But if You Ask Really, Really Nicely They May Stop!

The federal American government has spent more than $1,500,000,000 in taxpayer dollars since 1996 in abstinence-only until marriage sex education.

On one side of the debate we have Derek Dye the Abstinence Clown (the video is absolutely unreal -- and paid for by your tax dollars!), Sarah Palin and the Pope; on the other side we have the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the American College Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association. Hmm...

The hypothesis we can "educate" teenagers to go against their fundamental primordial drive is fairly ludicrous to begin with. No surprise then that the evidence reveals abstinence-only sex education fails to reduce teen pregnancy, STD or the proclivity of teenagers to explore their budding sexual desires.

From global warming to the Big Bang (seriously!) to this it is clear science played a back seat to ideology and political gain in the George W. Bush administration.

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Thanks for e-mailing me the Derek Dye the Abstinence Clown story Kaner.

End the "War on Drugs"

Unfortunately, I do not expect American public policy makers to come to terms with the absolute fact that the "War on Drugs" has been a colossal failure of epic proportions any time soon. Although the "War on Drugs" has resulted in:

• $49 billion spent per year by local, state and federal agencies -- money that could have been going to education, health care, etc.;
  
• 80 percent of the increase in the federal prison population was due to drug convictions between 1985 and 1995;
• somebody getting arrested every 17 seconds for violating a drug law (for cannabis alone its ever 38 seconds);
• more than half of all sentenced federal prisoners are drug offenders; and
  
• 17 percent of State prisoners and 18 percent of Federal prisoners committed their crimes in order to obtain drug money.

The only winners in the "War on Drugs" are criminal enterprises and politicians who appease public sentiments (I'm looking at you Rahm Emanuel, Eric Holder, Joe Biden, Ronald Reagan (for increasing mandatory sentences) and essentially the entire GOP/American Right). While these costs are relatively hidden to the American public and media outlets, the disastrous consequences are very apparent in Mexico.Here is just a taste from a blog post at Cato-at-Liberty:

Mexican soldiers are being killed and beheaded, and police officers are being assassinated (warning: violent content)... For more on this topic, click here, here, or here.

More recent evidence from the Washington Post:

After a long, controversial career, Brig. Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello Quiñones retired from active duty last month and moved to this Caribbean playground to work for the Cancun mayor and fight the drug cartels that have penetrated much of Mexican society. He lasted a week.

Tello, 63, along with his bodyguard and a driver, were kidnapped in downtown Cancun last Monday evening, taken to a hidden location, methodically tortured, then driven out to the jungle and shot in the head. Their bodies were found Tuesday in the cab of a pickup truck on the side of a highway leading out of town. An autopsy revealed that both the general's arms and legs had been broken.

The audacious kidnapping and killing of one of the highest-ranking military officers in Mexico drew immediate expressions of outrage from the top echelons of the Mexican government, which pledged to continue the fight against organized crime that took the lives of more than 5,300 people last year. Military leaders, who are increasingly at the front lines of the war against the cartels, vowed not to let Tello's death go unsolved or unpunished.

The underlying problem here for Mexico is simple; their isn't a damn thing they can do to address the root cause of the violence -- demand from American consumers. As America pumps in billions of dollars to cut off supply chains the money to be made from the drug trade is increasingly found not necessarily in producing the stuff -- it is in getting substances across the border.

Their is a full on war going on south of our border. One that CANNOT be won. The question we must ask ourselves is what is it going to take for our country to wake up and demand real change.

The New Newsweek

I commend Newsweek for revamping their magazine in light of their recent and projected subscription losses. Details per the New York Times article:

"'If we don’t have something original to say, we won’t. The drill of chasing the week’s news to add a couple of hard-fought new details is not sustainable,'" per John Meachem, Newsweek's editor...

"Newsweek loses money...it has to try something big...

'Mass for us is a business that doesn’t work,' said Tom Ascheim, Newsweek’s chief executive. 'Wish it did, but it doesn’t. We did it for a long time, successfully, but we can’t anymore.'

