Dogmatic Slumber

Well, it's been a while since we decided to entertain, inform, and enrage the masses via the tiny soapbox here at YPS. We have been busy. We've been paying lawyers, acquiring children, and once again attempting to find the perfect location for our palatial estate. Real life has interrupted the free content generator, as it so often does.

In any event, the current kerfuffle over what, exactly, the NSA has been doing to everyone with a Verizon account has roused us from our nap. As the scandal widens, and more and more internet traffic appears to run through the servers at the Puzzle Palace, the response has been instructive.

A common thread by serious, no doubt well-intentioned, people has been the old saw about "If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear." This response, in part because it's so common and so misguided, deserves a little more in-depth discussion than my immediate knee-jerk bitter laugh.

A nice man named Harvey Silverglate wrote a book titled Three Felonies A Day. While I encourage you to read it, the basic thrust is simple. The federal criminal code, and the accompanying federal regulations, has become so overbroad, intrusive, and pervasive that you (and everyone else in America) are in violation multiple times a day. My favorite common example is to ask you to go read the labels on a bottle of Pine-Sol or Lysol and find the simple phrase "It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling." So, if you don't read the label on bottle of Lysol and comply with all of the instructions, you have committed a federal crime. Will you be prosecuted? Probably not, as long as you fly under the radar of the feds.

However, once you have come to the notice of one cog of the machine, you run the risk of being ground up by the various pieces working together. You cannot afford to deal with the multitude of federal agencies, each showing up to enforce their little bit of complex and arcane federal law. They will find something, and you will be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties. This has happened to a number of people, and there is very little that can be done about it. All it takes is a 30 second phone call or chance meeting between personnel from different agencies with the comment "Maybe you should look at this guy..." and another agency can pile on.

So when some well-meaning naïf spouts the idea that people who have done nothing wrong have nothing to fear, there's a glaring fundamental error: we've all of us, everyone, done something. Is it worth the feds time to try to harass you about? If you're Joe Average who only sends his mom baby pictures and lolcats, it probably won't happen. But what about engaging in political advocacy? Maybe you decide to form a 501 organization to oppose some governmental action? Why, it may just be time to take a look at your compliance record with all these laws and rules. If it does become expedient to target you, do you honestly think the NSA data won't find its way into the right hands in a high profile case? You have done something illegal and selective prosecution is now the name of the game.

I leave you with the cautionary tale of Joseph Nacchio. Joseph Nacchio used to be the head of telecommunications firm Qwest Communications. He consulted with his legal department and decided he needed a court order to hand over records to the feds, and at the time was the only CEO of a telecom firm to take this stance. Joseph Nacchio was subsequently convicted of insider trading and sent to jail for 6 years and was fined 19 million dollars. If you honestly think there's no connection whatsoever between these events, then there's really nothing more to say.

Except maybe this.

Cliff Diving

So, apparently, spending cuts aren't necessary to stave off the latest fiscapocalypse. We can just jigger tax rates and keep spending and accumulating debt forever!

At least that's what politicians in DC seem to think. Admittedly, I have no great skill in managing a large and disparate nation, but then again, judging from results, the current collection of elected idiots officials don't either. I have, however, seen the results of spending and indefinite debt accumulation on personal finances. The path either ends in bankruptcy, for people who care about the niceties, or what fancy policy-wonk types call 'debt repudiation'. For us low-class folks out in the hinterlands, 'debt repudiation' just means you quit paying the people you owe.

These options aren't the same on a national scale, mainly because sovereigns do not declare bankruptcy. It is now, as always, good to be the king. When you are the king, you engage in debt repudiation. You tell everybody who owes you money to get fucked. Since you, as sovereign, control the courts, police, and army, it makes it a little difficult for your shafted creditors to get much recourse.

I don't think I'd be putting a bunch of money in Treasury securities right now. Even if the Bernanke does manage to hold it all together with currency devaluation (Quantitative Easing Forever!), they aren't a real good bet.

Efenant Party Time 2012

So, the GOP is having another nominating convention, and as is becoming the tradition, we here at YPS Manor have mostly ignored it in favor of spending a little quality time with each other and some old and new friends. Aside from a bit of comedy provided by the Paulbots, nothing of import was going to happen. Seriously, efenants, Mittens? That's the best you can come up with?

