Posted on 03/02/2016 7:45:45 PM PST by jazusamo
The worst political blunder of all time, according to scientist Freeman Dyson, was the decision of the emperor of China in 1433 to cut off his country from the outside world. In the wake of that decision, China lost its position in the forefront of human achievements and fell behind, over the centuries, to become a Third World country.
Before the end of this month, the United States of America may break that record for the worst political blunder of all time. Professor Dyson attributed the Chinese emperor's blunder to "powerful people pursuing partisan squabbles and neglecting the long-range interests of the empire." That can be our path to disaster as well.
After the results of "Super Tuesday," we find ourselves with front-runners in their respective parties who each could, as President of the United States, take the decline of America under the Obama administration, even further down, to a point of no return.
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was in charge of the foreign policy that destroyed governments in Egypt and Libya that were no threat to America's interests or allies, and plunged both countries into a turmoil from which only Egypt managed to rescue itself, while Libya has become another hotbed of terrorist activity.
Yet Secretary Clinton is running on her "experience" — even though it is an experience of unmitigated disasters for America, around the world. Her e-mail scandals and lies are important mainly as symptoms of her utter disregard of anything other than her own financial and political interests.
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
It's time to get on your knees and pray, people.
Sowell is common sense on steroids.
Wanting a thing and knowing how to realize it are two very different things. Wanting to do something without the principles and tools necessary for success is long term failure.
Mail.
RML ... too much logic. The birther accusation runs deep at FR.
AMEN!!!! Been there often lately..
When he's for a fivefold increase in H1B Visas and the TPA (which dramatically increases the probability TPP will be enacted) he's going along the the primary GOPe/Democrat goal. Pursuit of that goal is the root causes of this nation's dramatic decline which is our loss of national sovereignty to the Globalist Nobility by replacing the Constitution with "Treaty Obligations:".
Protectionist trade policy was the norm for most of our history for a very good reason. Trade treaties lead to exactly the sort of "foreign entanglements" the Founding Fathers warned us to stay clear of.
Actually I didn’t even “graduate” high school - took the GED a year and a half early. Blew through all my high school math courses with ease completing everything offered before I got out. Didn’t go to college a day.
By the time I was 22 I was a senior design engineer at a large company in Sunnyvale. By 24 I quit and became an independent engineering consultant. By 26 I started my own engineering company doing primarily satellite modem design for a number of other companies. By 33 we started manufacturing our own high tech communications equipment with world wide sales. I hold two highly complex technical patents and my company owns more. Still going strong.
I admit how old I was exactly back then is now a little foggy and could be plus/minus a year.
You?
There is NO FREE TRADE in Tpp or Nafta
Its Globalist crony capitalist scam meant to benefit a few elites while the US is made a third world hell hole .
This clown knows that fact and lies about its existence to keep his gig.
Drive anywhere in the US and the cheap labor invasion is all around us now.
I admire your achievement . That is very admirable. I respect you. My point is simply that Sowell is a hired “consultant” and advocate for the donor class that ruined this country and millions of lives for “Free Trade” for Chinese crap. I have respect for his intellect. I reject is whoring for money against this nations best interest, IMO.
You are right. And Sowell is certifiably crazy. I don’t care what the guy wrote or said in the past. Whatever respect he earned is long gone; just like Fatboi Rushbo. To witness the collapse of what was once known as the Constitutional Republic of the United States for eight solid years under the reign of the monster Hussein and his commie Marxocrats, aided and abetted by a supine Congress and Senate populated by craven and degenerate RINOs, to completely disregard that catastrophe, and then to equate the elevation of Trump as the worst political event in a thousand years is just stark raving nuts. These anti-Trump people are officially unhinged.
Shame on him for pushing worthless lies for his DC pals. You need to read up on the Tpp treason.
Folks, I believe in trade. We all do. It’s trade that is destructive to the U. S. that I don’t support, and I’d bet all of you agree with me.
While we may differ on what exactly healthy trade is, there’s no denying we have over 40 million able bodied people out of work, and there are far too many service related jobs for very low scale.
I like Sowell too, but he’s got a blind spot here that is bigger than the nearest black hole.
“The Constitution was violated with the complicity of both parties.”
I believe George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, John McCain, the director of the CIA, and the director of the FBI knew the truth about Obama in 2008. None of them spoke out.
Fools or traitors?
One way free trade isn’t free. It is stupid.
>>Trump is not an isolationist by any means, no matter what Sowell & Levin purport.<<
Exactly! So far, Clinton, Bush2 and Obama have been horrible political blunders for the nation as they’ve all sought to dismantle our defences and our sovereignty. Exclude Bush2 from the defences aspect, but he sure did wreck us with the Patriot act...which was waiting in the wings for an opportunity to take hold..which it did thanks to 911
Same could be said for Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Kennedy and Roberts.
Some of the most influential and admired conservative voices of the past 25 years are throwing up red flags all over the place regarding Trump.
Trump supporters are throwing them all under the bus without a second thought.
Strange stuff going on here.
I respect Dr. Sowell too... and I back Trump..
16. FAST TRACK SHENANIGANS: REP. PAUL RYAN AND SEN. TED CRUZ
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) were instrumental in the passage of TPA. While there were many of the usual suspects going along with the President’s Fast Track plan, including most key Democrats in Congress, and former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), the Fast Track bill could not have passed without Rep. Ryan’s and Sen. Cruz’s support and encouragement.
