Well over two hundred years ago, a few people scribbled some ink on some parchment, and pretended that that gave some people the moral right to demand money, under threat of force, from lots of other people (U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 1).
Tag: honor
Who Is Your Black Flag Freeing? The Futility of Flags and Labels
I can easily tell some of my anarchist coworkers by the black flags on their desks. I inherited one of these black flags from a former developer, and I treat it with reverence. I do go back and forth, though, on whether it should be on my workstation.
Evolution by Learning
Any person has two sources of stimuli by which she gains knowledge, the experiential and the referential. And in both sources, there are granules of true or false information — code versus noise.
The Anonymous Anti-Trump Op-Ed Inadvertently(?) Exposes Real Danger
The 25th Amendment doesn’t sound quite so over the top now as it did a week ago. Unfortunately, its beneficiaries would be the same gang minus their current leader.
Prosecutors: Flipping Off the Law with Impunity
If the goal of the American “justice” system is indeed to seek justice, prosecutors should charge defendants with the actual crimes they can prove those defendants committed and judges should levy the penalties prescribed for those crimes, assuming the laws and penalties are indeed just (that’s a different question).
Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism: The Invidious Conflation
As I’ve explained, this bill incorporates a conception — a “definition” plus potential examples — of anti-Semitism that conflates criticism of Israel’s founding and continuing abuse of the Palestinians with anti-Semitism for the purpose inoculating Israel from such criticism. Anti-Zionist Jews and others have objected to this conflation for over 70 years.
You and Your “Laws”
If you claim to honor the Constitution, and you want a law enforced that’s not allowed by the Constitution (which is therefore not a real law even by your questionable standards), you are mixed up.
Regret, Remorse, & Resistance
No matter what you choose to do, it’s possible to get stuck in the trap of believing you would have been much happier, healthier, and richer if you had taken the other path. We usually work very hard to avoid regret before making big decisions. “I could do this really practical thing over here, but I’ll regret it forever if I don’t try that really artistic thing over there.” The real work, however, begins after you’ve ran all those calculations.
How You Exercise Your Freedom
The “supreme” court is a bad joke. No human being and no group of five or nine human beings has any right to impose their preferences and beliefs on others. Their claimed authority—like all authority claimed over anyone other than oneself—is entirely fallacious.
No Virtue in Upholding Bad Laws
Using laws to solve problems is like using a sawed-off shotgun to take out a bad guy in the middle of a crowd; firing at him from too far away. Sure, if your aim is true you may get him, but how many innocents will be harmed along with him? Even one is too many.