tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60835725480284836652024-03-13T22:33:49.561-04:00The Economist's CookbookRecipes For A More Free SocietyThe_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-1398417458843062562010-12-06T15:51:00.003-05:002010-12-06T15:55:22.212-05:00"Ken"sian Economics via Hannity.So for some unknown reason I walked by a radio that was blaring the infamous windbag known as Sean Hannity. He was busying himself with his "analysis" of economics. I was struck by this:<br /><br />He was referring to the Keynesian (Pronounced like Kanesian) model of economics as the "Ken"sian model. Now I understand that most people have no idea who John Maynard Keynes was, or what his ideas were. I understand that most people may not know how to pronounce his name.<br /><br />For the love of god, if you're going to TRY and act like you have ANY clue what the hell you're talking about, at LEAST get the guy's name right. <br /><br />This goes for most of the pundits out there: Both on the left and the right. Olberman, O'Reilly, Rush, Matthews, all of you. STOP. Stop playing in the economic sandbox like any of us care what you think or what you say. You all are not qualified to do anything more than mouth breath.<br /><br />So please, all of you, have a nice hot cup of SHUT THE HELL UP!<br /><br />Thank you and have a nice day.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-43984241344709535982010-10-03T21:52:00.002-04:002010-10-03T21:56:50.117-04:00Reason.tv at Leftist Rally......and the results are fairly typical. Dodge the question. Babble incoherently. Make up facts. etc.<br /><object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZqTu-MqCFbI&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZqTu-MqCFbI&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br /><br />Here is what upsets me. These people are just as blind and unwilling to reason as many of the "Freepers" that inhabit the Tea Party movement. "What we need are everyone to have a good community/neighborhood school". Ah yes, where you can funnel 60+% of your funding into administrative costs rather than into actually teaching kids knowledge. In fact, this union leader has advocated for banning private schools. Let's see ... Yup, you're a tyrant. <br /><br />There is nothing redeeming about these people's point of view. It's all talking points, ignore the question/data and keep sticking it to the private sector. <br /><br />These people will keep smoking that pipe until this whole house of cards collapses around them.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-48206654894908135682010-09-27T12:05:00.005-04:002010-09-27T12:12:03.839-04:00Cops Shoot Pregnant Woman... No charges filed.<a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/25/1356027/state-patrol-officer-shoots-pregnant.html">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/25/1356027/state-patrol-officer-shoots-pregnant.html</a><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5NOAH0T8mO8dSEABI5DGOBQhGVZLaA8SviPRRWeOpXkoHBOIbAC6iXFET8vVcta482iWhbjerKnmObwCJjv8pnv0mpZb1YyWorcdv6jghSR7xbglAB-a7DrReQaGbX-FwnO3hvl07UUI/s320/21GgmoO5A3L.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521626583910602034" />Well, Let's see, Drug War? Check. Pregnant Suspect running from the people kicking her door in with guns? Check. Shooting of said pregnant female? Check. Now this fine upstanding officer will most likely get put on desk duty during the investigation, and be back at work in a month. If a concealed carry permit holder pulled a stunt like this, we'd never hear the end of it from the Brady Campaign. Keep licking your master's hand boys.<br /><br />I'm not saying that drug dealers are nice people. I'm not saying that they are roll models. I'm not saying that drugs aren't destructive to one's health. But so are burgers, nicotine, and many prescription drugs. It's this goddamn neurotic thought that somehow these boys in blue are better then we are. Bullshit. These guys are people and should be trusted no more than you or I.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-38048302135673901412010-09-27T11:30:00.005-04:002010-09-27T18:04:30.104-04:00You're An AssholeToday's entrant is a complete hack, a completely intellectually dishonest hack.<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuII6rgeuH5JPp_aq2S3Z_HsdJRkTS48-EKgw6jf-YRkPJrWR9-eSQ4GFG9qFDnDhoxtJKA5MeGTtXPTb6yQNvj3R9hDgxHo4sevOfUqZEFBOjDV93nr3-FLxZzGD2EMSNC2diXLq11DLI/s320/Lib+Card+Markos+Moulitsas.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521620397952088306" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Behold! I present Markos Moulitsas, the founder</div><div> of the Daily Kos.</div><div><br /></div><div>In his latest piece that is published in the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/26/EDUJ1FIVOP.DTL">San Fransisco Chronicle's Online arena</a>, He equates the Radical Right with the Taliban. But here's the funny thing. He lumps in gun owners and anyone who thinks pop culture is complete joke. He also states that what these "radicals" are doing is sewing the seeds of violence. maybe he's right. I can't say for sure what the outcome of their actions will be. But since I'm in the business of making fun of both sides of the aisle, let's take a look at what Markos stands for. Let's see: Theft of property: Check. No right to resist any government action that <i>he</i> deems is right and just: Check. Economic Illiteracy: Check. Preventing people from freely practicing their ideals even at the exclusion of others: Check. </div><div><br /></div><div>No Markos, you're a fascist, you just don't want to admit it. It's not that I like the religious right. It's not that I support people that think that we should let the Bible inform invasive domestic policy and regulation of lifestyles. It's the fact that not only does he paint with such a broad brush over gun owners, he doesn't even understand that he's encouraging people to make themselves servants and slaves to this monstrosity we call the state. Reminds me of this:<blockquote>“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” – <span style="font-style:italic;">Goethe</span></blockquote>Yeah Markos, keep towing that empty headed line, attacking strawmen, and refusing to acknowledge that there is more than just a false Left-Right dichotomy in this country.</div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-13560944541586530032010-09-15T16:01:00.005-04:002010-09-15T16:19:58.626-04:00Medical Cannabis or Why Prohibitionists are Evil People<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o5dD7dFkmfA?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o5dD7dFkmfA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />See here is what I don't understand, if you look at the history of Marijuana and you learn WHY it was banned, there should be no problem legalizing/de-criminalizing it. My own mother has had cancer... twice. So this one is near and dear to me. She almost didn't survive her first encounter and was extremely ill due to the treatments.<br /><br />Medical Cannabis is a wonder drug<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWluzo6Dk5v8yAoGiVRa9QRWLo8t6QbGv4g4DkA7iWMMxILqorNEHd77id_ITvfh_liolemUBpd5_CUOQaCKua6eHSHOeXWsiKF0gHCRVnGYvpFfld2KJI4kMZBrUsQC1VHy8aojR89XL/s400/NoMercy.GIF" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 391px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517236743738884706" /> basically. The fact of the matter is that too many people shriek about how EVVVVVIIIILLLL it is, or how those that smoke pot are wastrels and no good people that are not worthy of relief from pain or other symptoms that Medical Cannabis can treat. I don't smoke pot, but by god, if I had severe pain issues I'd rather smoke pot than take any of the myriad of opiate derivative drugs out on the market for pain management.