tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89978792012-02-16T04:42:54.162-08:00Libertarian Commentary -- Where Your Nose BeginsStuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-24711024497995911492012-02-13T16:21:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:26:46.024-08:00

Today is an exciting day in Washington State. Proponents of gay marriage are happy that Governor Gregoire signed into law a bill that makes the state the seventh in the nation to allow gay marriage. Opponents, of course, are "excited" in a negative way, preparing to make a battle for "traditional marriage" in the state, presumably through the Initiative process or perhaps court proceedings. But

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-5243236979372394632012-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:27:13.199-08:00

Before I get to the main topic of this post, I want to put in a quick plug for my book. For the rest of today, the Kindle edition of Lesson One: Revolution! will be available for free. It has been free since yesterday, and it made it into the top 10 free Kindle titles in Political Fiction. It's not strictly what might be considered a "libertarian novel" but I think libertarians might find it a

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-9548640684928603292011-11-12T15:39:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:27:24.404-08:00

I feel sad for the US today.At one time, at least the story is told here, our country was a shining example of "freedom" to the world. But now, the word "liberty" (which means the same thing, forms the root of the term "libertarian," and is used prominently in our Declaration of Independence) is treated as a "bad" or "uncaring" thing. Instead of us having the freedom to give, or not give, to the

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-59314625653831181522011-11-06T14:54:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:27:40.472-08:00

When I said previously that Libertarians should support Ron Paul's campaign for US President in 2012, I guess I should have been directing my comments to a different audience: Congressman Paul's own party members, i.e., Republicans. Their ongoing dismissal of him, which dovetails nicely with liberals' dismissal of him, highlights what seems to me a basic fact: The so-called Republicans of today

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-90370774560963110942011-09-04T18:06:00.000-07:002012-02-13T16:27:55.793-08:00

Here's a quick political exercise for you:  To find the person who has the perfect political ideals, that one person whose views match yours to the utmost degree, go look in the mirror.  Come back here when you're done. Got that out of the way?  Good.  Now that you know where to find the perfect candidate for any given office, we can talk about other options, the less-than-perfect candidates.

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-73526228596605989002011-07-02T00:35:00.000-07:002011-07-02T00:48:15.671-07:00

I should clarify up front that Lesson One: Revolution! is not strictly a libertarian novel. It does present some libertarian viewpoints, but the main character is, as he repeatedly tells people, "not a Libertarian." No, he's more like a libertarian (or maybe a so-called Tea Party activist) gone awry — somebody who doesn't trust his fellow citizens to comprehend the desire/need to make use of

Stuart Whitmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256327564932380769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-55514686511976033442011-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:002011-04-22T15:10:11.140-07:00

Liberty advocate, author, Congressman, and 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul has a new book out: Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom. It is described as "a comprehensive guide to... fifty of the most important issues of our times, from Abortion to Zionism. Accessible, easy to digest, and fearless in its discussion of controversial topics, [it] sheds new light on a word

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-47314870484809637792011-02-01T22:46:00.000-08:002011-02-10T02:05:17.380-08:00

It's a standard refrain from government and its various agencies at various levels: Give us more tax funds or we'll face disaster! Of course this message glosses over all kinds of important details, like how current funds are being used, alternative sources of revenue, and the actual necessity of "disaster." On the latter point, though, it's also "the norm" for government agencies to enhance

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-35934633927260339602010-11-17T11:14:00.000-08:002010-11-17T11:14:46.829-08:00

Will the TSA's excessive "security" measures (which are about obedience, and not about security — because they are not effective security measures, and there are better, more effective security measures that could be taken) finally wake people up to how overbearing our federal government has become? Nah, probably not -- it's easier to keep accepting the federal handouts and dismissing references

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-36895826519745932432010-11-11T15:38:00.000-08:002010-11-11T15:38:57.026-08:00

Thankfully, the 2010 elections are (mostly) over, and we have a brief reprieve from political ads. If anyone is actually a fan of such nonsense, of course, they don't have to look too far into the future to see the next onslaught coming our way. Now that we've had a little shake-up in our government, it's time to get back down to business. As usual. And I mean that snidely, in case that

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-34893377266668627272010-10-27T16:39:00.000-07:002010-10-27T16:43:44.828-07:00

In Washington State, the ballot next Tuesday will include Initiative 1098. In a nutshell, I-1098 seeks to give Washington something it's never had: That is, an income tax, but only for "wealthier" residents. Now before you think, "well, other states have an income tax," you should know that Washington has some solid taxes already, in the form of sales tax, property taxes on real estate and

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-53357520628638208892010-10-20T18:22:00.000-07:002010-10-21T12:08:57.883-07:00

Oh, those Tea Party members... Wait a second. What "Tea Party" members? If you don't know what the Tea Party is, let me clue you in, with just five words: There is no Tea Party. Pretty easy to understand, but many people apparently don't bother to think about it. They see behavior that, on the surface, they agree or disagree with from people who use the Tea Party label, and — with typical

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-44884061076726426152010-08-30T00:02:00.000-07:002010-08-30T00:02:18.900-07:00

