Friday, March 2
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Taran Jordan is the guest editor today. |
Recommended How big-government conservatism brought down the Republican revolution. Chapter 1 of a new book by Michael Tanner.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
"If
governments did to innocent animals what they do to people, a cry of protest
would go up from the most pitiless corners of the world.
Imagine putting millions of dogs in small cages for the majority of
their lives for their victimless choices.
Imagine caging a sick animal and denying them medicine because of some
artificial social more. Imagine
chafing little doggie shackles used to humiliate and subjugate.
Imagine torturing animals with the intention of causing them to suffer.
If these atrocities were done to dogs, people the world over would not
stand for it....In these terms, it’s easy to see the perversion inherent in
the strong-arm tactics of the state. Government
violently forces us all to pay to save the whales and snowy owls, but blowing
up or locking up our brothers and throwing away the key while we pay for it
all is business as usual with a yawn.
Real
ID Act Deadline Pushed Back to 2009
"DHS
also announced that up to 20 percent of a state's Homeland Security Grant
Program funds can be used to help implement Real ID."
Any bets on how many states will
still resist the feds now?
What’s
Behind the Global Stock Market Shake-Out?
Gary Dorsch provides some interesting visual aids to connect the dots.
"What’s hard -- and what leads to character, honor, and all the other things good people (and good leaders) should be made of -- is doing the right thing when NOBODY is looking. And if we’re on camera every minute, we’ll no longer have a need for such inner integrity. Doing what’s right will be simply an exercise in hassle-free living, not an impulse that comes from within. So we won’t teach integrity to our kids or develop it for ourselves anymore. We’ll only teach them how to avoid appearing guilty of anything on camera...." By Jim Amrhein.
Confiscated
Items from Airports Pad States’ Coffers
"The
operation has netted 360,000 dollars (274,000 euros) after eBay's commission,
money that funds social programs in the northeastern
North
American Union “Conspiracy” Validated
"Academic literature distributed in advance to conference participants about a common legal framework for the U.S., Canada and Mexico included proposals for a North American Court of Justice (with the authority to overrule a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court), a North American Trade Tribunal, and a Charter of Fundamental Human Rights for North America, also dubbed the North American Social Charter." So why be concerned? The SCOTUS and the Constitution aren’t protecting individuals any more.
Electronic
Prescribing Is No Panacea
"Security makes little difference because every identifiable prescription in the country is data mined and sold daily. Nobody needs to break into pharmacies to steal our prescriptions; they are for sale. For example, market intelligence firm IMS Health reported revenues of $1.75 billion in 2005 solely from the sale of prescription records, primarily to drug companies." By Deborah Peel, M.D.
Fed’s
Inflation Analysis Ranks with Zimbabwe’s
"Here was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, one of the outstanding monetary economists of his time, talking about inflation as if it were the result of some pesky exogenous forces." By Caroline Baum.
Weighing
the National Character
"We
want to be taken care of. We can do few things for ourselves. We expect
government to decide much that was once regarded as outside of government’s
ambit. And we are to the marrow of our bones incapable of rising against the
creeping tyranny. So much for
Painted
Into a Terrifying Corner
"To lighten the mood, I now turn to a report from the Mogambo Inter-Galactic News Service (MIGNS), from whence comes the news that Earthlings are now, again, officially, the most stupid race of beings in this galaxy. The title was wrested from us (by an ugly species of what looked, to me, like a bunch of slugs with tentacles) on Tri-Gamma Nebulon that tried to use phlegm and slime (of which they had plenty!) as currency." The Mogambo Guru at his wacky best.
"Communists hate human nature for its greed, Christians for its selfishness and individualism, Greenies for its willingness to exploit the environment and modern technology, and so on. Nevertheless, human nature will exist for as long as humans exist, and even within the confines of a sterile ideologically-motivated community or organization, human nature will make people seek more for their own condition. This is why utopian communities never work, no matter how many rifles are pointed at their own victims." By Francois Tremblay.
US
Housing Market Crash to Touch Off Second Great Depression
"A shrewd economist and student of history like Greenspan knew exactly what the consequences of his low interest rates would be. The trap was set to lure in unsuspecting borrowers who felt they could augment their stagnant wages by joining the housing gold rush. It was a great way to mask a deteriorating economy by expanding personal debt." (As an aside, whatever did co-opt the former rabid free-market Randite, Greenspan?) Article by Mike Whitney.
"Any action the Fed might take right now risks imploding the real economy or further inflating financial speculation. The situation, however, is now so far out of Bernanke's control that the Fed's economic policy has now been reduced to misguided hope." By Mike “Mish” Shedlock.
Why
Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It
"11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get 'OMG! A GIRL!! Can I see?!' than 'Hey, hot stuff, back that ass up here and let me get some grub on...' They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them!" An oldie but definitely a goodie.
"Truth is not a superhighway, but a lonely and meandering path because there are endless possible points to explore -- the superhighway was built to bypass all but a popular few." Essay by Catfarmer.
A photo blog.