Fuki Blog

Psycho-Bitches.com

2006-03-12T00:14:00.000-06:00

Have you ever dated a psycho bitch? If so, you have to visit this site:

Psycho-Bitches.com

If you don't ever want to date a psycho bitch, then visit this site:

Psycho-Bitches.com

Looking for me?

2005-04-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

As you can tell, I am no longer maintaining this blog. However, I am in the process of starting a new blog called One Billion Red Chinese and a Dog Named Liberty. Please stop by and check it out.

Pearl Harbor Day

2004-12-07T15:40:00.000-06:00

On this somber day, let us not forget all our fallen soldiers and sailors lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

My Desktop

2004-12-03T20:25:00.000-06:00

Here is the pic currently gracing my desktop:

I Survived

2004-11-29T08:52:00.000-06:00

OK, I managed to survive the week long holiday that has emerged from what was once Thanksgiving. I was completely isolated from current events, so give me a chance to catch up and I'll get started.

Holiday Hiatus

2004-11-23T11:28:00.000-06:00

I am taking the week off as I will be traveling for the holidays and will have limited Internet access.

Wow! It's Not Even My Birthday

2004-11-19T10:54:00.000-06:00

I can only hope that this comes to pass:

UN staff to make historic vote of no confidence in Annan
(AFP)

19 November 2004

UNITED NATIONS - UN employees were readying on Friday to make a historic vote of no confidence in scandal-plagued Secretary General Kofi Annan, sources told AFP.

The UN staff union, in what officials said was the first vote of its kind in the more than 50-year history of the United Nations, was set to approve a resolution withdrawing its support for the embattled Annan and UN management.

Annan has been in the line of fire over a high-profile series of scandals including controversy about a UN aid programme that investigators say allowed deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to embezzle billions of dollars.

But staffers said the trigger for the no-confidence measure was an announcement this week that Annan had pardoned the UN's top oversight official, who was facing allegations of favouritism and sexual harassment.

Full Story

(via Instapundit)

Girl Friday

2004-11-19T01:01:00.000-06:00

"Stop the car! That's Tyra Banks, fool!"

Bizarre Taxes

2004-11-18T18:48:00.000-06:00

I hate paying taxes of any shape or form, but the guys over at Freedom Works have put together this list of the most ridiculous taxes from around the country.

If you know of any other ridiculous taxes, let me know.

(via Where HipHop and Libertarianism Meet)

Tort Reform Redux

2004-11-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

$128.8 billion. That is the annual cost of lawsuits and liability insurance for American businesses, with small businesses paying almost half of that.

I am neither a lawyer nor an economist, but I don't think you need to be in order to realize that we have a problem in this country. Our civil legal system has basically become just another state sponsored lottery where lawyers and frivolous plaintiffs hope to get 7, 8, or even 9 figure judgments.

Just last month, I was summoned for jury duty for a multimillion dollar lawsuit being filed against Pirelli Tire and Sears. The case involved a tread separation and the death of two individuals. Here is the problem though: it was not a new tire, it was used. Although Sears had originally sold the tire, it since been run for x-amount of time and then sold to a third party used tire dealer, who then later resold and mounted it on the vehicle in question.

So, even though Sears only sold the tire in "new" condition and had nothing to do with it after that point, they were being drug into court, while that used tire reseller sat at home scratching his ass because his pockets weren't deep enough. I was of course shocked to learn during the voir dire that Texas (and assembly many other states) allow plaintiffs to bring suit against "innocent sellers." Needless to say, I expressed my distaste for this along with my belief in jury nullification and I didn't make the cut.

Cases like this happen everyday in this country. Activist judges allow nonsensical cases to proceed on the flimsiest pieces of evidence. Lawyers get rich on class action lawsuits that pay them millions while those supposedly wronged get sometimes as little as a couple of dollars.

The system is broken and needs fixing, the question is can it be done?

Tort Reform

2004-11-17T08:48:00.000-06:00

I am still working on my promised post on tort reform, but I will have it up by the end of the day.

UPDATE: My apologies for the lack of a promised post. I was unavoidably detained all day doing volunteer work at AMVETS helping create holiday gift baskets for the elderly. (Call me crazy, but I find it more satisfying actually helping someone myself rather than relying on the government to use the money stolen from me to help someone.)

I REALLY promise to have it posted tomorrow.

Say No to Internet Access Taxes

2004-11-16T17:46:00.000-06:00

Be sure to join the National Taxpayers Union in urging the House of Rep. to pass S 150.

The New Libertarian

2004-11-16T10:58:00.000-06:00

For those of you who, like me, find much to dislike about the LP, there is an interesting site called "The New Libertarian."

It makes for interesting reading, though I do not necessarily agree with all of their positions, I do agree that much reform needs to occur within the LP if it is ever to move out of the distant third place spot it now holds to become a more viable national party.

For the most part, I find that most of my disagreement with the LP stems from my "Objectivist tendencies." I am sure that many of you out there that consider yourselves small l libertarians have your own reasons for breaking with the LP.

Please feel free to let me know what you like or dislike about the LP and what you think should be done to reform it. The short answers can be placed in the comments section; more detailed answers can be emailed and I will post them on my blog with a link back to your blog if you have one.

Social Security

2004-11-16T10:08:00.000-06:00

As most of you know Social Security, which is the Golden Idea of American Socialism, was brought into existence back in August 1935 with the stroke of FDR's pen. The original intent was to provide for retirees, but as is the want of all government programs it soon spread in its scope. In 1939, it was amended to cover the spouses and children of these retirees as well. Never enough, in 1950 further changes were made to ensure double digit increases in the benefits amounts. Still this was not enough. In 1954, "disabled" workers were added to the dole.

Surely now this would be enough. No such luck. Next in line was the creation of Medicare in 1961, which became so large and bloated that it was spunoff as its own program in 1977. Since then numerous other changes have come about, some adding to the program, some limiting it, but not since the Greenspan Commission of the early 80s has government sat down and taken a serious look at the problems of the system.

The problem is that the program, much like kudzu, has grown to envelop so much of daily life here in the US that it alone is responsible for 5% of the US's economic output. I personally find this outrageous. What I find even more outrageous is the mandatory nature of the program. I have no choice but to pay into the system. I don't know about you, but I am quite certain that would be better positioned to plan for my own retirement than the government and I definitely could better invest my money.

So why is there such a fight over the partial privatization of Social Security? The answer is because it is just a big ponzi scheme. Yep, this same plan would land you or me in a jail cell, but for the US government it is business as usual.

Pres. Bush is in for the fight of a lifetime because SS has become known as the "third rail" of American politics. Fortunately for us, he has no further political aspirations beyond his second term and can take the steps necessary to fix the problem now, rather than just passing it off for others to fix down the road.

Tax Overhaul

2004-11-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

I was more than pleased when W announced his plans for a MAJOR overhaul of the current tax system. Of course, this is a case where we are working with a difference of definitions.

Pres. Bush would probably consider his current course of across the board marginal rate lowering a "major" overhaul of the system. I, on the other hand, while considering this welcome change, certainly would not label it "major" overhaul.

In the President's defense on this matter, that may be all he can muster. The progressive income tax is the cornerstone of the modern liberal redistributionist schemes and the ATM card for the governmental nanny state of both the left and right. He can expect the fight over any major change of this system to be brutal, perhaps even more so than the battle over Social Security reform. Tearing down the golden symbol of American socialism is one thing, but dismantling the "progressive" tax system that makes it and countless other nanny state programs possible, is an entirely different animal.

Pres. Bush can expect the class warfare to reach levels of ferocity beyond anything US troops have yet encountered in Afghanistan or Iraq. American socialism has grown and thrived since the 1930s. It is so entrenched in the American mindset, that its attempted removal will inspire leftist hatred that makes that of the last four years look like a Sixties "love-in." If you think Pres. Reagan was reviled for his tax cuts, just wait until there is an attempt to scrap the current system.

This, of course, brings me to my definition of "major." The tax system as it now stands is so distorted and corrupt that it would feel more at home in the UN under the guidance of Kofi than in the land of the free and home of the brave. It has far passed the time for us to level the current tax system much as if it were a Hamas hideout standing before a row of Israeli dozers. It is time to lay waste to the 16th Amendment and bring down that behemoth that is the IRS. The system as it stands is a cancer beyond treatment. Not even aggressive chemo will work; it is time to amputate.

