A Second Hand Conjecture

Ding dong the witch is dead. Whether that actually changes anything or not in Iraq remains to be seen, but the thirty year chapter of war, corruption, rape, murder, and genocide that was Saddam’s regime closed for good December 30, 2006. The next chapter of Iraq’s history is now in the hands of its people and their leaders. For good or bad, the boogeyman is now gone.

PS For a guy who was supposedly such a dedicated secular Baathist, it appears that Saddam tried to come back to God just before his death. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. Saddam’s life was a testament to earthly power and the arrogance of one man. Finding faith when the noose is around your neck just doesn’t cut it and leads me to believe that it was sheer public theater. Pathetic.

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I just received my review copy of Clayton Cramer’s “Armed America.” It is at least in part a response to the discredited work of Michael Bellisile’s “Arming America.” I’ll have a review up in the next couple of weeks, maybe even sooner.

Technorati Tags: history, colonial America, guns, second amendment, law, Michael Bellisiles

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I must admit I find this article on virtual property rights from the Washington Post fascinating. Questions about online property rights, the legal status of those rights, currency exchanges to convert online currency into our own rather insubstantial fiat money, rogue “copybots” preying on innocent digital characters resulting in an online strike by virtual merchants. How could I not?

Veronica Brown is a hot fashion designer, making a living off the virtual lingerie and formalwear she sells inside the online fantasy world Second Life. She expects to have earned about $60,000 this year from people who buy her digital garments to outfit their animated self-images in this fast-growing virtual community.

But Brown got an unnerving reminder last month of how tenuous her livelihood is when a rogue software program that copies animated objects appeared in Second Life. Scared that their handiwork could be cloned and sold by others, Brown and her fellow shopkeepers launched a general strike and briefly closed the electronic storefronts where they peddle digital furniture, automobiles, hairdos and other virtual wares.

My favorite part though:

Earlier this month, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner visited Second Life, appearing as a balding, bespectacled cartoon rendering of himself, and addressed a crowd of other animated characters on a range of legal issues, including property rights in virtual reality. Posner stressed that it was in Linden Lab’s interest to ensure due process and other rights.”They want people to invest in Second Life, and we know people won’t invest if their rights are not reasonably secure,” he told the audience, which included a giant chipmunk and several supermodels. He went on to predict the eventual emergence of an “international law of virtual worlds” similar to international maritime law.

(more…)

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Megan McCardle had an interesting reaction to Mahmoud Abbas’ recent announcement that he was calling for early presidential and parliamentary elections. She asks whether Abbas might be the Palestinian equivalent of Michael Collins. Like Collins did for the Irish, Abbas must be able to acknowledge that whatever the merits of establishing Israel in the Middle East, it exists and will not go away. For the first time Palestine has a leader willing to criticize those in the Palestine liberation movement who see any agreement with Israel as but a temporary tactical move, a “hudna.”

Like in the case of Michael Collins she wonders if he pursues this course of action has he signed his own death warrant. I guess we will see if Abbas can reduce Hamas and its various brethren to the level of the IRA and actually begin the construction of functioning state. I am certainly not optimistic. I hope he is sincere and I wish him Godspeed if he is. Here is everything that Memri has provided from the speech: (more…)

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It is a rare happenstance that my weekday mornings start of as well as mine did this morning. Two busy people rushing to get ready for work. Most of our readers can surely empathize. Of course I have now discovered why this workday of all work days started off so well. It was supposed to! Happy Global Orgasm Day!
From Alex Tabarrok:

Lest you think this is purely prurient, do note that there is an interesting scientific component. The Global Consciousness Project is a peculiar project run out of Princeton University that has for many years been running experiments correlating random output devices with human consciousness. Results from 12 years of experiments show small but highly statistically significant results.

Beginning in 1998 the group started to record data from “eggs” (non-deterministic random number generators) located around the world. The data show or seem to show higher than random correlations with “global events” such as the funeral of Princess Diana (the events are designated in advance or before examining the data). The eggs will record whether today’s global orgasm is associated with a perturbation in the global consciousness field.

Do I believe any of this? No. Will I participate in the experiment? Anything for science.

Technorati Tags: Global Consciousness Project, Sex, Orgasm, Global Orgasm Day

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Yields are low throughout the world, and despite the rising equity markets low yields on equities mean low long run returns on them as well as bonds. So we may actually be facing an end to the decade characterized by growth punctuated by either choppy to low returns on financial assets or a massive bubble as the economy stays relatively stable and people extrapolate that in a search for return that drives long run returns even lower. If that happens watch your wallet as yields climb and asset values fall upon deflation of the bubble. My guess? Choppy returns with a couple of 2000-2003 like collapses in various segments of the asset markets every time the economy slows as assets move unevenly to more normal valuation levels. Why are yields low on financial assets? Excess liquidity which is positive for growth, but negative for long term investment returns is one theory (while growth is good due to a low cost of capital, the high valuations drive down the yield per dollar actually invested.)

If true watch risk carefully! This is not the time to be reaching for yield or Goldilocks scenario returns even if growth is solid.

The thesis that it is the monetization of an aging western population’s assets that is providing this excess liquidity is held by Sam Zell amongst many others.

Oh, this is a listening note, which is supposed to be about music. And so it is, here is Sam Zell. (Click on the Theory of Relativity icon)

Hat tip: Greg Mankiw. (more…)

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Dale Franks has been doing a bit of economics blogging and he has some significant concerns about the economy. I do as well and they roughly mirror his own.

One of the areas of concern that some people have is the threat of depreciation of the dollar due to the large size of our current account deficit. The theory being that eventually countries, especially China, will diversify away from the dollar and lead to a repatriation of dollar assets. That means rising interest rates and inflation as well as a slowdown or outright recession as our economy adjusts to buying less from abroad and exporting more. That is likely to happen to some extent. (more…)

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UPDATE 2: Rick Moran takes Goode to task for his political pandering and does it without accusing Goode of equating Ellison’s election with a threat to our traditional values.

UPDATE: The New York Times makes the same false accusation:

In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nation’s traditional values.

