Eric Sundwall.com

A Well Regulated Citizenry

2008-06-27T12:45:05Z

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The problem with the Constitution is that a priesthood took it over about two hundred years ago. That order comes in two flavors, red & blue. While many on both sides of the 'guns' issue will have a field day of discontent and celebration, any cause for such has long been lost in a ghastly display of reason based on hierarchy and plain old power.

Seems to me that the average folk throughout the ages can easily interpret the second amendment as simply " Well, we had to take up arms against Britain, you never know. So let's not abridge the right to do so." That's now called 'originalism' (though its doubtful that any current justice in that camp would deign to come down to such prosaic and simple language or justification, they still have to hang out together), and while its often rendered quaint by the devious and cunning brutes who feel their relationship to power entitles them to decree, it has become the last weak stand by those who counter the blue players on the board near check mate time.

]]> The scary part of all this was the idea that gun ownership wasn't an individual right all along. While it wasn't often ruled on, the forces of regulation, control and what some might consider victim disarmament, were willing to try this tact in order to make an end run on the originalists.

To be sure, the regulators are classic control freaks who would monitor every aspect of the collective in order to assure the possibility of the odd middle class, of the road and the political spectrum, some sort of milquetoast happiness of security based on SAT scores and home square footage. But the reality is that Americans like their guns and don't want them taken away by the robed eggheads that constitute this modern priesthood.

That priesthood left plenty of totalitarian wiggle room too. Rather than affirm the general principle, "being necessary to the security of a free State", they ran hard away from opening up Pandora's box of gun deregulation and suits. Yep, it will all stay nice and comfortable. A couple times a decade they'll lift their robes to feed the 'rights' urchins their tasty morsels of wisdom.

'Good' citizens, not criminals or the mentally ill, will have ample opportunity to fill out paperwork, get background checked, register their firearms and take mandated courses of gun ownership from a group that exists as a powerful lobby in Washington. In my county I have to take the NRA course in order to own a gun. I object to this because their affiliate in NY won't even consider 'rating', let alone endorsing, Libertarian Party candidates.

Even though this decision was an affirmation of some ultimate principle (albeit temporarily if the red ever controls an appointment or two), it's still at the altar of those who would pray to an old document in front of the people and meanwhile back at the Vatican they decide all the popes, cardinals, bishopric(k)s, and priests. Just for a minute try to envision a court with justices from the Green or Libertarian Party. I'm sure their Constitution would look vastly different.

Dear David Axelrod

2008-06-25T13:02:47Z

Your candidate sucks. Know this as you prepare your guy for the fight in the fall. He just flipped on FISA & matching funds. Things he pledged not to do. Who hired Samantha Power and James Johnson ? I have have to say as an atheist, it was hard to get worked up about the Reverend Wright. But I do get worked up about ballot access and candidate debates. Both of which your guy fails miserably about. Now I hear he's going to help bail out multi-millionaire Hillary Clinton and her campaign debt, go figure.

I suppose touchy feely crap is the stuff of modern political candidacies, but I'm still waiting for substance. I know the average Ivy League graduate in the MSM thinks those memoirs and books we're the right stuff, but I'm unswayed. But is he the darling that the disgruntled right would have us believe ? As far as I'm concerned the dude can't even bowl, so Harvard degrees in law are meaningless. There simply is no evidence that he understands economics or anything beyond the typical pandering of a main party politician. My vote for President of the United States has always been 'wasted', as a denizen of New York, there's no doubt that my fellow collectivist citizens and their deep desire to hope and have change will carry the day for Obama. This is just a quick protest note to goad your idealism a bit.

All That Noise

2008-06-11T20:18:36Z

I can never understand why my fellow citizens run to their elected officials in order to enforce common sense and decency.

This last Monday I mentioned to my wife after going swimming with the kids, that I should go down to the Town meeting and see what my fellow citizens have in store for me. I regret not going now after copping out about heat, time and other previous wasted efforts of energy that is government and its muted participation. It seems like governmentis has creeped in the form of a 'noise' ordinance however and July 14th is on my calendar now.

]]> Apparently there are those who seek to imprison me if I "would annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, and repose of a reasonable person of normal sensibilities". Notwithstanding the enforcement nightmare that would ensue and all the other externalities that would accrue from such busy body legislation, I wonder why people of reasonable and normal sensibilities would seek to bring the monopoly of force (that is, what government is) into my life if I get a little rowdy on Saturday morning.

I would hope that my neighbor would personally petition me, rather than sick the grudging and ultimately brutal mandate of law enforcement officials on me. Quite frankly these people scare me more than kids having a good time over summer vacation. The even deeper implication is the 'white trash' factor that so many elites and effetes bring into play.

Should this law pass, I would take immediate civil disobedience action and stay up past midnight just to make noise and tempt arrest. In fact I might even implore a good neighbor to call the police right away so my point could be made with minimal disruption to my other neighbors.

People rarely consider the invisible gun in the room when they haul off and make these decisions for the public good. I personally always ask others invested and consumed by governmentis to release their inner thug. Get over it. Visit your neighbor instead of seeking to imprison them for a little ruckus here and there.

Hillary's Hurrah

2008-06-08T14:31:03Z

Well it looks like Hillary has come home. At least to the extent that she carpet bagged into my own home and decided she could represent me in Washington. As there seems no limit to the capacity that New Yorkers will allow the Democratic Party to walk all over them (witness Hevesi and Spitzer), it is fun to reflect on the last two years. The naked and raw ambition of the Clintons has never been a question for little 'ol me who had to endure the embarrassment of the listening tour in 2000.

Even though I know they exist, I never found the ardent Hillary supporter willing to discuss the ideas or issues that she presumably represented for us. Rather it was always how horrible the Republicans were or some other equally vague bromide or premonition. So let's take a quick look at the highlights of the POTUS chase for our favorite daughter from, Illinois, Arkansas and DC.

]]> Certainly the jaw dropping insensibility that Joe Trippi displayed when he was paired up with the pugnacious Mark Penn, at the outset or closing of one of the contests during one of the yapper show reviews. " He said cocaine again !" Trippi howled as Penn blathered on about something as he launched the smear tactic on Obama again. Surely this is and was the epitome of slime ball politics.

