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Stock Ideas Investors Daily Edge Federalists, Neo-cons, and Other Scamps and Heroes
Stock Ideas Investors Daily Edge Federalists, Neo-cons, and Other Scamps and Heroes 
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Start your research by listening to this interview with CABN's CEO: At the end of the interview he makes a very bold statement, "We think we will be a very multiple dollar stock..." I don't t know when or if this will happen but I do believe near term CABN could see lots of upside potential since they are new to market. |
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| Federalists, Neo-cons, and Other Scamps and Heroes |
| Friday, 03 October 2008 | ||||||||
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If anyone doubted whether politics had a role in investing, this week should have cured it. Congress is on the verge of a rescue plan, the markets go up. The plan fails, the Dow makes a historic drop. So, it’s with delight that I pass on some terrifically thoughtful letters on Reagan, the national debt and other things we’ve talked about lately. What I like about these letters is that each writer offered constructive and mature analysis. All I can say is that I hope all of you have children, nephews and nieces and you have spread your wisdom to the next generation! It’s never mattered a lot to me whether my friends agreed with me politically. Mine range from one extreme to the other, with many across the middle. We should be able to talk to one another about important topics without resorting to name calling, fabulation and dirty tricks. So I am thrilled with the letters I’ve received recently. So, here we go… From ZK: Lynn, 1. The US had an advantage over the rest of the world from 1945-1971. We now face competition with the BRIC countries and we are sinking. 2. The US Dollar became disconnected from gold, and Nixon closed the gold window in 1971. 3. We have unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare that are not included in the national debt. 4. Congress not the President is responsible for taxation and spending. Presidents don't deserve as much blame or credit for the national debt. One from the anti-neo-con side, from A: Lynn,
Neo-cons NEVER say what they actually are doing and never actually do what they say. This has been a neo-con country ever since neo-con Hamilton (the Federalists being the original American neo-cons) lied about his neo-con Constitution and got [Americans] to ratify their own enslavement in 1789. And, of course, like every other President we`ve ever had (PERHAPS excepting Jefferson and Carter. note-they hate Carter because he didn`t tell them lies like they like to hear), Reagan, too, was a neo-con. Talk is cheap, but Reagan certainly wasn`t when it came to spending taxpayer dollars … PS. Did you know that EVERY ONE of the first Supreme Court Justices appointed by allegedly-nonpartisan George Washington was a Federalist (i.e., all were neo-cons)? So when it came to interpreting the Constitution, it didn`t matter what the document said, it just mattered what they interpreted it to mean, and they interpreted it to mean that government could do anything it wanted to do. Well now, that is interesting. Though I would say the Federalists were anything but conservatives, as the neo-cons claim to be. Yeah, yeah, I know today’s Neo-cons are not thought to be conservatives by many, either. But the Federalists were definitely in the “more government” camp. By the way, Washington nominated John Rutledge to his first Supreme Court. Rutledge never sat on the court that time, then in 1795 during a Congressional recess, Washington named Rutledge as Chief Justice to replace John Jay. Federalists in the Senate rejected his nomination when they returned, and Rutledge’s term expired after the first year. So Washington did appoint one non Federalist, though it didn’t go well. In another letter, KN offers a reason why conservatives might get caught in a spending spiral: Lynn, It might be viewed that the conservatives, after years of neglect from previous administrations, must begin the tedious task of rebuilding a compromised military. None of us like, nor wish to encourage war, hence the very reason to wield, superior to all, the absolute strongest military in the world. If the fiscal responsibilities of the intelligence agencies and the military had been met during the Clinton administration we might not even need to be in the Middle East. The twin towers would more than likely be standing. You do not balance the budget at the cost of home and health. Now we must go through the whole process of rebuilding to get back to debt reduction. By the way, the chart in your article shows the aggressive cuts in liberal times. The only administration that did increase military, Lady Birds helos, was Johnson. He balanced the budget by rolling this fund called the FDIC into it! Think what shape we might be in today if that fund had not been compromised. L in St Lou started to write her disagreement on a particular point and ended up changing her mind, by recommending a wonderful book that I have already ordered and look forward to reading: Lynn (er, ahm, Ms. Carpenter): Just a brief note of appreciation. I consistently find you to be the most eloquent and pleasant-natured of the various Agora columnists. Your obvious efforts to maintain a level (and upbeat) perspective on everything from political history to investing approaches leaves me much more open to your ideas than those of certain of your more bombastic colleagues (and/or spouses . . .). As for your presidential spending primer, I had the urge to quibble with your mention of FDR growing the bureaucracy only after WW2 started; then I remembered David Brinkley's "Washington Goes to War," which chronicles exactly that. Silly me for questioning you. It's late, so I'll spare you my tendencies towards excessive verbosity (phew!). I just wanted you to know of one reader's appreciation. Again, thanks for both your level approach and your good humor. I hope you smile as much writing your columns as I do reading them. Warm regards Finally, we hear from TH, another reader who disagreed with me on a point and said it well: Thanks Lynn, This was a thought provoking issue. The only critique I would offer concerning the idea that conservatives seem to overspend on military. My thought is this: the basis of freedom is the ability to defend yourself. Consider the analogy of being in a rough neighborhood with your choice of a handgun, or $10,000. Which used prudently, will keep you safer? Now, I'm not trying to justify this country's propensity for military adventurism, being the policeman of the world, but a well equipped military is vital to freedom. Besides, it's one of the few things that the Constitution has actually charged the federal government with the responsibility of maintaining. That's my beef with the neo(new)conservatism movement. It has much more in common with the liberal mindset than traditional conservatism. Thanks again for the article, TH makes a very good point about the basis of freedom being the ability to defend oneself. If you read history from the early days of the US, military spending was one of the few obligations of the federal government beyond maintaining a legislature, postal system, court system and small executive branch. Our founding fathers would completely agree. In fact, the need for a militia was so convincing at the time of the Revolution that even in Pennsylvania, traditional Quaker opposition to arms was muted after the British occupied Boston, attacked New York, burned Charleston and were sailing up the Delaware. Thanks for your letters, My best, Lynn P.S. To let me know what you thought of today's article, send an e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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