On My Conscience

Don’t stifle consumer choice with liquor laws

2011-08-05T09:39:00.001-07:00

My Review of MSR Flex Skillet

2010-01-24T18:10:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at REISaute up a gourmet meal that's sure to get the attention of your campground neighbors with the MSR Flex skillet.MSR Flex SkilletLight and Good.By Boulderlaw from Colorado on 1/24/2010 4out of 5Gift: NoPros: Lightweight, Easy To CleanCons: BulkyBest Uses: Backpacking, Car Camping, High AltitudeDescribe Yourself: Avid AdventurerWhat Is Your Gear Style: Comfort DrivenI

Privatize CU

2009-10-08T15:10:00.001-07:00

The Real "DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN"

2009-05-18T14:19:00.005-07:00

This was sent to me a few years ago and I am just now getting around to posting it. I have edited out most of the nonsense. The original text appears in blue.A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN“Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards Joe filters

Who is John Galt?

2009-03-30T11:59:00.003-07:00

"Whoever you are, you who are hearing me now, I am speaking to whatever living remnant is left uncorrupted within you, to the remnant of the human, to your mind, and I say: There is a morality of reason, a morality proper to man, and Man's Life is its standard of value." - John Galt, Atlas Shrugged.Jake DeSantis is not John Galt. But he at least recognizes that a bankrupt moral code cannot exist

Stupid or Lying?

2009-03-09T14:59:00.004-07:00

It is not clear whether Bill Menezes is lying about assault weapons flowing from the U.S. to Mexico or just too stupid to understand what an automatic weapon is. Read PPC's summary of Menezes's comments and you be the judge: LinkSeems like a little of both to me.

10 things you should know about Obama's plan (but probably don't)

2009-03-02T15:29:00.004-07:00

Courtesy of MoveOn.org, 10 things they think you should know about Obama's plan, which they assume you don't know (because, I assume, they think Americans are generally pretty dumb).I have done some translating.The plan:1. Makes a $634 billion down payment (that’s more than half a trillion) on socializing medical insurance in the United States, so Americans can finally enjoy the sub-par care and

CU Students File Lawsuit to Overturn Gun Ban

2008-12-11T15:16:00.008-07:00

Two University of Colorado students and one CU alumnus are firing the first shot in the legal battle over licensed concealed carry on campus. The trio, represented by Mountain States Legal Foundation, filed a lawsuit in El Paso County District Court today. The lawsuit is the first by students to ask a court to strike down a university's ban on licensed concealed carry on

Colorado Amendment 59: Tax Increase in a School Uniform

2008-10-23T09:07:00.004-07:00

The suggestion that Independent voters want higher taxes is absurd. (“Education-account supporters see shift,” http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/17/education-account-supporters-see-shift/). Amendment 59 is a permanent tax increase. Politicians supporting Amendment 59 would have us believe that the tax increase benefits education, but Amendment 59 merely gives politicians more of

Heard around town

2008-09-05T15:01:00.007-07:00

"I am surprised they're not killing politicians. I mean, at 50% approval ratings people should be voting incumbents out of office; at 30% I would expect state assemblies to be convened to discuss the conditions of secession; but at 9%? You'd think people would be so pissed that they would storm the capitol and start taking down the thugs one by one." - paraphrased from a conversation with a local

The Incompetence of Mark Udall

2008-07-11T08:21:00.002-07:00

Colorado Democrat candidate for United States Senate, Mark Udall, proposes legislation ... that already exists. Oops. [via THE BITCH GIRLS]

No More D.C. Gun Ban? No Big Deal

2008-07-07T20:49:00.001-07:00

From the NYT Freakanomics blog: "My view is that we should not be making policies about gun ownership, because they simply don’t work. What seems to work is harshly punishing people who use guns illegally."

"WALL-E is an assault on modern civilization"

2008-07-04T08:15:00.001-07:00

"The Disney-Pixar film WALL-E has been adoringly received by the majority of the theatergoing public. This adoration is unjustified. The film blatantly conveys environmentalist, anticapitalist, and antitechnological propaganda — and aims it at an audience of children, who still lack the critical faculties and intellectual sophistication to evaluate all relevant aspects of the issues presented."

D.C. v. Heller

2008-06-26T07:20:00.004-07:00

On the eve of the Forth of July, the Supreme Court affirmed that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of the free men and women of this country to keep and bear arms for self-defense. The majority opinion does not rule on the constitutionality of various federal firearms regulations. It does not even strike down D.C.'s licensing requirement. Nor should it have. The Constitution gives the

D.C. v. Heller

2008-03-18T16:36:00.002-07:00

JUSTICE KENNEDY: ... in my view ... there's a general right to bear arms quite without reference to the militia either way.

"The American Dream" is a misnomer. It is not a dream. It is a reality.

2008-02-16T11:02:00.001-07:00

Having been told that it was extremely difficult for poor people to advance up the economic ladder in America, college graduate Adam Shepard conducted an interesting experiment. He decided to start from the very bottom of the economic ladder, with "a gym bag, $25, and little else." [via NoodleFood]

Hillary and Hayek

2008-01-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

"Central to Hayek’s teaching is the unyielding fact that human ingenuity is limited, that the elasticity of freedom requires the agency of forces beyond our supervision, that, finally, the ambitions of socialism are an expression of rationalistic hubris. A spontaneous order generated by market forces may be as beneficial to humanity as you like; it may have greatly extended life and produced

In Defense of Corporate America

2007-12-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

"It is the corporate form that provides the means to transform the genius of a few into the convenience of many. The inventor alone, while deserving credit for his insight, cannot turn his lab prototype into a product on store shelves. To do so requires one further essential ingredient: enough money in the hands of that inventor to transform his invention into a marketable product. Things like

Empty Holsters

2007-11-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

See the coverage now: http://reason.tv/roughcut/show/162.html

Yandle on the Tragedy of the Commons and the Implications for Environmental Regulation

2007-10-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Bruce Yandle of Clemson University and George Mason University's Mercatus Center looks at the tragedy of the commons and the various ways that people have avoided the overuse of resources that are held in common. Examples discussed include fisheries, roads, rivers and the air. Yandle talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the historical use of norms, cooperative ventures such as

Always Capitalism. Always.

2007-10-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

This ad is great because it defends capitalism in terms of capitalism, not with reference to charity or community involvement. The ad acknowledges that capitalism creates public goods, regardless of any desire on the part of companies to do so. The invisible heart and hand of capitalism are always at work, but that a company is willing to stand up and publicize the fact? Well, that is just

What is a Masonomist?

2007-10-18T09:52:00.001-07:00

"Most economists favor the free market, with reservations. Masonomics rejects the reservations. If John and Mary are free individuals, and John trades with Mary, then John and Mary both are better off. End of story."http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=101007A

New and Exciting

2007-10-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Check out Reason's new video site: http://reason.tv/

Coleman for Council

2007-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

Check out Shawn Coleman. He is the sort of level-headed person we need on Boulder City Council.http://coleman4council.org/index.htmlhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/17/8448/63832

Gun, Ammunition Tax Proposed to Fund Health Socialism

2007-05-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

by Ari ArmstrongPart of a proposal for "universal," completely tax-funded medicine for Colorado describes "funding mechanisms" such as "taxes on weapons and ammunition to cover firearm-related injuries..."This "Colorado Health Services Program," selected by the "208" Commission for Healthcare Reform on May 18 as one of four for further evaluation, was submitted by "Health Care for All Colorado,"

Self-Defense on the Defensive in Colorado

2007-05-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

Send a message to Gov. Ritter and join CSSA (see link in sidebar). This is merely the beginning of what we'll see now that both the Legislature and the Governor's mansion are controlled by leftists."Senate Republicans are denouncing Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter's decision to sign two bills this week that narrow Coloradans' right to hold concealed-weapons permits. House Bill 1174, which was signed by

Unwittingly Armed: The Hypocrisy of Hillary

2007-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

"If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns." The old saw is not quite true; it misses a huge group of people who will remain well armed in the wake of gun prohibition.I realized this while watching the Democrat Presidential Debate. Brian Williams asked the candidates to raise their hands if they had kept a gun in the house during their adult life. Several raised their hands to acknowledge

Gun Ban at Virginia Tech Fails

2007-04-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Do I want to "feel" safe, or be safe?That question crossed my mind as I watched the news coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy and I asked myself what I would do if a madman targeted my school. Given CU-Boulder's policy banning the lawful carrying of firearms on campus, I and my classmates could do little to protect ourselves from an armed killer.The illusion of safety offered by gun bans is

Intrawest Boycott

2007-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Intrawest:I was at Copper on April 7, 2007, skiing with a few friends and enjoying the bands playing at the Sunstation event. I am sorry to report that this will be the last time I will be skiing at Copper, or any other Intrawest resort.I have been a season pass holder at Copper for the last two seasons, but I saw a display of prejudice and ignorance this weekend, apparently endorsed by

The Great Global Warming Swindle

2007-04-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

The essential companion to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Not becasue this film is accurate and Gore's isn't; rather the two perspectives on global warming remind us that scientific knowledge in this area is far from complete.That is why incremental change is generally preferable. It allows us to correct mistakes in our knowledge before those mistakes cause serious harm. Of course, the speed

An Inconvenient Parallel

2007-03-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

"Deep greens look exactly the same to me at this point: straining to don the mantle of science to defend and spread their religious convictions, rather than participating in science to discover the truth. For any religious rationalizer, the (religious) ends justify the (dishonest and damaging) means -- and you will find that in spades in both movements."http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2007/03/

USFS Urban Front Country Project - Environmental Assessment

2007-03-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a public comment period regarding campfires, camping, and recreational shooting in the National Forests (NF) in the Boulder District. Most of the time was spent focused on shooting. There were probably 50 people there and after a brief and generally uninformative introduction we were split into smaller groups to discuss solutions to these “problems” facing the NF on the Front

Philosophy of Liberty

2007-02-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

"You own your life, to deny this is to imply that another person has a higher claim on your life than you do."

What are we doing to those we seek to help?

2006-10-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

While raising wages seems unassailable ("Minimum-wage proposal most popular ballot item," Sept. 20), it has negative consequences for the very people minimum wage hikes aim to help.Consider an entrepreneur with a tight budget. If she is barely eking out a profit, she cannot easily absorb a mandated increase in her labor costs - unless she fires workers. Even large employers face this choice. That

Net Freedom

2006-06-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

The "discrimination" at issue in net neutrality is the same sort that allows you to tell certain people to leave your home. No one has a right to use an ISP's services on any terms except those set by the ISP. The issue is the right of ISPs to make use of their property in a way that benefits them, without inflicting harm on anyone. It is the same right that allows you to tell a Jehovah's Witness

"Market Failure" Doesn't Exist

2006-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

"A free market doesn’t guarantee that an individual will act in rational self-interest—errors are possible—only that he or she is free to do so. If a person fails to act as such, then it’s the person’s failure, not “market failure.” A free market can’t be expected to do what’s metaphysically impossible, such as make everyone equally wealthy regardless of ability and effort, or turn sloth into

Why Rapanos Is Important

2006-06-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Justice Scalia explains:The burden of federal regulation on those who would deposit fill material in locations denominated “waters of the United States” is not trivial. In deciding whether to grant or deny a permit, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) exercises the discretion of an enlightened despot, relying on such factors as “economics,” “aesthetics,” “recreation,” and “in general, the

The Little Dictators

2006-05-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

"Americans should be up in arms about this tyranny in their midst. But they are not. Many have come to see the world as the Little Dictators wish it to be. Without the security of their decrees, many people would feel dread at the thought of making their own decisions. But this is dictatorship—the dictatorship of petty bureaucrats for sure, but dictatorship nonetheless—and it is growing by leaps

Thanks!

2006-05-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all those who supported my candidacy for VP. I look forward to serving the Federalist Society and you, its members.

Is There a Federal Deficit?

2006-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

"The average taxpayer, depending on the state in which he lives, works from Jan. 1 to May 3 to pay federal, state and local taxes. That means someone else decides how four months' worth of the fruits of the average taxpayer's labor will be spent. The taxpayer is forcibly used to serve the purposes of others -- whether it's farm or business handouts, food stamps or other government programs where

Federalist Society Elections, part 2

2006-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I will be running for Vice President at this Tuesday’s 12:00 p.m. meeting in room 104. I echo Lisa’s sentiments about planning speakers early, engaging the other local Fed. Soc. chapters, and vigorously recruiting new members. To that I would like to add two goals I will pursue next year: (1) increasing funding opportunities for academic and travel scholarships; (2) expanding opportunities to

Federalist Society Elections

2006-04-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

I will be running for Vice President at the meeting next Tuesday (4/18) at 12:00 p.m. in room 104.In next few days I will elaborate my goals for the Fed. Soc., but in the meantime feel free to send me your comments and concerns.Even if you have never attended a Fed. Soc. meeting before, pop in this Tuesday to cast a ballot and offer your two cents on what the Fed. Soc. should do in the future.

Thank You For Smoking

2006-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Question your villains . . . and your heroes.

Equal rights for unwed fathers

2006-03-28T07:37:00.003-07:00

"In recent decades, thanks to both technology and social change, we have made strides to alleviate the inequality for women, helping them avoid unwanted childbearing. But we have lagged far behind in equalizing the situation for men. We cannot ask men to be equal parents while giving virtually all the power in reproductive decisions to women."

Squaring Equality with Individualism

2006-03-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

"Singling out one group for special favors (through affirmative action) ignores the fact that people are individuals--not interchangeable ciphers in an amorphous collective." http://capmag.com/article.asp?id=1368

Reason and Taxation?

