A Blessing and A Malediction

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It’s time for major news services to invest in a few economists. Every time I read an article about business and economic issues, it seems that the persons writing the articles either know very little about the subject matter or worse, don’t care to get the information straight.

I read today the article from Reuters Staff Writer, Andrea Hopkins entitled U.S. CEOs Who Outsource Get Bigger Pay Hike-Survey. Before I take her to task, let me give her due credit for having identified the source of the study as the liberal Institute for Policy Studies (emphasis mine). This is certainly a step in the right direction (pun intended).

Apparently the liberal Institute for Policy Studies has found that “executive pay at the 50 firms outsourcing the most service-sector jobs increased 46 percent in 2003, while the average CEO got a 9 percent raise and regular workers saw a 2 percent boost in pay.” In my professional opinion, Duh!!

Corporations and by extension corporate executives have a fiduciary responsibility to their stockholders. They are not in the welfare business. The sole purpose is to make decisions that enhance productivity, efficiency, and profitability. It stands to reason then that those who do this best will be handsomely rewarded for their efforts. Much like the production worker who receives a bonus or other benefit for having exceeded production quotas. It’s called an incentive. Additionally, CEO remuneration is reflective of experience and responsibilities that the “regular worker” to use their vernacular, does not posses. I am certain that the statisticians and researchers at the Institute for Policy Studies do not sit around lamenting the fact that they are compensated at a much higher rate than the receptionist.

Ms. Hopkins quotes the Institutes as saying, “The fact that leading outsourcers make more money than average CEOs is one more reflection of a perverse system that rewards executives for making decisions that may improve their bottom line while hurting workers and communities.” This statement obviates the nature of the problem we face in not providing our youth with a firm foundation in basic economics. Unlike the Institute, most corporation are not non-profit entities. It is their duty to make decisions that “improve their bottom line.” They are not being rewarded for “hurting workers and communities” as the Institute suggests. This is the kind of analysis you get from those who see the economy microscopically as opposed to macroscopically. Such a person might conclude that commercial air travel poses greater risks than automobile travel based on the fact that the number of people who perish in a single airliner crash is exponentially greater than the number who perish in the typical automobile accident.

They go on to say that “it was not able to calculate the exact number of U.S. jobs affected by outsourcing last year because shipping jobs overseas has become such a sensitive political issue that firms try to avoid reporting such jobs losses.” The reason they cannot ascertain the number of US jobs lost to outsourcing is has nothing to do with corporation hiding the numbers, rather, it is because the number of jobs lost is either matched or exceeded by the number of jobs gained. Companies do not outsource out of a desire to hurt employees. They are not taking the savings and packing them away in mason jars to be buried in the South 40 for a rainy day. Outsourcing fees up capital resources which allow the companies to move them into avenues where they are most effective. This can include everything from increasing employee benefits to research and development into new products and services. Additionally while consumers benefit from lower prices and better products and services, the overall economy benefits from an influx new investment capital, which invariably leads to more jobs.

They make this way too easy.

Have We Become Them?

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I have been castigated today for my last post regarding the jeering of the Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry at the MTV Music Video Awards.

Some people have raised the “CNN” argument that the jeering was directed towards both the Kerry daughters and the Bush daughters. I take it these people did not watch the show. The jeering erupted when the Kerry daughters began speaking and was noticeably absent when they tossed it to the Bush daughters. If it were meant for both wouldn’t the crowd have been more or at least equally raucous when the Bush daughters began speaking? Just a thought.

Another response is that the jeering was coming from young nihilist who objected to having their fun interrupted by a political message. Fair enough. This explains a good deal of the jeering however I have it on good authority that a considerable amount of it was specifically meant for the messengers, not the message.

Still others claim that there were no Republicans/Conservatives/Libertarians in the audience. I’m starting to believe that people on our side of the political divide are extremely naïve.

I recall a Barbara Streisand concert in New York several years back. Barbara is known for engaging in political monologues and basic social commentary during her shows. Everyone expects this and no one is offended. It’s here style, you might say. But during one such speech she asked how many people in the audience were Republicans and nearly half the audience applauded and waved. She didn’t seem surprised by this at all as she said, “See. Republicans are the only people who could afford my tickets.” Everyone laughed and no one was offended (as far as I could tell). This was classic Barbara Streisand. The point of course is that non-Leftists do attend the concerts, films and awards shows of people they do not agree with politically. The difference is that we are starting to voice our disagreement with these so-called celebrities when they cross the line. Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley and Woopie Goldberg discovered this first-hand.

