The Unrepentant Individual

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Wisconsin (3-1) @ Indiana (2-2):
Vegas Says: Wisconsin -11

Something’s wrong here. Wisconsin is only 11 point favorites? Granted, they put up a whopping 13 points last weekend on offense, and yes, their offense is replacing pretty much everyone. But that 13 was scored against the best defense in the Big Ten, and they’ve been scoring in their other games. Even so, let’s say they only score 13 (unlikely, against IU’s defense). Can IU score even 3 on the Wisky D to beat the spread? It’s questionable, since they only put up 7 on UConn. IU won’t be able to put up points on Wisconsin, and Wisconsin will run right through IU’s D. This game should be settled by halftime.

Prediction: Wisconsin Covers
Predicted Final Score: Wisconsin 31, Indiana 13
Final Score: Wisconsin 52, Indiana 17
Prediction: RIGHT

Kansas St (3-1) @ Baylor (1-3):
Vegas Says: Kansas St -1.5

This is an odd one. How can a 3-1 team be only a 1.5 point favorite over a 1-3 team. Something doesn’t quite add up when you see a line like that. So I have to look at these teams a little closer. K-State squeaked by a decent Illinois State team, then blew out two doormats. They then got stomped by #8 Louisville, but that’s to be expected. Baylor, on the other hand, was expected to be decent this year, but is sitting at 1-3. Yet they’ve played decent in their losses to TCU, Wash St, and Army. So I’ll have to look at the stats. Baylor appears to be a pure air attack, averaging only 30 yards per game on the ground. K-State is much more balanced. On defense, both teams appear to be putting up decent totals, but given the level of competition Baylor has faced, I have to give the edge to Baylor. In this game, I think Baylor is going to go to the air early and often. If they can get an early edge, they might be able to take this one over. But I think K-State is expecting that, and their pass defense has been decent. I frankly don’t see a lot of scoring here all day. That being said, the team that passes more has the chance for big plays, and I have to give the edge to Baylor.

Prediction: Baylor beats the spread
Predicted final score: Baylor 13, Kansas State 10
Final Score: Baylor 17, K-State 3
Prediction: RIGHT

Northern Illinois (2-2) @ Ball State (1-3):
Vegas Says: NIU -6.5

Here we see a team with a blazing talent in Garrett Wolfe, who put up gaudy numbers against the defense of Ohio State, against a MAC up-and-comer who has respectable losses against two Big Ten teams. NIU has a ridiculous offense and a porous defense, while Ball State has a good offense and a worse defense. It’s tough to judge, of course, as Ball State faced a prolific Purdue offense that put up astonishing numbers, and NIU faced a prolific Ohio State offense that put up astonishing numbers in the first quarter. But in this case, I look at the question of whether anyone on the Ball State defense can even contain Garrett Wolfe. And the answer is no. I don’t think we’ll see much defense from either team, but with the rushing attack of NIU, I do think we’ll see a lower-than-expected score.

Prediction: Northern Illinois covers
Predicted final score: Northern Illinois 24, Ball State 17
Final Score: NIU 40, BSU 28
Prediction: RIGHT

#6 Michigan (4-0) @ Minnesota (2-2):
Vegas Says: Michigan -10

Here’s one of those games that might be based on last year’s outcome. Minnesota edged by Michigan in a close, hard-fought game at the Big House. The question is whether they can do it again? Well, I’m here to tell you, the answer is an emphatic no. Minnesota gains its numbers on the ground, and Michigan has the best rushing defense in the Big Ten. Minnesota doesn’t play well when forced to go to the air, and Michigan has the best defensive backfield in the Big Ten. And Minnesota’s defense? Not so good. About the only chance that Minnesota has of beating this spread is if Michigan doesn’t throw the ball. But Michigan is looking for national mindshare, so a blowout is in their interest here. This one is also out of hand by the half.

