The Pledge Drive Continues; Liberal Imperialism; hiking with hearing aids.

View 810 Wednesday, February 12, 2014

 

“Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.”

President Barack Obama, January 31, 2009

 

If a foreign government had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightly consider it an act of war.

Glenn T. Seaborg, National Commission on Education, 1983

 

Christians to Beirut. Alawites to the grave.

Syrian Freedom Fighters

The pledge drive continues. I want to thank the new subscribers, and those who have renewed, during this week. After this week is over, I won’t be haranguing you over money for a while, but I do need a few more subscriptions and renewals. I time these pledge drives to coincide with the KUSC pledge weeks: KUSC is the Los Angeles Classical Music station, Public Radio: you can listen without subscribing but it will go away if not enough do send money. They need a lot more money than me, of course, since they have staff and equipment to buy (USC pays about 20% of their annual costs, which covers the studios and some insurance policies). In my case I have no corporate sponsor and I don’t do advertisements. Since we started this place we have one way or another found enough subscribers to keep it going. I thank you all for that.

So if you have not renewed in a while, this would be a good time to do that, and if you have not subscribed at all, this would be a splendid time to do that. You can find out more by going to Paying for this Place http://www.jerrypournelle.com/paying.html

I have been collecting mail on the question about modern physics and Hawking’s uncertainties about event horizons, and it’s quite good: good enough that it deserves more time than I have to give it tonight. We will have that shortly.

I have mixed emotions about the Republicans raising the debt ceiling with a “clean bill” that allows the President to do pretty well as he wills with the newly borrowed money. Since the President and the Senate would have stonewalled and conceded nothing – note that the President shut down the government rather than delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act, even though a few weeks later he himself suspended implementation of many of its provisions. That got everyone’s attention, and the assessment of the Republican Leadership was that there was nothing to gain from another government shutdown. The Debt Ceiling is now off the table until after the November by-election. Whether this was a good strategy is an open question, but it is hardly worth debating now: it is done, as the Senate very quickly passed the House bill and sent it to the President. Note that more Democrats voted for the Bill than Republicans in the House.

The United States operates on borrowed money, which is not necessarily disastrous; the trouble comes if what is done with the borrowed money does not contribute to the recovery. What this will do is allow more regulations and taxes of the industrious, and more subsidies for the unproductive. If you want more of something, subsidize it: if you want more people to be unemployed, pay them to be unemployed. And if you want less production, lay more burdens on the productive.

As I have said often enough, if you want an economic miracle in the United States, exempt all businesses with fewer than 20 employees from all Federal regulations, minimum wages, compulsory benefits, and all the rest. Leave health and safety to the States, and get the feds out of people way. You would see a great many small enterprises with 19 employees spring up, and it would do wonders for the economy. Or so I would bet.

‘Are we all liberal imperialists now?’

Other than the blithe dismissal of Obama’s kowtowing personal behavior towards various foreign leaders, this article nails it:

<http://server1.nationalinterest.org/commentary/obamas-liberal-imperialism-9861?page=show>

——

Roland Dobbins

Actually that link leads to an interesting discussion of the law suit Mann is bringing against National Review regarding climate change. It is interesting. At least that is where that link led me; the true link to the Mann law suit over climate change is http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/02/12/mann_vs_steyn_the_trial_of_the_century__121528.html

The link to liberal imperialism is http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/obamas-liberal-imperialism-9861 . It is worth your attention and it is worth far more discussion than I can give it tonight. It asks the fundamental question of what is the role of the United States? We have discussed that here in the past and will again. And for a discussion of military ethics http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-us-militarys-ethics-crisis-9872 . Note that I am not endorsing these views, but I think those interested in the matter should be familiar with them. National Interest was for many years the voice of reasoned neo-conservatism. It was founded by Irving Krystal who paid attention to its editorial policies until he died. Since that time it has shifted in focus a bit, but it does stand for realism in foreign policy.

Having gone up the hill yesterday I have spent the day sort of recovering: I mean that in a “good way”. I am determined to continue to climb that hill at least once a week and if possible twice. I used to go up there every day.

sound while walking

Dr. Pournelle,

From your 12 Feb View, you described your walk and conversation, I was wondering how the hearing aids worked out for you. You’d reported on other conversations, seemingly mostly indoors, and this may have been your first exposure to nature sounds since getting them.

I’m still a little ways away from getting hearing support myself, but I’ve several relatives who are using, or are needing to use them.

Thanks,

-d

For the first time in a long time I was able to hear all the birds on the hill, and to make sense of the conversations going on around me. I would guess that I have not had hearing this good since 1950. I am still taking notes for reprogramming the devices to notch filter certain frequencies, so I expect an improvement, but if there is never any improvement I would still consider my investment in the COSTCO hearing aids – their house brand, the lowest cost, about $2000 – as good an investment as I have made in many years.

 

I will mention this again, because it is important, but for those interested in the sciences and science management, this is an important essay: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/09/how-journals-nature-science-cell-damage-science?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.