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Liberty and Power

  • Sep 7, 2004

    A 9/11 Tribute

    by Liberty and Power

    Much has been said about the politics and history of the current state of the world. In my Brooklyn neighborhood, however, one maxim remains true:"Never Forget." Whatever one's opinions about the causes or the consequences of 9/11, this exercise in historical memory is a cathartic one for those of us who survived that tragic day and continue to bear witness.

    As a follow-up to a growing memoir, which includes annual posts from

  • Sep 7, 2004

    Er, Dishonor Among Thieves

    by Liberty and Power

    Just when I thought neocon heavy Richard Perle might have one conceivably redeeming quality – loyalty to his fellow mafiosi – he goes and proves me wrong:
      Last fall, as the board of Hollinger International prepared to oust its founding executive, Conrad M. Black, the director most protective and supportive of him turned to a friend
  • Sep 6, 2004

    Greener Than Thou

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    I just finished watching the Badnarik/Cobb debate. I thought Badnarik did an adequate job, but economics is not his strong point, and he did not seem able to give the kinds of convincing economic responses to Cobb’s economic dirigisme that a Harry Browne, for example, might have.

    The remark of Cobb's that most called for response, and didn't get much of one, was thi
  • Sep 5, 2004

    Playing for Keeps

    by Liberty and Power

    The subtitle of my essay, about the latest attempt to smear Kerry (a brand new one, growing out of the Swift Boat campaign) and its broader meaning, is: How the Bush Administration Seeks to Destroy the Enemy, and Achieve A Mandate -- For Absolute Power.

    The full article is here.

  • Sep 5, 2004

    Musings on McCain and Chechnya

    by Liberty and Power

    Just saw John McCain on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. I was astonished by how the arguments he uses, and those offered by many in the Bush administration, parallel the welfare liberal sociology that we heard for several generations as an explanation for why kids go into a life of crime: that when people have no hope and no opportunity, they are prime candidates for becoming criminals. McCain simply uses that as a rationale for

  • Sep 4, 2004

    Whistleblowers Gather

    by Liberty and Power

    There is going to be a very interesting event, sponsored in part by the AU History Department, at American University, Ward Circle Bldg, Room 2 on Wednesday, September 8 at 8:00 pm concerning whistleblowers. The speakers will include:

    Daniel Ellsberg, Former Defense and State Department official who released the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1971

    Coleen Rowley, Special agent, Minneapolis FBI, Named Person of the Year in 2003 by Time Magazine

    Sibel Edmonds, Former FBI T

  • Sep 4, 2004

    Grant as Anti-Imperialist (sort of)

    by Liberty and Power

    I was perusing Gore Vidal's lively series of essays, Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of America (New York: Nation Books, 2004) and came across these nuggets on page 45.

    Ulysses S. Grant, who had led troops at Veracruz, wrote in his memoirs:"The war was an instance of a republic following the bad example of European monarchies, in not considering the justice in their desire to acquir

  • Sep 4, 2004

    Drug Cartels for Hastert

    by Liberty and Power

    Last Sunday on the Fox news channel Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert implied George Soros had been receiving money from drug cartels to further his drug law reform efforts. Soros quite naturally called for an apology. In a letter Hastert replied that he was concerned about Soros funding groups advocating legalization of drugs, saying ”These were the drug groups that I referred to in my comments on the 'Fox News Sund
  • Sep 3, 2004

    Zell Miller, Fascist-in-Spirit

    by Liberty and Power

    Something else from Zell Miller’s remarkable speech at the GOP convention. No comment needed:

    And like you, I ask which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family?

    The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party.

    There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their f

  • Sep 3, 2004

    Rats on the West Side, Bedbugs Uptown

    by Liberty and Power

    According to the news reports today, Bush says"In all of these proposals, we seek to provide not just a government program, but a path -- a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.” (I didn’t watch, I chose to spend the hour more productively, viz., drinking very old Port.) That sounds great! More freedom and more autonomy for the individual – why that’s just what I favor too! Bu
  • Sep 2, 2004

    The Welfare-Warfare State in One Lesson

    by Liberty and Power

    I hate to pick on Glenn Reynolds twice in one day – oh, who am I kidding? I love it – but check the 3rd graf of this for a lesson in Reynoldsian economics. Massive, assured demand leads to decreased supply? Also note how"generous" he is willing to be with your money.
  • Sep 2, 2004

    Zell

    by Liberty and Power

    From his speech last night:

    Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations.

    Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending.

    I want Bush to decide.

    Me, I want Congress to decide--you know, like it says in the Constitution and everything. You'd think a United States senator might appreciat