If you have any love of cars, I sure do, then you have to view this slide show.

From ECU Econ Alumni Hall of Fame member Bryan Summers:


www.funnyeconomist.com/TheBarn11.pps

Coming soon to a Denny's near you...the Octamom Breakfast

It consists of 8 eggs, no sausage and the guy in the booth next to you pays for it!

You gotta love this guy...Ricardo Caballero again.

www.funnyeconomist.com/Caballero.pdf

Hunting fun....

Frank's Hunting Trip

Frank was excited about his new rifle and decided to try bear hunting. He traveled up to Alaska, spotted a small brown bear and shot it.

Soon after there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a big black bear.

The black bear said,

That was a very bad mistake. That was my cousin. I'm going to give you two choices.

Either I maul you to death or we have sex.. After considering briefly, Frank decided to accept the latter alternative.

So the black bear had his way with Frank. Even though he felt sore for two weeks, Frank soon recovered and vowed revenge.

He headed out on another trip to Alaska where he found the black bear and shot it dead..

Right after, there was another tap on his shoulder.

This time a huge grizzly bear stood right next to him.

The grizzly said, 'That was a big mistake, Frank. That was my cousin and you've got two choices: either I maul you to death or we have rough sex. '

Again, Frank thought it was better to cooperate with the grizzly bear than be mauled to death. So the grizzly had his way with Frank.

Although he survived, it took several months before Frank fully recovered.

Now Frank was completely outraged, so he headed back to Alaska and managed to track down the grizzly bear and shot it.


He felt sweet revenge, but then, moments later, there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find a giant polar bear standing there.

The polar bear looked at him and said,

'Admit it Frank, you don't come up here for the hunting, do you?'

SMILE

Joe Jihadi has a bad day: Part X

Man it is fun when it goes like this.

My degenerate horse race gambling buddies and I hit this race on Thursday. The horse's name is Western Prospector, the #1 horse closest to the rail with the great Calvin Borel up in bright yellow silks. It was never in doubt.


When the horse was at the eighth pole Marshall Gramm breaks out and does the Riddler dance again. What a goof, but it appears to be involuntary when he has a fist full of wining tickets.



He is probably at the dog track in West Memphis, Arkansas right now having blown what he won Thursday. If you see this face on the left bumming a ride home, take him back to his wife and kids. If he looks hungry, buy him a hot dog. But do not under any circumstances listen to any touts he may offer or lend him any money.

But if you happen to see my brother, on the right, tell him I said hi and it is time to leave the track and come home.

Reason #8 to be an Economics major: Fine young individuals with something on the ball.

Here are the nice young ladies who helped out at our recent Scholarship golf outing.

Feeling safer yet?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/04/22/slow_roll_time_at_langley_96098.html

Go ahead and dismantle the CIA. Watch what happens.

Here is an email I received from a good friend who is a former CIA "spook" regarding yesterday's Wall Street Journal editorial...

"Just read the editorial. Yes, this is just awful -- we're a banana republic once we start criminalizing political differences. The Obama crowd simply cannot imagine what would happen if there's a second attack on the US -- and the political winds shift and another administration comes to power in 2012. Do they get jailed for negligence?"

God help us.

Bad dudes.

The Obama Presidency at the crossroads.

Go forward with this and you are going to blow this country apart...starting with me. His presidency will rise or fall on his ability to tell Congress "No" and mean it. I think we have our answer already.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124044375842145565.html#mod=djemEditorialPage

AAARRRRGGGGGGH!

Let the ECU jokes begin...AAARRRRGGGGGH!

If you are concerned about future inflation, you really need to read this.

Great stuff from Robert Hall. The theory and art of making monetary policy continues to evolve before our very eyes.

www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3444

Check it out now, funk soul brothers...

A trillion here...a trillion there...big whoop.

www.econbrowser.com/archives/2009/03/how_much_is_a_t.html

Another "must read" from James Hamilton.

