Archive for March, 2010
St. Croix County Supervisor Elections
Posted by: | CommentsLooks as if the incumbents have something to fear.
They voted to allow the Green Police to enter citizens homes on what? Suspicions? The word of a neighbor expert? Someone who doesn’t agree with them politically? Next, they will want citizens to have papers to travel from city to city. Folks, this is a slippery slope and we have to stop this. This was narrowly defeated.
Vote for CHANGE!
Incumbent Gene Ruetz voted for it. Stan Kruger the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Dave Otsness voted for it. Lorin Sather the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Sharon Norton-Bauman voted for it. Chris Kilber the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Roger Rehebholz voted for it. Peter Post the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Daryl Stanafer voted for it. Curt Weese the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Buck Malick voted for it. Mark Pribonic the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Incumbent Ken Kolbe voted for it. Robert Shearer the challenger is the one you should vote for.
Religious Correctness
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This coming Friday, the convoluted Christian calendar celebrates one of the most inane traditions in all of human history: Easter. How many actually believe the myth that a dead man got up and wandered about before floating miraculously into the netherworld is unknown. What is known, is that in order to truly take this myth seriously one must also admit their self-delusional status. Of course, few actually do realize their duality and go on to buy the whole plastic banana including virgins who give birth, seas that part at ones command, and rivers running with milk and honey… Such evangelicals spend their days waiting (now some 2000 odd years) for this cat’s rebound from said netherworld to save their sorry asses. That would be their description of themselves, not mine.
Now there is no doubt that there are plenty of people who go to buildings to supposedly worship this supernatural occurrence, but I suspect few actually believe it in their hearts. Most people are far too immersed in reality to honestly believe such supernatural baloney – they know it simply is not historical fact nor possible in the real world of profit and matter. Most understand that it is myth conjured up by modern mystics as delivered not through revelation, but rather through the pipeline of mystics running some 2000 years.. But for an hour or two they pretend, and incredibly drag their unsuspecting children with them. Such is a form of child abuse, but of course no one calls them on it. Well, except me.. It is, damn it.
The truth of the matter is that in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established our modern calendar, fixing the rules determining the date of Easter. This year Easter falls on April 4th, but in any given year it can jump around by as much as a month on the Gregorian calendar. So much for the anniversary of a supposed historical event… But what is truly incredible about all of this is the utter hypocrisy: the Catholic Church persecuted Galileo for defending the very ideas on which its Easter reform depended. Pope John Paul II did his best to back peddle on this, admitting that his predecessors had been wrong,. At least he had the good sense to call the Catholic persecution of Galileo a “sad misunderstanding” that “now belongs to the past.” Well, the whole damn Easter holiday is nonsense – a “sad misunderstanding.”
Well, actually, it is a grave historical error that also, clearly, belongs in the past..
So, I found it rather amusing that one week before this idiotic masquerade the city of Davenport, Iowa decided to remove Good Friday from its municipal calendar. And of course the faithful and the civil servants screamed bloody murder. The faithful that anyone should challenge their mystic holiday, the civil servants because they get the day off! Apparently, the Davenport City Administrator took it upon himself (probably not a good idea in Iowa) to unilaterally change Good Friday to Spring Holiday. Hmmm, methinks the Administrator may need some of that resurrection magic. Soon.
What is odd about the whole story, is that the holier than thou crowed is screaming that this renaming of Good Friday to Spring Holiday is a reflection of political correctness. Well, I find that too cute by half. What is actually going on here is religious correctness. If anyone dares challenge these mystics on the reality of what they engage in, they are immediately labeled a bigot, a crank, a left wing lunatic, and above all a manipulator enabled by political correctness. Apparently, PC is some dark force conjured up by the negative good; the Devil himself, perhaps.. But of course the whole notion of evil is a rather difficult subject for Christians, so I won’t belabor that point..
Well, it appears that the mystics will have their Good Friday as the City Council in Davenport balked and will not support the Administrator (story here). And that is sad, because here was a guy merely attempting to right an historical error. Perhaps he is committed to reason as an absolute principle. Perhaps he follows facts wherever they lead, and doesnt grant other men the terms of reason. Perhaps his only guide is logic and reality. Perhaps he clearly understands that mindless obedience demanded by religion is incompatible with the way the world actually works, and that rational thinking is what all of human progress and prosperity comes from.
Perhaps.
.
Peter Schiff – Commerce Clause
Posted by: | CommentsAnother hit out of the ball park by the one and only Peter Schiff..
I-gaga.., you?
Posted by: | CommentsDingell Says ObamaCare Will Eventually ‘Control the People’
Posted by: | CommentsKeynes – Hayek Rap!
Posted by: | CommentsA Declaration of Dependency – welcome to the dark ages.
