Month: September 2009

Thought for the day

From the book Power in the People by Felix Morley, as linked by Gary Galles at the Ludwig von Mises Institute[*1] :

Any system of government cherishing the individual should make allowance for many conflicting viewpoints and should not impede their voluntary adjustment. The only workable alternative to a governmental system that encourages agreement is one that in encourages repression. And the latter, no matter how fair its initial pretense, is in nature, and will therefore eventually become in action, a system of tyranny.

Your shower is icky

Science Daily[*1] :

The (University of Colorado at Boulder) researchers used high-tech instruments and lab methods to analyze roughly 50 showerheads from nine cities in seven states that included New York City, Chicago and Denver. They concluded about 30 percent of the devices harbored significant levels of Mycobacterium avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease that most often infects people with compromised immune systems but which can occasionally infect healthy people, said CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor Norman Pace, lead study author.

Because, you see, hygiene is unhygienic. Or something like that. As they say at Fark.com: EVERYBODY PANIC.

Or, in my version: We Are All Going To Die!

Wash your hands, everyone!

Thought for the day

From the book Power in the People by Felix Morley, as linked by Gary Galles at the Ludwig von Mises Institute[*1] :

It is impossible to read even the bare text of the Constitution at all carefully without realizing that the American Republic was specifically designed to safeguard individual enterprise against the state.

Pictures from the 9/12 Rally at the U.S. Capitol

These photos are of the crowd basically on the Capitol Circle and just inside–that’s as close as I could get. I caught glimpses of the video board that was set up on the Capitol steps, and could hear the speakers well enough, but I was never close enough to actually see any speakers. Pictures are after the “read more.”

I found myself southwest of the Capitol, by Garfield Circle, with a view of the south set of steps. Unfortunately, the speakers and video boards were set up on the north steps of the Capitol.

These people were even farther away than I was
Eventually, I worked my way inside the wall running next to Capitol Circle.
Still on the wrong side of the Capitol, though.
These folks had clambered on top of the Grant Memorial to get a view.

Snookums called on my cell phone and suggested that we meet back at our room at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill–a couple of blocks north and west of the Capitol. It took me about a half hour to work through the crowd on Capitol Circle. The edge of the people was between Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue.

View Larger Map[*1]
I couldn’t get any closer than the path that’s running parallel to the curved road in front of the Capitol–Capitol Circle. The speakers were on the Capitol steps, and the police weren’t letting people get closer than that path–it was full with people from there up to the Capitol building. I don’t honestly know how far around the Reflecting Pool the crowd stretched, but there were a lotmore than the 60,000 people that the news media keep insisting were there.

I’m quite sure it was over 250,000–as judged by this USA Today graphic from Obama’s inauguration (via a reader of Michelle Malkin[*2] :

I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all who were there–except for the small smattering of would-be infiltrators and counter-demonstrators who found themselves overwhelmed by the turnout of just plain folks from around the country.

Pictures from the 9/12 March on Washington

I promised some 9/12 March on Washington pictures–if nothing else, to prove that I really was there. This will be in two posts–first, the March, and second, the Rally.

Freedom Plaza, where the March began

The March started a whole hour early, as Freedom Plaza was packed with people, and couldn’t accommodate any more, so the D.C. Police told the organizers to start the March, as people were spilling out way beyond the plaza.

“Our forefathers gave us a Republic! Can we keep it?”
It was not wall-to-wall people walking down Pennsylvania Avenue
Some guy decided to sell giant pretzels along the route. Capitalism!
We found ourselves behind the flag–literally
These words on the Newseum seemed strangely familiar . . . where could they come from?
Arriving at the Capitol