Conservative Conscience Redux

According to this article, Barry Goldwater’s book, The Conscience of a Conservative, is being reissued. Timely reading? Depends on what audience at which this is aimed. I seriously doubt conservatives of the Rove/Norquist stripe will have much sympathy with Goldwater, who now seems admirable and even iconic compared to the…

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Larry Bates offers his prescription for End Times woes: buy and eat silver

Once in a while, I tune into KJSL, a St. Louis Christian talk radio station.  I do this as part of a conscious effort to make myself listen to people with views that are dramatically different from my own.  Perhaps I will understand those views better if I take the time to listen more.

While I was driving last week, the station featured a show called “News and Views,” hosted by a man named “Dr. Larry Bates.”  The host repeatedly painted the future of the US as bleak, thanks to irresponsible financial policies by the federal government.  Because I have some sympathy with that general conclusion, I continued to listen.  It turned out that Bates was predicting the imminent financial collapse of the United States.  Although I doubted that conclusion, I continued to listen.

Bates then indicated that he is also a big proponent of religious “End Times.”  In short, he believes that Jesus will soon be returning to Earth in order to sort things out.  I have no sympathy for this religious view.  In fact, I find End Times beliefs to be irresponsible and destructive for the numerous reasons.  For example, I do not hold the Bible to be inerrant. Based on my study of the Bible, although it offers some good stories and some reasonable moral instruction, it is also rife with bad advice, contradictions and senseless violence.

“Dr. Larry Bates” wears many hats.  He claims to be an economist, publisher, editor, …

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Regular DoD Trainer denied entry into U.S

Silly bureaucracy in action! An internationally renowned cyber-guru who often comes into the U.S. to train DoD, DoE, and other alphabet soupers was held for 4 hours by customs, and deported as he came in to speak at a Black Hat convention. His own report on the issue makes it…

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Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007

Businesses are increasingly inserting arbitration provisions into contracts to prohibit the employees and consumers from resolving important disputes in courts of law. Such arbitration provisions compel the employees and consumers to present his or her case to an "private arbitrator," who need not even be an attorney. There is no jury trial. There is no automatic right to engage in pre-trial discovery. There is no public access. There need not even be an in-person hearing (unless you pay extra). The arbitrator often has the right to decide the entire case by merely looking at paperwork and you might not even have a right to be there when it happens. If the arbitrator fails to apply the law correctly or if the arbitrator refuses to consider important evidence, too bad. There is no appeal. There is no accountability. Your claim against a big company will simply disappear. And here's another huge concern: the big corporations are repeat customers to the big arbitration companies, while you will be a one-time player. Under these circumstances, who is the arbitrator likely to favor? [more . . .]

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