<br /><br />These people are the same damn breed of Prohibitionists that we had running around the US in the 1920s and 30s. They should be treated with the same mockery and scorn.<br /><br />There are no, repeat zero reasons for banning this for medical use as proscribed by a physician.<br />(Personally I think there are no reasons to to ban it period, but hey, I'm just a crazy liberty nut, what do I know?)The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-58200410028692340522010-09-15T11:51:00.004-04:002010-09-15T12:14:47.992-04:0075% of American's Don't Trust Their Government...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5VB43ML4t2Juov-oxHzg2KH7bQc0IGOzQzdvA3L8aNQyRcGBftZ_73a2hhgmbKs11nBTM_tdlZx_S1aWaIpeeQcTy2DeDCza6TwHt8gBK88VWSUxw5WVS4fiHDD-IT_hzSeDNmvxdZ9X/s1600/a_nation_of_sheep_by_Satansgoalie.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5VB43ML4t2Juov-oxHzg2KH7bQc0IGOzQzdvA3L8aNQyRcGBftZ_73a2hhgmbKs11nBTM_tdlZx_S1aWaIpeeQcTy2DeDCza6TwHt8gBK88VWSUxw5WVS4fiHDD-IT_hzSeDNmvxdZ9X/s400/a_nation_of_sheep_by_Satansgoalie.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517174391010847938" /></a>...0% actually willing to do anything about it.<div><br /></div><div>Seriously people, stop voting for these schmucks. They do not have your best interest at heart. Their job is to rule, how dare you question that. <div><br /></div><div>It doesn't matter what side of the aisle they are from. They are willing to do anything to get elected. This is the essence of Public Choice theory. Almost every one of these people nothing more than pure parasites. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yet you keep going to the voting booth chanting the mantra "... the lesser of two evils." Hey guess what, you're still making an evil choice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until the American people are ready to ditch the fallacious Left-Right dichotomy, we're going to be stuck with this mess.</div></div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-23974231933386823852010-09-02T12:38:00.003-04:002010-09-02T12:55:10.022-04:00Why Marriage Equality Is IrrelevantMany of the more "left-libertarian types" might disagree with me. In fact I know some of them will. With all of the fervor over the whole Prop 8 thing in the People's republic of California, there has been quite the outcry over this. I see this on some of the blogs I read all the time. Frankly I'm sick of seeing it. It's not that I have anything against people who bet for the other team. I just don't care about the issue. And here is why:<br /><br />1.) If you take the Anarcho-Capitalist (Market Anarchist) view there shouldn't be a government so leave it up to the movements of private contract enforcement to decide what they will and won't enforce, combined with the fact that the churches/religious organizations could do as they pleased in the same field. There I gave the AnCap line. Now for the more practical one.<br /><br />2.) Marriage has, for a stupidly long time had religious subtext. It was a union brought together by the gods/God. Trying to make marriage a secular institution is ... an end-run around the issue at best. SO I have a better idea. Let's separate the religious nature of marriage from the legal and "official" nature of mutual contract between two individuals. This would do several things. It would shut up the religious right about a Federal Amendment banning Gay marriage. And it would let all of this play out on a smaller level, whether that be state, locality, or individual religious institutions.<br /><br />Have the governments of both states and the Feds recognize any Civil Union Contract between two voluntary people that desire the legal/official rights and responsibilities of a couple etc.<br /><br />Make marriage the sole area of religious institutions. Some institutions are already willing to marry homosexuals, others are not. Why not get the government out of marriage and let it go? Let the churches etc. fight it out amongst themselves. The simple fact of the matter is that this would allow straight or gay couples to get married, legally unionized, and any combination thereof, with no Federal WARRRGARBLE over the debate about who can and can't get married.<br /><br />Free up competition in the market for unions/mates/marriages and let the chips fall where they may.<br /><br />There, solved that problem. I doubt that many of the Liberals or Left-libertarians will agree with me, but that's okay. I don't need their approval to be right.<br /><br />While the AnCap position is a logically consistent one, it simply isn't possible to go from massive statism to rampant Market Anarchy overnight. It's a process and smaller steps toward a better, more free, world are better than standing in our respective towers of intellectual fortitude shouting heretic at one another.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-44437659891191760032010-09-01T17:47:00.002-04:002010-09-01T18:01:23.967-04:00The Obama Myth (and its followers)I remember back when this guy was running his campaign. The fervor he inspired was down right scary. The blind fanaticism for reasons that no one seem to explain to beyond the idea of "It's historic" and "He's younger, and understands 'our' generation better." The simple fact of the matter is that "He's not Bush" is probably the correct answer. And while I hated Bush with a passion, the Bamster has managed to kindle a fire of Dantean proportions. The rage is still there but has been slowly subverted by disgust and depression. <div><br /></div><div>It would seem that the guy is little more than an empty suit. A figurehead for those that are actually of influence. And yes I am talking about the likes of Pelosi and Reid. Seriously, the guys numbers are tanking, the economy is still in shambles. We have a healthcare bill that no one (not even the IRS) can figure out, and the response of many Americans has been "Well he's not doing enough." </div><div><br /></div><div>Au Contraire!</div><div><br /></div><div>He's done too much. Or more precisely those that control things using him have done MORE than enough to damage this country. And yet I still meet those people that seem to worship the ground this guy walks on. The country is going to be broke in the near future and the only obvious solution will be to monetize the debt. The people will not put up with massive tax increases and the government will NOT cut its spending especially in the areas that are going to kill us (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security). The only solution will be to either keep rolling our huge and ever-growing debt (will people keep buying our bonds?) or to fire up the printing presses. </div><div><br /></div><div>If we do the later. The ensuing economic fallout will make the 70s look like a picnic with a mere ant problem.</div><div><br /></div><div>So to all of the former and current supporters of Barack "I'm an Empty Suit" Obama: </div><div><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2wY7cQEJMdM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2wY7cQEJMdM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </div><br />Yes the song is supposed to refer to GW Bush. but I find it strangely fitting.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-43717224531312828142010-09-01T13:11:00.004-04:002010-09-01T13:18:59.740-04:00Your Fall Reading List:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhII-BHnacilObG4jrwkqrx5_UNToHt9ueB4d1Xbp9i_KxhSXFI4iqOseOBPJJegBBeWvQ2SYnCLHiFBxdJJ_vbNZsvuWwqI16qGZQYB7loIR5u4AENwXjfAivGIXBcJhT0KfmTM4jcqt7r/s1600/414867047v2_480x480_Front.