Strawman Conservative vs. Strawman Statist - a battle of ideas

By A. Dent "Aragorn"For a good discussion of individual liberties and statist abuses I suggest Herbert Spencer's "The Man vs. the State", first printed in 1884. It's in the public domain, meaning that the complete text can be downloaded free. My favorite contemporary 'freedom' manifesto in book form is Unintended Consequences. It's a much bigger and thorough book but very much worth reading and passing it along to the next generations.

I wish I could dedicate more time to writing this review but I can tell that neither 'side' is going to appreciate my take on things so my effort will be limited to a very brief discussion.

Levin's book is an honest albeit brief attempt to spell out what 'the conservative' stands for and to show us all how ridiculously absurd the anti-liberty efforts of 'the statist' have become lately. Nothing is unexpected and nothing surprises, not even the many concessions made to the immediate and local issues of the day - after all,Wiley, the author does host a daily talk show on the radio and most of his audience is currently unhappy or angry Republicans. Reading the book, we learn that the author is on the side of 'the conservative' of course and that both he and 'the conservative' stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is unlike 'the statist' who stands for an increasingly oppressive and intrusive state. The conservative wants to preserve individual freedom inside a reasonably sane society of free men while the statist is interested in serving a parasitic, ever-growing and blob-like expanding state. Levin's Manifesto is successful in exposing not only the statist aberration but, not surprisingly, the severe limitations the movement conservatives impose on themselves. The book exposes the many instances where today's conservatives activities and views are indistinguishable from those of the statists they claim to oppose.

- the armies of compassion
- no child left behind
- borrow and spend by the trillions
- listen on and record everyone's phone calls, emails
- making the tax code MORE progressive and the disclosure (to the state) requirements more oppressive
- socializing the prescription of drugs
- maintaining troops in dozens if not hundreds of foreign countries
- torturing American citizens and foreigners
- transforming the 'voluntary' military into a form of indemptured servitude
- expanding NAFTA at the expense of our own citizenry
- initiating numerous 'free trade' treaties, always at the expense of our own citizenry
- viewing the citizens as 'consumers' and the illegal immigrants as 'workers'
- the executive assuming near absolute powers in area it itself defines as 'national security'
- the executive practice of 'signing statements', practically nullifying the laws passed by the legislative
- the department of homeland security
- the war on drugs
- demanding that individuals under 21 can't drink alcohol but insisting that 14 year olds be tried as 'adults'
- secret executive orders
- wars of choice
- the detention, humiliation and killing of tens of thousands of foreigners under the fig leaf of national security
- support for rubber-stamping secret courts granting the state the ability to spy on its own citizens
- the state blackmailing private enterprises into disclosing citizens' private records

And so on and so forth and much, much more. Now, that the horror that was the W regime is an evil in the past and the baton was passed to the statist of the other party, I have little doubt that Dr. Levin may agree that many of the above were activities or initiatives that 'the conservative' opposes or should have opposed. But, sadly, nearly all of those whom Levin may call 'conservatives' today, Levin included, had little if anything to say in opposition at the time when 'the conservative' team was in control. Sadder still, most of today's self-described 'conservatives' would defend most of the W regime clearly extremist statist behaviors today, including its most outrageous borrow and spend, torture and militaristic accomplishments.

But I digress. Levin's Manifesto, which is the last chapter of the book, is preceded by a number of issue-oriented chapters meant to put us in the proper mood. We are reminded that the Founders were pious men, that it would be good if the Constitution were not a near-dead document but, surprise, moribund it is. We learn that the United States are a union of the several states but, surprisingly, the FDR seems to be more responsible for the emergence of the current near-totalitarian central government than Lincoln was. And, of course, the Welfare state should be less so - see what 'the real-life conservatives' have done to roll it back. Immigration from the Third World should be hmmm... firmly controlled by the state - in this instance 'the conservative' likes the big state while 'the statist' seems not to care much. And, 'the conservative', who likes to maintain huge armies spread all over the world seems not to worry much about such huge armies being impossible absent the kind of huge state that the strawman statist was supposed to promote.

The book, ends with the actual manifesto. Somewhat to my surprise, the mouse's roar gets a little bit squeaky and parochial.