That’s not what Goode said in his letter, and while it will be fun watching the meme grow and grow, this reflects very poorly on my State. It doesn’t seem to be asking too much to get the story right … oh, wait, yes it does.
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Leading off a story linked with the frontpage headline “Rep.: Muslim in U.S. House a ‘Threat’“ FoxNews reports that:

A Republican congressman from Virginia told FOX News he is standing by his warning that a newly elected representative’s decision to use the Koran in taking the oath of office poses a danger to the traditional “values and beliefs” of Americans.

Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. made the comments in a letter sent earlier this month to hundreds of constituents who had written to him about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a Democrat and the first Muslim in Congress.

The problem? Rep. Goode said no such thing. Fortunately the full text of letter was linked and I quote in full here: (more…)

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If there is one thing upon which libertarians, of whatever stripe, can all pretty much agree, it’s that a highly centralized government is a problem, not a solution. Why, then, is it that success in Iraq is so dependent upon the establishment of what we all agree is a problem?

I’m not an anarchist, and therefore I find a minimal level of government tolerable, so long as it is frequently held to account by the electorate. But government itself is not so much a “success” as a necessary evil. The relative “success” of a people, therefore, should not be based on the institution of a government, and certainly not on a highly centralized one, but on the people’s ability to maintain and support themselves and their successive generations. Accordingly, this observation of Tom Donelson’s seems to be quite insightful:

Every bit of strategy that is being discussed is based on the idea that we are losing. The Democratic opposition is based on the idea that we are losing. The media mantra is that we are losing. What if we are not?

In my December 10th entry, I observed that the Iraqi economy is doing quite well. I wrote, “[what] This economic news also shows is that [the] Iraqi nation may be slowly evolving into three federal sections since most of the economic progress is happening outside the Baghdad.” Newsweek is now reporting what others such as Strategypage.com have been showing for the past couple of years, the Iraqi’s economy is booming. [...] Newsweek added, “[...] However it’s spent, whether on security or something else, money circulates. Nor are ordinary Iraqis themselves short on cash. That’s boosted economic activity, particularly in retail. Imported goods have grown increasingly affordable, thanks to the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers. Salaries have gone up more than 100 percent since the fall of Saddam, and income-tax cuts (from 45 percent to just 15 percent) have put more cash in Iraqi pockets.” What Newsweek is describing [is a] supply side economy and guess what, it works in the United States, and it works in Iraq!

One meaning of all of this is that we may not be losing after all. If most of the country is prospering and Iraqis are forming new businesses, then can we assume that overall, we are indeed winning? Another meaning is that Iraqis are showing that they can operate in a liberated economy and if they can work in a free market economy during a war time setting; imagine what they could do if the insurgency is defeated? One important aspect of a liberal democracy succeeding is a liberal economy that frees entrepreneurs from the shackles of government. And Iraqis, with lower tax rates than even seen in the United States, have the money to form new businesses and spend money on new goods.

(more…)

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Thanks to Greg Mankiw for this humorous look into economics and government. In an interesting post on whether the study of economics leads one rightward (my opinion is somewhat, depending on what you mean by rightward) he provides us with an old Dave Barry column I had forgotten about and still seems relevant. It seems Greg uses it in his textbook. Good choice!

Farm Security: The mohair of the dog that bites you

If you’re like most American taxpayers, you often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and ask yourself: “Am I doing enough to support mohair producers?”

I am pleased to report that you are, thanks to bold action taken recently by the United States Congress (motto: “Hey, It’s not OUR money!”). I am referring to the 2002 Farm Security Act, which recently emerged from the legislative process very much the way a steaming wad of processed vegetation emerges from the digestive tract of a cow.

The purpose of the Farm Security act is to provide farmers with ”price stability.” What do we mean by ”price stability?” We mean: your money. You have already been very generous about this: Last year alone, you gave more than $20 billion worth of price stability to farmers. Since 1996, you’ve given more than a million dollars apiece to more than 1,000 lucky recipients, many of which are actually big agribusinesses. Some of the ”farmers” you’ve sent your money to are billionaires, such as Ted Turner and Charles Schwab, as well as major corporations, such as Chevron, DuPont and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance. (more…)

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Thanks to Tyler Cowen I find this at Mahalanobis:

Three guys decide to play a round of golf: a priest, a psychologist, and an economist.

They get behind a *very* slow two-some, who, despite a caddy, are taking all day to line up their shots and four-putting every green, and so on. By the 8th hole, the three men are complaining loudly about the slow play ahead and swearing a blue streak. The priest says, “Holy Mary, I pray that they should take some lessons before they play again.” The psychologist says, “I swear there are people that like to play golf slowly.” The economist says, “I really didn’t expect to spend this much time playing a round of golf.”

By the 9th hole, they have had it with slow play, so the psychologist goes to the caddy and demands that they be allowed to play through. The caddy says O.K., but then explains that the two golfers are blind, that both are retired firemen who lost their eyesight saving people in a fire, and that explains their slow play, and would they please not swear and complain so loud.

The priest is mortified; he says, “Here I am a man of the cloth and I’ve been swearing at the slow play of two blind men.” The psychologist is also mortified; he says, “Here I am a man trained to help others with their problems and I’ve been complaining about the slow play of two blind men.”

The economist ponders the situation-finally he goes back to the caddy and says, “Listen, the next time could they play at night.”

Technorati Tags: Golf, economist, priest, psychologist, joke

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Synthetic basketballs that is. In the brouhaha over the NBA’s new synthetic basketballs Ralph Nader weighed in on this weighty issue:

It seemed strange that the consumer most affected, most benefiting from Ralph’s roar, were several dozen millionaire jocks.

Among the points cited by Nader were that Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets had injuries “like paper cuts” on their hands, that the new ball “frequently became lodged between the rim and the backboard,” and, our personal favorite, the New York Knicks’ Eddy Curry saying, “The ball never leaves my hand the same way.”

Nader ended his letter of chastisement to Stern with a body blow: “Perhaps, finally, you will learn your lesson as to your attitude toward the league you have been entrusted to manage. The well-being of the players should be your highest priority. After all, you need them more than they need you.”

