Posse Incitatus

Has the Blacklash Begun?

Last June, I blogged about issues that could create a wedge between President Barack Obama and millions of African-Americans while also offering a golden opportunity to the Republican Party. Specifically, school choice, abortion and gay marriage.

Democrats' opposition to school choice, including vouchers and charter schools, demonstrates they value teachers' union campaign dollars much more than the futures of black children trapped in horrid inner city schools. (Remember the obscene statement by the late Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers: "When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children.")

On another front, the scourge of abortion has been downright genocidal in African-American communities (just as Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger desired). Millions of blacks are people of strong faith who regularly pray and attend church services. They don't like abortion, but apparently are willing to overlook Democrats' staunch support of abortion rights in order to garner perceived benefits such as affirmative action and the party's support for public sector unions. But abortion is still a serious evil that may sway these voters if the right messengers are engaged in the conversation.

But gay marriage is an entirely different animal. It was clear as a bell how adamantly opposed blacks are to this abomination when 70 percent of African-American voters supported Proposition 8 in California, a 2008 ballot initiative to ban gay marriage. It's no secret that African-Americans are highly traditional regarding marriage, hewing to the adage, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

So, after hack Attorney General Eric Holder told state attorneys general they no longer need to enforce laws banning gay marriage, a group of black pastors took umbrage. They demonstrate an intense opposition to a black AG who is attempting to shove down their throats a policy they firmly believe to be immoral.

This won't be the only unrest the O-man will experience from the African-American community. Parents of schoolchildren who desperately want their youngsters to be offered the opportunity to get an education in a safe, quality environment will continue to agitate about the administration's obstinate love affair with teachers' unions and churlish opposition to real educational reform.

There is bound to be anger from young blacks who are suffering through a 50 percent unemployment rate in this wretched economy. And it is quite possible that many blacks of all ages, while not concerned so much about abortion or school choice, will grow tired of the shallowness and empty promises of this "all style, no substance" administration.

I believe we have reached the point where Barack Obama is playing the role of the "Great and Powerful Oz," formerly a formidable force, but now just a humiliated, disgraced and insecure man exposed when someone pulled the curtain back.

Shadows of Agadir

Events in the Ukraine and the Pacific have roused me from my apolitical torpor to note that we are approaching the “payment due” date for the administration’s feckless foreign policy.

 

Before going into the many mistakes, one must first understand that the currency of international relations is credibility.  Whether negotiating a treaty, signing an alliance or issuing an ultimatum, the credibility of the source is essential for other nations to react appropriately.

 

Since 2009, American credibility has collapsed.  The Obama Administration’s policy of ruling by press release and substituting words for concrete action have convinced our allies that we cannot be relied on and our adversaries that we will not respond to provocation.

 

The situation in Ukraine epitomizes these problems.  Ukraine is not a vital American strategic interest.  It is historically part of Russia and has been for centuries.  As Spengler notes, Ukrainian wasn’t even a written language until 1918. 

 

Moreover, the boundaries of the Ukraine are subject to much debate.  Like all the former Soviet republics, its internal frontiers were drawn to create the illusion of a sovereign nation when in fact it was a Russian satrapy.  It was Soviet policy to establish ethnic Russian enclaves within distant republics or draw the lines in such a way as to frustrate nationalist aspirations.  Including heavily Russian-populated districts acted as a check on separatist aspirations.  In Soviet Central Asia, the lines were drawn expressly to muddy the ethnic question, splitting up ethnic groups to further dilute their influence.

 

(It should be noted that Africa has the same problem:  European imperialists specifically drew the borders to divide and rule the various peoples.  The current national entities therefore have little internal cohesion, which is why they are perennially troubled.  It is no accident that the most ethnically homogenous African state – Botswana – is also the most democratic, stable and prosperous.)

 

Thus, The American stance on the Ukraine should have been muted and kept in the background.  Realpolitik tells us that the proper US stance might have been to discuss potential partition with the protesters, perhaps with an mutual defensive pact to guarantee the new frontiers.  This would offer Putin something for his imperial ambitions while freeing the nascent government the difficulty of dealing with constant separatist provocations (and the threat of Russian intervention).

 

Instead the US did what we have come to expect – dither while the crisis escalates and then begin speaking forcefully when we have the weakest hand at the table.

