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5.31.00
I hope everyone had a safe Memorial Day weekend. I also hope you didn't forget about the veterans for who the day is devoted.
I've been using EditPad for a few weeks. It's a simple, straight-forward text editor I'd recommend for anyone who plays around with text files too large for Windows Notepad.
EditPad:
http://www.jgsoft.com/editpad.html
I've read this article by Wendy McElroy before. Like me, she fully supports an individual's right to self-defense with handguns. She's just not into the whole gun culture where many think the moral thing is to have a handgun available. I agree with her when she writes, "Guns are merely one means of self-defense and -- for those who are psychologically unable to kill another human being, like me -- they are an utterly ineffectual means." Luckily, I've never been in a life-threatening situation where moral philosophy would be tested to the extreme.
"Must I Use a Gun to be Moral?":
http://www.zetetics.com/mac/partisan/092599.htm
Anyone who's learning about investing probably has heard of "shorting" a stock. Now, with the bears running the market (except today), shorting has become more popular.
"Inside the Mind of a 'Short'":
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36568,00.html?tw=wn20000530
Mark Helprin is simply an incredible writer. His admission of dodging the draft cuts right to the soul:
Soon thereafter, not understanding fully why, I was on my way to the Middle East, in a fury to put myself on the line. And though I did, it can never make up for what I did not do. For the truth is that each and every one of the Vietnam memorials in that cemetery and in every other — those that are full, those that are empty, and those that are still waiting — belongs to a man who may have died in my place. And that is something I can never put behind me.
Whether you agree with him or not about the Vietnam War, you can't escape his heart-felt sorrow for not fighting there.
"I Dodged the Draft, and I Was Wrong":
http://www.nationalreview.com/memorial/memorialhelprin.html
Dave Kopel on Memorial Day:
And so, Memorial Day — like Passover, Independence Day, and other celebrations of freedom — is a day for reminding ourselves, and teaching our children, that our present happy circumstances are not the mere result of good luck, but instead the result of right thinking.
"More Than Summer Fare":
http://www.nationalreview.com/memorial/memorialkopel.html
I polished off William Gibson's Neuromancer. While not as much action as Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash, it had a good ending. Read it if you want to see how ahead-of-his-time Gibson was. (He wrote it in 1983!)
I found a study guide if you really want to dig into each and every nuance.
Study Guide for William Gibson: Neuromancer:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/neuromancer.html
5.28.00
Juan Montoya may have been a rookie at Indy, but he ran like a seasoned veteran. He led 167 of 200 laps and won the Indianapolis 500. This year's Indy 500 was special because Montoya and his team mate Jimmy Vasser were the first CART drivers to run in the race since CART and the Indy Racing League started an awful civil war in open-wheeled racing.
The dominance of Montoya's racing team, Ganassi wasn't lost on Indy owner John Menard. "They raised the level of competition to a whole new level. It's certainly going to raise some questions about the ability of the IRL teams to compete with CART," said Menard. Maybe this will lead to the end of the bickering between the two racing leagues, let the superstars come back to Indy, and revive the lost awe of the Indianapolis 500.
"Montoya Makes Indy Triumph Look Easy":
http://espn.go.com/auto/indy00/s/0528indy500.html
Asbestos may be in crayons. So what? It's not like kids break crayons and start sniffing them. Asbestos causes lung cancer, not skin cancer, not liver cancer, and not colon cancer. Just because a product has some cancer-causing material, it doesn't make it dangerous. Heck, some ice cream contains levels of dioxin higher than government recommendations, yet I will still continue to eat it. Let's all chill out and quick trying to make our lives perfectly safe.
"U.S. Investigates Asbestos Content in Crayons":
http://www.iwon.com/home/news/news_article/0,11746,35093|top|05-25-2000::00:13|reuters,00.html
Urge the USDA to make known that the "label for organic foods should state the label is just a marketing tool and not a judgment on the quality or safety of any product." Do it, and you could win $1,000,000!!
'Organic' Is Just Marketing Sweepstakes:
http://www.junkscience.com/contest.htm
Mike Potemra provides some needed self-reflection on the pro-life movement:
To what extent does this form of protest acknowledge that the abortion providers are people too? Are they and their families being harassed and — in Kantian terms — being treated as means, rather than ends, in the cause of the abolition of abortion? If this is the case, the process is one of dehumanization — surely not the objective the anti-abortion protesters have in mind.
Fighting the horror of legalized abortion must be fought with principle and decency. Anything less diminishes the struggle.
"Abortion and the Morality of Dissent":
http://www.nationalreview.com/nota_bene/nota_bene052200.html
While following my curiosity over encryption, I discovered this manifesto.
