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– The magnificent Radley Balko, who does more for exposing abuse of power than just about anyone. November 17th, 2011 | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)
 Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honours, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. – James Madison [Thanks to Sara Scarlett for reminding me] November 12th, 2011 | 14 comments - (Comments are closed)
God’s light, these villains will make the word as odious as the word ‘occupy;’ which was an excellent good word before it was ill sorted – Henry IV Part II, Act III Scene 4. (In past centuries “occupy”, used as a transitive verb, had an additional meaning.) November 11th, 2011 | 21 comments - (Comments are closed)
I came across this note in one of the notes I get from banks and law firms. I am not sure of the source, but it was allegedly said by the mother of Karl Marx:
Of course, Marx spent a lot of his life living off the capital as generated by other people. A familiar pattern. November 11th, 2011 | 10 comments - (Comments are closed)
The only really safe investment is wine, at times like these. If it goes up, you make a profit; and if it goes down you can drink it. November 10th, 2011 | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)
Most politicians don’t know any better. They certainly don’t know any economics. So the same toxic policy mix of Keynesian deficit spending and Monetarist money printing has been implemented around the world since this crisis started four years ago. Just like in any other recession of the past forty years, ever since Nixon cut the last link to gold and fulfilled every interventionist’s wildest fantasy: unlimited paper money under full control of the state! Yeah, baby, no more recessions! Alas, it is not working, is it? Rates were cut and the state did not only spent money it didn’t have, as usual, it spent much more money it didn’t have. But the economy did not recover. So more of this policy was implemented. And then, more again. In fact, by any standard, never before in modern times has the economy been ‘stimulated’ more through Keynesian and Monetarist government intervention than over the past four years. Balance sheets of major central banks have tripled, banks have been receiving limitless funds for free and will continue to do so forever, and governments are running deficits the likes of which mankind has only ever seen at the height of major wars, and which are increasingly funded by the printing press. It is still not working. You would probably guess that the interventionists of Keynesian and other ilk would be a bit more humble by now. Maybe check a few of those premises in their models? Or maybe start thinking again about those elusive explanations for what’s wrong with the economy in the first place? Are we really suffering from a lack of paper money and government spending? Maybe it is not simply down to all of us being too depressed, morose, and in need of some policy Prozac. Maybe something else is broken. Alas, no. The academically trained Keynesian economist is too committed to his or her beliefs to let the facts get in the way. Why has policy not worked? Because, wait for it, we have been too timid. We need the same policy. We just need more of it. A lot more. – from the latest Schlichter File, posted today. LATER: See also this recent interview with Schlichter. November 7th, 2011 | 13 comments - (Comments are closed)
To politicians, endless horror is much preferable to a horrible end. – Samizdata commenter “Plamus”, discussing the future of the Euro here. November 6th, 2011 | 4 comments - (Comments are closed)
Beijing is full of empty shopping malls and empty apartment buildings. There are at least 60 million empty housing units in China, and probably a great many more than that. The absurd construction boom that continues to go on here is many times bigger than the rest of the world combined, and the Chinese banks are many times more bankrupt than those anywhere else – Michael Jennings (currently in Beijing) November 6th, 2011 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)
In my youth, we libbos used to go to P.J. O’Rourke for American libbo laughs. Now that mantle – of American, deceptively profound, politically right on the money laughs – has passed on to IMAO man Frank J. Fleming, whose book, Obama: The Greatest President in the History of Everything is coming out quite soon now. Good recent Frank Jism:
You see? It’s funny (I think), but it also gets you thinking. Where did the word “overwhelm” come from, from which the word “underwhelm” has recently been derived (because as soon as you say “underwhelm” everyone immediately understands)? “Overwhelm” means that “whelm” must once upon a time have meant something too. But what? Is it an upper class mispwonouncing of “realm”? Does “whelm” have a future, as a word? I’m not trying to be funny (although that is one of the standard methods of actually being funny). I’d really like to know. This is good too:
And this:
I need something to end this with, now. I know. Here’s my funny yet deceptively profound and right on the money tax plan: The Top Rate of Income Tax Should Be Cut To Zero. If FJ’s tax plan is too fair for you, that might be just right. November 4th, 2011 | 14 comments - (Comments are closed)
Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts. – Richard Feynman, quoted by Matt Ridley in his Angus Millar lecture at the RSA in Edinburgh, the entire text of which you an read at Bishop Hill. Do read the whole thing. Following on from the above quote comes one of the best summaries of why climate skeptics are climate skeptics that I have ever encountered. Does anybody know if Ridley’s brilliant lecture is, or will be, available on video? November 2nd, 2011 | 34 comments - (Comments are closed)
“Cradle-to-grave employment (at least outside the public sector) has been dead since at least the end of the Cold War. Undergraduate degrees in English and Film and Sociology and Philosophy (and a thousand other subjects) have had debatable workplace utility for as long as I’ve been alive.” – Matt Welch. November 1st, 2011 | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)
Well thank you IPCC authors for letting us know what is really behind that “very likely” assessment of attribution [of] 20th century warming. A lot of overbloated over confidence that cannot survive a few years of cooling. The light bulbs seem to be just turning on in your heads over the last two years. Think about all the wasted energy fighting the “deniers” when [you] could have been listening, trying to understand their arguments, and making progress to increase our understanding of the causes of climate variability and change. – Judith Curry, the climate-change non-alarmists’ favourite climate scientist, commenting on an article by Paul Voosen on Greenwire: “Provoked scientists try to explain lag in global warming”. October 31st, 2011 | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)
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