Hey Chrysler...ya got a lot of nerve

You couldn't get my money the fair and honest way could you?  Did you ever really try to make an automobile I would want?  Did you make an affordable and reliable automobile in recent memory?  How about a warranty so I would be willing to take a chance on your dodgy fit and finish?

But you got my money anyway didn't you?  You got it not because I bought your products but BECAUSE I DIDN'T!  Like the bandits you are you used the government as the agent of force to do your bidding...and what did you do with the first fruits of your theft? 

You take out ads across the nation in newspapers and Internet sites to thank me for what you call my "investment." 

Is this some kind of sick joke?  You take money from me against my will and then thank me for it like some kind of villain only found in comic books.

You are not welcome Chrysler and don't think for a minute I will forget this. 

Goodbye 2008, go on...who needs ya?

I began the year getting the flu...not once...not twice...but THREE TIMES.  I barfed, coughed and shot various fluid out of my body in every direction all through January and February.  Great way to start the year.

In February Larry Norman died as well as a friend named Sue Ady. 

In March I flirted with an audio supplement to this blog and wasn't totally happy with it after just two...it will make a comeback in 2009.

Later on in the year I joined the Dave and Steve Show which has been an absolute blast and a cool creative outlet.  I would enjoy doing the show even if it were not for the female groupies.

I became a Republican for awhile but after Ron Paul left I went back to my comfortable place voting for people who never win...was elected a delegate to the GOP State Convention and found I cannot stomach conservatives at all.

In July I went on vacation and promised to post pictures...and never did.  So there.  The vacation was so-so.

In August my best friend's wife died. 

In September I heard outrage over Socialism.  Where in the hell was the outrage over the last eight awful years I wondered.  Also in September I bought an Insurance company and pondered how much urine might be on my pants.

In October I grew less interested in the election since I don't remember an election where I could barely vote for any candidate...I eventually settled on Bob Barr.

In November I stayed away from politics and bored you with stupid crap...in December I did the same thing...except a little less...oh and I got sick again and took care of my mom during one of the biggest snow storms to hit our region in 20 years.

So see ya later 2008, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Happy New Year everyone.  May God bless you in the new year.

Christmas Eve and other stuff

What a week.  First of all thank you all for the emails, instant messages and phone calls asking about my mom.  I'll begin with an update on her.

Mom's hip surgery was a great success.  Yesterday is what I'd consider to be her first good day really.  She sat in a chair for most of the day and took 20 steps using a walker.  Her rehab included using a recumbent bike for 10 minutes as well.  This is a great move forward for an 84 year old polio victim.  In a funny way the surgeon said the new artificial hip was an upgrade from the one she's had her whole life due to the polio she got when she was just 3 years old.

We've had snow here in the greater Seattle area and when it falls, it's a big deal.  I have about a foot of frozen snow on the ground now and it's still snowing.  I always hear from people in the Midwest and other places who think it's ridiculous that Seattle virtually shuts down after a few inches of snow.  The impact it makes on our region happens for a few reasons.

1. We don't get snow very often,  consequently we're not exactly prepared for it.  In this greater metropolitan area of over 3 million people there are probably fewer than 30 snow plows.
2. The Midwest is flat.  Very flat.  The whole time I've driven around in,  or flown over the Midwest, all I can think about is how flat it is.  Driving on flat terrain in the snow is simple.   There are more hills around here than coffee houses.
3. Seattle area drivers are idiots.

Here is an updated photo of me in the winter here.  

As you can see in the photo, I'm obviously amused by recent events...anyway...

Christmas is upon us but to me honestly if feels like it has gone by already.  My son has been a true treasure for me during this time and it reminds me of why so many aspects of Christmas are for children in particular.  We do a blended spiritual/secular Christmas here at home using the Charles Spurgeon approach to the holidays...since everyone is thinking about the baby Jesus during this time we may as well not ignore it either.  The account in the Gospel of Luke is beautiful and important to me on a deep level but I've not really made any attempt to connect it to the celebration of Christmas...but whatever...what can you do?  As a libertarian there is only so much bucking the system you can do before you either go on a killing spree or just go along.  For now I'll go along.

