Watch Unnatural History S1E4: Heart of a Warrior The new installment of this new series of Unnatural History which is entitled “Heart of a Warrior” is the TV show’s 4th episode of this 1st season that aired last 07/13/10 Tuesday at 8:00 PM on Cartoon Network. Watch Unnatural History S1E4 (0104) Free Online Streaming Full Episodes Replay of the Latest Season and Video Clip Download Link:
See the article here:
Unnatural History Season 1 Episode 4 – Heart of a Warrior
Posted in 1, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, TV, Unnatural History, V, Videos
Tagged 4th-episode, episodes, history, Hollywood, latest, latest-season, unnatural, unnatural history, unnatural-history, video-clip
While devoting all of Sunday’s Face the Nation to an interview with Attorney General Eric Holder, CBS host Bob Schieffer failed to ask a single question about the Obama Justice Department dropping a voter intimidation case against the Black Panthers or allegations that the department has adopted a policy of ignoring such cases. Schieffer discussed a range of topics with Holder, from the federal lawsuit against Arizona’s immigration law, to a potential criminal investigation into BP, to the trial of terrorist Khalid Shaik Muhammed and closing Guantanamo Bay. At the end of the interview, Schieffer even asked about Holder’s infamous comment that the United States was a “nation of cowards” when it came to discussing race. However, the Face the Nation host failed to use that comment as a transition to the Black Panthers case, despite the fact that former DOJ attorney Christian Adams recently testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, accusing the department of adopting a policy of refusing to pursue voter intimidation cases that involved black defendants and white victims. On Holder’s “nation of cowards” comment, Schieffer asked: “A lot of people criticized you for that. A lot of people applauded you for saying that. Are you sorry now that you said that or what exactly did you mean by that and how do you feel today after some time has passed?” Holder responded: “I was trying to say in that speech is that we should be honest with one another…we ought to have the strength of character to say that which we really feel….To just have an open, honest dialogue about something that I think for too long we have not been willing to discuss.” Schieffer wondered: “Do you see any sign that we are doing better on that?” Holder remarked: “I think the fact that we have an African American as president, perhaps an African American as an attorney general, is a spur in that regard.” Here is transcript of the July 11 exchange between Schieffer and Holder on that topic: 10:51AM BOB SCHIEFFER: You know, early on in the administration, you created quite a stir when you said in a speech that we’ve become a ‘nation of cowards’ because we weren’t talking enough about race. A lot of people criticized you for that. A lot of people applauded you for saying that. Are you sorry now that you said that or what exactly did you mean by that and how do you feel today after some time has passed? ERIC HOLDER: You know, I think that this is – ours is a great nation, but one of the great things that we have always tried to – we’ve always wrestled with, from the inception of this nation, is the question of race. If one looks at the history of this country in the 19th century, race was, I think, the dominant issue. Look at the history of this country in the 20th century, race was one of the dominant issues. It remains an issue that, I think, still divides us. And if you look at the demographic changes this nation is about to undergo, we have to have, I believe, an open and honest discussion about race, ethnicity, the diversity that we are about to see, an unprecedented diversity in this country, can be a great source of strength for this nation, but if not dealt with appropriately, can also be something that is very divisive. And what I was trying to say in that speech is that we should be honest with one another and not feel that we have to retreat into our cocoons and only say that which we consider to be safe, that we ought to have the strength of character to say that which we really feel and people who are receiving it should understand that those things are said in good faith. To just have an open, honest dialogue about something that I think for too long we have not been willing to discuss. SCHIEFFER: Do you see any sign that we are doing better on that? HOLDER: Well, slightly. I think certainly that speech that I gave generated some conversation. I’m not sure I heard all the applause that you were talking about with regard to those remarks. I think perhaps we are getting to a place where – a better place. I think the fact that we have an African American as president, perhaps an African American as an attorney general, is a spur in that regard. But I think there’s still a lack of desire. And understandable, I think, in some ways. People feel uncomfortable talking about racial issues out of fear that if they express things, they will be characterized in a way that’s not fair. I think that there is still a need for a dialogue about things racial that we’ve not engaged in. SCHIEFFER: Mr. Attorney General, thank you for being with us in Aspen. HOLDER: Thank you.
