Tue - July 19, 2011Rights, privileges, and powersPity, I was interested in some of the things
Herman Cain was saying. But he crossed the
line.
Communities don't have rights. Never did, never will. Individuals have rights. You can't claim a right without recognizing that right in others. When some can do things that others are legally barred from doing, that's a privilege. Governments do not have rights. Governments have powers. The only reason a just government has powers is to protect rights. Don't confuse the three. The only reason a just government exists is to protect individual rights. That's where my handy-dandy parity test comes from, it's only a right if everyone has it. Claim a right while denying it to others and you are really demanding privilege. Privilege backed by government force means that someone is afraid that people will make the wrong choice. That means they don't have enough faith that their ideas can withstand testing. Just something to think about. 
Posted Tue - July 19, 2011 at 07:36 AM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Mon - July 18, 2011Not abandonedOkay, I am
back.
Long story short, I've had personal issues which have left me massively short on time and energy. I will be migrating the sites to another platform.
Posted Mon - July 18, 2011 at 09:39 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Thu - January 13, 2011Memorial or political rally?I'm angry right
now.
No, strike that. I'm pissed. There is absolutely NO REASON to turn a memorial into pep rally. Every single time I've commented on a mass killing, I've been flamed. So this time, I thought I would stay out of it. And then I see the President turn a tragedy into a bloody political event. Complete with slogan. T-shirts. Bumper stickers! This goes beyond double standards. So what good does it do to follow the rules of propriety if the "other guys" break every single one? How is this different from what Bush 43 did? Or for that matter, what that diseased Westboro Baptist Church keeps trying to do? They've got no shame. And they try to use YOUR SHAME as a weapon against you. Fuck them. They have not the right or the power. I'm not going to give it to them anymore. No matter what I say, they'll turn it political. They will demand that I give up my thoughts for the ones they dictate. They try to turn my acts of respect into silent acquiescement to THEIR agenda. Just like they do now. I'll say it loud and clear. Obama has no class. He turned something that should have healed into politics. T-shirts? By all the gods, the man's a coward and an opportunist. Death is too important for politics.
Posted Thu - January 13, 2011 at 01:09 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Mon - December 13, 2010"Too many secrets" revealed by a "political actor"Yeah, offline life is interfering with
blogging.
But I wanted to point out this Raw Story piece (h/t The Agitator). Speaking to reporters recently, State Dept. Assistant Secretary Philip Rowley said that the United States does not consider WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be a "journalist" or "whistleblower." He insisted that, under US law, he's to be considered a "political actor." His criteria for reclassifying someone from protected "journalist" to a legally vulnerable "political actor": "Mr. Assange obviously has a particular political objective behind his activities, and I think that, among other things, disqualifies him as being considered a journalist," Crowley said. Asked what Assange's political objective is, he replied: "I think he’s an anarchist, but he’s not a journalist." Hmmmm. I think I was ahead of my time. From Blogs and information channels, October 2005. I guess my point is that there would be no question that government couldn't regulate content if I was using a low power radio station, public access cable, or even a laser printer to get my ideas across. But since it is the internet, there is this whole push of whether bloggers are "legitimate journalists" or not. Under the Constitution, the FedGov does not have the power to make that distinction, and neither do the established journalists. As others have said, the Wikileaks case is really an opening salvo of the infowars. Think about it. The United States government doesn't think that it is accountable to anyone except the elected and appointed leaders The internet frightens the politicos and bureaucrats because they can't control the information flow. They are terrified because of what you might learn. The internet is the last, best hope for freedom. Oh yeah, that first quote in the blog title? That's from Sneakers, a remarkably prescient film.
Posted Mon - December 13, 2010 at 03:14 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Tue - November 9, 2010In Which George W. Bush proves he is a gentleman, even if he did do most other things wrongHistory will not judge George W. Bush
well.
However, in my book he does get some points for class. The departing Clinton/Gore staffers vandalized their former offices. Word came down from the newly elected President that no one was to mention that to the press. It wasn't until five or six years later when some former Clinton staffers became obnoxious about it that Bush himself said some of what happened. Bush didn't criticize Clinton's policies directly, even in the aftermath of 9-11. And he's gone out of his way not to criticize Obama's policies. Even in the new book. Compare that to what Clinton said about George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. And what Barak Obama has said about George W. Bush himself. Class act. Still terribly guilty about many, many things. But he was a gentleman.
