Random Thoughts, Yet Once Again

Yet once again, more random thoughts:

There are two groups that will benefit most from the recent minimum wage hike: suburban teenagers, who will have more discretionary income, and union members, whose compensation is negotiated and set as a multiple of the minimum wage.

In any disaster, people who are well-prepared have been, and should expect to be, harassed, accosted, threatened, and even assaulted by people who are not well-prepared.

The recent fall in oil prices is occurring in part because there was a speculative bubble in oil as money flowed out of "risky" stocks after 9/11 and into "safe" commodities. That money is now flowing back into stocks.

Why is it that people think that women can handle combat duty but need protection from off-color jokes?

What ends up happening in practice in trying to "fairly distribute wealth" is that resources are transferred from those with the greatest potential to benefit to those with the least.

For the most part, police officers aren't as skilled in marksmanship as they should be. However, many departments think that the problem lies in underpowered weapons. But I'd rather see officers equipped with .38 Special service revolvers and pump shotguns who practiced with them regularly than officers equipped with high-capacity .40 autoloading pistols and AR-15s who carry them around in their cruisers 12 months out of the year.

There won't be a men's movement of the scope and size of the women's movement because men and women join groups for different reasons, namely, men join groups for their personal or civic benefit.

Public education is held in such high regard by our elites that they won't let their kids within 500 feet of a public school.

Our civil and family court system lets people rob each other at the point of a gavel.

The main reason why we're having a difficult time in Iraq is because we're too restrained in our fighting. To prevail, we need to fight even dirtier than the insurgents. General John "Black Jack" Pershing comes to mind.

Happy New Year

2006 was a good year...2007 will be even better. Why?

More and more people are aware that the status quo (or statist quo) isn't offering benefits equal to or greater than its costs.

More and more people are seeing feminism for the lie that it is and rejecting its works and empty promises.

More and more people are realizing that a well-armed society is a well-behaved society.

More and more people know that the family is the bedrock of any smart, successful society.

More and more people are holding governments accountable to serve the long-term common good.

More and more people are holding business accountable to provide and deliver high-quality goods and services and be good corporate citizens.

More and more people are adding greater value through entrepreneurship.

More and more people are seeing that white, able-bodied, Christian, heterosexual males are in fact marginalized.

More and more people are understanding that although we are not ruled by biology, we cannot deny it.

More and more people are turning to alternatives to the PC-saturated mainstream media.

More and more people see that the West is in trouble and not only does it need to be saved, but also that it is worth saving.

In short, more and more people are saying "No" to oppression, deprivation, lies, and collectivism and "Yes" to freedom, prosperity, truth, and individual responsibility. This trend has picked up a significant head of steam in 2006 and is on track to continue and gather momentum in 2007.

Remember, everybody deserves freedom and freedom always wins.

Merry Christmas...

...for Christ's sake!

Mo' 'Dem Random Thoughts

Why are the people having the most kids today are those people who are the least qualified to raise them in a healthful environment?

Nobody thinks that Chinese, Indian, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese kids need bilingual education and ESL.

The most vocal liberals are often affluent and educated enough that they need not worry about personally dealing with the consequences of their beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors.

Most social movements and political revolutions occur not because the poor are oppressed, but because the middle class is frustrated.

The specter of civil lawsuits and the attendant damages awarded do more to keep people honest than hordes of appratchiks at regulatory agencies. After all, Bayer and Pfizer work to make safe, effective drugs not so much because the FDA will shut them down, but because when peope get sick and die from their drugs, Bayer and Pfizer get sued, and they know it. However, the only activities where civil suits don't work is in areas that are outside the law, like prostitution or heroin trafficking.

Don't die angry.

Life isn't a zero-sum game.

Gun control is esentially racist, sexist, and elitist because people who are wealthy, white, and male either live in isolation from crime and violence, can afford expensive private security, don't have to worry about being physically intimidated, or are skilled in other means of self-defense, so they don't really concern themselves with self-defense. But for the rest of us, firearms are the best and only truly effective means of self-defense. Furthermore, disarmed minorities are vulnerable minorities.

The Greatest Generation was the first and only generation of Americans to place unquestioned faith in big government and big business.

No moral code says "Thou shall have high self-esteem."