The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[The Lovely Mrs. tod]

Apparently the RNC has spent in the neighborhood of $150 grand on Palin's wardrobe and make-up. http://news.aol.com/elections/articl...959x1200686752

So why does she always look the same? Can they write the expense off as a gambling loss?

[Moonliner]

Ya gotta love D.C.

This story:

Originally Posted by news

WASHINGTON (AP) - World leaders will meet Nov. 15 in Washington to address the global financial crisis _ the first in a series of summits to mitigate what economists predict could be a long and deep downturn, a senior Bush administration official said.....

Showed up in the traffic section...

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by The Lovely Mrs. tod

Apparently the RNC has spent in the neighborhood of $150 grand on Palin's wardrobe and make-up. http://news.aol.com/elections/articl...959x1200686752

So why does she always look the same? Can they write the expense off as a gambling loss?

Either that or as a catastrophe.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by The Lovely Mrs. tod

Apparently the RNC has spent in the neighborhood of $150 grand on Palin's wardrobe and make-up. http://news.aol.com/elections/articl...959x1200686752

So why does she always look the same? Can they write the expense off as a gambling loss?

Ah, I didn't see your post here and posted something similar in the McCain thread. Oops.

[Ghoulish Delight]

This is a debate format I could really get behind

[sleepyjeff]

http://jewishworldreview.com/1008/stossel.php3

Avid supporters of John McCain and Barack Obama cannot wait until their man gets into office. They say things like: McCain "will bring peace and stability to the United States." Or that under Obama "our kids and our grandkids will have a better life".


But how can one man be expected to do such grand things? It's easy to think that complex problems require centrally planned solutions. But the opposite is true: The more complex a problem, the more centralized political decision-making is not the answer.


Try this thought experiment suggested by economist Daniel Klein of George Mason University. Imagine you had never seen a skating rink and were told that people were going to strap blades to their feet and propel themselves on the ice wherever they chose at whatever speed they could — without a license and with no one directing traffic.


You'd say, "That's insane! We must have rules, signs and traffic cops, or skaters will smash into each other." But of course skating rinks demonstrate that there is another way to organize life: spontaneous order. Most of our economy works that way, and when government tries to micromanage that, it messes it up


I tested this theory for my ABC special "John Stossel's Political Incorrect Guide to Politics," by trying to centrally plan a skating rink. I stood on the ice and gave commands: "Turn right. Turn left! No backwards skating!"


It didn't work. People were falling down.



Much of life would be a drag if a leader directed everything. And fortunately, most of our lives are self-directed. Spontaneous order, not government, prevails. It's so commonplace we take it for granted.


Some people would say the skating rink works because it's small. When it's a big place like America, you need planning.


"The more complex the problem, the more planning you need," says Russell Roberts, author of "The Price of Everything". "But it's not planning at the top. It's planning from the bottom up."


At the rink it means the planning is done by individual skaters, who spontaneously coordinate with others. Each knows more than a central planner would know.


Spontaneous order is found in things far more complex than skating rinks. Language is useful, flexible — and hair-raisingly complicated. No one constructed it.


Communism ... failed because planners never could anticipate the myriad wants of different people. Russians spent hours a day in lines. Millions starved.


The only times we have shortages in America are after governments intrude, like when President Nixon appointed an energy czar to regulate gas prices, and this year, when some states' anti-"gouging" laws prevented gas stations from raising prices after storms.


Despite the repeated failure of central planning, the political class acts as if politicians can direct our lives. When there are problems, politicians will solve them. They're going to give us prosperity and cheap health care, fix education, lower gas prices, stop global warming and make us energy "independent."



"It's kind of an instinctive reaction," says Boaz. "But a president can't fix all the problems in your life."


That's OK. Most of life works best when you are in charge

Read the whole thing at the link above.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Gee, sleepy, you're right. I shouldn't give a sh*t about who's President, it doesn't make a bit of difference. I guess I'll just stay home and not vote.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Gee, sleepy, you're right. I shouldn't give a sh*t about who's President, it doesn't make a bit of difference. I guess I'll just stay home and not vote.

Gee, GD, you're right. Unless every single problem in the country can be solved by the president and big goverment, what's the point? I guess I'll just stay home and not vote.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Gee, GD, you're right. Unless every single problem in the country can be solved by the president and big goverment, what's the point? I guess I'll just stay home and not vote.

I just don't get the point of the article. Um, duh, the President can't snap his fingers and fix everything. Okay, now that we've stated the obvious...

[Morrigoon]

Central Planning = Determing the size & dimensions of ice rink, location of entrances to the ice, cutting the ice (zamboni), installing walls and glass, renting out skates to those not fortunate enough to own their own

Oh, and posting a skate guard to make sure that none of the individual skaters starts mowing down other skaters