Neither party is serious about addressing the problems our country faces, so why should I be serious about paying attention to them? The clowns have taken over the circus, and are determined to drop the tent on everybody as the final act. The screaming and wailing and gnashing of teeth is going to be epic when it finally collapses.

Chicken Sandwiches Aren't Important

Let's leave aside the very real issue of elected government officials threatening legitimate businesses over the views of the executives, okay? J already covered that. It's a real issue, and one that more people should have focused on.

But this has been going on for over a week and the circus has reached the point of absurdity. I'd like to congratulate everyone for taking the bait and going off on a tangent in the middle of disaster. We're borrowing $41,000 a second to spend on useless bullshit, and people are spending all their time worrying about a chicken sandwich chain? 

What's gonna impact your human rights more, GLBT community? The fact that some guy who sells sandwiches doesn't think you should get married or the inescapable debt peonage you'll be placed into by the federal government to pay off the $15,900,000,000,000 they owe to everybody under the sun? Think about the answer long and hard, because so far you've come to the entirely wrong conclusion. Of course, the frenzied adulation showered upon a president who has done exactly 'jack' and 'shit' for your issues shows the clarity of y'all's thinking.

Now, don't think the other side is blameless either. Great, go buy a chicken sandwich and support free speech or whatever. But it's still not a big deal. Even the halfwitted mumbler and the overcompensating ballerina had to come up and admit there really wasn't anything they could do. By driving the conversation to even more ridiculous heights, you sucked out all the oxygen in the room and diverted everybody's attention from more important issues.

Grow the fuck up, people. You're concerning yourself with trivia while the world burns. Our national spending is completely out of control, and distracting yourself with sandwich drama isn't helping.

While I'm on the subject of adult behavior, try to remember one thing if you're going to go play kissy-face in front of or inside of a restaurant tonight: a fundamental aspect of character is how you treat people who have no power over you. If you think, as this guy apparently did, that by harassing the employees of a restaurant your making some kind of grand statement, you're half-right. You're making the less-than-grand statement that you're an asshole who thinks mistreating innocent people is just peachy. Get your protest on, but don't be a dick to the people working there. They need their paycheck just as much as any of you do.    

You Ain't Special

So, I read from my twitter feed that state Senator Dan Patrick proposed a bill exempting himself and other legislators from certain onerous provisions of Title 10, section 46.035 of the Texas Penal Code. What's more impressive is that he managed to get it passed in the Texas Senate. I can only hope the Texas House isn't so foolish.

For those of you not in the know, this section of the code governs where I, as a fine citizen and CHL holder, cannot lawfully carry a concealed weapon. Sen. Patrick feels that his exalted status as a legislator in the state of Texas means he's superior to us lesser mortals and should be exempt from most of these annoying rules.

Well, fuck that. He ain't special, and neither are his 180 colleagues up there in Austin doing their level best to screw things up. You want to pack heat in a bar just because you're a state legislator? Screw you, Dan. You're just a radio announcer who won an election, and all of sudden you think the rules shouldn't apply to you? What kind of nonsense is this? You possess no special wisdom or experience beyond that of winning elections. How that gives you any more need or qualification to carry a gun in a bar, sporting event, hospital, amusement park, church or state meeting is beyond me.

I have this funny theory: legislators aren't special. They are simply the citizen patsies we delegated to go off to Austin or DC and handle things so the rest of us can lead our lives. Therefore, legislators should be subject to all the same rules the rest of us are since they are fundamentally no different. Additionally, since we have reposed a significant amount of trust in our legislators, when they screw up in a criminal fashion, they get to go away for longer and get treated worse. SB 905 flies in the face of these beliefs.

The bill as written has one other fatal flaw: it is contrary to reality. The bill presumes state legislators have better judgement than the rest of us CHL holders. I can knock that theory dead with one simple thought: if Dan Patrick had 'better judgement', he wouldn't have gone into politics.

Online Poll Fail

So, Ron Paul (R-onulan) has announced his exploratory committee and team for Iowa. I think we should all keep in mind the sad truth about online polls:

Any online poll is worthless, and polls featuring candidate Paul are doubly so.