Privacy in an open society also requires cryptography. If I say something, I want it heard only by those for whom I intend it. If the content of my speech is available to the world, I have no privacy. To encrypt is to indicate the desire for privacy, and to encrypt with weak cryptography is to indicate not too much desire for privacy. Furthermore, to reveal one's identity with assurance when the default is anonymity requires the cryptographic signature.
Individual privacy will definitely be more secure when governments give up trying to regulate encryption and programmers develop easy-to-use encryption. Maybe Microsoft could build it into Windows? Wait, that might violate antitrust law. We can't have that even though people would pay for it.
A Cypherpunk's Manifesto:
http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/Crypto_misc/cypherpunk.manifesto
5.25.00
A Zogby poll puts the NY Senate race in a statistical dead heat. "He had one of those weeks that a candidate can only dream about. Basically, he traveled throughout the state, got a lot of great publicity, picked up virtually all of the anti-Hillary core vote, and built up his favorable ratings — they jumped 25 points," said John Zogby.
"John Zogby Says...":
http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory052500.html
Doctors are leaving Canada for the U.S. Dr. Hugh Scully, the president of the Canadian Medical Association said they're leaving because in the U.S. there "is the opportunity to practice medicine well, the way they have been taught to do it, with access to good technology and good therapy for their patients." And I thought Canadian health care was so wonderful that the U.S. should model its system on Canada's. Maybe there's something to the (relatively) free market in health care in the U.S.
"Canada Bleeding MDs, Nurses to U.S.":
http://www.nationalpost.com/home.asp?f=000525/298535
Declan McCullagh has a great opening line for his Microsoft break-up story:
Let's face it, Microsoft is about to be carved up as nicely as a prize haunch of beef.
Judge Jackson abruptly ended a hearing yesterday and asked the Justice Department to come up with a plan to break up MS into 3 or more companies. The longer the case has gone on, Judge Jackson has gotten more and more angry with MS. He also refused to let MS defend itself against the proposed break-up.
"Jackson Verges on MS Decree":
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36576,00.html
Justice Thomas' concurrence proves he's the one Supreme Court justice most respectful of the original meaning of the Constitution.
I write separately only to express my view that the very notion of a "substantial effects" test under the Commerce Clause is inconsistent with the original understanding of Congress' powers and with this Court's early Commerce Clause cases. By continuing to apply this rootless and malleable standard, however circumscribed, the Court has encouraged the Federal Government to persist in its view that the Commerce Clause has virtually no limits. Until this Court replaces its existing Commerce Clause jurisprudence with a standard more consistent with the original understanding, we will continue to see Congress appropriating state police powers under the guise of regulating commerce.
The above paragraph had to do with a ruling on the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. The Supreme Court ruled that Congress didn't have the constitutional authority to make rape a federal issue.
"Crime and Commerce":
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=431&FS=Crime+and+Commerce
GW wants Colin Powell as his Secretary of State and John McCain as his Secretary of Defense. Both choices would be smart politically and administratively. Both men have strong support among moderates and independents--voters GW needs to win in November. Both men also are well versed and capable on defense and foreign policy issues.
If for some reason, Powell declined the State position, GW should offer it to his foreign policy advisor, Condoleezza Rice. I've read about her and read some of her work. She seems to have a well thought out view for a post-Cold War world.
"Bush woos Powell for Secretary of State job": [via Drudge]
http://shns.scripps.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=THOMASS-05-25-00&cat=AN
Gun-hater Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguard has applied to get a concealed-carry permit. Rosie says it's because the bodyguard's employer is requesting it, and the bodyguard won't be armed anyway. If Rosie really thought guns were so bad, she would demand that the bodyguard not get the permit. If the security company didn't comply, she could get different security. Rosie's a big-time star with plenty of clout.
But Rosie really doesn't think guns are so bad. She's been quoted as saying, "I don't personally own a gun, but if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem." She just wants the government empowered to decided who can defend themselves and how they should do it.
"Request for Gun by O'Donnell Bodyguard Raises Concern":
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/Advocate/release/05-25-2000/article1.html
My outrage of the day:
A Pentagon investigator found that Kenneth Bacon, assistant secretary for public affairs and his deputy, Clifford H. Bernath violated the Privacy Act by giving info from Linda Tripp's personnel file to a reporter. However, Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen won't put his letters expressing disappointment into their permanent records. So, government officials can use personal information to slander a person, and they won't even get a slap on the wrist.
"Pentagon Violated Tripp Privacy":
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000525/aponline144902_000.htm
5.24.00
Ralph Nader actually wants to win the Presidency. As opposed to 1996, he is campaigning and raising money. While this may be good for the Green Party, it bodes ill for AlGore.
