Archive for September 2007

Man, is this ever going to be boring. It’s true. I have never, ever been the slightest bit interested in the “healthcare” debate. I don’t know why, except that perhaps it’s that I just loath pissing and moaning (and being around pissers & moaners) about damn health issues and worries. Ever been around people who wear their maladies as a badge of honor, rather than the kind of person who does their best not to ever let much of anything show? Anyway, I caught Stossel’s special, Whose Body is it, Anyway? last night on DVR. It’s frustrating to watch, though, because as Stossel so clearly demonstrates, almost nobody has a clue about any of this. And it’s the most simple and basic of economic principles, and it’s just flat out ignored — either out of ignorance and stupidity on the part an enormous number of Americans — some supposedly “intelligent” — or out of pure adventure on the part of politicians using such ignorance and stupidity to their advantage. Here’s a decent review, because I just find it too depressing and boring. Perhaps my favorite moment is when John suggests that rather than worrying that 40 million Americans allegedly don’t…

Last Friday morning I was out on my morning walk, wondering what to get my wife for her birthday, other than the weekend planned in San Francisco to which we’d be leaving in hours. Then, I had an idea: iPhone. As a school teacher, now a Junior High counselor, she’s all Mac all the time and was just provided a new 17″ PowerBook in conjunction with her job, as she moves between two schools. Then I come home and almost immediately get wind of this, and that seals the deal. Second time I’ve received a little extra help from Steve. I purchased it up at the fabulous San Francisco Apple store on Saturday, but since you use iTunes to activate, I needed to wait until we returned yesterday afternoon. Then, I erroneously think that since this is the Web 2.0, do anything age, combined with doing business with two tech giants like Apple and AT&T, activation should be a cinch, especially since we already have AT&T, and not only that, but it’s a corporate account with a number of employee phones; i.e., we’re a very good long-term customer. The iPhone is activated through iTunes, which in itself is pretty cool….

“I never thought I’d be part of Republican parade on the streets of San Francisco chanting antiwar slogans!”

That was the title over at Rockwell and I have to agree. I actually can’t even look at the image for the duration. The revulsion is just too deep. You have no idea.

George Will absolutely skewers that good actor that just entered the race. And don’t get me wrong; I think Thompson’s a great actor. Always liked him, the roles he plays, and how he plays them. Conversely, I never thought much of Regan’s acting abilities.

This time it’s the Capital Hill Police, doing a take down on a minister. (LewRockwell Blog)

Well, why not? I can’t think of a more deserving bunch of assholes. At minimum, that includes St. George Police Sgt. James Kuehnlein, and potentially his boss — as part of the background Billy has managed to come up with. Then there’s this bit snagged by Karen which is a good concise video report that includes an interview with the very gentlemanly 20-yr-old student, Brett Darrow. It’s impressive that he is able to remain so composed. Here’s an idea: give Kuehnlein’s job to Darrow, if he’ll have it. But I suspect he wouldn’t. You can guess for yourselves why. I was thinking of how all this new state video surveillance that’s come on line in the last decade is progressing. I guess they didn’t figure on consumers getting their hands on it, and things like YouTube. Even funnier is that genie isn’t going back in the bottle. Likely in the not too distant future, continuous video surveillance of everything you want recorded will be easy and cheap to carry around, completely contained in a pair of glasses, hat, or something like that. Then how big do you suppose the collection of 2,000 police brutality videos on YouTube will grow? How…

Ever heard the expression? “Let’s float it.” I’m predicting it floats right on by without so much as a ripple. Who needs freedom when you’ve got “security,” “safety,” “order,” and [perceived] “guarantees?” Those are all so much more seemingly valuable, right up to the very moment when you suddenly realize your freedom is gone. What’s more valuable, roaming the plains freely, or absolute protection from preying tigers and lions? Why, protection, of course. Isn’t it obvious? It is, indeed; but only up to the point where you find that your absolute protection consists of you being caged, not the tigers and lions. And so it goes.

