There's Irony . . . and Then There's Irony

john galt, irony, libertarian, socialism, stupid,
In the category of "it's so ironic I can hardly see it through the glare of irony" we have Working to Hard to Go John Galt This Week.

Is there such a thing as a Randian Poe?

A lot of those who value political liberty in the U.S. are devout Christians. wait, is trying to create a theocracy political liberty? i'm confused. I’m an atheist myself aren't we all?(I wouldn’t classify anyone as an objectivist who wasn’t i think there may be something wrong with that statement), but a large majority of the best people I know on a personal level (as well as the people I most admire in history) are people of faith fair enough, and the large majority of them are Christians we do live in the US. As a homeschooler in New Jersey, I feel particularly indebted to the Christian families who did (and continue to do) the yeoman’s work in making and keeping homeschooling a viable educational option for my family, even if some of their motives for doing so are not the same as mine. some of their motives? how about all their motives? how about motives like "i never want my children to even be in the same room as a gay person, let alone be taught that gay people are human"? some! And in this fight in particular, I’m proud to stand with anyone who recognizes my right to be free, even if they may disagree with my personal plans for my freedom, or with my reasons for valuing it. strange bedfellows indeed, mr. galt. In short, nothing would make me happier than for people of all faiths and of no faith to win the fight for liberty so we can be free to be bitter enemies once again, our common foes having been vanquished . rather the problem with strange bedfellows, to be sure. "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is not supposed to be a life philosophy. I’m not diminishing the significance of our differences, they're HUGE! they hate you. they think you want to rape children! really, really big differences but neither should the strength we can derive from our common values be diminished. until you win your little war and fall to squabbling with one another.

I’ve made this point before, but I think it bears re-emphasizing as it might not be obvious to someone unfamiliar with this site: I really, really don’t want to ever actually have to go “John Galt”. if you go john galt, do you stop writing drivel like this? if so, i'm all about you going john galt. Now I still feel quite certain that the only way to avoid having to do so is to show that you actually are willing to. ummm . . . you cannot possible display that you are willing to do something without actually doing it. "i will pull this trigger. i will. i'll do it . . . maybe. someday. if you shoot me one more time, i'll do it!" But there’s more that can be done too, and that’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. about how to go galt without actually going galt? And it has to do with recognizing an important fact about the conflict between your average producer and your average functionally anti-freedom person i think that's me.: neither one has their heart in this fight the way their opponent fears they do. The producer is not pro-freedom because they desire to see widows and orphans starving does it matter what your motives are if children starve? hey, sorry you're homeless and starving, but my motives are pure- don't you feel better now?, and the person who thinks that freedom is undesirable just for the record, i do not find freedom undesireable does so out of a miscalculation about both the impracticality of freedom and the efficacy of force as a necessary evil who is he talking about?, not because they desire to see productivity punished. There are exceptions to this characterization on both sides, but they constitute a minority small enough to be ignored when considering the forces that shape society. More to come eventually. let's hope so.

Stimulus Package- How Spending Works

economy, depression, recession, stimulus, economic, conservative, liberal, acorn, national, mall, nea, john galt, libertarian

Okay, so I'm not an economist, and if you are, feel free to correct/educate me. (No, really, I learn a lot from people who take the time to correct me in my comments. It's pretty cool.)

First of all, Democrats are pushing spending as a way to help the economy, and Republicans are pushing tax cuts. Ideologically, this pretty much defines Democrats and Republicans. Here's the thing: both spending and tax cuts do stimulate an economy, the questions is how much and how quickly. For every dollar of spending, you get a $1.50 of stimulus, and it's quick. (Think about it: if Jack isn't working, he isn't paying bills or buying food or renting movies. Give Jack a job, and that's exactly what he'll do.) For every dollar of tax cuts, on the other hand, you get $0.75 of stimulus. Why? Anyone affected by a tax cut already has a job. They're already paying bills and buying food and renting movies. Give them a tax cut, and they might spend more, but maybe not. They might just put more money in their 401k, which doesn't help the economy right now.

So, let's take a look at the evul librul stimulus package, shall we?

$2.4 billion carbon capture products... that's clean coal technology ( i had to look it up.). That $2.4 billion will give people jobs: jobs in development, jobs in actually building the products, jobs in transporting the products, jobs in advertising the products. Jobs are good! (And a cleaner environment doesn't hurt, either. Please don't excoriate me on whether or not clean coal actually works, I don't know. Feel free to educate me, just don't yell.)

$4.19 billion for ACORN and other bogus "community organizing" groups... Yes, I know, the barely there scandal with ACORN. What does ACORN do, anyway? Well, for one thing, THEY EMPLOY PEOPLE. Again, jobs are good. ACORN employees help poor people, which is good, too. (I think that's what sets the bigotsphere off. How dare they help poor people! We all know poor people are immoral and lazy and promiscuous. How do you think they got poor in the first place?) They help with housing, they fight to end predatory lending, they're helping with the Gulf recovery, they help poor children get good educations, they fight for paid sick days and a living wage . . . ACORN is Teh Evul!

$650 million digital tv conversion... I don't really understand the whole conversion thing, but I'm guessing somebody will get a job out of this.

$79 billion to bail out the state education system...god knows we wouldn't want somebody teaching evilution or gay sex to 4 year olds!

Hundreds of millions for family planning...what, no number? damn those poor people wanting to control their fertility! how dare married poor people want to have Teh Seks! how dare poor women want pap smears! (i shouldn't have read that sinner's prayer. i think it worked.)

$400 million global warming research...scientists need jobs, too! (oh, and i'm pretty sure we all need air to breathe- unless Who Is John Galt? has gills.)

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts...$12 billion dollars A MONTH for the war in Iraq, and this asshat is angry about a onetime payment of $50 million for art? artists need to eat, too, buddy!

$200 million to refurbish the National Mall..does asshat think we will be refurbishing the National Mall by taping $200 million in ones over every surface? Hello, construction workers REALLY need jobs right now. And, George W. Bush's reign of terror allowed the National Mall, a symbol of our history, to turn into a national disgrace. It should have been refurbished years ago. Shameful.

so, true to his name, Who is John Galt? is against people having jobs. Good for you. See how well it works out for you when we hit depressionland. Asshat.