Free Republic

Apologies in advance for this humble vanity post, but I thought this was an important topic that might otherwise slip under the proverbial radar. Earlier today I had FOX News on in the background and heard the newscaster speculating about the need for Obama's unscheduled vacation detour back to DC when, as we are so often reminded, he can not only discharge his duties from remote locations, but can actually do his job while putting on the fairway or lounging in a jacuzzi. It occurred to me that anything distracting him from his vacation would have to meet two criteria:...

Hi All, This posting is to announce the publication of my new book "When There is No FEMA - Survival for Normal People in (Very) Abnormal Times". Before posting this I coordinated with JimRob to receive guidance on how to do this properly. This professional, textbook-quality, 500+ page book represents the culmination of 3 years of painstaking research and authorship, and is intended to be the definitive reference for anyone interested in modern day disaster preparedness. Topics covered include: Disaster Planning Bugging in and bugging out Emergency food and water Emergency fuel and power Raising small livestock (chickens, rabbits, etc.)...

Florian Mueller has been killing it these past few months with his analysis of various tech patent suits on his FOSSpatents blog, and today he's unearthed a pretty major bombshell: at least 43 Android source files that appear to have been directly copied from Java. That's a big deal, seeing as Oracle is currently suing Google for patent and copyright infringement in Android -- which isn't a hard case to prove when you've got 37 Android source files marked "PROPRIETARY / CONFIDENTIAL" and "DO NOT DISTRIBUTE" by Oracle / Sun and at least six more files in Froyo and Gingerbread...

DISCLAIMER: One reading this article might wrongly conclude that the Tea Party is exclusively aligned with the Republican Party – a belief that I would like to dispel immediately. I have met some very decent and principled Democrats at Tea Party events, and would like fewer things better than to see them bring the universally-applicable principles of the Tea Party to their own side of the political spectrum. The references to the Republican Party in this article only reflect my own personal experiences and affiliation. For the past many months I have been attending various Tea Party and other similar...

I try very hard (and almost always successfully) to restrain myself from posting vanities, however I stumbled into a video clip that so captures the spirit and the reality of the America that we have lost, that I could not help but share it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I5zY-4ZtkY

Lately I’ve been wondering what type of future the current leadership in Washington is creating for us, so I thought I would publish this little poll to allow visitors to vote for what well-known Hollywood movie best portrays that future. Cast your vote! Here's the link: http://traywickscorner.com/?p=883

Lately I have observed any number of our leftist US leaders denouncing the “evils of capitalism” and simultaneously suggesting that if we would just launder our money through the government that life would be so much better. Pardon my cynicism, but I can’t help but be just a little suspicious when the fox proposes to stand watch over the hen house(!) Until last night these thoughts had been simmering more in my subconscious than they had been finding their way to my voice and keyboard. However, last night I happened to accompany my wife on a shopping trip to look...

The recent, fierce debates over health care reform have given reason to pause and ponder those aspects of health care in our nation that I would like to see changed. As does virtually everyone, I know far too many fine and deserving people who are ill-served (or not served at all) by our health care system as it currently exists. And, for those conservatives advocating that our current system is “just fine”, I would point out that our practice of linking health care to one’s employer is itself a distortion of free market capitalism. And so I listen to the...

The events unfolding today in Honduras conjure within my consciousness the immortal, stirring words of Shakespeare's St. Crispin's Day Speech from his play 'Henry V'. In this scene King Henry V of England, confronted with an overwhelming foe on the battlefield, bolsters the courage of his meager army before battle. And yet it is not the entire scene that echos faintly in my mind, but rather the final line: "And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day." Never in...

The state of the US economy and the anticipation of increased taxation has inspired numerous references in recent weeks to the book "Atlas Shrugged", by the late author and philosopher Ayn Rand. In her fictitious book Rand anticipates a time when those who create wealth within the social order, and from whom that wealth is forceably extracted for the benefit of others, eventually express their frustration by ceasing their labors. Those drawing the parallel to today’s reality suggest that we are now approaching a scenario when the real producers of today’s society will cease to produce, resulting in dramatic social...

