Fork It
by
Brian Wilson
Recently
by Brian Wilson: John
Galt Day! Why Not?
Decision
is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.
~ Paul Tillich
World-renowned
philosopher and former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra infamously advised,
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
International
recon based on current events confirms our choices are grim. Economists
– other than NY Times Paul “Spendalot” Krugman
– are unanimous in their general assessment the unholy alliance
between the Fed’s printing presses and politicians’ profligate spending
has brought us to the fork from which there is no turning back;
the brakes on this bus were blown out several trillion “miles”
back; the steering wheel is stuck, too.
So where are
we headed? Which way should we go?
The incessant
saber rattling coming from the capitals of the important parts of
the world indicate the Middle East will be getting hotter – and
not due to sprinklings from Global Warming Fairy. Add to that volatile
mix, the soap opera, “Eurozone“, starring PIIGS,
BRICS, ECBs and a cast of spoiled brats raised on the specious promises
of Socialism any spark will ignite the wrong kind of Boom. Regardless,
Obama/Clinton/Putin/Merkel appear to be on a collision course to
do something messy to Syria. Iran, Israel and the rest of the Sandlot
Gang have their own appurtenant issues exacerbated by itchy trigger
fingers. Granted, touching off a Middle East firestorm might only
result in some cloudy weather over Washington, but the precedent
and consequences (intended and “un”) are as unpredictable
as they are scary. By any measure: Not Good For Mankind.
Now consider
the other “tine” in Yogi’s fork. Pretend None of the Above
takes place and all hostile parties return to their neutral corners.
Now what? Well, there is that inconvenient matter of all those fiat
dollars sloshing around the financial universe. The Grinning Beard
of the Great Bernanke lulls us into solace with gently lapping sounds
of Instant FRNs rolling off the virtual presses, conjuring images
of personal indulgence aboard the QE3, frolicking to the Twist,
riding the Dow Jones Roller Coaster all the way to the Hamptons.
As the say on Wall Street: “WOW! What a deal!” Sadly,
the QE3 bears an eerie resemblance to the Titanic, Chubby ain’t
Twistin’ Like We Did Last Summer and the roller coaster track is
out dead ahead. Once the Fed Auction House shows up empty and the
FRNs meet De Basement of De Dollar, obligations go unfulfilled and
Greece breaks out in America and beyond. This just might be the
bumpy ride Bette Davis mentioned. Or worse.
As someone
famous recently noted, “There is no longer an orderly political
mechanism by which the Founding values can be restored because the
culture has been lost to identity groups who think of themselves
as entitled victims. Reminding statist zealots of this hard, cold
fact is like speaking in tongues to the deaf.” Politicians
operate on the philosophy “It’s not whether you win or lose;
it’s how you place the blame.”
Just last
evening, a friend wrote: “It really is time we combine our
efforts and treasure to fight this criminal government. Our kids
will have no future.” How? “We need to form a group of
resourceful, like-minded people to unite behind candidates who will
go to Washington, replacing Pelosi, Reid, Schumer – and get this
country back on the right track”. Really? Seriously? Do you
actually believe there are supermen and Wonder Women immune to the
toxic fumes of corruption that waft through Washington’s Halls of
Power? Why do you think I call it the Logic Free Zone? Because “Den
of thieves”, “Happy Dale” and “sewer” were
already over-used.
Fortunately,
another famous Sayer of Sooth, Woody Allan, offers this timely encouragement:
“More than any time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One
path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total
extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
Indeed.
July
31, 2012
Brian
Wilson [send him mail],
nationally ignored talk show host and occasional LRC un-indicted
co-contributor, is currently annoying miniscule audiences in a number
of markets from his technically challenged studios safely outside
the dictatorship of Toledo. Brian may be endured from 3p–6p at www.wspd.com.
Copyright
© 2012 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in
part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.