For those who lament over the idea that money has depersonalized and corrupted our personal exchanges and trade, I say cheer up! A barter economy still lives on, and is yet quite healthy. Far away from recipts, balance sheets, and tax forms exists a black market refuge for grassroots capitalism.
Just today […]

This isn’t an issue I deal with much, and would have let this story fade away, but this op-ed in the Washington Examiner really bugged me. A 16-year-old Maryland girl met a 43-year-old man on the Internet and went with him back to Washington state to apparently get married. Now, I’m not gonna […]

Very interesting article about the possability of a civil war in Israel over the dismantling of the settlements in the Gaza Strip. The author, Uri Avnery, seems quite sure about it:
Everybody in Israel is talking about the Next War. The most popular TV channel is running a whole series about it.
Not another […]

For once, a shameful, anti-teen law has gone down in flames rather than living on to oppress teens for years to come. The infamous, yet laughable ban on low riding pants in Virgina has met a well deserved end:
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers dropped their droopy-pants bill Thursday after the whole thing became just […]

Since I first heard about Wikipedia.org I’ve been incredibly impressed by the concept. A free, community edited project. No government bureaucracy, no corporate greed, a truly democratic, people driven resource from the people for the people. In a short matter of time Wikipedia is a very well used, very often referenced resource […]

I haven’t yet referred to the DC proposal to ban the sale of certain video games to minors, it seems so self-evidently stupid and pisses me off so much I couldn’t really mount much of an educated response. So instead I’ll just quote someone else’s thoughts on the subject. Not quite scholarly, but […]

As if dress codes in school aren’t bad enough, there could soon be a statewide dress code in effect for Virginia:
The Virginia House of Delegates has tentatively approved a bill to crack down on people who wear low-riding pants.
Freshman Norfolk Delegate Algie Howell Jr. introduced the bill at the urging of constituents who are offended […]

On Thursday I attended a workshop/meeting/thingy put on by Adam Fletcher of the Freechild Project. Since Adam is from Washington state, and was only in town for a few days at a conference the thing was hosted by Youth Service America. Unfortunately it wasn’t as well attended as some of the other […]

Before you loose faith in humanity, consider this follow up to the previous story on the woman who sued because a neighbor gave her cookies.
Radio station KOA-AM of Denver raised more than $1,900 from listeners Friday to pay the girls’ $930.78 fine. The rest of the money will go to a charity dedicated to victims […]

I am so flabbergasted by this story, I don’t know where to begin.
DURANGO, Colorado (AP) — Two teenage girls who surprised their neighbors with homemade cookies late one night were ordered to pay nearly $900 in medical bills for a woman who says she was so startled that she had to go to […]