SOTOMAYOR AND "EMPATHY"

Appointing judges on the basis of their "empathy" in place of thorough understanding of and respect for the law, sound self-knowledge, humility and just plain humanitarianism is apparently not a new concept. Paul Moreno, at the History News Network, has written a frightening article titled When "Empathy" Goes Awry, in which he details the ironic - and sometimes tragic - ways in which empathy-based appointments had turned out. From Oliver Wendell Holmes who respected little except eugenics to William O. Douglas who was "rude, ice-cold, hot-tempered, ungrateful, foul-mouthed, self-absorbed, and devoured by ambition," the article is a cautionary tale for these postmodern times.

And just to show that there is nothing new under the sun, borking by so-called progressives was alive and well long before Ted Kennedy. In particular, Moreno recounts the 1930 manhandling of Judge Parker:

Self-righteous progressives also abused many good judges whom they incorrectly believed did not meet their “empathy” standard. In 1930 Judge John J. Parker was effectively “borked” by New York Senator Robert F. Wagner.

Moreno's concluding paragraph says it all:

We can hope that President Obama has better luck choosing justices by the standard of “empathy.” But it would be better still if he found some other standard.

Like, maybe, thorough understanding of and respect for the law, sound self-knowledge, humility and just plain humanitarianism...

SECOND-GENERATION KEYNESIANISM

The Czech President Václav Klaus, a well-known economist, had published a fascinating article about today's economic crisis in April 2009. He referred, specifically, to the implementation of policies based an aggressive second-generation Keynesianism that seem hell-bent on making things worse and ultimately turning our democracy into full-fledged socialism (see also Klaus's trenchant commentary on Europe's democratic deficit that is spreading to the United States).

The article, titled The Dangers of an Aggressive Second-Generation Keynesianism, was published in Lidové noviny on April 25, 2009. Translated extracts are below.

