Author Archives: mike

Thus Always to Tyrants

The entire population in the village of Fago, Spain is a suspect in the mayor’s murder. And understandably so:

“There is no shortage of contenders. During his 12 years in office, the mayor, a member of the conservative Popular Party and the owner of the village’s only guest house, had been involved in almost four dozen individual court cases with homeowners in Fago.

He had taken out injunctions to prevent people making home improvements and closed down a bed and breakfast because it competed for business with his own establishment.

Mr Grima had even incurred the wrath of the parents of the only two children living in the village by banning basketballs and shooting hoops in the village’s only flat area – the central plaza.

The most public battle in recent times came about after the mayor imposed taxes of almost 400 euros a month on outdoor tables at Fago’s only drinking establishment – the Casa Moriega bar – an amount locals consider high for an isolated village which attracts only a modest number of visitors in summer.” (h/t: Irish Trojan)

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Our “Shadow Government”

I suspect these three items are related; I leave it to you to figure out how.

Exhibit A –

Most Americans Want Public Policies to Prevent Obesity.”

An excerpt: “In addition, 73 percent said they’d support government incentives for companies that reduced the cost of health insurance for employees who had healthy lifestyles and shed extra pounds. Seventy-two percent said they would support government policies requiring insurance companies to cover obesity treatment and prevention programs.”

So, our society’s solution to obesity is to have the government coerce and force companies to help their employees deal with the issue.

Exhibit B –

Scott Ott’s serious letter discussing dependence on the government in response to a misunderstanding about a Katrina satire he wrote. A taste: “Over the decades, we have ceded power, authority and responsibility to the federal government far beyond anything envisioned or desired by our founders. As a result, instead relying on our own intelligence, resources and ability to work with others in our communities to solve problems, we have turned to Washington D.C..

This is not a matter of ‘blaming the victim’, because the victim has become so immersed in this twisted view of human life that he cannot see what has happened. The federal government’s dehumanizing effect has torn up neighborhoods, torn apart families and turned brave, capable people into compliant recipients of redistributed wealth.

The problem is that the morsels of that wealth never provide enough to do anything other than keep folks in a perpetual state of dependence upon the State. Even if those morsels became chunks big enough to choke a horse, the dependency would remain. The federal government has become not only the safety net, it is everything from the crib blanket to the casket lining.”

Read the whole thing, it’s worth it.

Finally, Exhibit C –

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

-Lazarus Long, Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love.

If I had $2,500…

…Would I spend it on this?

“This historical project will consist of forty-six titles spanning the entire writing career of Robert A. Heinlein. The Virginia Edition will contain all of Heinlein’s novels and short stories. It will also include all of his non-fiction titles along with the vast majority of his interviews, social commentaries, speeches and articles. Finally the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust has agreed to allow us to include several volumes of Heinlein’s letters and personal correspondence.”

Ah, if only I wasn’t a poor college student.

Incidentally, I have a rich uncle in Somalia who has millions of dollars but he has been displaced by the recent war. He needs about $2,500 to get the money out of the country. Please leave a comment with your bank account number if you wish to be rich beyond your wildest dreams.

h/t: John Scalzi via Chap.

Latest Police Harassment

Radley Balko has the skinny on a series of recurring harassing actions undertaken by the police force against the proprietor of a local bar (including a 90 person SWAT-team raid under the auspices of an “alcohol inspection”) in Manassas Park, VA. The story seems almost too absurd to be true, as the harassment has gone on for over 2 years, and it begs the question why. Of course, money and local big shots are involved, along with an interesting gambling twist, and the possibility of a personal vendetta. The courts have denied said proprietor legal recourse, at least for now. Make sure to read the other posts that he links to, especially the video of the SWAT raid.

More here.

Update: Be sure to check out the comments as Neil Ruttenberg, the father of David Ruttenberg (the proprietor), has left one with quite a bit more information about the court case.

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