URLs du Jour

2012-01-25

  • I was gratified to see this opening to a post by Prof Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek:
    Unlike most people in my line of work (and I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit this fact), I cannot bear to watch politicians speak – and I especially cannot tolerate watching any President of the United States deliver the so-called “State of the Union” address. That address is invariably a series of statements that are often downright false and always insulting to the intelligence of people with I.Q.s higher than that of sea slugs. And beyond all that, all State of the Union addresses grate like fingernails on a chalkboard to anyone who has no desire to be a happy cog in the Great Collective as it is portrayed and lauded by our Leaders.
    Hey, me too! (And I left a comment to that effect.) But Don has a pile of great links worth your attention.

  • Speaking of the Great Collective: apparently President Obama wishes the Body Politic could be more like the military, noting that "Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops.”

    I can't read that without wondering if he's more-than-idly wishing that his powers as Commander-in-Chief extended to civilians too? Ed Driscoll notes: "it’s the latest reminder that Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism was meant as a warning, not a how-to guide."

  • I took an online quiz and…

    How Thick Is Your Bubble?

    View user's Quiz School Profile
    Guest
    Score :7 out of 20 (35% )
    Result
    On a scale from 0 to 20 points, where 20 signifies full engagement with mainstream American culture and 0 signifies deep cultural isolation within the new upper class bubble, you scored between 5 and 8.

    In other words, you can see through your bubble, but you need to get out more.

    This is in support of Charles Murray's new book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 which I've stuck on my (very large) stuff-to-read list.

    Sample question: "Have you ever held a job that caused a part of your body to hurt at the end of the day?" ("Hm… how about my brain? Does that count?")

  • Good news: Congress has lost its enthusiasm for SOPA/PIPA (at least for now). Since I last reported, my CongressCritter, Frank Guinta, sent me mail pointing to his YouTube response and included the following text:
    In SOPA's current form, the well-intentioned desire to stop online piracy would actually open a Pandora's Box of problems for Internet security, free speech online and restricted innovation. We all agree Internet piracy is a costly crime and should be stopped. But trampling on the First Amendment while harming a resource that's vitally important to all Americans isn't the way to do it.
    So good for Frank.

    Our state's Senator Kelly Ayotte dropped her support (and her co-sponsorship) for the Senate-side PIPA legislation, although she didn't bother to send me mail about it yet. (Hmpf!) So good for Kelly, too.


Last Modified 2022-10-05 7:28 AM EDT