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# Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 5:05:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( Everything Else )

My inhaler ran out on Friday. On Sunday, I started feeling a little fluffy in the chest, so I went out to buy a new Primatene Mist inhaler...only to discover they're pretty much impossible to buy around here (i.e., Charlotte, NC) anymore. I went to three different pharmacies and they all told me the same thing: "We want to stock it, we keep ordering it, but none ever shows up." I went to Eckerd, CVS, and Wal-Mart.

One of the pharmacy assistants offered "I think they're trying to make it better for the environment or sumpin'", which is in line with an article posted on Fark several months back about the federal government requiring manufacturers of these inhalers to stop using CFC propellants by 2008.

After searching several online drug stores, CVS.com finally offered to sell me an inhaler, so I bought 2. The next day they canceled the order and, when I asked why, sent me a mystic e-mail that said they were unable to discuss the reasons for cancellation by e-mail. WTF?

Finally, yesterday, I found one of the SMALL bottles at a CVS about 10 miles away from my house. It was their only one, and the pharmacist told me they only get about 1 bottle/month.

Does anybody know what the hell is going on with this stuff? The manufacturer's website is silent.

# Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Wednesday, March 07, 2007 5:22:51 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Political Junkie )

A woman on a trip to New York was arrested when police mistook her for someone else. They took away the woman's 3-year-old daughter.

The police realized their mistake and let the woman go. But it took them two additional days to get the woman's daughter back to her.

This would never happen in a country with BoSFuT. In the world of BoSFuT, this woman would need only call a local BoSFuT representative, explain the situation, a quick vote would be taken amongst citizens, and the city would forced, at gunpoint if need be, to return the child.

In today's world, the woman is forced to battle for 2 days, with increasing feelings of powerlessness, against the fucktards in the government. In the world of BoSFuT, she has all the power.

# Monday, March 05, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007 12:29:27 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Political Junkie )

The problem with government is that it is the only entity in our lives that has the legal right to use force to achieve its ends.

An example: a man refuses to pay his taxes. The government is legally allowed to force payment by confiscating his property and funds in his bank accounts and anything else of value he may possess. Government is legally allowed to do this because, collectively, we understand that even a minimalist government needs a revenue stream and it has to be paid for somehow. Thus, we allow the government to force the recalcitrant to pay.

You as a citizen have no such right to use force. If you lend your neighbor Bob a snow blower and Bob refuses to return it, you cannot use force to get the snow blower back. You can't beat the shit out of Bob; that's assault and battery. You can't sneak onto Bob's property in the middle of the night and get your blower back; that's trespassing. You can, however, go to the government (i.e., court) and get it to order Bob to give your snow blower back. Now if Bob doesn't comply, the government will use force to make him comply.

Thus, you cannot use force, but government can.

Unfortunately, government is a necessary evil, so We the People grant it power, but put laws in place to prevent government from swaggering too much.

That, at least, is the general principle. But it seems to be working less and less.

I don't need to go into any specifics, but if you open any newspaper you can find dozens of daily examples of government using its power of force unjustly or in direct contradiction of the Bill of Rights. The problem we face as citizens is that we are powerless to stop these things.

Sure, we can vote the bad guys out of office. But it seems like it's always a "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" type of situation. We can file writs of habeas corpus and use the courts in other ways to force the government to stop current actions or make reparations for past actions (that whole "petition the government for a redress of grievances" thing), but this is of limited usefulness. The wheels of "justice" move slowly, and we citizens are never guaranteed a "just" result; we are only guaranteed "due process" and some of us, like Jose Padilla, don't even get that.

If we citizens are doing something the government doesn't like, the government has the power to say "you must stop now" and use force, if necessary, to make us stop doing what it doesn't like. We can be arrested or beaten or shot if we do not comply with the government's "stop now" order.

We citizens have no comparable power and we desperately need it. We need the ability to observe an unjust government action taking place and declare "STOP NOW!" and then use force, if necessary, to make the government stop.

To that end, I propose the formation of The Bureau of Stopping Fucktards, or BoSFuT (pronounced "BOSS FOOT").

Perhaps others may find a more genteel name for this organization. I, myself, see its logo being an enormous foot kicking a tiny ass with the word "government" embroidered on it).

BoSFuT will be empowered to force any government (federal, state, county, city, whatever) or agency thereof to stop doing any action. If BoSFuT makes a stop declaration, any government employee or elected official (hereinafter "fucktard") receiving the declaration must immediately cease the offending action. If he does not, he risks being beaten or shot. Fucktards have no right to question BoSFuT. They must simply obey or they will be forced to obey.

