You don’t insult customers and stay in business for long

Voter ID Laws Take a Beating in U.S. Courts is a strike against political monopoly which is good for business. Currently North Carolina’s rural legislators have a control to exercise their political power without feedback from the marketplace of voters. Enough to do something about imaginary problems such as the pressing need to do something about transgender mis-identification in public bathrooms, but not without economic consequences.  Charlotte North Carolina, an urban economic powerhouse for the state, is finding resistance to this transgender bathroom law so that it loses business, the latest being the NBA’s decision to put the All-Star game elsewhere. So no big deal to these rural legislators, but what about North Carolina’s national furniture business centered in rural High Point and Hickory?  Making the generalization that the furniture business skews toward those that may be offended by what these rubes have wrought let the message get out that you don’t insult customers and stay in business for long.

Look at regulations and policies keeping economic furnace vents closed

Japan is thinking about an economic stimulus called “Helicopter Money” pondered by the late Nobel Laureate Economist, Milton Friedman.  The idea being to directly fund consumers with money which strikes the match to a paper fire in an economic furnace, first to ignite dry wood logs which then ignites the coal.  Japan’s problem is that its coal furnace is lit but smoldering. Adding paper to it isn’t going to do anything rather they should look at what regulation and policies are keeping the vents closed on its economic fire.   

N.B.A's Silver should move All Star game to the shop next door, Atlanta

N.B.A. to Move All Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina is an example of private enterprise voting with its feet when a laboratory of democracy gets it wrong.  Governor Pat McCory’s nonsensical and withering defense of majority rule over a minority right, to go to the bathroom discretely, insults customers enough to drive them elsewhere.  Despite his business credentials he apparently does not have the backbone to veto his rural Republican legislature’s over reach the likes of which his neighboring Governor did when confronted with a similar law. The clearest message that N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver could give is to move the All Star game to the shop next door, Atlanta.   

Without a Political Union to settle conquered territory there is no winning the war

As ISIS Loosens Grip, U.S. and Iraq Prepare for Grinding Insurgency predicts a long protracted U.S. presence in Iraq solving nothing. When will our leaders understand that without a political union capable and willing to settle in the conquered territory there is no winning the war.

Fear of change is the radical difference between conservative and #Libertarian

In his famous essay "Why I Am Not a Conservative" F.A. Hayek called "fear of change" the radical difference between "conservative" and the liberal, classical liberal which today is called libertarian.

U.S. sure to appease another dysfunctional regime destined to end badly

Vast Purge in Turkey as Thousands Are Detained is a very clear sign that President Erdogan is proceeding to consolidate his power toward that of a totalitarian state.  It’s a change that requires a reassessment of our alliance and policies in effect with our State and Defense departments, most particularly the Incirlik Air Base which houses nuclear weapons for NATO and which is deemed essential for close in air support in the fight against ISIS. Unfortunately rather than pull out of the base and take the nuclear weapons out, the status quo inclinations are sure to prevail only to harden our position in the region by appeasing another dysfunctional regime destined to end badly.

NRA should be Wyatt Earp asking gunslingers handover weapons before entering town

For two days after the Dallas ambush of five police officers there was confusion about how many shooters there were because many demonstrators openly carried assault rifles which made each one of them a suspect as well a potential victim in a firefight where police fired at those carrying.  Apparently in Texas its easier to carry a concealed weapon than to open carry and so one seeking protection rather than demonstration would have been better off concealing. Ohio on the other has got it reverse, were concealed is difficult and open carry easy.  The Republican National Convention in Cleveland Ohio is going to have demonstrations where some are going to show off their Second Amendment right to bear arms. If the NRA really understood its heritage it would be like Wyatt Earp and ask the gunslingers to check their weapons before entering town because it doesn't take much imagination to figure how horribly wrong it could all go.

Gulen is a democratic tolerant voice of Islam. Turkey's Erdogan is not

Exiled Cleric denies Leading Coup effort in Turkey tells of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Cleric living in self imposed exile in Pennsylvania.  What is remarkable about Mr. Gulen is that he is a leader of a view of Islam that is democratic, moderate, and tolerant which to be promoted despite Turkey's Erdogan's protestations to the contrary,

Lend Jordan money it can't repay to solve Europe's problem?

