99% uptime…or not

In the “real virtual world” of Internet-based entrepreneurship, Web hosting companies aim to provide 99.9+ uptime to satisfy their clients, who in turn have customers to satisfy, and so on. So imagine my sardonic chuckle at seeing this screenshot taken from the “virtual virtual world” of government — namely, the website of the Social Security [...]

Secretary of the Arts!?

Got this from a Facebook friend who will remain nameless — a Secretary of the Arts Petition: To:  President-Elect Barack Obama Congratulations and thank you for all you do. Your good friend Quincy Jones said: “…next conversation I have with President Obama is to beg for a Secretary of Arts.” [November 14th 2008 WNYC interview [...]

Henry Hazlitt and the unseen

One of my Christmas presents was Henry Hazlitt’s very excellent Economics in One Lesson.  The essential point of this work is the importance of understanding the broader consequences of economic decisions, and not just the immediate effects. For instance, certain spread-the-work policies do give jobs to more people, but without an actual increase in production [...]

Happy Holidays

Blogging has been slow lately, but I seriously doubt that at this time of year too many people are glued to the computer screen.  At any rate, I just wanted to wish all of you happy holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. Much fuss has been made about the supposed “War on Christmas,” but on my visit home [...]

Transition politics

In the past few days, I’ve obtained functioning cable for the first time in years.  I was actually afraid that this would turn me into a couch potato, but so far it hasn’t come to that. I do get some TV, however, when exercising on my indoor bike, which I’ve been using in lieu of [...]

The miracle that is the free market

I spent the early part of this evening running some errands. First I had to pick up my car from the shop. It needed a few minor (thankfully!) repairs. I got to the shop while the mechanics were still finishing up. While we were waiting, the owner was chatting me up about some musical questions. [...]

Pithy Comment on American Education

The other night during my schola rehearsal, I don’t remember what I said, but I must have let something slip in German. One of my singers asked me, “Do you speak German fluently, or did you just study it in high school?” The look on my face must have been priceless, judging by the reactions, [...]

Traditional Roman Liturgy and Christmas Pudding

Here is a nice, short article on the so-called Stir-up Sunday. I would only argue that this tradition is not only Anglican but is also Roman.  I always thought this was sometime in Advent, but, alas, it is the last Sunday before Advent, which this year was November 30—as I jokingly called it, the “Sunday [...]

Two LRC podcasts to drive the Anti-Saloon League batty

Seventy five years ago yesterday, Prohibition was repealed.  It would figure, of course, that this was not motivated by common sense, but rather by political greed.  Lew Rockwell talks to Mark Thornton about all this. Be sure also to listen to the interview with Thornton about the drug war. It’s interesting to me that, with [...]

Milwaukee funny money?

Certain neighborhoods in Milwaukee are contemplating the establishment of their own currency. They would just print the money themselves, and it would be accepted at local businesses.  The great mystery to me is how such “monopoly money” could have any purchasing power whatsoever.  I’ve been wondering the same thing about the American dollar for years.