The temptation to not be me...

The reality is I am getting older, my hair is turning gray and I'm getting wrinkles. At first I dyed my hair, it was a never ending battle of me against the gray, and then I gave up. I'm feeling the same way about the wrinkles, I use a regular moisturizer and I've looked at many of the popular wrinkle cream variations out there, but? While I want to be healthy and to be fit, I'm not that concerned anymore with the fight against nature and gravity. It's winning...

:-)

The temptation to flee

There have been times, especially recently where the idea of just calling some long distance movers and leaving Ohio to head out west has been tempting. Especially now that one of my daughter's is moving to Phoenix and I thoroughly enjoyed Arizona when we explored it on our road trip out west when she initially moved to the San Jose area.

I'd also love to live in California, but the prices there are much higher than in states like Arizona. Perhaps it's still the more wide open spaces, but you just feel "freer" out there...

Armed Resistance and Hiding Are Futile, Unless…

I read this piece with interest, because I grew up with relatives that were much more libertarian than me that believed the only way they were going to survive was to have guns and a plan to hide. I recommend this article by Mark R. Crovelli highly.

Libertarians Applaud Federal Reprieve For Medical Marijuana

It's never made sense to me to go after people like Charles Lynch...but? That's what has happened and in theory it's believed new guidelines from the Department of Justice telling prosecutors “should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana” may make a difference.

Time will tell...I highly recommend this video from Reason.tv



Another recommended article on Charles Lynch.

Memories of VW's with Rolls Royce grills...

Whenever I think about car grills, I can't help but remember back to when converting a VW bug with the Rolls Royce conversion and grill was popular. I always wanted a VW bug, not necessarily with the idea in mind to convert one, but I always thought they looked cool. Now of course there are a huge variety of grills out there for many different cars...

Libertarian Group To Sue Administration for Failing to Disclose Global Warming Docs

Title is the headline that caught my attention, on a local, state and federal level one of the most difficult things is getting information. With all of the laws passed to supposedly make getting this information "easier" it is almost impossible to get information and to get it the first time without having to threaten and/or file a lawsuit.

This story reported by ABC News is just the latest in the long saga of the government versus people's right to know...

A libertarian non-profit organization in Washington today announced it was filing suit against the Obama administration for failing to adequately disclose global warming documents.

As we reported two weeks ago the Competitive Enterprise Institute deemed inadequate the Treasury Department's response to a Freedom of Information Act request for documents on cap-and-trade.

Months after the FOIA request, Treasury responded by giving CEI five documents and emails, when the group had expected 50.

"Your response fails any reasonable test for compliance with FOIA and constitutes an effective denial of our request," CEI's Christopher Horner stated in the notice of appeal filed with Treasury today.

From Australia but still relevant...

This first part of A dose of libertarianism would enhance our democracy caught my attention because I think while written in Australia, it also pertains to our country here as well.

I CALL myself a libertarian social democrat, but many of my left-wing mates condemn such a position as a contradiction. They forget that the potency of the French Revolution lay in its marriage of liberty with equality and fraternity, and that Left libertarianism has a fine pedigree.

Social democracy ensures collective intervention in the marketplace to enhance structural equality and advance the full development of our potential as human beings. Libertarianism cultivates a sceptical attitude to the self-serving claims of state bureaucracies and rent-seeking businesses alike, and ensures vigilance against the encroachment of our governments on individual and community freedoms.

Taken together, these two approaches can promote alterative ways for us re-imagine the old Westminster public service as a democratic commons more accountable to grassroots communities. Many Australians, especially in traditional Labor areas, have lost faith in the capacity of government to deliver even the most basic services, and restoring faith in the public is a key challenge for the Left.

I love my wood floors but...

Today my husband has decided that he wants to re-arrange furniture in our bedroom which has created my having to give up my large area rug that I had on the bedroom floor. While I love my wood flooring, it is harder to maintain than tile flooring and while I know most people prefer wall to wall carpeting, when you have children and pets? Tile and even wood flooring with a less expensive area rug is easier to maintain...

Anger for me is an appetite killer...

Most people eat more when they are depressed or angry, but for me it's the opposite, when I am stressed or angry it's the same reaction as I took an appetite suppressant. Like right now as an example, it's not anger but stress. I'm sitting here trying to work with two of my daughters being here in my room with the laptop while I'm on the tower driving me crazy. It's at times impossible to get research done, which is why I'm writing this instead, until they decide to leave? It's not going to be even remotely quiet...

A Libertarian look at healthcare reform

Recommended post/article by Brett Perry, A libertarian look at healthcare reform. Part of the recommended piece:

Libertarians biggest problem with most issues is economical. The popular addage is "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" or TANSTAAFL (pronounced TAN-staf-el). With every new government program you should always ask yourself first, "Who's going to pay for this?" and the answer is almost always the taxpayers. When that is the answer Libertarians will always come out against it.

