George was More Popular?
Where are we today, as a nation? I'm not sure, but very few of us like the leviathan that we've allowed to creep into every facet of our lives. Significant: According to Harvard and Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, only 11% of the American people have confidence in Congress. King George was more popular with the colonists: historians have estimated that between 15 and 20% of the white population of the colonies were Loyalists. Link w/ video. * * * * * * * Financial Dinosaurs. An article at Forbes looks at the gold standard from a different angle--that of 18th century England--and finds it compelling. It's a neat little piece, and it contains this nugget of John Locke history that I didn't know about: "In 1689, with the Glorious Revolution, William of Orange became King of England. William was Dutch, but he had married Mary Stuart of the British royal family. Perhaps William, upon his arrival in London from Amsterdam, found the English financial system a little backward. He was aided by philosopher John Locke, who had fled to Amsterdam in 1683. Locke returned to England with William in 1688. Locke argued that the English financial system could be set right if the relationships between lenders and borrowers was protected, by fixing the currency to gold. The currency would be stable in value--as stable as humanly possible. After generations of a floating currency in Britain, this was a revolutionary idea. Was such a thing even possible? Locke's argument swayed England's Parliament, and in 1698 England effectively began its long allegiance to the gold standard." So, Locke was a gold bug. And the Founding Fathers were gold bugs, most of whom (Hamilton and a few others excepted) would've been appalled at the Federal Reserve system. And even if they wouldn't have been appalled at it, they wouldn't have gotten away with it, because even the most backward whiskey-bartering redneck would've understood the convoluted beast and fought against it. Yet today, we have a Federal Reserve, feeding billions to the rich and powerful through government securities auctions and other means of monetary debasement. Which is something Locke detested: "In his Considerations, Locke had denounced debasement as deceitful and illusionist: what determined the real value of a coin, he declared, was the amount of silver in the coin, and not the name granted to it by the authorities. Debasement . . . is illusory and inflationist." Murray Rothbard, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith, 318. * * * * * * * Diet Advice. I'm really digging my paleo diet. It's going very well. Even weight is coming off. If you have troubles with junk food, consider the advice offered by this paleo-fitness guru. Excerpt: "In terms of strategies to lessen the feeling of deprivation and associated cravings, researchers confirm the out of sight, out of mind approach. Proximity matters in a big way. The more of a hassle it is to get to that favorite temptation, the less likely you'll bother with it. Their study includes the old candy dish at the secretary's desk scenario. Yet, battling those mental images matters, too. If your favorite food is all over the TV commercials, find something else to do on the days or evenings when you're more prone to suggestion because of stress or a down mood." * * * * * * * Late Night Humor. Man, there were some funny lines late last week. I wish I could've posted them sooner, but I was out of town over the weekend. From Conan, "ABC did a big report on 'ginger abuse,' a form of bullying aimed at people with red hair. Unfortunately, I missed it because my cameramen were giving me a wedgie." And one from Letterman: "Hugh Hefner is getting married soon. She's 24 and he's 84, so it may be an open-casket wedding."