 

Both the Iranians and the Chinese are watching this affair with great interest because it shows is confirming their belief that Obama’s United States has no fight left.

 

The Iranians believe – as they should – that this administration will let them have the atomic bomb.  Certainly our middle eastern allies now expect this.

 

There was a time – before the election, of course – when the US kept carrier groups off the Persian Gulf and could credibly threaten the use of force.  But the Hagel Defense Dept. just announced that we’re planning on disbanding much of our military.  Beijing and Teheran are no doubt thrilled.

 

In the Pacific, China’s leaders are increasingly convinced that they can push anywhere they want and the Americans will yield.  Our responses have been feeble and half-hearted.  Many academics will call this appropriately conciliatory and non-provocative, but in fact it establishes an incentive for additional aggression.

 

The Chinese have to be wondering if there is a red line we will defend.  Since we won’t be clear, they will push until they find one, and then we will have war.

 

Students of history will point to the catastrophe of 1914 as the prime example of how miscalculation in a crisis led to a war no one wanted.  But 1914 was not the only example of this.  The Korean War was a similar situation where American resolve was called into question.  The North Koreans believed we would not fight to defend South Korea – and acted accordingly.

Even the Guns of August were not without precedent.  In his epic history of the conflict, Winston Churchill dates the beginning of the "World Crisis" that would consume the first half of the 20th Century with the Agadir crisis of 1911.  He makes the case that the French retreat there made it impossible for them to give further ground with honor.  At the same time, it emboldened the Kaiser to believe that the Entente would never stand up to bullying.

The result of that was the war no one wanted and no one truly won.  History moves in cycles, so perhaps we will re-learn those lessons again.

Battered Spartans Look Ahead after Kick-in-the-Gut

Michigan defeated Michigan State, 79-70 Sunday in Ann Arbor, earning a regular season sweep in this bitter rivalry, and most likely ensuring itself at least a share of the Big Ten championship. If the Wolverines win all four of their remaining games, they will win their first outright conference championship since 1986.

It was a tough defeat for MSU, since the Wolverines had already won in East Lansing, 80-75 on Jan. 25. MSU senior forward Adreian Payne missed the January tilt, as did forward Branden Dawson. Payne is good for an average of 16 points per game, plenty of rebounds and some solid low-post defense. Dawson is mainly a defensive specialist and rebounder but not much of a scorer.

I believe MSU would have won handily with both players on the floor last month, but the Spartans still might have lost Sunday since Michigan's guards were red-hot with their three-point shooting and the Crisler Arena crowd was as raucous as could be. 

MSU had an 11-point lead in the frst half Sunday, but Michigan came roaring back with a 21-4 spurt midway through the second half. A couple of factors contributed to the Michigan win: First, the Spartans turned the ball over 13 times compared to just 3 turnovers for Michigan. The Wolverines scored some easy baskets off of those turnovers.

Second was Coach Tom Izzo's decision to have Gary Harris guard Caris LeVert in the second half rather than stick with 3-point marksman Nik Stauskas. In the second half, the Spartans tasked 6-foot-2 Keith Appling with guarding the 6-foot-6 Stauskas. Appling did his best, but the taller Stauskas simply shot over him on many occasions, hitting 3 of 5 behind the arc and scoring 25 points total.

If these two teams meet again in the Big Ten Tournament, it will be on a neutral court. Dawson, expected to be back in the lineup the next time the Spartans play (Saturday at home vs. Illinois) will make a big difference in a rematch with Michigan. A better conditioned Payne should also help tremendously. But Appling, who has battled a wrist injury since December, still won't be fully up to speed.

One thing Izzo MUST stress to his players is they need to be more disciplined and avoid doing stupid things. Here are a few examples of how unrestrained emotion and/or sloppy play have severely harmed the Spartans: On Jan. 23, Dawson lost his temper while the team was reviewing game film and an analyst was criticizing Dawson's lack of effort. Dawson slammed his hand onto a table in anger and broke it, putting him out of action for over a month.

Without question, the absence of the 6-foot-6 forward cost this team at least a share of the conference title. One of the games he missed was a 2-point loss at Wisconsin; his presence most likely would have helped the Spartans seal the victory vs. Michigan in January. 

