Maggie's Farm

Terry Eastland in Weekly Standard:

What might be called the unlimiting of the national government began to take place during the New Deal, when the Supreme Court understood congressional authority to be so capacious as to leave little that Washington could not regulate. Congress largely accepted the Court’s jurisprudence and extended its legislative reach, losing sight of the core purposes of government and building our big and costly welfare state.

Via Steven Taylor's post, When Heroin was Legal.

If you don't mainline it, and when it's legal and cheaply available, it doesn't seem so terrible from a societal standpoint. Why should I care if you want to live on a cloud? No skin off my back. 

Doctors and druggists especially seemed to enjoy it in the old days. It reminds me of how much Freud enjoyed his recreational cocaine (as did Sherlock Holmes), Dr. Leary his LSD, and Coleridge his opium.

All prohibition does is to raise the prices and to raise the societal cost. My view is to let every person struggle with his own soul and destiny.

Government loves power and money - the more the better. Business loves to stifle competition, and is happy to use government as an ally when it suits them.

From de Rugy at The Corner, Businesses Don’t Like Competition

We linked to David Brooks' confusing column this morning. Jennifer Rubin responds to it, in the WaPo. One quote:

It is noteworthy that the policy preferences that Brooks attributes (correctly) to Republicans all have to do with shifting money and control away from the public to the private sector ("a flatter, simpler tax code with lower corporate rates, a smaller debt burden, predictable regulations, affordable entitlements"), not simply redirecting the trillions that we already spend. Republicans' formula for arousing energy, spurring social mobility and helping people to transform their lives is to limit the size of government and allow the public sector (with the benefits of sound money, predictable regulation, a reliable legal system and low taxes) to flourish; Democrats don't buy that.

The reason the parties fight about the size of government is because it matters so much. It would be nice to imagine we can avoid that fight, but ignoring the growth of government is precisely what has landed us in the current predicament.

Via Mankiw, from Tierney: Economic Optimism? Yes, I’ll Take That Bet. A quote:

You can always make news with doomsday predictions, but you can usually make money betting against them.

At Powerline, Europe's Doomed Generation. 

Educated, over-credentialed, and entitled. Sounds familiar, and it is not a good thing. I wish I had a solution to propose, but I don't. Perhaps many people will need to be inventive and create their own work.

He sounds like our own Bruce Kesler when he says:

That is what happens when government inserts itself into every employment decision and when labor unions are given quasi-official powers and status. The result is economic disaster, a disaster first suffered by the young. What has happened in Europe, especially Southern Europe, is a flashing red alert, warning the United States not to follow the same path of government interventionism and union empowerment. Yet that is exactly the direction in which the Obama administration is trying to take us. It is deeply ironic that Obama came to office in part because of support from young voters who are too ill-informed to see the effects that his policies, if implemented, would have on them.

Last I heard, there is still a debate about whether Broccoli is good for you, or whether it is a cancer risk.

At Pajamas, Can Congress Make You Buy Broccoli?

I am not from the government, but I advise you to enjoy your champagne, and to have a happy and prosperous 2011 despite all the Lefty nonsense we all have to put up with.

Via Bernard Goldberg's Trials and Errors:

Radio talk show host Dennis Prager posed the following question: What’s the difference between the voters in California and the passengers on the Titanic? The obvious answer was that the poor souls on the doomed ship didn’t vote to hit the iceberg.

A quote from the piece at The Pope Center:

By the mid-1980s engineering and science curricula began their sea-change. Programs were “softened” in order to admit minorities and women. “Outreach” efforts were begun. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs were funded to entice women, inner-city blacks and other minorities into disciplines like engineering and physics. Grant applications (to the National Science Foundation, for example) that once dealt only with engineering now had to address social concerns, outreach to minorities and women, and other issues with which engineers were wholly unfamiliar. Current NSF proposals require a minimum of 2 pages out of 15 on the integration of education, outreach, and enhancement of diversity under subheadings such as “Focused Diversity,” “Underprivileged Student Participation,” and “Participation of Women and Minorities.” That leaves at most 13 pages for the scientific content.

I always thought America was about some sort of social equality where all had equal rights and human dignity. Equality of wealth and income is another whole kettle of fish. A good piece by Kaus in Newsweek: 

In the NY Post: Deep in the heart of taxes -Why I won't move to New York. He begins:

Like lots of media professionals (and fashion mavens, artists, musicians, et al.), I’ve penciled out the numbers for what it would mean to take a job in New York City. There’s barely enough room on the back of the envelope for subtracting the double-dose income tax hit from the city and state, and that’s before even adjusting for cost of living.

That’s one of the reasons I’m in Dallas. You know, Texas, the state that parlayed this year’s census data into four new House seats — pinching the two lost by the Empire State — because people actually want to live here.

Lots of Texas professionals love New York this way: fly in for $200 round trip, suck down the city’s beefy marrow of culture for a weekend and jet back to live cheap and pay no income tax. It’s all the pleasure and we keep our treasure.

At City Journal, Cities from Scratch - A new path for development. A quote:

During the twenty-first century, more urbanization will take place than during all of human history. Both the global population and the fraction of it living in cities will reach their peaks, as 3 billion to 5 billion people join the 3 billion who already call cities home. That staggering urban growth will be strongest in the developing world. If the existing cities there simply grow by accretion, many people will end up in dangerous slums.

Tonight with NYC finance genius and present-wrapping daughter, and the Judds' Christmas record on the record player. Yes, the record player. A fine, if old, Denon. I have tons of favorites still on vinyl, including around 40 operas and most of my favorite Christmas records, now unavailable on CD.

