I've written before about the animated feature "The Philosophy of Liberty," by professor of economics and political science Ken Schoolland.

The eight-minute video has now been posted to YouTube. It deserves your thoughtful consideration this election season.

SALT LAKE CITY – For the second straight year the Libertarian Party of Utah's chairman, Rob Latham, has made the "Fair Representation Challenge" to student leaders at Utah’s colleges and universities.

The challenge will measure which student body government does the most to promote the use of more representative electoral systems in student body elections, such as those used at Stanford University and Lewis & Clark College (PDF file).

"Big Brother is Watching You"
--From a poster in George Orwell's 1984

Those who defend the ability of the political class to peek into the most private affairs of ordinary Americans routinely invoke the mantra, "I have nothing to hide."

Of the few problems with this standard, one is that the political class regularly enlarges the list of outlawed conduct beyond common law injuries to persons or property. Armed with such a list, nosy neighbors can lead to busybody law enforcement and petty prosecutions.

More importantly, by what authority does the political class claim the right to intrude into your life to investigate wrongdoing? And who watches the watchers?

"Civic and Character Education
(2) The Legislature recognizes that ... (f) the happiness and security of American society relies upon the public virtue of its citizens which requires a united commitment to a moral social order where self-interests are willingly subordinated to the greater common good.
. . .
(3) "[S]tudents shall be taught ... obedience to law[.]"

--Utah Code section 53A-13-109

"We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control."

--Pink Floyd, "Another Brick In The Wall"

"Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and time again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club."
--Dave Barry

My last post mentioned the late Barry Goldwater, and now an interview portrays prominent Democrats speaking favorably about the former liberty-minded U.S. senator and presidential candidate.

So perhaps Democrats are following through with the strategy of courting libertarian voters, while neoconservatives -- who "despise libertarians" -- attempt to "fear and smear" their way into the dark hearts of authoritarian voters.

Indeed, earlier this year such a Democrat contacted me. He incorrectly took my comments during a radio program (MP3 file) (at about 0:40 to 3:28) explaining the LPUtah's spoiler strategy to mean that I was "urging Libertarians in swing districts to vote for Democrats."

SALT LAKE CITY -- Sports fans know that fair competition requires rules that apply equally to all teams. And as sports scandals involving doping and fixing have shown, fans rightly criticize on sports radio and turn their backs on competitors who cheat.

Appealing to that sense of fairness, Utah Libertarians have placed a full-page advertisement (see below) illustrating the unfairness of the two-party system to taxpayers and voters in the 2006 Football Preview published in the Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune by the Newspaper Agency Corporation.

"Libertarians are asking fans to translate their appreciation for fair play in sports into a demand for fair play in politics," says Rob Latham, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Utah.

In his latest book, Conservatives Without Conscience, former Nixon White House operative John Dean attempts to explain why the Republican party has abandoned the libertarian policies championed by its 1964 presidential nominee, Barry Goldwater.

Libertarians from across the United States recently convened in Portland, Oregon for the party's biannual national convention. Among the big news surrounding the significant trimming of the national platform, a majority of assembled delegates also approved a new immigration plank.

A comparison of the pre- and post-convention immigration planks follows.

[Nota bene: Following some the links from this essay is probably not a good idea in a shared work environment. And if for no other reason than not being a boor, it's probably not a good idea to discuss the topic of this post with your co-workers ... unless your co-workers happen to produce a "morning zoo" genre radio program. ;-) Please exercise discretion.]

Let's talk about sex.

Are libertarians constitutionalists?

In the past month or so I've been impressed by some of the commentary posted on LewRockwell.com attempting to answer this question.

To answer it for yourself, I invite you to read the essays linked below.

It's a short post on an important topic. I offer my observations at the end.

"Today the Constitution is worse than a dead letter, for it provides the facade of legitimacy behind which government actors are enabled to do as they please."