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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Thomas Sowell Day

Alas, commonsensical is already a word.

I meant to declare Thomas Sowell Day here at the blog about two weeks ago. His words are far from the only words I've read in recent weeks, but I've thought lately that his voice is unexcelled, at least by the critical measure of being commonsensical in an age of multilayered, interlocking economic and political absurdities. Here are some recent Sowell offerings, located at the Jewish World Review (where you don't have to click to get the next page, as at Townhall.com).

(First, a personal note for the wordsmiths among my readers: I thought commonsensical was a neologism -- my neologism -- because I don't recall ever hearing the word before it popped into my brain the other day. It's a good thing I checked before claiming to have inventing it, because there it is in my Oxford.)

Er, back to Dr. Sowell.

If you only read one of the articles I list here, read "Upside Down Economics," because we need to keep reminding ourselves and others that the government that now wants to solve the current financial pickle is the same government that caused it.

If you have time and taste to read more, you might consider:

"Subsidizing Bad Decisions." Sowell has some probing questions about the mortgage bailouts, including: "What if the foreclosures are not stopped?"

"'Not One of Us'." Sowell argues that the Republican Party needs some candidates who are "neither . . . country club Republicans nor — worse yet — the sort of [people] who [appeal] to the intelligentsia."

"A Fatal Trajectory." Sowell writes of optimism, pessimism, and what's important enough to worry about and what's not.

"The Rush to Wait." Sowell explains why there's such a rush to pass stimulus packages and bailouts. If you're cynical, you won't be surprised. In any case, you're not going to like it . . .

If you still want more Sowell (brain) food, one of the easiest places to find it is at the Jewish World Review's Thomas Sowell Archive.

Have a happy and very rational Thomas Sowell Day.

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