Libertarian Platform Act IV

I have to say that I am very pleased with the response to the first three acts in our dissection of the Libertarian platform. There have been hundreds of people visiting the site and reading what we are discussing, which only helps my argument that people are interested in learning what this party is about. But I encourage more of you to post comments! You don’t have to know politics. You know what you believe and that is what we are trying to hash out here! So on to the rest of the “personal freedoms” section…

“Civilian National Security Force”…The First Step to a Police State? A Draft?

Well I have been thinking about this for quite some time. Our President Elect, the worshipped one, he who can do no wrong, the second coming of Martin Luther King, proposes that we have a “National Civil Defense Force” that rivals the military in numbers and funding. It is a compulsory service (read as draft on a diet). I have heard of forces like this in the past, say 1920’s German “youth groups”….

You Can’t Do That… You’re a Cop!

Originally I had a plan to write a post about the way that our employers have been allowed to invade our personal lives and dictate our behavior. But all the things I wanted to talk about in there would have taken about two hours to read. So I decided to take these instances one thing at a time. So today I am going to talk about a poor police officer who showed us her boobies.

Get Off Your Ass and Raise Your Own Kids

 

This will be the first of several posts that I write about parents failing to be parents. I have had it with parents that fail to restrict what their children do. Parents who can’t get off their ass, put down the beer, turn off Oprah, or limit trips to the Club. This post will focus on TV Censorship, but I won’t stop here. I don’t think anything should be censored on TV…

Libertarian Platform Act III

Now we get to dig into specific issues in the Libertarian Platform. The Statement of Principles was a good start but was just a precursor. We begin with the first half of the “Personal Liberty” section, which covers expression and communication, personal privacy, and personal relationships. I must say that I am enjoying the conversations each day brings and I am sure some of my commentary here is going to fire some folks up…

Dissecting the Libertarian Party… Act II

So Today we move on to the second half of the Statement of Principle from the Libertarian Party platform. I got some good feedback on the first half and some spirited conversation around it. So now let’s look at the second half before we start moving on to specific issues on the platform…

Dissecting the Libertarian Party…. Act I

The response to my idea about a running series analyzing the Libertarian platform was exceptionally high. I am happy about that because it means that you are operating with open minds. If you can do that, then there may be hope yet. I have heard a lot of people say that the Libertarian party is just another crazy third party. To quote Captain Hammer, “I remember it differently” (if you get that my respect for you has gone up already). So here we go on a journey analyzing the Libertarian platform. Just a couple of quick ground rules…

OK, OK… My Thoughts on Gay Marriage

OK, so I posted the “sexy, fabulous” post last night with a hint of my thoughts on gay marriage, but apparently did not do a good job because today has been a day where I have been blasted. It started with one of my favorite relatives this morning telling me that she disagrees with me. She thinks they should have all the same rights as straight couples. But it didn’t end there. As many of you know, I have a lot of gay friends. I got text messages and emails from all of them, too. So let me spell it out for everyone. When it comes to gay marriage…

Intolerance At Its “Sexy Fabulous” Best

You know, I have gone on record stating that I really could care less about the entire gay marriage issue. I stand by this. It just doesn’t affect me personally at a core level that gets me fired up enough to discuss it. But these new protests happening all over the country are beginning to make me want to say no to the idea of gay marriage just so these intolerant zealots don’t get what they want. 

Upcoming Topics

As many of you know, I am on vacation visiting my in-laws and having a wonderful time, even getting to have dinner with some of my very favorite people in the world (Jimmy and Joanne, that’s you guys!). It has left me with little time or ability to research well enough to write much in the way of posts. I simply refuse to write without the proper research and facts to present. But I wanted to give you a quick glance of what I am researching and planning on writing about in the days ahead. Upcoming topics include whether or not the new administration is shaping up to be the change we were promised, the Minnesota Senatorial race and Al Franken’s attempt to litigate a win, The selection of Eric Holder as Attorney General, and the current practice of attacking someone personally as a way to discount their valid political argument. This is in addition to the Libertarian platform stuff I am working on. Let me know what you think!

I Need Some Help on Deciding Whether to Write About…

Alright, here is the deal. While I can rant and rave and point out all the stuff in the world, and I will continue to do that, I was also floating around some ideas about some things I wanted to write about. So an idea came to me to write a series of blogs devoted to certain topics. But I want to make sure that it is something that people wanted to read about….

If You voted for McCain, You Should be Punished

I didn’t have much time to do anything today as I was traveling, which ended up taking longer than intended. I could devote a whole blog just to the crappy attitude of everyone working in the airline industry, but that is for another day. Given very little time to research, I found myself unprepared to do any research tonight in order to support the thoughts in my head. But I am getting a lot of “dude, there wasn’t a new blog up on your site this morning” emails today. But while soaking in the family atmoshpere of gate D10, I saw a story about Joe Lieberman keeping his position and thought I would post my thoughts around that.

The Welfare Queens want my Retirement Account Too

OK, I am going to do my best to not sound like a raving lunatic conspiracy theorist. But it is going to be hard to do given this subject matter. Congressional Democrats are exploring the option of ending the 401(k) plans we currently have and replacing them with MANDATORY Guaranteed Retirement Accounts. This isn’t a done deal, but it IS being floated in a Congressional Committee. You might not want to read the rest of this post…

It’s Your Reality. Accept It (or Don’t).

