"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!" -- Rick Gaber

Introduction
What we have in common.

Top Ten List
Liberals and Libertarians
Can Agree On These

Quotes
Mahatma Ghandi
Henry David Thoreau;
The Tao Te Ching

Reading List

FAQs

Links

Feedback

November, 1998

On November 3rd:
VOTE!!!

It's not who you vote for, it's what you vote for. An election is not a horse race; you don't get a prize if you pick the winning team.

The only "wasted vote" is the one that doesn't accurately reflect your views; a vote for the lesser of two evils just sends the message that you are willing to settle. Don't settle.

The only vote that is well and truly wasted...
...is a vote for a Republican.

-Glen Raphael

October, 1998

Mahatma Ghandi's thoughts on freedom, coercion and democracy have been added to the Quotes page.

Ghandi defended the interests of the oppressed. His strategy included not just nonviolent protest but also the building of alternative institutions to replace and delegitimize government institutions.

Building alternative institutions is still a powerful strategy today. 20 years ago people could plausibly claim that without government subsidies nobody would ever deliver mail to rural areas for a reasonable price. But after competition was semi-legalized by a court decision, Federal Express and UPS shattered that myth. The task before those of us who now favor a smaller and less intrusive government is to identify areas like that, areas where private competition is feasible even given the presence of government institutions. For instance, the court system is SO inefficient that using it to pursue justice often costs more than any likely settlement; this has led to the growth of alternative dispute-resolution services such as binding arbitration.

It's not the answer, but it's part of one.

(I've often thought it might be profitable to set up a guerrilla road-maintenance firm which would - in exchange for payment by local homeowners or businessmen - fix those potholes that the city somehow never gets around to)

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Second thoughts - the web page for the armed liberal

"Bill Clinton, big government, and sex with dogs." Humor columnist Dave Barry talks about Big Government in a Reason interview

Social Security in East Palo Alto. Social Security overtaxes black workers to subsidize white retirees.

Jainism is an Indian religion best known for its emphasis on _ahimsa_, or nonviolence toward all beings.

Libertarians and Vegetarians. An essay by Harry Reid of Beyond Government.

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