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhII-BHnacilObG4jrwkqrx5_UNToHt9ueB4d1Xbp9i_KxhSXFI4iqOseOBPJJegBBeWvQ2SYnCLHiFBxdJJ_vbNZsvuWwqI16qGZQYB7loIR5u4AENwXjfAivGIXBcJhT0KfmTM4jcqt7r/s400/414867047v2_480x480_Front.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511995059956126002" /></a>So Dr. Chris Coyne is teaching at GMU this semester and was kind enough to post up his syllabus at Coordination Problem. <div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.coordinationproblem.org/2010/09/austrian-i-syllabus.html">Here is the link</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Included in the PDF are links to papers by Pete Boetke, Peter Leeson, James Buchanan, and others, here is your chance to do the reading for a PhD level course in Free-Market Austrian Economics. I took courses in Austrian and Disequilibrium Macro in Undergrad</div><div><br /></div><div>Go get it and start reading. Hell the book list is authored by Mises, Hayek, Kirzner, etc. It's solid. </div><div><br /></div><div>In an era when Paul Krugman is seen as an economic sage, it's high time that you educate yourself with the weapons on an intellectual battlefield to defend the very things a free society is based on.</div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-77444638945164248302010-08-27T11:40:00.004-04:002010-08-27T11:53:44.072-04:00End-Run Around The Second Amendment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFDpiSHaNvHzE7nNoGzt1DtvoQRWqM76Ku6_IQxnzgRqgnb_0_l26va-w9E0jKlDK1GjgnSN3emR34aMvLgdJU8K7OTk2oCLR3VmSZHu9vm5ai3mumjwg_ETPRsh5p33mfwFOPA_HHg9G/s1600/GiveThemLead.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 171px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFDpiSHaNvHzE7nNoGzt1DtvoQRWqM76Ku6_IQxnzgRqgnb_0_l26va-w9E0jKlDK1GjgnSN3emR34aMvLgdJU8K7OTk2oCLR3VmSZHu9vm5ai3mumjwg_ETPRsh5p33mfwFOPA_HHg9G/s320/GiveThemLead.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510118116226795298" /></a>Let's face it gun control is not popular right now. Especially when it comes to national level legislation. Several Supreme Court cases have helped to bolster our case for the ability to "cling" to our guns. So instead of playing by the rules, the gun control nuts are trying an <a href="http://www.nssfblog.com/epa-considering-ban-on-traditional-ammunition-take-action-now/">end-run to ban all ammunition that has lead in it</a>. So ... basically all of it.<blockquote>...the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) – a leading anti-hunting organization – to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition. If the EPA approves the petition, the result will be a total ban on all ammunition containing lead-core components, including hunting and target-shooting rounds.</blockquote><div>I know this is executive branch because it's going through the EPA, but everyone needs to get in touch with their Congressman/woman and raise all sorts of hell. Spam fax lines if you have to. If this goes through, there is going to be some serious fallout. And I do mean the kind of fallout where people that are normal, peaceful people begin throwing Molotov cocktails at the EPA building. I do not want to see violence against the political class. It won't help our case. In the end, it might end up happening, but we're not there. Hopefully we'll never get there.</div><div><br />The bullet points are interesting:<br /><ul><li>There is no scientific evidence that the use of traditional ammunition is having an adverse impact on wildlife populations.</li><li>Wildlife management is the proper jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 50 state wildlife agencies.</li><li>A 2008 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on blood lead levels of North Dakota hunters confirmed that consuming game harvested with traditional ammunition does not pose a human health risk.</li><li>A ban on traditional ammunition would have a negative impact on wildlife conservation. The federal excise tax that manufacturers pay on the sale of the ammunition (11 percent) is a primary source of wildlife conservation funding. The bald eagle’s recovery, considered to be a great conservation success story, was made possible and funded by hunters using traditional ammunition – the very ammunition organizations like the CBD are now demonizing.</li></ul></div>This should scare you if you're a shooter. It is legislating by proxy with little or no recourse for the "little guy" you can't vote bureaucrats out of office.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(image Courtesy of </span><a href="http://olegvolk.net/gallery/main.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Oleg Volk</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-63988241528047811272010-08-25T14:56:00.002-04:002010-08-25T14:59:14.490-04:00Neuroscience, Psychopaths, and libertariansI found this especially interesting. It's very much worth watching and raises some interesting arguments in the justice sphere. How can we hope to "rehabilitate" people that are literally ticking bombs from a neuroscience standpoint.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vx8RxRn6dWU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vx8RxRn6dWU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Thoughts?The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-14518329167186553002010-08-25T12:26:00.005-04:002010-08-25T14:59:49.694-04:00Big Brother: Welcome to the 21st Century.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFyxSTrvMcAiuGmkeb7BE3qYeP3tdodE-U4Q20sM4Ni0veh400c-M-CthkYXrNHBOt9fS08gaL-ahRzJt3Xzy2SWWNDKtcjhvJHX9-rGSNrSUZR2hZ_HhHxw3pfe7SpmRwgTdfKAWFSXo/s1600/big-brother-is-watching.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFyxSTrvMcAiuGmkeb7BE3qYeP3tdodE-U4Q20sM4Ni0veh400c-M-CthkYXrNHBOt9fS08gaL-ahRzJt3Xzy2SWWNDKtcjhvJHX9-rGSNrSUZR2hZ_HhHxw3pfe7SpmRwgTdfKAWFSXo/s400/big-brother-is-watching.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509393027297630242" /></a>Well ... the 9th Circuit Court of appeals has done it<br />again. This is quite frightening. Courtesy of the DEA, of course.<div><blockquote>They snuck onto his property in the middle of the night and found his Jeep in his driveway, a few feet from his trailer home. Then they attached a GPS tracking device to the vehicle's underside.<br />After Pineda-Moreno challenged the DEA's actions, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled in January that it was all perfectly legal. More disturbingly, a larger group of judges on the circuit, who were subsequently asked to reconsider the ruling, decided this month to let it stand.</blockquote></div>So we can watch you from traffic or CCTV cams, we can track you through OnStar without your consent. They can now attach a GPS to your car and watch you where ever you go.<blockquote>In fact, the government violated Pineda-Moreno's privacy rights in two different ways. For starters, the invasion of his driveway was wrong. The courts have long held that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes and in the "curtilage," a fancy legal term for the area around the home. The government's intrusion on property just a few feet away was clearly in this zone of privacy.</blockquote>Really? So... trespassing no longer applies to others? Or is it only okay for agents of the state when they are watching you ... the little guy?The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-35907164781866907012010-08-24T11:29:00.004-04:002010-08-24T11:43:18.163-04:00Iran: Still Nothing To Worry About.A friend of mine sent me this on facebook and it helps to corroborate what I've been saying for a while: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409611936612020.html?mod=WSJ_hps_SECONDTopStories">Don't worry about Iran</a>. The place is a mess with internal instability and as a result they are not a threat to anyone. In fact, intervention by the west might help to unify the government under the current Iranian Administration and that's the last thing we want to see happen.