That's Ridonkulous!

No More Manipulation - Ron Paul 4 Pres 08

2007-06-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

The text below is a re-posting of someone's comments that I thought were spot on...

Other members of the Republican establishment suggested that Paul was "blaming America" for the 9/11 attacks. That's because they think that the federal government is America. Actually, the federal government and the country are composed of two separate and distinct groups of people -- those within the federal government and those within the private sector, a point reflected in the Bill of Rights, which expressly protects the country from the federal government.

Unfortunately, most can not discern between Nationalism and Patriotism; the former is confused as the later. The sycophant Nationalist blindly obeys flag draped plutocrats while the true Patriot fights against the wind to defend constitution and country.

And this ‘Blame America First’ is a brilliant, albeit insidious slogan. The patriot is stopped before he starts, in his duty to right a wrong. Reason must not be employed, even at the simplest levels lest it create the domino effect of a thousand falling curtains.

You would think ‘our foreign policy as a contributing factor to blowback’ is a simple, logical fit – to the government certified conspiracy theory of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But no, that would in fact lead to more ‘curtains’ falling. So ‘They Hate Us for Our Freedom’ becomes the mindless mantra; another insidious platitude to keep the American public staring eyes wide shut into the abyss.

Frank Zappa - Freedom fighter...

2006-08-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

...and dare I say libertarian. I never knew about Zappa until my buddy Tyson mentioned him. I haven't listened to his music yet, but I did come across this man's awesome political views recently from a post on Hammer of Truth.

Synopsis (2 videos below):
Frank intellectually rapes his counterparts and in the process, shows that the word "politician", doesn't necessarily equate to SMAHTS!

Frank Zappa - Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePZXjrs4fvY

Frank Zappa on CNN's Crossfire (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce5JG978QV0

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

Stanhope '08 - Drunk with power

2006-08-12T14:36:00.000-04:00

All the best of luck Doug. I'm rootin' for ya...

Who are the real patriots?

2006-07-30T22:22:00.000-04:00

To all the good little christians...

2006-05-12T16:11:00.000-04:00

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own - a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. It is enough for me to contemplate the mystery of conscious life perpetuating itself through all eternity, to reflect upon the marvelous structure of the universe which we can dimly perceive and to try humbly to comprehend even an infinitesimal part of the intelligence manifested in Nature. Albert Einstein

Parenting, Then and Now

2006-05-12T15:21:00.000-04:00

Via To The People...

This cartoon reminded of something I read over at The Agitator. It's worth a look.

MYSPACIN' IT...

2006-05-02T00:11:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I caved in too.

Another one bites the dust!

2006-04-20T20:22:00.000-04:00

Yeppers, I'm officially married. After 5 yrs. of dating, and the purchase of a new home together, it was time to finally settle down. The wedding was an absolute blast. Jackie and I just got back from our honeymoon on an 8 day Carnival cruise to Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize. I have tons of video and pictures that I plan on creating a DVD with soon. I will be in secluded mode for the next couple of weekends getting that done.

Behold...

Just got Skype

2006-04-20T20:06:00.000-04:00

I just started using Skype and I love it. The call quality is extremely clear judging by the few people that I've spoken with on there. Download it, try it, USE IT biatch!

Quote of the day

2006-04-07T01:44:00.000-04:00

Most of the major ills of the world have been caused by well-meaning people who ignored the principle of individual freedom, except as applied to themselves, and who were obsessed with fanatical zeal to improve the lot of mankind-in-the-mass through some pet formula of their own. The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional do-gooders, who attempt to set themselves up as gods on earth and who would ruthlessly force their views on all others - with the abiding assurance that the end justifies the means. -- Henry Grady Weaver

"Optimism or Pessimism for the Future of Liberty?"

2006-04-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

From NH's Keene Press, Ron Paul talks about the future of liberty...

The dangers facing America in this new era cannot be overstated. Our national security and our economic well-being have been shaken. The prospects for the future of liberty and prosperity seem uncertain.

No one challenges the need to protect American citizens from further terrorist attacks, but we must be very careful before we relinquish more of our personal liberty here at home. We must consider whether our efforts overseas might escalate the crisis and actually precipitate more violence. A growing number of Americans are becoming concerned that the war on terror will have the unintended consequence of permanently damaging our constitutionally protected liberties. In the area of personal liberty, we face some very real dangers. Throughout our history, starting with the Civil War, our liberties have been threatened and the Constitution has been flaunted. Our government has grown with each national crisis, curtailing many freedoms in the process. The current war on terrorism has no easily defined enemy, and no real end in sight. This means that a return to normalcy with regard to our freedoms is not likely. The implementation of a national ID card, pervasive government surveillance, rubber-stamped search warrants, and the loss of financial and medical privacy will be permanent. If this trend continues, the Constitution will become a much weaker document.

Read the rest here.

Quote of the day

2006-04-04T16:53:00.000-04:00

Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason. - Thomas Paine

Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is here!

2006-04-03T10:10:00.000-04:00

Below is a note from the prophet, Bobby Henderson, who was inspired to write this book!

Fellow Believers,

Our day has finally arrived! The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is at last here. Maybe not inscribed on stone tablets, but it is a book. And maybe not THE Good Book, but at least A Good Book.

Delivering His Divine Message is my life’s work, and as I’ve said before, all proceeds from the book will go toward our pirate ship fund. Because as you know, global warming is the direct effect of the declining number of pirates, and His Noodliness, while he endorses boiling pasta, is against boiling the planet. With your help, and with the sails blowing on our bad-ass pirate ship (with flags, cannons, and weevils in the flour barrels below deck), we can spread His Word and save the environment at the same time.

Remember that ours is a small boutique religion, but we have BIG ideas (some, arguably a bit al dente) and we must share this rich booty of ideas with others. Within the pages of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, you will find FSM history, helpful propaganda, scientific evidence of His existence (including the 100% verifiable fact that no one has sued any school boards about us), as well as pictures and illustrations that surely test the limits of copyright law. But as pioneers we’re not afraid of a little controversy.
Since The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster goes on sale tomorrow, March 28th is a Holy day. I encourage you to dress in your Pirate’s best—paint one of your pant legs to resemble a wood finish, maybe wear an eye patch or get a parrot, and eat some cacciatore with a side of linguine. Then, go to your local bookstore to let them know that The Church of FSM is strong in your community. I can honestly say that if everyone on this e-mail list goes out and buys the book, it will be a bestseller. That would certainly get some people’s attention.

Our future is in our own hands. And in His noodly appendage.

Ramen.
Bobby Henderson
Prophet

THIS JUST IN: "Prayers don't do jack shit"

2006-04-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

Alright, so they didn't word it that way exactly...

Via CNN:

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

Researchers emphasized their work does not address whether God exists or answers prayers made on another's behalf. The study can only look for an effect from prayers offered as part of the research, they said.

They also said they had no explanation for the higher complication rate in patients who knew they were being prayed for, in comparison to patients who only knew it was possible prayers were being said for them.

The work, which followed about 1,800 patients at six medical centers, was financed by the Templeton Foundation, which supports research into science and religion. It will appear in the American Heart Journal.

Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School and other scientists tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for "a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications" for specific patients, for whom they were given the first name and first initial of the last name.

The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility.

The researchers did not ask patients or their families and friends to alter any plans they had for prayer, saying such a step would have been unethical and impractical.

The study looked for any complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery. But 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for developed a complication, versus 52 percent of those who were told it was just a possibility.

Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center, who did not take part in the study, said the results did not surprise him.

"There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said.
Science, he said, "is not designed to study the supernatural."

Oh, I could hear it already. "But, but, God works in mysterious ways". "But, but, I've prayed to God for something and my prayers were answered".

Pulllease. Keep wearing that cross around your neck following in lockstep with the herd that is organized religion. After all, the Bible is the word of God right?

A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? It's like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a rifle pendant. - Bill Hicks

Ancient skull found in Ethiopia

2006-03-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

Fossil hunters in Ethiopia have unearthed an ancient skull which they say could be a "missing link" between Homo erectus and modern people.

Via the BBC

The cranium was found in two pieces and is believed by its discoverers to be between 500,000 and 250,000 years old.

The project's director, Dr Sileshi Semaw, said the fossilised specimen came from "a very significant time" in human evolutionary history.

[...]

The skull appeared "to be intermediate between the earlier Homo erectus and the later Homo sapiens," Sileshi Semaw, an Ethiopian research scientist at the Stone Age Institute at Indiana University, US, told a news conference in Addis Ababa.

'Wealth of information'

The palaeoanthropologist said most fossil hominids were found in pieces, but the near-complete skull provided a wealth of information.

"[It] opens a window into an intriguing and important period in the development of modern humans," he explained.

Little is known about the period during which African Homo erectus supposedly evolved into our own species Homo sapiens.

The fossil record from Africa for this period was sparse and most of the specimens poorly dated, project archaeologists said.

The face and cranium of the fossil are recognisably different from those of modern humans, but the specimen bears unmistakable anatomical evidence that it belongs to the modern human ancestral line, Dr Semaw said.

[...]

Over the last 50 years, Ethiopia has been a key site for archaeologists hunting for fossil human ancestors.

Gawis is situated near Hadar, where palaeoanthropologist Donald Johanson found the 3.2-million-year-old remains of "Lucy", the partial skeleton of a hominid belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis, in 1974.

"Limit your intake to under a ton"

2006-03-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

A poster on the Maher forums made me laugh when he commented in a thread titled, "What's the truth about soy?" After the initial poster tries to invoke a serious debate about the pros & cons of soy, he responds...

New research indicate that there's enough poison in a ton of carrots to kill you! So, as a precaution, always try to limit your daily carrot intake to under a ton.

Thank You, The FDA
"Looking Out For Us!"

Live a little people, live! Stop smackin people's hands when their reaching for that cookie jar! Let them eat the damn cookie!

Sam Adams : He gave us more than beer

2006-03-07T08:38:00.000-05:00

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.
The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule.
The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.

Agitating on the Internetz : Mix it up people

2006-03-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

When I'm not posting at the Maher forums, commenting on things from a libertarian perspective, I try to hit a bunch of various sites that might be receptive to the libertarian plight.

