Yes. All I have to say is yes! This meme is hilariously true at so many levels. In my general experience, folks I know who believe in more governmental regulation in health, education, business, and finance frequently tend to view my libertarianism as naive and irresponsible at best and as downright, dangerously selfish at worst. On the other hand, folks I know who believe in more governmental regulation in social values (ie, marriage, religion, drugs and alcohol, and so on) often view my libertarianism as my unprincipled, unbridled personal hedonism: they can sometimes view libertarianism as a deliberate cop-out so [...] Read more »
Reputation vs. Character
It has always been true that reputations can be made and destroyed more quickly than one might think possible. During election years it becomes even more obvious: you cannot control your reputation. You can do the very best you can to do the right thing at the right place and time, but all it takes is one person or event to shatter a lifetime’s worth of work in one fell swoop. And the onset of 24-hour news cycles hasn’t helped the truth to come out any sooner than it used to: if anything, the 1500 TV talking heads help cement [...] Read more »
Jackpot, jackpot!
My husband is indeed a modern American. Along with about 250 million other Americans, he decided to buy a lottery ticket yesterday (I’m totally speculating about the numbers at this point—in fact, I made them up wholesale). Then he realized he would need to be responsible with the earnings he would inevitably win, so he figured out a quick budgetary guide to assist him in managing his sure-to-come new windfall. But alas, the next morning it fell upon my shoulders to delicately inform him that according to Facebook, his jackpot…hadn’t materialized. My husband promptly decided an immediate protest of the [...] Read more »
Real Men Don’t
Just a few deeply sobering statistics: 1) An estimated one million children are forced to work in the global sex industry every year 2) The global sex slavery market generates a $39 billion profit annually 3) Selling young girls is more profitable than trafficking drugs or weapons To find out more about what you can do, check out the Not For Sale site, along with many other groups, sites, and campaigns as well. (For example, here’s a list Oprah compiled of ways you can help abolish modern-day female slavery.) This conversation will be continuing throughout this next year… Read more »