George F. Smith

(Not to be confused with George H. Smith.)

George F. Smith is a libertarian writer I discovered through the Strike The Root website. His STR archive is here and his own website is LibertyAsylum.com.

His articles include these 3 brief summaries of the Federal Reserve and the crime of inflation:

• "The Story of the Fed Is a Story of a Crime"
  

• "Myths of the Money Machine"
  

• "The Fed's Grasping Invisible Hand"
  

Smith first wrote me when he read my Gilligan's Island piece at Mises.org.

He recently wrote me again and I have his permission to share here his very complimentary and supportive email:

From: gfs...
To: bkmarcus...
Subject: Thurston Howell III
Date: November 18, 2004 1:24:12 PM EST

B.K.,

While catching up on my reading I noticed a footnote in your article about the spectrum that said your Howell III piece was the most popular ever on Mises.org. When I think of everyone who's written for Mises, that is a stunning accomplishment, but in recalling the article it is no less well-deserved. Congratulations!

George F. Smith

P.S. Your spectrum article was also outstanding.

Libertarianism -- especially lowercase-L libertarianism, for those of us who eschew electoral politics -- can be extremely lonely. Maybe I'd find it worse in the heartland "red states" but my impression is that the isolation is worse in the blue territories, especially university towns.

One of the great blessings of the Internet is that geographically scattered and otherwise isolated libertarians can find each other and form the kind of vibrant intellectual community we see at Mises.org or Strike The Root. (& LRC, TLE, ASC, etc.)

But emotional support is also important. I've gotten some very spirit-lifting feedback lately, which I won't share here.

This Thursday, after I'm done panicking over my first time ever making a Turkey Dinner, I'm going to give thanks for the web, email, MP3, iPod, Amazon, Netflix ... those mass market phenomena of the Information Age that have made my life more rewarding and pleasant.

I'll also give thanks for a bunch of people I won't name here, several of them people I've never met offline.