Hey John, Thinking of me? I'm flattered. You and your local paper found one the best commentators of the American scene writing today. Jonah Goldbeg also wrote a book entitled, "Liberal Fascism," a scholarly account of the progressive movement beginning in the 30's and now running rampant in congress despite polls showing Americans don't want what they are serving up as health care, energy regulations, bank rescues, etc. If you're interested in recent political history I highly recommend Goldberg's book. That he presents a fair and balanced view is indicated by the excerpt from one of his columns you offered below.
The cure to the incestuous relationship of government and big business is, as I've said many time, a policy of laissez faire. Thanks for thinking of me. Platt On 10 Dec 2009 at 16:47, John Carl wrote: > Hey Platt, > > Well I was sitting waiting for my car to get an alignment today,I picked up > our local paper and a found real good column by Jonah Goldberg that made me > think of you and I thought I'd share it with you. > > <goog_1260491054178> > http://www.theunion.com/article/20091210/OPINION_NATIONAL/912099985/1026/OPINION&parentprofile=1056 > > > "Going back to U.S. Steel and the railroads, the story of big business in > America is often as not the story of fat cats rigging the system. And the > story of progressivism is the same tale. The New Deal codes were mostly > written by big business to squeeze out smaller competitors. The progressives > fought for these reforms on the grounds that it's easier to steer a few > giant oxen than a thousand cats. > > But health care is the most troubling example of the trend. Washington Post > columnist Robert Samuelson notes that while everyone has been debating the > government takeover of health care, what's really transpired is health > care's takeover of government - thanks to what he calls the "medical > industrial complex." Already 1 in 4 federal outlays are for health care; > government pays, directly or indirectly, for half of all health care costs; > and the entire industry is heavily regulated. Obama's answer to this state > of affairs is more - much more - of the same, on the phantasmagorical > grounds that it will cut costs. > > My biggest objection is not to what isn't true about the claim that the > right is the handmaiden to big business, it's to what is true. Too many > Republicans think being pro-business is the same as being pro-market. They > defend the status quo against bad reforms and think they've defended > economic freedom. The status quo stinks. And the sooner Republicans learn > that, the sooner they'll deserve to win again." > > But then, Platt, while looking up that quote online, I read today's column > online by the same author, and I figured you'd really, really appreciate it > so I'm smacking you with one column and stroking you with his next: > > http://www.theunion.com/article/20091203/OPINION_NATIONAL/912029991/1026&parentprofile=1056 > > The crusade against moral hypocrisy necessarily hits conservatives harder, > not because conservatives are more immoral but because they uphold morality > more publicly, making them richer targets. The left aims much of its > moralizing at moralizing itself -- "thou shalt not judge." Meanwhile, the > right focuses on the oldies but goodies -- adultery, drug use, etc. I think > we're right to uphold a standard even if we sometimes fail to live up to it. > > What I don't think we hear enough about is intellectual hypocrisy. What's > that? Well, if moral hypocrisy is saying what values people should live by > while failing to follow them yourself, intellectual hypocrisy is believing > you are smart enough to run other peoples' lives when you can barely run > your own. > > I know many smart liberals for whom no idea is too complex, no concept or > organizational flow chart too hard to grasp. They want government to take > over this, run that, manage some other things, and in all cases put people > exactly like them in charge of pretty much everything. Many are geniuses, > with SAT scores so high you could get a bloody nose just looking at them. > > But you wouldn't ask one to run a car wash. > > ------------ > > He goes on.... his last paragraph reinforces your point, practically > verbatim: > > "Moral hypocrisy is still worth exposing, I guess. But we are living in a > moment when revealing intellectual hypocrisy should take precedence. A J.P. > Morgan chart reprinted on the "Enterprise Blog" shows that less than 10 > percent of President Obama's Cabinet has private-sector experience, the > least of any Cabinet in a century. From the stimulus to health care reform > and cap-and-trade, Washington is now run by people who think they know how > to run everything, when in reality they can barely run anything." > > Cheers, > > John the even handed > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
