Larry Craig’s Interrogation Tape

This guy may have been entrapped, but he’s an asshole too. Here’s the tape.

I love the cop’s shock that a US Senator would lie.

Powerful Ron Paul YouTube

Michelle Shinghal on Tucker Carlson: (Ex-)Strippers for Ron Paul

Sorry folks, been too busy to post. But I thought I’d post this since no one else has yet. Our own Michelle Shinghal on Tucker Carlson, thanks to posts by our fellow blogger Steve Gordon.

Libertarians For Kucinich Poll Results – Funny Stuff

To be quite honest, I haven’t given Dennis Kucinich much thought as a candidate, but after reading this, I think I’ll check him out.  I have to like a candidate whose supporters have such a good sense of humor.

While the poll put out by Ron Paul’s LibertarianLists.com web site is highly self-selected, we at Libertarians for Kucinich are excited to announce a poll that is even more rigorously self-selected.

Our latest baseline data indicates that Dennis Kucinich has an infinitely higher support level than Ron Paul among Libertarian Party voters — 66.67% versus 0.00% for Ron Paul.

Even more interestingly, when Ron Paul is run in a hypothetical election against more liberal members of his party, such as Pat Buchanan, Libertarians continue to support Kucinich by a consistent 2:1 margin.

In fact, 2 out of 3 Libertarians recommend Dennis Kucinich as part of a healthy political diet.

Now, we know that the Libertarian Purists and the Ron Paul campaign alike will attack our methodology and point out that our margin of error is 35%. However, they are just being political and are angry that our rigorous poll has 65% correctness.

Below are the poll percentage results:

1) Which of the following candidates would make the best president of the United States?

a) Dennis Kucinich — 66.66%
b) Ron Paul — 0.00%
c) Doug Stanhope — 33.33%
c) Some other Libertarian purist who will never, ever win — 0.01%

2) Which of the following is the greatest political tragedy of the 21st century?

a) We still lack a national health care plan — 33.33%
b) The federal government is overruling the rights of states to ban guns — 33.33%
c) Eric Dondero — 33.32%
d) The USA PATRIOT Act — 0.01%

3) Which of the following is the least unappealing option?

a) A night of sweaty debauchery with Hillary Clinton — 33.32%
b) A night of sweaty debauchery with Karl Rove — 33.32%
c) Are you serious? — 33.32%
d) Paying my income taxes — 0.03%

4) If Ron Paul loses the Republican Party primary, which one of the following actions would you support?

a) Having Ron Paul declare his undying support for Dennis Kucinich for president — 33.33%
b) Having Ron Paul get real and understand that only Dennis Kucinich could bring us Liberty in Our Lifetime ™ — 33.33%
c) Having Ron Paul donate his life savings to the Kucinich for President Campaign Committee — 33.34%
d) I am a purist Libertarian pantywaist who intends to vote for Phillies or Smith — 0.00%
e) I support Daniel Imperato and forgot to take my lithium this morning: — (-0.01%)

5) Who is the hottest?

a) Shane Cory — 33.33%
b) Stephen Gordon — 66.65%
c) Daniel Imperato after 11 drinks and a Social Security reform speech — 0.01%

6) Which is the most reliable way to get unbiased statistics about politics?

a) FOX News — 0.01%
b) CNN — 0.01%
c) LibertarianLists.com — 0.00000000000001%
d) LibertariansForKucinich.com — 99.967%
e) Other — 0.0000001%

7) If Dennis Kucinich loses the Democratic primary, should the Libertarian Party change its bylaws to allow him to become the Libertarian nominee?

a) Yes, because we need Dennis Kucinich in the White House! — 33.33%
b) Hell yes, because Dennis’s eyes see through the lies! — 33.33%
c) Are you kidding?!? Of course! — 33.32%
d) I am a Libertarian purist who hates real progress and thus am opposed to this incredibly good idea you’ve brought up — 0.01%

Many thanks to Libertarians For Kucinich for the laughs!

Hat tip Stephen Gordon.

Congratulations, Daddy McManigal!

Kent McManigal’s longtime girlfriend, Lisa, gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 12:20 pm today. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz., and is 19 inches long. Her name is Emily Sage McManigal.

Isn’t she absolutely adorable?

Congratulations, Kent and Lisa, and a big welcome to our very newest libertarian, little Emily Sage!

Senate Homophobe Hitting on Dudes Since 1967

The Idaho Statesman, which seems to not be written by big fans of gays, apparently did an investigation into allegations of man-love against Larry Craig, the homophobic Idaho Senator who was arrested in June for soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport restroom from an undercover officer. (I don’t like using an airport restroom for its intended purpose, but sex? What the hell?) He’s married, by the way.

Anyways, he’s been unsuccessfully trying to bang guys since 1967, when he invited a pledge candidate into his room in his frat house for sex.

The fact that it’s only Republicans getting outed as hypocrites is disappointing, since it gives the impression that the Democrats are somehow better than the Republicans – but they really haven’t done much for LGBT individuals either. But less hypocrites is always a good thing.

Also, thanks to a commenter at Wonkette, Larry Craig’s creepy “Treehouse for Kids“.

Miss Teen USA contestant answers question at pageant, embarrasses entire state of South Carolina

Cornholio Lives!

Okay, nobody else touched this one, so I guess I will.

