FRIDAY MORNING RAMBLE: A cup of tea and some lies down

In a lacklustre, blancmange campaign based on little more than partial promises, partial truths, partial privatisations, and will-he-won’t-he wetness about cups of tea or a lie (or two), it’s a struggle to find much worth reading about a campaign that’s doing everything to avoid the elephant in the room that is the promise of both Blue and Red Teams  to keep living beyond our means while bribing us with our own money.

So here in no particular order is just some of what I’ve read recently, or even not so recently, round the net—the stuff I thought you might enjoy too. Or at least appreciate:

• “Political parties are trying to convince us there's a real choice for voters. But just how meaningful is this choice?..What should be apparent - but is never advertised - is just how much they agree on. An analysis of the policy and manifesto promises of the two major parties shows Labour and National are in virtual agreement on something like 99 per cent of the way society is run.”
  Left right rhetoric masks almost identical policies -  Bryce Edwards,  N Z   H E R A L D
• “Well, if it’s frustrating to see major parties wrangle over spreadsheets it’s heartening to see someone try to unravel the narrative of each party’s campaign…”
  The story of this election – T H E   V I S I B L E   H A N D
  Fun with fiscal forecasting – T H E   V I S I B L E   H A N D
• Raising benefits increase the rate of unmarried births, which increases dependence on welfare.
  Extending the IWTC to beneficiaries increases benefit payments. Evidence here:
  Raising benefits increases the rate of unmarried birth... – L I N D S A Y   M I T C H E L L
• Bomber Bradbury wasn't exactly kind in his review of the LibertariaNZ's opening broadcast ad.
  So what?
  Get out of the way  - O F F S E T T I N G   B E H A V I O U R
• There is now “credible proof” Iran is working on a nuclear bomb. We were all happy during both Gulf Wars that the Israelis had bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor.  (Imagine Saddam with nukes? Even the primitive missiles he did fire would have had catastrophic effects.)
  So will we have reason to thank them again? Or will we instead face an Islamic supremacist with nukes, cheered on with commendable illogic from numb nuts like Jane Young?
   Time for a pre-emptive strike on Israel's itchy trigger – Jane Young, P U N D I T
  Are we paying attention to foreign threats? – Elan Journo,  V O I C E S    O F   R E A S O N
  Just-War Theory vs [Western] Self-Defence 
  -  Yaron Brook & Alex Epstein, T H E   J E R U S A L E M    C O N N E C T I O N
• The EU’s problems stem from a destructive attempt by its leaders to save out-of-date institutions Bruno Waterfield on the EU crisis – S P I K E D   O N L I N E
• Bryce Wilkinson takes the prior government to task for its decision to subsidize dodgy finance companies. “What was the justification for the failure to charge a fee commensurate with the anticipated losses? … There was none.” That New Zealand's Occupy-Wall-Street emulators haven't focused their attention on this debacle speaks to their economic illiteracy.
  Deposit guarantee redux – O F F S E T T I N G   B E H A V I O U R
• Message to The Greens: Adding to the Spanish and Solyndra billion-dollar “Green Job’ debacles, yet another US Government-picked power company lies buried in the Green Graveyard, it’s resources wasted and its “green jobs” just another failed fantasy. So why would it be any different here?
  Another Government-Picked Power Company Buried in the Green Graveyard 
  – T H E   F O U N D R Y
• I’ve said it many times before: I will take the Greens seriously when they bleat about water quality when they take Common Law methods for protecting water quality seriously
  Dams will damn our rivers – Russel Norman,  F R O G   B L O G , 2 0 1 1
  Dirty dairying and dodgy drafting -  N O T   P C , 2 0 0 8
• Q: How do you eradicate possums? A: Give them to DoC to protect. Just like these snails.
  DoC staff 'upset' mishap killed rare snails - N Z H E R A L D