2005-11-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

I find it rather interesting that someone is offering taxation as an example of reason at work when the two are in fact mutually exclusive. The value of reason is in its ability to reach conclusions through peaceful, rational thought and discussion. Reason allows us to avoid physical struggles amongst ourselves by substituing muscle with the mind.The value of taxation is that it forces people to

Property Puffery

2005-07-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Given that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling permitting governments to take private property in the name of higher tax revenue effectively guts federal constitutional protections against condemnation, the policies and practices of local governments on eminent domain are all the more relevant. Peoria is the only city in Arizona, and perhaps the nation, that has a formal eminent domain policy.

Disposable Cameras

2005-07-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Is the security camera the panacea of the 21st century?One could be forgiven for thinking so, given the accolades they win from everyone from terrorism experts to city officials.Scottsdale puts so much stock in the techno-baubles that it wants to cover six miles of the Loop 101 with 24-hour surveillance.But if our experiences with terrorism have taught us anything it is that the best security

Response

2005-07-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

Quoting:"Biased media coverage of terrorism issue When the bombs went off in London last Wednesday, you heard many broadcasters talking about Londoners showing defiance by continuing with their daily activities. Furthermore, you heard world leaders calling the attack on London as an attack on civilization and the overused phrase, "our way of life." A few years ago, when terrorism hit Saudi Arabia

Communism in our Time - and our Country

2005-07-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

TEN PLANKS OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTOFirst Plank: Abolition of property in land and the application of all rents of land to public purposes. (Zoning - Model ordinances proposed by Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover widely adopted. Supreme Court ruled "zoning" to be "constitutional" in 1921. Private owners of property required to get permission from government to use their property. Federally

Arizona Punk'd

2005-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

On MTV, "Punk'd" is a hidden camera show that tries to deceive celebrities. Host Ashton Kutcher usually succeeds.In Arizona, "Punk'd" is the buzzword in an ad campaign that tries to deceive the public, funded by a group calling itself Early Childhood Arizona. Let's hope the real-life version turns out differently.The campaign promotes state funding of "early childhood development programs," read

Hazardous Spending

2005-06-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Something is wrong with a city's priorities when running golf courses comesbefore paying employees.Mesa spends $2.5 million to run two city-owned golf courses. At the sametime, city employees are being asked to forgo cost-of-living adjustments forthe next two years.While glittering greens may look great in convention brochures and nicelycomplement the other 19 golf courses in Mesa, a round on the

Creative Coercion

2005-06-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Mesa's $40 million budget shortfall is being billed as "Armageddon" and "Apocalypse" by Vice Mayor Claudia Walters and other city council members. To hear Walters talk about the problem "the community she bought her home in" is at stake.But what the biblical Chicken Littles in Mesa don't realize is that government spending is not a measure of community strength; it's a reflection of its

One Way Conversation

2005-06-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. --Thomas S. Szasz, The Second Sin, Anchor/Doubleday, Garden City, NY. 1973, Page 113 I think you're crazy either way.

ROC'n' the Boat

2005-06-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) is busy protecting vulnerable consumers in Arizona from construction and remodeling scams: the elderly, new home owners, the City of Tempe. The City of Tempe? When Tempe decided to install a

Windows' Death Knell

2005-06-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

The "Apple model" is changing. If Apple fails to make a version of its OS available to the Wintel public, it will take decades to reach market parity with Windows. Not releasing Mac OS X on the Wintel world to save Apple's hardware division would be like cutting off the nose to spite the face. By opening up the Mac OS X market to all Intel boxes (and I assume AMD boxes as well) Apple will

Romani Ite Domum

2005-06-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Supremes to Pot-Smoking Pain-Sufferers: Fuck You The purpose of courts is emphatically to say what the law is, not what it should be. The democratic process was trampled in this ruling - this is the very definition of judicial activism. I will be shocked, just shocked if Tom Delay doesn't bring this up when the Senate

Back to Reality

2005-06-04T09:19:00.001-07:00

Barry Goldwater was a man who believed in the ameliorating power of free enterprise. So it is all the more disheartening when a swath of desert named in his honor becomes the final resting place for those seeking that ideal. Two women were found dead on the Barry Goldwater Range last weekend, apparently felled by heat exposure as they illegally crossed the border

The True Crisis

2005-06-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Those who claim Social Security is not the crisis of the day, but rather it is Medicaid and the overall cost of health care that deserve our full attention miss the point. The solution to both problems is the same, because the underlying problem is the same.The socialized medicine crowd fails to consider the fact that personal choices weigh heavily on one's overall level of health. One of the

Hand in my Pocket

2005-06-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

President Bush may use his veto stamp for the first time in the coming days, as the 2005 Transportation budget headed for his desk has burgeoned to $295 billion, $11 billion more than the limit he set previously. But is $284 billion that much more reasonable? Sure, states benefit from federal transportation funding, Arizona is set to receive $75 million to fund light rail, but when you consider

Test

2005-06-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

1, 2, 3 ...

2003-04-16T19:43:00.000-07:00