She Spat, Then I Spat

My three-year-old is full of life and has a great, fresh sense of humor. Her favorite word, if you ask her, is “fuck!” She uses it quite often, much to the delight of myself and her older siblings. A few weeks ago, she started spitting. This doesn’t seem uncommon for little kids. They eventually discover the process and she found some joy in it. So much so, that she thought she’d share it with me, and spit right on my face.

Uncertainty is the Root of the Current Market Craziness

Investors put their money into enterprises under certain tax and regulatory conditions. When  those conditions  start suddenly changing or looking like they may change, the investors worry.  And when they worry, they get more cautious about where their money is and what it’s being used for. They sell off, move their money into what they hope are less volatile assets, and the stock market takes a hit.

Prisons are Stupid and Wrong

If you lock someone away as a result of an accident that the State has decided was a “crime”, you’ve shut the barn door after the horse ran away. Worse than that, you’ve locked the horse out of the barn and thrown it to the wolves. The horse will either be eaten, or it will become a wolf in order to survive. This is why prisons are actually Criminal University; training facilities to teach the socially rejected how to commit more and worse actual crimes. Prisons are a net negative.

Why Not Be a Psychopath?

Those who believe there’s no basis for ethics without a god, or at least a religion, can’t see there’s a downside to violating others absent a supernatural referee. I understand why they might feel that way. It’s the same sort of thinking behind acceptance of government courts and police. Why not be a thug if no one is looking over your shoulder and holding you accountable?

Is Honesty a Virtue?

Everyone desires human connection, and we are able to get a higher quality connection the more honest we are. So, it seems insane that people would desire to lie to anyone they would have a relationship with. Sure, people who want to use people to get something in the short run would be incentivized to lie, but why would someone lie to someone they desire to have a long term relationship with?