Roots of the global debt crisis - Kay vs Gunter

The National Post’s resident leftist amateur social psychologist and editorial page editor, Jonathan Kay, has recently been treating us to his pet theories (eg. here and here) on how the US has come to the brink of insolvency and who is most to blame. The Tea Party figures large as a culprit [we mighta’ known]:

... the Tea Party ... is the product of an America that never really got over the fear and anxiety produced by 9/11, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and the real estate crash.

... all societies instinctively revert to romantic, backward-looking notions. ... This is why at Tea Party events, there is such a strong correlation between religious Christianity and fiscal conservatism...

... keeping taxes low isn't just smart policy: It's become the central dogma in what can only be described as a quasi-spiritual policy cult.

The noisiest tribe these days is the Tea Party, which embraces the cult-like mantra that cutting taxes can solve all of America's problems. The quasi-theological mentality was captured nicely by Tim Pawlenty ...[“noisiest tribe”? When ninety-plus percent of the media outlets, led by the New York Times, are bent on non-stop demonizing of the Tea Party?]

Kay’s presumed claim to balance is covered by a mild critique of the far left and conflicted views on Keynes and Hayek:

... The less noisy, but equally magically inclined, tribe is the Democratic left ...

... Keynes or Hayek? I'd prefer not to put all my money on one or the other. The U.S. fiscal meltdown shows what happens when economic advocacy gets turned into sloganeering. [Actually, politics always results in “sloganeering”. This is no different.]

All in all, Kay’s effort amounts to useless, left-leaning pedantry - a complete waste of time.
Better to read Lorne Gunter’s much more clear-headed take:

What do Obamacare, the London riots and a possible French debt crisis have in common? They are all proof that Western governments have grown beyond all reasonable, sensible limits.

...So to with the French debt crisis (and the Greek, Irish, Icelandic, Spanish and Italian debt crises - even the American one). In each case, the culprit is a state grown so large it has over-promised benefits, oversold citizens on what they have a "right" to but can no longer expect.

Unless and until we get over our belief that government can and should try to solve every social ill, and tax away productive money to pay for its experiments, the debt crises and riots and failed social programs will continue to pile up.

In short - Lorne Gunter’s views are very close to the Tea Party’s.

Dumb and dumber

Scaramouche on the CBC's repeated defamation of the Jewish Defense League.

[Via]

Distortion, misuse and abuse of poverty statistics

PJTV’s Bill Whittle with a very interesting presentation [via]:



From the Heritage Foundation research report:

... The overwhelming majority of the public do not regard a family living in these conditions as poor. [....] A full 80 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Democrats agreed that a family living in those living conditions should not be considered poor.

One of the most regrettable aspects of official U.S. government poverty statistics is the misleading negative image that they project around the world. U.S. government poverty numbers are like a Potemkin village in reverse, suggesting to the rest of the globe that living conditions in the U.S. are much worse than they actually are.

For example:

Al Jazeera ...tells a global audience: “37 million people—that is one in eight Americans—live below the official poverty line. That means these people are often homeless, hungry, and have no health insurance.”

The Teheran Times “... [O]ne in five children in the United States live in poverty, with almost half of them living in extreme poverty.”

... the Chinese government uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s misleading poverty reports to condemn the U.S. government for human rights violations.

Russia Today (RT) is a multilingual television news network funded by the Russian government. RT broadcasts news in English, Spanish, and Arabic to over 100 nations .... informs audiences that “one in seven Americans [are] living in poverty.”

What? No mention of the CBC and BBC?

When Muslims attack, Part II

From the horse's mouth, via Blazing Catfur:

Steyn with Levant

Looking forward to reading "After America" - God and the post office willing.



Also, see Steyn with Hugh Hewitt for more dark humour.

Punched in the face, but fat chance charges will be laid

In the Toronto Sun yesterday a story about a Toronto Muslim woman's assault on a photographer:

... Suddenly, a woman wearing a hijab ran toward me. She was part of a group that included two women wearing full face-covering burkas. She was screaming: “We are Muslim! You do not take pictures of us!” (Odd. I can’t find the “no photos” rule in the Qur’an.)

... And then: Ka-pow! Her fist collided with my face. Worse, she almost knocked my new camera from my hands.

You guessed it:

... The cop walked back to me. No charges would be laid, he said, because he believed the woman’s story — namely, she was merely trying to knock the camera out of my hands.

[Via Blazing Cat Fur]

Congrats to Ezra

National Post today:

The votes are in and Ezra Levant’s 2009 book Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights won the Writers’ Trust of Canada and Samara Best Political Book of the last 25 Years competition.

I bet that will cheeze-off most of the literary set.  Congratulations Ezra!

[Via]