Posted 12:11 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

An ordeal for money

Just finished 3 long days serving as a juror on a mock trial, a way for opponents in a real suit to fine-tune their presentations. That's about all we're allowed to say, bound to confidentiality in the same way a jury is. If I had done that when I was used to working full-time, it might have seemed like a nice change, but I've been retired for several years, used to doing what I want when I want it. That truly doesn't mean that I do less than when I worked full-time, but it does mean that I was thrust into a routine completely different from what I'm accustomed to, and that's difficult.

I had, in fact, served on two real juries many years ago, as foreman on both, one criminal, one civil, and did find it fascinating rather than exhausting. To be honest, this group had a couple of people I wouldn't want to be judged by... people whose comprehension and reasoning capability was well below average (which didn't prevent them from mouthing off incessantly). One other juror had admitted (bragged) earlier that she had her mind made up before the trial started. She too had lots to say that added absolutely nothing to anyone's understanding. Voir dire was done by questionnaire rather than by attorneys actually questioning us, or several of these people might have been eliminated.

The study had 3 juries, who deliberated separately. Attorneys presented their cases in person... a very technical case... with video of deposed statements from witnesses. Although this exercise was expensive (we were paid) I'm sure it's worth it to both the plaintiff and defendant because of the enormous cost of a full trial, and because they get a lot more information back from the jurors... not just a verdict, but about their thinking, complaints about presentations, learning what worked and what didn't. I suspect that in some cases, this kind of mock trial might even result in dropped suits or settlements out of court.

Posted 1:02 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

The doubts we're told to ignore

Excellent short article by David Evans that appeared on the Mises website. It demonstrates how politicized the idea that carbon emissions are the primary cause of "global warming" or, as the pushers now prefer (in case cooling occurs) "climate change" has become... to the point of obliterating evidence to the contrary.

Posted 12:15 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

It's official

No Force, No Fraud has now been up for 4 years today. 526 articles posted over that time (some have been reposts). I estimate that comprises about 450,000 words.

Posted 11:30 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

A lesson in customer satisfaction

A few days ago I related the shocking news about my flat tire. Yesterday, I went out to get it repaired. I went to Tires Plus, where I had purchased tires (long ago) and had gotten good service. Not yesterday. The girl at the counter seem harried, told me they had two people call in sick, which seemed to leave them with one tire worker with such a bad accent I could barely understand him with numerous repeats. She had typed up the order to patch/plug and rebalance the tire, and (presumably) to put it back on the car. $38.38

When the worker looked at the tire, he said "bad tire... bad tire". The girl interpreted for me... they cannot fix a tire that is "too worn". I would have to buy a new one. My mechanic of 40+ years of experience had already examined the tires. The tire in question was indeed quite worn on the outside edge. It had been on the front and gotten uneven wear. It was now on the rear of my front-wheel drive car, where it would take little stress. I argued a bit, to no avail, and then just left.

I hadn't gone a hundred feet when my space-saver spare went flat too. I circled the block at a crawl and pulled into a Goodyear service center, right across the street from Tires Plus. Briefly... within 45 minutes, their people had plugged the old tire, shown me the piece of glass that flattened it (I had already seen it), and rebalanced the tire. They noticed another tire in the back seat and wondered if I wanted to use that instead (I couldn't even tell if it was the right size... it came with the car and I had just had my eyes dilated for eye tests, so I couldn't focus closer than about 10 feet). They said it was, and put that on the wheel instead, and reinflated the spare. They noticed that the threads on one bolt and accompanying nut were somewhat stripped (could have been my doing). They rethreaded the bolt and replaced the nut, put the spare and jack back in the hiding place and presented me with the bill. $17.12

Less than half the price for more work? I could've kissed the service manager, but I restrained myself. There may be background to explain some of that price difference, but that's a big relative difference. Perhaps Goodyear low-balls repair work to gain new-tire customers, but Tires Plus sells new tires too. It felt like a big difference in management. Goodyear was organized, calm, assured, professional, talked to me at each step, and really seemed to want to send me away satisfied, even if I wanted an old plugged (Goodrich) tire on my old car. They acted like problem-solvers.

