and today I ...
In addition to the regular Sunday routine -- walk to church and hang out there after the service for a while (today was also collecting sigs for the 'let us vote on property tax hikes" referendum petition .. most fun I have had petitioning since ... ever! All you do is show the page, and tell them what it's for: the property owners sign instantly, the renters who know where their rent goes do so as well; anyone else, you simply ask if government should at least have to ask permission, and do some marketing, before picking your pocket ...) ...
Then come home and produce the week's PND:
A bit quieter this week: Libby indictment, and the wider picture, won't be news for at least another couple of weeks ... Bush in Argentina facing protests, to nobody's surprise ... and the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ito - I mean Scalito ... umm, Alioto, Hirohito, Kato, whatever ... anyway, they aren't until January ...
Actually, the most interesting thing all week (much to my surprise?), is on right now -- "The West Wing" ... attempting to do a "live debate" ... with even an "NBC News Live" logo on the corner of the screen, and a recognizable news guy as moderator ... between ... Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits ... portraying the GOP conservative (Alda as Carol O'Connor?) and the Kerry-like liberal DEM ... running for President of the fictitious world of "West Wing" ... I fully expect to see bumperstickers tomorrow touting either Santos (Smits) or Vinick (Alda) ...
Some days it truly does feel as though I have falled through the looking-glass ...
Anyway, back to this week's issue: The story I decided to lead with [and not just because the protagonists are (as I now discover) alumni of the same school I went to]: Apparently, the founder of eBay and his wife have made a major donation to Tufts University ... targeted for the purpose of offering small start up loans to people in developing countries, to help them get off the ground and become self-supporting. Whether or not it can work, and can end up freeing a lot of folks from their oppressor despots in the process ... it sure is a nice thing to consider!
And in other news: Water rights in the Western U.S., Bush in South America, a large charitable donation targeted at Third World economic aid ... and the latest poll results showing most Americans don't trust Bush as far as they could throw him (once again, dog bites man level of "news").
On commentaries there's a little more to chew on: I've got two submissions, one on healthcare at the mercy of "moralism" and one that congratulates an In These Times columnist for getting it ... almost correct. Then there is Jeff Riggenbach with a eulogy and appreciation of that dearly departed (and extremely underrated) icon of feminism, Joan Kennedy Taylor. There is also the usual range of thought, from the likes of Ellen Goodman, Charlie Pierce (spit-take warning: do not consume beverages while reading this one!), Robert Kuttner, Radley Balko, Patrick Basham, Justin Raimondo, Michael Kinsley (!), Dennis Kucinich, Pat Schroeder & Bob Barr, Daniel Schorr, Henry Hazlitt, Sidney Blumenthal, Jonathan David Morris, Thomas L. Knapp ... In short, it's a veritable "borgaschmord" of considerations of liberty. Enjoy, and see you next week!
As always, the PND website has all this and much more, including constant updates throughout the week, at: http://www.rationalreview.com/pnd
as well as the entries for both RRND and MFC for Monday's editions ... and then surf for, find and write up about 8-10 stories for Monday's FMNN pages ...
This column is actually part of the week's work for ISIL MFC, but it is new output, so ...
"It is frankly rather incredible how often the rationale of 'for the children' gets used by political pressure-groups as a 'beard' for their own barely hidden agendas. I’m not speaking here of liberal 'progressives' seeking more funding for the government schools or the welfare system, but of some members of their 'conservative' opposition, who are using 'child protection' as a cover to block medical breakthroughs (as well as existing methods), intended to shift medical costs and obligations away from remedial aftercare and toward preventative methodologies. What is really sad is how often this sham is used, for purposes likely to be to the detriment of those very same 'children' … or how often the moniker is applied to adolescents on the verge of adulthood, in order to infantilize them and make them excuses for further tyranny on the adults around them. Two issues are at the forefront of this: (1) A new vaccine against cervical cancer; and (2) Barr Pharmaceutical’s application to make the emergency contraceptive Plan B available over the counter." (11/07/05)
***
This one's link MAY not work just yet ... but it's supposed to be up on the site by tomorrow; not my deepest effort but worth a look?
My Tax Ballot
Source: Reason To Freedom
I've decided that this episode of the Ramblings from Trinwardia needs to address a question that gets asked all too often, and far too rarely receives a decent answer: So as a libertarian, what would you cut first, if you could begin to dismantle the government starting tomorrow? A more useful question to me is: In a free society, what would you support, if you had the choice of where your tax dollars should be going? And what would get the back of your hand? You see, I do comprehend the idea that governance, and community cooperation of some kind, does have a place, even in a free society without coercive powers to enforce the will of some as a burden on others. I do happen to agree that "that government governs best that governs least" – and in the vast majority of cases, that means not at all. But I'm also unwilling to claim that a sudden leap from the current mess into a completely unfettered state of being would not create so much chaos and destruction, and harm so many innocent bystanders (including those who have perhaps been rendered incapable of comprehending what "freedom" really means, by a variety of influences and experiences?) So here's my entry in the "what would I do?" sweepstakes – my "tax ballot" if you will. (11/07/05)
http://www.reasontofreedom.com/My_Tax_Ballot.html
*****
So, can I be forgiven for not getting over here quite often enough?
posted by Steve Trinward @ 9:41 PM
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