theDrahos

I have always argued that quantitative easing and zero percent interest rates were misguided policies to combat economic weakness. But as the years went on, misguided turned into irresponsible, which led to ridiculous, and then turned into dangerous. But lately, the only word that comes to mind is “surreal.” How should we react when central bankers begin to speak like Willie Wonka? Contained in the latest release of the Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (Jan. 27-28, 2015) was a lively discussion of how to say something without anyone understanding what is being said. Although I have been critical of the Fed for … Continue reading →

The next time you find yourself sighing in annoyance at your colleagues’ inability to munch their crisps quietly, take solace in the fact that this could mean you are a genius. A new study from Northwestern University suggests that the inability to filter out competing sensory information is a common occurence in the creatively talented. The study cites creative geniuses such as Charles Darwin, Anton Chekhov and novelist Marcel Proust, who notoriously wore ear-stoppers and lined his bedroom with cork to block out noise whilst he worked. Lead author of the study Darya Zabelina said: “The propensity to filter out … Continue reading →

12One of the paradoxes of political power in America is that the Constitution has no authority (see Lysander Spooner), but at the same time the Constitution confers almost unlimited authority on Congress. Yes, there is a third view. There are those who insist that the Constitution limits authority when interpreted according to its original meaning. They claim that nearly every law passed by Congress is unconstitutional. They hope for a restoration of original meaning, but the fact is that the golden age of limited government under the Constitution began to be shredded the first day that the Congress convened and … Continue reading →

When I lived in Tijuana, Mexico fending off “roñosos” (mangy) stray dogs was a daily battle. Most of the time they were all bark and no bite. Just remaining calm, avoiding eye contact, and continuing on my way was all I needed to do. If they started charging, I pretended to pick up a rock from the ground and feigned throwing it at them. That usually spooked them enough to leave me alone. If that didn’t work, actual rocks were used. There was one time when a dog wasn’t deterred by either the pretend or real variety, and lunged to bite me. I … Continue reading →

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady, U.S. senator from New York and secretary of state, used a private email server for all of her emails when she was President Obama’s secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. During that time, she enjoyed a security clearance identical to that of the president, the secretary of defense, the director of the CIA and others — it is the highest level of clearance the government makes available. She had that classified clearance so that she could do her job, which involved knowing and working with military, diplomatic and sensitive national security secrets. … Continue reading →

“What is taxation but theft on a gigantic, unchecked, scale?” Murray Rothbard’s question doesn’t have an answer. The coercive taking of money is theft. No exceptions. Mental masturbation on the “social contract” or necessities of public action don’t eliminate that fact. The duties and obligations of society shouldn’t translate into pickpocketing folks to pay for a myriad of welfare goods. That said, I’m ready to do the philosophically impossible: compromise. Call me a squish; I’ll own it. But the matter is of high importance. Bickering over marginal tax rates is a debate for DC talking heads. I’m talking about the … Continue reading →

Just ask Nelson Hultberg: In conclusion, Ayn Rand gave libertarianism a spectacular beginning, and Murray Rothbard was certainly a brilliant economist. But the primary philosophical thrusts of these two thinkers are totally wrong for the cause of liberty. I will get to exploring some of his reasons shortly; however it seems rather bold to state that these two contributors to libertarian thought (despite Rand’s protests, she didcontribute to libertarian thought) could be “totally wrong for the cause of liberty.”  Ayn Rand has sold millions of books; Murray Rothbard’s philosophy undergirds two of the most popular liberty-oriented websites of today, LewRockwell.com … Continue reading →

A favorite exam question in my first-year climate class was, “Why is the North Pole warmer than the South Pole?” I changed it each year, to confuse students who looked at last year’s exam; “Why is the South Pole colder than the North Pole?” Most people have no idea about the geography of the Poles and assume they are climatically the same. They are literally polar opposites and that is important in understanding the significance for global climate. The major driving force for atmospheric circulation is the temperature difference between the Poles and the Equator – the gradient. Theoretically, maximum … Continue reading →

This commentary was published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 20, Number 1, Pages 18-19, Spring 2015. Modern medicine has spawned great things like antibiotics, open heart surgery, and corneal transplants. And then there is antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS. A civic-minded, healthy person volunteers to donate blood but, tested for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), is found to be HIV-positive. This would-be donor will be put on a treatment regimen that follows the (285-page) Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents [1] and will be thrust into a medical world peppered with acronyms … Continue reading →

It’s a structure we’ve seldom taken the true measure of, since ground was first broken for its construction in September 1941. With its 6.6 million square feet of floor space, it ranked as the largest building in the country until the World Trade Center came along in 1973 — a position it regained, despite Flight 77, on September 11, 2001. It has five sides, five floors (and two basement levels), and 17.5 miles of corridors. It’s hard even to absorb how big the Pentagon is. Boston Globe Columnist James Carrollvividly described it in his appropriately monumental book, House of War, … Continue reading →