Free Market FDP on the Rise in Germany.

Back in the 70s at the beginning of the libertarian movement in Australia one European nation was held in respect as a glowing example of the benefits of the free market. Back then the German economic miracle was the stuff of legends, a country virtually destroyed and in ruins, both physically and economically was able to rebuild and become an economic powerhouse in quite a short time. There was of course no miracle; just capitalism doing what it has always done when left alone.

Tragically Germany has since that time succumbed to the lure of social policies of the left and joined the malaise that is the hallmark of Europe. Through all of the post war era though a free enterprise party, The Free Democrats (FDP) has continued to exist and has gathered strength from the fall from favor of Angela Merkel’s CDU, which has happened because of the parties move to the left alienating many of its freedom orientated members.

The FDP is in no way what could be described as libertarian, but display an encouraging number of characteristics of classical liberalism however are not rooted in full free market philosophy. I doubt that the term laissez-faire could be attached to it by anyone but its most trenchant opposition, probably due to a lack of guiding principles allowing some populist leanings to slip in.

Spiegel Online has an interesting article on the FDP “Free Market Party on the Rise in Germany.”

At first glance, it may seem like a contradiction: Despite a deepening economic crisis and growing anger at corporate greed, Germany's free market FDP party has been rising in the polls. …

By the time Germany's second stimulus package received the final stamp of legislative approval last Friday, it was no longer news. Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet had given the initial go-ahead. And the lower house of parliament in Berlin, the Bundestag, had followed her lead.

With the economy in a shambles, financial markets frozen and capitalists in disrepute, Germany's neo-liberal political party, the Free Democrats (FDP), are enjoying remarkable success in both the polls and the voting booth. Its newfound self-confidence combined with double-digit survey results could shake up Germany's political landscape ahead of national elections scheduled for the end of September.

The first indication that the business-friendly FDP was on the upswing came in the state of Hesse, home to Germany's financial center Frankfurt. In late January state elections, the FDP raked in 16.2 percent of the vote, much higher than what the party normally receives. The success landed the FDP in the state's governing coalition -- and handed it enough leverage to block legislation in the Bundesrat. …

Indeed, say analysts, it is the party's consistency which may now be boosting its image. While the political course being charted by both Merkel's CDU and by her coalition partners from the Social Democrats (SPD) have been varying widely as the government attempts to come to terms with the financial and economic crises, FDP leader Guido Westerwelle hasn't had to budge. …

Westerwelle and the rest of his party, though, have been doing their best to portray the current crisis as a failure of government rather than a failure of the markets. The US government, so goes the message, is to be blamed for the real-estate quagmire in America, not the market.  Furthermore, as seen prior to the party's about-face on the stimulus package last week, the FDP has been consistently attacking the government, saying its response to the growing economic storm has been inadequate.

A recent survey found that, when it comes to the anti-recession measures so far taken by Berlin, many Germans agree. Only 36 percent of the 1,000 surveyed backed the €50 billion plan passed last week. But that's where the good news ends for the FDP. The survey included a fictional stimulus package crammed full of measures such as raising the minimum wage, upping welfare payments and boosting pensions -- all things the FDP cannot abide.

Fully 48 percent of Germans supported the imaginary measures.

Santelli inspired ‘Chicago’ tea parties in full swing.

It is rare for someone to come out with something, which starts a grass-roots movement spontaneously as Rick “reward those who carry the water instead of drink the water” Santelli did recently. The call for a Chicago tea party in July to dump derivative securities into Lake Michigan caught the imagination.



The video caught the attention of White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who decided to use a press conference as an opportunity to blast Mr. Santelli, claiming that he was irresponsible and didn’t know what he was talking about.

The left hand side of the Blogsphere has predictably gone into conniptions over it, claiming that the whole thing is a vast right wing, (You guessed it) conspiracy. Most of the claims are remarkably similar in content to the point where it is reasonable to assume they are still following David Axelrod talking points.