In Sunday's game, there were two flagrant examples of Spartan foolishness that were simply inexcusable and infuriating, One was by Payne, who as a senior ought to know better. After dunking a ball, Payne hung and swung from the rim in an obnoxious, showboat manner. In addition to that resulting in a technical foul against MSU (two free throws for Michigan, after which the Wolverines took the ball out of bounds), it only served to fire up the Wolverines.

The other brain fart was when MSU sophomore forward Matt Costello threw up a high "alley-oop" pass to Appling, hoping he'd catch it on the fly for an easy dunk. First, I am adamantly opposed to attempting fancy alley-oop plays in what is a crucial game (and what at that juncture still looked like a winnable contest for MSU). It is reckless and foolish. Turnovers kill you on the road. But even worse than the loss of possession was that Appling landed awkwardly after jumping for the ball and aggravated his already ailing right wrist. Way to go, Matt!

Discipline and composure (along with toughness and great rebounding) usually are hallmarks of Izzo teams. This year's team has been decimated by injuries, granted, but it also has been guilty of some ugly defensive lapses and moronic examples of poor judgment.

It is difficult to get a basketball starting lineup working like a fine-tuned machine when over the period of two months or so you keep mixing and matching parts, tinkering with a dozen different player combinations. Players need to get accustomed to each other in practice to become more familiar with teammates' tendencies, to get their timing down and find a rhythm.

The next three weeks of practice will be crucial. Most of the lineup will be relatively healthy, and the first string players can put in a lot of work on the practice court. By the time the NCAA Tournament starts the week of March 16, methinks MSU will be a much better team and primed for a deep run in the tournament. 

It's been a tough, painful season, but all hope is not lost. When healthy, this team still is among a handful that has the talent and experience to win it all.

Environmental Extremism = Higher Food Prices

The idiotic and destructive policies of the Obama administration continue unabated, and millions of Americans of modest means will suffer the consequences.

For years, misguided politicians of both parties have supported the use of large quantities of corn for production of ethanol, an inferior fuel that gets worse mileage and provides less power than pure gasoline. Reducing corn available for human and livestock consumption spikes food prices, one of the key components of our cost of living. Fortunately, tax credits for ethanol were allowed to expire in 2012, but it's a shame it took nearly three decades for lawmakers to come to their senses.

Today, a more serious problem bodes ill for the supply of fresh produce in the near future, with higher food prices a virtual certainty for already struggling consumers. California's Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, has been facing a severe drought for years, and many farmers are about to go under.

More than 200 crops are grown in this area, which relies on water from surface water diversions and wells. In fact, California produces nearly half the nation's fresh fruits and vegetables. Your average Joe counts on being able to buy these products at a reasonable price, but the limousine liberals inside the Beltway and in the deep blue progressive areas could care less how much prices rise for the great unwashed masses.

Regrettably, the left-wing environmentalists of the Obama administration care more about the delta smelt, a minnow-sized fish,  than farmers' livelihoods and consumers' pocketbooks. Several years ago, a U.S. District Court judge declared saving the fish more important than feeding humans and, citing the Endangered Species Act, ordered the pumps watering the valley from the Sacramento River turned off, lest the delta smelt be disturbed.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced yesterday that the Central Valley Project -- California's largest water delivery system -- will provide no water this year to Central Valley farmers and only 50 percent of the contracted amount to urban areas such as Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties.

The disconnect between the left-wingers in the federal government and the vast majority of Americans in "flyover country" continues to grow more severe. The Obama administration, in all its smug conceit, may think it is clever and oh, so much smarter than the rest of us. But keep pushing, and some undesirable consequences will result. Guaranteed.

Some housecleaning stuff

The spam plague seems to have abated.  Comments are therefore open once more (they were open before, but we had to approve them, which we never did because they were nothing but spam).

 

 

Twilight of the Unions

The parallels of Big Labor's collapse with the fall of Imperial Germany continue to grow.

  Readers will recall how I likened Big Labor's recall effort in Wisconsin and ballot initiative in Michigan to the Kaiserschlacht of the spring of 1918 – Germany's last desperate offensive to win the war before American forces arrived.

 Just as the Kaiserschlacht failed, so both of these initiatives collapsed – leaving Big Labor that much weaker. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker actually increased his vote percentage and in the process became a national figure within the Republican Party. In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Right to Work legislation, essentially destroying the citadel of unionism.

 In the wake of Germany's defeat, the famous discipline of its armies began to crack. Hammered by Allied counteroffensives, the Germans fell back.

