Archive for All Posts

Picture Rod Serling Discussing Atlas Shrugged

Walter Block sends along this amazing video. (If you aren’t into it by 2:00, then you should stop it. But many of you will be hooked by that point.) Does anyone recognize this guy? Is this clip part of a show?

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The "Efficient Markets Hypothesis" Is a Mental Crutch for Economists

In a recent post, I discussed Robert Lucas’ defense of mainstream macroeconomics. Lucas made excuses for why economists couldn’t have predicted the housing crash, excuses that drove me to declare, “I’m starting to think the efficient markets hypothesis is a state of mind, a consciously chosen way of looking at the world. I’m not sure […]

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The Policeman Is Not Your Friend, Leave the Kids in a Freezing Car for 40 Minutes Edition

Robert Wenzel sends me this tale of a Syracuse mom getting tased and arrested. She had been pulled over for talking on her cell phone, which made her indignant because she didn’t have a cell phone in the car. (She had been holding her hand to her cheek while driving.) Apparently, the cop took her […]

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Two Murphy Audio Events

* Here is a 15-minute interview with Lew Rockwell. (Remember, the LRC podcasts are regular hyperlinks that take you to a new page. Then you play the interview from the page.) * Here [.mp3] is my Mises Circle talk on the first full day of this year’s Mises University. It’s about 45 minutes long, but […]

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Is the BLS Using "Cash for Clunkers" to Suppress Inflation?

The CPI numbers came out today, and there was no smoking gun upon first glance. I still need to go through and make sure there was no hanky panky, but it seems that they did bump up the raw number. The reason the headline is flat is that (the BLS claims) raw prices actually fell […]

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Free Advice for Will Wilkinson and Arnold Kling

Guys, you’re both right–Will is right that Arnold’s definition of freedom leads you into contradictions, and Arnold is right that Will’s definition leads you into contradictions. Try defining freedom as a situation in which everyone’s property rights are respected. Discuss.

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A Review of Jon Scieszka’s Smash! Crash!

In an outcome that was unexpected though not altogether surprising, I have read Jon Scieszka’s Smash! Crash! for (if I’m not mistaken) at least the last four nights, generally in the 7:45pm – 8:15pm window. Each session consisted of an honest cover-to-cover reading; in fact, at times I felt almost compelled to turn to a […]

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Rothbard Anagram Time!

Jesse Johnson emails me the following puzzles: * Which Rothbard book title can be rearranged as, “Hot Celebrity Fetish”? * Which Rothbard book title can be rearranged as, “Bitchiest Elf Theory”? The first to answer correctly will receive satisfaction.

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