After an exhausting bit of travel (I had to leave the hotel in Tbilisi at 3:30 am, but dinner with the Minister for Economic Reform, his aide, and our friends from the New Economic School of Georgia lasted until 1 am), I’m back in D.C. I’ve got a wee bit of time to apologize to my cats for my absence (they quickly forgave me, but it was important that I was punished for at least 15 minutes) and get a lot of work done before I head to Guatemala on Saturday. At least I won’t be running the conference this time. (My last remark gives far too little credit to the astonishing work, professional direction, and virtually infinite patience of my colleagues, Linda Hertzog and Keisha Moody from Cato’s conference department and Anya Krasinskaya from Cato.ru. Nothing would have worked without them, including me.)
What the heck is this photo?!!!
It’s a festival in old Tbilisi, with a famous church (in the traditional Georgian orthodox style, with the high central cuppola) and young Georgian men standing on top of the traditional sulphur baths (a hamam). Tbilisi got its name from the fact that there are warm springs there. (Tbili means warm, Tbilisi means warm place). For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi .
Anyway, it’s a very Georgian picture.
It’s quite a shot.
I was hoping it was the vanguard of some new libertarian army preparing to free the world.
Are you sure it isn’t?