Carlo Lottieri and Italy...

One reason I want to visit Italy, is to learn more about Carlo Lottieri who studied philosophy in Genoa and sociology in Geneva who is a well known Libertarian. His thesis was written under the direction of Raymond Boudon and his topic was Idéologie et science dans la sociologie politique de Gaetano Mosca. In 1989 he received a Claude Lambe Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies, (Fairfax, VA), in 1990 a fellowship from the European Council and in 1991 another one from the Murst (Italian department of the universitarian education).

Another reason would be to actually try Italian recipes in Italy, from what I understand there is a difference in how we've americanized many of the dishes...

The Libertarian Case for McCain

From Reason Magazine, I recommend the full piece, but one that I have felt before has some validity:

2) Divided government!

As George Will put it in his Washington Post column today, "Divided government compels compromises that curb each party's excesses, especially both parties' proclivities for excessive spending when unconstrained by an institution controlled by the other party. William Niskanen, chairman of the libertarian Cato Institute, notes that in the past 50 years, 'government spending has increased an average of only 1.73 percent annually during periods of divided government. This number more than triples, to 5.26 percent, for periods of unified government.'"

Other marketing things I notice...

One tip I've learned when it comes to marketing things online is the purposeful use of a misspelled word to help enhance search ranking terms. This is because they realize that there is a large number of people out there that misspell words, take as an example the phrase weight loss pills instead of "weight loss pills," there are thousands of products out there for that term but less for the misspelling...Recognizing this helps some of these companies gain a higher search ranking for their product which in turn, helps them sell more.

Natural products make sense to me...

I've never been a huge fan of chemical products, not just because of the environment, but because of the economic factor. That said, I always find it funny when I see that organic products or products with the "natural" label attached to them typically cost more. It is a very smart marketing ploy attached to products from natural acne treatment to natural cereal, because it makes some consumers feel good to buy products that are "natural" and in many cases they are willing to pay more. If they were not? The free market would create a scenario where they would have to drop their prices for the product to sell.

Bob Barr and privacy...

Interesting article for those concerned about privacy:

The Democratic and Republican candidates for U.S. president aren't giving enough emphasis to privacy and civil rights issues, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, said Friday.

Privacy issues received no mention at the Democratic and Republican national conventions during the past two weeks, said Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, speaking at an EPIC press conference. Debates about privacy and civil rights issues, including government surveillance of U.S. residents and routine searches of laptops at U.S. borders, were "nowhere to be seen" at the conventions, Barr said.

Barr spoke during the launch of a new EPIC campaign called Privacy '08. The goal is to make privacy issues a larger part of the campaign debate and to educate voters about privacy issues, said Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director. "We need to have this debate," he said.

Barr called on the next president to rein in government surveillance of U.S. residents and called on Congress to update privacy laws by limiting what private businesses can do with personal data. Libertarians generally oppose new laws and new regulations, but Barr said limitations on the use of personal information are needed.

As we know, both Obama and McCain support the federal government's ability to spy on it's citizens.

Why I don't envy the man cave...

While I would love my own part of the house where I could blog in peace, the only spot currently available is the basement and my husband has taken it over for his "man cave". Since it's an older home, and the basement walls are not quite "leak proof" while there is no standing water, the older dehumidifier that we have just doesn't eliminate that musty basement aroma for me. So until the day we start looking at newdehumidifiers my husband is safe having his computer and his television and his playstation, in the basement. If I could lure the assorted children to spend more time down there? I would have my own private space...

Health insurance costs can change from state to state

We discovered the differences in medical costs when one of my daughters moved to California, what she was quoted there for chiropractic and dental services was almost triple what it costs here in Ohio. Actual health premium costs can vary, with those seeking NC health insurance appearing to pay just a bit less than here in Ohio and a lot less than those in California.

Prevent furniture weathering...

My deck furniture is made of bamboo, and if it were left out there in the elements with no protection it would weather and decay faster than it would using outdoor furniture covers. While I didn't spend that much on the furniture, it still makes sense to take just a bit of extra care to make sure it lasts as long as possible. Another great reason is if you have ever thought you were sitting down on something that was dry, only to discover the cushion was damp or wet? Covers prevent that...

Wayne Allyn Root interviewed by local radio show...

One of our great local talk show radio programs is done by Troy Neff, and for those of you who are fans of Bob Barr, you might be interested in the interview that his running mate did today.

Not many of the other presidential candidates take the time to talk to local radio...and Wayne Allyn Root makes some good points that I think are worth listening to.

Politics get you heated?

We are now approaching the last 60 days till the election, or as those of us who have followed politics for quite some time call it, the "crazy season" where it's hard to not get heated, get passionate and at times make you feel as if you are so stressed that you will break out in a rash to the point where people will suggest acne treatments or friends no longer are friends because you really can't believe they would be so stupid to vote for the person you can't stand.

Being libertarian or leaning libertarian creates a whole different set of problems, you will be told you are "throwing your vote away" or be accused of helping another candidate win by not voting for one of the main party candidates. To me, as long as you vote, you are not throwing your vote away. If you can't vote your conscience in a presidential election, that to me is more of a problem than voting for someone that maybe will not win.