RedStateEclectic

A Survey of Law - Simple Rules for a Complex World

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Richard Epstein is a rich source of insight and inspiration for the classical liberal who seeks to tread the middle ground between 

(1) F.A.Hayek's highly abstract theory of the rule of law - valuable in its own right, but often of limited use in discussing concrete issues - and

(2) the broad and uncertain schemes of law attributed to a social utopia void of the state, the attendant summary denouncement of legal arrangements and the denial of freedom in contemporary societies with pervasive state structures, or

(3) today's predominant legal positivism based on the assumption that the state has a superior problem solving capability compared to all other societal agents and is therefore entitled to practice unrestrained discretion in its capacity as the the sole legitimate source of all law.

 

Greenpeace Urging Obama To Ban Cats

Image credit.

No, no, not quite.

However, following up on Who Is Going to Kill Those Cats, I ask our readers to note:

The review estimates that if Keystone is not built, oil sands production will be only 0.4 to 0.6 percent less that if the pipeline is built, or less than 0.83 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions annually. This difference equates to less than two hours of U.S. emissions, a negligible amount. Seventy-four million US housecats annually cause an estimated 196 times this emissions volume. Why isn’t Greenpeace urging President Obama to ban cats?

The full article.

See also The Cat in Me.

For Want of Two Votes

The world does not revolve around Nebraska.  I know that.  Nebraska is rarely a difference maker in much of anything (other than football).  Actually, we sort of like it that way, I think.  But today an old rhyme keeps going through my mind:

Last month, I wrote a rather extended tale of Republican Liberty Caucus-Nebraska’s efforts to gain delegates to our county and then state conventions (and ultimately, to the national convention).  In the month or so since I finished that multi-part story, a number of us have given money to Republican candidates (and some of us have given to the Nebraska Party); many of us have been out walking in parades and volunteering for candidates—including  the Republican U.S. Senate Candidate here in the state; all of us were looking ahead to the rest of the fall campaign and continuing involvement in the Republican Party.

Last night, the Nebraska Republican Party kicked us in the ass.  Sorry, I’m not sure how else to say it.

Back in July, the chair of the Nebraska GOP and myself came to what I thought was an agreement that would last.  The GOP called off their plans for “extra security” at our state convention, and we agreed that we wouldn’t engage in “any kind of dilatory or disruptive tactics that could interfere with the mutual goal of an orderly and efficient convention.”

Oh, and we said that we believed in “The Nebraska Way” (defined in our joint statement as: honesty, cordiality, neighborliness, practicing the Golden Rule—and when differences occur “shaking hands and agreeing to disagree in a respectful way”).

And we behaved at the convention.  We didn’t engage in any of the practices that the Party had heard about in 49 other states before us, and was fearful that we were going to do.  We called for exactly TWO counted votes, which we lost.  We didn’t challenge the platform.  We let things flow.  We elected TWO of our folks out of the 35 total delegates.  We were generally pretty subdued, and let chips fall where they would.  We got a standing ovation from the convention for our involvement.  I’ve even got a handwritten note from the Governor, thanking me for “the manner in which you and your supporters conducted yourselves” at the convention.   He said he “looked forward to everyone’s involvement in moving the Republican Party forward.”

Gosh, that seemed o.k.  It seemed like the “Nebraska Way.” We all knew that we weren’t going to agree with each other on everything, but surely we had proven that we could treat each other with respect, in spite of our differences, and that we just might be able to show the rest of the country that the liberty movement was welcome in the GOP.

And then last night.  The roll call vote.  Nebraska, as you’ll recall from a few paragraphs back, had TWO Ron Paul committed delegates.  Just TWO of our 35 total.  The other 33 were Romney Committed.

We listened to the roll call.  States were calling out their total, including those for Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman.  None of those had the necessary states to have their names put into nomination, so the calling of names didn’t represent numbers on the tally—only Romney’s names were formally recorded.  But the delegations all seemed to be willing to show a modicum of respect to the supporters of other candidates who showed up, worked the system, and got themselves elected to the National Convention.  Awesome!, I thought.  There must not be direction from on high to completely shut down any non-Romney delegate.  Good will by the winners will get us a long way toward healing some of the divisions.