Posted Tue - November 9, 2010 at 09:56 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Tue - November 2, 2010McCain, AGAIN?Gods, what does it take to get the traitor out of
office?
Posted Tue - November 2, 2010 at 09:53 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Mon - November 1, 2010Making the world"The world is
made by the people who show up for the
job."
— Lois McMaster Bujold in the novel Cryoburn Proving once again why she is one of my favorite novelists and quote sources.
Posted Mon - November 1, 2010 at 01:49 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ How to annoy two hundred million voters in one easy stepThe bane of the campaign season this year has
been those automated calling
machines.
Today, it's almost two p.m. and I've already deleted sixteen messages from my answering machine. It's gotten to the point where I've told friends and family not to bother calling, but to text or email me instead. The record for me this year is forty-three messages in one day. I don't know if it has occurred to the politicos, but these recordings send one message loud and clear. My time is so unimportant to them that they can't be bothered to have a live person talk to me. Talking to my friends and family, this election season may have helped destroy the residential phone line.
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ My version of campaign finance reformJust a reminder, there are some good ideas for
fixing campaign finance. Pity none of them are coming from the
politicos.
Here's my suggestion. To contribute to ANY campaign, you have to be a registered voter in the area affected by the election. All donations have to be reported. After the election, all unused funds are returned to the donors in proportion to their contribution. There it is, three sentences and the problems mostly fix themselves. That means that if you live in California, you can't contribute to a New York election without moving, establishing residency, and registering to vote in New York. If you are a company or corporation, you can't contribute. If you are a union, you can't contribute. If you are a powerful Senator with a big war chest or a political action committee, you can't shift money outside your state. That last part is vital though. All unused funds are returned to the donors in proportion to their contribution. That keeps the between election war chests at a reasonable level. And if you hadn't noticed, that pretty much kills the national political parties.
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Measure your freedomHere's a quick and easy way to see if you are
more free than you were.
Have your taxes gone up since the last election? Have the rules and regulations governing your life increased since the last election? Are there more laws since the last election? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are less free than you were. Of course, this only scratches the surface. There are many more ways to measure freedom. But these three questions are probably the most basic. Now these next questions are absolutely vital. Did the person you are voting for help make things worse? What makes you think the "system" can be saved?
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Mon - October 4, 2010HiatusMy lady companions have strongly suggested that I
drop things for a while and get my head back where it should
be.
Blogging is one of the options I can skip for a while. I guess I am not pleasant when I alternate between grumpy and depressed. Since the lady always chooses and I am not enough of an idiot to forget that, I'll be back in a couple of weeks or so.
Posted Mon - October 4, 2010 at 06:58 AM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Mon - September 27, 2010Colbert was the distractionStephen Colbert did a great job, didn't he? He
showed Congressional hearings for the farce that they
are.
It didn't used to be that way. But even in the heyday of the Truman Committee, most Congressional committees were and are a waste of time. It's the public show to a very messy process. For a moment, let's pretend that the committees actually serve a purpose other than allowing Congress critters to look concerned and important. So if that were true, what's the purpose of inviting a comedian in character to comment? It did exactly what it was supposed to do. It distracted you from the real questions behind "immigration reform." You've been played. This time it was the Democrats. Next time it may well be the Republicans.
Posted Mon - September 27, 2010 at 11:54 AM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊ Wed - September 22, 2010Demand "None Of The Above"Let's see, Arizona voters have
quite a choice for governor this
year.
Jan Brewer, she of the flawed Arizona immigration law and claims that people were being beheaded in the desert. Terry Goddard with a checkered past and recently endorsed by SEIU, the same union who has bused people in to disrupt elections. Sometimes None of the Above is the only choice you can trust.
Posted Wed - September 22, 2010 at 03:25 PM in
Permalink ◊ ◊ ◊
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 Pagan Vigil
Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker, NeoWayland watches for threats to individual freedom or personal responsiblity. There's more to life than just black and white, using only extremes just increases the problems.  My Thinking Blogger Nominees
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