From Objective Reality: Pissed at FirstUSA? W
[April 15, 2000]
If Jonathan was trying to get a fresh link, sucking up to me and calling me a "genius," it worked. On the other hand, maybe he's just being ironic. Either way... it takes one to know one. W
From Objective Reality: Pissed at FirstUSA? W
I know, it's totally played out to point to another blogger's resdesign. But Nikolai is worth breaking rules for. W
Jenn says: "I no longer become giddy about standing next to the future president." That's probably because she's not. W
I'm wondering... why wouldn't Governor Bush pick Governor Ryan for a running mate? W
[April 13, 2000]
In honor of Ben and Jerry selling out to international mega-corp Unilever, WOIFM is proud to present, from the home office in Dry Prong, Louisiana:
Ben & Jerry's new Unilever Flavors:
Yum!
WThe Tampa Bay Bucs are loading up for a run at the Big One next season, picking up what may be the missing piece of the puzzle. I will definitely be watching in the fall. W
WTF? Blogger keeps choking on my uploads. W
I've never read Jenn before this minute, but I like the fact that she likes me despite my... ahem... "misguided views." Let me take just a brief moment to discuss the "Kick Me" signs which she has so gleefully slapped on my back when I wasn't looking.
Anti-environment: wrong. Attack pollution by shrinking the nations largest polluter, our government, and by encouraging innovative pollution solutions through market-based mechanisms.
Anti-equailty: wrong. Free markets mean more opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, or gender. Government programs favor only those who control them.
Anti-gun control: Hey, you got one right!
Anti-public education: Wrong - I'm pro-student. Giving parents and pupils choice of schools, instead of trapping them in ghetto schools, helps the kids climb out of poverty. That's why urban minority parents are some of the loudest supporters of voucher and charter-school plans. And by the way, don't you think Notre Dame will be pissed when they find out that tax dollars can't go to religious schools?
Pro-big business: Half-right. I'm pro-ALL-business. It's the lure of profits that led pharmaceutical companies to create all those wonderful life-saving drugs in the first place. HMO's don't work because their customers aren't the ones paying for them, not because there aren't enough trial lawyers suing them.
Pro-Big Tobacco: Wrong. I can't say that "with my own hands, all of my life, I put it in the plant beds and transferred it. I’ve hoed it. I’ve dug in it. I’ve sprayed it, I’ve chopped it. I’ve shredded it, spiked it, put it in the Barn and stripped it and sold it" like some folks. Even without such a glorious pro-tobacco background, I think the government's vendetta against tobacco sets a dangerous precedent for what it might do to any other industry it decides not to like. Say, the Internet.
Besides her charmingly misplaced idealism, one other thing that's cool about Jenn is her link to the Metro Square Webcam. Now I've officially stayed up too late. Good night.
WIf you used to enjoy the now-defunct weblogs mailing list, try the weblogs_reborn list instead.
WImagine a country where a bureaucrat could with a stroke of a pen, wipe you out by forbidding you from using your property. Imagine a country where the police could seize your home, business, car, or bank account based on an informat's tip - and then keep it even if you were innocent? Imagine no more - you already live there. The vast enforcement powers of our nation's environmental laws rests largely in the hands of unelected, unaccountable goverment bureaucrats who decide, for example, whether your land might be wetlands or might be potential habitat for endangered species, and then forbid you from touching it. What if they're wrong? Good luck appealing. Government agents are usually given the greatest deference by the courts - even if their decisions are clearly wrong, they are enormously difficult to challenge. When it happens to you, don't look for the courts to help you. They won't.
Likewise, law enforcement officers, from the local sheriff to the DEA or the FBI need only "probable cause" to permanently seize any asset of yours they believe may have been used in the commission of certain crimes. Even if you are never charged with a crime, you must go to court and prove you are innocent in order to reclaim your seized property. Fortunately, House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde has been fighting for years to do something about it. His asset forfeiture reform bill has finally passed through Congress, and just may become law. Contact him and thank him for fighting to defend freedom.
W[April 12, 2000]
Collection of commentary and links is centered around politics. Visit the Internet sources and contact the author. W
[April 11, 2000]
Just another reason to vote for Harry Browne for president: Al Gore's "Imposing Limits on Freedom" platform:
While other candidates just talk big about limiting freedom, Al Gore is the man who will truly do something to achieve it.
WFrom Twernt: the US Supreme Court will soon join the Nineties and open its web page to the public. I am extremely confident that it will be not at all useful. W
[April 10, 2000]
Somehow I've been oblivious to the fact that The Ring Trilogy was being filmed recently. I've owned the books in hardcover for probably over fifteen years, but as a teenager, lacked the discipline to read them all the way through. When I unpacked them last fall after completeing our move, I resolved that this would be the year I read them.
I started about six weeks ago, and with my busy schedule, have only made it partway through the second tome. I'll make it this time. The hardest part for me is to remember that none of this was a cliche when Tolkien wrote it. Hell, he invented this stuff. Instead of thinking "orcs and elves... ho hum..." I'm able to feel the excitement of reading the work that brought them to life.
And speaking of excitement, there's plenty more on the way. I was apparently the last person on the planet to find out about the movie. From the looks of the trailer, the time has come. Film-making technology has finally caught up to the point where Hollywood can do the story justice. This cinematic event will probably be the one that pushes me to get a DVD player.
Speaking of the trailer, is anyone else annoyed that it's only viewable in Quicktime? (no link for them! Take that!) Besides the crappy interface, it has the automated annoy-o-tron reminder to buy the Pro version which pops up every time the blasted thing loads. (does anyone know how to disable that?) I deliberately did not install QT on the new box, but my desire to see the LOTR trailer overcame my sense of indignation. -sigh-
WI'm thinking about implementing a double-row tab interface. Think I'll make any money?
W
Mark, you know Thomas Jefferson's last words - but do you know what John Adams' final thoughts were? W
[April 9, 2000]
What would happen if General Motors had a help line for people who couldn't drive? W
From NeoFlux: The author of this piece reluctantly concludes that the "gun nuts" might be right about tough enforcement against violent offenders saving lives:
Yet with Exile and Cease Fire, it is quite possible that the NRA has already helped prevent more gun violence in Richmond and Philadelphia than any gun-control law ever has.
This is a double edged sword - tough enforcement does work in places wihtout new gun restriction laws, but new gun restriction laws don't work in places without tough enforcement:
For instance, Maryland passed a one-gun-a-month law in 1995. While the number of legally sold guns has declined, the state’s largest city, Baltimore, continues to have a staggering murder rate almost twice as high as Philadelphia’s.
Maybe this only seems obvious to the rest of us - that violent felons in prison aren't out on the streets vicitimizing the innocent citizens-at-large.
W