no third solution » Archive
In Which I Blog About SoCal
Yesterday evening I received an e-mail from my friend Jay who is “living the dream” in Tahoe City, California. Last year, on my annual winter ski trip, we hooked up with him for a night in Reno and a day at Alpine Meadows where he was working as a Supervisor/Cook/Liftie/Photographer. This spring he started working as a firefighter, and he’s been called down to the newly minted disaster area to fight the raging fires that have ridden roughshod over parts of California for the past week or so. I wish him luck and look forward to seeing what pictures he brings back, they’re sure to be pretty amazing. I do, however, stand by my statements about social insurance programs from earlier this year, despite of course, wishing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economics Lessons, Seen and Unseen, Subsidize This!
America’s Chief Export
G-dub is asking for another $46 billion to fund the war in Iraq, bringing the total to over half a trillion dollars. A half a trillion dollars. To most of us, a half a trillion dollars is absolutely an incomprehensible sum. It could’ve paid a thousand kings’ ransoms. Instead, it’s paid for a lot of murder and destruction, and there’s no end in sight. One trillion dollars could buy a lot of bling, One trillion dollars could buy most anything, One trillion dollars buying bullets, buying guns, One trillion dollars in the hands of killers, thugs — Anti-Flag, “1 Trillion Dollar$” Douchebags on the other side of the aisle are lamenting the conundrum presented by “the troops”, who they insist need resources to accomplish their mission. Well, if you’re against the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Drug War Rants, Warfare State, World Politics
Paparazzi Rights
Sooner or later, this nonsense has to stop. Sooner or later, we’ll recognize that each and every one of us doesn’t have an unbridled right to do whatever the fuck we want, wherever the fuck we want, without consequence. And if you think I’m taking the paparazzo’s side, you’re mistaken. Sooner or later, we’ll recognize that a mob of unkempt strangers does not have a “right” to surround a private citizen’s (no matter how famous) car and take pictures or video of the occupants. Robust property rights would likely put an end to these shenanigans: paparazzi would either be guilty of trespass under which circumstances they’d have a hard time pressing charges, or they’d have to be invited to the property. Having a reputation for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized