http://www.unallied.com Essays from the politically unaffiliated. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:05:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It would appear that the vast majority of libertarians favor “open immigration”. This is clearly the position of the Libertarian Party, as laid out on their web site. I consider myself a libertarian, but I’m not really on board with this idea of simply opening wide our borders. First ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/19 Politicians drive me crazy. The hosts on the Sunday morning news shows ask them questions, and they flat out refuse to respond. Nobody will take a position on anything. Look at the web site for Senator Jim Leach of Iowa: http://leach.house.gov/. There is barely a clue ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/18 I'm sure they do, but I really wonder what they are thinking about. It seems to me that almost everything they stand for is anti-American. I don't mean treasonous; I mean that they seem to have nothing but disdain for the things that make America … America. The Fourth ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/17 The hype surrounding hybrid vehicles is starting to grate on me. The environmental movement, along with armies of well-meaning yet ignorant people, would have us believe that you are a better person if you drive a Toyota Prius than if you drive a Hummer H1. The environmentally conscious hybrid ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/16 I recently wrote an essay about gun maker liability and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms act. The lines of reasoning applied to the case of gun manufacture and sales are also applicable to the manufacture and sales of pharmaceuticals. In the gun case I brought up two ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/15 In his book Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick introduced (to me) the concept of justice in holdings and some different ways of approaching it. These ideas may be old news to people who are fluent in political philosophy, but since they were new to me, and since I ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/14 The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (H.R. 800/S. 397) is being offered in response to the large number of frivolous lawsuits being brought against the firearms industry. It's no secret that anti-gun groups are attempting to achieve their agenda through the courts since they are not succeeding ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/13 There is much talk in certain libertarian circles about the so-called NAP, or "Non-Aggression Principle." I don’t find the NAP to be of much use myself, but the basic idea is that it’s wrong, under any circumstances, to "initiate force." What is meant by "force," or "initiate" for ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/12 This essay was first published in 2003 under the title "The Condo Association Analogy." The new title describes more clearly the intent of the article: to respond to the more radical among libertarians (many calling themselves "anarcho capitalists") who twist normal libertarian thinking to such an extent that they ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/11 Live-8 makes me sad. You'd think it would be merely amusing or comical; it's idiotic on so many levels, and the people involved are so ridiculous and self-important. But the fact that nobody else is laughing — and that lots of people are taking it very seriously — makes it ... http://www.unallied.com/archives/9