Consider reading some of the articles over at The Voluntaryist on this election day.
Month: November 2012 (Page 7 of 8)
It’s one of those cases where you think you have a book, only to discover you don’t. Then when trying to order from the publisher discover that the 1,500 print run is sold out. Luckily, I was able to order James P. Blaylock’s 2011 novel, The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs, from another source. I have most of Blaylock’s books, with an exception here or there made for chapbooks and single stories.
On the eve of another general election, it is difficult for a principled non-voter to summon the will to care. It’s not an issue of “your vote doesn’t count” or general apathy. For 25 years I’ve ignored elections from the belief that if government has no moral legitimacy, participating in any political election is akin to violence. Those who view democracy as the ultimate goal, thinking it superior to non-democratic models, still fail to see its just a different mask hiding the same coercive statist model.
The choice between one or the other candidate will not eliminate wars, taxation, burdensome and crazy regulations. Free speech will remain threatened, the courts and bureaucrats will continue to insinuate the state into our daily lives.
The long parade of so-called libertarians who cast their votes for Republicans, who campaign ceaselessly for a statist candidate under the mistaken belief that he won’t be as bad as the other guy, I find disheartening. Elections are the only time when principles suddenly become a liability.
If you decide to vote, cast it for a smaller party, either one, rather than one of the status juggernauts.
Perhaps Mr. Adelson should look up the libertarian position?
Available now to order, Bruce Boston and Gary Crawford’s dystopian poetry collection about the Shadow City. I blurbed this book, which I found dark and grim, with some brilliant imagery.
Does a company that patents a concept yet does nothing to bring it to reality really have a case when a company decades later creates something real, yet similar? SurfCast appears to think so, in it suit against Microsoft and Windows 8’s tile interface. I tend to think a patent means you actually do something about that you “invent” not sit on it and then sue, since no one decided the needed to license a dormant idea.
Amby Burfoot from Runner’s World writes a thoughtful essay on the aftermath of the cancellation of the New York Marathon. I thought it would go on, should go on, but I don’t live there and was not running New York. I understand some of the reasons for why it eventually was cancelled at the last minute, but not some of strong emotion behind those against the initial decision.
I think the decision to cancel came a little late; if there was any doubt, cancel it earlier, rather than in the middle of the anti-runner sentiment that arose after Mayor Bloomberg said to proceed with the event. The ramifications of the cancellation next year and beyond for all runners will be huge. Those who showed up in New York from elsewhere, especially outside the US, must feel somewhat angry and disappointed. Hopefully the anti-runner sentiment will not bleed over into other events.
It seems that low-lying Staten island took the brunt of hurricane Sandy, and now is slow to get attention after the storm. Cleanup, assistance, just any attention seems to be lacking, according to many residents. Hopefully efforts to restore power and get Staten Islanders back to their homes will pick up soon. While not as famous as the Jersey Shore, the devastation there appears vast.
David Brin’s recent novel reviewed.
Watched this great documentary on TV tonight about Navajo and Hopi (and non-native) high school cross country runners. Funded in part by Kickstarter, which has some great projects. Amazing how much work these kids put into running. They don’t look fast, but the camera is deceiving, as they post some fast times.
