Pri: My comment regarding our big-ass military was largely snarky and driven by a comment from a friend regarding China having to collect on their US debt (“Let ’em come and get it!”).
I would point out that, in spite of our not always having a big-ass military, we haven’t hesitated to use force to advance our fortunes and this goes all the way back to policies such as Gunboat Diplomacy and Manifest Destiny. We’ve been a going concern from the jump (the original iteration of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” was “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property”) and we’ve always liked that particular mix of policy and bayonets.
I definitely agree regarding the rule of law and its an excellent point that I overlooked.
I’m sure I did over-simplify the problems confronting the Eurozone, China and Japan, but I threw those out there largely to make a larger point.
Regarding “Tea Party Keynesian”, nope, that’s a new one on me. I’m partial to “Tea-vangelical” as it sums certain aspects of the movement perfectly, while also feeding into my Jesuitical arrogance.
