Paul Coelho - The Witch of Portobello

"As a historian, I attempt to collate all the data and analyze this confrontation between the freedom to worship and the duty to obey, between the God who controls the world and the Goddess who is part of the world, between people who join together in groups where celebration is a spontaneous affair and those who close ranks and learn only what they should and should not do."

"If God is mother, then we need only gather together with other people and adore her through rituals intended to satisfy the female soul, rituals involving dance, fire, water, air, earth, songs, music, flowers, and beauty. This has been a growing trend over the last few years. We may be witnessing a very important moment in the history of the world, when the Spirit finally emerges with the Material, and the two are united and transformed. At the same time, I imagine that there will be a very violent reaction from organized religious institutions, which are beginning to lose their followers. There will be a rise in fundamentalism."

"Anyone who believes they have failed will always fail. Anyone who has decided that they cannot behave any differently will be destroyed by routine. Anyone who has decided to block all changes will be transformed into dust. Cursed be those who do not dance and who prevent others from dancing."

- Paul Coelho, The Witch of Portobello

Caption Contest - Family Photo Edition

I need a caption for this family portrait.

The good people at Southeastern Freight (great rates to every state that seceded !) won last week's contest.

The Libertarian Party Of Texas And Toll Roads

From my new friend Robert Butler, the Executive Director of the Texas Libertarian Party:

Libertarians Put the Brakes on Toll Road Transportation Bill

Twitter and Facebook Play a Role

AUSTIN, TEXAS - July 2, 2009 - The Texas Legislature left a controversial new toll road bill pending in committee today and Libertarians are claiming a major victory in stopping a billion dollar scheme to use taxes and pension funds to pay for private monopolies and foreign management of Texas toll roads.

I don't have a problem with foreign management of anything. The best factories in China sometimes have Taiwanese management. I recently had to go to the Tarrant County Department Of Motor Vehicles, and that place could've been better managed with 1970's Soviet-influenced Bulgarian Bureaucrats. Sheesh. Someone remind me to do a post about the DOMV Chair Nazi.

But if outsiders can do the job for less, bring 'em on. Unless, of course, there's a monopoly.

Oh, wait....there's a monopoly.

Libertarians worked together with TURF, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, and Texans for Accountable Government (TAG), to stop what some have dubbed the largest tax increase in Texas history.

Robert is new to us, and is still learning our ways and our habits. The largest tax increase in Texas history hasn't been formally legislated. It's coming in the form of printing money to pay government expenses, and will show up in your neighborhood soon. But I'm quibbling here.

I like those TURF and TAG acronyms. Someone should start a group called "Never Open -Super Highways In Texas".

On Wednesday morning, Libertarians from across the state converged at the Texas Capitol, emailed, and called their state representatives to demand that public-private partnerships funded with Texas tax dollars and pension funds be stopped.

According to many Fundamentalist, Foot-Washing, Snake-Handling, Speaking-In-Tongues Libertarians, toll roads are a fundamentally good thing. It's when Austin takes your money and gives it to Company X for the development of toll roads that toll roads become a problem. If they are such a good idea, let Company X use their own money.

"We used our extensive email lists, Twitter, and Facebook accounts to activate thousands of freedom-loving Texans," said LPT Executive Director Robert Butler. "Our people called, emailed, and personally visited every member of the House and Senate. Our press conference and grassroots effort had a major impact in potentially killing this bill. We have to continue our public awareness campaign until the special session officially ends."

"Credit goes to the work of our staff and volunteers for discovering the ugly details behind this legislation," said Libertarian State Chair Patrick Dixon. "For an organization with just over $100k in revenue, we certainly do have an impact on policy."

A word about Patrick Dixon: Patrick is probably the most efficient human in the state of Texas. Watching him run a meeting is a delight (for the first three hours, anyway). I'd like to see Patrick and Kathy Madeja do a Parliamentary Procedure steel cage deathmatch smackdown.

And speaking of organizations with just over $100K in revenue....if you're worried about the way Owebama is spending money, but can't quite find a way to get behind the Republicans? Send us some money. We need it. There aren't a lot of us, but we make a lot of noise.

