Author: Brian J. Noggle

Matt Blackfive’s got a really well documented entry about how George Bush is not responsible for the loss of 2.21 gigamillion jobs. I don’t know who he’s writing it for, though. People who will vote for Bush understand the limited effect the presidency and the entire government have on the grand economy (which is too much as it is, but not much overall). Some people who won’t vote for Bush mutter that those who lost jobs were all whistleblowers almost capable of exposing the vast Haliburton-Texas Rangers conspiracy.

So Matty’s wasting his time if he thinks he’s going to convince anyone with facts and reason. As a matter of fact, much as dogs only hear part of what is said to them, Bush opponents will only hear a certain portion of what Matt writes.

When Matt says:

Jobs lost in the first 8 months January 20th to September 11th is pegged at 1.2 million. How much of this is actually attributable to President Bush is the question. In April of 2001, the U.S. lost 423, 000 jobs. Can someone tell me exactly which policy was responsible for this?

Jobs were lost due to the teror attacks of September 11th (obvious ones like travel and lodging industry, aerospace, transportation). Boeing cut 30,000 jobs. New York City alone lost over 80,000 jobs due to the attack in the year after 9/11 . 22,000 jobs were in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. 800,000 jobs were lost in November and December of 2001.

The fact is that a lot of jobs were lost over the last few years for many reasons; however, it will be tough for Democrats to accurately pin them on the Bush Administration and not a world-wide recession, the dot-bomb bust, corporate corruption (Enron, World-Com) and 9/11.

Now, what about recovery?

The biggest indicator of an economic turn around, IMHO, is my place of employment. We were directed by our (very conservative) board to cut 20% across the company on October 1, 2001. I lead the IT Department. It didn’t matter if one department had a greater need or not, everyone had to cut 20%. This was a defensive reaction to September 11th. No one knew what would happen to the economy (which was already weak), and, when there is economic uncertainty, jobs get cut through various means – for example, hiring freezes and position consolidations. Also, think about your own spending after September 11th. Did you change your vacations, savings, will, retirement plan because of September 11th? I did. I put more into savings and spread it out among different banks. When you spend less money, less items are bought. When less items are bought, supply goes up and productivity goes down. When productivity goes down, jobs get cut.

They hear:

Jobs lost blah blah blah blah blah is actually attributable to President Bush blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah ?

Jobs were lost blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah 800,000 jobs were lost blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

blah blah blah blah blah a lot of jobs were lost blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah accurately pin them on the Bush Administration and blah blah blah blah blah corporate corruption (Enron, World-Com) blah.

blah what blah recovery?

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah cut 20% across the company on October 1, 2001. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah the economy blah blah weak, blah blah blah blah blah economic uncertainty, jobs get cut blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah jobs get cut.

Nice try, Matt, but you’re scolding deaf puppies on this one.

Brian J. Noggle, The Cynic Expressed, 1997: Weapons of Mass Hysteria

Victor Davis Hanson, The National Review, 2004: Weapons of Mass Hysteria

Funny, we were talking about the same thing, too, sort of.

Class, here’s your compare and contrast assignment for tonight:

Police in the Middle West:

Three men from the West Coast were hauling more than horses Tuesday afternoon in their trailer, authorities said – they also had $835,500 in cash stashed in a hidden compartment.

An Illinois State Police trooper and U.S. Customs agents found the money after the trooper pulled the 1999 Dodge pickup over for speeding about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 55, north of Litchfield, said Trooper Doug Francis, a spokesman for the agency’s District 18.

The discovery wasn’t mere happenstance. U.S. Customs had tipped off police that the trailer might contain cash, Francis said.

When the three men allowed police to search the truck and trailer, a drug-sniffing dog alerted on the vehicle, Francis said. Officers did not find drugs, Francis said, but “something was there at one time or another.”

The Illinois State Police seized the cash pending further investigation.

Lt. Brian Hollo, the district’s interim commander, said that state and federal statutes give police the power to seize money if they believe it is drug-related.

Hollo said it was the largest cash seizure ever for the district, which covers Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin and Montgomery counties.

But police had no legal reason to hold the men or their three horses, so they were free to continue their trip, Francis said.

As for the money – Francis said, “If they can come up with proof that the money is theirs, we’ll give it back to them.”

Police in the Middle East:

At night, the police presence is most evident. On the city’s central streets, they make high-speed patrols, at times in groups that make the task appear more like a joyride. There are no other cars to be seen and there’s virtually no one on the streets, save the employees of Baghdad’s single 24-hour shop and the handful of restaurants that stay open late, mostly to serve the cops.

The police, however, do not receive credit for the apparent drop in crime. “It’s because no one stays out,” said Hassan Mahdi, the owner of the 24-hour shop. “The police are no good.”

But just because the streets are filled with police does not necessarily mean they’re safe. A journalist walking back to his hotel at around 3am on a recent morning made the mistaken assumption that it would be fine because only police were out. He was stopped and asked for his identity card three times during the 10-minute stroll. The third group of police also took US$100 from his wallet, after he showed an American passport.

Extra credit if you can work in this joke (reprinted here from another essay:

I’m reminded of the joke about the man who offered a woman $1 million to sleep with him – her resonse was a hasty “Sure!” When he countered with an offer of only $50, her response changed to “Absolutely Not! What kind of woman do you think I am?” His response … “Lady, we’ve already settled that question – now we’re just haggling over price!

(Link to Iraqi story seen on The Art of Peace, where I browsed at the behest of Winds of Change.)

Not only is he back to two columns a week, but Neil Steinberg draws ever nearer to joining us:

I’m halfway to a Republican.

The glass is half full!

To blight: (tr.v.) To condemn, as a city, the lawful property of one person or corporation to hand it over to another corporation or person, to enhance the revenue of the governing municipality.

Sample usage:

The Board of Aldermen in December 2002 agreed to blight the Target site, allowing the city to ask a judge to condemn it.

Put that in your usage guide and burn it.

I hope it’s not too anti-Semitic of me to make fun of a a turn of phrase by “officials” of the Jewish Community Center (JCC, or as its otherwise known, “The J”) in Broken Heart, Missouri. In addition to razing a larger building for a small one as its membership declines, the leaders are looking for way to save money to help bridge a budget gap. This includes:

Increased use of off-campus sites for JCC programs, turning the JCC into a center “without walls.”

A center. Without walls. Without, perhaps ideally for these “officials,” without a center.