It’s economist Bob Murphy’s birthday today. A fan sent him this:
If you are missing the reference, you need to watch Interview with a Zombie. (And also know that Bob has refuted Krugman more than all other economists combined.)
A Mainstream Economist Who Changed His Mind and Became Austrian
Molyneux and Woods on Anarchism, Politics, and More
What Direction Should the Daily Paul Take?
Sweden: No Longer the Free Market Conversation Stopper
Parody of My Video (hilarious)…
Webster Tarpley Causes Bob Murphy Physical Pain
The Empirical Case Against Government Stimulus: Bob Murphy Makes it
Ron Paul’s Task: Build Up the Remnant
The Myth of ‘Executive Privilege’
We Austrians Are Shills for the Bankers, Says Critic (this is a really nice summarization of money that you can forward to people)
My 90-Second Challenge to Fellow Free-Marketeers (help a man in need)
LearnLiberty: Top 3 Ways Sweatshops Help The Poor Escape Poverty
Tim Harford, the Undercover Economist, has an interesting blog in which he sometimes holds conversations with himself. Here’s a fun one on a recent Daily Telegraph article on inflation:
Who (still) wants to be a millionaire?
Jan pitches Stossel
One of the things I really like about this is the way it turns typical statist “gotcha’s” into punchlines…without even changing them. It’s all in the framing. We need more of this. It’s the kind of thing that will help crack the surface for the ideas to start getting through.
(Thanks to the Bastiat Institute.)
I was mentioning to Kinsella how what I love most about this short TED talk is the way the guy was so unabashedly smug about it, and so freely mocks the industries and the legal system. In a TED talk, no less. He agreed and said “WE have to make fun of the state, mock it, not take it seriously. This is one reason Hoppe wants to have a comedian at the next annual meeting of the Property and Freedom Society.”
There was actually a small campaign on Youtube about a year ago along that same line…
From this Article on “how to be french”
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Be_French
Picking a French Role Model:
Role model |
achievement |
|---|---|
| Asterix (aka *) | saved France from the Romans |
| Joan of Arc | saved France from the English |
| d’Artagnan | saved France from Cardinal Richelieu |
| Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte | saved France from the Prussians (and almost from the Russians) |
| Capitaine Nemo | saved France from Moby Dick |
| Cyrano De Bergerac | rocked the “Jew Look” |
| General de Gaulle | saved France from Winston Churchill |
| America | saved France from Hitler |
| Jean-Paul Sartre | saved the world from Simone de Beauvoir |
| Voltaire | saved France from Jean-Jaques Rousseau |
| Albert Camus | saved the world from Jean-Paul Sartre |
| Johnny “the King” Halliday | saved France from Elvis |
| Serge Gainsbourg | saved France from France |
| Mulder (“Mewldehr”) | saved France from X-file aliens |
| Lucky Luc Skywalker | saved France from Darth Vader |
| Jean-Luc Picard | saved the world from the Klingon menace |
| Television | saved France from not laughing at Sarkozy |
Most of that list is pretty funny, and true when it comes to the Philosphers.
Also from that article
English to French Translator
English: Entrepreneur French: No Translation
And Advice for being at a French Restraunt:
Never give any tips. First of all, the waiter has a SMIC (level of salary for very rich people) and certainly a bigger yacht than yours. Secondly, this is forbidden by tax regulations. Finally, knowing in advance that you would not give any tips, he spat in all the courses.
Do not be kind with the staff, but do not be an asshole, or they will give it back to you. If you complain on the food for example, you will be considered as what they call a citoyen américain. And this is a very rude word in French. Then the waiter will call the chef; the latter is usually 6’7" (2 metres) wide. If you asked for salt, you might become the dinner of the next customers.
In a foreign restaurant, do the same. But there are some variants you can use. For instance, ask to taste a wine and, when they serve you, hold the glass by the foot, swirl it around, look carefully at the robe, swirl it again, smell, take a sip, make the noise of a toilet flush, spit the wine on the waiter and say: “Diss iz pisse!”. Even though you have no idea what you are doing, it does not matter: you are French, so you know what wine is.
