I lol'd

http://theglen.livejournal.com/16735.html

Rights Troll

I'm taking the kindest possible view of this situation, which is not easy given my gnawing fear of sectarian political violence in my country. Even is this guy wasn't actually calling for violence, he was being what we on the civil libertarian side of things call a rights troll - someone who exercises a real, legitimate* right in a stupid, shitty way. Yes, you apparently have a right to open-carry in New Hampshire. You apparently even have the right to do so at a public gathering where it could be considered behavior likely to cause a disturbance and, oh indeed, where the president is appearing. You are allowed to do so while carrying a sign reading "It's time to water the Tree of Liberty," a reference to a Thomas Jefferson quote that goes roughly "the tree of liberty must be watered from time to time by the blood of patriots and the blood of tyrants" - a quote which last showed up in our public discourse when a young man named Tim McVeigh was arrested wearing a shirt with that phrase printed on it.

So, yes, as I said, I'm taking this in the best possible light, but it's still creepy and shitty. I get the feeling that, at best, this guy was hoping to be hassled by police/Secret Service so that he could talk about how his rights had been violated and Obama's a fascist and what not. Which is what makes him a troll.


*Actually, I've been reading about Second Amendment history this summer, and the idea that the 2nd guarantees you a personal(and basically unrestricted) right to carry weapons is a fairly recent one (codified into case law by the [questionable] Heller case). You could still make a case for a personal right to gun ownership under the 9th Amendment. More on this later.

Why they won't let me be an astronaut.

(via boingboing)

Regarding trust-fund socialists

From an otherwise slightly carping Esquire article.

And it's unlikely that all the pseudo-hipsters who buy their Che T-shirts at Urban Outfitters will stop wearing them. No. These T-shirts send a message, which effectively boils down to this: I have vague left-wing sympathies but don't read history. I am educated enough to want nonconformity but not intelligent enough to avoid conformity. I believe in supporting the wretched of the earth but happily purchase products from multinational corporations.

Before it disappears

From Wikipedia's article on Paxton, IL (where at least one bored young person has internet access):

Paxton, as well as several other communities in East Central Illinois, is home to a Semi-Professional Baseball Team called the Paxton Swedes. The Swedes got their name from the town's Swedish Heritage. The Swedes are part of the Eastern Illinois Baseball League which has eight teams. The Swedes were league champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007. The Swedes play their home games at beautiful Memorial Field in Paxton. Memorial Field is also home to the PBL Panthers High School Baseball Team. Memorial Field stands out as one of the top baseball fields in East Central Illinois. Paxton is home to many rednecks.

This is real, pt 300

For fuck's sake, if you work at a place called the John Locke Foundation and invoke the founders, it behooves you to know a wee bit about 18th century British (& colonial) politics. This Sanders fellow, callously using Independence Day to score political points*, claims that:

"the Declaration of Independence does mention Obama's kind of government. Consider especially this part about King George III: "He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.""

Not quite. See, under the Hanoverians, political appointments were mostly hacks and placemen, plums used to reward the politically (and/or financially) loyal.

Someone's kind of government, for sure.

*ooh, using false outrage is fun.

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