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12/26/2002 Archived Entry: "Early New year's Resolution"

Happy Holidays to all!

One of my two (early) New Year's Resolutions is to reactivate my blog and try to maintain it on a daily basis.

This flow of information is especially important in light of the recent collapse of the Henry Hazlitt Foundation, the umbrella organization under which Free-Market.net and ifeminists.com operated. The decision from the HHF Board on December 20th to close its doors caught all of us who work for HHF (in one capacity or another) offguard tho' there had been many indications of its approach. I differ from most others involved in that I think the Board acted wisely. But it has closed down (temporarily?) some of the premiere channels of news and information dissemination within the libertarian movement.

A lot of the former HHF staff are being thrown out there to rely on their own resources -- most of us have deferred months and months of payments to keep HHF going and it is unlikely that these amounts will be recouped. (My personal opinion.) Fortunately, we all worked for the love of the ideas more than for the love of money so the commitment of the people may well be able salvage the best aspects of FMN. I am hoping the Board allows this to happen. I'll let people know of breaking news.

2003 may be a year in which I change the course of my career. An old employer Mike Hassell (formerly of Knowledge Products) and I are working together on what is a truly exciting project with a lot of potential. I have always been a staunch believer in treating employers well...delivering on time, being receptive to their changing needs, remaining civil in the fact of conflicts. Mike always made that process easy by being so d*mned reasonable -- something I have come to appreciate over the years as I deal with so many editors/publishers who are less than so. Just as bad habits come back to haunt you, good ones don't stay buried either. So Mike and I are partnering again. I was very happy to hear his voice through the phone lines again. Upward and onward Michael.

Other people are returning to my life. Those of you who have read of the harassment/stalking I referenced in my former blogs know that I cut myself off from most people in my past because that was the only way I knew to contain the continuing severe abuse from a rather vicious "ex." But people from my past have been writing on their own and I find myself delighted to hear from them. For example, Evelyn F. contacted me after reading "The Reasonable Woman" and I felt like a small piece of a jigsaw puzzle from my past was being put gently into position. This despite the fact that she brought sad news. A mutual friend, Rex Dante, had died. He was a benevolent soul.

I miss my past. A lot of it was wonderful. And I think I am ready to reclaim it.

Politics remains a bleak prospect. Bush has promised the UN to stay any decision of war until the 27th and, so, Brad & I are planning our visit to family in the States to allow us to be home by that date. I recently received an "update" from Jim Peron on his trials/tribulations of moving from South Africa to New Zealand. He indicated that I should consider relocating to NZ in order to avoid the coming repression/oppression of North America that will accompany an Iraq/US war. But I am very pleased with our life in rural Ontario where we have what is basically a survivalist's dream. It wasn't our intention. Brad & I just wanted to buy beautiful land with groves of wood, fresh running streams, fertile fields, and a nice residence. But the ice storms of three years ago, along with other practical considerations, have made us buy generators and the other hallmarks of survivalism.

Brad & I have also been active in local politics and we're rather surprised to find ourselves in the very center of a dispute that will probably affect national policy and will most certainly define future politics in Ontario. It has been over three years since we took on a business interest which was (from all appearances) "politicking" its way into the "right" to devastate the land of neighbors, who were being effectively denied legal recourse. We live 700 metres from the said interest and were involved enough to be threatened with lawsuits no less than three times for voicing our concerns publicly. A recent appeal to the Superior Court of Ontario came down unanimously on "our" side, with language that actually upbraided a government agency for refusing to hear evidence and specifically named an official responsible for the miscarriage. I am so used to the "small guy/gal" losing in the face Big Government/Big Business that I was stunned. Sometimes you have to accept the fact that things can turn out right. Sometimes you win on principle.

Well...enough for today. See y'all tomorrow.
mac