As a candidate this year, by contrast, Nader seems determined, even eager, to play a destructive role. His campaign bears the mark of the Manichaean left. He doesn't merely criticize corporate power; he turns it into a bogeyman and elevates the struggle with corporations into an apocalyptic conflict between good and evil. He primarily attacks not conservatives but Democrats, who share many of his objectives. And he promotes the classic sectarian canard: that by undermining the politician immediately to his right, namely Al Gore, he can bring about the victory of a purer left.
"Seeing Green ":
http://www.thenewrepublic.com/052900/judis052900.html
Lura on Maria Shriver's new book:
Puh-lease! She's a freaking Kennedy and a Schwarzenegger. Real World my ass!
Since I work in a bookstore, I saw it and thought the same thing.
LuraLee.com:
http://luralee.com/blog.htm
Time.com was surprised that Justice Thomas sided with the majority and rejected part of 1996 Communication Decency Act that forced cable providers to prevent signal bleed by adult channels. I don't know what was so surprising? Thomas has been on the the side of decisions that limit federal power. He may personally be appalled by adult content, but he's enough of an adult to realize broad government power isn't the answer.
"Why Judge Thomas Sided With the Playboy Channel":
http://www.time.com/time/daily/0,2960,45765-101000522,00.html
5.23.00
An Arkansas committee recommended that Bill Clinton be disbarred because of his lying and deceit in the Paula Jones case. Here, here for the courage of those members of the committee.
"Ark. Court Committee Recommends Clinton Disbarment":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000522/ts/clinton_court_1.html
The Dismal Scientist's economic model predicts AlGore will clobber GW 411-127 (electoral votes). I rejected this model after looking at their map of how the model predicts states. It has Tennessee, AlGore's home state "leaning Gore" and GW's home turf "leaning Bush." That's ludicrous. Both states will easily favor their respective favorite sons.
The model is based on state-by-state economic growth and past voting patterns. DS claims the model "has successfully predicted 88% of electoral votes on average." However, DS acknowledges that the election could "turn on noneconomic issues." This includes Clinton fatigue.
The Dismal Scientist's Election Forecast:
http://www.dismal.com/thoughts/th_bn_031600_map.stm
There are a bunch of reviews of books I'm interested in the NY Times Book Review. Bobos in Paradise, From Dawn to Decadence, the Harper's 100th anniversary book, and The Advent of the Algorithm. I've got some reading to do.
NY Times's Book Review:
http://partners.nytimes.com/books/00/05/21/home/contents.html
Angus takes aim at whiners who complain about Microsoft's browser domination:
So many people are complaining about Microsoft's dominance in the browser market and you know what? They're right! Unless someone takes up the challenge and releases a solid version of Mozilla for MS Windows, Microsoft will be the only browser game in town. The current cross-platform version on offer isn't good enough - it must look and act exactly like a Windows application. Having a cool Linux version is nice, but the majority of people use Windows, this might be annoying to the "MS-sucks" crowd but it's a fact and we ignore it at our peril.
During this past bloody century, Jews weren't the only religious group killed. Joe Sobran writes, "But the most intense persecution of Christianity occurred not in the Roman Empire, but in the twentieth century, especially in the Communist world."
"The Church of Silence": [via EWOF]
http://www.lewrockwell.com/sobran/sobran63.html
5.22.00
Bob Novak reports from deep inside the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee:
The FOMC's majority insists on still higher interest rates, not because of access to secret inflationary statistics, but to slow down economic growth. There are signals that the Fed will keep putting on the brakes until a recession kicks in. Indeed, after 11 months of gradual tightening by the Fed, there are signs of a slowdown going into the general election campaign.
These are the Keynesians who think economic growth is bad because it causes inflation, when, in fact, inflation is caused by the money supply growing too fast. Even though there are few signs of inflation, these economists (not including Alan Greenspan according to Novak) just fear economic growth.
"For Greenspan, Politics Beat Sound Policy":
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/novak18.html
5.20.00
Through Mozilla, a web designer now has the ability to alter the browser's user interface. Great. First, there was the arrival of desktop publishing, and we saw god-awful uses of fonts. Then the web plopped onto people's laps and we saw god-awful Web design (horizontal rainbow lines and the BLINK tag). Now, we'll have web designers giving us ugly browser interfaces to complement those ugly sites. But this technology does seem useful for creating cross-platform user interfaces quickly.
"How to Change Your Look with Mozilla Skins": [via array]
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/05/19/magazine/skins.html
Weblog quote of the day:
I almost miss those early morning trips to Des Moines to take blood samples from the chickens. We grabbed them by their feet and swung them to make them woozy (often drawing incredulous stares from passers-by). Then they'd just lie quietly on the tailgate of my truck while I found the vein and did the Vacutainer work.
View from an Iowa Homestead:
http://vfih.editthispage.com/
Jerry Pournelle on how to become a writer:
The main point of this is that the secret of success in becoming a writer is you must write; you must finish what you write; and you must write a lot more.
I must memorize this sentence. I must memorize this sentence. You must write; you must finish...
"How to Get My Job":
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/slowchange/myjob.html
Next year, Chicago teachers will be grading parents along with their children. "Parents will be evaluated on how well they help their children with homework; whether their children are dressed properly and stay awake in class; whether their children come to class on time." School officials see it as a way to improve teacher-parent communication. I see it as a way to intimidate parents to parent as the public schools see fit.
"Chicago Teachers Will Evaluate Parents":
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewEducation.asp?Page=\Education\archive\EDU20000519a.html
5.19.00
Oprah doesn't like the death tax.
http://www.60plus.org/KilltheDthtax/winfrey.htm
RadioDigest.com is reporting that Rush Limbaugh auditioned for Monday Night Football. Rush has been talking about doing it for weeks. I would love Rush's take on the games, even if it was a 42-3 blow-out.
The Daily Grind: [via Drudge]
http://www.radiodigest.com/grind/2000/grind.phtml
5.18.00
I'm currently delving into a piece of classic Western thought: Machiavelli's The Prince. For those of you not familiar with the book, it's a study on how to get and maintain political power. It's fitting that while reading, I'm seeing tactics of Bill Clinton jumping out at me. Here's one passage I found:
But he who against the will of the people is made a Prince by the favour of the nobles, must, above all things, seek to conciliate the people, which he readily may by taking them under his protection. For since men who are well treated by one whom they expected to treat them ill, feel the more beholden to their benefactor, the people will at once become better disposed to such a Prince when he protects them, than if he owed his Princedom to them.
Bill Clinton was elected twice with less then 50% of the popular vote. He's a minority President. The People's will was for him NOT to be President. However, at the time he needed public support the most--impeachment--he got it. While getting less than 50% of the popular vote in two elections, 60%-70% of the public did not want him removed from office. Conservatives were tearing out their hair in trying to figure out how the public could except Clinton's obvious violation of the law in his grand jury testimony. Many conservatives just threw up their hands and said it was the total corruption of moral standards. I'm inclined toward Machiavelli's explanation.
According to The Prince, a Prince wins public favor by protecting them. What has been Clinton's policy philosophy for the past 7+ years? Government programs to protect people from whatever irritates them. Clinton ran in 1992 during a mild recession. His slogan: "It's the economy stupid!" After getting elected, he wanted a big economic stimulous package filled with government largess to get the economy moving again. It never made it through Congress, yet the economy improved anyway. His next idea was to end runaway heath care costs by nationalizing health care. Luckily, that failed, and he suffered the embarassment of having his party lose both Houses of Congress.
The 1994 election forced Clinton to abandon big ideas like national health care and to start pushing lots of little feel-good ideas. Thus we see his love affair with gun laws, gobbling up more and more land for federal control, v-chips, laws regulating Internet content, a botched attempt to regulate home offices, attacks on tobacco, occasional attacks on Iraq, and the unauthorized, air-only war over Kossovo. Each of these ideas separately don't entail the limiting of freedom like national health care would have, but combined, they definitely restrict peaceful human activity.
But what put Clinton over the top in people's minds is the one thing he has little control over: the robust economy. We are living in one of the greatest booms in U.S. (if not world) history. People feel secure because of rising wages, rising stock prices, and the availability of more stuff to buy than ever. The public sees all these programs, laws, and regulations Clinton supports combined with the roaring economy and thinks he really cares about them. He's trying to help them out, and people feel better off. In return for the "protection" Clinton's given them, Clinton gets popular support. Let me give it a name--popular capital. Clinton saved this popular capital and used it when one of his many scandals threatened to bring him down. Thus we heard constantly from Clinton supporters that the public likes what he's doing as President and impeachment shouldn't proceed because it would be defying the will of the people. Clinton retains power just like a Prince should.
Let me close with another passage from The Prince.
Wherefore, a wise Prince should devise means whereby his subjects may at all times, whether favourable or adverse, feel the need of the State and of him, and then they will always be faithful to him.
In a daring bit of politics, GW found an unlikely supporter of his Social Security privitization plan: AlGore. GW played a video tape where AlGore said, "During this whole national discussion, one of the single salient facts that jumped out at everybody is that, over any 10-year period in American history, returns on equities are just significantly higher." AlGore said he was talking about the government investing in the stock market (horrible idea), and that he reconsidered investing in stocks. "In exploring it, I found that the problems were severe," said AlGore.
