From the official Libertarian Party:
Your Monday Message from the Libertarian Party:Since its creation as a Jewish state in the late 1940s, Israel has been one of the main sources of tension and unrest in the Middle East. Now, more than 50 years later, Israel once again finds itself at odds with its Palestinian neighbors, forcing the hand of the United States to show where it stands on one of the most polarizing issues in modern history.
The tension between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East goes back thousands of years, and there is no easy solution to the issues in the Israeli/Palestinian dispute. Many U.S. presidential administrations have tried to act as brokers of power or arbiters of peace without any success.
Libertarians aren’t foolish enough to think we have the answer to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. However, we do realize that steps can be taken by the United States to remove itself from injury in the conflict, and perhaps begin the process of long-term stability in the region.
The biggest of these steps is to eliminate all economic and military aid to Israel and all other foreign countries.
In case you wonder why I don’t call myself a “Big-L” Libertarian.
Submit to Stumbled Upon!
Ron Paul opened his festering soup cooler today claiming Gaza is like concentration camps and that Israel is in the wrong since the best the Pals can do is launch homemade missiles and Israel has NUKES!!!!
Seriously, if my neighbor only had a .380 auto and decided to shoot at my house, does it matter I’m armed to the teeth with some serious calibers? Should I not be allowed to fire back because my firearms are so much more potent? I mean, it’s just a .380, and yeah, sure a shot or two might hit my kids and kill them, but I guess I should just sit there an take it, according to the big L libertarians.
He also complained that Israel could simply turn off their power and water, which makes me wonder how someone who is such a voice for “freedom” doesn’t understand that if the Pals were so interested in it that they’d pump & clean their own water and make their own electricity.
Of course Israel could turn off their power and water. I think that they should. See, call me old-fashioned, but I’ve got this idea. Let’s say you elect a bunch of murderous terrorists to be your government, on an explicit pro-terrorism platform, complete with mommies and their babies waving toy AK-47s and toy bomb vests in the victory parade. Let’s further specify that the target of your terrorism is also the only nearby source of power and clean water, mostly because you’re too busy spending all your money on weapons and training your kids to blow themselves up to bother to build your own infrastructure or to train your kids to maintain it. Let’s further specify that you go on to declare an official halt to a cease-fire that you were already routinely unofficially violating, against your target that nevertheless provides you with your basic means of existence despite your vicious unreliability.
Perhaps a few days, weeks or months of sitting in the dark shitting your guts out would help you figure out where you went wrong. Actions should have consequences, after all.
Perhaps a few days, weeks or months of sitting in the dark shitting your guts out would help you figure out where you went wrong.
Perhaps, but then again, these are Palestinians…
Are you saying that despite allll the modern conveniences(and inconveniences), the Palestinians are still living in the Dark Ages?
The first paragraph was poorly written. I’m sure there is a way to rewrite it without claiming that Israel is “one of the main sources of tension”.
The main point of the message is foreign aid, not Israel.
Should the US be providing billions of foreign aid to Israel, Egypt, Africa, ad nauseum?
Why not eliminate foreign aid totally and give the money back to the people who earned it? 20 billion of foreign aid works out to about $66 per person.
Another alternative is a little box on your tax form, where you can check off where your foreign aid contribution is going to go. One of the choices should be ‘None of the above, it’s mine’. The amount should be tied to the taxes you pay. If you don’t pay taxes, then you shouldn’t have a right to force someone else to contribute.
The big-L libertarian view is that you should not have to be forced to pay for foreign aid (or car company bailouts, or S&L bailouts, ad nauseum).
If you want your money to go somewhere, then do it yourself. Personally, I would be happy to write a cheque to Israel for my families’ contribution.
Yes, yes, blah, blah, blah. And if you want a freeway, go out and build it yourself, or start a multi-billion dollar company to do it for you.
I realize this is Libertarian religious dogma, but it runs smack into human nature and the tragedy of the commons. As I said, there are reasons I’m not a worshiper at the Big-L altar.
I think there is a big difference between a freeway which can be used by the general population and a hand-out to some corrupt foreign government (I’m thinking Africa, etc) or some incompetent corporation (the Big 3 car companies).
I think that we both agree that government spending of our money is out of control. The questions is: Where do we draw the line and say, Enough?
Okay, that question makes sense. So, rather than say, “End all foreign aid to Israel just because I’m a Libertarian,” I’d say - let’s stop foreign aid where it makes sense to do so - starting with the money we give our enemies like Egypt, Palestine, and so forth. But keep on giving aid to our democratic friends who are under attack and cannot survive without our help, in large part because we have forced them into that position.
Damn it. I have to unregister from the Libertarian party now and go independent. I was never a big-L Libertarian anyway, but I liked having an identity. Forget it, this tears it.