Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from May, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor

1) A caller to the Rush Limbaugh Show made the point that he could not recall a case of a Democrat appointed or elected to a political position thanking the welfare state for helping them. Rather, they have stories of families coming together. Then, they try to get into office to put more of the welfare state on others. 2) I heard a commentator on NPR commenting on Sotomayor's terrific personal story. It reminded me of an exchange between Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va . "I just want to remind you, Mr. Secretary, that a lot of us were here before you came," said Byrd, 84. "And with all due respect to you, you're not Alexander Hamilton," the nation's first treasury secretary. O'Neill, 66, paused to gather himself at the witness table, then answered in a voice quivering with indignation. "I've dedicated my life to doing what I can to get rid of rules that limit human potential," he said. "And I'm

False charges and real criminals

Avery Tooley and Booker Rising both take issue with the white chick who said she was abducted by two black men. I don't take issue with their comments, not even with Shay's provocative headline ("White Girl, Please: Don't Blame It On The Sunshine..."). But then, I probably wouldn't take issue with someone white writing, "Black Girl, Please: Don't Blame It On The Moon." I do wonder: Why in the world would such a story about black men seem believable to anyone? After all, she mentioned black men--why didn't she pin the blame on Native American Indians or Sihks? This seems to be a good time for a Bill Cosby-esque Pound Cake speech ...if black hoodlums would stop committing so many damn crimes then people wouldn't be so quick to believe stories about black men... I understand the concern about the occasional white lunatic or opportunist trying to blame blacks for problems, and the need to publicly flog and criminally punish such people. I&

Stage Two, nobody's grinning

In the book Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One , Thomas Sowell wrote that most bad public policies are a result of political decisions that consider “ policies, institutions, or programs in terms of their hoped-for results ” rather than the “actual characteristics of the processes set in motion.” If you've read a lot of Sowell then you may recall that he made this point in his 1980 book Knowledge and Decisions . Politicians will only consider Stage One--the contrived press conference, the pretty press release pronouncing the great hoped-for results, the alleged short-term benefits, the clear beneficiaries. They don't address the long-term consequences of such policies or "invisible victims." Sowell highlights Stage One thinking when it comes to things such as business tax increases, price controls, minimum wage laws, anti-discrimination laws. Snipped from a Cato Institute review of the book : In stage one, government raises the minimum wage, and entry-lev

I (still) Believe North Korea...

From the CJL archives, c. 1997. I Believe! by Casey J. Lartigue Jr. A resident of Songnam City, Pundang, Korea I believe North Korea when it says that South Korea started the Korean war in 1950. I didn't believe Boris Yeltsin when he released secret documents revealing that North Korea started the Korean war. I believe North Korea didn't send 31 commandos into Seoul in 1968 to kill Park Chung Hee. I believe North Korea didn't send another 130 guerrillas onto the East Coast area of Uljin and Samchok later that year. Or June 1969 when it didn't send armed agents into Huksan. Or April 1970 into Hukchon. I believe the assassin who killed the South Korean first lady in 1974 wasn't a North Korean agent. I believe several North Korean agents didn't cross the border in October 1979. I believe the Earth moved and they only appeared to be in South Korea. I believe that three North Korean agents shot near the Han River in March 1980 were just out for a swim. I believe th

Black talk radio

A few years ago a caller to a black talk show station complained that there wasn't enough "serious" talk on black talk radio. I disagree in one way: there are plenty of attempts at serious talk on black radio but it ends up being comical. But I digress. The host listened to the caller, then went on a tirade. His station had switched from all music to all talk...and the station's ratings still haven't recovered. They lost half of their audience overnight. He didn't believe that black people really wanted serious talk. I've heard from a number of black commentators that there is too much "booty-shaking" on BET and other black media outlets. They just want serious conversation. Much like that skeptical host, I wonder. Nothing against black people--I suspect that most people aren't that concerned with politics. Someone who isn't skeptical is brotherman Cedric Muhammad. He has launched a new talk show . "The Cedric Muhammad And Black Co

Thomas Sowell's latest--The Housing Boom and Bust

I just got Thomas Sowell's latest-- The Housing Boom and Bust --in the mail. That's his second book this year, and we're only in May. As Walter E. Williams said to me when we talked about Sowell on the radio a few years ago: He writes with BOTH hands. CJL

$63.80?

Incredible. A book I co-edited a few years ago is for sale...for $63.80 . Or you can get it on Amazon at a bargain price of $55.00 or $50.00 . Those are used copies. I hate to undercut the folks trying to hawk my book, but... you can buy a signed copy directly from me at any of those prices listed above. I'd even bust into the Cato warehouse to get some copies of the book stacked up in a corner to sell at half of those Amazon prices. For a plane ticket, car rental, night in a hotel, and small fee, I'd even come to your home to read to you, family, and friends the chapter of the book I authored. I do wonder if any of the people who got signed copies of the book (see home page pic) have tried to sell the book. CJL