There is no Serious Problem -- Social, Political or Economic -- that is not Either Caused by or Made Worse by Big Government

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The Course of Empire Destruction (Thos. Cole, 1836)

For a number of years now I have been posing the title statement as a question.  In print and in conversation.  Crickets and bullfrogs; the query might just as well have been rhetorical.  Few have responded, and no one has ever offered an apposite answer. Big-government types occasionally make an attempt, but only after they've changed the question to suit a prepared answer. The most common response, for example, is to reply that government does some things right, which I've never denied and which is entirely outside the scope of the question.

He's a Lying Son-of-a Bitch: Rotting the Soul of a Nation

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Pinocchio

The casual reader, seeing the title of this essay, will probably (and in short order) supply one or more names to fit the specification.  He may also expect the writer to name the best-known offender and his acolytes; he'd be wrong. In this essay I set out illustrate the general and alarming erosion of American civil society's moral and ethical standards.  Particularly in regard to the virtue of honesty in civil society, and by extension, government..

All Things Great and Small

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Beohner Balls

Open Thread

And Beohner's the stud.  For Cantor and McCain think mustard seeds and fly specks, respectively.

 Foremost among the Republican Party's "littluns" from The Lord of the Flies,

Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the Rule of Law (Part II)

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The Hydra Myth: a Fitting Metaphor for Comprehensive Reform

 A law that is not enforced is no law at all.

Immigration reform has become the enormous problem that it is today for a simple, obvious reason that generally escapes mention by media and lawmakers alike.  The failure of the rule of law.  If immigration laws had been rigorously enforced from, say, 1986, our current difficulties would not exist.  As in so many other areas (summarize the current government scandals as examples) enforcing existing law has become optional; the rule of law is largely subjected to the rule of men – the rule of power.  The inability of Republicans, in general, and conservatives in particular to understand this elemental fact goes a long way towards explaining the naivete of a Marco Rubio and his compatriots.  They understand the idea of conservatism, know the lyrics and the melody, and they consistently sing on key.  But it is one thing to understand an idea, and quite another to perceive the world as it is and apply conservative principles.  Consummate naivete presumes that progressives reciprocate in good faith.  A dangerous assumption.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the Rule of Law (Part I)

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Hydra

I begin with a brief reprise of a subject about which I have written at length [1] -- the pernicious consequences of any comprehensive reform. I have argued always for incremental reform. Comprehensive reform – by its nature – has two serious weaknesses. The first is hubris; the second, obfuscation and legal murkiness that creates the certainty of mischief.

Promising New Republican Senators. Open Thread

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I have updated this list -- as events unfolded -- since it was first published in April.
-- June 20.


Ted Cruz
Mike Lee
Rand Paul
Marco Rubio
Paul Ryan
Pat Toomey

Big Government's "Problem" Racket

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Understanding the Rackets

If government is the problem, why would government want to solve it?  Think about it.

Since Marxist-leaning John Dewey's educational reforms took hold in America, our citizens have been conditioned to turn to government when difficulties arise.  It was a long transition from the instinctive habit of individualism and self-reliance that held on stubbornly from pioneer times through the late 50's.  Vestiges of America's independent spirit remain (as seen in the Tea Party, Tenth Amendment initiatives and scattered patriot groups sandwiched between the coasts), but recent social, political and economic developments in America suggest that self-reliance is now more relic that viable force.  We turn to government.

Foreign Trespassers

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US Soldier at Border Fence - 1916

It is remarkable when I find myself in agreement with the AP, but in this case I do -- at least in part.  The use of the phrase "illegal immigrant" should be abandoned, as should "illegal aliens" and "undocumented workers".  But the use of language in this sole instance is all I will stipulate to AP.  They carry the matter much farther in support of a pervasive relativist ethic -- no labels at all, anywhere! [1]  We may describe an action as illegal, but never a person.  Someone may belong to the CPUSA as a loyal and activist member, but he may not be called a communist; he may, with malice aforethought, take the life of his fellow human beings, but we mustn't call him a murderer.  And so on...  Too judgmental. [2]

"Comprehensive": Cover For Central Planners

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Alter to Reason

Comprehensive legislation -- whether emanating from a city council or the US Congress -- is bound to be destructive.  The differences lie only in limits of hubris and the scale of harm. At the moment I'm thinking of the push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the recent fiasco of healthcare reform and proposed "grand bargains" to reshape the economy.   I believe the principle applies universally.

