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Your tax dollars at work
After being hyped for years, the label “The Imperial Presidency” seems to be coming true.
A Justice Department official will refuse to answer questions during a Senate committee hearing on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself, her lawyer said Monday.
All of this hubbub for something that the president has the explicit power to do (fire US attorneys), he just can’t look statesmanlike in doing so. Proving once again that the genius of the American political system lies in impeding the politicians, not empowering them.
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Random theories I haven’t thought through yet
Of fact-checked for that matter. Nonetheless, here are two bigthink ideas that have occurred to me recently:
- With the notable exception of Imperial Japan, America hasn’t gone to war with any country that likes itself in the past 100 years. While I don’t usually go for theories involving Constructivism, all of the countries we’ve had conflict with, Nazi Germany, North Vietnam and North Korea, et al, are all fighting to some degree for national pride. This is why I’m not particularly worried about Iran, because the Iranians seem to like being Iranian.
- The rise of dominant militaries can be summarized as discipline vs identity. By this I mean that the troops can be effective via skillful execution of a central plan, or simply by being themselves. The Romans were a good example of a disciplined group. They were able to carry out the will of their commanders due to training and tight organization. On the other hand, the Mongols required little central direction and usually just had to be their fearsome selves to successfully win wars. Most of the major conflicts through history can be characterized as a clash between these two tactics.
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This site took a chunk of my day
Overheard at Work – it makes me a bit nostalgic for the old days of the office world.
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Qualifications for president
Perhaps it’s me, but is the incidence of presidential candidates having young children higher than normal? Obama, Edwards, IIRC McCain as well, and I’m sure I’m leaving a few out. Personally I think we should raise (via constitutional amendment) the minimum age for president to at least 55. Why would anyone want to subject their children to life in the public eye?
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Those crazy Germans
I read this fawning article on the future of China in der Spiegel. The go on and on about the benefits of state owned industry, and a central strategy for all of China’s economic activity. And not once do they use the term “National Socialism”!
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Silver King
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Quick Thursday round up
- An interesting profile of Robert Levy, who spearheaded the successful DC gun ban lawsuit. I met him several years ago when I was interning at Cato. A very smart and nice guy.
- More future of the automobile, this time from CNN. The big three American automakers and their Japanese counterparts seem to be hopelessly stuck in the past and burdened with vast wastelands of legacy costs and outdated equipment. I still have hope for American cottage industry to fill some of the gap, but I expect most of the “new” ideas to come from China. My reasoning is: The single largest unrealized opportunity for efficient cars is not the propulsion, it’s in the weight of the car itself. With new advances in carbon fiber and plastics (to replace the body, windshield, axels, and so on) you can lighten the vehicle considerably while keeping safety and performance constant. Lighter vehicle=greater fuel efficiency (by whatever measure). I think the existing players have too much invested in the current scheme and will get whupped by Chinese auto manufacturers when China reaches the necessary level of industrial sophistication (my prediction, 2015).
- Microsoft is giving away a new accounting program. I’ll have a field review in a few days.
- A pretty cool homemade fuel cell system. Not commercially viable (yet), but a good start at the grass roots.
- I just got John Boyd’s biography.
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A good article
I came across this article on Iraq’s Mercenary King recently. It’s an interesting read. One thing that’s always said about Private Military Companies is that the contractors make several times what normal American troops make. Usually in another sentence it’s said that PMCs can be deployed at a much lower cost than deploying the regular military. No one ever draws any conclusions about this disparity.
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The Germans are German
From a quick read of Der Spiegel
- They actually have a guide to “Scoring a German“
- German Brothel Offers 50-Percent Discount to Senior Citizens
The brothel “Pascha” in Cologne is now offering senior citizens a 50 percent discount on sex services — but only between the hours of 12 and 5 p.m., and only upon proof of age. The offer, which many would argue beats free coffee at McDonalds, is valid for clients aged 66 and over.
Only “many”? Not all? Also from the same article
A brothel in Dresden in economically hard-hit eastern Germany made headlines in 2005 when it introduced a 20-percent discount for the long-term unemployed.
I can’t think of a worse incentive…
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I miss Ronald Reagan
Somehow I stumbled upon this quote of his about hippies, to wit a hippie is someone who “dresses like Tarzan, has hair like Jane, and smells like Cheetah.”
Is there anyone on the political scene right now that has come up with a better one liner? Clinton did have a few good ones in the early nineties, but the only pithy statements lately are Rice’s “Franco-American relations work much better in reality than in theory” and Rumsfeld’s response when asked him if he thought the Taliban would fight to the death: “We won’t know that until they’re all dead!”.
Rumsfeld and Rice were appointees though. Have there been any good one-liners by anyone running for the 2008 election?