If a Carrot for Jordan Works, Syrian Refugees Will Stay Put shows an incredible lack of regard for Jordan's central geography and moderate politics in the chaos of the Middle East. Stressing Jordan's fragile economy and society with debt to cover other country's problems is certain to cause it to break down.  The Western Allies should incentivize Jordan with massive funding direct to the refugees so they pay for relocation back in Syria and Iraq city states along Jordan's border and military protection to develop the moderate Sunni  political unions to repopulate inward beyond the border rather than saddle Jordan with debt which will radicalize the country with a future austerity campaigns to repay.        

China fuels need for protection from their Navy and North Korea. It makes no sense

South Korea will deploy U.S. System for Defense is no surprise given our continued commitment to defend it from North Korea.  Why does China not control the irrational Kim Jong-un who drives all of Southeast Asia to seek U.S. military equipment and look to our Navy to protect them from China's Naval belligerence in the South China Sea.

South Korea's Turn to U.S. Delivers Setback to Beijing begs the question: Does China understand how to use its growing naval power? It's assertive territorial expansion in the South China Sea and its threat to Vietnam's offshore oil fields are examples of China's bullying which makes the entire region run to the U.S. to counter. That they are surprised by this setback and last month's embrace by Vietnam of a former enemy as formalized by Obama's visit shows a real disconnect between their foreign policy and the purpose of military might which more logically would provide friendly security for the region to lull them away from their dependence on our Navy and war materials rather than run to embrace it. It reeks of authoritarians in a closed end loop believing their own propaganda.

Trying to unify Iraq dooms it to perpetual war

ISIS's bomb attacks in Iraq highlights a primary truth which is "that Iraq’s beleaguered prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, while enjoying the recapture of Falluja visited the bombing site on Sunday morning had people through rocks and shoes at his convoy and yelled, “Thief!” The epithet was directed as much at Iraq’s dysfunctional and corrupt political class as it was at the prime minister,” the need for a functioning political union. Iraq's three sects can not be put back together again as one unified country. It’s an impossible goal which dooms Iraq to perpetual war. Not until our State Department understands this political reality can there be peace in the Middle East.

Desperate Syrian Refugees are the lemons that Germany should turn to lemonade

In a Desolate Spot, Desperate Syrian Refugees is the lemon that the Western Allies seeking a solution to the immigrant crisis into Europe as well as peace in the Middle East should turn into lemonade.  Germany especially and the rest of the EU should go to the point of over funding the U. N. refugee program taking care of the camps in Jordan that distributes funds directly to the refugees in a debit card form. This helicopter money, a Milton Friedman economic term, is one that allows markets to self develop, one which promote a moderate political unions more concerned about serving the people, because it's the people that pay! The over funding should come to the point that these refugees pay for city states to be built in Syria just across the border using Jordanian contractors and paying for Jordanian military protection.  The point is to funnel so much money into the area; but only directly to the consumers, no central planning please, that these city states become the utopia that attracts more refugees and take away the need to migrate to Europe.  Rather than an albatross for Jordan these Syrians are a profit center and with years of self organizing these city states will develop a yearning to go forth retake Sunni Arab Syria from ISIS all the time using Jordan's logistics resources.  

Stop the forming of a Dictator who reaps Libya's oil riches

Steady Siege Squeezes ISIS Stronghold in Libya has a local tribal militia fighter scoffing at CIA Director Brennan's testimony to Congress estimating eight thousand Islamic fighters as if the scene was developing along the lines where American military intervention would ever be useful.  It won't because as the article makes clear there is no government in Libya, only tribal factions. The CIA should analyse Libya as Afghanistan when fighting Russia but without a central modern enemy, only strongmen using the ideology de jeure of cohesion, Islamisism instead of Communism, to develop an army solely for the purpose of reaping the oil riches that fed Qaddafi and his dictatorial rule.  As long as the treasure is funneled though a central office the prize remains. Get rid of the prize by distributing the oil money directly to tribal leaders much like General Petraeus did with the Surge in Iraq and you defuse the bomb that is otherwise to come.