Link:
CBS’s Schieffer Interviews Eric Holder, Ignores Black Panther Case
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged bob schieffer, celeb news, Christian, history, interview, Nation, News, Obama, race issues, schieffer, TMZ
‘With ‘Bron coming, all we’ll do is win!’ super-DJ tells MTV News, as Miami hip-hop heroes celebrate signing. By Shaheem Reid LeBron James announces he will play for the Miami Heat on ESPN July 8 Photo: ESPN They are literally “disappointed” in New York, angry as hell in Cleveland and left out in the cold in Chicago and New Jersey. The NBA’s MVP of the last two years — and the most coveted free agent in the history of sports — LeBron James finally picked his team on Thursday (July 8). During a live one-hour special on ESPN titled “The Decision,” King James told the world he would be signing with the Miami Heat. The Heat now have arguably the most formable threesome of any lineup with James joining all-stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Obviously, the fans in South Beach are partying up right now. We asked some of their hometown hip-hop heroes what they thought of the addition of LBJ. “I’ve been a Heat fan since the first day they turned the lights on in the Miami Arena,” said Dre of production duo Cool & Dre. “Today is a special day for my city, one we’ll never forget. Wade, we got ’em — five straight [championships]! ‘Bron, thank you, and welcome to Dade County. No ceilings!” DJ Khaled told MTV News he has the perfect theme song for LeBron and the Heat: His own, “All I Do Is Win.” “With ‘Bron coming, all we’ll do is win, win, win, no matter what!” an excited Khaled said via email after Thursday’s announcement. “The city deserves this. WE THE BEST! Miyayo!!!!!” We’ll have Rick Ross’ reaction for you Friday, but for now, the Bawse has spoken out in approval via Twitter, where LeBron himself just launched an account . “Hate is a wasted emotion!!” he posted on his page, @rickyrozay , addressing critics who say the Heat have now created a super-team. “[Shout out] @heat season tickets. Courtside seats went up 30stacks in 30mins!!!! I got 5 anyway!!!!” Ross also compared himself to the L.A. Lakers’ most well-known fan. “I’m Jack Nicholson @heat games!!!!” he wrote. “Miami the spotlight of the world!!!!! Woooooowwwwww.” Share your reactions to LeBron signing with the Miami Heat in the comments
Go here to see the original:
LeBron James Joins Miami Heat As Rick Ross, DJ Khaled React
Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music
Tagged chicago, city, heat, history, Miami, miami-heat, Mtv, News, Sports, told-the-world, world
Less than an hour before CBS’s Craig Ferguson-hosted 10 PM EDT “ Boston Pops Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular” national broadcast on Sunday night, local anchors Jack Williams and Lisa Hughes from Boston’s CBS-owned television station , along with a couple of local actors, took to the stage to narrate the music-accompanied “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers.” ( Video: downloadable from NB twenty second wmv clip of Williams and Hughes in action.) Introducing the 20-minute production carried by WBZ-TV channel 4 in Boston in its 8-10 PM EDT coverage, Pops conductor Keith Lockhart ludicrously insisted it was “not political” — even though it takes its name from Ted Kennedy’s very political 2008 Democratic convention speech aimed at motivating Democrats to push for left-wing policies, starting with nationalized health care, and culminates by quoting the call to arms in that address: “If we set our compass true, we will reach our destination. The work begins anew, the hope rises again and the dream lives on!” That line was read by actor Morgan Freeman Jr. in the original May 18 production at Boston’s Symphony Hall ( mov video excerpt ) and coinciding with the concert at Boston’s Hatch Shell along the Charles River, the Pops trumpeted : On July 4, the Boston Pops will release a CD featuring the live recording of the world premiere performances of “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers,” which took place at Symphony Hall May 18 & 19 with guest narrators Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Cherry Jones… In liner notes for the CD (PDF) , composer Peter Boyer expressed a “deep admiration for the Kennedys” and related: [I]t was not until I began to research his life for this project that I became more fully aware of the remarkable scope of his legislative achievements , over more than four decades. For me, the most inspiring aspects of the Kennedy brothers’ legacy are a commitment to idealism, and a sense of enduring optimism for our nation and for mankind. Thus the title of the work, The Dream Lives On, is taken from one of Ted Kennedy’s last public speeches, at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. My May 16 NewsBusters post, “ Leading Actors Lend Their Voices to Boston Pops’ Tribute to the Kennedy Brothers, ” described: A production which “combines quotes from speeches by the Kennedy brothers with original text and video, accompanied by a dramatic orchestral and choral score” so it “pays tribute to the towering achievements and singular spirit epitomized by the Kennedy brothers – the call to public service, drive for social change, and the legacy of optimism for America’s future.”