Caused a minor outrage on Qt3 a couple years ago by being uncomfortable with individual leaders having their own logo. I stupidly pointed out that personalized logos have commonly been used by totalitarian movements in the past (Godwin alert!) But you know, it’s still creepy. And you know what else is creepy? To politicians: STOP IT.

The US Ambassador in Libya was killed in an attack yesterday by "Islamist gunmen” blaming America for a film they said insulted the prophet Mohammad. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-libya-usa-attack-idUSBRE88B0EI20120912

Sometimes the local politics of Higgins Lake Michigan can be very frustrating.  The latest example has to be the "save the dam" advocates. Briefly, MSU in cooperation with the DNR are conducting a study of the effect the dam has on Higgins Lake. The dam is used to help control the lake water level. Many decades ago, a dam was put on the lake to keep the water level high enough to use the lake effectively for for boats. As more people bought cottages on the lake, the demand to raise th...

Just curious, how serious would you take the views of someone who made their money by winning the lottery when it comes to economics and business? So picture this, 40 some year old couple with a yearly household income of around $200k suddenly has a windfall of over a million dollars in one year. Not from their job. Not from a business. Not from meeting some life long goal. The money just suddenly showed up. What do you think their attitude would be towards other people who were rich? ...

I see a lot of people in politics support the concept of "local control".  But as a dogma, it falls apart at a certain point. Let me present you the example of Higgins Lake, Michigan. Higgins Lake is a beautiful lake in the northern part of the lower peninsula. It has two large state parks, a couple first class marinas and several public boat launches.  The lake itself is beautiful. Shallow and sandy by the shore and very deep (over 100 feet deep) in the middle. So what problems ...

So why do people demonize companies that outsource to China but it's perfectly acceptable for individuals to go and buy things made in China? Next time someone wants to rant about company X outsourcing, they should, at least, start trying to buy American if they feel that way.

As some of you know, I'm politically conservative.  This is fairly meaningless since my interest in politics is much like my interest in professional Starcraft. I'm kinda interested and follow it probably more than is healthy but I don't get particularly fired up about it. But I do like to debate. I will debate anything, no matter how mind numbing.  I am thinking that this is why I tend to have mostly liberal friends. I enjoy talking to people who disagree with my views ...

In a recent speech Obama made the statement that implied business owners didn't build their businesses -- "someone else made that happen" I'm going to put the full text and context of what was said because I've seen left-wing writers trying to diminish what Obama said by claiming it was taken out of context. So here's the full context: I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It...

In our local school district, it’s $7,600 per student. Mind you, this is just the state’s contribution to it. That doesn’t count other sources (local and federal for instance). The total amount is allegedly $12,000 per student. Next time someone yells about the “Slashing” of a few hundred dollars per student, we’re talking a tiny percentage cut. If you paid a teacher $100,000 per year to teach a class of 30 students, that would be $3,000 per student.  There are, cert...

Between the Nanny Statists on the left and the thumpers on the right, I just can’t get excited about politics anymore. I really don’t need anyone to tell me how to live. I also really don’t care to hear the religious beliefs of a federal candidate. Why tell me? Are you hinting that you’re going to use the power of the federal government to compel me to live by your beliefs? No? Then quit talking about them. I care as  much for a Federal candidate’s religious beliefs as I do to wh...

Victor Davis Hanson has a very lengthy and interesting article today on the various Republican candidates. I can’t say I’m terribly excited about any of them. You’ve got Newt who is all over the place on issues and frankly, makes me think it’s more about him and his love of power than any thought of public service. You’ve got Romney who I can’t even understand why he’s running in the first place as he doesn’t seem to be very passionate about anything. There’s Santorum who I...

I am just baffled that the President is blocking the Keystone pipeline. It’s such a win-win on all fronts. Powerline article:

Because of the way the media treats those of us who are right of center politically, when we get into social situations, we are used to just keeping our mouths shut. But it turns out that a lot, perhaps even most, people are right of center (in the United States anyway) but we often don’t realize it because we get so beaten down that our opinions on liberty and freedom are so “unfair”. So usually a discussion will slowly unwind where a person stands bit by by.  First, you start o...

  In “real life” I’m not particularly political. I don’t donate to candidates or political causes, I don’t put signs on my lawn. I’m interested in the discussion of politics in the same way that other people are interested in the discussion of sports. If you’re come here from a link claiming I’m some sort of political lunatic, a few things to bear in mind: When JoeUser.com started in 2001, I posted intentionally provocative articles. The idea was to get a discussion going. ...

I must confess, there is something…gratifying about debating with a global warming alarmist (specifically people who are certain mankind is causing global warming and specifically it’s caused by CO2) who gets in my face about their superior belief system and being able to pull out the fact that I drive an electric car that is powered by my 20KW solar array that also powers my house which is also heated via geo thermal.  Match that buddy.