Eric Rasmusen’s Weblog

An odd thing is that the Left has the impression that conservative foundations give out more money than liberal foundations, when the opposite is true. I just thought of a reason they might think that. Suppose there are 20 times as many liberal scholars as conservative ones (not an unreasonable estimate). If there is only 10 times as much liberal funding as conservative funding, each liberal professor will have only half as much funding as each conservative professor– and so the liberals will be very envious.

A question in donation policy: Should I donate money now, or invest it and donate it later in my life or at death? (more…)

Luke 12 [+/-]Luke 12 [12:1]In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [2]Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [3]Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. [4]"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. [5]But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! [6]Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. [7]Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. [8]"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, [9]but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. [10]And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. [11]And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, [12]for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." [13]Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." [14]But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" [15]And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." [16]And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, [17]and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' [18]And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19]And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' [20]But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' [21]So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." [22]And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. [23]For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. [24]Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! [25]And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [26]If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? [27]Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [28]But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! [29]And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. [30]For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31]Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. [32]"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. [33]Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. [34]For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [35]"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, [36]and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. [37]Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. [38]If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! [39]But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. [40]You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." [41]Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" [42]And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? [43]Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. [44]Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. [45]But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, [46]the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. [47]And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. [48]But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. [49]"I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! [50]I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! [51]Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. [52]For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. [53]They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother- in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." [54]He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. [55]And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. [56]You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? [57]"And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? [58]As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. [59]I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny." (ESV)
has a passage useful for thinking about eternal rewards and punishments:
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Evolution explains a lot, but there are certain anomalies it fails to explain.

ID is one explanation– God tweaked evolution, creating mutations.

Naturalism is another explanation– God did not tweak evolution, but something else, as yet unknown, created the mutations. (more…)

Is there dirty work afoot at Ohio State to kill a student’s dissertation because some professors from outside his department disagree with his approach, which incorporates Intelligent Design? (more…)

A news report says that the head of Sudan’s intelligence agency, someone heavily involved with the Darfur atrocities, is coming to Washington to consult with the CIA on terrorism. Is this a bad thing? No. Our relationship with Sudan is a little like our relationship with the Soviet Union in World War II. Stalin was an evil dictator, as evil as Hitler, but he was also our ally, and so we sent him aid and consulted with him. And just as Russia was an ally of the enemy, Hitler, just a few years before, so Sudan was an ally of the enemy, Al Qaeda, just a few years ago. (more…)

Martin Kramer has a good 2004 article on a university double-crossing a donor by using the money for the exact opposite of its intended purpose. In this case, the intent was to endow a visiting professorship to combat anti-Israel sentiment at Berkeley; the first visitor is an Israeli highly critical of his country who likes to talk about “Israel’s
renewed aggression and brutality toward the Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories”. (more…)

Via NR comes Condoleeza Rice with the best argument I have ever heard against gun registration: that it would have been a substantial aid to Southern segregationists wanting to intimidate or murder blacks: (more…)

Abstract Appeal has posted the autopsy report of Theresa Schiavo. It consists of the autopsy itself, with some sections by specialist consultants, and a question-answer format explanation of her medical history and cause of death. The brain part of the autopsy has a good list of references on persistently vegetative states– the kind of list I would have liked to see during the controversy. I remain curious as why the report thinks she could not swallow well enough to receive water by mouth, and why they found tylenol but not opiates.

A recent WSJ article, cited below, says that cooperation letters are being used as a way to get plea bargains. Prosecutors like getting the guilty plea; judges like not having to impose high sentences; only sentencing uniformity gets lost. Here are details: (more…)

Something judges don’t seem to understand is why rules can be better than discretion. They focus on the particular case, and want to bend the rules for it, ignoring the broader effect on society. This is a result of pride; if they can’t see the policy reason for a rule, they want to break it. (more…)

The Schiavo autopsy report came out today, but I can’t find it anywhere on the web. The government office says it will be emailed simultaneously to everyone who requests it– so maybe it wasn’t actually published today. I can’t even find a transcript of the press conference. I don’t think I can trust the media reports. The Washington Post article talked about Schiavo being in a “coma”, which of course she was not.

Here’s one item to look for: painkillers. (more…)

The site www.sudandivestment.org is calling on people not to buy stocks in companies that do business with Sudan. It has info on different state pension funds. California’s CALPERS, for example, has this info:

Companies held by CalPERS with ties to Khartoum: 44

Total amount invested in Khartoum: $7,528,282,236 billion

Target companies held by CalPERS:

    * Hyundai Heavy Industries
    * ENI
    * Technip
    * Total SA
    * UBS AG

The companies must be virtually all foreign, since the U.S. has long had sanctions against Sudan because of the South Sudan war. It would be interesting to see how many state pension funds buy foreign stocks, as they ought to for diversification.

Is divestment a good idea? I’m not sure. I’ll think about it.

I’ve heard criticism of the Bush Administration for blocking the Darfur Accountability Act that the Senate and House passed, and was puzzled. Why would the Administration, which is notably tough on Sudan and elsewhere, block such a bill? And how could it have, when Bush has never vetoed any bill?

The answer is that the bill actually is a mere gesture, which just calls on the U.S. to ask the UN to do some things the UN will never do. (more…)

When did you ever hear of a leftwing or moderate speaker being harassed by conservative students? The threat to free speech is clearly from the Left, not to the Right– that is, if you care more about political speech than pornography. From the Washington Post:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to his alma mater turned into an exercise in perseverance when virtually his every word was accompanied by catcalls, howls and piercing whistles from the crowd.

I have great respect for Judge Easterbrook, so I was happy to learn today that his opinion in the famous Shrinkwrap Case makes more sense that I’d erroneously thought. The question in the case is whether the buyer is bound by the terms of an agreement by his act of opening up the CD package and using a computer program. It is similar to “Clickwrap” contracts. I’d thought that Easterbrook and Court said simply, “Yes, it’s a contract”, but it’s narrower than that. Randy Barnett liveblogs from a conference that: (more…)

I’d like to find an HTML command that is like \noindent in Latex– that is, which suppresses the usual paragraph indentation. Anybody know if such a thing exists?

I just found two useful Google searcher programs for searching my own Windows PC and for searching my unix site on the web.
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James Dunnigan tells us that our fancy new bombers have been made obsolete by even fancier and newer bombs. (more…)

From Gail Heriot:

…What is interesting is that UH’s new acting President David McClain does not appear to be an improvement over Dobelle. At a press conference last week, he made his priorities clear: “My first commitment is to Native Hawaiians and our host culture. My second commitment is to the students and to their families and our faculty and our staff. And my third commitment, of course, is to the people of the state of Hawaii.” His first commitment is to a particular minority group? What if the University of Arizona president said his first commitment was to the Navajo? Or the University of Massachusetts president said his first commitment was to the descendants of the Pilgrims? It seems a little odd to me.

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