Have a Happy Christmas to all of you and thank you again for all of your kind words of encouragement and concern during this time.

Pre-Christmas Update

Haven't blogged lately due to some factors:

1. Mom broke her hip.

2. I've been sick.

3. Snowy roads, being sick and arranging rehab care for my mom has put me behind on blogging and Christmas Shopping.

4. Dealing with my brother makes me want to go on a 3 state killing spree...starting with Washington state.

I'll be blogging your face off in no time...you can count on that.

Thanks,
-t

Medicated Blog Post #9

My cat is sick.  Hyper thyroid plus kidney dysfunction.  He eats all the time and still loses weight...plus that fun vomiting problem.

It's supposed to snow tonight and we have a winter storm advisory in our area.  People in the Northeast would snicker at what constitutes a winter storm in the Pacific Northwest. 

I'm feeling okay but caught a cold roughly a few hours before I saw The Lost Dogs in concert.  While having no fewer than two Hall's Honey Lemon throat drops in my mouth I listened to some awesome independent Alt Country/Rock and some great stories about Route 66.

I patronize any place that hires handicapped people...especially those with mental handicaps.  The Fred Meyer Store near where I work has a gal named Noreen who takes the carts in from the parking lot.  She works hard, always has a smile and always brightens my day just to talk to her.  We talked the other day and she said to me, "You seem to come here during your lunch time...you should pack a lunch."  I guess Noreen would rather I stay away from the store or is concerned that I may be spending too much.  Not sure how to read that one. Hmm.

My advent calendar told me to make an elf hat last night.  Screw you calendar!

I called my mom this morning and she was getting an in-house massage in her living room.  For the record, if I was getting a massage in my house...I wouldn't be answering the phone.  That reminds me of a story I'll tell sometime.

I'm very behind on Christmas shopping.  Being sick puts me further behind.

Okay, I need to go get jacked up on cold medicine again.  Talk to you later.

I will not drive a broken window.

I've never owned an American car in my life.  Never.

I've owned cars from Germany, Japan, and Korea...but never any made in Detroit. (or even Canada on behalf of Detroit)  My reasons are simple and fairly reasoned:

• I've known many who have had terrible American cars
• I do not like their cars
• They do not warranty their cars to my satisfaction
• Overall reliability is poopy
• The true cost to own is prohibitive

Detroit has never received a dollar from me because I will not buy their cars.  Now they claim to politicians that they MUST have my money because I don't buy their cars.  They promise that once they have my money they will build a car I will like...and I hope they're right...since I will have already paid for it.

Frederic Bastiat, in the 19th Century, discussed this theory of economics in his explanation of the Broken Window theory.  Bastiat concluded that those who would support a Detroit bailout would look at a broken window as an opportunity to support the glass industry.  This argument tends to focus on what is seen (a new window and a glazier gainfully employed) rather than on what is unseen. (another industrious person not being paid because money is being spent on broken windows)

Washington DC will not be satisfied until we are all replacing broken windows (Detroit lemons) just to keep the glaziers employed.  How will a new automaker ever get a chance to succeed in this country if public money is used to nationalize the big three failed automakers?  How can we truly expect from Detroit the type of innovation and reliability we're demanding when we buy a car made by Honda, Toyota, or BMW?

Every economic advisor for your new president supports the bailout and ignores the advice of Bastiat (and scores of others) and continues in the footsteps of their hero Lord Keynes.  For you Obama supporters that thought you were getting diversity of thought and a wide variety of views advising your savior...get ready to be replacing many windows over the next four years.

Pearl Harbor Day and I'm a Jerk

After church I went to a large warehouse store with my son to get something to eat for lunch. His choice was pizza and I'd settle for a hot dog at a low low price. This is not a normal lunch as we almost never eat out together but today's schedule demanded it.

