Cato's Take on Obama's Health Plan

I'm not into universal health care as a policy.  I think it would be great if everybody could afford the healthcare they need.  Obama talks about Americans not wanting government to solve their problems, then he wants universal health care.  I don't want government to solve my problems, because I don't they are capable of really solving any problems in the free market.  Anyway, I thought this video was good.

Heartrending Pictures of AIDS

The pictures here are amazing and tragic. It does bring to mind 

the cruelty of life for some people made worse by many things 

out of their control. Though I feel the pictures show the impact 

of AIDS and the pain, they are still too clean. I think they still 

make AIDS look almost artistic, which I think damages the message 

a little. Kristen's storytelling, for me at least, is what makes the 

video so meaningful.

Fun with Prop 8

Halloween 1990 some friends and I went out for some halloween fun. John Haywood, a kid in our senior class, and his family were giving out money to trick-or-treaters. We decided it would be a good way to get some extra cash; just hit his house a few times and head straight for the bank. It turns out he was only giving out 1 quarter per person. It would take all night for it to be worth our while (We must have been expecting rolls off Benjamins or something). In the end we ended up just goofing off for the rest of the night. First we returned to his house and covered him in silly string. From there we went around and edited some political lawn signs. Another classmate had a dad running for the town council or some similar office. Conveniently his last name was Frick, which allowed us to be really efficient with our whiteout when we changed the name to Prick on a few signs.

In the last few weeks in California excitement has really boiled to a new level for a political season. Prop 8 has provided the most fun for halloween pranksters this year. Most common has been sign stealing; which appears to be happen mostly to pro-8 supporters, though it's occured on both sides. The most creative has been some folks who parked their SUV in front of a pro-8 supporter with "Bigots live here" written on the windows. The homeowner couldn't do much about this for three days when the police department finally towed it. There have even been reports of houses being spray painted with messages, usually against prop 8.

I am in full support of the political voice. There isn't anything more sacred in this country than the right to voice opinions, especially then it comes to the political realm. Take that away, the U.S. means nothing. I am ok with some of the "pranks". When a person feels so passionate about an issue that they would sacrifice an SUV to voice their opinion, then I'm ok with that. It's annoying and unpleasant for the resident, but they aren't taking away anybody's voice. What irks me most are the sign stealers and spray painters. As a libertarian, I support peoples right to do most anything as long as it does not directly infringe on anybody else's right. Sign stealing is a complete infringement on that right. From the news reports that I've seen, there have been some arrests for that and for the vandalism. Apparently some numbnuts have decided that they are so morally superior that resorting to damaging property is OK, because their position is the right one.

The one thing this country needs less of is the fundamentalism that keeps popping up. Whether it's from the christian right, gay left, or pick your group. What is most dangerous to effective democracy is self-righteous fundementalism. Unfortunately, it's all over the place and no once side is innocent. I'm reminded of Jon Stewart's appearance on Crossfire 4 years ago. It is this cancer that I think will upset this democracy before anything else. Enough rambling.