Wednesday, April 28, 2004

It'd Be Cheaper to Be a Mortgage Broker

I’ve never earned a living driving a cab, though it does have a certain allure, if it can be accomplished as an independent.  In New York city, the cost of being self-employed as a cab driver has hit $300,000.00. Insane.  Here in the state of Michigan, to become a licensed mortgage broker, one only need to prove a networth of $25,000.00.

Do you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Via The Agitator.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 12:06 PM
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Speak Freely, Unless it Bites the Hand that Feeds You

"The Drug Policy Alliance and several co-plaintiffs will make oral arguments next Wednesday, April 28 in a case that should bar the government from censoring those who criticize the “War on Drugs.” Two consolidated lawsuits make up the case, filed in February against the United States government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), operator of the capital’s Metro system."

Free speech isn’t so free, I’d say. 

Via Jacob Sullum at Hit & Run.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 06:23 AM
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So Do I

“I Love America."

Somena, raised Canadian, by anti-American parents.

"I love America. I think in my heart - ever since I read Ayn Rand - 10 years ago, I have always been an American."

Somena, you are an American.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 05:58 AM
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Infantilizing John Kerry

So, how long does an individual remain a kid?  Until he’s the age of 16, 20, 25, 27?  Here’s former senator Bob Kerrey commenting on John Kerry’s childhood, after being discharged from the military.

"I think he’s got to go back to remember what it felt like and help people understand what it was like in 1971,” said Mr. Kerrey. “It was a terrible time, and he was a kid. And he just said some indefensible things. How unusual does that make him for a 25-year-old? Not very. Especially during that time. He served honorably, with great distinction."

From a New York Observer piece titled “Is Kerry Blowing It?"

Via Billy Beck, who also links to this piece from The Village Voice titled “John Kerry Must Go."

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways." 1 Corinthians 13:11

For John Kerry, this time came later than for other individuals, evidently.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 05:33 AM
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How Will We Know?

A conversational exchange.

"My cubicle mate (a person of the female persuasion) recently asked me the quite reasonable question, “How will we know we’ve won the war?” (by which she meant our current religious conflict).

I said, “Wait 40 years, look in the mirror, see if you’re wearing a Burka."

I had to stifle a chuckle on that one.

Posted by Duncan Frissell, The Technoptimist.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 04:21 AM
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Why Did Reuters File This Story Under Entertainment?

“‘Nightline’ Devotes Show to Reading War Dead Names."

This sentence from the piece partially explains.

"Due to time constraints in the 30-minute program, “Nightline” will limit its reading to the approximately 523 U.S. troops killed in combat since the start of the war. Another 201 have died as a result of accidents, friendly fire or suicide."

Nightline isn’t doing this “show” to honor the dead. 

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 04:02 AM
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Bringing a Marine Home

As I read what the link below leads to, my eyes teared up more than once.  May God bless his family as they adjust to life without PFC Chance Phelps, USMC.

“Taking Chance Home."

Via Stephen Green.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 03:53 AM
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Standard Phrasing

In this morning’s New York Times, Wesley Clark is defending John Kerry by citing his military records, specifically, Clark refers to Kerry’s evaluations.

"The evaluations were uniformly glowing. One commander wrote that Mr. Kerry ranked among “the top few” in three categories: initiative, cooperation and personal behavior. Another commander wrote, “In a combat environment often requiring independent, decisive action, Lt. j.g. Kerry was unsurpassed.” The citation for Mr. Kerry’s Bronze Star praises his “calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire."

A couple of thoughts on the cited excerpts.  While attached to the USS LOS ANGELES (SSN688), my duties, as a Personnelman, included typing evaluations for all 120 plus members of the boat’s crew, officers included.  The excerpts, Clark so glowingly refers to, are basically boilerplate statements that I imagine you will find in any evaluation, officer or enlisted, written during that period.  Heck, I took a quick peek at my evaluations, from my five year enlistment, and found excerpts that express similar sentiments about my abilities.  Except for the fact that my duties and abilities were not tested under fire, Kerry’s name, or any individual who has served in the military with a bit of fortitude, could be substituted into the evaluation with the same result.

