One of the best books you’ll ever read. I don’t think you can really understand Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” unless you grapple… I dunno, he only really wrote two books… Seriously, there’s a second volume? Paraphrasing Thomas Sowell, you don’t spend ten years writing a 900-page book to say how s… This is one of […]
Immanuel Church elder Matt Waldrep once posted this on Facebook: “It is no aid to anyone to simply state that we ought to pray for God’s will to be done in a circumstance about which he has already spoken plainly in his word, especially if there is an implicit call to action for you. Yes […]
I know it’s “fake,” but I enjoy pro wrestling nonetheless. The best answer I’ve read from someone asked “why do you like pro wrestling?” is “it’s a live-action comic book,” and someone else has said that when you watch WWE you’re watching a show about a company putting on a wrestling show; in this sense, […]
I have the privilege of working with a number of organizations that promote economic education. If you are a student, I encourage you to apply for admission to week-long summer programs sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies, the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and theFoundation for Economic Education. I recommend these because I have personal […]
In no particular order, over the last few months. Father Goose. One of my wife’s family’s all-time favorites. I haven’t watched it in years. The kids thought it hilarious, and it’s a very, very good movie. Cary Grant delivers an excellent performance as a crusty and bitter drunkard suddenly surrounded by a very prim and […]
I have found the perfect lunch: Kitchen & Love Quinoa Quick Meals. I have the basil pesto, jalapeno and roasted pepper, and mango and roasted peppers varieties on hand, and they check the following boxes for me: Cheaper Than Takeout. You can get six for $22. That seems steep, but it’s cheaper than the lunch […]
Arnold Kling hazards a guess, arguing that people don’t understand one another because they have fundamentally different visions of how the world works. According to Kling, conservatives see the world as a conflict between civilization and barbarism, liberals see it as a conflict between oppressors and the oppressed, and libertarians see it as a conflict […]
Consider how frequently you hear someone in a firm or a bureau complain that they are under-funded and that they need more resources to complete a mission. Should they get a larger budget? I would venture to say “probably not,” though there are certainly exceptions because everyone could say “I can do more of the things […]
I suspect you’re not reading this on your Zune. Why not? Because the Zune failed. That the Zune failed in spite of backing by one of the world’s most powerful companies should give us pause when we think about “corporate power.” Products succeed and fail, ultimately, because consumers vote for them or against them with […]
Over the last several weeks I’ve read Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s epic The Gulag Archipelago, which is three volumes and almost 2,000 pages of sordid memoir recounting one of history’s grimmer examples of man’s inhumanity to man. Excused by enthusiasts for socialism as the tragic excesses of Stalin’s rule, Solzhenitsyn shows that the Archipelago predated Stalin and […]
The Lego Movie 2. I actually never saw the original in its entirety even though we own it. Maya Rudolph as the mother is a pleasant surprise. I’m a bit exasperated by the continued depiction of fathers as buffoons. The plot is interesting, and I don’t think I can write much about it without spoiling […]
Without question, this is a great movie. The Flynn Effect says it’s not happening, but it feels a lot more plausible than the science suggests. Check out my blog post Thoughts on the Passing Scene: Season 2 of “Fear the Walking Dead”. I participate in various affiliate programs that allow me to earn small commissions […]
Niall Ferguson, Civilization. I think this is the first Ferguson book I’ve read. He writes beautifully and comprehensively. In the book I’m writing with Deirdre McCloskey—it’s based on McCloskey’s The Bourgeois Virtues, Bourgeois Dignity, and Bourgeois Equality—we criticize some of Ferguson’s claims about his “killer apps,” but the book is a pretty solid survey of […]
A few years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and get the Delta Reserve American Express card. It carries an annual fee of $450, but was it worth it? You betcha. Why? There are several reasons. First, you get a gratis companion pass every year that can even be used for a first-class ticket. […]
