Author: Eric Scheie

One of the reasons I envy religious conservatives is that they don’t have to live in a constant state of fear the way the rest of us turkeys do. Now, I know I can’t speak for all of them, but for many religious people there is only one fear that matters, and that is the…

I get very tired of discussing the, um, “social issues.” Fortunately for me, M. Simon always seems to have plenty of stamina at about the same time I run out of steam. Anyway, right now there is a very determined effort in some quarters to make the social issues Tea Party issues. This is problematic,…

Saying “I guess Palin wasn’t wrong after all,” a friend emailed me a video link about Paul Krugman and death panels, Watch it and weep. And if you’re having the same “deja vu all over again” feeling that I’m having, that’s only because there is nothing new about Paul Krugman channeling Sarah Palin. As I…

Once again, ignore

again

more

Ignore

OK?

Over at the official TSA Blog, I found a great question: Why did Janet Napolitano decline to go through the backscatter machine? That’s just too good to ignore. I’m hoping maybe readers can offer answers to the riddle. Then there’s this: I’ve worked as an electron microscopy tech and while there was extremely little risk…

I’ve been flying since I was a small child, and until now I have never been afraid to fly. Of course, it’s not the actual flying that I fear so much as an insane, out-of-control government which is now treating American citizens to humiliating and invasive searches as a condition of boarding a plane. This…

“The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.” I don’t know how to wrap my mind around that one. I hope it doesn’t mean that the ability to not think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at no emotional…

While I don’t have much to say today, Glenn Reynolds’ link to Iowahawk (currently under suspension for “prohibited activities”) led to an interesting discovery. Apparently, there is an official cigarette of the First Amendment: When protesting the Orwellian suspension of Iowahawk, enjoy the rich menthol flavor of Kools – the official cigarette of the First…

Something Glenn said earlier really caught my attention: IS THIS HOPE, OR CHANGE: In Las Vegas, 80% of homes are underwater. Actually, it is neither hope nor change. The only possible explanation is global warming — just as Al Gore warned us! Remember this? I well remember the warnings, but I didn’t realize it would…

The British Invasion (which followed the Beatles) pretty much wiped out Doowop music, and Americans were forced to reach back into their roots. Paul Revere & The Raiders were “presented as the American response to the British Invasion.” Here’s “Just Like Me” (1965) from the “Hullabaloo” show.

Speaking of marriage, something has to be done about the plight of gay vultures. Seriously, German bigots are breaking up gay vulture couples, on the grounds that they don’t make good parents! But over in gay-friendly Israel, they let gay vulture couples raise children! What’s the world coming to? I thought the Israelis were supposed…

If there is such a thing as a right to privacy that allows a woman to terminate her pregnancy, I’m having a lot of trouble understanding how can that be squared with the idea that the state has a right to test her fluids without her consent to ensure that she does not consume substances…

I’ve been out most of the day, but I didn’t forget that today is Veterans Day. It is an important day to remember. Glenn Reynolds links Armed Liberal, who says that we all owe veterans a debt: Today is a day when I hope that we can recover a bit of that sense of debt.…

A Detroit Free press columnist is saying that there ought to be a law against broadcasting interviews with underage teens about sex: Under Michigan law, it is illegal to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, even if she consents. But there’s no law against broadcasting on television the same 14-year-old’s account of her sexual activity.…

Regular readers know what I think and how I feel about the war on drugs. I think the Fourth Amendment has been systematically violated, and the violations go a lot further than mere illegal searches of drug suspects. They seek legal power to test saliva of all stopped motorists, and they already have power to…

Libertarians typically want to be left alone. That’s fine as far as it goes. But what happens when the world will not leave you alone? If there’s a civil war going on, “leave me alone” is not much of a battle cry. I am vehemently opposed to all calls for revolution or civil war, and…