The always thought provoking Cory Doctorow has a new book out, Little Brother. I highly recommend it, even though I think he is very wrong on numerous points. You can download it for free at the link above.
It is very difficult to write a political novel. I should know, I’ve started 3 or 4 of them, and they all turned out badly. When the author is convinced that he is right, the protagonists tend to preach at each other, and the antagonists tend to sound like evil simpletons. In Little Brother, Mr Doctorow has managed to avoid the former pitfall, while falling deeply into the latter. While the central theme of the book is interesting, there are several improbable plot twists, a deficiency of analysis, and a deus ex machina ending. Thus, while I think everyone should read this book, and will actually enjoy it, it will not be the classic that, say 1984 would be. I will, however, be giving it to my children when they are old enough to understand it.
What follows is chock full of spoilers. Please stop reading here if you wish to keep the ending a surprise. » Read more
I am an anarcho-capitalist living just west of Boston Massachussetts. I am married, have two children, and am trying to start my own computer consulting company.
For four days, we held Leviathan off. Against an Administration that prizes cronyism over competency and stampedes over dissenters, against the inclination of politicians to slurp up power like chocolate milkshakes, against a Wall-Street lobby that has tons of money to buy pols and ads to proclaim its dire financial straits, we held Leviathan off. Against all the doomsday talk, the cynical appeals to the greed, laziness, and irresponsibility that beset human nature, and the knee-jerk reflex to do something, anything, no matter how bad, we held Leviathan off.
We flooded Congress with calls and emails. We raised free-market objections and alternatives. We called for government to uphold the natural justice that rewards virtue and punishes vice.
If you voiced your opposition to this bail-out to your Senators and Representative, in a blog post or a letter to the editor or a call to a talk-radio show, or in a conversation with a friend or family member, you are part of a historic effort, an effort to throw off the soft tyranny of federal molly-coddling.
Every movement to cast off the yoke of tyranny has started with a small group of dedicated believers who fought their way through tremendous early discouragements.
So is this the beginning of something ? I certainly hope so. It’s certainly a sign that the public doesn’t buy in to the idea that the government exists to solve everyone’s problems. That alone is reason for optimism.
One of most prominent no votes against the Paulson-Bernake bailout bill on Monday came from John Shadegg of Arizona, who is number 5 in the House Republican leadership.
Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) signaled Wednesday that changes being discussed for the Wall Street bailout could prompt him to change his vote and support it.
Shadegg, interviewed on Arizona radio station KTAR, said raising the FDIC insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 and suspending the SEC’s mark-to-market accounting rules would likely win his vote. “If they make both of those changes, I’d be inclined to vote for the bill, assuming there have not been any bad things added to it,” he said.
The switch would be a major boost for Republican leaders — Shadegg is a former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative wing of the conference that helped sink the bill on Monday when 81 of its 106 members voted against it.
In the interview, Shadegg said he is “highly optimistic” the package will pass on its second try this week.
If there’s any chance that Shadegg can be persuaded to stick to his original vote, now is the time to tell him to do it. If you live in his district, or even if you don’t, call his office at (202) 225-3361 and tell him to vote “No” for the Crap Sandwich with Pork bailout.
Here is a great compilation of the media appearances that various scholars from The Cato Institute have been making all over the media during the past two weeks making the case against the bailout:
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And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming…