Michigan.  One of Mitt Romney’s home states.  His brother, Scott Romney, announced the vote, which included 4 votes for Ron Paul.  YES!  If Scott Romney can say “Ron Paul”, our folks will at least get their efforts acknowledged, and then we can move on.

Nebraska.  The usual Nebraska is the home of ____ stuff, and then: Madame Secretary, Nebraska casts 33 votes for Mitt Romney (not a direct quote).  And then the crickets started chirping.  And…..?   Nothing.  TWO Delegates (including Jon, who hasn’t yet had an opportunity to post here) were there, standing on camera, behind the Nebraska Chair, and Nebraska didn’t say that those two delegates abstained, didn’t say that they had cast their vote for Ron Paul….  They just pretended that they didn’t exist.

And then my e-mail and Facebook messages started to light up from my RLC/Paul colleagues.  Why didn’t our votes get mentioned?  What are we going to do? Can we fix this?  I saw Jon there!  I can’t believe they did this!  Everyone else mentioned their Paul votes, why not us?

I have no answers; I have some suspicions.  I don’t believe it was accidental.  I believe that someone wanted to make sure that the Nebraska Republican Liberty Caucus folks didn’t get their votes cast.

I sent out a press release last night expressing my disappointment in this, after our earlier agreement about the “Nebraska Way.”  And establishment hacks started attacking me on *their* blogs, and Facebook, and Twitter—telling me I should stop whining—we lost.  Yep, we did.  And then, the comments started in.  My favorite: “You Paultards should shut up and just vote for Romney.”

Oh.  I missed that lesson in the “How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies” class—call the people whose help you want names, and then make rude demands of them…

For want of two votes, what’s going to happen in Nebraska?  I don’t know, but I’ll bet we’ll have some fun things to report in the next few months.

Political Grunt Work-All Politics is Local

There’s nothing like walking a parade with a candidate—especially when the weather is perfect.

Today, my two kids and I walked in the local Czech Days parade (a BIG deal here in Nebraska) with our U.S. Senate candidate, Deb Fischer.  In addition to her “regulars”, we pulled in a few other who walked the parade with her as well—kids, RLC types, etc.

Sen. Fischer is standing in the center, blue jacket, right behind the “CH”.  My kids form the anchors of the front row.  A couple of us didn’t make that photo, as we were already out pasting stickers on any child that didn’t run away from us along the parade route.  And, even in very Democratic Saline County, Nebraska (yes, I live in—as of a few election cycles ago, anyway—the most Democratic county in the state!), we had ADULTS, coming up to us asking for stickers.

Political grunt work—walking in parades, knocking on doors, making phone calls…in Nebraska, at least, these things are still a part of our political culture.  Sen. Fischer’s political director told me that he’s always amazed at the number of people who really want to have a personal connection with the candidate—who remember that she shook their hand in a local restaurant 6 months ago, or whatever.

Those of us who aren’t candidates can still have an impact—find yourself a candidate or two that you can agree with on most (if not all) issues, and get involved.  Candidates DO remember the work that you do for them; good ones remember names and faces.  And it’s just human nature—when that bill comes before the newly elected legislator or other officer, they’ll be far more likely to listen to the supporters who did some of the grunt work to get them elected, than they will to those who they’ve never even heard of.

LLE

Outside of the Tunnel—Lessons Learned & Where We Go From Here

What follows here will probably be a little bit disjointed, but will cover some of the things that I’ve previously mentioned only briefly in the earlier pieces—or in some cases, maybe haven’t mentioned at all.  If you’re just now stumbling onto this, I’d suggest giving a quick read to the following (in order):

Part 1  (Setting the stage—Pre-conventions)

Part 2  (Getting ready for County Conventions/county conventions)

Part 3 (Post County conventions-Night before State Convention—Dr. Paul’s Call)

Part 4 (State Convention Day)

 