Now being an absolutely obsessive sports fan, and being a huge basketball fan who also happens to be first and foremost a Dallas Mavericks fan, I am as concerned about my team’s former point guard, and my favorite NBA star, Steve Nash’s fingers as anybody. I am glad that Commissioner Stern will spare him the paper cuts. But please, can anybody get rid of Nader? (more…)

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In addition to being plagued with malicious nanobots, “Friend of ASHC” Jon Henke (heck, QandO is practically our parent, but we won’t speak of it that way because, well, think about it, or really don’t.) has been discovered to be plagued with many various ethical problems as well. Tom Maguire has the scoop.

Update: I have procured a copy from Tom of Jon’s shocking arrest video!

[youtube]z0JkyaCrX0U[/youtube]

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The library, it begins, “has received a report concerning you.” It “has been reported” that “you had permitted a man to perform a homosexual act (fellatio) on you. Also, that you related that you find members of the male sex attractive; that you have been in bed with men; and that you have enjoyed embracing them.” Enjoyed embracing! “Is this report true?”

At the bottom of the page, appended as a hurried note, is a plea for help. “I must admit I am quite shook-up over this matter,” Nevin Feather wrote to Franklin Kameny. “Please advise me.”

The disposition of Nevin Feather’s case is lost to history, but the memo is not. In one of those cosmic japes that make fools of us all, the Library of Congress’s sinister interrogation of its gay employee now reposes as a historical document in, yes, the Library of Congress. There it joins company with the diaries of George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt, the papers of Thurgood Marshall and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and 16,000 other document collections spanning 60 million pages.

As they say, read the whole thing.

But if you don’t, I like this point:

A delectable, if backhanded, tribute to Kameny’s accomplishments comes from Peter LaBarbera, an anti-gay activist. Protesting the Library of Congress’s acquisition of Kameny’s papers, LaBarbera wrote of Kameny, “He is brilliant but wasted his considerable intellect and talents on homosexual activism, which is a shame.” Well, yes. Kameny might have had a brilliant scientific career — if the government hadn’t fired him for being homosexual. That was a shame.

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Dr. John’s “Walk on Gilded Splinters” has been covered by a slew of artists from Humble Pie to Paul Weller, but the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s version is the spiciest. The tight horn arrangement, underpinned by a rumbling tuba, is as dense and visceral as a thrash metal chord progression, and John Bell’s growling vocal is charged with voodoo charisma. While Dr. John’s original recording is creepy and menacing, foreshadowing trouble on the way, the Dirty Dozen’s take is the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic Mardi Gras, where trouble has already moved in and changed the rules. They’re both great, so please, blues/roots purists, don’t shoot me if I prefer the cover.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Dr. John

(more…)

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My relationship with the Replacements is inextricably tied to a bar, The Bayou. A magnificent, loud, smoke filled bar packed with regular patrons from all walks of life. Old men, aging hippies, bikers, college students, punk rockers, everybody under the sun. The Bayou burned down in the late 90’s, but every time I hear the Replacements “Here comes a regular” I can’t help but think of that legendary place. Many of you have seen the Bayou, though you weren’t aware of it. It was featured in Steven Soderberg’s breakthrough film, “sex, lies, and videotape.” Steven was a frequenter of the Bayou, and a Chimes street regular back when Chimes street, where the Bayou was located, was the heart of the tiny “alternative” scene in Baton Rouge.

The Replacements songs stretched across the various genres of the post punk era. Punk, thrash, heavy metal, delicate ballads, folk, country, it all bubbled up in a stew of youthful angst, romantic inertia, depression, rebellion and reflective longing.

The Replacements weren’t much into the whole MTV culture of the time, and hated the idea of putting a video together, but the record company insisted. Typical of their self destructive ambivalence toward their career, they relented, but only by putting out two of the more uniquely rebellious against the format videos ever released. The lead singer and primary songwriter, Paul Westerberg, felt showing them playing invaded the unique experience they felt their live shows were, so they weren’t going to show them playing live. I’ll let you see what they came up with for yourself. Video after the break. (more…)

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We have written about Wal-Mart before, but it does my heart good to hear that union members patronize and appreciate Wal-Mart, no matter what their leaders or supposed allies in the political class claim. From the National Association of Manufacturers blog:

It’s well-known that teachers hit Wal-Mart in droves to buy supplies — yes, even union teachers. But now comes more empirical data in the form of a Quinnipiac College poll from Ohio. According to the poll, 83 percent of Ohio voters in union households shop at Wal-Mart. By a margin of 53 – 28 percent, voters in union households say that Wal-Mart has a positive effect on their area. And, in a huge display of voter wisdom, by a 48 – 30 percent margin, voters think elected officials who criticize Wal-Mart are motivated by money and votes from labor unions rather than by concerns about low wages and benefits.

It is good to know union members can see through their leaders spin, as well as that of their politicians. More from the poll: (more…)

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If you’re in the mood for a little Chicago and Delta blues done the way it was meant to be done, head on over to Random Acts of Insensitivity where Blewsdog has conjured up an impressive array of clips featuring Albert King. Just a teaser of what’s over there:

I’ve often been surprised at how many people can identify B.B. King, Albert Collins, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, or Buddy Guy, but don’t really know who Albert King is (no, he’s not related to B.B. or Freddy). Personally, Albert King has been my favorite blues guitarist since I first heard him. He coaxes sounds from his righty-strung, lefty-played guitars that defy physics. King always kept his playing style somewhat of a secret, which is impressive since you can usually pick up what someone’s doing just by watching them. But King’s style is as elusive as his sound, and his mastery is well on display in the clips Blewsdawg has rounded up. So do yourself a favor and head over there. You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, and one random trivia note: Do you know what Texas, guitar-slingin’ bluesman Albert King claimed himself to be the godfather of? (Answer below the break) (more…)

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This could be good news for the Libertarian Party. They need some better known names, who know how to raise money, and run a winning political campaign.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/15/D8M1ILB00.html

A former Georgia congressman who helped spark President Clinton’s impeachment has quit the Republican Party to become a Libertarian, saying he is disillusioned with the GOP on issues such as spending and privacy.

