BLOGGING FORCAST: For those two or three of you who actually visit my site, sorry but my wife and I are going out of town this weekend and blogging will be suspended for a period. If you want to see something pretty funny in the meantime, visit this disturbing Britney Spears site. [via nick denton]. Otherwise, have fun this weekend, and make sure to come back on Monday. And don't be afraid to tell a friend or two ... they'll understand ... really!

THE OTHER EUROPE: Innocents Abroad posts an analysis of the difference between European-American relations depending on whethe it's Eastern or Western Europe. Collin May suggests in this post that Eastern Europe is still pretty darn thankful about the U.S. stance during the cold war, and the effects of American policy. It's interesting that you don't hear anything about this European view in the major media.

FROM THE "STUPID PEOPLE TRICKS" FILE: According to this article --Tasteless headline is trouble for paper in the The Washington Times -- an editor at the Trentonian newspaper recently got in trouble for running the headline "Roasted Nuts". "What was the story about?" you ask. It recounted a fire at the local state psychiatric hospital, in case you hadn't guessed. O.K., let's be honest. This was a stupid and insensitive headline. But how is it that, in this ever-increasing PC world, the only people who may be referred to as "nuts" are people who aren't actually crazy? Isn't that a little...well...nuts?

NEW INTERNATIONAL BLOG: I was going to link to one of the posts on this brand new blog, but every single one is excellent and I simply have to recommend reading all of them. The name of the site is Innocents Abroad, the name being taken (I assume) from the Mark Twain novel of the same name. The writers of this blog offer a classically liberal view of world events tempered by an evolving political and moral philosophy. Again, I recommend it highly. [via InstaPundit]

MORE EVIDENCE THAT JONAH GOLDBERG IS A VERY SMART AND FUNNY MAN: The creme-de-la-creme of frog-bashing is here atJonah Goldberg's Goldberg File on National Review Online.

EU TAXAHOLICS: Tom Burroughes at Samizdata.net offers this sobering look at Eu tax harmonization - - A global tax cartel. I don't think it's likely that the EU will soon be setting US tax rates, but arrogant leftist policies like this one certainly inhibit downward movement of my tax rate anytime soon.

WELLSTONE BILL PASSES: Instapundit is in agreement with this bill which will allow reimportation of pharmaceuticals from countries where they are cheaper (e.g. Canada). This is a VERY BAD IDEA! First of all, this is legalized arbitrage. Second of all, why do you think they're cheaper in Canada? It's because the government has price controls. Encouraging reimportation means that the Pharmaceutical companies will be forced to ship a smaller quantity of drugs to places like Canada because they don't want to flood the home market with the reimports. As a result, Canadians will likely have access to fewer drugs and the drugs here will get more expensive to defray the cost of decreased production. This will, of course, bring accusations of monopoly-pricing because that is exactly what it is ... and that is the way we want it.

Let's face it, we want these companies to take the risks that they do so that there will be an abundance of medicines out there. If the only medicines worth taking a risk to produce were the ones that were sure to be successful, very few medicines would be produced in the first place. Not only is this Wellstone bill a bad idea for America, it's a bad idea for anyone who hoped that these companies would continue to fund risky research in search of cures for things like AIDS, cancer, and hundreds of other diseases.

PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Alex Singleton at Liberty Log makes a well-reasoned and convincing defense of intellectual property qua real property, deserving of the same protections as all other property.

THE BILL PORTER STORY: My wife and I watched the TNT original movie Door to Door last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not one for mushy crap, but this is an excellent tale about someone who perservered in the face of adversity by relying on himself and his own will to succeed. Bill Porter, who has cerebral palsy, worked as a door-to-door salesman for years, despite being told he would never be able to compete. My favorite part of the movie was where a government worker told him that he didn't have to work because he was eligible to receive disability payments. Offended by the suggestion, Porter exclaimed, "I have a job!"

If you get the chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it. You can check out the real Bill Porter at his website.

REASON ARTICLE: I tried to post this Reason article on the British cigarette tax a couple days ago, but it didn't work. Unsurprisingly, the tax on cigarettes works almost exactly like the prohibition of drugs -- i.e. the black market booms. As this article shows, the only laws that truly affect "sinful substances" are the laws of supply and demand.

SEVEN IMMUTABLE LAWS OF DOWD: OxBlog offers these immutable laws of Maureen Dowd articles. Great for by-the-numbers fisking!

As an example, this sound thrashing is a must see.

FREEDOM AND WHISKY: This is my new favorite blog where the estimable combination of libations and liberty form a potent concoction. The links to a myriad of libertarian sites is enough to make this site indispensible.

THE ANGLOSPHERE: "To be part of the Anglosphere requires adherence to the fundamental customs and values that form the core of English-speaking cultures. These include individualism, rule of law, honoring contracts and covenants, and the elevation of freedom to the first rank of political and cultural values."

Sounds a lot like my dream world. I came across this Anglosphere primer via Dodgeblog.

THE "RIGHT" NOT TO WORK: Anthony de Jasay tears down France's 35-hour work week by pointing out the obvious -- If one is prohibited from working, productivity, demand for labor, and demand for goods all decrease. The goal of reducing unemployment may be met slightly, but only at the cost of all the jobs that can't be created, among the other unintended consequences.

REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Sasha Volokh, at The Volokh Conspiracy provides an overview of the Economist article dealing with sustainable development. He is much more evenhanded than I would have been, but then I tend to react unfavorably to any suggestion of a regulatory answer to a problem.

WILL ON FRIEDMAN: The WashPost published this article in last Sunday's paper. It's a kind of birthday greetings from George Will to Milton Friedman. I'm in the process of reading his book "Captialism and Freedom (1962) right now. It, and this birthday greeting, are both very good.

DID MISES INSPIRE VICIOUS? According to Todd Anderson of Popshot.net, the anti-capitalists have it all wrong. This is an excellent piece that shows how far we have to go before we have a truly free market. Other than the railings against patents, I think Todd rings the bell quite clearly here. [via Capitalist Chicks]

HAVE A DRINK ON ME: Stephen Green at VodkaPundit sums up the free market answer to the wacky claims of the WWF. In fact, I think P.J. O'Rourke wrote a similar, investigatory piece on these very same (or similar?) claims a few years ago. Either way, if you want the straight scoop on why freedom is better, look no further.

ECONOMICS OF CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: James Mill wrote this interesting piece in 1808. It is, in my opinion, an early form of blog since it was a written response to another published article at the time. In any event, it is a good read.