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Well, I'll be darned. After squirming over action items like "supporting the President in the War on Terror" and "Cracking Down on Indecency", I was concerned. We got a letter recently with a checklist of priorites, which included several of the buzzwords being bandied around by the radical right ever since they disguised fear and hate as "Moral Values" to win the 2004 elections.

And then, Jeb Hensarling (R - Athens) goes and opens the door to "these newcomers to our political process [...] bloggers and online activists." (from TFA). And in a show of rare bipartisanship (on an issue not involving oil or war), he's partnering with a leading Democratic Senator. And some of the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation will be third-party bloggers, Greens, Libertarians, and all the rest.

It's as if he has a sense of civic duty. Maybe it's possible, even today. After all, there are an awful lot of "R"s in Texas who were "D"s in a previous life.

I think that America is turning more and more into a police state

You only just realized this?

There will be finger-pointing. But know that the Democrats and Republicans are equally culpable.

There are solutions, however.

What *moderate* organizations exist to combat the tricky points of where our society is going?

If you think so, then you can't be helped -- there is no moderate organization to oppose heavy statism, and there never will be. Because, from the mainstream point of view, government is supposed to make all the decisions, and any departure from that, is extreme.

If you think that viewing the mainstream as extreme, is not an extreme position in itself, then there are possibilities. But you won't find them if you keep using the word "moderate" in your keyword searches. ;-)

It should be obvious now that the Republican Party is no longer the party of "small government" as they so often pretend. Running roughshod over states' rights (as in this case), the Patriot Act, corporate welfare, etc. So if you really are conservative (ie small government) and can't bring yourself to vote for the Democrats, take a look at America's third largest party, the Libertarian Party: http://lp.org

You want a less intrusive government and you switched from Republican to Democrat? Good grief! There are other alternatives that still advocate small government, you know.

She needs to move on to a different village and stop trying to raise my child.

Is she really the best the left has to offer? Liberals need to start getting Barack Obama ready for the big leagues or just resign themselves to dying with Hillary.

Then Libertarians can come in and fix things.

Where'd all the real republicans go?

They went here

Sometimes when your political party goes down the tubes you have to consider alternatives.
http://www.lp.org/

Thank you mods, for proving that /. is just a bunch of Worthless fucktards that rely on the government and their parents to give them what they need and want. Funny thing, though, around half "claim" they're Libertarian.

BTW, yes, 911 is unconstitutional and should be abolished.
______________________________________ ___
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a
vote to abolish the constitution itself.

That's only the start, really.

- Why pass a bill when you can buy commercial software to do this for you? I'm sure you can even get software for free to do it. That is simply technical incompetance.
- Why not choose an ISP that does filtering already, like AOL, or a local company which will do the filtering?

If people want ("demand") filtering, then there will be, and is, a commercial interest in providing that filtering ("supply"). Passing a law is simply ridiculous.

I can't wait for this to be shot down in courts. Fsck Utah.

</libertarian-rant>

Why do people fucking whine when they don't get their god-damned way? No one is even entitled to a fucking job, let alone being "treated fair". HP should offshore all positions, and let anyone that is poor to either run their own business, or fucking die, after all, it's a dog eat dog world where only the fittest should survive, not the fucking worthless which is the fucking poor , all they do is leech from society, not fucking contribute.

http://www.coloradogold.com/

________________________________________________ _
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a
vote to abolish the constitution itself.

Why do people fucking whine when they don't get their god-damned way? No one is even entitled to a fucking job, let alone being "treated fair". HP should offshore all positions, and let anyone that is poor to either run their own business, or fucking die, after all, it's a dog eat dog world where only the fittest should survive, not the fucking worthless which is the fucking poor , all they do is leech from society, not fucking contribute.

http://www.coloradogold.com/

________________________________________________ _
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a
vote to abolish the constitution itself.

I totally agree with you Bob, the only reason why the IRS even exists today is because of the Republicrats want to take our money at gun point to supposedly "help the poor", when in fact it's really helping the worthless.
______________________________________ ____________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a vote
to abolish the constitution itself

Oh really, and all this time I thought the people that voted Republican or Democrat was really voting for the same party, commonly known as the "Republicrat" party.