The measure of a man, whether it be Kerry, Clark, or myself, cannot necessarily be determined by reading an evaluation, written with standard military phrasing.  Actions speak louder than words.  Kerry’s actions, in regards to his military service, evaluations, and medals, speak loud and clear.  I hear disdain.

Clark’s piece is titled “A Sterling Record."

Posted by John Venlet on 04/28 at 03:03 AM
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Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Skintastic

British researchers have developed a bandage for burn victims, made from their own skin.  The product would’ve come in handy this past weekend when I experienced a failure of my 1000 degree gloves while tending the campfire.

“Bandages may be made of user’s own skin."

Via Google News.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 07:22 AM
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Ralph Waldo Emerson Anniversary

On this day, in 1882, Ralph Waldo Emerson passed away, at the age of 79.  Steve King, writing for Today in Literature, notes Emerson’s passing with a short synopsis of the end of his life.

I recommend noting Emerson’s passing on to the great unknown by reading Civil Disobedience.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 07:06 AM
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Philisophical Bullshit

I enjoy philosophical discussions and reading various philosophers, but 7,827 words “On Bullshit" seems a bit over the top.  The piece is written by Harry Frankfort of Princeton.

I guess it’s appropriate that the link is via the Anal Philosopher.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 06:21 AM
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Chinese proverb: "Kill One Man, Terrorize a Thousand."

Interesting story on Marine snipers plying their trade in Fallujah.  Did you know that da Vinci may have been a sniper against the Holy Roman Empire?  I didn’t.

Via Nicholas Provenzo at The Rule of Reason.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 04:05 AM
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On Big Brother Watching You

“‘Where there is traffic enforcement there is rage’”? Maybe. But the point these governments and these journalists is missing is that where there is faceless traffic enforcement, there is totally understandable alienation. And the governments themselves sowed what their employees and their cameras are reaping."

Claire Wolfe commenting on Canadians expressing their displeasure with mobile photo radar ticket vans, by tossing newspaper boxes and such at the vans.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 03:56 AM
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"...the most kind, caring, sweet kid you'd ever meet in your life."

That’s what the dad says about his kid.  Here’s what the kid videotaped himself and his friends doing in the most kind, caring and sweet way.

"the trio videotaped themselves raping the girl on a pool table and sodomizing her with a bottle, billiard cue and cigarette. Haidl, Keith James Spann, 19, and Kyle Joseph Nachreiner, 19, were arrested after someone turned the footage over to police. In a scathing rejoinder to defense attorneys’ in-court characterization of Gregory Haidl as an innocent bystander, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Gurwitz recounted the activities purported to be shown on the video.

“Gregory Haidl himself, by his own ‘little boy’ hands, inserted various objects in the girl and helped his friends do the same,” Gurwitz told the judge. “It’s his camera. It’s in his house. He’s the one who’s in the best position to stop what’s going on here."

Let em rot.

From an LA Times story titled “A High-Placed Father With Son in Trouble."

Via The Obscure Store.

Update: A comparison story, except the videotaped individuals work for the state.

“State attorney: Videotaped beating of prison wards not enough for prosecution."

Story link via Strike the Root.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 03:46 AM
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Roll Out the Beer Barrels

Beer is a relatively inexpensive beverage.  I can recall, back in 1975, a 12 pack of Bud costing $3.15 at the local convenience store.  Of course I really wasn’t supposed to be purchasing beer in 1975, but things were a bit different then.  Beer is still pretty cheap to purchase, overall, but in Norway, the govmint thinks beer is too cheap.

"Norwegians rushed out to stock up on beer on Friday after authorities ruled it was too cheap following an unprecedented price war in a nation used to some of the most expensive alcohol on earth."

Via the Mises Economics Blog.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/27 at 03:27 AM
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