Thinking About Capitalism

Sometimes one actually thinks, I know that is a surprise. This quote from Charles Smith's blog led me to think. 

There are two real-time examples of these dynamics we can profitably study: "capitalist" Greece and "socialist" Venezuela. Both nations have impoverished their citizenry to preserve an oligarchy and its cronies.

I hope it won't be too great a shock that crony-capitalism and crony-socialism function in much the same fashion and generate the same result: the wealth of the nation is funneled (or expropriated) into the ruling Elites, impoverishing the non-elites.

But the meme is socialism bad, capitalism good, and the proof is Venezuela. Nah, not so much. Something is going to have to be done about the huge debt of the Western World. Greece is a good example of that debt. Almost no one is talking about this. They will, soon. 

McCain Commits a Felony.

While there has never been a conviction on the Logan Act, McCain is in violation of it here. It has been the law of the land for over 200 years. 

§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

1 Stat. 613, January 30, 1799, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 953 (2004).  

I wish to apologize once again for voting for McCain in 2008.

Who is Putin

I think that there are a few errors, but a good presentation. 

Trump Vs. The Democrats

Here is a video representation of Trumpson's fighting the Democrats with his bare hands. Notice how Deliacan conservatives watch in admiration. Later of course they will betray Trumpson and remove his toupee. 

Why Trump Will Lose: The Media

If Trump has an unsuccessful presidency, the media will have a lot to do with it. Here is how one media organization plans to cover the Trump Presidency:

The first 12 days of the Trump presidency (yes, that’s all it’s been!) have been memorable for all – and especially challenging for us in the news business. It’s not every day that a U.S. president calls journalists “among the most dishonest human beings on earth” or that his chief strategist dubs the media “the opposition party.” It’s hardly surprising that the air is thick with questions and theories about how to cover the new Administration.

…

To state the obvious, Reuters is a global news organization that reports independently and fairly in more than 100 countries, including many in which the media is unwelcome and frequently under attack. I am perpetually proud of our work in places such as Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, and Russia, nations in which we sometimes encounter some combination of censorship, legal prosecution, visa denials, and even physical threats to our journalists.  

In other words, Trump will oversee some sort of bizarre censorship of the press. Is there any evidence of this? 

No, not really. Here is the extent of Trump’s anti-media plans: 

The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively freezing out the network from on-air administration voices.

“We’re sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda,” said a White House official, acknowledging that CNN is not such a place, but adding that the ban is not permanent.The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively freezing out the network from on-air administration voices. 

That is it. They are still allowing CNN to ask questions at White House Press conferences. 

Why then is this an example of losing? 

I do not see how Trump can go against the entire media. That includes Fox which is not in favor of Trump except for Hannity. But clearly CNN did support Clinton, there was no real attempt to hide it. But pro-Trump people will still be selected as this gives a pretense of objectivity. But instead of Trump selecting the best surrogates, CNN will select the worst surrogates. This is not a good move on Trump’s part. There are still a number of voters who are influenced by media’s last gasps before it dies. Of course Trump’s people could be saying this, but actually not do it. In corporate media, Trump will have an uphill battle.