Letters to the Editor
from Max Winkler, Puck T. Smith, C. Florence, A.X. Perez,
Thomas L. Knapp, and Crazy Al
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CERES, Chapter Thirty-Seven: Convergence
by L. Neil Smith
Principles are not meant for times or circumstances when
abiding by them is easy. They're for when it's hard. They're not meant to be
thrown over in an emergency, or suspended "for the duration", but to be
honored no matter how dangerous or difficult it gets. Otherwise, what the
hell good are they?
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Going Straight to Christopher Street
by Justin Thyme
In gay areas there are no straight answers. But there are
straight men and straight lines and people in financial straits. And as one I
knew them because there were so few of us in downtown Manhattan. It was quite
amazing for me to deal pot in the ultra gay west village in Manhattan. Amid all
that weirdness I knew that I would be considered almost normal and blend in.
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The Denuded Economy
by Jim Davidson
In recent months, The Libertarian Enterprise has been
kind enough to publish a number of my essays on the nude economy. Beginning in
August 2009, I asked, "The emperor has no clothes, so why should the economy?"
So here we are approaching the end of the year, and no less an occasion than
Black Friday when retailers are supposed to finally go into the black in their
account books, and the economy continues to be denuded. Stripped, as it were,
of everything not nailed down. Where the powers that be are able to pry things
loose, they are making the fatuous case that what they can pry loose wasn't,
properly speaking, nailed down.
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Neither Machiavelli Nor a Sandwich
by Chris Claypoole
I was catching up on a Web comic I enjoy called Vexxar.
Vexxar is an alien of an aggressive species whose misadventures with other
species (including the Hu-Mons) and his ship's AIs are quite funny. The
current theme is his idea to create a "let's you and him fight" scenario
between his own species (which hates him) and another aggressive species,
with the hoped-for outcome being that he can exist in peace without
constant running and/or hiding. In trying to explain this to a crab-like
alien that had become an unwanted part of his ship's company, he ran into
the problem of trying to explain the current situation. The crab-like
being is a prey species. Run and/or hide are its only responses, and if
those don't work, the usual outcome is ingestion by a predator. After
another of Vexxar's attempts to explain his plan, the ship's computer
tells Vexxar, "He's a prey species. You've just quoted Machiavelli
to a sandwich."
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The Mission & Monks & Missionaries
A heretical riting by brother Don Meinshausen
This is essay is an exercise in metaphorensics which
is the theory that an accumulation of puns, new analogy and imagery which is
humorous or ironic is evidence of undiscovered serious implications in the
statement much like a Freudian slip This applies whether the original intent
is serious or to a muse. The statements here do make sense in itself as well
as being ironic. It entertains while helping the mind entertain a new idea.
The more and greater the humor the more profound the discovery is among who
understand the irony and strike it when its hot.
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Thanks for the Puritans
by A.X. Perez
I'm Catholic, no apologies, I'm of the opinion that the Roman
Church is closer to the straight skinny than any other church. That said, thank God
for Protestantism and Puritanism. Without them the concept of liberty wouldn't exist.
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Atlantea The Beautiful
by L. Neil Smith and Rex May
Number 52 of a weekly cartoon series.
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Agenda 21: The United Nations Programme of Action
Planning for Your future, serf!
