I see that’s going well
So, I let this lefty libertarian start blogging here and apparently some folks took offense to that. Not sure why. All he did was introduce himself and post a cool pic of an explosion. Then he was pounced on. Sort of uncalled for, if you ask me. If you disagree with someone, that’s cool. Let them know that by debating. But no need to stop reading (I’m still here) or accuse me of selling out. If I were to sell out, I’d do like all the other blogs and start playing technorati games by linking to the popular posts at the huge blogs. But that’s not my style. Never has been. I don’t buy ads. I don’t send mass emails (except on a rare occasion). I don’t do marketing. I made this site without any of that. My readers found me. And my readers range from conservative to liberal to libertarian to Libertarian to mild-mannered anarchists to moonbats. And I am cool with that.
A little lefty libertarian never hurt anyone. And if you think about it, they’re the ones that generally folks with my political bent actually have a chance of talking some sense in to.
One of the things about this site is that there are readers and authors here with varying political views. We discuss those things here and usually do so with no major issues. As Jon said in comments there:
One of the things I *really* enjoy about SU’s site is the good discussions and arguments I’ve participated (and lurked) in the comments.
That’s rather the point, don’t you think? Change some minds, get some perspective. In case you’ve not noticed, I am not one to toe a party line. I’ll tell those on the left and those on the right and those in the middle when I think they’re full of shit. I’ve been known to change my mind on occasion. And that has come from this site and discussions with you folks. So, when someone says they’re not going to read and may be back sometime, it disappoints me. And when someone accuses me of selling out, I’m not sure why. I sold out long ago by selling ads. Inviting someone with a different perspective to the discussion, I thought, would be a good thing. I still do.
Now, I’d like all the readers to agree with everything everyone says and for us to all hold hands, have a coke and a smile, and smoke some dope while singing Kumbaya. But that would be boring. No challenge. No entertainment. Posts would go like this: I’d post something witty and insightful. You’d all comment indeed. And we’d get bored.
It’d be cool if everyone liked me and all the other folks that post here, but it isn’t necessary.
Remember, I do this to entertain me. Not you.
Update: And so we’re clear, I have several positions that the typical reader here wouldn’t agree with. For example, I think:
Abortion should be legal (yeah it sucks, but the alternative is worse).
We should declare victory in the war on drugs and release the prisoners (as Chuck would say).
I’m against the death penalty.
Though I initially was one of the more ardent supporters of the war in Iraq, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is (at best) a clusterfuck.
All for gay marriage. In the eyes of the state, it’s just a contract between consenting folks. Who cares if it’s two dudes or not?
ID/Creationism don’t belong in school. And neither one is science.
But why stop there, let’s annoy the lefty readers to:
Free markets rock and hands down beat any other economic system.
I do believe in God and Jesus (though I’m not sure who this holy spirit person is, no one is).
Americans pay too much in taxes at all levels.
ANWR: If capping a few moose will lessen our dependance on foreign oil, then it’s time to cap some moose.
Kyoto: waste of money.
Spank kids.
Eliminate medicare and social security. And give me my money back
I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon than see Hillary Clinton as president.
I like guns and everyone should have them, even felons and poor people.
If you think capitalism is evil, you’re a loon
Many times, government is the problem
And, heck, while we’re at it let’s piss off Libertarians:
America’s foreign policy cannot consist of not having a foreign policy.
We needs roads, public education and welfare. The best means for that is the government, at least for now. Deal with it.
No, you can’t have nukes and I’m cool with that.
A political platform cannot consist of eliminating every thing the .gov does and be viable or smart.
The free market is cool, but it probably won’t make sure the meat I feed my baby is properly inspected
The free market also doesn’t do a great job of taking care of workers
For the moonbats, George Bush was elected. Twice. Get over it.
For everyone else:
Less filling.
Boxer briefs.
Pepsi.
The AR is better than the AK.
There, are we all good and pissed now? Come back if you want, I’ll be here. Talking about guns, probably.
June 4th, 2006 at 12:15 am
well said..I’d be happy to blog here too if you’d like to piss some more people off 🙂
June 4th, 2006 at 3:00 am
(1 & 2) I shudder to think about how life would be if the government outlawed abortion and tried to enforce it the same way they do with the war on drugs. Visualize court ordered uterus searches. Mandatory exams on the border with Canada. Sterilization for repeat offenders.
(3) I’m against the “life” penalty. WTF is “life”? 99 years? 30 years? 20 years with a quarter off for good behavior and a credit for overcrowding? Until that’s resolved, we need to keep the death penalty.
(4) Stop pretending it’s about freedom and democracy. It’s an all-out-war for the resources of the planet. Fresh water, arable land and most of all, cheap energy. I’m more and more convinced that we are in a cold war era, except it’s a “double secret” cold war, against China. Iraq is a domino. Somalia, with it’s probable and wholly untapped oil reserves is a domino. Taiwan and the surrounding territorial waters with proven oil reserves in the south china sea is a domino. Google genocide sudan oil china. The war on terror is just an early skirmish. Can we win this one and keep our freedom?
(5) Civil unions for everyone. Contracts to be written between consenting adult parties. Terms and duration to be decided by the parties involved. It’s insulting to have to apply for a license to be married. What’s next, a license to keep and bear arms? “Marriage” is a right and should solely consist of filing papers with the courts.
(6) Banish public schools. Vouchers for everyone as a stopgap until people stop having kids they can’t afford to raise. ID/Creationism or Evolution to be taught where and when the parents decide to spend their vouchers.
(7) Free markets good
(8) I bounce between Deism and Atheism
(9) Taxes suck. (I’ll save my modest proposal for a different occasion)
(10) ANWR: If we develop it, we will need to defend it in the coming war
(11) Kyoto: waste of money and quite possibly punishment for the rich nations of the world. Why waste a bazillon bucks when we don’t even know what causes ice ages?
(12) Spank kids.
(13) Getting my money back from medicare and social security is a pipe dream. Just let me out.
(14) If we get Hillary Clinton as president, it will be largely the fault of the party of so-called smaller, more fiscally responsible government.
(15) I like guns and everyone should have them, except violent felons and poly-tick-ons.
(16) If you think capitalism is evil, you’re a loon. If you think corporations ought to have as much rights as individuals, you’re a wackjob.
And, heck, while we’re at it let’s piss off Libertarians:
The Big “L” Libertarians, more than anyone else, stand in the way of what they and I want to see as government policy. They need to disband themselves as soon as possible.
June 4th, 2006 at 4:29 am
Who cares if the AR is better than the AK, the FAL beats them both 🙂
June 4th, 2006 at 6:53 am
Pepsi?, Pepsi? That’s it. I’m outta here.
June 4th, 2006 at 8:54 am
“A little lefty libertarian never hurt anyone. And if you think about it, they’re the ones that generally folks with my political bent actually have a chance of talking some sense in to.”
And vice versa, I’m sure. 🙂
June 4th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Ooh, FAL. Been thinking about building one.
June 4th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Well, none of what you said pissed me off. I didn’t agree with it, but I’m not pissed off.
So now I’m confused as to what the fuck I am….
Hey, thanks for the quote, btw.
It’s especially funny when one remembers that I threatened to quit reading you in the past. 😛
June 4th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
(1) Abortion should not be illegal. The “right to choose” argument rarely mentions the preceding choice. As far as medical health of the mother goes, I can’t think of a case where a doctor was made a criminal for saving a woman’s life.
(4) If it was ONLY about resources, we would not be spending so much effort, blood, and money on keeping the local populace alive. IF the “nation-building” effort is successful (and we may not really know for years) it can’t help but change the complexion of the Middle East.
(5) Marriage is about “doing it” for the children (beget, begat, begot). Production of a new child still requires a contribution from each gender, as opposed to cloning (re-production?). As far as I am concerned, the only “state interest” served by the government involvement in marriage is minimizing the progeny of incest. Beyond that, anything else between two people is a partnership.
(6) ID/Creationism probably doesn’t belong in school. But let us not overlook that everything(?) else is a theory, right up to the point it is refuted.
(8) I tend to be Agnostic. I do subscribe to “there are no atheists in foxholes.”
(13) It would be useful to have a bailout account that was not part of general revenue, but everyone needs to plan for their retirement years, including not DEPENDING on ANY organization for a pension.
(15) I like guns and EVERYONE ELSE should have them, because the criminals and the government already do.
(16) Corporations are people, too.
(23) The free market takes care of workers as well as workers take care of the free market.
(28) So far, I like the AR better than the AK, and I will let you know about the Garand.
June 4th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Moose are good eatin’…
As for defending ANWR… We already do, it’s called the 49th state to join the Union…
June 4th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
The only thing that Brutal Hugger stated in his introduction that I found disconcerting is his statement that he has “never pulled a Republican lever”…that seems odd to me. I consider myself an economic conservative/social libertarian and I’ve pulled levers for Democrats, Republicans and those in between…I vote for the guy who best fits my beliefs or against a guy who seems to be aligned against them and NO party has ever been in line with my beliefs even remotely. Then again, in the area where I live a Democratic candidate would be committing political suicide if he declared himself to be anti-gun or amassed an anti-gun voting record so they kind of side-step my big issue with most Dems on the national scene.
June 4th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Chuck@PodunkOutpost:
(4) If it was ONLY about resources, we would not be spending so much effort, blood, and money on keeping the local populace alive. IF the “nation-building” effort is successful (and we may not really know for years) it can’t help but change the complexion of the Middle East.
It’s cheaper and more politically correct to build us an ally in Iraq rather than conquer it. “Imperialism”, we will never live that down. Notice the government we build and the constitution we wrote does not include the right to keep and bear arms. Things are stabilizing, but for a time there our troops were confiscating the individual arms that citizens without the veneer of government desperately needed to keep themselves safe. Another thing about the constitution that we wrote; it specifically prohibits the formation of militias for self-protection.
“Militia” is a word that’s still black and blue from the 90s, but if you will remember New Orleans, you will see that homeowners with firearms formed informal neighborhood watches to protect their property from looters.
And tell me again why we gave them a European parliamentary style of democracy? I thought we were the greatest nation on earth?
I will note with some happiness that my Iraqi constitution translation clearly says that the power of government derives from the consent of the people. Goodie, now they have the same charade that we have.
I ask you to name a single country anywhere in the globe where we have successfully transplanted a democratically elected republic form of government that includes powers derived from the people and every bit of goodness included in the bill of rights. Even Canada has rights extended to her Majesty’s subjects at the pleasure of parliament. That’s not good enough.
If it wasn’t only a desperate grab for resources, don’t you think we would vigorously guard our freedoms here at home? AT&T/NSA peering, warrantless wiretaps, sneak and peek searches, dynamic entry, keystroke loggers, all you phone records belong to us, etc.
I’ve got a bumper sticker for you:
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/05/lol.html
June 4th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
(4)
Oh and anyone want to explain Somalia to me? Didn’t we go in there to save all those starving people? Except what we were really doing is surreptitiously selecting a warlord to form a corrupt government by and for himself so we could bribe him to let us slip in and develop all those probable oil reserves. Oh, except we forgot the tanks and had our asses handed to us. Whoops.
It’s funny that just a few month before the Battle of Mogadishu, we had the Siege of Waco, and we didn’t forget the tanks there (nor the helicopter mounted machine guns, nor the incineratory tear gas)
Except for the recent unpleasantness (I think we are funding select warlords again) in 2006, Somalia has become quite the libertopia without an all encompassing federal government. Cell phone towers, no import taxes, internet cafes, etc.
http://www.mises.org/story/2066
June 4th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Chuck@PodunkOutpost Says:
(15) I like guns and EVERYONE ELSE should have them, because the criminals and the government already do.
That ought to be the quote of the day.
June 4th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
RUN FOR OFFICE
congress even, we need you in Washington
I’ll even manage your campaign.
As for the AR/AK thing, I just spent considerable time on an AR this weekend (my brothers bushmaster) for the first time ever. I am pretty sold. Looking forward to building on. The lack of recoil was great, though I didn’t care for the way his muzzle break/flashhider directed the gas back towards you. His first shot I was standing behind him at 8 o’clock without my glasses on yet and got a blast right in the face.
June 4th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Dang, i didn’t see that.
I take back everything. Don’t ever run for office. Don’t ever try to convince me of anything. Your worthless and weak! Your feeble minded preference for colored sugar water is an abomination of all that is good and right in the world.
PEPSI?!?!?!?!?!?
heck, thats even worse than coke.
RC Cola forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 4th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
freddyboomboom Says:
As for defending ANWR… We already do, it’s called the 49th state to join the Union…
I understand and agree, however, read up on how many times Harper’s Ferry (valuable because of the water power and the arms factories) changed hands during the War Between the States. I’ve hiked the mountains around there and I assure you there are plenty of great areas in the neighborhood that make ideal headquarters for artillery batteries.
June 4th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Wow. There are only four positions I would disagree with you on (you guess which ones). And I could probably be argued into agreeing with you on one or two of those, if I was drunk enough. I think you are a closet LIBERAL! Hahahaha.
June 4th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
I love the FAL. I’ve put hundreds of rounds through my friend’s FAL and I have to say it’s a great gun except it’s prone to misfeeding. Not sure if that’s common with the L1A1 or if it’s just ours.
June 4th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
PepsiCo is ok, but Mountain Dew should be their premiere product….
June 4th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Uncle:
First I would like to address my comment of “selling out”. I was taking a 15 minute break at work, and since I was going to work a gun show at Hampton VA this weekend I dropped in for some “good gun talk”, after reading all I could in the MSM on what I fear is a “ramping up campaign” before they “Crucify” some Marines in the Hadithia incident (for lack of a better way to refer to it). The MSM turned Abu Gharib into nothing like it really was.. hazing. More college kids in the US have been killed in hazing incidents, than obviously what occurred in that prison.. (need I mention Sadaam’s history there).
Yeah, I used the term selling out, because that was my first reaction to having a self described, Lefty as a regular poster on SU. I feel it is pretty obvious BH is no Liberarian at all. That is probably how he/she “squares” his/her views on gun ownership to Liberal friends. That said.
Point #1 My post’s are labeled “hate”, and and “raves”. My posts are clear, and I repeat it… all facts…. I believe “incoherent” would mean they are illogical, non factual??? (I like my style of punctuation BTW, it is simply emphasis, but feel free to attack it as if a Southerner uses the term ya’ll, it means he/she is less educated no doubt, a clear attack on the messenger. These are MSM and as I stated the Clinton’s #1 line of defense.
Point #2 It would seem that BH does not first look to a candidate’s view on the Second Amendment when evaluating their ability to be our President. The answer (in my humble opinion) as to whether you are going to vote for Hillary Clinton is “No”, and I do not care if she is running against John McCain who is also anti Second Amendment. My reference to Waco in my first post is quite accurate in my opinion. That entire incident started over paperwork involving a machine gun. Instead, they intentionally escalated the incident, and even went so far as to allege that the Davidian’s were abusing children…. You know, smear the people… They are just “raving incoherently” about their religion (in the middle of a desert mind you), and full of “hate” (for a govt. that eventually killed them, and bulldozed the evidence).
Point #3 I feel that BH is intentionally “dodging” my question on Hadithia. I think if he/she had not heard of this in the MSM…. (I kind of doubt it), but if not, how about a quick little google search??? (dern there goes my emphasis habit again)
Point #4 Notice how the only questions that BH wanted to answer and debate were on abortion, which is fine, maybe you are most “passionate” on that subject, but it is clear that you wanted to dismiss all of the other questions regarding, Dem Presidents actions before major wars, and defending the “wrong war, wrong place, wrong time” statement, Hadithia etc. Those subjects were all “rant”.
Now, I will admit that I was a little less “congenial” with the directness and “tone” of the posts… but “hate”??? Now, I do not intend to quit reading SU, just because you have a “Lefty” on board, it’s your blog, and obviously much more popular than mine, for good reason (content), but I was looking to “draw out” BH on some subjects, rather than waste time, over time “nibbling around the edges. So many blogs/newspapers to read so little time.
To summarize I think those on the political left need to address where they are in our war efforts, as it pertains to what Abu Gharib, and Gitmo, the Marine who shot a terrorist in the mosque etc. On one hand they criticize every thing the Administration does, (not enough troops, no body armor, and of all things up armored humvee’s??? The Clinton Administration procured them, and saw the results of Mogadishu’s battle, and they did not up armor them??? I am sorry, the left needs to quit this charade of supporting the troops, and we need to challenge each and everyone of them on their positions. Period.
Let’s be serious, if a Dem were Pres, and followed the exact same options as “W” has how would the MSM cover it, and what would Rep. Murtha’s political attitude and/or statements be??? (Different I surmise)
June 5th, 2006 at 12:08 am
Weird Libertarian Politics
Since Uncle decided to put them out there . . . .
