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Liberty and Power

  • Apr 18, 2007

    Two Thoughts on Virginia Tech

    by Liberty and Power

    First, although none of the victims of the V.T. massacre deserved what they got, I was especially struck by the obit/profile of Professor Liviu Lebrescu, who survived the Nazis and the Communists, and died a hero: “According to media accounts quoting students,” the NYT reports, “Mr. Librescu and the
  • Apr 18, 2007

    Miklos Rozsa: A Centennial Celebration

    by Liberty and Power

    Granted, this is not directly relevant to either Liberty or Power, but I have been celebrating the centennial of composer Miklos Rozsa's birth at Notablog. For those who are interested, check out the various links in today's post.
  • Apr 18, 2007

    Common Sense about Blacksburg

    by Liberty and Power

    "The Blacksburg tragedy is not the sign of a sick society. Such evil is incurable, and we owe it to the victims not to inflate the problem by ascribing it to some greater malaise." So writes Simon Jenkins here in today’s Guardian.
  • Apr 16, 2007

    Virginia Tech As a Gun Free Zone

    by Liberty and Power

    In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the calls for"sensible gun control" have already began. Unfortunately, it is pretty much certain that the media will ignore the following as reported in 2006: "A Virginia Tech official in 2006 praised the defeat of a proposal to allow students with state-issued concealed handgun permits to carry their handguns on college campuses in Virginia."

    Hat tip

  • Apr 16, 2007

    Predictable Irony

    by Liberty and Power

    Today's Washington Times has a story by reporter Betsy Pisik which concerns a United Nations program based in Greece whose mission is to train public administrators in Mediterranean countries.

    The Thessaloniki Center for Public Service Professionalism has been audited by the U.N. Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and her article contains the following two paragraphs; "The center was conceived to tra

  • Apr 16, 2007

    No bliss in feds' marriage initiative

    by Liberty and Power

    Re: The Native American Healthy Marriages Initiative, managed by the Administration for Native Americans:

    The third theme gets to the real point of the report: ''Marriage seems to be particularly important in civilizing men, turning their attention away from dangerous, antisocial, or self-centered activities and towards the needs of a family.''

    Excuse me, but did you just suggest that men of color are uncivilized? Indeed they did, on top of ''dangerous,'' ''antisocial
  • Apr 16, 2007

    Ed Kramer's Long Wait for Justice

    by Liberty and Power

    Dark Echo points out that anthologist and former VP of the Horror Writers of America, Ed Kramer, remains under house arrest in Georgia after seven years, charged with aggravated child molestation but never tried (and suffering from brain damage after an attack by a jail guard).

    Seven years is a long time to wait for a trial, especially considering Georgia law presumes a violation of speedy trial rights for delays of over eight months bet
  • Apr 15, 2007

    More on Rude, Surly Teenagers

    by Liberty and Power

    I've posted a sort of sequel to my original comments on this subject here. I don't think the new post assumes you have read the original one. I've thought about our"public" education system a lot while our son was an inmate, and now that he is almost out of it (last semester senior year, touch wood!) all this anger is coming out! (Out of me, that is. He didn't mind it too much.)
  • Apr 14, 2007

    Another Blow to Free Speech

    by Liberty and Power

    Well it happened radio host Don Imus lost his show over a highly insensitive and racially tinged remark about the Rutgers Woman’s Basketball team. His bosses are claiming the action was taken for moral reasons and the fact that sponsors American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp left the program in the face of pressure from Al Sharpton, J
  • Apr 12, 2007

    Finally, a libertarian who is not a jerk (at least to your face).

    by Liberty and Power

    Posted this afternoon to H-Teach, a plea for help.

    Hello,
    I’m hoping that folks on the list will be able to help me out – I’m in
    a real knot about this.

    I have a student in the U.S. survey, education major/social science
    emphasis (he’ll be teaching high school). He’s a transfer student
    from a conservative college just outside of Fort Wayne. Decent
    student – B range – absolutely loves history – and a libertarian (he
    tol