The Rest of the Story

• We lost the delegate race.  We lost fair and square—of that I have no doubt.  I have taken slings and arrows from Paul supporters around the country who have criticized us for not demanding a hand counted vote. But the numbers just weren’t in our favor, and the Romney forces were as well organized and stable in their vote for their slate, as we were in ours.  At least one commenter to one of the earlier pieces will claim vote fraud occurred (or at least that it likely occurred, or that it might have occurred, so we should have preemptively demanded the hand count).  We were prepared to raise the issue if there was any hint that there were problems, but there just wasn’t, and since we had already started looking to the future of the movement within the Party (rather than one candidate alone), we decided not to start implying that they were cheating us when our observations and intuition suggested that they weren’t. 
• Strategic, temporary alliances are sometimes necessary.  By the time our conventions came around, there were no visible signs of any other campaigns operating here.  Even the Romney campaign hadn’t done much of anything in Nebraska, until (maybe) the last few days—unless you count the Governor’s efforts.  We knew our numbers (critical, in any political operation), and we knew that we didn’t have the majority.  There was no “Santorum group” or “Gingrich group” or “Bachmann group” that we could reach out to in order to form something of a “unity slate”.  It was us, and the Romney people.
• Ultimately, we made some deals with some folks who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get to the national convention, we don’t think, if they didn’t have our assistance.  They were Romney committed, but at least non-hostile—perhaps even friendly--to our group.  Their inclusion on our slate of people to vote for (in 2 out of 3 cases, for alternate delegates) represented our trying to look look ahead and build bridges to the larger party, rather than going it completely alone in the future.
• The temptation to blame everyone but yourself is commonplace.
• The “establishment”, if you will, here in Nebraska, has gotten lazy.  Because we’re a late primary/convention state, we have slipped into irrelevance most of the time.  State law for filing for the county conventions is often ignored, because there is such a culture of just seating everyone.  Our folks filed, and yet when they got there—in some cases, in the majority in their counties—considerable hostility was directed their way in some places.  The “new kids”/”Paul people”/”Liberty Caucus” got blamed for upsetting the normal structure of things, but really, all we did was follow the rules—it was those who couldn’t be bothered to follow the rules who howled the loudest.
• That said, “Paul people” outside of Nebraska, occasionally engaged in their own brand of histrionics.  In the weeks before the state conventions, I was taking phone calls and e-mails, and Facebook messages from (sometimes) a dozen different people a day.  “Invite Ron Paul”; “Call out supporters from around the country to form a barrier of intimidation”; “Threaten lawsuits”; “Find ways of wearing the old guard down and having them go home till you have the majority.”  All of this assumed that we could have come up with a majority—or that we at least had enough votes to change agendas, fight rules, etc.  That prospect was tenuous at best, since we only had 40% of the delegates to the state convention at best, and our rules didn’t require any 2/3 votes—in other words, a simple majority could have shut us down.
• I find myself, quite frankly, perplexed by some of the reaction from the Paul contingent around the country.  Within minutes (literally), of our convention ending, I was getting Facebook messages and e-mails, calling me a traitor, suggesting that I had somehow been “bought” when I forged a joint statement with the state GOP Chair that would relieve some of the tension surrounding the event.  Of course I’m still taking some heat in the local blogs (and in the comments section), as well—but those bother me far less than the attacks from the “Paul folks.”  I have, after all, been playing in the Paul sandbox since 2007—first as a blogger, then as an organizer in Nebraska, then as Nebraska RLC Chair, and then as C4L State Coordinator.  I’ll admit that I had sort of hoped that Ron wouldn’t run again this year—not because I thought any less of him, but because I feared that something could happen which would end up discrediting him and the movement. I took the “gambler” approach—I thought that it was important to “know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away…..” But once he was the only liberty Republican game in town (and the RLC national had endorsed him), I was all-in, and have spent countless hours over the last 7 months traveling, training, writing, etc., on his behalf.
• In the days leading up to the convention, as people were still messaging me, I started either ignoring them, or telling them “we’ve got a plan we’ve been working for the last 3 months, and it’s not going to work to change it now.”   In a few instances, when I was particularly tired, and weary of taking these phone calls, I ended up saying something along the lines of: “Nebraska is the last state to choose national delegates, if we’re the magic 5th, then that means 45 other states have failed to do THEIR jobs, and if we mess up, we’ll be joining a large group.” 
• While I’m all for exploiting the rules to the extent possible, it’s still unclear to me how people can truly think that Ron Paul would get the nomination (I know, our comments section is going to get blasted with that one).  He didn’t win the popular vote in a single state.  Without that, how can we credibly claim that it’s the will of the people that he get the nomination? (No, I don’t believe that the primaries were rigged in all 50 states.) Would I like to see all sorts of things happen at the RNC next month?  Sure.  Would I like to see a truly brokered convention?  Of course—I’m a political scientist by training, and a political nerd by nature—those are things I’d love to watch happen—in either party.  But do I really believe it’s going to happen?  No.  I can only imagine one scenario where it would even be conceivable for us to end up in a brokered convention—and that possibility is so remote, that it’s really not worth gaming.
