HOAs come to LEGO-TOWN

Well, it's not in the form of a Home Owners Association, but it has the same ideas. Namely that "ownership" isn't worth much or is actually BAD.

TCS Daily:L'Eggo My Lego

The Legos were returned and the children allowed to continue building their "legotown" only after they agreed to some guiding principles framed by the teachers, including that...

"All structures are public structures" [no private ownership]

"All structures will be standard sizes." [no deviation from the accepted norm in size]

"It's important to have the same amount of power as other people over your building."
[i.e. OWNING the building means nothing]

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Miracle baby comes back from the dead

Miracle baby comes back from the dead | the Daily Mail

This seems to me to be a true "miracle" yet scientifically its just "statistically unlikely" or something like that. People throw around the word "miracle" but fail to acknowledge who or what did the miracle, was is a "miracle of modern medicine"? or a "miracle of God"?

Was it truly a "supernatural" or "unnatural" event, of just one we don't understand?

Personally I think truly supernatural, God-caused events happen all the time and we credit it to luck or randomness. In a way we are blind to the miracles that happen every day.

It good that some of them do actually get reported in the news. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

No Dancing in the Land of the FEE

You can't even DANCE without a city license!!

And of course you can't play music for people to dance to with paying the music labels or artist or something...

And don't even try to do the Electric Slide without permission...

So much for the "Land of the Free"... more like the "Land of the FEE" [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Robin Reliant Space Shuttle Video

This is incredible....

Top Gear turned a car (a Reliant Robin, roughly the British equivalent of a Pinto or a Gremlin -- minus a wheel) into a SHUTTLE...

(Note, in the video, the guy with the radio controller is waiting to land the shuttle once it separates from the tank..)



Background Info....
[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Bar Sued for Playing Songs Without Paying Licensing Fees

I never knew this was required.

Apparently paying for the CD isn't enough! If you play the CD publicly you have to pay an EXTRA fee. I wonder if I can still play CD's while someone else is in my car? If you SING the song, you have to pay an EXTRA fee. I wonder how many high-school garage bands are in violation of this!! And my daughter runs around the house singing kid songs all the time. If she sings to another kid and entertains them using someone's copyrighted material, am I going to get sued?

The sheer greed of these people, who want to get continuously paid for work they did years ago astonishes me.

FOXNews.com - Florida Bar Sued for Playing Songs Without Paying Licensing Fees [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Florida Tax Changes

Fascinating...
...Replace all property taxes (for permanent residents) with a larger sales tax. Hummm....

BreakingNews [This Post Continues after the jump...]

US copyright lobby out-of-touch

sad, but true....BBC NEWS | Technology | US copyright lobby out-of-touch [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Not my Steak Too!!!

Now I have to give up eating meat to prevent global warming....

Humans' beef with livestock: a warmer planet | csmonitor.com

"Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems,"

I don't know about everyone else, but I've lost count of all the "most significant contributors".... how many are there now?

and I guess making this statement...

"....CO2, which remains the main global warming culprit"

without any support is just par for the course these days. But people better than me question whether this has ever been proved. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Growth Stopping Treatment for Disabled 9 year old

I'm going to have to think about this one for a while before saying much.

At first I would not do everything the parents did, but that is from fear of side effects and future problems that are not known. If I knew there would be no issues down the road, then this treatment would at least be an option to me.


I'll see if I can find the website this article mentions...here it is...
http://ashleytreatment.spaces.live.com/


Update
Now disabled groups have forced a meeting with the AMA. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Non-Citizens allowed to Vote?

What the heck is this??? It sounds completely nonsensical to me, but according this this non-citizens used to be allowed to vote.
This baffles me...

LET ALIENS VOTE: ACTIVISTS By FRANKIE EDOZIEN - Regionalnews - New York Post Online Edition

By FRANKIE EDOZIEN
February 20, 2007 -- Immigrant-rights activists yesterday renewed their push to allow legal noncitizens to vote in the Big Apple. A bill that would grant permanent residents and other legal immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections has been stalled in the City Council since last year. "More than 50,000 adult noncitizen taxpayers in those two districts are disenfranchised by citizenship voting laws," said Cheryl Wertz, of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, referring to today's special election for council seats in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), the sponsor of the Voting Rights Restoration Act, said that years ago, when immigrants were mostly European, they had voting rights. "Then when the complexion of immigrants changes, then all of a sudden, the laws change," he said. Ron Hayduk, a CUNY professor, concurred, saying immigrants voted in national elections from 1776 through 1926.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Fetus or Baby?

