Gaurd. I was on the Range Team, the First Aid Team, Both Drill teams, Sheer-legs team, the Band, became Chief of the corps. What a fantastic time it was. All of it paid from donations and the government.
My parents were immigrants and didn't have any extra money for hockey or whatever. I went farther and did more in my than many others my age on a shoestring budget.
It shaped who I am: A Canadian Citizen and Patriot. That is how I remember on November 11th. I remember how good this country has been to me and that it cost some heroes everything so I could live in it.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
America Deserves Obama
Obama won. Americans lost. Oh well.
I wanted Romney to win, not for Romney, but for me. -for we. We all do well when they do well. Economics is pretty simple.
This isn't the end. Mark Steyn has it wrong. A negative "hockey stick" is just as improbable as the positive ones. We never hit the asymptote. That is we fly right past where its supposed to be. Time is the x axis and time never stops. So if the area behind the asymptote is undefined then we know that infinite exponential curves plotted along a time axis, positive or negative, will always be wrong. Always. Another variable always intrudes on our simple little graphs to change the outcome. The curves either plateau or they crash.
Obama will not be the end. Obama will be their Pierre Trudeau. An icon of an age and then everyone will agree he was wrong on most everything.
Obama put ~$1,000,000,000,000 on the American credit card in the first term. There is only one direction that number will go. He is raising taxes across the board with Obamacare and still plans to tax job creators. He stepped in to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline twice for political reasons that seem to have paid off. All the while the economy suffers.
This might sound like partisan campaigning but I'm sorry the problems above are not going away. These are real problems caused by Obama. Binders, Bain Capital and Big Bird, those are going away forever because they were never there. Smoke and mirrors.
Socialism ends in misery my fellow Humans.
Europe is in tatters. The Middle East is burning (still). China is building ghost cities with slaves. The United States is blind and stupid. I just can't see how any of this will be resolved painlessly.
The affirmative action presidency is just not up to the job. I think what Americans really wanted was a mascot when they picked Obama. Oh well. What else can I say? Some kids don't learn until they get punched in the face.
The invisible hand of markets is going to be a fist next time around.
I think the world economy is hooped. America's credit card is maxed out. They are incapable of slowing down their spending rate, nevermind staying below the "Fiscal Cliff" credit limit. Then they print money, thereby increasing the need to borrow even more because that money doesn't buy what it used to. Then you have government spending on pet projects that creates false demand that raises prices for real profitable private businesses. Don't forget the borrowing for the spending and interest on borrowing that all has to be paid with taxes someday.
This is a flushing toilet bowl. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is a recipe for negative growth.
The only way to overcome this is with a booming private economy that grows so much it pays these extra costs without blinking. Do you see that happening? What kind of an economy can make a trillion borrowed dollars feel like nothing? Not this one. No sir. This is an artificial economy propped up by deficit spending and low interest rates. You want unsustainable? Look at current fiscal policy around the world.
Oh well. I still have my xbox.
I hope I'm wrong about it all. I'll tell you this though: I will be contributing as little as possible to this economy. I've set myself up to cruise to my destination with fuel to spare. I can afford to lose some altitude and climb back later. I've built that into my flight plan on account of the massive obstacles ahead. I encourage you to think about your flight plan and watch out for mount Obama.
I wanted Romney to win, not for Romney, but for me. -for we. We all do well when they do well. Economics is pretty simple.
This isn't the end. Mark Steyn has it wrong. A negative "hockey stick" is just as improbable as the positive ones. We never hit the asymptote. That is we fly right past where its supposed to be. Time is the x axis and time never stops. So if the area behind the asymptote is undefined then we know that infinite exponential curves plotted along a time axis, positive or negative, will always be wrong. Always. Another variable always intrudes on our simple little graphs to change the outcome. The curves either plateau or they crash.
Obama will not be the end. Obama will be their Pierre Trudeau. An icon of an age and then everyone will agree he was wrong on most everything.
