They raised our parents, spoiled us and now they are going to destroy us. Is there a Republican Congress and Republican President? Is there any difference between the Repbulicans and the Democrates any more? I don't think so. We need some more Ron Pauls in Congress that is for sure.


Legislation will soon pass Congress to create a new prescription-drug benefit that will cost at least $400 billion over the next 10 years and will be available to all seniors no matter how wealthy they are. That Granny is getting a government benefit she doesn't need is galling enough, but this needless pander will bust the budget, advance the socialization of U.S. health care and discourage the development of new drugs in the future.

This would be terrible. Novak on the spector of Gray Davis resigning before he is recalled. I don't think he will step down for the good of the Democratic party (if he steps down then the Lt. gov. also a dem takes his spot) because he is too much of an egomanic, but we shall see. It was a ballsy move by Gray to raise the auto tax in the face of the recall movement last week too.

New Talib song is banging.Give it a listen

If you live in the Chicago area, you have to check out Talib, Nerd and the Roots Sept 6th for 10 bucks at the Tweeter Center!!! Yes 10 bucks!!! Which is actually 14.30 after the ticketmaster slave processing fee, but still an unbeatable price. I am there with four of my friends.

Orrin Hatch software pirate.

The senator's site makes extensive use of a JavaScript menu system developed by Milonic Solutions, a software company based in the United Kingdom. The copyright-protected code has not been licensed for use on Hatch's website.

"It's an unlicensed copy," said Andy Woolley, who runs Milonic. "It's very unfortunate for him because of those comments he made."

Hatch on Tuesday surprised a Senate hearing on copyright issues with the suggestion that technology should be developed to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Net.

Question of the Day:

Why are all the guys that fill the pop/soda/coke (this is called adapting for all demographics -- north, south, east and west) machines fat? Is that some kind of pre-rec for doing this kind of work? Do they get lots of free food and pop/soda/coke? Just wonder...

Photo seems to come and go. Yahoo moves the link around, so I have to work on fixing this. Click this link to check it out though.

Lileks offers this accute observation Orrin Hatch and his quest to destroy the computers of downloaders:

As for Orrin Hatch and his remarks about blowing up the computers of people who download pirated files: I’ll just say that I think he’s made mostly of molded plastic, there’s a pullstring in his back, and the RIAA fingerprints are all over the big white ring. I won’t listen to any of these guys blather about computers or the Internet until they have demonstrated on film that they can install some RAM, burn a CD (“shiny side down, you say?”), tell me what HTTP and URL stand for, prove they know how to get the source code for a webpage, and know better than to click “Yes” when asked if the computer should always trust data from Gator Corporation.

His remarks about remotely destroying computers that download copyrighted material is just grampa blather. The computers are stealing music! The cars are frightening the horses! The Kaiser took my dog! It would be amusing if these people didn’t have the power to pass thick stupid laws crafted by aides, lobbyists and other gnomes hauling up heavy buckets from the deep sooty mines of legalese. Of course the people who vote them up or down don’t actually read them; they get the gist from the title.

“What’s this Copyright Enhancement Act of 2003 all about, young underpaid aide?”

“It’s about enhancing copyright, sir.”

“Very good then.”

The idea that the government, or recording industries, could remotely destroy your computer isn’t out of the realm of possibility - I suppose they could send a stealthy bug that would scramble the hard drive. I don’t think Sen. Hatch envisioned an electrical spike that would shower the user with broken glass from the monitor.

I know, I know - he was just talking off the top of his head. But if someone is talking about, oh, women’s pay relative to men, and they say off the top of their head “can’t the girls just stay home and put up preserves?” - well, it shows what they really think. Off the top of one’s head means when I reach for an idea, this one is the closest. For a reason.

In honor of my brother's post, here is a quick pic from last year's trip to Ibiza. Now granted the abs are ok, but remember this is after over a week plus of not working out and eating in Spain. The Rajic, the Rajic, the brothers, the brothers are also in the photo. Dali Rajic, who my brother is meeting up with in Prague is on the far left (from left to right) and Oliver Rajic (or Olie G if you read the comments section) is in the middle. Olie G while looking at this picture -- "Damn those are some good looking mofos, especially me. Too bad I am in love cause I see some chicas that are muy bueno." Dali looking at picture, "I have a nice smile going there for the ladies, huh. Ok now I am going to go explain to them what is the deal." Me looking at picture, "Man I may or may not be the prettiest one in this picture, but at least I am the most diesel. Do you think that chica over there notices this?" All that is missing is the little Champ, but he was home in Pittsburgh, Pa doing the internship thing. I'll post a now picture, as soon as I take some new pics and get them uploaded. You can then note the marked improvement in the abs, plus I am bigger and stronger, but weigh the same. --- 1

Colin thanks for the update. Nice to hear some champology from outside the states.

