who's your nanny?

Learning from My Five Minutes of Stupidity

A wise man once told me that everyone is allowed five minutes of stupidity a day. Wisdom is knowing when you have reached your quota. Allow me to share a story of my five minutes of stupidity, how I became wiser through the experience, and how the experience only added kerosene to my fiery hatred of the State.

Several weeks ago I purchased a used 1994 Camry V6 with less than 90,000 miles for $3,000. I purchased it without a warranty and the sale was final. I could not return the car if I found that it needed major work. At this point some of you are saying that this is already a bad deal, but don't get ahead. Some details might help explain my thinking. I was looking for another car with more power than my Corolla. I wanted to pay cash and had budgeted $6,000 for a car. I was looking at Honda Accords, Nissan Maximas, and Toyota Camrys, all with V6 engines, and I wanted to find one with less than 100,000 miles. It is really hard to find any of these cars for under $6,000 and under 100,000 miles. They hold their value very well. When I found the Camry, I knew someone else would get it. So I went to the dealership for a test drive.

The ride was very smooth. The car had some aesthetic problems, but Maaco could take care of these.¹ But after driving the car for about fifteen minutes I noticed the car smoked upon accelerating from a stop. When I got back to the dealer and told him about the problem, he said it was water vapor. I called my dad and he said white smoke was also a sign of water vapor so the dealer's explanation was plausible. My instincts, however, said to me that the smoke was not water vapor. And this is where my five minutes of stupidity begin.

D.C. Council Member's Chief of Staff Arrested

Federal authorities Thursday arrested Ted Loza, chief of staff to D.C. Council member Jim Graham, and charged him with two counts of accepting bribes.

The indictment says Mr. Loza received a cash payment of $1,000 on June 19 from a person with whom he spoke and that he promised to promote legislation and policies that the person wanted. On July 10, Mr. Loza met with the person again and had a similar conversation. At the time, Mr. Loza received an additional $500.

I do not know if the recently passed code of ethics covers council member's staff. If not, Vincent Gray should pass another emergency bill covering member's staff. This way the staff as well as the council members will have clear rules to uphold "unusually high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality," and never give "preferential treatment to any person." Doing this will guarantee that the residents of DC will never have to worry about corrupt council members or council aides ever again.

DC Residents Will Never Have to Worry About Corrupt Council Members

The DC Council today passed emergency legislation that establishes the city's first "Code of Official Conduct" for council members:

The proposal, for example, states that council members need to uphold "unusually high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality" and that the "avoidance of misconduct and conflicts of interest on the part of council members is indispensable." Some of those standards were already scattered through out city code, but Gray concluded the ethical policies dealing with the council were confusing and too dispersed.

The new code marks the first time since the council was formed in 1973 that members can access a unified, written ethics code.

Politicians cannot even uphold the usual standards of "honesty, integrity, impartiality." But clearly the council has figured out the problem: these codes were not written down. Now we will have ethical and honest representatives. 

Assuming the legislation that passed is the same as the code proposed by Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, it

also states that members should avoid "using their office for private gain," never give "preferential treatment to any person," and steer clear of matters that impede "government efficiency and economy" or result in a "loss of confidence or impartiality."

It reinforces several existing laws and ethics policies for council members, such as not accepting gifts or loans from someone who is seeking a contract from the city.

Well, I feel a lot more confident about our council members now. Given that this code is finally written down for the council members to see, we will never have any more corrupt, dishonest, or biased council members ever in DC until the end of days. QED.

This Is the Best News from the DC Government I Have Ever Heard as a Resident

The D.C. Government is ending safety inspections for private vehicles. This is the best news I have ever heard from the District Government as a lifelong resident. Last September I took my dad's car through inspection and it failed the safety inspection because it had a small crack in the windshield. Perhaps now we will be able to drive it.

