Bill Maher’s latest news-and-comedy shtick on “Real Time” deals once again with the flak he got for having dinner with President Trump. Remember? Despite Maher constantly criticizing the President’s policies durin gthe dinner, he also reported that he found Trump affable and friendly. That was enough for liberals to come down on Maher like a…
Bill Maher’s latest New Rule: “Trump Estrangement Syndrome”
Bill Maher’s latest New Rule: “Trump Estrangement Syndrome”
08 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows
The Vietnam War and racial integration
07 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of love and marriage, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: marriage and divorce, racial discrimination, Vietnam war
The Vietnam draft conscripted hundreds of thousands of young Americans into an integrated military. I combine near-random draft lottery variation with administrative voter data to study the long-run racial integration effects of coerced national service. Black and Native American veterans became more likely to marry white spouses, identify as Republicans, and live in more-integrated neighborhoods.…
The Vietnam War and racial integration
The Nightmare Scenario Leading to a Wealth Tax
07 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, income redistribution, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Is it time to pack our belongings and head to Argentina, where Javier Milei is dramatically improving economic policy and cultural attitudes? I’m joking, but also not joking. The reason I’m not joking is that there’s a very depressing scenario for America’s near-term economic outlook. It involves these six potential developments. Thanks in part to […]
The Nightmare Scenario Leading to a Wealth Tax
Population changes helping Republicans
07 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
The latest US population estimates will help the Republicans in the 2032 presidential election, according to this analysis. It suggests blue states will lose 10 electoral votes, swing states gain one and red states gain nine. This will only matter in a very close election such as 2000, but it is interesting that so many…
Population changes helping Republicans
Dismantling the competition myth
06 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, organisational economics, politics - Australia, technological progress, theory of the firm Tags: competition law, creative destruction
Ask anyone in Australia’s competition law community what transformed the economy, and you will hear a familiar story. Australia was once a cartelised, complacent place where businesses divided up markets and consumers paid the price. Then came the Trade Practices Act in 1974, and competition law forced firms to compete. This is not a fringe […]
Dismantling the competition myth
The youth gender gap is because young women have moved left
06 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: regressive left, voter demographics
The tweet above includes this graph: The original tweet has lots of reasoning as to why this is. TLDR is social media. The post The youth gender gap is because young women have moved left first appeared on Kiwiblog.
The youth gender gap is because young women have moved left
Why Most Australian Writers’ Festivals Are Pro-Palestinian
05 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of media and culture, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia
Australian writers’ festivals are frequently accused of being “pro-Palestinian” or anti-Israeli. The charge is usually made in frustration: panels on Gaza and Palestinian literature are common; strongly pro-Israel voices are rare; and anyone who questions the imbalance is quickly told they are confusing “balance” with “morality”. Yet the more interesting question is not whether a […]
Why Most Australian Writers’ Festivals Are Pro-Palestinian
Jack Smith’s Secret Orders Targeting Patel and Wiles Should Alarm Us All
04 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election
Below is my column on Fox.com on the new disclosures of secret orders targeting now FBI Director Kash Patel and…
Jack Smith’s Secret Orders Targeting Patel and Wiles Should Alarm Us All
More Bark Than Bite: Kaine’s War Powers Resolution is an “Imminent” Failure
04 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: regressive left
We now have a glimpse of the War Powers Resolution promised by Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.), which is reportedly…
More Bark Than Bite: Kaine’s War Powers Resolution is an “Imminent” Failure
The Clintons and the Politics of Scandal
03 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
Below is my column in the Hill on the deposition of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State…
The Clintons and the Politics of Scandal
One view of Iranian strategy
02 Mar 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace
Some observations and comments on Trump and Israel’s war on Iran: 1. Tehran is not looking for a ceasefire and has rejected outreach from Trump. The reason is that they believe they committed a mistake by agreeing to the ceasefire in June – it only enabled the US and Israel to restock and remobilize to…
One view of Iranian strategy
Epic Fury: Trump Can Rely on Past Democratic Presidents for the Authority to Attack Iran
01 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: constitutional law
Below is my column on Fox.com on the legal authority for Operation Epic Fury. There are good-faith arguments that such…
Epic Fury: Trump Can Rely on Past Democratic Presidents for the Authority to Attack Iran
So much for being a refugee
01 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, Economics of international refugee law, law and economics, politics - New Zealand
The Herald reports: New Zealand citizen and Algerian political activist Ahmed Zaoui has been released from prison after more than two years behind bars. Zaoui was arrested at gunpoint in the city of Medea in 2023 for holding a political meeting at his home and commenting on the “political and human rights situation” in the country. He…
So much for being a refugee
The Treaty – Drowning in a sea of misinformation in 2026
01 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: constitutional law, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
I write this as a descendant of Henry Williams, who arrived here in 1823 as an ex Royal Navy officer and Head of the Church Missionary Society of New Zealand. He translated the Treaty of Waitangi into te reo Maori in 1840. The document he prepared with his eldest son Edward, on the evening of […]
The Treaty – Drowning in a sea of misinformation in 2026
LINDSAY MITCHELL: HOW THE SALLIES HAVE EVOLVED TO BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM
28 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, labour economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, welfare reform Tags: Maori economic development, racial discrimination
The 2026 Salvation Army State of the Nation Report revealed their official conversion to wokeism by repeatedly finding excuses for Maori over-representation in poor social stats because of victimisation through colonisation. This caused a number of readers to ponder future contributions to the organisation. But it isn’t just this development that should concern donors. The…
LINDSAY MITCHELL: HOW THE SALLIES HAVE EVOLVED TO BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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