prior probability

That is the title of this intriguing short paper by my colleague and friend Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at UC Berkeley. I ask this question (i.e. where should we draw the line between legal and illegal, moral and immoral?) in my law and ethics classes all the time, so I am eager to read Professor Kerr’s paper in the next day or two. I will report back soon …

By a vote of 84 to 15, the Senate has confirmed Janet Yellen’s nomination to be our next Secretary of the Treasury (see here), a position once held by the great Alexander Hamilton. Although I am not a huge fan of the Biden-Harris Administration or their America-first economic protectionist policies (as Bryan Caplan likes to say, both political parties are absurd churches), I love this new song “Who’s Yellen Now?” (I have, however, added a “Keynesian Advisory” for my fellow Hayekians!)

Via The Moscow Times, here is a minute-by-minute timeline of the pro-democracy events unfolding in Russia. (In addition, we hope the dictators in China, Cuba, Hong Kong, Iran, North Korea, Turkey, and Venezuela are also held to account soon for their political crimes and human rights abuses.)

For my fellow political philosophers and fans of Thomas Hobbes, the meme pictured below has my vote! (As an added bonus, here is a comprehensive thread containing many more good Bernie memes, which should last us until the rest of the month.)

With apologies to Tennyson, check out this 2011 essay by Howard Bryant (ESPN) describing one the most remarkable chapters in the history of sports. In addition to breaking records in baseball, the great Henry Louis Aaron helped to change Atlanta and the world. (As an aside, did the covid vaccine cause or contribute to the death of this great legend?)

Pictured below is the front and back of Hank Aaron’s rookie card:

More details about this hybrid game are available here.

Let’s start with George Bush Jr. (“Bushito”) for starting costly wars without end in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today (21 Jan. 2021), for example, 18 years after Bushito’s fateful decision to start a disastrous pre-emptive war on false pretenses, there is more innocent Iraqi blood on his hands. (See this report in today’s Wall Street Journal.) Why did the USA “liberate” Iraq again?

Exhibit A. Meanwhile, is President Biden the new Konstantin Chernenko? #gerontocracy