Caroline Kennedy, the lofty, high-minded rich lady who thinks being appointed a Senator is like performing an act of charity for the nation, or maybe like being on America’s co-op board. Also she’s beginning to remind us of the woman in the atrocious Lexus ad whose new car is an even better present than her childhood pony.
Archive for December, 2008
The U.S. Senate – America’s Co-op Board
December 30, 2008The Year in Albany Dysfunction
December 30, 2008Everybody is coming out with their year in review lists this week (Dave Barry’s is a gem, as usual), but one of my favorites is Bill Hammond’s rundown of Albany shenanigans in 2008. Sure you remember Love Client Number Nine, but there was also the parole board member who solicited 11 year olds, the assemblyman who embezzled millions in government and union funds–including $95,000 from a little league team–and the former senate majority leader under FBI investigation who took a job as CEO and lobbyist for a major state contractor. And much more. Good times.
Will the feds bust Santa Claus?
December 25, 2008Happy Holidays! Santa Claus should be deemed a person of suspicious activity.
Give to the Fresh Air Fund
December 10, 2008Serf City received a nice email from the folks at the Fresh Air Fund, asking if we would help out with their year-end fundraising campaign. Since I’m a big believer in encouraging non-governmental solutions to social welfare issues, I am more than happy to do so.
Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations in the country to more than 1.7 million New York City children from disadvantaged communities. Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states and Canada through the Friendly Town Program or attend one of five Fresh Air Fund camps.
Like other non-profits, I am sure that the Fresh Air Fund has taken a bit hit lately in its fundraising, due to the recession.
Unlike other non-profit organizations, the Fresh Air Fund is supported entirely by private donations. They receive no government funding, and they like it that way. As libertarians, we need to be able to point to real-world examples of where the free market provides services that most people would assume could only be provided with government assistance. We need groups like the Fresh Air Fund to be successful.
With the year-end approaching, now is the time to maximize your charitable donations so you can take a big deduction for the 2008 tax year. Would you rather see your money go to send a kid to summer camp, or would you rather it go to the next government bailout of a failed corporation?
That’s it, I just convinced myself. I’m sending a donation to the Fresh Air Fund right now. I hope you’ll do the same.
Is the Manhattan Libertarian Party Part of Big Telecom?
December 5, 2008Over at the Fierce Telecom website, someone posted an article today criticizing a new paper by Scott Cleland of NetCompetition.org. Scott’s paper (which I have not read) apparently asserts that Google uses 21 times more bandwidth than it pays for. The criticism gets rather ad hominem, using words like “stupid,” “moron” and “telecom shill” to describe the study and its author.
But what really caught my attention was Fierce Telecom’s description of NetCompetition.org:
Cleland’s Netcompetition.org subsidiary is funded by broadband telecom, cable, and wireless companies, including AT&T, Comcast, Qwest, Sprint, Verizon, US Telecom Association, some token chamber of commerce representation, and the Manhattan Libertarian Party.
Uh hmm.
My recollection is that in March 2007, the Manhattan Libertarian Party hosted a forum about net neutrality, which included a speaker from NetCompetition.org. It is entirely possible that around that time, we passed some resolution endorsing their efforts, although I don’t recall the specifics. What I can say with 100% certainty is that the Manhattan Libertarian Party does not and never has funded NetCompetition.org. As the saying goes, we’re so poor, we can barely afford to pay attention.
Looking at the NetCompetition.org member list just now, I see the Manhattan Libertarian Party is listed among those who “support the mission and efforts of the NETCompetition.org e-forum.” That’s entirely possible, since we are all for free markets and competition, but I don’t recall us formally becoming members. I do know that any such “support” is entirely theoretical, not financial.
Sundwall for Senate?
December 3, 2008The capo di tutti capi of the Libertarian Party of New York, Eric Sundwall, throws his hat into the ring to replace Hillary:
Beth Hoffman, RIP
December 2, 2008It is with great sadness that I report the untimely death yesterday of Beth Hoffman, a true hero of the freedom movement. For over three decades, Beth was a FEE staffer and editor; she served as Managing Editor of the Freeman for many years and in her own humble way, truly was the backbone of FEE. Quiet and unpretentious, she was one of the greatest workers for liberty that I have been blessed to know.
A link to the announcement on In Brief appears below:
