Introduction by B.K. Marcus:

Mises wrote his first New York Times editorial in March 1941, having been in the United States for less than a year. He addressed a dispute between Josef Göbbels and Wendell Willkie, and provided a capsule version of mid-19th century Prussian history. The editorial, reprinted below, was published without Mises’s name, and he was paid $10.

Reading H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, I was struck by this passage: “That day [Martians were attacking, etc.] the scattered multitudes began to realise the urgent need of provisions. As they grew hungry the rights of property ceased to be regarded.

An extraordinary appeal to Americans from the Bush administration for money to help pay for the reconstruction of Iraq has raised only $600 (£337), The Observer has learnt.

Peter Warburton’s book Debt and Delusion is back in print.

Since I wrote an article about his book, I have received a number of inquiries from people about how to obtain a copy. The book was out of print and copies were selling for hundreds of dollars on used book sites. The book is in my opinion a brilliant analysis of the modern financial system. Although the author is not an Austrian, Austrians will be sympathetic to many aspects of his analysis.

Interesting article in The Economist on how inflationary pressures are increasing in America and elsewhere. Actually I would however rather describe it as monetary inflation increasingly taking the form of consumer price inflation, but let’s not be picky.

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) sent a letter to the president earlier this week requesting that he drop tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and Mexican cement. He points out that “the softwood lumber tariff alone adds at least $1,000 to the average new home.” If that is the case then why wait for a hurricane to drop the tariffs? Get rid of them now, permanently. Blunt, like most Republicans in Congress, operates on politics and not principle.

Interesting report on Bill Frist’s sale of HCA shares.

Insider knowledge? For years, Frist was criticized for holding HCA stock while directing legislation on Medicare reform and patient issues. His office has consistently deflected criticism by noting that his assets were in a blind trust and not under his active control.