The Cops Suck site is another one I visit from time to time. No, not all cops are bad, but I make that abundantly clear in my posts on the "guest book". I take a different tack from the normal posts there and attack the bad laws cops are obligated to enforce rather than the cops themselves. We all know the real blame lies with the do-gooder politicians anyway so I like to couch my argument in those terms, and then offer a call to political action (support of the LP).

Coincidentally, someone at the Maher forums mentioned in a post that she came to know of the LP from someone over at the Cops Suck site (muah). She mentioned it in this thread that I started at the Maher forums (8th comment down). This could mean several things. I'm that friggin' good; most libertarians are hanging out on the net in areas where there's no potential gain to the LP; or the very good possibility that other activists are hitting sites that I don't visit. Keep in mind that I'm putting aside here the best activism of all, getting off the damn couch and talking to people face to face. We all could do more of this.

My latest stint was to hit the IMDB forums for the upcoming movie, V for Vendetta. You have to register for an account to see all threads and to join in on the discussion. It just so happens that my post was bumped up to one that displays on the main "V" page. Keep in mind, this is NOT updated and sorted by most recent thread, but I believe is picked by the moderators of the board.

So try mixing it up. Use the invaluable resources of libertarian news sites to provoke thought and discussion elsewhere. The hard work is already done for us most of the time. Without the help of the MSM, every little bit we do as individuals counts.

Update: IMDB updates the threads daily...I'm guessing at a specific time. Whatever threads are in the top 6 at the time end up on the main page.

Military conquests = Spread & Influence of Religion?

2006-03-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

Bare with me here for a second before I get into the bulk of my post…I went to check out this King Tut exhibit here in Ft. Lauderdale, FL two weeks ago (took the audio tour for an extra $5)

It was an awesome experience to say the least. Just being in the presence of artifacts that were buried in various kings tombs was worth the price of admission alone. But I learned a lot more about their traditions and religion that I hadn’t known before. The exhibit depicting King Akhenaten caught my attention the most, specifically because of his departure from the traditional religion of Egypt of worshipping multiple deities. Here’s what caught my eye when I did a little further research…

From Ancient Egypt Online: Akhenaten, one of many ancient Egyptian pharaohs, is perhaps best enowned for his loyalty to one deity at a time when the rest of the world, by and large, worshipped several gods. He is certainly the only one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs to promote a monotheistic religion. This was not to occur again until the Roman Empire took control of Egypt and Christianity was instituted as the official religion.

Wikipedia on Akhenaten's religion (Atenism): The impact of Akhenaten's religious reform, albeit introduced in steps, is hard to overstate; it is equivalent perhaps to a new Pope declaring an obscure African deity the supreme God of Catholicism, building a new Vatican City somewhere in Canada, and abolishing all bishops as well as banning the symbol of the Cross, defacing all churches to remove all reference to Jesus, and banning any personal veneration of Jesus. It is a measure both of Pharaoh's great power, and of the extraordinary circumstances of the time that an equally shocking and dramatic transformation was achieved even temporarily, for about twenty years.

So the Roman Empire took control of Egypt, and "instituted" Christianity as the official religion. Sounds like military might over persuasion to me. Why on earth would a religion have to be forced upon people? Nevermind the inquisition for a second, this conquest happened 31 years before “Christ was born”. How convenient. Check out the timeline below. Couldn’t it be that Jesus was just the mere equivalent of let’s say, the Ghandi of our age and the Christians of today have been, with all the best of intentions, hoodwinked?

Egypt: The Roman conquest begins…

While the ancient history of Egypt is both rich and well documented, western interest in the nation of pharaohs began primarily with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

During Roman Rule the Pharaohs were mere puppets of the Roman Empire. With the death of Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemies to rule, and the defeat of the once-mighty Ptolemaic navy at Actium, in 31 BC Egypt became part of the Roman Empire under Augustus Caesar.

Egypt Timeline

31 BC - Battle of Actium; Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony defeated by Augustus Caesar
30 BC-395 AD - Conquest of Egypt by Augustus Caesar; Roman period
66 AD - Jewish riots against Rome in Egypt
395 AD - Roman Empire divided into two empires; Egypt controlled by Byzantium
395-641 AD - Byzantine period; Egyptian hieroglyphic writing falls out of use and soon becomes unintelligible
641 AD - Conquest of Egypt by the Muslim Arabs; Egypt becomes Islamic

Obviously Egypt isn’t Christian anymore (small minority). The Arabs took control of Egypt in 641 AD, and what do you know, Muslim became the official religion.

Egypt: The Arab Conquest, 639-41

Perhaps the most important event to occur in Egypt since the unification of the Two Lands by King Menes was the Arab conquest of Egypt. The conquest of the country by the armies of Islam under the command of the Muslim hero, Amr ibn al As, transformed Egypt from a predominantly Christian country to a Muslim country in which the Arabic
language and culture were adopted even by those who clung to their Christian or Jewish faiths.

The conquest of Egypt was part of the Arab/Islamic expansion that began when the Prophet Muhammad died and Arab tribes began to move out of the Arabian Peninsula into Iraq and Syria. Amr ibn al As, who led the Arab army into Egypt, was made a military commander by the Prophet himself.

Does this phase anyone in the slightest? The pharaohs ruled Egypt for 31 dynasties, one of the longest surviving forms of government ever recorded. They held throughout that time, (pretty much without skipping a beat) a religion full of superstitions and rituals that would make most shake their heads in disbelief. Yet their beliefs, their way of life, all went by the wayside once an army (with a kooky religion of their own - Christianity) took over their land.

Caesar quoted in the bible?…

Why was Caesar quoted in the bible exactly?

Mat 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

Isn’t it odd that the political & military leader of Rome, gets a reference in the holy bible? Doesn’t seem to be too different from how the pharaohs in Egypt were worshipped among their people does it. Whatever the religion, the structure always seems to be the same; low on the totem pole are the masses, then the intermediaries (prophets, priests, rabbis…uhumm, pharaohs), and then of course God(s).

All through the Pharaonic period, Egyptian royalty was believed to be directly descended from the gods. They would confer special powers upon Pharaoh, which were essential to maintaining earthly and cosmic order. The king's coronation provided the occasion for these powers to be handed over to him.

I’m inclined to ask myself, after knowing all this, isn’t all this organized religion just, bullshit? Can't we believe in a Creator without adhering to the writings of these intolerant and contradictory books? Books that were written by men, men and women who were simply trying to explain their surroundings and make sense of it all. I think we can, that's precisely why I consider myself a Deist.

I found Jesus!

2006-02-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

And I thought Tshirt Hell was bad...

Also, props to To The People for this Jesus bit...

Click pic to play...

Glock chimp

2006-02-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

One of my co-workers is purchasing his first firearm over the weekend for home protection. He's already gone to the shooting range with someone who has loads of experience and he recommended the glock as a good first choice.

I'm not infatuated with guns by any means, but everytime he brings up the subject I find myself considering purchasing one for my home. I live in a very safe neighborhood, but one of the adjoining towns isn't the greatest.

So here I am Google imaging "glocks" and what do I find? This wanna be dirty Harry...

Gangsta!

Harvard College Libertarian Forum (HLF)

2006-01-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

This bit of news comes from an Op-Ed piece in the Harvard Crimson. I think it's a fairly encouraging sign for libertarianism in general that such a school now recognizes a libertarian group on campus, especially considering the breadth of what this school has to offer its graduates and the potential for said graduates to effect political change in a real way.

Last November, the Committee on Campus Life voted to grant official status to the Harvard College Libertarian Forum (HLF), the College’s only libertarian group. The new group will provide a forum for discussion of a popular, comprehensive, consistent alternative political viewpoint as well as a voice for the College’s formerly excluded libertarians. HLF will bring speakers to campus, host debates, help students find scholarships and internships, engage in political activism, and—most importantly—foster discussion about libertarian issues and libertarianism.

Alexander N. Harris, president of the HLF, comments on the inherent problem with the 2 party system...

But it’s not just periodic crises and scandals that have left many disappointed with the two major political parties: the parties’ ideologies leave no room for people to form separate opinions on each policy issue. Harvard students vary in their political opinions as much as Harvard and Yale vary in their skills at playing football. Social security, the Patriot Act, tax cuts, affirmative action, gay marriage, drug prohibition deregulation, eminent domain, free trade: each student has an independent answer to each of these questions. Nonetheless, the two-party system forces people to pick one of two package deals of nonsensical and often contradictory opinions. If you favor gay marriage, you must oppose cuts in government spending; if you oppose racial profiling, you must believe in affirmative action; if you believe in free trade, you must oppose drug legalization.

The potential for the growth of libertarianism is there, and I think that each and every libertarian "activist" fighting for a seat at the table of ideas knows this. The Democratic and Republican parties are equally to blame for blatantly excluding other credible political parties in our, apparently, representative "democracy". If they're going to continue to push the idea that democracy works and is a political ideal, they could at least model their efforts as they did in Iraq here in the good ole "Land of the Free".

But what is libertarianism? Over 250 Harvard students list “libertarian” as their political affiliation on their facebook.com profiles. Hundreds more may be libertarian-leaning without even knowing it. People who describe themselves as “socially liberal but economically conservative” Democrats who want deregulation, free trade, and reduced government spending, Republicans who oppose restrictions on civil liberties, free speech, and gay marriage, and all those who want less government intrusion across the board have a name: libertarian.

13 Gram BLUNT

2005-12-29T22:04:00.000-05:00

$200 13 Gram BLUNT. God damn, that's fuckin' ridonkulous!

These guys roll a massive 13 gram blunt.