With that monstrosity out of the way, we could implement something bold and exciting. Many would like to see something along the lines of Dick Armey's Flat Tax. For me, this doesn't go far enough because the IRS and the 16th Amendment would remain in tact and system would be under immediate assault by those wishing to twist and distort it into something resembling what we now have.

Personally, I would like to see something closer to the Fair Tax which is basically a national consumption tax. Yes, this idea has some problems, but they are problems that could be worked out much easier than the problems of our current system could be fixed. The larger point here is opportunity.

America was founded as a land of opportunity and it is past time for us to take advantage of that opportunity and scrap the current system for something better suited to how we now live.

UPDATE: There's an interesting discussion of taxation over at An Inclination to Criticize.

UPDATE 2: I posted this over at Blogcritics.org

Gmail Invites

2004-11-14T17:13:00.000-06:00

As promised earlier, now that I have some Gmail invites to give out, I am offering them to my readers.

If you are interested, shoot me an email at fukiblog@yahoo.com

Priority goes to my older readers, but I have several so your chances are good. I will announce the lucky recipients later this week.

Pawn Shops Serve a Public Function

2004-11-12T12:12:00.000-06:00

Here is a very interesting article concerning the morality of Pawn Shops and the effect of government regulation on them.

Do yourself a favor and check it out, and when you finish take some time to look around the rest of the site.

Better late than never

2004-11-12T11:19:00.000-06:00

Since I wasn't blogging when this article came out, I am a bit behind the eight ball, but thought I would mention it anyway.

A lot has been made of the "moral values" exit polls and because of this, a false correlation was drawn between this and the supposed increase in Evangelicals. The problem is, the numbers just don't back this up, as the above article shows.

As is usually the case, people are quick to make the assumption that morals equates to religion. This however is not always the case. There are millions of people, myself included, that are moral people even though we are agnostic or atheist. We fully understand right and wrong and are capable of doing so without any religious guidance.

Both the left and right would do well to understand this.

Ownership Society

2004-11-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

As President Bush begins his second term, he is setting forth an extremely ambitious agenda. With plans to overhaul the tax system, Social Security, and the abysmal legal system at the top of his to do list, I figured I would do a post about each of these.

In order to set those up however, it is important to understand the basic thought and reasoning behind these plans, namely Bush's call for an "Ownership" society.
President Bush understands correctly, the impact that ownership has on someone. Of course, it doesn't take a world class economist to understand this. Just take a look around yourself at both your own actions and those of others. Who takes better care of their homes, those who own their homes or those who rent their homes? When you take a trip and rent a car, do you treat it with less deference than you do you own car sitting safely back in your driveway? The answers of course are that owners take better care of their own things.

David Boaz, in a paper written for the Cato Institute, "Defining an Ownership Society" takes note of this phenomenon:

People have known for a long time that individuals take better care of things they own. Aristotle wrote, "What belongs in common to the most people is accorded the least care: they take thought for their own things above all, and less about things common, or only so much as falls to each individually." And we all observe that homeowners take better care of their houses than renters do. That's not because renters are bad people; it's just that you're more attentive to details when you stand to profit from your house's rising value or to suffer if it deteriorates.

Indeed, this concept goes beyond the limited examples I have provided. It readily permeates to virtually every facet of life. In virtually every situation, a person will take more care and responsibility for something when that person has a direct stake in the care or performance of item, be it their retirement situation, their health, or their children's future.

From the same Cato paper:

An ownership society values responsibility, liberty, and property. Individuals are empowered by freeing them from dependence on government handouts and making them owners instead, in control of their own lives and destinies. In the ownership society, patients control their own health care, parents control their own children's education, and workers control their retirement savings.

Of course, it is not enough that President Bush understands this concept. He must now have the resolve and courage to fight for the needed reform. The fight will not be an easy one, but it is a necessary one. There will be those on both sides of the aisle working to prevent such reform. Fortunately, Bush has a little bit of experience in fighting the naysayers.

Girl Friday

2004-11-12T01:02:00.000-06:00

Here you go...the real reason people are glad that I have returned to the blogging game:

VFW

2004-11-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

Well, I decided that I would spend today up at the local VFW post. I spent about 4 hours shooting pool and drinking beer with a bunch of old timers.

I never cease to be amazed by the great stories I hear and the good people that I meet anytime I visit a VFW post.

Since I had the good fortune to remain stateside during the Gulf War, I am not eligible to join the VFW, but I did join their offshoot for noncombat vets: AMVETS

It should be a lot of fun.

Veteran's Day

2004-11-11T09:36:00.000-06:00

Once again, Veteran's Day is upon us. I want to send out best wishes to all of my fellow Vets and thank them all for doing their part to keep our country free.

I also want to thank all those brave men and women currently serving both home and abroad.

Thank you all.

Arafat Dead?

2004-11-10T22:04:00.000-06:00

CBS just interrupted CSI:New York to announce that Arafat was dead. I can find no online report of this yet.

If this is true, then I say good riddance to bad rubbish. The guy was a terrorist thug and a disgrace to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Perhaps now headway can be made.

UPDATE: I apparently beat Glenn to the punch by 2 minutes. Sweet!

UPDATE 2: OK, the stories are now being posted. Here is the Fox News version.

Leftist Demorrhagic Fever

2004-11-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

Apparently, the government isn't completely useless. It seems the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been doing yeomens work in identifying a highly contagious and destructive new virus right here in the US:

Leftist Demorrhagic Fever

Still Alive and Kickin'

2004-11-07T13:38:00.000-06:00

For those of you that care, I apologize for my abrupt discontinuance of posting.

When I started blogging, I was in the middle of a career transition which I have now almost completed. I have successfully divested myself of my consulting business and am well underway in my new life as a sourcing agent.

I hope to resume a regular schedule of posting starting in the next few weeks. Of course, I missed all the good stuff in the run-up to the election, but I am sure I can still come up with a thing or two to say.

Please check back for my triumphant return!

Girl Friday

2004-08-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

The lovely Kelly Hu:

Special Request

2004-08-19T10:41:00.000-05:00

A little something to show my appreciation to my gay readers:

Don't get too used to this however, it is a one time deal.

Military Service

2004-08-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

Backcountry Conservative is compiling a list of all current and former military bloggers.

For those of you who don't know, I was a Nuclear Machinist Mate in the US Navy from 1990 - 1996.

If you served, I encourage you to put your name on the list. (Let me know in my comments as well, as I am curious which of my readers served.)

(via Sgt. Hook)

Birthday Girl

2004-08-18T13:22:00.000-05:00

Here is my birthday present to you:

Two Years Behind Schedule

2004-08-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday and I am now officially two years behind schedule on becoming a millionaire. I was supposed to reach that point by thirty.

I have, however, been working very hard on it which is why I have been absent the last couple of days.

Proud New Papa

2004-08-13T19:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the fine author of έχω ζωη, I am now the proud new papa of a baby GMail account.

I feel like one of the anointed ones now. When and if I get invites of my own to give away, I will give you guys the first shot at them.

Blog Partners

2004-08-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

As it is becoming clear to me that as my current business endeavor expands it will take up increasing amounts of my time; I will not be able to post as much as I like. However, I want Fuki Blog to continue to expand and flourish.

Therefore, I would like to turn this into a group blog. Hopefully, there are others who share my same basic views that would like to contribute. If you are interested, shoot me an email and we can discuss it.

Girl Friday

2004-08-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a nice pleasant way to start the weekend:

Another Blow for Freedom

2004-08-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Another "tool" manufacturer has succumed to the "blame illegal activity on the tool maker, not the tool user" crowd today. 321 Studios, makers of DVD copying software gave into the demands of the motion picture industry. Now don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in intellectual property rights, but it is absolutely wrong to attack a software maker for the deeds of its customers.

With victim after victim falling prey to this movement, how long can it be until other "tools" are attacked? They have already began the war against fast-food and guns. What is next?

