Quotes of the day

There is a complexity to human affairs before which science and analysis simply stands mute.--David Brooks

I fear we'll be paying for Bernanke's under-estimation of the long-run dangers of bail-outs and massive intervention for decades to come. What happened to you, Ben?--Bryan Caplan

We used to have a Constitution.--Shakes the Clown (in the comments)

Norman! It's Hillary. What am I going to do with you Norman? You are working so hard for me, I don't know what to say anymore. I've never seen anybody who has been more loyal and more effective and really just having greater success supporting someone than you. Everywhere I go, you're there. If you're not, you're sending people to be part of my events. You know, we're going to win this campaign, Norman, because you single-handedly are going to make that happen.--Hillary Clinton, to now convicted felon Norman Hsu

Probably the most fascinating stat is that all of the stock market’s net capital gains have come when the 10-year yield is 65 or more basis points above the 90-day yield (that happens about 70% of the time). The yield curve hasn’t been that positive in 15 months. Anything less than 65 basis points, including a negative yield curve, works out to a net equity return of a Blutarsky. Zero Point Zero. Today the spread is out to nearly 300 basis points.--Eddy Elfenbein

The US will have to get global cooperation to impose its regulation on the entire world. That was the lesson learned from capital flight in the wake of SOX. Not surprisingly, we’re hearing talk of a global systemic risk regulator. Space travel might bring some relief. But I'm sure the Obama administration will be ready with plans for a galactic regulator.--Larry Ribstein

Press secretary Robert Gibbs should have been fired for the simpering, shrugging way he dismissed queries about this outrageous and terrifying event [of Air Force One and a fighter jet buzzing New York City], which had occurred many hours earlier. Acting as if the issue was as insignificant as Lindsay Lohan's latest dating flap, Gibbs claimed to know nothing more than the few passing references he had seen to it on the Web.--Camille Paglia

Did you like Fannie and Freddie? Were you thrilled by the government's massive subsidization of the real estate market that gave us the subprime bust? Well then you’ll love the government’s latest idea – doing the same thing for cars.--Larry Ribstein

The true test of any planning process is not whether it predicts each successive turn in an operation, but whether it provides the operators the resources and flexibility to carry out their assigned tasks.--James Dobbins et al

You feel like Noah (biblical character who built an ark in preparation for a great flood) to me - you're like, 'Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention.' [to the dire warnings of global warming].--Oprah Winfrey, to noted environmental scientist Leonardo DiCaprio in 2005

It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.--Oprah Winfrey, in 2009

We all agree that [bankruptcy] is a very terrible thing that should be avoided at all costs—but once it has actually happened, we try to forget about the past as quickly as possible, and we focus mostly on providing a predictable and relatively painless way for the insolvents to get back on their feet. That strategy, developed over time through trial and error, has served us well for most of our history. Why is it now a piece of the past that we’re only too willing to abandon?--Megan McArdle