The Economist's Cookbook

Here is a bit from NPR of all places about the use of private hitmen being used to combat the notorious gangs of Guatemala.

Now in general, I like market solutions to problems. But the libertarian in me does question the ability of businesses to guarantee their work. Or even the use of that kind of coercion to prevent the death of family members to gangs that are willing to chop a child up and send the bits back to dad so he'll pay his "Protection Money"

In all fairness though, this system of privatizing hitmen in order to keep the gangs in check has been successful. From the Article:

Lots of us have left the gangs. We don't want to return to that life. We're trying to do better.

Comment moderation is now in effect.

*sigh*

What the hell?

After attempting to sneak the Xbox 360 classic Halo 3 into his house, Daniel Petric, aged 17, was caught by his parents who consequentially confiscated the game. The game was locked away in his parent's closet, where a 9mm handgun was reportedly kept.

Daniel Petric took the game and handgun from the closet and took them to his parents, asking them to close their eyes to await a surprise.

Mark Petric, Daniel's father, told the court that he had expected a pleasant surprise, but found his head had gone numb. He had been shot in the head, as had his wife Susa Petric, 43, who died instantaneously.

Just bury the damn thing, change the constitution and ban guns. Stop blaming violent video games and Marilyn Manson. Enough is enough. These tragic murders need to stop.

What's the biggest factor? Guns. Guns don't kill people, people kill people, but especially if they have a gun.

Really, why do you need guns except to shoot a pigeon, or a deer? You're not a policeman. You can't ensure that you're children won't get hold of your gun. You can't hold yourself to be a responsible adult when you return home angry, drunk and volatile.

Sorry this didn't show up earlier, Blogger had an aneurysm trying to handle an animated GIF file.

I'm worried, very worried. It seems like no one cares about liberty, freedom, trade, and wealth anymore. Not that your average person really gives a damn about the finer points of argument over freedom vs. slavery. Hell we've replaced rational discourse with emotional appeal, demagoguery, lies, and politics.

I'm just an "extremist". One of a precious few that seem to see the primrose path we're being led down. A path that will ultimately self-destruct in what I think will be a very Atlas Shrugged fashion.

What do we do? Do we run? If so, where? Fighting will leave us branded as domestic terrorists, and while I would love to see the established political power in this country torn to bits, I don't relish trying and only succeeding in spending the rest of my life in some prison where the government and people can forget about you.

Education is failing as every new crisis is used as evidence against free markets and free minds. I think it was Stalin that said education is a weapon. It's a weapon that is, I fear, no longer ours to wield in any effectual manner.

What are freemen to do? I don't have an answer and that troubles me greatly. I get to sit and watch our society grind itself up.

I hate people that wear Che shirts. It's like a shining beacon that says "I want to be counter culture, but I'm too much of an idiot to read history."

Conservative estimates put the total death toll of communism around 130 MILLION people, this one is closer to 150 million. Forgive me if I want to spit on people who glamorize the revolutionary mindset of Che or Lenin or Mao. They have their right to wear what they want, I have a right to think them idiots for it.

In that vein here is reason.tv on Che Merchandising:

I found this on youtube. Though I'm not sure that the Game Theorists are "right wing" I would suggest that they were rather Libertarian, especially the likes of James Buchanan, arguably the king of public choice theory.

Watch from about 0:22 - 7:14 for bits on the influence of Public Choice Economics

Ah so the Governor of Illinois got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, or so it seems.

I find this hilarious. And when people freak out and say "How can he do this? He's a Governor for God's sake!" I just chuckle and ask: Well do you expect anything else from our elected parasites, thieves, and assholes? I mean just look at this guy ... that must be a toupee.

Do you really expect any different? There is really no incentive for them to behave themselves. I mean, this guy is trading favors. He's a powerbroker, it's what they do. In fact in the affidavit filed the conversation directly implicates our Messiah, the President-Elect, the One, the Only, Obama. According to some of my reading Obama was willing to trade positions on corporate boards to Blagojevich's wife in return for the good Governor naming OBAMA'S choice for his replacement.

