Sometimes you win.
I think the Libertarian Party is going to have its best year ever. We've brought a lot of important issues to the attention of The Crips and The Bloods.
It's been pleasant to see LP signs all over the place. (I have to drive past 5 to get to work, and only one of them is from my stash !)
We've got some excellent candidates running in Tarrant county this year.
We've made a lot of connections with gun rights groups and anti-prohibition groups. Attendance at LP meetups has been increasing every month.
There's been a lot of talk in the media about how the Libertarian Party might take some states away from one of the Obamneys and "give" those states to the other one, as if that matters.
Sometimes you lose.
I can probably point to 30 people who are voting LP for the first time because of my efforts. But dammit all to hell, sometimes the big ones get away.
Don Boudreaux has read an article in the New York Holy Times, an article that speculates that maybe, perhaps, possibly, there is a potential theoretical smidgen of a chance that Bolivia's shortages are caused by price controls. You know, kinda like our current high minority unemployment rate is caused by price controls. Here's what Boudreaux wrote to the Times....
Regarding your report on the chronic shortages of consumer goods in Venezuela (“With Venezuelan Cupboards Bare, Some Blame Price Controls,” April 21): of course these shortages are caused by price controls. By preventing prices from telling the truth about underlying conditions of supply and demand, such controls spread economic lies. Producers and consumers are thus misled into acting destructively rather than productively.
Price controls, though, are only the most ham-fisted maneuver used by politicians to distort prices in order to mislead the public about market realities. Another favorite ploy is to condemn and threaten “speculators.” Consider Chavez himself. He irresponsibly increases the supply of the Venezuelan bolivar and then, when the inevitable inflation begins, combines overt price controls with a bellicose vow to punish what he sneeringly calls “bourgeoisie speculation.”
Such blame-shifting is very near a constant with politicians.
It’s worth noting that, although the President of the United States hasn’t the power of Generalisimo Chavez, Pres. Obama’s attacks on speculators are just as politically opportunistic and economically ignorant – and potentially as destructive – as are any such attacks issued by Latin American dictators.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Ouch. And his attempt at reducing the price of healthcare hasn't even kicked in yet.
The Obamabanana poster came from The People's Cube. The George Mason University coffee mug shwon below was a gift from Dr. Ralph.
Don Boudreaux teaches economics at George Mason University, the place where I'm going to get a Doctorate in Economics if I ever win the lottery and can afford the tuition. Boudreaux has written a beautiful letter to Bill O'Reilly of Fox News.
This letter should be studied by schoolchildren everywhere. Boudreaux and Russ Roberts are the proprietors of the Cafe Hayek blog. Here goes:
Mr. Bill O’Reilly
The O’Reilly Factor
Fox News
New York, NY
Dear Mr. O’Reilly:
You’re all lathered up because U.S. oil companies are exporting much of their refined gasoline and heating oil to other countries and thereby putting upward pressure on fuel prices here in America. You conclude that these companies have a moral obligation not to export so much.
Your economics is wrong and your ethics convenient.
First some economics. Selling in the global market encourages firms to build larger factories and refineries that, in turn, enable outputs to be produced at lower costs per unit. So while in the short-run rising exports of oil products can cause fuel prices here to spike, the long-run effect might well be lower prices because of larger, more-efficient scales of operation. Also, more exports of fuel products means more imports of other goods and services. The result is lower prices in America for consumer goods such as clothing and furniture, as well as lower prices of inputs such as steel and industrial machinery used by American factories.
I was amused, by the way, that in your Feb. 17th discussion with Lou Dobbs, Mr. Dobbs shared your anger at rising U.S. oil exports. This is the same Mr. Dobbs who repeatedly complains that the problem with America’s involvement in the global economy is that foreigners stubbornly refuse to buy sufficient amounts of American exports. Go figure.
Now about your ethics. You’re paid so handsomely because there’s a large nation-wide demand for your commentary and bombast. In your career you’ve worked for broadcasters in Boston, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, and elsewhere. And before moving to Fox you were a correspondent for ABC News. You apparently never hesitated to sell your product to the highest bidder; you never hesitated to export yourself from one market to another in search of higher pay; you never resisted the bidding for your services by buyers (i.e., employers) far and wide which put upward pressure on the amounts of money that you are paid, both to appear on television and to deliver lunch and dinnertime speeches.
Get ready!! Here comes the Don Boudreaux Karate Kid Crane kick !!!!!!!
So I ask: are you guilty of an offense against those many Americans who – as a result of your responding to market signals regarding the value of your services – must now pay higher prices for the privilege of hearing your commentary? Should you return to your long-ago job at a local Scranton television station, at your long-ago lower salary, and apologize to the good people of Lackawanna County for your greedy and evil habit of exporting yourself to wherever and whoever offers to pay you more money?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Don Boudreaux. Often imitated, never duplicated.
The coffee mug shown above was a gift from Dr. Ralph. His son goes to GMU. The picture of Don Boudreaux morphed with Dr. Ralph came from Dr.Ralph. It's one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen, despite serious competition from some incidents in my Mississippi childhood. At 2:00 this afternoon at The Corporate Image 5418 Brentwood Stair in East Fort Worth, I'll be playing guitar and singing with Dr. Ralph.
My friend Dr. Ralph has apparently given up on The Teleprompter Jesus. We're sitting at my favorite bar, The Corporate Image, having finished an acoustic guitar jam. The good Doctor was kind enough and gracious enough to direct me to this post.
It doesn't say anything about the failure of Obama's Keynesian economic policies, just the defeats and failures on the topics nearest and dearest to Dr. Ralph's heart.
Be sure to read the Doctor's last sentence. It can be summed up as follows:
Dr. Ralph has approved this message. He now wants the world to know (now) that he was a Hillary delegate in 2008.
I can't quite swing him over to the Ron Paul camp. Dr. Paul is too dang honest for Dr. Ralph's taste. Dr. Ralph respects the fact that "Dr. Paul has removed the filter from his mouth and brain". That's a direct quote from Dr. Ralph.
Of course we could get together ! We met at Campisi's in Dallas, and had a great time. The world's problems can consider themselves solved. Paul Krugman, resident Obama apologist for the New York Times, can consider himself mocked. My misunderstandings about who insures banks against robbers can consider themselves eliminated. The mysteries of Mormon underwear remain unsolved.
I would have invited more people to this gathering, but Nick (not his real name) works as an economist in a semi-government job, and must keep his identity a secret. Those who labor in The Belly Of The Beast (or at least its pancreas) have to be careful about campaigning for sanity.
Dr. Ralph, of The Journal Of Post-Ralphaelite Thought, took time out from supporting godless socialism long enough to meet us, knock back a few, and take these pictures. He was careful about not revealing Nick's true identity.
Here's Dr. Ralph, still looking somewhat like Leon Trotsky, and Nick:
One of the many cool things about being alive in the year 2010....the world is getting smaller and smaller. Dr. Ralph, Nick and I didn't even know each other three years ago. We started pounding our interests into the internet, and next thing you know we're all sitting in the same booth, eating spaghetti. Go figure.
Dr. Ralph, who is the Laurel to my Hardy on this site, enjoys asking "where were The Libertarians?" back when G.W. Bush was blowing the budget, trashing the constitution, and generally behaving like a John The Baptist forerunner of The Obamessiah Who Did Not Yet Dwell Among Us.
While researching the answer to that thorny question, I stumbled across this, one of my live-blogs of the Democrat Presidential Debates. I think it's worth revisiting. Lordy, they all seemed so innocent then.
And yes, I really did think that Joe Biden won it.
That's Mike Gravel on the far left (figuratively, not literally.) There's Obama, waiting to be annointed. Then Chris Dodd, waiting to be indicted. Next is John Edwards, smiling and pointing at his videographer. Dennis Kucinich, if you read my link, is trying to find the right combination of hand claps that will allow him to once again commune with The Mother Ship. Joe Biden is standing back, aloof, wondering who all those other guys are pointing at. Bill "Pay To Play" Richardson is protecting his crotch against a possible upcoming FBI investigation. On the far right (figuratively, not literally) is the 2012 Democrat candidate, patiently waiting her turn.
My friend Dr. Ralph, of The Journal Of Post-Ralphaelite Thought, has long been the agent provocateur of this site, and he does his job well. Especially for someone whose job it is to be WRONG WRONG WRONG on almost all economic issues. Dr. Ralph admires Harvard University's Lawrence Lessig.
I'm a huge fan of Reason magazine's Nick Gillespie. I have a black leather jacket that's almost identical to the one Gillespie wears to all his video and TV appearances, and my political opinions are almost identical to Gillespie's, but I have much less hair.
Lessig and Gillespie debate The Supreme Court's recent Citizens United ruling here. Bill Moyers is the moderator.
GENEVA — The United Nations called Switzerland's ban on new minarets "clearly discriminatory" and deeply divisive, and the Swiss foreign minister acknowledged Tuesday the government was very concerned about how the vote would affect the country's image.
U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said Sunday's referendum to outlaw the construction of minarets in Switzerland was the product of "anti-foreigner scare-mongering."
The criticism from Pillay, whose office is based in the Swiss city of Geneva, comes after an outcry from Muslim countries, Switzerland's European neighbors and human rights watchdogs since 57.5 percent of the Swiss population ratified the ban.
The Swiss government opposed the initiative but has sought to defend it as an action not against Islam or Muslims, but one aimed at improving integration and fighting extremism.
"These are extraordinary claims when the symbol of one religion is targeted," Pillay said in a statement. She said she was saddened to see xenophobic arguments gain such traction with Swiss voters despite their "long-standing support of fundamental human rights."
The referendum doesn't affect Switzerland's four existing minarets, or the ability of Muslims to practice their religion. It only bans the towers used to put out the Islamic call to prayer.
Let's change gears. This is from learned Islamic scholar Zakir Naik, probably the most popular Islamic theologian on our planet, on why it is understandable that non-Islamic religions are banned from constructing churches or synagogues in Muslim countries. (Spoiler alert: Islam is the only religion that gets it "right". Two plus two really does equal four.)
And finally,
Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to death for practicing witchcraft.
A man has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft because he makes predictions on television. Ali Sibat is not even a Saudi national. The Lebanese citizen was only visiting Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage when he was arrested in Medina last year.
A court in the city condemned him as a witch on November 9.
The only evidence presented in court was reportedly the claim he appeared regularly on Lebanese satellite issuing general advice on life and making predictions about the future.
The case is causing outrage among human rights campaigners but has made little news elsewhere despite the ludicrous nature of the charges and the extraordinary severity of Sibat's sentence.
"Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
"The crime of witchcraft is being used against all sorts of behavior, with the cruel threat of state sanctioned executions."
Ali Sibat's supporters say he was denied a lawyer at his trial and was tricked into making a confession.
He is not the only victim of Saudi Arabia's literal witch hunt. Human Rights Watch says two other people have been arrested on similar charges in the last month alone.
It claims a lower court in Jeddah started the trial of a Saudi this month who was arrested by the religious police and said to have smuggled a book of witchcraft into the kingdom.
In another case the religious police are said to have arrested for "sorcery" and "charlatanry" an Asian man accusing him of using supernatural powers to solve marital disputes and induce others to fall in love.
I'm bracing myself for our latest holiday tradition, the bombastic pronouncements about the "War on Christmas."
For the past several years, self-anointed protectors of Christmas have been creating lists of which retailers are naughty or nice. This seems to boil down to who says "Holiday" in their advertising instead of "Christmas."
On the Naughty list have been such Satanic organizations as Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, The Gap, Banana Republic, Home Depot. This year's Naughty and Nice list has been helpfully compiled by the American Family Association of Tupelo, Mississippi.
You may recall the American Family Association, led by the Reverand Donald Wildmon, from their previous name, the National Federation for Decency. They reared their pointy little heads in 1977, when they campaigned against what they perceived as indecency on television. Interestingly they never seemed to care about violence, just sex.
Fighting immorality must be profitable: the AFA's annual budget is around $14 million. The Reverend Donald's son Tim is now President of the family business.
And a business it is, make no mistake.
In addition to their network of 28 radio stations (all Family Friendly!) they've expanded their Decency Empire to include news websites for the Christian point of view, support for home schoolers, a line of "Christian-focused" videos, estate planning, and Holy Land vacation tours.
They even hawk their very own AFA branded Internet Filter ("Use the trusted Family Filter the Wildmons use in their home!").
You can't make this shit up.
No, you can't make it up. All you can do is copy, paste, and lament. My religion is right, because it's the one I grew up with. Your religion is wrong, because it is so obviously silly. I can't defend my religion with anything other than appeals to brand loyalty. You can only defend yours with force.
But we're still going to hang, ban, or boycott each other because of these stories.
Like The Doctor said, you can't make this shit up.
I made it to Broadway Baptist Church for their pre-Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday night. I've been taking an extended leave of absence from BBC for about 6 months now, but when I do stick my nose back in the door, there's usually something to surprise or inspire me. My friend Dr. Ralph, agent provocateur of this site, was also there. Go here for The Doctor's Thanksgiving post. We tried to sit and eat together, but higher authorities intervened.
This is the hymn that the music ministry folks chose to end the service. As soon as I read the words, I stuck the text into my pocket....please pay particular attention to the second verse:
Praise God for the harvest of orchard and field, praise God for the people who gather their yield, the long hours of labour, the skills of a team, the patience of science, the power of machine.
Praise God for the harvest that comes from afar, from market and harbour, the sea and the shore: foods packed and transported, and gathered and grown by God-given neighbours, unseen and unknown.
Praise God for the harvest of mercy and love from leaders and peoples who struggle and serve for patience and kindness, that all may be led to freedom and justice, and all may be fed.
That's the version found at hymnsUK.com , anyway. My instinct lately has been to trust the British versions of everything. Dr. Ralph found me as we were leaving. "That was quite a libertarian hymn," he said, and I wholeheartedly agreed. If you don't understand the point I'm trying to make, hit some of the links. I can't believe someone actually wrote a hymn that 's good enough to cause Dr Ralph to stop twirling his villain moustache and take notice. Verse two stands alone nicely, no links required. A song in praise of Supply Chain Management.
....foods packed and transported, and gathered and grown by God-given neighbours, unseen and unknown.
If you're still unclear on the concept, here's The Boston Globe's token libertarian, Jeff Jacoby, explaining why we should be grateful for a certain economic principle which, if you live in the U.S., allowed you to eat some turkey sometime this week:
The activities of countless people over the course of many months had to be intricately choreographed and precisely timed, so that when you showed up to buy a fresh Thanksgiving turkey, there would be one -- or more likely, a few dozen -- waiting. The level of coordination that was required to pull it off is mind-boggling. But what is even more mind-boggling is this: No one coordinated it.
No turkey czar sat in a command post somewhere, consulting a master plan and issuing orders. No one forced people to cooperate for your benefit. And yet they did cooperate. When you arrived at the supermarket, your turkey was there. You didn't have to do anything but show up to buy it. If that isn't a miracle, what should we call it?
Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" -- the mysterious power that leads innumerable people, each working for his own gain, to promote ends that benefit many. Out of the seeming chaos of millions of uncoordinated private transactions emerges the spontaneous order of the market. Free human beings freely interact, and the result is an array of goods and services more immense than the human mind can comprehend. No dictator, no bureaucracy, no supercomputer plans it in advance. Indeed, the more an economy is planned, the more it is plagued by shortages, dislocation, and failure.
It is commonplace to speak of seeing God's signature in the intricacy of a spider's web or the animation of a beehive. But they pale in comparison to the kaleidoscopic energy and productivity of the free market. If it is a blessing from Heaven when seeds are transformed into grain, how much more of a blessing is it when our private, voluntary exchanges are transformed - without our ever intending it - into prosperity, innovation, and growth?
Well said, Mr. Jacoby. Here's one last verse for that hymn; this one composed by Yours Truly. I don't think it's going to appear in a hymnal any time soon....
Praise God for our system of sweet Liberty, The framework of freedom which feeds you and me. Praise God for the scholars and writers who've shown More people can prosper if just left alone.
