Kamis, 31 Mei 2007

Classics of Conservatism - Part XX - Boomsday

Click here for a previous Classic of Conservatism.

We have been told for generations that social security is insolvent or will soon be insolvent and/or will run out of money someday. We have watched as one Republican president after another has proposed some solution, only to see that solution quickly shot down in a hail of demagoguery. We watch every election cycle as the MSM/DNC tries to frighten seniors into believing that the Republican candidate has a secret plan to cut/deny SS benefits. The social security system started as an illegal ponzi scheme. The political process has turned the system into a parody of itself.

Most of us have known these things for years (unless you trust the government to take care of you in your old age). But now we have something else to keep the social security issue in perspective - a new novel and a new word. "Boomsday" is the name of both the novel and a deadline. Boomsday is the day when baby boomers begin retiring with full benefits to be paid by the next generation. While it is not clear that the disaster will begin immediately upon the retirement of the first boomers, it IS clear (from the novel and from our own knowledge of economics and common sense) that the fuse will be lit on that day and will quickly burn to its inevitable conclusion.

more than just a novel








Boomsday the novel is set against the backdrop of the financial consequences for the United States government and the economy. The novel describes the actions of one principled person with a catchy name who fights back using her even more appropriately named blog.



The reader is treated to stories of riots on golf courses in protest against the boomers' easy retirement lifestyle at the expense of later generations. The reader is further presented with the main character's unique and imaginitive proposals for rescue of the SS system. We share her dismay as her main proposal is compromised away, despite retaining the same name and form.

"Boomsday" is not simply a dry novel filled with statistics and grim warnings. The book is filled with wit and humor and even some fast paced action. As the characters race toward the climax, the reader detects a hint of a John Grisham story.

Boomsday is about more than simply the collapse of social security. Boomsday is about Presidential and legislative politics. The politics and the humor take the story a little far afield of its original mission. The author's antipathy to the "Christian Right" is also misleading and distracting. The book is filled with salty language, probably in an attempt to attract younger readers to find out about their impending fate.

The book is to be celebrated for reminding us of the war in Bosnia, which still occupies American forces and serves as a symbol for so much of what is wrong with our government and its policies.

















[The above images do not actually appear in the book (there are no illustrations), but they demonstrate some of the major plot points that guide the story.]


But the most important function of the book is to jump start the discussion of the disaster that awaits us when SS can no longer survive in its current form. The book, much like the main character, seems to want only to begin a "dialogue", during which presumably more Americans will realize the grave danger with which we are faced. The book fulfills that role.

Coining a term that will serve to remind the audience of the impending SS crisis is crucial. With the use of the term "Boomsday", we now have a word that will shorthand the concept and aid our discussion. For too long, the MSM/DNC monopoly not only provided misinformation on key issues, it also prevented any discussion of key issues by refusing to discuss or even identify key ideas or problems. The imminent collapse of SS is one of those concepts. The one word identifier - "Boomsday" - now allows us to warn of the impending Boomsday just as the word "9-11" allows us to warn of future terrorism in our cities.

I recommend the book, but, more importantly, I recommend the word.

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update - I have updated the photos above.

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

At the precise moment in history when the U.S. has abandoned any attempt to transmit Anglo-Saxon virtues to its own citizens, much less to immigrants, George Bush wants to grant citizenship to hordes of immigrants who are here precisely because they are fleeing cultures that are utterly dysfunctional and ruinous for the humans who live in them.

Ann Coulter - 5-30-07

Rabu, 30 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Milton Friedman

"The most important ways in which I think the Internet will affect the big issue is that it will make it more difficult for government to collect taxes."

Milton Friedman

[For those readers who have reached only "entry level" conservatism, I believe that the above quote points out one of the biggest BENEFITS of the internet - Salt]

1924 -1936: Homestake Mining versus Dow Jones

Selasa, 29 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

It is staggering that anyone could be so self-infatuated as to single out their own particular policy preferences as "anti-war." Anyone who is not a sadist or an idiot is anti-war. The only serious issue is how best to limit, deter or conclude war. But responsibility for confronting this issue is evaded by those preoccupied with the moral preening of being "anti-war."

Thomas Sowell

Minggu, 27 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - C.S. Lewis

With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere.

