3 Ring Binder

This recent exchange between a Harvard Business School professor and a bartender/owner of a Chinese Restaurant cracks me up in one regard: this guy is the reason that "douchebaggery" is now a popular word. Ben Edelman v. Chinese Mom and Pop However, and more importantly, this exchange touches upon two important principles that seem lost in the preposterousness of the exchange: When a bad law exist, there will always be bad actors to exercise its power. The lineage/size/age of your business should never be used as an excuse to mistreat your customer. The Backlash The Apology Having written plenty of complaint letters, I sympathize with the lawyer in getting something other than what he thought he paid for. Unfortunately, Mr. Edelman pilloried himself by approaching the matter of a $4 overcharge -- for that's exactly what happened -- as a serious violation of his rights.  Unfortunately for him, he knew not only of the Consumer Protection Act, but also that he

Well-heeled mobs demanding government-forced curtailment of cheap, efficient energy to feed their collective fantasies of "clean" energy have a twisted morality. Read Alex's book, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels .  

I really like rereading some of my old blog posts. The best part of writing in a personal blog rather than single-issue or advocacy/activism blog is that I've written most of the posts as I speak. I'm rereading my own voice here. It's really, really fun for me to revisit fun me. I like her. In fact, if I weren't already her, I'd want to be her best friend. We share so much.

This . The contradictions jump out of this piece all on their own, but in case you've used your self-preservation-allotment of outrage on something more important today--like the effetely-met kidnapping of over 200 young women in a Nigerian school nearly a month ago, or the use of the word "compromise" as it should relate to the Constitution-- I'll just point them out for you.  First, we're told how one weatherman " makes a point of incorporating links between bad weather and climate change into his daily broadcasts. " Then we're told that 8 hand-picked guests were invited to the White House "to spread the word" of the National Climate Assessment.  Crap. But on par with the proselytizing portion of the religion of Climate Change.  The article further explains that local weathermen have been shown to be among the most trusted of media figures.  Okay, now it's getting interesting.  And . . .   Sadly for this a

All your children are belong to us. Silly, silly parents. You have this outdated notion that your children belong to you. They don't. In this special version of the same -- including a presidential attempt to marginalize those who disagree with him -- Paul Reville, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education restates  the same . Because they attend government schools, your children belong to the government. Yes, you love, feed, house, and nominally guide those children toward adulthood, but the government -- that nameless, faceless collective of local, state, and federal "educators"  -- gets to decide what they learn  and  how they learn  180 captive days of every year. What's better than that type of thought channelization? They actually mine the children for data to support future government programs . It all works out nicely for the powers that be. And that, by no means, includes you or those small people you quaintly refer to as your children.

Big Pharma : Statin Explosion :: Lobbyist : Farm Bill. What is the pull to blame those who have successfully pedaled their wares over those we have chosen to help guard our well-being? We pick and pay our doctors and congress for the very purposes of helping us determine our course of action based on their expertise. I'm growing weary of their failures and apparent aversion to follow things through. I can change my doctors; I cannot change congress. But I leave you with this point: If congressional votes (those actions that determine the well-being of this country) could not be bought, lobbyists would not exist.

I used to love writing posts on this blog. I don't know what happened more than I feel like I've written most of what I have to say on the important principles of life. Everything else I write of big picture importance seems like repetition, so maybe it's time to concentrate on the smaller aspects of life, which, as we all know, add up to the big picture of a life. Mine, specifically, when it is I who is doing the writing. (Or is that "am"?)