"The goal is for this to be a place for respectful discussion; informed criticism; Christian orthodoxy; sound economics; traditional conservatism; civilized politics; interesting reviews of books, movies, television and streaming shows, and other artsy stuff; sports analysis; humor; fun; and more." - Ray Keating, editor, publisher, columnist and economist at the Keating Files
For about 20 years, Ray Keating wrote a weekly column - a short time with the New York City Tribune, more than 11 years with Newsday, another seven years with Long Island Business News, plus another year-and-a-half with RealClearMarkets.com. As an economist, Keating also pens an assortment of analyses each week. With the Keating Files, he decided to expand his efforts with regular commentary touching on a broad range of issues, written by himself and an assortment of talented contributors and columnists. So, here goes...
NEW EPISODE OF FREE ENTERPRISE IN THREE MINUTES! Episode #16: What Caused the Great Depression?
The Great Depression is mistakenly blamed on market failure. In reality, the economy sank into and persisted in a depression due to government failure. The Great Depression was all about trade protectionism, tax increases, massive increases in government spending, and unprecedented regulation.
Karl Marx got pretty much everything wrong. Yet, remnants of his mistakes persist, including his ignoring economic reality when it comes to the relationship between business owners and workers.
New Episode of Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating - Episode #14: Yes, Taxes Matter - Ray Keating asks: Why do so many economists – including supply-side economists, like myself – favor tax relief and oppose tax increases? Are we just evil, greedy people? Of course not. Taxes matter to everyone due to the various ways taxes impact incentives, opportunity and economic growth.
Ray Keating puts aside the
partisan politics and sets the record straight on the actual economics of immigration.
And it turns out that immigration ranks as an economic plus.
Heroes and Villains is the first short story from award-winning novelist Ray Keating, and it ranks as another exciting thriller. Stephen Grant, pastor at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church on Long Island, a former Navy SEAL and onetime CIA operative, must confront violence springing from a toxic mixture of pop culture and ideological extremism.
Of course, many people think of Grant as a hero. At various times defending the Christian Church and the United States over the years, he has journeyed across the nation and around the world. But now Grant finds himself in an entirely unfamiliar setting – a comic book, science fiction and fantasy convention. But he still joins forces with a unique set of heroes in an attempt to foil a villainous plot against one of the all-time great comic book writers and artists.
Heroes and Villains: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story comes on the heels of Keating’s just-released Reagan Country: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which takes readers on a wild ride from the Reagan Presidential Library in California to the White House to a Russian Orthodox monastery to the Kremlin, while also providing a salute to the legacy of Ronald Reagan.
Ray Keating said, “With Heroes and Villains and Reagan Country being released so close together, I hope that readers have great fun spending this summer with Pastor Stephen Grant. I think these two adventures will fit quite nicely on everyone’s summer reading list.”
In fact, one Amazon reviewer said the following about Reagan Country: “Another fun Keating read, perfect escapism fiction, great for the beach or vacation.”
Keating’s previous Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers/mysteries – Lionhearts, Wine Into Water, Murderer’s Row, The River, An Advent For Religious Liberty, Root of All Evil? and Warrior Monk – have received widespread praise.
Heroes and Villains: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story and Reagan Country: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel are available in trade paperback and for the Kindle from Amazon.com and signed books at raykeatingonline.com
Review copies, and author interviews and appearances are available upon request.
Politicians, the media and more than a few economists rather haphazardly toss around the word “monopoly.” Ray Keating sets the record straight on what a monopoly actually is, and no, Apple, the NFL and Major League Baseball are not monopolies.
Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast - Episode #11: The Economy Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
The economy is not like poker, not like a sports game, and not about zero-sum thinking. This point matters because all sorts of bad economic ideas are rooted in mistaken zero-sum thinking, that is, the misguided idea that if one person gains in the economy, another person must lose.
No matter what you might have heard about profits being “evil,” Ray Keating makes clear that is not really the case. Instead, Keating explains the critical roles that both profits and losses play in our economy.
Ray Keating notes that there basically are two options when it comes to how economies ration or allocate resources – a government-led economy or a market economy. He quickly explains which one makes sense from an economist perspective.
In the latest episode of the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast, Ray Keating explains that economics is only dismal when not practiced correctly, such as when political preferences are dressed up as economics. Keating proclaims that economics actually is quite exciting.
