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I'll give him a mulligan because he's coming off vacation, but he's slipping into Larry King inanity
Mr. Sowell once again hits the nail on the head with some of his random
thoughts.
Random thoughts
By Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Random thoughts on the passing scene:
They say that man cannot control the weather. But every time I buy photographic equipment, it rains.
Who says that there is no difference between the political parties? When Democrats are criticized, they counter-attack. When Republicans are criticized, they whine that they are innocent.
We all enter the world knowing nothing but, by the time we are teenagers, we know it all. Sometimes it is decades later before we know enough to realize how little we know.
Nothing is called "second-hand" any more, except "second-hand smoke." Why is it not called "pre-owned" smoke?
Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to be discrimination.
Some people seem to think that we live in more "liberated" times, when all that has happened is that one set of taboos has been replaced by another and more intolerantly enforced set of taboos.
If people had been as mealy-mouthed in centuries past as they are today, Ivan the Terrible would have been called Ivan the Inappropriate.
Sometimes you need a vacation just to recover from all the preparations you made before going on vacation.
Why would a boxer agree to a match in another boxer's home town?
Whatever the political benefits of making decisions by committees, the need for consensus virtually guarantees the lowest common denominator. A bipartisan committee with people of widely differing views has to paper over these differences and issue mushy pieties, like those of the Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq.
I don't feel any different as I get older. However, I do notice that, when I am out biking, a lot of other bikers seem to be passing me and I don't seem to be passing anybody.
What is especially disturbing about the political left is that they seem to have no sense of the tragedy of the human condition. Instead, they tend to see the problems of the world as due to other people not being as wise or as noble as themselves.
The next time somebody says that the government is forced to intervene in the economy to protect the poor, ask why the government is forcing taxpayers to subsidize municipal golf courses, the ballet, opera and -- the biggest subsidy of all -- surrounding affluent communities with vast amounts of expensive "open space."
Some days I don't seem to have much energy. Perhaps worse yet, I don't particularly want much energy.
One of the scariest aspects of our times is how easy it is for glib loudmouths to turn us against each other, weakening the whole framework of society, on which we all depend.
Boy do we ever see that here on this site.
Despite the shameless propaganda of the environmentalist zealots about the loss of animal habitat, more than 90 percent of the land in the United States is undeveloped. Animals already have vastly more habitat than human beings have. How much is enough?
As much as I have enjoyed traveling, the older I get the sooner I become homesick.
The Detroit "big three" top automobile manufacturers in America have already become the "big two," as Toyota replaced DaimlerChrysler as the third largest seller of cars in the United States. An internal memo from the Ford Motor Company indicates that they expect Toyota to replace them in the number two spot.
It is hard to think of any word that has confused more issues than the word "rights." Nowadays, almost anything that anybody wants is called a "right" -- a magic word that does away with the need for evidence, logic or even common sense.
(Does this remind any of you of one or two on this board)
Many of the same people who are urging us to get out of Iraq are also urging us to go into Darfur. They say we should "do something" about the murderous horrors in Darfur. But you cannot simply "do something." You have to do something specific. Those who are urging intervention won't take the responsibility for specifying what we are to do -- and at what cost in American lives.
Compact disks are especially valuable to people who listen to classical music. Through CDs, they can now enjoy the music without having to watch the antics and rituals of classical concerts.
We can only hope that the rumor that Israel is going to take out Iran's nuclear weapons facilities is true. If they do, Israel will be widely condemned by governments that are breathing a sigh of relief that they did.
(Boy, is this ever a true statement)
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Ins ute and author of Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy.
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I'll give him a mulligan because he's coming off vacation, but he's slipping into Larry King inanity
I was thinking Andy Rooney...
For that he'd need a "Y'ever wonder" style catchphrase.
Seems a spot on description of the political right as well, only i'd add the word "righteous".
The right have no sense of the tragedy of their own condition.
One of the scariest aspects of our times is how easy it is for glib loudmouths to turn us against each other, weakening the whole framework of society, on which we all depend.
He must mean GOP talk radio.. those are the only folks trying to tear this country apart..
Or like redeploy or maybe the new catch phrase: Escalation. Hmmmm,
echo's of the 70's and CBS news.
And we'll be greeted in Iraq as liberators with rose peddles and chocolate.We can only hope that the rumor that Israel is going to take out Iran's nuclear weapons facilities is true. If they do, Israel will be widely condemned by governments that are breathing a sigh of relief that they did.
Not with our kids.
Take us back in time XRay. Describe your at ude towards black people when you were say, 20. Paragraphs are encouraged, but not expected.
The Hoover Ins ute is widely responsible for the framework of our invasion and strategies into Iraq.
Next.
What is there to say. When I was twenty I was living in England. Worked
with many blacks and got along with them quite well thank you.
The thing many don't understand, with my generation there was many of
us that thought it was dumb to treat blacks the way they were and told
our elders as much and got into as many arguments as we do here on this
board. I have no trouble with equal rights, I do have trouble with unequal
rights as now is practiced by the politicians and courts.
Remember one thing equal rights means equal responsibility, does it not?
Bull man....what are we doing in Iraq? Yeah the plan for Iraq is even better than the plan for the Sudan which the United States has none, so that's not saying much about the plan for Iraq.
I'd take Sudan over Iraq anyday. Both places are terrible...but we don't need another Rwanda on our hands which the Sudan is quickly becoming.
Uh, keep the militias from hacking hundreds of thousands of people to death with machetes. That's not specific enough?
I think the specifics that he is talking about is "how do you stop it from happening even after we leave"? You know, kind of like we didn't have in Iraq when we went in.
Was Sowell asking for that in Iraq?
Once the killing is stopped, punt it over to the UN and African Union for peacekeeping. That's not rocket science.
Well, while I agree, you saying that means approximately nothing in regards to what will actually happen. He's talking about politicians, not internet chat board moderators.
^^Oh yeah, the UN and Africa Union does such a great job. Like in the past.
Actually the African Union peacekeepers have been pretty effective in Sudan. There just aren't enough of them.
And the UN peacekeepers are currently operating in ten+ areas. It's a mixed record, but not bad enough to be dismissed out of hand.
Would you say the job they've done is inferior to the job we've done?
No . Why discuss anything ever in that case? We're not coaches or GMs but we talk about what we would do in pro basketball every day.
Just making sure you remember where you stand in the world's pecking order.
Same place as you.
Yeah, but at least I know where I stand and don't think of myself as any better due to the posts I make on a chat board.
Don't worry about it Jackass, I was just picking on you.
Of course you think of yourself as better. You're a self-righteous asshole.
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