Assorted Links (4/30/2010)

Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading lately:

Peggy Noonan: The Big Alienation – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Peggy Noonan writes in The Wall Street Journal on uncontrolled borders and Washington’s lack of self-control.”

Matthew Kaminski: Europe’s Other Crisis – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Matthew Kaminski writes in The Wall Street Journal that the bailout of Greece threatens the very integrity of the European Union and the euro zone.”

‘Racially Resentful’ – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“James Taranto dissects the latest bogus tea-party poll.”

Grace-Marie Turner: States Face Their First ObamaCare Test – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Grace-Marie Turner asks in The Wall Street Journal whether states should they join the new high-risk, high-cost federal insurance pools.”

Mathematicians Offer Take on Luck, Superstition – The Numbers Guy – WSJ

blogs.wsj.com

“While there is some evidence that a belief in superstition can be beneficial, many mathematicians are sticking with rationality.”

Daniel Henninger: Smart Aleck-in-Chief? – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Henninger explores the reason why President Obama is going negative and why it may wreck his presidency.”

Randy E. Barnett: The Insurance Mandate in Peril – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Randy E. Barnett writes in The Wall Street Journal that Congress called the health insurance mandate a commerce regulation, but is now calling it a tax. Neither claim will survive Supreme Court scrutiny.”

Betting on Future Movie Receipts: Beware the Hollywood Lemons – Knowledge@Wharton

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

“In another of his personal finance columns, Wharton professor of insurance and risk management Kent Smetters looks at the pros and cons of investing in a new futures exchange — approved last week by the U.S.”

The Deficit: Nine Myths We Can’t Afford

www.huffingtonpost.com

“Has the federal government run out of money? Will we have to slash Social Security? The time has come to examine our fundamental assumptions about government deficits and debt.”

Garven’s cynical comment: Apparently money does grow on trees after all. I am very relieved to learn this!

Dodd Wins the Vampire Squid Caucus – Kevin D. Williamson – The Corner on National Review Online

corner.nationalreview.com

NRO

“Need more evidence that the Democrats’ financial-reform bill should be stopped? Goldman Sachs is supporting the bill. So is Citi. Translation: The foxes love this henhouse-security program.”

Q&A: Is Insider Trading Beneficial? – Fama/French Forum

www.dimensional.com

“Some economists argue that prohibiting insider trading does more harm than good by reducing the flow of useful information. Do you agree?”

Ninth Circuit and Wal-Mart – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that a appellate court decision against Wal-Mart sets a new standard for certifying class action lawsuits.”

Holman Jenkins: Is Financial Innovation the Enemy? – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins writes that hedging against risk is hardly evidence of misbehavior.”

The Deflation Club — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

“Declining inflation, veering into outright price declines (or deflation) in some countries, continues to be a major risk to the global economy.”

William McGurn: In Post-Obama Illinois, Hope and Change – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“William McGurn writes in The Wall Street Journal about an Illinois school voucher bill that’s getting surprising, bipartisan support.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: ‘South Park’ and the Informal Fatwa – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes that we should take the veiled threats against South Park’s Matt Stone and Trey Parker very seriously.”

Bret Stephens: Peace Processes Never Work – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens writes that wicked men are the only winners in this game of self-congratulation and deceit.”

Book review: Power Hungry – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Trevor Butterworth reviews Robert Bryce’s Power Hungry: The Myths of ‘Green’ Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future.”

Yushu Earthquake, 12 days later – The Big Picture – Boston.com

www.boston.com

“Wednesday, April 21st was a national day of mourning in China, for victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck remote Yushu County on April 14th, 2010 with over 2,200 confirmed dead and many thousands injured or homeless.”

ObamaCare Mulligan: Readying Price Controls for Insurance – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street writes about what it calls the ObamaCare Mulligan, in which the Administration is already readying price controls for the lower insurance costs they it promised.”

Peter J. Wallison: Taxpayers and the Dodd Bill – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Peter Wallison writes in The Wall Street Journal that the FDIC could borrow vast sums to bail out failing banks and their creditors.”

Mary O’Grady: Ortega Tries to Join the Axis of Evil – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, America’s columnist Mary Anastasia O’Grady reports on the attempt by Nicaragua’s President, Daniel Ortega, to ignore the constitution and assure his re-election.”

The Misguided Attack on Derivatives – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Information Age columnist Gordon Crovitz says that short sales like the one Goldman Sachs and John Paulson participated in provide an important function, that of warning markets that asset values reflect a bubble about to burst.”

Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins: How Could the Fort Hood Massacre Happen? – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Writing in The Wall Street Journal Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins say administration continues to withhold crucial information from Congress on how the Fort Hood massacre happened.”