Kasey Kazee of Ashland, Kentucky tried to hold up a liquor store, with duct tape wrapped around his face as a disguise. (Wouldn’t masking tape work better for that purpose? Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

The store manager had some duct tape of his own, though, wrapped around a club he kept in the store for just this sort of occasion. He chased Kazee outside, and an employee held the would-be bandit in a neckhold until police arrived. EMTs removed the tape, though there doesn’t seem to be any footage of that process, unfortunately; apparently Kazee got lucky because he had been sweating so much that the tape didn’t stick well. Not surprisingly, he was quickly nicknamed “The Duct Tape Bandit”.

Hilarity ensued when, in an interview from the jail with a local television station, a very animated Kazee proclaimed “I’m not no Duct Tape Bandit”. This, you have to see to believe.

Not at all surprisingly, folks on YouTube have been having a ball. Some of them do reenactments. Another made a photoshop overlay proving that Kazee is indeed the Duct Tape Bandit (as if there was ever really a question about it) to the tune of “Photograph” by Nickelback (”look at this photograph, everytime I do it makes me laugh, how did our eyes get so red, and what the hell is on Joey’s head?”). Someone else made a fake news story about a copycat robber who wrapped his head in invisible scotch tape. One even made a very funny rap song using actual media interviews about the case, which can be heard and downloaded on zShare.

Most interestingly for our purposes, though, is that some people who actually live in Kentucky have said it won’t be long before the state enacts a law requiring a five-day waiting period and a background check for the purchase of duct tape. Also interesting is that, in a state where many are avid hunters, the store manager didn’t have a shotgun behind the counter instead of a club. Kasey Kazee really needs to be thankful he’s still alive.

So, what will happen to the Duct Tape Bandit? He faces 20 to life for robbery, and the judge and jury is likely to be unmoved though amused by his claim that they have the wrong man, given that he was caught on the scene with the duct tape still on his face. I smell an insanity defense.

Aaron Russo

I’m sure everyone knows by now that we lost a great freedom fighter early Friday morning. I supported Aaron Russo’s campaign in 2004 and for the past couple of hours, I’ve been trying to come up with some sort of statement. After spending two hours thinking about it, all I could come up with is….

THANK YOU

One less joke on Canadians

The Canadian dollar is now pretty much at parity with the US dollar.

Cheers to our economic guardians in Washington.

Kent McManigal interviewed by Eric Sundwall

Since Kent and I are very good online friends, and talk every day (sometimes several times per day) via IM and email but have never met or spoken in “real life”, this was a very big treat for me. After you watch this, you’ll see why I’m proud to call Kent my friend, and why we became friends in the first place. He’s just one helluva nice guy, very intelligent, and extremely personable.

Hat tip to one of my other online friends, Jake Porter.

Muskegon Republicans Having Fun With Political Signs?

Wanna see some investigative reporting? The following pictures were sent to me via a Ron Paul supporter in Michigan. The location is the Muskegon County Republican Party Headquarters.

As you can see, there are a few political signs in the window.

How cute! They are proclaiming that John McCain will be the next president!

Wait…what do we have here? Look closely….

There you go.

Southeast Texas prepares to collapse ahead of storm

Since Katrina made everybody realize that hurricanes are bad, people are more afraid of them then they were before, which means that people are running to Aunt Samantha for protection.

The government is responding as it usually does – by setting up a committee. From the Houston Chronicle:

Should Hurricane Dean, now a Category 4 storm churning through the Caribbean en route to the Gulf of Mexico, turn toward the Texas coast, officials will react according to the National Incident Management System.

It calls for a multiagency committee to coordinate the actions of regional jurisdictions. Here, that’s a committee of 15 people, including 13 county judges and the mayors of Houston and Galveston. The committee will not usurp local control, but, rather, will coordinate decisions that have regional implications.

Yikes. In other words, they’ll bungle everything and probably pull another Rita (even though they say they won’t), where everybody is told to leave and the storm misses.

Followup on site improvements

A few weeks ago I asked what we can do to improve Last Free Voice and a number of you responded.

Here’s what we have done so far.

• LFV radio is in the works.

Hope to have more on this soon. No word yet on video blogs (LFV-TV?).

I’ve now been made an admin. Added several new people.

Ian Conrad and Jason Gatties have already started posting here, although they are not yet on the About LFV page.

Dick Clark and Alex Peak, the top organizers of the two most active libertarian campus clubs in recent years (Auburn and Towson), have also asked to be added as writers here, although they haven’t posted anything yet (my apologies if this was supposed to be a surprise). Dick was also past chairman of the Alabama LP.

Chris Hickman also expressed a willingness to write here in the comments, so I added him.

I don’t remember whether G. E. Smith has agreed to be added or not, but he was nominated, so I added a profile for him. I guess we’ll see.

GreginOz suggested we add foreign correspondents, so I’ve added him as, possibly, the first. An email exchange followed. You can read it after the jump, unless Greg objects, in which case I’ll delete it.

Phillies Press Release: “We Don’t Attack Our Allies”

 

 

We Don’t Attack Our Allies

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8:35am Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Phillies: We Don’t Invade Our Allies

“It’s very simple. Invading a foreign country is an act of war,” Libertarian Presidential candidate George Phillies said in answer to fellow candidate Barack Obama. “I am shocked that an allegedly serious Presidential candidate would call for invading Pakistan. Not only is Pakistan an ally, but it is a nuclear power.”