Of course, the Sirens are singing the popular song of Safety, predicting death and destruction because the residents of the city are now responsible for maintaining their own vehicles:

"You have an entire generation that is woefully unaware of when a car has real problems," said John B. Townsend II, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, who said 35 percent of inspected vehicles failed inspection last year in the District. "It's not only about unsafe roads in the District, but Maryland and Virginia as well."

Employees of the inspection station also fear a rise in accidents:

At the inspection station in Southwest, several mechanics raised concerns, although they declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak for the DMV.

The inspection "is a process that protects everybody," one employee said. "We see what everyone else doesn't see."

Another employee predicted that the changes "will take a life" because he sees "lots of unsafe vehicles everyday."

Oh, the agony of personal responsibility! The citizens are so helpless! They won't take of their cars and look out for their own safety. Nor will private mechanics look for "missing seat belts, balding tires, worn brakes, cracked windshields and inoperable lights" when servicing vehicles. That's too much responsibility for the people and private mechanics, even though inspections were required annually or every two years (depending on how long the car is registered) and people generally perform routine maintenance on their cars four or five times a year. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!! Only the State cares enough for the people to protect them from their own incompetence. Better let the State relieve the people of such burdens as caring for their own property and safety!

"Hot Coffee" Costs Take-Two $20 Million

Take-Two Interactive Software reached a $20 million settlement today with investors who sued the company after revelation of hidden sex scenes (the infamous Hot Coffee mod) in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas caused the company's stock to tank.

This article reports that "Parents were not pleased that the scene let the hero of the game accept an invitation for hot coffee from a bikini clad woman and then engage in sex in her apartment. It led to a product recall and the tanking of the company’s stock price."

Does this mean that the parents who purchased this game for their kids were initially pleased with the premise of GTA in which the main character fights in gang wars, carjacks innocent civilians, breaks into houses to get money, propositions prostitutes, kills prostitutes, gets high and goes on murderous rampages?

Hat Tip to Vijay for sending the article my way.

Marylanders Pledge to Pay More for Food

I suppose it's only appropriate during a government-induced depression that politicians would push programs increasing our costs of living. In particular, the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission is "challenging" consumers to pass up the standard human practice of seeking out the best values in exchange for the opportunity to pay higher prices. Per a Baynet.com report:

What if you could make one simple change every day for a week that would have a positive impact on your health, your local economy and the health of the planet? Join the thousands across Maryland who will take the Buy Local Challenge by pledging to eat at least one item from a local farm every day during Buy Local Week from July 18 to 24. You’ll enjoy food that’s fresh and nutritious while you support local farmers.

The Buy Local Challenge will celebrate its third anniversary in 2009. It was designed to highlight the environmental, health and economic benefits farms provide. Participants are encouraged to shop at farms, farm stands, farmers’ markets and grocers that offer locally grown food and wine, and dine at restaurants that include local farm food and wine in their menus.

For now we'll set aside the fact that this is an opinion piece masquerading as news, what with the mindless, undocumented implication that buying corn from a roadside stand instead of a chain grocery store could in any way account for a meaningful increase in "the health of the planet." (To hell, apparently, with all us lowly people who would suffer needlessly with the elimination of those evil superstores that provide better selections at lower prices.)

I certainly sympathize with local farmers who find it harder and harder to compete with state- and federally-subsidized plantations owned by politically-connected millionaires. And I'm not implying there's no value to shopping on the side of the road -- I do it all the time. I'm simply pointing out that shopping locally for the sake of shopping locally -- as an end in itself, and at the behest of politicians, of all people, who are the ones running local farms out of business in the first place -- is not the answer. Eliminating farm subsidies so all producers are allowed to compete on a level playing field is.

But, of course, that wouldn't be the American way. These days it seems most of us prefer programs lavishing tax monies upon the favored minority-of-the-month or good ol' boy to actually working for anything.

I probably need to have my head examined for even thinking about opening a restaurant nowadays, not only in this economy but also amid so much local and state heavy-handedness forcing business owners to spend at least as much time complying with regulations as they do generating wealth. But that's actually where I'm at these days, as I'm working on a business plan to peddle chili, hot dogs, and cheesesteaks.

However, I wouldn't expect people to come to my place simply out of concern for some politically-manufactured end; I'd hope they'd show up because that's where they'd find the best meals at the cheapest prices. And if they couldn't, I certainly wouldn't be able to blame them for putting their scarce resources to alternate uses.

Cry Me a River

J.D. Tuccille has written an excellent piece commenting on a New York Times article about the "sacrifices" our rulers are making in their personal lives to "serve" the nation. The purpose of the article, writes Tuccille, is to elicit sympathy from the readers. This is like saying I should feel sympathy for Don Corleone because he has to work hard to squeeze in quality time with the kids.

We must remember that the people who work in the highest echelon of the State are working to force us to live as they wish. Writes Tuccille,

The very essence of their jobs is to wield coercive power against the rest of us, because that's really all that government does. If you want to do (supposedly) good deeds, you start a charity. If you want to force people to support your (supposedly) good deeds, you get the government to pass a law mandating funding for and cooperation with your charity.

These people are not sacrificing their relationship with their families to earn an honest living; they are sacrificing their relationship with their families to exercise the absolutely corrupting power of the State. They are working to steal more efficiently; pass laws which further destroy our property rights and our liberties; and wage wars in foreign lands. Their families and our families would be much, much better off if all of our public servants simply quit their jobs.

Thankfully the Media's Got Its Priorities Straight

CNBC is pretty impressed with Barack Obama's ability to kill pestering flies during interviews.

No word yet on when it plans to focus its attention on his willingness to kill the economy, innocent foreigners, or casual drug users.

Doublespeak for the Day

Rep. Joe Barton (R) of Texas recently compared the BCS to communism because there is no playoff system. His solution-pass a law "that would prevent the NCAA from labeling a game a national championship unless it's the outcome of a playoff system." Thus Barton's solution to the "communist" BCS is a fascist takeover of a private entity. As I said a while back, conservatives are

[b]latantly unprincipled, intellectually bankrupt, economically ignorant, warmongering idolaters.

This is only more evidence to prove what those who read this blog regularly already know.

More Adventures with the TSSA

I was away on vacation last weekend and was treated to witness even more production of fear by the TSSA. Before we left for the airport, I had planned to bring two books along: The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises and Send in the Waco Killers by Vin Suprynowicz. My girlfriend, who is not as radical as I am, told me that I should not bring Waco Killers. This would be the one day my bag is searched by hand, she said. A TSSA agent would find the book and then I would be detained and questioned. I do my best to be aware of what provokes the State, but even I did not think up this scenario. So I left Waco Killers home. I told her that she was beginning to think like a radical. She thinks that she won't become as radicial as I am. I told her that this may change after some experiences with our protectors.

So we arrive at the airport, check our bags, and then proceed to the submission security checkpoint. Wea pproach the agent and my girlfriend hands her ID and boarding pass to him. I then step up and hand him my ID and boarding pass. He asks, "Are you together?" My girlfriend replies, "Yes." He replies, "Then you should have stepped up together. It would make things easier on me and on you." My girlfriend walks away, visibly irked. "Why did he say that?", she asked. "Why would it matter if we came up together? He still had to check the IDs separately." Since I've taken the red pill, I smiled and said, "His remark had nothing to do with what he said. The point was to condition us to obey our rulers. That's what the entire process of the TSA security checkpoint is." She then said, "Well, next time we might both come up together and then the agent will say 'You should come up separately.'" I said, "Yes, again that's the point. Obedience is what this process is supposed to produce. Perhaps you will become a radical sooner than you think." I can imagine that such arbitrary commands would provoke someone fed up with getting different rules at different airports to becom upset and complain. Such resistance would be crushed immediately and allow the State to flex its muscles, thus scaring more passengers and compeling them to obey.