It is time for the American public to wake up to the assault and say enough is enough. We are fast becoming a society controlled by the thought police where possession of anything that can be used to commit a crime is fast becoming a crime itself.

Poletown Pilfering

2004-08-11T19:45:00.000-05:00

As anyone who "owns" property here in the US knows, the property is not really yours, it is the governments. We simply pay rent on it. If we fail to pay that rent (ie. property taxes), they take the property away in order to rent it out to someone else. You would think that for that rent, you could do with the property as you like. Of course the government disagrees, after all, it is their property so why would they allow you to just do anything you wish with it. To prevent that, they institute zoning and land use laws.

Now, surely if you pay your rent and meet the zoning guideliness you can, after approval of the local building commission, use your land for whatever you wish. For the most part, this is true, that is until the government decides that it can make more money from another tenant. Then they will swoop in and take back the property in the name of the common good.

A Glimpse Into the Mind of a Madman

2004-08-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

It has long been argued by Socialists that the moral reasoning behind the forced extraction of wealth from producers is the altruistic redistribution of that wealth for the greater good. Indeed, just over a month ago, Hillary Clinton was heard to utter the phrase "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." This has long been the mantra of those desiring control over members of society that are more talented and successful than themselves.

However, it seems that these old dogs are learning a new trick, or at least a variation on an old one. Apparently taking note of the fact that those producing wealth were not just readily emptying their pockets and dismayed that Socialists have been unable to convince the general public to join in their class jihad, Professor Barry Schwartz of Swarthmore College has put forth a new approach to enslaving those with wealth. He is telling them that reducing their wealth by 90% will make them happier.

OK...now that you have had a chance to stop laughing, let's take a look at just what he is proposing. It's not hard to guess, after all, he is a Socialist. You got it, he suggests that we should ignore the objective facts and instead rely on feelings:

In cases like these, increased choice often enables people to do better by some objective measure--say, better healthcare outcomes. But it also makes them feel worse, perhaps badly enough to overwhelm the initial improvement in welfare.

Now this is a new approach because rather than directly attacking the wealth itself as evil, he declares that the increased choice offered by the wealth leads to decreased satisfaction on the part of the wealth bearer. What is his justification for this statement?

Psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper have shown that as the number of flavors of jam or varieties of chocolate available to shoppers is increased, the likelihood that they will leave the store without buying any jam goes up.

People are apparently not mentally equipped to deal with excessive choice, therefore it is imperative that the government come to the rescue of those poor miserable rich bastards and relieve them of the burden of wealth in order to save them from the mental anguish of too many decisions. I guess we are required to just ignore the fact that it was precisely the ability to make decisions that was responsible for many of these people's wealth.

Unfortunately for Dr. Schwartz and his crack team, they have not yet been able to determine the exact income level at which excessive choice occurs and besides, it is just too much work to take away all the choices available to consumers. At least he can rest soundly on the moral absolute that he can help people by taking most of their money and choices away, even if he can't yet figure out how to implement his plans.

(via Anger Management)

Isn't This Sweet!

2004-08-09T22:43:00.000-05:00

What in the hell is the matter with people? Who would want to attend a cuddle party?

Swinging is one thing, but why in the hell would you want to get in your PJs and spoon someone you don't know?

Carpet Bagging

2004-08-09T15:54:00.000-05:00

I have a real distaste for the practice of moving to a state solely to run for office in that state. It is like bringing in a ringer to play in a game that he really has no business playing in. Sure, he meets the requirements, but only because they are so weak.

That being said, I am glad that media darling Barack Obama's bid for the Senate will not go unchallenged.

What in the Hell Are They Thinking?

2004-08-09T15:40:00.000-05:00

Damn. I go away for a long weekend and get back to find out that our government has apparently lost the little bit of sensibility that it had remaining.

After the failure of the dumbest idea ever, the State Department is doing the same damn thing.

We do not want or need a bunch of European bureaucrats looking over our shoulders. I am sure that the State Department representative had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before those nitwits accepted the offer.

What an outstanding opportunity for them to smack America on the hand. Regardless of how well the elections go, expect reports of disenfranchisement to come from the OSCE, especially if Bush wins.

Girl Sunday

2004-08-08T23:30:00.000-05:00

Oops...I forgot to leave you guys this before I left for my trip. I am back and feel much better now.

Impromptu Trip

2004-08-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

I finally have 99% of this business plan complete, so I have decided to give myself a treat. I am taking myself, my backpack and as much water as I can carry into the mountains for the weekend.

It is a much needed break for me. Hope I still have some readers when I get back on Monday.

Business Plan Blues

2004-08-04T16:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many of you poor bastards have had to write a business plan before, but let me tell you, IT SUCKS. I would rank it directly behind having to pack and move on the shit list. Unfortunately, it is one of those necessary evils when you are expanding your business and need to have one to present to potential investors in less than a week.

I shouldn't complain though, once this is said and done I can give up my consulting for good and then I will officially be 100% committed to the job of my dreams.

Wish me well.

At it Again

2004-08-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

The Ralph Nader wannabes over at the National Transportation Safety Board are at it again. I thought the idea of a putting "black boxes" in cars had died a well deserved death several years ago, but like all government nonsense, it was merely waiting in the wings for a new opportunity to rise.

The opportunity this time came in the form of a deadly accident in Santa Monica, CA. Since the driver causing the accident chose to exercise his constitutional right to shut the hell up, the Nader lites see a wonderful opportunity to shove the nose of government somewhere it doesn't belong. Many car manufacturers are already placing these nasty little privacy reduction boxes in their vehicles, so why does the government now need to interject?

New Song

2004-08-04T02:06:00.000-05:00

I created a new song called "Conflict." It is not very long, but is a lot of fun. It guest stars a few people you might know. Hope you enjoy it.

Conflict

Update: I can't belive I have received zero comments about this song. Is it good? Does it totally suck ass? I would like to know because I to plan to expand it to at least 4 minutes (assuming I can find more good .wav files to use). I thought it was a good first attempt at a new medium.

Fatties Fight Back

2004-08-03T17:10:00.000-05:00

Apparently, those of great girth are as sick of the leftist nonsense as I am.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is holding its national convention starting tomorrow in Newark, NJ. Why in the hell anyone would want to hold a convention in a total shithole like Newark is beyond me, however it is not germane to our discussion here.

The good news is that they will be a valuable ally in the fight against tyranny. In their case, the tyranny of the slender.

Return of the Maggot

2004-08-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

As much as modern science has contributed to the field of medicine, it has not yet found a solution to every problem nor a cure for every illness. So what do you do when you have tried all the new miracle drugs without success, you return to the old ways.

With recent FDA approval, doctors have begun using maggots to clean the wounds of patients who have not responded to modern treatment. Apparently they are seeing great success.

Maggots aren't the only medieval cure to make a comeback. Leeches have gained FDA approval as well.

One Month Off For Good Behavior

2004-08-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Since this isn't exactly a family blog, I don't write much about my family. However, I just sent my favorite person in the world to go spend a month with her grandparents in TN.

She doesn't get to see her mom's parents very often, so I thought it would be a nice gesture. It should free up a couple of extra hours each day that I can devote to other endeavors, such as this blog.

Make Yourselves Useful

2004-08-02T22:29:00.000-05:00

My traffic has sucked the last few days (yes I realize that my posts have sucked as well) so I need a new gimmick to bring in some viewers. I noticed that when I was in the top 5 on Blogspotting, I would get some traffic from there.

Therefore, I ask that you please press this button:

Hypocrisy Redux

2004-08-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

In the most hypocritical statement since, well since his wife's little ordeal, John Kerry calls on Bush to initiate a special session of Congress:

Kerry said Bush should immediately call a special session of Congress to implement the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, and he said he would interrupt his campaigning to be there for debate and voting "when necessary."

What a remarkable request coming from someone who only voted 17 times out of 163 opportunities in the last session for a whopping 10.4% ratio or whose running mate barely squeaks out 51% of the votes.

Of course, he qualifies this statement, saying he will vote "when necessary." Wouldn't you think that if it was "necessary" to call an immediate special session, that it would be "necessary" for him and his running mate to be there doing their jobs? You know, like he wants to force every other member of Congress to do?