- The feds should not take more than 20% of the nation's GDP. TWENTY PERCENT??? And this is what 'the conservative' views as 'revolutionary'?
- The conservative continues to support income tax - flat, the conservative says but still an income tax. Yes, it's true. The conservative believes that the government should continue to demand from and FORCE individual citizens to disclose to the state and keep track of every single dime they earn and spend. Yes, the conservative don't like the death tax and some other minutia.
- On the 'environment', the conservative mouse demands that the environmental groups be taxed with the implication that other groups such as those that the conservative finds worthy of tax exceptions may keep theirs. And, let's not forget that in the paragraph above the manifesto was calling for the elimination of corporate taxes.
- The judiciary, the branch that, unlike the legislature DID stand up against some of the W regime most outrageous excesses, should have less power and judges must promise to act in ways that 'the conservative' likes before they are confirmed.
- On state administration, the manifesto calls for a 20% reduction of personnel. Somehow, 20% seems to be the magic number (see 20% of the GDP being given to the state - take THAT statist!). By the way, is it 20% of what? Of W's bloated federal bureaucracy? Of Obama's as of today? Of Ronald Reagan's?
- And, most thoughtfully, the conservative would dissolve all state employees unions, whether state employees want them or not.
- What else... oh yes, education. Get rid of the NEA.
_ And so it goes...

In the end, I was somewhat disappointed and more than a little confused. This book's strawman_the_conservative seems to be as much in support of an all-powerful, semi-totalitarian state as its opponent, strawman_the_statist. The conservative's state turns out to be big, intrusive and treating its citizens as much as subjects as the statist's state.

To me, the difference between the true freedom-loving revolutionaries of old and today's tea-bagging protesters is that between the 60 tons of tea dumped in the Boston harbor back then and the little (biodegradable) teabags of April 15, 2009 - where the angry and fearsome freedom fighters made sure that they asked for a 'permit' (from the state) to demonstrate their righteous anger and promised the state to clean the street and the sidewalks of discarded teabags and other rubbish once the demonstration was over and the cameras stopped recording. They might as well do ballet because it would change absolutely nothing.

_________________________________
P.S.
The author suggests that organizations such as the NEA be treated more or less like illegal monopolies, criminal organizations. I would like to raise the ante a little. In my view, it's the political parties that are responsible for most of the freedoms we lost. It's the political parties that, by means of coercion, transform those who were supposed to be the free PEOPLE's representatives into disciplined, obedient partisan tools, no longer representing the people who elected them but supporting some party political agenda as developed by the unelected party machine. Dr. Levin may agree that the political parties, COULD be prosecuted and banned under the RICO laws as illegal power monopolies, the way organizations such as the Mafia are today and organizations such as the NEA which Dr. Levin would like to see banished.

And, being on the party discussion. The books first reference at today's conservatives seems to be more that of the GOP's 'big tent' and not unlike for mayor's Dinkins of New York 'gorgeous mosaic'. He identifies the several flavors of 'conservatives' - none of them statist??? - such as the libertarians, the neocons, the Christians, the fiscals and so on. What do Ron Paul, W, Bill Krystol and McCain have in common? As far as I can tell, it's mostly GOP party membership.

Thoughts, comments anyone? Perhaps we can hear from Mr. Levin if he happens to read this review. Related Articles:


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By Just my humble opinion "Cafe Guy"I found the book to be informative and surprisingly well written. I usually resent the high cost of books, but this purchase was certainly a wise one. Related Articles:


what a waste of time

FINALLY A FINANCIAL IDEA THAT WON'T CAUSE YOU TO LOSE SLEEP

Life isn't about politics

Life isn't about politics

By ZenbonesReal Life isn't about politics. You knew this back when you were young and still able to see the beauty of life for what it is.
Conservatism is not the answer for anyone - nor is Liberalism.
This book just adds to the confusion and opinionated rhetoric the world is already saturated with.
When people are afraid, they love to fight and be right don't they?
Truth embraces all people with compassion and wisdom -
It sees the bigger picture.

The need to be right never gets you to whats right.
Only humility shows you the way.
To praise a book like this is to divide.
Arrogance and bullying has no place in the business of Truth,
and thats what this book is about; arrogance disguised as earnestness.

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By Joseph BallarinoThis book should be required reading for all who are "no messing around" serious about their financial situation and understand that they must get beyond "Wall Street Hype" to have the best chance for a successful future.