*cackles madly*

Oh this is too much. Yes, that's right ignorant Caplanesque masses, Vote! Vote for your masters! Love them for they ... care about you.

What a crock of shit.

Time for another one of my favorites.

Amorphis.

Amorphis is a Finnish metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Amorphis absorbed and incorporated influences from many metal genres, and with time passing their sound evolved dramatically. Initially, the band was a Death Metal act, but with time they have evolved into making music that is more classifiable as doom metal with folk influences, and, more recently, progressive metal and hard rock, utilizing increasingly complex arrangements and a less brutal sound

I completely miffed this one folks. Yesterday was Repeal day. The day that politicians finally panicked enough at falling government revenue to re-legalize the sale of alcohol. So I hope everyone got out and had a beer.

In other news, I was reading Radley Balko's coverage of the Repeal Day lectures at CATO and he was struck by the reaction of a member of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Apparently she stormed out saying it was the most one sided set of lectures she's ever heard.

So I just went looking for their website. What DOES the CSPI support? Since it's in YOUR interest I thought everyone should know exactly what this group is advocating on their behalf.

• Higher Alcohol Taxes
• Alcohol companies prohibited from advertising during sports broadcasts
• Keeping the minimum age for alcohol purchases 21
• Skeptical and even fear mongering about Genetically engineered food.
• Sueing companies to not target children in the advertising for ... candy.
• Warning people of the DANGERS OF SALT.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
-C.S. Lewis

Sorry everyone it's been rough recently and I needed to get some things worked out.

So on to the news of the day.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/fbi-making-arrests-in-harvey.html

Interesting to see the FBI actually doing something to reign in the corruption found in a place like Chicago. Still my question is: How did we get ourselves into this mess to begin with?

Seriously people, the war on drugs creates a black market which drives up the cost and hence the price of goods. You tag on the fact that the profit margins for uncut vs. street value for something like cocaine are ENORMOUS and you have a ready-made mixture that is going to blow up in your face.

Face it, everyone has their price, whether it is monetary or something else, you can "purchase" the services of anyone. This includes the vaunted police officers that are supposed to be UPHOLDING the law. whoops.

Drug War 0 Drugs 1x10^475

Please go enjoy this delicious bird!

It's been a while since I did a Music post.

Behold Ulver! I love this band. They are all over the map musically having gone from black metal releases in the early 90s to experimental electronica and ambient music.

Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release in 1993, Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres from avant-garde rock and trip hop through symphonic and chamber traditions, right to noise and experimental music, with heavy reliance on electronic recording techniques.

... well it's the most "lets beg money off you" time of the year.

Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of charitable giving. But I don't like being harassed as I walk out of Walmart.

I went in with the specific intention of buying a movie. I did just that and on my way out I get waylaid by some guy pandering for some sort of community anti-drug program.

Here's a quick rundown:
"Hey man, you want to contribute to X program to get people off of drugs."
"No thanks, I believe in legalizing drugs."
"WHAT?! How can you possibly believe that?"
"Because I believe in something called freedom."
"Man you think it's chaos now, it would be even worse!"

Fundamental assumptions of this idiot:
1.) Legalizing drugs would lead to increased use. This is unlikely.
2.) Anything "harmful" should be controlled by the state. Sure, because prohibition worked so well.
3.) If it's not controlled it will be "chaos". Markets aren't chaos, they are simply extremely complicated order.

... for the lack of posts.

Job searching and work is doing a number on me.

Well, that and the fact that I'm just having a hard time getting worked up over all the political crap going on. What did we expect? Oh that's right people expected change. Heh ... suuuure

It turns out that my up coming post on Keynesian Theory is forcing me to have to go back to my damn MacroEcon and my Disequilibrium notes. I do think that for those of you not familiar with the feud between Keynes and Hayek, this series of notes on MacroEcon theory from Roger Garrison is VERY valuable.

You must have a 2003 or 2007 version of powerpoint to view these slideshows.

For those of you not terribly well versed in Economics, leave questions, I'll deal with them if I'm capable of an answer.

Thanks everyone.

Here is the website of the new President elect: www.change.gov

Some, no most, actually all of it should scare any thinking human being.

