As rain suddenly falls the wind blows away a leaf, leaving a dry ghost.
Today was the grand opening of the Amherst Survival Center in its new building!
A big crowd showed up.
Among the dignitaries in attendance was State Representative Ellen Story.
A good time was had by all.
With the New York Times announcing yet more layoffs, this article on the future of journalism is very relevant. Read it here.
Thomas Paine Award winner and former candidate for Massachusetts U.S. Senator Michael Cloud is calling for a complete separation of the state and economics, similar to the current separation between church and state, with the goal of ending all corporate welfare and crony capitalism:
Why did America establish the separation of church and state? Two reasons: to prevent religion from corrupting and dominating government -- and to keep government from corrupting and dominating religion.
For the same two reasons, libertarians advocate the separation of business and state. To prevent business from corrupting and dominating government -- and to keep government from corrupting and dominating business. We can take one simple step in this direction: privatize business!
Get business's hands off government. Get government's hands off business. All governments: federal, state, and local. And their agencies. End and legally forbid all government subsidies to business. Outlaw all government loans to business. Forbid all government loan guarantees to business. Outlaw all government insurance guarantees to business. Forbid all government liabilities for business.
End all special tax benefits to favored or privileged businesses. Any and all special exemptions, deductions, deferrals or other tax advantages must be given to all businesses. No business is more equal than other businesses. Outlaw all special government benefits to relocate or attract foreign or out-of-state business.
Privatize business!
Private risks and private choices. Private assets and private liabilities. Private profits and private losses. Private insurance and private risk.
Private businesses are responsive to and accountable to their customers. In a private enterprise system, businesses reap what they sow. Good private businesses attract more customers and investors. They make profits.
Bad private businesses repel customers and investors. They incur losses. In a private enterprise system, good business practices pay off. Reckless and irresponsible business practices cost their users dearly.
When we privatize business, innocent taxpayers will never be forced to pay for the risky and unwise business decisions of others. When we privatize business, unsuccessful companies will suffer the consequences of their actions -- but they will NOT be able to impose their costs and consequences on successful companies. Private enterprise is a system that encourages and rewards business virtue.
Privatize business!
Hmmm, the president's laptop has the presidential seal on it.
Kid Rock was a bigtime supporter of Mitt Romney for President. So how did it go when the Kid went to the White House the other day? All was cool. Read about it here.
Although Free Williamsburg “Culture Guide” would like to think Big Mouth has something to do with Pratt students, all of the kids who live in the house rep Western Mass hard, and a lot of the artwork and graffiti covering the walls of the high-ceiling-ed basement was done by 6’ 10” tall Northampton native Ali Stosz—a lovely lady, it turns out, whose extra foot on me used to intimidate me at Apollo Sunshine shows back home. The walls are pretty much filled by this point, and the most recent addition to the right of the stage- still freshly smelling of paint from the previous night- features two symmetrical, bulging-eyed faces in opposing bright colors, busted out by local Ian McGunit. Towards the back, two sweeping, spiking creatures dive into each other, a perverted deer and twisted crow, created en route by a recently incarcerated, homeless husband and wife. The stage, just a few inches off the ground, was lit by a few 30-watt lamps and a spastic, sound-activated green light machine; once the lamp was turned off behind the performer, it looked prime. But it will look better with a black ceiling....
Read more here.
3 comments:
"Why did America establish the separation of church and state?"
Uh, "America" didn't. That was a KKK member named Justice Hugo Black. The phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution. Constitutionalists should fight valiantly against attempts to violate the document, which includes attempts to insert words that aren't actually there to create a false, unintended meaning. The Constitution says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nothing more. It doesn't say that kids can't see A Charlie Brown Christmas on a school field trip or a six year old girl can't speak of God in her veterans day speech. It doesn't say that people of faith have to leave their beliefs outside the voting booth. The purpose of our Constitution is to protect the people from the government, not the government from the people!
But I'm all for a separation of government and the economy. They do it all wrong. Government should neither harm nor hinder legal businesses. Stop picking winners and losers.
Joey
Bravo, Joey.
Let me second that: bravo, Joey.
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