Thursday, January 22, 2009
Best Wishes?
There seems to be a split among conservative and libertarian writers as to whether they want Obama to succeed (with many of them publicly saying they do). I think it's a more nuanced issue -- I wish him success in protecting the nation's security, winning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ending the recession and protecting people from violent and financial crimes that cross state borders. I want him to fail on every other public policy issue.
Labels:
Conservative,
Libertarian,
Obama,
politics
JMK was wrong
This is the best explanation I've seen as to why Obama's apparent Keynesian assumptions about government spending as economic stimulus are wrong.
Labels:
John Maynard Keynes,
Obama,
Stimulus
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inaugural Address
I thought Obama's inaugural address was OK but not quite as good as I expected. I don't like his politics, but there is no doubt -- the man can give a good speech; so I expected something better. The media wing of the Democratic party are always fawning over JFK's inaugural address, but if you want to hear a really good one, check this out:
The Inauguration
I worked from home today, having long ago conceded that I would not be able to make it to my office and back home given all of the road closings for the inauguration. I stopped working long enough to watch the (botched) swearing-in ceremony and Obama's inaugural address. I don't share the politics of many of the folks who stood in the cold to see the inauguration, but I was touched by the scenes of older African-Americans who never thought they would see a black president. We really do live in a great country.
Thank you
George Bush and Dick Cheney have with nearly unbelievable grace accepted more harsh criticism than any one else I can recall. Although I haven't always agreed with them, I am most thankful that they managed to keep us safe for seven years straight. In fact, they did such a good job that today's inauguration ceremony -- most certainly the biggest, ripest target for a terrorist attack in modern American history went off without even a credible threat, much less a real attack. I was working in DC on September 11 and remember seeing the smoke rising from the Pentagon as I watched through a conference room window. I would not have believed that we would be protected from another attack for so long.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Party like it's 2009
I'm all for having our nation's capital loosen its regulatory grip on its citizens and businesses, but extending the hours of bars in D.C. during the days surrounding Obama's annointment seems passing strange. The city is expecting up to 4 million visitors for the inauguration (more than 6x D.C.'s population). Having a bunch of drunks entering the streets just before rush hour seems pretty dumb if you ask me.
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