The great turn of course came in Philadelphia as Hillary empathized with Eliot Spitzer and his plan to implement the very unpopular idea of licenses for 'illegal' immigrants. If ever two blind spots in common American political sense ever were present, this was it. Never mind that Clinton didn't necessarily agree with it or that Eliot stole down to DC to cut some weird deal with Homeland security (amongst other activities, I'm sure . . . nudge nudge wink wink) this was the turning point for Hil.

The whole scene in NH didn't seem so choked up and sincere to me. Of course by then, I was trying to convince the ardent Paulites that twelve percent was going to be the absolute ceiling there and any attention given to my wayward Senator was cursory anyway. Ah . . but remember Chris Matthews that past Fall ? Nothing could stop her and McCain was doomed. HA !

For me, the whole theater of the absurd mixes all together now. Was it South Carolina or North Carolina where Bill was going off the deep end and Hillary was affecting a weird African American accent at a church ? How far after that was all the sniper talk in Bosnia ? I do remember the debates where Mike Gravel came out from under his rock and barked at Hillary and Obama in a refreshing cascade of fury and literal amazement at these two. I was following the 'Rock' commercials far more than any gushing about the holiday gifts, 'universal' Pre-K.

Ah . . but remember the madman who stormed into one of the campaign HQ's and Hillary's commanding response and awareness ? How presidential, indeed. So caring and empathetic and everything was alright, thank the Intelligent Designer . . .

The pundits are to blame really. As they gush and fawn over Obama now, they surely would turned the other spicket if Hillary had got the nod. Do Wolf Blitzer or Chris Matthews ever tire of their broadcast hagiography ? Do they eat breakfast wondering whether Hillary and Bill will retake the White House for another eight glorious years of vapid and banal coverage ? Why do they cast one supposed demographic after another against each other ? Does the either/or aspect of the system drain them of all humanity and true understanding ? Who knows. But it will surely continue.

In the end, about 35 million people went to the Democratic polls and cast votes for what they hoped would be the first women or black man (half anyway) to take the White House. Hillary was supposed to just march in with the machine taking care of it. But at least half of that number desire 'change' no matter how vague or similar to the old reality it will herald. In a country of 300 million, just over 10 percent of that determine on e party's nominee. Of the 200 million eligible to vote, only about half do. Of that half, almost forty percent consider themselves independent of the two dominant parties.

Yet, it is still all about party apparatus, aparatiks and the hordes who show up to rallies on national cameras who think that Universal Health Care or pre-emptive wars are just and fair. Over 6 billion souls will be effected by curious blend of intellectually lazy, spiritually bizarre, civilly challenged and overly Disney-like hopeful beings that put someone in control of nuclear buttons, false monetary systems and the cold monopolistic logic of the force of the state. Now the Hillary haters and organizations can rest easy. Obama will have the same policies and do his shuck and jive as Andrew Cuomo says.

Now the coronation and false fights begin. Few will watch the boring national conventions that the networks will grudgingly display. The little circles of power elites and petty brokers of mayhem will profit and continue on as if nothing has changed, and nothing will. As Hillary expounds about the cracked ceiling, the cranky, disgusted few will continue in our side shows of display and discontent. But it will be of little value or concern as the temporary band-aids and fixes are applied. Perhaps as aging boomers consider humanities fate, they will turn embittered, enraged or bizarre like old Bill Clinton. But if history is any judge, some sort of revolution or paradigm breaking sequence will occur. the question of course, will be at what expense to all and one ?

The Sartwell Sermons

2008-06-08T12:56:00Z

While some in the minarchy camp are deriding the effort of Crispin Sartwell and his challenge to statists everywhere, I'm rather enjoying these YouTube spots. It's kind of like bite size packages of anarchy in University quality lectures, without having to get a parking permit. While we may be no closer to the pure Pennsylvania ticket (especially now that Kent has moved away) the challenge of the state as legitimate continues. Perhaps political posturing and pandering aren't the way as technology opens these new paths. But I do wonder what would have happened to Thoreau's soul had the Internet been available 150 years ago . . .

The Real Sleaze Factor

2008-06-03T19:28:21Z

Despite all the ruminations about the LP and it's odd place in the Universe, one has to wonder if voters ever read articles about the sleazy activities of Democrats and Republicans and even care. I suspect that they do not.

But if they did and wanted to do anything about it on a meaningful level, could they ? After all, the either/or aspect of the process offers few choices in most races. As much as we may gripe or complain about third party choices/efforts for President, there are little to none in terms of choices in most Congressional and local races. While the smug anarchist may find delicious humor or satisfaction in this fate, the average person is left wanting. Not so much in terms of their own immediate benefit, but more in terms of meaning and hope. After all, hope and meaning are what the big players ply their craft in. Yet when it comes down to it, the background noise and real happenings are disgusting examples of cronyism and the pathetic need for attention amongst their fellow parasites as the rest suffer. Even the good anarchists couldn't avoid this if their intentions were noble and hearts pure and power to absolve the state absolute. Sleaze begets sleaze.

]]> Individualists will always be okay in some greater sense of things as the calamities of collectivism rein down. Thus any effort to mobilize and organize them against the 'horde of expectation' will fall on deaf ears and seem like empty promises or callous threats to an otherwise stable sensibility.

Perhaps only outright failure of these said systems will undo the complacency which is contained in the heart of any average person with enough to eat and a roof over their head. Surely we cannot blame them, however. When I speak to the average person, they're rarely happy about their political choices and somehow reconcile themselves between choosing between them anyway. Those who are happy tend to be very vested in the current system and absolutely horrified at the prospect of any meaningful change. After all, who will build the roads and protect them ?

The problem is, that once the breakdown or collapse starts, the rarefied individualist who might be able to take on these problems now (take the simple stuff like eliminating Social Security . . . ) , probably won't be willing to step in and claim any answers or produce positive results during the meltdown. Rather, their greater personal instincts and individual abilities will probably allow them to maintain or survive in spite of a drastic paradigm of change. After all, they have been decrying the abuse, fraud and waste for years. Why should they suddenly step up during the chaos and subsequently take the blame for everything that has come before them ? Unfortunately, perhaps only greater authoritarian measures will be accepted as solutions and greater abuse and no expectations will still rule the day.

Get Off of My Windmill !

