Obama vs. McCain Dance-Off!

Little known video of an actual dance-off between Barack Obama and John McCain. Who knew they were both such good dancers! Actually, this is a joke, but funny nonetheless. Look out for the special guest at the end.

The Stupid Virus

This video is pretty funny, but a little too close to reality for comfort.

Why Protectionism is a Bad Idea

A friend of mine recently sent me an email saying something about how he went to a certain big box hardware store and found that many of the products were made in China, Mexico, India, Pakistan and other countries, and then went to another hardware store and found more North American products there. There were further mentions of foreign products in various stores, and he then said that he was no longer buying foreign products and would now exclusively buy locally made products, wherever possible. The email was one of these chain letter type things meant to be sent to a large group of people and it made many appeals to buying local and further embracing the general concept of protectionism. I should further add that this friend of mine lives in a highly unionised town in Ontario where protectionism is very popular in these difficult economic times.

While I do often buy local, I am also happy to support foreign countries which have lower standards of living. I did feel that the gist of his email was overly simplistic and that it bordered on xenophobia. And so I felt the need to write back to him. Below is what I wrote back to my friend.

Dear _______;

This is an interesting idea. But let’s think through the implications for a minute. Are Chinese, Mexican or Indian kids any less deserving than our own? Any less human? Trading spreads the wealth. We are relatively wealthy in the west and many of the countries you mentioned are relatively poor. Tempting though protectionism can be in tough times, it only heightens international divisions. We live well in this country and it seems to me that many of these countries you might discriminate against are much poorer. Should we make them starve? Freeze?

What Obama Could Learn from George W. Bush

Let me begin by saying that I like Barack Obama. While I am unlikely to agree with every decision he makes, he appears likeable and intellectually engaged. He represents a welcome change from his predecessor George W. Bush, whose intellectual processes often appeared somewhat less than rigorous, who often seemed to thumb his nose at world opinion, and under whose watch the US banking system nearly imploded. Where Bush often seemed intellectually detached, Obama appears highly engaged, sometimes to the point of micromanaging. This is witnessed by the fact that one also sees very little of many of his key cabinet secretaries. Hillary Clinton immediately comes to mind. Whatever happened to Hillary? Is she being waterboarded at Guantanamo? Hidden away in Dick Cheney’s underground lair? One wonders. But I digress.

Obama seems impressive in that he is young, intelligent, physically fit, a family man, and very well educated. He also appears to represent the best of the American Dream, in that this black son of a single white mother, whose family had neither wealth nor connections could one day become president of the most powerful nation on earth. Obama the president has inherited a litany of problems: the financial meltdown, a staggering federal debt built up over many years, other rapidly rising international powers, frayed foreign relations, the Israeli-Palestinian situation, two wars, a hyperpartisan and highly polarised electorate, lagging national productivity, a growing underclass, and falling standards of living, education and healthcare. The list goes on. These issues could hobble any president, let alone one who sometimes appears to walk on water.

This is Not Your Father’s Republican Party

There once was a time when the word Conservative meant more or less what it sounds like, i.e. the dictionary description: moderate, tending toward traditional ways, avoiding extremes… One would often think of a bunch of old men at a gentleman’s club pondering the grand issues of the day while sucking down gin and tonics.

In the United States, the conservative position is generally represented by the Republican Party. The Republicans over the years have had a number of great leaders: Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ike Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan just to name a few. They have also had their share of intellectual heavyweights. One of my favorite Republican minds of the last 30 years or so was William F. Buckley. Buckley was supremely intelligent and could debate virtually any issue with anybody. He would never resort to low blows or name calling to make a good point. He had a very humorous dry wit about him.