last of the great society

HIPPIES

This is the last gasp for the summer of love - their present positions in the media, government bureaucracy and academia are at a pinnacle and will only recede in the coming decades. This is their Tet offensive - apparitionaly winning, but they may end up on the wrong side of history. Back in the late sixties/ early seventies communism was still expanding, the west was beginning a decline, and the future was murky. Flower people set out to form a society without rules or even money, and the so called great society balloon was launched amid anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-west delusions. US economic opulence in the 50's and early 60's allowed a generation of listlessness and ignorant protest. Of coarse the whole thing went up in smoke when reality set in (obviously a Nixon/Kissinger dirty trick). True historians never look at events of the past quarter century because they are still too biased, like uncured cement. It is very easy to write a book beating up on the current administrations faults. They are not unprecedented nor unique in the history of our nation nor humankind. Only time will tell if Bush is judged as a Wilson/Johnson or a Lincoln/Trueman, except to those with the superior vision, the present flower children's fantasy, which says he is the worst ever.

dont ask your doctor

HEALTH CARE

Spiraling health costs can easily be reduced by curtailing all the new medicine and procedures that cost so much. Big Pharma is our enemy driving up costs - we should take the European model and not let them advertise the benefits of their drugs. That way consumers are kept in the dark over what potential ailments they have and do not see their doctor to learn more. This is the fault of the ownership society - the poor benighted do not have the volition to direct their own heath care. That is best managed by Hillarycare - an all-knowing benevolent concept of shared responsibility. The rich are responsible for sharing their wealth (giving back) through taxes to subsidise everyone else's unlimited health care wants. To control costs waiting lists can be introduced and drug prices will be fixed to discourage Big Pharma from developing new expensive drugs. Life is inherently unfair - so say the naysayers - but through coercive government action, everyone can be made equally ill - the egalitarians wish. This is societies choice: single payer statism or individualistic opportunity.

law and order

FRED THOMPSON

What's not to like about Fred Thompson? Well he supports campaign finance reform (incumbent protection reform), but that is about it for now. He actually sounds like a politician who believes in the Constitutions provisions for federalism/states rights. Economics and national defense - so far so good. Entitlement reform will hopefully be a major focus in the GOP primaries. Giuliani is weak on saying that the Constitution supports taxpayer funding of abortions. McCain is a progressive Republican in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt (mold being that undesirable stuff on bread i.e. your wallet). Romney is a lifetime hunter (twice) and can easily shoot himself in the foot. What is it about Tennessee which has more political talent per capita than any other state - political talent as defined by politicians making an impact on the national scene, not true talent, so yes Algore counts.

gwb america

MODERN LIBERAL LAMENT

This is George W. Bushes America. We live in tyranny with detention camps, torture and wiretaps. 40 million Americans are uninsured and the genocide in Darfur continues. The US ignored Hiv/aids too long in Africa. Big oil has jacked up gas to over $3 a gallon and global warming is spreading rapidly. The assault weapons ban has lapsed and look at the Virginia Tech massacre. 'Islamic insurgents' need access to our courts with our rights to press their cases against us. We need to sit down with Bushes enemies and find out why they are mad, to stop what we are doing to provoke them, starting with ending the apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territories. We were promised weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - how where we fooled into fighting a war for democracy, universal suffrage, women's rights and justice? Eighteen years ago in Tienanmen Square students were put down for aspiring to become like us. (What fools they are.)