heinleinblog

Heinlein is evoked here in a column abut property taxes:

There is nothing inherently wrong with property [tag]taxes[/tag].

But here’s what someone once said: “There is no such thing as a fair tax” — [tag]Lazarus Long[/tag] AKA Robert A. Heinlein.

Heinlein is used in a blogger’s argument against cutting [tag]gasoline taxes[/tag]:

In Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, the author comes up with the concept of TANSTAAFL (There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch). Dr. Paul, in his article for the Free Liberal, seems to ignore that concept. Gas and diesel taxes, however painful, go toward the building, maintenance and rebuilding of our highway infrastructure, along with any tolls enacted for the same purpose …

Cutting what is essentially a user fee for drivers (thus forcing the government to either borrow the money or raise taxes somewhere else) is hardly a libertarian solution.

[tags]Ron Paul,TANSTAAFL[/tags]

The OC Register mentioned RAH in this editorial:

Get the state out of marriageOCRegister, CA - 20 hours ago… odd marriage arrangements, such as polygamy, or perhaps even those "line" marriages detailed in Robert Heinlein's novel "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. …

Original post by Robert Heinlein - Google News

Heinlein gets a mention:

“It's a good thing Greg Thomas reads Robert Heinlein. "There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized," Heinlein wrote in 1985 …”

Original post by Robert Heinlein - Google News

An Australian libertarian blogger wants to borrow from Heinlein when it comes to suffrage:

“The idea wasn’t ours, of course. It was Robert Heinlein’s in Starship Troopers. If you serve your society, you get to vote. You’re not required to serve. But if you don’t, you don’t vote. Heinlein figured that those who choose to defend the political society they come from - a free one - have a pretty good understanding of the value of freedom, having defended it against real enemies.

“Plus, Heinlein figured there were certain virtues you’d learn in military service that might make you a better voter. You’d learn that the welfare of your unit (or the polity) means not always gratifying your own desires and instincts. It’s an interesting idea, that voting requires some virtue. “

It’s just as bad here. In the United States, the government does its best to make sure that the anyone too stupid to find their way to get register on their gets signed up anyway. And then we make sure that it’s as as easy as possible for individuals who have no right to vote actually do so. Because, as you know, the number of people involved in making a decision improved the quality of the decision making. That’s why corporations get their board of directors by grabbing people randomly off the street, making sure they grab a couple of unemployed homeless losers because that makes it more diverse.

Via MyrtleBeachOnline’s business section:

Writer Robert A. Heinlein used to argue in favor of arming almost everyone, saying that if you knew that the person you were dealing with carried a gun, you would be extra careful and sensitive to their needs. That’s not entirely dissimilar to what we have in this age of transparency, when someone can Google a person before they go out on their first date.

Behaving as if everyone is armed with your personal information is a very good idea, according to author Seidman, because they are. Databases and Web sites track individuals’ and institutions’ transactions, words, accomplishments and crimes. Something you say or do will come back to haunt you or help you.

Blogger Dr. Helen has started an advice column on Pajamas Media. Her first post is about when she thinks every adult should be able to do. She used the famous quote from The Master:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

She has a few good ideas of her own, in my humble opinion. To my embarrassment, I cannot drive a stick.

Dr. Helen also gets added to the blogroll.

From PolyQuandry: The Requisite Heinlein Post.

Many poly folks of a certain age have a soft spot for Robert Heinlein. We are the ones who had major “Ah ha!� moments when we read Heinlein for the first time. Science fiction resets the ground rules for reality - and Heinlein in particular re-envisions and explores the societal rules for alternative loving relationships. Many of us almost wept in relief when we discovered worlds with water brothers and line marriages. Heinlein’s words made us think that maybe, just maybe we weren’t freaks.

Yep. Heinlein was a conservative, all right.

Heinlein is mentioned in this poker blog post:

With poker metaphors being used everywhere from business to child care, its nice sometimes to see that the references about life sometimes have meaning for poker too

“Of course the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you–if you don’t play, you can’t win.”

– Robert Heinlein

P.S. The quote is from “The Notebook of Lazarus Long.”

How many times did Heinlein reference poker?

Let’s play “Guess What They Are Promoting.”

The quote from the press release:

“It is the entrepreneurs of the United States who are the trendsetters, the people who have the audacity to do what others say cannot be done,” he said. “Robert Heinlein once said ‘Always listen to the experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it’.”

The product? A company that operates call centers. At least they are U.S.-based call centers.

[tags]Heinlein[/tags]