"Weed is from the earth. God put this here for me and you. Take advantage man, take advantage." - Smokey

Friday Fun links

2005-12-23T12:32:00.000-05:00

1. Russian Climbing - [Amazing shit! - cool ass video]

2. Numa Numa Fat Kid - [This kid gets me pumped up. Rock on fat boy]

3. Widely used Gif image, fat kid shakin - [Alot better with the music]

4. Midget wheelie gone bad - [Put on some fucking knee pads jerkoff!]

5. Midget b-boy vs. capoeira - [Capoeira midget gets owned]

6. Car drifting - [Not that bad the 2nd time around]

7. Fat Ass singing Celine Dion - [Move over Leo]

8. Dinosaur impression - [Is this Pat from SNL? Funny as shit when you're high btw]

9. Crazy fat lady yelling "Illegal Photography" - [Looked up "nanny statist" in the dictionary and saw this chick's fat face. Much to my surprise, her face can also be seen under whacko]

10. Karate cat - [Bully!]

11. Octopus eats shark - [Puss eats some other fish...kinky!]

12. Hotty exercising - [5 jumping jacks a day is all you need to do]

13. Ninja training camp - [Where's the neareast ninja training camp?...hmm]

14. Barney Vs. 2pac - [Barney has alot of friends for a reason, damn gangsta!]

15. Tom Cruise Kills Oprah - [I think she told him Scientology was bullshit]

16. Joe Kittinger – Skydives from fucking space! - [The REAL, first man in space]

Google Video - Clips O' the day

2005-12-14T00:18:00.000-05:00

Never thought I'd be checking out Google Video daily, but there's a handful of clips on the "Popular tab" (changes constantly) that provide some much needed entertainment for the day. Here's 2 I thought I'd link to before they get lost in the mix...

Songing Practice
William Hung has nothing on this guy. Hilarious.
"Always sentiment (?) to remind me"

Football dribble
Sign 'em up Metro Stars

Brazilian Ju Jitsu

2005-11-21T15:16:00.000-05:00

With my newfound ~~obsession~~ hobby of following the UFC & MMA in general, and knowledge of the fact that 95% of fights go down to the ground, I decided I wanted to look into MMA gyms in my area. I found one in my town actually, joined up, and have taken about 4 classes so far. This particular gym primarily teaches BJJ (Brazilian Ju Jitsu) which has been proven time and again to be a dominant fighting style. However, ATT (American Top Team) also incorporates kickboxing and submission grappling into their weekly schedules.

On MMA vs. Traditional Martial Arts
From the FAQ section on another MMA gym's site...

"Mixed Martial Arts” is a program that takes the most effective and practical techniques from systems and style that have proven to be superior to others. While most other martial arts programs claim to be steeped in tradition and go back thousands of years, realistically they have been diluted of their original intent and effectiveness. This is due to the commercialization of what we call “McDojo’s” that in the last 20 years have popped up in strip malls and shopping centers. Jamming people into small storefronts and having the students stand in line punching and kicking into the air and learning a kata. These schools advertise “self defense training” and it is far from that.
Our program, which is a mixed martial arts program incorporates the best of boxing, Muay Thai (kicking, knees, striking), wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and grappling. These styles of training dominate in each of their respective ranges of fighting...which means self-defense.

It doesn't hurt me either to be training with one of the top 10 lightweight MMA fighters in the world. Din Thomas, with a 17-5 professional mixed martial arts record, is the head instructor at ATTPSL.

Bowflex 552 SelectTech Dumbbells

2005-11-21T14:41:00.000-05:00

I just picked these up at Sports Authority. They have a limited time offer (in the stores at least). Buy the SelectTech 552 dumbbells at $399, and get the stand (normally $150) for free. Not a bad friggin' deal I would say. These dumbbells are great considering how much space they save and come out to pretty much half the price of a traditional set. It also came with an instructional DVD which runs you through all the different exercises you can do with these. Note - Most exercises require a bench.

UFC 56: "Full Force"

2005-11-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested in full-contact fighting / MMA (mixed martial arts)...you would have loved the PPV on last night. There were some awesome fights on the card. Rich Franklin vs. Nate Quarry, Georges St. Pierre vs. Sean Serk, Matt Hughes vs. Joe Riggs, Jeremy Horn vs. Trevor Prangley, and of course the undercard fights.

The UFC is blowing up by all measurable factors. SpikeTV's "The Ultimate Fighter" show has helped educate the masses, the live events continue to sell out, and MMA gyms are popping up all over. 2006 will be a very exciting year for MMA, as Dana White announced the comeback of some notable fighters to the UFC. Tito Ortiz & Ken Shamrock make their returns as well as being the hosts for the renewed season of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter 3). B.J. Penn and Frank Mir also make their own comebacks into the UFC.

The main event featuring Quarry (winner of the first TUF season finale) against the formidable and more experienced Frankin didn't come as much of a surprise. Just seeing the knockout however, was worth the price of the PPV alone. Yeah, this is definitely going to make the highlight reel...

Click picture to see knockout

Convict Appeals 55-Year Prison Sentence

2005-11-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

Unfucking believable. This is part of the reason why I haven't posted anything lately. I'm tired of getting pissed off and emotional over shit I care about, only to know that NOTHING will change in the near future, if at all ever.

Weldon Angelos heard his fate almost a year ago. His family couldn't believe the sentence. Even the judge regretted handing it down, and the people said the system is flawed.
[...]
In this case, 55 years for selling marijuana three times to a police informant while carrying a gun. The judge grundgingly gave the mandatory minimum, calling his own sentence cruel, unjust, and even irrational. It's a tougher penalty than many receive for sexual abuse and manslaughter convictions.

Let those dopers be

2005-10-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Former Seattle police chief comes out against the Drug War.

Excerpt:

As a cop, I bore witness to the multiple lunacies of the "war on drugs." Lasting far longer than any other of our national conflicts, the drug war has been prosecuted with equal vigor by Republican and Democratic administrations,with one president after another — Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush — delivering sanctimonious sermons, squandering vast sums of taxpayer money and cheerleading law enforcers from the safety of the sidelines.

It's not a stretch to conclude that our draconian approach to drug use is the most injurious domestic policy since slavery. Want to cut back on prison overcrowding and save a bundle on the construction of new facilities? Open the doors, let the nonviolent drug offenders go. The huge increases in federal and state prison populations during the 1980s and '90s (from 139 per 100,000 residents in 1980 to 482 per 100,000 in 2003) were mainly for drug convictions. In 1980, 580,900 Americans were arrested on drug charges. By 2003, that figure had ballooned to 1,678,200. We're making more arrests for drug offenses than for murder, manslaughter, forcible rape and aggravated assault combined. Feel safer?

Read the whole article here.
[Hat tip - The Agitator]

Quotes of the day - Dave Barry

2005-10-04T08:36:00.000-04:00

First problem libertarians face: "I guess nobody assumes anybody is a libertarian. It's a more complex political discussion than most people are used to, to explain why you think the way you do about public education or drug laws, and why it's not as simple as being for or against something. - Dave Barry

Hmmm, maybe that's why the presidential debates should include more than 2 parties, especially when both of them believe more government is the answer to EVERYTHING. Democracy my ass, open up the debates and let the real competition of ideas flow.

On purview of government: "For [politicians], the question is always, 'What kind of government intervention should we impose on the world?' They never think that maybe we shouldn't." -- Dave Barry, Reason, December 1994

On tax cuts: "Most of the presidential candidates' economic packages involve 'tax breaks,' which is when the government, amid great fanfare, generously decides not to take quite so much of your income. In other words, these candidates are trying to buy your votes with your own money." -- Column, February 9, 1992

On the growth of government: "Whatever the needs of the public are, the government responds to those needs by getting larger." -- Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway (Random House, 2001)

On the tax code: "Why can't Americans do their own taxes? Because the federal Tax Code is out of control, that's why. It's gigantic and insanely complex, and it gets worse all the time. Nobody has ever read the whole thing. IRS workers are afraid to go into the same ROOM with it." -- Column, April 6, 2003

On the War on Drugs: "The way this country deals with drugs is just not funny. What a waste of everyone's time and effort. What a waste of a lot of people's lives." -- Reason, December 1994

NASA wasted millions on routine travel

2005-10-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

NASA wasted millions of dollars over a two-year period by shunning commercial airline flights and instead using its own planes for routine travel, according to a government report provided to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The Government Accountability Office found that NASA spent at least five times more by flying employees on its own planes in fiscal 2003 and 2004, compared with the cost of commercial coach tickets. The extra spending totaled about $20 million.
[...]

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who requested the GAO investigation, said she is troubled that "this abuse of the aircraft has been going on for years." Her office provided a copy of the GAO report to the AP on Thursday, a day before its public release.

"It's frustrating that it's taken two (inspector general) audits, a GAO investigation and the threat of a congressional oversight hearing to get an agency to comply with its obligations to the taxpayers," Collins said in a phone interview.

Related links:
Washington Post
AVWeb

Ultimate Brutality, Or Sport?

2005-10-02T12:33:00.000-04:00

I came across this article via someone's post on The Ultimate Fighter forums. It seems the cycle of government is to:

1) Identify potential ~~issues that will score political points~~ threats to people's own safety
2) Pass legislation among other ~~elitist~~ politicians ~~that think they know whats best for us~~ that believe safety trumps personal choice and freedoms.
3) Use the hand of government via ~~force~~ law enforcement to crack the proverbial whip
4) Create more government jobs to enforce said behavior as it approaches epidemic status.
5) Opine that more has to be done to protect people when their perfect plan fails to do what its intended.
6) Cry like little bitches with the mantra "but what about the children?" when defenders of freedom point out the counter-productiveness of their actions and the loss of more personal freedoms for some perceived benefit or safety.

The article goes on to say...

A few years ago, Sen. John McCain called it "human cockfighting," waged a personal campaign and nearly wiped it out. But the Ultimate Fighting Championship not only survived, it's more popular than ever. The UFC - a sort of major league for what's known as "mixed martial arts," an amalgam of punching, kicking and grappling - boasts its own stars and even has a popular Spike TV reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter."

[...]

But ultimate fighting still meets resistance.

Peter Carmel, a neurosurgeon and a trustee of the AMA's board of directors, says the fights are "about stopping as close to murder as you can get." Sen. Eileen Daily, chairwoman of the state legislature's public safety committee, wants to ban it.

None of which hampers Dana White's enthusiasm. The UFC president calls mixed martial arts "the most exciting combat sport in the world" and believes it will eclipse boxing.

Good for Dana White for not letting the first calls of opposition rain on his parade. I just hope that he knows what to say to Senator John McCain when that busybody comes back around with his second effort to ban the UFC, for good.

The day that people rise up and say "I will defend your right to say or do whatever the hell you want SO LONG AS you respect the equal rights of others" (don't harm someone else's person or property)...is the day people will take back their country from politicians who profit by playing political chess with our fortune and our lives.

