So, I’m sitting in my apartment tonight, and my Chefmate P70D2AL-D4 Microwave starts beeping randomly. At first it was just a single beep, then a few minutes later it went ape-shit. Scary thing was it first was saying 6:66 then 66:66. The keypad wouldn’t work anymore, and just kept on beeping until I unplugged the thing. Reading around the internet, I’ve found that others have had this same problem with this microwave. Wonderful.

So if you are buying a cheap microwave, don’t get this one. We got ours from Target if that matters. Thing that really ticks me off is that we just got this thing last year! Of course we didn’t hang onto any of the warranty information, I mean who does? The cost of shipping it out to be repaired, and being without an important appliance, what’s the point? I think it’s a conspiracy, stupid Made in China piece of garbage.

Time to hit Amazon and look for a new microwave with free shipping, because I don’t want to have to haul one on the bus and subway again back to my apartment.

Last night I had the opportunity to visit the Gizmodo Gallery in NYC and check out all the cool exhibits. By far the coolest was the Singing Tesla Coils by ArcAttack. The Tesla coils are programmed to emit various tones and pitches to make music, mostly video game music. The Tesla Coils are backed up by a robotic drum kit too. Check out the videos below for an example. If you ever have the chance to see ArcAttack live, I highly suggest you do, you wont regret it.





(Apologies for the crappy audio and sub-par video… I shot this with my digital camera.)

I don’t usually shill for companies, but when a product wins my affection, they deserve a shout-out. This is by far the BEST iPhone case I’ve seen and used. It has saved my phones from many tumbles. It’s especially important to be able to protect your iPhone from a drop, because you can’t get insurance on an iPhone through AT&T.

The Seidio Innocase II has a textured rubber like feel in your hand, but is made of hard plastic. This allows for some grip when holding the phone, so it doesn’t slip out of your hand. The inside of the case is lined with a velour-like felt, which protects the iPhone from scratches.

In addition to the phone protector, if you are like me and love a good holster, you’ll love this. The holster is made of heavy duty plastic, and has sturdy double springs to hold the phone. It allows for quick one-handed release and insertion. The iPhone faces inward to protect the screen from any damage. The holster is also lined with the same velour-like felt which protects the screen from any scratches.

I’ve been using Seido phone protectors for my last 2 phones, and love them. They are worth every penny to protect your phones. Check it out and get one, you won’t be disappointed!

Today is the day many have been waiting for, the day which Apple releases iPhoneOS 3.0. What makes today even more interesting, the dev-team has promised to release new versions of QuickPwn shortly after the official 3.0 release. Rumors as of now are that 3.0 will drop at 1pm EST, only 2 hours away from this writing.

I’ve been pushing my representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY 12th District) to support H.R. 1207: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 for several weeks now. I’ve made phone calls, tonight I wrote a letter. That letter is below:

Dear Rep. Velazquez,

I won’t bore you with a form letter. I am writing today to ask you co-sponsor HR 1207 to allow the G.A.O. to audit the Federal Reserve.

As a member of the financial services committee you are in a unique position to help further President Obama’s promise of transparency and vote in this bi-partisan issue. This bill has over 200 sponsors from both sides of the isle, and is now being considered by your committee for further action.

There is no logical reason why the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be audited by Congress. Your efforts in supporting this important legislation would go a long way in proving to your constituents that you not only hold the Federal Reserve to the same standard as you do your constituents, but it would also show that you believe in transparency. Anything less than support for this resolution suggests that you are in favor of secrecy and a lack of accountability to the people who pay the bills. We pay the tab; we have a right to know where our money is going.

If you are not going to support HR 1207, I would appreciate a letter from your office with the reasoning behind your decision, so that I may further understand all sides of this issue. At this point I see no logical reason why this shouldn’t be supported by all members of congress.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this very important matter. We have a historical opportunity to change this country for the better, and I hope we can make it happen.

-Concerned constituent in NYC

I encourage everyone to contact their members of congress and ask that hey support H.R. 1207. There are currently over 200 cosponsors as of today (June 9, 2009), both Democrats and Republicans.

[a proud sponsor of higher learning]

Every now and then a scenario is brought to my attention that really gets my gears cranking, mostly hypothetical ones, you understand. This one was pretty fun.

Delusion: purpose?

Suppose someone says “You know, it seems to me that it would just be easier to pick something to believe and go with it. I mean, what’s with all the questioning and evaluating? Really, what’s the point?

Read more…

from the makers of tuberculosis…

Every now and again, people around me start acting crazy, stupid, or both, and I feel it is my duty to step in and speak out against this nonsense.  Now, keep in mind, while I do not have any particular abundance of knowledge regarding the specific details of this situation, I am quite astute at recognizing patterns, and, therefore, consider myself something of an authority on this matter.

Read more…

Some of you may have already seen this video, but I thought it would be worth posting as many may have missed it (I know I didn’t see it back in March when this video hit). The video shows what Microsoft predicts the future will look like in 2019. The geek part of me drools, the paranoid privacy/security advocate in me is freaking out. Either way, it will be an interesting decade if one of the richest companies in the world wants it to be this way. Please watch the video and leave some comments about what you think of this possible future. I’m truly interested in what you think.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&#038;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&#038;showPlaylist=true&#038;from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

As you may see from the post below, and future posts for the next few weeks, things are going to be changing (again?).  Blogs are hard to keep up with when you are trying to live life, are working your job, trying to keep up relationships and consuming media from all over cyberspace.   Even though I don’t post very much here at thew0rd.com, I still produce content on many other social networks and various other places.   I’m going to attempt to combine them all into one place here at thew0rd, to attempt to truly bring you “the w0rd from the virtual streets”.  Hopefully the signal/noise ratio will be just right, although it will probably take some trial and error to get it just right.

