:: Event Horizon ::

:: Friday, May 30, 2003 ::

Calif. May Limit Drivers' Cell Phone Use
Another victory for the Nanny State. What price safety? I'm not convinced that we will ever make our society totally safe from accident, bad luck, and human stupidity. Moreover, the effort to do so risks compromising basic liberties. It seems to me that those few liberties we still have should be jealously guarded.

:: Joel 4:04 PM [+] ::
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Hope Receives Ovation on 100th Birthday
Bop Hope is a bit before my time, most of what I know of him I've absorbed from our popular culture. But, for some reason, he does mean something to me, mostly in connection with his support for the military. From what I can tell, given my admittedly limited knowledge of Hollywood history, he seems to have started that tradition of Hollywood stars contributing to the war effort, going off to entertain the troops in far flung corners of the world. That effort just seems to embody the idea that "we are all in this together." He also represents an era when comedy was fun and not cynical, something I think we need more of. So, for all that and more, I can only say, keep Hope alive!

:: Joel 11:11 PM [+] ::
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Clinton Wants Change in Presidential Term Limits
He wants to run again, it is so obvious. I wonder if he could still be elected?

:: Joel 3:47 PM [+] ::
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President Signs Tax Cut Package Into Law
I'm not yet convinced this will provide the stimulus needed to jumpstart the economy or that this is the right time to experiment with a tax break. Sure, giving people more of their own money sounds good, but will it be enough? Will the average taxpayer get enough to spend on something meaningful? Will the average consumer be able to run out and contribute to the economy by buying durable goods that prompt businesses to invest more in production and hire new workers? I could be wrong, but I don't think that I, personally, am going to get a tax break large enough to allow me to run out and buy a new car. If consumers can't buy anything significant with their tax cut, then will it do anything at all for the economy? As for timing, is a tax cut really wise at a time of increasing budget deficits and a war without end to finance?

:: Joel 10:35 PM [+] ::
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Running List Of Blogspot Defectors
Thanks to the PoliBlog for linking to this effort to chart the demise of Blogspot. I may soon join the exodus. The load times at BlogSpot are absurdly long, and now my blog does not load completely. According to the Blogger Status web page, even BloggerPro pages have been experiencing "intermittent errors," so it is not even a case of you get what you pay for. I know that now everyone and their mother has a blog, usually hosted on BlogSpot, so the server demand must be huge, but I had expected the Google buyout to lead to a better service, not worse.

:: Joel 2:04 PM [+] ::
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