To ensure that BoSFuT itself does not become a corrupt organization, it will have no power to compel government to act. It will only have the power to compel government to stop acting. As a result of stopping a government action, BoSFuT will be permitted to compel the release of prisoners, to compel the return of confiscated property, and to otherwise make right what government has made wrong.

BoSFuT will represent the will of the people in ways that government simply cannot. It will be a purely democratic organization, whereas the country as the whole will remain a republic.

I haven't completely thought out all the specifics, but here's an example of how BoSFuT might work:

The City of Charlotte, NC, holds a referendum to decide on whether or not it should build a new basketball arena. The people vote "nay" on this referendum, but the city government decides the people are wrong and proceeds to build the arena anyway.

That actually did happen a few years back. But in this hypothetical world there is BoSFut. In this world, the citizens of Charlotte don't have to bend over and receive the 130 million dollar cock up their asses for the city council's action. Instead, they petition their local BoSFuT to make this bullshit stop. A vote is scheduled for that very evening. The citizens of Charlotte overwhelmingly vote to stop the city from disobeying them. BoSFuT immediately sends armed enforcement personnel to the houses of Charlotte city council members and forces them -- at gunpoint, if necessary -- to make the phone calls/sign the documents required to cancel the construction of the arena.

Some people will complain that the Charlotte city council may find itself subject to breach of contract lawsuits and fines and penalties and whatnot because of BoSFuT's actions. This is not BoSFuT's concern. All BoSFuT does is stop bad governmental behavior.

Here's another example, from yesterday's news. The Glendora, CA city council votes to make placing campaign signs on public property illegal. A city councilman (who voted for that law) puts his signs on public property anyway. Two teenagers point out the hypocrisy by placing stickers on those signs saying "This sign violates Glendora city ordinance". Incensed, the councilman calls the cops and the teenagers are arrested.

This would never happen in a world where BoSFuT exists. However, if it did, you can bet that the reasonable people of Glendora would immediately petition BoSFuT about this matter. An emergency vote would be taken, and BoSFuT personnel would show up at the police station with weapons drawn to force the police to release the two teenagers.

My only regret is that I could not, in good conscience, allow BoSFuT to beat the shit out of the arresting officer while simultaneously yelling "What the fuck were you thinking, fucktard?" That would just be jackbooted thuggery and one of the points of BoSFuT is preventing jackbooted thuggery.

In a world where BoSFut exists, there would be no Waco. There would be no Ruby Ridge. There would be no Elian Gonzalez. Congressman William J. Jefferson would no longer be in office. The city of New London, CT would be forced to return the property it stole from Susette Kelo.

As you can see, a world with BoSFut is a wonderful place indeed! Write your congress critter today and ask them to sponsor a BoSFut bill. Only you can prevent bureaucrats from fucking up your life.

# Saturday, February 24, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007 9:01:25 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Geek )

Came to the computer, needing to print. Hit print button. No joy. Look at the display. No display. No flashy little lights on the console. All symptoms point to loss of power.

Can't be loss of power. Printer's had power non-stop for almost 2 years. It's even on the UPS.

Look around the room. Computer on. Lights on. House has power. But printer acts like it has no power.

But it can't be power loss. Printer's had power non-stop for almost 2 years.

Scratch head. Apply Occam's razor. Simplest answer is that printer has no power. Sigh. It's pointless and time wasting, but try anyway. Check power connector on back of printer. It's snug. Follow cable. Follow cable over bookcase. Follow cable under chair cushion. Finally get to wall.

Fuck. Printer not on UPS. Printer not plugged in. Wife unplugged printer to charge cell phone. Why cellphone charger needs uninterruptable power? Question for another day.

Sigh. "That's why we ask stupid troubleshooting questions."

Dammit.

# Friday, February 23, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007 12:10:21 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Political Junkie )

I'm quite the hawk, I admit. I'm not fan of diplomacy. I think that, in a lot of cases on the international stage, you should shoot first and ask questions later, especially when you're dealing with an enemy who doesn't give a shit what you say.

That said, I do believe this is a country of laws, and that we citizens of this country have certain inalienable rights. And I further believe that protecting these rights trumps any need the government may have to investigate or prevent terrorism.

So, with that in mind, I am absolutely flabbergasted at the ongoing case of Jose Padilla.

For those who don't know, Padilla is a native-born American citizen who was arrested in 2002 in Chicago. He was held for two days on a material witness warrant, and then President Bush declared him to be an "enemy combatant", whereupon Padilla was thrown in a Naval brig in South Carolina where he has been held, without charge, for 3 and a half years.

