Conservative Cabal

I added a few new people to the blogroll, some oldies but goodies (The Belmont Club and Blackfive), some oversights (City Journal), and some newer discoveries (Coyoteblog, To Miss…).

Some samples…

From City Journal:

It’s something of a parlor game among the commentariat to compare one era with another. Every time America’s power ebbs, the pundits conjure the fall of the Roman Empire—and every time America’s power increases, they fear it’s the collapse of the Roman Republic. Each new war must be either Vietnam again or World War II. And if we had a dollar for every time a journalist compared the current economic downturn with the Great Depression, the current economic downturn would be over.

From To Miss:

And suddenly the confusion I have always had when discussing with those who believe adamantly in the goodness of the welfare state starts to dissipate. No wonder everyone thinks I am mad. I argue for a society which would allow some people to live in serious poverty. I believe in not handing out free flats and free money. I believe in making people work for their achievements. Why? So that they can know those words: ‘values’, ’self-respect’ and ‘kindness’. To never know these things, no matter how rich one might be, is to live a life which, in my view, is not worth living.

And therein lies the devastating irony: the welfare state does save millions from a life of financial poverty, but in doing so, it necessarily subjects people to a life devoid of value.

Read the whole thing.  Really, just page to the bottom and start reading up there.  Really interesting lady.

From Coyote:

The fact is that this was a normal recession blown out of proportion first by the Bush and later by the Obama administration.  From the very beginning, it looked much like the recession of the early 1980’s or the bank crisis of the early 1990’s, and it recovered for the same reason - there are fundamental strengths in the economy.  In fact, the length of the Great Depression was in fact the aberration, caused more by FDR’s wild proposals (the worst of which was the National Industrial Recovery Act) which tended to dampen the investment that normally picks up at the bottom of the cycle to take advantage of reduced asset values and input costs.

Read it all.  Have fun and check back later for actual posting!