• So why did we do all of this?  Why—if Nebraska is at the end of the list, and irrelevant anyway, did a small group of 6 of us (initially)—joined by odds and ends of others later—decide to organize for Ron Paul way back in January?  A couple of reasons:
• Some fights—even when you lose (or even suspect you’ll lose)—are worth the effort.  The liberty movement in the Republican Party of Nebraska is now an element of the Party that needs to be considered.  The Party tent has to get just a little bigger now, because while we see things similarly to the Tea Party in some areas, we are far less (I think) co-optable than the Tea Party.  We (RLCNE-related folks who supported Ron Paul, primarily) now hold a number of State Central Committee seats.  Our folks control a number of County Republican Parties.  Whether the “old guard” likes it or not, the GOP in Nebraska is changing.  I’m the “mom” of the group—the “kids” are the 20-30-somethings who have been inspired to get involved, and who have started forming the backbone of the Party organization that will just grow, and become a major voice in the Party for the next 30 years.  I really do believe that—and have told some of our folks that it’s critical to remember what it was like today, when THEY were on the outside fighting for a seat at the table, when a new group tries to break through in 25 or 35 years, and THEY are the “establishment.”
• In other words, we lost the battle for delegates, but I think we won a lot over the last 6 months—and the Republican Party of Nebraska will be stronger (eventually) because of that—as soon as some of the “regulars” realize that we’re not the enemy; we’re the next wave…the reinforcements.
• Principle.  Sometimes, you do things, even when you know it’s going to be painful, for what you believe to be the right reasons.  Not everyone agrees with those principles, unfortunately.  Our continued effort—even when the delegate race nationally looked hopeless—was done because we wanted to take a stand, and show that we weren’t just flashes in the pan.  My personal refusal (supported, for the most part, by my fellow Nebraskans), to engage in preemptive demands upon the party (like hand counting of ballots, or repeated pointless parliamentary maneuvering), was based on principle, as well.  Have some NEGOP regulars been hostile?  Sure.  But did I think they’d deliberately cheat?  Well, I didn’t think most of them would, and I believed that we could do things the “Nebraska way”—with a sense of cordiality and agreeing to disagree and letting the chips fall where they may.  I think my trust for my fellow Nebraskans—in spite of what happened in some places around the country—has been justified, on the whole.  And the truth is, I don’t think the political culture in our state nurtures an atmosphere where people really know how to cheat well—yeah, I know that sounds funny.  But it’s true. We’re not Chicago; we’re “Nebraska nice”—and even those few counties where there was some “funny business”—they didn’t do it well.  It was obvious to anyone who knew anything about the rules.  We just lost on the credentials battles on those (probably because the credentials committees seldom have anything controversial to deal with)—but even if we’d won those battles, the numbers wouldn’t have been enough to make up the difference.
• So, what’s next in Nebraska?  I’m not sure, in total.  But here are some thoughts.
• The RLCNE paid membership has quadrupled in the last 6 months.  Those identifying themselves as “RLC” but not having paid dues yet, increase our reach even further.  The RLCNE is healthy, and getting healthier.  At some level, we’re becoming the “shadow party”—although we have a lot of work to do, yet.
• The big question for many of us is the role of the C4L.  What’s become clear is that among the “core group” of organizers for this year’s effort, our primary interest is in playing party politics—issue advocacy is important, but none of us are really eager to jump back in to that.  I expect that in the next few months, some of us will have some discussions about the C4L’s future in Nebraska.  I’d hate to see it disappear altogether, but how to deal with it is the unknown.  The answer would probably be more apparent if there was more than $200 in the bank, and if there was a donor base that would allow for the hiring of an executive director for the organization who could take on a lot of the issue advocacy goals.  But there again, it’s been primarily a volunteer organization, thus far, and the leadership has been all volunteer.
• Our NEGOP State Central Committee members will start having a voice in the Party.  They’ll elect a new Chair next January or February—perhaps someone who is friendlier to us (or perhaps not). 
• In the counties where we control County Party organizations, I’ve seen Facebook pages popping up, and have been on the receiving end of e-mails organizing activities.  These are usually counties where the party organizations have been pretty dormant, so it’s exciting to see some new life in some of these counties, and especially to know that they’re being led by younger men and women who are committed to the principles of conservatism that were widely known 40 and 50 years ago, rather than the “expedient conservatism” that seems to be so in vogue today.  I’m sure that party regulars will follow—eventually—if our folks prove to be effective leaders and organizers.
• On whole, I have a great sense of hope about what’s going to happen in our state.  It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen, I believe.

