One place in which I don’t need the headphones

You will all recall my post from a few days ago about my trusty new headphones.  Well I’m happy to report that there is one place where I don’t need them.  There is a cafe not far from where I live which plays all manner of punk rock music.  I find this to be exhilarating, [...]

Headphones as a revolt against egalitarianism

I do most of my work in isolation, which can be bad for the soul, so I tend to fill up a bag with books and various other items of paperwork and head out to a restaurant or a cafe—or a Starbucks, which qualifies as neither—to get work done.  It makes me feel a part [...]

Local Polizei kill man

Police in a Philadelphia suburb killed a man on Friday night.  Admittedly, the deceased was being a violent maniac, but this doesn’t seem to add up to me.  The suspect viciously attacked a woman.  The Polizei pursued, and when the aggressor brandished a brick, they shot him three times.  Thrice. Now, while, in my Weltanschauung, [...]

Sentiment, Logic, and the Future of Capitalism

Last night I was dining with some friends, and, given the fact that we are all interested in politics in one way or another, the conversation tended to revolve around such issues.  I had occasion to recall last night something which took place a while ago in a Starbucks close by (known to some as [...]

Assorted quotes on taxation

“The politicians don’t just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless. When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” –James Dale Davison “The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, [...]

Theft, Violence, and Propaganda

Thanks to LRC, I just had the pleasure (?) of watching this American tax propaganda video from the World War II era: We hear the usual claptrap in this clip, words like “duty” and “sacrifice.”  The interesting thing about “sacrifice,” however, is that it is a lie:  When a thief breaks into your home and [...]

Change in Pennies: Obama’s war drums

I do not mean to say “I told you so” on this one.  After all, when I and others said, “Expect your change in pennies from Barack Obama,” it really required no prophetic capabilities whatsoever.  A simple willingness to take stock of his carefully placed loopholes on Iraq was enough, in addition to the perennial [...]