Why Libertarians Oppose The Death Penalty

Here's something from the Coyotote Blog, taking a Tampa Bay Times writer named Robyn Blumner to task for opposing the death penalty and government intervention in lifestyle choices, while advocating for government intervention in economic matters. 

Robyn Blumner’s column highlighting the wrongful executions of Carlos DeLuna and Cameron Todd Willingham was a very compelling argument against the death penalty. I am a Republican who rarely agrees with Blumner, but in this case she was spot on. While I believe that there are individuals who certainly deserve to lose their lives for the crimes they commit (John Couey comes to mind), I simply do not trust the government to administer such a process fairly or accurately. This is because the government is run by human beings, who like the rest of us are motivated by narrow self-interest and restrained by limited knowledge. Because those in government rarely face the consequences of their decisions, they often make the wrong ones, even if their intent is pure.

Do you trust the government's mail system to deliver important documents, or do you trust FedEx or UPS?  What about hospitals?  I know that during a recent emergency, I was glad to be in St. Joseph's rather than a VA facility. 
The only thing that government does better than the private sector is blowing up strange-looking people overseas. 

What I find puzzling is how Blumner can so effectively articulate these failings of government when it comes to civil liberties in one column, and in the next champion its abilities and competence in economic matters. A criminal trial is a grueling and exacting process that seeks to administer justice in a very narrow, specific instance. If government doesn’t deserve our faith in doing that correctly, how can we trust it to control and coordinate the countless decisions that hundreds of millions of Americans make each day in our economic lives?

All of those questions are legit, but here's an even better one for Matt Curran, the guy who wrote this little gem.  In the first paragraph, Mr. Curran says . "I am a Republican who rarely agrees with Blumner..."

But Republicans voted for TARP.  They promote subsidies, bailouts, quotas, tariffs, set-asides, corporate welfare and crony capitalism of the worst possible sort.  All of that, and they want to interfere with what you can smoke, who you can sleep with, where you can gamble, and whether or not you should have to listen to some redneck witch doctor pray before a football game or city council meeting. 

Matt, why are you still a Republican? 

The Libertarian Party awaits!!!

Arizona is now outsourcing corruption.

Ok, most every libertarian I've ever met believes that government intervention in the economy is a bad thing.  It gives bureaucrats and donation-seekers a chance to pick winners and losers.
 
Here's the Coyote Blog's take on the situation:

I have written before about government corporate subsidies and attempts at venture capital investment in the context of the “big shot” effect.  Many times I have come to suspect the biggest beneficiary of these programs is to the administrators themselves, who have no money of their own and wouldn’t ever be trusted to manage a private portfolio but get to act as “big shots” with other peoples’ money.  They get the psychic benefit of being little junior Donald Trumps.

Every libertarian I've ever met believes that giving subsidies, quotas, tax breaks and (ahem) "incentives" to some segments of the economy is a bad thing.  It gives bureaucrats and politicians a chance to pick winners and losers, reward friends and punish enemies. 

Every libertarian I've ever met also believes that a huge chunk of government activity should be left to the private sector or non-profits.  (Exceptions would be for activities requiring the use of force.) 

Most libertarians delight in pointing out how government screws up just about everything it touches.  (Exception granted for the military.  If you want to go overseas and blow up brown people, our forces are the best.) 

I'm as lazy as the next person.  But if I were to go work for the government, I'd want to control the distribution of the pork, the shoveling of the slop, and the gathering of the graft. 

The great state of Arizona has admitted that it can't even do that. 

Arizona has outsourced its corruption.  They've created a public/private "partnership" called the Arizona Commerce Authority to  hand out special priviliges, pork, and tax breaks.  I don't care who you are, what political label you wear, or even if you think tax breaks for donors are a good thing.  I don't care.  Because...This....Is....Funny !!

They've admitted they can't even dish out pork and patronage effectively.  Hell, what would the Daleys of Chicago think of this? 

Go here to read more at the Privatization Blog. 

Go here for the Coyote Blog's take on it. 

Then turn your ears toward Phoenix and listen for the sound of the scoops rattling around inside the slop buckets.  Come and get it !!! 

