I was the subject of a satirical post on San Diego Free Press. Bob Dorn had some fun today, using some garden-variety stereotypes about liberals and conservatives, because I dared to confront a premise, proffered by OBRag’s Frank Gormlie, supporting a single-use plastic bag ban.
I don’t think that Bob Dorn likes that I comment on the progressive’s little paradise. He’s discounting something, though–I AGREE with the Freeps on a number of issues. To wit:
- I think the “war on drugs” is an abject failure and waste of taxpayer money. Not only do I support the use of medical marijuana, I would like to see marijuana decriminalized completely. Too many lives are being lost to the violence prohibition brings.
- I don’t support a taxpayer-funded stadium for any sports team (and I certainly don’t support subsidizing drunks to get to the game).
- I support a less robust foreign policy. I want a robust MILITARY, defending American shores. While I support an aggressive intelligence community, I certainly don’t want them aggregating data about American citizens, especially without a warrant from an independent judge. I think the USA-PATRIOT Act is anything but patriotic. Security, while important to me, pales in comparison to a protection of our individual liberties (which is the most important role of government)
- I abhor crony capitalism and get uptight when progressives think it is emblematic of true capitalism. As such, I get it when Freeps rail about “downtown business interests”–those rent-seekers irritate me as well.
I’m different from the Freeps, too:
- Obamacare is an assault on on economic freedom. Forced purchases and indentured servitude are hardly ways to solve an insurance inflation problem.
- Education works best when parents are involved in their kids’ lives. I want to break the education monopoly and give parents a fighting chance at helping their kids determine their future.
- I support the right of free association and delegated collective bargaining agents. But I don’t support labor monopolies. Repeal The Wagner Act and I’ll be the biggest union supporter out there.
- I think free people really DO perform most things better than government. As such, I side with Thoreau when he said “That government is best which governs least”.
Conservatives think I’m a libertarian and libertarians think I’m a conservative. That’s okay; anarchists think we’re ALL statists. But today, the Freeps have now deemed me important enough to satirize and frankly…
…that kind of makes me feel good. Would that we listen to one another sometimes, we would discover that, in many instances, it’s more of a battle between the forces of tyranny and liberty than right and left. Even though they’re making fun of me, someone is listening to the Liberty message. That’s a good day.
I just hope they don’t draw cartoons of me !