Libertarians can learn something from the UFC

2005-09-30T15:28:00.000-04:00

The following analogy isn’t perfect by any means, but I hope to illustrate an important point. Political parties, just like businesses, can turn themselves around for the better. Walmart, despite its faulty reputation driven by anti-business activists, continues to trek on, expand, and even shows us that it isn’t an evil monster after all. On to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)…

Early UFC events were eight- or sixteen-man tournaments wherein participants were required to beat three opponents in a single evening to be crowned Ultimate Fighting Champion. Fighters were typically skilled in one discipline only, e.g. boxing, Judo, Jiu Jitsu etc. and had little experience in battling against opponents with different skills of their own. With no weight classes, fighters could find themselves facing opponents who were significantly larger and taller than themselves…These factors combined led to a trend of short, violent fights. This was very much in line with the way the UFC was being marketed at the time. "There are no rules!" said the famous tagline. Although not strictly true, the UFC did operate with a limited set of rules; techniques such as hair pulling and groin strikes were frowned upon, but valid.

The brutal nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the authorities and UFC events were banned in almost all American states. To survive, the UFC redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights, whilst still retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. Five minute rounds, Referee stoppages, weight classes and limitations on permissible striking areas gradually found the UFC being rebranded as a sport rather than a violent circus attraction. As the sport evolved, so did its fans and fighters…

The failure of the Libertarian Party to gain any substantial foothold in American politics has never been because of its core ideology…individual liberty & personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, and peace. Scratch that, that’s actually what the libertarian Cato Institute stands for. The Libertarian Party has mostly been a debate club ever since its inception. It was created primarily out of a frustration with the rising state. As such, you had many in the party that were simply anti-fill-in-the-blank. It became the perfect home created for anarchists, purists, and the like. It was early UFC, "There are no rules!".

The Clark campaign, which was the most successful in LP history, was the high watermark for the Libertarian Party. But respectable names such as David Boaz, Ed Crane, and Ed Koch left the LP to form The Cato Institute. The party split into factions and the LP lost much of its monetary backing. The libertarian movement took a big hit, and just like any other business would have done, struggled to stay afloat.

The UFC was in the same predicament, but managed to get out of its hole as a result of several savvy businessmen. The UFC turned itself around by changing management and establishing a necessary & effective set of rules and general safety on which to proceed from. In short, they paved the way for increased legitimacy and growth. They turned their fortune around, packaged the product nicely, and gave life to what I think is one of the most entertaining sports around today.

I guess I’m writing this more for those that have given up hope on what seems to be at many times a futile effort. Hell, I think every libertarian has thought the same at some point. I just don’t think the product, namely liberty, has yet to be packaged and marketed to the people in the right way. If it means new management within the LP so be it, if it means tightening up our agenda for the forseeable future, so be it. The shock and awe approach has simply got to go.

Fortunately, I’ve stuck with the party long enough to know that its leaders ARE changing their tune and they have tried to engage in real world politics as of late. But it can't do it without your help or mine.

Rogier responds...

2005-09-24T10:04:00.000-04:00

I'd like to give a big thanks to Rogier for taking the time to respond to my original email. Since he already posted parts of our conversation via email on his site, I'm thinking any additional comments and/or dialogue should go there. He has much more readers than I. :o)

FYI: I contacted Doug Stanhope a while back and he responded to my email to him as well.

To be honest, whenever I write to someone like this I tend not to get my hopes up for a thoughtful response let alone a response at all. But I've been proven wrong time and again, and that's a good thing. It shows me that people still care. It shows me that they still have some hope, no matter how grim things get.

We need to continue opening up the lines of communication if we plan on getting anything accomplished in the future.

Opening the lines of communication - Rogier van Bakel

2005-09-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

I just sent this email off to Rogier van Bakel. My hope is to gain some insight into the minds of some other prominent libertarian bloggers and activists within the libertarian movement. If we're not on the same page with those who could help give the LP the boost that it needs, what hope do we have in gaining some real momentum (i.e. - non-libertarians) ?

Hey Rogier,

I guess I’ll start off by saying I’m a fairly regular reader of your blog. I came to understand and appreciate libertarianism through Peter McWilliams book “Ain’t Nobody’s Business…” as well. Peter actually called me a long time ago, at the height of his books popularity. He had a mailing list (not sure if you were ever on it) and he asked to see his readership at one point in time. So I sent him a picture of myself, and to my surprise about 2 days later I got a call in my home in NJ. I was shocked to tell you the truth…I was only about 18, 19 at the time, and here is a man who I truly admired, calling me personally. Needless to say to this day, I’ve been inspired to try to get the word out about libertarianism and let people know of another political option.

I’ve followed the LP pretty much since Peter’s book and only joined it until recently, after they put out their “Iraq Exit Strategy”. While admitting that the LP has been much of a failure in the 30 years of its existence, I take issue with the conventional reasons offered for its failure. Rather than placing all the blame squarely on the LP, I’m inclined to think that if those people (who gave the party more credibility) hadn’t left the party, the LP would be in a much better position today. What’s done is done though, and you can’t harp on the past. So what’s in store for the future? Do we continue to try and function with all these numerous libertarian organizations and separate efforts, or do we suck it up and realize that the LP, CAN BE the party we make of it. When do we stop running from frustration from lack of success? Frustration for those who left the party just seems to have been diverted to accepting the fact that we will constantly be mislabeled, ignored, and marginalized.

This is the reason I’ve given the LP the benefit of the doubt, despite its many failures. Radley Balko and even CATO for that matter, continually get labeled as conservative or Republican. The problem we’ve faced has never been about legitimacy, it’s choice…and those who stick around long enough to help make it a reality. It always has been about choice. I don’t think any libertarian today, would disagree that a strong Libertarian Party would be to the benefit of ALL libertarians and our respective think tanks and organizations. Bob Barr, a former staunch Republican came out admitting this, as he threw his support behind Badnarik in 2004. What would happen if we all followed suit?

So my long, drawn out question to you is, what do you make of this all? Is writing, blogging, and screaming from the rafters all we could hope for? Or do we storm the presidential debates and demand to be heard? Do we look tirelessly for a libertarian celebrity that could circumvent the inevitable MSM blackout? While I don’t mean to demean anyone’s efforts who have the left the LP, I have to ask, why can’t our goals coincide a bit more often? All I’m doing here honestly Rogier, is trying to open the lines of communication. Just like Peter did with me. Your response would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Robert D.

FYI:
I’m going to post this email on my blog. With your permission I’d like to post your response.
My blog is here: http://thatsridonkulous.blogspot.com/

Pets rebel in NOLA

2005-09-13T22:39:00.000-04:00

Breaking News: Pets in New Orleans rebel against the government for leaving them stranded. Cats across the city were interviewed...some highlights below.

In a stunning contrast of opinions...

"Screw Michael Brown. That bitch deserves to get fired. I had the life...now look at me!"

"We're taking back these streets. It was the best thing that happened to us. Domesticated my ass, we have these sharp ass teeth for a reason."

And then there was this distraught cat...
"I wouldn't show them my underbelly! Fuck them corrupt PO-LICE"

Sorry, I'm in a silly mood. I had the Onion on my mind when I saw this avatar.

Marketing to generate momentum

2005-09-12T13:15:00.000-04:00

Market population, demographic of listeners/readers, and costs are the main factors we should be weighing to ensure we get the most out of a solid marketing campaign.

The Agitator and FTL are 2 such places where I think our money could be spent wisely. Granted, most of the marketing should be in places where we’re not preaching to the choir. But advertisements are needed within libertarian circles as well, especially within libertarian communities that identify with our politics but have brushed off the party itself.

We have to create a sense of belief that the party is on the move by making our presence known. Use the influx of new support to build on top of our active base. The intention is not to bring in votes, but committed individuals who understand the need for activism and the need for growth. The votes will follow.

The faith in the LP as being a potential player in politics has been severely damaged. Much of it has been from our own doing. One only needs to ask the self-described libertarians from the vast, yet distinct libertarian communities (Reason, CATO, Independent Inst., etc.) about what their opinions are of the party as of today. Our efforts need to focus on winning them back, while simultaneously reaching out to those unaware of the party.

Advertising information here.

Webtrends reports available here.

Radley on his readership:

“I would guess it's your typical cross-section of blog readers, weighted heavily toward the libertarian right. I do draw a large portion of my audience from my column with FoxNews.com.”

If we can pick up some disgruntled Republicans who routinely read Balko’s Fox column, all the better.

FTL rates for advertising can be seen here:

Market population:

<-- Click on image for full view

"What are you a lawyer?"

2005-09-10T12:20:00.000-04:00

[My bike - '93 Honda CBR F2]

Alright, this is my first audio blog posting. The audio quality sucks but I guess it will have to do for now. The title will make sense when you hear it.

FYI...I bought a digital voice recorder so I could avoid typing in posts but it seems like its double the work. I still like it better because I have a tendency to try to revise what I write more often than I should. I'm better at expressing my thoughts verbally.

This story got me off my ass (via Stephen Gordon) to finally create my first audioblog. Most of us have had our own encounters with the ~~pigs~~ police, so I figured what better way to start than this?

Note: Excuse the scattered profanity. I'm Italian, nuff said.

Democrat looks to unseat Paul

2005-09-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

Political rookie Shane Sklar kicked off his campaign Wednesday to unseat Congressman Ron Paul with a tour of the 10-county, 14th Congressional District.

Sklar aimed at the so-called Libertarian philosophy that has earned Paul, R-Surfside Beach, the nickname “Dr. No” for his constant votes against most government programs.

“Making a point is one thing, but we need someone who aims to make a difference,” said Sklar, a 29-year-old Democrat from Edna.

No, actually we have enough career politicians who think that some magical government program can cure, or better, some deeply complex societal problem. We saw what that has brought us. More bureaucracy, a boatload of debt, and practically nothing to show for it all. The people of our communities are the ones who work, who sweat, who earn, who create, who make this world a better place. Not politicians who talk up their self-importance!

What we need is MORE Dr. Ron Pauls who hold principle higher than political expediency. With all due respect, this Democrat is a naïve bastard to think that he can make a difference on the lives of a distant people who for the most part are ultimately self-sufficient.

People continually try to rail against libertarian ideas for its simplicity. Yet it is this simplicity that provokes people to respect the world of politics, to take action and be involved in their communities, and to hold liberty and responsibility in such a regard that fosters productivity, tolerance, and a sense of pride among individuals.