2008-06-03T13:54:48Z

The irascible Francois Tremblay has issued an open letter to the Libertarians over on his site. I, of course, couldn't resist a response. While so many have sought to interpret and agonize over the recent results of the Libertarian National Convention, it does seem like all sides pile on without undergoing any of the pain or agony of the actual process that those of us on the inside the party feel when we look at the greater evils of the world.

Think tanks, pundits, theoreticians and general anonymous blog critics all have these great ideas and attitudes. But if they aren't implemented (or even attempted) in a certain way or done with the right intent, they tend to fall into the trap of blaming the political process which creates so many of these problems. Granted the LP is a small batch brewery in a world of Budweisers and Miller Lite, but why attack the people who at least try ? In my estimation the puerile responses seem quite immature and achieve no sense of unity that this obvious parody seems to imply.

]]> Dear FT,

Thank you for the encouragement of the Libertarian Party in the political process, your insight on the futility of such engagement is something that insiders have fought about for years and will most likely continue to do so for years to come.

Given the state of ballot access, media coverage, our own campaign's financial woes and a lack of candidates, it's hard to imagine a more disengaged political scenario already. At play in the fields of tyranny indeed.

I've never been convinced of the arguments against political action based on past success (failures in this case) or the idea that continuing to do so year after year somehow is analogous to some sort of platitude developed and espoused by the fellow who brought us Relativity.

Without going into a palaver about the historic role of third parties in the context of the American system, I would suggest that ours is not a project based on false hope or unsuitable ambition. We often suit up for battle and charge windmills with full knowledge that our failure is imminent. Consider the party as Senor Quixote's steed Rocinante and the riders the few who are capable of such risk within the brutal arena of electoral expectation.

While I applaud the efforts of market anarchist theorists as yourself (I'm a proud contributor to a least two Market Carnival efforts recently), I often wonder the fear and loathing of your own for those of us whom seek this curious talisman of discourse. Certainly it is of our own choosing, expense and will. Short of not extending proper principle and perspective, I cannot see what harm it does to the leisure of the theory class. Even Mr. Block recognizes, in a recent LRC posting, that the value it extends throughout the entire libertarian franchise is something that even Hayek acknowledged in the course of the decade upon decade of struggle that this effort must surely accept and undertake.

Ron Paul has certainly been a boon to all those whom have never been exposed to the likes of Mises, the horrid reality of the Federal Reserve and numerous other ideas and principles that have been the life bread of this particular pop of the movement. While many bought into the hype of the ethereal world of the POTUS quest, I would suggest even RP himself knew of the probabilities of the latter's pursuit and is still likewise pleased that his recent book effort has been so well received by many who undertook the journey.

While there are many within the LP itself who believe that electoral success needs to come with some expense to principle and theory, I can assure you that many of us continue to labor in the putrid piles on political pavements with no such lyrical yearning or misguided expectation. Ours is a visceral hatred for the evil which you so rightly identify and revile. Ours is a practical struggle for attention and acceptance in a world that cannot recognize us as serious, when a simple electoral device like single plurality districts continue to haunt us through the misgivings of one founder (Madison), who believed that factions were in fact that evil. Yet we rise as the noble locals (like Madison envisaged) who oppose those two dominant factions, who indeed rose from that design.

Thus we are consigned to such an absurd existence like Sisyphus knew through Camus. Yet we cannot accept the mush and tides of pluralism as they make intellectual hay and that become the hope of scrambled eggheads who refuse to confront power to it's face and speak truth to it. Perhaps we will always fail and turn back down the hill accepting that absurdity, but we do not conclude that any alliance however beautiful or secured will be the source of anything so pathetic as the real hope of success.

Sincerely,

Eric Sundwall
Chair
Libertarian Party of New York

Why We Matters . . .

2008-05-22T19:22:53Z

Bruce Barlett has rendered another piece about the relevancy of the LP. This time it's not about whether the LP should exist, but whether it matters. I think the time before was about how we could matter. Bruce can be confused at times.

In that most of my fellow libertarians are making their way to Denver, I'll get back with Bruce a bit and explain why we matter. He says this time;

" The fact that such well-known, former establishment figures would seek a fringe party's presidential nomination demonstrates to many libertarians that their party has come of age. It's also created fear in Republican ranks that a viable LP candidate could throw a close election to the Democrats. "

Fringe ? . . . . Twinge.

Viva la resistance !

]]> Poor Bruce. I bet he really does have a sense or belief that life could be better if we just had less government. The fact that he's never realized this is Utopian thought and has cozied up to establishment figures who just propagate more empire and blunder is telling of his mindset. Of course, he's the practical type and two parties are the only reality, so . . . .

. . . we better accuse Libertarians of seeking to addict the populance with drugs, and allying with those dirty Dems about the war and the ACLU (who by the way defends NAMBLA). Yep, Stan Jones took all those NAFTA haters, collodial silver nuts and conspiracy theorists from the Republicans and gave it to John Tester.

And the GOP keeps losing people. How many more no shows does it take before voting off the reservation is acceptable in polite wine and cheese circles ? The good news is that the Bush haters and McCain naysayers will show up and offset the coming self-induced pain by voting in Congress Critters . . . um.

" Although this may turn out to be a banner year for the Libertarian Party, the LP is not a real alternative to the Republicans and Democrats. Because of the Electoral College, restrictions on ballot access and onerous campaign finance laws, third parties simply aren't viable for actually electing candidates. "

I agree. How can we change that ?

Here's the deal Bruce. I don't want to be associated with the Red or Blue. I believe that the welfare/warfare compromise between these two gangs has almost ruined the country. My kids will know nothing but contempt for the system and it's players. My hope is that their kids and those that follow again will resist, and so on and so on. But there is hope and it doesn't dwell in the heart of you status quo types.

I don't want to wade in the murky waters of pluralism or start an assignment to the Ministry of Popular Resistance, picking and choosing little battles inside the corridors of power. I want full fledged protest and dissent until these folks ears bleed. I want a rag tag group of activists and really smart people who fly in the face of fashion and tell it like it is. It's why we slog for signatures, suffer bureaucratic machinations and hate lawyers. We may not get the money or popular support, but we'll continue to be there and try. Sorta like when Cool Hand Luke keeps trying after everyone in the yard just looks on. I don't care if people are afraid to vote beyond the lesser of two evils and I want the reality of single plurality districts emblazoned in the seed of every little consciousness at every middle school in America, like the war on drugs is constantly in Kindergarten and beyond now. That's a bit statist, but you know what I mean.

