Monthly Archive: November 2011

An Aspirational Quiz

Inspired by Tod Kelly’s claim that we U.S. Americans are really closer to one another politically than we think, following is a quiz. All remarks are taken from the speeches of either John McCain...

Borrowing our way to prosperity.

Nassim Talib asserting (among other things) that the Fed will not be around in 25 years. We anticipate (hope!) the construction of the charter sailing catamaran Mon Tiki will take 4-6 months. Aside from...

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

I’ve just stepped off the scale, so I can tell you that right now, at this very moment, I weight 182.6 pounds. At 5’8″, this puts my Body Mass Index in the “overweight” category....

Weekend Jukebox/Open Thread

As Rufus’s nostalgia seems to have prompted my invitation to join this august company, and Mark has furthered the veer into nostalgia with his History of the LoOG post, this seems appropriate: Sadly, there’s...

In which the rogue becomes in officer and a gentleman.

  Hello again gents and ladies, ordinary and otherwise. Apparently my guest posts– here about consumerism, hope and happiness; and here about the (necessarily?) contradictory and frustrating aspects of government regulation – have been...

The League in 2010

If we’re going to pick our favorite posts from the last three years for this League Journal, we’re going to have to remember what was posted in that time. I’ve been making my way...

Standing Legally

I’ve opined several times before that the legal concept of “standing” should be interpreted broadly, particularly in the realm of Constitutional law, with an eye towards encouraging litigation of disputes on their merits. Too...

A song for Thursday

I’ve probably posted this before but it’s just such a great song. The Once and Future Carpenter, by the Avett Brothers I’m such a dork, I asked Lyle Lovett what he thought of the...

The Technocrat’s Burden

There’s been a lot of talk about democracy hereabouts during the past month or so. And I think that’s a really cool, good thing. It’s the kind of non-topical conversation that can be hard...

Say Goodbye to the Occupation

Tom Jensen from Public Policy Polling has some new figures about the Occupy movement’s dwindling stature in the public’s eyes: The Occupy Wall Street movement is not wearing well with voters across the country....

The Limits of Democracy and Populism

I have to admit, Occupy Wall Street has been irking me lately. Whatever legitimate gripe sparked the movement, the occupations began devolving into a frothy mixture of crime and partying within the last few...