IN A NUTSHELL:

In case you missed it, the Washington Times had a great editorial by Walter Williams yesterday titled "Whose business is it?"

DAILY QUOTE:

The socialists believe in two things which are absolutely different and perhaps even contradictory: freedom and organization.
- Elie Halevy

RANDOM MUSINGS:

Every day, it seems, I hear another breathless report about the growing income gap or how the rich keep getting richer. Keeping in mind that the majority of fools intoning such nonsensical trope are fully aware of the fallacy, it amazes me that this sort of logic is capable of being believed by anyone. Surely the simple argument -- wealth is not finite, and is created by every voluntary transaction, not distributed like gumballs from a machine -- is understandable by a large portion of the world. So how can such tripe be so omnipresent?

It recently occurred to me that one way to describe the collectivist outlook on wealth "distribution" is that they view the struggle for the legal tender as if it were a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos. The workers all put their marbles into the game only to be devoured by the ravenously insatiable capitalist hippos. Then the capitalists build bigger, super-tech hippos that pollute the game with nasty hippo dung and waste valuable hippo resources. The only way to ensure that all the hippos can play the game is the "re-distribute" the marbles after each round. If the wealth of the world were indeed fixed and actually distributed by some sort of all-powerful ATM machine (an uber-machine?), then this sort of outlook would make sense. I believe this is what economists call a "pareto optimal" world -- i.e. a world where all the possible exchanges have been made such that any new exchanges would be decreasing the wealth of one in order to increase the wealth of another. I think another way of putting it is that the only possible exchanges are wealth-transfers instead of wealth-makers. Since only coerced exchanges would exist in such a system (why would you exchange if you were the loser?), one easy way to figure out if this is indeed the state of the world is to see if any voluntary excahnges exist. If they do, then we do not live in a pareto optimal world.

OTOH, I think the way that capitalists see the world (surprise! surprise!) is more like the game of Monopoly. Especially in the form it always seemed to be played by large families, where the games could last weeks and the stakes could astronomical. The rules are geared towards extending the game, new players are allowed to buy in to the game, deals are made, and alliances are formed or broken. To be sure, everyone gets an equal handout at the beginning, but then the choices are up to you. Do you buy Ventor Avenue on the first pass, or do you save for the higher priced properties? Do you build right away on your monopoly? And how about the trades? I've seen everthing from free passes to intricate reversion deals. The point is, the possible outcomes are only limited by what the players want to put into the game. Each putative monopolist brings his or her own unique interests to the game and tries their best to fulfill them. That's exactly what makes the game exciting. This is more like what's called the "pareto superior" world where exhanges that make each party better off are possible, and much more likely since such exchanges are more desireable (of course, the reall world works more like what's called Kaldor-Hicks movements, but I'll leave that explanation to an actual economist).

So if you think life is like Hungry Hungry Hippos then you probably want to see a re-distribution (even though wealth is not actually distributed in the first place). And if you fancy yourself more the Monopoly type you probably want to see a world where the players set the rules instead of some mindless and increasingly unelected bureacracy.

That's what I think anyway.

IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM:

Peter Cuthbertson delivers an excellent retort to "Monbiotism" which is really nothing more than good old fashioned collectivism. George Monbiot attacks free market economics as "the myths of neoliberalism." Peter's rebuttal:

'Neoliberalism', I should explain, is one of those left-wing terms invented to marginalise a certain view and make their own sound better. Just as appeasement becomes 'examining the root causes' and taxing the wealth-creators out of the country becomes 'social justice', the free market becomes 'neoliberalism'. There is nothing new about the free market, which existed ever since a caveman offered a piece of food in exchange for some clothing. But adding 'neo' and 'ism' makes it sound like a radical new ideology to want the economy to be run broadly as it was run from the beginning of time until 1939.

The rest of the essay is even better.

DAILY QUOTE:

Self-preservation and self-development are common aspirations among all people. And if everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and unfailing.
- Frederic Bastiat

LEFT SPEAK:

Susanna Cornett of Cut on the Bias has a few things to say about the new gaggle of lefties calling themselves Truemajority.com. C.D. Harris IV of Ipse Dixit offers his own parsing of the left-speak. While I don't want to be a follower, the 10 goals of truemajority.com are simply too much to resist. So here are my humble solutions for wach one of these goals:

1. Attack poverty and world hunger as if our life depends on it. It does.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments.

2. Champion the rights of every child, woman & man.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments.

3. End our obstructionism to the world's treaties.

Solution: a free market economy and decentralized governments would require fewer treaties to obstruct -- and if your talking about the Kyoto Treaty and the ICC (and we know they are) then they should be obstructed since they are inconsistent with the first two goals in the very least.

4. Reduce our dependence on oil and lead the world to an age of renewable energy.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments. If it's possible to rely more heavily on renewable energy then someone can make a buttload of money developing such a great invention.

