Rules for Submissions to The Libertarian Enterprise

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Fri, 31 Jan 2003 08:26:56 GMT

From: "John Taylor" <jtaylor4@triad.rr.com>
To: "Bill St. Clair" <bitcraft@taconic.net>
Subject: Re: Submission to The Libertarian Enterprise
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 08:18:37 -0400

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bitcraft@taconic.net>
To: <TLE@johntaylor.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2000 7:15 AM
Subject: Submission to The Libertarian Enterprise

: John,
:
: Below is my submission to the Libertarian Enterprise. If you like it, run
: it as a regular article or as a letter to the editor, as you think is best.
:
: It is already HTML-ready. You should be able to just cut and paste into
: your template, after adding whichever header tag makes sense for the title.

Hi Bill!

Thanks for your submission! I've included our "Rules for Contributors", just in case (I hope!) you become a regular contributor.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Rules for TLE Contributors:

If you're a past, present, or future contributor, please retain a copy of these simple rules. (If you know a contributor (PPorF) who is not a member of this list, please forward this message along to them.

If you plan to be a more-than-one-time contributor to TLE, please subscribe to the TLE list. To subscribe, please send a message to libedit-request@ezlink.com. In the body of the message, please type: "subscribe [your email address]". This list is _extremely_ low volume at the present, though it may be used for discussion.

* * * * * * * * * * *

TLE Rules for Contributors

Format

1. All submissions should be in text format. (A "word-processed" document is OK _as long as it is minimally formatted_.

2. The only embedded special characters we use are to place emphasis on individual words or short phrases. Emphasis should be indicated in your text submission as follows: place a "marker" around the word or phrase to be emphasized. Use an "underscore" as your marker. Do not put a space between your marker and the word or phrase to be emphasized (e.g. "The quick brown fox jumped over the _lazy_ dog's back.")

3. Each submission should be titled (in 'all caps' -- this is the _only_ place where 'all caps' should be used).

4. Each title should be followed with a by-line with the author's name and e-mail address set off as We _require_ that each author's e-mail address accompany their submissions.

5. Each submission may be followed by a short (say three lines or so) bio, personal statement, or advertisement.

Content

1. The main rule for content is that the tone must be unreconstructedly libertarian. As Neil para-says, "We _are_ equal time!" Those who wish to write for other audiences may do so elsewhere. If you're not sure, send it on -- I'll happily decide for you (and yes, I may occasionally bend this rule a little, but I won't break it).

2. The issue of "language" has come up once or twice in the past. I will not censor; I will ask you all to write something you'd be proud to present as your own best work to anyone anywhere (even -- maybe especially -- if you know it will make them uncomfortable).

3. Please keep your articles around 800 (+/- 200) words. Feel free to err on the side of brevity. I will not run overly long articles in this newsletter (and yes, I might bend this rule also, but don't count on it).

General

1. All rules stated herein are hard and fast as of this moment. The Publisher reserves the absolute right to add/delete/modify at any time. The Publisher has the last word on all matters pertaining to TLE.

2. I reserve the right to edit any article submitted unless the submission is accompanied by a statement by the author at the time of submittal that expressly denies me the authority to do so. If you elect to impose that requirement, then the only decision I will make is whether or not to run the article 'as is', with no editing at all (including typos, spelling, and grammar). If you refuse me the authority to edit, then don't send me changes to a previously submitted article (instead, send the changed article to replace the erroneous one, with clear instructions as to your intent).

3. Address your articles to TLE@johntaylor.org and include "TLE" (without the quotation marks) in the subject line of every submittal. Otherwise, your "pride and joy" may get lost in the sauce.

* * * * * * * * * * *

All errors in judgment, style or political correctness contained in these instructions accrue to me alone. Therefore, any complaints, comments, or criticisms should be directed to me (feel free to "cc:" my boss). This is not a "rule with an iron fist" situation. These rules are mainly to minimize the stresses on the Editor and Webmaster. I thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Please remember to retain this message for your future reference.

Add comment Edit post Add post

Previous Posts:
Still Small Voice
State of the Union Address
Stayin' Alive
Atomz Search HTML for End the War on Freedom
Real Reason for SSN
A POX on PYX
Why I Will Not Obey California's Gun Registration Edict
Quotes
What July Fourth Means to Me
Political Carry

Navigation

History

Quotes

Government doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Can't. But there are lots of good people. Love them.

-- Bill St. Clair

The Atlanta Declaration

Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

-- L. Neil Smith

Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.

-- L. Neil Smith

A Penalty Clause for the Bill of Rights

Any official, appointed or elected, at any level of government, who attempts, through legislative act or other means, to nullify, evade, or avoid the provisions of the first ten amendments to this Constitution, or of the Thirteenth Amendment, shall be summarily removed from office, and, upon conviction, deprived of all pay and benefits including pension, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

-- L. Neil Smith

Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

-- John Lott, commenting on the National Academy of Sciences report on gun control laws.

Who is a libertarian?

Zero Aggression Principle ("Zap")

"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."

-- L. Neil Smith

(Formerly called the "Non-Aggression Principle", or "NAP")

Why Did It Have to be... Guns?

Make no mistake: all politicians -- even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership -- hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician -- or political philosophy -- can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude -- toward your ownership and use of weapons -- conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

-- L. Neil Smith

Concise

"Tell me," I was once asked, "What do you think about gun control? Give me the short answer." To which I replied, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

Also from The Atlanta Declaration:

... like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, it turns out that self-defense is a bodily function one cannot safely or effectively delegate to a second party.

-- L. Neil Smith

This does not mean that "Marijuana should be available by prescription." It means that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion.

-- Vin Suprynowicz

If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.

-- Edward Abbey

The state can only survive as long as a majority is programmed to believe that theft isn't wrong if it's called taxation or asset forfeiture or eminent domain, that assault and kidnapping isn't wrong if it's called arrest, that mass murder isn't wrong if it's called war.

-- Bill St. Clair