Bob Barr, who served eight years as a Republican congressman before losing his seat in 2002, announced Friday that he is now a “proud, card-carrying Libertarian.” And he encouraged others to join him.

“It’s something that’s been bothering me for quite some time, the direction in which the party has been going more and more toward big government and disregard toward privacy and civil liberties,” said Barr, 58, a lawyer and consultant living in Atlanta. “In terms of where the country needs to be going to get back to our constitutional roots … I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to do that is to work with a party that practices what it preaches, and that is the Libertarian Party.”

Barr said he has no plans to run for office. In his new role as the Libertarian Party’s regional representative for the South, he will help promote the party’s message and recruit candidates, he said.

Barr helped manage the House Republicans’ impeachment case before the Senate in 1999.

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If you are in the giving mood this holiday season (and why wouldn’t you be?), then why not send our troops some free music:

Music for Troopsâ„¢ Inc. is a nonprofit, charitable organization founded by performer / songwriter, Cat Hughes. Cat has sent over 200,000 copies of her songs to the USA troops around the world. The mission of Music for Troops is to send music to the members of the USA armed forces at home and away from home.

Music is donated from the entertainment industry at large and sent to our troops free of charge in a secured multimedia transfer method. All copyright and other lawful obligations are strictly adhered to.

(via Hot Sauce)

And don’t forget Project Valor-IT, which provides voice-activated laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. We here at ASHC are sponsoring the Army in honor of Lance’s brother, but you can pick any team to which to donate:

Technorati Tags: Music For Troops, Project Valor-IT, charity, charitable giving, donations

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Omar at Iraq the Model has weighed in with his thoughts on the ISG report:

Looking at the ISG report…

The ISG report was released more than a week ago but I didn’t want to write immediately about it. The strange thing is that although the report is highly publicized and the recommendations touch on many critical topics few of ordinary Iraqis here seem interested in discussing it and the interest can be seen almost only among politicians.

It’s actually not that strange; many people see this report and other political movements as an effort among politicians to make deals that can only by coincidence be in the interest of the people.

Anyway, that’s not the way I feel—the report addresses both Iraq’s and America’s problems and needs and it did open a new dimension to the debate or at least, refreshed the debate. (more…)

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McQ notes an important decision by the 7th Circuit in a Reparations case:

A federal appeals court in Chicago has rejected most claims by slave descendants for reparations from some of the nation’s biggest insurers, banks and transportation companies. The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that slave descendants have no standing to sue based on injustices to ancestors and that the statute of limitations ran out more than a century ago.

However, McQ is bothered by one thing:

The phrase which bothers me is “rejected most claims”. I have to wonder what claims they didn’t reject and if they constitute a legitimate basis for appeal.

The claims not rejected by the 7th Circuit only survive as far as the challenges made to them in the current motion to dismiss do not apply. In general, most of the claims were dismissed because of the lack of standing, while those that survive, for one reason or another, do so because they are not challengeable on such grounds.

The opinion is largely an introduction to the finer points of Civil Procedure and the doctrine of standing. The caveat “rejected most claims” is referring to those claims which avoid the standing issue either because of who the plaintiff represents or because they raise consumer protection claims.

First, issues concerning who a plaintiff represents – (from the opinion(pdf); emphasis added):

But the district judge accepted that the purported representatives had a right to sue on behalf of their ancestors, and the defendants offer only a perfunctory rebuttal. We shall assume without deciding that some of the plaintiffs are legal representatives of their slave ancestors. These plaintiffs not only escape the objection to standing that the suits seek damages for injuries actually suffered by third parties (the ancestors—no longer third parties, but the real parties in interest, merely represented by the plaintiffs), but have less to prove. They just have to prove the injury to the ancestors; the trickle-down question is elided.

In all likelihood it would still be impossible for them to prove injury, requiring as that would connecting the particular slavery transactions in which the defendants were involved to harm to particular slaves. But in any event, suits complaining about injuries that occurred more than a century and a half ago have been barred for a long time by the applicable state statutes of limitations.

Second, the consumer protection/fraud claim exceptions -

The second qualification concerns a claim, rather buried in the complaint but not forfeited, that in violation of state fraud or consumer protection law members of the plaintiff classes have bought products or services from some of the defendants that they would not have bought had the defendants not concealed their involvement in slavery. This claim has nothing to do with ancient violations and indeed would be unaffected if the defendants’ dealings with slaveowners had been entirely legal … It is true that under no consumer protection law known to us, whether a special statute or a doctrine of the common law of contracts or torts, has a seller a general duty to disclose every discreditable fact about himself that might if disclosed deflect a buyer … We do not offer an opinion on the merits of the consumer protection claims, but merely reject the district court’s ruling that they are barred at the threshold.

There is one case (the Hurdle action) that is sort of an attachment to the consolidated actions in that it is probably only before a federal court in Chicago for pre-trial motions. There is a good chance that it could be heading back to a California court (most likely a federal district court) if it survives further pre-trial motions on remand.

And there is one other case, from New Jersey (the Barber case), in which there is no federal jurisdiction because all the parties are from the same State (thus destroying what is called “diversity” jurisdiction). The case is still dismissed, without prejudice (i.e. it can be filed again), but on different grounds than the others.

In sum, the “rejected most claims” ripped the guts out of the reparations actions and really only left two possible claims: (1) as a representative of the estate of a deceased slave who was wronged, or (2) a consumer fraud claim. Both types of actions have a difficult slog from here on out. But they do survive this first round of pre-trial practice. The remaining claims are all dismissed without prejudice, i.e. they can be filed again, but they will have to fit themselves within a rubric that afford the plaintiffs standing to pursue the claims. According to the 7th Circuit opinion, consumer fraud and filing as a legal representative of the deceased slave are two such ways to avoid the standing issue, although the prospects of such claims being ultimately successful are not good.

Does that answer the question for anyone?