Obama put ~$1,000,000,000,000 on the American credit card in the first term. There is only one direction that number will go. He is raising taxes across the board with Obamacare and still plans to tax job creators. He stepped in to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline twice for political reasons that seem to have paid off. All the while the economy suffers.
This might sound like partisan campaigning but I'm sorry the problems above are not going away. These are real problems caused by Obama. Binders, Bain Capital and Big Bird, those are going away forever because they were never there. Smoke and mirrors.
Socialism ends in misery my fellow Humans.
Europe is in tatters. The Middle East is burning (still). China is building ghost cities with slaves. The United States is blind and stupid. I just can't see how any of this will be resolved painlessly.
The affirmative action presidency is just not up to the job. I think what Americans really wanted was a mascot when they picked Obama. Oh well. What else can I say? Some kids don't learn until they get punched in the face.
The invisible hand of markets is going to be a fist next time around.
I think the world economy is hooped. America's credit card is maxed out. They are incapable of slowing down their spending rate, nevermind staying below the "Fiscal Cliff" credit limit. Then they print money, thereby increasing the need to borrow even more because that money doesn't buy what it used to. Then you have government spending on pet projects that creates false demand that raises prices for real profitable private businesses. Don't forget the borrowing for the spending and interest on borrowing that all has to be paid with taxes someday.
This is a flushing toilet bowl. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is a recipe for negative growth.
The only way to overcome this is with a booming private economy that grows so much it pays these extra costs without blinking. Do you see that happening? What kind of an economy can make a trillion borrowed dollars feel like nothing? Not this one. No sir. This is an artificial economy propped up by deficit spending and low interest rates. You want unsustainable? Look at current fiscal policy around the world.
Oh well. I still have my xbox.
I hope I'm wrong about it all. I'll tell you this though: I will be contributing as little as possible to this economy. I've set myself up to cruise to my destination with fuel to spare. I can afford to lose some altitude and climb back later. I've built that into my flight plan on account of the massive obstacles ahead. I encourage you to think about your flight plan and watch out for mount Obama.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Strike Back
Strike Back is a British series now into its second season that I've come to enjoy lately. Its like a cross between James Bond and Blackhawk Down while still being something completely new and different.
Its about an elite special forces group called Section 20 that doesn't officially exist yet who's purpose is to counter terrorism. I find it has a very intelligent and realistic dialog and a superb twisting plot line that frighteningly mimics reality.
It's amazing how prescient the show is. I started watching it on HBO Canada in August. When I picked up my jaw from the floor on September 11th hearing about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi I said to my lover "We are watching Strike Back, but for real." The other day we were watching the recent documentary on Benghazi on Fox News and she said to me shaking her head, "this really is like Strike Back."
Art imitates life, and this is the world we live in. It speaks to the quality of the writing in Strike Back when you see a typical episode unfold on Fox News one dark day.
It's made by Cinemax which some of my friends call "Skin-emax." Watch the show without the kids to see why. Ample extreme violence and course language are some other reasons why this show is good for adults.
By any measure it's a great show.
Its about an elite special forces group called Section 20 that doesn't officially exist yet who's purpose is to counter terrorism. I find it has a very intelligent and realistic dialog and a superb twisting plot line that frighteningly mimics reality.
It's amazing how prescient the show is. I started watching it on HBO Canada in August. When I picked up my jaw from the floor on September 11th hearing about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi I said to my lover "We are watching Strike Back, but for real." The other day we were watching the recent documentary on Benghazi on Fox News and she said to me shaking her head, "this really is like Strike Back."
Art imitates life, and this is the world we live in. It speaks to the quality of the writing in Strike Back when you see a typical episode unfold on Fox News one dark day.
It's made by Cinemax which some of my friends call "Skin-emax." Watch the show without the kids to see why. Ample extreme violence and course language are some other reasons why this show is good for adults.
By any measure it's a great show.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
What was Ambassador Stevens doing on Obama's behalf?
The news media is now awash in details about the terrorist attack and assassination in Benghazi Libya. You can almost follow the Ambassador's last footsteps from building to building. There are details about car chases and firefights that would be called "too Hollywood" if they didn't actually happen.
We also have a substantial email trail proving that the White House knew exactly what was happening on September 11th in Benghazi. There might even be live aerial footage from a spy drone the US had over head at the time.
We all saw the President and his minions lying about the assassination. They tried to hush it up and confuse it with idiotic Islamist tantrums about a movie that doesn't even exist.
I saw it immediately as a terrorist attack and a failure of Obama's foreign policy but, probably like you, reserved judgment until I had more information. That information would be provided by the news media. Instead the press skewered Mitt Romney for being critical of Obama's handling of this debacle while he was perfectly right to do so.
The thing about the cover up is how lazy the Obama administration was in its execution. Much of the information 'uncovered' about Benghazi isn't even classified. It shows both a disdain for the intelligence of the average person and worse: that the administration has come to expect the media to run cover for Obama's mistakes.
Its sad and racist. To think that an American President has to be held to a lower standard... why? Is it because he's Black? All you have to do is imagine it was Bush instead and then you see how much the media has sandbagged for Obama on this one. Its shameful. It tarnishes all journalists. (its important to note Bush would have been tarred and feathered for getting it right)
Why isn't the media doing its job?
I don't really need to know exactly what time it was in Washington when a grenade was tossed at Ambassador Stevens' car.
I want to know what the Ambassador was doing in Benghazi. What was the purpose of his shady meetings in a dangerous city without protection? There is still more to this story and I doubt any of it will make American's proud.
There are rumors out there that Ambassador Stevens was running guns to the Syrian rebels. He may have been running guns to Jihadist rebels.
Now factor in the election, and Fast and Furious, and you can see why some are entertaining the idea that Ambassador Stevens was declined the support he asked for because of the nasty business he was involved in.
Imagine the repercussions for the Obama Administration to have an Iran Contra scandal complete with cover up blasting into the election at this point into the game.
The kingmaker Journalist hero will be the one to find out what Steven's was really doing and why. Who told him to do it and who let him and three others die there?
We also have a substantial email trail proving that the White House knew exactly what was happening on September 11th in Benghazi. There might even be live aerial footage from a spy drone the US had over head at the time.
We all saw the President and his minions lying about the assassination. They tried to hush it up and confuse it with idiotic Islamist tantrums about a movie that doesn't even exist.
I saw it immediately as a terrorist attack and a failure of Obama's foreign policy but, probably like you, reserved judgment until I had more information. That information would be provided by the news media. Instead the press skewered Mitt Romney for being critical of Obama's handling of this debacle while he was perfectly right to do so.
The thing about the cover up is how lazy the Obama administration was in its execution. Much of the information 'uncovered' about Benghazi isn't even classified. It shows both a disdain for the intelligence of the average person and worse: that the administration has come to expect the media to run cover for Obama's mistakes.
Its sad and racist. To think that an American President has to be held to a lower standard... why? Is it because he's Black? All you have to do is imagine it was Bush instead and then you see how much the media has sandbagged for Obama on this one. Its shameful. It tarnishes all journalists. (its important to note Bush would have been tarred and feathered for getting it right)
Why isn't the media doing its job?
I don't really need to know exactly what time it was in Washington when a grenade was tossed at Ambassador Stevens' car.
I want to know what the Ambassador was doing in Benghazi. What was the purpose of his shady meetings in a dangerous city without protection? There is still more to this story and I doubt any of it will make American's proud.
There are rumors out there that Ambassador Stevens was running guns to the Syrian rebels. He may have been running guns to Jihadist rebels.
Now factor in the election, and Fast and Furious, and you can see why some are entertaining the idea that Ambassador Stevens was declined the support he asked for because of the nasty business he was involved in.
Imagine the repercussions for the Obama Administration to have an Iran Contra scandal complete with cover up blasting into the election at this point into the game.
The kingmaker Journalist hero will be the one to find out what Steven's was really doing and why. Who told him to do it and who let him and three others die there?
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