My son will be 3 soon and we are at the beginning stages of holding conversations together. This is how today's went:

Me: It's Pearl Harbor Day today, bud.
Son: Perr Hobber Day?
Me: Yup.
Son: What's that?
Me: It's the day we decided it wasn't over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.
Son: (chomps away on pizza)

I decided to forego historical accuracy with the conversation and quote a portion of the famous line from the 1978 movie Animal House. Honestly my son wasn't paying much attention anyway. The conversation continued with a man who was sitting near us:

Man: The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (giving a stunned look at my ignorance)

I had a choice to make at this point. I could let him correct me and say thank you. I could give him the backstory on my attempt to comically encapsule history or I could do what I ended up doing: Act extra dumb to piss him off more.

Me: No, I'm pretty sure it was the Germans. (pretending to think about it)
Man: You've got it all wrong! It was the Japanese in the Pacific theater. (shakes his head stunned at how stupid I appear)
Me: Right! The Pacific...it must have been the Germans. See?
Man: Oh brother! You don't know anything.

I'm sure he's telling anyone who will listen in his life that he witnessed this dumb guy telling his toddler son that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor and that people these days have no respect for history but I really had to do to this. It was his own fault that I acted this way.

He expects me to know specific details from an event that occurred 27 years before I was born but he can't know a famous movie line from a movie that came out in both of our lifetimes? Sure maybe he didn't see the movie or wasn't a big John Belushi fan but I couldn't resist being a jerk.

I find it entertaining that I quoted something historical correctly and was corrected by a man that didn't know what I was talking about. So I more strenuously responded incorrectly to make his factual correction demonstrate how dumb he was actually being. In the end, he feels smarter than me and I felt entertained. Win-win.

Someday one day my son will utter the words:

Was it over when the Mexicans brought down the towers?

I'm sure most of you would've handled it differently, but to quote the Yardbirds, "Mr. You're a better man than I."

Nerd Alert!

Craig Newmark, the founder of Craiglist, talked about his small role within the Obama campaign and demonstrates with clarity just how nerdy Objectivists can be.  I don't necessarily agree with some of the conclusions he's settled on in life, but it's nice to see that there are some freedom lovers involved behind the scenes in the next presidency.  Video courtesy of Reason.tv

Writing Holiday

My holiday weekend was spent writing, playing guitar and shampooing carpets. Except for the carpets it was like I was 20 years old again with nothing better to do. For the most part I really loved it.

I've been reading Christmas in Plains by Jimmy Carter. The former president talks about his boyhood Christmas memories in what turns out to be a pretty light-hearted way. Once you get past the slightly self-righteous first few pages about his lifelong view on race relations, it's a pretty enjoyable book. Not that it is much to brag about but...my copy is signed. So there.

I've had a few emails from people telling me that my post election coverage has been lackluster. I would go so far to say that it has been less than lackluster and more like...non-existent. I'll kick it up again but aren't we really all just sick of presidential politics for awhile?

I have a friend that says I speak in riddles. She's right about that.

I've been watching SpeedRacer quite a bit lately. Not the dumb movie that came out but the original cartoon that I loved so much from first grade. It's mindless enough that it is almost unwatchable as an adult though it has some entertaining spots due to age and non-PC Japanese origins. A line I heard yesterday was Speed telling Trixie, "This is no time to act like a girl, Trixie." For the most part Speed doesn't give her the time of day but doesn't mind having her by his side.

More email came in requesting another Podmess and I've delayed doing one because my own podcasts sound like a horrible NPR show. I'm playing with a format in my head to lighten it up some. I'm working on it...and I'm thankful a few of you have actually requested it...I always thought they sort of sucked. You can still hear me on the Dave and Steve Show but I don't talk nearly as much and it's geared for 8th grade boys...so be warned.

That's about it for now. I should probably give you something to fight about in the comments section...so I'll start it off with this:

I am the most awesome person in the world. Dare to disagree.

Junk for Which I'm Thankful

I'm thankful for this blog and the friends I've made since starting it.  I've met readers and participants from several different countries and about 21 states thus far...oh and Canada...whatever.

I'm thankful for my friend Kelly who landed a permanent job. (she's been doing contract work for awhile and wanted more stability)  I'm thankful that she has found faith in her life as she brings up her daughter.

