I remember back when I was a kid and I did something wrong, sometimes my parents would handle it separately, and I'd get yelled at or punished by both of them for the same misdeed. It seemed so unfair. Lawmakers do much the same thing. Only instead of doing it at the same time, they do it one after another. Not a year goes by that my state legislators don't bump up the … [Read more...] about Evil Lawmaking: Piling On
Eight Crappy Photos Lost to History
By the way, for anyone tempted to be impressed by some of my photography, when I was getting the photo of the toilet and plunger for the previous item, I had to take nine shots to get a composition I liked with the correct exposure to show details in both the white and the black objects. And I still had to use Photoshop to crop it a little and adjust the contrast curves to … [Read more...] about Eight Crappy Photos Lost to History
A Disheartening Reminder of Human Depravity
Yesterday I was moving some boxes into my new rental storage locker. As I went to get a cart to haul the boxes, I once again saw all the signs asking us not to steal the carts. It's a realistic concern. I'm moving out of my old storage locker because people stole all the carts and management decided not to replace them. When I finished, I used the bathroom, where I found … [Read more...] about A Disheartening Reminder of Human Depravity
Forensic Testing and the Single Experimenter
In a post a few weeks ago, I pointed out that Mississippi dentist Dr. Michael West, a bite mark analyst who often gives expert testimony in criminal trials, isn't much of a scientist. I based my conclusion on Radley Balko's Reason article, which included this description of West's methodology: But even in an already imprecise field, Dr. Michael West has taken forensic … [Read more...] about Forensic Testing and the Single Experimenter
Rudy Giuliani Explains Freedom
I think Rudy Giuliani may well be the most authoritarian of the mainstream presidential candidates. The man loves power too much. Here he is in a speech from 1994, before 9/11 made people forget what an ass he is: We look upon authority too often and focus over and over again, for 30 or 40 or 50 years, as if there is something wrong with authority. We see only the oppressive … [Read more...] about Rudy Giuliani Explains Freedom