Bryan Caplan scratches his head.

 Before I studied public opinion, I often wondered, “Why are democracies’ policies so bad?”  After I studied public opinion, I started asking myself the opposite question: “Why aren’t democracies’ policies even worse?”  The median American is no Nazi, but he is a moderate national socialist – statist to the core on both economic and social policy.  Given public opinion, the policies of First World democracies are surprisingly libertarian.

David Friedman points out that certain people have upside-down values.

 From the standpoint of an economist, the logic of global warming is  straightforward. There are costs to letting it happen, there are costs to preventing it, and by comparing the two we decide what, if anything, ought to be done. I am fairly sure, however, that  many of those who are sure we should be doing something about it do not see the question that way. What I see as costs, they see as benefits.

Reduced energy use is a cost if you approve of other people being able to do what they want, which includes choosing to live in the suburbs, drive cars instead of taking mass transit, heat or air condition their homes to what they find a comfortable temperature. But it is a benefit if you believe that you know better than other people how they should best live their lives—know that a European style inner city with a dense population, local stores, local jobs, mass transit instead of private cars, is a better, more human, lifestyle than living in the anonymous suburbs, commuting to work, knowing few of your neighbors. It is an attitude that I associate with an old song about little houses made of ticky-tacky—meaning houses the singer didn’t like and was therefore confident that other people shouldn’t be living in, occupied by people whose life style she thought she knew and was confident she disapproved of. A very arrogant, and very human, attitude.

And you know who you are. (But, more to the point, we know who you are, too….)

Read it. And watch the video.

You’ll hear the shahada, and the infamous “Khaybar, Khaybar” chant, which is the traditional Islamic call for the killing of Jews. The most entertaining number of all, however, is that perennial favorite — conveniently in English, with no need for subtitles — “Obama, Obama! We love Osama!”

A reminder that Islam is an oppressive totalitarian ideology under the guise of a religion, with which no co-existence is possible.

Ross Douthat points out that Washington is turning into Imperial Rome.

Last week, new census data revealed that 7 of the 10 richest American counties in 2011 were in the Washington, D.C., region. Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington Counties, all in Northern Virginia, have higher median incomes than every other county in the United States.

Whence comes this wealth? Mostly from Washington’s one major industry: the federal government. Not from direct federal employment, which has risen only modestly of late, but from the growing armies of lobbyists and lawyers, contractors and consultants, who make their living advising and influencing and facilitating the public sector’s work.

…

If you don’t mind congested roads and insanely competitive child rearing, all this growth is good news for those of us inside the Beltway bubble. But is it good for America? After all, like the ruthless Capital in “The Hunger Games,” the wealth of Washington is ultimately extracted from taxpayers more than it is earned. And over the last five years especially, D.C.’s gains have coincided with the country’s losses.

Read it.

A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out that despite all the talk of a farm labor shortage last summer, American farms had an amazingly profitable year.

Net cash income rose from the record high in 2010 of $99.4 billion to a new record high of $134.7 billion. That’s an eye-popping 35.5 percent profit growth! (Read more: More Data on The Phony Farm Labor Crisis)

I pointed out that in some of the states that had been repeatedly said to be facing a labor shortage—California and Washington, for example—profit growth was even higher. Washington farms saw profits grow by 58 percent, for goodness’ sakes.

Yet somehow the myth of a farm labor shortage persists.

Read it.

That’s some fine Religion o’ Peace™ you got there, Mohammed.

Nicholas Kristof has a Blind Pig moment.

“PISS CHRIST,” a famous photograph partly financed by taxpayers, depicted a crucifix immersed in what the artist said was his own urine. But conservative Christians did not riot on the Washington Mall.

“The Book of Mormon,” a huge hit on Broadway, mocks the church’s beliefs as hocus-pocus. But Mormons haven’t burned down any theaters.

So why do parts of the Islamic world erupt in violence over insults to the Prophet Muhammad?