I'm thankful for my buddy Eric.  He has gone through a miserable year in many ways and he has handled difficulty with grace.  I'm also thankful I've had the chance to spend more time with him this year than in any over the last decade maybe.

I'm thankful that the cause of freedom has advanced beyond my imagination over the past year.  Millions have heard the ideas of libertarian minds and have regained confidence in personal responsibility, limited government and tolerance under the banner of freedom.

I'm thankful for my son.  He's young enough that he still listens to me. 

I'm thankful for Robert the Grump who has been a good friend for many years.  I know of no other gun-toting Democrat that I trust more.

I'm thankful for The Dave and Steve Show which has really taken off nicely over the last year.  It has received some regional appeal and has an audience that is growing weekly...sometimes it's even funny.

I'm also thankful for a couple of days off of the daily routine to recharge and get ready for Christmas. 

If you all have junk you're thankful for, go ahead and comment...c'mon...go ahead.

Faith-based shelters

New York City has just ordered 22 faith-based shelters to stop housing the homeless. The city is enforcing a rule that requires shelters to provide beds to the homeless at least 5 days a week. You may wonder why or how the city of New York would do this and it all seems to boil down to a simple, fundamental problem. Public funding.

One promise I hope Barack Obama does not follow through on is his promise to expand the availability of public funds to faith-based organizations. This was a bad idea pushed by George W. Bush and an even worse idea to continue it in anyway.

The first amendment allows people of faith to practice their religion without hindrance from government. This practice would also include housing the homeless as it states in Scripture:

For I was hungry
and you gave Me something to eat;
I was thirsty
and you gave Me something to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you took care of Me;
I was in prison and you visited Me

For Christianity in particular the mandate is to care for the "least of these" in society. This is a fundamental practice for millions of Christians across denominational lines in this country. It is a practice that is protected in the First Amendment to the Constitution. So where does the city get off telling the churches they can't house the homeless? This is how.

The church or faith-based para church non-profit corporation receives public money. With public money comes regulation and with regulation comes rules. It would appear that the protections of the right to practice religion without hindrance is foggy once the government has a stake in that practice. In this case if the government is going to hand over money for shelter beds, then they want to see them open at least 5 days a week or be forced to shutdown. Is this fair? I say yes.

As I've stated before a fundamental aspect of libertarian thinking is understanding government as nothing more than an agency of force. It does not have the capability of being charitable, loving, caring, or nurturing. It uses money that it has the authority to take to govern people by enforcing laws...that's it. Libertarians don't hate government, but instead are forced to focus disgust for government because its current form governs outside of the realm of a truly free society. In a free society government would be expected to do only what it is capable of doing and people would be free to help each other in any way they saw fit as long as they don't initiate force.

What has happened in these 22 faith-based shelters is what you'd expect to see happen once they've partnered with an agency of force. They used money taken by force and are now forced to abide by rules. If they can't abide by these rules they are forced to close.

I'd love to see churches respond with underground "non-sanctioned" shelters to house the homeless. Like a speakeasy the homeless would find their way into these shelters outside of the watchful eye of a government that is bent on counting them in order to justify the need for funding. In the future I'd love to see New York City and others cities complain that because of church organizations they were unable to account for the true number of homeless because so many were being cared for outside of their jurisdiction...

...and finally the "least of these" would receive the love they deserve.

Don't worry, I'll never let you go.

Having a name commonly used by females has made my life interesting at times. In elementary school new teachers would take roll and after my name say, "Tracy...is she here." I played along and answered "here" in a girl's voice which helped me cope and satisfied my role as class retard. To this day I get mail targeted for women including Victoria's Secret Free Panty giveaway. To this day I've yet to claim the panty to which I'm entitled. (sheesh that sounds bad but strangely true in a lot of ways...anyway)

Perhaps no other development has disturbed me quite as much as The Cuff Links' (Ron Dante's one-man band, see also The Archies) tune invoking my name. The song is troubling enough without adding a horrible late 1960's video to it...which I share with you now.

