Truth, in several parts

"An Opinion on Gun Control". Note to the sensitive: the author is noticeably lacking in understanding and compassion for people who want to murder innocents. He calls them "scumbags" or "scum" four times. Well, nobody's perfect. But otherwise the piece is important and devastating to gun-control advocates. 

For more in this vein, see John Lott, Jr. discuss the matter with Soledad O'Brien. 

"The Tired Race Card". This so needed to be said. 

"Silence of the Feminists: So many oppressed Muslim women, so few words about them". Ditto.

"Are we living in the Hunger Games?"

"Carbon Tax Policy: No Simple Answers". (Link via Mike Munger.)

"What Everyone Knows About Austerity". 

"Bootleggers and Baptists: (or, 'Why Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows')". In my experience, the B&B idea is second only to A Conflict of Visions in explaining how American politics works. 

Comments

[ErisGuy]

Yes, we are living in the "Hunger Games," and so is most of Europe. The farther one recedes in time from the present, the number of important cities in a country increases. Today France is Paris and England is London, but in the early 19th century, other cities in France and England were as important as the capital (e.g., Manchester, Liverpool, Lyon) but the economic viability of those cities has been absorbed by the capital.

As yet, Italy (where Milan is as important as Rome) and the United States (where several cities are as important as D.C.) are not yet crushed by their own government.

[kyle8]

1) are we in the Hunger Games? - kinda

2) Bootleggers and Baptists, - hell yeah, it makes more sense than a lot of other theories.

3) Carbon taxes- Idiotic, unwieldy, open to fraud and manipulation. If it is deemed important to reduce fossil fuel use then just tax the fossil fuels directly and offset the tax by reducing other taxes. That makes more economic sense, which is why it won't happen.

4) Austerity, as practiced in Europe of course cannot work because it does not amount to an actual reduction in spending, (or at least only a miniscule reduction) and it is always coupled with higher taxes. So it will not bring about growth which is what is really needed.

[Connie Stewart]

Ol' "Bowel Movement" Craig: So full of shit, so willing to share it.