No damp basement for me...

When we first moved into this house my oldest daughter wanted her bedroom to be in the basement, however it was very damp and musty even after painting and cleaning, which made us look into portable dehumidifiers. I realized that I could not use just any type, that I needed a wet basement dehumidifier and I also knew that with the way my teenage daughter was, that there was no chance that she would remember to empty the unit. We had used units in the past that did not have the automatic shut off and automatic drain feature so I was able to be a smart consumer when it came to knowing which recommended features we needed. After that the hardest part was trying to explain to her how does a dehumidifier work so that she'd realize there were times when it would turn on more than others. Now, she has a livable basement space, well livable in her terms, unfortunately dehumidifiers can't make rooms clean...

:-)

Another advantage of our way of life...

I was reading this news story from India, which should point out the advantages of living in a country where we do have basic freedoms and protections from situations like this one. Lawyers tied a young man to a tree and beat him outside a court in India for refusing to marry one of their relatives, an official said on Wednesday.

The group of laywers surrounded the victim when he arrived at a court in the Taj Mahal town of Agra to settle a dispute over marrying the niece of one of the lawyers. This was caught on camera by Indian TV channels who showed the abusive lawyers tearing off the man's shirt, tying him to a tree trunk and cutting bald patches into his hair. The 22-year-old victim was then beaten up.

Supposedly the bar association in that town is looking into the incident but it really does give one pause when thinking about the types of injustices people face.

The freedom of home ownership...

Many people with less than perfect credit end up in a situation where they feel that they really have no options. That they will be stuck renting properties forever and the dream of home ownership will remain that...just a dream...Yet there are many programs out there that can help almost ever person out there with earned income through different bad credit mortgage loans be able to still see that dream come true. Credit Loan has all types of information and resources to help you learn more about your options, they even offer different types of financial calculators as well as other great tools that could get you one step closer to owning your own home.

Interesting piece on Fox about Ron Paul...

I came across an interesting post on Fox by Radley Balko about Ron Paul and some of the claims that were made by other Republican candidates tonight. I think it's noteworthy because it is as the column calls it "Straight Talk". Some of the highlights:

Perhaps, Paul suggested, the 15-year presence of the U.S. military forces in Muslim countries may have motivated them. For that, Giuliani excoriated him, calling it an "extraordinary statement," adding, "I don't think I've heard that before."

Let's be blunt. Giuliani was either lying, or he hasn't cracked a book in six years.

The "blowback" theory isn't some fringe idea common only to crazy Sept. 11 conspiracy theorists. It doesn't suggest that we "deserved" the Sept. 11 attacks, nor does it suggest we shouldn't have retaliated against the people who waged them.

What it does say is that actions have consequences. When the Arab and Muslim world continually sees U.S. troops marching through Arab and Muslim backyards, U.S. trade sanctions causing Arab and Muslim suffering and U.S. bombs landing on Arab and Muslim homes, it isn't difficult to see how Arabs could begin to develop a deep contempt for the U.S.

Personally I was glad to see a politician have the courage to actually say what some of us have been saying for quite some time...

Drug treatment Center for women only...

While of course I am a proponent of equal rights, I am also realistic enough to know that women at times face different challenges when it comes to drug rehab. This makes a "one sized fits all" approach one that generally does not work for either sex. There is a treatment center called "Orchid Recovery Center for Women" that has been having a great deal of success in providing a supportive environment for women of all ages. In addition to offering a private phone consultation for free, Orchid Recovery Center for Women has also strived to make their program more affordable than many of the other private treatment facilities.

Michael Badnarik quote...

When it came to the last presidential election I voted for Michael Badnarik, even though I realized the chances of him winning were slim. For me it was my way of expressing hope that someday there might actually be a candidate that presents real solutions to some of the problems America faces. Neither George Bush or John Kerry offered that, in my opinion. One of my favorite quotes by Michael was listed on PurePolitics.com:

"The Libertarian philosophy is based on individual rights and personal responsibility. Rights and responsibilities are different aspects of the same concept, much like opposite sides of the same coin. Being Libertarian also means adhering to the non-aggression principle in our everyday lives."

:-)

Free Classifieds...

I'm a big fan of free classifieds as I think it gives people the ability to be able to provide services or sell unwanted items without having to go through the hassle of paying for an ad then perhaps not have anyone be interested in that particular item at the time you are selling it. It's My Market is a new classified site out there that has forums and other items of interest on top of providing a way for you to find services or to sell and buy hundreds of different items. This is one of those recommended sites to bookmark for future visits.

Bible escapes being classified as "indecent"

From a libertarian standpoint I think some of the rules in Hong Kong are silly anyway, but this recent story points out the hypocrisy in their system, it seems that the Hong Kong's Television and Licensing Authority (TELA) said in a statement issued late Thursday that it would not submit the Bible to the Obscene Articles Tribunal for classification.

The regulator received 2,041 complaints against the Bible this week, following an uproar over a sex column in a student magazine that was classified as "indecent" by authorities for asking if readers had ever fantasized about incest or bestiality. A website was created pointing out the many examples of incest and rape in the Bible as a comparison.

Supposedly...

the Bible "had not violated standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable members of the community."

New Online Celebrity Dating game...

This is an interesting way to not only promote freedom of expression but a novel marketing idea as well.

For the next 14 weeks, men out there can have a chance at a dream date thanks to a new online dating contest sponsored by GoFish.com. Actress, Mirelly Taylor is the first celebrity "to seduce", she's appeared on movies such as Kiss Me Again and Serving Sara. She's also been on many television shows like “Las Vegas”, “Punk’d”, and “Numb3rs”. How does it work? Mirelly creates videos where she gives hints as to what kind of a man she is looking for. Men submit videos, and then the online community votes on these Free videos at GoFish.com GoFish.com. The finalists will be selected by the viewers with Mirelly Taylor having the final say of those finalists as to who will be the one selected. Better yet, just watch this video and you'll learn more:



Personally I think this could really take off, and it would be neat to see it include something like a non-date where you could actually have dinner with someone that you've always admired. It would give those of us who are happily married a chance to join in and submit our videos. I have quite a list of people I'd love to have a chat with, though I'm not really sure if I would want to practice having to kiss a piece of fruit...

Hillary for President t-shirts...

I love our free market society and I wondered with some of the sponsored posts that I write which candidate would be the first one for me to blog about. Interestingly enough it is for Hillary t-shirts. Of course DePresident does not appear to be affiliated directly with any of the campaigns, but they do have some cute designs for those who "love Hillary" or some of the other presidential candidates as well. Undecided? Then you could always order Hillary then an Edwards or even an Obama and have your wardrobe flip flop with the best of them out there.

Or if you pick a design like this one:



You can always pretend that your name is Hillary if she doesn't end up as the winner...

Ayn Rand and her affect on the Libertarian movement

It's often been said that Ayn Rand has brought more people into the libertarian movement than anybody else. That by making the moral case for individualism and liberty through her dramatic novels she encouraged people to support the concept of libertarianism. Ironically I read her some of her novels after I had already become familiar with some of the ideals.

Her first book was We The Living (1936), chronicling love and the struggle for liberty amidst Soviet oppression. Then came her first big success, The Fountainhead (1943), about a determined individualist pursuing his vision in a collectivist world. The Fountainhead became a bestseller and was made into a movie starring Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal and Raymond Massey. Anthem (1946) is a bold affirmation of individualism. A short novel, it affords an easy introduction to Rand's ideas. The book goes far beyond more famous anti-authoritarian novels such as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon (1941) or George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) or 1984 (1949). Rand's most philosophical novel is Atlas Shrugged (1957) which tells what happened when some of the world's most productive individuals got tired of being exploited and went on strike.

Rand elaborated her philosophy with brilliant essays, gathered in several books: Philosophy Who Needs It? (1962), Capitalism The Unknown Ideal (1962), The Virtue of Selfishness (1964), The Romantic Manifesto (1969), The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution (1971, since reissued as Return of the Primitive) and The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought (1988). Altogether some 20 million copies of Rand's books have been sold

Have something to say? Publish your own book...

I'm sure you've often heard people state, "Boy, I could write a book about that" in relation to one topic or another. Today thanks to many of the new technologies we have when it comes to being able to promote/reach a market if this is something you have considered then contact a Publishing Company like Author House. They proudly state that since 1997 they have been the leading self-publishing company in the world and they have the tools and the experience to help you on your quest to self-publishing...

On Libertarians and God...

As I was searching the net earlier I came across this question in the "Yahoo Answers" section that I found to be rather interesting and worth sharing because it underlines one of the common misconceptions about some who consider themselves to lean libertarian or be libertarian.

If libertarian does not believe in God, how is it that he is afraid of death?

The answer that was selected as the best one and one in my opinion is also good:

There are two meanings of 'libertarian'.

1. Someone who believes we have free will. Thus a libertarian is quite likely to believe in God - unless he is also an atheistic existentialist. But I could be either and not be afraid of death.

2. In political terms, a libertian is someone who advocates minimal government and maximal liberty. I don't see that this sort of libertarian is necessarily an atheist, nor that he is necessarily afraid of death.

The ancient Epicureans said the following about death:

There is no need to fear death, because when we are here, death is not; and when death is here, we are not.

They taught that belief in angry gods who punish those who offend them is bad because it tends to make the believer afraid of death when the non-believer need not be.

uTango an interesting concept...

