How Might North Koreans Live....

...if their government had gone with their last option as their first option?

Um....instead of leaving it for last.

“The North Korean government has tried all possible ways [for a planned economy] and failed, and it now has to resort to the last option,” said Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. “There’s been lots of back and forth in what the government has been willing to tolerate, and I cannot rule out the possibility of them trying to bring back restrictions on the markets. But it is hard for the government to reverse it now.”

Freedom works best where government governs least.  Or some such mangled idiot.

Black Panther Investigation Continues

This time via the US Civil Rights Commission.

I'm all for having the government ensure that people are not intimidated for voting...or not voting...or for how they vote.  A zero tolerance policy on voter intimidation is fine with me.

That isn't what Mr. Obama's administration has pursued.

John Stewart On Mr. Obama's Broken Promises

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Link for those so inclined.

One small correction.  Rendition is a Clinton era policy that was continued by Mr. Bush and subsequently Mr. Obama.  Not a Bush era policy continued by Mr. Obama.

Of course, that doesn't fit the media narrative.

Found here.

From the comments:

But seriously: one of Sartre's great contribution to humanity is to point out that you are what you do, not what you say you are, or what you think you are.

So far, on the issue of justice, Obama is Bush, with better enunciation and worse policies.

A New Political Face

There is a growing level of attention being paid to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit links to videos of the Governor on a regular basis.

I like him.  I like where he comes from with respect to how elected office holders should behave.  I like that he challenges the media when they label him as being obstructive but give NJ state Democrats a pass for refusing to hold votes.  He is open.  He appears honest.  And you know exactly where he stands on the issues.

His best qualities are a sharp reminder of the things that made Sarah Palin such a popular and good Governor for Alaska.  He doesn't sound or act like he comes from the good ol' boy club.

I think we need someone like Chris Christie in our national politics.  I don't know if he is considering a run for the Presidency in 2012, but I think he would offer the nation a sharp and distinct set of choices about our future.  We can stay the course into a national debt laden hell.  Or we can change and hope to correct our national fiscal policies so that government is more correctly sized for the needs of our nation; fiscally as well as the number of federal employees.

It is a little early for any serious speculation, but I do think that Governor Christie bears watching.

Sometimes Bigger Isn't Better....

...or another tale of centralization failing to meet expectations.  The Okaloosa, FL county commissioners recently adopted a resolution authorizing their county emergency management team to take whatever actions they deem necessary to protect the coastal waters of Okaloosa county.  With or without permission for "higher authorities".

County commissioners voted unanimously to give their emergency management team the power to take whatever action it deems necessary to prevent oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill from entering Choctawhatchee Bay through the East Pass.

That means the team, led by Public Safety Director Dino Villani, can take whatever action it sees fit to protect the pass without having its plans approved by state or federal authorities.

...

While Martha LaGuardia, a commander with the Coast Guard, argued that moving ideas and plans through the chain of command was the proper way to do things, Harris made it known the County Commission was tired of the often tedious and sometimes unproductive bureaucracy.

“We’ve played the game. We’re done playing the game,” he said.

Perhaps a few more local agencies ought to take similar steps to remind those higher authorities that if their services are not effective at solving the problem, then their services are no longer required.

Nothing More To Add

Courtesy of one of the web's best comic strips, XKCD.