CB's fireplace

Funeral

In a small private ceremony on March 21 at Arlington, Jonathan David Morris laid to rest the valiant liberty soldier "CB's fireplace" with the words "R.I.P., fireplace." and Laura Bush by laying a few of her left-over red and black roses on the invisible tombstone. No one else had bothered to attend this virtual and virtuous meeting.

And a last link (since blogging is supposed to be linking, though not that much this one) in honor of the deceased:

Reflections At A Funeral



Christian Butterbach on 03.25.05 @ 09:04 AM GMT+1 [link]

Blogobit II

All the girls of my coffee klatsch and I are sitting at our hen-party, but feel and look rather like D.C. Fried Chicken, as we are mourning the decease of Christian's wonderful and promising fireplace weblog. Although my husband did not like it too much, I did, I swear. Men do not have enough sense of humor.

(This must have to do with this missing X chromosome for backup purposes the Brits are so triumphant about these days. Oh, those Brits, that Dolly died prematurely, but then they did not have anymore my husband for shepherd!)

Except that gardener of mine. When he peeped into our salon and noticed the red roses, he came in, took them away and replaced them with black ones, just flown in from Iraq. They were a bit dusty though, but fitted the occasion. Just think what a loss for democracy this bereavement is. Will we survive it?

Laura Bush on 03.19.05 @ 12:43 AM GMT+1 [link]

Obituary for a Weblog

I close today this great wonderful blog. If something is a flop, one has to admit it. It did not rock well. At least not as well. :-)

It certainly was no flop regarding the quality of the posts, very far from that! It was not a flop either regarding the number of visitors. But a blog that doesn't have to rely on a single blogger for regular entries, but had a team (so far) of nine bloggers and then suddenly for a whole month doesn't show any new post at all, is an insult to the visitor! It also contributes to the whole site getting a bad image...

After having been planned since some time, the blog was rushed into existence, when I became gravely ill (the urgent phase is happily over now) and wanted some workload taken off my back and insure that the site stays interesting for its audience, even if I can add less to it myself. The work is of course not only my own writing, but the webmaster job and all that huge correspondence with the authors and the visitors.

The initial good start with several great posts each week should have continued for many more months till the blog would have been more established and an occasional pause taken more gracefully by the surfers. This was not the case. The fireplace lost impetus while at the same time contributing to other bloggers doubling their efforts on their own blogs or on new sites. I could not compete with that. And competition is a higher value than cooperation in our libertarian circles anyway. And money too. And I do not except myself from that completely.

I also had the bad luck and traumatic experience to lose (at least for the time being) all my data. These data include my preparatory work for the expansion of this cooperative blog and all the details of my concept. It was planned that to the great names already on the team there would be added at least a dozen even greater ones. Of these a couple are at an advanced age and not anymore in their best health. I might still get an article from them, but hardly a full cooperation in the blog that would allow me to ignite the colourful fireworks I had planned. Till we all get our act together again, it will be too late. We have to accept reality. Not that many hopes and dreams come true. Especially without money.

I want to thank Anthony Gregory, Brad Spangler, myself and Laura Bush :-), Donald Meinshausen, Jonathan David Morris, Ken Schoolland, Rob Arnold and Wendy McElroy for their great help, which was free and so generous!

A new, also cooperative, blog, with a different concept, will be inaugurated soon. Keep a watchful eye on my home page!

This "CB's fireplace" will stay accessible as is, as an archive and memorial tombstone to a great dream of mine. :-(

Christian Butterbach on 03.18.05 @ 04:06 PM GMT+1 [link]

I Am Thrilled!

My husband's agenda catches on. Those logs in that fireplace burn like hell, as if to get exercize for that next stake: Patr...,oops, Inquisition II. We already had WW II, now the second term for the son of my husband's father, a Bush II. People seem to be so infatuated with that Roman letter II, with anything Roman for that matter.

Now this weblog's team can boast about a II too. Like that other team, it has members who hear voices and take guidance from the Bible. All the girls of my coffee klatsch would agree that this is always better than the Constitution, as those atheists or deists who made it were not inspired from as or so many flights up as our present theists.

Landing II is a good start for many more Roman letters people will have more and more trouble to decipher.

Burn the blo...,sorry, logs! It's still winter.

Laura Bush on 02.18.05 @ 05:26 PM GMT+1 [link]

Save the Zygotes!

Okay, since libertarianism is so focused on the non-aggression principle, let's see how it applies in response to Brad's pro-choice post below.

Now, ordinarily, I would say abortion is wrong because it's an act of aggression against the unborn (who, you may notice, can't speak for themselves). Brad, you point out, though, that since zygotes die in the reproductive process, sex can be construed as an act of aggression all its own. A fair point, I'll grant you. And a neat catch-22. Hadn't thought of that before.

However, if you are arguing on biblical grounds (and I think you are, since you used words like "zealous," "cultic," and "God"), then let me refer you to Genesis 1:28. That's the biblical verse in which God states: "Be fruitful and increase in number." He doesn't say: "Be fruitful, unless it kills zygotes." He does say, "Thou shalt not kill," of course. And you're right: He didn't create us to be murderers. But that commandment speaks of disrupting the natural order. Not having sex would disrupt it all the same.

If we bring about our own extinction on purpose, wouldn't that count as genocide? Because that's an act of aggression, too.