5. Close the book on the Cold War and end the nuclear nightmare forever.

Solution: I'm not really opposed to the suggested solutions here, but I 'm going to say it anyhow -- free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments.

6. Renounce Star Wars and the militarization of space.

Solution: I'm not really sure how this is different from the last goal. I guess they didn't want to have just 9 and they couldn't think of anything else. Oh well, here it goes -- free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments.

7. Make globalization work for, not against, working people.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments.

8. Ensure equal treatment under law for all.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments. Included here would be to end all race or gender based laws that support discrimination (e.g. affirmative action, Title IX).

9. Get money out of politics.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments. The problem isn't money in politics, it's power in politics. If the government has less power to sell there will per force be less money in politics. The only way to ensure that there is less power in government is to disperse it through decentralization.

10. Close the gap between rich and poor kids at home.

Solution: free market economy and dispersing power to more people through decentralized governments. Actually this is a non-problem since the size of any "gap" is irrelevant. Wealth is not a fixed sum and it's created not distributed. The only real problem is when the rich get rich at the expense of the poor. This can be indicated by the "rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer." However, this isn't reality. I just read somewhere that the only places in the world where any such thing has happened were in Africa and Asia and that one of them was Nigeria.

**UPDATE: I did just read about the income gap misinformation and I posted about it. It was in an article by Virginia Postrel.

DEMOGOGUERY IN DEFEAT:

Cynthia McKinney's concession speech was posted online by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week, but I've only gotten around to reading today [via OxBlog]. I think she wrote it while listening to Glory, Glory, Hallelujah":

Quiet, please. Listen. Listen closely.

That's the history train -- and it's still rolling -- no matter what happened today.

Cynthia's obviously trying to come to grips with reality.

I rode the history train to Congress in 1992, and many of you rode the train with me. And many more of you joined me along the way.

And while the tracks got a little rough this campaign, I am proud to announce: This train hasn't stopped. This train hasn't slowed down. We are going full speed ahead.

"Buck up, little campers! All is not lost! The infidels ... er, Republicans are sure to lose power soon enough!"

I want to congratulate Denise Majette. I may not agree with the kind of campaign she ran, but she will need all our prayers to face the coming storm.

What storm? Oh, she meant the upcoming election where people cast votes in the orderly procession of a peaceful transfer of power. Storm ... peaceful-transfer-of-power ... it's easy to get confused. And exactly what kind of campaign did Majette run that McKinney didn't "agree with"? The one where Majette defeats McKinney? The one where voters are lied to in an effort to keep them from the polls? The one where thousands of campaign dollars are collected from out--of-state Arab and Muslim patrons on September 11? Or was it the kind of campaign where celebrity endorsements from old campaigns were "accidentally" used in last-minute tele-stumping?

I spoke to her moments ago and congratulated her personally. And assured her that I would not help the Republicans.

I wish her well.

How big of Cynthia to "assure" the winner that she would not be the victim of poor-loser syndrome. Cynthia was obviously upset that Republicans crossed-over to vote for Majette, despite the fact that she was supposedly representing the Republicans over the past 10 years as well as the Democrats.

In Congress, doing what is right is not always easy. Sometimes you are faced with a choice between doing what is politically safe or doing what is right.

Sometimes you have to stand up to seemingly unbeatable odds, speak the truth to the most powerful interests, to do what is right.

"Sometimes you have to accuse a sitting President of unspeakable acts of venality and cowardice because you forgot to do that with the last sitting President."

Sometimes you win. And sometimes you lose.

Tonight I have lost an election. But I maintain my spirit, my courage, my dignity and my commitment to the truth, to peace and to the future. And I want to assure you that:

Cue the music! **Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
he hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;
his truth is marching on.**

I am not giving up, for the battle has yet to be won.

I am not beaten, for I will fight another day.

I am not sad, for I have made the world a better place.

But I am hopeful, because we are all here for a cause much, much greater than ourselves.

***Hmmmm, Hmmmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmmm-mmmm ...***

I am confident that we will continue to make a difference in our community, be a voice for the voiceless and speak truth to power.

Ot at least some variant of the truth, defined as "not the truth." ***Hmmmm, Hmmmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmmm-mmmm ...***

I am optimistic that although I lost an election tonight I will continue to fight for truth, justice and the American way, ...

Now, I'll just bet that you ddn't know that Cynthia was also Superman! "Truth, justice and the American way" = 7,370 Google hits.

...and I will continue to stand up to anyone who seeks to rob us of our rights and deny us the opportunity to succeed.

***Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!***

I am proud to tell you tonight that I'm not getting off the history train just yet.

There is still work to be done.

Stop music. Cue up "King of Pain by The Police. Cue Cynthia and ...

Somewhere tonight, a man is making himself a bed of newspapers and cardboard on the sidewalks of the city.

Somewhere tonight, a child is too hungry to do his homework.

Somewhere tonight, an elderly couple must make the unfair choice between food and medicine.

