A Crashing Bore...

Peggy nails it.

It Comes To This...

If you're a libertarian or conservative in California, you can't help but feel like you're living in a loony bin.  Sometimes reality here is stranger than fiction, as in this case: there's a Democrat running for the Senate who in many ways seems more attractive (to libertarians and conservatives) than any of the Republicans in the race.  This state's political class is so dominated by brain-dead “progressive” Democrats that this seems exceedingly unlikely. 

Yet it is so.

$200 Million per Arrest...

Seems a little expensive, doesn't it?  This is what happens when political theater becomes more important than, like, actual results.

We should be spending this money on intelligence and emergency response services, not easily-sidestepped “security” measures...

A Chaparral Morning...

Last night I enjoyed a nice glass of wine – a Spanish wine, new to me, that was a gift from a friend and colleague.  It was delicious, and put me right to sleep.  I slept well, but woke early, and I was out walking our dogs by 3 am.  The moon was still well below the horizon, and the sky was very dark.  As my eyes accommodated, familiar constellations popped into view.  In a few minutes, the Milky Way swam into view – at first a faint swath from north overhead to the east, but soon a bright feature full of texture and even color.  The clear high-desert sky was on full display.

At the same time, the morning's cool air sinking down the hillside above me wafted the chaparral scents – sage, ceanothus, mountain mahogany, and others.  It was very quiet; still too early for the birds to be awake, and no coyotes were howling.  Our dogs (well, the three field spaniels, anyway) smelled something else.  They were completely focused on analyzing the path that this unknown animal had taken through our yard.  Prime possibilities: bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, or fox.  I'm sure they knew which it was, but I didn't.  Meanwhile our one border collie completely ignored all the smells and sights, and simply did his two favorite things: ran around the yard at near-supersonic speeds, and brought me pine cones and sticks to throw for him to retrieve.  The behavior of the field spaniels and the border collie is so different that one could be excused for thinking they were separate species.

I love these chaparral mornings...

This Is A Problem...

When the government steals takes as taxes such a high percentage of your income, how do you encourage the kids to follow the classic American path – work hard and prosper?  Via Amy L.

Last night as I drove home, I got to pondering the high taxes that loom in our near future.  As many others have noted, the younger a person is, the more they are screwed by these impending taxes.  I probably won't be in the workforce for more than another ten years or so – but someone who is (say) 30 years old today will likely be in the workforce for forty years, and maybe more.  For four decades they will watch 40% or more (I'm guessing) of their paycheck disappear into the maw of Big Government – and reappear in the hands of those content to mooch from the public teat.

Doesn't sound like a great motivator to me.  Here's an easy prediction: the more we move in that direction, the more of our young citizens will decide that mooching is better than the alternative.

Are you pissed off yet?