Jonathan David Morris on 02.18.05 @ 03:50 PM GMT+1 [link]

Abortion: Why I am pro-choice

The anti-choice, so-called "pro-life" position on abortion is that one becomes a person at the moment of conception. A great many zealous, undoubtedly well-intentioned people consider abortion nothing less than the murder of babies.

I don't share that position, and here's why...

Most conceptions do not result in pregnancy. Zygotes usually fail to be accepted by the uterine lining and are flushed out with the next menses or absorbed back into the female body. Only a few "take hold", so to speak. Most die.

It's that simple. That's how a normal, natural, healthy, appropriately functioning human reproductive system operates. It is simply human nature, or (if you prefer) how God made us.

Yet, if every zygote is a person...

then the very act of attempting to reproduce...

even within traditional matrimony...

with all of the appropriate cultic sanctifications...

would nearly always be an act of murder, with the sole exception being the comparative handful of times that it actually results in pregnancy.

Why? Well, is it not murder to abandon a baby to die and not support its life?

One could not set out to even attempt to conceive a child, if every conceived zygote is a person. It would be an act of gross criminal negligence, as most such attempts would not successfully result in viable pregnancies. You'd inevitably slaughter zygotes.

And, since one would have no way of knowing beforehand if any conception would actually result in a zygote that the womb will allow to thrive -- one could not in good conscience even take the risk of trying.

If all of those zygotes are babies, and the only way to make them is to accept the fact that you'll kill far more zygotes than the number of third trimester offspring you eventually whelp, then there is only one way to avoid murder -- total and complete abstention from reproductive sex for the course of the entire human reproductive lifespan.

If there were no murders of that sort occurring, no human child could ever be born again. Imagine it. No attempts at reproduction, ever again, by anyone, anywhere. It would be turning the old religious dogma on its head -- that the only acceptable sex is, supposedly, that which is intended to result in pregnancy. For attempting to conceive a child would, almost inevitably, kill some zygotes.

Any morality that would, if universally adhered to, result in extinction of the human species is a deeply flawed morality. I don't believe God made us to be murderers.

Brad Spangler on 02.17.05 @ 04:59 PM GMT+1 [link]

The paranoia of the incompetent

It seems that "the usual suspects" have their collective panties in a bunch over Bill Arkin's recently published compendium of code names for various "Top Secret" US military operations.

What's the fuss about? After all:

...Arkin says he deliberately did not reveal any intelligence sources or methods, technical weapons data or detailed war plans.

"I don't have one bit of concern that our enemies are going to gain from the publication of this book," he says.

Arkin is a military affairs analyst for NBC News whose own period of military service was back in the 1970's, if I recall correctly. I don't picture this guy rappeling down ventilation shafts, like Tom Cruise in Mission Imposssible, to get this information.

In fact:

...Arkin says he found most of the code names in budget documents, obscure military journals and other materials already available to the public — which means the government isn't doing a very good job of keeping its own secrets.

So he used publicly available sources and, we may suppose, perhaps chatted up a few clueless Public Affairs weenies at the Pentagon.

Yet critics insist on using harsh terms and "making a mountain out of a mole hill" as the old saying goes.

"Mr. Arkin has gone a long way toward endangering national security," argues retired CIA officer Bill McNair, who until recently helped decide which documents should be kept secret.

"We risk a real danger if everybody in the world feels they have the right to begin releasing this bit of classified information," says McNair.

Mr. McNair, you must be a farm boy at heart -- because you're spreading the crap around like someone whose fields desperately need fertilizer.

If Arkin can put this book together with not much more effort than, perhaps, a few library visists and working his Rolodex a bit -- what is government secrecy really protecting?

I mean, surely they aren't actually trying to keep this information out of the hands of other governments. After all, it appears their information security strategy heavily relies on assumptions of laziness and stupidity. Clearly, then, their primary concern is the public and press, rather than trained, professional and dedicated spies.

So, Arkin is a threat because he's not as lazy and stupid as he's supposed to be?

Arkin has committed three grievous sins, in the eyes of those who worship at the altar of the State.

• He has exposed State incompetence.


• Also, he has partially illustrated the true role of State secrecy -- to protect the State from public oversight.


• Lastly, he has endangered not public security, but the security of State symbolism.

The Emperor does not like being told he has no clothes -- the nude fool.

Brad Spangler on 02.11.05 @ 07:27 PM GMT+1 [link]

A call for information and an announcement

I would like to know more about a few subjects from a libertarian point of view. Many of these areas I am quite friendly to and knowledgeable about:
(1) paganism, wicca and druidism
(2) psychedelics and hemp
(3) alliances with Greens and anarchists or friendly contacts
(4) successful projects of libertarians
(5) market art: pictures of marketplaces, exchanges of people buying and selling that are good art. I will have an essay on this shortly.

Donald Meinshausen on 02.09.05 @ 12:56 AM GMT+1 [link]

Is This a Conspiracy?

Is this a conspiracy against Christian or what?
Ilana, where is your answer or post, Tom, where is your post, where are all the others? Since days I have only spam in my mail and the weblog is stuck. If my husband, sorry, gardner was so lazy with my rose buds, I would fire him or throw him into this fireplace of Chris.
Get yourself together. Democracy has not yet won.

Laura Bush on 02.08.05 @ 08:29 AM GMT+1 [link]

Iraq-cracy: 1-2-3

So Iraqis have finally held their first big boy election. Congratulations. Seriously, I mean that. Now that they've entered the strange, new world of democracy, though, it's time they learn what this new world is full of (largely, that would be crap). Let's take a look at the fundamentals.

