Nothing Says "Eat the Rich" Like Wearing Gucci

I'm increasingly hostile towards upper middle class, or outright rich, leftists who buy $5,000 sofas to put in their expensive houses while at the same time advocating tax increases to help the poor. How about instead of paying $1,200 for a stupid painting to put on your wall you give that money to the local homeless shelter and leave my paycheck alone? Or sell that $500 cellphone and send the money to Ethiopia. This guy, however, really, really pisses me off.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno was momentarily at a loss for words when a journalist interrupted his speech and asked if it was not contradictory to criticize capitalism while wearing Gucci shoes and a tie made by Parisian luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton.

"I don't, uh ... I ... of course," stammered Carreno on Tuesday before regaining his composure. "It's not contradictory because I would like Venezuela to produce all this so I could buy stuff produced here instead of 95 percent of what we consume being imported."

The video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDsdXkY4UlE) had been viewed more than 15,000 times on Thursday, a day after it was posted on the YouTube Web site.

Indians Mooching Off the Rest of Us

In the south of Indian state of Kerala, many suffer from high rates of poverty and widespread unemployment. The state does offer first-class health and education services. The New York Times reports that this socialist state can pay for these basic services for its poor population through remittances from surrounding liberal oriented regions. The rising tide of India’s liberalization can lift even ineffective governments.

Seperation of Church and State

Teaching creationism in government-run schools is at the top of a slippery slope. Here is what's at the bottom:

Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Couldn't happen in America? Think again.

In late June, Gov. Bob Riley issued a proclamation urging Alabamians to embark on a seven-day, intense prayer campaign for rain. During that week, portions of the state got some of the heaviest rains they'd seen in months.

While in Huntsville Thursday, Riley was asked if he plans to initiate a prayer crusade again.

"I think most people who walk outside see the necessity of prayer," said Riley, who added that Huntsville felt 10 degrees hotter than Montgomery. "I don't think they have to be reminded."

When asked if he was offering daily prayers for rain on his state, he said, absolutely."

Paris au Printemps and Autumn for Socialism?

France today took a big step away from socialism by electing Nicolas Sarkozy by a decisive margin in an election characterized by intense public interest and a huge turnout.

I watched the pivotal televised debate between Sarkozy and socialist opponent Segolene Royal. It was fascinating to watch as they debated, passionately, issues that Americans and the British debated and settled in the early 1980's with the elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The most emotional and tense exchange was about the French rule that makes it a crime to work more than 35 hours per week. Royal defended that rule with vigor, arguing that it allows people to spend time on family and other pursuits. Sarkozy eloquently countered her, saying that the rule was a violation of individual freedom and the ability of a person to work hard and excel and, yes, make money.

I know a woman from Breton whose family owns a bistro. One worker requested to work extra during the week before his vacation so that he could make more pay. The owner agreed and was turned into the authorities by another employee. His bistro was shut down and he spent most of his savings in court trying to defend himself. My friend, who is left of almost everyone in the US, decried the 35 hour week as a fascist nightmare that almost destroyed her family business. France yesterday agreed with her and took a step toward sanity.

Reason Carries the Incandescent Torch

Katherine Mangu-Ward writes eloquently about the grim implications of a fluorescent future in Reason. She does a great job of both pointing out the aesthetic implications of living in a fluorescent world and also the fact that Castro and Hugo Chavez have pioneered this regulatory movement. Her article achieves poetry with this descriptive sentence:

In Venezuela, the light spilling out of the slums in Caracas has taken on the bluish tint typical of florescent lighting, as Chavez's strange environmental crusade marches on.

That could be a haiku from Socialist hell. But the blue glint will illuminate us too, if we don't stop it.

Now the U.S. House of Representatives has its own legislation to force out incandescent bulbs: "The last thing we want to do is force legislation down people's throats," Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) said at a press conference. But the goal of reducing energy use requires legislation as a "focal point that you look at to try to move the country forward."

As a migraine sufferer, my #1 trigger is fluorescent lights, so living in a fluorescent world for me would mean living in my bed with a pillow over my head and being unable to function or pay taxes. Perhaps I could make an ADA claim and get out of the regulation. I would rather just pay more in electricity and be able to choose my bulbs.

To see how TtP is ahead of the issues, see my March 14th light bulb post here.