There is no "right" to medical care, and you have no right to ask anyone else to pay for your medical care. Libertarians believe it is not moral to force someone to pay for any of your wants or needs. Government control cannot improve health care anymore than it improved the economies of the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.

Legislators and bureaucrats cannot know how to properly direct scarce medical resources to where they will do the most good for those who count. Politicians will simply make political decisions that will get them re-elected. What we currently have is what people refer to as the nanny state, or therapeutic state. State governments join together with insurance companies and doctors to take away your right to control your own medical care. Every state mandates that your health insurance cover specific things.

Maine Libertarians Lose Lawsuit on Double Petition Deadlines

On September 16, the Libertarian Party of Maine lost its federal lawsuit against Maine’s system of having one deadline to submit independent candidate petitions to town clerks, and a separate deadline, one week later, to get the signatures from the town clerks to the Secretary of State. Libertarian Party of Maine v Dunlap, cv-08-288. The decision was not a surprise, since the judge had refused to issue injunctive relief in the same case last year. The party pointed out that candidates who petition to get on the primary ballot only face one deadline, but the decision says, in effect, that there are lots of differences between the petitioning process for primary candidates and the process for general election candidates, and such differences aren’t inherently unconstitutional.

Areas of speciality law...

Once upon a time before attorneys advertised, you learned through word of mouth or from a legal referral organization when you were seeking a lawyer who was an expert in one area of the law. Now with the internet, it's easy for people to find a lawyer specializing in what their specific needs are. This has become very specific to not only area of practice but geographically. Let's say you decide to search for a San Jose motorcycle accident attorney with the internet? You'll find one...

The hardest spot on your body to lose weight...

One of the frustrating things about diet and exercise can be that your stomach area seems to be one of the hardest places to lose weight from. Especially as you grow older, and it seems to take forever in doing crunches without seeing the results you'd like as fast as you'd like. Some turn to products to try to burn belly fat faster. Some decide surgery is the option for them whether through liposuction or tummy tucks. Then there are those of us who do what we can as far as diet and exercise with some just deciding that it's easier to buy the next larger clothes size...

How often do you ever see the mainstream media and the television commentators presenting the libertarian view?

Rarely...Why? Jacob G. Hornberger has some of the reasons why he thinks the media does not provide a libertarian view point:

How often do you ever see the mainstream media and the television commentators presenting the libertarian view? Hardly ever. Why is that? For two reasons: One, as statists they are absolutely terrified over the fact that libertarianism is a growing phenomenon but, more important, they simply lack the competence to counteract libertarian arguments in a substantive way.

It’s really not difficult to participate in the conservative vs. liberal debate because they both accept the same core premise: that a legitimate role of the federal government is to tax people’s income and spend the money on socialist, regulatory, or imperialist programs.

Thus, the argument between conservatives and liberals ultimately boils down to how the federal government should spend money that the IRS has forcibly taken from the citizenry.

Conservatives argue that people’s money should be spent this way, and liberals argue that it should be spent that way.

‘Hope’ and ‘change’ a year later

Interesting article by Paul Varnell, ‘Hope’ and ‘change’ a year later. I recommend it, some of what Varnell writes is what others have expressed, such as:

To be sure, it was fairly clear that Obama’s “change” and “hope” would involve substantial, not to say massive, new government spending, higher taxes or greater deficits, and more government control of the economy. I hardly favored these things, but the trade-offs for a change from Bush seemed tolerable. After all, Bush was a big spender too — of money and of blood.

But as it has turned out, there has been less “change” than one might have had “hope” for.

Expensive government health-care expansion has taken center stage. As U.S. military forces are slowly — all too slowly — being withdrawn from Iraq they are being increased in Afghanistan, an even greater quagmire than Iraq has been.
There has been little sign of progress — not even preliminary study groups — on gay issues.

The economy was pulled along in the most expensive way possible, and sent signals to corporations in the future that the government will protect them from the results of foolish policies and economic failure.

Nothing much I had “hope” for.

Libertarians respond to President Obama's health care speech

This release was sent out via email from the Libertarian National Party:

Libertarians respond to President Obama's health care speech
Remind voters about Republican-initiated government-run health care plans

WASHINGTON - In the wake of President Obama's speech to Congress, America's third-largest party wants to remind voters about Republican support for government-run health care plans.

William Redpath, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) commented, "Make no mistake, the Libertarian Party is opposed to President Obama's health care plans, and his speech last night has not budged us. But we also opposed Republican plans for big-government health care, many of which have been implemented in recent years."

In 2003, President Bush and the Republican Congress enacted a Medicare prescription drug expansion. It was originally expected to cost $400 billion, but just two years later the cost was revised upward to $1.2 trillion.

In 2006, Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney supported and signed a bill that required all residents to purchase health insurance, and increased state health insurance funding.

In 2007, Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order to force sixth-grade schoolgirls to receive HPV vaccinations.

This year, congressional Republicans put forward the "Patients' Choice Act of 2009," which would increase federal government spending and control of health care in a variety of ways.

The Libertarian Party has put a poll on on its home page to allow voters to choose which Republican plan is the most hypocritical.

Redpath said, "Republicans are living in glass houses when they complain about the President's health care plans and the bills in the Democratic-controlled Congress."

Redpath continued, "It's time for President Obama to be intellectually honest, himself, and to stop inferring that his ideas of health care reform are the only ones out there. With neither of the major parties is there any serious discussion about letting individuals control their own health care dollars, moving away from employer-provided health insurance, and increasing competition among insurance companies by letting people purchase health insurance across state lines and among providers by taking a good, long look at medical education and licensure laws to allow potential providers to freely respond to health consumers' needs."

Redpath continued, "But, before the President and the Gang of 535 even do that, it would be refreshing to at least hear them debate whether the federal government is empowered to be in the middle of all of this. An honest reading of the Constitution might stimulate the right move -- punting this to the states and the people."

The Libertarian Party favors a free market health care system. The party's platform states, "We favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. We recognize the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want, the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of their medical care, including end-of-life decisions."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LNC executive director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties.

John Stossel Leaving ABC for Fox Business

How is this related to Libertarian news? The way Stossel is described by the New York Times and a few other media sources that reported on the move:

John Stossel, the ABC anchor known for his libertarian bent, is moving to the Fox Business Network to host a weekly prime-time program. He will also make regular appearances on the Fox News Channel.

A fierce and sometimes controversial contrarian, Mr. Stossel is perhaps best known for his watchdog reports, “Give Me a Break.” He has been a correspondent for the ABC newsmagazine “20/20” for almost 30 years, and a co-anchor of it for six years.

Coercion: the root of all evil

This one made me think for a bit, Coercion: the root of all evil by Garry Reed. I'm not sure I agree with all of his points, he's a bit more libertarian than I will ever be but I do agree while he doesn't use the word hypocrisy that it exists in both political parties. I also agree his last few words merit some thought:

Coercion from the right is hate. Coercion from the left is hate. Coercion from anywhere is hate.

It's time for everyone to re-learn the libertarian lesson of live and let live: coercion is the root of all evil.

More Libertarian 101...

I really like this series on Libertarian 101, I can't recommend it enough for those of you trying to learn a bit more about Libertarianism. Today's article is no different as far as getting a recommended read suggestion from me. It's on the Libertarian position on Corporate Greed written by Barry Ritchey II. A small taste...

Libertarians would make it impossible for corporations to grow fat on those 'sweetheart deals' paid for by you and me by lowering the cost of capital by dramatically cutting taxes and government-regulation. We understand the need to encourage entrepreneurship and market fluidity by letting the market and consumers determine the size of a company, not the 'czar' in Washington. In short, if your company isn't sound, don't come to taxpayers saying you're 'too big to fail'. Libertarians understand there is an American out there that has the idea and the will to implement it. More red-tape for him to cut through isn't going to get his innovation to the consumer any sooner, it'll only make it a less cost effective alternative before he even starts.

Is Obama’s Speech Indoctrination?

There's been quite a bit of discussion on both of my other blogs on the topic of President Obama's speech to school children. This article, however, takes a bit of a different view that I found interesting. Written by Jacob G. Hornberger, on Media With Conscience I found this part to be one small aspect of the larger recommended article something not written much about:

You can always count on conservatives for injecting a bit of humor, albeit unintentionally, into any national political debate. The latest example involves their railing against President Obama’s plan to deliver a speech to the public-school students of America. The conservatives are calling the president’s speech “indoctrination.”

Why is that funny? No, not for the reason liberals are giving — that the very notion that a presidential speech to public-school students could be considered “indoctrination” is just plain loony.

No, the reason this whole controversy is funny is because it is obvious that neither conservatives nor liberals have given any consideration to where those students will be located when the president delivers his speech: at government centers of learning that their parents have been forced to send them to, thanks to compulsory-attendance laws.

What do conservatives and liberals think takes place in a government center of learning?

The best indoctrination, of course, is where the people who have been indoctrinated don’t even know that they have been indoctrinated. Most public-school graduates, whether in Cuba or the U.S. or elsewhere, are prime examples of this type of success story.