This is the follow up to last week's insightful piece on the Federal Reserve. Note with interest the following: 1. It would take a doubling of your taxes for one year to repay 1 trillion dollars of deficit spending and 2. Only five corporations currently can issue AAA-rated debt. They are Automatic Data Processing, Berkshire Hathaway, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft and TIAA-CREF, the lowest number since inception in 1909. Read it for yourself and leave smarter than you came.

www.econbrowser.com/archives/2009/03/the_feds_new_ba.html

Go get a tissue to dry your eyes...then open this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWZDK70bppE&feature=related

The Victors of the ECU Economics Alumni/Advancement Council Scholarship Golf Tournament

This ladies and gentlemen is Team Taunton: Tripp Brizendine (ECU Econ major and golf team member), Jamison Taunton, Jim Taunton and Jared Taunton (apparently Bushmill's Taunton was predisposed as I paired them up with Tripp). Fourteen under par in the wind won it. My team finished thirteen under...another year goes by and still I can not win my own tournament. Congrats to the Taunton Clan. See you April 22, 2010. P.S. Jared it is 2009 so you can smile. You look like a Confederate soldier having his picture taken after the battle of Gettsburg dude.

Absolutely, positively a must read!

Guess who? James Hamilton again. I'm seeing a theme here no?


www.econbrowser.com/archives/2009/03/money_creation_1.html

Here is a nice visual for those who need a picture.

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

You think you have it bad? Not even close.

This is the face of total economic collapse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ubJp6rmUYM

Vouchers for none.

As part of the federal stimulus, the voucher program in Washington D.C. has been killed. This program permitted 1,700 children from poor families to use a $7,500 voucher to seek their education in a private school, outside the fettered and festering sewer that is the D.C. school system. Given that D.C. spends around $24,000 on each student in the system, the vouchers are a real bargain.

We want everyone to have the same health care that every member of Congress has. Ok then, why not want the same quality education that every member of Congress gives their kids? The President sends his daughters to the Sidwell Friends School at more than $28,000 each per year. I applaud this. Why is this same choice not good enough for the poor families within the beltway?

By the way, our new Senator from North Carolina Kay Hagan voted to kill the D.C. voucher program. How charming.

Somali Pirates vs. Navy Seals...who you got?

As many of you know I am a man who will take a fair bet. Anybody want any action on the Somali Pirates against the Navy Seals...I'll take all the action you got. Three trigger pulls... three head shots, in the dark on a bobbing ocean. Then the leader of the Somali pirates says "we will treat countries the way they treat us". What world are you from punk? And all the hand-wringing I am hearing about how this may incite them even more. So what? I don't understand it. If you are a pirate I would just keep in mind that the red dot between your eyes is not a symbol of Hindu spirituality. It is a laser projection from a sniper's rifle complements of the Navy Seals. Say hi to King Neptune for me when you blub to the bottom of the ocean.

Randy Parker Hall of Fame: Charlie Sifford

This ladies and gentlemen is Charlie Sifford. Tiger Woods owes this man a great deal. Like Randy Parker Hall of Fame member Jackie Robinson, Charlie Sifford was the one to go first. He was the first American of African descent to crack the PGA tour. He was treated like garbage as were so many others. He took the heat and prevailed. I saw him on TV the other day. He said "when people think of me I just want them to say 'you know, he was an alright guy'". OK Charlie, you are an alright guy. I'd settle for that myself.

Fun with words and math...

From my good friend from back home in Chicago Mark Larson:


What makes 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%

How about achieving 103%?

What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then:
H-A- R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and
K-N-O-W- L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%



But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And,
B-U-L-L-S-*-*-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND, look how far a** kissing will take you.
A-*-*-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bulls**t and A** Kissing that will put you over the top.

Bucket List Item #87: You have not lived until a Polish woman cooks for you.

My colleague Andrew Grodner honored my wife and I and had his mother come over to my house and cook for my family. She is from Poland and is visiting. I am from Chicago where there are more Polish people than any other city in the world except Warsaw. No that is not a misprint. I have had many Polish meals in the past and reflect on them fondly. If you don't have at least three helpings of everything, they think you don't like their food. If you tell a Polish woman there will be four dining that evening she will bring food for fourteen. If you ever have the chance to have a Polish woman cook for you...don't miss it and eat up big boy!

Semper Fi all you Devil Dogs.

Joe Jihadi has a bad day: Part IX

Once again, if you don't want to see Joe Jihadi have a bad day, then log out and we will see you tomorrow. However, if you want to see our brave young men and women in the armed forces exterminate radical Islamic fascism, hit play.