Charles Schumer (D NY) who has never held a job outside politics, in the video below lets those of us among what he calls, “The chattering class,” know how we are regarded by the elite: “The American people really don't care.”

Last Friday, February 27 rallies were held in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville, New York, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Monica, Seattle, Springfield, Mo., St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington, D.C. This Friday they are due in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Saturday, March 7 protests are scheduled for Monterey, Calif., Green Bay, Wis., Lafayette, La., Harrisburg, Pa., Pembroke Pines, Fla., (South Florida) and Olathe, Kan.

Its on the move.

Hayek Had 'Inflation' By The Balls: Photographic Evidence.

Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek, with Ron Kitchings bull 'Inflation' who according to Ron, "never stopped growing."

An article by Michael Connor in Quadrant Online pointed me to an account by Ron Kitching of how the month long visit of the Nobel prizewinner F.A. Hayek to Australia was arranged in 1976 – and how he introduced the great man to Inflation. Ron is a legend in his own right in the mining and exploration industry having been one of the founders of Glindemann and Kitching, which became one of the biggest and most innovative drilling companies in Australia.

This is an early picture is of Ron, with John Campbell Miles discoverer of Mount Isa. (Click to Enlarge.)

Ron was an early convert to free market economics after reading Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” when he was trying to find out how and why governments could regulate the economy to such an extent that an ostensibly booming industry (like mining) was reduced to penury. His book, “Understanding Personal and Economic Liberty” is on my “highly recommended” list.

Hayek was (initially) invited to Australia for a lecture tour by economist Mark Tier. However, Hayek, at that time, had to decline, but as circumstances changed and he wrote a note to Sydney Economist/Barrister Roger Randerson, whom he once tutored at The London School of Economics, saying that he could squeeze in a month before going on previously scheduled visits to new Zealand and Japan.

He was contacted by Roger at Ron’s urging and replied that if airfares and accommodation were arranged and the lectures were confined to no more than two per week, there would be no fee, an incredibly generous offer. Incredibly no support from the business community could be obtained, and the two of them underwrote the tour themselves. Business at that time were running scared, as the inept, scandal ridden government of the pompous socialist Gough Whitlam had been replaced by the Fraser one, which was so bad it made many nostalgic for Gough.

Fraser is now remembered for two reasons, the first, being for his pivotal role as the principal architect in the installation of Robert Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe, his role being described by African leaders of the time as "crucial in many parts", and vital. The second was the “Memphis trousers affair,” in which he as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group was found in the foyer of the Admiral Benbow Inn, a seedy hotel popular with prostitutes and drug dealers, wearing nothing but a towel and confused as to where his trousers were. But I digress.

Ron describes Hayek's stay at his Atherton property, and his meeting with “Inflation” as follows (abriged): - 

He then noticed hanging on the wall of the bar, a large picture of a magnificent Brahman Bull I owned. He asked about the Bull, so I told him he was a prize winning show bull which I had nicknamed Inflation as he would not stop growing. “He weighs 3,000 pounds in his working clothes,” I told the small gathering present.

“Well, while I am here, I would like to meet him,” Hayek exclaimed. So I put that on the agenda.

I got this bright idea that I’d put the bull in the yard, get a step ladder put Hayek on the bull, (if he agreed), and take a picture which would carry the caption Hayek’s on Top Of Inflation. I told my wife and that was the end of it. She would not under any circumstances countenance such a move. “What if the Professor fell off and was injured?” So that project was abandoned.

Nevertheless Hayek still wanted to meet the bull. Next day I took him down the paddock and took several pictures of him and the bull when another idea popped into my head and I quietly mentioned it to him. He was delighted to have a bit of fun. The caption of course was to be Hayek's Got Inflation By The Balls.

Well the old boy was delighted. He was quite at home with animals and had palled up with the bull, which was an easy matter with this particular animal. So he posed and I took the picture. He predicted that if the Americans got hold of a copy, the picture would become famous.

Years later a copy (with caption) was presented to Margaret Thatcher, much to her delight.

Ronald Kitching is a life member of the Mont Pelerin Society who made a major contribution to F.A. Hayek’s lecture tour of Australia in 1976 . He also authored the book “Understanding Personal and Economic Liberty”.

UN's Anti-Blasphemy Resolution.

Attack on Freedom of speech,

 and on separation of church and state.

H/T; Little Green Footballs, via Fleeced over at "Thoughts on Freedom."

About ten minutes but well worth the time. The UN is and has always been at the forefront of attacks on liberty. The United States has at least some constitutional protection against this sort of thing with its first amendment, and while I have little doubt that their government will try it on, as it would empower them, there is room to fight it. I have little doubt that Rudd will also try but over here.

The United Nations Anti-Blasphemy Resolution aims to curtail speech that offends religion, specifically Islam. Critics, religious groups and free speech advocates say the resolution is spreading Sharia law to the Western world.



Essentially as Islam is obsessive about such things as blasphemy, and will as such be the prime beneficiary of such laws, all churches are somewhat twitchy about criticism and the raising of blasphemy to criminal status, creates the situation where it is a criminal act to criticize them. This effectively negates the concept of separation of church and state, one of the pillars of a free society.

Spin doctoring at it best.

Photo (Google Images): The hanging of Remus ... (Take your pick from the list below.)

This is a (possibly) apocryphal story sent to me but I love it. The people that wrote this verbal slight of hand could do really well at writing speeches for politicians. After a little research to find out more about it I also found similar tales surrounding such characters as Remus Gore, Remus Bush, Remus Dunham, Remus Kerry, Remus Biden, Remus McCain, and Remus Reid.

“Judy Wallman” a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that Hillary Clinton’s great-great uncle, Remus Rodham, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription:

“Remus Rodman, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1883, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.” Judy emailed Hillary Clinton for information about her great-great uncle.

Hillary's staff of professional image consultants, cropped Remus's picture, scanned it in as an enlarged image, and edited with image processing software so that all that's seen is a head shot.

They then sent the photograph with the following biographical sketch. “Remus Rodman was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisitions of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana Railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency.

In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor, when the platform upon which he was standing, collapsed”.

GW Science, The religion of politics.

Cartoon By Ramirez.

Viv Forbes, the Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition, makes some very good points in the following press release on the real reason why Rudd is pushing for unreliable options for future power generation:

“Green Electricity– a Stealth Tax.”

Forcing power retailers to buy expensive renewable energy has negligible effect on carbon dioxide emissions and no climate benefits, so it is all about buying green votes.

The policy is obviously an insincere fraud. If politicians sincerely believed there is a critical need to cut CO2 emissions, they would investigate what France has done to generate 75% of their power using nuclear energy, or what Norway has done to get 97% of their power from hydro energy. Unlike wind power, these options generate reliable electricity cheaply, with zero CO2 emissions and without needing costly backup capacity from coal or gas plants.

But there are no green votes in nuclear or hydro, and thus no proposals to build nuclear stations in the Latrobe or hydro stations in Tasmania.

Wind farms have proved useless in critical times. During the recent frigid spell in UK, their wind turbines were becalmed and produced a ludicrous 0.4% of total UK power – reliable old coal stations were cranked up. Carbon fuels provided 81% of the heat and light for shivering Britons and nuclear, another 16%.

Then during heat waves in Southern Australia, the contribution from wind generators was small and generally in periods of low demand. Things were worse in West Texas, where a sudden wind drop on the Texas Plains caused such instability in the power grid that the whole grid shut down.

Denmark is finding its thousands of wind turbines a liability – they cannot use the unreliable power and have to sell it at a loss into the European power grid.

Already wind towers are being scrapped in Europe so why is Australia still forcing consumers and taxpayers to subsidize these expensive playthings?

Green power is just a stealth taxes on electricity consumers.

