This guy is my hero
Posting YouTube videos is so much easier than blogging.
Live Recordings Rule
Here's the show I was at Sunday:
And here's a cool video of a Mates of State show:
Libertarians who support war are so silly!
Naturally, the libertarians who supported the war in Iraq are disappointed, though hardly shocked, that it was so badly executed. The Bush administration might be faulted, not so much for its initial errors which occur in any war against a determined foe who adjusts creatively to any preconceived central "plan," but for its dogged refusal to alter its approach--and promptly replace its military commanders as President Lincoln did repeatedly--when it became clear that its tactics were not working.
So, according to Randy Barnett, a supposed pro-war libertarian, the Bush administration should be faulted for being incompetent, unresponsive to the real situation, and making faulty decisions with bad information - in other words, for displaying the qualities of government.
But, isn't that why libertarians oppose government, it's programs, and especially it's war programs, in the first place? Isn't that necessary opposition what makes libertarians libertarian? Like Wally Conger writes, libertarians can actually get a lot of guidance on foreign policy issues from "libertarian first principles", if they're willing to think them through.
On the way back home
This blog post coming to you from the train taking Tasha and me home from New York. I finally got the unlimited data plan on my cell, so I can use the 'net without guilt!
Anyway, I had a pretty good stay in the city overall. The only thing I'll say bad is that the subways go to shit on the weekends, especially for where we were staying (Wall Street, which is understandable, as that whole district kind of shuts down when the markets aren't open). Trips on the subway took way too long, between waiting for trains, trains being rerouted and not going where they said they were, and trains suddenly only going in one way. I guess it's something you get used to, but it makes it hard to enjoy yourself when you're constantly having to be prepared to make a split second decision to jump off a train because - well whaddaya know!?!? - it's the totally wrong choice, regardless of what the sign said.
On Saturday I escorted Tasha to her Etsy class / trunk show in Brooklyn, which was modestly successful. I then managed to get back to Manhattan to check out the Neue Gallery (all German/Austrian art) and the Met (only the Greek, Roman, Mayan, and African art, unfortunately - that place is just too big!). I then got horribly lost picking Tasha up, but was able to retrieve her, bring her back to the hotel, and take her to a great meal in Little Italy (thanks, nymag.com!).
So, Jeremy, man... what the fuck is up with leftlibertarian.org?
Two things:
In order to get the new site working before I released it to the public, I put the IP address for the domain directly into my hosts file. Basically, it means that I was going to the new site while everybody else was going to the old one. Then I forgot to change it back once the new site was working. Oops.
The good news is that the new site is churning away on feeds just as it should, but you can't see it, because...
- Unidentified problems with my domain registrar are preventing you from being pointed to the new server when you type "leftlibertarian.org" into your browser. The DNS info should have been propagated since I changed the nameserver entries a week ago. I have no clue what's going on here, and I'll be on the phone with them today.
So sorry for all the headache; just hang in there a bit longer and I'm sure this will all get worked out.
UPDATE: I've talked with my registrar and the problem should be solved within 24 hours. Check back here tomorrow!
UPDATE 2: Looks like it's up for me and Roderick. If you're still having problems, try clearing your cache on your browser and refreshing. Still getting the error screen? Try back tomorrow.
Punishment as Extortion in Virginia
I haven't met anybody who isn't outraged by Virginia's new "remedial fees" for traffic violations. If you're from some other less God forsaken state, here's a taste:
Driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway now brings six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1050 tax. The law also imposes an additional annual fee of up to $100 if a prior conviction leaves the motorist with a balance of eight demerit points, plus $75 for each additional point (up to $700 a year). The conviction in this example remains on the record for five years.
Other six-point convictions include "failing to give a proper signal," "passing a school bus" or "driving with an obstructed view." The same $1050 assessment applies, but the conviction remains on the record for eleven years.
However, I'm now aware of somebody who's at least open to the idea: Thomas Krehbiel.
I don't fully understand why there's an uproar over these fees. I mean, I don't know about anyone else, but there's a lot of roads where I live that are in serious need of repairs.
If you gave up on emailing me...
All of my email addresses (jeremy@_______) have been restored. No thanks to my host or GoDaddy.
Where I've been, where I'm at now, and what's up
I've had quite a week. I attended my grandmother's funeral on Wednesday in Hampton. Sorry I had to miss the Richmond Left Libertarian Alliance meeting Tuesday, but there was just too much going on. Reports indicate it was a small but successful event, so it won't be the last one either. Then Tasha and I took the train to Baltimore yesterday to hang with our friends Andrew, Samantha, Matt, and Whitney. As always they are impeccable hosts. Today we rode the train from Baltimore to New York City so Tasha can teach her classes for Etsy Labs, which is quite an opportunity. I'm here for moral support, to see the city, and to visit my friend Jamie with whom I used to be in a band (well, for two months but we were still a band).
