Skip to main content

Places that will make you think

I've been uncomfortable with blogrolls from the very beginning (which was, by the way, .001667 of a century ago).

Within the DE blogosphere it seems essential to list those blogs you check into or comment upon, and that's OK.

And what criteria do you use for the rest?

Obviously, here at Delaware Libertarian I want to hit the standard Libertarian sites, not that anyone reading this is likely (A) not to have ever visited them if the reader is a libertarian, or (B) to visit them if the reader is not a libertarian. Still, I guess it's expected.

But I also wanted to cast the net a bit wider than that. Just one problem, I thought: will anybody see placing links on these blogs as endorsements?

Then I thought: why the hell should I care? Because placing them here IS an endorsement that you should be aware of what's going on at these places, and if you aren't savvy enough to realize that I don't agree with everything (or anything) running down the left side of the page, then we probably wouldn't get along, anyway.

So while the roll will change from time to time as I stumble into new frontiers, here are some hints as to why you might want to check these out:

Cara's The Curvature: A Feminist Perspective on Politics and Culture is exceptionally well-written, and given her background (from New South Wales), is less myopically focused on American issues than you might think. My favorites from the past month: In 2008 a fresh start for NSW rape laws and Whenever I need a laugh, I just commit sexual assault.

In the category of "if you think libertarians are scary, take a look at the real gone right wing," visit Freedom Fighter Radio.net, but please, don't tell them I sent you.

You want to know what's scarier than milita wannabes with lots of firepower (who make those of us who believe in the Second Amendment want to slide over on the Group W bench)? What's scarier is the rise of private military companies (read "mercenaries") and their continued large-scale employment by the US government since the early Clinton years and continuing unabated through the Bush administration. For an education that is entirely too intensive and too relevant for comfort, stop by Private Military.org, but keep a flak jacket handy.

Gay rights is an issue that I strongly believe Libertarians need to care about, for both ethical and practical reasons. Ethically speaking, the government (as in keeping gay marriage or civil unions outlawed) and employers (who still in Delaware are actually not breaking the law if they discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation) should be some of our best recruiters to a party that stands for individual rights. In practical terms, this is a statewide issue that--should the Libertarian Party of Delaware take it up in a big way--could convince quite a few people that a party stressing individual rights was the correct place for them.

Two approaches here: if you have never visited CAMP Rehoboth, you should: good writing, local relevance, and a chance to see a community of real people, not stereotypes. On the other hand, you should probably also try Phlamer, a Phucking Phabulous Blog. For a walk on the wilder side, be sure to check out Straight man commits hate crime and rapes a gay man...um...what? and Civil Unions begin next week in Uruguay. How does Homer Simpson pronounce that, "You are gay?"

If you thought Libertarian activism was all about stodgy fellows who chortle with the Thurston Howell III accent, maybe a trip to Carol Moore.net will set you straight. Moore, the organizer of Libertarians for Peace and a firm believer in constitutional secession and community autonomy, is--as her button says, "Pro-Choice on Everything," and it shows. This site is worth visiting just for the photo diaries.

Finally, if you just want to see a blog done in good taste with understated humor (and view local politics that you don't have to care about because you don't even know where it is), visit Waldo Lydecker's Journal.

More next time.

Comments

Since I have off through Tuesday, and generally get in a contemplative move at this time of year, I'll have some fun over the next few days checking out these sites.

Heck, maybe I'll even learn something.
Waldo, furiously typing his New Year's radio talk (presented, as always by "electrical transcription"), looked up long enough to nod in acknowledgement of your honorable mention. He's grateful.

Popular posts from this blog

A Libertarian Martin Luther King Jr. Day post

In which we travel into interesting waters . . . (for a fairly long trip, so be prepared) Dr. King's 1968 book, Where do we go from here:  chaos or community? , is profound in that it criticizes anti-poverty programs for their piecemeal approach, as John Schlosberg of the Center for a Stateless Society  [C4SS] observes: King noted that the antipoverty programs of the time “proceeded from a premise that poverty is a consequence of multiple evils,” with separate programs each dedicated to individual issues such as education and housing. Though in his view “none of these remedies in itself is unsound,” they “all have a fatal disadvantage” of being “piecemeal,” with their implementation having “fluctuated at the whims of legislative bodies” or been “entangled in bureaucratic stalling.”   The result is that “fragmentary and spasmodic reforms have failed to reach down to the profoundest needs of the poor.” Such single-issue approaches also have “another common failing — ...

More of This, Please

Or perhaps I should say, "Less of this one, please." Or how about just, "None of them. Ever again. Please....For the Love of God." Sunshine State Poll: Grayson In Trouble The latest Sunshine State/VSS poll shows controversial Democratic incumbent Alan Grayson trailing former state Senator Dan Webster by seven points, 43 percent to 36 percent. A majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- disapprove of the job that Grayson is doing. Independents have an unfavorable view of him as well, by a 36/47 margin. Grayson has ignored the conventional wisdom that a freshman should be a quiet member who carefully tends to the home fires. The latest controversy involves his " Taliban Dan " advertisement, where he explicitly compares his opponent to the Taliban, and shows a clip of Webster paraphrasing Ephesians 5:22 -- "wives, submit to your husbands." An unedited version of the clip shows that Webster was actually suggesting that husba...

A reply to Salon's R. J. Eskrow, and his 11 stupid questions about Libertarians

Posts here have been in short supply as I have been living life and trying to get a campaign off the ground. But "11 questions to see if Libertarians are hypocrites" by R. J. Eskrow, picked up at Salon , was just so freaking lame that I spent half an hour answering them. In the end (but I'll leave it to your judgment), it is not that Libertarians or Libertarian theory looks hypocritical, but that the best that can be said for Mr. Eskrow is that he doesn't have the faintest clue what he's talking about. That's ok, because even ill-informed attacks by people like this make an important point:  Libertarian ideas (as opposed to Conservative ideas, which are completely different) are making a comeback as the dynamic counterpoint to "politics as usual," and so every hack you can imagine must be dragged out to refute them. Ergo:  Mr. Eskrow's 11 questions, with answers: 1.       Are unions, political parties, elections, and ...