Speaking of "I pencil", my favorite show on basic cable is "How it's Made They show the manufacturing process of fire hydrants, saddles, car seats, butter, etc. Every episode is amazing, not just because there's so much involved in making, say, a hockey stick, but because of everything involved in making the machines that make the hockey stick.

It's almost a "it's turtles all the way down" kind of thing.

… the principled libertarian has some strange world where swords magically turn to plowshares when America finally disbands their entire military.

We could disband most of the empire, and the idled resources would reorganize spontaneously into profitable organizations if we let them. What else would they do? Making plowshares doesn't require any more magic than making swords. Only a misplaced reverence for swordsmiths feeding at the public trough leads to this conclusion.

The Left has Utopia, the principled libertarian has some strange world where swords magically turn to plowshares when America finally disbands their entire military.

Isn't capitalism great? You type on your keyboard and we all magically read that garbage. I would guess that it takes a lot less magic to turn swords into plows. No need to disband the military or for that matter "practical libertarians" to plan it for any of us.

Russ, there is no we.

People that describe themselves as principled or purists usually tend to be disconnected from reality. The Left has Utopia, the principled libertarian has some strange world where swords magically turn to plowshares when America finally disbands their entire military.

Anyway, I'm very happy for Russ. It's not Oprah, but that should bring in some much deserved sales, and the website might get some new visitors as well, though that might be a mixed bag.