Technorati Tags: Reparations, Seventh Circuit, 7th Circuit, Judge Posner, doctrine of standing

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One of the greatest pioneers in music has died:

Ahmet Ertegun, who helped define American music as the founder of Atlantic Records, a label that popularized the gritty R&B of Ray Charles, the classic soul of Aretha Franklin and the British rock of the Rolling Stones, died Thursday at 83, his spokesman said.

A native Turk, Ertegun brought such notables as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Cream and CSN&Y fame and noteriety. Arguably, Ertegun is the most important and influential record producer in music history.

“Ahmet Ertegun was a true visionary whose life’s work had a profound impact on our cultures musical landscape, as well as around the world,” said Neil Portnow, president of The Recording Academy.

Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner said Ertegun was a mentor to many in the music business.

“Ahmet was perhaps the most revered, respected figure in American popular music of the modern era,” Wenner said in a statement.

Like most great entrepreneurs, Ertegun indentified an underserved market niche, black music lovers, and exploited it. He soon found that he could extend the market to the white American audience. In addition, in a business rife with sharp dealers who paid musicians very little, Ertegun routinely outbid his competitors and Atlantic Records gained a reputation for being a fair-dealing company:

From the beginning, Atlantic was different from other independent record companies. Their financier/dentist did not put pressure on them for immediate return on his investment, so Herb and Ahmet were free to make decisions based on their own good musical judgment. They did not cheat performers, as many of the other independent labels did. They gained a reputation for being honest, and that reputation as much as anything was the foundation for the success of the company. Many talented performers were willing to sign long term contracts with Atlantic because they believed that their royalties would be paid. Atlantic’s business practices allowed them to hire the best musicians in the business. When it was industry practice to pay royalties below 2 percent — or in the case of many black artists, no royalties at all — Atlantic was paying 3 to 5 percent.

Ertegun’s influence on the business of music is comparable to Robert Johnson’s influence on the Blues. Probably the two greatest accomplishments of Ertegun were in popularizing “black music” with such R&B acts as Franklin, Ruth Brown and Big Joe Turner, and in facilitating what’s known as the “British Invasion” which ultimately derived its sound from the Blues, thereby introducing America to its own greatest musical tradition from foreign shores.

You can read much more about the history of Atlantic Records here. Suffice it to say, the music world has lost one of its greats.

Technorati Tags: Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records, Blues, R&B, Soul, Jazz, Gospel, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, music business, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones

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Black Foliage, by Olivia Tremor Control, is Sergeant Pepper’s as a cheap but astonishingly well-crafted home recording, proving the concept that such multilayered sonic frippery can be accomplished by virtually anyone now that recording equipment and professional editing software are so inexpensive. As ever, not just anyone can write such great songs (”California Demise Pt. 3,” “I Have Been Floated”), and most who can do that are unable or unwilling to marry their sugary pop melodies to such a variety of psychedelic sounds. Despite Black Foliage’s grand ambition, it is refreshingly unpretentious in comparison to most psychedelic/experimental rock; instead of “man, that’s heavy,” it’s “wow, that’s shiny.”

I have been floated


California Demise Pt. 3

Technorati Tags: Black Foliage, music, psychedelic, rock

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When I first started this little project, before I even knew Omar, Michael and Keith as anything but annoying commenters at QandO (okay, that is a cheap shot at my co-bloggers, but I have it on good authority that I am one of the most annoying commenters at QandO, so I consider them in good company) I had originally planned to cover music a whole lot more than I have. So starting today that is going to change.

Why? Well, while wandering around at Inactvist reading the always worth reading D.A. Ridgely I came across his discussion of Time Magazines All-TIME 100 Albums. Reading the list I was mostly bored. Don’t get me wrong: a great deal of it is truly great music, though it has the feel of being put together by committee and little strikes me as surprising. The fact is sometimes I want to be surprised, even on something that by its very nature requires a bit of consensus. (more…)

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I spent an hour and a half in my wife’s AP European History class on Monday. My topic was the history of economic thought during the enlightenment. Subtopics were mercantilism, the physiocrats and Adam Smith. Brief digressions on the connection between Smith and Marx as well as Malthus. I know, eyes glaze over, but in fact it seems I was a big hit. I haven’t taught much in the last few years, so it was fun. I suspect though, that a little more reading of primary sources would have enabled them to get more out of it. Having them read all of “The Wealth of Nations” would probably not be the answer. I would have loved it had they read this first though:

Book Description

As one of the first titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, America’s most provocative satirist, P. J. O’Rourke, reads Adam Smith’s revolutionary The Wealth of Nations so you don’t have to. Recognized almost instantly on its publication in 1776 as the fundamental work of economics, The Wealth of Nations was also recognized as really long: the original edition totaled over nine hundred pages in two volumes—including the blockbuster sixty-seven-page “digression concerning the variations in the value of silver during the course of the last four centuries,” which, “to those uninterested in the historiography of currency supply, is like reading Modern Maturity in Urdu.” Although daunting, Smith’s tome is still essential to understanding such current hot-topics as outsourcing, trade imbalances, and Angelina Jolie. In this hilarious, approachable, and insightful examination of Smith and his groundbreaking work, P. J. puts his trademark wit to good use, and shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and why the pursuit of self-interest is so important.

From Publishers Weekly: (more…)

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With the hoopla just starting on Christians in the military, see here and here, I was wondering what Muslims and Islamists might think of athiests and others who are not “people of the book.”

Christian military officers who share their faith at work in the Pentagon pose a threat to national security, according to a group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military.

Public displays of faith by high-ranking military officers project an image of a Christian nation waging war on non-Christians, both inside and outside the United States, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said Monday.

This created an “internal national security issue every bit as great as the one we’re fighting outwardly,” said the organization’s president, Mikey Weinstein.

“The jihadists, the insurrectionists, everybody from the head of Hamas, Hizballah, the Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, they see us as invading American imperialists and crusaders,” he told a news conference in Washington, D.C.

If the secularists in this country want to make the claim, for Muslims, that they view Christians in our military as crusaders, then that begs the question, what would they think of God-less soldiers in their country? Even if Christians were outwardly less noticeable in our military, our enemy would still call them imperialists.

