Some civil servants are just like my loved ones.
“Fuzzy, leave-the-details-to-be-sorted-out-by-the-courts legislation is attractive to the Congressman who wants credit for addressing a national problem but does not have the time (or perhaps the votes) to grapple with the nittygritty. In the field of criminal law, at least, it is time to call a halt.” – Sykes v. United States
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Here’s a quick interview I did with Tom Zawistowski of the Ohio Liberty Coalition.
Zawistowski says his experience was typical. He argues the kinds of questions the I.R.S. asked his group amounts to little more than “opposition research.”
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To jump in on the #ObamaCareinThreeWords meme, the White House tweeted this.
It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…
— The White House (@whitehouse) May 16, 2013
Given scandals involving the IRS and Associated Press this week, the idea that “you should respect this thing because it’s the law” just doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have quite the same currency.
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“Policy failure has often been attributed to mistakes and ignorance, but it might rather be the result of the rational pursuit of interest and not really a failure from the perspective of those whose interests are controlling the choice at hand.” – Richard E. Wagner
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Jeremy Drew saw a police officer parked illegally outside a market, so he recorded the officer and asked for his badge number. The officer refused, fired up his motorcycle and then spoke (mostly unintelligibly) to Jeremy. But what impresses me most is that the kid asserted himself to the officer without being disrespectful. It’s a valuable lesson for all of us when we engage with abusers of power, however large the abuse.
The video went viral. Jeremy then posted a followup, entitled, “My Response to My Viral Video.” It’s damn near the most precious thing I’ve seen in a long time. He asks YouTube commenters to be nicer to him and the police officer involved. I hope that kid doesn’t lose his strong regard for his fellow man and his willingness to directly, assertively and respectfully engage with people. It’s sorely needed … especially on YouTube.
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Mitch McConnell’s re-election platform plank #1 appears to read as follows:
It’s a nice video, though. Could’ve used a better [ahem] narrator.
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Comedian John Hodgman posted this to Facebook:
To the people of Northern Virginia and DC and beyond.
Do any of you have a dress that would fit a 195 pound 5’10” man named John Hodgman that you can bring to my show tomorrow night at The Birchmere?
It should be something that Ayn Rand might have worn in 1981.
If you do and can bring it to the show, I will comp you a pair of tickets if you don’t have any, or pay you back for a pair if you do.
Contact me at hodgman (at) maximumfun (dot) org.
That is all.
The result will probably be very funny.
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Photobombing Ted Cruz at the Heritage Foundation? All in a day’s work.