Education Majors

2004-08-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

I recently made a comment concerning the quality of students coming out of college as Education Majors over at Dave Shearon. As it turns out, the person that I directed the comment towards, was not an education major. However, that is neither here nor there.

What I wish to discuss here is Dave's response:

As such, he's probably operating just a little on the commonly-accepted wisdom that teachers "come from the lowest quartile of entering SAT scores." Or, as an even older and more well-known meme goes, "those who can't, teach."

His implication is obviously that these things are not true. With a little research, I located this report, from which I was able to construct this table:

By looking at the table, it is clear to see that the poor scores of Education Majors is not some myth perpetrated by those of us who are anti public education, but rather a fact. Granted, there is inevitably some changing of majors once these students get to college and work to refine what they wish to do with their lives. However, I doubt there is enough realignment in and out of the "Education" major to significantly affect these numbers.

He then follows up with this:

Teachers are smart, educated professionals whose altruism puts them ahead of most... According to a recent College Board study, their writing skills are better than engineers and their math skills are better than lawyers, and they're not far behind when you switch the comparison areas!

First, he says "teachers" rather than "education majors." Since not all teachers are education majors, I am sure that those who are not help raise the average. I was unable to locate the study from which he gathered this information since he cited no source. However, if you take a look at the above table I have created, you can see that those choosing "Engineering" as a major score 43 points higher on the Verbal section of the SAT and 91 points higher on the "Math" section than do those choosing "Education" as a major.

What does all of this tell us? It tells me that I would much rather have schools hire teachers with subject area degrees than Education Majors who are hardly the cream of the crop.

John Kerry and Iraq

2004-08-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

If you have had or do have any question as to where John Kerry stood on Saddam Hussein and Iraq over the course of the last couple of years, this video should clarify it for you.

(via Musings From The Imperial Senate)

What Was I Thinking!?

2004-07-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

You poor miserable bastards. I just can't believe that for years I have been blaming fat people for being overweight. I just didn't know any better. However, now that I have read articles such as this, this, and this, I have seen the light.

How could I have been so callous as to suggest a lack of self-control and personal responsibility was to blame? I am so sick with myself that I could just vomit.

Every day we Americans are beset with the advertising of evil corporations whose only goal is to turn us into a nation of lard asses. It is not our fault that we don't exercise and eat to excess. How can we possibly resist all the advertising thrown at us? We have no free will. All that we are and do is dictated to us by evil ad execs. However, I am not exactly sure why only the ads for junk food can control us. I see countless ads each day for healthy food and exercise equipment, but they don't make me want to eat right and exercise. It is only those bastards peddling sugary snacks and greasy burgers that can control my actions (no doubt with the full aid of the Bush administration).

I see now that there is no solution other than to implement as many socialist programs and government controls as possible. We must do this for the good of the nation! After all, when have you ever seen a fatass in a socialist country. Never, unless of course it was some bloated American tourist, because fat people simply will cease to be fat once we wrangle in these diabolical corporations forcing us to eat things we don't want.

I have absolutely no doubt that this will cure the disease of obesity. In addition, I am sure that it is only a fluke that I have lost twenty pounds in the month that I have been going to the gym. It must be because I don't plug in my headphones while I am on the treadmill. This must somehow protect me from the insidious mind control techniques being plied during the commercials on Fox News. Fortunately, CBS and ABC don't air commercials for fast food. With guidance from these stations and the New York Times, I am fully confident that we can again be slim and trim.

It's My Site and I'll Do Whatever the Hell I Want With It

2004-07-31T09:49:00.000-05:00

That was the verdict from the poll. What I have decided to do is nothing. I will not put a paypal "donate" button on my site. The major cost, ie. the redesign, I did myself. Therefore, I see no need to beg for money alla Andrew Sullivan.

Drinking Daiquiris Reduces Hair Loss

2004-07-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

At least that is the implication of a commercial I heard while I was at the gym earlier. The commercial was for a combination cigarette/frozen drink drive through shop (perhaps a unique animal here in TX?).

Their line of reasoning was this:

Stress causes an increase in estrogen and androgen.
These hormones increase hair loss.
Our daiquiris are made of only the finest natural ingredients.
Therefore, our daiquiris will help you reduce stress.
This reduced stress will help prevent hair loss.**

They even go so far as to say, "Not recommended for topical use." at the end of the commercial.

That has to be the most unique pitch I've ever heard to promote an alcoholic beverage. Of course, they don't mention the fact that both smoking and excessive drinking have been shown to increase hair loss.

** This last part was merely implied.

Disgusting, Bloated Socialist Nightmare

2004-07-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

No, I am not describing John Kerry's vision for America, though that is an accurate label for his plans. I am talking about what President Bush has contributed to government with the help of Congress.

Take a look at Liberty Vault to see all the increases. Granted, much of the spending increase was related to the ongoing wars, but most of it was not.

What is even scarier, is that Bush is still the better choice between Kerry/Bush. What a truly sad commentary on what our country has become. Fortunately, since I live in TX, I can avoid voting for Bush and vote for yet someone else I have problems with, Michael Badnarik, safe with the knowledge that Kerry couldn't this state if he gave his (read his wife's) entire fortune to its citizens.

(via Propaganda Machine)

Stable for Now

2004-07-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

OK...I seem to have gotten this piece of crap computer stable for now. Hopefully it will stay this way.

Girl Friday

2004-07-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

This took almost 30 min to post. I hope you enjoy it.

Update: I am so happy that I got my computer working, that I decided to give you this beautiful bonus.

Serious Issues

2004-07-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

My computer is having major issues. Until I can diagnose and fix it, or replace it, I can't be sure how often I can post. I will try to have it resolved as soon as possible.

The Heritage Foundation Must Read Fuki Blog

2004-07-29T13:11:00.000-05:00

Four days after I lamented our fall in the ranks of economic freedom, the Heritage Foundation took an in depth look at the causes of America's slide.

Our politicians better wake up to this reality soon. I am only a heartbeat away from becoming a Hong Kong expat. I am sure that Fuki Blog could thrive in such an atmosphere, assuming of course that those jackasses in Beijing will leave well enough alone.

Discrimination...Not in San Francisco

2004-07-29T12:56:00.000-05:00

One of the most beautiful cities in the country just became a little prettier. A California court has ruled the discriminatory hiring practices of San Francisco to be unconstitutional.

Though this ruling is likely to be appealed, the California Supreme Court has earlier made it clear that such programs will not be tolerated. In 2000, it struck down a similar program in San Jose.

It is good to see that some courts can still interpret what a constitution actually says as opposed to what they want it to say.

My apologies

2004-07-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the light posting today. I have been busy installing/learning MySQL and PHP. MySQL is easy as I already know MS SQL. I don't expect PHP to be a problem either. I will have the basics down tonight and be back to posting again tomorrow. My traffic really sucks today anyway.

Property of (Insert Local/State Government Here)

2004-07-28T15:02:00.000-05:00

As all of you sit reading this, you should feel entirely uneasy about the fact that you are all basically government property. What makes me say this? No, not the fact that every penny you earn until mid-April goes to Uncle Sam for the privilege of being a US Citizen. What I am talking about is the most blatant violation of self-ownership going these days. I am talking about prostitution laws.

What greater affront to self-ownership could there be than the government telling you that you cannot use your body to earn a living. Professional athletes make millions using their bodies. Tradesmen of all sorts make their livings from the sweat of their brows. Solely because some people have a moral objection to you being paid for having sex with another consenting adult, you are branded a criminal for such things.

However, even this reasoning is flawed, as it is perfectly legal if you have sex for a movie. Please explain to me how this is acceptable to the government, but a private exchange is not? My guess is that the real reason is that government can more readily dip its finger in the honey pot of the porn industry than it can prostitution. Nevada, however, has proven that it can get its cut as well so what reasoning remains for keeping us all private property of the government?

If you can give it away for free, you sure as hell should be able to sell it.

The $64,000 Question

2004-07-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

This was initially intended to be an answer to a question posed by Ben over at The Nomad Tavern. It became too long for a comment and I thought it would be of interest to my readers as well, so here it is:

You have asked the question that all bloggers want to know. Can I make money doing this? The answer seems to be only if you have an assload of traffic. I checked the rates for BlogAds on both Instapundit and The Daily Kos, both of which average 140,000+ visitors a day. Then I checked the number of ads on each site. Instapundit makes $3750 a month and The Daily Kos makes $5000 (do to having more ads). This equates to $45,000 - $60,000 respectively.