 On August 8, 1918, the British drove deep into the German lines near Amiens, capturing thousands of prisoners.  It was, in the words of German Field Marshall Erich Ludendorff, “the Black Day of the German Army,” the moment when the reality of defeat set in.

The Black Day of Big Labor was Friday, Feb. 14 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Given the losses over the previous years and the waning power of the post-bailout Big Three, it was essential for the UAW to organize a foreign-owned plant in Right to Work territory. The Volkswagen facility seemed ideal – VW management are used to dealing with unions in Germany and supported the move. With the company offering no resistance, the all-out organizing effort seemed certain to succeed.

The workers had other ideas.

Part of the problem is that the union label itself now has a negative connotation. It has been a long time since Big Labor's primary concern was worker well-being. As a member of the Coalition of the Left, they offer de facto support to all of the divisive polities that socially conservative blue collar workers find so obnoxious. The workers knew they were already well-off and that their wages were above the industry average.

At the same time they knew their dues would go to subsidize the alphabet soup of Progressive causes, from taxpayer-funded abortion to gun control.

Once upon a time, unions acted a social restraint to the Leftist tendencies of the Democrat coalition, but those days are long gone. A union card is now effectively indistinguishable from a membership in Planned Parenthood, Gun Control Inc. or Emily's List.

 Unions are nothing more than labor cartels, an attempt to create a monopoly of one of the factors of production. In a situation where production is also focused in a cartel, unions make a certain amount of sense.

 But the production cartels are collapsing and Big Business is reduced to rent-seeking and bailouts. Advances in technology, communication and the integration of global trade no longer favors monolithic holding companies. Unions are a obsolete as a rotary-dial phone.

These trends were apparent for years, but the election of Barack Obama promised one last opportunity to rewrite the rulebook in the unions' favor.

Many observers felt that these efforts presaged a stirring revival of union fortunes, but we at the Posse knew better. Events have proven us right. These desperate offensives were symptoms of union decline – and that decline is accelerating. The UAW is now too weak to prevail even in a “gimme” election with company support. Right to Work activists have taken note.

At their height, unions had two great strengths – vast numbers of voters supportive of their issues and huge sums of money to support their candidates of choice. Both of those advantages are now nullified. Each defeat further saps their dwindling finances and also erodes the membership base. Having lost ground in private enterprise, unions are trying to entrench themselves in the government. Detroit's bankruptcy is one result of this strategy.

 The writing is on the wall.  After spending more than a million dollars, the UAW has nothing to show for its efforts.  Each renewed attempt reaches deeper into Big Labor's dwindling reserves; each "all-out effort" leaves them more enfeebled and demoralized.

The South is closed to them, and the North is turning on them.  There is no place left to run.

The Embarrassment that is John Kerry

The Obama administration is chock-full of militant leftists and demagogue hacks. Many of them, like Attorney General Eric Holder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, are notorious primarily in the United States and for the most part unknown overseas.

But Secretary of State John Kerry, by virtue of his high-profile international position, is known worldwide. He also has a long reputation for being a haughty, arrogant blowhard who is clueless about how he's perceived.

Lefties are typically obsessed with issues such as gay marriage and climate change, and Kerry is no exception. On Sunday he gave an embarrassingly shrill speech about how climate change is "perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction." (Gee, John, you mean including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons? Wow!)

Among the threats humans face -- Kerry listed terrorism, epidemics, poverty, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction --  "the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them." Too funny.

Kerry also couldn't resist mocking those who are highly skeptical that climate change is primarily human-caused and demands that we reduce CO2 emissions. Like other obnoxious leftists, he demonizes and ridicules dissenters as "deniers" who are tantamount to the flat earth society. Somehow, the climate change true believers have adopted the curious notion that "the science is settled." It doesn't take a scientist to know that science is never really settled. By its very nature, science is a realm that screams for inquiry, research and a jaundiced eye.

Hyperbole and unhinged hysteria are frequent traits of the left, but our brain-dead press is incapable of casting a skeptical eye on Kerry's preposterous claims. Instead, they simply opt to serve as the Obama administration transcription service.

Kerry, like so many other loudmouth liberals, makes an ass out of himself (and by extension, our nation) and few people bother to notice. Is it because so many Americans are doped up on SSRI drugs? Too busy to care? Or perhaps just too damned apathetic to give a rip? Perhaps all three.

