Letters to the Editor
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A Former Democrat for Ron Paul
I am fed up with the Democrats who had the opportunity to impeach Bush and Cheney for their crimes and end the Iraq and did neither.
For the first time, I registered as a Republican so I could vote for Ron Paul.
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To: capitalist_pig
I think government is necessary in order to ensure basic equality.
Again, we need OSHA to apply to every worker in America -- not just one or two states.
We need environmental regulations to apply to every state -- not just a few.
The federal government is the entity which provides equality (ideally, at least).
A good example would be healthcare. Many libertarians would rather the government play no role whatsoever in healthcare and instead of the impoverished/disabled tended to by local charities.
But not all local charities are equal. Some states are much poorer than others. The cost of chemotherapy does not fluctuate -- but if a poor state like Michigan can't give a fraction of the "charity" to a citizen that California can, then we have an equality problem.
Ideally police protection and fire/rescue services should be equal for all citizens in every state. And so should public schools (as much as possible).
Only the federal government has the legal, financial and logistical ability to ensure a "standard" of living, laws and services that are equal throughout all the states.
Smaller government and increased "states rights" would only worsen inequality.
How does it benefit us as citizens if we were to allow one state to lower the standard of living for the people living there? How does it benefit us as a nation if we were to allow (for example) one state to eliminate OSHA, ban unions, roll back all environmental laws to 1930 levels, etc?
All states are free to meet HIGHER standards than the ones imposed by government -- but the only reason to ask for increased "states rights" would be to LOWER current standards.
If we allow one state to lower standards, then others would follow and it'd be a race to the bottom.
Let's be clear: advocates for increasing "states rights" do so only to lower standards and regulations (whatever they may be).
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5 reasons why geeks are libertarians
1. Geeks are outsiders. In school, there were a lot of different groups and we didn't belong to any of them--not the jocks, or the cheerleaders, or the drama club, or even the kids who smoked pot and cut class. These clubs were for kids who were cooler, more outgoing, and better looking than we were. Fast forward 20 years and the clubs that don't want you are still there. They're called the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
2. Geeks are anti-authoritarian, though not necessarily in a let's-blow-up-parliament kind of way. It's not that we didn't like the authority figures in our lives--the parents, teachers, and bosses. We just always thought we were smarter than they were. Start talking shop to them and their eyes just glaze over. Our best relationships with authority figures were with the ones that stayed out of our way and left us to our own devices. Is it any surprise that geeks want that kind of relationship with their government?
3. Geeks are really into DIY culture. The article touches on this a little bit. Geeks are engineers. We build things. We can do quite well on their own. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
4. Geeks value transparency. It's no surprise that Geeks love free software. Why would we install Windows on our computer? We would have no idea what we're opening ourselves up to. If we install linux, we have every line of code available to us. Libertarians represent this level of transparency in government.
5. Geeks tend to be well off. I couldn't resist slipping this in, but it's true. If you make a lot of money, you tend to notice it more when Uncle Sam calls calling. Combine this with our disinterest in the latest fashions and our value of simplicity, and a national sales tax sounds like the best policy idea ever.
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Thats a gas...
My theory is that since a lot of debate goes on on the internet, the most solid ideas rise to the surface and influence the most people.
That has to be the most hilarious piece of wishful thinking of I've ever heard in relation to the internet. As a person who has cruised newsgroups, message boards, BBS's and the like for a long time, the last thing the internet does is allow "the most solid ideas" to rise to the top. In fact, the anonymity of it often allows the worst aspects of peoples viciousness to be let free.
The internet is like some unholy bastard between standard face to face debates, where depth and nuance are sacrificed for brevity and scoring points, and actual clear concise writing, where people can construct a real argument explaining themselves. I await the day a forum institutes a forced couple hour cooling off period between every post, and encouraging people to write longer, more comprehensive back and forth arguments between one another.
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Am I going to have to leave the country ?
Honestly, the nonsense about Ron Paul is more than I can stand. People have just flipped their ever-loving lids.
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Libertarianism is not Anarchism
Common fallacy made by libertarian critics--that less government is no government. In the case of RP, he argues that there should be more local and state government, and solutions to societal problems, than a "fit-all" federal government. Why the emphasis on Federal solutions when they are exactly the most inefficient ways to fix things? -- simple, because it is easier to get the most money (through lobbying) that way.
Yes, there are problems to solve but why pay fifteen people to do the job that one or two could do, and try to amalgamate need rather than focus it where it is needed? Visit history, and read some Federalist Papers and Friedrich von Hayek while you are at it.
On the major topics he espouses, he uses historical fact, which is more than I can say for the rest of the blowhards on either side. A lot of promises with nothing to back them up. Vote RP!