Getting a Job as a Frenchmen:
Frenchmen can’t just do anything to make a living; they have to have a job approved and subsidised by the government. Even the lowliest French jobs have fringe benefits commensurate with the French ego, including: company car, appartement on the Champs-Élysées, free meals in 3 star Michelin restaurants, mistress, 26 weeks holidays and yacht, retirement at 50. Choose from (in strict order of self importance):
- Cheesemaker
- President
- General (the lowest rank in the French army)
- Philosopher (official alternative to being permanently on strike)
- Collaborateur/double agent (the highest rank in the French army)
- Farmer (EU funded)
- Rugby player
- Fashion designer/Film maker (equivalent of Major in the US army)
- International banker
- Duck stuffer/Snail masturbator
- Winemaker
- Submarine safety officer
For all of these jobs (except President) you will have to pass a concours = 3 year exam to prove that you are man enough to fill out all the paperwork and pay all the right people the right bribes
And Finally:
You must elect authoritarian demagogues to high office
Good stuff
vive la insurrection: that post is absolutely hysterical. I think this is the funniest part:
If you complain on the food for example, you will be considered as what they call a citoyen américain. And this is a very rude word in French.
Just came across this:
Gizmo, the miracle dog is thriving
It’s actually a very happy story. My eyes teared up around halfway through. Then it ends like this:
Two days after the incident, I am happy to report that Gizmo is doing better. According to Joe, he is still not himself and is lethargic, but as each moment passes, he improves.
Out of the ashes of a tragedy, we are given a symbol of hope, love, and devotion. As we lament the opinion of the chief justice, let us be reminded of the hope that still remains: that this ruling will unite true patriots in their efforts to make this president a one-termer. Miracles can happen.
I mean, yeah, but what the hell?
The Production Of Science. This Week in Liberty, Episode 3. Guest: Amelia (LifeIsHowItIs) | VforVoluntaryTV
Where’d Freedom4Me run off to? I miss his ranting anarcho-primitivist polemics…
Don’t jinx it. If he comes back, it’s entirely your fault, not his.
I think he actually adds to the prestige value of the Mises Institute; I mean, it’s not every day you find a primitivist who uses a computer to express a philosophy dead set against the use of computers.
You need to watch this
Great Tom Woods interview. He discusses our post-Paul future, left-libertarianism, the Atlas Shrugged movie, the Supreme Court, Obamacare, and more.
The SCOTUS/Obamacare/Romney stuff is really good. Definitely something you can send to your typical “conservatives”. Here’s a link to just that segment (as, if they open a video and see that it’s 50 minutes long, they may very well start skipping around on the time bar right away. But you go ahead and listen to the whole thing.)
Disregarding the content delivered by Woods I can say I really dislike the pedestrian style of this interview. Slow to speak couch people with a lack of facial expressions. Bo-o-o-oring.
Right, they suck, but realize you basically just said “Disregarding 49+ minutes of a 54 minute interview, I can say I really dislike this video.”
A list of selected Scott Horton interviews (Antiwar Radio and Scott Horton Show) for your pleasure:
Anthony Gregory discusses his article “Should We Celebrate the American Revolution;” why King George III was better than US Presidents 1-44
William S. Lind discusses his article “Unfriendly Fire: How the Taliban mastered the operational art of modern war; so-called “green on blue” attacks in Afghanistan; and how a rudderless foreign policy has prevented US progress in Afghanistan since November 2001.
Charles Goyette discusses how prosperity is an offshoot of freedom, how the state is hastening America’s economic collapse, why Democrats and Republicans are both “food stamp” parties;
Robert P. Murphy discusses the Supreme Court’s strange ruling on ObamaCare; the apparent weakening of the Commerce Clause and strengthening of Congress’s taxing authority; why Leftists hoping for single-payer national healthcare should be sorely disappointed by ObamaCare;
Globetrotting journalist Pepe Escobar discusses Turkey’s violation of Syrian airspace in a purposeful, measured provocation and test of Syria’s defenses; grand plans for NATO expansion in the official “Assured Security, Dynamic Engagement” plan; counterrevolutions in the Middle East and South America
Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project, discusses his article “The Jet That Ate the Pentagon;” the large portion of procurement money earmarked for the F-35; why single-purpose planes are better and cheaper than multipurpose ones; and the price/performance penalty inherent in stealth aircraft.