Thirteen months ago, Newsweek lowered its rate base, the circulation promised to advertisers, to 2.6 million from 3.1 million, and Ascheim said that would drop to 1.9 million in July, and to 1.5 million next January...

Starting in May, articles will be reorganized under four broad, new sections — one each for short takes, columnists and commentary, long reporting pieces like the cover articles, and culture — each with less compulsion to touch on the week’s biggest events. A new graphic feature on the last page, “The Bluffer’s Guide,” will tell readers how to sound as if they are knowledgeable on a current topic, whether they are or not.

"The Problem with Socialism is that you Eventually Run Out of Other People's Money"

The title of this blog posts is one of the best quotes from Margaret Thatcher. The market economy is far more efficient than government at allocating resources and identifying investments in a cost-effective manner. When government grows as a percent of GDP it crowds out the true engine of American society -- entrepreneurs -- to the detriment of future economic growth.

The forthcoming cover story for the February 16, 2009 edition of Newsweek declares "We Are All Socialists Now." Key passage:

Whether we like it or not—or even whether many people have thought much about it or not—the numbers clearly suggest that we are headed in a more European direction. A decade ago U.S. government spending was 34.3 percent of GDP, compared with 48.2 percent in the euro zone—a roughly 14-point gap, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2010 U.S. spending is expected to be 39.9 percent of GDP, compared with 47.1 percent in the euro zone—a gap of less than 8 points. As entitlement spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French.

This is an extremely alarming trend. Politicians, in my experience and perspective, are far more concerned being viewed as "doing something" to address perceived problems than actually solving them. An incredible amount of money is wasted and misallocated by government bureaucrats. When firms fail they go out of business. When firms stop being competitive they lose market share to competitors. Entrepreneurs and businesses thus have powerful incentives to continually look to innovate, increase productivity and seek creativity ideas and solutions. The largest incentive for government bureaucrats is to protect their turf and budgets.

Furthermore, these figures only add to my firm belief George W. Bush was by far the worst President in the history of our republic. Beyond that fact that he did not produce one significant piece of legislation in regards to public policy (Medicare Part D? the education bill? Please...) his assault on liberty was simply stunning:

1. Iraq. If misleading the public and resorting to fear tactics to drive our nation into a war of choice was not bad enough, this misadventure saddled our nation with an incredible debt that only adds to our future massive financial liabilities with the retirement of the baby boom generation.

2. The Patriot Act.

3. Implicitly condoning torture as an acceptable interrogation tactic.

4. Allowing government to grow as a percent of the economy PRIOR to the financial meltdown:
5. Failure to prevent the extent of the financial meltdown. As 43 claimed he was a man who favored less government and the virtues of free trade (despite the steel tariffs in his first administration, allowing the Democratic Party to push Fannie and Freddie to take increased risk with the goal of increasing the home ownership rate, etc.). Consequentially, the ideology that he claimed to adhere to, and aided by his incredibly high disapproval ratings, has has led many to question the virtues of the free market and provided greater credence to the belief that government can and should "solve" people's problems.

edit: Per an op-ed from John Taylor, professor of economics at Stanford and originated of The Taylor Rule:

My research shows that government actions and interventions -- not any inherent failure or instability of the private economy -- caused, prolonged and dramatically worsened the crisis.

6. Bailouts. The government had to prevent the complete meltdown of the financial sector. However, the rush to approve TARP and the failure to have any kind of transparency was simply stunning.

7. Failure to reform long-term entitlement spending.

I'm probably missing a few more. So much for 43's belief that "the advance of liberty is the path to both a safer and better world."

Political Tone Deaf Award (Bailout Nation)

This week's political tone deaf award goes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly who, when asked why 11 Democrats did not vote for the "economic stimulus package" when it was on the House floor last week, stated:

The speaker has said many times that the members are representative of their district. Many of the districts are more conservative, and they campaigned on fiscal responsibility, and we understand that.