Housing Bubble Anyone....Anyone?

Read the entire study-- also check the chart out that shows the cost of renting versus owning...Which one do you want to be doing?

While there is no dispute that housing prices have vastly outpaced the inflation rate over the last seven years, it is possible that higher housing prices reflect shifts in underlying fundamentals, which have led people to place increased value on home ownership. This is precisely what Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan argued in recent testimony before the Congress (“Fed Chief Blames Corporate Greed; House Revises Bill,” New York Times, July 17, 2002, Page A1). This section examines the evidence for such a shift in fundamentals.

Before looking at the data, it is worth noting that very similar arguments concerning shifts in fundamentals were made by those who believed that the stock prices at the peak of the bubble were justified, or that the high dollar could be maintained in spite of soaring current account deficits. Many prominent economists, including Mr. Greenspan, put forward such arguments. In the wake of the recent declines in the stock market and the dollar, these arguments appear much less credible than they may have two or three years ago.

Wadup, this be Christian's one and only brother, Colin. I is left me crib in the ghetto of Coraopolis (5 minutes from Sewickley, where my father belongs to a golf club) to check out Slovakia and Eastern Europe for some of the summer. My main reasoning for this journey was the opportunity to work in Saca Hospital in Kosice, Slovakia, and then hopefully I can get into Northwestern Medschool and settle in an apartment in the Chi, with my brother and one other elite member, that would be soon featured on "Cribs."

So far, I journed up to the Tatra mountains to a mountain resort. While this would be a beautiful, yet uneventful trip for most, My Uncle's company, US Steel Kosice, bought out the place for the weekend. I was fed Grilled Salmon and Steaks while being continuously waited on-- a nice experience. To top off the trip, I saw 3 people sitting by a BMW X5 and 7.50. Both of the cars were suped up beyond belief. The woman standing by the cars informed me that they were recently featured in a film taking place in Europe. After 10 minutes of broken English discussions, I told her I was a doctor from the US. Next thing you know, I was driving the 7 series around the Tatra mountains. What can I saw, it's the Champ panache that I am sure you have seen so many times with Christian.

Next I headed to Budapest. It was a nice, attractive city. However, be prepared to be on guard 24-7. There was more sketchy people in this city than at Tequilla Willies in the Strip Distict in Pittsburgh. Only the sketchy people in Bupapest didn't drive Camaros.

Next I hit up Zagreb in Croatia and the island Pag in the Adriatic Sea. This trip was amazing. Zagreb was a great city with nightlife in every corner. There were a million outdoor cafes and bars. The girls here were absolutely beautiful and extremely skinny. Girls here were so skinny that at one point my friend from Croatia pulled the car over saying, "hey look, a fat person." They were seriously that rare. However, bring you checkbook, cause this city is expensive. Pag was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We would swim out 200 feet, and still see the bottom of the sea. We stayed in a 500 year old house in the city. I would suggest putting this on your must visit list of places in the world. I heard if you go further south it is even nicer also.

Since then I have been assisting a surgeon in the operating room. His comment to me was, "we don't have model to practice on like in the US, so we use people." Interesting place none the less and I am learning a ton.

Next, I am off to Prague to hang out with the one and only Dali - The Lama from Chi town. Should be an interesting trip and will post about it.

All in all, Eastern Europe is phat, but for future suggestion, don't come in the summer. There is no AC anywhere, and it was about 95 in Zagreb, leaving me sweating for about a week straight. At the very least, it really makes you appreciate the US. In essence, everyone should visit Eastern Europe, including the Baldwins and George Clooney, to let them appreciate the country they live in.

One last quickie....

song of the week -- "Where did the love go" Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake.

Also somehow my copy of Illmatic cracked. Now, I don't know how this happened, but this cd had been with me for many years and is in my top ten for sure. The final chapter in its life, was not how I wanted it to go down. RIP...

