This is certainly indicative of where we are going in this society, a November 11 story, "It's Time to Rethink Privacy, Official Says," : A top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of privacy. Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards people's private communications and financial information. One of the more heavy-handed ironies of the war on terror is that the government's mandate to protect us all from external enemies has now been extended (by that same government) into a mandate that all other rights and privileges guaranteed under the Constitution shall now be sacrificed to "homeland" security. This now includes a not-so-subtle shift in emphasis: instead of being an entity from which we want our privacy protected, the government becomes the entity that ...

You'd be amazed what can be hidden deep in the bowels of proposed legislation. Cloning prohibitions are trendy in state legislatures these days, much like anti-porn internet laws were several years ago. There are two problems with this, only one of which is the rampant scientific illiteracy throughout our nation (including many of our legislators). The biggest concern is the definitions. Consider HB 76 , which includes the following: (g) An ‘organism’ is a living whole being, an individual, even if that organism is compromised of just one cell. (h) A ‘human being’ is a living whole human organism, a human individual, from the beginning of the single-cell stage onward, produced by any means. Notice what this language does: by law it defines human life as beginning at conception, which lays some important groundwork for later placing restrictions on abortion. Please understand that I am not taking a position for or against abortion here; the issue is intellectual honesty. Do you s...

How do you organize to challenge the Demopublicans for "major" party status? One of the most successful state Libertarian parties is in Indiana. Last night's election results show that they managed in an off-year to run 31 candidates statewide, with Susan Bell winning as Hagerstown Town Court Judge, and several other candidates polling 10-37% of the vote. The Libertarian Party of Indiana explains its growth and success thus: The Libertarian Party of Indiana is the only party other than the Democrats and Republicans with ballot access in Indiana. Hoosier Libertarians have continually earned ballot access since 1994.. Other parties have tried – and failed, to gain ballot access. We take pride in our consistent presence. We are the new political center. Hoosier Libertarians advocate smaller government while vigilantly defending civil liberties. In a time of unprecedented spending and regulation from both major parties, Hoosier Libertarians are a sensible and credible alt...

Today Delaware Grapevine pointed out the significance of the Democratic win in the 14th District special election. State Republicans had pinned their hopes on capturing the late Jim Vaughn Sr.’s seat to reduce the Democrat majority in the Senate to 12-9, possibly placing them within striking distance of recovering their first majority since 1973. Instead, with Bruce Ennis handing Joann Christian a heavy defeat, the special election necessary to replace him in the House opens up the potential for the Dems to reduce the GOP margin in the lower chamber to 21-20. There’s a real chance that within another two years the Democrats could control both houses of the General Assembly. The long-term outlook for Delaware Republicans is actually worse than even this gloomy scenario suggests. In 2000, of Delaware’s 503,613 registered voters, the breakdown was 42.6% Democrats, 34.1% Republicans, and 23.4% all others (unaffiliated and minor parties). By late 2007, the voting rolls statewide had expa...

Okay, first some truth in advertising: I run a labor union in my spare time. I know it’s not politically correct for a Libertarian to run a labor union, but there it is. I’m the current president of the Delaware State University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (which is a longish way of saying, “the faculty union”). A long time ago I did not believe in unions for professionals, and I have certainly never believed in compulsory union membership (the traditional “closed shop”) or even the bastardized “agency shop” that Delaware has heretofore allowed. But when I encountered the current administration at DSU, I changed my mind. Sometimes only collective bargaining stands between employees and employers with radically different perceptions of what it means to follow a contract. That, however, is story for another day. What Representative Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View) has proposed is to make Delaware a formal “right to work” state. If HB 265 becomes law, n...

I am not sure how I survived my parents’ neglect without ever wearing a bicycle helmet, but with SB 174 , Senator Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington East) wants to make sure that my own children have been protected by the state. Anyone under age fifteen already has to wear a state-approved helmet “when operating bicycles and motorized scooters and skateboards (which can attain speeds up to 35-40 m.p.h.),” and now Senator Henry wants to extend the loving arms of the government’s protection to 16 and 17 year olds. She notes, without the slightest sense of irony in quoting an industry lobbying group, that “the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute supports mandatory helmet laws for all age groups.” Isn’t that a surprise? Next you’ll tell me that the Pantyhose Integrity Institute suggests that consumers purchase new stockings whenever they detect a run. This turkey would seem not only stupid and an example of how we’re paying our legislators too much, if it weren’t ominous. If the General Assem...

This bill , sponsored by Representative Bethany Hall-Long (D-Middletown) , currently resides in the House Analysis & Governmental Accountability Committee, and in its current incarnation should die there. Here’s the synopsis of this bill to strangle internet pharmacies: The intent of this Act is to completely stop the sale and delivery of prescription drugs to the residents of this State by unlicensed internet pharmacies. Currently, there are numerous internet sites which sell or offer to sell prescription drugs to Delaware residents based on nothing more than a brief medical questionnaire which is reviewed by a doctor who is unknown to the patient and unlicensed to practice or prescribe drugs in this State. Many of the prescription drugs being sold by these internet sites are extremely addictive and can cause serious injury or death if abused. The General Assembly considers the practices of these internet sites to constitute an extreme danger to the safety and welfare of the resid...