My Problem With Palestine

I've spent a lot of time pondering the Palestinian-Israeli problem over the years.  I certainly don't believe that I can fix the problem single-handedly, but I would like to put out a couple of items that the public at large doesn't seem to know or consider when the issue is discussed.

You may or may not know that the Palestinians effectively lost their land because of the six day war in 1967.  In a nutshell, Israel's neighbors had a problem with Israel's existence since the country was re-created in 1948.  These neighboring countries (Egypt, Jordan and Syria) tried a couple of times since 1948 to kick Israel's ass, and consistently failed.  In 1967, this happened again, and in a matter of six days, Israel took an ass load of land from these countries.  In short, the Palestinians tried to take something from Israel, and the Israelis eradicated Palestine from the map.  My take:  If you go to war with a country and lose, you really don't have much to cry about, especially if you're the aggressor!

Going back further, there has never been a historical country of Palestine.  There have been Palestinian territories going back to the Roman Empire, but there has never been a country named Palestine in the same sense that there has been a France, Britain, China or USA.  This means that the Palestinians are more of a cultural people than a geographic people.

If you put these issues together, it seems to me that the Palestinians are being rather unreasonable in their demands for land and peace.  They claim a right to East Jerusalem, though they've never had a country, much less a country with Jerusalem as its capital.  They claim land that they lost through their own misplaced aggression.  It seems to me that life would be easier for everyone if they took what was offered and moved forward peacefully.

This, of course, is my own take.  I am absolutely willing to hear new information.  I don't have all the answers, and welcome the opportunity for someone to prove me wrong, or change my mind.

Libertarians are Leading With the Wrong Argument

Those of you who know me are likely aware that I'm a Libertarian and have been one for... well, quite a while. Over the years, I've heard time and time again that Taxation is Theft.  It's become kind of a rallying cry for the Libertarian party.  Unfortunately, it's the wrong opening discussion.  Here's why:

The reason I became a Libertarian was not because of money.  I became a Libertarian because I was disillusioned with the Democrats and Republicans.  I got tired of the lies, the broken promises, the crony capitalism and backroom deals.  I grew sick of seeing politicians getting elected to office as decent people only to be turned into party automatons.  I got tired of seeing new laws that curtailed my personal rights.

Bitching about taxation is all well and good.  I don't know anyone who loves paying taxes.  But at the end of the day, choosing taxation as the Meme for the Libertarian Party is not the best place to start the discussion. Taxation is a finite item with a limited appeal and value.  We should talk about how our individual freedoms are being eroded.  People seem to agree that freedom has no price.  So why are we leading with taxation, which has a set dollar value, when we can talk about personal freedom, which has a value beyond measure?  Libertarians are leading with the wrong argument.