I'm 4 years old

Today, this blog turns 4 years old.

It isn't all bad

Radley Balko points out there's lots of good news out there.

Best football day, ever

Ravens go to the playoffs, when no one expected better than 8-8.

Patriots win, go 11-5, and don't go to the playoffs, because Miami beat the Jets.

Favre goes out like a lamb. Serves him right. It's also poetic that Pennington went back to NY and won.

Cowboys get embarrassed by the Eagles.

The only way this gets better is for the Chargers to beat the Broncos tonight.

New Orleans

Spent a week in New Orleans earlier this month. What a fantastic city. The French Quarter and Frenchmen street are much like my neighborhood in Baltimore (well, Fells Point, which is near me), just a larger scale.

A great mix of interesting history, interesting things to see, and fantastic food and drink. We skipped hitting Bourbon Street (a couple of beers at the oldest bar in the US), and instead focused on the incredible food scene.

We arrived, late, on Wednesday the 10th. We sucked it up, and went to Emeril's.

You go to Emeril's with high expectations. Seriously high. I mean, it's Emeril's. Expectations, dare I say it, exceeded. Service was fantastic, the place is very cool, and the food was outstanding. The stand out was the sausage. If you go to New Orleans, go here.

On the 11th, it snowed. In Louisiana. We wandered to Mother's for lunch, apparently this is one of the places to get a po' boy. Eh. It was OK, but it was a seriously cool place. Ambiance counts for something.

We took a cooking class given by Frank Brigsten, of Brigsten's. Very cool experience, and we met the owner of NOLA brewing.

We ate a couple of meals at a little place called Eat. Fantastic, brunch and lunch.

Saturday was spend on a holiday house tour in the Garden District, where we had a fantastic lunch at a place I can not remember.. it was on Magazine St, and I could find it again.

Saturday night was the Bombay Club, on the recommendation of a dude we met in a mall. Quite nice place, and the food was very impressive.

We also ate at NOLA, Emeril's place in the Quarter. The only dissapointing meal, mostly because the service was off. The food was quite good.

On Monday, it was K Paul's. If you don't go here when in town, you are really missing out. Outstanding food, outstanding service, and it's the home of the original New Orleans Chef.

We saved the best for last, however. Herbsaint was incredible, one of the best meals I've ever had.

I don't have much other commentary. The people in this city are incredibly friendly, the food is awesome, everywhere, and the rebuilding is still happening. I will go back.

Some sort of record

This may be the dumbest guy on the internet. And I think he makes a living training people.
go to about minute 8 of the vid posted on Dec 20 on the smoothie tasting.

Gaps

Lots of gaps in posts, again.

I went to New Orleans on vacation... what a great food town. A post or two is coming in the next day or so.

How 'bout them... Ravens?

33-24 over the 'boys.

I only watched the 4th quarter, but that was probably the most fun I've had watching 15 minutes of football... ever.

The McClain stiffarm I could watch over and over again.

What an awesome season this has been.

Quick hit

Sorry posting has been sparce... been busy.

If you are really intersted in keeping up with me, feel free to find me on facebook. Just tell me who you are and that you read the blog.

Hopefully I'll have time to put some posts up over the next few days.

Nice

Cystic Fibrosis is not inclusive enough.

It isn't hard to see this behavior when Technocrats are running universal health care.

Link via Balko.

Reason #346 my property taxes are so high

If this were a good idea, ZipCar would be doing it.

This is the same city that can't afford to lower property taxes, and is cutting back on spending for police and fire.

36-7!

I didn't get to see the game, but by all accounts, it was pretty ugly offensively.

But we'll take it.

10-6 is required to get to the playoffs. Right now, the wild card is Patriots, Indy, Ravens. I don't know how the tiebreakers turn out against the Patriots; I know the Ravens lose a tiebreaker to Indy. Given Indy's remaining schedule, I don't think they'll be tied, I think they could end up 12-4.

Random

I do not understand Twitter. Not at all.

Can someone explain?

The Giants are the real deal

Ravens got dominated on both sides of the ball today. A good reminder this is an 8-8 team. They've shown signs they'll be great, but after the performances against the Giants and Indy, they still have a ways to go.

As always, I'd rather be wrong, and have them go 10-6, but given the remaining schedule, I just don't see it.

Mikulski comes up with a (sort of) good idea!

From the Credit Where Credit is Due Department, the senior Senator from Maryland, Babs Mikulski, suggested tax breaks for people buying new cars.

Given I'm pretty much a fan of all tax breaks, I find this would be a good thing. Her proposal is to allow people who buy cars to deduct the sales tax and the interest on financing for cars purchased for the rest of 2008. Doesn't really help in states that don't have a sales tax on vehicles, but otherwise, sounds peachy.

Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, said the temporary tax break she proposes is intended to "stimulate demand" at flagging car dealerships across Maryland and the rest of the nation, which have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Under Mikulski's plan, which she said she'll introduce in the Senate next week, consumers will be able to deduct the sales tax and the interest paid on a car loan, if a vehicle is purchased between today and Dec. 31. The tax break is available for cars priced under $49,500.

But wait. Why are expensive cars excluded? Are they not cars that carry the highest profit margins for automakers? And why did the Sun exclude one little tidbit, that the incentive is only for households making less than $250k a year.

Why would you do that, other than to continue to foster class warfare? Why limit the break to lower profit vehicles? Why not encourage "The Rich" to buy new cars?

It might have made the difference for me. Now I'll buy a used German car just out of spite.

What a coincidence!

According to the USA Today (known for it's extreme Right Wing bias), President Elect and Messiah Barack Obama's transition team is loaded with big fundraisers.

I'm shocked at the coincidence. He's promised change, though, so I'm sure it's not intentional.

Campaign watchdog experts, such as Craig Holman of Public Citizen, say the close involvement of these big fundraisers — known as bundlers because they collect money from friends, family and business associates — could give them undue sway in the new administration. "The whole point of these bundlers bringing in so much money is that they get to exercise influence in the next administration," Holman said. Obama's pledge to clean up Washington "is encouraging," Holman said. "But this is a warning sign."

LOL @ "warning sign".

Change you can believe in.

Hat tip: The Agitator

Blowout

41-13 over the Texans. Yeah, it's the Texans. The same Texans that almost beat Indianapolis.

This team is really playing well. They've had a couple of games where their opponent looks like they just quit late in the game, even when they are ahead. I don't know why that's happening, I wonder if it is the physicality of play.

To 6-3, yet we still should remain cautiously optimistic. The Ravens still have only beaten one team with a winning record (Miami), and they are about to play a bunch of them.

At the Giants next week. The Giants should be heavy favorites.

Upgrade

As of last night, I can announce it is possible for the coolest thing ever to get even cooler.

Sonos upgraded their software; I downloaded it last night. The system now loads local radio stations into the system based on my location (which I can change), and there are more than 10,000 stations and shows.

Sonos is, without a doubt, the single best purchase I've ever made, and the favorite thing I own. If you love music and want it everywhere in your house, this is an investment you must make.

Not ready for prime time...

At first, I saw this photo and just thought it was stupid... Like something someone who won the 10th grade class presidency or something.

Turns out, he's wrong, too. He's not the President-Elect until the Electoral College actually votes in December.

A training interlude...

If you are interested in training and in Dave Tate and Elite Fitness Systems, check out this interview.

I have Under the Bar, and am looking forward to the sequel. Dave's a hell of a smart guy.

Change

Naturally, the guy who won the White House by telling you how he would change things, has picked a true outsider to be his chief of staff. These are the people who will fix the failed policies of the Bush administration. The fact that they were actually responsible, well, that doesn't matter one bit.

And y'all fell for it. It didn't occur to you that he was spending more than any other candidate, ever, and more than 5 times what his opponent spent, to win the election... no... this is CHANGE, this isn't politics as usual.

Anyone else notice the largest 2 day drop in 20 years for the DJIA the two days after the election?

Equal time

Just to show I'm not picking on any one group, the enlightened voters of Arkansas voted overwhelimingly that kids are better off in an orphanage than being adopted by gays.

Hat tip: Balko at Reason

The first (of many) unintended consequences

High Black voter turnout hurt gay marriage.

Go figure.

(As an aside, my stance on gay marriage can be quickly summed up by "who cares?". I don't think the state should have any standing in any contract between two people other than to deal with violations of that contract. My marriage is between my wife and me, I don't see why I need permission from the goverment to enter into that contract. If my neighbors Jim and Mark want to get married, I certainly don't care one way or the other. Of course, this issue is exacerbated due to government welfare programs, primarily Social Security, where marriage has a benefit.)

Election hangover

Well, I'm glad that's over.

I was thinking yesterday while driving that I guess it could be worse, but I'm really not sure that's the case. As a Libertarian, this Presidential race came down to an expansion of the welfare state vs an expansion of the warfare state. Welfare won. Great.

For the country, I honestly don't know if Obama's better, but he might be. Personally, there's no doubt I'm a big loser. My tax rates will go up, probably significantly, in 2010. Thing is, if you pay taxes, yours will, too, The One just didn't tell you that. Expansion and creation of social programs is always a net loss for me, because I am unfairly wealthy (after I unfairly went to grad school at night and unfairly worked my ass off).

Although he's so enlightened and powerful and good, maybe he'll cure cancer. He pretty much promised everything but.

One thing I did notice, with all the talk about 'Change' (there's another post about how Obama isn't anything close to 'change' sometime); Congress has an 18% approval rating, yet we reelected most of them.

Good job, America!

How you should vote

Since most people assume their elected officials are smarter than they are, I figure they might think I'm smarter too. So here goes, the 2008 Libertarian Lifter voting guide:

President: Bob Barr/Wayne Root (Libertarian)
This is the only shot you have at getting us going in the right direction again.

Representative in Congress, District 3: Thomas Harris (Republican)
This guy is kinda, actually, not so bad as far as Republican's go. Plus, he's not Sarbaines.

Circuit court Judges: None. They all suck.

Question 1: No.
This is the early (often) voting provision which would allow you to vote early, and vote wherever you feel like it. It's just too rife with fraud. If you can't get to your polling place one day every year, you are probably too stupid to vote.

Question 2: No
This is the Slots amendment to the Maryland Constitution. This is the Democrats way to support something without supporting it... the locations of slot parlors have no place in our Constitution.

The rest of these are Baltimore City specific:

Question A: No.
We don't need another department of anything

Question B: No
We don't need to borrow more money for schools.

Question C: No
We don't need to borrow more money for libraries.

Question D: No.
We don't need to borrow more money for the Mayor to use however she wants for "community development".

Question E: No.
We don't need to borrow more money for the Mayor to use however she wants for "economic development".

Question F: No
We don't need to borrow more money to spend on parks.

Question G: No.
We don't need to borrow more money to fix public buildings.

Question H: No
We don't need to borrow more money to give to the Lyric Opera house.

Question I: No.
We don't need to borrow more money to give to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Question J: No.
We don't need to borrow more money to give to Port Discovery.

Questions K thru P: No
We don't need to borrow money to give to the Everyman Theater, Aquarium, Science Center, Walters, Meyerhoff, or the Zoo.

Easy.

Oh, Hell yeah!

Came back from 14 down to stuff the Browns. Offense looks pretty damn strong, with a little help from Mr Suggs.

Dare I start to think playoffs? Not just yet.

Wow, this is gonna be great!

The list of promises from just one Obama speech.

"give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paycheck every week";
"eliminate income taxes on Social Security for seniors making under $50,000";
"give homeowners and working parents additional tax breaks";
not increase taxes on anyone if they "make under $250,000; you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime –- not your income taxes, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax";
"end those breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas";
"give tax breaks to companies that invest right here in the United States";
"eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country";
"create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools -- by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country";
"invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade";
"reopen old factories, old plants, to build solar panels, and wind turbines";
build "a new electricity grid";
"build the fuel efficient cars of tomorrow";
"eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in 10 years";
"lower premiums" for those who already have health insurance;
"if you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves";
"end discrimination by insurance companies to the sick and those who need care the most";
"invest in early childhood education";
"recruit an army of new teachers";
"pay our teachers higher salaries, give them more support. But ... also demand higher standards and more accountability";
"make a deal with every young person who's here and every young person in America: If you are willing to commit yourself to national service, whether it's serving in our military or in the Peace Corps, working in a veterans home or a homeless shelter, then we will guarantee that you can afford to go to college no ifs ands or buts";
"stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq whole the Iraqis have a huge surplus";
"end this war in Iraq";
"finish the fight and snuff out al Qaeda and bin Laden";
"increase our ground troops and our investments in the finest fighting force in the world";
"invest in 21st century technologies so that our men and women have the best training and equipment when they deploy into combat and the care and benefits they have earned when they come home";
"No more homeless veterans"; and
"no more fighting for disability payments."

Now, McCain isn't any better, but I think this might be a little over the top. Some of them are absolutley laughable.

Via Coyote Blog

So, why are you voting for Obama?

via Hit and Run

Oh, yeah.

New Slayer, Summer 2009.

Socialism Lite?

Don Boudreaux answers the question "Is Obama a Socialist?"

This "socialism-lite," however, is as specious as is classic socialism. And its insidious nature makes it even more dangerous. Across Europe, this "mild" form of socialism acts as a parasitic ideology that has slowly drained entrepreneurial energy – and freedoms – from its free-market host.

Could it happen in America? Consider the words of longtime Socialist Party of America presidential candidate Norman Thomas: "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." In addition to Medicare, Social Security, and other entitlement programs, the gathering political momentum toward single-payer healthcare – which Obama has proclaimed is his ultimate goal – shows the prescience of Thomas's words.

The fact that each of us depends upon the efforts of millions of others does not mean that some "society" transcending individuals produces our prosperity. Rather, it means that the vast system of voluntary market exchange coordinates remarkably well the efforts of millions of individuals into a productive whole. For Obama to suggest that government interfere in this process more than it already does – to "spread" wealth from Joe to Bill, or vice versa – overlooks not only the voluntary and individual origins of wealth, but the dampening of the incentives for people to contribute energetically to wealth's continued production.

Constitution? Who needs it.

The Judge on Congress and the President ignoring the Constitution.

The $700 billion bailout of large banks that Congress recently enacted runs afoul of virtually all these constitutional principles. It directly benefits a few, not everyone. We already know that the favored banks that received cash from taxpayers have used it to retire their own debt. It is private welfare. It violates the principle of equal protection: Why help Bank of America and not Lehman Brothers? It permits federal ownership of assets or debt that puts the government at odds with others in the free market. It permits the government to tilt the playing field to favor its patrons (like J.P. Morgan Chase, in which it has invested taxpayer dollars) and to disfavor those who compete with its patrons (like the perfectly lawful hedge funds which will not have the taxpayers relieve their debts).

Read all of it.

Be careful what you wish for...

An excellent essay on the European economic model, and why it might not be what y'all really want.

Easy Money

Is it just me, or does anyone else think we probably won't solve a problem caused (at least in part) by too much easy credit by reducing the price of money?

Am I missing something? I'm more of a Microeconomics guy, perhaps someone with a Macro background can help.

Realignment?

Did Carl Rove destroy the Republican Party? Is McCain finishing the job?

This Libertarian hasn't voted for a Republican for President since George HW Bush in 1988. The Republicans threw me away with the zealous war on drugs, and cemented my distaste with the last 7 years of trading freedom for "security". The gay marriage thing is pandering to evengelicals, and not a real issue, any more than abortion is a real issue. It is much bigger than that.
But this Libertarian certainly can't consider voting for Obama (and has never voted for a Democrat for President), for pretty obvious reasons.
The Republicans have a serious identity problem, and while a split will create issues of power in the short term, we may find something positive comes out of this long term; one can hope a splinter of the Republicans can unite with freedom loving Democrats and build a more libertarian coalition.
Hey, a guy can dream.

Ok, so it was the Raiders

And make no mistake, the Raiders are a bad team. When your kickoff return guy runs out of bounds at the 2, you've got a really, really bad team. The game was a bigger blowout than the 29-10 suggests.

I had the opportunity to go to the game yesterday, and had great seats 5 rows off the field at the goal line (the Raiders TD call happened right in front of me, and that was not a touchdown, but it didn't really matter). Got to take my dad, who hadn't been to a professional football game in 54 years. That's honestly enough fun to make me consider a PSL and season tix.

Flacco is a stud. I love the 'Suggs' package with Smith in the game. Again, this team might not finish better than .500, but they are a lot of fun to watch. And I do think they can beat anyone.

They have 3 road games in a row, now, going to the Browns next week, then Houston, then the Giants. They can win all three, but we have to be happy with 2 out of 3 (my preseason prediction has them losing to the Browns and to the Giants, but the Browns look hopeless, and the Giants are vulnerable).

My big concern right now is the secondary. A little banged up for my tastes. They also need to get the penalties under control. Penalties cost them 10 - 14 points yesterday.

For National Security reasons, I suppose

They aren't going to tell us where the $700 Billion bailout is going.

Your government at work

The TSA's effectiveness exposed.

Schnei­er and I walked to the security checkpoint. “Counter­terrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better,” he said. “Only two things have made flying safer: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.” This assumes, of course, that al-Qaeda will target airplanes for hijacking, or target aviation at all. “We defend against what the terrorists did last week,” Schnei­er said. He believes that the country would be just as safe as it is today if airport security were rolled back to pre-9/11 levels. “Spend the rest of your money on intelligence, investigations, and emergency response.”

Schnei­er and I joined the line with our ersatz boarding passes. “Technically we could get arrested for this,” he said, but we judged the risk to be acceptable. We handed our boarding passes and IDs to the security officer, who inspected our driver’s licenses through a loupe, one of those magnifying-glass devices jewelers use for minute examinations of fine detail. This was the moment of maximum peril, not because the boarding passes were flawed, but because the TSA now trains its officers in the science of behavior detection. The SPOT program—“Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques”—was based in part on the work of a psychologist who believes that involuntary facial-muscle movements, including the most fleeting “micro-expressions,” can betray lying or criminality. The training program for behavior-detection officers is one week long. Our facial muscles did not cooperate with the SPOT program, apparently, because the officer chicken-scratched onto our boarding passes what might have been his signature, or the number 4, or the letter y. We took our shoes off and placed our laptops in bins. Schnei­er took from his bag a 12-ounce container labeled “saline solution.”

“It’s allowed,” he said. Medical supplies, such as saline solution for contact-lens cleaning, don’t fall under the TSA’s three-ounce rule.

“What’s allowed?” I asked. “Saline solution, or bottles labeled saline solution?”

“Bottles labeled saline solution. They won’t check what’s in it, trust me.”

They did not check. As we gathered our belongings, Schnei­er held up the bottle and said to the nearest security officer, “This is okay, right?” “Yep,” the officer said. “Just have to put it in the tray.”

“Maybe if you lit it on fire, he’d pay attention,” I said, risking arrest for making a joke at airport security. (Later, Schnei­er would carry two bottles labeled saline solution—24 ounces in total—through security. An officer asked him why he needed two bottles. “Two eyes,” he said. He was allowed to keep the bottles.)

We were in the clear. But what did we prove?

“We proved that the ID triangle is hopeless,” Schneier said.

Read it all.

This should scare you.

We continue to move towards the government tracking your every move.

An Iowa-based research center is looking for 450 Baltimore-area motorists willing to have their every driving move tracked by satellite to test a system that could theoretically replace the federal gasoline tax with road use fees.

The federally funded study will use a global positioning system satellite to track not only the mileage driven over eight months, but also whether each road traveled is funded by the state, federal or local governments.

Participants will receive a simulated bill each month for the road use fee owed to each level of government. Volunteers who take part in the study will get $895 for their services. It's all part of a $16.5 million study in six states to test the technology as well as motorists' reactions to the concept of road use tracking and fees - an idea that has received the outspoken support of U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters and other critics of the federal motor fuel tax.

Opponents of what is known as the gas tax say it's a dwindling source of revenue that is only crudely related to how much someone drives and where. Supporters of the road use fee argue that it would allocate money more precisely than the tax. But critics doubt that citizens would ever accept a system that gives the government specific information about their traveling habits.

They say now citizens won't stand for it. 50 years ago, they would have said the same about the Federal government telling us how much water we can flush. California will soon be telling people what temperature their thermostats can be.

The subjects will accept it. They are about to elect a Marxist.

A solid performance

1:00 left, 27-13 against the Dolphins. Solid game for the defense, and a good performance from Flacco and the offense as well to go to 3-3.

Still on track, they needed to win this one to have any chance, it's a tough stretch coming up.

Hayek's Revenge

An awesome post at Ideoblog. Mostly great because of the phrase "Hayek's Revenge".

Compare and contrast

Radley Balko at theAgitator finds an interesting comparison.

Although I'm not all that surprised to hear our President sound more like a socialist than the French.

Another prediction comes true

31-3 Colts with 3 minutes left in the game.

A pretty pathetic showing by the ravens. The offense was never in the game, and the defense just didn't look sharp. Way too many missed tackles. And too many turnovers. This team has to create turnovers, not give them up.

Hopefully they'll look better next week

Fin and Theater

Went to Fin last night. Dissapointing.

Service was eager, but not on point. Little things, like the menu being misprinted (the last thing on the menu had the last line of the description cut off (how does that happen and no one notice for this long?), and the waiter didn't know what the full description was.

I had a ceasar salad that wasn't as good as the one I make at home with store bought croutons and bottled dressing. (The description is "with toasted garlic croutons and shaved parmesean", it had croutons out of a box and grated parmasean that might have also been mass produced). J had crabcakes that she described as 'adequate'; I had rack of lamb that was pretty good, but not spectacular. Waiter forgot about my glass of wine (twice), but they didn't charge me for it. Finished it off with a stawberry shortcake that was very good.

Ambiance is fanstastic. The space is really cool, especially the bar area.

Service: 4/10
Food: 7/10
Ambiance: 9/10

Overall: 6.5/10. Return trip doubtful. There are too many places in town that are just better.

Then went to see "Legally Blonde".

I'm a 235 pound powerlifter who's favorite band is Slayer. It bordered on torture. However, for light mindless entertainment, it was better than television. The UPS guy steals the show.

Why isn't anyone listening to me?

I said:

BE COOL

A little optimism won't hurt you

I looked at my Smith Barney account the other day. YTD, my wealth is down over $100k. That hurts, and it's scary. The 'crisis' is all around us, we can't make a move without seeing a 500 point drop here, or a bankruptcy there.

With all that, there is reason for optimism. This isn't the first person saying this, but it's the first one I came across today when looking for a link.

Galambos has been thinking for half a century about why economies thrive or fail. Besides his project of editing President Dwight D. Eisenhower's papers, he is one of the country's leading business chroniclers, having written or co-written numerous books on pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, business ethics and other subjects.

"I'm optimistic about the economy other than housing and finance," he said in an interview at his book-and newspaper-festooned house in Guilford.

"That does not seem to me to be running out of steam. I still think companies like Hewlett-Packard, companies like Intel - I see those kinds of companies grinding ahead. Wal-Mart and Target - I see them still on track. So the core of the economy seems to me to be still successful, still moving forward. The question is, can we pull up" out of the dive.

It is important to note that we are living in a vibrant economy. There are people making things, providing services, buying things, and buying services. That isn't going away. We still need computers, and drills, and TVs and sheets. I still need someone to fix my car and clean out my gutter.

So hang tough, we will get through this, and end up better off than we were before.

Just be cool.

(Assuming the government doesn't screw it all up, but I think we can stop them)

As predicted

The Ravens go down to the Titans, 13-10, as predicted. (Or not. But who thought they would be 5-0??)

I think the team continues to be fun to watch. It's a little frustrating to see another 4th quarter letdown, both offensively and defensively, especially when at one point the other team was so frustrated they were fighting amongst themselves.

A couple of things swing the other way, this is a win. They need to make those plays.

Flacco continues to impress. We have to remember, this is a rookie, and he's going to make some mistakes. He's gonna be the real deal.

Indy next week, in Indy. I don't see how the Ravens win this game, although the Colts are vulnerable.

Timely

An article written by Rothbard in 1969, that everyone should read today.

There are, however, some critical problems in the assumption that the market economy is the culprit. For "general economic theory" teaches us that supply and demand always tend to be in equilibrium in the market and that therefore prices of products as well as of the factors that contribute to production are always tending toward some equilibrium point. Even though changes of data, which are always taking place, prevent equilibrium from ever being reached, there is nothing in the general theory of the market system that would account for regular and recurring boom-and-bust phases of the business cycle. Modern economists "solve" this problem by simply keeping their general price and market theory and their business cycle theory in separate, tightly-sealed compartments, with never the twain meeting, much less integrated with each other. Economists, unfortunately, have forgotten that there is only one economy and therefore only one integrated economic theory. Neither economic life nor the structure of theory can or should be in watertight compartments; our knowledge of the economy is either one integrated whole or it is nothing. Yet most economists are content to apply totally separate and, indeed, mutually exclusive, theories for general price analysis and for business cycles. They cannot be genuine economic scientists so long as they are content to keep operating in this primitive way.

But there are still graver problems with the currently fashionable approach. Economists also do not see one particularly critical problem because they do not bother to square their business cycle and general price theories: the peculiar breakdown of the entrepreneurial function at times of economic crisis and depression. In the market economy, one of the most vital functions of the businessman is to be an "entrepreneur," a man who invests in productive methods, who buys equipment and hires labor to produce something which he is not sure will reap him any return. In short, the entrepreneurial function is the function of forecasting the uncertain future. Before embarking on any investment or line of production, the entrepreneur, or "enterpriser," must estimate present and future costs and future revenues and therefore estimate whether and how much profits he will earn from the investment. If he forecasts well and significantly better than his business competitors, he will reap profits from his investment. The better his forecasting, the higher the profits he will earn. If, on the other hand, he is a poor forecaster and overestimates the demand for his product, he will suffer losses and pretty soon be forced out of the business.

The market economy, then, is a profit-and-loss economy, in which the acumen and ability of business entrepreneurs is gauged by the profits and losses they reap. The market economy, moreover, contains a built-in mechanism, a kind of natural selection, that ensures the survival and the flourishing of the superior forecaster and the weeding-out of the inferior ones. For the more profits reaped by the better forecasters, the greater become their business responsibilities, and the more they will have available to invest in the productive system. On the other hand, a few years of making losses will drive the poorer forecasters and entrepreneurs out of business altogether and push them into the ranks of salaried employees.

If, then, the market economy has a built-in natural selection mechanism for good entrepreneurs, this means that, generally, we would expect not many business firms to be making losses. And, in fact, if we look around at the economy on an average day or year, we will find that losses are not very widespread. But, in that case, the odd fact that needs explaining is this: How is it that, periodically, in times of the onset of recessions and especially in steep depressions, the business world suddenly experiences a massive cluster of severe losses? A moment arrives when business firms, previously highly astute entrepreneurs in their ability to make profits and avoid losses, suddenly and dismayingly find themselves, almost all of them, suffering severe and unaccountable losses? How come? Here is a momentous fact that any theory of depressions must explain. An explanation such as "underconsumption" — a drop in total consumer spending — is not sufficient, for one thing, because what needs to be explained is why businessmen, able to forecast all manner of previous economic changes and developments, proved themselves totally and catastrophically unable to forecast this alleged drop in consumer demand. Why this sudden failure in forecasting ability?

Go read the whole thing. Learn something today.

Twofer

Two great posts from Don Boudreaux.

First, he comments on "frozen credit markets". You know, the ones that make the bailout necessary.

He also rounds up some sensible commentary on the bailout.

That didn't take long

Last week, I wondered how long it would be before those opposing the 'bailout' would get paid off.

Answer: Not long.

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 now also includes the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 and a smorgasbord of other add-ons. Among the notable features of the additional provisions are tax credits for wind and solar power, an extension of relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, a provision to ensure that healthcare plans include mental health benefits and so many other handouts to various constituencies that no blog post would be sufficient to include them all.

But here's a taste:


Sec. 105. Energy credit for geothermal heat pump systems.
Sec. 111. Expansion and modification of advanced coal project investment credit.
Sec. 113. Temporary increase in coal excise tax; funding of Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Sec. 115. Tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration.
Sec. 205. Credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.
Sec. 405. Increase and extension of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax.
Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit.
Sec. 503 Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.

And so on.

The passage of tax credits for wind and solar power is likely to please environmentalists, but they have been shoveled into this bill along with scores of tax "extenders" that so far have been rejected by House Democrats because no provision has been made to pay for them. This means that a House of Representatives that has already rejected this bill will now confront a new bill stocked with unpaid-for tax breaks that conservative House Democrats -- the infamous "Blue Dogs" -- have been stalwart in opposing.

"Are you trying to jam the House?" one reporter asked Reid. The Senate majority leader denied he was attempting to do any such thing, but it seems self-evident than in attempting to rally significant support for the bailout in the Senate, he has orchestrated the creation of a piece of legislation that is guaranteed to ruffle feathers in the House.

The original bailout bill was a couple of pages. Now it's over 500. Emergency bailout my ass. Opportunists are jumping all over this one.

Link via The Agitator.

Bailout

There's a lesson here.

Tough one

23 - 20 in overtime on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Before the game, I honestly thought this might be another blowout, but the Ravens really looked good until late in the 3rd quarter, and stayed in it.

I continue to be impressed by Flacco. He's going to be very, very good. The defense let us down a little, giving up a couple of big 3rd down plays that allowed the winning field goal.

I'm 3 for 3 on my game predictions, and the Ravens are where I predicted. A tough group of games coming up. I do think the loss last night takes some pressure off; this is an 8-8 team, had they won last night, they would be expected to make it to the playoffs.

They sure are fun to watch.

Hand Of Doom

I'm in my kitchen, making Caprese Skewers for a wine tasting party, drinking Chardonnay, blaring Black Sabbath's Paranoid on my Sonos.

Seriously, how cool am I?

Change

Barak Obama will absolutley not use the full force of government to curtail free spech, in direct opposition to the current Administration. This is Change. We promise.

The Obama campaign disputes the accuracy of the advertisement, which is fine. It has also threatened regulatory retaliation against outlets that show it, which isn't fine. Instead of, say, crafting a response ad, Obama's team had general counsel Robert F. Bauer send stations a letter [pdf] arguing that "Failure to prevent the airing of 'false and misleading advertising may be 'probative of an underlying abdication of licensee responsibility.'" And, more directly: "For the sake of both FCC licensing requirements and the public interest, your station should refuse to continue to air this advertisement."

Yahoo!

Encouraging

Apparently, there are a couple of people in Washington who are not Socialists, as the negotiations on the bailout seem to be faltering.

"That agreement is obviously no agreement," said Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the banking panel's ranking Republican, after he left the White House. Like many conservatives, especially in the House, Shelby has opposed the rescue effort.

I wonder how long they last before they get paid off.

Election law, who needs it?

Coming as no suprise, Bob Barr loses his Texas lawsuit. With no explaination.

When other people say it well

Just link to them.

Unfortunately, the same isn't true for money. Its supply is determined consciously by a board. Unable to know and adjust to changes in people's demand for money - and subject always to political pressures to grease the economy with the snake oil of easy money - the Federal Reserve distorts the economy with its inevitably mistaken decisions on the supply of money. Asset bubbles are part of the price we pay for this primitive way of supplying money.

Economics is cool

Problems with wording

This is an outstanding example of why the government isn't good at lots of things. The GAO has determined that kids on medicare can not get dental care.

Nationwide, only one in three children covered by Medicaid had received any dental care in the year before the survey was carried out, the report found. 14.8 percent of Medicaid recipients said their children had not gotten necessary dental care because their dentist refused to accept Medicaid, the report said. About one in eight children reportedly never sees a dentist, while more than half of children with private health insurance had received dental care in the prior year, it adds. More than 5% (1.1 million children) of Medicaid children reported to have dental conditions like tooth fractures, oral lesions, chronic pain. The percentage is 4 times higher than the number of children with private coverage that had urgent dental conditions.

Medicaid is the joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage for low-income, blind and disabled people.

“We estimate that 724,000 children aged 2 through 18 in Medicaid could not obtain needed care,” the report added.

That's rediculous. Of course they can get care. They just didn't. Dentists are remarkably easy to find... many even have a picture of a tooth in the window. Making an appointment just takes a minute or two. So they can get care. That many don't doesn't indicate a failure of the health care system, or even a failure of Medicare. It doesn't mean dentists are greedy mean people in it just for the money (my neighbors D and R are both dentists, and both donate their time for people in need.) Not accepting Medicaid doesn't mean they don't provide care. I'm pretty sure there are dentitsts that do take Medicaid, you just have to find them.

It seems just as likely to me those kids aren't getting dental care because their parents never take them to the dentist. I bet lots of those parents have cable. Lots of them have HBO. Lots of them smoke cigarettes. But they don't have the money to get their kid to the dentist.

Clown

Honesly, you can't criticize someone who is this much of a clown. You just have to assume no one takes him seriously.

Freedom to Fail

I have some thoughts on the current economic 'crisis' and the US government response.

The causes of the boat we are all in are myriad, but one thing is clear to me: going back to the late 70's, I can find instances of the government interfering in the market, and the majority of that interference (from making mortgages 'easier' to get to Sarbaines Oxley) has had a net negative effect. Certainly not the only issue, but part of the problem.

The solution, in my opinion, is NOT a bailout. People must have the freedom to fail. Failure helps set prices, and helps the market learn from mistakes. Bailing out companies and individuals who made poor choices will harm everyone long term, given there is no incentive to make a good choice in the future.

My wife put it very well to me last night over a glass of very good inexpensive Pinot Noir. For some context, it was 8pm and we were sitting down to eat. I had just returned home after being gone for 12 hours - I had an all day meeting in Philadelphia, left my house a little before 8am, got home at 8pm, because that is what successful people do. She had been working all day to build her business. She said: "I am a little tired of all of it. We make smart choices, we work hard to take care of ourselves, and we are always the ones everyone comes to for a bailout."

It's so true.

We further discussed that this isn't about not helping people who can't help themselves, or people who get down on their luck through things that are out of their control. Heck, I'm willing to help people who make dumb choices and end up destitute. I don't want anyone to be hungry, I want everyone to have a nice place to live, a car, to be able to enjoy all the things I enjoy. I'm better off if they do, because they will be buying the things my wife and I work to produce or provide. But if you can't make the payment on your $1 Million dollar house because you got an ARM and make $150K a year, you need to suffer the consequences. And if you are the bank who made that loan, you need to suffer the consequences. Otherwise, you'll do it again.

Paulson said he understands taxpayers aren't going to be happy about footing the bill, but the government bailout will be less painful than the alternative recession. I'm not convinced that's the case. We don't know what's going to happen, and we certainly have history on our side thinking the government plan will fail. Glenn Beck said yesterday: "A failed Administration, a failed Congress coming up with a plan to fix a failing market... this can't fail!"

Trust the calm people. If you just hang in there, everything will work out OK. We all need things, we all can produce things other people need, there is no way a free market system can collapse. It may change, but we'll all make it.

Unfortunately, we must do something, even if it's the wrong something.

Woooo-hoooooo

Ravens dominate the Browns 28-10.

It is pretty hard to not be excited. The Ravens have started out 2-0 twice. Once they went 13-3, the other they won the Superbowl.

Yes, the wins are against the Browns and the Bengals, both of whom are 0-3. But the defense looks unbeatable, and the offense can succeed at not losing games. Flacco looks like the real deal, and the running game is solid.

I'm not changing my 8-8 prediction yet as I thought they could start out 3-0. But it's still fun to have a better record than the Patriots and the Colts.

I guess I'm not patriotic

Biden says it's patriotic to take money by force from rich people and give it to other people.

In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Biden said wealthier taxpayers would indeed pay more under the proposals of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Under his plan, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes while those earning less — the vast majority of American taxpayers — would receive a tax cut.

"We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people," Biden said. Of those who would pay more, he said: "It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."

I think he's confused about what 'patriots' are. He's the idiot of the day.

Old School Liberal

I am normally not judgemental about what other people do with themselves, their things, or their money. It's theirs - I may think what they are doing is stupid, but it's their life.

I'm certainly not going to make a big deal about how much time or money one gives away to charity. I know what I do, and that's what matters to me. I know lots of people can't afford it, lots of people see what gets taken by force out of thier paychecks and figure that's enough. It's up to the individual, in my opinion.

However, if you want to use the full force of the government (ie. gunpoint) to take people's money and give it to other people you think are more deserving, shouldn't you be doing the same with your own money?

Have a looksee at what Joe Biden's tax returns say.

Now THAT is someone who cares about the poor, the indigent, the homeless, etc.

The best part, given Biden and his wife's income is pretty similar to my wife and mine:

Wade also suggests that Biden, who is famous for being the least wealthy member of the U.S. Senate, simply doesn’t have piles of money to give. “Like a lot of families that put three kids through college and have an aging parent move in with them, the Bidens aren’t divorced from the realities of everyday life,” Wade says. Still, Wade continues, “finding ways to give back is important to them.”

Yet he and Obama have decided I can afford to pay more taxes. I guess 'every day life' only applies to him.

Along the state owning you theme..

A nice post from The Superfluous Man on the subject.

You get your rights from the state, you need the state, you will work for the state.

Scary stuff

Boy does this stuff scare me. Even more than Universal "Free" Healthcare, and more than the expansion of the warfare state. This is plain old slavery.

Talk about a tax increase...

Pizza

I hear over and over that Pasta Mista is the greatest pizza, ever.

I tried out a couple of slices last night. I don't see what all the fuss is about. They did have a couple of specialty pies I want to try.

Elle Em Ay Oh.

They act suprised

Revenues are down after raising sales and income taxes? Really??

I wonder how that happened. Maybe, just maybe, everyone not on the tax more spend more Left was correct when they told you this would happen.

If you raise my taxes, I don't produce as much, because the incremental value of the additional production is reduced, often to the point that I choose not to produce. Likewise, increasing the sales tax increases my prices, subsequently affecting the supply and demand curves. So I buy less stuff, or I buy less expensive replacement stuff.

Maybe, just maybe, the way to get out of a fiscal problem is to quit spending so much on things that are wasteful or not in the government domain.

Over and over and over again we see these policies don't work, and over and over and over again we elect people who implement the same policies.

Ocho who?

17 - 10!!!

With Flacco as the default starter, the Ravens' offense looked good. Defense looked unreal.

Two fumbles, one a rookie mistake, and one from Todd Heap, who really just doesn't look good. Hopefully it's just not being in game shape.

I was just the Bengals, but that was a pretty encouraging start to the season. Next week at Houston, who gut crushed by the Steelers today.

Night out

Had dinner at Abacrombie last night. Fantastic! If you are in Baltimore, you should eat here.

I had macaroni and cheese and steak frites, J had pork confeit. We shared dessert, which was a brownie in a puff pastry with chocolate and mascarpone. All of it was just unbelievably good. Food 10 out of 10. Ambiance 8 out of 10.

Then went to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Meyerhoff. I didn't have high expectations. I was very pleasantly suprised - his hour and a half was pretty darn funny.

TV Review

Raising The Bar is terrible.

Unwatchable.

God's on our side

DNC Chairman Don Fowler's comments on the timing of a Hurricane.



It's gonna be great having them in charge. All that compassion for the working man.

Via Assistant Villiage Idiot

Bus Update

A while back I mentioned that you can no longer take an MTA bus to the Raven's home games from a park and ride.

Turns out the regulation is that if you take Federal money for your mass transit, you can't use that mass transit to compete with private companies (like charter buses). I'm sure the intent is to keep the MTA from sending city buses to Atlantic City, and to me, it makes sense.

So while it's a federal regulation, it's in place to keep states from using federal dollars to compete with private companies.

Solution: Stop taking the tax dollars of the citizens of Iowa and giving them to the State of Maryland for bus service.

Just a thought.

Wretched

Honest to goodness, I don't see how anyone can vote for Obama after watching this. Horrid. I'm embarrassed for those involved, really.




Via Hit and Run

I can't wait to be more like the EU

Where they have banned eating cakes and pies at cake and pie baking contests.

Via The Agitator.

Gas Prices and Economic Ignorance

Radley Balko on the candidates and Economic ignorance.

Question.

Where do they find the expert analyst to cover Olympic Badmiton?

Don't worry about the potholes. People eat too much salt!

My tax dollars at work.

Baltimore has launched a citywide effort to educate the public on the dangers of high salt intake, which is associated with high blood pressure, particularly among African-Americans.

In a city that is nearly 65 percent black, the risks of hypertension, which can lead to heart attack, kidney failure and stroke, are especially high. The city Health Department is bringing together researchers and public health advocates starting in September to try to untangle the reasons for high salt consumption and offer recommendations for how city officials and food suppliers can decrease it.

The six-month-long effort was born out of a recent Health Department initiative to reduce health disparities caused by cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Baltimore.

"The rates are much higher in Baltimore than other areas of the state," said Joshua M. Sharfstein, the city's health commissioner. "There are a lot of lives to be saved by reducing cardiovascular disease. You can connect the dots from high salt intake to excessive death rates in cardiovascular disease."

Of course, it's for your own good:

"We got criticized years ago for encouraging people not to smoke, and many people argued it was a choice," he said. "But we feel that sodium consumption and hypertension are very similar to smoking in that people need to be protected from things that can harm them."

Saunders said members of the task force will consider pushing restaurants and food industries to reduce salt in their products. And if necessary, they will work with the legislature to create sodium guidelines.

The issue is more complex than simply encouraging people to eat healthier, Sharfstein said.

"If every option you have has too much salt in it, you don't have much of a choice," he said. "I'm not saying every restaurant has this problem. But if there are not enough low-salt options, then what kind of choice is it?"

Education and awareness will be essential to the initiative, Sharfstein added.

"A lot of people don't know what's in the food they are eating," he said. "It's hard to hold them responsible if they are not getting the information to make a wise decision."

Apparently, the city thinks Black people are not smart enough to decide what they eat.

Seriously?

A number of groups are protesting a movie that mocks retarded people.

Now, I'm a supporter of the Special Olympics... but one of the things that drew my attention to them was Cartman faking retardation so he could participate. Seriously, that was really funny.



This is funny, too:

This population remains the defenseless butt of jokes all throughout media," said Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver, who has not yet seen the movie. "We think it's time to end."

How about instead of protesting a movie you haven't seen, do something to help someone.

Awesome

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, 2008

I think the runner up should have won:

"Hmm . . ." thought Abigail as she gazed languidly from the veranda past the bright white patio to the cerulean sea beyond, where dolphins played and seagulls sang, where splashing surf sounded like the tintinnabulation of a thousand tiny bells, where great gray whales bellowed and the sunlight sparkled off the myriad of sequins on the flyfish's bow ties, "time to get my meds checked."

Another good one, the Romance winner:

Bill swore the affair had ended, but Louise knew he was lying, after discovering Tupperware containers under the seat of his car, which were not the off-brand containers that she bought to save money, but authentic, burpable, lidded Tupperware; and she knew he would see that woman again, because unlike the flimsy, fake containers that should always be recycled responsibly, real Tupperware must be returned to its rightful owner.

Another one:

The day started out as uneventfully as any other, and continued thus to midday and from there it was nothing at all to ease into an evening of numbing, undiluted monotony that survived unmarred by even the least act of momentary peculiarity-in fact, let's skip that day altogether and start with the day after.

16-15

Yes, I know it's just the preseason, but some thoughts on the Ravens game last night.

Boller looked decent. Compared to Smith and Flacco, he looked great. No doubt now he's starting against Cinci. There was some prognosticating that Flacco would take over the starting spot later in the year - after what I saw last night, I don't see how. He's a full season away from being anything more than the third QB.

And you know who he reminds me of? Kyle Boller. They need to groom this guy - he has the physical tools, but if they throw him in too early, he will fail, and they will have the same scenario they have now.

Defense looked outstanding. I'm very encouraged by the depth of the team, as well as the attitude. They look like winners. Likewise, depth at running back looks solid.

Offensive playcalling was very encouraging. Yes, I know it's preseason and all, but they were willing to mix it up a little bit. (It is also important to note the score should have been 19-15, but they went for it on 4th and a yard inside the 10, where clearly in a game that counts they kick a field goal to go up by 4.)

I'm not going to predict a playoff run based what was essentially a practice, but they did look good, and if nothing else, they should be fun to watch.

MTA buses to Ravens' games, and the Federal Government

Apparently, new federal regulations prohibit the MTA from offering bus service from park and ride locations to the stadium.

Where is that in the Constitution.

More evidence of the expanding reach of the federal government into your life. These little things add up.

Frustration

I would like to use my DVR to record the Olympics. Not ALL of the Olympics, just specific sports that will be on while I am not sitting in front of my television. I understand NBC wants to force me in front of my television so I don't skip the commercials, but that's not how things work any more.

Unfortunately, I can't find out what time certain sports are on television, I can only find out what day, and at what time of day. For example: The superheavyweight weightlifting final is on MSNBC sometime between 5am and 5pm on Tuesday the 19th.

I'm not recording 12 hours of stuff I don't want to see.

Obamaenergy

Barak Obama has a plan. We don't know exactly what it is, but this is what it will do:

Provide short‐term relief to American families facing pain at the pump.

I think this is his plan to give everyone (well, exept the rich, probably), a $1000 tax rebate (like the one W gave everyone that Obama thought was a bad idea), "paid for" by a windfall profits tax on oil companies. So he's going to increase demand, and limit supply. That'll work great.

Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.

Really? That's $750 per person. I'd rather keep that money for the gas price increase he's causing. What will catalyze private efforts to build 'clean' energy is demand for it. Given $10/gallon gas in Europe hasn't motivated Euopeans to find a way to get around without gasoline, I doubt Obama can spur demand by taking more of your money. Plus, we don't exactly know what he's going to do with your money, do we.

Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.

By proper tire inflation and tuneups I suppose. Does he understand Physics or Economics? Really?

Put 1 million Plug‐In Hybrid cars – cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon – on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.

Where, exactly, does the government get the power to force someone to produce a good? And what does "work to make sure" even mean?

Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.

Renewable, like nuclear? Or maybe some windmills? Perhaps Mr. Obama should look in to how much forested land would have to be cleared to build all those (remarkably inefficient) windmills.

Implement an economy‐wide cap‐and‐trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Cap and trade is a shell game that works out to be a tax. I promise taxes won't reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and I promise if they did, you would not like a world where emissions were 80% lower than today. Unless you like abject poverty, starvation, being really, really cold in the winter, and really hot in the summer.

From a Liberty standpoint, McCain is no better, but he appears to have something resembling an understanding of, well, reality. Sort of.

Fat Chance

Don Boudreaux wants culturally appropriate healthcare.

Strange bedfellows

Barney Frank and I won't exactly agree on most issues, but I have to give him credit where it's due.

The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance.


Current laws targeting marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by legislators and representatives from advocacy groups.

"The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business," Frank said on Capitol Hill. "I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."

Now if he would just realise how this position is inconsistent with so many of his other positions... and stick with this one.

Unfortunately, this has about as much chance of passing as Bob Barr winning the Presidency, but we can still appreciate taking the shot.

Um, wow

Climate skepdic posts about a remarkable example of alarmists' poor science.

The problem we have, is most people in this country have no idea just how bad it really is, because they don't have a basic understanding of physics. I just hope more people get educated via posts like this.

Friday night dinner and a movie

Went to Tsunami last night with neighbors D and R (D having just returned from a long out of state trip).

I had the Metropolitan Roll, Petite Filet, and Creme Brulee. All very good, but not spectacular. The environment was very cool, very casual, a fun place to grab a bite. We'll certainly return.

Then went to the Little Italy Friday night movie, Hairspray (the remake). Travolta really steals the show (gotta negotiate the pleats, hon). Not high art, but a nice way to spend a couple of hours having a couple of glasses of wine on a nice night.

Been busy otherwise (work, mostly). Blogging lately has taken a back seat, but I'll continue to make an effort to update.

Questions for the Senator from Illinois

Radley Balko has some questions for the Messiah.

A new sport

The 4 Man Press

The 'Iron Bull' sure does make it easy to make fun of bodybuilders.

RIP Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch died this morning. I'm not sure he set out to have as big an impact as he did; he reminded me how important my time is.

Gift

Some bloggers occasionally ask for money, or have a tip jar, or even post their Amazon wish list.

I'm lucky enough to do this for fun (plus, not many people read this blog), I don't want anything back. So instead, I ask that if you have some spare buckaroos and you love animals, share some of them.

I got the best gift, ever, when I adopted my dog from the Baltimore SPCA. People who support local SPCAs and the ASPCA are part of the reason I got such a gift. My dog was abused and abandoned before the SPCA got her, and I can't imagine why.

If that's not enough, this should be:




Shelby says "thanks." (Well, if she spoke English that's what she would say, I'm sure. Either that or "I'm hungry, asshole.")

Are you ready for some football?

I am.

Here's my completely uneducated, meaningless predictions for the season, way too early, in light of training camp starting Monday.

Starting QB: Kyle Boller

Yes. Troy Smith isn't a starter, ever. Flacco isn't ready, although clearly given the contract he signed, he's starting next year at the latest. Kyle will know this is his shot to prove something to other teams, as he won't be back in '09. (By the way, he'll be in the pro bowl in 2010, after going to an NFC team.)

Keys to the season:

Positive turnover ratio. Plain and simple, if they hang on to the ball, 2007 isn't dismal

Boller. He MUST calm down. We don't need a superstar, we just need to hang on to the ball and not make mistakes. Think Dilfer.

OK, to the season:

Week 1: Bengals. Win a close one. Make up for last year's Monday Night travesty.
Week 2: at Texans. Win a blowout.
Week 3: Browns. Lose a frustrating game.
Week 4: at Steelers. Lose in Pittsburgh on a Monday night. It's inevitable.
Week 5: Titans. Win.
Week 6: at Colts. No reason to even watch this loss.
Week 7: at Dolphins. Win, unless the weather is really, really hot.
Week 8: Raiders. Win, but closer than it should be.
Week 9: at Browns. Lose a heartbreaker.
Week 10: Bye.
Week 11: at Giants. I'm sorry, but I can't pick the Ravens to beat the Champs. Loss.
Week 12: Eagles. Tough call, but I think this is a loss.
Week 13: at Bengals. Bengals will be on a playoff run, Ravens will be 5-6, 6-5 at best. Loss.
Week 14: Redskins. Win.
Week 15: Steelers. This is a tough one, it depends on the Steelers record. The better their record, the more likely the Ravens win. We'll call it a win.
Week 16: at Cowboys. Win, only because I hate the Cowboys.
Week 17: Jaguars. At this point, the Ravens have 8 wins. The Jags are far more likely to need to win to get into the playoffs. Loss.

Record: 8-8. I think the season hinges on the Browns game in Week 9. Ravens should be 5-3 going into this game. If they win it, the playoff run starts. Lose it, and they start to limp.

Stricking similarities

This week, the Chineese governemnt arrested a man critical of the government response to the huge earthquake in may, calling him a "dissident".

The Bush Administration thinks they can send the military to arrest anyone they want, as long as they call him a "terrorist".

(And if you think an Obama Administration or a McCain Administration will reverse course on this, I would like some of whatever you are smoking*)

* Just kidding, DEA. I would never do such a thing.

Questions for the Senator from Arizona

Radley Balko has some questions for John McCain.

Arrogance

So Obama put his kids on Access Hollywood, and now thinks maybe it wasn't a good idea.

The "Access Hollywood" interview in which Obama and wife Michelle allowed daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, to participate opened a curtain on a potential president's family and raised questions about whether the girls should be "hands off" for the media.

Although their parents did most of the talking and the girls mostly looked like they'd rather be going out for ice cream, Obama later said he and his wife got carried away in agreeing to it.

"I don't think it's healthy and it's something that we'll be avoiding in the future," Obama said Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

Rob Silverstein wishes Obama hadn't said that. The "Access Hollywood" executive producer believes Obama has nothing to regret.

The interview, spread out in four parts on the show last week, was conducted by correspondent Maria Menounos when the Obamas were in Montana on July 4. Sensing their viewers' interest in the campaign, syndicated entertainment newsmagazines have done many light personality segments on the candidates, giving them a non-challenging opportunity to show off their human side.

"Access Hollywood" had been pursuing the Obamas for months, and a producer was alerted that the couple would make time for them while in Montana.

The show intended to simply interview Barack and Michelle Obama. But Menounos ingratiated herself with the kids — bonding over girlish enthusiasm for the Jonas Brothers — and they sat next to their parents for the interview. Producers quickly clipped microphones on their blouses.

"There was a very loose atmosphere," Silverstein said. "It was one of those things where it was like lightning in a bottle. We got lucky."

Generally, it's not a good idea to make children that age available for interviews, said Charles Figley, chairman of the psycho-social stress research program at Tulane University. It can give children big heads and make them feel they have to perform, he said. A parent in this situation should also keep public images of their children to a minimum to avoid any abuse over the Internet.

That said, the "Access Hollywood" situation was the most ideal setting the Obamas could expect: it was an easygoing interview in a relaxed setting, with the children protected within the bonds of the family, Figley said.

Barack Obama's later regrets seemed to have less to with the interview itself than the way clips of it were played over and over on cable stations.

At least according to what aired on "Access Hollywood," Menounos directed most of her questions to the parents. It wasn't until the third segment that she even asked the children a question: "What have you guys thought about the possibility of living in the White House some day?"

"It'd be very cool," Sasha said. The older Malia said she was enthusiastic about the idea of redecorating a room.

Menounos also asked what they could do that would make their parents mad at them ("whining," Sasha replied) and whether they found it cool that magazines were looking toward their mother for fashion sense.

"The 10-year-old, Malia, is like something you've never seen before," Silverstein said. "She is a spitfire. She is way beyond her years. How fascinating it is to listen to these children talk. You can't imagine a 10-year-old so poised and smart and well-behaved."

Linda Ellerbee, who makes the "Nick News" specials for Nickelodeon, hasn't requested interview time for the Obama children, although she imagines Nick's audience would be keenly interested in them.

When interviewing children for her shows, Ellerbee always assures them that she would never let them make fools of themselves. If the child says something they later regret, or flubs an answer, Ellerbee will always allow a retake — a courtesy that news organizations generally don't offer adults.

If offered a chance to speak to Malia, Ellerbee said she'd like to film the girl going about her typical day and essentially ask: What is it like to be you?

"That's a fantastically interesting question," she said. "Whether we get to find that out about her, it won't break my heart not to know. I don't think the public has a right to know."

President Bush and his predecessor, President Clinton, tried to establish cones of privacy around their daughters when dad moved into the White House. Some questioned whether that effort was too zealous when Chelsea, now a 28-year-old professional woman, refused media interviews while campaigning for her mother this year.

He would lean in the same direction if in the same shoes, said Joe Kelly, co-founder and president of Dads and Daughters, an organization that promotes the father-daughter relationship.

Kelly suspects the Obamas are reacting much like any parents would in the situation.

"You learn as you go along," he said. "You learn as the kids grow and you learn about them as people and what's good for them and what's not good for them."

The pugnacious Silverstein suspects disdain for "Access Hollywood" is playing out in questions about whether it was a bad thing to put Malia and Sasha Obama on camera.

"I don't buy that," he said. "The kids are well-adjusted, terrific kids with a well-adjusted family. I hardly think that a 25-minute interview with `Access Hollywood' is going to affect them. Anyone who says that in the media, it's just sour grapes. They're just mad that they didn't get it."

Access Hollywood, like he's some freaking rockstar. Using your kids to get votes.

I think it's easy to tear Obama apart on the issues (frankly, I don't see how any thinking person who isn't a Marxist could vote for him), but this just invites comment on his character as well.

Looking into the future.

"Debate" over inviting classmates to a birthday party. In Sweeden, if invitations are passed out in school, there can be no discrimination.

An eight-year-old boy has sparked an unlikely outcry in Sweden after failing to invite two of his classmates to his birthday party.

The boy's school says he has violated the children's rights and has complained to the Swedish Parliament.

The school, in Lund, southern Sweden, argues that if invitations are handed out on school premises then it must ensure there is no discrimination.

The boy's father has lodged a complaint with the parliamentary ombudsman.

He says the two children were left out because one did not invite his son to his own party and he had fallen out with the other one.

The boy handed out his birthday invitations during class-time and when the teacher spotted that two children had not received one the invitations were confiscated.

"My son has taken it pretty hard," the boy's father told the newspaper Sydsvenskan.

"No one has the right to confiscate someone's property in this way, it's like taking someone's post," he added.

A verdict on the matter is likely to be reached in September, in time for the next school year.

Those of you who think you have a 'right' to be in a smoke free business - this is where that attitude is headed. The complete erosion of property rights.

Hat tip: Muse Free.

Scary

This map is scary.

With the way things are going, we need divided government at the federal level, and we aren't going to get it.

Remember 1976-1980? Great times?

Well, now that's settled

Finally, Obama gives in. In one of the most important issues of our time, he is indeed now patriotic.

Barack Obama, who once considered flag pins a shallow symbol, can't surround himself with enough patriotic trappings these days.

Hey, something he and I agree on.

He seldom goes out in public now without a flag pin stuck in his lapel. He devoted an entire speech to patriotism this week in Independence, Mo. Visually reinforcing the message, he stood in front of a quartet of large American flags.

None of this is an accident. Polling shows that on the threshold test any serious presidential candidate must pass, Obama has ground to cover.

A CNN poll released one day after the Illinois senator gave his patriotism speech showed that a quarter of registered voters surveyed questioned Obama's love of country. Nearly 30% of the respondents who described themselves as independents -- a coveted slice of the electorate -- believed he lacks patriotism, according to the survey.

So Obama wants to convince voters that he is every bit as patriotic as his Republican opponent. That's not an easy sell: Arizona Sen. John McCain, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

Obama's biography is more unconventional. He has no military experience, and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia with his mother and her second husband, an Indonesian. He is asking voters to accept a more nuanced definition of patriotism as he makes the case that the lack of military credentials shouldn't disqualify him from the Oval Office.

When the flag-pin issue arose in October, Obama said he had made a deliberate choice not to wear one shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks because he believed the pins had become a "substitute for, I think, true patriotism."

"You start noticing people wearing a lapel pin but not acting very patriotic," he said then. "Not voting to provide veterans with resources that they need. Not voting to make sure that disability payments were coming out on time."

But now, primarily due to the ignorance of the American electorate, he is wearing the approved state symbol.

The good thing is now we can get on to the really important stuff, like what his wife may or may not have said.

We will continue to ignore, however, his plan to take a significantly higher portion of my stuff and give it to other people, because it simply isn't fair that I worked full time to get through college, went to grad school at nite, and now work my ass off for a big company and earn a good living for it.

No, that just isn't fair to people who chose differing paths. Like having kids at 15, or dropping out of high school. Because I'm rich, and I can afford to pay a higher fair share.

I suggest everyone take an Economics course on why that's a bad idea, alas, Populism is the name of the game. If 95% of the people can vote to take the things of 5%, the 5% don't have a chance, other than to hide their things.

Impossible!

Government employees would never abuse their power!

An internal investigation by the U.S. State Department has found that government employees repeatedly accessed the passport files of more than 100 high-profile Americans.

The investigation was prompted by revelations in March that department employees had looked into the passport files of Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican Senator John McCain - the three remaining major U.S. presidential candidates at the time.

In a report issued Thursday, the department's inspector general says investigators complied a list of 150 famous U.S. citizens. They found that the files of 127 people, or 85 percent of the list, had been viewed, some of them multiple times.

The report does not say whether the files were accessed for legitimate reasons, but notes the number of viewings appears excessive.

The inspector general made 22 recommendations for improving security, including random audits of files and decreasing the number of people authorized to view the records.

How about we actually enforce the limits placed on the government by the Constitution.

A critical issue of our time

Muslims are offended by puppies on postcards.

Postcards showing police dog-in-training Rebel, a German shepherd born in early December, are causing a furor among the region’s Muslims who believe dogs are "ritually unclean," the Daily Mail reports.

The cute cards were meant to notify locals of a new telephone number for non-emergency phone calls but instead have become a flashpoint for a clash of cultures. Shopkeepers are refusing to display the offending ad and a Dundee city councilor is calling for an investigation.

"My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards," said Dundee councilor Mohammed Asif, according to the report.

The Tayside police force said the police puppy, the force’s "newest recruit," was not intended to cause offense.

Seriously. Anyone who gives in to this type of silliness deserves the racial/religious intolerance that will result.

Financial Blogs

I noticed looking about the internet today there aren't many blogs regarding personal finance, building wealth, or anything like that.

I might have something to offer there. Might be an interesting project, and maybe something could come of it. Just need to make the time.