Maybe I'm preaching to the choir

The following was published in the October 10 edition of the Reader Weekly of Duluth.  It is also available at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2013/10/10/2216_party_of_one.

Almost every time Bob Boone sees me, he asks me to write again for the Reader.  When I saw him last week he twisted my arm so hard that I yelled “Uncle!”  Unfortunately, my arm is so sore that I’ll have to do a lot of cutting and pasting from my notes and blog postings.  I must admit I gave in partly because so many people ask if I’m still writing for the Reader but few visit my blog (it has more Russian reverse-spammers than American readers).

By the time this is published will the government be open again?  Regardless, consider what the uproar would be if the Democrats in the Senate would not approve a spending bill unless certain provisions were removed from the PATRIOT Act.

Many are promoting Hilary Clinton for President in 2016.  My own view is that we have had enough of Presidential dynasties.  If you think a woman should be President, consider Kathleen Sebelius and Elizabeth Warren.  Sebelius has governed and with some bi-partisan success.  Warren really is good at exposing contradictions in the positions of the powers that be.

Once again it is that tiresome time of year in the Northland.  Off in the distance, bang!  Too close for comfort, bang!  Bird season has started and then next month is deer season with a few other hunting seasons thrown in.

Last time I checked, landowners in Minnesota are supposed to post their property with "No Trespassing" signs every 300-500 feet.  In other words, hunters are free to trespass on private land that is not posted.

Even if posted, some hunters ignore the signs or even evidence that they were shooting into private property.  One fall a bird hunter shot down our driveway with our red pickup plainly visible.  My wife happened to be nearby and yelled at him.  He grabbed his bird, ran to his truck, and drove off as quickly as he could.

What if my wife had a gun in her hand?  If Minnesota had a "Stand Your Ground" law, would she be in the right to shoot the trespassing hunter?

Last season some bird hunters shot into our land where there was no brush under the power line.  There were "No Trespassing" signs within 300 feet of where they shot.  What if I had been walking on a trail that paralleled the road and had a gun with me.  Would I have been "standing my ground" to shoot back?  They were also shooting within 200 feet of an occupied dwelling on the other side of the road.

Given that a GPS unit costs less than most rifles and that St. Louis County, Minnesota, publishes plat maps, available free online, listing all the properties and owners, should landowners even be required to post their property?
Responsible hunters know where they hunt and respect property rights.  They would be safe.  But the few irresponsible hunters give the impression that all hunters do not respect property rights.  These irresponsible hunters should be very glad that Minnesota doesn't have a "Stand Your Ground" law.
How often have we heard the following before:

"Notwithstanding the NRA’s win in Colorado in knocking off two gun control Democratic State Senators for supporting more stringent ‘gun control’, if Liberals vote they will win. In fact if one analyzes the Colorado race, Liberals were disinterested and stayed home, something that must be worked on going forward. Voters must learn that it is their civic duty to vote every time. Political engagement must be a requirement for effective citizenship."
 - Egberto Willies, "America Is A Liberal Nation.  A Liberal Wins On a Liberal Message."

Maybe I’m preaching to the choir.  Reader Weekly readers always vote, don’t they?  Remember city council and school board elections are on November 5th as well as a school levy.

Ah, a school levy!  How often have you heard people complain about taxes for schools because they don’t have any kids in school?  Conversely, how many younger people complain about paying into Social Security and it goes almost directly into the pockets of seniors?

Well, we have many cross-generational transfers and we always will.  Who paid for seniors’ schooling?  People long dead.  Who paid the Social Security for those long dead?  The seniors now collecting Social Security.  Who paid for the highways and public buildings?  People long dead.  Who is paying for new roads and public buildings?  People who will use them only a few years of the lifetime of those roads and public buildings.

Schools, roads, and public buildings are considered public goods.  That is, things that benefit all people regardless of their ability to pay.  Would you have been able to go to school if your parents were poor?  Would you want to pay a toll for every section of road you drove on?  We all get to use these public goods independent of how much we paid for them.  It is these public goods that help make a civil society.  Those countries that let the rich pay few or no taxes and make the poor pay lots of taxes are not pleasant places to live.

Quote of the day - liberals will win if they vote!

"Notwithstanding the NRA’s win in Colorado in knocking off two gun control Democratic State Senators for supporting more stringent ‘gun control’, if Liberals vote they will win. In fact if one analyzes the Colorado race, Liberals were disinterested and stayed home, something that must be worked on going forward. Voters must learn that it is their civic duty to vote every time. [My emphasis] Political engagement must be a requirement for effective citizenship."

- Egberto Willies,  "America Is A Liberal Nation. A Liberal Wins On A Liberal Message".

There is little original thought on the Internet

This blog is a good example of much of what is available on the Internet is derivative of somebody else's ideas.

My previous entry was "Fox News sells book on Jesus by a Muslim".

I got to that by an entry by the Coffee Party on Facebook.  It led me to an entry by Egberto Willies on his web site.  That led me to an interview on Fox News with an author of a book on Jesus.  The author answering questions about his book could still be considered derivative.  That led me to look up more info about his book. Finding the Huffington Post excerpt finally got me to the author's original thoughts.  Regardless of what you think about Reza Aslan's thoughts about Jesus, you must say that they are closer to unique thinking about a subject than all the other steps that got me to that excerpt.

Fox News sells book on Jesus by a Muslim

Well, it didn't intend to sell "Zealot: The Life And Times Of Jesus Of Nazareth" by Reza Aslan, but the inept interview of him by Lauren Green led lot of people to be interested in the book.   I could not finish watching the interview; it was unduly combative on Green's part.  Apparently this interview has gone viral and you can find it many places.  The commenters to the Egbertowillies page were mostly in favor the author.

A better contrary commentary on the book is "A (Somewhat) Muslim Perspective: Why Is Reza Aslan's Jesus So Small?" by Rob Asghar, Huffington Post, 2013-07-29.

You can judge for yourself by reading an excerpt from "Zealot" at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/zealot-reza-aslan-_n_3605667.html.

Second quote of the day - health care

"[W]ho do you trust more, the company that is answerable to a few shareholders or the government all citizens can choose to elect or choose to fire?"
- "Real Doctor Smacks Down Koch Brothers Obamacare Ad (Video)", Egberto Willies,

Another thought, who elected the Koch brothers or Grover Norquist to make public policy.  Aren't they among those who "live by profit" and "deceive and oppress the public."

Hope for RINOs in getting their party back

Coffee Party Radio interviewed Michael Charney, a New Hampshire Republican, who started an on-line social media experiment to counter Glenn Beck.  You can find the link to the show, commentary, and more links at http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/chasing-beck.

Some of the interesting comments are electile dysfunction, big money doesn't buy votes but only expensive advertising, Beck and others created illusions but they are not having the impact that they did in 2010.

The more you dislike the attack ads, the more important it is that you vote in 2012 (and all the other elections to come).