Ok, so maybe my participation here isn’t quite as thrilling as Neil Armstrong’s moment, but hey, I’m still excited. 🙂
I’ve followed Ron’s comments on Dean’s World for a while, as well as occasionally dropping by here. He has impressed me as someone who thinks hard about things before opining.
Recently Ron invited me to start blogging on “Likelihood” for various reasons, including the fact that I’m very much not a carbon copy of himself.
So. For those not familiar with me from Dean’s World or my own Gantry Launchpad, I shall offer some form of resume. I suppose a good first step would be here. The tone seems a touch dramatic to me, now, but I have no reason to retract any of those statements.
I shall elaborate one the above precis. I am not a minarchist, nor am I a libertarian, as I significantly deviate from both philosophies. There are some things government does well, or at least more effectively than the private sector. I, for one, would prefer not to live in a city where law enforcement or the courts are run by private enterprise.
Perhaps some correspondence with Ron would be illustrative; from an email I sent to him:
Just to clear things up, I am a Independent dedicated specifically to neither conservatism, libertarianism, nor minarchism. I am strong on 2nd Amendment rights, illegal immigration (although Michelle Malkin regularly makes me ill on this topic) and the supremacy of local government.
On the other hand, I can’t stand PC foolishness, hate speech, or people who want to tell me what to drink, eat, or think.
I can also understand (and can sympathize with) the origin of pacifism and anti-war sentiment in this country, even though I think the leading Dems (yes, I’m talking about that jackass from Nevada) are wrong.
BTW, people who blame FDR for the expansion of the Federal government are off-base; they should blame LBJ and Nixon. Yes, I said “Nixon.” 🙂 That bad boy had more to do with the extension of modern government of any president besides Johnson.
Now. You tell me where I land, politically.
I’ll just take a moment here to thank Ron for this opportunity, and I hope my work here will live up to his (and your) expectations.
usually am, and getting a little sun and fresh air) and I just had the opportunity to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I liked it a lot, was very touched at a number of junctures, and feel that I was well treated by the author.
