EDITORIAL MATTERS:
Welcome to the 327th issue of TLE! This time we have another
big issue. We begin with a "Count Pointer-Count" with
Chris Claypoole and Thomas L. Knapp on the National Libertarian
Party's "Iraq Exit Strategy". Chris and Tom will have concluding
comments next issue. These two articles are followed by Ken Van Cleave's
own strategy for "uniting" the two main factions of that same Party.
And this is then followed by six more articles. Such a
deal for your dime, eh?
I've decided to not mention Tom Paine Maru until it's
ready for sale. Oops, I mentioned it. "And so it goes."
However, I will mention donations. Yes, friends, if you
enjoy reading TLE, if you find TLE useful, or just for
the heck of it, why not donate a bit of cash money to help keep
the operation going? Here's how:
http://www.ncc-1776.org/donate.html
Ken Holder
editor@ncc-1776.org
Editor
ARTICLES
Letters to the Editor
from Neil Alexander
FULL STORY
LP Platform Ignored in LP's Iraq Exit Strategy
by Chris Claypoole
There seem to be some contradictions between the
Iraq Exit Strategy (IES) of the Libertarian Party (LP) and the
National Platform of the Libertarian Party, adopted in May 2004. The
IES has over a page of endnotes (not bad for a six-page document), but
none of the research seems to have touched on their own stated principles.
FULL STORY
LP Platform Implemented in LP's Exit Strategy
by Thomas L. Knapp
Within the confines of a small, ideologically oriented
group, it's a given that any major proposalbe it internal and
organizational or external and politicalwill produce a backlash. Thus
it is no surprise that several critiques of the Libertarian Party's "Exit
Strategy for Iraq" have emerged within days of that proposal's public debut.
FULL STORY
The Janus Gambit
A Strategy for Libertarian Emergence
by Kent B. Van Cleave
Janus was the Roman god of beginnings, of gateways and
portals (scholars disagree on the other things in his portfolio), and may
have been the first of the Roman gods. He is normally portrayed with two
faces, front and backuseful for seeing both what lies ahead and what
has passed. We can learn much from such mythological figuresnot
because they are real and communicate verities to the worthy, but because
they represent some universal attributes of human nature and social
transactions. That's the way myths work.
FULL STORY
Closing the Door on Political Correctness
by Jim Lesczynski
In the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where I live, an intruder beat a
woman and tried to rape her in the laundry room of her co-op building last
week. Fortunately, another woman came along, and her screams scared the
attacker away. The co-op is just across the street from mine, and my wife
and daughters often visit friends in that building, making the attack too
close to home for all of us.
FULL STORY
Hothouse Orchids versus Desert Cacti
by Ali Hassan Massoud
Psychologists and salespeople call it the "chameleon
effect". People are thought to be more trustworthy and likeable if they
imitate the body language of the person they're speaking with. A new
experimental study has now shown that software programs can use this
technique successfully as well.
FULL STORY
Relegation Nation: An Idea for Reforming the Courts
by Jonathan David Morris
Conservatives and liberals alike are looking at Sandra
Day O'Connor's retirement as a chance to mold the
Supreme Court in their image. But if you ask me, both
sides are missing the real opportunity here. This is
more than a chance to change the court's ideological
make-up. It's a chance to restructure the court
completely. I'm talking about a total overhaul here.
The way I see it, the court would be better if it ran
like European soccer. But before I get to that, let me
explain why.
FULL STORY
The Silver Linings in Socialist Leanings
by Lady Liberty
On June 23, the US Supreme Court released its decision on a Connecticut
property rights case. Much to the dismay of millions, the court ruled
5-4 that cities can seize homes or businesses via eminent domain and
give the land to other private developers. Within the official ruling,
those justices on the one side of the decision claimed that the "public
use" required by the Fifth Amendment could conceivably be met when
cities seek to increase their tax base, adding "the necessity and
wisdom of using eminent domain to promote economic development are
certainly matters of legitimate public debate." The dissenting opinions
were stronger, including Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's contention that,
"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private
party," and referring to those whose property is taken as "victims."
FULL STORY
Successfully Failed
Or
Historical Precedence
by Ulrich Biele
This morning, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
dared to conquer new historical terrain by publicly admitting his incompetence
and staging a vote of no confidence against himself. A politician who until
yesterday fought like a lion in order to get a parcel of seventy new laws
into the books which he wanted to be passed before he himself had to pass,
today stages a vote he deliberately intends to lose in order to have his
disability to govern officially confirmed. Weird.
FULL STORY
Domestic Violence Victims Need Self-Defense
by Wendy McElroy
On June 27th, in Castle
Rock v. Gonzales, the Supreme Court found that Jessica Gonzales
did not have a constitutional right to police protection from a
private individual even in the presence of a restraining order. By a
vote of 7-to-2, Gonzales has no right to sue her local police department
for failing to protect her from her estranged and, ultimately, lethal husband.
FULL STORY
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