Category: Do the Right Thing

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“…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… “”

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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.

Continue reading “More Kind Than Deserved”

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Are You In?

I found this in my email inbox. It has some holes and gaps and faces an even steeper uphill battle than The FairTax bill, but it has a certain rough appeal, doesn’t it?

We need THIS Change

*It will never be accomplished unless we do something about it now, not later! The only way that congress would ever vote for such a bill is for Americans to demand it to the point that our elected officials feel they have no choice. That means many Americans, which includes you, must push to get a bill written and persuade a majority to vote for it. Therefore, this must be distributed to every American who has a PC, every American! Will you help or are you just blowing smoke when you get upset with congress when they play partisan politics? Lets help bring about a Change in Washington that is more than just spoken words, a Change that Americans will be proud of, a Change that will benefit future generations. If something is not done our Children and grandchildren may not have a country like we had to grow up in. Can Americans depend on you to to distribute this and support it or will you make excuses as to why it will not work? I’m in; what about you?

*This is the best thing I have ever read pertaining to Government. It doesn’t matter what political party you like.. This is what’s best for EVERY AMERICAN!*

*Congressional Reform Act of 2010**

*1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.*

*A. Two Six year Senate terms*
*B. Six Two year House terms*
*C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year
House terms**

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*2. No Tenure / No Pension: **

* A congressman collects a salary while in office
and receives no pay when they are out of office.**

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:**

* All funds in the Congressional retirement fund
moves to the Social Security system immediately.
All future funds flow into the Social Security
system, Congress participates with the American
people.**

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans*.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.*

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.**

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.*

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

*8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. *

* The American people did not make this contract
with congressmen, congressmen made all these
contracts for themselves.**

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators; serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete.

N.B. While I deleted some multiple “???” and “!!!” and redacted a few comma splices, the above is essentially as I received it in my email inbox.

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“Information is the second most deadly weapon known to man”

And that is the reason so many in Congress want to keep the electorate fat, dumb and thus happy. Of course, as so many are being required to tighten their belts because, of the stupid, venal and corrupt practices of our beloved congresscritters *spit*, “fat” and “happy” don’t seem to be long for the world with a growing number of citizens. “Dumb” is another problem. *sigh* Have to really work on that one with one-on-one and in mass education efforts to combat the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind, the long-term results of “prisons for kids” (A.K.A. “public schools”), in the lies that “fat, dumb and happy” citizens wannabe self-enstupiated serfs have swallowed so eagerly for so long.

But congresscritters working like turks to erradicate “fat” and “happy” could very well–hopefully–lead to the Number One Deadly Weapon Known to Man being pulled on our beloved congresscritters: surprise. At the polls, of course. Let’s concentrate on keeping the nomenklatura in Congress “fat, dumb and happy”… until the hammer falls.

That doesn’t mean not raising a stink at their refusals to keep their oaths to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” and to ” …bear true faith and allegiance to the same”. No, but it’d be a Good Thing if organizing at the local level to get informed patriots (and efforts to fully inform folks about just how blatantly our congresscritters are, urm, “spitting” on the Constitution MUST be an integral part of organizing locally) to the polls next November caught them with their pants around their ankles, so they could get a return shafting (with a rusty hammer, as it were) for the shafting they’ve been given us as a nice lil surprise.

Surprise! Surprise!