I’ve said this befoire, but: Go to Jerry Pournelle’s site. Read. Read some more. Think about what you’ve read. Respond (via email only: Dr. Pournelle reads all his own email and moderates the dialog according to what he feels is interesting or worth commenting on). After a bit, consider becoming a subscriber (there are benefits to you beyond simply supporting his work).
Here’s a sample of the kinds of provocative thoughts you may encounter there:
As time goes by, the purpose of government changes; and indeed it is due to the Iron Law of Bureaucracy that this happens. We have reached that stage here: the purpose of government is now to collect taxes and pay government workers, and hire more government workers who can be depended upon to continue to support expanded government and expanded taxation. Once that goal is accomplished, then government may do something else; but that is the first charge and the major purpose of most of our government, Federal, State, and local.
And indeed the subjects — formerly citizens — are in fact the property of the bureaucracies. Note that it is pretty well out in the open now. There is almost never an admission that government spends too much money; it is always that it has not enough to spend, and must have more. We have schools indistinguishable from an act of war, but there is zero chance that the education bureaucracy will release any students. Indeed they seek to take more control; and always to expand the school budgets. It is the same with every other department.
Now, I do not usually quote anyone at such length, and I have stretched the boundaries of fair use in quoting Dr. Pournelle’s response to an email in its entirety, but I simply wanted to give you enough of a taste of the site to whet your appetite. Go.
Note: while laying a somewhat legitimate claim to being “The Original Blog” (as much as he dislikes the aesthetics of the word, “blog” :-)), Chaos Manor Musings is not laid out in typical blog format. For one thing, it’s all aranged chronologically, not “nlogologivally”. And then there is the Mail section, which is often the most lively discussion area and the Current View area, where Dr. Pournelle simply jots down, daybook style, things happening at Chaos Manor, glimpses into his thoughts, etc.
But there is also a wealth of archived work (including Strategy of Technology, an Army War College text for the past thirty years or more) that spans the range from snippets of his science fiction work, essays on a wide range of topics, to essays by other contributors to his site and much, much more.
You could easily spend your days “lost” in the thickets of worthwhile reading there… and not regret the time spent, at all.
Dr. Pournelle is also, in View, sharing his daily health challenges–from the radiation treatments to the long walks with Sasha (beautiful Husky friend and companion to the Pournelles) and the struggles to maintain mental acuity and emotional health that accompany serious health challenges. He’s thereby helped me help my elderly parents with some of their challenges, and that alone is well worth stopping by.
So drop in. Wish him well with his treatments. Learn from him and from his wide array of correspondents. It’ll be more than simply worth your time.
Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Nuke Gingrich, Right Truth, Adam’s Blog, Miss Beth’s Victory Dance, The Pink Flamingo, CORSARI D’ITALIA, Dumb Ox Daily News, , Adeline and Hazel, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.