"Gore, Bush Turn Up Heat on Social Security Debate":
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/elect2000/pres/lat_goreside000517.htm
5.16.00
Imagine the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of bricks-and-mortar.
"Barnes & Noble.com Offers Same-Day Delivery in Manhattan":
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000516/ny_barnes_.html
Yesterday, GW outlined his Social Security plan. First, it wouldn't change anything for those already in the program or about to enter the program. Second, it would reserve all surpluses solely to Social Security instead of spending it on other government programs. Third, the plan wouldn't raise the payroll tax. "We cannot tax our way to reform," said Bush. Then came the fourth and most interesting part of GW's plan: partial privatization. Bush's plan would allow people to put a portion (2%) of their Social Security contribution into an account where that person could choose from a selection of bonds and stocks.
GW was prepared for AlGore's attacks by wrapping his plan in bipartisan language. He invoked the names of Democrats like Sens. Bob Kerry (D-NE) and Pat Moynihan (D-NY) who support partial privatization.
It's not a full privatization, nor is it an opt-out. (I would gladly give up any claim to past S.S. contributions, if I could invest the money I'm taxed for S.S. into investments of my choosing.) It's a moderately conservative, common sense approach to the impending S.S. crisis when all the Baby Boomers retire. The plan would pump more capital into the economy and allow for increased productivity. As Larry Kudlow writes, "Over the next two decades, the economic goal is to make two future workers as productive as three of today’s workers." Private investment accounts combined with deep tax cuts would help meet that goal.
"A Defining American Promise":
http://www.georgewbush.com/speeches/promise.asp
A 102-year old tax may finally meet its doom. The House Ways and Means committee is expected to approve a bill that would end the 3% tax on telephone service. The tax began in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War. It was suppose to be temporary, but as Rep. Bill Archer (R-TX) said, "One thing about Washington is that once a tax is on the books, it's hard to get rid of it." That's an understatement.
"House Panel Expected To Approve Repeal of Telephone Tax":
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200005\POL20000515b.html
5.15.00
Mattel is going after mattl.com, a lowly weblog. The toy giant thinks the domain name
violates their copyright. I'm sorry, but a typo isn't copyright infringement. Do Mattel's
lawyers just need something to do to justify their fees?
From the "And Your Job Sucks?" File:
Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer and as you read it you will notice in small print the statement that "every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is PERSONALLY tested."
Now close your eyes and say out loud five times, "I am so glad that I do not work in quality control at the Q-Tip Company."
Cut and Paste (5.12 entry):
http://www.hyperbolical.org/cutandpaste/test.html
Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer for fiction, and it was released only in paperback. Inside.com looks at this new publishing trend. First release paperbacks are common in Europe, but I do prefer reading from a hardcover. It sits in my lap, and I don't have to fight to stay on the page I'm reading. Cost is a factor. Hardcovers aren't cheap. Maybe instead of spending oodles of money on preparing for e-books, publishers should invest in ways to make hardcovers less expensive.
"Does Anyone Really Want to Be a Paperback Writer?":
http://www.inside.com/story/Premium_Story?art_id=4294
5.14.00
Michael Eisner thinks e-mail could bring down a country.
I have come to believe that, if anything will bring about the downfall of a company, or maybe even a country, it is blind copies of e-mails that should never have been sent in the first place.
Could this happen? Trent Lott flames Bill Clinton by calling him a "Big Mac eating, pot smoking, draft dodging, Nazi." In response, Clinton orders the Airborne to take control of the Senate. Maybe Eisner thinks his e-mail could bring down a country, but he may be one of the only ones.
"Eisner: Thoughtless E-mail a Threat to Companies, Society":
http://www.sacbee.com/news/calreport/calrep_story.cgi?N116.HTML
The Communist Chinese have balls. On the eve of a vote in D.C. to give China permanent normal trading relations with the U.S., government goons grab members of the banned Falun Gong religion.
"China Detains Dozens of Falun Gong Protesters":
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000513/09/religion-china
5.13.00
On Thursday (5.11), Ford announced that their SUVs damaged the environment. While recognizing
its environmental impact, the company also said they would still make them. Jerry Taylor from
the Cato Institute thought the annoucement was "awfully
weird." David Horowitz thinks the environmentalists attacks on SUVs are totalitarian, because
they disavow consumer choice. I say, give me an SUV. I'd love one, but they're too damn
expensive. That shows the tremendous demand for the vehicles.
"Ford's SUV Shocker": [via latte]
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/05/13/suv/index.html
Fox News has a very tame story on weblogs and online diaries.
"Egomaniacs.com?": [via Webloglog]
http://foxnews.com/etcetera/051200/bloggers.sml
Some guy named Hayden Christensen will play Anakin Skywalker in the next two Star Wars movies. I don't know anything about him, but if he's good enough for Lucas, he's good enough for me.
