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01/18/2003 Archived Entry: "Transfer of ifeminists delayed"

On the Political Front:

The money grab by all levels of government -- from local police departments to federal agencies -- continues to grow.

It must. The taxes being raised by virtually every city at every turn cannot possibly satisfy the cost of the "security" demanded by the Bush administration and public paranoia. And governments know they can only tax so much before tax rebellion occurs in one form or another. Shortfalls must be made up through such vehicles as hiked fees (e.g. for registering a car or business) and fines. For example, cops in D.C. are using an obscure and hitherto-ignored law to mass-ticket cars that park on hills without turning their wheels toward the curb. The money grab is occurring even in Canada, tho' on a smaller scale. For example, our township is now charging for the garbage pickup for which we pay stiff local taxes -- taxes that have also gone up.

Meanwhile, another story on how we are in more danger from those providing "security" than from any Iraqi you are likely to encounter in several lifetimes.

Kudos to former UN inspector Scott Ritter who has turned over to CNN the names of 56 suppliers of chemicals and the equipment to process them to Iraq -- chemicals that were allegedly used against American troops in the Persian Gulf. A majority of the suppliers are based in Europe but some are US firms. The names were included in the huge report that Iraq recently provided to the UN which, in turn, handed it directly to the US. Somehow the vastly edited report released by the Bush administration made no mention of those firms.

In the midst of this breaking cover-up, the Bush administration will be asking the Vatican to declare a pre-emptive strike in Iraq to be a "just war." The Catholic Church has a long, venerable tradition of clearly defining what constitutes a just war, as I pointed out in an article entitled "Libertarian Just War Theory."

On a Personal Note:

The Miss Liberty site is assembling nominations for the Best Libertarian Movie of 2002. (The first Lord of the Rings was the deserving winner last year.) Please send your nominations for best flick and documentary, along with a brief note explaining their significance to libertarians, to oz@missliberty.com.
If you have seen any of the nominated films and would like to add your own commentary to the existing nominations, please use the same e-dress.

What can I say about ifeminists.com? I was told that Free-Market.Net sites could only go to 501(c)3 entities. Now I am told that individuals and for-profit companies are encouraged to bid on Free-Market.Net sites. Indeed, all but Bureaucrash and IFC are currently being auctioned. I know many people are impatient about IFC's apparent demise -- I am in those ranks myself -- and I will concertedly try to resolve the transfer to the Independent Institute, which is still my preference, over this weekend.

BTW, there is a new feature on my home page. Near the bottom of the right-hand side, there is a PayPal button through which to make donations to the site, which is a labor of love. Any donation would be appreciated.

Cheers,
mac