Free Speech. Free Speech is one of the most basic tenets of a functioning democracy. This is because the power to vote is sort of like the right to speak your mind (unless, of course, you're a woman in pre-Prohibition America -- in which case, shhh). As long as you say the things people want to hear, you're free to say whatever you want. That's the beauty of democracy. It's quite refreshing. And I wasn't even paid to say that.

A Free Press. A free press is essential in a democracy… or so the networks would have us believe. Soon Iraq will have its very own Elite Media, as well as a rebellious brand of Shiite-Wing Radio. These institutions will track sandstorms, give reality TV updates, and protect the very establishment Iraqi voters just established. A free press means freedom from thought -- it really takes a load off! Iraqis can also look forward to "cable systems," which are systems of cables that run underground -- where the weapons are buried -- and serve to transport fresh new ideas and moving pictures of naked ladies on late night Cinemax. Unfortunately, some cable systems don't carry Aljazeera or the YES Network. These cable systems are tyrannies. In this case, get satellite. Now there's a free press worth paying a price in blood for.

Free Stuff. That's right. It's one of democracy's best kept secrets. By pulling the right democratic levers, citizens can vote for free stuff from the public treasury. "How much free stuff?" you ask. The rewards are practically limitless. Pothole need a-fixin'? No problem. Don't feel like paying for art supplies? Again, no problem! Here. Take the shirt off my back. I don't need it. I have other shirts at home.

Choice. Democracy's a lot like the menu at Wendy's. Or it's a lot like the menu at Burger King. You see, it's a matter of preference. Coke or Pepsi? Classic rock or grunge? Whatever you want, it's up to you. You can choose from a number of predetermined options. The choice is all yours. This also applies in politics: Democracy means you can choose your own leaders. So now, instead of just one crusty, old, out-of-touch bastard with sagging eyes and control issues, Iraqis can choose between several crusty, old, out-of-touch bastards with sagging eyes and control issues -- each ready, willing, and able to screw things up on the electorate's behalf.

Brand Name Get-Out-The-Vote Campaigns. "Choose or Lose." "Vote or Die." Soon Iraq will have its very own pro-voting crusades. These movements will feature celebrity figureheads, hip t-shirts, and manufactured hostility, and will serve to remind Iraqis to vote for their favorite crusty, old, out-of-touch bastard. Brand name get-out-the-vote campaigns will, of course, annoy the hell out of any Iraqi with two brain cells to rub together. But if nothing else, it's a change of pace. Now people will die if they don't vote. Neat.

Human Dignity. In a democracy, humans have something called human dignity. This is slightly different than actual dignity. Actual dignity would prohibit others from raiding your home or making you take your shoes off at the airport. Human dignity, on the other hand, means you're treated like a human as long as it's convenient for other humans. Another name for human dignity is "no dignity," which is not to be confused with the hit song, "No Diggity," by Blackstreet. No doubt.

Deliciously Democratic Scandals. In a democracy, elected officials routinely accept sexual favors from young girls. This keeps voters preoccupied while the nation falls back into tyranny. It also makes for great Late Show fun.

A Living Constitution. Democracies often hinge on a couple of rules written down on a piece of paper. This is called a constitution. Even though paper is made from dead trees, constitutions are thought to be alive and ever-changing. This ensures that future Iraqis will be able to distort the wants and needs of current Iraqis once current Iraqis are dead. It sounds quaint, I know, but it's really quite romantic.

And finally:

Invincibility. Democracy puts power in the hands of the people. This is especially helpful when you have a lot of people. A lot of people equals a lot of power. Democracy means never having to say you're sorry. Kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out.

Well, there you have it: Democracy in a great, big, tax-funded nutshell. Always remember that the seeds of freedom will not grow without being nurtured. Never get democracy wet. Don't expose it to bright lights. And whatever you do, never feed democracy after midnight.



Jonathan David Morris on 02.04.05 @ 03:31 PM GMT+1 [link]

Iran first or Mexico first? :-)

I am very pleased to make my first post on Chris' new blog and I extend my best wishes for his recovery to full health. At Chris' request, I am not merely cross-posting from my personal blog but, instead, adding commentary. As I believe this blog attracts far more European interest than mine -- which is located in Canada (if location means much these days) -- the additional commentary will be by way of providing background on the North American situations I discuss.

Wendy McElroy on 02.04.05 @ 12:30 PM GMT+1 [more..]

Neighborhood Brothel Now Hiring

A friend just sent me this story from the Telegraph:

A 25-year-old waitress who turned down a job providing "sexual services'' at a brothel in Berlin faces possible cuts to her unemployment benefit under laws introduced this year.

Prostitution was legalised in Germany just over two years ago and brothel owners – who must pay tax and employee health insurance – were granted access to official databases of jobseekers.

...Under Germany's welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job – including in the sex industry – or lose her unemployment benefit.

This story would seem to give new meaning to P.J. O'Rourke's idea of a "Parliament of Whores." It would also seem to shed some light on why our own C.B. decided to settle in Germa...nevermind. It doesn't really do that second thing at all. The first one, though. And how.


Jonathan David Morris on 02.01.05 @ 07:10 PM GMT+1 [link]

Bush – A Cottonmouth That Attacks Liberty

In just one government program Bush subsidizes the rich, hurts the poor at home and abroad, pollutes the environment and subsidizes terrorism. While the cotton subsidy program has bi-partisan roots Bush has sought to continue it in the face of international opposition. The cotton plantations, whose roots are embedded as one of the few industries that began with slavery supposedly cannot survive without subsidies. There are only 25,000 of these farmers who divide up 3 billion dollars of our money. This does not include free government help on plant diseases, pests and marketing. As in the case of most agribusinesses most of the subsidies goes to old, large plantations that stretch from the old South to Arizona. Many of these landholders get over $100,000 a year from subsidies.

The situation has become so obvious internationally that in order to expose the hypocrisy of the US’s attempts to open poor countries markets while keeping the US’s closed and subsidized that a suit was brought up in the World Trade Organization. After the WTO concurred that this was a travesty and a sabotage of the efforts to bring about a truly free market they decided to make a decision against it. The Bush administration has decided to appeal.

It is bad enough that the government is taxing poor people to subsidize the rich. The damage goes much further. Cotton is one of the few cash crops that can be raised in Egypt, Pakistan and sub Saharan Africa. Many of these farmers are Moslem and are small subsistence farmers. What do you think their reaction will be when they find that they are competing with below cost cotton from rich farmers that is subsidized by the US government? Will they think that the US has their best interests at heart or will they listen to extremists?

It gets worse. Cotton farming in the US uses more chemical fertilizers and pesticides than any other crop in America. Sometimes the subsidy programs require the use of such chemicals, after all these chemical companies make political donations as well. The runoff goes into the soil, water table and rivers. Cotton is also grown in desert ecologies nourished by water from big dam projects that are again subsidized by taxpayers. What this could result in is the destruction of these fragile lands forever. There is also the fact that these farmers get subsidized water at one tenth the price of other users causing distortions in price that makes it more difficult for better, more sustainable industries to establish themselves in the booming Southwest. One reason the ancient Middle-East died out was that they were hydraulic societies, states with power literally flowing from the dam structure. After the irrigated water evaporated the ground became so saline that nothing would grow. Remember that this was before the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

This call to end subsidies for cotton comes not just from free market advocates and environmentalists. It comes also from the protestors at Cancun who worry that the international agreements will not result in a free and fair trade but a domination of the world by the rich and politically connected. Is it any wonder why Bush is so hated?

There are alternatives to such farming. Hemp, sometimes known as marijuana is an ancient crop that nourishes and holds in the soil and doesn’t need pesticides. Hemp is a good substitute for cotton. The term canvas comes from cannabis. Clothing, sails, rope, paper, lubricating oil, animal and human feed, medicine and fuel are just a few of hemp’s uses that have been used for thousands of years. The Mona Lisa was painted on a hempen canvas. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Bush has also tried to halt the production, distribution and importation of these products even though the active ingredient of marijuana (THC) is so minimal that it is impossible to get high on any of these products.

There is no explanation of these ludicrous, shameful policies in the conservative media. The conservatives have so copied the liberal establishment in the attempt to grab power that they have become indistinguishable from previous administrations in their arrogance and ignorance. It is hoped that the conservatives may learn from this critique and others before they find the rest of their ticket going down with Bush in 2004.

Feedback to freedonnow@yahoo.com

Donald Meinshausen on 01.30.05 @ 07:27 PM GMT+1 [link]

And speaking of CSS

Since Rob saw fit to do some evangelizing on behalf of CSS, let me mention that Bruce Lawson has posted a book review on Slashdot covering Rachel Andrew's "The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks and Hacks".

Per Bruce:

"I've read a lot of CSS books, but this one is the one I wished that I'd read when I was learning, and I suspect that other slashdotters may concur. It is firmly pitched at the coder rather than the designer, takes you from CSS virgin to upper intermediate level..."

Disclaimer: I have not been paid by the Bush administration to promote this book or any U.S. government policies related to Cascading Style Sheets.

Brad Spangler on 01.29.05 @ 05:26 AM GMT+1 [link]

code: style, content, and layout.

CB,

I want to start a fresh discussion.

First, apologies for being impatient with your coding challenges. My intent is to instruct, not to judge, so let me take this opportunity to refocus on that goal.

Second, I believe I can hand you the key to a door, that when you pass it you'll enter a world that vastly exceeds your expectations in terms of a) ease of obtaining results you want, b) range of available options, and c) efficiency of operations.

Third, I think we are somewhat distracted by discussion of standards and compliance. It's interesting, and necessary, but I believe it is ultimately tangential to the real issue for webmasters.

Those are my premises, and I intend to go about winning your mind to my way of thinking (at least in the slice of your mind that is occupied with making web pages). If I retrace some steps along the way that seem to be basic knowledge, then forgive me, I'm only trying to address the topic comprehensively, not to impugn your knowledge or abilities.


Rob Arnold on 01.28.05 @ 05:16 PM GMT+1 [more..]

Gosh, I feel safer already

See below. I'll share any responses I get.

Readers may want to make their own inquiries of the same address: cityhall@ocalafl.org

From: Brad Spangler
To: cityhall@ocalafl.org
Subject: inquiry
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2005

Hello!

I'm writing to you folks there in the city government of Ocala, Florida to inquire about something.

You see, I just saw this news story:

"Students Arrested Over 'Violent' Stick Figure Drawings"
http://www.local6.com/news/4130302/detail.html

My inquiry is this:

Have you people just completely lost your minds and all sense of proportion?

Regards,
Brad Spangler

Brad Spangler on 01.26.05 @ 10:54 PM GMT+1 [link]

Michelle 'Gomer Pyle' Malkin: 'Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!'

Anyone who is surprised when government agencies screw up really needs to pay more attention. It's not exactly a rare thing.