It's the Republicrats that caused all sorts of problems in this country from unconstitutional programs and laws. How do you think we got into the great depression? FDR then created unconstitutional programs like crazy and the Republicrat congress voted for it. The Republicrats created other unconstitutional programs to supposedly "help the poor". The same "Won't somebody please think of the children" mentality also brought censorship that still exists today, which violates the first amendment of the constitution. It was also the Republicrats that voted for the DMCA and the USA PATRIOT act using the same mentality.

The Republicrats also are in favor of city wide and state wide "Smoking Bans", instead of allowing businesses to decide whether or not to allow smoking.

Since the Republicrats have historically violated the ninth and tenth amendments, they are now starting to violate other amendments, sure the Republicans claim they support the second amendment. What's to say that they wont go after someone under the PATRIOT act because they carry "too many guns"?

The Libertarian party is the Party of Principal. They will not support a 1% food and beverage tax to fund a convention center, they would let the free market fund it.

The Libertarian Party is the only party that will get this country back on track because they will use only the constitution as their guide. Can the Republicrats claim the same?

________________________________________________ __ _________________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a vote to abolish the constitution itself

Hopefully, not just for news, but for everything else. The worthless are being supported with food and everything else, and yet the fucktards that give to the worthless are whining and crying thatthey have no money. I have the fucking answer, stop goving to the fucking worthless, let them work for a fucking change, and if they can't or won't work, let natural selection take over. Nothing on the net should be free, if someone can't afford it, they shouldn't even have a fucking computer to begin with. Giving all these fucking handouts to the fucking poor are the reason why this country is so full of fucking crime.

to the mods, this is not off topic nor is this a troll/flamebait, this is the truth of why there are so many fucking problems in this country.
________________________________________ __________ __________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a vote to abolish the constitution itself

Was that falling for a troll, or a counter-troll? Perhaps you might have noticed that this was titled "The Libertarian Response"? Libertarians are neither Republicans nor Democrats. They're a different political party entirely, generally agreeing with liberals on issues pertaining to the individual (such as drugs, abortion, and so on), and agreeing with the conservatives on economic issues (such as fiscal responsibility (Bush aside), corporate regulation, and the minimum wage).

Commonly, libertarians make a distinction between the personal and economic aspects of liberal thought; the popular Nolan Chart makes the political spectrum a plane, rather than a line.

Or, as I usually put it: in legislative sessions, the Conservatives sit to the right, the Liberals sit on the left, and the Libertarians are the baboons swinging from the chandeliers. (And it's suprising how many Libertarians will cheerfully agree with that description when asked....)

The libertarian position stated was a trifle extreme... but does thus highlight the problems with the libertarian's more extreme free-market faction.

What could we do? How about you try voting Libertarian for a change.

Wow, another tax to subsidize the Worthless. When will it end?
it started with giving the worthless a "Retirement Account" that is nothing
more than a god-damned pyramid scheme. Then that
wasn't enought, sigle mothers whined "Won't
someone think of the children" and that's when we
had to give welfare, and that wasn't enough.
Eventually we had to give them food stamps, so
they could go through lines several times so the
could purchase cigarettes. They have those
stupid "EBT" cards now, but, all it would take is
some mother to sell some of her food so she can
get a fucking pack of cigarettes. Now, they
have to have a "Pell Grant" and free Wi-Fi? They "claim"
that it's for an education, but, they just take
the "Pell Grant" money, and squander it on drugs.

Let's stop the handouts and handups
right here and now. Let them work for
everything, and if they can't or if they won't
work, let them DIE, fuck charity. Remember "If
you don't work, you don't eat, if you can't work,
that falls under don't work, so that boils down
to either work, or DIE. Also, if the 9th and
10th amendments of the constitution are ignored,
the 1 and second are next, just look at the DMCA,
USA Patriot Act. The only way to get this
country back on track is to vote straight
Libertarian for every office in the government,
starting with the next election, so the 16th
Amendment can be repealed and so we can abolish
the income tax, and maybe every other tax as well.

