POKER AND LIBERTY

HAVE A PROSPEROUS CAPITALIST SUPERIORITY DAY!!!!

We are nearing the second Friday of November, which means that the magical time has come once again - when children run frantically down the stairs in hopes of finding dollar bills left by the Great Invisible Hand of Capitalism! All across the nation, money will be exchanged for goods and services, dreams will be fulfilled and illicit behavior will be encouraged so long as there is a fee involved. Make your love of Capitalism loud and proud, and - at least for one day - be sure to show the Holiday Disdain for the filthy Communists, those poor incompetant bastards and their inability to learn from history.

Celebrate however you please, but make sure that you have a Fine and Prosperous Capitalist Superiority Day!!

Poker and Liberty Shutting Down For Good

Have you ever done something during one period of your life and thoroughly enjoyed it, but then you tried to start it up again and it just didn't seem to have that flair? A bit like Mission Impossible 2, I do suppose. But anyways, this blog thing was good fun when I was just pissing around in Vegas, but times have changed. I've working my way up through the wonderful society that Adam Smith built, and I have too many great things taking place to be ranting on about every little news article that comes along. We'll leave that to the Lots of Cats people. Instead, we will close in style - a reminder of Capitalist Superiority Day forever being frozen on the Internet so all future generations will be able to share in the festivities.

STALIN DEFEATS HITLER!

All right. We've taken out the nastier menace. So now things can get back to usual, and we can all get back to hating Bush.

THE NEW SUPREME COURT

The new Supreme Court that Bush will be creating is going to be quite the double-edged sword. Obviously, I'm rather happy about the idea because it's going to save the lives of thousands of Southern and Midwestern children by reversing Roe v. Wade. In addition, racist hiring policies and bigoted school enrollment policies will finally be laid to rest. That's the good part.

The bad part, of course, is that this Court will greatly expand the ability that police officers have to intrude into the privacy of a person's home, car and person. I'm not excited about that - but here's the thing - States will be able to have as restrictive of a policy upon police activities as they desire to have. The Supreme Court merely tells them how loose they can allow those policies to be. Therefore, a state with an active Libertarian/Privacy Rights lobby will be able to keep their state's laws on the side of the citizen.

The same just can't be said for abortion. The Supreme Court stripped the states of that right over thirty years ago. Reversing Roe v. Wade is the most important thing that the Supreme Court has to do. Everything else is secondary. And, in all truth, a States' Rights Court would be a States' Rights Court. If we can urge our representatives to construct such a court, then the same court that reverses Roe v. Wade will also have a favorable finding in a case like the upcoming Raisch, where we're all hoping they find that federal law cannot control medical marijuana grown and distributed within a single state's borders. I'm just hopin Clarence Thomas sticks by what he told me when we met in Athens - "It should be a state issue", he said. Let's see if he holds true to those words. If so, then I think the New Bush Supreme Court might be good, not just for unborn children, but for states' rights as well.

CULTURE WARS - THE GOOD GUYS STRIKE BACK

Some of you Democrats get it. I was, for instance, quite impressed by Jon Stewart's appraisal of the situation during tonight's "Daily Show". Many of you, however, still don't understand. You continue to rant on about the "morons" who voted for Bush and now you say that you're walking around like somebody shot your dog. Instead of berating you, let me just try to explain to you why Bush won.

He won because the majority of America is fucking sick and tired of the amoral anti-religious crowd that have been putrefying our nation.

We're sick of your contempt for those who have worked hard for their wealth and of your desire to steal their money while deriding their success.

We're sick of you fighting for Speech Codes that tell us what we can and can't say on college campuses, and Sexual Harrasment laws that tell us what we can and can't say at the workplace, while you then blithely condone a near-pornographic halftime show at the Superbowl - dismissing anyone who speaks out against it as "stupid" or a "reactionary redneck".

We're sick of you murdering thousands of children before they can breathe a single breath of air, but then holding up signs outside of prisons to protest the execution of a serial murderer.

We're sick of your complete and utter contempt for the Judeo-Christian principles upon which this country was based (and you know damn well it was based on those principles, so don't fucking bother me with any blather about how it wasn't), and your foolishly arrogant labeling of failed socialist policies as being "progressive".

We're sick of your neutering of our military through the holding of a protest everytime an individual soldier is killed, and we're sick of your condescending over-intellectualizing bullshit that is DEVASTATING our public schools and enslaving an entire generation of blacks with "progressive" policies that enforce ignorance, dependence and immobility.

That's why Bush won. And that's why I was cheering him on, even though I voted for the Libertarian Badnarik. He's far from being perfect . . . or even good. But he beats the hell out of the alternative. Kerry represented everything that we Red Staters abhor. He crippled our military in Vietnam, he sought to steal more money from the working people, and then he sought to spend that money to pay for abortions (and yes, he did actually say that in the third debate).

The first step to recovery is that you have to stop blaming everybody else. Stop bitching and moaning because the majority of Americans have a purer set of values than you do. If you want to become the Secular Communist party - then just go and do it. But if you really hope to win in 2008, the time has come to re-evaluate what exactly the Democratic Party stands for. You've lost twice in a row now - and this time you got your fucking ass handed to you in both the Executive and the Legislative branch. It's time to stop pointing fingers and start accepting that MAYBE you should start listening to the entirety of the American People - and not just to your friends at the coffeeshop.

Pre=Election Bonanza


So is it wrong that I'm largely rooting for Bush just because I want to watch all the lefties go fucking nuts when he wins? Sure, I like the idea of lowering taxes and reversing Roe v. Wade, but I think I'm really pulling for him just because I want to watch Michael Moore go into a Steak'Umm-fueled frenzy when he realizes that all his propaganda efforts were a failure.

When you're a bitter Libertarian with no hope of victory, I don't think it's wrong to put in your protest vote and then accept the reality of it all by taking a side in an election just so that you can spend the next day laughing your ass off at all those pathetic assholes on Air America (Al Franken being the exception - say what you want about his politics, the guy 's fucking hilarious). Hell, it might even lead to rioting which would then produce one of my favorite spectator sports - Anarchists and Hippies Being Beaten Up By Cops. I tell you - they should sell a videotape with that shit.

But, hey, if Kerry wins then I'll just put aside his traitorous past and hope that he can bring us into a grand future. Maybe he'll even decriminalize pot. We'll see. After all - it doesn't matter who gets elected, there will always be plenty of hippies and anarchists, and there will always be plenty of cops to beat them with nightsticks. It's a wonderful world.

Has Ranja solved health care problem? Rational people say "Yes"


All over this fair nation, people are screaming about their lack of health care coverage. I can sympathize with this problem, having just suffered the extortion of the medical care profession following my broken vertabrae. The Socialists, of course, love to sweep in on this concern (as they sweep in hungrily on all social concerns) and say, "Don't worry, little one, we will take care of you. Just keep voting for us and we'll make sure that you are covered by the federal government and you will live a long happy life, from the cradle to the grave. If you choose not to vote for us, however, well . . . . things might get ugly."

And so, the noble Children of Lenin present us with wonderful ways that we can surrender our free will to Nanny Sam. This is, of course, after they steal a large chunk of our paycheck to support their overbearing government machine. Don't look behind that curtain, though. Focus on the evil doctors. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

However, I believe I may have come up with an alternative. It goes like this - For the average non-tobacco junkie, health insurance costs, at most, $250 a month. And I do believe that would be rather high. So that means that the average person spends about $3000 a month on health insurance. So how about this for an idea . . . . every year, the government gives back to each citizen $3000 of the money that they stole from them in April. Then the citizen can shop around for whatever healthcare coverage they desire.

Huzzah! People get their health insurance and we're all happy. So please, somebody tell me where this plan is flawed. I'm just tossing it out and am open for suggestions. And please, don't waste your time with "The government can't afford to lose that money!" because -

(1) These noble government Health Insurance plans would likely be more expensive,

(2) It's not their fucking money. It belongs to the individual citizen who earned it, not the thief who took it, and

(3) Once again, the government could stand to have its pursestrings tightened. There is an endless number of government programs that could be ended. The Department of Education (Education is the job of the states, not the federal government), the NEA (the private patronage system worked quite fine for the Renaissance), and, yes Kop, the military (pull our troops out of Europe and Asia - but leave one big base in Saudi Arabia as a giant "Fuck You").

So don't waste your time with that. All other criticisms are welcome.

I'm not saying I approve of her actions . . . .

But I can understand. After having her authority usurped by one too many asshole parents, a teacher decided to strike back. If this ever happened in Sacramento, I'd be willing to defend the teacher for free.

Parents need to be retaught the concept of In Loco Parentis. When you turn your kids over to the public school, the teachers gain the authority of parents. If your spoiled little shit of a daughter can't keep her backpack stored under the desk after repeated warnings, then it goes in the trash. If you don't like that policy, then withdraw your child from the school.

By Christ, I can't wait until I'm elected Superintendent of Schools. It'll be a Public School Revolution the likes of which you've never seen.

Wanted: Albino lesbian females between the ages of 21 and 22 - must be single with no children.

At my new job, I have set aside my previous devotion to Criminal Law, and have instead embraced the diversity of a General Law practice. I'm learning a little bit about everything as I evolve into the master attorney that I will one day be. In that way, I'm not unlike a young Bruce Wayne traveling the world and learning the skills that he would require to one day become Batman.

Anyways, today I was to review a Termination agreement and consider the possibility of an Age Discrimination suit. Fortunately, I found there was no basis for such a suit. I say fortunately because I despise discrimination suits when they target private businesses. In fact, when I finally open up Ranja & Associates, we will have a very strict policy of never accepting such claims.

"But . . . . huh?" you ask. "Discrimination Laws are good! That's what we've been told in school for the last thirty years! They defend the downtrodden!"

Bullshit. All discrimination laws do is permit the government to tell a private business how they can run their affairs, who they can hire, and what they can do. It's government control of the means of production. There's a word for that - it's Fascism. So long as you are not using government funds for the operation of your business, then you should be permitted to hire or fire whoever you damn well please. If you only desire to hire small-breasted amputee redheads to run your store, then there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to do that. And if you only wish to allow your store to be frequented by Asian women over the age of sixty, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to hire a guard (of whichever predetermined race, creed or national origin you desire) to keep out all those who don't fit this carefully configured demographic.

Of course, you can forget about these laws ever being repealed. Just like the other points of the Liberal Triangle of Despotism (Sexual Harassment Laws and Hate Crime Laws), no politician would ever have the balls to come out and push for their removal. All we can do now is try to stop it from advancing even more. Of course, this government interference began back when they made an effort to improve working conditions back in the onslaught of the Industrial Age. At that time, such interference was justified because their was a very clear Public Health and Welfare issue when mothers and fathers were being killed on the job because the bosses didn't want to spent a few extra dollars for safety precautions. There is no such concern with this new batch of laws.

If you don't like the way a business is run, boycott it. If you don't like the way your boss treats you, then move on. But don't use the law to force your views of sound economic practice down a private businessman's throat.

Inaugural Poker Story

One of the most interesting things about my time out in Vegas was that I was there to witness the big Poker Explosion of '04. Thanks to ESPN's "World Series" and the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour", the Vegas cardrooms went from always having a seat available to having fifty-name-long waiting lists. By the end of it, I couldn't even play on the Strip anymore and began playing regularly at Binion's after it re-opened following the IRS' shutting it down.

Perhaps that all goes to why I'm beginning to like Sacramento. The poker rooms here are like how Vegas was when I first arrived there. Lots of Asians, lots of old men, a few young people, but not the whole mess of the "What's Cool Today" types that had overrun the Bellagio and the Mirage by the time my vertabrae had healed enough to let me sit at a table again.

Today was actually the first day that I had played in a couple months. I had sworn off 4-8 as a complete mug's game (Far too many people calling all the way to the River - if you get at the wrong table then you might as well be playing Pai Gow). Just the same, I don't have a lot of money. The fact that I have recently acquired what will very quickly become a highly prosperous job as an attorney does not take away from the fact that I have only a few hundred dollars in my bank account. So today I decided to sit down at a 4-8 game just to get one last taste of it before my first paycheck sent me off to the better games.

As often happens at 4-8 games, any winning hand that I had would go to shit as soon as the River card game down, and there'd always be two or three grinning Asians to swoop up the winnings that their King-Seven offsuit had now bestowed upon them. I'm down to about fifty bucks when I'm dealt a red Ace and a Ten of Clubs. I look at the cards, lay them down on the table and call the blind.

The flop is dealt - King of Diamonds, Queen of Diamonds, Ten of Diamonds. Not bad. I've got a pair of tens and I'm one diamond away from having the nut flush. One guy bets, three call, and, since I'm last to act, I raise to see if anybody really does have that flush. One guy re-raises me. I just call him, and so does everybody else.

The turn card comes down - It's a Six of Diamonds. Groans can be heard throughout the table. My heart's beating, though, because I just got the flush - Ace High. At least . . . . I think my Ace is a diamond. Was is it a heart? No, no. It's a diamond. I wouldn't confuse something like that. Everybody checks to me and I'm certainly not going to look at my cards before betting again. Two guys drop out, the previous re-raiser calls, and the last guy goes All-in with his few remaining chips.

The River Card comes down and it's nothing memorable. I'm really not even focusing on it at this point. I just can't shake the thought that my Ace is a heart, not a diamond. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes I remember it another. Its image shifts continuously in my head. The only guy left checks. I bet. He looks at his cards, looks at the board, snarls "Fuck", and tosses his hand face-up on to the table - he has two pair, Kings and Queens, but he's folded them now and has taken himself out of the game.

I turn my hand over - A ten of Clubs and an Ace . . . . . of Hearts. The all-in guy tosses his cards in and walks to the parking lot. I don't speak a word of my mistake, but just pull the chips in, while listening to the many curses that are being uttered about me around the table. Cap'n Two-Pair is especially pissed off, and is alternately shaking his head at me and badmouthing my play to the guy next to him. As high as I am from this win, I remember why I hate 4-8 poker and I rack up my chips and leave.