Property Rights ... In Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

All kidding aside, this is very interesting.

"Secretary of Business" as Symptomatic

I've already mocked this, but Ricochet points out that the President's whole risible (and clueless) "Secretary of Business" suggestion is actually (and grimly) symptomatic of Obama's entire approach to business:

This is really how President Obama sees the private sector. It’s just one more interest group in need of care and feeding by Big Government. And since we already have a Commerce Department, let’s just rebrand that sucker and subject it to a little technocratic tinkering. Given this administration’s love of industrial policy — picking winners and losers — Obama might as call the position Secretary of Crony Capitalists.

Do recall, gentle readers, that crony capitalism is not the same thing as actual capitalism.

UPDATE: Well, that took no time at all.  Add this.

The Des Moines Register Endorses ...

Romney.  For the first time in 40 years, this Iowa paper backs a Republican for the Presidency.  Hope and change, folks, because it's about the ECONOMY.  Anyway, add this to the growing list of papers who went for Obama in 2008 and are now endorsing Romney.  I know, I know, newspaper endorsements in themselves don't really sway the undecided reader, but I find them fascinating this time around as an exhibit of a preference cascade among the editorial boards.  As for the Des Moines Register in particular, I think we all kind of saw this coming.  By the way, here's a piece of its official endorsement:

From Florida: It's the Economy, Stupid

That's the overwhelming reasoning behind every single newspaper endorsement for Romney that I've read, and that is the overriding reason why papers that endorsed Obama in 2008 are supporting Romney now. (A little background.) The latest paper is the Sun Sentinel, and these Florida papers I think may be especially interesting because Florida is the perpetual battleground state. Here's a piece of it:

From the Annals of Socialized Medicine: Rationing Forces Patients to Go Private

Surprise!  As a British friend of mine recently told me, "I don't know why everyone loves the NHS.  It's dreadful."

Questions for the Presidential Debate

What do you think?  What would you like to ask Obama and Romney about domestic policy?

Thoughts From A Small Business

I had noted this current kerfuffle here and done it with an eye roll and a laugh, but you really should read this too. UPDATE: Oh, and this too.

Privatizing Elephants

Here's something I'd never thought about!  More here.

Quote of the Day: Latest Blather About Jobs

I'm not even going to bother with Obama's speech tonight.  Yadda yadda yadda.  I'll give you this observation, though:

Let’s face it: If the president had a plan to create jobs, he wouldn’t have kept it under wraps until now. Why take flak from Republicans and heat from the public if you have what it takes to turn the economy and labor market around? 

Barack Obama doesn’t have a plan to create jobs. Nor is that his job. The government’s role is to provide an environment in which the private sector will create them. That should be his goal.

Well, DUH.  But he won't grasp this because it doesn't hit into his ideology.  We don't need him to do anything -- just get out of the way, really.

Quirky Asia Files: Chopsticks to China

Here's a neat little tale about a Georgia company making chopsticks to send abroad because China's got a chopstick shortage.  The company also exports to Japan and Korea.  Well, whaddyaknow?  (I like bamboo chopsticks instead of wooden ones, but to each their own.) Belated link xie-xie to Sushiphagos the Progenitor of Alessandra!

Awesome: JetBlue Versus LA Carmageddon

As some of you already know, the massive traffic artery I-405 in Los Angeles will be shut down on Saturday, July 16, and the result is going to be traffic insanity.  Folks are already calling it all Carmageddon.  Dude, have you seen LA traffic on a "good" day?  The mind boggles.  Closing the 405 in mid-July?  Whose bright idea was this, anyway?  BUT!  Check out this ingenious initiative by JetBlue airlines!  

The airliner’s #OverThe405 program is offering flights, literally over Carmageddon, between Burbank’s Bob Hope International Airport and Long Beach Airport for only $4 each way on Saturday, July 16.

I'll raise a glass to entrepreneurial creativity.  As for Carmageddon, check out this hilarious Los Angeles area public service announcement (and I take no responsibility if you get the "CHiPs" theme song stuck in your head):

Innovation, Tech, Capitalism, and Why Today You Don't Have to Pay $4000 for a Cellphone

Here's something rather cool, plus interesting nerd analysis by Professor Michael Cox of SMU:

Brought to you by the private sector.

Quote of the Day: Government in the Economy

Who said this?

"The ... economy ought to be dominated by private businesses and private investors. The government must protect the choice and property of those who willingly risk their money and reputation."

So, who said this?  You might be surprised.

His Name is RoboCop: Statue Update

Remember the grassroots efforts to build a statue of RoboCop in Detroit?  Here's the latest.

LOL: The Grassroots Effort to Build Robocop

Oh, this is hilarious.  And brilliant.  And pretty darn awesome.  My friends, behold the power of the Internet, social media, playful and dedicated fans, and a crazy idea.   Ah, private initiative!

Quote of the Day: FDR on Public Sector Unions

Hmmmmmm:

Roosevelt's reign certainly was the bright dawn of modern unionism. The legal and administrative paths that led to 35% of the nation's workforce eventually unionizing by a mid-1950s peak were laid by Roosevelt. 

But only for the private sector. Roosevelt openly opposed bargaining rights for government unions. 

"The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service," Roosevelt wrote in 1937 to the National Federation of Federal Employees. Yes, public workers may demand fair treatment, wrote Roosevelt. But, he wrote, "I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place" in the public sector. "A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government."

The American Dream: Ike Shehadeh

Here's a great story about overcoming adversity to build success. Way to go, Ike! I salute you too as a fellow child of immigrants.

Here's his website, so if you're in the Bay Area, you can drop by for one of his famous sandwiches.

Geek News: Human Space Flight and the Private Sector

Hmmmmm. I must admit, I'm liking the idea. You'll recall how I geeked out over the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.


Oh, and here's some news about NASA's newest plans, a mishmash of private and public.


Random note: I am just LOVING how there's a spacecraft named "Dream Chaser."

Geek News: the Debut of the World's First Commercial Suborbital Spaceship!

Awesome! The debut took place in California's Mojave Desert, and the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane was unveiled by Virgin Galactic. Its name? The VSS Enterprise, of course!

Even better about the name is this additional thought, as noted in the news story:

The name pays tribute to the sailing ships of old as well, to the fictional "Star Trek" starship - and to the idea that the craft will bring private enterprise into the world of space travel, said Virgin Galactic's president, Will Whitehorn.

Heck yeah!

Ooooh, check out some very cool photos. Technophiliacs, rejoice!