I like to drink, go around, and do whatever I want

Well, that's what Bill O'Reilly says about Libertarians in one of his segments with a Russian woman that knows the meaning behind words.
Bill, you can have your protection, I just want my freedom.

p.s. I may want to do whatever I want, but just because I want to doesn't mean that I will.

Good for Russia and Israel

I just saw on Russia Roday that there won't be a need for a visa for Russians visiting Israel for 90 days or less. Good for them, now only if there was no need for visas, but it's a good start. Hopefully this idea will catch on.

Tax the Rich!

I get the argument behind the idea. The rich can afford taxes more than the poor. Of course, I think taxation is theft. I think it's a legalized form of slavery. If I'm taxed on 10% of my income I'm a slave for 1/10 of the work year. If I work 10 hours per day, I'm a slave for an hour. But slavery is slavery even if only for a mere moment...is it not?
So, what if I make $80,000 per year and my neighbor makes $100,000. Let's say for simplicity's sake, I don't get taxed (don't want to screw up the math). Let's say my neighbor has to pay 20%. Well, looks like we're on equal footing, right? He had to go to college longer, and probably a better one, so he's not getting a very good payoff.
Then my other neighbor makes $130,000. What if after taxes he makes "only" $75,000. You know, he can afford it.
So a simple question I have to ask: Why should I bust my butt to work hard and make a lot of money when I may make a little bit than a guy who doesn't work as hard and didn't have as good of an education?
Taxing the rich a lot kills ambition.

The Private Sector and Government

Suppose we had a company that made disinfectants, floor cleaners, bleach, etc.
Suppose this company decided to water it down in order to save money, but passed it off as the pure product. Certainly the government would intervene. Certainly people would more or less call for their heads.
Well, why is the government exempt from this treatment? I'll admit, if government screws up enough, the other party may win next election (but that an be anywhere from tomorrow until 4 years from now). What if it's part of the system though? Like the federal reserve.
A company watering down it's cleaning products is like the fed printing money. They're watering down the value of the dollar. No one seems to mind though.

A prayer to the state

RNC time!
The invocation was quite partisan. I understand wanting to pray for a certain type of leader. I sure do, so I understand people praying for party X or Y. May not agree with their choice of candidates, but I understand.
It's okay to pray for good leaders. Of course, I think NOTA would be a good leader, but I'm not going to slaughter people for praying for Obama or McCain.
But what happens when it becomes politicized? What happens when slogans are tossed into a prayer? Well, I throw up, that's what. Country first should never, ever, be in a prayer to God. Perhaps the state, but never to God who cares more about if you served the poor and fed he hungry than if you served or fed the state.
A prayer for service to the state? Instead of praying that people give up their interest to serve the state (as if politicians aren't power hungry and self-aggrandizing), we should pray that more people give up their self interest to serve God in the priesthood. Or serve the poor through charitiy and volunteering.
And what is wrong with self interest? Often self interest brings good things. For example not many musicians play music to contribute, or serve, to the culture. Yet they serve society, for better or worse, through their self-interest.
Let's put the spiritual side of things away for a moment. Let's say I donated $100,000 to a charity to have an award named after me. Is that $100,000 worth the same if I did it annonymously? Of course! It may be selfish to do it so I can have something named after me, but the ends will be the same!
There's something scary about the melding of the Church and State. Especially when the state becomes the Church!