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Liberty and Power

  • Nov 16, 2006

    Hype and Reality in the Emmett Till Case

    by Liberty and Power

    The re-opened Emmett Till case is coming to a head. When it finally happens, it be after more than two years of wild speculation and wishful thinking. In 2004, a poorly researched, but much touted,"60 Minutes" piece indicated that half a dozen or so, mostly unnamed, individuals could still be prosecuted.

    As L and P readers know, I have long disputed these claims. Now, it increasingly appears that the final report by investigators will th

  • Nov 16, 2006

    Ouch!

    by Liberty and Power

    Here is what Ralph Luker over at Cliopatria has to say about the latest from David Horowitz:

    Only a pretentious, overpaid, windbag quotes himself in the third person. Or, does someone else write this crap for you, David?

  • Nov 14, 2006

    Do not want

    by Liberty and Power

    Well, the NY Times op-ed page just got a lot less sane. Libertarian columnist John Tierney has decided to leave the op-ed page (he'll still write science columns. (Here's the story and his last column, behind that foolish paywall). That's a real shame, since the vast majority of readers of the NYT op-ed page really needed some exposure to Tierney's persepctive. If you're reading this, Mr Tierney, thanks for all your hard
  • Nov 13, 2006

    Thoreau on Majorities and Voting

    by Liberty and Power

    "Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority."

    Henry David Thoreau, "Essay on Civil Disobedience."

  • Nov 11, 2006

    Rumsfeld's Legacy

    by Liberty and Power

    The CNN idiot is telling me today I should wear all my medals to celebrate Veterans Day and impress my friends and honor the state. We have become the Soviet Union and the good thing is the state's demise must be nearer than we think, given where we are already.

    For Veterans Day, I drafted my take on Rumsfeld. I hope he gets to read it, because I think that sadly, he would have to agree with me. Enjoy Rumsfeld'
  • Nov 10, 2006

    The Green Party

    by Liberty and Power

    The Greens strike me as a very loose alliance of populists of all sorts. There is a decentralist, libertarian streak in some of them. There are socialists, as well. But I remember seeing a poll that said that 2/3 of Nader voters favored war after 9/11, compared to smaller portions of Buchanan and Libertarian voters. I've found in Berkeley a few Greens who defended the first Gulf War, even.

    This is to say that the Greens believe all sorts of things, with anti-conservatism being their
  • Nov 10, 2006

    More on the Greens

    by Liberty and Power

    More on Rodericks's attempt to make an alliance with the Greens: Jason's post immediately below is terrific. But it's even worse than that! I went through the entire document with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, and it's no contest.

    1.Grassroots Democracy
    “Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another."

    This is self-contradictory. I agree that no one should be subject to the
  • Nov 9, 2006

    Greens?

    by Liberty and Power

    Roderick Long discusses a possible Libertarian-Green alliance below. I'm skeptical. Long writes,"The Greens’ ten values are perfectly consistent with libertarianism, though the means chosen to achieve them may not always be." I do not agree. I take issue in particular with the following value:
    All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equa
  • Nov 9, 2006

    Questions for Senator Hagel

    by Liberty and Power

    David Beito’s post below sparked my curiosity so signed up for more information and what follows is the comment they asked for.

    I am interested in learning more about Senator Hagel. What little I do know about him suggests he has potential. Now, you are saying that he is a social conservative, so the key question for me is does he know the difference between advocating legalization of drugs and advocating the use of drugs?

    I believe

  • Nov 8, 2006

    Hitchens, Left and Right

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    Since Christopher Hitchens gave up socialism, I’ve ironically enough gone from disagreeing with him 40% of the time to disagreeing with him 80% of the time. I used to look forward to his mordant skewerings of the mighty, but lately he seems to have morphed into a mean-spirited shill for the estab

  • Nov 8, 2006

    In Defense of Voting (sort of)

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    I say “sort of” because I don’t really think voting is terribly important. And I certainly don’t think there’s a duty to vote – Athena forfend! Moreover, the usual arguments in favour of voting (like “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain” – which Spencer nicely

  • Nov 8, 2006

    Meet the New Boss ....

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    Yesterday’s election brought high points and low. It was a relief to see the unbearable Rick Santorum go down to defeat in Pennsylvania, but not so delightful to see the despicable Elliot Spitzer gain the governorship in New York. On the whole, though, I’m glad to see the Republicans get trounced as they deserve. And divided government is one step closer to

  • Nov 8, 2006

    Is Chuck Hagel The GOP's Best Hope To Hold the White House?

    by Liberty and Power

    After their well-deserved electoral beating, the Republicans might finally begin some soul searching on their present course. They may event take a second look at the presidential campaign of Senator Chuck Hagel .

    A Vietnam veteran and pioneer in the cellular phone industry, Hagel has long been a thoughtful Iraq War skeptic. His free market credentials are pretty solid (for a Republican), espe

  • Nov 7, 2006

    Libertarians and the Conservative Movement

    by Liberty and Power

    For many years, I've wondered why so many libertarians seem so willing, if not eager, to align themselves with mainstream conservativism, especially as it manifests itself in the Republican Party. I've certainly never seen the principled reason, but I've never been convinced by any strategic alignment arguments either. And with the horrific record of the Bush Adminstration (bad on civil liberties, bad on economics, and all whooped up for that old health of the state - war), the case seems even
  • Nov 7, 2006

    An Election Day Thought From Henry David Thoreau

    by Liberty and Power

    "What is called politics is comparatively something so superficial and inhuman, that practically I have never fairly recognized that it concerns me at all.....I have not got to answer for having read a single President's Message. A strange age of the word this, when empires, kingdoms, and republics come a-beggin to a private man's door and utter t