My POV is, why are we worrying about our enemies view of our military? What is more important is, how do the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the greater Middle East view, not just our military, but our government, and we as a people and nation.

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One of the more irritating aspects of commentary about Hezbollah (Hizbullah) is that often they are portrayed as an organization specifically interested in Southern Lebanon and the plight of the Palestinians. They are not part of a wider terrorist issue.

A more accurate assessment would take into account the Iranian state and its goals, which include enlarging the influence of Islam, Shiite Islam and Sharia enforced by the state. Terror is one means to that end. Political organization is another. In that sense they are very reminiscent of revolutionary fascist and communist movements of the past. A combination of political activity and public works with an organized system of violence and terror to enforce discipline and grow their political apparatus, while simultaneously destabilizing the society around them. They assume the role of the stabilizing, benevolent force that promises to feed, clothe and shelter those in the midst of the gathering chaos. They are the benevolent strongman wrapped in revolutionary spiritual garb. Economic, religious and police functions are combined under a single banner.

This dynamic is not viewed by Iran as confined to any single geographic area, and in fact they have a presence around the globe. In some areas they are beginning to achieve critical mass outside of Lebanon. One of those places is Turkey, and their growth in Turkey is an ominous sign indeed. From The Memri blog:

On December 12, 2006 Turkish columnist Cuneyt Ulsever, of the mainstream wide circulation Hurriyet, wrote that the Hizbullah movement is rooting itself in Southeast Turkey and wins the hearts and the minds of the poor by providing them with food, health services, and education, while instilling in them the love and longing for sharia and martyrdom. Ulsever quotes some Turks from the region, who express readiness and desire to die for Sharia . He warns the government of the dangers of the widening network he calls “Hizbullah- a-la-Turca” and asks “who is financing Hizbullah’s activities in Turkey’s [impoverished] Southeast?”

Technorati Tags: Turkey, Hezbollah, terrorism, Lebanon, Palestine, Islam, Sharia, Shiite

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From MEMRI we get a view from the Islamic State in Iraq on the Iraq Study Group:

“Now that the Allies’ military command has realized the need for a quick withdrawal from the quagmire into which [the Allies] have stepped…, it has been discussing… how to prevent the mujahideen… and Muslims in Iraq from reaping the fruits of the blessed jihad.”

The message accuses the Iraq Study Group of following in the footsteps of the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The agreement, says the message, aimed to “carve the Islamic Ottoman Caliphate into [several] secular states submissive to the colonialist Crusaders,” while the Iraq Study Group aimed “to prevent the mujahideen from overstepping the boundaries laid down by the Sykes-Picot Agreement…” The message says further: “Now that its wager on the Shi’ite government [of Iraq] has failed [to pay off]…, the American administration [is striving] to thwart… any attempt to… [establish] an Islamic State in the form of a Caliphate in Iraq…”

The message also warns the mujahideen to beware these “schemes and plots, lest they become easy prey for the Crusader enemy,” and urges them to prevent “the opportunists” from “reaping the fruits of their blessed Jihad.”

Technorati Tags: Iraq, Islamic State, Iraq Study Group, ISG, Sykes-Picot

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It is no great surprise, but of great import, because they have the ability to say no and dare anyone to stop them, the Kurds are not very happy with the ISG Report. We have discussed the Kurds on occasion before:

No Friends but the Mountains
Those Pesky Kurds
The Path of the Kurds: Lessons going forward

The Kurds still seem determined to have a peaceful democratic society despite how inconvenient it is for the various powers trying to create a “stable” Middle East. From the Scotsman: (more…)

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One of the memes which has built up momentum over the last six months is the idea that we must engage in dialogue with Syria and Iran to improve our situation in Iraq, or at least to allow some hope of stability after we leave. Whether that is in our long term interest as opposed to short term comfort level is more assumed than really examined in the present circumstances. Of great import to me is the ISG seems to not give a whit about the opinion of those who will be most immediately affected who are not our enemy. Looking through the report the people in the Middle East who might object on something other than “realist’ grounds are not given any space at all. They are a non-factor.
 
Therefore I would like to give you some thoughts from the Middle East who are on the side of reform on the wisdom of such a course, since the ISG has not. Make of it what you will. From MEMRI.

The following is the translation of an editorial titled “The Poisonous Report” that was posted on the Arabic reformist website www.aafaq.org on December 8, 2006. It was written by website editor Omran Salman. [1]

(more…)

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Do any of you all remember those local fair from when you were in high school? You know the ones where the local high school principal and a few, notorious teachers would “volunteer” to get in the dunking booth so that the local students could have a go at humiliating their nemeses? Well, tomdelay.com is sort of the internet version:

The importance of the blogosphere in shaping and motivating the current conservative movement is unquestionable- not only has it served as an important tool in breaking through the liberal MSM clutter but it has helped to keep our elected officials true to principle.

This blog is meant to further the online discussion in the marketplace of ideas.

Yes it has a comments section. Merry Christmas, glasnost!

UPDATE: More here and here.

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I have quite firmly announced my status as an MMORPG’er on this very site in the recent past. I am still quite proud of it. Having said that, I acknowledge that participation in MMORPG’s, like participation in most hobbies, doesn’t actually contribute to the overrall betterment of mankind (I daresay MMORPG producers would disagree). While checking up on a number of worldwide charity organizations (don’t ask), I discovered this link which I find to be amazingly creative. Not only is the charity an older, quite legitimate one (as far as I can tell), but the organization sponsoring this is donating an additional 10% on top of what players contribute. That’s not bad at all. Now whenever I’m accused of wasting away my free time, and contributing to EQwidowhood, I can (somewhat) honestly respond that I am motivated sheerly by desire to further the cause of a humanitarian charity group. I wonder how long I’ll be able to pull this one off before the wife gets wise to it?

Check it out. Help save the World by playing the World (of Warcraft). Kudos to whomever thought this idea up.

Hey, maybe even Michael will step up to the lofty heights of geekdom and become an MMORPG’er. Remeber, it’s for the children.

