Excellent new Ron Paul interview

It seems to me that even people who don’t love everything Ron Paul has ever said and done have to admire how articulate he is. Here’s an excellent new Ron Paul interview from Time magazine. I particularly like his point that the antiwar left appears to be ignoring what President Obama is doing in Afghanistan and Iraq.

‘Confirm her’

Over at Kids Prefer Cheese, Duke University’s Michael Munger argues that Sonia Sotomayor should be confirmed. He writes,

“No one has come out of the Sotomayor hearing looking like anything but an idiot.

“With the exception of Ms. Sotomayor, whom I like more and more, personally. I don’t think we agree on much. But she is replacing that doofus David Souter, and I think she has a 25% higher IQ than he did, maybe more (she is surely a lot smarter than I am). And she is no more liberal than Souter, so no change in balance on the court. And she appears to feel obliged to give actual reasons, based on the law.

“So, I say, confirm her.”

Reasons to love/hate libertarians

Wirkman Netizen, who’s been on a hot streak lately, a couple of weeks ago posted five reasons to love libertarians and five reasons to hate them.

One of the reasons to hate them: “So many are so idealistic they cannot see the good in this world, enjoy what they have or can easily get.”

A reason to love them: “So many are so idealistic that they defend people no one else will, and thus act as a brake on the juggernaut of mindless state oppression.”

Today’s news — health care and the American League wins again

President Obama is pushing hard to get a health care bill passed this year, the AP reports.

The New  York Times outlines the tax hikes planned to pay for the health care plan.

Sonia Sotomayor’s grilling continued (the Washington Post.)

As usual, the American League won the all star game.

Authorities are pursuing Michael Jackson’s medical records, the Los Angeles Times says.

Health care ‘reform’ slowing?

Over at Cato at Liberty, Doug Bandow suggests that the Democrats’ struggles to quickly ram through health care “reform” in the Congress increases the chances that it actually can be blocked. He writes: “The longer the American people think about the increased cost, decreased choice, and other negative impacts of a a government takeover, the less likely they are to support it. Thankfully, the government health express has slowed noticeably in recent weeks.  Even supporters are coming to doubt that legislation can be approved before Congress goes home in August.”

John C. Wright: Where’s my Prometheus?

Science fiction author John C. Wright has noted that he failed to win the Prometheus Hall of Fame award for his novel, THE GOLDEN AGE. (J.R.R.  Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” won instead.)

He writes, “Funny that a tale of mystical Norse-medieval sentiment would win out over an openly pro-Libertarian morality play about individual effort. Gee, I even had a scene where one character lectures another on Ricardo’s principle of comparative advantage, and in the appendix  I mention the drawbacks of allowing a central bank to interfere with the credit market. Whether it is good or bad storytelling to mention Ricardo in an SFF book, I would have thought this was the sort of thing pro-free-market readers would rejoice to read.

“Ah well, maybe artistic merit counts for more than partisan ideological purity after all. So I dare not complain.”

Despite THE GOLDEN AGE’s heavy libertarian content and good reviews, it did not get a Prometheus Award nomination when it was first published in 2002.  Perhaps this has something to do with Mr. Wright’s sense of grievance.

Mr.  Wright also seems to be making it clear that lately at least, he considers himself a conservative rather than a libertarian. A recent post on the war on drugs (he’s for it) is entitled, “Why I am not a Libertarian.”

Doctorow’s ‘Little Brother’ wins Prometheus

Cory Doctorow’s “Little Brother” has been awarded the Prometheus Award for the best science fiction novel of 2008 by the Libertarian Futurist Society. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy picked up the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. Full announcement here.

The other finalists also are good books and deserve to be listed here: “Matter” by Iain M. Banks, “The January Dancer” by MIchael Flynn, “Saturn’s Children” by Charles Stross, “Opening Atlantis” by Harry Turtledove and “Half a Crown” by Jo Walton.

Today’s news — Steve McNair and Sarah Palin

Political analysts are trying to make sense of Sarah Palin’s surprise announcement she is quitting as governor of Alaska, ABC News reports.

North Korea has test-fired more missiles, CNN says.

For the first time since 9/11, visitors can climb to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, the New  York Times reports.

Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair has been found shot to death, the Associated Press says.

Newsday says the probe into Michael Jackson’s death is focusing upon a powerful sedative.

Court overturns Sotomayor in firefighter case

The U.S. Supreme Court, divided 5-4 along left/right lines, has voted in favor of white firefighters in Connecticut who claimed reverse discrimination. More here, including a link to the full text of the decision.

John Stossel’s new blog

ABC’s John Stossel, apparently seeking to differentiate himself from all of those other libertarian reporters on TV, has launched an amusing new blog.