how is it so many people won’t believe in trickle-down theory when you cut taxes…

but they are the first to believe it when you subsidize something…???

I had recently made a similar point, but Jason really brought it into the realm of economics and theory.  The next time liberals support a bailout… know this, they have just unwitingly bought into trickle-down economic theory.  The only difference is that when you subsidize, you can CONTROL… when you cut taxes, you let the market work better.   But this shouldn’t surprise anyone, now, should it?  Democrats live and breathe control over our economy.

I believe this is a huge gift that has just been given conservatives… tax cuts can now be defended via democrat’s own actions… and we can distinguisy our policies as being oriented around FREEDOM, not control.  Let’s hope our elected conservative leadership pick up on this gold mine of debate.

• Who is really protecting Barbie: Goliath or the Silver Knight? A defense of Mattel’s aggressive international attempts to protect its Barbie copyright and trademark
• Second Life Strife: A Proposal for Resolution of In-World Fashion Disputes
• COMMENT: What’s in a Name? Fred Goldman’s Quest to Acquire O.J. Simpson’s Right of Publicity and the Suit’s Implications for Celebrities
• COMMENT: Does Rocky & Bullwinkle Hold The Key to Unlocking the Mystery of Fair Use in the Age of  Internet Archiving?

Ya, believe it or not, people actually write scholarly works about these things.

And finally, you know you’ve learned SOMETHING in law school when you fully comprehend and appreciate an article entitled thusly:

• ARTICLE: Copyright Infringement Litigation and the Exercise of Personal Jurisdiction Within Due Process Limits: Judicial Application of Purposeful Availment, Purposeful Direction, or Purposeful Effects Requirements to Finding that a Plaintiff Has Established a Defendant’s Minimum Contacts Within the Forum State

Anyway, the left was in conniptions over Sarah Palin’s 150K wardrobe… how many of them are outraged that Michelle Obama just got a £20,000 ring?

There will be no outrage; on the contrary, Michell’s fashion sense will be fawned over and idolized… proving yet again Democrats how disingenuous democrat’s are in their criticisms…

Hey TAREN, I’ve got a news flash for you:  ANY GUY will tell you this.  What a waste of a news report.

The money that’s been pledged is equivalent to $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. It’s nine times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office figures. It could pay off more than half the country’s mortgages.  Bloomberg.com: Exclusive.

*the middle one is for American Ballet Theater…

So I’ve been working for a little over 2 hours at Starbucks at this point… and had gotten an incredible amount of work done (cheers!).  However, my coffee, at least what was left of it, was downright cold… and I really thought that a half-glass would really be the reasonable thing to ask for especially since I was heading out very shortly… and my stomach was not exactly ready for what would be the day’s third cup of coffee.  To make a long story short, I went up to the counter and very shortly, a short, cute brunette asked me if she could get me anything.  I explained the situation…  I wanted a re-fill but only needed a half-cup… decaf, thanks… and she responded very politely, but followed up with the question:

“You’re going to be an attorney, right?”

I answered with a grin, “well, ya, that’s right, but what does that have to do with the fact that I need a re-fill?”

“O, nothing… I just remember we had talked about it before…”

at which point I quickly racked my brain and was quite sure that such a conversation had never happened…

“it’s just I’m a poly-sci major and that’s an area I’m interested in”…

at which point… I figured out she was just flirting with me and we proceeded to have nice chat… BUT! the lesson to be learned from this story is that Starbucks Baristas SEE ALLL and REMEMBER ALL!!! if you have a book out on the table and a secured transactions outline displayed on your laptop screen… THEY WILL NOTICE!!!  nothing is safe, nothing is private at starbucks…

consider yourself warned.

And listen to the last question: “where do you get most of your information”… that pretty much explains things…

Victimization for generations has proven lucrative, precisely by allowing self-appointed leaders to advance their careers through doctrinaire “they did it” complaints. The script is now old indeed: Blame the pathologies of the underclass that hamper economic progress — inordinate drug usage, illegitimacy, crime, or dismal graduation rates — on the racism of those with “power.” “The Man” can find penitence only through perpetual apologies and the proper channeling of plentiful lucre.

and, near the end… discussing the new “morality” of electing the first black president…

Quit the smug moralizing that we have somehow proved to the world and ourselves that we are now finally worthy and deserving of adulation — as if wisdom and morality were always only an easy punch of the ballot away.

What a great article… I highly suggest the whole thing if you have time.

Win One For the Messiah! by Victor Davis Hanson on National Review Online.

When Europeans talk about “multilateralism,” they typically don’t mean agreeing on a common policy to carry out together. They mean defaulting global security to the United Nations, where Russian and Chinese vetoes curtail effective action. At best, multilateralism à la Paris and Berlin is short for European approval for where and how Americans may intervene around the world.

Same Old Berlin Wall - WSJ.com.

How is it that unconscionable loans to the US auto industry that reward uncompetitive behavior and fundamentally unsustainable union demands… loans that line the pockets of interest groups that give generously to the Democratic party… are hailed as brilliant and necessary public policy by the same people who despise Republican tax cuts?

Does not anyone wonder how Democrats behaving exactly like republicans as a practical matter (except worse, they are rewarding incompetence instead of rewarding ingenuity), they are hailed even by their own party as saving the country, standing up for the little guy… but when Republicans try to make life easier on businesses, they are EVIL CORPORATE SHILLS…

You democrats are a piece of work… I’m serious.

life is a journey… and part of that journey is taking some big risks and laying things out on the line… and if you don’t ever do that, you’ll never grow as a person… and I’d hate to go through life out of fear of those risks… without facing those challenges… never growing.  I’ve been very complacent, I think, in many ways…  and I am just turning that page… I’m not going to be that kind of a person anymore.

WASHINGTON — Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former U.S. Rep. David Bonior will serve on a panel of financial luminaries and corporate experts advising President-elect Barack Obama on the nation’s hard-bitten economy, ensuring Michigan, its troubled auto industry and labor has a seat at the table.

Granholm, Bonior join Obama’s economic transition team | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

*update*

Victor Davis Hanson sums it up so nicely:  “In short, we live now in the Age of Post-Journalism. All that was before is now over, as this generation of journalists voluntarily destroyed the hallowed notion of objectivity and they will have no idea quite how to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.”