I have no problem with holding their feet to the fire when they go on the attack. I do however have a problem with attacking Leftists simply because we have a difference of opinion. It is shameful when they do it to us and even more so when we repay the favour.

I do not like seeing children throw tantrums yet I accept the fact that children will do so. But I am shocked and offended when adults do the same.

So I’m A Softie. You Got a Problem With That?

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I sit here with a mixture of glee and sadness in the wake of the MTV Music Video Awards. For those who bothered to watch, it was a real departure from the explicit language, partial-nudity and simulated sex-acts that have become a staple of MTV programming in recent years. That was the glee.

On the other hand, as a Conservative, I found it extremely distasteful and inappropriate that Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry, daughters of Presidential hopeful John Kerry, were wildly booed last night. To all of my Republican/conservative/libertarian friends out there, shame on you.

I find it unacceptable that we should ever sink to the low levels of decorum exhibited by the political Left. While I also found it inappropriate to have booed Hillary Clinton at a post-9/11 celebration in New York, that reception was at least understandable. Senator Clinton has made some rather inflammatory remarks about both the President and Republicans/Conservatives. It is therefore understandable that she would receive a rather cold welcome in response. But I have yet to hear of the Kerry daughters saying anything that would warrant such a reception. Are they not allowed to support their father? We generally consider Ron Reagan an embarrassment for his father so do we expect the Kerry daughters to be John Kerry’s “Ron Reagan?”

My friends, I am proud to see that Leftist celebrities and politicians are now being held accountable for the vilification of the Right. It gives me more joy than you could possibly imagine to see the likes of Linda Ronstadt and her ilk publicly shunned. But let’s keep in mind that in voicing our discontent we need not lose the moral high-ground.

To Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry, I apologize on behalf of the entire political Right.

News of the Wierd

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In my line of work, I am forced to read news reports form all over the world from various sources. So occasionally a story comes along that proves that evolution can sometimes work in reverse. I will henceforth call this section, NEWS OF THE WEIRD. I will make every effort to present these stories at least once each week. Please note that these are all legitimate news stories. The only thing I have added is of course my own commentary at the end of each.

No one ever said that learning about your world couldn’t be fun:
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Blazing Bunny Spreads Fire at Cricket Club
Sat Aug 14,12:30 PM ET LONDON (Reuters) - A rabbit set alight by a bonfire at a British cricket club got its revenge when it ran burning into a hut and set it ablaze destroying costly equipment, the club said on Friday.

Members of Devizes cricket club in Wiltshire, western England, were burning dead branches when a rabbit caught up in the waste sped burning from the flames spreading a fire which destroyed lawnmowers and tools worth $110,000. "

After it had been going 5 minutes, the rabbit shot out of the bonfire on fire and went into the hut which is our equipment store," club chairman John Bedbrook told Reuters.

Two fire engines were called to extinguish the blaze. The rabbit's skeleton was discovered in the charred hut.

"The firemen were certainly concerned about the rabbit. They felt sorry for it," said Bedbrook.

I’m sure that you're asking what I'm asking: why didn’t someone think to film this? – The Phillipian

Limbless Woman Sues Air France Over 'Torso' Snub
Mon Aug 16,10:00 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound woman with no limbs sued Air France for discrimination on Friday, alleging she was kept off a flight by a gate agent who told her a "torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

Adele Price, 42, a British citizen, sued the airline in Manhattan federal court seeking unspecified damages.

The suit states that she had bought a ticket in 2000 for travel between Manchester, England and New York. After Price had checked her luggage, she alleged that she was stopped by an Air France agent who told her that "a head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

I don’t know about you but I would love to have been present when they were having this discussion. I could be suing Air France for sudden loss of bladder control. I’m just guessing here that this Air France agent will not be nominated Humanitarian of the Year. – The Phillipian

Inmate Loses Court Bid to Grow Hair
Fri Aug 13, 8:51 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Californian prison officials can cut the hair of an inmate despite his objection that to do so would violate his Native American religious beliefs, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.

Philip Henderson had maintained that cutting his hair, except under extraordinary circumstances, would defile the creator.

But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals backed a lower court ruling that said the California Department of Corrections’ reasons for requiring short hair – such as making inmates easier to detect if they try to escape – were justified.

“We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment and its conclusion that the CDC’s hair length regulation is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests,” the three-judge panel ruled.

Now I know that I can be prone to a prepubescent sense of humour but, am I the only one who chuckled at upon reading, “penological interests?” – The Phillipian

Anarchists' Convention Debates Voting
Mon Aug 16, 7:46 AM ET ATHENS, Ohio - A group of anarchists is taking an unusual step to make its political voice heard — going to the polls.

