this is an adventure

Paul Ryan Doesn’t Require Staffers to Read Ayn Rand

April 20, 2011

As Paul Ryan’s star has risen, a meme has developed around him based on his approval of the works and ideas of Ayn Rand: that Ryan forces all of his staffers to read her works. It has its origin, as far as I can tell, in an offhand sentence in this New York Magazine piece […]

Mitt Romney's Missed Opportunity on Obamacare

March 31, 2011

While he’s still considered the frontrunner in many circles, Mitt Romney may already have fumbled his biggest opportunity to cement his status as a leading critic of President Barack Obama and boost his chances with the skeptical conservative base he needs to win over to have a shot at the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. All […]

Block Grant Medicaid: Obama's Easy Path to Deficit Cutting

March 31, 2011

For the past several months, just about everyone in Washington, in both political parties, has talked about reducing the deficit. They all seem to understand that it’s what the American people want. And if it’s something they actually want to deliver, they have an opportunity to do so right now, to the tune of hundreds […]

Rebecca Black, Creative Destruction and the Music Industry

March 18, 2011

The internet is full of mockery and loathing for thirteen year old Rebecca Black’s terribly annoying little song — which is a shame, because the music industry as it stands is likely to produce a lot more “singers” like her over the next few years. It just makes economic sense. The new realities of the […]

Coffee and Markets: A Finalist for Sam Adams Alliance Award

March 17, 2011

I am just proud to announce that Coffee & Markets has been chosen as a finalist for a Messenger Award by the Sam Adams Alliancce. The timing of this announcement is interesting. Today in Washington a major conversation is taking place about the role of NPR, and its status as a taxpayer funded entity. While […]

The Next Step for Video Games

February 28, 2011

The first game that puts together all these pieces, fully realizing this new dynamic, will explode beyond silly constructs of politics and artistry debates, and become a true cultural icon as more than just interactive entertainment. We’re not ready to take that next step yet, not technologically, not in the writing quality — but we will be, soon enough.

The Politics of Unions: Walker v. Daniels

February 23, 2011

Today on Coffee and Markets we’re talking with Mark Mix, head of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, about his views on the battle in Wisconsin and elsewhere over public employee unions. We also talk about Mitch Daniels’ surprising attitude towards right to work laws in Indiana.

Koch Protests Backfire

February 9, 2011

By now you’ve all seen the footage of the protesters at the Common Cause event picketing the Koch brothers’ conference. It was a grab-bag of lefties and anti-free market groups, all bent on demonizing the Kochs, and organized by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and others. At the morning panel event featuring UCI Law Dean […]

George Lucas Reconsidered

February 3, 2011

After seeing the Red Letter review of Revenge of the Sith — the best part which is the “sitting on a couch” sequence. “Would you like some refreshment while I talk about your mother being murdered and raped?” — I thought of these quotes from the early pages of The Making of The Empire Strikes […]

Charles Fried: Constitution Lets Us Force You to Buy Broccoli

February 2, 2011

In a classic example of “something that would’ve been more useful yesterday,” Senate Democrats today held a hearing in the Judiciary Committee on the constitutionality of the individual mandate. One of the guests was Charles Fried, a prominent Harvard Law professor. When Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked a question of Fried today about the so-called […]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →