Wonkish Bearings

Executive Overreach, Indeed

Kevin Smith — 2013-06-06T23:31:00+00:00

Stinging criticism from the New York Times’ Editorial Board:

Within hours of the disclosure that the federal authorities routinely collect data on phone calls Americans make, regardless of whether they have any bearing on a counterterrorism investigation, the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered every time President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights.

Those reassurances have never been persuasive — whether on secret warrants to scoop up a news agency’s phone records or secret orders to kill an American suspected of terrorism — especially coming from a president who once promised transparency and accountability.

The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it.

So what can you do with cell phone metadata?

Kevin Smith — 2013-06-06T05:20:00+00:00

In an exclusive at The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald reveals that the NSA is collecting phone records of millions of Americans on an ongoing, daily basis—Americans not even under suspicion of a committing a crime, it’s important to note. As John Gruber depressingly notes, this is “especially galling from a president who was a constitutional law scholar.”

So just how much information about you can be pieced together with this data? Get ready for a headtrip.

The Cult of Expertise

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-22T14:28:28+00:00

Jonah Goldberg, taking a hint from George Will’s column last week, offers another angle on the ironic juxtaposition facing President Obama and all central planners alike:

The best defenses of his administration require undermining the rationale for his presidency.

He then proposes “the flip side of the conspiracy theory”: the redeemer fantasy. Both delusions require bestowing on political leaders almost god-like knowledge and power, and that’s really just absurd.

Well-intentioned human error rarely gets the credit it deserves. People want to connect the dots, but that’s only possible when you assume that all events were deliberately orchestrated by human will. This is the delusion at the heart of all conspiracy theorists, from Kennedy assassination crackpots to 9/11 “truthers.”

Behind all such delusions is the assumption that government officials we don’t like are omnicompetent and entirely malevolent. The truth is closer to the opposite. They mean well but can’t do very much very well.

This brings us to the flip side of the conspiracy theory — call it the redeemer fantasy: If only we had the right kind of government with the right kind of leaders, there’d be nothing we couldn’t do.

That was the very message behind President Obama’s first campaign, yet his administration is once again helping make the case against such a far-reaching and intrusive government. The problem with the IRS isn’t a few allegedly rogue agents abusing their power. The problem is that the agency has such power to begin with. Time to decimate the tax code. It’s hard to abuse power that you don’t have in the first place.

"Everything comes from the top."

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-19T19:21:25+00:00

Well, when Washington throws the little guys under the bus, it’s not surprising when they see no reason to keep toeing the party line.

From the Washington Examiner:

Number crunchers, whose work is nonpolitical, don’t necessarily enjoy the spotlight, especially when the media and the public assume they’re engaged in partisan villainy.

“We’re not political,’’ said one determinations staffer in khakis as he left work late Tuesday afternoon. “We people on the local level are doing what we are supposed to do. . . . That’s why there are so many people here who are flustered. Everything comes from the top. We don’t have any authority to make those decisions without someone signing off on them. There has to be a directive.”

Trust Not Your Lying Eyes

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-18T15:41:58+00:00

The ever insightful George Will on the irony facing President Obama:

Everything he advocates requires Americans to lavish on government something that his administration, and big government generally, undermines: trust.

Tennessee Ranks #1

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-11T00:08:13+00:00

...with the highest excise tax rate on beer in these United States.

State Department Orders Toothpaste Back in Tube

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-10T16:27:42+00:00

From Betabeat:

Defense Distributed, the Texas-based nonprofit that wants to empower people to 3D print their own guns, has hit a bit of a legal snag. According to founder Cody Wilson, DEFCAD, the open source weapon-printing project powered by Defense Distributed, received a letter from the State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Compliance, telling him to remove the blueprints of the Liberator, his 3D printed gun, from the web so that they may be reviewed by the department.

The group’s website currently has a red banner appended to the top that reads, “DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.”

“I immediately complied and I’ve taken down the files,” Mr. Wilson said. “But this is a much bigger deal than guns. It has implications for the freedom of the web.”

Of course, since this is the Internet, the files are already all over the web, even though Mr. Wilson complied with the takedown.

“I still think we win in the end,” he added. “Because the files are all over the Internet, the Pirate Bay has it–to think this can be stopped in any meaningful way is to misunderstand what the future of distributive technologies is about.”

The information is already out there. Shocking to discover the bureaucrats don’t know how the Internet works.

Gun Control: Hard to Argue with the Numbers

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-07T19:49:15+00:00

From the Associated Press:

Gun homicides have dropped steeply in the United States since their peak in 1993, a pair of reports released Tuesday showed, adding fuel to Congress’ battle over whether to tighten restrictions on firearms.

Gun-related homicides down 39% by raw numbers, down 49% by percentage given the population of the country. Non-fatal gun crimes are down 70%. Major improvements, mind you, and all in an era when gun control was overall becoming more relaxed. But yeah, we definitely need more gun laws. Especially reactionary gun control legislation that wouldn’t have done a thing to prevent whichever event those boobs are using as an excuse this time.

"A king’s ransom to create the illusion that we are important."

Kevin Smith — 2013-05-01T14:25:20+00:00

Oscars? Emmys? Grammys? White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

"Steely Dan can only take you so far in life, Lee."

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-30T17:57:42+00:00

I’ve had just about enough of these arrogant, anti-Southern bigots. Glad to see Matt Welch give him whatfor.

I Am My Brother's Keeper

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-16T15:44:01+00:00

Ray Ortlund, thoughtful as always:

...as a Christian, I am my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9).  To deny that would go against God.  Every person around me – and the closer they are, and the more vulnerable they are, the greater my responsibility – has the right to expect me to care about them. After all, God cares.

That means, among many other things, that if – God forbid – I should ever find myself in a situation where people are being harmed by a violent person, I must try to protect them. Sadly, that is not an inconceivable scenario.

I have a handgun permit from the state of Tennessee.  My gun is secured where no child or intruder can gain access to it.  But I am prepared to serve as my brother’s keeper.  I am saying to my family and community, “I will place your safety above my own.”
I can see Christians disagreeing – hopefully, in a charitable manner – about aspects of this. And I will not be distracted from my life mission: to advance the gospel of Jesus.  But one blog post will suffice to say, I am my brother’s keeper.  God says so.

Assembly Line Abortions

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-15T15:16:14+00:00

So the Gosnell case is a rare exception, right? A one-off abortion clinic run by a lunatic. A non-story because it’s a local crime story. That’s what we’re being told.

From the ABC affiliate out of Delaware, and this time it’s a Planned Parenthood:

“He didn’t wear gloves,” said [former employee Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich].

Another former employee, Joyce Vasikonis told Action News, “They were using instruments on patients that were not sterile.”

The former nurses claim that a rush to get patients in and out left operating tables soiled and unclean.

Werbrich said “It’s not washed down, it’s not even cleaned off. It has bloody drainage on it.”

“They could be at risk of getting hepatitis, even AIDS,” added Vasikonis.

Both of these nurses said, they quit to protect their own medical licenses, stunned by what they called a meat-market style of assembly-line abortions.

The Quintessence of Narcissism

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-14T20:39:23+00:00

CNN:

If Anne Frank had not died a teenager in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, Justin Bieber hopes she would have been his devoted fan.

That’s what Bieber, 19, wrote in the guestbook at the Anne Frank House when he visited there Friday, according to the Amsterdam site.

Why the Media is Ignoring the Kermit Gosnell Case

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-12T20:29:36+00:00

Trevin Wax provides an undeniable list of reasons the news media has so far ignored the case of the monster abortionist in Philadelphia. I was going to write up an expansion on the thoughts I had the other day, but he does better.

The Horror at the Women's Medical Society

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-12T19:11:49+00:00

You know how one of the chief arguments for abortion has long been that if it’s not legal, abortions will still happen anyway, but they’ll take place in squalid, dangerous conditions?

From The Atlantic:

On February 18, 2010, the FBI raided the “Women’s Medical Society,” entering its offices about 8:30 p.m. Agents expected to find evidence that it was illegally selling prescription drugs. On entering, they quickly realized something else was amiss. In the grand jury report’s telling, “There was blood on the floor. A stench of urine filled the air. A flea-infested cat was wandering through the facility, and there were cat feces on the stairs. Semi-conscious women scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting room or the recovery room, where they sat on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets. All the women had been sedated by unlicensed staff.” Authorities had also learned about the patient that died at the facility several months prior.

Horrifying. This sounds like the makings for quite a movie. Glad to see the media finally start to pick this one up.

UPDATE: Amidst all this devilry, why was nothing done? Why didn’t the state shut him down? The grand jury’s indictment concludes:

We think the reason no one acted is because the women in question were poor and of color, because the victims were infants without identities, and because the subject was the political football of abortion.

Let Them Be Upset

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-12T17:12:27+00:00

Louis C.K.:

Let them be upset. It’s not the worst thing in the world… It’s a desperate thing to need everybody to be really happy with everything you say… As soon as you crack your knuckles and open up a comments page, you just canceled your subscription to being a good person.

Chasing the Shiny

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-12T14:15:06+00:00

Seth Godin, being brilliant as usual:

But when we’re discussing our goals, our passion and the way we interact with the culture, it seems to me that what works is significantly more important than what’s new. Racing to build your organization around the latest social network tool or graphics-rendering technology permits you to spend a lot of time learning the new system and skiing in the fresh powder of the unproven, but it might just distract you from the difficult work of telling the truth, looking people in the eye and making a difference.

“I can’t describe the value we deliver, I’m too busy integrating this new technology into my workflow!”

All too often, the ones who are aggressively seeking the theory of the day don’t have a lot to show for what they did yesterday.

Chasing the hot new shiny and complaining about the work others do hardly leaves you any time to do great work and show it off yourself. But maybe that’s the point…

"SEC Approves Using Facebook, Twitter for Company Disclosures"

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-11T17:43:51+00:00

Can’t see how this will be a problem at all, considering Twitter’s own search index only goes back 6-9 days. Heaven forbid you scroll quickly through your timeline and miss an official company disclosure.

Maybe the Same Reason Gun-Free Zones Don't Work

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-11T17:39:50+00:00

From @AP:

Police chief says the Georgia gunman chose firefighters as hostages because he knew they wouldn’t be armed.

Interesting…

(h/t Jennifer Castleman)

The Bias is in What They Do (and Do Not) Choose to Report

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-10T17:03:55+00:00

Have you even heard about Kermit Gosnell and the horrors that took place at his place of business?

“I only do what I’m told to do,” [Lynda Williams] told the jury. “What I was told to do was snip their neck… I never knew it was murder.”

Hmm… that excuse sounds really familiar.

The only thing that can explain the news media’s resounding silence on this: journalists know it’s a horrifying story that would send emotions racing in a direction counter to their own political agenda. Shame on them.

In the Very Best of Hands: Gun Control Edition

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-04T17:57:14+00:00

From Examiner.com:

“What’s the efficacy of banning these magazine clips? I will tell you, these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them,”[Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colorado] said.

She went on to say that “the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will be shot and there won’t be any more available.”

So she thinks magazines are a one-time-use sort of thing? Definitely the kind of expert we want writing and passing legislation. But let’s cut the congresswoman a break. Maybe she misspoke. Via The Denver Post, a correction from the congresswoman’s spokeswoman, Juliet Johnson:

“The congresswoman has been working on a high-capacity assault magazine ban for years and has been deeply involved in the issue; she simply misspoke in referring to ‘magazines’ when she should have referred to ‘clips,’ which cannot be reused because they don’t have a feeding mechanism,” Johnson said.

So she and her staff have been working on this for years and don’t know that magazines (sometimes called clips) are reusable? Awesome.

(And while magazines are also sometimes colloquially known as “clips”, the two are not interchangeable terms. More importantly, the gun control proposals DeGette is referring to seek to outlaw high-capacity magazines, not clips.)

There’s just so much wrong with this. It staggers the imagination.

Terrifying News of the Day

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-03T20:22:24+00:00

Scientists have made a pretty harrowing discovery. From the blog at Smithsonian.com:

Let’s design the world’s most terrifying spider, shall we?

First, we’ll get the basics down: the legs, the eyes, the fangs. Some spiders, like the giant huntsman, look scary but are basically harmless. We can’t have that. Our spider needs to be poisonous. Let’s make it super fast, too, able to dart around in and out of reach. It needs to have camouflage and a propensity for hiding in the world’s nooks and crannies, ready to jump out and scare the bejesus out of us. Now, we’re almost there, but we’re certainly missing something. Oh, I know, let’s make it the size of your face.

Georgia's Coming For Our Water

Kevin Smith — 2013-04-02T00:27:06+00:00

Graveyard of Peaches: How Tennessee Will Win Its War Against Georgia:

The wars of the 9/11 era have demonstrated the perils of fighting heavily armed religious fundamentalists on their own soil. We Tennessee Presbyterians are a little like the Taliban — only certainly better armed and probably less tolerant of the Roman Catholic Church. Still, if Georgia wants to invade and occupy East Tennessee, it is welcome to try. Getting in should be easy. Getting out, however, is another matter entirely.

"You are not entitled to your..."

Kevin Smith — 2013-03-27T17:32:55+00:00

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

- Harlan Ellison

The By-product of Consistent Behavior

Kevin Smith — 2013-03-18T16:15:52+00:00

An oldie but a goodie from Jason Fried:

You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior. If you encourage people to share, and you give them the freedom to share, then sharing will be built into your culture. If you reward trust then trust will be built into your culture.

Nanny Bloomberg's Sugary Drink Ban Ruled Illegal

Kevin Smith — 2013-03-11T19:31:34+00:00

CNBC:

New York City's limits on sugary drinks are not legal, a state judge ruled Monday. The ban on large-sized sugary drinks was set to go into effect on Tuesday.

Ya think?

Rand Paul's Truly Awesome Filibuster

Kevin Smith — 2013-03-08T21:39:08+00:00

I'm a bit late on this, but it simply can't go unacknowledged. Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of the President Obama's nomination for CIA director, John Brennan, was simply awesome.

Cathy Reisenwitz:

And this is no silent filibuster. And not one where a Senator reads something. No, Rand Paul has been literally talking about civil liberties... for hours. It is straight-up libertarian porn. I had it on as I worked earlier. His ranting about due process and martial law was music to my afraid and oppressed ears.

It wasn't all for naught either. As underscored by The Wall Street Journal, Paul's filibuster made it impossible to ignore the hypocrisy of all the anti-war Democrats who have been conveniently silent on the excesses of the Obama administration. In the 7pm hour of the filibuster, Senator Paul called for a vote on a non-binding resolution that would simply express Senate opposition to drones killing Americans on American soil. Slam dunk, right? That's like a non-binding resolution expressing Senate appreciation for smiles from adorable children. How could that not pass?

Yet the Democrats rejected it. Wow.

But the even bigger win for Paul was that he got an unequivocal answer from the Justice Department. Attorney General Eric Holder wrote:

It has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question: "Does the President have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil?" The answer to that question is no.

Well done, Senator Paul. Keep bringing issues of liberty to the forefront.

"Civilian shoots would-be robber during attempted bank hold-up"

Kevin Smith — 2013-03-04T20:32:49+00:00

From WDAF in Kansas City:

The FBI said a man walked into the bank, showed a weapon and demanded cash. He was shot in the face by a civilian in the bank during the attempted robbery and then left, the FBI said.

First, awesome. Second, strange we don't see stuff like this mentioned in the totally reasonable, level-headed gun debate.

(h/t Instapundit)

"We thought foursquare was..."

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-25T15:18:21+00:00

“We thought foursquare was crap, and believed the design nerds flocking to Gowalla validated our attitude.”

- Josh Williams, Play by your own rules.

The Force of 20 Atomic Bombs

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-16T02:30:37+00:00

The largest meteorite in over 100 years slammed into Russia yesterday, according to NASA and lots of truly incredible videos on the Internet. Said Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science:

This is indeed very rare and it is historic. These fireballs happen about once a day or so, but we just don't see them because many of them fall over the ocean or in remote areas.

WHAT?

Rand Paul Responds to the State of the Union Address

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-13T14:03:10+00:00

Rand Paul:

Only in Washington could an increase in $7 trillion in spending over a decade be called a cut.

Reason has an excellent comparison of the Obama, Rubio, and Paul speeches from last night. Three entirely different visions of our country, to be sure.

Gun Rights Expanded in Tennessee

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-12T03:15:36+00:00

And the Nashville Scene's Pith in the Wind hilariously thinks this spells doom.

Law enforcement officers, school administrators, businesses and just about everybody except the NRA and yahoo survivalists are against this.

Thanks for the combo bandwagon and ad hominem, Pith. We love you, too.

It makes it too easy for deranged employees to grab their guns and shoot up their workplaces in fits of rage, business owners say.

Because as we all know, criminals follow the law. Ridiculous.

As Bill Hobbs reminds us in the comments, many of us remember the wailing about the coming wild west style shootouts when the absurdly labeled "Guns in Bars" bill was up for debate a few years ago. And as any level-headed person could've predicted, such devastation has simply not come to pass.

"We thought we were doing good."

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-07T00:32:59+00:00

The interview with Megan Phelps-Roper, who only recently broke away from the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, is heartbreaking and filled with grace at the same time. This will quickly explode through the press, no doubt, and I'm glad. I'm particularly happy that she has the cautious wisdom to know that she needs to learn "which [boundaries] were good and smart, and which ones shouldn’t be there anymore" rather than to simply reject everything she knew before. Everything she knew wasn't wrong. There are surely things WBC teaches about God that are true. Distorted truth is the telltale sign of a cult, the hallmark of evil.

The one thing I hope no one misses is that quote I used as the title. They actually think they're doing good.

This isn't a Scooby Doo world.

Abandoning Logic and Reason

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-05T18:53:18+00:00

From a few years back, Jack C. Parker, Research Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Tennessee:

It seems to me that a great many involved in higher education, who notionally profess to hold reason and scientific method as high ideals, abandon logic and reason in favor of emotion when the subject of guns arises.

Couldn't agree more. And I mean this... Read the whole thing.

War on Women?

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-02T23:12:12+00:00

Wow.

A week after women were cleared to serve in combat, Defense Intelligence Agency employees got a different message. "Makeup makes you more attractive." "Don't be a plain Jane." "A sweater with a skirt is better than a sweater with slacks." "No flats." "Paint your nails." "Don't be afraid of color." And, "brunettes have more leeway with vibrant colors than blondes or redheads."

And make sure to have the children cleaned up and supper on the table when your husband comes home from a long, hard day.

(h/t Instapundit)

New York Times: Experts on Guns

Kevin Smith — 2013-02-02T16:48:02+00:00

The New York Times:

In the photo, the president, wearing goggles and ear-muffs, is squinting down the barrel of a rifle, moments after pulling the trigger. Gun smoke shoots out of the front of the rifle.

A rifle, huh? Twice mentioned.

Here's the thing: The President was going skeet shooting, which a quick Google search would tell you typically involves a shotgun. Oh and also, the photo depicts him using a shotgun.

Update: They fixed it already. No mention that nobody in their layers of fact-checkers could tell the difference between a rifle and a shotgun though. Weird.

Why Didn't She Just Call the Cops?

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-31T23:29:03+00:00

The anti-gun crowd would rather this woman not have been able to protect herself and her son.

Twitter Became a Dark Place

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-30T20:32:34+00:00

Matt K. Lewis:

Twitter has become like high school, where the mean kids say something hurtful to boost their self-esteem and to see if others will laugh and join in. Aside from trolling for victims after some tragedy, Twitter isn't used for reporting much anymore. But it is used for snark.

He's talking about Twitter in the context of political journalism, but I submit that his observation rings universally true. Twitter has become the worse of the Internet. A place that rivals the anonymous blog commentariat for sheer vitriolic output. A place where people try to one-up each other with the most mean-spirited things they can dream up. All in public, of course. That's where the laughs and high-fives are.

Every day, I see people who claim to be web professionals — and whose Twitter accounts are hardly a secret from their clients or others in the industry — wax poetic about their disdain for their own clients and endlessly complain about the tools they use to build and deliver their work. Professional? Hardly.

I just don't get it.

Capitalism Levels the Playing Field

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-28T23:29:41+00:00

Andy Warhol:

What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

Shall Not Be Violated

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-27T20:10:22+00:00

Judge Roger Gregory, writing in the majority opinion:

Here, Mr. Tobey engaged in a silent, peaceful protest using the text of our Constitution—he was well within the ambit of First Amendment protections. And while it is tempting to hold that First Amendment rights should acquiesce to national security in this instance, our Forefather Benjamin Franklin warned against such a temptation by opining that those ‘who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’ We take heed of his warning and are therefore unwilling to relinquish our First Amendment protections—even in an airport.

Good for Aaron Tobey. I hope we'll see more and more people willing to forgo their own comfort to ensure the protection of our rights.

A Primer on American Civics and Why the Gun Control Arguments Make No Sense

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-26T20:22:35+00:00

David Mamet, as always, does a fine job of flaying the ridiculous emotional arguments of gun control advocates, but not before dutifully delivering a civics lesson that should have been but never was taught in school.

First, a harrowing summary of the evils of Communism.

Karl Marx summed up Communism as “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” This is a good, pithy saying, which, in practice, has succeeded in bringing, upon those under its sway, misery, poverty, rape, torture, slavery, and death.

For the saying implies but does not name the effective agency of its supposed utopia. The agency is called “The State,” and the motto, fleshed out, for the benefit of the easily confused must read “The State will take from each according to his ability: the State will give to each according to his needs.” “Needs and abilities” are, of course, subjective. So the operative statement may be reduced to “the State shall take, the State shall give.”

This introduces the wholly worthwhile question of why anyone would vest in government the power to determine abilities and needs and charge such a band of fools with the management of allocating rights and resources accordingly.

As rules by the Government are one-size-fits-all, any governmental determination of an individual’s abilities must be based on a bureaucratic assessment of the lowest possible denominator. The government, for example, has determined that black people (somehow) have fewer abilities than white people, and, so, must be given certain preferences. Anyone acquainted with both black and white people knows this assessment is not only absurd but monstrous. And yet it is the law...

But where in the Constitution is it written that the Government is in charge of determining “needs”?

Indeed, and it's one of the most vexing attacks against the right to bear arms. Why do I need an AR-15? I don't know, but if I can't prove it, does that mean I lose the right? Why does the argument begin with me being required to prove my need to exercise a right? If that's the case, I think we've got our terms confused. We keep talking about a right, by which I mean a natural right, endowed by our Creator long before it was protected by our Constitution. While using the same word, those hostile to my right to bear arms apparently mean privilege instead, since that's what we call a particular advantage granted on the basis of need or favor.

Is that how we want to view the rest of the Bill of Rights?

The police do not exist to protect the individual. They exist to cordon off the crime scene and attempt to apprehend the criminal. We individuals are guaranteed by the Constitution the right to self-defense. This right is not the Government’s to “award” us. They have never been granted it.

As the saying goes, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

The so-called assault weapons ban is a hoax. It is a political appeal to the ignorant. The guns it supposedly banned have been illegal (as above) for 78 years. Did the ban make them “more” illegal? The ban addresses only the appearance of weapons, not their operation.

It is indeed a feverish appeal to scared and ignorant people. And when a people are ignorant and fearful, well I suppose that's the time the ruling class could foist upon them just about any number of injustices in exchange for the promise of safety. The PATRIOT Act comes to mind.

Mamet has the tendency to spark a debate when he publishes an op/ed, and as the people of this country are in dire need of an education on civics and firearms, I can only hope this kicks off such a thing.

What Do You Mean By "Assault Weapon"?

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-24T23:45:21+00:00

Because it doesn't actually mean anything anymore. It's become simply a scary sounding, over-politicized word with no technical or functional definition. Timothy P. Carney explains in a piece covering a handful of media myths concerning firearms:

The Times piece twice uses the term “assault weapon” to describe the AR-15. But there’s no real definition of the term.

First, all guns can be used to assault someone – even a muzzle-loading black-powder rifle.

Second, Congressional attempts to define this term were laughably ad hoc.

A rifle could cease being an assault weapon if you sawed off the flash suppressor. It could become an assault weapon if you added a bayonet.

A 49-ounce handgun could be legal under this law while an identical version that was one ounce heavier could be outlawed.

I’m pasting the bill’s definition of “assault weapon” at the bottom of this post. The law didn’t target guns used for murder. It targeted guns that look too military-like.

The assault weapons ban from 1994 through 2004 accomplished the rights-destroying work of outlawing cosmetic features on guns that simply had nothing to do with making people safer. Let's not make that same mistake again.

Maybe You Should Know What You're Talking About

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-24T23:37:14+00:00

Al Tompkins offers a great primer for the many journalists woefully ill-equipped for coverage of any gun-related news. Best line in the piece:

The use of the phrase semi-automatic when talking about guns is like using the phrase "gasoline cars".

"An idea that is not dangerous..."

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-24T18:39:05+00:00

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

- Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist

Rand Paul Doesn't Mince Words on Benghazi

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-23T18:52:49+00:00

"I think it’s good that you’re accepting responsibility because no one else is."

Why the Moon Landings Couldn't Have Been Faked

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-19T21:28:02+00:00

In a video that's sure to go viral, writer/director S G Collins lays out what now seems like an obvious case for why the moon landings couldn't have been faked. Simply put, the technology to fake them didn't exist at the time.

But why even spend time talking about it? Because it actually is important.

Once you're forced to hypothesize whole new technologies to keep your conspiracy possible, you've stepped over into the realm of magic. It demands a deep and abiding faith in things you can never know.

What's dangerous about that is that it blinds you to the real conspiracies that authorities are perpetrating on you right now. As we speak. Things that are a lot more important than whether some guys went to the moon.

If I were [the US Government], I would much rather have you questioning Apollo 11 and not questioning the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, the financial industry bailouts, and the right to indefinite military detention without charge. Those things are real.

Perfect.

There's a Reason They're Called Unintended Consequences

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-08T20:23:24+00:00

Remember this?

For patients, he made a sweeping pledge that "no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what’s broken and build on what works."

As anyone with a brain predicted, things haven't quite panned out that way:

The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. Gary Burdette, Vice President of Operations for the local franchise, says the cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week. Under the current law they are not considered full time and that as a small business owner, he can't afford to stay in operation and pay for everyone's health insurance.

Remember this next time a politician tries to buy your vote with such a ludicrous promise. It's worth about as much as any other verbal contract.

Even "Hate Speech" Should Be Protected

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-02T22:04:25+00:00

What a fantastic response by Glenn Greenwald to Jason Farago's farcical column supporting censorship. The whole thing's certainly worth a read, but this paragraph is the crescendo:

All tyrants believe they are driven by a core Goodness, but that doesn't make them any less tyrannical. If anything, people who are so intoxicated by a belief in their own superior Goodness pose a greater danger to core rights because they so easily justify power abuses when done by them: "of course I'm against censorship - in the hands of others - but not when done to suppress the ideas I've deemed hateful".

Reminds me of one of my favorite C. S. Lewis quotations:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

It's not only with free speech of course, and Greenwald notes this. Those who are willing to hand over their rights — to free speech, to the free exercise of religion, to keep and bear arms, etc. — are always making the grave mistake of assuming that government will forever be on their side. It doesn't take more than a brief study in history to realize just how grave a mistake that can be.

If you support banning hate speech, do you truly imagine you'll never be at odds with the government? What's to stop those in power from declaring your disruptive ideas "hateful" when it proves politically expedient?

How To Tell If You're a Sucker

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-02T21:33:34+00:00

Remember that bit about the government not raising taxes on anyone but the super rich? As usual, that was a complete lie. (Or the same kind of truth that lets a politician tell you straight-faced that they're making deep spending cuts when they're only reducing the amount of planned increase in spending.) If you walk around with a healthy dose of skepticism about government, you probably aren't terribly shocked to hear this. Though you might be shocked at just how much your tax bill is increasing.

Enjoy.

In Support of Self-Defense

Kevin Smith — 2013-01-02T20:36:48+00:00

ABC News:

The New York newspaper that printed a map with all of the names of residents who have handgun permits has hired armed security to patrol its headquarters.

Of course they did.

"Success must be achieved by..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-28T19:39:38+00:00

“Success must be achieved by concentration and close application.”

- Charles Nelson, Belle Meade Bourbon

Cowards, the Lot of Us

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-27T21:41:54+00:00

From the Economist, an essay written a year or so after the attacks on 9/11. Milksop Nation:

How much freedom would Americans surrender to ease their fear? All of it. Take it! We’re afraid of it anyway.

We’ve lost the ability to come to grips with the simple fact that life is not a safe proposition—that life will kill us all by and by, regardless.

Safety is a fine thing, but as an obsession it rots the soul. If I should live to be 90, and I am called upon to attest to the other nursing-home residents that my life was about something racier than guessing right on the butter-v-margarine conundrum, I will speak of that thunderstorm on Lake Superior. I’ll describe the touch-and-go struggle to keep the boat pointed just enough off the wind to maintain headway, and the jackhammer pounding of a madly luffing mainsail trying to spill a 75-knot gale. I’ll talk about the way we huddled in the cockpit with our eyes rigidly forward because looking aft would mean another lightning-illuminated glimpse of the dinghy we towed, risen completely out of the water and twirling like a propeller on the end of its line.

Read the whole thing.

We're the safest we've ever been, yet we are not fully safe. We never will be. Every action we could possibly take exists somewhere on the spectrum between safe and lethal. Every. Action. Chasing with reckless abandon the goal of zero risk is a wasteful, impossible pursuit. Death gets us all in the end. I refuse to merely exist until it comes.

Everything is Local, We're Still Pretty Safe, and Gun-Free Zones are a Fantasy

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-16T22:28:08+00:00

The deadliest school massacre in US history barely involved a gun. The perpetrator only used it as a detonation device to set off one of many bombs. (He used other detonators for all the other bombs, obviously.)

That's not actually the point of the article linked, but the article's certainly worth reading. I just thought it was a point that needed to be made since it highlights the ridiculousness of chasing the "gun-free world" fantasy. A madman intent on destruction will find a way to carry it out. Banning particular weapons is short-sighted folly.

Thoughts of a Terrified Mother

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-16T19:01:19+00:00

The weapon. Is not. The problem.

Focus is the Key

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-10T17:52:00+00:00

When asked by Brian Williams on Rock Center how Apple can keep from fading like so many iconic brands have, Tim Cook responded:

We're very simple people at Apple. We focus on making the world's best product and enriching people's lives. I think some companies, maybe even the one that you mentioned, maybe they decided that they could do everything. We have to make sure at Apple that we stay true to focus, laser focus. We can only do great things a few times. Only on a few products.

When a company finds success in what they do best, they're oftentimes tempted to believe they'll have that kind of success with anything they do. And they start doing a little of everything. They lose focus. They fall and fade into the history books.

Do a few things really well, and say No to the rest. Can you do that? It's harder than you think. It means saying No to a lot of really good ideas that just aren't right for you. It means saying No when it'll probably hurt someone's feelings. It means saying No when loyal, longtime customers bring you great ideas that don't line up with what you should be doing. And it takes a person (or company) of conviction to do it consistently.

"Being democratically elected..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-09T21:25:02+00:00

“Being democratically elected doesn't mean everything you do thereafter is by definition democratic.”

- Ursula Lindsey, Get it straight, The Arabist

"As work progressed on the..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-12-08T18:30:45+00:00

“As work progressed on the product, we realized we were making something special. When that happens, all sorts of crazy and wonderful things start to form without you really knowing how or why.”

- Craig Hockenberry, furbo.org

Protecting Your "Side" and the Failure of Thinking Critically

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-20T14:54:44+00:00

Found this sitting in my drafts folder, unconnected to another larger piece. I'm not sure of the full thread running through my mind at the time I wrote this, but given the recent explosive emotionalism that is election season in America, it seems apt enough to post on its own:

It's human nature to respond sympathetically to the flubs of someone who champions our own views, and it's equally as expected to revel in the malfeasance of our ideological opponents. But human nature isn't good enough here. That kind of natural, emotional rush into the fray should be avoided whenever possible– fellow partisan or otherwise. It distracts from thinking critically about the issues at hand, and it sets us on a dangerous course to draw dogmatic lines over issues where reasonable people can honestly disagree. It squares us up to see those with whom we disagree as enemies. It injects hollow pride into the assuredness over our own position, making it increasingly more difficult to recognize an error and be willing to correct it. And perhaps worst of all, it simply adds nothing of value to the debate being had in the public square. It's noise. People tune out noise.

Maybe the Non-Profit Model is the Biggest Problem in Health Care

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-15T20:10:38+00:00

This sort of thing will happen more and more as Obamacare and subsequent other government controls take hold in the health care market. Obviously, the only solution will be to outlaw the very reasonable practice of a business charging for services rendered, paid for by a willing customer.

Watch for the existing players in health care markets to start lobbying hard for consumer protection regulations that make this kind of innovation impossible. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"I don't know the key to..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-14T20:31:21+00:00

“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

- Unknown

As If Our Lives Depended On It

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-07T18:15:24+00:00

Collin Hansen wrote a letter to his post-election self:

If we suffer political defeat like those who have no hope but politics, we do not even commend ourselves, let alone the God who hung the moon and stars. But if we grieve as those who hope in the return of the King, those who trust in flawed politicians may one day see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. Jesus did not give his life so we could watch cable news as if our lives depended on it. Jesus submitted to death ordered by rulers so we might never fear them.

You believe a good politician can be a conduit of blessing from God to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of true and lasting happiness. But you don't believe God was surprised by yesterday's outcome. You don't believe his plans have been thwarted, even though right now you don't even know those plans. The sun will rise tomorrow. And the risen Son will return soon.

Don't forget Who's really in charge here.

Post-Election Notes

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-07T14:06:41+00:00

President Obama won re-election. Democrats kept slight control of the Senate. Republicans held onto the House.

If you're unhappy with the outcome, perhaps you should get busy working to make things better (and it doesn't have to be within the political system). That's what I'll continue doing.

A few tips for the GOP:

There are a lot of us liberty-loving types out here, and you got zero help from us this time around. We don't line up with the Democrats, but your party is no friend to us either. Perhaps you should revisit your platform and your party's public image. As the country ages, our demographic will expand and the block that wants to legislate conservative morality will wane, and as they do, they'll keep voting Republican anyway. Continue to ignore us at your peril.

Look to the states. If you really believe the United States is a union of sovereign states, act like it. Your party increased its edge in governorships this year, so you've already got a good start. Force the conversation to be one of the states versus the bloated, controlling Federal Government, and throw your efforts behind becoming the undisputed champion of the states. Nullification is a real option here.

A Special Election Day Reminder

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-06T14:20:15+00:00

On this day of casting votes for our next set of gangsters, I can think of nothing better to say that could top the inimitable H. L. Mencken:

The state — or, to make matters more concrete, the government — consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can’t get, and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time it is made good by looting ‘A’ to satisfy ‘B’. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advanced auction on stolen goods.

Vote if you must, but never for a moment forget that these men and women are not to be trusted. They are not gods, and you would be foolish to put your hope in any of them.

SNL Nails It

Kevin Smith — 2012-11-04T17:41:29+00:00

Social media expert Kourtney Barnes:

Well that's the beauty of social media, Seth. Everyone's opinion is equal.

Heh.

The Marketplace Just Isn't Sexy

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-31T04:10:46+00:00

Well, it's certainly hard to argue with the perception:

So, "who you gonna trust?" A greedy, selfish businessman whose activities benefit you in a spectacular fashion by accident, or a paternalistic government that takes care of you dismally, though on purpose?

Religious Hype, Faith in a False God, and the Disastrous Effects That Follow

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-29T17:38:53+00:00

It's a horror story for this young woman:

A 29-year-old woman will die without a new drug that the NHS is refusing to provide despite the manufacturer offering it to her for free, it emerged today.

Her family say she will die soon without it, yet managers at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham say it would be unethical to provide the drug under the deal, only for it to be withdrawn later.

Caroline Cassin, 29, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis (CF) has been offered a new drug free of charge for a limited period by the makers but her NHS hospital is refusing.

When someone else is paying for it, they're making the choices. Simple as that. And when the whole system's set up that way, they have the power to make your choices for you, even when there's no money involved.

If you believe what some politician promises about how their big government program will work, you're a fool. Politics is the business of telling people what they want to hear so they'll put the candidate in power, no matter how impossible those promises might be.

In 2008, Barack Obama literally told a crowd that if he was elected, history would look back and say "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal". Sounds hyperbolic now, right? But people believed it. Otherwise sane individuals seemingly lost their minds and attributed things to this unknown Freshman senator from Illinois that would've been outlandish for any human being.

Make no mistake, folks. This isn't about which candidate you agree with more on the issues. Politics is a religion in America, and these guys are asking you to believe their promises. To sacrifice for them. To put your faith in them.

History reveals they simply don't have the power to do what they're promising. The President of the United States isn't a king, much less a god.

A friend with a private Twitter account (so I won't reveal the person's name) recently commented, "Christians' obsession with doomsday politics shows their lack of trust in an all-powerful God." I wholeheartedly agree, though it's not a complete statement. I would add that Christians' faith in politicians who promise the solution to all social and moral ills also shows their lack of trust in an all-powerful God.

Our salvation isn't in men. It's in Christ. His Church is charged with caring for the destitute, and simply electing a snake-oil salesmen doesn't absolve us of our responsibility. All too often, that simply turns us into smug armchair activists.

Several years ago, I wrote something on this very notion, and I think it's worth repeating here in full:

Those of us on the liberty-loving side of things are often confused with the uncharitable, the enemy of those in need. It’s not so much that we hate the poor, though, as we’re disgusted by those who, against the clear advice of history, advocate passionately for the sake of their own conscience that someone else’s money should be confiscated and shoved through the gauntlet of wildly inefficient government bureaucracies with only a tiny portion left at the end for the truly needy. The poor deserve so much more than the heartless compassion of big government.

What is your goal? What are you really trying to achieve through political action? Really get at the root of it, and you'll find that politics is almost certainly the worst route you could take.

That Joel Spolsky is One Smart Fella

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-28T21:18:25+00:00

“Every word I say, by definition, is a promise.” The best way to avoid breaking promises is not to make any, and that's as good a reason as I need not to talk about future versions of our products.

Not a bad article to keep in your regular reads pile.

Singing Children as a Political Prop

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-27T19:49:04+00:00

This is the part of the election season where everyone goes insane.

Wow. Indeed. How do the folks who put this kind of stuff together not get just how creepy this feels? This political business is more like a religion for some people.

"You have 70 seconds."

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-25T19:35:12+00:00

This is genius.

So This is Why Government-Funded Jobs Cost So Much

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-18T23:32:57+00:00

Money well spent:

Workers at LG Chem, a $300 million lithium-ion battery plant heavily funded by taxpayers, tell Target 8 that they have so little work to do that they spend hours playing cards and board games, reading magazines or watching movies.

The company has yet to ship a single battery.

Someone Call George Costanza

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-12T22:05:04+00:00

A huge eyeball washes up on a Florida shore. Marine biologists aren't sure which species it came from.

[R]esearchers will use genetic testing if necessary to solve the mystery, said Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the commission. "I shouldn't say this, but they may be able to eyeball it," she told me today.

Heh.

Money Well Spent

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-12T18:46:31+00:00

The War on Drugs over the last 40 years.

"When you address anyone..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-11T03:42:59+00:00

“When you address anyone publicly on the Internet... you have to assume that every single person who hears it thinks it's about them.”

- Merlin Mann, Back to Work 88: So Many Reasons to Cry

"A little pitchy, but mmm. Good stuff."

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-10T19:09:34+00:00

Literally brought me to tears.

Off the Rails

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-09T18:07:22+00:00

Wow. Maybe the whole campaign team is still suffering from altitude sickness.

Twitter Redefines Having "A Case of the Mondays"

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-08T19:46:09+00:00

How? Twitter's t.co URL shortening service was down this morning, meaning exactly zero links shared through Twitter worked. At all.

"As a professional, do you..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-05T16:06:03+00:00

“As a professional, do you feel compelled to wear a suit, or after donning a suit do you conduct yourself in a professional manner?”

- David McRaney, The Benjamin Franklin Effect

"Gentlemen remain gentlemen..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-10-01T03:27:26+00:00

“Gentlemen remain gentlemen only when they must.”

- Gillian Darmody, Boardwalk Empire, Resolution

Politics is an Awful, Humanity-Destroying Sport

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-25T20:32:38+00:00

Gene Healy:

We'll get more of the same, Yudkowsky argues, until "Republifans and Demofans ... stop enthusiastically cheering for rich lawyers because they wear certain colors, and begin judging them as employees severely derelict in their duties."

I agree. If you're worried about the downfall of society, perhaps you should be examining your own tendency toward tribalism.

iPhone 5 Parody Video

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-24T02:18:43+00:00

Here's the video. I'm pretty sure the guy playing the street musician at 0:36 is none other than Bobak Ferdowsi.

Netflix Running Surveys on Arrested Development

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-22T20:40:55+00:00

For some reason, I clicked through to complete the latest Netflix survey that came through the inbox. After asking some general sitcom questions, they jumped right in: the rest of the survey was to be about Arrested Development. If you're not already aware, Netflix is bringing Arrested Development back after being off the air for seven years, and they're in the middle of shooting the fourth season right now.

I'll tell you what, there's nothing that kills a comedic moment quite like dissecting why it's funny to answer a survey question. I need to go watch some Arrested Development to cheer me up.

"The headphone jack is going to be on the bottom."

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-19T20:27:45+00:00

Funny ad from Samsung, especially given how quickly they released it. Say, I wonder how effective it will be to remind everyone that loads of people are excited about this other company's product while giving no reason that anyone should be excited about yours.

I Hear the Shopkeeper's Kinda Strict

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-13T13:35:56+00:00

"It was only when the store opened I learnt Hitler had killed six million people."

Woo.

Easy to Criticize, Hard to Produce

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-12T12:50:40+00:00

In a few hours, we'll get yet another opportunity to watch Apple unveal their latest gadget—presumably the iPhone 5.

I love Apple events. Not just the presentations themselves, but everything that surrounds them. Nerds the world over stop working and breathlessly wait. We consume live-blogs since the video of the event isn't streamed live. Twitter lights up. It's a celebration of meticulous design, intense focus, passion, care, etc. And it's proof that we don't have to be resigned to working a stodgy, meaningless, corporate job. You can throw your whole heart into making something great, and if it makes others' lives better, you'll succeed. Even in this economy.

Of course, not everyone is celebrating. I also love Apple events because it's a great opportunity to grab some popcorn and watch the trolls. It's proof that there's always room to criticize. As the title says, it's easy to criticize. It's really difficult to produce something truly awesome. There will always be legions willing to tear down others' work, but very, very few willing to invest blood and sweat into work of their own and put it out there. Out there for others to criticize. That's the last thing the trolls want to do. Their snark and the attention it garners is more than enough to get a little high. They're not looking for the lasting satisfaction of making something great and seeing it change the world.

I was musing on this yesterday, and I came across this quote (that I reposted, obviously) by Bill Moggridge. That prompted me to tweet, "You simply must be content with making hard decisions that will be misunderstood. That, or work a job you hate and do nothing that sticks."

You see, design is all about making decisions. And a decision, no matter how small, is ultimately planting your flag in the ground and saying, This is better than that. Guess what? Some people prefer that. And they're going to hate you for choosing this instead. They'll hate you, and they'll hound you about choosing this instead.

If you're going to do anything great in this world, you'll have detractors. The more you succeed, the louder they'll get. I love watching Apple consistently produce great things, focused on what they know is best rather than being constantly at the mercy of their detractors' sour opinions. Me? I can't imagine a life of being that guy on the sidelines, constantly complaining and doing nothing of worth. I'm going to get out there and make something instead.

The Right to Not Be Offended?

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-12T12:47:51+00:00

Wired:

When Egyptians stormed the gates of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, the diplomats took to their computers and mobile devices — and blamed an American video for stirring up the locals. But the Embassy’s tweets against the movie and “religious incitement” instantly came in for more criticism, from Americans who thought the diplomats had conceded far, far too much — like basic principles of free speech.

Right, because... that's what happened. A group of people made a movie that contained content another group of people didn't like. I mean, they really got their shorts in a bunch. And a group of people merely being offended is apparently enough for the US Embassy in Cairo to think it proper to abridge the freedom of speech. If it wasn't also posted on the Embassy's official website, I'd still be waiting to hear that this whole thing was just a prank from a parody account on Twitter.

Is that really the standard we'd want to set? You're free to say whatever you want! Speak truth to power! Fight for what's right, even when it's unpopular! Oh, so long as you don't offend someone. So tread lightly.

"Few people think about it or..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-11T01:12:23+00:00

“Few people think about it or are aware of it. But there is nothing made by human beings that does not involve a design decision somewhere.”

- Bill Moggridge, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

None of the Above?

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-11T00:34:02+00:00

John Fund:

NOTA would be far more effective than campaign-finance reform in reducing the overwhelming advantages of incumbency. In many races, second-rate incumbents win by beating third-rate challengers. With NOTA, a sitting officeholder could lose an election and give another candidate a chance even in a hopelessly gerrymandered, one-party district. And if NOTA came at all close to winning, even the most entrenched incumbents might be forced to rethink their positions and inject some needed humility into their approach.

An election where even an unopposed incumbent isn't safe? Now that's something I could get behind. The ability to walk into the voting booth and explicitly offer a vote of "no confidence" would completely change the entire American political landscape.

"This Idyllic Landscape of Democratic Magical Thinking"

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-05T18:27:48+00:00

Matt Welch at Reason:

[T]here is no state and local budget crises, no unaffordable and underfunded defined-benefit public pension obligations,nothing at all standing in the way of "investing" in our public safety, except (in ex-Republican Stern's words) "right-wing extremists." Vallejo, California is not bankrupt because of public employee pensions, and the rest of the state is not following suit. It's a hell of a place, this Democrat-land. Wish I could live there.

One of the great ironies of this convention already is that speaker after speaker denounces Republicans for being unable to tell the truth or get their facts straight. Meanwhile, one of the most important truths of modern governance—we are well and truly out of money—sits neglected in the corner.

Facts get in the way of a good emotional story all the time, don't they?

Congratulations, America. We're Now $16 Trillion in Debt.

Kevin Smith — 2012-09-05T00:10:03+00:00

Recall that during the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama said that adding $4 Trillion to the debt in 8 years was irresponsible and unpatriotic. I wonder which words he'd use to describe adding almost $6 Trillion in only 4 years.

No wonder this guy is already slinging mud. I wouldn't want to run on his record either.

(To be clear, Obama's record doesn't make the Bush Administration's increase of the national debt a good thing. It's just awe-inspiring how much less totally horrible it makes it seem by comparison. I get queasy thinking that the debt increase during the next President's time in office could make the Obama debt increase seem quaint.)

Nearly Half the "Introduction to Congress" Class Cheated Their Way Through

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-30T22:02:56+00:00

Looks like they're more prepared for Congress than expected.

Building Something Great

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-30T14:40:47+00:00

Wise words from Jason Fried:

What matters is: Are you profitable? Are you building something great? Are you taking care of your people? Are you treating your customers well? In the coverage of our industry as a whole, you’ll rarely see stories about treating customers well, about people building a sustainable business.

"Mercy, detached from Justice,..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-27T13:56:20+00:00

“Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful. That is the important paradox. ”

- C. S. Lewis, On Punishment: A Reply by C. S. Lewis

Thank You, Mr. Armstrong. Rest in peace.

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-25T21:30:14+00:00

A friend of mine, Jen Clapp, recounting the time she received a call from the first man to walk on the moon:

"Jennifer? Hello. This is Neil Armstrong. I'm… an astronaut."

That fits just about every depiction of the humble hero I've ever heard. The AP's news piece opens with this fitting paragraph:

Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved U.S. pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step on to the moon. The modest man who entranced and awed people on Earth has died. He was 82.

Thank you for inspiring generations of nerds, Mr. Armstrong. Godspeed.

Aim Small, Miss Small

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-21T00:01:05+00:00

Sean D. Sorrentino at An NC Gun Blog:

For those who still don’t understand, the Henderson County Sheriff basically just told everyone to shoot the home invaders, hopefully to death.

Always did like sheriffs better than police chiefs.

A Word of Warning to the Political Right

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-16T13:28:47+00:00

Jason Kuznicki:

Often the biggest enemies of the market properly understood are precisely those who have made large fortunes—and who now want the government to shield them from all further risk. They are also trying their best this election cycle to portray themselves as your friends, and as friends of the market. You’ve spent way too much time listening to them and doing their bidding.

Indeed. That's something I've found most people, regardless of political allegiance, don't seem to understand. So you think big business getting special favors from government is proof that capital is awful? Right, well... that's not capitalism. That's cronyism.

The solution isn't for government to be more crafty in regulation of those businesses. In fact, regulation is a particularly favorite arrow in the quiver of special favors, used quite often to shut out competition and protect entrenched interests. (You'd be shocked to learn just how many massive corporations are intimately involved in helping legislators and regulators craft the very regulation meant for their industries.)

The solution isn't more government power that bad actors can exploit. Quite logically, the answer is for us to furnish the political class with far less power in the first place.

Hacked

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-16T02:39:57+00:00

Hosted by Dreamhost and hacked? Hmm... Seems like I've been seeing this quite a bit lately.

"Nothing is withheld from us..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-16T01:30:37+00:00

“Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do.”

- Russell Kirsch, An Unexpected Ass Kicking

"Deliberately insulate yourself from this feedback"

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-14T14:52:42+00:00

There are plenty of ways to get useful and constructive feedback. It starts with looking someone in the eye, with having a direct one on one conversation or email correspondence with a customer who cares. Forms, surveys, mass emails, tweets--none of this is going to do anything but depress you, confuse you (hey, half the audience wants one thing, the other half wants the opposite!) or paralyze you.

I'm arguing that it's a positive habit to deliberately insulate yourself from this feedback. Don't ask for it and don't look for it.

Yes, change what you make to enhance delight. No, don't punish yourself by listening to the mob.

Once again, I find myself linking to Seth Godin. But wow, isn't this so true? Don't you really know this in your gut and were afraid to admit it to yourself? Don't you want so much to appear caring and sympathetic to all your customers' and potential customers' feedback?

And yet, we know not all feedback is good. The super-public, instant-soapbox, drive-by feedback is, by its very nature, usually unhelpful. It's distracting at best, depressing at worst.

I love his closing suggestion: make whatever it is you make with the customer in mind (of course!), but don't let the crowd with pitchforks and torches run the project.

The Old Ideas Don't Work Anymore

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-13T01:41:11+00:00

That's been said about plenty of things. Politics, social services, business models, healthcare, as so on. It goes hand in hand with proclamations like "the old rules just don't apply anymore". Perhaps in the particulars this can be true, but at the core, I'm convinced that old-fashioned principles just work. One business principle that comes to mind is this: create something of value and charge customers what it's worth. I've been quite critical of Facebook and Google for engaging in business models that I see as unsustainable because they increasingly pit the company's interests against those of its users. (Notice I didn't say "customers".)

That's why I'm thrilled to see App.net bust through its goal of raising $500,000 to kick off a new Twitter-like social network, raising the full sum from the very people who will be using the service. By doing an all-or-nothing round of fundraising from their actual users, they've cracked the chicken-and-egg problem with commercial social networks: how do you get a bunch of people to pay for a social network if no one is yet part of that network? Now they'll be able to roll out a service where the users and the customers are one and the same.

That's a tried and true business model. If you stop providing me with something that I think is of value, I stop paying for it. If enough people feel the same way, your business suffers. Nothing communicates market reality and customer happiness quite like revenue from customers with options.

I'm just glad to see that I'm not the only one who prefers to be the one paying for the products and services that bring me value. The Silicon Valley model is a bubble. It's time to get back to some old ideas.

"Paul Ryan represents Obama's..."

Kevin Smith — 2012-08-12T23:42:34+00:00

“Paul Ryan represents Obama's most horrifying nightmare: math.”

- David Burge, Twitter