This is the first time I've been to New York City where I've simply enjoyed being here. We took a long walk through Central Park and visited the Museum of Design. We're staying right off Wall St., right in the heart of the monopoly finance complex... I plan on visiting the Police Museum at some point, too.
If anybody ever reads this blog and they happen to be in New York (I know, what are the odds?) let me know! I'll be here till Monday afternoon.
Ron Paul: Our Best Hope or Our Worst Nightmare?
Thomas Knapp seems to think that Ron Paul's surging candidacy as a Republican is cause for grave concern among libertarians. While I remain skeptical towards any supposed libertarian who wants to affiliate with one of the major parties, I find his conspiracy theory plausible without being likely. Knapp thinks that Paul is being positioned to co-opt, and thus destroy, the libertarian movement.
I've made no secret of the fact that I believe Ron Paul's Republican presidential campaign to be a bad thing for the libertarian political movement in general, and for the Libertarian Party in particular.
What I haven't said before is that I believe that's the point -- that the objective of Paul's campaign is the destruction of the Libertarian Party and the co-opting of the libertarian political movement by a political party which will never serve that movement's goals.
Now, I think Knapp certainly has a point here - whether or not there is some conspiracy, the outcome could very well end up having the effect he predicts. For me, however, that's not the question. Of course we're putting the libertarian movement at risk to engage in such a high profile campaign. Any opportunity for advancing our cause entails risk to the movement, especially when electoral politics is involved. If Kubby were experiencing the success that Paul is, he'd be the biggest risk to the movement, too!
Moving... complete!
The move is complete, just gotta get some odds and ends set up. BTW, my email addresses are bouncing right now due to the move... please give it a few hours, or reach me at my gmail address. Speaking of which, does anybody know of any good tutorials for getting a mail server up on a linux (ubuntu) machine?
"I hate myself. But I *could* love myself..."
I'm not the hugest anime fan ever, but I definitely appreciate it. There have been some fantastic works of art done in the style - most notably films like Princess Mononoke and series like Cowboy Bebop. On Jim's recommendation (here's his review from a few years ago), I borrowed and watched a series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. Altogether it's probably my favorite anime series of all time, and that almost totally on the strength of the content and plot elements.
While some of the execution seems sloppy or gratuitous, the way the series ends vindicates just about all of the decisions made throughout the series. At it's core it straddles a space between psychological examination of the human condition and all out science fiction robots-fighting-aliens. It follows one boy, Shinji, who pilots one of these robots, or Evangelions. There is a lot of time spent on analyzing his emotional experience, as well as the other children who pilot the Evas. Shinji also is dealing with issues surrounding his absent father, who happens to command the project that built the Evas.
It is a very mature take on a classic theme in anime, despite some of the requisite teenage drama and stupid humor. The direction it ends up going about halfway through the series will either strike you as incredibly cool or really dumb. And the finale is just mind-blowing, dramatic, and beautiful, as it integrates the science fiction aspect of the show with Shinji's personal journey in a way that I don't see done very often.
American Gun Culture Report, Issue #2
The new issue of American Gun Culture Report - the firearms periodical for the hip, alternative, non-fascist crowd - is out, and I just got a stack of copies in the mail. While the first issue was awesome, it was mostly articles by the publication's pioneering editor, Ross Eliot. In this issue one can already see that the zine is getting some widespread attention, with articles by a variety of authors including yours truly.
My article deals with my embrace of firearms and the intersection of that experience with radical politics with particular emphasis on left libertarianism (no online version, though - I resolved to write an AGCR exclusive). Matt Siegel, the local libertarian who got me into the mag, writes two awesome articles: one on NYPD psy-ops, and another on the Virginia Tech shootings. I've seen another wonderful and witty story he wrote about the history and politics surrounding the "cop killer" round, which will probably be coming in a future edition. There's also an insightful analysis of the intersection between firearms and certain alternative lifestyles by Timothy Weston as well as a bunch of interviews and book reviews. And if all that isn't enough, there's a healthy dose of humorous fake ads and other jokes poking fun at gun nuttery in general and leftists and rightists in particular.
If you're interested in gun rights and culture without the homophobia, conservatism, and State worship, check this mag out. Hopefully AGCR will have a website up in the not-too-distant future (I've volunteered to help) so maybe at that time my article will be web-accessible.
Quote of the Day
Here's what I know, Ricky. If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, you own it. If it doesn't, you don't own it. And if it doesn't, you're an asshole.
- Bubbles
Countering Evolution With Revolution
Fortunately, some of us are reclaiming our movement for freedom and sanity.