When relaying remarks to media outlets a press spokesperson must not only deliver a comment that advances the narrative of the article -- they must provide a quote that will be seen by listeners, readers and/or viewers as authentic while enhancing the long-term brand perception of the organization within targeted audiences.

Daly completely fails in this regard. Although he is being authentic he is damaging the political brand of the Democratic House leadership by being honest on the reality that "liberals" or "progressives" are simply not fiscally responsible. While this quote is not going to change any swing voters minds in the 2010 election cycle it is important to ALWAYS stay on message to ensure the strength of the political brand long-term.

If the leadership of the Democratic Party wants to expand the scope of government involvement in the economy they better get a grip on their PR flacks.

A better statement from Daly would have been:

The speaker has said many times that the members are representative of their district. She respects the diverse views within the Democratic House caucus and will continue to work with the entire caucus to address the massive challenges that confront our nation.

I like this statement better for a number of reasons:

1. This statement does not damage the public's image of the Democratic Party or the rebranding campaign from the word "liberal" to "progressive."
2. Although she seems accepting of the votes against the "economic stimulus package," their is a subtle threat in the latter part of the statement that members shouldn't get too comfortable voting against her on legislation.
3. I included the line "diverse views within the Democratic Party" from a branding perspective... to contrast the ideological purity current being enforced within the GOP. It is important for swing voters (moderates and independents) to see the Democratic Party as open to diverse ideologies to find solutions to the problems of America.

The People's Republic of Great Britain

While America debates the merits of a $800 billion economic stimulus bill (I do not support the current incarnation that just passed the house), Great Britain appears to be seriously considering enacting Soviet style 5-year economic development plans. Per The Times of London:

Parts of the United Kingdom have become so heavily dependent on government spending that the private sector is generating less than a third of the regional economy, a new analysis has found...

Across the whole of the UK, 49% of the economy will consist of state spending, while in Wales, the figure will be 71.6% -- up from 59% in 2004-5. Nowhere in mainland Britain, however, comes close to Northern Ireland, where the state is responsible for 77.6% of spending, despite the supposed resurgence of the economy after the end of the Troubles...

The state now looms far larger in many parts of Britain than it did in former Soviet satellite states such as Hungary and Slovakia as they emerged from communism in the 1990s, when state spending accounted for about 60% of their economies.

If that was not frightening enough apparently some large private sector employers are considering adopting a 3 day work week.

The prospect of the three-day week returned to haunt Britain yesterday as it emerged that ministers are considering paying firms to cut hours in order to survive the recession...

Major firms such as JCB have already downed tools for one day a week and are considering moving to a three-day week, with state help, if the recession gets worse. The firm's chief executive, Matthew Taylor, said that he is pressing Lord Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business, to introduce compensation for workers if their hours are reduced.

This is incredible. Their is a reason why the command and control government economic policies of the Soviet Union, India under the license raj and pre-Deng Xiaoping failed -- private individuals and firms are significantly better at allocating resources and creating wealth than government bureaucrats.

Not only is the extent of government involvement in the economy of Great Britain disturbing, these programs are essentially destroying the future of the British economy. The Labour Party is stealing the wealth of future generations of Britains to preserve their political power. The next generation is going to be so crippled by government debt that they will be forced to pay exorbinant taxes just to maintain a decent credit rating. With the average total fertility rate (the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime) at only 1.90 (where 2.1 is required to maintain the current population), not only will the next generation of Brits have to financial support a larger proportion of pensioners as a percent of the total population -- they will have to pay off for the reckless financial decisions of the this generation.

Advice to any citizen of Great Britain under the age of 40 -- GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!

Hat tip to Reason's blog Hit & Run and Mike Shedlock's blog Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

The Audacity of Hope

The triumphant victory of Nicolas Sarkozy in May 2007 over the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal was suppose to be a template for the GOP to keep control of the White House. Clearly it did not quite work out like that. While Sarkozy was able to distance himself enough from Jacques Chirac, McCain could never really distance himself from Bush due to concerns over losing the core religious conservative vote. Big mistake on team McCain, yet that is ancient history.

