Leaving Facebook and Google

It has repeatedly come to my attention that the corporate climate surrounding Face Book and Google is very friendly to what I commonly refer to as the Loyalists of the 21st century. These are the folks who have no regard for liberty and are rather comfortable with a nanny state caring for it's citizenry. It is this nanny state that now dictates the type of electric light bulb you are allowed, whether or not you have health insurance (and the resulting health care you will receive), picks and chooses the laws it will enforce, the education content available to your children and who should succeed in what should be a free market economy. Given the recent revelations that Google encourages the political class that has become this republics ruling class I choose to divorce, to the best of my ability, any relationship  I have with this firm's product. I now use Bing rather than Google for my search engine.

Face Book is no more than a tool which the ruling class must be very  happy to have. It enables the ruled  to seek some sort of public fame as they sacrifice freedom. Each user is the star of his own show. He can post pictures of friends and family which puts him  on a level playing field with the likes of Justin Beiber or Jennifer Lopez (even though the pictures of these people are more likely seen in teen magazines or supermarket rags displayed at the checkout counter).  Face Book enables the ruled to feel  they still have importance even though they've sacrificed personal choice for the comfort promised by the ruling class. I have severed my foolish relationship with this  tool.

I think of those brave souls who lived in the 18th century and chose to break from the ruling class of that era and chart a path which took them to Philadelphia and the founding of an nation where it's citizenry would be independent of rulers who had the power to dictate. Of course there were those elites who  fared well under this method of rule. They were the chosen beneficiaries of wealth and power. They  were  loyal to the Crown. Many fled after the successful Revolutionary War. They are now returning, not to worship a Crown from across the pond, but to create a new Crown to create such dictates as mandatory health insurance, placing ugly windmills that scar the open fields, enables farmers to get rich off the backs of taxpayers, public labor unions that are bankrupting local governments and so forth. 

I remain a revolutionary and will use these pages (and other means) to fight to regain the freedom and liberty we once had in what was once the greatest nation on earth.

I will have more on these 21st century Loyalists in the  days and weeks to come. I hope you will stay tuned.

First Women of Radio

When the instructor in the Broadcast Management class at Central Missouri State College said "there's a great future for women in radio" there was not a woman on the AM band which at that time led the market in audience size. This is not so many years ago.


In the few decades since women may now be considered a dominate force in media.  Most readers actually witnessed this cultural transformation perhaps without knowing it. I have been taken back to the roots of this change by an accidental discovery on Christmas Day.
In 1970 this rookie broadcaster had but one dream, to be a disc jockey and play records on what was then referred to as "underground radio". Underground radio stations were found primarily on the FM band (the exception was KAAY in Little Rock which featured a late night program titled Beaker Street hosted by Clyde Clifford). Underground radio featured the deeper tracks from current record albums by such artists as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Big Brother and others. Most music of the era was coming from San Francisco so naturally that's where I headed.
Given the number of women on  radio today it may be hard to envision a world when there were only men. I recall those days. When my instructor in that Broadcast Management class made his claim that the future for women was bright and I had no idea there would be such change. We're all better for it.



Upon arrival in the City by the Bay I found the heartbeat of this music on one station-KSAN. It was, in my opinion, the best of the best. The disc jockeys were ultra cool, and, for the first time in my life, I heard a woman presenting the music. Not only did this woman know the music but she apparently knew many of the artists. I would hear her conduct live studio interviews with the stars of the San Francisco sound. Interview doesn't really describe her style. It was more a conversation.On Christmas Day, 2012  I discovered this first woman disc jockey is still working and still playing the sounds I love on radio. She may also have the best "air name" of any DJ you've ever heard:  Dusty Street. Before you ask, Dusty is her real name. 

For years I have listened only to AM or FM radio. Finally I made the move to satellite. It's a natural move for anyone who prefers hearing music to commercials. This is where I found Dusty still playing the great music. She does an afternoon weekend show from the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame on SiriusXM. She also does her own show, and has much more musical freedom, on webcasts (http://dustystreet.net/flyLow.html ) which I encourage you to sample

Conservatism and The State

As a conservative I've been accused of wanting no government. This is a misunderstanding of Conservatism. Government is a good thing and provides usefull and necessary services such as  protection against the aggression of others and fraud. It isn't government that I oppose, it is The State. The State is favored by Progressives. While I can't speak for all Progressives (many of whom receive benefits and other pay from The State) it is apparent that many regard The State as the provider of security from cradle to grave. I recently saw literature that claimed 60% of all Americans receive government "benefits". Health care is the latest push from this side of our political spectrum. The State will not stop growing unless reined in by the People. November, 2012 will be a telling election. We are able to choose the direction we wish to take. Will it be to become a people dependent on The State or will it be to become self reliant as were the founders of our country (and culture) and until the early 20th century most of those who came before us?