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government. - Thomas Jefferson

155 and One Reasons

2005-09-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Russ Nelson tells of 155 and one reasons why the government should stay out of disaster recovery. Update 9/4: Donald Boudreaux agrees.

I'm amazed when I look at this ~~Dis-organizational chart~~ Organization Chart for the federal government. This is what libertarians are up against, and every other person who espouses the idea of a limited and constitutional government.

Note: Sorry for the scarce blogging as of late. Been busy with real life schtuff.

Cindy Sheehan VS. Partisan Hacks

2005-08-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

Reposting my comment here from one of my posts at Reason’s blog.

Why do people keep bringing up the fact that Cindy's son volunteered for military service? So did every other person that's serving today, so what? Is she blaming Bush directly for taking her son's life? NOPE. She wants to know why the fuck this asshole thought it was imperative to go into Iraq, why this war is justified.

She wants answers, and she isn't the only mother who feels this way. She should be praised for questioning this joke of a war, not condemned. Someone decides to get off their couch and go do something about it, and the woman gets bashed? For what? Pathetic.

When Tony Blair gets railed on CSPAN about the war, IN AN OPEN FORUM, from his people who are able to sit directly in the audience and ask him questions...it becomes clear we have NO ACCOUNTABILITY for our own politicians. It was refreshing to see people ask Tony Blair questions, and have him answer in a non-staged manner. Why the fuck don't we do this? Is Bush too good for his people? No, he's just a partisan hack just like the Democrats. They won't debate with Libertarians, with Greens, with the Constitution Party...because they'd be called to task on their stranglehold on our joke of a political system.
You partisan hacks can go fuck yourselves.

Ultimate Fighting - Spike TV

2005-08-12T00:08:00.000-04:00

I used to watch the UFC fights when they first became popular. Then the "sport" just sort of drifted away. I guess Spike TV has apparently had this show for a while now, but I'm just catching up to it now. If you don't mind watching a serious ass kicking, check it out.

I could think of a couple people in my lifetime I wouldn't mind throwing in that Octagon. Oh come on, just a few throws up against the cage is all I ask.

FYI: Joe Rogan is one of the commentators (some history). Check out his site, and also his "Joe Show". It's pretty damn funny. Start with Episode 1, you'll see what I mean.

Check out the TAT

2005-08-11T22:57:00.000-04:00

I'm going this Saturday to set up an appointment to get my first tat. I've always wanted to get one, but most of the stuff out there has been too cliche. Either you have a Bald Eagle with the flag, or barbed wire around the arm. I want something that symbolizes freedom, but at the same time doesn't go overboard (the Gadsen Flag is too out there for me). So here it is, a modernized tribal tat that doesn't look like a crop circle...

It's modified from the original pic I found. Photoshopped with a water effect. The shading, if not the size of the tat is going to run a pretty penny. I might ask for suggestions on making it better before it goes on my arm. Certain pics look a LOT better on paper.

Here is the tattoo shop's website. They're very professional from what little I know.

Doug Stanhope responds...

2005-08-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

Here's Doug's response to my email. I think there's definitely merit to his suggestion. I'm afraid that even with all the reforms we'd like to see in place, we'd still be shut out of the MSM. I'm definitely sticking with trying to reform the LP until 2008, but we need to start thinking now about potential celeb candidates of our own. I think our best chances of success are if Ventura runs, coupled with a Libertarian celeb candidate. The hardest part, as Doug notes, is finding them. If you agree that a celeb candidate is the way to go, who are the potentials and how do we go about getting them on board?

Was just talking to Penn about the same thing - Celebrity President is the only way you'll get the LP noticed. They can and will always ignore any Badnarik you put on the ticket. They cant ignore a celeb. The problem is finding the celeb.

I also believe that the way to do it would have to be as an independent using a Lib platform. Otherwise you open yourself up to all the criticism of the same party doctrine you see the most orthodox Libs mired down in. A moderate LP candidate would still be twisted by media as being for the most extreme ideals ie, all drugs legal, open borders, etc.

Independent is the way to go. Celeb Indy using many of the platforms of the LP. But what do I know? My whole life is fucked up but I think I'm enjoying myself.

Keep me informed.

Here was my email to him:

From: "Robert Daunno" RDaunno@adelphia.net
Reply-To: RDaunno@adelphia.net
To: doug@dougstanhope.com
Subject: A question Doug, from a fan...
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 22:51:58 -0400>

Hey Doug,

Rather than bog you down with bullshit in this email, I'll get straight to the point as I know you're a busy man. I'm writing to you as a libertarian who's trying to reform the Libertarian party, along with a loosely assembled group. The problem we see with it being that they have been too stubborn and too goddamn ideologically pure. They don't want to engage in politics and seem to be fine with the party being ineffectual. And hey, I hate politics too, but we're not going to get there unless we get past just speaking philosophically. So to date already, we have had some success and have shaked things up a bit.
The reason I'm contacting you is that we could sure use your help, and every other celebrity figure that has some sort of notoriety for that matter. I know, celebrity figure is probably something you'd outright reject, but I'm definitely one of your fans. I bought all 3 of your CD's and I have the Deadbeat Hero DVD.

It's like you said, "we have shit to do". I really believe that's why this country is so apathetic and more freedom lovers haven't risen up. They get their money yanked from their pockets every Friday, get pulled over by some cop with an ego the size of Jill Kelly's fagina, ticketed for not wearing a damn seatbelt, and then to top it all off are told to "have a nice day". Fuck that.

Anyways, back to the point of this email. I wish I had specifics on what I had in mind, but I don't. I guess I would have to hear from you first. I know your friends with Penn Jillette, and the whole Aristocrats movie is coming my way soon, here in St. Lucie West, FL. That's the kind of shit I envision. Penn's Bullshit episode, the Aristocrat's movie, this new movie coming out called V for Vendetta. Activism through a network of self proclaimed libertarian celebrities. I mean, is it so farfetched? Ralph "I look like a tree hugger" Nader boosted the Green Party's image. Why can't the libertarians have the same? And I totally understand if you brush this email off. I know you've done your part just by the stand up you've done alone. The amount of people you've made laugh and think in your routine, the amount of people Penn made think from his Showtime show. I just wish it was followed up with a "Vote Libertarian", or "join the only party that will respect your rights, the Libertarian Party". And I saw your endorsement for Badnarik, that was awesome (and hilarious). We need to get things going in the off season, so that come election time our vote is more than just a pie in the sky, but a message that some sort of movement is afoot. A message that we've had enough. Let me know either way what your thoughts are on this Doug.

Thanks for listening,
Robert D.

V for Vendetta

2005-08-03T23:22:00.000-04:00

V for Vendetta coming to a theatre near you on Nov. 4, 2005.
"People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people."

SYNOPSIS
Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked vigilante known only as “V.” Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he detonates two London landmarks and takes over the government-controlled airwaves, urging his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

Check out the trailer here.

Weird...but cool

2005-08-03T19:07:00.000-04:00

FYI, you can control the movement of the chick. Just put your mouse cursor over her, hold down the left-click button, and fling her around like a rag doll.

Death toll surpasses 1800

2005-08-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Bomb kills 14 Marines in western Iraq - military

How many more Americans must die in this senseless war? When will we start pulling our troops out of harms way? Without a sensible exit strategy, I’m afraid the answers to these questions will continue to remain open-ended.

And if your a Republican apologist, read these quotes and see if you can figure out who said them. Maybe if the R's and D's took their heads out of the asses of their respective party members, they'd see the light. Then again, maybe not.

The Aristocrats & A Proposal

2005-07-31T10:40:00.000-04:00

I first learned of The Aristocrats [movie] through Radley Balko's post here. He has a link to the production notes within that same post. After skimming through the notes, I came across the Q&A section with Penn Jillette. Let me just say it's a delight to read his answers. He is a libertarian through and through, and he seems to always manage to find ways of infusing his passion for freedom into his work. Whether it's making the hit series Bullshit on Showtime, or now this, I believe he's helped increase the potential for libertarian ideas to come into fruition. Please read on after the quotes below, as I have some ideas to throw around. Without further ado, I give you some highlights...

Q: The film deals with decency and censorship. In fact, in ‘The Aristocrats’ the joke is so called because they were the class originally leading the call to censor public works and speech in the name of decency. Do you invite discussions of the film that include commentary about the current activities of the FCC? Were you trying to make such commentary in making the film?

PENN: Everyone in this movie is in love with language and comedy. It’s not a political statement, it’s a celebration. Everything in this movie would bother the FCC, people who don’t love language and people having fun will hate this movie. That’s fine. We don’t want them to come. Michael Moore seems to want everyone to see his movies, he seems to think they’re important. This movie is a celebration of life, humanity, language and freedom. And freedom includes the freedom to not watch other people having fun if you’re not. I don’t want anyone to see this movie who doesn’t enjoy being offended. I don’t want to surprise anyone. This movie is too fun to be forced on people. People will bitch about this movie and hate it, but I hope they enjoy that too. I have lots of fun complaining about things I don’t like. It’s part of our service. The idea of freedom of speech is just great. It was created to protect freedom of speech for the serious discussion of ideas, but a perquisite of that, is people can talk really dirty and say offensive stuff if it makes them laugh. This movie is more about the pursuit of happiness than it is about freedom of speech. It’s mostly people laughing and there’s nothing more beautiful in the world no matter how ugly what they’re laughing at is. And there will never be a stronger political statement than this movie. The pursuit of happiness is freedom; it’s the only reason to live.

Q: In the section of the film that deals with Gilbert Gottfried’s telling of the joke at the Friar’s Roast of Hugh Heffner just 3 weeks after September 11, several people comment on the fact that his telling of the joke and the audience’s reaction felt cathartic. Do you think that extreme vulgarity and crude humor can have redeeming social value? Under what circumstances, if so?
PENN: Yes, always. It reminds us we’re human and that we’re alive. As I said, I don’t care very much what people are laughing at, I love to see them laugh. Yup, after the real horror on September 11th, it’s more important than ever to remember that shock that doesn’t matter is fun. If we’re not going to laugh our asses off, then who cares if we get them blown off?