The Conservative movement is toast Mr. Bartlett. The next eight years of Socialism is your fault, not ours. The Bill Kristols and Karl Roves of the world have insured that the nightmare of the 21st Century will be faceless Muslims half way across the world with no real capacity beyond inciting our own fears through our own frail sensibilities.

As a parting reminder to the smug power holders and realistic beings that enslave the rest of us, remember that the Libertarian Party has;

1. Never sent a kid off to war in 'our' name.

2. Never imposed a tax.

3. Never imprisoned anyone unjustly.

None of this is our fault. Give it up bub.

BTW . . . . Don't be surprised if Barr and Gravel aren't selected as the POTUS candidate.

Quacas

2008-05-20T20:50:02Z

In house only post here folks, move along non Party folk . . . .

Several years ago I used to play over thirty hardball (I'm still pictured here as a Cardinal, back row second from right). Not softball mind you, there is a difference. The team had a mixture of aging athletes, jocular types and some average guys who enjoyed the game. But every once and a while you could tell when the young idiot jock was still inhabiting an old man's body. He became irate when a teammate screwed up. He was short with the otherwise duly embarrassed second baseman or outfielder whose own aging body just failed them as they remembered how much easier it was 20 years ago.

In a hurl of defiance and rage he would justify his obnoxious behavior as being a result of being 'competitive'. Maybe I remember the fact that I didn't make the team in high school because I had refused to cut my hair on demand. Even though I started as a 14 year old the summer before on the local all-star team with most of the guys on their way to Varsity, I didn't make the junior varsity team that fateful Monday because I didn't show up like a 'Yankee' on Friday. So I bark back occasionally too when I'm feeling the injustice twinge. In this case it was dressing down the pudgy idiot scraping his glory days off the back of a few guys who just wanna play ball on the weekend.

" You're not competitive, you're emotional " I responded one time . . . He hated that, but it was true.

The recent foray of the Reform Caucus in the LP is playing up a series of ads designed to rally the 'reform' troops in Denver this weekend. I truly hope it backfires on them, because I'm tired of playing with such kids in grownup situations.

Brian Holtz you're emotional at heart. Use for good if you can, perhaps as metered passion, but not petty bickering.

]]> I haven't been around the Libertarian Party long enough to see all the blood letting and curling cries of indecency that plague every third party far and wide. In fact my previous experience was with pretty like minded people who often agreed to disagree and eventually just became aparatchicks for Papa Pataki up in Albany. When I started to go up to Albany and participate in my local Libertarian chapter it was a pleasant experience. No one sought to eject me or didn't impose a litmus test. When I suggested a Congressional run, it was met with muted concern more than any ideological rampage. I still keep getting new jobs since I started just showing up.

As I became more aware of national goings on as a member of the LNC these last two years, it has become apparent that there is a divide on some level. I truly believe it is not as divisive and horrible as people like Brian Holtz make it out to be. In many ways the reformers behave in a manner they often accuse the old school of doing. Constantly obsessing over roads, the role of police and other such nonsense that the real world doesn't care one iota about. There are plenty of 'Radicals' (and I dislike that term) like myself who recognize that purity isn't the only dog in the race. Coalitions and compromises are what real world politics is about.

Despite my own personal holdings of anarchy as a better philosophy or way of life, I live in New York ! We chat people up and laugh around the edges. People come and go and what you do today may never matter. Family, friends and associates are rarely convinced that the elimination of government is possible or desirable. But every once and while you can remind someone of their Heinlein roots or Friedman sympathies. It's all good. Any candidate who runs on more than three issues is a tin foil hat type who thinks that their own personal influence in the matters of legislation or an executive position (if somehow miraculously elected) will somehow gloriously transform life or government, is surely delusional.

The Libertarian Party is a demonstrable product with a niche understanding. It exists quite well in the shadow of power that the two party system demands and weaves into pop culture, ideology and media coverage and understanding. While I'm perfectly willing to concede that candidates in Indiana might suffer if it is perceived that Libertarians favor legalizing heroin or crack, it is often the logic of absolute liberty that people find so intriguing when the ask " But Who Will Build the Roads ? " As every libertarian must, they often have to go into extended explanations about theory or some civics caveat or crunch when what they are really trying to say is " End the War on Everything Stupid ".

While I might not be as doted over as King Knapp or Galloping Gordo, here is what I propose as my little plan for Liberty in the Party. Let's acknowledge the howlers and the moaners on either side of this supposed divide. Let's partake in politics as a rational means to meaningful protest. An occasional win would be nice, but come on be real for the Intelligent Designer's sake . . . Let's understand that everyone comes from a different perspective and experience and that if we enter the room to fight the outside forces, Republicans and Democrats (not statists or anarchists), let us fight them, not ourselves.

In my estimation Mr. Holtz committed the unforgivable sin of suggesting liberation of other peoples through state means. I won't bother to find the evidence, but I'm pretty sure he has admitted it and will certainly come 'referencing in', if my blog is on his radar, let alone an aggregator. Not only does this imply a certain pang of emotional patriotism if you will, a la the Greatest Generation, it suggests a serious lack of understanding in traditional foreign relations theory. It's all about realism folks. Yeah, I know the conception of the 'state' is the ultimate problem. But it is the world we live in.

Attempting to re-write the history of the movement, it's ideas and the people who made them is ludicrous. We need to embrace that culture and attitude. Let it play out as it will in the polity. It's working. Big time players are coming to us and asking us for help and support. We may not support them, but it's happening. The quality Ron Paul people aren't afraid of the criticizing the Federal Reserve as some in the Reform the LP movement are.

Tweaking around and arguing about platforms is bush league stuff in real politics. Sure it makes the membership happy and common bonds help. Ripping off old commercials or silly movies is intellectually and creatively lame, even if it is legal.

I'm generally sympathetic to all those folks who spend their lives in cubicles. No matter how smart or gifted they are, they made a choice to be part of a Matrix like Office. I've worked in and around them since my days as a Uni-'Sissy' in the mid to late eighties. It's not an easy life being fussy for code's sake. It's my hope that those who do get involved with the LP don't mill around the homestead issues or don't tire until their way to win the West is done. We don't need emotional cripples on this little pirate ship. There is still time to save yourself Brian. I did when I bailed on the whole PlatCom sequence.

