by Tom Palmer on August 8, 2010
Wolly Palmer on the Computer
This is extremely difficult to write. Wolly (for Wollstonecraft) Palmer, who was my friend, partner, buddy, confidant, and for 14 years teacher in the virtues of patience, toleration, loyalty, and friendship, died last night in my arms. She had developed heart failure, in addition to the kidney failure we had been treating for years, and the combination was too much and advanced very rapidly. I canceled my plans and flew back from Greece and so was able to spend time with her at the end. She knew and recognized me and told me that she loved me, that she knew I was with her and would take care of her, and that I love her. It was important that she know that she was not alone, abandoned, and unloved, but loved, with her buddy, and cherished and adored. Her good friend and caregiver when I was away, Ben Wyche, was there, as well, and was able to say goodbye; she recognized him and told him she loved him, too. (She also had a fine nurse who was conscientious and gentle; Wolly dreaded her daily visits, because it meant a needle stick for an infusion, but she knew that she was helping her.)
Wolly was the anchor of my life and my best friend. The grief is very, very hard to bear and at times overwhelming. I had so much more to learn from her and would gladly have given half of my remaining life so that we could spend it together. Our cat, Tiggy (Antigone) Palmer, is confused and struggling to understand why Wolly is not here. She goes to Wolly’s bed and paws at it and asks where Wolly is. Tiggy is very loving and knows that I am sad and grief stricken and that something is very wrong, and she is trying to console me. (Tiggy was the latest addition to the family and assumed the role of the Forever-Kitten, as Wolly was the Queen and Matriarch of the family. For Wolly, she and I were partners and we had a cat. For Tiggy, we were a family of cats, and she was the baby.)
I am working on an essay on our friendship that I will post later.
Wolly expressing her love by using my forearm as a pillow during a power nap
Wolly on May 22, 2010, with a new possession, which made a good pillow
Wolly (on her heated bed) and Tiggy (next to her favorite scratching perch and toy) getting ready for bed time
Wolly as a Kitten Who Knew She Was -- Is, and Always Will Be -- Loved
by Tom Palmer on August 1, 2010
by Tom Palmer on August 1, 2010
…to Crete, then Athens, for lectures and meetings. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the Greek libertarians with whom I’ve corresponded over the years.
by Tom Palmer on July 20, 2010
I’m in Beijing….hoping to get some sleep before some morning meetings and then a trip to the airport for some long flights to the US and A. In the meantime, here are a few pics from some lectures I gave on this trip. (The last three pictures are from the Northeastern University in Shanyang, China.)
Meeting at Japanese for Tax Reform, Tokyo
Alumni Meeting of International Academy of Freedom in Manila
University of the Philippines
Introducing the Ideas of the Levellers at the University of the Philippines
by Tom Palmer on July 20, 2010
by Tom Palmer on July 20, 2010
In Beijing with Li Ziyang, author of The Power of the Market
by Tom Palmer on July 20, 2010
Washington Post: “A government of the people’s every wish?”
If you don’t live in this country all of the time, and I don’t, here is what you notice when you come home: Americans — with their lawsuit culture, their safety obsession and, above all, their addiction to government spending programs — demand more from their government than just about anybody else in the world. They don’t simply want the government to keep the peace and create a level playing field. They want the government to ensure that every accident and every piece of bad luck is prevented, or that they are fully compensated in the event something goes wrong. And if the price of their house drops, they will hold the government responsible for that, too.
by Tom Palmer on July 19, 2010
I just finished a rather exhausting day — 6 lectures and then an evening of very active sports and “team building” exercises — at the Northeastern University in Shenyang, not too far from the North Korean border. It was quite a lot of fun. (I gave talks on trade, economic development and property rights, and the roots of the financial crisis.) Then it’s off in the morning to Beijing to meet a number of people. (I was in Manila [a few links here: 1, 2, 3] and Tokyo before China.) Asian libertarianism is on the move!
by Tom Palmer on July 17, 2010
Michael Gerson in the Washington Post, “For the GOP, a risky wave to ride or turn back”
In America, the ideology of libertarianism is itself a scandal. It involves not only a retreat from Obamaism but a retreat from the most basic social commitments to the weak, the elderly and the disadvantaged, along with a withdrawal from American global commitments.
Libertarianism has a rigorous ideological coldness at its core. Voters are alienated when that core is exposed.
Our response in today’s Washington Post:
Michael Gerson ["The GOP rides a risky wave," op-ed, July 9] described libertarianism as “a scandal” because it “involves . . . a retreat from the most basic social commitments to the weak, the elderly and the disadvantaged.”
That is, he charged libertarians with a “retreat” from a welfare-state philosophy that is at odds with America’s heritage and with basic principles of limited government. Moreover, he charged libertarians with wanting to change policies that have not served the weak and the disadvantaged well because they encourage weakness and long-term dependence.
Libertarians warn that to continue down the current road leads to the Greek crisis, in which the cruelty of making commitments that can’t be kept is revealed.
Gerson also charged libertarianism with “rigorous ideological coldness.” He considers reason, arithmetic and a realistic assessment of what those “commitments” really mean to be “cold.” That says more about him than about libertarianism.
It might be kinder and gentler to try the Founders’ vision, the libertarian vision, of a limited state that provides a framework in which we can all enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Tom G. Palmer and David Boaz
by Tom Palmer on July 16, 2010
by Tom Palmer on July 15, 2010
by Tom Palmer on July 15, 2010
