Friday, July 29, 2005

What Kind of Government Do We Actually Have?

What Kind of Government Do We Actually Have?

Here I have a blog I've kept for years. I had a daughter who was born almost six months ago and all I can talk about lately is politics instead of talking about how happy she makes me. Perhaps, having a child causes me to reflect more on what kind of future she might have and I'm reminded of my responsibility as a parent to make sure she can have the best life that can be available to her.

So politics. I was looking at a portion of the Communist Manifesto the other day and it is in outline form. That Karl Marx text that was the ideas behind creating communist governments in the U.S.S.R. among some other satellite countries. The Manifesto has headers, or chapters if you will labeled as "planks," ten planks in all. As I was reading through the planks I noticed some similarities with a certain form of government which is still around today, and I'm not talking about Cuba, China or N. Korea.

I list the title of the Communist Manifesto plank followed by some information concerning our U.S. government. You draw your own conclusions.

4th Plank: Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels

High court OKs personal property seizures
Friday, June 24, 2005; WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.


6th Plank: Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.

FCC formed in 1934; FAA, 1958; NTSB, 1967; Department of Transportation, 1966; Interstate Highway System, 1944

10th Plank: Free education for all children in public schools.

Do I need to cite examples here?

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

"The record industry... has gone the way of the record."

--William Gibson

Monday, July 18, 2005

You Gotta Be You

You Gotta Be You

It's dangerous to implement a system that tries to conslidate the behavior of its populace, regardless of what that behavior is, good or bad, moral or immoral. It's dangerous from a biologic point of view not to mention it being dangerous from a power over the masses point of view.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.
- Thomas H. Huxley

Sunday, July 10, 2005

You go to California, it's illegal to smoke cigarettes in bars and taverns. Yeah smoking is bad for you but, who's concerned about their health in a bar? What's the complaint on this one, "Excuse me. Mr. bartender man. I am trying to get drunk so I can drive home and have unprotected sex with some chick I just met tonight and this guy is blowing smoke in my face!"

I believe that we should abolish all bar laws in America. I believe in America, the land of the free, there should be no laws in bars. And if you don't like living under no-law then don't go to the bars. For example, I don't like Bed Bath & Beyond, I don't like what goes on at BB&B, so do you know what I do about it? That's right! I don't go there! I don't picket BB&B. I don't put BB&B on an axis of evil list with Kitchen Kaboodle and the Baby Gap. I don't think BB&B should have to be 500 yards from an elementary school. I just don't go to BB&B.

Auggie Smith
Comedian & Free Thinker

Saturday, July 09, 2005

ISTANBUL, Turkey - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
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In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Nearly everything our government did in response to 9/11 was harmful and ineffective. Airport security is still insecure (shoes screened but cargo not), but travel by air has become a nightmare for millions and airlines are in financial distress. Federal spending and deficits have soared. Vast new bureaucracies have been created. National ID cards and other intrusions have been created, one after another.

And we are no safer than before, neither will we be, because so-called government solutions for anything are nearly always incompetent and destructive, because terrorists, kind of like evil entrepreneurs, will always be quicker and smarter than big governments.

Jim Babka
DownsizeDC.org

Thursday, July 07, 2005

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Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Independant Baby

Independant Baby

We took baby to her first fireworks display for Independance Day. I bought a pair of noise-blocking headphones for her just in case the boom was too loud. But once again, she has impressed me. She loved the big boom, big lights. She was mesmerized by the fireworks and loved them.

Just a couple of weeks earlier, we took her swimming for the first time and she loved that. Had a blast floating around in the kiddie pool. Daddy is so proud of this girl that loves life.

She is the apple, banana and orange of my eye.