Wretchard Twists

Just too many to call out quotes of the day.

These are all extracted from Gambler's Ruin. 

1. Let me give you his last first.

God takes care of children and the United States of America.

You may not want to dwell too long wondering what became of the drunks or idiots.

2. You know how Americans loved Chinese goods when they were so much cheaper than American made? And then, surprisingly, all that subsequently mounted American debt held by the Chinese? (emphasis added):

The Chinese may have a new motto in Afrrica. “Call Me Bwana”. China seems to have a knack for benefiting from American policy in the Middle East. Recently the New York Times reported that “China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom”, something America can’t do because it’s immoral to trade American blood for oil. But there is no objection as long as it benefits China. This fact is one of life’s mysteries though somewhere in the Encyclopedia of Political Correctness an explanation must exist.

Well, you may believe this is tortuous reasoning, but debtors do attempt to gain credits by offering 3rd party discounts. Nope. No blood for oil. No siree.

3. Setting up to address blame (emphasis added):

Well he’s still promising them [new beginnings in the Middle East]. Yesterday “President Barack Obama called on Egypt’s government and opposition on Saturday to engage each other in constructive dialogue and prevent violence spilling out across the region.” And as if to emphasize the irony Washington Post added the same day “US eyes security at embassy, consulates in Egypt as Cairo braces for weekend protests”.

Watch out for them videos.

But that's ancient history and couldn't happen again.

4. And then there is his use of unnamed sources to deliver cogent observations (see emphasis):

The man in the street is miserable and he needs someone to blame.  Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood ran on a program of Hope and Change and delivered exactly nothing — and that would be putting it kindly. “Morsi is so incompetent he seems almost malevolent,” my friend said.

Rest assured that Hanlon will track down that source before such speculation spreads to Morsi's allies.

5. Oops. Too late.

To some extent America is in the same boat as the Egyptians. There’s an awareness of deep trouble which nobody has figured a way to get out of. [Or wish to speak of openly anyway.]

The administration hoped to rely on the President’s genius. Somehow the belief was that the new administration would be “smart”. Things didn’t need to be explained to the public because the smart guys now in power would have things in hand. And now it is becoming evident there was at no time either plan or genius at work. Or if there was it was not in evidence.

There is a paper by economist Robert Higgs published in the mid 1990s by the Ludwig von Mises Institute: "The Myth of Failed Policies." The theme he demonstrated time and again was 'monopoly services that those on the receiving end view as abject failures, are almost always viewed by the providers as a spectacular success.'

Perspective matters? Whoa! Who thinks like that?