<br /><br />People want to be free and the Green<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nax6ALUbPLIH3YWrgmIxrZ2lzWSB6ipLxEASOMNK9G2hZIgVHUwFC3lCL0PKYYkH0mU4ymKlV_qJZqNiTqsG_xA_ruJsV9XD3u_bYSXB2b0KjiYgcxaLcSqkpC2X3TYgl8tiHR5KmG2q/s400/grafitti0.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 374px; height: 282px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509001958053380146" /> Revolution movement that was quashed about a year ago was only the first incident that might be coming down the pipe for Ahmadinnerjacket's Administration. Ya see, people are tired of the bullshit over there. The Shah was immensely corrupt, this current government is no less corrupt but wraps itself in the purity of the Muslim State as determined by the Imams. The outcome? Well let's see: You have a pissed off young generation that feels squeezed and controlled by their masters. You have politicians that are beginning to realize that the overthrow of the shah left them with a corrupt state drawing its power from religious tyranny. And you even have some of the Imam's questioning whether or not the path their country is on will lead them to a collapse.<br /><br />I've said it before, I'll say it again. Leave them alone and let the whole thing collapse on itself because it can't help but do otherwise. In fact, this might be one of the few positive things to come out of the invasion of Iraq. With the removal of Saddam Hussein and the current political infighting in Iraq, there is no longer a strong militaristic presence to threaten Iran. Without that fear, Ahmadinnerjacket lost one of the weapons to control his populace.<br /><br />Hell, their own military is shooting down their own lauded drones. Heh ... if the Iranians can shoot them down, I'm quite sure that the US or the Israeli militaries could swat them out of the sky with ease. As long as they are left alone, the system will collapse on its own. Now what comes out of it? We don't know, but it can't be much worse than what we see now.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-19977393738023799002010-08-23T10:42:00.003-04:002010-08-23T10:47:24.905-04:00Justice Dept. called yo.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/AutoBlender%20stuff/Misc-Word.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 394px; height: 500px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/AutoBlender%20stuff/Misc-Word.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/justice-department-seeks-ebonics-experts">The US Justice Dept. is hiring Ebonics experts to decode bugged calls</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Your tax dollars at work. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fo' Shizzle.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know, I've got nothing. </div><div><br /></div><div>*facepalm*</div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-6465971225113742612010-08-23T10:02:00.002-04:002010-08-23T10:41:48.591-04:00The Economics of the "Gender Gap"There has been a lot of hubub over the so-called "Gender Gap" between the payscales of women and men in the workplace in both the US and in some countries in Western Europe. In a culture where it is anything but PC to assume that there are differences between the sexes, there are some interesting notations to be made. Ironically one of which is a rather insightful comment from someone that I completely disagree with on many issues: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer">Peter Singer</a>. Yeah, the guy that basically jump-started the animal liberation movement. But in writing about the differences in pay scale between men and women. He makes a very interesting observation:<blockquote>While Darwinian thought has no impact on the priority we give to equality as a moral or political ideal, it gives us grounds for believing that since men and women play different roles in reproduction, they may also differ in their inclinations or temperaments, in ways that best promote the reproductive prospects of each sex. Since women are limited in the number of children they can have, they are likely to be selective in their choice of mate. Men, on the other hand, are limited in the number of children they can have only by the number of women they can have sex with. If achieving high status increases access to women, then we can expect men to have a stronger drive for status than women. This means that we cannot use the fact that there is a disproportionately large number of men in high status positions in business and politics as a reason for concluding that there has been discrimination against women. For example, the fact that there are fewer women chief executives of major corporations than men may be due to men being more willing to subordinate their personal lives and other interests to their career goals, and biological differences between men and women may be a factor in that greater readiness to sacrifice everything for the sake of getting to the top.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1</span></blockquote>It would seem that Singer makes an interesting evolutionary argument for the difference between men and women. I'm not saying here's right, but it did get the wheels turning a bit. I do respect him for not falling into the typical feminist argument of "THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES!" line that I have heard from people and has actually been espoused by feminist philosophers. To throw a bit of libertarian economics into Singer's argument (which I'm sure would give him a stroke as the guy is a raging socialist and "social justice" advocate): It would seem that, if we accept Singer's argument that males face an evolutionary incentive given our background and genetic programming, we should expect them to have a higher drive to succeed as it increases their potential mate pool. And this isn't that far-fetched given that we know that women in general highly value the stability and ability to provide in a mate. <br /><br />There is also another reason that I've seen advanced by several Economists with some interesting data to back up their statement that: Women make less during their child-bearing years because companies are discounting the value of their labor inputs because the chances are very good that these women are going to want to have children. As a result they are basically lost to the company for at least 12 months. There's not exactly a temp service for a VP of Plant Operations. I can't seem to find the study right off the top of the net, so if someone has a link to the actual paper I'd appreciate you sharing it. What they noted was that this so-called "gender gap" seems to disappear in post-menopausal women ... I found that, extremely interesting. Yes yes, Correlation is not Causation. That doesn't mean it doens't bear more investigation.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 Peter Singer, A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), pp. 17-18. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(H/T to <a href="http://cafehayek.com/2010/08/response-to-an-angry-critic.html">CafeHayek for the Singer bit</a>)</span></div>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-70267924880383392212010-06-06T10:40:00.002-04:002010-06-06T13:20:55.809-04:00This Will End Well...<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/nyregion/03nanny.html?ref=todayspaper">...Right</a>?<br /><br />I mean what could possibly go wrong with regulating a fluid industry like "nannying".