Allow me to quote a few passages for you all.

Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

Citation: http://www.change.gov/agenda/urbanpolicy/

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills.

Citation: http://www.change.gov/agenda/economy/

Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world

Citation: Ibid.

I know I've promised a piece on the resurgence of keynesian policy following this Mortgage and Equity debacle. and I plan on getting to it. Work is hampering my intellectual and blogging pursuits.

Thanks everyone.

... the Fifth of November.



To hell with censorship.
To hell with politicians.
To hell with their 'reasonable' controls.

So ... what are you going to do about them?

... the Messiah got elected now all of our problems will fade away because of the increasing benevolence and wisdom of the State.

God damn I hate this country today.

So I'm exhausted and I don't want to post the Palin Rally pics.

Instead, here is an awesome video on how the US corporate tax affects all the rest of us normal people. Barack Obama specifically wants to raise this tax and doesn't think it will have an effect on American Business. At the same time he wants to give a tax credit to businesses that don't offshore jobs to reduce costs. Kind of a mixed message there isn't it Barry? I'm gonna screw you with more taxes, oh and by the way, when you try and compensate for the additional cost of those taxes by moving portions of your business overseas, I'm going to punish you more for not being 'American' enough to suck it up and pay "your fair share". I don't like McCain, but damn Barry, I really hate you.

Anyway, enough ranting, here's the video: (Hattip to The Agitator)

So I attended a Sarah Palin rally in my hometown. It was an interesting experience.

Honestly, there were points were I wanted to just throw things at the various speakers.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the things that pissed me off during the night.

1.) Morgan Griffith a Republican member of the VA house of Representatives gave the invocation prayer. Now I know this is the south and I don't so much have a problem with the fact there was a prayer as I do the content of that prayer. Griffith seemed to suggest in his prayer that God was on the side of McCain/Palin. I find that to be a strange comment. In fact I find it strange that God would be on anyone's side seeing as how God is all powerful and all knowing, shouldn't God be on ... well ... God's side?

2.) They then had some singer come up and he dedicated a song to Palin ... the song you ask? 'Oh, Pretty Woman' by Roy Orbison. Poor choice. The fact of the matter is that people associate that song with a movie about a prostitute (Though the song doesn't actually say that)! I couldn't believe it. I just kind of went ... "DOH!"

3.) Then they played God Bless America. Now, call me a bit crazy, and I say this as a non-religious person, but I've read the Bible and it seems to me that if you hold what the bible says to be true, or even just good moral teachings, God shouldn't want to bless America. We look more like Nineveh or Gomorrah than we do a "Christian" nation or at least a nation with many "Christian" people. Feel free to disagree, but that's just how I see it. If you're going to claim to be something or ask for that blessing, maybe it's time we started looking at whether we act like it. It's kind of like being a beef farmer and asking the Hindu god(s) to bless you.

4.) The Co-Chairman of the McCain/Palin campaign in VA got up to talk and this guy was actually kind of funny. Until he started railing against individuality, then I got pretty pissed.

"Put aside your individuality to build a better society."

Opeth live = Awesome.

Their performance was amazing. High on Fire was pretty awful as far as openers go.

Closing two songs were a couple of my favorites: Demon of the Fall and their encore was Drapery Falls.

The last time I saw Opeth The Devin Townsend Band and Dark Tranquillity (yes I know it's spelled weird) opened and they were both amazing.

Apparently Baroness canceled their appearance. No worries. If High on Fire is any indication I didn't really want to see Baroness anyway.

Going to a concert.

I don't know how much blogging I'll get done.

The next planned blog is on Keynesian theory and its resurgence following this financial debacle. I'll be taking on the Financial Times. Really, someone should hire me to just rebut pieces published that are socialist leaning.

Anyone know a publicist that's willing to hire a libertarian with no journalistic experience? (yes that is said tongue in cheek).

In fact, don't vote. I'm not voting and I get tons of crap from people for it. Here is a quick break down of the typical arguments. Thanks to Justin over at Intellectual Chaos for prodding me to finally blog on this.

