FREED FROM CAPITALISM

I came across an article a while back that had the headline: "I live off the grid in a tiny house and freed myself from capitalism. I don't have a cell phone or ID, and I don't pay taxes — here's how". 

This is obviously an ad, probably for a book or a service. There is a picture of him standing in front of his tiny house which obviously was built of dimensional lumber (that somebody else lumbered and dimensioned, distributed and sold), has glass in the windows and doors (that somebody made), and some sort of waterproofing on top. It had to be built using tools that someone, probably a large company, made, and screws and nails too. 

He advertises on the web. How can he use the web without connection to it which someone else supplies? If he earns money from this, he should pay taxes, like you do. He is not off the grid. If he thinks he will get some sort of value from other people; he is a capitalist.

People who, for some reason, do not like "Capitalism" none the less, live by, and have greatly benefited by, Capitalism.

ELECTRIC BIKES

 So many kids ride electric bikes and scooters these days.  They often ride right on the street.  Can (or should) anything be done about that?  If the government enacted a law prohibiting riding an electric bike or scooter on a public street how could the police enforce it?  If the riders do something dangerous, like riding only on the back wheel while going at speed would they learn better by having an accident and scraping an arm or leg, or breaking a bone, than by receiving a citation?  What about the danger they present to pedestrians, other cyclists and cars?  

Who bought them the bike because they likely could not do it on their own?  Their parents?  I’ll bet the riders don’t have a job and earn their own money.  Would I do the same things if I were their age and had an electric bike?

But wait – when I was a teen, as soon as I could, I got a license, got a job, earned my own money, bought my own gas and insurance.  I fixed those cars myself.  What happens these days when the electric bikes break?  Who fixes it – the parents?  My parents could not afford to buy me a car, or the gas, or the insurance.  They did not pay my driver’s license or car registration fees – I did that. 

LITTLE LIZARD – BIG LIZARD

I was looking out my window beside my desk when I saw a little lizard on the inside of the screen. This is not infrequent. I think they find it a safe place where there seems to be food enough to keep them healthy. They never seem to be very large. They can be small to mid-size compared larger ones I’ve seen outside. That got me wondering about little lizards compared to big lizards.

All lizards, like other wild reptiles and animals, must spend most of the day looking for something to eat, no grocery stores for them. Little lizards must also avoid being eaten by other beings, like larger lizards. Only the largest lizards do not have this other lizard worry. At some point the little lizards move out of my under-screen environment to the landscaping and sidewalk outside my front door, I suppose.

Every day, all day long, is the same: look for something to eat and avoid being eaten. After a certain amount of time little lizards become bigger and become interested in lizards of the opposite sex. This is part of the process of becoming a big lizard. Big lizards also do not have to worry about being eaten by big lizards, little lizards become a part of the menu, even your own kids.

Are you glad God did not make you a lizard? I wonder if lizards even know they are lizards?

MISINTERPTUTING THE CONSTITUTION

NPR and PBS are arguing that the President can not cut off Government funding according to Amendment One. 

What does the first Amendment found in the Bill of Rights say?

It says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

It clearly says nothing about Government funding.

This issue is not a Constitutional matter.

INFOSTUFFING EQUALS SKIP-BAIT

I get irritated when an article shows up with an interesting headline but never gets directly to an assertion that the headline makes. Instead many words are stuffed into the front of the article before the “meat” of the article is presented. These stuffing words may be helpful to further explain the main point, or they may be filler words, words of “fluff”, to increase the word count. If they are helpful, they should be presented after the main assertion as further explanation. If the words are not helpful, they should be considered candidates for the trash can.

For example, in a Good Housekeeping article titled “How to Combat Inflammaging, the Aging Side Effect No One Talks About”, the main points were: “get moving, work on your balance, eat right, focus on your waistline, manage stress, spend quality time with others, and get good sleep.” These points were made at the end of the article. Ahead of them was the “word stuffing”. When I saw the “stuffing” I was encouraged not to combat inflammaging, but to write this complaint about this style or writing.

Putting the assertion of the headline at the end of the article, instead of at the front, makes the article itself easy to skip over.