Libertarian John Perry Barlow supports Kerry . . .

[OneBlueSky]

this is one of the guys who founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation . . . he was also one of Cheney's campaign managers when he first ran for Congress . . . pretty interesting article/interview . . .

John Perry Barlow 2.0
The Thomas Jefferson of cyberspace reinvents his body -- and his politics.
Interviewed by Brian Doherty
reasononline.com
August/September, 2004

http://www.reason.com/0408/fe.bd.john.shtml

In the ’80s, Barlow became fascinated by the new world opening up through personal computers, and he helped popularize the term and concept of cyberspace. Barlow took his way with words -- and the objections to authoritarianism that lead boys to display "behavioral problems" -- and launched the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in 1990 with his computer industry pals Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus, and John Gilmore, an early employee of Sun Microsystems. EFF is a San Francisco–based political advocacy and legal action group dedicated to preserving and extending liberty in cyberspace. Barlow is currently its vice chairman.

(snip)

Barlow recently surprised many of his libertarian friends by announcing that merely living a bohemian libertarian lifestyle was no longer sufficient. For most of his public career, Barlow had emphasized staking out one’s liberty in your personal life and in the arena of ideas, not the scrum of partisan politics. Now he feels very differently: He believes that the combination of George W. Bush and the rise of "plutocratic" corporations requires direct political engagement, and that getting rid of Bush overrides any other personal or political concerns.

(snip)

Reason: What are some of the specific actions or policies of the Bush administration that alarm you more than Clinton did, or Reagan or the first Bush?

Barlow: An unwillingness to engage in any kind of mitigation of the free market. The one thing that I know government is good for is countervailing against monopoly. It’s not great at that either, but it’s the only force I know that is fairly reliable. But if you’ve got a truly free market you only have a free market for a while before it becomes completely regulated by those aspects of it that have employed power laws to gain a complete monopoly.

- much more . . . not entirely flattering of Kerry, but well worth your while, imo . . .

http://www.reason.com/0408/fe.bd.john.shtml

[Sliverofhope]

1. Very interesting

Good to see a libertarian understand the risks of corporatism. Thumbs up.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Wrote a lot of tunes with Bob Wier from the Dead too.

nt

[leftyandproud]

3. but democrats hate libertarians!

then again, so do the pubs...even more perhaps.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Right--- the biggest uptight, control freaks on the left...

(and I've met a few)

...don't come close to the dedication and professionalism of fundamentalist wackjobs and church lady maniacs on the right.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Woo-Hoo! Not That I'm Surprised.

Although the Cheney link is upsetting. Too bad the author of Throwing Stones didn't get a chance to slip a little sense into the man's orange juice, as it were.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. Great article. Some brilliant stuff. n/t