Perhaps because Islam is an oppressive totalitarian ideology under the guise of a religion, with which no co-existence is possible.

Perhaps because Islam is a deliberate construct by Satan in an attempt to destroy the Jews, God’s chosen people.

The possibilities are endless, although writing for theNew York Times bars Kristof from considering the obvious ones:

Let me try to address that indelicate question, and a related one: Should we curb the freedom to insult religions that are twitchy?

So, in the face of massive evidence that Islam is a murderous, dysfunctional belief system, Kristof turns his head to the side to consider ‘religions that are twitchy’. The term ‘clueless’ seems totally inadequate, like going up to an ax-murderer caught in the act and pondering whether we ought to criticize the fact that he has tattoos.

I guess the pig is still blind. False alarm.

Read it.

My, doesn’t that look Presidential? Doncha just wanna have four more years of this amateur?

The Popinator Voice-Activated Popcorn Launcher

Read it.

That’s some fine Religion o’ Peace™ you got there, Mohammed.

Read it.

The new filament – going by the name Laywood – is a mix of recycled wood fibers and polymer binders that can be melted and extruded just like any other 3D printer filament.

Parts printed with Laywood have about the same properties as parts printed with PLA filament. One interesting feature of this material is the ability to add ‘tree rings,’ or a subtle gradation in color from a rich brown to a very nice beige. The color can be changed on the fly by setting the temperature of your printer’s hot end to 180° C for a light color, and 230° C for a darker color.

Read it.

Silver Lake takes the top spot on Forbes’ inaugural list of America’s Best Hipster Neighborhoods. Nestled between Echo Park and Los Feliz, the trendy community boasts some of the nation’s most lauded food trucks and farmers markets, a multicultural blend of residents with eclectic professions, and a booming arts scene. Even the buildings exude an avant garde aesthetic a hipster could love: Silver Lake is home to some of the most celebrated modernist architecture in the country, including Richard Neutra’s VDL Research House and John Lautner’s Silvertop.

Now go wash your hands.

Read it.

 A candidate for a Michigan judgeship scored a major coup: Nearly the entire cast of the TV’s “The West Wing” reunited in a Web ad to endorse her candidacy.

It apparently helped that state Supreme Court hopeful Bridget McCormack’s actress sister, Mary McCormack, played national-security adviser Kate Harper on the hit show for three seasons.

Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah Bartlet, has a major role in the ad.

This one ought not to be difficult at all.

Freeburg is on a roll today.

Every time I buy something at the pharmacy I feel my ears reddening with a whole new anger toward those who think “big business” has made health care resources harder to get hold of, and a new and heavier dose of government involvement will somehow fix this. How long does your memory need to work, in order for you to realize that government meddling isn’t making the meds any cheaper? Two years or so, right? Seems that’s how often the politicians promise to fix the problem once-and-for-all.

It’s amazing how many stupid people there are in this country, who believe that getting the government involved in an area will make things either cheaper or more efficient, as if government employees have ever demonstrated any shred of ability to do that.

So the Obamapologists are trying to get out the vote by pledging allegiance in pictures, writing things on their hands first? I thought they didn’t like it when people wrote things on their hands. Wasn’t it just yesterday they were saying Sarah Palin is stupid and unsophisticated for writing things on her hand?

She wasn’t making the New Party Salute to the Obamassiah, though, and that makes all the difference.

Rush Limbaugh said that if the average liberal had to choose between making deadly radical Islamist extremism go away, or American conservatism go away, he’d hit the button that would obliterate American conservatism and leave the Islamic radicals running around wild & free. I think he’s right.

I agree, because they see conservatives as a threat and Muslims as not, which is what demonstrates that they are Too Stupid To Be Allowed To Run Things. If only the Left disliked terrorists as much as they dislike people who favor property rights, we’d all be safer in our beds tonight.

Read it.

