CalJunket

Friday, April 09, 2004

I wanted to jot out a few ideas while I had the chance.

Fist off, I hope I didn’t leave the impression that I think free trade is totally without problems. My previous scuffle with Orlando offered me a better chance to vent my anger at people who don’t seem to understand the trade offs and opportunities involved than to put my nuanced beliefs on display. Orlando says he now understands the law of comparative advantage but thinks it doesn’t apply. I look forward very eagerly to his upcoming post. Hopefully, he will be able to explain why industrialization and mechanization creates jobs and outsourcing doesn’t. Just a quick note for now: If we are willing to invest in our citizen’s education to make ourselves more competitive, free trade is good in the long run. If we fail to make ourselves competitive, we’ll become a national Detroit (a city whose failure to invest in new industries caused havoc when someone else figured out how to make better cars). That would be our fault though, not free trades.

I’ve been listening to Air America lately and I must say that for all his caustic reputation, Al Franken is actually pretty fair on actual issues. He recognizes that people can disagree on issues like how best to manage mid east policy, but he seems to save his bile for the Republican establishment which I think is pretty right on. For the kind of partisan three-hour long three-minute hate that made Rush Limaugh famous Randi Rhodes provides boundlessly. Thank God liberals finally have someone they can point to and say “I don’t agree with everything that radio host says, but I love how it drives conservatives insane.” I strongly suggest that conservatives who want to find out about moderate Liberals tune into to the O’Franken Factor. If you want to get upset, try Randi Rhodes… please.

Also, I don’t really want to weigh in on the ASUC Elections very much. I still take my connection to the Election Council seriously and I don’t’ want to make any official endorsements. I do want to relate how difficult a job it is to actually run an election and how well Leslieanne has done in the face of adversity. Of course, I support the squelch’s right to completely unfettered free speech and disagree with judicial council decision. But, if this is the most scandalous thing that happens this election, I consider it a smashing success.

Also, “Happy Easter” to everyone who celebrates it. “Happy Sunday” to everyone else.



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