Thanks, Woody.
Words I Wish “Feddle Gummint” Officials Lived By
All of ’em have to take this oath, but few, it seems, mean anything by it when they do.
I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
What Do You Have Planned for Earth Day?
In honor of this enviro-weenie day I propose that folks who’ve not entirely submitted their minds to daily Progressive Lobotomies by the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind
1. Turn AC on full blast
2. Pour 2-cycle oil in your 4-cycle mowers and spew smoke
3. Turn on ALL electronics
4. Turn on–and leave on–all the incandescent lights in your houses.
5. Moon at least one greenie.
OK, maybe not the last, but I want to.
I cannot express how disgusted I am with what has become of what was once conservation, and so I advocate that this day be given over to conspicuous over-consumption and ridicule of all that contemporary enviro-nazis stand for (yes, I use the word “nazi” to refer to them for very sound reasons. Examine the German Socialist Democrat Party and draw the parallels for yourself; you can do your own googling).
Department of Education
Jerry pournelle is always worth listening to, and never more so than when he speaks about public education, and especially about the effect of the “feddle gummint’s” Department of Education.
In 1983 the National Commission on Education, headed by Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg, wrote that “If a foreign nation had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightfully consider it an act of war.”
Go ahead and read the rest of his brief comments at the link.
“…doubt’s anodyne and care’s surcease… “
The snippet that is this post’s title? A Bartholomew Gill character speaking of fishing in Death On a Cold, Wild River. While I don’t find fishing to be “doubt’s anodyne and care’s surcease,” I do find some comfort in the volunteers of Spring to combat the barbaric nature of contemporary “civilization”. Notably,
Oh, I very much appreciate the delicious mint and wild garlic and even the “possum grapes” that thrust themselves to prominence in Spring, but the dandelion, one of God’s most beautiful flowers, delicious and nutritious, useful in all its parts*, is my favorite.
So, while wearing two knee braces on the same knee *heh* this a.m. (after dealing with some folks’ computer issues), I took a bucket out to sit on while “weeding” and gathered some mint and wild garlic and–for now–just appreciated my lovely crop of dandelions.
Our local cable service tech was out at our Good Neighbors’ place, and we exchanged uses for the dandelion. He told me of grandkids coming over and asking for “yard food”–he and his wife also harvest “volunteer crops” from their yard, and that gave me a foreshadowing of feeds for future grandkids of our own.
A nice lil interlude in the day.
* Continue reading ““…doubt’s anodyne and care’s surcease… “”
Not Smart Marketing…
…to someone like me.
You catch that? Become a “fan” of TigerDirect and give TD full access to my profile, recruit three other FB “friends” to do become “fans” of TD (and thus give TD full access to their profiles) and that “earns” an entry for all of you into a drawing for a computer. But not just any computer, a computer by Systemax–IOW, a consumer crap computer, if my exposure to Systemax computers is any guide.
Nu-uh. Not going there. I do purchase the occasional sweet deal from TD (NOT depending on their mostly unobtainable “rebates”–“Made of 100% pure unobtainium!”), but this? Nope… Give me a straight purchase deal like those readily available from Newegg and others, but this kind of thing really turns me off.
I hope that there are still enough consumers left who haven’t jabbed an ice pick past their own eyeballs enough times to fall for this asinine ploy, but somehow I doubt that relying on the intelligence of the common man is a good idea…
Your “Feddle Gummint” at Work: IRS Raids Car Wash for 4¢
There ya go. Yet another reason for The FairTax from the IRS.
The kicker? Interest and penalties on the 4¢ amounted to $202.31.
BTW, if you’ve gotten all your information on the FairTax–what little there is available in mass media–from the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind, politicians *spit* and Academia Nut Fruitcakes, you owe it to yourself, your children, your grandchildren and our society as a whole to follow the link to FairTax.org and there to practice some genuine autodidacticism (no, despite what the NEA may say, autodidacts are NOT perverts) on the subject.
Worthwhile Sunday Reading
I almost typed “Worthwhile Sunday Feeding” as the post’s title, and perhaps I should’ve.
Enfoldings and Exclusions: A Sunday Rumination. Fits with other writers’ works I have priffited from, such as the “Faith Yaks” by TRY and the Maniyak and Doug Wilson’s stout Blog and Mablog.
Go. Read. Be fed… and challenged.
Schrödinger’s Cat And Public Policy
Schrödinger’s cat is a famous thought experiment summed up this way,
A cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. If the atom decays, and the geiger-counter detects an alpha particle, the hammer hits a flask of prussic acid (HCN), killing the cat. The paradox lies in the clever coupling of quantum and classical domains. Before the observer opens the box, the cat’s fate is tied to the wave function of the atom, which is itself in a superposition of decayed and undecayed states. Thus, said Schroedinger, the cat must itself be in a superposition of dead and alive states before the observer opens the box, “observes” the cat, and “collapses” it’s wave function.
Of course, the problem with thought experiments like this when used to analogize scientific issues is obvious. Let me pop the bubble around this one: how long is the cat in a “superposition of dead and alive states” while closed in this sealed box?
Just long enough for its air to run out so that it suffocates.
Geniuses just don’t seem to think these things out. Einstein discussed Schrödinger’s hypothetical cat with the guy for at least 15 years without ever noting this simple problem with the thought experiment, as far as I can tell. That’s just one of many reasons why I don’t trust the smart people in government to decide what’s best for me. They just don’t seem to look at (or care about) any of the options outside their own paradigm.
Besides, they might just be the kind of person who doesn’t like cats and will put ’em in boxes to suffocate to death.
More Kind Than Deserved
Dennis Prager, in excessively kind and gentle fashion, takes Charles Johnson, of Little Green Nutballs (which I will not link) to the woodshed (kindly, gently) with, An Open Letter to Charles Johnson.
For those of y’all who may have missed the blogospheric kerfuffle, Charles Johnson once ran Little Green Footballs (still not linking it), which, once upon a time, long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, used to be a place where he fought against the evils he today defends. No, not just defends; virulently, slanderously–in many folks’ opinions–attacks those with whom he once allied himself.
Prager reiterates Johnson’s list of “justifications” for his switch and rebuts them all. Here’s #9, a typical example,
9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.). [Johnson]
I saw Pamela Geller’s site (The New York Times Magazine article about you cited it — Atlas Shrugs — and mentioned nothing remotely approaching your charges against her or her site) and I’ve interviewed Robert Spencer. Your charges against them only cheapen the words “fascism,” violence” and “genocide.” [Prager]
As I said, Prager takes Johnson to the woodshed most convincingly (read it for yourself) and, IMO, all too gently, especially given the fact that I have read the positions and assertions of all the parties Johnson condemns and have a good idea of their place in “the right”. Johnson’s place? IMO, Little Green Nutballs is juuuust the place for him… until someone can get commitment papers in order, for his own good. Then, of course, if a physical etiology for his psychological issues can be diagnosed, perhaps medical treatment could return him to sanity.
Of course, if there’s no one in his family who cares enough about him to begin commitment proceedings, he’ll likely spend the rest of his life frothing at the mouth and baying at the moon.