Under pressure from Republican opponents and fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton that he appeared too soft on terrorism, on August 1 Senator Obama said* that the United States might invade Pakistan to pursue Al Qaeda members. Obama said “I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear…If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”

Phillies strongly disagrees. “Thank goodness Obama is not our President. It has always been understood that when you invade a foreign country you are potentially at war with them. President of Musharaf of Pakistan is honor-bound to defend his country. He cannot afford to look weak. Apparently these issues are beyond Senator Obama’s understanding of foreign affairs.” Phillies asks Mr. Obama, ‘What is your working plan if the Pakistanis respond to our act of war with their own acts of war? They might arm the guerrillas now fighting our forces in Iraq. They might send their army to deny us bases in Afghanistan. Worse, Pakistan knows that their nuclear arsenal is not secure against an American strike. Any militarist can start a war. Stopping one is far more challenging.’

In a recent statement on pursuing Al Qaeda, Professor Phillies said that the United States needs to stop fighting “the last war,” and update its tactics. “Finding Mr. Bin Laden is a job for spies, not a job for tank divisions. The Afghan people have been governing themselves for a very long time. They will not long tolerate foreign occupation, even ours. Only a Libertarian President will give the Bin Laden problem to the right people.”

*For the text of Senator Obama’s speech: http://www.barackobama.com/2007/08/01/remarks_of_senator_obama_the_w_1.php To support the George Phillies campaign, please visit http://phillies2008.org/donation.

Contact Information:
Carolyn Marbry,Press Director
pressdirector@phillies2008.org
(510) 276-3216
http://phillies2008.org

So, Do You Know Bob Jackson?

If you answered that question with a “yes”, then you are in the minority. I know Bob Jackson very well and perhaps I can help bridge the gap a bit for those of you who have no idea who this guy is. I was chatting with Bob last night at our local Executive Committee meeting and every time we talk, I find him more and more interesting. Personally I wish he would run for Congress or State Rep, but his goals are pretty set at this point.

So, since I’ve been invited to contribute here at Last Free Voice, I figured my first contribution would be an interview with Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Bob Jackson. The only problem is, I’ve asked him all the questions I care to ask him. I’m out of material at this point. So I’m asking for your help. Email your questions to JasonGatties@Gmail.com or leave a comment here and I’m sure Bob would be more than happy to answer your questions. I’ll take questions until next Wednesday & I’ll have the interview up in a week or so.

If you would like more info, visit BobJackson.org.

Biofuel — The Corn-Ethanol Deception & A Real Solution

Crossposted from Functionalism In Action

There is so much hype, today, about biofuels. They are seen as the savior of our nation — especially corn-ethanol; especially if one were to compare the subsidization that goes on here. But is this the right approach?

What will follow this is a bit of news, a bit of number crunching, and a lot of personal perspective. Hopefully you’ll follow along with me. To start off — ethanol is widely recognized as being less effective, on a gallon-per-gallon basis, than gasoline as a fuel. For one, it has 30% less energy density — that is, if you got 100 miles to the gallon with gasoline, you’d only get 70 miles if you used a gallon of ethanol. Ethanol is also horribly hydroscopic (water-absorbing), which creates all sorts of infrastructure problems with its transportation; unlike gasoline, which doesn’t draw water into itself — a trait which allows it to be transported via pipelines. Even so, however, it isn’t all that infeasible to imagine a (near or distant) future where these problems just aren’t enough to justify the continued use of gasoline, simply on a price basis. Imagine gas becoming so dear that, even with all the additional infrastructure problems & transportation problems (which raise prices), gas is still more expensive — without subsidy.

This is, effectively, the industrial equivalent of the Malthusian problem — that there won’t be enough energy (normally that’d read food) to go around.

Now, in recent news there has been much acclaim — and rightly so — of a start-up biofuel company, LS9, that has created genetically engineered microbes that turn sugars into petroleum — and, yes gasoline. “We’re saved!” we hear, of this — all those problems with ethanol — such as its 65% increased energy cost compared to turning sugar into gasoline due to the need to distill the water out of the ethanol — instantly can go away. Energy independence is just around the corner! We should give these Ls9 people Medals of Honor, or something. Or something, indeed. Via Technology Review:

The biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that on Monday described for the first time how it is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum.

[...]

LS9’s current work uses sugar derived from corn kernels as the food source for the bacteria–the same source used by ethanol-producing yeast. To produce greater volumes of fuel, and to not have energy competing with food, both approaches will need to use cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, as the feedstock. Del Cardayre estimates that cellulosic biomass could produce about 2,000 gallons of renewable petroleum per acre.

Producing hydrocarbon fuels is more efficient than producing ethanol, del Cardayre adds, because the former packs about 30 percent more energy per gallon. And it takes less energy to produce, too. The ethanol produced by yeast needs to be distilled to remove the water, so ethanol production requires 65 percent more energy than hydrocarbon production does.

To compare, the most effective gallon-per-acre biofuel crop right now is palm oil, which hovers around 680 gallons-per-acre. So this is more than triple the amount — and it’s good ol’ fashioned gasoline to boot! Here comes the number crunching. In 2004, the US used approximately 318 billion gallons of oil. At 2,000 gallons per acre, that comes out to roughly 159 million acres of arable land — and this is assuming that the cellulosic starch problem can be overcome — for which there are no hypothetical solutions yet available. According to the CIA’s “World Factbook”, the US has 9,161,923 square kilometers of land, 18.01% of which are arable. That’s 1,650,62 square kilometers. 1 acre = 0.00404685642 square kilometers, so the US has 407,739,281 acres of arable land. To maintain the energy usage levels of 2004 purely from biofuels derived from this process would require ~40% of all arable land in the nation.

And that’s if it is gasoline. If it were ethanol — and we’ll assume that same 2,000 gallons per acre per year, which is more than triple the amount derived from any crop yet — we’d have to increase that by 30% to reflect the gas-to-ethanol energy variance — and then increase to cover the 65% increase in energy cost to distill the ethanol. We’ll be generous and call that a 10% increase. So overall, a 43% increase in area used — from 40% of all land. That’s ~55% (I allow for error here) of all arable land. One thing is certain — corn ethanol is not a solution. Nor is crop-based biodiesel — which has at best 680 gallons per acre. It’d take more than 100% of our arable land.

Regardless — on with the Medals of Honor! (Okay, okay — I’ll turn off my sarcasm chip now.) Turns out, there’s more hope “on the horizon” than you might otherwise think, but it’s not going to come from turning our crops into fuel. More likely, it’s going to come from turning our sewage into fuel. Of all sources, Wikipedia has something to say here:

A company based in Lexington, MA USA has a patent pending technology that is intended to boost algae growth rates so that the oil yields from algae are even higher than the 20,000 gallon per acre amount cited above. The founder of the company believes that his technology may be capable of producing as much as 100,000 gallons per acre. So far, this claim is based only on theoretical calculations. He will begin physical testing of the system in August 2007.

What’s sewage got to do with this? Many of the companies involved in algal production are looking at using sewage ponds as the source for algae; those production numbers have already reached 10,000 barrels for a one-acre pond. There are two significant elements to compare algal biodiesel to ethanol or terrestrial-crop biodiesel: 1) The massive increase in output; even if that number only reaches, say, 20,000 barrels and had to be on arable land, it would still only account for 4% of all arable land. 2) It would be most productive in what is currently considered non-arable desert landscapes.

The sole problem with biodiesel is that it can only be used as a fuel source; it is extremely difficult to convert into plastics and the like, unlike traditional petroleum hydrocarbons. And that is where LS9’s work comes into the foreground once again. It turns out that fuel products account for nearly 9 out of every 10 barrels of petroleum used in the United States Double that number, and you’d still only be accounting for roughly 8% of all arable land. Round that up to 10% for good measure. (This can even be scalable if the new ‘trend’ of “skyscraper farms” comes into full swing — that 10% could easily become 1%).

So, yes — the next couple of years promise to be very interesting in terms of energy production & energy independence; which even a non-mercantilist can see the appeal of in terms of eliminating US sensitivity to global instability (Read: We’d finally have an excuse good enough to get our government to stop pissing off the entire Middle East). However, one cannot help but ask: What the devil is the justification of the subsidization of corn-ethanol production? Especially in light of the impact this has on the poor of the world? And why is it that our liberal (and conservative) friends cannot see the connection between ethanol and starving the poor of the world?

Another Gun Hater On A Confiscation Rampage

Straight Outta Chicago!

Why aren’t others joining the call for gun control?

August 13, 2007
LAURA WASHINGTON
It’s summertime, and the livin’ sure ain’t easy. The temps are sizzling and the guns ubiquitous. It’s a toxic and combustible mixture. Throw in the preachers, politicians and some cops and a whole lot of guns. Just don’t throw in a match.

We anguish over school shootings like the massacres at Virginia Tech and in Red Lake, Colo. Every single day, dozens of shootings take down urbanites across America.

We have become blithely dulled by the headlines. A 10-year-old girl in Englewood shot to death at her own birthday party. During the last academic year, 34 Chicago schoolchildren were lost to gun violence. Early this month, three college students were shot to death in a Newark, N.J., schoolyard.

A few know the clock is ticking and they are doing what they can. Mayor Daley knows. Daley may be the Evil Enemy of Black People to some, but he is doing more than just about anyone to get guns off the streets. He has made gun control a signature issue and has vainly pushed to get anti-gun state legislation through the intractable and juvenile Illinois General Assembly.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and a Catholic priest, Father Michael Pfleger, the Evil Enemies of White People to some, are awaiting trial for mounting a protest outside Chuck’s Gun Shop in south suburban Riverdale.

Now comes a report that nearly half of people murdered in the United States in 2005 were black. Most were ages 17 to 29, according to numbers released last week by the U.S. Justice Department.

While blacks make up about 13 percent of the nation’s population, they comprise 49 percent of all murder victims. And the vast majority — 93 percent — were killed by African Americans. Most likely wielding firearms.

We have succumbed to what the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence calls “a culture of death.” We are playing with fire.

The lefties and black radicals whine about the disproportionate number of black men in prison. Yet the jails are not big enough for all the trigger-happy crazies who are out on the street, like the gang-bangers warring over their corner crack franchises. The social justice types should instead aim their ire at the storefront merchants and dealers who push death in the name of the U.S. Constitution and the National Rifle Association.

The guns are aimed at all of us, and there’s nowhere to hide. The child caught in the crossfire. The family argument that turns deadly because dad’s got a pistol in the drawer. The drug dealer who’s packing heat. The road rage that goes too far. The depressed high-schooler looking for revenge in the classroom. It all comes back to too many guns.

Jackson, Pfleger and Daley are doing their part. Where is everyone else?

Where are our elected officials? Where are our presidential wannabes?

During the last presidential election cycle, the Democrats shamelessly pandered to the deer hunters of Pennsylvania and Northern Michigan.

Gun control has rarely been mentioned during the interminable slew of debates in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election. It should be a signature issue.

Gun fever has ravaged our communities. We need a prescription, not a home remedy.

The following is my unofficial response and I strongly encourage every LFV reader to e-mail her as well: lauraswashington@aol.com

Miss Washington,

I am an African-American who is strongly supports the Second Amendment. I do know that people, not guns, kill because guns do not go off on it’s own. Also as an African-American, I realize that there are many facets to the problems in our communities but abolishing guns nor doing away our rights as responsible gun owners will solve these problems. Why do you consistently want to punish the majority of law abiding gun owners for the irresponsible few?