PAUL: There is a sufficient argument for its redeeming social value when anyone can find this joke shocking, as tens of thousands of human beings are being killed around the world for any excuse anyone can concoct to make that fact ok. At its very least, the ridiculous ongoing rhetoric about ‘bad’ words is a f**kin’ reality check. “Vulgar” and “crude” are pretty subjective words. I’m sure my idea of them is very different from yours, whoever you are reading this. Which is as it should be. When we stub our toes, we curse before we can stop ourselves. There’s a reason for that. Let’s not confuse social conventions and politeness with any kind of truth. Those are simply a construct to help us all get along. I think there’s an organic need to take a sh*t in the punchbowl once in a while.

With Cato's recent event talking about Libertarianism in Contemporary Pop Culture, The Aristocrats, and another movie I'll talk about in my next blog entry...my hopes for significant change in our political climate have only increased.

All of this as of late has inspired me to do some political brainstorming. While the Advocates for Self Government have merely identified "libertarian celebrities", I'm thinking we should be doing much more than just listing friends of freedom. We need to reach out to those that are actively a part of our popular culture and those that can reach mass audiences. I’m not shooting for the stars just yet obviously, but what about just starting with comedians for instance.

I think we’re definitely seeing more “mainstream” comedians now than ever. Despite this though, I believe it’s the one form of entertainment that’s more or less stayed true to its underlying objective. Make people laugh, and don’t take life too seriously. That seems pretty libertarian to me. That’s one of the reasons why we hate current politics so much isn’t it? If all we were to do as a society is to believe all the negative depressing crap mainstream media throws at us, we’d constantly stay indoors. If all we were to do as a society is to accept, hook-line-and-sinker, everything that comes out of the mouths of our politicians, we would all be at their subjective mercy.

However true that some of that mentality still pervades a good portion of society, there's an untapped market we've just begun to embrace. Let’s stem the tide of this seemingly endless growth of government. Let’s invoke a healthy dose of reason and bluntness into the mix. Let’s bring out those people that naturally have faith in freedom because they see it work everyday, and let’s make the Libertarian Party the party they flock to.

Just so that you know I’m not talking out of my ass, I will be contacting Doug Stanhope via email soon to throw some ideas his way. Whether he’ll respond or not is another question, but at least I will know that I tried something. Just imagine, a Freedom Fest including those that we also actually see on TV (Stanhope, Joe Rogan, Penn Jillette, etc., etc.)

Note - I’m not naïve to think that all comedians are libertarians. Of course comedians can fill all parts of the political spectrum. You have to start somewhere though right? Let me know in the comments section if what I envision is worth pursuing, or if I’m in over my friggin’ head.

Billboard Contest - Part Deux

2005-07-28T23:12:00.000-04:00

Alright, here's the final copy for my second submission. If anyone wants to take a crack at cleaning it up even further, I can give you the PSD files.

Update: This was the rough copy for my second submission in the Hammer of Truth contest. I threw his ass in the gym to get him a little more diesel. You gotta be strong to hold the government on your back no?

Too Much Respect for Authority?

2005-07-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

I came across this article on TechCentralStation a little while ago titled, Can a People Have Too Much Respect for the Law?

Can a people have too much respect for the law?
This might appear to be a strange question to ask. Americans, after all, seem to believe that it is impossible to have too much respect for the law. Yet a visitor to our shores in 1867 -- and an English barrister at that -- disagreed with this proposition.

The visitor was William Hepworth Dixon...
[...]
Yet there was one aspect of our national character that disagreed with him. Our "deference to the Law, and to every one who wears the semblance of lawful authority, is so complete…as to occasion a traveler some annoyance and more surprise," Dixon wrote. "Every dog in office is obeyed with such unquestioning meekness, that every dog in office is tempted to become a cur."
[...]
Dixon singled out the Justices of the Supreme Court, noting with apparent dismay that they are "treated with a degree of respect akin to that which is paid to an archbishop in Madrid and to a cardinal in Rome." Then he concludes with an admonition:
More than once I have ventured to tell my friends, that this habit of deferring to law and lawful authority, good in itself, has gone with them into extremes, and would lead them, should they let it, into the frame of mind for yielding to the usurpation of any bold despot who may assail their liberties, like Caesar, in the name of law and order.
[...]
This same contempt for the law, however, is not shared by the average American, who displays in 2005 the same exaggerated respect for the law that Dixon observed in 1867. In particular, the general populace continues to adhere to the view that those who have been entrusted with the task of interpreting the law -- especially those sitting on the highest court of our land -- must be deferred to, no matter how absurd or capricious their rulings may appear when approached from the perspective of sheer logic.

People need to be more skeptical of authority now more than ever. It's a healthy and necessary component that needs to be at the heart of every political conversation.

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. - Thomas Jefferson

Too much respect for our military?:
I care for the safety of our military as much as the next person, but I just can’t get on board with the whole “Support Our Troops” bumper sticker mantra. I tend to think that the people who brandish this trendy little bumper sticker are also in favor of the war in Iraq itself, but I obviously can’t say for sure. I just don’t see how anyone holding a generally complex opinion about the war or someone in favor of a non-interventionist foreign policy would feel comfortable slapping one of these puppies on.

With that said, I recommend watching this Cato event The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War. There’s a good portion of America who still romanticize the soldier.

Doug Stanhope has a funny little bit he does on “Hero Pussy”. You can listen to a portion of it on Amazon’s site. Scroll to Track 11 on this page.

Too much respect given to police?:
While it’s really bad laws that should be condemned, and the legislative bodies that pass them, I think police officers serve their own role by giving legitimacy to the bureaucracy of it all as they enforce said bad laws.

I have a lot more respect for those officers that, although they too enforce bad law, also speak out publicly against them when they’re not in uniform. Unfortunately, these are far and few in between.

Lack of accountability, excessive power, combined with an overabundant police force is a dangerous combination.

I’d like to give more credit to the men in uniform, but their job is no more dangerous than a firefighter or a high rise construction worker. You gain your respect from the community by helping keep the peace. Keep stepping on toes and extending your bounds, regardless of following the law of the land, and there will be some sort of backlash.

*Note to LP members doing outreach* Tax Day Protest’s are fine, but why wait for one day out of the year to recruit libertarians, when standing outside your county courthouse after a night of traffic court could generate dozens each week. Let’s capitalize on those that have been shafted by the system. And I'm not denouncing traffic laws just to be clear. I'm talking about those walking out of court feeling that justice wasn't served, that their fines were exorbitant, or that safety...other than their own didn't factor into the violation.

Foolish Consistency

2005-07-12T22:05:00.000-04:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood. ("Self-Reliance", 1841)

"The Party of Principle"…the Libertarian Party's own small and simple tagline. Concise, appealing, AND...ambiguous. Yes, I know...it's a slogan and not meant to express anything in detail. But when asking a libertarian (and there are many different flavors) to specifically list and define those principles, I believe you'd get a whole host of different responses. So let me briefly spell out some of the major ones for clarification.

Principles the libertarian purists recognize:
1. The non-initiation of force
2. All taxation is theft and is consequently wrong
3. Unfettered open immigration

Principles I believe should fall under the LP’s slogan:
1. Limited government
- A reduction in the size and scope of government at all levels, incrementally.
- Strongly advocate the benefits and necessity of a pluralistic society.
2. Non-interventionist foreign policy
3. Relatively open immigration but with some sort of border control – Read Badnarik’s position on this.

The first set listed constitutes a world of black and white. It is a foolish consistency as Emerson puts it. One can simply be consistently in favor of maximizing both personal and economic liberties and still be considered principled in the libertarian movement. The pressure that has been exerted on newcomers in the past (and present) to adhere to a very narrow set of principles, especially those that seem to be more in line with those of an anarchist…have only had the effect of keeping this party on the fringe.

Read Lew Rockwell's attempt here at what amounts to basically a "rallying of the troops", for the sake of preserving the reputation the LP currently holds. Tim West pulls out some quotables from his piece here and Thomas Knapp takes his article to task with some criticisms of his own.

Hurricanes for you SUV owners!

2005-07-11T21:44:00.000-04:00

Hurricane season is here again in FL, sweeeet. I missed all of the ones from last year as I was still in NJ waiting for my house to be built. Dennis totally missed my neck of the woods, but hopefully we'll see Emily pay us a visit so I can hit up one of my brother-n-law's hurricane parties. Yeah I know...I probably should be bitching and complaining, creating TO-DO lists, and tracking the storms every hour like everyone else. But my preparedness is a given. I'm more concerned with having a good time enjoying all of Mother Nature’s glory.

From Planet Moron comes a funny little post concerning global warming. With the 4 major hurricanes from last year, combined with the first couple this year, climatologists advocating a global-warming alarmist agenda seem ready to blow a load.

The sky is warming, the sky is warming

[...]

First, it’s important to understand that no matter what the data, it proves that global warming not only exists but is caused by human activity, and not only caused by human activity but caused by you and your SUV.

Increased Atlantic hurricane activity is the most recent topic of controversy. Hurricane experts believe it is all part of well understood long-term cycles. As Chris Landsea of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, “The folks in the field are unanimous in saying that global warming doesn’t have an appreciable impact on hurricanes today and that changes in the future look to be really tiny,”
Climatologists involved in global warming advocacy disagree based on one of the fundamental pillars of scientific thought: The preconceived notion. Since their models say that every time you fire up your leaf blower a tropical depression forms off the African continent then it must be so.
[...]
Elsewhere global warming advocates point to “record high” temperatures in the North Atlantic. Since records go back over 50 years, which we believe was the time when dinosaurs last roamed the earth, we can take this as a climatologically significant data point.
What isn’t significant? Well, there is the fact that a similar warming trend was recorded in the 1960s (this was prior to the SUV era when our primitive ancestors drove around in four-wheeled vehicles they called “cars”) and the below-average temperatures being recorded in the Labrador current. These are known as “anomalies.” Scientists don’t like anomalies as they call into question the premise on which all their funding is based.
Hey, you try to get a grant to study the “impending global threat of things pretty much staying the way they are."

Cato has plenty of studies, op-eds, and books on this country's global warming hysteria. Patrick Michaels work on this subject is definitely worth a look as well.

Late Night Ramblings - Vol. 1

2005-07-08T00:54:00.000-04:00

I just finished brainstorming not too long ago, as one does when one hits the cheeba. Actually it's more like cheapa. Forgive me while I ramble some more before I hit the hay and wake up to best friggin' day of the week.

