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We're each responsible for the world that we help to create by our action and inaction.  That's why I used the phrase "customer accountability" in the title of today's post.  The customer ultimately shares some responsibility for what their supplier does.  A market requires both suppliers and consumers.  I absolutely distrust government to hold ( Read more... )

At noon (their local time) on Saturday in most major U.S. cities, people will be gathering to show their support for the Wisconsin protesters. They encourage people to wear red and white, which is apparently a sports reference to a University of Wisconsin mascot ( Read more... )

I've said before that I wished for a universal method for objectively measuring how to deal with any creature:

We should be prepared for that eventuality by creating a trans-species codification of legal "Rights", explaining how we should approach any kind of life that we meet, what is permitted and what is never to be tolerated. Rules that a " ( Read more... )

Do I have to consider myself a pessimist if the realistic view really is that terrible?

I "threw away" my vote on Tuesday, and I was happy to do it.  I learned that Ken Pentel (formerly of the Green party) was advocating not only for an economy based on material accounting (rather than baseball trading card mania) but he even wanted to print a ( Read more... )

The mid-term elections start tomorrow morning.  I still can't decide who will win my vote.  It probably doesn't help that I have a slight fever.  (I even stayed home from work today to rest.)  Even ignoring all of the other races, consider my indecision just for the candidate for Minnesota state governor.  We have candidates from 7 different ( Read more... )

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Would you believe that the most reasonable summary I found of the 9/11 and Koran-burning hoopla in America came from an Arabic news source?  My own thoughts are "all over the map" and hard to pin down to a single opinion.

BBC is reporting that there will be no Koran burning from the pastor who stirred controversy in the last week or two.  It ( Read more... )

Technology is great. The user interface still needs a lot of improvement, but this is exactly the kind of tool that can help promote democratic discussion! Individuals now have the power to experiment with government budgeting.

This website offers a tool to help people see just how difficult (or easy) it is to balance the Minnesota state budget.  ( Read more... )