"The New Anakin": [via Metafilter]
http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/news/2000/19/news4b.html
5.12.00
Real life online models. Last Sunday Los Angeles hosted
WebModel2000. Guys could pay $15 to see
their favorite online desire instead of the $2.99/minute they were paying at home.
"Nude Models Press the Flesh":
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/05/05/web_models/index.html?CP=SAL&DN=660
John Lott and John Whitley published a study that says laws that punish parents who don't lock up their guns don't prevent accidental child death. Ironicly, crime rates went up in states that passed such laws. "The only consistent impact of safe storage laws is to raise rape, robbery and burglary rates, and the effects are very large," said the authors. They reason that homes with locked up guns make for easier targets for criminals.
Supporters of the lock up laws don't buy the study. Physician Peter Cummings on the study's analysis of crime rates: "I guess I wouldn't have, because it seems like a very implausible connection." Implausible connection? What would Dr. Cummings think criminals would do when they knew it would be harder for their victims to protect themselves?
"Study: Gun-lockup Laws Can be Harmful":
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/ncswed20.htm
5.11.00
William Anderson on antitrust law:
Not only are they purposely vague, but they represent a clear government assault upon private property. Antitrust laws operate in the same way that the economic laws of fascist Italy and Germany worked during the 1930s: they allow for a de facto nationalization of private enterprise without the government taking actual title.
Anderson then goes on to explain why neoclassical economists haven't rejected antitrust law totally.
"Economists and Antitrust":
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=426&FS=Economists+and+Antitrust
Christopher Westley doesn't like the attacks on e-mail after the whole "Love Bug" mess. He praises e-mail and thinks some really smart people would have been e-mail fans.
The great Scholastic thinkers of the Middle Ages, and even Rousseau, Locke, and Jefferson, would have loved e-mail. It empowers individuals and strengthens the human ties that elevate and improve society. It also provides another check on the modern state, giving us a means to talk to each other rather than depend only on official organs for correspondence, information, and opinion."In Praise of E-mail":
Sweden is cited as the ideal mix of capitalism and socialism. Stephanie Herman sees that Sweden's high taxes drive many to leave.
"High Taxes are the Real Risk":
http://www.americanpartisan.com/cols/herman/042400.htm
If I could own only one stock, it would be Cisco. About 275 million people are on the Internet with a few billion more to follow. Someone's got to make all the equipment to connect the computers, cell phones, and Palm Pilots together.
This is a company that has a 60% share of a router market that's growing 40% annually. This is also a company that uses technolgy so well, it can close their books in ONE DAY!
"There's Something About Cisco":
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/2000/05/15/cis.html
Nick-named "Dr. No," Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) sticks to his libertarian/constitutional principles. He votes against Congressional medals. He says they're a waste of tax money. He opposes foreign aid and overseas military adventures. Paul is also pro-life.
"No 1 stands out more":
http://sptimes.com/News/050800/Worldandnation/No_1_stands_out_more.shtml
Bill Clinton shouldn't be disbarred because "many categories of responses which are misleading, evasive, nonresponsive or frustrating are nevertheless not legally 'false.'" This man will never stop twisting words and using legalese to cover his tail. If it wasn't false, then why did Judge Wright rule he was in comtempt of court and file her own complaint to the Arkansas Supreme Court?
"Clinton: Testimony 'Not Legally False'":
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30124-2000May8.html
5.10.00
$410 billion in foreign aid has not helped sub-Saharan Africa rise out of poverty. Because of
political instability, lack of the Rule of Law, and little economic freedom, this region
has remained stagnant while other regions have thrived. A Heritage Foundation report says the
U.S. can do little to help because the problems are internal to these African nations.
However, the paper makes some recomendations: forgive their debt; require economic reforms
before any future aid is given; and reduce U.S. trade barriers so sub-Saharan African countries
have a larger market to sell their goods.
"The Keys to an African Economic Renaissance":
http://www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1369.html
Buckley on AIDS as a national security threat and humanitarian efforts in Africa:
That -- and cleaning up the blood banks, attacking malaria, educating men and women on sexual activity -- such are the rational roads ahead for those moved to humanitarian intervention. The crusade is not encouraged by scare words warning of national security. And it is sobering to reflect on other basic lessons that we haven't succeeded in communicating widely to African society. Zimbabwe suffers from plagues unrelated to AIDS.
"In Pursuit of AIDS in Africa":
http://www.sacbee.com/voices/national/buckley/buckley_20000505.html
Angus the space freak is a firm believer in property rights off-planet.
