Outside Counsel

sorryeverybody.com, a gallery of apologies. Really, that's how I feel. As I mentioned some time earlier, I vote against my interests most of the time: I should favor lower taxes, but what I actually favor is liberty. I don't believe that the default presumption should be that the cops are always right. I think women should be in control of their own bodies, and that people should be allowed to marry who they want. People should be allowed to say what they want (no First Amendment is why I won't ever actually move to Canada or the Nederlands). Most of all, though, I want my America to be an example for the rest of the world, a leader that stands for freedom. How strange it is to follow the news from Ukraine and think, "I wish my countrymen still thought like that." I am getting to the point where I wonder if Americans are even capable of governing themselves responsibly. Last night, minutes away from midnight, at the last possible moment, the Erie County Legislature voted for a budget that included a tax increase necessary to keep, inter alia, the sheriff's department's road patrols on the road, the libraries open, and nurses in the schools. The budget remains a pusillanimous and dishonest piece of work, and everyone associated with it should be ashamed. This latest financial crisis was brought about, in part, by budgetary mismanagment from the New York State Legislature, a governmental body that would be in ashes were it situated in Kiev. Of the US Congress, of course, nothing really needs to be said: this is an organization that considers the likes of Joe Biden (or Bill Frist-- take your pick) to be intellectually and morally equiped to perform the actual work of government. I keep telling myself that I'll only read the sports pages, but I'm afraid that my responsibilities towards the rest of the world are greater than that. Starting with an apology is the right place to begin.