If you could get half that traffic, you could expect half as much in ads, $22,500 - $30,000. That is still an assload of traffic and seems out of reach for bloggers such as ourselves.

The idea of merchandise is good, but you must have a really popular site in order to move merchandise. So again, we are back to traffic.

I have a side project that I am working on that I hope will become somewhat of a cult hit once I get it up and get some advertising done. Hopefully it will make me some money, but I am not counting on it. I will be happy if it pays for itself.

Even porn is no longer a sure bet. The market is so saturated, you really have to find the right niche and do heavy advertising in order to get the customers needed to support it and you. (I have considered this route and am still looking into certain possibilities.)

When I decided to quit the rat race a couple of years ago, I only knew that I was fed up with all the BS. It didn't take long however, to figure out that I needed to find something new fast. I decided to do freelance consulting. I don't make nearly as much as I did, but my daughter and I stay fed. In addition, I work from home, which has greatly improved my quality of life. Furthermore, it has enabled me to pursue what I would consider to be my dream job.

I have almost transitioned to the point now that I can give up my consulting gig and focus solely on my dream.

So, in summation, I would say that by all means, continue to look for ways to profit from your site, but don't count on it. Suck it up and make the sacrifices necessary to achieve your dream. It may suck in the short term, but in the end you will be much happier.

I Hooked Him

2004-07-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

Given his previously expedient response, I thought I had lost him. Apparently, I was wrong. I received this response today:

Dear Jonathon Quincy Public,
I receive your mail thank you for your responds. I am one of the senate that works in the house of rep in the city of Monrovia Liberia. Please do your investigation as soon as possible and get back to me with the information that I require from you. Your full name your full address, your direct phone/fax number so we can proceed immediately with out wasting time.
Waiting to hear from you.
Fred Kings.

Quite honestly, I find myself somewhat unprepared as how to proceed. I was not expecting someone either so stupid or so desperate as to not see through my previous BS letters.

Obviously I am not prepared to give him my information. I think I will consult Rockynoggin as he is running a similar game.

Kerry's Assaults on Civil Liberties

2004-07-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

John Kerry's actual flip-flops have, by this time, become legendary. He apparently has no conviction in his beliefs and is willing to change positions at the drop of a poll. However, it is not his actual flip-flops that have me worried, but rather his pretend flip-flops, namely his supposed respect for civil liberties. I have often grumbled as I would listen to him pretend to be a civil libertarian, but this article in Reason really helps bring it together.

John Kerry has a long record of disrespect for civil liberties:

He was a key player in trying to get companies to place back doors in their encryption software for use by law enforcement.
He is a leading supporter of Civil Forfeiture laws.
He is a leading supporter of reduction of banking privacy laws, even going so far as to say that all electronic transfers should be monitored.
Despite his recent mumblings to the contrary, he was and is a supporter of the Patriot Act and helped get some of the most gross violations put into the PA.
He is opposed to gay marriage.

I am sure that with a little digging, it wouldn't be hard to locate more instances of his battle against civil liberties. How appropriate it is that the link on his website for Civil Liberties in as broken as his view of civil liberties.

I can at least understand the thought process of fellow libertarians who would consider voting for him on the basis that it might induce gridlock and prevent some crap from being passed, but what I can't understand is my libertarian brethren who would somehow buy into Kerry's line of bullshit about civil rights.

Wake up people, John Kerry doesn't care any more about civil rights than John Ashcroft does and you delude yourself by thinking otherwise.

EU Encroachment Takes Another Blow

2004-07-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

In a small but significant victory for national sovereignty, the European Commission will scrap its plans for mandatory "Made in Europe" labels for goods produced by members of the EU.

It just might be that countries are waking up to see all the ways the EU has plans of encroaching on their lives and decisions. Unfortunately, don't look for Brussels to lessen these attacks due to one setback. Member states will have to maintain a constant vigil for such encroachment.

Penchant for the Obvious

2004-07-27T00:27:00.000-05:00

During my time in the Navy, I served with a guy that had a knack for always stating the obvious. It got to the point that I dubbed him MOTO (Master of the Obvious).

I had often wondered what became of MOTO, that is until I came across this. Now I know that MOTO has left the Navy and is currently working for the International Herald Tribune writing headlines.

Rank Hypocrisy

2004-07-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

Can someone please explain to me how in the hell someone is going to make a 30 minute speech about political civility and then immediately afterwards show a complete lack of it?

Take a look at the video from the above link. The late Sen. Heinz must be rolling in his grave to see what his widow has turned to.

(via Annika's Journal)

Stupidity in Print

2004-07-26T18:48:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading this week's Time. As usual there is plenty of what can only be labeled as stupid, but this one quote in the "LETTERS" section really struck me as above and beyond in its level of stupidity.

"Moore's movie may be a mix of fact and fiction, but anything that opens discussion on the invasion of Iraq is good for America" -- John Miranda

Hmm...so anything that opens discussion on the invasion of Iraq is good for America?

Ninety soldiers dying in a terrorist raid would certainly cause discussion on Iraq. Would that be good for America?

Another major attack here in the US would open the discussion on Iraq. Would that be good for America?

All of our allies pulling their troops out of Iraq would certainly spur debate on the topic. Would that be good for America?

The answer to these questions and countless others that could spur discussion on Iraq is no, that would not be good for America. The sole fact that something causes discussion does not make it a good thing.

Let's apply that same logic to other situations:

"Those boys may have tortured and lynched the little black girl, but anything that opens up discussion on the racial differences in our country is good for America."

"Sure, some people voted two or three times and a whole bunch of French nationals illegally voted, but anything that brings up discussion about voting is good for America."

"The FBI may have used illegal tactics in bringing down that crazy cult, but anything that brings up discussion about the problems of cults is good for America."

Obviously not everything that spurs discussion of problems within our country are good for the country. The discussion may very well be, but that does not mean the trigger for that discussion is.

Don't Worry, We'll Just Put it on the Card

2004-07-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

The latest Census Bureau figures show that states went hog wild between 1992 and 2002.

Kansas increased its debt by 371.1%, while my state of Texas was number 2 with a 200.1% increase. One lone state reduced its debt load over this period, Louisiana. They managed to reduce their debt by 7.6%.

When will those in government be forced to live by the same fiscal rules as the rest of us? You can't just borrow and borrow until no one will lend you money. States have to start streamlining their services, just as the Feds need to do.

I See Fake People

2004-07-25T15:51:00.000-05:00

An astute church goer in Columbus, Ohio called BS on John Kerry and his obviously fake attempt to connect with the Black community.

Although polls show that Blacks favor Kerry over Bush by a margin of 8 to 1, the same poll shows that only 27% of Blacks are enthusiastic about Kerry.

Lack of enthusiasm equates to a light turnout from Blacks come election time. Satisfaction is not going to get Kerry through the door.

(via Ramblings' Journal)

Buyout Stinks Worse Than Cigarettes

2004-07-25T13:25:00.000-05:00

It seems that the federal government has a hard time keeping itself from throwing our money away. The latest example is the proposed "buyout" of tobacco farmers. In case you don't know what it is that is being bought, lets take a trip back to the thirties when government went on a rampant spree of socialist planning. They decided to create quotas (limits) on the amount of tobacco each farmer could grow in order to keep the price artificially inflated.

Fast forward to today. Finally, lawmakers have decided to remove these quotas, but so as not to hurt the 400,000 or so that own allotments (only 1/4 of which actively grow tobacco), they will pay them $12 billion over 10 years.

Fortunately, there are those that are willing to stand up** and call it what it is, unneeded welfare.

The battle now is too decide who to pawn this off on, the taxpayers or the cigarette manufacturers, neither of whom should be forced to pay for this. Farmers need to compete on the open market, not be coddled by the federal government.

However, don't think the government is just giving up all of its control over the tobacco industry. The farmers had to make a deal with the devil and accept FDA oversight. In addition, in the Senate version, Uncle Sam gets to continue telling them how much they can grow.