Per Ben Smith's blog at Politico, Royal is now claiming credit for Obama's victory.

"Yes, I inspired Obama, and his team copied us."

Really? Smith goes on to state "she claims that Obama learned the uniquely French concept of 'win-win' from her campaign." Now that is truly audacious.

I understand why foreign politicians are acting like teenage groupies at a Led Zepplin concert trying to connect their brand to Obama -- he is incredibly popular right now -- yet this is ridiculous. Segolene, the reason you lost is because your ideas are tired, they will not work and the French public -- even though they are incredibly liberal and pro big government -- did not trust you to turn around the economy.

A little advice Segolene... you should worry more about your credibility as a public official and developing competent public policy ideas more than demanding "credit" for Obama's victory. Just saying...

Credible Political Communication

The role of a communications director/team for an elected office is to share information with the public on what government is doing to address problems and to build/shape the political brand of the elected official in order to advance his/her political future.

It was well known during the 2008 that John McCain didn't know how to use a computer. He even admitted it in the spring of 2008. I understand the need to use new technologies to improve one's ability to deliver messaging, yet apparently McCain is now personally down with Twitter?

An effective use of Twitter is not to relay a politician's media and diplomatic tea schedule -- BORING! An effective use of Twitter would be for the elected official to build his political brand by relaying unique incite into their thought process or entertaining anecdotes from their lives (as a former communications director for a Los Angeles City Council member I can attest that all elected politicians have plenty of harmless stories that can be shared under 140 characters that followers would find of interest).

This does not entail for an elected official to understand or "get" Twitter -- although that certainly would help. A successful Twitter strategy necessitates an elected official to engage with their staff to ensure original, unique content.

To maintain at least some credibility here the McCain camp should just call the Twitter feed "The Office of Senator John McCain."

Chronicles of Politicians Gone Mad

I could not make this up... per the Independent Institute's blog The Beacon:

Earlier this month, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would ban camera phones from having a silent mode when taking a picture.

The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act (H.R. 414) would “require any mobile phone containing a digital camera to sound a tone whenever a photograph is taken.”

You know you have been in office far too long when you introduce crap like this. Leaving aside the issue on whether the government should be regulating the free market in the first place (if consumers wanted the feature a phone company would certainly enable this option -- it's just a simple software update) can anybody -- somebody? -- please explain to me why it is in the public's interest for the government to get involved in something as trivial as this.

Innovate or Die

While Americans remain fearful for the economic future of our nation their is reason for hope (beyond finally having a POTUS that is competent). As reported recently by the Financial Times:

the United States, despite its current economic woes, remains the world’s most innovative economy, with unrivalled business sophistication and competitiveness, according to a new study by INSEAD, the Paris-based business school.
...

The Global Innovation Index – released in New Delhi on Tuesday – looks far beyond traditional indicators of innovation such as the percentage of gross domestic product spent on research and development, numbers of engineering graduates, and numbers of patents obtained and scientific papers published each year.

Instead, the index seeks to measure an economy’s potential for a broad range of innovation – including social, marketing, and business innovations – by assessing its institutions and policies, infrastructure, and business and market sophistication as well as people’s skills.

The key for America to maintain it's role as the indispensable nation is to ensure our culture, economy and societal institutions continue to adapt to future challenges and opportunities. Although it is disturbing to read reports that our nation's youth score poorly in mathematics and sciences compared to other developed nations, technical knowledge will not in of itself guarantee our nation's preeminent role in global politics, national economic growth or high paying jobs for the next generation. Certainly a fundamental understand of one's field is essential, yet the ability to apply creative, innovating thinking to problems is the crucial element that differentiates talent and establishes power.

So keep the INSEAD report in mind tomorrow when the government announces an expected 5.5 percent drop in GDP for the fourth quarter. Hope is more than a slogan.