Author: Dave

The way a loaf of bread is protected from theft is you put it in a store. If you put it on the street it is harder to keep opportunists from taking what they want. You know at one time recorded music was feared because it would put an end to live entertainment. Movies were…

Air is Free How do you get people to pay for air? 1. Sell them an air purifier 2. Sell them an air freshener 3. Sell them oxygen in a bottle 4. Sell them an air conditioner etc. The cost of air is zero. What is its value? Cross Posted at Power and Control

America since its founding has had an interest in the Middle East says Michael Oren: The stalled U.S. mission in Iraq has prompted calls for a return to “realism” in American foreign policy. Instead of striving for freedom and national cohesion in the Middle East, realists argue that the U.S. should negotiate with Syria and…

Yep they really exsist. No foolin’. Here is Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D.’s view on what a moderate Muslim’s attitude to the West should be: Both Muslims and the media are generally on the mark when they identify moderate Muslims as reflective, self-critical, pro-democracy and human-rights and closet secularists. But who are they different from and how?…

In a comment to my post Oil Outlook Jay Draiman outlines a plan to get all new housing on renewables, with a ramp up period of 10 years followed by full roll out for all new housing after the ramp up. Here is the essence of his proposal without technical details: The federal, state and…

There is a lot of talk on Little Green Footballs (LGF) on the subject of why the United states is giving money to the Palestinians. (mainly the $86 million to Fatah). A lot of folks at LGF (myself included) think the purpose of the money is to make sure Hamas and Fatah are fairly evenly…

There is a discussion going on at Dean’s World about Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates. The folks there are trying to figure out if the jihadis of Jefferson’s day have anything in common with the jihadis of today. It is a very interesting piece and has lots of interesting quotes such as this one: …when…

Not having much profound to say at this time I’m going to quote our profoundist president, Thomas Jefferson on religious liberty. Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of…

This is a really long piece by A. Jacksonian. He wrote this as a series of e-mail exchanges with me and I edited it making some minor corrections which A. Jacksonian has approved. It covers the outlook for oil production for the next 5 to 10 years. The short version: Iran and Venezuela will probably…

Ilan Pappe comments in the The Electronic Intifada about the Palestinian’s will for life. The earlier strategy in Gaza was ghettoizing the Palestinians there, but this is not working. The ghettoized community continues to express its will for life by firing primitive missiles into Israel. Ghettoizing or quarantining unwanted communities, even if they were regarded…

I was listening to Sen. Tom Daschle on the Ed Schultz show tonight. I found out a couple of interesting things. First, Senator Tim Johnson will not be back to the Senate soon. He is now undergoing rehabilitation, no mention of when he will be recovered enough to return to the Senate. This means Lieberman…

I’m partial to war stories and this is a really great one. Ynet News tells about the beginnings of the Israeli airforce. Almost 60 years have passed since that fateful day, but Lou Lenart still remembers every minute of it, as though it was yesterday. Those were trying times for the budding Jewish nation, and…

You would think they would teach that in sex ed classes. Oh. Wait. This is not that kind of story. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert says that pulling out of Lebanon and Gaza didn’t work. Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert now admits that Israeli’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip did…

I was having an e-mail exchange with one of my commenters and the difficulties of life came up. My commenter was talking about his relationships and the “walking on egg shells” feelings you get in your relationships with some loved ones. Parents, siblings, offspring. Here is a little of what I had to say: I…

You say you know this already? Old news? Well let me say that you really didn’t know this until you read it from first term Representative Keith Ellison. The template set forth by the roadmap for peace currently provides the best outline for achieving a two-state solution to bringing about a lasting settlement. Right now…

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable. Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable, new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told The Jerusalem Post hours after entering the party leadership position. The Maryland Democrat said the view is shared by his party, rejecting assertions that the Democrats would be weaker than…

The Iranian economy must really be hurting from America’s Cash Flow Jihad on Iran. The Jerusalem Post reports on Iran’s latests threats. A senior Iranian officer warned that if the West continues to threaten Iran’s economy over its nuclear program, Teheran will discontinue the flow of oil via the Strait of Hormuz, Israel Radio reported…

Larken Rose believes your income if wholly earned in the United States is not taxable. He came to this belief by studying the income tax law and its history. He produced a video now available on Google explaining some of his reasons for his belief. He dared the IRS to prosecute him. They did. He…

Since Justin has disabled comments on his piece “The Machines Stop” I want to ask if any one remembers the short story “Mars Inc.” Can’t remember the author, but one pertinent bit of imagined future was a pocket juke box that stored (hundreds? thousands?) of songs on a crystal. I read it not long after…

There is no problem that a little fascism can’t fix. Now before you get all over me about fascism I’m using it in the common sense of tyranny. I’m not using it in the sense of Mussolini’s actual political program although the difference is only in detail, not in kind. With that out of the…