A list of proposed regulations for households. Yours in particular.

Several posts ago, I commented on some of the insane legislative crap coming out of California.  The latest example being the potential requirement that babysitters get 15-minute breaks, meal breaks, workers comp, etc. etc. etc.   

I had often tried to use babysitters as an example of what would happen to hiring in the babysitting field if government got involved.  People would stop hiring babysitters.  I thought it was a totally ridiculous analogy, but of course, there's always California.  California wants to do all of the above, complete with forcing you to bring in a "substitute caregiver" to cover for Babysitter #1's smoke breaks. 

The Coyote Blogger has taken it to a new level.  What would happen if a household had to abide by ALL of the same arbitrary, for-your-own-good, batshit crazy rules that a business has to consider every day?  Would you consider running a household under these terms?  Here's The Coyote: 

I have decided this is exactly the kind of thing California needs. I am tired of average citizens passing crazy requirements on business without any concept of the costs and injustices they are proposing, and then scratch their head later wonder why job creation is stagnant.

I want to propose that California do MORE in this same vein. Here are some suggestions:

• Every household will have to register for a license to conduct any type of commerce, a license to occupy their house, and a license to hire any employees. Homeowner will as a minimum have to register to withhold income taxes, pay social security taxes, pay unemployment insurance, pay disability insurance, and pay workers comp insurance.
• Households should have to file a 1099 for every payment they make to contractors
• All requirements of Obamacare must be followed for any household labor, including payment of penalties for even part-time labor for which the homeowner does not provide medical insurance
• No alcohol may be purchased by any individual without first applying for and receiving a state liquor license
• No cigarettes may be purchased by any individual without first applying for and receiving a state cigarette license
• No over the counter drugs may be purchased by any individual without first applying for and receiving a state over the counter drug license
• No eggs may be purchased by any individual without first applying for and receiving a state egg license
• Any injuries of any type in the household must be reported to OSHA
• Form EEO-1 must be filed once a year to catalog the race and gender of anyone who did any work in the home
• Any time one has a dispute in court with another citizen or an employee, they will now be treated the same as businesses in California, which means that the presumption, irregardless of facts, will be strongly in favor of any employee and against the homeowner, and in favor of any other party in any dispute whose net worth is perceived by the jury as less than the homeowner’s.
• At least once a year the home’s kitchen must be inspected and certified by both the fire marshal and the health department. Any deficiencies must be immediately repaired before the kitchen can be used. All code requirements for commercial kitchens will apply to household kitchens, including requirements for a three-basin washup sink, separate mop sink, and fire extinguishers
• All homes will be inspected once per year for ADA compliance. All parts of the home must be wheelchair accessible, even if there are currently no handicapped residents in residence. Homes more than one-story tall will require an elevator. All counters must be of the proper height, and all bathrooms must have ADA fixtures.
• Each home will be required to prominently display all its required licenses as well as state and federal information posters for workers.
• All homes will be audited at least once every three years to ensure that use taxes have been filed and paid on all out of state Internet purchases
• Material Safety Data Sheets must be on file for all household cleaning products and other chemicals and available for inspection by the fire marshal
• All gas tanks (car, lawnmower, portable 5-gallon) will be treated just like commercial gasoline storage tanks, and require monthly leak / loss reporting. Annually, a complete spill prevention plan must be filed with the state.
• A stormwater discharge plan must be filed annually with the state
• Any dropped thermometer or CFL bulb will require homeholder to call out (and pay disposal costs) of a state hazmat team
• Lifeguards are required at all home pools during daylight hours
• Households should file property tax returns in the same way that businesses must, listing individually every single piece of personal property they own, from their car to their lawnmower to the pink flamingo in the front yard.
• Homeowner must track the number of days any guests stay in their house so they can file and pay lodging taxes on a monthly basis
• Any homeowner who hauls a boat or trailer on US highways must register with the Department of Transportation and receive a DOT number. They must keep full driver logs and maintenance records available for DOT audit and inspection, and every driver must be drug-tested at least once per year.
• All food on pantry shelves must meet all state labeling laws
• At each entrance to the house, a sign warming those entering must be posted warning that certain cancer causing chemicals may be present

Finally, after spending the entire day complying with these rules, the homeowner must read at least 3 posts each day from progressive blogs explaining why anyone who complains about such rules as unreasonable is just a reactionary who doesn’t really know how to run his business very well, and they could certainly do better.