As an independent CFP, I've spent more than 30 years looking for financial strategies that offer a superior risk/return ratio. Pamela Yellen explains how Bank On Yourself minimizes risk while offering liquidity, flexibility and tax advantages. My own Bank On Yourself plan is a safe "financial foundation" type of asset - that I can use for all sorts of things from buying cars to purchasing business equipment, etc. As a result I never pay needless finance charges, interest, etc. In addition, I have a financial asset that can provide additional retirement income if needed in the future.

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By M. KentThis informative book is entertaining and easy to read. It provides real answers to some of the biggest questions we're all asking about our personal finances in today's tough times.

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Comprehensive survival guide for the depression

Weiss' "The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide" is a smart, well-written book full of sound financial principles, all of which make it worth buying. Using historical examples, recent trends, and advice from dad, Weiss brings a well-rounded understanding of the current economic crisis to the reader in a simple, easy-to-understand fashion.

His advice is summed up in a couple quotes: the depression was inevitable because of the housing bust, the mortgage meltdown, and the biggest debt crisis in history. The housing bust was cased by Fannie and Freddie Mac (as Weiss explains, "some of the largest speculative bubbles of all time were born out of government-sponsored monopolies"). And we can ",Boost Your Income,Stephenie Meyer Imprints on Her Characters (but maybe not her fans);kick the can down the road" (meaning we can bailout broken firms and "stimulate" the economy, but that will just delay the inevitable major crash.

But we can't do anything about our governments' reckless behavior until the next election, so Weis offers immediate advice to readers that they can do somehting about: save, reduce debt and sell stocks (the latter one might not be such a hot idea since it appears the markets have at least started a major rebound). He gives very good advaice about looking for the bottom of the economic retraction: look for the government to capitulate (give up trying to save the world!). He recommends investing in etfs (or reverse etfs) and treasury-only MM Funds.

This is a great read and highly recommended,Heartbreak of Heathcliff Proportions, though Weiss neglects a major contributor to the problem: the Federal Reserve. If you're looking for a bit more unconventional but very beneficial techniques for thriving in this economy check out Surviving the Second Great Depression: How to Take Advantage of the Government That Is Trying to Take Advantage of You. For a better summary of what got us here check out Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse.

Heartbreak of Heathcliff Proportions

I've only recently entered the Twilight fold. Having initially read reviews of the series in library journals and having heard passionate testimonials from avid fans, I thought I would give it a try.



Inexorably, I fell absolutely and positively in love with the first three Twilight books. I read them (the first time, that is) in three days. Then, like a junkie,books, I feverishly searched the media for news on the movie, the books, and all things Stephanie Meyers.



Stephenie Meyer's books were my brand of heroin.



So, like millions of other strung out addicts, I lined up until midnight to score the ultimate fix. The final installment was in my hands.



I didn't know I was holding a ticking time bomb in my hands. One which would ultimately implode, destroying the magic spell of Meyer's world and the intense affection I held for its inhabitants.



Like many of you, I kept asking myself: "Who actually wrote this book? What happened? This must be a cruel joke...I will wake up tomorrow, and learn that Breaking Dawn is an elaborate hoax perpetrated to discredit Meyer."



Meyer has commented on her love of Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Having read these books dozens of times, I saw glimmers of their bittersweet brilliance in the first three Twilight books. I cried for Bella as I had cried for Cathy, Elizabeth, and Juliet.



And then I read Breaking Dawn.



For the first one hundred pages, I was entranced. I couldn't put the book down. I thought, "Finally, Bella and Edward can consummate their love, against seemingly impossible odds! Finally, the big payoff is here!"



Then, the heartbreak began...



Remember when Bella's heart cracks in two in Eclipse? Mine shattered the moment I read the words "little nudger."



When I read the first three books, I felt seventeen again. The butterflies in my stomach, the blinding tunnel vision, and the intense emotions experienced during that first love washed over me during Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse.



When Jacob left at the end of Eclipse, I cried. The price of true love was justly paid with his departure.



Price...A lot of the reviews I've read here aptly speak of "paying a price." Intense, obsessive, passionate love--a love of the Wuthering Heights variety, anyway--demands an exacting price. Bella cannot have Jacob and Edward, just as Catherine cannot have both Edgar and her beloved Heathcliffe.