The reason why we have more blacks in our penal system than any other ethnic group is because we have too many non-violent drug offenders locked up for small amounts of narcotics. Face it, the judicial system is against us. Minorities will do 6 to 8 times more the sentence of our white counterparts for the same crime. Do you think thats fair? The drug trade is a highly profitable one. Decriminalize drugs and treat it like alcohol and cigarettes and the crimes associated with with it will plummet! Do you see Marlboro and Camel fighting over territories? The only beer “wars” I see are when the companies pour millions of dollars into advertising on TV.

Everything we do that’s against the law, seems like a felony these days. The amount of felons amongst black males is through the roof. Many employers will not employ ex-felons; don’t black males deserve to be employed? I guarantee that the majority of them would rather have a good paying job than slinging crack rocks on the corner, trying to make ends meet. Instead of addressing real problems, you think dismantling my right to bear arms is the magic bullet to solving the ills of our communities? You must have failed history because fifty years ago, blacks during segregation did not have the right to bear arms. Blacks were practically defenseless against marauding Klansmen seeking to hang them for their pathetic propaganda games.

Jesse Jackson has taken up the anti-gun issue only because he failed as a “civil rights” leader and pushes his new agenda to re-invent himself. Just remember Hitler forced his people to give up their guns and look what happened; millions died in concentration camps. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; I’ll defend those values with my gun to protect my right to bear arms.

Sincerely,
Chris Bennett

Update: I got this response from Ms. Washington

Dear Mr. Bennett,

Thanks for sharing your thoughtful comments about the column on gun control. I appreciate you taking the time to write. You make some good points.

Best, Laura Washington

Ride/room share board for Denver?

I’d like some help with setting up an internet forum of some sort to hook people up with shared rides, group rooms, camping, hostels, cheap motels, and other ways of getting to the Denver LP National Convention affordably.

A lot of what happened in Portland may have had to do with the fact that it was a long drive for most people, and one of the more expensive places to fly to, and partially as a result of that, the lowest attended LP national convention since the early 1970s. Furthermore, the people who are unable to afford these things are more likely to be radical and left-libertarians, although that is far from universally true.

Anyway, if anyone wants to help with setting this up, please let me know in the comments.

Dondero makes my head itch

I’m more than tipsy, but here is what I posted at my place:

My girls caught head lice in elementary school. They had beautiful hair; ringlets down their backs. When they caught lice, I flipped out. I bought enough RID to sanitize a city block. I washed and dried their linens, teddy bears, and scrubbed their heads. I didn’t let them sleep anywhere but home, told them not to share jackets and brushes, and pulled a nit comb through their hairs nightly.

I was mortified when I couldn’t get rid of the infestation. My kids were clean, their sheets were clean, our apartment was clean, and I’d spent hundreds of dollars to rid our lives of the bloodsuckers. I finally bought clippers, the girls got crew cuts, and while they had ugly hairstyles for girls, we got rid of the problem.

You may wonder why I bring this up. If you came from this reason H&R thread, you might think that I’m on a parasite kick.

You’d be right.

I’m thinking of Eric Dondero types as parasites. He runs around, blog to blog, screaming that he (and Giuliani) is a libertarian. He meanwhile pounds upon the war drum, bastardizing the bedrock of the libertarian movement. My good friend, disinter, has come to think that Dondero is actually a hired gun for the Republican Party; that he gains his life’s sustenance by making ours miserable.

Disinter might be correct, I think.

There is talk about ignoring Dondero and letting him go about his bullshit. But lice hurt hosts. They are initially an irritating itch. But then they can make a person anemic and cause real health problems. They don’t know any better; it’s just what they are programmed to do. It’s how they eat and live. But, you know what I learned about lice? They attach themselves to the cleanest hosts-it’s a less troublesome road.

Our philosophy (read: platform) is good; parasites attach themselves, usually in great numbers, to the best feeding opportunity available. The LP message is strong and instead of ignoring those who misrepresent it, we should take them on. We must not allow them to misappropriate our message.

I don’t think purity tests should be decisive and I think that party purges seem so USSR, but if we want a free USA, we need to cut the hair.

Fortunately, the Dondero types are split ends.

Paul neutral in Iowa Straw Poll

After a “voting machine malfunction” and subsequent recount involving over 10% of the votes, Ron Paul got 5th place, after the four candidates who spent all their money on the event (Romney, Huckabee, Brownback, and Tancredo, in scoring order). Full results:
14,302 ballots cast
11th place: John Cox (41 votes)
10th place: John McCain (101 votes)
9th place: Duncan Hunter
8th place: Rudy Giuliani
7th place: Fred Thompson
6th place: Tommy Thompson (1039 votes)
5th place: Ron Paul (1305 votes, 9.1%)
4th place: Tom Tancredo (1961 votes, 13.7%)
3rd place: Sam Brownback (2192 votes)
2nd place: Mike Huckabee (2587 votes)
1st place: Mitt Romney (4516)

Those who were unrealistically expecting Paul to win or get second place when he hasn’t spent much money there are disappointed, but I think this is pretty much neutral.

Ron Paul is the best chance to reduce the size of the federal government, and even though I disagree with some of what he says, that’s what matters to me.

