Day: September 10, 2010

Wittgenstein, Hitler And Rush

Ludwig Wittgenstein is considered one of history’s great philosophers. He was born in Austria on April 26,1889, six days after another influential Austrian, who is right now ranked third on the list of history’s top murderers behind Mao and Stalin.

Well, Wittgenstein went to school at Realschule in Linz which had a student population of 300 pupils, and one of his classmates was Adolph Hitler.

It has now been reveled that talk-show giant Rush Limbaugh and Pastor Terry Jones of maybe-I-will-maybe-I-won’t burn the Koran fame were classmates at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Some appear to want to make an issue of this. Rush says he barely remembers the guy and wonders why people can’t accept that. He noted these same people easily accepted claims by one prominent person that he  spent 20 years in a church without being able to recall what his own minister had been preaching.

An FDR Answer For Pension Pain

There is a simpler path to solving the problem of Pennsylvania’s citizen-crushing public pensions than instituting limited Marxism as suggested at this link. Granted invoking the use of U.S. law rather than communist ideals might lead to less cooperation from  public school teachers and other government workers who would be most affected by policy changes. One supposes, though, it can be solemnly intoned “to each according to his needs” to get them on board as the government spigot is shut.

Chapter 9, Title 11 of the United States Code is the bankruptcy provision for governmental bodies. It was instituted in 1937 during our last depression when the previous means of resolving municipal debt — actions of mandamus in which courts compelled tax increases — proved infeasible.

The law notably makes it easier to re-write collective bargaining agreements approved when times were flush and the Dow was seen to be reaching 30,000.

Granted there are obstacles in taking such a route. The legislators who now sit in Harrisburg and who would be needed to sign on would take a major hit if their pensions were limited. As would the governor. As would the state judges who would be asked to rule on cases by those objecting to the policy.

And of course, you would have to deal with smart-alec teen-aged sons and angst-ridden teen-aged daughters coming home from classes taught by those teachers  unwilling to help the needy asking you “WHY DO YOU HATE???!!!!”

But with enough will it can be done and our lives can become better.