Quote of the day - Will Durant - The Renaissance

But it took more than a revival of antiquity to make the Renaissance.  And first of all it took money - smelly, bourgeois money: the profits of skillful managers and underpaid labor; of hazardous voyages to the East, and laborious crossings of the Alps, to buy goods cheap and sell them dear; of careful calculations, investments, and loans, of interest and dividends accumulated until enough surplus could be spared from the pleasures of the flesh, from the purchase of senates, signories, and mistresses, to pay a Michelangelo or a Titian to transmute wealth into beauty, and perfume a fortune with the breath of art.  Money is the root of all civilization. 

Will Durant, The Renaissance, (1953) pp. 67, 68

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

It may be that the strange synchronicity between the president and the permanent bureaucracy is mere happenstance and not, as it might sound to the casual ear, the sinister merging of party and state. Either way, they need to be pried apart. When the state has the capability to know everything except the difference between right and wrong, it won’t end well.


Mark Steyn - June 7, 2013

Harry Belafonte advises Obama to imprison political opponents; Revenge

Harry Belafonte (as a guest on MSNBC) has advised President Obama to imprison his political opponents "like a third world dictator."  

If you are not sure exactly who it is that Belafonte wants to see imprisoned, I have a pretty good guess.  It is the same people that President Obama wants to get "revenge" against.

401(k) accounts to be seized?; Obama's revenge.

On November 1, 2008, I predicted that Obama would seize private retirement accounts, including 401(k)'s.  I provided more detail on November 15, 2008. 

A story in Time Magazine now appears to lay the groundwork for just such action.  If Time Magazine is pushing a policy, you can bet that such a policy is already a high priority on the agenda of the Democrats in Washington. 

This is more of what Obama had in mind when he spoke of getting revenge.  If you have a retirement account, you are part of the answer to the question - "Revenge against who?"

The only way to address this oncoming robbery to is publicize the issue now as often as possible.  If opposition grows now, enough politicians might get scared away from supporting such a measure. 

Also, publicity will cause people to stop contributing to their IRA's and 401(k)'s.  [It may even cause some people to withdraw their funds now, regardless of the penalties.]  This decline in contributions will place downward pressure on the stock markets.  Declining stock and equity values in general will present a less inviting target for the government. 

This is an example of why it is good to elect Republicans, even if they will not reverse the disastrous course the U.S. is on.  If a Republican congress or president can merely slow down the onrushing socialist consolidation of power, some of us might reach retirement age before they seize our retirement accounts.

Revenge vs. Love of Country

Yesterday's election saw the victory of "revenge" over "love of country."

Every so often, a politician accidentally speaks the truth (or something close to it). Last week, Obama said something very revealing about his own motivations and those of his supporters.

We will shortly find out what form that revenge will take.

We will not know the answer to the question, "Revenge for what?" Even last night's victors and their supporters don't know the answer to that question.

We already have a pretty good idea about the answer to the second question, "Revenge against who?" Here is a hint, if you do not draw a payecheck, benefit check or other income from the government, you are it.

-------------------- update 11-8-12

Benghazi and Chappaquiddick

At first it might seem like a stretch to compare Benghazi with Chappaquiddick, but the similarities exist.  Modern pundits are anxious to compare every scandal to Watergate.  But not every scandal is like Watergate.  Some scandals lend themselves to other comparisons. 

In both cases, politicians allowed people to die over the course of hours.  Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama abandoned their victims for their own political benefit.  The victims lingered and struggled for life for many hours while Kennedy and Obama slept.  Kennedy and Obama could have sent help, but did not do so.

Mary Jo Kopechne struggled for air in a car underwater while Kennedy slept in a nearby hotel.  The Americans in Benghazi fought Al Qaeda for 7 hours, expecting special forces to rescue them - all the while Obama's people watched events unfold as Obama slept. 

Obama and his people lied about what happened to prevent the American people from discovering larger problems with his foreign policy.

Kennedy never did provide more than a cursory explanation of what happened. Many questions never have been answered.  He was excused from explaining by compliant local police and a subservient media.

Chappaquiddick followed Kennedy for the rest of his life.  It affected his presidential campaign eleven years later.  It defined his legacy for the rest if his life and beyond.

Benghazi may do the same for Obama. 

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

 Look at Lower Manhattan in the dark, and try to imagine what America might look like after the rest of the planet decides it no longer needs the dollar as global reserve currency.

Mark Steyn - 11-2-12   (writing in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy).