On a recent trip to the netherlands and belgium, I was struck by the number of items for sale that bore the image of Che Guevara. There were Che t-shirts and Che bags of various sorts available in all the tourist traps. This, of course, was not the first time I had encountered Che’s image. It is all too common to see Che t-shirts here in the states, as well, including those on the chests of self-described anarchists Continue reading
Governments in the united states have forced people to have their children vaccinated against various diseases for decades now. The primary way they accomplish this is by requiring kids to have a range of immunizations before they are granted the “privilege” of entering government schools. Continue reading
Politicians and the news media have decided that jumping on immigrants is a way to inflame the prejudices of the locals and make them believe that it matters who wins the next presidential election. The most vile, racist sentiment is being stirred up as the candidates compete to be seen as the best person to fix the “problem” of people wanting to move to the united states without jumping through the hoops the government mandates for legal entry into its jurisdiction. Continue reading
The american military remains unable to keep its hands—and arms—to itself. As part of the ongoing occupation of iraq, soldiers slaughter civilians at check points. Around a third of the troops stationed in iraq condone torture (of others, of course). American soldiers can kidnap and kill unarmed iraqis with virtual impunity. Continue reading
A couple of months ago, I was sitting in a webinar about coding for outpatient medical and nursing procedures billed to Medicare. As I was led through the maze of arcane formulas and requirements, I got to thinking about how much Medicare has inflated the costs of health care. Here I was, being paid $40 an hour, as were seven or eight of my nurse colleagues, to listen to consultants (who were surely getting paid way more than I), quote from other consultants (more $$$) about how to fill out papers to maximize the amount of reimbursement the hospital I work for can receive from Medicare. And this is all because the people who work for Medicare ($$$) issue coding guidelines that are vague and open to interpretation, so that bills are constantly bounced back to providers for more processing ($$$) to justify or explain the charges so they can be rebilled. What a ridiculously expensive and inefficient process. Continue reading
What’s a parent to do? PSAs broadcast on radio throughout the day tell listeners that every kid is constantly on the verge of smoking dope and thus ruining their life. Parents are encouraged to scrutinize their kids’ internet use since they are in imminent danger of abduction by a sexual predator or intimidation by a cyberbully. The medical and political authorities warn us about the dangers of HIV, occasional exposure to sidestream tobacco smoke, riding a bike without a helmet, contaminated lettuce, and now the scourge of unsafe bridges. Continue reading
This piece was written by Jo Labadie after World War I. I [ed.] have changed some spelling, corrected some grammar, and eliminated a couple of obscure references, but the piece otherwise remains as originally written.
All of this talk and legislation against the use of force and violence as means of changing sociological conditions is hypocrisy on the part of exploiters. Force and violence are at the bottom of exploitation. Government itself is force and violence. Tell me, some of you governmentalists who are so averse to the use of force and violence, not only here in American but the world over, how did you become possessed of the land on which the native races earned their living? Continue reading
Smoking ban in Anchorage
Come next summer it will be illegal to smoke tobacco in any bar in Anchorage. The prohibitionists claim that banning smoking is necessary to protect the health of workers and patrons in these businesses. They fail to acknowledge there is a much simpler, and entirely voluntary, method of avoiding the risks, both real and perceived, of inhaling smoke from others’ cigarettes. That is staying out of bars, bingo halls, and the small number of other places where people are still allowed to smoke. Continue reading
One of the things that supposedly distinguish the western style secular democracies from the more authoritarian regimes found in much of the world is freedom of religion. If the official positions of the governments of countries like the united states were to be taken at face value, one would have to assume that not only are people in these nations free to hold and practice whatever religious beliefs they like, but the state is barred from interfering in matters of religion. This is, however, not at all the case. Continue reading
While it is certainly tempting to take pleasure in the defeat of the republicans in congress, it would be incorrect to imagine that something actually important happened November 7, when supporters of the united states government went to the polls. The conventional wisdom may be that there is a real difference between having one party or another as our rulers, but the democrats are just as vicious, acquisitive, authoritarian, and hypocritical as the republicans and have no more interest in individual liberty than those they will replace. Continue reading