The Dying Breed

I attended a very interesting meeting last night. The bulk of the group were big "L" Libertarians but there were also a few of that dying breed of small-government-Republicans. I have railed on about how the Republican party has been taken over by God-and-Guns conservatives. After talking with these small-government-Republicans, I really have to wonder what it is that still makes them Republicans? If you limit government to the level it is supposed to be at, all of the God-and-Guns conservatives lose their ability to legislate morality. That in effect kills most of their platform. Without the "compassionate conservative" spending and the ability for the state to tell you what to do with your body (which may be a sin but isn't a crime) I don't think Republicans look that differently than Libertarians. Republicans are still talking about strict constitutionalism but other than a few Supreme Court justices I have seen nothing that harkens back to the days of Barry Goldwater. Even Ron Paul has been show the door by a party he refuses to leave. The only thing I can think of is that the small-government Republicans are operating under the Muslim rule of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Maybe they should ask the State department how that's been working for America.

McCain Feingold part deux??

I have been hearing to rumors of a possible McCain/Liberman ticket today. I remember quite some time ago someone saying that if either candidate crossed the aisle and took a member of the other party as a VP they would win the Presidency. Now we are days away from the possibility becoming a reality. Being a Libertarian this move would be nothing more than a novelty to me since my vote will be for Bob Barr in November. But without a dog in this particular fight it will be a lot of fun to watch the squirming that the Republican party will be put through with this. The independents will probably be swayed by this “maverick” move but the party faithful will be forced to hold their collective breath come November when they will dutifully vote for McCain because “party trumps person”. Of course this will not make McCain any less of a DC insider happy to play the politicians shell-game with American citizens, but it may make him President.

If you want CCW, obey the law.

I have been getting email newsletters from a guy named Tim Schmidt from Jackson, Wisconsin who runs an organization called the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) for about a month now. At first I was interested in what the organization might offer to American citizens. I was especially enthused by Tim’s assertion that all citizens that can conceal carry should because it benefits everyone to have law-abiding citizens out there that the Bad Guys (BGs) don’t know are packing. Well, my enthusiasm hit a brick wall today. Something about the Wisconsin address seemed a little funny to me so I looked closely at the concealed carry laws for the state of Wisconsin. I was shocked to see that Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states in the nation that DO NOT issue concealed carry permits, period. Tim Schmidt is not just publishing a magazine about guns, he is publishing a magazine about the conceal carrying of firearms. Additionally, he has sent out another email newsletter (the last one I’ll ever get from him) in which he openly stated that he does carry a concealed weapon. As you probably already know from my previous posts, I am a Bill of Rights advocate. That Bill of Rights includes the Second Amendment and I am a solid supporter of states efforts to pass Right-to-Carry legislation. People like Tim Schmidt do a great deal of damage to the Right-to-Carry advocates by taking away our assertion that Right-to-Carry legislation will do good because it will put more law-abiding citizens on the streets with weapons that can be used to stop criminals. I think that if Tim wants to be a leader in his state in the effort to pass Right-to-Carry legislation that would be great, but for him to openly advocate concealed carry in a state where it is illegal simply makes Tim a criminal. I have emailed USCCA to tell them that what their President is doing is illegal and undermines Right-to-Carry advocacy all of the country. I think that anyone who cares about the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms should write or email USCCA and ask Tim to step down as the head of the USCCA and to condemn anyone that breaks the law by carrying concealed in an illegal manner. You can write to them through their website at: http://www.usconcealedcarry.com/public/department6.cfm.

Conservative does not equal Economically Literate.

