I would prefer some formulation of the NAP [non-aggression principle] that would imply consent to
some initiations of force to achieve a net reduction in force initiation. - Kevin Bjornson ¶ 10:02 AM 2 Comments Links to this post
Casts the race as a referendum on Easley.
"Whoever emerges from the May primary as the GOP nominee is likely be
an underdog against either Democratic candidate, Lt. Gov. Beverly
Perdue or State Treasurer Richard Moore. Democrats will have held the
Executive Mansion for 16 years when Easley leaves office in 2009, and
only two Republicans have been elected governor in the past century.
"There's also a wild card in seven-term Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a
popular Republican who's considering leaping into the crowded GOP
field.
"The only announced Libertarian candidate is Duke University professor
Mike Munger."
I repeat myself. ¶ 11:01 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
http://www.mises.org/story/2802
It's a discussion of the Law of Comparative Advantage as encountered
in mucking out a stable over my Thanksgiving holiday :)
"There's a sort of built-in progressivism to the division of labor
that, although it benefits all and almost always will benefit
specialists by an absolutely greater amount, provides a greater
proportional benefit to those who are relatively unskilled or weak."
--
Susan Hogarth
http://www.colliething.com
won his race for Springfield City Council this spring:
http://www.lp.org/fp/article_480.shtml
and
http://www.showmefreedom.org/2007/April/BurlisonVictory.shtml
the news SINCE his election is more exciting than the win:
He (unsuccessfully, alas) opposed an annexation:
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/NEWS01/711200388/1007
and (successfully) spearheaded an audit of the town (it was his
campaign issue) that has showcased many of the serious defects of
government:
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/BREAKING01/71206057
The audit "... found plenty of problems. Poor planning. Poor
oversight. Free computers for city employees. Inadequate
documentation.
Hundreds of city credit cards and cell phones with few safeguards."
(though I have to say it's a bit odd that Doug's response to the audit
is to say the city should hire another employee).
This from a member of the Libertarian National Committee. The governing body of the Libertarian Party. Sheesh.
If my email-to-blog thingy is working a'right, it should show up with this post. If not, I'll post it later.
¶ 3:40 PM 3 Comments Links to this post
brewing and drinking hot beverages, I just got a stovetop percolator.
I grew up in the "Mr. Coffee" era, which means I grew up utterly
believing that perked coffee was e.v.i.l. - and the few times I had it
(in Kansas, at events like funerals and church suppers), that
prejudice was confirmed. Then I had perked coffee made over a wood
fire while camping with my sisters a year or two ago - heavenly! And,
yes, I realize much of that appreciation came from being in the woods.
But since we like to use the woodstove for pressure-cooking (beans,
rice, etc) and boiling water for tea and chocolate, I decided to risk
it. First attempt was today, and it was excellent! Even Bill, who
despises coffee, said it smelled good.
I've been reading some of the many bitter perk-vs-drip arguments on
the web; man, these guys make Mac-vs-PC arguments look like friendly
spats. People are -passionate- about coffee.
http://librivox.org/
"LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books."
I'm looking for something short, not already in their catalog, relevant to an audience that is or is becoming libertarian, and with not too many difficult-to-pronounce words :) Short econ classics would be perfect - someone suggested "I, Pencil" - not sure if it's public domain, but it would be a stupendous choice! I'd like to consider also some of Bastiat's shorter works.
Suggestions most eagerly welcomed. If anyone would like to join in on a collaborative recording, that would be a wonderful project!
--
Susan Hogarth
http://www.colliething.com ¶ 4:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
possibly a couple of other cogs in the LP Radical Caucus Machine on
his show at Liberty Cap Live at 7PM Eastern on this Thursday (TODAY!).
Not meaning to diss my radical peeps by not including their names, but
I'm not sure who will be able to make it there. Likely/possible
attendees besides Morey and I will include Marc Montoni and Angela
Keaton. Information about the show and a call-in number for those who
listen to webcasts live is here:
http://www.nowlive.com/libertycaptalklive
Of course I will *also* be at (or more likely outside of) Tir Na nOg
in Raleigh for the WakeLP meeting, so I sure hope it's not raining,
and all y'all new folks better stick around until 8, so I can talk to
you after I get off the phone!
Thanks to Todd for inviting us to talk about our mission to
re-invigorate the Libertarian Party with a strong dose of good
old-fashioned principled libertarian activist radicalism!
--
Susan Hogarth
http://www.colliething.com
debate among Republicans):
"If you believe in "climate change," you presumably believe in massive
government intervention into the economy and our lives"
At the risk of sounding childish: nuh-uh!
Jeezus, people, it's comments like this that make many folks think of
libertarians as idiots and shills for big oil. There's something
incredibly unreflective about a presumed libertarian who assumes that
if you think there's a problem, you think government must be the
solution.
I beleive smoking can cause cancer - does that mean that to Ostrowski,
I 'presumably believe' that we need monster cigarette taxes to fund
massive government campaigns directed (ostensibly and clumsily) at
ending smoking? NO!
Now in another post, he does say that he thinks *Republican
candidates* who believe in man-made climate change presumably favor
intervention - and of course I will grant him that. Almost anyone
running for president can be assumed to be in favor of government
'doing something'. But there are people who see problems and *don't*
automatically expect government to solve them. Folks like James do
them a disservice when they make the assumption that they do.
supporters, the RP Blimp (yes, *blimp*)
will be flying over Raleigh (Friday - tomorrow!) and Fayetteville
(Monday). Looks like the weather will preclude their planned trip to
Boston this weekend and will instead be sending them to South
Carolina. News of weather and schedule is on their blog:
"To get to Columbia we will start out in Elizabeth City on Friday the
14th and arrive in Charlotte, NC that evening (we'll fly over Raleigh
on the way there). Saturday we will leave for Columbia, SC and be in
the city all day and overnight there. We'll leave to head north Monday
morning (12/17) and fly over Fayetteville, NC on the way. (weather
permitting)"
It's certainly an amazing and fascinating grassroots effort to watch -
not just the blimp, but the whole RP effort.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd7jxqpw_126f5ppmpgx
¶ 9:26 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Part of the problem with the LP is that the leadership keeps playing politics as if this were just another political party. Celebrity candidates and artificial emergencies work for other parties because they are nothing more than minimally-anchored political vehicles. There is only a tiny amount of ideological continuity. Each campaign is a short battle, not an ongoing effort to move the culture of the world.
The LP depends on the success of libertarianism, not the other way around. No other party, not even the Greens, are that strongly coupled to an ideology. There are efforts to decouple the LP from libertarian ideology. All they'll do is turn it into another moving target, another back bencher.
--
Susan Hogarth
http://www.colliething.com
¶ 5:06 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
But my quest to find a reliable, steady, Libertarian Party
presidential candidate I can respect and support wholeheartedly is,
alas, still ongoing.
This weekend my short-lived but enthusiastic candidate-supporter
relationship with Christine Smith ended painfully.
I should have listened more carefully to the reservations that other
folks expressed about Christine Smith as a candidate for the LP
presidential nomination. I was so happy to find someone with a
positive (I thought) message, positively expressed, who was solidly
plumbline libertarian that I discounted the warnings about her
temperament. A series of increasingly shrill and whiny and, frankly,
anti-LP email 'campaign messages' from her this weekend have ended -
painfully - any thought in my mind that she could be a good
representative for the LP at this point.