The price of an extraordinary love is an ordinary life.



But the price--the sacrifice--makes the purchase more dear, makes it all the sweeter.



In Breaking Dawn, what price is paid? Bella gets Edward. Bella gets Jacob. Bella gets beauty and grace. Bella gets a baby. Bella gets a fairytale cottage. Bella gets all the powerful trappings of vampiric power without all the burden of newborn instincts. Bella gets to keep her human family. Bella gets Meyer's "perfect ending."



The perfect ending comes at what price?



The price is the love story, the plot, and the character development. The price is seeing Jacob turn from a noble suitor who knows when to bow out, into a toddler's pet.



The price is seeing the endearingly vulnerable Bella turn into a perfect shell of her former self.



The price is seeing Edward, who was once a continuously smoldering cauldron of desire, degraded to a level of abject affliction.



The price is watching Charlie turn from a loving and protective father into a "don't need to know" Homer Simpson.



The price is having to stomach a bloodbath,a mutant birth which rivals the absurdity of the alien reptile baby delivery of the "V",Breaking Dawn Hardcover; TV miniseries of the 1980's. (Remember that one, gentle reader?)



Bella's surrender of her human life to Edward should have ended intimately with his lips caressing her throat, not with fountains of blood spewing from her mouth as Jacob watches.



The price is too steep--much too heartbreaking--for me to pay.



My opinion is inconsequential. It matters to no one but me, but...



Not that you asked but...Ms. Meyer, you are a fantastically talented writer. You have the power to spin a story which transcends the ordinary and transports teens and housewives alike into a world of sparkling, amorous, and compelling fantasy. You are the real deal.



What hast thou wrought?



I know that you, like any writer worth his or her salt, wrote this book for yourself, for your own satisfaction. You wrote the story of Breaking Dawn for you.



I'm just so heartbroken that it wasn't written for me.

Body Of Artistic Movie Making: Body of Lies

Body of Lies (Widescreen Edition)

I have been awaiting the release of this dramatic action thriller directed by Ridley Scott and Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crow for a long time and I was not disappointed.

DiCaprio plays a C.I.A. agent in the middle east who is trying to collect intelligence and is running into twists and turns around every corner. DiCaprio's performance is outstanding. You completely forget who he is and become immersed as him as a C.I.A. agent who is undercover. This is quite an acting job considering that he is the furthest thing from that. He has the grizzled appearance of someone undercover and his scenes are so strong and commanding that he doesn't have that baby boy aspect to him that I've seen in other of his pictures. His was an Oscar worthy performance.

There is the eye in the sky tracking DiCaprio by camera from above as he goes about his seemingly rouge missions for the C.I.A. Russell Crowe plays the older C.I.A. family man who is in contact with Ferris (DiCaprio) as he walks the minefield that is intelligence gathering in the middle east. Crowe is absorbed in his daily life in America and seemingly is oblivious to the hardships and deadly consequences that Ferris is facing. This is an understated role for Crowe who also very good performance. He does not look at all like that same man who played The Gladiator. And I think this is the most relaxed character I've seen him play yet.

This film was expertly directed by Ridley Scott to the point that at times I felt as if I were there. You can almost feel the sand in your lungs and the stink of death and open air markets as you feast your eyes on this gem.

Although I'm not typically an action movie man this one reeled me in because you really didn't know what was next around the corner. The action scenes are great, by the way, even though that's not why I pick movies to watch.

This is a great movie and if you like the actors, director, and genre of this film then it is a definite for you to watch.

I give it all five stars and will watch it again.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Product Description

Paramount Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2 Disc) (Blu-ray) Steven Spielberg and GeorgeLucas bring you the greatest adventurer of all time in "a nonstop thrill ride" (Richard Corliss, Time) that's packed with "sensational, awe-inspiringspectacles" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). "Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" finds Indy (Harrison Ford) trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent (Cate Blanchett) for the mystical, all-powerful Crystal Skull of Akator. Teaming up with a rebellious young biker (Shia LaBeouf) and his spirited original love Marion (KarenAllen), Indy takes you on a breathtaking action-packed adventure in the exciting tradition of the classic "Indiana Jones" movies.

Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat.