WeblogBahamas.com

Child killed in traffic mishap. Who is to blame?

Rick Lowe

Well we all knew the day would come again when a pedestrian would be killed by a Jitney, and this time it's a four year-old girl. What a tragedy.

Unfortunately from the eye witness report in The Tribune, it seems to indicate both the mother and the driver are at fault.

However, it's far past the time that jitney drivers should be acting more responsibly with their driving and parents should be more careful with their children.

Hopefully this will be a wake call for everyone that when we do not pay attention on the road tragedy can strike.

Condolences to the family and the driver. What a difficult thing it must be to deal with.

See the Nassau Guardian article about the incident here…

Abner Pinder recalled to post as chief councillor for Spanish Wells as Gilbert Pinder steps aside

Rick Lowe

I was taken by this recent letter to The Tribune indicating that Gilbert Pinder of the PLP had resigned after being voted to serve as Chief Councillor back in June 2011, paticularly after this PLP web site made such a fuss about it.

It is heartening news that Abner Pinder of the FNM has been asked to resume the post of Chief Councillor for Spanish Wells Eleuthera once again after Gilbert Pinder resigned.

Abner served ALL the people of Spanish Wells for 15 years in an exemplary manner and is deserving of the honour.

As an aside, I visited Spanish Wells in late December and went into Gilbert Pinder's store to buy some fish and the three or four employees were dressed in PLP paraphernalia. This was in contrast to visiting Abner Pinder's business where there were no political "colours" of any kind being displayed.

The company I work for does not allow associates to wear political garb as our clientele are from all walks of life and political persuasions.

Back to the chief councillor of Spanish Wells.

It seems hype is more important to some in politics than service. And Abner gives the people of Spanish Wells the service they deserve, and that's why he was returned in my not so humble opinion.

The photo above is from The Eleutheran. Click here to visit their site.

Some prosper while others decay

Rick Lowe

The following two articles should make us all sit up and take notice.

First, Dr. Burt Folsom points to the reasons why Detroit, Michigan in the USA has gone backwards over the decades in this post...

He notes:

"The lesson for the U.S. today is clear. If we overtax and overregulate, we create an unstable climate to invest, which cuts the chances people have to make money. Thus, people with money leave and invest elsewhere. All of this decline plays out over several decades. Therefore the U.S. can increase taxes, debt, and regulations and be like Detroit–and like New York, Boston, and San Francisco from 1950 to 1980–or the U.S. can cut its corporate tax (which is currently the second highest in the industrialized world) and its high income tax and, above all, cut its reckless spending and be more like New York, Boston, and San Francisco after 1980, when they capped taxes and encouraged investment. The choice is ours. Our future will depend on our decisions."

Second, a friend sent an oped by Victor Davis Hanson, a classicist and an expert on the history of war, entitled The Hundred Years' German War about the resentment of Germany's usccess by some European countries while they fail.

He points out that;

"Behind all the EU's 11th-hour gobbledygook, Germany's new European order is clear: If you wish to live like a German, then you must work and save like a German. Take it or leave it."

Hope you can take the time to read both pieces. They are very instructive.

Lessons in Freedom: TSA & a Free Country: Are the Compatible?

Tibor R. Machan

Why does the TSA annoy so many of us? Not having the resources to do a survey, I resort here to what might be called educated speculation. I suspect it is because free men and women consider it invasive for government agents to order them around--pat them down, make them endure electronic surveillance, being ordered around by TSA agents, etc.--unless they give their permission.

Just because someone embarks upon air travel it doesn’t follow that such permission can be inferred, especially if the search is conducted by government agents. If a private carrier states up front that utilizing it will require submitting to various intrusions, there is a difference. People may require of visitors to their homes or business establishments to submit to certain reasonable precautionary measures, say, for hygienic or security purposes. That’s because their home belongs to them and they may impose conditions for accessing it to others even if these others do not quite understand the rationale behind the measures to which they are subjected. They can go elsewhere. But when government imposes such requirements, given the overwhelming force it wields and its monopolistic powers, certain due process provisions must be met. One cannot escape the government since it runs air traffic. Thus, not unless there is solid reason to suspect someone of misconduct or ill will may they be interfered with by the government. Otherwise the policy is arbitrary.

Liberty Is Not Complicated

Rick Lowe

I just picked up a copy of Ron Paul's new book, Liberty Defined.

David Gordon reviews it here... for Mises.org and says as Ron Paul "puts the point with characteristic force":

For more than 100 years, the dominant views that have influenced our politicians have undermined the principles of personal liberty and private property. The tragedy is these bad policies have had strong bipartisan support. There has been no real opposition to the steady increase in the size and scope of government. Democrats are largely and openly for government expansion, and if we were to judge the Republicans by their actions and not their rhetoric, we would come to much the same conclusion about them. (p. 20)

I'm looking forward to reading the 50 essays included here.

Milton Friedman's Century - Free or Equal Documentary preview

Rick Lowe

There are only a couple spots left to watch the new documentary on Dr. Milton Friedman by Johan Norberg.

Click here… to sign up for this Nassau Institute event scheduled for Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Lessons in Freedom: BBC’s Biased Coverage of Capitalism

Tibor R. Machan

On the BBC website an interview was featured recently with the famous orthodox Marxist, Eric Hobsbawm, who promptly denounced capitalism as if he had established definitively its inferiority as a political economic system. Is the BBC such an irresponsible news organization that it will feature Mr. Hobsbawm’s characterization of capitalism with no one who champions that system featured responding to him?  (If you search, no such balanced presentation can be found on the BBC website.) Or is this happening because, after all, BBC is a state broadcast endeavor and has a big stake in discrediting a system that relies on private initiative?

From a Marxist perspective especially this conclusion is quite reasonable, since we are all supposed to be driven by economic motives and here is an instance that might just fit this idea perfectly.  The BBC would be one of the casualties of capitalist inspired privatization!  As a creature of the state it relies on confiscated resources for its operations and capitalism goes against that policy big time.

The question that was put to Mr. Hobsbawm by the BBC’s interviewer, had to do with capitalism and responsibility. That is, whether agents in a free market would be motivated to act responsibly and the answer Mr. Hobsbawm gave is “No.” Yet if people act irresponsibly in genuine free markets, this will soon be known and they would lose trust from fellow market agents.  Only when governments protect market agents from the consequences of their behavior will they be able to persist in acting irresponsibly.

Billy Currington - Song of the week - January 23, 2012 - People Are Crazy

Rick Lowe

I'm not a huge country music fan, although I have been known to tap my feet to it in the past, and this song is darn good. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to share this video that was passed on by a friend.

Can you tell where it was recorded?

I almost forgot. Please visit Billy Currington's web site here… and buy some of his music.

Hat tip to DP for sharing the video.

PM Ingraham reassures on Atlantis. Is PLP's integrity on this matter questionable?

Rick Lowe

I'm not sure how any country leader can assure that no job losses will occur in the bad economic climate around the world right now, but Prime Minister Ingraham has certainly brought what much the PLP were saying about the Atlantis Brookfield Agreement into question when he said:

"...the Government did not have an opportunity to approve the Brookfield purchase or have it transferred to them, before a judge ordered the deal stopped. And Brookfield withdrew its application to government.

"I think it is important for the government to keep people informed and abreast about developments at Atlantis," Mr Ingraham said.

"It is especially critical for people to be informed while all this false information, misinformation and speculation on the matter at hand continues day after day…"

It's great to have a good Opposition, but if they lied they should also man up and apologise to The Bahamian people.

If they found the words to make their side of the story up as alleged, I'm sure they can dance around an apology?

Atlantis is far too important to our economy for politicos to play games with.

Read the full story in The Tribune by Chester Robards here… and below.

Etta James “the greatest of all modern blues singers …" died on Friday, January 20, 2012

Rick Lowe

Unfortunately it happens to us all - we just need to live long enough.

The blues world has lost one of the greats in Etta James (1938 - 2012).

She led what many would consider a tortured life, but she was something special at the microphone.

Rest In Peace.

See the NPR obituary here…

Visit the Rock and Roll Library site about her here…