FloriDaegu

Leave Egypt Alone

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:17:00 +0000

As a Libertarian, I'm committed to the principles that founded our country such as the right of people to choose their own government in their own way. Our government has interfered in other peoples', other country's affairs far too often with disastrous results. Look at Iran, Vietnam, Iraq and more.

I recently received an email from Libertarian Party Chair, Mark Hinkle. What he's stated, I agree:

"Media reports tell us that the Obama administration is heavily involved in the current crisis in Egypt. It shouldn't be.

"Personally, my sympathies are with the Egyptian protesters. Our very own Declaration of Independence said that government exists to secure people's rights, and 'whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.'

"However, it would be wrong for me to force all Americans to adopt my point of view and support my choice in this crisis. But that's exactly what the Obama administration is doing, by interfering in the crisis and inevitably taking sides.

"The instances of U.S. foreign meddling over the last hundred years are too numerous to list here. But in almost every case, U.S. intervention has made American taxpayers poorer, and it has usually served to entrench corrupt authoritarian rulers. In the worst cases, like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, military intervention has caused the deaths of many Americans and far more foreigners.

"This includes all types of intervention: military intervention, foreign aid, and 'behind-the-scenes' intervention using diplomacy and espionage.

"Libertarians call for the U.S. government to stop interfering in the Egyptian crisis, and to end foreign aid to all nations, including Egypt.

"American interventionism also gives foreign governments an excuse to copy us. Instead of respecting their neighbors' sovereignty and independence, foreign governments often interfere with each other, and they often use examples of American intervention as a justification.

"Unfortunately, powerful politicians in Washington can't seem to resist the temptation to meddle in foreign countries' affairs. This tendency is made worse by self-serving bureaucracies like the CIA, which rely on foreign meddling to keep their workers employed.

"Our government should leave other nations alone. The future of Egypt is for the Egyptian people to decide, not Washington politicians."

The Libertarian Party platform plank on international affairs states:

"American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups."

Libertarians are the third largest party. Why continue the insanity, choose Libertarians.

Tron Jeremy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:32:00 +0000

A movie can measure how successful it is by how soon and how many porn movie parodies are made of it. I'm not going to even attempt to look for all of the possibilities, but here is a SFW Tron Jeremy.

Enjoy!

EMBED-Tron Jeremy - Watch more free videos

Tron - Reviewed

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:30:00 +0000

I'm not going to go into the plot and spoil it for you. I enjoyed it and I would see it again! If you're a constant reader at Floridaegu, you'll know that I've mentioned my Tron-chubby on more than one occasion. There seems to be a split on how some people viewed this movie. It's a cult revival for some and a WTF for others. I'm in the prior camp. I saw 1982 Tron with a child's eye and imagination. To see the second movie pick up where it left off and in the way they did it so that it could stand alone, just made me want to jump around the movie theater. On more than one occasion I did throw my hands in the air and yell-out to myself.

The visuals were badass, I want to do more naughty things with Olivia Wilde AKA "13" (House), and the story was decent. I admit there were some holes in the story that were glossed over. I admit the character Tron could have shown his face, but if I let some of those minor details slide, and just enjoy the movie, then good friends, Tron: Legacy is worth watching!

What's Your Choice For Worst Police Misconduct?

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:07:00 +0000

The nice folks at Injustice Everywhere grabbed a bunch of police misconduct videos and put them up for a vote. The poll is closed now, but this is just a few of the hundreds (possibly thousands this year?) of videos for this year alone that show just how much the police detest the public.

There is a saying about Libertarians. A Libertarian is either a Democrat with a conservative financial sense or a Republican that was beaten by a police officer.

Cute, but this is a serious matter. Injustice Everywhere is showing only 27 videos. I know there are much more out there. This can't be just another isolated incident. This is a common occurrence. It's frightening that the people we pay to protect and defend us are intimidating and beating us. In some of the videos there are cops trying to cover up other cops. In many videos this year, we see cops beating or arresting people for videotaping, not interfering, just video taping. The unlisted crime of Contempt of Cop is being used against law abiding citizens that demand accountability.

When I look at this problem from a free-market standpoint, I think state-paid police could be done away with. I think privatized security could be a better way. You'd have increased customer service and lower crime. It would be in a company's interest to keep their customers (citizens) happy by catching the bad guys and leaving citizens who ask questions, or videotape them, alone.

TED Talk About Parenting Taboos

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:54:00 +0000

As a father of two charming girls, I'm often at a loss at how to handle the situation. Should I be a tough daddy or easy-going? Usually the answer's somewhere in the middle. I thought it would be similar to basic training. I'd break them in and make 'em do push-ups. HA! Often times, they're the ones calling the shots. They cry, I respond.

Anyway, here's a couple from TED that describe four taboos about parenting. It's humorous and refreshing.

Libertarianism Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:37:00 +0000

Hello good reader and happy new year!

I thought I'd hang this video here for you to enjoy. I've previously described Libertarianism in the past but this video might be able to give more information. In it Judge Napolitano (no relation to Janet "Big Sister" Napolitano) has guests from Reason magazine. They are some of the more popular Libertarians and they give their responses to the judge.

Anyway, enjoy!

Mad Men - The Ads That Wouldn't Pass Muster...Today

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:11:00 +0000

After seeing these, and having a good laugh, I thought this was worth sharing with the rest of you just prior to New Years.

A select few:

The rest here. If these don't get you laughing, well then... there's nothing I can do for you.

Via Owni via The Agitator

Virtual Assistants

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:52:00 +0000

Recently I needed to get some work done, but I didn't have the expertise nor the time to do this. Basically, I had to photoshop tens of pictures for distribution. Now this is not my trade. I CAN do this, but it would take me hours, that I wasn't willing to give up, sooooooo I hired a virtual assistant or VA.

I was a bit apprehensive because this could be one of those deals where you get some shoddy work back or you pay and the guy never does the job. Well, it didn't work out that way. I went to freelanceswitch.com and posted a job for hire. Within a couple of days I had several offers. Some offered samples of their work, some were very advanced, and some, it seemed were stay-at-home entrepreneurs. In the end I think I picked a guy looking to make a little extra scratch, in India! I thought that was pretty cool. I outsourced my work! hehehe

We talked about price, how much I was willing to pay and how he'd get paid. Once that was settled, it's been back and forth with getting these jobs done. You have to remember that you're the boss, and you have to communicate clearly about what you want. You have to be able to delegate tasks. This is good practice if you ever would like to become a leader or manager one day.

I'm not sure about becoming a manager. I like where I am and what I'm doing. My point of view has changed on the subject of VA's. I kind of like them. It's similar to hiring an accountant to do your taxes, but difference is, is that you may not know if he's doing a good job. You just have to review his work and hope the IRS doesn't get picky. With a VA, you work in a truly free-market. You negotiate price and pay what you both think the labor is worth. Truly, it was worth the money.

The Government Tells You What You Can Eat Or Else

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 03:23:00 +0000

The classic big government statement: I know what's good for you. How dare you question that.
Here is another victimless crime.

Via Reason.tv:

I don't get it, do you? Perhaps there were good intentions when the FDA was started. Every path to hell is led with them. Thalidomide was a total fuck-up, but does that mean that they get to tell everyone what they can or can't eat? I saw a survivor man show where he ate raw [insert unusually nauseous animal/animal part]. I didn't see the FDA protecting him.

The point is, if I want to eat/smoke/inhale/inject/drink something, then why can't I? So long as I'm not harming or forcing it on others, then there really isn't any crime. Yes, if I decide to eat poison to kill myself then why is it a crime? Also, this swat/gestapo tactic of forced entry to stop someone from drinking unpasteurized milk is horseshit. Did they think the suspects had weapons and were going to go out in a blaze of glory? Sheesh!

The federal government should stay out of people's lives and get back to protecting the freedoms it was created to protect.

TED Talk On The Oceans

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 01:02:00 +0000

This guy is inspiring! I've watched this video several times and every time I feel like I want to learn and work in the ocean.

He mentions that there are commercial grade precious metals down there. It's an economic incentive to go down there and mine those materials. Maybe if the price of precious metals keep going up, there'll be enough incentive to invest in the technology required to do the work. I know there are a few companies out there that have started, but you just don't see the rush to get going, yet.

Lovin' That Gold!

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I woke up this morning, next to my baby daughter. Recently Mrs. Floridaegu has been placing her next to me in the morning so that I can help her out. That's fine with me. She deals with both children most of the day and if that means I have to give up a few hours of sleep so that she can get a few herself, well, that's fine by me.