And finally, I feel the need to make some truly personal comments about the last 7 months….

I am, by nature, something of a loner.  I’m not anti-social, but I’m not exactly a gregarious person, either.  My Myers Briggs tests always show me as an INTJ—which basically suggests that I’m a planner/organizer/strategist who lives in my own head.  I don’t think the last 7 months have changed that, but I do have to say that for an introvert, I’ve now got more people I count as friends who I would walk through the gates of hell with, than I’ve ever had in my life.

The men and women who I have worked with over the last 7 months—ranging in age from 17 year olds who were eligible for the process only because they’ll turn 18  before the General Election, to the 90-something Pearl Harbor survivor—are the finest men and women who I have ever had the privilege of knowing.  They inspired me to write late night e-mails, and go through lists one more time, looking for people who might be “ours.”  They inspire me to do more—even in my own Democratically controlled county (ironically, I live in one of the few counties in the state where Democrats outnumber Republicans).  We didn’t always agree on strategy or tactics, but almost to a person, we could talk through our differences rationally—and when it came time for the convention, they were almost always “on board”, and worked the plan.

Ron Paul supporters and those in the “liberty movement”  take a lot of heat from the “regulars.”  We’re called “Paulistas” and “Paulbots”; it’s implied that we’re all a bunch of wild-eyed drug addicts because we believe that the war on drugs is an abysmal failure; we’re accused of being immoral, because we don’t want government legislating morality.

Yes, we have some on the “fringe”—as do all emerging movements—but the vast majority of the folks I’ve worked with are wise beyond their years, are well-informed on a broad array of topics, and are scared to death that the opportunities that their parents and grandparents had aren’t going to be available for them or their children, if we don’t return to sound constitutionally limited governance.

Sometimes, the Paul phenomenon is likened to a “cult” of sorts.  I’ll acknowledge that there are some who do seem to be almost cult-like in their devotion.  But I think that most of the comments—which oftentimes sound so hysterical—are really just signs of how truly desperate people are to be heard, and to have others understand (even if they don’t agree) how scared we are for the future of our country.  My INTJ personality doesn’t let me show that level of emotion, as a rule—I tend to stay on an even-keel most of the time—but I think I’m coming to understand at least some of my fellow Paul supporters.

When I called Dr. Paul back the day before the convention (after ignoring his call), the first question that he asked me was “how are things going in Nebraska?”  I kind of laughed, and he said something like “Just another normal day, right?”

I don’t think that things will ever be politically “normal” again around here—or at least not until the “new normal” is well established.  There are too many new people who have taken on too many new roles in the liberty movement and the greater Republican Party in the the state, for things to ever go back to normal.  But that’s o.k.—normal isn’t always fun—and boy, have we had some fun!  Dreadlocks, body piercings, mohawks are all part of the new Republican landscape in Nebraska.  Will they stay?  Probably not—we all tend to grow out of those things eventually, and the look will morph into something more conventional.  But it’s great to see new ideas—to see Young Republicans who aren’t just trying to be “mini-me’s” of the “big Republicans.” 

I wouldn’t give up the friendships that I’ve made in the last 7 months for anything in the world.  Even those amongst us who drive me a little crazy, I can’t imagine not having around.  They’re good, solid people, who want to make a difference, and if I’m asked to predict, I think they will.

Nebraska’s in the center of it all (no, really, just look at your map ).  If we’re any indication, the future is bright for the liberty movement.

Laura in the News - Via Lew Rockwell

Reports Lew Rockwell:

As the Gratuitous Omnivorous Parasites threaten violence against the Paulians. Of course, violence and the threat of violence are government's method, and the method of government's political parties, too. if the fat cats' hold on you is ever threatened.

The source.

To find Laura in the news, click on the link above or here.