The Ronulans are the undisputed masters of swarming online polls to give him approval numbers usually seen only in one-party dictatorships. If he actually does throw his hat in the ring, the crazy will, just like last time, come crawling out of the woodwork and crush any online poll with him in it.

This is, I should add, simply a statement of fact, not a value judgement on Paul's candidacy. I voted for Paul in the primary last time, even after he had already dropped out. But his legions of online supporters are more than a little nuts, and don't represent the candidate well. Since I'm not the candidate, this really isn't my problem.

Get Another Job

The TSA employees apparently feel they are performing a valuable public service. Their delicate little feelings get hurt when the individual they are molesting calls the poor dear a molester. This makes the TSA agents sad.

Well, poor government drone, you have no right to a job where your feelings don't get hurt. In fact, you have no right to a job with the TSA. So if you don't want people to accurately describe what you're doing to them, I suggest you find another line of work.

I hear McDonald's may be hiring. You'll even get to wear a uniform, and the public will hold you in slightly greater esteem.

Behold The Power Of Cheese

I'd point and laugh at all the people who are currently deeply disappointed in the election results, but I am preparing for travel. I depart later today to the frozen North, where I shall venture behind the Cheese Curtain in search of equipment.

So when you run across people wailing and crying about the election, just pretend I said something appropriately snide. I'm sure someone will come out and say something jaw-droppingly, gob-smackingly retarded about the election soon enough, if they haven't already.

Excuses

So, apparently, the donks are going with the evil influence of undisclosed money and the pernicious influence of Citizens United as the reasons they're gonna get pasted come Tuesday. Frankly, that's a bunch of horseshit. If money was the be-all end-all of political influence, Michael Huffington would be a Senator from California, Jon Corzine would still be running New Jersey, and Meg Whitman will get elected Governor out in California on Tuesday. (I may still get surprised on that last one, but I bet not.) In fact, since the donks have outspent the efenants this cycle, they'd win. Keep this in mind the next time someone calls for campaign finance reform, please.

Since we've disposed of at least one canard the donks are trying to use, I'd like to be helpful and offer some other excuses they might make. They'll all be about as valid as the current line of crap they're peddling. So, for any donk politicians reading, here are some possible answers to the inevitable question: Why did you lose the election?

• My campaign staff was unfocused due to a constant barrage of chicken attacks.
• I suffered from food poisoning.
• I would have gotten away with it except for those meddling kids!
• I have a genetic disposition towards sub-optimal performance.
• In retrospect, I shouldn't have used monkeys with darts instead of conducting actual polls.
  
• The sun was in my eyes.
• Rabbits hacked my laptop.
• I accidentally channeled the spirit of Ronald Reagan instead of FDR during my campaign appearances.
• The Large Hadron Collider has rewritten the causality of the universe, causing my defeat.
• I've angered the gods of Olympus.
• Ninjas and/or pirates stole my votes.
• I've been drunk the entire campaign.
• I apparently did not specify which election I would win when I made my pact with Satan.
• The voters were too stupid/lazy/drunk/misinformed/apathetic/stoned to realize my opponent is actually an extra-terrestrial.
• Hamsters.
• The election board refused to put my nickname, "Stud Muffin", on the ballot.
• An evil scientist controlled the minds of the electorate with his Votinator device.
• Sunspots destroyed the integrity of the electronic voting machines.
• I sacrificed chiclets to the loa when I should have been sacrificing chickens.
• I misread my horoscope.

All I ask is that if you use one of my excuses, you drop me an email with a link to a transcript or video of the press conference. Thanks.

Political Apocalypse

Well, this is a reversal of the usual order of things. A majority of the voters polled by Rasmussen agree with me on a political question. To wit: anybody that voted for some of the more odious acts of the last two years needs to be unelected.

Usually, when I find myself on the side of the majority in American politics, I start to question my premises. For once, I have no need to do so.

Shock The Vote 2010

So, early voting in Montgomery County starts today. Get your vote on here, if you are inclined to vote early.

As always, I will try to convince you of the correct way to vote. Based on historical evidence and election results, most of you will ignore me. Whether or not that's good is subject to debate. I will point out things wouldn't be any worse had you followed my advice.

