Hell has frozen over. Today my hometown, Belfast, Northern Ireland, the last major stronghold of fundamentalist evangelicals in the United Kingdom, became the stage for the first legal civil unions of homosexual couples in the UK. What a wonderful juxtaposition between liberal and conservative thought. And what a great discussion. ...
Read MoreResponse to Sunday Sequence: Starbucks coffee cup quotes
What a bunch of whiners! Starbucks printing a Christian quote on this month’s coffee cup in its cafés seemed to really irritate some people featured on your program last week. It “bothered” them because, according to one, the quote is part of the “discourse of the religious Right.” It seems ...
Read MoreThe Shallow Left caught red-handed!
John Kerry, US presidential candidate in 2004: ‘It’s long overdue time to raise the minimum wage.’ ‘Raise the minimum wage and training fund to help the poor.’ ‘Desperate need to build more affordable housing.’ ‘Expand EITC as anti-poverty measure.’ ‘Voted YES on welfare block grants.’ ‘Voted NO on allowing state ...
Read MoreSan Francisco bans possession of firearms
Several months ago, when I wrote to the BBC Sunday Sequence program to refute the claim that SUVs have any significant impact on the climate, presenter William Crawley (who is an old friend) joked that I didn’t specify what kind of vehicle I drive myself. The implication was that the ...
Read MoreEnvironmentalists get capitalism?
For environmental wackoists, Sir Jonathon Porritt could be either a traitor or a visionary. He is an aforementioned environmental wackoist himself, having been a ‘Friend of the Earth’ and a Green Party figurehead, and current advisor to the Blair government. To these groups of wackoists, what Porritt believes is wildly ...
Read MoreSnapshots of Reason 3
1) I have come to the conclusion that, for most people, some parts of liberty will always be more appealing than others. Say we broadly divide liberty in two parts: the personal/social portion (dealing with who we should be allowed to have sex with, which substances we can put in ...
Read MoreLiberals prompt changes to the food industry
Not all of the effects of leftist influence are bad. I know this is a stretch for some of you, particularly conservative or libertarian readers out there, but bear with me. One of the such effects I’m enjoying right now is the change taking place within the food industry. The ...
Read More‘Lord of War’: gunrunners blamed for war?
‘Lord of War’ is an exposé of worldwide gunrunning. It stars Nicholas Cage. Frankly, I was expecting a strong agenda here – and I don’t think lefties were in short supply during the concept stage. But in fact, ‘Lord of War’ is a sharp, intriguing look at the life of ...
Read MoreA few words about labels
I have had several exchanges recently with people who are sometimes confused by the oft-used political labels; labels like ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘liberal’, ‘conservative’, ‘libertarian’. It is easy to lament labels in general and simply redefine the terms to make them more logical. But language is a dynamic, fluid concept with ...
Read MoreAn international dispute over Colorado River water
I live a few minutes from the Colorado River along the California/Arizona border. To the casual observer, the beautiful turquoise water is a haven of activity in the desert: speedboats, barbecues, deckchairs, bikinis and floating restaurants. I spent many days this summer playing and relaxing on boats, jetskis and other ...
Read MoreThe BBC licence fee: unbelievable
For the benefit of American readers and as a healthy, timely reminder to my fellow Brits who can quite easily become used to the idea: the TV licence fee is a communist mechanism which provides the BBC a unique, privileged source of income from television-owning households in the United Kingdom ...
Read MoreIs climate change now "irreversible"?
The latest trend among environmental wackoists (a technical term meaning “One given to wackoismâ€) is to propagate and discuss the idea that global warming may now be “irreversible”. We’ve gone too far. We’ve damaged, plundered, raped, mutilated and butchered this fragile planet more than it can take. We’ve sprayed one ...
Read MoreTony Blair pulls plug on Kyoto!
Some reports of Blair taking the opportunity of the Clinton Global Initiative to say with “brutal honesty”: “My thinking has changed in the past three or four years,” on Kyoto, and: “No country is going to cut its growth,” and once Kyoto runs its limit: “They’re not going to start ...
Read MoreNew Orleans Blues
New Orleans is one of the most left-wing cities in America. It is traditionally more European in outlook, with the famous French Quarter, and has a collectivist political history. Today on 24-hour news, we saw the devastation wreaked in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, and the efforts of emergency crews ...
Read MoreConservatives and movies
I had a conversation yesterday with a small group of acquaintances on Hollywood movies. The following comment was made regarding the current Dukes of Hazzard flick: “I’m not interested in seeing it…. if it isn’t something I can take my teenage kid to see, then I certainly don’t want to ...
Read MoreSpurlock: an update
By way of update on a previous post (now in April 2005 archives), I’d like to draw some attention to the recent work of one Soso Whaley, who has responded to Morgan Spurlock’s ridiculous anti-McDonald’s documentary “Super-Size Meâ€. But first let me backtrack a couple of steps. Spurlock is a ...
Read MoreResponse to Blair’s anti-terror announcements
A libertarian struggles occasionally with the dichotomy between the principles informing his politics and the fact that, sometimes, he quite likes some of the more statist proposals being made by various political voices. A possible example of this is Tony Blair’s anti-terrorism announcement this past week with implications for those ...
Read MoreDeborah Doherty of Make Poverty History: Sunday Sequence
This is the text of my original email to BBC Sunday Sequence on June 6th: “Congratulations on including in your Make Poverty History panel Kendra Okonski, who represents clearly the most sensible viewpoint on the subject of poverty. It may be easier to believe that we can ‘make poverty history’ ...
Read MoreSchiavo: the autopsy report
Those who demonised Michael Schiavo should be damned ashamed of themselves. In the light of this morning’s autopsy report, I want to remind you of some of the things said by the people who wanted to circumvent Michael Schiavo’s authority to speak on behalf of his wife Terri at the ...
Read MoreWhy libertarians everywhere should welcome the Jackson verdict
Because Jackson is weird. And yet, even despite his being so weird, despite his living a lifestyle that could cause some to raise eyebrows, he was acquitted of all ten charges against him today. That says something about the United States justice system which should stand in its favor with ...
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