Why Does Congress Hate Literate Children?

I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't think it can be said too many times how stupid the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is. The name of the Act is great. Who would oppose "consumer product safety"? Who would oppose making sure that products are safe for children? Unfortunately, this law is destroying small businesses who make safe toys for children but who can't afford the required (idiotic) testing. It also has rendered all pre-1985 children's books essentially unsellable. Don't donate your old children's books as they will most likely end up in a landfill. Given who stupid all of this is, why isn't Congress fixing it?

Update: Overlawyered has a lot more on the CPSIA.

Technorati: Bad People, Children, Law

Ethics and Atheism

So I've been thinking about atheists and morality/ethics. I can't come up with a reason for an atheist (one who is all but convinced that there is no supernatural world, higher law, god or gods, etc...) to be a "good person." I know that many atheists are good people but what, other than personal preference, is their reason for doing good things when they could easily get away with doing bad things? I know that there are plenty of social and legal incentives to behave when you are in public or otherwise being watched by other people. But what about those times when you have an opportunity to do a bad thing and benefit from it and there is absolutely no chance that you will be caught? Why should an atheist do the "right" thing?

Again, I know that many atheists are good people and do do the right things. I'm not arguing that they don't. I'm looking for the philosophical or logical justification for it, though.

Religious people have a number of motivations: fear of punishment by god or gods, fear of corrupting their immortal soul, fear of bad karma, etc...

Technorati: Ethics, Religion

Looks Who's Talking!

I find this kind of depressing, but then the average person isn't all that smart and half the people are dumber than average, so I can't say I'm shocked to see who is in the top. I've been trying to read the Huffington Post but it makes my brain hurt. I expect partisanship and some of the articles are interesting but some are just plain stupid. Not surprisingly, the more partisan, the more stupid. I am encouraged to see that Markos Moulitsas isn't ranked very high. Megan McArdle is ranked much higher, which is a good thing.

Technorati: Blogs, Media

Breakfast of Losers

So here's a bachelor living tip. I hate making breakfast and I am barely functional in the morning. However, I want to have a healthy breakfast to make my day go better. So here's what I do:

First, pre-mix some stuff that goes well with eggs. I use grated cheese, olives, and bacon pieces. I mix up a bunch in a bowl and store it in the refrigerator.

In the morning, crack three eggs into a bowl and add some of the mix. Microwave for three minutes or so, stirring once towards the end.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Eat delicious eggs in a bowl.

Technorati: Food

The Puffington Host

In an effort to avoid living in an echo chamber and to counter the natural tendency to seek out sources of information that confirm biases, I've actively started reading the Huffington Post and the Daily Kos. Wow... I think I'm stupider, now. Not that either is 100% stupid, but there is a lot of it there. I probably should moderate my statement, but after reading today's front page stories on the Huffington Post, I'm not feeling moderate.

Apparently, you if you can't practice what you preach, you should preach what you practice. Based on the reaction to Governer Sanford's affair, Republicans should now all give up any moral ideals and fully support gay marriage. What? That's got to be one of the dumbest things EVER. Human beings are imperfect. This does not mean that we are not capable of seeing what should be or a better way. But imperfect humans often fail to achieve their ideals. That doesn't mean one should just give up and preach whatever one happens to be doing.

Just to be clear, I think Governer Sanford is a schmuck and his trip was incredibly irresponsible and juvenile. Even if he weren't Governer, it would have been an incredibly selfish and stupid thing to do. But the fact that he so spectacularly failed to live up to any ideals is not a reason to abandon them. Now maybe Republicans should support gay marriage. But if so, the fact that some idiot Governer had an affair and then went on an international nookie run while neglecting his job is not why.

Reading the "Green" section just makes me sad. There are lots of articles about how green technology will somehow help the economy and create wealth even though it needs subsidies because it's more expensive and less efficient. Here's a free tip: if something requires a government subsidy (direct payment, tax break, etc...) then it's NOT efficient. It maybe desireable for other reasons but economic benefits aren't one of tehm.

Okay, now it's time to delve into the Daily Kos...

Technorati: Economics, Energy, Environmentalism, Government, Politics

Justice, Obama Style

It's been an interesting Presidency from a civil rights standpoint under Obama. His Justice department has been politically driven in ways that President Bush never even tried. They dropped a case they'd basically won against Black Panthers intimidating white voters. They defended the Defense of Marriage Act, unnecessarily and in ways that go far beyond anything President Bush tried. He's fired an Inspector General, in violation of the proper procedure, who was investigating misuse of funds by one of his big supporters and Mayor of Sacramento.