This is not meant to sound like a troll, but
god damn it, all of the programs is why we have
so many fucking problems in this country, and
like Don Stott, I'M MAD AS HELL!!!!!!!!!
____________________________________________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a
vote to abolish the constitution itself.

Wow, another tax to subsidize the Worthless. When will it end?
it started with giving the worthless a "Retirement Account" that is nothing
more than a god-damned pyramid scheme. Then that
wasn't enought, sigle mothers whined "Won't
someone think of the children" and that's when we
had to give welfare, and that wasn't enough.
Eventually we had to give them food stamps, so
they could go through lines several times so the
could purchase cigarettes. They have those
stupid "EBT" cards now, but, all it would take is
some mother to sell some of her food so she can
get a fucking pack of cigarettes. Now, they
have to have a "Pell Grant" and free Wi-Fi? They "claim"
that it's for an education, but, they just take
the "Pell Grant" money, and squander it on drugs.

Let's stop the handouts and handups
right here and now. Let them work for
everything, and if they can't or if they won't
work, let them DIE, fuck charity. Remember "If
you don't work, you don't eat, if you can't work,
that falls under don't work, so that boils down
to either work, or DIE. Also, if the 9th and
10th amendments of the constitution are ignored,
the 1 and second are next, just look at the DMCA,
USA Patriot Act. The only way to get this
country back on track is to vote straight
Libertarian for every office in the government,
starting with the next election, so the 16th
Amendment can be repealed and so we can abolish
the income tax, and maybe every other tax as well.

This is not meant to sound like a troll, but
god damn it, all of the programs is why we have
so many fucking problems in this country, and
like Don Stott, I'M MAD AS HELL!!!!!!!!!
____________________________________________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is a
vote to abolish the constitution itself.

sorry, that link should be Libertarian

Check out the Libertarian Party.

yes, you are unclear, they want *less* government intervention, not zero. they belive the government should help the citizens not block their progress, life and liberties.

i'm not a libertarian, but there http://www.lp.org/website makes for a good read. good ideas.. to bad 'man' has to follow threw with the ideas, and that won't happen with big money being put in there pockets.

Personal responsibility? That's a pretty novel idea. Wonder if it'll catch on?

Oh - did you notice that last sentence - CONVICTED MONOPOLIST. They have to play by a different set of rules.

Oh - did you notice that last sentence - CONVICTED MONOPOLIST. They have to play by a different set of rules.

Oh - did you notice that last sentence - CONVICTED MONOPOLIST. They have to play by a different set of rules.

Oh - did you notice that last sentence - CONVICTED MONOPOLIST. They have to play by a different set of rules.

I am not trashing on any party, simply pointing out their hipocritical practices...

Go ahead research it yourself...

Oh and my party

Libertarian Party A party that stands for individual freedom and responsibility, and allowing people to keep the money that our governments legislatively STEAL from us.

Regarding drug costs in the 3rd world, you think the US legislates that? Those are corporations who are making those choices. I personally support India, which does not honor patents on medicine. I believe medical patents are murder, so I think we agree there as well

You wrote...any truly fair system will therefore be skewed ...

We fundamentally disagree here. For me any fair system will NOT be skewed. That is really my definition of fair -- the field is level for everyone, rich and poor, strong and weak. Do the strong win more often than the weak? Yes, if they lost more, they would be the weak.

Yup... right... sure... but umm... why do Americans work more for less? Capitalism! Woo-freaking-hoo.

... As long as I can't realistically vote libertarian in a presidential election, this is the lesser of the major evils. I like Dean, too. Sure would have preferred him, but I digress.

But, if you lean that LP way, and alot on /. I imagine do, you should try and vote libertarian in your local and even congressional elections.

What Libertarians actually support.

Go LP!

~Rebecca

I don't need or desire this kind of "protection." I need protection from my governemnt because I want to live in freedom. Why should we put up with more intrusions into our lives when the government will not even take the steps in securing our borders. What is wrong with building refugee camps to keep those who do not have American citizenship but might pose a danger? Tell them to go to the camps or back to their country.