The TSSA gives the sheep the illusion of safety and as H.L. Mencken pointed out in Notes on Democracy, the masses want safety and will give up anything to get it. The reason why the State took over airline security after 9-11, although 9-11 was clearly a failure of the State, was that it would be a very easy way to condition the masses to obey. Many people will choose flying because it is the fastest method of transportation available. Since they only want to get to their destinations, the people are a lot less likely to resist. Karen DeCoster expounds this point in her latest article:

So why airports? Since airplanes have become flying Greyhound buses, and airports have become ground zerofor the dumbed-down lumpen proletariat, the listenership at airports is ripe for inane propaganda. In a place where people are herded like cattle and searched like criminals, it’s not hard to break down their already unenlightened state and further melt their mindset toward a helpless condition. Similar to the military recipe for breaking down individuality, Homeland Security’s TSA aims to break down any resistance they may face from any individual. Because you have to be somewhere and have little or no alternative to flying on a quasi-governmental Greyhound bus, and because you must pass Go before you collect your $200, you have no choice but to enter through the TSA’s turnstiles of terror. At this point, people are intimidated and uncertain, which leads them to look for something that provides comfort. So the TSA goons ensure you they are working to help you, protect you, and keep you safe. They scare you, make small talk with you, and then pretend to secure you. So suddenly, people feel better and the feelings move from being intimidated to granting approval and thanks. The psychology of the process is quite simple and rather perverted, but it works on the majority of the herd.

After placing her bag in the x-ray machine, she was patted down by the TSSA agent who waves the people through the metal detector because she had wide-leg jeans. She was really heated then. "Why did she do that?" Again, I just smiled.

Asphalt Fascism at Its Finest

I know there's usually not much of substance in the news these days, but I swear I actually preferred doing real work at the office to reading the same old garbage today.

I mean, I realize that printing and spending truckloads of worthless Monopoly money is the key to prosperity, and that O-O-O-Oba-Ob-bama (thanks, Teleprompter) is, like, sooooooo the best president ev-verrr (which, by the way, is like picking history's most notorious serial killer or bank robber), but I just can't take the idiocy and ignorance anymore.

So I'll just stick to a local gripe. Like when I was driving home from dinner with the family tonight. My community consists mostly of a taxpayer-subsidized asphalt roadway that ends in a cul de sac, where you proceed onto a privately-owned gravel roadway that county commissioners will not let us pave for bogus environmental reasons.

So I get to pay for the maintenance -- including snowplowing in the winter -- of a road I don't live on (and can barely use when it snows because it's not very easy to shovel snow and ice off gravel), but I'm also prevented through government force from efficiently surfacing a road I own free and clear with five other neighbors.

Dear readers, that's about as airtight an example of fascism that you will find. It's merely a variant of state-controlled capitalism, where the state has the ultimate say in what I do with money and land that I (supposedly) own. That, and the fact that I'd get a gun in my face for peacefully paving a road and refusing to tear it up at the directives of the czars.

Thursday Morning Rant

I am fed up with these cretins and vermin, aka, politicians and bureaucrats who speak of taking bold action to cure our ills. As if the actions of these bramble require courage. Here's a synopsis of what politicians and bureaucrats do: I, venal cretin, think that there are people in our land who a) are doing something I don't like b) are not doing something I want them to do or c) have some money that I want. Therefore, I, venal cretin, will sign a piece of paper which then authorizes armed men and women to point guns at these people so that they will a) stop doing something I don't like b) do something I want them to do or c) give money to me.

Call this Brutus' accelerated course in political philosophy.

An addendum: If the politician or bureaucrat is part of the US Federal Government, then the phrase "There are people in our land..." should read "There are people in the world..."

I'm So Glad I Surrender Taxes

"Global warming" is really taking its toll on us down here in tropical Southern Maryland, as we started getting sleet around noon yesterday that turned into a snow storm by nightfall and didn't let up until a good foot of snow was on the ground this morning.

Considering I'm originally from Buffalo, I'm used to driving on crappy, slush-laden roads. So after I dug my truck out of the driveway, I decided to head to work. I figured the side roads might require some four wheel drive action but the main highways would be fine, as the State Highway Association surely would have dusted off all its salt and sand trucks and snow plows by 9:00 a.m. and had them out on the roads.

