Small Government Blog

I’m drawing this conclusion from the headline to the Reuters story, before reading the article:

The headline:

“NATO rules avoid Afghan civilian deaths: general”

The conclusion:

We may have fired the shots that resulted in the deaths in question, but it’s our evil enemies, the Taliban and/or al Qaeda who are to blame for opposing us.

Now, I’ll read the article.

Let’s see how I did:

“He (U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel) said many civilian casualties were caused because Taliban insurgents launched attacks in populated areas and used ordinary Afghans and their homes as cover.” (more…)

As many of you may have already heard, Stephen Gordon has resigned from his position as Political Director of the Libertarian Party. Last June, Gordon was hired as the LP’s Communication Director, then he was recently made Political Director, and now he has resigned.

On June 4 (see LibertyMix Spoof), I wrote:

Stephen Gordon doesn’t seem to be doing anything of consequence, other than going around Washington promoting himself (highly reminiscent of Joe Seehusen), looking for his next job.

Looking for his next job? I guess he found it.

I recently suggested that it was unwise to donate to the Libertarian Party because of Gordon’s partnership and raising funds from Libertarians for a project called “LibertyMix” which never materialized (see Track Record).

Now that Gordon has resigned, is it safe to donate to the Libertarian Party?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Unfortunately, the gushing Shane Cory (Libertarian Party Executive Director) has made his position on donations clear. During a recent discussion of the LibertMix project on another blog (see http://www.lastfreevoice.com/2007/06/17/latest-libertymix-news-61707/ ), Shane Cory finally chimes in and defends Stephen Gordon and the disappearance of over $12,000. Cory says:

Anyone reading this blog who has ever run or been involved in a small business or project [k]now[s] that in many circumstances we have to rely on others and at times those people fail.

So the party that formerly believed in and advocated PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY now advocates a philosophy of: please donate, but don’t expect us to be held accountable or responsible.

Maybe once Shane Cory stops gushing like a school girl, he will become a man and learn that EVERY JOB requires a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders.

Wake up Bill Redpath (Libertarian Party Chair). It’s time to restore integrity to the Party of Principle. It’s time to fire Shane Cory.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence starts out:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

Whatever may have been the view of the signers of the original document, it seems reasonable today to interpret the term “man” as a species-reference, rather than a gender reference. At least, that’s my position.

So after reading Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Megan K. Stack’s description of her experiences in Saudi Arabia, it’s hard not to view Saudi society as suffering from a glaring and fundamental flaw, much of the same nature as slavery in pre-civil war America, or South African apartheid. (more…)

Remember the old paradox, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I was reminded of it last night while watching an interview of Dennis Kucinich by MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson.

Carlson opens his introduction with the question “what’s the least bad solution to the war in Iraq?”

Kucinich asserts “…ok, it’s time for the U.S. to leave. But we cannot leave without creating an international peacekeeping and security force…that means an initiative with Syria and Iran..and when we create this that’s when we can be assured that as we leave Iraq will not disintegrate…”

Carlson characterizes this proposition as “so we’ve passed the buck to other countries…”

Kucinich responds “…Iran must be concerned about further instability in Iraq…”

If we accept the questionable presumption that the presence of U.S. forces has a stablizing effect, then Carlson’s question:

“Why in the world would they want their soldiers killed?”

appears pertinent.

It’s a bit dissappointing to see Kucinich fall into this trap. If we keep setting conditions, if we keep insisting on determining the outcome, we’ll never actually leave.

Why indeed would any of Iraq’s neighbors committ to such an endeavour before they actually see the U.S. troops out of Iraq?

Yet another manifestation of the fact that we didn’t belong there in the first place. As we didn’t belong there in the first place, we are in no position to make demands about what transpires after we leave.

We are obliged to leave by the wrongness of our presence; we are in no position to make demands.

Yes, things will go badly in Iraq after we leave. Things are going badly there now. Yes, either way it will be our fault.

This is not news.

It’s past time.

The egg came first.

—The Bikemessenger

I had to share this. It is a spoof of the Stephen Gordon / Stephen VanDyke con.

http://libertymix.nfshost.com/

One of the funniest things about this spoof site is that I have been accused of putting it up. Rest assured folks, if I had put it up, I wouldn’t have hid my identity.

I stayed out of commenting on the LibertyMix con — after all, I never gave them any money. But when the LNC hired Stephen Gordon (who seems to have an unsavory reputation), then I had to comment. I am a life member of the LP and I have invested a lot of money and time in trying to advance it — so I have standing. Now, of course, the Libertarian Party is completely enmeshed in this scandal because they have banned the word LibertyMix at their blog. By covering up for the alleged con artist, Stephen Gordon, they have become accessories after the fact - or co-conspirators.

Stephen Gordon doesn’t seem to be doing anything of consequence, other than going around Washington promoting himself (highly reminiscent of Joe Seehusen), looking for his next job. Everyday I go to Google News and look for mentions of the Libertarian Party, and the number of times our national organization has gotten itself mentioned in the news is pathetically few.

It’s long past time to fire Stephen Gordon. How about replacing him with somebody who puts promoting the Libertarian Party ahead of promoting himself?