Happy Independence Day... while it lasts.
A short thought on what's gotten us into the Obama mess, and what led up to it through the Bush administration, via P.J. O'Rourke:
Politics itself is nothing but an attempt to achieve power and prestige without merit.Quote from the
Reason TV interview available here.
Happy Birthday, America. With any luck, we'll have reason to celebrate next year. But don't hold your breath.
Labels: freedom, Libertarian, liberty, Obama, socialism
Pridefest in Springfield
Last week, the Greene County Libertarian Party was able to participate in Pridefest, a gay-rights event put together by Springfield-area activists, and this post is a short note of thanks to the folks at the
GLO Center for allowing us to set up our booth at said event. We were able to meet a lot of new people, and tell them the Libertarian Party is on their side when it comes to getting government out of the lives of consenting gay, bisexual, or transgendered folks.
This is from the
Libertarian Party platform:
1.3 Personal Relationships
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the rights of individuals by government, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships.Labels: gay rights, individualism, Libertarian Party, liberty, privacy
Dangerous ideas
Courtesy of a liberal poster by the nickname of "hautroddr", via the News-Leader comment boards:
"My question is, where were they ?"
they were labeled as a terrorist organization by the Bush Administration, and shipped off to Gitmo. Totalitarians don't usually take well to dissent; you should consider yourself lucky Obama allows it.
5/12/2009 11:23:00 AM Note the italicized part. This guy could be working for the Obama administration - or channeling the Bush administration - and nobody could tell the difference.
Which there isn't. Dissent is fast becoming an endangered right, among many others. The saddest part is, some people WANT dissent to become a thing of the past.
Even if they're not aware of it themselves.
Labels: free speech, freedom, liberty, Obama, statism
Ozarks Monsoon Season
A bet could probably be placed that the local global-warming hand-wringers are Chicken Littleing their heads off over the recent tornadoes and nigh-constant rain we've been having here in the SW Missouri area... and that we have to do something or else mankind will be destroyed yadda yadda blah blah.
Which reminds me, saw someone driving one of those foolish
Smart Cars the other day. One of those could fit in one of these:
Look, folks, we're not in peril. We can clean up our environment and NOT have to drive around in tiny wussmobiles to do it. As George Carlin said, the Earth isn't going anywhere... WE are. It'll be around a long time after we're dead. So stop fretting... it's undignified.
Labels: extreme environmentalism, freedom, liberty
Property rights, continued
The recent action taken by the City Utilities board to use eminent domain shows a short-sightedness that needs to be addressed on several fronts.
First, CU should step back and reexamine their plans before spending taxpayer money. A citizens advisory panel could easily be set up to get input from those who depend on public transportation in Springfield; the "grid system" idea could be looked at, among other proposals, to make the bus system more efficient, thus negating the need for a new terminal.
Second, the definition of "public use" and fair-market value needs to be addressed. Taking someones' property through eminent domain must never be exercised without due diligence. Put aside for a moment whose property is in question, and what motives may exist on both sides due to previous acrimony - does the CU terminal project meet the rights of property owners criteria which should be integral to every use of eminent domain? Is this terminal absolutely necessary, when other alternatives haven't been properly addressed? Are all of the property owners being offered fair compensation based on market values of commercial property, or on the value of a public-works project?
Third, logistics: Drive around the area where the terminal is to be constructed. Make a circuit of Jefferson, St. Louis, Kimbrough, and Trafficway. Add the proposed city bus traffic to the picture in your mind as you try to make your way around this part of town. Add in foot traffic, and the special-events logistics involving the Shrine Mosque and the Discovery Center, on top of the daily traffic flow in this part of Springfield. Take it from someone who drives for a living, this area is difficult enough to navigate efficiently now.
Fourth, and most importantly, is the issue of federal money. Strings are always attached to funds from the public treasury. Will this move cost Springfield taxpayers in the long run, or will it be a wise investment? The police and fire pension problems, on top of Springfield's other financial shortfalls, must be kept in mind before new expenses are considered.
It may be too late to stop this particular action, but perhaps in the future entities like CU can be held back in their exercise of the power of eminent domain. There is a time and place to exercise such power; this is neither the time, nor place.
Labels: government, liberty, Springfield Missouri
Mayoral/Council debates
The Greene County Libertarian Party is hosting debates between Springfield Mayoral and Council candidates on Tuesday, March 31, starting at 6 PM. The debates will be held at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway. The public is invited to attend.
Labels: politics
Missouri's Governor, Jay Nixon, glossed over the infamous MIAC "violent milita" report,
and now claims it was his predecessors' fault:Inside Missouri Politics blogJEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Jay Nixon said today that lax oversight from former Gov. Matt Blunt's administration led to the distribution of a now infamous state intelligence report on the modern militia movement," which his administration retract on Wednesday.Nixon noted the Missouri Information Analysis Center was "formed under my predecessor.""I was not governor, I did not hire any of the people there and nobody in my administration -- the director of public safety -- saw this stuff before it went out," Nixon told reporters gathered in his office after signing his first law as governor. ...
Rest at link above, if you can stomach it.
Gosh, Jay... you gave it your thumbs-up, cheerleaded for it, and now you're saying
you didn't read the damned thing before you supported it on television?Governor Nixon, you're a former state attorney general. You should know better than to do stupid stuff like this. If not, we need a new governor, and you need to march yourself back to Remedial Constitutional Studies 101.
Labels: Bob Barr, First Amendment, free speech, freedom, Libertarian, liberty, Missouri, politics, Ron Paul
