The US v. China?

A little while ago, I wrote a piece for my young son, Erich Ferger, about making a difference in the world. I was just re-reading it. What stood out this time around was the point I was trying to make about changing the world for the better. Make the world free!

Any form of collectivism/statism (socialism and its' variants, communism, totalitarianism) must ultimately fail, and often the result of this failure is massive human bloodshed, and/or massive human starvation.

The fact is that here in America, we shall soon see people dying of starvation on the streets, just like in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. We  now have well over a century and a half of proof, the sordid results of the leftists insane dream to create a Utopia. The end result of socialism/collectivism is societal, governmental and cultural collapse.

But here's a thought: if the Chinese abandon their communist government and embrace freedom, meaning they drastically reduce taxation and regulation, remove burdensome restrictions, decriminalize specific human behavior, involve the population in electing legislatures and executives, and encourage the investment of capital-if the Chinese have the sense to do this, to embrace free market capitalism, then it would be only the Chinese who could prop up our leftist, socialist policies after we go broke. Wouldn't that be ironic?

Thoughts about New Orleans: A Rant Written While Drinking Coffee in New Orleans at Home

There is a feeling you get when coming in to New Orleans, either by car or by plane. It is the feeling of entering another world, or even another dimension of existence.

New Orleans Saints

The following is a re-post of an article I wrote some time ago, right before the Saints won the Super Bowl.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

I have been a New Orleans Saints football fan all my life. That hasn't always been easy. For many years, the Saints had losing season after losing season. There were times when fans in the Superdome wore bags over their heads, in mock shame over their team's poor performance. Of course, these bag-headed fans were at the game, cheering the Saints (the "Ain'ts") on anyway.

But this year has been differant. This year, I've been moved to strong emotion over this edition of the Saints, with guys like Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas, Robert Meacham, Reggie Bush, Mike Bell, Darren Sharper, Jonathan Vilma, Jeremy Shockey, hell, the whole team playing to an unprecedented 13-3 season.

By "strong emotion", I mean a curious mixture of pride, joy, and happiness that something so meaningless as a football game could make me cheer with unbridled passion. I was there with the rest of them, screaming like a lunatic, actually getting angry if the referee made a bad call, or the opposing team scored. I like what talk show host Limbaugh said when someone asked him why he liked football so much. He answered: "well, I'm like most guys in this. Most guys I know love to watch football, because it allows them to spend unlimited amounts of passion, with minimal or no consequences." That's me alright. Yeah, it's just a game, but it's the SAINTS! and I love 'em! And my! Was it a spectacular ride, or what? Who can forget the nail-biting win to the Redskins in OT?... being behind 24-3 to the Dolphins?... slugging it out with the Carolina Panthers in the Dome?... losing to Tampa Bay (!?!), also in the dome?... beating the Patriots on Monday night football, with the whole nation watching... The Saints offense rose to the top of the NFL, and our quarterback Drew Brees is or was the number one rated passer in the league. Yes, this season was great, far beyond my expectations, and if the Saints make the Super Bowl, that's just gravy...particularly tasty gravy.

But there's more to it than being a fan. The best way for me to illustrate this to you is to imagine the Superdome filled with proud Saints fans, all shouting their joy to the heavens, making a noise so loud that the sportscasters on the field cannot hear each other. Many outsiders have commented on the unique ferocity of our loyalty to "The Boys". Nowhere else, they say, have they found fans more vocal and more supportive. You can hear it if you watch them on TV. For some reason, when I see the Dome packed with thousands of fans, all or nearly all of them filled up with the team spirit in a collective voice like thunder at the end of the world, I feel an enormous uplifting in my own spirit, more proud than I've ever been to be a
New Orleanian.

Thank you, Sean Payton and team! And well, well done! Now, we're with you in the playoffs!

A Confederacy of Dunces

My story on the Ignatius J. Reilly statue yesterday had about seventy or so hits-much to my surprise. I forgot to tell you all why the hotel moved the statue in the first place: so the Mardi Gras people wouldn't kidnap him, or damage the statue in any way.

Ignatius J. Reilly is Back!

Ignatius J. Reilly

TODAY has been an interesting day today, so far. Let me tell you a story about why, but first, let's go back two weeks from today, OK?

