Median vote theory dictates that politicians will be lying douchebags ie. they will adopt a platform that will appeal to the broadest swath of people to get elected and then defect and dilute it at the most opportunistic times while in office. Wash, rinse, repeat. Everybody knows this, even if they are not familiar with the formalities behind the actual theory. And yet everybody, myself included, suffers from disappointment when our elected officials engage in this behavior.
What makes more sense? Abstaining altogether or attempting to skew the "median" voter through persuasion and your own vote?
I'm playing basketball tomorrow. Psyched!
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I think someone who is pretty much a douche is really attractive. I know I tolerate him more because of this.
So basically the first step toward achieving world peace is to get rid of The Ugly. /Nobel Peace Prize
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Saw a dude with the username IiIIiIIIiIIiII or some variation thereof get the grandmaster achievement and, on a leap of faith, whispered "Congrats, Barcode!" hoping it would be an old friend.
Alas, it was not. :(
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Call me a giant bulldyke lesbian (or whatever other possible stereotypes are associated with what I'm about to say) but the invitation to "train" with an MMA group reminded me how I always wanted to try out rugby or Gaelic football. Alas, the women's rugby team in Rochester seems comprised of people who've actually played before, and I need a team that is willing to tolerate my noobness and nurture me into full-blown rugby-skillness. And there is but one Gaelic football team in Rochester; however, it is for dudes. The thing that really galls me about this is that their bar is so close to me!
Sigh. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH. Yes, I am typing out my SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHS.
All-in-all, while the conditioning interests me, I do not see myself doing anything with MMA. I think the guys on TV are super hot, but it's just one of those things that's honestly never appealed to me in terms of participating the more I think about it.
Also, it's almost the fourth, that bittersweet day where we celebrate independence but lament the passing of President Thomas Jefferson. =(
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Part of me wants to do this more....
They do have a Dual Degree Program with the University of Maryland School of Law!
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I like Glee's cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."
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Basij are fucking animals.
That video is graphic and NSFW. Her name was Neda and she was sixteen. EDIT: OK, that sounded more Fighty Club-y than I intended.
More videos, pretty graphic as well. I hate shit like this but there's no use sticking your head in the sand.
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We made a page on Facebook for the family biz. Feel free to become a fan.
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I admit it. I like True Blood, and wish I had HBO for the second season. Are the books any good?
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"When governments fear the people, there is Liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
Most notable tweet thus far: "140 characters is a novel when you're being shot at."
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This is total chick comedy, but I find it hysterical enough to share here.
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I love how my Econtalk podcasts have a "clean" label next to them, as if there has ever been an explicit Econtalk podcast. I would pay good money to see how that would turn out, lol.
OH [GUEST] I WISH YOU WERE A DERIVATIVE SO YOU COULD LIE TANGENT TO MY CURVES! I'LL BE SIN2 AND YOU CAN BE COS2 AND THEN TOGETHER, WE'LL BE ONE! ALSO, FUCK!
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| 2009-06-05 02:10 |
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I am sadface. The stitches in my hand mean no running 'til Saturday ("just" two days, I know) and no sports for 7-8 days on top of that (meaning no kickball or softball.) It's a silly thing but I feel lethargic without having anything to do. I hate being idle.
Also, because I cannot get the stitches wet, I decided to finally schedule that hair appointment, so now I at least don't have to attempt to wash my own hair tomorrow with one hand. Given my problems washing my face this morning, I think it was a wise choice.
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So what ideas are the Republican party going to build their revamped party around, Senator Graham?
It's a genuine question. The Republican party was stuck between a rock and a hard place after this election, with many people - Republicans and others alike - wondering what direction it might run in after its most recent defeat. Some, myself included, thought it would be an opportunity to turn in practice to the limited government, free market position that Republican officials so often mouthed but rarely delivered.
As a libertarian, the degree to which I embrace individual Liberty might be more extreme than what the Republican party would like, but the overlap exists nonetheless. To quote Ronald Reagan, the infamous ghost that the Republican party spent the last election chasing, "If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism." So the question is this: how can the Republican party reconcile the aforementioned rhetoric with their unabashed unwillingness to adopt any and all libertarian principles? What direction will they move in?
I believe the simple answer, illustrated by Graham's comment, is that Republicans would prefer to promote bigger government in the name of "small government," which is a nice way of saying "lots of spending on the stupid crap we like." Modern conservatism in America is becoming increasingly more collectivist in the worst way. If you refuse to acknowledge that freedom requires not enforcing your personal values on society with brunt legislative force, there is only one direction to go: backward.
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I need to change mine. Problems:
- NY has closed primaries. I want to vote in the primaries :(
- I am not sure if I want to register Libertarian because, despite the philosophical overlap, they suck at accomplishing anything. Why bother? /apathy
- I don't really want to register independent either, because generally independents are one of three things: Republicans who want better PR; moderates, who leave me with this lukewarm feeling because, quite frankly, I think most are milquetoasts who toe lines not out of pragmatism or principle but simply out of fear of offending people or a desire to win political favor; or douches.
Who knows.
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Libertarianism is doing its yearly "What about women?" reflection, ranging from "Why aren't there more women libertarians?" to "How women are the cause of big government." Right now we're at the apex of this discussion, asserting that women are ipso facto Marxists but, thankfully, we have yet to reach the terribly Freudian portion of our symposium, where women like paternal states because they have daddy issues. I suspect we'll hit this one tomorrow afternoon.
Sigh.
So anyways, I think I figured out the answer to "Why aren't there more women libertarians?"
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I send myself e-mails to remind myself to send e-mails. My age is showing.
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PAGE 18 SO CLOSE!!!
EDIT: DONE, just have to do the bibliography. Gym time!
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