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1) Pedinska: No, it was not my joke; I love it as I am a cat owner but it is the wife's property. Well, the great George Booth did creat the cartoon first so I guess he gets a little credit.
2) Mona, "real libertarians" respect the nonaggression principle. This leads to believing in self-ownership and laissez-faire. Libertarians believe in individual conscience and individual choice, and reject the use of force or fraud to compel others except in response to force or fraud.
Stanford University claims the following:
Libertarianism is often thought of as “right-wing” doctrine. This, however, is mistaken for at least two reasons. First, on social—rather than economic—issues, libertarianism tends to be “left-wing”. It opposes laws that restrict consensual and private sexual relationships between adults (e.g., gay sex, non-marital sex, and deviant sex), laws that restrict drug use, laws that impose religious views or practices on individuals, and compulsory military service. Second, in addition to the better-known version of libertarianism—right-libertarianism—there is also a version known as “left-libertarianism”. Both endorse full self-ownership, but they differ with respect to the powers agents have to appropriate unappropriated natural resources (land, air, water, etc.). Right-libertarianism holds that typically such resources may be appropriated by the first person who discovers them, mixes her labor with them, or merely claims them—without the consent of others, and with little or no payment to them. Left-libertarianism, by contrast, holds that unappropriated natural resources belong to everyone in some egalitarian manner. It can, for example, require those who claim rights over natural resources to make a payment to others for the value of those rights. This can provide the basis for a kind of egalitarian redistribution.
The best known early statement of (something close to) libertarianism is Locke (1690). The most influential contemporary work is Nozick (1974).
I am happy with any libertarian that respects the nonaggression principle entirely and without exception. That always means anti-war, no? I fail to see how the doctrine of nonaggression will ever lead to tyranny as some fools have proposed.
3) lwm: No, not this thread. It was a pleasant thread and mainly on topic except for the examination of certain equipment. I see not reason for you to destroy it today. Go play with your sock-puppets.
4) Arch; I think with some guys you should ask first, "do you believe in live and let live as a general principle"? If the answer is no then you have a totalitarian on your hands. Still, there will be debates even if a man is a "live and let live" kind of guy since how to best accomplish that goal is a hard problem for many.
5) My mother: said she is going to vote Democratic this year. That means the Republicans are toast since she has not voted Demo since Carter. (still mad at him over the hostages)
6) I got no six, I just like to end on even numbers. This may explain why I find the 'trinity' wrong. :-)
