Power-Hunger Disease

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 03 Jan 2002 13:00:00 GMT
Venus Just Asked Me

Perhaps
For just one minute out of the day,

It may be of value to torture yourself
With thoughts like,

"I should be doing
A hell of a lot more with my life than I am -
Cause I'm so damn talented."

But remember,
For just one minute out of the day.

With all the rest of your time,
It would be best
To try
Looking upon your self more as God does.

For He knows
Your true royal nature.

God is never confused
And can see Only Himself in you.

My dear,
Venus just leaned down and asked me
To tell you a secret, to confess

She's just a mirror who has been stealing
Your light and music for centuries.

She knows as does Hafiz,
You are the sole heir to
The King.

(The Subject Tonight Is Love, versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

russmo.com - In Flight Security - cartoon commentary on a simple fix for the airplane security problem. Hehe.

From The Federalist:

The only time [the news media] utter the words 'left wing' is when they're talking about an airplane. -- Bernard Goldberg
and:
A rattlesnake loose in the living room tends to end all discussion of animal rights. -- Time magazine's Lance Morrow on Middle East relations after Sept. 11

whitehouse.org - USA Patriot Registration - Hehe. Would be funnier if it weren't likely to become true. Many of the laughs are hidden in the choices for the combo boxes. For example, Political Affiliation: Republican (Right-Wing), Republican (Conservative), Republican (Moderate), Other/Communist.

By submitting this questionnaire, I hereby relinquish my right to habeas corpus and all other supposed rights afforded me by the Bill Of Rights. If I am a citizen of the United States and I submit this form, I acknowledge that the Department of Justice and/or the FBI may use this information to arrive at the conclusion that I am some kind of pinko, commie, freedom-hating towel-headed homo who deserves to get a steel-tipped federal jackboot shoved up my treacherous ass, so help me John Ashcroft.

Emmanuel Goldstein at AntiWar.com - The Lessons of Richard Reid - what we should learn from the attempted shoe bombing.

How many people noticed that passenger action stopped this hijacking? A group of terrorists may not have been stopped by belts and sedatives in the same way that a lone terrorist was. Keeping guns off aircraft is not protecting passengers, just the opposite.

Michael Z. Williamson at KeepAndBearArms.com - Where Does It End? Hey, you, American! - airport security cannot stop all weapons. Making ourselves more helpless accomplishes nothing but making us more helpless. Why we should allow self-defense weapons on airplanes. [kaba]

Which would you prefer?

Head to toe search and grope, prod and poke, paper coveralls and Brave New World treatment...

...or a helpful attendant asking, "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Low velocity .380?"

Dave Duffy at Backwoods Home Magazine - An American New Year - musings on the American work ethic.

Garry Reed, The Loose Cannon Libertarian - Power Lunch: The War on Obesity - The Surgeon General has invented a new disease, so he's attacking the fast food industry in an attempt to slim down America. Obesity is a real problem, but government has no business doing anything whatsoever about it. Mr. Reed has isolated the real problem, and offers a solution.

Dr. Luce Kannon announced today that power-hunger has reached epidemic proportions amongst the nation's political and bureaucratic classes. "Power-hunger should be classified officially as a disease," he stated during the unveiling of his National Plan of Action. "Symptoms of power-hunger in elected and appointed officials are easily recognized; their lips move and words slobber out." The definitive diagnosis is made, however, when the words that slobber out coagulate into phrases claiming that the solution to every problem that afflicts humankind can be solved by bigger, more expensive, more intrusive, more powerful government.

While a few politicians seem to contract power-disease from genetic hand-me-downs (the Kennedys, the Bushes) the vast majority become infected when their bodies politic are invaded, typically to a level of 51% or higher, by viruses known to the medical community as "votes."

Dave Winer's DaveNet - When to give away the technology - software development is expensive. Programmers should expect to get paid for their work. Still, it is sometimes a good idea to give away your technology. Dave explores when.

Add comment Edit post Add post