I've encountered a lot of businesses who have their act well together, and who understand their job from the customer's viewpoint, but none better than this experience with Goodyear.
Guess who gets my tire business from now on?

Posted 9:00 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

One dull day in the news

When the lead story is that a 17-year-old girl wins American Idol, that means that almost nothing happened, nationwide, or that the media is concentrating hard on presenting brainless, feel-good stories. Other great news today:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that police can't stop you for weaving in your own lane.

It rained yesterday (in case you didn't notice).

The director of the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Arts) is leaving for another job.

Aren't you glad you got up early enough to catch all that? You'll have some juicy tidbits to discuss at work. Here's an equally-dazzling headline that you didn't get until now:

Flat restricts mobility
May 24, 2007 - 8:42 AM
In a shocking failure, Bob's 1990 Tempo suffered a flat tire, causing him to miss a MeetUp. When asked about the surprise deflation, he said "I can't even remember the last time I changed a tire". I had to empty the trunk just to find the spare and jack, then read the manual to know where to position the jack." Coincidently, Bob said that just a few days ago, he was exclaiming about the incredible long lifetime of modern tires. He explained the coincidence - "Murphy rules... and he doesn't like us taking good times for granted, so I've been punished." Bob's plans for the day include driving (on the tiny space-saver spare he found hidden deep in the trunk) to an expert mechanic for flat-tire analysis and perhaps repair.

If you have any time and energy left for news after those stunning revelations, get yourself over to Anti-War.com and find out what the hell is really going on in the world. Guaranteed to disgust you.

Posted 10:07 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

The maniac is at it again

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government

Posted 9:48 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Sneaky damned Democrats

Democrats are for the "little folks", aren't they? So they've long claimed, but actions speak far louder than words, so they sneak about, doing power-mongering behind the scenes... actions that rip all of us.

If you live anywhere in the Metro area, they've just added to your property taxes (or rent) to subsidize more parking at the Mall of America. Once again, low-income citizens take the hit for those with more money. Once again, housing becomes even less affordable. Once again, all of us tighten our belts still more while corporations and politicians collude to make the rich still richer.

I don't shop at MOA, and neither do my neighbors and friends. I can buy anything I want closer and cheaper, and with a lot less walking. I contend that a higher percentage of Iowans have been to the MOA than Minnesotans. I have no problem with it being there, but there is no reason at all for me (or you) to have to support it. It's pure political corruption of the worst possible kind.

The StarTribune will oppose the sneaky addition to the tax legislation... not because they're opposed to corporate welfare, but because it isn't downtown corporate welfare, but headed for Bloomington.

Posted 11:45 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Photographic art

I take a lot of photographs, and have for many decades. I have always tried to capture what I see, or as I call it on my website "Capturing Everyday History". Of course, there is a certain art in deciding what to capture in an image... choosing a viewpoint, and waiting for the right time... but I really don't think of my photographs as art. They're a way for others to share what I see.

Currently, there is a new exhibit of photographs at the Museum of Russian Art that definitely qualify as works of art (and I don't make that judgment easily). These are large-scale photos of Russian scenes, taken since 2000. The photographer, Andrew Moore, sees potential beauty in scenes most of us would walk by, and he enhances that "hidden" beauty until all of us can appreciate it. The equipment and elaborate processes he uses are all designed to maximize the end result... crystal clear, detailed images with rich and subtle color.

At first it disturbed me that his images are superior to what I would see if I were "on the scene", but that is his art... elevating the actual visual experience to a richness most of us are not capable of seeing "live". In that sense, his photographs are not only art, but can easily be viewed as paintings.

Viewing Moore's work is a fascinating visual experience. I urge you to visit the museum and enjoy it.

Posted 9:57 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Read this and make your day brighter

You may find it a little hard to believe that a law firm can shine a beacon of light onto an otherwise depressing America, but there is one that does so on a regular basis. The libertarian Institute for Justice is celebrating again, and as always, so are their clients.

Believe me, when IJ and their clients are celebrating, the rest of have cause to rejoice too, because IJ's cases inevitably have a positive effect on all our rights too.

The IJ case for homeowners in Riviera Beach, Florida is but one in an ever-increasing string of victories that are defending individual rights from oppression by abusive governments.
Read it and ENJOY!

Posted 9:30 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Tobacco, the new "devil weed"

By means of a blatantly unconstitutional tobacco settlement, which has financed a large number of anti-smoking NGO's, who use the money to politically push smoking bans and skyrocketing increases in cigarette taxes. Add in media parroting of all sorts of ridiculous claims about smoking, and the number of cigarette smokers has decreased dramatically over the past 50 years. "They" did it for our health... and for huge profits for the new anti-smoking industry.

No, we're not any healthier... did you really think we would be? Truth is, we're unhealthier as a nation thanks to the anti-smokers' corrupt campaigns. That completely aside from the damage they've done to scientific research by forcibly contorting results to blame smoking for everything under the sun.

You may have noticed that now the big health scare... supposedly of epidemic proportions... is OBESITY. We have become quite literally engulfed by thousands of organizations touting diets, exercises, medications, and even surgical procedures... all seeking profit to reduce our fat bodies.

Between 1978 and 1990, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. increased by about 9 percent. It's likely that it continues to rise.

Is there a connection between anti-smoking and obesity? Do you really think it's a coincidence that as large numbers of people were coerced into quitting that obesity has risen steadily? Yeah, sure, you betcha... just coincidence.

Obesity may well be the only human health problem that hasn't been blamed on smoking. Could it be because the reverse is true? Duh. All my life I've been hearing from people who smoke to help keep their weight under control. Studies support the stories:

Among men, for example, nearly half of quitters were overweight compared with 37 percent of nonsmokers and 28 percent of smokers.

We're told that the healthy choice is not smoking, and that's it's so true that those who really care about our health (not us... what the hell do WE know about ourselves) will have to force us to not smoke. "Those who really care" will accidentally make a lot of money from their caring, but surely that won't dillute their caring.

Have you heard any anti-smoking groups 'fess up to blame for the increase in obesity? Nah... they usually blame it on junk food or evil food additives (which were around long before the increased obesity).

Any smoker can tell you that smoking has an appetite-suppressing effect... well, cigarette smoking at least, while marijuana smoking seems to give people the munchies. Thanks to the anti-smokers, there are now more illegal joint-puffers than legal cigarette smokers. The former "devil weed" is now known by most of us to be relatively harmless and with some positive effects... just like cigarettes used to be. Now tobacco is the "devil weed". Quite a switch, huh?

Does it not seem possible that all the bullshit that used to be tossed around about marijuana is now transferred to tobacco?... and that it's still bullshit? Think about it.

Posted 9:12 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Thoughts on a splendiferous Minnesota morning

Sixty degrees, bright sun, clear blue sky, slight breeze... does it get better than that? Not much, and that will happen later today. Then there are the sounds of the city... traffic on the Crosstown, airliners taking off above, a siren in the distance... and an occasional exuberant robin.

Had an odd thought (not unusual)... about idolatry ~ "blind or excessive devotion to something".

There are certainly people for whom I have great admiration, but I've never really idolized anyone or anything. That seems to put me in a minority. Many people go completely ga-ga over their favorite athletes. Politicians are generally treated as celebrities, even though they generally have very little in the way of accomplishments. Musicians are often literally worshiped by their fans. The TV show American Idol is a won't-miss program for millions.

Isn't it odd... all that idolatry in a nation in which most people claim to be Christians... a religion that warns severely against idolatry?