Free Republic

With such high premiums, accompanied by de facto poor service in the form of high deductibles, the number of "eff-you" types who will forego coverage for the penalty would seem to be high. The long view of this idea that Obamacare will collapse under its own weight due to lack of participation, is that with the market unable to support the healthcare needs of the many sick and old, on the backs of the few healthy and young, the left wing will at some point execute the complete takeover of the healthcare system in the form of single payer. I'm...

Dear Mr. Harris- You have requested that economists in particular contact you in regard to the 08-19-11 Addendum to your blog post "How Rich is Too Rich?"  I am not an economist, but I follow economics very closely.  I'm an engineer by degree and run a construction company, so it is perhaps in my nature, as well as required of my position, to know what's happening in the world, economically.  I hope you will take a few minutes to think about my take on your ideas, however, because admittedly this is long, I will not be surprised or disheartened if...

I love Reason.com.  Very often they do some of the best libertarian-based analysis of any issues that are offered around the intertubes.  Today, however, Jacob Sullum strides to the plate with the confidence of Casey at the bat, and like Casey, screws himself into the ground with a huge swing and a miss at Rick Perry.    I was much more offended by the alacrity with which Perry, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination next Saturday, abandoned his avowed federalist principles to embrace the legislative agenda of the Christian right. It took less than a week."Our friends...

We're just living in it. Says...Juan Williams... Very interesting conversation about the results of Paul's being the father of the Tea Party movement, and in particular following on the discussion of the legalization of drugs.

A conservative will join a libertarian in thinking that the federal government largely oversteps its bounds by doing something like limiting the gallons-per-flush on a toilet, or making 100 watt light bulbs illegal. These are not, after all, life-altering choices of a moral bent for conservatives. But drugs are. And because the Superior Republican Morality comes into play, ultimately you just don't know what's best for you. But the federal government sure does. And it ain't Freedom.

Paul Krugman must receive a per-word raise every time he finds a way to write something less coherent than his last piece.

And the appropriate response to it...

n January 2010, Econstories.tv launched a now infamous campaign to bring the story of the Hayek vs. Keynes economic debate to the masses via the rap battle. "Fear the Boom and Bust" went viral, and has since garnered over 2.1 million views. Five days ago, they released their follow up, a spectacularly deep video, both musically and visually. The video presents the debate between Keynes and Hayek, beginning with a dual grilling before a Congressional panel, and moving to the boxing ring as they trade economic theory blows. We end with Keynes being patted on the back by the Fed...

So there's a chart floating around the Leftosphere, that looks like it originated on Queen Maddow's blog - originally submitted by one of her loyal subjects, naturally - that is meant to set forth the idea that mean, evil Republicans are the ones responsible for our debt woes, rather than Democrats. First thing's first, to hell with all of them. Nobody has stopped spending or growing this government in my lifetime. They've all just been spending on different things. However, I do have to point out that the chart is horribly misleading (from a Liberal, no less...I know, unbelievable right?),...

So you walk into Chipotle and order a burrito. They ask you what you want on it, following the Subway model of sandwich building, and you walk down the line adding black beans and rice and whatever else you'd like to stuff your face with at that particular moment, uncaring as to the future state of your bowels. Your burrito is finished for you and you take your seat and chow down. Unless you're in a wheelchair, in which case the 45" high counter that has been designed at this height for the purposes of ergonomic health to Chipotle's employees,...

Or...how to make it so nobody really wants to see this awesome movie...

The Senator, as usual, is one of the most clear, concise, responsible voices on the toughest topic facing our federal government.

Closed course, through cones and some pretty tight driving. A lot of people wouldn't be able to drive this particular course like this. The coolest part is probably at the end where we see how the car recognizes its surroundings. Pretty unreal, and VERY cool.

I've been watching the whole episode up in Wisconsin and have been fairly amused by the happenings across the board. This has been the most entertained by political drama that I think I can remember being. I've largely stayed out of the debate, as I have with much of anything for a while, as I've been incredibly busy with both work and in my personal life, and haven't sat down to formulate my thoughts on the matter. I ventured into the fray a little bit over at my favorite leftwing lunatic blog, d r i f t g l a...

It's more than you might think...

To my mind it's hardly a question. Once I learned the difference between Right and Left, and Democrat and Republican, the realization that I was neither, but was libertarian, was instant. However to most, the decision remains a choice between one side or the other, attempting to fit themselves into one mold or the other. In this fantastic video, David Boaz of the Cato Institute explains Liberals, explains Conservatives, and further explains how libertarianism is the root of our country's history. Enjoy the video, and then ask yourself a question. Don't ask yourself "why be a libertarian?" Rather, ask yourself,...

A little personal enjoyment on this one since I got out of Architecture early on in my college career in favor of Engineering and eventually Construction Management. I love being a contractor instead of being on the design side, and this pretty much explains it all.

The Fed's printing press, explained by a cartoon. Awesome.

I have been a Cubs fan since I was eight years old. I was excited when a lifelong Cubs fan bought the team away from the Tribune company. Finally, it looked like we'd have someone that cared about putting a winner on the field, instead of making money off the history of the stadium. While Tribune might not have cared much about putting a winning team out there, they never went so far as to tell the fans they were mongoloids. Tom Ricketts just did.

The point to take away from this story is not that porpoises forged an incredible and instantaneous bond with a human, and saved his life. The point is, obviously, that old people can fall asleep ANYWHERE.