Because we have ignoramuses like Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) defending it….at least while the Democrats are in office. In a clip put up by Talking Points Memo, Bachmann claims that Calvin Coolidge inherited a worse recession in the early 1920s than FDR did, and then blames the Depression’s length on a tariff called “Hoot-Smalley” passed [...]
Archive for November, 2011
Steve Chapman is a decent libertarian columnist, but far too often I believe he opts for mild rhetoric when the obvious facts call for an impassioned and full-throated defense of principle or denunciation of evil. For instance, in his latest column he discusses American policy on torture and concludes thus: And if effectiveness is the [...]
Although I’ve always kind of thought that it was stupid for stoners to make a point about getting high on April 20 (for instance, I don’t need to invent a special holiday to drink) , but over at the Huffington Post, Ryan Grim–author of a new history of drug use in America–has an interesting explanation [...]
This is the tenth anniversary of the Columbine massacre–a tragedy that for people in my age group might actually be more defining than September 11. Until Islamic terrorism took center stage, I was relatively certain that my generation would mainly be remembered as a bunch of sadistic killers that could only cannibalize their own. I [...]
A Japanese artist’s take on Kubrick/Spielberg’s A.I. Naturally, it’s way weirder than the original movie. This has to be the most specific fetish ever. That does seem to be a fairly popular genre of YouTube video. Finally, if you aren’t one of the 25+ million people that have seen the video of Susan Boyle killing [...]
The 73 year-old John Madden has finally decided to retire, which is good because if I had to listen to another season of incoherence about cankles and turducken I was going to climb through the screen and strangle him with his own microphone cord. (So what if it’s wireless? I’d find a way.) I don’t [...]
The above is a common objection to free market anarchy; people seem incapable of imagining that any individual or organization could undertake such large projects other than government. In Hawaii, they’re showing that not only does the government fail to maintain the roads, but that a formal organization isn’t even required to do it. From [...]
Facebook Crimestoppers. (Link via Hit and Run.) Guess what the coolest thing people have sent Matt Stone and Trey Parker is. The sad thing is, I bet this game would actually be pretty popular. Finally, the top ten most anticipated movies of the summer. I’m at least cautiously looking forward to all of them but [...]
Several Chicago area suburbs have passed a non-binding advisory resolution to secede from Cook County. This isn’t a new issue for the area, as several of them tried to break away and form Lincoln County. So they want to secede from their county and name their new county after the man most responsible for destroying [...]
Those both seem like good reasons to close a pool. April Fool’s Day jokes gone wrong. Set cuteness to nauseating! Finally, the TARP illustrated.