This is incredible. After seeing this, I don't see how anyone can support allowing abortion after 21 weeks (unless the mother's life is actually endangered). It's just unconscionable. Yet the democrats still support abortions up until birth. Why?

BREITBART.COM - Tiny Baby to Leave Florida Hospital [This Post Continues after the jump...]

What the Founding Fathers Really Intended

Will: What the Founding Fathers Really Intended - Newsweek George F. Will - MSNBC.com

best quotes:

...Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, who warned against what Hayek called "the fatal conceit" of governments thinking they can allocate wealth and opportunity more reasonably than can markets.

and...

...James Madison's Federalist Paper No. 45: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined."

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

McCain and Roe V. Wade

McCain: Roe V. Wade Should Be Overturned

"I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned," the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.

Well, this is looking good.... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global Warming Scaremongers

I couldn't have said it better myself....

Scaremongers [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Journalistic Freedom

This is an important topic. This guy video taped a public demonstration and sold some of the footage to news organizations. The Government has subpoena the whole tape, which Mr. Wolf will not give them, so he's in jail. They also want him to testify.

I can understand (but not necessarily agree with) not testifying about what people told him as a reporter, but I don't understand not turning over the tape. Its evidence of what actually happened that day, anyone standing in this public place would have seen the same thing, there is nothing "private" about it, nothing "confidential" about it. The people in the video did not ask for confidentiality when what they were doing was a PUBLIC demonstration. So why protect it?


As I understand it, If I see a crime, I have to report it. As a citizen I have no right to refuse to testify about what I see or hear or know (unless it incriminated myself). So why do "reporters" claim this right? What makes them special? The internet is making more and more people into "amateur reporters" so the distinction is becoming harder to make. Soon there will be no one left that can be subpoenaed.

I think everyone has a responsibility to truthfully testify about what they see, hear, or know if there is reasonable reason to think they know something useful. Without the power to force people to testify, our court system, and indeed our society will slowly breakdown.

I don't think its fair when Journalist talk about the dangers of loosing the rights of Journalist not to testify when they fail to acknowledge the dangers on the other side of the issue. The more people who are "exempt" for testifying about what they know, the more Dangerous our society becomes, I also think it's DANGEROUS for the government to recognize two classes of citizens, Journalist and non-journalist, we should all have the same rights, and we should all be required to testify when needed. These Dangers must be balance with the dangers of a police state or 1984-type government.

Democracy Now! | EXCLUSIVE: Imprisoned Journalist Josh Wolf Speaks Out From Jail After Over 170 Days Behind Bars

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

A Real Miracle

This sounds interesting... Even the doctors are using the "M" word but scientifically this was just a random occurrence and shouldn't be contributed to "divine intervention", which shows the limits of a pure "scientific" mind set.

FOXNews.com - NYC Student's Heart Starts Beating Days After Stopping - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Hillary "Chavez"

Larry Kudlow on ExxonMobil, Hillary Clinton & Corporate Profits on NRO Financial

At the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, the senator from New York said, “The oil companies reported the highest profits in the history of the world. I want to take those profits and I want to put them in an alternative energy fund.”

Hillary is showing her true colors....

All because Exxon made almost $40 Billion in profit, If I read this article right, Exxon really made $140 Billion and paid over $100 Billion in taxes. If Hillary wants to research alternative energy, Great! But she should do it with the money the government ALREADY takes from the Oil industry... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Hydrogen Hoax

I for one never bought into the "Hydrogen Economy"... we will end up with an "Energy Economy" but what will the source be?

Nuclear Fusion is the only think left in my mind that has the potential to deliver us the energy we need. But even that isn't going to lead us to energy utopia...

The New Atlantis - The Hydrogen Hoax - Robert Zubrin [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Now The RIAA Wants You To Believe That You Should Be Paying Much, Much More For CDs

The clueless RIAA...

Techdirt: Now The RIAA Wants You To Believe That You Should Be Paying Much, Much More For CDs

I spent $1500 on used 286 PC in 1988, and $2400 on a new 486 in the early 90's. But I just built a new dual core PC (reusing some exiting parts) last month for total of less that $800.

