A collection of stuff that’s accumulated in my, “Gee, isn’t that interesting!” file over the last week or two. Well, actually some of it is from the, “Gee, isn’t that scary?” file:
- Step-by-step plan for fed takeover of private retirement funds. Hey, they’re gonna need the money, you know.
- The most important chart … of the whole century. Debt saturation and the diminishing return on every dollar. Very dramatic. Very simple. Definitely one for the scary file.
- When you work hard and play by the rules the house wins.
- From the comments section: Philalethes linked to this excellent article, “Linux, Freedom, and Frontiers.” Would it be egotistical to say it sounds like something I’d write — only better? Maybe I should just stick with, “I wish I’d have thought of that.”
- Wow. Second mainstream source in a week to print an op-ed advocating census resistance. It’s Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe this time, and he advocates refusing only one question. But it’s a start.
- Speaking of mainstreamers beginning to express things only us wing-nuts used to say, Michael Kinsley fears hyperinflation. Sad that he doesn’t quite understand why he fears it. He should talk to some Mises Austrians.
- Gotta love those Free Staters! Guns, pot, and protest. All at the same time.
- Even the lefties hate the ObamaCare bill — and for some of the same reasons we do.
- But to end on a cheerier note: The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection between Humans and Dogs. Another good one from Philalethes. Looks like a must-read for all dog lovers.
On “Census Resistance”: I received my census form and read the questions carefully. Only the first question (how many live in this house?) was answerable. The rest are totally personal and irrelevant (e. g. phone number); ageist/sexist/racist in content (how old, what sex, what race; and even babies are to be counted?! They can’t vote and they can’t pay taxes, but I’m sure their existence is excuse enough for population growth, increased local/county taxes, and school funding.); or redundant (anybody else living here with you?). The last question was regarding another address I might also occupy, such as a nursing home or prison. The information they wanted from that is too obvious: they could come for my house, or come for me.
Guess they’ll have to come TO me for any answer, because I seem to have lost the form before I could mail it off.
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In reading “Linux, Freedom and Frontiers” (an excellent article — it’s a keeper), I’ve often wondered about something similar to the “Lonesome Dove” reference in setting up a freedom community: What would we do after we got there? Would “keeping” freedom fit in with our original goal of “finding” freedom — or would we become so safe and complacent that we’d allow our freedoms to be chipped away blindly in the name of compromising friendship and good will?
I realize how we feel about it now, but *not every community will turn into a Hardyville.* Even a well-intentioned populace can become overrun by too many Dora-the-Yalies (or worse) early on in building the community. How do we find more Charlotte Carolinas, and less “Birkenstockers”? (I hate to use that term, because I happen to like Birkenstocks.)
» Even the lefties hate the ObamaCare bill — and for some of the same reasons we do.
My brother and I just amused ourselves for over an hour reading from the comments on that piece in a variety of silly voices. There’s something disgustingly amusing about intellectual cripples fighting each other. 😛
Dog lovers will also find interesting a post on today’s LRC Blog: “Voluntariness and Animals“.