Author: Eric Scheie

In light of the recent discussions of John Galt and his refusal to work pursuant to the demands of society, I’ve been thinking about the definition of work, especially in the context of the work ethic. Is work personal and individualistic, or is it social and based on what’s good for the community as a…

From time to time I need to explain why being a libertarian sucks, and it is not a state I would wish on anyone. Because of the nature of the ruling political dichotomy, for me being a libertarian reduces itself to an equation which is very emotionally unsatisfying. I am against the left more than…

Senator Jim DeMint recently spoke at an event billed as the “Greater Freedom Rally.” The goal of the rally was “to close the chasm between ‘economic and social conservatives.’” If what he said constitutes “closing the chasm,” I’d hate to think about what he would say if he wanted to open it: DeMint said if…

Over the weekend I saw a photograph taken at Saturday’s “One Nation under Ed Shultz” rally, and because I like to know what people are thinking (and if possible why), it continues to fascinate me. Fox News is “unconstitutional”? Initially, that made me laugh, and it seemed so absurd on its face that I thought…

The latest Gallup poll results are in, and the president’s approval ratings remain low. Right now he’s hovering at 45% approval — just a hair above his all-time-low of 44%. In their endless quest to indict racism in America, liberals are focusing on the huge approval differential between black (91%) and white (36%) voters. If…

As I kept reading about “preliminary satellite estimates” of the crowd at the lefty Ed Schultz rally yesterday, I wanted to know what the term meant. It is repeated verbatim at countless left wing blogs, but it seems to have originated with a statement from a person named Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars: Preliminary…

A Republican Party insider I am not. Well, in August I was elected as a precinct delegate, and at the County Convention I was elected as a delegate to the Republican State Convention, where I finally voted, but as a Tea Party supporter and recent Michigan transplant, I don’t expect my opinions to count much…

Like most people, I have opinions, and I naturally tend to be biased in favor of my own. I know I am partisan, but I do try to admit my biases as honestly as I can, and where it comes to facts, I try to be as accurate as possible. When I am clearly wrong…

One of my ongoing arguments with the blogosphere in general (and this applies to left and right) is this idea that what you don’t write about is not only significant, but that your “omissions” are somehow damning. Not writing about something is taken by self appointed scolds as evidence that you don’t care, or even…

A friend just sent me a link to a red hot horror story: Las Vegas hotel guests left with severe burns from ‘death ray’ caused by building’s design Guests at a new hotel in Las Vegas have complained of receiving severe burns from a ‘death ray’ of sunlight caused by the unique design of the…

M. Simon’s post has generated an interesting discussion about the conflict between libertarianism and social conservatism, and I am reminded of what I said when I praised Christine O’Donnell. What makes this so potentially important is that it might indicate a bold and positive new trend among social conservatives away from statism. As most readers…

In yet another example of how much online annoyances suck, it has recently come to my attention that because I was once stupid enough or naive enough to use Blogrolling on the Classical Values blogroll, and because the company died or something, what were once good faith linking attempts on my part have now turned…

Life is difficult and then you die. In the interim, I try to get by and one of the things I do with the limited time I have is write blog posts. That is never enough to satisfy some people, and one of the things that never fails to annoy me is the way some…

Damn! I hate it when politicians inject their religious views into matters of state: WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is getting more public about his Christianity. First he raised his Christian faith at a White House news conference this month. Then he went church for the first time in five months. And on Tuesday he…

Exhausting as it is to keep track of the latest attempts at totalitarianism, I try. So earlier I read Declan McCullagh’s piece about the latest attempt by the Obama administration to crackdown on encryption: The Obama administration will seek a new federal law forcing Internet e-mail, instant-messaging, and other communication providers offering encryption to build…

A wonderful comment to a previous post told me exactly what I wanted to hear: “most folk will consent together with your webpage.” I don’t want to hear that the commenter was not legitimate, and I refuse to delete it. Besides, I would hate to be running a non-consenting webpage. Geez, I was supposed to…

Earlier I got an email telling me about the new “Mourning in America” video. It’s a clever takeoff on a vintage Reagan ad from the 1984 campaign: It strikes me that strategically, those who remember it (and thus make the connection) would tend to be older voters with good memories. Although I am loath to…

Not only do I completely agree with Glenn Reynolds that the Republicans should not get cocky, I think the avoidance of cockiness ought to be Rule Number One in politics. In fact, I don’t even think that winning an election is a license to get cocky. Even less is it a license to be a…

As a libertarian who opposes the drug war, I voted in favor of the Michigan Marijuana initiative out of simple reflex, not because I thought it would result in legalization (relegalization, really) of that particular substance, but because it was a step in that direction. Interestingly, what I saw as an argument for the Initiative…

Can’t the Democrats do anything right? I mean, consider that the biggest White House scandal yet (dubbed “Panthergate“) has become impossible to ignore, with even Justice Department officials calling the case a “travesty of justice”. And just as Christopher Coates, former voting chief for the department’s Civil Rights Division was “testifying in a long-awaited appearance…