What is a Libertarian Transhumanist? An Introduction (or Two)

The following is crossposted from my blog, Functionalism In Action. This is the part where I say, “Hi, everybody!” like a certain Simpson’s character with something to sell. Hopefully, I can add to the party — but that’s more your choice to make than mine.

The ‘byline’ of [my] blog indicates that I, the author, am a libertarian transhumanist. And while there are plenty of definitions of what this means out there, its high time that I took the time to delineate what “libertarian transhumanism” means to me.

By way of getting really started on this whole issue, please consider the following to brief sections.:

Wikipedia on Transhumanism:

Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as stupidity, suffering, disease, aging and involuntary death. Transhumanist thinkers study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.

Wikipedia on Libertarianism:

Libertarianism is a political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others the same liberty.

In fact, these are pretty good in terms of being a synopsis of both ideologies. And, looking at them, the syncresis of the two only seems natural.

Now, of course, within both ideologies there’s a great deal of room. Take for example the differences between an anarcho-capitalist, an anarcho-socialist, a minarchist, and a geolibertarian; these all qualify as “libertarian” — though if you ask some, the other groups don’t. While not quite so virulent, the transhumanist movement has similar such rifts — though they have “niftier” names for their sub-groups: extropians, singularitarians, immortalists, technoprogressives — such rifts include the divide between “seed AI” singularitarians and “intelligence amplification” extropians.

But those are groups, and this author is an individual. So why am I a libertarian transhumanist? In all honesty, I’m not. At least, I’m not the ’standard model’ of what a “libertarian transhumanist” is. I’m a “libertarian” and I’m a “transhumanist”, but I’m not a “libertarian transhumanist.” They are compartmentalized, for me — while complimentary, they are separate. And this is, in fact, something that I advocate for the public-at-large. The problems that face the political spectrum are entirely separate from the problems that face the technological. And while at times they overlap, it is never appropriate to view the one solely with the “lens” of the other. Call this a conscious attempt at preventing the onset of cognitive bias. I want nifty technologies and cybernetic implants. But does that mean it would be good or right for society? The one does not lead to the other. Could a free society survive such augmentation? Or would an inevitable “elite ruling class” develop, leaving countless people in abject tyranny? These are questions that both the libertarian and the transhumanist must answer, and at times their answers might somewhat conflict.

But, as with the comment by Edward Dunham recent news about an exoplanet that is far too large for its mass, “Problems are good, though, since we learn new things by solving them.” Certainly, the bioLuddite answer to such things is just simply not acceptable. This is exemplified by the classic 1961 Vonnegut short story, which read something like this:

THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General

If we listen to the voices that speak on Equality of Outcome as the standard for egalitarianism, then that bleak standard won’t be too far from where we’re headed. It is entirely ironic that since the advent of the “modern age”, every time a ‘libertarian’ proposal has been enacted in public policy, things have worked out painfully well. Take, for example, the proposals of Milton Friedman. Furthermore, take the comparative “libertarianness” of the democratic west compared to the communist east — and the results of each.

So why am I a libertarian? Two real reasons: for one, it just plain works better; for the other, the moral clarity of such a standard is appealing. Why, again, am I a transhumanist? Again, two real reasons: on the one hand, the advent of new technologies has, in general, lead to greater wealth and more comfort at less ecological cost compared to attempting to make that same level of comfort and wealth using older technologies; on the other, it is this author’s plain and simple belief that the human species was, evolutionarily speaking, designed to improve upon itself. After all; what is the purpose of life if not to struggle to overcome? Stagnation — maintaining the status quo — that is death.

So this is what being a libertarian, transhumanist, individual means: Struggling to create a better tomorrow, where everyone is free to become whatever they wish to be — so long as they never impede anyone else doing the same. It’s so simple — yet it is also so contested. It makes one wonder; why is this so? If you have an answer to the riddle of how this can be corrected, I’d like to hear it.

A New & Less Talented Writer At LFV

I’ve been asked on a couple of occasions to contribute to this great blog site and I’ve finally accepted. Hopefully I can contribute something to what is already one of the best political blog sites on the net.

Most of you know me or “know of me” but let me just break down the basics for you real quick. My name is Jason Gatties and I’m currently the Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Southwest Michigan I’m married to a wonderful woman and I have an 11 year old son. In my professional life, I’m a business manager for a contract security firm (yes..rent a cops) and I’m also a security consultant.

I plan to post a few times a week and perhaps I can offer a different perspective. Oh yeah, my grammar sucks at times so I’m sure some of you will have a field day with that.

Thanks to Paulie and ENM for the hook up. I know EFM has “campaigned” a bit to get me on board, so thanks.

The New Cold War: Damn Cold

The Arctic is becoming a new frontier, thanks to projected global warming and its huge unexploited oil and gas reserves. This dovetails nicely with Vladimir Putin’s desire to get the Russian people angry at outside forces so that he can have a personality cult and an endless reign, North Korean-style.

Canada, however, claims pretty much the entire Western Arctic, which makes sense geographically, because it owns a bunch of huge islands up there. Canada also wants control over the quickly-thawing Northwest Passage, because it should become a major international shipping route in the next few decades.

Putin upped the ante a few days ago by sending some people to plant a Russian flag at the seabed at the North Pole. Canada responded yesterday by announcing two new military bases in the Far North. Some patrol boats are also being built.

Of course, why governments should have control over these regions at all, getting us into this mess, is not up for debate.

LP News, party loyalty and presidential campaigns

George Phillies has a new post out. I agree with this part:

There are objective reasons for bad fundraising.

A history of bad campaigns, Badnarik 2004 being the shining exception, Badnarik 2004 spent most of its money on real politics, not on those other things.

