Darryl Watson wrote in with something that is indeed a topic worthy of pondering… I am not sure if this is a worthy topic of discussion, but the issue is gnawing at me right now, and thought I would share: I have a ten-minute walk to my preferred parking spot, from where I work in downtown Denver. The parking lot is in a less savoury neighbourhood. While I was on my way to my vehicle,…

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

One of the blogosphere's brightest lights, Michael Totten, once again finds himself up the sharp end and brings some interesting reportage from Georgia. If you are interested in the real chronology of events and understanding why Russia, not Georgia, is the prime mover of this regional tragedy, check out his article….

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

On a Purdue football message board, one of the off-topic threads asked what we thought of the Democratic National Convention. My reply:
I hear Obama himself is speaking on Thursday, right?
I think NC State @ South Carolina will be far more compelling viewing…
As with most things when it comes to politics, the convention will be […]

From The Liberty Papers

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

First, a disclaimer. I’m not singling out Joe Biden for the below piece for any reason other than that he’s now become a vice-presidential candidate. I firmly believe that situations like the below are quite common in our government, at all levels. That being said, this one is particularly conspicuous.
Joe Biden, breaking […]

From The Liberty Papers

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

A few days back, I watched a programme, or least about 15 minutes of it, that speculates on what the Earth will look like once humans disappear. There is lots of stuff about how houses, roads, bridges, airports and sewage systems start to crumble, how rats and other animals take over. There are lots of photographs of wrecked cars with plants growing out of the windows. On one level, if you are into wildlife or…

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

I vote for the fifth option, which is "There should not be a drinking age", on the basis that it is none of the government's damn business….

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

This story will not help the blood pressure of our regular readership, I am sure: A flagship database intended to protect every child in the country will be used by police to hunt for evidence of crime in a "shocking" extension of its original purpose. How marvellous. Makes one's heart swell with pride. ContactPoint will include the names, ages and addresses of all 11 million under-18s in England as well as information on their parents,…

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

A blogger at Lew Rockwell.com decries the notion that private organizations have the right to make their own rules:
Homeowners’ associations can be filled with hordes of power mongering, petty, little tyrants who love to play Big Bureaucrat and run the lives of everyone else. In Texas - of all places - there is an HOA […]

From The Liberty Papers

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

Both The Club For Growth and The Cato Institute are out today with analyses of Joe Biden’s position on economic issues of importance to libertarians and, as you might suspect, it’s not good.
First from Cato on the issue of international trade:
Here are the highlights and lowlights of Biden’s voting record on trade:
On the positive side […]

From The Liberty Papers

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom

We have of course already alluded here to the passing of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Here is another tribute to this great man, from Theodore Dalrymple twelve days ago, which I think is spot on: Contrary to popular belief, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who died last week at 89, told the world nothing that it did not already know, or could not already have known, about the Soviet Union and the Communist system. Information about their true nature was…

From Samizdata.net

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom