The Stories and Novels By Derek Ward
So, Toys R Us announced it’s shuttering or selling off all of its 700 stores. Well, that’s a damned shame. I have lots of great memories of going there to get the new Transformer or GI Joe toy when I was growing up.
According to this article, Toys R Us was already in trouble before Amazon started dominating the retail sector.
Wow, lots of debt is a bad thing – whether for a business, or a family, or a nation.
I’ve been seeing outrage at people “attacking” the children protesting for gun control. How terrible we are for “attacking” children?
Am I supposed to coddle them like children if they’re demanding to be heard on the adult stage? Or should they suffer the slings and arrows that they have been recklessly flinging at me and mine? They can’t have it both ways.
If they want to be bomb-throwers, then they cannot play the innocent when bombs are thrown back. They cannot call lawful gun owners murderers and subhumans, and then act offended when people call them Nazis.
Put simply, they cannot demand be given the same treatment as adults in the public square, and then demand to be treated like children when they are.
They are either foot soldiers or pawns or both in the most recent flare up of the gun control war that’s been going on in this country for over a hundred years.
Welcome to the fight.
For the crap of the “School Safety” gun control law, the Florida Legislature did manage to pass some worthwhile bills that the governor signed.
For those of us who support free speech, this is a win.
Florida becomes ninth state to ban restrictive campus free speech zones
Of course, there’s still the problem of the heckler’s veto in the form of aggressive “demonstrations” and high “security” fees for controversial speakers.
One step forward.
I love the two and a half installments of Patrick Rothfuss’s “Kingkiller Chronicles.†This is Nightwish’s tribute.
From Reason and the Volokh Conspiracy comes word that the Cato Institute is starting a new civil rights and police accountability initiative.
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/03/07/the-cato-institutes-new-civil-rightspoli
Qualified immunity is one of those things that make it hard to reform the criminal justice system. I’m even more incensed since learning that it was more or less invented out of legal whole cloth.
Police and prosecutors are supposed to be just like everyone else under the color of law. It’s why they don’t have special tribunals like the military. Hell, I’d be happier with special tribunals if I thought it would make them be held to a higher standard. With great power…
I’m really liking the idea of cops and prosecutors being required to buy and hold personal indemnification policies, like doctors or other professions. I don’t like the fact that I have to pay to protect bad apples from the consequences of their actions. Insurance companies are really good at quantifying risk. It would be interesting to see what they would do with that pool.
President Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports. Canada and Mexico are spared for the moment.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/ct-biz-trump-tariff-plan-20180308-story.html
As expected, when the tariffs were first announced, the Trump supporters went wild, while the Trump haters were incensed. Personally, I don’t give a flying fuck about the zealots on either side. They’re more akin to cults than anything else.
The problem are the cheering from blue collar workers who saw their jobs destroyed in the 2000s. Guess what? Those jobs aren’t coming back. Here’s a bit from WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/steel-tariffs-without-jobs-1520206689
I know that US Steel said it’s reopening some facilities, but how long do you think that’s going to last? Even with the inflated cost caused by the tariff, there is an upper limit to what domestic steel producers can charge. If the cost of labor is too high, then automation will be introduced. Hell, it’ll probably be introduced just to prepare the domestic producers from when the tariffs are rolled back.
And they will be rolled back. Particularly when EVERYONE is hit by the price bump. Because domestic producers aren’t going to stay at their current prices. They’re going to bump them up to just below the tariff price. And that’s going to roll right on down. Guess what those high prices are going to cause? Job losses.
Tariffs always hurt the people who can least afford it. Always.
The Sunshine Protection Act is heading off to the governor’s desk.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/fl-reg-florida-daylight-saving-time-20180306-story.html
Essentially, the law would allow for Florida to not “fall back” an hour and stay on DST. Of course, it also requires Congress to act, which will probably be the death knell for it.
Just let us not have to deal with the stupid changing of the clocks. It serves no real purpose other than jet-lagging twenty million people.
Hillsborough County commissioners voted to extend the waiting period from three to five days. An “assault weapon” ban failed to get off the ground.
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/hillsborough-county-commissioners-to-vote-on-assault-weapons-band
They must really think the need to do something outweighs the risk of being sued under Florida’s Preemption Law. Especially with Florida Carry more than willing to sue.
And for something that would do absolutely nothing to prevent another mass shooter. These aren’t folks who go buy a gun and start killing on a whim. They take time to plan, and it’s a hell of a lot longer than five fucking days.
I’m going to try and do this on an annual basis. Part of it’’s my own curiosity at how my podcast habits change. I’m also curious what others think about the same podcasts and which podcasts come and go.
I’m going to list the podcasts into some broad groups, with any annotations about frequency I listen to them or general impressions.
I listen to my podcasts in Overcast. I use four playlists:
My podcasts as of March 2018:
Cato Daily Podcast – A good quick bit in various topics from a libertarian viewpoint. This one I use as filler on my “Daily” playlist.
Cato Events Podcast – Recordings of various panels put on by the Cato Institute. I’ve heard a lot of very interesting discussions and arguments. This one I use as filler on my “Daily” playlist. I will delete if the topic doesn’t interest me, as these can be pretty long.
Clear and Present Danger -A History of Free Speech – This is a Friday morning podcast on my “Daily” playlist. Still a little uncertain about this one.