This video is bad and rivals my all time favorite bad 60's video by People!

Have a good weekend everyone and remember...something I do bounces you off the ceiling.

Friends in the 21st Century

Sites like Facebook and MySpace allow you to add friends. I have accounts on each of these sites and I have way more virtual friends than I have actual friends. I have way more friends than I've had in my entire life. Of course not all of these are people I'd make my one phone call from jail to, but they're friends just the same. It's hard to even know where to make the distinction on where someone is just too on the fringes to become a friend in one of these online community sites. Case in point:

I have a buddy I've known for about 25 years and he's been a good friend to me. He is about 10 years older than me and I've often considered him the older brother I never had...even though I had an older brother...another subject for another time perhaps.

My buddy's 1st wife was psycho. I know you could be thinking that all ex-wives can be considered psycho and I'm just conveniently summarizing her persona for the sake of blogging...but you'd be wrong. She is psycho.

About a month or so before my buddy became the husband of this hose beast another buddy of mine and I went to his house to rehearse. We were both guitarist and this house was a common place to plug-in as it was often empty. It was becoming less empty all of the time as her stuff was making its way in more and more.

Since no one was home, we got the equipment together in the living room and spread out and started playing. At a break my guitar partner looked over at the dining room table and said, "Hey isn't that her purse?" I looked over and replied with, "Yeah, I guess so." (gripping dialogue eh?...stay with me)

He then said, "Let's check her purse for medication to see if she's taking anything that psycho people take. That would prove that she's officially certifiable." I laughed.

We were getting ready to play again and we heard banging around in the kitchen. The banging was the hose beast who was hiding in the pantry and was clumsily making her way out.

"SO YOU THINK I'M SOME SORT OF PSYCHO DO YOU!?" She yelled at both of us...oh while throwing things. I felt bad that she heard us but she was hiding in the pantry which makes the position of not being crazy a bit difficult to defend. She threw us out and we gladly left.

I got a call later that night from the groom-to-be and I remember him being kind of angry asking me, "So you think my fiance is a bitch huh?" and I tried to soften it some but I ended up just apologizing for making his life hell. I didn't want to be insulting but he'd find out later just how nuts she was and still can be. They're no longer married...big surprise.

Back to virtual friends. She requested to add me as a friend recently on Facebook. I was already friends with her two daughters which I've known since they were small children so once she found me she went ahead and requested to add me. What the hell, I accepted. I'll make sure I update this post if she jumps out of some virtual pantry, God forbid.

Yes We Can!

I've had this quoted to me a few times by actual Obama supporters. This campaign slogan really was just the message some of you needed to hear. It means nothing but means everything. I think maybe in some ways the Ron Paul r3VOLution is a good example of a simple slogan that catches the hearts of people. If I ever run for office I'm going to need a slogan. Here are some...and we're brainstorming here so there are no bad ideas.

Freedom: Yeah, whatever.

I'm not a librarian.

Yes you can...on your own property though.

I need your help...lay it on me.

Election Aftermath

The State of Freedom on November 5th

Last night was a mixed bag for the freedom movement but there were some incredible highlights that I'll cover below:

• Medical Marijuana is now the law in Michigan
• Massachusetts became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of Marijuana
• Bob Barr will climb over the half-million vote mark while on the ballot in only 46 states.  This is 18% over 2004 for the LP and within the margin of victory in two states.
• A president was elected that has talked about bringing our troops home.  Let's hope they're not just redeployed instead.  (I believe nothing on this front will really happen but I can only watch)

Some snags along the way were:

• California voters insist government has a role in marriage
• Massachusetts voters keep their income tax

I was asked by a co-worker what I thought of the election and I talked about some of these issues I was following.  She looked at me with a confused look and said, "I mean, are you happy about Obama being president?"  My answer surprised her: "I care not who wins, I don't have a dog in the fight."  I talked to her a little while longer and it wasn't long before she had written down the names of some books I recommended she read. 

That lifelong Democrat and Puget Sound Progressive (her words, not mine) is enthusiastic to read What it Means to Be a Libertarian by Charles Murray.  What I consider to be a decent primer on libertarian thinking.

