[Rhodes22-list] Economics - strictly sail

Thu Feb 1 18:12:41 EST 2007

Ron,

I'm sure you'll see Elton at the show. We had hoped to be able to go 
ourselves, but timing on some other unavoidable things got in the way. 
If you'd say HI from Rik and Sandy and tell him we wanted to be there, 
but couldn't make it, I'd sure appreciate it.

Have fun at the show.

Rik

Slim wrote:

>Ron,
>Frankly, I'm insulted to be left off that list.
>Enjoy the show.  Wish I was there.
>Slim
>
>On 2/1/07 8:29 AM, "Ronald Lipton" <rlipton at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Ed,
>>
>> Please don't tell me what kind of brain I have, What kind of
>>traveller I am
>>or how I feel about bureaucracy.  Please don't tell me who or what I
>>think
>>needs to be nurtured.   I am a liberal in most areas, proud of it, and
>>feel that
>>the ideas of equality and openness are at the core of what has made
>>this a
>>great country.  But my detailed beliefs are a result of my own thoughts,
>>my family's heritage and background, and my understanding of the world
>>and
>>the nation.  It doesn't serve any purpose to categorize me on a range of
>>issues due to a handful of postings to a sailing forumn. It may be
>>representative
>>of your own limited thought process and prejudices. At some point some
>>of us may be insulted by your scattershot approach to personal and
>>political
>>name calling.
>>
>>I am going to the sailboat show.
>>
>>Ron
>>
>>
>>On Feb 1, 2007, at 7:13 AM, Tootle wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Brother Bradley:
>>>
>>>     You do not expect Dave L or Bill E or Ron L or the other fellow
>>>travelers to read and embrace this concept do you.  You are just
>>>pissing
>>>into the wind.
>>>
>>>      The first problem you encounter is that they have television
>>>brains.
>>>Just change the channel and instantly things will be fine.  Second,
>>>they do
>>>not believe that democracy needs to be nurtured.  That goes back to
>>>their
>>>television mentality where things will be instantly fine.  Third, they
>>>believe that bureaucracies work, there is no place for free people and
>>>individual responsibility.  Are you trying to create chaos or was that
>>>Peter
>>>Drucker?
>>>
>>>Ed K
>>>Greenville, SC, USA
>>>Addendum:  "It is not by the consolidation of concentration of powers,
>>>but
>>>by  their distribution, that good government is affected." Thomas
>>>Jefferson
>>>
>>>
>>>Brad Haslett-2 wrote:
>>>      
>>>
>>>>This is worthy of your time - check local listings.  Brad
>>>>
>>>>*TV's Evangelist for Capitalism
>>>>*The man behind "Free to Choose" with Milton Friedman.
>>>>
>>>>*BY JOHN H. FUND*
>>>>*Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:01 a.m.*
>>>>
>>>>Despite his renown as a Nobel Prize-winning economist and best-selling
>>>>author, most people came to know the late Milton Friedman through
>>>>television. His 10-part 1980 series, "Free to Choose," was so popular
>>>>that
>>>>it aired three times on public television and is even now adding fans
>>>>via
>>>>a
>>>>free Internet video-stream (www.ideachannel.tv).
>>>>
>>>>So it's fitting that the original team of producers for "Free to
>>>>Choose"
>>>>returned to PBS Monday (declared "Milton Friedman Day" in California
>>>>by
>>>>Gov.
>>>>Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco) with a
>>>>90-minute intellectual biography called "The Power of Choice: The
>>>>Life and
>>>>Times of Milton Friedman." (Many public television stations are
>>>>airing the
>>>>program at other times this week; check local listings.)
>>>>
>>>>The show ranges far and wide to show the influence of Friedman's
>>>>thought.
>>>>Former Prime Minister Mart Laar of Estonia, a former Soviet satellite
>>>>that
>>>>turned to free markets in desperation after independence, says that
>>>>"the
>>>>only book about economy what I read was 'Free to Choose,' but there
>>>>was a
>>>>lot of good ideas in there, and I introduced a big part of those."
>>>>Such
>>>>Friedmanite reforms as a 23% flat-rate income tax (soon to fall to
>>>>20%)
>>>>have
>>>>led the latest "Index of Economic Freedom" to list Estonia as the 12th
>>>>most
>>>>free economy in the world, ahead of Denmark and the Netherlands. The
>>>>show
>>>>is
>>>>chock-full of tributes from figures as diverse as Alan Greenspan and
>>>>Gov.
>>>>Schwarzenegger.
>>>>
>>>>As much as the show is a celebration of Friedman's life and work, it
>>>>also
>>>>showcases the remarkable entrepreneur who made it and "Free to Choose"
>>>>possible. Bob Chitester produced the original series while serving as
>>>>the
>>>>only public-TV station manager in the country who didn't believe in
>>>>government subsidies. A tireless promoter, he raised the equivalent
>>>>of $8
>>>>million today for the series--entirely from private sources, an
>>>>achievement
>>>>that delighted Friedman.
>>>>
>>>> Mr. Chitester came to the project with an unusual background. In
>>>>1966, he
>>>>became the general manager of the PBS station in Erie, Pa., at age
>>>>29. An
>>>>opponent of the Vietnam War, he handed out literature for George
>>>>McGovern
>>>>in
>>>>1972 and admits he knew nothing about economics. Then, in 1976, he met
>>>>with