The Good Fight – Formerly “The Liberty Files”, this one is a promotable on my “Daily” playlist. This is one I like using for hearing the conservative side of civil liberty discussions. A bit heavier on the freedom of religion than I’d like, but understandable from the hosts’ perspective.
Reason Podcast – Reason’s weekly podcast with their editors is promotable on my Daily playlist. The others are filler. Some good content and some that just don’t interest me.
Short Circuit – From the Institute of Justice, this one discusses notable cases that IJ is a part of. This is a promotable on my Daily playlist.
So To Speak – FIRE’s podcast discussing free speech issues. This is a Friday morning podcast on my Daily playlist.
Econtalk – Economist Russ Roberts does great interviews with a wide variety of guests and topics. I’ve been learning a lot. This is a Tuesday morning podcast on my Daily playlist.
GAO Podcast – GAO discussing some of their reviews. This one I use as filler on my “Daily” playlist
Hardcore History – Dan Carlin’s storytelling on various topics is spellbinding. This is promotable on my History playlist on the infrequent occasions new podcasts show up.
Hardcore History: Addendum – New one from Dan Carlin. The first two were interesting. This will be promotable if he continues.
The History of Byzantium – I only listened to a couple of episodes. It’s on my “Roman History” playlist to go after the “History of Rome.”
The History of Rome – This one is on my “Roman History” playlist. Good for amateur historians like me. It’s a finished series.
Revolutions – Really good series on various revolutions. Each season goes through one of the more pivotal revolutions in history, starting with the English Revolution. I’ve listened to the first four seasons. This is on my History playlist.
War Stories – Good military history podcast. It’s in my “History” playlist.
Black Man With A Gun Podcast – Kenn’s podcast was one of the first I started listening to, and then I wrote Zombie Strike for him. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Down Range Radio – Right now, this is my Wednesday morning podcast, but it may get downgraded to promotable. Some of Bane’s nonsense and glad standing is getting on my nerves. On my Daily playlist.
Geeks Gadgets and Guns – A recent addition after they discussed Pathfinder with Erin Pallette. Right now it’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
The Gun Nation – This one is promotable on my Daily playlist on the rare occasions it drops.
Handgun Radio – This one I’ve been enjoying. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Handgun World – This one might go from promotable to fuller on my Daily playlist. Bob has good information, but sometimes his views annoy me, particularly when he goes off on rising evil.
Polite Society Podcast – Good information, but often too long. This one is filler on my Daily playlist
Riding Shotgun With Charley – Interesting so far, but currently filler on my Daily playlist
Safety Solutions Academy – Real good information. Paul is one of those trainers I’d like to learn from if I could scrape together the time and money. This one is promotable on my Daily playlist.
Self-Defense Gun Stories – I like the analysis of what went right and wrong from a variety of professional trainers. This one is a promotable on my Daily playlist.
The Economist – This is a Friday morning podcast on my Daily playlist. It provides a different perspective and reports on areas that barely hit my normal feeds.
The Fifth Column – This is a really good roundup focusing on the issues of the day and how the media reports them. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen – Charles C. Cooke. That’s why I listen to this podcast. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Neal Boortz Daily Commentaries – I loved listening to Boortz when he was on syndicated radio, and now I get two minutes of him. It’s interesting to see how I’ve diverged from him over the years. It’s only considered promotable on my Daily playlist because I get it daily.
The One With Greg Gutfeld – Only listened to a couple of episodes, but it feels similar to Greg’s Redeye days. Currently promotable on my Daily playlist.
Part of the Problem – Rabid anti war libertarian comedian Dave Smith is interesting. He’s certainly challenging some of my ideas. Promotable on my Daily playlist.
War College – This is a Friday morning podcast on my Daily playlist. An interesting look at politics and military issues.
Clockwise – This is a Friday morning podcast on my Daily playlist. I like the format and it helps keep me up to date on tech issues and trends.
Daily Tech Headlines – Good summary of big tech stories, and the weekend history segments are interesting. It’s considered promotable on my Daily playlist only because it comes out every day.
Friendly Fire – New one about three guys watching and critiquing war films. It’s a Friday afternoon podcast on my Daily playlist.
The Incomparable Game Show – Often hilarious, sometimes dangerously so when driving. It’s a Friday afternoon podcast on my Daily playlist.
Penn’™s Sunday School – Penn prognosticating on the world. It’s a Tuesday and a Thursday morning podcast on my Daily Playlist.
Squirrel Report – It’s not a Friday afternoon drive without this one.
Unjustly Maligned – On hiatus, but I’d recommend going through the back of episodes.
The Way I Heard It With Mike Rowe – After growing up with Paul Harvey’™s “The Rest of the Story”, this one is a wonderful substitute. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Skeptics Guide to The Universe – This was my first science podcast and really helped forge my skepticism. It’s a Monday morning podcast on my Daily playlist.
Skeptoid – Another one that helped in developing my skeptical outlook. It’s a promotable on my Daily playlist.
Writing Excuses – If you are a fiction writer, I can’t recommend this one highly enough. It’s currently the only one on my Writing playlist.
Yes, it’s another sporadic entry into Metal Tuesday. If you’re easily offended by satanic metal, what the hell are you doing on this blog?