Quote of the Week

The Power of Ideas

"In a battle between force and an idea, the latter always prevails." –Ludwig von Mises In one of his many, many brilliant observations, Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises succinctly reminds us about what we think has more power than any form of physical force. Ideas are what move the world, and as long as […]

The Math of Money

"Smart 2 = Money 3" –TC Luoma, Atomic Dog According to fitness writer and humorist TC Luoma, being smart "gives an individual the distinctly valuable trait of being able to conjure money out of thin air." And while this is an oversimplification, TC’s point is that intelligence usually translates into wealth. If you want to […]

The Wisdom of Albert Jay Nock

"…the most significant thing about [a man] is what he thinks; and significant also is how he came to think it, why he continued to think it, or, if he did not continue, what the influences were which caused him to change his mind." –Albert Jay Nock, Memoirs of a Superfluous Man You are what […]

The Wisdom of Southbound Pachyderm

Watching the majesty blow past Speculating which will be the last Savoring my piece of pie And there is no reprise They’re filling the sky Southbound Pachyderm –Primus, "Southbound Pachyderm" These days, it seems like men who embrace the virtue of making money are rare. In fact, you could call them southbound pachyderm, like the […]

The Manly Wisdom of H.L. Mencken

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. –H. L. Mencken Sometimes you get really fired up about the conditions around you, as the great journalist so tellingly expressed. But rather than hoisting the black flag, the best revenge against injustice is […]

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Boxer Wisdom

I’ve squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles Such are promises, all lies and jest Still the man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest –Simon and Garfunkel, "The Boxer" Hearing what we want to hear and disregarding the rest is a common attribute of human psychology. Sometimes that attribute serves […]

Tellerian Wisdom

"A fact is a simple statement that everyone believes. It is innocent, unless found guilty. A hypothesis is a novel suggestion that no one wants to believe. It is guilty, until found effective." –Edward Teller Like so many great scientists, the wisdom of Edward Teller is both underappreciated and less well-known than it should be. […]

The Wisdom of Aerials

Aerials, in the sky When you lose small mind You free your life Aerials, so up high When you free your eyes Eternal prize –System of a Down, "Aerials" The rock band System of a Down hit on an important bit of wisdom in the group’s song, "Aerials." You see, in order to be a […]

Dead Language Wisdom

Save for today’s market move, the recent action in equities has been lower. The bout of selling we’ve seen in stocks has taken the major averages down a notch, and investors now find themselves sifting through a market in correction mode. As I’ve said several times during the past few weeks, a correction off of the nearly 25% rise in stocks since early March shouldn’t come as any surprise.

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It’s Just a Theory — Yeah, Right

This week, we saw the first signs of a pullback in the equity markets. Stocks fell hard on Monday, and again on Tuesday. Now, if you’re a bull, you shouldn’t be…

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