Are libertarians sociopaths?

There’s a discussion on the Washington Liberals yahoo group about the heartlessness of libertarian philosophy. The question came up: are libertarians sociopaths? Or are they just confused? I too have called libertarianism “sociopathic.” Some of them probably have a deficit of empathy. But I’m sure most of them are pretty regular people, loving parents, more…

Driving is like smoking

Twenty years ago, smoking was permitted in most restaurants and public buildings. Nowadays, smokers have accepted that they have no right to force nonsmokers to put up with secondhand smoke. In a similar way, society needs to make the transition to a mindset in which driving a single-occupancy, non-electric passenger car is viewed as selfish,…

Report on the 41st LD Town Hall meeting: budget cuts bite

Saturday afternoon I attended the 41st Legislative District  Town Hall meeting at Mercer Island High School.  State Sen. Steve Litzow (R),  Rep. Judy Clibborn (D), and Rep. Marcie Maxwell (D) spoke.  There was a huge turnout, despite the rain. Most of the time was sent on questions and answers.  Almost all the questions concerned the…

Jill Richardson: Agroecology vs. Modern Farming Methods

Jill Richardson, food system expert, author, and founder of Lavidalocavore.org, has a great post up at Daily Kos today on the viability of agroecology leading the way to double food production in 10 years. Agroecology applies science to indigenous and traditional farming practices to provide natural, sustainable, high yield farming methods using local resources. Following…