“Central Banks around the world have been printing paper money since 1971.  But
although this money costs next to nothing to print (or juggle in the back of
computers) it is supplied at its full face value and interest is charged. This is
debt money and they will want it repaid at some stage.
This week Greece and Italy found out about the downside of
debt. Two Prime Ministers gone. Their replacements will fare no better.
This is no way to run the world.
We have more scientists alive today than have ever lived before but almost
none of them is thinking about a scientific basis for economics. If we understood
and taught what is true about economics rather than trying to explain away
the effects of paper money printing and applying Keynesian solutions, which is
just to print more paper money, we might have a chance of solving the problem.
But the trouble is that there is too much power and profit for the money
printers and they cannot allow the system to stop. After all if you could print
up unlimited money at will you might also find it hard to stop.
We must look after ourselves as best we can. The system can only be changed after
it has been completely broken. We must watch and wait while the big bust continues.”
               - Phil at NZ’s Foundation for Economic Growth

• Ex-Greek Prime Minister George Papandreao sealed the final act for Greece's democratic socialist attempt to live a life that it wasn't willing to pay for, and should serve as a warning for the economic catastrophe that the Euro project has become.
  Greece is about to collapse under the weight of multiple acts of reality evasion
  - L I B E R T Y S C O T T
• Since at least 1971, when Richard Nixon pulled the rug out from the last fiscal defence against full-blown Keynesian extravagance, Central Banks have acted as implicit backstop to the incessant welfare overspending of governments. Just another dirty little secret of the Welfare State.
  But now that the European debt chickens are coming home to roost, will the European Central Bank finally say “Nein"!”?
  No, Germans are not insane. They just remember Weimar.
  Actually The ECB Has Already Handed Out €1 Trillion; And Why Germany Equates ECB Printing With Hyperinflation – Z E R O   H E D G E 
  Italy's €5 Billion Bill Auction, Which Reeks Of Illegal ECB Intervention– Z E R O H E D G E
  ECB says no more ammo! – Z E R O H E D G E
  What should the ECB do? – M A R G I N A L   R E V O L U T I O N
• And how Europe’s number 2 economy help save Greece and Italy if their chief concern is to save themselves?
  France, the New Elephant in the Room - M I S H ‘ S    E C O N O M I C     A N A L Y S I S
• “The us Federal Reserve claims to have the ability to control inflation should it ever rear its ugly head upon the economy. Inflation doves like Chicago Fed president Charles Evans and the Fed chairman himself, Ben Bernanke, have stated that should inflation ever rise outside of controllable levels they can simply rein it in by reversing policy. Well, then, how about right now.”
  The Fed, The ECB, $5 Gasoline and Once Again, Goldman Sachs – B A S T I A T   I N S T I T U T E
• “Three years after Iceland's banks collapsed and the country teetered on the brink, its economy is recovering, proof that governments should let failing lenders go bust and protect taxpayers, analysts say.”
  Lesson from Iceland: Let the banks go bust. - 9 N E W S F I N A N C E
• "Ignoring or squelching politically inexpedient prices doesn't make them go away."
  Speculators Make Markets Too – Jonathan Hoenig, W A L L S T R E E T J O U R N A L
• Drachma anyone?? //Top German Economist: 'It's in Greece's Interest to Reintroduce the Drachma'
  'It's in Greece's Interest to Reintroduce the Drachma' – D E R S P I E G E L
• Residential property prices are in freefall in China.
  Property Prices Collapse in China. Is This a Crash? - F O R B E S
• Even Keynes became skeptical of govt's ability to stimulate the economy through infrastructure spending:
  Is Infrastructure Spending Stimulative? - M E R C A T U S C E N T E R

“A cup of tea is probably too subtle an endorsement for ACT at this stage.
PM & Banks need to rent the Joy Luck Club & eat tubs of icecream together.”
                                -- tweeted by Ali Ikram

