Thirty-nine percent of the polled U.S. public appear to be terribly misinformed. Don’t know whether this is true. But would anybody really be surprised if it were? The radiation may not be the only health hazard. Heh. So much for trust, but verify. Maybe they shoulda seen the signs. Want a free gun? Pretty cool one, too. All the systemic corruption of the U.S. financial system … all the horrendous harm bankers and regulators and the fed conspired to do to us ordinary working folks and our country. And who does the fedgov decide to go after??? OMG. Insider trading.…
7 CommentsLiving Freedom Posts
Snowed yesterday. And again today. Between snows, it veered around between rain, freezing rain, sleet and whatnot. You folks in Minnesota, Colorado, or even Oklahoma might wonder why that’s news in late November. But this is in the coastal lowlands of the dreary-but-ever-moderate NorthWET. Snow here usually comes in December or later, if at all. And though it may fall heavily at 8:00 a.m., it’s melted by noon. This snow looks set to stay. The forecasters all said we’re headed into a wet, cold winter thanks to a La Nina pattern. Global warming, where are you when we need you?…
13 CommentsDoes anybody have any idea what to do with several hundred pounds of stove pellets that have lost their integrity? The people who sold me my house left about two dozen 40-pound bags of pellets — some stored marginally but still usable, some stored very badly. Like on muddy ground. In a leaky shed. With mice nibbling at the corners of the bags. While this stuff is still vaguely pellety and mostly not damp to the touch, it’s gunky enough to clog the auger. Don’t ask me how I know that, about clogging the auger. Don’t even mention that subject…
22 CommentsJust going through the motions. Even more moronic than we thought. (Tip o’ hat to Joel and Jim B.) But they sure do seem to enjoy their jobs. Man lets house go into foreclosure over $25 fee. Cutting off face to spite nose? Or method to his madness? Me, I think it’s clear he’s not doing it over the fee, but for the principle of the thing: because the bank did him wrong and now won’t even acknowledge him as a human being and a customer. Companion piece: Just when you thought you understood mortgage securitization. A few months ago,…
11 CommentsI didn’t know airports could fire the TSA and hire their own screeners. Did you? Apparently one of the poly-tick-ans who helped create The Sexual Assaulters is now urging airports to do so. Gotta love this, though: “When the TSA was established, it was never envisioned that it would become a huge, unwieldy bureaucracy which was soon to grow to 67,000 employees.” Because, you know. Stuff like that never happens. A heartwarming story. But more than that; a tale of complexity. And quiet individual initiative. This one’s just plain heartwarming. Also an example of dubious math. But what the heck.…
13 CommentsI’ve been thinking this week about boundaries. Personal boundaries — how we set them (or fail to) and how, even when we think we’ve established our boundaries firmly, other people try to override them. I got onto this topic while writing my current S.W.A.T. magazine article. (Shameless plug: It’s called “Charles Manson, Me, and the TSA,” and if that title intrigues you, you’ve got time to subscribe to the ‘zine, because the piece is scheduled appear in March (in the April 2011 issue). If you’ll remind me, I’ll post the article here once it’s appeared in S.W.A.T..) Manson bent —…
19 CommentsWell, golly. Maybe this explains why Ben Bernanke’s economic concepts are so … um, oversimplified. Upcoming: This Friday is (once again) National Ammo Day. Maybe you could buy yourself a box of Glasers or other frangibles. You know. Just in case the airline doesn’t supply them. Good question: If you owe uncomfortable amounts of money, should you pay off debt first? Or should you set aside a fund to tide you over in case of emergencies before getting aggressive about your debts? Sierra Black of Get Rich Slowly has her thoughts. Bovard on the biggest threat to freedom. Wow. these…
9 CommentsWell. That’s something. TSA administrator John Pistole tells Matt Lauer that children under 12 will not be groped. (Video; the comment comes about 4 minutes in.) Your 13-year-old daughter, OTOH … I’m not entirely hopeful the TSA will stick to this policy, or that all those infamously uninformed screeners will follow it. I also notice that Pistole utters not one word about exempting children from pedophile porno-scoping. One thing for sure: even if they do stop molesting the youngest children, let’s hope the public stays angry-angry-angry to the point of resistance. ADDED: Reason TV prepares us for next year at…
5 CommentsMillions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. — Susan Ertz It’s one of those days that isn’t exactly rainy, but not exactly not rainy, either. Mists swirl between here and the hills. The pavement gleams. A raincoat might be a good idea during a dog walk. Or maybe not. (No unbrella, of course. People in the NorthWET don’t do umbrellas. We may own them, but when you see somebody actually using one, you know they’re foreigners.) After a good, but semi-hectic week, I promised myself a sabbath day. I’m just…
12 CommentsIn these once-great united States of America, one state long ago led the way toward freedom. (No offense to you, Virginia; you produced magnificent radicals. But Massachusetts was first to kick ass.) More recently, that state has been leading the way toward third-world status — beginning with plundering the productive and promoting corrupt cronyism. I have friends who are unfortunate enough to live in Massachusetts and who, for various reasons, can’t leave. One of those, a small business owner, wrote me two doleful emails last week about his problems with both the local plunderers and those national vandals, the IRS.…
12 Comments