<br /><br />*sigh* This will of course increase unemployment in that sector because of the marginally increased difficulty in firing a nanny. If the nanny is in good with the family, we might expect a small drop in employment due to the overtime guarantee provided for in this bill, depending on how the OT is calculated. But the real hit is going to be in those nannies that are on the lower spectrum where in stead of keeping someone around to watch their kids who isn't the best, they simply fire her now and start looking for another candidate who more clearly fits the employer requirements.<br /><br />The Nanny state is now after nannies. Who would have thought? <br /><br />Also: Who are the "Jews for Racial and Economic Justice" listed in the footnote of the article? Why does that name just shriek "Socialist Orgy/Thinktank" to me? Oh ... umm ... yep. <a href="http://www.jfrej.org/">Another group of yammering collectivists</a> is a seemingly apt definition of the group. <br /><br />*sigh* I forgot, markets are evil, workers are slaves, the free exchange of goods/services/ideas is dangerous to society. We must control it, right?The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-47096128213964132702010-06-05T14:52:00.004-04:002010-06-05T15:20:44.433-04:00You're An Asshole!Today's Recipient is one Judge Thomas V. Gainer Jr. from Chicago.<br /><br />Let's do a bit of looking at <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/2354708,thanksgiving-day-crash-charges-dropped-060410.article">this</a> shall we?<br /><br />1.) Cop gets videotaped drinking shots and other beverages before getting into his car.<br />2.) Cop causes an accident resulting in two fatalites.<br />3.) Cop cleared of all charges.<br /><blockquote>Prosecutors made two attempts to prove that Ardelean did. After the two-vehicle fatal crash Nov. 22 in Roscoe Village, Ardelean was charged with misdemeanor DUI -- later upgraded to a felony. But those charges were dismissed when Cook County Judge Don Panarese ruled there was "no indication" Ardelean, who was off-duty at the time, was drunk. Prosecutors reinstated charges after saying they had a lengthy surveillance videotape showing Ardelean drinking five shots and other drinks at a North Side bar shortly before the crash.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Prosecutors also suggested in pretrial hearings that police the night of the crash turned a blind eye to Ardelean's intoxication. Among other things, he wasn't arrested or given a Breathalyzer until seven hours after the crash. But Gainer ruled in April that the supervising officer who ultimately made the arrest didn't have strong enough evidence to do so. Gainer's ruling also suppressed key blood-alcohol evidence.</span></blockquote><br />So what does the judge in this case do? Well he throws out the video evidence of course. <br /><br />Now I ask my readers, if one of us had pulled a stunt like this, what would have happened to us? More appropriately, what would have happened to one of us if we had killed two cops while driving drunk? <br /><br />Remember kids: The cops are not on your side. They are not your friend. They are NOT there to "protect and serve" you.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-20820555380676498632010-06-05T11:30:00.006-04:002010-06-05T11:43:12.456-04:00Antimatter - Planetary Confinement<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/Album%20Art/antimatter-planetaryconfinement.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/Album%20Art/antimatter-planetaryconfinement.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><u><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Artist</u>: Antimatter<br /><u>Album</u>: Planetary Confinement<br /><u>Genre</u>: Dark Atmospheric Rock (Mostly Acoustic<u>)<br />Review</u>: Antimatter is in the vein of Anathema and, to a certain degree, Katatonia. It's a dark, depressive, yet well constructed and frankly a beautiful musical journey. It's relatively slow, but it is cerebral and each stage of the music seems to be very well thought out and considered. It's not heavy. It's not groovy. It's simply very pretty, while being rather dark. The work has some Prog influences but it's not a huge part of the album. Highly recommended for those that like a creative work of rock.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GvnVzt9oaRU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GvnVzt9oaRU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X6UIaQn0mxA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X6UIaQn0mxA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><u>Rating:</u> 4/5The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-39700490274340658282010-06-02T10:35:00.007-04:002010-08-25T15:00:22.880-04:00Ever Heard The Saying...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCG01MioabDBU9A8RnB86HZzHtOQ4lwU1NL0wq9xblyWZhg3VAAHJ18phCimmK6EdwRDdmPUfE1HJ5S4peRozpLNO5_Ihg2PjJYRqgWSnz9gwSwU-asAJB6UOyjjouoH_87vceuRQf3zG/s1600/mlss_mario-hammer.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 362px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCG01MioabDBU9A8RnB86HZzHtOQ4lwU1NL0wq9xblyWZhg3VAAHJ18phCimmK6EdwRDdmPUfE1HJ5S4peRozpLNO5_Ihg2PjJYRqgWSnz9gwSwU-asAJB6UOyjjouoH_87vceuRQf3zG/s400/mlss_mario-hammer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478191499817715218" border="0" /></a>"When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."?<br /><br />VH over at Vulcan's Hammer said something that made me wonder about the psychological nature of the legislative beast.<br /><br />Shall we take a moment to look at the composition of our houses of Congress?<br /><ul><li>214 members (182 Representatives and 33 Senators) list their occupation as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_service" title="Civil service">public service</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">politics</a></li><li>225 (168 Representatives and 57 Senators) list <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law" title="Law">law</a> [www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40086.pdf]</li><li>201 (175 Representatives and 27 Senators) list <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business" title="Business">business</a></li><li>94 (78 Representatives and 16 Senators) list <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education">education</a></li></ul>[via Wiki]<br />Now there is obviously overlap in this because we know that there are not 133 Senators. We can however conjecture that of the upper house there are at least 60-70% that are in the "politics/law" area.<br /><br />I'd like to find a more in depth study of this, but this is good enough for a rough estimate.<br /><br />If I may modify the famous saying at the top of the post:<br />"When all you've got is experience in law/politics every problem looks like it can be solved with a law."<br /><br />We are all prone to do this: I tend to see economics as a primary driving force behind actions and think that markets can solve 99-100% of the worlds problems. We are all looking at things through some sort of colored tint based on what we study, learn, appreciate, and understand. Psychologists see personality types, sociologists see group dynamics and traits, economists see cost/benefit and incentives, etc. and so on; we're all guilty of it to a certain degree.<br /><br />Perhaps that's the problem with Congress and politicians in general. Their view of things is that problems are to be solved with laws, coercion, and force. That is simply how they see things. Not that such a state excuses their actions, but it makes sense and would seem to fulfill Occam's Razor nicely.<br /><br />I wonder who in Congress has a Masters or PhD in Economics. I know that as far as I can tell, the most economically astute person in Congress is actually an MD (Thanks Dr. Paul!).