I used to wonder why George Orwell was so obsessed with language. I would discuss this with a good friend who shared the concern for preserving the meaning of words. Definitions change, meanings change, and new words emerge to take the place of the old. So what? I think I get it now.
Category: Blogs
The official Everything-Voluntary.com blog.
Happy 20th Anniversary; Guess What Your Gift Is?
After two decades of getting groped at airports, searched and surveilled without warrant or even probable cause, and paying through the nose to finance the murders of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Middle East and Central Asia BECAUSE OSAMA BIN LADEN, we can get back to an America that looks a little bit more like an America that nobody under the age of 20 or so remembers, and a little bit less like East Germany, right?
The American Experiment in Federalist Dictatorship
America is now an elective dictatorship. Unlike almost all historical dictatorships, however, these are dictatorships within a federal system. Every governor makes it up as he goes along… but he only makes it up for his own state.
Why Do We Question Motives?
I don’t know if we’re in the heyday of questioning the motives of people we disagree with rather than simply rebutting them–character assassination, that is–but it’s got me wondering why this is such a popular pastime these days.
Homeschooling Numbers Are Skyrocketing in Some Parts of the Country
The homeschooling rate in the US doubled in 2020, and tripled from its pre-pandemic level, as parents sought other options when confronted with prolonged school closures.
COVID-19: Technocracy Flowered, and Failed
While most of us gripe about particular technocratic edicts, few question the premise itself. It’s just taken as obvious that the man in the lab coat knows more about air bags and crop yields than the Honorable Representative from Minnesota.
Shouldn’t Have Been in Afghanistan
(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 1, 2021)
I am not anti-vaccine. I’ve been vaccinated for a few things in my adult life because I think the risk of those vaccines is less than the risk or inconvenience of the diseases they are supposed…
Congress is a Deadly Extremist Organization
Congress claims the power to seize the fruits of your labor — or, in the form of military conscription, that labor itself — for whatever projects it happens to fantasize into existence, and the power to cage or murder you should you resist.
Kealey and Protectionism: Further Thoughts
While I found Terence Kealey’s case for protectionism underwhelming, it definitely got me thinking. Here are my further thoughts.
Mineral Rights to Your Own Data
“Acme Co. wants to see your anonymized browsing data for the past 30 days and will pay you $2 for it. Allow, deny, or counter offer?” I’m not scared of data being the new oil. But I’d love to see ways people can more easily capture the value of their own.