We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Every man has his price Those liberty-loving cyber-guerillas over at Bureaucrash have cooked up a wry little animation the subject of which is a Canadian (I presume) politician caught red-handed (and gold-wristed) in the act of selling snake-oil.
Well worth a look.
[My thanks to reader Ernest Young for the link.]
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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Interesting, the photo is the Rev T.C. Douglas, now deceased. It appears to have been taken during the 1960s, which could make the prices listed rather high for the time. Douglas was the CCF (socialist) premier of Saskatchewan from about 1944-1952, then became an MP. As to his spending habits, I would disagree with the presentation; while Rev Douglas was a socialist, he opposed the desires of his party to tax and spend. When his government introduced the first Medicare plan in Canada, it was structured with ‘contributions’ which were affordable and as an emergency use plan which would have minimal calls on the Provincial Treasury. His successors were the screw-ups.
I just found this site and it is a godsend to this tran-libertarian-les chick. Luv the Che pic, it’s my fav also.
And yes I have considered the implications of the Brit- American speaking- singing accent conundrum and it drives me bloody crazy! I just watched a Dusty Springfield Special and must admit that when I was a kid I thought she was a product of the hillbilly American South, what with that ten foot hair, pink lipstick and cheezy pantsuits. I was totally convinced that voice was the results of a good ole gals white bread and trailer park breeding.
Shame on me and God Bless Dusty!
The ‘Bureaucrashers’ are masters of the ‘meme hack’. On a similar note, ‘FlashBunny’ is back after a long absence. His lastest work is a bumper sticker:
“MY VEHICLE, MY CHOICE. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY S.U.V.!”
Pure genius! And speaking of absences, what happened to Andy Duncan? Is he still focused primarily on writing his novel? I know that he still posts here at Samizdata but he hasn’t posted at his personal blog for some time…
David,
Bureaucrash: One word; Fabulous! 🙂
MayDay72,
I’m teaching a Perl course this week. I’m currently sitting here at the front of the class, while my victims hack their way through multidimensional hash exercises 🙂
When I’m teaching I find I have no other energy left over, in the evening, to do much else except drink lager, eat curry, and plot with other Learning Tree instructors how to right the world! 🙂
Pays the bills. As to the book, I just can’t find enough time to do it, what with a wife, children, IT consulting, and several Perl courses to support. But I still manage to crank out a few words, every now and again. Got to 30,000 in a raw draft, which I’m polishing down to a smooth draft, before trying to flog it to a publisher.
I should have these 30,000 words ready by the end of September.
If you know any good book agents, let me know! $-)
(I need someone who can get it into WH Smiths, and Waterstones.)
With the occasional errr…. “eccentric” piece for Mr De Havilland’s blog, that means I’m struggling to find much time to do much else, alas.
Right, gotta go. Another Perl code solution to explain! 😎
AndyD,
Learning Tree Towers,
London
Surely a $50 tie is far too cheap to wear with an Italian designer suit?
1. Let me reiterate: the prices quoted in the presentation are c.2000, the photo is c.1965.
2. The ‘Italian suit’ could have been purchased from Tip-Top Tailors for under $200 in 1965. Real Italian suits were not a big thing in 1965. My father had one good suit (c.$100) to wear on Sundays when he preached. I have my grandfather’s watch which was from the period of the photo and while very similar, it did not cost $2500.
3. Although not apparent from the audio, Rev Douglas preach a “socialism which was affordable”, ie, the government would fill in the cracks when necessary, but not as a general rule.
4. The presentation was interesting and quite effective, but I think the wrong target was chosen.
Cheers
I watch big brother