Stevie Joe, The Good Professor, Alan Greenspan, and Adam Smith

It appears that the Good Professor from Edinburgh has indeed responded to old Stevie Joe, but he did not do so by name. Check out his post here to see the details. Here is one quote of interest:

. . . some acknowledge their ‘errors’ but as brazenly declare they will continue with their attributions because that is what the modern profession has decided to do, and it’s now ‘irreversible’ (a strange stance for scholars) . . .

This might be a strange stance for scholars if said scholars were addressing other academics in the field of economics (this is an excellent spectator sport, but I choose not to be a participant). However, old Stevie Joe is addressing the entire world here and must deal with how most folks perceive Adam Smith whether or not this perception is accurate.

Just to show, however, that Stevie Joe is not alone, check out this post by the Good Professor. Here, he argues that Alan Greenspan doesn't really understand Adam Smith either. Here's a quote:

. . .he [Greenspan] does not seem to be acquainted with his Works to any degree. His image of Adam Smith is firmly stuck in the Chicago model of Adam Smith, which has little acquaintance with the man from Kirkcaldy.

I know for a fact that both Stevie Joe and Mr. Greenspan are damn geniuses. Professor Kennedy makes no attempt to explain how we both could be wrong about this. After all, I know a lot about everything, and Alan Greenspan would appear to know a lot about economics. I say this round goes to the geniuses.

Thinking of Groundskeeper Willie,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Has More on the Wall Street Journal

I found another blogger that is discussing the "Jonah's Dilemma" column. He appears to be Don Clark, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (original publisher of the column). Surprisingly, Don agrees with Mikey and Marky, but I've added my own two bits in the comments section of Mr. Clark's blog. We'll see if and how he replies.

Speaking of the WSJ, my super high-tech tracking service says that someone there has been reading ol' Stevie Joe's thoughts about the Jonah column. I've also picked up a few fans in Israel and the federal government. Well, Stevie Joe just wants to say "Howdy!" to all y'all!

Speaking the truth,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Blows the Lid on the Wall Street Journal

This week, there was a column in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Jonah's Dilemma." Now, most folks know the story about how Jonah was swallowed by the whale. However, there is a bit more to it. If you find reading the Bible to be a bit tiresome, I recommend watching the Veggie Tales version starring Archibald the Asparagus as Jonah. Bible story, animated vegetables, and a bit of Gilbert & Sullivan-style whimsy - what's not to like?

Anyway, Jonah was the reluctant prophet. One day, God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the folks there to wise up and repent or prepare for some smiting. Jonah sees this as a no-win situation for himself. If they repent and nothing happens, they'll think ol' Jonah was pulling their legs. If they don't repent and God goes medieval on them, then Jonah has failed in his mission.

So, the two WSJ geniuses who wrote the column, Michael B. Oren and Mark Gerson, compare the story of Jonah to the decisions that must be made by today's world leaders. For example, Churchill predicted the threat posed by Nazi Germany. Had he decided to strike first, he might have been accused of starting an unnecessary war rather than preventing an even larger conflict. Since he did not strike first, World War Two resulted.

Mikey and Marky then carry the analogy to President Numbnuts and the Iraq War. Damned if he attacks, damned if he doesn't. Poor ol' George. No matter what he does, the liberals are going to criticize him.

Now, here's where these two Bozos go wrong. They are offering a false choice. They present the dilemma of today's world leaders as a choice between launching a war or doing nothing. However, it does not take a genius like Stevie Joe to see that there are many more choices than that. In fact, any leader who chooses such a simplified view of crisis management is inherently unfit for the job!

So, what exactly is behind this poor attempt to justify the war in Iraq? To find out, we have to take a closer look at Mikey and Marky.

Mikey is a fellow at the Shalem Center. According to their website, they are "a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute dedicated to developing and transmitting ideas in the areas most crucial to the intellectual and public life of the Jewish people." Mikey himself lives in Jerusalem and served as an officer in the Israeli army. He fought in the first and second Lebanon Wars and was a liaison to the US during the first Gulf War. So, he's not exactly a disinterested party.

What about Marky? According to the WSJ, he is co-founder and chairman of the Gerson Lehman Group. What do they do, you ask? They provide access for their clients to over 150,000 "subject-matter experts." Sounds innocent enough although I'm not sure how that qualifies him to discuss either the Bible or foreign policy.

But wait, there's more! A little searching shows that Marky is part of the Project for a New American Century, the neoconservative think-tank that was the driving force behind President Numbnut's foreign policy. The PNAC was founded by a real group of sweethearts including Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Paul Wolfowitz, Don Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, Dan Quayle, Elliot Abrams, Bill Bennett, and Steve Forbes.

So, why isn't the WSJ up front about this? Why hide the fact that this column was written by an Israeli army officer and a mouthpiece for the Bush administration? Is this your idea of editorial integrity? Shame on you, WSJ!

Oh, snap!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe's Mideast Update

Just checking the news of the week to see how things are going over in the Middle East:

- Osama bin Laden declares war on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, his government, and his army. Bin Laden encourages all Muslims of Pakistan to revolt. If he is successful in toppling Musharraf, he may gain control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

- Iran prepares plans to bomb Israel.

- Israel bombs Syria, possibly because the Syrians are receiving weapons from North Korea. In the process, Israel also violates Turkish airspace.

- Israel declares the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" and cuts off fuel, electricity, and water to the area.

Interesting week, eh?

