A Look in on a Long Time Reader Here….

As I continue down the path of retail madness during the busy month of December (A December that has not been nearly busy enough to suit my fancy, for the record), I find yet another night where I have struggled to find the time to research and write. And because I didn’t write last night, I find it unfathomable that I would not have anything to offer two nights in a row. In continuing my reading I came across this article from an author who takes the time to visit and enter into the discourse here when he finds the time. And his insight is always well thought out and valuable. I read his blog regularly, and am ashamed to admit I don’t comment there as often as I should. So tonight, I offer the first part of an interesting series of articles that he has undertaken recently. I also take this time to wholeheartedly endorse his blog. It is a fine read, and always well thought out. I highly suggest that when you aren’t reading mine, you take some time to read the articles that he has published.

Are Libertarians Up To The Task?

As with the “Direction of the Republican Party” thread, this one has been extremely active so I have moved back up towards the top of the page. This was originally posted February 20. Many of you know that I started this blog as a way to ferret out my beliefs and start providing some viewpoints that I feel are important. The “Direction of the Republican Party” post has been far and away the most read article I have written. So now I want to discuss another option that is out there on the table. The Libertarian party easily has the most solid platform of the bigger parties. So I want to talk with everyone about whether they are up to the task of really operating on the big stage. So far they have progressed only as far as AAA in the minor leagues. They show promise. But will they find that they need a little more movement on that fast ball if they want to make it in the big leagues?

Libertarian Party Act IX

Well we are finally out of the holiday season for me. And that means we can get back to business. The next to last section of the Libertarian Platform. We have certainly covered a lot in all of the first 8 acts, and we now near the finish line. But we aren’t done yet. There are some inportant areas still to be covered and analyzed. I look forward to your thoughts on these three areas…

Let’s Discuss a Free Market

As we have worked our way through the Libertarian platform and subsequent topics that involve government, we have discussed many different areas where there are disagreements about whether government should be involved, and if so, at what level. One of the most interesting to me and the most relevant to today’s current events is the idea of a free market. So I figured that it would be a good time for us to talk about how it can work, or how it cannot, depending on your position.

Libertarian Party Act VIII

The Dissection of the Libertarian Party platform enters the final section, which will be comprised of three Acts. Here are some tougher topics that I look forward to the conversation around. National Security and Individual Rights are the topics in this section, which means that some of you are going to have really strong opinions. But I find that this section gives me a lot of unanswered questions.

Libertarian Party Act VII

As promised, we move directly into Act VII of dissecting the Libertarian Party Platform. That last part was fairly tough for me. I had been cruising along and starting to think that maybe I could get behind this party, and then I hit a financial roadblock. That hasn’t ruled them out, but I certainly need some convincing that those parts can work.

Libertarian Party Act VI

Time to get back to the Libertarian Platform. I am going to be doing the next couple of sections in quick order, as it does seem that we got away from it a little too long. We want to cover it all without too much interval in order to make sure everyone gets to see it all. So on to finance, money, and monopolies…

Libertarian Party Platform Act V

Well we have certainly had our fair share of interesting conversations about the Libertarian Party platform thus far, haven’t we? A lot of opinions and disagreements. But that is what this is about: talking about our differences. I am finding that I am gaining a much better perspective on each of these issues through the conversation around them. So on to the first section of the Economic Liberties Section…

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…

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…

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….

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?