But for some reason ....

but the recording industry wants to pretend that music.... should increase in cost over time, rather than decrease -- even as the actual costs of production, distribution, discovery and promotion have all gotten cheaper over time? Sorry, but economics doesn't work that way

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Why Be a Conservative Libertarian?

Awesome.... simply awesome....

TCS Daily - Why Be a Conservative Libertarian? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Steve Jobs - Thoughts on Music

Apple - Thoughts on Music

Interesting way to "turn the tables" on the Music Industry. In a way he's right, Microsoft tried an "OPEN" DRM system and abandoned it. It was impossible to maintain quality and issues "updates" to correct holes in the copy protection.

He also has a point about Music companies selling 90% of there music DRM-free but requiring strong DRM on online version of the same song. This is typical of the Music industry flawed thinking. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Connecticut Woman Ordered to Remove U.S. Flag From Condo

Here we go again... don't these people have better things to do?

FOXNews.com - Connecticut Woman Ordered to Remove U.S. Flag From Condo - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Condo association tells Guardsman's mom she can't have flagpole in front of unit
http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17136052&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=569380&rfi=8 [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Married Couples Must Have Kids

I guess turn about is fair play....

Wash. initiative would require married couples to have kids

But I think there needs to be a distinction between couples how should be able to have children, but cannot (or cannot safely) due to an illness, injury, or medical condition, and couples who can never have children together no matter how healthy they both are.

But I agree that, if society wants to, couples that merely choose not to have any children, could get less of the benefits of "marriage". In these cases I think that these benefits should be tied to "families" not "marriages" or "couples". But some of that is already true.

1 - Only people with kids get per child deductions
2 - Some insurance charge only a "single" or "family" rate where childless couples pay the same as large families but get less benefits.
3 - All tax payers pay for public schools but only people with children get any direct benefit from it.
4- Kids can eat free at some restaurants, but other family members or relationships are not eligible.

I'm sure there are more...


UPDATE:
Initiative ties marriage, procreation
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003558717_nokids06m.html

Gadow said the alliance would introduce two other proposals over the next few years, one that would prohibit divorce or separation by married people who have children together and another that would make having a child together the equivalent of marriage.

Now those ARE good ideas....

But how can you have a "Family" without children? I seriously don't think any type of "couple" is the same as a "family"... not if you want words to actually have an objective meaning beyond what people "want it to mean".

The gay-rights organization Equal Rights Washington also won't endorse it, pointing out that families come in all forms, some of which don't include children.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?

Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?

Another Man-Made Global Warming "denier" and he has a point, I've not seen any real proof that CO2 traps heat on the planet. It's called a "Greenhouse Gas" and it seems like you just have to accept it as fact. Now I don't claim to read the type of articles that would go into this level of detail, but it does make me wonder if it has been proven that CO2 traps heat more than N2 or O2.

This combined with the link I posted earlier stating that humans only account for 2% of CO2 produced does make one wonder where all of this is coming from

Also, I did not realize that as recent as 1976 there was just as much hysteria about Global COOLING as there is today about global warming.

"It is a cold fact: the Global Cooling presents humankind with the most important social, political, and adaptive challenge we have had to deal with for ten thousand years. Your stake in the decisions we make concerning it is of ultimate importance; the survival of ourselves, our children, our species," wrote Lowell Ponte in 1976.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Movie Piracy Claims More Fiction Than Fact

Michael Geist - Movie Piracy Claims More Fiction Than Fact

Humm ... Surprise Surprise, the MPAA is lying... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Vista a Threat to Internet Freedom?

BBC NEWS | Technology | How the net turns code into politics

Originally found at Slashdot [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Saudi Court Orders Lashing, Jail for 20 Foreigners for Drinking, Dancing

FOXNews.com - Saudi Court Orders Lashing, Jail for 20 Foreigners for Drinking, Dancing at Mixed Party - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News


This shows just how silly the claims by US liberals that the US "religious right" is seeking to establish a theocracy. When compared to REAL theocracies, you see just how "liberal" ALL Americans are.

(These claims haven't been in the news lately, but they always show up during campaigns...) [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Instapundit.com - Global Warming Solutions

Instapundit.com

Read the link for some solutions.. but here's a great bit on Kyoto...