My rules of thumb this year: vote against the incumbent and against donks. Now, this may not leave you much to vote for, but many races in Montgomery County have alternate selections (read that as LP) on the ballot. Review and consider your choices.

I'm going to highlight a few notable races and leave you to exercise my rules on the rest. First off is US Representative for District 8. Kevin Brady is the incumbent. Kevin Brady voted for TARP, therefore he should get sent home to contemplate his sins. I'm reasonably sure Kent Hargett will be no better on the subject of fiscal restraint. I know a lot of hardcore efenants have problems with libertarians in general and the LP in specific. However, if you send back to Congress anybody who voted for TARP, next time push comes to shove they'll spend another couple hundred billion dollars of your money. I can guarantee any libertarian that manages to get into office ain't voting for half the stupid crap the efenants and donks have managed to pass off as necessary. Vote for Bruce West.

Next up: Governor of the State of Texas. Vote for Rick Perry again, and keep getting what you've been getting. Sweet. Vote for Bill White and get yet another donk with no concept of fiscal restraint and a penchant for interesting accounting. There's a great idea, on both counts. Again, I advise you all to try LP.

I will now take a moment to advise you on the tactical issue of voting LP. If you efenants in the audience really do feel like a donk may win in a close race, feel free to vote GOP yet again. I only want you to do so in the full and certain knowledge the GOP will not change if you do. If you continue to vote for the GOP when they misbehave, they'll continue to misbehave. A sharp uptick in the LP numbers will send a signal to the GOP that something is wrong, and they need to recalibrate. Incentives matter, and the GOP needs to learn they can get unelected right quick if they continue to be the party of less big government.

Moving slightly further down ballot, David Dewhurst can choke on a bucket of fail. I'd like to say I don't care who is the Lt. Governor as long as ain't him, but I'd be lying. There's a Green Party candidate in this race. A dead weasel is a better choice for elected office than anyone who runs as a Green.

Most of the other down ballot races I'm not incensed enough to berate you over. I note CISD has several positions open, and they are contested. Here's the relevant summaries if you live in CISD.

As always, be kind to your poll workers and if you don't bother to educate yourself, stay home.

Withholding Consent

Today, upon browsing through my news links, I was greeted by an op-ed (thanks, matt2) where a former deputy homeland security adviser to President Bush was arguing that governments, of all stripes, must be allowed back doors into communications systems. It included this lovely quote:

governments should not be timid about using their full powers to ensure that their law enforcement and intelligence agencies are able to keep their citizens safe.

Nowhere in the piece does Mr. Falkenrath acknowledge any right of the citizen to keep information from the state. Instead, he makes charming statements like “no provider of information services is exempt from the power of the state” and “governmental intrusion into ostensibly private communications offends liberal sensibilities”.

Mr Falkenrath’s piece would not be so troubling if it weren’t symptomatic of a larger problem. We have long passed the point where public officials recognize any legitimate restraints on the ability of government to do whatever the hell they think is necessary. Falkenrath is applauding the actions of a repressive monarchy in forcing a Canadian company to bow to demands for data access irrespective of any sort of due process or safeguards. He also points out how many in the US government, and I’m guessing himself included, wish similar actions could be taken here. Moreover, he’s not doing this in a backroom conversation with his intel buddies. He’s doing it on the op-ed page of the New York Times. What the hell, who needs the 4th Amendment and the idea that our government is one of limited powers? Not Kenneth Falkenrath. The danger of terrorism and smugglers and human traffickers is so great and so over-whelming we must use any means at our disposal to fight them! The idea that putative public servants who swore an oath to defend the Constitution feel free to advertise publicly their open disdain for same should cause some reevaluation.

However, he’s not alone, or by any means the most severe symptom of the problem. He’s just the guy I happened upon this morning. Examples are numerous and well-documented. We go from congressmen who believe there are no meaningful limits to federal power to courts who agree and to an executive who then acts with impunity, secure in the knowledge no one else in the .gov will disagree with the means even if they object to the ends. Taken all together, I’m led to an inescapable conclusion: the government of the United States is no longer acting in my interests. In fact, most of the actions the federal government takes are detrimental to me and mine.

