-
Dolan, Not Dylan
February 21, 2013 | 13 comments
-
More Than Just Another Cartoon
December 21, 2012 | 42 comments
-
Beelzebub Shrugged
November 7, 2012 | 2 comments
-
Of Fear & Fraud
November 2, 2012 | 84 comments
-
RINO Survival Guide
October 19, 2012 | 6 comments
The Nation's Pulse
The Gathering of the Libertarian Tribes
FreedomFest in the statist moment — coming to you July 8-10 from Las Vegas.
(Page 2 of 2)
TAS: Is this not only a moment of opportunity, but also a time of danger for libertarians?
MS: That’s why John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, and other “new” libertarians come to FreedomFest and are big fans. John Mackey wants to create a new brand of capitalism and libertarianism. This will come out, I’m sure, in the debates on “Anarchy & Limited Government” and “The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.”
TAS: I know the Washington Post just focused on a FreedomFest exhibitor with very unorthodox views — do you worry at all about individual speakers or panelists becoming lightning rods that detract from the overall message?
MS: The Post highlighted the Sovereign Society, an organization that is doing a series “Escape from America,” on how Americans can invest and live and work abroad, and maybe even take on another country’s citizenship. These are not nut cases, but real experts — CPAs and lawyers — who give people legitimate options. We had a similar session last year that was packed, standing room only. We’ve had to create a bigger room for them this year. I know this is a controversial area, and we try to find top experts so that people aren’t led astray, so they don’t get involved in crazy tax evasion schemes or get into trouble.
TAS: Freedom Fest always meets in Las Vegas. Why? Have you ever considered other cities?
MS: We hold FreedomFest in Las Vegas, because it is truly the only libertarian city in the United States, if not the world. And it works. Yes, the old Las Vegas is there if you want it — the gambling, the strip clubs. But led by Steve Wynn, there’s a new Las Vegas, with the great entertainment, five-star restaurants, top hotels, spas, architecture, even museums. It’s also the cheapest place to hold a convention, much cheaper than Orlando. I doubt if we will ever move.
About the Author
Shawn Macomber is a contributing editor to The American Spectator.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (31) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Shawn Macomber
More Articles From The Nation's Pulse
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/06/the-gathering-of-the-libertari
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Kenny| 7.6.10 @ 7:15AM
When Skouean listed why Las Vagas is America's most libertarian city, he forgot to mention the whore houses.
Robert cloutier| 7.6.10 @ 9:49AM
Kenny, prostitution is illegal here in Clark County. To get your legal fix, you'd have to drive over Blue Diamond Road to Pahrump in Nye County.
Alan Brooks| 7.6.10 @ 10:41AM
No thanks;
let the libertopians get herpes.
Osamas Pajamas| 7.6.10 @ 4:24PM
Oh, well. Government itself is a whorehouse and it is highly unlikely that the typical occupant of the government whorehouse is any more honest than the typical street whore or whorehouse gal.
Louis Jenkins| 7.6.10 @ 8:38AM
And what's more liberterian than having a whore and a beer? Interesting thought though.
Alan Brooks| 7.6.10 @ 11:35AM
John O. McGinnis:
"... evolutionary biology may present a serious challenge to pure libertarianism. This may surprise some people who confuse the rise of Darwinism in the social sciences with the nineteenth-century tenets of Social Darwinism. There is no connection. Natural selection leads to the survival of the most reproductively fit; however, it is a classic example of the naturalistic fallacy to infer from this scientific fact the moral conclusion that the goal of society is to aid the most reproductively fit. Instead, by describing human nature more precisely, evolutionary biology offers an improved map for the political economy in our age. It shows what are the natural tendencies of man and what are the possible ways human political actions can both release and constrain these tendencies to increase human happiness.
Moreover, the fragile and divided self that evolution describes may not be entirely consonant with the more integrated self at the heart of libertarianism. For instance, the younger self is so weakly connected to the imagination of the older self (primarily because most individuals did not live to old age in hunter-gatherer societies) that most people cannot be expected to save sufficiently for old age. A large group of aging and propertyless individuals would be a source of social instability. Therefore there may be justification for state intervention to force individuals to save for their own retirement. Similarly, the sexual self is so weakly linked to the long-term rational calculating self that simply requiring individuals to live with the consequences of their sexual acts may not be enough to restrain socially destructive activity. Society may need to create institutions to channel and restrain sexual activity."
PLS| 7.6.10 @ 6:19PM
It's OUR pursuit of happiness that's promised, NOT the actual happiness! Our job is to pursue. NO government messing with me, please.
Believer| 7.8.10 @ 10:34PM
Alan Brooks- Relating Evolution to Social Security or sexual needs is just like a Darwinist, they have developed a nonsensical argument into an art form. They now argue that a theory isnt really a theory but a fact, they have convinced our kids that Scientists that teach creation are not true scientists and should be ignored. When someone actually studys the argument agaist evolution the facts are overwhelming against, but because we are born with free will the seed of deception is planted early in life and has to be removed by openly studying the opposition. Im sure your too smart to do that so just consider your comment like a cake made of dog doo doo that has a nice frosting, great looking but still dog doo doo.