I would figure wrong.

Rtes. 4 and 235 easily had two inches of snow on them, and there may have been one lane's worth of roadway cleared to the asphalt on each of the arteries. I noticed that salt and sand had been dumped earlier in the morning, but it's simply unacceptable that there we no plows making trips back and forth as commuters attempted to make their way into work.

Admittedly, mine was one of the few vehicles on the roads this morning, but I didn't see even one state truck plowing during my drive. I mean, seriously, you can usually expect to see at least a couple freaking government road crews in action after a blizzard. In fact, I only saw two trucks at all -- pickups with shovels that were manned either by volunteers or private contractors.

Before I left the house, my wife told me she heard that the state was having trouble keeping up with road maintenance because the snow never let up overnight. Well, yeah, that's generally the way it goes during a storm. But if the government can't manage to carry out even those responsibilities the vast majority of people tend to accept, why entrust it to perform those duties at all?

The fact of the matter is, no government can perform any task as efficiently as people working for profit in the private sector. It was no surprise to me that my office building's parking lot was plowed much better than any of the government roads I had to drive on in order to make it to work in the first place. After all, if someone gets in an accident or slips and falls on private property, the property owner could be held liable for damages. This is generally not the case when it comes to the state if you harm yourself or someone else as a result of its poorly maintained highways.

I don't doubt that there exist some taxpayer-funded operations somewhere that meet the needs of their communities, at least to an acceptable degree. But the point is, you'll get much better service from people who will go out of business as a result of poor service than you will from governments that can merely steal from others to pay the bills regardless of the quality of so-called services they provide.

Land of the Broke, Home of the Stupid

That's the all too accurate description of our current state of affairs by a buddy of mine who writes:

Dude, did you hear that the current prez already declared a "state of emergency" for Tuesday's coronation? Just to free up more federal $$! Isn't that amazing!

Amazing, and entirely believable.

Article here.

Elizabeth Dole Is a Wanker

Thanks to Elizabeth Dole, I'm out 250 bucks today.

As part of a scheme to pit the insurance industry against auto manufacturers while she was secretary of transportation under Reagan -- in the name of "safety," of course -- Dole made rear window brake lights on vehicles standard equipment (she was responsible for air bag requirements as well).

My wife took our crapsicle we call a Chevy Tahoe in for an oil change today and figured she'd also have the guys replace the expired bulb in the third brake light, since I simply refuse to do it -- due equally to its absolute irrelevance and the fact that ignoring as many government regulations as possible is always one of my new year's resolutions.

Because the police can assess an "inspection ticket" (which is nothing more than a tax called a "fine") for failing to display a third brake light, my wife wants to get it fixed. I understand this rationale given that there's no reason to give armed government thugs any more reasons to pull us over, but still it annoys me that we're "giving in" to the system.

Well, because GM obviously puts as much effort into the quality of its products as it does its employee pension funds and health benefit programs, turns out it's not just that the bulb burned out; it seems the entire brake light unit leaked water, so now we're in hock for a whole new assembly. Good times!

This brake light has been out for well over two years and, amazingly, neither of us has gotten pulled over for it yet. And even though I can't imagine the Tahoe lasting long enough for us to accumulate enough $25-50 tickets to make a $250 assembly worthwhile, I guess there's always the chance it could get me pulled over on a night I've had a few beers -- perish the thought! -- and end up costing me a whole lot more in the long run.

Maybe this is what good ol' Liddy had in mind when she was so concerned about keeping me "safe," but somehow I doubt it. Right now it just feels like plain old theft.

Thank Goodness for the TSA!

Our indispensible state agents are so concerned about our safety that they're willing to do the tough job of harassing 3½-year-olds for us. 

I virtually refuse to fly commercial due to the many idiotic and invasive "security" measures implemented post-9/11. And if the inane requirement of getting my 1-year-old a passport isn't enough to convince me to pass on a family vacation over Easter, this story might just be.