Prediction: Michigan covers
Predicted Final Score: Michigan 38, Minnesota 17
Final Score: Michigan 28, Minnesota 14
Prediction: RIGHT

#1 Ohio State (4-0) @ #13 Iowa (4-0):
Vegas Says: Ohio State -7

Ahh, finally we have a game! Two ranked teams, ESPN College Gameday headed to Iowa City, and both Rose Bowl and potential National Championship implications. On the one side, we’ve got Iowa’s stifling defense, complemented with a scrappy QB and a determined– if not experienced– offense. On the other side, we’ve got an OSU offense capable of scoring from anywhere on the field at any time, complemented with a scrappy, talented– if not experienced– defense. This is coupled with a night game in Kinnick Stadium, which is not exactly a “friendly” place to play. So how will it turn out? Well, I simply haven’t completely bought into Iowa yet this year. I don’t know if they have the receivers to do it, and the loss of Greenway and Hodge on defense is going to hurt against an ultra-talented offense like Ohio State’s. And I know better than to think Troy Smith is going to walk into Kinnick Stadium even a bit intimidated. If Iowa knows what’s good for them, they’ll try to jam RB Albert Young directly into the OSU defense (as Texas should have done). But I don’t think it will be enough. OSU has the answers this year, and I don’t think anyone except Michigan has what it takes to run with them.

Prediction: Ohio State covers
Predicted Final Score: Ohio State 23, Iowa 13
Final Score: Ohio State 37, Iowa 17
Prediction: RIGHT

Purdue (4-0) @ #12 Notre Dame (3-1):
Vegas Says: Notre Dame -14

Purdue has been described as “the worst 4-0 team in the country”. So be it. I’ll be happy if next week they’re described as the “worst 5-0 team in the country”. I don’t care about rankings. Purdue is only one of 4 undefeated teams in the Big Ten, and the only unranked one. This team has its warts, but it’s a scrappy team that plays all-out. Notre Dame, however, is probably the most overrated 3-1 team in the country. They’ve squeaked by Georgia Tech, beat an ailing Penn State, got blown out by Michigan, and squeaked by a Michigan State team who gifted them the game. And we’re looking straight into third-straight rivalry game for Notre Dame. I posted my preview of the game, and not a lot has changed. If Purdue wins the turnover battle, I think they might win this game. But Painter has shown himself to be a bit interception-prone this year, and nobody knows how this team will play on the road. Purdue, if they cough up the ball, could lose it big. That being said, Brady Quinn shows a different side when he’s pressured, and Anthony Spencer has already had the pleasure of planting him into the turf. Purdue’s defense just might force a turnover or two. I worry about how damaging this game might be to my weekend if I get too hopeful, but I just can’t help it.

In all reality, there’s far too much emotion riding on this game for me to predict a winner. So I’ve got no final score for you. But unless Purdue is -2 in the turnover battle, they’re going to keep this game close. I have a feeling they’ll be playing on pure heart, but then again, that might elevate them to the next level. Either way, I think this will be a much better game than -14 points.

Prediction: Purdue beats the spread
Final Score: Notre Dame 35, Purdue 21
Prediction: NO DECISION

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A few more hours, and I’ll be put to the test. Frankly, I don’t care if I go 1-5 against the spread, and 0-5 straight up, as long as Purdue beats the spread and wins. But I hope to do a lot better than that, and redeem my lackluster performance of weeks 1 and 2.

UPDATE: So, I went 5-0 against the spread, 5-0 straight up. The Purdue game didn’t go as planned, but at least they equalled the spread, so the pick is basically a tie.

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Purdue Rush O vs ND’s Rush D:

Advantage Purdue. ND’s line is pretty good, but their linebackers are not. MSU, PSU, and Michigan were able to move the ball on the ground. With the one-two punch of Kory Sheets & Jaycen Taylor, and the hopes that the passing game can force their safeties onto their heels a bit, I think we’ll be ahead in this one.

Purdue Pass O vs ND’s Pass D:

Advantage Purdue— *IF* Curtis Painter shows up. We definitely have the receivers to torch their D. Their LB’s can’t cover Keller, and if we can get Orton back to 100% after his hip pointer, the spread of Bryant, Orton, Lymon and Keller will be great. They’ve been shown by both Michigan and MSU to be vulnerable to the pass. But to do it, Painter has to come up big in this very big game.