Michelle Malkin, the Asian-American "lady" whose primary claim to fame is her serving as an apologist for the wholesale internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II in order to clear the decks for similar future measures she apparently favors, is just shocked -- SHOCKED, I say -- that the US government would be so incompetent and insensitive as to send a notice recently announcing green card (immigrant residency permit) approval for a victim of the 9/11 disaster.

Eugueni Kniazev has been dead for almost three and a half years, but his poor family got a notice recently in the mail announcing that his green card application has been approved.

Malkin rightly points out that this is an example of gross incompetence. She further decries the re-opening of emotional wounds for his family who received it. Rightly so.

But she's surprised! Michelle, I hate to have to be the one to impinge on your naivety (well, okay, maybe I don't), but displaying gross incompetence and inducing emotional trauma is what governments DO -- when they're not busy killing people and blowing things up, that is.

Michelle, what makes you think a group with no qualms about making a special delivery of cluster bombs to women and children is going to be terribly concerned about a post card? Get help, Michelle, get help.

Brad Spangler on 01.26.05 @ 09:12 PM GMT+1 [link]

So that's your plan, then?

JDM: "So that's your plan, then?"

JDM: "Yes. Thru an infinitely regressing series of linked blog posts, we'll lead the Google crawler bot around in circles until it gets dizzy and pukes. Then, while it's disoriented, we move in to occupy the epistemological power vacuum."

JDM: "Alright. I'm with you, man."

Brad Spangler on 01.26.05 @ 07:40 PM GMT+1 [link]

JDM Should Be Fired

Don't bother scrolling down to see who wrote this. It's me. JDM. Your old friend and fireplace regular.

I'm writing this because JDM over at readjdm.com stole my idea for a post about the Pentagon/aphrodisiac scandal, which you read here on CB's fireplace earlier today (see: "War Bonds, Male Bonding, Etc."). Now he's trying to cover it up by pretending he was just quoting me instead of stealing my ideas. Oh, you want proof? I got proof up the wazoo. Here's the latest post to JDM's Journal, called "This Is Not a Cross-Post," in which my own post is quoted word-for-goddam-word:

CB of CB's fireplace fame wants me to post to his blog from time to time, but he's put his foot down on the issue of cross-posting entries from JDM's Journal (i.e., he doesn't want me to do it). For this reason, after writing about the Pentagon/aphrodisiac thing a couple of hours ago, I wrote something different about it over on his site:

Reuters reports that, in 1994, the Pentagon kicked to the curb a "proposal to develop an 'aphrodisiac' to spur homosexual activity among enemy troops." This plan "called for developing chemicals affecting human behavior 'so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected.'" This would have replaced the old method of spreading gayness, whereby soldiers -- properly fitted with rubber gloves, of course -- picked up real-live gays by their rear ends and shoulders, then rubbed their bodies against those of naked enemy soldiers. Apparently, though, that method still works.

Now, in my humble opinion, that was a pretty good post. And in an ideal world, it would've appeared not just on CB's site but my own site, too. However, I'm a man of my word... and as you can see, I have kept it. I didn't cross-post the original post. Nor did I cross-post the post I wrote in an effort not to cross-post the first one. All I did was quote it, which, from what I understand, is a perfectly acceptable form of documentation. Writers note their sources -- or, as the kids say, "give props" -- all the time. In fact, it's standard procedure. It's so you won't appear to take credit for ideas and research that aren't your own. So the way I see it, since JDM at CB's fireplace is the one who inspired JDM at JDM's Journal to write what you're reading right now, it only makes sense that I'd quote him and give him credit for it. After all, CB never said anything about self-adulation by way of blockquoting (though I suspect he soon will), so I'm in the clear. I get my way, he gets his -- it's the best of both worlds.

P.S.: I'm only telling you this because I plan to quote this entire post in a new post at CB's blog. Basically, I'm looking to create the same infinite loop you would get when you stand between two mirrors.

Infinite loop, my ass. Can we be honest here? Can we? For just a moment? This had nothing to do with an "infinite loop." And as God is my witness, JDM KNOWS IT. Don't let the fact that he and I share a body distort the real issue here. CB specifically asked both of us not to cross-post Journal/fireplace entries, but some of us apparently have a hard time keeping promises. JDM of Read JDM fame didn't do this to create a so-called "infinite loop," all right? This was all just a ploy to put MY Pentagon/aphrodisiac post on HIS stupid website in some way, shape, or form (i.e., blockquotes). Libertarians have a word for this kind of trickery. We call it "theft." Intellectual property theft, to be precise. CB has worked very hard to recruit some big name libertarian writers, and he has asked each of them to post ORIGINAL MATERIAL only. JDM thinks he's found a loophole here, but, by quoting me, he's really only reneged on his half of the bargain. Not only is he wasting my time (and yours), but, to cover his tracks, he's wasting valuable bandwith and storage space, too. Better we should devote these resources to fighting oppression than devote them to childlike schemes. "This Is Not a Cross-Post," he says. Oh, no? Then what is it? Mac and cheese? JDM should be ashamed of himself. And his parents should pray that God forgives them for his birth.

For the record, JDM's original Pentagon/aphrodisiac post was called "The Pentagon Is So Not Gay." I've quoted it below:

According to a report I just had the great misfortune of reading on Reuters, in 1994 the Pentagon turned down an idea to “develop an ‘aphrodisiac’ to spur homosexual activity among enemy troops.” This sort of reminds me of that other time back in the ‘60s, when the Pentagon was in college, and one of its friends tried to get a little too friendly with it. That friend shall remain nameless, but its name was the Math & Sciences Hall and it eventually eloped in Massachusetts with that little Tomb building at Yale. Luckily, the Pentagon turned it all down. And that, my friend, is why we don’t let gays in the military.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the aphrodisiac plan “called for developing chemicals affecting human behavior ‘so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected.’” Or some such bullshit. I don’t know. Personally, I’m a fan of the Freedom of Information Act, but I would’ve filed this one under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I was much better off before I knew about this.

Idea stealer.

Jonathan David Morris on 01.25.05 @ 08:25 PM GMT+1 [link]

War Bonds, Male Bonding, Etc.

Reuters reports that, in 1994, the Pentagon kicked to the curb a "proposal to develop an 'aphrodisiac' to spur homosexual activity among enemy troops." This plan "called for developing chemicals affecting human behavior 'so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected.'" This would have replaced the old method of spreading gayness, whereby soldiers -- properly fitted with rubber gloves, of course -- picked up real-live gays by their rear ends and shoulders, then rubbed their bodies against those of naked enemy soldiers. Apparently, though, that method still works.


Jonathan David Morris on 01.25.05 @ 04:34 PM GMT+1 [link]

Worshipping the Executive State

I'm watching Fox News right now, and I got to tell you, as much as I've seen the pro-GOP propaganda on this channel, I wasn't prepared for this. They're glorifying President Bush, emphasizing his "successes" -- such as the supposedly amazing defeat of the Iraqi military with a military machine of 100 times its economic power -- as well as the "disappointing setbacks" in Iraq (such as, I'm guessing, the failure to control the country despite the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents).

The Republican establishment is and always has been about the worship of the Executive State, which was supposed to be weak and subordinate to Congress. That, and lying, imperialism, corporatism, mercantilism, and mild theocracy have always been the major components of the GOP, all poorly concealed under a dressing of freedom, free markets, the rule of law, and the American way.

With the exception of Ron Paul, these guys are even worse than the Democrats. At least right now. But Republicans have often been good at setting us up for even worse. (Teddy and Taft, Wilson; Hoover, FDR; Eisenhower, JFK.) If the Democrats ever become the worse party again, as they were back during LBJ, God help us all. I can hardly imagine a more statist administration and political culture than Bush-Fox News-compassionate neoconservatism. Actually, I can, but it's too painful for words.

And yet, there are libertarians out there who still think these guys are our friends. Most are not real libertarians, of course, but a good number are genuine and are simply confused. For the future of liberty, all who believe in it must see through the Republican lie.


Anthony Gregory on 01.24.05 @ 08:52 AM GMT+1 [link]

It may not be spring yet...

It may not be spring yet, but there's already some interesting cross-pollination going on.

Kudos to Paul Craig Roberts for getting noticed in interesting places.


Brad Spangler on 01.24.05 @ 02:54 AM GMT+1 [link]

Another pearl from Rob "linear" Arnold

Because I have posted our email exchange in the previous entry, he now writes:

You're gonna have all the 13-year-old girls out to get me.

One more detail--you note that you're using the latest version, and that may only be correct for another week or so--the 1.3.1 release is in public beta right now and it is packed with more teenage features for you to scorn, like integrated American Idol voting*.
http://www.greymatterforums.com/index.php?topic=9178.0























*not really, but there are some good bug fixes

Christian Butterbach on 01.23.05 @ 01:09 AM GMT+1 [link]

An exception and an explanation

I am not supposed to blog here. But this exception will be in order, as some explanation is needed. You will have noticed that in Jonathan David Morris's post just preceding this one there are two additional lines after the heading that the earlier posts did not show: music and mood.

This weblog is using Noah Grey's software Greymatter in its latest version and the entry page template offers these two entry fields which I had not really understood and not yet bothered to elucidate or I would probably already have discarded them. JDM surprised me by being the first to use them. And this seemed to me to be a slight problem.

Luckily, Rob Arnold, alias "linear", the foremost expert for this software and one of its further developers, is on board with us and available for any problem solving, as he promised: "You may continue to delegate the weird uncertainties (the Greymatter ones anyhow) to me." I availed myself of that great opportunity and our correspondence regarding this detail, I mean his answer mainly, is definitely worth quoting. Here we go:

"On Friday, January 21, 2005 5:26 PM [GMT -0500],
Christian Butterbach <...snip...@butterbach.net> wrote:


:: linear,
::
:: What are these stupid fields music and mood supposed to mean? What
:: are they for? I want to get rid of them. Or I will be confronted for
:: the next years to come by JDM's pop music inventory. He is an expert
:: in the field. And I loathe most of that. See his latest post.
::
:: Chris
::
:: PS: I just see that I only have to take
:: { {smartentrymusic} } { {smartentrymood} } out of the entry page
:: template. But still, what is all this supposed to mean?
:: "Displays contents of the respective templates if text is included
:: in the respective inputs when adding a new entry." What is the idea
:: behind that?


ah CB,


The typical (stereotypical) GM user seems to be a teenage girl,
self-absorbed to the extent of broadcasting to the world her instantaneous music and mood coordinates. This feature (along with the smilies) is a big big hit with the type who makes 5 blog entries a day, forcing her boundless teen angst into txt spk LOL in 9-point type and stuffing it all into an
iframe on a page surrounded with a 3-megabyte rendering of their pop star crush /du jour/. I'll spare you the example URLs.