"Toll roads cost up to twice as much to build as non-tolled expressways," said LPT Executive Director Robert Butler. "The toll roads aren't a free market privatization plan. You're granting monopoly rights to private operators. The bonds backing these toll roads have clauses that prevent competition and are guaranteed with tax dollars."

To hell with anything that prevents competition, and that's an official position statement.

In 2005, the State of Texas entered a 50-year agreement with a Spanish company named Cintra to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile network up to 1,200 feet wide to carry parallel links of tollways, rails, and utility lines. Cintra's parent company, Grupo Ferrovial, S.A, was a major collaborator with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and depends upon its political connections to secure toll road contracts around the world.

Does the state of Texas already own this land? Nope. Texas would have had to take it via Eminent Domain. Not good. Property rights are something that distinguish the U.S. from governments like, well, Francisco Franco's.

In 2007, by a combined vote of 169-5, the Texas Legislature passed a moratorium on private toll contracts, called comprehensive development agreements (or CDAs) that privatize and sell Texas highways to the highest bidder. That moratorium ends August 31, 2009, and CDAs, except for approximately a dozen projects that were exempted, sunset with it. CDAs are the primary financial vehicle used to construct the Trans Texas Corridor.

Will Texas taxpayers get a check in the mail if a highway is ever sold? Will we get to set a "minimum bid"?

"I want to cut taxes and spending," declared Libertarian activist Wes Benedict. "They have refused to approve low-cost road improvements claiming they don't have the funds, then propose rail and toll roads which cost up to ten times more than buses and non-tolled roads per passenger mile of added capacity. Light rail and toll roads cost too much and do too little."
"We Libertarians and our friends at TURF and TAG have shown that an educated voter can change the course of legislation." noted Butler. "This bill will be a litmus test in the 2010 elections, we'll make sure of that.

And let's hope the people at TURF and TAG don't forget their allies at "Never Open Super Highways In Texas".

For Liberty,

Robert Butler
Executive Director
Libertarian Party of Texas
http://lptexas.org/

P.S. - Robert, I do this kind of thing a lot. You'll get used to it. Great job, sir ! ! !

Dallas and Tarrant Libertarian Party at the Vans Warped Tour

The Tarrant and Dallas County Libertarians joined forces to staff a booth at this year's Vans Warped tour. (Previous headliners at Vans Warped include No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Rancid, Blink-182, Eminem, Good Charlotte, and well, you get the idea.)

Here's some video by John Jay Myers, the Dallas LP chair. Big Daddy John Spivey, the Tarrant LP chair (and "Tarrant Liberty Guy" on these pages) is in the red shirt.



Why, you ask, would the Libertarians spend a day peddling T-shirts, bumperstickers, and handing out political alignment questionnaires to a bunch of kids?

Because the kids are the ones who will eventually have to pay for the mess created by their parents, and the parents have already been co-opted by the system, and therefore are beyond hope. The sooner these little Mall Rats figure out the Hope 'n' Change scam, the better off they'll be.

And The Lion Shall Lie Down With The Lamb

In which Dr. Ralph and I hang out at a 4th of July parade....
Faces have been changed as a part of The Dr's witness protection program agreement.

The Burning Hell, Part Six, Songs For Children edition

Another Sunday is upon us. That means it's time to visit the wonderful world of Reverend Estus Pirkle.
Back in the early 1970's, Pirkle's "The Burning Hell" terrified the crap out of every church youth group in the southeast. I'm posting excerpts from the film each week because I saw the movie when I was twelve or thirteen, believed every minute of it, built a lot of my life around it, and therefore suffered extreme mental, spiritual, psychic, and emotional harm.

Now I'm getting even by ripping the lid off of it every Sunday morning. This is cheaper than a psychotherapist.

To recap the previous episodes.... Two hippies, Ken and Tim, have a discussion with Brother Pirkle about the reality of hell. Their preacher has taught them that hell is only a metaphor. Pirkle disagrees. Pirkle vividly paints a picture of non-believers burning for eternity in a massive field of mud and slop. Ken and Tim object to Pirkle's reasoning and leave the church on their motorcycles.
Ken has an accident, and is decapitated.
Rather than wait around for the police or an ambulance, Tim decides to go to church.
You can hit the Pirkle label at the bottom of this post to see each episode in its entirety. Even if you're in a hurry, you've GOT to see episode #4 with the worms.
At the end of last week's clip, Pirkle was telling the biblical story of Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16:19).
If you find my commentary helpful, it continues after the clip.




:01 Wild debauchery, as conceived and filmed in a 1973 Myrtle Mississippi Baptist fellowship hall. The candlesticks have appeared in two generations of wedding photos. Check out Mrs. Dives at the :12 mark - her tiara betrays her as an Ole Miss Tri-Delta pledge.

1:45 The screenplay of Pirkle, the directing of B-movie king Ron Ormond, the acting of The Mississippi thespians, and the music of Handel. Which one doesn't fit?

2:10 Lazarus discovers that in the next life, everyone gets a pre-resurrection shave.

3:05 The Santa Claus beard is pressed back into service, and this time Abraham is wearing it. The shots of heaven were filmed in whichever Magnolia State property got "Yard Of The Month" during production.

4:29 Proof that at least two trips were made to Burger King.

4:40 The Roman soldier has a Pavolovian response to the wine. Priceless editing.

5:15 The Dives Funeral - "Mr. Dives was a personal friend of mine...." "and while he was not faithful to attend many of the services...." "I'm sure that God understands that he was a busy man" All of these are straw men that Pirkle is about to kick over. Plus, how many kings are addressed as "Mr" ????

5:50 Dives in hell. "Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame".
This doesn't sound like a typical Jesus parable, does it? The folks at The Jesus Seminar, my go-to guys for biblical scholarship, are divided on whether it's authentic. The doctrine of salvation through faith hadn't yet been developed by Paul, and John 3:16 wouldn't be written down for another 60 years after the death of Jesus. So who knows?

The story did inspire a catchy African-American spiritual called "Poor Man Lazrus". The lyrics are as follows:

Poor man Lazrus sick and disabled. Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue, 'cause I'm tormented in the flame. He had to eat crumbs from the rich man's table. Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue, ‘cause I'm tormented in the flame.

Chorus:
I'm tormented in the flame. I'm tormented in the flame.
Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue,
'cause I'm tormented in the flame.

Rich man Divies he lived so well. Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue, 'cause I'm tormented in the flame. And when he died he went straight to hell. Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue, 'cause I'm tormented in the flame. (Chorus)

I love to shout, I love to sing! Dip your finger in the water, come and, cool my tongue, 'cause I'm tormented in the flame.

Jester Hairston, the great choral composer, did the best arrangement of the song. Here's the Asbury College Men's Glee Club singing in the college chapel service. Kinda like singing an upbeat ditty about Abu Ghraib.

6:30 Tim remains in the congregation listening to Pirkle explain why it is that who goes where in the next life.

6:40 Dives asks for another chance, just to warn his family about the dangers of THE BURNING HELL.

7:00 Abraham shoots him down. In full Faulkner/Tennessee Williams mode, the father of his race says "They hayuv Moses 'n' thuh prophets. Let theyum hear theyum. If they heer not Moses 'n' thuh prophets,,,,

To hear what other words of comfort Father Abraham said to the burning Dives, come back next Sunday.

Regulatory Capture at work in your nation's capital

A fresh coat of Whitening to Radley Balko for linking to this Bit O' Baloney from The Washington Examiner:

The District’s open, all-are-invited taxicab industry is so saturated with drivers that the entire enterprise is threatened, according to a D.C. Council member who has filed a bill to cap the number of cabs allowed on city streets.

Let's translate that. Until now, no one has thought of using D.C.'s taxi industry as a campaign donor base. There aren't enough big players to mess with.

Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham introduced legislation Tuesday to limit the number of taxicabs in D.C. through either a medallion system, like ones used in New York City and Chicago, or a certification system.