ND Rush O vs Purdue Rush D:

Even. Frankly, I’ve never thought Darius Walker was all that good, and both Michigan and MSU bottled him up. However, Michigan has one of the best Front 7’s in college football, and while we’re starting to come together, we’re not at that level. Walker can probably gain 80-120 yards on us, but I don’t see him being able to run down our throats.

ND Pass O vs Purdue Pass D:

Advantage ND. Simply put, their receivers are bigger and more experienced that our DB’s. I was happy to see TE Anthony Fasano graduate, but their replacement TE came up big against Michigan State. The only way to match up against that passing attack is going to be to get Brady Quinn off his rhythm, and to do that, we need to put him on his back. We’ll need to bring the blitz, and I hope to see at least 2-3 sacks. Our best weapon is to make Quinn throw the ball inaccurately, because our DB’s can’t match up with the receivers.

Special teams:

Advantage Purdue (slight). Purdue’s been pretty solid in the kicking and special teams game, so I’m going to give us the edge there. Notre Dame has missed some field goals and extra points, and surprisingly Zbikowski has been fumbling some punts.

Intangibles:

Advantage ND. First, the game is at South Bend, not an easy place to play. Second, Painter hasn’t won on the road (I can say I’m glad Tiller gave him the experience @Wis and @PSU last year though), and this team may be young enough to get rattled with an aggressive crowd. Third, Weis is a very aggressive coach. It could be his downfall, but our players can’t be sure that stopping ND on third down will be enough. And when you make a big third-down stop and then they line up with the offense on 4th, how easy is it, emotionally, to get up and do it again?

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Final Result:

I see ND scoring 14 points based on our defensive mistakes, since we have some young DB’s that haven’t had to face anything like receivers Jeff Snuffaluffagus and Rhema McKnight. Based on the rest of their offense, they can score another 14-21. I see their score being in the low 30’s. So the question is whether Purdue can match that. It’s not going to be easy, because we’re going to have to execute extremely well– on the road in a hostile environment– to match that.

I think two metrics are going to define this game. Third down conversions and turnovers. Personally, I don’t even think big plays are going to be a big metric, because both offenses will have them. The key is going to be the crucial stops. If Purdue converts well (> 65%) on third down and wins the turnover battle, I think we can take this game. If we don’t, we will get beat.

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Miami (OH) (0-3) @ Syracuse (1-2)
Vegas Says: Syracuse -7

I have to admit, my first thought in this game was “Syracuse is a favorite?!” I mean, they beat Illinois, but I think my high school team could beat Illinois. But then, Miami is 0-3, with a losses to Northwestern, Purdue, and Kent St. But looking at this, I still just can’t figure it out. Syracuse isn’t putting up offensive yardage, only played Iowa close because Drew Tate was injured, and is getting beaten on defense. They may be 7 point favorites, but I just don’t see how they can cover. Miami has had a rough couple games, but I don’t see them going 0-4.

Prediction: Miami beats the spread
Predicted Final Score: Miami 28, Syracuse 17
Final Score: Syracuse 34, Miami 14
Prediction: WRONG

Air Force (0-1) @ Wyoming (1-2)
Vegas Says: Wyoming -1

This is a tough one. Wyoming has a blowout over Utah St, followed by respectable losses to Virginia and Boise State, who are decent programs. Air Force has only played one game, but they nearly defeated ranked Tennessee, who blew Cal out of the water and lost a close one to Florida. First things first, I have to consider Air Force a better team based purely on how they played Tennessee. But something tells me that’s just not enough to base a pick on. So let’s look at the stats. In their one game, Air Force gained and gave up about 400 yards. Tennessee has been putting up lots of yards, so I won’t fault their defense for allowing so many. And their offense deserves credit for gaining 400 on Tennessee, above Tennessee’s average for the year. But on the other side of the ball, Wyoming has only allowed an average of 193 yards/game in their three games. They haven’t scored much, but they’ve held some good offenses to low yardage. So my pick? I still have to go with Air Force. They’ve scored 4 TD’s in one game against an SEC powerhouse, while Wyoming has scored 6 TD’s in 3 games against 2 WAC teams and an ACC patsy. I think Air Force looked far more impressive in their loss than anything Wyoming has shown all year.