• I contend that, at this moment, we live in an era whose major characteristics are a consequence, or even a product, of the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. More specifically, our situation is a result of the way in which the Great Depression had been interpreted.
• The Great Depression was taken as proof-positive of the unsuitability of the existing form of capitalism. This conclusion resulted in far-reaching interventions in the functioning and institutions of this unique, fundamentally fragile and easily damaged social system.
• In the Thirties...[a] scientific-sounding doctrine had come into being...from John Maynard Keynes, one of the best-known personages in the contemporary economic science establishment (Cambridge University), cultural world (the London Bloomsbury group) and economic policy (major roles in key economic conferences following both world wars). Keynes’ doctrine, attractively formulated, easy to understand and easy to integrate into political thinking, was taken as gospel truth. It remained so at least through the early 1970s, when the accumulation of economic problems of the time led to the rise of stagflation, a phenomenon incomprehensible to Keynesians.
• Keynes...grasped what society hungered for. He tore down capitalism sufficiently to discredit it [as well as]...all of contemporary economic science. He also managed to convince economists, politicians and the media that the only possible future for capitalism entailed massive state involvement in the economy by means of extensive government expenditures that were to supplement the inherently insufficient “effective demand” of the non-state sector of the economy – i.e. all of us as consumers and investors.
• Keynes...was convinced that the state (represented by enlightened people like himself) would spend taxpayers’ money better than they themselves could. He dramatically replayed the issue of market failure over and over again, but he never asked himself about the failure of the state. He was a prototypical philosopher-king type,... a type that keenly feels the calling to direct the rest of us
• Keynes’ starting premise was that the market had failed and the state must therefore step in. Hence the need for massive state expenditures of any kind...[but] Keynes was primarily interested in the so-called multiplier effect that would create various types of income: in other words, gross national product. What Keynes did not mean was the creation of new production capacity. This explains his emphasis on revenue-generating, not capacity-generating, effects of additional expenditures...The multiplier works whether or not an activity is unproductive, hence deficit financing of the national budget, regulation of the economy, nationalization and intervention now, regardless of future consequences.
• Keynesianism, or more accurately, policies based on Keynesianism, triumphed in developed Western nations. If we compare the share of government expenditures in the 1930 GNP to that of 2000, we find enormous growth. A comparison of the tax burden once more reveals a large increase (here, 1930 should really be compared to 1980, i.e. to the world before Reagan and Thatcher). National debt, likewise. Social revenue as a percentage of overall revenue, the same. The number of government officials, ditto. The number of pages of legislation, again ditto.
• Moreover, there is a ratchet effect, allowing movement in only one direction. This movement is referred to as forward movement or progress, but this kind of “progress” is fiction. It is best called no progress at all. It turns out that movement in the other direction is only possible in a kind of revolutionary moment like, for instance, the fall of Communism....[But] our policy of deregulation, privatization, denationalization and desubsidization of the economy ended in the second half of the 1990s. The first decade of the 21st century already saw a complete triumph of social democracy in its various guises...To put it simply, Keynesianism triumphed. This is the very thing to which the Great Depression had given birth.
• Today’s crisis is greater than the crises of past decades. (This is so despite the fact that the fall of Communism, which had nothing to do with Keynesianism, resulted in much greater economic losses than today’s crisis.)
• Some months ago,...I [expressed]...my skepticism that the crisis can be “cured” by cash infusions from the government... I...submit that the crisis must run its course. It is a curative process, an indispensable and irreplaceable liquidation of mistaken and therefore untenable economic endeavors. It makes no sense to try to bypass it by maintaining these endeavors artificially, with taxpayers’ money.
• [T]oday’s crisis...was...certainly not caused by a Keynesian “insufficient effective demand,“ or insufficient consumption or investment on the part of private entities. That is why it cannot be resolved by a government augmentation of this allegedly insufficient effective demand in accordance with Keynes’ prescriptions.
• The crisis arose due to ambitious but irrational government interventions in interest rates and the change in the U.S. Treasury’s monetary policy that increased monetary growth, all accompanied by ill-advised government regulation of the financial sector. Unrealistically low interest rates in the housing sector led to an imbalance that must be corrected, not artificially maintained by means of a flood of new money. The bubble must be allowed to shrink: it must not be pumped up even more....
• The economic crisis will pass, sooner or later. There will be long-term damage, but it will accrue elsewhere. The opponents of the market have once again managed to create a widespread distrust of the system. Now, however, it is not merely distrust of free-market capitalism; of the laissez-faire system; of the capitalism of Adam Smith, Friedrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman, as was the case during the Great Depression. Today, the distrust is aimed at the contemporary, highly regulated state capitalism....Our contemporary socialist visionaries make it clear – despite their rhetoric that often says something very different – that even this state capitalism is too much for them. A Keynesian revolution is not enough for them. They want yet another revolution – one that limits the market still further.
• We are approaching real socialism. The market is no longer seen as an autonomous system but a mere tool in the hands of the self-appointed elect to create economic latifundias. This is ultimately the meaning of expressions like “economics must serve the people,” “financial system in the service of humanity,” etc....I am not sure that capitalism will survive this qualitative shift.
• The market either exists, or it does not. In the past, central planners thought that the market is a tool, but they understood that it was not possible to get rid of it altogether. They therefore wanted to exploit it in their own way, for their own purposes. Unfortunately, the market cannot be so used. The market is an outcome of voluntary human activity that people...offer to others...Such offering is the consequence of the market’s functioning; without it, there is – nor can there be – any production of goods or services. Such production is not something outside the market – it is the market. Thus, today’s crisis is not caused by the market but by government intervention in it.
• Avoiding future crises by additional interventions is impossible. It is, however, possible to destroy the market. Here, in Europe, we are not very far from that.
• The most urgent task of our times is to ensure that this second-generation Keynesianism is not implemented. We must not replay the events of the 1930s and of the years that followed. We must limit state intervention in the functioning of the market, not expand it.
• ...[T]oday’s European post-democracy cannot proceed in that direction. In it, the voice of the citizen is very weak indeed, and it becomes weaker by the day. On the other hand, the number of unelected bureaucrats who bear no love for the free market is growing without restraint.
• In the 1930s, democrats and liberals (in the European sense) had failed intellectually and politically, and were unable to fight off the wave of distrust of the market. Today, the one and only important thing is that we do not end up the way they did, or even worse.

Lots of food of thought there, with direct and ominous relevance to the Obama economic policies.

A DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT IN EUROPE

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus has come up with a very descriptive term for the tremendous - and increasing - power of the unelected Eurocrat elite in Brussels and the ever-diminishing power of the citizens of European countries. In a March 22, 2009 interview with The Sunday Times, he called it the democratic deficit. Naturally enough, he has frequently come under vicious attack by the Eurocrats for his independent, critical and pro-democracy stance, the latest a few days ago by the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, who accused Klaus of "demolishing Europe."

Klaus's response was very simple. First, he pointed out that Kouchner's accusation has nothing to do with what he, Klaus, had said. Then he added pointedly:

If people like Mr. Kouchner view my opinions as a demolition of Europe, then I can only say that they themselves set the stage for that demolition by demolishing a democratic discussion.

Another interesting observation from the same article:

I also stressed that in the...radio talk which, by the way, had received almost no publicity. In contrast, the media had trumpeted Mr. Kouchner’s statement far and wide.

It seems that both Europe and the United States now face the same problem: an administration that is hell-bent on centralizing power in the hands of the unelected few and major media outlets that are in the securely pockets of the centralizers.