Kerry also displayed child-like naivete when he implored Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to intervene with Syrian butcher Bahsar al-Assad to hasten the removal of chemical weapons -- something Assad ostensibly agreed to do in a sham deal worked out last fall.

Isn't that sort of like pleading with Kim Jong Un to PLEASE be nicer to those poor people in his prison camps? Oh, if we just show him how earnest we are, surely he'll take it to heart!

Um, John, I've got some bad news for you. Russia and Syria are pretty tight. It's in both of their best interests to drag their feet on removing chemical weapons, and continue to play a shell game as the hideous bloodshed in Syria drags on. Perhaps if your boss had a clue about how to execute an effective foreign policy, Syria wouldn't be a horrible inferno.

Nearly a year ago, Kerry made what he surely thought was a witty and snarky put-down of the great unwashed masses in America, saying Americans "have the right to be stupid." That fact surely is not lost on Kerry himself.

 ICY LANDING -- Kudos to the 29-year-old pilot of a single-engine Piper Cherokee with six passengers aboard who used frozen Lake Huron as a runway when his engine quit a few miles short of his destination and he could not restart it. He was about 1.5 miles short of the airfield on Mackinac Island, which sits just east of the Mackinac Bridge in northern Lake Huron near where it joins Lake Michigan. After months of bitter cold temperatures, the Great Lakes are nearly frozen over this winter. The passengers on that Piper must be grateful for that.

BUYER'S REMORSE -- About seven in 10 Obama voters regret having voted for the celebrity-in-chief in 2012, according to a startling new poll  released by the Economist/Yougov. Incredibly, 55 percent of Democrats were among those who said they'd vote for someone other than Obama if given the opportunity.

UKRAINE AFLAME -- It has been 23 years since Ukraine gained its independence from the former Soviet Union. Three months ago, President Viktor Yanukovych reneged on signing a trade agreement with the European Union and announced he would move Ukraine closer to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin wooed Yanukovych by agreeing to buy Ukraine's debt and dramatically reducing prices of natural gas Russia sells to Ukraine. Since November, massive protests have grown more violent. Today, more than 20 people were killed and dozens injured as fires raged through the capital of Kiev. Riot police decided to crack down on encampments of protesters, and all hell broke loose. Things promise to get uglier, and similar dynamics are playing out in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. Stay tuned.

 

 

Coming Soon: More Leftist Meddling

On second thought, maybe my headline is a mindless redundancy -- sort of like saying Michigan winters are cold and snowy, or NBA players are taller than average.

The shitstorm of leftist B.S. coming our way since the arrogant elitist moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is so overwhelming, it would be exhausting to comment on all of it. But something caught my eye the other day that is so egregious, I can't resist putting in my two cents' worth.

Ajit Pai, one of five commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote an alarming piece  in the Feb. 11 Wall Street Journal about how his organization is looking to meddle in America's newsrooms. That includes "newsrooms" in the traditional, conventional sense of the word, i.e., offices where PRINT journalists ply their trade. The FCC was originally established to regulate the airwaves (radio for its first 15-20 years, with television and later broadband being added as time went on). But it has no business attempting to lord it over print journalism.

Pai's article, "The FCC Wades Into the Newsroom," states that the FCC plans to thrust the federal government into newsrooms (TV, radio and print publications) with its "Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs." The agency plans to send out researchers to grill journalists about their "news philosophy" and the process by which stories are selected, among other things.

In typical elitist, left-wing fashion, the bureaucrats will seek to ensure that news organizations cover "critical information needs" as well as determine which stations are guilty of "station bias" and how they rate in "perceived responsiveness to underserved populations." This sounds like typical left-speak, along the lines of sustainability, social justice and "truth to power." In other words, the left-wing pipe dreams of laughably idealistic liberals.

At some point, Americans will reach the breaking point with this nonstop condescending nanny state sticking its nose in our business. When does it ever end?

The FCC has eight categories it has deemed "critical information" such as the environment and "economic opportunities." This type of micromanaging from our overlords in Washington, D.C. is absolutely maddening. I want the hacks in Washington determining which news I'm exposed to like I want a Detroit crack addict to borrow my car and run some errands for me.

