While I’m trying to work out some issues with being able to back up the blog (it runs on my current home server, and the database runs on my MythTV DVR box), I should point to this bit on StrategyPage detailing the Top Ten Myths of the Iraq War. If you don’t subscribe to StrategyPage, I highly recommend it. Glenn’s podcasts with Jim Dunnigan and Austin Bay are always really good as well. Check out Glenn’s podcast archives to find them.
Category: Current Events
The Slow Implosion Stops for Now
I will very seldom post about business stuff on here, but it’s interesting to see my former employer actually turning a profit. What really gets me interested enough to post is that it seems they want to cash in on the troubelsome practice of civil asset forfeiture:
Separately, Unisys said Wednesday it received a blanket purchase agreement that could allow it to sell $112 million in services to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Management Staff over eight years. The services are to support the staff’s consolidated asset tracking system. The government has already ordered $8 million in services under the agreement.
Boy I’m glad I don’t work for them anymore. Unisys executives have never known a customer so sleazy they wouldn’t deal with them. I’m glad my labor isn’t going to help the government steal private property more efficiently.
It’s crap like asset forfeiture that makes me laugh at the left when they try to get me to care about the fact that Bush is stomping all over our civil liberties. Maybe I’ll be able to get worked up about it when the left starts worrying about the civil liberties I’ve already lost because of the War on Drugs. Sorry, but at the end of the day, I’m a lot more concerned about the government stealing my property without proper due process, than I am about the NSA possibly listening in on phone calls when I call the middle east (which I do oh so regularly, you know).
Are Virginia Voters on Crack?
I know you had a choice between Senator Macaca and Jim Webb, but seriously folks, Jim Webb makes Bush seem inspiring. Was this really the best the Democrats could do?
Disappointed
I was disappointed in Bush’s State of the Union speech. Despite the fact that I’m totally on board with shooting more terrorists, a larger military, and giving Iran an ass kicking if needed, I just can’t get over the fact that he didn’t end it with a shout of “FREE WAYNE!” followed by whipping out a submachine gun and firing a burst at the ceiling.
He’s Back!
Good to see Stephen Green is back, and liveblogging the State of the Union Address so we don’t have to. I hope he has a good supply of liquor, because I have a feeling this address is going to require a lot to get through.
The FDA is Getting too Cautious
I should say a little disclaimer here: I work in the pharmaceutical industry, but I was a libertarian type long before I did, so a lot of my opinions pre-date my involvement in the industry. I will also say that not all the FDA regs are stupid and overly burdensome. I think the government does have some roll to play in preventing drug companies from defrauding consumers.
Here’s one case I think they shouldn’t butt their noses into though:
The Food and Drug Administration will ask a panel of experts Tuesday and Wednesday whether it should require new contraceptive drugs to meet a standard of effectiveness before they are approved for the market.
No, this is not how to handle the problem. The FDA should ensure that the drug companies claims for efficacy are true, and that the information is provided to consumers. I think women are quite capable of weighing for themselves the efficacy vs. safety issue when deciding whether or not to take a particular contraceptive product. We don’t need government experts doing that for them!
I’ve long believed the FDA should be about making sure consumers know how safe an effective a certain drug is, rather than making choices for people. I’m totally OK with the FDA calling for more efficacy information being gathered on birth control, but don’t keep products off the market because a panel of government experts don’t think it’s efficacious enough. Let consumers decide that.
Let the Race to the Bottom Begin
It seems that the Philadelphia mayoral race might come down to who’s been shot the most. For the record, I’ve never thought Dwight Evans to be a bad guy. I don’t agree with him most of the time, but I think he’d make a better mayor than John Street. I’d hate to think that being shot scores you sufficient political points in Philadelphia politics that the candidates feel compelled to recall these incidents to gain advantage over each other in the race.
Cartoon of the Day
Butt Out
I am not nor ever have I been a smoker, nor do I particularly enjoy coming home reeking of cigarette smoke after a night on the town, but I’ve never presumed that I should force my preferences on bar and restaurant owners because I don’t like it. I avoid heavily smoky establishments, as a general rule, and that worked for me just fine. That’s why I’m dissapointed that Philadelphia’s smoking ban went into effect yesterday. There is one saving grace for bar owners in the city:
Private clubs and restaurants whose food sales are less than 20 percent may apply for an exemption.
But I’ve never bought the studies that second hand smoke is really that dangerous, or that public health is anything other than a cover for enforcing the majority’s preference onto business owners. Smoking bans are passing because most people find cigarette smoke objectionable, and for me, that’s never been a good enough reason to allow the government to interfere with a proprietor’s right to control what goes on in his or her establishment.
I know many will argue that there’s a serious public health concern here, but I just don’t trust statistical epidemiological studies that have reason to be politically motivated. I think showing a little tolerance, and accepting a little risk, is worth it for us to continue living in a society where people can still exercise property rights, and enjoy habits that the majority finds objectionable.
Buy Your Own Country
From my friend and shooting buddy Jason, who isn’t cool enough to blog yet, I get this news item that the Principality of Sealand, an old World War II offshore artillery platform off the coast of Britain, is up for sale by the owner. A few years back the geek community was abuzz over a tech venture that set up a computer data center on the platform for use as a “data haven”. I’ve met some of the people involved with this venture, and Jason has the distinction of once beating Prince Michael at Hydro Thunder. The world would indeed be a poorer place without wealthy British eccentrics.
If you’ve ever wanted to own your own country, now is the chance.