I have considered myself a Republican for most of my life. Of course this blog is really about my struggle to decide whether to leave that party. But while there are many things wrong, one thing I am proud of from the Republican leaders is a spirit of accepting the new reality and offering their support. It started with John McCain on election night proclaiming that Barrack Obama will now be “his President” and vowing to support him in any way he can. I was proud of John that night. It showed class and a greater concern for the betterment of the country than for himself. But that isn’t what always happens.  In fact it happened to me again today. My patriot membership card was threatened. It is really starting to annoy me to hear Democrats today….

Not Politics, Just Somali Pirates for My Mom (Updated!!)

So when I launched my blog, I sent an email to me wife’s family asking for support in the new endeavor. My mother in law took a look at my blog as a show of support (thanks Mom). But she isn’t into politics quite like me (not many are really). She called my wife and said she wants to know what is up with the pirates in Somalia? So because I love her, and she treats me so well, here is an update, just for Mom….

Taboo… Time To Seriously Discuss Political Conversation

I will admit up front that this may be one of my longer blogs and perhaps one of my most passionate. Or maybe I will exhaust myself and keep it short. Discussing politics. Rated as such a taboo in this country. It makes me crazy. And on top of that it makes me admire politicians. This is perhaps their most successful political play ever. You can’t discuss politics anywhere, except this blog of course. So let’s talk about why this is so and why it should not be so anymore.

I Always Felt Farrakhan Would Bring Whites and Blacks Together Too

We all know “Calypso Louis” (yes he was a successful calypso singer until the Nation of Islam banned members from being musical performers). “Minister” Farrakhan made our hearts warm and fuzzy with his great hits “Kill Whitey”, “Raise up Against the White Devil”, and “Dirty Jews injected blacks with the AIDS virus”. Such classic hits from a man who has lived a life hating anyone who isn’t black and muslim. So he is the perfect choice for a new cabinet position for repairing race relations. OK, I jest. But I don’t jest when I say one of the most partisan members of Congress is our next Chief of Staff. Rahm Emanuel is as partisan a Democrat as any I have seen. Let’s meet the man, shall we?

Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Enemies Closer….

Our new President Elect gave, in my opinion, one of the best acceptance speeches I can remember on the night of November 4. Calls for hope and hard work, a special channeling of Martin Luther King, a good Sheople (people behaving like sheep) moment with the “Yes We Can” recitations. But I remember most being “inspired” by his call to eliminate partisan politics during these desperate times. I remember saying to my wife that if he can do what his speech says, perhaps he will be a good President. The next day came the selection of Rahm Emmanuel as his Chief of Staff. Now we are hearing that he is considering as his Secretary of State….. are you ready? Hillary Clinton. 

A Letter to Our President Elect

My obsession with politics leads me around to a lot of different places as I read and learn. I recently stumbled across this letter written to Obama from someone who didn’t vote for him. I thought it was interesting and well written. I originally intended to put a link in my blogroll as a way for you all to see it. But the site isn’t a politics blog and that is what I intend to have in my blogroll. Instead I contacted Amber, the author, and she gracefully gave me permission to reprint it here…

Given a Choice Between Red and Blue…I’ll Take Purple

Third party viability. Someone near and dear to me has a blog that focuses around the premise that a third party can rally and paint the White House purple (Hint: Coup D’etat over there in the blogroll, go visit it next next!). We have all talked about a “None of the Above” box on the ballot. Some of us have even seen the movies (I would have voted for Richard Pryor). But since the big boys refuse to give America that “None of the Above” box, a third party is our only other option. But can that really happen?

Dude, Can You Loan Me Some Cash to Buy Your Car?

Now we see the American automotive industry looking for a bailout along with the financial industry. Let’s take a hard look at what is being proposed here and, more importantly, who is proposing it. I personally oppose bailing out the auto industry. I opposed bailing out the financial industry too under the bill that went through. I am a believer in Economic Darwinism. But read on and see what I am thinking. Then let’s talk about it.

I Like BBQ, but this much pork is choking me.

I have a real problem with the way that legislation happens in this country. If you want to get a vote passed in Congress, you have to gain support by giving something in the bill to the other members in Congress in order to essentially “buy” their vote. How did we get to this? Can you imagine Thomas Jefferson telling John Adams “Hey dude, I dig this whole Constitution thing, but I am not going to vote for it unless it includes some language that ensures that I get extra land for the tobacco farmers in my state.” Yeah, I can’t imagine that either.

The American Media

I am disgusted by today’s media. Where do I even begin? Let’s start with reality as I see it. This isn’t some partisan BS where I bash one side or the other. But if we are being honest with each other here (and that is my intention after all), there are definite “leanings” on the coverage given by just about everyone these days. But are these leanings the way things should be? 

America Must Control Washington…

OK, so this is the beginning of my blogging career. Not quite the trumpets and red carpet affair that I envisioned. I have written editorials and letters to the editor and sections of books for people, but never a blog. So the question I ask myself as I begin is how do I want to do this? I have a few words that explain my thoughts on style for this blog: Honest, sometimes blunt, fun, insightful, inspirational, but most of all thought provoking. Seems like a lot to ask of myself, but I have never backed away from a challenge before so….