Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CT Liberty Forum

My home state of Connecticut (recommended motto: “Without us, people traveling ’twixt Boston and New York would have no place to stop for bathroom breaks”) is responsible for inflicting both Joe Lieberman and the odious Kelo v. New London eminent domain decision upon America. On behalf of my statemates, I sincerely apologize.

But not all Nutmeggers are like that. To prove it, check out the CT Liberty Forum the weekend of September 27-28, especially if you’re already planning to visit scenic Bristol, Connecticut anyway (and gee, why wouldn’t you?). I’ll be one of the panelists at Sunday's Freedom of the Press panel, and plan to indulge in moderate alcohol consumption during the cocktail hour Saturday afternoon.

Now if y’all will excuse me, I have to go practice being pithy.

12 Comments:

Blogger Jeff said...

recommended motto: “Without us, people traveling ’twixt Boston and New York would have no place to stop for bathroom breaks”

CT provides great drama when people like me plot the rare drive from NYC to Boston. Take I-95 or the Merritt? I-95 is probably clogged full of losers, but the Merritt is smaller and winding-er and who knows where the hell it goes? Does it have streetlights? Online directions don't seem to reach a consensus. What fun!

8:38 PM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

The Merritt Parkway is a joke we play on out-of-state tourists who think that "quaint" is a good word to apply to a modern roadway system.

10:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thinking you should provide your fans with more eye candy and use a different picture for their site.

5:43 AM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

They just grabbed the picture off here, Moose. Since I got a new driver's license yesterday I'm not feeling super-photographable right now, anyway.

9:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually, I've noticed that bathroom breaks aren't particularly convenient in CT. You know, tootling along towards Springfield, MA, and realizing that you might not be able to find your way back on to 91 if you tried to reach that bizarrely-placed service station? I blame civil unions.

10:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm, I meant that "civil unions" comment to be a minimally humorous non sequitur, until I saw the Liberty Forum speaker list. Some of those people actually blame the gays for quite a bit, along with other less-powerful minorities. I was considering coming by and throwing my panties onstage during Ms. Abel's panel, but now I'm afraid Jim Gilchrist might shoot me just for coming into the hotel.

Seriously, can't we have Robert Levy and Katherine Albrecht at a conveniently-located event on individual liberty without the Minutemen and the Family Institute of Connecticut?

...Oh, sweet Jeebus in cracker form, "Separation of School and State"? What's the closing ceremony for the forum, a Sarah Palin coronation?

10:26 AM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

It's a sad-but-true fact that not everybody has the same definition of "liberty." Personally, I've never subscribed to "liberty" being defined as "the right to outlaw everything I personally find offensive."

11:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sad but true, indeed. And well, besides Ms. Abel, there are some other genuinely libertarian-minded people in there. And the others certainly deserve the right to be heard. I just wish that libertarianism didn't so easily get conflated with social conservatism in the public eye.

8:45 AM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

Connecticut is odd, mds: the Democrats have had a lock on power here since time immemorial (I can not only predict Connecticut will vote for Obama this November; I also predict we'll go for the Democrat in 2012, 2016 and 2020), so protesting government misbehavior forces one to become an anti-Democrat almost by default. Nothing about the Democrats per se; it's just that whenever one party gets a lock on power, that party will thus become incredibly corrupt.

10:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Connecticut is odd, mds: the Democrats have had a lock on power here since time immemorial

Well, except for the governor's mansion. And currently, Joe Lieberman, who effectively won last time as the Republican candidate. And Lowell Weicker, God bless his cold, cold heart.

See, the reason I was toying with Liberty Forum attendance is because I live in Connecticut, and hence am aware of all political traditions. Also, I'm standing right behind you.

11:30 AM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

True. But despite people like Herroner the Governor and Senator Lieberman (who only calls himself a Democrat because his lips can't form the words "I am a Republican" whilst superglued to Geroge W.'s ass), the majority of state- and local-level power is in Democratic hands.

But I'm not being partisan; if the reverse were true and we were a mostly Republican state with a few token Democrats and Democrats-in-name-only, the state would still be a mess, albeit in different ways.

11:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd agree with contrarianism and anti-majoritarianism as a general rule. I'm slightly less concerned with Democratic majorities, though, due to the old saw about "belonging to no organized political party." Remember how Democrats finally achieved "veto-proof" majorities in the legislature, and how they were therefore able to ram everything through despite Rell? Excuse me while I point and laugh at them. In modern times, Republicans have much more of a disturbing tendency to act like the Borg. (And as I keep noting, if Obama thinks that he'd have an easy time with Congress because of substantial Democratic majorities, he's still taking those illegal drugs from his youth.)

Anyway, it turns out I wasn't really standing right behind you; it was Paul Bass in a red wig. In my defense, the room was dark, and I'm already drunk.

12:07 PM  

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