Republican Treason

As the clock marches on, it has become increasingly clear that the Republicans are hell-bent on using the debt ceiling as a means to push their fiscal and political program on the United States. Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has admitted as much of the Republican refusal to play along, stating that "It's a political strategy-it's not a policy strategy."

My Gut Reaction: People willing to play politics with our economic well-being are no better than traitors.

Analysis: The effects of a failure to raise the debt ceiling could be catastrophic. As a recent story by NPR reports, one of the immediate effects would be an inability for the government to pay out Social Security, as the federal government would only collect $12 billion in taxes while needing to pay out $23 billion. That's not getting into other issues such as paying the military and federal employees.

Some are trying to tell us that it would not be so bad. For example, Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine raises the point that the August 2nd deadline is at least somewhat arbitrary, as it is difficult to measure the full amount of borrowing taking place. He also suggests that it is unlikely the United States would actually default on its debt, as the amount of money the federal government takes in well surpasses its annual debt payments. However, that assertion fails to explain the recent announcement by Moody's that it is considering downgrading the United States's credit rating.

Luckily, not all of the Republican Party has gone insane. Senator Mitch McConnell has recommended a "Plan B" whereby the President would be able to raise the debt ceiling subject only to a veto-proof vote by Congress. This has enraged Congressional Republicans, but stems more from Sen. McConnell's political savvy than any real patriotism on his part. He is on record warning that failure to raise the debt ceiling would leave Republicans vulnerable to being held responsible for ensuing economic woes. Yeah, plunging your country into economic chaos tends to hurt your poll numbers.

The Dumbest Generation?

A new video on the Reason.tv website discusses the lack of wide-ranging knowledge among many young people today, and speculates on the causes of this lack. Author Mark Bauerlein suggests that this may be a result of the rise of digitized media. Although he may have a point, it is worth noting that, as the interviewer, Nick Gillespie, the Internet may have opened up opportunities for the enterprising young person to enrich their minds. Watch the video and see what you think.

A Humorous Quote on Humor

"A weak thinker fears strong images."

Jack Shafer in a recent Slate Press Box column about the New Yorker cartoon.

Reason's Hit and Run blog has a new post about the Washington Post's recent censoring of a column satirizing drunk driving. It's amazing how uptight we are becoming in some respects in this society.

Strip Search at School

A young female student at a Middle School was recently strip searched by school faculty because another student wrongly accused her of supplying him with drugs. Reason Magazine's Hit and Run blog has the scoop.

The Ninth Circuit Court is claiming that this is not a violation of Fourth Amendment rights, even though they didn't even bother informing the parents. If there were any real sense in the justice system, the school staff who performed the seach would be registering under Megan's Law.

Philadelphia Ron Paul Rally

I know this is a century in blogging terms, but this previous Saturday, I attended a rally for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul at Independence Mall in Philadelphia. It was a very exciting and thought-provoking experience.

According to some estimates, roughly 4,000 people attended the rally. I was lucky enough to get a pretty good seat. A lot of the people ended up standing. (Initially the seats were reserved for veterans, but apparently too few veterans showed up to justify it.)

If nothing else, Ron Paul attracts a diverse crowd. The supporters ranged from working class, dyed in the wool libertarians to punk anti-war types with five piercings. There was one African-American woman dressed up as the Statue of Liberty (She's in the second photo down on the latter link). You don't see many candidates who can attract a crowd like that.

Of course, I don't agree with every position Ron Paul has taken. That made this whole thing a rather interesting study in group think. I ended up cheering for things I didn't really believe in, such as withdrawing from the UN and an end to gun control. It was like the force of the crowd just swept me up. I just wanted to fit in.

I will leave you with some footage of the rally,just click here and here.

Pakistan Moves One Inch Closer to Utter Chaos

Well, Benazir Bhutto, the corrupt politician who is currently Pakistan's best hope for democracy (God, or Allah, help the Pakistanis!), is now under house arrest by the Musharref government. Is any one in doubt that Pakistan is going to hell in a handbag. They've locked up the woman who represents the road to elections, and she's a damn rocky road at that.

For more info, see the post at the Reason blog by Nick Gillespie, including my comments under MPG.

Reflections on a Lockdown

In the few days that have passed since the lockdown at La Salle University, I have been thinking a bit about the whole issue of fear and safety in modern society, and the need to strike a balance between prudence and living in a state of total panic.

Too much nowadays, we seem to go constantly from one type of crisis to another, with little respite or sense of proportion. We are panicking about toys from China, school shootings, MRSA, and Iran, all at the same time. Far from being the utopia predicted by futurists, the twenty-first century has been in a continual state of mass hysteria.

This naturally has provoked a backlash in at least some quarters. Libertarians, such as the publishers of Reason magazine, feel that our state of panic has produced too much regulation, unduly limiting human freedom. They have a point in some respects, such as drug laws; however, they often take it too far, rebelling against event prudent measures such as limited gun control.

In the end, the problem is largely traceable to mass media. Our modern communications infrastructure and twenty-four hour news networks do alert us to major problems, such as overseas events. However,they also create a heightened sense of fear by hyping every new threat that appears, leading to overreactions such as La Salle's.