Two weeks ago, I was walking up Canal Street, probably thinking about Mardi Gras, when I passed the Chateau Bourbon Hotel just past Bourbon and Canal. Some of you might remember what this place used to be-the old D. H. Holmes department store ("meet me under the clock by Holmses, baby").

Well, "Holmses" went away, the Chateau Bourbon filled the empty building, and some sweet soul put up a bronze statue of Ignatius J. Reilly (photo at left) in the veranda right there in front of the hotel entrance. For those of you who don't know who the heck is Ignatius J. Reilly, he's the central character in a fiction/satire novel about his life in New Orleans, A Confederacy of Dunces. This book, one of the funniest I've ever read, won the Pulitzer prize, and became required reading at UNO by the time I got there in 1982. And the reason why his statue is in front of the Chateau Bourbon/the Old D.H. Holmes is because of the first scene in the novel. Ignatius is supposed to meet his mom there, under the clock.

Bolero

I remember well the first time I heard Maurice Ravel's classic Bolero. As it so happened, I was at a coffee shop called "Rue de la Course" on Magazine Street in New Orleans, drinking espresso, and finishing up a story I was working on. The shop always used to play some type of classical music over their sound system, and that day was no differant. Although I usually ignore classical music whenever and wherever I hear it (except when I'm driving), I heard a gentle, lilting melody that sounded somewhat mysterious, even alluring.I barely even noticed that there was music playing in the background, but as I've said, the melody was good, kind of catchy even, not quite like a pop tune but more like an old folk melody. My attention was immediately drawn by the fact that there was a light, but somehow militaristic drumbeat in the background, a steady rhythm that beat relentlessly but unobtrusively on, with a light, deft touch that again reminded me of a pop song.
I became really engrossed as I slowly became aware that the song was steadily picking up in volume (and rhythm), but at a measured, controlled pace. I sat there at my table, my story forgotten, listening to this piece in delighted enjoyment. I am always thrilled to discover good new music, and this was indeed very good. At first, the melody and counter melody was played by the lighter wind instruments, i.e., the flute, clarinet and piccolo, but as the volume ever so slowly increased, differant instruments picked up the tune, and all the while, that same relentless drumbeat kept up a steady and precise rhythm. I was totally gone, lost in this orchestral tour de force. I could see pictures in my mind, and also, I got the sense that the music was heading to an inevitable violent climax, but in the meantime, the violins picked up the beautiful melody, and now, all was joy and unbridled passion. And then came the brass instruments...soon, the entire orchestra was thundering in an unbelievable frenzy, clear, precise, measured...and the drumbeat still beat on and on. I probably forgot to breathe, for when the music came to an abrupt climactic end at the crashing of a tympani-drum, I sat there breathless and stunned. Involuntarilly, I said, "what the hell was that?" I looked up, embarrassed, and saw the pretty countergirl smiling at me in understanding. "That was "Bolero", she said.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS is fast approaching-Mardi Gras day is Tuesday, February 21. Are you thinking of coming to town to see the world's greatest free show? There are all kinds of things for you to consider. Where will you stay? If you live close by, and are planning to drive here, where will you park?

Unfortunately, all the hotels, motels (including the flea bags), flophouses, bunkhouses and camp grounds are all filled up. And if you are lucky enough to find a parking spot, you'll wind up walking a good distance to the parade routes.

So are there alternatives? Yes. You might get lucky and find a room in town, but beware-you're going to pay a lot for it. Try New Orleans Craiglist.com, or contact a travel agent and ask her if she knows if any of the locals are offering their homes, or rooms within their homes-for rent.

Although Mardi Gras day is Tuesday, the serious partying starts the Friday preceding. It's a long weekend: Friday until Wednesday morning (Ash Wednesday), there are lots of parades and festivities. And all of them free!

I recommend finding a spot on St. Charles Avenue, between Louisiana and Jackson Avenues. Canal Street will be packed solid. If you get there early enough, you'll be able to stake out a claim. I usually go early in the morning the Sunday before Mardi Gras, find a spot on the "neutral ground" (median), and pitch a tent. I bring food (food along the parade routes is abundant, but not cheap), scaffolding (to better see the parades, and catch more beads), and plenty of cold beverages in the cooler. There are abundant Port-a-Potties along the parade route on St. Charles, especially between Louisiana and Jackson Avenues. Parking is usually available in the adjacent neighborhoods, but be careful of restrictions (just look for any signs that restrict or forbid parking).