I disagree with some of the rest and other parts require a reasonable explanation.

Little internal publicity. Go back to 1996 or 2000 or 2002.

Harry Browne and Carla Howell and several others ran full-page or close ads in LP News, month after month, to the point that their name recognition was not 40%. LP News gave them articles on a regular basis. Until the new issue, campaigns were banned from advertising in LP News. LP News coverage of Presidential candidates has amounted to one interview. Why should our party members support us, when so far as most of them can see we are running a minimal campaign? We both know that we are not, but in politics perception rules.

It is my view that the LP did provide too much coverage to certain contested LP races and not enough to others. Compare the coverage of Harry Browne to Barry Hess as an example. However, some of Carla Howell’s (and Harry Browne’s post-nomination) coverage was earned.

When I was running LP News, my intention was to either cover candidates fairly or with balance. When it came to interviews, each person was asked the same question and allowed the same parameters for their responses. If, for some reason, any of the LP presidential candidates did something actually newsworthy, I was prepared to fight with my boss, if necessary, to ensure that the news was covered by the LP office. To date, none of the LP presidential candidates has accomplished anything near newsworthy, so that was never a bridge I had to cross. It’s all about a rather simple concept called earned media.

The advertising policy had nothing to do with presidential candidates. There were legal issues (which has temporarily been solved by limiting advertising to federal campaigns) as well as my personal bullshit tolerence reasons. In my first full week on the job, I probably spent over 40 hours dealing just with LP News advertising issues. Perhaps three hours were spent on an issue worth less than five dollars. I understand that many libertarians are penny-pinchers, but that was bizarre.

Other issues included having to request that people resend artwork at the mininal accepted standard of 300DPI. I don’t know why, but people repeatedly resend stuff that they already been told doesn’t meet the standard. I don’t care if you don’t have fancy 20 year old free-on-the-internet software to make a .jpeg. I don’t care if you don’t understand graphics. Pay (or at least beg) someone to do the work for you if you don’t even have this basic advertising skill level. Let me add that this isn’t just the LP News standard, but the printer’s standard, as well.

Inquiries about advertising frequently turned into time for me to play Liberty Shrink. Listening to people complain for hours on end about lost liberties is, unfortunately, part of the job. So much so that it takes up most of people’s day at LPHQ. When Liberty Shrink Freedom Hour (sort of like Tax Freedom Day) approaches, then we could begin our work day. Unfortunately, if was often well past lunch time before any meaningful work could begin. Eliminating advertising cleared up at least a few hours a day for work, though.

When I place an ad with someone, it generally takes one telephone call and a couple of e-mails. I can’t recall it ever having taken more than two calls — even for complicated television media buys covering multiple markets. Many former LP News advertisers called all the time about some small print ad. It just wasn’t worth the employee time. If anything, I’d recommend (and I did make this recommendation to Shane Cory) that if LP News is to accept advertising, it should double or quadruple the going rates.

Party loyalty. We have an unfortunate number of people who were taught by good government types to vote for the man, not the party, and have fallen for that line. That line is the opposite of the way real politics works. Real political parties work hard on political loyalty. We needed to have done more political education on the importance of party loyalty in building the party, and are now paying a price for not having done so. Most Americans choose a party, not a philosophy. When we support a Republican, any any Republican, we are reinforcing the Republican Party, whether we like it or not.

Here’s where I disagree with George. I am loyal, but that loyalty is to the concept of liberty. Years ago, I thought the GOP was the best shot towards liberty, but I cast that misconception aside after the 1994 elections. Since then, I’ve considered the LP the party which best marches towards liberty — and I’ve worked hard for the party and our candidates since then.
I once beat up on Alabama Republicans when one of their leaders said they should “support the man, but not the plan” when the GOP governor was promoting his major tax increase plan. If the LP were do the same, I’d not support the man, regardless of party.

This isn’t to beat up on George, as I think he is right on most of the issues — certainly all of the ones most important to me. I support the LP, but I’ve supported candidates from other parties in the past and may do so in the future. For George to insinuate that I’m a conduit of information to the other side is ludicrous.

I’ll vote for the person I think is best for the job, period! I haven’t yet made up my mind on the 2008 presidential candidate, yet (despite the fact that some people have accused of this). If Ron Paul has received more blog coverage from me, perhaps it’s because it’s earned media.

Of all people, I’d expect George Phillies to know the difference between party loyalty and blind party loyalty, as he’s the one who wrote this book on the topic.

I’ll add that party loyalty is probably a big reason the GOP is currently in the mess it’s in.

The LP is getting a pretty full tummy from eating its young

It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote about about Treehouses, Fratricide and a Sometimes Dysfunctional Libertarian Movement. According to Bruce Cohen (who, interestingly enough, is writing on Eric Dondero’s site), the movement has now taken a new victim.

Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Libertarians eat their own’?

It refers to the nasty Rothbardian habit many Libertarians have of demonizing, attacking and then purging fellow Libertarians for not being perfect in one way or another.

Don’t agree about Foreign Policy? Leave the room.

Don’t agree about Immigration Policy? Go to the back of the line.

Don’t agree on Reproductive Rights? We’re not friends any more.

Why is this topical as of today. Well, the unthinkable has happened.

Angela Keaton, purist, hardcore, radical Libertarian just got fired as Executive Director by the leadership of the Libertarian Party of CA.

As to why she is no longer there:

They fired her because they couldn’t balance their budget. A budget they voted for, they control, they can change at will…

I have a lot of problems with the hows and whys of her firing. How she was fired, why she was fired, who fired her…

But I’m not going to elaborate on that. For now.

I am going to say that Angela is a fine, honorable person. She’s
honest and hard-working, and did not deserve this treatment.

But there you have it again.

Libertarians eating their own. They don’t have any other enemies these days, so they must fight among themselves.

Although I’ve spoken with Angela since then, I don’t know all of the full reasons behind what happened in California. Here’s what I do know:

If we can’t start learning to work together, the Libertarian Party and the libertarian movement could well fall apart — and at best continue on the same lack-of-major-success level we seem committed to. It’s a lot more effective for us to work together fighting the real enemy, as opposed to reserving our more lethal bullets, not for our allies, but for members of our own units.

As I’ve stated before:

I don’t care if someone is an anarchist or a minarchist. I don’t care if someone is a libertarian or a Libertarian. I don’t care if someone is a radical or a reformer. I don’t care about some obscure platform position or whether someone’s signed a pledge or not. We’ve all got many common goals, and the most likely way to achieve them is by working together whenever possible. Alternately, we’ll continue to get the government we deserve.

DEA Agent shoots himself during anti-gun presentation……

….just as he’s saying he’s the only one in the room professional enough to handle the gun.

Central banks bringing out the dump trucks

Four central banks are dumping huge amounts of fiat cash on the market:

• The European Central Bank is releasing 61 billion euros.
• The Bank of Japan is dumping 1 trillion yen.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia is adding A$4.95 billion.
• Our dear Creature from Jekyll Island is crapping out $35 billion.

This is to correct a problem caused by the Fed in the first place, the subprime mortgage crisis.

Andrew Jackson did a lot of bad things, but at least he got rid of the central bank. Let’s do that again.

Hanging out with Chris Bennett for the WIN.

You guys wish you were this cool. Chaz and I (C.E. Oberg) were in Springfield for the day and we met up with Chris and his family for lunch. We had fun debating politics and discussing music-it’s scary how close our interests align there. But we were debating ideas for getting the Illinois Libertarian Party on a more secure footing. So I figured I’d open up that discussion to the blog. Any ideas? Corrupt state, vicious ballot access laws, unions own everything. How to proceed?

Wayne Allyn Root in his own words

You might remember that I had a lunch date with Mr. Root recently. Some of you know that I became ill and was unable to make the appointment and that Mr. Root was gracious enough to answer your questions via email. I want to thank Mr. Root for his generous donation of time. I also want to thank you for your questions.

There is a lot riding on the presidential race of 2008 and the Libertarian Party has much to think about before the national convention. I hope this aids your decision making process.

Thai cops have to follow their own rules

Thailand’s men in blue will be forced to wear “Hello Kitty” armbands if they commit misdemeanors – a refreshing change from American cops, who seem to love enforcing rules that don’t apply to them.

That said, Thailand is also run by the military, so this may be a “Mussolini made the trains run on time” thing, but still – it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?

If you’re interested in actually getting Ron Paul elected…

…here’s the necessary groundwork. Red State Eclectic lays it all out for you.

Some states have open primaries, some have closed primaries, some states have their state convention send delegates. But usually, you have to register as a Republican… which, if you’re in a state that the Libertarian Party isn’t registered in, is probably worth it if you can actually help him get the nomination. Otherwise… the Libertarians need everyone they can to stay on board and help them keep ballot access.

College Libertarian Organizing Committee

Right now, only a small facebook group but the idea is:

Steering committee for a proposed new effort to create professional libertarian college field outreach. Once the group is created, we will raise funds and hire field organizers to travel, create and expand campus networks.

So can anyone set up a bank account and/or paypal account people can donate to?

Tax-exempt (501c3, c4 and/or foundation) status would be good if/when we have someone with the time, knowledge and inclination to set that up, but the most basic thing we need is an account, after that we can begin asking people for money.

I’ll write more later. Gotta go make money, and it’s past checkout time at the motel.

Per Corruption Chronicles, electronic voting machines are easily hacked

Less than six months before its 2008 presidential primary, election officials in one of the country’s most important swing states admit electronic voting machines are seriously flawed and can be easily tampered with.A 35-page report released by Florida’s Secretary of State says that hackers can easily change votes without a trace in Diebold optical-scan machines used in 25 of the state’s 67 counties.

Conducted by Florida State University, the thorough study found that an adversary could easily use a pre-programmed computer card to swap one candidate’s votes for another or create a “ballot-stuffing attack” that multiplies votes for a candidate or issue.

The statewide investigation was ordered shortly after an election supervisor in Tallahassee’s Leon County conducted a test that exposed serious security problems with the expensive machines because they could easily be hacked.

In fact, a renowned nonpartisan election watchdog called the revelation the most serious hack demonstration to date because the Diebold machines succumbed so quickly to alteration of votes.

Florida officials spent millions to purchase the unreliable high-tech voting machines after its punch-card voting system attracted national attention in the 2000 presidential election. The controversial dimpled, pregnant and hanging chads held up a final count in the election and the U.S. Supreme Court had to actually step in.

Incredibly, the controversy continues in the Sunshine State as the 2008 presidential election approaches. Florida is a key state with an early presidential primary (January 29) that could dramatically alter both parties’ presidential nominating campaigns. Yet, even after spending millions of taxpayer dollars for new equipment, officials can’t guarantee that every vote will be accurately counted.

Judicial Watch is a non-partisan, educational foundation dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a return to ethics and morality in our nation’s public life. To view the Judicial Watch Internet site click here (www.judicialwatch.org).