Post Office (June 2005)

Liberty Watch looks great, but clean up the errors
   My husband returned home with your premier issue of Liberty Watch. I absolutely enjoyed reading the articles as they were interesting, even to someone who doesn’t particularly like Nevada. Congratulations!
   Hopefully, the typos and grammar errors I noticed will attract the English major’s red pen before you go to your second issue. The overall quality of the presentation suffers when several such errors are found. 
   Again, I liked the magazine. I’ll stick a check into the mail later in the month and subscribe for a year as a birthday gift to my husband.
Aldean Kilbourn
Fairbanks, Alaska

French was on target with public school indoctrination claim
Dear Mr. French, 
   Thanks for a great essay (“The People’s Romance,” April), especially the point about public school indoctrination. It is so true. 
   I’ve come to believe that humans have an innate need or are “hardwired” to worship something larger than themselves. So many clamor to be led and managed. They are supposed to worship God, but have been indoctrinated into the cult of state worship.
Kathy Grable

More letters means more readers for Liberty Watch
   In observing Las Vegas’ two newspapers for 14 years, I see that one is dominated by the owner’s view and Jon Ralston, and the other is dominated by a very poor indecisive editor who took years to rid himself of a commentator whose views were 180 degrees adverse to those of his newspaper. Both suffer severely in the letters-to-the-editor area. 
   The former has, on the average, two letters published per issue. The latter has several (five to eight), but very long letters published, violating their own rules to be short and sweet. Letters are heavily screened so that people who criticize the editor or newspaper do not get published. 
   All this leads to my suggestion that your new rag publish an extensive letters-to-the-editor page, perhaps even two pages. This attracts more interest in your rag by people (and more importantly their friends) whose letters you publish. The downside is that you have to be even-handed and publish off-the-wall, liberal and conservative stuff. 
   I have observed that there are some great writers in the valley, if you can stimulate them. I would like to see Liberty Watch, The Magazine. be successful.
Mike Dix
Las Vegas

Replace the state with free-market solutions
   I enjoyed reading your article on “The People’s Romance” (April). I am trying to figure out how to convince people to replace the state government with free-market solutions. The state is supposedly the ultimate protector of property in most people’s minds. But, why is it that the government keeps stealing more and more of your property in order to operate? I don’t consider that the work of a protector of property.
   The ultimate protector of property, and something that could replace the state, is the insurance concept. A free-market, profit-seeking insurance company, it seems to me, would have a much better reason to protect your property (the profit motive) and would probably eventually be able to protect you from the state.
   Also, there are ways to replace the courts and the police with free market concepts. As for the roads, it was once said that “traffic jams are nothing more than a collision between socialism and free enterprise.” The state can’t figure out how to build roads fast enough to keep up with free enterprise. 
   Freedom must eventually replace force in order for us to survive. If not, technology will eventually allow force to destroy all human beings. Politicians having nuclear devices is like babies playing with matches.
   Anyway, I can see that you are working toward the freedom side and away from the force side. Keep up the good work.
Charles Terry
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Anarchy doesn’t necessarily mean rioting and looting
   I couldn’t agree more with Doug French’s article (“The People’s Romance,” April). And yet most people think anarchy means there will be rioting and looting in the streets.
   I figure it would be a whole lot tamer than that. We’d probably all revert back to good old fashioned peer pressure and normal social feedback loops. Help your neighbor, and they are likely to help you. Act obnoxious, and they may mirror the behavior back at you. In a position of weakness against a tougher foe? Get your friends to help.
   This could all be possible with no cost of politically correct spin, hype, courts, prisons, yada, yada, yada. And there would not be a penny charged to “society” or no chance for middle men and government agents to jump in and make it worse.   
   In other words, we’d witness a huge improvement over what we have right now.
   Keep up your great exposés!
Aleithia Artemis
Bellaire, Texas

The pendulum hasn’t started swinging our way
   Regarding Doug French’s “The People’s Romance” (April): very well-written, very correct. 
   However, I do not share your opinion that the pendulum has started swinging back in our direction. Quite the contrary, as the police-state movement is in high gear. 
   There are only two events with the capability of truly restoring freedom: the third American Revolution or the second coming of Christ. I welcome either. Hope to see you at one or the other.
Mark Edward Marchiafava