Fill In For The Government

I told my kids today: "We're going to start homeschooling you today - to fill in for what the government is not doing." Schools are closed two straight days for snow one day and possible ice patches on side streets, where the school buses must venture, for the second day. The second day is just ridiculous, because the ice patches are few and far between.

The liberal [statist] mantra goes something like this: What private industry cannot accomplish government will step in and provide. But of course, a bold statement like that is doublespeak. What it really means is: What government cannot accomplish government will blame private industry for the failure and hobble the free market even more.

We have been lulled into the uncomfortable but suffocating embrace of government. Though most libertarians and conservatives deride one of Hillary Clinton's favorite (sic) proverbs: "It takes a village [central government] to raise a child," we have all been along for the ride.

How about this: What private industry cannot accomplish an entrepreneur will step up to the challenge, create a method or product that fulfills the want or need, and others in private industry will quickly copy or imitate the innovator and accomplishment new great and not-so-great things.

The Ultimate Viral Video: "The Viral Song"

Now for something completely useless:

Viral videos are addictive. It is easy to view them as a monumental waste of time, but during one of my recent layoffs (Yes, I have had more than one in the last five years, and you could call them firings lite.), I read that a budget for the recently unemployed should include "entertainment." So the viral-video craze might not be totally useless. It gives us a sense of belonging on a global scale, like global warming, yadiyadiya.

But I digress. The best viral video of all time ... Is ... "The Viral Song." It lays the genre bare. It provides a blueprint for future generations. It is inane. It lacks the need for further analysis. Brilliant.



It beats out the current rival, "What Does The Fox Say," hands down.



But you be the judge. This is important for your mental health, er, something!

Constitutional Rights for the Individuals of the World (Intro 1.0)

Do U.S. Constitutional rights extend to individuals who are NOT citizens of the United States, who live outside the United States?

I feel that those rights are everyone's, regardless of nationality, regardless of locale. Why? Because - based on my accepted definition of rights - rights are inherent to the individual, not privileges granted by a group or government.

That's my opinion - or interpretation. But what does the U.S. Constitution say? ...

Well, after a cursory review of the original articles of the Constitution, I have found no mention of rights. So what about the Bill of Rights?

Well, the Bill of Rights does not say how far the rights extend, but it does mention rights for the "people," which was explained contemporaneously to mean "individuals." And it was also assumed contemporaneously that the rights in the Bill of Rights were "enumerated," meaning that they were being "counted," therefore already inherent to individuals. Therefore, if the rights are inherent to individuals, being naturally owned by individuals, then it is logical to conclude that those rights are Constitutional rights that were simply enumerated by amendments to the Constitution, and therefore they are violated by our government, when our government does to foreigners in foreign lands what it says it can't legally do to U.S. citizens on the partial(more on this later)-sovereign soil of the United States of America.

(Note: I know that this is not an exhaustive argument for U.S. Constitutional rights protection for those traditionally not afforded protecting from rights violations outside USA borders, so comments are definitely welcome, and I will be revising this post.)

Political Affiliation (Bend) Polls: Biased Toward Mediocrity

I'm not crazy about most political polls, because they are biased toward the status quo. To ask someone if they are conservative or liberal lends itself toward the same right/left, Republican/Democrat paradigm.

A recent Gallup poll seems to follow the same pattern. It asked respondents to choose between "Republican," "Democrat," and "Independent" as responses.

I think it's great that "Independents" have reached 45%, but of course there is a glaring problem. "Independents" lumps together moderates that oscillate between the two dominate U.S. parties, "Libertarian Party" members, members of all non-bipolar parties, and the other non affiliated, such as hardcore communists and anarchists. So, on this homepage that gives a few more options.

UPDATE 1/8/14 
An additional poll option, including a choice for "single-issue voter/proponent."

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

(Sort Of) A Lifehack: Lost Your Roku Remote?

This is not really a lifehack, because it doesn't require scissors or repurposing recyclables, but here goes:

If you lose your Roku remote, then you can download the Roku remote app for your Android phone or iPhone. It works over wifi, so your Roku and your smartphone have to be connected to wifi.

Roku Android Remote App

Roku iPhone Remote App

Independence Day

Should April 19 (1775) be the real Independence Day? Why should it take an act of Congress for a people to say that they are free?

Boot Review: Jungle Combat Boots

Rothco Desert GI - MilitaryBoots.com

After being out of work for a few months at the beginning of last year, I took a job at a grocery store. I work in a couple departments including the meat market. One of the meat cutters recommended that I get boots, because we literally soak the entire cutting room when we clean it.

So I started looking for some inexpensive boots. They had to be black, and I wanted lightweight ones, because my feet sweat a lot. I naturally gravitated to jungle boots, because I was really interested in military desert boots, but they were too expensive for my budget, and the early desert boots were actually tan jungle boots.

Twisted logic, but I also used to like the original boots, because I read and watched a lot about the Vietnam War. So I settled on the Rothco Jungle Boots. I went to the local Army/Navy store, tried on a pair undersized one size per a recommendation online. The boots do not come with insoles, and the inside of the the sole looks like it is made out of paper, so I bought some semi decent Dr. Scholls insoles. I also bought Scotchgard, because - as I mentioned before - I work, at times, in a very wet environment. So through the process, I turned a $41 pair of boots into a $55 pair of boots. Wait! It gets worse.

10 seconds from trashcan

I Scotchgarded the boots, kept them polished, and they lasted about a month and a half.  I do a lot of kneeling, and that broke both soles within a month. I glued both with superglue, and that lasted about a week. So for my next pair of boots, I went to Sears. More on that later.

TO BE CONTINUED