… A promotional video features “Tony Award-winning lyricist Lynn Ahrens” relating the lyrics she created for the concert: Now on the rain-slicked streets of Boston and across the wind-swept Cape Code sea, over the din of Washington’s halls and down the halls of history, their passionate words can still be heard, their highest ideals a clarion call; these three American brothers inspiring the best in us all. More celebrity performances are to come: Actor Alec Baldwin will take the lead for a July 18 performance at Tanglewood and actor Chris Cooper will narrate a Hyannis Village Green event on August 1.
See the original post here:
Local CBS Staff Join Hollywood Celebs in ‘The Dream Lives On’ Boston Pops Tribute to Kennedys
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged boston pops, Cbs, concert, democratic, history, live, Lyrics, morgan freeman, Music, pdf, work
Reported taped outburst against Oksana Grigorieva ‘reveal the actor’s fundamental character flaw,’ Jesse Jackson says. By Gil Kaufman Mel Gibson Photo: Jordan Strauss/WireImage Mel Gibson’s messy public split from the mother of his 8-month-old daughter got uglier on Thursday, when reports emerged about a 30-minute tape-recorded rant of the actor hurling racist and sexist epithets against Oksana Grigorieva. Amid reports that physical abuse allegedly took place in the brief relationship Gibson, 54, had with the 40-year-old Russian model/singer following his divorce from his wife of 30 years, RadarOnline revealed that the actor used the N-word and other expletives during a profanity-laced argument with his ex. Gibson’s spokesperson did not deny that the speaker in the taped outburst was his client, but the one-time box-office giant has not commented on the recording as of press time. The couple, who were first seen together a month after Gibson’s divorce last year from the mother of his seven children, broke up in April and are fighting for custody of their daughter. Grigorieva reportedly made the tape because she feared for her life after Gibson allegedly made threats against her. During one segment, Gibson allegedly says, “I am going to come and burn the f–king house down … but you will b— me first.” And in another, he reportedly tells her that she looks like a “f—ing pig in heat” who risked getting “raped by a pack of n—–s,” as their baby screams in the background. The Reverend Jesse Jackson told Radar that the latest racist outburst proved that Gibson has a “fundamental character flaw.” “Mel Gibson’s outburst demonstrates once again that we are far from a society that is ‘beyond race and racism,’ ” Jackson told the site. “His penchants for anti-Semitic and racist diatribes reveal the actor’s fundamental character flaw. … He needs help.” The Los Angeles NAACP released a statement to TMZ condemning the outburst. “An apology is insufficient given his history of racism, sexism and anti-Semitism,” L.A. branch president Leon Jenkins said. “No amount of words will change his image as an out of date and out of control racist. Only [with] a sustained period of positive acts can his legacy be redeemed.” Renowned attorney Gloria Alred also got into the mix and sent Gibson an open letter via Radar saying, “As an attorney who has represented many sexual assault victims and as a woman who is a survivor of rape myself, I want you to know how deeply offensive, appalling and harmful your reported statements are.” This is not the first time Gibson has been called out in public for using racial slurs. The “Lethal Weapon” actor, once one of the most popular, bankable movie stars in the world, was blasted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in 1991 over an interview in which he made derogatory comments about homosexuals. Several of his movies — including “Braveheart” and “The Passion of the Christ” — have been criticized for their portrayal of homosexuals and Jews. In addition to allegations that “Christ” had anti-Semitic overtones, a leaked report from a DUI arrest in July 2006 had Gibson — who has struggled with alcohol abuse — making anti-Jewish remarks to one of the arresting officers, saying, “F—ing Jews. … Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” He also made derogatory, sexist remarks to a female officer during the same traffic stop, calling her “sugar t–s.” Gibson later confirmed that he made the comments and apologized twice through his publicist, but the incident appeared to have a lasting impact on his movie career, which has stalled since the arrest. Gibson has denied claims by Grigorieva that he knocked her teeth out during an argument. Both parties have filed restraining orders against each other in the midst of the custody battle. A spokesperson for Gibson could not be reached for comment at press time.
