Thursday, January 28, 2010

Obama's First State of the Union Address

He sounded quite a bit like President Reagan in his first State of the Union address.

"To understand the State of the Union, we must look not only at where we are and where we’re going but where we’ve been. The situation at this time last year was truly ominous. [...] First, we must understand what’s happening at the moment to the economy. Our current problems are not the product of the recovery program that’s only just now getting under way, as some would have you believe; they are the inheritance of decades of tax and tax, and spend and spend. [...] The only alternative being offered to this economic program is a return to the policies that gave us a trillion-dollar debt, runaway inflation, runaway interest rates and unemployment," Ronald Reagan, in his first State of the Union address.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Why the U.S. owes Haiti Billions

Quigley's points are excellent and just, but he misses an even stronger argument. The Louisiana Purchase was made possible by the slaves uprising against Napoleon's army in Saint-Domingue (aka Haiti). Without the Saint-Domingue base for his military, the Louisiana Territory was of little value to Napoleon. Rather than let Britain take control, he sold it to the U.S. Jefferson doubled the size of the U.S. at a cost of less than 3 cents an acre. What's all that land worth today? Far more than the billions Quigley details. Ironic that slaves standing up for their freedom made possible one of Jefferson's greatest acts as President, especially considering Jefferson's large ownership of slaves. So much of America and its fortunes have been built on the backs of slaves.

Crayola's Law: The number of colors doubles every 28 years