23 | August | 2012

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

2012 drug war killings reached 45 this week

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 9:43 pm

The organization StoptheDrugWar.com tracks the number of Americans each year who are casualties of America’s War on Drugs Peaceful Americans Who Use Intoxicants Not Currently Approved of by the Government, Who Might Break Into Your House and Kill You While … read more >

Carpe Diem

When I grow up, I want to be a crony!

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 9:29 pm

The path to success in America used to be the private sector, but what are our children learning today? Video is from the Crony Chronicles, the “cronyism resource.” After all, why be a taxpayer, when you could be a tax … read more >

Carpe Diem

Energy updates: Carbon dioxide at a 20-year low, oceans of natural gas, Romney vs. Obama on energy, $1T oil/gas capex in 2012

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 4:49 pm

1. Investor’s Business Daily ran an excellent editorial a few days ago on the “shockingly good news” that carbon emissions are now the lowest in 20 years, going all the way back to 1992 (see chart above, EIA data here), … read more >

Carpe Diem

2012: The year of the housing recovery, part II; ‘This is what a housing recovery looks like’

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 3:38 pm

There’s more positive housing data coming out this week to support the growing consensus that we’ve passed the bottom and now have a solid, sustainable real estate recovery underway (see related CD post on Tuesday). Here are some of those … read more >

Image Credit: James B Currie (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Romney-Ryan energy plan unveiled

Kenneth P. Green and Elizabeth DeMeo | August 23, 2012, 1:29 pm

The day after we published an article comparing the energy platforms of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, the Romney/Ryan ticket chose to come out with a formal energy plan.* The Romney-Ryan plan largely conforms to our recent analysis, as it … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

My counter: Why U.S. economic growth doesn’t have to come to an end

James Pethokoukis | August 23, 2012, 1:22 pm

First, a summary of a fascinating new paper from economist Robert Gordon, “Is U.S. Economic Growth Over? Faltering Innovation Confronts the Six Headwinds” (which I blogged about earlier today): This paper raises basic questions about the process of economic growth. It … read more >

Pethokoukis

New study says kids who get the chance to attend a charter school start working harder

James Pethokoukis | August 23, 2012, 12:21 pm

New research suggests that kids who win those lotteries for charter schools get more motivated to learn and then do better in the classroom. “The Effect of School Choice on Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Outcomes” by Justine S. Hastings, Christopher … read more >

Carpe Diem

The ‘Smokey Bear Effect’: How government takeover of America’s forests has led to more, bigger, and hotter fires

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 11:12 am

National Public Radio reports today on how the federal government’s “takeover” of America’s forests with the creation of the U.S. Forest Service in 1905 has led to more, not fewer, forest fires in the long run. Among fire historians it’s … read more >

Carpe Diem

Shale oil: A tremendous development for U.S. oil production, shovel-ready jobs, economic growth, and energy independence

Mark J. Perry | August 23, 2012, 9:36 am

From the Bloomberg article “U.S. Oil Imports to Seen Hitting 20-Year Low 42% of Use“: A boom in oil production from the shale formations of North Dakota and Texas has the U.S. on a course to cut its reliance on … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

76 days: U.S. 2012 elections live

Thursday, August 23rd

Henrik Temp | August 23, 2012, 9:22 am

News & analysis on Election 2012, updated throughout the day. read more >

Hindsight Isn’t 20/20
Many lessons should be drawn from the U.S. experience in Iraq. Unfortunately, we’re not learning what we should. […]
The Uses of Scandal
One of the greatest uses of scandal is to vividly demonstrate what new laws are needed and to create the political conditions to get them enacted. […]
Lean In… to Government?
Sheryl Sandberg's runaway best-selling book Lean In has managed to offend both the Left and the Right. Sandberg touts female hard-headedness, yet also calls for an elaborate government- and employer-supplied support system for women. […]
Are American Voters Racist?
Racial prejudice plays a very small role in American politics, but a highly disciplined sense of self-interest on the part of one group may play a very large role in the way the federal government functions. […]