serenity.w

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About me:

I'm a libertarian...an anarchist, really, but I'm okay with the concept of "horizon anarchism" (google it), which is why I am also a Ron Paul supporter.

I'm not particularly religious, but I do subscribe to natural law theory. I don't think that you need to believe in God in order to believe in natural law--it's really just common sense, if you ask me. But if you want philosophical arguments you can read Murray Rothbard's book, The Ethics of Liberty. It is available for free in pdf format at http://mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp.

When I'm not doing dumb grad school stuff, I'm trying to learn Austrian economics.

Favorite pro-liberty websites:
www.lewrockwell.com
www.antiwar.com
www.counterpunch.com
www.strike-the-root.com

Currently reading:
Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan
What Has Government Done to Our Money? by Murray Rothbard

Check out Antiwar Radio hosted by Scott Horton and Charles Goyette.

Also check out my friends' band, The Melatones

Thoughts on the Ron Paul Revolution:

The most exciting thing in recent history! Not only did the Ron Paul Revolution breathe new life into the freedom movement, it has given us hope. After September 11th, for the longest time, things looked pretty dismal...Many in the freedom movement defected to the side of empire (a friend of mine thinks that those people were never real libertarians and that they had been looking for an excuse to leave). When I first heard that Ron Paul was thinking about running for president, I thought: yeah, good luck. A couple months later, I found myself caught up in the excitement that was everywhere (after a three-year hiatus from political activism).

The greatest thing about Ron Paul is that his character and sincerity speak to people from all parts of the political spectrum. I just got back from a conference on foreign policy and civil liberties organized by the Future of Freedom Foundation. Among the many brilliant speakers was the radical leftist journalist Alexander Cockburn, editor of CounterPunch. Alex Cockburn spoke highly of Dr. Paul, the Ron Paul Revolution, and the "spirit of mutiny" it has engendered. (CounterPunch has long endorsed Dr. Paul's candidacy, much to the dismay of some of its less intellectually robust readers.) He contrasted this with the ineffectiveness of the left, exemplified by the inability of leftist candidates Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader to garner support. Cockburn lambasted Barack Obama and, of course, John McCain. It is refreshing to hear someone on the left talk about the wishy-washy policies of Barack Obama and the Democratic mainstream with such poignancy and lucidity. Cockburn emphasized the importance, now more than ever, of putting aside our differences and working together in opposition to U.S. imperialism and the ever-expanding powers of the police state.

I have to say, as a purist libertarian, I was nonetheless extremely impressed by the intelligence and analytical soundness of Alexander Cockburn. But, most importantly, he is unassuming and approachable, witty and delightful, always willing to focus on the things that bring us together rather than mull over divisive details. As my friend Anthony Gregory pointed out, Alex Cockburn is more libertarian than Bob Barr.

Thoughts about the LP's presidential and VP candidates:

Okay, all of you delegates who went and voted for Bob Barr. You clearly did not listen to me when I told you not to do that! Now the LP should just change its name to the "Former Republican's Party." By the way, does the LP really need a VP candidate whose initials spell out WAR?

This brilliantly humorous banner succinctly sums up my feelings. http://www.scottbieser.com/showntell/GG2012.jpg

I'm excited about the D.C. rally! www.revolutionmarch.com

Miscellaneous stuff about me:

I moved from Berkeley, CA to Philadelphia, PA in the fall of 2006. I still miss the sweet scent of Berkeley summer nights (must have something to do with the trees they have on campus), but I've pretty much gotten used to the mediocre scenery in Philadelphia. Joining the Ron Paul Revolution helped too, since I had a close circle of libertarian friends back in Berkeley (yes, Berkeley!), and I was starting to get really tired of having to defend my views all the time when I'm around the people I go to school with here in Philly.

For the longest time, I wanted to be a writer. I wrote poetry and short stories. For a while there (in high school), it looked like I also had talent. But it was easy to look talented when you're young and everyone is dumb.

I still try to write sometimes, but the inspiration just isn't there anymore. I have no idea why. The thing is, I don't know how to "try to write." Back when I could write, I was able to do it because the poems really wrote themselves. The words strung themselves together in my head, and all I had to do was write them down. Strange, huh?

For a brief period of about two years, I wanted to be a stage actress. But I was never any good at acting.

I also dabbled in painting and drawing, but I wasn't much good at those either.

Somewhere along the way, I decided that I would give up all those dreams of becoming an artist in favor of science. Time does strange things to people.

I've been a libertarian since my senior year in high school when I was 17 years old. It happened when one of the other subscribers to the "Widows of the Drug War" mailing list hosted by the November Coalition emailed us a link to Harry Browne's website. Why did I subscribe to a mailing list for widows of the drug war? Oh, that's a long story...Well, the important thing is that the winter before I turned 18, I realized that everything I had learned in school about how this country is run--all that stuff about liberty and justice--was a load of B.S. And I made that realization because the lies hit me in the face. My entire world view disintegrated in the span of a couple weeks, and then I found Harry Browne's website.

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