I. The Argument from Duty

"It's your duty to participate in the process."

I'm sick of this argument. This is right up there with Joe Biden's "It's the rich's patriotic duty to pay higher taxes" gaff. Voting is a Right to be exercised when I want. It's like the right to free speech, exercised at will.

IIa. The Argument from Complaint

"If you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the outcomes."

This one drives me up the wall! This is BULLSHIT! In fact, by abstaining from the voting process I have every right to bitch. When McCain gets us into another foreign "democracy building" intervention I don't want to hear ONE gripe from his supporters. On the other hand, if Obama drives the economy into the ground I don't want to hear one whimper from his worshipful masses. You idiot voters put one of these assholes in the office. In fact, by not voting I show that I support none of the candidates, or god-forbid I despise the entire enterprise.

IIb. The Write-In Argument

"Well if you don't like any of the candidates, go write someone in."

That's the equivalent of telling me: "Go piss on that forest fire just to show that you are doing something about it." I think not.

III. The Argument from Guilt Trip

"Soldiers died/are dying for your right to vote."

Bullshit. The soldiers today are nation building, just like the ones in Vietnam and Korea and WWII in Europe and WWI and about every other war where we weren't attacked or invaded. That nation-building is not better for my liberty as is argued by Chris Coyne in his book After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy. Oh are you talking about the Soldiers from the American Revolution? They died to give me freedom from tyranny, they didn't die to impose responsibilities on me and the other future residents of the USA. The last soldiers to die for that freedom from tyranny surrendered on June 23, 1865.

The system is rigged, broken, and slowly grinding up our liberties. Why the hell do I want to support such a travesty?

Please watch these. They should piss you off, make you want to throw things, and make you question the entire house of cards that the politicians in DC have built.

Part 1 of 6:

Part 2 of 6:

Part 3 of 6:

Part 4 of 6:

Part 5 of 6:

Part 6 of 6:

We have heard lots about how Obama is NOT against the Second Amendment from the likes of the AHSA. So what's the truth?

Here is a letter from the lead lobbyist with the Illinois State Rifle Association: Link.

Allow me to quote a few passages.

I lobbied Barack Obama extensively while he was an Illinois State Senator. As a result of that experience, I know Obama's attitudes toward guns and gun owners better than anyone. The truth be told, in all my years in the Capitol I have never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner than does Barack Obama.

Although Obama claims to be an advocate for the 2nd Amendment, his voting record in the Illinois Senate paints a very different picture. While a state senator, Obama voted for a bill that would ban nearly every hunting rifle, shotgun and target rifle owned by Illinois citizens. That same bill would authorize the state police to raid homes of gun owners to forcibly confiscate banned guns.

While a state senator, Obama voted 4 times against legislation that would allow a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of home and family.

The AHSA is headed by a group of left-wing elitists who subscribe to the British view of hunting and shooting. That is, a state of affairs where hunting and shooting are reserved for the wealthy upper-crust who can afford guided hunts on exclusive private reserves.

A valid question from Mark over at The Soul of Atlas:

Question: What is the appropriate role of regulation (by government) of the financial system (specifically, banks)?

Ya know, people are still making a stink about the Obamessiah's "guns & religion" quote.

And it got me thinking. What do I cling to (if anything)?

My ideology of freedom perhaps.

My belief in individualism.

My belief that the state is the greatest threat to our liberties.

My belief that I have the right to defend myself against all foes, foreign and domestic, with lethal force.

So I've been promising this for a long time. It's about time I got around to it.

I'm looking at the Sept. 29th 2008 version of TIME magazine. Ya know what's on the cover?

Here have a look:


Right off the bat I'm scratching my head. Wall Street sold us out? Really? So if you will flip to page 32 of this issue you'll see a nice picture of our new finance czar Paulson and the article is titled "The Price of Greed". I'm already rolling my eyes. And they start in on "The Roots of the Problem".
Allow me to quote the article:

Warren Buffett, the nation's most successful investor, back in 2003 called these derivatives -- which it turned out almost no one understood -- "Weapons of mass financial destruction." But what did he know? He was a 70-something alarmist ... who had cried wolf for years.

Besides a few prescient financial sages ... who could have seen this coming in the fall of 2006...?

...[Frank] Partnoy is a former derivatives salesperson, and he clearly suggests that regulation is often the derivative salesman's best friend. Complicated rules encourage complex transactions that seek to conceal or re-shape their true nature. Regulated entities create demand for complex derivatives that substitute proscribed risks for admitted risks. If a new risk is identified and prohibited, the market starts inventing instruments that get around it. There is no end to this process.

I'm taking a break from this for right now, I know I've promised to take on Time, I will eventually.

Sorry, but things have been busy.

I'm still planning on taking on TIME magazine. However, as I collect thoughts, notes and source material I realized that I might as well write a novel. So my analysis will be split up into a series of posts on the issue, rather than one giant post.

Cheers everyone and remember "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help" should signal to you that whatever they are offering is a bad idea!

Posts should begin tomorrow. Tomorrow I want to set the historical stage for much of this mess by putting things in historical context. I want to contrast the moves of political and economic actors with what we should see in a free market.

I just got my copy of the most recent TIME magazine ...

The Economist's Cookbook is going to take on TIME magazine in the near future.

I need to collect more thoughts and data, but yes, a long post is coming in the near future.

Keep in mind that he said this back in April... Hmmmm How many people in Washington are going to listen to him? I'll venture to say none.

It's about time that some of the power players in Wall Street call the Fed and the US government to the carpet for their actions/regulations/bailouts. I want major players in Wall Street to say "No US CONGRESS, we are going to hold our own 'hearings' on what is causing this financial crisis." I want to see guys like Russ Roberts, Tyler Cowen, Chris Coyne, Ron Paul, etc. get a chance to stand up and say the system has been flawed and broken for a very long time and it's time for a massive shift in the way we view our money and our financial system.

Via Wiki:

Volbeat was formed in 2001 after frontman Michael Poulsen split up his former band, Dominus. Volbeat plays a fusion of heavy metal and rockabilly. They are inspired by the rock n' roll legends Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.
...
Volbeat lists their influences in their own recognizable way:

"Everything from Elvis Presley to Napalm Death .. hail: Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Ramones, Social Distortion, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Dio, Megadeth, Metallica, Manic Street Preachers, Iron Maiden and bla bla bla bla..."

No, this is not some sort of cliche reference to The Matrix.

This is about the financial mess the US seems to have found itself in. The house of cards created by the US government and the Federal Reserve, and individuals that were out to pad their own pockets at the expense of their stockholders. These were men and women who were put into positions of power, through political channels rather than actually channels of competency, to "manage" these mortgage giants that I wouldn't trust to cut my lawn!

I've waited to bother commenting about this FreddieMac/FannieMae mess. Well, during this contemplative time I've been reading more and listening and trying to figure much of this out.

Then Lehman Bros. Holdings folded.

Then AIG got a bailout.

And I realized that for the first time in all this mess I'm frightened. How deep does the hole go? Fannie and Freddie were two of the largest lobbying groups in the beltway. They threw around tons of money. And you know who they contributed campaign monies to? Mostly left-wing democrats with a penchant for pushing for more regulation/control/nationalization of certain elements of the market that are "too important" for the market to handle.

I have had enough. Now we're bailing out people left and right. In doing so we're subsidizing people to DO POOR WORK! Essentially we're subsidizing incompetence and risky investments!

I think it was Rush Limbaugh who had a soundbyte from the former President/CEO of AIG who said "Regulation cannot fix or prevent bad management." It's about time SOMEONE came out and said it.

The more I look at this, the more I begin to see the game. And the game is socialism. The more Government can strangle the private sector with rules and regulations and the more they destroy the market for money with inflationary policy and deficit spending, the worse things will continue to get. This leads of course to the economically ignorant masses screaming for yet more control.

We'll get control all right. And who do you think will be in charge? Why the enlightened politicians in Washington of course. After all, central planners know so much more than your average American.

Don't worry citizens, we'll take care of you. Please go back to watching Dr. Phil and American Idol.