Speaking of books with "Revolution" in the title, I just finished reading The Revolution: A Manifesto, by Congressman and former Presidential candidate Ron Paul. Wow. This short book packs a huge amount of information and vital concepts into a small package. Not one for lazy thinkers, but definitely important reading. I consider myself "reasonably well-versed" in the Constitution and in

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-73064822959143289352010-08-06T12:29:00.000-07:002010-08-06T12:29:25.717-07:00

This week was an important one for me personally, as a lifelong dream of having a book published became a reality. This is relevant to this blog, because the novel presents a lot of libertarian and limited-government ideas. At the moment, the book is available through Amazon.com, but in a couple of months you should be able to order it through any major book store near you. If you'd like to

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-59702041789204662892010-05-25T17:54:00.000-07:002010-05-25T17:54:03.252-07:00

There are two important changes regarding this blog and the accompanying podcast. Please take note: First, the URL for the blog has changed. If you reached the blog via a bookmark or link to its old address, libertyblessings.blogspot.com, please update your bookmark or link to use the new address: libertyblessings.just-stuart.com. If you don't own the page where the link used the old address,

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-80569240219494502262009-07-22T21:15:00.000-07:002009-07-22T21:17:50.449-07:00

In the past I've talked a lot about specific issues from a Libertarian perspective, but I think I should also address a more basic question: What is a Libertarian? Because the Libertarian Party is still relatively tiny, I don't get the same reaction that a Democrat or Republican would when I tell people what political party I prefer. Instead of immediately understanding what I'm talking about, I

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-90540915006534340042008-10-17T18:45:00.000-07:002008-10-17T18:47:48.245-07:00

I'm sorry. I know this is a hard time for you, really. You have a presidential candidate who is not much of a conservative, and a vice presidential candidate who -- despite being conservative and despite being a draw for those who would like to see a woman in the White House -- probably is doing more harm than good to the campaign. It doesn't help that President Bush, despite being ostensibly

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-53978437070184180302008-08-01T02:30:00.001-07:002008-08-01T02:30:10.379-07:00

This is just a quick update to let you know that a) I'm not dead, b) my blog is not dead, and c) the podcast that goes with the blog is not dead. I do intend to continue publishing content on my blog, and also, of course, the podcast that goes with the blog. My personal life and work have been very busy, leaving me little time for politics. However, this is an election year, and I would like

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-9063344776278178322007-10-29T11:40:00.000-07:002007-10-29T11:39:49.358-07:00

The US Constitution was a good document to start with. The first ten amendments, which we call the Bill of Rights, took it from "good" to "excellent." Although the Constitution as a whole, including all amendments, forms the legal basis for all law in the US, the Bill of Rights in particular deserves and receives a vast amount of ongoing attention. After all, how many people debate Article II,

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-40203950912943829132007-05-14T17:30:00.000-07:002007-05-14T17:20:16.156-07:00

Before I get to the main point of this blog entry, I will ask that you forward it to Libertarians you know. Not every Libertarian, just those running for office... I have a new rule. My old rule? It was easy: If there were Libertarians on the ballot, vote for them. The concept was that they probably wouldn't win, so their particular positions didn't matter, and what mattered was showing

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-3525223053672110492006-11-03T13:45:00.000-08:002006-12-27T16:31:13.275-08:00

This is just a short blog entry to let you know about a new vidcast I created to present libertarian ideals to US citizens. It is called WOLF: Whitmore, On a Libertarian Future. I invite you to subscribe to the vidcast via RSS, or bookmark the vidcast Web page. You will find links to the vidcast on the left side of my blog.

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-1157787565642688992006-09-09T00:30:00.000-07:002006-09-09T00:41:51.163-07:00

"Every country has the government it deserves." (Joseph de Maistre) It's almost enough to make me give up my libertarian ideals and buy whole-heartedly into authoritarianism. I'm really losing faith that people are intelligent and clear-thinking enough to make important decisions. Consider the Harris Poll released in July which demonstrated that about half of the US public actually believes that

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-1150514054602134172006-06-15T23:59:00.000-07:002006-06-16T20:14:14.616-07:00

A local news source recently mentioned a large number of new laws scheduled to go into effect in Washington State. According to that source, "observers were struck by the sheer volume of legislation in 2006" and House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, who apparently advised her colleagues to limit the number of bills, said of this activity, "I think that sometimes if it's too quick, we maybe don't

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-1142128301952721182006-03-11T17:55:00.000-08:002006-03-11T22:10:03.396-08:00

I'm not sure how US politicians, of all people, can keep a straight face when questioning the human rights ethics of others. These are, after all, the same politicians who comprise the federal government that thinks it's OK to violate the human rights codified in the Bill of Rights by imprisoning "suspected terrorists" in Guantanamo. Maybe that's why they bluster and demonstrate such anger when

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997879.post-1129191757999974292005-10-13T01:30:00.000-07:002005-10-13T01:22:38.010-07:00

I've heard it many times before, and have seen Libertarians remind each other about it from time to time: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Or as many of our parents told us when we were children, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." While this doesn't always work in the political realm unless you're willing to accept leadership from whatever scum rises

Stuartnoreply@blogger.com2