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February 2007

Government Run Amok

Submitted by kdtunstall on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 22:56

A few days ago, I was asked about my position on a city ordinance that required home and business owners to repair city infrastructure abutting their property. I must admit that I was totally unaware of the ordinance. Upon reading the ordinance, I felt astonished that the city would act with such hostility towards the members of my community. One of my colleagues recommended that I attend a special meeting regarding this ordinance. Upon my discovery of the flagrant property rights violations contained within the measure, I could not refuse.

I have taken the liberty, as a matter of portraying simple fact, to post the ordinance on this site. I believe all that visit this site are more than capable of reading and comprehending the "language" contained in the ordinance. I have warned many, that with politicians you must watch what they do and ignore what they say. In this context, our city representatives have failed in their obligation to respect the rights and property of the citizens and attempted to transfer liability away from the city.

Furthermore, I would like to remind all persons that this is not a matter of preventing blight, abandonment or neglected properties. The issue at hand is who is responsible to repair or maintain city (public) owned property. What follows is the statement I read to the assembly.

Response to Digg Post

Submitted by kdtunstall on Fri, 02/02/2007 - 22:01

I was going to comment on the recent fiasco in Boston regarding the Police vs. LiteBrite advertising, however I found something more interesting. Recently, a poster at digg.com posed the following:

I often hear a libertarian ’s opinion on something and end up agreeing. However, I’m still clueless about a lot of libertarian positions, so I’ve posted 13 questions in the first comment. I’m posting this on Digg because it seems a lot of members lean libertarian. The link just takes you to Wikipedia. Thanks for helping me understand.

Then, the poster posed the following questions. I have provided my responses. Mind you, I do not claim to speak for all / any libertarians other than myself. I do, however, believe that my responses are reasonable. Please take the time to comment.

Here are my 13 questions about libertarian philosophy. I know that not all libertarians will agree on every issue, and that some questions might even divide libertarians. Also, I know some might seem pointed or hypothetical, but I’m looking for genuine responses. When replying, it could help to indicate whether or not you consider yourself a libertarian as well. Thanks for helping me understand.

1. Should the federal government protect the environment? Should there be national parks or endangered species laws?