More on the New Deal

Here is a link to the testimony of Brad Delong, Christina Romer, Son of John Kenneth Galbraith and Lee Ohanian last week on the lessons of the New Deal. Start this at about minute number 95. That is where Lee Ohanian's testimony starts.

http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream&Hearing_id=f5afa171-b136-4f39-9b81-27937a9bbd3b

Here is a copy of Lee Ohanian's testimony if you are so inclined.
www.funnyeconomist.com/ohanian.pdf

More ink on "A Second Look at the New Deal."

This is the NY Times take on the conference I attended on March 30th in New York.

Amity Shlaes meet FDR.

If we are still debating the Great Depression after 80 years, how long do you think the fur will fly over this latest business cycle malady?



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/arts/04depr.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

James Hamilton for Secretary of Energy

If we are not going to abolish the Departments of Energy and Education, which should be done forthwith, then at least get someone in there who has a clue. You really need to read this.

http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2009/04/causes_of_the_o.html

Just like Charles Krauthammer and James Hamilton...Read Ricardo Caballero and you know exactly what to think.

It's him again. Keep 'em coming professor.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/05/AR2009040501720.html

Wally Adamchik Speaks at ECU April 14th at 7 pm in Howell Science Bldg. Room B-103.

Wally Adamchik will be in the Howell Science Building April 14th at 7 pm for this public lecture. You won't want to miss this opportunity for inspiration in your life!

Wally is a professional speaker and the President of the North Carolina Chapter of the National Speakers Association. I met him at an NSA meeting several years back and we have remained friends. He will be a guest of the Economics Society and will be speaking at ECU the evening of April 14th. Watch his video above. His web site is www.beafirestarter.com

Sachs ain't happy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-geithner-summers-plan_b_183499.html

Greg Mankiw meet Lee Ohanian.

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/04/hoover-did-it.html

From Greg Mankiw's Blog...

Here is a visual of what economists called the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis.

At Augusta...

I am at the Master's today for the practice round. That's my friend J.R. Pelletier from Montreal next to me. The green to the 13th hole is behind us. One of the greatest holes in all of golf, it has 1500 azalea bushes the length of the hole. Thus the name of the hole is...Azalea. It is worth it just to come here to see the course. TV does it no justice. When you see the terrain of hole ten with your own eyes, you don't have to wonder why you came here. This is the second year in a row I have won the lottery for practice tickets. Hmmmm...The Kentucky Derby is May 2.

1985 Final Four...Lexington, KY...Villanova vs. Georgetown...so many years ago.

Yes, that's me alright, in grad school. I'm with some dude at the liquor store who had to use a hand truck to take all the soda pop I had bought out to my car for the weekend festivities. I won tickets to both the Saturday and Monday games in a student lottery. The University of KY was given 1500 tickets as the host and the Administration raffled off 500 to the students. My number got pulled. I still remember that final game. The look on the faces of the Georgetown people I am sure is still there. Utter shock and disbelief. Back then smoking was still allowed in the seating area of Rupp Arena. Some guy next to me was lighting one cigarette off the other and looked worried. I asked him if he was nervous. He said "yes, I have Georgetown and I am worried they are not going to cover the number." Cover the number? Poor guy left the game and was about in tears. Horse race gambling rule #2: If you can't take the losses, don't bet.

Amity Shlaes and The Forgotten Man

I was invited to attend a conference last Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York with the theme being "A Second Look at the New Deal". The author of the book The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes, asked me if I would come and you don't turn down invitations like that. Anyone with any interest in the New Deal and the history of the Great Depression should put this book on their reading list. Amity Shlaes really makes the history come alive as she tells it through the eyes of the participants in real time. I read the whole 383 pages of text in less than 2.5 days. Any student of this period should not miss it. And thanks a lot for thinking of me Amity.

Dr. Rothman's place in the sun.

From my colleague and massively helpful friend to the blog Phil Rothman.


http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/03/wanna-bet-some-of-that-nobel-money.html

What does it mean? This is an easy read with big content.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/gross-domestic-product/

APRIL FOOL'S

I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW I GOT ALL OF YOU! TEE HEE HEE.

Look what one loyal viewer wrote to me early this morning...
"No more blog huh? The Gestapo spoke… for some reason this truly upsets me. How can an institution of higher learning, whom is encouraging our future leaders to have free thoughts try to quell one's rights to freedom of speech.

Please send me someone's name and address/email that I can send a letter to. I am pis*ed!"