<br /><br />Yes economists disagree about many things. the fight between the Neo-Classicists, Austrians, Monetarists, and Keynesians has been going on for a long long time but at least they hold some sort of understanding of the underlying principles.<br /><br />These people are making policy without any understanding of the basic and underlying principles. That would be like putting me in charge of a five star restaurant's menu. I like food. I even like to dabble in the kitchen a bit, but I sure as hell don't know enough to construct the menu for a high class establishment.<br /><br />Congress is meddling in things they don't understand. They are sticking wrenches in a moving engine in an unlit room. If you keep monkeying with the engine, you're gonna break it.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RpGKP_FsTc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RpGKP_FsTc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />Do you really wanna be sticking a wrench in something like this? I don't.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-68322982586826025552010-05-31T13:28:00.005-04:002010-05-31T13:35:11.510-04:00More Pro-Minimum Wage Nonsense.Oh my... Walter Williams posts up a piece on how minimum wage hurts workers and <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/as00_faleomavaega/Enicallsforwalterwilliams.html">someone in the House throws a hissy fit</a>. Is anyone surprised?<br /><br />I'll just leave this here, because it's ... kind of relevant:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/minimumwage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 492px; height: 382px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/minimumwage.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I mean come on, these people in congress get to decide fiscal and economic policy! <br /><br />And people wonder why we're in a financial mess in this country...<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">H/T to <a href="http://cafehayek.com/2010/05/9771.html">Cafe Hayek</a>.</span>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-33278857934621680102010-05-31T11:57:00.007-04:002010-05-31T12:38:33.906-04:00Some Problems With the "Threepers"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/3per.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 240px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/3per.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>For those of you that are not aware of the existence of what some people call the "Three Percent" movement. They are, for lack of a better description, quasi-revolutionary. I wouldn't say fully, because while they may preach "keep your rifle ready and your powder dry", they aren't out looking to start assassinating public officials or waging open war against the government. Yet.<br /><br />And I think that they serve a very good purpose. They are a fountain of information regarding gun laws, the abuse of police powers, and trying to gauge where politicians lie on certain issues. And , God forbid, a shooting war did start in this country between government agents and armed citizens, I'd probably be supporting them however I could. Politically speaking, they are either libertarians or "conservative republicans" (I still don't really understand what this means).<br /><br />But there is another side to the 3% guys and gals that ... concerns me. In fact it is a concern that largely mirrors my concern with "libertarian" groups in general. While most of the "Threepers" I've come into contact with have been passionate, intelligent people. There are a few ... "moonbats" that exist.<br /><br />Now those of you that are reading this that consider yourselves part of the 3% crowd, please hear me out.<br /><br />I very much enjoy some of the financial and economic discussions. The work on gun rights and political activism for the Second Amendment is priceless. But get the raving loons out of your group! I don't mind people talking about how much the government sucks, I don't mind the discussion about rights. What I mind is people who:<br /><ul><li>Go flying off the hilt about the New World Order and all this other random conspiracy crap, that is a COMPLETE violation of Occam's Razor.</li></ul><ul><li> While I don't object to people holding their religious values. I'm frankly sick and tired hearing that "The END TIMES are nigh!" No one cares, people have been screaming that for ... millennia. I do mean millennia, since the early 100s AD certain Christian groups have been calling for the end times, you haven't gotten it right yet. Please stop treating the most confusing book in the Bible like you understand prophecy, no one's gotten it right yet.<br /></li></ul>I have seen several examples of BOTH of these points of view on blogs that are backing or sympathetic to the movement. (Hell, I'M sympathetic to the movement).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/tinfoil-hat1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 255px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/tinfoil-hat1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>But this presents us with a problem. It's a problem that libertarians have struggled with: how do you get these people out of the party when one of your founding tenants is "free association"? The libertarians have their share of UFO chasing, NWO fighting, tinfoil hat wearing, conspiracy nut cases. And frankly it hurts the movement. It hurts the movement a lot because morons like that end up on TV and the American people go "What the hell? I don't want to be part of this group!"<br /><br />So I pose the question to the Three Percenters: <span style="font-weight: bold;">What are you all going to do?</span> Please keep in mind that I'll back most of you. In fact, I do my best to try and provide a bit more economic education to some of the other blogs that support the 3% movement. But you all still have some kinks to work out. Please consider this constructive criticism.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-2138870865366074472010-05-25T02:14:00.002-04:002010-05-25T02:26:19.530-04:00The Problem With GovernmentThe argument is that:<br /><blockquote>People are flawed and imperfect and some are downright evil. So we have to put other people in charge to rule in order to keep things orderly and productive.</blockquote> The fundamental problem is that those rulers are as flawed, imperfect, or as downright evil as any other "normal" person. According to Hayek's treatise on socialism in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Road to Serfdom, </span>certain kinds of political systems even encourage power-hungry, or fundamentally immoral people to become leaders<span style="font-style: italic;">.</span> So you haven't solved the problem.<br /><br />In fact you've made it worse. You've now given very corruptible people, very very big guns to point at people they find convenient.<br /><br />On the flip side ... is the idea of Anarchism and Free-Market Anarchism really a solution? Is is a practical solution? <br /><br />See it's the last question there that I struggle with. Market Anarchy is essentially flawless in its defense of personal liberty. But is it practical in its application to a small cluster of people? Maybe. But as the size of that "group" of Market Anarchists grows, you will get more and more negative externalities to deal with. <br /><br />Can humans function in a society like that after having a love of authority and a willingness to obey ground into them? Perhaps eventually.<br /><br />Could we build that future? Probably not any time soon. Too many people have made themselves dependent on the coercive and re-distributive actions of the state.