FORGET JOHN GALT: Watchmen’s hero as an Objectivist saint?
Archive for 2009
March 8, 2009
AT TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE, a database of the biggest Omnibus Bill earmarkers.
EVERYONE SHOULD OWN ONE: The Audi Shark hovercraft. At least, I should own one . . . .
SO WILL THE ECONOMY WIND UP LOOKING LIKE Bretigne Shaffer’s predictions?
My prediction: By the end of Obama’s first four years in office, the US economy will be in much, much worse shape than it is now. Specifically:
1. The US will have massive inflation. The dollar will lose at least 50% of its value against most goods and services, and certainly against the goods and services most people use every day. This is a very conservative estimate. It will probably be much worse.
2. Unemployment in the US will be worse than it is now. It will be at least in the double digits.
I hope not.
March 7, 2009
BAD MARKS for Tim Geithner. But how reliable is the grader?
THOUGHTS ON POLITICS and the need for villains, at Gay Patriot.
“SMART DIPLOMACY:” London vs. The West Wing.
“SEMPER FI” VERSUS a tepid response.
TEST-DRIVING THE Pontiac Solstice GXP. Sure looks cool.
SO I GET AN EMAIL PROMOTING The Financial Collapse Survival Guide and Cookbook. But there’s something odd about the format. See if you can spot it . . . .
ARE BIG LAW FIRMS built on implicit leverage?
IN THE KANSAS MEADOWLARK, a report on the third weekly Kansas City tea party protest.
Plus, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Hundreds Protest Bailouts in Harrisburg:
Several hundred people gathered on the Capitol steps today to protest the “B word”–the ongoing bailout, by the federal government, of mismanaged banks, poorly run auto makers, homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages and state officials who can’t control their spending.
The event, organized by the Commonwealth Foundation, a politically conservative group, and two local radio talk show hosts, was called the “Harrisburg Tea Party.”
“These are people who believe in limited federal and state government, but who think government has overstepped its limited role in our lives,” said foundation President Matthew Brouillette.
Speakers and participants denounced both Republicans, such as former President George Bush and Sen. Arlen Specter, and Democrats, such as President Barack Obama and Gov. Ed Rendell.
I think we’ll see more of this.
UPDATE: Reader Genny Grace sends a picture.
THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS. “Obama is overwhelmed.”
ADVICE ON HOW TO REVITALIZE YOUR WORKSHOP. Mine just needs to be cleaned up. Somehow, things accumulate in stacks — and, like my office, it seems that when I spend less time there, it gets messier faster than when I’m there a lot.
BITES FROM THE APPLE: A roundup of news from the Apple empire. And there’s a lot.
CAN YOU FIRE A GUN IN SPACE? I think I should get a grant to do some vacuum-chamber research on zero-gravity firearms design.
FANNIE MAE AND FINANCIAL DEREGULATION: A reminder of how things were, as compared to the revisionist history being peddled now.
HMM: “Today I received a letter from the IRS that my 2007 tax returns are being audited. Less than one month after launching TaxCheatStamps.com.” The timing hardly proves a nefarious political purpose, but this deserves some looking into, I’d think.
UPDATE: Reader Corey Appleby doubts that Treasury is up to persecuting its foes this quickly: “I suspect it would take Geithner 3 months just to organize a BBQ.”
THE MODERATE OBAMA ERA: Activists want to redistribute foundation wealth based on racial quotas.
HOW REASSURING: Obama Car Czars To Visit Detroit To Learn About Industry.
The country’s in the very best of hands.
SO I THINK THIS IS GOOD NEWS: Oil producers running out of storage space: Glut caused by world slowdown leaves the world awash in crude. Cheap, plentiful oil is good — and a glut of out-of-the-ground oil is a nice hedge against problems in the Middle East — but on the other hand, it’s a sign that the economy really has, er, tanked.
OH, THE THINGS THAT HAVE become unforgivable.