Carnival of Liberty XI

The eleventh Carnival of Liberty is up over at Target Centermass.  Gunner has listed entries in the order he received them, so don't expect the best ones to necessarily come first.  Lots of thoughts regarding Katrina and 9-11, as one might expect, but other stuff, too:  The Sharpener posts about ID cards and the European Union, and Dan of Searchlight Crusade is keeping a list of topic blogs,  or blogs that stay on top of particular issues, becoming "go to" sites when you're interested in a particular topic (this is as opposed, for example, to blogs that serve up unfocused blather on whatever rings the proprietor's bell, such as this one).

(Please note that, while I normally link heavily to whatever I post about, I'm intentionally not doing so here, so as not to deprive Gunner of the traffic and the refers.  Go there to find all I'm talking about.)

Stephen at Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds is angry about gas prices, but the target of his anger has a somewhat more rational basis than one typically finds these days:

Unlike so many Americans however, my anger is directed mostly at the environmental extremist greenie-weenies, the politicians who pander to them, an American public that is largely economically illiterate, and the politicians/interest groups who exploit this illiteracy.

Economic illiteracy has been even more prominently displayed lately than usual, as those who are ignorant of such things have had many opportunities to display said illiteracy, such as concerning gasoline prices, price controls in Hawaii, and the effects of the welfare state and the consequences of it in New Orleans.  TKC at The Pubcrawler draws parallels between economic freedom and prosperity in two European countries:

I wonder how long it will take America to answer the clue phone on this? Our toying with socialism is dragging us down. There is a choice to be made. Do we want the failure of the European model and its corresponding bleak outlook and suffering or do we want to return to our free-market roots and thrive like Estonia and Iceland.

Along the same line, NYGirl, new to the LLP Community, notes the consequences of foreign aid in Niger.

Eric, of Eric's Grumbles Before the Grave, asks a relevant question:

Why is it that the first instinct of the majority of our politicians when there is a problem of some sort is to restrict people’s freedoms and liberties? Even more importantly, why is the instinct of the majority of the citizens to go along with such an idea? Especially considering that time after time the end results don’t come out the way people think they will.

There's a good answer to that question, but it's not flattering.

Sunni Maravillosa will host the Carnival of Liberty next week, and the week after that your humble host™ will present September's last Carnival of Liberty here--the first time I've tried to do anything like that, so no promises, mmkay?

The Carnival of Liberty is sponsored and produced by the Life, Liberty and Property Community of TTLB's ecosystem, but you needn't be a member of either group to contribute.  You can email the next host, or, for your convenience, Conservative Cat offers a terrific carnival submission form that anyone can use to submit anything to any of the several bloggers' carnivals.  Pretty cool.  And Instapundit almost always links to the various carnivals as they go up, including this one, which helps insure that your entry will get some attention.

Finally, folks, please allow me to apologize for the infrequent posting around here lately.  I haven't been having the best of days, and it has seemed to me more often than not that I have had little to add to what lots of others are saying very well.  As usual, this attitude will pass.  The degree and quantity of incompetent, ignorant, hateful excrement, devoid of any useful information and deposited liberally in steaming piles across the country's boob-tubes and fishwraps, has been enough of late to make the stoutest rational thinker sick to his stomach, which hasn't helped either--but that's all the more reason to say something rather than retreat to the sidelines.  If you happen to have opportunity, please do me a favor and slap me upside the head. You know, whenever you get the chance.  Thanks.

Comments

[Rob]

I typically don't ever watch the network news or read too many newspapers short of searching for good used junk to buy. I've dabbled in network news these past few weeks and I whole-heartedly regret it. The whole thing about the press inventing a crisis (lack of management over Katrina relief by FEMA), strung up a scapegoat and caused him to resign just made me sick to my stomach. Then patted themselves on the back for good journalism. Blea. My wife has a degree in Journalism and she weeps over what "news" has come to. I'll pass, once again back to my 2 shows a week (CSI and CSI Miami) and stick to the blogs for my real news. Anyway, get back to writing soon. It'll make you feel better to vent, and I'm running out of things to read... :-}