Must get a few things done this morning, then will return to the “musings” I began the other day. Meantime, here’s some linkage … Never thought I’d see it, but here’s one pot-legalization initiative I hope falls on its corrupt, crony-capitalist face. What goes around comes around. Amazon is opening its first physical book store. The best cities for surviving the zombie apocalypse. Feel free to disagree. Is the USDA silencing scientists? Love (in a not-so-loving way) Conquest’s third law of politics. A happy (though also mysterious) dog tale via Shel in comments.
Category: Government
Government evils — but I repeat myself
I’m reading — rereading, actually — the excellent book Isaac’s Storm, about the Galveston hurricane of 1900.
One hundred and fifteen years later this remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. By a long margin. The San Francisco earthquake? The Chicago fire? The Great Peshtigo fire?* The Johnstown flood? The eruption of Mt. St. Helens? Hurricane Katrina? Forget them. All small potatoes when compared with what befell the people of Galveston.
Funny; “job stress” never caused me to get drunk and bite anybody’s you-know-whats. A bad day at work ever had that effect on you? A bad year? (H/T jed in comments) Speaking of the you-know-whats: Nicki gives a “gun owner who favors gun control” a kick in his. Medical costs going up-up-up? Well, we all know they have been. But more recently, if these stats are correct, medical costs have stabilized. Medical insurance costs, OTOH … Be sure to register that drone you get for Christmas. Did Congress pass a law about this? Article fails to mention such. ADDED: Some…
“Mommy, am I going to die?” Cop shoots four-year-old after he showed up to “help” her injured mother. Clearly all in a day’s work for this callous dude. Missed the family dog, though. Drone defense on a budget. “I want one,” says MJR, who sent the link. White House aide shoots at her cop boyfriend. Much has been made of the fact that this babe is a “special” assistant to Obama, but apparently in WH parlance, “special” is as in “rides the short bus.” Barfetta Barvetta Singletary. Don’t ever ask that woman out on a date. Per Shel in comments,…
Even a gun controller calls Obama’s response to the UCC campus killings a tantrum and correctly states that nothing Our Glorious Leader wants will end violence. Here’s a pretty good fisk of Hillary Clinton’s latest opportunistic anti-gun knee-jerking, too. Again, it’s by somebody who’s hardly a pro-gun purist. Here’s another good one. I’d expect this sort of thing in over-regulated, over-zoned cities, but when rural Colorado tries to keep people from living off-grid on their own land, we’re truly in a pickle. (Via jed in comments) Have you ever complained about how some arbitrary credit score governs too much of…
Nicki says, “Hey, Snowflake!” you don’t have a government-enforced “right” to a wider airplane seat for your super-sized butt. Well, we’ll see about that. When I had the recent infamous medical procedure, they stuck me into a wheelchair wide enough that I could have invited several friends to share the ride. The tech who wheeled my groggy self down the hallway said they have only one “normal” sized chair now. And yes, the reason is what you probably think. —– “My Dog, the Paradox.” An oldie but goodie from The Oatmeal. —– “Scientists” (that is, social scientists again) survey youth…
Don’t say I never post anything nice about cops. Seeking a job isn’t supposed to be a crime. So why should it make you a criminal suspect? Willie Nelson’s new pot brand gets private equity funding. 🙂 Speaking of cannabis … slowly, slowly even politicians are beginning to see the real effects of drug bans. Selfies: deadlier than sharks. Why are Muslims allowed to do what Christians are not? Ha ha. And Mark Zuckerberg thought $100 million would change the government school system in just one city. Oh well, he’s young. He might still learn. Another big “surprise.” Kids are…
Parishioners ensure that three counts of attempted murder didn’t become something much worse. Would love to know more details about how this guy hid out in plain sight. Man vandalizes own truck for money, blames Black Lives Matter. No comment. L.A. freelancers. In an … um, interesting tax situation. Ahhhh, free enterprise. In Pakistan, it seems, you can rent yourself a mob from people who specialize in this “valuable public service.” And this! Spy-agency contractor will pay $1 million for an iPhone hack. Some of us predicted this way back in the 90s: sensors in drugs that can report to…
Some climate scientists want those who disagree with them to be charged with treason. The latest bunch isn’t so hysterical in its desire to suppress opposition. They merely want the RICO statutes levied against those who don’t share their opinions. Somebody should tell them this isn’t how science “settles” questions. Bovard has an article in Barrons on how the Nazgul discarded existing rights while proclaiming new ones. Cane-weilding “pacifist” homeowner gets gun from intruder and kills him dead. Fascinating. Why Holocaust denial exists and why Jews are guilty of it, too. (H/T E.A.) Yes, you and I know most of…
Mostly on the lighter side this morning … Godzilla vs. Congress. Cats vs zombies. Security vs Privacy. I had no idea that “window licker” was a thing. Did you? But of course, being a thing, it gives somebody yet one more thing to get OUTRAGED about. (Being outraged all the time must be so exhausting.) Uh oh, paleo. Turns out cavepersons were using grains and making flours a long, long time ago. (Via Pat in comments) Booksellers’ great signs (Via A.G. in comments) (A Pair of big H/Ts to JB and MJR)