So, what to do? My first instincts trend towards the simple and bloody. However, absent the willingness towards same from a substantial amount of the populace, any attempt is doomed to failure. It is infeasible, for a number of reasons, to simply pack up and move elsewhere. Another glaring issue with voting with the feet is that everywhere else is worse on many significant issues. Dropping off the grid entirely poses a number of practical problems as well. I firmly maintain the belief that the best way to hide from the government in this day and age is to get lost in the noise. If your data trail looks like every other data trail, you’re not going to get noticed. A lack of a data trail is just as noticeable, in some aspects, as an unusual data trail. So far the only answer I’ve reached is to hide in plain sight and figure out how to avoid getting the grosser excesses of the state aimed in my general direction.

I don’t have answers for some questions, like how little can you comply with the government and still stay off the radar. I also don’t know if the situation yet warrants something more active than civil disobedience and general non-compliance. I’m still working through some of the issues and practicalities, but in general terms, I’m withholding my consent. The government is illegitimate and can piss off.

Better On Nothing

If you, like me, are not a partisan of either donk or efenant, occasionally some well-meaning rabid supporter will attempt to convince you the proper place for you is on their side. This is usually a tough sell for many, many reasons, but even more so in the current political climate. My sympathies lie slightly towards the efenant side, since they seem a wee tad bit more determined to let me keep my guns and more of my money. Given the rest of my political sympathies, this sometimes baffles the donks I know. After all, I'm for gay marriage, drug legalization, less militarization of the police, criminal justice system reform, and a whole host of other issues that liberals and progressives supposedly support.

Here's the issue, and it applies to the R as well as the D. I can't go by what the boot-licking sycophants tell me some politician would do or would like to do. I have to go by what the honorable Random Weasel actually does. On that note, both of y'all's parties suck. But since the donks are currently in the Whitehouse, let's pick on them.

So, let me ask about a few issues supposedly important to you liberal and progressive types. Did the DEA stop cracking down on medical marijuana? Made any progress on slowing down the Drug War either? Hey, did your shiny hopey changey President get Gitmo closed? How about that PATRIOT Act that was gonna get revised? We stop bailing out huge corporations with taxpayer money yet? How's the whole increased transparency coming along? Damn, the answer to all that is still no?

And finally, the issue that started this post: warrantless wiretaps. The Obama declared he was gonna put an end to that nonsense. Oh, wait. Maybe not. Let's expand it, instead.

So, somebody on the left clue me in. On what rational basis do you claim your side is better on any issue I give a damn about? Either make some progress on liberty or admit your half of the donkelphant is just as awful as the other half. In the meantime, don't seriously expect me to believe I belong with either side.

You First, Skippy

So, the somewhat less than lustrous Senator from the great state of Deseret Utah, Orrin Hatch (R-Cupholder) has proposed a law. If you receive any form of government assistance, he wants you to pee in a cup. Orrin is apparently offended by the thought of you low-lifes getting high with tax money.

There are some arguments against this that flow from first principles, but since we've rendered the 4th Amendment into a sad, pathetic joke, I won't go into them. I'll start by pointing out a fact of my misspent youth. During my tenure in the Army, we were regularly asked to take tests to tell if we were on drugs. Tellingly, the people who control the military are not asked to do any such thing. Us guys with the boots on the ground might do something wrong if we were high. The folks deciding where we should go kill people and break things are apparently immune from poor decisions while stoned, since they don't take whiz quizzes.

Additionally, I note Orrin's salary and bennies are paid by the federal government. He's taking taxpayer money, too. It strikes me that to be philosophically consistent, Orrin should pass a bill requiring him and 534 of his closest fellow legislators to take random drug tests. When he steps up and does that, maybe I'll think about supporting drug tests for welfare recipients. In the meantime, if he's not going to require Congress to take a drug test he needs to have a nice hot cup of STFU.

Annual POA Meeting 2010

So, the prettier, politer half of YPS and I went to the annual POA Board meeting last night. Really, the Board should sell drinks at these things. It would be a way to help out the budget and make the meetings more bearable. The Board should also see about holding the meetings in a place with some lights, too. People were, no joke, using flashlights to read the programs. Whoever designed the auditorium at Oak Ridge High apparently felt lights weren't necessary.