Since it's so easy and inexpensive to get a cab in New York City?

The soaring number of taxicab operators in D.C. -- roughly 8,000, most of whom own their own cars -- is a "pressing and urgent problem," Graham said. There are more licensed drivers in D.C. per capita than any place in the world, he said, and new applicants continue to take the required class, giving them access to the driver exam administered by the D.C. Taxicab Commission. A glut of drivers could jeopardize the chances of any cabbies making an adequate living, Graham has said.

Mr. Graham absolutely and totally misses the point of the free enterprise system, Economics 101, supply and demand, price pressure, and chewing with your mouth closed. Keep out competitors, and prices rise. Let them in, and prices fall. Imagine the outrage if some City Council Messiah began expressing concern over "too many restaurants" or "too many gas stations".

"Whatever system we use, we need to limit the number of operators or this boat is going to sink by its own weight in terms of the number of taxicab operators that we have," Graham said. "We're going to determine which of these two approaches we should take, but we're going to have one or the other."

He is deeply and profoundly wrong. The most efficient taxicab operators will stay in business. The least efficient will go under. Unless of course, government artificially limits the number of cabs. They do this by putting up regulatory barriers to entry, or simply pull an arbitrary number of taxis out of their nether regions. Once that happens, you're stuck with what you've got. The Teleprompter Jesus recently pulled a similar stunt with the tobacco companies.

Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain declined comment Wednesday. But during an April commission meeting, Swain said the key to any industry reform is balancing the need for regulation with the main tenet of the District's cab industry -- an open system that anyone can join as an owner-operator.

Reform. I'm starting to hate that word. Reform. Anytime they want to screw up something, it's in the name of reform. Any day now, look for rapists lobbying for "virginity reform".

"We've now got to the place where an open system is an overbloated system, and we have more people coming," Swain said.

Overbloated?

New York City's medallion system, established in 1937 during the Great Depression in response to a ballooning number of unregulated taxis, artificially capped the number of cabs on the road, to what is now about 13,000.

The medallion program, however, made it very difficult for the average New Yorker to join the industry as an owner: The May 2009 price for an individual medallion, those held by owner-operators, was $568,000. The cost of a corporate medallion was $744,000.

Which raises the following question....What right do these Student Council Refugees have to keep people from going into business for themselves?

D.C. Taxicab Commissioner A. Cornelius Baker said during a recent meeting that the city must move "toward a regulated taxi force" and create a system "that sustains our drivers and also creates wealth for them in the long term."

One of the biggest civic misconceptions in the U.S. is that we benefit when government tries to save jobs by stifling competition. The idea goes all the way back to Adam Smith in 1776. Nations don't thrive when their manufacturing companies or their employees are protected. Nations thrive when their consumers are free to enjoy the results of manufacturers all over the world competing for their dollars.

Jim Graham has some constituents who can no longer compete. These constituents have formed a well-organized lobbying group to limit competition. People who ride taxis in D.C. aren't well-organized.

Guess which group is going to win.

Picture of secret quid pro quo from here.

Best July 4th Video EVER

“It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government”
– Thomas Paine

Ron Paul on the Cap And Trade bill

Here's Ron Paul on the Cap And Trade bill that recently made it way through The House Of Representatives.
Remember the 3 Republicans who voted for the porkulus package, and the ensuing hand-wringing about "what if only one of them had voted differently?"

Nah. If the fix was in. In the words of Big Joe Kennedy, why pay for a landslide?

Check out this old post, written the day after the porkulus package passed the senate. Then listen to what The Good Doctor has to say in this brief message about Cap And Trade:



For the next few weeks, listen for criticism from Dems about their brethren who voted against this scam.
You won't hear a word.
They recruited just enough Republicans to get the thing passed. This allowed the Democrats in tough re-election battles to vote "no" and get some wiggle room.

These folks are representing every rent-seeker, rainmaker, perpetual motion machine manufacturer, academic witch doctor, and productivity capper in the nation. They're representing everybody but you.

Please wake up.