So apparently corruption and voter intimidation are okay while gay marriage is not. I'm so glad Obama was elected President. He sure has ushered in a new era of transparency and is undoing all of the bad things that happened under President Bush.

Technorati: Marriage, Obama, Politics

Letterman is Sorry

And he apologized, too. I used to enjoy Letterman. But apparently he's lost his mind. His joke about Sarah Palin's 14-year-old daughter was completely inappropriate and not very funny. Making about her eighteen-year-old daughter isn't much better. His apology, especially given its timing, seems very self-serving and more of an attempt to placate critics than an expression of sincere regret. He probably does feel bad about making the joke about the younger daughter but I wonder if he really sees how inappropriate the joke was regardless of which daughter it was about.

Technorati: Fail

Obama on Justice

Does Obama even know what the Supreme Court does? It is the ultimate court of appeals and typically makes rulings on whether something is Constitutional or not. It does not hear cases for the first time, it only hears them after a series of lower courts have heard them. It does not rule on the merits of the case, it rules on whether the law was correctly applied, the correct procedures were followed, and/or whether the applicable law is Constitutional. Empathy is not relevant. Knowledge and understanding of the law is relevant.

Sadly, Obama is out of step with the American people, though not surprisingly he's in accord with the Democratic Party. Most people believe that the Supreme Court should rule based on the Constitution. But only a few Democrats believe this.

Obama has clearly stated that he believes that the Supreme Court should not just interpret the law but it should make new law and it should act to make changes and that the Constitution is flawed. Of course, we have a mechanism for changing the Constitution through amendments, but Obama apparently believes the Courts should bypass that (probably since the people can't be trusted to get things right).

(One some of the links in the previous paragraph, the comments are more interesting than the original post)

Technorati: Law, Obama, Constitution, Courts

The True Story of the Atomic Bombs

Bill Whittle gives a very good explanation of why it was necessary to drop two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II.

Technorati: World War II

I do not agree with Obama on...

These are the ways in which I disagree with President Obama

That we should feel guilty for dropping nuclear bombs on Japan

Dropping the bombs was a horrific act, as are most of the things that happen during a war. At the time, those who were leading the country believed that dropping the bomb was the only way to save millions of American and Japanese lives. Oh, and The two cities were NOT civilian targets. They were home to factories and shipyards and no bombs in WWII were precision guided. Any bombing of military targets involved a lot of collateral damage.

That the President (or Congress) should take over businesses or interfere directly with the details of how businesses are run

Right now, the President is pressuring Chrysler bond holders to accept a terrible deal. He is particularly pressuring banks that accepted TARP money (not always voluntarily). This "deal" that he has concocted flies in the face of established bankruptcy law and threatens the stability of our lending system. If lenders know that the government may intervene and move politically favored creditors up in line in violation of normal bankruptcy law, then they will be reluctant to lend (or will lend only at much higher rates). The government is supposed to establish and enforce the rules, not throw them out the window in favor of banana republic-style crony looting of companies.

That the United States should give up any of its sovereignty to international institutions

The President is appointing people to his staff who believe in transnationalism and that international law should supersede U.S. law. He has even said that he might cooperate with Spanish courts if they wish to try U.S. government officials for Spanish crimes. The biggest problem with this is that the international community is overwhelmingly made up of dictatorships and tyrannies and there is no overall authority that can reign them in. So if we follow international law and they don't, we can't do anything except appeal to toothless international institutions. Also, there is no formal process for making international law. As of now, it consists of treaties (not all signed by all countries) and conventions, many of which violate the Constitution in some form or another.

That our clandestine services should be open for all to see

The CIA and our special forces are supposed to operate in secret. They can not function if everyone is watching them. By necessity, spying on other countries breaks their laws. Obama seems intent on destroying the morale and effectiveness of our clandestine intelligence services by throwing them to the wolves. I fully expect that the CIA will sometimes do things that I am uncomfortable with. I do not like it nor do I want them to go crazy. But I also do not want to shine a spotlight on them and reveal all that they are doing and have done. If the CIA needs to clean house, appoint a group of outsiders (from whatever branches) and do it quietly. Do not do it in the media or in a public court room.

That the government should run the financial system

We have a name for government run financial systems. It's socialism. And it does not work. The government needs to quickly get banks, financial institutions, auto makers, etc... back to being privately run. It should be making rules and enforcing them, NOT trying to run companies. No matter what the intentions of the Fed or the Treasury were, Congress has realized that it can meddle in these government controlled institutions for political purposes and will destroy them.

That he is doing a good job as President

Apparently, HE thinks he is, but he is leading the people by lying to them about everything. Even little things, like his speech on torture. Churchill's forces DID torture and commit other acts that would be considered war crimes. Green jobs and investments in green technology WILL NOT save money in the long run. They may be better for the planet (another debate entirely) but they will cost more. Cap and trade carbon credits will increase the cost of energy for everyone, especially the poor. Government run healthcare will NOT give us better health care for less money. It may give us better healthcare for more money or less healthcare for less money. Or it may give us worse healthccare for more money.

It's kind of depressing to watch the country being ruined in so many ways and precedents being set that will be difficult to unset. The Republicans aren't much help as they are still trying to figure out what to do. Between the religious right, the moderates, and the Ron Paul Libertarians, they are tearing themselves apart. Maybe the tea party movement will transform into a political party that believes in small government, personal liberty, and U.S. sovereignty. I can only dream.

Technorati: Economics, Politics, Obama

Who Is the Party of Nasty?

Wow... just wow. The pro-gay-marriage crowd really come across looking like assholes in this interview. Perez Hilton was bad enough with his idiotic attacks but at least he was just some blogger. Now Olbermann, who shows himself to be a classless asshole, and some twit trade crude insults about Carrie Prejean, Miss California. She gave an honest answer to a question, expressing an opinion held by a majority of this country, a majority of California, and President Obama. And now the Left are showing their true colors in their attacks on her. And not only that, they think that they look good and she looks bad. I suspect that the more people who see this video, the less popular these fools will be.



Technorati: Bad People

Walking the Walk

Mat Redsell has dedicated himself to living a fully sustainable lifestyle. Of course, he's cheating by making use of equipment built by the current, industrial society, but he doesn't have much choice in that. His effort is pretty impressive and he is learning a lot. His conclusion is that a totally sustainable lifestyle must necessarily be more austere and less wealthy than our current, petroleum based lifestyle.

Of course, his justification is seriously flawed. He states, correctly, that oil and coal are finite resources and will run out someday. His mistake, though, is to assume that the end of oil and coal means an end to our energy-rich lifestyle. Other sources of energy are out there, from fission and fusion to satellite based solar to things we may not even know of, yet. As existing energy supplies begin to run out, the costs will go up. This will spur innovation and lead to the development of replacements.

In fifty years, I expect my kids will be flying to work or living in orbit or something similar and his will be looking up from their family garden as they harvest tomatoes or from the creek where they are beating their laundry against rocks...

Technorati: Environmentalism

Kudos: Shell Station

There is a Shell station on the corner of FM 1960 and Paradise Valley Dr. just west of Champions Forest. I dropped by yesterday morning to get some gas. As usual, I pulled up to the self-service pump and got out to pump my gas. Two guys who worked there came over and said they weren't busy so one of them washed my windows while the other checked my tire pressure and inflated them for me. They don't always do this, but I've stopped for gas there a number of times and more than once, somoene has come out and helped me in some way. So if you are on FM 1960 and need gas, stop buy and give these guys some business.

Technorati: Good People

Tea Party Derangement Syndrom

I'm beginning to think the Left is just deranged. They can't just disagree with something, they have to demonize it and ridicule it. The Huffandpuffington Post has "extensive coverage" of the Tax Day Tea Parties. They can't conceive of the idea that many millions of people are against high government spending, intrusive nanny-statism, and high taxes. So they mock and ridicule and project.

I read a lot of conservative web sites. Many of them are critical of the Republican Party as well as the Democratic Party (though not as often). These sites generally discuss the issues. When I check out mainstream Liberal web sites like Huffington Post or Daily Kos, I see a lot of vitriol and derangement and emoting and demonizing of enemies and not a lot of discussion of ideas.

Technorati: Economics, Politics, Tax

Bill Whittle's message to the rich

Bill Whittle has an inspirational style that really cuts to the heart of an issue and then illustrates very clearly. His message to the rich is right on target and he brings home the message with a personal anecdote. Read it now.

Technorati: Economics

Bow? What bow?

IMAO has conclusive proof that President Obama did not bow to the King of Saudi Arabia. Check out the in depth analysis.

Technorati: Obama

Rock Band 2

Speaking of Rock Band 2, I thought that music games sounded incredibly stupid when I first heard of them. I still find myself feeling kind of silly playing the fake guitar. But I have found Rock Band 2 to be a lot of fun. I'm not sure why, but there's something enjoyable about playing the fake guitar to music I like. It's kind of a zen relaxation thing. It's like a variation of dancing, though with expensive electronic equipment. I have become quite a good fake guitar player on Medium (which only uses four fret buttons). For some reason, when I try Hard with the fifth fret button, I suddenly turn into a spastic chimpanzee trying to play a guitar with a rock. Maybe I'm too old or something. My nephew scoffed at my lack of skill. I'm not as good at the fake drums and unfortunately for me, the singing is NOT fake. I still can't carry a tune, though the feedback the game gives helps me get close. Apparently, I have a pretty big range, though, as I will wander all up and down the octaves trying to match the pitch. The game will give you credit for matching the note in any octave. Though it apparently has a low limit that I can sing below.

