Are You Obsolete?

Or is the State Obsolete? 

Power and Terror

While this not a particularly well done documentary, it is an interesting watch because of the subject matter. While Chomsky would disagree with my characterization, what Chomsky is talking about is Babylon. Come out of her while you can.

Why Are We Surprised?

One of my favorite scenes in Star Wars is where Obi Wan uses his "Jedi mind tricks" to con  a weak-minded Imperial Trooper that "these are not the droids you are looking for." I am reminded of this scene by the recent disclosures of massive government surveillance on everybody.  

 
"Nothing to see here. Move along." 

 
It does not matter for whom you voted--someone surnamed Bush or Clinton (blessed be her name) or a half-African citizen of Indonesia (Obama was born in America and is not a Muslim, but he was an Indonesian citizen in his youth). My point here is that someone profoundly "different" like Obama still oversees such surveillance. The surveillance will continue--think J. Edgar Hoover. The story may be apocryphal, but one District Attorney bragged that he could go in front of a Grand Jury and get a ham sandwich indicted.  In the same way the government nakedness will be covered in the future by assembly line fig leaves called warrants even under a President Rand Paul. 

If you want more details about the long-standing nature of such surveillance read Karl Denninger's blog post. 

So there really is nothing to see here, politics is a waste of time, you might as well move along to something of more lasting importance ...

How 'bout them Cowboys?

Deregulation Didn't Work

I risk losing whatever libertarian "creds" I have left by stating the obvious. Deregulation did not work. I suppose I could cover my metaphoric libertarian nakedness by saying that no true deregulation occurred.  While this is true, just try to open a business in California where I live. In some areas the cost of starting a business is so high that profits are unlikely. But that does not explain why deregulation did not work anywhere. 

This argument also risks committing the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.  

The use of the term was advanced by British philosopher Antony Flew:

Imagine Hamish McDonald, a Scotsman, sitting down with his Glasgow Morning Herald and seeing an article about how the "Brighton Sex Maniac Strikes Again". Hamish is shocked and declares that "No Scotsman would do such a thing". The next day he sits down to read his Glasgow Morning Herald again; and, this time, finds an article about anAberdeen man whose brutal actions make the Brighton sex maniac seem almost gentlemanly. This fact shows that Hamish was wrong in his opinion but is he going to admit this? Not likely. This time he says, " No true Scotsman would do such a thing".^[2]

When the statement "all A are B" is qualified like this to exclude those A which are not B, this is a form of begging the question; the conclusion is assumed by the definition of "true A".

It is better to admit your theory is faulty than to develop ever more elaborate excuses. If a template, as I call it here on the blog, fails, then discard it. This reminds me of the astronomic theory that the earth was the center of the solar system with everything revolving around it. As telescopes and observation occurred more and more adjustments had to be made, but the theory remained the template. The adjustments involved the planetary bodies revolving in circles around circles, which revolved around circles. It did not work.

Deregulation did not work either. 

My own theory as to why it did not work involves the evils of centralization. Centralized economies, even capitalistic ones, do not work as well as theory says they should.  When I look at the systems God set up for his people Israel and his people the church they were not centralized. Why should I be surprised that God is not a fan of the centralized system that is our modern Babylon. 

I do have an interesting audio interview from former assistant secretary of the treasury under Reagan-Paul Craig Roberts. He has been going through the same process I have talked about today. Deregulation, as implemented by one of its original champions, the same Paul Craig Roberts, does not work. Robert's recognition of this is the heart of the interview.

Do Not Talk to the FBI

If you talk to the FBI, you set yourself up for disaster. Do not think this is a modern problem, remember J. Edgar Hoover.