Please bear with me as I’m planning on doing a full site re-design sometime in the next month or so.  I will also be experimenting with various ways of importing data from various places around the internets.  This may appear to be a bit haphazard for a while, but I will try to clean up anything that looks super horrible.

Thanks for your understanding, and I hope you will enjoy the new changes that are in store for 2009.

Getting ready for big changes to the way things are done around here.

Everyone should watch the episode of Frontline: Inside the Meltdown that aired Feb 17, 2009.  It gives a great chronological of what lead up to our current economic crisis.  What really gets me, is how there were certain people (think Ron Paul) saying that this event would happen back in 2007 or earlier, yet they  are and were ridiculed for sounding the warnings about an imminent disaster.  Hindsight may be 20/20 as the old saying goes, but it does not make any difference if you don’t learn from the experience.

We will continue to see the same problems over the next few years, only worse.  As I write this, the DOW sits at 7495(!!!) and people continue to lose their jobs, homes, and savings.  Yesterday our new President Obama has signed into law another bailout bill, and by the market’s reactions, it is probably not going to help.  Many of the same people who’ve gotten us into this mess in the first place are still in positions of power in both government and private industry.  The fools in the US Government continue to give $BILLIONS$ (In reality it’s now in the $$TRILLIONS$$) to their old pals in the private sector that caused this mess through greed and corruption. Now millions of American tax payers for generations to come will suffer the consequences, while these greedy bastards continue to live the good life.

There are many people who feel they have the solution to our problems.  Truth is, nobody knows what the best fix will be, but I can tell you printing money and giving it away to the same people who fucked us in the first place, is not the solution.  Harder times are on the horizon.

Please enjoy the episode of PBS’ Frontline: Inside the Meltdown.  Encourage others to see and understand how this mess has happened, and continue to educate those close to you.

Well, the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica have begun to air on the SciFi Channel.  If you are like me and do not have cable, or want to re-watch the latest episode (Season 4 Episode 13 that aired 1/16/2009), you can stream it here (at least until hulu takes it down).  Enjoy!

In Frederic Bastiat’s 1850 masterpiece, “The Law”, he poses the following question: “Since the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to allow them liberty, how comes it to pass that the tendencies of organizers are always good?” (Bastiat 46). Over 150 years later in today’s climate of economic upheaval, public and private corruption, and widespread systemic ineptitudes, this question is all the more relevant. Considering such a question could easily leave one agreeing with Henry David Thoreau in the idea “that government is best which governs least” (Thoreau 343). At the very least, with a more hands-off approach, the damage done through meddling would be limited. Individuals who are in agreement with these statements may also find agreement with the foundations of libertarianism. Libertarianism is a philosophy which holds liberty as its highest value, and is founded upon the non-aggression axiom, individual responsibility, and absolute property rights.

In order to speak of libertarianism one must first attempt to define the terms of greatest importance to the libertarian perspective. The first of these terms is liberty. One way of defining liberty is the “freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control” (Dictionary.com). Liberty is exemplified when the individual is in a state of independence so that he may make his own decisions about how his life will be lived. Liberty is threatened when an individual, group of individuals, or governing body tries to enforce control over another individual, group of individuals, or governing body. Liberty is an uncompromising position. There are no “what ifs” or “buts” when it comes to liberty. Either something helps to support liberty that already exists and creates a greater context where liberty can grow, or it inhibits liberty and works to exert greater control and a decreased freedom of choice and action.

Another way of defining liberty is “the absence of coercion of a human being by any other human being; it is a condition where the person may do whatever he desires, according to his wisdom and conscience” (Harper 3). It must be made clear that this definition leaves room for varying degrees and views of morality. Liberty in and of itself is neither “good” nor “bad”. Rather, it allows the individual to decide what is “good” or “bad,” and to make errors in judgment and behavior that they may learn from. Attempts to legislate morality in regards to an individual’s conduct tend to subvert individual liberty. Wherever there is liberty there must also be personal responsibility. If an individual were to value their own liberty they must hold themselves to a particular standard where she not only promotes liberty for herself, but for others as well. As Mary Ruwart has expressed, “Liberty requires respect for the personal choices that others make. In trying to control others, we will eventually find ourselves controlled” (Ruwart 1). One does not have to agree with another’s decisions or how he would live his life. However, at least a basic respect for their right to do as he chooses must be observed. If one individual or governing body were to create a rule which limits another individual’s behavior it only becomes a matter of time before a rule will be made which limits the law maker’s own behavior.

A third way of looking at liberty brings us back to Bastiat’s original question posed above. If we’re looking at liberty in terms of oversight, a libertarian tends to believe “that individuals and society can work out their own problems in the absence of top-down management” (Rockwell 1). It is not any other individual’s or governing body’s responsibility to tell another how to live, think, work, or play. In fact, liberty encourages the individual to have freedom of thought, word, and deed. The idea of liberty is by definition, nonrestrictive in regards to directing an individual’s code of conduct. In fact, libertarians tend to come from a diverse array of lifestyles. In order to further define what it is to be a libertarian one must also consider the other pillars that hold it up.

While the idea of liberty on its own may seem too broad to be pragmatic in today’s troubling and complex social climate, one must understand that libertarianism is not a strict platform of behavioral standards or a code of ethics. Instead, it is a basic framework of principles that all support and build on one another in the striving for maximum liberty. While libertarians may debate specific questions of morality and matters of public policy, the non-aggression axiom is paramount to libertarian ideals and helps to further define what it is to be a libertarian. Walter Block’s assertion that “we’re all libertarians if we agree on the non-aggression axiom and property rights” is an accurate one (Block 5:58). Someone who professes to be a libertarian yet finds exceptions in the non-aggression axiom is undermining the philosophic system as a whole.