** Registration is required, but you can use this: user: thehentai@hotmail.com password: stupid

Beginning of Redesign

2004-07-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

OK...So I just decided to do my site redesign myself. The lovely new header you see is the first step in the redesign. As ideas come my way I will implement them.

Please let me know what you think of the new header in the comments. Feedback is always useful. Also, I work at 1024x768 in IE6. If you are viewing at a different resolution or with a different browser, let me know about any problems.

Actually, I setup a test site to play around. Any time you want to see how the new design is coming check here:

Fuki Test Site

Ooohhh....I Got a Hit

2004-07-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

I decided to check my spam dump today. Low and behold what did I find, not one, but two replies to this email.

This first one came on the same day as I sent mine off:

Dear John Public,

I receive your mail thank you for your respond. All you need to do is for
you to follow my Instructions so that you can be able to clear this money
from the security company office successfully with out any problem. First
I need you to be honest and truthful to make this transaction to be
successfully.
I want you to send to me your full name, your full address, your direct
phone and fax number; once I receive this information from you I will call
you immediately to explain to you how you are going to receive this money
from the security company .

Waiting for and urgent responds from you.

Fred Kings.

And the second one yesterday:

Dear John,
How are you today? I hope all is well with you and your family. I sent you
and email but know responds please try and get back to me immediately you
receive this mail because time is not our friend pleases.
Waiting to hear from you.
Fred Kings.

I really can't believe that he bit, but not wanting to disappoint him here was my reply.

Dear Mr. Kings,

My sincerest apologies for the delay in my response. My Great Dane, Scooby, was hit while chasing a car and most of my day was spent at the veterinarian's office tending to him. Thank you for the query as other than that, my family is well.

I am sure that you are correct in stating that time is not our friend. I heard from my friend in the State Department (the one I said would be willing to help us) that Bush has a secret task force that is actively hunting down and seizing all assets belonging to former members of the Taylor regime. However, I am some what reticent to provide you with the information you requested.

I am sure that you are who you say you are, but in times such as these a person can never be too careful. Perhaps if there is a way for you to verify your identity? Can you tell me exactly what your capacity was in Mr. Taylor's regime so that I might research it. I promise to do this as expediently as possible. It doesn't have to be much, just your title and the city you worked in.

Thank you for understanding my concerns and hopefully we can get things underway as soon as possible in order to help restore your funds to you before the taskforce gets hold of them.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Quincy Public

Surely, there will be no reply to this.

Get Off Your Ass and Go Play

2004-07-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

In a move contrary to its best interests, cable TV giant Nickelodean is telling kids go out and play.

Of course, parents should have been telling their kids this all along. Unfortunately, especially in the Summer, many parents are just too damn lazy themselves. When I was a kid, the last thing I wanted to do in the summer was sit in the house and watch TV.

From the time I woke up, until I had to be home, I was out riding my bike, swimming, playing football, anything but sitting in the house. It certainly helped that I was being shown the door by my parents.

Granted, parents today may not feel as safe just sending their kids out the door these days, but that does not mean that they have to keep their kids stuck in front of a TV all day. Parents should take the time to get to know the parents of their kids friends so that they are comfortable sending them there to play.

There is always some kid in the group that has the great yard with pool or basketball court or whatever and a parent that is more than willing to let their house/yard become the hangout for the summer. Get to know them so you will feel safe letting you kid play there.

Take at least an hour a day to spend time with your kids. So you miss that rerun of Law and Order, so what. You probably need the exercise as much as your kids. Take a walk, go for a bike ride, visit the park and feed the ducks. It really doesn't matter, just get out of the house and do something. Work this into your schedule as a daily event.

I know that every night as soon as the sun sets, my daughter will be looking for me. Unless it is raining, we do not miss our nightly walk. My fat ass needs the exercise and I know that every day, no matter how busy either of us is (granted, she is only 4 and never too busy), we get this chance to walk and talk.

Bravo to Nick, now the parents need to follow suit.

1 Down, 999999999999999999999999999 to Go

2004-07-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well how appropriate that I mark my 1 month mark with my 100th post. It was a fun month with discussion of such diverse topics as Toilet Snorkels, Jackasses, Rational Self Interest, and Really Hot Chicks.

I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. I've had 1350+ visitors for the month and averaged 71 visitors a day this last week. Not bad for a new blog. I continue to get the name of Fuki Blog out there and all my whoring is paying off. I am now a Large Mammal in the TTLB Ecosystem with 122 unique inbound links.

I have also done well in my Technorati Profile, increasing to 85 links from 63 sources. Most of this linkage is due to joining The Alliance and Blogcritics. Thanks to both of them. Thank you also, to all of you that have come across Fuki Blog and placed it in your blogroll and made it a regular read.

So thanks to everyone for checking me out and here is a Bonus Girl to keep you coming back for more:

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche

2004-07-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

In a classic display of freedom of speech, a Boston pizza shop owner decided he was fed up with the Dems. He put up this sign:

Look for copycats in New York.

(via Pardon My English)

EU vs US

2004-07-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

I have discussed the many differences between the EU and US in several different forums (both American and European) and thought I would talk a little bit about it here.

Here is a very interesting study by a couple of Swedish economists comparing the EU and the US in terms of economic prosperity. It is 49 pages, but a very interesting read and written for the most part in easy to understand lay terms for those of you without much knowledge of economics.

Many of you will probably find that you are familiar with portions of the study as it briefly made the news several months ago. It is not all encompassing, but a good starting point on understanding how our divergent views affect our quality of life.

I was previously aware of the disparity between the US and Europe having traveled extensively in Europe, but I don't think many in Europe understand it or the reasons behind it. If they did, they would understand the real way to help people is to bring everyone to a higher level, even if it means continued economic disparity, rather than "equalizing" everyone at a lower level.

I think it will also important that the study was conducted by Swedes rather than Americans. Of course, it probably received even less press in Europe than it did here.

And the Winner Is...

2004-07-23T00:15:00.000-05:00

Me.

I have graciously been awarded the Ayn Rand Award for Overall Blog Quality by The Truth About York.

I humbly accept this award and highly recommend that you stop by TTAY to see how the battle against Canadian Campus Nonsense is progressing.

In honor of this, I have created myself this button:

Four for the Price of One

2004-07-23T00:05:00.000-05:00

You lucky bastards! I decided to give you guys a four-for-one special this week. I guess I am just in a good mood because tomorrow Fuki Blog turns one month old.

Ladies, ladies, ladies...don't miss your chance to have your photos posted here.

The Politics of Outies and Innies

2004-07-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

OK...I was going to write a long diatribe about the some of the reasons for differences in pay between men and women. However, upon completion, I realized that it sucked and I didn't want to subject you to it.

I will, therefore direct you to this article by Thomas Sowell. He is considerably more clear on this issue than I would have been.

To Beg or Not to Beg, That is the Question

2004-07-22T17:44:00.000-05:00

I have been very pleased with the steady progress I have made in my average weekly traffic. I am really enjoying blogging and hope you are enjoying my work. I have been considering moving to a paid host in order to spare you guys the banners and pop-ups. However, I haven't decided if I like you enough to pay for it all by myself.

Therefore, I have placed a new poll over on the left hand side (the old one had been pretty much decided, Bush was starting to pull away in a landslide). It poses the question of whether or not I should put a PayPal "Donate" button on my site to help defer the costs.

I also was considering a professional redesign by Sekimori. They do great work and have designed a lot of the big boys sites. I don't know how many talented designers visit my site, but perhaps this could be handled via a contest instead.

So, let me know what you think.

FCC -- Time to Go

2004-07-22T10:37:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in this earlier post that the FCC has latitude in the extent to which it can censor free speech. What I didn't address in that post is why it has that power, how much power it has, or whether it should have that power at all.

