Question Earthority!

Guest editorial by Brian Holtz
Originally published at Libertarian Intelligence

I wouldn’t rely on only fashion and torts to police chemical assault, any more than I would rely only on them to police spousal assault. I don’t think the [Libertarian Party] has enough consensus to specify all the details of how the legal system should police chemical assault, but I will never agree with Platform language saying that torts and fashion are the only acceptable libertarian response to it. Even a Rothschilds-control-the-Fed government-planned-9/11 conspiracy enthusiast like Aaron Russo protested against having to run for President under the LP’s torts-only environmental plank.

If the Platform should say that private lawsuits should be the only response to chemical assault, why shouldn’t the Platform say that about all kinds of assault? Why not hold high the Rothbardian banner of private defense agencies? Why hide the lamp of liberty under a basket?

I just don’t agree that the LP Platform should enforce the narrow dogma that there is no such thing as what economists call market failure. Read the rest of this entry »

“Dear Pablo, I would like to use LED lighting to replace all my existing lighting. Over the long run, will I be reducing energy consumption and pollution, and even saving money?” (05/05/08)

“The Senate joined the House on Thursday and passed a $289 billion farm bill that President George Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto. The bill was approved by more than a majority vote and will likely override any such move by the President. Senators voted 81-15 to pass the legislation that the White House says gives to much subsidies to farmers. The House approved the bill by a 318-106 vote the previous day. The bill provides subsidies to farmers with an income of up to $750,000 and nonfarm income of $500,000.” (05/16/08)

“Oil prices have hit a record high above $127 a barrel on speculation that China will need to import more fuel, stretching global supplies. With more energy needed to rebuild areas devastated by the earthquake earlier this week, US light sweet crude jumped to $127.43 a barrel. Prices were also supported by Goldman Sachs forecasting that oil would reach $141 a barrel later this year. London Brent crude also climbed, touching $125.82 a barrel.” (05/16/08)

“Sweet sorghum is grown in the U.S. for cooking and livestock feed. But the tall plant also could help at the gas pump. A sugary sap inside the plant’s stalk, which grows as tall as 12 feet, can be turned into a potent biofuel, and experts and companies are studying its potential with hopes that farmers will want to plant more of it. Ethanol made from the stalk’s juice has four times the energy yield of the corn-based ethanol, which, unlike sweet sorghum, is already in the marketplace. Sweet sorghum produces about eight units of energy for every unit of energy used in its production. That’s about the same as sugarcane but four times as much as corn.” (05/15/08)

“Most of a $30 million fund for land and soil conservation programs in Tennessee appears likely to fall victim to the state’s budget crunch. Lawmakers confirmed Thursday that they plan to use about $12 million from the fund to help make up for a rejected plan to end a tax exemption for family-owned businesses. Gov. Phil Bredesen has proposed using another $12 million from the pool to help bridge other budget gaps. That real estate transfer tax money is currently spent on wetlands acquisition, local and state parks and soil conservation. The fund is drawn from a 37-cent tax on every $100 of real estate deals. Bredesen’s original budget plan this year had envisioned restoring the fund its full $30 million level after it had been raided for other purposes in previous years. But that was before the extent of the budget shortfall for the upcoming budget year became clear earlier this month.” (05/15/08)

“Gourmets in Chicago can order foie gras again after the city council on Wednesday repealed a two-year restaurant ban on a delicacy that critics say is produced at cruel expense to geese and ducks. The aldermen voted 37-6 to drop the ban on restaurants serving foie gras, an ordinance that had passed with a single dissenting vote in April 2006. The city had issued a few warnings to restaurants for flouting the ban and one defiant eatery was fined.” (05/15/08)

“John McCain hosted a call-in with bloggers today following his address in Columbus, Ohio, in which he outlined his priorities for a first term in office. Grist got in a couple of questions …” (05/15/08

“When tens of thousands of people staged demonstrations in Mexico last year to protest a 60 percent increase in the price of tortillas, many analysts pointed to biofuel as the culprit. Because of US government subsidies, American farmers were devoting more and more acreage to corn for ethanol than for food, which sparked a steep rise in corn prices. The diversion of corn from tortillas to biofuel was certainly one cause of skyrocketing prices, though speculation on biofuel demand by transnational middlemen may have played a bigger role. However, an intriguing question escaped many observers: how on earth did Mexicans, who live in the land where corn was domesticated, become dependent on US imports in the first place?” (06/02/08)

“While no one knows who first uttered the sentiment ‘It’s better to say nothing and seem a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt,’ Republican presidential hopeful John McCain’s speech this week on climate change certainly supports the phrase’s validity. McCain spoke at the facilities of Vestas Wind Technology, an Oregon-based firm that manufactures wind-power systems. The irony of the setting was rich given McCain’s outspoken opposition to pork-barrel spending. He even risked his presidential hopes by criticizing ethanol subsidies ahead of the all-important Iowa caucuses. Next to solar power, however, wind power is the most heavily subsidized form of energy.” (05/15/08)

“On Monday, John McCain delivered a major talk on global warming. At a Danish wind-energy firm. In Portland, Oregon. Surely the irony of a South-Western Senator, who spends so much of his time on the Eastern Seaboard, giving a talk about carbon emissions in the North-West — at company owned by Danes (whose execs no doubt must periodically make trans-continental, trans-Atlantic trips) in the middle of a national tour/campaign — escapes no one. How much would America’s green-house gas emissions go down if Presidential candidates stopped frolicking about the country? Better yet, how much would ‘our’ green-house emissions go down if Presidential candidates stopped talking so much?” (05/15/08)

“In one TV commercial, Kool and the Gang warble their celebration of good times because coal, yes, coal, makes the party possible in America. In another, white and black, young and old, male and female, and even someone in a doctor’s green scrubs, stare into the camera and soulfully declare: ‘I believe’ American know-how will make coal clean and stop it from contributing to climate change. Not sold? Maybe you missed the newspaper ads and billboards warning that turning away from coal could mean blackouts, unemployment and higher electric bills. These messages and other variations on the coal-is-great theme are flooding the nation courtesy of the coal industry, coal-fueled utilities, railroads and related industries. The pro-coal marketing campaign — known by its tag line ‘Clean Coal’ — has kicked into high gear as prospects for new plants have turned bleak. Wall Street is tightening financing, leading to what one analyst told the Christian Science Monitor is a ‘de facto moratorium on coal power.’” (05/15/08)