TheSolidSurfer.com Interview at The Beak Speaks

Dear Readers,

In lieu of a regular post today, I sat in the "hot seat" for an interview at a fantastic blog called The Beak Speaks. Here is the link to Beak's interview questions; scroll down to the comments section (below the main post) for my answers.

Of particular note, Question #6 asks what foreign countries are vital to America's economic future, and I replied China, India, Brazil and Mexico, with a brief explanation concerning retiring baby boomers and their upcoming need to find younger buyers for their accumulated assets. This is an important issue that all Americans should become aware of, and I'd like to credit the man responsible for the insight, Dr. Jeremy Siegel of the University of Pennsylvania. For more information, this article well explains the situation.

Thanks, and hope you enjoy the interview.-TheSolidSurfer.com


Here is the text of the interview:

1. I see that Freedom Now and MZ post on your blog. I am also a huge fan of Pam of Atlas in NYC. Are there any other blogs of note that you read regularly that we should take a look at?

Of the relatively larger blogs, my regular reads include Little Green Footballs, Israpundit, Jihad Watch, Captain's Quarters, and The Autonomist. I'm also a big fan of a few perhaps lesser-known ones, like Hispanic Pundit, The Only Republican In San Francisco, and Meryl Yourish.

2. You read FPM on a regular basis who is your favorite regular contributor?

That's a tough question since the whole site is great, but if I have to name a favorite, I'd say a tie between Don Feder and Jamie Glazov.

3. Compare my two favorite Pro Israel blogs the Mad Zionist and Pam of Atlas Shrugged? I think I get nastier trolls then MZ but some of Pam's trolls are really nasty.

These two blogs come from somewhat different perspectives (Atlas Shrugs more secular and MadZionist more Jewish), but both are fantastic, and it's wonderful to see such strong Israel-support.

4. How do you view China - as an asset, ally, foe or none of the above?

In some ways, all of the above. China's people are certainly an ally in that they generally love America, and an asset because they produce so many of our goods and invest large sums into our economy. At the same time, though, it does have a Communist government that's a natural rival to U.S. power, and I can see our government clashing even more with theirs on key issues like Taiwan, North Korean, Iran, access to oil and energy, etc.

5. Should we be more concerned with Russia or China as a potential enemy?

I think both about equally. China probably presents more of a direct danger, given its growing economic clout and potential influence over the U.S. economy. But Russia has lots of oil, possibly unsecured nuclear weapons, and influence over enemy states in the Middle East, which we can't count out. Hopefully both countries will become more free, but in the meantime, we should be concerned with both.

6. What countries do you see as vital to America's economic future?

Most prominently - China, India, Brazil, and Mexico. Over the next few decades, the U.S. (and Europe and Japan) will face population aging, and we'll see a whole bunch of baby boomers retiring with large amounts of assets built up in stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. These retirees will want to cash out on their assets in order to enjoy retirement, but in order to do so, someone has to be around to buy the assets. And in the developed world, there are fewer younger people around to do so. This has the potential to drive the value of the assets way down (and hurt plenty of would-be retirees financially), unless younger buyers come from other nations. And most likely, they'll come from China, India, Brazil, and Mexico; the economic development of these nations in the next few decades could be as vital to the U.S. economy as it is to these nations' own economies.

7. Will India surpass China economically?

Yes, I think it will, as long as China remains Communist, because the free market will ultimately triumph. (China has semi-free markets, but not fully). However, if China becomes a democracy, I think it will hold onto its current lead.

8. We have a set of clowns that refer to Israel's apartheid wall. What is your response to criticism of Israel's security perimeter?

These critics are apologists for a system that built walls to keep people in.Most of this criticism comes from people who would criticize Israel no matter the situation. They're so concerned with harm to the Palestinian economy but could care less about the Israeli lives it saves. To them, I'd say just one thing - go about anywhere else in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, etc.) if you want to see what real apartheid is. If you're not Muslim, for example, you can't become a Saudi citizen, period. Contrast this with 20% of Israel's citizenry being non-Jews. As for the security wall itself, by the way, most of it is actually just a fence, with only about 5% being a true wall. (I went to Israel last year and saw this myself.)

9. Do you find that the far left is obsessed with who is a Jew? I have maintained that the Jewish critics of Israel produced by the far left are almost entirely Communist and Anarchists. What is your view of Jewish critics of Israel?