Postscript: Every single item on this list is something my company has been required to do. I am sure I left a bunch out.

Well said, sir.  Well said. 

The Coyote Blog.  Worth reading every day. 

The Fedex imported clock worksheet

From The Coyote Blog:

This is the information that Fedex is required to collect before bringing certain types of clocks into the U.S.
The Feds NEED this info.
You know why?

Here's Mr. Coyote, explaining why Fedex had to track him down and cross-examine him before releasing the shipment:

This would be one of the dumbest things I have seen from the government had it not been for the egg licenses I have to hold. This data was probably critical for some program pushed through by a Senator to protect some business in his district that does not even exist any more. I wonder if anyone in the government even remembers why this data is so vital (seriously, per question 11, how many wind-up clocks are coming through customs nowadays). Probably part of a program to protect America’s essential capacity to manufacture clock movements over 12mm in thickness.

If you think this is a waste of time, dive into the lunacy known as the garment industry. There are tens of thousands of quotas, guidelines, and point of origin notifications. Many of these are based on the designs and styles, each with a different tariff.
The point of all this is to keep you from getting what you want at the best price possible.
It really is that simple.

The Tortilla Curtain

A few days ago, Marvel Variants and I were talking about The Maginot Line, France's failed attempt at keeping the Germans at bay prior to WWI. The Maginot Line was a lot more than a fortified wall. Here's the group-effort Wikipedia description:


Although the name "Maginot Line" suggests a rather thin linear fortification, the Line was quite deep, varying in depth from between 20 to 25 kilometers. It was composed of an intricate system of strong points, fortifications, and military facilities such as border guard posts, communications centers, infantry shelters, barricades, artillery, machine gun, and anti-tank gun emplacements, supply depots, infrastructure facilities, observation posts, etc.


It was quite an undertaking for its time. I've always imagined someone like The French Knight from Monty Python And The Holy Grail, peeking over the walls and hurling insults at the German army.


According to The Coyote Blog, "the 350 mile long Maginot line cost France about $150 million in the 1930s, or about $2.3 billion in today's dollars. This puts the cost of the Maginot line, underground tunnels, bunkers, gun emplacements, and all, at $6.5 million current dollars per mile...."



It was quite an accomplishment. Parts of it were linked via a system of underground railways.

But when the German army decided to invade France, they just went around it. If I remember correctly, they actually drove through it in a few places. The big guns couldn't do a 360-degree rotation and were useless once an enemy had passed through the line.
But I digress. According to Mr. Coyote, $6.5 million per mile was nothing. Chicken feed. Pocket change.
The latest section of Border Wall going up between San Diego and Mexico? $57 million for 3 1/2 miles of wall. That's $16.3 million per mile, or two and a half times the cost per foot of the greatest defensive structure of its time.

There are people in the U.S., smart people, people who can feed themselves, who actually believe these projects are about keeping illegals out of the country.
Wrong.
These projects are about contractors, donors, pork barrels, make-work, bureaucracy, and unfortunately, making a visible but useless effort to fight an unfortunate group of scapegoats who are merely trying to find a better life.
Later on in his post, Mr. Coyote has another epiphany about the U.S./Mexico border fence and France's doomed Maginot Line:

"....one end of this San Diego wall hangs in the air, meaning it just ends hundreds of miles before the border does, allowing it to be easily flanked."

Well, yeah. They're not going to kill the goose that can lay $16,000,000.00 golden eggs. There are more elections coming up, with new rounds of donors and lobbyists to be rewarded. Getting this thing across the entire border could take up another dozen election cycles. At that point, public sentiment toward illegals will have probably changed. (Heck, somebody has to pay into the Social Security system....) Who knows how much we'll then be paying per mile to have the wall torn down.

You'll have to go to The Coyote Blog to see the comparisons he makes with government run healthcare.