Politics Ain’t Beanbag

I’m not going to go into details of the political battle front that Nebraska has become.   Eric provided a little bit of insight from afar into what is happening, and my unintended infamy (in some circles), here.  {excuse this rather disjointed narrative that follows—I’m trying to get some sort of update to our readers out there, without great attention to flow}

As a student of politics, I guess I’ve known all along that politics could get ugly, but I always maintained this fantasy that we Nebraskans were (as one acquaintance from Iowa pointed out to me) “too nice” to let things get really nasty—especially in our internal battles.  I thought we’d play tough, but fair, and in the end, whoever won would shake hands with the losing side, and we’d come together.  Sort of like Saturdays at Memorial Stadium when we applaud the other side as they leave the field, whether we’ve won (usually) or lost.

I’m getting the distinct impression that this will be an historic GOP Convention (the last GOP State convention in the country, I believe) on the 14th.

Eric (in his article linked above) linked to a few of the stories/blogs that are covering what we’ve been up to.  There have been others, as well.

I am apparently part of the “conspiracy” (or coup), to take down the GOP establishment.  And while I will gladly claim a role in the organization of liberty delegates this year, I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into—and frankly, had no idea that our level of influence could be as large as it has become.  To the extent that there is any plan to take on the establishment, it’s one that’s been developed on the fly.

It’s kind of sad, really…not that we have reached a level of influence in the Party that we could have only dreamed about four years ago, but that some in state leadership are being downright hostile to the “liberty faction” of the Party.  I sat in a meeting recently with one high placed official, and was treated like I was some sort of freak.  I--a 50 year old, lifelong Republican, small-town living, 3 kids, 1 husband, 1 dog, 2 cats, churchgoing, scout leading, school board member—was castigated and told “I know what you Ron Paul people are up to.”  Geez, I thought I was helping to get people active in the GOP.  I guess I missed that third eyeball in the center of my forehead.

Now, Nebraska (rather than remaining what I had hoped would be a low-key convention where we could deliver some pleasing and surprising results), is becoming a battle ground.  Will we become the magic “State #5” that makes Ron Paul eligible to have his name put into nomination?

The Daily Paul folks have picked up on this.  I’ve been contacted by Paul supporters from both Iowa and Colorado who want to come and “help” us.  The folks from “Liberty Live Stream” out of Louisiana are planning on coming to Nebraska (I’m told by some of our folks—I’ve had no direct contact) to live stream our convention over the web.  Our Convention is now being referred to as “Bastille Day” in the comments section.  Not what I had hoped for—indeed, I prefer things to be quiet rather than “explosive” (as one writer suggested that our convention would be).

On the links Eric listed above, I (and the other “co-conspirators”) have been the subject of ad-hominem attacks in comment sections.  Oh well.  But the bottom line is that if you claim to be for “liberty” in Nebraska, you’re apparently a freak. 

Readers of this blog will know that last year at this time, I was pretty firmly on the Gary Johnson bandwagon—not that I didn’t like Ron Paul, but I just thought that it was time for him to cede the movement to someone younger.  When Johnson left the GOP—as much as I liked him, I didn’t follow: I am, after all, a Republican.  I returned to the Paul bandwagon, although tried to stay out of it actively for as long as I could.  Filing deadlines for delegates were approaching, though, and something had to be done, so I and a few others jumped in.

We were the only ones in the state who really organized for our conventions.  And now we’re being criticized for wanting our organization to pay off.  Anyone can organize, but it occurred to me last night the reason why they don’t: because Nebraska’s primary is late (mid May, and non-binding), all of our decisions are made through the convention process, which doesn’t really even start until June 1.  By that time, the ultimate nominee of the Party is already pretty well known.  So establishment Republicans who want to go to the National convention have the advantage of waiting around until all of the other states have done their thing, and decided for us, and then they’re happy to sell Nebraska’s delegate votes to the nominee.  Oh, and if we don’t jump on board, we’re being “bad sports” and are going to “embarrass” the state and the Governor.

Maybe Nebraskan’s are the ones who should be embarrassed—by a system that says that you have to file for your County Conventions before March 1, yet concludes so late in the delegate selection process that those who filed are expected to just toss aside their convictions, not play the whole game, and forfeit.  We’d be ready to fire our football coaches if there was even an inkling that they let their team give up—even if the odds were against them making a comeback—before the final buzzer.  Even if there were no chance of going to a bowl game, we’d expect our teams to keep playing and finish as strongly as possible.  And yet that’s what the Nebraska GOP..and the Governor…are asking us to do:  give up, don’t embarrass the state, be good sports.

