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Expeditors International: Coolest. Company. Ever.
Expeditors International, a non-asset-based freight forwarding concern, is also the coolest company ever. They have a dedication to their customers, employees, and shareholders. They also have a dedication to honesty and straightforwardness that would make Mencken proud. Now call me a geek, but I really enjoy reading their SEC 8-K filings. SEC filings are normally…
Read MoreDebt forgiveness and positive change
Tom Knapp posts some very good criticisms of the current foreign aid regime, in light of recent announcements of $40 billion in debt forgiveness for African nations. The fundamental point about foreign aid going to oligarchs in the borrowing countries is an important one: First of all, the idea that the money was lent to…
Read MoreThe Sage of Baltimore
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything philosophical, so here are some words of wisdom from H. L. Mencken, the Mencken Creed: I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind – that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage…
Read MoreMagic Commerce
Like most libertarians, I was disappointed that Professor Barnett‘s arguments did not prevail in Gonzales v. Raich. Not surprising (in fact, it’s surprising that it was only a 6-3 decision), but still disappointing. Justice Stevens managed to find interstate commerce in the intrastate, private growing of cannabis for personal, state-approved, medical use. I’ve been having…
Read MoreGardening With X
So, I’m poking around in my garden a couple of weekends ago, raking and weeding and whatnot. Walking around the side of the house, I see the blackberry cane that I had planted a week or two prior. It’s showing no visible signs of growth, just sitting there like a thorny stick. This would be…
Read MoreAlmost Enough to Convince Me to Teach
Michael Gilleland posts an awesome Mencken quote (but really, aren’t they all) about teaching. A man who knows a subject thoroughly, a man so soaked in it that he eats it, sleeps it and dreams it — this man can almost always teach it with success, no matter how little he knows of technical pedagogy.…
Read MoreWho doesn’t like jetskiing?
Generally, the Drew Carey remake of Whose Line Is It Anyway? pales in comparison to the original Channel 4 version of same. However, this movie, in which Richard Simmons is a ‘prop,’ is so funny that you may actually soil yourself. You have been warned. Yours truly, Mr. X …my sides still hurt…
Read MoreGames
A few links for those who need something to waste their time with. This site has pretty much every video game ever, in a web-accessible version. Hat tip to Jeremy for finding it. Ward Farnsworth’s Predator at the Chessboard is a great resource for beginners looking to learn about chess tactics. Hat tip to Professor…
Read MoreObservations from the weekend
It is with sincere apologies to those of you who can’t get enough long and serious posts about international affairs that I present some observations from my weekend. When running around Arlington in a toga, blitzed on wine, trading underwear with a strange woman will seem like a good idea. While panties can be quite…
Read MoreBut at least we didn’t flush the Koran
According to a confidential Army report, interrogators brutally abused prisoners until they died at a prison camp in Afghanistan. The Guardian reports: The New York Times carries a graphic account of Dilawar’s torture and death. His legs were beaten so badly that he could not bend them to kneel, and he was chained for days…
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