As far as 'the One' is concerned, isn't there a better use of political time than cheap ripoffs of bad ideas anyway ? Who cares ? Start a show, talk to real people, maybe even people from other third parties, expand online social networks, raise money, secure better or more ballot access. My time in the party isn't spent on ideological litmus tests or ornate argumentation. Instead of picking on someone like Angela Keaton about not having a mini-van or a lawn to mow, go after the real interlopers and bad guys out there. Release your inner thug Brian, don't fantasize about mythical beings and hordes of bullet casings cascading around you has you fight your own White Whale.
I have mini-van and lawn btw and would invite Mr. Holtz to a debate on either Hardfire in Brooklyn or Capital Outsider in Schenectady. Any where any time challenges come to mind.

Hardly anybody listened to poor Steve Kubby's show last night and they brought up a lot of relevant interesting stuff. Have we as a group and party lost our way so much that our complete focus is simply tweaking some electoral chords on the un-hope-able harp?

Let's demand quality without the emotionalism. And if you do have to use it, save for calculated debate or media moments. Voters think that is cool.

All the cool kids gather around, next time you hear all this flak getting kicked up and tossed around in person or online, cough 'quacas'. See who looks up in acknowledgment and know that they 'get it'. Trundling around worrying about the sky falling is no fun for anyone. Perhaps you can just mumble it and indiscreetly start to back off from the offending whiner or moaner. But know that whether it is 'radical' or 'reformer' it makes no difference.

Join the Quacas. We need a Quality Caucas in the LP. The current LNC has a lot of quality people on it, whom I've come to respect and call friends. Let's keep moving folks.

I dished out a hundred an eighty bucks one season to go play baseball on the weekends. The final straw was a game when I was at bat and a new guy got picked off at second. The manager came running down the line demanding to know why I stayed in the batter's box while he was giving signals (which everybody thought were archaic anyway). Rather than argue or cry indignation as some do, I went about the rest of the game and quit altogether soon after. There were simply too many quality things to do in life then go out and get yelled at by adults on my own dime.

Quacas.

PostScript: This is an admitted hit piece on Brian Holtz. I have no intention of extending the radical/reformer meltdowns at every turn. It is a response to something that required a pre-convention answer. With any luck the rest of my summer will be spent in far more productive arenas.

GO TEAM !

59 Thousand Criminals in May

2008-05-18T13:01:30Z

Late one Friday afternoon last Fall my father and I jumped into his van to get my car down at the dealership. It was a fairly decent week as far as business goes and we were happily discussing the weekend's plans and not paying very much attention when the State Trooper SUV flew by us around the Elk's club. Of course when he wheeled around and stopped us for simply not having our seat belts on, he had our undivided attention. While my Dad may be getting too old for the fight, I snarled back at the cop that " I don't believe in the law " for the reason I wasn't wearing mine. While I usually just buckle out of habit anymore, occasionally I do get stopped for forgetting. This might be due to the exponential growth of the police state in the northern part of our sleepy little county, but I still can't forgive Papa Cuomo for this horrible law.

This upcoming week New York has once again decided to sweep its citizenry with the insidious demand that they protect themselves from the potential medical costs the state might incur if they were injured in an accident because they were not wearing a seatbelt. Last year there were over fifty nine thousand tickets during this time. If at least fifty thousand were successfully prosecuted at a hundred bucks a pop, that's a cool five million in local and state coffers. The jury's still out whether it saves any lives.

But there has never been any question that this law was one of worst rationalizations to continue the machinations of the nanny state and so many others that have followed. Is saving a single life from itself worth the cost of abandoning the principles of individual rights and self ownership ? While this is the crux of libertarian values, few recognize it as such any more. What we did to the cop that day is kind of funny.

]]> When indignant bureaucrats howl about the percentage of traffic fatalities caused by a lack of seatbelt compliance their solution is a crack down. We will make people be safe ! When the law was first introduced many people were against it and we were promised that enforcement would not be based on the seat belt violation per se. Almost twenty five years later they are constructing road blocks and dragnets for this very purpose.

I've been in car accidents with and without seat belts and it never seemed to have made a difference either way. The one request my wife made of me our wedding morning was to wear my seatbelt knowing that I typically didn't at that time. Sure enough I was stopped that very morning without one. It always amazes me when cops seem shocked when they receive the reason why I'm not wearing one. It's like they can't believe that people still exist who exert a right not to be coerced into something with which they disagree.

Putting aside the common law right of passage and the licensing of vehicles based on admiralty law, my argument any more is strictly civil disobedience. I just outright refuse to comply with an unjust law and I am perfectly willing to go to jail over it. Most people are simply aghast over the fact that I just won't be reasonable and simply wear a seat belt. They get rather contemptuous when the prospect of going to court could mean jail time.

This last time around I wasn't budging. I was prepared to not pay the fine and refuse any other court order and see where it went. To add to the juicy irony, the justice in question was the one who married us that same day I also refused to wear a seatbelt despite my bride's request. I even had Becky Akers from LRC ready to go with the story or results in the event that I became imprisoned. I met Becky last October at the 25th Anniversary of the Mises Institute last October. The cop never showed up that night, nor did we receive supporting depositions, here's why, I think.

After he pulled us over and demanded to know why we weren't in compliance, he had to go back and fill out his paperwork. My father and I started to muse about the affect of me just abandoning the vehicle for my car about 100 yards up the road at the dealership. While we chortled at the prospect, I also conceded the possibility that in this day and age I'd be tackled or man hunted into compliance. So we decided not to do that.

While I did have my wallet and license on me, I told the cop I didn't. Well it turns out that good faith identification to officers of the law is not sufficient anymore. He indicated that I had go back to his vehicle in order to have my picture taken in case I needed to be identified in the future. Cue the Orwell strings. Of course that was the break we were looking for. As I got back to his vehicle, my father simply started the car and left. The shocked officer started doing double takes and whipped around to ask me where he was going ! I calmly stood aside the car never even looking over to acknowledge the departure.

" Am I required to answer that ? " I deadpanned.

