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Month: December 2016

John Lott “reviews” the box-office flop, Miss Sloane

Not really a review, since no self-respecting gunperson would contribute money to the makers of this movie, which depicts the poor, underfunded gun-control movement battling the huge, powerful, omnipresent NRA. But that’s precisely what makes Lott’s article so interesting. The stats: Poorly funded gun-control advocates are shown doing battle with the big, bad National Rifle Association. Of course, Michael Bloomberg is never mentioned. He would spoil the story, since he gives $50 million a year to his regulation-pushing Everytown for Gun Safety. This is 2.5 times more than the NRA spends on political activities. From 2013 to 2016, Bloomberg donated…

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Monday freedom question: Virtues and other aspirations

Okay. I know you’re not making New Years resolutions. Well, I don’t know whether you are; I just know from years of experience that the most outspoken readers of Living Freedom disdain them. Perhaps rightly so when one considers how laughably and quickly resolution breakages get rationalized. But last week, the question of virtues and aspirations arose in these parts. It came up as a result of my uncomfortable attendance at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor, and this distillation of what a Boy Scout is supposed to be: In the discussion that followed, Commentariat member David Gross linked to…

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Weekend links

Chortle. Microsoft finally admits (cluelessly or dishonestly) that its malware-upgrade on Win 10 went just an itty-bitty bit too far. Great illustration, too. And it seems MS is not the only gang of elitists in upper Washington state going a bit too far. Closing freeways so a football team can pass? Gimme a break; even if it were legal, it would be beyond outrageous. One more reason Mr. Policeman is not your friend. And another. And this horrendous court ruling reminds us that not only is Ms or Mr. Policeman not your dog’s friend, but neither are the courts. Are…

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Not so deprived after all

Well, I had my 90 minutes in a float tank yesterday. I didn’t find God (disappointing but no surprise). I didn’t morph into something pre- or post-human (I really must watch Altered States so I can be in on the joke with the rest of the Commentariat). Didn’t have a single respectable hallucination. And I could not say it was a transformative experience, except in the sense that it transformed me from somebody who’d never been in the tank to somebody who now has. That said, it was still a fascinating and worthwhile thing to do. I’ll probably write up…

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I’m so deprived!

And now I am off to claim an early Christmas (or post-Yule) present: a float in a sensory-deprivation tank. I’ve wanted to try this since forever, but assumed it would be prohibitively expensive and require a trip into Civilization. This float involves only a backroads jaunt from my small town to a slightly larger one and costs about 10 lattes. I’m a bit apprehensive (because although the float sounds glorious, being shut up in a small box has, I vigorously assure you, never been on my bucket list). But I’m even more excited. I’ll report on the experience. Might be…

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Midweek links

  • You thought Sen. Joe Manchin was a traitor because he wants the feds to have power to prevent all gun transfers? So did I. But fact is, the man is too stupid to be a traitor.
  • That photographer in Turkey who captured the murder of the Russian ambassador was amazingly brave, dedicated, and good at his job. You can debate whether the photos were in good taste, but you can’t deny his sheer guts.
  • From Dana in comments: the story of Pinchas Rosenbaum, who disguised himself as a Nazi to save Jews in Hungary. 11 Comments
  • The shortest day of the year

    The solstice arrived this morning. At the very moment I posted this, in fact. While most of us, including me, were snug in our beds. So celebrate the return of light, fellow denizens of the northern hemisphere. Be relieved that the sun has not abandoned us after all — even if it’s not giving us much warmth for a few months yet. I celebrate with a feast, followed by silence and candlelight. In the morning, there’s music to enjoy. “When the Winter Comes”: “Logs to Burn”: “Praise Midwinter”: And an instrumental medley of other winter tunes, Celtic style:

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    Tuesday links

  • Sigh of relief. That damned election is finally, finally over. And of course Trump won. Despite death threats to electors. Despite Russians hiding under every bed. Despite the media being the media. Despite four out of 12 Washington state electors going rogue. And despite one valiant Texan casting an electoral college v*te for Ron Paul. Can we talk about something else now?
  • If you’e old and don’t want to die before your time get a female doctor, sez some new and highly sexist research. (Do you think NPR would be running this story if the research concluded that male doctors were superior?) 17 Comments