It does appear that uTango is correct that it's utango rewards program is something that has never been offered before. It is designed to be a loyalty marketing concept that offers potential rewards over a long term. It's stated it will give young couples a chance to earn up to $1 Million in Life-Stage cash rewards for shopping with uTANGO merchant partners and staying married. At this point it is only open to those who are single, engaged or have been married for less than three years.

I spent some time reading their detailed FAQ sheet and I can see where if you shopped with the companies that currently are involved with uTango where it could not only create customer loyalty to those websites but pay off very well later in life if the program stays in existance. The downside to the program is of course if you don't stay married or if you miss the target points required without being related to some sort of a financial hardship and a deactivation of your account happens. At this point since we have been married for over 7 years we don't qualify to even give it a try, though it does state they are looking at expanding the program to those married over three years at a later date. It also has a referral element where it is stated you can refer up to 500 people during the lifetime of your account which could generate $500,000 to a 30 year Life-Stage Reward Plan payout.

Is it worth taking a look at? Yes, I'd recommend checking out the website for complete details and see if this is something that would interest you.

Making Copyright infringement a criminal act?

I recommend reading this article at Wired News on the topic of the recent suggestions of the Attorney General:

If the attorney general has his way, copyright law will work more like drug laws: The government could seize your personal property, wiretaps in counterfeit cases would become legit, violators could face lifetime prison sentences, and, in an ambiguous and far-reaching provision, the mere attempt to violate a copyright would become a crime.

The Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, proposed to Congress on Monday by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, would amend current U.S. copyright law to give the government far more power to investigate and prosecute cases, would expand the scope of what constitutes a criminal act, and would stiffen penalties, including adding a life term for those whose activities cause death.

Obviously some of us believe this goes a bit to far in it's scope and focus so it will be interesting to see what happens in Congress in regard to this.

Use Pingo to save money on calls...

If you make long distance calls, especially ones over seas then you should make sure you are informed about discount International calling cards online. That's one of the great things about Pingo, they make it very easy to check to see what the rates are, as one example, my daughter has friends who have family in Lebanon, so it was very easy to discover what the Lebanon calling card rates were.

It's also very easy to use Pingo, it's all done online so you never have to worry about running out of minutes or having to run out and by another card by using them as your prepaid calling card provider. Pingo also has some great special offers right now a $25.00 gift certificate and a special deal for father's day both give you a chance to save even more money or to talk longer...

Freedom to be yourself...

I read this New York Times article about Girth and Nudity, a Pictorial Misson with great interest. Not just because the photos were taken by Leonard Nimoy, but because it demonstrates to me the acceptance of people for who they are, and that there is a beauty in us all no matter our clothing size. Part of the article:

“The average American woman, according to articles I’ve read, weighs 25 percent more than the models who are showing the clothes they are being sold,” Mr. Nimoy said, his breathing slightly labored by allergies and a mild case of emphysema. “So, most women will not be able to look like those models. But they’re being presented with clothes, cosmetics, surgery, diet pills, diet programs, therapy, with the idea that they can aspire to look like those people. It’s a big, big industry. Billions of dollars. And the cruelest part of it is that these women are being told, ‘You don’t look right.’ ”

Mr. Nimoy, who divides his time among homes in New York and Los Angeles and on Lake Tahoe, in California, admits that before he began this project, it had never occurred to him that beauty might be culture driven, that a fat body in Africa is treated quite differently from one in the United States. “In some cultures their weight is a sign of affluence: their husbands can afford to feed them well,” he noted.

Will you Get it?

The answer to the question of "Who Gets it?" could very well be you! It's a fun new way to win prizes valued from $10 to $600, and it's called whogets.com. It's free to join and after the first round in which people are randomly selected who wins the prize is based on writing an up to 100 word statement on why they think they should win. Members vote and...*voila* the winner is selected. I can verify they do not spam, as I have joined the site, and perhaps one day soon I'll be one of those selected to see if I'm the one whogets.com...

Freedom School...

Yes, this is not what you would consider to be a Libertarian topic, or maybe it is...I'm a fan of Billy Jack movies and I still have a "Freedom School" Tshirt. Though the school in the movies appears more liberal in nature, the basic rights of individual freedoms was actually demonstrated by the real life version of the school copied in the movie.

That and I loved it when Billy Jack kicked some serious butt...

:-)

Selecting the right laptop case...

There are very few websites out there where you can get actual reviews on laptop cases, as an example like this one on the Samsonite Ballistic Nylon Wheeled Computer Case. It's helpful as a consumer to be able to have more details and a review, especially when purchasing online. QualityLaptopCases.com strives to bring you honest opinions on the top selling laptop cases out there with new information added as products become available and are reviewed.