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses the National Counter Terrorism Center’s annual Report on Terrorism, which statistically proves that Americans are more likely to be killed by televisions than terrorists; how international terrorists groups like al-Qaeda have given way to small franchises focused on local issues; and the self-perpetuating cycle of US foreign policy, where a new intervention is undertaken to fix a previous botched job, ad infinitum.
Thomas E. Woods, author of Rollback, discusses Ron Paul as an economic prophet of sorts; Woods’s personal transformation from party-line Republican to peace and liberty advocate; and how the college kids who are reading Mises instead of Keynes – thanks to Ron Paul – could change academia for a generation.
Regular Antiwar.com columnist Kelley B. Vlahos discusses her article “The CIA and Polio in Pakistan;” how Dr. Shakil Afridi set up a fake immunization campaign to help the CIA in their effort to pinpoint Osama bin Laden’s location in Abbottabad; how the immunization ruse further undermined public confidence in vaccinations in one of the last countries with Polio cases;
Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses his article “What to Remember on Memorial Day;” Westward expansion and the 19th century genocide of American Indians; the different negotiating tactics of private and government-subsidized railroads; Dr. Seuss’s anti-Japanese propaganda during WWII;
John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses his article “Under Obama’s Reign, Habeas Corpus Rights Wrenched Away;”; how President Obama bypasses the courts entirely by killing suspected terrorists (and/or dark-skinned civilians) with drone strikes; the enemy-combatant status of all drone victims, unless proven otherwise posthumously (some consolation);
Ron Kukal, former US Navy Petty Officer and USS Liberty survivor, discusses his firsthand account of Israel’s attack on the Liberty on June 8, 1967; the carnage of dead sailors below decks from the Israeli torpedo strike;
Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “US Rejected 2005 Iranian Offer Ensuring No Nuclear Weapons;” the Bush administration’s hardline stance against even a single Iranian centrifuge; and Iran’s offer to have all its low-enriched uranium converted into fuel-rods, which cannot be used to make nuclear weapons.
Show is live at: http://antiwar.com/radio/check_if_on.php Mondays-Fridays 9-12 am Pacific. Archives of interviews at: http://www.scotthortonshow.com/all-interviews/ Archives of complete shows (not just the interviews) without commercials are here: http://dissentradio.com/lrn/rss-mp3.xml
Related to the Maddow video John James posted here, Ben Swann WXIX just posted this on facebook:
USA Today, MSNBC and Rachel Maddow show all reporting that Nebraska is a must win for the Paul campaign in order for Congressman Paul to get his name into nomination at the RNC in August.
From USA Today:
"Under Rule 40, Section B in the Republican National Committee’s rule book, a presidential candidate must demonstrate the support of a “plurality of the delegates from five or more states” to get his or her name entered for nomination at the convention.Paul already has a plurality of delegates from Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and Louisiana. Nebraska is the last state that will hold its convention for delegates."
The only problem with this… Congressman Paul already has a plurality of delegates in more than 5 states… in fact, it is my understanding he has the plurality in 6.
Colorado Paul 18, Romney 16, Santorum 2
Iowa Paul 23, Romney 2
Louisiana Paul 27, Romney 19
Maine Paul 21, Romney 3
Minn Paul 32, Romney 8
Nevada Paul 22, Romney 3if this is wrong, let me know. here is the link to the usa today aricle.
Cool.
Krugman really needs a copy of Economics in One Lesson.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/what-you-add-is-what-you-get/
their marginal utility from an extra dollar is very small, so the revenue-maximizing tax also maximizes welfare for society as a whole.
Jesus, are you SERIOUS? Does he still believe in interpersonal utility comparisons?