Some asides

A good year for the Libertarian Party?

Could be. I attended a local party event (billed as the "St. Louis Area Libertarian Party Caucus," even though it wasn't strictly speaking, a "caucus") last weekend, and people were out in force. At one point -- after some people had already left, or at least adjourned to the bar -- I counted 49 in the room. A more realistic total count would probably be 60-65.

Those of you who work in real politics know that 50+ people don't normally show up for political meetings unless there's a "big name" heading the promo fliers. I once attended a "town hall" in a city of 75,000. It had been promoted by the local newspaper, three TV stations and several radio stations for a solid month. Total attendance? About 75, and the bulk of those were candidates and their entourages. You're lucky to get ten people out for anything that's not a multi-organization street protest or a celebrity speech.

This LP event was emceed by Lloyd Sloan, a local talk radio host, and attended by Tim Lee, late of the Cato Institute and now affiliated with a startup tank called the Show Me Institute, but I don't think their presence accounts for the draw.

It's an election year. There's GOP blood in the water. Hopefully, this high attendance means that LPers are starting to accept the need to be sharks. I guess we'll see. I'm attending the Missouri LP's state convention this weekend and hope to see the same activist spirit animating things.


The paper chase

The paper arrived Tuesday afternoon. I'll be running it over to the school today, and I'll let Mrs. Schmutz know who her class's benefactors are. With your contributions and mine, we purchased 650 sheets of good 12x18 art paper for the youngsters. Thanks for helping.


In search of ...

Awhile back, Stephen VanDyke had a groan over one of my post titles. Now Kn@ppster is the top Google result for searches on the phrase in that title -- ahead of the evil hate-mongering sites most associated with the phrase, even -- and is getting 5-10 site visits a day from people who want to dress up in sheets and hoods. Kinda scary. I doubt that even the high-powered jolt of anti-nonsense they find here will cure them, but I guess it's worth a try.