Exceptions are the rule

Man Nearly Dies After Putting Pet Rattlesnake Down Throat - Local News Story - WKMG Orlando

What did we learn today kids?

Carrie sent me this story, I couldn't use the clip though because the link moves around.

I am a big believer that people typically behave rationally. Even this doesn't convince me otherwise, but it does demonstrate the rule of exceptions. "Any generalization about people will have exceptions."

From the guy that did this. "It is kind of my own stupid fault." No self delusion there.

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Loanable dillemma.

Greenspan warns dollar to fall victim to current account deficit - Telegraph
Keep Fingers Crossed For a Hard Money Fed - Yahoo! News
Deficit spending - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This situation now:
1. The credit crunch means that the supply of loanable funds has decreased quickly, and the price of debt has increased.
2. The high price of gold and the low international value of the dollar indicates some inflation pressure.

As of today, the Federal Reserve has to choose between increasing the supply of loanable funds (1) or decreasing the supply of loanable funds to fight inflation (2).

How we got here:
1. The .com bust led the Fed to lower interest rates.
2. The war in Iraq was funded largely through debt, which raises interest rates.
3. Refer to 1, the Fed had to spend more money to overcome the upward pressure on interest rates caused by the war.
4. The future returns which the market expected to see from the war in the form of lower oil prices has not materialized, and the deficit budget continues.
5. And Oh yeah, the sub-prime mortgage lenders didn't pay attention to who they were lending money to, so the foreclosures are creating a distraction from forward moving activities.

Note: None of this is intended as an argument against the war, These are comments on the consequences of deficit spending, not foreign policy.

Government vs. Religion in India

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Report on Hindu god Ram withdrawn

Hinduism as a religion encompasses the worship of over 300 million gods and godesses. In the report cited, the government was trying to build a canal that would have to plow through a natural bridge formation that the locals believe was built by the god Ram and his army of monkeys. The report itself said that the bridge was not built by Ram because Ram does not exist.

Initially this seems like just an interesting story, like "Miracle on 34th Street," but it begs the question, How many development projects have been conducted by the other 300 million gods over the milleniums of civilized existence India has enjoyed. I wonder if this poses any kind of long term threat to the future economic development of India.

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Immigration

BBC NEWS | Europe | Swiss citizenship system 'racist'
The Swiss citizenship system deemed 'racist' because communities vote about whether an applicant may be accepted.

Libertarians & immigration - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Opinion, a citizen's right of domain does not legitimize government
control of immigration. Promotes open border policy. (Authored by Don
Boudreaux)

StephanKinsella.com Critique of Libertarians & Immigration
Disputes some of Boudreaux's assertions.


Technically speaking, the first link is about citizenship, not immigration, but it raises a point. Even if governments should restrict immigration, is it moral for those restrictions to be based on nation of origin? When you consider that most of the population of a country will be of one race, why isn't it considered racist for the United States to have special rules for immigrants from Mexico, or Japan, or where ever.

If you read the opinion pieces, then the set up of Switzerland is probably the closest practical implimentation of what Hoppe proposes.

Both of the opinion authors are primarily freedom focused, but there is much more to life than freedom and some people claim that some of those values require sacrifices of freedom. Values like, Security, Equality, Culture, even Religion.

One proponent of sacrificing immigration freedom in the interest of culture is Samuel Huntington, who is a professor at Harvard, and if you read his bio, is something of a prodigy.

Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I havn't really made up my mind about this yet. I really like freedom, and I have a hard time thinking its ok to spend it on anything. I might think it was ok to spend it on a closer relationship with God, if it wasn't God that gave it to us in the first place. After that, If it's not worth spending it to get closer to God, then what could be more valuable than God?

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Russian Sex Day

BBC NEWS | Europe | Russian 'sex day' to boost births

Comment: NA

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Inflation

BBC NEWS | Business | Chinese inflation at decade high

To my friends, please read the post before the article. This will sound boring but just think about it and it will make sense, then read the article and laugh.

Inflation is NOT just a rise in prices. Inflation means that your money gets less valuable overall.

M x V = P x Q

M = the amount of money in the economy
V = the speed that people spend that money after they get it

P = the general price level
Q = the quantity of real wealth on the economy

The idea works like this:

1. People use money to buy stuff, the more money there is relative to the amount of stuff, the more money you have to spend to buy each piece of stuff.

2. It takes time for people to buy stuff, the faster people use their money to buy stuff, the less stuff there seems to be to buy, but the same amount of money, so refer back to rule number 1.

Those two events are what cause prices to rise.

Parts of that article talk about how a disease in the pig population is causing a rise in price of food, and that it might spread to a rise in all other prices.

Now, a pig disease would decrease the amount of pig stuff there is for people to buy, which would raise the price of pig and stuff like it (aka, food), but can someone please explain to me how a rise in the price of pig meat would raise the price of a chair in the way that inflation would? Rising prices are a sign of inflation, not inflation itself.

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Cell phone Technology

BBC NEWS | Technology | Mobile system promises free calls

My dad did a paper in college about peer2peer network expansion, and apparently it sort of becomes, (oh how do you say) limitless. If any of the big US carriers pick it up with a sizeable time lead over the others, then they'd pick up an easy 30% extra market share. This technology could extend signal to below ground, deep into the country side, and incredibly remote areas. Losing signal may become one of those excuses that causes your boss to roll his eyes and say, "can't you come up with anything more likely?"

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Favored Blogs

I know that there are some amazing blogs out there, but all I've got right now that I really trust at all are the ones I've listed. I'm looking for suggestions, please comment and leave some ideas for me to go over and possibly add to the list.

Jakarta bans begging

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Jakarta bans beggars and buskers

So you want to give your money away, Cool, give it to the government.
$5,000 fine for dropping a buck in a blind dudes cup as you walk past, Why?
Because the administration would like to maintain public order to the city. Apparently there's a lack of respect for the rule of law in Jakarta. I wonder why, with such carefully thought out laws on the books, who would want to disobey them?

My new blog

So this is my new blog, the primary purpose of which is to track stories and sites I find noteworthy online in a way that my friends can use if they want.

I will not be spellchecking my posts much, I ain't checking grammar, and If I say something that insults you, I'm really sorry, ish.

Post a comment so that I'll learn from you and others might improve as well.