Rep. Ryan was the lead Congressman in promoting TPA. Sen. Cruz provided lots of support, and co-penned an editorial with Rep. Ryan in April 2015, encouraging Congress to pass the TPA bill.
Putting Congress in Charge on Trade — The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2015
On June 23rd, mere hours before the Senate Fast Track vote, Sen. Cruz announced his opposition to the Fast Track bill, on the premise that Sen. Mitch McConnell had lied to him.
Ted Cruz: Obamatrade Enmeshed in Corrupt, Backroom Dealings — Breitbart, 06-23-15
I am appalled that anybody would believe that Sen. Cruz did not know what was in the TPP, that he did not somehow understand that TPA gives the President carte blanche on his anti-American agenda, and that Sen. Cruz was “lied to” by Senator McConnell.
Senator Ted Cruz is a brilliant man. There is absolutely no way that he was naive about TPA, TPP, the President’s agenda, or any of the motives of the other key players on this issue. It is my belief that Sen. Cruz realized that pressure was mounting from voters, against the TPP, and that he would not be elected President if he supported the TPP. So he had to make a quick turnaround on his stance on Fast Track — a turnaround which carefully took place far too late to kill the Fast Track vote.
Normally, I’m a forgiving person, but I draw the line with Sen. Cruz. To reiterate:
1. Sen. Cruz co-authored a pro-Fast Track op-ed with Rep. Paul Ryan, in April 2015.
2. In May 2015, “Cruz voted against an amendment to the Trade Deal that would require congress to be consulted if China (or other nations) were to join after the fact.” — The Conservative Treehouse, 11-30-15
Senate Amendment 1251 “To require the approval of Congress before additional countries may join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement”…
3. Sen. Cruz had the power to kill the Fast Track bill, by influencing colleagues — including any of the 36 Congresspeople from Texas — in the months leading up to the Fast Track vote. Instead, he waited until the last possible moment to announce his opposition to Fast Track. The bill only passed the House by one vote. To me, his last minute “change of heart” over Fast Track seemed like a politically expedient decision, made in light of the Tea Party’s growing outrage over TPA & TPP.
4. In the spring of 2015, I contacted four of Cruz’ Senate and campaign offices, to talk to key people about why he should be voting “no” on Fast Track. None of them returned my calls. After nine visits to Washington D.C. in 2015, to fight Fast Track, I found it highly unusual not to be able to speak with a Senator’s staffers. My takeaway was that his people were told to stonewall the Fast Track opponents.
5. Sen. Cruz and his supporters have portrayed his original pro-Fast Track position as naivete; and that he was fooled by his colleagues. I say baloney! Sen. Cruz is one of the smartest, most knowledgeable elected officials in D.C.
There’s absolutely no way that Sen. Cruz did not understand that Fast Track (a) freely gives a significantly increased amount of power to President Obama and the pro-TPP contingent, and (b) that the TPP gives away U.S. sovereignty.
6. Sen. Cruz did not take an anti-TPP stance until the Nov. 10th Presidential debate, once it became clear that almost every serious contender in the debate had also spoken out against the TPP. Why did it take him so long to speak out against the TPP?
7. Club for Growth, a pro-trade organization, was Cruz’ biggest campaign contributor in the years 2011-2014, donating $705,657 — more than twice the amount of the next biggest contributor. This alarms me. Why would Club for Growth bet so heavily on a candidate who opposes the TPP? (Source: OpenSecrets.org)
8. Sen. Cruz’ wife, Heidi Cruz, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, has lots of career experience with pro-trade factions.
Mrs. Cruz was a special (temporary) member on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); and on the CFR’s task force for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for which she completed a task force report on Building a North American Global Community. Mrs. Cruz’ co-author on that report was Robert A. Pastor, who has been called “the father of the North American Union”.
Mrs. Cruz was special assistant to Robert B. Zoellick, whose resume reads like an encyclopedia of the New World Order.
Mrs. Cruz worked as special assistant to Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, former U.S. Trade Representative, and former President of the World Bank. Mr. Zoellick has unparalleled experience in ushering trade agreements into existence, including the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and others with Vietnam and with Jordan. He was also instrumental in the last implementation of Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority in 2002. His resume reads like an encyclopedia of New World Order organizations, including stints on the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Project for the New American Century, the World Trade Organization; and he is a proponent of Climate Change issues.
Ponder this analogy: a person who’s anti-abortion would never take a job as special assistant to the Director of Planned Parenthood. I know that everybody wants to pooh-pooh Mrs. Cruz’ intimate involvement in the globalist agenda, but she lived and breathed that agenda in her career! She was not an oblivious clerical worker with a 100 I.Q. She was fully involved in planning and promoting global governance. Then she went home at night and talked about it with her husband. How does a staunch Constitutionalist marry a staunch globalist? The answer is, he doesn’t. He marries somebody who’s relatively like-minded. When you meet your future spouse at work, and you work together for many years, you are usually aligned in your political stance.
I am left to believe that Sen. Cruz fully supports the TPP, and what we witnessed was his political maneuvering, as he hid his position so as to solidify his chance to become the next President of the United States.
Arithmetic says there is no such thing as one-way free trade. Money out, goods in--two ways. It's worth the deal-makers' while, or they wouldn't do it.
An illustration of why "one-way" free trade didn't destroy our manufacturing base: The folks doing (some of) that work in Mexico and Red China aren't making much money, even by their own backward countries' standards. The reason they're paid so little is that in all countries, technology and even robotics have lowered wages in manufacturing.
The reason those jobs went overseas has more to do with labor unions than anything else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.