Preemptive Props To Piketty

Let me offer premptive props to French professor Piketty, whose instant classic on Capital is all anyone can talk about.

Messr. Piketty is on the verge of a major success in helping to bring down inequality in his home country. Based on these old but not hopelessly dated stories, the wealthy French are leaving France in droves to flee higher taxes. This high-earner exodus will bring down Piketty's tax-based income figures when they are finally available in a few years, and champagne will flow freely as France celebrates its triumph over inequality (or at least over a rising trend). That is, the champagne will flow freely if there is anyone left to pick up the tab; otherwise we will be looking at table wine and tap water.

But still, congrats in advance.

TO BE FAIR, BUT NOT REALLY... Piketty does call for a global wealth tax, presumably informed by experience. But he is hazy as to whether this global tax should be collected by unicorns and enforced by dragons or vice versa, so I just can't take it seriously.

Comments

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

JiB-- I am all for that, lets give the survivors immunity and whistleblower status and get them under oath. Let's get the contractor records. Let's test the credibility of the CIA timeline. But to my knowledge the November 2012 timeline is the only one the CIA put out there.

[fdcol63]

rse,

I think it's even worse than that. I think these "futurist social planners" have long recognized that the US was an impediment to the fulfillment of their long-term goal of world domination.

The best way to restore darkness to the world has been to extinguish the light of Lady Liberty and to disarm the "arsenal of democracy" by brainwashing our own citizens, negating the important lessons of our Founding Fathers, teaching us that we're no better than every other tin-horn dictator out there, and destroying our will and capacity to preserve our national defense and sovereignty.

When the economic collapse occurs and we're busy just trying to survive and defend ourselves within our own borders, whatever deterrence the US was able to provide will be removed, and the rest of the world will descend into chaos and anarchy as well.

Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and hosts of others will be loosed to wreak whatever havoc their rulers have wished to pursue for generations.

The world that so hated the US will look fondly back at the Pax Americana.

[Porchlight]

I agree NK - the CIA later said they sent teams but that was in Nov 2012, well after other stories said that CIA did not and that Woods and Doherty were acting against orders.

Shouldn't take 2 months to establish a timeline unless you need it to get stories straight and issue gag orders to everyone who was on the ground.

Let's get some people on the stand and find out.

[MarkO on the road]

Porch,

As I understand it, "stand down" is the default position. Those words did not need to be said unless someone acted on his own.

This is the explanation of dithering and it answers the other questions.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

This cracks me up-- the Progs have their 'white toga' crowd as well, in this case the WaPo editorial board. The Repubs are doing politics 'tsk tsk tsk!" BTW-- I read this as a WaPo confession that there really was a coverup, but the repubs haven't proved it yet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-obama-botched-in-libya/2014/05/05/3aef7176-d47a-11e3-95d3-3bcd77cd4e11_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions

[Porchlight]

MarkO, I understood it that "go help" is the default position unless an active order to stand down is given. So forces would automatically mobilize for deployment unless or until told to stand down. Petraeus seemed to be hinting that the stand down order came from above.

[lyle]

I agree with you on not nominating a senator, NK. It's still symptomatic of the clean toga crowd.

[Miss Marple]

ALERT! I just voted in my GOP primary. There were 6 candidates for the state convention and I was to vote for no more than 6.

One of the candidates lives in my neighborhood and is a crank so I didn't want to vote for him.

The electronic machine would NOT take my ballot unless I voted for him. I finally voted for him just to get done.

Went to complain and the GOP person said that it wasn't supposed to work this way.
I told her it obviously did and I am not stupid. I also told her they need to get this straightened out before November.

Why?

BECAUSE WHAT IF DISGUSTED DEMOCRATS DO NOT WANT TO VOTE FOR THEIR SENATOR OR CONGRESSMAN BUT ARE NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE UNLESS THEY VOTE FOR ALL CANDIDATES?

I think about these things, you see.

[fdcol63]

"Petraeus seemed to be hinting that the stand down order came from above."

There aren't too many steps above the 4-star AFRICOM Commander, Gen. Carter Ham.

That should limit the possibilities.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

FD-- isn't that limited to 2 possibilities, the JCS as a group and POTUS. That's it, isn't it?

[Miss Marple]

I still wonder if Valerie Jarrett acted in Obama's absence.

Also, I called the Secretary of State's office about the voting problem. He understood immediately my concern, took down all pertinent information, and is going to investigate. (The guy on the phone was not the SOS.)

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Wait-- how can the Big Gov insurers threaten 15 rate hikes without 'Risk Corridor' bailouts, with 8 MILLION new customers. According to JEF the money is rolling from 8MILLION+ new customers. Why do the insurers need higher rtes or subsidies? JEF is so full of shite, he has no idea: http://washingtonexaminer.com/insurers-warn-of-rate-hikes-if-obamacare-risk-corridors-are-kept-budget-neutral/article/2548137?custom_click=rss&utm_campaign=Weekly+Standard+Story+Box&utm_source=weeklystandard.com&utm_medium=referral

[Jeff Dobbs]

matt:
A friend of ine was a friend of Ansel's, who died in penury. Photography up until recently did not pay well.

The question at this point is, do I wait for DoT to weigh in?

[fdcol63]

NK, I think the chain goes from AFRICOM to Army Chief Of Staff/JCS to SecDef to POTUS.

But it's a limited list.

[GMax]

Defense Sec as well. Very limited number of folks in the chain of command.

[Jane]

I still wonder if Valerie Jarrett acted in Obama's absence.

Does she live in the WH? I know she eats dinner there. I bet she has her own bedroom too. Someone should ask Jay Carney that.

[Captain Hate]

I agree, Jane, but first you have to find somebody in the MFM willing to flush the rodent out.

[Captain Hate]

I meant to add they probably fear her more than Preznit Fragile Ego.

[lyle]

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/05/06/study-just-seven-percent-of-journalists-now-identify-as-republicans/

If you click, you will find that 50.2% call themselves "independent." Anyone else believe that? Me, neither. It just sounds like a good response on a poll. You know, "Of course, I'm independent and harbor no biases whatsoever. It's just that I hate republicans."

[rse]

fd-

You might find this vision interesting and terrifying https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/416267

Being pushed by radicals on both sides of the pond who still quote Rousseau to support a point.

[Brian]

Preemptive props? Yeah, right. Give us some worthwhile Monday morning quarterbacking first.