C. S. Lewis

Coming soon . . . . . Boomsday



Islamic female suicide bombers; dwarfs; Mark Steyn; Liat Collins

From Mark Steyn comes the following story of Islamic female suicide bombers and their reward:
Islamic Jihad is planning to send waves of female suicide bombers into action against the Zionist Entity. Asked by an Israeli reporter whether self-detonating ladies enjoy the same 72-virgin deal as the lads, an Arab scholar said no, but that the gals will be served in Paradise by "dwarfs." Snow White got seven dwarfs, but it's unclear whether Blow White will get the full 72: Sleepy, Grumpy, Bashful, etc., all the way down to Incendiary, Non-Alcoholic and Anti-Zionist.

Liat Collins provides further commentary in the Jerusalem Post.

Liat Collins


"Even in jihadi heaven the women are discriminated against, it seems," writes Collins

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update - Little Green Footballs posts a Hamas video featuring little muslim girls being trained as suicide bombers.

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

Not long after Sept. 11 I chanced to be heading north on I-87 between Plattsburgh and Montreal. At the border crossing from Champlain, N.Y., to Lacolle, Quebec, I noticed that what appeared to be a mini-refugee camp had sprung up. It's not often that you see teeming hordes lining up to get into Canada, so I asked the immigration officer what was going on. He rolled his eyes and did a bit of boy-those-crazy-Yanks stuff and then explained that most of the guys waiting to get in were from Pakistan. In the wake of 9/11, the authorities had rounded up various persons of interest in the New York City area. Whether or not they were terrorists, they'd certainly violated immigration law, overstaying visas and so forth. And as a result, many other illegal immigrants from Muslim countries had concluded it was time to liquidate their assets and break for the border. In other words, the roundup of a relatively small number of persons sent thousands more fleeing to Canada.

Mark Steyn - May 27, 2007

Sabtu, 26 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Joe Sobran

Obesity, the Propaganda Machine assures us, is a
"national problem," even an approaching "crisis"! What,
are all the fat people going to collapse at once? Why,
then, let's have some Federal legislation! There's
apparently no such thing as a personal problem anymore.
In fact, some obese people don't think they have a
"problem" at all. As if it were up to them to decide.
Dream on, fatso.

Joe Sobran

Jumat, 25 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - John McCain

This vote may win favor with MoveOn and liberal primary voters, but it’s the equivalent of waving a white flag to al Qaeda.

John McCain 5-25-07 - speaking about Senators who voted against funding of the war effort.

Kamis, 24 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

The only beneficiaries of these famed hardworking immigrants — unlike you lazy Americans — are the wealthy, who want the cheap labor while making the rest of us chip in for the immigrants' schooling, food and health care.

Ann Coulter - May 23, 2007

Rabu, 23 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - John Boehner - Immigration/Amnesty Bill

"I promised the President today that I wouldn't say anything bad about ... this piece of s*** bill."

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) - 5-22-07


Selasa, 22 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell - Amnesty

The big talking point of those who want to legalize the illegal immigrants currently in the United States is to say that it is "unrealistic" to round up and deport 12 million people.

Back in 1986 it was "unrealistic" to round up and deport the 3 million illegal immigrants in the United States then. So they were given amnesty -- honestly labeled, back then -- which is precisely why there are now 12 million illegal immigrants.

As a result of the current amnesty bill -- not honestly labeled, this time -- will it be "unrealistic" to round up and deport 40 million or 50 million illegal immigrants in the future?

Thomas Sowell - 5-22-07

Senin, 21 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Washington Times

It's a disaster for national security, for keeping Islamist jihadists out of the country, for exploding the costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, for preserving the rule of law, and for that quaint principle called national sovereignty.

Washington Times - May 21, 2007

Minggu, 20 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn - amnesty

Every politician in America is opposed to amnesty -- if not the concept, then at least the word. That's why the visa starts with the letter that's furthest away from the one "amnesty" begins with. "Z" stands for zellout . . . no, hang on, zurrender or Zapatista, or some other word way up the other end of the alphabet from "amnesty."

Mark Steyn - May 20, 2007

Sabtu, 19 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

Republicans have good reasons to be disappointed in their Congressmen, especially with their runaway spending and amnesty bill for illegal aliens. However, before Republican voters decide to stay home at the next election, or perhaps to vote for the Democrats, they might repeat one phrase to themselves: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi."

Thomas Sowell - 8-29-06

Jumat, 18 Mei 2007

Quote of the day - Joe Sobran

Criminal genius can be akin to artistic genius. The master criminal is not always driven by gain alone, and he may have no real desire to hurt others. But he finds the challenge of outwitting the law irresistible. It's almost aesthetic: Just as there is art for art's sake, there is crime for crime's sake. And even law-abiding people may have a sneaking admiration for the great criminal. (Please don't ask what this has to do with politics, or with President Clinton.)

Joe Sobran

Sabtu, 05 Mei 2007

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