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Jon Stewart vs. CNBC (Cramer), Round 2

I think the lesson here is, if Jon Stewart rips you on his show, just enjoy the attention and let it go. Hey, do any of you parents out there watch Dora the Explorer? Is that really the voices at the end of this clip? The Daily Show With Jon StewartM – Th 11p / […]

Animal Action

Ludwig von Mises’ magnum opus is Human Action. One of the hardest/easiest things to get across to newcomers is Mises’ notion of “action,” which is simply purposeful behavior. One of the questions we get a lot in Mises University is, “Can animals act?” From now on I’m using the chimp Santino as an illustration that […]

Romer Adds to the Near-Lying About the Hoover Record

What is it about these Keynesians? Why can’t they just admit that Herbert Hoover ran unprecedented (peacetime) deficits, and then claim they didn’t work because they were too little? That would be a decent argument. Instead, they keep repeating the myth (“lie” is a strong word, since it implies that the people realize the facts) […]

Dr. Doom Ups the Ante

I can’t believe this isn’t getting more coverage. According to the financial wizards at CNBC: Roubini, who is also known as “Dr. Doom,” told CNBC that the risk of a total meltdown has been reversed for now but that the economy is going through “a death by a thousand cuts.” He also said that “most […]

Yet More Evidence on the Harm of GDP Figures

Oh man. While promoting his new book (at least two weeks on NYT bestseller list, btw) on a radio show, Tom Woods fielded a caller who said Smoot-Hawley was in effect only for a year. Tom asked if this were true, I said I had no friggin idea, and I resorted to my trusty source […]

Potpourri

* My brother sends me this YouTube of Hitler reacting to the Buffalo Bills’ signing of Terrell Owens. (We grew up in Rochester and so are Bills fans–they lost the Superbowl every year I was in high school. I am still bitter.) This is now the 3rd or 4th spoof of this scene; can someone […]

The Housing Bubble Has Nothing to Do With the Recession?

In a recent debate (which I discuss here), Brad DeLong referred to an apparently decisive argument from Paul Krugman regarding the “hangover theory.” Here’s Krugman: [T]he hangover theory, which I wrote about a decade ago, is still out there. The basic idea is that a recession, even a depression, is somehow a necessary thing, part […]

On Miracles

Wintery Knight has an interesting post on how to argue with non-believers regarding the resurrection of Jesus. However, more than the post itself, what interested me was the issue he and a commenter touch on underneath it, regarding “front loading”: Actually, in Christianity, there is a faction of scholars who prefer to “front-load” all of […]