Tack on another piece of flair for Stephen Gordon as he creates a survey that is supposed to help us better understand where libertarians are coming from. I'm interested in seeing what conclusions will be drawn from the eventual statistics. I know one thing's for sure and what this will confirm. There are many clearly identifiable factions of liberty groups, some being divisive, within the liberty movement. If the liberty movement is to make any particular headway, and if the LP is the vehicle that drives us there, the LP will have to figure out quickly how it can create a sense of unity among the factions. Not in agreement necessarily, as that's why many of them are unique enough to merit their own agenda...but to generate a consensus among the groups that it benefits them, to support the Libertarian Party rather than sitting by idly as has been the case. To do this, we have to be more practical in the way we approach our politics. The in-fighting that has been going on as of late at the LP blog has to stop. It's healthy to hash out our points, but unless we back off a little to keep conversation civil...I'm afraid we'll have another Cato incident. Until we realize that there are bigger fish to fry than ourselves, we'll be lost.

All I'm saying I guess, is to give the people an option of embracing more liberty. I know it's been said often among this pragmatic group, but the libertarian macho flashing has got to go. Michael Cloud coined that term, and he's no moderate! Don't corner yourself into your own strictly defined view of liberty and libertarianism. Let liberty take its course.

I learned that "The Declaration of Independence took EFFECTIVELY 13 years to actually implement" from one of Tim West's post's on the LP blog. Yet there's clamor about the new Iraq exit plan put out by the LP because it wasn't calling for an immediate withdrawal of our troops. How careless of you, it saddens me. You hold back this party for your own selfish and warped political safe-haven. You quote, selectively, certain intellectuals in the freedom movement and use it out of context, or as a defense for some major & complex political issue.

We found a party that respects and holds up our individuality in celebration. We found a philosophy that confirms our deepest beliefs of human nature and the proper role of government. The era of Enlightenment produced amazing thinkers whose words live through us to this day. Let's move forward already and pay those people respect by giving substance to their words.

So to this I say to all the factions that create the larger whole, let's stop the pettiness...and kick some government ass already!

Google Earth & Google Video

2005-07-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

If you've ever used Microsoft's MapPoint before, Google Earth is 5x better and 10x cooler. The download page has been on and off again just because of the high demand. I would suggest saving it to your HD when it is available just in case you want to give it to someone else (10mb file).

I also tried out Google Video but I think that's even more into the preliminary stages. The search yields plenty of results but none of the video I've wanted to see has been playable (archived).

Batman begins: Quote of the day

2005-07-06T09:57:00.000-04:00

Bruce Wayne: People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, but I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man of flesh and blood I can be ignored, be destroyed, but as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.

I was looking for this quote in the Batman Begins script, but they must have just added it to the dialogue in the movie during filming. FYI, David Boaz comments on the movie in this article.

So what can we do to bring people out of their apathy? Is ~~Gotham~~ America too far gone?

Uproar from LP hardliners

2005-07-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

As I read the Libertarian Party's exit plan, I knew it wouldn't sit well with some members. Particularly those who wish to keep the LP as an ideologically pure, no compromise, fringe party. But I didn't care. It's what made me finally join the LP after 9 years. I posted this below on the LP blog in response to some of the expected uproar.

Libertarians, I believe almost unilaterally, understand that democracy and freedom cannot be hoisted on the backs of another country. That's why MOST of us are against the war in Iraq, among other important reasons. If that type of change is to occur in a country it has to come from within, and it will come at the pace of each individual. When enough individuals stand up, systematic change will occur, but it STILL takes time.

Yet the LP hardliners continue to throw out the, “it’s all or nothing” attitude when it comes to the often times difficult task, of trying to win the hearts and minds of the people in our OWN country. They fail to see that they’re precisely doing the same thing they so adamantly oppose. We cannot hoist freedoms on the backs of Americans who are unwilling. If more freedoms are to come to this country, it's going to come in incremental steps and successes that vindicate the idea that more freedom is desirable.

MPP, Insitute for Justice, Independent Institute, CATO, Reason, etc, ...all are fighting their own small little battles in their own way. They are respectable organizations that have earned their reputations by proposing common sense solutions to win back freedom and America's faith in freedom. Why can't the LP follow the same model?

LP's Iraq Exit Strategy

2005-06-29T19:22:00.000-04:00

Read the Libertarian Iraq Exit Strategy [Adobe Reader required]. Click on the image below or here to sign and show your support for the adoption a common sense exit strategy for Iraq.

Photo courtesy of Tim West

Libertarian Billboard Contest

2005-06-27T12:43:00.000-04:00

Here is my first submission for the "contest" over at Hammer of Truth.

LP needs to put out video

2005-06-22T22:54:00.000-04:00

I created this DVD before the 2004 presidential election using a great program called DVDLab Pro, with the hopes of spreading Michael Badnarik’s name as much as the LP's. I sent out about 20-30 copies to people from the Badnarik blog at the time and got some decent responses. I’m still unsure whether or not it was passed on to others, or if duplicates were made for others to see. The majority of the clips are from CATO, and I wish there was more LP content to work with. In fact, there’s slim to none. Luckily I was able to throw in some videos of Michael Badnarik just prior to the election, in an attempt to make it a little more conducive to the LP rather than CATO.

Couple stories on the DVD:

1. I actually sent David Boaz a copy A WHILE back (pre-Badnarik clips) and he responded via email. He was short in his response, but definitely said that doing something with video should be higher on their agenda, as they currently only put out CATO audio. He did point out that there needed to be editing of the videos (I assume introductions, and post Q&A period), but I’m not too up to speed with video editing programs. Besides, I would have had to invest a lot more time than I was willing to at that point.

2. Every so often, I’ll email the person in charge of events and bug them about whether or not the video from a CATO forum will be archived. I was particularly interested in seeing this Cato forum, which had Penn Jillette as one of their speakers. So I emailed the lady, and also purposefully included a link to the DVD I made. Well, I got a call at my job not too long thereafter. Yeah, I sent it from work, and yes, I had a signature line with my # on it. She was real nice about it, but she told me that the link needed to be taken down. Needless to say, I took it down…well, actually I just copied it to a different page, as posted above and here.

Anyways, it was a lot of fun making this, and I wish I can do something in the future strictly with LP content. I wonder if Joe Seehusen would consider throwing together a nice little video, with a nice backdrop/set, just to maybe give people an introduction to the party. That would go along nicely with the little membership drive their attempting. Forget about the “Send a friend a link” feature, we need to give them video! Tim West talks about what else needs to be done at the “revamped” LP.org in an older post. BTW, I recently bought the Plextor dual layer PX-716UF. I’m just waiting for the damn dual layer discs to drop down in price. This will allow for a lot more video, and a lot less compression.

FYI, if you're interested in a copy of the DVD, let me know in the comments section. I'm no longer altering anything on the DVD, as I'll be cleaning up the PC I created it on.

Sean Haugh: Reformed Anarchist?

2005-06-18T10:14:00.000-04:00

Both of these quotes can be found in this gem of an article.

- "You can take the most hardcore Libertarian position on any issue and get the majority of people to agree with you, because you make them feel they always agreed with you. This is what successful politicians do."

- "We should recognize that many voters like us precisely because we *are* radical..."

I only point these out because I wonder if Sean truly says what he means by proclaiming he's no longer an anarchist. Sean I guess was highly offended by one of my prior blog entries. Read all the comments or pick up from my latest in that thread which I'll post here.

Rob, I have no longer have any hope of explaining anything to you, but I will respond for the benefit of anyone else reading.

How kind of you, but there's really nothing else to explain. You got called out on your contradictions and you're trying to justify it somehow now.

My reference to Grey and Brandon was in direct response to your accusation, Or maybe you forgot what you just said. There's medication for that, y'know.

No, I didn’t forget what I said Sean. I did ASSUME something by saying, "I only need to point to the types of candidates that you would back, vs. the Jim Grey's & Ben Brandon's who aren't wackos and ran on a moderate Libertarian platform." The fact that you told me you supported their campaigns, doesnt change anything though. Call me wrong for assuming that (for good reasons) in the first place, but now we have an even bigger problem for you to rectify Sean. Follow this reasoning everyone...

1. Sean said he backed candidates such as Grey and Brandon, who are MODERATE LP'ers.

2. You write an article titled "The Platform is not a Problem" and call those trying to clean up the unrealistic/extreme parts of the platform, "whiners".

3. Conclusion: So are you calling Jim Grey and Ben Brandon whiners too Sean? Because I certainly believe they wouldn’t have the knee-jerk reaction you had writing that article, if they were confronted by people wanting to make the platform truly representative of its constituency.

You keep calling me an anarchist. Not that I mind so much, but I'm not one and I don't see where you got that idea except from your own prejudice. It certainly didn't come from anything I said.

I know you don’t mind Sean, because I’m sure you find positive associations with that term. I don’t. You want to know where I got that idea, aside from the harsh tone in your own article? Here’s where I got that idea from Sean…, from your own comment on Tim West’s blog.

I used to be an anarchist, but I don’t think I could call myself one anymore since I am so busy trying to get people elected and change public policy. We would have to eliminate scarcity to truly consider it. I label my utopian view Star Trek Socialism. But politics doesn’t allow me much room for utopian philosophical discourse. In my article I devote a paragraph to my rules for incrementalism, not much different really from yours or Carl’s.

You admit you used to be an anarchist. Well, now that you’re reformed I suppose, why and how more importantly did you make that transition? What changes of opinion have you had? I personally doubt that you have, partially because of your demeaning article/tone to reformers. You state above that you’re not one anymore, or as you say “I don’t think I could call myself one anymore since I am so busy trying to get people elected and change public policy.” So is this the only reason? You talk about incrementalism, and I’m all for that. But incrementalism to what ends is the real question.

The truth is that while I don't want to water down the platform, I would like to see it be more inviting to self-described moderates. (I said as much in the original article.)

Taking out the extreme parts of the platform isn’t “watering down” anything. It’s getting done what needs to be done, so opponents can’t use our own platform to beat the hell out of our candidates. All this fear of the LP falling into a slippery slope should it take more moderate stances is bullcrap. My definition of what a libertarian is, is different from yours. Accept it and move on.

