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I was thinking today that most political affiliation to parties and left/right wing, can be concisely encapsulated by looking at the top Fiscal Priority of an individual. This seems to be able to identify parties and lables that otherwise elude simple description, since they contain a variety of various other views.
For example, […]
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Taxes levied always lead to a deadweight loss. That is, unless you are taxing an inelastic good or activity. Otherwise, there can be no revenue.
So far so good. However, one should consider why some goods and activities are inelastic. This category tends to includes necessities; things that are relatively important to your survival […]
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“next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh
say you can see by the dawn’s early my
country ’tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jingo by […]
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There are many myths about terrorists and their origins, motivators, goals and methods. There are many pundits who express their various opinions and conjectures. But there are relatively few works that present more studied information.
Here are two books that I own, which provide a wealth of information. Each of these tomes completes […]
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One of my favourite TED talks ever:
In this bracingly honest and funny talk, international security strategist Thomas P.M. Barnett outlines a post-Cold War solution for the foundering US military: Break it in two. He suggests the military re-form into two groups: a Leviathan force, a small group of young and fierce soldiers […]
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Democracy is founded on giving people the right to self-determination and the illusion that this is a good method by which to extract collective intelligence.
There is not the problem of the mob but quite the opposite: it is the massed individual stupidity which brings down the democratic endeavor.
Let us look at an […]
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You are trying to decide what policy best helps the environment, or how to improve the lot of the poor, or maybe you just need to know how to vote in the primaries.
Let’s have a look at the field: the right is too religious, war-mongering, corporatist and at times overly naive. The […]
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This is an old writeup of a proposed way to settle some of the obstacles to peace in Israel. It’s still has relevant as it was then, and the predictions of failure in Iraq (past the removal of Saddam) by its authors were completly vindicated.
I’ve interspersed the writeup with my comments.
Some people […]
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A turtle was happily swimming along a river when a scorpion hailed it from the shore.
“Dear friend turtle!” called the scorpion. “Please let me climb upon your back and swim me to the other side of the river!”
“No,” replied the turtle, “for if I do, you shall sting me, and I shall […]
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III. How College Kids Imagine the United States Government
THE PRESENT DAY
—Did you hear the news, Mr. President? The students at the University of Pittsfield are walking out of their classes, in protest over the war.
—(spits out coffee) Wha— What did you say?
—Apparently, students are standing up in the middle of lectures and […]
Popularity: 16% [?]