Examples of the non-aggression axiom have appeared as early as ancient Greece. The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus is credited with expressing that “The justice of nature is a pledge of reciprocal usefulness, neither to harm one another nor be harmed” (Morgan 423). This is the most basic pledge of the non-aggression axiom. Basically, a libertarian may not initiate the use of force or coercion against another. The only justification for a libertarian to engage in the use of force against another individual or property is in cases where one is acting in defense of aggression. Only in the defensive context may one individual encroach upon another. Unfortunately, this interpretation has taken a life of its own in this age of terrorism.

Some self-described libertarians have tried to argue that we live in different times and the idea of preemptive strikes laid out by the Bush Doctrine are compatible with libertarianism and the non-aggression axiom. This assertion is nothing more than a distortion of what the non-aggression axiom states. Not only is this axiom meant to govern the acts of the individual, but it also extends all the way to the state. Generally speaking, the foundational concepts of libertarianism apply to all of life’s contexts regardless of how large or small they happen to be. Acts of aggression against other nations are just as unacceptable as acts of aggression against the individual. Allowing preemptive acts of aggression is akin to allowing one group to impose restrictions on liberty to another group. Allowing for this exception would only go to undermine the foundations of the entire philosophy. Just as there are no “what ifs or “buts” in regards to liberty, there are none for the non-aggression axiom.

To further define the conditions that liberty and the non-aggression axiom set up, one must also consider the idea of absolute property rights. As Butler Shaffer says, “individual liberty and the private ownership of property are synonymous” (Shaffer 1). Under libertarianism, the ability to own private property is stressed to guide the exchange of goods and services, and as a further clarification in regards to what is protected under the non-aggression axiom. In a manner of speaking, one’s property is an extension of the self. Furthermore, each individual not only owns the extensions of the self but she also owns her person. By viewing herself as her own property and her property as a part of her self, it allows for the non-aggression axiom to be much clearer in regards to what can and cannot be aggressed upon. Each individual has the right to utilize what he or she owns in any way of their choosing as long as it does not violate the non-aggression axiom.

If the concept of self-ownership were rejected, the implication would be that another person has a higher claim on an individual’s life than the individual himself would have. An individual who is the property of another, and not owned by the self, is by definition a slave. Libertarians reject this notion that human beings are born and exist as slaves. The product of one’s life and liberty becomes his or her property. Exerting time, energy, and talents towards a goal which produces wealth of some kind entitles an individual to hold that production as their property. Property is the fruit of one’s labor, so-to-speak. By disallowing the ownership of property is to subject individuals to a life which also in turn equates to a life of slavery. If individuals each possess property, exchange of said property is an eventuality.

The free exchange of property, or commerce, is an offspring of property rights and is governed under the principles laid out above. Therefore, the non-aggression axiom will govern how people engage in trade with one another. This allows an individual to hold his own property and do with it as he wishes, free from coercion. If an individual feels she is being unfairly treated in dealing with another, she may choose not to engage in business with that person. It is this idea of voluntary interaction and exchange which is the key to understanding the libertarian philosophy. Under libertarianism, the belief is that voluntary society is morally and practically the best form of society. In such a system of living, individuals become personally responsible for their own actions and their dealings, and with whom they themselves deal with.

This idea of individual responsibility acts as the glue which holds liberty, non-aggression, and private property together. Without a sense of individual responsibility, no benevolent system will ever come to fruition and exist for very long. If an individual refuses to be responsible and uphold the non-aggression axiom and allows for exceptions to creep into his or her day to day behavior, other individuals will eventually defend against the aggression which in turn will threaten each individual’s liberty. If care is not taken to be responsible in dealing’s of private property, the chances of the same dire result of the loss of property, liberty, and increased aggression becomes more of a reality. These dangers are not only apparent on a personal level, but also in a societal context.

In order to explore real fundamental change in our society, the libertarian philosophy becomes a convenient and effective filter of examination. A society structured under libertarian principles would function much differently than our current society does today. An adjustment of ideas and priorities must take place in order for it to be understood, to take hold, and to succeed. Libertarianism cannot be viewed in the same light as the dominating political philosophies that exist in contemporary American society. During each national election, for example, the voting public makes a decision in regards to which group of people to involuntarily plunder and who to redistribute that which has been plundered. This is done through the mechanism of taxation. Rather than having a debate about whether or not individuals would prefer to retain property and do with it however one would see fit, the debate is framed in such a way that doesn’t even raise this basic concept of the libertarian philosophy.

Individuals do not have the right to use coercion to fix social problems, so the state should not have that right either. If a man were to take the property of a woman and give it to a third individual, we would consider this theft. When the state engages in the same basic activity it is framed as taxation and redistribution or subsidization. If it is wrong to steal, then it should also be wrong to tax. If it is wrong to kidnap, then a government should not be allowed to institute a draft or other mandated compulsory service to the state. That which is illegal in private society should also be illegal in public matters. Instead, individuals are lead to believe that all of these actions are done in the common good of man.

Unfortunately, many programs and systems in place that function under this image do just the opposite. Public institutions tend to be far more inefficient than their private counter parts. People who believe in the libertarian philosophy feel that economic incentives in the free-market should act as the carrot which drives innovation and harbors solutions. Government interventions in the markets are viewed as an act of force or coercion in the dealings of private citizens, which not only distorts market prices but also slowly erodes basic liberty. One may argue that the act of voting will make these actions that of the people themselves. The libertarian would argue that it does not matter who or what the source of such actions happens to be. Increasing the number of people who agree to take property from one individual or group and give it to another does not justify the action or change whether it is right or wrong.