Anyhow, the usual suspects were in attendance. Brandi Leal, some other PCMI minion, the social planner (Jennifer?), Linda Houston, Rick Gadd, Greg Grant, and Roy Hailey. I guess Bliss Roberts resigned from the board, since she wasn't there. As always, our fearless leader Al Brende didn't show up. They also had the new MoCo deputy who is our contracted patrol leader.
The big news: meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Greg Grant got booted off the board. Sebastien Moulin and Kenneth Brown are now our resident board members. Kenneth has been involved in the community as Traffic Safety Chair ever since we moved here. Now that I can associate a face to a name, I've seen Sebastien at just about every meeting I've attended, so he's obviously involved as well. Whether or not they'll do a good job is the next question. If not, we can boot them next year.

Of course, given the Board is still controlled by Land Tejas, I'm quite sure there's a hard limit to what Sebastien and Kenneth can accomplish if Al and his minions are against it. In any event, I wish them well, right up until they try to do something I don't like. Then I will call for their removal from the Board, banishment from polite society, and ostracization from the community. If it comes to that, any of you who might be members of polite society or the community shall have to let me know how that works out.

Greg gave a lovely little speech about everything he had done for the community, and it may all be true. I dunno. Given the crappy summary notes the Board puts out for meeting minutes, you'd never be able to tell. However, he flat out admitted he doesn't answer emails. I think his lack of response may have killed his reelection. People may accept that nothing can be done about a situation, but they don't like feeling their concerns are ignored. I get a sense a lot of residents don't feel anybody listens to them. Perhaps our new resident members will do a better job at communicating with the rest of us. Again, we shall see.

What was more interesting to me was the budget numbers presented. The subdivision has run in the red every single year since the community was built. Maybe I'm dumb, but this indicates a problem to me. You can't run any organization over the long term with continual deficits unless you're the federal government. Last time I checked, we weren't. We're also supposed to be maintaining a reserve fund to pay for the expenses we're bound to face in the future for things like road maintenance and clubhouse maintenance. I asked about it. We have nothing in our reserve fund, we owe our builder 200 large, and the Board is out spending money on speed bumps. This makes no sense to me, and the snide dismissal by Brandi does absolutely nothing to endear her to me.

Our budget is the biggest problem we, as a community, face and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. Instead, everybody demands funding of their little pet issue and stubbornly resists any cuts to the pet while insisting everything else be discarded. It doesn't help that we're still $500K short from all the dues we should be collecting. Something has to give, and sooner rather than later. I don't want my assessments to be raised every single year because the Board is incapable of managing our money responsibly. Since Al and his employees run the Board, I'm pretty much blaming Al and Land Tejas for this one. They built a bunch of amenities that are expensive to maintain, and then set the assessments too low to adequately cover them and a reserve fund. I guess it's easier to pitch your nice, shiny community if it has low assessments.

I also blame Al for the people who won't stop bitching about the golf course. Yeah, Al gave himself a revenue stream for his golf course out of our POA dues. Yes, it was sleazy and unethical, but we got it stopped and it's over. Unless you can figure out a way to make Houston National Golf Club give us our money back, have a cup of STFU and let it go.

We also spent a whole bunch of time listening to people nattering about speed bumps. People are for them, people are against them, they're too high, they're effective, they're not effective. Whatever. Somebody explain to me how an organization that can't adequately fund ongoing operations can find the money to install speed bumps. I'm not seeing it. You can desire speed bumps all you want, but you need to figure out how to pay for them. I don't see where the POA has the money.

I'd comment on what Officer Friendly had to say, but he rambled so much I'm not entirely sure. Something about double edged swords, and gangs, and how he drives his own truck around to be super-ninja cop or something. He was marginally more coherent than a head trauma patient, but only just.

I'm beginning to feel these meetings are more or less political theatre to keep the residents partially mollified. Al and his cronies are going to do the minimum possible to keep the subdivision an attractive marketing opportunity until they can close it out. Once they hand over the POA, we'll still have the same budget problems, but it'll be our problem and we'll have to raise assessments or slash services. The future looks pretty bleak from where I'm sitting.

