Thanks, Property Rights!

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-11-19
Source of Article:  Creators Syndicate
A very good op-ed article which clearly explains the importance of property rights to our society.  Sadly many of our currently elected officials seem to be leaning towards the communal way of thinking.  They forget that it was people working hard to improve their families way of life that built this great country, a country of ants, not grasshoppers. 

W.C.

Why write-in votes are a waste of time and how Nevada has a better option

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-11-19
Source of Article:  AL.com/opinion
This is an idea that I have proposed in several political group discussions over the last few years.  My choice of implementation would include:

1. "None of the Above" would be included as the last option for every position on the ballot. 
2. None of the above would be binding.
3. If it wins the nominations for the office would open up the day after the election and run for 2 weeks.  No party involvement in this runoff, they messed up the first time around.
4. To qualify a potential candidate would have to gather signatures numbering at least 5% of the voter count from the just concluded election for that position.
5. None of the candidates who lost to "None of the Above" would be eligible for nomination for any office in this current election cycle. 
6. After two weeks nominations would close and the new slate of candidates would have 4 weeks to campaign.  Then the new election would be held, again "None of the Above" would be on the ballot.
7. When the new year starts if any offices are still empty the outgoing governor could appoint temporary office holders who have not been eliminated from eligibility to run by "None of the Above".  Outgoing office holders who did not run for reelection would be eligible for appointment.
8. None of these temporary appointees would be allowed to run for any still unfilled offices.

I feel this would place great pressure on the parties to make sure they nominate quality candidates the first time around.

Note to potential candidates:  Want to loose my vote?  Then put up negative adds using half-truths and innuendo.  That's a guaranteed way to shift my vote to your opponent.  There were three contests this last time around where this happened. 

Tell me why I should vote for you and give me facts, not why I should not vote for your opponent.  In the days of the internet fact checking is fairly easy as is checking the reliability of fact sources.

W.C.

Good Question

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2011-04
Source of Article:  WordPress
This cartoon really needs no comment.  My non-original question is "What happens when the kingdom runs out of other peoples money to pay for these benefits?"
This situation can be found in many countries that have adopted the welfare state thus destroying any incentive to work hard and get ahead.  I also know several individuals from some of those countries that moved to the US so they could enjoy the fruits of their labors.  If we continue to follow these countries footsteps those very talented individuals will move again depriving us their talents.
I suspect that Ludwig von Mises would have really appreciated and agree with the message in this cartoon.  I've been reading quite a few of his books since a good Libertarian friend introduced me to his works and institute.

W.C.

New faces, same old politics in Washington: opinion

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-11-05
Source of Article:  AL.com 
I tend to agree with the author.  Voters have sent a signal that they want change, if they don't get it they will try another option in two years.
That other option may or may not be the Democrats. There is always the Tea Party which voters rejected this time around as a group within the Republican party or another as yet unknown group.  In this day of Internet communications groups have the potential to appear and organize in a short time and two years could be long enough.

W.C.

Overwhelming majority of UK broadband users opting out of porn filters

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-07-23
Source of Article:  Neowin 
Another example of a government trying to impose moral values that have no business becoming laws.  The biggest failed example of this was a US law known as Prohibition.  All it accomplished was to make a lot of criminals rich and get a lot of innocent people killed.
Luckily in this case the parliament allowed for individual opting out and the vast majority of its citizens have elected to do so.
I suspect that most if not all of my Libertarian friends are enjoying this one.  Their party has a long history of opposing such unnecessary laws which tie up resources which could be used to enforce the real criminal laws on the books.
Like the Libertarians it's not that I support immoral conduct, I just oppose making such conduct criminal.

W.C.

Everything you need to know about the NCAA's coming major changes

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-21
Source of Article: College and Magnolia
A good read on changes coming to college athletics and why some of them might not be so good for the amateur status of them. 

W.C.

Stop meddling with Medicare

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-14
Source of Article:  AL.com
As a new client to Medicare this article is very disturbing.  First the current administration violates its word about people being able to keep their plans and doctors if they like them and eliminates perfectly good health plans that many Americans chose in a free marketplace.  Now they seem to be intent on destroying a program that is serving seniors well.  Its hard to understand. 

W.C.

Affordable Care Act may have gotten two dozen Alabama widows dropped from health care plan

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-17
Source of Article:  AL.com
"If you like your current plan you can keep it, period!"
This is a candidate for the lie of the year and maybe even of the decade.  I don't know about other peoples plans but I will remember this for quite a few election days and vote accordingly. 

W.C.

Sony and Google gang up for an illegal video takedown

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-14
Source of Article:  InfoWorld
This article exposes a flaw in the DMCA which needs to be fixed ASAP.  One part of the fix needs to make the party that filed the merit-less take-down order should be subject to reimbursing for lost income and paying damages for harming the reputation of the victim.  A second part would be4 to require there be documentation accompanying the take-down order proving the validity of the claim.  Currently DCMA creates not only a guilty until proven innocent situation but also a guilty without any proof situation.  To me that is an assault on our Constitutional rights.] 

W.C.

Harmless Drones Get Federal Flak

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-11
Source of Article:  Creators Syndicate
So using a drone to spy on or assassinate individuals is fine as long as the government is doing it but let a group of volunteers attempt to use a drone to locate and maybe save the life of a missing child and they are violating federal rules.  In this case I am in total agreement with Mr Chapman. 

W.C.

Barack Obama: Strawman-in-Chief

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-02
Source of Article:  AL.com
Interesting opinion about our chief executive who doesn't honor his own word and is never in charge of things that go wrong.

W.C.

Birmingham to Good Samaritans: 'Cross on the other side'

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-04-02
Source of Article:  AL.com
The members of the city government who voted to pass this dumb law should be made to spend a couple of weeks living on the streets with no help surviving.  Shame, shame, shame. 

W.C.

Legislature passes Carly's Law, sends it to Gov. Robert Bentley for signature

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-03-20
Source of Article:  Al.com
A good thing happened today.  A law was passed that did no harm and laid the groundwork to do a lot of good for many people who have been suffering unnecessarily for too long.  I'm hoping that Carly gets the relief she needs now that the law no longer stands in the way. 

W.C.

Sixth grader suspended for taking razor blade away from self-harming student

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-03-20
Source of Article:  Al.com
This is a good example of how stupid rules like this are.  The student did the right thing by preventing harm but the idiot powers that be chose to punish her.
Years ago I had a friend whose son was receiving a beating from a bully.  According to witnesses his son did not attempt to defend himself until after over 10 blows had landed on him.  Yet the idiot powers that were chose to expel him for practicing a right that all humans have to defend themselves from attack.
For reasons like this Zero Tolerance Rules have to be written with care and enforced with common sense. 

W.C.

Putin's Illusory Triumph

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-03-16
Source of Article:  Creaators Syndicate
An interesting piece on what the author thinks will be the end result of Putin's latest muscle flexing.  I hope he is right in the long run. 

W.C.

Obamacare: Abuse of Power Endangers the Nation's Health

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-03-13
Source of Article:  Crerators Syndicate
Some interesting questions raised here.  To me the big one is do we want one person having so much power to change our lives.  To me that seems to reverse the system that the founding fathers set up with power spread across three branches of government to prevent tyranny. 

W.C.

Is Putin the Irrational One?

Link To Article
Date of Article:  2014-03-14
Source of Article:  Creators Syndicate
Pat Buchanan starts with a very interesting question here and then presents some convincing arguments as why he is asking it. 

W.C.

SOPA may be returning in a much sneakier, worse fashion

Link To Article
Orig Post Date:  2014.03.14.
Source:  GEEK.com.
My Comments:
It's bad enough that in the past a member of congress introduced a change to copyright law which extended the term of copyright protection for a recorded performance from which he and his family directly benefited, and that the then congress passed it, but now the current congress is again attempting to extend the power of copyright holders at the people's expense.

W.C.

The Farm Bill Leaves a Sour Taste

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.02.13
Source:  Creators Syncicate
My Comments:
Another example of crony capitalism where the majority suffers to enrich the few.

W.C.  

The Privileged Peopl

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.02.12
Source:  Creators Syndicate
My Comments:
A good piece on what is really one of the biggest problems we face in the United States and I believe Mr Stossel is right when he states that keeping government small is the best way to minimize this problem.

 W.C.  

End of the Line for the Welfare State?

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.02.11
Source:  Creators Syndicate
My Comments:
Interesting study results which adds weight to what many conservatives have been saying for a long time.
I have known several brilliant people who moved to the US from European welfare state countries because there were few incentives to work and study hard in their countries.  They moved here to get ahead and as a result contributed thier tallents to our countries success.  Now we are developing our own welfare state and I wonder where our most brilliant people will be moving so they can get ahead?

W.C.  

Microsoft should get used to giving Windows away for free

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.02.12
Source:  TechRepublic
My Comments:
Interesting article which raises some good questions.  Should Microsoft follow the author's advice?  I don't know but I know several XP users that have moved their systems over to Unix rather than pay for an upgrade to Windows.  To facilitate this they took the time to convert their data over to open source applications that are available on both Linux and Windows.  IE using either Open Office or Libre Office in place of Microsoft Office, Thunderbird in place of Outlook, GIMP for photo editing, and Audacity for audio track editing.
Disclaimer:  I still use Windows (7 & 8.1) and Microsoft Office though not Outlook.  I also use the named open source apps on Windows and Linux and have used several other operating systems and office productivity applications in the past.

W.C.  