I don't know that the far left is obsessed with specifically who is a Jew, but they're certainly obsessed with Jews in general to a far disproportionate degree.As for Jewish criticism of Israel, there are two main types. One is legitimate criticism of the state, which is good and healthy and a hallmark of any functioning democracy. On the other hand, there is the predominantly leftist criticism of Israel that singles it out in particular (i.e. those who question Israel's basic right to exist). Among Jews who do this, many are indeed Communists and Anarchists, as one thing they virtually all have in common is that they don't generally practice Judaism religiously, and have substituted leftist ideas for it. (So the solution to this problem, as I see it, is to get Jews more Jewishly involved.)

10. Is the notion of a distinct Palestinian ethnicity a huge scam? What is the basis of this ethnicity language, religion, history?

Yes, it basically is. The Palestinian Arabs are no different than the surrounding Arabs in terms of all the above categories, and they never even called themselves Palestinians until about 1967. The notion of the Palestinians as a distinct people was created by their Arab leaders in order to undermine Israel. But as much as they want to fake history, their own name belies them. Think about why Arabs are even called "Arabs" (as opposed to any other name). Because they originally came from the Arabian Peninsula. And that piece of land is not in Israel.

11. Do you watch professional sports? If so what teams do you root for?

Huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks (basketball), Cowboys (football), Stars (hockey), and Texas Rangers (baseball). If the Mavs can beat San Antonio this round, I think they'll take it all the way!

12. Have you driven a motorcycle?

No, never have.

13. Did you read Comic books as a kid? If so which ones were your favorite? Are you familiar with the Silver Surfer?

I read them a little bit, but was more into collecting baseball cards. Don't know the Silver Surfer, but I liked Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, and the Hulk.

14. Are user fees and licenses another form of taxation?

If imposed by the government, I'd say yes, more or less. But if imposed privately, then I'd say no.

15. Are cigarette, alcohol and gas taxes more odious because they disproportionately affect lower income people?

I wouldn't think lower-income people necessarily purchase more cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline, but in general, I think all taxes are odious if they get too high.

16. What are your views on the ACLU?

For the most part, I'm very against them. Occasionally they might argue something worthwhile, but mostly they seem dead-set on undermining everything that's great about America and turning it into a completely ultra-leftist society with no dissent allowed from their particular views. This type of thing has happened before - in Soviet Russia.

17. Does this country need tort reform?

In certain areas, I think we do - it's far too easy for people to get away with frivolous lawsuits and exaggerated medical malpractice claims. But that said, we should definitely tread carefully in these areas, as we need to make sure that all genuine claims are still taken very seriously.

18. Have we arrived in an era where unions have outlived their usefulness?

No, I think unions are still useful, as they do bring needed benefits to their members. Unions originally formed because big business often exploited workers, and there's no guarantee that situation wouldn't happen again. At the same time, though, certain unions have amassed so much power that they're hurting their own industries (teachers unions, in particular, are greatly harming our educational system), and I feel this type of monopoly should should be challenged the same way a large company's monopoly in an industry would be.

19. Should people have a right not to join a Union if they choose?

Yes, they should absolutely have a choice.

20. Are movie prices too high and quality of film produced way too low?

The prices are a bit high for my own tastes, but there's nothing wrong with this, since it's just based on supply and demand.Film quality, meanwhile, highly varies in my opinion. Sure, there are plenty of bad movies out there, but some good stuff is out there too. Hollywood has had a poor past couple years, but I'm excited about some movies this summer - the new Superman, Nacho Libre (Jack Black comedy), Cars (new Pixar film), a couple others.

21. Are there too many sequels?

It sure seems that way lately. As long as the sequels are good, though, I don't mind.

22. What was the best and worst films you have seen? The worst films I remember were Battlefield Earth and Yentyl.

That's a tough one. For the best ever, I'd say the original Star Wars trilogy. Worst - hard to say...to name a recent one, I saw a movie called "Failure To Launch" that wasn't too good.

23. Whose outfits are tackier Bowlers or golfers?

Bowlers.

24. What Blogger that you read would make a great candidate for Survivor? Warren would make a great candidate but Mr. Beamish would generate ratings.

Good question. Beak, you'd probably be great at it - I don't think anyone would mess with you once they saw your cool Rambo-like avatar! :-)

25. Pick one Horror Films or Sci Fiction/Fantasy.

Well, I already named Star Wars, so I'll say Lord Of The Rings. Unless you count home videos of me and my brothers as kids - we behaved so badly in them that it definitely classifies as a horror film!