The Libertarian Center

Over at Reason (courtesy of Transterrestrial) is an interesting discussion on the relation of each party with the libertarians who are presumably in the center. I agree with Jonah and Rand: there are huge fundamental differences in political philosophy between liberals and libertarians that (should) make any clear-minded individual realize that the left is pretty much the libertarian’s natural enemy. Libertarians certainly have reason to gripe about the Republican party, it is, after all, a huge political tent that encompasses individuals such as Bush and McCain who are NOT free marketers, but at least there is a core group of economic libertarians within the group – not to mention social conservatives who, while they may disagree with libertarian social agendas, agree that it should not be decided by the national government.

What about the supposed civil liberties that libertarians and liberals have in common? As one commenter puts it,

The value that the Left places on civil liberties and freedom is forever etched in my mind by the photos of Waco burning and Elian Gonzalez being seized at gunpoint by jackbooted thugs of Janet Reno.

I recall also that those vaunted respecters of liberty and freedomlead by FDR placed the Japanese in concentration camps after first separting them from their worldly goods.

Try as I might I try to recall how my civil liberties were violated by Bush but I can’t remember how. Oh yeah thats right he unleashed the Cossacks on the peace marchers, and put Bill Ayers in a gulag, and had the NY Times shut down for publishing classified documents.

Yeah the Left is a superb guardian of our rights. Their respect for the law is on display every day. The names Daschle, Reid, Obama come to mind.

Yeah, not to mention the fairness doctrine, and the war on any display of religion in public. And as another commentor points out, Bush made no serious attempt to ban abortion during his 8 years. I’ll add that even if Republicans had tried to overturn Roe v. Wade, that in itself is a libertarian action, as it would revert control of abortion legislation to the states, rather than the Federal government.

End Of Rainbow Found! No Leprechauns Or Gold

Well, so much for that scientific hypothesis.

Maybe He’s Thinking About His Legacy?

Obama is shattering the spending record only 30 days into the job. Impressive. I wonder how much trouble he can get us into the rest of his administration?

Another Promise Broken

No review for the stimulus bill. Don’t want people to have a chance to review the dirty details before they have to vote on it!

Interesting Futurist Conjectures Regarding The Singularity

If it parallels the development of agriculture or the industrial revolution, than one could reasonably expect a revolution that would merely tie our economic growth to Moore’s law, with the world economy doubling every ~year, as processors do, rather than the rapture of the nerds concept that the singularity is often portrayed as.

Obama *Is* Just Pulling Stuff Out Of His Butt!

Check out the complete BS he made up when speaking about Catarpillar Inc.

Wow…Does Obama Even Live On The Same Planet?

Gateway has him talking about fiscal responsibility and not burdening younger generations with debt. this guy must literally think people worship him if he honestly thinks we can take statements like that seriously.

Why Aren’t People Outraged?

I just don’t get it. We’re being robbed. Our government is getting ready to sell us out, plunging us into more debt than we’ve ever known, and yet barely anyone cares. These are the attitudes of our leaders, and yet people voted for them, just months ago. Eternal vigilance? I’d be happy if the citizens of America were even awake…

Time To Start Cleaning Up Space?

After the satellite collision of yesterday, Popular Mechanics has an article showing how the debris propogated from China’s satellite kill a few years back. A similar effect will probably happen pretty quickly with the recent collision. The question is how do we deal with it. Space lasers? An aerogel based brilliant pebble? Are there any other options?

Update: Glenn Reynolds has some suggestions regarding incentives. That could certainly help.

Who’s To Blame For The Bushfires In Australia?

Well we still don’t know who committed the arson that likely started much of the destruction and loss of life. But yet again, environmentalists fed the fires by guaranteeing bad policies.

And There Goes The Offshore Drilling

Right on schedule, Obama reinstated the ban on offshore drilling. Because if America actually produces its energy then gas prices won’t be as high every summer, and the Democrats won’t be able to use that crisis to punish those evil oil companies.

New Largest Number Discovered

Iowahawk has the details.

Whoa! That’s a Bill!

New Hampshire’s got quite the bill being reviewed, one that would give me quite a bit of hope about the future of our nation if it actually passed. “A Resolution Affirming States’ Rights On Jeffersonian Principles” is an astounding piece of legislation (h/t Hal Turner, The Betrayal, Pat Dollard) that refutes any Federal laws outside of the areas the constitution allows for. In other words, the legislation insists that the Federal Government behave like the constitution was designed, with no limitations on anything not allowed by the constitution. This would especially hammer gun, drug, and speech laws.

I would be rather amazed if this did go through, but if it did, I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few other states passed similar resolutions, and we actually had some return of power back to the states. Next up would be repealing the 16th ammendment in favor of a tax that didn’t require tracking citizens’ every financial move.

You can follow the status of this legislation here.

Soldiers Are Not Cops

Expecting that they behave to the same standards is just one of the reason why Guantanamo needs to exist, or something like it. It is not possible to win a war in the courts.

Killing My American Dream

Cloture was voted for on the generational theft act yesterday. The Republicans from Maine were turncoats, or maybe a filibuster might have been applied. Newsweek has an appropriate cover that just about says it all. We know these policies and spending don’t work – they’ve failed their countries (including ours!) everywhere else they’ve been tried, but of course it’s not about the country succeeding, its about political power, which it might very well help the Dems consolidate. And more spending is on the way, beyond even this crazy bill.

More Clarification On Israel/Palestine

Just read the report from Michael Totten. Why do I still end up arguing online with people who think Palestine is in the right?

Federal Funds Must Be Allowed To Go To Illegal Immigrants

So sayeth Reid, who blocked a bipartisan ammendment to the stimulus requiring verification of citizenship before funds get distributed.

Walmart Is Not Evil

It may be America’s greatest friend. Undercover at Walmart.

We’ve Won In Iraq, And The Surge Was The Reason Why

Don’t buy any of the bull that the Dems have said about Iraq recently, or throughout the past several years. Wikileaks just obtained a whole bunch of documents from the Congressional Research Office, and documents such as RL31339 show exactly how much Dems were trying to sell America and Iraq down the river for political gain.

Coraline Review

I saw Coraline over the weekend. While the plot was pretty good (albeit predictable), the writing was only so-so. However, it was a beautiful film, visually – maybe the prettiest I’ve seen. That alone made it worthwhile. I definitely recommend it, and definitely in 3d.

Instapundit linked to a more in-depth review here.