One Year Later, Unlocking Your Phone Is Still A Crime

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.02.06
Source:  techcrunch.com
My Comments:
This article raises quite a few questions about who is telling us the truth.  Congress claims to be looking out for and protecting the consumer.  The Executive claims to support allowing unlocking while secretly negotiating a treaty which would outlaw it.
My personal preference is for Congress to pass a law which allows unlimited unlocking after the initial contract period is over and makes provision to allow for paying a disclosed at signing time prorated fee to allow for early ending of the contract and allowing unlocking.  it seems to me that the consumer owns their phone once the provisions of that contract have been met.
To disclose any personal interest:  I have no knowledge of any personal ownership of any telecommunications stock and have been with the same cell phone provider (through several corporate name changes and mergers) since I bought my first one many years ago.

W.C.  

An open letter to the Huntsville City Planning Commission

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.01.31
Source:  AL.com
My Comments:
This is not my city but I find this article resonates with me.  I can see preventing a public nuance but poultry can be cage raised in a city without any problems.  When I was much younger I had cage raised quail in Mobile and none of our neighbors had a problem with it.  We moved the cages around over parts of our garden that were between crops giving us free fertalizer the next time we planted there.
The fact that these commissioners ignored the medical and science experts disturbs me.  It sounds to me like some of these appointed commissioners need to be fired including the one who dozed off with official business in progress.
By the way in my opinion having someone in the real estate business has no business being on a planning commission.  There is too much conflict of interest there from what I have observed in more than one city.

W.C.  

A Hero of the Southern Winter Weather In My Opinion

Link To Article 
Orig Post Date:  2014.01.30
Source:  AL.com
My Comments:
A doctor who is willing to face some discomfort and inconvenience to save a patients life.  Definitely a hero in my book.  Thank you Dr Zenko Hrynkiw.

W.C.  

How the GOP Lost Middle America

Link To Article


Orig Post Date:  2014.01.30
Source:  Creators.com
My Comments:
     Interesting reading and likely a part of the reason.  In my opinion another major part of the reason was the embracing of far right agendas and abandoning moderate views.

W.C.  

Law bites cop (Your view)

Link To Article
Orig Post Date:  2014.01.30
Source:  AL.com
My Comments:
A bit of humor here and it raises a good question, what does the yellow light really mean under the law?
The  FreeDictionary.com defines it as:

traffic light

n.

A road signal for directing vehicular traffic by means of colored lights, typically red for stop, green for go, and yellow for proceed with caution. Also called stoplight, traffic signal.

The California Driver Handbook states:

Solid Yellow– A yellow signal light means "CAUTION." The red signal is about to appear. When you see the yellow light, stop if you can do so safely. If you cannot stop safely, cross the intersection cautiously.

The Alabama Drivers Manual states:

YELLOW...A circular steady yellow means clear the intersection. It follows a green signal. You must not enter the intersection when the red signal comes on.

All seem to disagree with the officer's definition and the last two are definitions provided by regulatory authorities.

W.C.  

The State of Our Union

Link To Article
Orig Post Date:  2014.01.29
Source:  Creators.com
My Comments:
Interesting article on what is wrong with our political system.  Be sure you read some of the comments as they point out additional facts.

W.C.  

School ditches rules and loses bullies

Link To Article


Orig Post Date:  2014.01.25
Source:  stuff.co.nz
My Comments:
Interesting experiment in my opinion.  I do recognize several of those game names from games we played in my youth.  I also remember climbing quite a few trees.  Playing them didn't hurt me or any of my friends.

W.C.  

Response to Rob McArdle of Hoover: Can't compare Obama with Christie (Your view)

Link To Article


Orig Post Date:  2014.01.25
Source:  AL.com
My Comments:
I find myself in total agreement with this short article which citees and experience that I have personally heard from more than one source.

W.C.  

Interesting Questions

Orig Post Date:  2014.01.23
Source:  EMail I received today
My Comments:
I got an email with two thought provoking questions in it.  Here is a copy of it:

======================

These two, short sentences tell you a lot about our government and our culture:

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.  Funny how that works.

And here's another one worth considering.

Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about welfare running out of money? What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't. 

Think about it..... Am I missing something?

====================== 

I tend to think both of these point to symptoms of something wrong with our society.

W.C.  

Mass Surveillance Proves Pointless

Link To Article


Orig Post Date:  2014.01.19
Source:  Creators.com
My Comments:
As usual Mr Chapman hits the nail right on the head.  This current generation of presidents (and I am including the last one too) seem to think waving the terrorism banner justifies their walking over the Liberty of American citizens using government agencies for internal political agendas.  It's time for a return to the rule of law.

W.C.  

Legislators Must Close the Revolving Door

Link To Article

Orig Post Date:  2014.01.13
Source:  Alabama Policy Institute
My Comments:
I have to agree with the author on this issue.  Resigning from office to take another job is a disservice to the voters who elected the official in my opinion.  Besides the two year limit on lobbing the legislature there should also be a limit on how soon the individual could run for elected office again, say ten years unless they pay the state for the cost of the special election to replace them.

W.C.