Via Samizdata.net. I don't mean to jack their post, but this is awfully good.

Yes another music post.

Now I don't know if this fits people's tastes.
(Sorry for not using seeqpod, couldn't find it so youtube will have to suffice.)


Brazilian Progressive Dark/Doom Metal. I just love their vocalist's clean vocals and the arrangement of the song is just gorgeous. I recommend the whole album How Innocence Dies very highly!

Ah now what is this weapon you ask?
Was it a gun? No.
A knife? No.
A club? No.
A Molotov Cocktail? No.
A sword? No.
A chainsaw? Cool, but no.
An ice pick? *sigh* No.
A rabid ferret? Okay, now we're getting desperate.
A trained attack Tyrannosaurus? Ummm ... NO.

It was in fact a ... drumroll please ...





A broken pencil sharpener.

Wait ... WHAT?!

A teacher at Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School noticed the boy had what appeared to be a small razor blade during class on Tuesday, according to a Beaufort County sheriff's report.

It was obvious that the blade was the metal insert commonly found in a child's small, plastic pencil sharpener, the deputy noted.

District spokesman Randy Wall said ... "We're always going to do something to make sure the child understands the seriousness of having something that could potentially harm another student, but we're going to be reasonable..."

"In a country like the United States, where the right to property is placed above the law, there the sole function of the public police is to safeguard this natural right, each person can in full confidence dedicate his capital and his labor to production. He does not have to fear that his plans and calculations will be upset from one instant to another by the legislature."
-Frédéric Bastiat

My how we've fallen.

Behold! I bring you Between the Buried and Me.

Most of you won't like this, and that's okay. I wasn't a fan either when I first heard it, but damn does it grow on you. These guys are Progressive Metalcore. Their sound incorporates many different musical styles: "One minute the band may be playing thrash metal and the next they're flowing into death metal growls and thick guitar riffs... the metal take on things can seemingly change in a flash as lead singer Tommy Rogers fleshes out his vocals and utilizes the keyboards to create something that sounds more like it should be on a Smashing Pumpkins album".On their covers album, The Anatomy Of, the band pays tribute to many of their diverse influences, ranging from King Crimson to Pantera to Pink Floyd and even Smashing Pumpkins.

I bring you: Between the Buried and Me - Selkies: The Endless Obsession

Divinity Destroyed - Sweet Heresy


These guys are kinda cool, really been digging them lately. This is from their Eden in Ashes album. They are obscure and not very well known. Check out their website and see if you can find some of their music online, it's good stuff.

From Wiki:
Bastiat maintained a deep distrust of all government, in any form, and worked all his life to demonstrate that government control of private individuals and regulation of private industry was inefficient, economically damaging, and morally wrong. Bastiat asserted that the only purpose of government is to defend the right of an individual to life, liberty, and property. From this definition, Bastiat concluded that the law cannot defend life, liberty and property if it promotes socialist policies inherently opposed to these very things. In this way, he says, the law is perverted and turned against the thing it is supposed to defend.

I'm currently finishing up his short work The Law. It's very very poignant for the modern world.
Here is a bit from Bastiat's The Law :

But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.

Then abolish this law without delay, for it is not only an evil itself, but also it is a fertile source for further evils because it invites reprisals. If such a law — which may be an isolated case — is not abolished immediately, it will spread, multiply, and develop into a system.

So this is kind of cool. Looks like I'll be able to stream music here using this player thingy!
For right now, Opeth - Drapery Falls from their Blackwater Park album. Progressive Death Metal!



Expect more music in the future and I sample, listen, and consume more artists.

I want everyone here to go hug their dog/cat/bird/lizard/large fuzzy spider when they get home today.

Via Reason's Hit&Run Blog which is via an article from the Washington Post.

Internal Investigation: Slaughter of Mayor's Dogs During Botched Drug Raid Justified

I don't like John McCain. In fact, I don't really like any politicians that I can think of (I exclude Ron Paul because anyone with a Murray Rothbard Picture in their office ain't a politician). So I flipped on the tube and wanted to see what all the hoopla was about over this woman.

Upon hearing her speak and watching her take shots at the opposition ... I can see why the Democrats are scared of this woman. She's everything the modern feminists believe a woman should be, except she hunts, she's not pro-abortion, and ... well she's a Rep. She's well spoken.

I believe it was DailyKos where some asshat commenters referred to her as 'trailer trash'. You're just jealous that the woman on the Republicrat ticket looks good enough to wear skirts.

This doesn't change my feelings on politics or those that participate in it. But she doesn't seem like too bad of a woman ... And she isn't hard on the eyes either. (Hell the website VPilf.com went up right after she accepted the VP slot!)

Who knows, honestly I don't freakin' care anymore, it's a damned circus.

Oh did I mention she's hot?

So according to a CNN interview with the Mayor of New Orleans the national Guard/ local police are simply tossing any looters caught into the federal penitentiary. So much for due process. I mean they might be reading him (as there was only one arrest made for looting at the time of the interview) his rights and just tossing him there for the time being.Still it worries me that in a time of "emergency" the cops/Nat. Guard get to just throw cuffs on you, toss you in a cell, and that's that. There is supposed to be steps that are gone through before a trial.

Here's the thing, it's not that I disagree with this one case so much as I do the idea behind it. In this case such actions might be warranted, but it is still the responsibility of liberty loving Americans to stay vigilant.

The federal government today announced that it is changing its emblem from an eagle to a condom, because it more accurately reflects the government's political stance.

A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you are actually being screwed.

The things the politicians won't tell you:

1.) The number and percentage of Americans without health insurance actually declined slightly in 2007 compared to 2006. The share without insurance in 2007, 15.3 percent, is actually lower than it was a decade ago.

2.) Median household income is not falling: “Between 2006 and 2007, real median household income rose 1.3 percent, from $49,568 to $50,233—a level not statistically different from the 1999 pre-recession income peak.”

3.) The share of households earning a middle-class income of between $35,000 and $100,000 in real 2007 dollars has indeed shrunk slightly compared to a decade ago, but so too has the share earning less than $35,000 a year, while the share earning more than $100,000 continues to rise. The middle class is not shrinking; it is moving up.

1.) Ethanol Subsidies - Farms that once produced grains or cattle feed now are taking gov't handouts to produce ethanol (which is a very very shitty alternative to gas).

2.) Inflation - Give the Federal reserve a big ol' hug for driving down the value of your dollars.

3.) Rises in the cost of fuel - which is linked not to oil company collusion or "speculators". But to Supply/Demand and the rising oil consumption of international up and comers (India and China), and various other things which have marginal effects on the price of fuel, including ... inflation.

Look, a coronation festival. We are going to crown and worship the man who will shepherd us into a greater age of enlightenment, government control, and safety.

There will be freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom from need. All we ask is that you allow us to shackle you.

Fall onto your knees and WORSHIP he who will save us!

What a crock full of shit.

P.S. - The RNC will be the same shit in a slightly different place.

Addendum - Dear old dad - "They're not having a convention ... they're having a worship service!"

So ... here's my theory for reforming this country.

Get rid of universal suffrage. Not everyone should vote. This is simply just a fact. Just because you live here, doesn't mean you should get a say in the policy of this country.

So here's my theory.
1.) Get rid of the draft. I see this as an important step in leveling the playing field.

2.) If you are on government assistance, you don't get to vote. This includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc. and so forth. If you accept any of these, you give up your right to vote.

This solves a key problem in America: it keeps politicians from winning office by pandering to the lowest common denominator. I hate poor people voting in politicians and bureaucrats who promise to stick their hand farther into my wallet. That's theft. I don't give a damn if it helps the poor, it's theft and to try and couch it in terms of "redistribution" or a "more equitable outcome" is nothing but intellectual dishonesty in the extreme. I only use the poor "welfare" recipient as an example here. To clarify I don't hate poor people. I do not think they should get to vote themselves money from other people's wealth.