Posted by: | CommentsWe are in a situation that proves once again the failure of central banking. These know-it-all, self-righteous, punks who serve on the Federal Reserve Boards around the county and, in particular, Heli-Ben, were not planning on passage of the Health Care bill. Please go back and review the odds of this nightmare, this Declaration of American Dependency, passing.. When the Fed was tinkering, dare I say massively intervening into the economy, the chances of passage were very low. There is simply no way they were engaging in policy premised upon passage.
Let me restate this: Do you think that their overt inflation of the money supply would have been altered had they known 12, 18, 24 months ago that passage of this idiotic bill was a certainty???
Ladies and gents, the Fed was in a pickle regardless the outcome of last night’s vote. But now, now we are all in the jar with them and the cover is tightly sealed. You cannot run, you cannot hide. There is no amount of prayer, worship, or meditation that will keep one of the new 16,500 IRS agents from peering into your health care coverage – just to make sure it is “adequate.”
I cannot help but to advise you to run for your life. The lights on that hill that Ronald Reagan spoke about flickered, buzzed, and went completely out last night… we are now officially in the Dark Ages, part deux.
Remember This Night..
Posted by: | CommentsFor it is the eve of what may very well be the 2nd American Revoloution..
If the democrats pass this incredibly irrational piece of shit know as the health care bill, it should be the lighting of the proverbial fuse that results in an amazing sequence of events. There are turning points and hinges in history, this is without a doubt a profound one.
I for one plan on losing some people that heretofore I considered “friends.” I will be asking people who they voted for, and if they supported this nightmare. If they answer Obama and/or Yes. That’s it, its FUCK YOU ASSHOLE and Good bye. I am getting a very strong sense of what it must have felt like to live in the south just prior to the start of the war for southern independence..
Folks, this is the time when all honest men and women need to stand up and start judging. Forget all that bullshit about thou shalt not judge! If you don’t judge your neighbors and your elected representatives on this, then shame on you! You will be part of the sinking of this formerly great county damn it!
Rep Ryan Sets Record Straight..
Posted by: | CommentsDr. Danielson fires back at supporter of the vicious Amazon Tax..
Posted by: | CommentsThe Denver Post published a slew of letters on the “Amazon Tax” today, the lead letter states:
I’ve heard Amazon.com’s talking points about how horrible Colorado is for taxing people who do business online but don’t pay sales or other taxes to the state where they derive their revenue. They say nexus legislation will cost us jobs. The reality is online predators such as Amazon.com don’t pay their fair share of taxes and suck dollars out of local communities that normally go to funding parks and park maintenance, police services, local jobs, and other programs that improve our quality of life.
The real issue is how international online retailers continue to get away with tax-dodging while our local businesses — companies that do pay local taxes, create local jobs, hire local people, and fund local services — can’t compete with these online giants. These predators have sold books and other products below wholesale cost to dominate a market while being subsidized by the U.S. government and states with outdated tax laws. Fair taxation helps level the playing field for independent business people and helps local communities survive.
Next time you hit a pothole your city can’t fix, thank Amazon.
Eric Grimm, Colorado Springs
Dr. Danielson replied to Mr. Grimm as follows:
Dear Grimm,
First of all, to characterize Amazon Inc as a “predator,” is beyond ludicrous. Amazon is a for-profit business working very hard to make money and be successful in the marketplace. They employ many people and strive very hard to make a profit, the very thing that creates any and all innovation and product or service improvement. Without online retailers such as Amazon, many authors and book buyers would have little access and less impetus to earn a living as a writer, or to become enlightened and entertained through reading great books. The market for books is incredibly larger today due precisely to their presence, innovations, and cost structures. Everyone wins, except unprofitable or inefficient book dealers who seem to think, as inefficient family farmers do in certain places, that they are owed a living merely due to the fact they walk, talk, and breath; realities of supply, demand and real costs to be damned. To characterize an innovator who has enriched the lives of, and caused great increases in the standard of living for, millions around the world as predatory is no different to calling Microsoft or Apple predators; incorrect, ignorant, and irrational.
Next, you wail that Amazon does not pay its fair share of taxes. Without engaging you in this nebulous concept of “fairness,” please note that Amazon is a Washington state based company with zero physical presence in the State of Colorado. They have no reason, obligation, or duty to pay a penny of tax to any entity outside of the taxing jurisdiction in which they live. You are profoundly ignorant of the fact that Amazon pays huge sums of tax in that jurisdiction, as well as to the federal government (amounts far greater than any direct benefit they receive back). Moreover, we live under a federal constitution here in the United States that requires all taxation across state lines to be equitable; imposing taxes on a Washington corporation to the singular benefit of Colorado flies squarely in the face of this important constitutional provision. You need to check your premise, it is severely flawed.
Lastly, you state that there are direct subsidies (tax dollars) flowing to Amazon and that Amazon sells its products below wholesale cost. Again, you are simply ignorant of the facts of accounting and finance, as well as to the realities of our tax code AND the constitution. Amazon does not receive any direct tax subsidies from the government, so you are simply wrong. Such is the same misinformed notion that would argue parents of school children ought not be credited for what they pay in tuition to a private school because that would be construed as a “subsidy” for private schools – never mind the fact that without such a credit for what has already been paid, the parent is compelled by the heavy hand of the state to pay TWICE for education! The facts are that Amazon sells its goods and services at prices that meet the market and provide a profit – great and virtuous things! It is local retailers who, if they charge significantly higher prices, gouge the public under some idealistic, pollyanna, notion of the bygone days of quaint book sellers who are owed a living, and ought to be immune from any competition, simply because of their mere existence.
Amazon is a fantastic company that is being unfairly and viciously attacked by the legislature of Colorado. Amazon is the victim here of this attack, and the many Colorado associates are sadly collateral damage.
Bil Danielson
Loveland, Colorado
Way to go Dr. D.!
The Austrian View Of Insurance – required reading (especially now..)
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been some time since I last read this article by Dr. Hoppe, but it is timeless and very relevant to the current national debates regarding unemployment insurance AND health insurance…
Any insurance involves the pooling of individual risks. Under this arrangement, there are winners and losers. Some of the insured will receive more than they paid in premiums and some will pay more into the system than they ever get back. This is a form of income redistribution from the healthy to the sick, but the characteristic mark of insurance is that no one knows in advance who the winners and losers will be. They are distributed randomly or unpredictably, and the resulting income redistribution within a pool of insured people is unsystematic.
If this were not the case if it were possible to predict the net winners and losers the insurance losers would not want to pool their risk with the insurance winners; they would seek to pool their risk with other “losers” at lower premiums.
In retrospect: Were Tiger Woods’ transgressions “selfish”?
Posted by: | CommentsIn short, NO!
I think this is an important discussion because all across the land, and particularly in Christian circles-although not exclusively-Tiger Woods’ moral transgressions are routinely referred to as selfish, immoral acts. As if “selfish” behavior is logically tied to, or the equivalent of, immoral behavior. The reality is that this is truly non-thinking confusion and could not be further from the truth.
In a reply to a very well-written article by Penn State undergrad Rituparna Basu out at the UnderCurrent, I make the distinction thusly:
Do not confuse hedonism with selfishness.. The key here is to clearly understand that all of the measurable, tangible, real accomplishments of individuals such as Tiger Woods were due to his application of rational self-interest, aka selfishness. The degree Tiger applied himself to the real world; to the physics of golf ball flight, to the biomechanical and physiological aspects of athletic training, and the intellectual discipline necessary for mental focus resulted in the professional accomplishments we all marvel over and that he publicly and, to my understanding, privately laid out as long term, rational, goals.
To the extent he engaged in the pursuit of irrational, non life-serving, values by essentially engaging in hedonism-the mere emotional act of doing whatever makes one “happy” at the spur of the moment-was not selfish and clearly had life threatening consequences that were/are inconsistent with his rational self-interested goals. One ought not confuse merely instant gratification regardless the consequence with meaningful and thoughtful pursuit of long range goals that actually are life-sustaining and not personally destructive.
While the immediate consequence of lying, cheating, or stealing might be pleasurable to a human’s senses the long range consequences are almost always life threatening (life includes the concept of individual liberty, e.g. if you are jailed for theft). Therefore, lying, cheating, and stealing are not life sustaining actions and cannot be considered “selfish” actions.
I think an appropriate reference here to Ayn Rand is useful: “To take “whatever makes one happy” as a guide to action means: to be guided by nothing but one’s emotional whims. Emotions are not tools of cognition. . . . This is the fallacy inherent in hedonism–in any variant of ethical hedonism, personal or social, individual or collective. “Happiness” can properly be the purpose of ethics, but not the standard. The task of ethics is to define man’s proper code of values and thus to give him the means of achieving happiness. To declare, as the ethical hedonists do, that “the proper value is whatever gives you pleasure” is to declare that “the proper value is whatever you happen to value”–which is an act of intellectual and philosophical abdication, an act which merely proclaims the futility of ethics and invites all men to play it deuces wild.” (Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness, “The Objectivist Ethics”.)
So, the answer to Rituparna’s question of whether these men’s actions can be considered selfish is very straightforward: NO.
Diana Hsieh on Hope and Change…
Posted by: | CommentsDiana Hsieh (NoodleFood), who has a PHD in Philosophy from the University of Colorado, discusses how we ought to beware the buzz words of the statists who would take your liberty away using with catch phrases such as, “it’s for the children”, “upholding moral standards”, or “protecting us from harm.”
Dr. Hsieh’s videocast is a pleasing diversion from the gobbledygook all around us!
