06 May 2010

More “Funny” Frankness From the Government

All Posts, Big Brother 1 Comment

HT2 Alex Tabarrok. This is apparently real (as the message at the end suggests).

06 May 2010

Dangers of Pseudo-Deregulation

Drug War 8 Comments

You know how the California “deregulation” of electricity proved that the free market can’t work in utilities? Well on the radio today, Rush Limbaugh confidently told his listeners that Mexico had totally legalized all drugs–including heroin and cocaine–and yet they still had drug gangs, thus disproving the “liberal” claim that the drug war causes violence.

I don’t know too much about the subject, but at least this article suggests that what happened last summer is that Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of these drugs. But I take it that Mexican government still wages war against professional drug dealers, right? I mean, it would really be scandalous if the Mexican government shot two students while trying to hunt down law-abiding drug cartel members!

06 May 2010

“This Is the United States.”

All Posts 1 Comment

I only listened to the first 2:30 or so of this (HT2LRC); I’m an important man with big responsibilities. I think this guy and his wife ended up going to jail.

But the thing that cracked me up, is listen (in the first 2 minutes or so) when the Canadian citizen says that he shouldn’t have to obey an order without knowing the reason, and the American guy disagrees saying, “Absolutely not, this is the United States. I don’t know what else to tell you.” Hilarious.

06 May 2010

Annoying Term of the Decade: “RINO”

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You know, this notion of a RINO–Republican in Name Only–is absurd. The idea is that people who run for Congress as Republicans, but then don’t cut spending and taxes, are actually not real Republicans.

But wouldn’t it be more accurate to call them CIROs–Conservatives in Rhetoric Only? In practice, just about every Republican has been a RINO, which makes it a bit of a misnomer, don’t you think?

To say Republicans oppose government spending is like saying Democrats are antiwar.

06 May 2010

Market Tanks, Gold Up

All Posts 7 Comments

As of this writing, the S&P 500 is down about 4.3% on the day, while gold is up over 2%. (I can’t get the exact figure because CNBC is very slow to load…presumably from the traffic.)

Folks, do you believe in the critiques of Keynesian policies or don’t you? If you do, then you know the current “recovery” is spurious. You should get out of the stock market and into commodities.

04 May 2010

Murphy Triple Play

Shameless Self-Promotion 7 Comments

Sorry kids, I’m still catching up on all my “real work” so I can’t resume blogging. In the meantime, here are some things you might enjoy:

* My AOL piece explaining that Social Security is already broke. (Warning: If you don’t want to get a jillion emails, don’t write an article for AOL.)

* My response to DeLong’s critique of Austrian economists.

* And all modesty aside, I think this half-hour video clip from the recent Mises Circle in Phoenix explains our crazy fractional reserve banking system, without making me look crazy:

03 May 2010

Back in the USSR

Haiti 4 Comments

I’m back kids. It was quite ironic, I was so relieved to be back in “civilization” once the flight from Port au Prince landed in Miami on Saturday night. Then I’m watching CNN at the lounge bar and see a house floating down a highway in Nashville that I sometimes use. There were also tornado watches in effect.

But everything worked out and our house at least emerged unscathed from the flooding. For those enrolled in the online class, tonight’s lecture is on.

I will have many blog posts devoted to the Haiti experience over the coming months, but right now I have to get caught up on other things.

21 Apr 2010

Busy Busy Busy

Haiti 4 Comments

I am not going to be posting for a while. I am trying to get everything in order before I go to Haiti–with this organization, and here is a blog from a guy who already came back from the same work site–and then of course I won’t be blogging while in Haiti (Sunday through Saturday).

In the meantime, crack open your piggy bank and register for the conference in July. Your fiat money won’t be worth squat next year anyway, so you might as well give it to us.