Round the Horn. An Irwin J. McIckleson Production

Yes, I, Mr. Irwin J. McIckleson, Fictional 1910's Plutocrat, am here to escort you on a trip through the Liberal Coalition. Before getting to the Liberal Coalition I did have a few stories of my own that I thought were interesting and deserved comment.

First of all, I am heartened to see that the tradition of quackery is alive and well in this future age. Quackery is one of the pillars of any strong society; for how can a civilization thrive if it has not mastered all the arts of deception. And Kevin Trudeau certainly seems like a world class quack. Consider these words from his book.

If you read the labels of everything you put in your mouth, you would see the name [sic] of various chemicals. All the chemicals listed are dangerous man-made chemicals. They are poisons. If you were to take any of those chemicals and ingest a large amount at one time, you would probably die. Therefore they are in fact poisons.

What a triumph of illogic! I hope you future men are smart enough to realize the obvious value of medicinal chemicals. Chemicals are necessary and life preserving, and I can only imagine that, 100 years hence, you have developed even more powerful Chemicals. But for those who are foolish enough to doubt the integrity of chemicals or the scientists who create them, it is good to know the quack will still be there to strike.

I also read an article which stated that the National Labor Relations Board is banning employers to fraternize during their off hours. Or as the headline puts it, "Big Brother Nixes Happy Hour." What abject cruelty. Even I have to marvel at the immense lack of concern for workers shown by this policy. In my day, we were known to be cruel to our employees, but forbidding them to enjoy each others company out of the factory? The thought makes me blush (or it would, had not an industrial accident removed the ability to blush from me).

Ultimately though, the purpose of cruelty to your workers has to be to inspire them to produce more. Thus punishing them outside of work is particularly pointless, unless the object is to make their life outside of work so painful they would prefer to work rather than leave the factory. But if that is the goal, it might be more practical to simply lock them in!

But enough of my fripperies. On to the Liberal Coalition.

AND THEN . . . has a fascinating discussion of secret languages, or languages known only to a very few. It is interesting to consider that there are truths that cannot be conveyed in simple English or Latin; but such must be the case. Still it's all a bit mystical for me.

blogAmy has a section on a man I take to be the Current Majority Leader in the Senate and his allegiance to the National Rifle Association. It provides an interesting study in how the interests of the Plutocrats do not always coincide perfectly. Certainly easy availability of firearms for our workers can be seen as a somewhat dangerous state of affairs, yet the Gun Making Plutocrats want to be able to sell their product. Apparently the Gun Making Plutocrats have largely succeeded in whatever struggle occurred. So much that now that Senate Majority Leader is in favor of not holding them responsible even if they should sell the gun to a lunatic or irishman!

According to a piece by Collective Sigh, former President Clinton has been offered a dowry of cows and goats for his daughters hand. Personally I would refuse such an offer, but each father has to make that decision on his own, I suppose.

LeftyBrown's Corner has some thoughts on Movie Films about Superheros. I gather they mean some kind of dime novel characters. I guess those could make interesting movies. Anyway he lists his favorite of those kinds of Movie Films.

Happy Furry Puppy Story Time has some complaints about how the United States Government serves it's most valuable citizens, the plutocrats. Apparently he is upset that a recent government bill benefits energy plutocrats far more than it does anybody else. To that I say Bah. Plutocrats made this country, so naturally they should reap the greater share of its rewards.

Dohiyi Mir has a discussion of how to handle bomb-throwing anarchist prisoners. Apparently it is the better part of wisdom to use such prisoners to implicate their fellow criminals. Also apparently the people President Bush has put in place to accomplish this have not been successful at convincing prisoners to aid them in the such for their enemies.

Respectful of Otters has a picture of an adorable child who is apparently the authors daughter. I have to say the art of photography has advanced considerably since my time.

Rooks Rant has commentary on how the United States need for Oil as a natural resource has led them to invade Iraq. I still strongly suspect that the cost of invading and extracting the oil will not equal the value of the oil produced. I also agree that if Oil is in limited supply it makes sense to take steps to minimize its use.

First Draft has some comments on the fact that the President apparently made rude gesture while in public? I must admit to be shocked that any United States President would have so little decorum as to make a gesture of this time. What has happened to the values of America, if such a thing can be brushed aside so easily?

T. Rex's Guide to life has a quiz one can take to find out what sort of humor one creates. I assume that now, with science having advanced so greatly, human nature can be efficiently and easily mapped through questionnaires of this nature. I'm sure that has positive effects as workers can be placed with people with which they will work the most hard.

And that's it for another week.