Reading "The Great Crash 1929" by Galbraith today, a fantastic read on the great crash of course. Here is an interesting quote from the work...

This quote ran in the Wall Street Journal September 11, 1929...

"Don't part with your illusions; when they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." -- Mark Twain

Reason mag ran this piece on Ali G in last month's issue (yeah I subscribe eventhough they put the entire issue online free the next month-- respect, aiight). This is far and away the funniest show on TV (respect to Dave Chappell too). Quick side note, my brother is in Slovakia and at this club when someone comes up to him and asks him if he is American. My brother replies that he is and the guy then wants to know if my brother knows Ali G. Of course my brother is well versed in Ali G speak and replies respect, aiight. The guy is so exicited, he tells my brother that he owns the club and he will take care of him-- Ali G bringing people together.

Ali G, who speaks a puzzling patois of British slang, hip-hopisms, and Caribbean creole, gets things rolling by describing a friend with a Web site who "ain’t got no techmology." Later it emerges that Ali G thinks a computer would be stumped if asked to multiply really big numbers and that he considers the human fondness for bananas evidence of evolution. When one of the futurologists says in passing, "We’re Homo sapiens," Ali G objects: "Hey, I ain’t. I don’t do that stuff." Even when the discussion veers into accusations concerning the floater someone left in the toilet backstage, with the creationist adamantly disclaiming responsibility, no one has the temerity to suggest that Ali G cannot be for real

Virginia Postrel opines why the creative shall inhert the economy in this wired article.

And all of us must give up the cultural baggage we've inherited from the romantics, who set art against tech, and feeling against reason; from the modernists, who treated ornament as crime and commerce as corruption; and from the efficiency experts, who valued function while disdaining form.

We must abandon our prejudices regarding the sources of economic value. The production of wealth comes not simply from labor or raw materials or even intellectual brilliance. It comes from new ways to give people what they want. By matching creativity and desire, the economy will renew itself.

Classic piece on the death of the Old Right.

What the Old Right lacked was not a political mass, but rather an intellectual cadre, and the small but increasing number of hard-core libertarians influenced by Mises and Rand and Nock after World War II provided a growing intellectual foundation for that movement. What we have to realize, and we almost have to shake ourselves to believe, is that hard-core libertarians were not considered kooks and crazies; we were treated only as extreme variants of a creed that almost everyone on the Old Right believed: peace, individual liberty, free markets, private property, even the gold standard. And since we were simply consistent upholders of a creed which the entire Old Right believed, we were able, though small in number, to influence and permeate the views of the broad mass of Old Right Americans. It was a happy symbiosis.

That’s why, politically, all libertarians, whether minarchists or anarcho-capitalists, were happy to consider ourselves "extreme right-wing Republicans." [The general term for the broader movement was "individualist" or "true liberal" or "rightist" – the word "conservative" was not at all in use before the publication of Russell Kirk’s Conservative Mind in 1953].

Teachers are not so bad off according to this article in a Jersey paper (via mises blog)

Comparing wages on an hourly basis, the report shows that elementary school teachers earn an average of $30.52 an hour, while private engineers make an average of $31.05 an hour. On an hourly basis, accountants and computer programmers made less than teachers.

The article does state how teachers put in extra hours and aren't paid for it. Wow, that is a new concept, I don't know anyone that does that. Please....

Must read piece from Doug Noland from a speech he gave in my neighborhood a couple days ago (note: the top info is great too, but you need to page down to get his speech). Doug takes on the Fed and the "inflators" offering his opinions of what is taking place with asset prices in the US currently.

The paramount issue is the intractable Credit Bubble – the antithesis of the stability offered by The Way We Were. The old banking system was relatively simple to govern, while today’s complex, expansive Credit system is virtually unmanageable. There are today three interrelated Bubbles. First, the Mortgage Finance Bubble. Second, the Leveraged Speculation Bubble throughout the Credit system. And third, the Risk Intermediation/“Structured Finance” Bubble

There is also the critical dilemma that we Can’t Even Turn These Bubbles Down, Let Alone Turn Them Off. Mortgage Finance is today the horse, while the economy is the cart. The Bubble throughout mortgage finance has become the overriding source for system liquidity and income growth.