Posted 9:26 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

Insane legislation of the week

About a week ago the Minnesota legislature passed HF 1481, offering a new means for a party to get or keep major party status, although it's unlikely that it will ever be employed. The idea may have been to benefit the Green party, in hopes that they would take votes away from the DFL, thus benefiting the Republicans who passed the bill.

IF a party runs at least 45 candidates for state house, 23 for state senate, 4 for U.S. House, and 1 statewide office... in a gubernatorial election year, the party will achieve status for 4 years, even if their candidates get no votes. Since those 73 candidates would have to submit at least 40,000 signatures to get on the ballot, gathered within 2 weeks, there is little chance of this new method ever being used.

Add that to the other way offered to get major party status... submitting petitions totalling 5% of the votes cast in the last election (which would be 114,000 signatures). Naturally, that method has never been used either.

Posted 7:25 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Are we making progress?

It can be a dangerous question for libertarians to ask themselves. It isn't hard to find evidence of some progress, but it's even easier to find evidence of loss of freedom. What makes the question dangerous is that most libertarians work on a volunteer basis, and it is much easier to keep doing that if one is convinced that the effort is worthwhile. Nobody enjoys working toward and end and feeling as if we're being pushed backward. Most libertarians also demand intellectual honesty of themselves, which means evaluating progress.

I'm sorry to say that many libertarians, in response to this quandary, tend to confine their activities to small projects where the potential rewards or losses are small enough to ignore. It is difficult to get volunteers for long-term projects where there may be no tangible results for some time... where there is little or no reward for work well done.

Working to maintain or regain liberty can often seem like an impossible task. We face opponents with great power and funding, peopled by those who are ambitious for more power and money. While our potential reward is only the opportunities that freedom provides, their potential rewards are far more tangible and personal... influence, cash, and advantage of others. The rewards offered by "the dark side" are plentiful and very tangible.

No, I'm not considering moving to "the dark side", but it is difficult to keep actively working for the bright side. It is so tempting to simply do what most others do... ignore what is happening and hope for the best... tell myself that one guy can't make a difference thereby justifying a concentration only on everyday non-political affairs.

What keeps me from becoming one of the great mass of the apathetic? I guess there are two things... first, a refusal to ignore what I know to be true, and second, an clear awareness of what the alternative is. I'm not sure which of those two is missing in most Americans. Perhaps it is both.

Posted 8:11 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

A step back into history

On Thursday, I picked up two good friends and we went to lunch prepared by another friend. The day was gorgeous, the lunch was splendid and the company was great. After lunch our group took a tour I had arranged with the management of the Northwestern Casket Company.

In 1866, Cadwallader C. Washburn built the Washburn "B" mill that was the beginning of what eventually became the General Mills Corporation. In 1869, Charles Pillsbury formed his company. They were the big players in putting Minneapolis "on the map".

In 1882, in northeast Minneapolis, at the height of flour milling production, the Northwestern Casket Company was formed. Three years later, they built a splendid new home at 17th and Jefferson. NWCC has been in business at that location ever since. 123 years of continuous operation.

Take a look at the photos I took during our tour.