Incremental legislation, by contrast, is more targeted, manageable, easily understood, simple and transparent.  Its outcomes and costs are less difficult to predict. When mistakes are made they are easier to remedy.  On the other hand, incremental is harder than comprehensive.  Since incremental initiatives will be elements in a larger (comprehensive) scheme, they will require careful planning, sequencing, coordinating and prioritizing.  Once implemented and evaluated in action, an element may indicate the need to revise parts of the plan not yet launched.

Open Thread

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Guest Conductor, Barack Obama, Leads NRSO In Offenbach Series -- Washington, DC, 16 January, 2013

Sage Brush Symphony - 1916

Interviewed this morning, maestro Obama was effusive in his praise of the National Republican ensemble.  "It has been an experience conductors can only dream of.  I have never before led a symphony orchestra more attentive -- more responsive -- to my baton", said a relaxed, confident and cordial Obama to this reporter. 

First violinist, John Boehner (now in an offsite meeting with the orchestra), has not been reached for comment, but it is believed that he, like the maestro, is looking forward enthusiastically to upcoming performances.  While the schedule is closely held by the conductor, there is strong speculation that, following the concluding work in the current series (La Perichole), the next performance will be Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

What Is An Assault Weapon?

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Simple answer: it is a totalitarian term of art.  But the skewing of the language by the Left to serve their purposes of aggression and control should neither surprise nor trouble us; it's who they are and what they do.  What is troubling is that conservatives uncritically accede to the terminology and thus to the premises of our enemies.   We should immediately and instinctively correct the usage to "defense weapons" (better still, "defensive firearms"), and when there is a mass killing simply point out that a defensive firearm fell into the wrong hands -- most often the hands of persons who are mentally ill.

The American Project Is Undone

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Humpty Dumpty

For many reasons I have not looked forward to writing this essay.   Some readers will surely view it as a pessimistic and panicky jeremiad; all Henny-Penny.  And I'd love to be wrong; I hope that my arguments will be found wanting and, if not rebutted definitively, at least convincingly.  My thesis is this: America has passed the tipping point in its long journey toward Marxist solipcism; that, barring the miraculous or the sudden emergence of a black swan, we cannot return to being a free society.

Don't Stand If You Can Sit; Don't Work If You Can Steal

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The Great Train Robbery

Allowing for cultural exceptions, such as the Protestant Work Ethic, labor is most often motivated by the desire to satisfy physical [1] needs.  We don't like to be hungry or cold or thirsty or standing wet in the rain or being unprotected from human enemies and predatory wild things.  Human nature, being what it is, we try to find shortcuts (not always a good thing) and efficiencies (usually good), or when we can get by with it, not work at all. But working is not always necessary, particularly in rich societies where stealing may be an attractive alternative.

Fiscal Cliff: Let's Test Obama

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How Steep the Cliff; How Hard the Fall?

It comes to a choice, I think, between acute and chronic pain.

"Fiscal cliff" [1] ranks right up there with "shovel-ready jobs, reset button and pivoting..." as another simplistic and vacuous metaphor.  Nevertheless, the consequences of great tax increases paired with sharply reduced government spending should not be underestimated.  Another recession, bankruptcies, defense vulnerabilities and a probable downgrading of US credit seem all but certain.  But what if Republicans compromise with the administration in raising revenue through "taxing the rich"? [2]
What if they don't?

Conservatism Might Be A Good Thing...

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I allude by reference to George Bernard Shaw's famous quotation, Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.  Actually, Christianity has been tried by a great many people, and with considerable success.  And the same is true of conservatism, but in a much more limited way.  

Romney Retrospective

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The Romneys in Altoona, Iowa

I suspect that for many of us on the conservative side Mitt Romney's rise through the primaries had a foreboding familiarity about it.  McCain redux.  Another politically spineless pretender to conservatism carrying the Republican banner.  Another candidate of adaptive principle who would rather be liked than respected.

How Progressives Won

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Adding to the general confusion to be expected in a political rout is how questions are framed.  Establishment Republicans tend to put it this way: How did we lose?  Contrast the question with this essay's title.  I hope the reader will see what I see.