The best I have read so far is:
With notably rare exceptions, Bernie Madoff delivered superior returns to his clients.
After all, he only had one bad year.
Henry Farrell:
“With Notably Rare Exceptions”: Alan Greenspan is back as free market evangelist, and it’s rather wonderful.
Today’s competitive markets, whether we seek to recognise it or not, are driven by an international version of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” that is unredeemably opaque. With notably rare exceptions (2008, for example), the global “invisible hand” has created relatively stable exchange rates, interest rates, prices, and wage rates.
It’s best not to interpret this as an empirical claim, but a carefully-thought-out bid for Internet immortality. It has the sublime combination of supreme self-confidence and utter cluelessness of previously successful memes such as “I am aware of all Internet traditions” and the “argument that has never been made in such detail or with such care,” but with added Greenspanny goodness. I tried to think of useful variations on the way in to work this morning – “With notably rare exceptions, Russian Roulette is a fun, safe game for all the family to play,” and “With notably rare exceptions, (the Third Punic War for example), the Carthaginian war machine was extremely successful,” but none do proper justice to the magnificence of the original. But then, that’s why we have commenters. Have at it.
Stu 03.30.11 at 1:39 pm “With notably rare exceptions, Newt Gingrich is a loyal and faithful husband.”
Andrew Edwards 03.30.11 at 1:44 pm “With notably rare exceptions, Japanese nuclear reactors have been secure from earthquakes” “With notably rare exceptions, Charles Manson has lived a peaceful life”...
chris y 03.30.11 at 1:54 pm With rare exceptions, you can’t get pregnant if you do it standing up.
Sufferin' Succotash 03.30.11 at 1:54 pm With notably rare exceptions, Adolf Hitler was extremely tolerant of diverse religions and cultures....
Tim Wilkinson 03.30.11 at 1:58 pm With notably rare exceptions, people of the same trade can meet together, if only for merriment and diversion, with relatively little in the way of a conspiracy against the public or of any contrivance to raise prices.
Sev 03.30.11 at 2:03 pm Though unredeemably(sic) opaque, Mr. Madoff’s operations delivered excellent returns, with notably rare exceptions...