Random Thoughts on New Orleans Over Morning Coffee

There is a feeling you get when coming in to New Orleans, either by car or by plane. It is the feeling of entering another world, or even another dimension of existence.

New Orleans Could Have Been Spared: The Consequences of Environmentalism

It's been almost six years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans-and the city is still recovering. The 2010 census for Orleans Parish shows 343,829 people; the 2000 census gave the number at 484,674, a drop of almost 141,000. That's about the size of Metairie, the largest suburb of New Orleans, or of Bridgeport, CT., Savannah, GA.,  Sunnyvale, CA., et al.

So it's not an exaggeration to say that Katrina was an apocalyptic event for New Orleans.

Class Warfare...Again?

When will the Left come up with some fresh ideas? They're trottting out their Marxist class warfare schemes...again!

Very recently, there's been a lot of focus in the mainstream media on the class warfare concept, a term used by key Republicans to describe Obama's economic strategy.

"Class warfare" originated as a Marxist term. It was used to describe  what would happen when the poor got sick and tired of being exploited by the rich. "Workers of the world unite!" In popular parlance, it refers to political rhetoric that appeals to envy and resentment.

It goes something like this:

"Joe the Millionaire pays a lower percentage of taxes than his secretary!"

"The rich have to pay their fair share of taxes, too. And they should be willing to pay more, since they're rich enough. A few extra dollars won't hurt them!"

Discredit the Left Now

So you want to help people-you see the media images of the starving and destitute, read about the mass scale of human suffering in the world-and you want to "make a differance", to do something to help. That is a noble sentiment. It is something conservatives and liberals agree on.

However, liberals and conservatives do not usually agree on the means to these noble ends. As for myself, I favor addressing the root causes of these symptoms with far more resources than we use right now. Most of our time and money is spent on addressing the symptoms. We send money and food to the starving and homeless. We give those things that destitute and sick people need right away. That is good. But the problem doesn't go away, and in many instances, becomes worse.

How To Profit From the Death Panels

A Horrible Consequence of Socialized Medicine!

"How to Profit From Death Panels", by forensic psychologist Helen Smith

Dr. Smith's latest blog entry goes into chilling detail about one of the consequences of a free lunch, er uh a free health care system.

Dr. Smith's blog is interesting, well written and designed, and informative.

Seniors should take note here: the death panels will be an objective reality.

Just In: Christians are Stupid

Despite 2 millenia of having, for the most part, turned the world from barbarism and savagery to reason and faith, Christianity is still looked upon by its critics as shameful and suspect. For example, for two thousand years or more, it is has been generally accepted by the Christian community as a whole that homosexuality is a sin, which means: if you engage in this behavior, you are distancing yourself from God.

On Music

First of all, please remember that music is marketed in the same basic process as any other product. What you see on the CD labels, commercials, advertisements and programs is designed to appeal to a specific audience. If the packaging appeals to a specific audience-if the marketing succeeds-then everyone involved in the production of the music wins. They make money, which is a good thing.

But, many times you will read a music critic blast a musician for "selling out", by which the critic usually means the musician has written music that appeals to a large number of people. This is "pop music", and a sure fire way to tell if someone's a sell out,  as if the musician were a greedy charlatan instead of a true artist. 

Social Justice

WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE?  If anything, it is an abstract, vague, and ultimately, meaningless term.  How can two abstract words like social and justice be linked together in any coherently objective way?  They can not... "social justice" means whatever any particular individual says it means, since it is an idea in someone's imagination of how the world should be. Who decides what is "socially" just or not?

Man vrs State: The Proper Role of Government

 by John Russell Turner

IT IS INFORMATIVE TO ASK WHY MANKIND INVENTED GOVERNMENT. It’s not a difficult question to answer: we made government because it became clear to all of us that there were some who just wouldn’t follow the rules. Some people will cheat. Some will steal. Some will commit crimes, break contracts, smoke in public places…wait a minute, smoke in public places? Is that something any government should be concerned with? 