Somewhere tonight, a woman lives in fear of domestic violence.

Since Cynthia represents one of 11 Districts in Georgia, and one of the three smallest in acreage, it's pretty appalling that so many horrible things are going on there. Why didn't Cynthia do more about it?

And somewhere tonight, men in powerful positions are taking the first steps toward sending our country into war.

They must be stopped! Note that it's "men" in powerful positions.

Somewhere tonight, powerful interests are working to silence those that are a threat to their power.

Their called "voters", Cynthia because they "silence those that are a threat to their power" by "voting".

Every day in Congress I kept those images in mind. Images of real people with real problems. And real abuses of real power.

She's such a "real"ist! Okay, fade out "King of Pain" and fade in "Wind Beneath My Wings".

Today, even in defeat, I have been lifted.

Lifted upon the shoulders of the people of Georgia.

I have been lifted -- by Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Not to be too technical but I think this should have read "on the backs of Christians and Jews" and "on the wallets and prejudices of radical Muslims".

I have been lifted on the wings of hope and justice and peace.

And for this position I have a clear view of the horizon.

Can't you just see the images of Martin Luther King giving his "I have a Dream" speech being projected on the screen behind her.

And I see a better place.

I see a place where we're going, friends and neighbors -- and it may not be the Promised Land -- but it is a place where America keeps her promises.

I see an America of opportunity for our young people, dignity for our workers and security for our seniors.

Well it's about time, Cynthia. All you had to do was open your eyes. It's somehow fitting that you see this place on the night you were asked to leave its governance. Anyway, cue "God Belss America"!

We are all on the train called History -- and we are ringing the bell called Freedom.

Let freedom ring.

From here in Georgia to every village and every hamlet.

Let freedom ring.

In every state and in every city.

Let freedom ring.

For us, our children and for the future.

Ding dong the witch is dead! Seriously, what any of this has to do with Cynthia's reign of failure is beyond me. The only reason I can see for pairing the ringing of the "bell called Freedom" and Cynthia is to celebrate her defeat ... oh, wait .. maybe this is what she meant all along!

Since I was first elected in 1992, I have been a voice for the voiceless, a champion for our children, a warrior for the weak and a challenger to the indifferent establishment.

And even though I won't be in Congress for a couple of years, I will continue to be a voice, a champion, a warrior and a challenger. I will continue to speak truth to power and put what's right, what's true, what's fair and what's just over all else.

"All else except fabrications designed to keep me in power, ensuring that the special interests that I deem worthy always have an upperhand and get special treatment, and the deliberate undermining of any and every attempt to unite this nation in defiance of evil."

Someone once said that when one door closes, another door is opened.

Yeah and don't let either one smack you in the ass on the way out.

Some doors have opened for me tonight.

One important door is I get to spend more time on my most important job: raising my son to be a stong, black man.

Just out of curiosity, could you raise him to be a strong Chinese man? How about a semi-strong latino?

I think I might also find time to finish my academic work. I might teach for a while. I might write, and you can be sure I will continue to speak out.

Thanks for the update.

I believe God has a plan. And I believe with His guidance I will continue to do what is right, and I look forward to continuing to ride the history train.

Thank you, and good night.

***God bless America. My home, sweet HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME****

"HELL HATH NO FURY ... ":

This is why criminal defense attorneys typically don't like to have women on their juries. Susanna Cornett at Cut on the Bias delivers a blistering and well-reasoned analysis of the terrorist mindset as a collective sociapathy. [link via Freedom and Whisky]

AIRPORT INSECURITY:

A woman is going to be charged with violating airport security because she was found to have packed a .357 Magnum in her suitcase. Trying to arrest little kids and British tourists for possessing G.I. Joe dolls in their carry-ons is one thing -- some one as gullible as those in charge of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could be made to believe that the 4 1/2 inch guns will do some real damage. But what exactly is the problem with a gun that is packed away in a suitcase that the passenger is not going to see until well after the flight is over, if she's lucky?

I can understand that those in charge of airport security feel the need to do something in the wake of 9/11 to show putative passengers and the world at large that they are indeed making the airways safer. I also understand that there is very little that can be done in any sort of substantive way if terrorists and madmen aren't continually attempting to board jets with bombs, guns and box-cutters strapped to themselves (i.e. it's not a very target-rich environment). So in order to publicize how keen-eyed and wonderfully adept our new-and-improved airport screeners are, a penetrating and exacting review of even the most seemingly inconsequential piece of luggage will be accomplished with a rigorous attention to the detailed airport security rules. This is done in such a way as to leave no doubt that trying to sneak something of actual consequence past the ever-vigilant security personnel is utter foolishness ("I hear you couldn't even get a picture of gun past these guys!"). Even with all of this in mind, I still cannot comprehend what danger was being avoided by arresting this woman for carrying a gun in her suitcase, especially when she had absolutely no access to the gun during the flight.

DAILY QUOTE:

It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
- David Hume