Signifying NothingSerious (and not-so-serious) commentary from Chris Lawrence.Getting railroaded- June 20, 2008 Megan McArdle follows up on my previous post, which I think she took as being more critical of her position than I intended; I was attempting to use her post as a jumping off point for some broader thoughts on pluralism vs. centralism, rather than a debate over the anarcho-libertarian all government inherently sucks position. Indeed, the continental model sucks on other dimensions, such as respect for private property rights and minority interests, which might be more important to citizens in...http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4098 Not government, but pluralism- June 19, 2008 Megan McArdle is answering questions by request from her readers; returning to a theme near and dear to Prof. Karlsons heart, she again addresses why passenger rail sucks in the U.S.: I am about to blameyou will perhaps be unsurprisedthe government. Why isnt there a high speed train from New York to Chicago Well, first of all, this would greatly anger legislators from New York and Michigan, who like the fact that the Chicago train must pass through Buffalo and Detroit, even if this assures that.http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4097 On the road again- June 14, 2008 Im now more-or-less packed for my trip to Laredo to find an apartment; all I have left to do is pack last-minute stuff way too early in the morning. For some reason Delta isnt letting me check in for my flight online (I think the reservation is messed up in their computers because it was originally booked on a Northwest itinerary so I could use a credit voucher), but I figure thats not particularly important since I have a seat assignment already and have to check a bag anyway, so its not like..http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4096 Eurotrash- June 12, 2008 In response to Matthew Yglesias (and presumably in anticipation of Mark Kleiman), Amber Taylor considers the question of just how shes supposed to classify her ethnicity. As someone who can claim descent from immigrants from at least England, Spain, Norway, and the Netherlands, and quite possibly other parts of Europe too, I sometimes wonder about the same thing; on the other hand, given that I have no real allegiance to any of those particular ethnic groups (all of which constitute The Man to..http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4095 Lounging laptopless- June 7, 2008 After grading 2008 exams in 6 days, loitering on the deck with my Nokia N770 and a Yuengling is nicely relaxing. Hopefully tomorrow well get done early so I can get the full beach experience.http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4094 |