Legislators Should Be Economists or Statisticians – Not Lawyers
by Johann Robert Riet

I had my car inspected yesterday. The laws vary from state to state, but the state in which I live, forces you to inspect your car once a year. Actually that is down from twice a year in the past. The state I used to live in, until five years ago, required you to have it inspected once a year also. However, that state did it “free of charge”. They established state-run inspection stations, to which all car owners went for a free inspection. I know, I know, “there is no free lunch,” but that is not my point. By making it free, they accomplished inspection more efficiently than my current state, although more inconveniently because lines tended to form, which is not the case in my current state where you take your car to a mechanic so he (or she – in a diversity world) can really rip you off. But these are not really my points either. My point is going to have to do with the government’s ability to do by law, what the free market would never do. It will have to do with absurd utilization of precious resources, and to some extent the power of a lobby – probably auto mechanics. And finally it has to do with what most articles on this site will have to do with: The stupidity of, or the lack of interest, or the lack of information by the average American who gets to pull a voting lever. More...

Bush and His Oil Buddies Have Decided to Ease the Pressure a Bit (But Maybe Only In My Town)- Part 1
by Johann Robert Riet

As I was driving a few days ago, doing some errands, I noticed that the price of gas seemed to be relatively lower. By relatively lower, I mean the price of gas had declined by about 20 cents a gallon, as compared to a few weeks earlier. Because I have a number of friends, and a far greater number of fellow citizens, who believe that the price of gas is set by a conspiracy, the most current one and most oft mentioned one being "George Bush and His Oil Buddies", I began to think about the reasons for why they would decide to take less money for gasoline at this time. As hard as I tried, I could not think of a reason. I considered that they might be easing off a bit so that those who believed in a conspiracy, might be convinced that there is no conspiracy, and after accomplishing that, they could raise the price once more without receiving complaints from the conspiracy-theorists. More...

Bush and His Oil Buddies Have Decided to Ease the Pressure a Bit (But Maybe Only In My Town)- Part 2
by Johann Robert Riet

With warm temperatures, the high volume of active drivers, and both heating oil and gasoline beginning to accumulate in their storage tanks, George and his oil buddies are in a pickle to say the least. I know that they get a big kick out of charging the public the highest possible price for gasoline and hate to lower it. The current situation is a crisis indeed. So, I begin to imagine George W. Bush getting on Air Force One, and flying to an undisclosed location where he meets with all of his oil buddies, who manage all of his refineries on a daily basis. More...

Hi. My Name is John, and my Taxes Directly Support Terrorism.
by John Riet

Although I support it, I can see why the port deal with the U.A.E. would make some Americans question the commitment of our government to our national security. Well, let there be no more question in anyone’s mind… it couldn’t care less about our safety. That became obvious when, despite all of our big talk about refusing aid to a terrorist organization until it changed its attitude toward Israel, the U.S. decided to continue sending money to the Palestinians. More...

The Case for Capitalism
by Kris Avalon (Guest Columnist)

I have long been fascinated by the invisible line that exists between anarchism and communism. I tend to envision the two concepts as being like neighboring countries, let's say France and Germany. When looking at the two nations on a globe, you may notice that they are separated by nothing more than a paper-thin arbitrary line, and yet when you spin the globe only slightly, it becomes apparent that an entire world encompassing thousands upon thousands of miles exists between them. Such can most certainly be said of anarchism and communism. More...

Cycles of Muslim Violence & Cycles of American Stupidity
by John Riet

While they certainly haven’t forgotten about our soldiers, the current wave of violence in Iraq seems to have turned more tribal. The Shiites are extracting retribution for 30 years of Sunni dictatorship… and the Sunnis are seeking retribution for that retribution. The latest "Sunnis 1, Shiites 0" act was when a sacred Shiite shrine was bombed causing major damage. Federal deficits be damned, our response was pretty predictable: More...

Didn't You Know You Have a Right to HDTV?
by John Riet

Just when you thought the government couldn't possibly find another way to overstep their constitutional boundaries and spend your money in a completely inappropriate manner… behold! Congress recently mandated that the digital/HDTV format become the standard for television broadcasts by February 17, 2009. The legislative whip has been cracked. You will be entertained in high definition and you'll like it! More...

How Dare We Pay for the Consequences of our Actions!
by John Riet

It's such a treat to read the liberal press. I get a kick out of seeing the creation of new victims. Just recently, Lisa Cornwell of the Associated Press pointed out that the poor smokers are really getting the shaft because – heaven forbid – many employers are requiring them to contribute more to their health insurance due to their unhealthy habit. More...

The State of the Liberal Mind
by Ryan Crowell (Guest Columnist)

In the often bizarre and twisted views of the modern left wing, much hypocrisy can be clearly seen. In the last few decades, society has become more and more equal in the eyes of the left wing elite. I see it as more and more cockeyed. If I hit a black man, it's called a hate crime. If a black guy hits me, he had a troubled youth, and deserves our sympathy. This is what the left refers to as equality. More...

The Medicare Prescription Plan is a Small Glimpse Into the Future
by John Riet

Did you ever go to see a really bad horror movie? I mean really bad. The kind of movie that’s so predictable you find yourself saying, “I bet when she opens that door, he’s going to stab her.” And sure enough, the dumb bimbo opens the door and the masked psychotic deformo stabs her through her ample bosom. The political equivalent to such a movie is happening right now in the form of the recently enacted Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. More...

All These Apologies Aren’t Doing the Apologists Any Good
by John Riet

The riots taking place in the Middle East and Europe prove one thing: Muslims still haven’t learned the secret to shaking off the chains of poverty. Muslim men and women have spent the last week or so torching Danish flags, holding signs that warn Europe their 9/11 is coming, and burning embassies… and all over a satirical cartoon of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. They can do this for two reasons: 1. Unemployment gives them nothing but time to cause trouble. 2. They know that we will do nothing about it. In fact, we’ll go out of our way to apologize to them. Perhaps this time the Europeans and our own American liberals realize that we can only apologize to these “poor oppressed people” so many times before we understand that it’s not us. It’s them. In fact, this culture has done historically little to earn the respect they so desperately seek today. More...

Why Do We Even Have States Anymore?
by John Riet

I can only hope this is just more grandstanding to appease the millions who believe that the government is their mommy. I hope beyond hope that Congress weren't serious in probing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Because if this was serious… if they were to take into account the responsibilities of the states and those of the federal government, they could only come to one conclusion: More...

Notes on The State of the Union
by John Riet

As I sat and watched the State of the Union address by President Bush this evening, I realized what a game politics has become. Instead of throwing punches or clashing swords, the modern day warriors of Washington – Democrats (otherwise known as the Communist Party) and the pseudo-conservative Republicans – use public address as their weapon of choice. Tonight’s speech was the business as usual, take-that-political-rival-party speech as always. More...