In “The Road to Serfdom,” Hayek suggests that laws should be crafted in such a manner that they apply to all people or groups of people evenly, such that the results cannot be foreseen, and which do not favor people or groups of people. Well, that’s a paraphrase, at least. And I’m inclined to agree with this position. So in light of that, did it come as a surprise to anyone that the stock value of the British gaming companies have dropped 60%+ since our lawmakers have hastily snuck an online gambling prohibition into a Port Security bill. The writing was on the wall. This was a no-brainer. One of the affected firms had the following to say: “[T]his legislation indicates Congressional intent to treat Internet gaming, whether sports-related or not, … Read entire article »

“Had we gone into Baghdad — We could have done it. You guys could have done it. You could have been there in 48 hours. And then what? Which sergeant, which private, whose life would be at stake in perhaps a fruitless hunt in an urban guerilla war to find the most-secure dictator in the world? Whose life would be on my hands as the commander-in-chief because I, unilaterally, went beyond the international law, went beyond the stated mission, and said we’re going to show our macho? We’re going into Baghdad. We’re going to be an occupying power — America in an Arab land — with no allies at our side. It would have been disastrous.” – George H. W. Bush, Feb. 28, 1999, Fort Myer Army base. Quoted p. 11, … Read entire article »

I’ve been wondering lately – what happened to the TV miniseries? Not that it was ever particularly fashionable, but as a genre, it seems to have all but disappeared. You could take the stand that “reality TV” is really just mini-series: The participants, goals, drama, etc., all change with the season. The Biggest Loser “2″ is not the same as The Biggest Loser. The Apprentice was different as a sequel, etc. But I’m going to dismiss these “reality shows” because I really don’t think they’re a television program. They’re more like lame popularity contests broadcast over the radio waves for all the moist robots out there to vapidly stare at. Also, it’s my game, and when I say “Reality TV doesn’t count,” then reality TV … Read entire article »