tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post713169434791609551..comments2023-12-28T06:30:48.808-05:00Comments on The Rule of Reason: Ayn Rand AvengedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-32755941532196869792008-10-24T20:03:00.000-04:002008-10-24T20:03:00.000-04:00cultcrit: the Constitution was first seriously shr...cultcrit: the Constitution was first seriously shredded by FDR in 1933 after some initial damage by the earlier Progressivists.<BR/><BR/>The bailout was likely meant primarily to rescue governments from suddenly having their deficit finance spigot cut off (California's impending need for a $7b infusion was likely a part of what Paulson's gang told the Congresscritters). It would have forced them to raise taxes or print masses of money **right now**. The consequences of that kind of theft are quick and immediate, making it too easy for people to see that it is government consumption of real wealth that ultimately causes the busts.<BR/><BR/>Deficit financing, together with acclimatizing people to slow inflation, allows the government to delay and distort the process by which the economy accounts for that destruction of wealth, ensuring that the raw data shows no apparent correlation of spending to contraction. This is what permits bad economists to claim, when confronted with the idea that government spending/manipulation is the primary force contributing to the boom/bust cycle, that "the data does not track you". This serves to ensure that all but the most persistent individuals ever make the connection.<BR/><BR/>Conveniently for the Left, this obfuscatory process makes it easy for them to do what they have been doing at every economic downturn since 1929: define the current system as "laissez-faire" and demand greater government control and oversight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-4140330283208986132008-10-24T11:40:00.000-04:002008-10-24T11:40:00.000-04:00Um. The Reichstag fire already happened (9/11), as...Um. The Reichstag fire already happened (9/11), as did the power grab and shredding of the constitution. This bailout is not directed at saving "Main Street" Americans from foreclosure, so much as preventing rich capitalists from going broke. That is how people get protected from economic disaster, not by belief in some Objectivist nonsense.cultcrithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09022545228706195431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-54068749794872539932008-10-18T21:57:00.000-04:002008-10-18T21:57:00.000-04:00"Is it the Erinyes or the Four Horsemen of the Apo..."Is it the Erinyes or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping over the earth...?"<BR/><BR/>Is this a multiple-choice question?<BR/><BR/>I vote for:<BR/>The Fury Alecto ("the implacable") who castigates the moral crimes (such as anger), especially if they are against other people.<BR/><BR/>Or consider:<BR/>Her Sister Megaera ("the jealous one") who punishes people who commit crimes, especially marital infidelity.<BR/>[In this case, infidelity to a trust of the same order]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-63472872219573751152008-10-17T16:35:00.000-04:002008-10-17T16:35:00.000-04:00PS.Powerful essay, Ed.RoxannePS.<BR/><BR/>Powerful essay, Ed.<BR/><BR/>RoxanneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-22279594910845881492008-10-17T14:10:00.000-04:002008-10-17T14:10:00.000-04:00Brian quoted me: ""That person and many others lik...Brian quoted me: ""That person and many others like him will not be much touched or harmed by the Horsemen."<BR/><BR/><BR/>What I meant by that is that in terms of morality, in terms of understanding what is happening, we won't be much touched or harmed by events, while those who never understood or refuse to understand events, will be harmed, and will probably panic or go off the deep end. Perhaps I could have been clearer, but that was my meaning.<BR/><BR/>EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-42962451273802758372008-10-17T13:15:00.000-04:002008-10-17T13:15:00.000-04:00I don't agree that those who understand the phenom...I don't agree that those who understand the phenomenon won't be much harmed by what is happening. How can we not all be harmed? I don't live on another planet? Our lives are alreaday limited by our wealth being confiscated at faster rates (inflation alone, forget about outright taxation); a semi-socialized medical system that makes it difficult to stay healthy and/or alive; a complex, technical society that requires brains to run the institutions/businesses we all rely on, increasingly being run by people not tied to reality. No, that is why we who understand what is happening must speak out-to save ourselves as we will be harmed along with everyone else. My values are in this world, and it's this world that is in danger of perishing. <BR/><BR/>Roxanne AlbetoliAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-48265387126769355782008-10-17T13:07:00.000-04:002008-10-17T13:07:00.000-04:00Edward Cline said,"That person and many others lik...Edward Cline said,<BR/><BR/>"That person and many others like him will not be much touched or harmed by the Horsemen."<BR/><BR/>Will this still be true when we are facing mass starvation? Will this still be true when we need to eat rats in order to survive (as they are now doing in Zimbabwe)?Brian Geislerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847374744855201949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-24101045187559043112008-10-17T09:29:00.000-04:002008-10-17T09:29:00.000-04:00Excellent article! Thanks, Ed. I'm forwarding th...Excellent article! Thanks, Ed. I'm forwarding this to everyone.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02283312915111581912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-79158865628824753942008-10-17T08:52:00.000-04:002008-10-17T08:52:00.000-04:00Henry Paulson and Goldman Sachs:Scattered from Cal...Henry Paulson and Goldman Sachs:<BR/><BR/>Scattered from California to New York: The judgments from the Department of Labor, tax liens against 401-K plans, state tax liens, mechanics lien, judgments from other companies <BR/><BR/>Henry Paulson, 5 weeks before he became Treasury Secretary, got a FANNIE MAE/FREDDIE MAC 30 year fix mortgage/loan for his 82 year old mother in May 2005 for 5.37%, (below rate)<BR/><BR/>webofdeception.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com