Rather than exercising the right to vote in the voting booth, the libertarian philosophy proposes that individuals take responsibility to stay informed and vote with his actions and dollars. In a true free-market system, each and every time someone engages in commerce, he or she is casting a vote. If the integrity of the person, the product, or service being offered is in question, it is then the responsibility of the individual to cast a vote by disengaging from further business with the entity that is in doubt. If government sponsored coercion in the form of taxation, subsidies, and other meddling in the market place were to cease, the market itself would be determined by man. In an artificially stimulated environment, not only do markets become distorted, but individual responsibility and morality become subverted as well.

In a society that has systems designed to subsidize industry, legislate morality, and exert control over the liberty of man, libertarians believe that many of the incentives and ingrained rugged individualism that is part of the American tradition have been overthrown. If there is no risk of failure, then there is no real incentive to take care of and improve said systems. Rather than taking care of one self, family, and community, individuals rely on the state to take care of basic needs. This leads to an inefficient mode of living, and allows systems and ideas that have long lost their use and value to live on; prohibiting expansion, growth, and progress. Only under the ideas presented in the libertarian philosophy can we begin to adjust our ideas and the systems that spring up around them in such a way that truly benefits the common good, and respects the individual’s right to engage voluntarily in the activities of his or her choosing.

In America’s history, a 1% tax by the British on tea was enough to spark a revolution. Today, we see state sponsored looting on a scale far greater than 1% on a single product. If some time was taken to have an honest and healthy debate about the functions of state in society, and the individual’s role in the absence of a statist entity, ideas could easily begin to shift and adjust toward greater liberty. Through liberty and the non-aggression axiom, individuals could find themselves in command of greater resources and increased peace of mind knowing that each individual were their own house’s keeper. Accepting the weight of responsibility that comes with such a free philosophy would be nil in comparison to the demands placed by the state, the increased poverty, and lack of liberty which comes along with it. Maybe it is finally time to respond to Frederic Bastiat’s question, and take the steps necessary to advance the cause of liberty. Perhaps it is time for another revolution, a revolution of ideas.

Bibliography

Bastiat, Frederic. The Law. Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003.

Morgan, Michael L. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 2006.

Harper, F.A.. “Liberty Defined.” Ludwig von Mises Institute. 09 September 1957. Ludwig von Mises Institute. 17 December 2008. <http://mises.org/resources/2677>

Ruwart, Mary. “The Indivisibility of Liberty.” LewRockwell.com. 23 April 2008. LewRockwell.com. 17 December 2008. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/ruwart3.html>

Rockwell, Jr., Llewellyn H.. “Liberty Yet Lives” LewRockwell.com. 04 November 2004. LewRockwell.com. 17 December 2008. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/liberty-lives.html>

Shaffer, Butler. “Are There Limits to Liberty?” LewRockwell.com 25 June 2002. LewRockwell.com 17 December 2008. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer22.html>

Rockwell, Jr., Llewellyn H. “The Lew Rockwell Show” Lew Rockwell interviews Naomi Wolf. 30 October 2008. The Lew Rockwell Show. 10 December 2008. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/feed.xml>

Block, Walter. “Rothbard and Big Tent Libertarianism.” Walter Block – Rothbard and Big Tent Libertarianism. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 13 October 2007. 11 December 2008. <http://mises.org/multimedia/mp3/25thNYC/11-Block.mp3>

Thornton, Mark. “An Introduction to Libertarianism.” Mark Thornton – An Introduction to Libertarianism. Auburn University Libertarians, 18 January 2005. 09 December 2008.

<http://mises.org/multimedia/mp3/Thornton-01-19-2006.mp3>

“Liberty.” Dictionary.com. 2008.

I am posting this letter from Congressman Dr. Ron Paul because his message is more important now than ever.  During the 2008 Republican primary race Dr. Paul was ridiculed and belittled for warning about exactly what is hapening in the economy today.  The vast majority of people didn’t want to heed his warnings and advice, and as a result they lost a lot of money, and are now struggling to make ends meet.  All the while they still do not understand why this all is happening.  It is not the fault of free market capitalism, it is the result of greedy elite, broken monetary policy by the (Private) Federal Reserve Banks, and corrupt politicians on both sides of the isle.  I hope you read this letter and decide to help Ron Paul in his continuing quest to restore America to greatness.

December 17, 2008

Dear Friend of Liberty:

The Founders’ inspired vision of limited government has been kept alive by the hard work and generosity of Americans who truly cherish individual Liberty… average people like you and me.

In the toughest times… times like we are facing right now in the life of our nation… freedom fighters have always stepped forward for America—armed with whatever it takes and at whatever sacrifice—to answer the call to defend our liberty. That’s how America was born and how we, as a free and sovereign nation, have survived.

A major economic crisis is unfolding in our nation. New government programs are started daily, and future plans are being made for even more costly government expansion. All are based on the belief that we’re in this mess because free-market capitalism and sound money failed. The obsession is with more spending, bailouts of bad investments, more debt, and further dollar debasement. Many are saying we need an international answer to our problems with the establishment of a world central bank and a single fiat reserve currency.

These suggestions are merely more of the same policies that created our mess and are doomed to fail.

It is unimaginable that Congress could be so derelict in its duty. It does nothing but condone the arrogance of the Fed in its refusal to tell us where the $2 trillion has gone. Every Member of Congress and every American should be outraged that conditions could deteriorate to this degree. It’s no wonder that a large and growing number of Americans are now demanding an end to the Fed.

The Federal Reserve created our problem, yet it manages to gain even more power in the socialization of the entire financial system. The whole bailout process this past year was characterized by no oversight, no limits, no concerns, no understanding, and no common sense.

I hear daily from Americans like you who are up in arms about what is going on in our nation. Messages come into my congressional office morning, noon and night. Taxpayers are outraged by the huge bailouts, the massive expansion of government and the refusal by Congress and the leaders of both parties to follow the Constitution.

Many Americans are frustrated—or even outright angry—about failed government policies that just tighten the government’s noose around our necks.

The results of the recent election and the socialist policies that we are seeing proposed are indeed reminiscent of FDR and the New Deal and are equally dangerous. Free market economists and historians have correctly pointed out that Roosevelt’s horrendous economic policies only served to prolong and extend the severity of the Great Depression by many years. When the market is not allowed to work, government-created economic downturns are only made that much worse.

Since the financial crisi s has become more and more apparent and the attempts by the Fed, and Treasury and Congress to solve the problem have become more desperate, my phone has been ringing off the wall with calls from media outlets wanting to interview me and get my opinions about what is going on and how we need to deal with it.

During the presidential election, do you remember how the media scoffed at my suggestions that we were facing economic disaster? They laughed at my calls for limited government, for abolishing the Fed and the IRS, for cutting federal spending at home and abroad to balance our budget, and my call for a sound monetary system.

Today, with the crisis at hand, they are not laughing any more.

But, if we love our nation, it is not sufficient for us to sit back and say “we told you so.”

The task before us is huge. Our challenge is both political and philosophical, but either way the solution must begin by properly educating Americans as to why our current out-of-control, misguided political and financial systems have failed, and what must be done to turn things around.

My Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE) has been waging such an educational effort for several decades. We have had a great deal of success publishing newsletters and books and producing radio and TV programs teaching people about the Constitution and free markets and sound money.

FREE has done much to educate patriots like you and to win the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans young and old. Today, however, given the severity of the crisis we face, we must do even more in our battle to spread the truth It is imperative that we redouble and expand the work and scope of FREE’s educational effort. Right now, while people are still looking for answers and even the media is trying to figure out what in the world is going on, we must step in to fill the void that exists and to provide answers and solutions for the problems that face us.

You have been a faithful supporter of the cause of liberty. You understand the serious nature of the threats that confront us and the dangers posed to our freedom and our very way of life.

It is up to us step up and lead the pro-freedom movement, not just in Congress, but in every community and at every level of government and every institution of learning.

Our ability to lead this movement comes from your tax-deductible contribution to FREE. $50 or $100, or even $250 or more if you can afford it, is urgently needed to help fund the effort to turn our government and our nation around… before it is too late.

Leadership is sorely lacking in Washington. It is time for true leaders like us to step forward and offer the vision needed to point Congress and our nation in the right direction… and to halt the assault on our nation’s sovereignty.

This is a dangerous time. But it is also an historic opportunity. Please help today with your most generous, tax-deductible gift for freedom. We must act swiftly to fill the leadership void in Washington. The time is NOW and the need is urgent!!!

Please log on to www.FREE-NEFL.com and contribute to the incredibly important work of FREE. No gift is too small… and every donation will help me continue to lead the battle for Liberty.

I’m counting on you.

For Liberty,

Ron Paul

P.S. If you can help with $50 or more, I will send you my “Freedom Report” newsletter for a full year as my “thank you” for your generous help. And for a gift of $100 or more I would like to send you a copy of my book on foreign policy… A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship

P.P.S. If you can help FREE with a magnificent gift of $500 or more, I’ll send you a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, The Revolution: A Manifesto

The late Robert Anton Wilson ( January 18, 1932(1932-01-18) – January 11, 2007, age 72) was the author that woke me up at an early age to how the world really works.  R.A.W.’s main thesis is that your perception of reality ultimately controls reality.  While that is an oversimplification of his ideas, he’s one of those prolific writers that you really must spend some time understanding.  I think that everyone can get something out of reading Robert Anton Wilson.  As an introduction, I’ve decided to post a documentary film entitled: Maybe Logic.  If you enjoy the film below, please consider purchasing it, or some of his books.  Trust me, it’s worth it.

I love coffee. Coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity behind oil. Millions of people worldwide participate in the economy of coffee. The topic of coffee is a widely discussed and debated topic amongst its fans. Everyone has their own favorite bean, drink, preparation method and style. Coffee is perhaps the most personal beverage one can consume. Many people use coffee to just get them up in the morning, and pay little mind to the taste. Some people dump tons of cream and sugar into their coffee or drink expensive fashionable espresso drinks. Others have a true passion for fine, fresh roasted coffee and love tasting coffees from different origins, roasters, and preparation methods. I personally love straight black drip brewed coffee, freshly roasted and freshly brewed. I’m partial to coffees of southeast asian origins such as Sumatra. I figured I would put together a list of coffee related resources for other lovers of the bean. Whatever your coffee style, I’m sure the following sites will give you a lot more information about your favorite beverage.

Coffee Websites

CoffeeGeek – CoffeeGeek is a great resource for coffee lovers looking to learn more about the bean. CoffeeGeek has extensive reviews on everything from espresso machines to home coffee roasters. Check out the forums for discussions about everything coffee related.

CoffeeForums – CoffeeForums is a long standing forum with tons of information. I especially like the sections by/for coffee shop owners to share their knowledge and experiences in the coffee industry. Worth checking out.

SCAA – The Specialty Coffee Association of America is dedicated to bringing together and representing all parts of the coffee industry. The SCAA hosts events and connects all of the major players in the world of coffee together.

BaristaExchange – Barista Exchange is a social network for Baristas. Even if you aren’t a Barista you can share your passion for coffee with others in the industry. Quite a new concept here, looking forward to seeing the community develop more.

BaristaConnection – Barista Connection is another social network for Baristas. Much smaller and newer than Barista Exchange, but still worth keeping an eye on.

Counter Culture Coffee – Counter Culture Coffee is a great example of the social consciousness of coffee. From their website:

At Counter Culture, coffee isn’t merely a bean or a beverage. It’s the furthest thing from a commodity. Coffee is a process involving high standards and tough decisions. Coffee is relationships and responsibilities. More than anything, coffee is a connective force that has the potential to bring out the best in people.

They have a good bit of information about coffee on their website including detailed info about the origins.

Espresso Parts Northwest – In my opinion Espresso Parts Northwest is the best online retailer of coffee related items in existence. They have a wide range of consumer, prosumer and commercial offerings.

Home Barista Forums – A forum dedicated to making coffee at home with consumer grade equipment. Filled with discussions, tips and tricks from other coffee lovers all over the world.

Alt.coffee – Alt.coffee is one of the oldest coffee discussion groups on the Internet. For those unfamiliar with “news groups” I’ve linked to the Google Groups format. Alt.Coffee first hit the scenes in 1994, so its been around for almost 15 years.

Coffee Review – Reviews of beans and roasters from all over.

International Coffee Organization – the ICO has a wealth of information about Coffee as a commodity. They also have a lot of information about coffee quality.

My Starbucks Idea – Love or hate Starbucks you can now use this site to vote for your favorite suggestions. I do have to give Starbucks credit for having such an open resource and listening to their customer concerns. Ideas that have come to reality from this site include: Free Refills of Drip Coffee and Free WIFI

Coffee Research – Coffee Research has a ton of information about coffee. They also publish a newsletter that is available for download.

Coffee Science – Mainly focusing on heath related issues of coffee, Coffee Science is run by the National Coffee Association.

Books

With a little over a week left before this campaign season ends there is still little to no coverage for any of the third party candidates.  As usual, one of the exceptions to the rule comes from the wonderful people over at CSPAN.  In particular, their program Washington Journal has highlighted three of the candidates over the past week.  Chuck Baldwin (Constitution), Cynthia Mckinney (Green), and Bob Barr (Libertarian) all received 30 minutes of airtime which consisted of an interview and a Q&A session with callers from across the nation.

Thankfully, Cynthia Mckinney was more receptive to answering the moderator’s questions than she usually is in interviews.  One example of her usual and more difficult style would be when Greta Brawner interviewed her for an hour for CSPAN’s series entitled, Road to the White House.  She displays an Palin-esque quality of avoiding any direct question and talking about whatever she feels.  This becomes annoying at best – angering at worst.  Coming from someone who generally supports her and agrees with much of what she says, I can only imagine what it must have been like to hear her reapetedly ignore the questions posed by NPR’s Neal Conan on Talk of the Nation for someone unfamiliar with her.  NPR’s Scott Simon of Weekend Edition can also be credited with giving her some airplay in one of Cynthia’s better, albeit brief, showings.

Bob Barr is polling at a modest 1.5% nationally and has also benefited by being featured on Road to the White House.  I feel he had a far better showing on both Washington Journal and Road to the White House due to actually presenting some sort of concise message.  Not only that, but he succeeded in the simple task of answering questions posed to him.  What a radical move.  Especially considering the hosts of CSPAN and NPR tend to be far more fair in comparison to most moderators.  NPR’s News & Notes also gave him a few minutes to detail his campaign goals alongside Weekend Edition’s profile of the candidate.

Unfortunately for Barr and Mckinney, neither of them appeared in the only Third Party Debate after the one at Columbia was canceled.  Complete with caller responses immediately following the event, Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin were the only two to take part.  This is a really pathetic result for something I personally deem to be quite important.  I was personally influenced by the Libertarian platform presented by Michael Badnarik in the 2004 election as a result of CSPAN airing the Third Party Debate.  Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin were both also featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

After viewing and listening to the minimal coverage the Third Party Candidates receive, I honestly have to say I’ve been the most impressed with Chuck Baldwin’s performances.  He comes off as the most honest of all the candidates and presents the most compelling message.  He is the most outspoken against real issues such as the Federal Reserve, the New World Order, gun rights, and other Constitutional principles.  This is not an endorsement, however.  Unfortunately, I disagree with him in regards to some other elements of his platform.

At the end of the day I am still an undecided voter.  All I know is that I reject the two corporate puppets that most media outlets present to us as the only options.  Its sad that many people believe them.

[batteries not included]

I had a really good idea..

Wrapped in a shell that is my own consciousness, an idea formed, giving a certain spark of life to something new. A concept, or envisioned thing, if you will, springs forth from the impenetrable fortress that is my brain.

Read more…

I’m not very comforted when people in power with access to sensitive information make declarative statments about imminent dangers posed to me.  I’m especially worried when a guarantee is made to me in regards to these dangers by someone who has a proven track record, for whatever reason, to have his pulse on “the real threat” which may come in “the belly of a plane.” Now, good ol’ Joe the Politician is making even more difinitive statements in regards to what our future has in store for us.

Joseph Biden has stated that “we’re going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis” and that he can “guarantee you it’s going to happen.”  He continued to state that “it’s not going to be apparent that we’re right” in regards to how an Obama/Biden administration would handle such a situation.  Here – take a listen for yourself:

He isn’t the only one that feels this way.  When questioned about Biden’s statements, Fmr. Secretary of State Madeline Albright felt that “its just a statement of fact, frankly.”  Sen. Joe Lieberman appeared on Face the Nation on 06.29.2008 and echoed Biden’s sentiments by saying that “our enemies will test the new president early.” He also went on to tell Bob Schiffer to “remember that the truck bombing of the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton Administration.  9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush Administration.”  I’d like to personally thank Joe the Politician #2 for narrowing the timeline for when the next terrorist attack or crisis will strike America and the world.  It will happen with in the 1st year of the next President’s term.

However, that is not close enough.  I think I’d like to narrow it down a bit more.  Lets see what Fmr. Secretary of State Colin Powell had to say while appearing on Meet the Press on 10.19.2008:

In case you missed it, Colin Powell stated that “there is going to be a crisis [to] come along on the 21st or 22nd of January that we don’t even know about right now.”  Oh, really?  What an interesting thing to say.  However, don’t worry!  The United States Military is already in place and engaged in homeland tours – for your protection of course.  Who needs a 2nd amendment and Posse Comitatus when you have the US Army on American soil to protect you?  Oh, wait.

Dear Mr Bob Barr,

You have been doing a huge disservice to the Libertarian Party during this election.  First you snub Ron Paul’s 3rd Party Press Conference and now you refuse to show up at the 3rd Party debates being held this Sunday.  Grow the fuck up and get your head out of your ass,  Mr. Barr.

I have been fighting for and championing greater access to debates for the 3rd parties.  People need to hear the Libertarian platform in these trying times.  You are doing the country a great disservice by refusing to debate other 3rd party candidates.  You are behaving like a petulant child, probably because Ron Paul has failed to endorse you and the fact that Dr Paul has single-handedly blown the LP out of the water in terms of financing and following.

Instead of trying to win over the hearts and minds of liberty loving americans, your campaign has been busy bad mouthing other 3rd party cantidates and alienating members of the freedom movement brought in by Ron Paul.  This is neither the time nor the place for such petty attacks.  Your campaign is really starting to turn off a lot of people in the freedom movement.  I sometimes believe that you are still working for the CIA, as an agent provocateur, to discourage and break up the movement.  Ron Paul scared the establishment and you come in to divide and conquer.

If indeed you are a true Libertarian and pro-liberty, start acting like it.  IF I do decide to vote for your sorry excuse for a Libertarian ass, I will do so in  the spirit of the party and its ideals.  I will not be casting a vote in favor of Bob Barr, because sir, I do not like you.  I  wanted to like you, I’ve tried to like you, but you make it so hard.  You sir, are an asshole.

Even though I endorsed you on my website last week, I now encourage those who cannot look past your problems to write in Dr Ron Paul.  It’s better than giving a vote to you and endorsing your bullshit.

Show up to the debate Sunday.  Win.  Spread the cause.  Shit or get off the pot.

Thought I would list out a few Twitter apps for your Windows Mobile phone.  I personally use Twobile the most.  Each application is obviously similar, being that they mostly do the same things.  Enjoy…

Tiny Twitter – Love twitter and love tweeting from your mobile device? But don’t want to get dinged for updates and double dinged for friend updates continually arriving via SMS? Get the brand new Tiny Twitter software for your windows mobile phone.

Twobile - Twobile (pronounced Twoh-bul, a mixture of the words “Twitter” and “Mobile”) is a new Twitter client for users of Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Initially a personal project designed to help access various services provided by Twitter, the project began in mid 2007 and had remained in prototype status for nearly a year. In early 2008, it was decided that since there was a lack of sufficient Windows Mobile Twitter clients that addressed nearly all the services that Twitter provided, the project was moved from a prototype to a publicly available beta.

With the rise of Twitter users and the increase in the adoption of Windows Mobile devices around the world, the need for a client that allows those Windows Mobile users to utilize as many of the features of Twitter as possible without needing to be at a desktop computer increased as well. And as the rates for mobile Internet access and the surcharges incurred by mobile providers for SMS messages increased, the need for a full-featured, yet simple-to-use, client presented itself as a need. Thus, Twobile was born! And even though Twitter provides a web-based interface for mobile devices, its functionality was not as robust as those found on the desktop-version of the web interface.

Twitula – is new and free twitter client for Windows Mobile pocket pc devices.

ceTwit - Pocket PC twitter client with Twitpic support for cross posting images.

TwitToday – Today screen twitter plugin to easily update your twitter status.

I just picked up an ASUS EEE PC 1000H, an ultra portable mini-notebook. I must say, I am pleased. I purchased the EEE PC 1000H to replace my busted Acer laptop. I realize I am sacrificing some functionality for size and portability, but it is a fair trade-off. The EEE PC 1000H PC comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, but I wanted XP Professional. In this tutorial I will explain the steps necessary to install XP Professional on the Asus EEE PC 1000H. (These steps may also work to install XP Pro on the EEE PC 701, 900, or 901, but I cannot test. If it works for you on those models, please leave a note in the comments below.)  The method of making a custom Windows install is also sometimes called “slipstreaming”.

When I first tried to install XP Professional on the EEE PC, I encountered a bluescreen during install.  This is because the EEE PC uses a SATA drive, and the XP install discs do not include the SATA drivers.  In order to install XP Professional we need to build a custom install disc that includes the SATA drivers.  This is not as hard as it sounds, and I will go into detail below:

Requirements:

• EEE PC 1000H
• External CD Rom
• Copy of Windows XP Professional install disc
• Another PC running XP/Vista w/ CD Burner, to build custom XP Install Disc
• DriverPack for Mass Storage Devices ( available for download @ http://driverpacks.net/DriverPacks/DriverPack.php?pag=m )
• nLite Software ( available for download @ http://www.nliteos.com/download.html )

First, insert your XP install cd into the cd-rom of the computer you will be using to build and burn the custom install disc.  At this point, be sure that you’ve installed nLite on this PC and have downloaded and extracted the proper Driverpack for Mass Storage Devices. Also be sure to have about 500mb of free space on your hard drive to copy the install files to.

Run nLite.

Click Next.  On the next screen choose the cd-rom where you have your XP installation discs.

You will then be prompted where you would like to save the files for modification. Click OK.

Just pick any empty folder (or create a new folder) to serve as a temporary folder.  Click OK.

nLite will then copy the files from the XP Pro installation disc to your hard drive.  Grab a snack while it does it’s thing.

Once the files have finished copying, you will see a summary screen with details about the operation just performed.  You can click Next on this screen.

The following screen is where we will add any additional drivers to the install.  I’ve chosen to only add the mass storage drivers to this section for brevity, but feel free to add other driverpacks or driver installs for your EEE PC.  I have not tested adding other drivers, but it should work.  (I just decided to load the drivers in XP after the initial install) To add drivers, click import.