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-13828869270330161632010-05-24T23:58:00.011-04:002010-05-25T19:13:24.906-04:00Why "Illegal" Immigration Doesn't MatterSo I've finally decided to blog about this because the Rampant ignorance is simply overpowering. Discussions I've had regarding this topic have sprung up on several forums and message boards over the net and as a result I will be using some of this snippets to make my case why not only is the AZ bill a bad idea, the entire Federal Immigration system needs to be trashed and overhauled.<br /><br />So let's start The_Chef's Talley of the ways that Illegal Immigration doesn't matter.<br /><br />1.) America was founded upon an idea of free choice. Tragically we've become a society of command and control. This country was built by people from every background. Nearly every group of immigrants that first came to these shores worked in jobs that were demeaning or generally undesirable to the current residents of American soil. I cite as examples the influx of Asians that were instrumental in the development of West Coast Railways, Blacks forcibly brought to America as Slaves, Latinos who helped to build the Southwest and actually helped Texas win her independence from Mexico and Santa Ana.<br /><br />The majority of immigrants after the 1840s did not hop over a border or an ocean and suddenly smash their way into the upper crust of society. It took generations of work, sacrifice, and effort for all sorts of certain racial and national groups to work together. As a result our policy should be "Come, come build yourself and your family a better life." Right now we have a policy of "Get The Fuck Out! (Unless you're related to a citizen or have a PhD in a useful field)"<br /><br />So what does it take to become a Legal US Citizen? Funny you should ask:<br /><a href="http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/918/immigration764383.jpg">http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/918/immigration764383.jpg</a><br />Yep a huge freaking flowchart about the Immigration process. Courtesy of Reason Magazine.<br /><br />2.) I've heard the argument from some people that these "illegals" are putting our social programs under additional strain and are hurting the "American Taxpayer". Well congratulations, you have just made an excellent argument against re-distributive public policy. Ya see, when you promise to give free shit to people, more people will want to take advantage of such a system.<br /><br />Welfare, Social-Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. are nothing more than incentive programs. We may not want to call them that, but let's quickly review:<br /><u>Welfare</u>: Provides a subsidy to be poor/below X wage bracket. When you subsidize or incentivize a certain behavior you are bound to get more of it. If you deny this premise, you clearly need to pick up Henry Hazlitt's <span style="font-style: italic;">Economics in One Lesson</span> before trying to digest anything else I have to say.<br /><u>Social-Security</u>: Creates an incentive to spend rather than save. If the Government is going to pay you $X upon retirement, then to maintain a similar standard of living you would not save $X during your labor years. This lack of saving is actually incentivized as well by a Federal Monetary Policy of massive inflation of currency that destroys Savings and harms both the poor and the old people because the prices of goods goes up, while the limited amount of income stays either stagnant or "sticky".<br /><u>Medic</u><u>are/Medicaid</u>: Oh these two fraud and promissory programs are really a debacle. With the rising costs of health care which have largely been due to the actions of the Federal Government, the AMA, and the heavy restriction of medical care and the bureaucracy surrounding it, we are literally just going to hand out cash to people for being ill.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcJ-Y0J69aS-nlFVmlMgNOmygti-aw4ow-c6QhaDLeTBKkgHK-e5gnhLtbu69HXjojF8NLueIRTN6cknojMKM5IG58wTCScJmCTEhqKUf68ZDmxpJsTkGHNIhsqWFnIActGRuVzyUJts6/s1600/socialism.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcJ-Y0J69aS-nlFVmlMgNOmygti-aw4ow-c6QhaDLeTBKkgHK-e5gnhLtbu69HXjojF8NLueIRTN6cknojMKM5IG58wTCScJmCTEhqKUf68ZDmxpJsTkGHNIhsqWFnIActGRuVzyUJts6/s320/socialism.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475075895952317698" border="0" /></a>Now I'm not saying that we should let people die, but the simple fact of the matter is that there has never to my knowledge been a federal government program that comes in under budget, shrinks with time, or creates less red tape. We have helped to incentivize the over-use of medical facilities and procedures, being poor, and not saving. People over-consume a good when the costs are defrayed and it doesn't come out of their pocket.<br /><br />These programs are quite literally going to bankrupt this nation. And I do mean that literally. Our sainted Government has promised tens of trillions of dollars to fund these programs.<br /><br />So if the "illegals" take advantage of our political leader's decision to put a gun in the face of the American people and take their money to hand out to others, then the problem is the collectivized redistribution of resources, NOT the illegals who are hopping the border to work and maybe get a handout. It's not their fault we've created incentives to take advantage of us. IT'S US! WE ARE AT FAULT!<br /><br />3.) Many of the arguments I hear from Right Wingers amount to two things:<br /><blockquote>I.) "They took our jerb.... they teeekk errrr jerrrrrrbbb.. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/they_took_our_jobs_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 274px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/they_took_our_jobs_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>teeeyy tttteeekkkkk errrrrrr jerrbbbbbbbb." This assumes that the jobs "belong" to someone other than the company. They own the job, they can fill it as they please. If they want to put a goddamn giant squid in charge of their Marketing Department that is their business to do so. I don't care if they hire some Mexican to cut lawns, or someone from Nicaragua to pick lettuce, it is THE COMPANY'S job slot to fill.<br /><br />II.) "But ... But ... But they are breaking a LAW!" Well in many states so are you if you're getting a blowjob, having anal sex, modifying your car illegally, not declaring your online purchases on your taxes so that you have to pay sales tax (This can be a felony by the way), if you own "prohibited" firearms in states like Illinois, Cali, or if you ever carry a firearm in a state where it is not legal to do so. LAWS do not decide whether something is morally right or wrong. They determine what politicians have determined to punish. It is "illegal" to do all sorts of things that the government has no business in. So FUCK OFF! The legality of an issue is completely irrelevant to the issue.</blockquote>4.) Markets want to clear. This is very simple Micro/Intro to economics and I find that this argument goes completely over the heads of most people because the majority of people are economic morons. I'm not saying this to demean them per se, I'm saying this because the VAST majority of Americans don't get it, and they don't want to.<br /><br />We know that labor markets are constantly shifting. There are not a static number of jobs. Jobs are constantly created and destroyed. A great example is the shift in labor from NE steel mills to the Dakotas for jobs in rare metal and mineral mining/processing.