Here is some feedback provided by students of Stephan Kinsella’s online Mises Academy course, “Rethinking IP” (which ended last month):

“The class (everything) was perfect. Content wasn’t too deep (nor too shallow) – the reviewed material was just brilliant and the “tuning” was great for someone like myself (engineering background – no profound legal/lawyer experience). It provided all the material to really “understand” (instead of “just knowing”) all that was covered which I find always very important in a class.”

The holiday season has just passed; so, many readers of Mises.org may have recently butted heads with statist family members. One might think that, in our endeavors to change minds, our own family members and friends should be the easiest conquests. Do we not have frequent opportunities for lengthy conversations with them? Does not their respect and affection for us garner us any points? Yet, even the most eloquent and informed among us may find ourselves completely stymied with our loved ones.

The federal government released its 2010 financial statements as prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) a few days before Christmas. The public isn’t clamoring for this information and the government’s numbers don’t seem to be keeping anyone awake at night.

For those looking for scary numbers to wash down with their bubbly tonight, according to GAAP, the government’s deficit in 2010 was $2.08 trillion, a considerable widening from the $1.254 trillion deficit in 2009.

What’s weird is the world of National Review, where it troubles no one to call for huge spending cuts and slashing government at the domestic level while defending the worst form of global imperialism abroad, complete with reflexive defenses of every violation of human rights and liberty.

Filed under: Any press is good press
I had a letter published in Saturday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch. I simply stated my views on a story about a local university researcher who is actively pushing a climate change agenda. Nothing too over-the-top in my letter. And nary a mention of my economic or political views or affiliations. Just Jim Public adding his voice to the discussion.

One of the comments on yesterday’s post points out that some immigrants are net burdens on the welfare state because they consume more services than they pay in taxes and might, if they get strong enough, procure even more transfers. I agree with Bryan Caplan that an international free market in labor services is an important component of a free market.

This arrived in my in box from Olav Dirkmaat :

I’m from the Netherlands and the most outrageous press release was made by two Dutch ministers (of Finance and Safety & Justice) which I think belong on the Mises.org blog.

So I finally gave in and coughed up a donation for Wikipedia. It was no trouble at all, and felt good. Now I have a sense that I’m a partial owner – a stakeholder of sorts – in this apparatus that I use every day.

And the other day, I did the same for a small choir that sings great stuff. And there’s a museum in town that’s cool so I gave a bit there.

There was a side project that I really believe in (sung English propers for liturgy, if you must know) and I headed a campaign for that and raised $5,000 in one week. It was wonderful.

I’ll be interested in seeing how this discussion turns out: Bryan Caplan hypothesizes that a lot of conservatives are most passionate about the issues on which they are least libertarian: immigration and war. This is a case where vivid experience is suggestive but not conclusive; hence, he opens the door to bets and empirical tests. Bryan admits that he doesn’t know many religious conservatives, and my car radio is tuned to a local Christian talk station (AM 640).