From Reason: Nick Gillespie Interview With Mickey Kaus

June 5, 2010June 9, 2010 / chr1 / Leave a comment

Mickey Kaus is not likely to win, but he does have some interesting ideas on where he wants the democratic party to go: anti-union, secure the border anti-immigration, and bring the party back toward where it was over 40 years ago by protecting opportunities for the lower end of the labor market (without growing unions?). His candidacy demonstrates that you can’t likely win a democratic seat in California without union support (which is big business), and you also can’t go against the multi-cultural grain by securing the border with national sovereignty as a primary defense (certainly not in the democratic party).

Our interviewer, as a libertarian, argues against any sort of economic regulation and protectionism.

Likely worth your time if you’re tired of business as usual.

Addition: Kaus has conceded after getting about 5% of the vote in the primary.

Also On This Site: Does libertarianism thrive in California, and/or is it just when liberals have more control?: Libertarianism In The Mainstream?: Rand Paul In The Spotlight

Liberaltarianism?: Will Wilkinson And Jonah Goldberg On Bloggingheads: Updating Libertarianism?…From Reason’s Hit And Run: What Kind Of Libertarian Are You?

Milton Friedman applies economic libertarianism to education. Trade Unions try and adapt to globalization.

Kant is a major influence on libertarians, from Ayn Rand to Robert Nozick: A Few Thoughts On Robert Nozick’s “Anarchy, State and Utopia”…Link To An Ayn Rand Paper: The Objectivist Attack On Kant

From Foreign Policy: ‘Is Afghanistan Medieval?’

June 2, 2010 / chr1 / Leave a comment

Full piece here.

Our author draws an analogy between Afghanistan and medieval Europe, recognizing some of the advantages and disadvantages of such an analogy:

“In some ways, therefore, a thorough understanding of medieval power politics and how rulers came to centralize state authority would be of greater value to the international advisors sent to the Karzai government than a background in constitutional law or regulatory reform.”

What is the plan for Kandahar? Repost-From Michael Yon: ‘The Battle For Kandahar’…From NPR: ‘U.S Troops Fill NATO Training Gaps In Afghanistan’…From CSIS: ‘How the US Must Expand and Redefine International Cooperation in Fighting Terrorism’…From Newsweek: ‘Meeting Of The Diplomats’