There has been much talk lately of America's Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which set off the protectionist dominoes in 1930. It is usually invoked by free traders to make the wrong point. The relevant message of Smoot-Hawley is that America was then the big exporter, playing the China role. By resorting to tariffs, it set off retaliation, and was the biggest victim of its own folly.

Who among free marketers cheerleads this government interference known as Smoot-Hawley, which was a major factor in raising other nations' retaliatory tariffs and bringing about the Great Depression.

Big Government sucks. Anything it does past the minimum of military defense and protection of citizens' rights is bound to screw up the system.

The lesson was not learned when FDR's policies prolonged the Great Depression by almost 10 years. It wasn't learned from LBJ's Great Society and we're STILL paying for both of these boondoggles today. The price tag of LBJ's folly alone is 3 trillion.

Senator Obama's plans aren't going to help anyone except his cronies (as opposed to Bush's).

Instead of revolting, the states are complicit in this next Great Train Robbery of the taxpayers.

Revolution is always possible in the United States, only it's not going to be for more socialism but less.

Last book I read was "Memoirs of an Invisible Man". HIGHLY recommended. The Chevy Chase vehicle does not do the book justice. Saint eerily describes what it's like to be invisible.

I started Crichton's The Great Train Robbery the other night as it was one of his older titles I hadn't read yet.

farhad:

that's really odd since, according to the book 'the great train robbery', in victorian times, when 'the french malady' was running rampant through england, the same belief about sex with a virgin curing syphilis was held then. according to the novel, young and youngish looking prostitutes would stitch themselves back up down there so as to be able to provide this valued service many times. not sure how true it was, it is a novel after all and a michael crichton novel at that, but that struck me as an odd coincidence when i read what you wrote.