Comments on the Belmont Club "A Cycle of Cathay"

This may be a good moment to speak up for moderation. Conservatism means to conserve and as Teddy Roosevelt knew that includes conserving the natural gifts that have been entrusted to us. An economically free society with values rooted in a religious sense of morality and responsibility proves to be a better steward of the environment than does one organized under socialism. One of the terrible things about the ADW scandals is that they may discredit science in the popular imagination and may empower those with coarser views of nature. Socialism poisons the earth and water, as Vaclav Havel said "look out the window."

The Republicans have to learn to stay on topic. They had a good theme before they allowed the MSM to ignore it in the manufactured economic tsunami of 15 months ago. Drill here drill now and develop gas, oil, coal and nuclear. Invest in new technology research. Do all of it to build the sinews of liberty and the capital to invest in really protecting the earth. That does not mean tossing billions down the rat holes of green jobs for Obama's unskilled voters and buying mortgages and bonuses for the Democrats of Fannie Mae. It means spending on skilled labor and telling those that refuse to get an education that will make them useful that they will lose. As Lenin said, "He who will not work, he shall not eat."

China is building real power based on coal and access to raw materials. Russia is building real power based on controlling access to energy for Europe. The US needs to keep real power, not soft power and pretty pieces of paper, to keep the peace. Then maybe we can move towards a world safe for the pretty pieces of paper and unicorns.

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wws,
In the interest of science, as you said, I would question one part of your fine analysis.

2) China has the full backing of India.
It may be more accurate to say that India is keenly aware of it's vulnerability and is like China aware that the need for hard power trumps any concern over climactic costs. India is probably more torn than China is about the risks of environmental damage from industrialization. They are a democracy and Bhopal is an emotional issue in their experience. China may not like that any program that unfetters her industrial growth will also benefit her rival India. Both nations here are in a tactical and temporary alliance. Right now China is growing faster and has India strategically surrounded. If the chinese economy cracks and urban-rural pressures destabilize the regime then her comparative advantage over India may be reversed. Either way the big loser in all these calculations are the Tibetans.

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If Obama stays at minus 20 or worse in the polls for a month and the Democrats begin to really fear a tsunami in November then I predict that there will be efforts to gracefully ease him out. One day we can wake up and hear serious looking news anchors reading reports the Obama is going to Bethesda, that Obama is seeing a specialist, that Obama is recuperating in the country, that Obama is gone. This could be like the old joke about Grandma's cat.
"How is the cat?"
The cat is dead
"How could you be so cruel as to spring that on me? You should have lead up to it."
Whaddaya mean?
"You could have said the cat is on the roof, then that the cat had caught a cold, then that the Vet was trying something heroic, then that the cat passed peacefully. You know I loved that cat."
I'm sorry. I guess I'm an insensitive jerk.
"So how is Grandma?"
She's up on the roof.

A week is a long time in politics but another maxim is "Don't back no losers." Anything could happen.