As he muttered no, shaking his head in amazement, he just proceeded to give me my ticket explaining what had to be done next. I too nodded and just took it knowing full well the hassle and idiocy on my time and money to follow.

When Archie asked me if I had received a supporting deposition from the officer at court that night I replied, " Your honor the people's officer has indeed failed in conducting their duty in this case."

A small victory indeed, but my hope is that all the victims in the court that day were aware of the power of the state and saw someone stand up to that power. While most are left without representation or hope in those small court settings, it would be nice to see more citizens actually fight something they believe in than be spared the indignity (by simply sending in their fine) of sitting before judgment that has no moral place or balance.

I must be starting to get a reputation because I haven't been convicted of anything locally in years.

The Mission Revisited

2008-05-07T18:51:48Z

As hardcore libertarians decry the recent controversy at LPHQ and shake their fists at this horrible and obvious capitulation to statism, one wonders how their ardent advocation of free markets and spirit can possibly have any effect in a world of real power. And while the ED who contributed to this flap is gone, the howling and the frustration is blamed on politics and the unworthy who would continue to participate in it. Yet the examination of why we continue and the nature of that fight must always be examined in context.

This past weekend I resisted the temptation to hit the Sunday morning political yap circuit in favor of some Netflix online. I came across one of my favorite flicks, The Mission. It is a story about the Jesuit Missions and the conflict between the Spanish and Portuguese colonial powers during the 1750s, near what is now Paraguay and Brazil. Starring Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons, it tells the story of the conflict between eternal love on Earth and the power of the state and church on the people who would promote that love here on earth. In many ways it parallels the hideous contradiction that Libertarian politics has become. At once, it is the unique assertion that a non-violent attitude and approach will always suffer in an arena rife with hypocrisy, hate and acknowledgment that a monopoly of force is the only way to achieve the 'good'. I'm pretty sure George S. and Chris Wallace & Matthews didn't go into quite this that morning.

]]> Unfortunately we as big L libertarians spend far too much time dabbling in POTUS politics. While we have a great track record of getting ballot access for that fight, our ultimate result is always disappointing. Why is it that so many are vested in the grand race ? Perhaps the Ron Paul effort is a good example of the power of one office and the capacity of one to associate with the possibility and hope, rather than the simple idea of courage of one's convictions, let alone a Congressional or local race. Most people acknowledge that little can be done on those levels by one person. Yet, we hold out the hope and the perhaps the folly that one person can do so if they possess the ring of power. Don't worry, Frodo and hobbit references will not follow.

What is this crazy notion that the promotion of non-violent association and cooperation can somehow trump the manipulation and taking of power that has defined the human condition since the primordial ooze changed to tribes ? Is it the Christian ideal of all powerful love and God ? Perhaps, but probably not. But it is a strikingly similar possibility which some who are willing to act within the electoral field (to be fair most, or all, just babble and snip about 'success' as if it some scent of marketing or adoption of attitude), for better or worse. Quite honestly, the fact that the system is so biased towards an either/or, winner takes all system may be an advantage for honest and open libertarians. Hopefully we can tell the truth about the relationship between the state and the individual without falling into the temptations of 'success' or the electoral minefields of tweaking policy and thus the justification of force.

During the reconciliation of the Rodrigo Mendoza (DeNiro's character who kills his brother after an affair with his wife) in the movie, Liam Neeson's character implores their leader, Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), to release Mendoza of his load of swords and armor that he is painstakingly dragging across the landscape and ultimately up the river's falls. Father Gabriel points out that he thinks Mendoza hasn't recognized his own penance and that they are ultimately part of an 'order' more so than any democracy when it comes to deciding these things. Father Gabriel is later proven correct as Mendoza reaches his epiphany at the top of the falls (the picture at the opening of this entry). Alas, even Father Gabriel becomes subject to his own order (and orders) as the power of the Papacy and Crown come to fore as the Mission is forced to either move or be destroyed.

While never one to play up religion over rationality, I like the intensity and devotion that the Jesuits assert within the larger sphere of simple and often mindless faith. It is more than blind devotion and uncritical obedience. Their calling is truly that of unrestricted love, truth and understanding. It seems like a rare quality amongst the devout nowadays. The ultimate conundrum comes for Mendoza as his old ways and instincts usurp the message of the non-violent Jesuits when confronted with the reality of the impending removal/invasion. As he seeks Father Gabriel's blessing to do so, the Irons character laments;

" If might is right, then love has no place in the world. "

While my own instinct is also to take up immediate arms as the tenets of self defense dictate, it is also with regret and guilt, knowing that the message of non-violence can never be truly embraced in the violent struggles for power and influence in a wild world, even if it is in self defense. This may also be the price we pay as big and small L libertarians in a world replete with fraud and coercion. Perhaps we are less than pure or true in our electoral intentions, but maybe that's OK if we can recognize and acknowledge this. Those that don't or cannot are simply either intentionally blind or ignorant of the greater idea. In the end both men, like some freedom fighters, are cut down defending their conception of right and it's devotion.

I may not support the individual and the belief paradigm of the person that the LP selects for their nominee in a couple weeks. While I've made no endorsement and have painstakingly avoided comment about any candidate and with one exception, public interaction, I do not believe that we can or should try to ' win '. While I'm capable of casting a strategic vote for Beelzebub himself for the purpose of party and unity, it does not obfuscate the fact that I would prefer a real message over a few extra, albeit insignificant votes. Our mission as an honest and decent third party is not about credibility or even party building (although each has its own importance and role of course), it is about the message and spirit of Liberty beyond the implications of a threatening regulatory void and its perceived impact on the world at large. It is about our very nature as individuals and the power of the state to suborn others around us as they see fit. It is about releasing our 'inner thug' and producing and behaving decently because it is the right thing to do. It is not about expediency, vote totals or money. It is not about tweaking policy, platforms or the Presidency.

It is the visceral denial of absolute authority outside our own rectitude and will. Without that beauty, vision and fortitude we are nothing but cannon fodder for the self righteous and corrupt.

Another Bell Tolls

2008-04-30T19:54:49Z

This last weekend, Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, apparently told Chris Matthews something he doesn't know. In the similarly titled segment, Tucker indicated that Bob Barr would be a potential spoiler for John McCain in the upcoming election. While it's interesting to note that even Barr doesn't consider himself a shoe in for the LP nomination, there are those willing to pile on this aspect of McCain's upcoming loss.