Here’s my views
Abortion is murder. Don’t quite know what to do about it though. Don’t think it should be legal, but understand that its gonna happen anyway and might best be doing it in a hospi …
June 5th, 2006 at 8:28 am
STD (heh):
I’m all for you guys debating and there is validity to calling BH out on pointing out the punctuation. But the selling out comment really rubbed me the wrong way. In fact, I’d consider allowing someone against the grain to post here the opposite of selling out. Don’t worry, I’m tougher than I look. My feelings aren’t hurt that bad.
R. Neal:
4 things? Hmm, I’ll guess: social security. Bush being elected. God. And taxes. Am I close? I think maybe you’re a closet libertarian.
Manish:
I’d let you post here but you don’t even post at your blog 😉
June 5th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Uncle: Social Security, ANWR, Spanking (debatable, depending on definition and or
acceleration of spanking v. whipping v. beating), and Kyoto. Missed the one
for the moonbats re. Dubya being elected twice. I will only halfway disagree
with that. He was “elected” but was he elected? Heh.
June 5th, 2006 at 11:31 am
A little late to the party but what a great post. I hate labels but you are one of the most pragmatic people on the scene. It would be almost impossible to give you a one word label like some people are so intent on doing. Some of the best discussions happen here. You have done well.
June 5th, 2006 at 11:39 am
PEPSI!!!? 🙂
Similar to R. Neal in overlapping agreement with you on the bigger issues, I was surprised at a few of them. I’m admittedly more pro gun regulation, within 2d amendment bounds — and I’m relieved to see you don’t see a right to nukes! We can work our way down from there, maybe. 🙂
One implication I think should be challenged, though: I don’t think that “believing in God and Jesus” is something that will offend most liberals, or even many liberals. Good for you — Jesus is one of my favorite political philosophers, too — I just seem to take away different lessons than our President does 🙂 What raises my hackles is if the believer assumes or acts as if all Americans share that belief, that you must vote Republican or support this or that political agenda, or that church and state should be working hand in hand on issues of the day.
June 5th, 2006 at 11:44 am
My few differences:
I’m for the death penalty.
I think the religious roots of the institute of marriage prevents gays from doing so. I also think they can take legal measures to get most of the rights married people have.
ID/Creationism in public schools? I don’t have a problem with it, but I think folks have gotten carried away with the whole “establishment clause” thing.
Tastes Great
June 5th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I also think they can take legal measures to get most of the rights married people have.
A common fallacy, which is why a lot of people who ordinarily would object to writing discrimination into the Constitution don’t see it as a big deal.
June 5th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
I always found it … curious … that a commenter believes each of his / her points must be addressed by the host.
And the interpretation thereof. For example:
– If a commenter disagrees with the poster and someone else makes a comment that the poster doesn’t immedately refute, then the argumentative commenter accuses the host of agreeing, even if there is no evidence to support such.
— Perhaps the host doesn’t want to waste the time or hasn’t seen them.
– If a commenter disagrees with the poster and lists a few items that are not immedately addressed, then the host is accused of avoiding those topics.
— Perhaps the host doesn’t see the value of speaking to each point.
– If a commenter disagrees with the poster and the commenter lists items of contention, the poster is taunted to disprove the commenter’s statements.
— Perhaps the host is busy creating more content to make the blog better.
Have y’all ever found any of that … curious? 🙂
June 6th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
“A common fallacy”
So, other than tax breaks, what can’t be taken care of by Powers of Attorney, Living Wills and such?
June 7th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
[…] […]
June 9th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
I didn’t agree with everything you listed, either. But it sure is refreshing to see someone at least take a stance. If only visible political candidates would consistently do the same. Heh. Are you thinking of running?
June 9th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
Heh. Never. I’d be doomed due to the website 😉
July 5th, 2006 at 8:29 am
[…] A while back, I laid a lot of what I thought about current issues on the table in an effort to clarify some things. And to annoy readers. A few folks thought I should run for office. I could never successfully run for office for a variety of reasons and, honestly, I have no interest in doing so. As for reasons why I can’t run for office: […]
August 25th, 2006 at 6:17 am
[…] Yes, the confusion over who posts seems to come up. Reason attributes a post to me when it’s actually co-blogger Brutal Hugger. And in the comments to the same post Reason cites, another blogger says he ain’t reading me no more. That’s happened before. But Dave came back. […]