No government in the world owns off-world property, which means they have no right to tell anyone else what to do with it. The best way to create a space industry would be for legal recoginition of extra-terrestrial land rights. The first one to get there is the owner, and any landowner should be able to sell their property on the open market. Companies would spend billions to acquire valuable land outside of this planet. The rapid expansion of the western frontier in America was driven by a thriving open land market, let's hope that our expansion into the rest of the solar system will be the same.
What a concept! Apply on-world property rights that have led to great economic progress to the wide-open depths of space. I think Adam Smith would be proud.
My favorite CEO, T.J. Rodgers ("one of the smartest guys" in Silicon Valley), will not mince words. "One of my traits is that [I] really don't give too much of a damn about what people think as long as I think I'm doing things right." Rodgers is a capitalist in the best sense of the word.
"Mr. Rodgers' High-Tech Neighborhood":
http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/00/may/0508/feat.htm
5.08.00
Yesterday, I joined the millions of others who saw Gladiator. While having an unoriginal,
uninspiring, lame title, the movie fits nicely with Hollywood's other great epic films. Russell
Crowe played the honorable, heroic Maximus who was asked by Caesar to return power of the
Roman Empire back to the Senate (ie. the people). Tretchery by Caesar's son almost kills Maximus,
and he ends up as a gladiator. The fighting scenes are good, not Star Wars quality, but still
exciting. The story isn't perfect. At one point the Roman army captures Maximus, then later
they refuse to help Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) in the movie's final show down. I didn't see
any explanation. See it and have your own little piece of Ben Hur or Spartacus.
I finally own a Smithereens album. I got their greatest hits disk and love it. It hasn't left my CD player for days. The Smithereens play classic pop rock with great hooks and passionate lyrics. The added bonus is the crunch of their guitars that gives many of their songs ("Girl Like You," "Blues Before and After") an edgy feel. The Smithereens are great for those of you who love well constructed pop songs without the sappy, teenage mush.
The Official Smithereens Web Site:
http://www.officialsmithereens.com/
While not the Pulitzer, Columbia University's journalism school will administer the newly-created Online Journalism Awards. The catagories awarded include: General Excellence in Online Journalism; Online Commentary; Breaking News; Enterprise Journalism; Service Journalism; and Most Creative Use of the Medium. I wonder how many webloggers will enter? The rules don't say the web site has to be a organization. It looks like it could just be some average Joe running a web site. To snuff any potential rumors, I will not be entering TAM into this year's competition. ElianWatch maybe, but not TAM. Some days it's been hard for me to put together a coherent sentence, let alone an entire paragraph.
Online News Awards:
http://www.onlinejournalismawards.org/
"No more Glocks for New York cops!" Catchy, very catchy.
End the War on Freedom:
http://wws.editthispage.com/
New Hampshire could become the first state in 23 years to abolish the death penalty. The legislation passed the House of Representative and is awaiting debate in the Senate. The bill won't become law because the governor promises a veto and there isn't enough support to override the veto.
Death penalty supporters must have wobbly legs. Illinois has a temporary ban on executions and now this legislative push in New Hampshire. It looks like some people are seriously reconsidering the legitimacy of state-sponsored killing. I say it's about time.
"New Hampshire Bill Would Abolish Death Penalty":
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\CUL20000508b.html
5.07.00
James Bovard is joining Bill Clinton in advocating gun buy-back programs. Only, he wants one
for federal agents.
"Help Promote Fewer Guns--for the Feds":
http://www.latimes.com/news/comment/20000503/t000041790.html
Hooray!! If GW wins, he'll push for a partial privatization of Social Security. With millions of people becoming familiar with the stock market, this idea will only grow the investor class and promote government policies that are good for the free market. I would like to see a full privatization, but I'll take what I can get.
"Bush Wants Retirement Fund Partially Privatized":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000503/ts/campaign_bush_3.html
5.06.00
I love books and book lists. Policy.com has a list of
"The 50 Most Influential Policy Books of All Time." I've read a number of them like Buckley's
God and Man at Yale, Hayek's
The Road to Serfdom, and Olasky's The Tragedy of
American Compassion. There are also some like Machiavelli's The Prince,
Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind, and Tocqueville's Democracy in America
that I have on my shelf but have yet to read. Along with the list is a quick description of
each book.
The 50 Most Influential Policy Books of All Time:
http://www.policy.com/newsstand/books_classics1.html
5.05.00
Today is
Karl Marx's
birthday. If I were in London, I would go and spit on his
grave. Communism
killed and tortured millions in its quest to change human nature. It failed and we are still
seeing its repercussions.