Rock Band 2 lets you create your band members and then buy them clothes. I made my band all female as I figured I'd rather watch women than men jump around on stage. Unfortunately, I was right. So I find myself watching my band while notes whiz by and the fans start booing. ADD + flashing lights + hot digital women = wait, what was I doing? I either need to make a band of fat dudes or hope they come out with some DLC frumpy dresses that I can buy.

Technorati: XBOX 360

Resident Evil 5

So I bought Resident Evil 5 for the XBOX 360 the other day and thought it'd be fun to kill some zombies. It would have been except that whoever designed the controls for this game was clearly insane. The XBOX 360 controller has two triggers, two buttons above the triggers (bumpers), four buttons under your right thumb, a D-pad (with eight possible buttons), two thumbsticks (each of which can be pushed for another button) and a "back" button. With all of these possibilities, someone decided that to shoot your gun or swing your knife, you should have to push two buttons at the same time. There are four possible control layouts for the game but all four of them require you to push two buttons to attack. This in a game where the primary activity is attacking zombies. With just about every other game, when you pull the right trigger, you attack. Not the right trigger plus another button. In Resident Evil 5, if you pull the right trigger, you whip your head around and stare at your partner (who is pretty hot, to be fair). I played right up until the first combat which I spent plaintively glancing at my partner (for help, I guess) as I frantically pulled the right trigger while trying to remember what other button I needed to also push to attack. After dying, I decided to go back to Rock Band 2.

Note: I'll add pictures and links later.

Technorati: XBOX 360

Gay Marriage in Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court just ruled that a gay marriage ban is unconstitional under the Iowa state Constitution's equal protection requirement. I'm not familiar with the Iowa state Constitution so I'm not going to argue the legal issue but I would like to address some comments in the article. One of the plaintiff's attorneys is quoted as saying that this represents the mainstreaming of gay marriage. Unfortunately, that is not the case. What it represents is the court overruling a popular law. Gay marriage is still opposed by a majority of Americans. Racism and sexism were made illegal by laws passed by the legislature and then supported by the courts. What we are seeing with gay marriage is that it is being made illegal by the legislatures and then overruled by the courts. To me, this is not the best way to handle the mainstreaming of gay marriage. I suspect that by using the court system to overrule the legislatures, gay marriage supporters are alienating people rather than gaining support. Until proponents of gay marriage began using the courts to "legalize" gay marriage, there were no laws banning gay marriage. By making an end run around the legislators, gay marriage supporters have provoked a backlash resulting in the passing of laws banning gay marriage.

This seems to be an increasing pattern, where a group believes that something is unfair and rather than campaigning for law changes, they use the court system to change the law. The courts have encouraged this by "legislating" from the bench, stretching and bending the Constitution beyond what it was meant to do. It is much better if changes are made through the people and the legislators.

And for the record, my own view on the issue is that the government should get out of the marriage business and sanction a civil union/domestic partnership between any two people for the purpose of maintaining a household. The details would have to be worked out, but such a system might even have several different levels (a light version for those who share a residence and a strong version for those who wish to raise children together, for example). This contract would be open to any two people, even siblings are parents and children. It would not imply a sexual or romantic relationship. Then churches and other religious organizations could "marry" whoever they want to or don't want to, just like they can baptize, ordain, or otherwise perform religious ceremonies on whoever they want or don't want.

I believe this would satisfy both sides as gay couples would have the same rights as straight couples and the religious sacrement of marriage would no longer be subject to government regulation. But my proposal is logical and actually addresses the problems and thus would never actually be implemented.

Technorati: Courts, Marriage, Religion

Kirin II

If you like sushi but are on a budget or in a hurry, try Kirin II. It is a buffet restaurant with some traditional Chinese buffet items as well as Japanese items (including a number of varieties of sushi). I've never ordered off the menu, but the buffet is pretty good. Buffet sushi is usually pretty bad, but Kirin II's sushi is pretty good (though freshly made would still be better). The lunch buffet is only about $15 while dinner is more expensive (but I believe it has more seafood).

The only disadvantage of Kirin II is that it is located at FM 1960 and 249, so it's a bit of a drive for people in town. But I'm always happy to meet people there for lunch!

Check their hours as they are closed from about 3 to 5 in the afternoon.

Technorati: Food, Houston