The IRS Scandal
Help me out here. The only reason this IRS scandal has any traction, is that the IRS itself admitted it had targeted Tea Party and other groups. There were lots of conservative types complaining about special scrutiny before, and nobody cared.
So why did the IRS come forth with this? And doesn’t it seem weird that all the other scandals broke at the same time?
I have no real explanation for all of this, I’m just very surprised. It would be like Krugman saying, “You know, the big drop in even short term deficit projections, despite (what I have described as) massive fiscal austerity, and all with no ill effect on unemployment, is really really awkward for the Keynesian position. I’m sorry I misled my readers; I’ll try to restore your confidence in IS/LM in the future.”
But Krugman would never say such a thing; instead he would run victory laps. It would be left for his critics to allege it. So is the IRS more intellectually honest than Paul Krugman?
A Great Idea for Liberty Activism: Robin Hood Parking Vigilantes
Check out this news story:
KEENE – The city has filed a lawsuit against six citizens, part of a group dubbed Robin Hood of Keene that patrols downtown armed with video cameras and pockets full of change to fill expired parking meters.
Also known as Robin Hooders, the six are associated with the Free Keene group.
“They say video recording or talking to them is harassing them, but I don’t agree with that,” “Robin Hooder” James Cleaveland said of parking enforcement officers. “So they want to establish a safety zone of fifty feet.”
Members of the group place cards under windshield wipers that read, “Your meter expired; however, we saved you from the king’s tariffs, Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Please consider paying it forward,” and includes an address where donations can be sent.
Now I actually know at least some of these people–a lot of the people who live in Keene go to the Porcupine Freedom Festival (“Porcfest“)–and I asked them if they were being obnoxious to the meter maids. My general impression is that they were mostly being courteous, though admittedly people generally get uncomfortable with cameras.
Here’s a clip showing an educated young lad quoting Lysander Spooner to a guy who doesn’t really appreciate it, I’m sure.
I wish I had more time to devote to this story, but I’m too swamped with work. Anyway I just wanted to pass this along as a great example of a way would-be activists to get the message out in a way that is likely to win sympathy, particularly if everyone involved is courteous.
Don’t Ever Talk to the Police
This is a classic. If you’ve never seen it, you need to watch this. You can start watching at 5:55 if you’re short on time.
Jon Stewart Rips Obama’s “I Just Heard About This Too” Defense
I don’t need to comment on news of the day when we’ve got the Daily Show:
“If the Fed Ever Started Monetizing the Debt, We’d Be in Trouble…”
The CBO recently revised its estimate of the FY2013 deficit down to “only” $642 billion. The Fed is still buying $45 billion per month in Treasury securities, on average.
So that means the Fed will monetize 84% of the Treasury’s deficit this fiscal year. And it’s not chump change, the deficit is still over half a trillion dollars.
The Zombie Returns! See Tom Woods and Bob Murphy June 8 in NYC
More plugging:
Go here for full details.
First Music Video Shot in Orbit
Apparently this is Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
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