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01/24/2003 Archived Entry: "Blogging from the road..."

On the Political Front...

Although I am not an advocate of jobless benefits, the following story on unemployment benefits is a reflection of the economy. I must sound like the voice of doom or "mom"...and I really don't mean to...but I hope everyone is being fiscally prudent. Staying out of debt, buying tangible assets, keeping whatever job security exists. The next few months are not a time to take financial risks.

Meanwhile, the cost of the US "going it alone" (or only with the Brits) will be extreme, both in terms of tax dollars and casualties. What are the odds of other allies falling in line? Well...Rumsfeld is dismissively referring to the Germans and French who disagree with US policy as "Old Europe", all the while insulting Vietnam Vets. Bush's analysis of the war has reduced to the level of a movie review; he calls Iraq's stand a "bad movie" and he doesn't intend to watch "a rerun." Do these meglomaniacs have any idea how arrogant, ignorant, and insulting they appear to the rest of the world? Do they care? -- that's a more fundamental question.

I have tried to stay away from feminist and sexual issues in my blog because they dominate so much of my time elsewhere but one item cries out for comment, especially since Avedon Carol -- head of the UK Feminists Against Censorship (FAC) -- is taking a strong stand. You go girl! It is the crusade against Pete Townshend on child porn charges. Salon has a a very good article on the subject and Salon has published a letter from Avedon/FAC in response. Personally, I think Townshend is innocent of all wrong. But the law will condemn him because downloading anything to do with child porn for any reason -- even legitimate research purposes -- is clearly illegal. And the LAW is the law. Like a hideous hydra, it must be fed. I hope Townshend, with his amazing record of social concern, will rally enough support for sanity to peek through on this issue.

This from my close friend Gordon Pusch (see Dec. 2000): Danish statistician Bjorn Lomborg has been censured by the Danish "Committee on Scientific Dishonesty," which has ruled that his book, "The Skeptical Environmentalist" is "clearly contrary to the standards of good scientific practice" because of its "systematic one-sidedness in the choice of data and line of argument," and rules that Lomburg has "perverted the scientific message" through "systematically biased misrepresentation." Gordon astutely observes, "I find such accusations rather ironic, given that part of Lomburg's thesis is that the 'scientific consensus' was _itself_ the result of bias and selective analysis of data... It is truly a sad day for science that a scientist can be tried by a gov't tribunal for 'unscientific behavior' because he dared to question a politically sanctified 'scientific consensus' that has hardened into unquestionable dogma --- more evidence that state-supported science has become a priesthood. (I have a hard time not seeing parallels to the trial of Galileo...)"

On the Personal and Movement Front...

Laissez Faire Books has officially announced its relocation: "As of February 1, 2003, Laissez Faire Books will be leaving San Francisco after thirteen happy years, moving its operations to Little Rock, Arkansas. Once again operating as a division of the Center for Independent Thought -- (it had been acquired by the Foundation for Economic Education), Laissez Faire Books looks forward to continuing to serve our customers from our new home, providing the world's best selection of books on liberty. NEW ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFO: 7123 Interstate 30, Suite 42, Little Rock, Arkansas 72209 (501)975-3650 Fax: (501)975-3651 Toll free: (800)326-0996 www.laissezfairebooks.com Director: Kathleen Hiserodt kathleen@laissezfairebooks.com." Good luck!

Bids on the assets/channels of Free-Market.Net are closing today, January 24th, at midnight. The person to contact is Louis James ljames@free-market.net. Louis has also been working without pause or pay to transfer ifeminists.com over to the Independent Institute and the downloading/uploading of files is in progress as I write this blog. As soon as I get back to the creature comforts of my own computer, my first priority will be to get ifeminists.com back on the e-map. The entire structure of FMN will blink off the Internet on February 14th, when payment to the server expires.

I spoke to that cutie David Gordon of the Mises Institute a few days ago and he informs me that the book on Murray Rothbard he is co-authoring with Joseph Stromberg is progressing, tho' a bit slowly as these things naturally tend to do. David and I go way back to my life in Los Angeles, where I co-owned a libertarian bookstore named "Lysander's" and we both worked as script writers for Knowledge Products. For the record, David never received the credit he deserved for the various tapes he wrote. Keep calling David...I love your bad jokes.

Best to all,
mac