Museum of Communism:
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/museum/musframe.htm
Professor Rummel's thoughts on Communism (and state power in general):
Communism has been the greatest social engineering experiment we have ever seen. It failed utterly and in doing so it killed over 100,000,000 men, women, and children, not to mention the near 30,000,000 of its subjects that died in its often aggressive wars and the rebellions it provoked. But there is a larger lesson to be learned from this horrendous sacrifice to one ideology. That is that no one can be trusted with power. The more power the center has to impose the beliefs of an ideological or religious elite or impose the whims of a dictator, the more likely human lives are to be sacrificed. This is but one reason, but perhaps the most important one, for fostering liberal democracy.
How Many Did Communist Regimes Murder?:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rummel/COM.ART.HTM
5.03.00
In the future if you find that stuff on the Net stinks, well, it's because it really will. At
least if some scientists in Israel have their way. Hurray!!! I missed smellavision the first
time around.
"Scientists Poised to Deliver Scent by the Internet":
[via Drudge]
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/05/04/timfgnmid01001.html
Famed economist Milton Friedman opposes a government break-up of Microsoft. He said resources could have been better spent. "The money that has been spent on legal maneuvers would have been much more usefully spent on research in technology. The loss of the time spent in the courts by highly trained and skilled lawyers could certainly have been spent more fruitfully," said Friedman.
"Nation’s Largest Taxpayer Group Teams With Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman In Blasting
Break-Up Plan For Microsoft":
http://www.ntu.org/issues/taxes/tech/P0004friedman.html
Hyperlinks in dead-wood newspapers: finally a really innovative risk by old media.
"Newspapers Link to the Future": [via
/usr/bin/girl]
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36022,00.html?tw=wn20000502
I don't know what's more pathetic: putting your Wal-Mart receipts on the Web or screaming about how pathetic it is to put your Wal-Mart receipts on the Web.
Derek's Big Website of Wal-Mart Purchase Receipts:
[via
/usr/bin/girl]
http://lightning.prohosting.com/~receipts/
Feed has an article on weblogging. Bloggers aren't writers or editors so much as Renaissance collectors. Each of us add something new to our "cabinets of wonders." I'm sure this will ignite some commentary across the blog universe.
Like all other Feed articles, there a discussion going on. Only 2 posts (including me) when I last check.
Now I know how Jorn has so much time to devote to Joyce and surfing in general:
Barger spends his days in the bed, and there -- sitting with the Mac’s keyboard in his lap and its monitor beside him -- he collects: A color-coded map of the world’s language families. A discussion of the various titles Proust considered and discarded for Remembrance of Things Past. A National Enquirer article on "who’s doing yoga in Hollywood." A BBC item on the evolution of cooperation among capuchin monkeys. Some photos of Fisher-Price Little People repainted as characters from Futurama. A FAIR analysis of recent mainstream news coverage of the IMF and the World Bank. An oddly evocative Webcam shot from the Jennicam Web site. A tribute to the Spanish-language children’s television show El Club de los Tigritos. A compilation of Noam Chomsky resources on the Web. A detailed list of textual correspondences between James Joyce’s Ulysses and Homer’s Odyssey. A phrase that Barger dreamed last night on the edge of waking.
Someone hire this man! I feel sorry for him.
"Portrait of the Blogger as a Young Man":
http://www.feedmag.com/feature/cx329lofi.html
5.02.00
Did you catch the spoof video the White House made for last weekend's big press dinner? It
showed Bill Clinton moping around the White House finding things to do to occupy his time
until his term ended. He bicycled down the hallways, watched movies with Buddy, and bought
ham on eBay with the help of Stewart of Ameritrade
fame. What I noticed that gave Bill the most pleasure was banging on the ice cream machine
and stealing an ice cream sandwich. It's fitting that one of the most corrupt Presidents in
U.S. history derives pleasure from petty theft.
5.01.00
Happy
May Day, especially to all my
Communist
readers.
To satisfy Clinton's gay/lesbian constituency, the U.S. has now declared AIDS to be a threat to national security. Because millions have HIV in Africa, AIDS has the capablity to destablize countries and "undo the careful progress" the U.S. has made in the region. Then the government had the audacity to say, "Global pandemic will make the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages pale in comparison." While AIDS will kill millions, as a percentage of the total world population, it's nothing compared to the massive percentage of death as a result of the Black Death in the Middle Ages.
The White House wanted more money for AIDS programs (that don't work) and used national security as an excuse.
Oh, let me in on a little secret on how to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV: don't sleep around and don't use intravenous drugs. If you do that, then you probably won't get the virus. It doesn't take a national security expert to figure that out.
"U.S. Brands AIDS National Security Threat":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000430/ts/aids_usa_5.html
Sean Hackbarth
Writer/Bookseller
Allenton, WI
https://www.angelfire.com/wi/shackbar
shackbar@free-market.net
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