Random Monday Thoughts

Afghanistan is a failure of the Westphalian system. Not in the usual sense of a failed nation state, but a failure in trying to impose an alien paradigm on a populace which is having none of it. Much of Africa has the same issue.

Walmart is starting to have ammo back in stock sporadically. Even with tax, I can get .45 ACP cheaper at Walmart than I can buying in bulk.

I found out today I need a tux by Friday. I hate it when that happens. But I'm still better off than J, who has to figure out what to wear. Formal wear is so much simpler for guys.

Facebook got a lot more pleasant once I figured out how to block applications. I don't give a shit about Mafia Wars, Farmville, or any of the rest of the nonsense.

Joe Klein is a dipshit who wouldn't know sedition if someone slapped him in the jaw with the definition.

As long as we're on sedition, how does the Smith Act square up with a document that says throwing off a despotic government is not only a right but a duty?

I realize it'll happen when hell freezes over, but I'd like it if either Microsoft or Apple started including FLAC support in their products.

WANT.

On that note, I'm out and home for a drink, some dinner, and tux shopping.

Why Congress Is Stupid

Actually, Congress is an emergent system which, by definition, can’t be stupid as it has no consciousness. However, as our fearless congresscritters and other functionaries in and around DC try to manage the business of a vast, unimaginably complex collection of disparate individuals, it’s important to consider the limits of their knowledge. Congress may not be stupid, but Congress does make bad decisions.

One of the reasons why was explained 65 years ago by a guy named Freidrich Hayek. The short version (long version here) is coordination of any complex system requires too much information for any one individual to collect and process in time to make rational decisions which will affect the system. Computers, strangely, made this problem worse because the guy trying make decisions is going to be overpowered by the multitude of computers everywhere else. He can't possibly keep up with the data. It's a simple truth, but one that everybody ignores.

As recent events have proven, Congress can't even keep track of their own information, much less any other information. Congress just passed a 2,300 page bill none of the members had read in its entirety. What effect the bill will have on the 266 volumes of federal law and regulation, nobody yet knows. So, once again, I have to ask: in what universe was passing this bill a good idea?

No Mo' Mittens

Well, Mittens and his magic underoos might as well figure out something else to do beside try to be President. Since Mittens wants the job so damn bad, he's obviously not the right guy to have the job. However, most people think political ambition is a good thing, despite all the countervailing evidence, so that won't kill his chances.

On the other hand, the ongoing "fiscal train wreck" he bequeathed the state of Massachusetts is something most voters will care about, especially in two more years.

Unintended Consequences Lead To... Thuggishness?

So, the accountants over at AT&T read the new heath care bill and figured they were in for a screwing. So, in accordance with well-established law, the accountants have to disclose the event and what the cost will be or else the SEC will go after AT&T. All okay so far, right? If AT&T did their math wrong and our fabulous attempt at health care deform doesn't cost them as much as they think, well, they can always restate the financials right?

Alternatively, some jackass in Congress can request AT&T corporate officers appear before that august body because he doesn't think their assessment is correct. I mean, hell, Henry Waxman (D-emagogue) knows more about how the new law is going to affect AT&T than AT&T does, because he's a congresscritter, right?

I'm not AT&T's corporate counsel, but in the absence of a valid subpeona, I'd tell Rep. Waxman to go piss up a rope.

Enemies List, Texas Edition

So, I'll mention briefly who you should be working on unelecting this fall. Basically, every donk in the Congress. Conveniently enough for Texas, we already had our primaries, so these chumps will be on the ballot barring death, withdrawal, or felony convictions. The following individuals voted to screw all of us over:

Henry Cuellar
Lloyd Doggett
Charles A. Gonzalez
Al Green
Gene Green
Ruben Hinojosa
Sheila Jackson-Lee
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Solomon P. Ortiz
Silvestre Reyes
Ciro Rodriguez

One of our donk congressional delegation either had some good sense or was afraid for his reelection. But, what the hell, he's complicit by party membership. Unelect Chet Edwards, too.

I trust everyone knows how to make their displeasure known in the appropriate fashion.