Free kibbles

Indian government warns citizens against traveling to Pakistan because Pakistan arrested a number of Indians in the wake of bombings in Pakistan. Pakistan moves troops from the western border with Afghanistan to the Indian border. This is bad. It takes pressure off the Taliban and al Qaeda and exposes US supply lines to Afghanistan. Look for the US to take more shots at terrorists in Pakistan.

Canadian PM caves and extends bailout loans to GM and Chrysler, hoping to avoid a vote of no confidence. If he survives, this may not be such a bad thing. He may have lost this battle, but he would still be fighting the war. But the since Canadians were overwhelmingly against the bailout, only the opposition in Parliament demanded it, it will weaken him, and he could still be ousted.

Thomas Sowell explains that the stock market crash of 29 had little to do with the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by government intervention in the markets by Hoover, then worse intervention by FDR. It wasn't the market, it was the government's reaction to the market that caused the problem. Just like today. He compares Bush to Hoover and Obama to FDR.

While explaining that permanent tax cuts are a much better stimulus than infrastructure projects, Cato reports that the federal government employs 2.6 million people.

David Boaz from Cato explains how Obama's economic policies are very much like Bush's only bigger. Both Obama and Bush support corporatism. I disagree with Boaz on one detail - I think corporatism is a form of socialism, more like fascism, which is another form of socialism. Obviously I'm using a definition of socialism that basically mean collectivism, not the rigid definition that socialism mean government taking over the means of production. Regardless, the stong similarities between socialism, fascism, and corporatism - all collectivist ideologies - are pretty obvious. The people who thought Obama would deliver change were dead wrong, as we knew before the election. His policies, as we knew before the election, are more of the same, but even worse.

Cato scoffs at claims that high street prices for cocaine are indicators of their success in the war on drugs. What those high prices indicate is that producing drugs is more lucrative than ever, and more money will go into increasing supply. We cannot win a war against ourselves.