A report on the conference I just attended:
CounterPunch
by John V. Walsh
"'Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties,' was the
title of a three-day conference hosted last weekend by the Future of
Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org), a Libertarian outfit in northern
Virginia. It was remarkable in many respects. There seemed to be more
attendants from 'red' states than blue, and the critique of the war was
unsparing. It was also quite open and tolerant. Yes, it was Libertarian
through and through .... But there was also Daniel Ellsberg who gave the
most moving and inspiring talk of the conference and The Nation's Robert
Scheer who received a standing ovation. ... In the words of the
Libertarian guru, Murray Rothbard, 'war is the health of the state.'
[The author of this famous phrase was Randolph Bourne, not Rothbard.
MA] And the principal concern for Libertarians is the inevitable
erosion of civil liberties that war brings in its wake, and here they
are eager to compare Bush to Lincoln in suspending habeas corpus."
(06/05/07)