So I pick up second daughter, put her in her bouncer and go make coffee. I take my vitamins and Omega-3 and carry her to my office. I go through the mundane stuff and I look over at the stock ticker and precious metals index and I notice that gold is currently $1414.50 and ounce! Silver is at $29.38 an ounce! These are not new highs, but they are highs for the week. This is good.

In my email I found a video blog entry by my broker, Peter Schiff:

Yeah, he's pushing precious metals. He's said over half his portfolio is in precious metals, and I've been moving mine in that direction. I agree that QE II is causing a lot of problems. This is basic economics. Inflation robs the poor by making everything more expensive, and the last thing to catch up are wages. The rich can afford to pay more, obviously, so it doesn't affect them as much.

When I see what direction my country's been going, and how it runs counter to good reasoning, I have a constant fear for my family. I'm ok if I can't retire. I get it. Retirement's not a right and it's only a recent concept. When I see the country run unconstitutionally, run counter to common sense, I have to do what I have to do to save my family. Today that means buying more gold and silver.

Lessons of Lexington, 1775

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:43:00 +0000

via Tenth Amendment Center by Tenth Amendment on 11/8/10

by Dan Eichenbaum

On the night of April 18, 1775, the lantern's alarm sent Revere, William Dawes and other riders on the road to spread the news. The messengers cried out the alarm, awakening every house, warning of the British column making its way towards Lexington. In the rider's wake there erupted the peeling of church bells, the beating of drums and the roar of gun shots – all announcing the danger and calling the local militias to action.

After that first successful skirmish, our founders endured unimaginable hardships, lost battles, emotional despair, and a debilitating winter at Valley Forge, until Washington's final victory at Yorktown. The battles of Lexington and Concord were just the beginning of America's struggle for freedom.

November 2, 2010, was our Battle of Lexington Green, our "shot heard 'round the world." Will we have the courage and determination to fight on to win total victory?

The forces of Progressive Socialism will not spend much time licking their wounds. I have no doubt, nor should any of you, that they will double their efforts to take control our government and continue their assault on our Constitution. Armed with massive funding from their puppet masters, they will use misdirection and prevarication to convince the American people that....

Read the rest here.

Cop, TSA agent steal, assault clerk

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Double whammy! What charges are brought against civilians should be double for officers. They know the law a heckuva lot more that everyday people and they bend it to suit them.

via Cop Block by Brett Perry on 11/22/10

A cop and his TSA girlfriend entered a gas station after drinking to get more alcohol. After arguing with the clerk, the TSA agent flashes her bade, lies and says she's with DHS and steals two slices of pizza. When the clerk tried to write down the license plate # they block the plate...

Read the rest here.

Alternate To Body Scanners

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:48:00 +0000

OK.

I've been bitching and moaning about these clearly illegal, and when I say illegal, I mean UNConstitutional searches. I don't care that they say that I give up my rights the moment I buy a plane ticket. I don't see why the federal government gets in the way of a private transaction between myself and the airlines. They need to remember that they are the servant, the employee, and we are the masters and employers.

So what to do about these scanners... How about this?

Doesn't this seem so simple, so elegant? In a time when we're trying to save money AND increase REAL security, doesn't this just make sense? We can do better; we must do better.

Give Thanks...For Property Rights!

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Property Rights vs Communitarian living. Working for yourself or working for others. The Pilgrims came and tried to work for each other, but couldn't make it work, so they gave out land for private use and BAM! There was no discontent about fair share of labor and the fruits of their labor could be traded freely.

This year, I'll give thanks for property rights.

via Reason Magazine's Hit & Run by Meredith Bragg on 11/25/10

The Pilgrims founded their colony at Plymouth Plantation in December 1620 and promptly started dying off in droves.
As the colony's early governor, William Bradford, wrote in "Of Plymouth Plantation":

That which was most sadd & lamentable was, that in 2. or 3. moneths time halfe of their company dyed.

When the settlers finally stopped croaking, they set about creating a heaven on earth, a society without private property, where all worked for the common good. Everything was shared. Especially bitching and moaning about working for the common good. Bradford again:

Yong-men that were most able and fitte for labour and service did repine that they should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens wives and children, with out any recompense....And for men's wives to be commanded to doe service for other men, as dresing their meate, washing their cloaths, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brooke it.