If you’re going to justify it like that, then you really have to kind of pay attention to those hearts and minds, right? Now, I really don’t completely know what to make of those stories and numbers, given I’m not actually there to get a sense myself, but it sure gives me pause. And if it didn’t give me pause because I didn’t really care, then I’d still be stuck with reconciling ungratefulness. And if that doesn’t matter either, then it seems to me that you ought to know with near certainty that we don’t risk another terrorist attack on American soil. Oh? We do? Well then.

If you can’t turn it up, hold off until you can. (thanks to Karen for that one)

Yea, so I just had a Fillet-O-Fish sandwich from McDonald’s and I must say it was a bit salty. Really. Think I can have someone arrested for it? You’d probably heard about it in the news, but I hadn’t a mind to blog about it until that salty sandwich, today. Maybe I can have them charged with assalt.

In this morning’s post about how the Election will be YouTubed, I wrote that while you can pretty much figure how the MSM is going to narrate the various stages, you have no idea what the next talented and creative supporter is going to come up with. I asked myself what the next passionate Ron Paul supporter video is going to be and admitted that I have absolutely no idea. And not three hours later, this comes along, quite appropriately to the song Video Killed the Radio Star.

Radley Balko, as with any intense investigation he undertakes to expose the worst sort of criminal element — those many operating in the halls of government under the cover of law — has made no exception this time around and he really delivers it. Here’s his latest, startling revelations concerning the alleged criminals of the City Counsel for Manassas Park, Virginia and their accomplices — such as former Vice-Mayor Kevin Brendel — in the several year’s harassment of Rack n’ Roll Billiards. Now comes the news that in additional to the more common misdeeds and crimes that have been alleged of lying, assault, perjury, conspiracy, and so on, that in order to drum an honest business out of “their” city, they may have became child pornographers in an effort to turn Ruttenberg’s allies against him and potentially blackmail him. Let’s hope they end up getting some of that “justice” they were aiming at David Ruttenburg. I can only imagine how much and how often this sort of thing goes on and nobody every hears about it, either because hardly no one ever cares what happens to a business, and I suspect in many cases, business people fear for the safety…

I continue to find interest in the YouTube phenomena for this election. It’s not so much that it’s a new phenomena — video has been around for a number of years and was certainly present in 2004 (remember the Swift Boat video?) — as one sufficiently mature to include people who ‘don’t know them computers too good.’ I think back as far as the 1996 election, where it was believed for the first time that the Internet could play a significant role in national politics and elections. Libertarian Harry Browne (RIP) was the ‘undisputed’ “President of Cyberspace” (glad we got beyond that silly term), the democrats had been routed in 1994, Clinton was not doing well, and there was this sense that something might break loose and the Internet could be the catalyst. But it was a pipe dream; again in 2000. The reason that Presidential elections are so easy to predict is that it’s a 50/50 proposition for the most part. At 50/50, many people can easily have runs of four, five, even six or more consecutive correct picks (especially with access to information). With four year election cycles, this gives virtually any political pundit or analyst with half…

Hah! You know, with stuff like this being produced by everyday folks, this could turn out to be the most interesting and humorous presidential election ever. It’s nearing two decades now I’ve been saying the whole thing is ridiculous and absurd, so we might as well get a laugh out of it. (Hollis) Update: Ah hell, here’s another one, though intended for the “insiders.”

Here’s one for all you many, many felons out there who didn’t even know it. If you’ve ever taken a friend or family member’s prescription pain medication to self-medicate, take note. Yea. You may not be offered the “amazing deal” she was offered.

Now, just go right ahead and tell me that my gross generalizations about law enforcement, including tagging them “Public Enemy Number One” is really that far off base. Yea, maybe not all of them, but a lot of good that’s going to do you when you encounter someone like St. George, Missouri Police Sergeant Kenline, as depicted in this story and video. You really only need to take in about 3 minutes to get the essential message, but the abuse just goes on and on. The message is clear: I don’t care whether you did anything at all; I’m here, I’m the law, I can and will make things up, and you will show what I consider appropriate and sufficient submission and supplication (beg me) or I will make your life a mess. Imagine how often this happens and there’s no record of it. Thoroughly disgusting. (Balko)