• So Conrad Murray got nailed for Michael Jackson's death. but no one forced the King of Pop to down all those pills.
  Jacko’s death: who’s really bad? -  S P I K E D
• An argument for letting tweens and teens blog [ht Kim McNeill]
  Blogging for Teens and Tweens – William Jackson
• The RWC increase in international guest hotel nights was fully offset by declines in domestic travel. [ht Eric Crampton]
  Rugby World Cup impacts on guest nights – S T A T I S T I C S   N Z
• Did Ayn Rand promote a cult or an Anti Cult?
  See myth #6 at aynrandmyths.com
• "Ill-gotten gains do not promote one’s life; they thwart it—and they do so every time."
  Objective Moral Virtues: Principled Actions – Craig Biddle,  O B J E C T I V E   S T A N D A R D
• Shiites occupy disproportionately high number of senior security positions in Iraq (Wall Street Journal graphic)
  yfrog.com/kg6qxzxj
• #OccupyWallStreet demonstrators advocate policies that helped create the mess they’re protesting.
  Bailouts for Me, but Not for Thee – Matt Welch,   R E A S O N
• What should you be drinking?
  D R I N K I F Y
• Don’t let your religion inhibit your humour. Here’s 51 Christian Friendly Words for Penis
  51 Christian Friendly Words for Penis -  C H R I S T W I R E
• Irish govt rejects climate change hysteria
  Hogan shifts policy on climate change as Bill 'not a priority' -  I R I S H   T I M E S
• It's the 1st time this has been compiled visually (we think) :: Parties making up Parliament, 1890–2008. I looked closely, but no sign of Libertarianz. Yet. 
  Parties making up Parliament, 1890–2008 -  T E   A R A

“Just reflecting that ACT began under two
ex-Labour MPs - Douglas and Prebble.
And ACT will probably end under two
ex-National MPs - Brash and Banks.”
                                     - Lindsay Mitchell, Reflecting on the story of ACT

• I hate to be the bearer of good news just as the Occupy Wall Street movement is gathering steam, but protesters can stop worrying about rising inequality and go home. New evidence suggests that the super-rich got hit by the recession much harder than the rest of the 99 percent.
  Don’t Mind the Gap – R E A S O N
• Fewer folk care enough about the election even to bother standing this year.
  Candidates locked in for election – N Z   H E R A L D
• Sorry folks, the US is "not a Christian nation"
  -We are not a Christian nation -  D I S C O V E R   M A G A Z I N E 
• Ronald Bailey: New data on global temperature trends sheds light on Climategate
  The End of Climategate? -  R E A S O N
• #OccupyWallStreet protesters can stop worrying about rising inequality and go home
  Don’t mind the gap -  T H E   D A I L Y
• Why economic inequality in a capitalist system is something good, not something to be condemned.
  In Praise of Capitalist Inequality – Paul Hsieh, W E   S T A N D   F I R M
• Frank Furedi: churchmen love the Occupy movement; it's a blank slate for shallow moral gestures
  Why church officials worship these protesters –  S P I K E D
• This 1941 essay from Rand is remarkable, but the mature Rand would change the wording, especially the word faith.
  Ayn Rand’s Open Letter To Occupiers and Statists -   T H E   V I N C E N T O N   P O S T
• Great house rules by which to abide:
  House Rules -   T H E     A R C H I T E C T U R E   B L O G

“Man is a being with free will; therefore, each man is potentially
good or evil, and it's up to him and only him (through
his reasoning mind) to decide which he wants to be.”
                                - Ayn Rand 1946 ~Personal notes on The Strike [later Atlas Shrugged]

• "Tired of random and suspicious quotes from Thomas Jefferson and others being used to prove every possible position? Me too. Here are some common bogus quotes and some tips on the use of historical quotes and how to spot fakes."
  The Curse of the Internet: Fake Historical Quotes 
  - A L E X A N D E R   M A R R I O T ‘ S   W I T  &   W I S D O M
• Latino immigration to America has slowed to a trickle since 2008, but is this as good for America as conservatives would have you believe?
  Decreasing Immigration is Bad for America – M O T H E R   O F   E X I L E S
• "Determinism is the doctrine behind the criticism commonly levied against innovators that "if not him, somebody else would have done it". How did Thomas Edison and James Watt respond to their critics?”
  Watt and Edison Contra Determinism – W I T   L A B

More to come.
Tune in later.