Do the NSA's Phone and Internet Monitoring Programs Make Sense? | Cato Institute

Do the NSA's Phone and Internet Monitoring Programs Make Sense? | Cato Institute: "If the NSA could provide multiple, convincing examples of terror attacks unambiguously prevented by its phone and internet surveillance programs, many Americans would regard the implied privacy and civil liberty infringements as an acceptable price of fighting terror."

"The absence of convincing evidence for these NSA programs is all the more striking because the NSA faces strong incentives to publicize its successes, if they exist."

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls | Politics and Law - CNET News

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls | Politics and Law - CNET News: "The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls, a participant in the briefing said.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed on Thursday that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."
If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee."

Supreme Court to Rule on Race in College Admissions - Campaign for Liberty

Supreme Court to Rule on Race in College Admissions - Campaign for Liberty: "it is appalling that race is still considered when applying for higher education. It seems that affirmative action’s advocates have completely lost sight of the core principles behind the civil rights movement of half a century ago. Martin Luther King’s dream wasn’t to see the roles of previous racial injustice reversed; it was to see a day when people weren’t defined by race whatsoever, being judged “not… by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” "

Google: GPAs are worthless | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

Google: GPAs are worthless | Technically Incorrect - CNET News: "Google famously used to ask everyone for a transcript and GPAs and test scores, but we don't anymore, unless you're just a few years out of school. We found that they don't predict anything."

"Bock said the percentage of Googlies who've never been to college is increasing. Sometimes, as much as 14 percent of team members are entirely unsullied by phis, betas, kappas, and Saturday football rah-rahs."

"We found that brainteasers are a complete waste of time." "They don't predict anything. They serve primarily to make the interviewer feel smart."

"when you ask somebody to speak to their own experience, and you drill into that, you get two kinds of information. One is you get to see how they actually interacted in a real-world situation, and the valuable 'meta' information you get about the candidate is a sense of what they consider to be difficult"

 "You want people who like figuring out stuff where there is no obvious answer."

Korean D�j�Vu | Cato Institute

Korean D�j�Vu | Cato Institute: "North [Korea] cannot trade away its nuclear arsenal, pull back its advanced conventional forces, or implement fundamental economic reform. All Kim & Co. can do is attempt to extort money out of the North’s neighbors and anyone else foolish enough to pass the hat."

"What possible argument is there for keeping the subsidies going after Kim Jong-un’s recent fire-and-brimstone tirade? South Koreans are putting money into the hands of the North’s barbaric elite which is threatening to destroy the ROK. Every won sent north can be used to add more nuclear weapons, miniaturize nuclear bombs, and extend the range of nuclear-capable missiles."

"continuing to subsidize the North likely will extend the life of the Kim regime"

"[The U.S. should give] no defense subsidies for a government which underwrites its enemy"

Economy Miraculously Adds Jobs despite Increase in Unemployment - Campaign for Liberty

Economy Miraculously Adds Jobs despite Increase in Unemployment - Campaign for Liberty: "the economy added 175,000 jobs this month despite unemployment climbing from 7.5% to 7.6%"

The Marketplace Fairness Act: a headache for small business owners | The Daily Caller

The Marketplace Fairness Act: a headache for small business owners | The Daily Caller: "Each of this country’s 10,000 different taxing jurisdictions has its own laws for applying sales tax to all sorts of goods"

"within the same zip code, even on the same street, different tax rates can apply"

"the [free] software will only provide me with rates, not product categories, and it will do nothing to help lift the time-and-money burden of submitting up to 600 tax returns per year."

"I’d have to upgrade to the Sage 100 platform in order to automate my sales tax calculations"
"my shopping cart isn’t compatible with their program and would have to be modified"
"I’d have to change my entire sales software and strategy because no multi-channel cart solutions are currently supported by their software."
"I’d also have to categorize all of my products to be readable by the software."


"clothing might be exempt, depending on the price" "sports bras are tax exempt, but sports shorts aren’t. A sewing button is exempt but a scrapbooking button isn’t. That same sewing button isn’t exempt if it’s included in a sewing kit. Yarn is exempt unless it could be used to make a rug. Thread is exempt, unless it’s sold with a needle."

Does the Absence of Rules Mean Chaos? | Cato Institute

Does the Absence of Rules Mean Chaos? | Cato Institute: "In traffic, following rules relieves you of some of the burden of having to monitor other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It enables one to adopt what Paul Seabright, an economist at the University of Toulouse, coined “tunnel vision,” limiting the knowledge and attention needed to successfully operate in complex environments.

However, “tunnel vision” creates risks in situations that are not foreseen by the rules one is following."

"By creating a “shared space,” the potential for collisions grows, paradoxically incentivizing everyone to exercise more care."

The Paradox of Imperialism - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily

The Paradox of Imperialism - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily: "Other things being equal, the lower the tax and regulation burden imposed on the domestic economy, the larger the population will tend to grow and the larger the amount of domestically produced wealth on which the state can draw in its conflicts with neighboring competitors. That is, states which tax and regulate their economies comparatively little — liberal states — tend to defeat and expand their territories or their range of hegemonic control at the expense of less-liberal ones."

"In blurring the distinction between the rulers and the ruled ("we all rule ourselves"), democracy strengthened the identification of the public with a particular state. Rather than dynastic property disputes which could be resolved through conquest and occupation, democratic wars became ideological battles"

"It became increasingly difficult for members of the public to extricate themselves from personal involvement in war."

7 Ways to Dramatically Advance Your Career | LinkedIn

7 Ways to Dramatically Advance Your Career | LinkedIn: "What practices exist in your industry that drive customers crazy? How do all companies in your industry behave stupidly? Identify these types of practices, and wipe them out."

"The more complex the processes and practices in your industry, the greater your opportunity to gain competitive advantage by simplifying them. Yes, doing so will be very hard. But that’s the whole point; the first to do so gains tremendous advantages."

"Incremental change doesn’t disrupt an industry; radical change does. Radical price reductions require radical new processes and business models."

"The toughest part of this challenge is not technical; it is knocking down the walls inside companies. It’s deciding whose product gets cross-sold, who gets “credit” for sales, and who “owns” the customer.

No one "owns" the customer, and you either do what’s best for the customer or you will lose him."

"The truth is coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But most firms won’t recognize this until it happens. Better to get far out in front while confusion reigns."

"Once you start delivering personalization, you create immense opportunities to make loyalty more convenient than disloyalty"