When a politician can stand up and promise a voting block, like pensioners or retirees or anyone for that matter, that he will increase their allowances he is BUYING VOTES! He's not promising to defend the nation or defend the constitution, he is telling them that he will tax Americans so that the government can give them, the special interest group, more money for their Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid/subsidies/etc. That creates a system in which the politician that promises to loot the American public will get elected! Essentially a self-sustaining system is created where each successive generation of politicians has to promise more and more benefits to various groups. In order to break this system, you make participation in the welfare systems voluntary, and if you participate in those systems you lose your right to vote.

So since I went to an Obama "house meeting" earlier this year I figured I ought to give the other side a shot. Now let me preface this by saying that the Republican committee meeting I attended was not a rally like this Obama "house meeting" was. But still it provides a chance for me to get a look at the "everyday republicans".

Well this was a small local community meeting of the Rep. Committee. It was a painful joke.

Well things started off with an invocation, a prayer to get things started off. Please do remember that this is the South so such things are to be expected. However what followed was nothing short of fear mongering for the sake of creating solidarity. The leader of the meeting, who we shall call Mr. X, for the sake of anonymity, started on about how he's so thankful that he can live in a country where they can pray and there are people who want to kill us and destroy "our" way of life. The blatant reference was to Muslims. I mean ... come on. Yes there are terrorists out there who want to blow things up and kill people. But using this as a tool to get people to support your political views is little more than yellow journalism in the new millennium.

Then they had the Pledge of Allegiance. I stood but remained silent. Mr. X then went on about how ... "this is why we are here" ... for the invocation and the pledge. Umm ... I'm not sure he understands how things are supposed to work, but anyone who pledges themselves to a flag is an idiot. You pledge yourself to ideals and concepts and beliefs, not to flags. Flags can of course represent ideals, BUT those ideals might be changing.

He, Mr X that is, then went on about how the Republican party believes in a right to choose. My response??? HERE:Seriously, at this point I wanted to stand up and begin shouting at this motley collection of milksop socialists and moralist social engineers. What about the drug trade? What about the subsidies and tariffs that you all support to prop up "American" businesses which limit our right to choose? What about your "reasonable" restrictions on the ownership of firearms? What about the PATRIOT Act? What about the abuses of police power we see on a daily basis? What about the desire to put the government in people's bedrooms? (By the way, Oral sex is illegal in VA. I imagine Mr. and Mrs. X have broken that law.) What about the 'blowback' that our political decisions bring us in the in the international scene and how does that affect the "choice" that they support?

Here is my theory, they support choice, as long as you're making choices "they" (yes I know it's nebulous but it's the best I can do to describe the movements of mass opinion within the Republican party) approve of. And keep in mind this party has become the party of bigger and more government, more invasion into our private lives "for our safety". What the hell?! So choice is only okay when you approve of the possible choices? That's not choice that's poorly veiled tyranny.

... the war in Georgia that is.

Right so, as the Olympics go on and everyone continues to rack up medals, there is a little war going on in Georgia, and no I don't mean the gang wars that happen in Atlanta. I mean this Georgia.

Here is a link to a very detailed map of the oil pipelines in eastern Europe/Eurasia. (NOTE: Please Right-click and "Save As" on that link, it's a large PDF map.)

Allow me to elaborate:
Here is a general map (the orange portion is Georgia)
Yes I know the countries are not labeled. Directly North of Georgia is the Russian Federation.

Let's take a closer look shall we?
I cropped and rotated this in Photoshop to give a similar view of the country as the map above.

If you looked at the PDF map I have linked above, you'll see this is simply a blown-up version of that map. The dark green lines are oil pipelines, the more thick the line, the larger the pipeline. The red line with yellow hashes through it is a natural gas pipeline under construction.

This is not about national determination or South Ossetia seceding from Georgia, this is about Russia playing power politics to regain control of former provinces (formerly held by the USSR) which have everything to lose if Russia gets control of those pipelines. Most of them have some oil and it plays an important part of their economies. Losing access to the Georgian pipelines will severely hamper their countries.

For those of you in the know in the internet meme game liberty LOLcats are a sign of the times ... these are actually pretty damn good.
Here are a bunch of them.

One of my personal favorites:
Thank you bureaucrash!