My One-Year-Old Needs a Passport

So I can legally tote him to Mexico for a family trip in a few months.

The best part, per my wife's research: His passport will be good for five years. You know, because he'll totally look the same when he's six.

What Did You Expect?

This is basically just a random comment, elicited by email alerts I receive from a couple right-leaning newspapers, but I love how conservatives are all of a sudden appalled by what they call Barack Obama's Chicago-style appointments of leftists to fill posts like Energy and Labor.

What did you people expect to happen? How did you think one of the most liberal senators in the country was going to act once he was elected?

Better yet, how did you think the election was going to turn out after you successfully mocked, vilified, excoriated, and blackballed the only Republican presidential candidate -- do I really have to mention him by name? -- who not only had a realistic chance of winning endearment from American voters but also -- fancy this -- walked the walked when it came to adhering to the ideals of liberty, honesty, and responsibility you now laughably claim to admire?

I'm Innocent. The Investigators Who Work for Me Said So

MSNBC reports that aides to Obama had no inappropriate discussions with Gov. Blagojevich or his staff concerning the Senate seat. According to the report, an internal review made this conclusion. So Obama's own investigative team explored whether there was any "criminal" activity on his part or the part of his aides and, mirabile dictu, they found nothing. Isn't justice in America grand?

H.L. Mencken was given the ability to laugh at such absurdity. I really wish I had that gift now.

The Fraud of Democracy, Example 2,329

This time in Virginia which is looking to assemble a bipartisan panel to address redistricting in the State. 

Critics say the current system of allowing the majority party in each house to redraw their own lines has created plentiful safe seats for incumbents and few truly contested districts.

Well, of course. This is Legitimate Corruption 101 in a democracy; if all of your supporters don't live in the same area, just redraw the districts so that they do. This is easier than lying and allows a majority party to stay in power.

“The problem with the process now is the people are not the first consideration,” [Senator Craig Deeds D-Bath] said Monday. “The first consideration is the protection of incumbents and the protection of partisanship. We can do better.”

Perhaps I have become too cynical (although I don't think that one can be too cynical regarding the State) but comments such as these fuel my disgust toward politicians. If he really believes that the political class has the interest of the masses as their primary objective then he's a naif who should not be allowed anywhere near such power. On the other hand, if he does not believe this nonsense and is only saying it to deceive the masses, he's evil and should not be allowed anywhere near such power.

What's worse is that it appears from the article that the people really believe that if the panel is bipartisan it will benefit the mass of people and elections will be more fair. If one group of criminals decides to put aside their differences and work with together with another set of criminals, do you think the people at large will benefit from this cooperation?

More Statist Journalists

Here's another article on MSNBC which illustrates my point that mainstream journalists are unflinching statists. Christopher Elliot is complaining about the airline industry. His solution, of course, more government:

So how can air travel become more American? First, at the risk of repeating myself, I’m not objecting to the over-the-top amenities like ergonomic leather seats or in-flight showers. If there’s a market for it, then why not? But there ought to be minimum standards set by the government that require air carriers to treat their customers better than cargo.

As I wrote earlier, most journalists are not philosophical statists; in fact, they don't think much about anything philosophical at all. Let me expound on this point using this quote:

Remember the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution — the one about unreasonable searches and seizures? It doesn’t apply at the border. The government can ask for your password and hold your laptop or personal digital assistant for as long as it wants. That attitude seems to extend to the plane and the airport, too. Airlines want to block certain Web sites that contain objectionable material. It’s only a matter of time before airports start barring access sites with content they disagree with. Oh, wait — they already do. I was logged on to one airport’s public Wi-Fi network last week, and my own blog was blocked.

Mr. Elliot complains that the airlines should not have the right to block websites, although he has chosen to fly. The airline companines have the right to enforce whatever rules they wish on their property. It's their plane; you chose to fly, and you have agreed to subject yourself to their rules. You don't like it, don't fly. You don't have a right to airline travel.