Candlelight service later - after cocktail hour.

Just had to say that Rush is so kind and good and understanding with his Lib callers. He has a bigger heart than any angry or chronically-depressed Lib, and is full of encouragement for those who want to do things in life instead of sitting on their butts with excuses and complaints, on ye olde pity pot. He is positive and cheerful, the way proud, free Americans, with their heritage of amazing opportunity, ought to be. 

He's on 770 on AM radio up here. He is a genius at handling hostile calls with grace, good humor, and even affection. He needs more of those callers. (Call me a fool, but I am wrapping and listening, like the ignorant clinger that I am, and preparing for cocktail hour. Christmas music then.)

A Merry Christmas to good old Rush! He keeps me amused and encouraged whenever I need it.

Slow-Growing Population? Great!

I agree! There's no shortage of people in this world, and far too many control freaks, nuts, slimeballs, and idiots.

It's money. At The American. One quote:

In the eminent domain context, the problem is that landowners are not being paid enough. The standard of “just compensation” is usually interpreted as the market value of the property as determined by dueling appraisers. This standard can be unfair, as Loyola Law School Professor Gideon Kanner has long argued. It skimps on costs of relocation and upset, and excludes consideration of damage to businesses, which can considerably outweigh the value of the real estate. Tenants, especially businesses, are often seriously short-changed.

Pay them the real value. Makes sense to me.

Justice. This via TigerHawk:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to briefly thank a few people individually for all of their hard work--and I couldn't think of a better place to do so than here (my very own Facebook Page, crazy)!

Governor Christie, thank you. Seriously. I understand the risk you assume while making any decision that affects the People of New Jersey and that this was no trivial decision for you. In the days and years that will come to pass I am positive you will find yourself proud of your decision... and if you heard that quote about me running against you for President; I was just kidding. :)

Dennis Malloy, thank you. You've helped deliver an amazing gift this Christmas for a very loving and deserving family. I wouldn't be typing these words right now if it wasn't for you.

Richard Gilbert & Evan Nappen, thank you. You've been amazing counsel through this all and I'm proud to have you represent me in this case.

To the 15,000+ Facebook supporters, thank you. To each and every person who wrote the Governor, thank you. To each and every person who wrote to me and sent me hope... thank you.

To the Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines who wrote me from overseas - thank you for your kind words and your dedication to our country. The work you do amasses a debt that can never be repaid and I am humbled that you supported me from bases and War Zones around the globe. Thank you.

Lastly, thank you to my family, friends and beautiful fiancee. I'm lucky to have you all in my life.

There is a great deal of work yet to be done but, in the meantime, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

My very best,

Brian D. Aitken

Gov. Awesome does it again.

From the Pope Center's Studying or Partying? The Five-Year Party identifies a problem with college, but gets a barely passing grade:

The reward for students being good clients and paying ever-increasing amounts of tuition dollars and other fees is a diploma.  However, because they have not received a real education, their diplomas are almost worthless, and they cannot obtain decent jobs with them. Although most schools imply that graduating from them will put the student on the path to a good career, the truth is that many have barely advanced past their high school knowledge and will find employment in jobs like theater usher and coffee barista.

Readers know that I am in favor of raising the bar for HS and college graduation. Over time, these things mean less and less. A HS degree should mean, at minimum, that you can write a personal essay, a researched essay, know what PV=nRT means,  and perform Trigonometry. A college degree should mean, at minimum, that you can write a scholarly paper, do Calc, and speak intelligently about Kierkegaard and the Bible.

Small business owners use home equity as a support for their businesses:

Given the evidence that small business owners use home equity as a source of financing for their businesses, one would expect the recent decline in home prices to have adversely affected small business borrowing.

I wonder how many small business owners have maxed out, or over-maxed, their equity credit lines. I know one small contractor who has.

Vedder: What Happens When College Is Oversold. One quote:

...the move to get more college degrees creates a huge problem. The number going to college exceeds the number capable of mastering higher levels of intellectual inquiry. This leads colleges to alter their mission, watering down the intellectual content of what they do. Rather than studying advanced mathematics, physics or --as I did-- 18th century French literature in the native language, more students are studying business administration, communication skills, and doing vocational-school type work on the intricacies of health care provision or administration. Instead of five or 10 percent of students getting "A" grades, we give 40 percent or more. We have created a Potemkin Village -a few truly good universities that come close to meeting the former academic standards, but a vaster melange of institutions that are often neither "higher" nor even "education" in the classical sense, particularly since the typical student spends less than 30 hours a week on academics. Bottom line: too many people go to college.

Psychological "study shows" hypersensitive nuts are affected by Christmas trees. I accept that the themes of peace, joy, love, and giving to others may be tough for the diversity crowd which is drowning in angst and preoccupied with what they can get, but in an 80-90% Christian country, you ought to get used to a tannenbaum here and there. And after all, that tree is pagan anyway. German earth goddess or something.

What is it about Psychologists that they are always agonizing about the hypersensitive? Isn't their job to help people feel stronger, not more pathetic, victimized, and aggrieved?

And hey - where's all the Kwanzaa stuff this year? Perhaps the Kwanzaa cult quit their "ancient and beloved tradition" for diversity reasons, so others might not be "offended." I miss those 12 days of Socialism.

I can handle 12 days of it, but not years of it. If you give me years of it, I will quit working and let the Socialist suckers pay my bills. If they have jobs, that is.