-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- August 2015
- October 2014
- August 2014
- June 2014
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- June 2013
- April 2013
- October 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- August 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
Categories
Meta
Oh, all right, it’s OK to help tsunami victims, we guess…
While still decrying “the ugly hand of altruism,” the lunatics at the Ayn Rand Institute have grudgingly retracted the essay it released last week, “U.S. Should Not Help Tsunami Victims.”
Now mind you, these purveyors of institutionalized selfishness do not think that we should be sending aid:
It would be preferable to use the aid money for a legitimate function of government, such as to purchase needed military equipment and armor for our soldiers in Iraq, who are being asked to risk their lives to defend our freedom. It is likely, moreover, that the increase in aid offered by our government in the days after the disaster stemmed not from benevolence but from surrender to the altruists’ corrupt demand that the U.S. had not sacrificed enough.
However, they concede that of all the “government abuses” (you know, things like public education, health programs, and so on) that we should be fighting, altruism is not as evil as “government programs and agencies whose very purpose is to violate individual rights, such as into the antitrust division of the Justice Department, which persecutes successful businesses for out-competing other companies on a free market.”
The only justifiable punishment for these vicious cretins would be to force them to live in a world governed by their own policies.
Today’s LJ Finds
I am, apparently not as nerdy as silvertide:
Thanks to markbourne, one of whose stories is among the top downloads at Electric Story, I found this wonderful journalism wish-fulfillment piece by Terry Bisson: Meat the Press.
And finally, a post on newyorkers brought back memories of the charmingly obnoxious 1980s NYC traffic signs:
 |
 |
 |
Hydrant Gone Fishing?
If anyone has any explanation for this, I’d love to hear it.
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Comments
Sunday Afternoon in Brooklyn
Sunday was a nice day, so I walked all the way through the Slope to my usual Sunday afternoon jam at the other end of the neighborhood, and back, picturephone within easy reach.
A Message Of Hope?
Do not despair. You don’t have to leave. You don’t have to move to Canada. You may feel out of place in the United States today. You may feel like you’re surrounded by fundamentalist-church-going, gun-hugging, gay-bashing, anti-choice Bush voters. But you’re not. George W. Bush only got 50% of the national vote. And you don’t really live out there somewhere in “the nation,” do you? You live in the city. A big city. And John Kerry got 61% of the urban vote. The bigger the city, the higher John Kerry’s percentage. John Kerry got 80% of the vote in Seattle.* Cities vote Democratic. Cities are the economic engines that power this country. Cities are diverse, dynamic and progressive. Don’t think of yourself as a citizen of the United States. You are a citizen of the urban archipelago. The United Cities Of America.
*Roughly 75% in New York City, which is an actual “big city,” and almost 85% in Brooklyn, which is nearly five times bigger than Seattle.
The Insane Becomes Normal…
Thanks to the proliferation of people talking on cell phones using earbud headsets, it’s not at all uncommon to see people walking around gesturing and talking (seemingly) to themselves. At least, this is the case in the financial district where I work. So, if a crazy person really is wandering the streets talking back to the UFOs, your alarm bells won’t go off until you’re way too close to the nutcase and close to getting involved in the conversation.
LJer Accused of Murder
Here’s a creepy one. 16-year-old Rachelle Waterman, smchyrocky on LJ, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder. The police say she solicited the help of two men to kill her mother, whose body was found in a burning minivan on a logging road. It could have been worse; she happily posted her results of a “Your Homicidal Rampage” meme.
The comments in her blog are almost as frightening as the incident itself.
Posted in Uncategorized
6 Comments
Protected: The Whiskey Or the Wisdom
Posted in Songs, Uncategorized
Enter your password to view comments.