Author: Eric Scheie

In a comment to my post about Bill Maher, M. Simon quoted the mother of one of the Paris terrorists: Coulibaly’s mother and sisters have condemned the Paris attacks,saying they offer their ‘sincere condolences’ to the families of those killed. ‘We condemn these acts,’ they said in a statement. ‘We absolutely do not share these…

In light of current events, I am learning to love Bill Maher.  

While it might surprise some readers, I do not have a problem with SWAT Teams per se. In fact, what happened in Paris yesterday is a perfect example of what a good, properly trained and equipped SWAT Team can do in an appropriate situation. Those sorts of terrorist actions are precisely what SWAT Teams were…

Along with arctic temperatures, it has been snowing for the past couple of days here in Michigan. That, however, has not stopped people from either driving, or being in a hurry — both of which are extremely dangerous in such weather. There was a gigantic pileup near me involving over a dozen semis (at least…

I’m a pragmatist at heart, but where it comes to free speech, I don’t believe in yielding one iota to censorship. I agree with Perry de Havilland (via M. Simon) that the following approach stinks: The editor of the Independent has said “every instinct” told him to publish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons caricaturing the prophet Muhammad…

A comment from M. Simon reminded me of something which was drummed home further by today’s events. The war on drugs makes it harder to fight the war on terrorism. I don’t mean simply diversion of resources, although it would be nice to shut down the DEA and all the various drug enforcement divisions and…

If you thought that only the NSA was violating the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans by intercepting their communications, think again. Thanks to so-called “Stingray” phone tracker technology, the FBI — and thousands of local police agencies — are now routinely spying on millions of Americans, without search warrants. Naturally, they are trying to keep…

What is pedophilia? I used to think it meant having sex with children. Is a adult man who has sex with females in their late teens guilty of “pedophilia”? Moralist-in-Chief Matt Drudge seems to think so. I don’t approve of adults having sex with teenagers (even sex-savvy 17-year-olds like Virginia Roberts), but I think calling such…

How’s life in modern America? As M. Simon’s post discusses, not showing ID when turning in a cat to animal control can get you killed. Government is now prohibiting sled riding. Government schools are telling kids what they can and cannot eat. Huge quantities of food are being thrown away because children refuse to eat it.…

I know M. Simon already said that, but it seems like the theme for the day. Happy New Year to all!  

I’d call what the U.S. prison system has become under the Drug War a Gulag system, but that would be unfair. Stalin’s Gulags imprisoned fewer “offenders.”

For some time, I have argued that there is no meaningful constitutional distinction between the War on Drugs and Obamacare. Both are overreaches of federal power. And logically, if the federal government has the power to tell citizens what substances they can and cannot possess or put in their bodies, then it has the power…

Hope it was a good one! I just noticed that the Oscar (in the tank behind the tree) is trying to get into the act. What a ham.

While waiting at a traffic light the other day, I saw a bumper sticker which challenged my sense of logic: THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN! Because I like to understand things, I was immediately confused. What does that slogan mean? The more I wondered, the more confused I became. I mean, from…

Speaking of hatred (and speaking of our police state) one of the things I especially hate is 2000 page “laws.” Like Obamacare. Or like a so-called “Farm Bill” which made it a federal felony to have unlabeled wood. The origins of such monstrosities can be debated (I think granddaddy of them all was the War on Drugs) but…

A University of Michigan professor of Communications has actually communicated something quite clearly. She says unequivocally, “I hate Republicans.” Which means that to her and others who think like her, either: a. Hate speech is not a problem; or b. Only those you hate can be guilty of hate speech. This comes on the heels…

Speaking of Prohibitionists, I see that Jeb Bush is bound and determined to run for President.                     Jeb Bush will “actively explore the possibility of running for president” in 2016, according to an announcement the former Florida governor posted to his Facebook page Tuesday morning. Mr.…

Yeah yeah yeah… HACK: Chilling Longterm Effect… BOND ‘SPECTRE’ SCRIPT STOLEN… EMAILS: DICAPRIO ‘DESPICABLE’… Clooney ‘loses sleep’ over critics… Studio Hires David Boies to Threaten Media… Demands News Organizations Delete ‘Stolen’ Data… NEWSROOM: Sorkin Says ‘Morally Treasonous’ For Publishing… FIRST REVIEW: BLACK ‘ANNIE’ TOXIC… Obviously, I’m not keeping up with the times as I perhaps…

Yesterday I saw something which startled and puzzled me. A boy (anywhere between 9 and 13) was walking with a woman who appeared to be his mother, and the two of them were having a loud argument which escalated as they walked. The mother was trying to control him and warning him that she wouldn’t…