Reminders

I'm glad newspapers like The Oakland Press run columns by people like E.J. Dionne. It's good to be reminded of how bereft of reality many columnists are. This guy is out of it. Really, though, I do wonder how anyone can pay him for what he writes. Today, he talks about "mindless opposition to government." "Mindless?" Of course, he's using this gambit to attack conservatives, who, according to Dionne are stupid. OK, he sort of makes it seem he doesn't give such a blanket indictment by signalling Bill Bennett as reasonable. But, c'mon.... Opposition to gov't isn't mindless in most people concerned with the growth of the federal gov't, its intrusion into people's lives, and its rewards for bad behavior. The gov't has no business telling me what kind of light bulbs I have to use, what type of television I must have, what sort of car I will have to drive, etc. It's none of gov't's business. That the gov't debt is completely ridiculous, amounts nobody can reasonably fathom cannot be argued by anyone with half a brain. The malfeasance of corporate execs in banking, the auto industry, etc. was rewarded with the bailouts; members of Congress can engage in insider trading that sent Martha Stewart and others to jail; mothers are encouraged to have more and more babies with whatever fathers they can find because the gov't steals our money to give to them. But, Dionne insists opposition to gov't is "mindless." And that comes from someone whose columns are almost always "mindless."

On the same page, Walter Williams has this to say about Robert Reich, "Berkley's pretend economist." Great line!