These guys are paid $174,000 a year. I guess that’s not enough to persuade them to do their jobs.

Read it.

You want to vote but you’re not a United States Citizen? Easy. Move to Michigan.

You want to clean up the voter rolls so only eligible citizens can vote? Don’t run for Secretary of State in Michigan, because voting rights advocates, labor unions, and Democrats will sue you.

Corruption, thy name is Democrat.

The Atlantic completes it’s transition to a full-on Lefty rag.

Look at the “Voices” sidebar titles if you doubt it.

Read it.

President Barack Obama attended a fundraiser at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in Manhattan that featured a champagne tower of 350 bottles worth $105,000 – more than twice the median household income of an American family.

The tower of $300-a-bottle Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, known as ‘Ace of Spades’ because of its label, is a permanent fixture at the club.

‘It’s floor-to-ceiling gold bottles in the entire space,’ a 40/40 representative told the New York Post. ‘It’s beautiful—breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in.’

Damned Republicans! Rubbing the faces of the poor into the dirt!

Oh, wait….

Read it.

Another reminder, if one is needed, that Islam is an oppressive totalitarian ideology masquerading as a religion with which no co-existence is possible.

Now that Communism has been beaten back, Islam is the most serious existential threat to freedom and civilization that we face.

Read it.

Read it.

Now, in the District and many states, goals over the next five years tend to be lower for black, Hispanic and poor children than they are for white and Asian students, and in the District, they tend to be higher at schools in affluent areas than in poor neighborhoods. It’s a policy shift that strikes some parents as a form of prejudice.

A FORM of prejudice? That it doesn’t strike ALL parents as rank, blatant racist and classist stereotyping is the most disturbing part.

Officials say the new targets account for differences in current performance and demand the fastest progress from students who are furthest behind. The goals vary across much of the country by race, family income and disability, and in Washington, they also vary by school.

Yeah, those who have demonstrated that they can really pick up the educational ball and outrun everyone else with it. And what happens when this silly notion fails, as it inevitably will? Use cattle prods on the kids until they get smarter?

The District of Columbia is where ‘progressive’ statists test out Really Stupid Ideas before mandating it for the rest of the country.

The Other McCain is on the case.

Rare is the day when I have cause to express gratitude to Matt Yglesias, but his expression of the statist view could not be clearer:

The concept of “redistribution” falsely implies that the existence of property is prior to the existence of the state. #mythofownership

The absolute disconnect between the statist idolatry of Yglesias and any real sense of history is not, I think, accidental.

And there it is, in a nutshell.

Read it.

No doubt because of that offensive film insulting Mohammed. Will the Islamophobia never cease?

Read it.

 Ultrasound is likely most often associated with sonograms, but some MIT engineers are poised to change that. By using two separate beams of inaudible sound waves (one at low-frequency, the other high) the team were able to increase the permeability of skin, in a bid to improve the efficiency of transdermal drug delivery. The technique works thanks to the waves exciting bubbles in a fluid (such as water), forcing them to swell and move chaotically. Once the bubbles reach a certain size they implode, sucking the surrounding fluid into the void. This process creates micro-jets of liquid, which cause miniscule tears in the skin, allowing it to (painlessly) absorb chemicals more effectively. In practice, a pre-treated area of skin is then covered with a patch containing the correct dose of drugs — but don’t worry, the skin is said to grow back just a few hours later.

I can hardly wait.

Ross Douthat is disgusted. Unfortunately, he’s hung up on this whole ‘moral equivalence’ hobby-horse that he needs to ride if he’s going to keep his lucrative gig at the New York Times, so he’s pretty much a walking illustration of what’s wrong with America.

For rich Republicans, the stereotype is all about the money: They have it, other Americans don’t, and those resentful, entitled others might just have enough votes to wage class warfare and redistribute the donors’ hard-earned millions to the indolent and irresponsible.

Which is the stone cold truth that very few are willing even to admit to themselves, much less utter in public.