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For those who have missed it I am from Louisiana and now once again live in my hometown of Baton Rouge. It is thus with deep embarrassment that I have to write this. I was sitting down watching the news and what is one of the lead stories? Our local racist, anti-semitic neo-nazi, David Duke is being treated to a hero’s welcome in Iran as a special guest of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It seems Duke is praising Mahmoud for his intellectual courage, or something along those lines for holding the Holocaust Conference. So I got on my computer and quickly found some details for you.

Over at Gateway Pundit we find this about who David’s associates at the conference are:

The Evil Monster?
“On their Iran trip, Dr Toben and Richard Krege were widely applauded, and treated with great respect. Their safety was never in question, where as a trip to Israel would be a death sentence.

The fact that Israel, with it’s 4.8 million Russian and Polish immigrants, with an average IQ of 90, and a aggressive behavior, caused by years of inbreeding, are sitting on 400 plus nukes, are the real monsters we have to fear.”

Richard Krege is one of the “Holocaust scholars” who actually lectured to Iranian university classes about his research on the Holocaust.

He even has a video HERE from one of his trips to Treblinka.

You can visit Krege’s website and read more from this inspiring “historian.”

The guys at Stormfront are thrilled but the ADL less so:

“We believe this type of Holocaust denial has no place in the family of nations, and that it is essential for European and world leaders to condemn this conference and everything it stands for at its core, which is anti-Semitism,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.

“Holocaust denial is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that posits that Jews, for their own selfish purposes, created a monstrous tale of their own destruction and deliberately inflicted the hoax on the entire world,” added Mr. Foxman. “It presumes that Jews control the international media and all other forms of information, for how else could such a ‘fantasy’ flourish the way it has.”

(more…)

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From an e-mail my brother in law sent me:

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington Chemistry mid-term.

The answer by one student was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following: (more…)

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It seems that the issue of unpaid sick leave that I covered previously is now making the rounds of the major news networks (emphasis in original):

Monday’s edition of “American Morning” featured a decidedly one sided segment that advocated for Democratic legislation, generously highlighted Ted Kennedy and promoted San Francisco as the wave of the future. Correspondent Alina Cho used the piece to boost a bill that would require employers with more than 15 workers to give seven sick days a year. Disparaging America’s primitive stance on the issue, she noted that “139 countries provide paid sick leave for workers. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not pay.” Cho almost entirely ignored opposition to this plan.

Note that the unsourced estimate of the number of workers without any paid sick days has grown in just the last week:

Alina Cho: “…For many Americans, taking a sick day is not a big deal. You take it for granted. But by most estimates, more than half of all Americans who work in the private sector do not get a single day of paid sick leave. Not a single day. Well, all of that could change now that the Democrats are about to take control of Congress.

Remember that, according to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (pdf), approximately 57% of ALL workers in the private sector do in fact have paid “sick leave” and, more importantly, over 75% of ALL private sector workers have paid vacation time. Because all paid time off is the same no matter what you personally decide to do with that time, why does it matter if only 57% of workers have that time specifically designated as “sick leave”? It doesn’t.

But there is a meme to nurture here, and the MSM will obediently set about to doing it. It begins with the Washington Post article essentially putting a positive (and dishonest) spin on a piece of San Francisco legislation in order to promote of bit of potential Ted Kennedy legislation. It then moves to the cable and morning programs (my guess is that Lou Dobbs gets in on this next) and then you will hear about it from the three legacy news programs, right about the same time as the Washington Post and New York Times editorial boards issue their respective approvals of Kennedy’s program. You will rarely, if ever, hear the other side of this issue, and it is entirely doubtful that you will get the true facts. Instead you will hear a great deal of “some say” and “by most estimates” followed by statements of alleged fact that are usually wrong or, at least, contentious enough to require a rebuttal. (Patterico has compiled a useful manual on such techniques for your edification). The problem here is that there is a meme being nurtured. There is no “news” being reported, but instead, an idealized view is being sold disguised as accepted fact and received wisdom.

In this case, there is likely to be very little resistance to that idealized view (as captured by the San Fran and Kennedy legislation) since, as I stated before, it makes no difference what you call paid time-off. Instead of 20 or 30 “vacation” or “personal” days per year, employers will start calling some portion of them “sick days.” Basically a lot of time and ink will be wasted on what is essentially legislation giving Ted Kennedy the naming rights for your vacation time (oops! I meant “sick leave”). If this is the sort of perfidy the media will go through in order to promote a meme of little to no consequence, what do you think they will do on more major events? Kinda makes you go “hmmmmm” doesn’t it?

Technorati Tags: media bias, sick leave, paid vacation days, Ted Kennedy, Jamil Hussein

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JMW at A Special Way Of Being Afraid responds to the question posed to Andrew Sullivan, “have you ever blogged drunk?” I’ll answer that! (more…)

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Since Kyle has me thinking about football, I endeavored to complete a quest I have frustratingly found impossible previously, locating the audio online for Andy Griffith’s “What It Was, Was Football.” I remember it from watching the Super Bowl as a young boy. I haven’t heard it in years, but tonight I have discovered it again via NPR. Go ahead and enjoy the great Andy Griffith.

