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 THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 785, August 24, 2014 And how do you reason with power?
Send Letters to editor@ncc-1776.org
Re: "From the Rust Belt to the Asteroid Belt: Freeman Dyson Calling All Heretics" by Jeff Fullerton Ray remembers that infamous margarine commercial from the 70s! It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature! Followed by a thunderclap. And then she also made an appearance in The Year Without a Santa Claus brokering a deal between her two feuding sons- Snow Miser & Heat Miser to let it snow in the Southland. Sometimes Jim Quinn used the lyrics associated with the latter "He's Mr Green Christmas, He's Mr Sun" as a theme song for his global warming updates. Which I always liked better than the Cuban "Hot!—Hot!—Hot"! or Kermit the Frog singing "It's Not Easy Being Green"—though that one was always funny at the end when Quinn would cut it short with talk about fishing with dynamite followed by an explosion and "Lordy We Gonna Have Catfish Tonite"! Best blasphemy in that regard was Mrs Singh—the lady who ran the boarding house on the asteroid Pallas—who referred to the planet Earth as "Mother Mud". When you mix logging operations or any kind of construction involving heavy equipment with wet weather—it's obvious that she was right! And Rachel Carson is probably rolling over in her grave and screaming like a banshee!  Jeff Fullerton
Re: "Letter from Tyrone Johnson" Tyrone was far kinder to me this time (thanks, my friend). I DID go to the links Tom sent me, after sending them out, as I said I would. Why, one might ask, did I not go to them first? Well, I'll tell ya—I thought better of Tom than that. I was so sure he wasn't the asshole Tyrone labeled him. I was sure that quote was either out of context, or deliberately provocative to scare us away from said holocaust he "saw" coming. I was wr.... wro........ DAMNIT! I was mistaken. I do believe that Tom has gotten ever more right wing over the last few years. I just thought it was just because the plotline headed that way. Not because he agreed with it. I still prefer Balboa over where I see America going. Because THERE I could at least ride a dirigible across the night sky, and see a new horizon.... Tyrone—whether we like it or not (and I most certainly do NOT) "we" individuals are still quite likely to be tarred by the same brush that will tar the assholes that are wielding it. Rest assured, I will vote for the best, most Libertarian person I can find for anything I can vote for (based on record, not what they say) regardless of party. Should, however, my bleak view turn out to be correct, look for me to be advocating for the elimination of government from every stump. Do I WANT to see my bleak view occur? Hell no! Do I think a handful of people who ARE individuals in every sense of the word can have an impact on said direction, and effect a change? Hell yes. But I see far too many people content to be a blank cypher in a bureaucrat's ledger, as long as they have three hots and a cot. Now, if I had a choice of fictional locals to live, the first would be Neil's NAC. Second be Pallas. And a distant third would be Williamson's Freehold, despite it's military. Neale Osborn
Ken: By definition, people with the right to keep and bear arms are more free than those whose governments deny them that right. That's why "shall not be infringed" represents the highest of freedoms—the freedom to defend yourself against the government when it becomes the principal threat to your life, liberty, and property. TJ Mason
Dear Editor: Many a long year ago, a friend of mine told me about a boss of his who once said, "When faced with a choice, take both." Clearly, we need more artefacts for a culture of freedom, we need more teachers and students to learn about freedom and teach it, and we need tools and technologies to keep ourselves free, amongst our many and varied needs. There's no question that getting the ideas of liberty out to a broader audience is a good move. There's also no question that getting those ideas into the minds of children from a very young age is a good move. These strategies are not necessarily in conflict. As to Neil Schulman's very excellent novel "Alongside Night" and the film he's screen-written and, I gather, produced and directed, based on the same novel, I do wonder about mainstream distribution. Perhaps the freedom community should come together and do a few private screenings at events like Libertopia, the Porcupine Festival, at next year's World Science Fiction convention, or in cities with large freedom-oriented populations. If Neil can get freedom enthusiasts to fill a few 200 to 500 seat auditoriums with paying viewers, he might be able to get "Alongside Night" picked up for distribution to art cinemas, or to mainstream cinemas. Aaron Russo had some success with that technique a few years back, as I recall. Sincerely, Tyrone Johnson
Dear Editor, Next weekend, we'll be shipping our press release all over the place. So, I thought it might be fun to send the readers of The Libertarian Enterprise a preview document. Here's that info: SilentVault is preparing its service launch for 25 August 2014. The company will be making its announcement through crypto-currency media outlets as well as through traditional mainstream media outlets. You are being provided with a preview. Further information is available at https://SilentVault.com/ What Is SilentVault?
Who Is Behind SilentVault
When Is SilentVault Available?
When Is it Okay to Discuss SilentVault
Where Can I Learn More?
Why Silence the BlockChain
How Does It Work?
Please visit https://SilentVault.com/ for more details. Sincerely, Tyrone Johnson
Re: Letter "Fences" Thanks Tyrone, for your comment. On the last item, that was just an off-reference to Panarchy without much explanation (the article was getting long as it was). My initial exploration of the idea can be found here, before I was even aware there was a name for it: Other explorations are found here and there in my list of articles. If you read them you will see that it has nothing to do with a neighbor being robbed (except for being robbed—"taxed"—by his own polity, which he supports and which is none of your business). On the other hand, ordinary criminal attacks would certainly call for actions on one's part to stop it—at least if self-interested is consulted. It's not in our interest to live where crime is rampant. As you comment toward the end, it is force that is evil—not incorrect opinions. Paul Bonneau
Minimum Wage? Gotta nice quotation for your edification:
Richard Bartucci
To which A.X. Perez remarked: In 1964 the Ace D series (35 cents) paper backs were just being replaced by the F series( 40 cents). A pack of cigarettes was a quarter, a cup of coffee, with free refills, was about a dime. Gas was a quarter a gallon or so, a Coke was less than a dime but you could get your two penny deposit back. Hershey bars were about a nickle. I am more concerned about reminding people that for it to be worth your boss's effort to hire you for minimum wage you have to produce enough wealth to cover his contribution to FICA, unemployment insurance, workers' comp, any applicable regulatory agency costs, the administrative costs of hiring you, and oh yeah, his profit. Call it you have to produce at least half again as much wealth as you get paid to be worth minimum wage. How many people you know producing at least sixteen bucks an hour that can't get a promotion or better job in anything that passes for a healthy economy? A.X. Perez
Freeman Dyson: Heretical Thoughts About Science and Society—YouTube "Every Orchid or Rose or Lizard or Snake is the work of a dedicated breeder"! I love this guy!
Glad I took the time to view the remainder of the lecture at the end of my shift tonight! Jeff Fullerton
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