December 2006 Archives

The Mises Institute Blog recently published a similar sentiment to this. This was originally published on this site on August 15, 2005.

My high school didn't have a football team. I'm certain that I would have made a good running back. The loss of a future college or NFL career didn't seem so striking when in all likelihood I wouldn't make it anyway and a job was a certainty with a degree. Current advocates for a team are passionate in their quest. If I'm required to pay property taxes to pay for other children's education, does that include their entertainment too ? After all, couldn't a private club suffice for those so inclined ? Teaching every child the three R's is one thing, discriminating against them based on ability and talent is down right mean. Jock culture sucks, no matter how good you are, ask Ricky Williams. No matter how good you are, you must conform in order to function as a team.

Originally Published October 5, 2005

Howard Wooldridge of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) will end a coast to coast trip at Battery Park in lower Manhattan today. He's advocating the legalization of drugs. He's a former cop and self-styled cowboy from Texas. He's concluded that the 'war on drugs' is more harmful than letting people ingest whatever they want without government interference. How many effete pundits, gutless politicians and other useless rabble from the intelligentsia would survive a trip across country on a horse ? Let alone tirelessly advocating a fundamental change in the mindset of the average American ? I had the opportunity to help Howard out during his trip.

I always attempt to avoid personal narration in this venue, but this visit was unexpected and fruitful. A guy on horse popped out of the exit entrance on a trip to the store a late September evening. Seeing his white T-shirt that said at least cop and drugs, I knew who he was. The state Libertarian Party had sent out updates about his ride. Convincing the wife that we could shop tomorrow, we got off two exits later and backtracked. Our timing was perfect. A park and ride made a perfect place to greet the man on horseback who traveled across the country. She swung back home for a camera with the kids. We only spoke for about five minutes before people started stopping. We briefly covered the drug war and my indication of my libertarian ways found me holding the reins on 'Sam' the horse has Howard chatted up some senior citizens. While he may not cover ground as fast as a car. He's got the three minute stump perfected after three thousand miles.

Had a slight glitch in the transition and comments are now back up. Hoping to stylize some more and expand features a bit. Didn't realize this was happening and we got it fixed in a few minutes.

Just finished the 'Feedburner' thing here and expect the 'other' project to advance quickly. I expect the Congressional site to go down a little after the beginning of the year when we get back from California.

In the meantime look for some more 'classics' and we'll get back to the punditry soon enough.

With the advent of Senator Clinton in the POTUS hunt and the prospect of Mr. Giuliani doing the same, I can't help but repost one of my first forays into the snarky political essay. Of course I have kids now and don't leave the keys in the new cars, but most of the ideas and principles are the same. This was posted on a buddy's website at the time called www.democracymyass.com

So here I am in upstate NY wondering about who hired Craig Livingstone and how many people were strip-searched in the "City". Neither one has committed but we all know that Mrs. Clinton and Mayor Guiliani are the candidates for Senate in New York. I am not a registered Republican or Democrat so I do not feel so bad about not having a choice in a primary. I am certain that both Rudy and Hillary do not have my interests in mind.

I'm basically a redneck volunteer fireman with a degree in politics and a penchant for computers. I have no lock on my front doors, leave the keys in the car at night, avoid malls, and have no kids.I believe people can do what they want if it doesn't harm others. Plenty of things could be done better or be improved.

Originally published on December 8, 2005.

In 1983 talented computer programmer, Richard Stallman's dharma transmission to the world was to create an operating system that was not proprietary. It took the persistence of a Finnish graduate student named Linus Torvalds to complete the vital kernel. Since then a lot of folks have dismissed the notion of 'free' software and made billions of dollars. Others have gladly passed up corporate solutions for the ability to modify and play with source code whose freedom to access, is always there. Mr. Stallman solicits the notion that a moral dilemma is created when a buddy offers to copy of his/her software, thus engaging in criminal activity under the current system. Posited as an either/or situation he leaves little room for those who might be perfectly happy with the purchase or ownership of intellectual property.