http://storeyinstitute.blogspot.com/2011/02/10-commandments-for-libertar...

I think Commandment #9 is particularly pertinent

So, when this cold snap hit, El Paso was prolly the least prepared for it. We are the Sun City for a reason.

Anyway, the public schools have been closed since, I think, Tuesday. Last week it was to coserve power, now it will be closed again tomorrow to conserve water.

http://www.kvia.com/news/26762982/detail.html

The city government of El Paso has put the city under a "water emergency" and are only allowing us to use the water for drinking. If you read the article, it says we can't even shower.

Isn't it a little personal that the Mayor of El Paso can decide that I can't take a shower? Next they are gonna tell me I have to be vaccinated!

...oh wait.

I've come across people(professors, lecturers, etc) who have a solution to a certain problem that paralells a voluntary solution.

Take for example, Sir Ken Robinson.  He is a creativity expert and has given several lectures on creativity.  His most famous one was at a TED conference a few years back on how schooling destroys creativity in children.  Its quite a good lecture and is definately worth listening to.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

I've started using a new social networking site, which allows users to be able to control the content that they create through secure servers and other niceties.

It's been way easier to use than Google Wave was.

The site is in ALPHA testing mode, so it may be a bit buggy.  If you want to try it out, I have 9 invites left.  Inititially, I was given 5, but received 10 more which I am eager to give to people that have objections to FB privacy policies and FB licensing practices regarding content provided by users.

If you want an invite, please send me an e-mail to FURBjr@gmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYXVD7uBU2s

I've always said there's much libertarians & progressives in fact agree about

Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/1/940197/-Ayn-Rands-secret-socialis...

Turns out the author of Objectivism took social security payments under a different name.

Interesting article. Conspirators, what say you?

Do you believe that with in your lifetime you’ll live in a fully voluntary society absent any government & how do you think such a society will come into being?

Recently we have all witnessed the masses in Tunisia & Egypt rise up against their rulers & I’m sure there are plenty of libertarians who’ll think this a good thing & though I can understand why many would think it’s a good thing what do people think these uprisings will result in?

A few years ago I remember a libertarian friend of mine getting very excited about the overthrow of a regime in a former Soviet satellite in central Asia, this was until I pointed out to them that the uprising had been whipped up by members of these previous regime.

http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/13/five-reasons-why-libertarians

Love to hear Gard critique this

I've started reading Insanity: The Idea and its Consequences, a book by Thomas Szasz on so-called mental illness.  So far I've been thoroughly enjoyed it (even if its a bit repetitive) and I find the subject incredibly relevant to liberty, yet underdiscussed.

For all who enjoyed Gard's very interesting episode from January 14, 2011, I came across a piece that I think is an interesting follow-up.  It's a piece in Harper's magazine by Kathy Dobie entitled, "Tiny little laws: A plague of sexual violence in Indian country" (http://harpers.org/archive/2011/02/0083300).  Two points stood out to me in that article:

- how the tribes are significantly deprived from enforcing their own order by the Federales; and,

- how this has likely assisted with the destruction of family and community sentiments.

In addition, I definitely wonder whether the past history of boarding schools and general subjugation of the native Americans probably injected this type of behavior within the community?

Peace

I've been listening to Glenn Beck's radio show off and on for a few years.  I've been watching him gradually sliding ever farther down the philisophical slope toward truth.  He's been very good at batting at the branches of the tree of evil.  Pointing out this villian and that.  He's also been chopping at the major branches, for instance seeing the error of WWI leading to WWII etc.   Now he's even hacking at the trunk, talking about restoring focus to the individual, using livestock analogys to discuss rule, saying man can rule himself, and talking about the barriers to freedom being within our own mind.  Today after a year of telling everyone about God, he even said not to let any man tell you anything about God that God does not tell you himself.

I talked to our webmaster, Seth, last night. He says he's planning on making upgrades to the site this weekend. Hopefully this should fix any issues you are having.

"I'd like to upgrade things, which will not only solve some problems but also fix potential security holes."

So hang in there. Hpopefully by Monday all will be well.

The argument "The government shouldn't be involved in X, but since it is..." comes up a lot.  What is the proper libertarian response to such questions.  Ideally, we want to get the State out of as many things as possible but how do we approach issues where in the meantime, government isn't going to get out.  For example, the marriage issue.  A case could be made both ways:  the gov't shouldn't extend marriage or the gov't should treat people equally.  Or immigration.  The government owns property.  Should immigrants have unimpeded access to the property in order to get into the U.S. ?  It seems like a potential can of worms.

Thoughts?

That demagogue (Mencken defined a demagogue as "one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.") Thom Hartmann is at it again.  In a nutshell, he is proposing that the right to keep and bear arms should be curtailed because some stats have shown an increase in violence in right to carry states. 

This lead to my question.  What if liberty resulted in less prosperity and more violence?  We know it won't but what if it did?  I would still support liberty.

Hopefully I'm not retreading over old territory, but I'd like to know if anybody else on here spends time trying to reach others with the ideas of complete liberty in one on one discussions.  I think it would be constructive to have a thread for comparing notes about what types of responses and reactions you get, what works for reaching people, and what to avoid.  I chaired a tea party group for a year and gave it up as I came to more enlightenment.  I simply was unable to restrain my clashes of opinion to act as a leader for people I don't agree with.  I stayed with the group to try to work within it to see if I could reach people.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/opinion/14krugman.html?_r=2&hp

This guy understands morality about as well as I understand algebra.

In Spain we have a new law about tobacco prohibition -socialist law-. It is forbidden to smoke in any bar, pub. How is this issue in USA, or other countries?

For me it is a radical and hardcore prohibition.

Regards

Over at Sheldon Richman's blog, he has reposted a nice intro/summary of Thomas Szasz's position on "mental illness".  In light of the recent shooting in AZ, it is very timely.