Having as much pride as any other writer and not wishing to be thought a copy cat I almost never comment at length on what anyone else has written.  I am supposing that most of you at W&G also read Reality Check and Taipan Daily, and read Gary North's exhortation ...read more

Buenos dias. The obvious story to lead with to begin the week is the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico. But as there is nothing any of us can do about that, we'll report that Chinese gold reserves have grown 75% since 2003 to over 1,000 tonnes. That's small compared ...read more

Yeah, we drink tea in Pittsburgh.  But really, Pittsburgh is more of a shot-and-a-beer kind of town.  What else would you expect from the place that – back in 1794 – challenged the authority of the newly established national government in the Whiskey Rebellion.  I wrote about it five years ...read more

“We were merry, in an undertone, at the idea of making so large a cup of tea for the fishes but we used not more words than absolutely necessary. I never worked harder in my life. While we were unloading, the people collected in great numbers about the wharf to ...read more

I think Dr. George Doddington was eloquent, sincere, and convincing in his March 23rd piece "A Net-Positive Gas Tax" where he supported the immediate implementation of Charles Krauthammer’s "net-zero" gasoline tax.  I also think he was wrong. Let’s suppose for a moment that a charismatic Democratic President of socialist bent and ...read more