Like so many other agencies, the FCC was born during the Socialist heydays of the mid-Thirties. The Communications Act of 1934 established the FCC to replace the Federal Radio Commission. It was originally intended to regulate telephone and radio, but like all government agencies are apt to do, it soon expanded its reach to telegraph and television as well. Indeed, they are very proud of their far reaching grasp. A grasp that is probably more intrusive than any other government agency, including the IRS. From their website:

What people may not recognize is the extent to which every area of their life is intertwined with the communications technologies the FCC has responsibility to regulate. For example, because almost all electrical and electronic equipment emits radio frequencies, FCC equipment authorization rules protect you when:

Your child plays with a radio-controlled airplane,

Your teenager upstairs sends their homework assignment to the printer downstairs via your new wireless home network,

Your toll fee is automatically deducted from the little plastic box attached to your windshield without having to stop at the booth,

You swipe your credit card at the gasoline pump,

You push the button on your garage door opener,

You heat your breakfast waffle in the microwave,

The cashier at the coffee shop rings up your favorite morning drink using an electronic cash register and inventory control system,

The local video store contacts its remote, central computer network to find out if you have enough bonus points to qualify for a free rental,

You lock your car with your remote entry system,

You activate your home alarm system before going to bed.

And, these are just a few of the thousands of ways in which the vital work of the FCC helps facilitate both personal freedom and the public good.

After the incidents at the superbowl, and with a few shock jocks, they are looking to extend that reach even farther, all in the name of the "public good."

The entire purpose of this agency is an affront to the 1st Amendment. It serves no purpose other than to limit the way in which people may communicate. As Robert Garmong points out other forms of media are not subject to such draconian regulation by the government.

We are at a very dangerous time in our history, when both liberal and conservative politicians are looking to use the FCC to punish broadcasters that don't share their views of the world. Like so many other government programs, it is time for the FCC to shut its doors forever. Write your representatives in DC and let them know you want this agency gone.

Update: Here is a fun little ditty brought to my attention by Z over at Zudfunk. However, my GOP friends and readers may find it a tad bit offensive. A little digging on my part also turned up this one.

One Big Happy Family

2004-07-21T19:42:00.000-05:00

So it's not just their policies that are related:

(via Quotes, Thoughts, and other Ramblings)

I Predict That You Are Full of Crap

2004-07-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

I work out of my house and have a habit of leaving the TV on in the living room (the dog likes to watch) as I work in my office. Today, as I strolled through on my way to the kitchen, I noticed Sylvia Browne was on Montel Williams.

Since I actually value my time I didn't watch what she had to say, but know from earlier experience that she is generally full of crap. It got me to thinking how easily she cons people with the same old ploys being used by "psychics" for ages.

People like her and John Edward prey off the vulnerability/gullibility of people. I wondered how people like that sleep at night, but then figured if most politicians (who amazingly enough use similar techniques to con people) can sleep, then so can they.

Update: Those who give this women money probably deserve to be punished for their utter stupidity.

I've been ZuDfuncked

2004-07-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, ZuDfunck is a really cool blog that showcases blogs by using graphics pulled from their sites.

He has featured me tonight with a really sweet collage of images he created from the link in this post.

Be sure to go check him out.

UN-believable

2004-07-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

Staying true to their long and storied history of being completely useless, the UN looks set to do nothing in Sudan.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday Sudan had made little progress in curbing bloodthirsty militias in the Darfur region but diplomats said sanctions against Khartoum were unlikely.

Exactly how many people need to die for the UN to take action? There are already an estimated 30,000 dead and another 2 million starving. This is the agency leftists think we should look to for guidance on International issues.

Enough is enough, write your Senators and Congressman and tell them we want the hell out of this debating society.

Fun With Spam or How to Make Millions in Minutes

2004-07-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

As you know, I recently received this email. I did not reply. Then the other day, Rockynoggin at Cornpone wrote this.

As luck would have it, I received another chance to follow Rocky's cue and have a little fun. In fact, it was so much fun that I am calling on all members of the Blogosphere (authors and readers alike) to join in the fun.

The next time you receive one of these scam letters, write up a reply and send it off (preferably from a separate account that you use as a Spam dump). Send me a copy of the original letter and your reply to it and I will post it here.

Here is the one I received today:

ATTN:Sir/Madam
I know you would be surprised to receive this mail, but I would start by introducing my self I am MR FRED KINGS.A member of Charles Taylor Government, the ousted President of Liberia, my purpose of writing you this mail is to seek your assistance
in retrieving my funds which I lodge in the security company in my country Liberia before the war started the security company move every belongies in there position to there head office in Europe for safety because of the war. I managed to escape out of Liberia to African were I am now for asylum including my President and some others members of our Government and l cannot retrieve it myself because of my Status Right Now. Well I need your assistance to clear this funds, if you are willing to assist me kindly notify me via this email address and I Will instruct you on the procedure that will enable us retrieve the Funds and we will also discuss your benefit for your assistance my Friend know that this assistance did not have
any risk involved I have every prove and every documentation that Back the funds up.
Waiting to hear from you.
Best Regards.
MR FRED KINGS,

And here is my reply:

Dear Mr. Kings,

I hope this reply finds you in good health and high spirits. I would be delighted to help you with this worthwhile cause.

I have long been a supporter of Mr. Taylor. It made me ill, almost to the point of regurgitation, the way the US Government railroaded him with false accusations of embezzlement and actually had the poor man kidnapped. Those actions were certainly beyond the pale.

I commend you on your own escape from Liberia. Though I am not exactly sure how I can aid you in retrieving what is rightfully yours, I am sure that you have a well planned paradigm of how to accomplish just that. Perhaps a couple of my friends over at the State Department could be of some assistance in this matter. They owe me a favor, and are certain to be sympathetic to your cause. They were just as appalled at the actions of that bastard Bush as I was.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible. I am sure that we can get this matter resolved in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

John Q Public

Herding Cats

2004-07-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

Undoubtedly, most you who are politically savvy have heard this expression as relates to libertarians. I don't personally care for it, but as of yet have been unable to coin a suitable replacement. The reason I mention this is because I was recently directed to this article by Michael Gersh of Zero Base Thinking.

It is an extremely long article and probably only of interest to those who consider themselves to be libertarians of one sort or another, but it is well worth the time.

The closing paragraph sums up the article fairly well:

It is sometimes said that contemporary conservatism is an uneasy alliance between libertarians and traditionalists, and that this alliance is destined eventually to collapse due to the inherent conflict between the two philosophies. But it can with equal or even greater plausibility be argued that it is in fact contemporary libertarianism which comprises an uneasy alliance, an association between incompatible factions committed to very different conceptions of freedom. The trouble with libertarianism is that many of its adherents have for too long labored under the illusion that things are otherwise, that their creed is a single unified political philosophy that does not, and need not, take a stand on the most contentious moral issues dividing contemporary society. This has led to confusion both at the level of theory and at the level of policy. Libertarians need to get clear about exactly what they believe and why. And when they do, they might find that their particular version of libertarianism commits them - or ought to commit them - to regard as rivals those they might once have considered allies.

This strikes me because I have often noted the same thing in the 3 or 4 years that I have actively considered myself to be a libertarian. I have come across many that I would consider to be leftist nutjobs that call themselves libertarian. Of course, on more than one occasion I have been referred to as a "market fundamentalist." There is no question that I would be what is considered a Right-Libertarian.

Anyone viewing Sandor's Blogosphere Political Compass Project can see that I am as close or closer than anyone else listed to the lower right corner, representing both economic and social freedom. Honestly, I have a hard time seeing how those over on the negative side of the economic side could possibly consider themselves libertarian. Increased government regulation of the economy does not equate to freedom.

In addition, those on the positive side of the social freedom scale often call themselves libertarians (or some times Patriots) as well. Again, increased government meddling in our personal lives does not equate to freedom.

So perhaps since we are all just a bunch of cats trying to avoid the herd, we will remain forever secondary players to the likes of Conservatives and Liberals, but I would rather argue over the semantics of freedom than completely forsake these ideals.

Unexpected Meeting

2004-07-20T17:54:00.000-05:00

OK...I had an unexpected business meeting today. It took up the majority of my day, but I am back and ready to rant about something. I just don't know what yet. I haven't even had a chance to read the paper or watch any news.

Hopefully I can find something in my daily visit to the Blogosphere.

Useful Tool

2004-07-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

As some of you may have noticed, all of the links in my rightside column are now in alphabetical order, even my lengthy 200 member Alliance blogroll. Since it was going to be a huge task to try to alphabetize these all by hand, I decided to go looking for a tool to help me with the job.