Excerpt from:
Mel Gibson Condemned For Alleged Racist, Sexist Rant Against Ex
On Thursday’s The Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan went after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and complained about the lack opposition to the conflicts: “Why isn’t there an alarm that we’ve been perpetrating this war?… there aren’t enough people in this country that honestly give a damn. No one really cares.” His solution to the supposed apathy? A draft. Ratigan began his rant by describing the financial and human toll of the wars. He particularly highlighted “the innocent civilians that our bombs are killing. As many as 105,000 dead in Iraq, the number in Afghanistan approaching 13,000, that we have killed.” He argued: “We might even be creating more terrorists….being there may be doing more harm than good.” On his May 13 program , Ratigan condemned the U.S. military for “dropping predator bombs on civilians willy-nilly.” Describing the limited number of Americans who have loved ones on the front lines, Ratigan proclaimed: “…it’s a way for the politicians to isolate on the poorest and the most isolated group of soldiers they can get and protect themselves from our society, were they to understand how violent and oppressive the actions we are taking against our own people are in perpetrating these wars.” Ratigan then proposed: “…we have to raise the stakes on this to decide whether we get out or keep going. And the only way I can see to do that is to return the draft.” He further declared: “Maybe if the sons and daughters of more Americans families, like those of our politicians, were either being killed in combat or facing the stresses of endless repeat deployment, our policymakers would start questioning why we’re still there…” After a discussing the topic with a panel of military experts, Ratigan admitted: “I’ll be the first to tell you, I’m the most ignorant at the table when it comes to the strategic analysis of this topic.” Even so, he concluded: “…the solution is still fairly simple….Either you’re on the side that is with this and is for it and is in there supporting it, or you are there making a strong case not to be there….that means that you, if you’re willing to go, are willing to send yourself and your family members into combat. And on the flip side, in my view, are not willing to do that and as such wouldn’t want to send a fellow citizen.” An on-screen graphic read: “Get Out or Get In! End the Wars or Bring Back the Draft.” Here is transcript of the July 1 segment: 4:30PM DYLAN RATIGAN: Well, day four in our ‘Fix It Week’ garage. And today we tackle a true matter of life and death in this country, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of them, already America’s longest war. The other, unfortunately, not far behind, long and costly. $731 billion spent so far in Iraq. $280 billion in our efforts in Afghanistan with no clear end in sight at the end of the deadliest month in the history of the war. The cost in American lives 4,396 soldiers dead in Iraq. 1,125 killed in Afghanistan. And then there are the innocent civilians that our bombs are killing. As many as 105,000 dead in Iraq, the number in Afghanistan approaching 13,000, that we have killed. There are two main problems with what we’re doing overseas, as I see it, and why we’re not doing it well. The first, we have no political will to shift from a strategy that has been repeating itself for years with no apparent end in sight. And two, there may not even be an honest understanding of our enemy and what a modern day insurgent war strategy is, let alone, how to actually fight an effective counterinsurgency. We all know about the heroin, the bribery, the rampant political corruption. But what about our overall strategy? And what we’re doing? We might even be creating more terrorists. Our leaders may not even understand the insurgency that they are fighting against. Think about how difficult it would be to launch a so-called counterinsurgency strategy if you haven’t been able to be truly honest about how a modern day insurgency works. Very few people, unrelated, using the internet and communications to disrupt society. Bottom line, us being there may be doing more harm than good. So why isn’t that conversation taking place in our Congress and in our homes? Why isn’t there an alarm that we’ve been perpetrating this war? Well, quite simply, like the cheap price of oil, there aren’t enough people in this country that honestly give a damn. No one really cares. They may say they care. But the politicians know, there’s no – the phone’s not ringing. No one really is expressing themselves. In fact, the number of active duty troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is at the lowest level since World War II. Which means the percentage of us that are exposed to the realties of war in this country, that we’ve been fighting for a decade, is the smallest it has ever been. Why is that? Well, more than a third of our soldiers have been sent back to the front lines multiple times. Some of the same soldiers sent back five and six times to the same war. Why is that? Well, it’s a way for the politicians to isolate on the poorest and the most isolated group of soldiers they can get and protect themselves from our society, were they to understand how violent and oppressive the actions we are taking against our own people are in perpetrating these wars. It means that the fewest number of Americans are truly feeling the brunt of our wars. Meanwhile, those who are feeling it, feel it harder than any troops in American history. I think we have to raise the stakes on this to decide whether we get out or keep going. And the only way I can see to do that is to return the draft. Maybe if the sons and daughters of more Americans families, like those of our politicians, were either being killed in combat or facing the stresses of endless repeat deployment, our policymakers would start questioning why we’re still there and come up with a different way to deal with insurgent warfare in the 21st century. [PANEL DISCUSSION WITH MILITARY EXPERTS] RATIGAN: I’ll be the first to tell you, I’m the most ignorant at the table when it comes to the strategic analysis of this topic. It’s why I asked these gentlemen to join me and benefit from it. But politically, for me, the solution is still fairly simple. I don’t see how, after all these years and all this time, we can continue these types of strategies without an either ‘get out’ or ‘get in’ strategy. Either you’re on the side that is with this and is for it and is in there supporting it, or you are there making a strong case not to be there. [ON-SCREEN GRAPHIC: The Fix Solution: Get Out or Get In! End the Wars or Bring Back the Draft] And explaining, not emotionally, but from a policy standpoint, why that is. And that means that you, if you’re willing to go, are willing to send yourself and your family members into combat. And on the flip side, in my view, are not willing to do that and as such wouldn’t want to send a fellow citizen. Either way, you have to let your politicians know how you feel. We, the people are critical to this process. Dylan.MSNBC.com has contact information for each and every member of Congress. Remember, you can get mad – or you don’t get mad, I should say, if you don’t get involved. This is a classic example.
The rest is here:
MSNBC’s Ratigan: American’s Don’t ‘Give A Damn’ About Iraq and Afghan Wars; Calls for Draft
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged afghanistan, anti-military bias, congress, country, dylan-ratigan, financial, history, immigration, iraq, msnbc, People, phone, politics, topic
Photo via TMC Net This legislation seems like a no-brainer: A bill that takes steps to prevent another such disaster, in the wake of the worst oil spill in the history of both the Gulf and the United States. Thankfully, such a bill — one that requires deep water drilling be better regulated, demands oil companies employ more preventative measures and have thorough response plans, and eliminates the ‘liability cap’ on how much those companies must pay in damages when they cause a spill — is advancing in the Senate. In other words, it may not be long before we see a ‘BP spill bill’. Here are th… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Read the original post:
BP Spill Bill Advances in the Senate
Posted in Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged bennyhollywood, celeb news, Culture, damages, green news, gulf oil spill, history, Hollywood, requires-deep, senate, takes-steps, TMZ, words
Politics was once an honored profession of high calling by men of strong principles and courage whose interest in being elected to these positions of public trust was to serve the country and make sure their generation left a better world to the next one. They were, for the most part, men of faith, men of integrity, commitment, practicality and common sense who viewed high political office as a term of service, not a lifetime vocation. They fought and won wars against far superior odds, battled economic downturns, abolished slavery and left us a rich endowment of federal papers documenting their vision of what the United States of America is and was meant to remain. It is a heartbreaking fact that nowadays politics has become not a calling but a game. Gaining public office is