Thomas Jefferson Quote: A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government. " ~ Thomas Jefferson

Book Review: The Wealth Of Nations by Adam Smith

This is the absolute classic in economics. Adam Smith's huge book was influential on the Founding Fathers (it was published in 1776) and on almost all economists since (even those who don't agree with Adam Smith.) This is probably the most quoted economic text out there - so if you've read any other economic books you've probably read some of his ideas. His most notable thought was about the "invisible hand" of the market - that ideally (that is, with Liberty) the market will regulate itself and that government's should not manipulate the markets. But the invisible hand is only mentioned once in the thousands of pages of this book. I really enjoyed the first 500 pages or so when he talked about economic theory, but later in the book he diverged into current events of the time and it was interesting, but not practical information for me.

Buy: The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics) by Adam smith

Book Review: Economics In One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt

This is one of the best books on economics I've read because of it's simple, clear presentation and explanations. This book definitely lives up to it's name! The actual economic lesson is only a few pages - the first chapter. The rest of the books chapters are elaborations of common economic fallacies and how they illustrate the lesson from the beginning of the book! This book was first written in 1948 and updated 30 years later with more data showing how right the author was! The economic lesson in a nutshell: Bad economics thinks only short term and how to best help a specific interest group (Cash For Clunkers is a recent example of this!) - Good economics looks at the long term consequences and how policies will effect everyone else in addition to the special interest group. Sounds simple - but it's actual more difficult to think of all the what if's surrounding issues. The book's discussions will show you how to recognize the various arguments.

From Amazon.com:

Hazlitt wrote this book following his stint at the New York Times as an editorialist. His hope was to reduce the whole teaching of economics to a few principles and explain them in ways that people would never forget. It worked. He relied on some stories by Bastiat and his own impeccable capacity for logical thinking and crystal-clear prose.

He was writing under the influence of Mises himself, of course, but he brought his own special gifts to the project. As just one example, this is the book that made the idea of the "broken window fallacy" so famous.

Written for the non-academic, it has served as the major antidote to fallacies in the popular press, and has appeared in dozens of languages and printings. It's still the quickest way to learn how to think like an economist. And this is why it has been used in the best classrooms more than sixty years.

Buy: Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt

Book Review: The Gift Of Fear by Gavin De Becker

The first 6 chapters of this book alone are worth purchasing this book for. The author is an expert on predicting violence and the beginning of the book explains how many people ignore their own intuition. Upon discussing this with victims it turns out they picked up on clues in their surroundings that something was "off", but often talked themselves out of accepting it. Often they didn't want to be rude to a stranger, etc. so they ignroed the fear they felt or their intuition to not trust someone. The rest of the book is pretty fascinating and educational, but I personally didn't find it as interesting as the beginning of the book. The rest of the book is more about predicting violence and various scenarios the author has come across during his consulting practice. He points out that very rarely does someone just snap - there are very often many, many signs that people either didn't piece together or simply ignored.

From Amazon.com:

Each hour, 75 women are raped in the United States, and every few seconds, a woman is beaten. Each day, 400 Americans suffer shooting injuries, and another 1,100 face criminals armed with guns. Author Gavin de Becker says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. They may distrust the fear, or it may impel them to some action that saves their lives. A leading expert on predicting violent behavior, de Becker believes we can all learn to recognize these signals of the "universal code of violence," and use them as tools to help us survive. The book teaches how to identify the warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. The case studies are gripping and suspenseful, and include tactics for dealing with similar situations.
People don't just "snap" and become violent, says de Becker, whose clients include federal government agencies, celebrities, police departments, and shelters for battered women. "There is a process as observable, and often as predictable, as water coming to a boil." Learning to predict violence is the cornerstone to preventing it. De Becker is a master of the psychology of violence, and his advice may save your life.

Buy: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

Successfully Used Our Back Up Generator!

Last night we lost power for 5 hours and we were able to use the backup generator for the first time. We have special flashlights in the walls that turn on automatically when the power goes off. We grabbed these, I started a fire in the wood stove, and then we gatherered the power cords and used the generator. It worked like great! We were able to power the fridge, the freezer and the TV and DVR. We tried the microwave, but it wasn't getting enough power. Of course, as we went around responding to the power outage we came up with a list of things we were missing including: Extra Lamp Oil, an Extra Oil Lamp, Extra Battery Powered Camping Light, and Head Flashlights. It's a pain and annoying trying to hold a flashlight and grab an armful of wood in the dark.