I’m not gonna go this far, but I’ll get close. You’d think I’d be all-in for charity. Helping the poor; doing good deeds; not having the government involved. Totally in my wheelhouse, all of that. But there’s a problem with…
Election Season: This Is Just Too Much
The “election season” is too long. Way too long. We’re up to the point that presendential campaigns are major news for more than a year before the actual election day. That is just too long. Most of the other large…
Long Overdue: Get The Government Out Of Marriage
When Prop. 8 was current news here in California, I found the whole thing very confusing. Why is the government involved in marriage anyway? Fine; of course. People have been getting married for, like, ever and laws have been hung…
You Need To Read This: The Authoritarians
You really can’t understand the world we live in until you do. Authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is something authoritarian followers and authoritarian leaders cook up between themselves. It happens when the followers submit too much to the leaders, trust them too much,…
They’re Comin’ Right For Us: Fixing Self-Defense
Self Defense and Stand Your Ground laws are almost fine: the concept is legit, but the implementation leaves them open to some serious abuse. Even South Park noticed this years ago. To get straight to the point: Most Self Defense…
Pollution: You’re Soaking In It
Humans have a nasty habit of really messing up wherever they live. Especially businesses, and especially unregulated businesses. Economics has this concept they call externalities. These are the effects of a process that don’t have to be paid for by…
Inalienable: A Democracy Cannot Take Away A Citizen’s Right To Vote
This one seems to be inexplicably controversial. But seriously, follks. The right of all citizens to vote is what makes a democracy a democracy. Or a republic, for all you pedants in the back. It’s so much a part of…
DOJ Ball: This Has Already Gone Too Far
The Department of Justice has gone more than a bit freaky lately; see Wonkette’s PULL THE F*CKING FIRE ALARM and Bill Barr Breaks The Justice Department for some frankly revolting details. Regulatory Capture. That’s the concept in government that describes…
Tax This: All Taxes Should Be Progressive
Oooh; it’s that word. In this case, it has a specific meaning though. Progressive taxes are important. Progressive taxes are ones where the percentage you pay goes up the more resources you have to pay it with. In the United…
Saying It Isn’t So: There Are No “Other Ways Of Knowing”
Contrary to what seems to be a common belief these days, we do actually have an entire discipline for evaluating “ways of knowing”. It’s called “epistemology”. And it distinguishes between “belief” and “knowledge”. “Knowledge” is “justified true belief”. Meaning a…