Here is what I found: URL Alphabetizer

It is no longer in development and it does have at least one flaw that I found. It does not work on links that use the "title" attribute, though it has no problem with the "target" attribute.

All in all it is a handy little tool and saved my lazy ass a bunch of work.

All Roads Lead to Fuki Blog

2004-07-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

I was wondering when I would finally get some of the search engine traffic looking for info on that no talent assclown Michael Moore. It finally happened today. I got a visitor who used this search in Yahoo!:

"michael moore" is an ass merchandise

Sharing part of my name with that chode is finally paying off. Keep it coming!

Return of the Skyscraper

2004-07-19T16:59:00.000-05:00

Time Magazine is reporting the return of the skyscraper.

I for one am glad to see this. For one, skylines of US cities were frankly becoming rather boring in comparison to those of Asia and to a lesser extent, Europe. I look forward to the time when America's cities are again shining examples of both engineering and creativity.

In addition, this shows that we, as a country, have only been strengthened by events such as 9/11 and we will not live our lives as the terrorists choose, but rather as we ourselves choose.

One of my favorites is this Manhattan condo by Spanish architect Santiago Calatreva.

You can find more info on this project here.

Another Anti-Capitalist Chimes In, Another Anti-Capitalist Gets Smacked Down

2004-07-19T12:01:00.000-05:00

In his recent book, The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead, David Callahan joins a long list of idiots that try to blame all the worlds problems on Capitalism.

Fortunately, Julian Sanchez of Reason was there to smack him down.

Amazing what you can learn when you apply a little common sense and reason to any unfounded argument.

Economic Freedom of the World

2004-07-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

Cato Institute has just released (in conjunction with the Fraser Institute and more than 50 think tanks around the world) Economic Freedom of the World: 2004 Annual Report. The report is a measure of economic freedoms enjoyed within the world's countries. Here is the top 10 list and scores (out of 10):

Earlier in the year Heritage Foundation released its 2004 Index of Economic Freedom. Here are the top 10 countries and scores (lower is better):

Obviously, they use slightly different criteria/methodology for coming to their respective lists, but the top 3 countries are the same in both.

The problem I have is that the United States, the "Land of the Free," is not at the top of either list. Years of socialist encroachment on our economy has reduced us to a lower amount of economic freedom than is acceptable in my view. We are on a dangerous course and if current trends continue, within the next few years we may very well slip from the top ten.

As economic freedom goes, so goes freedom and prosperity in general. It is time to remove all economic leftists from positions of power within our government before we find ourselves next to countries like Swaziland and Georgia.

Of Cats and Blogs

2004-07-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

In my extensive travels of the Blogosphere over the last month, I have discovered something. Chicks who blog are generally no different than chicks who don't blog.

What leads me to this conclusion? Cats.

Out in the world of flesh and bone, women think that for some reason we are interested in their cats. Of course we are not, at least not the one she has named BoBo or Cuddles and has 98 pictures of readily available to show you how cute and adorable it is. Awww look...Pinky is laying on the couch arm! How sweet...Mr. Fluffybottom is watching TV. We really don't care.

Generally, we feign entertainment in order to play with her other cat. However, this seems to have had some unintended side effects. Apparently, we have been too convincing. Women don't realize that there are only a couple of things in the entire world that we are interested in less than their little walking vomit machines.

Because of this, an inordinate amount of women bloggers seem to think it would be a great post to put up pictures of their cats. These may be otherwise outstanding blogs, some of them perhaps as good or better than my own, but that are made less tenable by stories and pictures about cats.

At least in the real world, pretending to like her cat can possibly lead to a little fun. Here in the Blogosphere, all it gets you is a chance at a link.

Censorship

2004-07-17T20:46:00.000-05:00

With the likes of Elton John, Whoopie Goldberg, The Dixie Chicks and half of the "entertainers" in Hollywood screaming about censorship, I decided to take a look at what censorship is and is not. More bloggers than can be counted have chimed in on this, but I felt it important that I present my beliefs.

First, lets take a look at the definition of censorship. I chose the Wikipedia definition because it is fairly broad.

Censorship is the use of state or group power to control freedom of expression.

OK, let's look at the two groups that can censor freedom of expression. First we have the State power, i.e. government. They do this through the use of such tools as Prior Restraint, that is, making something illegal before it actually happens. An example would be the Federal Government passing a law that makes it illegal to say anything negative about the President. Obviously here in the US that would be a blatant violation of the First Amendment, though some agencies (rightfully or not) such as the FCC have latitude in this area.

The second part of the Wikipedia definition is a bit more vague. It involves group power. But, what is group power? I would say that group power would belong to some person or group with direct power to prevent someone from freely expressing themselves, though I would not place employers in this category as they should be fully free to set conditions for employment, including prohibition of public expressions of opinion by its employees that may result in financial damage to the employer. In addition, consumers boycotting some product would not fall into this group since they could not directly prevent the expression and fully have the right to choose which products they will or will not consume based on any reason they
choose.

Now that we understand what censorship is and is not, let's take a look at a few of the claims of censorship.

Recently Whoopie Goldberg chose to make some drunken remarks at a Kerry fundraiser. As a result, she was summarily dismissed from her job as spokesperson for SlimFast. She blamed this censorship on the "Republican election committee." Was it censorship? No, there was no action by either the state or a group meeting the above criteria.

Last year, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks told a London audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." As a result, there was a mass boycott of the Dixie Chicks albums. Of course, they too yelled censorship. Again, there was no action that met the above criteria.

So, if not censorship, what did these celebs experience? They experienced what Alexis de Tocqueville called social pressure. As celebrities, they live and die by public opinion. For some reason, they expect the public to only look at their work and not at their publicly stated opinions. However, that is not how humans work. We generally look at all known aspects of a person to determine if we like someone or not. While celebrities enjoy the fame and fortune that comes from a positive public opinion of them, they don't want to be held accountable when they say or do something that elicits a negative response. While words may be freely spoken, you must understand that those words are likely to have consequences.

Well if those two examples aren't censorship, what is? A good example is China blocking websites or running down students in Tiananmen Square. Another would be the burning of 20,000 books deemed offensive by the Nazi regime in 1933.

Censorship is a strong claim and like racism, is a term used far too frequently. It is time for people to start using the language in a responsible manner, lest these words lose their strength and just become everyday words.

Update: I posted this at Blogcritics.org.

Extra Super Way Cool Thanks

2004-07-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

A big Thank You goes out to Tom over at The Nomad Tavern for hooking me up with the Fuki Blog kanji I requested earlier.

You really need to stop by The Nomad Tavern and check those guys out. How else are you going to hear about the exploits of a couple of English ESL teachers in Japan?

I will be incorporating the kanji into my site in some form or fashion pretty soon.

Update: The Fuki Blog Kanji can now be seen at the top of the lefthand column.

Cowardly Bastards

2004-07-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

I just read the most disgraceful and disturbing story I've read in some time. Apparently, there was a huge fire at a school in India.

About 84 children died with another 22 injured. Of course, a fire could happen anywhere. Here is the sad part:

No teachers died, and a senior fire officer said it was because they abandoned the children and ran from the burning school.

Rather than help the children, between the ages of 6-13, these jackasses cut dust and saved themselves. Now, dying in a fire is probably the most painful and gruesome way you can die, but as a responsible adult, you have to do everything you can to help out those kids.

We're a team!

2004-07-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Dick Cheney announced today that he will be on the ticket come November. He indicated that Bush didn't want to "break up the team."

Of course, we are still a long way out from the convention and anything could happen between now and then. I, of course, think Bush is doing his re-election bid a disservice, but at least he seems to be holding to his principles at this point.

I pointed out earlier that I thought Bush would dump Cheney for "health" reasons. I stand by this prediction. However, if I turn out to be correct, Bush and Cheney have done themselves harm my making this proclamation.

As noted in the article, Kerry is just looking for a chance to portray Bush as a Flipflopper, so the ol' switcheroo just became much more difficult.

All political reasoning aside, I have a rather nasty bet with my brother over this issue. The prize for the loser is not pretty and something I will not look forward to.