At any rate, Kyoto -- despite the way it has been misrepresented in the press -- could never pass even when the Democrats were in charge, and wouldn't make much difference even if the U.S. was a party, and if Europe wasn't engaged in rampant cheating. ("In truth, Europe's CO2 emissions are rising twice as fast as those of the U.S. since Kyoto, three times as fast since 2000. ") The fastest-growing producers of CO₂ are in Asia, and won't slow their economic growth significantly in order to fight the greenhouse effect -- and they would have difficulty in doing so even if they wanted to.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

NFL nixes church's plan to show Super Bowl

That the heck???

the NFL objected to the church's plans to use a projector to show the game, saying the law limits it to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.

What "LAW" limits how big a TV I can watch the Super Bowl on? I realize it says "out of home" TVs, but why is that important. If I can have people over to my "home" why can't I have them over to a building I own that isn't a "home".

The Church should go ahead with this event. Besides the negative publicity the NFL would get for actually suing a CHURCH, I don't see how they could ever win.


SI.com - 2006 NFL Playoffs - NFL nixes church's plan to show Super Bowl - Thursday February 1, 2007 2:09PM


UPDATE:

WOW... it IS a REAL law
http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2003/feature_zittrain_julaug03.msp


UPDATE #2:

Is My Super Bowl Party Illegal?
http://www.slate.com/id/2158874/ [This Post Continues after the jump...]

'Electric Slide-ing" down the slippery DMCA slope

I can't believe this guy, he created a dance everyone likes but doesn't want anyone actually doing it to have fun. Or at least not video taping it so you can remember the fun event.

'Electric Slide' on slippery DMCA slope | CNET News.com

I agree that if "The Electric Slide" is used in a movie he should have to approve it and maybe get paid for it, but suing people doing it in their wedding videos... the guy is nuts.

I also brings up the question of how LONG copyright should last. This dance is so old and so much a part of our culture that it should be public domain my now. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

In Florida, Global Warming could hurt, or help

In Florida, warming could hurt, or help

Wait.. Global Warming could do GOOD things to? No way.. it only BAD BAD BAD things that could happen.... read the article.

Also, not everyone thinks we can see 100 years into the future when our track record for a few months into the future isn't so great...

"We can't predict that [the 2006 Hurricanes Season] at all with any skill," he said. "It makes me concerned that we can't predict what's going to happen several decades [or even a century] down the road. It could be off either direction." Said Landsea.

Chris Landsea (of the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables) quit the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2005, frustrated by the group's hurricane predictions, which he called exaggerated and politicized.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

China's Space-Weapon Test Could Endanger Astronauts and Satellites

ABC News: China's Space-Weapon Test Could Endanger Astronauts and Satellites

So what do we do about this?
China purposely caused a greater risk to everyone's satellites..
But what can we do? Not much....

Maybe we can stop buy so much cheap "made in China" stuff.. nannnaa [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Crist (FL Gov) - Replace touch-screens with "optical scan" voting systems

State: Crist wants touch-screen voting machines gone

WooHoo!! I love the Florida Governor!!

Here in Brevard County we've used "scan-tron" type ballots for years and they are great. The ballot is written in large easy to read type, you fill in a large oval to vote, you do it yourself so there is no tool between you and the ballot (except a Sharpie pen). You place it in a scanner box with (I think) tabulates the vote as you feed it in (so the counting is near real-time) and it will even spit it back out if you made a double vote or other error. (note that "not voting" in a given race is not considered an error)

It's a perfect system in my mind.

(PS - I hope "scan-tron" isn't copyrighted term.. I might not be allowed to express this opinion....) [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global Warming 'Very Likely' Caused by Humans

Well there you have it... we are doing it, or rather we DID it. It sounds like the effect is "a runaway train that cannot be stopped for centuries". So should I switch out my light bulbs or not?

But there is some good news in the in article, from a US Scientist.

"What you're trying to do is get the whole planet under the proverbial tent in how to deal with this, not just the rich countries," Mahlman said Thursday. "I think we're in a different kind of game now."

But does the rest of the world agree with that? or are they just going to demand the US ruin it's economy while "developing" countries like "put a man in orbit" China get a free ride?

I think there is enough reason to reduce pollution merely because it pollutes TODAY. We don't need to look 100 years down the road.

I think there is enough reason to develop a renewable energy source because we know the amount of fossil fuels is limited and will someday run out.

I don't need speculation about what "very likely" will happen in 100 years to implement strict policies, as long as the REST OF THE WORLD does too...

Is that so much to ask?

FOXNews.com - Panel: Global Warming 'Very Likely' Caused by Humans - Science News | Current Articles [This Post Continues after the jump...]