CRUZ MARQUIS: Why ‘Economics in One Lesson’ Is as Readable Today as It Was in 1946.

Even though the “Sophisms” of many contemporary economists denigrated liberty, Hazlitt went against the stream by writing a book with the express purpose of knocking down the most persistent and pernicious fallacies in the field. He had the foresight to avoid making very particular arguments with the statistics, headlines, and quotations of the day, which may have disappointed readers decades ago, but is to the benefit of readers today. By not being bogged down with verbatims and numbers, he crafted flowing arguments which rebut the wider form of falsehood as opposed to specific instances. Did Hercules defeat the Hydra by attacking each head as it regenerated (specific economic falsehoods), or by attacking their source (generalized falsehoods)?

His premise was that economics contains everything needed to obliterate the generalized falsehoods, and from there all the specified ones: “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate, but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy, not merely for one group, but for all groups.”

This is the lesson, no more and no less.

I read Hazlitt in my 20s and now want to see just how well he holds up in my 50s. Very well, I’m betting.

PAULA BOLYARD, FOR OUR VIP SUPPORTERS: You Knew the Deep State Was Bad. Did You Know It Was This Bad? “The number of federal agents is now in excess of 200,000, according to an OpentheBooks oversight report — a force larger than the U.S. Marine Corps. The investigation found that ‘One hundred three executive agencies outside of the Department of Defense spent $2.7 billion on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment between fiscal years 2006 and 2019 (inflation adjusted). Nearly $1 billion ($944.9 million) was spent between fiscal years 2015 and 2019 alone.'”

#FIGHTFOR15: ‘Finally, my order will be quick and accurate’: McDonald’s fully-automated location with no human employees sparks debate.

Posted by user @foodiemunster, the video shows a new McDonald’s location that uses automated food ordering and a cashless payment system, with employees in the kitchen cooking the orders. According to The Street, the location is about half the size of a regular McDonald’s location and has no area for indoor dining.

Some viewers love the idea, with many complaining about the attitude of employees when they do go to order at the counter.

“Finally, my order will be quick and accurate,” one commenter wrote.

“Awesome,” another commenter wrote. “No more attitude at the counter.”

“Well the people that work there act like they don’t wanna be there,” a commenter wrote. “This solves that problem!”

Others wrote that they would much rather keep their McDonald’s locations the same, noting that they enjoy seeing people behind the counter and talking with them to place their orders.

I never get rude service but that might just be one of the perks of small-town life.

ALWAYS JUST ONE MORE SURGERY AWAY FROM FINDING HAPPINESS: ‘Shoulder Width Reduction Surgery’: The Latest ‘Transgender’ Aesthetic Mutilation Fad.

BY DESIGN: Biden’s welfare ‘handouts’ keep Americans ‘trapped’ on the ‘government dole forever,’ researcher warns. “According to the co-author of a New York Post analysis, a family of four from New Jersey can receive benefits equal to an annual income of more than $108,000 with no one working. In Connecticut, families making up to $300,000 per year are eligible to receive ObamaCare subsidies.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Democrats’ Latest Border Narrative Is Clinically Insane. “Here on Planet Earth, there is no way that Republicans can be blamed for the overwhelming crisis at the Mexican border. I’m actually running out of eye rolls at this point.”

WELL, YES: US trade chief says new tools needed to counter China’s ‘20-year distortions’ affecting global economy.

Delivering another harsh public critique of China’s trade policies, Tai said the loss of American jobs, income and manufacturing capabilities that accompanied a surge in low-priced imports from China had been “real and devastating”.

“For too long, the PRC’s unfair policies and practices undercut American prosperity, suppressed labour rights, and weakened environmental standards.”

Tai warned that Washington’s traditional trade tools to confront China, like anti-dumping countervailing duties, had not been able to prevent the “hollowing out” of many American industries critical for national security in view of Beijing’s ability to affect the global market.

“We need a new playbook on China that serves our interests,” she said.

This isn’t exactly the administration anyone should trust to stand up to Beijing. Still, I marvel at the good thing Communist China had going, and how determined they seem to piss it all away on aggressive behavior against us in virtually all spheres.

HUMANS NOT WANTED: The UK and Ireland to Crack Down on Citizens in the Name of Climate Change.

FALLOUT: Russian oil exports crater by 54% in the first full week of the EU’s embargo amid a shortage of tankers willing to carry cargoes.

EXCLUSIVE: Mike Lindell, Jack Posobiec Weigh In on RNC Chair Race.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: The Golden Age of Cocaine Is Happening Right Now.

Of all the ’80s retreads we could be enjoying — peace, prosperity, Hill Street Blues — it had to be this?

BLUE CITY BLUES: What Comes Next for the Most Empty Downtown in America.

Yelp and Mixt had little more than proximity in common, which at that time was enough. Yelp was an idea that became billions of dollars in value on the internet. Mixt was a booming business serving lunchtime salads to the workers who traveled on electrified trains and skateboards to their jobs in downtown cubicles.

Their virtuous cycle of nearness, of new ideas becoming new companies, feeding other ideas that become other companies, was the template for urban growth. Businesses like Yelp took root in the high-energy, high-density city; chains like Mixt flourished alongside them as their workers ventured out for lunch. As downtowns have emptied out, their once-symbiotic relationship is coming undone.