With all this talk of billions and trillions of dollars being thrown about by politicians, one thing I've not seen is anything that relates this to the cost to the individual taxpayer. So, I've taken up the challenge to do a little math using numbers that are well sourced or universally-accepted (see my sources listed below). Here are the numbers I'm working with: 1. There are 300 million Americans (see references #1 and #2 below). 2. 60% of Americans are between ages 19 - 64 (see reference #3 below) 3. 40% of Americans pay no taxes (a number I've never...

To Whom it May Concern in China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Elsewhere, When they return from their hedonistic jaunts to Italy and elsewhere, America’s “leaders” will return to gorge themselves at a self-awarded political feeding frenzy. As is their tradition, the preferred source of funding will be the acquisition of debt which they intend to bequeath to their children, great grandchildren, and any other generations that may possibly follow. Yet they will be faced with one final task before beginning the feast, which is to locate lendors who will purchase their treasury notes (aka “IOUs”). There are but a few...

During the days of the Clinton adminstration Freeper political activism sprung up on many fronts, and took many forms ranging from political protests and counter-protests to regional gatherings, media events and marches on the nation's capital. Freepers could be found virtually every weekend near the White House (believe me, you couldn't miss 'em!). The "Freeper Air Force", in the form of message-toting bi-planes, flew over major cities and sporting events. In short, Free Republic was the left's worst nightmare. Since that time many of those activist Freeers have come and gone - some to their eternal reward. But there are...

Please pardon this "original material" vanity posting, however all the talk this Saturday morning (and previously) of re-imposing a nationwide 55 MPH speed limit has motivied me to take up the keyboard to make an important point that seems to be being missed in this debate. That point is that imposing such a limit inherently places a value on peoples' time. Let's do the math. Since both sides have been claiming that this speed limit will result in fuel savings of 2% from traveling at 70 MPH, then let's do the math using those numbers. We'll also use a vehicle...

Nick Trikolas plans to drop health insurance for his employees and give them money to buy their own coverage. He says doing so will put him in the vanguard of a movement by employers searching for answers to rising health costs. "This may be the future of health insurance," says Trikolas, CEO of Ilios Partners in Chicago, which plans to switch its 100 employees from group to individual coverage this year. ...

Please pardon the vanity, however I feel moved to make a prediction as I watch the opening scenes of "24" tonight. In these opening moments the rampant terrorist actions being portray are being described as the workings of Muslims. My prediction is that when all is said and done the perpetrators fit a more "mainstream demographic".

The issue of Roe vs. Wade vis-à-vis the Samuel Alito confirmation begs a telling question which I thought worthy of a vanity posting today. The question is simply this "If so many of our leaders specifically stipulate Roe vs. Wade as the litmus test for suitability to the Supreme Court, then doesn't that indicate that this specific law is, for them, the most important law of the land?" If this were not the case, then these leaders would be preoccupied with Alito's positions on any number of other important questions. Were a fetus a living human being, then I could...

Not long ago we updated you on the MPAA and RIAA's shenanigans to smuggle the Broadcast Flag through the United States Senate. Those who paid attention during "Schoolhouse Rock" will realize that's only half of the duo's burden. To make the Flag law, they must march it past the House of Representatives, too. Now the second shoe has dropped: 20 members of the House sent an open letter to Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (part of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce), and its ranking member, Edward J. Markey. All 20...

I thought it might be constructive to bring the fine minds of Free Republic to bear on measures that might be taken, even at this late hour, to expedite the evacuation of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Free Republic gets enough eyeballs on a daily basis that it's entirely possible that good ideas may find their way to the right people. As an example, might communications via simple AM radio channels be employed to faciliate the flow of traffic? A sign traveling against traffic down the shoulder of the road could instruct drivers to tune to a specific...

There's been so much anticipation of the 2004 presidential election being contested in court, but the results seem to be shaping up to be virtually unchallengable.