This is the talk from the Future of Freedom Foundation conference last month.
I’m not sure how the segments of the talk are broken out, but it is probably in segment 5 or 6 that I pull the rabbit out of the hat.
The questions from the audience were superb – the Q & A was zippety.
Here’s the link.
Jim, when I asked you the question about the impact of the war on terror on FOIA requests, all I can say is priceless.
Jean, your question was excellent. It did make it tricky for me to maintain my upbeat demeanor, though.
Even if new processes could somehow be established to better enhance “public reason” and “deliberative democracy” as a means of influencing our legislator’s decisions, the executive branch’s use of signing statements and newly discovered and mostly uncontested powers and privileges would stand as a roadblock to any such endeavors. While all Romans understood that rule of the emperors meant that the republic was history, the average American doesn’t grasp the simple fact that we’ve never been a democracy and were never designed that way. In fact, the word has become so sacred that it can now be invoked to justify military force being used in foreign lands posing no threat to our security. Along the same line of thinking most major problems are thought to stem from government’s unresponsiveness to a particular groups favorite agendas rather than rather than the fact that the chains of law which formerly restrained government’s powers in our constitutional republic have been broken.
Good post, Marc.
I need to listen to the talk, Jim. I”ll do that after dinner.
but it is probably in segment 5 or 6 that I pull the rabbit out of the hat.
Is that what you call a cigar when in Reston? A “rabbit”? And your coat pocket is called a “hat”?
Those Reston folks have a unique dialect, it’s changed a lot since I last lived in DC (1991).
(ba-dum-BUMP!)
Great observation on John Walsh’s Q about why Libertarian views aren’t more frequently seen/heard on anti-war… libertarianism is both misunderstood these days, and ignored. I agree that 20 years ago it was better comprehended by more Americans. And you were correct that there is a strong pro-war voice among certain self-proclaimed libertarians. In the current climate anti-war generally is out of favor in the mainstream infotainment media, and so is libertarianism, so combine the two and you labor in obscurity. Ron Paul’s doing a little to change that, though, it seems.
Where are you from, Jim? I was trying to place your accent/inflection, all I can guess is mid-Atlantic. Not a “hon!” Baltimore twang but some B’more sound there. Sorta like members of my family, we’re all from Maryland.
I was raised in the Shenandoah Valley – at a time when it was more Southern than it is now. My parents’ western Pennsylvania accents countervailed some of Virginia influence.
B’more in my accent?
Oh my.
I’d say, Jim, that despite its northern position relative to DC, Baltimore is a more “southern” town and its native accent is much more southern in sound. There’s a bit of distortion of certain sounds, like pronouncing the word BOAT as “bayoat” instead of “bote”, or the “hawn” sound of the word “hon”. But it’s more southern to my ear. Tidewater VA accents sound a lot like Baltimore accents, I think.
But what do I know, I’m no linguist or speech specialist. I’m just curious about accents, inflections, and their origins.
The Shenandoah Valley is a nice place, but I would imagine it’s pretty quickly becoming a suburb of DC. Americans are getting used to 2+ hour commutes in places other than the NYC metro area.
The Shenandoah Valley is much closer to DC than it was when I grew up. Interstate 66 wasn’t going through until just before I left the area.
The Baltimore accent does have some pleasant southern elements….