The Cato Institute has a nice summary of Padilla's situation.

Not only is Padilla's case an example of what a clusterfuck the Bush administration has become, it is also the reason that I have to eat some crow.

I do not like crow.

When Padilla was first arrested, I felt strongly that it was necessary. I felt strongly that the executive branch -- which, after all, does the actual job of enforcing laws and waging war -- needed the power to arrest and detain enemy combatants -- even U.S. citizens -- in order to obtain information from them.

Mea culpa. I should have known better. It is one of the cornerstones of my political philosophy that you should never, under any circumstances, grant the government a power that allows it to trump any of your constituational rights. And yet I was willing to allow the 5th amendment (Padilla has been "deprived of...liberty...without due process of law") and the 6th amendment (Padilla has been denied the "right to a speedy and public trial") to be cast aside in the name of national security.

Padilla's case is precisely the reason that the 5th and 6th amendments were written in the first place. The 5th amendment keeps the government from throwing "inconvenient" people in jail for no reason*. The 6th amendment forces the government to prove to the citizenry that hanging on to you is a good idea once they come up with a good reason. Note the inherent distrust of government that runs through the Bill of Rights. We should never lose sight of the fact that only government is allowed to use force to achieve its goals, and that the Bill of Rights seeks to put limits on force that would, otherwise, run unchecked.

My error should serve as a reminder to everybody: our country is a wonderful place, but we should never trust those people to whom we grant power, even if they are the ones we voted for.


* It also keeps the government from killing you and taking your stuff.


# Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 3:28:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Political Junkie )

Sorry for the lack of posts. The MBDU (that's Marital Bliss Dispenser Unit, for my non-geek friends) and I have been gearing up for baby!

But while I have your attention: Walter Williams has an excellent piece on Townhall today talking about idiotic ideas like "if it will save just one life, it's worth it." He wisely points out that people who do things to "save just one life" see only the benefit while ignoring the cost. Check it out here.

# Saturday, February 10, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007 11:11:32 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Chef )

I was at the grocery store this morning, wondering just what in the heck I was going to make for dinner tonight.

I thought about pasta. And then I started making up a sauce in my head -- cream, eggs, gruyere cheese; all good stuff! -- but it wound up being too complicated. I wanted to enjoy my Saturday, not spend 25% of it in the kitchen.

And then my eyes fell on it: a staple of modern American cuisine, but so often forgotten about.

I refer, of course, to the chicken.

Not a cut-up chicken. Not boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Not wings. But an entire chicken, weighing about 4 pounds.

I had to have it and whisked it off to the cashier.

An entire chicken is an immensely useful thing in the kitchen. Let's see how I'm going to get 3 wonderful meals out of one 4-pound bird.

Tonight, I made roast chicken, one of the simplest things one can prepare. I slathered the skin down with butter, salted and pepper it, stuffed some cut up apples into the cavity (optional), then shoved it into the oven. I roasted it at 500 degrees for 20 minutes (to get the skin brown and crisp) and then lowered the temperature to 350 until my meat thermometer showed that the thigh meat was 175 degrees.

That bird was perfect. Delicious in every way. I made some gravy from the drippings, poured that over some mashed potatoes, and served with some steamed broccoli. And with that, we had an absolutely delightful meal with only three main ingredients (some butter, flour, and cream were secondary players).

I removed all the rest of the meat from the carcass and then put the carcass in a stock pot along with some onions, a bouquet garni, and some peppercorns. Voila: chicken stock. That, plus some noodles, and some of the leftover meat will make meal number 2: chicken noodle soup.

Finally, meal number three will be that pasta with cheese sauce I was dreaming of in the grocery store...only now it will have a the rest of the leftover chicken mixed in.

Three meals consisting of 3-4 ingredients. One bird. Happy tummies. Life is good.

# Thursday, February 08, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007 5:05:17 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) ( The Philosopher )

I've been watching a lot of videos of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris on YouTube and Google video lately. While I'm not an atheist, I think these two guys have a lot of very, very good things to say. Even if you find their ideas offensive, you should still watch.

I started with this material because I grow increasingly weary of government making decisions about my life based on religious faith. Obviously, this sucks, especially if you don't share the faith of the decision maker. Harris makes the point that -- I'm paraphrasing -- you wouldn't want someone making decisions about nuclear first strike policy if that person believes that Jesus is coming back in the next 50 years and it will be glorious.

My favorite thing I've heard so far is this. It's from Sam Harris. It's short and to the point:

We have to undermine the dogma of faith. We have to repudiate this idea that beliefs can be sanctified by anything other than evidence and arguments.

Amen to that.