I don’t know whether we’ll win or lose (or play to a draw and end up in overtime) in Nebraska, a week from Saturday.  Stay tuned—sounds like it may even be covered “live” (Although I would expect an effort to prohibit recording/streaming, I hope we won’t go down that path—talk about embarrassing, the internets will be alive with the sound of embarrassment for the NEGOP if they try to prohibit transparency.).

LLE

Politics Laid Bare

I realize that I am—deep in my soul—a political animal, of sorts.  I love playing the 3-D chess game that the political circus is.

And yet, there’s a part of me that wishes everyone would just be upfront about their goals and their intentions.  Here in Nebraska, we’ve had a level of success in our efforts to get “liberty Republican” delegates to our county conventions.  Enough success that people who I didn’t really think had any clue who I was (and truth be told, I kind of liked it that way), have started calling me as we approach the T-3 week period before our state convention.  Some want to know who our “group” might support for a particular party office; some want to know what our intentions are going into the future; some are just trying to figure out who in the heck we are.

Trying to develop strategy and tactics as we approach the state convention is like trying to hit a moving target—or keep your feet under you on a ship sailing through gale force winds.  Every time we think we might have a plan in place, some new conversation adds a new wrinkle, or a new way of thinking about a challenge.

I’ll be glad when we get our conventions done.  We’ve got enough people going from the county conventions that we could have a respectable showing (although probably not as dominating as some of the establishment folks seem to think we’ll have). 

But the jockeying for position sometimes seems far less academic than Spock’s 3-D chess, and much more like Harry Potter’s Wizard Chess.

We’re just trying to avoid getting blown up.

Letter from Nebraska

 

Here is what Buffett is talking about.

Saving the Titanic - An Alternative Currency

Image credit.

As the two pieces below show, imagery drawn from the Titanic's disaster enjoys much currency these days, even though the anniversary of the super-vessel's sinking is still five days away.

I consider the Vieira interview (bottom of post) especially noteworthy - a very serious attempt at finding a practical way to fundamentally change the monetary framework of the USA. Vieira makes one wonder: will perhaps Nebraska spearhead a new American currency?

But first this:

We are like passengers on the Titanic ten minutes after its fatal encounter with the iceberg: the idea that the ship will sink is beyond belief.
 

As we all know, the "unsinkable" Titanic suffered a glancing collision with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912. Ten minutes after the iceberg had opened six of the ship's 16 watertight compartments, it was not at all apparent that the mighty vessel had been fatally wounded, as there was no evidence of damage topside. Indeed, some eyewitnesses reported that passengers playfully scattered the ice left on the foredeck by the encounter.

But some rudimentary calculations soon revealed the truth to the officers: the ship was designed to survive four watertight compartments being compromised, and could likely stay afloat if five were opened to the sea, but not if six compartments were flooded. Water would inevitably spill over into adjacent compartments in a domino-like fashion until the ship sank.

We can sympathize with the disbelief of the officers, and with their confused reaction, simultaneously reassuring passengers and attempting to goad them into the lifeboats. With the interior still warm and bright with lights, it seemed far more dangerous to clamber into an open lifeboat and drift off into the cold Atlantic than it did to stay onboard.

As a result, the first lifeboats left the ship only partially full. Only when it became undeniable that the ship was doomed did people attempt to "make other arangements," but by then it was too late.

The tragedy was a cruel mix of human error (entering an ice field at nearly top speed, 23-25 knots), hubris-soaked planning (only enough lifeboats for half the passengers and crew) and design flaws: the high-sulfur iron hull plating did not bend when struck by the ice, it shattered like china.

As noted above, the watertight compartment design was also flawed; indeed, some studies have found that the ship would have stayed afloat an additional six hours had there been no watertight compartments, as water would have sloshed evenly along the entire length of the vessel.

I think this perfectly describes the present. Our financial system seems "unsinkable," yet the reliance on debt and financialization has already doomed it, whether we are willing to believe it or not.

Read the entire post.

 

And now, Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr., Constitutional Attorney and Author, and his plan for a Constitutional alternative gold and silver currency, run at the state level, to bring sound money to America.