<br /><br />5.) As part of this discussion one of the guys I was intellectually fencing with hit me with this:<br /><blockquote>So it's OK for a company to reap the rewards of existing in an economy such as the one in the US, where there is need for it's services and people can afford to pay it for it's service, all the while paying wages that would be expected in a much poorer nation? This is unethical to me, and if you can explain why it's not, I'm all ears.</blockquote>Wages are a function of supply and demand. The idea of working for X wage is/should be the determination of the worker and the market for labor.<br /><br />In other words:<br /><br />If person X is willing to work for Y wage, and voluntarily contracts to trade labor for wage at that<br />rate I don't care. If person X is told "You're working for Y wage and you can't say no and you can't leave the company" by his employer then I have a problem with it. Contracting at the point of a gun is not a contract, it's coercion.<br /><br />Normally when it comes to wage, you get what you pay for, the better the wage/benefits, the better the workers you can attract. (No this is not a universal, I'm making a generalization, but one that I feel can be backed up by piles of both <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSncWzz7DQUeJsfddI9y8GmpJTmoKGBKYpibBKxaK2-Xesd1I6v7QYRdtZV32yuNiOQw31Sty9E4GPvBSv-Z7plHQ-NBvX19VEbwLzrHdWpbK99bkFwwGnqlau5xy37oyks9LpYEdZRDc/s1600/minimumwage.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSncWzz7DQUeJsfddI9y8GmpJTmoKGBKYpibBKxaK2-Xesd1I6v7QYRdtZV32yuNiOQw31Sty9E4GPvBSv-Z7plHQ-NBvX19VEbwLzrHdWpbK99bkFwwGnqlau5xy37oyks9LpYEdZRDc/s400/minimumwage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475080746320032162" border="0" /></a>anecdotal examples, economic principles, and mountains of data).<br /><br />Even if he's right, and it IS unethical ... how do you plan on fixing the problem? Minimum wage laws? Those create unemployment in the poorest segments of society and price workers out of the market.<br /><br />The way I see it is that by instituting market reforms across the board and allowing the chips to fall where they may you get better outcomes. Take the medical industry, yes it's expensive, but he majority of groundbreaking research is done in the US, as a result, in order to recoup those losses, the price has to go up a marginal amount.<br /><br />6.) The biggest kicker of all:<br />The US has over 70 TRILLION dollars($70,000,000,000,000) in unfunded liabilities and Government Debt/Debt Interest and you are worried about some poor Latinos jumping the border?! Good GOD! You should be more worried about the US currency/economy collapsing and hyperinflation! <br /><br />If you understood the implications of those debts and liabilities you should be out there calling for the lynchings of 99% of both the Executive and Legislative branches of Gov't!<br /><br />But no, you're complaining about roughly 10 million people who want to stop eating dirt and give their kids a better life. Yeah you're a real American Hero...<br />-------------------------------------------------<br />Keep in mind that I'm talking about very broad and very radical reforms to the status quo. But this country was founded as a series of colonies where people could basically do what they wanted. I don't see why people have to be controlled. Come to the border, bring some sort of ID, we make sure you don't walk in with a nuke or a vial of small pox, and BAM in a month or so, you're a US citizen. That's what the reform needs to be like.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-69447852490974216302010-05-19T14:30:00.003-04:002010-05-19T14:34:42.967-04:00Rand Paul Wins In Landslide!Oh hell yes!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO2cOtk25P40n3Si1RKR5DsylCcASBlrBa9hQCPU3mVDWbOvo6uBcaPS601Jx6I3KFsswU-tH__M5y4J4JtoaWjZEGT5IU3DMi-sxNST0cJGr_hES9GHS_0eoWCpV5j5WQndKijlykVQx/s1600/libertarians-rejoice.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO2cOtk25P40n3Si1RKR5DsylCcASBlrBa9hQCPU3mVDWbOvo6uBcaPS601Jx6I3KFsswU-tH__M5y4J4JtoaWjZEGT5IU3DMi-sxNST0cJGr_hES9GHS_0eoWCpV5j5WQndKijlykVQx/s320/libertarians-rejoice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473050695673479026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Suck it Republican Establishment!<br /><br />Now let's hope he destroys the Dem. Challenger.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-56605311524576371012010-05-16T23:26:00.005-04:002010-05-17T11:30:52.635-04:00Who The Hell Are These Guys?!So in a discussion on an automotive forum about the AZ bill that's gotten so much brouhaha someone pulled out a link to these guys: <a href="http://www.aim.org/">http://www.aim.org/ </a><br /><br />The article was lambasting the birth of children of "illegals" in this country.<br /><br />Their "data", which is more of just rough estimates and napkin math (Not that there is anything WRONG with napkin math), suggest that the "cost to America" of all the babies born to "illegal" mothers is $6 Billion USD.<br /><br />So I ran some rough napkin math of my own:<br />US GDP = $14,600,000,000,000 (14.6 trillion)<br />Illegal Babies = $6,000,000,000 (Allegedly! there are no data sets included in the article as to the actual cost. So in reality they are simply making assumptions that may or may not be supported by any sort of actual economic data. The numbers are all vague and variable.)<br /><br />So aside form the fact that the data set is nonexistent, and the "cost of this is so fucking high ZOMG!" hmmmmm.<br />6/14,600 = 0.0004% of GDP...<br /><br />Cry me a river. And THAT number assumes that their claim of data is actually RIGHT!<br /><br />And while I know this is an ad hominem attack I can't help but point this out: <a href="http://www.aim.org/aim-column/hedge-funds-spark-world-revolution/" target="_blank">http://www.aim.org/aim-column/hedge-...ld-revolution/</a><br /><br />Their moron Editor Cliff Kincaid clearly has NO CLUE how Hedge Funds <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKJgVZdV3jT-nyDBWmoamfp3xsuTkbl4_pWVjQIoyMpMWkTAumsHwHLQCKWuesoJ8kbcWq75oSRfO3yA8dFd4DKTspGlo9ci9gRo5T_n6xaE_vIN0YSdZa3Xzsx9vO_ACtMDwhWTCKrnX/s1600/cliff-kincaid-large.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 141px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKJgVZdV3jT-nyDBWmoamfp3xsuTkbl4_pWVjQIoyMpMWkTAumsHwHLQCKWuesoJ8kbcWq75oSRfO3yA8dFd4DKTspGlo9ci9gRo5T_n6xaE_vIN0YSdZa3Xzsx9vO_ACtMDwhWTCKrnX/s320/cliff-kincaid-large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472079176445011282" border="0" /></a>work. And essentially claims that they are profiting off of misery and encouraging economic collapse in Europe and America. Yeah this guy on the right. He clearly doesn't understand the signaling mechanism that Short Selling provides in the market, nor does he support a truly free market if he wants to get rid of Shorting. I bet he is willing to scream over the housing price/derivative/whatever debacle but does he know that the people that saw it coming first were the short sellers that signaled the market that prices were severely inflated? Bubbles pop and often the short sellers are the ones who see it coming.<br /><br />Personally, I find this aim.org site about as intellectually relevant as Sean Hannity. That is to say: It's not. I don't know who these people are and how they got here ... but ... crawl back to your Republican supporters and leave the actual policy analysis to people that 1.) actually care about the concept of Liberty and 2.) have a clue what economics is.<br /><br />These are the enemies on the Right. We have plenty of enemies on both sides of the party line. These people are just indicative of the typical chest thumping, wrap themselves in the flag, bullshit shoveling, fear mongering Right Wing stereotype.The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.com1