Zombie vs. Shark fight




Reminds me of the Romney-Perry debate. The YouTube commenter reactions are hilarious.

(via Crooked Timber)

Olivia Wilde, daughter of Andrew Cockburn, niece of Alexander and Patrick. She starred in Tron: Legacy alongside Jeff Bridges who played Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers remake of True Grit.

Interestingly, "quasi-monetarist" Scott Sumner approvingly links to a good bloggingheads discussion with Dean Baker and Brink Lindsey.

Krugman blogs about monetary policy here, here, and here.

Sumner responds here.

Nick Rowe responds here. It's just hard for me to take Sumner seriously given that he believes that the American Jobs Act legislation Obama just presented to Congress isn't worthwhile.

The Beatings Will Continues Until Morale Improves*

The Death of Confidence Fairy by Krugman

*via Wikipedia. "The beatings will continue until morale improves is a famous quotation of unknown origin. It literally denotes how morale, such as within a military unit or other hierarchical environment, will be improved through the use of punishment. More importantly, the phrase is used sarcastically to indicate the counterproductive nature of such punishment or excessive control over subordinates such as staff in the workplace or children living at home. The most commonly cited story for the origin of the phrase comes from the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II. Supposedly, the phrase was first used by a commander of the Japanese Submarine Force. The quotation was not meant to be taken literally but instead was facetious. Another story relates to a case in Canada over a military officer fired for political reasons in which he uttered a similar quotation."

Meredith Woerner recaps True Blood season finale

Looking forward to next season!

A Few Good Men (see below) sums up my thoughts pretty well about 9-11, except for the fact that religious fanatics brought it on. Cheney, etc. overreacted with torture, the Patriot Act, renditions, Guantanamo, Abu Graib, warrantless wiretapping etc. However I have the heretical view that the downfall of Saddam Hussein, however poorly executed, helped bring about the Arab Spring. 9-11 made me develop a more negative view of the left (my side) as well as the right. In the link below, I think Ahmed Rashid is right that the advanced countries have failed to build up the institutions and economies of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

I celebrated 9-11 yesterday by attending the Onion A.V. Club's first annual blockparty at the Hideout. The headliner was 90s indie rock band Archers of Loaf who were amazing. Before them was the Tokyo Police Club who sounded great under the dusk sky and a full moon.

FT Alphaville on Trichet:

Reporter: What is your answer to German people and economists who want the return of the DM?
Trichet: You want answers?
Reporter: I think the Germans are entitled.
Trichet: You want answers? (SHOUTING)
Reporter: Germans want the truth! (SHOUTING)
Trichet: *You can’t handle the truth!*  (SHOUTING)
[pauses]…
Trichet: Son, we live in a world that has prices, and those prices have to be guarded by men with bonds. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Sylvia Wadhwa? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Lehman Brothers, and you curse Ben Bernanke. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Lehman’s collapse, while tragic, probably saved banks. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves banks. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that committee, you need me on that committee. We use words like rate, target, expectation. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a profitline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of price stability that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said congratulations and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a Greek bond, and suffer a haircut. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to!

(via Krugman)

Steve Pearlstein is shrill



(via Mark Thoma)

Jonathan Chait leaving the New Republic

What Caused the Recession of 1937-38? by Douglas Irwin

If we are to avoid the mistakes of the past, it is important to have an accurate assessment of what those past mistakes were. The severity of the Recession of 1937-38 was not due to contractionary fiscal policy or higher reserve requirements. By contrast, the policy tightening associated with gold sterilisation was not modest – it did not simply reduce the growth of the monetary base by a few percentage points, it stopped its growth altogether. While the Federal Reserve is often blamed for its poor policy choices during the Great Depression, the Treasury Department was responsible for this particular policy error.

The recession of 1937-38 occurred long ago, but it does have policy lessons for today. It suggests that, in a weak recovery, a pre-emptive monetary strike against inflation (which was very low at the time, as it is today) is capable of producing a devastating recession.     

(via Mark Thoma)

The Spanish Prisoner by Krugman

And Hate Begat Hate by Ahmed Rashid

First R-rated movie

Steve Bennen on Obama's speech about the American Jobs Act

David Brooks is afraid of a double-dip.


Dean Baker says it's unlikely. The Fed engineered the last one in the early 80s.

Brooks:

A few years ago, Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen M. Reinhart wrote the definitive guide to the current economic downturn, a book called “This Time Is Different.” Rogoff and Reinhart studied data from eight centuries of financial crises. They found that banking-crisis recessions are worse than normal recessions. They last longer.

In these recessions, it took an average of six years for housing prices to stop their decline. Unemployment rates were high or rising for an average of five years. Government debt increased by an average of more than 86 percent.

The general lesson I take from this history is that policy makers stuck in a financial recession should probably think about the long term. You’re going to be stuck with a lousy economy anyway.

When asked about Reinhardt and Rogoff's study at a press conference, Bernanke deadpanned that "policy makers stuck in a financial recession" haven't performed well in the past. They were too complacent or made mistakes in other words. In a recent speech, Chicago Fed President Charlie Evans said the same thing.

The title of the book is referring to the manner in which people explained away the housing bubble and past bubbles, people like Greenspan and Bernanke. Baker didn't and I'm willing to bet Brooks did, or else ignored the issue, so Baker's probably right here.

Just saw for the first time a 1990 movie titled "Windprints" with Sean Bean and John Hurt. Also saw for the first time a 2003 movie titled "All the Real Girls" with Zooey Deschanel and Parks and Recreation's Paul Schneider. Deschanel will have a new sitcom on Fox this month.

Paul Krugman's Presidential Address to the Eastern Economic Association

(via Mark Thoma)

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans's speech in London

(via Yglesias)

The TV on the Radio video I just linked reminded me that my favorite music videos are either live versions or contain little stories, usually with subtitles.

For example, The Offspring's "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" and Alice in Chain's "Your Decision."

What the Left Doesn’t Understand About Obama by Jonathan Chait