Prediction: Air Force beats the spread
Predicted Final Score: Air Force 17, Wyoming 13
Final Score: Air Force 31, Wyoming 24
Prediction: RIGHT

#12 Notre Dame (2-1) @ Michigan State (3-0)
Vegas Says: Notre Dame -3

This, as usual with any Notre Dame team, is an emotional game for me. I have watched as MSU has owned ND in recent history, culminating in an exciting overtime victory last year. When MSU planted their flag on the turf at Notre Dame, they were throwing down a gauntlet with today in mind. On paper, when the MSU offense is clicking, they’re absolutely unstoppable. On paper, the ND offense hasn’t exactly excited this year. Defense, both teams may be good, but not great, and MSU doesn’t have the front seven to punish Brady Quinn the way Michigan did. Perhaps that might explain why there’s a 59-point over/under in this game. Looking it over, I think two factors are at play. If the weather is okay, this game becomes a shootout, with firepower on both sides. I give a slight edge to MSU in that case, since QB Drew Stanton is a proven force both in the air and on the ground when he’s playing with confidence, and he’s carrying some swagger this year. If the weather goes south, I have to think the MSU running game blows the doors off overrated Darius Walker and Notre Dame, and MSU wins. So either way, I think MSU wins. If it’s a dry day, it’s going to be a major shootout. If it’s a wet day, MSU pounds them on the ground.

PS - Though I love to watch ND lose, I actually think I’d prefer to see them win. Purdue plays them next weekend, and if they lose to MSU, they’ll be desperate to beat Purdue to salvage their season. If they beat MSU, the pressure is off, and Purdue might show up to shock them. So it’s a game where my heart and my head are at odds…

Prediction: MSU beats the spread
Predicted Final Score (based on bad weather): Michigan State 27, Notre Dame 17
Final Score: Notre Dame 40, Michigan State 37
Prediction: NO DECISION

#24 Penn State (2-1) @ #1 Ohio State (3-0)
Vegas says: Ohio State -17

Again, a tough pick. I have no doubt that OSU will win this game. They have too much experienced talent on offense, and some proven talent on defense, to lose. Penn State is replacing far too many players on both sides of the ball, particularly their incredible QB Michael Robinson, their OL, and most of the DL and secondary. Ohio State is firing all over on offense, and while they’ve got some vulnerability against the run, their defense looks solid. But 17 points is a big line… Again, weather may be a factor. On a dry day, Ohio State is going to attack Penn State’s inexperienced defensive backs, and Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez have huge days. Penn State didn’t prove they could pass on Notre Dame, who has a much worse defense than OSU, so I dont’ see them competing if this game goes to the air. But, if the game is played in the mud and muck, Ohio State knows they can win without airing it out. They’ll pound Antonio Pittman all day long, but may not win big. So my prediction will be that in the bad weather, OSU plays a controlled running game and pounds the ball at PSU. If the game goes dry, I’ll say that OSU, knowing Jim Tressel, slows down once they have a 14-point lead, and starts running the ball, making their beating of the spread a question. Either way, I worry that not enough points will be scored to really justify a 17-point margin.

Prediction: Penn State beats the spread
Predicted Final Score: OSU 28, PSU 17
Final Score: OSU 28, PSU 6
PREDICTION: WRONG

Minnesota (2-1) @ Purdue (3-0)
Vegas Says: Minnesota -3

Again, I’m worried about weather. Moreso here than anywhere else. Minnesota’s strength is their ground game, and Purdue, while being fairly balanced, has such incredible weapons in the vertical attack that we can’t allow a team to force us to be one-dimensional. And nobody knows how sophomore QB Curtis Painter will handle rain and wind. Looking at the offenses, I think Painter has a much stronger arm, so he’ll be better able to handle the rain and wind than Minnesota QB Bryan Cupito. If we have a rain game, I think Purdue can force Minnesota to purely run the ball, load the box to stop the run, and still have enough of a two-dimensional game to win. If it stays dry and with a calm wind, though, we’ve got an issue. Bryan Cupito isn’t a great passer, but he’s good enough to make Purdue pay if they try to load the box against the run. He’s got two big strong receivers to throw against Purdue’s inexperienced secondary, and could kill us with the playaction pass. You’ll notice I haven’t made much noise about the defenses. Well, neither team has one. This game will be high-scoring, even if it’s raining. The only consolation I have is that Purdue has shown strength in the face of adversity this year, and I hope that will continue.

