Economic Illiteracy Elected Obama

This is not a new piece though I just stumbled upon it when surfing.... it's spot on with my beliefs and states them much better than I am capable of doing. It's from Civil Society Trust. Here's an excerpt....

"What is fundamentally not understood amongst an apparent majority of voters is that entrepreneurs and their financiers, (often being one in the same), create jobs. They perform the vital discovery mechanism of demand assessment and supply a potential solution, risking their own resources to do so."

One of the statements that the author makes that is often misunderstood is that supply must come before demand. People often say, how can you supply something that you don't know the need(not demand) exists for. This is proof of the economic illiteracy of the person who says this. Demand is not need, demand is the actual purchasing of a product or service at a given price level, not whether you want it or need it. If you are unable to pay the price at which the good or service sells, then that's not demand, that's just want or desire. Also, in order to 'demand' something, you have to supply the needed good or service that supplies you with the money to purchase it. Money is simply the medium by which we trade our own goods and services for those of others through markets. Any time the government intervenes, they create a higher price or lower demand through taxation or regulation, unless they are 'subsidizing,' which simply means they are redistributing goods or services from somewhere else, and as a result they are intervening in another transaction or set of transactions, creating a domino effect of interventions in market transactions.

Robert Crais Interview on The Artist's Craft

Robert Crais Interview on The Artist's Craft
Crais is one of my favorite authors. I 'discovered' him when I read a review of his book, L. A. Requiem about 10 years or so ago, and promptly found all his older books and read them. I recommend you start with The Monkey's Raincoat, which was his first novel and was originally published as a paperback original. I had the pleasure of meeting RC at a book signing and reading in New Orleans just a few months before the hurricane in 2005.

Tech attorneys: Craig James threatened to sue

Tech attorneys: Craig James threatened to sue

http://townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2010/01/13/global_warming_is_a_religion

Global Warming is a Religion
Walter Williams is a very smart man and I really enjoy his columns. He is able to state his arguments in easy to understand, logical and common sense language.

Virtual Lubbock: Why does Lubbock have such an unusual amount of artistic talent?

I have been known to literally lose whole afternoons on this website, Virtual Lubbock. Chris Oglesby has written a book (Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music) about art scene, particularly the music scene, that exists in the Lubbock area, including interviews with many of the legends of "The Lubbock Sound."
Check it out, but only if you have a lot of time on your hands.

Longtime Texas Tech aide Ruffin McNeill hired as East Carolina head coach

As a general rule, I only root for Texas Tech, and sometimes joke that my second favorite team is whoever is playing Texas, but I'm going to be somewhat of a East Carolina Pirate fan now, with former Tech dc Ruff as their new head coach and with Red Raider and former Tech assistant coach Lincoln Riley as their offensive coordinator, look out for this team, they should be fun to watch and very good. They got a couple of great men and great coaches. Congratulations Ruff and Riley.

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1912924.html

Former Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill became the first black head football coach at East Carolina on Thursday, and one of his former Texas Tech co-workers, Lincoln Riley, will be his offensive coordinator.

McNeill, 51, returns to his alma mater after spending the past 10 years at Tech, including the past two as defensive coordinator, under coach Mike Leach, who was fired Dec. 30.

ECU athletic director Terry Holland said McNeill was a hit during his interview Thursday morning. McNeill graduated from ECU in 1980 and played safety for the Pirates in 1976-80.

"Coach McNeill’s interview revealed his strong commitment to doing things the right way and his love of coaching young men to grow in every part of their lives," Holland said in a statement.

Tech promoted McNeill to interim coach Dec. 28 after it suspended — and later fired — Leach after allegations that he mistreated backup receiver Adam James. With six days to prepare, McNeill guided Tech to a 41-31 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.

McNeill was interviewed for the Tech job that eventually went to Tommy Tuberville.

"As a head coach he took one of the most adverse situations in college football and wound up winning a bowl game," Riley said. "He’s a great man and you can’t find anybody to say a bad thing about him."

McNeill replaces Skip Holtz, who left ECU last week after five seasons to become head coach at South Florida.

Dwain Price, 817-390-7760

Eye On Books great for author interview podcasts

I've always loved this website, Bill Thompson's Eye on Books. It's actually somewhat misnamed...it should be Ear on Books, because it's a collection mostly of audio podcasts of author interviews. There are hundreds of them and hopefully you'll find one or more of your favorite authors. Here's one of mine: George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardner.

One of the great crime fiction writers of all time passes away...

Robert B. Parker was an influential crime writer, best known for his character Spenser. Parker's Spencer books were adapted as a television series, Spencer for Hire. He passed away Monday, at the age of 77 in Cambridge Massachusetts. I read a lot of detective/crime fiction myself and though I have read quite a few of Parker's books, I never really counted him as one of my favorites, but there is no doubt that he influenced many of those who were my favorites, including Robert Crais and Dennis Lehane. Here is a link to an article in the LA Times by Sarah Weinman.

The White Paladin Opines about

pretty much anything that is on my mind or that I find interesting. I'm a writer and bookseller. I'm a big fan of crime fiction, film noir, Texas Tech athletics, and I love books. I am also interested in history and economics and as a result I have very strong opinions on politics.

I am, as the late Milton Friedman said, a libertarian with a little l and a Republican with a Big R. What this means is though I don't always agree with the Republican party, I do believe it is more closely aligned with my beliefs in the areas that matter the most. I also don' t always agree with the Libertarian party platform and though I read some libertarian blogs and newsletters on occasion I think supporting the Libertarian party is not really productive in the big picture, at least not at this point in history.

These are some of the many things I'll post about. Sometimes I may write an opinion piece, sometimes I will just link to articles I have read somewhere else, and when I do this I'll usually give my thoughts on it. And sometimes I'll just link to something that I read and enjoyed.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog.