Beard Of Wisdom.com

I think there have really been four overlapping wars going on in Iraq in the past four years.

1. The US Army vs the Iraqi Army and Republican Guard, March-April 2003. Obviously a clear US victory.
2. The US vs Ba’athist hardliner guerillas, March 2003-sometime in 2004. It seems to me this war was quietly won–I doubt any Iraqi insurgents are loyal to Saddam anymore.
3. The US and new Iraqi government vs al Qaeda in Iraq, late 2003-present. I think the US is actually winning this one, as indicated in this article, and by the killings of many al Qaeda leaders. There just aren’t many people in Iraq willing to fight for a new caliphate, or willing to endure the perpetual war al Qaeda demands. I also wonder if, as it looks more and more likely the US will leave soon, those Iraqis who just wanted the US gone are less motivated to help al Qaeda.
4. Sunni and Shi’a groups vs each other, and vs. the US and Iraqi government, 2005-present. The start date on this one is obviously vague, and maybe you could push it up to 04 or back to early 06. Al Qaeda helped kick off the sectarian squabbles, but they clearly have a life of their own. Once another group has crystallized and is trying to squeeze out your interests, you have to fight back.

So the sad irony, I think, is that al Qaeda is being beaten in Iraq–partly because they’re getting in the way of Sunnis and Shi’a fighting with each other.

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From CBS Sportsline:

China’s official sports association has issued an unprecedented public criticism of Yao Ming for reporting late to national team training.

The Houston Rockets star was faulted for taking too much time off to recover from the NBA season, as well spending too much time planning his wedding and making appearances for the Special Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

“No matter how lofty public welfare activities are, they can’t be allowed to take first place in a player’s life,” the China Sports Daily, a newspaper owned by the government’s All-China Sports Federation, said in an article Tuesday.

“No matter how sweet personal life is, it can’t be compared to the exultation of capturing glory for one’s nation,” the article said.

Don’t you hate it when people put family and disadvantaged children before a meaningless international scrimmage?

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From Walter Williams:

First, let’s establish a working definition of free markets; it’s really simple. Free markets are simply millions upon millions of individual decision-makers, engaged in peaceable, voluntary exchange pursuing what they see in their best interests. People who denounce the free market and voluntary exchange, and are for control and coercion, believe they have more intelligence and superior wisdom to the masses. What’s more, they believe they’ve been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. Of course, they have what they consider good reasons for doing so, but every tyrant that has ever existed has had what he believed were good reasons for restricting the liberty of others.

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At least according to this article from the Associated Press.

But just as it has in so many other arenas, America’s predominance in height has faded. Americans reached a height plateau after World War II, gradually falling behind as the rest of the world continued growing taller.

By the time the baby boomers reached adulthood in the 1960s, most northern and western European countries had caught up with and surpassed the United States. Young adults in Japan and other prosperous Asian countries now stand nearly as tall as Americans do.

Height matters to economists, because all the things that are correlated to tall people are also correlated to good economies.

It’s that the same things that make people tall — a nutritious diet, good prenatal care and a healthy childhood — also benefit them in those other ways.

That makes height a good indicator for economists who are interested in measuring how well a nation provides for its citizens during their prime growing years. With one simple, easily collected statistic, economists can essentially measure how well a society prepares its children for life.

John Komlos, an economic historian at the University of Munich, blames it (partially) on American’s limited government.

“American children might consume more meals prepared outside of the home, more fast food rich in fat, high in energy density and low in essential micronutrients,” wrote Komlos and co-author Benjamin Lauderdale of Princeton University. “Furthermore, the European welfare states provide a more comprehensive social safety net including universal health-care coverage.”

But look a little deeper and it looks like large American cities (which tend to have larger government programs) are the cause of the problem.

In another recent paper, Komlos and Lauderdale also found height inequality between American urbanites and residents of suburbs and rural areas. In Kansas, for example, white males are about as tall as their European peers; it’s big cities like New York, where men are about 1.75 inches shorter than that, that drag America’s average down.

Looks like policy discussions won’t be the only times conservatives are towering over liberals.

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From the Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary:

Accuse Congressman Charlie Rangel of what you will, but don’t ever suggest he’s humble. The Harlem Congressman recently offered one of the more blatant, if amusing, earmarks on record: a $2 million request for the City College of New York to establish the “Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service.”

But maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds:

The New Yorker filed the requisite paperwork certifying that he has no financial interest in the earmark he requested.

Phew.  For a second there I thought there was an element of personal gain in the Congressman’s motivation for spending $2 million.

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News broke today that the University of Oklahoma must forfeit its wins from the 2005 season because some of its players were paid by a car dealership for work they did not perform.

The NCAA said Oklahoma was guilty of a “failure to monitor” the employment of the players.

Are you kidding me? Failure to monitor its players employment? Now as a private organization I’m cool with the NCAA making whatever rules it wants, but does anyone not believe that are not thousands of collegiate athletes who are getting paid under the table some how?

What about this - schools are free to offer athletes up to $20,000 in addition to full scholarships as a stipend for their time. or better yet go for a complete competitive bidding situation - it may give top altheletes a real reason to stay in school longer. It would simply confirm what the sports world already knows. These aren’t really student athletes. They are athletes their school are making millions of dollars on. Give the kids a piece of the pie, they are already getting it anyway.

Hmmm, could this same argument be made about drugs? The government’s not able to stop it, just get in on the action by taxing and regulating it.

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Did you know in Oregon that a college student can receive food stamps if they are working 20 hours a week?

I didn’t either. But college students in Oregon do. This summer, one of the friends I’m working with was on food stamps while he attended a very expensive, very awesome private university. And I just found out a guy who is going to be a sophomore there next year is going to go on them. (Note: These are not poor students without families to support them. These are young men who see free money and want it.)

When I asked him why, his response was a look of disbelief and a question about what I have against “free” money.

Chalk another one up in “If the government funds it, people will take it” category.

I’ve tried the theoritical “That’s someone else’s money” arg, but let’s be honest the chances of that working are about zero. I’ve also thought about beating him over the head with The Law. Any convincing args out there to convince a nonpolitical person that taking “free” money from the government is not worth it?

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We use BlueHost, you should think about it.

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