Prediction: Purdue beats the spread
Predicted Final Score: Purdue 41, Minnesota 38 OT
Final Score: Purdue 27, Minnesota 21
Prediction: RIGHT

Wisconsin (3-0) @ #6 Michigan (3-0)
Vegas Says: Michigan -13.5

This may be the closest we’ll come this week to a defensive battle. Wisconsin is putting up huge numbers rushing, and so is Michigan. Wisconsin has a stout defense, allowing only about 200 yds/game, and Michigan is doing the same. Neither team has really needed to air it out this season, so I’m unsure how either team will do, but both appear to have very strong pass defenses. Wisconsin has beaten three below-average teams, and Michigan has beaten two below-average teams and blew out a team in a game that might have been competitive were it not for about 5 turnovers. This game should be a joy to watch. Working out the stats, both teams look good; Wisconsin a lot better than expected, and Michigan a lot better than last year. But looking at the numbers, I think Michigan’s rush defense is incredible. They won’t shut down Wisconsin, but should definitely contain them. Michigan is more two dimensional than Wisconsin, and should be able to keep Wisconsin’s defense honest, opening up the game for Mike Hart. I see this staying close for a half or so, and then Michigan blowing the doors off. Even if it’s a wet day, I think Michigan has the rushing and passing offense to score.

Prediction: Michigan covers
Predicted Final Score: Michigan 34, Wisconsin 17
Final Score: Michigan 27, Wisconsin 13
PREDICTION: RIGHT

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So, that’s it for this week. 5 teams beating the spread, one covering… So be it. Hopefully I’ll do a little better than some past weeks, though…

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Phil for Humanity starts us off with A Solution for Politicians. I’ve got a couple to add, mostly in the same frame of mind as the joke starting with “What do you call 20,000 politicians at the bottom of the ocean”, but Phil’s already touched on my voting strategy this November: anti-incumbent.

To solve this problem, I believe that we should re-elect no one. No person should be allowed to run for a political position while being in a political office. As a result, politicians will be more connected to the outside world since they will periodically be the outsiders, and this would leave plenty of room for new politicians with new ideas and noble goals to take office. Therefore, career politicians will become a thing of the past and political corruption should decrease.

Please remember on election day: RE-ELECT NO ONE!

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The esteemed Peter Porcupine, a founding father born about 200 years too late, asks Should Talk Be Cheap? Considering that Hahhvahhd is inviting a humanitarian sure to win a Nobel Prize for peace in the near future, Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, there will undoubtedly be state-provided protection for Khatami. While it’s certainly Hahhvahhd’s right to bring in whoever they would like to speak, who should foot the bill? Internalize the externality, Hahhvahhd. How do you like dem apples?

Gov. Romney has had heads of state visit before, and must know the cost of the security details incumbent upon such an operation. Porcupine suggests that he present his alma mater, Harvard University, with an invoice, payable in advance, for these services and thus take the burden entirely away from the taxpayers for the school’s repellent misjudgment.

Porcupine is certain that Harvard and its endowment will be pleased to foot the bill for what the university is pleased to refer to as, “the tradition of the free exchange of ideas that is a central part to the life of the University.” Perhaps the school will learn that not all exchanges are free.

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Cody Herche Legal Redux looks at 9/11: a place in the law. Whether we like it or not, whether the changes follow the limits proscribed in the Constitution, or whether those changes are long-term benefits to our world, law changes. Typically those changes in laws are responses to major changes in society or major events like war. Cody looks at some of the ways that 9/11 impacted this process, and how the law has changed as a result:

While there are several other events that have dramatically impacted the way laws are administered both here at home and abroad, the above serves as a suitable introduction to the 9/11 terror attacks.