Man invented government  to give a group of people the power to enforce the law,  and also, to run a military force.

David Horowitz: Opposing the Palestinian War Against the Jews

Leftists operate on the basis of doctrines that were discredited over the entire course of the 20^th century at the cost of 100 million innocent lives. 

                                                                                 -David Horowitz

The link below will take you to the transcript of a speech made by David Horowitz at an unidentified college campus. This is a good place to start if you'd like to know the truth about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/03/25/opposing-the-palestinian-war-against-the-jews/2/

Alternative to the Welfare State

Click the link below to read a piece suggesting a way to continue helping the poor, but at a greatly lower cost.

http://city-journal.com/2011/21_1_income-tax.html

The Latest Banality

It's getting to the point where if I see the phrase "spot on", I immediately begin to feel ill, so I ignore whatever else that person has written. Could all of you spot-on people out there read Orwell's Politics and the English Language, and let the things he writes about there influence your writing, instead of slavish imitation of celebrity jargon?

Honesty and the Left

The truth does not care whether or not I like it

I AM ASSUMING THAT THE PALIN HATERS feel the way they do because she is an uber-conservative, and apparently proud of it. I've thought about it a lot. Why do Leftists hate conservatives? Is it because conservatives believe in God? No, most Leftists merely feel smug disdain for anyone who believes in a higher power. Is it because conservatives believe in individual rights and freedom? Or is it because we all have embraced what they struggle so vainly to deny, and so embarrass them in comparison?

What have conservatives embraced, and Leftists denied? Reality.

THE ESSENCE, THE CORE OF ALL CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY is an unflinching, uncompromising embrace of reality. Conservatives do not claim to have some special grasp of what is real and unreal; they are merely honest about it. That is all. That is the root of conservatism. Is this why the Leftists hate us? Because we are real, and our real-ness illuminates their pretense at everything, from self-esteem to civility?

Leftists seem to say "I wish it, therefore it is so" when they try to defend their doctrines and policies.

Honesty: leftist policies put into practice are disastrous. The experiments in socialism, for example. Can you say...(gasp!) National Socialism? Soviet Russia? Mao-ist China? Pol Pot? Despite the repeated failure of that darling of Leftist thought, Leftists continue to embrace it, explaining away the millions of people who were murdered by their government.

Honesty: we conservatives are not infallible, we do make mistakes, but what do the Leftists offer us as an alternative to capitalism? A system of government that must exile, or outright murder dissidents. A system of government that requires us to be sheep, all equal and undifferentiated, while they act as the benevolent shepherds (but the slaughterhouse is where they are leading the sheep).

I was in Seattle when the WTO riots took place there. I saw the bastards with my own eyes. They quite obviously enjoyed breaking windows at Starbucks more than they cared about their alleged agenda. Radical leftists cannot be honest, for if they were, they would have to kill themselves, because death-for themselves and for others-is at the root of their beliefs.

A College Education?

Good news: Study confirms that college is pretty much a total waste of time « Hot Air

But at least the students leave college fully indoctrinated with Leftist agendas!

The Emerald City: A Surprisingly Mild Place to Be

It is not the perfect climate, nor is it much of a tourist draw, but Seattle, Washington has a climate you would not expect for being so far up North. The latitude here is 47 degrees north, the same latitude as northern France. We are about a two and a half hour  drive from the Canadian border-yet even so, snow fall in Seattle is rare (some seasons it doesn't snow at all), and the average temperature the past few days has been in the upper forties-lower fifties (I am writing this on January 17). But don't get me wrong-ever once in a while, the temperature drops into the twenties. Also, with the prevalent rain here, winter can be cold, damp, and dreary-but rarely as cold as, say, Chicago or even New York City. Temperature-wise, it's a bit like Memphis, Tennessee in the winter time. Except for one crucial fact: in Memphis, it rains occasionally. It Seattle, it rains constantly.

Seattle has such a mild climate because of it's location in a huge valley, with the Cascades to the east and the Olympcs to the west. Running through the center of this valley is Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific. Just off the Pacific coast, a warm current moderates the temps, and the mountains block cold Arctic air from having much of an effect.

A tropical paradise it's not, but Seattle's climate is remarkably mild. The only trouble is the rain. Anyone visiting the Emerald City should take an umbrella.