achieved by the most photogenic, the silver-tongued, the most attractive who look good on television and can raise the most money. We tend to pay more attention to the messenger than to the message, the one who can lie with the straightest face. Many times policy is achieved by backroom deals and downright sellouts. The leadership promising perks to make it look like Congressmen and Senators are bringing home the bacon to the folks back home to enhance their next election chances. They never stop to think about just whose bacon they’re sending and “by the people, for the people, of the people” has turned into, buy the people, fool the people and rob the people. And before any of you cherry pickers accuse me of taking sides, let me assure you that I’m talking about Democrats and Republicans. After all it was the Republicans who started this national debt spiral, the Democrats have just taken it to new and insane highs. Our founders did not design this system for career politicians, but rather citizen politicians who would serve a couple of terms and let someone fresh off the street serve, someone who is acquainted with what’s happening now, not twenty years ago when this bunch of hacks took office. Our political bodies were intended to be made up of common folk, doctors, druggists, farmers, carpenters, and some but not all lawyers. The corruption that plagues our political system is not just confined to the federal branch but rots our local and state governments as well. The one-sided attitude of the media I think dissuades a lot of honorable people from going into politics. If you’re not a member of the party the media supports they come after you with both barrels blazing, examining your whole life with a microscope trying to unearth some juicy little tidbit that will turn the public against you and undermine your campaign, and who wants to put their family through that. We need look no farther than the last presidential election to find proof of what I’m talking about. Look at the raging war that was waged against Sarah Palin. A media that actually turns a totally blind eye to childbirth out of wedlock acted as if Bristol Palin had committed a crime of immense and proportions. While Barack Obama, the all-time media darling, who sat under the preaching of a revolutionary racist for twenty years claimed he had never heard any of the inflammatory, anti-American rhetoric that regularly spewed from Jeremiah Wright’s mouth. He kept company with a sixties era terrorist who to this day wants to destroy the American way of life, and was never held accountable. Those who have sworn to serve you pass bills that they haven’t even read and the last thing they want is for we the people to find out what’s actually in them. There’s a dirty little club in Washington and the state capitols around this country, a club whose membership fees are to toe the line and be willing to sell out your own nation for a place at the big hog trough. And ladies and gentlemen, with the exception of a handful of good men and women who actually keep the faith in this pack of wolves, that’s what they are, pigs with and insatiable appetite for power.
Read more here:
The Trouble with Career Politicians
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged america, Barack Obama, Bristol, citizen, culture/society, democrats, faith, history, Hollywood, mma, News, party, Sarah Palin, united-states
“He’s got the whole world in his hands?” To one atheist, it’s more like ‘He’s got the whole world under his thumb.” David Smalley, the editor of American Atheist magazine and a self-described “civil rights activist,” wrote in a personal blog post June 7 that Christian daycare “a form of child abuse.” “In short, by starting your child off in a Christian environment, you are heading them down a path of forced ignorance,” Smalley wrote. “At least let your child begin in a secular world, and if he or she chooses Christianity after an age of accountability, then so be it. But forcing them to learn things as fact that you don’t even know to be true is a form of child abuse: inducing psychosis with thoughts of good and evil watching over them, as if they are constantly being graded or evaluated.” Smalley further stereotyped and generalized religion-based childcare by suggesting “it’s bad for positive self-esteem, and slows social development later in life.” American Atheist magazine is published by American Atheists, which calls itself “the premiere organization laboring for the civil liberties of Atheists, and the total, absolute separation of government and religion.” Smalley’s post appeared on his blog, Dogma Debate. He also hosts an Internet radio show of the same name.