As we near the 5th anniversary, the “wood anniversary” for all my guy readers, we should pause to reflect on the legacy the infamous attacks have left on our legal system. How is the law different today because of 9/11 and the resulting War on Terror?

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The big doing of the blogosphere for the 5-year anniversary of 9/11 was the honoring of the 2,996 folks who died in the attacks. Taking part was Tracy Coenen of Sequence, Inc., who profiles John Patrick Tierney, a firefighter who lost his life that day:

Johnny was a new firefighter, with only 8 months on the job. He graduated from the academy in July 2001, and his new assignment with Ladder Company 9 in Manhattan began only six weeks before the tragedy. His mother said that he wanted to be assigned to Manhattan “to be where it’s busy and he could learn the job and really get out there.”

While still on probationary status, Johnny had his five minutes of fame. He was pictured in a newspaper fighting a fire in Queens. This was Johnny’s first fire.

On September 11, Johnny was finishing a night shift with Engine 33, that was to end at 9:00 a.m. He was supposed to go home, but was so dedicated to his job that he stayed to help. He jumped onto a fire truck that was so crowded as it headed toward the World Trade Center, he had to sit on another firefighter’s lap.

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Mapmaster of The London Fog tells us about Pro-poverty activism in public education. It seems that in Ontario, a new school popped up to “instill a passion for social justice and humanitarianism in the students”. They don’t teach you basic logic and history, because that might make you understand that a passion for social justice and humanitarianism is a lot less likely than individual freedom and capitalism to generate positive results. And in publick edukashun, we’re all stuck paying for it, and not only with our dollars:

If parents want their children to have a facile and fruitless education in this sort of mindlessly celebratory dalliance with a pop-lite expression of a criminal ideology, I am defenseless. But not only am I and every other Ontarian forced to directly subsidize this fantastic debasement and enervation of children’s minds through the publicly-funded education system but we will also be condemned to subsidize just as directly their future NGO or civil service aspirations or else otherwise unemployable welfare prospects. Of the cost to civil society and political conversation in this country, it is incalculable and will exact far greater tolls than only taxes.

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Lisa, also of The London Fog, brings you the next group of authoritarians looking to control you for your own good, with The Obesity Messiahs. In addition to pointing out how taxes on fatty foods actually hurt the poor by making it less likely that they can even afford to eat, she puts her finger squarely on the nature of government. Create a problem trying to fix a problem, try to fix that problem while creating new ones, and so on and so forth:

From the government’s perspective, it is more “cost-effective” to increase taxes on shit that people actually want, while at the same time forcing taxpayers to subsidize tofu and granola consumption. And if the sugar farmers suffer from the increased taxes on sugary food, they too will be eligible for subsidies, just like the tobacco farmers. As for “after-school physical” activity, why not just devote even more of the school day to jumping-jacks? So long as the marginalized minority is the minority, they are entitled to more rights than the majority.

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The Atlantic Review gives us a snippet of the Speech of Hope, which “set the course for American-German relations 60 years ago”. After WWII, the question of what would happen with a nation who had started two World Wars in a short period of time was brewing. Some were worried about the future of Germany, and the “Speech of Hope” helped to calm the noise:

Some critics argue that there is a dearth of gratitude in Germany for America’s monumental support for the country’s reconstruction. I think that gratitude is not only ubiquitous but a vital component of postwar German identity. Yet in recent years some Germans have forgotten what America is — a land of diversity and debate, of writers and innovators, of checks and balances – and that it deserves a measure of confidence in turn.

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Over at The Liberty Papers, I relayed a story about a coworker and his roommate. If The Government Won’t, Who Will? is the story of a debate over gay marriage. It highlights a classic mistake, where people on the left act as if the government is the provider of our rights, not the protector of those rights. We don’t need government to recognize marriage at all, but that’s a difficult point to get across:

But his roommate just simply could not see it. She could not understand that a marriage could be a marriage without a license from the government. She could not understand that society doesn’t require government to stick its grubby fingers into every one of our institutions to give them some sort of legitimacy. This sort of blindness is one of the major barriers to people moving towards small government. They’ve lived with government intrusion deep into their personal affairs for so long that they can’t even imagine life without it.