Meanwhile the NYT has an article, “Politics in the Guise of Pure Science” by John Tierney, which questions the commitment of some scientists to a true scientific attitude, in relation to the politics involved in the debate. Debate might be too strong a term to use as in the eyes of the GW Alarmists, the issue is settled and there should be no more debate on it. This seems to be a political or religious position, not a scientific one.

… Well, I suppose it never hurts to go on the record in opposition to a billion imaginary deaths. But I have a more immediate concern: Will Mr. Obama’s scientific counselors give him realistic plans for dealing with global warming and other threats? To borrow a term from Roger Pielke Jr.: Can these scientists be honest brokers?

Dr. Pielke, a professor in the environmental studies program at the University of Colorado, is the author of “The Honest Broker,” a book arguing that most scientists are fundamentally mistaken about their role in political debates. As a result, he says, they’re jeopardizing their credibility while impeding solutions to problems like global warming.

Most researchers, Dr. Pielke writes, like to think of themselves in one of two roles: as a pure researcher who remains aloof from messy politics, or an impartial arbiter offering expert answers to politicians’ questions. Either way, they believe their research can point the way to correct public policies, and sometimes it does — when the science is clear and people’s values aren’t in conflict. …

But too often, Dr. Pielke says, they pose as impartial experts pointing politicians to the only option that makes scientific sense. To bolster their case, they’re prone to exaggerate their expertise (like enumerating the catastrophes that would occur if their policies aren’t adopted), while denigrating their political opponents as “unqualified” or “unscientific.”

“Some scientists want to influence policy in a certain direction and still be able to claim to be above politics,” Dr. Pielke says. “So they engage in what I call ‘stealth issue advocacy’ by smuggling political arguments into putative scientific ones.” ….

What would honest brokers tell the president about global warming? Dr. Pielke, who calls himself an Obamite, says he’s concerned that the presidents’ advisers seem uniformly focused on cutting carbon emissions through a domestic cap-and-trade law and a new international treaty.

It’s fine to try that strategy, he says, but there are too many technological, economic and political uncertainties to count on it making a significant global difference. If people around the world can’t be cajoled — or frightened by apocalyptic scenarios — into cutting carbon emissions, then politicians need backup strategies.

One possibility, Dr. Pielke says, would be to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the future. He calculates that it could cost about the same, in the long run, as making drastic cuts in emissions today, and could be cheaper if the technology improves. It could also be a lot easier sell to the public.

Yet research into this strategy has received little financing in past budgets or the new stimulus package because it doesn’t jibe with the agenda of either side in the global-warming debate. Greens don’t want this sort of “technological fix”; their opponents don’t want to admit there’s anything to fix. And neither side’s advocates will compromise as long as they think that science will prove them right.

The statement that, “the presidents’ advisers seem uniformly focused on cutting carbon emissions through a domestic cap-and-trade law …” should be no surprise as Obama has selected them for those positions for that reason. What really jars is the similarity with Vivs argument above in the last paragraph, “…or the new stimulus package because it doesn’t jibe with the agenda of either side in the global-warming debate. Greens don’t want this sort of “technological fix”; …”

Petition for Sarah.

After a little over a month of the Obama Presidency we are getting an insight into what is to come. Massive deficit spending, mainly on Democrat wish lists and moves to seize guns from law-abiding citizens are just the beginning. Americans are beginning to realize that they have been conned, lied to, and been defrauded even in their electoral practices.

Unless the press badly needs to be bailed out itself in 2012 even they will have to admit that the Obama presidency by that time will be the worst since FDR, and possibly worse than that of Andrew Johnson.

A petition has been organized to call on Sarah Palin to run for the office of President of the United States in 2012. The USA will desperately need a financially responsible President who supports the concept of smaller non-interventionist government to pull itself back from the brink of government conducted by those with such delusions of relevance that they believe that every aspect of life has to be regulated, supported, inspected, prohibited, subsidized, supervised, watched, directed, administered, spied on, or managed by them.

It is time for a return to common sense. Palin is the way to go.

The petition can be found here.