What do Haiti and Afghanistan have in common, other than the presence of our military? They're both profoundly failed states that we pretend just need the right encouragement.

We told ourselves that in Somalia, too. And we soon may be telling ourselves whopping fibs about Yemen. Or Pakistan.

Failed, failing and outright fake states come in different flavors, from societies in which tribes remain more powerful than struggling governments to those that are gang-plagued and anarchic. There's no single solution to the problem. But we and other successful states typically stand in the way of any solutions.

We -- and the locals in failed or failing states -- would be far better off if competent powers engaged in a form of triage, categorizing them into:

What could be more appropriate, on the eve of the TTP Carefree Rendezvous, than to hoist a pint of Four Peaks Ale brewed here in Arizona to an inspiring woman Republican governor who drives liberals out of their minds because she is a pro-family, pro-life, pro-Christian, anti-tax, anti-government spending, anti-illegal immigration Reagan conservative. 

Nope, we're not talking about Sarah Palin - however much the HFR is happy to hoist a glass in admiration of her at any time. 

We're talking about...

... Right next to the HFR Saloon is the Schadenfreude Bar, which serves goblets of frothy glee over liberals' misfortunes.  One patron was happy that Tim Geithner was going to be confirmed as Treasury Secretary.  "It will be wonderful to have a guy that cheats on his taxes be in charge of the IRS," he said.  "Now millions of us will say, ‘If he can, so can I'."

... Let's spice up the HFR this week, shall we?  With a spice that can be a solution to terrorism.  Oh, and a microbe that can be a solution to energy independence.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said, "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society," while his predecessor on the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall, also correctly noted, "The power to tax is the power to destroy."

The American Founding Fathers, in the Declaration of Independence, state as one of their grievances against King George III, that he imposed "taxes on us without our consent."

"No taxation without representation" was a rallying cry of the Revolution, and from that time it has been widely agreed that imposition of a tax without the consent of the governed is a form of tax tyranny.

President Calvin Coolidge stated it succinctly, "Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery."  (Ronald Reagan admired Coolidge so much he had Coolidge's portrait hung in the Cabinet Room of the White House.)

So at what point does taxation move from that necessary for proper government to tyranny?

The rising cases of home-grown Islamist Radicalism in the US and the several terror plots that were discovered in 2009 in the US are alarming.

The five Moslem students who went to Pakistan to wage Jihad against their own country, the Fort Hood Massacre, and the latest Christmas airline terror attempt are just a few examples of many. 

In trying to understand this trend in the first year of the current Administration, one should question whether some actions of President Obama are perceived in a way that is encouraging the Jihadists to intensify their attacks on the US.

Firstly, from a cultural perspective, the Arab world resonates with appearances of strength and weakness.  Some of the actions of President Obama that could have been perceived as weakness by the Jihadists include:

Under which recent president do you think the U.S. economy performed best?

The policies of Presidents Bush, father and son, and Jimmy Carter clearly did not work as well as Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's.

So let's compare their economic performance.  For the numbers show that Democrats can continue "the-Clinton-economy-was-best" ploy only if the Republicans and the news media let them get away with the factual misrepresentation.

Google may have the backbone Congress lacks: The Internet giant is standing up to the Chicom bandits in Beijing.

Why would a for-profit company threaten to pull out of what the investment gurus (who brought you the housing bubble) insist is the greatest market in the universe?

There are three reasons, though only two have been recognized:

The barkeep here at the HFR Saloon can't keep up with the drink orders this week.  Half of them are drinks to celebrate the never-ending pratfalls of the Zero Circus.  The other half are for glasses of beer to cry in, since the Circus' biggest pratfalls will be the ruination of America's economy and national security.

Every celebrant, it seems, wants a different cocktail.  One fellow has a Sidecar.  "Do a lot of business in Albuquerque," he says.  "Every business guy in town knows what a corrupt crook their governor Bill Richardson is - he's the Blagojevich of New Mexico.  You telling me Zero's people didn't know this, that the FBI has a major investigation on him?  I'm telling you, Zero is not ready for prime time.  By the way, always make a sidecar with bourbon, not brandy."

Nearby was someone with a Manhattan.  "I'm from Chicago and we know Blago.  He's much smarter than Richardson who's dumb as a stump.  Look how Blago snookered that arrogant little worm who pretends he runs the Senate.  Blago knew if he nominated a white guy it would be blocked, so he picked a black guy whose only qualification was that he was black, old Tombstone Burris.  Harry Reid had to cave.  Sure proves we're post-racial after November 4, huh?"  He took a sip.  "Be sure and have your Manhattans with rye, not Canadian, whiskey."   

At the end of the bar was a grandfatherly type who was into his second Long Island Ice Tea and feeling no pain.  "Doncha just love Slick Willie's chief of staff running the CIA?  If that isn't a hoot, what is?  Until we get nailed by another 9/11, that is.  That Feinstein broad got her panties in a twist because Zero didn't pick her boy Kappes."

Have you ever had a "free lunch?" A "free lunch" means the benefit you receive has no direct or indirect costs and is not a payment for a past act or a future obligation.

When Hillary, in her Christmas video, showed all of the "gifts" she was going to give us (e.g., "national health insurance," "kiddy care," etc.), she was promising to saddle us with future tax obligations, which are only "gifts" in Washington political-speak - and certainly not a free lunch for the nation.

The administration, members of Congress, and the presidential candidates are in the process of coming out with their "economic stimulus" plans to help avoid a recession or to mitigate the pain if one occurs.

Rather than take this opportunity to offer a real "free lunch" by removing government obstacles to a proper functioning economy, some will propose more spending and regulation because they are more interested in power than doing what is best for the citizenry.  Wouldn't you prefer to get a real free lunch from the government?

[Many TTPers have expressed concern over the recent (12/17/09) Amending of Executive Order 12425 granting certain "privileges, exemptions, and immunities" to the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol. We are pleased to have TTPer Brent Moody, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement at the Treasury Department address these concerns.]

Mr. Obama's EO12425 has created considerable paranoia within the conservative blogosphere.  Email alerts and warnings entitled U.S. placed under Interpol authority and jurisdiction by Presidential Fiat and suchlike have become widespread. 

I believe the brouhaha over revoking certain exceptions from exemptions for Interpol and its officials from the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA) - exceptions instituted by President Reagan - is based upon misperceptions of what Interpol is and by whom it is staffed here in the US. [See Addendum for texts of both]

The HFR has recovered from its hangover bidding the annus horribilus of 2008 vale ad aeternam, goodbye forever, and welcomes you to what's coming for this brand new year of 2009!

Or rather what might be coming - for as we learned near the start of last year in The 2008 Carpe Diem Filter,  history is stochastic, a series of uniquely unrepeatable events.  There is no such thing as the future, and you can't make predictions about something that doesn't exist.

You certainly can about nature (like what time the sun will rise tomorrow), but not about what people will do, because they haven't decided yet - and in particular, the extent to which they decide to treat problems as opportunities (the carpe diem filter).

Nonetheless, there are some things that look exceedingly likely.  So here goes.

Don't be surprised if 2009 is as weird a year as 2008.  A president who worships at a God Damn America church is worshipped as the savior of America - but for how long?  The media will focus on his every word and deed, and will shout hosannas of positive news regarding everything he touches.  But sooner or later it will dawn on folks that he is no more competent a president than he is a golfer - or bowler.