This is true “wow” moment to start the new Gregorian year. The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled, on an 8-7 vote, to strike down the first installment of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul. In what now seems like ages ago, but was only July, the Knesset had passed an amendment to the Basic Law: Judiciary […]
Israeli Supreme Court strikes down “reasonableness” Basic Law
Israeli Supreme Court strikes down “reasonableness” Basic Law
02 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics Tags: constitutional law, Israel
Antisemitism in America as displacement behavior
02 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
It’s likely that most or all of today’s posts will be about the antisemitism in America and the world, a form of hatred revealed and exacerbated by the war between Israel and Hamas. There are no other worthy items to post about, so if you’re tired of the war, or of discussions about Jews, just […]
Antisemitism in America as displacement behavior
DON BRASH: The new government has one helluva a task in front of it: Compulsory indoctrination is unworthy of professional bodies
28 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: consititutional law, political correctness, regressive left
The other day, I became aware of another example of the way in which the last Government tried to embed its own narrow interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi into every aspect of New Zealand life. This one involves the Real Estate Authority. Like many similar bodies, it encourages its authorized agents to get…
DON BRASH: The new government has one helluva a task in front of it: Compulsory indoctrination is unworthy of professional bodies
#OTD
26 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, economic history, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, Public Choice Tags: fall of communism
#OTD Romania
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Romania
How to Sell Protest Footage to FOX AND CNN
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, television Tags: free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left
Yielding to Temptation: Colorado’s Supreme Court Blocks Democracy to Bar Trump on the 2024 Ballot
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in The Messenger on the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the 2024 election. There are now over a dozen states considering similar demands from advocates to prevent voters from being able to vote for the current leading candidate for the presidency. In California, Lieutenant Gov. Eleni […]
Yielding to Temptation: Colorado’s Supreme Court Blocks Democracy to Bar Trump on the 2024 Ballot
24 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, economics of media and culture, law and economics Tags: dating markets, marriage and divorce
📸 Look at this post on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/share/XdrFXjC6135bNRUC/?mibextid=RXn8sy
Calls to ban free speech at Auckland University in New Zealand
24 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left
Troubles continue at the University of Auckland as it’s being sued by a somewhat off-the-rails professor named Siouxsie (real name Susannah) Wiles. Wiles apparently made some statements about Covid-19 as a public communicator of science, statements that the public didn’t like. The result was that she claimed to be inundated with hate mail and threats. […]
Calls to ban free speech at Auckland University in New Zealand
Argentina Milei reform impressions
23 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, business cycles, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
I didn’t have much time in Argentina, but I can pass along a few impressions about how Milei is doing, noting I hold these with “weak belief”: 1. He is pretty popular with the general population. He is also popular in B.A. in particular. People are fed up with what they have been experiencing. It […]
Argentina Milei reform impressions
Harvard/Harris Poll: Majority of Democrats Want Hunter Prosecuted for Contempt
21 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
It appears that the concerted effort to excuse Hunter Biden’s defiance of a subpoena in the media has failed. According to a Harvard Caps/Harris poll, 71 percent of Americans believe that Hunter should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress. What is remarkable is that 54 percent of Democrats support his prosecution.
Harvard/Harris Poll: Majority of Democrats Want Hunter Prosecuted for Contempt
Mission creep at the FFRF
19 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, sports economics Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
One of my favorite secular organizations is the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), of which I’m a member of the “honorary board”. But even honorary boards should play an advisory role, and so I’m doing that here by calling attention to the organization’s mission creep. In previous posts, I noted that the organization, which is […]
Mission creep at the FFRF
The Three Myths of the Biden Impeachment Defense
16 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my (slightly updated) column in the New York Post on three myths being widely repeated in the Biden impeachment inquiry. These false narratives have been eagerly repeated in the media despite lacking legal or factual support. In the interest of interjecting a modicum of reality into this debate, here is why these defenses […]
The Three Myths of the Biden Impeachment Defense
Dr Lawrie Knight: Fact Checking Waitangi Tribunal Finding
16 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
Evidence that Northern ,Māori ,knew they were ceding sovereignty to the Crown when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi – fact checking the Waitangi Tribunal 2014 findings and the 2023 findings released on the 8th of December 2023. The Waitangi Tribunal has stated in its 2014 inquiry into Te Paparahi o Te Raki, that the…
Dr Lawrie Knight: Fact Checking Waitangi Tribunal Finding
An Upside-Down Economic History of Argentina
13 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, labour economics, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, Ronald Coase Tags: Argentina
Argentina has a very interesting, but also rather tragic, economic history. During first half of the 20th century, it was one of the world’s richest nations. But thanks to dirigiste economic policies (known locally as Peronism) starting after World War II, Argentina has suffered a dramatic decline in relative living standards. However, something shocking has […]
An Upside-Down Economic History of Argentina
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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