Republicans Accuse Libertarians of Stealing

Ramesh Ponnuru blames a Republican loss in Indiana on a Libertarian candidate "taking votes from him."

If Sodrel loses in Indiana, as looks likely, it may be because a libertarian candidate took votes from him. The same thing happened to keep Slade Gorton from winning re-election to the Senate and to keep Jon Ensign from beating Harry Reid. So far, losing because of libertarians hasn't caused Republicans to move toward the libertarians ideologically. But maybe things will change this time.

For the last time, they're not your votes, you goddamned smug Republicans! You want the votes, earn them, don't blame Libertarians for stealing them from you.

Can't Save the Workers Without Fucking Over a few Workers

On my other blog, a cautionary tale of how not to react to globalization.

I'm still in a, kind of a state of disbelief. It's a crying shame that, uh, I don't have that option, simply because of a union that I have supported for 40 years. And as far as I'm concerned they have taken money out of my pocket." The irony, he says, is that the other union members he works with couldn't wait for him to get back, to decide whether to sign up for an overseas operation themselves.

This ought to help the labor movement bounce back, right?

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...fuck unions...

Why We're Angry

This sums it up.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...making sandwiches...

News Flash: Anti-Smoking Groups are Liars

Jacob Sullum notes that the claim that secondhand smoke exposure causes atherosclerosis and heart attacks is bullshit, purposely advanced by anti-smoking groups to scare people.

Remember kids, "Smoking is Healthier Than Fascism"

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...puff, puff, pass...

Affirmative Action at the CIA

The Bush Administration is showing their commitment to the "differently abled" by nominating a man to run the CIA who can't read.

Hat Tip: Radley Balko

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...idiots...

Bush Still Supports Preemptive War

The President still supports preemptive war, despite the Iraq fuck-ups. Not only that, but he's got an even longer list of bad countries that we're thinking of striking against.

What an asshole.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...angry...

Mohammed Cartoons

Professor Eugene Volokh has a good analysis of the cartoon controversy, complete with illustrations.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...instablogging...

Something to Think About

"Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws." -John Adams, 2nd US president (1735-1826)

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...strangely fitting...

Get Your Passport In Order

Looks like the DOJ believes that the President can order a killing on U.S. soil.

Emigration looks better and better.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...wtf...

Government to Steal Church for Development

Stephen Gordon at Hammer of Truth notes a shitty, though predictable, outgrowth of the Kelo v. New London decision. The government in Sand Springs, OK is taking a black church to redevelop a "rundown area of town".

With bulldozers churning up the earth at the front door, the small Centennial Baptist Church in this struggling industrial hub west of Tulsa seems about to fall to the wrecker.

The Rev. Roosevelt Gildon in his Centennial Baptist Church, in Sand Springs, Okla. The church is resisting the city's plan to clear the church and other occupants to make way for superstores like the Home Depot.

But the construction is just roadwork, for now. And that is all it will ever be if the congregation has its way.

"The Lord didn't send me here to build a minimall," said the longtime pastor, the Rev. Roosevelt Gildon

Admittedly, the city is not using eminent domain yet; they're just keeping it as a last resport, if they can't come to an agreement on the price of the buyout. So, either negotiations are successful, or we steal your church. What an option.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...disgusted...

Cereal Killer

In These Times story, "Snap, Crackle ... Patents" reports on how one Arizona company is using IP law to prevent anyone else from selling cereal the way they sell cereal.

Back in 2000, David Roth had one of those "eureka" moments that are the stuff of American entreprenurial legend. After spotting a box of Cocoa Puffs hidden behind the desk of a Wall Street executive, Roth dreamed up a retail business that would sell cereal all the time.
...
Across the country, Rocco Monteleone was getting set to open Bowls, a cereal cafe in Gainesville, Florida, (near the University of Florida) when he found out that Cereality had beaten him to the punch. OK, he figured, no harm, no foul: It's America. Anyone can open a restaurant selling cereal. Right?
...
In May, Monteleone received a letter from Cereality's attorney warning him that he may be in violation of a patent application the company had filed for its "methods and system" of selling cereal. These included: "displaying and mixing competitively branded food products" and adding "a third portion of liquid."

That's right, this company decided to patent selling cereal with milk to college kids.

In the end, the PTO denied the patent application, but this is the kind of bullshit that begs for IP reform.

Yours truly,
Mr. X

...happy new year...