What good is it it strip search old American women at airports and repress us with rfid tags and so-called foolproof drivers licences when our borders are overrun with illegals? I have seen personally numerous times American people get secondary searches at airpot checkpoints while those of obvious Middle Eastern descent go right through. Enough with the propaganda about safety for Americans when the people who should be watched are free to roam without a second glance.

Also, the influx of slave-made goods is making us vulnerable to terrorism (ever hear of sabotage). Fix our borders, and put reasonable tariffs on foreign made goods, and we will be safe. Train the citizenry on what to look for, have massive civil defence and first aid courses for the common people. Keep an eye on Middle Eastern travelers. I look like I'm Middle Eastern (I am not, though), and I wouldn't mind the extra checks.

I for one will give out information anywhere I can on how to disable rfid chips. A magnifying glass can be used for other purposes than frying ants! By defacto rule, we already have lost a lot of our Constitutional rights. Hey Bush, don't just allow the big Cartels to do what they want, we still like freedom too!

People, it is time for not only a new President but also a renewed governemnt, we can do it. We need another "Boston Tea Party". Our political parties have abandoned us. They make merchandice out of all of us. We desparately need a change, and it will not happen as long as the two political cartels remain in power. Take a look at the alternatives:

http://www.lp.org/
http://www.constitutionparty.com/

Until we make a real change in American it will only get worse.

I always see people complaining about Washington and talking like "that's just the way it is" and fail to see that "we the people" are the ones supporting it in the end.

The problem isn't with the Reps or the Dems, it is with both. I believe they are both selling out on regular people and that's why I voted for Michael Badnarik and the Libertarian Party.

I always think it is a shame that this country (US) doesn't have a party that thinks like the Economist.

It doesn't?

I always think it is a shame that this county (US) doesn't have a party that thinks like the Economist.

We do, and it's called the Libertarian Party. They may not be a major party, but that's only because most people think they're "wasting their vote" if they don't vote for one of the major two. Economically conservative and socially liberal - the best of both worlds.

Now, what I wish is that the Economist would offer a cheaper print subscription to broke college students like me. As it is, I buy a copy on the newsstands when I have a couple dollars laying around, but that's not very often, and I would love to read it more often. Plus, it's good for leaving around my fraternity, giving people a chance to read something other than Maxim for a change. I know about the online subscription, but it just isn't the same.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly an individual will revert to cussing when faced with something they cannot otherwise answer.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly an individual will revert to cussing when faced with something they cannot otherwise answer.

Why, so the worthless trash such as yourself can live off of Bob's sweat and tears without working yourself? Are you afraid that once the unconstitutional programs stop, that you will have to live under a bridge somewhere until the day you die? Remember, the way to utopia is Survival of the Fittest, not Survival of the Worthless

You see, NASA, and almost all government programs and services are unconstitutional. Don't believe me? Just take a look at the 9th and 10th ammendments of the constitution.

Another reason why they're canceling it, IMHO, is to replace it with yet another shitty Reality Series. By the year 2015, all that's going to be on TV is Reality Shit^h^hows. And the same thing is going to bleed over into the theatres, *cough* Jackass *cough*. The reason why they are wanting to do this, Cost. Even if they receive only have $5 Million from their sponsors, they've made a profit. So with sponsors having to pay less for advertising.

OF course, I don't care, they could get rid of star trek all together for all I care, fuck, they could pull the shit totally off the market so no one can buy it for all I fucking care. I have been television free for years now, and I haven't seen Liberal Propaganda from the MPAA for years either. Truthfully, I hope the XXAA goes belly up. Of course, that will never happen, because most of the people in the US (Both liberal and conservative, and all in between) are nothing more than a bunch of Mindless fucktards that, like sheep, are addicted to their "Precious" television that they must watch as much as fucking possible, fuck, if they had no jobs, the would watch the idiot machine 16 and 7. We're talking about fucktards that must have McShit for dinner because they "Have no time" well, stop watching the Fucktard Box, and you'll have some fucking time, besides, Use a George Foreman Grill or fuck, a frying pan and it still will be healthier than McShit provides. No wonder why so many people in the US are FAT. A majority are so fucking stupid and lazy.