Look, Socialists own and operate multi-bullion dolour corporations, animal rights activists wear leather shoes and jackets, and NOW vehemently defends male Democrats accused of sexual misconduct. So why cant the Anarchists vote in an election? Leftists are masters in the art of consistent inconsistency. – The Phillipian

The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Judge

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“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.” - Hannah Arendt

“The first casualty when the ethical core of society evaporates is freedom. Law (government) fills the void -- directing by threat of force those aspects of life that formerly were governed by our ethical standards.” - Lawrence Reed

“I think perhaps people in the universities have externalized the idea of vice and virtue. Instead of seeing vice and virtue as personal categories to be used by individuals to guide their own actions, vice and virtue have become exclusively political concepts. A bad person is someone who offends prevailing sensibilities.” - Dinesh D'Souza

Ok I have had it. I’ve tried desperately to refrain from bringing this up but I believe that the other side has so saturated the public mind with its morally bankrupt value system that most are now thoroughly convinced that people who think the way I do are the new Salem Witch Hunters. What has me so in a huff you ask? The PSA’s (Public Service Announcements), which admonish us not to judge others. While I find them all to be somewhat odious, this particular PSA was run immediately following a news story regarding the resignation of Governor James E. McGreevey.

This announcement has the actor saying, “unless you’re sitting on a bench and banging a gavel, you shouldn’t be judging anyone.” So we are now required to perform a morality lobotomy and turn over our common sense and sound judgment to a lawyer in a black robe? I want everyone to know here and now that I am extremely judgmental. I pass judgment on people, places and things. My judgments are based upon my personal experience, my knowledge of the world around me and a firm foundation of Judeo-Christian values. I submit to you that the problem in Western Culture is not the fact that we judge, rather that we have suspended any and all forms of reasonable judgment. We have completely abdicated our moral responsibility to distinguish right from wrong and good from bad. This is a prescription for Societal Insanity.

Persons charged with the commission of a violent crime may still claim in a court of law that he/she is "innocent by reason of insanity", temporary or otherwise. Insanity is determined by the inability of a defendant to distinguish right from wrong. How then, are we as a society to determine who among us is insane if we collectively allow ourselves to become devoid of our ability to judge.

Some people claim that Jesus proscribed judgment. This is total malarkey! What Jesus was warning his followers against was hypocrisy. He warned that we must be cautious in our judgment of others, as we will be held to the standards to which we hold others. This is exactly as it should be.

When we have completely lost, not just our ability, but more importantly our desire, to pass judgment we will have lost the moral foundation of our system of jurisprudence and that is but a short step away from the loss of civilization as we know it.

It never fails that whenever I attempt to see the inherent goodness of man, my vision is obscured by mankind.

Into The Fire: A Report From The Front Lines

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"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views." - William F. Buckley

Courtesy of the fine people over at Pop-Up USA, I had the esteemed pleasure of once again, presenting the conservative message to those who wander along Third-Street Promenade in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica (California), and what a fine cast of characters they are.

Pop-Up USA is a grass-roots organization unaffiliated with the official Republican Party however that has not stopped them from proudly displaying the Bush-Chaney 04 posters, much to the chagrin of a few Promenade regulars. The mere sight of a Bush-Cheney banner can cause convulsions of hatred to spew forth from the mouths of Leftists everywhere. I fully expected to see levitation and heads doing 360’s. Alas, what they lacked in visuals was made up for in vitriol.

The most interesting exchange of the day occurred when a woman describing herself as a Green Party candidate for Santa Monica City Council approached me asking why I “support someone like George Bush.” I asked that she explain what she meant by “someone like George Bush,” to which she answered, “Someone who lied to the American people, turned our long-time European allies against us, and has done everything he could to ruin our environment.” So there you have it. This is what substitutes for reasoned debate on the Left.

As for the “Bush lied” rhetoric, I have given-up explaining the obvious. I accept the fact that his is merely politico-speak brought to the fore by those who lack the intellectual acumen to engage in a civil manner. I place this on the level of resorting to vociferousness. Instead I thought there might be a chance at salvaging this discussion by concentrating on her other two points: Europe and the environment. I took great pleasure in explaining to her that the Left’s much-loved Europeans have always harbored a level of haughty contempt for Americans though they have historically held those on the political right to a particular level of disdain. She reluctantly agreed. Additionally, the Europeans understand that the only places where they still have power beyond their borders are the United Nations and NATO. Notwithstanding, it cannot be denied that much of the European hatred directed towards America in general, George Bush specifically, is driven by politics. They wear the mask of international mandates yet all one need do is reflect upon they deafening silence they exhibited when former President Bill Clinton bypassed the United Nations and NATO in his decision to intervene in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovinia. Even Howard Dean supported that one. President Bush is a Republican and is therefore the embodiment of all that they despise, namely, an unequivocal rejection of collectivism.

Before we could get to her issues regarding the environment, three women from the UK who apparently did not know that I was there in support of the Bush-Cheney ticket joined us. They allowed the older of the three to do their bidding and a fine job she did indeed. She was remarkably cordial. She stated that it was “sad that so many innocent Iraqis are dying but what else could we do?” Another of the three (I’m guessing her daughter) excitedly directed everyone’s attention to my Bush-Cheney 04 button and suddenly her entire demeanor changed (for the worse).

She now charged that George Bush not only lied to the American people, he actually assisted in planning the attacks on 9/11 so that he could get extra money for the CIA (I have to admit that I had not heard this one before). I asked if she thought George Bush was evil and to her credit she agreed emphatically, and proceeded to punctuate her position with the expression, “he is truly an evil and disgusting person.” Well, at least she still considers him a “person.” I’m guessing she was educated by DSK (Dean, Sharpton & Kenney, et. al.).

Not to be outdone, we were joined by my favourite Bush-hater of them all, Alexis. Now it is difficult to explain Alexis as one can only get a true sense of the man by actually meeting him. Alexis is French and comes complete with the expected mixture pomposity and arrogance and a cigarette to boot. Straight out of Central Casting. I know that may be all that need by said but allow me to add that Alexis gave new depth to rambling dissertations likely resulting from chemically induced paranoia.

Due to these constant interruptions, I was never able to get to the essence of my Green friend’s environmental concerns, however, she managed to sink to the level of her comrades by declaring that I was a “token of the Republican Party.” I asked if she meant that I was in a sense a mind-numbed robot directed by the Republican Party. “Of course,” she said. I inquired further, “do you believe that black people are incapable of seeing and making connections regarding social and economic issues? Perhaps we are too stupid to draw our own conclusions and would not know what to think were it not for the Democrats and Republicans?” “It appears so,” was her answer. What more can I say?

Well my friends, I dove into the fire of the intellectually bankrupt and all things considered, I’m a happier man for it.

Our opponents on the left are dedicated to one thing: the defeat of George W. Bush. Such single-focus fanaticism rarely proves successful. That, however, is no reason to become complacent. We have an uphill battle on our hands and while I believe that we will prevail, we cannot back away from the fight. This is why grass-root organizations like PopUp USA are so valuable.

A Lesson In Civics

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Nat Hentoff, a noted expert on The First Amendment, has, in his latest article entitled Valedictorian of the Year, committed the same error that nearly all civil libertarians commit when addressing the issue of Freedom of Speech/Expression. By defending Tiffany Schley’s right to free speech, Mr. Hentoff completely ignores her duty to accept responsibility for the choice she made.

Tiffany Schley, is the valedictorian of the High School of Legal Studies in Brooklyn. In this capacity she naturally had the privilege of addressing the graduating class at its public ceremony. The word privilege is very important here. The school took steps to insure that her address would be appropriate for the event and apparently there was no issue as to the school’s actions up to this point. However, Tiffany proceeded to give the address she originally penned which was a litany of attacks, legitimate though they may be, on the school’s administration and faculty. An assistant principal cut the microphone on her speech.

Now Mr. Hentoff argues that this is evidence that “the nation's public school students are learning far less about what used to be called civics.” No Mr. Hentoff, students are learning far less about what used to be called civility. Tiffany may have been correct in what she said however the focus should not be on whether she could but whether she should. The mere fact that one has a right to make certain utterances or engage in certain acts does not mean that same are appropriate in every venue. If this young lady wanted to state her issues in the school paper, I would be solidly in her corner were the school to attempt to censure her. However, she chose a venue that was intended to commemorate her and her classmates’ achievements and turned it into her own political soapbox. Talk about narcissism. Perhaps she might benefit from The Death of Right and Wrong (©2003 by Tammy Bruce / Three Rivers Press).

Mr Hentoff, and other civil libertarians, do a grave disservice to our nations’ core principals of free speech when they use it to defend the indefensible. In fact, I can usually gauge how indefensible a position is by the fact that the only argument in favour of it is “I have a right to say it.”

I am not questioning her legal right. I am only questioning the moral and ethical foundations, which guide it. Tiffany Schley knowingly and willfully engaged in an act of civil disobedience. Fine. But she should be made to understand that such a choice carries with it certain responsibilities and a certain level of personal accountability. This would be an appropriate lesson in civics Mr. Hentoff.