For rich Democrats, the stereotype is all about the culture wars: They think they’ve built an enlightened society, liberated from archaic beliefs and antique hang-ups, and yet these Jesus freaks in flyover country are mobilizing to restore the patriarchy.

Which is a fantasy ‘progressives’ have clung to since Teddy Roosevelt. It’s the equation of truth with fantasy that makes Douthat such a caricature of a columnists, a would-be David Brooks pandering to his paymasters by licking their hands while peeing on their legs in hopes that this somehow will be interpreted as ‘balance’.

Hence the category Axis of Drivel, which (besides being a clever pun) is pretty much an exact description of our modern information media.

Read it.

One trend you can’t help but notice if you travel is the increasing homogenization of the urban culture and standard of urban development. Global markets demand standardized commodities that can be graded and traded. This includes cities. This forces cities increasingly into a standard model of what one expects.

If you’re a corrupt Democrat politician, Chicago is the place to be. Look what it did for Obama.

Read it. And watch the videos.

Mark Steyn made two TV appearances recently to talk about the 9-11 murders in Libya, the groveling response of the United States, and the shameful behavior of President Obama during the crisis.

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Take whatever action you deem appropriate.

Read it.

I guess the goober doesn’t fall far from the bush.

Read it.

 At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts.

Remind me again why Global Warming is a bad thing.

Read it.

Read it and weep.

Read it.

Frankly when I saw the release about Fquare’s launch I thought it would be about crowdfunding for… I don’t know… food? Buying cows? Anyways, it turns out it’s about something pretty cool for struggling farmers out there. This is about investing in farmland and potentially keeping hard-pressed farmers on the land in a totally new way.

And if that works, they’ll do the same with blacksmiths, buggy-whip makers, and God knows what next.

Face it, clowns, the 40-acres-and-a-mule model of the ‘family farm’ is as obsolete as kerosene lamps and cracker barrels. Try to keep up.

Read it.

Dunno whether this says more about dogs or about the French.

Read it.

My, what a surprise! Aren’t you surprised? I’m sure surprised.

Dude, you haven’t made it until you have a fatwa out on you. (‘Fatwa’ is Muslim for ‘contract’. The major difference between Islam and the Mafia is that Muslims don’t speak Italian and were doing it first.)

Does anyone think it incongruous that the ‘Religion o’ Peace™’ has a term for putting out a hit on somebody? Of course not!

Muslim motto: ‘Don’t say we’re violent or we’ll cut your head off.’

Read it.

Muslims are the original practitioners of Identity Politics — if they can’t kill somebody they don’t like, they’ll settle for somebody from the same group, and if that happens to be you, well, tough luck.

By that logic, every time a jihadi terrorist blew himself up in a crowd, we would be entitled to go and massacre the nearest group of Muslims. Gee, I wonder how Muslims would react to that? After all, they don’t say anything about these ‘revenge attacks’.

That’s some fine Religion o’ Peace™ you got there, Mohammed.

Read it. And watch the video.

Major Stephen Coughlin lost his contract with the Defense Department some years ago for pointing out in his briefings exactly what the Muslim Brotherhood has accomplished in its penetration of the Pentagon and various agencies of the federal government.

The following video is excerpted from a series of briefings Maj. Coughlin gave under the auspices of the Center for Security Policy. This sample describes the ideological motivation and the modus operandi of the ongoing “Days of Rage” in the Middle East that have unfolded over the past week. The riots and attacks by Muslims on American targets are ostensibly a response to a movie entitled Innocence of Muslims, yet Maj. Coughlin described them with exactitude before they occurred.

Read it.

Boy, there’s a hole with no bottom….

Read it.

Enviromission’s solar tower is a simple idea taken to gigantic proportions. The sun beats down on a large covered greenhouse area at the bottom, warming the air underneath it. Hot air wants to rise, so there’s a central point for it to rush towards and escape; the tower in the middle. And there’s a bunch of turbines at the base of the tower that generate electricity from that natural updraft.

Read it.

An investigation by the Government Accountability Institute found that more than half of the most politically active 50 campaign bundlers for President Obama were either appointed to a presidential council, committee, board, or other White House post. Many bundlers’ businesses or relatives’ businesses also received millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal contracts, grants, loans, or other crony perks.

In all, the top 50 bundlers received three council appointments, one ambassadorship, two committee appointments, and a whopping 20 State Dinner invitations. Two bundlers were also placed on a presidential board, and another two were picked for other White House posts.

Hey, one hand washes the other. They aren’t in this for their health, you know.

Read it.

Add former Maine Governor and current Independent candidate for Senate Angus King to the long list of Obama administration cronies who have personally made money off the $800 billion Obama Stimulus program. King’s personal bailout came in the form of a $407,000 “success fee” he received in 2011 from a wind energy project that remains in business today only because it received a $102 million federal loan King played a major role in securing.

Sometimes it is good to be the King.

Read it.

A pointed reminder that, in the Dar al-Harb, there are only Muslims and victims.

That’s some fine Religion o’ Peace™ you got there, Mohammed.

via Steve Sailer:

Read it.

Unless you’re Muslim, of course.

Read it.

Even the New York Times has something worth reading now and again.

I really don’t buy the premise that the only two options for ‘morality’ are religion or relativism. It ought to be possible to construct a system of behavioral norms rationally based on what we know about how societies work — and have to work, if they are to survive and prosper — without respect to any religious beliefs and without throwing up our hands and saying it’s all relative. (Indeed, I constructed such a chain of reasoning regarding murder as a seminar paper in law school; got an A on it, too.)

In fact, murder is a fine example. Every society has a behavioral norm barring murder — the definition of ‘murder’ varies a lot but it almost always falls within the scope of ‘unjustified killing of another person’ — and the penalty (except in our degenerate modern age) is almost invariably execution. The evolutionary case for such a bar is intuitively obvious: any social group in which one can’t depend on being safe from random whimsical killing is going to disintegrate whenever the opportunities outside the group exceed the danger of living inside the group.

And so on — were I a trust-fund baby I could spend a productive year or two exploring this process and possibly writing it up for publication. Try it yourself; it’s easier than it looks.

Read it.

Which is more than Western governments are willing to do with Muslims who rob, beat, rape, and kill Christians and other non-Muslim minorities.

No wonder they’re winning. When only one side is actually fighting, that’s the way to bet.

Read it.

Check it out.

Granted, not as cool as a billion dollars, but still pretty cool.

Read it.

“A complaint could be filed with US courts against Obama for his violation of articles 18 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) calling for respect of faiths,” Javad Mohammadi, the deputy head of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution (SCCR), said on Sunday.

“Article 18 and 27 of the ICCPR, adopted by the United Nation, stipulate that the religion and the rights of the minorities should be respected,” Mohammadi said.

The US government is a signatory to this covenant and has to respect it. Therefore, an individual or an NGO (non-governmental organization) can file a lawsuit against the president of the country for breach of the covenant, he added.

That would be amusing.

No word on how the Iranians square that with their persecution of Christians and Bah’ais, of course.

Read it.

Sometimes the old ways are best.

Read it.

“There have been repeated threats to me of bodily harm,’’ Deputy Senate Majority Leader Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) angrily told The Post.

“There have been calls saying, ‘We know where you live,’ ‘We’ll come to your house’ — that kind of stuff,’’ Libous continued.

Libous said he had notified law enforcement of the threats.

Libous also alleged that environmental activists have been making personal and political threats against local officials throughout the Southern Tier region along the Pennsylvania border, where huge deposits of natural gas are located.

And yet, if you asked them, these enviro-nazis would characterize themselves as ‘progressives’. What’s up with that?