The message of freedom is still a very powerful message that people want to hear.  There will never be a bigger opportunity to successfully spread this message than over the next four years.

Can you believe it? What an historic day!

I had a headache this morning so I decided to stay in bed and go in to work later. After sleeping until about 9am (which I almost never do) I felt pretty hungry. My headache had subsided to some degree but I felt like getting some breakfast would be a good idea.

I went to a Cafe just down the street and ate at the counter. I almost felt like a politician eating at a lunch counter in Iowa pretending to care about farm subsidies. I listened to the people at the counter and people working talk about the election. They all had different ideas about what would happen and some about what they'd like to see happen. It was fascinating.

Breakfast was pretty good too. I had an English Muffin and half of what they called an Irish Scramble. It was just the right size as I like to eat smaller portions these days. Turns out breakfast was just what the doctor ordered as I felt much better and was able to make it into work around 11am.

It was hamburgers for dinner and my two year old son and I watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special that I have on DVD. We had just retired the Great Pumpkin for another year. After that we played guitar for awhile and I put him to bed. It was truly an amazing day.

Oh yeah, some guy won an election too.

My election day wish for you

I hope [Insert name of candidate you're supporting] defeats [Insert name of candidate you are voting against] for the office of [Whatever race you care about] and finally restores this country to its former greatness.

I'll be around after the election to help you along as you see few things really change. Don't worry, I'll be there for you.

Next post on Guy Fawkes Day! - Remember remember the 5th of November.

Socialism

The S-word has been thrown around a great deal in the last few weeks. I even saw McCain campaign sign-wavers holding signs warning against Obama's Socialist plan for America. So who is the Socialist?

So is Obama a Socialist? Well, yeah but so is John McCain. It should be understood that the Constitution of the United States was specifically written to discourage collectivism in general.

Originally taxes on persons was to be apportioned (all the same) and welfare was to be general (shared by all) which is to mean that no one is taxed more than anyone else and government treated people as individuals, and not belonging to people groups. To give money or benefit to a select group would be unthinkable to our founding fathers. They understood that government cannot provide a service. It cannot deliver a good or supply a resource. To even attempt this, government must first take from the productive efforts of some by force.

If you want to call Obama a Socialist then that's fine but to pretend that John McCain and his support of farm subsidies is a more just and moral way of spreading the wealth is being ignorant.

I reject Socialism only on the premise that I don't have a right to your property, your creative energy, or your time. It is not mine, it is yours. To expect that these things that belong to you should be taken from you by force and given to me is simply using the government to do what would be illegal if I acted alone. Because I see it as theft, I reject it on moral grounds.

Hell, if you want my stuff just ask for it and at least come by and get it yourself. I may even help you load it in your vehicle.

Gonna ramble a bit...hang on

The election nears and am I glad. It will soon be over. It's been a good election process from my standpoint as the cause of liberty has moved forward a great deal. To what benefit I have no idea. The outcome of the general election does not concern me in the least. So everyone get out there and get your ballot cast and embrace the change you've all been clammering for. I'll be here when you realize nothing has really changed all that much.

I went into downtown Seattle with Mr. Evil last week and saw a rockin' show at a craphole club. Edguy (from Germany) and Kamelot (Florida meets Norway) played a great show and it was really cool to get out and hear talented musicians.

I've been a writing fool lately too which has contributed to the lack of blogging this week. Robert the Grump and I have been tossing around book ideas as well...we toss around ideas all day...most of which may possibly land us in jail.

Tonight I'm manning the door and welcoming Trick or Treaters. I'm expecting 60+ little grubbers and I have an assortment of awesome candy...and crap candy of course.

The producer of the Dave and Steve has been in contact with Pat Cashman (Almost Live, Taco Time, Commercial voice extraordinaire) for an intereview. We'll be messing with him in a couple of weeks.

There's been more, but that's all I'm going to bore you with. I'll leave you with a Halloween Haiku.

Nice Hobo Costume
Where did you purchase that one?
At the retard store?