Paul Bonneau tells philosophical libertarians they should “Become Dangerous.” Jim Bovard sez it’s time to get rid of the phony-baloney federal privacy board. I don’t have any advice for anybody, but I do have a question. I’ve found that, when it’s the right time for me to do something (make a decision, write an article, or whatever), suddenly that thing will come easy. In fact, a decision I’ve struggled with or an article I’ve been banging my head on or avoiding will abruptly just fling itself into my face, ready-made. But — even in small things — if the time…
Category: Miscellaneous
I’m tired. I’m very, very, very, very tired. It’s been one month and two days since I set out to move cross-country, close on a house I’d never seen, and fix up said house while writing/assembling a book for Paladin Press with a deadline of just over one month. And suddenly, I’m beat. Not sure why it’s hitting now. Things are going great, actually. The book — The Bad Attitude Guide to Good Citizenship — is right on schedule. I’ll be sending the manuscript to Paladin by the end of this month and they say (wonder of wonders) they’ll have…
Last week in the comments section, CS posted a good bit on community and the need for it in our uncertain future. He asked me for a response & I’ve been thinking on it. In fact, I think the subject is going to become the topic of a future article or articles. Meantime, I’ve touched on it in past blog posts and articles, including this one, which first appeared in the print edition of BHM. Just one additional observation at the moment. Obviously, community-building is hard for individualists (herding cats and all that). Well, really it’s hard for anybody. The…
Well, okay. A good word for one cop, anyhow. In one specific circumstance. One of the little towns near here recently had a holiday weekend “do,” that included a kiddie carnival, a parade, a barbecue, and suchlike — along with a series of prominent locals volunteering for their turn in a dunk tank. You know the thing I mean: throw a ball, hit a target, and into a cold tank of water falls the mayor or the town’s richest citizen. Well, my friend Leslie, who found me my house, has a son who’s a cop in that town. (Yes, I…
A small rant. About an inconsequential matter. But … well, “it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to.” CenturyLink. The company formerly known as CenturyTel. CenturyTel was a very good company. OTOH, if you attempt to deal with CenturyLink (a metastasized version of C’Tel and something called Embarq) you may be taking your brains into your own hands. If you have any left after listening to the screaching music and shouted sales messages they have on their (I use the term lightly) customer service line. The short version: On Monday I signed up for DSL Internet. No telephone.…
You know you have waaaaay too much government at every level when you repeatedly read stories like this one. And remember those no-down, 1-percent interest mortgages I goggled about a couple of weeks ago? Well, the USDA isn’t the only government outfit that has a darned weird idea of how mortgages should be handled in the post-bubble world. Sheesh! Via LRC.com: Project Vigilant. Do you get the feeling that the patriotic rhetoric — and the allegedly private financing — are just a smoke-screen? Via Joel and a whole lot of other places as the news spreads: Such a surprise! The…
Having already posted my whoo-hoo news, I’ll keep today’s miscellany short. More on the ringing declaration on the failure of the drug war from those most authoritative medical and public-health sources. Some insights into why such a vital statement is being resoundingly ignored. Still … there’s progress. For the first time, a federal agency is condoning medical cannabis. Well. Kinda, sorta. (Via Freedom’s Phoenix.) Speaking of progress … Over how many years and how many times has somebody announced that encrypting our phone calls would soon be as easy and cheap as encrypting our emails? Maybe it’s finally happening. “Thinking…
Could it be? After 2-1/2 maddening months of trying to make a deal on a house, could I possibly have one??? Wednesday night, my friend Leslie called. She’d spotted a real estate ad: 3 bedrooms, sun porch, privacy plantings, all appliances (including fridge, washer, and dryer — very unusual) — bargain priced and with owner financing. The latter is a huge deal for me. It’s either that or straight cash. And limited cash has caused my house-bidding frustrations. By Friday afternoon, before my offer was even typed, the seller had verbally accepted the terms. I’ve never laid eyes on the…
The Michael Bellesiles saga continues. The Chronicle of Higher Education (which first printed the latest Bellesiles baloney) investigated and discovered (no surprise) that the tale of the sad student and his soldier brother is false. But it’s the student’s fault. Um … aren’t historians responsible for checking their “facts”? I mean, isn’t that what they supposedly do for a living? And that tale Bellesiles retailed to the gullible was so obviously too good to be true. It just begged for the half hour it would have required to check it. (Tip o’ hat once again to J.F.) Kudos to jellydonut…
Where you might live if you wait long enough, then leave the U.S. Okay … where your great grandkids might live. Not enough trees for me, though. Imported trees don’t count. (Tip o’ hat to Pat.) Poor, poor pot growers! They just barely, almost, kinda-sorta get their business legal and … governments start to Wal-Martize them — that is, shut the little guys out and make alliances with monied collaborators — license, tax, hand out exclusive deals — all the usual. And then the hapless growers might get ordered to give their valuable product to the poor. Can’t win, can…