Paraprosdokians-Because You Need These in Your Life

Economic Ignorance in Politics

Why are political progressives so ignorant of economics? A case in point is given us by Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. A sample of her ignorance is demonstrated in the recent well publicized remarks concerning wealth and taxes. Miss Warren remarked to supporters

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”

She is accurate to say that much of what we individually accomplish is the result in living in our civil society. That social contract enables us to produce. Man is by nature a social animal. But the Senatorial candidate postulates that because of these societal benefits somehow the productive in our culture do not contribute enough. She offers no proof that producers are currently paying too little. Where in our social contract does it say that producers should surrender, by threat of government violence, a hunk of their income? Sheldon Richman writing in The Freeman discusses this idea of paying forward:

“…why aren’t honest production and exchange of valuable goods counted as payment forward? Just as our living standard is the fruit of previous generations’ production, so today’s producers help to raise the living standard of the next generations.”

Political progressives (they are not liberals) have hailed Miss Warren’s comments as testament for higher taxes. However, while starting with a valid premise she ends with an invalid conclusion. I suggest progressives read a more thorough examination of the production concept in Leonard Read’s 1958 essay “I, Pencil”. http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html

Mr. Read states wealth production in terms even today’s political progressives might understand. But then, if such understanding were achieved, talking points based on false conclusions would be lost by the left.

Shut Down Penn State Football

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is known for hammering sports programs that bend or break the rules. They should add Penn State as a top offender. It is almost certain that administrators of Penn State’s football program knew of, and covered for, a sexual predator among its ranks. For details I refer you to the text of the Grand Jury Report but only if you have a strong stomach:

http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4181508116.PDF

Detailed herein are the allegations that the school’s defensive coordinator used his position at the University and a charitable organization which he founded as a means to capture young boys for sexual favors dating back to at least 15 years. An assistant coach, according to the investigation, even witnessed the rape of a 10 year old boy by this long time Penn State defensive coordinator. Did he try and protect the boy? Did he alert law enforcement? The answer to both questions is no. Instead he ran from the scene and called his daddy. The next day he told head football coach Joe Paterno what he had seen. The coach then told the University’s Athletic Director. There’s no indication that police were ever informed. The Grand Jury report contains details on the assault of 7 other boys. There is evidence that campus police had done an investigation into sex abuse allegations involving this predator in 1998. Still he remained active in the school sports program and the charity which was formed to help troubled young boys.

The NCAA has on numerous occasions punished schools for violations of various rules. Top offenders include Arizona State (improper recruiting of baseball players and improper benefits for these players), Southern Methodist University (paying players in their football program), Auburn University (improper player benefits) and University of Minnesota (academic cheating). Penn State should now be moved to the top of the list. If only improper recruiting, financial gain of college athletes or academic cheating are causes for punishment then the NCAA should shut down the legendary football program at Penn State for several years for these sex crimes. In other cases it is mostly ethical violations. In this case the damage done is way beyond that and is immeasurable.

I realize no one is guilty under the law until proven so in a court. But the court of public opinion is another matter. You read the Grand Jury report and decide for yourself.

There is one tiny bright spot in this horrific scandal. It is good to see that at least some perverse behavior is still rejected in our culture.

MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

Here are a few things I wish for:

·        Freedom to drive any car I want to drive. I don’t want a Prius or some other ‘green machine’. I currently drive a BMW X5 because it’s big, comfortable and powerful.

·        I want the freedom to choose a light bulb.

·        I want the freedom to set my thermostat at any temperature I choose.

·        I want the freedom to drill for oil and gas on any land I own.

·        I want the freedom to send my child to any school I choose.

·        I want the freedom to succeed or fail.

·        I want the freedom to keep the money I earn and not have it taken by a government and given to those who don’t earn.

·        I want the freedom to be charitable toward those I choose not those chosen by the government.

·        I want the freedom to say the pledge of allegiance or a prayer in a public place.

This is America!