More Rant Aversion And Why Madison Isn't Taken Seriously

I hope to have a long and detailed discussion of issues raised by an anonymous commenter and Frema about race, politics and our society for you by the end of the week. These are critical issues in our times and I wanted to give them my full attention.

In the meantime, two quick items (which will explain the title of the post)

1. I was planning a full-on rant about oil prices and why blaming speculators is wrong and shows how ignorant of economics and finance most people are. I was going to throw in the sub-prime morgage situation as further proof of this. Fortunately, souls greater and more eloquent and more even-headed than I have taken these issues on. Read this post from Marginal Revolution and be sure to read the linked items there by Paul Krugman and Arnold Kling. Marginal Revolution, as far as I am concerned, is one of the best blogs going, and certainly the best economics/social science/finance blog.
2. Why does the old saw that "Madison is seventy-seven square miles surrounded by reality" annoy people here with its longevity? Because of things like this. Honestly, the people in public service in this city are the pits. It seriously leads me to wonder "how hard could it be?" Oh, and read this story for more political posturing nonsense. No fried food at the Democratic Convention? Well, the delegation from Wisconsin isn't coming now. Happy?