Radi-Aid

This is pure genius:

Not only is it hilarious -- and it is possibly the funniest intentionally funny thing I've seen on YouTube in a long time -- it serves a far deeper purpose.  From the Africa for Norway website:

Why Africa for Norway? 

Imagine if every person in Africa saw the “Africa for Norway” video and this was the only information they ever got about Norway. What would they think about Norway? 

If we say Africa, what do you think about? Hunger, poverty, crime or AIDS? No wonder, because in fundraising campaigns and media that’s mainly what you hear about. 

The pictures we usually see in fundraisers are of poor African children. Hunger and poverty is ugly, and it calls for action. But while these images can engage people in the short term, we are concerned that many people simply give up because it seems like nothing is getting better. Africa should not just be something that people either give to, or give up on. 

The truth is that there are many positive developments in African countries, and we want these to become known. We need to change the simplistic explanations of problems in Africa. We need to educate ourselves on the complex issues and get more focus on how western countries have a negative impact on Africa’s development. If we want to address the problems the world is facing we need to do it based on knowledge and respect.

Nothing makes a point better than comedy!

It's All Happening

"The real question is: if it is liberty we seek, should most of the emphasis be placed on government reform or trying to understand what 'a virtuous and moral people' means and how to promote it." - Ron Paul

The revolution is happening, whether you like it or not.  It's happening on the internet.  It's happening in crowd-sourcing and mutual aid; it's happening with Occupy Sandy and Kickstarter, with Bitcoin and the Creative Commons.

Don't Be Ridiculous

Regarding the secession petitions: Don't be ridiculous.

First of all, a serious secession movement doesn't start by politely asking the President to please consider allowing a state to secede.  It's obvious to me that these petitions are just a way to give the President the finger, by "forcing" him to make an official statement about what amounts to general crankiness.

And the response petition?  "We Petition the Obama Administration to: Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile Them."  Ha ha, I get it.  "You can't break up with us, we break up with you!"  Very funny, guys.

Look, if the people who signed the secession petitions are serious -- and I have no doubt some of them are -- they're just going about this all wrong.  You don't solve statism with the state.  You'll just wind up with more state.

You do it by heeding Ghandi's advice:  "Be the change you want to see in the world."  You do it by opting out, by exercising your unalienable rights, and by seeking out and setting up camp in every inch of freedom you can find.

But some people would rather thumb their noses.  Hey, it's a free country.

The Revolution Will Not Be ...

The Revolution will not be a "revolution" per se, but rather an evolution, as more and more people develop and launch alternatives to the state.

I remembered this in the shower this morning, a news item from February of this year:

One of the company’s three co-founders, Yancey Strickler, said that Kickstarter is on track to distribute over $150 million dollars to its users’ projects in 2012, or more than entire fiscal year 2012 budget for the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), which was $146 million.

In all fairness, Stricker goes on to say, "Maybe there’s a reason for the state to strongly support the arts."  Maybe there is.  Personally, I believe in a separation of Art and State.  As JFK once said (emphasis added):

Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state.

Kickstarter is an exemplar of Crowdsourcing née Mutual Aid, and thankfully, it is not alone.  This is a great time to be alive!