Joseph Bell sets out the anemic case for this blame in a recent op-ed. According to Bell's own admission;

"He voted for Clinton/Gore in 1992. Abandoning the convictions that he had held and defended through adolescence and into adulthood was not easy. Sincere soul-searching and a commitment to distinguish fact from fiction compelled him to accept that liberal ideology was bankrupt."

No if he could only realize how bankrupt the country is based on false conservatism.

]]> I suppose its a sign of success that so many would blame the LP for sticking with it after all these years. Are we not entitled to our own candidates and supporters without the back handed cruelty of dismissal that those so eager to identify with the status quo suffer from ? After all, when a voter decides to abandon the either/or common electoral choices, it is for many reasons.

In the LP, when we look at the damage and chaos that the Red & Blue have caused in matters of war, civil liberties, financial markets and sensibilities, it hard for us to understand why anyone would continue on as a battered voter. The Libertarian Party has never sent a young man or woman off to war, never imposed a tax and has never falsely accused or imprisoned any individual. Yet we are the ones demonized as supporters of drugs, prostitution and pornography. Freedom often has the price of personal responsibility and well being. We can't promise to be everywhere and help everyone. It's just not possible. Recognizing this is very realistic.

Perhaps if Mr. Bell had further revelation and thoughts on his journey to awareness he might not be so tight with the other side of the aisle that he has so readily embraced. Perhaps he could see that applying liberal or conservative to a donkey or an elephant is quite absurd.

The Dulgardums

2008-04-22T19:00:40Z

Jeff Dulgar, a columnist at the 'Daily Nexus' at the University of Santa Barbara has created a snit piece about third parties and the Libertarian Party particularly. While this appears to be the indulgence of a youthful prattler for the status quo, as a former Californian, I have many Republican relatives on the left coast who feel the same as Mr. Dulgar, even if it is based on vague assumptions and chocked with common platitudes.

While it may be acceptable to engage in Limbaugh tactics when it comes to smelly liberals and the like, Dulgar displays his ignorance of the Third Party fight as well as any apologist for the Red & Blue. It may indeed be inevitable that the two parties will win based on the winner take all aspect of the system, but it is by no means certain that alternative issues and concerns will be well placed in the mainstream sensibilities. Asking activists to play in the muck of pluralism is one thing, but projecting one's own failure is another. The Ron Paul campaign is evidence that any 'libertarian' spirit in the GOP tops out at 3-7% of those eligible voters. Mr. Dulgar really ought to check with his comrades in the duopoly about the battle for ballot access, the war on drugs, the national debt, creeping Empire and the free bottle of pills in his grandmother's medicine cabinet. Sorry, but I remember Jim Jones in the seventies and I'd rather not be associated with the ultimate ruin of the country at the hands of mealy mouthed politicians who will do anything to get elected.

]]> There is a reason that mainstream politicians and people are turning to the LP. Witness the recent presidential forays by Mike Gravel and Bob Barr. People are hungry for change and they know it won't be coming from the Red & Blue. As adults in the LP, we can certainly choose with whom we spend our time and send our money to. While Mr. Dulgar's sympathies may well place him in the path of success of a wandering elephant, he'll never be too far from the roaming jackass.

Suffering Empire and the culture of entitlements may be acceptable in the land of fun and sun, but those of us who see the cost of the two, take little succor in the recognition of the GOP as our leader in smaller government. There simply is no evidence of the latter. As a big L libertarian I can assure Mr. Dulgar there are no two of us who accept everything that each other says or holds true. So to say;

"so unless you believe exactly what Libertarians say, there is no reason to join their party"

is simply based on youthful inexperience. The equivalent retort might be,

"unless you vote GOP there will be no smaller government".

A bold face absurdity if there ever was one.

You see Mr. Dulgar, the liberals you hate and vilify have won your soul. They have convinced you that minimal regulation is necessary for a just society. You admit that minimal social programs equate to the public good. And you get your Empire against the bogeymen terrorists that Sean Hannity tells you are behind every Seven Eleven. There is nothing that is being 'accomplished' by your GOP that is any different than the average Donkey in the room. Each of you has excused pre-emptive war and each has burdened the next generation in unfunded liabilities and mandates as far as the eye can see.

While I may disagree with some tactics, reasoning and assumptions that my colleagues in the California LP engage in, I stand with them in terms of resistance to your sensibilities and the venal transference of hate on those of us who stand up to and against what you believe and ultimately force upon me. Stomp your feet and holler all you want against us, we will continue to be a monkey wrench in your plans, ideas and 'success'. We choose to stand proudly outside your jack boot thuggery and will defend unlimited freedom and responsibility.

Son of Mountains by Yassin Aref

2008-04-18T12:50:12Z

My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect

There is a Fox News meme that has been going around since early March which includes the case of Yassin Aref. It has provided fodder for every right wing blogger who sees terror plots around every corner. Hopefully the release of Son of Mountains will persuade thoughtful people to counteract this hit job, not only in the blog world, but everyday life about such matters.

Even when the local news and national news broke about this arrest in August 2004, I had extreme doubts and reservations about a 'sting' and the alleged ties to a real terrorist plot. After reading Aref's book all those doubts are washed away. The man was framed, setup and hung out to advance the political agenda of Karl Rove and his unwitting conspirator George Bush. Fortunately that's not even what the book is about. Aref's life as a Kurd, his suffering, forbearance, faith and understanding about the human condition may well become the bellwether for literature in the 21st Century. We've certainly had enough from the poor rich bastard stuck at Yale in the 20th Century.

]]> As an American a little older than Yassin Aref it is hard to understand a life that didn't include Sesame Street, Atari, the Dodge Maxi-van and a constant abundance of material wealth and food. To a large extent education, opportunity and mobility were always in the cards for most kids growing up in the United States if they put a little effort into it. Not so, Yassin Aref, his family and their struggle as Kurds is unique, sad, uplifting and still ongoing. When my father was letting me go to state of the art computer facilities in the 1970s, Aref's father was a struggling farmer living in a mountainous region of Iraq constantly worried about the next meal, the Peshmerga and their resistance to Saddam. Faith and religion had a far bigger role than just a couple hours on Sunday at the Lutheran coffee hour.

Despite this struggle Aref managed a childhood that included extended play outside in the summer, religious discovery and tender moments with his dying parents. Being oppressed politically and economically held no excuse for Yassin, has he constantly sought the betterment of his education. Indeed he is quite critical in this regard of his own people who often wear the yoke of oppression in despair. His steadfast refusal to join the Bath party is part of this idea that education will be the only reform possible for the Kurds. From page 117;

"Once a friend made me angry by saying that I was preventing people from joining the peshmerga by telling them to finish school first, and so I was helping the government. I said I encouraged everyone to join the peshmerga, but middle and high school students study first before they join. That was the way of our future. It was the Iraqi government that tried to get Kurds to leave school because they wanted us to remain ignorant."

His book is full of anecdotes and scenes of his life and the Kurds that the world may never have been given a glimpse of if not for this horrible frame up by our government. Wily old imans divert government forces as wounded peshmerga hide in the basement during a feast to placate the commander. Yassin leads a religious ceremony almost by providence if not accident. The village gathers to watch Tarzan in Arabic on the only black and white TV around. Aref gives remembrance to his dying mother recounting a beautiful afternoon in her arms as a child in the Kurdish countryside. One of my favorites is the story of his return home one Spring to celebrate the Kurdish new year, Nawroz. Aref describes his instigation of the Spring celebration that might have been forgotten that year in the rain. He drags a tire home from the small city where he is going to middle school and gets the entire village to participate in a bonfire atop a mountain. Always under the danger of government attack, the Kurds engage in some laughter and forgetting.

Aref comes of age during the first Gulf War. He gives personal story of those gassed by Saddam, flees as a refugee to Syria, helps genocide victims escape the dump trucks they have been loaded into and even instigates the comical uprising in Chamchamal. When he his eventually married and finds a life and work in Damascus as a gardener and later an aid to the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan ( the IMK, which would later become a strong component of the government's case) he still manages tales of tender moments with family, intense discussion about religion and he even undergoes the classical lyrical time of education that includes everything from Marx to Sartre.

Even though he may have achieved happiness in Syria with his family and job, he realizes that a chance as a refugee through the UN program will probably be limited but an overall advantage to his small family. So just shy of a Masters Degree in Damascus he accepts an offer to live in Albany NY. A natural leader and hard worker, Aref also struggles to make ends meet as the drastically different Western life requires so many expenses and is constantly asking more. In his good natured self effacing way he does provide for his family and he becomes an imam at the local mosque. Even the brief time he spends here as a free man has a great perspective in comparison to his previous life. An incident with praying while working at Albany Medical is worth noting.

Of course the rest of this story is well documented and the appeal for Aref continues at the writing of this post. Once you get to know Aref and follow him right to the moment of his arrest and subsequent hearings and trials you can't help but to think that a great injustice has been perpetrated in our names. Aref's indignation and natural mistrust as a Kurd may ring hollow to the vapid and banal in American culture, but as he still remains in convicted and in solitary confinement for the most part, I hope his faith and determination keep him alive. While it would be disingenuous for a libertarian to make this book mandatory reading in schools, if I were ever able to release my inner thug on those in fact in power, I would require a three day seminar in the FBI, Justice Department and every law school that took a dime from government.

As my own personal, cultural and national history is so different from Aref's, to some extent we are kindred souls. I share an affinity for enjoying the innocent company of children and making them happy with an adult who will play with them on their level. While his religion is much different than mine ( I have none ), the yearning for truth and the simple joys in life certainly do make a much more interesting and engaging life. While we have no peshmerga in Columbia County, I'm certain to be one of the first to take to the hills in the event of a truly fascist meltdown. But until then I enjoy the curious perch of a libertarian who does not believe that any force is worth the cost.

"Wars are the normal way that change takes place in history. But Islam brought about change peacefully. Its idea for bringing about change was to not force people."

I first thought that Yassin Aref's story and account might very well be the defining piece of my Generation like Kerouac's On the Road was to the boomers. Yet his story and many like it are being told all too often. This is a page turner for anybody concerned about justice and how the War on Terror has become so in its own right. Despite the tragic ending and the ongoing injustice, this book has human face, story and language that is replete with wisdom, character, self aware ignorance (at one point he thought Bill Clinton was Jewish) and numerous incidents and recollections that will make you laugh, possibly cry and certainly make you think about your own beleiefs and assumptions about life everywhere, not just the good old USA.

A special note about Stephen Downs. Stephen was one of the attorneys on the case and was instrumental in the publication of this book. His afterward about the trial and Aref's confinement is a must read. At the end of the trial Aref fired Downs as his lawyer and asked him to be his kak, which means brother in Kurdish. I had an aooportunity to sit and talk with Stephen on Capital Outsider. Stephen urged Yassin to tell his story, which he wrote as he was being held at the Rensselaer Correctional facility.

Still a Funny Hat 2008

2008-04-17T15:03:47Z

The great Pontiff has come and he's here for his flock. In a world of voluntary association, that's just fine. But when he starts messing with good old fashioned secular humanism, I start talking about imaginary friends too. When they start equating it with ideology you know he's either a carzy old man or there is a serious agenda emanating from his palace in Rome.

So let's get this straight, the Catholic Church loots all level of society with its play on the fear of death, suffers an organization whose leaders frequently bugger little children, has all manner of wealth employed in keeping the Pope like an ancient emperor and then derides it own for not casting off the Robe into material nakedness like St. Francis ? Next thing you know they might start taking Jesus seriously and wondering if ideology in general is the cause of war, famine and horrible things to many people.

]]> Seriously, who decided that the arbitrator's of morality are from a powerful religion ? Why are rational, diligent actors vilified for the failings of that same religion ? While this isn't a fight I usually take up at the mixed dinner table, when pressed by the same dinner companion who is a zealot of sorts, frees one from the polite manners of said society. The retort of course not being the nasty, ill tempered attempt to demean, but rather the cool reflection about what is being suggested.

Certainly it is probably the case the old Benedict is just rallying the troops in the face of the horrible incidents of abuse and in the interest of the flock. Secular has also come to mean godless miscreants in far too many circles however. The most dangerous aspect of it is the idea that religious temperament should somehow influence ideology which someone has some ultimate dominion over us in a hostile polity.