Mar 09
ClaudeArticles, Opinion Liberty
“While American politicians and intellectuals have not reached the depths of tyrants such as Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Hitler, they share a common vision. Tyrants denounce free markets and voluntary exchange. They are the chief supporters of reduced private property rights, reduced rights to profits, and they are anti-competition and pro-monopoly. They are pro-control and coercion, by the state. These Americans who run Washington, and their intellectual supporters, believe they have superior wisdom and greater intelligence than the masses. They believe they have been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. Like any other tyrant, they have what they consider good reasons for restricting the freedom of others. A tyrant’s primary agenda calls for the elimination or attenuation of the market. Why? Markets imply voluntary exchange and tyrants do not trust that people behaving voluntarily will do what the tyrant thinks they should do. Therefore, they seek to replace the market with economic planning and regulation, which is little more than the forcible superseding of other people’s plans by the powerful elite. We Americans have forgotten founder Thomas Paine’s warning that ‘Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.’” –George Mason University economics professor Walter E. Williams
Reposted from The Patriot Post Brief, March 8th, 2010
Feb 02
ClaudeOpinion Affirmative Action, Bullshit, Economy
George Orwell defined doublethink as “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.
I wonder if there are some out there who still believe this bullshit.
Nov 07
ClaudeOpinion Competition, FCC, Government, Innovation, Net Neutrality
This is a response to Gavin Roy’s post on the subject.
While I agree with the basic concept that broadband providers should not place restrictions on users, I believe strongly that a company is entitled to create products that result in better value for their shareholders.
I am sure there are good intentions behind “net neutrality,” but the unintended consequences could be disastrous for anyone using the Internet as a business platform, including providers and consumers, since government intervention typically results in increased operational costs. More often than not those costs are passed down to consumers in the form of higher premiums and lower quality of service.
My position on the issue is one that places the consumer directly in charge of researching the best available service offering for his business. One where the consumer addresses the service provider directly and forces the provider to create better services at the customer’s direction. While this could be a slow and painful process, new smaller businesses will sprout up to innovate and promote competition while stodgy providers will risk going out of business.
I believe net neutrality is destined to become another boondoggle that will simply add a layer of bureaucracy to an already bloated public sector.
Jul 01
ClaudeOpinion Apple, Backup, Mac
I recently made the move to all Apple Macs at home and I am concerned that I do not have a backup plan and it may come back to haunt me. Last week I visited the Apple store in hopes of buying one of those time capsules but instead purchased an Apple TV, which is very nice and my kids love, but didn’t get anything yet for the all important backups.
Today, I came across this post by Aliza Sherman where she describes the results of ten months of procrastination.
More
Jul 16
ClaudeOpinion
It always seems like the most recent generation of workers is always perceived as the “slacker” generation. In this post, Ryan Healy tells us what he thinks his generation is looking for in a working environment.
According to Ryan, 8 out 10 young people see themselves as future entrepreneurs and otherwise self-employed, willing to sacrifice “big paychecks” for flexible arrangements at work.
One thing that always annoys me about my future replacements is their immediate dismissal of traditional working environments, face to face business relationships and proper attire, as though these are the things only old foggies used to do. They want the immediate benefits of mature working relationships with their bosses right out of college, and somehow I don’t think that’s realistic.
What do you think?
Mar 15
ClaudeOpinion
I was thinking about writing a post about GrandCentral.com and how much it can streamline your phone life.
Some of us geeks tend to have a lot of numbers and people try to call us on all of them at all times. Enter GrandCentral, which provides you with one number and a rules-based system to manage and redirect all your calls.
David Pogue from the NY Times (about the only thing worth reading in that rag) wrote this article describing the product.
Thanks for the link Pat.
Older Entries
Twitter
Delicious
RSS