It's the fucktards that over eat, the fucktards that eat McShit instead of real fucking food, the fuckards that smoke, the fucktards that don't want to raise a fucking finger that are the fucking reasons that Health Care is so fucking expensive. The only remedy for this is for the Health Insurance and Life Insurance companies to deny them coverage so they are taken out of the fucking gene pool by letting natural selection take over. Once natural selection completely takes over, then we can get back to the truly worthy and get the US back on track instead of dealing with the Worthless fucktards that cause all of the fucking problems in the US.

If this post is modded down, then that will mean that I have hit a nerve with a /.er that fits the above description and that also means I must be right. Of course, anymore these /.ers "Claim" to be anti-xxaa and anti corporation, but when a Hot New movie/song/game is released, they act just like the typical McShit/xxAA loving American fucktard that should be removed from the fucking gene pool.

Why, are you so scared that you will be no longer getting government granted money that was originally stolen from hard working Americans? Are you afraid that you not fit? Remember, the constitution only give rights, it doesn't say we should help the worthless/needy

After all it's survival of the fittest, not survival of the worthless. So are you affraid that you're worthless? If you answered yes to that question, then please kindly jump off a bridge somewhere and take yourself out of the gene pool.

When people talk about "ending hunger" they are really talking about welfare programs to bring food to the needy, not vague crap like freeing people's time to feed themselves or whatever. So then the question becomes, what's the libertarian position on welfare? END IT! Proof is on their web site:

Libertarian party advocates ending welfare

A bullet is less than a dollar.

Got a point, and let's go by you're logic on other crimes as well. If somone steals a loaf of bread, let's give them the death penalty. One less worthless person in the gene pool.

Or the drunk driver, let's give 'em the death penaly on the first offense, after all, one less worthless idiot in the gene pool, and of course, he/she might kill a child. That's sounds like a great idea to rid this country of the worthless poor, after all, they're the ones causing the problems in this country.

Wow that's classic you idiot mods. If my post is offtopic, the parent I'm referring to certainly is offtopic too. That's ok though, as I have mod points to burn, so play your little games. When I mod, I try to do so based on content rather than a post's agreement with my political affiliation. But hey, what do I know, I voted for freedom.

But to get back on topic, the weather service may have an obligation by its previous arrangement with commercial purveyors of this information, not to present the general public with anything other than the raw data that the taxpayers have paid for. But we are free to take that information and provide it in a usable format to the public free of charge and without advertising if we wish. If commercial weather information purveyors want exclusive access to it, then let them fund it instead of the taxpayers. It may well be that this is a type of scientific research that would be better served by the private sector.

Now hold on here. Of course most libertarians, just like anyone else in a civil society, see the value in laws and regulations. People always stereotype Libertarians as wanting to start some anarchist society, which couldn't be farther from the truth. The whole idea behind Libertarianism is that people have a fundamental right to do as they please as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others. And when someone does infringe on the rights of others, they must take full responsiblity for their actions. Of course we need laws and regulations... how else would you decide when someone does something wrong?

That all sounds good and no one would object to having laws that limit individual freedom the least, while simultaneously protecting society as a whole. Like the old adage says, "The right to swing your fists stops where my nose begins."

The problem with the libertarian party, and the reason why they're viewed as antiregulation zealots, is because that's the image the party's official statements paint.

Now I could go through their platform and official statements over the years, and write treatise on how the perfectly reasonable political philosophy has been perverted and drastically undermined by the reactionary zealots of the Libertarian Party, but I won't. Instead I'll lillustrate the point by examining the party's opposition to the thousands of year old role of government ensuring the health and safety of its citizenry. A role that is not only considered reasonable by the vast majority, but also popular with the citizens. A role of government that widely regarded, that the LP's oposition to which is typically used by the party's detractors to illustrate just how out of touch the party is. I'm going to talk the about meat inspectors.

The Libertarian Party is against meat inspectors because people are smart enough not to buy infected meat, therefore anyone selling infected meat would go out of buisness. That all may be true, but there's typically no way for the average person to stand at the meat counter at the local Kroger's and start testing for E.Coli.

Furthermore, they argue that the "USDA Approved" sticker lulls the public into a false sense of safety since all the meat they buy is "USDA approved". They then turn around and argue that this "false sense of safety" doesn't exist with the ubiquitous "UL Approved" stickers because Underwriter's Labs is an industrial organization. Figuring out why the average citizen would be deadened to a sticker because of who was putting them on rather than by the sticker's ubiquity is apparently left as an exercise for the reader.

The LP in every case touts "voluntary self-regulation of industry", like a mantra. The sole reason for this is "less taxes". Yes, VSR would ideally result in less taxes, but there's a catch. VSR doesn't work.

There exists an intrinisic advesarial relationship between the regulator and the regulated. This doesn't mean that they're always at each others' throats, ideally they're not, but it's not, nor should it every be, an relationship between equals. VSR puts the regulated in a superior position over the regulators. First, those being regulated decide what the rules should be. Typically, they're initially set just beyond current practices, because VSR is almost always introduced as a fix to an industry-wide PR disaster. So right off, the regulations are weak. Next there's no penaltys for violating even these regulations because they're voluntary. If you group didn't comply, it's because they didn't have to. So in the end, nothing changes, and the VSR industry is just as unregulated as before. Conversely, when strong government regulations exist, and when there's proper funding of enforcement of the the regulations (I say this, because cutting of enforcement budgets has been a popular tactic of late because it effectively eliminates the regulations, without the political fallout of actually eliminating the regulations.) there's actually penalties such as fines and possible jail time for violators.

I guess thats conservative on business, and liberal on morals. Guess you can be both. ;)

Yup, they call that libertarian thinking. Socially liberal, financially conservative. There's even a political party based on that line of thinking, of which I am a member.

You sure hit the nail on the head son. I am glad that you recognize that I am without bias, opinion or a tendency to propagandize for my side. My reporting is beyond reproach and I cannot even fathom how someone could insinuate that things might be to the contrary...

Vote Libertarian for every level of the government in every election. They have the perfect solution to get the Jobs to stay and to come back. That is elimnate all unconstitutional Gov Programs, minimum wage, and they definately balance the budget on Federal, state, and local levels. Remember, it's the Overtime pay, minimum wage, forced benefits laws that are having the jobs move overseas to begin with.

On top of that, the over taxation is causing them to pay more to their employees, at the same time, they are having to pay taxes to support the Worthless in this nation through double taxation.

Once the Libertarians take power, then there will be more jobs available in this country and people will have more money to spend, until then, this country will go down the shit hole b/c of shitty politicians similar to George W Bush and Bill Clinton that are busy fucking their intern or getting drunk. "You don't think Bush choked on that pretzle, do you, if you do, you're one very naive fucktard". The republicrats don't give a fuck about anyone but themselves

To be honest, I think the Republicans and Democrats are really the same party, their "bickering" is really nothing more than an illusion, so the clueless, naive sheep of this country can continue to be divided, listening to lies that fit their bias "whether it's Rush Limbaugh/Pat Robertson/Robert Novak or Howard Stern/Jessie Jackson/Peter Jennings"

________________________________________________ __
For More Information, visit the Libertarian Party's Website at lp.org

The ONLY way that will happen is when 2/3 minimum of the American people vote Libertarian for every level of the government. That way,we can get rid of all unconstitutional government programs, use the social security surplus plus the money from selling the National Forests to private companies to pay off the national debt. Then a Constitutional Amendment that will force a Balanced budget on both the state and federal levels can be passed. Then, and only then will the dollar start to rise.

True, at first, it will affect a few people, but which is worse, a few people dying, or an entire nation collapsing economically, therefore, affecting everyone, not just a few people. It may actually remove the worthless from this country.

Might I suggest linking your signature to http://www.lp.org/issues/ or at least lp.org?