In reality, they're just two additional post fields, and you can use them to record any data you see fit, including phase of the moon, navel lint census data, LDL cholesterol, or barometric pressure on Titan. The "smart" versions of the templates allow you to have some generality in labeling the field to your liking, as well as omitting the label in the case where the field is empty for an entry. One (serious) misuse of this feature is to provide per-entry meta tags for keywords and description. I stuff them full of variables that my php scripts read. You may use them (or not) as best suits you.


make sense?"

My answer:

"At 19:45 21.01.05 -0600, you wrote:
> make sense?

Yes, Rob, but it also tells me that the templates as they are, which I took over without hardly any change on my part, are not the "smart" versions... :) You or the install/handbook files didn't tell me that the basic version is for teenage girls. Such a fact needs a warning label from the Surgeon General!

The good thing is that it made you send me a little marvel of explanation that you would have been entitled to post directly to the blog, such is its quality. May I at least quote it, maybe in my own blog?

Muchas gracias though.

Chris"

Dear readers, be prepared that I will do away with this music and mood stuff, unless JDM hauls me over the coals... :)

Christian Butterbach on 01.22.05 @ 01:48 PM GMT+1 [link]

Where's The Love

music: Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"

mood: Bitter (why do I get to choose my mood anyway?)


Here’s a double standard for you. Remember how people complained after the tsunami Christmas weekend that George Bush was too slow to speak out and express his condolences? Well, how come it’s been more than 24 hours since Bush’s inauguration and no foreign leaders have expressed their condolences yet? Instead, all we get are funny-funny-ha-ha headlines in the British tabloids. “Bush: Have I Got Nukes For You,” reads the Star. Remind me to hate England from now on.

For what it’s worth, I never understood the Bush/tsunami thing anyway. Why were people so anxious to hear him speak about it? You mean to tell me you needed to hear him in order to know what he’d say? He was going to say the same thing every president in American history would’ve said. America is sorry. America stands with you. Etc. There wasn’t much room for surprises here. He wasn’t going to come out and say, “Yeah, you know what? We’re glad it happened. Our God is better than your God.” But that’s how people were acting. Why are we so concerned with getting the president’s opinion about stuff? “George, what do you think about the tsunami?” “George, how much money should I put in my 401(k)?” “George, does this look infected to you?” Enough already. Stop asking stupid questions. Ask someone who gives a shit. Like your mom.


Jonathan David Morris on 01.21.05 @ 11:40 PM GMT+1 [link]

Private vs. Government Schools in India

The pictures shown are of my visit with Barun Mitra, President of the Liberty Institute, to a private school outside of New Delhi, the rural village of Kesroli in the state of Rajasthan. The story forms a beautiful statement about the dedication of students, teachers, and parents to a better life in a country that is in rapid transformation.

From a hilltop fort we saw classes being held on the rooftop of a nearby building. When I started waving to the students, the kids noticed and started waving back. That's when we got the idea of really giving the teachers trouble by stopping in for a visit.



We were warmly received by this private school teacher and her class of students.



This man owned the school and taught the younger kids. He hired the woman to teach the older kids.



There were about 50 students total in the two sections being taught, each student paying about a dollar (US) a month for a full schedule of classes that included social studies, mathematics, science, English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. So the total income shared by these two teachers amounted to about $50 US/month.



These vibrant students were planning all sorts of careers as doctors, businessmen, teachers, scientists, cricketeers, etc. The teachers strongly encourage them to higher education and professional careers.

Our visit to the government school is in the next picture. Barun and I were met at the government school by the Head Master (in dark suit), under the watchful eyes of his ultimate Head Masters, Nehru and Gandhi.



The picture below is of the government school. The students are in well-ordered lines, stamping in unison and saluting to our visit. There are about 400 enrolled, though a large number are out in the fields this day, helping with the harvest. The students are offered facilities, free tuition, and a free meal for lunch. There are 10 teachers, sometimes with classes as large as 150 students.



Teachers are civil service employees, each paid about $200 US per month. So the pay for 10 teachers is $2000 US per month. Thus, each teacher is paid four times the total income of the private school in the previous pictures. Teachers in the government schools are rotated to a new school every two or three years and often required to take on ballot and census counting duties throughout the countryside.

When asked what these students' plans were for higher education, we were told by the teachers that none of them would go on for any education beyond elementary school. And class enrollment drops dramatically after the first couple years of schooling.

Why would parents in a very poor community pay money for their kids to go to private schools when the government schools were free? In a paper published by the Liberty Institute of New Delhi, James Tooley gave an interesting insight: "When researchers called unannounced...only in 53 per cent of the schools was there any 'teaching activity' going on....In fully 33%, the head teacher was absent." Tooley says the same was true of private schools that operated on government grants.

But the unaided private schools were a sharp contrast in vitality and learning. Indeed, Tooley found that these private school students, when unaided by any government funding, showed test scores in reading and math that were twice the levels of students in the government schools or in the government aided private schools. He concluded that the significant difference was in the accountability of owners and teachers to paying customers.

Barun Mitra commented to me, "The teacher in the private school was more keen on ensuring that his students went to high school, and further...Another interesting point about the private school was that for grade 7 and 8, the school fee was $2 US. But with around $50 US, net income, the owner was still willing to offer free or discounts to students who could not really pay. Because the owner felt that these children were his neighbours." Tooley observed that virtually anyone could afford the tuition, from rickshaw pullers to fruit sellers, yet up to 20% of the school spaces were held for those who couldn't pay even that much.