I don’t have many opportunities to say this, but THANK YOU Rush Limbaugh! The King of Speaking Off the Cuff has let the cat out of the bag. In his show today Rush Limbaugh said that the Democrats had won several recent Congressional elections by running candidates that were more Conservative than the Republicans. He even went so far as to call them Socialist Conservatives. Thank you Rush Limbaugh! You have made my point in those two words so much better than I could ever manage in pages of this blog, my point being that Republicans and more importantly Conservatives do not believe in Free Market/Austrian Economics. Conservatives are all about Guns and God. Now if you don’t believe me, just listen to Rush Limbaugh.
Republicans and Conservatives couldn’t give a flying leap about Austrian Economics and the Free Market advocacy that blooms from that fertile foundation. They simply roll out Milton Freedman whenever they are forced to appeal to all of the limited government and free market crowds that they have fooled into remaining a part of the Republican coalition after the Conservative take-over. Worse, when they do talk about market forces they have corporations whispering the words of great economists into their ears and twisting the issue to suit the corporations needs.
Take a look at the Global Warming issue. Instead of getting the facts and showing real leadership by ignoring whether or not it may be man made and denying the idea that Global Warming can be stopped, they stand out there and spout copious nonsense about how what is being done to stop Global Warming will hurt the economy. While that is partially true, it is more truthful that the fraudulent cure for Global Warming will hurt their corporate sponsors. There are some things that could be done to reduce the burning of fossil fuels that could really unleash our economy, such as permitting new nuclear plants and reducing the massive regulatory atmosphere that squashes the development of new technology. They are so focused on pseudo-economics that they completely deny that Global Warming is even happening. This critical error ignores what is scientifically certain. Global Warming is happening. Whether or not Global Warming has a human source is debatable but that debate needs to happen after we start dealing with the immediate issues of Global Warming. In my opinion, those two things include the rezoning of areas that will be submerged when (not if) the sea level rises and increasing development for fighting tropical diseases. These two things will happen. We will not stop Global Warming, we need to deal with it. By allowing the debate to be between Human made Global Warming and no Global Warming at all, both sides get to ignore what really needs to happen to help humanity.

Why the Global Warming crisis needs to be shaken not stirred.

First, if you want to look like an idiot, go into a bar and order a martini James Bond style. If the bartender knows anything, he/she should laugh at you and ask you to order something else. A martini is a SERIOUS drinker’s drink. It is mostly gin or vodka, and depending on how dry you want it, mixed with either a splash of vermouth or nothing at all. All alcohol, no fruit juice, no soda, no ice. Why don’t you ask for it to be shaken? Because vermouth is a wine and shaking it will bruise the wine and alter the taste of the drink. Asking for a martini shaken not stirred marks you as a person who doesn’t know jack about a martini. OK, that is a lot of information that you probably didn’t know about a drink that everyone has heard of but almost no one orders anymore.
To me Global Warming as it is known to most people is a lot like a martini. It is mostly politics mixed with a splash (if any) of science. Science has been rolled out as a main ingredient by men like Gore, Al Gore. Al Gore doesn’t know jack about science. We should be laughing at him and asking him to stick to the beer and shots menu. Instead, Al Gore has a Nobel Prize and an Oscar. The tragedy involved with allowing men like Al Gore to direct the environmentalist movement is that most people are genuinely concerned about the environment but don’t know that they are being swindled by politicians.
So what is going on? OK,
#1- There IS GLOBAL WARMING!! Happy now? Why is there global warming? Historically (geologic history, not human history), the planet has gone through heating and cooling cycles. All of the hows and whys are still not clear, even to scientists that have been studying it all of their lives. What I am going off of here is simple observation. The planet is coming out of a cooling cycle and is warming. In fact, if the historic sea level curve is correct, we have a lot more warming ahead of us. OK West, you agree there is global warming, don’t we need to do something??? You bet!! We need to (gradually) move cities back from the coasts and get prepared to farm in Canada. We need to put more effort into controlling tropical diseases which will spread when the tropics spread as the Earth warms. We can actually plan for global warming and sea level rise. Human caused or not, we have global warming. Now, if you want to do a 20 or 30 year study (preferably double-blind, we wouldn’t want it to become political now would we?) of the atmosphere to determine if there is a man made component to the problem, be my guest, but first things first, let us concentrate on problems at hand.
#2- Humanity causes damage to the environment! Wow!, not what you were expecting? I am fully aware of the damage that we do to the environment. For the most part I think that we are moving in the right direction. People are demanding green products and green policies. Companies are responding to that demand. What I think we need to improve on is population control and population density. This is what we are going to be fighting over a lot in the next few decades. The realization that we need to stop damaging the environment needs to be accompanied with an understanding of what contributes to that damage and a plan reduce that damage as much as is economically feasible. Why do I use a term like economically feasible? Because as an environmentalist; unless you are willing to kill yourself to stop yourself from damaging the environment; you must dedicate yourself to minimizing your impact. Remember, a politician asks you what you want, and economist will ask you what you want more. That is what it will come down to. What you are willing to change in your lifestyle and what technology we develop to help with environmental problems will determine what is economically feasible. Now, just in case you think that I am pointing the finger at Al Gore but am a hypocrite myself, I live in a second floor 1000 sq ft condominium and drive a compact car. In my opinion, if everyone else followed suit the amount we consume as a whole would be greatly diminished. The reasoning is that you can only pack a certain amount of crap into a 1000 sq ft condo. :)

Today is the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. Three years ago over thirty thousand thoroughbred foals were born in green pastures all over the US. This year 19 colts and one filly will run in today’s race at Churchill Downs. One will win. One will set off a storm of speculation about the Triple Crown and if today’s winner can do what no horse has done in 30 years.
That leaves about 31,999 (American Horse Council, 1998) thoroughbred horses that won’t even be footnotes in horse racing history. Some will win other races, many will lose other races. Some will find loving forever homes where they will be treated like champions no matter if they never ran a single race. Sadly, many will be betrayed by the people that bred them, the people that trained them, and the people that invested the soft hope of spring three years ago as foals frolicked with their mothers. Those same foals will have grown into horses that will be sold to kill buyers and slaughtered for human consumption.
Today while you are watching the Kentucky Derby and sipping on a mint julep, I ask that you think about the foals that were born this year that will never race in the Kentucky Derby in three years and will end up in slaughterhouses because of over breeding and an attitude that these animals are expendable. Write the American Association of Equine Practitioners and ask them to renounce their stance that horses bred to be racers, riders, haulers, and lawn ornaments are just livestock animals that deserve no better than to be slaughtered for human consumption.
PS- My thoughts go out to the owners, trainers, breeders and anyone else associated with 8 Bells who was lost during this year’s race.

A matter of faith.

You know that I am a Libertarian and an agnostic. I want to explain why I am both. It all comes down to the fact that I have no faith. My favorite definition of faith is believing what you know just ain’t true. I think Mark Twain came up with that one. I have noticed that I even have a hard time using the word believe. I prefer think or understand.

In regards to religion, why is believing in God so important? What does it do for you? Religion is supposed to answer three big questions.
How did we get here?
Why are we here?
And probably most importantly for the deeply religious people I’ve observed,
What happens when we die?
My question is; why does it matter what happens to us when we die? You’re dead. Period. Religious righters love to preach about loving life and right to life, but what are they doing with theirs? Worrying about what happens to them after they are dead? Wow, they want to make sure more people can be born so they can spend their life worrying about what happens after they die. WHAT? Let’s just leave it that the third important question that religion answers is actually best answered by a FUNERAL DIRECTOR. Will that be buried or cremated? And you ain’t getting anything to go. Looking for Paradise? You better make yours in the here and now!

Science studies the world around us to try to help us understand how we got here and what we can do with what we’ve been given. For me, that takes care of: how did we get here?

Why are you here? You are here to live your own life. Living with the fear of God and in the needy arms of the Church (any Church, Synagogue, Temple, Mosque, or other religious construct) is living your life for someone else. They will tell you that someone else is God or Allah or Buddha or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The reality is that the someone else is whoever is leading the group and their favorite causes.

OK, I think that takes care of why I’m an agnostic. It’s not that I don’t think there is a God; it’s just that I don’t care. Being an atheist means I have to spend my life trying to prove that God doesn’t exist, no thanks.

Why am I a Libertarian? It is the same lack of faith issue. To believe that government is anything less than evil you have to believe something that you know just ain’t true. You have to believe in altruism. You have to believe that public servants serve the public. You have to believe the politicians are going to do what they say they will. You have to believe that the rules apply to everyone equally. You have to believe…well I think you have to believe an awful lot that just ain’t true.

I am a Libertarian because I will not believe, I have to know. I need to know that the rules apply to everyone equally. I need to know that when I buy something, that I am buying the best thing for my needs, not just believe that the government has the best of intentions when they restricted what I can buy. I need to know who is making the rules, not believing that campaign finance reform can stop the abuse of the system the politicians enjoy or that bureaucrats have any other motive in mind other than CYA when they set out regulations (which is a power given to them when politicians who are too busy abusing their power abdicate their responsibility to the people by giving that power to bureaucrats).