The Obamacare future is nigh. (H/T JB) PBS (rather belatedly) asks if we’re safer with all that “suspicious activity” reporting. (Tip o’ hat to RLW) Is there a vampire on the loose? (Or merely a clever tourism scheme?) Did you see anything in the MSM about pennies and nickels being phased out next year? (ADDED: Nevermind. It’s a hoax.) Anybody here ever drink a switchel? I’d never heard of it until I ran into the term in the fascinatingly eccentric little book The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition (thanks for the recommend, JG). Apparently at one time the switchel was…
Category: Government
Government evils — but I repeat myself
Why is the U.S. government building a secret underground facility in Israel? And why are U.S. taxpayers funding a project that includes religious symbols at every doorway? The mezzuzah is a charming tradition, but the fedgov funds enough superstitions without secretly forcing us to pay for another one. Memo to robbers: If you want that girly-girl c-store clerk to take you seriously don’t charge in firing your guns into the air. James Bond, Dirty Harry Callahan and what gun is “good enough.” Can’t say I agree with the recommendation, not even one little bit. But the thinking is interesting. (H/T…
Reader “just waiting” writes once again from the heart of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction — this time to say thanks for the help you gave the other day and to report on how government is “helping” the situation. His own home is inland and was spared, but his parents live on one of the hard-hit barrier islands. —– “just waiting” writes: I want to send my heartfelt thanks to the members of the Commentariat for their good thoughts and sage advice in this difficult situation. My parents home of 40+ years was in the path of Sandy, and suffered some pretty…
Unlike Joel, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Petraeus scandal. Oh, not the sex part. What’s emerged about that so far is pretty dull: middle-aged married man boffs attractive, slightly younger married woman. This is news? (The British, who do sex scandals with more color and athleticism than anybody, must be laughing at us for getting excited over this.) But what a marvelous cast of characters — from the “victim” who’s a more sketchy character than her anonymous stalker to the infamously shirtless FBI agent. When somebody makes a movie out of this — and they must — it should be…
Can we all get back to normal now, after that amazingly anticlimactic election? But speaking of things not being back to normal, some folks are still reeling after Hurricane Superstorm Sandy. Even one frequent commenter here at the blog still hasn’t been heard from, and while that could be just because he’s not talking to us, he and his family were near “ground zero” New Jersey — where some folks are still reportedly without power, reliable food supplies, or running water, 10 days after the storm hit. So much for the old “three-day” supply recommendations. Maddeningly, many government sources are…
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. — from “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost —– The first polls are closing on the East coast as I start this. We know that, come January 20, some statist will occupy the White House and believe he’s the lord of us all. He’ll preside over the growth of the welfare state and the warfare state. He’ll claim the right to kill us at will or lock us up without due…
Weekend read: “Legitimizing Unrighteous Dominion.” Unrighteous dominion is a Mormon term. The author of the linked essay is LDS and so is the friend who sent it (thanks, JG!). The origins of the phrase are interesting. Having been a victim of mobocracy — state sanctioned crowd violence — Joseph Smith wrote: We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men [italics mine], as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:39). No matter what you think of Smith…
That’s what governments are for… get in a man’s way. — Capt. Mal Reynolds So I did some illustrations for Backwoods Home that used money as part of the image. One was built around a $20. Got a public domain .jpg of an Andrew Jackson off Wikipedia (serial number already carefully obscured), then manipulated, altered, edited, truncated, artified it. AND I covered it with little drawn figures. Totally legal under every possible rule of use. All was fine until editor Annie Tuttle attempted to import the illustration into Photoshop to do the final prep to make the art print ready.…
I’ve been saving this for a weekend because it’s long. But if you want to know the mindset of a government enforcer or occupier, it’s important: “The Checkpoint.” This piece happens to explore the thinking of Israeli Defense Forces manning a checkpoint to control Palestinians. But … well, it goes way beyond that as you’ll see. These are people we increasingly meet in Police State America. (H/T JG)
Don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten … well, all the things you might be thinking I’ve forgotten. I will write a post to kick off a women-and-carry-guns discussion (per yesterday’s comment thread). I will get the second draft of the snitch book done and off to you volunteer reviewers (next week with some luck). And I will get that long-promised raffle rifle decorated — although at this point I admit that promise still falls in the category of vaporware. And perhaps even verges on “political promise” territory. I can’t believe how busy this year has been. But it looks as if…