My heart went out to these dedicated private school teachers, students, and parents. I've got their address and plan to make contact again. What they might do with a laptop! In the meantime, they taught me a lot about the future of India, a country that is in rapid transformation and growing rapidly BECAUSE of private initiative.

Aloha, Ken

PS: Panoramic view of Kesroli village, Rajasthan.




Ken Schoolland on 01.21.05 @ 06:16 PM GMT+1 [link]

The bane that is "American Idol"

Christian asked me: "Did you like JDM's post?"

I could only respond thus:

JDM's post about the show "American Idol" has the ring
of truth about it. I can't exactly say that I agree
with it because I've never actually watched "American
Idol".

I actively try to avoid watching it. I've seen the
promotional spots for the show and there's something
that just seems vaguely "unclean" about it -- in the
semi-spiritual sense that causes adherents of some
religions to abstain from certain foods.

I know it sounds like I'm being melodramatic, but that
is simply one Abyss I dare not stare into for very
long at all, to paraphrase Nietzsche.


Brad Spangler on 01.19.05 @ 11:24 PM GMT+1 [link]

American Idol: An American Rite of Passage

If everything in life were as enjoyable as American Idol’s casting call, the world would be a better place. I understand past contestants—successful contestants, mostly—have had a combined 23 chart-topping singles; I’m still not sure there’s any redeeming value in this. But the rejects. My God, the rejects. They’re so bad, they’re good.

Watching tonight’s season premiere—watching Americans come out in droves to sleep on floors amongst strangers, hope in their eyes, frogs in their throats—it occurs to me the whole point of this show is not, contrary to popular belief, to win. No. It is to get on TV. And it is to lose. And not just to lose, but to lose in horribly embarrassing fashion. Half of the auditions I’ve seen this evening have ended with the judges laughing at the contestants. Most of the rest have ended with the judges just sort of feeling sorry. But every one of the auditions, both good and bad, have ended with the contestants believing they’ve just put on the performance of their lifetimes—real multi-platinum, award-winning, world-touring, t-shirt-selling stuff.

Now, make no mistake: There have been good auditions. They’re not in the majority, mind you. And based on the commercials in the weeks leading up to this episode, good auditions clearly weren’t the point anyway. But there have, indeed, been a few good ones here and there. Give credit where credit is due.

Still, in the words of Jimmy Pop Ali, most of the contestants sing like amputees: They can’t hold a note. They can’t carry a tune.

I refuse to believe these people think they belong on stage with the likes of, say, Justin Timberlake. Deep down, in their heart of hearts, there’s just no way they can believe that. It beats all reason. Yet the passion with which they sing—their body language, the faces they make—defies their inability. These people walk out of the audition room crying, talking about the future successes they’ll have, and how they’ll stick a big fat thumb in Paula Abdul’s eye. These people, who no one would ever accuse of having actual talent, believe they’ve been eliminated because, in the quest to crown the next American Idol, many “good people” will have to be turned down.

This isn’t a reality show. It isn’t a talent contest—not for those without talent, at least. No, for them, it’s a rite of passage.

It’s often said that Hollywood is akin to American royalty. If this is so, I’ve got to believe average Americans of the stripe who audition for American Idol—in spite of their obvious lack of talent—only audition because it puts them in their place. It justifies their station in life. For most of these people, American Idol no longer even seems to be about the American Idol competition; it seems to be about getting on TV and acting like fools, not for it’s own sake but for the sake of taking part in a modern American narrative. Somewhere along the way, they get wrapped up in the moment. They buy into their own hype. They forget that even the Monkees knew better than to believe they were actual rock stars.

Then they get rejected.

And then they start to cry.

I don’t know any of these people. I could be dead wrong on this. It’s just an observation. But as far as I can tell, most of these people who go home crying probably get over it. They abandon their Hollywood ambitions. They re-adapt to the lives they’ve always led. And they move on—no lesson learned, necessarily, but none the worse for the wear.

I think that’s the point. They’re not in it for the chance at success. They’re in it for the rush.

They wouldn’t know what to do with an American Idol victory if it slapped them across the mouth.


Jonathan David Morris on 01.19.05 @ 03:42 AM GMT+1 [link]

A man who deserves your support

There is a man who deserves your support. Sergeant Kevin Benderman is a US soldier who has refused deployment to Iraq. For this, he will potentially face a court martial. His courageous stand against the Iraq War has led to some calling him a "coward" -- though they themselves dare not do what he does, even though in their heart they must know it is the morally right thing to do in response to this illegal war.


Brad Spangler on 01.18.05 @ 03:40 PM GMT+1 [more..]

Be my guest!

Be my guest around my cozy fireplace. I will not be with you. I will retire from my website to a large extent for a good while, having to tend my health as my utmost priority. If I have anything to say, I'll do it in my "CB's notewok", not here.

Here any libertarian author who has applied for a password can speak her/his mind to his/her heart's content without any restrictions he/she may feel appropriate for her/his own blog, own website or other place he/she is publishing on.

Passwords are granted to authors with credentials of having published quality texts on reputable sites and who cannot be accused of sloppiness with typos, spelling, grammar etc. After all, I appreciate handling of the English language that goes well beyond what I am capable of...

My heartfelt thanks to those authors who have already agreed to fill these pages with their talent.

Let's cooperate as widely as possible for the common aim of liberty!


Christian Butterbach on 01.16.05 @ 09:55 PM GMT+1 [link]