Matthew Comments

I need to express my disappointment in the controversy over the proposed Muslim gathering place near Ground Zero in New York City. It is not technically a mosque, although the distinction may not matter much. I’ll refer to it as a Muslim Center, although people of different faiths will be invited to use many of the facilities there. I am disappointed that there is a controversy. I am disappointed that public figures are using people’s fear and bias to score points (political points or rating points). I am disappointed in the cowardice of other public figures who fail to defend simple American principles. I agree with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who stated that terrorists attacked freedom on 9/11, and it is shameful to restrict the freedom of Americans in the name of 9/11. This group has the right to build this Muslim Center, and I see no legitimate reason to question either their intentions or their sensitivity. They were not responsible for 9/11. Period. The United States hosts ...

I'm not really that invested in the illegal immigration issue, but I'm not a big fan of wild distortions. Here's a quick breakdown of some of the nonsense in the email (the email itself is copied in the previous blog post, if you'd like to see it). The Iraq and Afganastan wars should not be lumped together for any cost comparison. Iraq was the optional one that was based on "poor intelligence" of more than one type. It is also untrue to suggest that if illegal immigrants cost us too much, the war must not have cost too much. Perhaps both cost too much! Next, if you support our troops in any way, you can’t talk about the cost of the war and leave out the loss of American lives. This email leaves that out. What is the implication? Since it doesn’t hit our pocketbook, maybe it’s not worth mentioning? I disagree. Estimates for the cost of the Iraq War range from $700B-1T (so far). Please note, it also does not include the long-term cost of health care for those so...

Copied below is a rabid, nonsensical anti-immigration email. I respond in my next blog post. A Real Eye Opener WHY is the USA BANKRUPT? Informative, and mind boggling! You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this: Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts... 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters7fd8 2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC , and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscal...

While America ponders health care and the economy, a lot is happening in foreign affairs. The UN's nuclear watchdog group leaked that Iran is probably much closer to having nukes than anyone thought. At the same time, Isreal leaked that Russian scientists have likely been helping Iran advance it's nuclear agenda. Here are some excerpts from recent Stratfor papers on the topic: "...previous assumptions on time frames on Iran are no longer valid, and worst-case assumptions must now be assumed. The Iranians are in fact moving rapidly toward a weapon; have been extremely effective in deceiving US intelligence (read, they deceived the Bush administration, but the Obama administration has figured it out); and therefore, we are moving toward a decisive moment with Iran. Second, this situation is the direct responsibility of Russian nuclear expertise. [Whether with or without Russian government blessing,] is immaterial. "The US and Isreal are telling Iran that its deception c...

We sold our house this summer and bought a new home. The experience has led me to reflect on homes and home-buying in America. As in any industry, there are good and bad incentives at work in real estate. A home seller would like to get the highest price for their house and sell it in a reasonable period of time. The industry operates on a commission system so that the agent seeks to sell the house at a higher price. This incentive works, but only to a point. Consider the impact of $5000 on the seller vs. the agent. Six percent of $5000 is $300. After the realty company and purchasing agent take their cut, the agent isn't left with much. A $5000 difference in the price of the house means little to the agent, but a lot to the home owner. Does an agent become successful by getting the highest price or by turning over lots of houses? The answer is obvious. An agent's ideal world is not one where people get exactly the right price for their homes, it is a world where everyone is wi...

GM recently announced the closing of several auto plants in North America, primarily those that make large, gas inefficient vehicles. The news anchor began the segment with "Due to high gas prices..." Since everyone's blaming high gas prices for our woes these days, it begs the question "Whose fault are high gas prices?" Your driveway is the first place to look for answers. If your car gets bad mileage, that's probably your fault. Some luck, huh? After that, I blame "the invisible hand." This is the idea that when everyone follows their own self-interest in a free market, everyone ends up better off. Everyone is motivated to work hard and be efficient and produce goods that others want to trade for. Free markets do a fine job of producing wealth and prosperity, but they've really botched the energy situation. For all it's glory, the invisible hand has little strategic foresight. In the 1970s, we learned that America was vulnerable to high e...

I was struck by today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Not literally, but in the Crossroads section, on opposite sides of the spread, were two articles that reflect our nation's "welfare for the rich." On 2J, a local economics instructor's article "Tax for Miller Park didn't help economy." He criticized a previous article which had suggested the opposite. The previous article was based almost entirely on reports by Major League Baseball, which clearly has a huge bias. This week's article takes an objective look, and summarizes that taxpayer's don't get much in return, but the fat cat players and executives of MLB walk away with huge paychecks. The drive to fund new ballparks almost never starts with taxpayers--it starts with the deep pockets of baseball executives, PR campaigns and connections with political power. On 3J, George Will was taking on the Fed ("What the Fed should never do"), rightly criticizing it for bailing out Bear...