Technorati Tags: Football, Andy Griffith

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I remember watching the sports segment on the local news in Fort Worth when this happened. 2:42 are left in the game between East Plano and John Tyler High. The score is 41-16. What transpired is the most incredible couple of minutes football may have ever seen. You have to watch until the very last play. Many thanks to Kyle at Impudent Nation. (more…)

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A good while back Michael and I spent a bit of time pointing out that the Foley scandal was bi-partisan in nature and that its implications spread far beyond the impulses of one congressman. None of that means the scandal was very important other than to point out the hypocrisy of what many partisans were doing and explore various ways of thinking about gays and their place in our republic. (more…)

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It is time to memorialize the passing of one of the lesser bastards, but a true bastard, of the last century. Augusto Pinochet has left the scene, my only problem being he never spent time in prison for his crimes. I understand why he didn’t, and in the great scheme of things it may even have been best he didn’t, but it isn’t a good thing. Now if only his bookend in the world of criminal Latin American regimes would join him. Given Castro is still in power it might actually make a difference in our world. Here is the Washington Post on his rule. As a special present for glasnost I give WAPO’s impression of Friedman’s role: (more…)

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I don’t mind a bit of hypocrisy myself. I figure if I eliminated everyone who has been one from my stable of things to read it would be a little sparse on content. Some hypocrisy however reveals a bit of intellectual confusion, or lack of substance so as to make a persons motive for even commenting on something suspect. (more…)

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Many would hope so, but the passing of Jeane Kirkpatrick should serve to remind us of some things. Intellectual ideas on foreign policy are not simple to describe or easily pigeonholed. Jeane Kirkpatrick was the Reaganite answer to the Realpolitik Kissinger wing of the Republican Foreign Policy establishment. The foremost neo-conservative (and Reagan could in some ways be seen as a neo-con himself) in the Reagan administration and despite not fitting any of our contemporary illusory stereotypes (she was neither Jewish, a follower of Strauss, a Trotskyite nor attached to oil interests) she exemplified what the movement was about. A lifelong Democrat and associate of Hubert Humphrey, in European terms a social democrat, she combined her belief in the power of government to intervene on behalf of social equality with an uncompromising opposition to totalitarianism, specifically the Soviet Union. (more…)

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It really is. I have friends who are state employees, so I know this is a cheap shot, but still, I can’t resist. I am a libertarian and all. (more…)

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What can be said is being said, by all the right people…

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism and the first woman U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, has died.

The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Hubert Humphrey Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations and on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, where she had been a senior fellow.

Kirkpatrick’s assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Md. late Thursday. She had been suffering from heart disease, but the cause of death was not immediately known. U.N. Ambassador John Bolton asked for a moment of silence for Kirkpatrick Friday at a meeting of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. in New York.

For a collection of responses:
http://www.blogsofwar.com/2006/12/08/jeane-kirkpatrick-has-died/

Technorati Tags: Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan, U.N.,

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It has become almost apriori proof that you are an unsophisticated wingnut to bring up lessons from WWII. That was an event so unique that no lessons of any importance are allowed to poke their head into current foreign policy discussions. I disagree with that. So here are two posts with relevance to our present situation in my mind. Not that they are what I would say, but they make points which have to be confronted. First from Shannon Love at Chicago Boyz:
(more…)

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As sectarian violence rages in Baghdad some things are going right in Iraq. One event which has received almost no coverage (I have seen none, but probably it has been mentioned somewhere) was the recent decimation of the leadership of Ansar al Sunnah. From Captains Journal we find that the Multi-National Force – Iraq Combined Press Information Center has issued a press release: (more…)

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The Supreme Court heard what are likely to be landmark cases — Community Schools v. Seattle School District Number One and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education — on the scope and application of Affirmative Action type programs:

More than 50 years after the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools, the justices struggled over one controversial outgrowth of that decision Monday.

They are divided over what role race should play, if any, in competitive admissions at elementary and secondary schools.

Some justices highlighted the benefits of racial diversity in the classroom, while others on the bench worried about whether the voluntary integration programs constitute illegal racial quotas.

The cases from Kentucky and Washington state revisit past disputes over race and education. The issues stem from the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ending racial separation in public facilities.

I’m not going to discuss those cases here. Instead, I want to discuss the political ramifications surrounding Affirmative Action, and what I see as blatant hypocrisy on the part of some who support such programs. (more…)

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Crime shows and movies are filled with examples of cops using the tactic of narc, or go to jail. One has to wonder how often such tactics are used in real life, and whether they are successful.

What happens when a person is innocent and given the same choice? Are the authorities using undue coercion to gain the cooperation of a potential snitch?

Here’s a case where I hope the lawsuit is massively successful.

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/Today/2006120514

According to a lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court Monday, a student-athlete at Sissonville High School was given Smarties candy as a reward for good academic performance. In front of his teacher and fellow classmates, the student pretended to put one of the small candy discs up his nose. Another student used his cell phone to record video of the incident.

Principal Calvin McKinney, who is named as a defendant along with the Kanawha County school board, allegedly called the plaintiff into his office and confronted him about the incident.

“The plaintiff informed … McKinney … that at no time did he possess any drug or did he claim to possess any drug,” according to the suit.

Still, McKinney then threatened to suspend the student — identified in the lawsuit only by his initials — unless he joined McKinney’s “Narc Program” and went undercover to find real drug users at the school, according to the suit.

“The [student] was told that he was to ‘hang around the bathroom’ and the school parking lot,” the suit states.

McKinney’s investigation into the incident confirmed that the student was telling the truth about the Smarties candy, according to the suit.

“The plaintiff was informed that even though it was, in fact, just candy … McKinney needed another ‘Narc’ for his program and that if the student would not agree to enter said Narc Program that he would be suspended,” the suit reads.

After the student and his parents met with school officials and the student refused to cooperate with McKinney’s proposal, he received a 10-day suspension, according to the suit.

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One of the things which was brought up after the recent passing of Milton Friedman was his “support” of the Pinochet government of Chile. Never mind that giving economic advice which led to a freer society does not mean support. Let us also ignore that while Pinochet may have ruled as a dictator, he also allowed more freedom for his citizens than the vast majority of people enjoy in this day and age, forget the time of his rule. We’ll also slip by the fact that Friedman’s advice influenced policies that, at least in an economic sense, have resulted in Chile being one of the developing worlds most successful economies. Those policies were in direct opposition to the course taken and advice given in most of the rest of the developing world, and have been far more successful.

What I wonder however, is if he had been giving his advice to Fidel Castro, which he would gladly have done, would he have gotten nearly as much criticism from those very same critics (as opposed to a possible different set of critics) and would it have mattered what his advice was?

I ask this thanks to Eric at Classical Values who noted this odd juxtaposition in how Pinochet and Castro were portrayed on the very same day in the very same paper. I wouldn’t be claiming bias on the part of the paper, of course not, not me, but it still makes one wonder: (more…)

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