>>>>economist W. Allen Wallis, who gave him a copy of Friedman's
>>>>"Capitalism
>>>>and
>>>>Freedom." Mr. Chitester soaked it up, became a believer in markets,
>>>>and
>>>>immediately began pursuing Friedman to do a series that would provide
>>>>a
>>>>counterpoint to one by liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith that
>>>>PBS
>>>>was
>>>>airing.
>>>>
>>>>After all these years, Mr. Chitester is still surprised by how easily
>>>>Friedman's cooperation came. "I was a bearded, leather-jacketed,
>>>>small-town
>>>>TV executive, yet he treated me as competent and honorable, as he did
>>>>everyone he met, until you proved otherwise," he recalls.
>>>>
>>>>Surprisingly, Friedman insisted on not writing a script in advance of
>>>>filming. The points that would be made in each scene were discussed,
>>>>but
>>>>his
>>>>commentary was extemporaneous. This resulted in such gems as the
>>>>economist
>>>>sitting in a sweatshop in New York's Chinatown, where he recalled the
>>>>days
>>>>when his mother worked in a similar environment. "Life was hard,"
>>>>Friedman
>>>>noted, "but opportunity was real." He then transports the audience to
>>>>a
>>>>junk
>>>>floating in the harbor of Hong Kong, "the freest market in the world,"
>>>>where
>>>>Friedman discusses how the then-British colony's leaders refused to
>>>>collect
>>>>some economic statistics because they feared they would be used as an
>>>>excuse
>>>>for government intervention in the booming economy.
>>>>
>>>>Since the success of "Free to Choose," Mr. Chitester has gone on to
>>>>produce
>>>>programs that range across time and space, from a dramatization of
>>>>how the
>>>>Pilgrims realized the importance of private property to a series on
>>>>private
>>>>space exploration. He has produced five teaching kits based on John
>>>>Stossel's ABC News TV specials that have been used in 84,000
>>>>classrooms to
>>>>encourage more rigorous thinking about science and economics.
>>>>
>>>>Today, Mr. Chitester is most excited about a two-hour program he is
>>>>producing featuring Hernando de Soto. A Peruvian economist, Mr. de
>>>>Soto
>>>>has
>>>>been the target of murder attempts by drug barons and Marxist
>>>>terrorists
>>>>who
>>>>fear his message that the poor in developing nations need true
>>>>capitalism--property rights, markets and the rule of law. Time
>>>>magazine
>>>>recently named him one of the five leading Latin American innovators
>>>>of
>>>>the
>>>>century.
>>>>
>>>>Mr. de Soto warns that capitalism isn't working for the majority of
>>>>the
>>>>world's people. This is largely because economic elites use their
>>>>power to
>>>>restrict competition, limit access to capital and promote their vested
>>>>interests over those less fortunate. That, in turn, undermines the
>>>>potential
>>>>of free markets to spread wealth and opportunity in the same way that
>>>>has
>>>>made developed nations so successful. "The poor are not the problem;
>>>>they
>>>>are the solution," Mr. de Soto says. "Give them access to land titles
>>>>that
>>>>can be used for collateral, the rule of law, a responsive bureaucracy
>>>>and
>>>>streamlined tools of business, and you will see creativity and
>>>>entrepreneurial self-reliance flourish."
>>>>
>>>>The program being planned for Mr. de Soto will take him from an
>>>>Albanian
>>>>village, where ancient disputes over who owns what land are prompting
>>>>young
>>>>people to leave the country, to the office of a Tanzanian banker who
>>>>has
>>>>tried in vain for 12 years to get a mortgage. Increasingly, Mr. de
>>>>Soto
>>>>says
>>>>Americans need to appreciate how much developing nations are
>>>>dominated by
>>>>an
>>>>extralegal economy that must be brought into the mainstream. "What
>>>>Bob is
>>>>proposing is an eye-opening look at how to finally make poor countries
>>>>wealthy by empowering their people," says Ed Crane, president of the
>>>>Cato
>>>>Institute.
>>>>
>>>>But TV's evangelist for capitalism has other projects, too. He has
>>>>storyboards done for a series on Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish scientist
>>>>who
>>>>has
>>>>gathered Nobel laureates together to agree on where money should be
>>>>spent
>>>>to
>>>>safeguard human life. (Hint: global-warming curbs are far down the
>>>>list.)
>>>>A
>>>>program on the life of former Secretary of State George Shultz is in
>>>>the
>>>>works.
>>>>
>>>> This week's PBS special pays tribute to the many achievements of
>>>>Milton
>>>>Friedman. One that is often underappreciated is the extent to which he
>>>>demonstrated how visual images could influence and shape public
>>>>debate. As
>>>>his most ardent electronic disciple, Bob Chitester deserves the
>>>>free-market
>>>>community's equivalent of an Oscar.
>>>>
>>>>*Mr. Fund is a columnist for OpinionJournal.com.*
>>>>__________________________________________________
>>>>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>--  
>>>View this message in context:
>>>http://www.nabble.com/Economics---TV-Worth-Watching-
>>>tf3154218.html#a8747915
>>>Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>>
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>>>
>>>      
>>>
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