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One Man Bandwidth: An American Professor in China tells us about an editorial cartoon depicting Chinese President Hu Jintao, resulting in the cartoonist being fired. It could be worse, though, this may be a sign of progress. Years ago, his punishment would be much more severe…

A few months ago I was altering a picture of Mao in Photoshop. I thought it would be funny to bald my friend Geoff and have him presiding over Tiananmen square in Beijing. But, when Ms. Yue caught sight of my laptop in Starbucks she let out an uncharacteristic shriek. She implored me to erase the photo right away. She was genuinely concerned that I might publish the shot and subsequently get deported or. worse yet, jailed for my transgression. I did not know, but it should have been clear to me, that defacing a cultural icon (manufactured or not) was beyond taboo.

A cartoonist after he drew a weeping Chinese President Hu Jintao, learned the same lesson this week the hard way: According to Reuters Kuang Biao’s cartoon HERE of a weeping Hu replying to a letter of the daughter of a mainland professor who died of overwork (aged 48) caught the eye of PRC censors and the reaction was not as benign as Ms Yue’s response to my screw-up. He was summarily sacked.

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PurpleSlog, responding to one of the things that is also my own pet peeve, tells us Democracy != Elections, Modern Democracies are… and gives us a list. While I’d take issue with using the word “democracy”, as the principle of majority rule makes it ambiguous, it is clear that modern free nations have elements much wider than simply voting to describe their society. Telling us why we should promote the nation-state he describes as a democracy, he gives us these points:

* Democracies don’t fight each other (Democratic Peace concept)
* Democracies don’t mass enslave/murder their citizens (Death by Government concept)
* Democracy gives individuals their best chance at achieving their personal goal, whether those are economic, entrepreneurial, familiar, artistic, etc. (maximizing human potential and return on human capital)
* Democracy enables prosperity
* Democracies are future focused and constantly getting better at the above.

In a second post, he outlines SLOE/Future, giving a template to any politician who wants his vote:

Security –> from bad guys: transnational, national and local

Liberty –> free to organize and associate etc as one wants (includes religion, contracts, etc)

Opportunity –> all humans should have lots of opportunities to achieve there potential (opportunity creating stuff = good stuff)

Enrichment –> of wealth, knowledge, experience etc, for all members of ones community (local, national, global). All humans should be uplifted by the exercise of liberty and opportunity maximization

Future Oriented –> No status Quo! I want 200 year life spans, cheap limitless energy, asteroid mining, orbital communities and mars settlements – a better future of all humanity!

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The Ogre highlights another attempt by government to get their hands on the internet, with his post The ADA Screws Some More. In an effort to ensure fairness and accomodation to all of humanity’s creatures, a Federal Judge has said that the Americans with Disabilities Act should apply to web sites… Great… Next they’ll be trying to protect the Illegal Immigrants with Disabilities…

That’s right, all the “accomodations” that are required by the ADA that often crush competition, destroy freedom, and force private companies to go out of business are now supposed to apply to the internet. Government is really angry that they don’t have control over the internet, and they’re doing all they can to GET control.

In this one specific issue, the complaintant is actually crying and whining because one company’s web site doesn’t have alternate text for some images. For those who don’t know much about web stuff, that’s an element of a tag — when you use the IMG tag, you’re “supposed” to include a section that says ALT=”imagename” or something. And now, according to this judge, if you do not include it, you’re in violation of the ADA and subject to huge fines.

The ADA: yet another horrible law that does nothing more than grow government and crush freedom. Well, the case is being overseen by a San Francisco Federal judge — and they absoultely despise anything to do with freedom.

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Stephen Littau from Fearless Philosophy For Free Minds remembers 9/11 with Never Forgive, Never Forget. Stephen takes a look at today’s political climate, wondering how we ever got to a point where we are so divided over the prospect of fighting terrorism. As much as I hate to say this, I think that many Americans have forgotten, and that it may be tough to keep our resolve without another attack occurring. Stephen’s post is a great reminder to keep that from happening:

Well believe it. Welcome to the America of 2006. It’s an election year. It is a time when honest discussion on the threat of Islamofascism is nearly impossible. But