To add the Mass Storage Driverpack, navigate to the folder where you extracted the pack and locate the .ini file.  Click Open.

Once you have all of your drivers loaded, you can now click Next.

From this next screen you can choose various customizations to your install.  You can include the cd key via the unattended option.  I’ve decided not to go into too much detail here, feel free to play around as you like, or see additional resources for nLite installs at the end of this article.  Under the “create” heading, click Bootable ISO.  This will prepare us for burning the custom install to disc.  If you have not done so, remote the XP Install CD and insert a blank CD for burning.  Click Next.

Now we will prepare to burn the custom install to disc.  Choose “Direct Burn” under Mode.  Choose your cdrw burning device.  You can also label the install if you’d like (not important).  Once you have all the information selected correctly, you can click Burn.

And we are now off.  nLite will burn the custom XP Pro installation to  CD.

Once it is finished, you are basically done!  I told you it would be simple.

Now that you have your custom XP Pro install with Mass Storage drivers, all that is left is to connect the external CD rom to your EEE PC and boot!  You may have to go into the BIOS and choose to boot off the exteral device.  Provided you did everything correctly, XP Pro will now install.  Be sure that you have downloaded the XP drivers and software for your EEE PC from the Asus website.

Additional Resources:

• http://www.nliteos.com/
• EEE User Forums

Just wanted to share these 2 sites with you folks. You can get yourself some free stickers to declare your love of the constitution and hate of big government.

The ACLU is offering the “I’m a Constitution  Voter” bumper sticker for free.  Their goal is to sign up over 300,000 by Oct 15th.   The ACLU Website states:

I Am a Constitution Voter

• I believe that no one — including the President — is above the law.
• I oppose all forms of torture, and I support both closing the Guantánamo Bay prison and ending indefinite detention.
• I oppose warrantless spying.
• I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
• I believe that the Constitution protects every person’s rights equally — no matter what they believe, how they live, where or if they worship, and whom they love.
• I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
• I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country’s leaders to share and act on that commitment — every day, without fail.

Over at Free Libertarian Stickers dot com you can get yourself a sticker which reads: Libertarian: More Freedom, Less Government as well as a Bob Barr for president bumper sticker.

Here is what I did with my free(dom) stickers:

It is a rare occurrence when I would quote Jerry Garcia, but “Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil” is very poignant with the election coming up.  How is it, that many people will say they arent particularly happy with our two main choices for president, yet still vote for “the lesser of 2 evils”?  How did we get to this situation?

There is very little difference between the policies of McBama.  Slight nuances maybe.  Neither candidate has concrete plans for change, despite the rhetoric. If people would stop voting for the lesser of two evils, and vote their conscious, its very possible that we’d get some real change.  I agree, the fear that McCain would win might be enough for some to vote for Obama, but I for one like my country and don’t want to see it slip into socialism.  On the same token, I don’t want to see McCain turn the country into a police state, or continue this folly of continuous war (nor do I want to see Palin as president when McCain kicks the bucket).

Just because everyone says that we have a “two party system” does not mean it has to go down that way.  There are so-called “third parties” out there, that are probably more aligned with your beliefs and feelings about how things should be run.  It’s unfortunate that the media does not give alternative parties the press they deserve.  The media is too invested in the two major parties to shake things up, and most people are too emotionally invested in the Democratic and Republican parties to actually vote their gut.  It’s a sad state of affairs.

The closest thing we had to a true third party candidate with a chance was Ross Perot in 1992.  He was allowed into the debates and got almost 20% of the national vote.  This scared the shit out of the 2 major parties.  As a result, debates since 1992 have only had the Republican and Democratic candidates in the debate.  This was orchestrated by the 2 main parties to never again allow a threat to their party supremacy.

The fact that the way things are allowed to be this way speaks volumes of the willful ignorance of the American people.  There seems to be no long term memory for historical events, or the actions of people in previous administrations.  The same people have basically been in power in America since the late 1960’s.  Yet people continue to vote them and their surrogates into office, while at the same time wishing and hoping for “change”.  Change cannot be possible until people start voting their conscious.

At this point, I would like to suggest that if you hate taxes, love the constitution, want your personal freeoms, privacy and liberty preserved, and want to stop the war… send a message… vote for Bobb Barr of the Libertarian Party.  Again, he may not be the BEST choice, but he is a voice of reason in unreasonable times.  A vote for a third party is NOT a wasted vote, it sends a message and will help shape the political landscape in the future.

As if their smug, cultish hipster attitude wasn’t enough to inspire a deep sense of loathing, I have come to have more reason to hate on Apple Mac users.  I do a lot of work on my laptop in coffee houses, and unfortunately as a PC user, I am many times in the minority.  This fact doesn’t bother me too much, it actually gives me some small satisfaction to see all the kool-aid drinking Mac drones sitting there with their carbon copy Macbooks when I whip out my sticker covered PC that actually has some personality.

No, what really gets my goat is these jackasses with their huge plugs for their computers.  You know, the square adapter that takes up 2 vertical outlet spaces (when plugged into the top outlet of a 2 outlet jack).   Whenever I’ve asked one of these drones if I could possibly plug their bulky adapter one plug lower, so I can fit into the jack, they roll their eyes or act like I’m causing them some sort of pain.  I even carry a 3 outlet extender in my bag, so if there aren’t enough outlets other people can plug in.  Mac users act like its their birth-right to take up all of the outlets in a coffee shop.  Why would you not think about someone else by taking up the entire bank of outlets in an already overcrowded coffee shop?  I don’t get it.  Power outlet space is already at a premium at every single coffee shop, what give’s Mac users the right to monopolize an entire bank of outlets?  I think this cuts to the heart of the issue, they have no right, but they think they are entitled because they belong to the cult of Apple.  Fuck em, and their too big plugs and too short power cords.