First President Obama gives up missile defenses in Poland the Czech Republic in exchange for. . . well, evidently, nothing.  Now, it turns out he declined to press Iran’s leadership on its phony election because he had a deal in the works—a deal on which he’s now been double-crossed.  What ever possessed him to think that he would engage in smarter diplomacy than the Bush … Continue reading Smart Diplomacy

Okay, enough already.  You can go around carrying pictures of Chairman Mao; you can offer to help establish houses of underage prostitution; you can make up quotations and attribute them to Rush Limbaugh; but when you make up quotations and attribute them to Aristotle, I get mad.  Aristotle is supposed to have said, If we believe men have any personal rights at all, then they … Continue reading Abusing Aristotle

Here’s a story that came out more than two weeks ago but has received little attention.  The data underlying the global warming hypothesis turns out to have been cooked.  Richard Fernandez explains: The most amazing part of this story from my point of view was the way in which a dogged Canadian mathematician, acting practically alone with the help of his trusty readers, forced the … Continue reading Global Warming Debunked

Greg Mankiw luckily has a sense of humor. Continue reading Economics Explained

Well, after a break of about ten weeks—featuring moving two daughters off to college, the start of a new semester, some deadlines for writing papers and composing music, and two deaths (of my sister-in-law and one of my students)—I’m eager to get back to blogging.  Thanks to all those who have noticed that I’ve been absent. I’ve often had the urge to blog over the … Continue reading I’m Back!