JimH| 7.6.10 @ 9:26AM
Puritanism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time. - H.L. Mencken
Alan Brooks| 7.6.10 @ 11:33AM
What happens when YOUR teenage daughter is having too much of a "good time"? then YOU become puritanical all of a sudden.
It all depends on whose ox is being gored-- no pun intended.
Osamas Pajamas| 7.6.10 @ 4:26PM
I've lived a long time and I have a list of things I've done that I hope my kids never do. That's not hypocrisy. That's just out-and-out fear for their physical safety and sanity.
Margie| 7.6.10 @ 12:07PM
Libertarianism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere isn't having a good enough time. ~Me.
Petronius| 7.6.10 @ 9:31AM
What's Card doing there? I hear he's anti-gun.
Ryan| 7.6.10 @ 10:32AM
I always thought that the libertarians would have a better go if they would get off the drug legalization course. Their fiscal attitudes are attractive to many people, but the big turnoff for local elections in particular has been that singular issue.
Petronius| 7.6.10 @ 11:28AM
R
That stoner who always gets airtime at the Libertarian Party convention is a Democrat shill. The media ran that same damned clip every 4 years for 2 decades before anybody called them on it.
Siegfried X| 7.6.10 @ 1:17PM
Were all three Libertarians at the convention?
Osamas Pajamas| 7.6.10 @ 4:33PM
In their wildest and wettest dreams, the Democrats see the conservatives and libertarians at one another's throats --- a divided opposition to the OhBummer dictatorship. Why? Because the toughest opponents of Barak Hushpuppy OhBummer and the OhBummer Wrecking Crew are the conservatives and libertarians. The poor "moderates" can't find their bums with both hands and a flashlight. But put the conservatives and libertarians --- and Objectivists --- together and in the same army, and turn up the volume, and shazzam, OhBummer will have the fight of his life. Can you dig it, lads-n-lasses? Or does fratricide sound like a better idea to you?
WRJonas| 7.6.10 @ 5:28PM
I bought a hardcover book by Neil Boortz in a dollar store for $1.00. I used to catch a little bit of his show occasionally but I would gag at some remark of his and spin the dial. But he had some entertainment value as a leading Libertarian so I began reading his book and he immediately tells me that the war on drugs is a waste of money and abortion has a useful place in society. Then he emphasizes how important it is for Christians to realize that evolution is really how we all got here and we are saps for believing that Bible stuff. I tossed his book in the corner and then I realized somebodys gotta say it ! Can I get my money back?
Tom Beebe| 7.8.10 @ 1:19PM
I am in sympathy with almost, if not all, of the ideas here except identification of problem number one. I submit it is not government too big to succeed, but rather corruption. Perhaps it's a chicken or egg issue, but I believe we will be more successful in attacking corruption through campaign finance reform and term limits. The former should be fashioned to limit the influence of special interests, and that means YOURS ! Suppose only individuals could contribute, with anti-laundering and full disclosure provisions. The strength of special interests is derived from PACs, corporations, unions, and groups as diverse as the Sierra Club and the NRA. Ban 'em all. Sure the big hitters like Soros could give millions, but full disclosure would reveal a candidate to be Soros' boy. We could at least judge the motive for a candidacy. The latter is the best way to clean up those already elected... who wants to spend money on a lame duck?
Robert776| 7.9.10 @ 1:23PM
I hope that someone will be able to unify the conservative movement in the way the National Review did to organize for the Goldwater and Reagan campaigns. It clearly cannot be left to the likes of Rush and Glenn.
It is difficult to unify the libertarians, the social conservatives, and the fundamentalist Christians. Do we want small government or No Child Left Behind? Evaluate every candidate by economic philosophy or position on abortion?
As a devout conservative and fan of Robert Bork, Milton Friedman, William Buckley (most of the time), et al., I want a return to solid conservatism.
Yet for the first time in 40 years, I voted for the Democrat in the 2008 presidential election. It was hard to be critical of McCain's economic policies because he didn't seem to have any, at least nothing resembling a consistent plan. During the campaign, I never heard a single discussion of Keynesianism vs. monetarism, except maybe when Glenn Beck endorsed strong Keynesian approaches (lower taxes, chiefly) as a conservative philosophy and completely rejected monetarism (it's just the government printing money). What colossal ignorance! Has he never taken even macro 101? Milton Friedman could have made mincemeat out of Beck in less than 10 minutes, no, 2 minutes.
Obama at least had a plan that has worked in part. Most of my investments and part of my pension fund have recovered significantly, so I can hardly complain. I just have to hold my nose over the judicial appointments, but Kagan can hardly be worse than the Ford appointee, Justice Stevens.
Will I ever have a home again in the conservative movement?
CC| 7.10.10 @ 3:53AM
Once again great post. You seem to have a good understanding of these themes.When I entering your blog,I felt this . Come on and keep writting your blog will be more attractive. To Your Success!