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 THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 402, January 21, 2007 "Justice is simply not the State's top priority and it never will be."
Send Letters to editor@ncc-1776.org
Re: "Am I the NRA?", by L. Neil Smith A call for your help to us all. Or, a call to pens (arms) for MR NEIL. Gun rights organizations need a charter, a mandate. Stated in simple terms this mandate should be to uphold the Second Amendment as originally intended. Without violating other of the ten Amendments or rights as found both stated and unstated in the Constitution. Ala #X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. (Relates to rights yet unspecified.) This should also include a pledge to end all support and all lip service to any favorite causes such as a drug war or war on terrorism. It should also include an end to support for any who support a Second Amendment violating the law or act. A form of excommunication for any organization officials or members violating this agreement would be a good idea as well. This should be simple in its content and the best I've seen of it's like is the ZAP (by L. Neil Smith) an agreement for individuals. I believe Mr. L. NEIL SMITH should Author such a mandate and pledge(for organizations and members) that GUN rights organizations can follow pledging or not as they will. I believe this would serve everyone's right to keep and bear arms a litmus test for our rights groups a proof positive of commitment to our rights or against. We should know our friends we should also know our enemies. And as Mr. Neil says Allies who have compromise as an agenda are our greatest enemies. Don Wilson
To Which L. Neil Smith Replied I believe Don Wilson's idea is excellent—very simple, and potentially very effective. If so-called guin rights leaders refuse to take such a pledge (or ignore the demand for it), then everybody will know beyond a shadow of a doubt who and what they are. If they agree to do so, then we have the basis for a new, more powerful alliance. I will draft it as soon as my desk is a little clearer. Thanks, Don, L. Neil Smith
Dear Ken: Re: "The Problem With Global Warming", by Jonathan David Morris I enjoyed Jonathan David Morris's brief dissertation on climate change. He and others may be interested to know that the east's recent wave of summerlike temperatures occurred at the same moment that the west lay frozen to the ground and buried up to various of its orifices in too goddamned much frigging snow!!! Ahem. . . excuse me. We've certainly had cold winters in Colorado before. Last February it was in the twenties—below zero. We've also had a lot of snow from time to time, although four out of five Christmases here in Fort Collins we have dry ground. But this year, it's been so cold for so long (and with enough snow that our 4WD Durango couldn't get away from where it was parked on the street in front of the house) that I'm keeping my .416 Rigby by the door now, for when the mammoths return. "Globular Warming" (as we call it around here) is a hoax. Period. It's a flimflam on a par with the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Lincoln freeing the slaves, or the Federal Reserve saving us from capitalism. But it's too damned bad that it isn't happening. Every year that goes by, every year that I get older. I think more kindly upon the prospect of moving to Arizona or Texas, or even back to hideous Florida. And anything that would put New York and Washington D.C. under forty feet of water can't be all bad. But here's the proof for you: if global warming is real, as our glorious political leaders and our wise mentors in the entertainment world insist, why haven't they generated a real estate boom by buying up all the land in Alaska? L. Neil Smith
I've seen some rather scathing reviews of Jonathan David Morris's (JDM) submissions to TLE, and it's given me some cause for thought. Although I'm not opposed to being scathing, I would recommend an author ensure correcting spelling and grammar before making a submission for publication. Beyond that, I'm curious about the supposed intent of TLE. If it is indeed supposed to be strictly for the advancement of libertarian ideas, and nothing else, then I agree that most of JDM's submissions, while entertaining, are not really appropriate. If TLE is a forum for libertarians to share their thoughts, not necessarily on libertarian subjects, then there should be no quarrel with JDM's submissions. Andy Moore did bring up a good point, though. For libertarians to be taken seriously, we must watch our language, ensuring that nobody confuses us as the fascists we oppose. Therefore it is, in my opinion, permissible to criticize the gaudy monstrosities that people place on their lawns during Winter Solstice, but to suggest the people who display them be removed from our vicinity is a bit crass. As Andrew G. Eggleston Sr. pointed out this week, there's nothing terribly wrong with hurting someone's feelings, but it might not serve your goal. Ultimately, this is something for the editors to decide, and it is certainly the responsibility of the editors to screen things before they are posted if continuity of a publication is desired. If they so choose, they could poll us, the readers, about whether TLE is supposed to strictly libertarian, or is open to things that are simply entertaining. Personally, I don't mind most of JDM's stuff. It's fun, but it's generally not very philosophically stimulating. I began reading TLE regularly because of L. Neil Smith, and the other libertarians who occasionally submit interesting and thought-provoking ideas that I can't regularly find in any other free publication. If we, as readers, want more of Smith's genre, rather than JDM's type of content, then it's probably going to be our responsibility to come up with something worth publishing, rather than criticize the few people who do get published. I know I wouldn't mind at least a dozen essays each week. I wouldn't mind more fresh ideas about how to advance liberty and achieve it within my lifetime. For example, Ernest Hancock's submission this week was as enjoyable as it was useful. I suspect that most of us who read TLE are also active in taking the responsibility for self-defense into our own hands, and we could certainly benefit from hearing our readers experiences with that. I would especially like to hear from people around the globe, those who may offer a broader perspective to our common individualistic goals. Whatever happens, fellow TLE readers, I think it is probably up to us, so find something worth telling, and write about it (and while you're at it, check your damned spelling and grammar). Sean Clifton
[What he said! In fact, let me have him say it again: ". . .it's probably going to be our responsibility to come up with something worth publishing, rather than criticize the few people who do get published." What he said!—Editor]
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