Here were I live in California we have experienced months of air so smoky that visibility often drops to a mile or less. We've probably lost hundreds of people - old people who burned in their trailer park, people who got stuck in their cars trying to flee the fires, etc. Multiple massive blazes have been apparently started by a huge pseudo-governmental utility company who, after many years of charging us 30 cents/kWh in order to maintain their system, failed to do so - resulting in many blackouts and failures resulting in fires. The dam that starts our water system was almost lost due to the state deciding not to spend the money they taxed to maintain it. So, as I drove to work today on roads that are turning to potholes and gravel (after gas tax laid over gas tax revenues, resulting in the highest gas prices in the nation, was not spent on the roads it was intended for) I decided to start my audio book of Atlas Shrugged. Tomorrow, my kids' school is closed because our schools (the most tax-expensive school system in the nation) are such old technology that the air in the classrooms isn't nearly as safe as the air in my 40 year old house. Within the next year we'll have the most expensive health care system in the world, with revenue collected at the business end of a gun. Traveling on these crappy roads, while my kidneys get jarred, is much more enjoyable listening to Atlas Shrugged. It puts it all into perspective.

Thank you Ayn Rand. And, thank you Galt's Gulch Online...