tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post7614353434028516896..comments2023-10-25T06:13:28.265-04:00Comments on The Conservative Wahoo: Goodbye America, Hello The United States of Commerce The Conservative Wahoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17818674434286683162noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-76410820091409111242015-06-23T14:38:22.209-04:002015-06-23T14:38:22.209-04:00Gee I thought this was common knowledge. Ok, a sho...Gee I thought this was common knowledge. Ok, a short history lesson for my Iowa Hawkeye friend.... <br />A couple of years in the Allied Powers were losing the war to the Central Powers. The Italians couldn't whip their dicks but the Turks were doing well in the Middle East (in spite of Lawrence of Arabia). On the Western Front the French were throwing down their rifles and/or mutinying (who woulda figured that?) and the Brits were running low on ammunition, supplies, resources, money etc. due in part to the U-boats kicking ass and taking names (of sinking ships). Haig sucked, Petain was an idiot and Russia was out of the war (thank you Nikki).The Allied Powers were six months at most from losing. <br />Now...the story goes that Baron von Rothschild (of the M. A. von Rothschild und Söhne bankers in Frankfurt...that's in Germany) cut a deal with the Brits. We'll get on the phone to our pals in the States and bring the Americans into the war, plus we'll get you a nice Gold AMEX courtesy of the American taxpayer if you just give us Palestine, you know, after we run the Turks out. The American bankers were not opposed even though Wilson was adamant about staying out of the war. But damn! War is so profitable. <br />So there you go, the Germans were betrayed by Germans, albeit Jewish international banking Germans. A young dispossessed corporal named Adolf Hitler would unfortunately bear a terrible grudge, and you know the rest. <br />But you're probably right, it's all bullshit. "The Hammer"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16342812251947807673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-75181561572765519842015-06-23T12:44:56.804-04:002015-06-23T12:44:56.804-04:00I know what the Balfour Declaration was. It is a ...I know what the Balfour Declaration was. It is a weird and giant stretch to position it as "the big banks pushing us in to World War I so the British will hand over Palestine." The Balfour Declaration, and British diplomatic strategy during World War I in general, were definitely oriented around getting the United States in to the fight. The British ran a huge anti-German propaganda machine in the United States all during the war, which explains why my grandmother, who was born in 1900, regarded the three most evil people in history as Hitler, Stalin (both plausible) and Kaiser Wilhelm. Wha? Because propaganda. And the British were probably hoping to win over pro-Zionist people in FDRs cabinet, too. But the theory that "big banks" had any outsized influence on us getting in to the war is a ginormous stretch.TigerHawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07478818024748287426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-64417280138134123412015-06-23T11:35:22.281-04:002015-06-23T11:35:22.281-04:00Weird theory? Wow, I'm a little surprised at t...Weird theory? Wow, I'm a little surprised at that. The Balfour Agreement "His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." is not explicit but it wasn't meant to be. <br />Maybe you need to research the subject. "The Hammer"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16342812251947807673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-25111873011780476782015-06-23T10:44:47.570-04:002015-06-23T10:44:47.570-04:00Not theory, history. Google Balfour Declaration.Not theory, history. Google Balfour Declaration.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14411514378982496548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-5230146507293226002015-06-23T09:57:08.527-04:002015-06-23T09:57:08.527-04:00Apart from the weird theory about World War I and ...Apart from the weird theory about World War I and Palestine, I actually agree with everything you said (even if I might not have used those actual words). Here's a point you do not make, at least directly: Government regulation of business (including in such matters as trade) with very rare exceptions favors large competitors at the expense of small ones. Exhibit A in recent years, the Dodd-Frank law, which has hammered local banks and given a huge edge for U.S. share to the money center banks. This happens for two completely obvious and predictable reasons. First, the big firms are in a much better position to get their points across to the legislators and regulators. They have more and more highly paid executives who can donate money to politicians, and they can afford in-house experts who can "educate" legislative staff on the details of their business. Second, most regulatory compliance amounts to a fixed cost. If you have to reprogram your systems to generate new information and send that information to the federal government, the cost of those systems changes is often not much different if you are JP Morgan or Main Street Community Bank. Indeed, the big bank can often make the changes with fixed cost staff, and Main Street needs to hire a consultant at variable cost. Regardless, compliance cost becomes a much larger part of the income statement in a small firm than a big one, and that puts the small firm out of business. Everybody knows this, it seems, except bizarrely naive liberals who love both government regulation of business and purport to favor small businesses over large "corporations." Those two positions are almost always in conflict.TigerHawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07478818024748287426noreply@blogger.com