The FCC is undoubtedly trying to bring back the good old days when it could influence news coverage with the Fairness Doctrine, which was left by the wayside in the late 1980s and officially removed from the books in 2011. The Fairness Doctrine, in addition to being a blatant violation of the First Amendment, often had the opposite effect of what its naive proponents intended. Since the doctrine required broadcast outlets to air contrasting viewpoints on controversial issues, many stations chose to ignore these issues altogether rather than risk alienating many of their viewers or listeners.

In the past 20 years or so, conservative talk radio has caught on big-time, in large part because tens of millions of Americans are fed up with the corrupt, leftist media that is incapable of unbiased reporting. The leftist elites in government would love to quash conservative talk radio, and this latest idiocy is only the beginning.

We're not Venezuela yet, but if Barack Obama and his fellow Trotskyites have their way, we soon will be.

Just Say 'No' to Immigration Reform

Immigration "reform" is not really reform at all. It is simply more suicide on the installment plan for our troubled nation. It is tantamount to moving unsecured credit card debt at 20 percent annual interest over to another lender charging 25 percent AND demanding some kind of collateral. It's like a patient in the intensive care unit insisting on a pack of smokes and a bottle of Maker's Mark.

Still, this debate promises to get more heated, offering our corrupt media another opportunity to present biased, distorted reporting that aids the leftist agenda. A number of militant hispanic organizations are stepping up their pressure tactics to force Congress to move on immigration. The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill last summer, but the House has yet to take one up. 

A few weeks ago members of the House Republican leadership team introduced a list of principles, "Standards for Immigration Reform" that it claims will prevent the bad aspects of the Senate bill from being passed. But as the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation notes, "Standards" is nothing more than a repackaging of the flawed Senate bill.

Here again, we have traitor Republicans lining up with Demoncrats to try pulling one over on us. Remember the disastrous policies that always seem to result whenever GOP and Dem hacks band together proudly to pass legislation, then conduct a sickening lovefest in front of the cameras heaping praise upon each other?

Let's see, we have No Child Left Behind, the Department of Homeland Security, McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, et al... The two parties also regularly raise the debt ceiling, thus giving a business-as-usual/everything's cool stamp of approval to our nation's destructive fiscal course.

On the positive side, House Speaker John Boehner announced a few days ago that immigration is off the table for the indefinite future simply because President Obama cannot be trusted to enforce the borders, an essential component that must be part of any immigration legislation. Obama is a proven liar and exhibits a cavalier attitude toward enforcing laws by simply picking and choosing which laws to enforce and/or enforcing some laws only partially to curry favor with special interest groups. Boehner's announcement came a day after the conservative wing of the party gave him an earful during an all-day closed-doors strategy session.

Perhaps the House GOP can convince their colleagues on the other side of the aisle and in the Senate to approach immigration deliberately, in piecemeal fashion. It is far too complex an issue to give the Obamacare treatment. Put simply, the federal government is woefully incapable of executing a multi-faceted, multi-billion dollar immigration bill that undoubtedly would be larded up with pork barrel goodies. And put simply, the last thing the United States needs is millions of new workers who drive down wages and increase unemployment while burdening social services, hospitals, schools, police, courts and correctional facilities.

This political football will be beaten, scuffed and dog-eared by the time the 2014 and 2016 elections roll around. The Tea Party must not let up in its efforts to prevent the adoption of legislation that, if enacted, will hasten our nation's unraveling and decline.

ANOTHER CROOKED MAYOR -- Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, whose incompetence was largely responsible for the suffering in that city following Hurricane Katrina, was convicted today of 20 counts of bribery and fraud. He joins a long list of black Democrat mayors who have shamefully squandered their opportunities to lead while shafting the people who elected them -- Kwame Kilpatrick in Detroit; Bill Campbell, Atlanta; Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.; Sharpe James, Newark, N.J.; James Usry, Atlantic City, N.J.... I am sure there are others whom I am forgetting. 

It's long past time that African Americans demand a lot more from their leaders. Voting on name recognition or because someone is perceived to be a sugar daddy who'll keep the teet dispensing 24/7 is bad business. It does nothing but reaffirm negative stereotypes about blacks.

 

 

 

Health Care: Fantasy vs. Reality

The quantity of misinformation and misconstrued realities in healthcare is so large, it's in the company of googolplex, a number developed by mathemeticians represented by a "1" followed by 100 zeros. (Not to be confused with Googleplex, the corporate headquarters of Internet search engine Google.)

And as if that weren't bad enough, the complexity of our health care system is tantamount to a computer mainboard with the capability of mutating on its own. Just when you think you're starting to figure it out, it changes.

One blog posting cannot do justice to this topic, but I will focus on a couple of  key points that illustrate liberals' frequent ignorance of basic economics. The first is the leftist notion that health care ought to be affordable to all; that high prices for certain medicines and procedures automatically, unequivocally mean some greedy pharmaceutical company or other corporation is screwing the tarnation out of consumers. 

We are accustomed to paying reasonable prices for great products in large part because many of these products are mass-produced. Today's color TVs are infinitely better than what existed 30 or 40 years ago, and are far cheaper not just in inflation-adjusted dollars, but in dollars, period. Back in the early 1970s, a 19-inch color TV often would cost well over $200. This was in an era when the average annual income was about $13,000 and a brand new automobile cost perhaps $4,000.

Mass production and intense competition have brought to bear sophisticated technology, advanced production techniques and great economies of scale, driving down prices even as quality and reliability improve. But health care is not the same as the market for consumer goods. There are infinite numbers of diseases and pathologies that afflict relatively small numbers of people.

Developing effective medications, equipment, instruments and procedures to cure or alleviate these afflictions is research-intensive, subject to daunting regulatory hurdles and not likely to provide a return on dollars invested for a long, long time.

Uncle Sam cannot simply wave a magic wand and command that specialty drug X for lymphoma cancer must not cost more than $20 per bottle; or procedure Y for Crohn's Disease cannot exceed $100 in cost. It just doesn't work that way. There are diverse, multiple treatments for untold numbers of conditions, and there will never be economies of scale for many of them as existed for common medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen.

So let's just dispel with that silly fantasy about the government having the ability to "bend the cost curve" in health care, as Obama's mindless pom-pom wavers are wont to say.

Secondly, the simple economic law of supply and demand ensures that health coverage on paper often does not translate into actual health coverage in the real world. In other words, Uncle Same can make promises until the cows come home about guaranteeing coverage for certain medical services and procedures at an affordable price.

But if there are not enough providers capable of performing these procedures and offering these services, something's got to give. Prices will rise, wait times will lengthen. Some patients may die or get very sick before they can obtain the care they seek.

If there's one thing the leftists in Barack Obama's camp need to acknowledge, it's the chasm of difference between health insurance and health coverage.

Let's put this in basic terms with an analogy. If my wife and I distributed fliers inviting people to enjoy a spaghetti dinner (including a salad, garlic bread and drinks!) for only $2 per head, I'm guessing we'd get a lot of takers. 

But if we did not plan ahead and order enough food plus hire extra people to help prepare the meals and clean up afterwards (not to mention ensuring the dining facility is large enough), we could have a real problem on our hands.

Depending on how many fliers we distributed and how big the response was, some people would be turned away because we ran out of food or it was getting too late and we wanted to wrap it up and get home. Others might complain that their portion sizes were too small, there weren't enough meatballs or they were denied having a second helping.

Similar dynamics are at work in healthcare. There was already a physician shortage even before the Obamacare fiasco became law. This idiotic law has only worsened the shortage by swamping physicians with burdensome paperwork and restrictions at every turn. Check out this first-person account by a frustrated physician who details the stressful morass doctors navigate daily. Sounds like fun, eh?

Additionally, as more and more patients are pushed into Medicaid -- passage of an immigration bill would really open up the floodgates -- and our aging population swells the Medicare ranks, many more physicians will "cry uncle" and flee medicine to retain their sanity. Why? Because these Soviet-style, command-and-control programs provide ridiculously low reimbursement to doctors and hospitals. At some point, beating your head against the wall has to stop.

Think of the naivete of the Obama supporter who was interviewed about Obamacare after she lost her healthcare insurance: "I was all for Obamacare until I found out I had to pay for it," she said. Incredible, but sadly, all too common.

Something tells me millions of people will be like those hungry folks looking forward to a spaghetti dinner for $2. A few might get it without waiting a long time; many will have to stand in line a long time; some might get a smaller portion than they'd like; and too many won't get anything at all.

"But my policy says...."

Too bad. Reality says something else.