Peace,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe's Message to the Domers

I realize that there are a lot of Notre Dame fans out there. There are also a lot of us who are not Notre Dame fans. We have a message for our friends, the Domers: "We Don't Care."

So, the Fighting Irish have lost three games straight. Big whoop. People who cheer for other teams are quite used to this. It happens all the time. Ask any Cub fan!

We also don't want to hear endless stories about your glory years at Notre Dame. We don't want to know what you think about the new coach, quarterback, point guard, or cheerleader. We don't want to go on your Notre Dame alumni golf outing. Some of us don't even like golf although I understand that this is a required activity for Domers.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, when a Notre Dame team loses, some of us actually like it! We actually cheer for the other team! As much as it hurt us to hope for a Michigan victory, we did it.

Hey, we can still be friends. We like you guys most of the time. It just gets a little tiring hearing about that damn school. So, next time we're out for beers, let's just talk about the Cubs, OK? Misery loves company.

p.s.
Q: How many Domers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 25. One to screw it in and 24 to reminisce about it.

Sorry. I couldn't help it.

Let's get some runs!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Ponders Peace and Social Justice

Apparently, Pastor Luke was impressed by our recent Peace Vigil despite the lackluster results. Today, after services, he asked me to head the church's Peace and Social Justice Committee. As far as I know, I am the only member of this committee, but everything has to start somewhere, right?

Anyway, this got me to thinking. Just what the heck does "social justice" mean? It seems sort of an ambiguous term. Perhaps, it refers to justice in the general sense. If you just said "justice," folks might assume that you mean it in the legal sense. However, there sure seems to be more to the concept of justice than the laws enacted by government.

It also seems that peace and justice are somehow linked. Folks tend to get pretty steamed when they think they have been wronged. Now, I'm not saying that people aren't starting wars out of greed or a lust for power. I just think that those folks are in the minority. They people toting the rifles around can't be motivated by just that. They are motivated by a sense of injustice.

So, maybe Osama bin Laden hates the decadent lifestyle of the West and is driven by some sense of moral outrage. However, I think the folks who are fighting for him are doing so because they perceive that their people have somehow been wronged. Whether they are right or wrong about that perception isn't really the issue. If they believe it to be true, they will fight.

So, it appears to ol' Stevie Joe that getting a handle on this social justice thing should be a pretty high priority if we want to have some peace. Well, I'll get to work on it, and let you know what I come up with.

Peace out,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe and the Good Professor

As I indicated in my last post, I have been attacked by the Professor Gavin Kennedy on his blog, Adam Smith's Lost Legacy. I posted a reply and have been waiting to hear from the Good Professor. If you scan the rest of his blog, you will see that he does indeed engage in debate with fellow scholars and his posts are quite frequent. Yet, Professor Kennedy has ignored poor old Stevie Joe.

Since the attempt to denigrate my good name was done without any notice or opportunity to respond, I can only assume that the Good Professor has read the Stevie Joe Parker's Guide to Life, realized that I am a damn genius, and is afraid of a direct confrontation with a superior intelligence. I have tried to be nice and even offered to buy him a Bud down at the Junebug Tap. However, I cannot let his assault upon my reputation stand.

Professor Kennedy, I'm hereby callin' you out!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Gets Bushwhacked by the Intellectual Elite!

Regular readers of the Stevie Joe Parker's Guide to Life will know that I have been writing for some time about free market economics. At times, I have referred to Mr. Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith. Well, this caught the attention of leading Smith scholar, Gavin Kennedy, of Edinburgh, Scotland. Professor Kennedy is the author of Adam Smith's Lost Legacy and is apparently a really smart guy.

Anyway, the Good Professor took it upon himself to publish an online criticism of my writing. I happened to stumble upon it recently, and you can now read my response in the comments section of his blog.

And a Good Day to You, Sir!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe and Fred Thompson

Stevie Joe has been listening to Fred Thompson (R-Hollywood) lately and trying to figure out where he stands on stuff. All I know for sure is that he has a hot trophy wife. Then, I heard him say that the US must "do what is necessary to prevail not only in Iraq but in the worldwide conflict that lies beyond Iraq."

My problem is with the phrase "do what is necessary." What the heck does that mean? This is a pretty big statement. Does it means spending a couple of trillion dollars? Does it mean raising taxes? Does it mean bringing back the draft? Does it mean the use of nuclear weapons? When you say "do what is necessary," you're leaving an awful lot of stuff on the table. Sure, it sounds good in stump speeches, but is he really ready to "do what is necessary" if it turns out that one or more of those things becomes our only means to prevail?

Confused in Junebug Holler,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe's Peace Vigil

Hey! Long time, no blog. Sorry about that, but Stevie Joe's been a little busy. Over the Labor Day weekend, I put together a candlelight peace vigil right in downtown Junebug Holler. Unfortunately, despite my long hours of preparation and planning, the event did not go over well.

The only official attendees were Prudy (from the Junebug Cafe and Internet Lounge), Pastor Luke (who will sign up for just about anything with candles), and myself. There was, however, a sizable "war vigil" organized by Junior and Dickie Jensen. They got a bunch of folks to come downtown with the false promise of free beer. What attendees received instead was a water pistol or super-soaker.

Angry mob with squirt guns and three peaceniks with candles. You do the math.

Anyway, I was wearing my new "I'm Already Against the Next War" t-shirt, and how appropriate it was. It seems that the White House and Pentagon are working out a plan to bomb the tarnation out of Iran over a 3-day period. Sounds good. What possibly could go wrong?


Peace out,
Stevie Joe Parker