As for the character of the city itself, it is marked by an astonishing prevalence of courtesy and friendliness-Seattle is quite civil, unusually so. The setting of this city is spectacular; downtown rests upon a  hill overlooking Puget Sound, and when the sky is clear, Mt. Rainier, perhaps the most perfectly shaped volcano on Earth, looms over all like an ominous stone idol.

Beautiful, clean, high-tech, space age, and  über-liberal, Seattle is unique and distinctive.

The Politicization of Tragedy

The recent massacre of several people in Tucson, AZ has been used by many on the Left as an excuse to vilify the Right. The link below is an excellent expose of the hypocrisy of such a claim, and instructive, as well:

Michelle Malkin » The progressive “climate of hate:” An illustrated primer, 2000-2010

Revolution: The Great Depression II

by John Russell Turner

"Most disasters are politically understandable."

 -Dr. Thomas Sowell

The root cause of the present economic depression?
Left wing ideology put into practice.

The cure for the present economic depression?
Free market capitalism.

The chances that this will happen, i.e., that Congress will start the lengthy process of cutting back on the size and continued growth of government-and removing most of the regulations on the free market-are anyone's guess. The emergence of the Tea Party Movement is encouraging, for they support  a free market, limited government agenda.

But the opposition is fierce, well funded, and well organized.

Dutch leader tests free speech - Campus News - Terrorism Awareness Project

Dutch leader tests free speech - Campus News - Terrorism Awareness Project

The Root of Left-Wing Ideology

"I do not have a monopoly on the truth, the truth has a monopoly on the truth."

by John Russell Turner

LEFT-WING: A BRANCH OF POLITICAL THOUGHT THAT HOLDS THE BELIEF IN THE ULTIMATE SUPREMACY OF THE STATE.  The power of the state should be used to help the poor. And this is how it is currently done: take(tax) the property of others in order to have money to give to those whom the state deems poor.

Thus we see clearly that violence is at the root of all Left wing social policies, for what recourse does the State have if an individual would prefer to keep his money, rather than have it given to someone else? The money must be taken by force, and most certainly will be. The ends (helping the poor) can not and must never justify the means (theft, euphemistically called taxation), for if that is so, then anything goes if the ends are sufficiently compelling.

Reason for Optimism

by John Russell Turner

I'VE BEEN OPTIMISTIC. I've been telling people that the economy will improve after the usual post Holiday slump. The reason I am so is because the tax cuts were extended. Now people know. The uncertainty is gone-they know that their tax rates will remain the same as it was since the Bush administration enacted a reduction in taxes a few years ago. Prior to the extension of the tax cuts, there was a lot of uncertainty about just how much money people would have after the government took it's "share". Couple that with the remarkably anti-capitalist/pro-socialist sentiment coming from the White House and Capitol Hill, and most people were afraid to spend their money. No one knew how things would go-so they played it safe. Now, however, people are far more likely to spend and invest their cash-the essential factor in an economic recovery.

Let us make it easy for people to participate in the capitalist system by removing the barriers to their entry. High taxes and burdensome regulation is the single most difficult barrier most people face. If there is going to be a "war on poverty", then it must be fought to win, and to win quickly-and the only way this can be is if people are free to earn the most effective cure to poverty there is: cash.

I don't believe there should be a debate about this anymore. Socialists cannot be taken seriously in the realm of ideas, for any number of reasons. We have debated for decades now. We have seen the results of socialism in action. We know that the ideologies upon which socialism is based has ruined the societies upon which it was imposed. In fact, it could be logically deduced that this ideology-basically, that it is moral to take the property of another by force and give it to someone else who needs it-has caused more death and pain than any other cause, including disease. All of what I write here has been shown to be true over and over again. There is no legitimate doubt anymore, we all know it: socialism is a failure, capitalism is a success. Should you have doubts, imagine if you will a North Korean mission successfully landing on the moon. Imagine a Saudi Arabian discovery of a cancer cure. Or any totalitarian government doing anything but ruling. Capitalism makes it possible for individuals to realize their utmost potential, for individuals to dream and then make those dreams a reality.

Sure, money isn't everything.
Yes, but it will cure poverty.
And as a tool, it enables people to thrive.