“This area was always packed with people,” recalled Maria Cerros-Mercado, a Mixt manager who built her career in food service downtown. “People would get off the BART, buy coffee, buy this, buy that. There was always just so much walking.”

Today San Francisco has what is perhaps the most deserted major downtown in America. On any given week, office buildings are at about 40 percent of their prepandemic occupancy, while the vacancy rate has jumped to 24 percent from 5 percent since 2019. Occupancy of the city’s offices is roughly 7 percentage points below that of those in the average major American city, according to Kastle, the building security firm.

Plus: “The city’s chief economist, Ted Egan, has warned about a looming loss of tax revenue as vacancies pile up.”

You don’t say.

HE STILL HAS A LOT OF CLEANING UP TO DO: Think Elon Musk Will Actually Step Down as Twitter CEO? Guess Again.

CDR SALAMANDER: Japan Rising. “As the USA struggles to increase her forces to meet the challenge west of Wake, we rightfully look to our close ally in the region that has an impressive combo of GDP and population – Japan.”

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: Why You Need to Stop Worrying and Love Trump Again.

CHANGE: Kristi Noem’s Health Department Fires Transgender Group Ahead of ‘Gender Summit.’

NOT A PARODY: J&B Whisky Goes Trans. “As it turns out, the grandpa in the commercial was studying the art of makeup so he could apply it to his trans grandson. Wisdom passing from one generation to another. And a Merry Christmas was had by all.”

LOCKDOWN FALLOUT: CDC admits lockdowns, mask mandates and school closures may be fueling Strep A outbreak in the US.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: ABC Journo Tries to Blame ‘Open Border’ on GOP and I Can’t Stop Laughing.

Plus:

• Blue aquatic CGI cat creatures are people of color, too.
• Joe Biden announces, you know, the thing that he won’t be announcing.
• The joke is on TV comedy’s diversity hires.

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

COLORADO: Locals in Summit County questioning wolf reintroduction after plan made public.

Right now, there’s some concern from locals in Summit County about the wolf reintroduction plan that was made public just last week. The plan is available for review on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.

The proposed areas for reintroduction include two oval-shaped areas, picked for their potential to best support the reintroduction with the least amount of disturbance to the population.

Those areas include large mountain municipalities like Vail, Breckenridge, Gunnison, Montrose, Glenwood Springs, and even things as far east as Frisco.

“I don’t think that would be ideal, personally,” Tammy Rienstra said about the proposed locations Sunday.

She’s a Frisco local who voted for the measure back in 2020 but said she’s not sure how she feels about the spots they picked.

“I thought it would be further out,” Rienstra said. She was walking her pug puppy down Main Street.

Translation: “I never thought my feel-good vote would affect me personally.”

MEGAN FOX: Keep Calm and Sue Everyone: Wauwatosa School Board Is About to Find Out What Free Speech Is All About.

You all probably remember this hilarious exchange where I scolded the Wauwatosa School Board in Wisconsin for violating people’s right to speak and petition their government back in October. If you missed it, watch it. It’s hilarious. The board cut me off before my time was up, claiming that my comments were not in “alignment with the dignity of the board.”

At the end of the video, I comment that I could sue them for this. Indeed. I can. And so I spent the next few months pestering Robert Barnes of Barnes Law to take the case since he is a practicing lawyer in Wisconsin. Then on December 10, he wrote me back with one sentence that said, “Yes. I will take it.”

What a fighter — read the whole thing.

SHRINKAGE: China’s shrinking working-age population to send ripples through global economy.

China’s working-age population, defined as those aged between 15 and 64, declined from the peak of 997 million in 2014 to 986 million last year. According to projections released by the United Nations in July, it will start declining rapidly in the 2030s and shrink by more than 60 per cent to 378 million by the end of the century.

As a result of low fertility rates and increased longevity, populations in many developed countries are both ageing and declining, and China is not alone in experiencing these profound demographic trends.

However, as the world’s population reached 8 billion on, last month some countries were better positioned demographically. India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country next year and age at a much slower pace for the rest of the century.

Good news for the Anglosphere, if we can ever get an administration serious about getting India on board for the duration.

WELL, THEY WANT IT FOR SOMETHING: The White House Wants $3.4 Billion for Border Security.

I’M EXPECTING A TRANSCEIVER-SHATTERING KABOOM: Russian Arms Manufacturer Developing Tech to Hunt Starlink Dishes.

A Russian arms manufacturer claims it can help the country’s military detect and bombard Starlink satellite dishes, which have been crucial to the defense effort in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, a mysterious company called Sestroretsk Arms Factory published a website(Opens in a new window) that debuted the “Borshchevik” or “hogweed” system, which is designed to locate Starlink dishes at a distance of up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

The technology can supposedly pinpoint a Starlink dish within 5 to 60 meters (16 to 196 feet) of its actual location. In addition, it can be fitted on top of a moving vehicle, allowing it to detect Starlink activity across the front lines on a battlefield.

Russia is infamous for producing vaporware, but we’ll see.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: J6 Commies Opt for Weaponizing Trump With Political Martyrdom. “This is yet another case of the Democrats and their flying monkeys in the mainstream media creating and perpetuating a story that bears no resemblance to reality.”