With nobody working, everybody was suffering. And in case you think nobody was working simply because they couldn't understand a damn thing Bradford was saying, chew on this: In 1623, Bradford and the other leaders

...assigned to every family a parceel of land...this had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more torne was planted then other waise would have bene by any means the Govr or any other could use, and saved him a great deall of trouble, and gave farr better contente.

In no time at all

any generall wante of famine hath not been amongest them since to this day.

America would never go hungry again. So this week, before you drift into your annual tryptophan-induced coma, don't forget to give thanks to the true patron of this holiday feast: property rights.
For more on this, go here. For a contrary take on whether the Pilgrims were proto-socialists, go here.

2 square meters of sunlight, focused, will melt anything on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:36:00 +0000

This is really cool! Now why don't we have this kind of wow stuff going on in America? I mean I love that Ninja Warrior or Wipeout is on, but we don't get to see something of substance, like this, unless you're watching the Discovery channel.

I wonder what kind of material needs to be developed to resist 3,500 degrees Celsius.

via MAKE Magazine by Sean Michael Ragan on 11/25/10

Free Banking

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:34:00 +0000

Here's something interesting.

Free Banking would be something opposite to what we have today. Free banking would allow banks to print/mint their own money, make their own rules about money management and would be independent of government control or a lot fewer controls that what we have today. I have read more on this! Apparently there have been periods in America's past where we had such a system, this is good because if the Federal Reserve were to go away, then how would you explain how banking works? What if there were a run on the banks? How should they react without hurting the customer?

I think most liberals and conservatives agree that monopolies are counterproductive to a free society. Monopolies stifle innovation, inflate prices, and generally create worse consumer experience. It's like this because there is no motivation, no incentive to keep improving or offering better customer service or competitive prices. If we all agree that this is true, then why do we allow the government a monopoly on money, police, fire, national defense, practically anything that can be done better and cheaper by the private sector?

If we had competing currencies then you'd have items priced in several currencies. It would be in the interest of the bank issuing the currency to maintain good customer relations, maintain a relatively stable value - never deflating or inflating too much. Currently, government controlled currencies are subject to the whims of political pressures and as we can see the dollar has lost more than 95% of its value since the Federal Reserve took over in 1913. Comparatively, the dollar inflated only 10% from 1776 to 1913. The reason why governments like non-commodity based currencies, i.e. fiat money, is that they can print as much as they desire to wage wars or offer welfare programs to the people. This also allows politicians to slowly devalue the money without imposing unpopular taxes. A free banking system wouldn't allow this because of competition with other banks, so they must keep the customer (currency holder) happy.

TSA: More Theater Less Security

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:16:00 +0000

Body scanners that give a virtual strip show, gropings that so intimate, you'd go to jail if you weren't a government official. All of these punishments, normally reserved for prisoners, await the law abiding public. It is easily deductible that these invasive pat-downs are designed to be as uncomfortable as possible in order to "encourage" people to go through the scanners. Isn't funny how these scanners became so readily, if not expensively, available? Underwear bomber - POOF - Nekkid scanners!

Well if invasion of your privacy isn't that much of a concern; if you have nothing to hide, then let's put cameras in your bedroom. It's dignity and privacy people. It's no longer about 9/11, it's about getting you to comply with a federal agency, and if you don't, well... you can drive cross-country to that meeting. Don't believe me? Let's hear what the TSA workers have to say...

Now if you want to fly, suck it up and accept that you have to submit to the security procedures. Yes you think they are stupid or unnecessary but TSA officers and TSA don’t care what you think. They try to make it all warm and fuzzy but they can’t because it is security not a trip to Disney World. Shut up and get in the scanner or don’t fly.

November 24th is National Opt-Out Day. On this day, anyone, everyone can opt-out and get felt up. The point is to make it inconvenient for TSA agents, to make it obnoxious. Of course, you'd want to plan ahead while traveling. As you can image I fully support this civil disobedience. There should be more. There should be revolts against this security theater. That's what it is. It doesn't increase security. Israel, goes about it differently. They make it unobtrusive yet very effective.

At least this gives me a bit more hope. Americans are beginning to take a stand. Let's hope it's not too late. We've seen the rise of the tea parties, Ron Paul, and now a backlash against TSA. Individual rights make us more secure and free, not a bigger government.

Tron-gasm!

