User:Rembrandt.ryan

How did i get here? (You might ask.)

Whence
Somebody posted, in the Libertarian group, that we had only til sundown Sunday to compose an alternative article to the one created by Libertarian bashers on Rational Wiki. That if it weren't done, the negative version of the Libertarianism article would stick, and continually defame the only group of stalwarts that could save the world! Many posts later it seemed a committee would be formed (imagine that, Libts organized enough to hold a committee meeting, boggles the mind) so i decided i'd best not wait, but see if i could join RW and do the job myself.

Should you wish to check it out, my contribution is the top part, then you hit a thermocline a few paragraphs down, and the temperature changes dramatically. I did not attempt to remove the hatchet-job part; not due to any virtue on my part, but i figured 1/3 of a loaf was better than none, and i'm not one of those that feel it is a badge of honor to be banned from a group. I'd rather hang around and convert everyone to my POV. (That could take days; even weeks.)

A small group even made me feel welcome (a heady experience for an irrational person like myself) and helped me navigate RW waters -- greatly needed; i had never joined a Wiki-type group.

Whether
To edit, or not to edit, that is the question. Where to best spend my meager resources (me)? Until such time that i figure that out. i'll be yielding to the temptation of joining in on talk-page debates. Once in a while, i hope my opinions will take the road less traveled -- maybe even never traveled.

Fern Words
One of the attractions for me is that many here have an interest in other languages, something for which i am a nutcase. And i come across words that are REALLY from out of town. Afikomen is one -- i can't wait to use it; wish i could remember what it means.

Liberal beliefs
Libertarians sometimes say Liberals should be easy to convert to Libertarianism, but i wonder. This topic comes up from time to time, because our numbers are small, we need to recruit, and without recruiting from the Left and Right, we would never grow. Almost everybody came from somewhere else.

It is clear that Liberals acribe views to Libertarians that aren't necessarily Libertarian, but i would expect the converse to be true as well. So in the interest of clarity and accuracy, i will conjure up a list of what i think are Liberal beliefs, and try to take an informal poll (unscientific) on my Talk page of comments by Liberals who proudly bear the label.

 IN FAVOR OF:

 A)	Affirmative action  B)	Anthropogenic Global Warming legislation  C)	ACLU  D)	Banning prayer at football games  E)	Banning smoking  F)	Democracy  G)	Enforcing political correctness  H)	Ethanol production  I)	Fairness Doctrine (radio shows)  J)	Gun Control  K)	Hate crime legislation  L)	Helmet laws for motorcyclists  M)	Humanitarian intervention in other nations  N)	Penalties on companies that hire offshore <dd> O)	Penalizing oil companies <dd> P)	PETA <dd> R)	Progressive tax system <dd> S)	Public funding to develop energy alternatives <dd> T)	Seatbelt laws <dd> U)	Trade Unions <dd> V)	Universal healthcare <dd> W)	Wealth redistribution <dd> X)	Welfare <dd> Y)	Windfall Profits Tax

</dl>

<dl><dt> AGAINST:

<dd> 1	Building nuclear power plants <dd> 2	Corporations paying huge salaries to CEOs <dd> 3	Dog fighting <dd> 4	Drilling for oil offshore and in Anwaar <dd> 5	Nuclear weapon development <dd> 6	Preemptive war <dd> 7	Prizefighting <dd> 8	School choice <dd> 9	Whaling </dl>

<dl><dt> Rank these American presidents from the most intelligent to the least:

<dd> 32	Roosevelt (FDR) <dd> 33	Truman <dd> 34	Eisenhower <dd> 35	Kennedy <dd> 36	LBJ <dd> 37	Nixon <dd> 38	Ford <dd> 39	Carter <dd> 40	Reagan <dd> 41	Bush 41 <dd> 42	Clinton <dd> 43	Bush 43 </dl>

I have attempted to keep these topics neutral, and have included no topics that are "spins", such as humanitarian, feels your pain, cares about the poor, etcetera -- things of that ilk.