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged anti-religious bias, Christian, christianity, federal-reserve, history, Hollywood, internet, joan walsh, News, politics, religion, stars, stereotyped
Can anyone think of an angrier group of writers in political punditry than the ones currently published at Salon.com? Throughout the Elena Kagan hearings, both Joan Walsh and Joe Conason have written anti-Republican screeds accusing GOP lawmakers of all sorts of unsavory things to score political points despite what’s likely be a certain confirmation. However, this disposition goes beyond just the SCOTUS hearings. On MSNBC’s June 30 “Morning Joe,” Conason went after Harvard Professor Jeffrey Miron, who appeared to promote his book ” Libertarianism, from A to Z .” Apparently what drew the indignation from Conason was the theory that government can actually make things worse in an economy: CONASON: Do you know anything about American history? MIRON: Yes. CONASON: OK. Didn’t we have that regime in the 19th Century? MIRON: We did. CONASON: How did it work? MIRON: It worked better than the current regime. CONASON: Does the year 1873 ring a bell for you? MIRON: Yes. CONASON: What happened then, professor? MIRON: There was a financial crisis. CONASON: How long did it last? How many people were unemployed? SCARBOROUGH: Joe, Joe, Joe – CONASON: No, seriously. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Answer. MIRON: If you go and look at the recent produced data by an economist, OK – on industrial production over the period from 1800 to 1910 for the period when we didn’t have a Fed or all the financial regulation, you will see that the average growth is as good or better than it has been since we had all this intervention. You’ll see that the length of recessions was on average shorter. You will see that he says – CONASON: The average Americans were more prosperous in the 19th Century than the 20th Century? MIRON: Relative to the world, yes. We were growing more consistently. We had less volatility. His paper shows that there was actually – CONASON: What happened in 1873? How many people were thrown into work? Describe it. MIRON: I don’t have data on it because nobody has data unemployment rates for that period. There weren’t any. He has data on how well was the production. CONASON: How many depressions did we suffer during those years? MIRON: We didn’t suffer any depressions until we had a Federal Reserve starting in 1914 and then ’29 through – we did not suffer anybody anything is classifying. We had recessions. Nobody is saying it would be perfect. Conason was correct to note that there were a series of panics before the 1900s, but inimitable circumstances drove these panics, not the absence of the Fed, which senior Cato Institute fellow George A. Selgin explained in a column last fall . According to Selgin, it was the post-Civil War policy measures that spurred these periods of recession. “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough inquired about the unfunded liabilities that have many libertarian economists concerned, and asked Miron if he subscribed to the unpopular view that Medicare should be abolished. Miron suggested reforms that wouldn’t tax the system. “Not right now. I certainly think that any adjustments are gradual,” Miron said. “People currently receiving Medicare of course should get Medicare for the rest of their lives. But telling people who are now 55 – you don’t get Medicare until you are age 70 rather than 65 is totally sensible.” And Miron said it should be eventually phased out altogether except for the “very poor.” “I think what libertarians, including me, would say is there should be government-provided or subsidized health insurance for only people who are very poor,” Miron said. “The vast majority of people on getting health care under Medicare are not poor, so gradually phase Medicare down.” Scarborough moved on to the financial reform legislation. “Let me ask you another question – another question regarding Wall Street regs,” Scarborough said. “You are right, it is very hard, but the fact is we had a crash in ’87, ’98, Asian crisis, ’99, long-term capital, 2000, the dot com bust. 2002, Fannie, 2003 – well, we also had Enron, WorldCom, 2008 – it seems to me the conservative thing to do is actually set tough rules on Wall Street and say, ‘These are the rules you are going to play by. Don’t cross the lines.'” While many conservatives will admit there is a need to reform financial regulation, they aren’t clamoring for more regulation as Scarborough suggests. In fact, the Heritage Foundation in a June 29 post suggests the current bill being negotiated between the House and Senate is still very flawed and doesn’t show that the federal government has learned from the regulatory mistakes of the past. And as Miron explained – it’s not the regulation necessarily – that banks will “innovate” around that in the long run. Instead, he points to a system that attempts to minimize risk as the fundamental problem. “Given that we guarantee risk, basically, two ways – one explicitly through the FDIC and second implicitly by having the TARP and all that,” Miron replied. “Clearly, we would like to prevent banks from taking too much risk, but there doesn’t seem to be a good way to do that effectively. Banks innovate around it. They use accounting gimmickry. The regulators are asleep at the wheel. And so thinking we are going to fix it with more, tougher regulation I think is not right.”
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged 19th, federal-reserve, history, joan walsh, morning joe, News, politics, TMZ
Breaking Sports Video
Pac-12 NCAA Sports
Justin Bieber Fan Site Breaking News
