A common talking point among Conservative, Inc. pundits is that JFK would be considered a “conservative” in today’s political climate.

My favorite tradition as a Summer Research Fellow at the Mises Institute is what we affectionately call “Steak Sunday.” Every Sunday evening, we fire up a grill and cook steak (or, for at least one of us, asparagus). In preparation for our weekly tradition, we make the customary trip to Kroger where we can select our preferred cut from a display of meat that is aesthetically lain out for customer inspection.

The annual rate for US non-military capital goods orders excluding aircraft fell to 1.9% in September from 7.8% in August to stand at $69.6 billion.

Observe that after closing at $60.2 billion in December 2015 capital goods orders have been trending up.

On Monday October 15 2018, the US Treasury Department released figures showing that the federal budget deficit had widened by 17% in the 2018 fiscal year, to $779 billion.

Most experts see this widening in the deficit as the result of the tax cuts, which went into effect in January this year.

Note that the corporate tax rate was lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent while the income tax rate was reduced from 39.6 percent to 33 percent.

Two years, four months and a few days ago, on 23rd June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU. The date of the UK leaving is currently set at 29th March 2019 – almost three years after the vote. It could be postponed further. In the case of a transitional arrangement that could last until at least the end of 2020, possibly even beyond the general election in 2022. That would be an enormous six years after the historic vote.

EU mandarins as well as Whitehall mandarins will tell you it must be this way because the relationship the UK has with the EU is too complex to untangle sooner.

If there is any group that enjoys Halloween the most, it is the children. Most people can remember back to their own childhoods, ringing doorbells and begging for candy, all adorned in their carefully chosen costumes. Aside from the actual candy that trick-or-treating procures, the process of roaming neighborhood streets and collecting goodies from different houses is itself one of the most fun experiences for youth on Halloween.

[Originally published October 31, 2009 at LewRockwell.com.]

Damian Thompson, writing in the UK’s Telegraph, recently noted that “This is the only time of year when I become seriously anti-American.” The reason? He hates Halloween.

In his essay on the politics of obedience (Discours de la Servitude Volontaire), Etienne La Boétie (1530-1563) asks the vital question of political rule: How come that the majority of a people let itself be ruled by a minority, and sometimes, in the case of an autocrat, falls into the hands of a single person? How is it possible that people permit a small group of men to torture, exploit, and abuse the majority?

Just in time for holiday shopping, Amazon Smile is increasing its donation rate 10x from now until Friday, November 2nd on all eligible items.