THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE
Number 265, April 4, 2004
Boycott Verizon Communications!

EDITORIAL MATTERS:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, we're back from the so-called "Big Apple", a name that makes no sense to me. "The Big Dirty Place" might be a better, or at least more accurate nickname. Or "The Really, Really, Really Crowded Place" even better!

However, that famous New Yawker rudeness and general incivility was nowhere in evidence, everybody I talked to or interacted with was polite and friendly. Riding the subway was interesting, but nothing more. Central Park was very nice ... I'm sure it keeps many people sane having a bit of open space with trees and grass and such.

One of the bride's uncles explained "We're New Yorker's, we don't give a shit." I refrained from explaining that non-New Yorker's don't give a shit whether New Yorkers give a shit or not. I was a guest, after all.

Pat's son's wedding was ... well, it was "lovely" is what it was. No other word serves, in spite of the well known fact that "Real Men Don't Say 'Lovely'". Honest, it is well-known where I come from! (He says, resting his hand on the butt of his .44 Magnum revolver and squinting his eyes under the shade of his cowboy hat.)

Yes, I wore a tuxedo, for the first time in my life. Probably the last time too. Never did figure out how that silly little tie was supposed to be positioned relative to the silly little shirt collar. Ah well .... And no, I didn't wear my Walther under the jacket. Honest!

What with the week-off, the ol' in-box is full of articles, more than enough for two issues of TLE, so you'll be seeing them "as time goes by".

Ken Holder
Your Mr. Ed

DON'T FORGET:

If you would like to discuss the content of TLE with other readers, why not subscribe to "Libertarian Enterprise" discussion group by sending a blank email to:

[email protected]

Reply to the confirmation message you get back. Our authors, editors, and readers are encouraged to "gather" at the group and commune with one another. On the other hand, maybe you'll visit and the joint is empty. "One never knows, do one?"

Letters to the Editor
Letters from John LuValle, Joe Kultgen, Doug Heard, e.j.totty, and Zan Lynx
• FULL STORY

TLE Interviews Michael Badnarik
by L. Neil Smith
First things first, Mike. Why are you in competition for the Libertarian Party's nomination for the Presidency of the United States?
• FULL STORY

Real-World Economics
Job Growth Stalled Despite Bush Administration Oracles—But So What?
by Alan R. Weiss
My innaugural article for NetPlanetNets will be typical of my future columns: a focus on real-world economics and how it impacts your financial and personal security. There are lots of people out there who can teach you basic economics, and even more who will mislead you with plainly boneheaded thinking (often self-serving). This isn't that kind of newspaper, and I'm not that kind of author. I'm going to give you news, analysis, insights, and strategies on economics that will help you take charge of your career, your life, your business, and your economic future—or least give you ideas that you can put to good use.
• FULL STORY

Review of Hope
by Ron Beatty
If any of you have read any of my articles over the last few months since I started writing for TLE, you know that I am a big fan of L. Neil Smith's books, second only to the great Robert A. Heinlein. Even though it started with The Probability Broach, Pallas, and Henry Martyn, what really fixed his place in my library was the book Hope, co-written with Aaron Zelman, of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
• FULL STORY

Taking Baby Steps Toward Freedom
by Lady Liberty
Some close friends of mine had an exceptional weekend. They've just became the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy (who, unlike some newborns, actually is beautiful). Mom and baby are just fine; Dad is as proud of both of them as you might expect him to be.
• FULL STORY

The Free State Project
by L. Neil Smith
For quite a while, folks have been asking for my opinion of the Free State Project, a try at moving as many libertarians as possible into one of America's smaller states, so that they can finally have something to say about the political conditions they're compelled to live under, as well as having libertarian neighbors, libertarian schools (better yet, libertarian homeschool associations) for their children, and maybe even libertarian businesses to deal with and work for.
• FULL STORY

Boycott of Verizon Communications
by Carl Bussjaeger
Verizon Communications has a written policy which requires all employees to forfeit the ability to adequately defend themselves from criminals, rendering them helpless on the job. The company's Code of Business Conduct, publicly available on its website, states:
• FULL STORY

The Kaptain's Log
Weight Loss and a Free State
by Manuel Miles, aka Kapt Kanada
So what do the two have to do with one another, I hear you ask. Lots. In the year of our Lord 2003 A.D., your old Kaptain managed to lose nearly 40 pounds, most of it from his belly. It wasn't easy, but once I got serious and devoted myself to the project, it worked—eventually.
• FULL STORY

Law Versus Reality, Part IV
by William Stone, III
This is by far the longest I've ever expounded on a single topic. I wasn't intending to, honestly. Unfortunately, as I get e-mail critical of my assertions, I find that it's necessary to delve into additional detail. My basic thesis is that from a moral and practical perspective, it is impossible for a single individual to have sole ownership of known, public information. I've argued that information shares none of property's unique characteristics, therefore information cannot be treated as identical to property.
• FULL STORY

Reading Between the Numbers
by Wendy McElroy
"According to 'experts', growing numbers of women are traumatised by childbirth and are not capable of child-rearing without professional help." Last week, with these words, sociologist Dr. Ellie Lee cast doubt upon the increasingly popular theory that postnatal depression affects as many as 1 in 5 new mothers. She said the research underlying that claim is "wrong." How can we trust research?
• FULL STORY

Help Support TLE, click on our advertisement and affiliate links even if you don't buy anything ... some of them will pay us for that!

Back to 2004 Issues Archive