Maybe that is why the current European Parliament elections aren't going so well for the Eurocrats: the so-called center-right is gaining strength in the European Parliament at the expense of the so-called left, and leftist parties in many member nations are in crisis.

Maybe that's also why the Obamite administration is losing popularity so precipitously.

There is always trouble when people begin to wake up to the fact that the honeyed words they are being fed are mainly b.s.

SILENCING PESKY OPPOSITION, PART 2

Norm Eisen, the Obamite Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, feels that criticism of the "stimulus" plan is inconceivable. He therefore intends to crush dissent by "all persons...exerting influence on the process." (h/t Ed Morrissey) That means you and me.

The full quote is here. (Did a screen capture in case it gets memory-holed.) Read it and weep, people:

“First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

“Second, we will focus the restriction on oral communications to target the scenario where concerns about merit-based decision-making are greatest—after competitive grant applications are submitted and before awards are made. Once such applications are on file, the competition should be strictly on the merits. To that end, comments (unless initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and will be posted on the Internet for every American to see.

“Third, we will continue to require immediate internet disclosure of all other communications with registered lobbyists. If registered lobbyists have conversations or meetings before an application is filed, a form must be completed and posted to each agency’s website documenting the contact.”

Next, the Obamites will surely be outlawing other forms of criticism, no matter how well founded. Do you object to cap-n-trade, the abomination that even members of The One Party (uh, I mean Democrats) recognize as a "great big tax" that has already proven ineffective in Europe? Obamite reeducation camp for you.

Norm, be happy! Together with The Telegraph, you're in the running for the 2009 PPPAPP, in the correct speech category!

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE GETS THE BETTER OF AN OBAMA SUPPORTER...

...and he is calling for his former idol's resignation. Check out a May 29 article by Ted Rall, who formerly called for a death sentence for George Bush in May 2008 (h/t JammieWearingFool).

Rall's summary of Obama's betrayals, stupidies, lies and other dangerous acts is remarkably complete. One quote from Rall's article says it all - for the rest, go to the article itself:

Obama has revealed himself. He is a monster, and he should remove himself from power.

Trouble is, being a monster and having enough insight to remove oneself from power are two mutually exclusive things. His intent is to drag down into the abyss, though he and the Obamites see this as progress.

Progress, that is, for the elect few, but regression for the endless multitudes.

So the question remains, what do we do now?

PROSPERITY, SOCIALIST-STYLE

This picture from the "bad old days" (i.e. Communist Czechoslovakia) almost brought sentimental tears to my eyes. I remember people (including my mother) going out and standing in line for hours on the strength of a rumor (!) that such-and-such a store will have meat available. At times, people would start staking out their positions in front of the store in the wee hours and get relief from other family members, friends or neighbors in the early morning.



Just thought I would remind my fellow Americans what socialism is really all about...

SILENCING PESKY OPPOSITION

Obamites, take note! Here is a valuable lesson to be learned from the Brits, via Phil Hendren, aka Dizzy.

British Members of Parliament (MPs) have had their troubles of late, in no small measure due to The Telegraph’s recent revelations of widespread improprieties in MPs’ expense accounts. For the first time in 300 years, the Speaker of the House of Commons has resigned, and several other MPs are planning to stand down as well.

Let me say that politicians ought to be monitored closely, so in that, I am with The Telegraph. But perhaps I should also add that that a legislator’s resignation in the wake of revelations of bad behavior is a very good idea (mother Pelosi, brother Frank, childe Barack, clown prince Joey et al, take note!).

Then came trouble. (It always does...) Given the tendency of the media to ratchet up the pressure to insane levels, the situation soon turned into a witch hunt.

Then came more trouble – someone fired back. Nadine Dorries, a Mid Bedfordshire Tory, addressed the witch-hunt atmosphere in the blog portion of her website. Among others, she apparently voiced her concern that the merciless pressure might drive some MPs to suicide (has happened before, actually). She also reportedly alleged that The Telegraph might have a hidden agenda: smear MPs in the traditional parties, driving voters toward the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP).

Since Dorries’s website and blog are operated by The Telegraph Group, The Telegraph found it easy to answer MP Dorries’s allegations. They immediately shut down the blog portion of her website, citing their acceptable user policy.

That’s where The Telegraph and I part ways. The idea of shutting up someone who criticizes you is so monumentally stupid, so profoundly reactionary, so totalitarian in nature that anyone who does it is automatically gets entered in the running for my much sought-after annual Pol Pot Prize for Absolutely Progressive Procedures, or PPPAPP. (BTW, the PPPAPP is known the world over as the dictator’s Nobel/Pulitzer.)

But if silencing the opposition is your thing, this is how it’s done. So I say again: Obamites, take note and learn from The Telegraph!