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Liberty and Power

  • Jul 26, 2004

    T. H. Kerry and "civility."

    by Liberty and Power

    So Teresa Heinz Kerry has been busted for telling a reporter to “shove it” after delivering a speech on the need for civility. Her mistake, in my opinion, was not to say “shove it,” but to preach for civility. The constant calls for civility by politicians and other self-righteous prigs have grown tiresome. We see it not only in the news but on HNN as well. For instance, see http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/4657.html. In this entry, Dr. Jonath
  • Jul 26, 2004

    A Danny Thomas Moment at Antiwar.com

    by Liberty and Power

    I almost did"a Danny Thomas" with my coffee after reading a certain line of Justin Raimondo's gem of a column this morning. Justin expressed the angst and disappointment that many of us face in November:

    "The antiwar Right is even more confused, given their electoral choices this year....the Anybody But Bush League of the Right has a plethora of bad options. They can choose one of the right-wing splinter parties on the ballot this time around, all of which are opposed to the Iraq war: unfortu

  • Jul 26, 2004

    Flaming Swords, Devilish Anarchists, and Boolean Logic: The First War on Terror

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    On September 6th, 1901 -- almost exactly 100 years before the 9/11 attacks -- President William McKinley was fatally shot by a somewhat bewildered Polish anarchist named Leon Czolgosz.

    The results were in fact eerily similar to those of the 9/11 attacks: nationwide hysteria, fueled by the government and its claque, was unleashed against immigrants and ideological dissidents. Al
  • Jul 25, 2004

    Shape-Shifters of the South

    by Liberty and Power

    Our article,"The Wrong Song of the South," has generated comment, mostly from League of the South types who cannot for a moment entertain the possibility that Southern culture is not synonymous with the confused political claims of the old Confederacy.

    What interests me, however, is not their whipped-dog snivelling, but the legacy of ambiguity they claim for their own. Why is it, one wonders, the debate on Southerness always turns on the question of why the South left the Union? And more

  • Jul 25, 2004

    Greetings from Purgatory

    by Liberty and Power

    As you might have guessed, Common Sense is Thomas Paine. My biographical entry is from the beginning of the first edition of Common Sense, which I wrote anonymously as “an Englishman.”

    I will post on occasion as I carry out my term in Purgatory. God is still upset about my book, The Age of Reason, and as punishment for that and my other sins has forced me to be that most miserable of all human beings, a blogger. Luckily, God is merciful, and he has allowed me to join what I thi
  • Jul 24, 2004

    First, A Revolution from Within

    by Liberty and Power

    I've just secured a copy of the 9/11 Commission report, but have not had the opportunity to read it. Still, I was intrigued by David Brooks' comments today in the NY Times about how the commission asserts that this is not only a war on terror, but an"ideological conflict." In his article,"War of Ideology," Brooks maintains:

    It seems like a sm
  • Jul 24, 2004

    Those Rascal Celts Were Everywhere!

    by Liberty and Power

    In reading David Beito & Charles Nuckolls, "Wrong Song of the South: The Dangers of Confederate Multiculturalism," at Reason Online, I couldn’t help but examine the two links to the League of the South’s website, one on “flags,” the other on the “Celtic background” of “Southern Culture.”

    Between them, these two links mention “Anglo-Celtic civilization” no less than five times as forming the basis of Southern culture. I was reminded of my own Celtic background, albeit s
  • Jul 22, 2004

    Your Tax Dollars Pay for Boobs. Part Two.

    by Liberty and Power

    Word out of Boston is that security for the Democratic National Convention may top $50 milion. That's $40 million over budget (the Democrats over budget? Imagine.). You can add that sum to the $14.5 million the party gets in public funds to throw the big shindig in the first place. The DNC plans to ask Congress to write a check for the shortfall. Congress wil
  • Jul 22, 2004

    Warning: Do Not Read This Review of Spiderman 2 If You Have Not Seen It

    by Liberty and Power

    I was eager to see the latest Spider-Man installment of what will surely be the earliest of ad infinitum sequels. I liked the first Spider-Man movie okay, particularly as it came at a time when I needed to be distracted. But I'd heard the second one was what Sam Raimi had really wanted to make from the beginning. It would not only have great special effects and action, but the characters would have depth, the plot would be interesting and better structured, etc., etc. I went to see it with a fri
  • Jul 22, 2004

    A Greener Shade of Brown

    by Liberty and Power

    [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

    I just today (well, yesterday by the time I'm writing this) came across the website of Lance Brown, who's already running for the LP nomination in 2008 (the first presidential election in which he'll be old enough to be eligible). It's the first I'd heard of him, but then I don't generally follow LP politics terribly closely (apart from my one stint as