by Pete Eyre | Mar 6, 2012 |
I attempt to take conversations to their logical conclusions. If Person A makes an absolutist statement it in the least leaves ample room for questions posited as “devils advocate” and likely brings to light questions never before considered, that upon further scrutiny, causes Person A themselves to admit that flaws exist in their argument.
Over the past week when conversing with Keene police employees about their stance on the possible acquisition of a BEARCAT armored vehicle, some noted that “it’s free” – essentially saying that since it is to be provided via a federal Dept. of Homeland Security grant it’d be erroneous to turn it down.
Overlooking the fact that the federal government (like government at any level) must first steal or print what they spend, my immediate follow-up to such it’s-free-so-why-not-take-it statements is to question the point at which they’d say “no thanks.”
What would Keene “authorities” do if they were offered other military hardware, such as a drone? Sound far-fetched? Not so. Fortunately, as the story below demonstrates, at least some comic relief can be had from this escalation of the police state thanks to the rampant be-afraid-of-everything mindset peddled since 9/11 (hey – any excuse to grow the size and scope of the State, right?)
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by Pete Eyre | Mar 4, 2012 |
Can an individual claim an exclusive monopoly to a word, phrase or idea, which then denotes the right to seek damages from those who happen to utter sounds in a particular order?
What about a corporation? Can an entity that comes into existence when a group of people put some words on paper all of a sudden have rights? How can a legal fiction be wronged? How exactly would something that exists only on paper be made whole?
Actual picture from LENCO's site
Individuals employed at LENCO, the MA-based manufacturer of the BEARCAT – an $300,000, 8-ton armored vehicle being peddled to police departments in large and small towns alike thanks to Dept. of Homeland Security grants and mindless scare tactic rhetoric – a few weeks ago pulled their promo video of the vehicle after pushback from many Keene, NH, population 23,000, who were rightly concerned about their local police acquiring such hardware. (watch video in full below)
The video in question shows the BEARCAT engaged in SWAT/paramalitary exercises set to AC/DC. Badass, right?! The video is the epitome of the post-9/11 world according to those in government* who grow their claimed authority thanks to real or claimed emergencies. (more…)
by Pete Eyre | Feb 23, 2012 |
“We must be the change we want to see in the world”
The quote is often attributed to Mohandas Gandhi, though like another researcher, I have yet to track-down when that phrase was first written or spoken. Still, no matter who first stated it, the phrase makes sense, right? Rather than sitting by idly and complaining the surest way to bring-about the world you want to live in is to be proactive and create.
Yesterday Luke Rudkowski, one of the founders of a grassroots organization that took its name from the quote (WeAreChange.org) told his 7,000+ Twitter followers “thanks but no tank!”
The link took Twitter followers to this video: Thanks But No Tanks – Keene Residents Speak Up
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by Pete Eyre | Feb 15, 2012 |
Sixteen months ago I made public a debt owed to me by my friend Kevin (and his then-wife Lindsay) in the hopes that it’d help me get repaid.
In an exhausitve post I gave an overview of the situation, a timeline of exchanges between me and Kevin, and screenshots of related email correspondence. As I noted at that time:
I’m making this debt public this for two reasons. First, in the hopes that it incentives Kevin to repay what he himself admits that he owes. Second, to lessen the asymmetry of information – so that others who may interact with Kevin on a business level are aware his history (at least with me), so that they can make more-informed decisions.
I had hoped I wouldn’t have to write this post. But, as an advocate of individual freedom and responsibility and someone who believes that each of our reputation’s is the most-important thing we have, I feel it’s the best option I have.
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by Pete Eyre | Feb 15, 2012 |
Let him who would move the world, first move himself.
-Socrates
So you’re in college, huh? Why is that – to learn? To grow as an individual? To help make your world, and thus the world, better? Why stop once the spring semester ends? Invest in yourself – you’re worth it! Apply for and attend a free week-long summer seminar hosted through the Institute for Humane Studies.
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I attempt to take conversations to their logical conclusions. If Person A makes an absolutist statement it in the least leaves ample room for questions posited as “devils advocate” and likely brings to light questions never before considered, that upon further scrutiny, causes Person A themselves to admit that flaws exist in their argument.
