Month: October 2011

While there are certainly other things going on in the world, this headline seems worth at least a passing complaint: Libya’s liberation: interim ruler unveils more radical than expected plans for Islamic law While I worried when I read reports about al Qaida acquiring Stinger missiles (“the better to shoot down your passenger planes, my…

M. Simon’s earlier post reminded me that morality is often not based on eternal and unchanging principles, but on whatever a majority happens to believe is immoral at a given place in time. I left this comment: No one who is sane believes drugs can actually be eliminated by laws. So, the goal is to…

So I’m having an ongoing discussion with a guy and he has me pegged. MSimon believes that it is every individual’s right to consume whatever drugs in whatever quantities that an individual so chooses. What is your plan to prevent that? Because that is exactly the nature of current reality. The legality or otherwise makes…

The cancellation of Republican Speaker Eric Cantor’s planned lecture at the University of Pennsylvania fascinates me. Clearly, the man had as much of a First Amendment right to speak as to not speak. Just as the demonstrators who are now crowing victory for having intimidated him would have in theory had a First Amendment “right”…

The Tektronix 475 Oscilloscope I ordered last Friday arrived yesterday at about 3:30 local time (2030z). I have had it on the bench since then testing it out. It was advertized as used and I must say it is well used. The Digital Voltmeter (the LED readout on top) appears to be defective. No great…

One of the reasons I was so upset to read about the damnable TSA conducting warrantless searches anywhere they want is the way it’s just reported as “news” after it’s a done deal. Why wasn’t there a national debate? Why didn’t the voters have any say in the matter? Those who ask questions like “where…

While it sickens me to see this happening in the United States, the fact is that the federal government — in the form of the detested TSA — is no longer confining itself to airport security, but is now operating on the nation’s highways: PORTLAND, Tenn. – You’re probably used to seeing TSA’s signature blue…

While we all know that the country is in the clutches of Wall Street, Big Banking, Big Oil, and other malefactors of great wealth, it’s tough to fight them, because they have so many ways to hide. But because they’re hidden, I’m thinking that the best way to fight them might be to figure out…

While some people seem to find his statements contradictory or confusing (possibly because they don’t understand the distinction he is making), I think Herman Cain has made it pretty clear that while he is a social conservative, he is not a statist social conservative. In response to a series of questions about homosexuality and abortion,…

I’m afraid that today is Coco’s 7th birthday. She has been such a wonderful muse over the years, that I thought a picture of the birthday girl was in order. Even if Coco looks out of order as I hold her in an awkward pose. (The red eyes are not her fault, and they photograph…

Via Jeff Percifield on Facebook I found some keen insights into the thinking of the Occupy Wall Street protesters in a delightful Howard Stern Youtube documentary broadcast. From the lips of the protesters themselves, in their own words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJPKMvWDmY&sns=fb It’s a crying shame there’s no video, but I’m glad Howard Stern is doing the work his…

As someone who has learned to distrust isms, I have also learned that it is important to at least keep track of them, lest the ism people sneak up and stop me from doing what I want to do. Reading this Reason article, I was drawn to an emerging ism — bioconservatism. Lawler, a member of…

I did not miss tonight’s debate, and I saw Rick Perry and Mitt Romney fly at each other like fighting cocks. Perry accused Romney of hiring illegals, and Romney denied it, because (so he says) he never hires anyone directly. I see both of their points, but the Nevada audience obviously recognizes that it’s tough…

We now know why Rick Perry thinks making pot legal may not be the best idea for Texas. The Texas economy is dependent on the dope trade. Before a federal judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison earlier this year, prosecutors established that between 2006 and 2010 Herrera had been a conduit for more…

I am having trouble with the logic in a piece I read earlier which indicts the baby boomers in part because of the depraved antics of their “leaders.” These people not only caused an entire generation to become dysfunctional, they also drove today’s teenagers into cannibalism and drinking blood: Cool was indeed oppressive — and…

Occupy Wall Street? You might as well send them a check. The only way to get business out of government is to make government smaller. There is no “government” solution to the government problem. Update: I see comments here and there around the www about how messed up these kids are. I dunno – Wall…

Whether it masquerades as “multiculturalism” or not, that this sort of thing is going on in American public schools ought to worry everyone: Students in a Texas public high school were made to stand up and recite the Mexican national anthem and Mexican pledge of allegiance as part of a Spanish class assignment, but the school…

Facebook can be a very awkward, um, “place.” Is place the right word? Not long ago, an irritating thing happened to me for the second time. I was put on a group I did not join. A lot of people have been complaining about Facebook allowing this, and they say it presents opportunities for scam…

A Mitt Romney fan I am not. But I think the Mormon bashing which has been going on is out of line and un-American, and Romney’s enemies would do well to keep in mind that it could very well trigger a backlash in his favor. Right now, the anti-Mormon stuff is mainly on the right…

Grace when she was part of a Great Society, before she became part of an Airplane. And remember to feed your head.