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:59:00 +0000

This movie cannot get here soon enough! Almost since last year, Disney has been dangling this piece of nostalgia-filled-Prime-ribbed-awesomeness in the faces of geeks. Well, they've given us yet another table scrap for us to fumble over - Here's the 3rd trailer...

via Gizmodo by Jesus Diaz on 11/9/10

New Tron Legacy trailer. I said, NEW TRON LEGACY TRAILER! By the way, Disney, this movie better be good or I will kidnap Mickey, drown him in gasoline and torch that bloody rat. Watch it and get into the grid. More »

Be sure to clean up after yourselves.

For Understanding: Explaining the Libertarian

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 08:04:00 +0000

I'm a Libertarian. Often when I tell people that, they get this funny look in their eye. They either confuse me with a liberal or an extreme conservative. hehe While I may be socially liberal, I am also fiscally conservative. Just to eliminate any confusion, Republicans have been socially conservative and Democrats have been socially liberal. Both are fiscally liberal, spending our money without regard and despite what they say that they're trying to cut spending.

For another, perhaps more eloquent explanation, here's this guy:

via Beyond The Broken Spectrum - Advancing the cause of truth and liberty daily by Stephen on 11/10/10

It is often that I find people regularly misunderstanding where libertarian types are coming from when they make statements about their positions on limited government and the way in which government should be structured. Often there isn't enough clarification on our "libertarian" end, which leads to confusion about why we support the positions we do.

Read the rest here.

Ron Gets Closer to Ending the Fed

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:48:00 +0000

This is a bit old, but it's still a sign of positive things on the horizon. Ron Paul in the ranking member of the House Subcommittee for Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology. What does this mean for the rest of us? It means that he can affect changes to the way the Federal Reserve does business.

One of the big pieces of legislation that way making its way through congress, but was perverted by a few congressmen was HR1207. Currently its sitting in committee. The intent was to allow auditing of the Federal Reserve. Currently, the Fed can refuse audits because it claims that they need to operate in secrecy to avoid pressures from politics. HA! News Flash: The Fed is under the influence of politics.

Bad Things That Could Happen

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:43:00 +0000

I saw this video and thought it'd be a nice thing to post, especially after my posting about work.

Bad Things That Could Happen from This Is It on Vimeo.

Bad things can and do happen, especially if you speak out. At work, that's not such a good thing, even if you are paid for your professional opinion. Rein it in buddy. On the government, however, you should be able to speak freely.

Enjoy.

At work

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:36:00 +0000

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I feel better. This blog is therapeutic for me.

From now on, I will simply go along instead of voicing my opinion.

What I'm Reading: Comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Comeback: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back

If you're jaded, then this is probably just another sob story that will have a happy ending. I'm trying to move away from those feelings. I have daughters and I think this could be one of those good read books. This may seem like an unusual read for a frustrated guy like your truly, but I hope to expand and branch out. This isn't a self-help book like How To Win Friends and Influence People (I'm still working on that, by the way). No sir, this is just a true story of how far a mom went to save her daughter from a life of drugs. This is a true story of a daughter's journey to the bottom and returning. Both of their stories are told and are interwoven to give you a more complete picture of their tribulations.

I don't have any expectations from this book. I don't plan on analyzing for deeper meanings or symbolism. This will just be for enjoyment and perhaps a deeper appreciation of parenthood.

I have several more books on the shelf to be read, I can't wait to get to them.

Jaw-dropping "unmixing" demo appears to reverse entropy

noreply@blogger.com (Floridaegu) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:15:00 +0000

The title says it all. That was the face I made when I watched this.

via MAKE Magazine by Sean Michael Ragan on 11/1/10

I identify as a scientist, but I gotta admit: When I saw this video from Steve Spangler Science, my first impulse was to jump back from the computer, cross myself, and douse the screen with holy water. It reminded me of a line from John Carpenter's underappreciated 1987 horror movie, Prince of Darkness:

And we assume time is an arrow because it is as a clock...Cause precedes effect - fruit rots, water flows downstream. We're born, we age, we die. The reverse NEVER happens...
Unless, apparently, you're dealing with a system operating under conditions of laminar flow. Obviously, there is no real "violation" of the second law of thermodynamics, here, but because almost all of our intuitions about how liquids are going to behave are formed under conditions of turbulent flow, it sure does seem like it. [Thanks, Alan Dove!]

WOW!