Another truth is that I love all my Libertarian candidates and consider anyone who wants more Liberty rather than less to be my friend and ally. Unless of course they begin the relationship with a stupid bigoted hate filled screed like you did with me. Let's go back to that for a moment. Not only is making fun of someone's appearance as a first line of argument about the surest sign of being a hate-filled moron, but in this case it shows just how astoundingly hypocritical you are. That headshot was professionally made by my local newspaper, and that's what you chose to attack. I would think that if you truly beleived the LP should be presentable, you'd recognize the attempt.

This is really what it all boils down to. You thought I was attacking you personally, but nothing could be further from the truth. All I did was say that you looked like the guy from Office Space, nothing more. How you perceived that as being hate-filled is beyond me. That’s what immediately popped into my head when I went over to Libertyforall.net and saw your article/picture. I never said anything bad about your appearance, so stop making it out to be a personal attack. Honestly, as a new blogger, all I was doing was trying to be a little creative and entertain whatever readers might come this way.

You say about your friends, "they love the ideas, UNTIL you start mentioning the more radical positions the LP seems to support." Well, why the hell would you do that?? I tell people if you want more Liberty rather than less, then you belong in the Libertarian Party. If they discover a plank that gives them pause, I tell them it's not a litmus test issue and introduce them to someone already in the party who agrees with them. Apparently you're the only one who is trying to shove this down people's throats here.

I’m honest about all of what the Libertarian Party stands for and what its platform says, should someone ask me. Why wouldn’t I be? It should be clear why I want to root out what I see as the bad parts of the platform. I don’t believe in them, and I don’t feel I should have to defend them. You’re on the money when you say, “I tell people if you want more Liberty rather than less, then you belong in the Libertarian Party.” The definition of what it means to be a libertarian, and/or a member of the party, should be more broad and open as in your example. This is all I and others want to see…an inclusion of all lovers of liberty, and a less condescending tone taken when confronted with those who challenge existing libertarian dogma.

Actually, I cahnged my mind. Please don't play again. Just give up.

Sorry, no can do.

"50 ways to lose your freedom"...

2005-06-17T00:43:00.000-04:00

...is the title of a wonderful speech I came across via Catallarchy, given by Janice Rogers Brown in Aug. 2000.

Michael Bolton says LP platform is fine!

2005-06-13T23:14:00.000-04:00

…No, not the singer you're thinking of. Do you all recognize this guy? He sang along to these lyrics in the movie Office Space.

“I've got my pistol pon cock / Ready to lick shots non-stop / Until I see your monkey-ass drop / And let your homies know who done it / Cause when it comes to this gangsta shit you muthafuckas know who run it”

*...continues after rolling up his car window in fear of being spotted as a whigger*

“I've got this killer up inside of me / I can't talk to my mother, so I talk to my diary”

Well alright, to be honest it’s a picture of Sean Haugh, Executive Director of LPNC and apparently he thinks it’s kosher to imitate the infamous David Herman who played Michael Bolton in Office Space. He’s PO’ed at the idea of people wanting to alter the LP platform, as he clearly vents his frustration here and here, ummm…I mean here.

I’ll just quote a snippet:

“There's a lot of whining going on these days about how the Libertarian Party Platform is somehow holding back or hurting our candidates. This is utter hogwash. It is an excuse made by people who want some easier way to win elections other than actually earning the respect of the voters, or by eggheads who will never understand how to win one.” [my emphasis added]

An excuse…, for what again? No Michael, I mean Sean, it’s an observation. And nobody in this camp ever suggested that cleaning up the platform, which IS needed, is some silver bullet. That’s ONE of the things that needs to be done. The rest of your article talking about the need for hard work when campaigning under the LP banner, is obvious in and of itself. Here’s what else needs to be done, credited to the newly engaged Mr. Tim West. Also, the content on Carl Milsted’s site here is invaluable. Matt Welch from Reason chimed in a while back with this also, courtesy of Christopher Monnier. So you're right, there is hard work to be done. And I truly believe changing the platform is a part of that.

Red pill or Blue pill?

2005-06-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

I like to stir the pot every so often, so I decided to pretty much switch the discussion on the LP's latest blog post towards reforming the platform and pledge. My post to Libertarian TV, a proud Libertopian anarcho, is somewhere in this mess...

ME-pheous: Unfortunately, no one can be told what the LP should look like. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back Libertarian TV.

You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.

You take the red pill and you leave Libertopia and I show you how big the LP can become. (Long pause) Remember -- all I am offering is some god damn success, nothing more.

Take the red pill !!

Dr. Wayne Dyer to Politicians

2005-06-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

My fiancé is big into Wayne Dyer and sent me an article from his website today. It can be found here. I was pleasantly surprised. I was never really big into him myself, although I admire anyone who attempts to help people realize their true potential. FYI, he has a big following. Here’s part of what he had to say:

To Our Politicians From a Spiritual Working Stiff
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Frankly, I still have difficulty with the labels, conservative and liberal. Those who know me have never been able to pigeonhole me. I relate to Kierkegaard's observation: "Once you label me, you negate me." In truth, I am a working stiff.
I have worked all my life, paid my taxes, supported my family, and continue to "chop wood and carry water," while being totally perplexed by what I hear coming out of the mouths of our politicians. As a working stiff who has earned enough to be in that top 1 percent income bracket, here is what I would like you, the politicians, to hear as you go about the business of government. These are views shared by most of the people I speak to every day, in all income brackets.
YOU ARE NOT OUR LEADERS. No one that I know goes to sleep at night saying, "My leaders are in Washington, D.C." I fume when you refer to yourselves as our leaders. You may pass laws while sitting in committees and having Rose Garden ceremonies, but the laws come after the real leadership has been implemented.
No politician was responsible for leading us in the struggle for civil rights. Rosa Parks was a leader. Those who marched and ignored the racist laws passed by lawmakers were the leaders of the civil rights movement.
Who were the leaders of the Renaissance? The office holders? The politicians? No! The leaders were those who brought the world a new consciousness through their writing, art, music, and through challenging the entrenched ideologies of the office holders. These were the leaders.
When I hear you refer to yourselves as our leaders, I am always amused by such arrogance. We go to work and send up to 50 percent of our earnings to you. You use our earnings to make yourselves more privileged than we are, with unlimited medical care, overly generous retirement guarantees, and perks galore! All that you really do is write the rules using our funds to do so. This might be hard to accept, but try it on for size. We are not sheep who need to be led. We need servants who care. We are perfectly capable of leading ourselves; in fact, we do it every day.
YOU DO NOT CREATE JOBS. I have written 20 books, produced hundred of tapes, and given several thousand lectures over the past 25 years. When I sit down and create a book, I send it to an editor who I pay to edit the manuscript. The way I see it, I just created a job. My editor receives payment, sends in her taxes, and now two are working. The editing process involves a computer. A third job is created. The publisher copy-edits the manuscript, and a fourth job is created. This process continues through many levels, with job after job being created all because I decided to write a book. The printers, inspectors, typesetters, delivery people, booksellers, accountants, stock boys, and cashiers all have jobs that were created because working stiffs have the ingenuity, gumption, and desire to create and produce.
The woman who loves flowers and decides to open a floral shop creates jobs. Without her desire and sweat, we wouldn't need floral coolers, delivery trucks, or growers. Nor would we need people to grow food to feed those workers or design garments to clothe them. The money you use to fund job-producing legislation originates from those who produce. It is really quite simple. Politicians do not create jobs.
As I see it, through the eyes of a working stiff, politicians can pass laws that will ultimately determine whether anyone finds being productive worth the effort any longer. If you decide to punish me with tax rules, over-regulate me, or constantly make my life miserable with forms, rules, and regulations, I may decide that writing another book is no longer worth the effort. If I decide that, and you multiply me by the millions of us who produce wealth and jobs, you will see that you do not produce jobs or wealth with our policies.
You print money. You regulate. You pass laws. But we produce jobs. We create wealth by working and producing, not by sitting in committees and talking up our self-importance.

Wonderfully scathing...and this is only the first portion of the article. Make sure to read the rest of it, it's THAT good. I know he mentioned he doesn't like labels, but he sure sounds like a libertarian to me.

Libertarian government employee: Hypocrisy?

2005-06-09T21:11:00.000-04:00

I recently landed a job doing Network/Desktop support for my local, county government. I was fairly confident going into the interview that my previous work experience would put me at the top of the list for serious consideration. After the interview was over, I was excited, nervous, and a little perplexed. Perplexed because I found myself needing to contemplate what this meant to me (if anything) when compared to my libertarian beliefs.

Was I being hypocritical for considering a position in government, even if that position was one of a low level techie? Clearly I wasn’t, but the mere history of what this party has been about has subjugated it to where it should be today by suppressing any reasonable voices that didn't toe the party line. Objectivity still must be used even with a guiding set of principles.

Good government comes about primarily through the local level. The LP needs to establish a more meaningful and broader definition of libertarianism that is palatable to the voters, and can do so without compromising its principles. It should be a proponent of good, small local governments VS. a strong federal, centralized & distant government. It should emphasize its strong support for state's rights and the value that comes along with being a pluralistic society (each state being able to experiment). It should simply distinguish itself from the D's and R's by what most matters, i.e. - that we are both socially liberal AND fiscally responsible. When you begin to show a complete disdain for ALL matters of government, then I think you really need to re-consider politics as a hobby. There is no libertopia, and there will never be one.

Getting back to my job...within my own group, I have to say that everyone is conscious that the taxpayers pay their salaries. The use of county vehicles, business phones, etc. are closely monitored for abuse, and overall the IT department is pretty much locked down. On the other hand, I have also had some conversations with my co-workers about some of the counties blatant inefficiencies and misuse of its funds. Of course, this is why we need LP'ers involved at the local level!

Procrastination is over…

2005-06-06T23:22:00.000-04:00

…the indefinite vacation I was on now has a clear ending, and I finally decided it was time to either put up or shut up. I’ve wanted to start my own blog for the longest, and have settled in the past for commenting on other’s libertarian-politico blogs. The liberty movement needs strength in numbers, and I’ll gladly try to contribute what little I can to the libertarian blogging community.

Just a quick note on the blog name before I begin posting. Credit goes to my friend Vince in NJ who used to say that every so often when someone, or something, irked the hell out of him. So yeah, I’m ripping it from him. I can’t think of a better word to describe our intrusive and bloated federal government, and the politicians that give it life, ...than you got it boys and girls, Ridonkulous!