It also seems that Mr. Elliot does not have a problem with the State suspending the Fourth Amendment. How on earth does it not apply at the border? Is the airport not on US soil? Or are such violations necessary for our safety? He spends more time in this article complaining about the airlines rather than the fact the State doesn't even obey its own laws. If find it interesting and disquieting the he has faith in the State to enforce a Bill of Rights against private airline companies, but does not seem troubled that the "government can ask for your password and hold your laptop or personal digital assistant for as long as it wants."

But this is the ideology of many people in this country; they would prefer to live under a violent, arbitrary State rather than in a free society as long as the possibility exists that they can use the State to violate the property rights of other people. They want egalitarinism in the free market and have no qualms about using the violence of the State to achieve this goal. Nor do they have any problems with the fact that one group of people receives the privilege of aggressing against another. They are completely oblivious to the fact that, through the State, in fact some people are more equal than others.

Why I Hate the State, Reason #2,392

Yesterday I went to the DC Inspection station to have my car certified by the State so that I may receive the privilege to drive this particular vehicle inspected for my safety. After waiting about an hour and a half, I was notified that my car failed inspection. I asked the inspector why and he said the windshield. Granted the windshield was dirty and the car needs a trip the car wash, but upon first glance I did not see the "major damage" to the windshield which would have revoked my privilege to drive this particular vehicle. He then pointed out an oval scratch at the very bottom and center of the windshield. This scratch is probably an inch in diameter (is diameter the appropriate word to measure the length in an oval?) Nevertheless, it doesn't at all interfere with my ability see. In fact, in DC cars are required to have two rectangular stickers about 4*2 inches on the windshield-one is for registration and the other for inspection. One is on the bottom right of the windshield and the other is on the bottom left; both are opaque. If this circular scratch supposedly obstructs my view, how does DC justify these two stickers being required on the windshield?

Perhaps my rulers are worried about the structural integrity of the windshield and that one day the windshield may just implode because this scratch could not withstand the speed. I find this unlikely since the law proscribes me from driving fast enough to test this theory. But then again I don't know anything about windshields; hence, it is a good thing the State is looking out for me. Otherwise I would be forced to use common sense and reason. I would actually have to consider the risk of an imploding windshield versus the inconvenience and cost of getting it repaired, and we just can't have the citizens engaging in such acts of independence.

I should also note that the failure notice does say "major windshield damage." Such vague wording is intentional and this is how the State formulates laws. This way the State can interpret its laws to favor itself. Remember, the State is the ultimate judge of conflict including conflict involving itself. Thus, even if I were to object to this loose interpretation of "major damage," I would have to go to another tentacle of the State to receive "justice." Of course, the State is not going to say, "We were wrong about this." This happens only in rare circumstances and generally there must be massive public outcry for such a result to happen. Normally the State says, "Of course we were correct about this judgment."

So what incentive does the State have to find trivial offenses on cars to fail inspection? Other than the pleasure of ruling people's lives, there is a financial motive. If a car fails an inspection in DC, the owner has 20 days to fix the problem. If he does not reappear for reinspection in time, he has to pay an additional fee to receive the privilege to drive his car pass inspection. It's pretty safe to say that some people don't get their cars reinspected in time and have to pay a late fee. This additional revenue comes at no cost to the State. The State just has to print an extra temporary sticker for each vehicle, the cost of which is covered by plunder taxes. Even if everyone in the past brought back their cars on time, the State still has an incentive to fail people in the future because the possibility exists that someone will show up late. Thus, the possibility to extort rob profit from the situation is too much to pass up. This is a consequence of an entity which can legislate and tax without consent.

Let's Raise the Minimum Wage Again!

I went to a WaWa gas station to grab one of their ciabatta melts for lunch today and specifically asked the two girls working the deli counter if I could have my sandwich double-toasted.

When I unwrapped it once I got back to the office, I noticed it was entirely UNtoasted. Ugh!