GalleryThe Ring of Power
The other day someone said to me, “Wow, you’re going to make a lot of money if you get elected.” And then I thought – oh yeah, I forgot . . . politicians make a lot of money! What was I thinking? Here I’m trying to run for U.S. Congress because I think it’s […]
GalleryBitcoin Fraud, and Why it’s Good
In February of 2014, the largest and oldest bitcoin bank, MtGox, disappeared. It was really odd – one day they just . . . vanished! Hundreds of thousands of bitcoins disappeared along with it, totaling more than 450 million dollars. Many friends seized the opportunity to run to me and say, […]
GalleryTeacher Pay
Imagine if we gave students grades, the same way we paid teachers. In Kindergarten, all kids would get an F. By the first grade, the entire class would all get a D minus. Fifth graders would all get a C, and so on, until in the twelfth grade, every student would have […]
GalleryCopyright and Laughter
Currently, it’s almost impossible to copy someone else’s work of art and sell it as your own. But there is one easy way to get around that. Make it funny. If something’s funny, no one can sue you. That’s because parodies are protected under copyright law.
Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” has been parodied thousands of times […]
GalleryHow Much Were You Taxed Last Year?
Sometimes I ask people, “How much did you pay in taxes last year?”
Usually they say, “Oh, I didn’t pay anything. I got money. Didn’t you?”
What they’re talking about is the refund. But that’s just the money that you overpay, and the government kicks it back to you. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking […]
GalleryPrivate Roads
Sometimes when I’m stuck in traffic, my mind starts to wander. I imagine a helicopter propeller opening up on the roof of my car, or inspector gadget like springs on my wheels that allow me to jump over everybody. And then I start to think about private roads. To many people, a private road […]
GalleryWhy is Milk So Expensive in Hawaii?
Sometimes when I go to my local grocery store in Maui, I like to listen to what the tourists are saying. One time I found a lady just dumbfounded, staring at all the prices. Everywhere she looked, she had sticker shock. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I can’t believe it! […]
GalleryWhat I Learned in Middle School
In 1993, my family moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. I remember it was raining. They told us that Hilo was one of the rainiest places in the entire world. Apparently it had been raining for a month straight. I stepped out into the rain, and looked up at the sky, raindrops falling […]
GalleryAll People are Selfish
I’m a selfish person. I want the best for me, all the time. In fact, I’m one of the most selfish people I’ve ever met, and I really have no qualms about it.
Now, you may be thinking, “How rude!”
But, being selfish doesn’t make me a bad person. In fact, just the opposite is true. […]
GalleryPower to the Principal
In the movie “Lean On Me”, Principal Joe Clark said, “Forget about the way it used to be. This is not a democracy. We are in a state of emergency, and my word is law!”
It certainly was. He fired teachers, and expelled kids. He was the ultimate, tough principal. But in the end, East […]
GallerySugar Cane Burning
Growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii, I remember stories of how the sugar cane industry died so long ago, and how the Big Island economy died along with it. So when I first moved to Maui, I was in awe. Out the window of the airplane, I saw beautiful green fields of […]
GalleryThe Market for Open Spaces
One day I was leaving a county council meeting on Maui, and I got in the elevator with a group of older ladies. I pretended to ignore them while I listened intently.
“Can you believe it? We did it! We got the government to buy the land!”
“Thank goodness,” another lady said, “I was afraid the […]
GalleryWhy is Rent Rising on Maui?
I’m paying $1000 a month to live in a tiny studio on the west side of Maui. This is comparable to rent in New York City, except that gas and groceries are cheaper in New York. Why is rent going up on Maui?
Ask most people and they’ll say, “It’s because of greed. Landlords are […]
Gallery5 Tough Questions for Democrats
I like democrats because they are very honest and they have big hearts. But as a libertarian, I often scratch my head, wondering how democrats would answer these questions.
1) When you read a list of all the questionable things Obama has done, is he still a “good president”?
For example:
He continues to hunt down Edward […]