Episode #6: The Big 5 Policies for Growth - What are the policies that allow economic growth to flourish? Ray Keating highlights the “Big 5” policy or institutional requirements that are essential to allowing economic growth to flourish.
There's a disturbing amount of political blather about the trade deficit these days. How about some common sense economics? Get the real deal on the trade deficit in the latest episode of the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast with Ray Keating. Listen at http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/656803-episode-4-the-real-deal-on-the-trade-deficit
Free Enterprise in Three Minutes is a podcast meant to provide three-minute (give or take a few seconds) answers to important questions about free enterprise, the economy, business and related issues. Ray Keating is an economist, columnist, author and podcaster who cuts through the economic mumbo-jumbo, tosses aside the economic mistakes often made in the media and in political circles, and quickly gets at economic reality. Who says free enterprise and economics have to be mind-numbing? That's not the case with Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating.
The first episode? "Is Free Enterprise About Greed?"
LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL received a big thumbs-up review from Kirkus Reviews:
“In this seventh entry of a series, terrorists attacking Christians in the United States must contend with the proficient recurring protagonist armed with Scripture and a Glock… By now, fans of Keating’s (Wine Into Water, 2016, etc.) thriller series will anticipate skillfully drawn characters. [Stephen] Grant, for one, is a considerate husband and unquestionably capable in action… The narrative’s swift momentum is retained even during profound moments, like a scene in which terrorists debate their cause after murdering two men that’s intercut with clergymen reciting biblical passages. Though sequences of Grant or [Paige] Caldwell and her team engaged in combat are exhilarating, the story’s brimming with everyday heroes. One political figure, for example, is rescued by a neighbor whose courage is measured by the hefty Desert Eagle gun he brandishes. First-rate supporting characters complement the sprightly pastor, who remains impeccable in this thriller.”
LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL by Ray Keating is here! It’s the seventh thriller featuring the onetime Navy SEAL, former CIA operative, and current Lutheran pastor.
In LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL by Ray Keating, war has arrived on American soil, with Islamic terrorists using new tactics. Few are safe, including Christians, politicians, and the media. Pastor Stephen Grant taps into his past with the Navy SEALS and the CIA to help wage a war of flesh and blood, ideas, history, and beliefs. This is about defending both the U.S. and Christianity.
Lutheran Book Review says: “I miss Tom Clancy. Keating fills that void for me.” Keating also has been called “a great novelist” by the host of KFUO’s “BookTalk” radio, and MURDERER’S ROW won the 2015 Book of the Year award from KFUO radio.
PRE-ORDER Signed Copies of LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL now at a Sale Price!
War and Terrorism on American Soil in Award-Winning Novelist Ray Keating’s New Thriller LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL
Stephen Grant, Former Navy SEAL, Onetime CIA Operative and Current Lutheran Pastor, is Back in the Fight
Go to www.raykeatingonline.com. LIONHEARTS will be shipped just prior to September 5th publican date!
Sale on All 7 Signed Pastor Stephen Grant Novels. Order all of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels, and you effectively get a signed LIONHEARTS for free!
In LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL by Ray Keating, war has arrived on American soil, with Islamic terrorists using new tactics. Few are safe, including Christians, politicians, and the media. Pastor Stephen Grant taps into his past with the Navy SEALS and the CIA to help wage a war of flesh and blood, ideas, history, and beliefs. This is about defending both the U.S. and Christianity.
With action on the churches, home, media and political fronts, LIONHEARTS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL ranks as a breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Tragedy, justice, faith, love, friendship, violence, death and loss, hatred, courage, commitment and patriotism are brought to life for the reader. As with his earlier novels, Keating also serves up fascinating characters and relationships, humor, and crisp dialogue.
Keating’s previous thrillers/mysteries – WINE INTO WATER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, MURDERER’S ROW: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, THE RIVER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, AN ADVENT FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, ROOT OF ALL EVIL? A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL and WARRIOR MONK: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL – have received widespread praise. For example, Kirkus Reviews has said the following:
On WINE INTO WATER: “A first-rate mystery makes this a series standout…”
On MURDERER’S ROW: “Action fans will find plenty to love here, from gunfights and murder sprees to moral dilemmas.”
On THE RIVER: “A gritty, action-stuffed, well-considered thriller with a gun-toting clergyman.”
Keating also has been called “a great novelist” by the host of KFUO’s “BookTalk” radio, and MURDERER’S ROW won the 2015 Book of the Year award from KFUO radio. And Lutheran Book Review declared, “I miss Tom Clancy. Keating fills that void for me.”
Kirkus Reviews gives a big thumbs up for Ray Keating's WINE INTO WATER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL:
It was declared in the review:
"The recurring protagonist shares the spotlight with many characters who appeared in preceding novels. This narrative approach, however, proves beneficial. To begin with, the story, though boasting the series' now-prerequisite action sequences, shifts most of its attention to the mystery. Keating establishes genuine suspects: seems all winemakers, from the respected to the dubious, are under attack, so those culpable aren't easily detectable. Grant undoubtedly shines in confrontations with baddies as well as lighter subplots: scenes behind the pulpit and his visible awkwardness whenever Caldwell and his wife, Jennifer, are together. But it's the search for killers that makes the biggest impact, and the pastor can't take full credit; it's a team effort, with characters (i.e., Grant's old CIA pals) that are just as essential. "A first-rate mystery makes this a series standout, even if the titular protagonist splits his hero status with others." - Kirkus Reviews
I actually just re-watched the first season of The Man in the High Castle, which runs on Amazon.com. I highly recommend it.
It's rare to say that a television series is better than the book on which it's based, but that is clearly the case here. After closing the book, I felt frustrated, while the end of the first season of the show left me longing for much more.
The story and characters are incredibly compelling, and there is much to ponder about how people react to, rebel against, or comply with the varied evils of totalitarianism.
This Amazon.com production ranks as a television series at its finest. I very much look forward to the forthcoming second season (available on December 16), and will, no doubt, find the time to binge watch it.
Former CIA Operative
and Current Pastor Takes on Wine Counterfeiters, Seeks Justice, and Embraces
Forgiveness
Long Island,
NY – Who knew the wine business could be sordid and violent? But that’s what
happens when infiltrated by counterfeiters. A pastor, once was a Navy SEAL and
CIA operative, is pulled into action to help unravel a mystery involving wine fakes,
murder and revenge. WINE INTO WATER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL is Ray
Keating’s sixth novel.
Along with
his former CIA colleagues and the FBI, Grant is called on to seek justice and take
on evil, while embracing forgiveness and staying rooted in his calling as a
pastor.
In WINE INTO
WATER, Keating not only serves up fine wine accompanied by some excellent food,
but also a compelling mystery, interesting characters, action, adventure, fascinating
relationships, humor, international intrigue, weakness, strength, doubt,
forgiveness and faith.
Keating has
been called “a great novelist” by the host of “BookTalk” radio. His previous
thriller, MURDERER’S ROW: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, won the 2015 Book of
the Year award from KFUO radio. Kirkus Reviews heaped praise on the book,
noting, “Action fans will find plenty to love here, from gunfights and murder
sprees to moral dilemmas.”
Discover
Pastor Stephen Grant and his world of intrigue, faith, action, love and murder.
Amazon.com reviewers compare his thrillers to the works of Clancy,
Ludlum, Grisham, Cussler, Griffin and Morrell.
WINE INTO
WATER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL is available in trade paperback from
Amazon.com at
Keating’s
previous books include MURDERER’S ROW: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, THE RIVER:
A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL, AN ADVENT FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: A PASTOR STEPHEN
GRANT NOVEL, ROOT OF ALL EVIL? A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL and WARRIOR MONK: A
PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL. In addition to being a novelist, Keating is an economist,
entrepreneur, a longtime adjunct professor, and a former, 20-plus-year
newspaper columnist with Newsday,Long Island Business News and the New York City Tribune.
Review
copies, interviews for the media, and author appearances are available upon
request.
Pre-Order the Kindle Version of Ray Keating’s New Thriller WINE INTO WATER: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL.
Order now and the book will be delivered to your Kindle on October 27th! The paperback will be available on October 27th as well!
Blood, wine, sin, justice and forgiveness…
Who knew the wine business could be so sordid and violent? That’s what happens when it's infiltrated by counterfeiters.
A pastor, once a Navy SEAL and CIA operative, is pulled into action to help unravel a mystery involving fake wine, murder and revenge. Stephen Grant is called to take on evil, while staying rooted in his life as a pastor.
WINE INTO WATER is the sixth thriller in the Pastor Stephen Grant series penned by award-winning novelist Ray Keating.
